Given Scenes Like Aleppo

What was the stroke of luck,
That put me in this place?
Complaining it's too hot with ice outside,
Privileged sex and race.

First world woes, like what's the meaning of life,
Though, the question still stands,
When ev'ry hospital and school's been bombed,
Only a Death Road as an escape plan,

It's trite to be grateful for all you have,
Ev'rything's rel'tive, right?
The breath in my lung's a glorious thing,
In a war-torn, bleak blight,

So reject it,
Refuse to live in peace,
Until all people can reject it, too,
With the cool arrogance of the elite.

For You, 9525

If you knew you were sick,
With an ailment of death,
At an age less than one would expect,
Would that make your life less?

Would you destroy the world that cut you loose,
Because you couldn't be,
A famous and impactful cynosure,
And example to all human beings?

Would the existential turmoil consume,
The thought you're not alone,
Turning all you see to a reminder,
Of all you've never known,

And never will?
Why not just end it all,
In a fantastic blaze of fire and death?
Or would you rethink it during the fall?

Cease-Fire Two

Whoa, whoa, wait a minute,
A cease fire in Ukraine?
Brokered by Russia's President Putin?
Doesn't that sound insane?

How can Russia cut a deal for rebels,
It's denied a link to?
Putin'll use his mind to pull out weapons?
I guess we'll see Feb fifteen, what he'll do.

Are the foreign armed formations Russia's,
That agreed to dis'ppear?
When asked by Harper to get out before,
Putin said, "we're not there."

Not complaining!
I'm all for no more war,
Nine hundred thousand displaced, thousands dead,
Makes you wonder what it's actually for.

Two Worlds

The line is getting thick,
Between the world's two worlds,
One side claims to be defending the right,
And following the rules,

Th'other side says it's defending the right,
And following the rules,
Both sides have been known to repress people,
Accusing th'other of threat'ning the world,

What happens when more countries take a side,
Could be quite dramatic,
We've yet to see what new world weapons do,
When they really go at it!

That'd be something,
Same old story, again,
Ideologies can't seem to exist,
Knowing others are still in existence.

Two Stories

I agree that it's sad,
I choose The Interview,
To discuss, instead of The Massacre,
The Taliban did do.

The one is about computer hackers,
Working for Kim-Jong Un,
Though North Korea's telling the U.S.
Dark Seoul Gang's not their organization.

The other's a sad story of revenge,
By ruthless Taliban,
Who killed young children 'cause they lost soldiers;
Don't see the connection?

They both remind,
You can be innocent,
Trying to live in peace and to let live,
Still, others can destroy your contentment.

China's Gambit

There's nothing China does,
Without ultimate ends,
This is no different for any country,
They all trick their cit'zens,

To thinking one way, least that's what they try,
But China propogates,
'Cause its structure seems so diff'rent from mine,
A specimen I can investigate.

Like its new commemoration today,
Aft' seventy-sev'n years,
Of the Nanjing massacre by Japan,
A country that it fears.

It makes you think,
'Spite what Pres Xi might say,
It's a gambit to get his people prepped,
For confrontation with Japan one day.

Finally, Some Progress

Well, Hong Kong's now talking,
To the student leaders,
Though they have no intention of changing,
What it is they need t',

Which is allowing anybody to,
Run for public office,
For it would be irresponsible to,
Just let anyone run, for there's a risk,

That the candidate has not the skills,
That public office needs,
That's why China has a large committee,
That then respons'bly feeds,

The people those,
Who can best lead them all,
Who know what is best for state and the poor,
Someone who the students don't resemble.

Hong Kong's Dilemma

Who'd've thought umbrellas,
Could overwhelm police?
Nine thousand protesters of China's ways,
Taking back Hong Kong streets!

China's agreed to have talks on T.V.,
Aired live for all to see,
With student leaders, 'bout the unfairness,
Of elections, two thousand, seventeen.

'It's not democracy,' the students say,
When candidates are seen,
As picked by a single-party gov'nment,
North of this 'free' country.

But China's set,
And will not change its mind,
It doesn't care about what the world thinks,
It thinks only of its Chinese inside.

Climate Change

The world is now saying,
Climate change is a fact,
Midst the ever-croning argumenters,
That it's all a throw-back,

To days on this earth when climate changes,
Were natural events,
Which begs the question, no matter the cause,
How will we struggle with this as humans?

The IPCC's intergov'mental,
Meaning it is neutral,
So if science is the measure we trust,
Let us face the future,

Do what we can,
Or just let it happen,
Either way we're the same we've always been,
With no knowledge of the wisest, best plan.

Russia's Ukrainian Motives

So, Russia's said, 'enough'!,
Despite world cries to cease,
And's entered the port of Crimea with,
Two war ships from the sea,

Military forces are on the ground,
Surrounding Ukraine's base,
The head of the Ukrainian Navy,
Has argued to his fleets the Russian case,

But they've stood strong singing Ukrain'an songs,
And the base resists, too,
The rouble's plummeting 'midst Russian acts,
Hark'ning to world war two,

A phony war,
Nary a bullet shot,
M'thinks this is just to show Russians at home,
If you think Russia is weak, well it's not.

The Key To World Peace

I don't know what's bigger,
The news is really full,
Two dead in the Ukraine, five in Egypt,
Or Bieber's public D.U.I downfall.

The first is after three months resistance,
To a corrupt gov'ment,

The second, three years since revolution,

Put in a party now ruled terrorist.

But is there any parallel to find,

When Justin, aged 19,

Once the hope of both teens and their parents,

Collapses too, it seems?

It's all the same,
The human condition,
To understand the failures of soci'ty,
Just consider your last contemplation.

North Korea Shake-Up

Chang Song-thaek has been fired,
Dismissed by his nephew,
In North Korea, a place so tight-lipped,
The story mayn't be true,

But if it is, the news is double-edged,
Like torturing satan,
Can you justify a horrendous act,
If it is a just compensation?

Not that Chang was an abs'lutely bad guy,
Or his ex'cuted peeps,
Midst the dearth of ninety-eight he coolly,
Fed the people bark and leaves.

That's pretty smart,
P'haps a sign of genius,
Jong-un should've sold him to U.S. banks,
To teach them how to more better squeeze us.

The Ukraine Is Not Weak

Twenty-two years post r'lease,
From Soviet control,
Ukraine's baggage has not disappeared and,
Russia's gotta red soul,

Well, it's more like the old pow'rs still got juice,
And the Ukraine still needs,
Vast economic benefits from them,
Free to walk, but still only on its knees,

So the people've stood up, demanding deals,
Be made with the EU,
Riots, protests of hundreds of thousands,
Stormed gov'ment buildings, too!

Even in Risk,
Its pressures are varied,
Constantly needing to nurture new ties,
And those to which it's already married.

More Thailand Upheaval

It's a course in protests,
Trying to understand,
The course of events leading to latest,
Gen'ral strikes in Thailand,

Since ending monarchy in thirty-two,
Thailand's had the gamut,
Mil'tary rule to moc-democracy,
Leading to today's confused government,

Led by the sis of ex-leader Thaksin,
Who mil'tary did end,
Now saving her 'gainst calls o'er TV by,
Ex-deputy PM

Khun Thaugsuban.
Now riots in the street,
Are fought with tear gas and water cannons,
'Til either c'rruption's or c'rruption's defeat.

An Honduran Election

Election time again,
In the cocaine turnstile!
Aft' the two oh nine controversial coup,
There's more to make you smile,

After inexplicable silent hours,
Smack mid 'lection updates,
Honduras claimed an irr'versible trend,
The National Party holds the mandate.

The wife of ousted Zalaya, Castro,
Once leading Hernandez,
Lost to him and election observers,
Have issued no comment.

Who really lost?
The Honduran people,
E'en now mired in vi'lence and corruption,
Democracy here's been pretty feeble.

Lands In Dispute

If you're in an airplane,
China's declaration,
You have to answer a couple questions,
Or risk annihilation.

If you're over the Diaoyu Islands,
An area they've named,
East China Sea Air Defense ID Zone,
So its state sovereignty is maintained.

But Japan also claims these islands theirs!
They call it Senkaku,
Both asked U.N.C.L.O.S for it,
In nineteen eighty-two.

What will happen?!
From war they both won't hide,
Over this gas-rich sea bed between them,
And symbol of nationalistic pride.

Help From The Storm

Your heart has to go out,
T'the Philippine islands,
Slammed by devastating Typhoon Haiyan,
The worst hit is Tacloban,

Power went out and the estimates said,
That one hundred were dead,
Then that increased to one thousand had died,
Now thousands and thousands estimated.

Homes destroyed and many people displaced,
This is what Nature does,
We spend time waging war against ourselves,
Like She belongs to us,

But She doesn't,
We're all at Nature's whim,
We would do good to remember this fact,
And save for international helpin'

No Real Anger At Spying Allies

Let's just all be honest,
It's really no secret,
That all countries spy on ev'ry other.
You take what you can get,

In relation to your abilities.
So when the wall's thin, your ear's pressed to it,
You peak at my email,
Just 'cause you can do it.

The only reason countries are "angry",
Is to pretend they don't,
Also practice this nefarious act,
So the public don't know.

Plus, they all talk,
Germ'ny's slap's a nudge, too,
Saying, "let's just get through this discomfort,
Then get back to doing what countries do."

A New Place On The Map

They're eighty-nine more towns,
'Til the Olympic Torch,
Makes it to southern city Volgograd,
Where a bus has been scorched,

By an Islamist suicide bomber,
The video's online,
From a group led by Doku Umarov,
A Chechnyan rebel with a thousand lives,

Who has lifted a moratorium,
On attacks on Russia,
In order to disrupt the Sochi games.
Now you wonder, donchya,

Why, when you think,
Of the world map these days,
Do countries appear and then disappear,
Based on the violence and deaths that's been staged?

Who Has Time To Worry?

Have you seen the pictures?!
The smog's thick as pea soup,
In the Heilongjiang province town Harbin,
Poor Beijing's had a coup.

It's news like this that puts into perspective,
How fucked up the world is,
If there weren't genocide and famine,
All decent folk would be incredulous.

But a person has to choose his battles,
Well, many have no choice,
It is hard to decry the sky falling,
When the state took your voice,

Or killed your child,
Or foreclosed on your home,
Add human desire to make sense of life,
Most just want the news to leave them alone.