Time to Think

Eyes on The South China Sea                    #246 By Hank Silverberg Most Americans probably can't find the South China Sea on a map. Partially because on many maps it's called the Philippine Sea. It's a vast part of the Pacific Ocean that encompasses 1,423,000 square miles bordering China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan, and therein lies the problem.  The international community recognizes most of the sea as international waters, but the Chinese claim most of it as their territorial waters, including parts claimed by the other countries.   As I wrote last week, even something as simple as the Barbie movie (see Barbie's nine dashes map from last week) can create controversy over just who owns what in that part of the world.    The South China Sea is one of the busiest shipping lanes on Earth, and therefore has the potential to be a flashpoint for regional conflict that could escalate int...

Age vs Wisdom                                                      #245                                                              By Hank Silverberg Ageism How old is too old to be president, or Senate Minority Leader, or Speaker of the House, or a Supreme Court Justice?  (How old is to old?)  This question has come up a number of times over the last few months as we enter the political season, and it did so again this week when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 81, appeared to have some kind of medical issue right in the middle of a news conference. He froze up and could not even finish his sentence. He   had to be slowly ushered away by colleagues.  McConnell had a concus...

Fantasy, Reality and Revision                     #244          By Hank Silverberg                                                                                                                       With the writer's and actor's strike I wrote about last week now in full swing, it's likely we won't be seeing too many blockbuster movies in the near future. So, it's ironic that three of them are now out and creating a big buzz that, like everything else these days, ends up in the political realm.  I have only seen one of them. I am not a movie critic, but "Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny" was entertain...

The Impact of The Hollywood Strike       #243       By Hank Silverberg                                                                                      The people who write and act in most of the movies and TV shows we all see are on strike. And it's going to have a big impact on the country.  The SAG-AFTRA  members and the Writers Guild of America want some protection from 21st century technology, a fight we all may have to join soon.  Lots of people won't have sympathy for the highly paid stars of the big shows and movies. Not to pick on anybody, but the residuals from the Friends  series alone will keep the show's stars quite wealthy.   But what about the character actors who don't get paid much in ...

Antisemitism and Israel                                                                    #242 By Hank Silverberg You probably read or heard something about Israel's military move into the city of Jenin on the West Bank. That city includes one of the largest Palestinian refugee camps, and there's no dispute that Hamas and other terrorist groups operate there.  The Israeli government described it as a   counterattack on a command center for those who have been launching attacks in Israel from Jenin. The Israeli attack included airstrikes and ground troops in one of Israel's largest military actions in a West Bank city in two decades.  At least 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier died in the two days of fighting. The reasons for the attack are complex. Hamas and other groups, mostly financed ...