Drawing Lines with Blood

The world stage is going through some brotherly love issues. As if reflecting modern society's global issues, a new family "saga" has been launched on fast-becoming-a-production company Netflix - Bloodline. It struggles against a backdrop of emotional discord, anionic intertwined family relationships and some fantastic slow-burn character destruction. The cause of all the tension and ultimate tragedy? historical trauma and hidden secrets. If people would finally learn that only by paying attention to the experiences of our elders, avoiding human instinct to err on the side of base hatreds and truthfully engaging deep-rooted obstacles, brings future enlightenment.

Current world issues are littered with historical miscalculations. High-stakes ones at that, with renewed Israel-US tensions, Iranian discussions coming to "do-or-die" status, Russian transgressions forcing even Putin into hiding for over a week (did he become a Daddy? Hair-transplant? Plug-in to an electricity supply to recharge?), Sino-Indian power-plays, tedious yet potentially volatile Grexit possibility (just go already so we can holiday in cheap Drachma) and general income disparity leading to even more outburst of violent reaction in developed and supposedly mature nations. Seems only Apple is living up to its religious reputation and becoming a nation-force unto itself, with a no-doubt-soon-to-be-reached $1trn valuation and global reach more powerful than ISIS's attempts to dominate the Twittersphere!

The mistakes of the recent past are hopefully somewhat rectified with the news of a breakthrough in the Iranian talks. Opening up a once thriving and commercially driven nation, in the midst of a spoilt collection of GCC states that over-emphasise the allure of material trappings consequent with youthful riches, brings only positive repercussions from a historically deeply cultured civilisation. Hope is the intelligentsia of Iran sideline the hardline cleric "leadership" and rise to the forefront of the new challenge "normalisation" of relations with a keen US will bring. It cannot be anything but promising that a land where minorities are treated with utmost respect and even represented democratically (the Jewish community is an intrinsic part of Persian land and sits in Parliament) will balance worrying signs of extremism in other quarters where leaders tell their people to beware of the "Arabs voting in droves" - yes you Bibi..Israel's self-destructive PR disaster-man. Let the seismic change begin.

Lines in the sand are shifting out of sheer natural retribution. Unfortunately plenty of blood is being shed and used to draw such lines. Some say this is nothing new, we are simply more aware of every geopolitical "tragedy", with instant social media distribution empowering the media watching masses. That doesn't make it any less regrettably horrendous to witness. Others believe our overly materialistic modern-living obsessions are causing a loss of spiritual understanding. We are not grounded. We are not honest about what is important in life and we may be hurtling towards some deeply dark and worrying times.  Not necessarily, only if we blindly walk towards disaster.

Fixing mistakes of the past is a US necessity. Afghanistan, North/South Korea, former Yugosloavia, Iraq, Yemen, Iran and on and on. So much of what was done in the dire needy times of the battle against Communism has brought modern headache and saddening loss of life. A smart young Frenchman (Touqueville) once declared "when the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness" - unlike Netflix's well-crafted drama, this is real-life on a global scale. The time for sleep-walkers to be jolted into reality and face the consequences of their actions is long overdue.

Civilisation "Clash" is like Bullfighting...

The atrocities of last week, combined with the widely discussed political and idealogical fall-out, have provided ample opportunity for historical analysis of what some are heralding as the "new civilisation clash".

Whether any flimsy sense of good (unlikely) may come of the brutal and totally unacceptable assault on Europe's misplaced notion of cultural integration, fusing disparate and economically varied backgrounds, one thing is for sure: if amidst a few hundred bulls, one stands in the middle waving a red flag not expecting at least one of those bulls (either out of ignorance, scheming manipulation, desperation inducing economic hardship) to eventually charge with all its impulsive might, they have not fully understood the basic element that no matter what the majority may say, do or imply, it unfortunately naturally occurs that there is always one over-sensitive and aggressively charged individual that will react.

The shock of all that has occurred in real-time media coverage of the last week will now take us on a path of inward analytical soul-searching, plenty of talk of "real integration" and well-intended attempts to separate the radicalised from the merely religious. I wish all those that find themselves in a position of influence and power to take an objective view of what has befallen a (once sleep-walking into disaster) nation. Recognise the need for concerted efforts to truly bring about a melting-pot of cultures, where all feel welcome. Open a dialogue that is not merely reactionary but addresses the very core of the issues that led to one of Paris's own rejecting the code of the European way of life, trembling an entire continental people into believing there is a war of civilisations on the horizon.

There is no such war looming if rational and interpretive minds prevail. Give people the ability to create their own paths to a decent lifestyle without forgetting they have different religious beliefs. Ensure those beliefs and lifestyles are part of the framework of what your very own culture invokes, yet be prepared for assimilation and growth, as your own past clearly indicates. Separate the need of the masses from the need of the one.

There will be repercussions throughout 2015..we shall do our best to follow here. 

Marley's Meliorism

Disgusting...this mindless and no-end-in-sight hatred killing in the Middle East is deeply disturbing, depressing and in total contravention of all we are trying to achieve in many parts of the rest of this great world we must share - peaceful and cohesive living side-by-side for the eventual realisation that we are all but hurtling towards one unified and inevitable mortal end..must we truly exaggerate the shortened time and despair that awaits many of us by enraging our inner souls against those that do not believe in what we believe, effecting pain, sorrow and unnecessary hardship? Uggghhh..so frustrating when for but just a moment's pause..one sane period of thought..a quick count-to-ten...and so much might be different.

The violence on display across Jerusalem in the last few weeks has not made the headlines until today - there have been tit-for-tat killings on either side, as tensions mount over the future of what are some of the holiest sites to all three of Christians, Muslims and Jews - a flammable trio in any scenario, let alone in a claustrophobically cramped and historically irrational hilly town. The horrific attacks perpetrated by all sides in the run-up to today's shocking killing during Jewish prayers by distraught and revenge-bound Palestinians, possibly the spark of countless unfortunate and most likely futile deaths to come. Easy for us to sit here and wonder at the calm and capitalist grandeur of environments such as London and New York, nibbling at the charity self-fulfilling events to placate the uneasy feeling that we really should be doing more, donating to the likes of BBC's Children In Need extravaganza, downloading Band Aid's 30yr anniversary "Do They Know It's Christmas" (probably just to get Bob Geldof of our backs) and other altruistically intended motions, aiding to satiate the nagging feeling for just long enough that we've done our part to make an orphan's life easier, prevented Ebola spreading or brought a smile to someone, somewhere..desperately in need of one. Nothing can replace getting out there physically (as someone I know impressively did last week) and helping for real though... not even writing about it on an eloquent blog!

There is a word that I recently learnt (yes, even those above the age of 35 can be taught new tricks) "Meliorism" - meaning a belief that the world tends to improve and that humans can aid its betterment. Excuse me? If only..sorry but any cursory look at our current state of affairs would superbly and indubitably turn a MeliorISm into a MeliorISN'T. If only there was some way to make the masses realise once and for all, away from the clutches of overzealous and deceptively selfish religious "leaders", that there is a far greater and insofar narrowly recognised or deciphered reason for our presence on this green land - even Hollywood gets closer than most in expressing this, the recent megablockbuster Interstellar (nope..I haven't seen it yet...and yep..I must be the only one left that hasn't..will rectify soon..allow me to use for creative purposes anyway please), portraying a unified race leaving its troubles behind in pursuit of solving slightly larger issues. Crazy isn't it?...Hollywood actually making us think. A little closer to reality, yet still using space to elicit wonder and stoke ambition, a brief example of what the greater characters (scientists) of humanity may achieve was expressed with the landing of a probe on a comet for the first time in our shoddy and violent history (likened to landing a fly on a speeding bullet - incredible!). Sadly, even that great feat suffered a bumpy landing and for now we've lost contact with the probe..however none of this achievement's profound sense of progress and congratulations have lost communication with every young child watching in awe, briefly being reminded what marvels may await their futures. Truly inspiring.

In the midst of all this darkness, an announcement that Bob Marley's estate have entered into an agreement with a private equity firm to launch the world's first global Marijuana brand.."Marley Natural"..promoting the number one historical and recognisable connoisseur of what he used to call "God's herb", rapidly becoming legal retail fodder across large swathes of the US (70% of the US population now live in a state where Marijuana may be legally acquired) tapping into the, for now, $200bn illicit sales market..ching ching those first growers. Apparently stir-it-up-Bob embraced the herb as it was written in the Bible....ok..I retract what I said about useless religious leadership above! 

Jokes aside, a little more smoking herbs and less smoking guns would help make an incredible difference to the lives of many across some of the more "frustrated" parts of the world...the immortal words of the herb man himself would be well-repeated.."One Love".

Fight the Fear

Ironically fitting for the horror-themed weekend that Halloween unleashes upon the Western world, the sad news of the fatal crash suffered by Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, the death of a crew member jarring into focus the sheer audacity and danger of the attempt to bring space travel to the masses, is not only a reminder of the importance of such endeavours but also helps recognise that there are those out there taking risks, pushing boundaries to the limit and ensuring man continues to strive forward, all in the name of innovation and our inherent desire to explore the further reaches of our capabilities.

This extremely unfortunate occurrence should not stop Branson and his team from continuing to do what they dream to accomplish. It is because of risk-takers like Branson and those pushing themselves at the risk of death that we can stand proud as a race and take heart that we are never content with what we have achieved - other great modern-day pioneers taking "moon-shots" (see previous articles) such as Larry Page of Google fame, Elon Musk electrifying us all with his cool cars and increasing numbers of tech entrepreneurs-turned-philanthropic-explorers, add to the delight of continual achievement and a refusal to accept the status quo. No, rather than be frightened to continue, or cowed into pulling back the scale of such projects, now is the time to push on and make proud the memories of those that sacrifice for such undertakings. Fight the fear. Onwards and upwards.

Central Bankers working both-ends-of-the-monetary-easing-candle may be impressive to some (yes, the Japanese certainly appear heroic at present, unleashing further QE resulting in massive gains for equity markets), yet no one can deny that those hurtling towards the outer reaches of the known Universe or testing the very limits of comprehended aeronautic physics, slightly put those pampered bankers - sitting comfortably in their Uber Luxes as they iPad read whilst shuttling from conference to conference - to immeasurable shame!

On a Halloween weekend where the spiritual, pagan and now incredibly commercialised-collide..when exactly did FOMO of trick-or-treat take over London??..the horrors of such set-backs on projects capable of taking us to the next step of an ongoing tech-revolution...imagine flying through the stratosphere from London to Los Angeles in 3hours!..yes, that's what Virgin Galactic will ultimately try to achieve..allow us to once again re-evaluate the truly important from the simply fleetingly entertaining. If man had shied away from reaching beyond the comfort zone in the face of fatal adversity, we would likely not enjoy the fruits of all that surrounds us, all too easily now taken for granted. Who 100yrs ago would have imagined you could zoom across the skies from Singapore to Los Angeles in safety and comfort? Will we look back fondly 50yrs from now and pity those earlier travellers that had to sit for endless hours before reaching their destination, replaced by a literally a short 'hop' across Continents. Who knows what the future holds? The future is indeed a mystery yet what is known for sure, is that without sacrifice and seemingly 'bonkers' visionaries, we are doomed to the death-knell of mediocre satisfaction. 

As we dance and ghoul our way through a plethora of fancy-dress costumes…thank you ladies for all those lovely She-Devil Bikinis..take a moment to think and reflect on how far we have come from those original pagan festival days, where we believed a flat-Earth was the centre of the Universe, realise that without risk-takers and the perennially adventurous, we would probably still be howling at the moon.

Walk of Life

As some luckily walk around oblivious to the darker side of current events, you really have to wonder just what exactly is wrong with parts of Western civilisation at the moment? - priorities, moral and ethical reasoning, recognition of truly life-changing and incredibly monumental discoveries are seemingly brushed aside and derogated for the fulgent machinations of the latest pretty-looking flavour of the month - fine..we all value beauty but should we allow talk of latest "celeb" flings to blind us to more meaningful and truly life-changing innovators, scientists and Noble prize winners - how many of you even paid attention to the clerisy of this year's Nobel awards ceremony?..what's that?..too busy watching the latest MTV music awards you say?..yeah..thought so!

Nicki Minaj gyrating on stage may well be a wonderful sight, but when it overshadows news so mind-bogglingly awesome in terms of what it means for humanity...the sheer endeavour that science, altruistic effort and raw genius of barrier-breaking procedures provide to all on this great Earth...one must pause and inspect their relative surroundings to appreciate what truly matters.

News of a "cure" for paralysis was broken this morning, incredibly pushed to the third or even fourth news item on many of the major media outlets, preferring to lead with the (does anyone really care that much?) sentencing of a convicted murderer (intended or not..Pistorius is still a killer) that happens to have once been a quite well-known international athlete. The irony of the cure for paralysis helping a man to walk once more (incredible!) coming alongside the sentencing of a runner known as the "bionic man"- for the use of his artificial legs replacing those he lost to a birth defect - not lost on the more attuned out there.

Let us all take a moment to think about what this breakthrough really says about us as a people? We have been able to bring back one of the simplest and often taken-for-granted pleasures of being human..the ability to walk and live an independent healthy life. Whenever this is taken from us, be it by natural defect or tragic accident, a fundamental aspect of our evolution from single-celled organism to the wonderful species that now occupies our developed towns and cities, esuriently shopping at WholeFoods, is cruelly expropriated from the realm of human possession. Despite the conversation that may be held centred on allegations of "playing God" and what it means to reverse subjectively viewed as divine occurrences, the sheer audacity of being able to reverse a paralysed person's condition by making use of their own regenerative olfactory cells is enough to lift the souls and capture the attention of even the most fervent two-seconds-attention-span Twitter user - before whoosh...on to the next subject they go. Well...those ingenious scientists and surgeons deserve to take a bow and be recognised for far longer than the attributed applause allowable within 140 characters. 

With tail-ends of storms reaching UK shores and blowing trees down all over leafy-London, volatility in global markets returning with a vengeance, no-clear-end in sight to the troubles across large swathes of western Africa grappling with a frighteningly spreading Ebola epidemic, the only calm port in the storm appears to be Apple's ongoing global..well, richer parts of the global world..iPhone domination. Where are all those profits going one must ask?..$42bn in revenue in three months..wow!..and that's before you even remember an iPhone 6's profit margin is almost 70%.

Yep, you calculated that right..70% of $42bn is indeed over $29bn in PROFIT. In THREE months. Three! Another win for a different type of tech pioneer...after all, who needs man's heroic and truly forever life-changing scientific breakthroughs when that is enough to make any fortunate Apple executive jump straight up out their chair and do a merry dance all the way to the bank! 

and it goes....POP!

Seems the Bubblicious prediction has popped all too true!

Many major markets are down to their lowest levels since summer 2012, with the more telling fear gauge of the Vix..long slumbering through the peaceful rise of the global indices for the last 24mths..now reaching its highest levels not seen since worries dominated of the collapse of the EU!

My how things change so rapidly...Will Alibaba be remembered as the peak of the market (another prediction) where we trusted those wily central bankers and oh-so-trusting-looking financial "experts" that we were past the worst of the economic troubles and gliding towards a golden conclusion of fun, happiness and profitable investments. We will surely ponder the remarkably calm manner in which we dealt with stubbornly high unemployment numbers, fledgling recoveries across the major economies and stuttering growth of the emerging powerhouses (longingly looked at for some respite from the gloom of the OECD), naturally all now claiming to "have seen it all coming". Well guys, unless you wrote it down and published it, as well as stood by your prediction in the face of the naysayers..it does not count..so allow me the "I told you so!"

Volatility in markets is always welcome - it allows those that were not invested to take advantage of temporary mispricings and the swifter of foot to generate some decent returns with high-volume trading (brace yourselves for the fall-out of surely what has been some seriously risky trading by some hedge funds in the last couple of weeks..desperate to justify their infamous, increasingly exorbitant fees of 2 and 20) and all of us to remember just how incredibly important zees Germans really are!...major falls across the indices were accelerated to the now dangerous looking "correction" territory only when Germany's growth figures and export prowess came into question.

As we continue to battle ISIS, deal with the incredible ineptness shown by the powers that be in so far dealing with EBOLA (pray it does not mutate into an airborne contagion)..we will all continue to question whether we really should be shaking hands with someone that presents flu-like symptoms and - if like myself - you should find yourself sitting on a plane whilst sneezing and feeling a little under the weather..not be too insulted when the passenger seated to your right politely makes their way to the back of the plane..ouch. Little do they know of course that, unless you are flying in the hermetically sealed first class cabin on Etihad's new planes, we are all breathing the same air!

Given the state of the rapid fall in global markets, does not seem anyone is coming up far any air at all anytime soon. Yet, hold your breath, disinfect those hands at every opportunity, and get ready to enter a period that presents a fantastic market buying opportunity -  oh doesn’t it feel good to cleanse?!

Plenty more to discuss....

Big Talk, Small Action

Back from an eye-opening and more aptly ear-splitting trip across the U.S. - that happened to coincide with the circus that the UN World Assembly represents, bringing midtown Manhattan to an absolute standstill and making it very annoyingly difficult to grab a Shake Shack burger after dinner on your way home from Nobu on 57th - where a number of charismatic speeches (Obama sure can hit them out of the park) and some more errrmm shall we say..”interesting” presentations made by other leaders (funnily enough always seemed to be the unelected ones..go figure!?) melded into one maelstrom of terrorist bashing, Putin cornering and all-encompassing desire to bring the world together to fight the twin threats of climate change and China - or are those two the same thing?

There will be more to this in the next few days, jet-lag and a number of other dizzying events taking their toll at present, thoughts must be categorised, the peaceful (so far) demonstrations in Hong Kong are of particular concern and awaiting some further conclusive evidence to the effectiveness of the ISIS bombings before passing judgement - could not believe it when the BBC reported on the RAF bombing ONE truck belonging to the world’s most threatening terrorist group - all that parliamentary procedure and procrastination, high-tech weapons at your disposal and a SINGLE truck?..come on!