A note on those notorious spoilers: I'll be talking about plot elements of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in this review, some of which might not have been revealed in the copious pre-release trailers, but I'll steer clear of anything that could fairly be considered a big reveal or the resolution of any of those plot elements. Consider yourself warned!

A few months ago, when discussing Star Wars: The Force Awakens with some friends, one said he was worried that the movie would just be A New Hope retold with a woman and a black man. At that point I (a woman) shared a meaningful look with another friend (a black man), and we both shrugged and said that'd be fine with us.

The Force Awakens is not quite that, but it also doesn't veer far off course. And that's not a criticism here. After the atrocity of The Phantom Menace and the lesser crimes of the following prequels, J.J. Abrams needed to reassure Star Wars fans that Disney made the right decision in buying LucasFilm and putting him in charge of the nearly 30-year-old franchise. And Abrams has shown himself to be a perfect fit for Star Wars for all the reasons he was a terrible one for Star Trek.

In November and December 2015, over 60,000 folks converged on Paris for the 21st United Nations Meeting of the Countries of the Partnership on the Kyoto Principles for Ecological Impact (COP 21 - UN Framework on Climate Change [UNFCCC]). The final accord agreed to at 7:36 p.m. on December 13, 2015 in Paris by over 185 countries,195 nations in all, is the first climate agreement that addresses, although voluntarily, fossil fuel impact on the global economies.  In this accord, the Global South Nation-State leaders and the Developed Nation-State politicians devised a system to financially sustain (although voluntarily setting up a fund of $100B a year) a global development model that seeks alternatives to fossil fuel energy sources by 2050.

The Grass Skirt Tiki Bar has been a great venue for a number of socially just events! My first encounter with this ambiance-filled restaurant was in Aug 2013 during a coalition effort of several environmental conservation and climate change organizations posing with a bus stating #I WILL ACT ON CLIMATE  (none of which said anything about vegan living as an empowerment strategy so I was happy to be there representing with my vegan shirt). I love what the Liz Lessner restaurants stand for with their vegan empowering offerings as well as their consciousness to local, organic and community building and engaging progressive political efforts. There are several vegan options on their menu and very interesting drink concoctions too. If you want to get a reprieve from the Ohio winter blues and be transported to the tropics (via taste and atmosphere anyway- not weatherL) without the cost of a plane ticket, the Grass Skirt Tiki Bar may be just what you are looking for. They do offer tofu and lots of gluten-free, rice, pineapple and coconut based meals.

Editor's Note: The following is an article from The Outsider, by Shawn Gaynor, that establishes connections between Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and a vulnerable database should raise the obvious question: Is this another "Dean Scream?" The Clintons have a long history of political dirty tricks.
   In 1992, when I was a platform spokesperson for Governor Jerry Brown's presidential campagin, Bill Clinton campaign operatives knowingly lied and claimed I forged signatures on a death penalty plank. They later apologized. Democratic Party insiders destroyed Howard Dean's presidential bid as an outside in 2004. The Clintons, as the consummate Democratic Party insiders, seem to be doing little more than illegally hijacking Bernie Sanders' campaign database. The irony, of course, is that this is coming from a candidate who was accused of far worse thing in the "Filegate" scandal and has recently had her own computer email problems. ~ Bob Fitrakis