In the News - April 10, 2014 edition

The following are my reactions to a variety of recent news stories I've recently read on-line. Any quotations below are not cited as to source, but did appear in the original news stories or in comments posted by others.

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ONE:

Massing troops isn't the world's greatest idea. That's what we have tactical nuclear warheads for. Sure, they could retaliate. But will they want to go tit for that tat? I suppose it's a matter of who blinks first - or who makes the first mistake. But if you've got a military, you've got to be prepared to use it - and any of its variety of weapons. Whoever is playing this chess game better be sure he sees 20 moves ahead to his opponent's 19. In any event, if Russia goes into eastern Ukraine, I'm sure we won't do a thing about it - at least, not any military thing. We wouldn't want to seem provocative.

TWO:

Let's do right by the Stand Your Ground laws. Allow every soldier in Ft. Hood to carry a weapon. Everybody knows that guns in the hands of good guys will keep things under control. Or maybe not. How long before Hood would turn into a ghost town?

THREE:

And then you get some bimbo named Lorde who puts out a CD called "Pure Heroine." I'm sure she'd be the first to say, "Oh, THAT'S not what I meant." But I'm sure that's exactly what she meant. Stop glorifying drug culture.

FOUR:

David Letterman's retiring? Good riddance. What a blot on American culture this man has been for decades, acting the role of buffoonish retard. Oh, wait, maybe he wasn't acting.

FIVE:

"Pistorius insisted that he accidentally fired the four shots.." Why didn't he further remove himself from responsibility by saying, "My gun prematurely ejaculated four bullets..."

SIX:

Containment by the USA isn't General Chang's biggest concern. It's how to contain China's increasingly restless middle and lower classes who are getting fed up with upper class corruption. How to oust the Russian occupiers of government buildings in eastern Ukraine? Simple - starve them out.

SEVEN:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is over-rated as an economic indicator. Think back to when it first broke 1,000. Are you making 16+ times more now than you made then?

EIGHT:

The arrogance of our Constitutional authors (many of them low-life, slave-owning hypocrites) is glaringly obvious in that they posited ways the Constitution could be amended, but did not say how it could be totally replaced. We-the-People have the right to replace it, in spite of the blatherings of morons who claim it must stand for eternity. The dead do not have the right to rule the living.

NINE:

If the hardline Jewish settlers have that much piss and vinegar flowing in their veins, they should be immediately drafted into the IDF.

TEN:

Russia should be terrified of separatist movements. But instead it tries to sow the seeds of separation in another country – Ukraine. How ironic that Russia, creator of the all-are-equal “Communist Man,” should now emphasize distinctions such as language, national origin, tribe, etc. But even back in the day, when the Warsaw Pact nations were firmly under Russia's control, the non-Russians in the USSR knew that some people were created more equal than others (thanks for the term, George Orwell). All they had to do was look at the party bosses whose palatial dachas they could only dream about. Say, someone should post a picture of Putin's digs – I'm sure they're rather palatial – considering some things never change.

ELEVEN:

Now that the wealthy campaign donors can buy more speech, doesn't that diminish (or, as the First Amendment puts it, "abridge") the speech rights of everyone else? To use another comparison: Rich donors having the "right" to buy more speech (or venues from which to project it) gives them the "right" to restrain competition in the marketplace of ideas - an illegal monopoly of sorts. Where are the trust busters when we need them?

TWELVE:

It's time to go the other way. Tell Japanese leaders, "We're cutting you off. It's time you formed local defense alliances to deal with China. And acquire nukes if you so desire by opting out of the NPT via the Article X loophole."

THIRTEEN:

"...Bennett, who is head of the ultra-nationalist Jewish Home party..." If one is an ultra-nationalist or even just a run-of-the-mill ordinary nationalist, one cannot be a Jew. People like Bennett will assume a mandate, in the name of "Israel as homeland for the Jews," to start a massive expulsion of non-Jews in the not-too-distant future.

FOURTEEN (in three parts):

[This was my opening salvo.]

Diplomatic recognition should not be the sole province of the President. This should be considered a form of treaty, which the Constitution clearly says involves the advice and consent of the Senate

[Someone responded with this.]

We don't recognize states through treaties therefore that part of the Constitution doesn't. In order to negotiate a treaty you must first give them Diplomatic recognition otherwise they couldn't sign a treaty with us.

[Here's my response.]

Where, in the Constitution, does it say (as you claim), “...you must first give them Diplomatic recognition...”?

Treaties are contracts between sovereign entities, so it doesn't matter if one of those entities isn't formally recognized by the other. If the President (with concurrence of the Senate) agrees that a treaty should be made with such an unrecognized entity, that treaty becomes law. Especially if that unrecognized entity decides to also sign off on the treaty.

If a treaty is signed off by the President and Senate but later the President decides to void diplomatic recognition of that entity, that won't allow the US to escape its obligations under that treaty.

A treaty is an understanding between sovereignties. So something as basic as diplomatic recognition should not be in the hands of one man – the President. You are right, though, that (historically speaking) “We don't recognize states through treaties...” But that doesn't make such recognition Constitutionally right.

Here's a good illustration of this principle: Article 2, Section 3 states, “...[the President] shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers...” That morphed into: “...The President has discretion as to whether or not to receive...” Historically, the President has been allowed to use his discretion. But the Constitution says, “..he shall receive.” Tell me, when the Commandment says, “Though shalt not steal,” does that mean we have discretion or that we're being directed toward some specific action?

FIFTEEN (in three parts):

[Here's my opening salvo.]

Being a Zionist means never having to say you're sorry - but it does mean saying how much the world owes them. They know the Almighty won't grant them any special favors - so they hound the world. As for building because there's a housing shortage in Israel, they could build elsewhere within Israel - say within the pre-67 border area. Maybe the UN should just seize Jerusalem, declaring it to be an international city. Yeah, that's extreme. But it seems the Zionists are inviting extreme reactions. We'll see.

[Someone responded with this.]

There is no such thing as the "pre-67 border area. You must be either quite dumb or quite ill with the JewHates disease. No borders. Merely now ancient cease-fire lines when the battles ended. That is all those "non-borders" are. Are you merely stupid or are you mentally ill?

Let's translate: being a proponent of Jewish Nationalism means never having to say you're sorry. Sorry for what? That would apply to Russian, American, Brazilian, German, French, Chinese, Japanese, etc., etc. nationalism. You have no point to make here. As a Jew, I can state with authority that this "world" of which you speak is a fiction. We survived everything that this "world" threw our way, survived it, prospered, and now control our own destiny. That is what you just cannot stand.

Too f#cking bad for you, a##hole.

[Here's my response.]

I was speaking in virtual terms when mentioning the “pre-67 border area.” Seeking a brand of Nationalism is unbecoming for any religion. But Judaism has degenerated so badly from its connection to Allah (yeah, I thought I'd toss that in, even though I'm a Buddhist) that it should be called Judy-ism instead. As in Punch and Judy. Meaning: Not a whole lot going on that's sophisticated, but good for a laugh.

The Jews will not become a light among the nations – they're too petty and self-absorbed with their tribalism to rise so nobly. To be sure, there's a lot of nationalism/tribalism running around. Which is why I renounced my US citizenship 3 years ago. Couldn't stand the hubris. I do have “a point to make here.” To wit: Nationalism is the single greatest threat to world peace, bar none. And the Zionists will do nothing about that.

You might have survived everything this world threw at you (though not without help from the outside), but you won't survive your own infighting. You say you're a Jew? There are Jews who will claim you're not – check out “Jew vs. Jew” for the back story on that. As for mental illness, please. Any faith that can venerate a man (Abraham) who would have murdered his own son (ending up, instead, murdering an innocent ram on the presumption that Allah likes meat) has much negative karma in its blood.

My advice to you? Question your faith and grow.

SIXTEEN:

RE: Congressman Vance McAllister - who boasts of having Christian values:

First, the Congressman must resign his office. And only after that, ask for forgiveness. Without the resignation, his contrition is only just words. Which is what his original values schtick was all about anyway. Swallow your pride, Congressman and resign.

SEVENTEEN:

"We don't want a film [such as Russell Crowe's "Noah") that could provoke controversies and negative reactions." Or a film that could inspire people to think. I'm sure the Malaysian and Indonesian Muslims wouldn't want to hear that God is only one bodhisattva among untold trillions who want to become fully-enlightened buddhas. If they can't handle Russell Crowe as Noah, they couldn't handle God as being "merely" God.

EIGHTEEN:

Memo to USA'ers after their revolution: Remember to oust all sitting federal judges. Replace them with, at the very least, law school graduates of the last five years in the top 5% of their classes. Keeping a judiciary appointed by the last corrupt leader (Mubarak, in the case of Egypt) was a critical error.

NINETEEN:

The ancient Patriarch Abraham was a mentally ill man who was ready to murder his own son - but ended up instead murdering a defenseless ram. Ah, yes...everybody forgets about the ram. By what perverted thinking could anyone believe the Lord favors the offering of slaughtered animals? All of the Abrahamists are wrong - only Buddhism is correct in its worldview and pathway to salvation. Everything else is mere tribalistic expression.

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Steven Searle, Just Another Member of the

Virtual Sangha of the Lotus and former candidate for

President of the United States of America (in  2008 & 2012)

Contact me at bpa_cinc@yahoo.com