Da eish*

Generals gathered in their masses,
Just like witches at black masses.
Evil minds that plot destruction,
Sorcerer of death’s construction.
In the fields the bodies burning,
As the war machine keeps turning.
Death and hatred to mankind,
Poisoning their brainwashed minds.
Oh lord yeah!

Not exactly the kind of way to kick off the week, but the world’s pretty messed up 24/7, so what the hell.

And one of the biggest contributors in recent years to this messed-up world is ISIS. Otherwise known as Daesh. It sounds so innocuous doesn’t it, but can mean anything from “trample down and crush,” to “a bigot who imposes his view on others.”

It’s being reported today that Daesh have blown up the ancient temple of Baal Shamin in Palmyra, Syria. This temple had been standing mostly intact since 17AD, until these cretins came along to wage their religious war on mankind. Just last week, these retarded bastards beheaded the 82-year-old retired chief archaeologist of Palmyra, who apparently refused to cooperate with them.

Many newspapers report that ISIS/Daesh follow or practice a harsh version of Islam, but I don’t buy that. There is only one version of every religion, which unfortunately has been perverted over time by idiots like these. Off course religion generally, does not help its cause by being so bloody ambiguous. Which to my mind is one of the clearest signs that the whole thing is just man-made.

As far as the song is concerned: Black Sabbath may have composed War Pigs as an anti-war song, but it works well as an anti-ideology song too. And ISIS propagate a religious ideology that’s about as ghastly as it can get.

*eish. A South African word originating from the Xhosa language to express exasperation or disbelief.

How I feel

Since turning 49 just over a week ago, I seem to have hit a writing slump. That’s not to say, that I was writing anything good up a storm prior to that milestone (for me it is).

I don’t know what it is. I feel great. Better than great actually. I could be 48, or 40 or 27 even. Maybe that’s it. I feel too young and my mind is on other things, younger, reckless things, and writing seems like a chore.

But…

I have been contemplating many things. And no, suicide isn’t one of them.

For instance, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is purring again after nearly two years of upgrades and renovations. Since Sunday, actually. That’s really great. It’s a reflection of everything that’s good about the world.

Elsewhere there’s ISIS, Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab, the last only recently massacring around 148 students in Kenya. Then there’s Pat Robertson and Deepak Chopra, alternate sides of the same ideologically unstable coin, whose regular mutterings are quite frankly, insane. I pick on mention a few, but all of these represent a side of the world that is not good at all.

And here in South Africa, we have a group of militant students who are of the opinion (or more likely have been manipulated into believing) that defacing and toppling historic statues will change their lot in life. Right about now they’re watching in glee as a statue of Cecil John Rhodes is being removed from a university campus.

But, the LHC is humming softly and I feel good…

Slave to the idea in which he believes

Sheikh Hani Al-Siba’i, an Egyptian scholar recently got properly schooled by a female Lebanese TV show host. Al-Siba’i thought that it was quite okay to behave like an ass while asserting that he is “serving the idea in which he believes.” They were discussing reports of Christians joining the Islamic fundamentalist group  (ISIS).

TV host Rima Karaki, who is a university professor herself, eventually cut the ideological, misogynist son of a maggot-infested gargoyle off the air.

Well played Rima.

Five inches closer to God

How does an ordinary John Joe become the world’s most wanted killer?

“Jihadi John”  the cold-blooded executioner of Western hostages held in Syria, has been revealed to be an apparently likeable computer programmer from West London named Mohammed Emwazi.

Why do people willingly cut their penises off?

Gurmeet Ram Rahim is a self-proclaimed spiritual guru who heads Dera Sacha Sauda, an organization which has millions of followers around India and claims to be a humanitarian, social welfare and spiritual organization. Around 400 of these followers are alleged to have been convinced by Rahim to castrate themselves so that they could become closer to God.

Is there a link between “Jihadi John” and Gurmeet Ram Rahim? I think so.

“Jihadi John” was obviously influenced to change by someone or something. Gurmeet Ram Rahim is an influencer, a propagator of religious ideology. Scattered across India are 400 eunuchs probably rueing the day they bought into this loathsome ideology. Is it not plausible to also contemplate that “Jihadi John” also bought into some contemptible ideology that tainted his mind to such an extent that he joined the despicable ISIS cult and turned into a common murderer?

I leave it to you to ponder. I acknowledge off course that I’m trying to influence you, but just to think.

Killing in the name of…

Another bloody weekend because ISIS…

The reports state that Egypt is in shock after the senseless and brutal beheading of 21 captured nationals by ISIS fundamentalists some time over the weekend, but the truth is that every sane person in the world shares in that trauma.

I have read several arguments about what makes a person resort to such base inhumanity and I still can’t make my mind up over which is believable or acceptable. Not that any reason would be acceptable. Some say it has nothing to do with religion, others believe it is entirely the fault of religion. I can understand with reservations, a person behaving in this savage manner to protect family or friends from harm, but what draws men (and women) from around the world to join an organization that viciously murders their fellow-men, women and children? This is not rational behaviour by any means.

It has to be a virus known as ideology. These people are not natural psychopaths.

Ideology – religious, political or otherwise can so taint the mind, that a human can succumb to such savagery. History is replete with acts of utter barbarity due to ideological influences.

I believe that most people just want to get on with their lives, building a family and home and becoming successful to some degree or the other. They couldn’t be bothered with things like patriotism and religious affiliation… unless sufficiently indoctrinated to buy into some ridiculous cause. As it is, the Universe and Mother Nature are hell-bent on eradicating all life; it just makes no sense that human beings feel the need to help these bitches along.

I wish the closing words of the Rage Against The Machine song Killing In The Name becomes a mantra everyone lives by, when confronted by religious, social, political and other bullshit ideological influences.

Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me!
Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me!

iKILL

Face of Death – ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

Call them what you want, IS, ISIS, ISIL, they simply represent the irrational and barbaric killing of innocent men, women and children.

I caught some news reports yesterday of this inhuman organization recruiting potential new murderers in South Africa. Iraqi ambassador to South Africa Dr Hushaim al-Alawi was quoted as stating that three South African recruits  had already been killed in Syria. Other reports indicate that up to 140 people were recruited already, and our Intelligence Services (*smirk) are apparently not aware of it.

Even more alarming for me is that at least one brainwashed fucknut was recruited from the nondescript little town I live in. * Shudders!

Jesus fucking Christ! I could have brushed shoulders with this cretin while shopping in one of the cramped little shops that serve this town.

Fuck me! Another shower I think…

Clerics! STFU!

It has occurred to me that if I had an American dollar for every time a cleric from one of the world’s major religions said something profoundly dumb, I would be pretty darned rich. If you threw in the insane things holy men of all the minor religions and cults say, I could possibly pay Mark Zuckerberg to like this post.

Why should what clerics say be of concern to us?

(a) Because credulous people tend to believe without questioning and then do stupid things, which may (and usually does) cause harm to others.

(b) Or, crazier people go further and act on these irrational utterances, which results in murder and mayhem.

In recent years, there’s been some real pearls of (un)wisdom emanating from the Middle East. These two recent incidences may on the surface seem harmless enough, but they do much long-term damage in my opinion:

Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi of Iran has issued a fatwa basically decreeing that high-speed internet is against Sharia and moral and human standards. What utter rubbish!

It’s quite obvious that this grand idiot has pulled this decree from out his arse, because no sacred religious text I ever heard off, even knows what high-speed broadband or the internet is. Furthermore, the Grand Arsehole of Iran has pretty fucked-up moral and human standards.

Then there’s ISIS. Yes, The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, so much in the news recently, whose utterly barbaric behaviour which would be the envy of the Mongols, have decreed that Philosophy and Chemistry are against the laws of God and are thus banned in schools in the Syrian city of Raqqa.

For the love of Thor, show me any religious text that states that Philosophy and Chemistry both, are against the laws of some obtuse God, and I will stomp and shit on that text.

Now hear me clerics and religious fundamentalists of the world. Shut The Fuck Up!

No, We Are Not Civilized. Or, Why the 21st Century is Still Stuck in the 12th (The Persistence of Middle-Ages Mentality in the Modern Age)

With the tragic murder reported today of US journalist James Foley by Islamic extremists ISIS, one has to question how civilized we really are…

That is but one act of madness in a world plagued by countless acts of religious, political, social, economic and cultural insanity.

Mothers Day – A history

Tomorrow, the 13th of May will usher in the celebration of Mothers Day in many countries around the world. But how many of us know the history behind this cherished day?

The YouTube video further below provides a latter-day history of the origins of Mothers Day as conceptualized by the American Julia Ward Howe. However the celebration of motherhood has a long history rooted in antiquity.

Early man worshipped Goddesses and deities as symbols of motherhood. The ancient Egyptians worshipped Isis who they regarded as the Mother of the Pharaohs. The early Romans worshipped the Phrygian goddess Cybele, who derived from the Greek goddess Rhea, Mother of the Greek deity Zeus. Other societies honoured Gaia the Earth Goddess.

Early Christians honoured the Church by referring to it as Mother Church. Later, Europeans celebrated Mothering Day during Lent. Mothers Day as we know it, started with Julia Ward Howe around 1870. This video provides a brief history of her and many other magnificent women since. [Follow this link for more history]

I cannot be with my mother this year; she’s many miles away, but my thoughts will be with her as always. I hope you enjoyed that little blast from the past. Now, please have a happy Mothers Day, hopefully close to your mother.