10 things to know before seeing 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'

Here are 10 things you should know before you go watch Episode VII.

1. You don’t need to have seen any of the prequels.The Star Wars franchise was rebooted once before in the late’90s and early 2000s with three movies not a whole lot of people liked starring Hayden Christensen. Forget about those. You don’t really need them. Though watching them wouldn’t hurt. Samuel L. Jackson played Mace Windu, and there was this really cool villain named Darth Maul.There was also this super-annoying character named Jar Jar Binks. We never need to talk about him again.2. The Empire is gone. It was toppled by Ewoks.This is perhaps my favorite Star Wars fact. The Force Awakens takes place after Return of the Jedi, which came out in 1983. A lot of stuff happened,but what you need to know is that The Empire – the all-powerful, fascist galactic government – was brought to its knees by these adorable, fuzzy little creatures called Ewoks, who were armed with slingshots at the Battle of Endor.Force Awakens takes place 30 years after this battle,which was a pretty big deal, so you should probably definitely know about it.

3. The bad guys in Force Awakens?Those guys are called the First Order.The First Order is this political and military junta that came into power after the Battle of Endor, inspired by the principles of the Galactic Empire and hell-bent on controlling the galaxy. So basically The First Order is “The Empire: The Remix.” Their forces are led by Kylo Ren, a mercenary that isn't technically a Sith but looks awful Sith-like with his big, red, broadsword light saber and his matte black gas mask.

4. Even though Darth Vader is dead, Darth Vader still matters.Firstly, if you’ve never lowered your voice a few octaves and bellowed “Luke, I am your father” into a desk fan, I can't trust you. But if you don’t know who Darth Vader is, you should know about him. Our new villain Kylo Ren also has a massive fixation on Vader, even though Vader was dead long before he was born. In the original Force Awakens trailer, Ren breathily says he’s going to finish what Vader started while ogling his melted helmet. In short, it’s going to be a thing.

5. You should also know about Luke Skywalker.As Darth Vader was the original trilogy’s biggest villain, Luke Skywalker was its main protagonist.Luke Skywalker was plucked off of this remote planet and trained up to become the most important Jedi ever. He traveled the galaxy, unknowingly made out with his sister, found out his greatest nemesis was also his father, and lost his right hand. One of the biggest rumors about Force Awakens is that Luke is the father of one of the main characters, Rey (Daisy Ridley). So be on the lookout for that.

6. If you want to fit in, you need to care about what happens with Leia and Han Solo.The will-they-won’t-they-oh-they-did love story between Han Solo and Leia was the biggest of the original trilogy, but it looks like they might’ve broken up in the intervening time between Return of the Jedi and Force Awakens.If they did,that’s going to be a gut-punch to everyone else in the theater. You might not care, but just like hearing about your friend’s most-recent failed relationship for the millionth time, you’re going to have to at least act like it’s killing you too.

7. THE MILLENNIUM FALCON IS BACK.Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. But this beloved, complete piece of crap from the original trilogy is back and flying through the sky, dodging Tie Fighters.It’s piloted by an older, more seasoned and less skeptical Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his still-large, still-furry friend Chewbacca. This one is just about impossible to explain if you haven’t seen the original movies, but it’s a big deal, I promise. It might also blow up though, so don’t get too attached.

8. You’re going to need to know what “The Force” is, obviously.It’s in the title, and either Finn (John Boyega), Rey, or both are going to end up wielding it before the movie's over, so you should know what The Force is. The complicated explanation is that in this alternate universe there are these microscopic being within the cells of human beings called midichlorians. How many midichlorians you have in your blood stream determines your ability to use the Force. Having a high midichlorian count doesn’t necessarily make you any better than anyone else, but it kind of does, really. If you don’t have one – a high midichlorian count, that is – then you don’t get a light saber and can’t jump impossibly high or move stuff around without touching it.There are also Light and Dark Sides to the Force. Those on the Light side are called Jedi. They have light sabers that are mostly on the cool side of the color wheel. Those on the Dark side are called Sith. They have red light sabers and red light sabers only. Each one tries to destroy the other one and there’s this largertheme about how they balance each other out, but forget about all of that. You’re rooting against the Dark Side, or you’re a bad person.

9. This movie is going to be HUGE.Force Awakens is expected to smash box office records. I’m talking $2 billion in projected worldwidebox office sales. Addto that theobscene amount ofmoney to be made off of merchandise, and we’re looking at$9.6 billion, according to Bloomberg.

10. But manage your expectations … or don’t.Like most much-hyped movies, it’s a possibility that Force Awakens might not be all that good. I mean, it’s a small possibility, but it’s a possibilitynonetheless. You can try to rememberthat if you want. Or you can not. Get dressed up, paint your face green, andline up to see it at midnight, if that’s your thing.You can buy advance tickets to see it a bunch of days in a row, too. I’m not saying that’s what I did,but I’m also not saying I didn’t do that either.

Moore to Trump - We are all Muslims

NEW YORK -Michael Moore - a prominent American left-wing political activist and documentary filmmaker - has sent Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump a letter chastising him on his recent anti-Muslim statements and his call to ban Muslims from coming to the US .In his letter, which he posted on his Facebook page, Moore said Trump’s anti-Muslim statements were made in depression and insanity. He also published a picture of himself standing in front of Trump Tower - the 68-storey skyscraper owned by Donald Trump in New York city - with the caption “We are all Muslim.” He stood near the landmark building until the police came and asked him to leave. During his campaign, Trump called for a ‘total and complete block on all Muslims’ entering the US and an end to Muslim immigration to the country. He is the current front runner among the Republican candidates seeking the party nomination for the presidency of the US. In the letter, Moore reminded Trump that the US today was no longer a country of ‘angry white guys,’ that the future US president would be chosen by more diverse voters and that fortunately the US no longer looks like Trump or his supporters.“Here’s a statistic that is going to make your hair spin: 81 percent of the electorate who will pick the president next year are either female,people of colour, or young people between the ages of 18 and 35. In other words, not you or the people who want you leading their country, he wrote in his letter. He said that he was raised to believe in equality of people as brothers and sisters, regardless of race, colour and religion. “We are all Muslim, just as we are all Mexican, we are all Catholic and Jewish and white and black and every shade in between,” he said.
Michael Moore - born in Michigan in 1954 - is known for his documentary films that criticised US gun laws, globalisation, the Iraq war and the US healthcare system. He had been awarded several awards for his work.

War with Pakistan not an option: Indian FM

NEW DELHI: War is not an option and dialogue is the way forward with Pakistan to fight the ‘shadow of terror’, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told parliament on Wednesday.According to Press Trust of India, she told the Lok Sabha that India had decided to hold dialogue with Pakistan as it was the only way to remove the shadow of terrorism.Ms Swaraj said Pakistan and India had decided to hold talks on terrorism when Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi met in Ufa, Russia, in July and then in Paris.‘India has raised cross-border terrorism at many international forums’“We said we can talk so that terrorism comes to an end. So talks (between national security advisers) took place in Bangkok where we discussed about terrorism. But one meeting will not bring a solution to all the problems. So we will continue the dialogue,” she said during Question Hour.When the Bharatiya Janata Party’s MP Ganesh Singh asked her whether India was exploring options like the US did to hunt down terrorists like Osama bin Laden, Ms Swaraj said her government was talking to Pakistan on the alleged terrorist camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir as “war is not an option”.PTI quoted her as saying: “We have decided that through talks we will resolve the issue of terrorism as talks is the way forward so that the shadow of terror is removed. But we want to make it clear, our prime minister has made it clear, that talks and terror can’t go together. Dialogue is drowned by the sound of explosion.”Ms Swaraj was speaking against the backdrop of the recent decision to re-start a ‘comprehensive’ dialogue with Pakistan under which various subjects, including terrorism and Jammu and Kashmir, will be discussed, PTI said.“The prime minister said let’s talk on terror. For talks we will have to put in faith. There is no third party. Through talks, both the countries are trying to resolve the issue of terrorism,” she said.Ms Swaraj said that following Mr Modi’s conversation with Mr Sharif in Paris on Nov 30 on the sidelines of the climate change summit and in line with the Ufa understanding between the two leaders, the national security advisers (NSAs) of the two countries met in Bangkok on Dec 6.“They held candid and constructive discussions.“During my recent visit to Pakistan on Dec 8-9, the two sides decided that the NSAs will continue to address all issues connected to terrorism.“The Indian side was assured of the steps being taken to expedite the early conclusion of the Mumbai trial.”India would continue to take all necessary steps to safeguard the nation’s security and safety of all citizens, she said.Asked whether India raised the issue of alleged cross-border terrorism at international forums, Ms Swaraj said the government actively discussed the issue in all its forms and manifestations at multilateral forums, including the UN, EU, SCO, Asean Regional Forum, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sector Technical and Economic Cooperation and Saarc.She said Mr Modi had raised the issue of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT),which had been pending in the United Nations for adoption since 1996, and discussed his ideas in this regard with several world leaders. “It is heartening that now we are getting support from many countries and we are hopeful that the CCIT resolution would be adopted in the UN soon,” she said.The global treaty proposed by India aims to ban terrorists and make it binding for countries to deny funds and safe haven to them. Ms Swaraj said India had taken up on a number of occasions with Pakistan and also, where required, with the international community its concerns regarding cross-border terrorism.“As a result of the government’s consistent pursuit of the matter, several individuals, including Hafiz Saeed, and entities, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaatud Dawa, have been listed under the relevant provisions of the UNSC Resolution 1267 which deals with Al Qaeda and related organisations,” she said
PTI quoted her as saying that Pakistan had arrested the suspects for perpetrating the Mumbai terrorist attack of 2008 and a trial was under way in Pakistan in this regard.

New weapon introduce in Pakistan

Pakistan conducted successful test of the Shaheen 1-A ballistic missile
And is said to improve other ballistic as well. They are trying very hard to overcome the terrorist

Schools are closed in Los Angeles due

All schools in Los Angeles, the second largest school district in the United States, were closed December 15, 2015 after officials reported receiving an unspecified threat to the district and ordered a search of all schools in the city.