You might be tempted to think these two entries have nothing in common with each other. You would be correct.

One thing that continually irks the Czar is the painful inability of the main stream media to get their facts straight. Basically, if it isn’t off the internet, it’s too much work. And many readers seem to know of the Czar’s irritation, because you keep sending us examples. But it may surprise folks to learn the Czar is just as annoyed with incorrect stories with happy endings.

Take for example the meme circulating around the Internet about Japan’s unusual civility during a horrific time. There is evidently no looting. Liberals are praising this as examples of the well-ordered society of a liberal government, and how the people are happy because they know, with few exceptions, the government will provide for the needs of its people. Conservatives are praising the lack of looting because it shows that a roll-up-sleeves society is working cooperatively together to solve their problems, unlike the whiny beggars in New Orleans who went batshit because of water in the streets. In turn, liberals condemn the conservatives for this praise because there is this unspoken assumption that the Japanese aren’t black; conservatives blast the liberals because the Japanese government has not been responsive and may be making things worse.

Doesn’t matter. Because there has been looting, robbery, and primal human behavior in Japan. But that fails to fit the media template, so such stories are getting ignored intentionally. In fact, looting is proportionally as widespread as you would expect. “The vast majority” of survivors have remained lawful and self-reliant? That was true for New Orleans, as well.

The Czar received correspondence from a quake survivor that things are particularly bad in Sendai, as well: he personally witnessed widespread looting, outright theft of goods from other survivors, and more. He was surprised, indeed, to learn of the American belief that no looting is happening. “Things are bad here,” he said.

And in other, hopefully unrelated news, Iran claims to have built its first flying saucer. First? Okay. How many more are on the table?

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.