His approach is not working. Five months into his first term, Mr Trump presides over a political culture that is even more poisonous than when he took office. …
The Trump presidency has been plagued by poor judgment and missed opportunities. …
Unethical, immoral, illegal and unconstitutional. If you still support Trump I’d prefer we never speak again.
Excellent.
A good example of how the great story telling in 2017 is on TV not on film.
If you want to muse on gender equality watch Handmaid’s Tale not Wonder Woman.
This show’s success is mostly Elisabeth Moss. She carries a high percentage of the scenes.
All the casting is superb.
Personally I feel the detailed cinematography and careful sound track are too precious. I wish filmmakers would concentrate on the story and stop showing off so much.
The pacing is too slow for me, as well.
Still … it’s must watch TV in 2017.
Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.
Gilead is a theocracy run by extremists from the American Religious right.
1. The parallels to Trump’s America are glaring and deliberate. …
2. It’s a parable about male privilege.
3. There will be changes from Atwood’s book.
4. The cinematography is both stunning and specific.
5. The Republic of Gilead parallels Puritanism. …
Why The Handmaid’s Tale Is Destined to Be 2017’s Dystopian Hit
related – 8 Questions We Really Want Answered in The Handmaid’s Tale’s Second Season
I’m talking about the orange section …
26 bridges and six interchanges.
The southwest portion (light blue) of the ring road is expected to be open in 2021. But the the “timing and construction details for this nine-kilometre (orange) stretch” is under review.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
If you hate GOP policies, you hate the Koch brothers. Right?
After listening to the Freakonomics interview with David Koch, I’ve now got mixed feelings.
Charles Koch, the mega-billionaire CEO of Koch Industries and half of the infamous political machine, sees himself as a classical liberal. So why do most Democrats hate him so much? In a rare series of interviews, he explains his political awakening, his management philosophy and why he supports legislation that goes against his self-interest.
The list of charitable causes supported by Charles Koch, and his brother David, is long and diverse, and would surely find approval with even their most devout political enemies. David is particularly well-known in New York for funding the arts and medical research. Among the Koch Industries beneficiaries are the United Negro College Fund; Project JumpStart, which provides construction training; and the movement for criminal-justice reform.
He’s very smart. Very well read.
Why Hate the Koch Brothers? (Part 1)
Why Hate the Koch Brothers? (Part 2)
They want tax reform and want to roll back regulations. They don’t like idiot Jeff Sessions’ idiotic “war on marijuana”.
They are disappointed with GOP efforts to repeal Obamacare. They don’t like Trump.
They are for free trade. Against border-adjustment fees that Trump keeps trumpeting.
All that said, if you hate GOP policies, know that the Koch brothers do as much as anyone to ensure dinosaurs like Pence stay in office.
The network of conservative donors announced Saturday it plans to spend between $300 million and $400 million on politics and policy during the 2018 cycle. …
Koch network ramps up political spending while trying to push Trump team
On the other hand, some Koch donors are so pissed they want the “Koch network ‘piggy banks’ closed until Republicans pass health and tax reform.
The Hama massacre (Arabic: مجزرة حماة) occurred in 2 February 1982, when the Hafez Syrian Arab Army and the Defense Companies, under the orders of the country’s president Hafez al-Assad, besieged the town of Hama for 27 days in order to quell an uprising by the Muslim Brotherhood …
The massacre, carried out by the Syrian Army under commanding General Rifaat al-Assad, effectively ended the campaign begun in 1976 by Sunni Muslim groups …
… the lower estimates claiming that at least 2,000 Syrian citizens were killed, [5] while others put the number at 20,000 (Robert Fisk),[1] or 40,000 (Syrian Human Rights Committee).[2][6] …
The attack has been described as one of “the single deadliest acts by any Arab government against its own people in the modern Middle East”. …
I visited Hama in 1994. All these buildings had been bulldozed to the ground. The town rebuilt.
It was very quiet.
It was Hafez al-Assad, president of Syria, and his brother Rifaat al-Assad responsible for killing those thousands of Syrians.
In 1994 his the dictator’s eldest son and successor Bassel had just died in a car accident. Hafez turned to his his younger son Bashar.
It’s Bashar al-Assad who’s killing Syrians in 2017.
Once seen by the international community as a potential reformer, al-Assad has few friends left. Russia continues to protect al-Assad in the the UN Security Council.
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In June 2014, Assad was included in a list of war crimes indictments of government officials and rebels handed to the International Criminal Court. …
Nobody knows exactly how much money Assad and family have extracted from Syria. One estimate says Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has amassed up to $1.5bn (£950m) for his family and his close associates. Hidden out of the nation, of course.
Sooner or later al-Assad will be gone. What comes next may be even worse — the tiny impoverish, war torn country the spoils of many different warlords.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Racists tend to ghettoize. Cling to people who look and think like themselves.
I’m still predicting Trump will resign September 2017 … under considerable pressure.
Thanks Dave.
In 2013, 37.8 million foreign visitors arrived in Turkey, which ranked as the 6th most popular tourism destination in the world.
But tourism is way down in 2017 due to negative headlines in the news.
Some nations are warning citizens not to travel to Turkey. Canadians got the warning in 2016 after the attempted coupe.
I’m visiting Izmir right now.
There was a car bomb attack on an Izmir courthouse in 2017.
Still … Izmir and most of Turkey are generally safe for tourists, in my opinion. As safe as you’d be back home.
The best summing up I’ve seen is a VIDEO on VOX.
Two egos who both aspire to be more like Putin.
Still must watch TV.
Nothing else in public popular media addresses the issues of the day so well.
The sixth season of the American television drama series Homeland … concluded on April 9th, 2017.
Carrie Mathison is back in the United States, living in Brooklyn, New York with her young pre-school aged daughter. She is now working at a foundation whose efforts are to provide aid to Muslims living in the United States.
Saul Berenson and Dar Adal are still CIA operatives and are dealing with counter-terrorism …
Peter Quinn is alive but has suffered a major stroke and is incapacitated. …
Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.
Rupert Friend should win all the acting awards as Peter Quinn, a disabled Vet recovering from sarin poisoning.
Jake Weber as Brett O’Keefe, TV host and fake news provocateur is fascinating. Something between Bannon and Alex Jones. A very scary guy.
Elizabeth Marvel was cast in the role of Elizabeth Keane, a senator from New York who was just elected to be the next President of the United States. This was written while it was still expected Hillary would be President.
Rick McCharles 