Comments by "Stella Maris" (@SuperGreatSphinx) on "CNN"
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White nationalism is a type of nationalism (or pan-nationalism) which holds the belief that all white people constitute a single race, and which seeks to develop and maintain a single white national identity.
Its proponents identify with and are attached to the concept of a white nation.
White nationalists seek to ensure the survival of the white race, and the cultures of historically white states.
White nationalists hold that white people should maintain their numerical majority in majority-white countries, should maintain their political and economic dominance, and that their culture(s) should be celebrated and protected.
Many white nationalists believe that miscegenation, multiculturalism, the immigration of nonwhite people, and low birth rates among whites are threatening the existence of the white race, and some argue that all of these factors together amount to a form of white genocide.
White separatism and white supremacy are subgroups of white nationalism.
Separatists seek a white-only state; supremacists believe that white people are superior to nonwhite people, borrowing many ideas from Social Darwinism and Nazism.
Both subgroups generally avoid the term "supremacy" because it has negative connotations.
Critics argue that the term "white nationalism" and ideas such as white pride exist solely to provide a sanitized public face for white supremacy, and that most white nationalist groups promote racial violence.
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California is a U.S. state in the Pacific Region of the United States.
With 39.5 million residents, California is the most populous state in the United States and the third largest by area.
The state capital is Sacramento.
The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 8.8 million residents respectively.
Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second-most populous, after New York City.
California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County; its largest county by area, San Bernardino County; and its fifth most densely populated county, San Francisco.
California's $2.8 trillion economy is larger than that of any other state.
If it were a country, California would be the 5th largest economy in the world (larger than the U.K. or France), and the 36th most populous as of 2017.
The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and third-largest urban economies ($1.253 trillion and $878 billion respectively as of 2017), after the New York City metropolitan area.
The San Francisco Bay Area PSA had the nation's highest GDP per capita in 2017 (~$99,000), and is home to four of the world's ten largest companies by market capitalization and four of the world's ten richest people.
California is considered a global trendsetter in popular culture, innovation, and politics.
It is considered the origin of the American film industry, the hippie counterculture, the Internet, and the personal computer, among others.
The San Francisco Bay Area and the Greater Los Angeles Area are widely seen as the centers of the global technology and entertainment industries, respectively.
California has a very diverse economy: 58% of the state's economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services.
Although it accounts for only 1.5% of the state's economy, California's agriculture industry has the highest output of any U.S. state.
California is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and the Mexican state of Baja California to the south.
The state's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the east, and from the redwood–Douglas fir forests in the northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast.
The Central Valley, a major agricultural area, dominates the state's center.
Although California is well-known for its warm Mediterranean climate, the large size of the state results in climates that vary from moist temperate rainforest in the north to arid desert in the interior, as well as snowy alpine in the mountains.
What is now California was first settled by various Native Californian tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries.
The Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony.
The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its successful war for independence but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War.
The western portion of Alta California then was organized and admitted as the 31st state on September 9, 1850.
The California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom.
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China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.404 billion.
Covering approximately 9,600,000 square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the third- or fourth-largest country by total area, depending on the source consulted.
China also has the most neighbor countries in the world.
Governed by the Communist Party of China, it exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
China emerged as one of the world's earliest civilizations, in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain.
For millennia, China's political system was based on hereditary monarchies, or dynasties, beginning with the semi-legendary Xia dynasty in the 21st century BCE.
Since then, China has expanded, fractured, and re-unified numerous times.
In the 3rd century BCE, the Qin unified the core of China and established the first Chinese empire.
The succeeding Han dynasty saw some of the most advanced technology at that time, including papermaking and the compass, along with agricultural and medical improvements.
The invention of gunpowder and printing in the Tang dynasty completed the Four Great Inventions.
Tang culture spread widely in Asia, as the new maritime Silk Route brought traders to as far as Mesopotamia and Somalia.
Dynastic rule ended in 1912 with the Xinhai Revolution, as a republic replaced the Qing dynasty.
The Chinese Civil War led to the break up of the country in 1949, with the victorious Communist Party of China founding the People’s Republic of China on the mainland while the losing Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, a dispute which is still unresolved.
Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978, China's economy has been one of the world's fastest-growing.
As of 2016, it is the world's second-largest economy by nominal GDP and largest by purchasing power parity (PPP).
China is also the world's largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods.
China is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the world's largest standing army and second-largest defense budget.
The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the UN Security Council in 1971.
China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the BCIM and the G20.
China is a great power and a major regional power within Asia, and has been characterized as a potential superpower.
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Korea is a region in East Asia.
Since 1948, it has been divided between two distinct sovereign states: North Korea and South Korea.
Korea consists of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and several minor islands near the peninsula.
Korea is bordered by China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and neighbours Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan (East Sea).
Korea emerged as a singular political entity in 676 AD, after centuries of conflict among the Three Kingdoms of Korea, which were unified as Unified Silla to the south and Balhae to the north.
Unified Silla divided into three separate states during the Later Three Kingdoms period.
Goryeo, which had succeeded Goguryeo, defeated the two other states and united the Korean Peninsula.
Around the same time, Balhae collapsed and its last crown prince fled south to Goryeo.
Goryeo (also spelled as Koryŏ), whose name developed into the modern exonym "Korea", was a highly cultured state that created the world's first metal movable type in 1234.
However, multiple invasions by the Mongol Empire during the 13th century greatly weakened the nation, which eventually agreed to become a vassal state after decades of fighting.
Following military resistance under King Gongmin which ended Mongol political influence in Goryeo, severe political strife followed, and Goryeo eventually fell to a coup led by General Yi Seong-gye, who established Joseon in 1392.
The first 200 years of Joseon were marked by relative peace.
During this period, the Korean alphabet was created by Sejong the Great in the 15th century, and there was increasing influence of Confucianism.
During the later part of the dynasty, Korea's isolationist policy earned it the Western nickname of the "Hermit Kingdom".
By the late 19th century, the country became the object of imperial design by the Empire of Japan.
After the First Sino-Japanese War, despite the Korean Empire's effort to modernize, it was annexed by Japan in 1910 and ruled by Imperial Japan until the end of World War II in August 1945.
In 1945, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed on the surrender of Japanese forces in Korea in the aftermath of World War II, leaving Korea partitioned along the 38th parallel.
The North was under Soviet occupation and the South under U.S. occupation.
These circumstances soon became the basis for the division of Korea by the two superpowers, exacerbated by their inability to agree on the terms of Korean independence.
The Communist-inspired government in the North received backing from the Soviet Union in opposition to the pro-Western government in the South, leading to Korea's division into two political entities: North Korea (officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea), and South Korea (officially the Republic of Korea).
Tensions between the two resulted in the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950.
With involvement by foreign troops, the war ended in a stalemate in 1953, but without a formalized peace treaty.
This status contributes to the high tensions that continue to divide the peninsula.
Both governments of the two Koreas claim to be the sole legitimate government of the region.
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Ellen Lee DeGeneres (born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer.
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She starred in the sitcom Ellen from 1994 to 1998 and has hosted her syndicated TV talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, since 2003.
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Her stand-up career started in the early 1980s and included a 1986 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
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As a film actress, DeGeneres starred in Mr. Wrong (1996), EDtv (1999), and The Love Letter (1999), and provided the voice of Dory in the Pixar animated films Finding Nemo (2003) and Finding Dory (2016); for Nemo, she was awarded the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first time an actress won a Saturn Award for a voice performance.
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In 2010, she was a judge on American Idol for its ninth season.
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She starred in two television sitcoms, Ellen from 1994 to 1998 and The Ellen Show from 2001 to 2002.
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During the fourth season of Ellen in 1997, she came out as a lesbian in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
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Her character, Ellen Morgan, also came out to a therapist played by Winfrey, and the series went on to explore various LGBT issues, including the coming-out process.
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In 2008, she married her longtime girlfriend Portia de Rossi.
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DeGeneres has hosted the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, and the Primetime Emmys.
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She has authored four books and started her own record company, Eleveneleven, as well as a production company, A Very Good Production.
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She also launched a lifestyle brand, ED Ellen DeGeneres, which comprises a collection of apparel, accessories, home, baby, and pet items.
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She has won 30 Emmys, 20 People's Choice Awards (more than any other person), and numerous other awards for her work and charitable efforts.
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In 2016, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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On January 5, 2020, DeGeneres won the Golden Globes Carol Burnett Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Saudi Arabia–United States relations refers to the bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America.
It is a Special Relationship, which began in 1933 when full diplomatic relations were established.
Despite the differences between the two countries—an ultraconservative Islamic absolute monarchy, and a secular, constitutional republic—the two countries have been allies.
Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have close and strong relations with senior members of the Saudi Royal Family.
Ever since the modern US–Saudi relationship began in 1945, the United States has been willing to overlook many of the kingdom's more controversial aspects as long as it kept the oil flowing and supported U.S. national security policies.
Since World War II, the two countries have been allied in opposition to Communism, in support of stable oil prices, stability in the oil fields and oil shipping of the Persian Gulf, and stability in the economies of Western countries where Saudis have invested.
In particular, the two countries were allies against the Soviets in Afghanistan, and in the expulsion of Iraq from Kuwait in 1991.
The two countries have been in disagreement with regard to the State of Israel, as well as the embargo of the U.S. and its allies by Saudi Arabia and other Middle East oil exporters during the 1973 oil crisis (which raised oil prices considerably), the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq (which Saudi Arabia opposed), aspects of the "War on Terror", and what many in the U.S. see as the pernicious influence of Saudi Arabia after the September 11 attacks.
In recent years, particularly the Barack Obama administration, the relationship between the two countries became strained and witnessed major decline.
However, the relationship was strengthened by President Donald Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia in May 2017, which was his first overseas trip since becoming President of the United States.
Despite the strong relationship between the two countries, opinion polls between the two nations show negative feelings between the American people and Saudi people in recent years, particularly American feelings towards the desert kingdom.
A poll of Saudis by Zogby International (2002) and BBC (between October 2005 and January 2006) found 51% of Saudis had hostile feelings towards the American people in 2002; in 2005/2006, Saudi public opinion was sharply divided with 38% viewing U.S. influence positively and 38% viewing U.S. influence negatively.
As of 2012, Saudi Arabian students form the 4th largest group of international students studying in the United States, representing 3.5% of all foreigners pursuing higher education in the US.
A December 2013 poll found 57% of Americans polled had an unfavorable view of Saudi Arabia and 27% favorable.
United States President Donald Trump met with the Saudi Government as a display of diplomacy and a political move for open trade on his visit to Ridyah on March 2018.
Reuters reports a 40 billion dollar commitment from the Saudi Government mediated through Black Stone Defense Company and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) for President Donald Trump's ambitious infrastructure plan.
In October 2018, the Jamal Khashoggi case put the US into a difficult situation, as Trump and his son-in-law (Jared Kushner) share a strong personal and official bond with Mohammad bin Salman.
During an interview, Trump vowed to get to the bottom of the case and that there would be "severe punishment" if the Saudi kingdom is found to be involved in the disappearance or assassination of the journalist.
A vexed reply came from the Saudi Foreign Ministry, saying if Saudi Arabia “receives any action, it will respond with greater action,” citing the oil-rich kingdom's “influential and vital role in the global economy.”
According to Turki Aldakhil, Saudi-owned news Channel, Al-Arabiya’s general manager, this clash between the two countries would have a direct effect on the world economy.
"If US sanctions are imposed on Saudi Arabia, we will be facing an economic disaster that would rock the entire world," Aldakhil said.
After weeks of denial, Saudi Arabia accepted that Khashoggi died at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul during a “fistfight.”
Adel al-Jubeir described the journalist's death as a "murder" and a "tremendous mistake."
But he denied the knowledge of whereabouts of the body.
Following the case, the US promised to revoke the visas of Saudi nationals responsible for Khashoggi's death.
In November 2018, Trump defended Saudi Arabia, despite the country’s involvement in the killing of Khashoggi.
Experts in the Middle East believe that Congress could still put sanctions on some Saudi officials and the crown prince.
However, even without the sanctions imposed, it is impossible for Mohammad bin Salman to visit Washington or have a direct relationship with the Trump administration.
However, in November 2018 relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia re-strengthened when Trump nominated John Abizaid, a retired US army general who spoke Arabic, respectively, as US ambassador to the country.
Saudi Arabia is listed as the world's 27th largest export economy.
Saudi Arabia has historically proven to be a successful harbor of trade, exemplified through statistics displaying a positive trade balance of nearly 32 billion dollars in 2016 ("Foreign Trade: Data").
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The chancellor, the late chancellor, was only partly correct.
He was obsolete.
But so is the State, the entity he worshiped.
Any state, entity, or ideology becomes obsolete when it stockpiles the wrong weapons: when it captures territories, but not minds; when it enslaves millions, but convinces nobody.
When it is naked, yet puts on armor and calls it faith, while in the Eyes of God it has no faith at all.
Any state, any entity, any ideology which fails to recognize the worth, the dignity, the rights of Man... that state is obsolete.
A case to be filed under "M" for "Mankind" - in The Twilight Zone.
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The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command.
Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting small-unit special operation missions in maritime, jungle, urban, arctic, mountainous, and desert environments.
SEALs are typically ordered to capture or kill high level targets, or to gather intelligence behind enemy lines.
SEAL team personnel are hand selected, highly trained, and possess a high degree of proficiency in direct action (DA), and special reconnaissance (SR), among other tasks like sabotage, demolition, intelligence gathering, and hydro-graphic reconnaissance, training, and advising friendly militaries or other forces.
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Saul David Alinsky (January 30, 1909 – June 12, 1972) was an American community organizer and writer.
He is generally considered to be the founder of modern community organizing.
He is often noted for his book Rules for Radicals (1971).
In the course of nearly four decades of political organizing, Alinsky received much criticism, but he also gained praise from many public figures.
His organizing skills were focused on improving the living conditions of poor communities across the United States.
In the 1950s, he began turning his attention to improving conditions in the black ghettos, beginning with Chicago's and later traveling to ghettos in California, Michigan, New York City, and a dozen other "trouble spots".
In the 1960s, his ideas were adapted by some U.S. college students and other young counterculture-era organizers, who used them as part of their strategies for organizing on campus and beyond.
In 1970, Time magazine wrote that "It is not too much to argue that American democracy is being altered by Alinsky's ideas."
Conservative author William F. Buckley Jr. said in 1966 that Alinsky was "very close to being an organizational genius".
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