Headlines Study Reveals Christmas “Checking It Twice” Omission.

By Jerry Alatalo

“No one is fool enough to choose war instead of peace. For in peace sons bury fathers, but war violates the order of nature, and fathers bury sons.” 

– HERODOTUS (485-425 B.C.) Greek historian, “father of history”

hey’re making their lists … and checking them twice. The familiar lyrics from the classic Christmas song “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” came to mind when reading only headlines of posts published in the last 24 hours at  WordPress reader. What became apparent while engaged in reading the headlines was the remarkable absence of one single but ultimately vital word.

While not taking anything away from the men and women who published the many genuinely important articles, it might prove a positive action to consider or reflect upon what’s left out of the article titles, and what that omission – certainly unintentional and innocent – illustrates about the current state of world affairs.

It’s been the cardinal sin at Christmas to open presents early, so, follow the rules to avoid positioning yourself in the “naughty” category. Without “cheating” by scrolling to the bottom where we disclose the word remarkably absent considering the time of year – and its great significance for such a large segment of humanity – read through the following moderately extensive list of post titles, and during that education-in-itself process think on what’s missing.

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1. The Information-Industrial Complex
2. Israeli Soldiers Arrest 16-year Old Ahed Tamimi and Her Mother
3. Macron Upset That Assad Claims France Has Supported Terrorists in Syria
4. Analyst Dismisses White House Claims Pyongyang Behind WannaCry
5. US War on ISIS the Biggest Lie Since 2003 Iraq Invasion: Here’s the Proof
6. No Health Care for Migrant-Women Healthcare Givers
7. Key Facts You Should Know About Global Migration Trends
8. UN Rights Chief Calls for Independent Probe into Israel Forces ‘Shocking’ Shooting of Amputee
9. US ‘Will Be Taking Names’ During UNGA Vote on Jerusalem Move, Envoy Haley Warns
10. Almayadeen: 2017 Days
11. Shadow Economy, Democracy and the Manipulation of Public Opinion
12. Ansarullah Leader: You Bomb Sanaa, We’ll Bomb Riyadh, Abu Dhabi
13. Veil Bans in the European Court of Human Rights
14. PSI Spies – A Different Kind of Dark Web?
15. Gaining Wisdom
16. Will Nikki Haley Get Her Iran War?
17. Saudi Blockade of Yemen Violates US Law: Trump Nominee
18. Notes From Catalonia on the Eve of Tomorrow’s Elections
19. The Power of Music and Emotions
20. When Washington Cheered the Jihadists
21. Child of Woe, Child of Wonder
22. Ahed Tamimi … A Child Who Is Not
23. ‘None of This Was Worth It’: Up To 11,000 Civilians Killed in Battle to Free Mosul, AP Probe Reveals
24. The Multi-ring Spectacular
25. Afghan Ghani Takes On the ‘King of the North’
26. Record Renewables Growth in 2017 as New Global Solar, Wind Installations Are Projected to Hit Near 175 GW
27. AEMO Plans for Future (Clean) Grid, With No Mention of Base-load
28. Tesla Big Battery Outsmarts Lumbering Coal Units After Loy Yang Trips
29. The Further Unraveling of Adani’s Carmichael Coal Project
30. NSW Coal Fleet Feels the Heat, With State at Risk of ‘System Black’
31. Turnbull’s Big Climate Fail, and No Positive Change in Policy
32. Dynamics of Nuclear Power Policy in the Post-Fukushima Era
33. Fukushima Radioactive Contamination: Children Nosebleed While Asleep and In Daytime, Especially After Playing in Sand
34. ARENA Says Renewables Could Be Australia’s Next Great Export
35. Time to Unlock Solar and Storage for Everyone in NSW
36. Victoria Regulator Proposes 29c/kWh Solar Export Tariff in Peak Period
37. Another Mini-grid Breakthrough for AusNet in Suburban Melbourne Trial
38. $30 Million for Farmers to Manage on Farm Energy
39. BHP to Exit World Coal Association Over Differences in Climate and Energy Policy
40. Anti-Adani Activists Set Their Sights on ALP
41. Labor and Greens Slam Coalition Climate Review
42. In Latin America the Pendulum Swings to the Right
43. We Need to Change the Culture of Christmas
44. Australian Government’s Hugely Disappointing Climate Policy Review
45. How to Skip the Small Talk and Connect With Anyone
46. Radium Girls
47. America Recognize Terrorism Risk of Nuclear Research Reactors (Like the One at Lucas Heights)
48. Paul Street: We Live in an Abject Authoritarian Plutocracy
49. Netherlands Waking Up to the Huge Cost of Running Research Reactor (Like the One at Lucas Heights)
50. Syrian Aid Money: Did British Police Keep Charity Cash Seized From Convoys?
51. Syrian Army Rolls Into Idlib With Weapons Captured From ISIS
52. Taxpayer Crutches for the Nuclear Industry
53. Malcolm Turnbull’s Silence on the Nobel Prize Win – He Is An International Embarrassment
54. The House Just Stripped Medical Marijuana States of DEA Protection – Tell the Senate to Act!
55. ISIS Raids Village Behind US-backed Forces Lines in East Syria, Slaughters Civilians
56. Historic! Norway’s Parliament Votes to Decriminalize All Drugs
57. Climate Refugees – This Humanitarian Disaster is Already Upon the World
58. Musta’ribeen, Israel’s Agents Who Pose as Palestinians
59. Leading Stanford Scientist Builds Incredible Net Zero Home, Complete With Tesla Powerwall
60. ‘Terrorists Don’t Arm Themselves With Bananas’ – Busting the Nuclear Lobby’s Dishonest Spin
61. 20 Companies Pledge to Phase Out Coal
62. The Saga of Kim Dotcom, or How New Zealand is Merely America’s Lapdog
63. Sighting. The Snowflake Photographer
64. I Don’t Know How to Explain to You That You Should Care About Other People
65. The Google-Facebook Duopoly Threatens Diversity of Thought
66. Call to Action: Write New Zealand Politicians and Demand They #FreeBrendon O’Connell
67. What Is the Guardian Afraid of When Attacking Honest Syria Reporters?
68. White Helmets in Syria: Some Questions for Our Government
69. Trump’s Grandstanding on National Security Could End in Tragedy
70. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg: ‘The Tax Bill is an Economically Indefensible Blunder’
71. Yes, America, There is a Class War, and You Just Lost it
72. Canada’s National Sovereignty: America’s Plan to Annex and Invade Canada
73. Ahed Tamimi Arrested After Slapping Israeli Soldier
74. 76 UN Members Abstain & 26 Vote Against as Crimea Human Rights Resolution Passes
75. The Other Side of the Post’s Katharine Graham
76. For Each Child Who’s Born…
77. The Pressure Towards Larger Societal Aggregates Controlling Smaller Nation-States
78. Remembering Lockerbie (Dec 21, 1988) – The Saga of PanAm 103 Told by the People Themselves
79. French Public Activists Demand RT France’s Broadcasting License Be Revoked
80. To Be a Latin-American Migrant in Madrid
81. The State of the Empire in the Age of Trumpism
82. A Winter Night’s Vigil
83. US Drone Strikes Double in Somalia, Triple in Yemen Under Trump Administration: Report
84. People Who Caused the Violence in Venezuela Awarded Human Rights Prize
85. UN Report Uncovers Israel’s Support for Terrorist Organizations in Syria
86. Such an Idiot, Boris Johnson Attacks Russia Before Moscow Visit
87. Conflict Causing Spikes in Food Insecurity in Near East and North Africa
88. What Was Verifiably Great About America: Fragments of a Memoir Set to a Musical Soundtrack
89. The Huffington Post: Americans Must Hear the Other, Hopeful Side of the Venezuelan Story
90. Syrian-Iraqi War Report – December 20, 2017: Iran Deploys Reinforcements On Syria-Iraq Border
91. 1,000 Days of Saudi War on Yemen
92. Three Nobel Prize Winners Calculated the Genetic Damage of Nuclear Energy
93. Republican Tax Plan Opens Backdoor to School Vouchers
94. We’re Witnessing the Wholesale Looting of America, It’s Smash-and-Grab Time for the GOP
95. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: At 84, Where Does She Get Her PEP (Progressive Except Palestine)?
96. Family Farmers are Going Extinct, Parity Can Bring Them Back Via Living Wage
97. Pyongyang Rejects Biological Weapons Rumors, Accuses US of Fabricating Pretext for Attack
98. Suspected Cholera Cases in Yemen Reach 1 Million: ICRC
99. Trump’s Approval of Lethal Arms to Ukraine Is Sideways Move to Nowhere
100. The Recent Guardian Whitewash of the White Helmets is More Sinister Than We Realize
101. Bullies of a Feather Play Together
102. Trump to Delay Signing Tax Bill So Devastating Impacts Aren’t Felt Until After Midterms
103. India Stands By Russia as US Crosses ‘Red Line’ in Ukraine
104. Puerto Rican Governor Vows to Unseat House GOP in 14 States For Raising His Island’s Taxes
105. Buyers Still Think Electric Cars Cost More Than Gas Cars: They’re Wrong
106. Out of Control: Nikki Haley’s UN Rant
107. What to Do, What to Do?
108. White Helmets: The Guardian Protects UK FCO Destabilization Project in Syria
109. 128 Countries Vote in Favor of UN Call for US to Withdraw Jerusalem Decision
110. Al-Houthi to Saudi Civilians: Keep Away From Target Areas!
111. UN Votes to Condemn Trump’s Jerusalem Decision
112. The Case Against Iraqing Iran by David Swanson

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The word “peace” is nowhere to be found. What does this simple observation offer by way of instruction, deeper meaning or teaching, particularly with regard to collective goals, thinking on solutions and/or vision(s) for the future? Were they asked if peace was #1, top-of-the-list and their greatest wish for humanity, undoubtedly each man and woman who created these post titles and their contents would immediately answer “yes” or “most certainly”.

It’s safe to say that virtually every man, woman and child on Earth wants an end to unnecessary and profoundly harmful wars and violence. So what explains the phenomenon of reluctance to focus intensely to the maximum extent possible, to speak and write in ways directly referring to “peace”?

Would it be perhaps perceived as out-of-line, too critical or overly bold, or the inverse – conducive for facilitation of increased energy, positivity and uplift – to suggest another, closer, Christmas-metaphorical look at “the list”? Perhaps doing so will result in rediscovery of what is the most truly important potential gift of them all, and the remembering that efforts in the cause of peace represent the highest noble aspiration in this world.

Blessed are the peacemakers. May we take the opportunity to convey our best wishes for a Merry – and peaceful – Christmas to all.