Mizozo - Your News, Argued by You!

I have been alienating this blog for quite some time and feel it necessary to explain why. Over the past year or so, the majority of my free time has been spent developing an alternative news source, Mizozo. While the site has a long way to go, primarily becuase of budget constraints, I would like to take a minute to explain the vision behind Mizozo.

With the Media spewing out propaganda in order to control the public's mind, I fealt obligated to present the people with a new avenue from which to absorb current events. Blogging is a start, but it forces readers into a single opinion, which is in and of itself a form of propaganda. Mizozo aims to deliver varying opinions and various sources to a story, ensuring that the truth exists. Using the power of people, rather than a biased editorial staff, Mizozo aims to break through the bullshit of todays media.

Mizozo has come a long way thus far, but still has a long way to go. Providing people with entertaining modules is important, but thus far we have been concentrating on content and core functionality. Now that we are confident that this aspect is ready, we are persuing the bells and whistles.

Please join the struggle on Mizozo. While registration is still currently invite-only, we do allow people to submit registration requests that we will approve eventually. We also invite people to provide feedback to improve the site's dynamic. Without the people's blessing, a website is simply a waste of space.

Quote of the Day

I care not what puppet is placed on the throne of England to rule the Empire, ... The man that controls Britain's money supply controls the British Empire. And I control the money supply.

--- Baron Nathan Mayer Rothschild

Exclusive: Ukraine Protestors Disorganized, Part 2

As the protests in Ukraine continue, it is difficult to understand the mentality of the protesters themselves. When I visited the protest site yesterday, there were very few protesters, but I was told by several people that Today the real protests would start, the demands would be set, and the government would be forced to answer.

I woke up early this morning to get ready for the show. After checking the weather, I dressed warm so that I could support the protesters throughout the day and possibly into the evening. I grabbed my camera, a little food and some bottled water. After getting ready, I decided to walk to the protests anticipating that parking would be difficult. Considering I live less than a Kilometer from the protests, it wasn't a difficult decision to make.

As I approached the protest location, my excitement grew. I could picture myself cheering on the leadership, pointing out the government's inaction, taking pictures and encouraging those around me. However, as I approached, I noticed something missing ... noise. It was extremely quiet. As I look around, I also notice that there are very few parked cars. Now I begin to have my doubts as to the size of the protests. Did the government scare them all away? Were the people worried about being arrested?

I rounded the corner and stood head on with the protesters location. As I look around I realize that there are no protesters. I simply saw a repeat of yesterday, some tents, a food cart and people signing petitions. Confused, I approached one of the tents to learn what had happened.

The first question I ask is, "What happened to the protest?" I was told that last night it was decided to delay the protest by one, so the protests would be held tomorrow. Apparently, announcements were made on local television channels, but I had missed them. While I was disappointed by the unfortunate turn of events, I decided to use this opportunity to learn a little more about the protests themselves with all my questions directed at one of the organizers.

It is important to note that within the first few questions, I was immediately under the impression that the man with whom I was speaking wasn't comfortable. Maybe it was my accent, maybe it was my camera or maybe it was my line of questions. It is difficult to tell, but my questions were intentionally very simple ... Why are you doing this? ... What do you want from the government? ... Who is organizing this? ... opinions ... thoughts ... and so on. Regardless of his personal feelings, the man answered my questions, and I was very grateful. What I learned, however, was a bit surprising.

The organizers are a little known political party known as "Rodina", translated it would be "Motherland". They claim support for Russia, the elderly, an end to corruption, and other standards that are required to gather votes. They are opposed to the oppression by the current government to quell protests, primarily because their leader is now in Kiev trying to bribe his way out of Jail. They have taken the protests under their wing in Odessa and are trying to gather the people around their cause.

I was most surprised when I asked them why they are protesting. The organizer couldn't give me a straight answer. I asked what their demands were and again no straight answer. I then asked what their hoped to achieve from the protests, thinking that maybe by rephrasing the question I may be able to get a little information, but again to no avail. I couldn't understand how the organizers were so clueless about what is going on. In effect, there was no agreed upon protest, everyone had their own personal agenda.

Shortly after I began to show confusion, an older man approached me and asked, "What would you have me do? I lost my factory job several months ago. I have no income, no savings and I need to feed my family?" I was under the impression that he felt that I am trying to stop the protests in some way, but I assured him that I sympathized with him and simply said that they need better organizers ... ones with fixed goals, and a fixed schedule. Those standing around heard what I had to say, but it seemed like I was speaking on deaf ears. These people weren't looking for order, they were looking for work. Unfortunately, their chaotic nature makes it virtually impossible for the government to meet a fixed set of demands.

With this completely disorganized group of protesters, I am in shock that the government is putting so much effort into stopping them. I understand maintaining the peace, but I don't think the government has anything to fear from this group. When it was simply the Lorry Drivers, they had fixed demands. Now that the group has grown, and a political party is taking them under their wing, there is no fixed demands list. I am sure that if the government simply stayed out of their way, keeping them from hurting one another as well as state property, the protests would end out of boredom.

I plan to visit once more tomorrow to see if the protests will happen this time. Maybe by tomorrow the organizers will have a plan, a set list of demands, or something resembling order. My confidence is waning, but maybe a good speaker will show up to rally the crowd. I guess I will find out tomorrow.

Echoed on Mizozo

Ukrainian Protests Being Suppressed, Part 1

As had been reported earlier numerous times, Ukraine is greatly suffering during this financial crisis. The Hrivna is collapsing, the people's support for President Viktor Yushchenko has dropped from 4% to 1.5%, protests gripping are the country and a great deal more. A normal government, such as the USA and most European governments, do what they can to appease the people. They listen to the people's complaints, often in the form of protests, and try to accommodate their people's needs. Not in Ukraine!

As reported last week, Lorry Drivers started protesting and the government clamped down on them. The Lorry Driver's protest started because the Financial Crisis has eliminated their source of income. But, this is only the beginning.

The fact is, all European and American Lorries are purchased with US Dollars. Since most Lorry Drivers do not have enough spare cash to purchase a Lorry outright, they all received loans. The problem begins with the fact that their loans are in US Dollars. Now that the Hrivna has dropped in value almost 50%, the Lorries have literally doubled in cost. Without steady deliveries, the Drivers don't know what to do.

The story gets much worse. The fact is, Ukraine is an extremely corrupt country. While the ports have slowed to a crawl, there is still ample work to go around, assuming you know the right people. Big Lorry companies may have lost substantial revenue, but they are still receiving enough loads to remain profitable. The ports don't want to be completely unfair, so they give some work to the private drivers, but the bulk of the loads go to their friends that own the larger companies.

Now we get to the meat of the problem. Before the Financial Crisis struck, a load travelling from Odessa to Kiev (450 km) and back would net about $1200. After expenses, the owner of the Lorry is left with about $700. Seeing as how this trip usually takes about a week, considering loading/unloading and waiting, the drivers made enough money to pay off their loans and put some money aside. Now, with ample drivers but fewer loads, the price has changed, as could be expected. In order for the ports to maximize profits, they pay an absolute minimum for transportation. Current rates give Drivers about $500 for the same trip, leaving them with nothing to pay their loans, and virtually no leg room to feed their families. To drive the nail into the coffin, the friends of the ports that were mentioned earlier only see a small reduction in their rates, they are still netting about $1000 for the same trip (of course, they kick back to the person providing the job). The Drivers know this and are a little upset.

So, the protests began. The Drivers, with nothing else to do with their time, gathered and concluded that without government help they would die. The banks are threatening to take back the Lorries and they have no money to feed their families. When you have no money, you have no food and you are angry, what do you do? ... you protest. The Lorry drivers at first asked for very little, they wanted work and they wanted the banks to ease payment terms until the economy picked up. The government was not only deaf to these demands, but as shown in the previous article, they tried crushing the protests by force.

This was the government's biggest mistake. By doing so, they alerted the entire city of Odessa to the Drivers cause, which led to a massive following of the Driver's cause. Various workers in different spheres began joining the drivers in their quest for justice from the government.

Open Market workers joined the fight. With the financial crisis in full effect, the government needs to fill their coffers. How to do this? Raise rents and raise taxes of course! If the government would look two steps ahead they would see that their problems pale in comparison to the open air markets, where there is no business at all. By raising rents and raising taxes, the open air markets have absolutely no means to survive. They can't pay the old rent considering their small earnings, how the government expects them to pay more boggles the mind.

The Pensioners have also joined the fight. When the government raised rents and taxes, it affected virtually everyone. Some Pensioners who make less than $70/month can barely survive as it is. They already rummage the trash bins for food, beg on the streets and do whatever they can in order to live an extra day. It seems like the government is trying to kill them off to ease the government's payments.

As more and more groups join the protests, the government is getting more and more nervous. There is already no support of the government, so if riots begin the government officials may be forced out physically. They have done everything in their power to contain this, from arresting those running the protests, to arresting officials that support the protests. At this point not a single protest has become violent, but that has not slowed the police response.

Yesterday, a small protest was staged outside Odessa's central court building. While not too many people attended, it aggravated the government. No arrests were made, but there were many threats. Today, at the site of yesterday's protests, a group organized a petition entitled, "Say NO to Oppression", directly aimed at stopping the government from arresting more people. While there, I witnessed dozens of people coming and going, signing the petition, speaking to organizers and pledging their support. The organizers provided food for those that wished to stay, coffee and tea. It was a very calm atmosphere, but the police were all over. While I was there, the police began to harass the organizers, explaining that some of their literature can be construed as libel, and may ignite the crowd. While the organizers didn't agree, the literature simply stated a fact, they didn't argue and removed all traces. Tomorrow, a new wave a protests will occur on that same spot.

The literature in question described a government official close to the mayor that sympathized with the protesters. He had openly pledged his support for the protesters several days ago. The day he did so, he was arrested and has yet to be released. The arrest was extremely questionable. It turns out that about 2 or 3 years ago, this official had been in a fight of some kind. The courts 'coincidentally' came across this case and ordered him to appear in court. The order was made at 1600, and the court appearance was scheduled for 1700 of that same day. Since no one bothered to tell the official of this, he didn't make his court appearance. A warrant was immediately ordered, and the official was arrested. These are the true Ukrainian games.

Ukrainian games are for grownups, children should stay at home. If you upset the status quo, you will first be arrested and then charges will be thought up. You can always pay your way out of jail, but the price will always be just more than you can afford, regardless of how much you have. Going into debt is a sure fire way to keep people quiet, and bowing to their masters.

Tomorrow I will join the protests, talking to more people, and providing more news. I have only skimmed the surface here, I will try to add more detail as the days pass. Check back if you are curious.

Echoed on Mizozo.

The Hypocrite

For the past 8 years, the USA was run by President George Bush. During that time, the Right cheered and the Left balked. When the Left balked too much, the Right labeled them as “anti-American”. Eventually, the Left take offense and a heated debate takes place. Time passes, and now the Left have their man in office, Barack Obama. It is now the Left who are cheering and the Right who is balking. Slowly, the Left now begin to call the Right “anti-American” as they cross the line and once again the Right are taking offense, leading to a heated debate.

The situation is identical and neither are willing to admit it. One would think that the Left would see the similarity considering they are the ones in power, but logically that would lead to an equilibrium in the future when the Right gain power and no Leftist wants that.

The strangest thing about this entire situation is this current Bailout. When Bush was writing off almost $8.5 Trillion in various gifts to corporate America, the Left was outraged. There were cries of favoritism and driving the country into debt. The Right was very quiet at the time, knowing that something needed to be done and Bush was doing the right thing. Now, Obama is in office and is continuing Bush’s lead. Suddenly, the Left are quiet. They have accepted that this needs to be done and are encouraging more bailouts. Corporate America is receiving $Billions more, and the Left have nothing negative to say. Strangely, the Right are now kicking and screaming. They are now pointing out how much money they and their children will need to spend in order to get out of this debt that the government is accruing. They are pointing out special interests, corporate ties and everything that they can find to show how “un-American” this is by tying it to Socialist practices. Also, the Right have completely forgotten that Bush has already spent nearly $8.5 Trillion while in office, and Obama has yet to spend $2 Trillion.

Admitingly, there is a sharp contrast with spending practices between Bush and Obama in some fields, but in a broad scope there is very little. What’s more, neither Left nor Right are willing to see the similarities between the two parties.

Hypocrisy is a part of human nature. People tend to believe that they are right no matter what, and their enemy is wrong no matter what. American’s, for example, only see the evil caused by foreign powers throughout the world, but when their government commits the exact same atrocities, or ones considerably worse, it is completely ignored. I use American’s for example because it is closest to me, however she can be replaced with any nation or religion.

It would be nice to see humanity begin to take a step back before criticizing their opponents. If humanity would simply reflect on the actions being taken, looking at them impartially and putting themselves into the shoes of their enemy, there would be far fewer enemies in this world. The American Left and Right share an immense deal in common, yet they concentrate on their differences. It is sad, really.

The US is Not a Democracy or Republic, it is a Polyarchy

It is important for people to realize that the US government is neither a Democracy or a Republic. On paper, the US government looks like a Republic. In reality, the US government functions like a Polyarchy.

A Polyarchy has many similar characteristics to an Oligarchy, however it consists of a relatively large ruling class while giving working class people the illusion that they are participating in government. Wikipedia has a great definition of a Polyarchy.

This subject is easy to debate, and there is strong outcry by the Right and Left to counter this fact, but I feel Noam Chomsky makes the point best so I will not try and improve on it.

China's Human Rights

While it is difficult to contest the fact that China's Human Rights record is lacking in almost every respect, it is also important to take into account that China is a sovereign nation. Sovereignty doesn't exclude China from criticism, but people should respect its views and methods in so far as those outside of China aren't effected by that which goes on within.

While this may seem cold and calculated, it is important for American's to realise that it can not run the entire world, regardless of its current power status. The Chinese have a long history, and an established form of government. Simply breaking apart China's existing form of government because various policies within this government aren't deemed acceptable by American's may cause the same detrimental effects as American interference with Iraq ... or Afghanistan ... or Panama ... or South America ... or Iran ... or countless others. In some cases interference is necessary, as in the case of Afghanistan because national interests are at stake, but in most cases the costs of US interference far outweigh that which is supposed to have been gained.

Hillary Clinton recently visited China trying to reassure China that their American investments are secure. There is also some speculation that she likewise paid a visit to her Chinese masters to assure them that their investment in her specifically are also secure. The fact that Clinton didn't reprimand China on their human rights record was seen as weakness on her part and greatly criticised. It is difficult to imagine how those criticising envisioned Clinton's reprimand to have gone. Do they feel that Clinton should have disembarked from the air-plane and immediately went on the offensive? Maybe Clinton should have waited until she was surrounded by Chinese officials and then attacked? Of course, after attacking, she would have to throw in a statement like, "But, don't worry, your money is safe with us." ... and then go right back on the offensive? That would have been a great way to further relations between our two powers.

China is a communist nation that is currently the largest economic power in the world. China can destroy the American economy in one quick move by simply selling off its shares of the American Dollar. Of course, by doing so China would loose its number one client and in effect devastate her own economy. However, I feel that China would recover far quicker than America considering the entire world eats off of Chinese plates.

The Associated Press is now reporting that after the Chinese are greatly offended by the US State Departments report on Chinese Human Rights. They claim that the US is interfering in Chinese internal affairs, calling the allegations groundless and making random remarks. The official Chinese Press, Xinhua news agency, wrote about the report that,

It willfully ignored and distorted basic facts, groundlessly assailing China's human rights conditions and making random and irresponsible remarks on China's ethnic, religious and legal systems.

This seems like a planned response. I find it hard to believe that while Clinton was in China she failed to mention that within 2 days of her departure the State Department would release a report on China's Human Rights. More than likely, Clinton brought the report with her so that the Chinese authority would have plenty of time to review it and come up with a well thought out response.

The most interesting point of the AP article is their reference to the Report itself. They write about the Report that,

It said authorities continued to limit citizens' right to privacy, freedom of speech, assembly, movement and association. Authorities also committed extrajudicial killings and torture, coerced confessions from prisoners and used forced labor, the U.S. report said.

A quick analysis of this brings out many key points. First, lets analyze the first sentence, "authorities continued to limit citizens' right to privacy, freedom of speech, assembly, movement and association". If I am not mistaken, after 911 the Bush administration did exactly that to the US population. With his medieval practises, limiting of rights, wiretapping and much more, the American citizen has had his rights greatly limited in exactly the same way mentioned.

As for the next sentence, the only thing that the US doesn't do is use 'Forced Labor', or at least as far as the people know. 'Extrajudicial killings' have been going on for centuries by every form of government, so mentioning them here is a bit much. Of course, China does them far more often, and at times openly, while the US and most other governments do them secretively so it is impossible to track. Regarding 'Torture', even the ex Vice President Cheney has openly admitted to torture, and even gone so far as to justify it. Seeing as how Torture is used to get 'coerced confessions', I feel that this is a redundant statement, but what do I know.

Again, there is no doubt that China's Human Rights Record is completely tainted in blood, and goes far beyond that which America would ever stoop to. However, it is important for people to realise that not everyone agrees with US tactics, especially in world affairs, and not every people can be governed in the same way. Different cultures require different governments, American Democracy doesn't work for everyone, at least not all at once. When forcing a sudden change of government on a people that aren't ready for it, we will simply get another Iraq or Afghanistan. Government changes need to take place over time, otherwise either excessive violence flares out, or Corruption runs rampant.

Echoed on Mizozo.

The Gaza Crisis, Hamas

Hamas is a very interesting political entity, to say the least. I understand that there is a great deal of support for the Palestinian people, however I am baffled by those that support Hamas politically.

Egypt has been attempting to aid Israel and Palestine draw up a solid peace agreement since the ceasefire was officially declared on January 18th. There are a great number of terms that both Hamas and Israel would like met in order to solidify another temporary (I must stress temporary) peace. They seem to have agreed on nearly everything. Hamas, however, insists that Israel is blocking the Gaza truce by refusing to reopen the border crossings. AFP has more,

"The enemy gave opaque and incomplete answers through Egypt that do not amount to a lifting of the blockade," Meshaal said, referring to the tight restrictions on Gaza border crossings that Israel has imposed since the Islamists' 2007 seizure of the Palestinian territory.

"The enemy has yet to offer a lifting of the blockade and a reopening of the border crossings. They have given no guarantee and we will not agree to any truce except in exchange for a lifting of the blockade and a reopening of the crossings."

How can Hamas expect Israel to open borders when Hamas is continually attacking Israel? Hamas is anticipating the border to open so that they can send their operatives into Israel. Israelis know this, so they will not open the crossings. Hamas, in turn, is using this as propaganda against Israeli oppression.

So, lets understand Israel's options. Either they open the border crossings, letting in countless terrorists into their land, or they keep the border closed, preventing the terrorists from entering but then having the terrorists label them as the oppressors. I don't think it takes much of a genius to figure out which option to pick. Somehow, Hamas doesn't see the logic here.

To make matters more interesting, now the UN is ceasing aid to Gaza. At first glance, Palestinian sympathisers will likely say that Israel has managed to convince the UN to stop Aid. Well, they are wrong. It turns out that Hamas is stealing the aid meant for Palestinians to help their supporters. The Associated Press reports,

UNRWA said the suspension would remain in effect until the aid is returned and the agency receives credible assurances from the Hamas government that such thefts will end.

This is highly unlikely. The stolen aid has been distributed to Hamas's supporters long ago. Hamas is upset that this aid is being used as a political tool, which is justifiable. The west is notorious for giving with the right hand, while taking with the left. In Hamas's case, however, it is difficult for me to justify supporting such a regime. If Hamas truly wanted peace, they could at least make an attempt at it, rather than make ridiculous demands then rattle their sabres when no one takes them seriously.

Echoed on Mizozo.

Evolution vs Creationism

The debate of Evolution vs Creationism seems never ending in this day and age. Those with 'faith' in God will never believe anything that proves them wrong, no matter how it is presented. Those that argue that Evolution is unprovable haven't spent time researching evolution. Those that believe Creationism is unprovable are ... well, right. You can't prove that a Creator doesn't exist. However, you can prove that a Creator didn't create Humanity, the Animal Kingdom and the Plant Kingdom without the aid of Evolution.

I am not in the mood for a long diatribe on the subject, instead I would like to present more evidence that man derived from apes ... the thorn in the side of creationists.

Zack De La Rocha Interviews Noam Chomsky

I recently stumbled across an interview of Noam Chomsky by one of my most admired musical artists, Zack De La Rocha. Although Zack does nothing but ask questions, he does a good job of relaying his opinions on subjects by his questions and the background he gives with the questions.

They start their discussion on NAFTA and its effects on Mexico. After briefly discussing Mexico, they move onto Globalization, World Trade Organization and the World Bank. Rather than go into too much detail, why not take a look for yourself.

Part 1 -

Part 2 -