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The priceless works of art don’t bother me as much as the preaching of not using condoms in Aids stricken countries or overpopulated countries where people are starving.
The priceless works of art don’t bother me as much as the preaching of not using condoms in Aids stricken countries or overpopulated countries where people are starving.
Moe if there was
an election
you have my vote
for Pope.Haiti
As far as the indescribable suffering
of being buried under tons of concrete,
and of whole streets offering up dead, the
misery brings comparative thoughts
of the black death, that ravaged France
and Spain for four years
and wiped out a quarter of
the worlds popoBut does not sumptuousness also highlight the hypocrisy of the church.
Take the Catholic church – visit The Vatican and it has more priceless works of art than any Royal palace. Yet it allows its followers in Africa and South America live in abject poverty – even to the extent of throwing out priests who actually dare to do something to try and help people out of poverty.
Sell a few old masters and put the proceeds to good use.
They won’t of course – because it comes down to power and control of the people – just like governments try to do.
Agreed and can but echo your words, though I thought I had made it clear that my appreciation of religious artifacts has nothing to do with the Church, Christianity or Religion in general, which I thoroughly dislike if not quite as vehemently as you.
I also admire and enjoy visiting stately homes and the like, but realise that they could only have ever been built and furnished by those few whose great wealth was accrued by the exploitation of the poverty-stricken majority.
Sad but true, so one may rightly feel uncomfortable about the ‘true cost’ of these amazing buildings and works of art, but surely no one can deny their beauty and the contribution they make to the quality of life for those of us who live amongst them
To repeat: they are the great lasting legacy of the skilled artisans and artists who built, furnished and decorated them and should be cherished as such
all property is theft
A hilarious LTTE quoted in DU:
Dear Pat Robertson,
I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I’m all over that action. But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I’m no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished. Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth — glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven’t you seen "Crossroads"? Or "Damn Yankees"? If I had a thing going with Haiti, there’d be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox — that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it — I’m just saying: Not how I roll. You’re doing great work, Pat, and I don’t want to clip your wings — just, come on, you’re making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That’s working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.
Best, Satan
A hilarious LTTE quoted in DU:
Dear Pat Robertson,
I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I’m all over that action. But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I’m no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished. Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth — glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven’t you seen "Crossroads"? Or "Damn Yankees"? If I had a thing going with Haiti, there’d be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox — that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it — I’m just saying: Not how I roll. You’re doing great work, Pat, and I don’t want to clip your wings — just, come on, you’re making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That’s working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.
Best, Satan
- Total Posts 17716
God? helluva lot of them about but yet to meet one…..I’m in no hurry big man if you’re listening
Way too many religions for me but basically all religions are the same thing. A fairy story.
Example. Book of Mormon…….14 year old Joseph Smith get’s a visit from the Angel Moroni who shows him where some golden plates are hidden.
From these plates written in Ancient Hewbrew or some weird and wonderful language this young 14 year old kid translates them into English and we have the Book of Mormon. Must have been a helluva strong lad to have carried them about with him but anyway by page 2 the plates are for the off never to be seen again.
The fact Joseph’s brother Hiram was a Freemason who also speak of Golden Plates was of course pure coincidence.
The Mormons are of course the forefathers of the American Indian
Seems weird when America was discovered according to western history Indians didn’t have metal swords and wheels like their would be forefathers had hundreds of years beforehand.So why is that you ask? The answer’s brilliant……all the blacksmiths were killed at the battle of Comorah.
The fact little if any archeological evidence can be found to prove it ever took place. They speak of Mormon Coinage but no samples exist.
The entire story is a complete fabrication by some very clever men who’s aim was to rule the USA
The Mormon’s followers are basically good helpful people but they should call it the Joseph Smith Social Club.
All religions believe they are right, most followers mean well but behind each religion there is power and those who have had it for centuries don’t want to let go.
Simplifying religion by looking at it’s history tells us the first Gods were Idols created to put fear into people and keep control. Somewhere along the line control was lost, the idols were smashed and no balls of fire came hurtling down upon the people.
So before you knew it to take back control and maintain order/civilisation up pops a new God called Chaos……. a nothingness, a black hole. Then came The Ginnungagap and Eros among others popping up all over the world.
In the end the ones telling the best story and can scare most people win the day and now most Gods are up in the sky you can’t see them you can’t smash them up just believe or don’t believe.
It’s called the Fear of God and with it comes awesome power and wealth and if the cost of peace is a few quid and 20 Rembrants so be it. Not bad thing if used properly but the most satanic thing ever if abused.
I don’t believe nor do I disbelieve in some superior being/God. What I believe is whatever is out there if anything is beyond human understanding and no one has a scooby if Buddhists Christians Muslims or whoever are right or there all wrong.
Not against religion at all as it is a good tool to help teach our young the difference between right and wrong but fighting with someone over it is real smart
Like a protestant telling a catholic’s they are evil or a Christain going to Palestine and telling them they are inferior and should be driven into the sea or vice versa.
That’s about as intelligent as inviting Hannibal Lector to dinner and expecting him to pass up the sweet but our governments and religious leaders just keep stoking the fire.
Paul – the human spirit has ways of coping with stuff like this and humour is one of them. If you let it get to you you’d be crushed under the weight of grief.
Can’t have a bar of that, Corm. There are 100,000+ reasons (and counting) why at least two posts on this thread an absolute excresence.
"Coping with stuff" and "learning to laugh rather than abhor the horror" (as Michael Franti once put it) are not one and the same; and neither the distance involved in this instance, nor the improbability of an equivalent disaster befalling the British Isles, changes that a jot.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
No one could have ‘invented’ gods and religions if manking didn’t have a need for something to believe in. It’s like the bit in, I think, War and Peace that points out that people like Napoleon only rise to power because the people want them to at that moment in time.
i[/color:nsvgoc8y]I suppose the two posts you menton are mine then mate?
Nothing to do with Haiti, but more personal, eh!!
Lets not forget then, that thousands are still dying in Africa.
Or have you chosen to forget about those and get on the Haiti bandwagon?
Personally I have put my small change into the bucket that was thrown in front of me at Morrisons at the weekend, knowing that it will make no difference what so ever to the plight of those suffering, looting or beating each other with sticks.
At the moment I am a little more interested in my mate who fell off a roof on 3/01/10 and who nearly didn’t make it.
Its on my doorstep, and I do feel more sorry for this guy at the moment than those oversea’s.Very moving article in this weeks Observer written by Regine Chassagne of Arcade Fire. The people of Haiti had to buy their freedom from the French at a cost of @ $21bn [including the value of the slaves]; they have never recovered from this.
Jeremy – what I’m saying, rather poorly, is that sometimes people, consciously or otherwise, need to escape the enormity of the tragedy and the employment of dark humour can be one of those crutches.
I think most such ‘sick’ humour is made dispassionately and without malice.
LM – steady up. It’s clear, as I’m sure you suspected would be the case when you posted, that not everyone is on board with your style, we don’t need a pointless argument on the back of it though.
Nothing to do with Haiti, but more personal, eh!!
Rather a solipsistic response. I’d have climbed into anyone on TRF who’d tried to make merry of the disaster.
At the moment I am a little more interested in my mate who fell off a roof on 3/01/10 and who nearly didn’t make it.
Its on my doorstep, and I do feel more sorry for this guy at the moment than those oversea’s.Distribute your care as you see fit, as anyone would, but how does the above actually reconcile or justify making the earlier gags?
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Lolly clean your boots mate.
I don’t wish to minimize
your or your mate’s suffering
Your mate was on a building
and fell off
He knew the risks.
Roofing is a
dangerous business.
I feel sorry for the guy.The Haitians were in buildings
and the buildings collapsed
on top of them.
I doubt any considered the risk
many were littluns who’d
never wore a pair of boots
nor are likely to now.Still a follower of your posts
but beware disaster areas
and get your girl to give you a slapJeremy – what I’m saying, rather poorly, is that sometimes people, consciously or otherwise, need to escape the enormity of the tragedy and the employment of dark humour can be one of those crutches.
I think most such ‘sick’ humour is made dispassionately and without malice.
I’m afraid I am still rather struggling with the apparent insistence here, Corm, that mass loss of life, be that through natural disaster as here, negligence, genocide, war or whatever else, is "funny" by any credible, civilised measure.
Moreover, what would the TRF moderators’ line have been, just as a matter of academic interest, had the Haiti disaster befallen one of this country’s capital cities instead, potentially impacting on the lives of some of our number to greater or lesser consequences, only for another poster to have uploaded a wisecrack of the calibre above?
It’s mere accidents of geography and fate that spare us all from an untimely end on a daily basis; and that this disaster happened in Haiti and not here is nothing to celebrate, or make happy about, even, but rather a salutory reminder than there but for the grace of a / the / some / no God(s), go we all.
Overall, is it not inconsistent to suggest that the "dispassionate" argument legitimises the posting of any sick joke on TRF, when there are plenty on other subject matters and / or circumstances which, on the grounds of taste, or legality, or in the interest of upholding the Forum’s integrity and friendly reputation, would have been pulled from the site in a heartbeat rather than reconciled as meant dispassionately?
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
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