By Michael Weiss
August 7, 2014 | Foreign Policy
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Russia preparing pretexts for invasion of Ukraine (Foreign Policy)
Very good summary of recent events in Ukraine and Russia, with strategic analysis by the editor of the Interpreter, an online journal about Russian media.
Friday, August 8, 2014
Culture warriors, HERE'S something REALLY wrong with U.S.
Psst, hey, culture warriors, over here! Yeah, here! I got somethin' for ya'. It combines homo-eroticism, bestiality, the media, and man-child love all in one. What's it called? My Little Pony.
Seriously. As a father of three young girls, two of whom are old (and yet young) enough to be obsessed with My Little Pony, I find this story deeply, deeply disturbing. Check it:
One of the researchers, Daniel Chadborn, who is currently enrolled in the psychology Ph.D. program at Southeastern Louisiana University, says Bronies have gotten a lot of attention over other fandoms because they violate a number of social norms. “There is a societal idea of what it means to be male or female, and they are going against that,” he said. “The show is predominantly marketed towards prepubescent girls. Bronies are saying, ‘We’re not only not prepubescent girls — we’re not girls.’”
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| Nope, there's nothing perverted about this guy at all. |
Oh, and in case you were wondering: "Male Bronies are actually less likely to be gay than other men," according to another researcher. (What's with all these "researchers" at Brony conventions? Note to self: If I ever get caught in a compromising place, tell them I'm a "researcher.") Gee, what a relief. They're simply perverted, not gay and perverted.
The investigative journalist, Jennifer Goforth Gregory, made more efforts to assuage our fears and prejudices about "Bronies":
Walking into BronyCon 2014 for the first time was a bit nerve-wracking. As the mother of a tween girl, I didn’t know how I would feel about a room full of men dressed up in costumes typically seen on young girls. But surprisingly, it wasn’t creepy. My 12-year-old daughter and I never felt uncomfortable, and we didn’t see any deviant or perverted behavior.
The perverted behavior in question entails grown men dressing up like cartoon ponies like little girls do, and organizing a convention where such behavior is acceptable. Do I really have to be the one pointing this out??
I know a bit of what I speak. Although I haven't attended any Brony conventions, (you're not surprised, I hope), nevertheless, through my daughters, I've already encountered the plethora of re-dubbed MLP cartoons, and other cartoons, on YouTube that sometimes are harmless but too often put YA themes -- and language -- into the mouths of these cute cartoon horses.
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| "Chicks dig us." |
But why?? Who in the world has: a) the time; b) the desire; and c) the technical know-how, to do this??
I would like to sit all these YouTube posting weirdos down in a sharing circle and alternately marvel at their pathetic life stories, one by one, and scream myself hoarse at them, Sam Kinison-style: "Get a life! Get a life! Geeet aaaa liiiiiiiife! Ah-Ah-AHHHHHH!".
P.S. -- For the record, "Goforth Gregory" sounds like a My Little Pony name.
By Jennifer Goforth Gregory
August 8, 2014 | The Atlantic
News digest / Catching up on news (08.08.2014)
Lately I can't keep up with my re-posting duties. Quickly, here are several stories you might have missed:
Federal Judge Rules Some College Players Are Entitled To Payment: http://n.pr/V95KJ7 -- SOME JUSTICE!
How Big Is a $16 Billion Bank Fraud Settlement, Really?: http://huff.to/1A036VM -- NOT VERY.
FEAR: 11 TOP BANKS STILL TOO BIG TO FAIL: http://huff.to/1zS8ZnU -- TBTF HERE TO STAY, BY DESIGN.
Nine myths about the social safety net, annotated: http://wapo.st/1pF1Cvr -- OLD PEOPLE ARE THE BIGGEST WELFARE QUEENS?
Unwealthy in America: New study finds that Top 1 percent hold 37 percent of nation’s wealth. A quarter of US families feel they are under economic stress caused by the Great Recession: http://www.mybudget360.com/
The Conflict In Gaza Explained In One Map: http://huff.to/1ASuhTK -- UNLESS IT'S A MAP DERIVED FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT, I'M NOT INTERESTED.
Your chicken is about to get more full of feces: http://gu.com/p/4v9ex -- YUM!
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Many Israelis don't know a single Palestinian (NPR)
This report by NPR is well worth reading or listening to. I did not realize before it just how segregated Israeli Jews are from their Palestinian neighbors. And considering the disinformation that Israeli Jews receive about Arabs in schools and the Israeli media, it's entirely possible that many Israelis know LESS about Palestinians than informed Americans do.
I emphasize this because often I have heard in the U.S., usually from a conservative pundit, something like the following: "Just ask and Israeli what Arabs are like," or "We should take Israel's word for it how to deal with the Palestinians." This report shows why this cannot be true. Most Israelis are more isolated from Palestinians than any resident of a major U.S. city is from Arabs and Muslims. Israelis live in a bubble of hatred and fear that they themselves created.
This story reminds us that the main purpose of ghettoization -- be it by Nazis Germans or Israeli Jews -- is to separate the citizenry of the oppressor from the oppressed, to minimize all human contact from which common ground and natural empathy might spring. Segregation makes the job of propaganda much easier: citizens can be convinced those in the ghetto are the "other" with all sorts of evil intent, and essentially sub-human, without the same human qualities as you and I. Ergo they deserve whatever bad treatment they get from the oppressor state.
By Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson
August 4, 2014 | NPR
URL: http://n.pr/1pzbiI5
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Amb. Taylor to Congress: Russia is 'greatest threat to peace in Europe'
Hon. William Taylor, now of the U.S. Institute of Peace, had this to say to Congress on July 29 about Russia's war in Ukraine [emphasis mine]:
In my view we must confront the Russian war against Ukraine. This aggression started with the quiet invasion of Crimea last spring. A sham, at-the-end-of-a-rifle referendum was followed by an illegal annexation. The international community should not allow that annexation to stand. Until that situation is resolved to the satisfaction of Ukraine, the Russiarn government should pay serious penalties to Ukraine for the temporary loss of income and illegally confiscated assets that would have come to Ukraine from Crimea.The international community did not confront the Kremlin over Crimea. As a consequence, the Russians continued their aggression in Donetsk and Luhansk. The leaders of the separatist movement have become almost exclusively Russian, and Russian equipment flows across the border unimpeded. This equipment—including sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons—shot down the Malaysian airliner killing 298 people. No matter what individual separatist pushed the button to fire the weapon—let’s be clear, Mr. Chairman-- the tragedy is Russian responsibility.
So Taylor is the second former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine (after John Herbst) to exhort the United States to aid Ukraine militarily, among other means:
[T]he international community, led by the United States, should provide Ukraine with the means to eliminate the separatist forces in their country. This means weapons, military advice, intelligence, and financial support to pay and equip their soldiers.
July 31, 2014 | Kyiv Post
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