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What gives with America and school shootings?

Once again America mourns the senseless and tragic mass murder of children at one of its schools. Once again, politicians are either offering “thoughts and prayers for the family”, or “We have to do something! This has to stop!” It doesn’t stop. The words, though full of emotion at the time, always ring hollow. Nothing changes. The media doesn’t help, either, playing more to people’s emotions than presenting anything meaningful. The event fades from the news cycle in a few days and America’s public amnesia sets in, as if programmed that way, until the next time a similar event happens. What is it about the US that causes such a terrible state of affairs – events like those rarely seen in other nations? Perhaps the US national chart offers some clues. Continue reading “What gives with America and school shootings?”

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The Russian R2P decree

On 15 Nov 2021 Vladimir Putin signed what amounts to a Russian version of the American R2P doctrine – the Resposibility to Protect. The situation in Ukraine is about to get very interesting. The gist of the decree is that Russia will protect certain goods going in and out of the Donbass region, as well as the people there. The people of Donbass are essentially of Russian ancestry and many people throughout Russia have relatives there. That is not the case with the remainder of the Ukraine. NATO leaders may just get their wish for more relevance, and sooner than they think, but what is arising is an event, pushed by the US and EU, that will have ill effects for the EU, and ultimately, for NATO. We will have a look at the decree, Ukraine and NATO here. Continue reading “The Russian R2P decree”

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An American epiphany – and more to come

Def: Epiphany – a moment of sudden and great revelation or realization. Wednesday (Jan 6) was a public holiday here in Italy, being a religious celebration. In the Catholic world it is the Day of the Epiphany, the Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation (theophany) of God incarnate as Jesus Christ. It was the day when the Magi paid a visit to the Christ child, the day also known as the Three Kings Day. It Italy it is also known as the day of Befana, who is a broomstick-riding old woman who brings gifts or a lump of coal to the kids. Yeah, it’s like a 2nd Christmas morning for the kids. She missed out on the Magi thing, so she has to work hard through the night bringing gifts to the other kids as a penance. But yesterday also had a great significance to the United States, and we watched all the goings-on here in Italy from across the pond. It was certainly a day of great realization for America, and a day of epiphany. The rest of the world looked on in disbelief. Continue reading “An American epiphany – and more to come”