An Insulting Caricature of Barack Obama Caused a Scandal in the USA

US President Barack Obama (1961- )

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Both Democrats and Republicans condemned a caricature of American President Barack Obama. The radical image was on a billboard in the city of Grand Junction CO. Obama was depicted in four guises:

• as a suicide bomber
• as a gangster with a cigar
• as a Mexican bandit
• as a homosexual

The four characters are shown playing poker surrounded by rats and vultures, and the inscription above them reads, “The Voice of the Democrats. Join the game”. The creators of the ad used a play on words. They employed rats, and “rat” is part of the word “Democrat”.

Martell Daniels, the Chairman of the Mesa County Democratic Committee, stated in an interview with the Grand Junction Sentinel that such disrespect for the president goes beyond mere political correctness. In addition, he saw racist and anti-gay themes in the poster. Interestingly enough, the head of the Mesa County Republican Committee, Chuck Pabs, also denounced the poster, describing its content as “offensive”, calling it a foolish and childish criticism of [Obama’s] political position.

Journalists discovered that an artist named Paul Snouver drew the caricature of Obama, but his employer remains unknown. The artist refused to identify them, saying he wasn’t authorised to do so now, and the owner of the billboard took a similar position, refusing to name the person or organisation who hired the advertising space. Previously, a billboard depicting a US President became a cause of scandal, in July 2010, in Iowa, a billboard with a displayed a picture of the President Obama surrounded by Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin. The inscription on the billboard read, “Radical leaders prey on the frightened and naïve”. So-called “Tea Party” activists placed the poster, but both Democrats and Republicans criticised it mercilessly, which led to its subsequent removal, Lenta.ru wrote.

15 October 2010

Voice of Russia World Service

http://rus.ruvr.ru/2010/10/15/26176359.html

Editor’s Note:

This is a good time to speak of the limits that journalists place upon themselves in reporting the news. Take the current situation in the Church, for instance. There are those who demand that we repeat the clericalist party line, “be nice”, or be silent (“for the good of the church”). There are two words for such people. They’re rude, so, skip the next paragraph, if you’re squeamish.

To wit, UP YOURS!

However, there are limits. One shouldn’t intrude into private areas. For instance, there are those who want to know if this or that individual is homosexual, or, whether this or that priest’s kid has done something ghastly. In the first case, it’s none of our business if it’s a layperson… unless there’s paedophilia or sexual assault involved, intimate affairs are best kept private. In the second instance, it’s obvious that a child’s doings don’t reflect on their parents… grownup kids do the screwiest things (the person who keeps trying to tell me about a particular loudmouth priest should knock it off… yes, he’s a pain in the bum, but his son’s doings have nothing to do with it).

I believe that we should be free in our expression and that it’s healthier for us “as Church” to let it all hang out. However, there are some limits, and I believe that the two cases delineated above are merely good sense. In this, I think that there’s a simple rule… if it doesn’t involve the “public persona” of a clergyman, don’t run it (there’s interesting stuff on Iggy, for instance… but it doesn’t involve his public role, so, I classify it as chitchat). These guys take a public stance on morality… ergo, it’s not wrong for us to expect them to uphold it, at least as far as their duties are concerned (that is, it’s WRONG for a priest to live 120 kilometres from his parish, and it’s RIGHT to comment on it).

As far as the Obama caricature is concerned, does it truly surprise one? The Tea Party is a bunch of unwashed nativist yahoos, “Know-Nothings” (and they’re PROUD of it, unbelievably). It shows you what they’re made of… you know what to do in November!

BMD

Government Sources Say Lukashenko didn’t Discuss the Possibility of an Autocephalous Byelorussian Church with Patriarch Bartholomew

Byelorussian President Aleksandr Lukashenko (1954- )

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In Minsk, sources in the Byelorussian government said that reports that Byelorussian President Aleksandr Lukashenko discussed the possibility of an autocephalous Byelorussian Church with the Patriarch Bartholomew Archontonis during his recent visit to Turkey were absurd and provocative. Vladimir Makei, the head of the Byelorussian Presidential Administration, told Interfax, “Regularly, reports appear in the Russian media that are nothing but vile provocations, and such stories are appearing more frequently. Frankly speaking, Byelorussians laugh out loud at these flocks of informational ‘canards’ dropped upon Byelorussia by Russian ‘hunters’, and they think that any day without such ‘canards’ is blah and boring. Yesterday, it was lies that President Aleksandr Lukashenko was considering the possibility of leaving the Customs Union, CSTO, and other integration structures, or stories about our non-recognition of the Russian presidential election; today, it’s fibs that Byelorussian Orthodox Church intends to secede from the MP; tomorrow, it’ll be tales that pig squeals in Byelorussia are such an annoyance to Russians that it’s killing them”.

“As for the absurd allegations about talks between President Lukashenko and Patriarch Bartholomew for the establishment of an autocephalous [Byelorussian Church], Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all the Russias was aware of the planned visit of our President to Turkey and personally blessed the meeting between him and Patriarch Bartholomew. If you’ve heard anything else, it’s nothing but hearsay”, Mr Makei summed up. Commenting on the meeting of President Lukashenko with Patriarch Bartholomew, the press service of the Byelorussian Church told us, “Such speculative questions are irrelevant to the real life of the Byelorussian Orthodox Church”.

14 October 2010

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=37785

Editor’s Note:

Hmm… methinks the maiden doth protesteth too muchly! Firstly, most of the reportage concerning Lukashenko and Bart came from the Greek press, obviously planted by factions in the EP, not the Russian press. Secondly, Bart’s not above pulling a fast one… but KMG got wind of this, and he threatened to pull Bart’s allowance… all the noise of inter-Orthodox amity is pure wind, stuff n’ nonsense at best.

There’s going to be an Inter-Orthodox Council in 2013? People such as Kevin Allen had better blow the wax outta their ears… Chambésy’s been closed down because the Greek government pulled the funding… and there’s no “agreement” between the EP and MP about the diaspora, either. There was nothing from the confab at Peredelkino to support such a vacuous assumption… it’s nothing but a groundless rumour floated by the SVS Renovationists, seconded by GOA sources (mostly airy-fairy ivory tower sorts from Holy Cross).

In short, KMG won this one… as did Dmitri Anatolyevich too. Whatever happened behind the scenes, Russia won, and won big time. Shall there be an actual federation between Russia, Byelorussia, and the Ukraine? Only time will tell… but the signs are good, aren’t they?

BMD

15 October 2010. Gleanings From My Mailbag…

Editor’s Foreword:

As per usual, I have removed all tell-tales from correspondence. A REAL journalist protects her sources, and that’s that. Anything in italics is from others; anything in normal type is me.

BMD

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Yes, it does FEEL hopeless… but the charade can’t continue much longer. They’re running out of money! If Bart felt the pinch and had to go to Papa Kirill for a handout, you can be sure that his American cousins are in the same boat (if not worse). Remember, all we get here is spun and managed “news”… that’s why I keep on, keepin’ on. I get more hits than any of the Renovationists do… that has to mean SOMETHING. As they say on the other side, “Keep your pecker (nose) up!” Smile… that’s what really riles ‘em.

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There are two people to watch… Archbishop Mark Golovkov and Fr Vsevolod Chaplin. They took over parts of the DECR that were taken away from the Wonder in March ’09 (they used to be in the DECR under KMG). The Wonder isn’t in view… no data… no conclusion. Note well that none of the loudmouth American “experts” (both OCA and ROCOR) wants us to know that KMG gutted the DECR last year.

Look at ‘em being in orgasm over that crank “Orthodox Census”… I saw the flaws from the top… the author gave SCOBA what they wanted, after all, and left enough telltales to explode the credibility of that crook tale. The GOA increased by 40 percent, yet the total number of Orthodox fell by 16 percent. It’s time to put Russian Orthodox UNITY on the table. There’s going to be NO “Pan-Orthodox” Archdiocese, not in our lifetime… the GOA won’t have it.

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These people are ignorant, and revel in their ignorance. Greed destroys both souls and nations. “Free capitalism” and “entrepreneurialism” are simply euphemisms for greed. The deregulation implemented under Reagan, and perpetuated by every administration since, should be a source of shame to all. It’s frankly disgusting. Thus, the New Roman aristos enjoyed their vastly increased and increasing wealth whilst the empire crumbled around them, until the day when the Turks came for their wealth, their lands, their children, and their heads!

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So, what? It means nothing. The OCA is a meaningless and expendable pawn in the Great Game with the EP… everyone of consequence knows that. It’ll go if it suits KMG and Bart… after all, there’s no territorial Local Church in the Americas, and the Centre DOESN’T support the OCA’s claims to be such. Moscow and Bart claim that for themselves.

I guess His Holiness is just playing by the rules, knowing that the laws of gravity are working in his favour. I think/hope/pray that, eventually, if ROCOR, MP (USA), and (the healthy parts of the) OCA join up, then, the MP will be in a position to offer a serious proposal for the future of the Church in the US, under the guidance and leadership of the MP.

Don’t forget… the MP closed out the OCA from Laurus’ funeral and the Unity Service in ’08. Don’t be fooled by the Blunder’s press releases… after two fulsome releases by Zenit and Asia News, KMG took him out to the woodshed. In ’89, everyone was expecting Denisenko to get the funny white hat, as he was the closest confidant of Nikodim Rotov… Aleksei Rediger got it instead (here’s some trivia… Rotov, Rediger, and Denisenko were all born in 1929… they were colleagues, Rediger and Denisenko weren’t protégés of Rotov). So… be calm and OBSERVE. Watch real people such as Mark Golovkov, Andrei Kuraev, and Vsevolod Chaplin… not flashy phonies such as the Wonder.

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If we forget Eric [Iliff]… God should punish us for our evil.

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I think that the crisis is upon us… however, it could take as long as 18 months to 2 years to play out to the end (probably not, but, the konvertsy, apparatchiki, ecumaniacs, and SVSers shall circle the wagons). It’s sad how factions in the ROCOR are backing the OCA paedophiles. However, it’s only the setting aside of masks to reveal true faces… and that’s a GOOD thing (it is… truly, it is). WHY?

Spineless and disgusting… exactly… haven’t they heard of defrocking? There’s also the option of reporting him to the police for trial. Apparently, they knew all about Storheim for years, and never did anything… apart from promoting him. Don’t these people have any principles?

Rejoice! He thinks he’s scot-free. On the contrary, he’s really out of the frying pan and into the fire. He might have to get a real job now.

Keep the faith… it’s kinda hot in the kitchen, isn’t it? Did you see that joint OCA-ROCOR pow-wow? Let me tell ya, Hilarion Kapral is at the Centre for the Holy Synod meeting. If ever there was a “bad” time for this to happen to JP, it’s now. To be sure, Lyonyo and Sasha (Kishkovsky and Lebedeff) ginned up this meeting… they’re going down, and they’re running scared (they’re shitting their skivvies in fright, dear). Shall there be a good end to all of this? I don’t know. All the same, if we withhold our money, it’ll make the whole creaky edifice fall all the sooner.

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I reach more people than Stokoe or Matthewes-Green do. Yes, people write me and tell me how my Tea Party coverage helped them to make up their minds. I’m not alone! You saw that video of Beck’s little soirée in Jersey… almost no one showed up and the RT crew was threatened. I think that Frank Schaeffer is right… the Tea Party is strongest where the GOP is strong anyway. Look for BO to be a two-term president and we’ll have single-payer health care before it’s over.

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You’re expectin’ ME to do something for YOU? Hey… I’ve got to save my energy for the next presbyterial senate meeting!

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My problem is that Albany is within 120 kilometres of Jordanville (a 90-minute drive) and 250 kilometres from SVS/NYC (a 2½-hour drive)… therefore, the region attracts slug clergy who are more interested in church politics than serving their parishes. That’s the way it is.

Vara’s Law nr 13: The farther away an area is from a church “centre”, the better the chance of getting a good priest. The closer it is to a “centre”, the better the chance of getting a clerical slug.

I must deal with things the way they are… and I’m trying to make the best of a bad hand. I’m not someone who deals in the airy-fairy or notional. What else can I do?

Well, you do more than make the best of a bad hand. You express your opinions as well. Too many are afraid to do that, unfortunately.

If we’re silent… they win. If we speak up… they’ll try to hurt us, sure… but they’ll have to walk more circumspectly. If we can encourage ONE person to think… that person will inspire one more… and down the line. That’s worth all the shit they throw at you! It’s NOT pleasant… no, not at all… but one can “take it” if people listen. You KNOW what I mean. I’ve sacrificed my private life… so be it… that was the cost. “Pay up or go home”… that’s my motto. Don’t complain about the price tag… freedom ain’t free.

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Does it surprise you that most of ‘em are unrepentant teabaggers? Notwithstanding, one DOES forgive (you forgive… you don’t excuse… you don’t give in). Be good, and take a healthy snort from the jug… life is NEVER boring, is it?

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I know all too well, what you’re describing. I’ve had clergy who’ve never met me lie about me, call me names, and generally call me evil. Such people are the greatest advert for atheism that exists. Here’s the scary part… they DON’T care that they turn people away in disgust. They’re “God’s little flock”, the “elect”, the “saved”… the rest of us are damned to hell unless we kiss their collective bums in public and pay up, up, up. I’m sad at this situation… and I’m mad as hell. It’s why I fight for others. I’ve been kicked in the head and it HURTS. We have a LOT of housecleaning to do… it won’t happen until we run out JP and his enablers (Peterson, Fester, Kontratick, and Behr) on a rail. Until then, “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here”.

There’s a reason why Lebedeff is backing the OCA pukes. The present apparat of the OCA and the ROCOR is in disarray and both are obviously sinking. As a local in Richfield Springs, right outside Jordanville, told me, “They lost their reason for being after the commies fell in ’91, and they haven’t found a new one yet”. The apparatchiki are circling the wagons in a final effort to save their bacon. It shan’t work. By the way, the liturgy at Orthodox Education Day shall be 07.30! I wonder why they’re having it at zero-dark-thirty? It does sound like they only want the cognoscenti there. SVS has always been an incestuous and navel-gazing crew… is this a surprise? It’s saddening to have to say that it isn’t. I don’t enjoy reporting “bad news”… but I do report “what’s there”. Crank world, ain’t it? Be good and pass me the jug.

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Between you and me, there’s NO intellectual integrity at all in the “conservative”, “neocon”, “Tea Party” movement. It’s profoundly anti-Christian. A Christian has the DUTY to expose this… and expose it LOUDLY. They’re nothing but nihilistic lucre-loving opportunists (they’re not the affluent effluent for nothing, dear), when you come down to it.

I think that you’re still uncomfortable with my “loud n’ proud” style… you should see the columnists in KP… an American analogue would be the New York Post (someone like the feisty centre-liberal Andrea Peyser). They’re “out there” and don’t mind bringing out the knuckledusters and coshes (you should see ‘em when they beat up the local equivalent of Bobby K… they coined the name “Dmitri Banditsky” for one of the sleazier bishops). Ideologically, we’re on different planets. I know that… and make allowances for it. Not all media discourse is “nice”… it can get “hot” in this particular kitchen! Yet… friendship is not founded on “sameness”… it’s founded on “respect”. We’ll NEVER agree on some things. I even understand that you can “preach” from time to time… it’s part of your mindset. I accept and love you for what you are… ALL that you are. God willing, you can say the same of me. That’s the only thing that matters in the end, is it? Be good… and love your family (and do tell them that… they’re not mind readers).

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I’ve always been curious about what sort of work you might do, since this seems to take a terrible lot of time. Not trying to be nosy, just wondering…

I keypunch tax forms… as for the time I spend on this… it depends on my free time. Besides, I can make a keyboard SING… I do use all ten fingers, so, the typing doesn’t take long. As for your compliment, it’s how I feel… if we “enable” crank clergy, it scandalises people, drives them away from Christ, and straight into atheism. I’ve seen it too many times. Valencia has a good deal of company, sadly enough. We mustn’t be quiet! I shall be able to stand before God and say, “I WASN’T quiescent!”

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Tea Party Isn’t “Competitive”… It’s Racist and Pro-Oligarchic, Pumped Up by the Corporate Media… WHY?

Here’s an x-ray of the brain of the journalist who wrote the piece referenced below. Why did I think that you’re not surprised?

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Read this shameless and lying abomination of desolation:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101015/ap_on_el_ge/us_tea_party_elections

Get a load of this:

The tea party has proven it’s no flash in the pan.

On the contrary, that’s exactly what it’s proven to be in all but the most rock-ribbed GOP areas. There isn’t a mass of angry voters out there… polls consistently show that the Tea Party only has the support of 18 percent of the voters… mostly white, mostly male, mostly Sectarian, and mostly “Southern”. These people would’ve voted Republican anyway. At least, the journalist was honest enough to admit that the teabaggers were competitive in only about three dozen races. That’s hardly a groundswell. How many of that number are Republican districts, anyway? Hmm… that’s not given, so, it must be a substantial number. What will defeat most ‘baggers is that blacks and the Spanish-speaking are uniformly and consistently opposed to their smarmy racist rhetoric. Most white folks are opposed to ‘em, too, especially working people, who see through their quasi-religious and pseudo-patriotic smokescreen… they see that the ‘baggers are “of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich”.

Gennady Zyuganov (1944- ), the head of the KPRF in the Orthodox chapel in the Russian Embassy in Beijing… he doesn’t look like a “commie zombie” to me! Reflect on this… the “commie zombies” are in the Church… the teabaggers are Sectarian louts who hate the Church… that’s NOT chopped liver.

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I was reading an Orthodox clergyman’s blog where he was defending these creepozoids. I would remind him that His Holiness believes entrepreneurial capitalism is a fraud. He also spoke of “commie zombies”… I would remind him that those “commie zombies” stood up for the canonical Church, defending it from schismatic and Uniate foes in the Ukraine. Indeed, the local equivalent of the Tea Party was attacking the Church, whilst the “commie zombies” stood tall in its defence (and the bishops of the Church were duly grateful that they did so… it isn’t your dede’s Communist Party… they’ve learnt their lesson). Orthodoxy doesn’t endorse the far-right lunacy of the Tea Party… it stands foursquare against it. Don’t forget the history of the Orthodox in America. Russian and Greek Orthodox people were in the forefront of the labour movement… we wuz feisty and we won! The Tea Party wants to undo EVERYTHING that our dedes and babas (and iaias and papous) fought for. Don’t spit on your ancestor’s graves… don’t vote for the Tea Party… that’s inexcusable.

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Friday 15 October 2010

Albany NY