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What would you have done in the war?

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Just when you think it can't get any crazier - it does! I went for a walk on Tuesday and called to the graveyard to visit my grandfather's grave.  There was a sign on the gate saying that, due to new regulations, you were not allowed in unless it was for a funeral.  And I thought police using drones to track walkers and 'shame' them was the low point. There was girl in the graveyard and she said ‘you are allowed to come in as long as you close the gate behind you’. I asked if this was to stop the coronavirus from coming in but I don't think she realised I was being sarcastic.

I pulled the sign down and went in.  Apparently, some 'snowflake' had called the council to report that people weren't practising proper 'social distancing' in the graveyard on Sunday.  It wasn't even that graveyard; it was one on the other side of the town. Of course, the local priest folded to the whines of the snowflakes, much like the government. So much for his ‘faith’ in God but then priests by their nature are unquestioning minions as we know only too well! By the way, the only thing that will ever stop me visiting my grandfather's grave will be a bullet!

When I was at school, there was one teacher who, when the class got noisy, would always say, 'Empty vessels make most noise', a phrase that keeps coming to mind when I listen to the ongoing media hysteria and not just on this issue. 

However, on the good news front, the voices of dissent are starting to make themselves heard above the clamour. I was delighted to hear Peter Hitchens and Lord Sumption challenge the media in regard to the hysteria and fear they have whipped up, and criticise the actions of the government and some police forces over their handling of the ‘crisis’. I was beginning to think I was part of a very small minority but, thankfully, there are numerous online communities voicing their dissent too.

On Saturday morning, I walked down the town which is something I usually do and between the big girls’ blouses with their masks and scarves tied around their mouths,(and I am never going to apologise for using that phrase) and the snowflakes with their gloves and hand sanitiser, I had to get away from the 'noise'. So, along with number 2 son and number 1 grand-daughter, we headed to the beach. I know I wasn't allowed to do that either, so shoot me!! On the way to the beach, we stopped for petrol and in the shop they were selling small bottles of hand sanitiser at 10 euros a pop. There’s always someone with an enterprising spirit or someone ready to rip people off - well, it all depends on your perspective, doesn’t it?

Anyway, it's a quiet beach; I won't say where it is as I want it to remain that way. Not many people know about it but, even those that do don't bother going to it as it is off the beaten track and requires a bit of effort to get to. Even at the height of summer you would hardly get more than 20 people on it. There is a more accessible beach a few miles away which draws the crowds. That suits me fine, I was never one to follow the crowd. I had a paddle in the water while I was there which was absolutely freezing.

Now everyone in Ireland has paddled or swam in the sea at one time or another and most people in Britain probably have too. As a matter of fact, anyone who lives anywhere near a coastline has, in all probability. Well, here’s a fact about seawater and viruses, there are one billion viruses in a litre of seawater and I bet no one ever died after a paddle or a swim. When the snowflakes find out about that, they will never venture on a beach again! 

And talking about viruses, here’s a little bit of information on them. There is some debate among scientists as to whether viruses are alive or not as they do not have an organised cell structure or any form of energy.  They have one or two strands of RNA or DNA and they cannot replicate or evolve outside of a living host.  Viruses are not bacteria, fungi, plants, animals or protists (single cell organisms).  Yellow Fever was the first human virus discovered in 1901 by Walter Reed and the first flu virus was isolated in 1933. Viruses work by injecting their genetic material into a cell which they then take over and multiply.

The bad news is that there is little doctors can do to treat viruses and your best defence is to be healthy and have a strong immune system, and the way to do that is to eat well and take care of your health. Viruses outnumber all other life forms here on planet earth and wherever there is life, there are viruses so there is no getting away from them and it takes years to produce vaccines against them so I’d be very reticent about any ‘cure’ they find in the near future.

When we sit down and watch films like Schindler’s List or Carve Her Name With Pride, (if you’re not familiar with that one it is the story of Violette Szabo who was a spy for Britain during World War 2, if you get the chance, check it out, there is a beautiful poem in it) we imagine that if we were in those situations, we would be like Oscar or Violette. We imagine that if tyranny ever rose again that we would be the hero, we would be the one to stand up for freedom or the little guy and speak out.

Unfortunately, the events of the last few weeks have shown that when fear is used as a weapon, the majority turn tail and run or hide. It has been highly disappointing but not surprising to see the behaviour of many around me who have conducted themselves with something less than honour, not that it was my first experience of that.  More disappointing has been the wilful ignorance on display from those who refuse to consider that there could be another agenda at play, or that the media would lie or distort the truth. (If you believe the BBC would not lie, then you should probably go back to believing in Santa Claus)

That is not to say that I have always acted with honour in my life. I have lived in fear and terror and experienced first-hand the worst of humanity. I have no illusions about myself or what I have done or might be capable of doing in the future but one thing I will say is that I never scapegoated anyone else to save my skin. However, there are only so many times fear can be used as a weapon (at least against me) but you will find that the more you face up to it, the more you build up your courage and the less scary it becomes.

When this is over and life returns to whatever it will be, how will you feel about your behaviour at this time? Did you go along and do what you were told or weren’t told without question or objection? (I know some who self-isolated before the Government ordered them to, even when self-isolation only applied to those who were ill or in high risk groups) Did you panic buy, did you investigate for comparison or try and educate yourself a little about viruses?  Did you join in the chorus of disapproval, and how many times did you think (or hope) that those outside should be punished for not ‘social-distancing’ correctly, or did you go a step further and report someone?

Events like this reveal facets of our character that, under normal circumstances, we would deny exist.  It isn’t easy to admit that we have a darker side or to confront the reality of our weakness and/or cowardice in the face of fear, or to consider that, if we had been in Nazi Germany, would we have put the uniform on and obediently followed orders? Hitler and others like him could never have succeeded without the compliance of the people, whether as soldiers or civilians and that should give us all something to think about.

This is not a condemnation of the German people, I understand how Nazi Germany happened. I know that the German people were suffering from the economic ruin that was visited on the country after the First World War and Hitler promised them a better life and future.

The actions of some, while questionable, does not lie entirely with them and the media most definitely deserve a large share of the blame for the part they have played in fomenting the panic and hysteria. It has sickened me to see the pleasure they have taken in ramping it up, every time they say ‘global pandemic’.

I do understand people’s fear, especially those with young children.  For many, this is probably the first time they have been confronted with the reality of death, or faced the possibility of their own mortality and that is scary, if it is something you have never had to face before. But facing up to it, can led to a more conscious and, hopefully, better human being.

When this is over and the dust has settled, take some time to arm yourself against the next ‘project fear’ because there will most certainly be another one, and the greatest weapon you can have against fear is knowledge. Take a deep breath and don’t immediately believe everything they tell you. Take some good advice from Carl Sagan and ‘sceptically interrogate’ the information you are being given or, as it happens these days, being rammed down your throat. Make the effort to educate yourself around whatever the issue is, then when the media goes into overdrive, you will be sure of yourself and have confidence in your knowledge which should then inform your actions. However, I do have to warn you that no-one may listen but remember that it isn’t about them, it is about you and your integrity, and people will remember that later on when the fear subsides and the panic is over.

The results of this event have been a lesson to us all and revealed things about us or those around us that we may not want to confront but in order to become a better person, we need to be honest and ask ourselves, just how far would we go to save ourselves, and what would we have done in the war?  

The coronavirus does not frighten me but what did frighten me was watching how those around me reacted and how easily they surrendered their freedom.  I know many people have been genuinely terrified by this, the media has certainly gone all out on this one, but there were others who should and do know better.   Maybe they like the drama of it all, there are certainly no shortage of drama queens around these days, and no shortage of doom and gloom merchants either. But when you look back and remember how you behaved, if it was less than ‘honourable’, then don’t beat yourself up about it, especially if you are in the young adult category,  instead aim to hold yourself to a higher standard in the future, and try and do better next time.

A virus, like Co2, is the perfect weapon in the arsenal of terror; you cannot see it, feel it or smell it. There are dark forces at work in this world who would use any weapon to further their own agendas and some of those agendas are deeply unsettling.  So, going forward, before you join in the anti-Chinese chorus, which has already started, make some effort to educate yourself and look a little deeper at what has been going on around the world and who these dark forces might be.

And, unfortunately, here is a little bit of more bad news - you are going to die, some day, maybe even today or tomorrow. Around the world every day babies, children and young people die, and old people die too. Some of us will die in accidents, others from illness, some may even be murdered and a disturbing number of you will take your own life, at least, in this country.  But, it is an absolute guarantee that we are all going to die, there is no escaping it, eventually the grim reaper is going to get you no matter what you try to do to make yourself ‘safe’ and the jumbo pack of toilet roll isn’t going to be of much help when the time comes.

It is the natural course of life; we are born, we grow up (most physically but not necessarily, mentally) and if you are lucky, you will get to grow old and see your grand-children before you shuffle off this mortal coil. But there is no escaping it, it is the great leveller.

I hope that when my time comes, it isn’t too painful or drawn out but I’m ready to meet my maker whenever that may be because, at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how you die, what matters more is how you lived.


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Weddin

Things I miss and changes to come

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God, I really miss the Grand Prix. I was so looking forward to it and was sure this was going to be Vettel's year and instead we have project fear, crappy nothingness and no Olympics either!  I'm waiting to see what they do in the football, it would be an absolute shame if Liverpool are not given the league title.

Apparently, the natives are getting restless in Italy and insurrection is threatening (I'll provide an update soon on the Italian numbers and things are not what they seem!)  We are all overdue a good revolution, lets hope it arrives soon.

 I haven't changed much about my routine, I'm still working but the first major change I am making is that I will no longer be shopping in supermarkets. Lidl and Asda have had their last from me and they will be the last shops I ever go to for anything. From here on, it will be local first and foremost, regardless of the cost.  



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The Price of Liberty

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Never in the history of humanity have these words held more relevance than they do at this moment in time, it is something we need to remind ourselves of -

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty; power is ever stealing from the many to the few. The manna of popular liberty must be gathered each day or it is rotten. The living sap of today outgrows the dead rind of yesterday. The hand entrusted with power becomes, either from human depravity or esprit de corps, the necessary enemy of the people. Only by continued oversight can the democrat in office be prevented from hardening into a despot; only by unintermitted agitation can a people be sufficiently awake to principle not to let liberty be smothered in material prosperity.” - Major General James Jackson

'Those who would trade freedom for security deserve neither' - Benjamin Franklin

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Event 201

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Wednesday, 1 Apr 2020, 22:58

I'm not going to tell you anything about this, or post a link, but if you just do an online search for Event 201 and have a look, I'd be interested in knowing if you think it's a coincidence or not especially in light of Gordon Brown's call for a One World Government today.

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Live or Let Die?

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Monday, 30 Mar 2020, 15:07

I'm a big fan of Dr Jordan Peterson and thought I would share this quote from him in relation to present events:

'When things break down, what has been ignored rushes in. When things are no longer specified with precision, the walls crumble, and chaos makes its presence known. When we've been careless, and let things slide, what we have refused to attend to gathers itself up, adopts a serpentine form, and strikes—often at the worst possible moment. It is then that we see what focused intent, precision of aim and careful attention protects us from.'

As scary as things are for people at the moment, there could be a positive outcome from all this. Maybe when people realise just how fragile life is, and how easily their freedoms can be taken away, they might demand a better quality of life for them and their families.  Maybe they will start to hold their politicians to account more and demand they work for in the interests of the people who elected them and not a money-hungry, war-mongering elite. It would be nice if that happened but in order to instigate those type of changes we need leaders and unfortunately, there aren't many good ones around.

The events of the last few weeks have certainly given me some serious food for thought and once this is over, the planning will begin and I will be making some major changes in my life. It will take a while to put everything in place but it's time...watch this space.

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Medical Marshall Law

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Wednesday, 1 Apr 2020, 22:56

I posted this on my Facebook page yesterday and here last night.  I went out to my kitchen last night at 8.30 to make a cup of tea as someone who lived in a free, democratic society (well, I knew I didn't really but it had its pluses) and by the time I came back in, I was caged in a totalitarian state.

In light of the new world order takeover, I'm posting it again and I urge you to take an hour today and watch this, after all you don't have anywhere to go. It is an hour and 9 minutes long and I don't know how long it is going to be available as we don't know if the internet is going to be shut down next or if they will do the same with the phone networks, under the guise of emergency's only, just to make sure 'we are all safe'. Cos, we're all 3 year old's with no understanding or minds of our own, and we need the government to keep us 'safe'.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSv0phbYp0E&t=67s

Now, just ask yourself when did the government ever give a flying fiddlers f*ck if you were safe, or about the NHS or the welfare of 'old and vulnerable people in society', the ones they've been grinding down under their heal for years and into an early grave with Universal Credit.

And it's interesting to see all the sheep on youtube bowing to the fascists with their fake concern for 'old and vulnerable people'.  These are the same people who for the last three years have been whining about how 'old people destroyed their lives' when they voted for Brexit and who they wished to die (and that was one of the milder comments) or the same sick and vulnerable people on benefits who were witch-hunted under David Cameron's government as charlatans and fakes. The hypocrisy is stunning!

I would also ask that you share this with as many people as you can, lets see if we can send this 'viral'.

I will try and keep writing and updating, still no one I know with the virus or who has died from the virus.

Thank you for your time and a tip for any fellow anarchists out there, if you're going out, leave the phone at home, that is how they will be able to track your movements.

Take care people and remember, believe nothing of what they tell you and only half of what you see. Now take a look and see what's down the rabbit hole - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSv0phbYp0E&t=67s


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Weddin

The Irony of it All

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Rather ironic that it would be a Conservative Prime Minister who would turn the UK into a totalitarian, socialist state. I'm still in shock!!!

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Welcome to Gilead

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I posted this earlier today on Facebook, I thought maybe the guy was a bit over the top, thinking they couldn't really do this could they??? Now be afraid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSv0phbYp0E&t=67s

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What a Coincidence!!

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Well, what a coincidence!!!  On Channel 4 tonight at 9, Putin - A Russian Spy Story, detailing the ruthless quest for power by Vladimir Putin, the diabolical fiend! He is a liar, a manipulator, he is vengeful, he never forgives or forgets!!! Ooooohhhhhh! Be afraid, be very afraid!!!! Aaahhhhhhhhh, run for the hills, the Russians are coming, the Russians are coming!!!  Again...see previous post - A Life Lived in Fear

And look who's on before but none other than lovable Jamie with his Keep Cooking and Carry on, a programme (that was very quick off the mark) appropriately named and designed to pick up on that old wartime propaganda and invoke a sense of national camaraderie, showing us how to manage in these trying times, how to whip up an dinner with that packet of unidentifiable meat that's been lying in the back of the freezer for about 18 months and turn that black-skinned banana into a desert fit for a king! Ah lovely Jamie, if only there was a lovely boy contest we could enter him in - altogether now, aawwww!

Then, just when your feeling all warm and cosy with Jamie, they come in with the heavy propaganda because they know you'll all be home tonight, terrified into 'self isolation' (remember that, you did it to yourself) by the coronavirus - Vladimir Putin - even his name sounds heavy, actually, he sounds like a real man, (God, it's been so long since I saw one! I need to get out more, oh that's right, I can't!!) but that's a real manly name VLADIMIR, OHHHH, I like that!!!! Anyway, VLADIMIR PUTIN - The spy who trained under the KGB, those other diabolical fiends, and who rose to power by ruthlessly casting everyone aside and who ate babies for breakfast and ran over old ladies on the road and who rescued Russia from economic oblivion, oh, but they won't tell you about that last bit but you get the picture.

And when you press the blurb on the remote to see what it's about, what is it designated under? Anyone want to try and guess?  

Yes, you at the back - Politics?

No, but a good guess, that is what you would presume, oh yes, sorry, you over by the window?

Fiction or propaganda?

Good guess, I can see you've been listening, you'll do well in this class, but the thing is, they never tell you it's propaganda, they just try and make it appear like something familiar in a scary way, like it's a threat to your lifestyle (see previous post - A Life Lived in Fear) or if it's a behaviour they want you to adopt, they will dress it up as if it's an expression of your individuality but we haven't really covered that bit yet so anyone else, no?

Well, I know its difficult, but it's designated as ED U CA TION, do you see what they are doing there? 

Yes, they have designated it education because this is what they do, they try and teach you how to think, or how to think they way they think, the proper way. Because they don't want you to think or question anything, they want you to believe everything they tell you, to never think critically about what they are saying or showing you. So, in order to think critically what do you need to do?

Well, it's nearly break time so here's a list of questions to ask yourself before you believe anything:

1 What are they saying? 

2 Who is saying it?

3 And this is an important one - WHY are they saying it?

4 Where is the evidence? Another important one because sometimes they will just put a picture up and give it a headline, like MSN last week - Satellites Show Mass Graves in Iran - and there was a picture along with the headline showing rows of something on the ground, but it could have been houses, greenhouses and it could have been anywhere in the world to be honest (something which MSN aren't) Then when you went into the article, all it showed were pictures of people walking around in Iran. So be aware of that, always ask yourself what you are really looking at, where are the details, who is it, what is it, where is it? How do you know it is where or who they say it is?  Can it be verified by an independent body or person or someone you know is reliable?

5 Ok, and this is probably the most important one but not one most people would think of - Is there anything else going on in background that they may be trying to distract you from? The answer to this will usually be found in the financial pages and this is good advice for the future.  If you really want to know what the news is or find out what is really going on in the political world, don't check out the politics page on the news website, check out the financial page, because that is usually where the real news is happening. I know finance is a bit boring and tricky but you don't really need to know all the in and outs of the finance system, the basics are enough. Asking the questions is the important bit and I know it takes a bit of effort but the more you do it, the easier it becomes to see the truth or at least question the narrative even if you don't always understand what the end game is, but it usually comes down to money.

Ok, well done class, and I'll see you back here after the break.

Excuse me miss, but how do you know this stuff?

Well, the truth is, I took the red pill and left the matrix.


 


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A Life Lived in Fear...

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Sunday, 12 July 2020, 14:03

'Blessed be the fruit' 

'May the Lord open'

A greeting by way of the Handmaids Tale because yesterday in Lidl, I thought that was where I had walked into. 

Lidl have brought in 'fascists' to police the checkout. (it would be too easy to go the nazi route but if there is a lesson from history here, this is how it starts) These people aren't local and I have no idea who they are or where they came from, maybe they were shipped in from Area 51F! But, they are here now and you better do what they tell you or you could be in trouble!!

I was in Lidl last Monday, I have holidays to use up before the end of the year so, there I was in the queue, talking to the guy in front of me about the 'corona' crisis.  No instruction on where to stand, just chatting with a friendly stranger.  I was in again on Wednesday and the floor of the checkout was marked out in metres so you had to stand a metre away from the customer in front, but since there was no one there, I was able to go straight to the front, although the 'fascist' started handing out orders to the people coming behind me. I was about to say, I don't mind where they stand but my goods were through so, I thought, 'leave it' and left.

Yesterday, a new fascist was in charge. I was in with number 2 son and number 1 grand-daughter.  I was only getting one item and so I was first up to the checkout. The guy in front of me was from one of our local shops where I regularly buy petrol and I have had brief conversations with him in the course of paying for my purchases. I was about to speak to him, just a friendly hello to a familiar face when the voice behind said. 'Would you mind standing back here' So, I replied 'Actually, I would' and turned back around. Then the conversation started, 

Fascist - 'The PHA has ordered people to stand 2 metres apart', 

Me - 'Well, it was only a metre the other day'.

Fascist - 'The store policy is 2 metres to stop the virus spreading,

Me - 'How many people do you know with the virus' - this threw her for a second.

Fascist - 'There's people dying everywhere',

Me - 'Really? Where? Have you seen them? Do you actually know anyone with the virus?'

Fascist - 'You need to open your eyes and look'

Me - 'Well, you tell me where they are, and I'll look' - she walked off at this point to harass more customers. 

So, Lidl just lost one of their best customers for I will not be back.

I am not the least concerned about this virus, if I get it, I get it, if I die, I die. And the reason why I don't really care is because, if this is the world we are going to be living in for the foreseeable future, no theatre, no cinema, no art, no badminton, no public gatherings, no thinking for yourself, no holidays, no freedom of movement, then quite frankly, I'll take my chances with the virus because I would prefer to 'live on my feet than die on my knees'.  And if this is the 'end of the world', then I'm not going down without a fight and I am not going to spend, what maybe my last few months on earth, cowering in my house, clutching a jumbo pack of toilet roll and crying into my pot noodle!

The other reason why I am not going to stop talking to people is that I have lived a life in fear, I have lived in states of chronic terror for many years, and then one day I decided, I will not live like this again. That is not to say, I don't feel afraid at times, I do, but I do not let it stop me from living.  

Back in the 60's, when I was very, very young, I encountered my first moment of large scale 'terrorise the people'. I was brought up Catholic, so every other week it was 'you'll burn in hell for all eternity, you worthless sinner'. Quickly followed by 'the Russians want to take over the world and turn us all into Atheists' (Yayyy! I thought) Next was, 'the world is heading into another ice age, we won't be able to grow food and millions will starve and your children, if you even survive long enough to have any, will have to go and live in Africa' or at the very least, somewhere warm. Which added another layer of terror, because we knew Africa was in no state to support us as we were sending money out to them every week for the 'black babies'. 

Then the real terror started, 'the Troubles', and we were locked down into 30 years of state and community terror.  And believe me, the community terror was the really scary one!  

After that, we rolled into the 80's and the Russians were back with a vengeance, only this time it was the big one, NUCLEAR WAR!!! Yes, those pesky Russians didn't want to take over the world any more, (apparently, there had been a change of plan by the Politburo) Oh no, now they wanted to annihilate it, well not all of it, just the Western bits where we lived, 'because they were jealous of capitalism and wanted to destroy it!'  But, just as we were all about to build a bunker in the back yard, the Berlin wall fell and we all lived happily ever after....sorry...I must have dozed off. 

Then there was the virus, the Aids virus and HIV, if you had sex with someone who had it you could die!! And not only that you could have it for 15 years before it even showed itself which meant you could have it already and be passing it around to anyone you slept with and you would all dieeee!! But the numbers didn't quite hit the predictions and let's face it, you're not going to stop people having sex, and it seemed to be confined more to gay men and Africa and if you wore a condom you would be ok and that was the end of that.

So, we hit the 90's and we had nothing to fear, and we were all running about enjoying ourselves, some people were going to raves which almost became a 'national crisis', people were selfish then and having far too much fun, so they had to think of something to terrorise the people with once again to keep them down so that they could be manipulated and controlled...and what better terror than the 'climate', but it couldn't be another ice age because they had tried that in the 60's and it didn't pan out so they would have to try a different tack this time. And they did, 'global warming', yes, that was it, you weren't going to freeze to death this time,(OH NOOO!) this time you were going to roast to death, the sea levels were going to rise by 100metres (later reduced to 20 metres, apparently someone forgot to put in a decimal point or something) and if you didn't drown, then your country would be transformed into a desert and you wouldn't be able to grow food and millions would starve etc (see 1960's) only you couldn't move somewhere cooler because there was nowhere cooler to go!

But those early global warming terrors didn't really have a big impact, people said they would plant more trees and look after the environment better and were happy to pay 4 quid for a light bulb they used to pay 60p for (me) and people started to reminisce about the hippie movement, all that peace, love and harmony and started talking about world peace and why can't we all just get along sort of stuff. So, that was the end of that and a new terror was needed.

As the 20th century drew to a close, with what looked like was going to be the 'party of the century', another new scare arrived. Well, they couldn't allow fun on that sort of scale so next up was the Y2K scare. Apparently, Bill Gates or someone forgot to programme the computers to change at the end of 1999 to 2000, and all sorts of mayhem was going to ensue. Since almost everything had a 'chip' of some kind, everything was going to fail, planes were going to fall from the sky, everything was going to break down and the world was going to be plunged back into the stone age! There was a couple who tried to warn us all, they had built a bunker, moved out of the city and had a larder that would shame today's hoarders! And what happened?  Well. nothing actually, the computers just changed to 2000 and everything still worked and everybody had a great night out or in. I heard the couple later divorced, very quietly, without any publicity.

So, with that loss of credibility, people started to enjoy themselves again and that could never be allowed so a new terror was needed. It would have to be something big, something spectacular that hadn't been tried before, at least not in our lifetime, because they had to restore faith in the voices of doom and gloom so George Bush's puppet masters got together with Mossad and the CIA and they came up with the mother of all terrorist attacks -The Twin Towers - and since they controlled most of the media, they were able to control the narrative and a new terror was born, a muslim with a stanley knife!  Ta da!  Yes, those terrible Arabs (or eh-rabs as they call them in the good old US of A!) had destroyed the Twin Towers because they were jealous of us and our capitalism - see 1980's Russians also, see The Crusades - etc, etc...So, they invaded Iraq, decimated the country and the population with their depleted uranium bombs, all in an effort to bring them peace, freedom and capitalism, and the West took their oil in return. They wrecked Libya too, tried to wreck Afghanistan but the Taliban had already done that so they just fouttered about for a few years and managed to wrest control of some areas from them but it's all still a bit dodgy. 

So, as the new century progressed, they managed to fake a few more 'muslim' events and then the Democrats came to power and needed money so Al Gore got out his pencil, 'global warming' became 'climate change' and another new terror was born - well actually it was an old one revamped - and again the sea levels were going to rise, we'd all drown, and generally, we were all doomed...again..and Leonardo DiCaprio stopped shagging 18 year old's on his yacht and bought a Prius...well, no, actually, he just bought a Prius and paraded his green credentials by driving it to the Oscars which distracted from all the young girls partying on his yacht.

And then because none of Al's predictions had come true they needed a new 'messiah' and an uneducated teenager with a learning disability was roped in by her unscrupulous parents to ramp the fear up again and Extinction Rebellion was born too, to harass the poor old working man trying to go about his business. But then because of the internet (THANK GOD!) people were questioning the lies and propaganda, but then Australia had a big fire which helped to ramp up the fear again but then winter arrived, the Aussies had a lot of rain and so, the fear of a 'world on fire' sort of dissipated. 

And while all that was going on something else had happened in the world financial trading system in 2019. The US fell out with the Saudi's over the price of oil, they wanted to cut it but more importantly, they do not want to trade in petroldollars any more either.  Saddam Hussein and Colonel Gadaffi had proposed this before and we all know what happened to them but the Saudi's are so well armed (ironically by the US and the UK) so although they are a quite authoritarian society, an invasion or war is not a possibility, to bring them capitalism and democracy, at least not at this stage. So, financial trading was going to change from petrodollars to, whoever had a currency, and the wealth to back it, the US has a budget deficit of 1.3 trillion dollars. 

In the world's financial systems, oil and commodities are traded in dollars, this has been going on since the 1970's when Nixon defaulted on his loans , the US did not have enough gold to cover the debts, so they stopped trading on the Gold Standard and moved to the petrodollar (the Gold standard is a monetary system where a country's currency or paper money has a value directly linked to gold) This means that in order to buy oil or commodities, you first have to buy dollars and then you can buy your oil or whatever. The US gets a cut from every one of these financial transactions so it's a nice payday for them. However, because they fell out with the Saudi's and because the Saudi's, like the US, has a lot of debt, Russia stepped up (they have no debt, lots of gold, natural resources and oil) world trade was about to be taken over by a new currency.  You will notice that the price of petrol has gone down a lot recently, this is all connected to it. So this is where we are - the financial world is heading for a reset and the US doesn't like that they have lost their hegemony. 

And who could have challenged the US for a trading currency in today's world apart from Russia, maybe just maybe, the fastest growing economy in the world, China.  Well, what a coincidence!!! Just when it looked like they were about to take over the currency for world trading, with possibly the backing of Russia, they are hit with a terrible virus, allegedly started by someone in China eating a bat, that's wasn't fully cooked through.  

And coincidentally, Iran, their old enemy goes down a storm with it too.  But what about Italy, I hear you say, look how they've been hit! Yes, poor old Italy is supremely f*cked, they have about 4 trillion euros of debt and an aging population but maybe, they got hit by the wrong virus or strain of virus, (see previous posting) or maybe not, who knows?

On a happier note and to give you time to absorb all that, one of my favourite movies is Strictly Ballroom by Baz Luhrmann and coincidentally, I watched it last weekend. It's a great movie, full of that Aussie humour I like so much. One of the themes in the movie is fear and there is a saying in it which is also Baz Luhrmann's personal motto - a life lived in fear is a life half lived. I have also adopted it as mine, I only have one life, I want to live it.

We haven't been fully hit yet with the virus and maybe, we won't. This is all speculation, but at the time of writing, I still don't know anyone with the virus or who has died from the virus, and my sister and her friends in the South of England, 20 minutes from where the first suspected case was, don't know anyone either.

I have lived through a lot of scary times and some other personally horrifying situations and as scary as all of those events were/are, do you know what has terrified me the most about this whole situation, is how easily the population of this country gave up their freedoms and not a word of protest heard.

Nolite te bastardes carborundorum...

 

 


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The Finger of Blame

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Monday, 23 Mar 2020, 19:03

I was listening to a report on Sky News Australia and one of the people on it was blaming China and saying that China 'wilfully inflicted Coronavirus on the world' and should be held to account. Of course, down in the comments, it was the usual brainless trolls spouting anti-Chinese/communist propaganda and demanding boycotts and all sorts and talking about manufacturing and why everything is made in China. So, I couldn't resist and fired off this response.

You're not manufacturing because you are not in charge, your democracy is an illusion, the world is run by corporations and banks and compliant/puppet politicians and propaganda news channels. The west has been happy to look away for years as the working classes got shafted and we all knew that there was a price for cheap goods and that was the cheap labour on offer in places like China. So don't blame China, blame yourselves for your own lazy attitude, for ignoring the political landscape because you were too lazy to think for yourself and because 'politics is boring' and you preferred to shop online at Amazon. And if you still believe in 'climate change' then you are exactly the kind of person I am talking about and now that you are faced with the prospect of your own mortality, you're running shit scared and blaming everybody else and ignoring your part in 'creating this world'.

So, before we rush to judgement on anyone, let's take a minute and breathe, and let's try and keep an open mind at least until we have as many facts as we can gather. Maybe this did start in China but just maybe, someone started it in China, and at this point, we don't know the absolute origin of it other than what the news media is telling us, and we all know how reliable they are. There are a few more questions we need to ask before the self-righteous grandstanding and finger pointing begins. For example, is it a coincidence that outside of China, Iran is the country that is suffering most?  And why is the death rate in these countries so much higher than somewhere like Germany where the death rate is 0.2%. Is it possible that there is a different strain of virus in China and Iran?  No one has died in Russia, what could Russian Intelligence tell us? They were quick to close the border with China, what did they know that we didn't? And why was Europe so slow to close it's borders? Donald Trump was slated by the EU for banning flights, yet Boris Johnson was slated for not being more extreme in his response. 

We could also ask ourselves, what has been going on in the world in recent years while we have all been distracted with 'climate change'?  There is an ongoing scrap in the Middle East and it has been going on for some time, and it wasn't that long ago, the US was trying to start a war with Iran. As a matter of fact, the US has been trying to go to war with Iran for years.  

And, has anything else interesting happened recently? Well, Netanyahu basically carried out a coup in his own country, just as he was about to be indicted for bribery, fraud and corruption, and he had just lost the election too, along comes coronavirus to save the day!! He suspended Parliament and shut down the Courts and is carrying on, business as usual!  

The municipal elections were also held in France last weekend, has there been a result yet?  France just enacted emergency legislation that states you must phone for permission to leave your house. Will that stop the Gilet Jaunes from protesting? After all, they were out in their thousands the weekend before in Paris, still protesting Macron, week 70. You have got to admire their courage and tenacity, maybe we could learn something from them!

In Ireland too, they recently had an election and Sinn Fein, who are a little bit socialist, got the most first preference votes but now because of the coronavirus, everything has shut down and Leo is still in charge, ohh, what a lot of coincidences!!

At this point, we know nothing and in all likelihood, we will never know the full/true story of its origins but as I remarked in an earlier post, I am reading the Life and Death of Dr David Kelly and if we sit here and think that our governments' hands are clean in the area of biological weaponry, then we are seriously deluded. But keep your eyes on Iran, and your ears and minds open - believe nothing of what they tell you and only half of what you see...

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More news

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Monday, 23 Mar 2020, 19:00

Just to update with a few numbers to help counter-balance the fear-mongering and calm people down. If you average out the figures for deaths from flu over the 4 years from 2014 - 2018 in the UK alone you get a figure of 21155. If you break that down further into days, of say, 120 covering 4 months of winter, you get an average daily death toll of 176 people. Now, if that figure was being announced every day in the media, it would sound horrific.

Globally, the estimates of death from flu are anything from 290,000 - 650,000 yearly. So, just taking the lower figure of 290,000 and breaking it down again to an average of 120 days, that amounts to a daily death toll of 2416 which again would terrify everyone if it was announced daily on the news.

Deaths from coronavirus worldwide are reported as approximately 8000. No children have died from the virus anywhere and the recovery rate from those who get it comes in at around 97%. So, just be sensible, if you feel ill stay at home and don't go visiting anyone with health problems and wash your hands after being out and about.


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Some good news

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I thought I would share this to help calm the hysteria, just follow the link - 

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/coronavirus/coronavirus-good-news-newborn-baby-beats-bug-vaccine-on-way-and-italy-cases-slow/ar-BB11kQab?li=AAnZ9Ug
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Terrorising the Nation - again!

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Be afraid, be very afraid!  After all the years of terrorising us with fake news, hysterical over-reactions and blatant lies, now the media are rubbing their hands in glee, delighted to be ramping up the fear and terrorising the nation with the 'deadly virus Covid 19' woooooo! From paedophilic bogeymen hiding around every corner, ready to snatch away your children, to the shadowy world of global terrorists, waiting for any opportunity to kill or maim or the global threat of a ‘climate emergency’ and a world about to go up in flames, they just can’t find enough to frighten us with and keep us in a state of constant fear and anxiety.

So, just to help keep a sense of perspective, these are the number of deaths from flu in the UK from 2014 - 2018

2014/15   28,330

2015/16   11,875

2016/17   18,009

2017/18   26,408

As you can see some years are worse than others depending on the strain of flu but globally, the World Health Organisation estimates that between 290,000 to 650,000 people die from the flu every year.*

The number of deaths overall in the UK for 2018 were 541,589 and the most concerning figure in these statistics is the 6507 deaths from suicide in England and Wales, a rate of 11 per 100,000 of the population but which rises to 16 per 100,000 in Scotland. As a matter of fact, males in the age bracket of 45 – 49 years are more likely to die by suicide than anything else, now that is a concerning figure;  yet mental health services are starved of funding and unable to cope with the numbers seeking help with people waiting up to a year to see a counsellor.   

I don’t know about you but I, for one, am sick to death of being terrorised by the media which is doing nothing to help the real mental health crisis in the country. I think most people will give it a couple of weeks and then start demanding that life get back to normal. Two weeks stuck at home with nowhere to go, is going to place an enormous strain on people especially those with children. Couple that, with the money worries of being laid off work, and you are looking at a potentially volatile cocktail of stress.

Luckily, for me, I live alone and have plenty to occupy me at home and I’m still working at time of writing or maybe not so lucky, I'd love a couple of weeks off!

In my previous post where I mentioned that I thought I already had this virus, my daughter has just told me that a girl she works with had pneumonia at Christmas and the doctor told her it was probably coronavirus, and I was speaking to a man yesterday in the supermarket queue and he thought he already had it too and knew of others who thought the same. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out, will our lives be changed forever or will be another case of an hysterical media crying wolf.

And for some advice on coronavirus without the hysteria, follow the link below and I want to draw your atttention to this paragraph - Even when a coronavirus causes MERS or SARS in other countries, the kind of coronavirus infection common in the U.S. isn't a serious threat for an otherwise healthy adult. If you get sick, treat your symptoms and contact a doctor if they get worse or don't go away -

https://www.webmd.com/lung/coronavirus#2 e

*https://www.health.com/condition/cold-flu-sinus/how-many-people-die-of-the-flu-every-year


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Coronavirus

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Sunday, 15 Mar 2020, 08:56

I was at a birthday party yesterday in our local Playstations, apparently, they had 5 cancellations just this weekend for parties. The panic is ongoing and when we were talking about it afterwards I realised, I don't even know anyone with the virus.

According to the news, there are 20 cases in Northern Ireland. But no one knows who or where they are so if you feel the panic rising, just ask yourself that question, do you actually know anyone with the virus or who has died from the virus? Deaths have been announced on the news but they are always lacking detail, there are no names or identifying details or grieving relatives, it's just something like 'an elderly person with an underlying heath condition'.

Northern Ireland isn't a very big place and when something major happens there is usually someone who knows who was involved, where they live etc. and have it up on Facebook. But not a word on this one, apart from one GAA footballer.

The other thing about it is, what if the coronavirus is present in a certain percentage of the population all the time anyway, like meningitis, and having it is not necessarily something to worry about.  M Scott Peck in his book, The Road Less Travelled makes a point about meningitis - Ask any physician, what causes meningococcal meningitis and the instant response will be, "Why, the meningococcus, of course." However, If this winter I were to make daily cultures of this bacterium from the throats of the inhabitants of the small village in which I make my home, I would discover it living there at some point in approximately nine out of ten people. Yet no one in my little village has suffered from meningococcal meningitis for many years, nor is likely to do so this winter. -

This came to mind yesterday when I was looking at a few videos online and there was one with a girl who had tested positive for the virus but was fine and had no fever or other symptoms. Now, I'm not a doctor or a virologist so I don't know the full facts about the virus but until I actually know someone with it, I will carry on as usual.

They other thing about it is, being highly skeptical of everything we are being told in the world of fake news, wars and terrrorist attacks, I'm wondering what is going on behind the scenes while we are all being distracted with coronavirus? Maybe nothing but....keep your eyes, ears and mind open just in case.

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Coronavirus

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Tuesday, 17 Mar 2020, 11:44

Rather ironic that with all our knowledge and technology, one little virus crashes the markets, closes shops and restaurants, grounds flights and causes a run on toilet roll, beans and pot noodle in the local supermarkets. Apparently, they've all been cleaned out.  I don't really know why the run on beans, pot noodle and toilet roll but then again, it probably makes sense when you think about it!

Probably not a good time to be watching any of the new Planet of the Apes films, if you're of a nervous disposition, or reading The Life and Death of Dr David Kelly either, but it's too interesting to put aside with all the information it contains on bio-warfare and the secret world of chemical weaponry. But I'm not given to panic so I'll keep on  reading.

I've heard some of the internet rumours about the virus; one theory is that it was created to get rid of older people in order to reduce the burden on healthcare.  And although I wouldn't be surprised if that were true, I am a perennial sceptic so I'll keep an open mind until I see more evidence than an internet rumour. 


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Coronavirus vs flu vs alcohol

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Tuesday, 10 Mar 2020, 22:04

My cousin shared a post on Facebook at the weekend from Anonymous claiming that the first cases of coronavirus were reported  back in October. Funnily enough, I had a 'flu' just after Christmas and when I read the symptoms of coronavirus, I would swear that was what I had. It started with a dry cough on the Tuesday and steadily worsened. By Thursday I wasn't feeling great but I hate being ill above all things so I blasted it that night with paracetamol and a hot poteen or two. I got up on the Friday feeling a lot better and thought that was it sorted. Unfortunately, it came back with a vengeance on the Saturday and I was in bed for the next 3 days and had a couple more days off work. I should have topped up the poteen again on the Friday night, I think that was my mistake!

One of the other girls in the office had this dose before Christmas and it settled in her chest. She was ill over the whole Christmas period and had to be treated in the end for a lung infection.  So, what is the difference between  flu and coronavirus? Not much at all, basically the have the same symptoms, sore throat, cough, fever etc so I don't think you can tell the difference unless you get tested and statistically, flu seems to kill many more people every year anyway but there is no big panic about that.

Then again, an average of 3 people die in Ireland every day due to alcohol related illness so that's probably the biggest killer we have here but again, not much panic about that one either

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Dark Waters, Dark Actors and the Deep Dark State

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Wednesday, 18 Aug 2021, 10:14

I went out to see Dark Waters last week. I mentioned it on the blog a few weeks ago. It’s the story of lawyer Rob Bilott who sued Dupont, initially, on behalf of Wilbur Tennant, a farmer whose animals had died, or were dying, in Parkersburg, West Virginia and which eventually became a large, class-action law-suit, which he fought for 20 years on behalf of the citizens of Parkersburg and won many millions of dollars for them in compensation. Although, it’s not much good, when your health is buggered.

Mr Tennant’s animals were being poisoned with the chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA/C8, which is made by Dupont and which we know as Teflon. Your non-stick pans are coated in this stuff and it has also been used on waterproof clothing, stain-resistant rugs, microwave popcorn bags and even dental floss. Add that to the fluoride in the toothpaste and that’s a nice little toxic mix to put in your mouth.

It is estimated that 99% of all humans on the planet have PFOA in their bodies because once it is in it is very hard to get rid of.  The worst thing about it is that Dupont knew how toxic it was but just never let on. They released it into the water in Parkersburg and it was also released into the air. They even tested it in cigarettes which they gave to their employees and who, of course, took ill but weren’t told why.  It has been linked to six diseases, including kidney cancer, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, pre-eclampsia and high cholesterol and it was also found to cause birth defects; one of the real life children affected by this appears in the film, Bucky Bailey.

It’s a deeply moving story (at least I thought so) of the little guy (as always) getting screwed over by those with money and power. I highly recommend you go see it because we don’t see enough of this kind of exposure anymore.

Coincidentally, I’m reading Dark Actors at the moment; this is the story of Dr David Kelly by Robert Lewis who ‘committed suicide’. He was the only person to speak out against the ‘dossier’ for war with Iraq, remember that fake news? He was vilified and hounded by New Labour and the media for his honesty. I’m only 79 pages in at this point but it gives a very good insight into that New Labour toe-rag, Jack Straw and Tony Bliar too.

Considering now the whole Epstein/Prince Andrew/ Bill Clinton and other various scumbags story that is playing out, it wouldn’t take a genius to join the dots of a Mossad/CIA led honey trap whereby up and coming politicians/celebrities are seduced by the glamour on offer from the likes of Epstein, then filmed and recorded, and which is then used to blackmail and control them and ensure the agendas of the puppet masters are followed. 

I also read another book this week, it was a very short one and I got through it in an afternoon. It is the Great British Skripal Hoax by Nicholas Kollerstrom, and available from richplanet.net. I never believed the Skripal story for a minute, the whole thing is too absurd (do they really think we are that stupid??) but what is most disturbing about it is where exactly are the Skripals? Are they being held against their will by British and/or American intelligence? Are they even alive? How can people just be made to disappear in an allegedly ‘free and open society’ and no one even question it or do anything about it?

It’s worth a read especially in relation to a man by the name of Christopher Steele, who compiled the other fake dossier about Trump and the alleged Russian interference in the last US presidential election. Apparently, Mr Skripal who was a double-agent and was released from Russia as part of a spy swap, was about to leg it back to Russia and the security services (MI6) couldn’t allow that to happen because he helped Mr Steele compile the dossier which the Russians would then know about, and who knows what else he may have had to tell them.

By the way, also beware of an organisation called Integrity Initiative, it’s just another black ops group spouting propaganda on behalf of the deep state.

The thing about all these dark and dirty goings-on is that they aren't really very secret at all. We are all aware of the propaganda and lies that are pumped out by a compliant media and there is no such thing as an investigative journalist any more, at least, not in the mainstream media. Everything is hiding in plain sight, we know that the politicians don't really run the country; we know there are dark actors behind the scenes manipulating and controlling everything. We and they know that there is little or nothing we can do about it, some people just don't want to know and who can blame them when we see how ruthless and murderous they are. But still, it does no harm to remind ourselves just how rotten the deep state is and it is laudable that there are still people out there, researching and reporting on the rot that corrupts politics and business and are prepared to take them on and expose it.

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Time off to read

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Friday, 25 Aug 2023, 08:58

I took this week off to help out with the new arrival but she is so good, I have nothing to do so I'm catching up on a bit of work around the house.  I have workmen here today to fix the chimney which I discovered had a leak when I started stripping the wallpaper in my room.  

The weather is good today too (I'd forgotten what a blue sky looked like and it's great to see it again!), so I'll get some work done outside too as soon as the workmen finish up. There's not much you can do when it rains incessantly, it's been so wet even my hanging baskets have got rushes growing in them. Which goes to show that things spontaneously grow when the conditions are right as they usually grow in bog land.

My pre-course reading has arrived, After Tamerlane, The Global History of Empire by John Darwin and Unfinished Empire, the Global Expansion of Britain by the same author. I'll be starting them today, and as part of my learning more for Lent, I've been learning about Greek legends which is something I've been interested in for a while.  

I've also been writing every day which I'm pleased about although, I'm not necessarily posting every day as some pieces take longer and require more work but I can feel the habit starting to form.  1 week down 5 more to go!

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Rights + Responsibility = Truth?

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Wednesday, 17 Feb 2021, 10:59

Everyone today, is very clued up on their human rights, they demand that life live up to their expectations and when it doesn't, they start shouting about 'violations' of their 'human rights' and can quote verbatim from the section, sub-section, paragraph and line of the Human Rights Act.

We’ve come a long way from the days of Thomas Paine and Mary Wollstonecraft when ‘rights’ were nothing more than a middle-class aspiration, and while there is much that I agree with in their writings, overall, I don't actually believe in human rights. I don't believe that there are natural rights or God given rights, as a matter of fact, I don't believe we have the right to anything. The only rights we have are those we have awarded ourselves and when we award ourselves rights then, we are morally obligated to award those same rights to everyone, equally. We consider the Human Rights Act a sign of our evolution into a more civilised society and a demonstration of our moral and intellectual superiority. And like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the more we get, the more we want.  

We are quick to demand our rights, however, we are not as vocal when it comes to our responsibilities and are often quite happy to run away from or ignore them. The concentration on rights without the same consideration of responsibility leads to a skewed perspective and causes an imbalance within society.

Within the Human Rights Act, we have the Right to Life, the Right to Respect for Private and Family Life and the Right to Freedom of Religion and Belief but no responsibility to provide a counter-balance to them.

I do not believe in a ‘right to life’, life is not a right, it is a gift which we are very lucky to have, so alongside a 'Right to Life', I would put a responsibility - the responsibility to take care of and respect that life.

Alongside the Right to Respect for Private and Family Life - I would add the responsibility to ensure that a private and family life does not compel any member of that family to share in your belief system, if they choose not to, and also, that your behaviour as a family does not impact negatively on the community outside your family.

On the Right to Freedom of Religion and Belief - I would add the responsibility to ensure you do not force or impose your religion or beliefs on anyone else. Religion should be a private matter between the individual and whatever God they believe in.

Why do we believe that we have more rights than any other living organism on this planet? The demand for rights comes from the belief that we are 'special', more special than everything else on earth because we sit at the top of the food chain. This idea originally came from the book of Genesis, where God gave man dominion over the earth (which of course was written by man and has more than a bit of self-serving bias in it) and was adopted by religious institutions. From that, we were led to believe that the universe was created for us and we were, literally, the centre of that universe with everything revolving around us. 

In the psychological development of a human being, this is known as the egocentric stage, or egocentrism, and was first identified by the psychologist, Jean Piaget. This stage of development, usually occurs between the ages of 4 - 7, although, it can persist into adulthood for some (believe me; I deal with them all the time!).  It is characterised by a lack of awareness of different points of view - something which was very evident in the Brexit debate and which you can see any day in Parliament (and is actually the modus operandi in Stormont!!). It is a stage of development where a child/person is self-absorbed and still has to learn that things are not always from their point of view or perspective. When it persists into adulthood, it can be identified in people through their 'egocentric shortcomings' which include:

'The False-Consensus Effect - where people overestimate the extent to which their preferences are shared by others; (as evidenced by the ‘remain’ side in Brexit)

The Curse-of-Knowledge Effect - where experts in a particular domain fail to take into account the level of knowledge of laypeople with whom they are communicating; (or egosplaining, as I call it)

The Illusion of Transparency - where people exaggerate the degree to which their internal emotional states (such as anxiety during public speaking) are evident to others; 

The Spotlight Effect - where people overestimate the degree to, which aspects of their appearance and actions are noticed by others.' 

Or, in other words, it's all me, me, me, me, ME!!!

The universe is approximately 14 billion years old, earth is approximately 4.5 billion, man or a man-like creature is estimated to have been around from somewhere between 2 - 7 million years and your life, if you are lucky, will average 70 years. The life of a human being, in proportion to the life of the universe, is nothing more than the blink of an eye. You are a dust mote sitting on a quite beautiful rock which revolves around a glowing hot rock, in a universe whose size is beyond our knowledge and comprehension and, of which, we know very little. We don't even really know the basics - we know that there is a gravitational force in the universe but we have no idea what it is, or how it works, all we know is how it behaves.

Our tendency to egocentrism, often means that we lose our perspective on life and our place in the world. Our egos delude us into overestimating our importance and our knowledge and it can be a shock to the system to confront this reality and realise that, at the end of the day, we still don’t really know that much, we really don't matter very much either and if we disappeared tomorrow, the world will still keep turning and life will still go on.

Within the 'climate' hysteria that has gripped most of the mainstream media; the delusions of the ego are predominant.  Like Brexit, no real debate is allowed and the stream of propaganda continues, as those who are still in their egocentric phase refuse to consider any opinion but theirs, or consider that they could be deceived. 

I can understand and sympathise, if people only get their information from the mainstream media and believe that they are being told the truth.  There is a generation who were brought up to believe in the integrity of institutions like the BBC and NASA, to name but a few, and find it hard to comprehend that they are being lied to on such a grand scale, and believe me that scale is huge. I mean, I believed in it too until someone pointed out the truth to me, and it isn’t nice to have to admit that you were taken for a fool. I was a real ‘greenie’ and was quite happy to pay £3 for a light bulb, I used to pay 60p for. But, that’s life, it wasn’t the first time I’ve been fooled but it will most certainly be the last, I hope!

A few months ago, I tried to debate with a couple of people I know on 'climate change', both have quite large egos and one of them was flying to the US to protest with Extinction Rebellion (ironic or what?). But they completely refused to even consider any alternative viewpoint or read any of the literature I recommended. They chose wilful ignorance over scientific truth because it fed into their egos. 

Coincidentally, I took my mother to mass on Sunday and one of the readings was from Genesis, it was the passage where Adam and Eve are tempted by the serpent into eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which is one of my favourite  passages from the Bible because there is so much you can take from it and is probably one of the earliest writings on humans and consciousness.  So, I spent most of mass reading and re-reading this passage. There were several interesting things I took from it. One of the things I noticed about it was that, in this passage, God lied. Now, in all the years of being taught religion at school, no one ever pointed that out or questioned it.  The serpent asks Eve if God has told them not to eat from any of the trees, and Eve tells him yes, that God has said 'you must not eat it....under pain of death'. This is the lie which the serpent reveals. He tells her she won't die and that if she eats from it, her 'eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil'. So, with consciousness, we become the god of our own lives, we have the knowledge of good and evil and can then make a choice. 

The lack of curiosity and desire for truth and knowledge from the ‘climate change believers’, because it is about ‘belief’ and not scientific truth, shows that some of us prefer to live in ignorance, which is doubly disappointing in an age when so much knowledge is, literally, at our fingertips. Carl Sagan once remarked, 'knowledge is preferable to ignorance, better by far to embrace the hard truth than a reassuring fable' and was a great advocate for scientific truth over superstition and myth.

I wonder what he would say now or how he would fare in the present day when science is being destroyed by lies and propaganda; when even the Nobel Institute has lost their integrity and real scientists are dismissed and silenced, in favour of an uneducated teenager, who is being cruelly set-up by her parents and paymasters. Would he too be side-lined and silenced?  Where lies the responsibility for truth now, is it with us to demand it as a right?

In searching for truth, I can only be grateful for the internet, for providing a gateway to truth and a different perspective. I dread to think how we would fare without it at the present time and the only advice I can leave you with are the words of another advocate for scientific truth, Benjamin Franklin:

"Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see"

By the way, if you still believe you are the centre of the universe, or even if you don’t, because Carl Sagan is always worth listening to, follow the link and enjoy –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIANk7zQ05w)

https://www.britannica.com/science/egocentrism


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Mona Lisa

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Been working on this since Christmas and finished it on Monday night. 1000 pieces and about 4 different shades of black which made it a bit tricky. I got it from the book club at work, it was alright for a fiver.


ML


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New Arrival

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Nothing can spoil my mood today, I'm walking around with a smile like Bonnie Langford on a high - granddaughter number 2 arrived in the early hours of this morning, weighing in at a healthy 7lb 5oz and I am over the moon! She's a little beauty!

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Day 1- Misery, Meghan and Mossad

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Tuesday, 17 Mar 2020, 11:43

Talking about 'number one fan's', I've been having a bit of a Paul Sheldon time recently (Misery - Stephen King). If you're not familiar with the story - towards the end of writing his new Misery novel, letters kept breaking off the keyboard of his typewriter and he had to write them in with his pencil. I've been having the same trouble with my keyboard.  My z and x have stopped working which isn't so bad on Word as you can insert them from the symbol list but is a bit of a pain here as they only have the capitals on the insert here. I took the buttons off and cleaned in around them but no joy!

I'm not a fan of royalty at all, I find the whole idea of it absurd, all that bowing and scraping but who would want to be Meghan Markle these days? Some of the online comments are unreal, the vitriol and poison about someone none of them even know, it's all rather pathetic. Then there is the pernicious drip of anti-Meghan propaganda in the main stream media. However, in this instance, far from being against them, I congratulate them on having the courage to leave the 'firm', and going for an independent life. Quite frankly, I think they should take a few more with them. And with Harry and Meghan gone, don't William and Kate look really old and boring.  I think his mother would be delighted!

The only downside to this is that it has taken the spotlight off that slimeball, Andrew.  From what I can deduce from the whole Epstein affair, it seems that Epstein is Mossad and was using sex and young, sometimes underage, girls as a honey trap. Like the whole dirty Parliamentary/Saville story we'll probably never hear the half of it or even a 10th of it but the more I see and read about it, the more appalling it becomes.  Harry and Meghan are well out of it and at the end of the day, a gilded cage, is still a cage. Good luck to them!

   



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To write or not to write

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Thursday, 27 Feb 2020, 21:15

Following from yesterday, I was trying to think what to do for Lent. Much has changed for me in the last year, not so much a visible external change but more internal and I'm probably in the best place I've ever been in my life. So much so that I decided I would go back and finish the last year of study to bump my degree up to honours. Unfortunately, the course I want to do doesn't start until October so I've a bit of time to work up to it. I'm going to do A326 Empire - 1492 to 1975.  I've ordered a couple of the recommended books to read prior to starting and registration doesn't open until next month. 

The blog has been a bit neglected too recently. I had a bit of a, I wouldn't say crisis, but it was a sort of personal concern. There is a lot of noise in the world today, and a lot of 'noise' online (and most of it meaningless too) and I questioned if there was any point in carrying on with it. Does anything I say matter, have I convinced anyone to re-consider their thoughts on Brexit or helped to assuage their fears over 'global warming' or to even question what they believe and why? Maybe, maybe not (but then again old number one fan might miss me if I stopped but then again, maybe not...).

However, I do like to write, well, like, is not necessarily the right word either because sometimes it's a pain, but it's more that I feel compelled to write. When I don't for a while, that still small voice from within starts to irritate and won't quieten until I've done something to shut it up. So, I decided for Lent, I would try and write something on the blog every day, more to create a writing habit than anything else but I have a couple of bigger projects in mind and I feel this is what I need to do, to get them going. 

I also decided that instead of lying brain dead in front of the telly most nights, I would try and expand my learning and do a bit more reading and studying.  My Tuesday night art class has been suspended for a while but my Thursday night class is still going which works out well as me, and one of the girls from work, play badminton on a Tuesday and it was a bit of a rush to get back home for the art class afterwards.

By the way, one of the men from the Thursday art group has an exhibition of his work showing in the Garden of Remembrance Gallery at Bishop Street in Derry. His name is Dermot Anderson and he specialises in portraits. If you're in the area, pop in for a look.  We were all down for the opening on Valentines night and a couple of people from the Letterkenny acting group happened to come in and we got chatting about a few possible projects we would like to try so maybe I'll be getting back on stage again too. Busy times!!!

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Food glorious food!

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As Lent comes around once again, I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do for it. It's not that I'm religious, far from it, but it does no harm to practice going without or trying something new for 6 weeks. There are 'fast days' in Lent and last year I did a fast day for the whole of Lent.  A fast day is 1 large meal and 2 small meals.  But I kept it up after Lent and I don't eat in the evening anymore once I've had my tea.  Some days, I don't even eat 3 meals and can get by on 2.

We all eat far too much and our stomachs never seem to get a rest.  When you break it down, we are eating about 7 meals a day - we get up and have breakfast, then something around mid-morning and then lunch/dinner.  Then we have a mid-afternoon snack before our evening dinner or tea. Then we'll be eating again mid-evening before finishing up with supper, and that's not even counting the in-between snacking.  It's no wonder we have an obesity crisis.

I've made other changes to my diet in the last year as well. I've cut out cereals as much as possible and when I eat bread now, I usually eat white bread.  I've come to the conclusion, we are not really supposed to eat wheat and other cereals, they cause me digestive problems and I feel much better without them so I'm on a high protein/fat, low carb diet now. I am genetically predisposed to having type 2 diabetes and I've found that wheat and other wholegrain cereals just seem to turn to fat around the waist line and I don't rock the 'weeble' look. 

I've also come to the conclusion that all the dietary advice we've been given for the last 30 years is wrong and it can't be a coincidence that when other countries adopt the western diet they see rises in cancer, heart problems and obesity.

BTW - If you don't know what a 'weeble' is, follow the link -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq0OQBdIhsc


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