No signs of light in prospect for a dismal year ahead... and Trump
Police officers conduct a search on Streatham High Road in south London on February 3, 2020, after a man was shot dead by police on February 2 following reports he had stabbed two people. PHOTO | DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS | AFP
What you need to know:
- More than half of Americans are dissatisfied with their democratic system and the figure worldwide is similar – 57.5 per cent.
- Racism and religiously-inspired terrorism are resisting all attempts at reversion or dilution, as Londoners found last week with a new Jihadist incident in broad daylight.
Looking into the future is generally not an exercise recommended for the easily depressed, but usually there are signs of hope, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.
When it comes to 2020, however, we search for light in vain. Consider the negatives. Populist nationalism is on the rise, particularly in Europe, as the world loses faith in democracy.
Elections have brought shifts to the right in Italy, Austria, Hungary and Sweden, while Germany and Britain are showing similar tendencies.
A report by researchers at Cambridge University declared, “Across the globe, democracy is in a state of malaise.”
More than half of Americans are dissatisfied with their democratic system and the figure worldwide is similar – 57.5 per cent.
TERROR THREAT
Climate change could be the greatest challenge to the future of the human race. Sea levels are rising, forests are burning, longer droughts are threatening crops and fresh water supplies.
Yet nations as important as the United States demonstrate few signs of taking the dangers seriously.
Racism and religiously-inspired terrorism are resisting all attempts at reversion or dilution, as Londoners found last week with a new Jihadist incident in broad daylight.
Sudesh Amman, aged 20 and born in Britain, was jailed for three years in December 2018 for circulating terrorist material.
Released early, as was his entitlement, Amman was considered by prison officials to be unreformed, and armed police in plain clothes covertly followed his every move.
EMERGENCY LAW
Last Sunday, he stole a knife from a shop in Streatham, south London, and slashed out wildly at anyone within reach, stabbing two people. He was shot dead within 60 seconds by his police trackers.
The government moved hastily to change a law which permits convicted terrorists to be released automatically halfway through their sentence.
Justice Minister Robert Buckland set out plans for emergency legislation, meaning that prisoners currently held for terrorist offences could face years longer in prison and would need release approval by the Parole Board.
Amman was released from Belmarsh high-security prison on January 23, halfway through his sentence, even though investigators feared he still espoused extremist views.
TRUMP RE-ELECTION
He had refused to engage in programmes designed to manage his risk.
He was tailed from the day of his release by police who were unarmed at first. However, his actions prompted the investigators to become fully armed.
A source told The Observer newspaper, “He was as much a problem when he came out of prison as when he went in.”
And so we have it… violence, hatred, loss of faith, lack of vision, not to mention a future including years of Brexit ill-will and the possible re-election of President Trump. No light there, not even a tunnel.
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When I was growing up, there was a widely-accepted opinion that eating fish helped to develop brain power. Now, it’s green vegetables.
A US study of 1,500 young people aged eight to 24 found that foods rich in iron, such as spinach and broccoli, filter information and control movement, learning and emotion.
Iron deficiency can lead to hair loss, brain fog, low sex drive and depression. Other foods high in iron are watercress, lentils, beans, nuts, grains and dried fruits.
The only drawback for ambitious parents wanting brainy offspring could be in persuading them to eat their greens, traditionally the most disliked of food items by children.
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I cannot remember the name of the movie but Arnold Schwarzenegger played an alien newly arrived on Earth, who was driving a lady’s car very erratically.
Screamed his terrified passenger: “You don’t even know the traffic lights!” “Yes, I do,” protested Arnie. “Red is for stop, green for go, amber for go very fast.”
The joke got a big laugh from drivers in the cinema audience, and I was reminded of it by a snippet in a newspaper last week.
It seems the carmaker, Seat, has invented a system that allows cars to “talk” to traffic lights so drivers know if they are about to change colour. So no more speeding to beat the red!
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A traveller asks the price at a hotel and is told £100 (Ksh12,968) per night, which is more than he wanted to pay.
Helpfully, the receptionist said, “There is another hotel up the road which is only £30 per night but it is said to be haunted.”
The traveller goes to the new hotel and says, “I would like to stay but they say your hotel is haunted.” “Nonsense,” says the manager. “I’ve been here 300 years and never noticed anything unusual.”
A businessman asks the hotel switchboard for a 5am call but it does not come until 5.30.
Angrily, he reproaches the manager: “If I had been on a million dollar deal, I could have lost it.” “Sir, said the manager, “if you were on a million dollar deal you would not have been staying in this hotel.”
