Manners may “maketh the man”, but words distinguish leadership.
A few hours before the U.S. raid into Venezuela, I watched “The Darkest Hour”, which ends with Sir Winston Churchill’s speech, that Edward R. Murrow encapsulated as: “He mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.”… Read the rest
That few New Year’s resolutions are kept in full matters less than the recognition of defects that need to be addressed. Imagine how much of an improvement 2026 could be over last year if those who wield power made a few.… Read the rest
Since we’re still intact, it’s safe to presume that despite conspiracy theorists, the object from outer space that just passed Earth really is a comet and not an alien battleship. Assuming those who really can wreck the world have a firm grasp on reality, perhaps less so.… Read the rest
In 2024, 61 armed conflicts were recorded across 36 countries, 22 of which are currently classified as being in a state of war. All other efforts to “beat swords into plowshares” having failed, maybe it’s time to try the simplistic approach and just stop selling swords.… Read the rest
The sad beings who put a sign reading “Santa Is Fake” in a window along a Christmas parade route, and Western nations who’ve made unprecedented cuts to aid budgets have something in common: neither see the value in what they are denigrating.… Read the rest
Industrial and petro giants ignoring global warming in the name of profit, AI developers rating speed over consequences and more than a few billionaires, have one thing in common: none of them seem acquainted with the Scriptures, or The Who and think we aren’t either.… Read the rest
A puzzling and amusing aspect of getting “old”, is that there’s apparently an exact point when the “age is just a number” nonsense becomes a milestone at which you need stuff you didn’t know you needed before then.… Read the rest
On levels ranging from the potentially existential to laughable, the state of the world can be summed up this week in one word:
ABSURD (noun)…”the state or condition in which human beings exist in an irrational and meaningless universe.”… Read the rest
Re-immersing in news after a week off for travel, I stumbled into a story that could have come straight from “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!”, the now more than 100 year-old cartoon that specialises in things so strange, readers doubt their veracity. Hence this open letter to the new CBS News Editor-in-Chief.… Read the rest
As no doubt are most of us, I’m more than sick of the abhorrent messes that plague the world. Therefore, instead of screeds of smug, scolding verbiage, this last blog of the year from the prism of my kayak, will endeavour to share the wisdom of Hippocrates: “Nature itself is the best physician.” … Read the rest