Daily Archives: August 4, 2014

Tough choices

An Israeli intelligence service cop cultivates a relationship with a kid living near one of the Israeli settlements and nurtures it.  Reason being to create an informant to betray the people who live around him.

The cop might actually kid himself it’s about friendship, that he cares what happens to the kid.  He seems to at times.  But when discussing it with his bosses in cophood he has to deny it, has to claim it’s about using the kid.

And use him he does.  The kid’s brother is a serious player in trying to discourage Israel’s expansion outside its boundaries.  He’s killing people in East Jerusalem.  The Israeli cops want him badly and eventually the cop uses information provided by the kid to trap the brother inside a building and execute him.

Bethlehem 2013 NR99 minutes An informant for Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence service, Palestinian Sanfur is torn when his brother becomes an agency target. More Info Starring: Tsahi Halevi, Shadi Mar’i Director: Yuval Adler

Unsurprisingly the kid gets pissed, but his involvement with the cop gets him on a hit list among the Arabs for collaborating.  He’s offered a possible pardon if he kills the cop.

Your average, “Eek, there’s a nigger in the White House!” patriot never has to ask himself any moral questions, any ethical questions.  All he’s got to do is run around in increasingly smaller circles squealing and waving the flag anytime someone points at a war somewhere.  “Support the troops!” is about as complicated as it gets.  “Stand with Israel,” doesn’t even need saying.  Bought and paid for politicians have already taken care of Israel.

But you’ve got to admit those Israeli human beings and those Palestine human beings should be finding themselves with serious questions about what they are doing.  Which they probably aren’t.

If you’re a non-Jew living next door to Israel in Palestine you can watch Israel stealing it, piece-by-piece, house-by-house.  They’ll come right out and tell you God gave it to them.  Some people will inevitably fight back.  And those will be labelled terrorists.

If you’re an Israeli and you believe God gave you the keys to the land outside the boundaries set by International Law and the United Nations, anything goes.  Duplicity, manipulation, torture, force, bullying, lies.  Because you are motivated by the higher good.  By the fact that trumps all the others:  God gave you anything you want in Israel and Palestine.  All you’re doing is taking what’s rightfully yours.

I gave this movie a 5 star rating.

Old Jules

Elizabeth’s UK looks a lot different these days

Hi readers.  Thanks for coming by.

Back when she was still Princess Elizabeth the US magazines had a love affair with her.  We kids in Portales, NM, saw pictures of her looking her best and didn’t think she looked all that great, for a princess.  A bit horse-faced, we thought.  And the kid, prince Charles with his snooty little spoiled brat look.  We hated his guts.

Didn’t much care who knew it, either.

Law law law.  The British still had themselves thinking maybe it was an empire in those days.  Didn’t take a lot of the reign of Liz to put that thought out of the minds of anyone with an eye to see.  No Victoria, our Liz.

So here she is today, maybe still alive and in the catbird seat.  Been there longer than Victoria.  Hasn’t been poisoned or strangled by either of her offspring.  And actually managed to win one war during her watch.

That was the Falklands War.  Whupped Argentina all by themselves, those British did.  Still had a whisper of a navy in those days.  Lots of fireworks and generally a fairly safe war without any danger of contagion carrying it out of the ocean and onto places with Argentina firebombing London or vicee versee.

Put Britain down on record as the only civilized country in the world to win a war after 1918.  A clear win, no illusions with the losers popping up as economic giants taking over the world marketplaces.

Hell, Liz was there when most of the shooting stopped in Northern Ireland.  Might still be there when Mr. Scotland thumbs his nose at who?  Henry was it?  And tells the rest of the island to go piss up a rope.  [After thinking on it while I showered I’m thinking it was Longshanks, Lackland, wossname, maybe Henry II.  They all run together these days.]

Anyway, I’m just glad little Prince Charles with his snooty little short pants never got to be king.  That was worth the price of admission, having to know something about what the damned British monarchy did or didn’t do anytime in my life.

Old Jules

Afterthought:  I recall sometime during the 1980s the other kid, Andrew, I think, had a girlfriend who was a porn star, which I applauded.  If he’d gotten to be king I mightn’t have minded knowing about it.  Randy Andy they dubbed him at the time.  If the bard had been reincarnated to see that he might have written a good tragedy about it.

 

Pretty enjoyable grannylady chick flick

 
Hi readers.  She snuck out of the nursing home they put her in after they snagged her car and sold her house.  When a movie begins with that there’s nothing much can be done to spoil the ending.  I’d put it up beside Harry and Tonto, generally.
Redwood Highway, 2013PG-131hr 30m, You rated this movie: 5 ,  Itching to get out of her retirement community but estranged from her family, Marie uses her granddaughter’s wedding as an excuse to go on a walk.
Woman my age dons a backpack and hikes roughly 100 miles up the California coast dodging search and rescue, refusing rides and shooting molesters in the face with bear spray.