February 28, 2006

Religion: reflections on death

"Them not busy being born are busy dying", Bob Dylan



Do you ever get the feeling that someone, or something, is looking over your shoulder?

I do.



Many people think it morbid to speak of death. I don't agree. The fact is that most people are afraid of death. The fear of death is the root cause of religion. We simply refuse to admit that dying is the end of us, so we invent a state of immortality that waits just beyond the veil.


In this afterlife we will be met by all those who have gone before. It comforts us, in this life, to believe that those loved ones who have died before us reside in the afterlife and are waiting for us. This is not new. All religions throughout time, Christianity being reletively new, describe an afterlife...and how to get there. Perhaps it is true..I don't know. But religion isn't about dying...it's about conquering death.


The Book of Common Prayer says that, "In the midst of life we are in death". I can't argue with that. But it doesn't make me uncomfortable. I can see death coming for me, waiting for me, but I am not worried by this. All life is mortal. Any belief in an afterlife that excludes all other forms of life is to me utterly arrogant and totally imaginairy. I like that whole "dust to dust" thing. Out of the darkness and void, into the light for a brief moment, and back again into the darkness and void.




Frankly, if the afterlife is filled with the kinds of assholes that filled this life, then I welcome the void. Humanity's obsession with "Paradise" has blinded us to the world in which we reside. Our view that this life, and world, is a temporary place has led us to treat it as such.

I don't want to come off sounding negative here...I love life and hope to make it last as long as possible. But death is a part of that and I will not ignore it or be afraid of it.
John Oxenham, and English poet says, " For death begins at life's first breath, and life begins at touch of death".

February 27, 2006

Politics: Bird Flu into the Cuckoo's Nest


The big news this morning, here in Britain, is that Avian Flu has been detected in France, Germany, and Switzerland. This morning the French are going to begin to innoculate millions of ducks and geese in the south of that country.



The great danger of this epidemic is that the virus can infect humans. This is very often fatal.

Here in Britain, where the answer to any and all animal epidemics seems to be mass slaughter, the experts and government ministers are sending out the message that we should not worry. I won't. But then I have Leukaemia.


The world is a dangerous place. Natural and man-made disasters occur all the time. The possibility for total annialation is constant. Epidemics, meteors crashing to earth, global warming, global dimming, viral mutations, genocidal wars, global economic crashes, reality television...there is no end to potential world-wide catastrophies. So I won't worry...but I think I'll give KFC a miss just in case.

February 25, 2006

Politics: New Orleans











These are two photos of the same disaster: New Orleans. The city's defenses against the forces of nature failed. Water from the Mississippi, the Gulf of Mexico, and Lake Pontchartraine poured into and submerged large sections of the city. Most of the population evacuated. But those that were unable to were left to fend for themselves.


This photo combines two seperate pictures that were from news reports. If you click on the photo you will see that the picture on the top was accompanied by the caption explaing that the young black man had just "looted" a grocery store. The picture on the bottom was explained as a young white couple who had "found" food and supplies at a grocery store.


Of course the president was quick to respond...a few days later. All the wretched refugees were gathered into the safety of the Superdome. From there they were dispersed throughout the USA and promised a speedy return to their homes.



The president, never one to miss an opportunity for a quick and much needed vacation, decided to do a little fishing while he was there.

The president, like Monty Python, always manages to look on the bright side of life
The reason that New Orleans is the subject of today's blog is that one of my sister's favourite getaways was New Orleans. This was a great city to visit and party in. I have gone to Mardi Gras myself and I know that if I could remember anything of it, those memories would be good ones.

So, with Mardi Gras soon to be happening, let's wish New Orleans a speedy and safe reconstruction. Let the good times roll.

P.S. Clicking on any photo will enlarge the image.

February 24, 2006

Politics: Be Careful


The other day I was writing about the criminal use of guns here in Britain. The day after writing that piece a gang of armed robbers, dressed as police, kidnapped the family of a cash depot manager and forced him to help them steal £43,000,000 in cash (give or take a million or two). The politicians were quick to say that the robbers were using "terrorist" tactics. But I have seen countless heist films with this type of modus operandi. I think it is rather silly to start to classify any and all illegal activity as "terrorist".


Last September, at the Labour Party Conference, security officers forcibly ejected and 82 yr old heckler from the building. He was then held by the police under the pretext of "prevention of terrorism". Later the Prime Minister apologised for the incident. I know that the same thing occured in the US congress when two women, from opposing sides of the political spectrum, were ejected under the same pretences because they were wearing T-shirts that expressed opinions concerning the war in Iraq.


It seems to me that our governments, under the pretext of preserving our freedoms, are consistently undermining them instead. From the indiscriminate and universal use of wiretapping, the demand that companies surreneder personal information on clients and customers, the penchant for any and all dissent to be branded as terrorist or traitorous, and the unrestrained and dishonorable desire to somehow sanction torture and incarceration without trial, our governments have used the fear of terrorism to enact new laws, and ignore old ones. They say they do this to keep democracy safe.



Benjamin Frankiln once said, "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both."

While terrorism is indeed a real threat in today's world, the fear of terrorism is an even more insidious foe. Dwight Eisenhower said, "The problem with defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without."



So, in conclusion, I would say this: Be carefull what you wish for
..you just might get it.

February 23, 2006

Politics: Port Anyone?


We have here a photo of a port. I don't know exactly which one it is. They all look the same to me. Today the news in the USA is that President Bush has finally threatened to use his veto if the Congress decides vote against the takeover of American ports by a company owned by the United Arab Emirates.

What a surprise it must be to Bush that Congress, who usually rubberstamp every daft idea that looney bugger comes up with, might actually disagree with him...and have the audacity to say so out loud. Has Congress finally discovered where the testicles were hidden?



I believe that there is a more sinister reason for handing over strategic elements of the economy and infrastructure to Bush's mates in the Middle-East: A trade off. It makes sense. Bush and his cronies, domestic and foriegn, are all in the oil business. They rule their respective countries with regal disreguard for liberty and fairplay. Their cabinets and assemblies rubberstamp all their pet projects, plans, and schemes. Life, as they know it, would change very little should they just trade places...and peoples.



Congress is considering legislation to prohibit any foriegn ownership of ports in the USA. This sounds good on paper. There was similar legislation on the books concerning ownership of TV networks. This did not stop Rupert Murdoch from gaining control of Fox. All he did was wave a billion or two in the faces of salivating Republican overlords, and promise to dedicate his new "news" channel to promote their interests (and his own), and they granted him citizenship one day and gave him control of a media empire the next. Why not do the same for their friends in the Middle East. America is, after all, a melting pot.

This man was called Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia. He was an immigrant to America who gained control of the docks in Brooklyn. He didn't buy them from a friendly government, nor did he work his way up the corporate ladder. He was a founding member of the modern MAFIA. He was a gangster. Working through the trade unions, and using murder, blackmail and extorsion, he managed to control all the goods coming into and going out of New York. He made a lot of money. Money was his only motivation and he was willing to take extreme measures to insure it's continuous flow into the family coffers. Does this remind you of anyone? He was a very bad man...but he was chasing the American dream.



Ask yourselves this: When the new owners of the ports start work, whose dream will they be chasing?

February 22, 2006

Politics: Interesting Stats



Here is an interesting statistic: 51% of the worlds 100 wealthiest bodies are corporations.

Here is another: The GDP of the worlds 48 poorest nations (1/4 of the worlds countries) is less than the wealth of the worlds three richest people combined.

In Britain one in every seven pounds spent by consumers is spent at Tesco (the UK eqivalent of Wall-Mart).

Today a report by the Center for Medicade and Medicare Services (CMS) was released in the USA that states that 20% of the US GDP will be spent on healthcare by the year 2015.

Half the world (three billion people) live on less than two dollars a day.

Every year more than 11 million children (30,000 per day) will die before the age of five due to poverty.

20% of the worlds population in the developed nations consumes 86% of the worlds goods.

President Calvin Coolidge, 1923-29, is quoted as saying, " The business of America is business."

Well, with Globalization and Corporate Greed in the ascendancy, it has finally come to pass that the business of America truely is business. The corporations have well and truely taken their place in governments in all the developed world. They have bribed and coerced their way to global economic and political influence and power. They move easily from the boardroom to the cabinet, from the congress to the lobby, and they seem to prosper and enrich themselves unashamedly as they do so.

We the people seem to exist to simply pay taxes and to consume goods. The real evil of this is that the money always seems to go to the same handfull of people in the end.

Corporations exist for profit and are entirely self-serving. Governments should serve the people of the nation and the world. These are conflicting stances.

If the criteria for high office in government is high office in business, and they are seen to be interchangeable, then when the corporate bigwig, temporarily residing in governemnt, issues a call to arms..how can we trust his motives? Can the leapord change his spots so easily?

I don't think so. I don't mind that big business exists...I do mind that they are now running the world and that we seem powerless to stop them. Who chooses the candidates who run for high office? It's all about money.

February 21, 2006

Politics: Stop and Freeze


England, unlike the USA, is not a country with gun culture. Citizens do not have the right to bear arms and only a small percentage of the police force are actually allowed to carry guns in the line of duty.

This unfortunately does not mean that there are no guns out there on the streets. In the last few weeks there have been three police-women shot in the line of duty. One of the brave ladies was killed. The fact is that there are quite a few firearms offenses every year here. Criminals do have guns and they are not afraid to use them. There have been drive-by shootings, drug and gang related shootings, and shootings in the course of robberies and burglaries. Even the police themselves, not being used to carrying and using firearms, have managed to shoot and kill a number of unarmed suspects.

I am not a big fan of guns. They scare me. The potential for tragedy is enormous, and the outcome is quite often final. People get shot by accident every day. Children play with guns left carelessly available to them by uninformed and negligent parents. Domestic arguments escalate into unintended killings.

Guns are dangerous. People are even more dangerous. There are, in England, killings every day. People are stabbed, beaten, strangled, etc..and a few are shot. But the number of people shot is increasing.

The two policemen in this photo have just received an award for bravery. One of them is holding a mace that they took from a violent suspect. They did this without a gun between them. They fought with this lunatic until they overpowered him. Brave lads indeed. What chance would a policewoman have had?

One in eight british bobbies suffer head injuries every year. Without firearms to deter violence, and in the absence of sufficient numbers of colleagues by their sides, they are quite often called upon to engage in violent struggles with aggressive offenders. Why should this be so?

In the USA when you hear the magic words, "Stop or I will shoot!!", you stop. Another magic phrase is "Freeze Motherfucker!!". You freeze, you stop, and that is that.

Let's arm our policemen and women. Let's give them the power to command offenders to Stop and Freeze, without having to resort to violent struggles in which they are themselves in danger of being overpowered.

I am not a right-wing fanatic. In fact I lean more to the left than to the right. But it is, I believe, in the interest of society, that the police should exist and be strong. This world would not be worth living in without them. So let's support them, defend them, and keep a close eye on them.

February 18, 2006

Politics: Nukes? I don't think so





So the Iranians are determined to aquire nucleur meapons. Who could blame them? Look what happened to the last Islamic state that was being run by clerics..Afghanistan. They were completely overrun, in a very short time, by the American Alliance without offering any real resistance. The clerics took flight to the hills, the same hills from which the Americans helped them wage guerilla war against the Russians, and were once again reduced to being "Freedom Fighters" (as the CIA used to call them), or "Terrorists" (as the CIA calls them now).


Personally I don't care if the Iranians, or any other group of people, wish to live in a Theocracy. That is their choice. But I don't believe that it is acceptable that any religious organization should have control of a nucleur weapons arsenal. Let's leave that kind of thing where it belongs: In the hands of born again christian oil magnates and their homies cleverly disguised as politicians.

The Dick Cheney Gun Club is now open for business. Our operators are ready to take your calls.

February 15, 2006

Personal: Dopplegangers




Is it just me, or can anyone else see the resemblance?

The photo on the left is a man called Abu Hamza. He has just been sent to prison in Britain for inciting others to commit violence. The photo on the right is my nephew, who would never incite anyone to violence..with the exception of the Chicago Bears.

Do we each have a doppleganger?

February 13, 2006

Politics: Wartime VP



There must be something about being a "wartime" VP that just makes you want to go out and shoot something. And you get twice the points if it happens to be a lawyer!!



*******************************************************
Here we have the VP on a Haliburton hunting weekend. There is nothing more relaxing that just chillin' wi da homies out on the ranch.


Then it's back to war on Monday!!!


February 10, 2006

Personal: Names and Faces


Babies....You gotta love 'em. Seems like I've been around the little buggers ever since I was one. Everyone I know has at least one. I am old enough now that even their kids have kids and so on and so on. Even in my own life, travelling roads far less travelled and filled with twists and turns unseen, I have managed to have one of my own...and she has a few of her own and so on and so on.

I was looking through an old box the other day, where I habitually keep all the photos that family and friends have sent me over the years, and I became aware of something quite fascinating. Over two and a half decades of baby pictures, sent by who knows who from who knows where, have accumulated in that box. No names written on the back on any of them. I know that some of these are the parents of others in this box.

You often hear cliche' phrases like"He has his fathers eyes", or, "She's the spitting image of her mother when she was born". But none of these kids look like anybody I know. I am not complaining. It is nice to be thought of when the announcements are made and the photos are flying. New fathers stand taller, sound stronger, and even strutt a little when the rugrats first arrive. New mothers get all Madonnaesque and seem somehow saintly when they hold, feed, and just cuddle their babies. I love seeing this...even in a 4by4 glossy buried in the bottom of a dusty old box


There is a special bond betweem mother and child. No one can deny this and only a fool would try. Artists throughout the centuries have attempted to capture something of the essence of this bond in their works. The image of a mother with her child is iconic, and strikes at the very heart of the human condition. We are all drawn to these images and the emotions they inspire in us are sublime.

I just received the latest photo, soon to be deposited in the dusty old box, of a dear friend with her new born. How sweet it is.

There is an expression that goes, "A face only a mother could love". So before I put the box away there is one question I am forced to ask of all those mothers who have sent me pictures over the years:

Whose baby is this?









February 09, 2006

Religion: Sing Hallelujah Come On Get Happy



This guy is the Happy Buddha. I like him a lot. Contrary to popular belief Buddha is not a deity. He was a real man who found a way to be happy. Meditation was the path to enlightenment, and enlightenment brings happiness. Cool. I am not a Buddhist but I like the way this guy looks.

*********************************





I'd like to see more pictures of Jesus looking something other than beaten and murdered. A little joy and laughter wouldn't hurt. The emphasis on suffering and sacrifice is just too much to bear sometimes. Why should sorrow and guilt be the entance fee to Paradise?

I don't think that the "water into wine" thing was just showing off. I think that Jesus just wanted to keep the party rolling.

***************************************



This is a painting by William Blake entitled "The Blasphemer". I guess this is a warning to anyone who commits what religious authorities, speaking on behalf of their chosen deity, would consider blasphemy. This is one way of discouraging dissent, ridicule, or any other form of insult or argument. It looks like God, with a little help from a True Believer, is about to administer an eternal ass kicking to some poor sod.

******************************************
I suppose that with the present emphasis on the eventual clash of cultures between the West and the Middle East, and the war of ideology that seems to loom on the horizon, I seem a little obsessed with the idea of religion. In a way I always have been.

I believe in the separation of church and state. One of the areas that the two cultures clash is the concept of this separation. In Islam there is no differentiation between religious law and state law. The state, in an Islamic state, is governed by the clerics. To disagree with the state is, for all practical purposes, blasphemy. All the Rights that we take for granted in the West, that generations have fought and died for, have no place in a theocracy. There is no room for debate or change in such a state. I have seen enough preachers and priests, of many diverse religions, to know that any idiot can become one. Charlatans and Shamans are alive and well the whole world over.

Extremists from both cultures have more than a little in common: Hatred, Intolerance, Violence, and Certaintity are among their shared attributes.



Spot the difference!


***************************************************








February 06, 2006

Religion: Soul Survivor

The other day my partner and I were out walking through the shopping precinct in a town not too far from home. There are so many more shops there to browse so we make the journey from time to time. I like to browse book shops and second-hand/charity shops. She, of course, looks at shoes, clothes, and toys for her grandchildren.

There are always quite a few people out walking and shopping. Young mothers pushing prams, teenagers looking for excitement (or new mobile phones), elderly people out socializing and shopping before heading home to batten down the hatches for the night. There are also the inevitible collectors for various charities rattling their tins, pollsters trying to help retailers figure out the best way to seperate us from our money, and last but not least the missionaries out to save each and every one of us from eternal torment...bless their smug little hearts.

I must look like I need saving because I am forever being singled out for special attention by these soul snatchers. Two came up to me while my partner and I were walking by the fresh vegetable stalls on the outside market. They were very well dressed (hint). "Pardon me", one said. "I am a member of............". Before he could go any further I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "That's allright ...I forgive you."

As I look around me today and see all the trouble in this world I cannot help but place a great deal of the blame at the feet of organised religion. I am not blaming any deity, if there are any...if there is One, I blame the fanatics that presume to speak for them...or Him. All this nonsense about paradise and its' grusome counterpart leaves me shaking my head in bemused despair. What tiresome little dreams and nightmares we make for ourselves. How unsure we are of our place in the universe that we have to create a whole alternative to which to aspire.

The world is filled with people who are doing terrible things in order to qualify for the "next" life. They are being led by people who insist they have the answers and can guarantee entrance to paradise. What a strange world we live in.

In the West we have politicians who actually believe that we are in the "last days". They are giddy with anticipation at witnessing Armageddon and, of course, they are packed and ready for the guaranteed trip to the pearly gates. The Middle-East is perculating with angry young people who are willing to commit outrageous acts to insure their short ride to Paradise. Intolerance and Certainty are the real enemies of humankind.

As long as people of influence persist in the closed-minded pursuit of next-world fantasies there is no real hope for humanity. We will be at each others throats forever. One day this world will truely end. The Sun will enter its' final stages, the Earth will turn to cosmic toast, and humanity will exist no more. We will have wasted what I believe to be our only paradise...this good Earth.

So I will turn away any attempts to convert me to anything that has a rule book, guidelines, pipe-dreams, after-lifes, popes, mullahs,shamans, promises, punishments, missionaries, and crusaders. I will adopt Socrates' first rule of wisdom: Admit you know nothing. I will also adopt Hippocrates first rule: Do no harm.





February 05, 2006

Personal: Historical Novels


Lately I have been reading novels set in historical times. The "Sharpe" novels by Bernard Cornwell, set during the peninsular wars with Napoleon got me started down this road. While waiting for each new novel in the series to be published I read proper histories of the era. The more I read of the actual events, the more I became aware of how much research went into each novel. If Cornwell describes a battle then you can be sure that that battle happened just as he describes it. He also captures the life of a soldier in those times, the conditions under which they served and fought, lived and died. His tales are populated by real historical characters reliving real history. They are also populated by absorbing fictional characters engaged in proper military adventure. Just my cup of tea.

Recently I began reading three seperate fictional series all set during the fall of the roman republic and the beginning empirical rome. What drew me to these novels was my interest in the actual histories of the time. I read "The Twelve Caesars" by Seutonius, "The Annals of Imperial Rome" by Tacitus, and "The Achievements of the Divine Augustus" written by Agustus himself. These books are populated by names that will never be forgotten: Julius Caesar, Augustus (Octavian), Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. There are also many historical characters like Cicero, Crassus, Sulla, Sejanus, Livia, Messalina, Germanicus and many more.

After reading the proper histories I was drawn to see if any other novelists were doing for Rome what Cornwell had done for Napoleonic Europe. I am pleased to say that there are, and they do.

First I would recommend a series of novel by a writer/historian named Steven Saylor. He has invented a protagonist called Gordianus the Finder. He is a seeker of the truth. He is hired by the powerful men and women of Rome to get to the bottom of things for them. Cicero, a very famous character in history, is an orator and advocate. He is called upon to defend accused men in Roman courts, and to prosecute them occasionly. Gordianus moves between Pompey and Caesar, Cicero and Sulla, and many other historical names with ease. He is witness to the times and has the inside ear on many real events. If Cicero defends Milo for the murder of Clodius, then the reader can be certain that in real history this trial took place. These are very entertaining and enlightening reads. Raymond Chandler meets Sparticus (whose revolt forms the plot of one of the novels).

The next series is by an author named Simon Scarrow. These novels follow the adventures of two centurians of Caesar's 10th Legion. From the conquest of Gaul to the invasion of Britain, and beyond the Rubicon to the Middle-East. Their general is Vespasian, who would later become Emperor himself. These are wonderful military adventures and very entertaing reads.

Finally there are a series of novels by a man called Conn Iggulden. These are biographical novels on the life of Julius Caesar. From childhood to dictatorship they chronical the life of one of histories great figures.

I am not try to sell these books. Just letting you know what I have been reading. I am at the end of this blog for today. "The die is cast", Caesar to his troops on crossing the Rubicon.

February 04, 2006

Religion: True Believers



Well here it is on the second morning of this blog thing. I was awake early this morning. I like to lie in bed on a Saturday and watch the international news, drink hot, sweet tea, and moan about it all.

Apparently there is some unrest in the Middle-East! There seems to be a lot of anger about something. I think there is a tendency to over-reaction among people I would class as "true believers". True believers frighten me. It doesn't really matter what they "believe" in. That doesn't concern me. It is more the fact that true believers are able to justify any action they might take in defense of their "beliefs".

This is not a phenomenon that is exclusive to the middle-east. In the west we have had a long history of true believers and their over-reactions to perceived insults and threats. From the Crusades to the Inquisition, from slavery to civil war, from absolute monarchies to repubics to dictatorships, we have committed persecutions and atrocities in the name of one belief or another.

The ethnic cleansing of whole European communities even in our own modern time is an example of this "true believer" syndrome. The intolerance of the religious right and their absolute certainty that they are doing God's will can justify any outrage they might commit.

People who are "true believers" frighten me. They know no compromise. They will hear no argument. They will allow their ends to justify their means... to the extreme. Peace can only exist for these people when all opposition to their beliefs is exterminated. Any contradictory thought, word, or action by an "outsider" upsets their whole world view. Worst of all, in my opinion, true believers just can't take a joke.

I know that I know nothing. I do not know the whole nature of being. I am not privy to the workings of the mind of the deity. I am uncertain about the big picture. I believe we live in a world of imagination. We have fashioned our own cultures, imagined and created wonderful things for ourselves. From the Pyramids to the Golden Gate Bridge, from climbing down from the trees (control your anger creationists) to walking on the moon, we have let our minds construct a magnificent world. I believe that our beliefs are just another example of the remarkable ingenuity of our brains at work.

I believe that "true believers" are people who have allowed their brains to atrophy. I believe this...Truly.