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While most of us have been knee-deep in holiday preparations, the world has been moving right along in its own curious way. Here are some of the strange and disturbing news items you may have missed in the past couple of weeks. A Texas seventh grader was told to cover up his "offensive" Star Wars T-shirt at school because it depicted a Storm Trooper holding a gun. Not a gun that exists in the real world, mind you, but still "a symbol oriented toward violence." This minor incident was covered by hundreds of news outlets, possibly because it exposes some of the confusion and hypocrisy of the gun control debate. It is worth noting that in just a couple of days, Texans will be able to carry real handguns quite openly into most public places. Still in Texas, and the Lone Star state once again led the way in US executions. In 2015, 28 convicted prisoners were put to death - almost half of these (13) were in Texas. The barbaric practice is in severe decline elsewhere in America, with those 28 killings representing the lowest total since 1991. Likewise, death sentences handed down (49) hit a decades-long low and only six states actually got around to putting someone to death - the fewest for 27 years. I think it is important for America to show leadership on this issue and do away with capital punishment once and for all. A little moral high-ground may be useful in dealing with cruelties doled out elsewhere. In Iran, for instance, the number of those executed in 2015 may exceed 1200, while in Pakistan more than 300 prisoners have been hanged in the 12 months since the Peshawar massacre. Saudi Arabia has also hit a 20 year-high in public executions - more than 150 men and women have been beheaded in 2015. Those are ISIS-like numbers. The biggest news stories of the year have been the war in Syria and the refugee crisis, but many people still remain alarmingly ignorant about the details. This has been highlighted in a humorous way by surveys suggesting that almost one third of Republican voters would support the bombing of Agrabah, while almost half of Democrats surveyed say they would accept refugees from the same place. All well and good, except that Agrabah is located not in Syria, but in the realm of Disney's "Aladdin".