MAGA with a dagger

Posted on by Opher

MAGA with a dagger

MAGA with a dagger

                Rootin’ for Putin.

Throwing freedom down the drain

                As they bury Ukraine.

Sinking the world with the curse

Of America first.

Selfishness and greed

        Their only need.

Posing arrogantly

                On the fascist gantry.

Commie hating dummy

                Crying for mommy

Hypocrisy is the name of the game

                Putting religion to shame

                                Using flag and name

To apportion the blame

                Following blindly

The gross orange man –

                                The tyrant’s game plan.

MAGA with a dagger

                Rootin’ for Putin.

Throwing freedom down the drain

                As they bury Ukraine.

Sinking the world with the curse

Of America first.

Opher – 22.4.2024

I’m always struck by the insane illogicality’s of the MAGA movement.

They put their faith in a selfish, greedy billionaire conman who is supposed to care about working people but only serves the wealthy.

They pretend to be religious but are prepared to support a known rapist and sex pest with the morals of a pig.

They pretend to be patriotic and support the constitution but are prepared to flout the law, overturn a legitimate election and attack the seat of that constitution.

They pretend they stand for freedom but will use violence against anyone who disagrees with them.

They are madly prolife but love guns and the right to kill.

They want a small government but want to elect a democracy-hating tyrant.

They want America to be great again but don’t want to fund education properly.

They don’t want to pay taxes and think that vigilante groups can maintain law and order better than the police.

They believe white is superior to red, brown and black and don’t believe in a meritocracy.

They believe in a Deep State and in draining the swamp but don’t see that the biggest swamp monster, crooked, greedy politician is their own chosen man.

They haven’t understood science and choose to believe every conspiracy theory going.

The think they can make America great again by abandoning science, downgrading education and having a fascist state.

They believe that a despotic tyrant will make their lives better.

They think that guns hold the key to fairness.

They believe that the uneducated know more than the educated.

They believe a snake-oil salesman, who can’t read, is ignorant of science, incredibly lazy, vindictive and crooked, has their interests at heart.

They hate commies but support Putin.

MAGA is what happens when you have a poorly educated population brought up on religious fundamentalism and superstition. They lack all critical, rational thinking.

Savages From The Dark Ages – The Stabbing of Salman Rushdie

Posted on by Opher

Savages From The Dark Ages

Savages from the Dark Ages

                In the guise of religious fanatics.

Want to put us all in straitjackets

                Using obscene tactics.

Stabbing, shooting and torturing

                Anyone whose does not believe.

Brainwashed religious morons

                Offering no-one a reprieve.

Conditioned from birth

                To believe in an intolerant tale.

As if killing for a fictitious god

                Would save them from fictious hell.

Beliefs from the dawn of time

                Persist to this day

As babies are abused –

                Imprinted with the same old cliché.

Brought up on texts

                From Ignorant times

They go out primed

                To commit horrendous crimes.

We’ll fight for free speech

                And the right to offend.

Blind belief is an obscenity,

                An imprisoning dead end.

Fanatical religion has its place –

                In the dustbin of time.

We’ve come far too far

                To believe in this nursery rhyme.

They’ve tried to kill Rushdie

                And silence intelligent debate.

Religion is about power

                Imposed from the caliphate.

Blasphemy is a right

                And certainly not an offence.

Criticising an evil is prime!

                So let the battles commence!

Rights and freedoms

                Are the result of much blood and courage!

No brainwashed savages

                Will succeed in creating prisons for our age!

A person is free to believe

                Whatever they please.

But imposing it on others

                Is nothing short of a disease.

I have the right to disagree;

                To say your god’s a lie.

If that should offend you

Then it’s you who must ask why!

To kill someone for their beliefs

                Is simply obscene –

Based on a religious text

                Straight out of the Miocene.

So you can take your religion

                And stuff it somewhere other.

I’ll criticise what you believe

                As if I was your brother.

You can try to rule the world

And crush dissent with might.

But you will be defeated.

Killing is never right!

Opher 14.8.2022

I have watched the stabbing of Salman Rushdie with horror.

For me this is exactly what religion is about – fear, hate, division and death.

These religions are relics of tribal beliefs from the stone-age – steeped in misogyny, violence and draconian control.

A plague upon them all.

The whole bunch of Abrahamic faiths are based on the beliefs of a bunch of ignorant nomadic tribes from prehistoric times.

THIS IS THE 21st CENTURY!! Time to end superstition!

The sooner mankind grows out of these fairy-tales the better.

It should be illegal to indoctrinate children. It’s child abuse!

These brainwashed fanatics are a danger to us all. If they had their way we’d be living in a world of clones where free speech and creativity would be punishable.

Give me freedom!

Long live Salman Rushdie.

Another post for Moshe – Palestine and the policies of a callous state.

Posted on by Opher

The policies of Israel are killing innocent people. To be opposed to the actions of a state is neither racist nor anti-Semitic.

Poetry – Paradise is Dangerous

Posted on by Opher

Paradise is Dangerous

Paradise is dangerous.

Strap this on they said.

Push the button,

You blink,

And instead you’re dead.

No fountains

And virgins fair

To wait on me hand and foot –

Unfair beyond compare.

They promised paradise

And I believed.

I’ll never know

How I was deceived.

The threat of paradise,

As I strapped on

That bomb.

But all I got was oblivion.

Opher 27.4.2019

The idea of paradise was invented many times and in many forms. But all of it is fiction. Yet the enticing promise of eternal life can be deployed to plant bombs, scare whole populations into believing, to raise armies and embolden warriors, to frighten, control and cause death and destruction.

Paradise is a dangerous fiction – a threat to us all.

Poetry – The Truth – a poem

Posted on by Opher

The Truth – a poem

Boko Haram, ISIS, Taliban –

The name changes

The crimes are the same.

Religious fanaticism

Goes by many names

And is always the same.

Holy books and word of god

In many different forms

With Kalashnikov and HE.

Righteous fury,

Bottled hate,

Promise of reward.

Tomorrow never comes.

Opher 28.10.2018

The world is full of fanatics.

Spirituality is a personal thing. Inflicting it on others is deplorable!

Murder is murder.

I wish I believed in god then I know they’d be punished.

They promise heaven but they deliver hell.

Heaven is always tomorrow and that never comes. Ain’t that the truth!!

9/11 and the rise of the Right! A view.

Posted on by Opher

There has always been a minority of racist right-wing fascists. They are the ones who scream about racial purity, white power and want to drive out all immigrants and people who aren’t like them. They like violence and appearing strong.

This obnoxious group of nationalists are usually kept in check by sane people – people who are tolerant and caring.

Then came 9/11 and the fear of terrorism, coupled with mass immigration.

Overpopulation, oppressive tyranny, war and climate change were conspiring to make regions of the world untenable. There were too many young people and too little work. Couple that with climate change and we have a recipe for disaster.

Wars in the Middle East have fostered hatred.

Droughts and heatwaves were driving people out of various regions.

Desperate people wanted to escape to a land of opportunity.

Fanatical religion, like extreme Islam, was able to harness the hate, the fear and the desperation. They unleashed a string of terrorist acts and tried to disrupt and destabilise the West (calling for a jihad against the oppressive crusaders – making it a holy war).

The fear of terrorism coupled with mass immigration fueled the rise of right-wing attitudes. There was a big rise in nationalism, isolationism, fascism, racism and xenophobia.

It was manna to populist leaders. They worked on this seam of fear and created more fear, more hate and division.

The immigrants desperate to escape terrible conditions in their own countries were looking for a chance. They were portrayed as rabid rapists, drug dealers, terrorists and murderers. They were coming in to take our jobs, rape our women and take over our country. They were bringing their vile customs and religions. They had to be stopped.

All around the world we saw fanatical extremists – ISIS, A Qaeda, Boko Haram, and the Taliban. There was a clash of cultures. We were at war.

The populist leaders – Trump, Bolsonaro, Johnson, Erdogan, Modi, and Orban, promised easy solutions. We would build walls, use military might and threats, look after our own and leave the world to it.

You don’t beat fascism and fanaticism with violence.

Violence breeds hate

Hate breeds more violence.

Fascism needs defeating.

Populism, nationalism and intolerance is no answer. It produces nasty totalitarian states the like of which Trump, Bolsonaro, Johnson and the rest are building. It inflames division, creates more hate and violence.

We need a better answer.

We need to smash right-wing fascism – but not with violence.

Instead of looking at the product we need to address the cause!

What is causing the wave of mass immigration? What is fueling the rise of religious fanaticism?

It is overpopulation, changing climate, lack of opportunity, war and tyranny.

Those are the issues that require addressing and they cannot be addressed by building walls, separating ourselves off and delivering threats. They have to be dealt with globally by cooperation, planning and the intelligent application of solutions.

  1. Address climate change
  2. Provide economic stability
  3. End wars
  4. Educate the world
  5. Reduce populations

If people are employed, with a stable future, enough resources and no threats, they do not need to migrate and are not motivated to join fanatical groups.

You defeat fascism by the application of compassion and intelligence.

This blog kills fascism!!

Poetry – Believers – A poem about religious fanaticism.

Posted on by Opher

 

Believers

Madmen pose with

Hardware exposed

To elevate their egos

To eternity.

Foolish fools

Believing silly rules,

Eschewing girls from schools

Inflamed with

Dreams of glory.

Endorphins rage

Through synapses

Of the brave.

Adherents ecstatic

With grave zeal

and brotherhood

Of unity;

All built on a book

Of lunacy.

Opher 4.7.2015

Everywhere I look around the world and through the depths of history I see excited young men clutching weapons in one hand and sacred books or political treaties in the other all wild-eyed and crazed; all joined by a cause; all eager to impose their vision on the world.

They butcher and torture until they themselves are numb, callous and cold and their Messianic fire has corrupted into sadistic futility.

All are assured of one thing – their cause is inevitably short-lived. We have seen the crusades, Jihads, Pol Pot, Hitler, Rwanda, and a thousand other massacres, genocides and causes as religions and regimes rise and rapidly fall.

It does not stop the fanaticism. Fascism and the adrenaline of brotherhood of war is a powerful aphrodisiac. It fires the belly and confounds the senses. The crazed believers are prepared to lay down their lives for their pointless cause.  They are easy to recruit and indoctrinate – point and they will go,

It all harks back to those tribal days of young men on hunting parties whose lives depended on their skills, bravery and willingness to support each other in a common aim – whether that be fighting off a ferocious wild cat or bringing down a dangerous buffalo.

Young men, befuddled by hormones, eager for status and glory, easily drawn to a cause, are always gullible.

Young women, equally befuddled, seeking father’s for the eggs they store, are attracted to the strongest. They support the craziness – always gullible.

We are so primitive. We are transparent. Our intelligence, helplessness and stupidity are our constant downfall.

Perhaps one day women will be attracted to men for their neuronal skills and compassion rather than their muscle and brute force. The world would be a different place.

Jihadi John – interesting Sky News story forwarded to me by Bede. Why are people attracted to violence and cruelty?

Posted on by Opher

http://news.sky.com/story/1434839/behind-the-twisted-appeal-of-jihadi-john

 

Thanks Bede.

The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights!! – Sanity in the midst of fanaticism!

Posted on by Opher

In order to have freedom you have to stand up for freedom!!

PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1.
•All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.
•Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.
•Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4.
•No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5.
•No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6.
•Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.
•All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.
•Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.
•Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11.
•(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
•(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12.
•No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.
•(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
•(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14.
•(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
•(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.
•(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
•(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16.
•(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
•(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
•(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
^ Top
Article 17.
•(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
•(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
^ Top
Article 18.
•Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19.
•Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.
•(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
•(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21.
•(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
•(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
•(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.
•Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23.
•(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
•(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
•(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
•(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24.
•Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.
•(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
•(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26.
•(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
•(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
•(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.
•(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
•(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28.
•Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29.
•(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
•(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
•(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30.
•Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.