A new president in the House

Today is a day to remember. Barak Obama will be become the President of the United States. There are many things to be said about this event; how a man ,who nobody thought it could even become a contender to a heavy-weight in Politics as Hillary Clinton is, managed to be in the pole position and be president. It could be said how Democracy meant more than ever when thousands of people felt their feeling arouse and acted to get Mr. Obama to where he is now.
Many other things can be said, indeed. But there is one for which he deserves to be in the history books. Simple and plain, he is black.

In a society where racist feelings go underground and unnoticed at times, Barak Obama is like a hurricane of fresh air. It may or not be a good president, time will prove it, but the fact is there, people were brave enough to see the man, the options, the hope and not the color. After all, does it really matter what race someone is from? It is all a cultural baggage that we need to get rid of.
Thousands of teenagers that have relied for years in the iconic figure of Martin Luther King have now a more ambious goal in life: if they want to achieve a goal in life, they can.

A new president of the United States, a new man to lead a country and perhaps many other changes, and that man is proudly black.

Gas Checkmate

Having been exposed to cold temperatures with gloves, hat, three layers of clothing and heavy duty winter jacket and still felt cold made me wonder how bad people in Eastern Europe must feel. If you have been watching the news, there is a new chess game going on. One of the players, as you might expect, is Russian, the other Ukrainian. Both are stubborn players that are not willing to lose even if that means sacrificing as many pawns as possible. The Ukrainian queen and the Russian king are head to head in accusations, failed agreement and lack of confidence.

The Gas-war between Russia and Ukraine has lasted more than a week now and more and more people suffer their dehumanised battle over the control of the gas supply to Europe by the Baltic country. Little or nothing at all matters that the reserves of gas in countries like Bulgaria, Slovakia, or many other in the areas have reached a zero level, that two countries had to reopen two nuclear power stations considered as risky for the rest of Europe.

Politicians are the new Czars, the new elite, the new aristocracy that gives not a single breath for the people below them.
The saddest thing once again is the sluggish reaction of the European Union, perhaps scare of the intentions of Russia as bad loser in the game. So far, we'll carry on seeing the two opponents at checks, double check, discovered attack and so on.

Para-Media-noria

We talk and dream of a time machine, we imagine how great it could be to travel on time and be able to see the past. Well, we can. We have the resources, they are called video tapes, radio records and history books. We don't always need to know how Romans lived, we should be more interested to remember how we lived just a year ago though it seems it is easy to forget.

I watched the news, the gloom and doom that dominate all the newsrooms around the world. Recession, depression, job losses and money tips. It all sounds reasonable, after all, times are really tough and hard. But, the same media that keep telling us how badly things are, was the same Media that told us how great was to buy a house for unreasonable price, how beautiful a derelict home would look after spending a fortune on it and then we could sell and make more money; the TV channels that broadcast the lack of sales in the house market, told us a year ago about a record after another record in house prices. We are puppets of the different editorial lines that radio, tv and newspaper's directors decided for us and we seem to like it.

They were part of the problem and they are part of the problem. The focus is not so much on what people may really need to understand, that our society needs a major change, perhaps.

Good Bye, Mr President

I am not sure what to feel about Nearly-Gone-President George Bush. A few days ago, my only feelings were of hate, rage and disappointment. Now, after listening to one of his last press conference, I have to admit I feel mostly sorry for him.

For Mr Bush Jr to say that time will recognise his role in history is, at least, naive. He does not need to wait that long, the world is already acknowledging his legacy. Just let's take a look around us: a world run by the paranoia of terrorism, more people under poverty, more threats created than ceased, international order in disarray, a global economic in total chaos, and so on.

No, Mr Bush, we won't need years to recognise your role in history, we can see it now. The mistakes of which you openly apologised in your press conference, are the suffering of many nowadays, your mistakes, Mr_nearly_ex_president, will be foolly (aka fully) understood over time; you right on one thing, that we will comprehend that some people aren't meant to rule and hopefully we should learn the lesson.

Heathrow expansion

One of the qualities of Politicians is to treat voters as grown-up kids. It is not unusual to hear parents giving false hopes or promises to those kids that are demanding something parent know they can't give. In the same way do Politicians behave when it comes to keep their promises. A good example is the promise the British Government made when suggested that there will not be an expansion of Heathrow airport or another runway beyond the construction of Terminal 5. Well, it seems that, shortly after the completion of the T5, government ministers and aides are working with lobby groups to create the public image that we need that expansion after all.

Regardless of the true benefits that such a work may bring, it is clear that most of the people who live around Heathrow area and even in other boroughs of London oppose the Government plans, and they do rightfully. They were promised so. It is naive to believe that what it was wrong then it has to be right now. In the same way kids get scared with promises of the boogie man, we get threats that jobs may be at risk. It could right be, but we should always outweigh what it is more beneficial for the majority and not for the minority.

Israel vs Gaza, Hate vs Hate

There won't be an easy fix for the situation in Gaza and many governments know that. The world stands as a silent witness to the outrageous behaviour of the Israeli Army and the endless madness of the Hamas missile attacks. That' s the root of the problem and that's the reason for its difficult solution.
This is not about two parties seating on a table and trying to understand each other, this is about hate against hate. Fifty years later, there are people in Spain that can't deal with the Civil War consequences of hate between members of the same family or neighbours in the same town. Is it so hard to understand of the level that Palestinians and Israelis have achieved over these years to see that a simple "get together" to talk will never work.
The world has left the situation reached a level of degradation that it will be nearly impossible to reach any agreement ever if the first condition for it is not met. That is understanding.
Both nations, or rather say, both nation politicians must understand this concept in order to find a solution. I have to admit that I am rather pessimist. The internal battles for power between the two sides in the Palestinian field and the rooted-hate from Jewish politicians towards the issue make it really gloomy and daunted.
Barak Obama is still to prove what actions he will take regarding this matter. Time will say.