It’s not often that I sit down at then keyboard and go blank, though it is becoming more frequent. I’m just tired of world events and the endless temptation to pass comments on the world political situation. Anyone who has ever had the mischance to suffer from a malfunctioning septic tank will know what floats to the top. Anyone who is looking at current political events in the UK and USA is probably noting, as I have done, that we have a similar situation to the septic tank, with Trump, Vance, Musk and Farage all bobbing about on the top.
From there, originally, I moved on to do another 480 words on religion and its malign grip on world politics. Whether it’s women being deprived of control over their own bodies in America, televised beheadings by ISIS, the destruction of Gaza or the rise of Hindu nationalism, none of it is good.
Religion
That’s all I’m going to say on religion this time round, apart from quoting a document I read on he subject.
“The Chinese government continued to pursue a strategy of forced assimilation and suppression of Tibetan Buddhism, as demonstrated by the laws designed to control the next reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”
It’s possibly the strangest thing I’ve ever read. I am curious to know what form legislation against reincarnation would take. It’s well up there with the report about Elon Musk trying to ban Santa because he once gave little Elon a lousy Christmas present. Not seen that one? It hasn’t been written yet, but you weren’t sure were you? Not with all the other lunacy going on.
Statue of Hedd Wyn – poet, shepherd and, briefly, soldier.
I have just read the story of Hedd Wyn. My father was a nonconformist with a Quaker mother. His objection was allowed because he was a teacher. It was WW2. There are too many stories to tell.
That’s history for me – the individual stories. Tales of politicians and generals are all very well, but it’s the individual stories that interest me. Tell me there were 2,000,000 wounded servicemen after WW1 with various disabilities and it means little – tell me my Uncle Isaac had to be cricket scorer at his club because he coul no longer play, and show me the 1939 List where he is down as a disabled ex-soldier and it starts to eman something.
Yes. That’s it.
I went to the link for Hedd Wyn. I am mightily impressed. One of my Uncles died on the first day of the Battle of Bardia when Australians saw battle for the first time in WW2 in the fight for Europe.
I admit I had to look it up because I was only vaguely familiar with the name. As these things go, it seems to have been done well. Somehow it seems even sadder that your uncle should have died in a battle where allied casualties were so light.
OK get ready for a great story. On the first day of the battle of Bardia the Italian troops surrendered in rather large numbers. My uncle was in a Bren Gun Carrier and he was looking at all the prisoners who had surrendered. Being a relatively atypical ratbag Aussie he said (and I have the letter from his CO) “I want to go and a few of those Italian B…..s. So he drove his Bren Gun carrier down a narrow water course and came face to face with one of the few Italians who had stayed on his post with a gun and shot my mothers brother dead. If had followed correct procedure he would have survived.
It’s great to know the full story, but so sad that it happened.
I know someone who continually quotes religious quotes to make points. Boy how they crumble when you say one back….
🙂 🙂 🙂
There is plenty of world-wide lunacy going on. Perhaps it is all the micro-plastic shards in the brain.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/plastic-human-brains-microplastics
Oh dear. I wish I hadn’t read that . . . 🙂
The story of what becomes of plastic gets worse all the time. Now they know where to look.
Unfortunately it seems to have taken over while we weren’t watching.
Oh, absolutely! The lunacy is in full flow.
🙂