Is that the kind of Democracy the US likes to export to all nations?

It sucks.

Click image for more alpine smacking power …

Actually the whole of Bavaria is a secret fetish nation. We are deeply into leather and pain - as the document above perfectly demonstrate.

Music, dance, Lederhosen and a good "Watschn" is all we need to enjoy ourselves …

*Thanks to Edosan for that historical image*

I have no problems eating animals. Many of them can be very yummy. But I do hate animal cruelty against pets and "food". There is NO reason to cause these creatures any unnecessary pain, even when we kill them to eat them.

I especially despise people who buy animals as pets and simply "dispose" them when they are bored with them. Next time buy a Tamagotchi instead - in that case you waste only the batteries life instead of a real one.

Sometimes Sink-or-Swim is not the best way "to get your feet wet". Harsh and unforeseen "learning moments" are often unavoidable, but they should be avoided.

But sometimes "fear" needs  to be overcome as well, so a little push is oke … but not an emotional execution!

Looking at cool guns can be pretty exciting.

Looking at the effects of cool guns on other people can be pretty scary. 

Overall handguns are not made to protect people, but shot them. A bullet does not protect, but injure and kill.

Here is a troubling image: Chinese soldiers carrying monk robes - why? I am pretty sure they are not going to a fancy dress party or converting to Buddhism. So why are these guys haven ALL shaved heads (short hair is normal in the military, but all freshly shaved?) and carrying these robes?

I wouldn’t be surprised if China would be pushing the truth on the propaganda front to make the monks looks as like “aggressors”.

Does anyone know the story behind this?

Keith Olbermann once again points out the truth: the US Goverment made huge efforts to legalize their perverse desires and allow torture again as a means of interrogation.

It is such a sad story.

Prison life is NOT a cool hip-hop video …

It is no secret that prisons in many countries are literally exploding with inmates. The US has one of the biggest prison populations on this planet (almost 2,5 million). But also Russia and China have huge numbers of people incarcerated (each over 1 million).

The numbers are huge, but the real important statistic is how many people per 100.000 citizens are locked up:

USA: 738 prisoners per 100,000
China: 701 prisoners per 100,000
Russia: 611 prisoners per 100,000
UK: 148 prisoners per 100,000
Italy: 104 prisoners per 100,000
Turkey: 91 prisoners per 100,000
Sweden: 82 prisoners per 100,000

Needless to say that the numbers of the US, China and Russia are staggeringly high and perverse. One could understand that politically depressed nations like Russia and China would be on top of this sad chart - but the US?!

While we are here, let’s start a nice prison gang to support each other later.

The main problem for such huge numbers of inmates is actually not prison, but freedom. Most of these people have a hard time getting reintegrated - and when societies imprison such huge numbers of people they also lack the funds and patience to do the necessary socialization process.

It is easier and cheaper to simply throw these “criminals” into prison again when they fail - and fail they will, because neither society nor the government is willing to invest into their “freedom”.

Build prisons, lobby for tougher laws, get loads of prisoners and loads of government money!

Security is big business these days - not just since 9/11. Prisons are money printing machines and a safe investment. Since many societies rather lock away the unwanted people instead of dealing with them prisons are booming.

So there is a huge lobby for the “security industry”, but hardly a well paid and oiled lobby for prisoners. Fighting for prisoners rights and better reintegration is a hot potato nobody likes to touch. Companies who run prisons have only an interest to make money - that is why so many things including prisons shouldn’t be privatized at all.

Plus nobody really cares what happens to minor and major criminals once they are “justly” sentenced for a few months or for life. Out of sight, out of mind.

Many countries have followed the US lead and sentence repeated offenders to harsh long time sentences or even life. The “three strikes rule” locks even minor offenders up for life or most of their young lifes. There is no interest to make them productive members of society - instead they are treated like inferior genetic material that has to be stored in a special place to keep society “healthy”.

Yeah, evil people deserve to be tortured and locked away forever - even when they are just minor offenders or mentally sick.

But torture and mistreatment of prisoners is not just happening in Iraq and secret CIA prisons. It is pretty normal in most US prisons - and obviously considered almost normal in Russia and China.

Any society has to ask itself of civilized it really is - and how it treats and “invests” in their weakest members: kids, the sick, the left behind, the hookers, the mentally retarded and those locked away.

It just shows which societies are pressuring it’s members to conformity via the law, police and the “justice” system - while others can live with offenders and differences.

The police and courts become social cleaning services - getting rid of unwanted people.

Watchamean “protect & serve”?! Serve whom?

If there is one huge difference between EU on one side  and the US, Russia and China it is this: lower prisoner rates, more social reintegration and less severe sentences for offenders. And don’t get me started on the death penalty …

It is no surprise that in many countries prisons have developed into parallel societies, where the inmates have created an alternative social system - since nobody really wants them on the outside anymore.

Sure - there will always be criminals and prisons. But such huge incarceration rates are indicators that there is something wrong with the host society - there is either political, economic or social injustice at work.

Keep Justicia smart and well funded - otherwise she might one day unjustified strike out at you …

And as much we all have to support the justice system - we also have to have an eye on injustice within our societies - because a human and fair system is something we all should aim for.

Even criminals of all ranks and deeds deserve a fair treatment, a chance to get back into society and a decent treatment while behind bars.

The criminal is the one who has misbehaved - societies should never misbehave.

Good to get some more background on the current fights in Iraq. lways worth checking out RealNews for some insights you hardly find in mass media.

This is an old report from the LA Times - but still valid. Young American soldiers and Iraqis get blown to bits.

A three part documentation about wounded American soldiers in Iraq. Harsh reality - highly recommended to see what you don’t see on mainstream television.

Another Chinese Wall at work … 

China is a police state were any form of protest gets you harsh treatment. Check!

China is run by an corrupt elite that has no liability to the law or to the people. Check!

China is a new colonial power that play dirty tricks to secure it’s resources all over the world. Check!

China is still occupying Tibet and suppressing it’s native population. Check!

China is still polluting the planet on a large scale and does give a shit about environmental protection. Check!

China is exploiting it’s own workers and people under the guise of progress and development. Check!

The great Orange Guru

It is even more shameful that so many governments and companies are sucking up to the brutal communists to get their “fair” share of the Chinese Boom. There is blood on that money and appeasement doesn’t work with these people.

China today is a huge slave labor camp. Economical progress has brought only little advancements for people’s rights, safety and education. The rule of law still isn’t there. Freedom isn’t there and Democracy isn’t there.

In all our cultures we have developed a stupid admiration for soldiers killed in combat. We call them Heroes - and give them medals posthumously and erect statues for them. This won’t save them - it only makes us fell better for sending them to death for some stupid cause.

Funny enough: we don’t have any nice words, medals or statues for civilians who were also killed (by soldiers) in a war. We consider them simply sad losses, collateral damage or simply numbers. No medals for them and no heroic tales about these poor people.

Militarism is a group psychosis to justify killing each other and give soldiers an incentive and reason to end a strangers life for abstract goals like nationalism, racism or simply greed of the ruling classes.

The Turkish invasion into Iraq is a deadly joke. Most Kurdish resistance fighters had left their hideouts anyway, because of the harsh winter in the mountains. And the attack has been expected for months - so nobody was caught in surprise.

Most of all: Turkey is lacking a big professional Army to do the task. So inexperienced conscripts are used to wage a war against experienced guerillas. Many of the first Turkish causalities have been young conscripts. The Turkish generals and politicians should be ashamed to start this war just for mostly propaganda reasons.

The overall situation is such a tragedy as well: the Kurds have been America’s ally from the very beginning in their fight against Saddam. They have suffered decades of suppression from Saddam AND Turkey. America should support these peoples struggle for their own country Kurdistan.

Instead America doesn’t want to embarrass it’s important NATO ally Turkey (who has a VERY strong lobby in the US and is also one of the few Muslim countries that supports Israel). But the US also wants the Kurds to be part of that artificial country Iraq.

The Kurds should have their own country and run their own affairs. If small Kosovo can be it’s own state, so can Kurdistan. Iran and Turkey should part their chunks of Kurdistan - so peace can be made for all.

Loads of machismo and inaptitude results in hilarious moments caught on tape. I always watch this video to reassure myself that I am not a total idiot … maybe it helps you too!?

The male of our species is … a bit odd sometimes.

At the moment the VERY painful video of Eduardo da Silva’s accident is all the rage on YouTube - and is a big hit with the kids. One has really to wonder why watching such a painful video is all the rage?

Scientists have long proven that we empathize and re-live such experiences simply by watching other humans doing (stupid) stuff. So I can only extend this idea in this way: we watch pain porn to train ourselves for such moments and try to cope with it’s consequences - even when it isn’t happening to us.

YouTube is full of fight videos that concentrate only on knock outs and bloody scenes, you can also find tons of accident and crash videos that show only the nasty bits.

Do we simply need some blood and nasty stuff from time to time? By watching terrible stuff happen to other does that help us to enjoy our less painful life?

The Serbs have not the best reputation in Europe. The bloody deeds during the wars after the fall of Yugoslavia will be forever remembered. After NATO bombed them into submission - way too late in my personal opinion - it seemed liked the Serbs are willing to break with the past and join all the other smaller Nation as part of the European Community.

But recent protests and the reemerging ugly face of Serbian nationalism makes this very doubtful. They rather join Russia instead of the EU. And I am not sure if the EU really wants them to join anyway. At the moment the EU is pretty pissed …

I always said Figure Skating needs more wrestling moves to make it appealing for guys.

The day will come when this will happen for real.

Thanks to Edosan for sharing this video.

Being  a sex slave is hardly as exciting and pleasurable as it might sound. Every year thousands of woman and children are abused this way.

BBC Essay: In search of a ‘humane’ execution

What do countries like the USA, China and Iran in common? They still believe in executing hardcore criminals - including youngsters

It is hard to believe that in our modern world people still get killed by their Governments. I am deeply against the death penalty - and it’s a good thing that the EU has abolished it.

The BBC has an interesting article (link above) that gives an insight into the search of Michael Portillo for an humane way of killing (no unnecessary pain, etc).

Socrates death was a tragic loss for Athenian culture - and still stands as a grave warning to all Democracies around the world: don’t kill your intellectuals, just because you don’t understand or appreciate them telling you the truth.

Athens just started it’s decline - it had lost the Peloponnesian War against Sparta. Socrates himself had fought for Athens and was a loyal patriot. But he also challenged the status quo of it’s society and wanted more progress. His ’smartass’ questions made the citizens of Athens more and more uneasy.

Plus Socrates had a large following of younger man and often met with them in more or less secret places to discuss their ideas. It didn’t help that some of Socrates biggest followers Alcibiades had betrayed Athens during the war with Sparta. So it was suggested that Socrates was corrupting Athens’ youth and he should therefore be punished. And Socrates challenged the religious believes of his times.

His trial was a huge event - he was judged by 500 of his fellow citizens. Socrates stuck to the truth, even mocked the jury and all the accusations instead of playing ‘nice’ and begging for mercy. He was found guilty 280 to 220. But he was still defiant. When his punishment was discussed he himself suggested being threat like an Olympic winner and given free meals (which was a great insult). So his death sentence had an even greater majority 360 to 140.

His execution was a sad affair - he refused to flee the city or take any chance to redeem himself.

We have seen the prosecution of smart wise man again and again in all cultures by kings, priests and mobs alike. Democracy is not a protection against acts of stupidity and uneducated destruction of brain power.

The curse of any great thinker will always be that his fellow citizens will be far behind him. The great publicity and admiration people like Einstein, Freud or Oppenheimer in their days was and is very unusual. Today’s bighead like Noam Chomsky and Richard Dawkins face very hostile opposition and ignorance. Once again the citizens of democratic states don’t like to be asked simple questions or have their religion challenged by ‘thinkers’ …

More? Jacques-Louis David @ Wikipedia and Socrates @ Wikipedia

Let’s get the historical facts first from Wikipedia:

Lucretia is a legendary figure in the history of the Roman Republic. Her husband was Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, son of Egerius, son of Arrus II, who was the brother of Tarquinius Priscus, their father being Demaratus the Corinthian. ^[1]

According to Livy’s version of the establishment of the Republic, the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (superbus, "the proud") who ruled from 535 BC to 510 BC, had a violent son, Sextus Tarquinius, who raped a Roman noblewoman named Lucretia.

Lucretia compelled her family to take action by gathering the men, telling them what happened, and killing herself. Lucius Junius Brutus incited the people of Rome against the royal family by displaying her body. They were impelled to avenge her, and Brutus led an uprising that drove the Tarquins out of Rome to take refuge in Etruria. The result was the replacement of the monarchy with the new Roman Republic. Among the avengers were her husband Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, ^[4] being one of the first consuls of Rome, along with Lucius Junius Brutus. They were second cousins as was Sextus Tarquinius.

So basically here we have the template for the virtuous maid or wife - who rather kills herself instead of living without honor and shame. But it also includes the motive or revenge - from one family against another.

2000 years later we still have rape within our society. It is still a most vile act and punished by law - and still in some countries woman are shamed and even killed for it.

Rape, suicide and revenge make excellent stories for artists. The story of Lucretia has been put into words, onto paint and into statues. The great William Shakespeare wrote the "The Rape of Lucrece" (here is some background to the poem).

In this series "The Story of Lucretia" you find several paintings and one statue about this tragic event. I haven’t included all artwork I found - I only wanted the most interesting pieces or have a look at well known Maestros and how they handled this ancient motive.

Part of the Art Motive Series: "The Story of Lucretia"

Click image for a MUCH larger version for more details.

Botticelli tries here to tell the story of Lucretia in three parts - but I must admit I can’t follow him. On the left section Lucretia is threatened by her rapist Sextus Tarquinius. In the middle we see obviously her funeral and public outrage. The man standing over her casket if probably Lucius Junius Brutus (no, not that Brutus who killed Caesar). And at the very right her death and discovery by her family.

The setting is certainly Roman, but the ‘costumes’ reflect more  Botticelli’s own era. Nice perspective for the architecture.

Part of the Art Motive Series: "The Story of Lucretia"

Even the great Titian had a go at the drama. I guess it must have been one of these irresistible legends you simply had to paint as an established artists. And why not? It has sex, drama, aristocracy, a damsel in distress, a virgin brutally raped and killing herself - a public outcry and attack of a noble Roman family. Who can resist that story?

I applaud Titian’s honesty in the scene - that a rape is not a charming affair. He didn’t hide the event behind some symbolism or abstraction: the rapist forcing his knee between her legs and having his hard steely dagger ready to pierce her. His red pants are on fire (more or less).

But I must say that the Lady looks a bit fat and disproportionate. Also how he holds the dagger looks a bit odd - similar to Rembrandt who also had some problems including the dagger in a way you realize it’s one and painting it dangerously.

Part of the Art Motive Series: "The Story of Lucretia"

Certainly not Rembrandt’s finest hour. It looks a bit awkward - and the dress is certainly not very Romanesque. She looks more like a Victorian Lady admiring a dagger.

Sorry for the bad image quality - anyone got a better file?

Part of the Art Motive Series: "The Story of Lucretia"