Traveling via plane is a safe way to get to a faraway destination. But then there are accidents every once in a while that catches the attention and imagination of the world.
In March 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (also known as MH370) took off from the airport in Kuala Lumpur. The final destination was Beijing. The plane never arrived at its final destination. For nine years, the questions about what happened to the plane and the 239 souls aboard have yet to be answered.
The new three-part NetflixdocumentaryMH370: The Plane That Disappeared follows the existing breadcrumbs to try to understand exactly what happened. Interviewing family members, experts, journalists, and others leads the viewer down the path of various theories.
What got me was the emotion of the story and the heartbreaking tales from the family members who have yet to have a concrete explanation. Unlike Lost or Manifest, this is not fiction. These are real people who are hurting and desperately craving peace of mind.
Do I recommend it? Absolutely.
MH370: The Plane That Disappeared is available for streaming on Netflix.
The anniversary of the beginning of a war is nothing to celebrate. Lives have been lost, property has been destroyed, and people have been displaced.
This week is the one-year anniversary of Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine. To say that it has been a trying time is an understatement. Mainly for the citizens of Ukraine, but also for the rest of the world. Gas prices went up last year, forcing the price of everything else to go up. I know it sounds like a first-world problem and inconsequential compared to those who have been killed, but the world relies on gas for almost everything.
Vladimir Putin believed that he could take over the country and that would be that. He depended on the rest of the world looking away or just giving him what he wanted (a la the Germans being given a portion of Czechoslovakia in hopes of preventing World War II). Instead, the Ukrainians and their President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have miraculously persevered, in spite of the odds.
One of the cliches about life is that our true character is revealed when times get tough. The Ukrainian people have proven to be stronger and more capable than I think many assumed they were. I fully believe that they will win. It is only a matter of time and the question of how many more will be slaughtered before peace occurs.
May the memory of those killed be a blessing. Z”l.
January 6th, 2021, was not just a hallmark of American history that no one in this lifetime will forget. It was a sign that democracy overall is not as solid as we once thought it was.
One week ago today, the Brazilian capital was assaulted in what essentially is a mirror image of 1/6. Like their American counterparts, the “protestors” believed that former President Jair Bolsonaro was denied another term based on the lie that he lost the election.
The major difference between both events was the speed at which the accused were found and arrested by the authorities. By last Tuesday, over 1000 people had been located. About half of them have been detained in prison. Compare that to the US where it took months for the police and FBI to do the same.
I heard somewhere last week that one of America’s greatest exports used to be democracy and freedom. These days, it has become autocracy, and the idea that if you are not chosen by the people to lead the government, you can cry foul.
What I find particularly disturbing is that several people in you know who’s circle have gleefully and openly admitted to stoking the fire. Among them is former Presidential advisor Steve Bannon.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I continue to hope and pray that political leaders across the world will one day return to respecting the rule of law and the voice of voters. But for now, it seems like we are on the path to despots once more taking the leading roles in the running of the nations.
The late and legendary first-wave feminist Alice Paul once said the following:
“There will never be a new world order until women are a part of it.”
There are some in this world who prefer to live in the past. Specifically, where women are at best second-class citizens and at worst, chattel.
Last week, the Taliban announced that girls can no longer attend school past grade 6. Earlier today, another announcement was made. All NGOs (non-governmental organizations), both local and international, must fire their female staff.
The statistics are clear. When a woman is educated beyond the basics, she is better prepared for the future. She is able to get a better job, lift her family out of poverty, and help her own children climb the economic ladder themselves. Female legislators also step up to the plate in reducing climate change and its various after effects.
This is straight of out The Handmaid’s Tale. It is nothing more than the fragile male ego and the archaic idea that a female will always be lower than a male.
If these men want to run their country into the ground, so be it. They will soon find out the power and the voice of the female sex.
In an ideal world, everyone would be equal. We would not need special interest groups to ensure that marginalized groups have the same rights and protections as the dominant group.
Frankly, I don’t know why they were invited to join in the first place. Given the country’s treatment of women (and the recent murder of Mahsa Amini), I have to question the sanity of those who suggested the idea in the first place. It’s akin to letting the fox into the hen house and letting it go wild.
As much as I appreciate the UN, it reminds me of the organization’s flaws. Instead of living up to the doctrines that were set down by its founders, it feels as if the idea of democracy, equality, and respect for all nations and peoples is nothing more than a pipe dream.
This was in response to Ilhan Omar potentially being removed from her committees by the Republican leadership in January. Now granted, this is a partisan proposal that is deeply problematic, but Goldberg’s comments are also problematic.
Both Hamas and the Taliban (as anyone with a brain would recognize), are known terrorist groups. If the only way to create their ideal world is to destroy and kill, so be it. The Hamas Charter goes so far as to say it in black and white.
“Which calls for the destruction of the State of Israel, and would not become a purely political movement, but quite the opposite, it would continue its policy of “resistance”.
The conflict with Israeli is religious and political: The Palestinian problem is a religious-political Muslim problem and the conflict with Israel is between Muslims and the Jewish “infidels.”
Goldberg seems to be an intelligent and capable woman. She would have lasted this long in Hollywood without a brain. But in making this comment, she has proven herself to be ignorant.
One of the newest films to be released on Netflix is Farha. It is supposed to dramatize the event known as “Nakba“. This is the lie that in 1948, Israel murdered and forced out hundreds of thousands of Arab Palestinians.
In any war, there is violence, there is death, and there is destruction. It is the nature of the beast. Nakba never happened. It was a story concocted to make the Israelis appear the Goliath to the Palestinian‘s David. The problem is that this fiction has continued to enable anti-semitism and has killed multiple generations on both sides.
Every time I read or see something about this, I get sick to my stomach. When I was very young, I was told the story about the ripple in the bond. As it got bigger, it spread. The same could be said for anti-semitism.
The only way to counter this hate is with love and acceptance. But first, we have to be willing to see one another as human beings.
Jerusalem is a beautiful city. Both ancient and modern, it is home to the world’s three great faiths. Walking through her streets is to walk through history and in the footsteps of the generations that have come before us.
It is also a site of murder, hate, and destruction. Earlier this week, two explosions shook the town. By the time to smoke cleared, eighteen people were injured and one person was killed. Aryeh Shechopek was fifteen and had dual citizenship in both Israel and Canada.
This boy, who had his entire future ahead of him, was only killed because he is a Jew living in Israel. Nothing more and nothing less.
What I don’t get is why the Palestinian leadership continues to think (and brainwash their citizens) that violence is the answer. It is obviously not. We are here to stay. This is our ancestral homeland, just as it is the ancestral homeland of the Arabs and the Christians.
What I want for the region (and for the rest of the world, as pie in the sky as it seems) is peace. No one, especially a child, should die because of who they are or where they live.
I am going to end this post with a quote from Golda Meir. It is as timely now as it was during her era.
If the Arabs put down their guns there would be no more fighting. If the Israelis put down theirs there would be no more Israel.”
Thirty years ago, during Bill Clinton‘s first Presidential election, a particular catchphrase became an integral part of the campaign:
“It’s the economy, stupid”
Last week, former British Prime Minister Liz Trussresigned after six weeks in office. She has the unfortunate status of having the shortest time in the position in British history.
I am the first to admit that my knowledge of the British political system is limited. If nothing else, it proves that a female politician has as much capacity to succeed or fail as a male politician does.
That aside, two things come to mind. The first is that it proves (hopefully once and for all), that trickle-down economics does not work and will never work. The second is that instead of continuing to endorse Truss and this disaster of an economic policy, her party saw the writing on the wall. They understood that if they continued to support her, the public might not support them.
If only the Republicans in this country might have done the same to a certain former President.
Obviously, we do not know at this point who Truss’s replacement will be. But I do know that the members of the Conservative Party have more balls than their American counterparts do.
Antisemitism is the oldest version of hate in human history. For thousands of years and in many parts of the world, we have been hated, forced out of our homes, persecuted, and murdered.
“No President has done more for Israel than I have,” Trump wrote before saying it was somewhat surprising that “our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S.”
Aside from his usual braggadocio, the disturbing aspect of what he says speaks to one of the basic tenets of antisemitism. Jews in America (or in any country that is part of the diaspora) are not 100% loyal to the nation in which they live. The culprit is, as usual, Israel. It is curious (though it should not be to anyone with a working brain), why other Americans whose families came from other parts of the world are not accused of the same lie?
Speaking of Israel, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated that until the two-state solution is resolved, her country’s embassy will remain in Tel Aviv. They also refuse to recognize that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital city.
I would like to make the following proposal: until her government deals honestly and openly with their colonial past, how about we recommend that their capital city be changed? Instead of Canberra, how about we recognize Melbourne or Sydney as the main seat of the government? How would they feel?
It is morally reprehensible that Israel is told what she can and cannot do, but she cannot turn around and do the same thing. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
Just another week of antisemitism. What else is new?
If Americans have learned one thing over the past few years, it is that democracy is not guaranteed. It must be fought for and earned.
Last week, a new Italian Prime Minister was elected. Her name is Giorgia Meloni. Though she has just been chosen to lead the country, there are already comparisons to Benito Mussolini. Anyone who knows anything about the history of the twentieth century understands that this is not a good sign of things to come.
Though there is the argument that she is a woman, that does not preclude where she lands politically. Fascism is dangerous, regardless of the sex and gender of elected officials and those who work for them.
Obviously, as an American citizen, I have no say in this decision. But what we can all do is be vigilant and speak up. If we don’t, then who knows how long we have left to live in a country that is truly democratic?
Writergurlny 
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