In a stunning moment on the Senate floor, Sen. Elizabeth Warren clashed with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Tuesday night after McConnell determined the Massachusetts Democrat had violated a Senate rule against impugning another senator and she was ordered not to continue her speech. This despite the fact that she […]
Read MoreNeed to begin fightback to protect core Democratic/Liberal values/traditions Plenty of useful material from Trump admin to demonstrate/make liberal arguments & and take action (need to apply some lessons from Tea Party). Need effective web presence but equally important national/local presence through open forums. Stop merely complaining & reach out […]
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Constitutional Crisis in America (and we’re not past the 1 month mark of the Trump Presidency). At it’s core this American story is one that demonstrates how vulnerable a state can become to powerful lobby groups that are intent to drive policy to protect their narrow interests-ideological or financial. This […]
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Values before Political Alliances & Trade. Taking an Important Stand is the way we help turn pages of a Dark Present to Make it History. (Well Done John Bercow!) Related article here
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How Traditional is the Hijab & Niqab in Middle East Here is my problem when I see titles/images like this; they seem to suggest that the Hijab & Niqab are part-and-parcel of the entire Middle Eastern Muslim society tradition. Well I can tell you this is not strictly true. As someone […]
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The Remain camp lost this one big time due to lack of leadership/unity in vision across party lines. The argument has been framed by Leavers as obstructionist politics in play (even Remainer’s voting for the motion bought into this false perception), rather than the accurate argument of ensuring a process […]
Read More The ongoing BREXIT debate in parliament reveals truly the shocking levels of ignorance of some British MP’s particularly around basic concepts of democracy, transparency and oversight. The predominant view among BREXIT supporters is that the referendum was an overwhelming mandate by the British people to leave the EU. Well this […]
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Here are some of the problems with this approach; Banning people simply on the basis of country/religion violates multiple international laws/conventions including the Geneva Convention on refugees as well as human rights law that forbids discrimination on basis of religion or nationality. Justifying the ban on the basis of addressing […]
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Here is a thought; Ever since Mr. Trump came to power he’s been using his play time (or should I say show time) to sign all kinds of weird/wonderful executive orders (mostly weird). This coupled with the traction gained by ultra-right movement throughout Europe it is obvious that we as […]
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If attempting to develop trade deals with the new US administration or maintaining strong alliance with the US means the UK government is not able to articulate firmly our views on controversial US policy that flies in the face of these very values we’re supposed to share-not to mention International […]
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Care for Trump? If NOT join the global club and prevent him from setting foot on British soil by signing this petition here
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An excellent CNN documentary about one of the most consequential presidents in U.S. history. I do believe history will judge him well, and I can say many are already missing his vision/leadership less than a month into the Trump presidency. One can also say that there may be a silver […]
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An excellent speech & interview by a very talented/experienced former US Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power providing a comprehensive overview of the threat Russia currently poses on what is termed as Rules-based Order established post WWII. She backs this up with details highlighting her real experiences in dealing with Russia […]
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It is one thing to twist reality for convenience but you get into a different league when you see people look you straight in the eye and tell you that’s exactly what they’re doing and defending it. This level of unscrupulous attitude is one we have never seen before, at […]
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Wrapping up the Middle East Conflict in this manner will prove Quite Tricky Quite Quickly. Reliance on the allegiance of corrupt leaders/dictators in the region is a big miscalculation particularly that they are loosing support fast, while others do not have the benefit of political stability that would allow them […]
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Representative Mike Pompeo is quite a controversial figure although you would not see it from his slick presentation at the Senate Confirmation Hearing where he seemed quite cordial while maintaining a professional attitude throughout that hearing. One line of questioning from the Democratic members of the panel focused on whether he […]
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The Convenience of Terminology Adaptability, a strategy used by the far right to promote shallow narrative for change (used since Nazi Germany); Racism (becomes) Patriotism/Nationalism & Anti-Corruption/Reform (become) Anti-Establishment. It’s all about punchlines and stirring negative emotions to help drive change through fear & divisive politics. I believe that this […]
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Not just great score, but great interpretation and conducting by one of the best conductors of all time Carlos Kleiber (1930-2004).
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Now that there is a new leadership at the White House with vastly different views from traditional allies on a host of issues; from Trade to the Environment to Foreign Policy to name just a few it would be interesting to understand the fate of Intelligence sharing/cooperation and overall outlook […]
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With the inauguration of Trump as 45th President of the US just a few hours away, it is moments like these that I crave for genius humor of Robin Williams. I guess he must be watching over us now & laughing his heart out…at our expense. Truly missed in these […]
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An excellent documentary about Russian influence on US elections and history of Trump relationship with Russia. Predictions are not all that rosy for a Trump presidency, but this is all the more important that we go into it more aware/wired into this “unique” situation and the ramifications resulting from it so […]
Read More I made sure to watch the recorded version of the speech in its entirety, with a glimmer of hope having read the British Pound gained strength after the speech which based on the track record of a PM Theresa May’s Speeches or Statements on this topic is, well a “Record” […]
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The Orkest van het Oosten led by Jan Willem de Vriend plays’ Symphony No. 4. ‘Italian’ by Mendelssohn during the opening season of 2016 – 2017
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Defining the Problem There continues to be debate about the value of “Multiculturalism” and whether it has failed to live up to its nobel intentions pertaining to a multiethnic/multicultural society we live in today. Some politicians even pronounce the concept of Multiculturalism as already “Dead”. This is certainly a serious & […]
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Framing these issues and the absurdity of temperament of Mr Trump as a Liberal/Conservative divide is the real Fake News of the Century. We should engage/connect with like-minded conservatives and not be forced to live in our own isolated bubble that got into this mess in the first place. The […]
Read More A true master/perfectionist of musical expression with his unique approach in conveying interpretation of the musical phrase-one of the all time great conductors.
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In response to Nick Clegg’s article (link below) I would like to contribute some commentary here; It certainly is the case that when something happens on your watch you own it-whether or not it is more convenient to pass the buck elsewhere. And you do not own in the sense […]
Read More A great speech from a wise leader who I hope (and suspect from this speech) will continue to play a key in revitalising the Democratic party while at the same time defending liberal/democratic values over trends of nationalism & xenophobia. The ultra right surely know how influential he can be and […]
Read More This briefing will absolutely make no difference in changing Trumps stance on this issue as it would put into question the legitimacy of his Presidency and would affect his growing ties with Putin-a truly unprecedented situation for a President of the United States. With the nearing of the inauguration of […]
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An Inspiring Politician that has the capability/influence to counterbalance ultra right conservatism overtaking American political establishment and unite the country through a pragmatic vision moving forward. He should be given the platform to play this key role by the Democratic party as of 2017-which could be a very interesting proposition […]
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I totally agree with the views in this article (link below), particularly the point that we need to learn to play rough with Russia not just in rhetoric but in action-it’s something I’ve been calling for in all my posts on this topic. I would also say that the influence […]
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Gorgeously Passionate Meryl Streep: Loosing her voice but giving us a sense of direction, in her own way.
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An inspiring true story of Sir Nicholas Winton, a humble man with a simple message; “There is too much emphasis nowadays on the past and no one is concentrating on the present and the future.” Indeed we should remember this story of this wise man but with an eye on […]
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A truly candlelightening interview today-but then again why split hairs. The single clear overriding message coming out of this interview is that the government intends for us to leave the EU and will trigger article 50 by the end of March-anything else is up for grabs-but that is not to say we […]
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What captures my fancy in this news article about Israeli diplomat filmed saying he wanted to “take down” Foreign Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan are these lobby groups that keep popping up all over our political echo system; Conservative Friends of Israel Liberal Democrats Friends of Palestine (and Israel in another LibDem […]
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Without going into the details of the report which can be found here, I would rather focus my commentary on key indicators/observations; The Warm War: It is clear to me with the amount of materials I have read thus far on Cyber Threats & Information Warfare that the mindset of […]
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A Combination of Self Regulation, Awareness & Report/Action Processes are needed now more than ever to reclaim/cleanse the web space irrespective of political ideology. I continue to focus on this issue of Disinformation on this website as one of the most dangerous phenomena’s we face today, particularly in this day-and-age where […]
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Introduction To understand context of this series of posts on Information Warfare please read the Preface section which also includes original resources for these posts. These posts are not intended to be detailed but rather summarise key points of research papers as well as personal commentary that I are believe […]
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I have written 2 posts on this matter including an approach forward on a resolution so I refer to those rather than repeating myself; Leaders reject Netanyahu calls for Jewish mass migration to Israel: Commentary A Cosy Relation with an expected Policy Dictation What I would like to take on here are 2 […]
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Talk about “Shameful” in UN Israeli Ambassador response to UN resolution against settlement; Well, nothing more shameful than Netanyahu’s response by calling for mass migration to Israel. It truly brings into focus the trauma of the horrific events of the Holocaust and the question of whether these events continue to […]
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As one who enjoys reading/viewing documentaries about WWII I will be posting material I find interesting and/or significant yet little is known about on this major historic event that helped shape what is termed as the current world order-after we all need to know where we are coming from so […]
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It’s a well known fact that US unwavering support for Israel has been a trademark of US Middle East policy though not without a load of controversies to deal with. This US/Israeli “alliance”, thanks to a very effective/powerful web of lobby groups in the United States , has been able […]
Read MoreA wonderful interview with Eli Wallack (recorded 2005), one the greatest actors of all time. He died in 2014 but his stock of great works live including 2 of my favourites; The Magnificent Seven (1960) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
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Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2017 (things certainly can only go upward from there, right?). Finally lets make this the coming years resolution; “Ask NOT what Politicians can do for you, but what You can do to Politicians…to make our country Great Again” 🙂 On a […]
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The Crimea Factor-Establishing Context Old Techniques within New Context/Terminology: The perception by Western analyst of Russian actions against the Ukraine in 2014 as a new style warfare is one that is misplaced. In fact these are old Soviet style/previously dormant foreign policy techniques that include disinformation and subversion. Steady Re-Emergence […]
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Deepest condolences to Family & Friends in Berlin and Moscow of all those who lost their precious lives due to acts of Cowardice.
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A disgusting man holding up to his own legacy of Bigotry but stoops to new lows by accusing Jo Cox widower of extremism. I truly do not understand why the media allow him any platform to spew his vile views unchallenged. This is one figure I hope we see much […]
Read More Preface In this section (a bit long I have to admit) I would like to provide some background context in terms of Motives behind doing the research/posting this blog and the Format I intend to follow/reasoning behind it. Motives a) As some of you may know I am an IT […]
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A wonderful tribute to a passionate humanitarian who touched the souls of many. Her memory and the way she was taken away should serve as our energy & moral compass of where we want to be.
Read More This is the letter I sent on Wednesday to @eucopresident Donald Tusk on the involvement of EP in #Brexit process pic.twitter.com/3VZP9kkjEk — Ex EP President (@EP_PresSchulz) December 16, 2016 A letter from European Parliament President Martin Schulz to European Commission President Donald Tusk complaining about the sidelining of the EP […]
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