Saudi Women Drivers 9-30-2017

30, September 2017              Saudi Women Drivers

After decades of defiance by Saudi women activists, the Saudi kingdom has finally lifted the driving ban. There were no religious reasons for the ban as cars did not exist at the time of Mohammed. The kingdom gave some fuzzy reasons for restricting women from driving – arguing they lacked the mental dexterity, damage to the ovaries, distraction to male drivers and increase the likelihood of infidelity.  In the early days of the faith, women were fiercely independent riding donkeys unsupervised, without being encumbered with head coverings.

The Al Saud ruling family must do more to distance itself from the “stone age” Wahhabi clerics who impose their ultra-strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Wahhabism is one of the ideological pillars of global jihadi terrorism.

Women continue to be an underused resource.  More women attend universities than men but only make up 15% of the workforce.  It is time to eliminate the wilayah (guardianship) system and the head to toe body covering which is likely to impact peripheral vision while driving.  The Saudi kingdom must do much more to promote complete gender equality.

Repeal the Jones Act 9-28-2017

28, September 2017                    Repeal the Jones Act 

The Jones Act was enacted to establish a trading monopoly, to maximize profits for US corporations. This has severely hampered recovery from hurricanes, IRMA and Maria. The Act prohibits non-US shipping companies from delivering critical goods to the beleaguered island. Under this Act, vessels entering Puerto Rico must pay punitive tariffs, fees, and taxes which are passed on to Puerto Rico consumers.

The US Virgin Islands has moved off the radar and is suffering similar neglect from the US.

It is interesting that the Jones Act was suspended this year to benefit Texas and Florida during hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Why are Puerto Ricans not afforded the same courtesy?

Trump took his eye off the ball preoccupied for five days firing his racist tweets about the NLF flag kneeing controversy. This was odd coming from a man who has shown utter disdain for the significance of the flag.

Living in his tight bubble, Trump was heaping praise on himself saying he was doing “a "great," "amazing," "tremendous" and "incredible" job. This was reminiscent of President Bush gushing that FEMA boss, “was doing a heck of a job” during the Katrina debacle.

Trump’s declares war on NFL 9-25-2017

25, September 2017            Trump’s declares war on NFL

While many parts of the country, are still recovering from devastating floods, Trump found the time to criticize Colin Kaepernick and declare war on the NFL with his juvenile tweets. It was classic Trump playbook egging on his supporters, blessed with white privilege, to voice their racist rants. It was revealed that while Trump directed his ire at predominantly black athletes with slurs he defended the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Va., as “very fine people.”

Black athletes are the modern gladiators of American sports. Sports are the few opportunities that offer them an escape from poverty. They sacrifice their bodies to punishing pain for the enjoyment of predominantly white fans. 

African-Americans have every right to voice their outrage over police brutality and daily humiliations living in a very oppressive society which has been made infinitely worse by Trump’s racist taunts. The American flag is not a symbol of pride for those living under such oppression.

Colin is an icon on and off the field. This is the man who helped to organize relief supplies to famine-stricken Somalia and invested his time and money to needy communities back home. Trump is the quintessential anti-Christ who seeks to destroy Colin’s reputation. Those who choose to remain silent in the face of injustice, like the majority of Republicans are un-American, whereas Kaepernick and his fellow-travelers are the real American heroes.

Let’s us hope the loud protestations of the NFL league follow through and offer Colin his rightful place on the field. 

Trump’s UN Speech 9-22-2017

22, September 2017                             Trump’s UN Speech

Mimicking the personas of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood (“make my day”) Mr. Trump huffed and puffed and threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea and kill its 25 million people pitting two highly unstable leaders to the utter dismay of UN members and the world at large. It was evident that Mr. Trump was playing to his supporters who seem to relish his “tough guy” approach. It is a pity Trump sought 5 deferments when he was drafted when he could have become a real hero.

The world’s most tyrannical despots, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, The Philippines Turkey, and Syria . . .  were omitted from Trump’s tirade. Instead, he took aim at Shia Iran to placate his latest loves – Sunni King Saud and Prime Minister of Israel Netanyahu who responded to his speech with enthusiastic applause.

Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, smarting under Trump’s bellicose language and insults called Trump the "new Hitler" of international politics.

The speech was a horrifying grotesque spectacle. There is no better way to precipitate armed conflict and possibly the destruction of the entire planet than to publically berate your adversary. The North Korean leader has every right to be wary of America’s intentions. Remember Saddam Hussein didn’t possess WMD’s and died. Kaddafi of Libya gave up his nuclear weapons and suffered a similar fate. There is also a real possible danger that Trump might initiate an armed conflict to “rally Americans around the flag” and distract from Mueller’s investigations.

War Crimes 9-22-2017

22, September 2017                         War Crimes

A major new investigation by Amnesty International reveals a US bomb killed 16 civilians and seriously wounded 17 more in Yemen last month. 

Among the survivors was a 5-year-old girl Buthaina, whose photograph went viral in the Arab media, social media even the mainstream media following the US strike. Buthaina lost her whole family. Bomb fragments matched the US made components used in laser-guided bombs. 

Photographs of the bomb victims also went viral intensifying hostility towards Saudi Arabia and it major military supplier, the US. It’s hard to imagine any incident could intensify more anger more than witnessing a whole family blown to pieces. How can we possibly make the false claim we are a force for good?  We continue to supply billions of weapons to the Gulf States totally unconcerned of the devastating loss of civilian life our weapons can cause.  Many Arab countries are calling Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the US as the new the axis of evil.

Please tweet, POTUS Halt all weapons sales to the Gulf States immediately these are being used to slaughter large number of civilians which is a war crime

Medicare for all 9-20-2017

20, September 2017                      Medicare for all

Kudos to Sen. Sanders for unveiling a Medicare-for-All (MFA) Bill with 15 patriotic co-sponsors.

It is unconscionable that the pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, hospital corporations, medical device manufacturers and, behind them all, Wall Street—are profiting from human suffering.

If we can send people to the moon and create technical wizardly surely we can craft an equitable health care system. Let our lawmakers study the successful systems in countries like Britain, Germany, and Switzerland, Canada and Australia and cherry pick the best features of each system.

The MFA would eliminate 20-25% overhead of the insurance companies and their obscene profits and salaries. Doctors and nursing associations welcome a MFA system which would eliminate the cumbersome billing system and would substantially lower drug prices. The system could easily be funded by eliminating Pentagon waste and Wall Street excesses.

Following Sanders clarion call, millions of Americans tweeted their support. Hundreds of people flooded town halls across the country to voice their support. The people have spoken. It is time for Congress to act and reflect the will of the people.

Let’s us not squander this pivotal moment in US history. The time for Medicare-for-All is NOW.

Agent Orange – America’s shame 9-17-2017

17, September 2017             Agent Orange – America’s shame

Ken Burns’s documentary, “Vietnam”, compels us to revisit the horrors of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, – countries that never threatened the US.  These three countries suffered a staggering 3.8 million deaths. A large number of civilians continue to suffer horrific birth defects from exposure to US chemicals.

The long tortuous history of Vietnam and Agent Orange should shame all Americans. Fifty years ago, the US sprayed more than 20 million gallons of various herbicides over Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos from 1961 to 1971. Agent Orange, which contained the deadly chemical, dioxin, was the most commonly used herbicide. It was later proven to cause serious health issues—including cancer, birth defects, rashes and severe psychological and neurological problems—among the “Vietnamese” people as well as among returning U.S. servicemen and their families. Oblivious of the dangers, US serviceman used the empty 55-gallon drums for makeshift showers.

The Pentagon denied such health hazards fearful of the huge liabilities that would have to be paid to the victims.

Chemical companies were well aware of the birth-deformity hazards of their products but chose to remain silent. The offspring of the soldiers continue to suffer exceptionally high birth-rate defects. It is time we offered unconditional apologies to the Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians, massive reparations and offers to clean up the deadly deposits of Agent Orange.