Sunday musings

OK, I understand the passion Americans have about the Second Amendment to their Constitution and the right to bear arms. And their fierce and almost violent opposition to any attempts to limit this “right”or to implement any type of gun control measures. But really, how in the name of reality can they continue to do so after the latest insane killing rampage at a cinema showing a late evening screening of a movie in Aurora, Colorado? I read a report in an online news site, I believe it was Fox, that indicated for every 100 citizens, 94 had guns! Then postings on the web from Americans said that people should carry concealed weapons and if they did, then many people could have stood up in the cinema and starting blasting away as soon as the deranged gunman did. Say what? A shooting gallery would be the answer?

I suggest that maybe the people of America might want to look at what weapons were available when the country was founded. There were musket rifles and musket pistols as well as some cumbersome cannons. Not AK 7's, semi automatic rifles and handguns with projectiles capable of blowing a hole through body armour as there is now. Perhaps they should look at laws stopping the sale of these weapons and also make enforcement of existing registration laws a reality.

Make the evil doers carry muskets and have automatic 10 year prison terms for any person owning or using the deadly weapons now freely available.

Sadly, the poor Americans will pound their chests in a media driven frenzy of grief for a week or less and then fall back into somnolence once again until the next tragedy happens.

Oh America, why?

I see where security agencies in the United States are proposing to be given the power to have unmanned Predator drones equipped with lasers overfly and spy on citizens in the States. What the heck is going on with that? I thought that this type of electronic snooping was done over so called “enemy” countries in the search for terrorists. Come on America -spying on your own people now? Is this the start of a police state?

Syria is descending into chaos and madness as the civil war spreads and engulfs the land. Suicide bombings, assassinations, death squads and indiscriminate murder abounds. Reports of Islamic militia who seem to migrate from country to country in the Middle East to spread war abound. It seems that they have decided to hide behind religion as a means to kill and establish a religion based government in countries, and that the religion is what they say it is, regardless of what religious leaders say. Talk to religious scholars and they will say that things like Sharia law are not what is actually professed in the tenants of the Faith. Or the treatment of women and those of other faiths.

In Spain protests continue to escalate as the unemployed protest government austerity measures and protests in other European countries such as Greece and Italy also grow. And amid this spreading unease and fear the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said that the euro was not in danger despite some analysts' worse case scenarios for a break-up and said that greater financial, budgetary and political union among euro zone countries was inevitable.

Again some official issues bland platitudes and the governments sit on their fat rear ends.

Are they really going to continue to ignore reality and accept that chaos will probably be the answer?

Remember the Great Depression of the last century and that only a World War ended it. Is this what the politicians want? A international war to solve the problem of their making?

For shame if this is the case.

For shame.

In Argentina sniffer dogs at an airport in Buenos Aires uncovered a well disguised shipment of heroin from that country to Nigeria for transit to America. It seems all drug roads now lead to America.

Great news for nostalgia buffs, singing group “The Spice Girls” will re-unite to perform at the London Olympics. Almost as exciting as watching lint grow in your navel one could say.

Is it the sad state of music today that is the cause for reunions of many old time bands to do lucrative tours to sold old venues? Kind of amusing to see all the grey hairs attending these shows put on by various groups that are in their sixties or later and as grey haired or balding as well.
And this is now the first anniversary of the horror inflected in Norway by the madman (the coward will forever be nameless in this column) upon defenceless citizens on his murderous shooting spree.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel outlined a grand vision for alternative energy usage a year ago, shortly after her government had decided to shut down all nuclear reactors by 2022 after the Fukushima accident.
Germany was to put itself at the forefront of the fight against global warming by radically expanding the use of renewable energy to 35 percent of total power consumption by 2020, rising to 80 percent by 2050. Currently, it represents 20 percent of the country's energy mix.
However two ministers, Environment Minister Altmaier and Economy Minister Rösler, have asked whether the targets are reachable and said their priority is to make sure that electricity prices don't rise too much.
Altmaier, cast doubt on whether Germany will be able to cut its energy consumption by 10 percent by 2020 as planned -- a precondition for reaching the 35 percent renewables target that year.
Sometimes reality intrudes on optimistic green energy projections that politicians grasp in order to curry favour with the electorate when the costs start coming in and the same people that want to go green do not want to have to actually pay for it.
Well, all of a sudden the clock is seeming to speed up for us as we are within 3 short days of our road trip to the West Coast to sign possession papers for our new house and get the keys to the place as well as leave the car when we fly back to Regina later. As well I have a mental list of things and places I wanted to see and do in Regina before leaving this first time and of course have not done so at all.
But the house continues to empty, moving boxes are now filled and very little remains to be packed and the fridge and freezer are almost empty these days.
A ghostly feeling at times walking through the empty halls and rooms.

And yet because we have to wait and wait time seems to drag on as well.

Go figure.

It will be a fast but long distance travelled drive. 8 hours to Calgary then another 8 to Kamloops and then a final sprint to Vancouver of about 6 hours. Then a day to rest there before heading via ferry service to the Island and then to our new location. While there, to say we will be busy would be an understatement.

Hopefully I can take some pictures along the way to share with you.

That is it for this week, so remember to take some time for yourself along the way.

Take care out there,

flatlander52