Christmas is most assuredly a pagan mish-mash, verily a hotchpotch of all manner of unScriptural bits 'n bobs, even of anti-Christian customs, practices, rituals and rites...yet the Good LORD graciously utilized the same to *'strangely warm' my heart and bring me to Himself...

Considered reflections upon Christmas over coming days and weeks - specifically over the fabled **'12 days of Christmas'...

To Be Continued (over said period), as time and occasion become/s available...

On 'the fifth day of Christmas' (i.e. Sunday, December 29th)

To start at the end first (as ****Yours Truly admittedly has a habit/penchant/proclivity of doing)...

The one reason for my steadfast loyalty to (the) Christmas (*****tradition), and my concurrent unwillingness to ditch its 'observance' (however one might interpret that in individual circumstances) is simply this:

******whatever serves my LORD's ultimate purpose(s) of reconciling sinners (such as me, myself and I) to Himself...is fair game to be 'okayed' as something not to be sniffed at (and outright opposed)...

that overarching, cosmic purpose trumps each and every possible gainsaying argument...

...for time and eternity...

Nuff Said -end of story.

*The words (I do believe) of the Quaker (or Religious Society of Friends) 'founder' George Fox...

**After beginning this 'mini-series' of sorts (though all self-contained within the one blogpost), I duly realized/discovered that ***there are indeed two (distinct) sets of said 'twelve days of Christmas', to wit: the period extending from Christmas Day itself through to the fifth of January; and that starting with Boxing Day and ending unto 'Epiphany', i.e. January the sixth (incidentally my mother's mother's birthday, though she has now long since vacated the earthly scene).

However, to epitomize the innate contrarian that I am, I'm herein rewriting said tradition in my own image, beginning it upon Christmas Eve (a nephew's birthday) and finishing it on January the fourth.
Essentially because I began selfsame blogpost upon this date, thereby unknowingly deviating from set twelve days of Christmas, which admittedly I wasn't clear in my own mind about anyway...

Nevertheless selfsame deviation seems mildly justifiable, insofar as Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day have each long since held a special meaning for those who (however wrongly and unscripturally) considered/deemed the season somehow or other to be bathed in/clothed with sacred solemnity...and thus any one of these three days seems an appropriate starting-point for the 12 days.

***According, once again, to my ever trusty Chambers Concise Dictionary (Cambridge, 1988).

****Please bear with (and excuse, if necessary) my use of that (potentially) pompous term 'YT': it simply serves as a convenient shorthand (to avoid having to use the pronoun me off-and-on on an ongoing basis (throughout my various blogposts); it's certainly not because I consider my opinion the be-all-and-end-all or final word on any contentious matter (though my related blogsite's title 'Nuff Said' I concede might lead one to surmise differently!)

*****For whatever one might happen to think/believe about the subject, that ultimately is all that Christmas is - there being absolutely no Scriptural warrant whatsoever for establishing it as a regular much less mandatory 'church usage'...in any circumstance whatsoever (I'll readily add)...

******Though of course it could well be - quite legitimately - argued that God uses many and various 'things'/situations in and of themselves far from good, and even through-and-through, downright evil...to accomplish His sovereign plans and purposes throughout the Universe...

...so one could therefore equally argue that that in itself doesn't really, legitimately justify my own attempted justification of Christmas...

Oh boy, it does indeed look as though I have my work well and truly cut out for me this time...

(Yes), to be continued...

Part Two (on the 'sixth day of Christmas', i.e. Monday December 30th):

Ever bearing in mind that

it is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgment...

such generally celebrated occasions/holidays - however pagan-derived, -associated and otherwise adulterated/inculturated the various church festivals as Christmas and Easter might well happen to be (and notwithstanding their numerous and highly significant 'Christian' elements/overtones which are equally quite clearly impossible for any to really deny, even if they do choose - for their particular arguments - to overlook)...

...nevertheless do furnish abundant provision for folk to 'witness' something they otherwise never would (have occasion to)...

i.e. to hear 'the good news'/gospel (if in miniature) presented to their understanding on wholly positive terms and grounds, uncontaminated as it were by the constant carping - and moreover, by-and-large cynical - criticism of all things pertaining to Christians and the Christian religion so endemic to especially Western society these days...

To Be Continued: Part Three: The good, sound theology undergirding...Christmas itself? Nay, but most assuredly the *plenitude of true Christmas carols which which so many of us are so familiar...

*Though doubtless that odd, quaint little word 'cornucopia' is somewhat more descriptive...

So how's the following as expressions of good, sound biblical theology...

...and/or simply great, sublimely poetic language...?

...Glories stream from heaven afar, Heav'nly hosts sing Alleluia...
Son of God, love's pure light. Radiant beams from Thy holy face, With the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, lord, at Thy birth, -Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

...Jesus Christ, Our Saviour, Was born upon this day: To save us all from Satan's pow'r, When we were gone astray...
From God our Heavenly Father, A blessed angel came, And unto certain shepherds Brought tidings of the same: How that in Bethlehem was born The Son of God by name...
...The shepherds at these tidings rejoiced much in mind...and went to Bethlehem straight way, The Blessed Babe to find...

Just a sample, not especially well-organized, to be sure, at this point...but will complete this tomorrow...upon Epiphany, the real, true dinkum '12th day of Christmas'...

Finally (no, unfortunately, not on January the 6th, the 120th birth-anniversary of my Mum's Mother, had she still been alive), but on this eve of Friday the 10th...

Having, awhile ago now, made my own unadulterated mish-mash (of the carols/lines thereof I've quoted) in my final blogpost words immediately above...

...I'll now simply add the words of one of my Mother's own favourite carols, 'O Little Town of Bethlehem', which - to my mind, anyway, seems to so sublimely capture so much of the real essence of the fabled 'Christmas spirit'...

O little town of Bethlehem! How still we see thee lie; Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by; Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting Light;The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary; And  gather'd all above, While mortals sleep, the angels keep Their watch of wond'ring love. O morning stars, together Proclaim the holy birth! And praises sing to God the King, And peace to men on earth.

How silently, how silently, The wondrous gift is giv'n! So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His heav'n. No ear may hear His coming, But in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive him still The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem! Descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sins, and enter in, Be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels The great glad tidings tell, O come to us, abide with us; Our Lord Emmanuel! 

You Oughtn't Point the Finger at Everyone Else, When a Dozen or more are Pointing Right back at you: !'Fake News'! is all in the view of the Beholder, and no, the RIGHT has no monopoly thereupon!

PLEASE FAST-FORWARD to end of blogpost (for necessary disclaimer)...that is, if at all troubled in the meantime by anything you happen to read herein...

So if Donald Trump, 'Bojo' (and 'anti-vaccers', 1080 opponents, anti-fluoridationists et al) are the 
only, the chief purveyors of so-called fake news...

...then prithee tell me...why don't/how come...
 ye mainstream media

#give hardly a brass razoo of notice/publicity/acknowledgement to the recent passing/death of one of the world's foremost environmentalists - and certainly most memorable and eloquent communicators thereof, the indomitable, indefatigable, and genuinely 'unique' (& yes, 'old-style' and 'old-fashioned') Brit David Bellamy...unless it's because he happens to come down upon the 'wrong' side of arguably the defining issue of our times...?

#have effectively ignored the extremely disturbing recently-publicized accusations of rape by the political icon, longtime Aussie Prime Minister Sir Robert ('Bob') Hawke against one of his daughters?

the alternative, Left-wing media

#Have, amidst their rather endless diatribes against and vitriol towards British-P.M.-elect Boris Johnson, incidentally just returned in a generation-defining, historic and *well-nigh unprecedented stonking landslide win, which has pretty well upended and reset the United Kingdom's electoral map and political landscape for years and even decades to come, barely if at all mentioned/covered/ detailed (let alone footnoted) the controversy surrounding/UK-wide condemnation of Labour's now caretaker leader Jeremy Corbyn's extremely problematic, unpalatable and **offensive fraternizing with anti-semitism and some of its most reprehensible acolytes in a way and on a scale unheard of since WW11...in one of its most blatant, in-your-face manifestations (as in the United States of America in the Trump era) since the ***European-wide fascist movements of the 1930s...?

Both such 'wings' of the western media...

#hardly ever devote any, much less 'prime' time - over a fairly long period now (so, no, I'm not 'manufacturing offence' as so many seem to have a proclivity/penchant for these days - just to reassure ya!) to the ****ghastly, horrifying genocide - no, not only of ******China's Uighur and Burma's/Myanmar's Rohinga Muslims, and even (of recent days) India's understandably alarmed (globally, third largest) Muslim population (post recent parliamentary law changes which have sparked nationwide protests and street marches etc)...

...but the ongoing genocide of the ancient Christian peoples of the Middle East...which has apparently effectively reduced their proportion of the population there from 10-20% in centuries gone by to around 1-2% now (and rapidly declining further)...

*Especially for a (now) fourth-term administration...

**So offensive in fact that the United Kingdom's 'chief rabbi' not only denounced the same, and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, but - in what was probably an unprecedented move (certainly post-the 1930s and 1940s) - advised Jews throughout the nation not to vote for JC and the Labour Party...

***As personally studied in detail way back when in 1986 (in my first attempt at a Bachelor of Arts degree) in a Political Studies paper upon 'Totalitarian States' (of the fascist and/or Nazi variety) at my local University of Otago.

****Though, yes, I'll readily grant/concede that *****any and every genocide could be thus described...

...and considering such, what, pray tell me, are we in God's Own/Godzone to make of the palpable - arguably complicit! - silence of not only said media but such 'left-wingers' as those constituting the NZ Green Party itself over the presence in its very midst (and in the House of Representatives, moreover) of a person well-known to have participated in the public defence of some of those implicated in the awful tragedy of civil war-wracked and decimated 1990s' Rwanda!?!?!

Whilst you can bet your bottom dollar that the selfsame helped hound out of the unhallowed halls of said chamber an M.P. who had the perversity of nature to steal a dead child's identity...sickening, I'll readily concede...but are you suggesting it's tantamount to effectively condoning ethnic cleansing (as indeed said aforementioned MP herself did by her actions defending perpetrators of genocide)?!?!? 

That is, if we're really, truly, objective and dispassionate in our political views and perspective, as opposed to being in the grip of unthinking, intractable, even irrational ideology and the slave of petty party political partisanship!  

******Excepting the Rohinjas (generally reported upon) and the BBC (and New York-based radio show 'Democracy Now') re both Rohinjas and Uighurs; and admittedly increasing elements of the mainstream media are reporting upon these Muslim victims of ethnic cleansing etcetera...

! !ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY/CRUCIAL/CRITICAL DISCLAIMER
(In fact, PLEASE READ without further ado.)

Upon due reflection, with the benefit of five days' hindsight, I now well realize that said fake news (in my title) is itself a misnomer - perhaps an (however unintended) species of the selfsame?!?! That is, at least insofar as the specific illustrations included in my blogpost are concerned...

So, yes, some - serious - reworking of the aforementioned will have to be carried out ASAP, time permitting - which, unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be at the present or for the foreseeable...

So let me simply and briefly include these observations/remarks as I am now doing to 'cover off' said 'questionable' subject-matter, or rather the slant I've happened to take thereupon...

Instead of fake news I doubtless should have posited slanted, unbalanced 'news' (reportage/coverage). Effectively leaving out/omitting the stuff they'd rather not inform you about - for whatever reason.

Further reflections thereupon moreover convince me that my primary beef is not with left-wing media generally, let alone (necessarily) Western mainstream media...but with the so-called media of Aotearoa-New Zealand as such, the broadcasting division - and especially the TV component thereof - which has left much to be desired over recent years and decades...and that's putting matters mildly! 

A Well-Deserved Comeuppance: You Oughta Not Profess/Proclaim yourself/Pretend to be 'Holier-than thou'...Unless You Really ARE Holier than the rest of us: Some carefully-considered Reflections/Ruminations on the Fallout from the United Kingdom's General Election

Having now - *'both' on Election Day, December 12th, UK time (13th, NZ time), and Friday eve the 20th (NZ time) and way into the wee hours Sunday the 22nd (NZ time) - 'listened in' to the top-notch (online) election coverage c/o - on the big day, SKY News LIVE; and later on, ITV News LIVE...

let me entreat your indulgence vis-a-vis some if yet imperfectly formulated thoughts and ideas thereabouts (again, seeking your due indulgence, listed in bullet-point fashion)...

#This was no run-of-the-mill (electoral/political) result...rather, its ramifications will be felt throughout the British political establishment for some considerable time to come...and then some!

#This was no close-run thing, no by-the-skin-of-one's-teeth, scraping through to victory by the barest of margins...

#There were two - actually, arguably **three (***and the last by no means the least!) political party 'winners'...i.e. the Conservative Party and the Scottish National Party, with their respective leaders, Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon.

#There were two ****out-and-out losers, and were they what! Naturally I refer to the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats ('LibDems', as we're so often  - and *****'cliche-riddenly' - told). Alongside their two leaders, i.e. Jo Swinson and Jeremy Corbyn, if not necessarily in that particular order!

#The electoral map (as indicated in point #1 above) has been radically rewritten, pretty well beyond recognition...and perhaps semi-permanently, for all we know...

No longer is the north (of England, much less the United Kingdom) 'natural Labour territory', including its smaller cities/towns and traditional 'fishing villages'; the large(r) cities, from London through to Manchester, Birmingham et al, are (as per the Liberal Democrats). And let's not forget  - as was well enunciated throughout the ITV LIVE News coverage - that not all that long ago the *********'country' of Scotland was not only a Labour Party stronghold - heartland territory (like the aforementioned northern districts) so to speak...but oftentimes the very key to its electoral success!

*Yes, to be pedantically precise, 'thrice' would doubtless be more accurate (though sounds worse).

**Actually four, if one (understandably) also includes here the offshoot 'Brexit means Brexit' party!

***By which I refer (but of course!) to the United Kingdom Independence Party, more commonly known by the acronym 'UKIP'...whilst admitting that for the purists therein - including leader Nigel Farage - the ultimate form of the brexit agreed upon will be of great significance, if not all-important.

****Terms such as a smashing/stonking win/victory were readily employed on the night, and such related terminology as 'trounced', 'routed' spring readily to this punter's mind...-quite frankly, it is hardly exaggerating things to suggest the possibilities are almost endless, the success (of Johnson's Conservatives - and, for that matter, of Sturgeon's SNP) on the one hand, and the utter 'discomfiture' of the Labourites and LibDems on the other was so blimin' comprehensive...

*****Spoken by journos as if - like that now (at least media-wide) 'ubiquitous' abbreviated ******'word' 'ap(p)' - we all somehow instinctively know precisely what is meant...even if some would doubtless have no idea whatsoever...

******Though personally I'd not dignify such a 'word-ism' with such a *******syntactical compliment!

*******Hey, how about this for a newbie word: syntagmata. Sounds awfully like stigmata to me. ********As ever, c/o my Chambers Concise Dictionary.

*********As commonly referred to (even if I wouldn't call Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland such mini-nations within a nation - though the illustrious history of each admittedly lends itself to such!)

To Be Continued (in awhile, probably following seasonal refreshing and recuperation!): Part Two: The Guts of the Matter: Labourite 'Purists' and Ideologues Now a Scourge and Plague Upon their Own House...Fast Becoming Anathema to Labour's rank-and-file supporters...Whilst Boris Johnson Seizes the Moment to Potentially Become one of Great Britain's all-time most significant leaders...

Earthly Impeachment will have 'not a bar' upon imminent, rapidly-approaching Heavenly *Judgment...

...'at the last trump...the trump of God'...

The King James Bible (I Corinthians 15:52; I Thessalonians 4:18).

Nuff Said!

*Arraignment, to be technically accurate/precise, as by this stage (in earthly 'arrangements'), all such determinations will have been well and truly made/completed...

...and the consequent 'execution' of said heavenly Verdict will be thenceforth 'dished out'...

Leave the fellow well enough alone: NZ Police revive tales of Arthur Allan Thomas's 'questionable past', in damning new accusations, but with a heavy-laden whiff of arse-saving self-validation/vindication/justification...

Part Two: John Bercow HAS IT...I repeat, the Right Honourable Gentleman/Member/Speaker HAS IT...

To Be Continued...

(Ex-Speaker of the British House of Commons) John Bercow HAS IT - yes, you heard me aright! - John Bercow HAS IT (down to a T): the perspicacious, perspicuous percipience of the United Kingdom's unforgettable, telegenically-charismatic (ongoing) Brexit vote-presiding speaker (and his perceptiveness on the night of the UK's historic general election)

Despite getting off to a bad/poor start (in listening in to the United Kingdom's much-anticipated General Election results pour in last Friday, December 12th (midday on) New Zealand time)...

...by hook or by crook I somehow-or-other managed to stumble upon arguably *the TV channel to watch...as the historic results increased from a mere trickle to a steady stream to a raging torrent...

...and Britons (whether English, Welsh, Scottish or Northern Irish) watched in a mixture of joy and jubilation through to stunned bemusement and amazement through to absolute horror and dismay...

...as Britain's governing Conservative Party romped home to an unexpected, all but unprecedented (**English/Welsh) landslide, utterly routing the Labour Party - and from its staunchest strongholds - in the process...

*I.e. Sky News LIVE (c/o the ****ubiquitous world wide web)...

**Whilst the Brexit-abhorring ***Scottish National Party themselves stormed home in their home patch, and in Northern Ireland, a plague-on-both-your-houses sentiment gave a slap-in-the-face to both (pro-Brexit) Ulster Unionists and (anti-Brexit) Irish Nationalists alike...

***Ironically those increasingly urging - for perfectly understandable reasons - a transformation of the United Kingdom's first-past-the-post electoral system to one more fully representative of the proportion of the vote garnered by each and every (at least significant) political party running in the elections, beheld a very mixed result insofar as how far this particular claim could be sustained...

...for yes, the Conservatives scooped up 365 (=6/11; = 54% of) *****seats, though obtaining just 43.6% of the vote...

the Labour Party managed ******only 203-odd (4/13; = ?32?% of) seats, while gaining 32.2% of the vote...

the SNP gained 48 (7.5% of) seats, though garnering just 3.9% of total votes (cast nationwide)...

whilst the Liberal Democrats - an even bigger loser than Labour - got just 11 (= 1.66% of) seats, while receiving 11% of the vote...-which ought to have delivered the 'LibDems' a whopping 72 seats!

UKIP (the United Kingdom Independence Party) - and its tiny offshoot - received 2.8% of the vote, though obtained no seats at all...- whereas under *******MMP/STV etc, would've gotten 17 electorates.

I could go on, but I'm sure you get the point...

****Whilst reviewing this word's meaning, wouldn't it be only too appropriate that, for the first time I can ever recollect, I (just now) stumble upon the word 'Tynwald'...meaning? 'The parliament of the Isle of Man', according to my ever trusty Chambers Concise Dictionary...

I noticed upon Election Night that this was (part of) an electorate retained by the Conservative Party, so obviously it retains only partial sovereignty (like Wales and Scotland and Northern Ireland)...
Evidently, according to an 'ole gardening customer - herself a writer/author of no mean repute - said isle's parliament is full of independents, a 'status' attributed to Yours Truly upon his own rather unsuccessful attempt at becoming a member of Aotearoa-New Zealand's own House of Representatives (back in 2008), though I did get a 'nice number' of votes, i.e. 222 (.6% of the total).

*****Or, in the British context, perhaps 'constituencies' is the more apposite word.

******Curiously almost exactly their actual percentage of the overall votes!

*******Shorthand (respectively) for Mixed Member Proportional and Single Transferable Vote, two proportionally-determined electoral systems used (respectively) by God's Own/Godzone (i.e. New Zealand) and Oz (Australia), among numerous others (such nations) no doubt...

********As an ardent Brexit-supporter myself, I nevertheless in all honesty would have to concede that Brexit-supporting parties (i.e. the Conservatives, UKIP, its tiny offshoot - ?Deliver Brexit? - and the 'DUP', i.e. the Democratic Unionists of Northern Ireland) only garnered 46.5/47.5% or so of the total vote, whereas anti-Brexit/Brexit-wary parties such as the Scottish Nationalists, Liberal Democrats and Green Party (and Sinn Fein) through to Labour, obtained around 52.5/53.5% of total votes cast...

...any ambiguity (on my part) being due to the large number (and exceedingly wide variety!) of 'Other parties' whose votes altogether came to about 1-2% of all those cast throughout the United Kingdom...and whose relative positions upon the same (Brexit) doubtless straddled the entire continuum of possibilities...

But then one could conceivably argue - and many, including the writer, long has - that Britons already long since had delivered their own verdict upon that particular matter...and thus and so a Brexit-delivering Government, as has - apparently - just been voted in bigtime, is 'just what the good doctor ordered'...

Part Two: "The Ayes have it, the ayes have it!" - "the Noes have it, the noes have it!"...I mean, John Bercow has it...and has he what!

People want their voices heard...and will keep on 'doing so' until they - eventually - are. That's it folks.. End of story. (The 'Brexiting Britishers' in a nutshell...and a whole lot of others besides!)

Hallelujah - what an answer to prayer (et al)!

*"May Democracy Indeed Win"...in today's British General Election - Whatever Might Befall Boris Johnson personally **(in his own seat) -

...as it quite frankly hasn't managed to vis-a-vis the historic verdict of the U K populace to brexit delivered two-and-a-half years ago in the June 23rd, 2016 referendum, which, remember, simply (in so many words) asked British voters:

Should the United Kingdom remain in or leave the European Union?

Postscript (immediately following head of the hour newscast - on both Newstalk ZB and RNZ National) after result of exit polls declared...

It indeed appears as though traditional - but Brexit-backing - Labour supporters in Great Britain's north have actually 'bitten the bullet', so to speak, and - holding their noses - have turned their backs upon long-held tradition and backed the Tories...

...who appear on trajectory to scoop up - if results transpire as indicated, and who knows how individual electorates will deviate therefrom? - some 368-odd seats in the British Parliament. Whilst Labour is delivered its worst result since WW11! - well befitting a leader whose views on Jews were not only ** highly questionable and suspect, but arguably - in seeking to (present the image of having) 'a bob both ways' ultimately revealed a person ***completely lacking a real moral compass...

...and thus absolutely, completely unfit to run the United Kingdom...

Having said that, I wouldn't personally be all that bothered if - by that strange quirk of politics that is first-past-the-post - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself loses out in the mix...suffering an astonishing defeat - in the circumstances - in his own London electorate, a city - completely unlikely the nation's midlands and northern cities and Wales, anyhow - has shown itself strongly pro-Bremain from the referendum on...

*As NZ TV One News' Daniel Faitaua expressed things in signing off on last night's 6 p.m. bulletin...

**As it transpired Johnson won handily; one doesn't have to be (even) an (amateur) ****psephologist to realize that a winning margin of 7,000-odd votes is a very comfortable majority indeed...

***One could use far stronger language (in view of the scourge, anathema and quite frankly deep-seated evil that is anti-semitism), but let's just (graciously) say on this day of victory (for those here, in the United Kingdom, and throughout the (especially Western) world, who still adhere to the principle of true participatory democracy) that Jeremy Corbyn, especially following his election by the Labour Party rank-and-file way back when, once well and truly promised better things...

****One engaged in the 'sociological and statistical study of election results and trends' (according to my ever trusty Chambers Concise Dictionary), a term I doubtless picked up somewhere along the line whilst an on-again, off-again Political Studies/Science student (and eventually 'minor' graduate as part of my Bachelor of Arts degree finally acquired in 2005 at the University of Otago, Dunedin.)

Typical - if Perfectly Understandable - 'Hoo-ha' over White Island Tragedy: it's indeed awful, folks, but get with the programme, awful things happen...

And, however heartless the preceding may well seem, it's simply to register my sentiment, that there's nothing new under the sun, and moving heaven and earth to seek to pin blame upon someone or some group (of usually, money-making people) is no viable solution, and certainly no way to move on...

These things do happen, but to subsequently and consequently seek to wrap everyone up in cotton wool to prevent a recurrence of such unmitigated tragedies, does nothing for nobody...

And for a certain (Newshub) reporter the other night - one never backward about coming forward and seeking to find a scapegoat for each and every disaster - to again attempt to do so, will help no-one...

These things happen in a world full of suffering, and one can only feel for those thus bereaved, or the critically injured, but masking everyone with band-aids to stop them from doing anything and everything which may be risky or potentially life-threatening is a way to ban a plethora of activities in which human beings engage, and to seriously circumscribe that most precious intangible of things, the freedom/liberty to live and let live - as one wishes - provided one doesn't adversely impact others.

I beg your pardon, and crave your understanding, but I have to confess, I'm positively inclined - prejudiced even - towards certain peoples' groups, such as Filipinos, Indians, Pacific Islanders & Caribbean-'ers'...

(This was meant to be part of a more substantial blogpost, for the present gone from my memory. But hey, why not 'spread the love around', as people say...?)

Anti-Semitism Rising from the Ashes, Extending its Ghastly, Hideous Tentacles in almost every direction... No, the lessons of the Holocaust have still not been learnt - the only thing we ever really learn from history is that we learn nothing from history...

A Great Totara Has Fallen: David Bellamy, you will be dearly missed

What can I (possibly) say? Heartbroken, as I've hardly ever been by the death of a public figure. Hearing only half an hour ago as the 'breaking news' item came through upon Newstalk ZB...

Having met him personally, chatting with him a bit following a couple (biennial) Science Festival meetings here in Dunedin, back around 2000-2002 or so, my one and only (physical) recollection is of a bear of a man resembling one's favourite uncle (for those having such), someone who you could hug (and be squeezed virtually to death!)

David, you were one of a kind, never bowing to the popular mood, whether in your refusal (as you stated at the outset of a public lecture during the aforementioned local science festival) to acknowledge peoples' "partners", preferring the (now exceedingly) old-fashioned concept of husband and wife - probably, till death [did] you part! - or in refusing to bow to the now received wisdom over *climate change...

...a true individualist, idiosyncratic almost to a fault...but withal a supremely and fundamentally decent human being, a tribute unfortunately not possible to be given to grace many a deceased...

*No, I believe in CC, but not in the way that people are encouraged to, and certainly not in terms of the 'steps of amelioration' commonly and now almost universally advocated...

And While Musing Upon Praise from Unexpected Quarters for those of wholly differing 'faiths'...

...isn't/wasn't it refreshing to hear - just the other night upon 'the 700 Club' - of Muhammadu Buhari,  the Muslim President of Nigeria's generous eulogy to the passing of one of the all-time great evangelists (nicknamed 'Africa's Billy Graham') of the African continent?

Speaking of the death of the (I believe, Dutch) preacher Reinhard Bonnke, he declared that Bonnke's it was a loss "to Nigeria, Africa, and the entire world".

Rare praise indeed, and especially for one of a rival religion which has been in a veritable *'battle for Africa' with the Islamic religion - as Communism faded out of the picture over recent years and decades (there as pretty well everywhere); and a man, moreover, who was credited with having helped **'convert' up to 75 million or so Africans to the ****Christian religion over the long tenure of his evangelistic *****campaigns there... 

*A term taken from the bestseller by Brother Andrew, Battle for Africa, of a half-century ago.

**Though it is simply inconceivable that Bonnke himself wouldn't have - immediately and readily - disowned/disavowed all personal credit or praise  for such achievement, ascribing the spiritual success of his ministrations instead to the all-powerful ***convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit...

***Jesus Himself promising His eleven disciples/apostles that God the Holy Spirit - upon His descent, after Jesus' own ascent to the third heavens - would convict people

of sin, because they believe not on Me;
of righteousness, because I go to My Father...
of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

(Gospel of John, 16:8-11)

****Again, Bonnke would never have claimed 'his' converts were being/had been converted to a religion (as such), realizing as all truly converted Christians do that conversion is ever and only to a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, The Eminent Personage to Whom the Apocalypse, i.e. the Book of Revelation, ascribes the pre-eminent title

LORD of LORDS and KING of KINGS...

*****I was about to put 'crusades' (but thought better of it), showing how such terminology is still freely, readily employed by believers even today, if arguably less and less acceptably (to many - secular onlookers and critics anyhow!) But, once again - cf my (December 9th, November 29th and August 25th) blogposts, and, especially, my - still uncompleted - January 17th one entitled 'Making a man an offender for a word'... 

A Teary-Eyed Salute and Send-Off to Sesame Street's *'Big Bird'...

who, alongside Oscar the Grouch (i.e. the garbage bin 'fella'), the Cookie Monster, Ernie and Bert, Grover - and Count von Count, Elmo and Mr Snuffleupagus -

were

characters who - as informational, not to mention inspirational, treasure troves (and hilariously riveting at all times) - played a seminal role in my (real) childhood education and development...

See ya...you will be missed (muchly)!

*Aka Carroll Edwin Spinney, I believe...

Shedding Bucketfuls of Pretentious, Patronizing Tears ...as the Condescending Virtue-Signallers Speak Out on Behalf of their fellows (leadership in all but name only)

Yes, we've reached a truly troubling moment in global history, whereby those making the loudest noises/shouting the loudest, jumping up and down and responding in the most raucous manner, are the ones automatically listened to, at least given priority #1 attention...while 'the quiet in the land', pursuing the 'even tenor of their ways', are simply sidelined if not positively ignored...

Regrettably, regretfully...to be continued (the clock having gotten the better of me yet again!)

(A couple days on)

Three 'incidents'/occurrences of *recent times sum up for me this increasingly prevalent malady. Though all are based here in my own God's Own/Godzone nation of Aotearoa-New Zealand, they can easily enough be reproduced in fairly close facsimile all around (especially) the (Western) world (portion thereof, anyhow). And, oddly, interestingly, even intriguingly enough, are associated - in the first two instances - with a certain (much-maligned) religion/religious grouping; and the third with a small ethnic minority here, which **in general has had a fairly good run of it, so to speak...

My citing of these various 'peoples' will simply be to show how - in stark and unflattering contrast - their so-called, supposed, indeed self-appointed 'champions' here have shown themselves in, comparatively speaking, a far less favourable, even arguably contemptible light...

...in both instances in sharp contrast to the image often presented, and indeed unsparingly sustained, by the mainstream media here...simply 'proving' yet again that things are rarely what they seem/ appear, and how as the Master Himself said on a few occasions,

the last will be first and the first will be last
(that is, 'in the great by(e) and by(e)')...

*As in over the past (almost) nine months, to be pedantically precise.

**By which I allude to my own personal involvement over around a third of a century with a large number of individuals from a Pacific Island (these days, 'Pasifika') background, as well as to how NZers generally tend to regard/treat Islanders. I'm certainly not referring to the shameful way that alleged 'overstayers' were treated way back yonder in the halcyon days of the Muldoon Government.

To Be Continued...

The Things that Really, Truly Matter...when all is said and done (perfectly illustrated by a leader truly worthy of the title)

True leadership on the world stage is truly hard to find these days - to rework a memorable refrain from a favourite hit of my early twenties, leadership (as opposed to 'love') [of] 'the lasting kind'...

...but such leadership appears part of the (character) makeup of German Chancellor Angela Merkel...

...whose visit to a Polish death-camp, *Auschwitz itself, of recent days... and what she had to say there... says everything that needs to be said as to why she - **rather than the present Portuguese occupant, however otherwise worthy he may well be (or not) - ought to be the person presently residing over the United Nations...  

Yes, were our present-day world really looking for calibre in its so-called leaders, it needn't look any further than Ms Merkel, such an intangible 'quality' being epitomized by her decision to visit Auschwitz 'at such a time as this', and thus register her ****fellow-feeling with and ****genuine sorrow for those who suffered so awfully and tragically at the hands of her very own nation only 70-odd years ago.

*Bamboozled presently as to the correct spelling...

**Installed (as in voted in) after a particularly hard-fought contest featuring our own former prime minister, Helen Clark, incidentally...and moreover one in which Clark was herself apparently 'pipped at the post' due to the 'rotational' chairmanship of the UN, the idea being that the one area (other than Aotearoa-New Zealand's own ***Oceania) that hadn't as yet had a United Nations Secretary-General was the former Eastern Bloc. So who better to have been chosen - even if 'in absentia' and drafted as it were into the position if need be - than the German Chancellor, coming as she did from the former Eastern Germany?

***A term rarely employed except by the UN to denote one of ten global regions...although said term does also feature in that 20th-century classic of classics, George Orwell's epoch-defining 1984.

****Please accept my heartfelt assertion here, that, for the time being, those two 'phrases' - i.e. 'fellow-feeling' and 'genuine sorrow' - are the only ones that come readily to me, though in both instances being an infinite understatement of the sheer awfulness of *****the Holocaust and my own long-held emotions surrounding it and its victims...

*****Incidentally, for all those with the stomach to look into it, Michael Drosnin's (I believe) two books, The Bible Code and The Bible Code 2, provide some incredible additional info thereupon.   

'Announcing'/Prefiguring a subsequent, 'immediate' Trio of Blogposts...covering the spectrum/continuum from Diabolically Devilish (& Serious)...Through to Truly Un-Comedic/Tragic...to Sad (if seemingly quite Trivial)

Please read on (i.e. these three subsequent posts), though two of my offerings are *rather brief/ succinct/concise, hopefully each of these is no less worth the read despite this, and perhaps you'll even glean some sort of connection between the three...and if so, trust me it's not intentional, but is more likely to be a (subconscious) product of my own 'stream of consciousness' thinking, and the things that tend to affect and move me the most, for either good or ill, woe or weal...

*In hindsight, my **second and ***third - rather than my ****first and ***third - blogposts were actually (or at least thus far) the shortest (though all will eventually be rectified)...

**My 'second' one being the one immediately following this blogpost (i.e. the one on global leadership)

***/****My 'third' one being the next one (on pretentious tears), and my 'fourth' one being the next one (upon the untimely demise of Big Bird)...

...bearing in mind that the way these all appear upon my blogsite seem to show them in the opposite way numerically-speaking...though all three were posted by me upon the selfsame day (i.e. December the 9th).

Outrage - Offense - Umbrage - may well be (and indeed are) 'in the eye of the beholder'...and it has been rightly said that people tend to see what they expect/want to see...-but please, spare us your hyper-sensitivity 'just for the [sheer] sake/hell of it'!*

Following on from yesterday's poetic post - and, incidentally, there's much I've been exercised over recent days/weeks/months/years to say on the subject, including especially a still uncompleted *blogpost entitled 'Making a man an offender for a word' (awhile ago) - let me (as) briefly say (the following)...

Whenever you or I - or the very next person, for that matter - get upset/riled up/offside with anyone about anything at all, there's (get ready for my deep-seated insight, folks) always a reason why... Yep, I warned you profundity was just around the corner! But hear me out...just a little longer, I beg of you...

Yet, however utterly and thoroughly outraged you or I get/become, as psychologists and other careful students of that perennial beast, the human organism, are wont to tell us, nobody can actually 'make' you or me angry...it's ever and always a choice we make, and a decision on our part...others can only influence us in any particular direction, they are never directly responsible for our response, however legitimate that response might well happen to be...

So, yes, people - whether presidents of 'great' nations, or, for example, in/famous celebrities and entertainers of various stripes and hues, such as actors/actresses, singer/songwriters, comedians/ comediennes and even that most humble of wits, the old-fashioned (newspaper) cartoonist - incidentally, a much-underrated vocation I've ever aspired to and even plied my hand at on a few occasions over the past two decades-and-a-half or so - may well and often do offend anyone or even, on the odd occasion, pretty much everyone...

...whether through their strong, even arguably rabid, redneck views...on almost any number and variety of contentious, controversial matters...or occasionally simply through their sheer insensitivity, their complete lack of empathy for others and their legitimate feelings and sensitivities...

Or even - believe it or otherwise! - simply because they have the **odd knack of seeing things a little differently than Joe and Jane Bloggs...and in such a way that - for the most part anyway - ye 'average citizen' cannot help [***themselves], they find said observations genuinely 'funny, ha-ha'; yes, even when those (laugh-inducing) insights happen to run counter to their own (however staunchly held) political views...

Yet, I pointedly ask, even beseech (of) you, is that any real reason for you or I to get on our haunches and mount our high horse, to fly into a frenzy and whip up a fury, to get our knickers in a knot and/or organize a parliamentary petition, even - in our utmost extremity - initiate a boycott...of this, that and the next one [i.e. person/outfit]?

Well, yes and no, I suppose...depending on how deeply we feel about a particular matter and how much someone else (in their clumsiness, insensitivity or sheer stupidity) has happened to upset/rile us up...

And each and every one of those particular responses are no doubt perfectly legitimate and understandable in all too many conceivable situations especially 'these days'...

Yet if we perennially 'sweat the small stuff...and it's all small stuff' (according to one wag whose book upon the subject was a gift to me from a sibling years ago)...we'll doubtless wear ourselves thin, stress ourselves (and everyone around us) out, even give ourselves a hernia while contributing in a worst-case scenario to a nervous breakdown (and far worse)...

...and where will that ultimately get us or our cause or achieve for us in the long run, I mean, really?

*Posted on 17th January. N.B. also blogposts of August 25th, November 29th and December 9th/11th.

**Hence, ipso facto, they have the special gift/talent of cartooning - of 'making' folk laugh due to/through their 'unusual', perceptive and above all witty and well-drawn, 'take' upon things. Or even - wonder of wonders! - their ability to see through all the superficial dross of political spin and put their fingers on something solid and tangible, occasionally - as an inevitable by-product - destroying some of our most cherished sacred cows in the process...

**Yes, I know I should've put 'him/herself' (both being in the singular), but I happen to prefer 'themselves', however inaccurate the grammatical construction...

The Outrage Industry Becoming Industriously Outrageous...

...& that's putting things awfully mildly, even understating them to the extent of effusive euphemism.

I have a specific occurrence in mind,
something which has put a certain someone
in somewhat of a bind;
it's true, he's in deep doggy-do-do
through no-one's but his own boo-boo.

You see, he transgressed an unspoken rule
to ever and always observe the Golden Rule;
in this case, to put himself in the place
of ye proverbial hyper-sensitive 'We Too-er',
to not put too fine a point upon it...

But he meant no ill, it was simply
the result of his lifting his quill,
flourishing it for all to see;
and see they did, and were none the happier,
but could he possibly envisage
they might verily disparage his image?

But all is not lost, a new day is coming,
one in which all things will be put right:
the angry will be becalmed,
the offended will be removed from harm,
the aggrieved will be given soothing balm
and cartoons will no longer alarm!

But Having Said All That...an Untypical Plaudit to a politician I'm not terribly enamoured of: Education Minister Chris Hipkins...for: a Lavish As ("Election Bribe") Splurge on Schools? -No, Something Else Altogether...

Essentially, and *not before time, for now - at long last - moving to greatly ameliorate the longstanding **outlawing of teachers (and aids etcetera) using 'restraint' upon the ***'charges' in their care...

*But in all fairness the selfsame could just as justly be said for the preceding 'anti-nanny State' Government of John Key/Bill English...

**Unless the status quo is non-legislated, and 'simply' schools themselves forbidding due discipline of those in their care...by which I (obviously) mean the usage of non-excessive 'force' in order to coerce said kids away from problematic and into more constructive behaviour...

***A quaint term, I'll readily concede, but I happen to like it, and it does happen to describe or at least 'cover off' the 'duty of care' that all educational institutions - whether of/at a primary, secondary or tertiary level - in fact 'owe'/are obligated (by law) to provide for their 'clientele'...

To Be Continued...

Not, Never Ever - Even Once (unlike a sibling) - a National Party Supporter, Much Less Voter...But, it's Getting Awfully Hard to Avoid the Increasingly Inescapable Conclusion...that the present Government - numerous and significant NZ First 'wins on the board' notwithstanding - is looking increasingly shonky...shabby...and shaky - with due apologies to our canine 'cousins'!

To Be Continued...

An Educative, Enlightening Study in Contrasts: Indulging in the Ultimate Act of Political Hari-kari... versus a Superbly Noble Demonstration of Decency and Community Good Will (Allied with Some Real Political Nous)

Baffled - beyond belief? Good. All will be revealed in the reasonably foreseeable...

Guessed correctly? I doubt it. Anyhow, for the time being - and yes, I will return to this asap - I'm referring to, in the former instance, Justice Minister Andrew Little's promotion of prisoner voting, and in the latter to the representations of a significant leader in the New Zealand Muslim community and/or *her protestations to a select committee considering the matter that recent efforts/attempts to effectively marginalize gun-owners and thus politicize the Government's gun buy-back scheme were not only counter-productive but actually risked marginalizing and endangering said (Muslim) community even more...

*And they had better listen - and well - to this former Labour Party women's vice-President, I believe.

To Be Continued...

How Right [as in Spot-On Correct] Seem Those Preachers Named Wright, whether former President Obama's [one-time] Pastor Jeremiah Wright...or Pastor Joe Wright of Kansas: vis-a-vis a priceless rare moment of candour, courage and conviction - and clarity - whereby a person in - and moreover of and with - a modicum of spiritual authority dared to call a spade a spade...and then all hell quite literally broke loose...

But first (things first), I'll briefly 'cover off' vis-a-vis a certain *Jeremiah Wright, who was - if you remember - the one-time pastor of a certain American president...-Barack Hussein Obama's however 'no brainer' decision to pretty much 'throw him under a bus' in his all-out effort to become president being a shameful episode in his run-up to election as America's first ever black American President.

Though Obama's decision quite clearly spoke of realpolitik at its most raw and basic level - and any and every political commentator at the time (and before and afterwards) would've doubtless suggested he had no alternative whatsoever if he really seriously wanted to be elected - I still happen to be so old-fashioned as to believe the end still doesn't justify the means, and that what Obama did ultimately spoke to his own lack of true, sterling (let alone godly) character, however unnoticed by the sophisticated set or commentariat of the day...

Besides, to somehow feign that a message (i.e. sermon) in which said pastor lambasted his own nation in no uncertain terms by entreating "God damn America!" (on multiple occasions, as is the wont of **Negro/African American/black preachers in the U S of A over the centuries as they use the simple but useful 'tack' of emphatic repetition to ram a particular point home) - as opposed to the usual "God bless America!" - was one he neither heard nor had had any idea about...

...is simply stretching credibility a little too far by a country mile or several...

Surely if ever there were not only a memorable sermon but moreover one inciting massive controversy both within and without Wright's and Obama's church, that would've been it...

*Without referring to him as he is - or at least was - known, i.e. by the monicker of  'Reverend', having (literally millennia ago) been strictly warned off that sacred space by my Lord and Saviour; such a title being rightly reserved for One and Only One Person...

**Using in this one instance all three - ***civil - terms which have been used over the centuries for the imported darker populace of the United States.

***Because as we all know there have been all manner of demeaning and derogatory terms used - whether in recent times or (doubtless) back in the time of slavery (and after this) - by all sorts of other Americans about their longsuffering black population...including, incidentally, by a particular President well-feted in liberal, 'progressive' circles...

To Be Re-continued...

Count your many blessings - name them one by one... and it will surprise you what the LORD has done: For Thanksgiving Day (A tribute from 'the isles of the sea')

Here's the (tenfold) result of a (deliberate/conscious) brainstorming exercise I engaged in this (Tuesday, November 26th, NZ-time) afternoon - for what it's worth...

Ten things to be/that I can genuinely be grateful for...

#For a God Who declares righteous the ungodly who believe in Him 

...to one not working, but believing upon the God that justifieth the ungodly, - his faith is reckoned for righteousness (Romans 4:5 - as re-rendered (p.132) in William R Sewell's ROMANS Verse by Verse : originally from the Holy Bible: Revised Version)

...to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness (King James Bible)

In other words, for re-creation ordained by God the Father, obtained/purchased by a self-sacrificing, self-denying Substitute and Saviour/Redeemer, the Son of God and Son of Man, and ultimately effected/enacted by God the Holy Spirit

#For a truly unique ('one-of-a-kind'), deeply spiritual (if not particularly religious), counter-cultural,  yet highly dysfunctional (extended) family

#For the gift of life...from a benevolent Creator - and my earthly parents

#For a blessed place (nation/city/suburb and surrounds) to grow up in (God's Own/Godzone; or Aotearoa-New Zealand, as it's perhaps somewhat better known)

#For wisdom (and grace) to become healthy/maintain good health

#For spiritual blessings galore c/o a wonderful LORD - Jehovah Jireh

...including...

#the bounties (depths/realms of hidden treasures) of/in God's very own (sacred) words

#the inestimable Gift of God's Holy Spirit - His own dear Presence within to lead, guide and walk alongside

#The bounties of Nature (aesthetic beauty in skies and clouds, seas/forests/mountains/scenescapes)

#'a friend like Ben'...and his generosity in not only regularly *'ravishing my heart' with stunning pics of the foregoing, but providing me with the means to view them, a laptop (computer), an all-important tool of the trade to allow/enable me to keep on keeping on providing you, my loyal, devoted viewership across and around the globe, with my musings upon this, that, and especially the other...

*I like the phrase - despite its rather questionable background/undertone; and simply employ it here to express my deep appreciation to a kindred soul/spirit who has thus and so brightened my day each and every time I've undertaken to get online (and especially onto and into my blogsites)

Postscript (3 days on):

How about these two extra blessings (i.e. causes for gratitude) for good measure...

#The inestimable blessing of song...about which it is quite literally difficult to know where to begin

#Incredibly enough, in view of the widespread public (and especially mainstream media) opprobrium into which this particular 'breed' has come over recent decades - I hereby pay an honest, heartfelt salute to the TV - and especially radio - evangelists (naturally, of the Christian variety/persuasion) of this world, without whose faithful ministrations my own faith (and Christian walk) might be in *more of a shambles than it/they presently is/are

*Seeming to damn 'em all with faint praise, I now see (re-reading what I've written), but it's not meant in that negative-sounding way, truly!

*"Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock"...that does not visit-seek-heal-feed the flock..."but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them."

**Does this not epitomize the world's great enterprise of geo-religio-political overlordship, or what?!?!?

*Taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Zechariah 11:17;16 (&15); and Ezekiel 34: 1-(4)-10-12-16-18-21-31)

**Or rather and in particular its Central Headquarters and Command Central, though, admittedly, not necessarily at every moment in time throughout history...

To Be Continued...

A Whole Lot Less 'Hui' and a Whole Lot More 'Do-ey' DEMANDED: Talk is Cheap, Folks...and It's Long Past Time...for Meaningful, Tangible Action by/from This World's #1 Peddler of Paedophilia and Protector of Paedophiles (we all know who I'm referring to)

Let me simply add, that the world's largest religious organization - a millennia-spanning geopolitical entity whose tentacles reach throughout the globe - has its work well and truly cut out for it: some serious fronting up to do, some serious questions to face up to, and some major penance and penitence/contrition to - authentically - enter into/undertake/carry out ASAP...

...for her guilt has reached to high heaven...

...and God has remembered her [myriad] crimes...

...and as she has rendered, so it will - one day, very, very soon -
be rendered back to her...

...and, folks, believe you me, her religious facade will then be stripped away, and she will be left naked and desolate, forsaken and on fire...and left awaiting the fierce judgment of God Almighty.

And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

(The Apocalypse/Book of Revelation: 18: 5/6ff; 17:16; 18:21; but N.B. a multitude of equally applicable Scriptures therein, i.e. 17:1-6/7-8/9-15-18; 18:1-24; and also 19:2;19/20; 20:4; 13:1-10; 12;14;18; and 14:8-12; 15:2;4/5; 16:2;3/4-6/7;10/11/13/19; and 2:12/13/14-20/21/22ff; 6:9-10-11. Altogether 2 & 75 & 12 (plus) = 89-plus (of 404 verses) = pretty nearly 25%(a quarter) of the book!)

So, although as commentators quite reasonably point out, Jesus Christ - the *actual author (not 'Saint John' as so commonly supposed) of Revelation (*as is in fact mentioned right at its actual outset), indeed features **first and foremost throughout the entire final book of the Bible/New Testament (yes, Christ Jesus - not some fancy, fraught happenings, which there verily are! - Himself is the **front and centre of God's final love letter to the human race)...

...yet, next to/alongside Him, the strange sea-beast of Revelation 13:1/2-10 is the major subject (and next in prominence is the final days' ***'time of trouble such as never was'), the 'first beast' (also termed 'the woman' ('whore'/'harlot') 'riding the scarlet-coloured beast'; which is variously 'reported' to have the ****following series of features/characteristics and actions/deeds/life history):

#sitteth on seven mountains (Rev. 17:9)

#sitteth upon many waters (elsewhere depicted as 'peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues' (Rev 17:1;15)

#'that great city - that mighty city!', [one] 'reign[ing] over the kings of the earth' (Rev 18:10 & 17:18 - plus Revelation 14:8; 16:19; 18:16;18;19;21.) See especially Rev 16:19: 'the great city was divided into three parts...great Babylon'.

Hey, who could that possibly be/represent? Jerusalem, or even Dunedin, Aotearoa-New Zealand, I suppose...

In case you're left still wondering, methinks the following (verses in Revelation) might leave you in no doubt whatsoever - and even this is but a mere sampling of verses and passages throughout the literal length and breadth of the Apocalypse that could conceivably be argued apply to this 'great' religio-political entity/power variously named 'the beast', the 'first beast', the 'sea-beast', the '(great) whore'/[scarlet-coloured] woman/'great city Babylon'...and, most emphatically of all -

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (sic; Revelation 17:5)

Geographical Location/Situation (and Origin):

'I know...where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is...'; 'I...saw a beast rise up out of the sea...and the dragon gave him...his seat';'the seat of the [first/sea-]beast'; plus Rev 17:1: 'the great whore that sitteth upon [a certain geographical location, clearly defined]; and 17:15; and 18:7.

Type of Organization:

A religio-political power with its (metaphorical) fingers 'in every pie' throughout our world; one with immense authority and - long - exercising considerable (coercive) influence and power over earth's citizens, even to the point of being the object of worship rightly due to God alone. (See Revelation 13:1-4, 8, 12; 14:8; 17:2,3,5,7,10-14,16-18; 18:3;9-10; 19:2.)

Meddling in earth's affairs by engaging in merchandising/trade traffic via ocean-going vessels - especially in precious metals and woods, fabrics, ivory, herbs and spices, grains, oil and alcoholic beverages, animals especially livestock...'and slaves, and souls of men'! (Revelation 18:11-19)

Persecuting to the death God's own special, faithful people - even waging all-out war against (both) them (and many others). (Revelation 6:9-11; 7:1-3,13-14; 12:6,13-16/17; 13:2,4,7,10,12; 15:2; 16:3,4,5,6,7; 17:6,7,14; 18:24; 19:2; 20:4. Whew!)

Identifying Marks/Details (in addition to all the foregoing):

Bears multiple names and titles of significance. (Revelation 13:1; 17-18; 15:2; 17:3,5; 18:7.)

Has/bears a *****special, unique number...the number of a man...yes, even the infamous 666 of graffiti artists and the like...(Rev. *****13:18; plus 15:2).

Bears a special mark - again the infamous mark of the beast so often bandied about in discussions (even secular and merely speculative) about 'endtime events' (see Revelation 13:16/17; 14:9-11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20;20:4 - eight references in nine verses).

Is ever associated with - and moreover the unashamed promulgater of -
#idol (and demon) worship and (religious) compromise. (Revelation 2: 14,20-22; 17:2,5; 18:2,3,23.)
#fornication/(spiritual) adultery. Revelation 2: 14,20-22; 14:8; 17:2-5,15-16; 18:3,9,14; 19:2.)
#seducing others (God's own 'servants'the 'children of Israel') into such adultery/idol-worship (Revelation 2: 14,20-22.)
#(spiritual) intoxication/drunkenness (Revelation 14:8,10; 16:19; 17:2,4,5; 18: 3,9,13,14,23.)
#coercing(forcing) others into this (intoxication and fornication) Ibid.
#corrupting the earth thereby Ibid; and 19:2.

Indulges in luxurious living and self-glorification (Revelation 17:4; 18:3,7,9, 12-17,19.)

Is known for its fine music, arts and crafts, and for conducting marriage ceremonies. (Revelation 18: 22-23.)

Speech bears the marks of blasphemy...against God...[H]is name...[H]is tabernacle...heaven [dwellers]...(Revelation 13:1,5,6; 17:3.)

Engages in miracle-working/performing 'signs and wonders'/nation-deceiving 'sorceries' (Revelation 13:13-14; 16:13-14; 18:23.)

Received a 'deadly wound' which was thereafter 'healed', leading to renewed and revamped respect for the same...culminating in a last days worldwide worship. (Revelation 13:3,4,14; 14:9-11.)

*See Revelation 1:1! Surely that ascription could hardly be placed any earlier in the book (to find Revelation's real author)?

**Indeed Jesus the Christ is described a number of times throughout the book as 'the Alpha and the Omega', 'the Beginning and the End', 'the First and the Last' etcetera. (Revelation 1:8,11,17; 22:13.)

***Though not defined in these precise words in Revelation (unlike in the gospels of Matthew and Mark; Mark 13: 14-20 (-24 etc); Matthew 24: 15-20 (-29 etc); although a time/season of great tribulation is referred to (Rev. 7:13/14.)

****Originally cited - or certainly intended to be - in one of my final blogposts, entitled 'Cultural Christianity'(etc) upon my original blogsite - now indefinitely suspended by me (from additional 'entries'): http://nuffsaid:consideryourself-frombothsidesnow.blogspot.co.nz/(or .com/).

Well worth an occasional look - if I do say so myself - with those who still have an appetite for politically incorrect, out of left - and right - field, alternative perspectives upon this wondrous world of ours (and its infinitely-variegated rag-bag of issues and concerns and controversies)...

*****Weirdly enough the two numbers (i.e. 13 and 18) in standard (i.e. non-biblical) numerology - admittedly one of the various and sundry occult 'sciences' so condemned by (especially Older Testament) scriptures - which are more associated with negative circumstances/events/situations than arguably any others...

*****Curiously enough, the very outfit/religio-political entity many such as Yours Truly believe that this number (and indeed all the various and sundry descriptive references vis-a-vis the 'sea-/first-beast' throughout Revelation) refers to...on at least one occasion in one of its numerous publications itself has effectively acknowledged that this '666' - in numerous ways - signifies some of the various names and titles that its titular head has appropriated to itself down through the centuries! And so itself queries whether the same might indeed be the biblical Antichrist (as ******many have so long maintained)!

******Indeed Yours Truly (again) wrote a 21-22-page opinion piece (some six-and-a-half years ago now) in which it is mentioned (early on) that there was veritable unanimity down through the centuries and even millennia by pretty well every going Christian 'concern'/denomination/even religious establishment offshoot and sect imaginable that this selfsame religio-political power was indeed verily the long-foretold Antichrist of the gospels of Matthew and Mark and the Revelation (and indeed Older Testament book of Daniel).

And incredibly that includes those (Christian 'sects') which then as today were amongst the Dissenters and Nonconformists (and other 'heretics'), and which are today but weren't then amongst the bastions of 'new theology' liberalism and adherents of the (highly political) so-called 'social gospel'. Yes, *******on this one point all were basically in complete agreement.

*******So why and when did things ('everything') change? Well, let's just say that the Counter-Reformation - even today - has a whole lot to answer for. 

Cry for all the inn-o-cent ones...born in-to a wor-ld they did-n't de-serve...

Sometimes absolutely everything comes together in such a simply extraordinary way...that one can only deem -  and term - it supernatural...or damn near pretty close to it.

And thus and so this very day has proven. And so, without further ado, and in tribute to the 'innocent ones' - whoever they may have ever been throughout the lengths and breadths of human history and geographical space - let me dedicate this blogpost (which is part three in my current series)...

...taken from the words of that legendary singer-songwriter of yesteryear (and perhaps still today, for all I know) Randy Stonehill...

Stumbling - again, this very day - upon/across another (second) *Children's Holocaust exhibit, this one at Dunedin, Aotearoa-New Zealand's varsity, the University of Otago...and being, as usual/ever,  (understandably and) absolutely transfixed (etcetera)...

...and later this day (as I tuned in to Parliament's general debate, as is my wont when(ever) the opportunity presents itself) hearing the Green Party's spokesperson on womens' and gender issues, M.P. Jan Logie, wax eloquent about this very day of the/each year indeed being the international day of the GLBTQ et al! 'community', i.e. one in which such minorities' 'rights' (and interests) are celebrated...as she movingly related her own background story insofar as it touched upon the way in which she was herself treated especially in her youth...

may I simply re-dedicate this blogpost, incoherent and unfinished as it is...and in view of the series on abuse I'm presently running...

to all the innocent ones...born into a world they don't deserve...

What more can I possibly add...?

*A truly exceptional exhibit, consisting of a series of progressively larger wooden boxes, each one containing numerous buttons, each button representing the life (and extinction thereof, by the SS et al) of Jewish children throughout Nazi-occupied Europe in the 1930s and especially 1940s as they  - with their kith and kin - were herded onto metaphorical cattle trucks and 'shipped' off on rail carriages throughout the then Third Reich onto concentration camps where their lives expired in a medley of incessant gruelling labour, scanty food, awful living conditions and oftentimes the gas chambers...

Thus representing the one-and-a-half million children who lost their lives amongst the 6 million-some Jews, Gypsies, Mentally and Physically Infirm/Disabled, Homosexuals, Socialists and Communists who likewise were exterminated by that diabolical regime...

Disturbingly anti-semitism hasn't only re-reared its ugly, vile head in present-day Europe (especially), but a new survey showed the incredibly - and quite frankly - unbelievably high levels of anti-semitism actually present in many/most such nations of 'modern' Europe - as in amongst the general populace of each country - yes, in our modern and oh so sophisticated and enlightened era to boot.

Though commentators - whence the report originated, anyway - were doubtless extremely loath to make any linkages of this upsurge of anti-semitism over recent years - especially apparent in France (which has likewise seen increased levels of long-established Jews there emigrating to Israel) - to the increased alleged **'Islamicalization' of Europe (as the hordes of refugees, economic and otherwise, have understandably sought to get the hell out of the hellhole which is Syria - ***and, for that matter, neighbouring Iraq (and Afghanistan)); and/or to the associated anti-Israeli sentiment among the same - let alone that of modern-day indigenous European secularists...

I for one have little doubt whatsoever as to the association thereabouts, and, like many in the United Kingdom in particular - especially Great Britain's 'chief rabbi' - am appalled/disgusted etcetera (as I've indeed already - long since - expressed upon other blogposts (especially those pertaining to the ongoing machinations of the UK's never-ending Brexit saga)) vis-a-vis Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (and his invidious, inexcusable and quite frankly unconscionable defense of party MPs and activists whose anti-Jewish sensibilities and the like have long since been put on sordid public display)...

**I realize a 'somewhat' contentious term to employ - let alone concept to raise - but what prithee can one call the numerous ghettoes throughout present-day Europe - admittedly, as much a result of those indigenous Europeans who've not been over the moon about the reconfiguration of their own nations in recent times, especially in view of the major upsurge in the aforementioned anti-semitism all over the continent, and in the numerous incidences of the imposition of sharia law here, there and seemingly everywhere...

No, Mr Corbyn's days may well be numbered. And despite all the characterization of his 'Tory' opponents as xenophobic and Islamophobic etcetera, it's interesting how British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed the most - genuinely, and conspicuously - ethnically diverse cabinet awhile ago, yet received scant all acknowledgment much less praise from those usually not remotely backward about coming forward in severely criticizing the (especially U K Conservative Party) status quo
over its neanderthal-ian characteristics and general, seemingly congenital disposition...

***I suppose one could add Yemen and Libya etc to that list...

Let's just add that the virtue-signallers of this great globe are oftentimes the very ones who in their own lives evidence the very worst (since so often exceedingly subtle, less easily detectable or publicly aired) racism/classism etc etc etc...

Nuff Said!

Cardinal Pell a Paedophile? Perhaps...but possibly not. But a Clergyman Complicit in Criminal Conspiracy and Conniving Cover-Up of the same? You betcha!

Part Two: Cardinal George Pell: Paedophile and/or 'Just','Simply' 'Accomplice in the Act'?
Today (Part 2a): Laying all my own cards out on the table: Where am I coming from?

So what brings me to my own summation of the saga that is the criminal indictment and subsequent prosecution and imprisonment of Cardinal George Pell? A pertinent question, especially as I've never met the man, and, even during the *two-and-a-half plus years I spent in Oz (ever so briefly in 1988/1989; and straddling parts of 1990, 1991, 1998 and 1999), I'd never ever heard of him (best to my recollection) - whether as a cardinal or simply a bishop (etc). And thus I'd 'merely' (what can generally only be considered somewhat to highly subjective) media accounts/reports/analyses/ commentary to go by. Yes indeed.

Well, let's lay all my cards out on the table to begin with, and so a number of personal disclaimers are doubtless in order. For starters, I've never ever been sexually abused **as such.

*Two-and-two-thirds' years in toto (when including a holiday prior to moving there), pretty much the same period all up as I spent sojourning in the land of my parents from mid-1992 through mid-1995.

**Which I well realize is qualified in such a way as to perhaps raise more questions than it answers. Suffice to say that in one's childhood things can occur which, while not strictly categorizable as ***/****abuse as such, can hardly really be termed consensual (given one's age and personal maturity), and which, at the same time, are arguably ultimately detrimental to one, leaving a lasting impression in more ways than one and thereby/otherwise majorly impacting one's life journey in more ways than one can readily recount - or, quite frankly, would ever wish to.

Let's just add that parental inattention and effective neglect has more to answer for in this life and world than many realize - and are far from trivial shortcomings when all is said and done...

All that having been well and truly said/placed upon the record, in this case a genuine as apology was offered/tendered (at least once or twice, and maybe even three times all up - and over a number of years, best I can recall); and done completely unprompted/'off the bat'/without any reminder thereof or arm-twisting on my part. And indeed I was not only completely taken aback and blown away (by the person's honesty thereabouts, and moreover courage to confess however much 'after the fact'), but by the individual's preparedness to take complete responsibility/culpability, not pleading any extenuating circumstances thereabouts or excuses whatsoever...

***Physical abuse is a different matter altogether. Indeed I suffered thus (on several identical occasions as to the surrounding events) and in a particularly cruel, even sadistic manner...as, admittedly, most of my other siblings have themselves spoken of experiencing from said individual (though, far as I'm aware, anyway, never once in a sexually abusive fashion). But without scarring let alone lasting (physical) damage, as indeed I did sustain (upon my upper left thigh) - and still show the long scar thereabouts - as per ye average youngster's (especially boy's) multitude of physical scars occurring from ye normal rough-and-tumble play...but without the regular allotment of broken bones.

Though in another completely different instance, another family member's physicality could well have led to major, long-term injury of a most serious kind...and, gratefully, that was also something about which I later heard (occasionally prompted by Yours Truly) genuine contrition thereabouts...

 Though even then I hardly suffered in the ways (and not remotely to the extent) many doubtless do.

****But as for psychological abuse, well let's just say that's another matter entirely, and I did indeed suffer thus and from a number/variety of authority figures who verily abused that authority over me by so doing, but - hopefully/seemingly, at least in the long run - not irremediably or irreparably...

Guilty OF [the specific, particular] sin [alleged]? No, or Not Necessarily. But, nevertheless, Guilty AS sin? It would appear, Absolutely: The Other (More Sordid) Side of the Human 'Experience' (as it pertains to Cardinal George Pell, former Australian Roman Catholic Archbishop & one-time Vatican #3)

Before beginning, a few explanations are in order. First of all, this particular blogpost (and an accompanying, more or less 'stream of consciousness' one vis-a-vis the future of the longstanding Roman Catholic practice of (public) confession (to a priest) - i.e. 'the confessional' as it's better known), was initially written (out) way back yonder, on the 21st of August to be precise...only not posted (for various reasons, chiefly other priorities/lack of sufficient time to do it proper justice).

Being an important topic, and one moreover which I wanted to do sufficient justice to, procrastination evidently got the better of me (as it has with other, equally serious matters such as 'Black Lives Matter', Global Warming/Climate Change, the Me Too Movement, 'Making a Man an Offender for a word', Cultural Christianity, the present state and status of the Vatican/papacy vis-a-vis global geopolitics, (western) mainstream media double-standards over so-called fake news - and in relation to the treatment accorded Islam on the one hand and Christianity on the other (especially vis-a-vis so-called 'hate speech'), and thus political partisanship in general (again, principally as witnessed in 'western' nations), those current 'cream of the crop' (especially western world-wide) issues atop the apex of the cultural warfare pyramid, abortion and euthanasia (and other, related, life-and-death matters of public policy) vis-a-vis the (rapidly diminishing) right of folk (especially health professionals) to take a stand and stance of conscientious objection to, the *GLBT 'community' and its increasingly strident public presence (alongside the equally insistent demands for safe spaces in public fora juxtaposed with how important the once dearly-enshrined value of freedom of speech still is)) - yes folk, my work is evidently well and truly cut out for me, I well appreciate; but just to remind regular readers that, no, I haven't forgotten my (long-declared) intention to tackle these thorny topics.

So where do I begin? Just here...in regards to my 'good fortune' - or rather providential 'luck' /blessedness - in having a chance encounter (the day I started posting this) in a local (downtown) supermarket with a fellow 'very much in the know' about institutional abuse (in a religious setting); coincidentally at the very time (and in the very week) I'd been preparing to at long last get around to posting my long-gestated blogpost/s on Cardinal Pell (and the RCC Confessional).

Since I daresay it would serve no real purpose except (to stoke) a misguided and self-serving sense of self-importance - and anyhow it's **/**quite inappropriate to do so without asking/getting that person's approval in so doing - I've no intention of name-dropping unless and except insofar as said gentleman at some time gives me permission to mention his name and/or insists I do so...

Suffice to say my chance encounter has thrown a mini spanner in the works, as - upon reviewing said (long-shelved blogpost) draft upon arrival home Friday - I discovered it was somewhat more favourable towards the ***'good' cardinal than I'd expected (or recollected)...And though I will ever and always continue to pursue this blogsite - as its longstanding motto declares - 'with fear of and favour towards none', whilst 'bestowing bouquets and brickbats', I feel I owe it to said gentleman to make it abundantly clear why I hold the ****particular view I evidently do...

*Or is it now GLBTQI et al...? (Though last I heard there's now a plethora of such sub-categories.)

**And so I felt I owed it to my (aforementioned) sometime acquaintance to respect his confidence (though we've hardly discussed anything in any great depth, really only upon a fairly basic level).

**Yes, not all (would-be, wannabe) journalists (including those, like myself, of a strictly freelance variety) can be said to operate in an amoral atmosphere without respect of common decency and the like - despite persistent public perceptions to the contrary.

***Using that (quote, unquote) term 'good' strictly in its colloquial sense (and because it has a certain resonance) - but most definitely not because I feel it in any way aptly depicts the said clergyman.

****That being stated, I recall that my own views were/have been somewhat complex, coloured as much by what I perceived as being somewhat of a personal witchhunt latterly conducted against Cardinal Pell - irrespective of the particular facts in the matter, and with a *****predetermined agenda at play... However, having qualified myself thusly, I say that only in respect of the specific crime of which he has been recently convicted and sentenced to imprisonment...

*****For, as has become increasingly apparent to myself and numerous fellow believers over recent times - irrespective of our views about systemic abuse in state and religious institutional settings over many years and decades, and even centuries - there are those with a predetermined agenda towards, even a personal (and frankly, barely-disguised) vendetta against, pretty much anyone and everyone professing a Judaeo-Christian faith/belief system (along with their associated church); and I say that as someone who - like such greats as President Abraham Lincoln (and Aotearoa-New Zealand's own  Janet Frame) - has had very little time for 'organized religion' as such...

But, lest my (aforementioned) comments (as in the two immediately preceding paragraphs) be somehow or other misinterpreted/misconstrued/misunderstood, I say the foregoing  ******most definitely not in relation to Pell's longstanding, overarching, powerful position of being the go-to person for anyone and everyone within the Roman Catholic Church in Australia - and especially the states of Victoria and/or New South Wales as the case may be - vis-a-vis those seeking exposure of paedophile priests and their being brought to account for their *******'aberrant behaviour'...  

******For, though this will be elaborated in Part Two (and possibly Three) of this blog series, Pell would appear to be as donkey deep in the longstanding global paedophile priest cover-ups that have (in, initially, the North American instance, and, latterly, that of France) thus far been so thoroughly and graphically exposed in all their shameless shamefulness by two international film festival movies, firstly 'Spotlight' set in Boston, Massachusetts, and more recently 'By the Grace of God', set in France...

*******Deliberately, intentionally understated by me here - as ever - to emphasize my point.

******* (&***) Well aware - in both these (rather disparate) instances - that this is (admittedly, just one of!) the very 'foible'(s) (again, deliberately understated for natural emphasis) for/about which the ********'venerable' Prince (i.e.Andrew!) has been so unceremoniously lambasted over recent times ...though in his case, it would indeed seem to reflect his personal 'character', or lack thereof ...

...yet let me state once again that - deliberate, intentional - understatement is not a sin; indeed, ye average journo engages in the same without batting an eye - and moreover without incurring 'pushback' - pretty well all the time...

********Hey, there I go again - pretty well automatically, involuntarily...-so maybe I too have an endemic case of foot-in-mouth disease...

All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Creatures [fauna - and flora!] Great and Small, All Things Wise and Wonderful, The LORD God Made Them All

And that includes, as my aforementioned hymn rephrase expresses it, not only the living, moving fauna, but the 'flora' that equally grace our increasingly fraught planet...

...be they native (indigenous) or introduced (exotic) species...

This - one of *three all-time personal favourite hymn 'numbers' by the 19th century composer Cecil Frances Alexander - expresses best as I can my **own long-gestated and articulated and indeed openly, actively-expressed views thereabouts...

...about the ***seeming ****double-standards and 'high-minded' indifference of those - some of whom in my own long-standing acquaintance, even friendship - articulating the culling of any plant (or indeed animal) which is not indigenous to a particular area...

Obviously my own land, Aotearoa-New Zealand - otherwise (in years gone by, anyhow) known as 'God's Own' and/or "Godzone' - has suffered immensely (as has been increasingly realized over recent times) from the introduction - generally entirely inadvertent and/or accidental, but nevertheless - of (what have effectively become) pest species...

...everything from rats to possums, stoats and ferrets - and wild boar, as well as thar, deer, wallabies...
(though let's not, let's indeed never ever forget those most intolerable of insects, the common housefly and the German wasp!)...

...and likewise, among its 'innumerable' 'invasive' plant species, everything from gorse and broom through to a plethora of weeds, over to all manner of exotic tree species...

*Those other two hymns being 'There Is a Green Hill Far Away' and 'Once in Royal David's City'.

**As evidenced - if such evidence were sought/desired/required - in submissions (and accompanying 'literature' thereabouts) still held in my hoarded possession from years/decades gone by...wherein I made personal representation/s to the particular individual/s concerned and/or entities (including local council etcetera) involved as to my own strong disagreement/opposition...to various removal of trees, notable and distinguished...even if (generally) not native varieties...

...including over the (highly) controversial 'culling' of a wonderful 'stand' of Douglas Firs up in Dunedin's blessed Ross Creek area back around 2000-2002 or so...

***For who am I to judge anyone else's inner motives and motivations, however much I happen to oppose the[ir] particular actions in any specific instance...

****Yes, you'd be correct to surmise that I'm writing now in regards to the present staunch protests up in Auckland over the imminent culling of a large stand of exotic - but prized - trees there... 

Were you there - do you remember...some of the all-important dates in human history (of the unforgettable 20th Century in particular)?

...though the memory thereof appears rapidly ebbing/fading away among today's supposedly oh so enlightened/sophisticated/knowledge soaked and saturated/information overloaded 'generation'...

What sort of events/happenings, you understandably/rightly question?

Oh, those that so many of us still to this very day recall precisely where we were when we got wind of their occurrence...

Such all-important 'stuff' as, f'r'instance...

*the assassination of 'JFK', America's (then) youngest ever President, one who briefly inspired an entire generation and era...

*that of his own brother, and also wannabe president, Robert Kennedy, likewise an inspiration to so many (there and overseas)

*the assassination of Martin Luther King, and his one-time ideologically divergent (but later converted to King's own nonviolent disobedience ethic), fellow African American Malcolm X

*the lunar landings...of the Americans, with Neil Armstrong's classic "One small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind" announcement/declaration

*the fall of the Eastern Bloc, akin to a series of dominoes, crescendoing from 9 years (in Poland) to nine months to nine weeks to nine days to nine hours (in the various instances), culminating in the demise/breakup etcetera of the USSR/Soviet Union upon the birthday of Yours Truly in 1990/1991

*the premature/deliberate?/premeditated?/well-planned? death of the Princess of Wales, Lady Diana Spencer, on August 31, 1997

*'9/11'

*the election of America's first ever black president

*the election of Donald J Trump as US President

Yes, as the old 'Negro spiritual' goes, were you there...

when [all these things] took place/occurred,

were you there...?

'Government shall make no laws regarding the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof'...But even eminently sane law cannot account for, much less make allowance for, the rule of the insane, a day and age when the (oughta be inmates) have the lock and key to the asylum

If ever a perfect illustration of utter lunacy, of the sheer, unadulterated application of the strict letter of the law with no due, sensible reference to its heart and spirit - and indeed actual, original, bleedingly obvious intent and purpose - were desired/required/sought for...

...one could do far worse than look to the case of the Seattle (Washington State) coach, Joe Kennedy, fired recently for engaging in a group/team prayer at the commencement of a game there...

Without entering into a discussion of the efficacy of such prayer - except to say (and thereby leave readers in no doubt whatsoever) that this punter, anyhow, like any reputable preacher I've ever happened to hear preach thereupon, considers such prayer to be the sort of (utterly trivial request) that the Deity does not deign to dignify with a (positive - or, for that matter, negative) response...

...with the possible exception of those - extremely few and far between - instances whereby much greater issues are 'in play'(no pun intended) and/or personal destinies are at stake, etcetera...

That being said - yes, as advised above, my 'briefest' discussion thereabouts! - said scenario, by no means the *sole, solitary instance thereof in (especially) the U S of A of recent times...

...leaves most of us either scratching our heads or pulling our (remaining, upper) hair out...and/or in utter **conniptions at how daft our present crop of 'up-and-coming' Western 'leadership' would appear to be proving... 

Hey, back up a moment, you're thinking, in just what does the crime of said individual consist?

I'm glad you asked. Let me sum it up - to the best of my understanding - as best I can...

Joe Kennedy, coach of some sports-team, I believe (American) football (or baseball?) - you can see I'm no sportsperson, much less one of the multitudes of vicarious acolytes thereof - being dismissed from his job...

...for having the sheer effrontery, the arrogance and the gall - the sheer, unadulterated nerve! - to...
guess what, folks? Kneel down with arms outstretched in blessing upon his team...

and...pray!

Yes, you heard it - first - here, folks, and yes, you heard me aright, (assorted) sirs and madam(e)s...-yep, he actually had the ************ to pray!

No, I for once am left almost speechless...but not wordless (as is obvious)...

*Just as the case - I personally was, however inadvertently, alerted/'privy' to - of a piece of (not necessarily 'prime') real estate no longer in public hands in the great city of San Diego (California) ...because it was considered - doubtless by the American Centre for Civil Liberties - a transgression of the aforementioned amendment to the United States Constitution, to have - guess what? -a cross! - displayed publicly up/on public land...

**Apologies if no such word exists, I've heard it mentioned a few times over the years and was even almost dead certain it did indeed truly exist (though my ever trusty Chambers Concise Dictionary advises otherwise)...

Andrew Little Shedding Crocodile Tears Over Upcoming Referenda - especially Euthanasia: If he is really, truly concerned about 'misinformation' (and fake news) thereabouts, he and the Government ought to have done the decent - open, honest and transparent - thing, and called it (the latter) Just What it is: a referendum on termination of life and assisted suicide

Even the ever liberal as Dutch (in the Netherlands) have not been/were not as - patently - disingenuous in so (mis)naming their own referendum on the same, apparently, but (en)titled it just what it indeed was, i.e. a referendum on termination of life and assisting suicide.  

So let's be done with this renewed attempt to stack the deck in favour of the *Government's - and more specifically Justice Minister Andrew Little's own - preferred option/s thereabouts, dressing it up in garments of fancy, highminded, self-conscious superiority, as in self-evident truth, in contrast to his/their ideological opponents' supposed status as/of Ignominious Ignoramuses Incorporated...

And as for the likelihood of such arguments advanced in such highly contested, controversial and contentious as referenda engendering strong emotions -'arguments' which may well be somewhat difficult for the ***misnamed 'snowflake generation' so obsessed with their perceived need for ****'safe spaces' in every conceivable nook and cranny of the public space to stomach let alone face and confront? Well, get real Mr Little, life-and-death matters have ever engendered just such passion ...

...and ever will, as long as those proposing/advancing/discussing and debating them remain human...

Or are you (and yours) envisaging (however subconsciously) a brave new world of robotic beings, as seems fast approaching and is increasingly being presented us from pretty well every direction these days?

So just who is really effectively screwing the scrum, obscuring the real issue/s, creating a cute diversionary smokescreen, fudging the facts and disseminating fake news, Minister Little?

*Generally-speaking, and certainly the case insofar as both the (recently revisited) abortion (and legalization of marijuana) issues are concerned, though there have ever and always been Labour members of Parliament - interestingly, the vast majority of whom over many years (on such contentious 'moral'/social issues) being their Maori and Pacific Island (Pasifika) MPs - who have bucked the general trend (of social liberalism) and voted, on what were traditionally considered and been (non-party whipped) 'conscience' issues, **against liberalization.

**Be the issue this latest one on euthanasia, abortion, prostitution, civil unions, same sex marriage, smacking etcetera...

***In (my own) deference to the snowflake, every one of which is beautiful and unique (and not mass-produced).

****For a fascinating and revealing insight into, I stumbled across an interview with a Dennis Prager the other day on Shine TV's '700 Club' evening news vis-a-vis his best-selling 'No Safe Spaces' (cinematic) production. 

Slip, Slip, Slippin' Away...the Chances of scuppering Brexit, stymieing Boris and saving one's own (political) Bacon: As First (Successful) Proposal to Secure Commons' Assent Passes (Handily) Minutes Ago, Parliamentary Machinations Move into High Gear...

Afterthought:
Little did I realize, when 'arriving at' my (subconsciously-suggested) blogpost title - which title ought rather to have been, I suppose, *'Slip Slidin' Away', from the one-time hit...

that said title (whether mine or the original basis) could hardly be more apt vis-a-vis the entire long- and-drawn-out (to the nth degree) saga of Brexit...

For as the songster's **refrain points out, ***/****the nearer my destination the more I'm slip, sliding away...

*By one of, if not my favourite (secular) singer/s Paul Simon (as it transpired), though unbeknownst to me when this song sprang to mind/while writing this blogpost...

**The actual lyrics, as in (those within a) refrain/chorus, evidently being pretty well the selfsame thing, though a case seems makeable for a refrain actually constituting a subset of a chorus (technically-speaking), according to my Chambers Concise Dictionary, representing 'a line or phrase recurring, esp. at the end of a stanza'.

***Best I can recall the words, that is. ****But in point of fact the words should be/are: You know the nearer your destination the more you're slip slidin' away.

Hey, even again today, following the unprecedented - and really quite sizable - victory secured for the newfangled Brexit deal, that is *****precisely what we're seeing in Westminster's unhallowed halls...

*****And how about the following - taken similarly from this selfsame Paul Simon song, verse four in fact:

God only knows
God makes [H]is plan
The information's unavailable
To the mortal man.

Nuff Said!

Britain's Brexit But a Bare Breath Away...But Will the Professed Lovers of Democracy Actually Allow it?

That, my dear Watson, remains the only pertinent question...when all is finally said and done...

Yes, will the supposed, so-called 'democrats' (liberal, Scottish, *Ulster, Labour et al - they really do come in all shapes and sizes, flavours and complexions), in the final analysis, actually allow it?

But I'm sad to burst your bubble, to shatter your illusions and naivete, folks, the simple answer is:
not on your nelly! They're - pretty well, one and all - 'democrats' with a small 'd' (or more aptly 'c': clayton's democrats, supporting a clayton's democracy, i.e. the democracy you get when you ain't really getting a democracy)...

Welcome to 21st Century tribal politics, UK-style, people...and get set for - much - more from where this came from; I'm sorry to inform you, their joy-ride is just beginning...and boy, is it ever...

*Although, whatever one might think of them or however one might happen to regard them, strictly speaking the 'DUP' (i.e. Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland) is in a completely, an altogether different situation from the rest of these, having some really rather problematic issues to work through and come to a satisfactory conclusion over, I'll readily grant...

Back Up A Little, Dude: What About All the Arguments for Bremaining? I'm Glad you asked...

Yes, I'll freely concede, there are at least a few pro-Bremain arguments which seem eminently plausible, even somewhat reasonable...

...yet in the final analysis - in my (un)esteemed view - there's only really one, when it all comes down to it...

And N.B. moreover, it's only just been advanced - far as this geographically way removed kiwi punter, and even media reportage (both here and on the omnipresent, omniscient BBC) is concerned -
by none other than, would you believe it...

...Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Yes, you heard me correct: the British politician of recent times in whom I've been most disappointed has nevertheless put his finger upon a concern that all folk of the (economic) Left anyhow doubtless share in common: the possibility that a Brexiting, supposedly 'friendless' and *thus newly Trump-friendly United Kingdom, will, to curry favour with a person **adept at the art of making deals, do whatever it takes to clinch/cinch that.

Yes, a Trumpesque free trade deal - providing Brexit, in some shape or form, is ultimately enacted - is now well and truly on the cards, for all manner of reasons, thus leading inevitably - it'd be awfully hard to argue (provided Trump himself remains in office) - to such a deal (and hence a Brexit) allowing for deeply diminished, woefully watered down environmental standards and/or workers' rights/labour laws...'stuff' that America has, under presidents as diverse and spread out as Abe Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, his cousin FDR and latterly LBJ - and even, truth be told, 'Tricky Dick' Nixon himself - upheld and/or championed or progressed...

In other words, all the stuff for which the once great nation of America was once so justly famous; things long since jettisoned as the market deregulations under 1980s' Reaganomics got well underway, especially under the likes of President Reagan's Treasury Secretary David Stockman and Economist Milton Friedman et al...-though Indiana Senator/Congressman (and one-time presidential hopeful, at least Bob Dole's running mate in 1996) ****David Kemp was in another class altogether.

Yes, there it is, in black and white: the one and only true dinkum argument I can come up with - that gives one a decent reason to pause and take in one's breath...before consenting holus-bolus to Brexit going full steam ahead, no ifs, buts or maybes considered...

This, I humbly and oh so respectfully submit, is the only real downside to any Brexit - and sadly, under a Johnson/Conservative Party Government, a really scary and even fairly feasible prospect even...but otherwise there are very few really good anti-Brexit arguments in my own humble opinion.

And yet, 'in the final analysis', there's also one - and only one - 'rejoinder' that I feel deals ably with this genuinely held misgiving and cause for due concern. It's the selfsame one that none other than JFK himself so ably laid down as a gauntlet-style challenge to critics of his own seemingly rash rush to judgment and even precipitous placement of the world upon not only a (major world) war footing - and that clearly of the most devastating variety, a nuclear one - with the then Soviet Union in those two *****almost back-to-back global crises, the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Though some see his declaration that it would be "better [to be] dead than red (i.e. communist, or, more precisely, under communist subjugation, and therefore forced/coerced to be 'communist')" as the height, or rather depth, of utter folly, taking humanity to the verge of potential all-out nuclear war and thus the very real risk of Armageddon - and only in retrospect/with the benefit of hindsight quite acceptable, seeing as it never actually came to pass and thus the justified fear/dread/terror of humankind was effectively averted/quelled/quashed - ******let's shelve that question for the present.

My reason for citing the aforementioned? My own paraphrase for present purposes, my 'takeaway' to apply to the current scenario is this: there are some things in life more important than life itself.

No, I don't consider Brexit as such to be so all-important, so earth-shattering in its ramifications...

...except in what it signifies, which, as I see it anyhow, is this: the privilege and indeed right of every sovereign people upon this planet to ultimately govern their own affairs - free from the meddling interference of officious folk in white coats sitting in distant offices and stewing up all manner of schemes and things to keep them ever and always under their proverbial thumb...

...in other words, in perpetual obligation to and subservience under them, come what may...
The sort of stuff we're 'all' now so glad that the nations throughout Africa have *****broken free of...

*Seeing as the USA under President Trump is busily jockeying not only for favour with Prime Minister Boris Johnson but moreover for a special free trade deal with the UK - something obviously far more in the United Kingdom's interests than America's.

**It was a real piece of serendipity chancing to pick up (at our local, ongoing public library booksale) a copy of Dim Wit: The funniest, stupidest things ever said just around (a couple months prior to) American Presidential Election 2016. With photoshopped cover pics of two people, including (then London Mayor) Boris Johnson, it comprised amongst its innumerable treasures the following quote - perfectly summing up the entire Brexit situation - with which most readers would be sure to concur; from none other than 'the Deal-Maker', ***Donald J Trump himself:

Deals work best when each side gets something it wants from the other.

Sure, as clear as daylight and obvious as the proverbial. But it says it all, doesn't it? What else could one possibly, conceivably add?

***To balance things up (politically 'partisanwise'), however, Dim Wits also includes the following entry: 'I misspoke.  Hillary Clinton, on claiming that she was under sniper fire in Bosnia.'

****As I detail in a belated obituary to him posted on Nuff Said a couple years back.

*****Coinciding pretty closely with the permanent move of my own parents from the US to God's Own.

******Though, suffice to say, readers would be relieved to know that this selfsame aforementioned perspective is actually my own, and here 'articulated' without reference to anyone else's I've ever come across...-no, I'm as far as they come from being a precipitate warmonger as you're likely to find.

*******Though sadly many if not the vast majority have long since entered into a ********type of slavery/ subjugation even worse than ye ole *********colonialism aka the Brits/Dutch/Portuguese/ French/Spanish (et al).

********From my general knowledge of life on the continent from the 1980s on; but also prior to this (in the first few decades post-independence throughout Africa), especially as carefully and thoughtfully chronicled in Brother Andrew's (and Charles Paul Conn's) Battle for Africa.

*********A topical matter at present in view of the 250th anniversary 'celebrations'-commemorations- 'commiserations'! - of good ole Captain James Cook's arrival upon our hallowed shores. And note well my own discussion thereof (still to be fully posted) but scribbled out (as is my wont) way back when (i.e several months ago) vis-a-vis the situation re-appertaining in Zimbabwe at present (and elsewhere throughout that ever fraught African continent) in view of the seemingly never-ending 'dissing' of the British in regards to their colonial enterprise of previous centuries...

To Be Continued Once Again...