Update on the peace process

For once there is good news about the progress of peace talks that have been stalled for the past five years or so. US Foreign Secretary (Secretary of State) John F. Kerry has been able to get a tentative framework endorsed by the entire Arab League, which would be enough coverage for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to make the case to the already skeptical Palestinian public that negotiations within the newly announced framework are within their national interest. While it will be a simultaneously tough sell for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to both his cabinet and his people, it will give him a stronger incentive to make a real meaningful dialogue knowing full well that his American partner, US President Barack Obama, will give him plenty of backup in the international sphere so that there can be an ongoing dialogue. By mentioning Obama's support, Netanyahu can make the case to the equally skeptical Israeli public that reengaging in a dialogue with the Palestinians will help make Israel more secure for future generations. Full credit for the breaking of this story goes to the Associated Press via Yahoo News.

I find this to be a very positive step towards ending the nearly century-old dispute, and one of the biggest sources of violent outbreaks in the Middle East. In addition, to the tough sells involved, doing so will undoubtedly isolate both Syria and Iran. The Arabs' main source of rage now is not so much with the Israelis, as I've mentioned in previous posts, but with the Iranians. The reason is simple: Iran has a relatively strong history of dabbling in the Arab states' internal affairs, and for the past 30 years or so, the Arab states have long complained to the Americans about this. Now this is not to say that the Americans and the Iranians have any business launching threats at each other, because they don't, but that's not the main point here. The Iranians after the Islamic Revolution have long cowed their Arab neighbors threatening to back radical Islamic elements in their borders unless they heed Iranian guidance in the Islamic struggle against Israel. Now this is the main reason for the Arab push for peace with Israel since 2002, as it would free up resources for them to go after elements backed by the Iranians.

Now for the American perspective of this: it's a massive interest for there to be a final accord to the Arab-Israeli dispute as it would finally allow a fully unified front against the main source of terror, the Iranians. For America, like Israel and the Arab states, Iran's reach across the Middle East is a credible threat and the fact that it has not made the proper disclosures for its nuclear program as mandated by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty creates an even larger crisis that threatens the whole non-proliferation regime put in place by both the Americans and the Russians at the end of the Cold War. This is primarily why America wants to see this dispute end, as it would only aggrivate an arms race, but of a smaller proportion to the extent of what it faced with Russia for 40 years (1947-87).

Martin/Zimmerman Verdict

I can't begin to understand how its possible to let a kid, who was unarmed at the time he was shot, receive nothing in terms of closure, especially for his family. At the same time, it's really beyond absurd to allow the "Stand Your Ground" laws to remain on the books, when Trayvon Martin's death clearly showed how ineffective.and dangerous they are.

It makes me concerned that someone can cite this kind of law after looking for a reason to use it. George Zimmerman really had no business following and confronting Martin at all, and was told by the 911 operator with whom he was on the phone to stay in his car. That being said, however, still doesn't change the fact that it could have been anyone who was on the recieving end of the "Stand Your Ground" that would be dead, or very seriously injured. I understand needing self-defense laws to protect oneself against criminals, or threats to one's own survival, but the way this law was applied in Florida only says to would-be vigilantes that they can take the law into their own hands and enforce it how they please.

BART Strike of 2013

I have to say, this has been a crazy week so far with the ATU and SEIU local unions for BART having gone on strike. Apparently it's been over the number of safety incidents that have taken place over the past couple of months which is why I'm kind of understanding of their striking. I'm really concerned that BART's management was not hearing the train and fare-gate operators as they've apparently been making noise about the lack of concern or investment in safety for riders. While I hope they can restore service as soon as possible, I really hope that the State of California can force some changes in terms of safety routines.

Additionally, the unions were also trying to seek a raise, which had been a part of the fight as well, with wages and benefits on the line. The good news is that, while the unions agreed to call off the strike and resume their current contract for another 30 days, they are back to negotiating a new contract, as well as, pushing new safety practices to end the kind of tragedies that have taken place on the BART system over the past few months. I hope for sure that it has some teeth and that BART can increase its presence of crisis management for these types of situations.

Tighter Utility Regulation

Here's something I've got to say, how is it that in a country as expansive and wealthy as the one I live in can have such lax laws governing utilities? I honestly don't get it, as recently as 10 or so years ago they've been cutting corners on safety and other areas to just to make an extra buck or 2. Here's an example of what I'm talking about with an article from Russia Today. 

Cleaner Fuels And Cars Mean Cleaner Air

Seeing this only reminds me of Jimmy Carter's efforts to get us off of Fossil Fuels back in the 1970's. Barack Obama is clearly following in Carter's footsteps (or at least trying to), but he can't do this alone. We need to help Obama force the Republican-led House of Representatives and barely held Democratic-led Senate to push this forward. If you want to breath clean air, to drink clean water/eat food not tainted with pollutant chemicals, then sign this petition. It's time to put an end to the corrupting power of big oil, which only wants to be able to keep its profit margins up by not having to put in technology that will surely lower the number of asthma cases around the country.

Cleaner Fuels And Cars Mean Cleaner Air

Representative's son's racist/homophobic rant

I just saw this on Facebook, and I thought to myself, "Again with the hate-filled speech?" Well, apparently it did happen again within this story:

Sen. Flake’s son threatens to ‘beat the crap’ out of ‘f*ggot’ on Twitter (via Raw Story )

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) apologized on Wednesday after BuzzFeed discovered that his high school-aged son had used racist and homophobic language on the Internet. Screen grabs obtained by BuzzFeed showed that Flake’s son, Tanner, had called one person on Twitter a “Jew” and repeatedly used the term…

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Barry Zito's Award

Coming to AT&T Park today, I was so amazed by the fact that Barry Zito won the Patriot Award on behalf of his charity Strikeouts For Veterans. What I find so amazing is the fact that he's been working with MLB and BofA in helping returning vets and their families.

I think he should be remembered for this and be given a chance to put forth his vision before Congress. Additionally, I'm thinking about starting a drive on FB to get President Barack Obama to appoint him to a commission to help vets and soldiers, along with their families, during the off-season. 

Such An Aggrivating Day

Good God, I've never been this pissed off in my life. It's just one of those days where you want to go off somewhere and scream. Let me explain in the two following stories.

In the first story, it has to do with AT&T (infamous from my last posting), only this time not in conjunction with Starbucks. What happened was that at work, we (meaning our small insurance company) had no internet, and as a result, could not do any work all day. Imagine if you can't email clients or check the status of other business when all of it is online, and then having to wait until close to the end of the workday for a repair person to come and fix the issue. For us, the repairer was attending a house call first down in Daly City before shooting up 280 to get to us asap. This I know, at AT&T has little to no ability to coordinate its workers to house calls, when only having a call center located at the headquarters in Dallas. These guys don't know the San Francisco Bay Area's geography or metropolitan make-up in any form, which leads to more confusion than ever for their workers. I just hope that they can get their act together before people begin to leave in large droves.

In the second story, I learned from a woman with whom I was on the bus with that she's been dealing with SamTrans about filing a complaint about a driver who shut the bus' front doors on her ankle on March 5, 2013. The driver in question wears the badge #1115 and drives bus #333, if someone sees his name, please send it to her, or post it here on my blog. She should not have had this happen to her, and for SamTrans to be pushing this much red tape on her is beyond inexcusable. She just wants this issue dealt with by the proper channels so that it's fully resolved.

Apple and Taxes

I have got to say this as candidly as I can: under no circumstances is Apple the only company engaged in tax-dodging. While I'm not happy to know that they have been using tax shelters (especially in places like Ireland), I think that Apple's actions are only a small role in a much larger problem with the American Tax System. The problem America faces in terms of lost tax revenue is the allowing of corprorations to create subsidiaries and other shadow companies as a means of moving profits away from the taxation system through several legal loopholes. Essentially what should be noted and used sparingly as a tool of legal tax avoidance has instead turned into a legalized version of tax evasion by several of America's largest companies.

Moreover, the recent report released by the Senate about Apple's activities should be placed in the context of doing something about reforming the tax system as a whole. This means that both the President and Congress need to do everything they can to close as many of these loopholes as possible and identify companies that do this as a way of increasing profitability. I'm for business success, but not at the expense of everyone else.

Starbucks and AT&T Internet.

The Starbucks in San Francisco on Fillmore Street, has some of the greatest workers, and the greatest ability to provide customer service on a scale not seen. However, I noticed that they were having some connectivity issues with their router in providing their customers with continuous wi-fi. Speaking to the manager, I think, I learned that he's been complaining to both Starbucks corporate and to AT&T, to the point that AT&T won't take his calls, or the company's for that matter. He's a great guy, but what AT&T's doing is beyond any kind of comprehension. In my eyes, it's up to AT&T to address this, if they wish to keep Starbucks as a customer.

Speaking of my own experience, from working in a small insurance office (we have AT&T U-Verse internet) we've had so many connectivity issues, that it's getting rediculous. This is not to say that Comcast is any better, because let's face it, they're not. My point is that their service is terrible and their customer service is beyond unacceptable, as the level of red tape they throw at customers trying to solve a problem is unbelievable. I wish the manager at the Starbucks here on Fillmore Street luck, and hope that this new set of publicity will finally make AT&T act.