I know I live in the 21st century. This blogging platform, my brushed steel Samsung HD television, my Blackberry Smartphone (although some might question whether it belongs in this century!) and my supersleek Mac-Retina laptop are all evidence of that. At the moment "progress" seems best measured against technological advancement, because in most other spheres humankind seems to be going backwards. Take a skim through any Sunday broadsheet and it is easy to understand why.
We have good old fashioned religious persecution happening as I write; the sort that winds up with people being hung up on crosses. People being chased from their homes. "Non-believers" beheaded in public parks. Women taken into slavery. Children slaughtered. And this is all taking place in the cradle of human "civilisation" under the auspices of one of the world's oldest religions, Islam.
But those who are flying the black banners of the "Islamic State" are adherents of anything but. They are a murderous horde who kill, butcher, torture and enslave. They make the likes of Hamas look like a bunch of kids throwing stones at the class bully. This crowd is not interested in religious tolerance. It's convert to our twisted and distorted view of Islam or be killed. Simple.
At least the United States (the rest of the world appears to be asleep) has finally woken up to the hideous danger that this virus represents and is deploying its arsenal to hinder the ISIS advance. Quite simply it needs to be stamped out.
But this will not happen with military force alone. Bringing the Sunni tribes on board will be critical - and this means that the supposed strong man in Baghdad needs to go. Al-Maliki has proved adept at alienating every Iraqi minority with devastating consequences in order to entrench the Shia majority. But it needs to stop and the US is the only country that can make this happen. Give him a million bucks, thank him for a job badly done and instruct him to move on.
I cannot imagine the human suffering on that mountain in Iraq right now; no shelter, no food, no water, no hope and your only escape blocked by a devil that wants to kill you, your family and your entire community. This all in the 21st century.....
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On a lighter note, why do American golf supporters insist on shouting "Get in the hole" whenever one of the top golfers hits a shot.
Rory McIlroy (the world No 1) was in thick rough, behind a tree with about 250 yards into the green and lo-and-behold as soon as he had struck the ball the usual asinine chorus went up:
"GET IN THE HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLE"
Now Rory is playing some genius golf at present but the ball had as much chance of getting in the hoooooooooole, as a Hamas rocket...(okay lets leave that one there) - I think you get the picture.
To be fair McIlroy hardly needs an invitation at present to put the ball in the hole; all that vocal energy would be better spent backing the US golfers in the field who are struggling in the face of the Northern Irish onslaught!
Out :)