Religion and Charlie Hebdo. . . . Je Suis Charlie

As you know I have been suffering a bit with the curse of Man Flu, it is sneaky Man Flu because each time I think I am on the mend it has a habit of going AAAaaaaauuuugghhHHH. So I am sort of in a state of limbo and am keen not to cough as it is jolly sore, or laugh, but that is easy to not do as its winter and I have Man flu.

So I have been doing small tasks like strip wallpaper although it appears to be stuck on with the worlds hardiest wallpaper paste so it coming off the wall a square inch at a time using scrappers and water. NOT fun.

During the large number of breaks and cups of tea I have been watching the news. I have on more than one occasion said that the 24 hour news channels love some drama to keep them going, and here in Europe we have had the terrible events of the Paris terrorist attacks.  Now over the years I have always pondered the dilemma of terrible news because it can vary from country to country or person to person. But in Europe when a group of journalists and cartoonists are gunned down in their office by two terrorists who firmly believe they are doing the work of God, it is regarded as a terrible thing.  Not only is the death of the group sad and a huge loss to family and friends, in an attempt to scare and threaten others who might write and say similar things.  But it is an entirely futile thing to have done as in the end the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that these gunmen have tried to destroy will become stronger and the cartoons that the gunmen found so offensive have now been seen by millions more people around the world.

Now I am not a political animal I am a rather quiet middle class chap but I have a blog and write about stuff and draw the occasional picture. And as someone who lives in the West I have a degree of freedom to write and draw what I like, I have even been know to touch on the subjects of politics and religion.  However one of the key principles in the West in respect of Freedom of Speech is that it should not be used in order to attempt to stifle the Freedom of Speech of others. So when extreme groups to the right or left complain they are being oppressed by the government or who ever it is because they are using the system to try and bring about a way of life that does not allow everyone to have their say or own beliefs.

The fundamental Islamists see no right but their own, they do not appear to belief that anyone other than themselves should even live as we are all the children of the devil the great non-believers.  They appear not to use rational argument to argue their cause but a regime of fear and killing and convince young men that by doing this they will have eternal martyrdom in haven.   Well I personally think they are well and truly wrong any religion that does not treat all as equals irrespective of race colour or gender is not a good religion. The universe is seriously huge beyond the minds of most and more complex than we can image so do folk really believe that killing a group of satirical cartoonists in Paris is Gods work and will change the world. This is not religion it is hate.

I have said this a few times now but the outcome of events is unpredictable, so whether it’s a government or an individual you just can’t be sure that what you want to happen and what will happen, will be the same.  It is in the lap of the Gods and I suspect God has little time for man's idea of religion so far, maybe one day there will be a religion that actually helps bring peace to the world. . . . It seems unlikely for now though.

Je Suis Charlie

The UFO. The Mushrooms. The Sofa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and no Steven Spielberg.

I have removed half his name to protect the innocent 

Things can get very strange round this part of the world and that’s for sure, as I was about to type my diary entry for the day a faint bleep started up, not often but every five minutes or so. And it has varied in tone two or three times now. I have checked mobile phones and to be sure it is not them they are now with me as I type. . . . Say hello phones. . . HELLO. . .  What makes this a bit odd is that I have just taken a picture of a headline in the local newspaper, remember the last one I took was of the dancing sheep. Anyway the headline is  . . .  UFO SWERVES OVER POWYS . . .  so could it be they are closer than I think. . . . . .WELL COOL.

Last night we went off to the Indian in Monty, the food is usually really good but for some reason things did not really go that well and food had to be sent back to be heated and no one likes a chewy After Eight Mint (OK I quite like chewy after eight mints . . . . a bit sort of). And all in all they did not seem themselves. In the light of the headlines in the local newspaper and the strange bleeping maybe they were not themselves at all, but ALIENS. . . . WELL COOL (AGAIN). . . .

Interestingly we had battered mushrooms tonight with chilli sauce and rice because friends locally had been out in one of the fields where they said there were hundreds of mushrooms which had formed a large bizarre shape in the field. They ended up with so many that they have supplied most of the village with them.

Oooooo yes yesterday I moved a sofa, it is all part of a grand master plan to clear enough room to make a large model of a mountain, OK an extinct volcano with a secret route up to the top. Well it is one of those things we all need to do sometime . . . . . . . . .

And that bleep has vanished and I still don’t know what it was.  Where is that nice Steven Spielberg when you need him . . . .?