Facts about the World in General

Today, there is a GOP bill that could be passed. The tax bill is not only horrendous and doesn't make sense. It does nothing to help the poor or the working class, especially in the long term. Polls consistently have shown that a majority of Americans oppose the tax bill. The bill cuts necessary tax deductions that can help Americans, especially in high tax states. It is a policy that independent experts deduce that citizens who are low income will pay more in taxes than the super wealthy. It harms the student loan program that many college students need to make education more affordable. Over the span of ten years, anyone with an income of $75,000 or less will pay higher taxes. It ends the estate tax, which deals with the super wealthy. It radically cuts the corporate tax rate well below 30 percent. Big CEOs low the tax plan and many GOP Congresspeople are cowardly supporting Trump's agenda for fear of political repercussions. It isn't just some of the super wealthy who hate the poor. Many upper middle class bourgeois types also have shown hatred of the poor in their words, their Internet memes, and their erroneous rhetoric about how society ought to be. One version of the tax legislation, for example, eliminates the tax deduction for people whose homes have been destroyed by wildfires, tornadoes, earthquakes and floods, thus penalizing the victims of future hurricanes and other natural disasters. Another version would raise the cost of college education by $65 billion over ten years. A third version would end deductibility of certain nursing home charges for the elderly. That disgraceful plan is the plan of the oligarchy. A nation by the rich and for the rich isn't a democratic nation. It's a nation that is filled with oppression and oligarchy. Therefore, people need to spread the truth and oppose bad policies completely.


I want to write about this topic for a long time. There has been a real Middle East rivalry among Iran and Saudi Arabia. This tension has occurred because of many reasons. Iran is mostly Shia and most people in Iran aren't Arabic (but they are a mostly Indo-European people). Saudi Arabia is mostly Arabic and Sunni. Sunnis and Shias are Muslims with different interpretations on the true successor of Muhammad. For years, Saudi Arabia and Iran have competed for political hegemony in the Middle East. After the Iraq War, Iran has more influence with Iraq, parts of Syria (including Assad. Assad has an alliance with Russia. Putin is the head of Russia and Russian oligarchs have huge power in Russia too), Hezbollah (with a militarized, political force in Lebanon), etc. Saudi Arabia doesn't like this, so they are using their alliances with America and with Israel (yes, Israel) as a means for Saudi Arabia to establish more political and economic power in the Middle East. The Lebanon leader Saad Hariri recently threatened to resign and bring down the government. He reversed his position after pressure from America. America is allied with Saudi Arabia, but America wants stability in Lebanon. If Lebanon has instability, many political scholars fear more political unrest in the Middle East (while political unrest is already happening now over in that part of the world). Hariri has links to Saudi Arabia. Also, Saudi Arabia (with American backing) is attacking parts of Yemen. They are attacking the Houthis (who are financed by Iran). Over 10,000 Yemenis have been killed in the Saudi Arabia/Houthi conflict. Saudi Arabia is in a new era. One leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has arrested many Saudi leaders. The problem with him is that he is an authoritarian and he wants to continue neoliberal privatization and many of the same retrograde policies in Saudi Arabia (like him targeting intellectuals, academics, writers, feminists, human rights defenders and key Islamist figures). Many prisoners in Saudi prisoners are being tortured. Recently, the Saudi regime imposed a new counter-terrorism law that provides for criminal penalties of five to 10 years in prison for portraying the king or crown prince “in a manner that brings religion or justice into disrepute” and includes under the rubric of “terrorism” any act “disturbing public order,” “shaking the security of the community and the stability of the State” or “exposing its national unity to danger.” At the end of the day, we don't need to support authoritarian regimes. We need to support independent movements (among the workers and other people) for real social change.

One of the most important subjects about health is the information about whole foods and processed foods. Whole foods are natural foods that exist without additives or other chemicals added onto it by human beings. They have no preservatives. Whole foods include apples, oranges, meats, fish, nuts, etc. Whole foods are very healthy and have vitamins, fiber, carbohydrates, amino acids, minerals, water, etc. Processed foods are different. Processed foods are foods that are heavily manipulated by additions of chemicals, additives, etc. They usually have multiple ingredients from fructose to deoxyribose. Some processed foods with minimal processing can be good or healthy like canned peaches, frozen vegetables, 1% low fat milk, processed ginger, etc. Heavily processed foods include foods includes chips, soft drinks, cakes, etc. Many of these foods are baked, artificially added with colors and flavors, sprayed with chemicals, etc. That is why according to author Michael Pallon, supermarkets placed highly processed foods in the middle of the location while whole foods in the perimeter of the stores. Many of the markets want profits and many poorer communities lack many whole foods. That is why in many cased whole foods are more expensive and processed foods are very cheap in many cases. So, we have to know about these things, so human beings can be knowledgeable about what they eat and about our health.

Days ago was the Birthday of Bruce Lee. He was a philosopher, a martial artist, and an inspiration for so many people among all backgrounds. He lived his life in search of human physical expression. He was born in Chinatown, San Francisco. He lived in Hong Kong for a time. Back then, Hong Kong was controlled by the British. His father was an actor and his mother worked hard in his life too. Bruce Lee , as a youth, was a fighter. He was born fighter. He opposed the Triads. Later, he came into America again. He was 18 years old when he returned into the States again in San Francisco. Later, he lived in Seattle. By that time, he studied Wing Chun (which is a form of martial arts). He came into an University and excelled in philosophy and psychology. He married Linda Lee and had many children. While in America, he taught people among many colors about martial arts and he found stardom in the Green Hornet and other shows. Back then, Asian Americans were unfairly stereotyped and discriminated against. Bruce Lee wanted to show the world about the richness of Asian culture and the vivid strength of the contributions of Asian people in general.

He utilized martial arts not only as a means of self-expression, but as a way to promote his ideals. He believed the physical fitness and healthy eating contributed to great marital arts skills. He wanted cardio and nutrition to be a focus. Also, he was tested by many people in real life. Many people challenged him in fights. He reached international popularity with his films like the Chinese Connection and Enter the Dragon. He passed away on 1973 at his prime. He developed his own marital arts called Jeet Kune Do. Jeet Kune Do focuses on quick movements, power, agility, and means to defend oneself in the street. It uses kicks, punches, and other motions. He wrote poetry too. In his life, he broke down barriers and wanted the human family to realize its highest potential. Bruce Lee's legacy revolve around personal self-determination, racial tolerance, human expression, and the development of society to be very open-minded in general.



By Timothy