Bullets on the campus

The sick, old, frail, Cuban “father of the nation” Fidel Castro met Pope Benedictus in Havana.

No chitchat about cigars or rum, but Fidel asked the Pontif: “What do you do in fact? What’s your job?”

The ultimate icebreaker. The ‘emperor’ of the Vatican visits communist Cuba and the hero of the revolution asks the Catholic leader what he does for a living. Can’t beat that!

I wonder what Benedictus answered. Euh… I rule over all the Christians on this earth (maybe he mentioned how many members he has in his circle of followers). Euh… I try to cover up all child abuse cases by my men of the cloth. Euh… I regularly hold speeches before large crowds in my hometown of the Vatican. Euh…. I regularly go on a visit here and there. Clever move from Fidel to put the Pope in its place. A diplomatic tackle. A classic tale of a hardline Communist rejecting, reasonably politely, the role of a religious leader. It fits with Marxist thinking without a doubt.

I wonder, that evening, if Benedictus yelled at his aides. “Didn’t you brief that Commie idiot?!?” “Doesn’t this old fool really know who I am?!?” “Has Fidel’s mind gone into Alzheimer mode?!?” “Flipping commie bastard!!!”
And then, maybe, he went to pray for the demise of Fidel and his crumbling Commie state. And burned a candle to dispel evil.

Human behavior can be a classic tale sometimes.

Another shooting in an American high school or university or college. This time in Oakland, California.

A deadly shoot-out at a place of learning is now a classic American reality. Part of its worldwide image, next to Mc Donalds, KFC, Coca Cola and Apple.

It’s ridiculous. Sad.

It was at a medical university. I wonder if some students practiced their newly found skills on the wounded. Or was it more like,…. run like hell?

The American psyche of guns and gun-ownership is slipping up too often. The right to own a gun vs the ‘right’ to get wacked by one. Innocently.

The American gun-lovers will again claim that it’s not the gun that kills, but the person who pulls the trigger. It’s a thin-iced argument. Following that train of thought then why targeting alcohol or tobacco ads, when it’s clearly not the cigarette or the Budweiser that gives you cancer or makes you a drunken dumb. It’s the dude or the chick that puffs it, and the dude or chick that drinks it…and gets drunk and acts ‘abnormally’.

Anyway, it’s a debate that will go on and on. And the Constitution will be brought to the table. And the individual rights vs the rights of society. And history. And liberals vs conservative folks. And spin here and there. And during election time, some more emotions will be added.

Human behavior walks a thin line between rights and responsibilities.

Meanwhile, sticking to deadly force, the bloodshed in Syria is just ticking on. More than a year now.

Former UN sec-gen Annan is trying to mediate. The bloodhound in Damascus has now accepted a peace plan to be implemented by April 10th. So he has a few days left to kill all opponents and then claim nothing really happened. A few days to finish the slaughter, clean up, hide as much evidence as possible, buy a new suit, go on national TV, and claim you are a peacemaker at heart. And smile. That’s the tactic. The cold plan.

Then Annan and the UN will say “OK. Thank you.”. The world’s focus will slightly slip to other places (Burma, US elections, Nigerian bombs, Russia’s Putin, Chinese trade,…) which will allow Damascus to hunt for the remaining activists. Those that escaped the onslaught will now be chased, captured and will disappear. Bullet in the head. Shallow grave. And in Syrian history books the uprising of the last year will never be mentioned. As long as the ‘dynasty’ in Damascus reign. The dictator is married to a British wife. Can London not take her passport away? Taking away her British citizenship. And thus denying access to the UK for shopping and medical trips.

Human behavior is a cleaning team with a bucket full of blood.

Coup in Mali.
Another cruise liner in trouble (anybody still risking those holidays?).
Muslim extremist on a shooting spree in France.
Silence on the Greek meltdown.
Early forest fires in Portugal.
London ready for the Olympics.
Senegalese president wanted a third term but got punished by the electorate.
Global warming might lead to champagne cultivation in southern England.
Colombia’s FARC rebels free hostages.
US bounty for a Pakistan militant.
Floods in beautiful Fiji.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s gets a seat in Burma’s parliament.

Human behavior can’t stop the world’s tide.

Throw Out. Pennsylvania’s Wisdom In Chains are releasing today their new album “The missing links”. One of the best bands in the so-called alternative circles of music (I absolutely hate the term “alternative”). Hardhitting. The lads prove that music is above labels and categories and they blend a fine mix of punkrock, Oi, hardcore styles. “The missing links” is released on I Scream Records. A label that many years ago started as a hobby in a small flat in the Belgian capital Brussels, but now has its HQ in California and has become a name to reckon with.

C-Ya

Collateral – April 2012