Nobel Peace Prize

Another unwise choice. Barack Obama in time may well merit the prize but now is not the time. The committee have a poor record. Too much politics. They gave the prize to some pretty warlike folks - Winston Churchill, David Trimble, Le Duc Tho and Henry Kissinger. Only once had they the insight to withold the prize. They need a fresh shot in the arm and start again. No world leaders might be a useful starting point!

Iraq Inqury

UK is flagellating itself with an inquiry into the Iraq war. Usual suspects in evidence. Most tragically are the relatives etc of soldiers killed there, being interviewed daily on why they are attending - to ensure that this sort of thing never happens again, prevent others from suffering as we have suffered etc. These are the self same families who perhaps permitted or encouraged their children to become soldiers in the first place. What did they think soldiering was like? The journalists covering the event have not the initiative to ask any of the families if their intense interest might not be connected in some way to the possibility that the inquiry report might provide some ammunition in a future claim for damages. This issue to my eye actually dominates the motives of lots of folks who are involved in unsavoury events but journalists will never ask the question!

Elections

You may live in a country where you get to vote. How useful is voting? At present not very. One successful politician in my country said that if voting changed anything they would abolish it! A bit harsh but I could go with "if voting changed anything important ..."
Where to start. Firstly we don't get to vote very often. How does that work? Basically an antiquated system from a time when events moved at snails pace. I want to vote several times a day. I want government to be open and responsive to my views. And so I imagine do you. And we can. Watch this space.
At elections we get to vote i constituencies which are geographical. Why? I have a few issues in common with my local neighbours and these are mostly dealt with by local government. On a bigger scale I have more in common with folks all over the place who share my age, my background, my employment, my interests, my attitudes etc.. That is how we should vote.
At elections we mostly just get to vote for folks in political parties. That needs  to change. We need in government people who listen to the electors and who don't give their influence to a political agenda. Why don't I get regular e-mails from my elected representative asking my opinion? Because he/she is not interested in my view unless at election time.

Messy

Life is messy and anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong. Most messy is politics. Politics is the essential unending process which determines how we get along with one another and it is currently broken. Here's the problem - political parties. They are destroying politics. Think about this. In democracies we are allowed to vote and appoint a representative government. It doesn't happen. Everyone who is elected and the vast majority of folks who govern us are in a political party whereas the vast majority of us the voters are not members of political parties. Government is not representative. Also - folks who join political parties are not like the rest of us. These are people who check in their individuality at the desk. They buy into a package of ideas and they vote along party lines. We need to curtail the power of political parties and restore the power to you and me and that vast majority of folk who are not in a party.
Fortunately the solution is staring us in the face, you as you read this and me as I write. The internet will give us all access to decision making. A bit of tweaking and we can have open source government. More to follow - watch this space.