World affairs never trouble this column, so here is the exception that proves the rule.

All of us, or at least the vast majority, have been subjected to chilling reports elbowing their way into our living rooms. Tough news to watch has always been there, but right now there seems to be a torrent of the grim and the gruesome.

It can’t just be me who listens in bewilderment as the gun lobby in America defends putting any weapon – let alone an Uzi sub machine gun – into the hands of a nine-year-old. Seconds later the girl accidentally shot the instructor dead. The website boasts: “At our range, you can shoot FULL auto on our machine guns. Let ‘em Rip! That should obviously be, “Let them R.I.P.”

I know it isn’t just me who has been outraged by the killing of 2,101 Palestinians in Gaza, 1,460 were civilians, of whom 493 were children and 253 women. Hearing a leading Israeli say, “what can we do?” as Hamas continued to fire rockets, all I could think was: stop the bombs, that’s what you can do.

Sixty-four Israeli’s soldiers have died and seven civilians from Hamas rockets and mortars. No one wins.

At the time of writing, the ceasefire was at least holding. I understand the arguments, I can’t understand Palestinian children playing football being murdered by Israeli shelling.

There’s no room here to properly debate Gaza, but I’m sure every bomb is a recruiting sergeant for Hamas and the onslaught is self-defeating.

Israelis have a right not to be attacked. It is also wrong to blame Jewish people in this country for the actions of the Israeli state. War mongers on both sides are responsible for the death toll, with the heaviest price paid by the innocent. For that, ultimately there is no excuse.

As with other Liberal Democrats, I was against the war in Iraq. Opening Pandora’s box in the Middle East made a very bad situation worse. Murderous thugs flying under the barbaric banner of Islamic State, bolstered by recruits from this country, are now on a blood-soaked rampage. The beheading of American photo-journalist James Foley by a brainwashed British psychopath gave us a video postcard from hell.

One woman speaking about the onslaught asked what century are we living in as these medieval, social media-loving lunatics destroy anyone unwilling to convert to their “religion”.

Having in one breath wished for peace, here I find myself cheering American air strikes. It’s a mad world.

As if all of this were not worrying enough, President Putin, that great democrat, is playing Russian roulette with the Ukraine. Bad lad, Vlad. I’m hardly in a position to tap the powerful on the shoulder and give them the benefit of my opinion, but all of us have a right to a view.