Ce n'est rien du mourir. C'est affreux de ne pas vivre.

To quote one of the few worldwide known personalities with no connection nor an ambiguous view of what is (not) happening in Palestine and Israel; "life is really simple but we insists on complicating it".  

If I would have ever had been a resident of Israel I too would have probably felt like grasping any object suitable as a weapon and get into Gaza to slaughter and demolish anything at sight and equally grab onto any word or image that would support my mission and convince as many people as possible to do the same.

Then again, if I would have ever lived in Israel, especially as a visitor, I would have gotten busy a long time ago to do whatever I could to promote harmony irrespective of the race or (religious) beliefs in my surroundings.  Should I sense that for whichever reason I would generally be better off than the people around me I would probably double up my efforts, possibly out of selfish motives.

In a crisis created by human nature, the fact that on one hand the human race appears to need 2 days to mobilise 300 000 + military reserves, set in counter attacks on multiple fronts and host several heads of state visits, but more than 12 days are necessary to  organise some form of human aid to a million people in the same place, says everything about where priorities are vested.

Wherever substantial differences amongst people arise, tension sets in.  It's our nature.  I do not really believe in religious causes or motives a the prime driver and sense that in most of the world those differences tend to be economic.  When the economics appear to discriminate and commence grouping types of education, race, religion, gender, etc the emphasis will shift towards collective envy or hate, a very fertile ground for violence, which if ignored and allowed to persist, becomes organised, planned and dangerously equipped.

In a civilised community, basic awareness, willingness and dialogue - all none particularly extraordinary accessible human means - will envisage potential conflicts and safeguard progress for a common good.  

Pretty simple.  Not complicated, unless we want it to be.

For a long time, Palestine and Israel are in a blame "game" (for lack of a better word) over whom literally threw the first rock.  No one is indifferent, everyone is guilty.  The formation of the state of Israel in 1948 was not the beginning, but just another step - albeit significant - in the well organised zionist intentions that commenced in the 19th century, including actions that were recorded as terrorist activity at the time by the way. 

Unlike a 100 years ago, there is no equality.  None. Israel is better organised and equipped by all measures and that would only be a reason to claim being civilised if it would be putting this to use for a common good and not only for what it considers its own.  

Israel authorises, permits, allows, tolerates, grants, but always under the condition that it can be taken away just as easily.

On one side of a wall people irrigate their crops on a daily basis and their state constructs a Gaza like scenario training ground for military, while on the other side the most fortunate people await a water truck to fill a rooftop deposit and the completion of a desalination plant, of which certain components indeed appear to serve other usages;

While most of the inhabitants of Gaza were pushed and contained to the only life of refuge they have always known, Israel intentionally incentivises people from around the world to come and live in their state.

It's embarrassing for all nations how Israeli spokespeople still seek to narrate double standards of UN resolutions violations.

But, the world has changed since the first zionist actions, even since the last bloodsheds between Palestine and Israel.  The widespread use of social media, especially during wartime has become a new normal. An isolated  televised speech or a published press picture which ends up in history books for future generations does not suffice anymore.  

Smartphones and internet connection speed have become as important as food and water and an integrant part of military strategies.  This is not a gamification of ordinary people's lives in ordinary days, but a last resort of human beings feared or fed by anger that they are not being represented otherwise and an outcry for hope of being heard and seen by the real world, wherever or whomever that may be.

As a consequence, in a "if you cannot beat them, join them kind of manner" it becomes equally visible how (elected) leaders of nations appear a bunch of eager teenagers jumping to who is right or did what first.  This makes me wonder if politicians always behaved like this.

Apparently, it was in the age of enlightenment that the fingerpointing of terrorism was first mentioned, on all sides of conflicts, whether dictated by rulers or spread by the revolting populations.  We know who won then and in the civilised world most of us are now grateful for that victory. 

Don't rain on my bow

With my daughter turning 13 recently, I am now the proud father of two teenagers, old and interested enough to recognise their version of rights and wrongs in the wider grey yet colourful world, too lazy to research the plausible historic causes and too young to visualise the many roads ahead.

They no longer care how not that long ago I spent too much time in supermarkets trying to understand the difference between diapers for girls and boys.  Every day I often silently enjoy to see the woman and man they are becoming, each at their own rhythm, changing or holding on to their own individual stubbornness or determination.  Pretty normal kids, highly special to me, normal to the outside world.  I am sure we occasionally comment amongst each other when we cross with someone ugly, clumsy, strange, cool, sharp, selfish, noisy, etc, especially if momentarily we are that someone, but we let people be what they are or choose to be and are attentive to those who do not have the privilege of choice.

If my family was a country, it's governance would probably be categorised as liberal with a conservative undertone.  Everything goes, which does not mean everything needs to be out in the open for opinions.

My boy is evolving wonderfully in the world of martial arts and for quite some years his Sensei and other athletes often refer to him as X-Man corresponding to his name and  favourite shirt.  Lately, we occasionally laugh about the expression since due to what is being extensively debated in the wider world, it could be read or heard as ex-man.  Apparently there are many and even more wannabe's.

My girl is still in a chapter of colours, the more the merrier.  Rainbow unicorns, colour runs, and now to make sure she is equipped in the best possible manner for volleyball,  the search for quality sportive and fun socks brought us to a variety including rainbow socks.  But, just before I clicked to order, she got second thoughts.  All of a sudden, rainbow hints homosexuality above all and that is not what is or should be the predominant thought when parading on and off the volleyball courts.  

Lately, there are rainbows everywhere and not due to natural phenomena combining rain and sunshine but man-made (human being made) from plastic and paint.  Rainbow seems the new black.  It almost appears to have become compulsory to wear or bear something rainbowish to avoid being questioned about one's values towards inclusiveness and anti-discrimination.  Football stadia, leading politicians, publicity .. if you are not with us, you probably are against us.  

Nooo!  

The organising and increasingly more loud LGBTetc community claiming to represent all individuals that match at least one letter in their acronym is making so much noise it may soon want to add deaf and blind as well.

Do your thing, go your own precious way, socialise and organise, share your struggles if it gives you a sense of pride, but pretty please, for everyone's sake, do not assume the rest of the world is ignorant just because it is busy elsewhere.  If you insist with the type of noisy and opportunistic persistence as we inevatibly had to see recently, your one way path may very well become hurdled by more than one or the other national government or their future electorate.

The silent majority does not share your sense of priority,  It does not mean we do not care.  It just shows we are confident in your ability to surpass your struggles just like everybody else in a somewhat tormented world.  After rain comes sunshine and wherever they come together, I will have my short moment of zen, sit back and continue to enjoy the mystery of nature, nothing else.

Another brick in the wall

The European Council of Heads of State tele-met again yesterday,  presided by the Portuguese Prime Minister, giving those that understand the Portuguese and the Portuguese language, the privilege of being one of the first to hear what the council wants to make known.  

Maybe my mental health is trying to send me signals, but I believe I did hear that we can expect a "lessons learned" report from the EU sometime in June 2021.

On a positive note, it certainly is welcoming and original to hear that political leaders have time in a foreseeable future to look back on 12 months of data on deaths and despair, hinting a turning point beyond the widely perceived new normal many of us thought we had to acostume to.

Unlike many other EU Member States, the Portuguese like professional politicians.  People complain and protest in private circles but overall the vast majority - half of which makes the effort to vote in elections -will peacefully allow politicians to pursue their usual busyness without asking any particular questions, leaving constructive or destructive commentary to ex- or future politicians who equally professionally populate media, also without being contested.

A long time ago I once heard the now widely re-elected President of the Republic pinpoint to a group of foreign investors that the Portuguese people are very easy to govern.  To this day it strikes me how right his vision was.  

The only day-to-day obstacle politicians encounter in Portugal are other (former) politicians and that's why traditionally parties only can govern if the party itself secures a majority of seats so that any challenging questions that may pop up can be avoided or archived and void.  And that is why Parliamentary debates are generally always a mere series of individual speeches without any meanigful discussion, conversation or real negotiation.  And that is also why the younger electorate who already lived through two severe crises and are arguably the most affected by the present one, is not making itself heard.  There just seems to be no point.  The older patrons in politics insist they know better and they are the boss.  They appear more another brick in a wall to me.

There is irony in that Mr Costa recently felt he had to counter attack critics whom after all "had no clue of what is is like to be in the driver's seat" (especially because unlike the President of the Republic he choses to be chauffeured around).  

I wonder if in the Portuguese chapter of the announced lessons learned report there will be mention of the fairly individual stubbornness to keep schools flowing, to only then abruptly order them closed blaming the non-compliance of the population or vaccine manufacturers, circumventing any inquiries on the lack of readiness of the national healthcare system or on-line schooling facilities to name a few examples.  

With a bit of homework, I can imagine plausible motives why a Prime Minister resists in introducing or opening some form of debate on a potential plan or roadmap on what all layers of a society can or should reflect upon to allow ending lockdown measures, even if that may effectively commence in less than 15 days.  

What then does seriously trouble me is that the same Mr Costa publicly claims an ability to showcase and defend a €14 billion 350 page draft plan to socially and economically boost that same society for the next 10 years.  I do not think the EU is that ignorant and neither are the Portuguese people. 

Would it have occurred to Mr Costa that the quality of the lessons learned report will become a condition for the EU funds ?  After all both are scheduled to be liberated in June.  It would seem that the free youngsters of this country are not the only ones in need for some additional schooling.

L' État, c'est moi .... sommes nous ....

Once upon a time ...  the manner by which a King or Queen would transform an impulse into a royal decree was via a well voiced spokesman (the herald) who would cry out the written decision from a scroll in the capital’s nearby central square, thereby proclaiming the ruling deemed as known and legally binding for all.

The nearby population could booooh!!!  or hoorayyyy !!! the outspoken rules, but essentially it was expected to overhear the decree and from thereon disperse the new law amongst their professional class, around their shops and markets and into their homes and nearby villages.  As far as the King's courts were concerned the law was made known and thus enforceable nationwide setting the stage for any perpetrator to be penalised.

This image comes to my mind each time the Portuguese PM comes to announce COVID contention measures.   In Portugal this happens at least every two weeks because somewhere in the 345 page constitution it says that a state of emergency shall not last longer than 14 days upon declaration, but apparently at the time of writing it, no one remembered to restrict the number of times such a state of emergency may be invoked.   

The only two differences I can identify is that in medieval kingdoms, the King's herald would carry a trumpet while now he grasps a microphone and whereas people then were individually referred to as subjects, today we are civilians.  Whether penalties were more severe, is debatable ...

Presumably a whole range of rigorous public institutions have been construed to safeguard the development of individual rights and duties for a common good, but above all, in modern times, a wide number of popular elected delegates empowered to audit, dispute and even overthrow government representatives would ascertain that any new law would be consistent with what a population wants and can.  On top of that, we would have the benefit of journalists and other private parties to question and challenge acts of governments, so that eventually we can accept the new law for the greater good and remember to be patient in search for change.

Portugal is going into the ninth consecutive 14 day term state of emergency.  Officially this is decreed by the President and accepted by the PM on behalf of the Government which subsequently must get approval from Parliament.  

What happens in practice though is that the PM lobbies and insists on maintaining/renewing a state of emergency, selecting and silencing experts as convenient, blaming a population for not complying in a manner that should not cost too many votes. Only then, the President signs off and thereafter Members in Parliament get to booooh or hoorayyy a bit,  but repeatedly swallow the legal formality and only as a final act in this fortnightly circus, the government convenes behind its castle walls to decide upon which actual measures to take, usually with effect in a matter of 24 hours.  (All this financed by taxpaying civilians by the way).  Media and journalists limit themselves to reproduce press releases and allow TV time so that politicians can render their lip service.  The civilian population, or subjects, can sit, wait and gossip in the meantime.

I fully understand that any responsible government which envisages a severe state for a nation, seeks prior clearance so that in order when shit does hit the fan, measures can be taken and withdrawn instantly for the greater good.  That would be good governance.

However, silly legal formalities aside, Portugal has been in a (near) state of emergency for nearly a year and I am troubled a government is unable to outweigh the pros and cons of how to proceed the very next following day.  An entire country is now on stand-by, awaiting whether a government will or will not (partially) close down schools the next day.

Even my school going children can figure out that a government ihas been lacking to resolve issues identified nearly a year ago and failed to keep its promise to equip schools and students with the necessary in order to allow for a reasonable smooth continuance of schooling albeit, on-line.  My kids do not need to consult an expert or scientist to briefly set out how, why and when people enter into non-compliance in terms of wearing masks and washing hands or ventilating closed spaces when temperatures approximate 0ºC.

Oh well, I guess I should be grateful to this government for stimulating a sense of "modern" politics amongst my children and learn whom not to vote for years ahead of an eligible age thereto, or maybe they will make dad really proud and create their own version of Robin Hood once upon a time.....

V-Day

So here's a fact for a change: in the UK, representatives of her majesty's national healthcare system injected a vaccine in a person from the general public for the first time.  From here on, we pretty much go back to the subjective speculation and interpretation our sensitive individual belief systems allow us to.  

Should we have seen similar images broadcasted from China or Russia, mostly all of the western world would seriously eyebrow and instantly question their truthfulness.  

The press has been told the 90 year old woman, born and raised in Northern Ireland was chosen at random.  It is more likely, HM SNS was instructed from the highest level to conduct a surgical analysis of plausible candidates that would fit well into the public eye and thus inject a boost of confidence of what will go into history.  

My bet is that as soon as scientists declare conformity with the absence of side effects, before Boxing's Day, another nice old lady in her 90's will be vaccinated for all the world to see so that the Common Wealth, the USA and also the EU can open their borders to acquire the UK produce.

I would also guess that Boris Johnson takes at least two sets of vaccine when he goes to meet (face to face we need to add in 2020) Ursula von der Leyen in a final action to conclude a EU-UK trade deal.  One as a genuine offer to another kind of head of state, the other as a symbol of sarcasm for a 70 year old French Politician who has been heading up the EU Brexit team and happened to be in self-isolation when the the Brexit negations appear to operate smoothly.

There is no question of the relevance of tying a nation to the research, development and actual roll out of a virus in the midst of a pandemic and if there are various countries, a competitive race evolves wherein only one victor can be flagged.   Especially with this virus, it is not about public health but about putting social and economic behaviour back on track and thus here too, leverage is available for those who will enter an up cycle ahead of others.

2020 will linger on in history for a long time, eventually as a mere pop up disclaimer in all the world's statistics safeguarding future comparisons with what was an extra-ordinary year.  We will spend a significant part of 2021 debating on what went wrong, how we allowed this to happen and whether we went about this in the best way and here too, any society which can archive its review of events in order to look ahead will be at a clear advantage.

It's the way it has always been.  We call it a level playing field.

Buying and selling beliefs

Today is the day on which Donald Trump will conclude the deal of the century, prepared by his son-in-law and this time this will certainly get him the nobel peace prize and a Trump tower build by Palestinians.

The announcement will be made alongside two of Israel's political leaders which are in competing parties but not certainly not opposing each other's beliefs, hinting that the plan is much larger than the individuals who engined it.

There is no other country in the world which manages to align the colours of its nation with its beliefs and religion into its worldwide diplomacy as Israel does.  What makes any nation strong and keeps it alive is its ability to collect and hold hard records of its people throughout history.

Israel is not a country which can claim any particular reknown achievements in science, arts or sports, neither is it high positioned in world economics or trade.   Yet, we all know quite a bit about this relative small country even if we do not all recognise its borders in the same manner.  When we think of Israel, inevitably we are swiftly confronted with religious and territorial conflicts which tend t to overrule everything else.

Throughout history borders have been under dispute and countries have come and gone while names attributed to territories and populations remain or are reinvented.   The world has seen exodus and genocides for as long as populations sought settlement and the human need to overpower others.  But it is only since the 20th century and towards the end of WWII that humanity came to work on the notion of the massive killings of tribes and races.

We look at genocides in absolute numbers and not relative to world populations.   Numbers, so great they almost become scaringly surreal, driven by even scarier distorted politicians.

In the 21st century there is certainly purpose to apply the mans we have and teach or remind the world of historical suffrage in the worst form possible.

Israel chose to commemorate the 75 years passed since then soviet soldiers reached the concentration camp on the outskirts of Brezinka in Poland and the world discovered what Nazi Germany had been undertaking alongside its military territorial warfare.

I once visited what is left of the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau and it is a must see location in order to get away with that surreal feeling generated by history lessons.

Time appears an inevitable factor for us insignificant humans and whereas the circumstances wherein colonisation and slavery as we have equally learned in history books have longe gone and ancient empires and civilisations tend to be romanticised, the horror of the Holocaust is the indescribable underlying modern and pragmatic extermination which made it happen.

I salute any individual, any organization, local, national and international that seeks to impose upon those living to commemorate those that died and suffered.  I am impressed with the fact that Israel managed to roll out its biggest diplomatic event ever on this occasion.

One would hope however that with nearly 50 heads of state together in the same room, someone would rise to the occasion in search of some hopeful promise to wipe any risk of any one population seeking to empower another by any means from the face of the earth.

But ...... instead the event addresses anti-semitism and with the exception of some fitting words from whom represents Germany today, high profile speechers take the opportunity to point to present day Iran, feeding into some notion as if Iran 's sole purpose o existence is no other than to continue killing jews.

Sorry guys, but no one can buy or sell their way into any place of worship.  It's not going to be great  unless you truly employ your indeed fantastic historic and contemporary intelligence and start to look at the world as a whole.  

Snails, Salmon and Cheese

Once upon a time, in a small nearby and very old Duchy, three apparent wise men from the West came toghether.

The first one was from the Duchy itself, Luxembourg, the second came across from England and the third man from nearby France.

The only three things all three men had in common was that they were professional politicians, never elected in their present roles by universal suffrage and their lust for food.

So they decided to share a meal at lunchtime and each was allowed to order one plate for their three course luncheon.

The Luxemburgian ordered snails.  "They may be slow moving slimy and - for some - disgusting looking animals, hiding their heads iwhen threatened and carrying their own feces on their backs, but for whom is open minded and patient enough, as long as we soak them in garlic at the appropriate temparature, with the right tools, they eventually become delicious, easy to swallow and extremely nutritious", he justified.

The Englishman voted for salmon.  "An aminal naturally keen to go against the tides, which only makes it stronger and more delicious over time, whether they are swimming in Scotland agains the will of the British Union or in Norway against the influences of the European Union", he explained. "Furthermore, science has proven that salmons always inevitably return to their origin, the place where they first spawned".

The Frenchman voted for cheese. "It is the only possible choice", he said.  "Only the French have been able to turn an excess of sour milk into one of the world's most refined amuse bouches, demonstrating our early vision towards an environmentally sustainable society".  He also admitted that "it allows us to fill our bellies and restaure ourselves, just in case we will not be able to digest the previous platters".

What Juncker, Johnson and Barnier had for lunch in their meeting yesterday is pretty much the only news the world received and that itself should tell us something on what was communciated, suspected, but not made formally known.

So after three years of hectic popular debate in streets and in parliaments (preceded by decades of less noisy and intense arrangements on surrounding matters), and all the corridor and backstage wishpering we sort of accept to be inevitalby associated with politics, matters get resolved over a face to face meal in less than three hours.

And that's how it has been for most of human history, hasn´t it ?

The only difference in today's 21st century is that words travel much faster and in much more directions than the intended recipients, cultivating a wide perception of power to the people.

But, for now, that is all it is, a perception.

What this will come to mean for the Union in Britain is a totally different matter.