Lethal weapon lunacy

Mr. President, I hear the The NRA want to debate you - I urge you to take them to the cleaners, once and for all. Forget all the talk about more restrictions that clearly don't go far enough. The temptation is playing it safe to avoid death-threats, but now is the time to enhance your legacy by making monumental change towards abolishing guns. Blood shedding propagandists proponents and their slaughter machines need to be put into the dustbin of history. Que all those lining up to say this is a pipe-dream. If you can put a man on the moon, have an African-American in the White House and allow two women to marry in Alabama, then anything is possible.

You know the world has gone bonkers when religious folk cling to their bullets. Maybe it's their way of distancing themselves from that great humanitarian, Jesus (after all he was a socialist). The First Baptist Church of Arlington, Texas is allowing worshipers to openly carry handguns. (So that's what R.E.M. meant when they sang: It's The End Of The World). Maybe they are fearing an influx of refugees asking for compassion, stroking a gun will no doubt scare them away. Whatever you do gun admirers, please stay away from maternity wards - babies can be noisy and I know how much that can offend your sensitivities. 

There is however a glimmer of hope, as evidenced by documentaries such as 'The Armor of Light'. Some in the religious community are denouncing the absurdity, that is preaching goodwill on earth whilst being pro-gun. When an Evangelical agrees with Obama, you know America is a-changing...

PS. I have a dream: to visit the Barack H. Obama Presidential library (coming to the University of Chicago in 2020) and see a room dedicated to Americans overcoming their addiction to firearm extermination.

366 days of mind-numbing hyperbole has commenced

Welcome to 2016 (5776, 2059, 1437 for those using the Hebrew, Buddhist, Islamic calendars respectively) my fellow earthlings. Looking forward to providing more off-tangent commentary. If I manage to educate/enrage you along the way, then I will have achieved my goal of brain nourishment/raising blood pressure! 

We all know what the start of the year means: hearing about senseless loss of life on a daily basis, whilst simultaneously being shocked like it has never happened before. Mainstream media is a meaningless tool that is all about smoke and mirrors. They have no clues about preventing craziness, they just want to be the first to break news. Now with social media, the world is going off the cliff of human consciousness. It's already day one and people are peaking at their phones for updates on news so they can add their own two cents to. Get ready to witness the famous online commentary: "Hey friends, I was the first to like an article about death of innocence". If only every 'like' went towards saving a life.

Every country will face its perils, of course events will be witnessed through rose-tinted glasses. For example, here in the U.S. it's a dead-set certainty celebrity misdemeanors will get more coverage than innocent children being bombed to death half a world away, by so-called civilized nations trying to boost their humanitarian credentials. Then there's the elephant in the room: panic over terror. The media machine will drum up the horror show, whilst overlooking that a five-figure amount of lives will be lost on home soil to guns in 2016. Note: this past year loss of life by firearms matched automobile accidents as the number 1 non-medical cause of death, as opposed to 50 by acts of terror - you do the math...

In August, the world will come together for the Olympics, cause we humans can't be bothered to be respectful to each other at any other time. Once it's over, we'll all be freed to wreak havoc for another 4 years gill we have to go through the harmony on earth routine. Then comes November, where the U.S. will advertise its crony capitalism for the world to see. Nothing like an election with record spending to buy votes, which is why democracy is going nowhere fast. However, faceless lobbyists brainwashing the public via puppet Presidents and elected officials is on the up and up. 

My prescription for the upcoming year: calculate how much you spend being consumed by white noise, if this exceeds the time spent living in reality then you must immediately undertake a detox program. Failure to do so will lead to another year lost to agony, which will come back to haunt you.

Gracias España (and readers)

I have always had an affinity with Spain, largely in part for being the first country I visited overseas and for the architecture of Gaudí. Only fitting to be residing in a city that has Spanish as a second language. I have officially perfected Spanish announcements on public transit - I digress...

A big thumbs up to the Kingdom of Spain. The election results from December 20 prove that they are not willing to be dictated by the status quo. First time since the Civil War, it has broken the shackles of being dominated by the two-party system of PP (Conservatives) and PSOE (Socialists). Coalition talks over the new year will be entertaining to say the least. 

Before the election, both Citizens and Podemos were dubbed as protest parties, and not taken seriously due to being led by Albert Rivera (36) and Pablo Inglesias (37) respectively. They now hold the balance of power and will be part of key talks with King Felipe on forming the next government. How things have changed, Spain now joins a number of countries (such as Canada, Estonia, Greece, Italy) in electing leaders born in the 1970's. The trend towards youth continues, the voting public no longer care about career politicians who are there 'to be someone, rather than do something'. It's all about taking a punt on youth and hoping they cut ties with cronyism. 

The $64,000 Question about Catalan independence will always haunt whoever leads in the near future, but at least this shake-up might finally bring a more representative federal government. One that does a better job of balancing the challenges of 17 autonomous regions with its many dialects. 

All being said, Spain will never take life seriously - how can the home of Salvador Dali ever be rigid. We hear a lot about their economic woes (not withstanding their excellent banking system and famous fiesta's), however I should point out that in Spain life expectancy for both female and male ranks in the top 5 worldwide. Compare that to the GDP heavyweight of the U.S. (barely makes the top 40), and you realize that life is not all about the bottom line. 

PS. I appreciate all the international interest Global Editorial has received from far and wide. Special thanks to readers in: Armenia, Australia, Canada, China, Estonia, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine, UK & the U.S. Looking forward to continuing our global discourse in 2016. One more item on the agenda: Central African Republic and Haiti you are not forgotten, I intend to lose sleep over your elections on December 27.

Voice of Reason

I must commend Sigmar Gabriel (Vice Chancellor of Germany) for echoing my sentiments, regarding the pesky House of Saud. Finally, a world leader with the backbone to oust the West for sitting idly by, while the Wahhabi Kingdom grows its extremist tentacles. Predictably, he has been told to retract his statements, cause offending the principal proponent of extremism would lead to loss of income. 

So it's back to berating immigrants, as a way of ignoring the real threat - typical 'Wag the dog' syndrome. Akin to the NRA (America's very own death cult - blaming gun crime victims since 1871) for making politicians 'froth at the mouth', in order to make purchasing killing machines easier. Why halt the actual sponsors of domestic/international carnage, when you can pick on a scapegoat to get the masses all riled up.

American voters are being duped

Political rhetoric (like music) knows no borders. Listening to Republican Presidential aspirants, is like being at an AKP political convention in Ankara. Both parties are out of touch with reality, yet conjure up enough fear to make inroads into the hearts and minds of the (great) unwashed. On current levels, not one contender could even run for the secularist Turkish Opposition (CHP), as they would be deemed too xenophobic (or a redneck for American readers). 

As for the Democrats, they can hang their heads in shame, they would be hard pressed to gain entry into the right-wing parties of Ireland, New Zealand and the UK (so 'conservative' that they legalized gay marriage). What happened to upholding real humanistic ideals, not enough just to lecture the world that the U.S. is a beacon of enlightenment, when not replicating those values at home. 

It's high-time the two-party dictatorship is dismembered, no more politics that is 'lower than a snakes belly'. The following are one word descriptions of each candidate (life is too short to type more words about these robotic creatures): Bush (bewildered), Carson (irrational), Chrisite (enraged), Clinton (shady), Cruz (creepy), Fiorina (bitter), Huckabee (crass), Kasich (static), O'Malley (vague), Paul (aloof), Rubio (deceitful), Sanders (Scandinavian), Trump (Neanderthal).

If this is the best field of applicants a country (of some one-third of a billion) can conjure up, then it's time to wave a white flag and surrender to mediocrity. Maybe one day we will be shocked by the grace and benevolence of a prospective President - you just never know your luck in a big country! Meanwhile, every time you hear/read jingoistic drivel coming from partisan mouthpieces, I suggest you make a donation to your local charity. (Double the amount, when you come across prejudiced comments masquerading as facts). Otherwise, please exercise caution when encountering false political prophet's claiming to be for the people, when actually they are boosting their inflated ego's with falsehoods.