How irrelevant is all this shite about Paul and the gospels. Continue reading “Tripoli”
2011-02-22
Tripoli
Category: Politics & Society
At present this includes posts on history of Zionism and modern Israel and Palestine as well as current events. Continue this setup? What of other histories? Adjust name of category? Currently includes Islamism (distinct from Islam) as an ideology of terrorism. Also currently includes Islamophobia and hostile denunciations of Islam — but see the question on Islam in Religion and Atheism.
2011-02-14
Hope for a real beacon of democracy for the Middle East and beyond
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by Neil Godfrey
Still on a euphoric roll over the incredible news from the people of Egypt.
Remember that time when a U.S. president promised to make Iraq “a beacon of democracy across the Middle East”? Some of us protested then that the humane way to do this was to support resistance movements within Iraq.
Now it’s the Egyptian people who are the ones set on course for becoming that beacon instead.
A thousand ironies lie in there somewhere. Stereotypes and myths have been shattered.
Even the Muslim Brotherhood is failing to conform to western expectations now one of their “pillars of stability” has crumbled:
The people of Egypt. The obscene criminal destruction of Iraq. What a contrast.
Will be breathing secular prayers that the people of Egypt will not suffer betrayal in the coming months.
2011-02-03
Secret violence good, public violence bad
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by Neil Godfrey
It’s nice to see that the US State Department perceives the United States’ national interests coincide with a public call for the Egyptian presidency (specifically the vice-president) to hold accountable those responsible for the violence pro-Mubarak persons inflicted upon the demonstrators.
It is a pity that it was not apparently deemed to be in U.S. national interests to make similar calls during the past thirty years of Mubarak’s tortures, exiles and executions of dissidents, or his participation in torturing of others in secret rendition progams.
2011-01-26
Some lights are turning on in the Arab world once again, at last
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by Neil Godfrey
Information is power, it is said, and for a democracy to survive people need information as much as they need air. Wikileaks has been the channel for exposing dark secrets, and in response the first lights were turned on in Tunisia.
Following new information and Tunisia more lights are being turned on in Egypt and Yemen. Is there also hope for those in Saudi Arabia and — can one possibly breathe any hope for the Palestinians? Or with most of their leadership either murdered, incarcerated or Quislinged, that may be one candle too many.
The winds of change that have been sweeping across Latin America appear to have at last fanned a few flickerings in the Middle East too.
It’s a tense, but hopeful, time.
2011-01-25
The Great Betrayal of the Palestinians
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by Neil Godfrey
Continuing my posts on the history of the Palestinians (from a Palestinian scholar’s historical research) seems superfluous now, given the in-your-face evidence of how the Palestinian Authority and PLO leadership has betrayed their people. The betrayal began with Arafat. He was the first to agree to be paid off to act as Israel’s policeman, with “foreign aid” in the form of police handcuffs from the U.S.
- Palestinians Agreed to Cede Nearly All Jewish Areas of East Jerusalem
- Leaked Documents: Who Was Serious About a Deal to End Conflict?
- Secret Papers Reveal Slow Death of the Middle East Peace Process
- Palestinian Leaders Weak — And Increasingly Desperate
- Reaction to the Leaked Palestinian Papers
- The Story Behind the Palestinian Papers
The principled Palestinian leaders, or would-be leaders, have long since been kidnapped (they were democratically elected in UN monitored free and fair elections, by the way) and incarcerated in Israeli prisons. But that crime is not nearly so well known, and the names of the victims are too numerous (and Arabic!) for anyone to recall, compared with the case of that solitary Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. (There’s a double irony in that last sentence that I hope is picked up — and more importantly followed up.)
One can only weep.
2011-01-16
Isn’t this wonderful
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by Neil Godfrey
As an atheist, naturalist, humanist or whatever, who deconverted from religion some years ago I still find myself observing humanity (and non-human fellow creatures) with new eyes. This disaster is only one of many around the world, of course, but in every one of them it is inspiring to see what we are: local Queenslanders are shown on TV announcing their group identity: “We are Queenslanders, we help each other . . .”, but then someone is traveling interstate to help and declares: “We are Australians, we give each other a helping hand . . . ” And when it’s international, we identify with each other at the broadest humanity level.
Brisbane flood volunteers turned away
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/16/3113939.htm?
Clean-up volunteers have been turned away in Brisbane after an overwhelming response to calls for help.
Today queues of willing hands stretched for more than a kilometre at assembly points across the city. . . . .
About 12,500 people joined the council-run clean-up operation yesterday. (ABC: Tim Leslie) Continue reading “Isn’t this wonderful”
2011-01-14
The not so great Islamist menace
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by Neil Godfrey
The following is from Alcanaanite’s Blog (Monzer Zimmo has kindly allowed me to re-post it here)
Dan Gardner: The not so great Islamist menace
Posted on 2011/01/06 by Alcanaanite
Two millennia ago, there was a Jewish Palestinian from Nazareth by the name of Jesus who once said: “The truth will set you free.” Sooner or later, the truth will reach people, and those who know it will be free; free from fear, free from hate, and free from vengeance.
Yesterday, January 5, 2011, Dan Gardner wrote a revealing article in the Ottawa Citizen, in which he introduces the truth to his readers about terrorism in Europe. There is nothing more compelling than the truth; facts, numbers, comparisons, and putting things in perspective. Gardner does it eloquently in his easy-to-read article.
Excerpt:
“The European Union’s Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2010 says that in 2009 there were “294 failed, foiled, or successfully executed attacks” in six European countries. This was down almost a third from 2008 and down by almost half from 2007. So, in most of Europe, there was no terrorism. And where there was terrorism, the trend line pointed down. As for who’s responsible, forget Islamists. The overwhelming majority of the attacks – 237 of 294 – were carried out by separatist groups, such as the Basque ETA. A further 40 terrorist schemes were pinned on leftist and/or anarchist terrorists. Rightists were responsible for four attacks. Single-issue groups were behind two attacks, while responsibility for a further 10 was not clear. Islamists? They were behind a grand total of one attack. Yes, one. Out of 294 attacks. In a population of half a billion people. To put that in perspective, the same number of attacks was committed by the Comite d’Action Viticole, a French group that wants to stop the importation of foreign wine.”
For the full article, click on the following link:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/great+Islamist+menace/4060885/story.html Continue reading “The not so great Islamist menace”
2011-01-10
My home town hit by flash flood today
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by Neil Godfrey
I had thought my home town, on top of a mountain range, would be immune from the flooding that has hit so many other areas. Still trying to accept the following scenes. It’s not the steadily rising waters that have hit other places, but a flash flood that went as quickly as it came, even washing away cars in the main street, and it all happened so suddenly that some were unable to escape with their lives. I’m now living in Melbourne way down at southern end of Australia away from the flooding, but still own a house only only ten minutes walk from several scenes pictured in the linked news story. Naturally am concerned about everyone there, especially people I know, but still mostly trying to take in scenes and tragedy the city has never seen before. Devastating.
Seven dead as raging torrent swamps Toowoomba (ABC news story)
and the Video of a rescue of one lucky fellow
2010-12-25
Atheist Christmas
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by Neil Godfrey
I was going to keep this a Christmas-free zone but the quiet here today is screaming at me to say something. I can understand atheists in Western countries who feel uncomfortable with Christmas. There it is closely tied up with religious associations.
The strength of these religious trappings varies, I am sure, with each cultural locale. There are many who can and do love Christmas without giving a thought to its religious origins.
While living in Asia I could not resist asking some Chinese whom I knew were either Buddhists or Taoists, if anything, why they were wearing Santa hats and wishing all and sundry Merry Christmas. Their answer: “It’s Christmas. Everyone loves Christmas.”
I even saw a Moslem girl happily wearing a Santa cap over her head-scarf.
But seeing Christmas being celebrated alongside the Chinese New Year alongside Deepavali alongside Hari Raya and a half dozen others it drove home to me that it just one of many social rituals that would have to be invented if it did not exist from time immemorial. Humans are social creatures and rituals are important to us as social creatures and that’s that. There’s always room for the odd individual to bow out for a time, shorter or longer.
The fact that it has religious associations probably has more to do with the centrality of religion in the lives of people than with the festival itself, if that makes sense.
Here are a couple of other views: Continue reading “Atheist Christmas”
2010-12-14
Why the public fear of democracy? Why the defence of Big Brother?
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by Neil Godfrey
Strange how so often I read public indignation over WikiLeaks comparing what Wikileaks has done with having their own personal files being hacked and made public. The presumption is that the government has all the rights of a private person. It’s as if many people really want their government to have all the privileges of private individuals. Many seem to think that unless the government has such personal privacy rights then it cannot protect their — the public’s — interests!
What happened to the presumption that governments are accountable to the people? I used to think of governments as public bodies. There was something called the “public service”. We used to speak about the “public interest” and the public’s right to know. Democracy itself was predicated on a free and open information society.
So when someone in that public service leaked a document to the press and the press published it, the scandal that would ensue would be over what the government had been up to in secret for fear of those to whom it was accountable.
The turn around from all of these values and assumptions staggers me somewhat. What an amazing turnaround that so many people now seem convinced that a government really should be treated like a private brother, only a bigger one.
2010-12-03
Old Fashioned Democracy in the Internet Age
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by Neil Godfrey
What a quaint idea that has only rarely been heard since the days of Thomas Jefferson: “Information is the currency of democracy” — Thank John Pilger for this reminder of something fundamental, yet that has been so lost in recent years that when people see it in action today they run scared and cry treason! Just like when our eyes are so used to the dark that the light hurts.
Hear the interview with John Pilger on the current tragicomedy over WikiLeaks at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/breakfast/stories/2010/3083583.htm
(I loved his “They read our emails, so why shouldn’t we read theirs?” 🙂
Heartening also to see human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson is still active on the side of basic decency, as he is most times:
Do read Crikey’s report on his call for us to stand up for Julian Assange at http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/09/14/we-should-stand-up-for-assange-geoffrey-robertson/
Or if all of that is too heavy for you, how about John Lennon’s
Imagine there’s no country
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
Is that what the fear is all about? That our favourite country is embarrassed about the exposure of its lies and true face?
2010-11-01
Zionist racism and pro-Zionist gentile folly
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by Neil Godfrey
Even worse than Gilad Atzmon’s nightmare is the very likelihood that many Christian Zionists — gentiles themselves — will agree with Rabbi Yosef’s dream of a master race over the rest . . . .
In case the Goyim cannot find a purpose in their life, Israeli senior Sephardi Rabbi Ovadia Yosef is there to help them out. In his Saturday sermon Rabbi Yosef revealed that the sole purpose of Gentiles is to serve Jews. “Goyim were born only to serve us. Without that, they have no place in the world.” The Rabbi was also kind enough to provide the Goyim with some precise tasks. “Why are gentiles needed? They will work, they will plow, they will reap. We will sit like an effendi and eat. That is why gentiles were created.”
They may even console themselves that through their God they will refine Rabbi Yosef’s dream to allow a super-elite of believing Jews and other Christians at the top of the pyramid.
See for the full article: http://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/gilad-atzmon-from-rabbi-yosef-to-marx.html
2010-10-30
Hanoi and UN
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by Neil Godfrey
I’ve had a lucky chance to be in Hanoi right now. (The observant might have noticed my last 3 posts all scheduled in advance to appear at same time each day.) it’s nice to see the United Nations honoured here — as it is also in Cambodia — with national and UN flags together adjacent images of handshakes and doves.
The UN has had a rough trot since the Security Council has become the plaything of just one superpower. It’s like old times seeing nations like Vietnam and Cambodia still hoping for something of worth through the UN.
What would it take to have a system where the General Assembly had the real power over war and peace instead of the inSecurity Council? Too daunting for me to think about realistically.
But something has gone wrong somewhere when one sees the UN so often ignored or rejected or criticised in a rich exploitative nation which is my own nation, and honoured in countries we used to see as alien.
2010-10-26
A Saturday afternoon walk along the riverside in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
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by Neil Godfrey
No doubt about who has the right of way here.