@aymanfadel's Threads
#USA politicians support #Israel not out of allegiance or the power of lobbyists. Aspects of this support include:
1. Annual >$3b aid packages, with regular supplements & fewer restrictions than aid to other nations
2. Support of governments #Israel likes, such as #Jordan #KSA
1. Annual >$3b aid packages, with regular supplements & fewer restrictions than aid to other nations
2. Support of governments #Israel likes, such as #Jordan #KSA
#Egypt, regardless of #humanrights abuses
3. Undermining/attacking governments, groups & nations it dislikes: #Iraq #Iran #Lebanon
4. Ignoring obligations to #Palestinians under intl law
5. Allowing "charities" to receive tax-deductible donations used to further #ethniccleansing
3. Undermining/attacking governments, groups & nations it dislikes: #Iraq #Iran #Lebanon
4. Ignoring obligations to #Palestinians under intl law
5. Allowing "charities" to receive tax-deductible donations used to further #ethniccleansing
in #Palestine.
6. Various state & federal government agencies with preferences to #Israel, such as #police exchanges & subsidized trade delegations.
7. Voting for legislation punishing people who support #BDS, a non-violent advocacy tactic.
Whatever it is that causes #USA
6. Various state & federal government agencies with preferences to #Israel, such as #police exchanges & subsidized trade delegations.
7. Voting for legislation punishing people who support #BDS, a non-violent advocacy tactic.
Whatever it is that causes #USA
Finished reading "Killers of the Flower Moon" by @DavidGrann. The Osage, a First Nation whose original lands stretched from what today is Missouri and Kansas in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west, were cornered by the #USA government into a rocky, barren patch in
Oklahoma. Shrewdly, the Osage's negotiators succeeded in securing mineral rights in the territory, and, a few decades later, revenues from oil drilling were distributed to members of the nation as "headrights." In the period 1910s & 1920s, income from these headrights made
members of the Osage Nation wealthy. However, the #USA government transferred many members' rights to control this money to guardians, most of whom were white Anglos. Grifters of all types, bankers, con artists, forgerers, settled among the Osage to steal their money. More
I sometimes feel @georgialibs don't get enough high quality, academic press #history & #sociology books. Using the GA Pines automated system, people who are members of participating libraries can get a number of very good books which have recently come to my attention.
"The oldest living things in the world" by Rachel Sussman gapines.org/eg/opac/record…. This photo essay book is a beautiful, mind-expanding paean to our biosphere. (I realize this is a #science #ecology book)
"Talking to my daughter about the economy, or, how capitalism works-- and how it fails" by Yanis Varoufakis @yanisvaroufakis gapines.org/eg/opac/record…
I've been reading the e-mail from @wikileaks #Podesta hack which contains 3 attachments of transcriptions of Q & A sessions #HRC did with Goldman Sachs. wikileaks.org/podesta-emails… @BernieSanders had asked her to release transcripts or recordings. She had received hefty speaker fees.
I'm wondering, if the documents in this e-mail are an accurate representation of her appearances, why she didn't release them. There weren't any particularly "gotcha" moments where she thanked #WallSt for making her & her husband rich or where she promised to protect their
interests. A lot of what she said was uninspiring centrism, which is her brand. Several times she called for fixing #immigration, but without specifics. As part of the unwashed masses, I didn't see six figures worth of value in these words, but what do I know? Maybe they were
.@NatGeoChannel "Mars" just did a crazy abortion shame in S2E2. Amelie, a physician who was an original colonist, recognizes she is suffering psychologically after many years away from earth. She arranges to return on the next ship back, but she doesn't inform her lover Javier
until a few weeks before her scheduled departure. He doesn't take it well, & they separate. In a final predeparture physical examination, she discovers she is pregnant. She informs Javier, who indicates that he is happy to father a child. She tells him she is thinking of
terminating the pregnancy. He throws a tantrum, saying, "why r u asking me? U make all the decisions anyways." They both note that medical science hasn't determined if a human can conceive, carry and bear a healthy child in Mars's low gravity. She says, "But we do know that a
Dear #MAGA #Desis & other assorted non-white ppl who support Republicans because of anti-blackness or lower taxes or the feeling of proximity to power, observe this pattern of escalating & widening targeting in #immigration policy & #deportation:
1. Criminal illegal aliens "bad hombres"
2. All undocumented immigrants
3. End TPS "Temporary Protected Status"
4. End family preference in green cards "chain migration"
5. Reduce/eliminate residency lottery
6. Review citizenship applications for fraud & revoke citizenship &
2. All undocumented immigrants
3. End TPS "Temporary Protected Status"
4. End family preference in green cards "chain migration"
5. Reduce/eliminate residency lottery
6. Review citizenship applications for fraud & revoke citizenship &
deport ppl who've been here for decades
7. End birthright citizenship for children of undocumented migrants
8. Muslim ban
9. Revoke residency visa for people who have used certain public welfare benefits
I've probably forgotten some other measures, and no doubt there are more
7. End birthright citizenship for children of undocumented migrants
8. Muslim ban
9. Revoke residency visa for people who have used certain public welfare benefits
I've probably forgotten some other measures, and no doubt there are more
Today's news depressed me. So I did some #retailtherapy at @booktavern in #AugustaGA. Here's what I purchased: 
What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City By Mona Hanna-Attisha @MonaHannaA indiebound.org/book/978039959…
The dramatic story of the #Flintwatercrisis, told “with the gripping intrigue of a Grisham thriller”
The dramatic story of the #Flintwatercrisis, told “with the gripping intrigue of a Grisham thriller”
"Another Country" by James Baldwin indiebound.org/book/978067974…
Set in Greenwich Village, Harlem, and France, among other locales, Another Country is a novel of passions--sexual, racial, political, artistic--that is stunning for its emotional intensity and haunting sensuality,
Set in Greenwich Village, Harlem, and France, among other locales, Another Country is a novel of passions--sexual, racial, political, artistic--that is stunning for its emotional intensity and haunting sensuality,
Don't "fact-check" the "Middle Easterners in the Caravan" claim - denounce it as racist
Just like the "Obama is a Muslim" claim, the correct response is "So what if he were?"
Fact checking implies that, were "Middle Easterners" to be among those in the migrant caravan, extraordinary, i.e. extrajudicial, human-rights violating measures would be justified.
How many of the novels in #pbsgreatamericanread #GreatReadPBS are for #peace #antiwar? Here's the ones I know or hope are:
1) 1984 by George Orwell
2) A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
3) Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
1) 1984 by George Orwell
2) A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
3) Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Others can be read to contain anti-war messages
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Dune (esp later books in the series) by Frank Herbert
Game of Thrones series by George RR Martin
Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
War & Peace by Tolstoy
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Dune (esp later books in the series) by Frank Herbert
Game of Thrones series by George RR Martin
Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
War & Peace by Tolstoy
I haven't read all of them. I expect Vonnegut's "The Sirens of Titan" to be anti-war.
On the flip side, The Left Behind series is fanatically sectarian hate speech celebrating mass killing. One wonders if PBS would have allowed Mein Kampf or The Turner Diaries to make the list.
On the flip side, The Left Behind series is fanatically sectarian hate speech celebrating mass killing. One wonders if PBS would have allowed Mein Kampf or The Turner Diaries to make the list.
You can't understand #JamalKhashoggi assassination without knowing the following:
1. The industrialized world's relationship with raw materials-producing nations like #KSA #SaudiArabia produces corruption on both sides
muslimmediareview.blogspot.com/2015/02/review…
1. The industrialized world's relationship with raw materials-producing nations like #KSA #SaudiArabia produces corruption on both sides
muslimmediareview.blogspot.com/2015/02/review…
2. The Arabic-speaking countries, for the most part, even if they don't depend on mineral exports, are dependent on similar relationships, often mediated through the wealth on neighboring raw materials-producing nations or security arrangements made to protect industrialized
nations' interests in the mineral-exporting nations or in the Zionist settler-colonialist project (Egypt. Jordan).
3. When thousands of youth in these nations revolted against these systems in 2011 & subsequent yrs, the industrialized world supported the regimes through military
3. When thousands of youth in these nations revolted against these systems in 2011 & subsequent yrs, the industrialized world supported the regimes through military
With regards to the Serena - Ramos #UsOpenFinal #USOpen officiating controversy, I notice that nearly all professional commentators & tennis players think Ramos did not handle the match well. Here's few for your consideration:
Grand Slam Champion Victoria Azarenka
Grand Slam Champion Andy Roddick
A few thoughts on the 2000 movie "American Psycho" based on the 1991 book of the same title by Bret Easton Ellis. I haven't read the book. goodreads.com/book/show/2867…
Here's the movie on IMDB imdb.com/title/tt014408…
How ‘American ‘Psycho’ Serves As The White Man’s Code for Behavioral Dysfunction by @nilegirl medium.com/@nilegirl/how-…
.#AugustaGA "euthanized" an alligator in Lake Olmstead wfxg.com/story/38792486… Many people were bothered by this story, including myself. Only after watching a @pbs @PBSNature episode on people & lions in #Gujarat #India was I able to articulate why this seemingly trivial
event actually points to the larger issue of whether we humans are going to adapt to this planet or whether we are going to continue to act as if our choices have no consequences until this planet changes & boots us out. #IndiasWanderingLions pbs.org/video/nature-i… Rather than
change our behavior which resulted in an alligator inhabiting this lake or take measures to limit the risk it would cause harm, we humans killed it to eliminate the minor risk it posed. We again positioned ourselves *outside* of the biosphere, even though our lives would be
Has anybody revisited the 1962 Sidney Poitier movie "Pressure Point" in light of the persistence of white supremacist politics in our time?
imdb.com/title/tt005637…
imdb.com/title/tt005637…
In one scene, the white supremacists are singing "The Star Spangled Banner," the anthem of the United States, at one of their meetings, with USA & 3rd Reich flags displayed
Greatest challenge for promoters of religion today, imo, is to demonstrate that religion is true. Since the effort to prove the truth of religion is likely to fail, then promoters of religion should at least be able to show that religion promotes ethical behavior. I've recently
finished 2 books which showed religion's ineffectiveness at preventing or limiting humans' mass killing frenzies, i.e. war.
God's Almost Chosen Peoples: A Religious History of the American Civil War
by George C. Rable goodreads.com/book/show/8006…
God's Almost Chosen Peoples: A Religious History of the American Civil War
by George C. Rable goodreads.com/book/show/8006…
The Great and Holy War: How World War I Became a Religious Crusade by Philip Jenkins indiebound.org/book/978006210…
While there have been many good depictions on how fascism comes to #USA, I believe the Purge movie franchise @universalhorror is the most relevant today. muslimmediareview.blogspot.com/2015/12/review…. I'm hoping @ThePurgeTV will portray how the terrible cocktail of Christian Dominionist & Ayn Randian
morality of hating the poor & good-old fashioned American white supremacy is a precursor to the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA). Also, it's worth remembering that we already consider the rest of the world to be subject to purging, as we in the USA don't believe
international law constrains us. We believe we are free to bomb, arm, starve, blockade, seize assets from & deny refuge to anybody we want. We also are leaders in changing the global environment such that many human societies will collapse. Finally, we refuse to dismantle our
I am #FedFan. I can only tolerate watching @kandersonatp defeat @rogerfederer at @wimbledon in 15-20 minute chunks. I had watched most of the 5th set live, and I'm watching it now from DVR. Just reached Kevin's break to go up 6-5 in 3rd set. #tennis
Watching this is like watching a disaster movie. Knowing how the match or movie ends, innocuous events which the participants hardly notice loom large. 4 example, the valve improperly turned off at the nuclear power plant or the transposition of numbers in the airplane manifest
4-5, Federer missed a backhand passing shot that would have given him a 0-30 lead. Serving at 5-5, Fed narrowly missed two first serve aces. Could've, should've, would've. & I feel miserable.
You know how so many people minimized the abuse at #Gitmo by telling us that "it serves a wider purpose" & "worst of the worst" & "it's a beautiful place." When u study all aspects of US detention, whether it is county prisons, state & federal penitentiaries, immigrant detention
camps or the newly discovered child detention camps (which have operated a long time), u realize that nearly every "new" form of abuse we're woke enough now to express anguish over existed at #Guantanamo truthout.org/articles/exclu…
Must read article on use of psychotropic drugs to restrain & torture children separated from their parents in immigration proceedings revealnews.org/blog/immigrant…
.@realsportshbo revealed another ugly aspect to @NFL concussion story: Under existing terms of settlement with @NFLPA, board administering funds has denied most claims & major diagnoses such as behavioral issues & depression are not even covered. #labor #publichealth #oligarchy
.@nfl claims that many applications r fraudulent. Of course, people should defer to the league, since it's an expert in fraud. It misled its labor force for years about dangers of the sport & it has misled municipal governments into subsidizing its stadiums #GameRecognizesGame
This story represents almost everything wrong in #USA. #Oligarchy begrudges slimmest slices of pie to #labor, & we the #Idiocracy buy billionaires' merchandise made by more oppressed workers elsewhere & use $ from public treasuries to replace functioning stadiums for those with
I'm catching up @ColonyUSA Season 2 on Netflix so that I can fully get into my DVRd Season 3 episodes. #culturaltrendsetter
I love how this show illustrates exactly what it is like living under colonizers' control. Do I collaborate & get needed medicine for my children? Do I
I love how this show illustrates exactly what it is like living under colonizers' control. Do I collaborate & get needed medicine for my children? Do I
remain "neutral" & wait to become collateral damage of the authorities or the insurgents, all the while facing increasingly intense shortages of necessities & restrictions on freedoms? Do I join an insurgent group, where my most likely victims will be 1) other insurgents with
whom my cell disagrees or mistakenly identifies as collaborators and 2) collaborators and 3) neutral bystanders? When I join the insurgent group, I know that my death will likely come at the hands of the colonizers' massive military force or by betrayal by somebody in my cell.
On King level, I'm having a hell of a time taking advantage of my military forces due to losing loyalty in the cities I win. I've chosen every policy which adds loyalty #OneMoreTurn @CivGame
I've placed a governor in each city the same turn I occupy it. I repair its monument. I keep a unit garrisoned. I've even used spies to disable nearby enemy governors. A city about 7 hexes away has Bread & Circus. Yet, loyalty drops quickly.
In one game I played, a city state had a unique bonus which added loyalty for each military building in the encampment. No city state with that bonus exists in this game, and I don't see any city state which can help with loyalty.
