Gabriel Allon – Israeli assassin

Gabriel Allon is the main protagonist in Daniel Silva‘s thriller and espionage series that focuses on Israeli intelligence. …

I’ve just finished the final two books in the series to date.

Black Widow is the 16th book. I’m sorry to have to wait for later this year.

In general the books have gotten better and better. Black Widow revolves around ISIS terrorist attacks on western targets.

On the other hand the blatant Pro-Israel bias has become more annoying.

The Allon story has gone on so long that Silva plagiarizes from himself. (Is that a thing?)

He cuts and pastes phrases, sentences and possibly paragraphs from earlier books.

I’ve read all 16 books since Oct 2016.

Addicted.

 

 

 

 

Religious Leaders call for friendship

World’s Top Religious Leaders Issue Rare Joint Appeal

“Our advice is to make friends to followers of all religions.”

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Racists tend to ghettoize. Cling to people who look and think like themselves.

The Fallen Angel by Daniel Silva

Well written, as always, the plot kept me going. It’s one of the best books in the series.

After narrowly surviving his last operation, Gabriel Allon, the wayward son of Israeli intelligence, has taken refuge behind the walls of the Vatican, where he is restoring one of Caravaggio’s greatest masterpieces.

But early one morning he is summoned to St. Peter’s Basilica by Monsignor Luigi Donati, the all-powerful private secretary to His Holiness Pope Paul VII. The body of a beautiful woman lies broken beneath Michelangelo’s magnificent dome. The Vatican police suspect suicide, though Gabriel believes otherwise. So, it seems, does Donati, who calls upon Gabriel to quietly pursue the truth—with one caveat.

My main criticism is that Silva is VERY pro-Israel, anti-Palestine. There’s not the slightest attempt for balance on that issue.

Izmir Atatürk Museum

The little I knew about Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, I liked.

He separated Church and State. Created a model of modernization that more Muslim nations should have emulated.

He was a Turkish army officer, revolutionary, and founder of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President from 1923 until his death in 1938. …

… initiated a rigorous program of political, economic, and cultural reforms with the ultimate aim of building a modern and secular nation-state.

He made primary education free and compulsory, opening thousands of new schools all over the country.

Turkish women received equal civil and political rights during Atatürk’s presidency ahead of many Western countries. …

Atatürk’s foreign policy followed his motto, “peace at home, peace in the world“. …

Despite his radical secular reforms, Atatürk remained broadly popular in the Muslim world.

I didn’t learn much new at the museum in Izmir. But I’m sure most in the nation wished they had Atatürk back as President today.

Homeland – season 6

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.

Gabriel Allon – Israeli assassin

For some reason I’ve continued with Daniel Silva’s series:

A Death in Vienna (2004)
Prince of Fire (2005)
The Messenger (2006)

They are easy listening. Formulaic.

Instructive of the Israeli dilemma — survival in a region surrounded by enemies.

Of these three Prince of Fire was best, I’d say.

… the semireluctant spy, Gabriel, is pulled from his cover to hunt down terrorists who have committed a horrific crime, in this case the bombing of the Israeli embassy in Rome. The mastermind behind the bombing is French archeologist Paul Martineau, aka “Khaled, son of Sabri, grandson of Sheikh Asad. …

Amazon

prince-of-fire

San Francisco will remain a Sanctuary City

San Francisco’s Official Response to the Election of Trump

WHEREAS, On November 8, 2016, Donald Trump was elected to become the 45th President of the United States; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That no matter the threats made by President-elect Trump, San Francisco will remain a Sanctuary City. We will not turn our back on the men and women from other countries who help make this city great, and who represent over one third of our population. This is the Golden Gate—we build bridges, not walls; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That we will never back down on women’s rights, whether in healthcare, the workplace, or any other area threatened by a man who treats women as obstacles to be demeaned or objects to be assaulted. And just as important, we will ensure our young girls grow up with role models who show them they can be or do anything; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That there will be no conversion therapy, no withdrawal of rights in San Francisco. We began hosting gay weddings twelve years ago, and we are not stopping now. And to all the LGBTQ people all over the country who feel scared, bullied, or alone: You matter. You are seen; you are loved; and San Francisco will never stop fighting for you; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That we still believe in this nation’s founding principle of religious freedom. We do not ban people for their faith. And the only lists we keep are on invitations to come pray together; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That Black Lives Matter in San Francisco, even if they may not in the White House. And guided by President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, we will continue reforming our police department and rebuilding trust between police and communities of color so all citizens feel safe in their neighborhoods; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That climate change is not a hoax, or a plot by the Chinese. In this city, surrounded by water on three sides, science matters. And we will continue our work on CleanPower, Zero Waste, and everything else we are doing to protect future generations; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That we have been providing universal health care in this city for nearly a decade, and if the new administration follows through on its callous promise to revoke health insurance from 20 million people, San Franciscans will be protected; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That we are the birthplace of the United Nations, a city made stronger by the thousands of international visitors we welcome every day. We will remain committed to internationalism and to our friends and allies around the world—whether the administration in Washington is or not; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That San Francisco will remain a Transit First city and will continue building Muni and BART systems we can all rely upon, whether this administration follows through on its platform to eliminate federal transit funding or not; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That California is the sixth largest economy in the world. The Bay Area is the innovation capital of the country. We will not be bullied by threats to revoke our federal funding, nor will we sacrifice our values or members of our community for your dollar; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That we condemn all hate crimes and hate speech perpetrated in this election’s wake. That although the United States will soon have a President who has demonstrated a lack of respect for the values we hold in the highest regard in San Francisco, it cannot change who we are, and it will never change our values. We argue, we campaign, we debate vigorously within San Francisco, but on these points we are 100 percent united. We will fight discrimination and recklessness in all its forms. We are one City. And we will move forward together.

About the San Francisco Board of Supervisors

SF Bay Times.

San Francisco, CA, USA

Thanks Marilyn.

Good luck USA. I’m out.

I was astonished in 2004 when the American people reelected G.W. Bush to a second term despite the unbelievably bad job he did as President.

Under his watch the world economy crashed.

g-w-bush

Trump is much, much worse in my opinion.

What to do?

I’ll stop following American politics. Try to enjoy my remaining days on this Earth even more with the time gained.

I do blame Trump supporters for what’s about to happen over the next 4 years. 😦

Trump empowers the Alt-Right

Do you know Pepe the frog?

pepe-the-frog-and-trump

Pepe is a cartoon-strip creature used as a symbol of right wing extremists. Extremists like Drumpf’s son Donald Trump Jr. who proudly shared this image on Instagram.

deplorables-trump

Gov. Mike Pence, Gov. Chris Christie, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Dr. Ben Carson, both of Trump’s eldest sons, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, alt-right icon Milo Yiannopoulos, and Roger Stone.

I first started following American politics because of the Tea Party, a backward, negative, semi-racist and homophobic collection of zealots and hypocrites. Looking back, Michele Bachmann’s antics seem almost laughable.

The Alt-Right is far, far worse. 😦

And they’ve come to public attention because an egomaniac psychopath has had success spouting their hateful rhetoric.

In earlier years, the movement — which combines elements of racism, anti-Semitism, and a general preference for nationalist strongmen over the candidates of either party — was mostly confined to the realm of dark web message boards, 4chan, and obscure blogs. About a year ago, they burst onto the scene and established a new home for themselves in Donald Trump’s campaign.

The Alt-Right Gives a Press Conference

drumpf-megalomaniac
Drumpf wants to be a dictator like Putin

Breitbart News is the most prominent site for the Alt-Right.

The New York Times describes Breitbart News as a “curiosity of the fringe right wing”, with “ideologically driven journalists”, that is a source of controversy “over material that has been called misogynist, xenophobic and racist”, and is now a “potent voice” for Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign

Drumpf recently named chairman of Breitbart News – Stephen Bannon – his campaign CEO. A nasty man.

I’m depressed for Americans stuck in a nation with so many people willing to support the Alt-Right candidate. 😦

If you want to know more click over to Economist magazine

Pepe and the stormtroopers

How Donald Trump ushered a hateful fringe movement into the mainstream

Drumpf could start a World War

Donald Trump loves war.

“I would bomb the shit out of them.”

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-FUfMRgbWU

Of course that would results in even greater retaliation. Exactly the WRONG thing to do in response to terrorism.

Best strategy is to withdraw troops from the Middle East. Work covertly against ISIS and other terrorist groups. Eventually they’ll resume attacking each other. Forget about the West.