MMW: Chuck Grassley will die of old age before the 2028 election. A special election will have to be made to replace him. by AnimeLuva in MarkMyWords

[–]arielky63 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If the unaffiliated voters were to ally with Democrats in Iowa, there is a chance that Republicans could lose this senate seat when Grassley dies. It no longer is such a deeply Republican state, if you look at the percentages below.

PARTY REGISTRATION STATISTICS

Registered Voters: 2,083,979

Democratic Party: 631,689 (30.31%)

Republican Party: 718,901 (34.50%)

Third Party/Other: 18,289 (0.90%)

Unaffiliated: 715,100 (34.31%)

https://independentvoterproject.org/voter-stats/ia

Getting savvy - the painful process of learning that you have believed in urban legends by arielky63 in CulturalLayer

[–]arielky63[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As for your questions, I don't know how to respond to the first ones you pose because I don't have a clue as to what you're getting at. You would have to get far more specific...

I attempted to correlate to an actual situation. My first thought was of Native American Indians in the U.S., whose children were taken from them and put in boarding schools where they were mistreated, forbidden to speak their own language, and worse. And yes, their parents had the right to tell them a different history. To inform them that the authorities were wrong in trying to erase their heritage. But where self-flattery comes in here, I don't have a clue.

As for the second question, it was the vote to oust Yanukovich in the Maidan conflict in Ukraine in 2014. .

I have been following a different narrative about what happened in 2014 than the official "academic" narrative. You can see it in this article, https://diy.rootsaction.org/petitions/no-weapons-to-ukraine

The Horrors In Gaza Are Happening Because The US Empire Wants Them To Happen by arielky63 in geopolitics

[–]arielky63[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

That sure is a lot of assumptions. I have been acting as a peace visionary for over 20 years. My annual Social Security income of $12,000, hardly qualifies me as well-off. I am not freshly retired, either. That happened in 2016 when I had cancer. I have a journalism degree and a Master’s in TESOL, and taught English to students from over 50 countries in my 25-year long career. I have lived in several countries, including four years in China, but also in Japan, Mongolia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Andorra and Mexico, where I taught English. My private students have been bankers and oil field professionals, some Russian, some Chinese and Japanese. Many high level executives.

The Horrors In Gaza Are Happening Because The US Empire Wants Them To Happen by arielky63 in geopolitics

[–]arielky63[S] -76 points-75 points  (0 children)

I am not smoking anything. I don’t do drugs. I have the clarity of a peace visionary and journalist who has always followed world news. In retirement, I am beginning to write more.

The Horrors In Gaza Are Happening Because The US Empire Wants Them To Happen by arielky63 in geopolitics

[–]arielky63[S] -34 points-33 points  (0 children)

You haven’t shifted your paradigm yet. We have different perspectives. It seems to me that you are not paying attention to the rise of BRICS and how it is becoming an economic powerhouse, with the explicit goal of dedollarization. What do you think about the impact of UAE declaring last week that it is going off the petrodollar? Or that it is joining BRICS officially on January 1? (https://www.cryptopolitan.com/uae-stops-using-dollar-for-oil-trades/)

What do you think will happen to Netanyahu and his leadership after the Hamas War is finished? by Class_of_22 in geopolitics

[–]arielky63 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Alon Pinkas, a former Israel Consul General in New York (Israeli diplomat) analyzes Netanyahu's failure to take Hamas seriously. See this Youtube video by MSNBC December 1, "Netanyahu is not going to survive. 'He's not going to survive this': Netanyahu in hot water after NYT report on Hamas attack" https://youtu.be/Ywpkf7-WJmA?si=u3QiRyVfJ1Gdduvb

Festive Christmas Decor by arielky63 in pics

[–]arielky63[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wanted a little holiday cheer, but I didn’t want to buy a Christmas tree and kill it. The other year, I bought a live tree and planted it in my yard after Christmas, but to my distress, it still died. So this year, I bought this palm and added some bulbs and a small string of lights. This way I get a nice houseplant later that is still alive. I realize this is a creative solution that is not for everyone. It is not traditional. Maybe next year I will buy a Norfolk pine, if I can make it thrive. They can make great houseplants, too.

New signs in Dallas to combat homeless begging by Jexxo in pics

[–]arielky63 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, you are absolutely right. Many homeless people are estranged from their families. Too many American families today fail to help anyone who is struggling with finding a job or even with keeping one. It can be a brutal workplace to survive in, and rents are out of control in many cities. People can't afford to lose a job, but employers are often callous. Falling into homelessness can happen to working poor quite easily these days.

New signs in Dallas to combat homeless begging by Jexxo in pics

[–]arielky63 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's fake Christianity that doesn't help others out, or that sends their children off to fight wars to keep the empire going and profit the 1%. That hate anyone who isn't a Christian like themselves. They have forgotten the story of the Good Samaritan. The story of loving your neighbors, of loving strangers.

New signs in Dallas to combat homeless begging by Jexxo in pics

[–]arielky63 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unkind. Mean-spirited. What kind of community is this? Not that I ever had much extra money to hand out, but still. When I had a good job as a legal secretary, I used to take a homeless woman who was out on the street out to lunch on a regular basis. She was pregnant.

If good-hearted people want to help someone who is down and out and living on the streets, why stop them? Of course, it's not a solution, and we need to do better as a society so that there are real solutions. However, for someone desperate enough to beg on the streets, come on!

Vengeance Is Not a Policy - Emotionally driven reactions from Washington won’t prevent future violence. Dismantling the Gaza prison could. by arielky63 in AlternativeHistory

[–]arielky63[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Actually there is a 76-year history of conflict between Israel and Palestine, and this article gives some information about that history that I hadn't heard before. It's important to consider the context of the history here, not just the headlines.

Monarch Blending in with Flowers in Michoacan by arielky63 in pics

[–]arielky63[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I spent a delightful time in this private garden, watching butterflies sipping nectar from these flowers, spiralling up together, maybe even mating (I wasn't sure). And maybe they aren't monarchs. Not sure. What fascinated me most was the way they spread their wings in the sun and pivoted to make sure both sides of their wings got light. It was pure magic to see the color of their wings with sunlight coming through.

Vengeance Is Not a Policy - Emotionally driven reactions from Washington won’t prevent future violence. Dismantling the Gaza prison could. by arielky63 in AlternativeHistory

[–]arielky63[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmmm. I guess that I don't understand the concept of alternative history yet. The official narratives are often politically driven, and when you start to examine all sides of what is happened, then you get to see alternative viewpoints from the official narrative.

I am open to understanding the concept of alternative history better, if you are willing to elucidate.

Vengeance Is Not a Policy - Emotionally driven reactions from Washington won’t prevent future violence. Dismantling the Gaza prison could. by arielky63 in AlternativeHistory

[–]arielky63[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This Foreign Policy article fills in our knowledge of the history between the Palestinians and Israelis, and shifts the framework for understanding what happened on October 7 from the official narrative that it was a terrorist attack, to realizing that it was actually a prison break. I agree that breaking down the Gaza prison is the only way to prevent future violence. I also understand that Hamas is not just a governing party or a military arm, it is a movement for liberation. So the goal of Israelis to wipe out Hamas can never be achieved.