TONY ON CONFLICT, BUG & MORE

Including Manic Monday and ReadWritePoem.
Have you had a go yet?

Welcome to my Monday Magazine post.
The recent firings of long range Iranian missiles has increased tension in the Middle East. Should nuclear weapons be married with such missiles, then the Iranian desire to wipe Israel off the map could become a reality.

Is Iran trying to make nuclear weapons?

Rationally, the jury is still out. But Israel will react at the possibility – and I wouldn’t blame them. It’s called survival. But the result could be a horrendous conflagration in the Middle East. And it could also go further than that.
The possibility of western intervention would almost certainly bring Russia into the conflict. After all, would they want western troops on the border of their area of influence? I fear we live in dangerous times, and maybe we need to rationalize just what is going on.

Russia and China have vetoed UN sanctions on Zimbabwe.

My first reaction is absolute horror, but there is something deeper going on here. For some time I’ve noticed the rise of a new global philosophical divide.
This is the nation state verses human rights. The west seems to be placing the latter as uppermost, whilst the rest of the world upholds the self-determination of the nation state. Who is right? I feel it in my very being that Zimbabwe should be sorted out. But DOES a nation state have the right to do as it wishes without outside interference?
We can argue that some states are just so bad that it MUST be morally right to intervene. But how do we define such a ‘feeling’ in stone? By interfering, where can such a line be drawn? As for me, I am passionate about the nation state AND human rights. Where do I stand?
Most conflicts fall into such a philosophical divide. Catholic v Protestant was really about primacy of the nation state over papal authority. Later wars concerned collectivism v individuality, going on to define the economic systems behind each – capitalism v communism.
I suspect conflicts of the future will concern the nation state v human rights. Unless we can understand the problem now, and talk, talk, talk to rationalize our responses.
My next Magazine post, Wednesday. See you then. But for now, let’s lighten up the mood a bit.

© Anthony North, July 2008

BEACH WORLD

You’ve got your towel, you lay it out,
a sun worshipper are you, so devout;
Those deadly rays, you’ve got no sin,
you let them burn right into your skin

But peace is shattered by those silly twits,
kicking sand ‘cos they’re unable to sit,
and later you itch – in those impossible bits,
and if you dare to bare your …

… annoyance,
a wave will come, and you’ve got no buoyance;
So a bit of advice to surviving the beach,
a word or two, let me teach;
Cover up, get real, find a secluded spot,
sun worshipping?
No!
Avoid the lot

(c) Anthony North, July 2008

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GOT THE BUG? – Fiction?

‘So has he got it, doctor?’
‘Yes, I’m afraid so. He’s got the bug.’
The parent looks apprehensive. ‘And what does that mean, exactly?’
‘Well,’ says the doctor as he leans back in his chair, ‘it seems to attack the neural pathways in the brain. The first noticeable symptom is a reduced attention span. This can lead to acute speech impairment. But then, it gets worse.
‘There seems to be a change in learning patterns. Due to short attention span, concentration seems to change to quick bursts of fact learning, rather than rationalizing what you actually take in. And as the person grows, another factor seems to take over.
‘Because of the rigidity of the symptoms, and the environment the sufferer is forced to exist in, initiative becomes impaired, and there is a danger of becoming an automaton in the work place.’
‘I see,’ said the worried parent. ‘It’s quite a problem.’
‘Indeed,’ the doctor agreed. ‘I understand it’s about to be declared a pandemic.’
‘And is there any treatment?’
‘Oh yes! I recommend three doses of books per day.’
‘And this will help?’
As the doctor was about to reply, there was an involuntary spasm from the patient … ‘Log on!’
‘Bless you,’ they said in unison.

© Anthony North, July 2008