Author Archena Posted on Categories Current, MondayTags , , , , , , , , ,

Is the European Union Democratic?

No, of course not. It’s a bureaucracy. You need details, huh? They really don’t teach you college kids much for all that money they charge you, do they? Any word ending in -cracy refers to what governs. Democracy just means the people govern – there aren’t any true democracies. Autocracy means a single person has full governing power. Think ‘despot’ but that’s just the usual outcome. Benevolent autocracy is possible in theory. So far, it hasn’t happened. So what’s a … Continue reading “Is the European Union Democratic?”

Author Archena Posted on Categories Current, MondayTags ,

Iran, Yemen, Venezuela, China, and Russia, Oh My!

The world is burning down. Ack! Head for the hills! The End is Near! Dogs and cats are marrying! So, basically, it’s Tuesday on the Internet. Let’s take a bit of a deeper dive, shall we? Or we can just do the headless chicken dance. Deeper dive? Good call. I left Ukraine, Israel and Guyana out of my list on purpose. Today, let’s look at the bad guys. I’m grossly oversimplifying because this isn’t a Perils of Pauline serial and … Continue reading “Iran, Yemen, Venezuela, China, and Russia, Oh My!”

Author Archena Posted on Categories Current, MondayTags , , , ,

Ceasefire: Good for Israel? Good for Biden?

Yes to the first. No to the second. What is it with you people and details?! Can’t a cranky old lady get any peace around here? Well, that’s obviously a no. So, details it is. Y’all are probably wondering if my opinion has changed since a ceasefire doesn’t seem part of the program I anticipated. The answer is no, I haven’t changed my opinion – yet. Look, politics only comes in size people and people only come in size messy. … Continue reading “Ceasefire: Good for Israel? Good for Biden?”

Author Archena Posted on Categories Current, MondayTags , , , , ,

What Everyone is Getting Wrong About Israel

Yay, my first clickbaity title! Those of you who have followed me at all know I don’t tend to use exciting titles and that my titles sometimes pay only passing resemblance to the actual content. Well, through no fault of my own, this blog will break both of those trends. Oh, and for listeners and viewers, link in the description! Readers can see the hyperlink below. Wow, I’m breaking all my rules today! Okay, let’s get to work. I was … Continue reading “What Everyone is Getting Wrong About Israel”

Author Archena Posted on Categories Current, MondayTags , , , ,

Suspicious Protests

It would be nice if we could magically just know how sincere a person was when they say something. Of course, you’d find out that your mom really did have a favorite kid and your boss isn’t going to think about giving you a raise so there are some downsides. But with this magic power we could tell just how legit a given protest was. Well, my superpower ring still hasn’t come in the mail so I guess we’ll just … Continue reading “Suspicious Protests”

Author Archena Posted on Categories Current, MondayTags , , ,

Are Protests Effective?

Yes, no, maybe. Depends on the protest and what you’re trying to affect. Numbers matter but organization matters more. Ten thousand people milling around is not going to do much but a thousand folks on the right location with a definite message may get some action. Ideally, you want ten thousand folks with a definite massage in the right place at the right time. Protests are really noisy PR. It’s getting to the point where you need a degree in … Continue reading “Are Protests Effective?”

Author Archena Posted on Categories Current, MondayTags , , , ,

The World Still Isn’t Ending So PAY ATTENTION

Is it me or do kids these days only pay attention to the world if they think the sky is falling? In MY day we didn’t really have a choice – only three to five channels and Dad was watching the Five O’ Clock news no matter what. Not sure which of us had it better, but we Boomers grew up having some idea of what was in the news. Nowadays, everything is a crisis. Only it’s not. Most of … Continue reading “The World Still Isn’t Ending So PAY ATTENTION”

Author Archena Posted on Categories Current, MondayTags , ,

The World Isn’t Ending

I stink at this whole ‘clickbait’ thing. All the YouTube gurus say you need an attention grabbing titles and to build suspense. Me? I lead with the conclusion. Oh well, guess ‘YouTube sensation‘ like Lawrence Brown isn’t in my future. I’ll live. I’m a cranky old lady and proud of it. What annoys the heck out of me are headlines that scream about impending doom. First off, scaring the socks off of people is just morally wrong. Second, it’s not … Continue reading “The World Isn’t Ending”

Author Archena Posted on Categories Current, MondayTags , , , , , ,

Hamas Betrayed Gaza

When Hamas massacred Israeli civilians it betrayed the Arab citizens of Gaza that it had been elected to govern. Their atrocities were so unforgivable that this time Israel is extremely unlikely to stop until Hamas is destroyed and Israel’s borders are safe. The fault for that lies squarely on Hamas. No amount of ‘but what about’ is going to save Gaza. The UN isn’t coming. Iran isn’t coming. Hezbollah will only provide a distraction – it cannot handle the Israelis, … Continue reading “Hamas Betrayed Gaza”

Author Archena Posted on Categories Current, MondayTags , , , ,

Israel Attacked – Welcome to the Old Normal

Millennials and Zoomers were blessed to grow up in one of the most placid periods in world history. They did the same stupid stuff that we Boomers did – they thought they understood the world and ignored anyone that said different. We ended up messing up quite a bit of the good stuff our parents had left to us. It comes as no surprise our young ‘uns have done the same. No pretense that the US is perfect. But no … Continue reading “Israel Attacked – Welcome to the Old Normal”