Other countries vote America the most significant threat to world peace. Well that's a little disheartening.

Source

Courtesy of RT:

The US has been voted as the most significant threat to world peace in a survey across 68 different countries. Anti-American sentiment was not only recorded in antagonistic countries, but also in many allied NATO partners like Turkey and Greece. 

A global survey conducted by the Worldwide Independent Network and Gallup at the end of 2013 revealed strong animosity towards the US’s role as the world’s policeman. Citizens across over 60 nations were asked: “Which country do you think is the greatest threat to peace in the world today?” 

The US topped the list, with 24 percent of people believing America to be the biggest danger to peace. Pakistan came second, with 8 percent of the vote and was closely followed by China with 6 percent. Afghanistan, Iran, Israel and North Korea came in joint fourth place with 5 percent of the vote. 

The threat from the US was rated most highly in the Middle East and North Africa, those areas most recently affected by American military intervention. Moreover, the survey showed that even Americans regard their country as a potential threat with 13 percent of them voting the US could disrupt global status quo.

I cannot tell you how much I want to get all indignant and say "Nuh uh!"  But honestly I can't do that.

We are indeed the biggest threat to world peace and only a nationalist moron from America, or as we call them, a Republican, would think otherwise.

I hoped against hope that once we had Obama in the White House our policies would change so that the rest of the world would respond to us with respect instead of fear, however to my great frustration that simply has not been the case.

At least not yet. 

Final image (gif) of the day.

For those who are not aware, this is the man that stood up during the Mandela Memorial the other day, that was attended by dignitaries from around the world, including our current and two former Presidents, and provided sign language interpretation.

Except that he was apparently NOT a sign language interpreter, and clearly did NOT know sign language.

This from CNN:

To those outside the deaf community, the sign language interpreter for Nelson Mandela's memorial may have looked like he was working hard, translating the spoken words into gestures for four hours. 

But he has been dubbed "a fake," and his actions outraged deaf people, according to an association for the deaf community in South Africa. 

The service to commemorate the revered statesman, who died last week at the age of 95, was broadcast to millions of viewers around the world. 

While dignitaries addressed the crowd Tuesday at Johannesburg's FNB stadium, the unidentified suited man with a security pass produced a series of hand signals that experts say meant nothing. 

The Deaf Federation of South Africa (DeafSA) said the "interpreter" was not a recognized professional, nor was he known by the deaf community in the country. 

"The so-called 'interpreter' who interpreted at the official memorial service for late former president Nelson Mandela at FNB stadium has been dubbed the 'fake interpreter' and the deaf community is in outrage," Bruno Druchen, national director of DeafSA, said in a statement. 

"He is not known by the Deaf Community in South Africa nor by the South African Sign Language interpreters working in the field." 

The man did not use facial expressions, which in South African sign language are an important part of communication, and the hand signals he used were meaningless, Druchen said. 

"The signs (self-invented signs) the interpreter used are not used in South African Sign Language and it is a total mockery of the language," he said.

Okay at this point I am torn between very impressed that anybody had the balls to pull off such a daring prank, at such a  highly publicized event, and horrified that anybody could get that close to dignitaries without a background check and screening.

If this guy had been a terrorist this could have been a very bad situation indeed.

But as a prank, this guy has really set the bar to a new high.

However he had better steer well clear of the deaf community for awhile, because if they see his ass he might get a completely silent beat down, with an actual deaf interpreter standing nearby signing curses and insults in his direction.

During the memorial service for Nelson Mandela President Obama shakes the hand of Cuba's President Raul Castro. Uh oh!

Courtesy of Business Insider:  

Barack Obama shook the hand of Cuban President Raul Castro on his way to speak at Nelson Mandela's memorial service. 

The moment is special and unprecedented since the U.S. has held an economic embargo on Cuba since 1953, and Mandela was praised for his ability to unite enemies across political and racial divides. 

During a powerful speech praising Mandela's life, Obama included a line that many thought was aimed at Castro, among others. 

"There are too many leaders who claim solidarity with Madiba’s struggle for freedom, but do not tolerate dissent from their own people," Obama said. 

Yeah but that little jab is not going to be enough to keep the Right Wing from losing their minds over the fact that Obama has shown civility to the brother of a man who Americans are supposed to hate. (And just like Mandela he is a "gasp" communist!)

Yep right now there are Tea Party conservatives stroking their hate inspired little erections getting ready to ejaculate vitriol and anger all over the Right Wing news sites.

P.S. You can watch the President's entire memorial speech here.

Update: Here is President Obama taking a selfie with other world leaders at the Mandela memorial. 

A hero for the ages has passed away.

I watched television all day yesterday and today, and was very impressed with the depth of emotion that people feel about Nelson Mandela.

He touched the lives of many, and served as a shining example of heroism and integrity for the rest of us.

However at the same time I was sickened by those on the Right Wing who are crawling out of the woodwork to get a little reflected glory by claiming to have been inspired by him, when in fact they were anything but.

This from Right Wing Watch:The news today of Nelson Mandela’s passing is also time to reflect on the complicated relationship between Mandela and his anti-apartheid African National Congress (ANC) with the US, which did not always support the anti-apartheid struggle. In fact, American conservatives lobbied the federal government in the 1980s to withhold support from the anti-apartheid movement. 

President Reagan added the ANC to the US terrorism watch list, a designation not removed until 2008, and unsuccessfully vetoed sanctions against the apartheid regime. Many Republican lawmakers did break with the Reagan administration’s stance, but “all 21 [Senate] votes to sustain the veto were cast by Republicans.” 

Mandela faced criticism from Republican leaders including Dick Cheney, who described Mandela’s ANC as a “terrorist organization,” and Jesse Helms, who “turned his back during Mandela’s visit to the U.S. Capitol.” Even in 1998, Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly lumped Mandela together with notorious dictators. 

The late Jerry Falwell urged [PDF] his supporters to write their congressmen and senators to tell them to oppose sanctions against the apartheid regime. “The liberal media has for too long suppressed the other side of the story in South Africa,” he said. “It is very important that we stay close enough to South Africa so that it does not fall prey to the clutches of Communism.” 

“South Africa is torn by civil unrest, instigated primarily by Communist-sponsored people who are capitalizing on the many legitimate grievances created by apartheid, unemployment and policy confrontations,” Falwell continued. 

Ronald Reagan, those on the Religious Right, and the conservatives supported apartheid until the very last second, and only  changed positions when it was no longer politically feasible to do anything else.

Dick Cheney even defended his vote labeling Mandela a terrorist:


“The ANC was then viewed as a terrorist organization," Cheney said on ABC's "This Week." "I don't have any problems at all with the vote I cast 20 years ago.''

And even today, while most of the media is fawning over the memory of this great leader, those on the Right can barely contain their disgust.

Bill O'Reilly:  

“He was a communist, this man. He was a communist, all right? But he was a great man! What he did for his people was stunning!… He was a great man! But he was a communist!”

And if a conservative makes the mistake of issuing a statement in support of Mandela, without also calling him a terrorist or Marxist, well then you learn the same hard lesson that Ted Cruz just learned:

 Yeah who cares that this man suffered for his country like no other, spent 27 years behind bars, only to emerge and unite his people to bring about peace?

I mean sure, if he had been white and a capitalist, but he was the wrong color and the wrong political ideology.

Assholes!

Gallup finds Hillary Clinton is the most admired woman in the world and Sarah Palin is the fifth most admired person in the world. Wait, what?

Courtesy of the Washington Post:  

A new Gallup poll again hands the secretary of state the title of the “most admired woman” in the world, with 21 percent selecting her. First lady Michelle Obama comes in a distant second at 5 percent, followed by Oprah Winfrey at 4 percent.

Okay well all of that makes sense, I even kind of understand Condi Rice at the number four spot, but Palin at five? WTF?

And how in the HELL does she beat out the extraordinarily brave Malala Yousafzai? That is ridiculous!

So what is she so admired for?

Her political presence? There isn't one.

Her intelligence? Seriously?

Her reality show career? Hah!

Her parenting? Double Hah!

Seriously I simply do NOT get it.

I went to the actual Gallup site to see if it was the way the question was asked. This is what they said:

The open-ended nature of the question produces the names of people with high top-of-mind name identification, most often hailing from the world of government and politics; the list also includes individuals who have become famous serving humanitarian causes and others whose fame comes from the business and entertainment worlds.

Okay so essentially it is based on name recognition.

These are the names of people that the individuals asked knew off of the top of their heads. And sadly Palin was mentioned quite a lot this last year. Sure mostly it was to mock her, or use her as a comparison for how badly the Paul Ryan pick was, but you not THAT bad.

I would LOVE to have heard a follow up question asking the respondents WHY they chose who they chose. I think for those who chose Palin wall you would hear is the sound of crickets.

If it makes you feel any better look who shows up as3rd, 4th, and 5th on the mens side of the poll.

Oh yeah. Mitt Romney as the third most admired man, and George W. Bush as the fifth, certainly puts the whole thing into perspective.

Guess which polling group is now the LEAST admired? Yeah, that's right Gallup.