UKRAINE--IS THE DARK SIDE STRONGER?

"No, no, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive," says Yoda. As Russian thugs try to use fear to trigger anger and aggression, what can we do?

Too many people in this world are beating people with billy clubs, blowing up or kidnapping school children, using evil ways to try to force others into obedience.

I believe that the forces of goodness and light will win over the forces of evil and dark.

It is way too quick and easy to blow up and kill people. What is hard is helping a baby grow into an adult or building a building or a bridge or roads.

Unfortunately, the Nazis have totally tarnished the word fascist. So I am going to call these evil people "BOORS".

BOORS are the kind of people who use intimidation rather than persuasion. If they do try to persuade people, they tell deliberate lies.

SO WE TELL THE TRUTH, use economic pressure, and treat the boors with the contempt that they deserve.

Right now, my only advice to the Ukrainians, is that they should VOTE. All that happens when good people boycott bad elections is that the bad people believe that they have more power.

RACIST CLIPPERS OWNER

If you REALLY want to send a message to the NBA, DO NOT WATCH THE CLIPPERS GAMES. In professional sports, IT IS THE TV REVENUES THAT ARE BIG BUCKS.

Do not ATTEND the Clippers playoff games, do not WATCH the Clippers playoff games on either TV or the internet. When advertising revenues drop, the NBA should pay attention.

BTW, while you are not watching sports teams owned by racists, do not forget to not watch the Washington Red****s.

Let major league sports know that overt racism is not acceptable in the US.

'LITTLE GREEN MEN'

Eastern Ukrainians are calling the camouflaged Russians 'little green men'. IMHO this is a Ukrainian FOLKLORE INSULT.

Such an insult serves two purposes.

If you do not understand the nature of the insult, you are NOT from East Ukraine. Local folktales and legends can be specific to an area. Questioning locals about such folklore can result in the tallest of tall tales. In the American West, the jackalope is a good example of this.

The locals are able to get away with an extreme insult. All they have to do is say, "But it just means alien, like in the movies."

I am very proud of Ukraine for doing its very best to act with wisdom, rather than with fear. Russia needs the Ukrainians to act with fear, because fear is the only thing that makes smart people collectively act with stupidity and violence.

MURDERING SLAVERS

The criminals who call themselves Boko Haram have kidnapped 129 schoolgirls to be their slaves*. They also left a hole in the road where a bus used to be.

Boko Haram uses Islam as an excuse for kidnap, rape, and murder. 

The truth is that they are insane criminals who use fear in an attempt to avoid the consequences of their horrible crimes.

They have to kidnap girls, because no girl is stupid enough to marry these insane criminals. 

They say that Islam allows them to kidnap and/or kill anyone who tries to get a Western education. Islamic leaders need to make public statements about how Islam does NOT justify criminals.

Both Islam and the Eastern Orthodox Church need to STOP BEING PART OF THE PROBLEM AND START BEING PART OF THE SOLUTION.

*Last I checked, 45 girls had escaped, leaving 88 girls enslaved.

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HAVE A PEACEFUL HOLIDAY

Much of the world is celebrating Passover and Easter this week. It is very unusual for Jews, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and Western Christians, to celebrate these holidays at the same time.

Perhaps it is a sign that all of us should respect each other and live in peace.

I have often thought that the statement, "The meek shall inherit the Earth," means that people who learn to live together in peace will be the only people left on Earth.

In order to live in peace, you need to allow each person to make their own decisions regarding religion.

In order to live in peace, we have to respect each human for who they are. It should not matter whether you are female, are male, are transsexual, have dark skin, have pink skin, are young, are old, are quick, are slow. We are all people and each of us has something to contribute to our world.

EMOTIONS OVER BRAINS

I believe that Putin has hired the same PR firm that convinced the US to invade Iraq. Please, Russians, do NOT fall for the propaganda that will result in more poverty for the Russian people.

Please look at only THREE FACTS.

1. Normal protesters do NOT wear flack jackets and carry assault rifles.

2. Normal protesters do NOT go after police stations until they control the streets.

3. If there are only a few protesters, then the photo will be taken by a photographer standing in the street. If there are a LOT of protesters, then the photo will be a shot taken from a tall building. No Eastern Ukraine protest photos have been taken from tall buildings.

Most of the US believed Bush. THE RESULT WAS A WORLD WIDE DEEP RECESSION.

If Russia believes Putin, Russia will endure YEARS OF POVERTY for all but Putin's close friends.

ONLY YOU CAN STOP THIS INSANITY.

FRENCH WISDOM

France has said that workers do NOT have to deal with work emails during time off. The question is, why is this headline news? NONE of us should respond to work emails during our off hours. Working all the time makes people CRAZY.

I almost NEVER deal with ANY emails during off hours.

I am grateful for my iPhones email capabilities as there are some people who like using dirty tricks, and an email warning of a dirty trick is useful. Luckily, I can usually judge when a dirty trick is coming at me, so I check my emails during such critical times.

IMHO, in California, you have to be paid for FOUR HOURS each time your employer requires you to deal with an email during your time off. IMHO, for hourly employees, an email that you have to deal with is exactly the same as calling someone into work. And for that, you must be paid for a minimum of four hours.

WE ARE NOT SLAVES. Do not allow your employer to take advantage of your addiction to techie toys.

DIXIE CHICKS AND PUSSY RIOT

In the US, when the Dixie Chicks told the truth, Republicans borked* them, and their record sales plummeted. In Russia, when Pussy Riot insulted** Putin, one of the women was sent to a Stalinist Soviet Era reeducation camp.

Using the excuse of meeting sewing goals, the woman was starved, endured wet and cold, was sleep deprived, and had her sewing machine broken to ensure more punishment. You really need to read her account.

I do not understand why anyone in Ukraine would prefer to be treated as Pussy Riot was treated. Most people in Eastern Ukraine moved there so that they would no longer be in Russia. Now some men, who look military trained, are trying to have another province live under Russian control.

If you live in the Ukraine because you wanted to avoid Stalinist labor camps, YOU NEED TO TELL YOUR STORY. By making Russia romantic, you have made your grandchildren vulnerable to Russian propaganda. ONLY YOU can correct this problem. TELL YOUR FAMILY OF THE CONSTANT FEAR YOU FELT WHEN YOU LIVED IN RUSSIA.

* to bork means to smear a political opponent.

** Pussy Riot sang a punk rock song in a Russian cathedral. The song is purported to have insulted Putin. Putin then pretended that he was concerned that the Russian Orthodox Church had been insulted. We all know how much former KGB agents care about the Russian Orthodox Church.

CHEERLEADER MINIMUM WAGE

The NFL cheerleaders do NOT have to beg for minimum wage. All they have to do is join the Screen Actors Guild. Then they can sit back and let one of the most powerful unions on the planet insist that their members get paid for rehearsals, performance and residuals.

I see no reason that cheerleaders can not be defined as performers, as they do perform in front of an international audience.

I would also advise the Washington Red***** to change their name. Moral is an important part of having a winning team. If even one critical player is secretly ashamed of  his team name, it will affect team moral.

No amount of charitable contributions can wipe out the continuing use of a racial epitaph.