New Star Wars Episode

Turns out that on +Facebook there's buzz about a new +Star Wars episode called The Force Awakens, which opens in Theaters on Friday, December 18, 2015. This is post-+Return of the Jedi, and the only sad part is that George Lucas isn't directing it (he said he's done with making Star Wars Films), but at least he's guiding its production. Still, it sucks though, since he's made it a franchise and very lucrative one. Enclosed is a teaser clip from the Star Wars channel on +YouTube. 

Hillary's In & GOP is screwed

It seems as if the +GOP has yet to find someone credible to take back +The White House these days once +Barack Obama leaves office in January 2017. Then again, credible seems to be a rather high standard when it comes to the Republican Party, because of how low our standards have become regarding them governing us. I think George W. Bush said it best as, "I am the master of low expectations," when it came to regarding the Republicans' ability to do anything other than legislate hate and theft.

But then again, they're a reflection of us in how we're so badly divided in terms of politics and public policy. It's all thanks to the Southern strategy implemented by Richard 'Tricky Dick' Nixon to exploit the growing divisions within the Democratic party following the start of the breakup of the New Deal Coalition. This is why we're starting to see the far-right expose itself

They're bankrupt of new ideas, other than parroting the lie that trickle-down economics is the best thing to happen to us and we'll eventually see the fruits of our labor that have enriched the wealthiest .2% of Americans, and that the homosexuals, transgendered, blacks, latinos, etc., basically anyone who isn't White Christian is to blame for every problem facing America today.

The only thing the Republicans are succeeding in doing these days is showing how they're making themselves politically irrelevant in high-turnout Presidential elections and only making themselves politcallly releveant in low-turnout midterm elections. Not a winning national strategy. Especially not one against Hillary Clinton. Based on polls for now, she'd blow any Republican out of the water with the sole exception of Jeb Bush, at least in a non-rigged election. I'm absolutely expecting that in 2016, the Republicans will not only try to rig the election, but will do so to make sure that their standard-bearer +Ted Cruz wins in a 538-0 landslide, or something close enough to that. Of course, that's wishful thinking on anyone's part. But I'm still under no illusion that the Republicans will do anything to steal elections through various means of fraud and vote suppression just to continue giving their corporate benefactors our hard-earned tax dollars.

Blaming Islam For Terrorism

It's become a self-fulfilled source of irony to blame Islam and its adherents for all acts of terrorism. 90% of devout Muslims are not engaged in any form of terrorism and will readily denounce the nihilistic, self-serving extremists who hijack their faith to justify engaging in acts of violence. If we think about it, other religions face the same problem of a few opportunistic nihilists hijacking their dogma to justify acts of mass murder and injury.

The real irony of blaming Islam for all terror acts is that more and more acts of mass violence are actually the product of Christian extremists looking to start a new set of crusades. Think of how many acts of violence have taken place from the Americas to Africa, Asia, Oceana and throughout Europe in the name of Christianity. In fact, even here at home in America, there's a big problem with Christian extremists. This article from +AATTP's (Americans Against The Tea Party) website lists 8 Christianity-based extremist groups that are just as extreme, or even more so, than ISIS. It says a lot about why Christianity has become the new hot-zone for terrorists, more so than Islam, and why they Christian terror networks make those based on Islam seem sane by comparison.

Again, to re-cap from before, Islam does have a massive problem when it comes to terrorism, but the extent to which it suffers from it is not as widespread as the mainstream media want us to believe. Most Islamic terror acts are generally between the faith's 2 main sects, Sunni and Shi'ite, more so than with other religions like Judaism and Christianity. 

Netanyahu's Electoral Victory Will See The Destruction Of Israel As We Know It

Benjamin Netanyahu's victory in the Israeli election last Tuesday, while impressive only in the sense that it was an upset to Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union, has now done almost irrepairable damage to Israel's standing in the world, especially with it's only true ally/friend, the United States of America. 

I'll be very frank, this is not the first time we've seen a US President say that they're going to be reassessing relations between the United States and Israel. Nor is this the first time it's happened in March. In fact, it's the second. The first was in 1975, when Gerald Ford was President.

The relationship between Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu has become so toxic that it's gotten to the point that we no longer trust the Israelis, at least not for the moment. Additionally, Netanyahu's damage has been so extensive to the point that he almost fully inserted himself into the presidential election back in 2012.

However, if that's not enough to turn some heads, he decided to launch a racist diatribe to get people to vote. This is crazy and not how we Jews are taught to treat others. Even as Netanyahu walks back the previous campaign rhetoric, the damage is already done to any credibility for Israel as a full-fledged negotiating partner for Mideast Peace, specifically on the Palestinian sovereignty campaign. Israel, under Likud's leadership, has turned into an aggressor power seeking to engage in ethnic cleansing & genocide.

In addition, think for a minute that he had the Mossad inform Congressional Republicans on the status of the negotiations with Iran in a coordinated effort to completely destroy them. It's as if Israel's far-right controls our nation's foreign policy and can violate our sovereignty with impugnity.

Understand that with Netanyahu as Israel's Prime Minister, it's a matter of when WWIII happens.

Keeping In Mind The Mindboggling Mindlessness of the Republicans and Likudniks

Okay, the simple explanation I can give you about the title is that in both America and Israel there's more craziness coming out of the +GOP and +Likudniks than that of Russia and Iran combined. This isn't to dismiss the hardened attempts by Vladimir Putin to rebuild the Soviet Union in more ways than we can imagine, which one can call insane, but that's not the point. The point is that the globalizing of the far-right here in America would put the hardliners elsewhere to shame, even Putin himself. How? Simple, think of all the stunts the Republicans in Congress have pulled to undermine +Barack Obama, particularly with regards to Iran.

I'm not going to say that Iran did anything crazy, and so far they're not going to bother for the sole reason that their economy is crippled very badly from the comprehensive sanctions regime imposed backed in 2010. They'd like these sanctions lifted so they can regrow their economy and so far have been willing to allow intrusive inspections from the IAEA to verify their claims that they're not seeking to build a nuclear bomb. In addition, it's to put the entire international community at ease so they can pursue their right to generate peaceful nuclear electricity and nuclear isotopes for medicinal purposes.

For the Republicans, their insanity is easy enough to explain. They're unwilling to allow anything to happen with Iran unless it's a war with that nation, a war with the goal of regime change. Let me be very clear, we have no leverage in terms of using force on Iran, our military is exhausted from fighting long wars in Afghanistan (13 years) and Iraq (8 years). We don't have the capacity to execute a war, much to the GOP's disdain. The only way to resolve the crisis over Iran's lack of disclosures for its nuclear program is by talking to them.

Which leads me to my next point about the GOP: real cute in penning that op-ed (I'm calling on you Tom Cotton) signed by 47 of the 54 members of the +Senate GOP. There's nothing in terms of the history of the United States Senate, as the +CBS Evening News reported Joe Biden saying in a strongly worded statement. Enclosed is the video, from that segment, via +YouTube. It's easy to understand why +The White House was so livid when they learned about this. However, I'm not so upset by the fact that Cotton even penned that letter, as to do something stupid like that is absolutely expected by a freshman politician. What's pissed me off more than anything is the fact that Mitch McConnell, the Republicans' leader in the Senate signed the letter as well as other senior Republicans like Chuck Grassley and +Senator John McCain, who should have known better than to sign that letter undermining the White House during a time of critical negotiations with Iran. It's easy to see why President Obama and Vice President Biden are livid about this act, in addition to Secretary John Kerry.

This is where Likud (the party of the +Prime Minister of Israel - Benjamin Netanyahu) comes into play. Their playbook is the same as the Republicans', fear-monger and war-monger. To both, only war can resolve this crisis. This is also Likud's stance towards the Palestinians, only force is the means of solving the crisis of their attempts to take Israeli land for a state of their own and their support for Hamas and other "terrorist" networks. And by "their", he means all the Palestinians, which is completely bogus. However, that's not what has me irked about Likud.

Apparently the fear-mongering worked for Likud, who managed to pull of an upset victory in Tuesday's election.

Republicans And War Via Israel

Somehow the Republicans' lust for war and especially so in the Mideast says a lot about where their priorities lay. I'm not surprised by the treasonous letter sent by 47 of the 54 Senate Republicans, as they'll do anything to undermine the President. Moreover, it's also not surprising that Republicans in Congress are just not willing to resolve the crisis diplomatically as it takes too long, while war resolves the crisis with Iran quickly and with the added effect of giving them pleasure in seeing innocents die while they profit off their deaths. This may be 1 reason they're colluding with Benjamin Netanyahu to undermine the intense negotiations with Iran.

Also, this plays to the neocons very closely. It's also showing us that they're not done yet, even though George W. Bush is no longer in the Presidency. They're still at work aiming America's guns at Iran, looking to manufacture a crisis to take back the Presidency and fully execute a war alongside Israel. In the end, I'm unsurprised by the amount of wrangling going on with groups like AIPAC, in addition to Congressional Republicans and the Israeli embassy in Washington. It shows the true interconnectedness between the American and Israeli far-right, and the dangerous game of chess they're playing.

Netanyahu Returns To Washington A La Boehner

I don't know how to express my undying fury with +John Boehner and Benjamin Netanyahu in terms of a beginning. I'll just say this as I see it. Today is a sad day for everyone who worships within the Jewish faith. Netanyahu's constant sabre rattling is going to start WW III (I remember mentioning this in an earlier post) and it's becoming more apparent that he's itching to start it. I know the reason, it's to distract the world away from the crumbling peace process and from continued calls for the genocide of the Palestinians.

In terms of Boehner, that's also simple. It's to get another +GOP President in +The White House and to instill the permanent reign of the far-right wing. And we thought George W. Bush would be the last of these ultra-radicalized, war-mongering conservatives. Nope, not even close. This next crop of Republican Presidential candidates will be even more reactionary than Bush, Jr. ever was. They will make him seem left-wing/center-left and/or centrist in comparison.

Additionally, there's a second reason, which is to undermine +Barack Obama's authority as President of the United States. If anything, it's Boehner's means of throwing a tantrum since Obama's not caving, at all. For Boehner, this would be the best day in his life if he successfully helps Netanyahu undermine and potentially kill off the negotiations to rein in Iran's nuclear program.

I find that Bibi has a problem with honesty, as he helped to lie us into Iraq back in 2002, just like he's trying to do now with Iran in 2015.

Sources:
http://www.netanyahu.org.il/en/
http://www.jgsf1987.com/2012/02/a-new-round-of-threats-between-israel.html
http://www.alternet.org/world/benjamin-netanyahu-has-been-lying-americans-20-years

Net Neutrality Holds

I have to say that I'm exceedingly satisfied to share this bit of news. The FCC voted to uphold net neutrality by declaring the internet to be a public utility under Title II of the Communications Act. This means that the companies that tried to kill net neutrality like +Comcast, +AT&T, +Verizon FiOS, etc., will now have to keep all internet traffic flowing at equal bandwith, not more, not less.

Maintaining net neutrality is the base of upholding free speech rights online, and always keep that in mind as the big boys mentioned above try to throw their weight around and looking to profit over allowing those rights.

The Need For Getting Free

We all have times where we feel exceedingly trapped and no means to free ourselves. That's how I'm feeling right now, like I'm stuck drowning in a pool of muck.

I'm not going to point fingers and start blaming others, and I will say that because of many of my own actions are contributing to it. Maybe I'm holding myself too accountable too often for events outside my control.

Trans-Pacific Partnership: The Case Against It

The more we hear about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the more we realize how bad of a deal it is for everyone outside of big business. I've seen enough posts on +Facebook to understand why.

First of all, I see too many red flags just on the basis of the 1st Amendment, particularly regarding free speech. Who's to say that we could have laws of another country imposed upon on us, or that corporations here in America will start censoring out what they don't want us to see (particularly of voices critical of their activities)? This is true in regards to net neutrality.

Another red flag I see has to do with environmental laws, specifically that they could end up weakened to make room for more of a dominant voice from big oil/big energy, such as +Koch Industries. They'll be fighting for the unrestrained ability to make our air, food and water dirty and toxic, and make a profit off of it as well. Uh...how batshit are they? Batshit enough to be this psychopathic and antipathic to the rest of us who dare to blast them for making us breathe and ingest their noxious chemicals? I'd say a big, fat yeah! However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, we're talking about here. Let me put it a different way, how much would the Charles and David Koch care if your kid were to develop either asthma, emphyzima, bronchitis, or COPD from breathing in their chemicals? How about cancer, specifically lung cancer? Answer: None! They'd be very happy and sleep very easily knowing your kid is sick, as clean air is a privilege to them.