Merkel and Europe Seek Harder Line on Putin

At Der Spiegel, "Dancing with the Bear: Merkel Seeks a Hardline on Putin":

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has spent many years trying to understand Russian President Vladimir Putin. But even she didn't expect him to annex Crimea. Now, she and her European counterparts are struggling to come up with a response.

Last Monday was a day of historic comparisons for Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Immediately prior, almost 97 percent of voters on the Crimea Peninsula had voted in favor of joining Russia, an outcome that reminded the chancellor of the East Germany where she grew up. "Every result over 90 percent in this world has to be viewed with skepticism," Merkel said. After a brief, dramatic pause, she added: "With the exception of my election to the party chairmanship, of course."

Her comment was greeted with laughter, but it would remain the only buoyant moment that morning. The focus of the meeting was squarely on Russia and the crisis in Ukraine. Hesse Governor Volker Bouffier spoke of the West's "distressing helplessness" in the face of Russia's annexation of Crimea and said he was reminded of the year 1938 when the world did nothing to prevent Adolf Hitler's takeover of the Sudetenland in what was then Czechoslovakia. CDU General Secretary Peter Tauber, who holds a Ph.D. in history, pointed out that, just as now with the Winter Olympics in Sochi, there had been an Olympics prior to the Sudetenland seizure: 1936 in Berlin.

They are comparisons that lead to only one possible conclusion: Europe must stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin: no appeasement, a stern response. Until the Crimea referendum, Merkel had charted a completely different course for Germany in the Ukraine crisis; she had sought to work closely with Moscow in an effort to avoid a direct confrontation. But once Putin annexed Crimea, Merkel was forced to take an uncharacteristically hardline approach. Normally happy to wait and observe as a situation unfolds, Merkel went on the offensive last week, telling German parliament that "without a doubt, economic sanctions will be considered" should the situation become more critical.

For a chancellor who prefers to move slowly, it was a strong statement. For a leader who famously likes to think things through to the end, it was a confusing one. What, exactly, is her strategy? In levying sanctions, it is vital to have a clear understanding of your adversary and what goals he is pursuing. And it is important to have more patience. Does Merkel believe that the mere threat of painful economic sanctions will prevent Putin from sitting down to a meal of eastern Ukraine after his Crimean appetizer? Or is she really prepared to pursue the spiraling logic of sanctions? Whether she wants to or not, Merkel has to dance with the Russian bear. And it is unclear who has the lead.

Isolating Russia

The situation is an uncomfortable one for the German chancellor. But several telephone calls with the Russian president in recent weeks have led her to the conclusion that there is no other option at the moment. Even as the lines of communication to Moscow remain open, travel bans have been issued, accounts have been frozen and targeted economic sanctions have been prepared. The international community is isolating Russia.

On Friday evening, the Chancellery saw the first positive effects of Merkel's clear path on Russia. After days of back-and-forth over a possible observer mission by the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) for Ukraine, Moscow finally agreed. It was interpreted as a reaction to Western pressure. The determination and unity showed by the US and EU surprised Moscow, it was said.

But Merkel's path is not uncontroversial, neither within her governing coalition with the center-left Social Democrats nor within her own party. "If we levy economic sanctions and we are the ones most affected in the end, then they serve nobody," said Armin Laschet, deputy head of the CDU. Unsurprisingly, the German business community likewise believes that sanctions are the wrong approach. It is difficult to calculate their true costs and the price tag of an EU effort to provide financial assistance to Ukraine is likewise hard to estimate. One billion euros alone will be needed to stave off an immediate Ukraine insolvency.

And then there are the voters.

I like how the Germans don't blanch at the Nazi-Russia comparisons.

Continue reading.

Investigators Say Malaysia Flight 370 Crashed in 'Suicide Mission'

At Telegraph UK, "Malaysia Airlines crash: Suicide mission theory of MH370 investigators":

Sources close to investigation tell Telegraph that team working on MH370 mystery believe it was crashed deliberately.

Flight MH370 crashed into the Indian Ocean in an apparent suicide mission, well-placed sources revealed have revealed, as Malaysia’s prime minister announced that everyone on the missing aircraft had died.

The team investigating the Boeing 777’s disappearance believe no malfunction or fire was capable of causing the aircraft’s unusual flight or the disabling of its communications system before it veered wildly off course on a seven-hour silent flight into the sea. An analysis of the flight’s routing, signalling and communications shows that it was flown “in a rational way”.

An official source told The Telegraph that investigators believe “this has been a deliberate act by someone on board who had to have had the detailed knowledge to do what was done ... Nothing is emerging that points to motive.”

Asked about the possibility of a plane malfunction or an on-board fire, the source said: “It just does not hinge together... [The investigators] have gone through processes you do to get the plane where it flew to for eight hours. They point to it being flown in a rational way.”

Yesterday the worst fears of the families of the 239 people on board were realised when Najib Razak, Malaysia’s prime minister, announced that no one could have survived.

The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch and the British satellite firm Inmarsat provided information that led to his conclusions, but Britain was also caught in the middle of an international blame game over delays in the right search area being pinpointed.

Relatives of the missing passengers are angry that Inmarsat worked out within 24 hours that MH370 was likely to have crashed where the search is now concentrated, but it took a further 10 days for rescue teams to act on the information.

Despite no confirmed sightings of wreckage, Mr Razak revealed that new analysis by the AAIB and Inmarsat showed the plane ended its eight-hour flight on March 8 in the deep, remote waters of the Indian Ocean, about 1,500 miles west of Perth, with no survivors.

“This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites,” he said.
“It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.”

How Satellite Analysts Found Route of Missing Jetliner

At LAT, "British company analyzes satellite data for Malaysia Flight 370":

The British company whose satellite data helped direct search efforts for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 toward the south Indian Ocean said about two weeks ago that it had received “routine” and “automated” signals from the missing Boeing 777.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who announced Monday that the plane carrying 239 people "ended in the southern Indian Ocean" with no hope of survivors, said the company, Inmarsat, has been performing additional calculations on satellite data. Flight 370 disappeared March 8.

"Using a type of analysis never before used in an investigation of this sort, they have been able to shed more light on MH370’s flight path."

While the Boeing 777's transponders and communications systems were disabled, the airplane's satellite terminal was still on, "pinging" to try to maintain a connection with a satellite.

Tim Farrar, president of the consulting and research firm Telecom, Media & Finance Associates Inc. in Menlo Park, Calif., who is familiar with Inmarsat satellites, said the company looked at the Doppler effect to understand the speed of the plane relative to the satellite. This gave them two probable arcs of possible flight paths: One to the north and one to the south.

"The arcs were based on time shift --how long the ping took to reach the satellite -- which gave a distance and thus an arc," Farrar said. "By looking at speed -- and comparing to other planes at the same distance from the satellite -- it was possible to determine the plane was not in the Northern Hemisphere and pin down the track with a high probability."

More.

U.S., Western Allies Agree to Boycott G-8 Summit in Russia

At the New York Times, "Russia Is Ousted From Group of 8 by U.S. and Allies."

And at the Washington Post, "Obama, allies agree to boycott Group of Eight meeting in Russia, isolating Vladi­mir Putin":

THE HAGUE — The world’s major industrial nations on Monday effectively suspended Russia indefinitely from the Group of Eight and warned that they would impose stronger economic sanctions against Moscow if President Vladi­mir Putin expands his military intervention in Ukraine.

The decision followed a push by President Obama for a united stand by wealthy nations against what he has called Russia’s violation of international law with the annexation of Crimea this month. Obama and the leaders of six allied nations — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain — agreed Monday to boycott a planned G-8 summit meeting in Sochi, Russia, in June, effectively isolating Putin. Instead, they said they would convene as the Group of Seven in Brussels during the same time frame...

More.

A decision like this might have had more effect had it been imposed a month ago. Frankly, sanctions aren't likely to alter Putin's path, although a firm response now could give the West more influence in future iterations with Russia.

Syria Crucifixion Video

Saw this at Blazing Cat Fur, "Al Qaeda splinter group crucify man in Raqqa (northern Syria)."

Marine Le Pen's Earthquake Rocks France

At the Economist, "French politics: Marine Le Pen's triumph":

FOR Libération, it was a “slap in the face”. For Le Monde, another daily newspaper, it was an “earthquake”. The first round of voting in French municipal elections on March 23rd was a clear snub to François Hollande, the French president, whose Socialist Party did worse than polls had predicted in several towns. If there was a symbolic victor ahead of the second round of voting on March 30th, it was Marine Le Pen (pictured), the leader of the populist National Front.

First-round voting is only a partial guide to final results next weekend. But a few early conclusions can be drawn after the polls closed last night. The first is that the French are fed up with Mr Hollande. This will not come as a surprise. Thanks to high unemployment, low economic growth and political amateurishness, his popularity rating, at just 19%, is the lowest of a president of the Fifth Republic at this stage into his term. But this was the first chance the French have had to send him this message through the ballot box.

Voters did this partly by staying at home. Abstention went up from 33% in 2008 to 36%, a new record for municipal elections, and a low turnout tends to penalise the left. There was also a clear rebuke of the Socialist Party in towns where it had expected to do well. In Marseilles, for example, the left had hopes of winning control of a city where the governing centre-right UMP has failed to curb a violent organised-crime wave. Yet Patrick Mennucci, the Socialist candidate, came in third place, with just 21% of the vote, behind both the UMP and the National Front.

To their relief, the Socialists look well placed to hold on to Paris. Although the UMP candidate, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, came out marginally ahead of Anne Hidalgo, the Socialist candidate, in first-round voting, the city’s indirect election favours the left. But the Socialists face a difficult run-off in a string of other towns where they did not score as highly as they had hoped, including Toulouse, Amiens, Reims, Saint-Etienne, Quimper and Caen. Jean-Marc Ayrault, the prime minister, acknowledged grimly in a televised statement after the first-round results, that voters had expressed their “worries” and “doubts”.

It is the National Front, however, that pulled off the real electoral feat. The Eurosceptic, nationalist, anti-immigration party fielded more candidates than it has ever done at local elections, even in its heyday under Jean-Marie Le Pen, Ms Le Pen’s father. It managed to grab control of one town hall, in the former mining town of Hénin-Beaumont in France’s industrial north: Steeve Briois, the National Front candidate, won outright in the first round with just over 50% of the vote, evicting the left. He becomes the front’s first mayor since Mr Le Pen’s party won control of three southern towns, Toulon, Orange and Marignane, in 1995. This is a first in the French north.

Moreover, the National Front came top in a string of other towns, setting it up for a second-round contest.

More.

And at the New York Times, "Far-Right Party Stirs Municipal Elections in France."

Rose McGowan Steps Out After Romantic Dinner at Craig's Restaurant in West Hollywood

At Egotastic!, "Rose McGowan Seen leaving Craig's Restaurant in West Hollywood."

BONUS: At last week's London's Daily Mail, "Lady in red! Rose McGowan, 40, is flawless in a slinky crimson dress for a night out at the Chateau Marmont."

More Americans Say Polarization in Congress Is Good

From the new poll out at USA Today, "Divided we still stand – and getting used to it":

The sharp political divide that Americans say they hate may be becoming the new normal.

A USA TODAY/Bipartisan Policy Center poll taken this month, the fourth in a year-long series, shows no change in the overwhelming consensus that U.S. politics have become more divided in recent years.

But sentiments have shifted significantly during the past year about whether the nation's unyielding political divide is a positive or a negative. In February 2013, Americans said by nearly 4-1 that the heightened division is a bad thing because it makes it harder to get things done.

In the new poll, the percentage who describe the divide as bad has dropped by nearly 20 percentage points, to 55% from 74%. And the number who say it's a good thing — because it gives voters a real choice — has doubled to 40% from 20%.

"Honestly, I feel like Congress is designed to be slow, so it could be frustrating but that's how they are designed to be," Gage Egurrola, 23, a salesman from Caldwell, Idaho, who was among those surveyed. "It helps stop bad policies."

Shar Wright, 65, of Bodfish, Calif., disagrees. "I think this is the new normal, and I think it's terrible," she says. "They're putting their own agendas first and they should be voting on what the people want and what the country needs. What we need is a lot more care, a lot more concern and a lot less of tomfoolery."

The shift in public opinion toward Egurrola's view may reflect broadening acceptance of Washington's polarization as an inevitable fact of life. Skepticism about the government's ability to solve big problems, fueled by concerns about the Affordable Care Act, could play a part as well. It sets a landscape that could boost Republicans in the November elections, minimizing the impact of Democratic charges that GOP forces have been obstructionist.

Now, Americans say it's more important for their representative in Congress to stop bad laws than to pass new ones. On that, there is no partisan divide: 54% of Republicans and 51% of Democrats say blocking bad laws should be their priority.

Indeed, we have to stop terrible Democrat Party legislation from ever seeing the light of day. The f-kers are destroying this once great nation, sheesh.

Luckily, Republicans are in line to make sweeping gains in Congress this year. And by next year, hopefully, the public will support significant legislative fixes to the predicament the left has gotten us into. Seriously, if the GOP controls both chambers  the pressure on the White House to compromise will be overwhelming.

So, until then!

More at the link.

No Hope for Flight 370, Says Malaysia Prime Minister

At the Los Angeles Times, "Malaysia prime minister: Flight 'ended in the southern Indian Ocean'."

And a live blog at Telegraph UK, "Malaysia Airlines MH370: live."



BONUS: At the Other McCain, "Malaysian Prime Minister Gives Press Conference in Perfect English."

Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Hobby Lobby Case Today

At LAT, "Religious case at Supreme Court could affect Obamacare and much more."

And here comes Amanda Marcotte to shoot down conservative arguments on religious liberty, contraception, and prolly mansplaining too. At the Daily Beast, "Your Health Care, Your Choices (Amen, to That!)," and at Raw Story, "The Hobby Lobby Case Is About Spreading Lies About Contraception."

RELATED: At the Other McCain, "Wow! @AmandaMarcotte Really Hates Babies: ‘Time-Sucking Monsters’."

Hackers Target Household Devices for New Wave of Crime

Following up from the other day, "The Dystopian Internet of 2025."

More news to put you ill at ease online, at LAT, "Simple Internet-connected devices can end up in complex online crimes":

To keep an eye on his child via his smartphone, Marc Gilbert installed Internet-connected video baby monitors in his home in Houston.

One evening, Gilbert heard a stranger's voice bellowing obscenities from the monitor. He disconnected the device after realizing that it had been hacked.

"I'm a pretty technical guy, and I thought I knew how all this stuff should be hooked up," said Gilbert, who has written several letters to his congressman and other elected officials, trying to bring the security issue to their attention.

For decades, hackers have used the Internet to break into network routers, personal computers and advanced industrial devices.

But now, a whole new generation of often mundane, household devices is being connected to the Internet — and hackers are having a field day.

Thanks to smaller, cheaper processors, speedier wireless connections and the explosion of smartphones and tablets, it's becoming easier and more affordable to digitally link just about any object — sports equipment, watches, light bulbs, washing machines, thermostats.

If you can think of it, someone has probably stuck a sensor on it and connected it to the Internet.

Like a PC, the devices have operating systems and processors. And when they are connected to the Internet, hackers can break in and seize control.

Manufacturers and consumers haven't taken the same security precautions as they would with a PC, however, enabling hackers to turn seemingly innocuous gadgets into drones that can be used to spread malicious spam or launch a massive cyberattack — disrupting services or shutting down entire networks.

Even more frightening for many security experts is the prospect that the hackers could cause physical harm to people by shutting off thermostats, cars or even medical devices.

Such fears led doctors to turn off the wireless functionality of a heart implant in former Vice President Dick Cheney, out of concern that someone might hack it and attempt to kill him.

"It's the Wild West out there again," said Tommy Stiansen, co-founder of Norse Corp., a San Mateo, Calif., cybersecurity firm whose threat-detection team has discovered a wide range of devices being hacked. "The number of devices that have been compromised is staggering."

Pure evil.

Unfortunately more, at the link.

The Truth About Spring Break

At the Independent UK, "The rite stuff: good times, self-discovery and lots of booze":

This is the Nirvana moment: the precise picture they envisioned when they boarded their planes back in still-frigid Boston, Chicago or New York.

As Dutch DJ Afrojack raises a fist and the first beats pulse through their bones they too let fly, barefoot on the sand, pressed together in a miasma of sun-pinked flesh and swim-suits. Above, against a postcard Caribbean sky, black MTV cameras swoop and curve, a passing parasail adds a dash of yellow.

Call it their right, or their rite of passage, the special – and occasionally perilous – week called Spring Break when tens of thousands of young Americans flee university campuses to shed the usual rules, parental expectations and inhibitions and go a bit bonkers in the sun. It is a time for a different kind of learning, pushing the limits of their livers, testing the looser sides of their young libidos and navigating the unfamiliar far from home.

Not a national holiday as such and certainly not a religious one, the annual student migration south is in fact a rolling affair that runs from late February to early April. Different colleges and universities pick different weeks in the late-winter calendar when teaching stops and their wards are released. Some may just linger, others will seek virtue, perhaps building houses for the poor. But this is what they are meant to do: get drunk, laid and sunburned...

Well, as they say on Twitter: #YOLO!

It's pretty dangerous, though, apparently (yeah, we all drank too much when we were young, and all that). So, keep reading at the link.

Matador Enrique Ponce Gored at Las Fallas Festival in Valencia, Spain

At David Jackson's blog, "Ponce “ripped apart” by bull as bullfight goes wrong."

Watch it here.

Shark-Attack Survivor Bethany Hamilton Wins Surf n' Sea Pipeline Women's Pro 2014

This is awesome.

Soul surfer, at London's Daily Mail, "'I usually lose so this was great!': One-armed 'Soul Surfer' who survived shark attack wins major title for the first time in nearly ten years."

Three Children Found Starving and Abused in Home of Lesbian 'Domestic Partners' in Salinas

One child was in chains.

See the Other McCain for the report, "GIRL IN CHAINS: ‘Domestic Partners’ Charged in ‘Particularly Heinous Case’."

Most MSM news reports left out the lesbian part, naturally, although London's Daily Mail calls it, "Lesbian couple 'starved their three children so badly they looked like concentration camp victims and kept one adopted daughter chained to the floor'."

Liz Wahl on Putin's Propaganda Network: RT Hosts Are 'Very Hostile to the West, Very Anti-American, Very Conspiratorial...'

It's Ms. Wahl yesterday on "Reliable Sources," with Brian Stelter. An excellent segment:



PREVIOUSLY: "'Cold War-Hungry Neocons' Stage-Managed Liz Wahl's Resignation from Russia Today? — ROTFLMFAO!!"

U.S. Scurries to Shore Up Spying on #Russia

This report is rather shocking. Or as Victoria Nuland might say, pretty impressive statecraft.

At the Wall Street Journal, "In Crimea, Russia May Have Gotten a Jump on West by Evading U.S. Eavesdropping" (via Google):

And #Russia had Victoria Nuland on crystal clear phone tap telling EU to eff off. #Intelligence #Fail http://t.co/jUH3bWJ1aW

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) March 24, 2014

U.S. military satellites spied Russian troops amassing within striking distance of Crimea last month. But intelligence analysts were surprised because they hadn't intercepted any telltale communications where Russian leaders, military commanders or soldiers discussed plans to invade.

America's vaunted global surveillance is a vital tool for U.S. intelligence services, especially as an early-warning system and as a way to corroborate other evidence. In Crimea, though, U.S. intelligence officials are concluding that Russian planners might have gotten a jump on the West by evading U.S. eavesdropping.

"Even though there was a warning, we didn't have the information to be able to say exactly what was going to happen," a senior U.S. official says.

To close the information gap, U.S. spy agencies and the military are rushing to expand satellite coverage and communications-interception efforts across Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic states. U.S. officials hope the "surge" in assets and analysts will improve tracking of the Russian military and tip off the U.S. to any possible intentions of Russian President Vladimir Putin before he acts on them.

The U.S. moves will happen quickly. "We have gone into crisis-response mode," a senior official says.

Still, as Russia brings additional forces to areas near the border with eastern Ukraine, America's spy chiefs are worried that Russian leaders might be able to cloak their next move by shielding more communications from the U.S., according to officials familiar with the matter. "That is the question we're all asking ourselves," one top U.S. official says.

The Obama administration is "very nervous," says a person close to the discussions. "This is uncharted territory."

It all comes amid the backdrop of a worried government in Kiev. Ukraine's foreign minister said Sunday that the troop buildup is increasing the possibility of war with Russia.

Months before the takeover, U.S. spy agencies told White House policy makers that Mr. Putin could make a play for Crimea, home to strategically important Russian naval installations. That led to an unsuccessful diplomatic push by the Obama administration.

When the moment arrived, U.S. attention was focused on the troops on Russian soil. Instead, forces already inside Crimea were spearheading the takeover of the peninsula, before U.S. spy agencies fully realized what was happening.

Citing conflicting assessments from intelligence agencies, Rep. Michael Rogers, Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has launched a review of whether spy agencies misjudged Mr. Putin's intentions. Agency officials say the differences were relatively small and reflected the competing analysis that policy makers expect intelligence agencies to conduct.

Some Obama administration, military and intelligence officials say they doubt the U.S. could have done much differently. Even with a clearer understanding of Mr. Putin's plans, the Obama administration thought it had few options to stop him. U.S. spy chiefs told President Barack Obama three days before the Crimea operation that Russia could take over the peninsula so fast that Washington might find out only when it was done.

Some U.S. military and intelligence officials say Russia's war planners might have used knowledge about the U.S.'s usual surveillance techniques to change communication methods about the looming invasion. U.S. officials haven't determined how Russia hid its military plans from U.S. eavesdropping equipment that picks up digital and electronic communications.

Since the end of the Cold War, U.S. spy satellites and other intelligence-gathering assets have been focused less on Russia and more on counterterrorism, the Middle East and Asia, reflecting shifting U.S. priorities.

"This is the kind of thing young military officers are going to be reading about in their history books," says one senior U.S. official.

As early as December, U.S. intelligence analysts and diplomats got indications that Mr. Putin had his eye on Crimea. Widespread protests in Kiev against then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych concerned the Kremlin. The analysts and diplomats warned that Moscow could take unspecified measures to protect Russian interests in Crimea if the situation worsened.

The U.S. military's European Command asked the Pentagon to increase intelligence-collection efforts in the region, including satellite coverage. Images showed what U.S. officials described as typical military movements at Russian bases in Crimea.

Looking back, some U.S. officials now suspect Russia might have been trickling more highly trained units into Crimea in small numbers. But U.S. intelligence analysts didn't pick up any such indications before the takeover, officials briefed on the intelligence-gathering effort say...

 Very impressive, indeed.

Still more at the link.

My Buddy Broke His Hip at the Vans Skatepark Opening Yesterday

Here's an update to yesterday's entry, "Vans Skatepark Huntington Beach Grand Opening."

It turns out my good buddy Todd, who skated with me 35 years ago back in the day, broke his hip yesterday at the skatepark opening. It's a horrible fracture. Todd's femoral head broke off and he'll no doubt require hip replacement surgery. I haven't heard back from him since yesterday afternoon, so we'll see. Please join me in prayer for him.



I'm reminded of the piece at the L.A. Times in January, "Middle-aged skateboarders defy family skeptics, and falls." Old school veteran Steve Alba broke his collarbone last year. I saw Alba hanging out yesterday at the clover bowl but he did not skate (although he apparently did skate a secret pre-session last week or so).

I'm not myself looking to rekindle my glory skateboarding years (my teenage years, basically), although I can't resist the thrilling feel seeing all my old buddies, many of them out there hitting the bowls. I'll probably stick to the freestyle area, lol. It's been a long time since I did any serious skating, and like any sport, you need to train and maintain conditioning.

I'll keep you posted.

BONUS: At the O.C. Register, "Grand opening of Vans skatepark mixes legends, next generation."

'Obamao T-Shirts' Pulled as First Lady Visits the Great Wall of China

Well, at least the Chinese are showing some respect.

The Belgians? Not so much.

At the Weekly Standard, "'Obama-Mao T-Shirts' Removed from Great Wall Shops as Michelle Obama Visits."



PHOTO CREDIT: Truth Revolt, "Michelle Hits The Great Wall: Did She Buy an Obamao T-Shirt?"

Belgium's De Morgen Publishes Monkey Photos of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle

Well, Brooke Goldstein just tweeted.

.@GoldsteinBrooke Well, that's racist!

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) March 23, 2014

Almost unbelievable, but here's the UK's Metro, "Belgian newspaper De Morgen in racism row over doctored Obama monkey picture."