TONY ON TREATY, DATA, WILL …

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Welcome to my Monday Magazine post.
The Irish have rejected the EU Reform Treaty. Yippee!!!! The European Union’s onward march towards totalitarianism is stifled once more. Not that it will make the slightest difference.

First it was the Constitution.

NO!!! Then came the self-same thing watered down – slightly – in the Reform Treaty. And you can guarantee that it will be re-packaged again, and again, and again, whilst the ‘content’ is being surreptitiously filtered into law anyway.
This is how it works – a powerless Parliament and occasional meeting of elected ministers, leaving the whole to be run by an appointed bureaucracy. And they have the nerve to call it democratic. Scrap the EU. Europe would have cooperated without inducement and dictat. But that isn’t enough for the power mongers.

Let’s discuss data security.

There has been another spate of security leaks from the UK government. More highly classified files left for the public to find. This follows lax security measures concerning posting personal details of people on discs through insecure mail.
As data is being collected on us all, this should be enough to pull the plug on such information in the hands of government, without having to go into the immorality of power and control. But why do so many ‘mistakes’ occur?
As I see it, it is a fundamental flaw in the system. When a clerk joins an organization, employment is graded upon complexity. Hence, the top clerks can well find themselves working in HR, or more complicated areas like this.
So where do the basically trained clerks go? They go to do the simplest of tasks, such as the recording and dispatch of mail and information. Hence, the most delicate of information usually ends up in the hands of least qualified. Sheer madness!
We’re destined to have an essay on destiny tomorrow. Don’t forget my next Magazine post on Wednesday.

MY MATE WILL

My mate Will, a friend indeed,
he’s always there when I’ve a need,
goading me on to always succeed,
taking away those things that impede;
My mate Will, a friend so true,
if you want, you can have one too;
All you need is to summon him up,
from his strength you then can sup,
and all your dreams can be realised,
everything that is so prized,
for my mate Will is your inner strengths,
his power goes to magnificent lengths;
So summon him up when you have a need,
and your life,
the world,
the universe itself, will cede

(c) Anthony North, June 2008

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A LOAD OF SUPERSTITIOUS TWADDLE – Fiction

The scientist sat down, exhausted. A mathematician and theoretical physicist, he had worked on abstract concepts most of his life, but his latest detour into the enigmatic universe had left him totally drained.
‘You’re doing too much,’ said the man before him.
The scientist nodded his head lethargically. ‘Yes, you may be right.’
‘And what for? That’s what I want to know.’
‘You know why. To increase our knowledge.’
‘Well I know all I need to know. The universe is a place of magic and gods and wonder.’
‘What a load of superstitious twaddle you speak.’
‘No it isn’t. Just look at your work. What is science? It’s just concept and delusion.’
The scientist lost his temper then, began to shout. The man simply ignored him, a grin on his face.
By and by, the scientist’s colleague entered the room. Said: ‘Who are you shouting at?’
The scientist looked around in wonder, before burying his face in his hands.

© Anthony North, June 2008

REMEMBERING A LIFE

Sometimes remembered, sometimes not,
I place the disc in the slot;
I sit down, watch, take it in,
the story, in his words, of Mickey Finn;
I’m fifty, he says, and lived a life,
of quite a bit of trouble and strife;
I’ve fought in wars and loved the girls,
seen much of life as it unfurls;
Married, two kids, a family true,
a happy sort and rarely blue;
An important job that I enjoy,
with many people I do employ;
Rich? I suppose you could say I am,
even though life isn’t always to plan …

More and more he tells me now,
through his life he does plough,
not forgetting anything,
‘cos amnesia’s such a terrible thing;
And as I turn off the DVD,
I smile and say: thank you, me

(c) Anthony North, June 2008