What Makes People Tick?

 When news reports started coming in on Saturday evening (European central time) that Iran had launched an attack against Israel, I started worrying. I have no family in Israel. I'm not Israeli. I'm not Jewish. I'm not worrying about 'my home' or about family members. But I am a supporter of Israel. I'm not always a staunch supporter of the Israeli government, true. There are decisions that I, as a person, do not agree with. There are things I would change, would do differently, if it were up to me. But am I a staunch supporter of Israel's right to exist, of the right of Israeli people to live in freedom? Definitely. I have friends in Israel. People I've met as I travelled the world. Good people. Kind people. People with parents, with siblings, with children. People I care about.  My main thought as I was watching the news on television and reading the updates on Twitter/X however, wasn't about my friends in Israel. I wasn't worried about them: T...

If you care about what happens in the world, in the United States, in Israel, in the Middle East, in Europe... If you care about the survival of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of opinion and free press... Watch this video of (former mayor of New York) Rudy Giuliani speaking out about world issues, the danger of power in the wrong hands and how to make the world a better place.  I am - shock horror - quite a fan of (American president) Obama and very much appreciate that he is attempting to bring the entire world together or at least that he's trying to talk to the Arab / Muslim world, not just to white / European / western / Christian countries. What I think is ridiculous is that the American president does not seem to want to link terrorists motivated by (their particular version of) Islam to Islam as a global religion .  I refuse to blame all of Islam (as a religion) or all Muslims for the horrible and despicable acts of a relatively small gro...

Headscarves, hijabs, chadors, niqabs, burkas, you name it - In the West they're a hot topic representing freedom and faith to some while they're seen as a sign of oppression by others. In the Middle East they're everywhere, it seems. Covering the body in proper Islamic fashion is mandatory in countries like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iran. Interpretations vary across the board, however roughly speaking this means that women wear loose-fitting non-see through clothing with only hands and face showing (some include feet, some don't) and the neck, head and hair covered. Some Iranian women have recently turned to Facebook to express their dissatisfaction with the mandatory head- and hair covering. A Facebook post by Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad started the movement, as reported by Vocativ (found through George Takei 's Facebook page ) which has attracted quite a following and a lot of talk since. Iranian women are posting photos of themselves with uncovered h...

According to Tablet Magazine's article entitled "New Shoah Book Is Hit Among Non-Jewish Iranians", the first-ever book about the holocaust in Farsi is becoming a hit in Iran. Read more about the four-part book by Iranian author Ari Babaknia at Tablet Magazine or over at the   Amazon website where it is available for $200. According to Persian community Jaam-va-Jaan magazine , "The academic honesty with which [Babaknia] writes will give readers an unbiased and detailed understanding of not only the events of the Holocaust but the subsequent impact. The amount of research that has gone into this book is incredible."