09/26 - Dudum Siquidem, Alas
It's 9/26 and ancient evil continues to burden us all
This is a partial reprise of a previous column, but we all need a reminder of this horrible day every year of every century, IMHO. It is a good day for a lot of thought, introspection, and more. Maybe read up on the enumerated actions and their aftermaths a bit.
Today is the anniversary of the Papal Bull Dudum siquidem, some truly evil shit that supplemented the bull Inter caetera, which followed up on the bull Aeterni regis and, between them made all lands not ruled by christian rulers and the inhabitants thereof the property of either Spain or Portugal. The slaughter, rape, rapine, enslavement and asset stripping of much of the world was legitimized by this heinous christian bullshit. I and others have written about this horrible bull and its horrific and genocidal repercussions before, and I'm really not up to it today. Conrad didn't know the half of it, and Belgium was a lightweight and latecomer to the game, but yes, the Horror! The horror! But, hey, can one expect any less?
Were there really a moral arc to the universe, the victims would rise up, kick some ass, and take back all that is theirs, especially all the wealth in all those cheesy cathedrals and such. Not to fear, however, there is no moral arc and the universe, once laughing behind our backs, is now laughing in our faces. Please go about your business as usual.
be well and have a good one
Comments
Preach it, brother,
so to speak. So much destruction has been visited upon the world and all of its peoples as a result of psychopaths actually *believing* that damnable Mesopotamian Tom Clancy novel (written and edited by committee, of course), in any of its forms: the Bible, the Torah, the Koran, the Talmud, whatever.
As an open comment, directed towards all persons throughout history who would claim some sort of "divine providence", based upon any of those documents, to justify their heinous actions: now hear this. There is no God. But if she did exist, her punishment for you most assuredly would be delivered precisely at the instant of your death- which would be that there would be nothing. Blank, zero, nada: no 72 virgins, no heaven, no hell, no nothing. Game over. Wink out. Raster fades to a line, to a dot, to black. Oblivion. Nothingness.
Just like it will be for everyone else. You were never either "special", or "chosen".
I am truly sorry if that observation offends any actual non-psychopathic, well-meaning believers. Mea culpa.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Preach it yourself, thanks.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I think Ghengis Khan wins the record for
largest contiguous territory, and the English who were mercantilists the largest geographic area. In any case all that happened before I was born so it's not on me.
Today I know of only one country actively seeking to expand its territory by taking over it's neighbor, and for some reason that I don't understand, some people think that is just great.
Are you referring
to the US? If so, it is true.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I don't know of any, perhaps you could look up the term
plebescite and the phrase self determination. When a persecuted minority in a geographic area wishes to secede from whatever oppressive government is hassling them, they have a right to do so, by international law, and everybody who can is supposed to assist them.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
This
What UFS said.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.