Some years ago I read that,in the Russian Church, Christmas is a greater festival than Easter, that for them the primary fact of Christianity is the Incarnation of God.
I do not know how true this is, but I was interested to read it. And yesterday, after attending church, one of the little Revoltettes asked me 'what is the meaning of Immanuel?' 'God with us' I replied.
I suppose if we asked everybody what Christmas means to them, they would give a slightly different answer, but for me it is this; Christmas is about God being with us, not just about God walking with me, holding me up, sustaining me, but about God holding up the whole of Creation and sustaining it. God is love, and it is God's love that gives us breath and gives us meaning. God's love is eternal, and to live with God is to live eternally. It is God's love that gives light to the darkness, meaning to the chaos. Without love there is just appetite, self, and death. Without God it is never Christmas and forever a Boxing Day sale.
Friday 26 December 2014
Wednesday 24 December 2014
Robert Southwell - The Burning Babe
As I in hoary winter's night stood shivering in the snow,
Surprised I was with sudden heat which made my heart glow;
And lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near,
A pretty Babe all burning bright did in the air appear;
Who, scorched with excessive heat, such floods of tears did shed,
As though his floods should quench his flames which with his tears were fed.
'Alas!' quoth he, 'but newly born in fiery heats I fry,
Yet none approach to warm their hearts or feel my fire but I.
My faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns;
Love is the fire, and sighs the smoke, the ashes shame and scorn;
The fuel justice layeth on, and mercy blows the coals;
The metal in this furnace wrought are men's defiled souls:
For which I melt into a bath to wash them in my blood.'
With this he vanished out of sight and swiftly shrunk away,
And straight I called unto mind that it was Christmas day.
Surprised I was with sudden heat which made my heart glow;
And lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near,
A pretty Babe all burning bright did in the air appear;
Who, scorched with excessive heat, such floods of tears did shed,
As though his floods should quench his flames which with his tears were fed.
'Alas!' quoth he, 'but newly born in fiery heats I fry,
Yet none approach to warm their hearts or feel my fire but I.
My faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns;
Love is the fire, and sighs the smoke, the ashes shame and scorn;
The fuel justice layeth on, and mercy blows the coals;
The metal in this furnace wrought are men's defiled souls:
For which I melt into a bath to wash them in my blood.'
With this he vanished out of sight and swiftly shrunk away,
And straight I called unto mind that it was Christmas day.
Tuesday 23 December 2014
Reasons Not To Give To Oxfam
Yesterday afternoon I was in the centre of Manchester when I was approached by an employee of the charity business Oxfam. Several hours later, back in my little hovel, there was a knock at the door, and when I answered there stood another employee of the charity business Oxfam.
So, just so they do not need to bother me again, here are 4 good reasons not to give to Oxfam,
1. Only idiots give to the rich. Many Oxfam employees have a vastly greater disposable income than me. Before they give to anybody they are sure to feather their nests first.
2. They take money from governments. Their agenda is dictated by the big bureaucratic interests. They are not independent, rather part of the apparatus of social control.
3. They are racist. They constantly portray Africans as little more than helpless nincompoops, whereas it is Oxfam's masters in government who strive to keep Africa poor.
Also Oxfam are part of the bureaucratic Jew bashing brigade, disguised as anti Israeli, anti Zionism.
4. Their 'charity' is counter productive. It is designed to hide their own selfishness and that of their masters. They promote the lie that 'We' are 'good', helping the helpless. In fact, 'Aid' only drives corruption and leads to dependency. Governments of countries that receive aid feel safe to ignore their populations when services are provided by outsiders. It leaves them free to sell out their countries to foreign governments and multinationals, whilst building up reserves in Swiss bank accounts.
So, just so they do not need to bother me again, here are 4 good reasons not to give to Oxfam,
1. Only idiots give to the rich. Many Oxfam employees have a vastly greater disposable income than me. Before they give to anybody they are sure to feather their nests first.
2. They take money from governments. Their agenda is dictated by the big bureaucratic interests. They are not independent, rather part of the apparatus of social control.
3. They are racist. They constantly portray Africans as little more than helpless nincompoops, whereas it is Oxfam's masters in government who strive to keep Africa poor.
Also Oxfam are part of the bureaucratic Jew bashing brigade, disguised as anti Israeli, anti Zionism.
4. Their 'charity' is counter productive. It is designed to hide their own selfishness and that of their masters. They promote the lie that 'We' are 'good', helping the helpless. In fact, 'Aid' only drives corruption and leads to dependency. Governments of countries that receive aid feel safe to ignore their populations when services are provided by outsiders. It leaves them free to sell out their countries to foreign governments and multinationals, whilst building up reserves in Swiss bank accounts.
Monday 22 December 2014
In Power Or In Office?
In a free society, one that is autonomous and self-regulates, governments are 'in office'. Sad to say, in a modern democracy, governments are 'in power'.
Why is that? Why is democracy just a facade for dictatorship?
Fifty years ago we were a free country, more or less. The press was unregulated, you could speak freely, and it was assumed that you were a responsible adult, once you were over the age of eighteen or twenty one. Our freedom was often attributed to the democratic political process, but in fact this was wrong. In England, freedom came with a representative Parliament and a limited government. The totalitarian concept of democracy came more from Europe and America. English liberties were more of a throwback to the Middle Ages, a holdout against the centralizing tendencies of the European despots.
But now, with liberty all but dead, the democratic state sees fit to adjust your behaviour, to monitor your actions, to limit your faith, to define your very concept of what it means to be human. Children are forced to swallow ideologies of self-loathing and degradation in what passes for education, primed for a hopeless future of debt servitude and sterility. The government is not limited, it is in power. Nothing is beyond its remit - sport and culture as well as education and health.
You can vote all you want to - you will always get the boss.
Why is that? Why is democracy just a facade for dictatorship?
Fifty years ago we were a free country, more or less. The press was unregulated, you could speak freely, and it was assumed that you were a responsible adult, once you were over the age of eighteen or twenty one. Our freedom was often attributed to the democratic political process, but in fact this was wrong. In England, freedom came with a representative Parliament and a limited government. The totalitarian concept of democracy came more from Europe and America. English liberties were more of a throwback to the Middle Ages, a holdout against the centralizing tendencies of the European despots.
But now, with liberty all but dead, the democratic state sees fit to adjust your behaviour, to monitor your actions, to limit your faith, to define your very concept of what it means to be human. Children are forced to swallow ideologies of self-loathing and degradation in what passes for education, primed for a hopeless future of debt servitude and sterility. The government is not limited, it is in power. Nothing is beyond its remit - sport and culture as well as education and health.
You can vote all you want to - you will always get the boss.
Sunday 21 December 2014
The Butcher Boy
In London City, where I did dwell,
A butcher boy I loved so well,
He courted me my heart away,
And now with me he will not stay.
There is an inn in the same town,
Where my love goes and sits him down
He takes a strange girl on his knee
And tells to her what he didn't tell me.
It's a grief to me; I'll tell you why,
Because she has more gold than I,
But her gold will melt and her silver fly;
In time of need she'll be poor as I
I wish my baby it was born
And smiling on its daddy's knee
And me poor girl to be dead and gone
With the long green grass growing over me.
'Oh, mother, mother, you do not know,
What grief and pain and sorrow and woe -
Go get a chair to sit me down
And a pen and ink to write it down.'
On every line she dropped a tear,
While calling home her Willy dear,
And when her father he came home
He said, 'Where is my daughter gone?'
He went upstairs, the door he broke -
He found her hanging upon a rope -
He took his knife and he cut her down,
And in her breast these lines were found;
'Oh what a silly maid am I!
To hang myself for a butcher boy!
Go dig my grave, both long and deep,
Place a marble stone at my head and feet,
And on my breast a turtle dove
To show the world I died for love.'
A butcher boy I loved so well,
He courted me my heart away,
And now with me he will not stay.
There is an inn in the same town,
Where my love goes and sits him down
He takes a strange girl on his knee
And tells to her what he didn't tell me.
It's a grief to me; I'll tell you why,
Because she has more gold than I,
But her gold will melt and her silver fly;
In time of need she'll be poor as I
I wish my baby it was born
And smiling on its daddy's knee
And me poor girl to be dead and gone
With the long green grass growing over me.
'Oh, mother, mother, you do not know,
What grief and pain and sorrow and woe -
Go get a chair to sit me down
And a pen and ink to write it down.'
On every line she dropped a tear,
While calling home her Willy dear,
And when her father he came home
He said, 'Where is my daughter gone?'
He went upstairs, the door he broke -
He found her hanging upon a rope -
He took his knife and he cut her down,
And in her breast these lines were found;
'Oh what a silly maid am I!
To hang myself for a butcher boy!
Go dig my grave, both long and deep,
Place a marble stone at my head and feet,
And on my breast a turtle dove
To show the world I died for love.'
Saturday 20 December 2014
A Verse On Sunday
The Gospel According To John, Chapter 1, verse 19
'And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?'
One if the peculiarities of this Gospel is that the Jewish establishment and its supporters are referred to as 'the Jews'. Clearly John the Baptist was a Jew, as was John the Evangelist, who wrote this particular Gospel. Indeed, Jesus of Nazareth, his mother Mary, his friends Martha and Mary, their brother Lazarus, and all the apostles were Jews too.
In the land of Israel, in those days there were two hierarchical power structures, the military power and the ideological, priestly power. The military power was in the hands of the Romans, the priestly power in the hands of a Jewish elite, increasingly accountable to the local powers such as the Herods as well as to the Romans. A gap seems to have sprung up between the collaborationist elite and the people. It comes as no surprise to learn later in the New Testament that Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee, an establishment Jew, a moralist was a Roman citizen, just as nowadays the most moralistic, the most Politically Correct, are establishment radicals, faux revolutionaries, 'party members'.
The Levites and the priests were interested in John, for political correctness was their department. At first sight John the Baptist did not seem to threaten the 'government' the privileges of the overseer class, but you could not be too careful.
Curiously enough modern day Jews, like Reformed Christians, are perceived as a threat to Power, the principalities of this earth. Neither modern Jews, nor true Christians have a religious hierarchy, there are no priests, and so are perceived as a threat to the structures of domination. At heart, both modern Jews and Christians know no Law but the Law of God. Their dual citizenship is something that Caesar is not always prepared to put up with. Around here many churches seem to have replaced the Ten Commandments with the Equality Act of 2010, so Caesar need not worry too much.
'And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?'
One if the peculiarities of this Gospel is that the Jewish establishment and its supporters are referred to as 'the Jews'. Clearly John the Baptist was a Jew, as was John the Evangelist, who wrote this particular Gospel. Indeed, Jesus of Nazareth, his mother Mary, his friends Martha and Mary, their brother Lazarus, and all the apostles were Jews too.
In the land of Israel, in those days there were two hierarchical power structures, the military power and the ideological, priestly power. The military power was in the hands of the Romans, the priestly power in the hands of a Jewish elite, increasingly accountable to the local powers such as the Herods as well as to the Romans. A gap seems to have sprung up between the collaborationist elite and the people. It comes as no surprise to learn later in the New Testament that Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee, an establishment Jew, a moralist was a Roman citizen, just as nowadays the most moralistic, the most Politically Correct, are establishment radicals, faux revolutionaries, 'party members'.
The Levites and the priests were interested in John, for political correctness was their department. At first sight John the Baptist did not seem to threaten the 'government' the privileges of the overseer class, but you could not be too careful.
Curiously enough modern day Jews, like Reformed Christians, are perceived as a threat to Power, the principalities of this earth. Neither modern Jews, nor true Christians have a religious hierarchy, there are no priests, and so are perceived as a threat to the structures of domination. At heart, both modern Jews and Christians know no Law but the Law of God. Their dual citizenship is something that Caesar is not always prepared to put up with. Around here many churches seem to have replaced the Ten Commandments with the Equality Act of 2010, so Caesar need not worry too much.
Friday 19 December 2014
Nikolai Gogol - Dead Souls
'The current generation now sees everything clearly, it marvels at the errors, it laughs at the folly of its ancestors, not seeing that this chronicle is all over scored by divine fire, that every letter of it cries out , that from everywhere the piercing finger is pointed at it, at this current generation; but the current generation laughs, and presumptuously, proudly begins a series of new errors, at which their descendants will laugh afterwards...........
For contemporary judgement does not recognise that much depth of soul is needed to light up the picture drawn from contemptible life and elevate it into a pearl of creation......
And so the money which to some extent may have saved the situation is spent on various means for bringing about self-oblivion.............
For every man there are certain words that are as if closer and more intimate than any others. And often, unexpectedly, in some remote forsaken backwater, some deserted desert, one meets a man whose warming conversation makes you forget the pathlessness of your paths, the homelessness of your nights, and the contemporary world full of people's stupidity, of deceptions for deceiving man. Forever and always an evening spent in this way will vividly remain with you, and all that was and that took place then will be retained by the faithful memory: who was there, and who stood where, and what he was holding - the walls, the corners, and every trifle........
........nothing could be more pleasant than to live in solitude, enjoy the spectacle of nature, and occasionally read some book........
Let me warn you that if you start chasing after views, you'll be left without bread and without views.'
For contemporary judgement does not recognise that much depth of soul is needed to light up the picture drawn from contemptible life and elevate it into a pearl of creation......
And so the money which to some extent may have saved the situation is spent on various means for bringing about self-oblivion.............
For every man there are certain words that are as if closer and more intimate than any others. And often, unexpectedly, in some remote forsaken backwater, some deserted desert, one meets a man whose warming conversation makes you forget the pathlessness of your paths, the homelessness of your nights, and the contemporary world full of people's stupidity, of deceptions for deceiving man. Forever and always an evening spent in this way will vividly remain with you, and all that was and that took place then will be retained by the faithful memory: who was there, and who stood where, and what he was holding - the walls, the corners, and every trifle........
........nothing could be more pleasant than to live in solitude, enjoy the spectacle of nature, and occasionally read some book........
Let me warn you that if you start chasing after views, you'll be left without bread and without views.'
Thursday 18 December 2014
Looking Through The Prism Of Power
The Church Of England has appointed a woman to be the new Bishop of Stockport. This is supposed to be all very cool and Equal, but it is hardly Christian. Christianity is all about service, not power, and the entire State Feminist agenda is all about reinforcing power at the expense of Love. Yet we know that God is Love.
Modern people see hierarchical power as natural. From the moment they go to school, they meet Power in the shape of the teacher. The little children put on a uniform and they learn submission to Power. Such relations of submission carry on throughout adult life. It is pretty much all modern people know. The flip side to the daily humiliation is a kind of nihilistic hedonism. It may be fun for a while but it is not freedom.
Contrary to the modern experience throughout the ages people experienced Power only marginally, as something intrusive and invasive, hence the special loathing for soldiers and tax collectors. Most communities consisted of large families and guild, craft, and religious fraternities. Self help and mutual aid, Cooperative societies whether church or lay, were normal in Merry England right up to Lloyd George's People's Budget just over a hundred years ago.
Human reality was seen through the prism of love. The most important work, that of caring for the young and the old, house work and house maintainance, cooking, sewing, washing, growing food was all done unpaid, outside of the formal economy and outside of the power structure.
But now freedom has withered and with it the Christian Churches. It has been a long slow death for many mainstream churches. They betrayed the people, teaching reward and punishment, supporting wars, presenting themselves as part of the apparatus of power.
Christianity sees things through the prism of Love. Nobody in the Church has 'Power'. A minister or a bishop is there to serve God and his congregation. There are many of us who could do a better sermon than many a minister, many who are perhaps kinder or wiser, but that does not mean that we must thrust ourselves forward.
Modern Feminism does not try to abolish the power structures of the present. Equality does not mean the destruction of hierarchy. It is simply a means of dragging women into the same degradation as men. When I deal with women civil servants I am always saddened by their viciousness and their lies, their loyalty to their institution and their careers, the way they turn their backs on me, a poor peasant.
The new Bishop of Stockport is not liberated. Her coat is not the mantel of Love, but the chain mail of power. She is not exalted, she is degraded. Adolfina is dressing in Adolf's clothes.
Modern people see hierarchical power as natural. From the moment they go to school, they meet Power in the shape of the teacher. The little children put on a uniform and they learn submission to Power. Such relations of submission carry on throughout adult life. It is pretty much all modern people know. The flip side to the daily humiliation is a kind of nihilistic hedonism. It may be fun for a while but it is not freedom.
Contrary to the modern experience throughout the ages people experienced Power only marginally, as something intrusive and invasive, hence the special loathing for soldiers and tax collectors. Most communities consisted of large families and guild, craft, and religious fraternities. Self help and mutual aid, Cooperative societies whether church or lay, were normal in Merry England right up to Lloyd George's People's Budget just over a hundred years ago.
Human reality was seen through the prism of love. The most important work, that of caring for the young and the old, house work and house maintainance, cooking, sewing, washing, growing food was all done unpaid, outside of the formal economy and outside of the power structure.
But now freedom has withered and with it the Christian Churches. It has been a long slow death for many mainstream churches. They betrayed the people, teaching reward and punishment, supporting wars, presenting themselves as part of the apparatus of power.
Christianity sees things through the prism of Love. Nobody in the Church has 'Power'. A minister or a bishop is there to serve God and his congregation. There are many of us who could do a better sermon than many a minister, many who are perhaps kinder or wiser, but that does not mean that we must thrust ourselves forward.
Modern Feminism does not try to abolish the power structures of the present. Equality does not mean the destruction of hierarchy. It is simply a means of dragging women into the same degradation as men. When I deal with women civil servants I am always saddened by their viciousness and their lies, their loyalty to their institution and their careers, the way they turn their backs on me, a poor peasant.
The new Bishop of Stockport is not liberated. Her coat is not the mantel of Love, but the chain mail of power. She is not exalted, she is degraded. Adolfina is dressing in Adolf's clothes.
Wednesday 17 December 2014
Aye, We Were 'Appy Then
The Seventies, a decade on trial. If you listen to the indoctrinated youngsters of today we lived in a jungle of wife-beaters, paedophiles, racists, homophobes, and goodness knows what other snakes. The jungle is being cleared, and police posted along the highway, so the darlings need not fear the savage tribes.
Those happy grinning savages of the 1970s look so 'appy in the old films. They were not to know that more serious times were around the corner. Who could have predicted the bitter, swearing twenty-first century? Back then was the golden age of the English working class - inside toilets, double glazing, colour TV, central heating, and foreign holidays! Not all of it for everyone, mind, but enough. And jobs there were a plenty.
Going round the supermarket today Christmas songs were playing in the background - Boney M, Paul McCartney, Shakin' Stevens, Elton John, John Lennon, Mud, Jona Lewie - music forty years old or more.
It's not like all the customers were alive then. And its the same the rest of the year. Music in public is dominated by the 1970s. Wherever you go you hear the music of that hairy grinning decade when the gap between rich and poor was less than ever before or since. Deference to position and wealth was fast disappearing. Amidst the chaos there was hope. Nowadays there is just resentment, fear, and blame.
Back then lads and lasses, we were 'appy, aye! All that inappropriate touching never did us any harm.
Those happy grinning savages of the 1970s look so 'appy in the old films. They were not to know that more serious times were around the corner. Who could have predicted the bitter, swearing twenty-first century? Back then was the golden age of the English working class - inside toilets, double glazing, colour TV, central heating, and foreign holidays! Not all of it for everyone, mind, but enough. And jobs there were a plenty.
Going round the supermarket today Christmas songs were playing in the background - Boney M, Paul McCartney, Shakin' Stevens, Elton John, John Lennon, Mud, Jona Lewie - music forty years old or more.
It's not like all the customers were alive then. And its the same the rest of the year. Music in public is dominated by the 1970s. Wherever you go you hear the music of that hairy grinning decade when the gap between rich and poor was less than ever before or since. Deference to position and wealth was fast disappearing. Amidst the chaos there was hope. Nowadays there is just resentment, fear, and blame.
Back then lads and lasses, we were 'appy, aye! All that inappropriate touching never did us any harm.
Tuesday 16 December 2014
No Room For A Pregnant Woman
The other day the minister made a little point in his sermon about there being no room at the inn for Mary, a pregnant woman. Not only was the inn full up, but nobody was prepared to give up their comfort for a woman who was clearly about to give birth.
Everybody's elbows were so sharp, their minds so focused on their precious selves, that the natural healthy impulse to help had vanished.
Like our sick society, I thought, sick with selfishness and the disease of the 'I'. Like our sick society, the pregnant woman is shunted to one side, out of sight. Here too there is no place for a pregnant woman.
Capitalist society only values monetary power. Fifty years ago men held all the positions of power because they earned the money. Women were second class because, although they worked in the home, bringing up the children, they did not possess the power of money.
But this patriarchal perception of women's lack of worth still has not changed. Women have access to money, careers and power, but only on men's terms. If anything, the woman of the past, she who works for family and home, yet does not work in the power structure, is valued even less now than a hundred years ago.
A woman is only valued when she gives up womanhood.
In our society a pregnant woman is a burden. She has stepped out of line. She has stopped earning money and has reduced her consumption.
Society is no longer matrilocal. Women are no longer sacred. This is the revolution of our time.
A child is now an obstacle to consumption, a lifestyle choice. Having a child is no longer the right of every woman. No longer does man feel the obligation to protect and provide for the mother and the young.
Childbirth has been outsourced. The children of the poor from the neo-colonies are brought in to do the dirty jobs.
There are not enough children of our own to work for us as we grow old. Too many of them have been aborted along the way, to give us time and space to buy our baubles and take our vacations.
Here and now in Merry England there's no room at the inn for a pregnant woman.
Everybody's elbows were so sharp, their minds so focused on their precious selves, that the natural healthy impulse to help had vanished.
Like our sick society, I thought, sick with selfishness and the disease of the 'I'. Like our sick society, the pregnant woman is shunted to one side, out of sight. Here too there is no place for a pregnant woman.
Capitalist society only values monetary power. Fifty years ago men held all the positions of power because they earned the money. Women were second class because, although they worked in the home, bringing up the children, they did not possess the power of money.
But this patriarchal perception of women's lack of worth still has not changed. Women have access to money, careers and power, but only on men's terms. If anything, the woman of the past, she who works for family and home, yet does not work in the power structure, is valued even less now than a hundred years ago.
A woman is only valued when she gives up womanhood.
In our society a pregnant woman is a burden. She has stepped out of line. She has stopped earning money and has reduced her consumption.
Society is no longer matrilocal. Women are no longer sacred. This is the revolution of our time.
A child is now an obstacle to consumption, a lifestyle choice. Having a child is no longer the right of every woman. No longer does man feel the obligation to protect and provide for the mother and the young.
Childbirth has been outsourced. The children of the poor from the neo-colonies are brought in to do the dirty jobs.
There are not enough children of our own to work for us as we grow old. Too many of them have been aborted along the way, to give us time and space to buy our baubles and take our vacations.
Here and now in Merry England there's no room at the inn for a pregnant woman.
Monday 15 December 2014
From Riches To Rags In Three Generations
As long as we have the bare necessities of life, I'm sure most people would agree that what we really need is love. We need to be surrounded by people who need us and whom we need, who we value and who value us. When we think of materially wealthy countries such as South Korea and Japan and we see the isolation, the millions of people living alone with nothing to nurture except for 'my life' they seem to be desperately poor in human terms, in the things that really matter. And we are heading down the road to nihilism ourselves, here in merry old England.
Less than a hundred years ago most people lived near their relations. Children were brought up not just by their parents but by aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents and whoever else was around. The extended family, the village, the semi-autonomous community swaddled us all in a coat of comfort. We were born as part of a community, and of course, that coat of comfort restricted our self-indulgence.
In the mid twentieth century large amounts of people moved area to further their careers. The extended family was left behind, regarded as archaic and restrictive, and the romantic couple of bourgeois love became the foundation of society, the perfect nuclear family. The sick, the old, the education of the young - the Welfare/Warfare State would care for them. The family was stripped bare and the nuclear family was born, - mum, dad, and 2.4 kids!
The coat of comfort that had swaddled us throughout our lives was replaced by a thin sheet. Uncles, aunties, grandparents, familiar faces and familiar places were replaced by this small gathering, huddled round the television set, backs to the world, doors locked on the unfamiliar hostile winds.
And now, forty years after quickie divorces were introduced marriage has little meaning. The nuclear family has melted down. Now the family means a tired, overworked woman, liberated, yes, from all ties, except perhaps a resented child. She is a woman liberated to cheap labour and consumption. There may be a man, but his status can only be temporary.No longer does he earn a 'man's wage.' The woman has to earn her woman's wage, topped up by government tax credits.
After all, we only work for ourselves in this atomised world, don't we?
Less than a hundred years ago most people lived near their relations. Children were brought up not just by their parents but by aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents and whoever else was around. The extended family, the village, the semi-autonomous community swaddled us all in a coat of comfort. We were born as part of a community, and of course, that coat of comfort restricted our self-indulgence.
In the mid twentieth century large amounts of people moved area to further their careers. The extended family was left behind, regarded as archaic and restrictive, and the romantic couple of bourgeois love became the foundation of society, the perfect nuclear family. The sick, the old, the education of the young - the Welfare/Warfare State would care for them. The family was stripped bare and the nuclear family was born, - mum, dad, and 2.4 kids!
The coat of comfort that had swaddled us throughout our lives was replaced by a thin sheet. Uncles, aunties, grandparents, familiar faces and familiar places were replaced by this small gathering, huddled round the television set, backs to the world, doors locked on the unfamiliar hostile winds.
And now, forty years after quickie divorces were introduced marriage has little meaning. The nuclear family has melted down. Now the family means a tired, overworked woman, liberated, yes, from all ties, except perhaps a resented child. She is a woman liberated to cheap labour and consumption. There may be a man, but his status can only be temporary.No longer does he earn a 'man's wage.' The woman has to earn her woman's wage, topped up by government tax credits.
After all, we only work for ourselves in this atomised world, don't we?
Sunday 14 December 2014
Love Is Pleasing
I never thought that my love would leave me
Until that morning when he stepped in
He sat down and I sat beside him
And then our troubles they did begin
Oh love is pleasing and love is teasing
And love is a pleasure when first it's new
But love grows older and grows quite colder
And it fades away like morning dew
There is an alehouse in yon town
And there my love goes and he sits down
He takes a strange girl upon his knee
And tells her what he once told me
I wish my father had never whistled
I wish my mother had never sang
I wish the cradle had never rocked me
I wish I'd died love, when I was young.
Until that morning when he stepped in
He sat down and I sat beside him
And then our troubles they did begin
Oh love is pleasing and love is teasing
And love is a pleasure when first it's new
But love grows older and grows quite colder
And it fades away like morning dew
There is an alehouse in yon town
And there my love goes and he sits down
He takes a strange girl upon his knee
And tells her what he once told me
I wish my father had never whistled
I wish my mother had never sang
I wish the cradle had never rocked me
I wish I'd died love, when I was young.
Saturday 13 December 2014
A Verse On Sunday
The Gospel according to John, Chapter 1, verse 18
'No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.'
No man has ever seen God, except God the Son, the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ.
But the Lord 'hath declared him'.
In his words, his teachings, his miracles, above all in his life and his death, Our Lord has declared God. Jesus Christ has revealed to us the Truth of God.
There is no need for further revelation. The prophets of other religions are false prophets.
Jesus Christ is the Truth, and in him we can know God, his love divine, the sacrificial, unlimited, unconditional love that is he creative force of the universe, the Word of Creation, the Light of Life.........and our destiny is to sing the praises of Divine Love for all eternity.
'No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.'
No man has ever seen God, except God the Son, the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ.
But the Lord 'hath declared him'.
In his words, his teachings, his miracles, above all in his life and his death, Our Lord has declared God. Jesus Christ has revealed to us the Truth of God.
There is no need for further revelation. The prophets of other religions are false prophets.
Jesus Christ is the Truth, and in him we can know God, his love divine, the sacrificial, unlimited, unconditional love that is he creative force of the universe, the Word of Creation, the Light of Life.........and our destiny is to sing the praises of Divine Love for all eternity.
Friday 12 December 2014
Torture And Sociology
'Progressives', 'Leftists', extreme right wingers to you and me, who support a police state, restrictions to jury trials, secret courts that can deprive you of your children and your liberty, the abolition of double jeopardy, the abolition of Habaes Corpus, the government adjusting the income of those deemed worthy (tax credits),the introduction of Armed Forces Day, the militarization of Remembrance Sunday, restrictions on the press, endless overseas warfare, monitoring of private correspondence, and so on ad infinitum, always claim a moral superiority as they pick up their rather large pay cheques, and draw on their pensions that the poor have to sweat to pay for.
Oh yes, they are the righteous ones. They might send you to jail if you say the wrong things, but that is because you are bad and they are good.
And war, yes war. Well they don't like the Jews, sorry, I mean Israel.
And as for their wars, you know, like bombing Yugoslavia, sanctions on Iraq ( five hundred thousand children was a price worth paying, you know) and the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, the murder of thousands of Libyans through terrorist bombing, well you know, it's not really something they agree with - and they'll quickly turn the conversation back to the Jews, sorry, the Israelis, or if you're really lucky, about our mission to spread homosexuality throughout the poorer, less civilised races, I mean countries.
And torture - well they don't agree with it. But it was their government, the New Labour Party that was complicit in or participated in torture. They cannot surely be the same people who have brought us sweetness and light and Progress?
They are? Progressives are torturers! The same people who love foxes and badgers and abortion? Blimey, Adolf liked animals too - he just wasn't too good with people. And Uncle Joe? That was just an error. He went off script.
When you replace religion with social science, the love of God with social security, the sanctity of the individual human life with Human Resources, theology with psychology, torture will follow as surely as night follows day.
Oh yes, they are the righteous ones. They might send you to jail if you say the wrong things, but that is because you are bad and they are good.
And war, yes war. Well they don't like the Jews, sorry, I mean Israel.
And as for their wars, you know, like bombing Yugoslavia, sanctions on Iraq ( five hundred thousand children was a price worth paying, you know) and the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, the murder of thousands of Libyans through terrorist bombing, well you know, it's not really something they agree with - and they'll quickly turn the conversation back to the Jews, sorry, the Israelis, or if you're really lucky, about our mission to spread homosexuality throughout the poorer, less civilised races, I mean countries.
And torture - well they don't agree with it. But it was their government, the New Labour Party that was complicit in or participated in torture. They cannot surely be the same people who have brought us sweetness and light and Progress?
They are? Progressives are torturers! The same people who love foxes and badgers and abortion? Blimey, Adolf liked animals too - he just wasn't too good with people. And Uncle Joe? That was just an error. He went off script.
When you replace religion with social science, the love of God with social security, the sanctity of the individual human life with Human Resources, theology with psychology, torture will follow as surely as night follows day.
Thursday 11 December 2014
Rabbi Small Discusses Free Will
In Harry Kemelman's 1978 crime novel 'Thursday The Rabbi Walked Out' his character Rabbi Small talks about free will,
'............The right to choose - '
'Between bread and toast?' the rabbi challenged. 'Between turning right or left at a crossing? The lower animals have that kind of free will. For man, free will means the freedom to choose to do something he knows is wrong, wicked, evil, for some material advantage. But that calls for a fair chance of not being discovered and punished. Would anyone steal if he were surrounded by policemen and certain of arrest and punishment? And on the other hand, what virtue is there in a good deed if the reward is certain? Since God is presumably all-seeing and all-knowing, no transgression goes undetected, and no good deed fails to be noted. So what kind of free will is that? How does it differ from the free will of the laboratory rat that is rewarded by food if he goes down one path of a maze and is given an electric shock if he goes down another?'
'............The right to choose - '
'Between bread and toast?' the rabbi challenged. 'Between turning right or left at a crossing? The lower animals have that kind of free will. For man, free will means the freedom to choose to do something he knows is wrong, wicked, evil, for some material advantage. But that calls for a fair chance of not being discovered and punished. Would anyone steal if he were surrounded by policemen and certain of arrest and punishment? And on the other hand, what virtue is there in a good deed if the reward is certain? Since God is presumably all-seeing and all-knowing, no transgression goes undetected, and no good deed fails to be noted. So what kind of free will is that? How does it differ from the free will of the laboratory rat that is rewarded by food if he goes down one path of a maze and is given an electric shock if he goes down another?'
Wednesday 10 December 2014
Torture - A Bureaucratic Procedure
Torture is commonplace amongst authoritarian governments but it has been mercifully rare in the Anglo Saxon world. Now we too are torturers.
Of course, individuals can be unspeakably cruel, but torture, like murder, is usually the prerogative of the State and quasi State organisations like the infamous Inquisition.
In England torture was dispensed with when Cromwell defeated the totalitarian Stuarts, a victory for liberty and the rule of law reinforced by the Glorious Revolution, separating us from the Continent where torture and Catholicism were the norm.
For three centuries we took pride in being free and in being civilised ( I know at times we did not live up to it). The English were not enslaved and militarised like the post-Revolutionary French or the Imperial Germans.
And the United States, for all its many faults, maintained the idea that the least government may be the best, that the law is a tool to defend the individual from the government, not a tool of government to conquer the people.
But with the decline of the autonomous family and the concentration of ownership in vast corporations and funds, the hierarchising and centralisation of economic power has led to the bureaucratisation of every day life. Justice has been replaced by population management, a simple function of human resource administration. Torture is the inevitable result of the callousness brought about by the habits of submission and sycophancy encouraged by life on the ladder of hierarchy.
Of course, individuals can be unspeakably cruel, but torture, like murder, is usually the prerogative of the State and quasi State organisations like the infamous Inquisition.
In England torture was dispensed with when Cromwell defeated the totalitarian Stuarts, a victory for liberty and the rule of law reinforced by the Glorious Revolution, separating us from the Continent where torture and Catholicism were the norm.
For three centuries we took pride in being free and in being civilised ( I know at times we did not live up to it). The English were not enslaved and militarised like the post-Revolutionary French or the Imperial Germans.
And the United States, for all its many faults, maintained the idea that the least government may be the best, that the law is a tool to defend the individual from the government, not a tool of government to conquer the people.
But with the decline of the autonomous family and the concentration of ownership in vast corporations and funds, the hierarchising and centralisation of economic power has led to the bureaucratisation of every day life. Justice has been replaced by population management, a simple function of human resource administration. Torture is the inevitable result of the callousness brought about by the habits of submission and sycophancy encouraged by life on the ladder of hierarchy.
Tuesday 9 December 2014
The Left Is The New Far Right
In the not so distant past the Left, in political terms, meant a socialism based on working class power. Obviously this did not always work out in practise, but at least in theory, the Left represented the working class, those who worked manually, not the management nor the owners.
Nowadays the term 'Left' has been expropriated by the management classes to describe their deranged power-crazed attempts at social engineering. Whatever they decide is correct behaviour today is counted as Left or Progressive. In reality it is not the form of social engineering that matters, but the fact of social engineering that matters - that is the exercise of power.
What counts for the Left is the exercise of hierarchical power. It has no intention of sharing that power with its victims, the workers. To maintain its power it casts around for an endless array of scapegoats and bogeymen. There are endless campaigns against the enemy within. Witch hunts, the running down of those who cannot maintain ideological purity is the order of the day.
Despair, blame and hate, fear and anxiety, darkness everywhere.
The Green Party, as mentioned before, are less interested in subsidised solar panels, than blaming the One Per Cent, who apparently rule the world. They talk of corrupt bankers, of Tories, of Thatcher, with a hiss and a hate, these alleged enemies of their bureaucratic distopia. For you see, if debt and poverty stalks the land, if the health service is sick, it is the fault of the evil one per cent. Nobody, but nobody, mentions the doubling of the bureaucracy in the past fifteen years and that the poor must pay for it through debt and taxes.
To the Far Right new Leftist the people can only be passive victims. The people are not dynamic, constructive, resourceful. For them the people are the Indignant, the baying mob, a hate filled rabble wearing Guy Fawkes masks. This scum is not the people, just a bunch of self-pitying losers angry at their own passivity, lashing out to destroy their toys like petulant children.
Real socialists and real anarchists build cooperatives, friendly societies, social organisations of self help and mutual aid.
The bureaucratic hate of the overseer class is a million miles away from peasant and proletarian solidarity. The new Left wants to destroy social solidarity and micro manage your life.
The hierarchy and the hate, the totalitarian micro managing of thought and deed used to go by the name of Fascism, a movement of the Far Right.
Nowadays the term 'Left' has been expropriated by the management classes to describe their deranged power-crazed attempts at social engineering. Whatever they decide is correct behaviour today is counted as Left or Progressive. In reality it is not the form of social engineering that matters, but the fact of social engineering that matters - that is the exercise of power.
What counts for the Left is the exercise of hierarchical power. It has no intention of sharing that power with its victims, the workers. To maintain its power it casts around for an endless array of scapegoats and bogeymen. There are endless campaigns against the enemy within. Witch hunts, the running down of those who cannot maintain ideological purity is the order of the day.
Despair, blame and hate, fear and anxiety, darkness everywhere.
The Green Party, as mentioned before, are less interested in subsidised solar panels, than blaming the One Per Cent, who apparently rule the world. They talk of corrupt bankers, of Tories, of Thatcher, with a hiss and a hate, these alleged enemies of their bureaucratic distopia. For you see, if debt and poverty stalks the land, if the health service is sick, it is the fault of the evil one per cent. Nobody, but nobody, mentions the doubling of the bureaucracy in the past fifteen years and that the poor must pay for it through debt and taxes.
To the Far Right new Leftist the people can only be passive victims. The people are not dynamic, constructive, resourceful. For them the people are the Indignant, the baying mob, a hate filled rabble wearing Guy Fawkes masks. This scum is not the people, just a bunch of self-pitying losers angry at their own passivity, lashing out to destroy their toys like petulant children.
Real socialists and real anarchists build cooperatives, friendly societies, social organisations of self help and mutual aid.
The bureaucratic hate of the overseer class is a million miles away from peasant and proletarian solidarity. The new Left wants to destroy social solidarity and micro manage your life.
The hierarchy and the hate, the totalitarian micro managing of thought and deed used to go by the name of Fascism, a movement of the Far Right.
Monday 8 December 2014
Breastfeeding In Public - A Little Respect Please
I venture on to dangerous territory!
Personally, I find the sight of a woman breastfeeding a baby rather charming. Not only do I like women and breasts, but I like babies too!
But I can understand why some folk should prefer not to see a child fed in public. All sorts of people, not just 'bigots', prefer to go about their business undisturbed by feeding. I may be wrong but I don't imagine Moslem women whipping their tits out in front of the men.
Like it or not, sex and reproduction are part and parcel of the same process, and breasts are part of women's reproductive, and therefore sexual, attributes.
Breastfeeding may not involve a man, but it is still a reproductive act.
It is feeding, but it is not the same sort of feeding as munching on a sandwich. Breastfeeding is an intimate private act, an act of love and bonding between mother and child.
It is an action that involves two people only, a private act, not a public act, so ladies, though
I personally am happy to watch you feed, please, show a little tolerance for those who would like you to respect your own privacy and theirs.
Personally, I find the sight of a woman breastfeeding a baby rather charming. Not only do I like women and breasts, but I like babies too!
But I can understand why some folk should prefer not to see a child fed in public. All sorts of people, not just 'bigots', prefer to go about their business undisturbed by feeding. I may be wrong but I don't imagine Moslem women whipping their tits out in front of the men.
Like it or not, sex and reproduction are part and parcel of the same process, and breasts are part of women's reproductive, and therefore sexual, attributes.
Breastfeeding may not involve a man, but it is still a reproductive act.
It is feeding, but it is not the same sort of feeding as munching on a sandwich. Breastfeeding is an intimate private act, an act of love and bonding between mother and child.
It is an action that involves two people only, a private act, not a public act, so ladies, though
I personally am happy to watch you feed, please, show a little tolerance for those who would like you to respect your own privacy and theirs.
Sunday 7 December 2014
Love Is Teasin'
I wish, I wish, I wish in vain,
I wish I was a maid again,
But a maid again I will never be
Till apples grow on an ivy tree,
Oh love is pleasin' and love is teasin'
And love is a pleasure when first it's new,
But as it grows older, sure the love grows colder,
And it fades away like the morning dew.
I left my father, I left my mother,
I left all my brothers and sisters too.
I left all my friends and my own relations,
I left them all to follow you.
But the sweetest apple is the soonest rotten,
And the heart of love is the soonest cold,
And what can't be cured love, has to be endured love,
And now I'm bound for America,
And love and porter make a young man older
And love and whiskey make him old and grey,
And what can't be cured love, has to be endured love,
And now I'm bound for America.
I wish I was a maid again,
But a maid again I will never be
Till apples grow on an ivy tree,
Oh love is pleasin' and love is teasin'
And love is a pleasure when first it's new,
But as it grows older, sure the love grows colder,
And it fades away like the morning dew.
I left my father, I left my mother,
I left all my brothers and sisters too.
I left all my friends and my own relations,
I left them all to follow you.
But the sweetest apple is the soonest rotten,
And the heart of love is the soonest cold,
And what can't be cured love, has to be endured love,
And now I'm bound for America,
And love and porter make a young man older
And love and whiskey make him old and grey,
And what can't be cured love, has to be endured love,
And now I'm bound for America.
Saturday 6 December 2014
A Verse On Sunday
The Gospel according to John chapter 1, verse 17.
'For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
This verse sums up what has already been written. Indeed, it more or less sums up the whole Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.
The law was given by Moses, the Law of God, the Law of Love. This great gift lifted mankind out of the rut of superstition and fear, of subservience to kings and idols.
Though following the Law was no guarantee of an easy life, it was clear that blessings flowed to those who honoured God, kept the Sabbath, refrained from greed, slander and so on. The Jews of today will tell you as much.
With the law of God there is no need for a king. God's law trumps all others, much to the annoyance of bureaucracies and tyrants through the ages.
Those who obey the Law have no need to fear the random anger of a king or a nature god, or the displeasure of an idol created from mankind's imagination.
But the Law also condemns us in the eyes of the one perfect Living God. Our sin is only wiped clean by the sacrifice of our Lord, the Lamb of God. This is the grace divine, wondrous and kind, of our God.
And through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the fullness of God's great love, and his purpose is revealed to us; for us to know his Truth, his perfection, his holiness.
'For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
This verse sums up what has already been written. Indeed, it more or less sums up the whole Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.
The law was given by Moses, the Law of God, the Law of Love. This great gift lifted mankind out of the rut of superstition and fear, of subservience to kings and idols.
Though following the Law was no guarantee of an easy life, it was clear that blessings flowed to those who honoured God, kept the Sabbath, refrained from greed, slander and so on. The Jews of today will tell you as much.
With the law of God there is no need for a king. God's law trumps all others, much to the annoyance of bureaucracies and tyrants through the ages.
Those who obey the Law have no need to fear the random anger of a king or a nature god, or the displeasure of an idol created from mankind's imagination.
But the Law also condemns us in the eyes of the one perfect Living God. Our sin is only wiped clean by the sacrifice of our Lord, the Lamb of God. This is the grace divine, wondrous and kind, of our God.
And through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the fullness of God's great love, and his purpose is revealed to us; for us to know his Truth, his perfection, his holiness.
Friday 5 December 2014
A Load Of Marbles
Who really cares about the Elgin Marbles? Apparently some Greeks take time off from plundering their own country to damn Perfidious Albion for nicking a bit of ancient artwork and not returning it when asked to.
Back in the 1980s Revoltina and I went on a day trip to Athens whilst on holiday nearby. We explored the Acropolis with a group of English sightseers. At one point the guide started berating us for the fact that our government would not return these bloomin' marbles. Revoltina thought the guide had lost hers. I thought the woman was just plain rude.
Then an older guy spoke up, saying that he was fed up with hearing this twaddle, that it had been the British Navy that had secured Greek independence from the Turks at Navarino Bay, that our greatest poet (in his opinion), Lord Byron had laid down his life for the cause of Greek independence. We all applauded him, and the silly woman shut up. Of course, she didn't apologise.
These days there's always some inadequate who will blame their troubles on you. Sadly, in Scotland, where Byron's family originated, the whole place is run by idiot Greek women. They run amok down here too. They're all over the world, the resentful hordes, sneering and hating.
If it wasn't Elgin's Marbles it would be something else.
It's a real drag.
Back in the 1980s Revoltina and I went on a day trip to Athens whilst on holiday nearby. We explored the Acropolis with a group of English sightseers. At one point the guide started berating us for the fact that our government would not return these bloomin' marbles. Revoltina thought the guide had lost hers. I thought the woman was just plain rude.
Then an older guy spoke up, saying that he was fed up with hearing this twaddle, that it had been the British Navy that had secured Greek independence from the Turks at Navarino Bay, that our greatest poet (in his opinion), Lord Byron had laid down his life for the cause of Greek independence. We all applauded him, and the silly woman shut up. Of course, she didn't apologise.
These days there's always some inadequate who will blame their troubles on you. Sadly, in Scotland, where Byron's family originated, the whole place is run by idiot Greek women. They run amok down here too. They're all over the world, the resentful hordes, sneering and hating.
If it wasn't Elgin's Marbles it would be something else.
It's a real drag.
Thursday 4 December 2014
Lionel Blair Has Had Enough
The consumer society consumes itself, collapsing in isolation and paranoia. For many years now the English have collaborated in the destruction of their own society, replacing family and social solidarity with a series of transactions. Even charity is measured in monetary terms. It is reasonable to assume that your neighbour is only out to get what they can. Logically, it is assumed that a relationship with a child, an obstacle to consumption after all, can only be exploitative. I mean it stands for reason.
The veteran entertainer Lionel Blair has had enough of entertaining the sick society. No more pantos for Lionel!
In an interview with the Mirror, he says,
'One of my favourite things in pantomime was getting the kids up on stage with me. With little girls, I'd say, 'Can I have a kiss please? And with the little boys I'd shake hands.........
'There was one little boy who used to come up to me every night to give me a hug and in the end I had to say to the matron, 'I love him but will you please stop him doing that?' It only takes one stagehand to say, 'Lionel Blair is touching the kids backstage,' and that's your career over. So I had to stop it. It's awful, so sad, because I adore children.......'
The veteran entertainer Lionel Blair has had enough of entertaining the sick society. No more pantos for Lionel!
In an interview with the Mirror, he says,
'One of my favourite things in pantomime was getting the kids up on stage with me. With little girls, I'd say, 'Can I have a kiss please? And with the little boys I'd shake hands.........
'There was one little boy who used to come up to me every night to give me a hug and in the end I had to say to the matron, 'I love him but will you please stop him doing that?' It only takes one stagehand to say, 'Lionel Blair is touching the kids backstage,' and that's your career over. So I had to stop it. It's awful, so sad, because I adore children.......'
Wednesday 3 December 2014
Is the Green Party just a tad Nazi?
The Green Party is full of good people, righteous people, moral people, victims who like to hate. Behind the caring façade there is plenty of bile. Some might say their whole agenda is one of life-denial, a gob in the face of every life loving person on the planet. But, perhaps they are just a little bit more aware than the rest of us, and want to save the world we live in. Perhaps.
The Guardian newspaper notes that the Greens have doubled their membership since January. It appears that they have risen to replace the Liberal Democrats, and to be honest, I see little difference in the two parties, or their supporters.
Natalie Bennett, the leader of the Greens in England and Wales says, 'There are many former Labour and LibDem members who are fed up with parties that are happy to see society continue to be run for the benefit of the one per cent and the continued trashing of our natural environment........Some are former Tories horrified by the government's fracking fantasy or worried by its failure to tackle our fraud-ridden, corrupt, reckless financial sector.'
So there we have the basis of the Greens' appeal. The 1 per cent. The socialism of fools, the conspiracy theory, the secret cabal ruling the world - the fraud-ridden, corrupt, reckless financial sector!
We are the victims, they say, wallowing in self-pity, of a small minority running society for its own benefit, at our expense - corrupt, fraudulent, financial.
Who can they be, these spectres of doom, who come to suck our blood while we sleep? What can we do? Seek them out, destroy them and then............
The Guardian newspaper notes that the Greens have doubled their membership since January. It appears that they have risen to replace the Liberal Democrats, and to be honest, I see little difference in the two parties, or their supporters.
Natalie Bennett, the leader of the Greens in England and Wales says, 'There are many former Labour and LibDem members who are fed up with parties that are happy to see society continue to be run for the benefit of the one per cent and the continued trashing of our natural environment........Some are former Tories horrified by the government's fracking fantasy or worried by its failure to tackle our fraud-ridden, corrupt, reckless financial sector.'
So there we have the basis of the Greens' appeal. The 1 per cent. The socialism of fools, the conspiracy theory, the secret cabal ruling the world - the fraud-ridden, corrupt, reckless financial sector!
We are the victims, they say, wallowing in self-pity, of a small minority running society for its own benefit, at our expense - corrupt, fraudulent, financial.
Who can they be, these spectres of doom, who come to suck our blood while we sleep? What can we do? Seek them out, destroy them and then............
Tuesday 2 December 2014
Bigot Of The Day - Lots Of Gambians
Send in the drones armed with those humanitarian bombs, blessed by the Archbishop of Vichy, send in the NGOs, send in the missionaries, send in the clowns! Gambia, a small country hugely endowed with glorious beaches and European sex tourism is full of homophobic thought criminals.
Monday's Daily Observer explains:
'We have said it before and we will say it again. This is a Muslim and Christian country. Both the Holy Quran and the Holy Bible condemn homosexuality just as the scriptures condemn theft, adultery, lying etc. And we do not pass laws to make theft, adultery, lying and other evil deeds acceptable. But we tolerate them. This is because tolerance is a virtue and without tolerance we would have much conflict in society. But we do not want anyone to abuse that tolerance either.
Unfortunately, homosexuals do, by demanding non-homosxuals should accept their lifestyle. Well the lifestyle in The Gambia is one based around Family and Religion. Like God's Adam and Eve, the Family is based around Mother (female), Father (male) and the rest of the extended family. Former British premier Tony Blair's definition of 'marriage' and 'family' as being whatever conjecture (even man and goat!) does not apply in our religious context.
Look, we are not interested in stoning anyone, even homosexuals. What our President is saying, and we agree with him totally as usual in this: Ours is a society guided by religious principles.
These religious principles leaves no room for homosexuality. Sex and marriage in our culture is between man and woman. Sex and marriage between a man and a man, a woman and a woman, is viewed as irreligious and gross by the vast majority of our people here......
So, please respect our religions, cultures and traditions by keeping your homosexuality out of our country. And also respect our values as a sovereign country. Gone are the days of colonialism.'
Monday's Daily Observer explains:
'We have said it before and we will say it again. This is a Muslim and Christian country. Both the Holy Quran and the Holy Bible condemn homosexuality just as the scriptures condemn theft, adultery, lying etc. And we do not pass laws to make theft, adultery, lying and other evil deeds acceptable. But we tolerate them. This is because tolerance is a virtue and without tolerance we would have much conflict in society. But we do not want anyone to abuse that tolerance either.
Unfortunately, homosexuals do, by demanding non-homosxuals should accept their lifestyle. Well the lifestyle in The Gambia is one based around Family and Religion. Like God's Adam and Eve, the Family is based around Mother (female), Father (male) and the rest of the extended family. Former British premier Tony Blair's definition of 'marriage' and 'family' as being whatever conjecture (even man and goat!) does not apply in our religious context.
Look, we are not interested in stoning anyone, even homosexuals. What our President is saying, and we agree with him totally as usual in this: Ours is a society guided by religious principles.
These religious principles leaves no room for homosexuality. Sex and marriage in our culture is between man and woman. Sex and marriage between a man and a man, a woman and a woman, is viewed as irreligious and gross by the vast majority of our people here......
So, please respect our religions, cultures and traditions by keeping your homosexuality out of our country. And also respect our values as a sovereign country. Gone are the days of colonialism.'
Monday 1 December 2014
Four Poor Sad Kiddies
This is taken from a report in the Daily Times of Pakistan, a report about family breakdown in the United Kingdom, a situation they no doubt find sad and barbaric, an affront to civilized values and the human rights of children.
'Four in ten children born in the year 2000 were not living with both parents by the age of eleven. And modern youngsters are four times as likely as those born in the 1960s to experience family collapse, the study reveals.
Researchers blamed the spread of family breakdown on the ease of divorce and the lack of shame felt by couples who separate.
They said youngsters whose mother and father had broken up were far more likely to have behaviour problems.
The state-funded Millennium Cohort Survey of more than thirteen thousand children born around the year 2000 found unmarried parents were responsible for most cases of family breakup.
At the age of eleven, around 92% of children born to married couples were living with both their mother and father. For those with cohabiting parents the proportion was only 55%.........Nearly four in every ten children lived through at least one change in their parents' relationship status in their first eleven years - up from one in ten in 1969.....The study said one in seven had been through more than one family breakup.
Dr. Roxanne Donnelly, the lead author of the report said, 'Some of these parents might have previously stayed together while living in misery, but many might have worked harder on their marriages, instead of giving up more easily, if there was more of a stigma.' The report compared the state of families today and in 1969, when a similar large-scale study was undertaken.
That was the year when major reforms ushered in the era of 'quickie' divorces. Since then, successive governments have removed tax incentives for couples to marry.'
'Four in ten children born in the year 2000 were not living with both parents by the age of eleven. And modern youngsters are four times as likely as those born in the 1960s to experience family collapse, the study reveals.
Researchers blamed the spread of family breakdown on the ease of divorce and the lack of shame felt by couples who separate.
They said youngsters whose mother and father had broken up were far more likely to have behaviour problems.
The state-funded Millennium Cohort Survey of more than thirteen thousand children born around the year 2000 found unmarried parents were responsible for most cases of family breakup.
At the age of eleven, around 92% of children born to married couples were living with both their mother and father. For those with cohabiting parents the proportion was only 55%.........Nearly four in every ten children lived through at least one change in their parents' relationship status in their first eleven years - up from one in ten in 1969.....The study said one in seven had been through more than one family breakup.
Dr. Roxanne Donnelly, the lead author of the report said, 'Some of these parents might have previously stayed together while living in misery, but many might have worked harder on their marriages, instead of giving up more easily, if there was more of a stigma.' The report compared the state of families today and in 1969, when a similar large-scale study was undertaken.
That was the year when major reforms ushered in the era of 'quickie' divorces. Since then, successive governments have removed tax incentives for couples to marry.'
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