I blogged this so I can find it again, and look at it a bit more closely. It's not what it seems.
A conservative blog for peace
But then liberals in a free society are conservatives too, because they have a vested interest in conserving freedom.
28 February 2006
Orthodox Okie: The Maccabean Holy-Day
A friend who posts in LiveJournal posted in the Orthodox Community there that the 4th March was the commemorationof the Holy Hasidic Fathers in the Orthodox Church.
I was unable to find the calendar reference he mentioned, but he also pointed to the following blog, which looked quite interesting.
Orthodox Okie: The Maccabean Holy-Day
Technorati tags: lectionary & calendar, Orthodox theology
I was unable to find the calendar reference he mentioned, but he also pointed to the following blog, which looked quite interesting.
Orthodox Okie: The Maccabean Holy-Day
Technorati tags: lectionary & calendar, Orthodox theology
12 February 2006
Juliebelle's Jottings's
Julie Belding got bounced from Worldchat recently, so I thought I'd blog her blog, just in case.
Juliebelle's Jottings's
Juliebelle's Jottings's
04 February 2006
Ultima Thule: Crucified Kosovo: Destroyed and Desecrated Serbian Shrines
The purpose of armies is to kill people and break things. That is what they are trained and paid to do. But what sometimes puzzles me is why the USA seems to be so intent on doing this.
One of the most destructive in recent years has been Nato (the North Atlantic Terrorist Organisation).
Ultima Thule: Crucified Kosovo: Destroyed and Desecrated Serbian Shrines
There's what happened as a result of their support of a terrorist organisation, the UCK.
Technorati tags: Balkan politics, religious persecution, Orthodox Church, US foreign policy
But what should be the reaction of Christians to all this? Check this article on Nationalism, violence and reconciliation for some background information.
One of the most destructive in recent years has been Nato (the North Atlantic Terrorist Organisation).
Ultima Thule: Crucified Kosovo: Destroyed and Desecrated Serbian Shrines
There's what happened as a result of their support of a terrorist organisation, the UCK.
Technorati tags: Balkan politics, religious persecution, Orthodox Church, US foreign policy
But what should be the reaction of Christians to all this? Check this article on Nationalism, violence and reconciliation for some background information.
Crosstitutes under scrutiny
It seems that the activities of the crosstitutes have not gone entirely unremarked in other parts of the world.
Internet political info
Internet political info
Goodbye democracy, it was nice knowing you
Local government elections are to be held on 1 March 2006, but it really is a bit of a farce. There is no point in voting, because no matter which party you vote for, a politician will be elected, and at the next "floor crossing window" the politicans will override your vote on the basis of which party makes them the best offer.
In 1994 we in South Africa were delivered from a race oligarchy, and got democracy -- one man one vote, free and fair elections.
But it didn't last long. Because there is a loophole in the constitution that nullifies democracy by allowing floor crossing. Now any fool can see that in a proportional representation system with closed party lists, allowing floor crossing by elected representatives takes the power from the voters and puts it in the hands of the politicians themselves, who thereafter are self-selected and self elected.
In South Africa elections are no longer a significant part of the political process. They have been replaced by a series of auctions in which the politicians get to sell their soul to the highest bidder.
Oh, elections are still held -- it gives the people the illusion that we still have democracy, and especially people elsewhere in the world, who don't realise that the real decisions are made in the auctions that follow the elections, where the politicians manipulate the process to their own personal advantage.
Some have tried to defend this, by saying that those elected need to have freedom of conscience and all that, and that is part of their human rights. But that's nonsense. Why should the rights of the crosstitutes take precedence over the rights of the citizens? In effect, the "human rights" of 400 parliamentarians nullify the right of 40 million South Africans to choose their government. Freedom of conscience means that if a politician can no longer conscientiously support the policies of the party that put them on the list, they resign from the party and from parliament, provincial council or whatever and try again with the party they do support.
And it's the same in local government, except for the ward candidates.
I suggest that if you vote at all, don't vote for proportional representation candidates, but spoil your paper by writing "No crosstitutes" on it. Just vote for the ward candidates -- even if they do change parties, it will at least be the person that you elected.
In 1994 we in South Africa were delivered from a race oligarchy, and got democracy -- one man one vote, free and fair elections.
But it didn't last long. Because there is a loophole in the constitution that nullifies democracy by allowing floor crossing. Now any fool can see that in a proportional representation system with closed party lists, allowing floor crossing by elected representatives takes the power from the voters and puts it in the hands of the politicians themselves, who thereafter are self-selected and self elected.
In South Africa elections are no longer a significant part of the political process. They have been replaced by a series of auctions in which the politicians get to sell their soul to the highest bidder.
Oh, elections are still held -- it gives the people the illusion that we still have democracy, and especially people elsewhere in the world, who don't realise that the real decisions are made in the auctions that follow the elections, where the politicians manipulate the process to their own personal advantage.
Some have tried to defend this, by saying that those elected need to have freedom of conscience and all that, and that is part of their human rights. But that's nonsense. Why should the rights of the crosstitutes take precedence over the rights of the citizens? In effect, the "human rights" of 400 parliamentarians nullify the right of 40 million South Africans to choose their government. Freedom of conscience means that if a politician can no longer conscientiously support the policies of the party that put them on the list, they resign from the party and from parliament, provincial council or whatever and try again with the party they do support.
And it's the same in local government, except for the ward candidates.
I suggest that if you vote at all, don't vote for proportional representation candidates, but spoil your paper by writing "No crosstitutes" on it. Just vote for the ward candidates -- even if they do change parties, it will at least be the person that you elected.
25 January 2006
Vomit and other interesting things
I spent some time surfing other blogs today, just to see the kind of things people write about.
One noted that it was her blogiversary, and she had reviewed her blog for the year since she started it, and found she had posted eight times about vomit.
I had a look at my diaries for the last 40 years or so, and found three references to vomit.
23 Feb 1965 - went to Johannesburg station to catch a train back to university and had supper with my mother in a lousy vomit-yellow restaurant.
11 Jun 1967 - playing croquet on the lawn at St Chad's College, Durham, reading Justine by Lawrence Durrell, and noted that a friend had called it "gnostic vomit".
19 May 1971 - this deserves a quote, since it is a literal reference to vomit. It was in Windhoek, Namibia. "I went to see Lisa Schmidt who was sick and gave detailed descriptions of the times she had got up last night to vomit, and what she had vomited, right up to the last time she had vomited, which was 10 minutes ago. She didn't seem too miserable."
I don't seem to have had occasion to refer to vomit since then, so 8 times in a single year seems quite remarkable.
I also saw that several people wondered if they were wasting their life just blogging. Well, I could see how one could waste one's life reading other people's blogs, especially when they are writing about interesting stuff like vomit.
If anyone reads this blog because they did a search through blog search engines for references to vomit, I hope you'll let me know. Otherwise it might lie in decent obscurity for the next 35 years like my last reference to vomit.
One noted that it was her blogiversary, and she had reviewed her blog for the year since she started it, and found she had posted eight times about vomit.
I had a look at my diaries for the last 40 years or so, and found three references to vomit.
23 Feb 1965 - went to Johannesburg station to catch a train back to university and had supper with my mother in a lousy vomit-yellow restaurant.
11 Jun 1967 - playing croquet on the lawn at St Chad's College, Durham, reading Justine by Lawrence Durrell, and noted that a friend had called it "gnostic vomit".
19 May 1971 - this deserves a quote, since it is a literal reference to vomit. It was in Windhoek, Namibia. "I went to see Lisa Schmidt who was sick and gave detailed descriptions of the times she had got up last night to vomit, and what she had vomited, right up to the last time she had vomited, which was 10 minutes ago. She didn't seem too miserable."
I don't seem to have had occasion to refer to vomit since then, so 8 times in a single year seems quite remarkable.
I also saw that several people wondered if they were wasting their life just blogging. Well, I could see how one could waste one's life reading other people's blogs, especially when they are writing about interesting stuff like vomit.
If anyone reads this blog because they did a search through blog search engines for references to vomit, I hope you'll let me know. Otherwise it might lie in decent obscurity for the next 35 years like my last reference to vomit.
11 January 2006
The Anti-Manicheist
I'm not sure what all this is about yet, Christianity, politics and economics, it looks like.
The Anti-Manicheist
Anyway, I've blogged it so I can find out more about Sod's brood and find it when I want to look for it again.
The Anti-Manicheist
Anyway, I've blogged it so I can find out more about Sod's brood and find it when I want to look for it again.
08 January 2006
The Anti-Manicheist: Historical Paradigms of Missiology.
I'm always interested in responses to David Bosch's book Transforming mission. One of the sad things about his untimely death was that it was just after the books was published, and suddenly one could no longer discuss the many questions raised in the book with him personally.
But at least it is possible to discuss it with other readers of his books, like The Anti-Manicheist: Historical Paradigms of Missiology.
But at least it is possible to discuss it with other readers of his books, like The Anti-Manicheist: Historical Paradigms of Missiology.
A Blog for the Emerging Church
A couple of days ago I did a search on "interests" of bloggers, to see who was interested in missiology, and I found that a lot of those who listed "missiology" as an interest also listed "emerging church".
I wondered whether this was some new missiological buzz word, as "contextual" was in the 1970s, and "holistic" was in the 1990s, but thought no more of it until I started to see it all over the place.
I then thought that perhaps it was not just a buzz word, but some kind of specific movement, like "radical orthodoxy" or "the Toronto blessing", "the gospel and our culture" with its own gurus and schools of thought. A new theological bandwagon, in other words.
So I did a search on "emerging church" and found this blog.
A Blog for the Emerging Church
Reading the first couple of entries left me not much the wiser, so I'm still left wondering why so many people are referring to the "emerging church".
I wondered whether this was some new missiological buzz word, as "contextual" was in the 1970s, and "holistic" was in the 1990s, but thought no more of it until I started to see it all over the place.
I then thought that perhaps it was not just a buzz word, but some kind of specific movement, like "radical orthodoxy" or "the Toronto blessing", "the gospel and our culture" with its own gurus and schools of thought. A new theological bandwagon, in other words.
So I did a search on "emerging church" and found this blog.
A Blog for the Emerging Church
Reading the first couple of entries left me not much the wiser, so I'm still left wondering why so many people are referring to the "emerging church".
St Tikhon's Monastery
St Tikhon's Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, USA, has a new web site.
If one is interested in monasteries and monasticism it's worth a look.
If one is interested in monasteries and monasticism it's worth a look.
07 January 2006
LibDem leader resigns
I saw on TV that Charles Kennedy, the leader of the British Liberal Democratic Party, has resigned.
I was rather sad about that, as under his leadership they did better in the last two elections than they had at any time in the last 80 years. And Charles Kennedy was notable for his principled opposition to the unneccssary and foolish war against Iraq, and also to such abuses of human rights as 90-day detention in Britain itself.
The news reports are saying he had a drink problem, and that there is some division in the LibDems about whether they should be social or economic liberals. I hope the leave the latter to the Tories, and that they can get their act together.
We were visiting Britain during the last general election there, and in fact were in Cornwall on the day itself, and Cornwall is a Tory and Labour-free zone.
I was rather sad about that, as under his leadership they did better in the last two elections than they had at any time in the last 80 years. And Charles Kennedy was notable for his principled opposition to the unneccssary and foolish war against Iraq, and also to such abuses of human rights as 90-day detention in Britain itself.
The news reports are saying he had a drink problem, and that there is some division in the LibDems about whether they should be social or economic liberals. I hope the leave the latter to the Tories, and that they can get their act together.
We were visiting Britain during the last general election there, and in fact were in Cornwall on the day itself, and Cornwall is a Tory and Labour-free zone.
05 January 2006
vindicated - the amazing blog of kyle potter
I was looking for other bloggers who are interested in missiology, and came across vindicated - the amazing blog of kyle potter
He was discussing the habit some people seem to have of unthinkingly tossing around words like "liberal", as a label, without really being too clear about what they mean by it. There are some words that can mean so many different things that they are said to be "skunked" -- you can never use them in conversation or in writing without having to explain what you mean by them, because they can mean something completely different to someone else.
Having said that, let me make it clear that I am a pinko liberal and proud of it!
He was discussing the habit some people seem to have of unthinkingly tossing around words like "liberal", as a label, without really being too clear about what they mean by it. There are some words that can mean so many different things that they are said to be "skunked" -- you can never use them in conversation or in writing without having to explain what you mean by them, because they can mean something completely different to someone else.
Having said that, let me make it clear that I am a pinko liberal and proud of it!
Life in Cyprus: Dressing for the cold
Among my longest-standing net friends are Sue and Richard, now living in Cyprus.
Life in Cyprus: Dressing for the cold
I've been corresponding with them for many years, though we've never met face to face. For the last few years at least we have been corresponding through the Worldchat discussion forum, which began as a conference on a BBS network, but has recently moved to Yahoo Groups.
Life in Cyprus: Dressing for the cold
I've been corresponding with them for many years, though we've never met face to face. For the last few years at least we have been corresponding through the Worldchat discussion forum, which began as a conference on a BBS network, but has recently moved to Yahoo Groups.
19 December 2005
A Youth of the Apocalypse
Well, it's nice to see that there are still some youth of the apocalypse around!
A Youth of the Apocalypse
Anyone know what happened to the Death to the world zine?
If you don't know what that is, check for more info here:
Вовкина болтовня: 'Death to the World': Punks turned Monks
A Youth of the Apocalypse
Anyone know what happened to the Death to the world zine?
If you don't know what that is, check for more info here:
Вовкина болтовня: 'Death to the World': Punks turned Monks
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