I have noticed over the last few weeks, that subjects I have discussed in earlier posts, have been in the news again.
First: Malthusian predictions - this caused a flurry of comments, mostly on the lines that the world would never run out of food, and if it did we could all become Vegans. Well this week the head of the head of the UN World Food Programme has stated that food prices world wide, 'are rising steeply because of food shortages'. These are caused by land degradation, and the use of "Bio Fuels" (another flaky green idea from the land of the loonies - you grow crops to make oil rather than for food - Duh!).
First: Malthusian predictions - this caused a flurry of comments, mostly on the lines that the world would never run out of food, and if it did we could all become Vegans. Well this week the head of the head of the UN World Food Programme has stated that food prices world wide, 'are rising steeply because of food shortages'. These are caused by land degradation, and the use of "Bio Fuels" (another flaky green idea from the land of the loonies - you grow crops to make oil rather than for food - Duh!).
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| Remember When This Caused A Fuss? |
The first food shortage riots have taken place in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Senegal, Yemen, Mexico, Guinea and Morocco (Where 34 people were sentenced to prison on Wednesday for participating in riots over food prices).
All ties in nicely with my 2050 predictions!
All ties in nicely with my 2050 predictions!
Second: South Africa spending money on the world cup, but not on their infrastructure. Well surprise surprise, South Africa has been hit by regular electricity blackouts all 'summer', and now as their winter approaches, they face even longer and ever more frequent 'blackouts', because they haven't built any new power stations since 'independence'. We are assured that the electricity crisis will not affect the 2010 World Cup LOL.
I assume that means they will just blackout the rest of the country for 6 weeks. It's always odd that when other sectors face recession, banks post obscene profits, even in South Africa.
Third: The SA electricity crisis affects other countries in the region, where South Africa has already reduced electricity supplies to its neighbours, affecting countries such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia. Oops, did that list include the peoples dictatorship of Zimbabwe, which SA (By that I mean the ANC) has propped up so assiduously, as a gleaming beacon of post colonial independence?
It would be somewhat ironic if it was SA's wish to waste money on the World Cup, that brought down Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, although not so funny if it destroyed the nascent democracies in the region.
Fourth: Hilary Clinton did make a comeback, who knows, she may yet get the nomination, but they are getting down and dirty now, and its only Senator McCain who benefits from that. I originally predicted an easy win for Mrs Clinton then I thought Obama had it won, now I just can't say. The Republicans may win the election though, when they should have no chance.
Oddly McCain was the only Republican I had heard of before the primaries, and it appears that that was the case in the US as well, as the 'seven dwarfs' were eliminated very quickly.
Fifth: I have now seen "300", which caused those peace loving democrats in Iran such concerns last year. As usual it appears that the sun has addled their brains, and made them do or say stupid things. The movie is hardly an advert for the morals of either side, but as it was set in a mythical (well the character portrayals are) past, where neither Allah nor Mohammed had been created yet, so should be totally acceptable to the Persians (Who call themselves Iranians anyway).
Side thought .... it's odd that the Muslims have such a problem with the existence of a world before their cult arrived ... they should read "Small Gods" by Terry Pratchett to see how religions develop, the parallels should be obvious to even the semi literates who pass as scholars in that culture. If they did ever read anything outside of their book, they would know that their 'Allah' was only a moon god for some Arab goat herders throughout most of human history (that is if he existed at all at this time).
There was a strong Moon God cult in Babylon and Persia, and pot shards show there were temples to him in Arabia (including Mecca), so it seems likely he was just one of many heathen gods worshipped in Mecca then. Just for comparison, in 480 BC, Jehovah was the God of a tribe who were a subject race at this time, and the Buddha was alive and still a young prince.
It is a blatant attempt to sow discord by the Muslims, because by separating the god name of 'Allah' from non Muslims they make their religion seem the only legitimate one. As usual the petty attacks and regulations are applied to non Muslims all the time, but still Malaysia is described as a 'moderate' Muslim nation.
Seventh: In Turkey and in France, there have recently been attempts to reform Islam. This is echoed in the US as well, and even in Egypt there have been signs of change, BUT as usual, the dickheads who radicalise Islam, have popped up in Paris to protest at a Jewish person being at the book fair as a guest ..... what a joke, Jews are a massive literary presence in world history, with many Nobel laureates for literature, the Muslims on the other hand have had a minor literary impact (due in part to their religion, that apparently makes an offence of any human endeavour which a Mullah doesn't like or understand) ..... if they walked out and took their one book with them, it wouldn't be a loss to mankind or the book fair.
Just for the record, Saudi Arabia has become the latest to withdraw, following Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria as well as Tariq Ali (who should know better). The idea that if you invite Jewish world class authors to speak, you have to invite an equal number of Palestinian schoolbook scribblers is ludicrous.
Thirteen million Jews, produce more science, literature of merit, and general cultural worth, than 1.3 billion Muslims, never mind Arabs, so how can you expect to find Palestinian writers of world renown?
The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Isesco) - Is this an Oxymoron? -has also urged its 50 members to pull out from the fair, which starts on 14 March..... no loss then.
Eighth: As the 'cuddly' China campaign gathers strength, it is timely to remember that it is a communist, one party dictatorship, which subjugates and ethnically cleanses non Chinese areas - the Pop singer Bjork has recently fallen foul of the Chinese censors for shouting "Tibet, Tibet" at a concert in Shanghai. The response was predicable ... more censorship in future.
There may still be a civil war as its almost certain that a Democrat US President will pull out US troops, but its not the certainty I expected, with the Syrians, Iranians and Turks all sponsoring sides or actually fighting. Time will tell on this.
I shall continue posting into the ether, because I enjoy it.
I assume that means they will just blackout the rest of the country for 6 weeks. It's always odd that when other sectors face recession, banks post obscene profits, even in South Africa.
Third: The SA electricity crisis affects other countries in the region, where South Africa has already reduced electricity supplies to its neighbours, affecting countries such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia. Oops, did that list include the peoples dictatorship of Zimbabwe, which SA (By that I mean the ANC) has propped up so assiduously, as a gleaming beacon of post colonial independence?
It would be somewhat ironic if it was SA's wish to waste money on the World Cup, that brought down Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, although not so funny if it destroyed the nascent democracies in the region.
Fourth: Hilary Clinton did make a comeback, who knows, she may yet get the nomination, but they are getting down and dirty now, and its only Senator McCain who benefits from that. I originally predicted an easy win for Mrs Clinton then I thought Obama had it won, now I just can't say. The Republicans may win the election though, when they should have no chance.
Oddly McCain was the only Republican I had heard of before the primaries, and it appears that that was the case in the US as well, as the 'seven dwarfs' were eliminated very quickly.
Fifth: I have now seen "300", which caused those peace loving democrats in Iran such concerns last year. As usual it appears that the sun has addled their brains, and made them do or say stupid things. The movie is hardly an advert for the morals of either side, but as it was set in a mythical (well the character portrayals are) past, where neither Allah nor Mohammed had been created yet, so should be totally acceptable to the Persians (Who call themselves Iranians anyway).
Side thought .... it's odd that the Muslims have such a problem with the existence of a world before their cult arrived ... they should read "Small Gods" by Terry Pratchett to see how religions develop, the parallels should be obvious to even the semi literates who pass as scholars in that culture. If they did ever read anything outside of their book, they would know that their 'Allah' was only a moon god for some Arab goat herders throughout most of human history (that is if he existed at all at this time).
There was a strong Moon God cult in Babylon and Persia, and pot shards show there were temples to him in Arabia (including Mecca), so it seems likely he was just one of many heathen gods worshipped in Mecca then. Just for comparison, in 480 BC, Jehovah was the God of a tribe who were a subject race at this time, and the Buddha was alive and still a young prince.
(4 views of the idol - crescent moon on his chest)
Sixth: Malaya has held elections, in which the issue of discrimination against the non Muslims has been an issue. Indians (Hindu's) have protested and been arrested. Muslims have effectivly hijacked the name of 'Allah', which in Malay means 'God', to stop Chinese Christians and others using it, despite the fact that they have used it for two hundred years.
It is a blatant attempt to sow discord by the Muslims, because by separating the god name of 'Allah' from non Muslims they make their religion seem the only legitimate one. As usual the petty attacks and regulations are applied to non Muslims all the time, but still Malaysia is described as a 'moderate' Muslim nation.
Seventh: In Turkey and in France, there have recently been attempts to reform Islam. This is echoed in the US as well, and even in Egypt there have been signs of change, BUT as usual, the dickheads who radicalise Islam, have popped up in Paris to protest at a Jewish person being at the book fair as a guest ..... what a joke, Jews are a massive literary presence in world history, with many Nobel laureates for literature, the Muslims on the other hand have had a minor literary impact (due in part to their religion, that apparently makes an offence of any human endeavour which a Mullah doesn't like or understand) ..... if they walked out and took their one book with them, it wouldn't be a loss to mankind or the book fair.
Just for the record, Saudi Arabia has become the latest to withdraw, following Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria as well as Tariq Ali (who should know better). The idea that if you invite Jewish world class authors to speak, you have to invite an equal number of Palestinian schoolbook scribblers is ludicrous.
Thirteen million Jews, produce more science, literature of merit, and general cultural worth, than 1.3 billion Muslims, never mind Arabs, so how can you expect to find Palestinian writers of world renown?
The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Isesco) - Is this an Oxymoron? -has also urged its 50 members to pull out from the fair, which starts on 14 March..... no loss then.
Eighth: As the 'cuddly' China campaign gathers strength, it is timely to remember that it is a communist, one party dictatorship, which subjugates and ethnically cleanses non Chinese areas - the Pop singer Bjork has recently fallen foul of the Chinese censors for shouting "Tibet, Tibet" at a concert in Shanghai. The response was predicable ... more censorship in future.
And not in the news -
Ninth: Iraq, I admit was wrong, I thought an outright civil war would be going on by now, but although there is still massive amounts of violence a lot of the news is more to do with Iraq's relations with Iran (good as they are Shia governments) and Turkey (Bad PKK Kurdish guerrillas fight from northern Iraq).
Ninth: Iraq, I admit was wrong, I thought an outright civil war would be going on by now, but although there is still massive amounts of violence a lot of the news is more to do with Iraq's relations with Iran (good as they are Shia governments) and Turkey (Bad PKK Kurdish guerrillas fight from northern Iraq).
There may still be a civil war as its almost certain that a Democrat US President will pull out US troops, but its not the certainty I expected, with the Syrians, Iranians and Turks all sponsoring sides or actually fighting. Time will tell on this.
I shall continue posting into the ether, because I enjoy it.
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Small Gods is an interesting read.
ReplyDeleteAnd along similar lines, another fascinating book about man, religion, violence, evolution and memes is The Lucifer Principle by Howard Bloom.
Enjoying your blog. Nice to read something with substance.
Hi BT,
ReplyDeleteI will have to take a look at the book you recommend.
I mentioned "Small Gods" because of its not too subtle parody of religions that have Jihads, or Organised killings to enforce them.
Obviously its was pointing at the Inquisition of the Catholic Church as well as at the modern violence of Muslims so it hits all targets ...