A GROWING DIVIDE .......

A simple true and elegant definition of sane and successful leadership is; "The process of facilitating the accomplishments of a group, on organizational and societal objectives." Leadership by facilitating through fair influence the accomplishments of goals held by the group, all of the group, will succeed and be called great leaders .

Not Mr. Trump, nor PM Netanyahu, and their doomed oligarchies, are this type of leaders, non of them managed to install a system of governance and leadership leading to harmony within their societies. A Mr. Putin, even Mr. Erdogan, both undisputed dictators within their countries, are far more qualified to be called leaders, or pseudo leaders at least .

More liberals, intellectuals, religious and secular, Jewish, Christians or others, younger and older,  from all over the world, and the Western world more particularly, are voicing loud concerns, and speaking openly against Israeli Zionist policies and applications in their under occupation territories, their flagrant apartheid system , and the blind American back-up and support. Even their meddling in every country of the region challenging Israeli hegemonic politics .

Many if not most leaders speak of justice as only they understand it, from their positions as kings or commanders in chief and theocratic leaders. Most become selfish, afraid of rebellions from within their own ranks, and invariably turn into poor losers. These leaders become only concerned with finding the convenient answers and then persuading their followers to accept them .

The worst that could happen to a people under such leaderships, is the total loss of any sense of justice and fairness . Democratic institutions cannot always be relied upon nor trusted to regularly achieve justice and fairness in their regimes, but at least what democracy can insure is for the people to open and continue the discussions needed for change, for better governance, for better fairness and justice .

When a society starts fracturing from within, we know for sure that justice has failed somewhere, and injustice reign. With Israel's Zionists and the American right wing literal Evangelists, and vulgar and naive Trumpism, one would wonder; if it's all in the name of God, what are they leaving to the Devil ?? 

The truly unwise leaders of this world have no idea how much they are missing, and how harsh future judgment will be, they are so arrogantly proud of their falsehood and so insensitive to anything else , they totally fail to grasp how much they failed in wisdom, and continue to do .

My as always, many thanks to all my readers worldwide .

           

JUSTICE , FAIRNESS AND COMPASSION ....

When people follow leaders who are evil, it will only lead to more evil in the world, and when people follow leaders who are good , it will lead to more good automatically. As the world today is not short at all of all sort of evil leaders, America, Israel, North Korea and Turkey, plus all theocracies and the various dictators who are all just some of the crazy and evil leaders and leaderships around .

Justice and fairness in any society require a sane leadership. There can be no justice in any community without the good ambiance and atmosphere that sane and healthy leadership can bring with it and establish the principles in the community. Nothing would justify a person to poison or destroy a community for the sake of personal advantages or even a certain ideology or a narrow personal view or dream .

Granted, we all agree that no one practically has the soul that's always so well tempered , and many if not most hardly ever have their desires and ambitions continually checked and balanced, some will do anything for power, or for profit, or even to prove themselves capable of doing, as Mr. Trump, Netanyahu, or Erdogan all living examples will certify and prove .

Are justice, fairness and correctness just an ideal ?? Something just to think about academically, and theoretically , but cannot expect to have on this earth, at least not in our times any more !! Justice, fairness and compassion are very interrelated idioms in modern human life .

Leaders like Mr. Trump lacks all, compared to his predecessor, or all his predecessors. Netanyahu compared to Rabin (A very tough soldier himself) is lacking all of the above traits, Chaim Weizmann, the first president of Israel, famously said; "It is by its treatment of the Palestinians that this country will be judged."  Yet, when judged by this same criterion, Zionism and its leaders are not just an unqualified failure, but a tragedy of historic proportions .

Mr. Erdogan , compared to Ataturk (Mustafa Kamal) is a midget and far from the later's compassion, visions and fairness, the Mullahs in Iran are no match but worse than most previous leaders in Iranian history. Saudi royalty has no previous comparison, and do not match anyone else in the world. They all stand alone with no justice, fairness or compassion what so ever. These leaders and similar ones in the world, only manage to create divided societies at best, that is when they don't totally destroy their own .

The worst that could happen to a people, is the total loss of a sense of justice and fairness, this amnesia like hits people for longer or shorter periods of time, as history keeps reminding us of our recent ugly periods, of the Nazi regime, and apartheid South Africa, both very destructive and thankfully relatively short, the case of present Israel , its regime and its brainwashed Zionist population puts it in direct partnership with both previous regimes.

Modern politics in the U.S. are steadily leaning and leading America and Americans to some of the previous, with total lack of justice, compassion and fairness, I firmly believe we should be very, very careful with where we're going in life .

My gratitude for your time, perseverance and help .                    

FAKING IT AND FAKE NEWS .......

Intentional fake, mistaken fake, political, economical and social fake, national and religious fake news, are all nowadays back to becoming an essential part and tool of our 21st century lives, politics and governance. The American president Mr. Trump made it more so, as he is an ardent and passionate user of these Techniques and tactics, leading to blatant fake news, fake policies and fake visions .

Countries are now using fake news to influence elections, issues and public opinions about social, economical and political issues, security and occupation issues . It is the 21st century's weapon of choice, and a very efficient tool of manipulation, using modern technologies and media, super powers, second and third countries are all taking benefit internally and externally . They all try to influence their own populations, their neighbors and the whole world of their policies and doings be it dictatorial, religious, hegemonic, colonial, apartheid inclined or purely Neocons and fascistic .

They are all using and stretching the philosophy of fake news, inventing new psychological tricks daily . The word itself is loosing its meaning, at least its effective meaning, by it being over used by all sides and parties, and for all and any purpose . Our own Trump administration, the Russian administration, the Turkish and surely the Israeli present ultra right Zionist factions, are all clear, open and obvious examples of manipulating to dangerous levels the game of fake news.

To analyse the latest effects of American and international medias,the internet, plus the intentional and deliberate fake news, emitted by all sides over the American electorate lately, one would absolutely believe we are all living in some la la lands, or we're all drifting into some banana republic type regime and mentality, possibly that's our future fate after all.

It's all very sad and disappointing after so many years of slow social progress, fiscal progress, sane leadership in the world, we are suddenly and abruptly giving it all away, for free, just to please some basic animalist instincts in ourselves. Whereby the superior one or two percent are regaining power with unmatched vengeance, and the 95 to 98 percent are helplessly watching . Some even are naively approving , as divinity is making its come back with this fake situation .

All politicians with no exception all over the world use some fake news, to influence their electorate , embellish their persona and regimes, but some are by far better masters and even teachers of the game, Mr. Trump and his mentor B. Netanyahu are unique at the game, Mr. Putin and Erdogan come as seconds . The north Korean young leader is the newest apprentice, but quite promising. The Saudi young crown prince MBS, comes in the game triumphantly as well.

Thanks to our own president foreign games and lack of policy, he is with no doubt initiating an assault on anyone and everyone internally, who could be a threat to his reign and presidency, attacking their credibility and integrity for the sake of his and his family's survival, now the game is switching to foreign countries allies or not, simply to cover America's failure in some spots and gain quick and cheep points in others.

Yes Mr. Trump , maybe your button is bigger than the North Korean, maybe yours is bigger or smaller than many or most of the world, but the world will not sustain your show, even the smallest buttons can and will have devastating effects on the planet, and its life. Let's stop cheaply intimidating the world with our size and our money. As you're not the only crazy one around, the world is full of leaders like you, and it could easily lead to an overall explosion .

At some point we'd have to sober-up and stop our fake policies and acts, and possibly get back to sane diplomacy without the show .                   

THE JERUSALEM CONNECTION .......

Most Israeli Zionists and American Zionists and pro Zionists choose to totally ignore, and in some instances harshly accuse progressive Jewish anti Zionists voices with the worst names and adjectives,  thinkers like Alfred Lilienthal , rabbi Elmer Berger, and in our actual times, great minds like Noam Chomsky, Norman Finkelstein and Ilan Pappe, or the columnist Gideon Levy, Uri Avneri and many others in Israel, America and the Western world. They are all accused widely of being self hating Jews, traitors to the cause .

Even passionate about justice and morality Jews, tend to forget and ignore the gross injustices perpetrated by Israeli Zionists, winning the well deserved nick-name of "Progressive except Palestine and Palestinians."

Israeli Zionism loves to advocate itself as a paragon of fairness and justice, as the former Israeli supreme court president Aharon Barak used to put it ; "Democracy has its own internal morality, based on the dignity and equality of all human beings .... Most central of all human rights is the right to dignity." How correct and nicely put, and how hypocrite,  as in Israel's reality it's only meant to be applied and applicable between Jews, and strictly Jews, Arabs, Palestinians, Musslems or Christians, kids, adults or old have no place in this equation. They are all inferior and third class, with no rights or dignity.

Palestinians Only deserve to be despised and loathed by the Israeli people, and a full apartheid treatment is only adequate, leading eventually to a whole population transfer and easy annexation of their lands, waters and wealth. Again and again all in the name of the same divine almighty, or is it really ??

Modern Israel, was created through deceit and cruel brutality, falsification and ethnic cleansing, it is maintained and still aggressively expanding through illegal occupation and blockades , through sheer force and deceit, and it wants to convince itself and the world that when Palestinians legally resist the brutal and cruel occupation and theft of their lands and properties, when they exercise their rights to resist apartheid and total beastly and barbaric militaristic tactics , they are looked at and labeled as "TERRORISTS".

Israel denounced Thursday's U.N. vote about Jerusalem, likening it to the 1975 resolution equating Zionism with racism , a decision that was repealed 17 years later because of intensive American pressure on the world body of nations, including withholding American dues payments to the U.N. and aid money to poorer countries .

" It's shameful that this meeting is even taking place." Declared Israel's envoy to the United-Nation addressing the entirety of the world , " It's null and void, no vote of the U.N. will make any difference on the U.S." " We will take names", said the U.S. representative Nikki Haley . The US president Mr. Trump  threatened to withhold American foreign aid from countries that didn't abide and follow American directives, is it history repeating itself 25 years later ??

Let's see if Mr. Trump's naivety will further drag the US into more ridicule and isolation in the entire  world contrary to any of our vital interests or our basic common sense . " We'll save a lot , I don't care " against any and all countries that voted their conscience, we are again facing the world with the old mentality of "with us or against us"  and turning our foreign policies and diplomacy into the perfect bully against all .

Most political analysts, American or international firmly believe , that the whole unfortunate affair was a significantly self-inflicting wound, and a major blunder . This faux-pas, totally unnecessary , simply clumsy diplomacy on the part of the US and its immature leadership .

It is the optimal hypocrisy when Nikki Halley and her boss see a wonderful world condemnation to North Korea's nuclear actions, but totally fail to see the same toward Israel's continual occupation and treatment of its under occupation territories , its theft and hegemonic policies .

As always , my absolute gratitude to all my readers , happy holidays .     
  

OUR TIMES , OUR WORLD .....

Theocracy, apartheid, and authoritarian neo-colonial regimes are now thriving, and are not anymore condemnable or challenged . As a result of our actions and reactions, real meaningful democracies are definitely regressing and in retreat, whether in the Western world in general, America,  around all of the Middle-East or in any other spot of the world .

Where are all these modern leaders, in the US and abroad, our so called allies or enemies, from theocracies to dictators, neocons authoritarian or neocolonialists and fascists,  where are all from the words of Isaiah ; " Doom to you who legislate evil, who make laws that make victims, laws that make misery for the poor, that rob the destitute of their dignity, exploiting defenseless widows, taking advantage of homeless children". (IS-10:1-4), what is happening right now in many spots of the world at the hands of cruel and selfish leaders, bloody leaders, matters for the soul of the entire world , and for many years to come .

As has been made clear by his actions repeatedly, whether internally or in foreign policies, our current president lately proves more than ever, that he believes he is special, he is free to obstruct justice when he deems it necessary, he can lie without consequences, he does not need to worry about potential controversial consequences .

In medicine, as in real life, mental impairment, is considered as serious as physical impairment . Simply put, as a president Mr. Trump shows all the signs that raise red flags ; Verbal aggressiveness, boasting about sexual assaults, accusing others of cheap sexual behaviors, inciting violence in others, a clear attraction to violence and weapons, he is impulsive, he wouldn't hesitate using nuclear power or pushing doomsday buttons in many hostile or not so hostile instances .

He is reckless, paranoiac, he has poor understanding of consequences and looses grip on reality, he lacks empathy and compassion toward others, individuals or human groups, he is constantly in a rage mood and needs to demonstrate power constantly. He lives in his own world of apartheid, and tries to implement it and encourage it with sick allies who still listen to him or feel he's doing them favors .

One way or another, the consequences of Mr. Trump's presidency are affecting pretty much all of us, Americans and from across the world, it will take many years to erase these, and recover from his acts of folly . If the aberration of the past 70 years of hegemony, colonialism, apartheid and vulgar open theft, are to be stopped anytime through this century, the whole world and its political leadership will have to exercise a lot more compassion, care and attention, so as to curb the arrogance and falsehood and abhorrent aberrant distortions of many political claims .

My, as always, profound thanks for your time .                                 

SOME PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ......

Usually I'm very interested in other's  thoughts and writings, it surely helps my mind form itself, and my ideas develop, I like to read philosophy and learned a lot from philosophers, I take advantages of the vocabulary of other writers and thinkers, as they all invariably do, words developed for the discussion of ideas, their ideas as well as mine .

Religions and divine powers and creations, surely play a very primarily role in human activity , at least for the past few thousands of years, and up to present times . They still interfere heavily and take a major role in human development, progress and thinking . Unfortunately so because both, divinity and religions are works of fiction, with not so good influence on Sapiens .

Religions are mostly and primarily an evasion, emanating and engulfed in mystery and fable . They will always be part of the unknown and remain unknown and enigmatic to clear minds and real analytical thinking and analysis .

Consequently , and since my early youth, I have never found myself able to believe in the existence of a god, or in any divine based religion, though I could never scientifically or rationally prove his or its non-existence , but no one could prove his existence as well .

Just to like believing in something, or because you're brought-up to believe in an idea or a way, or as Pascal  wager puts it ; that it is safer and a better bet to believe in god than not to . All these do not constitute enough good reasons and justifications to blind faith and automatic servitude .

Morality, good judgment, the respect of the others, their rights and dignities, equality between people and more so between genders, are all human attributes and not godly ones, on the contrary prophets mimicking the words of divine powers were always controversial and contradictory, subject to historic times and location .

Thus the huge misfortunes on humanity from religions and their interests, the worst culminating in our actual times are the politico/religious tragedies and injustices we are witnessing all around us . injustices, brutality, apartheid, and all again to glorify some godly concept and prove itself more superior, obstinate, intransigent, and inflexible .

Finally, let's make sure we understand the clear concept Sapiens created on this earth of ours, Divine powers and manipulations, and magic are all us-dependent, in themselves they are figments of our mental faculties and imagination, without us to nurture them, they would be unintelligible and practically non existent . Our power of inventing and putting together a whole fiction-like imagery,  stories and miracles, all non verifiable nor checkable, based totally on blind belief and faith, has been an amazing achievement of our imagination throughout Sapien's evolution .

Throughout our adventures which led to the inventions and implementations of our imagination, we've created realms and concepts that are in themselves incomprehensible to our own minds and very difficult to grasp, where only speculative imagination would work to elucidate the self contradictions of religions, their thinking and reasoning .  The existence of God cannot in any way be explained or justified by simply assuming the existence of God, nor by an act of blind faith .

It is important to stress that these conclusions have been reached entirely through rational thinking and sober pragmatic and logical considerations . As always my deep gratitude for your time .                            

ON LEADERS AND SANE LEADERSHIP ......

Striking a fair balance between genuine national security and expansionism, hegemony, neocolonialism and supremacy, as well as respecting the rights and dignities of others, ought to be carefully thought and considered by any person claiming to be a leader of any state or entity.

Clearly times of terror and chaos are a clear danger to democracies, and to regional and international stability, but leaders all through times had the strong tendencies to go overboard in their determination to enforce their own dreams and visions of hegemony and grandiose schemes . Even if often camouflaged under big words of protecting national security and/or the prosperity of their people.

Always at whatever the cost to others and even their own people . Resulting more often than not , in curtailing and terminating freedoms and instituting semi and quasi fascist regimes in their own sides. When leaders lose their heads, and start envisioning bigger than realistic dreams, ordinary people, as well as intelligentsia and the media, must keep their clear minds and their commonsense , must be able to perceive and express what is ridiculous, dangerous or even comical in a situation or character.

All have a clear duty , to make sure others see and feel the truth of the matter , to clarify the discrepancies between appearances and realities, between the evil that's meant, and what is nicely and eloquently expressed.

Leaders who engage in evil, generally to promote their fortunes or powers at the expense of others, or to prove their superiority and vain, only do so because they want to and because they can, and not as it's always claimed that they were pushed or cornered, or even in defense of their countries and people.

To use recent America as an example of leadership gone astray, leadership that only very few likewise adventurer leaders around the world have welcomed. "The end of history" never came nor materialized as the world order of Mr. Bush the father hardly lasted a half decade. The promised democracy of Mr Bush the son and his brilliant VP Cheney and their advisers, their attempts to end tyranny throughout the world ended with disastrous results for the U.S and the world, from Libya to Iraq and Syria all the way to Afghanistan, and the drive is still on .

I'm going to repeat the words of Jonathan Freedland, from a recent article of his, "Until a year ago, the US was setting a lead of a very different sort, America's first black president seemed about to make way for the first woman president, (both fairly smart and cultured ), italics mine. Once again the US was offering an example to the world, affording a glimpse of what 21st century democracy might look like, instead, Trump has provided a glimpse into gloomier future, one of lies, ethnic divisions, authoritarianism, and the ever looming prospect of war. It's fair to say that most within and outside the US are counting the days, like a prisoner scratching marks onto the wall".

Waiting for Trump to be gone, so that the world might feel steadier and safer again. Recently the favorability rating of the US had fallen by a third, only Russia's top leadership , Israeli neocons and neocolonialists and lately possibly Saudi Arabia ruling King and son, still look approvingly to Mr. Trump and his oligarchic leadership . 

In fact , practically all aggressive and brutal leaders share one thing, they all claim to know what they know or think they know, and they all seal themselves off against any evidence or opinions that might or could change or challenge their basic obstinacy and beliefs . I for one , strongly believe, that ruling in general should not be a single job for any one person anymore in our times , it has to become a collective democratic sharing office .

My as always many thanks for your time ...