Bernie - back from the USSR

The current spate of controversies surrounding the candidacy of Bernie Sanders in the 2020 presidential race includes his trips to various socialist heavens. Including his 1988 visit to Soviet Union.

1988. The perestroika, lead by Mikhail Gorbachev, is at its peak. Aside of old apparatchiks and babushkas, no one believes anymore in the shining future of socialism, managed by the "mind, honor and conscience of our era", the crumbling Communist Party of Soviet Union.

The Berlin wall has one year left to stand. The arms race, imposed by Ronald Reagan, has been irrevocably lost by USSR, its economy collapsing under the burden. Anti-Russian sentiments are rising in the "satellite" socialist countries of the Soviet camp in Eastern Europe. The camp is slowly but surely being teared apart.

The attitude of the Soviet people to the boogeyman of seventy years, the Western capitalism and, especially, to the Big Satan, the most cursed capitalist enemy, has changed drastically. (It will go back to enmity and alienation during Putin's rule, but for now...). The flow of information from the West is unstoppable now, and Soviet people are seeing for the first time the huge gap between their lives in the socialist heaven and these in the West.

And the flow of information in the other direction is unstoppable now too. Hundreds thousands immigrants from USSR are now in the West, telling it all. The previously suppressed stories and books by the dissidents and victims of the regime are published even in the USSR, not to mention the West. The truth is out.

And this is the year when one Bernie Sanders, then Mayor of Burlington, heads with a group of other Burlington notables to Yaroslavl, a soviet city to become a sister city of Burlington. The itinerary of the team also included Moscow and Leningrad*.

Unsurprisingly, their itinerary was managed exactly as it is described in the remark below. Surprisingly, Bernie and his comrades for that trip didn't see through it, and here is the trip report from the horse mouth:



So here are the salient points from the Bernie's speech:

• Openness and warmth of the citizens and officials. He didn't really get to see many real citizens, naive as he is, but yes, the times have changed, as I have described above.
• It (the above warmth) might go back to WW II. Wrong. The huge assistance provided (with a big loss of lives and enormous effort) by Americans and Britons during WWII was one of almost totally forbidden subjects.
• People were delighted by the presence of Ronald Reagan etc. Crap. Soviet people at the time didn't give a flying donut about high level summits like this one. Again - talking with token "citizens" might have confused him.
• Surprised by the degree of self-criticism Soviet officials displayed. Perestroika, man, where have you been?
• Moscow News has articles with self-criticism and debate... same thing again. Bernie has no idea whatsoever about what is going on in that place.
• Soviets estimate that they are behind US about 10 to 15 years in healthcare. In 1988 it is rather 20 to 30 years, but why be a nitpicker? The healthcare was free, of course (better bring some food to your near and dear patient, and yeah, that rare medicine - be a good father/mother/son... and get it via your connections...
• Housing now. How about young newlyweds waiting for years and years for their government-built low quality 50 square meters flat, while folks close to the trough get it without delay?
• Public transportation. Measured by visits to Leningrad, Moscow and Yaroslavl - two major centers of state investment and one major tourist destination. All in all, about 5-7% of total Soviet population, with absolutely unreliable train, bus and airline services that caused headache and toothache to so many millions...
• Moscow Metro now - "the fastest, cleanest and most effective I have seen in my life". "With many works of art, beautiful chandeliers etc..." this one made me choke up. The Moscow metro, built on the bodies of hundreds of Stalin's prisoners, far from all of them being criminal ones. And beautiful chandeliers...
• Culture palaces for young people with cultural programs - where grooming of "pioneers" and "komsomolets's" with party-approved cultural programs and impoverished libraries where only party-approved books were available. Both under tight control of that three-letter outfit, needless to say.
• And to crown it all: "They want to go back to some early vision of their revolution". Ye gods - when the last thing the vast majority of Soviet people wanted to hear at the time was more inane revolutionary slogans and revolutionary ideas...

To summarize, there are only two possible explanations to the above nightmarish inanity: either the man is dumb as two planks or he really lacks elementary information.

It is not for nothing that I have mentioned above the flow of information from USSR to the West and the waves of immigrants who came over to US, ready to tell it all. So we have here a man who dedicated himself to politics and spent quite a few years in social-related activities, leadership etc. And this man was heading a delegation to another country without trying to learn the basic A to Z about it? When this information was so easily obtainable? Hard to believe, ain't it?

Well, it is not my job to explain the inexplicable. It is rather my duty to point out that this man, with a bachelor of arts degree in political science (that he himself describes "as a mediocre college student because the classroom was "boring and irrelevant", while the community was more important to his education") - that this man, who freely and so convincingly displays his ignorance in most vital matters, is vying for the presidency of United States.

Heed the message, dear Americans.


(*) Not surprisingly, Moscow, Leningrad and Yaroslavl were usually included in a standard itinerary of Western tourists. The sightseeing offered and the tourists' timetables were orchestrated to the minute details and, of course, coordinated with the KGB and its well-trained watchers. Even during the years of perestroika. The masters of Potemkin village creation made their lives easier by channeling the tourists through the same well-mapped treks...

Naama Issachar's story - or how to be stupider than stupid.

Naama Issachar, the girl in the picture below, is, most probably, going to be released from a Russian jail soon. I am glad for her, 7.5 years for a small stash of hashish* is indeed a cruel and unusual punishment, especially taking into account that she didn't intend to enter Russia. And here my happiness and good will end.

Israeli Naama Issachar gestures during an appeal hearings in a courtroom in Moscow

To every Israeli familiar with the local facial expressions and gestures, the picture above shows a girl defiant. Only there is nothing to be defiant about. Naama was caught, confessed and, no matter the cruelty of the sentence, is guilty. There is absolutely nothing to be defiant about.

Moreover, the relentless pressure her family and friends succeeded to apply to our dear leaders has allowed Kremlin to up the payment for Naama's early release:

According to Hebrew media reports, Russia has asked Israel to transfer a piece of Russian Orthodox Church property near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City to the Kremlin as a goodwill gesture ahead of Issachar’s release.Reports have also indicated that Russia may seek strong Israeli backing for its position in a spat with Poland over responsibility for World War II, including a possible public statement from Netanyahu or Rivlin.

Sounds reasonable? Maybe, sometimes the goal justifies the means.

What sounds much less reasonable and exudes a strong smell of chutzpah is the behavior of our subject. What this source (and it's a solid one for most news items) says is mind-boggling:

Israeli Naama Issachar, serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence in Russia on charges of drug smuggling, did not ask the Russian president for pardon. This was stated by the Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova, according to Interfax. According to the Ombudsman, Issachar believes that the appeal of her mother and of Prime Minister of Israel is enough to consider a pardon.

And, if the above isn't enough of characterization, here is another tidbit, from an Israeli source this time:

The Israeli imprisoned in Russia was interviewed by a local newspaper and said she might still write a book about her time in prison: "I still don't believe I will be released so soon".

A book now? Many a Soviet prisoner, Jewish included, have written about their experience in the Soviet soul-crushing prison camps. Most of them were heroes, whose imprisonment was a badge of honor. Not in this case.

The only book I envision for dear Naama is a notebook with a few hundred pages, where every page contains a hundred sentences: "I am not going to do anything stupid anymore".

To remind you, Naama is 27 years old...

So there.

(*) For some reason many Israeli newspapers state it was marijuana Naama was carrying. No, it wasn't. Hashish.

An epitaph to Goldsmiths

Founded in 1891 in New Cross in south-east London, The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute (today known as Goldsmiths) was set up to provide an education to working class people of the area. Goldsmiths became part of the University of London in 1904 and saw a rapid rise in student numbers in the 1960s.

Goldsmiths has an excellent reputation as an academic and research institution with a famously strong arts and social sciences offering and there are several world-renowned artists among its alumni. Goldsmiths has always had a reputation for independence and free thinking both as an institution and among its student body and the university cultivates an atmosphere that is encouraging and receptive to new ideas.

This blurb could very well be used on the tombstone for the glorious institution's remains. Because a place of learning, where students are producing the kind of tirade you shall immediately read, is practically dead. Now just read, there is no need to comment or interpret. You may click on each of the three images to enlarge them.

In a country, where a good portion of population is clamoring for a repeat performance of what once took place in the late Soviet Union, this kind of arrogant ignorance is just the ticker. This time they will do it right, though, so no worries.

Nazis on British streets - take 1

Who says political life can't be funny? Whoever said it, it is dead wrong. Here is an example:

An ‘Allo ‘Allo reunion on the streets of Gloucester has led to outrage over the 'hard right' due to their Nazi uniforms.

Waitress Yvette, bumbling German Lieutenant Gruber, SS officer Herr Flick and his smouldering sidekick Private Helga were all in town for the Gloucester Goes Retro festival on August 26.

An image of the quartet was posted on Twitter by John Player with the apparently tongue-in-cheek message: “Nazi gathering spotted on the streets of Britain TODAY. This is the 21st century for christ sake. Where is the outrage. It's all happening again.”

Whoever that John Player guy/gal is, s/he caught a big fish, and the fish performed up to specs:

Journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown then replied to the Tweet with the message: “Too busy accusing the UK Labour of anti-Semitism to heed the real scary threat posed by the hard right.”

For reference: Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. Say no more...

MK David Bitan, esq. - and this is how it rolls in our Knesset

In an radio interview several topics were discussed with the illustrious member of Knesset David Bitan, until last year* the coalition chair in the Knesset.

One of the topics was the newly hatched Nationality Bill that caused (deservedly or not) an eruption of responses from all shades of the Israeli and international political spectrum. One of the factions that really feel injured by the law is the Druze population. Openly and traditionally supportive of the Jewish state, Druze community in Israel is fiercely loyal to the state and its sons serve in IDF and die together with us, protecting the country. Lack of the clause ensuring equality of all non-Jewish communities in the new law, even if that equality is protected by other existing laws, caused anger and protests that are easy to understand. And here is what he had to say on the subject (partial translation only):

(B. - David Bitan, I - the intervieiwer).

• B. I am sorry that they [Druze MKs!] were allowed [sic!] to vote against the bill, and now [they appealed to] High Court of Justice... this is something unacceptable. 
• I. This wouldn't have gone this way during your time [as a coalition chair]?
• B. No, it wouldn't have.
• I. What you would have done?
• B. There are all kinds of thing that it's possible to do...
• I. Sanctions are to be applied to them?
• ...
• I. Can't you understand them a little bit?
• B. No, I can't understand them, because in general we are guarding the rights of the Druze in a special way. We have a covenant of blood with them, we... they receive all they need. There is no reason that a group... a minority of 120,000 will receive special rights in the Nationality bill. It is not all these millions, it is only 120,000 people. Druze are all in all only 120 - 160 thousands... they get a preferential treatment... 
• I. So they should be thankful, you say... 
• B. I didn't say that, I say that it doesn't go as they want... Druze too have to respect the majority, it is not like the majority should respect the Druze...
• I. [changing the subject]

And no, just in case you have asked: he is not the only one on that level of mental prowess, lucidity etc. This is how it rolls - but I have already mentioned it.

Too bad.

(*) Quit that post due to police investigation of alleged bribery. But still remains a member of Knesset. Unfortunately.

And now, from the murky depths of the 'net...

It is not a big story, all in all. Just a fairly random example of the crap that floats in quantities on the surface (and beneath it) of the endless ocean of bits and bytes we let into our houses.

A small (probably Israeli) Russian language outfit Mignews published an unremarkable short article, titled (translated):

Israeli doctors found out that whiskey protects against cancer

I am calling it unremarkable, because for many years media is inundated by articles about similar discoveries about any and all alcoholic beverages. For all I know, there might be even a grain (no pun intended) of truth in this claim.

Read more »

Sarcasm, Middle East Monitor and the Elders

Sarcasm doesn't register with some folks. For instance, so called MEMO (Middle East Monitor), that bills itself in this, slightly pompous way:

The use or misuse of information is central to the conflict in the Middle East. There has been a growing need for supporters of, in particular, the Palestinian cause, to master the art of information gathering, analysis and dissemination. This requires well organised, focused and targeted operations. Such initiatives are virtually non-existent in the West today.

The Middle East Monitor (MEMO) was established to fill this gap.

ETC. (Check out the personnel list of this institution, and much of the above will become clear-er).

Read more »

Craig Murray: deep at the bottom and busy digging

It is usually not a surprise for anyone, when, a few hours after any atrocity happening on this globe, the usual conspinuts come out from under their stones and Mossad gets fingered for another "false flag" opearation.

It is thus no wonder that, when the recent Russian style poisoning of a Russian ex-colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter happened, Mossad came up almost immediately. Sure thing. And even the de facto confession of Kremlin on the air didn't help:



The source of the "nudge nudge, wink wink" this time, though, was somewhat interesting. Craig Murray, an ex-ambassador of UK in Uzbekistan, whose righteous fight against the British FCO and, especially, his epic legal and moral war against the mogul Alisher (Jabba) Usmanov, were supported by the blogging world (and yours truly) with no hesitation at the time.

Since then, Mr Murray settled down to a mundane career of what he defines as "a professional dissident"*. One of his preferred targets became - how not? - the Zionist Entity. As could be witnessed by these two posts, for example. Or by his collection of speeches, selling on Amazon under a quaint title: Zionism is Bullshit.

So this is no wonder as well that, while deflecting the blame from Kremlin, Mr Murray digs up his favorite foe in the article Russian to Judgement (cute, ain't it?). It is no wonder that he dedicates a good part of that piece to the devious Mossad. So why do I produce a post with so many "no wonders"?

Just because the article definitely shows some troubling signs of brain softening in our hero. Small signs, like twice misspelling the term "novichock" ("newcomer" in Russian) for the nerve agent used in the Skripal affair. Sometimes he calls it “novochok”, sometimes "novachok". Of course, Russian is a) a difficult proposition at all times and b) not of much use to an ex-ambassador. But a simple copy/paste operation would have sufficed, I would dare say.

A more troubling sign comes now. The second paragraph of the article starts with:

The “novochok” group of nerve agents – a very loose term simply for a collection of new nerve agents the Soviet Union were developing fifty years ago...

And - lo and behold, the next paragraph begins:

Incidentally, novachok is not a specific substance but a class of new nerve agents.

By the way, have I already mentioned brain softening? Hmm...

But these are only symptoms. There is more. Here is the usual conspinut's "Cui bono", used by all and sundry to the same end:

And while I am struggling to see a Russian motive for damaging its own international reputation so grieviously, Israel has a clear motivation for damaging the Russian reputation so grieviously.

Interesting, innit? That same Israel that tiptoes around Syria, doing its best not to harm a single hair on a single head of a Russian "adviser", when there is a need to do some surgical bombing of a Syrian (read "Iranian") ammunition depot. That same Israel that avoids any public condemnation of Russian orgy of killing in Syria or any other place, for that matter. Does it sound logical to you that this same Israel will dare to damage the Russian reputation so "grieviously"?

Update: From the latest news:

Israel issued Thursday a belated criticism of the poisoning on British soil of a former spy with a powerful nerve agent, but failed to attribute responsibility to Russia in a bid to avoid souring relations with Moscow.

As noticed above, no need to expand on this, I believe.

Well, as logical as this pearl:

On the other hand, in Syria Russia has saved the Middle East from domination by a new wave of US and Saudi sponsored extreme jihadists.

Saved indeed. A few years of more of this "saving" and there will not remain a Syrian alive to save, but what do we all know? Anyway, the finger pointed at the hated Zionists was only an exercise, as our hero confesses:

Both the Orbis and Israeli theories are speculations. But they are no more a speculation, and no more a conspiracy theory, than the idea that Vladimir Putin secretly sent agents to Salisbury to attack Skripal with a secret nerve agent.

Oh, it's speculation time then! OK. So what if a certain retired diplomat, who always brags about his special friendship with all kinds of spooks in all kinds of spooky establishments, not excluding that infamous Porton Down, decided to harm the British/Russian rapprochement extremely "grieviously"? What if he sneaked out some of that nov/o/a/i/chok stuff out and, devilishly laughing, sprinkled it on that poor Russian ex-spy and his daughter? I am just speculating here, of course...

And I simply don't recall: have I mentioned already the softening of the brain?

(*) This definition comes from the blurb on Amazon, written by the author himself in all probability. The text as a whole is priceless and the only reason to link to that vile opus. There couldn't be a price for this one, for instance:

But a combination of his patent honesty, muscular logic and fluent writing style gradually found its audience.

But I really don't want to spoil your reading of the whole, so go there and enjoy!

Anshel Pfeffer‏, RT and Ukrainian corruption...

A list of terms used in the headline first:

1. Anshel Pfeffer: a nice guy of Haaretz (picture above), prone to bloopers and not always at home, but nice.
2. RT: a Russian version of Alex Jones' Infowars, but with much more money.
3. Ukraine: an ex-republic of the late Soviet Union, now an independent country. Mostly, because parts of it are being either "restored" to Mother Russia or are in the process of restoration.

Oh, did I mention that our Anshel is a dork? Yes, I see I did in a way, but no matter: it bears repeating. So here is a new blooper from our poor mixed up Anshelke:

And what do we learn from this Twitter post?

• That ISIS downed an Egyptian helicopter using a Russian missile.
• That US sells similar missiles to Ukraine.
• That Ukraine is corrupt. It is kinda rich, coming from Moscow, but let it go for now.
• That the missiles sold by US to Ukraine might end up in the grubby hands of Middle East terrorists. Which hands are already full of Russian missiles. Hmm... creates a conflict of marketing interests, it seems.

Er... did I mention that our Anshel is a dork? My memory is not what it was back then.

Labour Friends of Palestine group apologises...

Sometimes, when you have stuck your foot in your mouth quite deeply, in your feverish efforts to pull the said foot out, you make a wrong move, lodging it even deeper. This is what happened with the British Labour Friends of Palestine team, when they have started their urgent recovery operation after this unfortunate (?) turn of speech:

Of course, they have made it clear immediately that their reference to the final solution was just a sorry slip of the tongue, a typo, a... you know how it goes. They have done it verbally via many available channels, of which they have quite enough.

Then they have decided to issue a written notice, wholeheartedly apologizing for that slip. Here is how it came out (I have decided to mark by red the relevant part of it, sorry if you don't like this kind of leading):

Don't know about you, but I think it is still a marginal improvement. I feel that being in opposition to anti-antisemitism is better than praying for a final solution. Sticks and stones and all that, you know...

P.S. Corrected by now by the hapless author, after a few people pointed this out.

Amendment: I have posted this elsewhere with an addition of a true story, which happened in one of the Soviet big cities back then. The "opposition to anti-antisemitism" just has to come accompanied by this story:

It was the usual May 1 parade, when the happy workers are dragged through the central square of the city, parading past the tribune where the local bozos watch them with the usual sour expressions on their sour faces. As usual, the workers, singly or in pairs (depending on the size of their burden) carry some inspiring socialist placards: a picture of some chieftain or an inspiring text.

Among the crowd marched a guy carrying a typical medium sized placard, saying: "We'll give a crushing response to the enemies of the capitalism!"

The man was cruising the square for half a day. Since the structure of the sentence was very standard, it took that much time for the local gendarmes to grok the joke...

On cognitive privilege and other animals

Don't even try to look for the definition of cognitive privilege in the dictionaries, it is too new. There is a definition of cognitive elite, though, that brings us close to the subject.

The cognitive elite of a society, according to Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray, are those having higher intelligence levels and thus better prospects for success in life.

This definition brings you close to the steps needed for definition of cognitive privilege. Once defined, you can start happily operating this excellent tool for naming and shaming a new category of the privileged people.

The story started for me a few weeks ago, when the parents of my grandson met the teacher of his first school year. It so happened that the youngster was sent to a few private lessons to prepare him to school, for reasons not having to do with the story. He has some rudimentary reading and writing skills, nothing to brag about, but still. When the teacher heard about it, she went kind of pale. The reason, as she explained, was that she is used to receiving a bunch of schoolchildren from one single kindergarten, uniformly unable to read or write, so there was no need for her to treat anyone differently...

Of course, in this case the advantage of the boy is temporary, to disappear in a few weeks with the other kids learning and catching up. And, of course, as it is customary in schools, applying the famous peer pressure to those who dare to be different. Anyhow, the lesson here is that our schools are built for uniformity, one size fits all is the motto.

It so happened that in a few days after this meeting with the schoolteacher, I have stumbled on this disturbing discovery, made, most probably, by a millennial:

WHAT IS PRIVILEGE AND WHAT DO WE DO WITH IT?

There are many kinds of privilege besides white privilege: cognitive privilege, for example. We now know that intelligence is not something we have significant control over but is something we are born with. We are living in a society in which success is increasingly linked to one’s intelligence. This is not to say that intelligence is the only factor that is important. All that is implied is that below a certain threshold of intelligence, there are fewer and fewer opportunities. These opportunities are being shifted upward to jobs that require heavier cognitive lifting or else are being replaced by robots. Thus, the accident of having been born smart enough to be able to be successful is a great benefit that you did absolutely nothing to earn. Consequently, you have nothing to be proud of for being smart.

Of course, the author, Dan Williams, doesn't have in mind any malevolent actions against the cognitively privileged folks. His goals are, for now, somewhat more relaxed:

But when doing so, we must also bear in mind the purpose of drawing attention to privileges. The purpose is not to instill a sort of Catholic guilt in someone’s psyche, nor is it an excuse to make oneself feel better by demonizing another. The purpose of pointing out someone’s privilege is to remind them of the infinite number of experiences that are possible and the very large number of experiences that are actual that they know very little about. The purpose is to enlarge their moral consciousness, to make them more sympathetic to people who are less fortunate than they are.

Not that I understand the items listed under "the purpose", but at least there is no reason for alarm. I think so. The whole "cognitive privilege" idea so far hasn't put roots among the other "privileges", like "white privilege", "cis gender privilege", "male privilege" etc. Hopefully it will remain dormant, at least for a while.

Taken together, the case of my grandson and the (so far) abortive attempt on raising the specter of "cognitive privilege" brought me to check the situation in schools with regard of treatment the bright children receive.

Canada, United Kingdom, Sweden: the results are similar and disturbing. A few quotes from the three sources sum up the situation pretty well:

For ordinary families with academically able children in the inner city or small town Canada, the everyday reality is bored kids seeking outside outlets for their creative or higher intellectual pursuits.

"The attitude at the moment is that you either fit in or go," says Clare Lorenz, the chairman of the support society, Children of High Intelligence (CHI). "It isn't how things should be."

Results show cause for concern. In particular, primary school appeared to be a hostile environment [for gifted kids].

It definitely doesn't look like the school system, at least the public one, is geared and ready to foster excellence and provide the necessary support to gifted kids, who are our hope and our future.

The only ray of light so far comes from Finland:

“Whatever it takes” is an attitude that drives not just Kirkkojarvi’s 30 teachers, but most of Finland’s 62,000 educators in 3,500 schools from Lapland to Turku—professionals selected from the top 10 percent of the nation’s graduates to earn a required master’s degree in education.

Otherwise it is no surprise that private schools, that promise all kinds of special education treats (and frequently don't deliver), tend to proliferate and take the money off many credulous parents. Some are, of course, quite good, but why shouldn't the respective states invest more in their most precious resource?

Instead we are facing the rising waves of idiotic identity politics nitpicking and creation of harmful buzzwords like "cognitive privilege" and similar. Like this product of some festering minds*:

Standing Up to Pee Gives Boys an Unfair Advantage in Physics

In the latest example of identity politics taken to its absurd end, three Australian college professors believe that "playful urination practices – from seeing how high you can pee to games such as Peeball (where men compete using their urine to destroy a ball placed in a urinal) – may give boys an advantage over girls when it comes to physics."

Mind boggling? Not nowadays, I am afraid.

And, meanwhile, we are inexorably moving to the era of The Marching Morons.

Too bad.

(*) I am still willing to learn that the peeing advantage story is an elaborate spoof, but after reading the original article I am not so sure.

Update: A not insignificant cause for alarm:

A New York professor has sparked a debate among educators over whether or not algebra is too hard and should be dropped from the high school curriculum.

Andrew Hacker, a political science professor at Queens College, insists the difficulty of learning algebra is responsible for the United States' high dropout rate.

Sure, buddy. Let's all switch to nursery rhymes. Or political science, whatever.

Jeremy Corbyn as a potential savior of the Dead Sea fishermen

I am pretty sure I don't have to add any comments to the story presented in this link. And whether the author of the petition, one Ian Brown, is a successful prankster or a dimbulb of the first degree, is quite immaterial, although quite interesting by itself. His petition (snapshot below) is being supported by a number of fiery anti-Zionists, like that one:

Oh well... whatever floats their (fishing) boat.

The petition snapshot (click on it to embiggen):

Nike's Pro Hijab as a stepladder to XXI century

The new foray of Nike into the Islamic fashion would have passed unmentioned on these here pages. Whatever I am and whatever I do, fashion of any kind isn't of interest to me. Normally. So, if Nike people want to expand their market to the Islamic world, more power to them. Whatever.

However, this article on this same subject (some well meaning friend sent me) suffers from so many dumb superlatives that I couldn't resist. Starting with this headline:

'Pro Hijab'​ Nike's Latest Stroke of Marketing Genius

But wait, it is just an aperitive, so to say. Here comes a pearl:

No, the hijab and accompanying "What Will They Say About You?" ad campaign is far more about Nike marketing itself to the 1.6 BILLION Muslims across the world and winning their loyalty as the Islamic world rapidly modernizes in the 21st century.

"rapidly modernizes in the 21st century" - believe it or not. Seriously?

And if you want to know what is it Nike stands for and against, here is another good one:

We are seeing a wave of Islamophobia in the United States and across the world that is unprecedented in its scale and explicitness, as Donald Trump continues his attempt to institute a "Muslim ban" and French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen talks about outright banning the hijab and "burkini" swimsuit in public.

Seriously?

Well, Jim Weber is the Founder & CEO at Weber PPC - Marketing and Advertising, so he knows all about selling stuff, I guess. We better listen.

Some women...

haven't yet got fully immersed in their newly acquired womanhood, I would guess. Witness this tweet that might cause a serious case of cognitive dissonance to a person not familiar with modern identity politics:

Danielle Muscato, a self-identified lady, looks like this:

(and no, before you ask - it is not a joke). Danielle Muscato has her site:

Danielle Muscato, formerly Dave Muscato, is an atheist activist, writer, debater, pundit, musician, and transgender woman from the United States.

So everything is legit and serious. Only, I guess, our fair Danielle still slips back into a male chauvinist role from time to time, what with the references to dick sucking and all.

Patience...

Bernie and the ghetto

I know it's a terrible state of affairs when a man is stooping to copying his own posts on Facebook. But there is no time and, besides, this case should be kept for posterity.

Now, based on the improbably idiotic quote above, here is a quick quiz. Only one question in the following list is answered by "No". Find it.

1. Is Bernie a white man?
2. Does Pope poop in the Vatican?
3. Is Bernie Jewish?
4. Was the term "ghetto" originally used in Venice to describe the part of the city to which Jews were restricted and segregated?
5. Does Bernie have a brain?
6. Did my (an probably Bernie's too) grand-grand-grand parents live in a ghetto?
7. Is the turn of speech invented by מוטי פינסקי*: "Bernie's belligerently bombastic and bellicose bullshit bandwagon" great and fitting?

(*) Motti Pinsky - a Facebook buddy, with thanks to.

Orlando shooting staged by government, says chris dorsey of the Virginia Militia

It looks like Press TV, the propaganda arm of the Ayatollahs, is experiencing bad times. I am judging solely by the kind of "sources", if I may use the word tentatively, that Press TV seems fit to bring to its broadcasts. Apparently luminaries like George Galloway, Jeremy Corbyn and similar are not enough or are too expensive, so here is a good example of what Press TV goes for to fill up its schedule. Meet chris dorsey*, allegedly a member of something called Virginia Militia and a candidate** for the position of Sheriff of Richmond. (The subject appears around 1'30''):



I don't know about you, but I quite enjoyed the unadorned Troof freely dispensed by Mr dorsey. And the uncommon these days combination of white shirt, black suspenders and that tasteful tie. I can see how easy it will be for him to don the Richmond Sheriff's uniform. Hope you do too.

Of course, the mention of Zionist Controlled Media warmed my heart too, but the fact that he didn't mention the ZOG (Zionist Owned Government) is somewhat disturbing and points to the need to do more work with the subject.

To complete this report, I have to add that chris dorsey is quite active on the local scene, being a considerable pain in the ass critic of the local solons. Here is one of many recordings where chris dorsey courageously and selflessly performs his civic duty. The recording, made by chris dorsey himself (I surmise), is titled: Virginia Cops/Politicians Are Treaonsous Tyrants. Enjoy.



Salt of the earth, I say.

(*) I am not responsible for the lack of capital letters, it is the man's choice. And, after all, e e cummings...
(**) At least according to him and his Facebook page. Which page, by the way, is a serious source of entertainment, if you have a few minutes to spare.

Speechless...

What message does this send to Oxford's female students, @OUSUCouncil? pic.twitter.com/KYUg4U4BS6

— Oxford Pro-Choice (@OxProChoice) June 15, 2016

Academician Alexander Ageev and his dead souls

“However stupid a fool's words may be, they are sometimes enough to confound an intelligent man.”
― Nikolai Gogol, Dead Souls

I don't know how many Western readers are familiar with Dead Souls**, but I would venture a guess that there is no Russian above age of, say, 15 that isn't (of course, seeing as how Gogol was an Ukrainian and how Russia and Ukraine are apart today... oh well, no matter). The reason I am mentioning the popularity of the book is that I was sure that no Russian could be so stupid as to give birth to the modern version of that story. However...

Academician Alexander Ageev

In a conference "Faith and deeds: social responsibility of businesses in the time of crisis", being conducted in the framework of Anti-crisis Forum, Academician Alexander Ageev came up with an original idea. Thinking [aloud] about the Great Patriotic War as a point of consolidation of [Russian] society, he proposed to consider the possibility to grant the right to vote in elections to 27 million Soviet citizens who died during the Second World War.

Explaining his thought to a journalist, he said that in this way the dead could affect the current affairs in the country, in development and salvation of which they were directly involved. For example, their families could vote for them, said Ageev.

Academician Ageev also believes that the right to vote may be possibly granted to several previous generations, not only to those who died in the war. The reason is the same: they must be able to influence current events, as these events are a continuation of their own lives.

For your reference and admiration: Doctor of Economics Alexander Ageev is the director of Institute of Economic Strategy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a member of the Writers' Union, the head of the department of business management projects of MEPhI, a member of Izborsky club, and also a nobleman (he was entitled by Maria Romanova's decree). At the end of 2015 he ran for post of the the director of Institute of Economy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, but hasn't gathered the necessary votes.

Well, what can I say (not that anything has to be necessarily added to the above)? Maybe just a technicality, a humblest proposal for a minor improvement. Why bothering with establishing the family connections of the dear departed, which in many cases might lead nowhere, on account of Stalin's perfectionism in getting rid of some people? Wouldn't it be simpler all around to pass all these votes to the direct representatives of the owners? I mean the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Chief Mufti, the Chief Rabbi etc. They will surely know how to vote.

And in case of a doubt, I bet that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin will be there to advise them and to lead them from the darkness to the light.

(*) "Academician" - rather a Russian term for a full member of Russian Academy of Sciences (PAH).
(**) And if you are not familiar, it will do you only good to get familiar. The old anti-Semite surely did know how to write them sentences.

Hat tip: L.G.

Roger Cohen aka Jolly Roger aka Roger the Clueless strikes again

I am angry with myself because of it. Every time I post something about the Jolly Roger I say to myself: nevermore. And here we go again...

I don't know how many of you remember the moderately famous mea culpa that Roger Cohen offered in 2009 after a few years of singing hosannahs to the Iranian "vibrant democracy". There was a brief recuperation period that, with the relentless drive by the White House administration to the deal with Iran, seamlessly and effortlessly transformed into a new wave of support for that drive and, especially, into a feverish search for the Iranian "moderates" among the ranks of Ayatollahs and their ilk. Obviously Jolly Roger just can't help himself.

How terminal was that recovery was recently shown by a Twitter spat between Roger the Clueless and Sohrab Ahmari, an Iranian-American, who is an editorial page writer at The Wall Street Journal. Reading his Wiki bio you shall see that Sohrab Ahmari does have a rather serious background in many things Middle Eastern in general and Iran in particular.

The spat itself doesn't require any comments, and if you are lucky you can see it in all its glory at this link. Just to make sure it is kept for posterity, as some hilarious moments should be, here are the main three pages of it (click on each to read comfortably).

Update: This one deserves a special mention, and it is missing in the above:

@SohrabAhmari Sohrab to be fair to @NYTimesCohen he saw the green revolution and spoke to at least 3-4 taxi drivers through his interpreter

— Niv (@nivedry) May 13, 2016

Yep.

No platform policy, equal rights, idiocy and students

Reading the news items about the unending stream of political and other shenanigans by the modern students, one has to pinch oneself every few minutes to make sure one is not dreaming himself into a lala land. That feeling of unreality is, probably, our defense mechanism when coping with stuff like this.

Just to make sure the innocent reader knows what it is about: "no platform policy", as defined by the students means that a person planning to make a speech at a students' gathering will be checked in advance and, in case the person's political and other beliefs clash with what the students' governing body believes in, such person will be not allowed to speak. Welcome to the new era of youngsters' freedom of speech.

And here is a timeless passage from one of the typical representatives of the above mentioned students' governing body.

Richard Brooks, NUS vice president union development, explained the union’s stance, saying: “There are six organisations on the NUS no platform list.

“This is very different to a safe space policy which is based on the idea that every single person has freedom of speech and everyone has equal right to freedom of speech, however some people have more equal rights than others.

“We’re making sure marginalised groups get their views heard.

“Both of those policies are democratically decided. They are not a part of a wider debate around censorship.

“I think everyone has freedom of speech but people’s platforms are different.”

To repeat for those who think they misread it:

...some people have more equal rights than others.

You are making history, Richard. Stalin would have been proud of you and Orwell is vigorously turning in his grave. Smile, ijit!

Richard smiles.

Update: the video recording of that dumbo: