Baz-Dar , the King of Thriscally was also the the high priest of the island's ancient and respected religion, Bazism .
One day as Baz- Dar sat in his holy temple meditating upon the holy scriptures of his forefathers , he realised that there was no mention in any of the sacred texts that the prophets ever ate potatoes. Being very concerned that the purity of the ancient teachings should be preserved , Baz-Dar decided to legislate against the eating of potatoes throughout Thriscally in order that his people remain close to God. Many of the faithful immediately obeyed the new law , however some objected on grounds of principle and others objected purely because they were in the business of selling potatoes. But the vast majority of those who opposed
the new law ,did so simply because they could not afford to eat anything else but potatoes.
Now many of the potato-eaters had to go into hiding to avoid persecution and to be able to cook their potatoes in peace .Bazism, the religion of Thriscally, had split into two factions.Life became very difficult for the potato-eaters , they had become second class citizens with no more hope of living their lives with dignity as Baz-Dar's oppressive regime took hold of them.Many had died of starvation until there was no other choice but to organise an armed struggle by forming para- military groups of freedom fighters.
Years of sporadic, mindless bloodshed escalated into a full scale civil war .After several years of fierce battles causing enormous destruction throughout the once beatiful and tranquil island, the potato-eaters had emerged victorious .
Baz-Dar was eventually captured by the resistance and imprisoned for life where he was force fed boiled potatoes three times daily.
The potato-eaters eventually ceased hostilities , established peace and formed a secular , democratic republic. Royalty had been abolished and religion was now to be a private affair of choice with no influence over the affairs of the government in order to maintain freedom of choice for every individual citizen.The new democratic republic even granted an amnesty to all the non potato-eaters thereby permitting them to abstain from eating potatoes.Yes , Thriscally had restored its former glory .
One day during the assembly of the democratic peoples' republic of Thriscally , it was pointed out by one representative of the people that some citizens were seen biting their finger nails in public. This was deemed unworthy of a free citizen living in a democracy.Soon , finger nail biting was to become illegal.....
(Adapted from :'A cynic's book of knowledge' copyright ,J.Pellas 1990).
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Monday, April 03, 2006
News, Local and Distant
Elections ,near and far , I received my official poll card a few days ago . These are our so called :'local' elections due on Thursday 4th May.One can vote in their choice of councillor.The victorious party when eventually in power decides
(_according to the accompanying leaflet): 'The AMOUNT of council tax every housholder must pay ' or ' WHEN the bins will be collected'. Real political science and democracy in action!
In Thailand where unfortunately things are not as 'democratic 'as here , people are forced to vote . the elections were held yesterday due to growing unrest , precipitated by lack of confidence in the policies of its current ruler, Thaksin Shinawatra. Apparently, although forced to vote, the public does have an option on the ballot paper of stating ; 'none of the above' and thererby abstaining .It appears that the majority of the electorate , to his shock and horror has chosen this option. Time will tell if the ruler will impose himself upon the populace by using another vile tactic.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has also recently held elections overnnight . A country which has had a savage war in the recent past in which millions have died with next to nothing in news coverage given in faraway lands. It's amazing , but I am always suspect of a state that feels the need to include the Words : 'democratic ' or 'peoples' in its title. The Congo has been 'democratic' for so many years,yet these are the first 'proper' elections to be held according to the BBC.
Well, I hope these people in Thailand and Congo achieve the democracy they deserve where the people can take control of their everyday lives and not be dictated to by others .
I will be following my Thai brothers and sisters and be adding a special box to tick on my ballot paper for:'none of the above' .
(_according to the accompanying leaflet): 'The AMOUNT of council tax every housholder must pay ' or ' WHEN the bins will be collected'. Real political science and democracy in action!
In Thailand where unfortunately things are not as 'democratic 'as here , people are forced to vote . the elections were held yesterday due to growing unrest , precipitated by lack of confidence in the policies of its current ruler, Thaksin Shinawatra. Apparently, although forced to vote, the public does have an option on the ballot paper of stating ; 'none of the above' and thererby abstaining .It appears that the majority of the electorate , to his shock and horror has chosen this option. Time will tell if the ruler will impose himself upon the populace by using another vile tactic.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has also recently held elections overnnight . A country which has had a savage war in the recent past in which millions have died with next to nothing in news coverage given in faraway lands. It's amazing , but I am always suspect of a state that feels the need to include the Words : 'democratic ' or 'peoples' in its title. The Congo has been 'democratic' for so many years,yet these are the first 'proper' elections to be held according to the BBC.
Well, I hope these people in Thailand and Congo achieve the democracy they deserve where the people can take control of their everyday lives and not be dictated to by others .
I will be following my Thai brothers and sisters and be adding a special box to tick on my ballot paper for:'none of the above' .
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Problems with blogging 2
Well I have really been impressed by this blogging site and have begun to upload various ideas and it is beginning to take some shape . I have also looked at other blogs and found some very good sites worth visiting: 'Signs of the times' being one of them( had I known better I would have given a direct link, we live and learn).
I am still having problems with uploading images , I am not sure if it is purely my incompetence or whether there is some kind of malfunction of the server , after all I did , after an hour's painstaking effort to upload a picture , receive a message stating :' apologies , cannot upload image'.
I have also been really moved by the fact that some folks out there have actually been reading the blog : This has become a mixed blessing though . The real problem with blogging I have realised is that some comments are not very complimentary .
Although there is an option of monitoring one's messages and deciding whether to publish them on the blog or not , I have decided to to allow freedom of speech as a matter of principle.
So far I have had about three comments on the blog , an individual who calls himself Leo has become my most dedicated reader( greetings Leo!). First he advised me to give my computer to a child as 'they have more brains'He didn't like the comments I have logged , he states he has ' fought three wars for cowardly anti war people' like me,in addition to the posts you can read here from Leo he has been e-mailing me in private with threats and language I don't want to repeat. I have counter attacked by posting on his blog and offering him to debate the issues , which he has declined .
I originally described some of the problems I have had with blogging in hope that I would get constructive advice, not knowing that there are other problems with blogging .
So this individual who has the the bravery to fight three wars for me did not like me to express my views on Condoleeza Rice , secretary of state of the U.S.A coming to the country that I live in . I guess 'Leo' and people of his opinion would argue that they fought so that I could have the freedom to express my view whilst at the same time telling me that I am not worthy of being alive thereby advocating the anihilation of people that think differently to himself ,ironically in collusion with what he believes are the ideas of those whom he allegedly liberated me from. There really is a meaninglessness in some peoples' lives :I guess problems with blogging doesn't help.
I am still having problems with uploading images , I am not sure if it is purely my incompetence or whether there is some kind of malfunction of the server , after all I did , after an hour's painstaking effort to upload a picture , receive a message stating :' apologies , cannot upload image'.
I have also been really moved by the fact that some folks out there have actually been reading the blog : This has become a mixed blessing though . The real problem with blogging I have realised is that some comments are not very complimentary .
Although there is an option of monitoring one's messages and deciding whether to publish them on the blog or not , I have decided to to allow freedom of speech as a matter of principle.
So far I have had about three comments on the blog , an individual who calls himself Leo has become my most dedicated reader( greetings Leo!). First he advised me to give my computer to a child as 'they have more brains'He didn't like the comments I have logged , he states he has ' fought three wars for cowardly anti war people' like me,in addition to the posts you can read here from Leo he has been e-mailing me in private with threats and language I don't want to repeat. I have counter attacked by posting on his blog and offering him to debate the issues , which he has declined .
I originally described some of the problems I have had with blogging in hope that I would get constructive advice, not knowing that there are other problems with blogging .
So this individual who has the the bravery to fight three wars for me did not like me to express my views on Condoleeza Rice , secretary of state of the U.S.A coming to the country that I live in . I guess 'Leo' and people of his opinion would argue that they fought so that I could have the freedom to express my view whilst at the same time telling me that I am not worthy of being alive thereby advocating the anihilation of people that think differently to himself ,ironically in collusion with what he believes are the ideas of those whom he allegedly liberated me from. There really is a meaninglessness in some peoples' lives :I guess problems with blogging doesn't help.
Brainlessness (Dedicated to Leo)
Donald the dunce was told by his school teacher, Mr Leo to write: one plus one equals two , a hundred times.
The next morning Mr Leo asked Donald whether the exercise had helped him remember the answer to the problem.
"No." replied Donald,"I'm still not convinced ". Donald then produced a lump of clay in each hand and stuck the pieces togeher .
"How many did I have to start with ?" Donald asked Mr Leo.
"Two"
"And by adding them together , how many am I left with ?"
"One"replied Mr Leo.
"Exactly!"said Donald the Dunce as Mr Leo proceeded to wear the Dunce's hat.
(adapted from : " A cynic's book of knowledge " Copyright J. Pellas 1990.)
The next morning Mr Leo asked Donald whether the exercise had helped him remember the answer to the problem.
"No." replied Donald,"I'm still not convinced ". Donald then produced a lump of clay in each hand and stuck the pieces togeher .
"How many did I have to start with ?" Donald asked Mr Leo.
"Two"
"And by adding them together , how many am I left with ?"
"One"replied Mr Leo.
"Exactly!"said Donald the Dunce as Mr Leo proceeded to wear the Dunce's hat.
(adapted from : " A cynic's book of knowledge " Copyright J. Pellas 1990.)
Friday, March 31, 2006
News, Local and Distant
I heard that sexy Condoleezza Rice, the American secretary of state has come to blighty from the good old U S of A
. I believe she came to Blackpool yesterday if I am not mistaken .Much was said about how much she was a Beatle fan and was so looking forward to visiting parts of England where the fab four worked, went to school,sang ,ate or breathed ! (how normal she sounds ) so much for sixties music changing the world and art influencing people for a better life. What has any of this to do with Blackpool ?, I don't know.
Condi , a real example of a successful woman, powerful, independent ,intelligent ,
beautiful and yes like many women who have reached the top of a man's world sadly no different ; tragically human.
I heard also that there was a contingent of anti Iraq war demonstrators against her visit . Good on them ! she has blood on her hands , the only difference between her like and the hard core terrorist is that she cuts throats by proxy : A true 'board room guerilla ' as the great peace campaigner Bruce Kent once dubbed them.
The only reason that guerillas like condi, Geoerge W Bush and our very own Tony Blitler are not in the dock charged with genocide and other war crimes of the highest degree is that they run the whole show!
But let's be pragmatic It is an empire; The American empire that our soldiers are unwittingly serving , and what's wrong with an empire? We had one once. The British and Greek empires were possibly two of the greatest empires of all history which left the world with many great changes for the better, eminent individuals, superb art works and revolutionary thinkers and creative minds who influenced the
world's view of itself.
Where would we be if not under the wing of this American empire? we may have been subjugated by some extreme totalitarian , fanatical superstitious despot .
Look at the great things America has given us in the modern world this very internet where freedom of speech flourishes is just one of many ,I leave you all to ponder on your own favourites .
So it is alright for dissident lefties (myself included) to pour invective over the idea that is America, yet what do we have to replace it with? I have relatives there , and my late father who visited his brother there on various occasions loved the people, their way of life and the vastness of its culture as well as its geography.
So what can we say of Condi ?: loved the Beatles , yes but finds this compatible with destroying the lives of millions of poor people who have a bloody history of suffering foreign involvement by big industrial powers from the beginning of the last century or even earlier. Iraq, the land in which the very first civilisations flourished and gave the world many things including the beginnings of literacy and numeracy amongst others.
What do you know that we don't Condi? Is it something that if we knew too would make us want to see more charred bodies and the utter devastation and humiliation of millions? It must be something profound..I remember so clearly the genuine look on our Tony's face when he was pleading (before the Iraq invasion) , saying something like :, 'Look , I know something you don't , I am doing this for the good of our society, you see I have seen the dossier ( remember the sexy dossier?) and if we don't act violently now, we have a new Hitler in our midst!'
The rest is history unfolding scarily in front of us and more importantly the real victims who the great journalist John Pilger describes as 'non people' (in the way they are portrayed by our media as not really significant).
I remember the chilling maxim of Goebels of the Nazi's who said when stirring up hatred against the Jews that ' A lie is only a lie , but if we repeat it enough times it becomes the truth' .
How sinister and true that statement is . Do you remember when the war was beginning how the idea had to be sold? irrational , emotional , aggressive and deceitful rhetoric was used by the honourable ones in parliament not to mention the spineless who knew and kept quiet ; equally corrupt .
Maybe Condi is right and she really does know what is in the best interests of the people all over the world? .........Or maybe her psyche has been severely damaged by those subversive Beatle lyrics such as 'Happiness is a warm gun Mamma ....?'
That , only the God of war ,Ares knows .........
Peace be with you
. I believe she came to Blackpool yesterday if I am not mistaken .Much was said about how much she was a Beatle fan and was so looking forward to visiting parts of England where the fab four worked, went to school,sang ,ate or breathed ! (how normal she sounds ) so much for sixties music changing the world and art influencing people for a better life. What has any of this to do with Blackpool ?, I don't know.
Condi , a real example of a successful woman, powerful, independent ,intelligent ,
beautiful and yes like many women who have reached the top of a man's world sadly no different ; tragically human.
I heard also that there was a contingent of anti Iraq war demonstrators against her visit . Good on them ! she has blood on her hands , the only difference between her like and the hard core terrorist is that she cuts throats by proxy : A true 'board room guerilla ' as the great peace campaigner Bruce Kent once dubbed them.
The only reason that guerillas like condi, Geoerge W Bush and our very own Tony Blitler are not in the dock charged with genocide and other war crimes of the highest degree is that they run the whole show!
But let's be pragmatic It is an empire; The American empire that our soldiers are unwittingly serving , and what's wrong with an empire? We had one once. The British and Greek empires were possibly two of the greatest empires of all history which left the world with many great changes for the better, eminent individuals, superb art works and revolutionary thinkers and creative minds who influenced the
world's view of itself.
Where would we be if not under the wing of this American empire? we may have been subjugated by some extreme totalitarian , fanatical superstitious despot .
Look at the great things America has given us in the modern world this very internet where freedom of speech flourishes is just one of many ,I leave you all to ponder on your own favourites .
So it is alright for dissident lefties (myself included) to pour invective over the idea that is America, yet what do we have to replace it with? I have relatives there , and my late father who visited his brother there on various occasions loved the people, their way of life and the vastness of its culture as well as its geography.
So what can we say of Condi ?: loved the Beatles , yes but finds this compatible with destroying the lives of millions of poor people who have a bloody history of suffering foreign involvement by big industrial powers from the beginning of the last century or even earlier. Iraq, the land in which the very first civilisations flourished and gave the world many things including the beginnings of literacy and numeracy amongst others.
What do you know that we don't Condi? Is it something that if we knew too would make us want to see more charred bodies and the utter devastation and humiliation of millions? It must be something profound..I remember so clearly the genuine look on our Tony's face when he was pleading (before the Iraq invasion) , saying something like :, 'Look , I know something you don't , I am doing this for the good of our society, you see I have seen the dossier ( remember the sexy dossier?) and if we don't act violently now, we have a new Hitler in our midst!'
The rest is history unfolding scarily in front of us and more importantly the real victims who the great journalist John Pilger describes as 'non people' (in the way they are portrayed by our media as not really significant).
I remember the chilling maxim of Goebels of the Nazi's who said when stirring up hatred against the Jews that ' A lie is only a lie , but if we repeat it enough times it becomes the truth' .
How sinister and true that statement is . Do you remember when the war was beginning how the idea had to be sold? irrational , emotional , aggressive and deceitful rhetoric was used by the honourable ones in parliament not to mention the spineless who knew and kept quiet ; equally corrupt .
Maybe Condi is right and she really does know what is in the best interests of the people all over the world? .........Or maybe her psyche has been severely damaged by those subversive Beatle lyrics such as 'Happiness is a warm gun Mamma ....?'
That , only the God of war ,Ares knows .........
Peace be with you
Problems with blogging
Well I have been trying to download a picture ,or is it called uploading when you send an image to the web ? : but with no success , I really do find this simple blogging process quite difficult .How do all these smug bloggers do it? Please help me someone out there.
This is becoming meaningless in the worst possible sense. I promise it will be worth checking but I have not done my homework and fell for the 'SIMPLE ' promotion from Google, with due respect .
Bye for now.
This is becoming meaningless in the worst possible sense. I promise it will be worth checking but I have not done my homework and fell for the 'SIMPLE ' promotion from Google, with due respect .
Bye for now.
Monday, March 27, 2006
the beginning
Greetings people!
I have just started this log or blog. I don't even know if it is getting anywhere, I'm not too good with computers : it goes with the age group I guess.
I hope to receive my scanner tomorrow so that I can down load some cartoons if that is possible.
Working for the NHS is what I do to pay t he rent and sometimes feel that my prime duty there is being a bureaucrat. This is the way of how politics and economics has influenced every sphere of our lives . It is not so important to do something productive and caring in this job but to be seen to be doing so . i.e if one can prove through meticulous paper work that a box has been ticked then one is doing well. We don't have patients anymore we have service users , clients and consumers . Nurses and hospitals are service providers ; it's as if we are working on a production line. Everything has to be quantified in neat little units of 'care' . This is wrong because in a 'caring ' profession one can be spending time with an individual and be making a positive difference to that person's life but this might not lend itself well to ethos of consumerism or is not very practical to corrupt politicians in parliament arguing and waving selective statistics at eachother which can mean practically anything.
Today with the disease of what is known as ' politcal correctness' , we don't have' patients 'or people do not have a' mental illness' , we have service users who have 'mental health' .This is ludicrous ! This terminology has become so established that it has become meaningless or rather it has taken on the sinister effect of George Orwell's masterpiece '1984'
For example I was visiting an elderly lady who was relapsing and becoming unwell due to her illness of schizophrenia and she said : 'I'm getting all mental health' as if this meant 'I'm getting mentally ill' By Zeus ! it's as if we cannot mention the word illness or according to the rigid ethos of political correctness , anything that may have a negative meaning.
I don't know if anyone is there to read all this , so I better not continue to rant. Must try and see if this thing is actually on line .
bye for now.
Antisthenes
I have just started this log or blog. I don't even know if it is getting anywhere, I'm not too good with computers : it goes with the age group I guess.
I hope to receive my scanner tomorrow so that I can down load some cartoons if that is possible.
Working for the NHS is what I do to pay t he rent and sometimes feel that my prime duty there is being a bureaucrat. This is the way of how politics and economics has influenced every sphere of our lives . It is not so important to do something productive and caring in this job but to be seen to be doing so . i.e if one can prove through meticulous paper work that a box has been ticked then one is doing well. We don't have patients anymore we have service users , clients and consumers . Nurses and hospitals are service providers ; it's as if we are working on a production line. Everything has to be quantified in neat little units of 'care' . This is wrong because in a 'caring ' profession one can be spending time with an individual and be making a positive difference to that person's life but this might not lend itself well to ethos of consumerism or is not very practical to corrupt politicians in parliament arguing and waving selective statistics at eachother which can mean practically anything.
Today with the disease of what is known as ' politcal correctness' , we don't have' patients 'or people do not have a' mental illness' , we have service users who have 'mental health' .This is ludicrous ! This terminology has become so established that it has become meaningless or rather it has taken on the sinister effect of George Orwell's masterpiece '1984'
For example I was visiting an elderly lady who was relapsing and becoming unwell due to her illness of schizophrenia and she said : 'I'm getting all mental health' as if this meant 'I'm getting mentally ill' By Zeus ! it's as if we cannot mention the word illness or according to the rigid ethos of political correctness , anything that may have a negative meaning.
I don't know if anyone is there to read all this , so I better not continue to rant. Must try and see if this thing is actually on line .
bye for now.
Antisthenes
Sunday, March 26, 2006
The meaning
The meaning less ness has arrived , the blog to block all blogs , its true its painful it's the new thing with many interesting things for all .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
