‘Twas the Week Before New Year’s

‘Twas the week before New Year’s

And all ‘cross the globe,

It was time to review the

The news that was told.

The year started brightly on 20th Jan

For a new pres to realize his pledge: Yes, we can!

Across the sea, the news was not always so bright.

Wild fires in Australia burnt into the night.

There was mayhem in Bangkok in shirts red and yellow!

All ’cause of Thaksin – what a scandalous fellow!

Oil tankers were hit by pirates at sea!

Plunder’s Somalia’s growth industry!

When out in Sri Lanka there arose such a clatter!

Prabhakaran’s dead – the Tamil Tigers were shattered!

Iran’s students used Twitter, their regime to rebuke.

Ahmadinejad carried on with his covert nukes.

In June, the world shook with one giant gasp!

Michael Jackson, King of Pop, had suddenly passed.

US troops in Iraq may finally recede

Having been sent in to find fake WMD.

Letterman and Tiger – there’s sex in the headlines!

But Polanski’s the one to face serious jail time!

There was never a shortage of  dumb tabloid chatter.

Jon and Kate and Balloon Boy  – as if these things matter.

But my favorite fun story continues to be

The insane UN speech by M Qaddafi!

Obama won the Nobel for speeches that soar

While he also ramped up the Afghanistan war!

(The Prez has a long list of wins not yet won.

What the hell did you do to my public option?)

The world’s still a mess, with problems to tame 

One final moment to call some by name:

On Pyongyang, on Burma, on Pak – a failed state?

Let’s stop global warming, before it’s too late!

On Zimbabwe, on Mexico, on al-Qaeda terror

Please, won’t you realize your philosophy’s in error?

On Congo, on Israel and Palestine, too

If they ever fix that one – ohmygod – what a coup!

Darfur’s still a nightmare, with a long way to go,

And what about closing Guantanamo?

That’s enough for the moment, I’ll put down my pen –

Except to wish everyone

A peaceful 2010!