It is not just the Conservative party which needs to be running scared of the impact of UKIP but also the Labour party who who did not even pretend under Blair to be a friend of working class men and women in this country.
How do you think my mother was able to desert the poverty of her council house, the violence of her home and the intimidatory lack of ambition all around her? She was given the opportunity, whether you like it or not, through the Grammar School system. She needed no training or coaching or leg up with finance, she just sat the exams and got in! Well, would you believe it that was the beginning of her freedom from such impoverishment AND she was also a member of the Salvation Army, oh dear!
Where are the opportunities now for the working class of this country? Don't tell me, they need to become part of the ideological vanguard of removing all differences from our society including their own? Yes, rant on and on with that one, you lost me a long time ago and would continue to do so if it had not become so dangerous a vision?
No, the current Conservative party and Labour party have fostered a particularly pernicious and loathesome vision of what matters; it seems to be that you just need to be metropolitan, progressive and elite. Yeh, right on!!!! What about the poor, the lack of jobs, the disintegration of family and lack of aspiration....? Sorry, no, we need to hijack marriage and empty it of all meaning and set out on our Barrow March! Of, course, sorry!
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Sunday, 19 May 2013
Cameron, a leaderless leadership and soundbites!
The day is fast approaching when thankfully Monsieur Cameron will be gone from this current version of the Conservative party.
How can you sustain any kind of leadership when large numbers of your party not only do not support your Queen's Speech with the enthusiasm one would expect but also are likely to vote overwhelmingly against what has become his signature tune, gay marriage?
You may find it difficult to understand as a progressive liberal what all the fuss is about and you may take comfort from what you have concluded is a pet subject for an older brigade. But so what? Are you saying your an ageist, that those who are older are of no account, that those who are older have not any wisdom; sorry you may not believe in wisdom, too objective, too passe, yes we know.
But in whatever bubble you are in this is a plot that has been truly lost for it is no longer an issue of just another political tussle, it is a fundamental attack on justice for the family and children and it is a fundamental attack on freedom of conscience and religion and we know where that takes us?
Mr. Cameron has excelled as an exponent of sloppy thinking and existential nonsense unsurpassed in any previous leader that I can recall in too many areas of policy. He claims that he is for marriage, and yet he wishes to completely redefine it so that for millions it becomes meaningless, he wishes to institute an organism that pays lip service to the needs of children for a father and mother. As far as I am concerned too much of his thinking and too much of his leadership of the Conservative party is an insult to the rational mind. And what he has also excelled at is that his party has become not just an insult to many working class families but also even now to the old conservative brigade.
As soon as he is out of power the better.
I for one shall not be sorry to see him go.
How can you sustain any kind of leadership when large numbers of your party not only do not support your Queen's Speech with the enthusiasm one would expect but also are likely to vote overwhelmingly against what has become his signature tune, gay marriage?
You may find it difficult to understand as a progressive liberal what all the fuss is about and you may take comfort from what you have concluded is a pet subject for an older brigade. But so what? Are you saying your an ageist, that those who are older are of no account, that those who are older have not any wisdom; sorry you may not believe in wisdom, too objective, too passe, yes we know.
But in whatever bubble you are in this is a plot that has been truly lost for it is no longer an issue of just another political tussle, it is a fundamental attack on justice for the family and children and it is a fundamental attack on freedom of conscience and religion and we know where that takes us?
Mr. Cameron has excelled as an exponent of sloppy thinking and existential nonsense unsurpassed in any previous leader that I can recall in too many areas of policy. He claims that he is for marriage, and yet he wishes to completely redefine it so that for millions it becomes meaningless, he wishes to institute an organism that pays lip service to the needs of children for a father and mother. As far as I am concerned too much of his thinking and too much of his leadership of the Conservative party is an insult to the rational mind. And what he has also excelled at is that his party has become not just an insult to many working class families but also even now to the old conservative brigade.
As soon as he is out of power the better.
I for one shall not be sorry to see him go.
Saturday, 18 May 2013
What the Obama Scandals Reveal About Progressive Ideology | FrontPage Magazine
What the Obama Scandals Reveal About Progressive Ideology | FrontPage Magazine
"The three scandals dominating the news this week all reveal the moral and intellectual corruption at the heart of progressive ideology. Whether are not these revelations gain enough traction to halt the country’s downward spiral is the more important question..............."
"The three scandals dominating the news this week all reveal the moral and intellectual corruption at the heart of progressive ideology. Whether are not these revelations gain enough traction to halt the country’s downward spiral is the more important question..............."
Friday, 17 May 2013
The grief of loss; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief!
! Samuel 16, verse 1
" The Lord said to Samuel, " How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being King over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go, I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons."
The first time I experienced any kind of grief of real import was when my mother died at 58, it was so painful and still is; you just learn to live with it. I grieved when my son left home for many years and no doubt I shall do the same when my daughter gets married. Perhaps I am just too soft or maybe just human?
Saul faced real grief here.
We do not know what he was dwelling on; his sadness and love for Saul who had been rejected and whom he would in fact never see again, his concern for what would happen to the people of Israel now that God had rejected their King, or perhaps he was confounded by the circumstances? He had foreseen in advance what the likely outcome would be if the nation of Israel chose a King-Saul. God had had to persuade him to be party to this change. He must have struggled to lift himself out of the gloom which descended upon him, with the questions that all this had raised about the coherence of God's plan, whether he had wasted his life and ministry perhaps? None of this would surprise and maybe one day I can ask him? It must have been a dispiriting sad and lonely moment.
It reminds me of the moments for Jesus facing death in the garden of Gethsemane isolated and suffering.
He, Samuel needed to know that God cared and then God intervened showing him that He did, for the people of Israel, for Samuel. There are no dead ends with God, no ends of the road, there is but hope and change and a plan that transcends the circumstances of your life. The only question is whether you will go with it, will you obey fully?
It will require action but it will be a noble venture "fill your horn with oil", and one with purpose and meaning even if you cannot see it "go". It will require trust in Him, that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. Even if it is to death itself, it is a noble venture for we meet then with Him. It is not without promise " for I have provided..." even if it seems strange and surprising.
For God does care. He intervened in Samuel's life to help him transcend his circumstances through gifting him purpose and a part in His plan, which unknown to him meant a part in the lineage of Jesus. Such significance in grief, such promise in the experience of rejection and acquaintance with grief, a foreshadow of Christ to come, is a privilege indeed for Samuel.
" The Lord said to Samuel, " How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being King over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go, I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons."
The first time I experienced any kind of grief of real import was when my mother died at 58, it was so painful and still is; you just learn to live with it. I grieved when my son left home for many years and no doubt I shall do the same when my daughter gets married. Perhaps I am just too soft or maybe just human?
Saul faced real grief here.
We do not know what he was dwelling on; his sadness and love for Saul who had been rejected and whom he would in fact never see again, his concern for what would happen to the people of Israel now that God had rejected their King, or perhaps he was confounded by the circumstances? He had foreseen in advance what the likely outcome would be if the nation of Israel chose a King-Saul. God had had to persuade him to be party to this change. He must have struggled to lift himself out of the gloom which descended upon him, with the questions that all this had raised about the coherence of God's plan, whether he had wasted his life and ministry perhaps? None of this would surprise and maybe one day I can ask him? It must have been a dispiriting sad and lonely moment.
It reminds me of the moments for Jesus facing death in the garden of Gethsemane isolated and suffering.
He, Samuel needed to know that God cared and then God intervened showing him that He did, for the people of Israel, for Samuel. There are no dead ends with God, no ends of the road, there is but hope and change and a plan that transcends the circumstances of your life. The only question is whether you will go with it, will you obey fully?
It will require action but it will be a noble venture "fill your horn with oil", and one with purpose and meaning even if you cannot see it "go". It will require trust in Him, that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. Even if it is to death itself, it is a noble venture for we meet then with Him. It is not without promise " for I have provided..." even if it seems strange and surprising.
For God does care. He intervened in Samuel's life to help him transcend his circumstances through gifting him purpose and a part in His plan, which unknown to him meant a part in the lineage of Jesus. Such significance in grief, such promise in the experience of rejection and acquaintance with grief, a foreshadow of Christ to come, is a privilege indeed for Samuel.
Benghazi fiction, IRS targetting and a great quote from George F Will May 13 2013
"...This administration aggressively hawked the fiction that the Benghazi attack was just an excessively boisterous movie review. Now we are told that a few wayward souls in Cincinnati, with nary a trace of political purpose, targeted for harassment political groups with “tea party” and “patriot” in their titles. The Washington Post reported Monday that the IRS also targeted groups that “criticized the government and sought to educate Americans about the U.S. Constitution.” Credit the IRS operatives with understanding who and what threatens the current regime.
Jay Carney, whose unenviable job is not to explain but to explain away what his employers say, calls the IRS’ behavior “inappropriate.” No, using the salad fork for the entree is inappropriate. Using the IRS for political purposes is a criminal offense...."
George F Will May 13 2013
Thursday, 16 May 2013
The rain falls.
The rain falls; it reveals so much more of all that is around us!
The variety of and rich greens in the gardens, the smell of the earth, the dampness of the air, so much not to miss.
And then the sky, oh the sky, so full of serene and yet moving blues and greens.
A rich vista for us all to enjoy.
The variety of and rich greens in the gardens, the smell of the earth, the dampness of the air, so much not to miss.
And then the sky, oh the sky, so full of serene and yet moving blues and greens.
A rich vista for us all to enjoy.
Saturday, 11 May 2013
The creative loss, the resurrected spirit and the film the Consequences of Love by Paulo Sorrentino
The problem with being responsible is that it can hold down your creative instinct and action when that very thing can help to keep you going in meeting responsibilities? You take the strain of work, you do your due in odd jobs around the home even if it is paying someone else to do it, and you meet the challenges of different family members and friends.
Then what?
Exhaustion!
Time to escape?
I watched a very striking film recently, "The Consequences of Love" which I would commend to you, through Curzon Home Cinemas, cost £2. It is a 2004 Italian psychological thriller directed and written by Paulo Sorrentino recounting the story of a lonely and secretive businessman in a hotel in Switzerland. Toni Servillo is exceptionally good in the part. The musical score is haunting. As a study in isolation and loneliness which does not lose touch with the call of and possibilities of love in lots of different contexts, it is gruellingly addictive to watch.
The concept of cinema as an art form is resurrected for me after this film.
I could philosophically critique it with force but then that would be to read too much into it and there are some parts which could be better.
As you watch slowly the gripping final scenes and there is a switch to his friend you are struck by the incongruity of it all, the strangely heroic aspects and in that maelstrom the redemptive aspects of the main character whose flickering spirit has returned and is finally lowered but unbowed. For we see that the reminder of, the knowledge of and the memory won of love can rejuvenate and inspire the spirit, being retained in a stoic conquering way despite the circumstances. Even existence has a great deal of trouble trying to snuff it out.
The creative instinct and action is more than experienced by this cinematography, it is truly refreshed.
Then what?
Exhaustion!
Time to escape?
I watched a very striking film recently, "The Consequences of Love" which I would commend to you, through Curzon Home Cinemas, cost £2. It is a 2004 Italian psychological thriller directed and written by Paulo Sorrentino recounting the story of a lonely and secretive businessman in a hotel in Switzerland. Toni Servillo is exceptionally good in the part. The musical score is haunting. As a study in isolation and loneliness which does not lose touch with the call of and possibilities of love in lots of different contexts, it is gruellingly addictive to watch.
The concept of cinema as an art form is resurrected for me after this film.
I could philosophically critique it with force but then that would be to read too much into it and there are some parts which could be better.
As you watch slowly the gripping final scenes and there is a switch to his friend you are struck by the incongruity of it all, the strangely heroic aspects and in that maelstrom the redemptive aspects of the main character whose flickering spirit has returned and is finally lowered but unbowed. For we see that the reminder of, the knowledge of and the memory won of love can rejuvenate and inspire the spirit, being retained in a stoic conquering way despite the circumstances. Even existence has a great deal of trouble trying to snuff it out.
The creative instinct and action is more than experienced by this cinematography, it is truly refreshed.
Monday, 6 May 2013
Screaming in the face of those with whom you disagree.
It is not difficult finding phrases or sets of words like " feeling contempt for" or " cultural thickness" or "Robespierrean bourgeois contempt" when considering the latest fads and doctrinaire expressions of them from the bourgeois elites we have manipulating the seat of power! Such is the level of dialogue on important social and political issues in the bourgeois chambers of current Western elites.
The latest of course is marriage!
We cannot have that and so neither can you? So what is the solution? You have what we define it to mean. The fact is that your sensitivities, your appreciation of what it means is irrelevant, it is toxic to the core! Fascists we are even to dare to suggest there may be another way of looking at all this in the interests of children, family. When as here the instruments of government are used to force it on masses of the population, do you know what you are left with? A contempt for the very word "democracy" for it has been emptied of any meaning. And do you know what those instruments of power are left with, amongst other things violence against children, against peaceful demonstrators?
No, it is not enough to make your case against something you dislike, it is enough just to shout abuse, and we know what comes out of the mouth and since that is all it really amounts to, that is no reasoning power, no respect for the other, just brute ideology we start to put in place all the seeds for a revolution even if and pleadingly, a peaceful one!
So, where is the concern for the poor in all this?
No, it is not the lack of concern for the poor apparently that is toxic; it is not doing what is required to protect and then institutionalise the sexual proclivities and sensitivities of the bourgeois elite.
This infantile behaviour settles nothing!
I am reminded again of C S Lewis on page 5 of The Great Divorce.
" They've got cinemas and fish and chip shops and advertisements and all the sorts of things they want. The appalling lack of any intellectual life doesn't worry them. I realised as soon as I got here that there'd been some mistake. I ought to have taken the first bus but I've fooled about trying to wake people up here. I found a few fellows I'd known before and tried to to form a little circle, but they all seem to have sunk to the level of their surroundings. Even before we came here I'd had some doubts about a man called Cyril Blellow. I always thought he was working in a false idiom. But he was at least intelligent: one could get some criticism worth hearing from him, even if he was a failure on the creative side. But now he seems to have nothing left but his self-conceit. The last time I tried to read him some of my own stuff...but wait a minute, I'd just like you to look at it."
The latest of course is marriage!
We cannot have that and so neither can you? So what is the solution? You have what we define it to mean. The fact is that your sensitivities, your appreciation of what it means is irrelevant, it is toxic to the core! Fascists we are even to dare to suggest there may be another way of looking at all this in the interests of children, family. When as here the instruments of government are used to force it on masses of the population, do you know what you are left with? A contempt for the very word "democracy" for it has been emptied of any meaning. And do you know what those instruments of power are left with, amongst other things violence against children, against peaceful demonstrators?
No, it is not enough to make your case against something you dislike, it is enough just to shout abuse, and we know what comes out of the mouth and since that is all it really amounts to, that is no reasoning power, no respect for the other, just brute ideology we start to put in place all the seeds for a revolution even if and pleadingly, a peaceful one!
So, where is the concern for the poor in all this?
No, it is not the lack of concern for the poor apparently that is toxic; it is not doing what is required to protect and then institutionalise the sexual proclivities and sensitivities of the bourgeois elite.
This infantile behaviour settles nothing!
I am reminded again of C S Lewis on page 5 of The Great Divorce.
" They've got cinemas and fish and chip shops and advertisements and all the sorts of things they want. The appalling lack of any intellectual life doesn't worry them. I realised as soon as I got here that there'd been some mistake. I ought to have taken the first bus but I've fooled about trying to wake people up here. I found a few fellows I'd known before and tried to to form a little circle, but they all seem to have sunk to the level of their surroundings. Even before we came here I'd had some doubts about a man called Cyril Blellow. I always thought he was working in a false idiom. But he was at least intelligent: one could get some criticism worth hearing from him, even if he was a failure on the creative side. But now he seems to have nothing left but his self-conceit. The last time I tried to read him some of my own stuff...but wait a minute, I'd just like you to look at it."
Heaven and Hell, and C S Lewis.
" But what you ask, of earth? I think, will not be found by anyone to be in the end a very distinct place. I think earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all long, only a region in Hell; and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of Heaven itself."
C.S. Lewis, page IX The Great Divorce.
C.S. Lewis, page IX The Great Divorce.
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Patriotism; a natural enemy of ideology and a bell ringer for responsibility- Sir Walter Scott?
Breathes there the man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
"This is my own, my native land!"
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn' d!
As home his footsteps he hath turn'd
From wandering on a foreign strand?
If such there breathe, go, mark him well;
For him no Minstrel raptures swell;
Him though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim;
Despite those titles, power, and pelth,
The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonour'd, and unsung.
Patriotism- Innominatus I, by Sir Walter Scott 1771-1832
Who never to himself hath said,
"This is my own, my native land!"
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn' d!
As home his footsteps he hath turn'd
From wandering on a foreign strand?
If such there breathe, go, mark him well;
For him no Minstrel raptures swell;
Him though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim;
Despite those titles, power, and pelth,
The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonour'd, and unsung.
Patriotism- Innominatus I, by Sir Walter Scott 1771-1832
Thursday, 2 May 2013
David Cameron, the phantom of the Dorset Dawn.
David Cameron and his party set have shown more than enough of their true colours this week!
If you seriously question the European experiment, think that the implications of open borders needs to be better thought through and that marriage should not be redefined for all of us you are a closet racist, a loonie and a fruitcake. Is there any wonder the Conservatives have become unelectable and seriously posh?
Motherhood, forget it, family life you must be joking and as for Cornish pasties, you must be a seriously old has been!
What shall we do with him and his party set?
Get them out of power I say by voting NO to Conservatives and yes to UKIP.
If you seriously question the European experiment, think that the implications of open borders needs to be better thought through and that marriage should not be redefined for all of us you are a closet racist, a loonie and a fruitcake. Is there any wonder the Conservatives have become unelectable and seriously posh?
Motherhood, forget it, family life you must be joking and as for Cornish pasties, you must be a seriously old has been!
What shall we do with him and his party set?
Get them out of power I say by voting NO to Conservatives and yes to UKIP.
Monday, 29 April 2013
Why France's gay marriage debate has started to look like a revolution » The Spectator
Why France's gay marriage debate has started to look like a revolution » The Spectator
The noxious violence against unarmed peaceful demonstrators and children is unacceptable and is redolent of a dictatorship of the worst kind.
The noxious violence against unarmed peaceful demonstrators and children is unacceptable and is redolent of a dictatorship of the worst kind.
Saturday, 27 April 2013
A mother's request.
The passage which follows can be found in the Bible in the New Testament at Matthew Chapter 20 and verses 20-23
The mother of James and John probably on their behalf had just not got it!
This was no earthly kingdom He Jesus had come to set up; at least not at this time and until He should come again. Her questioning differed from those of the Pharisees; she shows love and respect in her own way ""kneeling before him," she comes to ask of him, caring for her sons " she asked him for something"?
Jesus's answer is gentle, patient and probing.
She just did not understand!
For what she had not understood is that His way meant accepting and enduring suffering, the deepest humiliation. As Augustine said, "They sought the exaltation but did not see the step".
James would be martyred.
John would be imprisoned, scourged, his life endangered, and go into exile.
Paul also died a martyr's death.
This is the path to greatness in God's kingdom; suffering and of a kind which the Father in and through His Son prescribes.
Times have not changed and nor will they until He returns.
But He is worth it!
English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)
A Mother's Request
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something.21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”The mother of James and John probably on their behalf had just not got it!
This was no earthly kingdom He Jesus had come to set up; at least not at this time and until He should come again. Her questioning differed from those of the Pharisees; she shows love and respect in her own way ""kneeling before him," she comes to ask of him, caring for her sons " she asked him for something"?
Jesus's answer is gentle, patient and probing.
She just did not understand!
For what she had not understood is that His way meant accepting and enduring suffering, the deepest humiliation. As Augustine said, "They sought the exaltation but did not see the step".
James would be martyred.
John would be imprisoned, scourged, his life endangered, and go into exile.
Paul also died a martyr's death.
This is the path to greatness in God's kingdom; suffering and of a kind which the Father in and through His Son prescribes.
Times have not changed and nor will they until He returns.
But He is worth it!
Friday, 26 April 2013
A dog day's afternoon.
We have a Lhasa Apso dog.
He is a smashing dog and for a dog somewhat emotional. If he hears any loud noises he becomes very scared, his tail goes down and he either wants to rush home or be picked up. But he is still a smashing dog!
An important reason for this is the way we treat him and my wife plays a large part in this. Her attention to the details of his life; she shows him a lot of care, from grooming to feeding to structuring his day. The truth is that for this and lots of other reasons I have a fantastic wife.
But from this seemingly insignificant picture of a dog who this afternoon came for a walk with us, a glorious walk in the English countryside, I am struck by this thought!
Do you have a good impact on those around you, even towards your own dog?
He is a smashing dog and for a dog somewhat emotional. If he hears any loud noises he becomes very scared, his tail goes down and he either wants to rush home or be picked up. But he is still a smashing dog!
An important reason for this is the way we treat him and my wife plays a large part in this. Her attention to the details of his life; she shows him a lot of care, from grooming to feeding to structuring his day. The truth is that for this and lots of other reasons I have a fantastic wife.
But from this seemingly insignificant picture of a dog who this afternoon came for a walk with us, a glorious walk in the English countryside, I am struck by this thought!
Do you have a good impact on those around you, even towards your own dog?
Thursday, 25 April 2013
We remember Beslan- September 3rd 2004.
http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_international/beslan_anniversary/index.html?SITE=AP
Do you remember that attack upon a school of unarmed children?
Lest we forget here is a reminder. It is not pleasant but we should not forget man's capacity for evil!
For the families concerned, the grief must be unbearable, we should remember them in prayer.
Do you remember that attack upon a school of unarmed children?
Lest we forget here is a reminder. It is not pleasant but we should not forget man's capacity for evil!
For the families concerned, the grief must be unbearable, we should remember them in prayer.
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Asterix decides to jump ship!
Given the number fleeing France at present and certainly the increasing numbers leaving for and living in England you might be forgiven for thinking that France is in deep trouble? Unfortunately, it is on several different levels.
Perhaps just as disarming if not more so is their loss of that cultural icon Gerard Depardieux to Russian sunnier climes or is it Belgium or maybe both?
What we do know is that they have let loose on their streets something which even Marie Antoinette may have had trouble assimilating. They have let loose a government whose declared aim is the dismantling of centuries of French culture and status, the declaration of a void of indignity and social disorder.
What for goodness sake am I talking about? No, nothing to do with the economy although that is pretty dire; no not the dissembling of real aims although that as well; no not getting rid of Asterix, nor Popeye? What then? Lets see if you can guess?
There is a mouse and then there is a cat but in this case they have fallen in love and their avowed intent is to feed everyone a load of cheddar cheese and call it Camembert except that it is made in America? Get it?
From Essex with love.
And as a fellow traveller has said, as always, keep calm, and carry on and remember, you can always help yourself to a Bordeaux!
Perhaps just as disarming if not more so is their loss of that cultural icon Gerard Depardieux to Russian sunnier climes or is it Belgium or maybe both?
What we do know is that they have let loose on their streets something which even Marie Antoinette may have had trouble assimilating. They have let loose a government whose declared aim is the dismantling of centuries of French culture and status, the declaration of a void of indignity and social disorder.
What for goodness sake am I talking about? No, nothing to do with the economy although that is pretty dire; no not the dissembling of real aims although that as well; no not getting rid of Asterix, nor Popeye? What then? Lets see if you can guess?
There is a mouse and then there is a cat but in this case they have fallen in love and their avowed intent is to feed everyone a load of cheddar cheese and call it Camembert except that it is made in America? Get it?
From Essex with love.
And as a fellow traveller has said, as always, keep calm, and carry on and remember, you can always help yourself to a Bordeaux!
Saturday, 20 April 2013
The will to kill?
So, you do not like what someone believes or says? So, you kill them?
But why?
The survival of the fittest- really?
Morality is dead so just do what you want, when you want, so what? And if someone stands in your way, get them out of your way?- I think you might be just as likely to kill yourself with that view?
You are a threat to my business, my seat of power?- is there not more to life than money or arrogance?
To honour God, to stop the apostate- so you aggregate to yourself the role of judge?
What if I say to you instead that every human being is unique and special, made in the image of their Creator, who is loving, merciful, kind, just, compassionate and faithful; would you still kill your fellow human being because you do not like what that someone believes or says?
For this view of the dignity of human beings, many are killed?
Why?
But why?
The survival of the fittest- really?
Morality is dead so just do what you want, when you want, so what? And if someone stands in your way, get them out of your way?- I think you might be just as likely to kill yourself with that view?
You are a threat to my business, my seat of power?- is there not more to life than money or arrogance?
To honour God, to stop the apostate- so you aggregate to yourself the role of judge?
What if I say to you instead that every human being is unique and special, made in the image of their Creator, who is loving, merciful, kind, just, compassionate and faithful; would you still kill your fellow human being because you do not like what that someone believes or says?
For this view of the dignity of human beings, many are killed?
Why?
The Rise of Islamism: Its Impact on Religious Minorities
http://www.hudson.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=hudson_upcoming_events&id=1001
The Hudson Institute Center for Religious Freedom is holding an event on Wednesday, May 15th, 12.00 to 1.30 pm, entitled
The Rise of Islamism: Its Impact on Religious Minorities
It will be streamed live here: www.hudson.org/WatchLive
You can submit questions via Twitter: @HudsonInstitute
This is what their promotional material also states.
"With the rise of Islamism in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa, religious minorities have come increasingly under siege. Already this year, nearly two hundred Hazara Shiite Muslims in Baluchistan, Pakistan have been killed in bombings launched by the Sunni extremist group Lashkar-e-Jangvi. In Egypt, the nation's new constitution denies Baha'is the right to houses of worship, while Iran's denies Baha'is any rights at all. In Mali, Islamists have destroyed historic Sufi shrines, and in Iraq, a campaign of terrorist violence has driven almost the entire Mandean community from its ancient homeland. Across a broad geographic area and in once culturally diverse societies, Christians, Jews, Baha'is, Ahmadi Muslims, Zoroastrians, Sufis, Shiites, Mandeans, Yizidis, Sikhs, Hindus, and other religious minorities face a range of threats from ascendant Islamists.
Please join moderator Nina Shea, Hudson Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Religious Freedom, and our expert panel to discuss Islamism's impact on religious minorities and recommendations to strengthen the cause of religious freedom and cultural pluralism.
Panelists will include former Pakistani Parliamentarian (2008-12) Farahnaz Ispahani; Professor of Iranian, Central Eurasian, and Islamic Studies at Indiana University Jamsheed K. Choksy; Director of the Office of Public Affairs for the Baha'is of the United States Anthony Vance; and Executive Director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism and author Stephen Schwartz."
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Hudson Institute North Korea: A Prison without Bars.
"North Korea's Kim dynasty considers religion a hindrance to the nation's socialist evolution. For 50 years, its secret police has waged a brutal campaign to eradicate religious belief. It has nearly succeeded. But the numbers of Christian believers are now slowly rising (maybe even in the low hundreds of thousands) and they must be prepared to pay with their lives for their faith..................................
" In 2003, I watched three men being taken to a place of public execution in a county of Hamgyong Province [in North Korea]. Among them was a man with whom I had studied the Bible together in China. He was gagged with rags before his execution. When told to say what he wanted to say, he said, "O Lord, forgive these miserable people." And he was shot dead."
Hudson Institute North Korea: A Prison without Bars
" In 2003, I watched three men being taken to a place of public execution in a county of Hamgyong Province [in North Korea]. Among them was a man with whom I had studied the Bible together in China. He was gagged with rags before his execution. When told to say what he wanted to say, he said, "O Lord, forgive these miserable people." And he was shot dead."
Hudson Institute North Korea: A Prison without Bars
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Not older, just wiser!
It does not follow that the older you get the wiser you become. It can be the case and to the extent it is the more the loss of other things is compensated for.
And yet it can also be a heavy burden for you can see so much more of how many possibilities there are for good and likewise for failure.
There is in this an assumption that there is a way called wisdom, a kind of road map. How you see this will affect how you understand what it means to be truly human? Is it for instance, something we must construct for ourselves even as a necessity and or is it a revelation from somewhere or something?
Therein lies the dilemma for all of us, are we in the construct camp and or are we in the revelation one? The extent to which you can adjust to and move through this diversity around you is the challenge of our times, always has been and will continue to be.
Although the record is not a good one, there have been and there are and will be redemptive outcomes along the way which irradiate a vision that wisdom does exist?
Is it then older, just wiser or is it just older, not wiser?
And yet it can also be a heavy burden for you can see so much more of how many possibilities there are for good and likewise for failure.
There is in this an assumption that there is a way called wisdom, a kind of road map. How you see this will affect how you understand what it means to be truly human? Is it for instance, something we must construct for ourselves even as a necessity and or is it a revelation from somewhere or something?
Therein lies the dilemma for all of us, are we in the construct camp and or are we in the revelation one? The extent to which you can adjust to and move through this diversity around you is the challenge of our times, always has been and will continue to be.
Although the record is not a good one, there have been and there are and will be redemptive outcomes along the way which irradiate a vision that wisdom does exist?
Is it then older, just wiser or is it just older, not wiser?
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