Geiger Throws a Fit: Deadliest Warrior Hits a New Low

Even after the trouble I dealt with following my post about this show’s episode, ‘Vikings vs Samurai’, I feel the need to post another. My brother, against my advice, decided to watch the latest farce, ‘Knight vs Pirate’. While peaking in and listen from next door, I found it rather hilarious that Max Geiger refused to listen to his co-host Geoff Desmoulin, even butting heads with him over test results. Most notably, when the flintlock musket couldn’t penetrate the Knight’s plate armour. Having seen his “nerd fantasy” destroyed by a test of his own design, he quickly jumped to the defense of “Pirate experts” everywhere, claiming that he himself would have been bested by this shot. Pretty pathetic.

While he was quickly slapped down for his bias by Desmoulin, the cat was definitely out of the bag on this show’s historical accuracy. Instead of coming to a reasonable conclusion, discussing the training of one warrior against the other, the weapons which said warrior would likely bring into battle, the tactics used with these weapons in battle, etc we see the ‘Deadliest Warrior’ for what it is really, a complete and utter farce. The computer technology which this show clings to for legitimacy, is as reliable as match making software was years ago. Even if the program’s designer wasn’t skewing the results with his obvious bias, I highly doubt any software could properly simulate an actual battle between warriors. The only way to really have any definite answer to a “who would win” question, would be to have those two actually fight. Since this isn’t possible, a well informed discussion is the next best thing.

What I found funny with last night’s episode was that Pirate’s weapons had shown themselves to be highly unreliably in actual combat. Having studied Canadian history since high school, I should have remembered how “primitive” flintlock weapons were, not simply because of the way they are loaded, but how inaccurate and ineffective they are in actual combat. The standard musket was moderately effective, but nowhere near as useful as the even the most basic rifles of today are. The key issue here is the rifling of modern barrels, as well as the shape of modern projectiles. It is obvious that when deciding who was the winner, Geiger was ignorant to these facts that he didn’t take this into account. A rifled barrel spins the bullet, and it is this spin which gives it is accuracy. The shape of bullets themselves also helps with accuracy, as well as a greater ability to penetrate a target. Musket balls were not only inaccurate because of the way they sat loosely in the musket, but lacked this penetration power. Add in the fact that the ball would bounce around the barrel once fired, and you find that the projectile itself doesn’t have the same momentum leaving the barrel that it would have had fired from a modern gun. Because of this, even if a shot did find it’s mark, it wasn’t uncommon for the musket ball to not do fatal damage. Many soldiers died because of infections due to wounds sustained by projectiles which failed to penetrate. Even hit in the chest, there was a good chance the musket ball would become lodged in bone or muscle tissue. This was definitely not a “bringing a gun to a knife fight” situation when the weapon in question fails to meet the “gun standard.”

Comparing personal projectile weapons, the Knight actually surpassed the Pirate. As discussed above, muskets were highly unreliable, and even Deadliest Warrior’s blunderbuss tests showed that under the wrong conditions, such weapons could not only misfire, but not fire at all. While “primitive”, bows and crossbows were easy to operate and highly reliable. They were far more accurate at longer range than muskets were, and you wouldn’t have to depend on the sheer number of shots to hit a single target. While loading was an issue with the crossbow, a musket was far more cumbersome to operate. You probably would have seen a pirate carrying multiple muskets during a fight because of how time consuming reloading would be. Because of it’s superiority in this area, weapons like the English Longbow had the advantage in combat. It is conceivable that a trained Knight could take out a Pirate at range (especially with armour strong enough to protect from musket fire), easily firing four or five arrows before the musket could be reloaded and fired again. Why wasn’t this taken into account? These are the things Geiger didn’t take into consideration while designing his obviously flawed program.

I could go on and discuss how, much like the Samurai’s weapons, a standard Pirate sword would be ineffective against chainmail and plate armour. I could go on and discuss the tactical advantages of carrying a shield, and I could discuss how Pirates weren’t trained in combat like Knights were, but I think anyone with an internet connection and a five minute Google search could figure that out. I raised the previous points because the “Pirate experts” and Geiger refuse to even acknowledge the most basic form of common sense. Matter of fact, he threw fits and tried to sway his co-host’s opinion by making irrelevant points. No respectable historian would stoop to those lows to prove a point. Not only that, but just like the “Samurai experts” before them, these arrogant and ignorant representatives were given free reign by Geiger to push their fiction on the viewing audience, on top of being given the advantage in choice of weapons. While the “grenado” was a weapon employed by Pirates, it was found in Europe and Asia long before the days of Blackbeard, meaning that anyone could have access to such a simple explosive device. (UPDATE: Read a few comments on this point and I would like to clarify. While the “grenado” was used by Pirates, it isn’t unique to Pirates as this episode tried to suggest. It had been used for centuries by soldiers and sailors alike.) Not only that, but only an idiot would allow this weapon into a serious discussion of the outcome of a fight between these warriors. Covered in plate and chainmail from head to toe, the Knight is fairly protected, so if the Pirate did use this weapon against him, he would most likely do more damage to himself. It is getting to the point where you can predict which side will win in the first five minutes by simply watching which team of “experts” is given this advantage.

In any event, it isn’t just me who is seeing this. Many viewers are outraged, and are expressing that outrage on the Spike TV forum. It has gotten so bad that in a desperate act to salvage whatever credibility Deadliest Warrior has, they have created a online segment called ‘The Aftermath’, where the Geiger and Desmoulin try to address concerns the audience has with historical inaccuracies and the blatant mismatching of warriors. I said in my previous post that putting a Ninja in a fight with a Spartan was a BAD IDEA, and yet they went along with it anyways. Watching the first ‘Aftermath’ segment, I was dumbfounded by what Geiger had said. Aside from adamantly defending his flawed computer program, he pretty much admitted it was a bad idea to pair these two up, and then went out to criticize the viewers who were critical of the previous episode and it’s outcome. Excuse me, but what kind of moron insults his audience? It’s Geiger who is living in the world of fantasy. It is obvious to anyone who watched last night’s episode that he not only owns Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean series on Blu-ray, but goes around on Halloween dressed in the best Pirate costume he can find. Each episode is simply a fulfillment of his personal desires and bias, and even Desmoulin’s protests for common sense don’t seem to help keep this show focused.

I don’t think watching Geiger’s “nerd fits” is a great way to spend a Tuesday night. If he wants to push his fiction onto an ignorant audience, he should at least admit his own bias, the flaws of his program and treat those who disagree with his views with even the slightest bit of respect. If not, I hope this show is canceled before it starts making an effort to actually offend people. Pathetic…

The Man Without A Clue; President freaks out city for photo op

I will say that I haven’t been updating my blog as much as I should have, but to be honest, I just didn’t feel up to it. There is only so much that can be said with “Obama did this, here’s why it’s bad, and here’s my thoughts” stories, one after another, but this time he has gone too far…

UPDATE: Video sometimes doesn’t want to be displayed, so here is the link.

I was on Hot Air when I found this video of Air Force One doing a fly by of Goldman Sachs Tower. I have to say that this is far too familiar, especially having watching the World Trade Centre collapsing after being struck by by two Boeing 737s (Air Force One being a 747 at the time) on September 11th, 2001. New Yorkers felt the same, fleeing in terror as the plane passed the Statue of Liberty and flew over the city. According to Reuters, hundreds called 911 as hundreds more quickly evacuated buildings in lower Manhattan and ran for their lives. If I were New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, I would be far more than furious with the White House for this near-disaster, I would be calling for President Obama’s impeachment.

It is one thing to waste more tax payer dollars getting a “patriotic” photo, which could have been easily edited by Photoshop as Michelle Malkin pointed out, but not to tell anyone that you are going to do a low flyby of a city which was struck by two similar aircraft less than eight years ago was just plain wrong. Did anyone in the White House even think this one through? To me, this incident screams of a serious lack of understanding by this administration, especially when it comes to keeping the country safe. Lately it seems like Obama and his supporters simply want to forget that America and her allies are at war with Islamic terrorists, whether it be closing to Guantanamo Bay, or releasing sensitive documents to discredit the Bush administration. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another, and I can’t sit quiet after this incident.

As I have stated before, Barack Obama doesn’t have what it takes to be President. Everyday it seems there is a new reason to why this is true, and honestly, I am kind of terrified at what will come next. If he isn’t shaking hands with Hugo Chavez, helping to undermine the position of America’s allies in the region, he apologizing for the United States being “arrogant”. It has only been 100 days, and yet he has far exceeded anyone’s expectations of sheer incompetence. Is this the “Hope and Change” Americans wanted? I seriously doubt it…

Americans better brace themselves. The first year of his first term isn’t even finished yet, and I fear that a “9/11 reenactment” is not going to be the worst thing that happens while Obama is in the White House…

UPDATE: Allahpundit and others were kicking around ideas of what Obama and his ilk could do next to not only waste tax payer money, but to do it in a way that would terrify the average American. While interesting, I think the really issue is what he do that would make up for this mess. An apology just doesn’t cut it, and seeing how most in the MSM are refusing to call him on this mistake, I could easily see this stupidity continuing. There is no way he can learn from these mistakes when his actions can’t be criticized without being accused of racism… Pathetic…

Michelle Malkin has more information on the “Plane Dumb” incident, check it out…

UPDATE: According to Allahpundit at Hot Air, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) knew that the Air Force One flight would scare New Yorkers. I do agree with Allahpundit’s assessment that this is good news, seeing as how it is better then them being overly incompetent on top of being insensitive. The issue I am having though is that, knowing this, how could they let the White House talk them into it? I don’t care if he is the President, you don’t get to freely terrorize your own citizens.

I honestly don’t care that he is “furious” either. He is either so incompetent that he can’t keep his administration under control, or he is just plain stupid in thinking that a photo op like this was worth “reenacting” 9/11… The only people who have a right to be furious are those who ran in terror yesterday, not the man who gave the go ahead to this fiasco…

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin is covering the official apology for this fiasco. It wouldn’t surprise me if Obama was on the plane (thus the reason for the “Air Force One” call sign), seeing how this man just loves photo ops. Aside from conspiracy theory, I believe it is more of the same ignorance this administration has shown, not nothing the importance of the title “Air Force One” when they issued this apology. It isn’t really a problem calling this particular plane by that name, as I have in this blog post, but those working at the White House should have known better.

UPDATE: This coming from Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey. It appears that the pictures taken of this “patriotic” moment will be classified, which is most likely due to the incomprehensiable level of stupidity that went into planning this fiasco. It isn’t like hiding these pictures will make people forget about this incident, and it sure won’t make President Obama himself look any better either. I say why not release the pictures, make a postcard out of them even, send them as apology letter to every New Yorker that fled in terror. Just a thought, it couldn’t hurt you know…

This story is just about over, but this is by far the weirdest turn of event yet…

UPDATE: Been thinking about it for a while, and instead of deleting the remark and the following comments, I would like to properly explain my remarks about impeaching Barack Obama. Do I think this event is enough to impeach him? Of course not. You could argue that he lied about his involvement, lied about informing the proper authorities to the fly over, etc but Obama lied in a press conference, not under oath like former President Bill Clinton. This incident demonstrates just how incompetent “The One” is, but it isn’t grounds for impeachment. So why did I say it? Well, as we saw during the former President George W. Bush’s time in office, every incident, according to his critics, was grounds for impeachment. Nevermind that most of the time Bush and his administration wasn’t even to blame for what occurred, like the levies breaking in Louisiana, they still tried to pin whatever happened on him and demanded he be impeached. If I were Mayor Bloomberg, after having to deal with the fallout of this fiasco, I would be demanding a variety things, a public apology from the administration, Obama’s impeachment (seeing how it was supposed to have been his idea), reparations for the costs incurred due to this incident, etc While I am doubtful that any of it would happen, all Bloomberg could do to salvage his reputation was to continually blame the White House for the panic that they caused with this idiotic stunt. The point of such a remark would be to deflect as much criticism as possible while placing the blame for this incident squarely on Obama, the one who planned it. Seeing how New York hasn’t been treated with the utmost respect by this administration, such an extreme demand may have won him a bit of political support.

I hope that better explains what I meant by this. Those who wish to leave comments on that remark should read this explanation before doing so, saving me the trouble of having to explain my remarks once again… Upsetting…

Deadliest Warrior Reviewed: More Nonsense From People Who Wouldn’t Know Better

The still of night is broken by chaos; A once peaceful Japanese kingdom is now facing an invader from parts unknown. The Samurai are quickly assembled, called to the defense of their master’s home. These warriors are feared throughout Japan for their prowess with katana, but even with their legendary skills, they are ill-prepared for what they are about to face. The sky is ignited with fire arrows, raining down on the feudal lord’s land, bringing the first wave of destruction. Boats resembling dragons and other hideous beats would bring warriors covers in chainmail and animal hides, terrifying the peasants and even the feudal lord’s front line soldiers. Even the most disciplined fighters would flee, cut down as they ran by spears, arrows and axes, and utter chaos would ensue. The Samurai, thought to be fearless, would be startled, even scared as their weapons couldn’t even penetrate the armour of these towering giants. The once peaceful lands would now be painted red with blood…

Or what would have been the case if East met West on the field of combat…

I made the mistake of sitting through a full hour of Spike TV’s newest show, Deadliest Warrior, and I have to say I was very disappointed, as well as insulted. Much like previous “Versus” shows, this one fails to take into account historical accuracy and even common sense (the size, strength and reach of the warrior, as well as the range of his weapons). Even with weapons analyzed, the build-up seemed to be all a “show” when watching the “simulation”. I will admit, before watching this show, I was ready to call this battle a toss up when considering the strength of the Viking warrior compared to the skill of the Samurai warrior. Once I saw that their tests showed the katana nearly useless against chainmail armour, however, the fight was already over in my mind. Even with this knowledge, even knowing how ineffective Samurai weapons were against Viking armour, which they showed with their own tests, these idiots somehow concoct a computer program which “proves” that the Japanese warrior would be the winner if he met this brute in combat. Where were the real historians? Where were the truly scientific tests to prove their point? It is amazing that this stupidity passes as educational entertainment…

Do these people have any historical education or any sense of reality? Well it seems one of these “experts”, Max Geiger, isn’t an educated scholar or even an “arm chair” historian, but a game designer. Well that isn’t what we want in a show which should be based on historical accuracies, someone who has dedicated their adult life to fulfilling childhood fantasies which belong in Japanese manga rather than a classroom. “Experts” like him probably cite such “relevant” sources like Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai or the Rurouni Kenshin series, rather then doing any serious research. Do a quick Google search if you want, try Wikipedia, and you will find that much of what is said about the Samurai is simply fiction. This idea of absolute loyalty is a sham, and while there are notable examples, like Kusunoki Masashige, these warriors would usually choose the side of their immediate superiors, or even forgo that loyalty when loyalty to other lords, like the Emperor, was seen to be better for them. As mythical as the Samurai code is, it is more or less a confusing set of rules, wrapped up in a very broad cultural concept (can they really define honour?), created to demand some sort of respect from those not educated enough to realize that this military organization was no different than those found in other parts of the world. At least the Vikings were “honest” about their evil deeds.

Neither Geiger, nor the Samurai experts brought on the show seemed to even understand what a Viking was. For those looking for a quick education, Barbarians – The Vikings is a great starting point. There is a reason these people practically ruled Europe for three hundred years (UPDATE: While Vikings didn’t physically rule Europe, they were undeniably the greatest military force of that era and had forced Europe’s nobility into submission, receiving payment for not raping and pillaging their lands), as they were superior to those they met in combat. According to the historical accounts, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, one unarmoured axe-wielding Viking defeated over forty heavily armed and armoured Saxons before being killed (UPDATE: This is a description of Viking combat prowess, and while they did lose the Battle of Stamford Bridge, it was due to tactical miscalculations and the Viking army’s mistake in not bringing their entire army ashore, as well as foolishness in leaving their amour on the boats. The truth is that the Vikings believed this was a simple prisoner exchange, and while they fought bravely, they weren’t prepared for a large scale encounter with a heavily armed and armoured Saxon army). They were also far more intelligent than the oafish brute they had portrayed on the show. Vikings engineered ships which were far superior to those found in Europe at the time, capable of both shallow water and open ocean sailing (also very fast, which helped these raiders attack and plunder towns, then get away before the local militia arrived). Archeologists have also discovered soaps which Vikings used to clean and bleach their hair, as well as grooming tools to maintain their appearance (the “stupid smelly Viking” is just as fictional as the show’s depiction of the Samurai). Once again, a simple Google search like the one I performed after watching this historical garbage quickly educated me on who these “noble savages” were…

Aside from the combatants (one which trained extensively with mock fights during peace time, the other which was raised in harsh conditions and molded by conflict since childhood), the comparison between the choice of weapons and the fighting style of both warriors should have convinced even the most Japan-obsessed fans that the Samurai wasn’t up to taking on a Viking. As one commenter and history major, combatter wrote,

…Samurai were deadly and very skilled. However, their fighting style was based upon range of motion and speed. Their swords and armor were light and fast. Samurai armor was designed to turn away glancing slashes from a katana, it could not stand up to the powerful thrusts and hacks from a Nordic sword or axe. Also, a saber-like sword such as the katana would be ineffectual against the superior armor of a viking- which was designed to turn away all but the most powerful thrusts from a point- slashes from a katana would do nothing against viking mail not to mention their helmets.

As I stated before, even in their own tests it was found that the katana was ineffective against against the Viking chainmail, and yet not only did these “experts” refused to take this into account when performing their computer simulation. Not only that, but as many who have commented said, the weapons were not even properly sized up. Vikings had bows, which weren’t displayed, Vikings had war hammers, which were also ignored, and samurais were rarely seen, if ever, with kanabos (a fact which was left out of this simulation because of an obvious bias). Take into account that naginatas were pushed to the sidelines when spears proved far more effective in ranged combat, becoming a weapon mostly used by women in defense of the homestead when their Samurai husbands were away, and it goes to show that these Samurai “experts” are more or less well-trained historical amateurs. How is it that this show was so poorly put together? How can it be that no one could take one of those computers and perform a simple Google search to seek actual information instead of relying on some arrogant Japanese poser and his steroid-abusing friend (I doubt the Samurai were that big, especially without the help of performance enhancing drugs) for the facts.

I have to say that this doesn’t surprise me. It was obvious that Geiger and the Samurai experts were overly obsessed with Japanese culture, and the fact that they ignored their own findings to produce a conclusion which they wanted, showed how garbage this show is. Arrogance and stupidity doesn’t make you right, and it sure didn’t help the Japanese soldiers during the Guadalcanal campaign in World War II (the only instance where “Samurai” were in combat with foreigner fighters). These men, armed with katanas and trained in Samurai combat, were outmatched by raw recruits carrying rifles with bayonets in close combat, showing just how vulnerable these “legendary warriors” were. If an ill-equipped and ill-trained American soldier can do it, I don’t see how a Viking couldn’t. This idea of racial superiority and their romantic view of Eastern culture doesn’t go far with me, and simply because they want it to be so, doesn’t make it so. Next week’s episode, Spartans versus Ninjas doesn’t even make sense (one being the perfection of a trained warrior and the other is trained to do their best to avoid an actual fight, striking from a distance instead), but this all doesn’t seem to matter to the show’s hosts. This seems more like an exercise is fulfilling a geek’s “wet dream” and bashing Western military history then an actual educated look at the combat effectiveness of each individual warrior.

Simply more garbage on a garbage network; a show designed by beta-males for beta-males. The kind of men who were beaten, tortured and killed when the Vikings tore through Europe centuries ago… Pathetic…

Not Getting It; Obama loses touch with reality, supporting Turkey’s EU push

How many times have we discussed President Barack Obama’s desire to intrude on the average American’s life? Remember all that talk about keeping thermostats down and SUVs off the road? I do…

He is the President of the United States, he isn’t the “King of the continent” (no matter what the Press says), and neither he nor his ilk have the legal authority to reach into the boardrooms of America and decide who is and isn’t fired. If he isn’t telling Americans, NORTH Americans what to do, he is telling the Europeans what they should be doing. Instead of putting the pressure on at the G20 summit to ensure NATO support for the Afghanistan mission (which he failed at by the way), he is insisting that the European Union admit Turkey as a full member. Urgh, it is getting harder and harder to even defend any of his actions anymore…

You have to understand that the majority of us on the center-right/right are growing frustrated with these demands to “give Obama a chance” when all he does is prove that we were correct about him not being worthy of the position of President. Take for example his royal visit, or even Gordon Brown’s visit to America, it is almost as if he went out of his way to offend the British. Continuing this trend as he travels the continent, the “Great-Uniter” was further alienating the United States from its European allies by inserting himself into EU politics. As Spiegel Onine is reporting, the mood in Europe has been soured by Obama’s “meddling”…

During his stay in Europe, everybody seemed eager to be President Barack Obama’s friend… Now that Obama is in Turkey, however, some political camps — particularly in Germany — have discovered the political efficacy of Obama bashing. While in Ankara, Obama reiterated his support for Turkish membership in the European Union, a position he first voiced on Sunday in Prague. That doesn’t sit well with some.

“Turkey is bound to Europe by more than bridges over the Bosporus,” Obama told the Turkish parliament on Monday. “Centuries of shared history, culture and commerce bring you together. And Turkish membership would broaden and strengthen Europe’s foundation once more.”

It is a sentiment not universally shared in Europe. On Monday, a number of politicians, particularly in Germany, went on the offensive. “It is a meddling in the internal affairs of Europe,” Bernd Posselt, a member of the European Parliament from Bavarian’s conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), blustered in an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE. “The EU is not Obama’s plaything. … He should accept Turkey as America’s 51st state instead,” he continued.

Markus Ferber, the CSU’s lead candidate in European Parliament elections set for early June, echoed his party colleague. “There is no question that the US has a voice in NATO. But when it comes to membership in its own club, the EU decides by itself,” he said. “We don’t need any tutoring from abroad.”

This isn’t surprising at all. For someone who has spent so much time apologizing for America’s “arrogance” and the alleged “sins” of the Bush administration, he sure come off as arrogant and prideful himself. If it isn’t his “invasionary sized force” he brought with him to London, it is his declaration of opinion on the sensitive subject of Turkey’s membership in the EU. It isn’t just that he announced his side on the issue, but that he simply lacks the education on it. Anyone who has put in the time to study this issue should at least know that Europe “proper” doesn’t share a “culture” with Turkey, for the most part it didn’t even share a religious identity with this once Muslim nation.

For starters, as Obama most likely doesn’t know, is that the European Union is very much a “United States of Europe”. This means it isn’t simply an economic union (the Euro being the currency for most states), but a social/political one as well. Full membership into the EU means that certain rights are awarded to the citizenry, like free movement between member countries for the sake of travel, but also the right to work anywhere within the union (there is far more rights that these dictated by the various treaties signed over the years, but for the sake of discussing the situation of Turkey, let’s stick to these two). EU citizenship allows a worker to take up residence anywhere within the union they can get employment. In this respect, the European Union has an identifiable political border for which only the citizenry within are given these rights. This “closed border” makes free movement for workers outside the EU nearly impossible. This system is put in place to not only protect the Union’s interests, but the interests of each individual member country. As Germany discovered when it opened its doors to Turkish workers a few decades ago, the free movement of labour can be a “curse” as these foreign workers refused to leave. This is where the troubles start…

If granted full membership into the EU, Turkish citizens will be allowed to work wherever they wish within the Union, taking up residency in any one of the twenty-seven member countries (in theory, in reality many members still maintain sovereignty in such a respect, like the United Kingdom). This poses a problem since these workers bring cultural baggage far removed from that of many European countries. This creates a slew of social/political issues addressing the acceptance/tolerance of a particular country to the cultural/religious practices of these new citizens. Many countries in Europe are struggling with Islam-related issues, as was seen in France following ban on hijabs and other “conspicuous” religious symbols in state schools, and the situation would get worse with more Muslims taking up residence in these affected countries. On top of that, it is also a safety issue. With Germany having its hand full with battling terrorism with its own borders, other countries might fall victim to home-grown terrorism as Turkey would become a jumping off point for radicals looking to establish themselves within the European Union. Britain itself is still seen as a security threat to its neighbours, that it would become a jumping-off point to the European Union because of the radicalism growing within its borders, but this would pale in comparison to Turkey being a full member of the EU as many have stated that border security is nearly non-existent. Forget America’s safety, Europe’s security under Obama’s leadership would be forfeited.

There are a variety of other issues as well, along with that fact that Turkey’s population itself would distabilize power within the EU, granting the country enormous voting power, far exceeding Germany and France, which Obama obviously didn’t seem to be educated on before making this statement. Coming from a man who believes Austrian is a language, we shouldn’t be surprised that he isn’t versed on European politics. His lack of knowledge on international issues was raised during the election, and his critics had a laugh when he couldn’t decide who he wanted to condemn during the Georgia Crisis last year, so this is merely an continuation of his ignorance and arrogance on the international stage. He had no place making any statement on who the EU allows in, and yet he couldn’t help himself from making a pointless gesture to Turkey at the expense of relations with the United States’ European allies. He isn’t a “world citizen”, he is an American President and he should start acting like one…

Until the Press starts hammering him (which they obviously haven’t been doing), Obama will continue thinking he is the “King of the World” with the power to do as he pleases. A man so wrapped up in his own importance that he has lost touch with the reality we face in a Post-9/11 world… He isn’t a “King”, he doesn’t even deserve the “crown” he wears…

UPDATE: Well people are still talking about this “Jimmy Carter-esk” performance President Obama gave during his European visit. Ed Morrissey is covering his ill-thought bow to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, as well as Newt Gingrich’s interview on Fox News about the “The One’s” poor performance abroad. Allahpundit from Hot Air and Michelle Malkin are covering this new push for “geoengineering” (what?) coming from the Obama administration. Seems there still is a lot to be concerned about considering that this new President still doesn’t get it, still doesn’t understand that reality and his world view differ greatly…

So much to blog, so little time…

The Obama’s Royal Visit: Do they even like the British?

You know, I am constantly told how much “smarter” the Obamas are to us “common folk”, but even I knew there were certain things you didn’t do in the presence of the Queen of England. Of course you didn’t hear, especially seeing how the Press is fawning over the “awesomeness” of having their “Messiah” meeting someone of actual importance, so let’s start this at the beginning.

I do my best to keep up to date with these stories, seeing how this administration seems to abuse its power on a regular basis, but I save my blog entries for the more interesting stories, ones which really strike me. To Canadians, the Queen is an important figurehead, or at least a controversial subject at the dinner table. I personally believe that maintaining the Queen’s position in our political structure is an important gesture of friendship to the British people, and to abolish the monarchy’s place in Canadian society would cause serious damage to Canada’s relationship with the United Kingdom. This isn’t something that most Americans even think about, however. Americans are more concerned with how they are perceived by the British people when their leaders go to meet the Prime Minister and the Royal Family. With that said, the Press has been doing their best to keep British feelings out of the headlines, to hide what is being said behind the backs of the American people by their cousins “across the pond.”

As I mentioned previously, Downing Street was less than impressed when Gordon Brown’s copy of Psycho, one of the DVDs Barack Obama gave him, didn’t work because of regional differences. They were originally “confident” that any gift from the US President would be “well thought through”, but I guess the British are really starting to look at Americans like the “ignorant children” they use to believed they were. Can you blame them? If the White House can’t even get the DVDs working for them, how are they to fix the financial trouble the world is now facing? Well Obama went a step further when he had to choose a gift for Queen Elizabeth II… The ever “hip” iPod. I was absolutely dumbstruck… I mean, what? This is the best he can do?

The gift itself reeks of Obama’s personal obsession with his own “hipness”, something we learned when it was “leaked” that he had gotten his daughters a Wii for Christmas (which he also plays with, practicing his bowling skills on Wii Sports… Oh, how “hip”). He might as well have gotten her one of those, seeing as the Queen already has an iPod, a silver 6GB iPod mini which she bought in 2005 (the paparazzi knew that, why didn’t the Obama Administration?). That isn’t all though, this gift gets worse. Aside from the fact that it is loaded with music from Broadway productions (which isn’t that bad), it also has pictures and video of her most recent American visit (as if she didn’t already have them), as well as recordings of Obama’s “famous” speeches. I do agree with Michelle Malkin on this one, it does sound like an April Fool’s Day joke, but the problem is, it isn’t. This gift says that Barack isn’t simply obsessed with being “hip”, he is also a megalomaniac (megalomania being a psychopathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of wealth, power, or omnipotence… Fits doesn’t it?).

As if this visit couldn’t get worse, we hear this morning that Michelle Obama touched the Queen, breaking royal protocol for what I could describe as a poorly thought out “Kodak moment”. Much like Barack’s joke about the Special Olympics on the Tonight Show, this wouldn’t have been an issue if Michelle wasn’t the First Lady, but she is. She is supposed to be proper, she is supposed know how to greet people like Queen Elizabeth, but this wasn’t just a show of her ignorance to protocol, it was a display of how impolite this woman can be. It isn’t just that, as Mark Finkelstein of NewsBusters.org made mention of during the presidential campaign Michelle is an angry woman. When she is in the public’s eye, she is supposed to be composed, she is supposed to behave according to her position as First Lady, but like her husband, it seems Mrs. Obama doesn’t believe the rules apply to her. Why should these two follow any set of rules though, especially when it seems the Press won’t call them on their mistakes? Last night I turned on CNN to see if they had bothered to critically analyze the Obamas conduct during the royal visit, but instead found these so-called reporters fawning over how great they thought Michelle was. She isn’t Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, not by a long shot, she doesn’t even measure up to Laura Bush, a woman who commanded respect even when he husband didn’t, so why the fuss over a classless, unfeminine and angry First Lady? It is disgusting to see how these reporters continue to fawn over her even now.

With this media love affair now in full-bloom, any sense of reporter objectivity is long gone. How can it be that this was ignored by the American Press? The Telegraph had a report about the British opinion on what they saw as Obama’s rudeness towards Gordon Brown. Iain Martin said that Obama “looked like he simply couldn’t be bothered” with the British Prime Minister, denying him even the most basic courtesies like a full press conference with flags (as per protocol with visiting leaders) or even lunch (stay classy Barack). Partisan hacks like Betty Baye of the Courier-Journal would rather attack those like Michelle Malkin, who she called an “acidic Asian-American” (racist much?), than write a column worth reading. The “question everything/question authority” drive these reporters and columnists once had (and “proudly” displayed the last eight years) has been replaced by this perverse sense of “duty” to the new administration. They have a duty to their audience, not to some “political master”. Its called journalist integrity if I remember correctly (been so long since I have seen it from these hacks), something these people are seriously lacking.

As a “colonial subject” of Queen Elizabeth II, I find it offensive to see British royalty being treated with such disregard. She’s my Queen, Canada’s Queen, the Queen of the former British Empire, she deserves more than an iPod and a hug from an angry woman. There is a proper way to address the Queen, and I am sure he and his wife were briefed on it before meeting with her, but it seems President Obama would rather maintain protocol with those who don’t like us, rather than those who have assisted the United States in its War on Terror. I can only imagine how the British are feeling, watching these two classless heads of state manhandle their leaders. We can wait and see what the Telegraph and other British publications will be saying when this is all over, but I bet they won’t have any kind words to say about Barack and Michelle Obama once the two of them are back on American soil. As with the previous meeting, the “Great Uniter” has managed to sour relations with one of our closest allies.

If you don’t like them, be honest Barack. It is far less offensive than these awkward meetings… You’ve become the neighbour nobody wants at their party, so simply tell them you just don’t want to attend next time they ask you too…

UPDATE: Ed Morrissey at Hot Air is looking over Obama’s bow when meeting King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. The question is why would Barack maintain protocol with a leader who’s country isn’t very friendly to the United States when he wouldn’t with one of America’s allies? I know he is trying to reach out to the Middle East, but it doesn’t work.

Why not simply surrender Iraq and Afghanistan? I am wondering when this appeasement will end… Pathetic…