WE all thought 2016 was a dreadful year.
Bookended by the death of the great David Bowie in the January and the confirmation that the not-so-great Donald Trump would be the 45th President of the United States before the 12 months was out, it was a year to remember - but not for particularly good reasons.
But now, as I write this latest blog, near halfway into the 10th month of 2017, 2016 seems not no bad after all - in comparison with what has followed.
Anyone with an ounce of common sense and decency knew that the Trump Presidency was going to be bad.
Perhaps none of us really knew that within 10 months of him making his first address at President, his Presidency would be the most appalling, divisive, nightmarish, disgusting and unwanted in the years since the country first declared its independence from the British Empire 241 years ago.
And that includes the embarrassments brought about by the corrupt Richard Nixon, for starters.
Throughout 2017, Trump has lurched from one incident to another - and found to be wanting.
Not only that, however, he has gradually shown his true colours to reveal the dangerous despot he really is.
In the days when he was a 'reality' TV star presenting The Apprentice, he was largely kept under control when issuing the order "You're fired!" was simply an amusing catchphrase.
Now, you might say I'm overreacting, but I now have real concerns that those exact words would be happily repeated as he gives the command to launch missiles - whether conventional or nuclear - on any enemy he cares. And I'm not just referring to North Korea here.
Yes, North Korea has provided him the perfect ammunition he has wanted - they too have a crazy dictator in charge and my fear is they will act first giving Trump the excuse he wants to pounce and set about launching a military campaign he so clearly craves.
Trump can certainly claim to be the first President of the Divided States since those dreadful days of the American Civil War in the 1860s.
He has been nothing but divisive in his words and actions since he first entered the White House - and God knows, so many of us wish he had not.
Little could I have imagined, for example, that the Commander-in-Chief would have picked a conflict with one of the country's biggest institutions - the National Football League.
But then, it's all part of his master-plan - to divide, and conquer his enemies.
That's how despots operate.
There seems to be plenty of stuff Trump would prefer not to come to light, starting with what the Russians have on him exactly. My guess is a tome that would rival War And Peace - and its sequel had Leo Tolstoy ever got around to penning one.
So therefore he deflects issues elsewhere, a diversionary tactic people like him are only too clever at.
And in the end, we're left with a situation where battle lines have been drawn - and very distinctive they are too.
And I don't mean political left and political right.
I mean simply right and wrong.
What we are all seeing for ourselves here, in our own precious lifetime, is a man who should be nowhere near the great and noble office of President of the United States of America, let alone be a man who has the codes to launch nuclear weapons and bring about Armageddon and the end of our treasured Planet Earth.
Some people reading this might say I'm going too far - he would never do that. But I'm only going on the evidence thus far, and it's not good at all.
I am really fearful for the immediate future, because if things spark into something dreadful on the Korean Peninsula, there's every chance that engagement will not be restricted to what happens to the two nations and the millions of people who happen to live north and south of the 38th Parallel.
I wish I knew what the answer is to solve all of our problems, starting with Trump, but I simply don't.
Maybe these are the end of days we're living through now, but don't know it.
Maybe this is what the Book of Revelation is all about, I don't know.
But I hope and I pray all the time that good will prevail and that evil will be defeated - it's something I have always ascribed to, and always will.
And I guess it's that hope and those prayers that is helping me right now - because this is a battle we cannot afford to lose - for the sake of our own priceless lives and our great and wonderful planet, the only one we know for certain has life in the universe.
Wednesday 11 October 2017
Tuesday 31 January 2017
Time to talk politics...
POLITICS...
In all my years - now exceeding three decades - of having an interest in politics I have never experienced a period we are going through right now.
And I daresay that goes for pretty much all of you reading this.
As I write this blog late on the evening of the final day of January, 2017, I can honestly say I have never been more concerned about the future of our planet than I do right now.
If things weren't bad enough in my own country with the decision to start Article 50 and leave the European Union - akin to pointing a loaded revolver at your own foot and pulling the trigger and then failing to understand your crippling wound - the situation over in the United States of America is even more disconcerting to me, in the short term at least.
Many of us were rightly concerned about Donald Trump winning the nomination to become the Republican Party's choice to be the 45th President.
And when he went on and actually claim success in November's election via the clearly outdated Electoral College system, our concern was quickly transformed into fear.
And given the first 11 days of Trump's Presidency, those fears have been more than realised.
The tremendous American filmmaker Michael Moore has said there is a coup d'état taking place across the 50 states http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-michael-moore-coup-us-steve-bannon-sally-yates-rule-of-law-a7554556.html and he is spot-on.
Make no mistake about this fact too. Trump might be the figurehead but the real power behind the throne is his senior counsellor Steve Bannon.
The appalling Bannon has more than the President's ear. This fascist - because, frankly, that's what he is - is pulling the President's strings. And anyone with any intelligence can clearly see the puppeteer at work over the past week or so.
The extreme right-wing policies implemented by Trump as 'Executive Orders' have Bannon's telltale fingerprints all over them.
I have no doubt in my mind that Bannon and his appalling ilk are desperate to provoke Islamic fundamentalists into an outright war. Absolutely no doubt whatsoever.
The decision to ban travellers entering the United States from seven Muslim-majority nations was clearly meant as a proverbial slap in the face in the hope of triggering a response.
It's already been pointed out that countries with a Muslim-majority population such as Saudi Arabia that were not on Trump's list might have had something to do with the fact the President has substantial financial interests in that nation. Yet, for example, everyone knows that 15 of the 19 hijackers involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001 were Saudi Arabian nationals...
Now should Muslim extremists not take the proverbial bait being offered by Trump/Bannon, I am absolutely certain a 'Reichstag Fire' incident will happen in the United States or in a place of American interest in the not-too-distant future.
If you know your history, this is the MO of the extreme right. They have done it before and they will definitely do it again.
Added to all of this, the firing of acting US Attorney General Sally Yates late on Monday evening was another clear example of the sort of extremist regime that has taken the reins in the United States.
I have followed politics in the United States for many years, and with a degree in American Studies feel more than qualified to pass judgement on what I, and the rest of us, are witnessing right now.
These are incredibly disturbing times and I'd love to think a peaceful outcome to all of this is on the horizon.
But I honestly cannot see that.
It's up to us decent people to keep up the protests and ensure the searchlight stays shining with a blinding full beam on the regime in Washington and call it out for what it is.
The mainstream media might refer to it as "populist" and remind us all that Trump was "democratically elected" and is "leader of the Free World" - but all that just sticks in my craw.
You certainly have to be aware of the way the mainstream media will normalise what is actually taking place.
Believe me, by any stretch of the imagination, it ISN'T normal.
All I can picture right now is a bleak future under this new Government in the United States.
And if you throw in the darkly disturbing figure of Vladimir Putin into the mix and the Brexit decision in this country, 2017 and the immediate years ahead don't look good at all for decent people the world over.
It's an awful time right now - and it's more than likely to get much, much worse.
All I can say is just hold your loved ones close to you and all the things you know to be right and true, keep fighting injustice wherever you see it and know that goodness will prevail in the end.
Because for the sake of the planet, it absolutely must.
In all my years - now exceeding three decades - of having an interest in politics I have never experienced a period we are going through right now.
And I daresay that goes for pretty much all of you reading this.
As I write this blog late on the evening of the final day of January, 2017, I can honestly say I have never been more concerned about the future of our planet than I do right now.
If things weren't bad enough in my own country with the decision to start Article 50 and leave the European Union - akin to pointing a loaded revolver at your own foot and pulling the trigger and then failing to understand your crippling wound - the situation over in the United States of America is even more disconcerting to me, in the short term at least.
Many of us were rightly concerned about Donald Trump winning the nomination to become the Republican Party's choice to be the 45th President.
And when he went on and actually claim success in November's election via the clearly outdated Electoral College system, our concern was quickly transformed into fear.
And given the first 11 days of Trump's Presidency, those fears have been more than realised.
The tremendous American filmmaker Michael Moore has said there is a coup d'état taking place across the 50 states http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-michael-moore-coup-us-steve-bannon-sally-yates-rule-of-law-a7554556.html and he is spot-on.
Make no mistake about this fact too. Trump might be the figurehead but the real power behind the throne is his senior counsellor Steve Bannon.
The appalling Bannon has more than the President's ear. This fascist - because, frankly, that's what he is - is pulling the President's strings. And anyone with any intelligence can clearly see the puppeteer at work over the past week or so.
The extreme right-wing policies implemented by Trump as 'Executive Orders' have Bannon's telltale fingerprints all over them.
I have no doubt in my mind that Bannon and his appalling ilk are desperate to provoke Islamic fundamentalists into an outright war. Absolutely no doubt whatsoever.
The decision to ban travellers entering the United States from seven Muslim-majority nations was clearly meant as a proverbial slap in the face in the hope of triggering a response.
It's already been pointed out that countries with a Muslim-majority population such as Saudi Arabia that were not on Trump's list might have had something to do with the fact the President has substantial financial interests in that nation. Yet, for example, everyone knows that 15 of the 19 hijackers involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001 were Saudi Arabian nationals...
Now should Muslim extremists not take the proverbial bait being offered by Trump/Bannon, I am absolutely certain a 'Reichstag Fire' incident will happen in the United States or in a place of American interest in the not-too-distant future.
If you know your history, this is the MO of the extreme right. They have done it before and they will definitely do it again.
Added to all of this, the firing of acting US Attorney General Sally Yates late on Monday evening was another clear example of the sort of extremist regime that has taken the reins in the United States.
I have followed politics in the United States for many years, and with a degree in American Studies feel more than qualified to pass judgement on what I, and the rest of us, are witnessing right now.
These are incredibly disturbing times and I'd love to think a peaceful outcome to all of this is on the horizon.
But I honestly cannot see that.
It's up to us decent people to keep up the protests and ensure the searchlight stays shining with a blinding full beam on the regime in Washington and call it out for what it is.
The mainstream media might refer to it as "populist" and remind us all that Trump was "democratically elected" and is "leader of the Free World" - but all that just sticks in my craw.
You certainly have to be aware of the way the mainstream media will normalise what is actually taking place.
Believe me, by any stretch of the imagination, it ISN'T normal.
All I can picture right now is a bleak future under this new Government in the United States.
And if you throw in the darkly disturbing figure of Vladimir Putin into the mix and the Brexit decision in this country, 2017 and the immediate years ahead don't look good at all for decent people the world over.
It's an awful time right now - and it's more than likely to get much, much worse.
All I can say is just hold your loved ones close to you and all the things you know to be right and true, keep fighting injustice wherever you see it and know that goodness will prevail in the end.
Because for the sake of the planet, it absolutely must.
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