One by one

And up they came. One by one. Into the light. Back to the surface from the belly of darkness.

From despair, to hope, to hugs and kisses. The rescue of the 33 Chilean miners is an amazing tale. Humanity united worldwide. United in hope. United in suffering. United in joy. A unity also in the rescue operation with advise, technicians, equipment and skills coming from around the globe to the desert planes of Chile. South African drilling techniques, American rock experts, Austrian technology,... And as the binding factor, the ultimate commitment from the Chilean people that these men must be saved by all means necessary. Never surrender!

And so it happened. After 69 days hundreds of meters below the surface, the miners were brought back to their loved ones. It’s the best story in years. And a show of positive attitude and joining hands by the human race.

And amazing tales. From the foreman, who was the last miner to come up. To the worker in his 50s who had caused a family rift while he was stuck underground when as well his wife and his lover came to the mine to pray for better days. Or the one that was planning to quit mining in August,... till disaster struck. Or the teenager who just started going underground weeks ago. All amazing stories from amazing individuals during amazing times. And they all lived to tell it all.

Human behaviour can still inspire greatness.

But then some other human behaviour is just there to stir and rock the boat. To spoil the fun. To upset. To export evil. The Iranian nuke freak president went to Lebanon and addressed a large crowd just a few kilometres from the Israeli border.

How much more can you destabilise a region? It’s pure warmongering. Fuelling the hatred. Undermining fragile efforts within Lebanon to keep a shaky coalition government together and work towards rebuilding the nation. The Iranian dictator is exporting instability and sucking the whole region further away from any hopes of a better future for its citizens. It’s criminal!

And of course the mad Hezbollah supporters welcome the mad Iranian neighbour. Unity in insanity. Hezbollah has no peaceful plans. It’s an organisation that only exists in its hatred for Israel and only drives on its dream to annihilate its Jewish neighbour. It’s insanity with extra topping. Israel needs to be recognized as a fully independent state that is here to stay. Yes it has plenty of unacceptable foreign policy tactics, but the basis of all humanity is the recognition that Israel exists. So that’s the starter square of all realistic walks towards some kind of peaceful living together in this messed up region where hatred, indoctrination, religious hijackings and populist madness rule.

Human behaviour is too often slaughtered on the altar of blind stupidity.

So Southern Sudan is counting down towards its secession from big brother Khartoum. January 9, 2011 will see a referendum deciding if the south will break away from the mother nation with whom it fought a very bloody civil war for too many years. 2005 Saw a peace deal that stopped the guns and grounded the jets. But the peace deal didn’t solve all the problems. At least it stopped the slaughter.

As part of this 2005 deal, the south will decide its faith early next year. It is widely expected to be a clear vote for independence. A new African state is likely to be born. But there is an oil-rich disputed region where the north-south border still needs to be drawn. And oil, as too often, is a curse. A reason for bloodshed. A reason for war. And skirmishes in that region are on the increase. And the fear that after January 9 there might be an independent Southern Sudan but without an exact and fully agreed northern border with its motherland Sudan. And back there in Sudan’s capital Khartoum sits the butcher of Darfur, President Al Bashir.

So the growing tensions are a bad omen. A dark cloud gathering as the referendum nears. Of course the deadly skirmishes will be underplayed by all sides and their supporters. Khartoum wants to avoid too much publicity on that instability as it is already in the doghouse of international opinion, and Al Bashir has an arrest warrant around his neck from the International Criminal Court for genocide in the sandpit of Darfur. Khartoum needs to spin it loud and clear that it is acting as a respectable nation and only follows non-military tactics in its dealings with it soon-to-break-away southern part. The south as such doesn’t want any negative publicity at this crucial stage in its history. Nothing, and really absolutely nothing, should and will derail its referendum towards independence. So for the hopeful in southern Sudan the mention of any incident are evil thoughts. And Washington certainly doesn’t want any focus on the border fights and the yet-to-be-resolved demarcation. The US is fully behind an independent Southern Sudan. It has oil. It’s Christian, compared to its Muslim motherland. It borders the Nile and water is a sensitive topic in the region. Cairo and Khartoum are already stressed about each others’ plans for Nile irrigation projects. And the US needs allies in the region as Somali Muslim fundamentalist terrorists are spreading their shadows further and further. It is hard for Washington to find trustworthy allies in northern and eastern Africa these days, so an independent Southern Sudan is a welcome need. And , let us not forget, there is oil. With the US trying to be less and less dependent on oil from the volatile Middle East, a foot in the oilfields of Southern Sudan is more than welcome. To say the least. So the US support for self determination for the southern Sudanese is more than just a good feel factor. Much more. It’s pure and cold geopolitics. And that’s the way the world turns. No doubt about it. It’s political realism.

Human behaviour always has extra layers and darker sides.

Throw out. Out of the blue came a new musical project. And it came as a blast. Black Country Communion. A UK-US partnership by 4 very well skilled musicians with very serious rock credentials and brought together by South African music producer Kevin Shirley. Kevin resides in NY and has worked together with most rock greats (Iron maiden, Aerosmith, ....). He brought together blues guitar magician Joe Bonamassa, bass player Glenn Hughes from deep purple and Black Sabbath fame, drummer Jason Bonham, son of legendary Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham (Jason paled with led Zep during their brief reunion in 2007), and keyboardist Derek Sherinian who worked with Alice Cooper. It’s a cracking ensemble. The name BCC comes from the dark, gloomy, broken industrial heartland of England where John and Glenn come from. BCC’s self-titled album was released in September and took the British rock charts like a thunderstorm. It sounds like a perfect mix) with a superb production) of Gary Moore, Led Zeppelin and Audioslave. Amazing tunes!

C-Ya

Collateral - as October 2010 nears its halfway mark