The hoopla over kneeling when the national anthem is being played before football games has now gone international. And not a moment too soon.
Last we looked, the black athletes who refused to stand for the national anthem are American citizens and get all the perks that come from belonging to a democratic society. Including the privilege of not standing for the anthem. Given that, what message are they sending, mainly to young black boys? We will leave that for you to decide.
Is not standing for your flag, anthem and in reality your nation going to change whatever ails American society? No. So what’s the point? To make a statement? And so what? You made a statement.
Trump is right although we don’t agree with his language. Had he used less inflammatory wording, perhaps a dialogue would have opened up and he would have been more effective. Alas, that is his shortcoming and weakness, which, if they are honest, Trump supporters will agree with.
So what’s the next step? Will the players cut up their passports? We highly doubt that as they know their passports are highly valued in the world. Denounce their American citizenship? Doubtful. They live off that citizenship which gives them a salary that is frankly not commensurate to what they do.
There is no doubt that driving while black is a real issue. There is no doubt that there is police brutality against black people. There is also no doubt that Obama was the worst thing to have happened to black people. He pushed them to live off the system instead of encouraging them to strengthen their own communities and learn to take care of themselves as many other nationalities have had to do in America. As well, by acknowledging black lives matter, he gave credence to a group that is sketchy at best.
Given that, if black football players feel that there is injustice done to them as a people in the United States then there are a few avenues open to them to change things. Kneeling when their national anthem is being played is not one of them. Here are a few suggestions: a) get involved in politics b) mobilize the population and set up marches in every large city c) dialogue with people – meet face to face with those who you think malign you the most.
Kneeling for the national anthem is self-serving and ‘feel good’. It does absolutely nothing to further any part of their cause. In fact, it is creating negativity and division. Our suggestion is that a mediator be called in who both Trump and the football players will listen to. Communication is always the key to solve any issue. Spoken from a woman’s voice which seems to be silent in all of this. Way to much testosterone here.
Uber seems to be leaving Quebec. We are in good company. Uber was recently been banned in London and is not in many other cities and countries including Italy.
We have never taken Uber here in Montreal but have used the service in New York, Florida and California. It was fantastic. But… In New York there were many incidents of Uber drivers assaulting young women because the drivers are not properly, if at all, vetted.
One of the complaints Uber has is that it takes too long for a police check of their drivers and they want to use a private firm. Their drivers need to be checked and if it takes a long time, so be it.
It is pretty obvious that the taxi industry here is strong and has pull with our mayor. Uber never ingratiated themselves here. They kind of pushed their way in.
Competition is healthy and Uber made it so. Before Uber the taxi industry was sloppy and often rather disgusting. Because of Uber they had to start taking credit cards. They should also allow people to have a registry system so no money ever needs to change hands and there is a record of what taxi one took in case the driver is eating his, shall we say, ethnic lunch in the front seat creating an interesting aroma in the cab. Blanche, seriously. You are disgusting.
Saudi Arabia announced that it would allow women to drive (June 2018), ending a longstanding policy that has become a global symbol of the repression of women in the ultraconservative kingdom.
Of course the picture depicted of a woman driving is one with her wearing a niqab which hides her entire face and makes peripheral vision all but impossible.
If you really want to have steam coming out of your ears, read on: Many working Saudi women spend much of their salaries on drivers or must be driven to work by male relatives. Be happy where you live. Wait. Can someone please tell that to the kneeling football players. Oh wait a minute. Tell their wives who live in a society that allows them to drive wherever they want to. See how ridiculous what they are doing is?
Ever hear of the party Alternative for Deutschland aka AfD? It’s the right-wing German party that gained prominence in this week’s election in Germany where Angela Merkel was re-elected.
Their leader, Björn Höcke complained in a January 2017 speech about Berlin’s Holocaust memorial, saying “we Germans are the only people in the world who have planted a memorial of shame in the heart of their capital.” Nothing more to say here except that it never ends. N.e.v.e.r.
There is possibly no place that has changed more than the monarchy in England. King Edward VIII abdicated the throne because Wallis Simpson, the love of his life, was a divorcee and the church of england would not allow the marriage.
Then there was Prince Charles who divorced Diana to marry that Bowles woman. Ugh. And now, Prince Harry is in love with Meghan Markel who is not only divorced but has black heritage. In fact, their children could be black with red hair. That would be something, eh Blanche?
Seems the Queen moving along with the times (we are one of her twitter followers) although Harry is about 5th in line to be king. We wonder however, what Phil has to say about this. He is ‘very special’.
Trump was warned to send help to Puerto Rico or risk having it be his Katrina. Today he finally woke up and authorized an increase in the level of federal funding for debris removal and emergency protective measures.
They are a poor country and had little infrastructure before the vicious hurricane hit them. Now they are third-world country with no running water, no electricity and no proper hospitals.
In case you need a history lesson of how Puerto Rico is connected to the United States, here it is: Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory in 1898, when it was acquired from Spain after the Spanish-American War. With approximately 3.5 million residents, Puerto Rico is the most highly populated of all United States territories. People who are born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens.
If they are US citizens then they need to be helped asap.
We have never posted a joke or bumper sticker here, but this one was way to good not to share. In fact, we encourage you to share it with those you love.
If you want to talk to G-d, stop, find a peaceful talk and talk to him. If you want to see Him, text while you drive.
We’ll talk…
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