Bitter times

The so called Holy Land is a playground of
encroachment and dislocation,
corruption and suicidal bombast.
Militant Palestinians long to drive the jews of Isreal into the sea;
Jewish Settles yearn to render Palestinians landless.

From the Arabian sea to the Bay of Bengal,
Hindus and muslims sneer at each others' temple sites
and other tracks of real estate.

In the northern corner of the emerald isle,
Christians squabble over who owns Christ.

In Bali, Paradise burns!
Residents and visitors experience a staggering blast and a furious fire.
Balinese weep with barely concealed rage.
Australians grieve and turn their heart wrenching stares
to the rest of the world and murmur,
"we are not so far away, are we?"

Argentina is broken and people appear on a tv game show to win a job.

China maintains a stranglehold on tibet
while citizens of Taiwan look on and wonder,
"are we next?"

See great big Russia pick on tiny little Chechnya.
Watch with horrified fascination through drunken blood shot eyes
as the Russsian Army marches a Swaggering dance step through
the blighted Chechen landscape.

A Saudi Prince has the benefit of a well rounded education;
he learns to play chess with one hand and poker with the other.

Years ago, in North Korea, the inmates took over the asylum.
Not much has changed over the years... or has it?

Iraq has a crazy man running the shop;
tricky coyote, crazy like a fox.

Does Democracy work in Pakistan?
Does Tyranny work in Pakistan?
What works in Pakistan?

Indonesia stands on uncertain ground with one foot in the west
and the other in the middle east.

What would Iran be like without Theocracy?

Sierra Leone is a land of limbless people and bloody red diamonds.

Zimbabwe turns racism on its head;
what happens when black governments terrorize white farmers?
Starvation!

Columbia smolders in Civil War;
Guns from the left and guns from the right:
Guns from the government and gunners running drugs.

What is Chili after Pinochet?
What is Peru after Fujimori?

Welcome to the United States of America,
land of the crooked corporate executive
and the gun toting sniper,
where political influence is for sale to the highest bidder;
it's Democracy of the Rich, by the Rich, for the Rich,
and everyone else be damned.
It doesn't matter which party you choose,
they're all the same about money.
The political philosophy of America today is...
if you don't have money, to hell with you.

What will become of Cuba after Fidel Castro?

Rwanda and Cambodia are bone yards.

Somalia is a broken landscape of
fractured jigsaw puzzle pieces
that don't fit together.

In Nigeria, a woman may be stoned to death
for the crime of adultery but, what happens to the man?

In the Afgan mountains, people dream of bountiful crops,
warm blankets and safe homes.
Children dream of school rooms with alphabets and arithmetics.
Women dream of opportunites and scenery
unobstructed by the grill of the birka.
Men dream love poems of soft hair, bright eyes and warm lips.
Be at peace, good people;
Dream of one thousand horsemen standing tall in their saddles:
Dream of one thousand horses running free on the highland plains.

Bosnia and Kosovo are pressure cookers.

Guatemala, Nicaraqua and El Salvador have old wounds and secrets.

(Nov.2002)