LED 16 – Mugabe /Manson/Da Vinci/Kezia/Australia and SSM/Charles, Corbyn and Anti-Semitism/Transmania/Jordan Peterson/Methil No More/Highway to Hell/Carl Jung/Gk Chesterton

So much going on in the world this week….here are a few items…

Mugabe Falls –

Although Mugabe has not yet resigned, it looks as though he is no longer in power.   Zimbabwe should be one of the most prosperous and richest nations in the world.  The fact that it is not so is indicative of decades of corrupt misrule. BBC Report   

Manson Dies –

Charles Manson, probably the most infamous serial killer of the 20^th Century has died aged 83. The Tate-Labianca murders were seen as the end of the ‘summer of love’. Using a weird mixture of self-help, the book of Revelation and the lyrics of the Beatles, he created a weird and deadly cult.    

The Beatles song Helter Skelter was used by Manson as a prophecy for starting a race war in the US.   It is sad that there are still those who regard Manson as some kind of hero…

 

 Da Vinci Sells

 Leonardo Da Vincis ‘Salvator Mundi’ sold for $450 million at Christies in New York. By any standard it is a grotesque and ugly amount – made even worse by thefact that it is a painting of the Christ who came for the poor – not to enrich the rich. The irony is that whilst the rich can buy their portraits and imitations, we can offer the poor the real deal – which is worth far, far more!

Kezia goes to the Jungle –

The former Labour leader in Scotland and still MSP, Kezia Dugdale has gone to the Australian jungle to take part in ‘I’m a Celebrity’. The fact that she has previously criticized a Tory MP for doing the same, or had said that she did not believe in MSP’s taking second jobs, or that her party had refused her permission to go, does not seem to

have weighed heavily with her. For me it is indicative of a shallowness within much of Scottish political culture – our politicians do believe that they are celebrities and that they should be able to take advantage of that.   I heard one former Labour political advisor declare on the radio that this was a good way to connect young people with politics – the only problem being that the show does not encourage political discussion! Its all about image. It is pathetically trivial and shallow. Word on the street is that she wants to get thrown out of Labour anyway so that she can join the party of her new lover, an SNP MSP. Little wonder that Nicola Sturgeon is tweeting ‘I’m with team Kez’…! I suspect she would not be doing the same if it had been a Tory MP!

 

Australia says Yes to SSM –

The Australian referendum resulted in a convincing victory for the pro-SSM group 62%-38%.   Personally given the level of propaganda, intimidation and hysteria I was quite surprised that the ‘No’ vote was so large.   Sadly the British PM got it wrong again. She spoke of her joy at the result. Mrs May is determined to get rid of the ‘nasty’ party image that the Tories have, and she considers, like her predecessor, that the best and cheapest way to do so, is to be ‘progressive’ on sexual and gender issues.

 

Anti-Semitism –

The anti-Semitism endemic in much of UK culture surfaced again this week. Firstly in a letter from Prince Charles which became public. It was written in 1986 and amongst other things declared “The influx of foreign Jews, especially from Poland, has helped to cause great problems..” and “Surely some US President has to have the courage to stand up and take on the Jewish lobby”.   Its little wonder that the Jewish newspapers were a wee bit upset!

Meanwhile consider this hypocrisy from Jeremy Corbyn – who when asked about why he greeted representatives of Hamas and Hezbollah at parliament and called them friends, said “I think to bring about a peace process, you have to talk to people with whom you profoundly disagree”. Fair enough. That’s a good point. So why then did Corbyn refuse to attend an official dinner with Israel’s prime minister this week to mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration, which helped to pave the way for the Jewish State? Why did he also refuse to attend the Labour ‘Friends of Israel’ reception where the Israeli ambassador was present, when it was held at the Labour party conference in Brighton?

Transmania Continues.

“We are starting to see just how ideological the so-called ‘Safe Space’ is. This is an era in which it’s considered progressive to provide Safe Spaces for 20-year-old students who don’t want to hear certain ideas, but it’s ‘transphobic’, if not demonic, to expect a Safe Space for 13-year-old girls who want to try on clothes in Topshop without some bloke with stubble and chest hair breezing in. Feminists demand Safe Spaces against controversial speakers, but will laugh at the fact that ‘there’s no hiding place’ for men accused – only accused – of sexual harassment. Students with the ‘right’ views get a Safe Space, but students who like Israel or Brexit or reading tabloid newspapers can expect their spaces to be invaded and policed. It’s clear now: the Safe Space is ideological prejudice in action, granting ‘safety’ to those who subscribe to the new illiberal-liberal orthodoxies, and denying it to those who do not. If you dissent from PC, there’s no safety for you. And there might even be violence. – Brendan O’Neill

The intolerance is clear. Look at this astonishing video from North America. It shows the faculty at Wilfird Laurier Univeristy bullying and attacking a teaching assistant for even showing part of a Jordan Peterson video in her class. They make it absolutely clear that any perspective other than their own is not welcome in the ‘University’.   This is an extreme form of what will be coming here – if it is not here already.  Please listen to the video here – it is horrific.   The adminstrators actually compare Jordan Peterson to Hitler.

BBC Questiontime discussed the issue.   When asked the question ‘should children be able to choose their own gender?” Tim Farron gave no real answer – other than ‘more research is needed’.   Another panelist said that it was highly reasonable that children should be allowed to express themselves but that they should hold back on surgery.  Gender is fluid – at various points in our life we choose different genders.  Emily Thornberry of Labour came up with the astonishing notion that we should let children grow up in whatever way they want. Let them identify as what they want.

There were some outstanding articles this week which are well worth keeping –

Firstly this from Melanie Phillips – http://www.melaniephillips.com/the-deconstruction-of-humanity/

And then this from Brendan O’Neill – https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/11/questioning-gender-fluidity-is-the-new-blasphemy/

And then this article on the Church of England’s ‘guidance on Transgender’…

https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/11/the-problem-with-the-church-of-englands-gender-guidance/

The Transfer of Wealth from the Poor to the Wealthy –

This week a fabrication firm in Scotland was about to go bust, but the Scottish government has stepped in – for a while. A union rep made the following point that the renewables industry did not really benefit the Scottish working class.   Wind turbines are made in Denmark, brought over by German boats, connected with Chinese cables by Dutch engineers.  All that the working class in Scotland get is higher bills because of the government tax on energy in order to be able to subsidise renewables.  Its a transfer of wealth from the poor to the wealthy.

The Death of Malcolm Young –

Another rock star has died. AC/DC are still one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Three of the original band originated in Scotland. They are superb showmen, their music is excellent and they inspire extreme devotion in their fans..to the extent that their concerts are really worship events. The fact that they were sexist, misogynistic didn’t of course count against them. For me it is unspeakably sad that they could boast and sing about being on ‘a Highway to Hell’. I hope that Young got off that Highway before the end.

 

YouTube Clip of the Week – Carl Jung asked if he believed in God

 

Quote of the Week

“We shall soon be in a world in which a man may be howled down for saying that two and two make four, in which people will persecute the heresy of calling a triangle a three-sided figure, and hang a man for maddening a mob with the news that grass is green.” GK Chesterton

See you next week…

LED 15 – Scottish Government Trans Madness – Jordan Peterson – The Moral Panic – Expensive Piano Lessons – Walter Magaya – Blame it on Brexit – Jesus and the Jedi in Dundee –