Calling the Kettle Black

There is always a certain level of unintentional humor in the words of politicians. Clinton recently criticized Trump because there was violence at his events. I decided to post an interview with this 27 year veteran of the CIA who was roughed up at a Clinton speech a few years ago. He politely turned his chair away from Clinton in silent protest. For more on this story, click here. 

The interview discusses the interesting hypothesis that the reason for the NSA spying is to provide good blackmail information. Security is not the real reason for it. 

The interview also references torture: Trump's advocacy of torture is just another reason that voting for him is contradictory to a lot of the things I value. 

Pepsi vs. Coke

Since I have been traveling this week, I have not had time for a health blog post. Today I thought I would compare Pepsi and Coke. They taste almost identical. Years ago a friend and my secretary had an ongoing argument. She used Coke, and said it tasted better. He drank Pepsi, and actually worked for a local distributor. Since she left her Coke in my refrigerator, my friend took out the Coke from her bottle and replaced it with Pepsi. She said nothing. She later claimed that she had noticed a difference. It is said that Pepsi is sweeter than Coke. (To me Diet Coke tastes better and sweeter compared to Diet Pepsi. I try to avoid both, and except while traveling, I do so.) 

So when Coke changed its formula years ago to New Coke they made it a little sweeter. The chaos that ensued was fun to watch. "It's not really Coke," it was said. It was the greatest marketing fiasco of the 20th century. Coke switched back to its original formula. (Hint, it's the vanilla.) 

I could not help thinking about the "Cola Wars" looking at the current presidential race. "Jeb is not really a Republican." "Trump is not really a conservative." It seems to me that this is like comparing Coke with caffeine-free Coke.  Sure, they are different and choosing one might, based on the time of day, be slightly important, but ultimately its still a cola. (In this analogy, Trump is definitely not caffeine-free.) 

In the fall elections you will have the choice between Pepsi and Coke. They taste almost identical and both are toxic, just like cola. There is another choice. Don't choose any cola, not even RC. 

Obama's Greatest Accomplishment?

What was Obama's greatest accomplishment? Watch these videos and decide for yourself.

"Make it a hundred...That would be fine with me." This was McCain's response to George Bush's proposal to have troops in Iraq for 50 years.



Bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran



I actually like Palin, But her as a VP is frightening.

"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending soldiers out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."



The confusion of the US with the Kingdom of God is a common evangelical heresy.

Then we have this list from 2013 of the places McCain wanted to invade.

So after considering the awfulness of past candidates, if you are considering voting for Clinton this year, you might consider this.

So what is Obama's greatest accomplishment? He isn't McCain or Clinton. That has not been enough for me to vote for him, but it is something at least. The fact that the problem of bad political leadership goes back millennia is enough to make me want to continue to reevaluate politics in general. As the beloved editor of this blog, Pam Dewey, commented to me on the current political scene in an email recently, "Stop the world, I want to get off." One way to do this is not to be political. There is no future in it.

Ukrainian Maiden Documentary

The documentary I posted last week was rather obvious in its viewpoint. This documentary was produced by the French Canal+ TV. The place I took the video from described the video this way:

Movie itself has been produced by high ranking agents of Kremlin inside of French Canal+ TV channel.

I found this rather humorous as the video was against the presence of Neo-Nazis in the Ukrainian government and the documentary only reported what was already well known. I do not think I would describe French television as a hotbed of pro-Russian activity. But yes, all documentaries are propaganda. As might be expected, this documentary was not well received by the Ukrainian government.

If you want to know who was the main driving force behind the Ukrainian revolution, watch this video.

A Documentary on Crimea

While I doubt too many will actually watch a two hour documentary in Russian with English subtitles about Crimea becoming a part of the Russian Federation, it is an interesting propaganda piece well worth the investment if one is interested in the Ukrainian situation. My own personal view is that one needs to watch all different kinds of information and viewpoints. No doubt the information here is shaded toward a "proper" view of the rejoining of Crimea with Russia, as Western news programs wish their viewers to also have a "proper" view.  

Note that the 97% vote in favor of Crimea joining is exaggerated, not through electoral fraud, but by a boycott of the election by some ethnic minorities--the Tatars in particular. This leads to the emphasis in the documentary of certain Tatars that supported the fight against the reestablishment of Ukrainian authority over Crimea. It is clear that the vast majority of Crimean citizens are totally in favor of being Russians, in fact they would say they always were.  

When I hear the US State Department comment that Crimea should be returned to Ukrainian sovereignty, I have to smile. It ain't going to happen. If you do decide to watch the documentary, that much will be clear. 

Of particular interest to me was the participation of the Cossacks in the Crimean situation, and the direct involvement of the Russian equivalent of the Hell's Angels--the Night Wolves. 

But in any event, here is the documentary.

Crimea: The Way Home - EN Subtitles - Full Documentary from Sott.net on Vimeo.