A new year...

I am not sure if I am going to graduate into a real "blogger" now in 2011. However it would seem that I am not quite giving up!

First blogworthy thought of the year - about the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords in the US: to blame or not to blame.

I am no fan of conservative Republicanism and even less so of Tea Party Republicanism. Sarah Palin, well the less said the better. Are they to blame for the shooting? Well of course not to blame, directly. Haven't American commentators learnt yet that life is complicated? One big stew of where you come from, what you've done, what you're doing.

So let's just say that their rhetoric and not to mention constant use of war-imagery did not help. Yes, Glenn Beck, dear - you are not (in my opionion) contributing to make your country a safer, better place through your words. No, really.

You just cannot be surprised if this sort of thing happens when there is nothing in your rhetoric which would signal to any would-be shooter that it is not okay. And there has not been (until now? A bit late, no?).

So no, you may be not be blame per se, but you have a responsibility in what happened, you and all your cronies. Yes, Sarah that would be you too.

If you think that people's right to carry a gun is so important, it would be helpful if you thought it was equally important that they still respect life and even respect that people may have other views, but this does not make them less worthy of living. I assume you agree with that?

There is a tragic irony in the death of an 11-year old girl who was born on September 11th, 2001 and who dies in such circumstances. Al-Qaeda and their cronies are not the only danger to Americans. Such killings seem to becoming quite common in the American way of life as well.

On reflection am wondering why I, non-American that I am, can have such opinions about you guys? Because the entire country of the US is reality-tv for the rest of us. This was not a good episode and we would prefer if it were not repeated.