You have to admit, we live in strange times. Although that thought has probably been expressed throughout human history, based on my six decades on this planet, these are at least “stranger times.”
A man hijacked an EgyptAir flight a couple of days ago. While an airplane hijacking is not unusual, you would think after the bombing of the Russian airplane flying out of Egypt last October, Egyptian authorities would have extra-cautious security. The man boarded the plane wearing a “bomb vest” that turned out to be a fake. But no one knew that at the time. However, his reason for taking over the plane and flying to Cyprus was not political; he just wanted to see his ex-wife.
Though that is pretty bizarre, one of the hijacker’s captives convinced the hijacker to pose for a picture together, which has gone viral.
This is a political year, with presidential elections not only in the Philippines but also in the US. However, Brazil’s government is falling apart with the standing president ready to be impeached for corruption, even as the country will host the Olympics in August. The United Kingdom will vote in June to leave the European Union—the most important politico-economic merger in history—after 43 years. There have been over 500 terrorist attacks already this year, killing approximately 5,300, with nearly 7,000 injured. In response to the recent bombings in Belgium, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “I strongly condemn today’s deplorable terrorist attacks in Brussels.” However, prior to the attack, he had posted on Twitter, “If you kill your enemies, they win.” Presumably, if Trudeau’s enemies kill him, then he is a winner.
Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said after the recent bombings in Belgium, Pakistan and Turkey that “spreading love can help combat ISIS attacks.” Of course, Zuckerberg’s house is protected by 16 heavily armed bodyguards apparently to “spread love.”
There is a pattern of political turning points, through whatever means, of about 300 years. These change the world. Going back to 1707, we find the creation of Great Britain and the UK through the parliamentary Acts of Union. In 1400 the House of Medici became powerful in Florence, Italy, and gave rise to the great mercantile and modern banking systems of Europe and the world. The War of the Spanish
Succession, at the same time, ended France’s dominance of Europe, allowing other governments to flourish. The Battle of Hastings in 1066 ended the Anglo-Saxon rule of the British Isles and gave rise to the French from Normandy, and kept the Scandinavian people as only a minor power thereafter.
The Battle of Tours in 732 ended the advance of Islam into Western Europe and established a balance of power between Western Europe, Islam and the Byzantine Empire. Some 300 years earlier, Emperor of Rome Constantine the Great legalized Christianity and unified all the major Christian doctrines at the First Council of Nicaea.
Maybe this cycle stuff is all nonsense. But these cited events changed a long-standing global trend, altered the subsequent course of the world and still shape events today.
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