I would direct your attention to a recent post by a very good friend of mine who, like me, has been worrying away at the conundrum of the nutty fundamentalists and their inability to take a joke. He has put together some provocative ideas, and even gives me a name-check into the bargain, for which many thanks.
I have thoughts on this same topic a brewing, but am holding back just for now. Soak up Cat Vincent’s considered wisdom on the subject, though. ‘I’ve finally nailed that piece about satire and mockery,’ he says. I think so too. Have a look at it here:
http://catvincent.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/making-a-mockery/
The video inserts are spectacularly well chosen, too!
I have also been enjoying these podcast feeds, and cannot recommend them too highly to all psychonauts and alternative thinkers. Shamanic Freedom Radio has an interview with scientific heretic Dr Rupert Sheldrake and also a recording of his recent talk at Goldsmith’s College for Dr Chris French’s psychology department.
Much as I massively respect him, Sheldrake is a little too wary of Dr French in his interview, though, accusing him of being the leader in the promotion of the debunking school of British scepticism. I would award that accolade to Dr Richard Wiseman, myself, however. He is what I would call a sKeptic - namely someone whom no amount of evidence would ever convince, while Dr French is a true sceptic (note I differentiate the spelling!) who remains to be convinced, but I believe he really would be if the evidence was there. I have met both these men, and... well, I do not think Dr Wiseman would invite Dr Sheldrake to breathe anywhere near him, let alone speak to his students; quite unlike Chris French, who hosted the lecture. Listen and be informed!
The other podcast page to watch is Psychonautica in which ‘Max Freakout’ introduces some outstanding talks from the World Psychedelic Forum. Of special interest are podcasts 060 and 059 in which legendary psi-science guru Dr Stanislav Grof talks at the forum on the ‘psychology of the future: lessons from modern consciousness research.’ Also highly recommended are the sessions with Daniel Pinchbeck on the future of psychedelics, science and technology.
Feed your head!
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Phoney Business
I met a good friend a few nights ago and asked him what he thinks about the political scene. His is normally a very informed opinion, rubbing shoulders as he does with the movers and shakers of London politics. He has been surprised how much new freedom he has with the contractors he needs to deploy on big council projects.
‘People who wouldn’t have discussed business seriously at all before are now offering me as much as I want!’ he told me. ‘It’s not the public sector that’s making me the big offers, it’s the private companies because they’re quick off the mark. They know they have to adapt or die and so they’re doing it, while government has to sit around and hold meetings before they can make a decision.’
‘That’s why planned economies fail,’ I said. ‘The free market does work, but it only works if you have swift circulation of money. You can’t have survival-of-the-fittest competition if all your consumers are beggar-poor. That’s why Thatcher failed, too. She was obsessed with reducing the circulation, cutting the money supply, and then she couldn’t understand why everyone else in Europe was overtaking us, like we were a Vintage Model T in Formula One race. Well, now the banks have cut off the money supply entirely, and everyone can see it’s not good for business.’
‘These new Tories, though,’ he said, ‘they’re different. I had a meeting with them the other day and I was surprised. To me, Tories have always meant Margaret Thatcher and her old Fascists,’ he said. ‘But these ones are a different breed. They’re educated. And a lot of them are gay.’
‘William Haig’s front bench was almost entirely gay,’ I said. ‘Although they weren’t ‘out’, of course.’
‘Well these new Tories are and they impressed me,’ he said. ‘They’re going to win. Trust me on this. The next election’s got to be in the next twelve months. What can Brown do between now and then?’
‘A year’s a long time,’ I said. ‘A year ago everyone thought he was finished. Who’d have guessed he’d look so much better now? He’s playing the old Thatcher strategy: we got you into this mess, and we’re the only ones who can get you out of it.’
‘I still say the Tories’re going to win,’ he said. ‘And when they do, they’ll hold a second term.’
‘We’ll see,’ I said. ‘As I’ve mentioned before, elections aren’t won on poll leads, they’re won on swing, and this is still a big swing for them to pull off. Besides, it doesn’t matter how we vote, or how anyone votes...’
‘I know, it’ll be down to the key marginals,’ he said.
‘And they’re all in the West Midlands,’I said.
‘The BNP’s going to win, then, if that’s the case,’ he said. ‘Besides, it’ll be a good time for Fascists. It was in the last Great Depression.’
‘You know,’ I said, ‘I look around at the world from the top deck of the bus and it’s a very revealing picture. If there’s an economic disaster, where is it? Nothing’s different. Everyone’s still driving around in their gas-guzzling, four-by-fours, just like they ever did. Pull up to the bumper, baby! You wouldn’t think there was anything wrong. I saw a man the other night, all on his own, in his giant People Carrier, a long jam of equally vast cars ahead of him but he was happy. He had an animatronic toy chihuahua dancing about on his dashboard, wiggling its ears. The ears were tiny tweeters. It was attached by a cable to his iPod. This was a singing, dancing robot dog! Where is this Great Depression with executive toys like that about?’
‘You see,’ I went on, ‘this is the Phoney War. This’s like the Autumn of 1939. Everyone knew war had been declared, but nothing had happened. So they all went on about their business. There was a bit of news in the papers about some of our boys going out to France, getting holed up near some place called Dunkerque. Well, that would discourage Fritz. No reason to worry. And this went on for a while, but then, come 1940, it was: “Jesus! Christ! They’re dropping bombs on us!” And then they remembered they were in a war. We haven’t reached that point yet, but it’s coming. If the Tories win, they’ll come in during the Phoney War. They will then be sitting on the Treasury Bench when the Blitz arrives. That second term won’t look so easy after that. But whoever it is, whether it’s Brown pulling off a narrow-squeak victory, or Cameron, they’ll both come off as weak as Chamberlaine in the face of the blast. I don’t see any sign of a new Churchill, either.’
‘People who wouldn’t have discussed business seriously at all before are now offering me as much as I want!’ he told me. ‘It’s not the public sector that’s making me the big offers, it’s the private companies because they’re quick off the mark. They know they have to adapt or die and so they’re doing it, while government has to sit around and hold meetings before they can make a decision.’
‘That’s why planned economies fail,’ I said. ‘The free market does work, but it only works if you have swift circulation of money. You can’t have survival-of-the-fittest competition if all your consumers are beggar-poor. That’s why Thatcher failed, too. She was obsessed with reducing the circulation, cutting the money supply, and then she couldn’t understand why everyone else in Europe was overtaking us, like we were a Vintage Model T in Formula One race. Well, now the banks have cut off the money supply entirely, and everyone can see it’s not good for business.’
‘These new Tories, though,’ he said, ‘they’re different. I had a meeting with them the other day and I was surprised. To me, Tories have always meant Margaret Thatcher and her old Fascists,’ he said. ‘But these ones are a different breed. They’re educated. And a lot of them are gay.’
‘William Haig’s front bench was almost entirely gay,’ I said. ‘Although they weren’t ‘out’, of course.’
‘Well these new Tories are and they impressed me,’ he said. ‘They’re going to win. Trust me on this. The next election’s got to be in the next twelve months. What can Brown do between now and then?’
‘A year’s a long time,’ I said. ‘A year ago everyone thought he was finished. Who’d have guessed he’d look so much better now? He’s playing the old Thatcher strategy: we got you into this mess, and we’re the only ones who can get you out of it.’
‘I still say the Tories’re going to win,’ he said. ‘And when they do, they’ll hold a second term.’
‘We’ll see,’ I said. ‘As I’ve mentioned before, elections aren’t won on poll leads, they’re won on swing, and this is still a big swing for them to pull off. Besides, it doesn’t matter how we vote, or how anyone votes...’
‘I know, it’ll be down to the key marginals,’ he said.
‘And they’re all in the West Midlands,’I said.
‘The BNP’s going to win, then, if that’s the case,’ he said. ‘Besides, it’ll be a good time for Fascists. It was in the last Great Depression.’
‘You know,’ I said, ‘I look around at the world from the top deck of the bus and it’s a very revealing picture. If there’s an economic disaster, where is it? Nothing’s different. Everyone’s still driving around in their gas-guzzling, four-by-fours, just like they ever did. Pull up to the bumper, baby! You wouldn’t think there was anything wrong. I saw a man the other night, all on his own, in his giant People Carrier, a long jam of equally vast cars ahead of him but he was happy. He had an animatronic toy chihuahua dancing about on his dashboard, wiggling its ears. The ears were tiny tweeters. It was attached by a cable to his iPod. This was a singing, dancing robot dog! Where is this Great Depression with executive toys like that about?’
‘You see,’ I went on, ‘this is the Phoney War. This’s like the Autumn of 1939. Everyone knew war had been declared, but nothing had happened. So they all went on about their business. There was a bit of news in the papers about some of our boys going out to France, getting holed up near some place called Dunkerque. Well, that would discourage Fritz. No reason to worry. And this went on for a while, but then, come 1940, it was: “Jesus! Christ! They’re dropping bombs on us!” And then they remembered they were in a war. We haven’t reached that point yet, but it’s coming. If the Tories win, they’ll come in during the Phoney War. They will then be sitting on the Treasury Bench when the Blitz arrives. That second term won’t look so easy after that. But whoever it is, whether it’s Brown pulling off a narrow-squeak victory, or Cameron, they’ll both come off as weak as Chamberlaine in the face of the blast. I don’t see any sign of a new Churchill, either.’
Sunday, 1 February 2009
Vertrauensverlust
Long have I wondered whether I should live to see the final prophecy of St Malachi come about. Is it possible that Maladict, sorry, Benedict XVI is indeed the last ever Pope? In the saint’s future chronology, none follow him, save Petrus Romanus, whose destiny is to destroy the Church forever... but apparently this figure was added in the nineteenth century. According to the original list, the present Pope is the last Supreme Pontiff the Catholic Church is ever to have.
Well, nothing Papa Ratzi has done so far has led me to believe St Malachi was wide of the mark. But the decision today to have a denier of the Holocaust ordained as a bishop really is a classic, even by Maladict’s sterling standards.
I have been following this story for the past couple of weeks, via the BBC’s excellent Sunday programme, which I highly recommend, actually. It’s broadcast at 7am on Sunday morning - crazy early for me, although I’m well aware it’s on at that time so that pious folk (its intended audience) can listen to it over breakfast before heading off to church. There is, fortunately, a weekly podcast, though.
The editorial line seems to be strictly C of E and so it can get a bit All Gas and Gaiters at times, devoting substantial coverage to Lambeth Palace, Synods and Archbishops’ meetings, but it still has some of the best ethical interviews and debates on any channel for my money.
Anyway, they were well ahead of the major news-sources on this story, covering it anxiously last week, and doing a very good follow-up this morning. The understanding was that in the reordination of Bishop Williamson, the Pope was more interested in Catholic unity than in either what anyone inside the Church had to say about it, or in the feelings of those outside it, especially among the Jewish community. But nothing that Roger Bolton and his ecclesiastical guests said, though, quite prepared me for the reaction on today’s Der Spiegel website:
That word Vertrauensverlust is especially interesting because it could also be interpreted as ‘crisis of faith’ in a religious context. Spiegel is clear, this is a decision that actually threatens the continuing faith of Catholic believers. Of course, although Sunday took this story seriously, their strict C of E perspective blinded them to the seriousness of the story. It’s about the Pope so it’s foreign news. Thus they reported it as they might an item about Islam or Judaism. In a country with a substantial Catholic population, like Germany, it has another weight altogether. I don’t believe I have ever seen such language from the sombre and serious Der Spiegel on a subject like this, and certainly not about the Pope.
Needless to say, the Italian press have been covering the story too, although with more measured language. See:
Rompere i rapporti con il Vaticano
...while in France, government minister Christine Boutin has also condemned the move:
Boutin condamne le négationnisme, pas la main tendue aux intégristes
I am reminded of Dr Johnson’s comment that one who converted away from Catholicism was likely to suffer ‘lacerations of the mind’ and can’t help but wonder that this might be a reasonable description of what a great many Catholics across Europe must be feeling right now.
Well, nothing Papa Ratzi has done so far has led me to believe St Malachi was wide of the mark. But the decision today to have a denier of the Holocaust ordained as a bishop really is a classic, even by Maladict’s sterling standards.
I have been following this story for the past couple of weeks, via the BBC’s excellent Sunday programme, which I highly recommend, actually. It’s broadcast at 7am on Sunday morning - crazy early for me, although I’m well aware it’s on at that time so that pious folk (its intended audience) can listen to it over breakfast before heading off to church. There is, fortunately, a weekly podcast, though.
The editorial line seems to be strictly C of E and so it can get a bit All Gas and Gaiters at times, devoting substantial coverage to Lambeth Palace, Synods and Archbishops’ meetings, but it still has some of the best ethical interviews and debates on any channel for my money.
Anyway, they were well ahead of the major news-sources on this story, covering it anxiously last week, and doing a very good follow-up this morning. The understanding was that in the reordination of Bishop Williamson, the Pope was more interested in Catholic unity than in either what anyone inside the Church had to say about it, or in the feelings of those outside it, especially among the Jewish community. But nothing that Roger Bolton and his ecclesiastical guests said, though, quite prepared me for the reaction on today’s Der Spiegel website:
Empörung über den Papst
Vatikan-Diplomaten kehren Benedikts Scherben zusammen
“Katastrophe”, “Vertrauensverlust”, “Unsensibilität”: Mit der Rehabilitierung eines Holocaust-Leugners hat der Papst seine Kirche blamiert, die Reaktionen sind verheerend.
Der Vatikan will nun retten, was an Glaubwürdigkeit noch übrig ist.
Doch der katholische Fels bröckelt bereits...
Outrage at the Pope
Vatican diplomats are sweeping up the fragments after Benedict’s shattering action.
“A disaster,” “a loss of confidence”, “insensitivity”: with the rehabilitation of a Holocaust denier, the Pope has disgraced his Church, and the reactions are devastating.
The Vatican now wants to save whatever credibility it still has left.
But the Catholic rock is crumbling already...
That word Vertrauensverlust is especially interesting because it could also be interpreted as ‘crisis of faith’ in a religious context. Spiegel is clear, this is a decision that actually threatens the continuing faith of Catholic believers. Of course, although Sunday took this story seriously, their strict C of E perspective blinded them to the seriousness of the story. It’s about the Pope so it’s foreign news. Thus they reported it as they might an item about Islam or Judaism. In a country with a substantial Catholic population, like Germany, it has another weight altogether. I don’t believe I have ever seen such language from the sombre and serious Der Spiegel on a subject like this, and certainly not about the Pope.
Needless to say, the Italian press have been covering the story too, although with more measured language. See:
Rompere i rapporti con il Vaticano
...while in France, government minister Christine Boutin has also condemned the move:
Boutin condamne le négationnisme, pas la main tendue aux intégristes
I am reminded of Dr Johnson’s comment that one who converted away from Catholicism was likely to suffer ‘lacerations of the mind’ and can’t help but wonder that this might be a reasonable description of what a great many Catholics across Europe must be feeling right now.
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