Simple really. it connects me with friends and family around the world and I get to judge people from the safety of not being anywhere near them.
I recently put up a post stating that Israel recognizes same-sex marriage
It got 55 reactions - nice.
But it also got, for the first time, a 'missing context' addition.
Let me just clarify, I see (and actively seek out) much more controversial stuff on Facebook. There are friends of mine who are so Facebook naughty that they are banned more often than they're allowed on the platform - I'm looking at you, Ken and Larry.
The truth is very simple. I did not want to be a naysayer and post something like 'Israel recognizes and respects same-sex marriage, as opposed to the Palestinians who recognize and then kill the happy couple'
I didn't want to say that Hamas or the PA throw gay men off rooves, or that they drag their bodies through the streets behind motorbikes, or that officially there is a 10-year penalty for being gay (not sure how that works).
There was no mention of the fact that in the Palestinian National Authority, selling land to Jews is a crime punishable by death. That has nothing to do with LGBTQ rights, it's more about how the death penalty is still used there.
So Facebook used independent fact-checkers, which on the surface is awesome. And then I saw that it was USA Today. The last time I read that paper it was literally 8 pages. Not 8 pages on sport or on politics, just a total of 8 pages.
So Mr. Facebook, below is what I originally wanted to say. But now I'm going to state, categorically:
Palestinian security forces in the West Bank and Gaza routinely used torture and other ill-treatment with impunity - source Amnesty
Consensual same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Gaza and the West Bank and is punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment - source Amnesty
Well done Facebook, by criticizing my innocuous, flippant image, you made me more aware of just how horrific the LGBTQ community life is in Gaza and the West Bank.
The rise of antisemitism has led to me feeling very uncomfortable indeed. With hatred and fingers being turned to Israel the arguments that turn antisemitism into anti-Israel rage could/should/would be silenced now.
Here is the ending.
Let's see how much hatred spews at Israel now that their democratically elected ministers have office.
We recently moved house, a nightmare with its own 7 levels of hell, which is then plagued even further by the standard phrase 'do we really need this? Why do we still have this?'
We found wedding presents still in their original wrapping. We were married in 2006....
We found puzzles we'd slaved over, glued together and then left untouched for over a decade.
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is a children's book by Laura Numeroff. Quite simply, if you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. When you give him the milk, he'll probably ask you for a straw, and so on and so forth.
It's a slippery slope and one that we all go down now and then. The main trick to break this downward spiral is to stop, think and wonder 'why is this process the one we use?'
Think about it, is the way we do things the best way, the easiest way or just the way we've always done it?
The 2001 Victim Compensation Find is running out of money again. 18 years later Congress has still not found a long term solution to help 9/11 first responders suffering from health issues resulting from the toxic conditions at ground zero.
It took first responders all of 5 seconds to officially start helping. Why is it taking almost 20 years to help these heroes with the same no-nonsense attitude?
When an international TV star, and a guy who has presented many times to the US Congress nearly breaks down, twice, then you know that this is serious. Watch the whole thing. It's not that long and he's really good.
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times". Not an exact quote, but it's the essence of the TV show Killjoys.
It's the distant future, bounty hunters are out there and, like the Strontium Dog in 2000AD or Bruce Willis' character in The Fifth Element, crazy adventures ensue.
Spotify has not only made music much more accessible, it has made it infinitely easier to find new music that you are going to like.
In the past I've raved about OKGO and Pomplamoose, and now there is a new queen of my musical heart - Elle King.
I think it's the mix of bluegrass banjo(?) int he background that really gets the toes a-tapping!
And yes, I'm not the first to like this video that was posted in August 2016. Nor am I one of the first 7,000,000 to watch it, but you know what? It's good music and I like it.
The subject matter is such a classic and yet also controversial figure that this film will really need to walk on a tightrope to get the audience behind it.
Whats not to love? Freddie Mercury's life story. A great man, a great singer and a great band. But that is just it, he means so much to so many people that just portraying him will cause many die-hard fans to have a conniption!
