Corporate Crime and Punishment in Fantasy Land – CW entry

Hi. Thanks for dropping in again. It really helps to pass the time when I have my chats with you.

It’s the time that’s the worst part of serving a prison sentence in Fairyland. I have this friend who’s been cooped up in a tiny lamp for hundreds of years. He only gets out when somebody rubs him up the right way and, even then, he has to obey every command that he’s given.

My mate Ariel got banged up in a tree for a few years by a witch. You may have heard about that. It caused a bit of a storm at the time and William Shakespeare wrote about it. Ariel eventually got let out by a magician called Prospero but, even then, he had to do community service for a while before he was completely free again. Fell on his feet, of course. After all that publicity, he got quite a few sponsorship deals,  including a major detergent company, and now he’s awash with money.

Continue reading “Corporate Crime and Punishment in Fantasy Land – CW entry”

Love, Hope and Faith

There as been a great deal of discussion recently concerning faith. Numerous members here have expressed their scorn for those who adhere to any religious beliefs or hold some sort of faith in there being a supernatural entity and a purpose to life that extends beyond the laws of nature. I often think the critics are being too harsh in their judgements. Faith is not an object that can be selected from the shelf like a grocery item to place in a shopping trolley. You cannot choose faith; faith chooses you, just as you cannot choose to love or choose to hope. They are all as much a part of human nature as is the desire for life itself. Continue reading “Love, Hope and Faith”

Papal Candour

During a discussion on the radio this morning, someone remarked that the Pope ‘had pulled no punches’ when speaking of the threat to Christendom. The perceived threat was secularism, which, I learned earlier this week, is seen as of the greatest danger to the Christian faith.

As someone who, in some respects, could be described as a secularist, this came as something of a shock.  I had not been aware that supporters of a secular state were persecuting Christians around the world, or planting bombs in public places.  So, I might be more admiring of the Pope’s ‘no punches’ candour had he directed it elsewhere.

Vote for the greens, get fascists.

The eco-fascists expose themselves.  In the Grauniad there is this article, which details, but does not condemn,  James Lovelock’s statement that:

I have a feeling, that climate change may be an issue as severe as a war. It may be necessary to put democracy on hold for a while.

Worse, the programme of one of the worst eco-fascists, Pentti Linkola:

His bold political programme includes ending the freedom to procreate, abolishing fossil fuels, revoking all international trade agreements, banning air traffic, demolishing the suburbs, and reforesting parking lots. As for those “most responsible for the present economic growth and competition”, Linkola explains that they will be sent to the mountains for “re-education” in eco-gulags.

The Grauniad correspondent urges a slightly less Stalinist approach: Continue reading “Vote for the greens, get fascists.”

Manicured to death: September Competition

She looked at her hands. The broken nail marred the perfection of her beautiful manicure. She hated the jagged line and the sheer horror of it all struck her again.

It had been stupid, careless and unnecessary. She knew what was at risk as she looked at the parcel in front of her. She thought it was flowers. Well, when the postman had asked her to sign for the package she had examined it carefully and Interflora was quite obviously what she had noticed. It couldn’t wait; there were flowers inside and waiting until tomorrow, her birthday, was not an option.

The scissors were obviously and annoyingly not in the designated drawer in the kitchen so she had attacked it with her bare hands. Damn the children, they never ever replaced these things in the right place. Could have been the cleaner, she mused. Whatever, they were not to hand and this was not unusual.

The beauty salon were understanding and appreciated that she really could not contemplate turning up at her birthday party with one nail awry. Quite out of the question they had agreed and her appointment was arranged for ten. At least they understood the ghastliness of the situation; something that her husband singularly failed to grasp when she phoned him to explain why she couldn’t stay at home to have the boiler fixed.

Continue reading “Manicured to death: September Competition”