Real Crime

Media Madness
Due to the profit-first nature of the modern news era, the real crime committed is by the news media, both conventional and internet-based. This crime manifests itself as a tidal wave of suggestive reports that tend to focus on the worst sensationalist aspects of our society, even when they're untrue. As a result, majority of the population's minds are already set, before any real allegation is put forth. In the world of modern news, everything that glitters is ratings gold.

The problem with Law Enforcement is that it rarely receives the accolades for getting the difficult job done right on a daily basis. However, it always gets crucified in the media when there is even a hint of wrongdoing. It is especially lucrative for the media ratings if that wrongdoing could be made to look racially motivated.

Don't get me wrong - sometimes criticism against the Police is well deserved and there certainly is a history of racial profiling such as traffic stops and searches. However, more often than not, the perceived notion of wrongdoing is promoted by the media for the sake of ratings. Furthermore, if you can get a connotation of a Racially motivated crime by the Police, the ratings will be off the charts. You can get a lot more viewers to tune into the news later in the evening if you pitch a racially motivated crime by the Police, than you can just by simply presenting the news objectively. The concept of a sensationalist story that has no conclusive evidence, just the perception of wrongdoing, is the trademark template of the top prostitute in the 21st century - the news media. 

Recently, we have had two decisions by grand jury not to indict Police Officers in separate and distinctly different cases. I am talking about the tragic deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri and Eric Garner in New York City.

Both cases have been sensationalized by the media with suggestion of white Police Officer misconduct that lead to the deaths of black males. However, upon further review these cases are more about decisions made by individual police officers, rather than a racism epidemic suggested by the mainstream media and Al Sharptonians - (those who seek personal gain through false championing of civil rights). 

Michael Brown and Darren Wilson

The Ferguson Missouri case involved Michael Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson, who robbed a convenience store and were on their way back. The officer, Darren Wilson, initially told the two men to walk on the sidewalk, as opposed to the path of moving vehicles. He then remembered about the convenience store robbery and decided to confront the two men, pulling his vehicle across the path of Michael and Dorian. At this point, Michael Brown approached the vehicle and began and altercation with the Darren Wilson, which led the the first discharge of the officer's firearm. Michael ran away from the vehicle after the first shot was fired. When Darren Wilson called Michael Brown back to the vehicle, Michael Brown proceeded to charge at the officer presenting a threat to his well being. This is the point at which Darren Wilson discharged his firearm in the direction of Michael Brown, mortally wounding him in the process.

As soon as this story broke out, the news outlets focused on statistics about black and white, about perceived prejudice and racial inequality that had nothing to do with the key factors in this incident. As a result, in the minds of many young adults who seek out perceived injustice, Darren Wilson was already tried and convicted of a murder and a hate crime. While it is certainly true that the deceased in this case was black and the police officer was white, this information is secondary and inconsequential to the sequence of events here.

Matter of fact is that Michael Brown committed a crime and Darren Wilson attempted to apprehend him in connection with that crime, when Michael Brown resorted to violence striking the police officer in the process and wrestling for his firearm. In this country, when someone resorts to violence, everyone has the right to self-defense. There's almost no doubt that Darren Wilson protected himself and the community by using his firearm to stop a criminal in his tracks. It is tragic and unfortunate, but Darren Wilson was doing his job fairly and justly. The grand jury also reached the correct decision in this case. While the assistant District Attorney's conduct was inappropriate in presenting the grand jury with an inactive law, it simply did not apply in this case. At the end of the day, in this case justice was served.

Eric Garner and Daniel Pantaleo
The Staten Island New York case involved Eric Garner who was previously sighted selling loosies (loose cigarettes), which is considered a petty crime. Eric Garner was visibly upset at the officers approaching him repeatedly and went on a rant pleading to Police Officers to leave him alone. When he refused to be taken in to custody, the Police Officers approached him and Eric Garner came up behind him, putting him into a choke-hold (which is a technique that has been prohibited by the NYPD since 1993). Eric Garner was then seen on the ground saying "I can't breathe". He was pronounced dead at the hospital. The coroner's report read the cause of death as the compression of the neck and chest. There is no doubt that other health issues contributed to the cardiac arrest and death of Eric Garner, but the main catalyst was the illegal choke-hold by Daniel Pantaleo.

Once again, the news media was salivating at the prospect of disseminating toxic and divisive perceived racism in this case. It was all in the name of ratings, it usually always is these days. The news outlets and online publications became awash with opinions as facts that were so inflammatory, it sparked protests. In this case, however, as opposed to the Ferguson Missouri case, the officer Daniel Pantaleo has been summoned to court before on racial profiling charges and misconduct with respect to minorities.

Regardless of any real or perceived racism, let's proceed to the matter at hand. The video reveals the entire incident, which leaves very little to no room for any ambiguity. There was more than enough manpower available to apprehend Eric Garner without the use of an illegal choke-hold. The tape shows Daniel Pantaleo using the choke-hold to take down Eric Garner, as  Eric Garner notes he has difficulty breathing. In this case, the grand jury decision is the highest forms of injustice toward Eric Garner and his family. There is more than enough evidence in this case to proceed to trial and level a conviction.

What we have learned
Regardless of whether any misconduct occurred, the news media puts forth a highly suggestive case of racism any chance that presents itself, because it is good for the ratings and ultimately the news company's bottom line. This kind of reporting makes the public conduct it's own trial based on suggestive misrepresentation, feelings and public opinion, and not all of the facts at hand. It is a dangerous phenomenon that must be dealt with by education and tolerance.

Focus on the case, not the race. In both cases, just by dealing with the matter at hand and how the law enforcement representatives conducted themselves, you could reach the correct decision without getting the racial aspect involved. Would it have mattered if Michael Brown or Eric Garner were white? No! Law enforcement misconduct is the same across the board and must be treated as a failure in terms of conduct, without racial connotation.

If it's not black versus white, the mainstream media doesn't care. Nobody in the mainstream media even blinked at the death of Dillon Taylor in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 1st of this year. He was a white youth shot and killed by the police outside of a convenience store. However, the news outlets mostly did not pick up this story as it wasn't relevant to their agenda of higher ratings and internet traffic. If the story doesn't evoke raw emotion and spirited opinions, it's simply not newsworthy in the 21st century drowned by sensationalist news norm

My Hope for the Future
One of my greatest desires is that the general population will become a little smarter and more skeptical of the information which the news outlets feed them. It is important to take the news media with a grain of salt these days, realizing that in the end these are corporations that need to make a profit. This leads to them being more of an entertainment news machine, rather than real journalists that report genuine news that have to undergo sufficient scrutiny before being presented to the public as factual information.

How to Minimize Debt

How do you avoid being buried by debt?

Most well off individuals will tell you that the first step to saving and accumulating wealth is to live below your means.

1) Don't borrow money unless it is absolutely necessary.
2) Budget your spending, revise and reduce periodically.
3) Pay off any debts as soon as you possibly can.

Some people, such as myself, are fortunate enough to have had the right education and upbringing to understand personal economics very well at a young age. However, there are far too many people in this country who borrow, refinance, and borrow again; all as a part of what they consider to be the normal order of things. Pretty soon, this debt gets so large that you are only able to pay the minimum payments. This all ends, when you are staring up at the impossible debt mountain, while deciding whether it's worth to go to a debt forgiveness specialist and plead for mercy or to declare personal bankruptcy and have your debts (aside from school loans) written off.

It doesn't have to be this way. As long as you are employed and have income going into your bank account every month, you can work out a strategy to protect yourself from potentially toxic debt cycle.

Education
The first big decision you will make in your life as a young adult is to decide which college to attend. But it starts even before that, with the question - what do you want to do in your life in order to earn a living? Therefore, it is my suggestion to all High School kids out there to truly use your early years wisely to discover what you want your profession to be. Higher Education is incredibly expensive, and these loans cannot be defaulted upon in order to be written off. Once you have your direction in life, research the Colleges which have the best programs for your chosen profession in your locale - living at home while attending college will save you money. Out of those schools, pick one that has the lowest net cost = (tuition + meal plan + fees) - (qualified school scholarships + grants). In addition, make sure to apply for all relevant scholarships and grants available from your State and Federal Government - these will knock down your net cost of education even further. If the remaining net cost cannot be offset by contributions from your parents or relatives, that's when you will need to make use of the student loan institution. Finally, as long as it doesn't interfere your studies, find part-time employment to offset cost further.

Living Space
Once you graduate College, as long as you have a good relationship and understanding with your parents, I suggest you live at home for the first couple of years. It saves you money and allows you to pay off your School loans faster. But sooner or later, you will have to move out and live on your own. Do yourself a favor, disregard the mainstream media with respect to home ownership - it is a losing game for someone who cannot buy a house outright (or pay at least 80% of the cost up front). Even with a friendly 30 year Fixed Rate of 4.25%, you still wind up paying twice the cost of the home over the lifetime of your loan. This was strictly mortgage - there are other upkeep and maintenance costs that come with home ownership, which puts the financial squeeze on the owner further. This prevents you from putting away money which you can save, invest, or use to create another stream of revenue. Renting, on the other hand, allows you to forego financing, maintenance and upkeep costs; all while retaining that money for another purpose. On the other hand once you have saved enough to pay at least 80% of the desired home, you may want to purchase the house if you have, or are intending to start, a family. Assuming the home is paid off in full, or in a short amount of time, you are only paying for property taxes after that.

Food
Learn to cook and learn to shop for cheap ingridients. A lot of people get lazy in the age of the internet, choosing to spend their time with their cell phones, tablets and laptops; rather than choosing to protect their wealth. You don't have to become a master chef, just learn a few quick simple recipies that you enjoy and won't break the bank. The use of store-bought ingridients and home utilities can save you up to 50% over middle of the road restaurant in terms of food preparation and clean-up. On those occasions when you do choose go out, ty to find a discount such as a coupon, flyer, groupon, livingsocial, etc.

Clothing
Make sure shop at stores that offer quality goods at a deep discount (Marshalls, TJ Maxx, etc.) or go to outlet stores that get their goods directly from the manufacturer. As long as the clothes have a brand name and look in current style, chances are people won't be able to tell where you got them. Only buy the clothing you plan on wearing, as opposed to collecting dust. Value your money, to spend it frivolously.

Non-Essential
With non-essential spending, such as gadgets, toys, vacations, and everything else that does not fall into living essentials category, it is important to keep this category as lean as possible. I get it - you want to enjoy your life. You should definitely go on a vacation, get yourself a big screen television, a nice reclining couch. However, realize that these are not time sensitive purchases and you can wait until a great deal presents itself. You will want to do a little research on what you want to buy and the cost range for that item. Just remember - the latest, greatest and trendiest, is also often the most expensive.

Budgeting
Keep track of your incoming money and outgoing money. Sounds simple, but very few people actually do this. It is as simple as opening your Excel Spreadsheet document (or a Google Spreadsheet document) and recording your salary and expenses. This will give you an idea if you are cash flow positive or negative. Cash Flow Positive is when you have additional money left over at the end of the month when you subtract all your expenses from your salary. Cash Flow Negative is when you wind up with money owed after all your expenses are substracted from your salary. In general, even if you are Cash Flow Positive, you will want to increase your salary and other sources of income, all while decreasing your expenses as much as possible.

Tackling Debt
When it comes to paying off your debt, you have to realize the interest with which your loans grow (4.5%, 6%, 7.5%, etc.) are a lot higher than the percentage the bank or treasury bonds will earn you (0.10%, 1.45%, 2.25%, etc.). Therefore, it is in your best interest to put some of your Cash Flow Positive money toward paying off additional Principal  of your Highest Percentage Loan each month. This strategy will help you pay off your loans faster and greatly reduce the amount of your hard earned money that would otherwise be wasted on paying loan interest over the life of your debt.

New Streams of Income
Your primary profession does not have to be your only source of income. You should treat your time as a valuable resource. You may learn another skill, start investing, find small off-hours work that pay, write for money, teach, etc. Whatever you choose to do, try to figure out how to better spend the time you usually watch TV, play video games, or surf the interenet. This is all extra time that you can leverage to supplement your salary.

No matter at which stage of life you are in, if you work on these basics and apply them in your life consistently, it will allow you to evade your dependency on debt and save you money to enjoy living more comfortably.

How The Rich Campaigned for, Lobbied and Stole Economic Recovery

It is no secret that today on the Internet, Television and Radio you will hear news of the Great Economic Recovery! While it is certainly true that the traditional indicators of economic health have shown positive signs of life, it is also true that the American Elite (the American equivalent of Russian Oligarchs) have gamed the system to make the economy look healthy, while screwing the average American in the rectal cavity. 

By now most of you have already heard of the economic recovery that has lasted the past three years. Most mainstream media and financial analysts point to unemployment figures, corporate profits, and wall street indexes to unequivocally prove that the American Economy is on a path to recovery in a big way. However, these very same analysts will not point to how the majority of American People are living today as opposed to six years ago.

The average middle class American today (wage per capita less than $60,000) will find their adjusted-for-inflation annual wages down by 5%, as opposed to six years ago. Compare that with the upper class (wage per capita more than $150,000) and the upper crust (wage per capita more than $500,000), whose adjusted-for-inflation annual wages are up by 10% and 25%, respectively. You can see the unfair disparity in these figures. 

You may ask yourself - how come the economy seems like it is healthy?

The answer is simple - it is a combination of the Federal Reserve pouring in money into the markets without any rational limits, the Unemployment Index not showing the full picture and the Corporate landscape using creative means to make a profit while preventing the benefits of those profits to reach common Americans. 

It is clear as day that since the financial crash of 2008, the Federal Reserve has been printing money to mask the deflation that should have taken place in order to stabilize the unhealthy explosion in asset values which occurred due to Bank Deregulation and the Housing Asset Bubble. And, to a certain extent, the Federal Reserve has been successful in psychologically bypassing the panic and collapse associated with the deflation of the Great Depression of 1929. 

However, just like Herbert Hoover's administration in the post-crash years, Barak Obama's administration has stepped into the same trap of trying to stimulate the economy from the top down. In Hoover's time it was called "Trickle-Down Economics", in Obama's time it is called "Bailout" and "Stimulus Package". History teaches us that it doesn't teach us anything. Just like in the 20th century, in the 21st century the Corporations kept the money made as a result of Government assistance, while the average American has seen their savings shrivel and their paycheck devalue with time. 

With respect to the Unemployment Index, all it shows is how many Americans are getting a paycheck. While it is true that there are many more people employed today as opposed to four years ago, it is also true that the vast majority of recent employment opportunities are either part-time, contract, full-time positions with lower salaries, or full-time positions with multiple role responsibilities. As such, a large majority of American population that is a part of the "employed" figures according to the index is in fact "underemployed", if not completely overworked. 

Corporate profits are up! The American stocks are soaring in value. But the vast majority of this growth is due to creative tactics, not an increase in productivity. The Corporations are using the free liquidity pouring in from the Federal Reserve to restructure their debt (refinance) and make their balance sheets look healthier. They are also cutting their biggest expense - the employees. Whether it is through laying off older more expensive employees in favor of fresh from college graduates, reducing employee benefits, or "consolidating" their workforce by having fewer employees do more - it leads to the appearance of profits. If that wasn't enough, the profits the companies are getting, they're not using to grow the business and hire more people - the corporations know there isn't a growth in the actual demand. Instead, they increase the value of their stock by putting all of those profits to buy back their own stock, which leaves the remaining shares more valuable - making it look like the company is growing, when in fact it is not.

So the Corporate Landscape, which was too big to fail, is thriving! However, the ordinary people who make these corporations work are losing. They are losing in wages, benefits, personal time, rising cost of goods, and oh by the way having their tax dollars sponsor the bailouts of the very companies that are now fleecing them.

The true problem is that we, as a people, have lost faith in our Democracy. Through our apathy, we have turned it into a De Facto Polyarchy! Get off your lazy ass and write a page, just a page, to your local representatives and senators. Make sure that your voice is heard! Make phone calls to those same representatives and senators. Get your community to know the facts and get them voting. This should be our Outbreak - an Outbreak of Consciousness.

Crisis via Modern Warfare - Broadcast Media and the Interne

Let me be Captain Obvious for a moment - It is all about the money. It is not about giving you the true unbiased information about events foreign and domestic. It is about how profitable each minute of airtime can be for the parent corporation. 

It doesn't surprise me anymore, but the manner in which the mainstream media conducts its news broadcasts and disseminates irresponsibly bias information is anything but newsworthy. It is, in fact, more commerce-oriented rather than being genuinely informative. The way CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, and countless others stay on the air is by keeping their commercial time slots full and profitable. In order to do so, these corporations need to attract advertising interest through high viewer ratings. Since market research shows that the attention span of an average American has dipped to an all time low, the broadcasting companies need to find ways to "spice up" their news and make them more entertaining. As a result, what the average viewer receives on a nightly basis from these so-called news sources is a regurgitated version of the truth that has been skewed, dramatized, and fragmented enough between commercials to keep you on the edge of your seat to prop up the networks' viewer ratings. In effect, it becomes this entertainment with the pretense of being the news.

In this example, we will use the current events in Ukraine to reveal the mainstream media's malfeasance. Due to this perversion of the news broadcast, it has become an inadvertent instigator of heightened tensions worldwide through misinformation and horrific omissions of the general public. In order to get viewer ratings, a broadcasting corporation will use inflammatory titles and edgy rhetoric like 'Invasion' and 'Cold War', instead of reality-bearing labels like 'Unrest', 'A New Day in Ukraine', 'Tensions on the Rise', and 'Russian Response'. Why would a broadcasting company use the fear-inducing and instigating labels? In order to raise its viewer ratings, of course. An average American viewer will dismiss a basic newsworthy label, because it's simply not sexy enough. However, pitch them a conflict-inducing story line on a world scale, and you have a viewer for the next half hour. What these labels do, however, is form a predisposition in the viewers' minds that sets them up for a news story that is anything but objective. 

Outside of rephrasing and omitting facts, these news corporations fail to do basic fact-checking that is the staple of a good news reporter. One fact that almost every news corporation have gotten woefully wrong is stating that the current Ukrainian government is legitimate. While it is certainly true that the protesters overthrew the previous Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, the protests themselves were all peaceful through December until the radical factions arrived at the scene. The radical far right-wing parties that brought violence with them, and subsequently instigated a response after over a month of burning and killing security forces. It is these radical factions that "inspired" the Ukrainian Parliament to abandon Viktor Yanukovych and vote him out, just after the president's February 21st agreement with Western representatives to transition to a new unity government that would provide equal representation for all Ukrainians. The reason being, is that a unity government that represents all Ukrainians would be completely against the far right wing parties Right Sector and Svoboda (Freedom), who brought violence to the protests. These parties want an "ethnically clean" Ukraine and regard the Holocaust as a "bright period" in history. Many in these parties are proud descendants of the militant Ukrainian freedom fighters who volunteered into the Nazi Wehrmacht during World War II and committed bloody atrocities for eight years after the end of the war. Therefore, the presidential agreement of February 21st was completely against their stated interest. 

Even before the change of government, the United States and European Union were at a tug of war as to who gets to control the spoils of an imminent government change in Ukraine. In a leaked phone call between a US diplomat Victoria Nuland and a US ambassador in Ukraine, they were clearly discussing how the United States is working to "assist" a government change, cherry-picking Yanukovych's successor, and saying f**k the European Union with respect to the Ukraine's future. Yet this segment got only a brief mention in the Western mainstream media, as it would not bring the desired volume of viewers and might actually turn viewers away with disgust at politicians altogether. http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2014/feb/07/eu-us-diplomat-victoria-nuland-phonecall-leaked-video

The current interim government of Ukraine has initially made two promises after an armed takeover - Russian language would no longer play a prominent role in Ukraine (changing the existing law that dictated both Ukrainian and Russian would be supported equally) and that the people responsible for the Independence Square sniper fire (that killed nearly a hundred protesters and security forces combined) will be brought to justice. Neither of these promises came to fruition. The interim government backed off the Russian language reform and is no longer interested in investigating the culprits behind sniper fire. 

Here is where the Russian media churned up its propaganda machine - going as far as saying that the Russian language will be banned in Ukraine and anyone speaking Russian will be subjected to criminal persecution. Completely false, but reported by the Russian media. Which makes Russian media... just like any other bias mainstream media. 

The Western media, beating the drum of doing the right thing and spreading democracy, just stepped over the initiative to bring those responsible for the Independence Square massacre to justice. But, surprise surprise, in the age of information we are able to obtain evidence that suggests the Ukrainian right-wing factions are responsible for the sniper fire that killed the security forces and protesters alike. This, of course, would explain why the interim government is no longer interested in the investigation which would bring the guilty parties to justice. In a phone call between EU Foreign Affairs Chief and Estonian Foreign Minister, it was disclosed that there is a growing understanding that the people responsible for the Independence Square sniper fire (which killed nearly a hundred protesters and security forces) were the leading right-wing parties that sought armed escalation and confrontation - and that these are the same parties that stand behind the current interim government. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhY02at4v4U Once again, the Western media stepped over this information, and never reported it again - because it's not good ratings. 

Here is a video of the shootings http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=5dc_1393953567

If I was still in Ukraine, I would be very fearful of far right wing parties like the Right Sector and Svoboda(Freedom). They represent the extremists who brought the violence to Independence Square and may have been the direct culprits behind the sniper fire that caused the massacre of February 20th. Their representatives Dmytro Yarosh (Right Sector) and Oleh Tyahnybok (Svoboda) are sure to run in the upcoming Ukrainian elections. And they should be feared, as their extremist views could easily divide Ukraine without any external intervention if these individuals gain any significant elected posts.

Now for the the leading political figures in Russia, EU and US. And this is the kind of analysis you will never get from the mainstream media. Let me state it again - it is all about the money. Neither Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, nor Vladimir Putin can give a damn about the people of Ukraine. When they see Ukraine from a geopolitical perspective, this is what they see -

United States and European Union's perspective:
1) Another nation to conform to the Euro currency and prevent European Union's disintegration.

2) Increased Defense Budget for European Union and the United States due to fear.

3) Access to natural resources available within the Ukraine,

4) Access to Ukrainian territory for the purpose of stationing NATO forces at the Russian border.

Russian perspective:

1) Secure Ukrainian Natural Gas and Oil fields, as well as the supporting pipelines.

2) Keep Russia's only warm water sea port and the home of the Black Sea Fleet (Crimea). 

3) Increased Russian Defense Budget to protect Russian interests in the area.

4) Have a neutral government in Ukraine that is cooperative with Russia.

5) Keep the NATO forces at the edge of the Ukrainian border, not the Russian border. 

Vladimir Putin is not interested in invading Ukraine, but he does want to create the fear of invasion, to create enough instability in Ukraine that will influence the upcoming election. The threat of Crimea's secession, is only designed to create instability - he won't actually go through with it because the plan is not economically feasible from a Russian fiscal perspective. 

Despite denials by all Russian officials, and legal correctness, for all intents and purposes the troops on the ground in Crimea are of Russian origin. Let me explain, these are forces that were trained an equipped by the Russian Federation, and subsequently disavowed so that Russia may legally deny that they are Russian forces.

United States and European Union are largely incapacitated, because of their dependence on Russian natural gas and oil. Therefore, any punitive measures, would hurt both parties. 

In order to resolve this conflict, Ukraine must be united as a whole and defend its own interests, independent of all foreign influence. But that is not going to happen, until countries to the East and West of it stop regarding it as a juicy steak on their plate.

 

From American Dream to Corporate Lie

Before we start, I want to make it clear to everyone - I no longer consider the American Government and the American Corporate landscape two separate entities. They have been melded together and when I refer in this article to "Corporate", I refer to both as one.

Ahhh, the American Dream. It began as a reflection of our forefathers' desire to give every citizen an equal opportunity to succeed, to get ahead in life. The desire to move up, achieve a greater social and economic status are all the trademarks of the New World, as no other modern society before the United States of America has provided such an opportunity. This premise of wealth and prosperity through hard work and dedication proves elusive to most. Yet through most of American history, it has yielded some of the most productive working and middle classes in the world. This concept has given the Corporate structures a great advantage in terms of innate motivation and productivity. Furthermore, people are unlikely to rise up and rebel against the Corporate structures, as this very premise makes the people believe that by rising up or rebelling they are risking a lot. While the average American citizen that followed this premise in the past was unlikely to achieve the American Dream, the very pursuit was good enough to earn a decent living - something we Americans often take for granted. 

It is, of course, pure genius from a managerial perspective. You have a productive dedicated workforce and a mental safety net for the Corporate without a whole lot of effort needed from the top. However, since the time of our forefathers, there have been significant changes in economic and societal landscapes.

From a Corporate standpoint, a person can earn money, which means that he or she can be taxed on the money earned. Furthermore, that very same person can be a productive worker for any Corporate structure. Therefore, that person has the potential to provide the Corporate structures with profit twice. As far as the Corporate landscape is concerned, the more ways money can be generated from the same source, the better.

In present day, the American Dream no longer stands as just a premise of a better tomorrow through personal effort, but rather a well-crafted concept of acquisition of goods and status, regardless of means. You've all heard the standard consumerism version - a good education, a house, two kids, two cars. This is the Corporate Lie.

This is just Corporate Propaganda to make you feel like you're doing what you think is an accepted tried and true path to prosperity. In reality, for most people who blindly follow this version of the American Dream, it is a path to financial and personal ruin.

Let's break this down. For every part of the American Lie shown above, I will give you the following - the way the Corporate structures profit from the person and an alternative the person can pursue in order to benefit himself or herself instead of the Corporate structures.

I will start with Education, both emotional and academic. This is the foundation for all successful individuals that I have come across. The Corporate Lie dictates that pursuing a higher education (College or University) can provide you with a big salary, consequently financial stability and is crucial to your career. However, this lie is pushed by the for profit schools, which are in fact corporations themselves. These corporations make money from Student Loans and Government Grants. Grants are often paid for by the American Taxpayer, while Student Loans are an easy way to make money off the student who follows the Corporate Lie. As a result, The School Corporations profit from tuition, the Bank Corporations profit from loan interest, while the American Taxpayer and the Student are paying. What's worse, the same Corporate structures are outsourcing the very professions you are being trained to fulfill. So it is very likely that after leaving a higher education facility with an enormous debt, you may not have a reasonable opportunity to pay it off.

Let's take a step back - a good academic education begins with the right mindset at a young age. That mindset can only be framed through good emotional education from parents. It is only once a person feels good about him or herself and knows how to handle emotions, as well as how to express them, that a kid is able to get the most out of academic education. Next, all the building blocks a person needs for a good academic foundation can be found from first grade through the end of high school. There are classes of both general and specialized nature that any student can take in high school, which are applicable in the workforce. By the time you leave High School, if you have dedicated yourself, you should be ready for the workforce in a general sense. Now a student needs to acquire what is considered "higher education", which I consider to be skills relevant to your profession. Now I am not saying that students should skip college, far from it. In fact certain professions - Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers, actually require college. And some fields do not require higher education at all. However for majority of academic fields, a combination of less costly book study with online courses can yield better results than attending a far costlier four year university. In a four year university a student will wind up taking courses that have nothing to do with their given profession, while an online curriculum can be crafted to include just the relevant courses - after all you're paying for it. Also, while you're going through online study and book study, make sure to get an internship in your field of choice - it will teach you to apply academic knowledge to practice. And that is all you need to get the higher education necessary to enter the work force. The rest of what you need in your given profession is on the job training, that's how the vast majority of graduates (including from ivy leagues) get started anyway.

Home ownership is the most advertised part of the Corporate Lie. We have heard all the monikers - it is the first step to raising a family, it is an investment. First of all, you can raise a family in an apartment, a condo or a log cabin, if you are so inclined. Last time I checked, human reproduction in America does not coincide with owning a home. Second, a home is not an investment, far from it. A house is a depreciating asset that in most cases loses value over time and is susceptible all kinds of risks beyond your control. The "investment" myth came about the inflating home prices during the latter end of the 20th century and the first few years of the 21st. However, if you track people's salaries with respect to home values, you will see that the home by itself serves as a preservation of capital at best and a total loss of equity at its worst. A home is a dwelling that the Corporate landscape loves for a multitude of reasons, here are some:
1) Banks Collect Interest - With a 3.75% rate on a 30 year mortgage, you will wind up paying an additional 50% of the value of your home in interest over the life of your loan.

2) Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) - These bonds represent future earnings from home loans.
3) Insurance Premiums - You are required by the lending bank to pay for home insurance, which increases over time.

4) Property Taxes - Local townships love the taxes collected from home owners and constantly increase them.

5) Home Improvement Stores - Where you will spend money to make the home fit your style.

6) Furniture Stores - Where you will get a bed, couches, chairs, and tables.

And don't forget the implied repair costs associated with home ownership - a leaky roof, torn siding, burst pipe, termites, carpenter ants, mold, heating/ac problems, etc. These are all things you would likely not be responsible for, had you been living in an apartment or a condo. When you add up the difference in costs of living in a house versus apartment/condo, and add that difference to cost of the home, you can consider yourself lucky if you get half that money back when you are ready to sell your "investment".

The only way that a house becomes profitable for the consumer is if you are renting it out to tenants or its land becomes suddenly valuable due to a natural resource discovery or proximity to a desirable site.

My advice is to go for an apartment or a condo, and you will be pleasantly surprised by how much more money you can save. With the condo, make sure to only buy it when you have the money to pay for it outright - you don't want to pay the interest on the loan, trust me. You will have far fewer headaches and more money in your pocket.

Next up are the children. The Corporate structures do not see your kids as pride and joy, they see them as dollar signs and future consumers/taxpayers. With the kids, you have to pay for baby formula, diapers, clothes, medicine, daycare, etc. Yet some adults in this country are not prepared to be parents at all, neither emotionally nor financially. Life is not a lock-step approach where you hit a milestone and move on to the next one - it is a path specific to the person you are (as well as your partner) that is unique in every sense. And you should only have kids when you're absolutely ready to be responsible, in every sense of the word, for bringing another life into this world. Introducing a child into this world by parent(s) who are unable to provide the right environment for that child, is downright criminal in my opinion.

Cars, the Corporate Lie emphasizes status symbols above all else. And much like the house, a car is a status symbol. Even more so, it is also a depreciating asset that will need to be replaced at least a couple of times in your lifetime. In most cases it requires a loan, where the banks make money on interest. It provides business for the Auto Repair shops, Auto Body Shops, Oil Change facilities, Auto Parts stores, Insurance Companies, etc. Unlike the house, you do need a form a transportation. And for most people who live outside large cities where Mass Transit can be a viable substitute, a car is a necessity. However, heed my advice and don't treat it as a status symbol - get something that meets your needs for transportation while taking the least out of your wallet, nothing more. A Bentley is not going to get you to work any faster than a KIA during a traffic jam in the morning.

Don't live the Corporate Lie, live your own version of the American Dream that is based on personal fulfillment and true happiness that is not tied to anything you can buy.

State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman

Eighteen years after the nation was captivated and divided by a racially-fueled television trial of O.J. Simpson for double murder, the nation once again went through the trial of the State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman. In this case, George Zimmerman was accused of second degree murder and manslaughter for the death of Trayvon Martin.

In this day and age the media has become the ever-present integral matrix in our lives, where we post all content, whether its fact or opinion. And the line between fact and opinion can become blurred at times, due to the sheer volume we are bombarded with in social media every day. However, as intelligent human beings, we are compelled to remain vigilant and recognize what are the facts, regardless of how contradictory they may be to our own personal views and/or feelings.

Feelings and Opinions: Trayvon Martin was killed by the racist George Zimmerman who profiled him as a criminal, which resulted in Trayvon's death. George Zimmerman is a murderer. He is solely responsible for Trayvon Martin's death.

Facts: George Zimmerman was a part of the neighborhood watch, which was created in order to stem the recent trend of home robberies. He was attempting to improve the safety and security within his community. George saw a young man (Trayvon Martin) whom he thought to be suspicious and called the police. While George Zimmerman was advised by the police not to pursue Trayvon Martin, he did pursue the kid (which was later confirmed as a legal act). Trayvon became aware of a man who was pursuing him, and had a phone conversation with a friend regarding the situation. During the conversation, Trayvon on record racially labeled his pursuer as a "creepy-ass cracker". As a result of the conversation, Trayvon was advised by his friend to run from the person who was pursuing him. Instead, Trayvon decided to confront George and instead of attempting to resolve the situation, he assaulted George which resulted in several injuries (to which the medical examiner testified). George Zimmerman discharged his firearm in self-defense, which unfortunately resulted in the death of Trayvon Martin.

During the trial, the judge fairly dismissed any characteristics references of Trayvon Martin's suspensions from school, theft and drug use, because they were in fact irrelevant - Trayvon was not on trial - George was. 

However, characterization of George Zimmerman, his desire to enter law enforcement, his wanna be cop persona, his alleged hatred, his alleged ill will; were all allowed to be portrayed by the prosecution, despite their legal nature being argumentative at best and not supported by any evidence. 

There were no real eyewitnesses who could tell the story as it happened, only witnesses after the fact. As such, expert testimony is the primary basis we all have to go on. The only eyewitness outside of George Zimmerman, was actually Trayvon Martin himself. In this country you cannot presume guilt, but the legal system mandates that you have to presume innocence. That is the right every single one of us holds dear as one of the founding tenants of the American Legal System.

No matter how much your feelings may drive you to say that George Zimmerman was the man solely responsible for Trayvon Martin's death simply because he fired the fatal shot, or because he didn't follow the advice of the police officer, they're simply false. The truth, as shown through factual evidence - is that Trayvon Martin decided to turn confrontational and assaulted George Zimmerman repeatedly until George had no other option but to discharge his firearm in order to protect himself. 

In the end, I commend the jury for reaching the right verdict of not guilty - in this country you have the right to defend yourself. While the death of Trayvon Martin is unfortunate, the act of discharging his firearm by George Zimmerman was justified - it was a single shot fired after forty seconds of assault by Trayvon Martin in which he suffered several wounds that were submitted as evidence. 

George will never be able to get a job in law enforcement, because of this notoriety. He will always be labeled a racist and a bigot, when all he was trying to do is defend himself while helping his community. He will also have to fend off the fanatics' death threats in the short term.

I will leave you with this parting opinion of mine - Being asked a question "What are you doing here" is no grounds for instigating a fight and assaulting anyone. no matter how much you feel that the guy is a "Creepy-Ass Cracker". As a result, we are all left to wonder would could have been had Trayvon Martin calmly answered the simple question and did not resort to violence.

“Pussy Riot” - rebels without a clue

I want to begin this article with the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which permits federal prosecution of anyone who "willingly injures, intimidates or interferes with another person, or attempts to do so, by force because of the other person's race, color, religion or national origin". This is an American law, for which the freedom fighters of the Civil Rights movement fought for in the 1960s.

Our wonderful society, as well as media madness, has adopted a policy of defending individuals who have been unequivocally proven of wrongdoing, even by our legal standards. This wrongdoing can be a contract you've signed and violated, an oath you have taken and broke, or simply an offensive display against the beliefs of others in front of worshipers on grounds deemed to be sacred.

In this article, the subject is a self-proclaimed feminist punk rock band called “Pussy Riot”. It does not meet the criteria of what we in the United States know as punk rock – they have no rhyme in their words, and demonstrate no musical ability. They just scream out of key verses to roughly chopped guitar chords. Nobody really cared about this band, or their previous performances, until February 21^st, 2012, when they went inside the Russian Church of Christ the Savior, and screamed several obscenity-laden verses aimed at the Christian Orthodox faith and its patriarch.  

As a response to this act, seven patrons of the Church of Christ the Savior that were present during the band’s performance on February 21^st filed charges with the local police as plaintiffs under the Russian Federation’s Criminal Code. These charges involved disturbance of the peace and hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.  Russian authorities acted swiftly and arrested three members of “Pussy Riot”.  After a prolonged trial, they were convicted of the charges brought against them, and to this day two members (Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova) still remain in prison serving out their two year sentences.  A third convicted member (Samutsevich) was recently released on probation, as a result of her plea to the court and an official apology to the patrons of the Church of Christ the Savior for her actions on February 21^st.

The outrage by the Western media and its hoard of left-minded zombies, who have no idea of their own country’s laws, is astounding. The news outlets had no problem making it appear as though the Russian Federation government is responsible for imprisoning the members of “Pussy Riot” for opposing Vladimir Putin and his administration. To the contrary, their prior performances just prove how the far freedom of speech has evolved in modern day Russia. Take a look at public performances by the band on November 1^st 2011, December 14^th 2011, and January 20^th 2012.

Their November 1^st performance was aimed at political opposition to Vladimir Putin’s administration and chided that the ballots Russians cast are nothing more than toilet paper. Their December 14^th performance was rallying a revolt against the justice and prison system for the conviction and holding of political activists who were arrested during an earlier political protest on a western equivalent of misdemeanor charges. Their January 20^th performance was a straight berating of Vladimir Putting himself with lyrics like “Putin pissed himself”. Although members of the band were fined 500 rubles ($17) each for violating rules governing free assembly and protests for igniting a smoke bomb in a crowded public area, none were incarcerated. This clearly shows, that the Russian government was more than willing to let “Pussy Riot” perform in public all they wanted and actually recognized their freedom of speech and freedom of expression.

However, the members of “Pussy Riot” just wanted to push the buttons further in order to get a defining response and actually violated the rights church-going worshipers on February 21^st of 2012. On that day, they filed into the church of Christ the Savior and disrupted the worship of ordinary citizens in order to push their own beliefs onto others. Their intention to offend ordinary citizens to gain a reaction from the authorities is ultimately what led to their convictions, not their hatred of the Putin administration.

I am an Atheist and I firmly believe that there is no higher power. However, I recognize that this is my belief. And if others are to respect my beliefs, I should respect theirs. Therefore, I respect religious individuals and their faith. Someone very wise once said: “Religion is like a penis. It’s ok to have one. It’s ok to be proud of it. But don’t whip it out in public and start pushing it up against everyone”. Well, that’s what “Pussy Riot” did – figuratively speaking, they took out their vaginas and rubbed them in the faces of everyone in that church on that day. And for that action, several members of “Pussy Riot” got their retribution.  

In my opinion, the punishment fit the crime. It is unfortunate that far too many uneducated and/or ignorant individuals chose to side with this perverted ball of hatred. But then again, it’s not the first time in world history that the people have been led by hatred under the guise of a higher justice.

On a side-note, the term pussy can be manipulated into various nouns, verbs, and adjectives in Russian jargon.  One such popular manipulation leads to a word-specific translation of “to pussy around” (пиздеть), whose meaningful translation into American jargon is “to bullshit”. As such, one may conclude that the true meaning of the band “Pussy Riot” is in fact a “Bullshit Riot”. Having examined the facts carefully, it seems very fitting.