tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87876255739255519832024-03-18T04:01:57.633-07:00Sour Grapes - The Fruit Of IgnoranceThe thoughts and experiences of an author and human rights activistChristina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.comBlogger528125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-32711209931606562442024-03-15T14:57:00.000-07:002024-03-15T15:10:10.663-07:00A Goose-Step Too Far<p>So J.K. Rowling is a Holocaust denier now.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Since she first kicked
the door of her right wing closet open a good few years ago now to
launch an unprovoked 'total war' against transwomen, Rowling started
taking large steps - you might say goose-steps - up the staircase of
fascism, and with each step, the sound becoming increasingly reminiscent
of the ominous stomp of jack-boots.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Even before Rowling started crowing the
anti-science TERF rhetoric which gathered to her a new base of
transphobes to feed from the trough at her feet, there were those who
had reservations about her anti-Semitic characterizations of the goblins
in her stories, just as much as there were those who undoubtedly
enjoyed and approved of them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But as I
watched over the past few years, I saw Rowling being increasingly
fawned over by the sort of low-brow creatures like those who cheered on
while <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_Hirschfeld" target="_blank">Magnus Hirschfeld</a>'s
institute and all his pioneering work in understanding and helping
transgender women was fed to the incinerator of base national-socialist populism. </p>So you see, for some time, I've had a pretty fair idea that it wouldn't be too long before she went full neo-Nazi.<br /><br />As it turns out, I wasn't wrong. <br /><span><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was surprised to learn that, a few days ago, this venomous woman had again become embroiled in a fresh round of drama, unsurprisingly resulting, again, from an astonishing pearl of ignorance that had come straight from her own poison pen. Or toxic keyboard, or whatever.<br /><br />This new furor came about through a series of tweets which started with Rowling (once again) publicly using her social media platform to attack transwomen - as one does when you're so insulated by wealth, success and fame, that you have no real problems in your own life to complain about, and instead devote your time and resources to making people you despise even more miserable than you are - even if they've never actually done anything to you personally - and even if they'd hitherto been counted among your literary fan-base.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2Zia1gQ4uaGgrfoDdFKSdpWfUMvu9G3TzDDZrqmdQFUv4hbcKA_w_lsArNX6DtDCm8UxH6ZIPaSxbE0iA3HCb-iapkLxW837bfTBQh8PCDfY9JOBcVQLKf7STjLxVgQXJJe-ihM8bve3GU7XoV041Dc2km9ODXFt_CKX3v4cn1L36hpxVKbo1GIA4Ew/s591/Screenshot%20(100).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="516" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2Zia1gQ4uaGgrfoDdFKSdpWfUMvu9G3TzDDZrqmdQFUv4hbcKA_w_lsArNX6DtDCm8UxH6ZIPaSxbE0iA3HCb-iapkLxW837bfTBQh8PCDfY9JOBcVQLKf7STjLxVgQXJJe-ihM8bve3GU7XoV041Dc2km9ODXFt_CKX3v4cn1L36hpxVKbo1GIA4Ew/s320/Screenshot%20(100).png" width="279" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The tweet in which Rowling gleefully whacked the giant red, glowing self-destruct button, seemingly without a second thought, is one in which she retweeted her response to a post which asked: "<i>The Nazis burnt books on trans healthcare and research, why are you so desperate to uphold their ideology around gender?</i>"<br /><br />In her own re-post of the tweet, Rowling claimed the person who dared to confront her hadn't verified their sources, and she went on to rubbish actual historical facts - before plunging over the cliff of her own loud, fetid and apparently all-encompassing ignorance about transgender issues.<br /><br />Imagine that.<br /><br />One possible - even likely interpretation of Rowling's response in this case, is that Rowling had rushed to the defense of the Nazis against a perceived attempt to slander them - and if the nauseating imagery of this isn't setting off any alarm bells, what will it eventually take?<br /><br />I could only imagine the contents of that speech-bubble over her head as she typed her response, but it was probably something like this: <i>"How dare that ignorant defender of those trans-freaks say that about my heroes? I'll show 'em I know more about history than they do! Watch this!"<br /></i><br />And the world, as it turned out, was watching. It always is when it comes to celebrities - especially ones who love to wrap themselves up in controversy and scandal - or try desperately to spin every successive PR disaster into her favor, as she does.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhLTPVV6dSFPtz0uCZ1gTRNzwj_OwoP3tCD06nXhp2RVM-Di_aXzt7lKav_naFuWLe-lBQXvfaOk7EAWERjYwyGjmJJt8nOp5Ris8fzzk3Cbrd6EFIIj-kx6UEh8R0fIHoY0q_9pen6pdm3cWQOp9MVOkNOp_hgxXVeAEZzODEJjTdutwfusp4QGs43s/s904/Screenshot%20(99).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="548" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhLTPVV6dSFPtz0uCZ1gTRNzwj_OwoP3tCD06nXhp2RVM-Di_aXzt7lKav_naFuWLe-lBQXvfaOk7EAWERjYwyGjmJJt8nOp5Ris8fzzk3Cbrd6EFIIj-kx6UEh8R0fIHoY0q_9pen6pdm3cWQOp9MVOkNOp_hgxXVeAEZzODEJjTdutwfusp4QGs43s/s320/Screenshot%20(99).png" width="194" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Article in the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/jk-rowling-under-fire-for-transphobic-remarks-claims-nazis-never-burnt-books-on-trans-health-101710387965834.html" target="_blank">Hindustani Times</a>, 14 Mar 2024 <br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Like I said, what will it take? Does she first have to write another book, one which directly demonizes transwomen - or celebrates our demise? Perhaps it might take the form of a survivalist apocalyptic fantasy where the acceptance and decent treatment of transwomen in society has caused a collapse of civilization? Or, maybe it could be a gut-wrenching tale of right-wing historical revisionism - one wherein the "heroine" dances like Mary Poppins on a sprawling, silent gray field of ashes at Auschwitz?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That might make a poignant scene if it ever got made into a movie, but it might be too evocative of the works of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leni_Riefenstahl" target="_blank">Leni Riefenstahl</a>. But, as I so often do, I digress.<br /><br />All the effort it would've taken Rowling to find out the truth of what the Nazis did to transgender people under their "care", was a five-minute trip down Google Lane, replete with photographs, articles, and even personal accounts, and links to documentaries. Instead, well, as they the old saying goes, the rest is history - and assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups.<br /><br />I have no doubt that the tenacity of her defense of the Nazis in this case was motivated by her clearly documented open hatred for transwomen, and - given her subsequent utterances in which she doubled-down on her rectal haberdashery, that she's only sorry the Nazis never got to actually finish the job.<br /><br />Given the tendency of people of that ilk - Rowling and her slavering TERF acolytes - to dismiss anything that doesn't suit their particular narrative out of hand, it's unlikely she would've taken the vast amount of documentary evidence to confirm what she so vehemently denied, seriously. After all, the inconvenient facts contradict her views that transgender people aren't and haven't been victims throughout history, and science itself supports the principle that transwomen are, in fact, women - and she, like any narcissist, doesn't like to be contradicted.<br /><br />Therefore it's not a goose-step too far to consider that she might even think of history and science - as many right wing conspiracy theorists do - as having been influenced, distorted - or corrupted, by "the gay agenda".<br /><br />One of the things Rowling apparently didn't know - or doesn't believe, is that the Nazis persecuted transgender people, burned books and research about queer and trans people, or torched the clinics and research facilities and institutes which had sprung up in Weimar Germany to study and help them - or sought to exterminate LGBT people from the face of the Earth in death camps alongside Jews, Poles, gays - and frankly, anyone they didn't approve of. There are literally galleries of photos and even videos to prove that these things happened, just in case growing up in the decades since the end of the war in question, and being constantly made aware of it, weren't illuminating enough.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>To be a genuine Holocaust denialist in 2024, you'd have to be a special sort of determined and willfully ignorant specimen. </b><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7E_Z60I_lVPxgwkR_B26tyVT7hCPwIUhcSyj7ctNQsxJDYxUS96OYq3yl7ALO_8iYu7B3VS3PcxSuc2MfmQPiAAbuxW4x6HYQDmUacP6LLQRHvxCsttNKbxRykih_xB1m6PPcIC6IWGW-cv_kWn8U_pXE0zkhqgWte738aeWD-LmlGAUVKJKSZIyfNSA/s520/Screenshot%20(101).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="520" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7E_Z60I_lVPxgwkR_B26tyVT7hCPwIUhcSyj7ctNQsxJDYxUS96OYq3yl7ALO_8iYu7B3VS3PcxSuc2MfmQPiAAbuxW4x6HYQDmUacP6LLQRHvxCsttNKbxRykih_xB1m6PPcIC6IWGW-cv_kWn8U_pXE0zkhqgWte738aeWD-LmlGAUVKJKSZIyfNSA/s320/Screenshot%20(101).png" width="320" /></a><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">And while I've seen some people actually commenting that Rowling "isn't technically a Holocaust denier" because her remarks in this case weren't directly about Jewish victims, this seems to be because they themselves aren't aware that transgender people were also incarcerated in the death camps, also for the purpose of exterminating "lives not worth living" - just that they were a smaller group, and that then, and for many many years before and since, they were a group nobody cared about - and many still don't.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Students of history will know that the Nazis tried their level best to wipe out everyone they hated - and they hated quite a lot of different kinds of people. It's quite ironic then, isn't it - even coincidental, that these seem to be the same sort of people hated on by J.K. Rowling? </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Given the amount of hatred that seems to seethe beneath the veneer of the accomplished children's author, it's frightening to think that so many of today's young adults grew up reading Harry Potter books, and watching the movies - and that today these are all framed with a nasty (or should I say, Nazi) lining of subtle hatred, exclusion and marginalization.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Looking back, I also wonder how those LGBT people - and "allies" - who defended her thus far, and remained loyal readers and fans and resisted calls to ban and "cancel" this demagogue of transphobic hatred and persecution, feel about her now? Bearing in mind, that continuing to buy, read, or promote her or her books is EXACTLY the same as supporting her messages of hate? </p><p style="text-align: justify;">She herself has said that no matter how intensely she incites hate against transwomen, people don't seem to care, and continue to buy her books. And for as long as that continues to be the case, she won't see any reason at all to even pretend to try to clean up her act.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's why it's so important to de-platform celebrities who abuse their platforms to do ill, or to incite hatred against already marginalized and vulnerable groups suffering persecution. It's a civic duty - a human rights imperative. But even more so, it's important for good people to speak out in the face of evil, in order to ensure that evil does not triumph - and right now, the appropriate thing to say would be something like "Enough of this shit! Enough!"<br /><br />I don't know about you, but I don't feel inclined to support anyone who uses their platform to try to destroy me - and I'm pretty sure that to do so would be a sign of some deep-seated form of self-loathing, or other psychological issues that would need more professional help than I can muster.<br /><br />Moving on, it's really ironic, I think, that the person who authored hitherto much-loved tales about heroes and heroines like these in her books turned out to have been more like the villains they defeated in the end - and that somehow, she doesn't seem to realize it.<br /><br />That said, as an author, I find it sad to witness a writer who had obtained everything we all hope to attain, willingly just chuck it all away in poorly thought-out literal acts of spite, for nothing more substantial than the support and adoration of people who lap up the venom dripping from her lips, like starving, frenzied dogs baying for blood before a hunt.<br /><br />The scary thing about this all, I think, is that she seems to be so deafened by the cacophony of the baying of her loyal hounds and the blowing of the hunting horn, that she doesn't seem to even realize what this all looks like from outside.<br /><br />But - as a transwoman, it's most satisfying to me when an arch-villain who's enjoyed public support for so long, regardless of who she spews hatred against, finally self-destructs in this way.<br /><br />I've often wondered, what it would take for people to stop supporting and heaping adoration upon J.K. Rowling. Just what marginalized, persecuted group does she have to bully, slander, defame or incite hatred against before the media, publishers, movie-makers - or her legions of adoring fans - will care enough, before she will finally stumble over an invisible line in the sand and fall flat on her face?<br /><br />Will openly and voluntarily exposing herself as a Holocaust denier finally be enough of a wake-up call? Will it?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Being labeled a TERF clearly wasn't enough, but will the applicability of the sinister label of "Holocaust denier" to those who still so strongly support her, finally be enough to tip the scales?<br /><br />I'd like to hope so. I mean, there really isn't much more room for growth in Rowling's particular field of "specialization", is there? She's already goose-stepped her way almost to the top of the stairs.<br /><br />After all the real-world and measurable hate, harm and hostility that TERF terrorism has brought against transwomen, who are persecuted and murdered globally, their blood spilled as a result of exactly the sort of slander she spouts, shares and circulates - and profits from - within earshot of every keystroke of every transphobic tweet she posts, she deserves to finally be cancelled.<br /><br />It's about <i>bloody </i>time.<br /><br />Rowling's career death-spiral, whether it happens now - or later, is sure to be an extravaganza of note, a fantastic show featuring fireworks, sheets of flame, a measure of smoke, and a good few pops, bangs and even fizzes on the way down.<br /><br />It's bound to be <i>spectacular</i>.</p><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"></div><hr /><div dir="auto">Visit my <a href="https://christinaengela.com/" target="_blank">Author Website</a>.</div><div dir="auto">Visit my channel on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@christinaengela9571" target="_blank">YouTube</a>. <br /></div><div dir="auto">View my books on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Christina-Engela/e/B00OBY5PD8/" target="_blank">Amazon</a>.</div><div dir="auto">Audiobooks on <a href="https://www.audible.com/author/Christina-Engela/B00OBY5PD8" target="_blank">Audible</a>.<br />Support me on <a href="http://patreon.com/tinatalkstech" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. </div><div dir="auto">Donate via <a href="http://paypal.me/christinaengela" target="_blank">PayPal</a> or via <a href="http://buymeacoffee.com/christinaengela" target="_blank">Buy Me A Coffee </a>(the world runs on coffee!)<br /><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2024.</span> <br /></p></div>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-74820019268397447242023-11-22T14:26:00.000-08:002024-03-15T15:08:24.620-07:00Bonfire Of The Inhumanities a.k.a. The Great Israel-Gaza Shit-Show<p style="text-align: justify;">I just got called 'anti-Semitic' for commenting on a shared quote by JFK in the 1960s (oddly enough shortly before he was assassinated) in which he criticized Zionism, for saying that I thought it was possible that it was <i>why </i>he was assassinated...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The quote was later found to be fake, but nevertheless, I feel my comment was relevant in the light of the information available at the time. Even so, my suggestion was taken to be 'anti-Semitic' and 'offensive'.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">'Offensive' I understand - people are 'offended' by all sorts of things all the time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">"Anti-Semitic"...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I shit you not.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Let's take a closer look at this issue, shall we? Firstly, do the people using it even know what anti-Semitism is?<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">For clarity, criticizing Zionism is not anti-Semitic. You see, where 'Semite' refers to a people or racial identity, Zionism is a political movement. Nor does 'Semite' or 'Semitic' solely describe Jewish people - 'Semites' is an obsolete term which describes an ethnic, cultural or racial group associated with people of the Middle East, including Arabs, Jews, Akkadians, and Phoenicians (<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Semitic" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semitic_people" target="_blank">2</a>). Thus, to be anti-Semitic means to be anti <i>all </i>these different people, not solely anti-Jewish.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I should also point out then that this term (anti-Semitism) - since post 1945 at the latest - appears to have been hijacked by Zionists to define solely those people, institutions or actions which display any form of hostility towards the Jewish people, because this is the modern way in which it is used to mean. Nobody these days appears to use 'anti-Semitic' to describe persecution or hostile acts against Arabs - or Palestinians, even though it still applies to them as well by definition. Rather, hate crimes committed against non-Jewish Semites (who more often tend to be Muslims, or sometimes also Christians or even atheists) tend to be described as "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamophobia" target="_blank">Islamophobic</a>". </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I suppose using the correct blanket term ("anti-Semitism") would probably be too confusing? Perhaps this usage is determined more by the race of the intended victim, or the motive of the perpetrator, as mostly, Arabs and Jews tend to be thought of by the sort of people who habitually commit hate crimes, as "not white". Which surprisingly enough, tends to intersect with the sort of thinking inherent to something called "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revisionist_Zionism" target="_blank">revisionist Zionism</a>" - a movement radicalized during the 1920s and which lies firmly at the heart of present-day Israel's ruling Likud party. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Don't believe me? Look it up: go ahead, just Google it. Go on, see for yourself.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Secondly, and most importantly of all, <b>Zionism not Judaism</b>. Many Jewish people oppose Zionism. In fact, they've openly demonstrated and protested (<a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/skxq5brft" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/10/jewish-protest-white-house-israel-war-gaza-hamas.html" target="_blank">2</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/19/jewish-protest-israel-gaza-washington-dc" target="_blank">3</a>) against it, especially recently. So what is Zionism?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Zionism is an aggressive form of nationalism which is violent and toxic, inherently racist and supremacist - and ultimately it is the driving force behind all that has unfolded in Palestine since 1948 right up until now, even from the days when Palestine was under British rule. Is it a shock that many Jewish people are also disturbed and outraged by the machinations of extremist Zionism? Are Jews criticizing Israel and denouncing Zionism then "anti-Semitic"? Of course not - and to claim that is just purely nonsensical. I trust this demonstrates the absurdity of this notion.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, that said, it's still clear that some people claim that criticism of <i>any </i>kind directed against Israel and Israeli nationalism (i.e. Zionism) is 'anti-Semitic' these days. Even when levelling perfectly rational criticism against Israel for committing obvious and blatant war crimes, ranging from collective punishment, depriving civilian populations of water and electricity etc. as well as ethnic cleansing and most prominently, the literal genocide taking place in Gaza.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To compound this abject stupidity, a number of <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/21/1207783685/celebrities-letter-ceasefire-israel-gaza-biden" target="_blank">celebrities</a>, politicians, activists and 'influencers' have recently been bullied into silence and brow-bashed with <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/05/entertainment/emma-watson-antisemitism-instagram-scli-intl/index.html" target="_blank">accusations</a> of 'anti-Semitism' for calling out the state of Israel, or even just for calling for a ceasefire in Gaza - with some of them losing their jobs, contracts, sponsorships and media platforms. <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/04/israel-hamas-cease-fire-free-speech-00125333" target="_blank">I shit you not</a>. Worse still, according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/04/israel-hamas-cease-fire-free-speech-00125333" target="_blank">this article</a> it seems Americans no longer have the freedom to mock or criticize Israel for any reason, even in satire, parody or jest.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Even American academia - in the form of the Harvard Law Review - has stooped to <a href="C:\Users\chris\Downloads\5.jpg" target="_blank">covering up a genocide</a> by banning an article from this publication, which concluded that Israel really <i>is </i>conducting a genocide in Gaza.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggB80ljnQ80mAzx6y9nnZ-vK-pi3YEJHSoE1Vjc4NNDctNpZbIvvgosS36Np4mimsmgXEP1PlvzghCAoNdUuxaQc-_X6TwPJokeUp-mZDIFlmD67gcTqX-HYa4V1lPCP_SXTjRbVN36ivjPqOMGuyesbEPt6_7FuZ5YK01VKO77rYFLbIpwDZy0I5gKt0/s754/5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="754" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggB80ljnQ80mAzx6y9nnZ-vK-pi3YEJHSoE1Vjc4NNDctNpZbIvvgosS36Np4mimsmgXEP1PlvzghCAoNdUuxaQc-_X6TwPJokeUp-mZDIFlmD67gcTqX-HYa4V1lPCP_SXTjRbVN36ivjPqOMGuyesbEPt6_7FuZ5YK01VKO77rYFLbIpwDZy0I5gKt0/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm surprised the individuals crying 'anti-Semitism' and wielding the term like a one-size-fits-all sledgehammer don't seem able to discern the true meaning of the term from the act of holding a COUNTRY accountable for its horrendous and questionable actions and asking them - repeatedly... To. Stop. Murdering. Children. Is this really such an unreasonable, unrealistic and outrageous request?</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBYJ1iNJIaAbyQNgnLwoiCgR26Ob4EG0b5zYNhWAkF9_sDzP-ypH3LTYrwl7LJdGXQ_rJQuT9-qeGCOpjDaA3zaSNfv1r4vbLJ2PTfFyjNdvP0C3joNNfnqEKdvJ7Pc0zxXVSVndr7VSIRTcD46p51gaPa_xqWpKiW3nPXy9iPnKi1ukd1Z8u_3FUZY4/s714/Babykillers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="714" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBYJ1iNJIaAbyQNgnLwoiCgR26Ob4EG0b5zYNhWAkF9_sDzP-ypH3LTYrwl7LJdGXQ_rJQuT9-qeGCOpjDaA3zaSNfv1r4vbLJ2PTfFyjNdvP0C3joNNfnqEKdvJ7Pc0zxXVSVndr7VSIRTcD46p51gaPa_xqWpKiW3nPXy9iPnKi1ukd1Z8u_3FUZY4/s320/Babykillers.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAp2-Q-Wi5VRItPg9YEKfgyaEjQqVOrTAp-nCA9v0TfWu3F17f65yMl2Gdrs6BEWDKuuyg4A2zuPyp8NRXzRqSofalYwSVd7ft37-xT0Q6jIqyrPO2gHFs2SL38FwVH1t8jDVfGCMf0VuZrpTpAq09OnFdYiyDG2KJ7Xw5S3V0yoVbEX6d798kW8qKrw/s658/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="657" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAp2-Q-Wi5VRItPg9YEKfgyaEjQqVOrTAp-nCA9v0TfWu3F17f65yMl2Gdrs6BEWDKuuyg4A2zuPyp8NRXzRqSofalYwSVd7ft37-xT0Q6jIqyrPO2gHFs2SL38FwVH1t8jDVfGCMf0VuZrpTpAq09OnFdYiyDG2KJ7Xw5S3V0yoVbEX6d798kW8qKrw/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JIi9_9q1Gm92yDlaJkDRsUOyrQs2bZsUjw7cgxHJjavdH7vbP6ZoRQAYnZV_FGsr3BRfy19_Lv1mr0-6FQoAiwhSR4DWyY40jg9PeHuy_2liGb-mH0zr78JvcXF04PsJW0W6UnlEvJXbskG_OnjGF58L-QZh8zjt7CKharOSiGZPkJGlPKRSpsWeWXM/s662/2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="662" data-original-width="662" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JIi9_9q1Gm92yDlaJkDRsUOyrQs2bZsUjw7cgxHJjavdH7vbP6ZoRQAYnZV_FGsr3BRfy19_Lv1mr0-6FQoAiwhSR4DWyY40jg9PeHuy_2liGb-mH0zr78JvcXF04PsJW0W6UnlEvJXbskG_OnjGF58L-QZh8zjt7CKharOSiGZPkJGlPKRSpsWeWXM/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuoYe7BDky1u1VhSqysMxg0UZp3z8Xikze9SalRUHiwhZJ-6QWFQgGrHjyl7cBsvwkZffPUA1pVaPE-MNZE7Q8kkEJ0e-xxKwIiRJKdhmHZZq8xSe7BNBUhY_sR1F9GxNkHCcdqm-6llBAJoncoy9U5zgzAgUk5hYsM52gioZ6pAQGRtXabuL93FtHN7o/s649/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="649" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuoYe7BDky1u1VhSqysMxg0UZp3z8Xikze9SalRUHiwhZJ-6QWFQgGrHjyl7cBsvwkZffPUA1pVaPE-MNZE7Q8kkEJ0e-xxKwIiRJKdhmHZZq8xSe7BNBUhY_sR1F9GxNkHCcdqm-6llBAJoncoy9U5zgzAgUk5hYsM52gioZ6pAQGRtXabuL93FtHN7o/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifMwhRlmKwjIj04xAGWVSZA99pg6oKCQhL3qUuJphlIBH-Bf2grf0bZvNzhVjVjoHr6uhJQLvWhPgBt8MZAOY_8KnN2LtbfWlbAz9wEGRUeA83m9aQesd3Graw_rAHV2GcR-NJsZYGPCHbZr8vFDf89xG0QCqM9aNBCRydjV3DqMqZR7rfqQdelVnmEco/s562/6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="364" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifMwhRlmKwjIj04xAGWVSZA99pg6oKCQhL3qUuJphlIBH-Bf2grf0bZvNzhVjVjoHr6uhJQLvWhPgBt8MZAOY_8KnN2LtbfWlbAz9wEGRUeA83m9aQesd3Graw_rAHV2GcR-NJsZYGPCHbZr8vFDf89xG0QCqM9aNBCRydjV3DqMqZR7rfqQdelVnmEco/s320/6.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">If looking at pictures like these don't upset you in some deep-seated way, I have no words for you. Actually, that's not true - they're in the following paragraphs.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Have these people no humanity in them? Is all they can think about - abstract philosophical bullshit, political doctrine, lines on a map, or fucking dollar signs? Then they want to rail against efforts to stop these senseless wasteful murders and terrorize people acting as society's conscience with misapplied politically incendiary catch-phrases like "anti-Semitic" and "pro-terrorist"?! What the fuck is <i>wrong </i>with them?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well, for starters, they're fucking ignorant.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">They don't know what 'anti-Semitic' means, for one thing, and that's a fucking fact.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yes, that's the fifth time I've used the 'f' word in this article so far, and you know what? I don't care - it feels good. It's a release. Do you know why? Because expletives are honest, they're sincere and they convey emotion - and you know what? It fits this scenario. It's appropriate. It fucking fits it to a messy, bloody, murderous <i>T</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Reacting to legitimate, qualified and reasonable criticism by shouting "you're just anti-Semitic!" is baseline bloody dog-whistling populism unworthy of any enlightened libertarian, humanitarian-centered government or its representatives. It cheapens the true horrific meaning of anti-Semitism - in all its past and present contexts, complete with gas chambers, ghettos, identifying marks and tattoos and petty apartheid laws to isolate and exclude people from society, and dehumanizing speech in the media and from religious platforms. It creates circumstances in which nobody dares criticize or call out those committing monstrous deeds for fear of being labeled 'anti-Semitic' - whilst Israel goes on to literally bomb residential areas (<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/17/israel-bombs-homes-in-southern-gaza-kills-more-than-70-people" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/11/09/1211571220/israel-gaza-damage-map-satellite-imagery" target="_blank">2</a>), schools (<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/18/israeli-forces-strike-al-fakhoora-school-in-northern-gaza" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/18/world/gaza-school-strike-video/index.html" target="_blank">2</a>), hospitals (<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/11/07/1211133698/gaza-hospitals-airstrikes-israel-hamas-war" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/20/israel-hamas-war-al-shifa-gaza-palestine-hostages-idf-military-claim-footage-cctv-security-camera?ref=lite.improvethenews.org" target="_blank">2</a>, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/20/israeli-tanks-surround-gazas-indonesian-hospital-after-killing-12-people" target="_blank">3</a>) and fucking ambulances (<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-strikes-ambulance-convoy-gaza-palestine-al-shifa-hospital-rcna123624" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/3/several-killled-in-israeli-attack-on-ambulance-convoy-gaza-health-ministry" target="_blank">2</a>) full of civilians - and do so with utterly shocking contempt for human life, apparent impunity, without consequence - and all while continuing to play the victim on the world stage.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzGtveE2i-_8myF1lnF5a5zDwvLIuciSraLSqo3i4g0JCk83YvUMzGadPGrG9zlPiTrHP0ffXcPVzLbROKCCBMMSPqTKcCJufxghbFt7tf4nmZQ2Uh28jOjkgCty6cibTR3PnRr4HE22ttXeHC31jaYIPFhAPYyNisFdV4oKUxCak7x50Zm2d5CUIu8E/s1424/Justifications.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1424" data-original-width="1284" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzGtveE2i-_8myF1lnF5a5zDwvLIuciSraLSqo3i4g0JCk83YvUMzGadPGrG9zlPiTrHP0ffXcPVzLbROKCCBMMSPqTKcCJufxghbFt7tf4nmZQ2Uh28jOjkgCty6cibTR3PnRr4HE22ttXeHC31jaYIPFhAPYyNisFdV4oKUxCak7x50Zm2d5CUIu8E/s320/Justifications.jpg" width="289" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">It's fucking nauseating. It makes me fucking sick.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And you know what? The history of all this shit that's going on right now, is out there, it's been out there all along, going largely unnoticed - all we need to do is look it up. But instead we just sit and swallow all the bullshit propaganda being shoveled into the mainstream media, sourced from a country where the state controls the media and its narrative outlook, so we can all believe the immaculate lie that this all started on October 7, 2023 when Hamas brutally attacked Israel, "out of the blue" and "completely unprovoked" - while we as passengers have been riding along on the coat-tails of Western powers (even in the third world) all this time - and should automatically side with Israel - inserting us all right smack in the middle of a fucking generational blood feud, <i>because</i>... well, either Israel literally owns and occupies the Judeo-Christian-Muslim Holy Land and "we're a Christian country", or because <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmND1NyrQlQ" target="_blank">the US has vital strategic national "assets" and "interests" in Israel</a> - and, oh yes, because the most aggressive, warlike and genocidal country in the Middle East has nukes... the very same nukes that warmongering butcher, the Israeli PM Netanyahu, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-nuclear-weapons-gaza-iran-china-1e18f34dcec40582166796b0ade65768" target="_blank">threatened</a> to use on Gaza just last week! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Who the ever-loving fuck thought that giving <i>Israel </i>nuclear bombs was a great idea? Well, played, 'murica - that's really gonna end well!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In actual fact, this all-encompassing globally disruptive shit-show and bonfire of inhumanities did not start on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Hamas_attack_on_Israel" target="_blank">October 7, 2023</a> with Hamas, it started in 1948 with the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/15/the-nakba-five-palestinian-towns-massacred-75-years-ago" target="_blank">Nakba</a> - the violent displacement and dispossession of Palestinians, and the destruction of their society, culture, identity, political rights, and national aspirations, as well as the ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories and persecution and displacement of Palestinians throughout the region. Who did all that? I wonder.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">They call it "the Israel-Hamas War", but the idea of this being a "war" is just plain absurd. It's downright ludicrous. The audacity of calling it that belies the dynamics of the situation. A war - an actual war - is fought between two formal military entities, with rules and conventions and an option to surrender or show clemency, or even to include a ceasefire. Instead, in Gaza, you have thousands of displaced, starving, injured civilians getting relentlessly pounded by Israeli artillery and aerial bombardments. In case the IDF didn't get the memo, civilians are NON-COMBATANTS. This, it should be abundantly clear by now, is NOT a war - it's a total indiscriminate, wholesale slaughter - a fucking genocide - and every member of the IDF participating in this bloodbath has lost the right to call themselves a "soldier".<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV90uly2nRVn91QjthVFdGNSDvz2o_Cq4A8JfSzI60Fj8YYBP1Sx_IlLx0s2pmOWe9BRkv3YFZb7K2QLPE5-nLrFDmd4rDzpx4u6LTS8q4n9hbjiAaGCRekUdrlwVkV7aJLI16dfs4eSF17z88bej5jG3u0PxQ9oxxsnxcd_UieOr3ecsKQo-144AiavE/s1079/Gaza%20-%20How%20it%20is.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="1079" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV90uly2nRVn91QjthVFdGNSDvz2o_Cq4A8JfSzI60Fj8YYBP1Sx_IlLx0s2pmOWe9BRkv3YFZb7K2QLPE5-nLrFDmd4rDzpx4u6LTS8q4n9hbjiAaGCRekUdrlwVkV7aJLI16dfs4eSF17z88bej5jG3u0PxQ9oxxsnxcd_UieOr3ecsKQo-144AiavE/s320/Gaza%20-%20How%20it%20is.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Genocide. Yes, I've used that word a lot in this article. There are even people out there who are so fucking ignorant about what genocide really is, they've told me "that's not a genocide" and laughingly said "what genocide?" while cheering Israel's baby-killers on, calling it "war" and saying they "deserve it". They imagine that putting a bunch of people into a concentration camp and gassing them to death in gas chambers is the sum-total of what genocide describes - but that's simply not the case.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />Genocide is a PROCESS. It's something that has a beginning and an end, and it has numerous characteristics and stages in-between, and you can read about them <a href="https://www.genocidewatch.com/tenstages" target="_blank">here</a>. And in case you've been wondering, Gaza is an open-air prison camp with a city inside of it. And for a month and a half, Israel has been bombing it - every single day. They even bombed a fucking <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/31/1209763194/the-latest-on-israels-bombing-of-the-largest-gazan-refugee-camp" target="_blank">refugee camp</a> inside of it, apparently because some high-up in Hamas happened to be there for some obscure reason. Israel blithely claims Hamas uses civilians as "human shields" - but even knowing that that doesn't stop them from blowing up hundreds of said "human shields" anyway - as long as they get their target. In case you need it spelled out for you - this is yet another war crime which Israel doesn't even try to obfuscate.</div><p style="text-align: justify;">That said, while the USA (<a href="https://www.vox.com/world-politics/23916266/us-israel-support-ally-gaza-war-aid" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/11/politics/presidents-israel-cnn/index.html" target="_blank">2</a>), Britain (<a href="https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/the-british-impact-on-the-creation-of-israel/" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/britain-zionism-and-the-creation-of-israel/" target="_blank">2</a>, <a href="https://bnn.network/world/uk/echoes-of-a-century-old-decision-the-uks-role-in-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict/" target="_blank">3</a>) and numerous other Western <i>powers (</i>they do so like that term, don't they?) definitely had a hand in how all this came to be during the last century or so, the bulk of the blame still has to go where it is due. After all, it's not the US, UK or EU who are squeezing the triggers or dropping the bombs in Gaza, is it?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And while the poor old United Nations has already lost 101 of its personnel in Gaza since October 7 - due to Israeli fire, its pleas for a ceasefire have fallen on deaf ears. International relief efforts - and initiatives to force Israel to declare a ceasefire appear to move at a faltering, glacial pace. Nobody, it seems will intervene against Israel as it rampages across Gaza like a common schoolyard bully who has bigger, older brothers hanging around keeping an eye on things just in case little bro needs a hand if one of the kids on the sidelines dares to intervene on Gaza's behalf.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">All the UN seems able to do is release impotent press releases about how shocked they are at what's going on in Gaza, and how powerless they are to do anything to stop it - while taking pointless votes between member nations - not on whether to intervene or force a ceasefire, but just to <i>ask</i> Israel to stop bombing civilians - as if they would even bother to read it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The UN is being <a href="https://israelbehindthenews.com/2023/11/20/united-nations-bigotry-towards-israel-unrwa-anti-semitism-poisons-palestinian-youth/" target="_blank">criticized</a> as 'anti-Semitic' - the fucking United Nations!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's fucking insane. It's completely mental.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This brings me to:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>The Complete & Utter Failure Of The United Nations </b>- yes, you read that right.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">If anything, the UN has been proven to be utterly useless without the backing of the USA. Had the UN's humanitarian interests in Gaza been in line with the USA's, there's no question that everything the UN requested or suggested would've been accomplished, arranged and catered for - but because this time, their interests did NOT align, this awful situation continues like the very worst case of deadlock and stalemate I've ever seen. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">They might as well rename the UN to something like "the Global Humanitarian Aid Organization", because that's all they really are - if anything, Israel's unrestricted, unrepentant, unceasing rampage in Gaza has killed the illusion that the UN could EVER be a true democratic global leadership body outright - and it's every bit as dead as those 13,000+ notches on Israel's belt. It has so completely failed in its mandate - just as its predecessor, the League of Nations, did in 1939.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So here we are. The people of the world - not their governments, not their leaders and politicians who are so adept at outmaneuvering each other that they probably come fitted with jet thrusters tucked under their Armani coat flaps - sit and watch as literally every violation of international law, laws governing warfare and conventions of common sense or decency possible, unfold like a corpse-flower - while none of them lifts a finger to stop it. It's surreal.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The only Western powers who even venture to say anything critical of Israel, do so to score propaganda points against their old Cold War opponents, literally have no human rights reputations themselves, and have no intention of actually getting involved in this matter with anything more substantial than words.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, in the space of one and a half months, more than 13,000 people have died for nothing. The Palestinians call them "martyrs", because that's how they've been taught to think - and believe me, they hate the Israeli's as much as the Israeli's hate them. The only difference is, the Palestinians have reason. The only reason the Israeli's have, is that they want Palestine all to themselves, because they believe it's theirs - and those 'dirty' Palestinians happen to be on it. Indoctrination has become reinforced and generational on both sides - there's no denying that. It doesn't excuse any of this, nor does it justify it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For decades, I've believed that the Middle East represents a powder-keg that could (and probably will) lead to another world war, just like the Balkans did WW1. And once again, all the pieces are in place - but it seems the "powers" are reluctant to go to a full-scale war over a paltry 2 million people trapped and getting obliterated in Gaza by their biggest ally in the Middle East. This overwhelming case of tacit complicity and detached voyeurism is the best example of political convenience I've ever seen. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Why worry about it? In another month, perhaps two, there probably won't even be more than a few thousand Palestinians left in Gaza, and they should be easy enough to "resettle" somewhere outside of Israel - which will include what used to be Gaza. New Israeli settlements will bloom there, after the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/erictegler/2023/10/24/israels-armored-caterpillar-bulldozers-will-be-active-in-gaza/?sh=3e752cc134d6" target="_blank">IDF's armored bulldozers</a> finish doing the work they've already begun, of course.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And human beings think they're higher beings than animals? Yes, they really do - especially the religious ones, funny enough. Can animals create art? Music? Well, yes actually - there are animals that can draw, paint, sing and even play music, but that's a discussion for another day. As for <i>killing</i>, animals, like humans, are very good at it. But that's a simplified statement. Animals kill yes, they mostly kill for food. They sometimes kill for sport, or curiosity, or pleasure - and yes, I know this because I've watched cats eviscerate a few unlucky bugs, mice and birds, simply by playing with them until they fall apart. I've also watched countless nature documentaries in my lifetime - but no matter how brutal or cruel we may think nature can be - the stark, glaring, ugly and soul-shattering truth is that animals still don't commit genocide - and not simply because they just don't have the means to do so. To do that actually takes something more than just intellect to accomplish - it takes something the vast majority of animals simply do not have - an unfortunate and uncomfortable amount of senseless hate and evil.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Not only do we commit heinous acts of all kinds from our lofty position as rulers of this world, but we also ignore these when they don't affect us personally, excuse or justify our complicity in them, evade responsibility and accountability for them - even defend them and their alleged necessity. We callously defend the indefensible. We've even invented entire religions - called "world religions" because they've become so popular, so bloated and obscene, dripping with bile, unfulfilled good intentions and guilt and subterfuge and the stench of self-delusion - around our guilt. We created them as ways to deal with the crippling amount of sheer, heart-rending guilt and shame that grips us in our more lucid moments when we sit in the quiet too afraid to close our eyes, wondering what the <i>fuck </i>did we <i>do?</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Our leaders today have got to be the most horrifically conscienceless, soulless beings on the entire planet, the way they move and terminate people like little lifeless plastic pieces on a chessboard, and nowhere more is the adulterated obscenity of our staged, flawed and fraudulent democratic systems evident than when these people comfortably retire afterwards, being rewarded and honored and celebrated without ever answering for any of the misery they caused or the blood they spilt while in office.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Misinformation is the mainstay of the world they built and we have to live in, regulated by misdirection and governed by manipulation. Let's look at an example: Public protests - even those including Jewish protesters - protesting Israeli and Zionist aggression and demanding peace and a ceasefire in Gaza have been repeatedly slandered and deliberately miscast as "anti-Semitic", by populist right-wing politicians all over the world, who portray them as "pro-Hamas" and "supporting terrorism". Just last week, groups of right wing thugs turned up to counter-protest a pro-Palestinian protest of over 300,000 people - and ended up clashing with police instead. Representatives of the right wing Tory government blamed the violence on the pro-Palestine protestors, naturally, and not the people who turned up <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-12/violence-at-london-march-puts-spotlight-on-sunak-s-leadership?utm_source=website&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=copy" target="_blank">because</a> they answered their week-long stochastic incitements to violence.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The prevailing narrative is that "Israel are the good guys" and "Palestinians are likely to be terrorists or terrorist sympathizers" and therefore "deserve to die". Consequently, so too does "anyone standing up to defend them, or criticize our best buddy, Israel".</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>The prevailing narrative is that "Israel has the right to defend itself" - by dropping over 25,000 tons of bombs on a densely populated enclosed area the size of 365 square km, containing 2.3 million people with no place to hide or escape to. </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The prevailing narrative says, "we support Ukraine's right to independence and right to be free of Russian aggression" in the throes of a full-scale Russian invasion of its neighboring country - but in a complete turnaround, the very same governments inexplicably take the totally opposite view entirely and side with Israeli aggression.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sorry, that shit doesn't fly with me - I wasn't born yesterday.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>You don't get to slaughter more than <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/11/1143772" target="_blank">13,000</a> people (including thousands of children, with many more irreversibly maimed, traumatized and displaced) in a relentless six week campaign of merciless bombardment AFTER inflicting 75 years of oppression, dispossession and apartheid upon them, and then blithely sit there on the international stage pretending it's all in 'self-defense', and to play the fucking victim.</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj30_lPaQ3ijLQcAHwN0fCKDBy5pfNcuyyPHyUgI0sIss4LoNJmoeWaA1RAgSABV7TAlg2MRYq2NKguttyKOBg7q3aY6opjeGazbAKJhLqEFHmRjsvG5TxsVXhDbif6ieGXdmtD5vHI1Le4HYtbCFyS7ch2qxa1W3-teN2I0jSLPTSOTca_N_tmrsY37h4/s680/Genocide.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="680" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj30_lPaQ3ijLQcAHwN0fCKDBy5pfNcuyyPHyUgI0sIss4LoNJmoeWaA1RAgSABV7TAlg2MRYq2NKguttyKOBg7q3aY6opjeGazbAKJhLqEFHmRjsvG5TxsVXhDbif6ieGXdmtD5vHI1Le4HYtbCFyS7ch2qxa1W3-teN2I0jSLPTSOTca_N_tmrsY37h4/s320/Genocide.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">To do so is insulting and offensive and appalling. It's downright fucking evil - that's what it is. That this has been allowed to happen at all is an affront to civilization even just as a concept so earth-shatteringly profound that if I had a time machine, I'd go back to ancient Mesopotamia and tell the people building the first cities not to bother, and to just give it up and go back to live in the caves. That this abomination has happened under the supposed watch of modern so-called civilization is a fucking outrage. It has made a mockery of every underpinning of civilization including justice, of conventions of war, international law, and worst of all, it is a damning indictment of humanity as a species which claims to be intelligent, sentient, and actually thinks of itself as "civilized" - and better than Neanderthals, whose brain capacities exceeded ours by some considerable quantity - and in spite of that, as far as we can tell today, didn't actually make war, or commit genocide.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The frightening part of all this is that many of the countries presiding over this unfettered display of outright fucking barbarism actually believe themselves to be "civilized". The sickening reality of that incongruity is so disjointed, tragicomic and fucking outlandish and bizarre, it makes me feel physically ill. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">If there are any aliens passing through this part of space at all - and if they've been keeping up with our current events, they probably have a new reason to lock their doors or take a different route - because humans are a warlike, capricious, disingenuous, duplicitous, territorial, dangerous species given to irrational hatred, debilitating fear and willful ignorance, violence and shocking cruelty - coupled with an astonishing capacity for denial, self-absolution, entitlement and narcissism.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">When a deranged psychopath goes on a killing spree for 20 years and murders a few dozen innocent victims, people make such an outcry that they get arrested, put on trial and chucked into a dungeon, ofttimes given the electric chair or gas chamber - but when it comes to larger-scale crimes involving hundreds, thousands and millions of victims - such as those committed by countries and governments, the alleged 'leader' of the so-called 'Free World' stands there on camera before the entire world and says he supports the criminal's right to 'self-defense' because it doesn't suit their agenda for the Middle East to do otherwise. Too bad about all those kids that got blown to bits - but they're the bad guys, didn't you get the memo?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>The <i>real </i>victims of the ongoing monstrous farce unfolding in Palestine, right - the <u>ONLY</u> real victims in this Machiavellian-scale epic fucking tragedy - are the Gazan and Palestinian people, whose cries for help went mostly unheard on the international stage for an outrageous 75 YEARS while the sycophantic leaders of the West closed ranks around Israel and sanitized their public image while passing on narcissistic honeyed fairytales of being the world's only, biggest victim, and refined and distilled that honey-flavored load of toxic bullshit to their respective electorates.</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The rest - such as Israelis killed or kidnapped by Hamas, are nothing less than the dire consequences of Israel's dark oppression and orchestrated international efforts to allow it to continue - and like all consequences of this type, they stain the hands of the leaders of nations, armies and organizations red with the blood of innocents - and every drop of blood spilt on their watch, or at their behest, or as collateral, will stain them indelibly for all time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">...For all the difference any of that will make.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We know there are no courts for people such as these, no - there is no justice for the likes of them at all. Justice is for the poor and powerless, as we well know. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The failure of the United Nations to act in accordance with its mandated purposes, and with no sign that the International Court of Human Justice will even become involved in this matter, or to put perpetrators on trial, emphasizes that they do not expect to answer for their heinous crimes. Only those who lose wars ever do, just as the victors of wars get to write or rewrite history as they see fit. There is no justice beyond this life to hope for either, because there are no gods, no deities to sit in judgment of crimes or to weigh sins, real or imaginary, and to deliver divine punishment. To believe that there could even <i>be </i>such a thing, while maimed innocents cry covered in the blood of their mothers, is simply unconscionable. To pretend that such a god would be anything other than impotent, indifferent, complicit or cruel, would be nothing short of delusional, if not outright fucking malicious and narcissistic. So, at the end of the day, these fiends will never, ever truly be held accountable.<br /><br />There is literally a bigger chance that Donald Trump will spend the rest of his life in jail than Benjamin Netanyahu standing trial for his crimes against humanity at the Hague, and I don't even care to wager on the former because to allow a former POTUS to serve jail time - for any reason - would be to create a precedent that would give the powers that be, night terrors.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, like all things, one day these monsters <i>will </i>die - and while this will make the planet a trifle less contaminated by their evil, the universe will proceed as it will, utterly and completely indifferent to that fact, oblivious to victims or perpetrators, or to the perpetual insanity taking place on a small, insignificant, remote speck of a planet upon which the fleeting, presently dominant, violent ape species rages about, thumping its chest, proclaiming itself "the pinnacle and center of Everything".</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, in spite of all the saber-rattling, ass-covering and threatening, theater, shadow-play and name-calling by our supposedly democratically elected leaders and their denial of and doubling-down to support a genocide, something has definitely changed since October 7, 2023. Yes, a wave of change has swept around the world, a spark of awareness was carried around it by the speed of the modern internet, delivered by instant news access and instant news reporting. What has changed is that many people - especially in so-called Western countries - have at last seen the truth, and now we can finally discern the lie. And it's something we can never forget. It's something we must never allow the world to forget - as we slowly bring about certain change.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We now see the masks our leaders wear - covered with broad insincere smiles, for what they are - betrayal, deceit, untrustworthiness, perpetual malice.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The mask that Israel has worn all these years as the perpetual victim has been ripped away at last, and now it's desperately hiding its true face behind blood-stained hands. You see, if the Zionists were to see that face in a mirror, reflected back at them, they would realize that they have become the exact thing which the establishment of the state of Israel was supposed to protect them against. The worst part of that revelation is, they may actually celebrate it as an accomplishment.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To close, in case I haven't already made that clear yet, I am most certainly not anti-Semitic in any way, shape or form, under either the original definition or the modern interpretation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I am however unashamedly anti-Zionist, proudly and vehemently anti war, emphatically anti-nationalist - and absolutely, unwaveringly anti-genocide.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Lastly, I am also quite sick and tired of this miserable, demented planet and of humanity as a whole, so if any passing UFO would like to pick me up and take me away to somewhere nice and quiet to live out the rest of my days, that would be great.</p><hr /><div dir="auto">Visit my <a href="https://christinaengela.com/" target="_blank">Author Website</a>.</div><div dir="auto">Visit my channel on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@christinaengela9571" target="_blank">YouTube</a>. <br /></div><div dir="auto">View my books on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Christina-Engela/e/B00OBY5PD8/" target="_blank">Amazon</a>.</div><div dir="auto">Audiobooks on <a href="https://www.audible.com/author/Christina-Engela/B00OBY5PD8" target="_blank">Audible</a>.<br />Support me on <a href="http://patreon.com/tinatalkstech" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. </div><div dir="auto">Donate via <a href="http://paypal.me/christinaengela" target="_blank">PayPal</a> or via <a href="http://buymeacoffee.com/christinaengela" target="_blank">Buy Me A Coffee </a>(the world runs on coffee!)<br /><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2023.</span></p></div><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-34259374613140449192023-11-08T03:03:00.001-08:002024-03-15T15:09:23.470-07:00The Kids Are Alright<div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaC8K2ew0jKQAGYsdetSWl3x4Kxrt83G6EOKfEgqQzkCvmfmk5auA7L22YALvhsb1sjhPoye1ZNw_p4uQ0ABzXemfN7FVtyPd6S1pBrr7XwanSc3cUa0XLKsU3wAg459DFd39Nt6KkGfYA-A22Hal4cjH8gW1RDLAiQyD05xLiyXUMem_jEBZhNkUImP4/s640/Gen%20X.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaC8K2ew0jKQAGYsdetSWl3x4Kxrt83G6EOKfEgqQzkCvmfmk5auA7L22YALvhsb1sjhPoye1ZNw_p4uQ0ABzXemfN7FVtyPd6S1pBrr7XwanSc3cUa0XLKsU3wAg459DFd39Nt6KkGfYA-A22Hal4cjH8gW1RDLAiQyD05xLiyXUMem_jEBZhNkUImP4/s320/Gen%20X.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>For the hundredth time this month, it feels like, I saw someone around my age posting a meme praising Generation X for being "the last great generation" - apparently "before all these sissies were born". That set me to thinking.<p></p></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;">Yeah, us Gen Xers.... we're tough, but for all the wrong reasons.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />We're tough, like callouses and scar tissue. With all the connotations of damage, wounds and depression and unhealed trauma that evokes.<br /><br />We bottle up our trauma and present a "stiff upper lip" and just shoulder the wheel and carry on, rather keeping quiet about how we feel because that's how we were brought up. We bottle it up - the disappointments, the hurt, the anger, the hopelessness, and we just soldier on - because that's what we were always expected to do... even if it hurt us more in the end, and no matter how much - until we inevitably are forced to confront our mortality and frailty. <br /><br />And then the millennials and Gen Z arrived. <br /><br />Instead of just putting up with all the abuse we accepted as "just the way things are" like we did, they refused to be a part of it, began to force changes to the world around us, frustrating us and our forebears. Their arguments and their reasoning at first seemed to be just laziness and winging, and going against established everything - but, when we sat down to think about it, it hit home: they're right.<br /><br />The world we were born into was already breaking, and as time went on, it broke further. We Gen Xers got the tail end of the so-called 'good times', but we also started feeling the tail-end of the whiplash when all the bubbles began to burst. The Boomers just told everyone to "work harder" and called Millennials & Gen Z "lazy" when they wouldn't put up with it. While my generation just knuckled down and got on with it, we did so reluctantly and rebelliously, and all wished there was a better way, but we could never see it. The truth is, we feared the consequences too much. It was too big a risk, and although we saw more of the "bigger picture" than our predecessors, we didn't understand it.<br /><br />Where we questioned ourselves for our failures to succeed in this world and blamed ourselves for our own brokenness, our successors saw things more clearly. They stood up and refused to be a part of a broken, abusive system. Unlike us, they refused to willingly lie down before the wheels of the machine. <br /><br />Where the Boomers took their rebellion for weakness, their strength of character and determination gradually opened our eyes to the reality that it's the system that's flawed, not us, and that we suffered under it and still live with the damage it did.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;">The kids are alright. The world will be a better, kinder place in their hands. And the best part is, we can help them build it. <img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-18566" height="25" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Emoji-22-150x100.png" width="38" /></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><hr /><div dir="auto">Visit my <a href="https://christinaengela.com/" target="_blank">Author Website</a>.</div><div dir="auto">Visit my channel on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@christinaengela9571" target="_blank">YouTube</a>. <br /></div><div dir="auto">View my books on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Christina-Engela/e/B00OBY5PD8/" target="_blank">Amazon</a>.</div><div dir="auto">Audiobooks on <a href="https://www.audible.com/author/Christina-Engela/B00OBY5PD8" target="_blank">Audible</a>.<br />Support me on <a href="http://patreon.com/tinatalkstech" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. </div><div dir="auto">Donate via <a href="http://paypal.me/christinaengela" target="_blank">PayPal</a> or via <a href="http://buymeacoffee.com/christinaengela" target="_blank">Buy Me A Coffee </a>(the world runs on coffee!)<br /><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2023.</span></p></div></div>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-25646122062587441612023-10-15T04:26:00.004-07:002023-10-15T04:26:51.850-07:00Thoughts on Forgiveness<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-27432" height="208" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Forgiveness-225x208.jpg" width="225" /></div><br />I've come to wonder why there is such a powerful emphasis on forgiving those who hurt us in modern society?<br /><br />The answer, naturally, is religion - specifically Christianity, which places a disproportionate burden on the individual to forgive all transgressions committed against them, no matter what they were, or how much they were hurt by them.<br /><br />These are my thoughts on the subject.<span><a name='more'></a></span><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">People are categorically shamed - or taught to feel shame (as Christians) for a failure or reluctance to demonstrate a willingness to forgive those who wronged them. Critical to this issue is the detail that the nature of the wrong - and the severity of the insult or injury done to the victim are often ignored, downplayed, or even made light of. In general, people seem to be indoctrinated to think that forgiveness is a sign of strength rather than weakness. It is also taken as a sign of "how good a Christian you are".</div><p><!--more--></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Often, the caveat is provided to those hesitant to forgive: "you want Jesus/God to forgive you for <em>your</em> sins too, don't you?" thus adding the emotive of guilt to the scenario.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have often wondered why, considering the typical chicken-soup-for-the-soul explanations and pop-psychology justifications provided by Christian clergy and parents, teachers and other figures with some form of social standing, which all suggest that it's supposedly good for the aggrieved individual to let these things go... and then it suddenly came to me:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Christianity (in the organizational sense) pushes a notion that we MUST forgive anyone who "sins" against us - no matter how grievous the harm - and "forgive and forget" - because it is this exact sort of behavior that keeps people attached to and subservient to this abusive system, trapped in circles and layers of abuse - and the Christian church is all about abuse after all... be it pedophilia, be it rape, be it persecution - or whatever other abuses its clergy or other leader-figures commit, justify or excuse.</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">For centuries - I would even say <em>millennia</em> - the Christian church in all its forms and guises, has closed ranks and protected abusers in the form of rapists, child molesters and the like, and covered up for them. Be it for the sake of "protecting the good name of the church", or "defending the faith", or whatever the prevailing excuse was.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Instead of addressing and confronting the abuse, the abusers and the problem, there is little to show that anything was ever really done from within church organizations to procure justice for the victims of institutionalized church abuse. Rather, the only real efforts to expose these abuses appear to have come from external sources - secular authorities, investigative journalists, activists, or through victims reaching out to external entities for help. Victims were also historically encouraged by the church and its minions to keep quiet about the abuses they'd suffered, with the prospect of being shamed and even bullied for daring to speak out (and not forgive), the only recourse presented to them, was to "forgive and forget".</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This presents a damning image of churches, as having a horrific potential for being abusive, toxic environments - fomenting a culture of sustained abuse, silence, fear, denial and secrecy, where the welfare of the individual participant is dismissed in favor of the welfare of the organization.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't think I need to actually present a list of examples via url's in this case - there are literally hundreds of thousands of news and media mentions and references to, and even documentaries about the sort of abuses I'm talking about here, spanning more than half a century, and you should feel free to research them yourself.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">One needs only to examine the stories of survivors of childhood abuse at the hands of pedophile priests and pastors and youth camp leaders etc. to notice how an institutionalized culture of disbelief turned them into victims of bullying and outrage aimed at shaming, silencing and discrediting them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But it's not limited to that. The scale of this sort of behavior gets magnified in proportion to how far away we focus our perspective. With crimes committed by the churches against larger groups, their silence and failure to take ownership of their guilt becomes nothing if not magnified.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The survivors of various genocides committed in the name of the Christian religion, such as against pagans in Europe and the Near-East during the rise of the Catholic Church, and of indigenous peoples, for example in South and North America, were too indoctrinated and forcibly schooled in Christianity by so-called "missionaries", who also expounded the notion of "forgiveness" of those who had wronged them, namely themselves and the institutions which they represented. So too, the abhorrent and cruel treatment of aboriginal adults and children at missionary schools and settlements in various places around the world, such as in Australia, Canada, the USA, South Africa, New Zealand and others, were simply swept under the rug.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Crimes committed then in the name of religion - in the name of "God" as it were - are supposedly not to be regarded as crimes at all.</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">One can see clear examples of this in history - for example, the willingness of the Church during the Crusades to absolve anyone who went to war to kill Muslims occupying the Holy Land. While not the topic of this piece, the exact same justification was evident in their Muslim counterparts, and even today. To kill an infidel is not murder, nor a sin. You could take it further by examining the power and license given to the missionaries sent out to numerous European colonies around the world, to convert native peoples to Christianity, and blind eyes were turned to what we today would decry as human rights violations, eugenics and other cruelties. In South Africa, the racist system of Apartheid was excused and defended by the Dutch Reformed Church (NGK) while they benefited for decades as being the "top church" in South Africa under Afrikaner Nationalist rule and set the tone for broader South African society, culture, media and education. It's truly amazing and also absolutely horrifying what some people - under the influence of this very mindset - can justify or excuse.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">"Forgive those who trespass against us," - so says the Lord's Prayer. In other words, forgive the priest who abused you, forgive the nun who abused you, forgive the church employee, the deacon or the missionary who abused you. Forgive the people who treated you like a second-class human being. Forgive the church that victimized you for being gay. Forgive the bigoted branch manager who officiated over your disciplinary hearing with a bible tucked under his arm and fired you for being transgender. And once you forgive, forget - and hence, take no action against them, and do not speak to others about it. And even if you do, nobody will believe you.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This whole institutionally enforced Christian notion of 'forgiveness' then, is essentially gaslighting.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Forgiveness lets these transgressors off the hook - and hands them a license to go ahead and do it again - and that is just so unacceptable on so many levels.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is a deep-seated thing in the human soul, a thing coiled up with rage and pain and anger that cries out for justice, that rebels at the notion of "forgive and forget", claws at the sides of its cage and howls in the night at the very thought that the need for justice will not be satisfied - because as bad as the injuries or injustices received at the hands of the monsters that hurt us - the idea of letting them off the hook invalidates and discredits the harm done to us, and only makes the suffering from it that much worse.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It will take some time, and a collective, eventual human departure from toxic religions, for people to outgrow this horrific and inexcusable vicious circle of abuse and being brainwashed into tolerating abuse and making excuses for our abusers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Not forgiving those who wronged us doesn't mean we're bad people - and forgiving them doesn't make the pain go away. We might not always find the release from these burdens through avenues like seeking justice through the courts (or revenge) but even without finding resolution and the luxury of finding real-world closure, why is there still this lingering expectation of forgiveness?</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong> Imposing the expectation of forgiveness on the victims of abuse compounds the suffering and indignity inflicted by their abusers.</strong></p><p>Whether we choose to forgive others, or not, has to remain our choice - and our choice alone.</p><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;">That's all for this time. Thanks a lot for all your friendship and support, I hope you know it is all deeply appreciated - and remember, keep reading!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><div dir="auto"><p>Cheers! <img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-18541" height="25" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Emoji-32-150x100.png" width="38" /></p><p><a href="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Caligraphy-Christina-Engela-Copy.jpg"><img alt="Digital Autograph Christina Engela" height="108" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Caligraphy-Christina-Engela-Copy-300x108.jpg" width="300" /></a></p><hr /><div dir="auto"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Catch me on social media!</span></div><div dir="auto"><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaEngelaAuthor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17206" height="50" 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style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2023.</span></p></div></div></div></div>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-20524354381462244732023-09-30T03:39:00.000-07:002023-09-30T03:39:24.101-07:00The Microsoft Challenge<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVnwBsZnzkgZox-NxESFmPVozD-1x8Lq-pOTlq45EIlUEpPgNiTkiIvhcbzxYDdFupNrBhDmrN6FjYJWyYPeQQam5TgfW7n-glgZrWQD1KaCHxW0_hweKL6xILdG6DlerXnRLuuHFy_oZFUOs73xDBjEPF42tPpPnthH4Cl16QYppXFnNrhDav72Wsuo/s1920/MS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVnwBsZnzkgZox-NxESFmPVozD-1x8Lq-pOTlq45EIlUEpPgNiTkiIvhcbzxYDdFupNrBhDmrN6FjYJWyYPeQQam5TgfW7n-glgZrWQD1KaCHxW0_hweKL6xILdG6DlerXnRLuuHFy_oZFUOs73xDBjEPF42tPpPnthH4Cl16QYppXFnNrhDav72Wsuo/s320/MS.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Has anyone wondered why new computers are always so slow?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It used to be expected of older, physically slower PCs, but these days it's true even of brand new computers.</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I mean, back in the day - when I first started working as a PC technician back in 1999, I had a 486DX 100mhz with 48mb of RAM using Windows 98 2nd edition, and that was faster than most of the newer PC's I've used since. Such was my expertise back then that I rigged up a live toggle switch to the jumper settings on the board so that - while the PC was running - I could overclock it to 120mhz - play my first-person shooters - and then set it back down to 100mhz again. I even managed to play Heretic and Hexen on it smoothly, and without any trouble. I even built a cooling duct over the CPU and heatsink that ran to a fan at the front of the case to improve cooling and stability, and occasionally augmented that by placing a saucer filled with ice cubes in front of the case so that chilled air would be sucked in!</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But then we got newer, faster PCs - with more RAM, bigger multicore CPUs - and much, much bigger Windows.<span><a name='more'></a></span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am right now typing this note on a laptop with a 2.42ghz i5 core CPU with 8gb of RAM, a 1tb hard drive - and (unfortunately) Windows 10.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I try not to shut this PC down when I need to pack the laptop away - I use the "hibernate" function instead. Why? Because it takes forever to shut down and start up. I actually live in DREAD of having to reboot this thing, because it literally takes two minutes to prepare to shut down - and then no less than eight whole minutes from the time the screen lights up to the moment I can hit the space bar to log in. After that, Windows 10 has to get all its shit together first - it has a "where the hell did I put my menus" moment over another 2 minutes or so - before I can even risk clicking on anything, or it will take even longer.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This was not unique to my laptop either - a friend bought a new laptop around the same time as well, with the same sort of specs as mine, but from a different manufacturer. It has an i5 CPU and 8gb of RAM - but hers takes even longer to boot from a cold start than mine does.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then there are days when the browser just decides it's going to act like I'm playing Minecraft online with heavy lag. I could type an entire paragraph in a text box before the first line starts to appear on the screen. One way to fix this, I've noticed, is to close the browser and then open it again - sometimes several times, before it will work as intended.</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">These are just a few examples of what I'm getting at here: it seems to me that whenever the peeps over at MS decide to work on a new version of Windows, they set out by looking at the very latest, most powerful computer available as a baseline model... and then challenge themselves to see how completely they can fill, occupy and consume its resources, CPU and RAM capacity. I call this "The Microsoft Challenge". Goodness only knows what sort of prizes are involved for the winner, but I hope it involves a funny hat and cake containing a powerful laxative.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This implies that no matter how fast or advanced your new PC will be - by the time you boot the version of Windows it came with, it's already going to be slower than the 486 you used back in 1999.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Windows 10 is like the braking parachute on a fighter jet - only deployed all the time. It's like driving your car with the park brake on. Basically, when you turn off your PC, it's performance ratings actually go up.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let me give you another example: back in 2018 I bought a Mecer laptop that came with Windows 10 and 4gb of RAM - and a 32GB static RAM drive. It seemed alright at first, but within 6 months the thing was almost unusable. The hard drive was too full from all the daily MS updates to install any more, and I had to clear all the junk out, and install an app to turn off updates - which meant I couldn't install anything else from Microsoft's website either. Windows 10 ran on the 4gb RAM, but at a slow, gentle jog, sorta like it was carrying a backpack filled with cement. I also couldn't upgrade the RAM because 4gb was its ceiling. This is why I replaced this laptop with my current better one in 2020.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But even so, the misery doesn't end there. You see, the new one also came installed with Windows 10. </div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And don't think you can just wipe Windows 10 (or 11) off your hard drive and install an old copy of 98SE or XP instead - Microsoft have made sure that even if you do, you can't do much with it. You can't even access the internet with it, because they won't LET you. Even the more useful and less inane Windows 7 is now out in the cold and "no longer supported". Windows 10 too, is busy sliding off the edge of that table now, with 11 looming ominously on the horizon, like the crest of a tsunami.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This planned obsolescence forces us to keep up with the latest Microsoft products - no matter how slow or shitty or poorly designed they may be. Uncle Bill did mention once that he hires lazy programmers because they supposedly take all the shortcuts - which explains the sheer number of "patches", "service packs", "updates" and other twaddle accompanying every single MS product since day one. And of course, once they move on from the current version to a replacement, they force us to as well. It's called a captive market. People always have to keep up - and spend more money to buy "new, improved" products to do the same thing as products they already bought previously.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh sure, I could "just" install something else, like Linux perhaps - there are dozens of versions of the OS available nowadays, and sure, Linux has come a long way to become user-friendly and easy to use in the time since I first encountered it in Unix format, but it's still not quite there yet.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have Raspbian installed on my Raspberry PI 3 that runs our media center at home - and even that is a little quirky and relies too much on command line... er, commands - to change under the hood settings Windows users are used to just clicking menus for. Besides, we tend to be limited to using the sort of software used in our working environments - so that's just not practical for me.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I can imagine awkward moments at work if I turned in briefs and proposals and other documents in the wrong format for various assignments that won't work on the "standard" MS Office framework, or change their spacing, formatting or layouts across platforms!</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh yes, I do use resource managing apps like CC cleaner and Glary Utilities to give Windows 10 a couple of wakey-wakey slaps now and again - and they sometimes even make a slight impact by clearing the RAM, organizing the bits and bytes... but even so, in the middle of an important task, Microsoft's flagship product regularly decides to fuck out and lose its marbles - and an app won't load, or a window just goes black, or something weird happens, like it "forgets" a USB port - and the only thing left to do is reboot the thing before it turns into a very expensive frisbee.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And then my shoulders sag because it's a whole twelve minutes wait before I can continue my line of thought - and get whatever it was I was doing, done.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Imagine for a moment, if Microsoft just STOPPED trying to clog the plumbing of our new computers and allowed the hardware to advance for a couple of years so that we could actually enjoy having the best of both worlds instead of using brand new hardware overburdened by a bloated, over-featured OS that bogs it all down and literally SWAMPS the hard disk with daily "updates" downloaded automatically from Microsoft, to fix what they fucked up on the previous day?</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I mean, our PCs would literally FLY. And<i> I </i>would probably get a lot more stuff done!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cheers! <img src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/tef/1.5/16/1f37b.png" /></div></div>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-80041080289783653742023-06-25T03:01:00.048-07:002023-06-29T23:43:32.778-07:00OceanGate - A Recipe For Stupid Deaths<p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIp4v2uNwJRtsV2zM4O56MPsGYEnVf_CPEdWY8NN8QGrl7ypGIdPi1WQl3BkBidWV9VqjQf9vgwg-ezUlhjczXhJizjHf95FTnQFSNR9L_auLgBFGTvALHNSc3i2zhcjeMocPLb00e5GvorS-lDfeb3xWU6AhR0cRrDTTjB81EYE3-dGd6vcFfZ8J_6g/s720/WhatsApp%20Image%202023-06-25%20at%2010.54.13.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="720" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIp4v2uNwJRtsV2zM4O56MPsGYEnVf_CPEdWY8NN8QGrl7ypGIdPi1WQl3BkBidWV9VqjQf9vgwg-ezUlhjczXhJizjHf95FTnQFSNR9L_auLgBFGTvALHNSc3i2zhcjeMocPLb00e5GvorS-lDfeb3xWU6AhR0cRrDTTjB81EYE3-dGd6vcFfZ8J_6g/s320/WhatsApp%20Image%202023-06-25%20at%2010.54.13.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>The incident with the OceanGate Titan submarine disaster - from beginning to end - reads like a recipe for stupid deaths. </div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Think about it: You've got rampant corner-cutting to save costs, use of the wrong materials (carbon fiber instead of steel) to build a deep-ocean submersible in the first place, no back-up systems and reduced safety practices, poor maintenance and industrial safety compliance, lack of oversight or regulation, and pervasive greed and suicidal risk-taking. It's all in there. The only really amazing thing about this is that it took so long for something serious to go wrong. (<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/21/1183408455/titan-missing-submarine-oceangate-submersible" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/missing-titanic-submarine-oceangate-safety-warnings-lawsuits/" target="_blank">2</a>, <a href="https://newrepublic.com/post/173802/missing-titanic-sub-faced-lawsuit-depths-safely-travel-oceangate" target="_blank">3</a>)<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">What I really find boggling is the way the owner cut so many corners to save on money, placing his passengers and staff's lives at increased and unreasonable risk just for the sake of increased profit - on what is basically a joy-ride, nothing more - so that a bunch of billionaires could brag about visiting the Titanic in person. What's even more upsetting is that he was allowed to get away with it by every single entity that <i>should</i> have insisted on compliance - from departments of the US government to insurance companies. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The fact that any individual could afford to actually PAY the $250,000 for a seat on that ship of fools is disturbing enough to me, but the sheer <b>greed </b>evident in all these accumulated disastrous machinations evident in the somewhat appropriately named OceanGate overshadows the stupidity of it all... Except for the part where - <i>unbelievably </i>- the guy who KNOWS all this crap has been going on and what corners he's cut, actually gets IN <i>with </i>them and pilots the thing himself?! I mean, seriously, that's a Darwin Award right there.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">If this incident has highlighted anything at all, it is the fact that billionaires get to play outside the rules everyone else has to follow. The only difference was that in this case, that sense of superiority, entitlement and elitism turned right around and delivered a fatal bite. Whereas the owner of OceanGate got to callously ignore industry safety practices without being shut down or censured or forced to comply, he was allowed to continue to offer deadly joyrides to people willing and able to pay his price unimpaired - without them knowing the actual risks - which in this particular instance, turned out to be the ultimate price. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the end, all five of them were unintended victims of their own social position, arrogance and hubris. Being allowed to place oneself above the rules that apply to "lesser mortals" has its consequences - sooner or later - and even for them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">While it's a terrible way to die - I can't and won't deny that, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone - I honestly can't say I'll lose any sleep over the deaths of five billionaires. I'd rather reserve my pity for the poor of this world who have to eke out a living in their shadows in spite of people like them, and voice a special note of thanks to the Universe, or Fate, that the ship wasn't being piloted by an employee instead.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've seen a few people criticizing the jokes and memes that instantly sprang into circulation about this event even as it was unfolding - "how can people be so callous?" etc.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8QlFaHF3JS_IW9DxKFXjwZT3dkWoYck2gfDnogWAyqD03KZEGYyOdrU3mUjROUeLWsoHYpjqzYaHSoTAVftKl25UKf9b0TWGKOGCv011g4UDOIdLJvecqd7usOAQOO6mjvrXlYjzaNRTfGuKcz7Q2DZt_a270_xMEYpSJi9JD4nEnPjqwBv1YYmM8ZU/s879/How%20can%20you.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="843" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8QlFaHF3JS_IW9DxKFXjwZT3dkWoYck2gfDnogWAyqD03KZEGYyOdrU3mUjROUeLWsoHYpjqzYaHSoTAVftKl25UKf9b0TWGKOGCv011g4UDOIdLJvecqd7usOAQOO6mjvrXlYjzaNRTfGuKcz7Q2DZt_a270_xMEYpSJi9JD4nEnPjqwBv1YYmM8ZU/s320/How%20can%20you.jpg" width="307" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">As far as I'm concerned, if you can afford to waste <b>a quarter of a million US dollars</b> on a joyride to not see much of the Titanic wreck through a tiny window - while risking getting killed outright in what amounts to little more than a pressurized beer can that was built as cheaply as possible - you've got way, way too many dollars and way, way too little sense. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unlike some people out there, it seems, I actually think very little of billionaires. In this day and age, where poverty and its consequences and co-morbities is one of the biggest growing global disasters in the world, to be a billionaire is simply shameful. Some people still seem to worship at their feet however, as if greed and avarice are admirable traits. Not to me - as far as I'm concerned, billionaires are societal parasites, corrupt leeches and paragons of greed and selfishness who benefit disproportionately from the labors and suffering of the working classes, selfishly hoarding most of the world's wealth for themselves while the rest of humanity struggles to survive on what's left - and the world could really do with far fewer of them.<br /><br />It seems to me that people who're struggling to put food on the table while working two or three jobs at minimum wage to pay off loans, mortgages or rent, or health insurance, and to keep their children off the streets and in school, are being asked why they don't show more empathy for those poor billionaires who died during a $1,000,000 joyride in that submarine. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">While billionaires are indeed people too, and they also have feelings (apparently) - unlike the rest of us, they're quite well insulated and protected by their wealth and power against anything the world can usually throw at them - except it seems, Fate, Karma - and forces of nature.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Why, when something unexpectedly comes along that cuts so cleanly through that insulation of power and wealth - touches the apparently untouchable, and levels the playing field - should the world's poor shed any tears for them?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's the prerogative of their beneficiaries after all, should they be that way inclined, while they're on their way to the bank.</p>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-42938402608172135672023-03-05T05:01:00.004-08:002023-03-05T05:03:31.862-08:00Port Elizabeth & The Appalling State Of The Place: A Justified Rant<p style="text-align: justify;">Port Elizabeth - my home town, the city on the southeast coast of South Africa's Eastern Cape province - has long been the mounting cause for concern and anger on the part of many residents - but aside from them, on my part as well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Let me start my rant about the state of Port Elizabeth by addressing the most recent insult to residents - the pointless and utterly unnecessary name change which took place in 2022.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">First of all, the name was changed without the consent or consultation with anyone who actually lives here. I don't know who was consulted about it, in fact nobody I know was consulted about it - and I know I definitely wasn't either.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It might've helped if there was a <i><b>logical </b></i>reason to change the name from Port Elizabeth to begin with - and it might've helped some more if the name they chose to replace it made some kind of sense to the people living here. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Instead, what they vomited up was <i>Gqberha.</i> It's a stupid choice of name for several different reasons. One of which is pronunciation. How does one pronounce it without hacking and splutting out ones tonsils? <i>Gqberha </i>is a Xhosa name apparently, but I fail to see the point of discarding a 200+ year old city name with zero political implications, for a name which has zero relevance to the vast majority of the people living here. The Baakens river is still called the Baakens river, and not the <i>Gqberha.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The same principle appears to have applied to one of the oldest surviving military units in the country - Prince Alfred's Guard (PAG), which had a history going as far back as 1866 - and whose heritage and historic character was gratuitously raped and pillaged and discarded for the sake of political gratification, most likely because it happened to date from the British colonial era.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is gone now, dead and buried, laid waste to, and we can hope the mongrels behind the destruction of South Africa's diverse cultural history and character are satisfied with that, before they turn what's left into a homogenous, mundanity, where everything looks and sounds like it came from the same place, made in the same factory, lifeless, dull and boring.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">What the hell was wrong with "Port Elizabeth" anyway? </p><p style="text-align: justify;">More importantly, why didn't the tit-birds behind this insanity see any need to consult the public? Aren't we living in a democracy? Oh wait, the democracy part only applies to how the ruling party get into power - they can do whatever they like after that, because eish, the people voted them in. And governments like that only ever bend to please the lowest common denominator - populists. Which is why they're still haggling over that land expropriation farce that will kill property ownership in the country and further end interest from whatever foreign investors still think there's money to be made here.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It seems the push to change the name came from the idiot-corner of ignorant EFF racists and thugs with political influence who stupidly insist the city was named after Queen Elizabeth, when its name predates the birth of said queen and had fuck-all to do with it. It was named after the late wife of Sir Rufane Donkin, governor, who was buried here. Also not relevant to most people alive today - who's Donkin to me anyway? However, it's been the name since 1820 - and change for change's sake is not good for anything much - especially for business and footing the bill to change all those place names and signs, which isn't as cheap as politicians like to think it is.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Left to political genii, they'd happily spend a couple million rand on a fucking gigantic flag for the most recent tourist attraction in PE that's still standing - that giant flagpole on the Donkin - yes, named after <i>that </i>same fella. Ironic, no?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Just a few years back, the EFF vandalized the horse memorial in Cape Road by ripping off the old soldier statue that was seen to be tending the horse in at the center of the memorial - not knowing nor caring about what the significance of either were, naturally. It cost rate-payer's money to repair the statue again afterwards - money to which I'm sure the aforementioned EFF supporters generally do not contribute to and couldn't care a damn where it came from.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm surprised they didn't start a drive to demolish Fort Frederick (1799) while they were at it. I mean, they're already halfway there, with perennial squatters doing as they please to the remaining buildings.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You would think that naming the Metro, of which Port Elizabeth is a part, "Nelson Mandela Bay Metro" would've been sufficient to placate some people. But no, apparently not. Everything "white" must go!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So without any by-your-leave, and without any democratic process, Port Elizabeth has become <i>Gqberha. </i>At least, on official maps. To the inhabitants, it has remained "PE" or "die Baai", or Ebhayi. It certainly will to me.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Instead, 202 years of proud history which had stuff all to do with Apartheid got tossed out the window to satisfy the egos of some shortsighted lackwitted piss-ants driving the racist policy to strip South African history, society and culture of anything to do with its colonial past - even the <i><b>in</b></i>offensive bits.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">If they really <i>had </i>to change the name, why not consult the residents first? Get an idea of whether people were interested or thought it was a good idea? Then, if the people wanted their bothersome name change and all the implied costs this would incur, why not opt for one of the other more known and widely accepted names for PE? Like Ibhayi or Ebhayi? At least that is familiar, memorable, and pronounceable. All of us who live here know the name Ebhayi, and even like it. I'd like to think they'd prefer it to "<i>Gqberha". </i>I know I would. But "<i>Gqberha"?</i> Seriously? It sticks in my throat.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">PE already has a suburb called <i>Kabega </i>Park. Wasn't that enough for the racists behind this move? Or did they completely miss that?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As far as I'm concerned, this city will always be PE. They can never change that. And they can stuff <i>Gqberha </i>right up their tailpipes.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Secondly, there's the matter of Main Street. Since the 1990s, PE has had none. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>What sort of city has no fucking Main Street?</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The reason for this indignity is, they, the powers that be, whoever the fuck these faceless fuckers are, decided to change it. Instead, it was renamed, again without any by your leave to the people who live here and need to figure out what fucking street they're in, using maps that keep changing labels. No wonder so many people have to use GPSes nowadays.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Who the hell Govan Mbeki was and why I, Christina Engela, should give a rat's arse in 2023 is quite beyond me, but apparently he was a communist leader of the ANC back when it was still an exiled terrorist movement fighting Apartheid, and not a self-enriching political party which is currently terrorizing and raping what's left of South Africa. He was also the father of South Africa's third most useless president. Mbeki junior became a laughing stock around the world (and South Africa with him) for advocating beetroot as a serious medical treatment for AIDS and for rejecting the scientific reality that HIV and AIDS were connected. Other than his incompetence resulting in the denial of proper medical treatment and unnecessary deaths of countless South Africans suffering from HIV on his watch, Mbeki had no other claim to fame than that. Oh yes, and his pipe and his quasi-intellectual accent and bearing. Bet he never even saw Zupta sneaking up on him.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So now PE has Govan Mbeki Boulevard instead of a Main Street. The entire roadway from Russell Road to the other end is clogged up and narrowed due to the complete circle-jerk that was the IPTS bus lane system created for the fuckery that was the 2010 World Cup. This white elephant still occupies the center of the road, clogging it like the arteries of some geriatric who had been on a high cholesterol diet most of his life and is about to croak because all the vital supplies of oxygen and foodstuffs are being choked off into two and one-half lanes instead of three. Incidentally, one of those little bus shelters was actually on fire the other day as I drove past it, making it quite unforgettable.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of the World Cup fiasco, the Boet Erasmus stadium, which was still perfectly useable and popular with football and rugby clubs and supporters, was arbitrarily deemed unnecessary after the construction of that bloated thing in North End, and demolished over a number of years by looters. With consent of the Council of course. The land still remains fallow to this day - as does the new stadium, which is hardly used at all.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The center of town, which is the traditional heart of the city, has been completely robbed of its character. Beautiful old buildings - those that remain and haven't been gutted by fires started by squatters or overcrowded students living in rat-traps run by slum-lords - stand empty and have long fallen into decay. Gone are the days where the center of town was a safe, clean place to visit and do sight-seeing and a little shopping. All the big businesses that were once the pride of the center of Town have left for greener pastures, where people don't get murdered in broad daylight in full view of the public.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the plus side, at least PE doesn't have a Main Street full of potholes and covered in litter and piss, shit, blood and vomit stains from end to end. Instead, it has no main street left at all. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then we come to the state of the public buildings, which is simply appalling.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I am now 50 years old, and as a lifelong resident of PE, I can remember how proud Port Elizabethans were of our old buildings, the Campanile, the Railway Station, the City Hall, the Herald Building, the Habor Masters House, the Transnet Board Building, the Wool Exchange, the Feather Market Hall, the Old Post Office...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UKh_29jfg6AerYpHdrQ5rNP1TI2BihEUgmf8sXoEw1dTcg1yilSNPbdd_SsQeSN5EOrd_mqoaPQYTglYAwyoucKrWPaCLWSVZOeBiswumLzBQI09VSIp1Kk9wsK2MHFMeJseb64gqKsUn1CP9b2gQW0m7QoPVjTS_4ppnfXHwki4I1QlT5kba53J/s646/Baakens%20Police%20Station%20-%20State%20of%20Decay%20-%202009%20-%201.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="646" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UKh_29jfg6AerYpHdrQ5rNP1TI2BihEUgmf8sXoEw1dTcg1yilSNPbdd_SsQeSN5EOrd_mqoaPQYTglYAwyoucKrWPaCLWSVZOeBiswumLzBQI09VSIp1Kk9wsK2MHFMeJseb64gqKsUn1CP9b2gQW0m7QoPVjTS_4ppnfXHwki4I1QlT5kba53J/s320/Baakens%20Police%20Station%20-%20State%20of%20Decay%20-%202009%20-%201.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6jXn2708GIzO98xC9mwQ8c-wGQrLz2166mHichd314iXq7bEMnmnhr9YJH-ll9qU9qazB8a2dTHrQEAWGP6gWe2ZHJKwqPwR5SCg4lTl-zuSjAOuKExpzFlh4hmk73iFGy-di2uG2GTCnOhSN0Nky2lpE8Z27uXsn-UqB1y1Rj0jE-636VsEqB_uj/s2048/334912719_162533763256774_7913915239901492595_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6jXn2708GIzO98xC9mwQ8c-wGQrLz2166mHichd314iXq7bEMnmnhr9YJH-ll9qU9qazB8a2dTHrQEAWGP6gWe2ZHJKwqPwR5SCg4lTl-zuSjAOuKExpzFlh4hmk73iFGy-di2uG2GTCnOhSN0Nky2lpE8Z27uXsn-UqB1y1Rj0jE-636VsEqB_uj/s320/334912719_162533763256774_7913915239901492595_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">In these two photos above, you will see the same building from two different angles, decades apart. Its outside was repainted in the meantime, but the Old Post Office & Baakens Street Police Station has been closed up to vagrants - and opened to the elements since the 1990s and is virtually a complete ruin.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghUsCLxz184kfKUsjKFsypoWQjmGk4pvSyEuCW7hYu8RNAr5fHMT1CuYljwFtvwjbZd8AaGSr_rqrwUkFmcoUBBzc5S1J2uViCHAlclNjWRJk7e2c4Nh2T-INP31aGxeoGXYnvHz06d4Wjs-f3Gm5RIkhYTZp3odBteKwylm5q2TXmJUP9_h0Snqmt/s2048/334915962_766507531533849_8456489527966815509_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghUsCLxz184kfKUsjKFsypoWQjmGk4pvSyEuCW7hYu8RNAr5fHMT1CuYljwFtvwjbZd8AaGSr_rqrwUkFmcoUBBzc5S1J2uViCHAlclNjWRJk7e2c4Nh2T-INP31aGxeoGXYnvHz06d4Wjs-f3Gm5RIkhYTZp3odBteKwylm5q2TXmJUP9_h0Snqmt/s320/334915962_766507531533849_8456489527966815509_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The Opera House is still in use, apparently - but just look at it. Peeling paint, and shrubs growing from the balcony edge.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The Edward Hotel, once a hub in the city's social life as a wedding venue has been closed since 2011, after it was bought by some Saudi who decided hotels shouldn't sell alcohol, and fired the staff - and the hotel has been closed up tight ever since.</div><p style="text-align: justify;">The list goes on and on and on. Everywhere I look, the place has already fallen into decay. Every other day, I see a report of an old building on fire. Roofs have fallen apart and collapsed. Hallowed antique interiors are rotted and collapsing. Trees and bushes grow on rooftops and in gutters. Whenever I drive on the Settler's Freeway, I notice the missing safety rails - stolen by thieves selling pilfered metals to scrap metal dealers, the worryingly growing gaps between segments of the bridges, the TREES and weeds growing in the gutters and gaping openings left by stolen maintenance covers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Main Street Library has been closed for supposed renovations since 2009, and I wonder if it will ever reopen, and if any of the books that were there still exist or in any usable condition? Oh, they're fixing it, they say - well good for them - but WHY was it allowed to deteriorate to such a condition that it had to be refurbished for THIRTEEN YEARS in the first place?!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The St George's Park swimming pool, opened in 1934, has been closed since about 2010 ostensibly due to a water shortage (while other public pools remained open), and has since the COVID fiasco (2020-2022) been stripped of all its fittings and fixtures. It too is likely lost and unlikely to ever be reopened again, except at great cost to the ratepayer to replace everything that was stolen because the fucking monkeypality was too fucking <i>schnoep </i>to pay security guards to watch the facilities during the lockdowns.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have no doubt that if the parasitic fat cats running the shit-show that is the NMB Metro Council didn't meet in the City Hall, it too would be in as much of a shambles as the rest of these buildings are today!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But it doesn't end there - there's a lot more! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Road markings around the city have been so neglected and faded in some areas that they are as good as absent, leaving drivers confused about how they're supposed to navigate lanes, stops, no stopping areas and the like.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iNa3BHUWVtUSuITeQJEhnaSF-bq8Iep27V0edd7XMw39xemXJyh0QcQnmK9Xu4O8gn3TWLMSFoCDWYxl2Se1RAhdupnXOsdKbzHP6nSmRxx8jSSpCntjdyUaV62_QjOYpbYzLPSJmhLJp-M8h1BIEBjn5At11xgBAM5t1dRoeAgkz0UhQzpum-KS/s2048/334915904_585609843489605_4820002592719022743_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iNa3BHUWVtUSuITeQJEhnaSF-bq8Iep27V0edd7XMw39xemXJyh0QcQnmK9Xu4O8gn3TWLMSFoCDWYxl2Se1RAhdupnXOsdKbzHP6nSmRxx8jSSpCntjdyUaV62_QjOYpbYzLPSJmhLJp-M8h1BIEBjn5At11xgBAM5t1dRoeAgkz0UhQzpum-KS/s320/334915904_585609843489605_4820002592719022743_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiocSnzWC1rtv0if0rzYflt5QUsCGmehbBYWTJ8_QKL0qDj_8ePRzliC5qyifUhq9S86TIbZFOWMqJQblnrtWxZW25lweQurQ885QR6c8eCqIHvJjrhE7jbr8D2qmGCCq86bAM8ABTIUrEghtrd45DOsukLLaBkb5XVE3MV1FMmdb02GZYHmlzzK-OC/s2048/334909272_152620507319032_5862736581057161612_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiocSnzWC1rtv0if0rzYflt5QUsCGmehbBYWTJ8_QKL0qDj_8ePRzliC5qyifUhq9S86TIbZFOWMqJQblnrtWxZW25lweQurQ885QR6c8eCqIHvJjrhE7jbr8D2qmGCCq86bAM8ABTIUrEghtrd45DOsukLLaBkb5XVE3MV1FMmdb02GZYHmlzzK-OC/s320/334909272_152620507319032_5862736581057161612_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Rink street is one prime example, as well as the one way street on the corner at the Engen Garage at the intersection of Rink and Parliament streets. The intersection is supposed to be a painted island on the side heading towards Cape Road, to allow for traffic turning right to pass through that lane unobstructed. This yellow paint is now so invisible that all the people who got licenses after the mid 2000s (or moved here since the last time these markings were repainted) either don't know they're not supposed to stop there while waiting for the light to change, or don't give a flying toss.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As for the worth of one-way signs, these only appear to apply to those who recognize (or care about) traffic signs. For the rest, they do as they please.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Parliament Street, once touted as a "hub of social life in Port Elizabeth" - even as recently as in 2012, has fallen into a cesspit of a slum and misery. Gone are the coffee shops and restaurants that were there until 2014, replaced by horrid pits frequented by Nigerian gangsters, pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers. Even the night clubs have closed down - which should give you some idea of how bad it really is.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thanks to the DA, PE is also starting to rival Bloemfontein for the number of traffic circles per square kilometer. Installed as "traffic calming measures", speed bumps keep popping up everywhere to annoy and irritate road-users who just want to get from A to B without launching themselves over unpainted or unannounced traffic circles or speed bumps, me being one of them. After an incident in 2015, after my car launched over such an unseen obstacle on the freeway off-ramp in Albany Road, and both my passengers were injured, my previous ward councilor stopped returning my messages and afterwards, was replaced. Sometimes it helps to complain.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Most of the time however, nobody cares a damn. Not that it deters me, eh?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then we have the issue of traffic cops. The other day I nearly fainted - no shit - when I saw one of those rare mythical creatures actually standing in the middle of Five Ways, directing traffic during load-shedding! I didn't know we still had any! Matter fact, since he wasn't sitting behind the wheel of his patrol car, with the seats as far back as possible to accommodate his belly, I almost didn't recognize him for what he was!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">One of this city's main industries used to be tourism. Now tourism is a dead loss - and no, it's not just about COVID, the rot set in long before that - because what's the point of trying to con people from elsewhere to come over here and to spend their time and money if there's fuck-all left worth seeing?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Our beachfront once had blue-flag status - does it still? Last I'd heard it had been so polluted it lost that status. Did it get that back? Who knows? There is nothing unique about our beachfront anymore, nothing to attract parents with young children - why? Because the little kiddies train and station and the big shallow swimming pool, putt-putt course and roadhouse that were there are now all gone, demolished to make way for a boring flea market and skate park. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Happy Valley, once an attraction, has been too dangerous for families and young couples to visit at night because they get attacked, robbed, stabbed and killed. As far as I'm concerned the name could be legitimately changed now to UNhappy Valley instead. Now there's a name change they should've considered. The December Playland on Kings Beach too has become too dangerous to go to anymore for the same reasons, except for those careless or brave enough to risk death for a few not-so-cheap thrills.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">These days, PE "tourism" has been distorted to mean inviting sports events to move here instead of staying where they were, for a "change in scenery" - which is why there are now so many unwanted road-closures around the beachfront these days to cater for marathon and cycling events. The only businesses who gain from that is B&B's and hotels - which admittedly have suffered a lot since COVID started. I've got news for you - that's not tourism, folks - that's <i>desperation</i>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then there's the matter of who and what governs the Metro. The Council has been a coalition farce for decades now, a mishmash of temporary political allies who regularly throw fits if one feels slighted or cannot get what they want, solely in the pursuit of power or wealth - because the top jobs in the Metro are moneymaker you see, unlike back in the 1990s, when the job description for councilors and mayors was apolitical and the pay modest.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm reasonably sure that's why the top job in the Metro is so highly sought after, because it carries the biggest paycheck. Responsibility aside of course, because there's no such thing as accountability in South Africa when it comes to politicians. If a Mayor sinks a city, or drops it a couple of pegs lower on the failure scale, so what? Who do they answer to? God? The people? A judge? No. They get replaced or redeployed, and nothing happens to them. So if a Mayor becomes unpopular for telling poor households to quit whining and chuck bleach into their tap water, and they get replaced, so be it. They're just passing through anyway. Passengers. Parasites.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Transparency is something key to our Constitution and of key importance to democracy, yet it's something we in PE have never had. Not when the NP bunch were in charge, and not now under the new dispensation either. In the old days however, as anyone can tell you, with as little money as was available compared to today, shit worked. Not like today where we have leaders elected into their positions arguing all day about where to place the decimal comma, and nothing getting done, and money going missing left, right and center. We had hoped for more of an active role in deciding the path of our own wards, districts and municipalities, instead, what we got is a bunch of overpaid self-centered twats tap-dancing in front of the class because they don't know what to say and nothing they appear to do seems to make any difference. It's like watching the Beagle Boys rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic at 2x speed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On several occasions, the Council failed to inform us residents that the tap water we pay for wasn't safe to consume. The previous time, the mayor only addressed the issue after the matter leaked to the media three months after the monkeypality detected high levels of fecal matter in the water supply! The then mayor's response? To wave a weary paw and tell distraught residents to add Jik (bleach) to their drinking water and forget about it. Fat chance! I haven't consumed tap water since and buy bottled water rather than risk my hygiene and health! But then, as South Africans, we're no longer strangers to the notion that we have to buy or pay for the services (which we're already paying for and not getting) <i>separately </i>just to get what we deserve as citizens.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Taking all this into consideration, over the last few years, PE's Council has let residents down in ways I never thought possible. Let's take the water situation. I distinctly remember when I was a secretary for a monthly DA meeting back as far as 2010, that the aluminum smelting plant at Coega just outside PE had offered the use of their water desalination plant to the Metro to help alleviate the water shortage - but it was mentioned that this had been rejected due to "political reasons".<br /><br />In the meantime, the water shortage has continued and the water levels of our dams exacerbated - and in the meantime, the Council has done precisely nothing about it. The outstanding water pipelines from other nearby dams to our dams have not been completed - and all the successive coalition DA mayors have done is to try to motivate people to use less water and report leaks that never get repaired.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You wouldn't believe how I used to swear at those annoying "public service" Radio Algoa adverts featuring the mayor(s) wagging their little fingers at paying water users, impotently threatening fines and the like, farting against the thunder of human nature. People need water - and people who pay for it are going to use it, whether you like it or not, Mr. Politician - especially if you're powerless to do anything to rectify the situation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Instead, the Council's solution to the water problem is to wave their little fingers, flip their limp little wrists at us, and make out that it's all our fault for using "too much water".</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then there's the matter of homeless people sleeping on corners, public grass patches, open private verandas, invading empty properties etc. Why are they not being removed to homeless shelters? Why are there unregistered little Christian cult churches operating out of garages and abandoned shops on every second street in Central, but not a single one of them offering homeless accommodation of care?</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUGtNcSqlkHiIEWWap8k7rcx_Zdcxa0SeVXNdQaKIo1L-MMi6Rs4H-s21zg4erGCpVbPGSH_k1sPLgdsQYHVMlB7l7FDRJEw9UcOnSvhiRla70vxOz0whsXAhlv1OIgY1KQqXXXvH8mxbS9fCxXJJtahitwtmmAZ7HlNP_L4nmSvd07W__CdH6jMV3/s2048/334914496_150652457540045_4000015926563091728_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUGtNcSqlkHiIEWWap8k7rcx_Zdcxa0SeVXNdQaKIo1L-MMi6Rs4H-s21zg4erGCpVbPGSH_k1sPLgdsQYHVMlB7l7FDRJEw9UcOnSvhiRla70vxOz0whsXAhlv1OIgY1KQqXXXvH8mxbS9fCxXJJtahitwtmmAZ7HlNP_L4nmSvd07W__CdH6jMV3/s320/334914496_150652457540045_4000015926563091728_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Instead, Russell Road and Rink Street now look like a refugee center with homeless encampments all over the place. And what of the huge drifts of piled up trash in the gutters and on the pavements? Do they have to let it build up an entire week before cleaning it up? Where are all the street cleaners the city used to employ? Aren't their enough of them? Why not hire more?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Next, I have to ask about funding. Even in spite of load-shedding crippling the local and national economies, residents and business property owners still have to pay rates and taxes - the monkeypality is still raking it in.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is 2023, a time when the country and each metro or municipality has <i><b>never </b></i>collected as much taxes from as wide and diverse a taxpayer base as it does now, and yet the country is falling apart, and the city along with it. The reality is that it is barely hanging on by a thread.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In spite of the grossly inflated and disproportionate fees charged for property rates (more than 500% what they were just a few decades ago), vehicle licensing fees (also 500% what they were just 20 years ago) and service charges being guzzled by the greedy Metro - road maintenance is limited to bare essential emergency repairs, city technicians spend their days chasing down water leaks reported 6 months previously, and public buildings have long ago fallen into ruin.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>WHERE THE FUCK IS ALL THAT MONEY GOING?!!!!</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Because it sure as godsdamn fucking fuck isn't going into our infrastructure!</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Is it going on salaries perhaps? To pay for the high falutin' city officials salaries, bonuses and golden handshakes? If that is the case we're being royally ripped off and their salaries need to be cut back to a manageable realistic level! To be a public servant after all, isn't just "a job", it's at heart meant to be a calling.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">If religious ministers can be paid a stipend just to stand there and tell people the lies they want to hear, then so can city officials. Why they need to be politicians and why these posts of ward councilors and mayor need to be tied to political parties really is quite beyond me - what the fucking fuck does politics have to do with running a damn city?! What does a fucking politician know about managing a business enterprise such as a small town - let alone a metropolis?!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps it's no surprise that this city is in the state it's in, after all. Look at who's in charge. Politicians. Political parties who are forever at each others throats, forever jockying to get the one-up on their enemies - putting politics first, before the welfare of the people they supposedly serve.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After decades of mismanagement of well, EVERYTHING since 1994, numerous heritage buildings, whose upkeep has either been neglected in order to facilitate demolition so that the properties can be resold and repurposed for profit, or sabotaged through cheap and incorrect substitutions. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBkY-kW5kwE_MJl5ltc1XK3zcXG0NP5wvLm98LBEXnR1KtrYnVF6RvIaC2iSnQB6GJTQ0_LjJGpJP5B4_5OrBj5yYpEmrUI3C9qvKSLI8S917TzshwDEAPrgxuxpnvlFBLsMxrvvI_EmfNnuvPe8Vtn6Uw2wYgp70k4UTUtFn47weddx3DqChJhM_/s2048/334538314_933791474466842_3432583186560681395_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBkY-kW5kwE_MJl5ltc1XK3zcXG0NP5wvLm98LBEXnR1KtrYnVF6RvIaC2iSnQB6GJTQ0_LjJGpJP5B4_5OrBj5yYpEmrUI3C9qvKSLI8S917TzshwDEAPrgxuxpnvlFBLsMxrvvI_EmfNnuvPe8Vtn6Uw2wYgp70k4UTUtFn47weddx3DqChJhM_/s320/334538314_933791474466842_3432583186560681395_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsivojvUmG-KSzbzPp4sVmXm0LQ85V6NkVFskjfq1iZX0g3coHrmNPxTN4Fvp1aE5K8R6ihQr8ZGs2yCsPBTePuJWNcYFEHPUmP6aAmfzEG7xW11N-LkZzBJCXPMQzqVywfJ5jyY6mQZCfGpH93l_QOtyj8xa26PPceIX0G4pSdpHKnqaxH63QJx-6/s2048/334841073_588142209633229_5113759488766362791_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsivojvUmG-KSzbzPp4sVmXm0LQ85V6NkVFskjfq1iZX0g3coHrmNPxTN4Fvp1aE5K8R6ihQr8ZGs2yCsPBTePuJWNcYFEHPUmP6aAmfzEG7xW11N-LkZzBJCXPMQzqVywfJ5jyY6mQZCfGpH93l_QOtyj8xa26PPceIX0G4pSdpHKnqaxH63QJx-6/s320/334841073_588142209633229_5113759488766362791_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbugElMV4w1gOwOeU_tQNidm9rMcGrMLDowUQoDe_YrGtqhv-Jx1UmCBpGYAwHO_tWy3T9nPJiAeJQLyTgmIlC8sMtslIHCCLlDvStmazr0YHcATXlIiSlJnbWoJ7vghb2xyR6uY6Xic32sjvBnbzXRn_gkR3jBW08OdeN0Of53IIwwXh01YFEa3TS/s2048/334903835_1198954667407598_9078068186523308713_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbugElMV4w1gOwOeU_tQNidm9rMcGrMLDowUQoDe_YrGtqhv-Jx1UmCBpGYAwHO_tWy3T9nPJiAeJQLyTgmIlC8sMtslIHCCLlDvStmazr0YHcATXlIiSlJnbWoJ7vghb2xyR6uY6Xic32sjvBnbzXRn_gkR3jBW08OdeN0Of53IIwwXh01YFEa3TS/s320/334903835_1198954667407598_9078068186523308713_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivV9ffNueFCJcZTBMD6v9Hg_quzQJzFh-WpXIPQTMyZXVE8qIi7PSOtK-XOKcNNfopIAQ_baRUX7x9weQtKXou5Vkz50shfAC-tK11uz5sKNG2gqBPqnR66zZWC5MKe50su8aGda0dsb80RWHFvB9kPJqTfWUvSYCq0hDzJohspUf1YfpTM1-UdBXJ/s2048/334907953_122217227314701_7212405702605893570_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivV9ffNueFCJcZTBMD6v9Hg_quzQJzFh-WpXIPQTMyZXVE8qIi7PSOtK-XOKcNNfopIAQ_baRUX7x9weQtKXou5Vkz50shfAC-tK11uz5sKNG2gqBPqnR66zZWC5MKe50su8aGda0dsb80RWHFvB9kPJqTfWUvSYCq0hDzJohspUf1YfpTM1-UdBXJ/s320/334907953_122217227314701_7212405702605893570_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Compare the Donkin street terrace houses now to how they looked when properly restored in the 1980s before that soulless Irish profiteer got hold of them? How many beautiful old heritage buildings in the jewel that was once Central were illegally demolished because they had become mere empty shells with bricked up doors and windows?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>The matter now isn't decay as it is happening - but decay that has already occurred. </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>How do they think they could ever hope to catch up?! </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>It's already too late.</b><b> Stick a fork in it</b><b>, i</b><b>t's done</b><b>.</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The people who have been in charge of this city since 1994, and there have been a lot of them, have each played a part in the wanton destruction of this once beautiful city, for the sake of greed, selfishness or self enrichment at the cost of the greater good. Either through action or inaction, they've each plunged a dagger into its heart, twisted it, and killed it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">They won't be satisfied until the entire thing will have decayed to the point where people will either have to move away, or the whole lot will have to be demolished to build faceless boring little pintsize townhouses and high rise apartments you couldn't swing a cat in without giving it serious brain damage.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I had hoped to retire here, and to live out my days in my home town. I have ten years left to wait and see how things will develop, but I have my doubts that this mess can be pulled back from the brink. Perhaps I will relocate instead, and go live on a small holding somewhere, away from people and their idiocy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This next picture says it all. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP90oAzUDuOOzEx7qeoFMsZ_lEmGeV5NKC-dxEWFhUQIQUapbBLtBaFVoYlk5_kTFRcuQPuIucK9DIQ1udTJ8Kecke6w2xK0_cZWjVy9L_z9c13R8ngZuB6qr_YVWOR1qjqBPXwhlqqpaJxip_69tFtUN3Wl60dEoR9yDPbl4ihTlYnwrxpfPffm_m/s1084/Welcome%20to%20Gqberha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1084" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP90oAzUDuOOzEx7qeoFMsZ_lEmGeV5NKC-dxEWFhUQIQUapbBLtBaFVoYlk5_kTFRcuQPuIucK9DIQ1udTJ8Kecke6w2xK0_cZWjVy9L_z9c13R8ngZuB6qr_YVWOR1qjqBPXwhlqqpaJxip_69tFtUN3Wl60dEoR9yDPbl4ihTlYnwrxpfPffm_m/s320/Welcome%20to%20Gqberha.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Port Elizabeth was a proud and beautiful city. <i>Gqberha </i>is a shit-hole.</div>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-3083458561484376602023-02-26T00:51:00.002-08:002023-02-26T00:51:19.489-08:00Does space suck? Find out here!<p class="MsoNormal">"Space Sucks!" Space Sucks! Book 1</p><p class="MsoNormal">Does space suck? Find out here!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After an unexpected battle in orbit over a strange planet,
the crew of the surviving ship lands to repair their damage. Will the locals
welcome them - or try to eat them?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On the border of Terran space, a lone starship on frontier
patrol is unexpectedly attacked. How will the rest of their day turn out? Will
they miss dinner?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At the very last moment, Earth’s first mission to send a
ship to explore a nearby star system, is delayed. A shuttle is on its way to
dock – a shuttle bringing an admiral bearing bad news – and the captain of
Earth's first starship finds her life – and her career, poised on the edge of
the PR department’s knife.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On the other hand, Lance-Corporal Thomas O’Blivion – a
newbie to a deep space mining station where the miners have just gone on strike
and turned to violence, has no idea how bad his day is about to get!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lastly, while in the midst of taking revenge (and a second
magnum of champers) insurance salesman Eric Sloane is paid a visit by a strange
and extraordinary alien (who informs him her name is Catisha), and points out
the flaws in his plan.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Launch into space, the future and beyond! Enjoy a humorous
look at life in space through the eyes of some colorful characters in this
collection of five unique sci-fi tales by Christina Engela, spanning everything
from adventure to suspense to comedy and then back again!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Narrated by: Jennifer Pratt, Published by Peever Publishing<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Read more: <a href="https://wp.me/PcoTxI-1Yw">https://wp.me/PcoTxI-1Yw</a><div><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/SZvzEqKkgpE" width="480"></iframe></div>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-42479212297996608162023-01-27T00:31:00.001-08:002023-01-27T00:31:53.259-08:00"It's Just A Joke"<p>I just blocked another old school "friend" on Facebook for posting a transphobic "joke". Honestly, what some people think is funny at the expense of other people's suffering is quite beyond me.</p><p>It's not satire, because satire is meant to make fun of powerful institutions and people who are literally untouchable as far as ordinary people are concerned. Satire doesn't attack people who are vulnerable and victimized by society, or dehumanize them, or add weight or legitimacy to the arguments against them. </p><p>I mean, are you posting this sort of asinine infantile garbage because you think that letting people know you think it's genuinely funny is somehow not going to hurt anyone? Do you expect them to not be hurt by it because you're the one sharing it and you're ostensibly their friend? Or do you simply not care?</p><p>Are you so self-centered that you're somehow oblivious to the fact that you're basically rubbing salt in the wounds of any transgender people watching, and that you're basically laughing in their faces at their discomfort, their pain and their fear?</p><p>Sharing material like that publicly, <i>knowing </i>that you have transgender people on your friends list, especially people you were friends at school with and know in real life? And doing so at a time when transgender people are being marginalized and being fucking murdered just for existing? </p><p>What the fuck is wrong with you? </p>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-60357109464466076312022-11-25T21:44:00.002-08:002022-11-25T21:44:37.094-08:00A Better Way - An Alternative To War It's no understatement to say that there are countries so well armed in the 21st century that we as human beings have the capacity to destroy the Earth many times over. Further, for nearly 80 years, humanity has lived under that threat of mutual annihilation as if it is somehow a "good thing" as presented by various dominating nations who hold the bulk of nuclear arsenals themselves and whose actions - either accidental or deliberate - set the tone of this "Cold War". A "hot war" would mean a return to open military action, real war, and a threat of total devastation - not only for the warring nations, but for every human being, every other species of life on Earth!<p style="text-align: justify;">Why any species that considers itself so intelligent as to be worthy of colonizing neighboring worlds, or the stars, would paint itself into such a terrible corner, no-one knows. IF there were a god of some kind, they would most likely marvel at our human capacity for folly and fascination with large-scale industrial level death and destruction, and probably feel a little jealous, even slightly threatened.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As a teen I grew up under the threat of global nuclear war - it set the tone of my youth and given subsequent political and military actions around the world - the Gulf War, Sarajevo, the Balkans, Russia's war on Ukraine - even my adulthood. Humans don't seem able to choose a change from the way things have been since Hiroshima. Why can't things be different? Why must it always be thus? What if there was an alternative to the way things are? Surely there must be?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Let me offer you one.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><!--more--><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It could start with an edict from a global body of leaders, like the United Nations, where all member countries agreed to destroy all nuclear and chemical and bio-weapons safely and with immediate effect. All national militaries could be downsized or their scope expanded to include emergency services during national disasters. Armies, navies and air forces could take the place of nuclear devastation in the "mutually assured destruction" clause. Their members could staff the national sports teams instead.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">How would wars be fought then? We as humans have demonstrated an incapacity to do without confrontation, outrage, anger, jealousy or war, so there must be an alternative. What about war as a means of determining the outcome of disputes? There must be an alternative to that as well!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Disputing nations can take their disputes to the other, non-lethal battlefield - one which may be more beneficial: the sports arena. This is aside from issues which are governed by mutually agreed international laws of course.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thus, warring nations may put away their billion-dollar high-tech soldier-2000 weapons for another day, and instead entire nations can flock to big screens or small, to see how their nation's first teams fare on the rugby field, or the cricket pitch, or in matches held in neutral countries, which may decide the outcome of a dispute.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Instead of waging full-blown war, which is destructive both socially, economically and in terms of human lives and suffering, nations can instead invest in building sports teams to exercise their foreign policies on the sports field. There can still be "friendly" matches of course, as usual, but "unfriendly" matches would be held to the same stringent rules and codes of conduct - plus the scrutiny of UN mediators - and the progress of every match would be televised for all the world to see. For non-warring countries, this would be likely a source of entertainment, but for those involved it might set the tone for future interactions with nations with which they have a dispute over say, fishing rights, a disputed territory, visa requirements and etc.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The best part is, aside from a few sports-related injuries, nobody would die on the frontline of any dispute. No civilian casualties. No bombed schools or hospitals. No civilians freezing in cold, dark cities because the enemy bombed their power utilities. No more dead children. No more young men dying because they're sent to fight wars for old men.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3RLQhpUvMX6UcCoYrpERPorzERkTnz_OPc18nY4gMVk2eIDb_N50ORis2sZ2l44Br5Z50ftkU2xoMq5C11YKXsSe_pntjInW_mO3KeKZdUG2B7gnjkCipBVRBu4lUXPE0-yIkBpdGp5SDRYexVMaNUUnrQZIXnUQB9u0PmcgBYxT3dHGgqBqPlVd/s300/war.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="204" data-original-width="300" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3RLQhpUvMX6UcCoYrpERPorzERkTnz_OPc18nY4gMVk2eIDb_N50ORis2sZ2l44Br5Z50ftkU2xoMq5C11YKXsSe_pntjInW_mO3KeKZdUG2B7gnjkCipBVRBu4lUXPE0-yIkBpdGp5SDRYexVMaNUUnrQZIXnUQB9u0PmcgBYxT3dHGgqBqPlVd/s1600/war.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">As a former soldier myself, and as a student of history, I find that immensely appealing. The message is universal.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">If the system is not adhered to, there is still always the tried-and-trusted fallback of actual war, but with the penalties that would be imposed by the UN and its other member countries in consequence, such a regression may not be worth it after all. Over time, the return to actual war would seem increasingly barbaric and unnecessary - as it should.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Aside from ending real war, this system as proposed - with a few tweaks from actual political scientists (and sports enthusiasts) might birth a whole new branch of competitive sport which would also hold huge promise in the sportscasting industry, training methods, sponsorships, and get-rich-quick betting. The possibilities as they say, are endless. Humans could, in so doing, show their true colors and settle their scores on a grand scale without exposing their insides and making things as ugly as they get in real, live, war.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Would this not be a truly advanced, evolved, way of settling disputes? A better way.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Will you, the world, accept my proposal?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have the rest of my life to wait and see.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">#endwar #nomorewar #solution #essay #proposal #UN #unitednations #sportsfan #sport #settledisputeswithsport #Ukraine</p><div dir="auto"><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Caligraphy-Christina-Engela-Copy.jpg"><img alt="Digital Autograph Christina Engela" height="108" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Caligraphy-Christina-Engela-Copy-300x108.jpg" width="300" /></a></p><hr /><div dir="auto"><div dir="auto"><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Catch me on social media!</span> <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaEngelaAuthor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17206" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/fb-99x104.png" width="48" /></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17205" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/twitty-106x104.png" width="51" /></a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-engela-346362255/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17203" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/LinkedIn.jpg" width="49" /></a> <a href="https://independent.academia.edu/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-15592" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Academia.jpg" width="47" /></a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/christinaengela/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17131" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/instagram-99x104.png" width="47" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3358833.Christina_Engela" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-15887" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/goodreads-log-101x104.png" width="48" /></a></span></p><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaEngelaAuthor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-engela-346362255/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> | <a href="https://independent.academia.edu/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Academia</a> |<a href="https://www.instagram.com/christinaengela/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3358833.Christina_Engela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GoodReads</a> | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnTwVKNO_jrfZfXkoXFo_RA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2022.</span></p></div></div>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-65807344130410575782022-11-20T23:14:00.000-08:002022-11-20T23:14:02.795-08:00My Rage Is Forged In Death<div style="text-align: justify;">Another mass shooting in the USA isn't really exceptional these days, after all, it happens every other day - and that is a striking indictment of the country that loves to bill itself as a bastion of the freedoms of speech and expression and as "the land of the free". Sadly it seems that inanimate objects in the shape of guns, have more rights than living, bleeding human beings do.</div><p style="text-align: justify;">On the 20th a<a href="https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/11/20/colorado-mass-shooting-gay-nightclub-club-q/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">nother mass shooting took place, this time in an LGBT club in Colorado</a>. Another cowardly white supremacist Christian terrorist has struck down people who had never interfered with him or his own life, nor threatened him in any way, shape or form. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Let me point out that this is a case in point why I don't write for the masses. The masses are stupid. Stupid people hate those who differ from them for being different. Granted, a small part of that majority are stupid enough to commit violent acts of terror fueled by the stupidity shared with the greater whole of stupidity, but the stupidity is shared and the same.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Besides, stupid people don't read - and those who attempt to, fail to comprehend what they read and interpret everything literally and fundamentally Innuendo, wit and subtlety are wasted on them. Writing for the majority is like making pulp; wasting good seeds on infertile ground as hard as cement. Thus I write for the minority, for those weathered by high winds and battered by life's storms, whose views have become shaped by their experiences and their eyes opened by the blindness of those around them - their soil is already fertile and tilled by the plough of hardship.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify;">It's perhaps no coincidence that this domestic terrorist attack came close to or on TDOR - the Transgender Day Of Remembrance, a day on which those who were murdered around the world because of being transgender by bigoted transphobic cowardly twats with less than five braincells. Thanks to the stochastic terrorism of numbskulls like Donald Trump, whose rhetoric traverses the world and who launched his next presidential campaign by inciting harm against transgender people, the stats are soaring. This is apparently already the highest transgender murder rate on record, and it's still just November!</div><p>Sophie La Belle had this to say in her latest info graphic:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4PvvjFKEyZ7EaxvNTqAWX2M1EVh4UC7HkwruBpUup5R98PVNtPwKrxwV_DpHBMiDqRguQEQnYtAsjMJedFe0lye6NtmrATu06iEgl8iIs1mSlEz_QOQKO0uY3RCVK3BSDaRaBj3TTitZjoKX1ByDXJTuwcI3kETYQDh8BtIhBCBqDQYPjmFaa4Q0/s1890/My%20Rage%20Is%20Forged%20In%20Death.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1890" data-original-width="1872" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4PvvjFKEyZ7EaxvNTqAWX2M1EVh4UC7HkwruBpUup5R98PVNtPwKrxwV_DpHBMiDqRguQEQnYtAsjMJedFe0lye6NtmrATu06iEgl8iIs1mSlEz_QOQKO0uY3RCVK3BSDaRaBj3TTitZjoKX1ByDXJTuwcI3kETYQDh8BtIhBCBqDQYPjmFaa4Q0/w396-h400/My%20Rage%20Is%20Forged%20In%20Death.jpg" width="396" /></a></div><p>Indeed I concur: My Rage Is Forged In Death.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I've often been accused of being "theophobic" or "anti-Christian" as a writer. I've written my fair share of books and academic papers in my time exposing Christian misinformation about the occult and religions like Paganism and Satanism, as well as stood firmly and openly in the path of Christian hatred directed against LGBT people, women, and people of color, so I suppose it's a fair assumption of theirs to say "the author is theophobic" or "she hates Christianity" rather than to accept the point of view that they're actually in the wrong and have participated in and helped cement a million or more crimes against humanity over the last 2000 years.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Let me answer that by saying I don't write for the masses, I don't write chicken soup to pander to the thoughtlessness of the self-deluding somnambulent masses, so I'm not likely to reach that desirable "bestseller" accolade or be praised by the sheeple for how accurately I've described the pen they've embraced or the virtues of the self-appointed farmers and butchers in the shadows.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I write for the few, I write to fuel the spark of enlightenment, to spark the feeling of "something needs to be done about this" in those too long mentally inactive, whose minds have been mired and weighed down with cerebral fluff and pseudo-intellectual fare. I write to challenge those who are waking up and need something to think about, and for those already awakened, to inspire them to wipe the sleep from their eyes - and blinking, to see what's around them with their own eyes and to smell the bullshit they're expected to accept as "the way things are" for themselves. I write a strong dose of the injustice of reality served with a twist of what ought to be done about it.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Some people don't like that, and if you're wondering, you need to ask yourself "why?" Maybe you need to read more of my work to see for yourself!</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Change is coming.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Slowly perhaps, but it will come.</p>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-61350309508820803462022-10-20T12:16:00.001-07:002022-10-20T12:16:21.593-07:00Darkness Fades<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuVnZ7YBXD5U--93K4aMewdlfttHhrpLidPLuluKSRl8z_rlkavcuHNadPyS56nFHD0a5lq-LHKVq1sV6sNM7CZNgRhnquhqBYATbJbQZiU8wrDPlDTuaYHGacBFN5Zy0sLiniJKYwsb0BS2idMYRsp6wkUKtw6Fuq0zX8YcYgIQkiXFbJ1JK7fhSd/s3250/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3250" data-original-width="2250" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuVnZ7YBXD5U--93K4aMewdlfttHhrpLidPLuluKSRl8z_rlkavcuHNadPyS56nFHD0a5lq-LHKVq1sV6sNM7CZNgRhnquhqBYATbJbQZiU8wrDPlDTuaYHGacBFN5Zy0sLiniJKYwsb0BS2idMYRsp6wkUKtw6Fuq0zX8YcYgIQkiXFbJ1JK7fhSd/w443-h640/Slide1.JPG" width="443" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-10199774828633817532022-09-28T02:32:00.004-07:002022-09-28T02:32:42.786-07:00Have you read the Galaxii series yet? It's got action! Adventure! Space Opera!<p>Have you read the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Z8X21J4" target="_blank">Galaxii series</a> yet? It's got action! Adventure! Space Opera!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK9LKoTnlI8b9jV5hYjF6wzqc_lDYLyNobtU4jkFxWmiRmtk0S5UJEM4lyAwtNnOBSo1aLa1aOb8uqFDHvhgEudla_kGwYVRDRdIiyLCtqhh3zaOcKu46WM3ZRs9NnekNNBpuxFV8wF83uD32mOrI481YuRUDXj-HBRVA8k_5NDLey0npN04fomat-/s538/2022-Galaxii-Series-Banner-a-538x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="538" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK9LKoTnlI8b9jV5hYjF6wzqc_lDYLyNobtU4jkFxWmiRmtk0S5UJEM4lyAwtNnOBSo1aLa1aOb8uqFDHvhgEudla_kGwYVRDRdIiyLCtqhh3zaOcKu46WM3ZRs9NnekNNBpuxFV8wF83uD32mOrI481YuRUDXj-HBRVA8k_5NDLey0npN04fomat-/s320/2022-Galaxii-Series-Banner-a-538x300.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">Galaxii is an epic futuristic saga written by Christina Engela, that relates the struggles and adventures of diverse characters, each realistically portrayed with their own unique interests, circumstances, and each has their own challenges and obstacles to overcome: career-minded Space Fleet officers, solo adventurers and rogues, and Corsairs – the space pirates who made the space-lanes perilous to travel in their pursuit of autonomy, wealth and notoriety. The good guys aren't always what they seem, and neither are the villains.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Currently there are four titles in the Galaxii Series: “Blachart”, “Demonspawn”, “Dead Beckoning” and "Sentinel".</p><p><strong><span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Z8X21J4" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-16835" height="44" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Amazon-ebook-button-150x67.jpg" width="100" /></a> </span></strong><strong><span style="color: red;"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-16839" height="44" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SW-ebook-button-150x66.jpg" width="100" /></span></strong></p><p><strong><a href="https://wp.me/PcoTxI-vt" target="_blank">Read more about the series.</a></strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2022.</span></p><p><br /></p>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-29833448012977037502022-02-23T06:31:00.001-08:002022-02-23T06:31:12.229-08:00My Association with the Alternative Religions Forum & the South African Occult Community<p><strong style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img alt="" class="alignleft wp-image-17479 size-thumbnail" height="104" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/20210512_082306-Copy-74x104.jpg" width="74" /></strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Good morning, friends and fans!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">*Speaking in hushed, reassuring tones* Don't be afraid now, kiddies, but today we will diverge from talking about my fiction writing and take a closer look at some of my academic writing and advocacy work. This article will provide a brief description of my advocacy in the field of religious freedom, and will also take a closer look at my background in order to create a more balanced picture of me as an individual.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><br /><!--more--><p></p><div dir="auto"><h2 style="text-align: justify;">Background</h2><p style="text-align: justify;">I’m a born and bred Port Elizabethan, as of 1 February 1973! I’m an Aquarian and also a transgender woman. I have been an activist for most of my adult life, specifically my field of interests has been LGBT rights and later freedom of (and also <em>from</em>) religion! Over the years I became interested in the communities that grow up around various religions, and became an amateur student of several of these.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To provide religious context to my background in relation to the topic of this article - that is, my association with the Alternative Religions Forum, the paper I wrote, called "<a href="https://christinaengela.com/bibliography-of-books-by-christina-engela/non-fiction/satanism-the-acid-test/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Satanism: The Acid Test</a>" and the South African Occult Community - I was raised a Christian (Congregational and then Methodist), then left the church in 2008 when I considered myself an agnostic. In 2010 I entered the Pagan community and participated in the local meets of Wiccan groups in my area. Over time, I since gravitated away from religion or belief-centered identities and embraced my atheism. Mainly, I have campaigned not only for the equality and freedom of religion, but also for the rights of people to be free <em>of</em> religion as well. This is, I feel, an often overlooked concept - and a sadly neglected group of people!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I’m what I call a second generation writer, as both my parents were writers as well. My father, <a href="https://christinaengela.com/about-christina-engela/christina-engela-biography/theo-engela-suspense-writer/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Theo</a>, wrote dramas and my mother, <a href="https://christinaengela.com/about-christina-engela/christina-engela-biography/yvonne-lorraine-engela/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Yvonne</a>, wrote poetry in English and Afrikaans. I write mainly science-fiction, generally with a horror and fantasy bent, and have also written my share of poetry and non-fiction. I currently have around 30 titles in print, eBook and some in audiobook format available. Writing is not as lucrative as some people believe, but it is a way of life! Aside from “Satanism: The Acid Test” I have written a further three academic papers on the topic of Satanism, the occult and moral panics. They're listed at the bottom of this article.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I’m happily married to a wonderful woman named <a href="https://wendykgloss.wordpress.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Wendy</a>, who like her cartoon namesake, is a witch (and artist and poet) who specializes in herbs and medicines. We live in a lovely old Victorian home with three cats …and an uncertain number of ghosts, whom I occasionally write about on our <a href="https://www.ourghostencounters.christinaengela.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">paranormal blog</a>.</p><h2 style="text-align: justify;">A brief Look at my activities before the ARF</h2><p style="text-align: justify;">Between 2008 and 2011 I had been working almost exclusively as an activist for LGBT rights, and in particular transgender rights since I am transgender. I did so via two South African organizations, namely the South African Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (SA GLAAD) and the Eastern Cape Gay & Lesbian Association (ECGLA). I was a founding member of SA GLAAD, which was established in response to Jon Qwelane’s hate speech column in the Sunday Sun in 2008. I joined ECGLA in February of 2009 as a member, and rose to lead the organization later the same year.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After the successful conclusion of the NMB Pride event organized by ECGLA, I stepped down as head of ECGLA and shortly afterwards, of SA GLAAD as well. In the meantime, in about 2010, I had also become more involved in the local Pagan community. At around the same time, I became aware of the 16 Days of Activism Against Witch Hunts campaign being held annually by the <a href="http://paganrightsalliance.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">South African Pagan Rights Alliance</a>, an activist organization based within the South African Pagan community, and offered to assist with collection of statistics which SAPRA used to build a database of incidents of witch hunts, or persecution of perceived witches in South Africa. In about 2012, I became a member of the executive committee of SAPRA.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">At that particular time, there had been frequently a lot of negative news press coverage of a series of so-called “occult related crimes” in which news media platforms provided unfair, distorted and biased interpretations of these crimes in a religious sense. One of the heads of the SA Police’s “occult related crimes” unit (ORC) had gone on record in the media to equate Witchcraft and Satanism as religions with being “a belief system which leads to crime”. Being associated with Satanism could therefore – according to the SAPS – be seen as a justifiable reason to be suspected of criminal activity, even after these religions had been legally recognized in South Africa in the 1990s.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The SAPS added a lot of fuel to the fires of hysteria by the maintenance of a special police unit (the aforementioned ORC) staffed exclusively by evangelicalist Christian members, and run like a tax-payer funded Christian “spiritual warfare” or “deliverance ministry”, which also spread misinformation as though it were official opinion and fact.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Throughout this period, media – especially Afrikaans language and religious media, eagerly provided spotlights for self-proclaimed “occult experts” who spread misinformation with impunity.</p><hr /><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://wp.me/PcoTxI-55A" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-19665 size-large" height="404" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Opsaal-Poster-2021-538x404.jpg" width="538" /></a></p><hr /><p style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps what I found most disturbing about this period in particular, was that individuals with absolutely no personal experience or training in Satanism or knowledge of Pagan religions or other occult beliefs or practices, were being presented as, and accepted as, experts in these fields – with their main and only qualification as authority figures being that they were some form of lay Christian clergy. In the case of members of the ORC, it was Christian clergy members wearing police uniforms and bearing the authority and assent of the State.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In addition to murder, kidnapping and other text-book crimes, belief under the ORC became a closely scrutinized motive for the commission of crimes. It is from this moral panic that the popular urban legends originated which claimed that specific brands or genres of rock music (i.e. Slipknot), violent video games, music, black clothing and candles found at a crime scene or in possession of a suspect were to blame for “opening” teens up to evil spirits or that they were connected to Satanism.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the SAPS's periodical magazine "Servamus", such untruths and inaccuracies were published and sold to the public under the guise of officialdom and state authority as though they were fact. Further, any attempt by various activist or advocacy organizations to set the record straight fell on deaf ears - the SAPS refused to entertain approaches from the SAPRA for example, but in the meantime, went so far as to lie about meeting with representatives of SAPRA in order to lend credibility to their own misinformation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Aside from the SAPS element, there was another sort of “occult expert” who craved the media spotlight, being the numerous evangelicalist pastors who set up “deliverance ministries” and “refuges” often while claiming to have been Satanists themselves. The evidence and testimony given by these individuals, which became the topic of a flood of interviews and articles in tabloid press such as Huisgenoot and YOU magazines, simply did not add up – not that the media appeared to care about verifying any of these claims. The media seemed eager to give this sort of “expert” attention – after all, their public seemed interested to know all about Satanism and what drove these people to commit such horrific and tragic crimes! Kobus Jonker for example, who founded the ORC unit and is still widely consulted as an “expert” on Satanism, is the man credited with starting the conspiracy theory in the 1980s that there were over 300,000 “Satanists” in South Africa who were all involved in human sacrifice and other crimes, and who were in league with crematoria that disposed of the evidence – all the while somehow keeping everything a massive secret! The scary part is, that a lot of people actually believed this sort of tripe, and some still do.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To those in the occult community, nobody seemed to care about the accuracy – or inaccuracy – in the claims made by these people, except for the people finding themselves on the receiving end of the rising intolerance, fear and loathing which resulted from all this misinformation! However, for those who saw past the hysteria and the frequent media-facilitated witch hunts of the 1980s, 90s and 2000s, it was very clear that the SAPS and all those “experts” were not talking about the same occultism or Satanism as practiced by occultists or Satanists. There is such a thing as “mythical satanism” or “legend tripping”, also called “pseudo-satanism”, which is in effect a Christian-created idea or construct of what Satanism is supposed to be. One of the terms used to describe the mythical satanist is a “reverse-Christian” – that is, individuals who believe in the Christian mythos of Satan and essentially form and practice their beliefs around the Christian perception of Satan as an actual deity, and from the opposite direction.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Consequently at around 2013, it became clear to those of us at SAPRA – a group which focused on the protection and advancement of Pagan rights in South Africa – that the hatred and intolerance being expressed against adherents of Pagan paths was the result of an overwhelming external ignorance of what Pagans believed or did – or even how Pagans looked in relation to everybody else – and that a lot of this hostility was brought about firstly by the average Christian’s ignorance of Paganism, and the massive amount of propaganda stemming from the same ignorance, combined with a perception that Pagans and Witches were somehow just “less committed Satanists”.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Evidence of this confusion is still seen in false material such as the so-called “<a href="https://wp.me/PcoTxI-3TG" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Occult Calendar</a>” also called the “<a href="https://wp.me/PcoTxI-3TG" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Satanic Calendar</a>” or the “<a href="https://wp.me/PcoTxI-3TG" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Witches Calendar</a>”, spread around by some fanatical Christian groups since the 1980s, and which purports to be a list of dates on which Satanists supposedly commit human sacrifice, orgies, ritual murder, animal sacrifice, or other atrocities. This calendar was also taken as fact, virtually verbatim, by a few law enforcement agencies around the world during the moral panic of the 1980s and 90s, in the USA and the UK in particular, with predictable results - the men and women in blue ended up chasing ghosts and conspiracies of supposed "satanists" hiding in the shrubbery and, instead of doing their actual work, ended up chasing their tails! Unsurprisingly, our own SAPS also shared a version of this work of fiction in their Servamus magazine, and also on their website for several years.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The trouble with these calendars is that they all combine a cherry-picked list of dates which have only a small significance to Paganism, and even less so to Satanism, apparently without being able to distinguish the two religious paths, and while also failing to notice that 90% of the “satanic festivals” listed are in fact Christian ones dating from the Middle Ages! I would add that its propagators themselves appear to rely on the ignorance of their audiences about their own religion – were it not for the fact that its originator, <a href="https://wp.me/PcoTxI-3TG" rel="noopener" target="_blank">David Balsiger</a> himself appeared to be equally as ignorant when he compiled it. It’s obvious then that its purpose from its very motive for creation, was as a tool or weapon to be used to spread misinformation and to incite fear and hatred of anyone perceived to be a witch or Satanist, or having involvement with the occult. It’s surprising to me that some churches in South Africa actually take this tripe seriously and still circulate them to this day. (I discuss these calendars at length in another paper I wrote in 2021, called "<a href="https://wp.me/PcoTxI-3TG" rel="noopener" target="_blank">A Date With The Devil - Occult & Satanic Calendars Debunked</a>".)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A great deal of the “satanic panic” hysteria in the media, even today, especially in letters and comments, appear to be fueled by Christian outrage and intolerance for "satanism". A lot of alleged evidence and many claims put forth by the accused in several court cases which centered around claims of "satanism" at the time (e.g. <a href="https://alternatereligionsforum.wordpress.com/the-alternate-religions-subcultures-demystification-project/examples-of-satanic-panic-hysteria-in-the-media/2011-2013-the-kirsty-theologo-satanic-murder-trial/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">the Kirsty Theologo murder trial</a>) appeared to be quite believable to a portion of SA society – but for those who were on the receiving end of such harsh social judgements and media-propagated slander, these claims, beliefs and allegations of what occultism, satanism etc. was – made no sense at all.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In another example of the effects of this slander in the media, the <a href="https://alternatereligionsforum.wordpress.com/the-alternate-religions-subcultures-demystification-project/examples-of-satanic-panic-hysteria-in-the-media/20141004-sowetan-sensationalizes-religion-in-schools-by-using-vampires/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">rash of frivolous claims</a> that “satanic” gangs of children at rural schools were killing each other to drink blood because they were vampires, made the local Vampyre Community very nervous indeed! The fact that the MEC for education, Barbara Creecy, threw her support behind those inciting the hysteria only made things worse for South Africa’s occult community as a whole.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To give an example of the effects of such ongoing slander and misinformation, when South Africa finally did get a formally established Satanist organization (<a href="https://www.satanicsa.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">the South African Satanic Church</a>) in 2020, one of their reverends – <em>and his family</em> – received public threats of rape, assault, violence and death, at the hands of people who publicly proclaimed that they were Christians. <a href="https://alternatereligionsforum.wordpress.com/2020/10/13/sa-satanic-church-reverend-family-receives-threats-of-death-rape/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Reverend Tristan Kapp’s crime?</a> Apparently just being publicly known as a Satanist was enough. How dare he not burst into flames?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For many in the occult community, what made the least sense was that the individuals who had taken the spot-light as “experts in Satanism” and were perpetrating slander on the stage, radio and TV and even in court against Satanists, Pagans and occultists, had never been active participants in any of these fields, and had blatantly lied in claiming they had. It was obvious to occultists, Pagans and Satanists that nobody who had been active in a real Pagan or Satanic or occult religious organization would demonstrate such a complete lack of any working knowledge of the systems they slandered.</p><hr /><h2 style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://wp.me/PcoTxI-1YQ" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="South African female sci-fi" class="aligncenter wp-image-13716 size-large" height="404" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/When-Darkness-Calls-Poster-2020-scaled-538x404.jpg" width="538" /></a></h2><hr /><h2 style="text-align: justify;">The Founding of the Alternative Religions Forum</h2><p style="text-align: justify;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-18930" height="101" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/cropped-arf-banner-narrow-538x101.png" width="538" />In 2012, at SAPRA, members of the Executive Committee agreed that something had to be done, and some members accepted the responsibility of reaching out to other paths and social groupings within the broader occult community to begin a dialog. The purpose of this was to establish a larger voice than would result from just Pagans speaking out. Coupled with that, we as Pagans then felt that we did not wish to presume to speak out on behalf of other communities (which several times we were accused of doing, oddly enough, <em>by</em> fellow Pagans) and as such, while Satanists were occupying the central place in the tirade of hatred and misinformation rather than Pagans, it is true that Pagans were being misidentified with Satanism and experiencing the same stigma.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The local vampire (vampyre) subculture, having burned their fingers with one or two ill-fated attempts at educating the public about their activities and beliefs through several poorly written and sensationalist tabloid style articles in newspapers which had essentially portrayed them as 'satanists' as well, at worst - and a bunch of kooks at best, had kept their coffin lids tightly closed for some time to avoid any media contact or exposure. Pagans also did not wish to speak out for or on behalf of this community, but once approached, they seemed eager to participate in such a promising educational venture.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It has also to be said that as much as outsiders were ignorant of the nature and affairs of Paganism at the time, many if not most Pagans in the local community forums and real-world groups were equally as ignorant about the nature of religious Satanism. As a matter of fact, many were as biased and hostile towards Satanists and Satanism as Christians were towards both.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That aside, when it became known within the Pagan community forums that SAPRA intended to undertake such a project, fears that Pagans were going to have to share space with Satanists, or that Satanism was going to be included into Paganism or under the Pagan umbrella as a distinct path, abounded. I recall it led to quite a lot of arguments, and several influential Pagan leaders abruptly ended their relations with SAPRA and the SA Pagan Council too. In the end, once these fears were allayed, the project went ahead.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm not sure now who proposed the formation of <a href="https://alternatereligionsforum.wordpress.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">the Alternative Religions Forum</a>, but I do remember that it came into existence as a closed group on Facebook where representatives of several different paths of belief and/or practice were invited to participate. The SAPRA sought to represent neo-pagan paths in South Africa, and the local vampire (vampyre) subculture was represented by the SA Vampyre Alliance (SAVA). Due to the fact that there were no official Satanist religious organizations in South Africa in 2012-2013, much input was made by several local individual Satanists of different persuasions.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The goals of the project were hammered out, and it was decided that the monumental project of creating an ultimate information resource which not only explains what the participating social or religious group really was about in laymen's terms, but also to expose the lies and misinformation which had been disseminated against them for many years. It fell to me to assume the role of researcher and compiler of what became known as “the STAT document” or “Satanism: The Acid Test”, which examines the phenomena of Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) propaganda and the hysteria that accompanies it, exposes the underlying foundation of “pseudo Satanism” being put forth as actual religious Satanism and as an allegory for occult religions and a myriad of subcultures by self-appointed “occult experts” - and then goes on to explain what those identities really ARE from an inside perspective.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://alternatereligionsforum.wordpress.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The Alternative Religions Forum</a> was never intended to be a long-term enterprise; in fact, it very much existed only to act as a sounding board for the material being included in the document, the way it was organized, the way it presented its argument etc. After it was completed, its members also helped to disseminate the document.</p><h2 style="text-align: justify;">The STAT Document</h2><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://christinaengela.com/bibliography-of-books-by-christina-engela/non-fiction/satanism-the-acid-test/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="South African female sci-fi" class="wp-image-13722 size-large alignleft" height="404" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Satanism-The-Acid-Test-Poster-2020-scaled-538x404.jpg" width="538" /></a>The document’s goal was to provide a combined resource of educational material which would continue to debunk, expose and disarm Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) claims, and to make it a freely available resource to the entire world.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the course of conducting this research, I interacted directly with a number of authority figures within these different communities via email and sometimes via messenger apps. I was given unparalleled communications access to some very secretive and secluded communities, and found the experience immensely interesting and enlightening!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, the sections covering Paganism and Satanism as religions, and a section examining the Vampire subculture were each contributed to by knowledgeable authority figures and organizations from WITHIN those communities, not by outsiders. These sections were also sent to numerous international authorities within those communities to obtain their assent or approval of how their specific religion or social group was explained. This demonstrated its accuracy in as far as how it represents each of these social groupings and debunks the propaganda myths propagated against them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Another section which focused on the nature of Satanic Ritual Abuse Hysteria was also included, which explained factors such as mythical satanism among others. I also created a website for the ARF to provide an online and public context and findable reference for the ARF – and most especially for the STAT Document. Links to various media items stored online were also provided to allow readers to find and view videos or radio shows that were referred to etc. Thus I was able to provide clear disambiguation, clarifications, explanations and examples.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Because of this approach, and because so much of the content has received the approval of various religious groups being discussed, this document is completely unique. It is not a monologue in which one religion discusses several others and paints them according to its own perceptions, understandings or dogmata.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The original document (Version 01.00 to 01.03) was distributed widely in 2013 and 2014 and made available as a free download from the ARF website, as well as on Academia.edu.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was also honored to hand over a printed and digital copy of this document to the CLRC Commission at a seminar in Port Elizabeth in 2013 on a fact-finding tour brought about by the recent outcry about “satanism in schools”, although what has been done with it by that commission is uncertain and unclear. A PowerPoint summary of the STAT document was presented by myself, and it might be of interest to note that it was met with outright hostility by several municipal delegates who were very staunch Christians whose moustaches bristled at the prospect of hearing a “witch” speak!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Because we felt it was so important to the cause of disambiguation and clarification, the STAT document was subsequently disseminated far and wide in digital format, via email – internationally, to the UN, the FBI among others, and locally to SA government departments, newspapers and media reporters, and also to universities – local and overseas.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">What was noticeable to me was that over the same period, shortly after the dissemination of the STAT document, the manner and tone in which criminal cases involving mention of "satanism" or "the occult" were reported on by media drastically changed and became far less hysterical and more objective. It was like the change between night and day. This is exactly what the ARF's objective was, and as such I feel the <a href="https://alternatereligionsforum.wordpress.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">ARF</a> – and SAPRA and SAVA and all of us – largely succeeded.</p><h2 style="text-align: justify;">The Aftermath – As I Saw It</h2><p style="text-align: justify;">Although the Alternative Religions Forum remained active for a short time after the release of the STAT document, it never again held any more meetings, and over time, dissolved.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The SAPRA still operates as a SA Pagan community-based organization, although I ceased to be a member of it in early 2018.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For me the sad part of reviewing the public comments on such news articles (most recently the attack on reverend Kapp and lately the Daniel Smit/Klawer Killer case for example) is realizing that while we appear to have made great strides in getting the media to report more factually and more objectively on such cases, the ordinary public still lingers under the false information spread by churches and their pop-cult "warfare ministry" influences - still freely peddling that nonsense with impunity, and has a long way to go in catching up.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Christian zealots posing as “experts on Satanism” or even as “ex-Satanists” (e.g. <a href="https://christinaengela.com/a-short-chat-with-an-occult-expert/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Adele Neveling</a>, <a href="https://alternatereligionsforum.wordpress.com/deliberate-misinformation-propaganda/adele-neveling-vrey/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">2</a> who demonstrates a complete lack of knowledge of Satanism) mislead their audiences into believing a version of fantasy that never happened, and lead them into a fantasy world of lies, fear, hysteria and superstition. A book recently published, supposedly by an investigative journalist, and which covered the recent "Krugersdorp Killers" aka "Electus Per Deus” case, presents the actions of individuals who were literally members of a Christian cult which had nothing at all to do with Satanism, as an alleged “satanic murder spree” complete with imagery related to Satanism on the cover for sensational effect. The ordinary public it seems, is still very susceptible to propaganda and lies as long as they come wrapped in religion.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The typical self-proclaimed "experts on Satanism" who gain the media spotlight whenever such contentious cases make the headlines, know nothing about the religious groups they slander. Rather they only "know" what their own religious upbringing or indoctrination has taught them to believe about these groups, their beliefs and their practices. In finding an outlet for their misinformation, they continue to render irreparable harm to the lives and reputations of people they generally incite intolerance against.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">An aspect of the present-day South Africa - a country whose Constitution defines the state as essentially secular - is the overwhelming prevalence of Christianity being proselytized and pandered to by the state and in its own organs and mechanisms throughout. For example, military and SAPS parades are still conducted under the auspices of a Christian chaplain and the Christian religion; public schools are rife with Christian-centered indoctrination and misinformation about other religions, occult religions in particular - and while individuals supposedly cannot be forced to attend Christian religious ceremonies in the workplace, it seems that a lot of the checks and balances intended to prevent such blatant circumvention of the mandate of the state to remain separate from religion are simply being ignored and have been increasingly so since 2009, when then president Jacob Zuma first aligned himself and the ANC and government, with the Rhema cult.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Manic street preachers continue to accost strangers on the public street with Christian proselytizing, openly preaching stochastic terrorism against occult religions. Even though it is illegal to do so in a public space, policemen will not caution these individuals, nor fine, move them along, nor arrest them. Complainants are told to "show respect" to the Christian religion - while their rights and they themselves are being disrespected. That's quite a slap in the face.</p><p>Even now in 2022, the SAPS still maintains a watered-down and low-key version of Kobus Jonker's original "Occult Related Crimes Unit" of 1992 - the "Harmful Religious Practices Unit" staffed by evangelical Christians - but the fact that it still exists at all - and on the tax payer's dime - to focus on policing belief rather than focusing on criminal activity, is a violation of the bill of rights.</p><p>Government is not supposed to allow it to happen - and whether they know this or not, they blatantly keep on doing it anyway.</p><p>Under the Constitution, the democratic right to religious freedom - including freedom <em>from</em> religion - does not rest on the weight of numbers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's clear that there is still a lot of work to be done from an advocacy standpoint.</p><h2 style="text-align: justify;">In Conclusion</h2><p style="text-align: justify;">The STAT document was not the last document I compiled on the subject or in service of this cause, but it is the longest and most well-known.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In January 2021 I wrote three more papers with the aim of disambiguation, and dispelling myths and misinformation around aspects of Satanism and the occult.</p><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="https://wp.me/PcoTxI-3SW" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Satanism vs Pseudo-satanism: Disambiguation And Argument Against Conflation From Within Religious Satanism</a></li><li><a href="https://wp.me/PcoTxI-3TG" rel="noopener" target="_blank">A Date With The Devil - Occult & Satanic Calendars Debunked</a></li><li><a href="https://wp.me/PcoTxI-3TX" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Devil’s Advocate: The 666 Gangs – Why They Aren’t Satanists, How They Distorted South African Law Enforcement’s Perception Of Occult Religions, & The Consequences</a></li></ul><p style="text-align: justify;">Together with “<a href="https://christinaengela.com/bibliography-of-books-by-christina-engela/non-fiction/satanism-the-acid-test/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Satanism: The Acid Test</a>”, these three papers are listed as information resources on the website of the SA Satanic Church. They are also freely available alongside the STAT document on Academia. I also updated the STAT document in February 2021.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thank you for your interest and attention!</p></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><div dir="auto"><p>Cheers! <img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-18541" height="25" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Emoji-32-150x100.png" width="38" /></p><p><a href="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Caligraphy-Christina-Engela-Copy.jpg"><img alt="Digital Autograph Christina Engela" height="108" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Caligraphy-Christina-Engela-Copy-300x108.jpg" width="300" /></a></p><hr /><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Catch me on social media!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaEngelaAuthor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17206" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/fb-99x104.png" 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2022.</span></p></div>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-30378496128496884052022-02-10T02:30:00.001-08:002022-02-10T02:30:31.291-08:00The State Of Our Nation Address, South Africa 2022 - My View<div style="text-align: justify;">Today is Thursday 10 February 2022, and according to all the fanfare in the media, our State President, Cyril Ramaphosa, will deliver his annual State of the Nation Address (SONA) tonight at 7 - not from the usual place, being in Parliament, but from the Cape Town City Hall. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As usual, we can expect, a cavalcade of overpaid puffed up parliamentarians will parade at the entrance dressed in high fashion, with apparent total disregard for the plight of those who are footing the bill. A lot of broad grins, flashy clothes, broad hats, sparkly bling and labels - and photographers.<span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's a prestigious event. At least, it's supposed to be. But there comes a point at which, I feel, stretching the facts to fit a narrative that "everything is just fine" - and to bend over backwards in order to ignore all the flaws in that argument - becomes nothing less than a mockery. It might even be considered an insult to the intelligence of the public.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What do you think Cyril will say in his State of the Nation address tonight? Well, what can he really say? For starters, he could say that SA no longer has a serviceable Parliament building, but I find it doubtful he will admit that this is thanks to the stratospheric level of government incompetence which saw to it that insurances lapsed, security staff were given the weekend off, the building left unlocked, and fire fighting equipment was turned off at the time this obvious false flag event occurred. The court proceedings against the mentally ill homeless man who is the obvious fall-guy for this craziness having been big news lately, I shouldn't have to go at length into the absurdity of the whole thing - suffice to say, if you believe that load of nonsense, you're liable to fall for anything. I doubt that matter will even get a mention however.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Instead, the SONA will probably run very formally along the lines of the official gov.za announcement of the SONA, which makes absolutely zero mention of the incident, or the venue at which the SONA will take place, during which Cyril will try to sound hopeful, in control and like he's in charge of an organization staffed by competent, useful people who have some idea of what they're supposed to be doing, at least in the sense that a toddler playing with an unsupervised primus stove is a domestic accident waiting to happen, and ought to have been prevented.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, the issue I see few talking about, is that the cost of these damages to the Parliament building will be just yet another astronomical sum lumped onto the already crumpling shoulders of the ever-dwindling tax paying portion of the country's working poor - shrinking gradually with each COVID death, each job lost due to shrinking health or investor confidence brought about by the ANC's shenanigans. This tendency to just "write it off" has ever-proceeded on the misunderstanding that "there's plenty more where that came from" which arose during the 1990s when the ANC got the taste for seemingly unlimited public funds. SA had so much money, how would they notice if just a little bit got feet here, or grew wings there? Today, some good while later, SA's currency is languishing at junk-status, our economy is in tatters, and even though Zuma was replaced by Cyril, that "write it off" mindset appears to not have changed. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, Zuma - the rogue president who hijacked his own country and committed treason - is still not in jail for state capture and so far as I know, not a penny of his ill-gotten loot has been recovered. Instead he's still wasting time and taxpayer's money arguing minor points of order on side issues, and it's taken three years just to get a report ready on what he's actually hopefully going to be charged with one day on the "never-never" system. Perhaps the upper echelons of the ANC are hoping he will die of old age before things come to a head, because he promised to take the fat cats with him if he went down, which certainly wouldn't be a bad thing. At any rate, the old man's not getting any younger.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">State owned enterprises teeter on near total collapse, as they have done for more than a decade now. Eskom struggles to keep the lights on in South Africa even on a good day and is perpetually threatening to cut the lights if they can't extort another 20% more flesh on top of what is already the most expensive electricity on the planet, if not close to it. The railway network, plundered by Zuma and his Gupta buddies, barely exists still. SAA, once the jewel in SAs crown, is gone, killed outright by ANC corruption. Somehow, surprisingly, the ANC still expects South Africans to swallow the outrageous lie that they are taking a hard line against corruption. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While authorities focus on tightening laws and cracking down on everything traffic related as if to make up for a lack of actual law enforcement, the road network continues to deteriorate. In short, cars are by far more roadworthy than our roads deserve in their current state. With municipal and government fees, retesting fees and renewal fees hiked to more than double what they were just 25 years ago, governments greedy streak is showing a mile wide. On top of that, the license card making machine - made necessary by this very sort of frivolous and pointless extra and overregulation - broke recently, causing a massive backlog in unnecessary license renewals which nobody in their right mind finds necessary to begin with. That had to be sent for repairs - in Germany. Where were the years when we as South Africa were capable of making these new technologies ourselves? Gone up in smoke with Armscor and Denel, and other victims of state capture.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Government still doubles the cost of fuel per liter to the consumer, for no other reason than "because we can", making transport and cost of living expenses needlessly expensive for the poor everyman who pays more for fuel per liter, and the knock-on effect for business owners who then charge more for supplies and products, hits them again in higher food prices. To make it worse, government plays yo-yo with these prices every other week, knowing full-well that the fuel price going up, pushes up the costs of everything else a notch, and even when the fuel price comes down again, those prices stay the same until the next fuel price hike, when they increase on top of the last increase. It's outright malicious and inexcusable!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As South Africans, we can all list off a string of government entities and departments which have been brought to their knees in the past 30 years, and whose services and capabilities are realistically reaching the point of only existing on paper. Yet can we name any government officials, ministers, MECs, MPs etc. who have been held accountable for these failures while these departments/SOEs were under their charge? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The irony of this is that we never see any ANC leaders take the fall for their cock-ups. Trillions of Rands have disappeared as if by magic - in fact the party has developed quite the reputation as magicians in recent years, the ANC is full of wizards because they know how to make money disappear - but how many senior people responsible have been charged or gone to jail over missing public funds? Conversely, how many failed CEOs/ministers etc. have simply been quietly redeployed, or paid off with golden handshakes instead of being made to face the music?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What's worse is, that this short list of issues I mentioned is only the tip of the iceberg. The very tip. And in the midst of all the expose's of government corruption, incompetence, complicity and failures, government, like Cyril, stand there every time on our TV screens and exclaim how "shocked" they are - while ultimately little to nothing is ever done about it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Politicians in charge are rich men, and like all rich men, they feel less than nothing for the people with low-income jobs who're sitting in the dark at home because load-shedding. They think, "give them something else to cry about, and they'll soon forget X, Y or Z". </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But we don't forget, do we? Our memories are long. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It seems that our government spends more time A) investigating its own misconduct B) blame shifting C) making weak, transparent excuses D) chasing ghosts, witches and vampires or E) misdirecting the publics attention away from issues which we are rightfully entitled and empowered to be duly and truthfully informed about; while it continues to place party politics of the ANC above and before the national interest. Just last week I read that Cyril was in it again for authorizing the use of public funds for party purposes... something which the ANC historically hasn't been able to tell apart.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What I find so mind boggling and astonishing about this huge stinking pile of excrement, is that some people actually expect this sort of ingrained behavior in the ANCs leadership to change for the better, as if things will somehow just miraculously get better - worse, that leopards will change their spots... that still, even after every new lie, excuse or red herring we are served up daily, the same villains responsible for creating the mess we're all living in today, will somehow turn out to be good guys in the end and make everything alright.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So here we are, after another year, 365 daily failures and embarrassments, tonight Cyril will make his SONA speech, broadcast live and online (essentially to the world)... from a country without a parliament, and whose government - whom they represent - is so utterly useless that they allowed its parliament to be burned down. That this was deliberately arranged or by omission of actions is beside the point. I wonder if he and his companions occupying the top of the food chain truly appreciate the irony and implications of this, and if the millions they take home in salaries will sooth the acute embarrassment and shame they ought to feel?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think that about covers it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div dir="auto"><p>Cheers! <img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-18541" height="25" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Emoji-32-150x100.png" width="38" /></p><p><a href="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Caligraphy-Christina-Engela-Copy.jpg"><img alt="Digital Autograph Christina Engela" height="108" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Caligraphy-Christina-Engela-Copy-300x108.jpg" width="300" /></a></p><hr /><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Catch me on social media!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaEngelaAuthor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17206" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/fb-99x104.png" width="48" /></a> <a href="http://twitter.com/pinkfuzzyninja" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17205" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/twitty-106x104.png" width="51" /></a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinaengela/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17203" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/LinkedIn.jpg" width="49" /></a> <a href="https://independent.academia.edu/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-15592" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Academia.jpg" width="47" /></a> <a href="https://www.minds.com/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17204" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Minds-150x62.jpg" width="121" /></a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/christinaengela/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17131" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/instagram-99x104.png" width="47" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3358833.Christina_Engela" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-15887" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/goodreads-log-101x104.png" width="48" /></a></span></p><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaEngelaAuthor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://twitter.com/pinkfuzzyninja" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinaengela/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> | <a href="https://independent.academia.edu/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Academia</a> | <a href="https://www.minds.com/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Minds</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/christinaengela/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3358833.Christina_Engela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GoodReads</a> | <a href="https://www.authorsdb.com/community/17586-christina-engela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Author's Database</a> | <a href="https://www.librarything.com/profile/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Library Thing</a> | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnTwVKNO_jrfZfXkoXFo_RA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a> | <a href="https://za.pinterest.com/cengela1754/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pintrest</a> | <a href="http://www.stage32.com/profile/390827" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stage32</a> | <a href="http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Book Marketing Network</a></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2022.</span></p></div>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-42326817203025143102022-01-20T00:35:00.004-08:002022-01-20T00:35:47.154-08:00Tragedy At Moon Books Publishing<p> <span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Good morning, friends and fans.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a special note to inform you of the death of my friend Brandon Mullins late last night. Brandon was the CEO of Moon Books Publishing in Indiana, who was also responsible for bringing my books to you in audiobook format, as well as in paperback and eBook formats to Amazon. He also created the brilliant new-look covers for my books and series. With the release of "<a href="https://christinaengela.com/prodigal-sun-now-available-as-an-audiobook/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Prodigal Sun</a>" and "<a href="https://christinaengela.com/opsaal-now-available-as-an-audiobook/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Opsaal</a>" - my 14th and 15th audiobooks - earlier this month, 2022 was really looking promising for both of us. Unfortunately, tragedy struck.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><!--more--><p></p><div dir="auto"><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/272041435_737332430573806_2236922949049904346_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignleft wp-image-19954 size-large" height="774" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/272041435_737332430573806_2236922949049904346_n-348x774.jpg" width="348" /></a><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Late last Monday night local time, I was given the sad news by Brandon's wife Elizabeth, that he'd been taken seriously ill. More precisely, he'd been discovered sitting at his PC, clinically dead. That is, he had no pulse or respiration, and his wife and son had no idea for how long before they'd found him there. The paramedics summoned were able to successfully resuscitate him, and he was taken to a nearby hospital where he was placed on life support. Based on what was said, it's hard to tell what the cause for this was, as stroke and heart attack were both ruled out - or if he would survive, but I remained hopeful. He was placed on a hypothermic treatment and his temperature lowered for 12 hours, before being gradually raised again to normal over the next 24 hours. The aim of this treatment was to try to preserve what brain and heart function remained, but alas this was unsuccessful.</span></p><p dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the few years of working together at Moon Books Publishing, Brandon and I had become good friends and we chatted online on an almost daily basis, when our different time zones and schedules allowed. Brandon was the driving force behind getting all my books onto Amazon and Audible and converting them into audiobooks since 2019. Living in South Africa can be such a handicap sometimes, and as an indie author trying to get anything done in the world from here, I was met with a lot of frustrating red-tape and obstacles - which he generously took upon himself to roll out of the way.</span></p><p dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">His friendship and support have been instrumental in my growth as a published writer, in expanding my brand, and most importantly, in not giving up due to continued lack of progress. As a publisher, he gave me that which I craved most as a writer and creator - creative freedom, and fandom.</span></p></div><p dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I will miss <a href="https://www.facebook.com/brandontmullins?__cft__[0]=AZUQ270ylY8XYyDQWE3lQQXQRxiwm7weBGxj4As8ykw58NQ3pZ0LfOxE5xl4AYS6iGJXTDk9Q3gi2lRrMq-Y0qWjTFbQoRsUSFLvIuR0isoqghfNGuxlZpBZvPZEBMp3vBg&__tn__=-]K-R" role="link" tabindex="0">Brandon Mullins</a> not just because he was my publisher, but because he was my friend. We chatted online almost every day, even though we lived in different countries and time zones, and mostly we talked about our shared interests and things we got up to in our daily lives.</span></p><p dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">When I said something he thought was funny he would laugh and say something like "hehehe you goof". When I was down, he made me smile. Our daily chats had become part of my routine. Over the last 3 years of our friendship, he brought me many smiles. Mostly I will miss Brandon because he believed in me, made me feel good about myself, and supported my writing.</span></p><p dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">If it weren't for him, I'd not have advanced as far as I have since joining Moon Books in 2019. 2021 was a very good year for us book-wise, and we figured we were off to a good start for 2022. The light was bright, and our hopes were high. It just goes to show that nothing is set in stone.</span></p><p dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">His passing was so sudden and unexpected, it caught me by complete surprise. Things like this just aren't supposed to happen, but they do. I have few real friends, and now I have one less.</span></p><p dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Farewell my friend, I already miss our chats and that creative buzz we shared.</span></p><p dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">To Elizabeth and Nathan, and those who knew him longer and better than I, I offer my sincerest condolences for your loss.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">What impact this will have on my books published through Moon Books Publishing has yet to be determined, and I will keep you informed of any changes should they occur.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, thank you for your continued support.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Until next time, keep reading.</span></p><div dir="auto"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><div dir="auto"><p><a href="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Caligraphy-Christina-Engela-Copy.jpg"><img alt="Digital Autograph Christina Engela" height="108" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Caligraphy-Christina-Engela-Copy-300x108.jpg" width="300" /></a></p><hr /><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Catch me on social media!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaEngelaAuthor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17206" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/fb-99x104.png" width="48" /></a> <a href="http://twitter.com/pinkfuzzyninja" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17205" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/twitty-106x104.png" width="51" /></a> <a 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href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3358833.Christina_Engela" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-15887" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/goodreads-log-101x104.png" width="48" /></a></span></p><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaEngelaAuthor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://twitter.com/pinkfuzzyninja" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinaengela/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> | <a href="https://independent.academia.edu/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Academia</a> | <a href="https://www.minds.com/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Minds</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/christinaengela/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3358833.Christina_Engela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GoodReads</a> | <a href="https://www.authorsdb.com/community/17586-christina-engela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Author's Database</a> | <a href="https://www.librarything.com/profile/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Library Thing</a> | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnTwVKNO_jrfZfXkoXFo_RA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a> | <a href="https://za.pinterest.com/cengela1754/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pintrest</a> | <a href="http://www.stage32.com/profile/390827" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stage32</a> | <a href="http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Book Marketing Network</a></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2022.</span></p></div>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-39764459365985666162021-12-27T02:46:00.003-08:002021-12-27T02:46:14.158-08:00Shut Up And Sit Down, Puny Human. Nobody Can Hear Your Cries<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3Ok7Ui1WX_Ue8fAbV0jHnqedeSPBoSj4eMSNB1wbLSBY3n-eq1GeeXPW2hrCl098zII2qNsmHtuDgBoHsHWOGOIQGqyRNEjXPb6aURHXXTxSFQTQH81gjuacuvHw7924TR9I1UiHylR_BfSV31NvzcG5XWvtE6n8Kcv4Bz6zxsAz5lz2qMEQ0Q1xO=s997" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="997" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3Ok7Ui1WX_Ue8fAbV0jHnqedeSPBoSj4eMSNB1wbLSBY3n-eq1GeeXPW2hrCl098zII2qNsmHtuDgBoHsHWOGOIQGqyRNEjXPb6aURHXXTxSFQTQH81gjuacuvHw7924TR9I1UiHylR_BfSV31NvzcG5XWvtE6n8Kcv4Bz6zxsAz5lz2qMEQ0Q1xO=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br />Got to love the perfect, repetitive stupidity of Facebook's AI. It will keep on making the same fuck-ups perfectly, the same way, over and over again - and if it runs an interaction service such as the "review" or "appeal" desk, there's no way to get past it to appeal to the much more reasonable intelligence of an actual person with the power to actually THINK instead of just follow an algorithm.<span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apparently you can't sell paintball guns on marketplace, including "paintball gear" - then your listing gets deleted and your appeals and explanations unanswered and denied. You can try to explain to an AI that paintball is a sport and that paintball guns are non-lethal and essentially toys until you're blue in the face - it won't make any difference.</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to it, paintball guns are lethal weapons (which go against the same Facebook "standards" which allow Nazis to post their hate uninhibited). The almighty AI has spoken. Shut up and sit down, puny human. Nobody can hear your cries.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, you can sell actual lethal weapons on Facebook in the form of knives, hammers and assorted gardening tools - but of course Facebooks mentally challenged AI really can't see that - which is why you can find anything from whole chef's cleavers and cutlery sets to chainsaws and wood chippers on Facebook's marketplace.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Consequently I now have to figure out how and where to sell my used paintball kit - which is something made much harder now since I can't use Facebook to do it. Nothing else has the reach or sales potential after all.</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I suppose I would've met the same blithering idiocy and American-branded anal-retentive pansy-assed thought policing bullshit if I were trying to sell workshop tools and dared to include (gasp) a grease gun? Whoops, I said the "g" word there.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course there's a human out there who built this monstrosity and who undoubtedly has several degrees and receives a high salary for his folly... an unreachable, untouchable madman with a messiah complex. How does someone apparently that smart turn out to be so irretrievably fucking stupid? That's one of life's mysteries I guess.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And there are still nutcases out there who think AI is a good thing? No thanks. At least humans can be held accountable for their stupidity or malice. Imagine trying to get an AI to hold itself accountable! Oh my gods - the thought of it - it'll never happen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If it saves labor and takes orders from humans, fair enough - but AI's should NEVER be put in a position of any authority over humans.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some fields should really be forbidden territory, and AI is definitely one of them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Keep your shitty AI. In fact, you can stuff it where the sun doesn't shine.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div dir="auto"><p>Cheers!</p><p><a href="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Caligraphy-Christina-Engela-Copy.jpg"><img alt="Digital Autograph Christina Engela" height="108" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Caligraphy-Christina-Engela-Copy-300x108.jpg" width="300" /></a></p><hr /><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Catch me on social media!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaEngelaAuthor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17206" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/fb-99x104.png" width="48" /></a> <a href="http://twitter.com/pinkfuzzyninja" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17205" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/twitty-106x104.png" width="51" /></a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinaengela/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17203" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/LinkedIn.jpg" width="49" /></a> <a href="https://independent.academia.edu/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-15592" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Academia.jpg" width="47" /></a> <a href="https://www.minds.com/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17204" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Minds-150x62.jpg" width="121" /></a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/christinaengela/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17131" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/instagram-99x104.png" width="47" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3358833.Christina_Engela" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-15887" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/goodreads-log-101x104.png" width="48" /></a></span></p><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaEngelaAuthor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://twitter.com/pinkfuzzyninja" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinaengela/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> | <a href="https://independent.academia.edu/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Academia</a> | <a href="https://www.minds.com/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Minds</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/christinaengela/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3358833.Christina_Engela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GoodReads</a> | <a href="https://www.authorsdb.com/community/17586-christina-engela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Author's Database</a> | <a href="https://www.librarything.com/profile/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Library Thing</a> | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnTwVKNO_jrfZfXkoXFo_RA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a> | <a href="https://za.pinterest.com/cengela1754/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pintrest</a> | <a href="http://www.stage32.com/profile/390827" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stage32</a> | <a href="http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Book Marketing Network</a></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2021.</span></p></div>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-15728737910769636292021-12-24T23:31:00.005-08:002021-12-25T03:26:32.464-08:00 Google - The AI Indifference Engine!<p style="text-align: justify;">I've had some ill dealings with Google in the past few years, and on the whole they're okay... but what really grates my carrot about them is their penchant for hysteria and control-freakiness. What am I talking about? Is it their monopoly of our information? Their near-total control over what we see in internet searches? Well, yes, but that's not the focus of today's rant. What am I talking about?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Let's take a look at two examples, shall we?<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Earlier this year I registered a business profile with Google in order to open a shop page to market my books on Google and make use of all the beneficial exposure this would provide. Easy because it's online? Er... no.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">First off, they display a hysterical, paranoid need to verify everything. In spite of this almost stereotypical modern American trait of being paranoid about people in other countries sending them bombs or demons via the internet, they did not provide any digital means to conduct said verification, like sending a one time pin to my registered phone number. No. Instead they sent me a fucking post card! What is this, the 20th century? </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I suppose if South Africa had a properly functioning - well, ANYTHING, that might have worked out okay - but it took something like 6 months to arrive in my mail box! When I tried to enter the pin number, guess what? The one month waiting period had already elapsed and the pin had expired! Google in their divine foresight did provide a nice button labeled "resend"... and still no digital alternative methods to verify that I am in fact who I claim to be. Er... no thanks. You can stuff it. That's right... where the sun don't shine. Wankers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Not only did that entire process completely and hopelessly fail, but almighty Google didn't even have the decency to respond to my resulting email of complaint. To date they still don't offer any pin verification alternatives to sending a bloody post-card halfway round the world on the never-never system. Clearly they just don't give a toss about the inconvenience caused, and might as well be sending it via carrier pigeon from the year 1922.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is no English way to put this, so I will say it in Afrikaans: <i>"Kan jy vlieg, Google? Wel gaan kruip in jou moer in!"</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiB8hgmLf_QqH0gMxQLOmsDwF4nlRvyyN11sjvGrS2WTkDRCB-hFpuufy1LckQiEwDUttK3ITFZIKCn9kfR10OIorYbF5STBBysRYDEGcgHt87R5hWQJerOveUlKn-K7gntbwJ7kbVCr4MA22LpqstiO_9amARRFbSxTrNE9yZ6zlM20tKG_X1PxQNR=s570" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="563" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiB8hgmLf_QqH0gMxQLOmsDwF4nlRvyyN11sjvGrS2WTkDRCB-hFpuufy1LckQiEwDUttK3ITFZIKCn9kfR10OIorYbF5STBBysRYDEGcgHt87R5hWQJerOveUlKn-K7gntbwJ7kbVCr4MA22LpqstiO_9amARRFbSxTrNE9yZ6zlM20tKG_X1PxQNR=s320" width="316" /></a></div>Moving on to my second example, while updating the book lists for another business on Google (hosted by a friend), Google randomly blocks certain books from being posted. This appears to be related to keyword algorithms scanning book descriptions. I can mention two examples: the book description for a sci-fi novel, "Black Sunrise" by me: <i>"...as the bombs fell on Atro City..."</i> and drama "The Darkness Within Me" by Anya Louw, which repeats the phrase <i>"...dealing with her inner demons..."</i> twice. <p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfOD_7NUzXPg2NphKrCmY1p6fHlr16Y5YkwH-sL1sJq-NmmNzpM5boKoNEp4sFxdsevjpSKIa0GRx2Htoc9avPhtoSmKlIsOvhAqsYFJ2yV1uE0diRgKIZzrdkAWZ0ovq9iTfzWJ8-6tKlp0Ms9ZYC4HJAuWZKItsgtVX9fEWKyNKSnWCMAyvM_VVg=s500" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfOD_7NUzXPg2NphKrCmY1p6fHlr16Y5YkwH-sL1sJq-NmmNzpM5boKoNEp4sFxdsevjpSKIa0GRx2Htoc9avPhtoSmKlIsOvhAqsYFJ2yV1uE0diRgKIZzrdkAWZ0ovq9iTfzWJ8-6tKlp0Ms9ZYC4HJAuWZKItsgtVX9fEWKyNKSnWCMAyvM_VVg=w133-h200" width="133" /></a></div>I had to omit the sentence in the first example, and in the second I had to post that book without any description at all, just to get it to show on the Google shop page! Try as I might, <i>nothing </i>could persuade Google's goose-stepping, brain-dead AI to accept "The Boy Who Doesn't Exist" - a teen romance by Erin Moberly - with or without description. Who the hell would possibly find ANY of this "offensive"? Nobody with more than two brain cells - which clearly excludes Google's domineering and untouchable AI which occupies the position of judge, jury and executioner. Not to mention the fact that Google doesn't even offer a "please let me speak to an actual human being" option.<p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's funny how Americans lose their minds whenever the idea of censorship is brought up, but for some weird reason, we're not allowed to use the word "bomb" or "demons" in perfectly innocuous contexts! In addition, their attached "report" offers no tangible explanation of what the actual niggle is that they're failing the posting for - leaving me scratching my head - but it obviously wasn't the cover images that triggered their well-deserved anal cramps. Their so-called one-size fits all "explanations" are vague, mysterious and clear as mud. Google however, in its divine magnanimity, does deign to offer an appeal process in case you dare to disagree with their presumably flawless AI-run vetting department. Trouble is, they don't take the trouble to provide any buttons or links to take you to anything related to lodging an appeal, not even after following their instruction to re-log in using my business account. Typical.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is just me who thinks that a company that bills itself as an impartial, multinational corporation guarding user privacy and catering to the needs of its clients - and expects to be taken seriously - ought to at least give a shit when people are unhappy?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Instead they've proven themselves to be remarkably indifferent, apparently leaving absolutely everything to an incompetent yet all-powerful AI wall that prevents its users from usurping its "decisions". </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I scratch my head in wonderment at people who actually WANT more of these machines running things! Imagine the mess that would be - a world run by untouchable, elevated machines unencumbered by humanity, unaccountable for their own actions, mistakes, assumptions or failures. What absolute morons! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Oddly enough, for all Google's tight-ass anal retentive arm-waving hysterics and thought policing, Google still seems to have missed my wife's poetry book description which light-heartedly includes the word "suicide". Whoops. I find a little dark satisfaction in that.</p><div dir="auto"><p style="text-align: justify;">Cheers!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Caligraphy-Christina-Engela-Copy.jpg"><img alt="Digital Autograph Christina Engela" height="108" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Caligraphy-Christina-Engela-Copy-300x108.jpg" width="300" /></a></p><hr /><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Catch me on social media!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaEngelaAuthor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17206" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/fb-99x104.png" width="48" /></a> <a href="http://twitter.com/pinkfuzzyninja" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17205" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/twitty-106x104.png" width="51" /></a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinaengela/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17203" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/LinkedIn.jpg" width="49" /></a> <a href="https://independent.academia.edu/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-15592" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Academia.jpg" width="47" /></a> <a href="https://www.minds.com/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17204" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Minds-150x62.jpg" width="121" /></a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/christinaengela/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-17131" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/instagram-99x104.png" width="47" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3358833.Christina_Engela" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-15887" height="50" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/goodreads-log-101x104.png" width="48" /></a></span></p><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaEngelaAuthor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://twitter.com/pinkfuzzyninja" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinaengela/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> | <a href="https://independent.academia.edu/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Academia</a> | <a href="https://www.minds.com/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Minds</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/christinaengela/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3358833.Christina_Engela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GoodReads</a> | <a href="https://www.authorsdb.com/community/17586-christina-engela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Author's Database</a> | <a href="https://www.librarything.com/profile/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Library Thing</a> | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnTwVKNO_jrfZfXkoXFo_RA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a> | <a href="https://za.pinterest.com/cengela1754/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pintrest</a> | <a href="http://www.stage32.com/profile/390827" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stage32</a> | <a href="http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profile/ChristinaEngela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Book Marketing Network</a></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2021.</span></p>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-68990483191720406142021-09-23T05:41:00.003-07:002021-09-23T05:41:43.914-07:00Interview With Brandon Mullins Of Moon Books Publishing<p>This was an <a href="https://moonbookspublishing.medium.com/that-one-time-when-i-got-to-interview-prolific-science-fiction-author-christina-engela-ff691373d000" rel="noopener" target="_blank">interview</a> conducted by Brandon Mullins of <a class="cl fq" href="http://moonbooks.net/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Moon Books Publishing</a> on September 21, 2021.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">That one time when I got to interview prolific science fiction author Christina Engela</h2>
<p class="p1" style="text-align: justify;"><em><strong>"</strong></em>I’ve had the opportunity to work with many authors over the years of being Editor-in-Chief at <a class="cl fq" href="http://moonbooks.net/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Moon Books Publishing</a> and doing <a class="cl fq" href="https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/moonbookbrandon" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">freelance self publishing mentorship on Upwork</a> but I’ve never run across someone as unique and uniquely talented as South African science fiction author Christina Engela.</p>
<p class="kj kk jh kl b km kn jk ko kp kq jn kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le fn kb" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="08d0" style="text-align: justify;">Christina is seemingly an unquenchable font of creativity and positivity who never ceases to amaze me with how much of her heart she puts into her work, or how invaluable of a partner she has become in running Moon Books Publishing.</p>
<section class="fn jc jd fj je">
<p class="kj kk jh kl b km kn jk ko kp kq jn kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le fn kb" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="51ce" style="text-align: justify;">Christina is more than that though, she has become a close friend and cohort. So now, I get to interview her to see just what makes her tick.... <a href="https://wp.me/pcoTxI-4XE" target="_blank">read more</a>.</p></section>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-49968059134385617412021-08-12T04:16:00.001-07:002021-08-12T04:16:54.588-07:00Christina Engela’s Monthly Newsletter: #56 August 2021<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpnkeW4okp91sCLuS2PLJpW_-K7yYi8igZbNYi-rXGVFQ9XQvLV_YiD8HJqUjtWUOjHiUpj3Ui-X3HjhDiPjjND1TMUu6ZSA0XLgmjsnICbToVNFlmNSmS7V7FnIYv_fiBCB1NXw6cTE/s2048/Newsletter+Header+Aug+2021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpnkeW4okp91sCLuS2PLJpW_-K7yYi8igZbNYi-rXGVFQ9XQvLV_YiD8HJqUjtWUOjHiUpj3Ui-X3HjhDiPjjND1TMUu6ZSA0XLgmjsnICbToVNFlmNSmS7V7FnIYv_fiBCB1NXw6cTE/s320/Newsletter+Header+Aug+2021.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Hello friends and fans - here's my latest newsletter! :) </p><p><a href="https://christinaengela.com/christina-engelas-monthly-newsletter-56-august-2021/">https://christinaengela.com/christina-engelas-monthly-newsletter-56-august-2021/</a></p>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-32538519634044373322021-06-23T03:34:00.004-07:002021-06-23T03:35:43.850-07:00 About That Blank Check<p style="text-align: justify;">A topical favorite of religious people, particularly conservative Christians, is so-called 'sexual immorality'. What is that exactly? To the rational mind, that would mean sexual-related activity which (so long as all participants are willing, consenting adults) results in harm to another person, or creature.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">A system creates shame and then creates a means of absolving the shamed of their shame, provided they adhere to the rules of those who run the system. Convenient. </div><span><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">To the conservative religious mind, this would be 'any sexual activity outside of the biblical defined' parameter - a debatable schematic which is open to individual interpretation. This view is framed by 'sin' and the concept of guilt and punishment and the concept of compliance and reward.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A typical response below (complete with spelling errors): </p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>"God made sex as an intamacy between husband and wife. Not between any other relationship."</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Seems to me that even animals disagree with this view. Even animals have sex and masturbate for pleasure or out of boredom, and engage in same gender relationships, in many cases, lifelong relationships. Are these people suggesting that nature (to borrow one of their own phrases) 'goes against god'? </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, while they argue that nature reflects "gods design" they completely fail to recognize the fact that nature itself appears to contradict everything they claim "god" restricts humans from doing! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">If nature were a reflection of "god's intentions" would that even be possible? Of course not! Animals would essentially be mindless automatons operating as extensions of "god's will" and "intent" - much as these religious fanatics wish humans did!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It seems far more likely that their understanding of "god's intentions" is flawed because, if their notion of "god" ever existed, then nature <i>as it IS</i> would very much reflect its "intent" - that is to exist and conduct itself as nature does, complete with gay animals, transgender fish and hermaphroditic worms, et al.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Instead they blindly close their eyes to reality, science and the true face of nature as espoused by the animal kingdom by saying "humans aren't animals" - when the fact of the matter is, we most certainly <i>are</i>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The only real, important differences between Humans and animals - that is, aside from opposable thumbs, DNA sequences, upright posture, having a rudimentary grasp of quantum physics and occasionally dabbling in art, is our ability to harm others on an industrial scale whilst also wittingly and unwittingly destroying the planet for profit.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The only other difference of note is hypocrisy, in which we try to force people to have faith in imaginary deities who we claim are "good, merciful and loving", and then indulge our very real propensity to kill anyone who disagrees. Humans have a weird tendency to enjoy inflicting pain, suffering and cruelty on those they disapprove of.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Humans are truly fucked up animals. Whoever supposedly spliced our DNA millennia ago basically just ruined a perfectly good ape.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">While some of us can easily 'live and let live', for some unfathomable reason, some of us simply cannot. It bothers them to no end what John and Phil get up to in the privacy of their own home, or Jane and Carol do in their own bedroom. The debate around same-sex couples being allowed to adopt children is a prime example of the hypocrisy of these 'Christians' - they care a great deal for the life of a zygote to the point of pushing to make abortion a capital crime, but couldn't give a toss about the kids who end up poor, deprived, in foster care, or requiring funding for school meals. In this sense, they would rather see an orphan languish in a cold loveless institution that churns out damaged individuals, or in the care of an abusive 'god fearing' heterosexual couple than find a home with a loving same-sex couple - ostensibly because it would 'confuse them'.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For some reason, the notion of having to share a bathroom, bus or restaurant or public street with a transgender person is somehow perceived by them as threatening - and the sheer amount of lies and bullshit made up about LGBT people over the last half-century by insecure internally-homo/trans-phobic persons would be enough to sink a battleship!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yet they stand there, with their hands haughtily on their hips demanding that we "fall to our knees and beg for forgiveness"!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Why should I care about 'forgiveness' for something that harms no-one, from some sky-fairy that may or may not have created me? Taking that to the next level, why should I require forgiveness for acting in accordance with my nature as that 'god' - the 'god' they believe created me as well as them - would have created me?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Abrahamic religion (specifically Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity) creates the notion of 'sin' in terms of people automatically (in terms of their Human nature) owing a debt of guilt to a deity for breaking its moral 'laws', thereby creating the leverage of punishment and atonement to be absolved of that guilt. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is a perfect system for control over the masses, and wielded by the priesthood or clergy which essentially controls the path of the entire religion, no matter which faction of the religion they belong to!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fear is the controlling factor - fear of what could happen in the afterlife. These legions of charlatans capitalize on that fear, raking in vast fortunes in wealth and power from the faithful multitudes of sheep - and I name them sheep because they don't realize what's happening - and they resist any attempts to make them aware that it's happening. Like the forest who confused the axe for one of them because its handle was made of wood, they don't recognize the wolves among them wearing sheepskins as they both fleece them and misguide them as they will; the choir-masters who direct their emotions, thoughts and actions!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Don't believe me? Then look at the recent situation in the USA, where conservative 'Christian' religion fully impregnated and corrupted the political system, undermined government, law and order, the courts, and influenced virtually half of Americans to forsake their 'god' for a sickly orange calf under a pale yellow toupe whom they embraced as the messiah of white supremacy. As a result, a coup very nearly took place in January 2021, and the nutters who participated in it considered themselves not only 'patriots' but also 'Christians' to boot. Even today, 'Christian' leaders and media personalities (and even shockingly, politicians) stoke the flames of insurrection by calling for <i>'gods intervention to restore Trump'</i> virtually in the same breath as calling for civil war.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Take stock of the horrendous human rights abuses that took place on Trump's watch between end 2016 until January 2021 resulting from NPA deregulation, stochastic terrorism, continued inaction against mass shootings, children languishing in cages, immigrant children separated from their families and sold via orphanages, the thousands upon thousands of blatant lies, crooked deals, rapes, treason and cover-ups, incitement to violence, and everything between - and you'll start to get the picture I'm looking at. Even today they cling to their orange calf, hoping he'll somehow regain the somewhat sullied, tarnished and broken office of President of the United States. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's going to take the incumbent Biden administration the whole of the next 4 years to finish undoing most of the damage done to the USA and its relations with foreign powers by Trump and his cronies and to perhaps make any progress on top of that - and then it'll be time for another election... 'gods' only know what will happen in 2024. Perhaps by then, they'll have got rid of the pervasive stench of pee in the Oval Office, in Congress, and the courts, but I wouldn't hold my breath.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And in spite of the mass of evidence - even recorded in their own words for perpetuity - the lunatics who absolve Trump and his host of sycophants still cling to 'god' or the idea of 'god'. More disturbingly than ever, even some of the good guys do, which is that much more confusing to anyone who is actually a functioning adult with more than two brain cells and none out on loan.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps that's because only an outsider can really observe and take stock of how the same holy book - perceived as 'inerrant' - so easily lends itself to being interpreted by both good people and bad to mean whatever they want it to mean - and to excuse whatever horrid things they've done to anyone under any circumstances whatsoever.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxnYbJ7bH5VADnitrjX-PBUqSoUD9HyRjT2RUTSBV2OujfglqGOKhU5K93FPVWezfw5-KbHL7bCcvQ39nSXp1eIrwvtpa5C4tuC0TM2Jihjm0b18MRrthBngiW4JJmEEIf3OrLc6BQV_w/s640/kingdom-of-heaven-david-thewlis-the-hospitaler-amandas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxnYbJ7bH5VADnitrjX-PBUqSoUD9HyRjT2RUTSBV2OujfglqGOKhU5K93FPVWezfw5-KbHL7bCcvQ39nSXp1eIrwvtpa5C4tuC0TM2Jihjm0b18MRrthBngiW4JJmEEIf3OrLc6BQV_w/s320/kingdom-of-heaven-david-thewlis-the-hospitaler-amandas.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">I can think of no more striking examples than the scene from the movie "Kingdom of Heaven" when a friar stands at the side of the road recruiting fighters for the Crusade, saying "...to kill an infidel is not murder..." and the later scene where Christian nobles governing Jerusalem demand war with Saladin, crying "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez6wfJWVCeI" target="_blank">God wills it!</a>"</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>It must be very convenient for those wanting to commit atrocities, that their version of 'god' happens to agree with their hatreds, prejudices and designs for the future.</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Every single day, people all over the world commit atrocities against animals, against people - and they use their faith in 'god' as justification to do so. Israel uses 'god' to justify its presence in the Middle East, and its continued bombing of civilians and shooting of aid workers, women and children and unarmed protesters. In Uganda - and at Kenya's shocking refugee camp at Kakuma, 'god' is the excuse for homophobic refugees to murder their LGBT fellow refugees. In South Africa in 2021, 'Christians' bombard transwomen who enter a beauty pageant with messages of hate, while atheistic Satanists are greeted openly with <a href="https://christinaengela.blogspot.com/2020/10/sa-satanic-church-reverend-family.html" target="_blank">threats of violence, rape and death</a> while practicing their religion legally and in peace.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's simply astonishing that these people can manage to reconcile their faith in a religion that teaches love, tolerance, non-violence and forgiveness with threatening people who have committed no crimes against man, beast or government with hatred, violence and death. Just what is it about the right-wing, extremist brain that is so dysfunctional? How do they do it?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The hypocrisy necessary to do so is not only mind-bendingly brazen, but their own failure to notice it speaks of something far more sinister - something I would venture to say is not adequately described under the loosely-fitting term of 'mental illness'. No, it's far worse than that.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Denial. Self-delusion. 'Group mass self-delusion' might begin to describe it. Self-mitigating, stochastic social narcissism fits a little better... But I digress:</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Great evil has been done to people in the name of religion, where the perpetrators claimed to have been doing 'god's work' or 'fighting evil' as they perceived it, etc.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The rational mind argues that their 'god' wasn't the one who did these things - they did themselves, of their own accord, willingly and deliberately. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is no proof of what these people insist is true: there is no proof of 'god', no proof of 'heaven' or of 'hell' waiting on the other side, no evidence of judgment or reward depending on if we've been naughty or nice - or even nice and naughty. Nothing which could remove the blame they willingly accepted when committing atrocities - no stain remover to clean innocent blood from their hands.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yet these same people expect us to live an entire lifetime in hopeful and expectant obedience and compliance with their doctrines, ideologies and 'world-views', depriving ourselves, chastising ourselves and subjugating ourselves, accepting a blank check in blind faith?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">They have the audacity to call this 'freedom'? It's madness! Worse still, it's abuse!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">True freedom is freedom from oppressive systems - which is won through the rejection of the entire system along with its religious trappings! This holds true for every form of system which imposes external control by means of undue guilt and empty promises - be it religious or secular.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's time the Human race - a race of bald, gene-spliced apes, part animal, part god - took a long, hard, critical look at itself. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Otherwise nothing will ever change, just repeat.</p><hr /><p style="text-align: center;">This website is about Christina Engela's human rights advocacy work.</p><p style="text-align: center;">To view her main website, visit <a href="https://christinaengela.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Christina Engela - Author</a>. To view Christina's inspiring and innovative DIY projects. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/InnovationDIY/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Follow Innovation DIY on Facebook</a>. You can also visit <a href="https://ourghostencounters.wordpress.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Our Ghost Encounters</a>, a website about the paranormal.</p><p style="text-align: center;">If you’d like to send Christina Engela a question about her life as a writer or transactivist, please send an email via the <a href="https://christinaengela.com/contact/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Contact</a> form.</p><p style="text-align: center;">All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2021.</p>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-3559739349999963532021-06-17T22:43:00.010-07:002021-06-18T00:21:45.263-07:00Bigotry & Transphobia Stirs In South Africa - Again!<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-qYdvrrbMmxHFOxj8jbFAwD_G7sfGf70GuzX6A9YEP8mFy2787Dm7MtKPHhBj5t2xlG4fPNJHJJCYONtATKqeYAjYR_86GkkpgJq2fBA48bI3YmMaDDty0v6e7FlB__FvSoJhNGGTGA/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="713" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-qYdvrrbMmxHFOxj8jbFAwD_G7sfGf70GuzX6A9YEP8mFy2787Dm7MtKPHhBj5t2xlG4fPNJHJJCYONtATKqeYAjYR_86GkkpgJq2fBA48bI3YmMaDDty0v6e7FlB__FvSoJhNGGTGA/" width="186" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>What really grated my carrot this week was part of the public reaction to the news that a transwoman had entered that archaic relic of the patriarchy which shamelessly puts women on show like cattle, the Miss South Africa contest!</div><div><br /></div><div>It seems that as soon as things are nice and quiet and the bigots have stopped shouting for a little while, something happens to spark them off again - soon as they've more-or-less recovered from the disappointment that expressing racism and using the "k-word" in public gets people in trouble - the Karens come out screeching about how transgender people are somehow unfairly competing against them in x, y or z public domains and spaces, that "he-shes" don't belong in women's competitions (or in fact anywhere), and even that "god" created male and female, and apparently "doesn't make mistakes"!</div><div><br /></div><div>This sort of idiotic Neanderthal mindset makes me bristle - so much so that it inspired my first LGBT activism-related article in quite some time!</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">So the news in question was that a local transwoman (a lady from PE called Zoe) is entering the Miss South Africa contest. It was in the Herald on Thursday morning, and by late afternoon every right wing lunatic bigot, transphobic halfwit and pious religious wanker who knows fuck-all about science, gender or what transwomen - and especially transwomen of <i>color </i>- endure in this country (or everywhere else) on a daily basis, started making an effort to vent their unintelligible hysterical bile in public. </span></div><div><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Just what is your malfunction, dipshits?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You're just like the useless idiots I encountered during and after my own transition 22 years ago. I had to put up with shallow, ignorant, inflexible asshats of low intelligence in the workplace, in religious groups and in public who misgendered me, verbally abused me, impugned my dignity, undermined my humanity and even threatened my life. I've faced religious fanatic political activists who campaigned to have people like me eradicated by the state, the religious lunatics who mocked, denied and discredited medical science for both explaining my existence as well as justifying it, the fuckwits who demanded I be punished and excluded from everything everywhere for existing - altogether working to dehumanize transpeople and to push us out of every crevice, nook or cranny where we could find acceptance!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A transwoman is entering Miss SA - clearly the world has gone mad and the "end of days" is nigh!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You sound like a bunch of mad cows mooing, you herd of unbelievable, dizzy, egotistical, delusional pillocks - or like frenzied hens flocking to peck a bleeding sister to death! And you do so because you not only don't know any better - you remorselessly refuse to <i>allow </i>yourself to know better, which is worse! Do you feel proud of yourselves?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You want to know why Zoe is entering? Not just because she can, or because she wants to... not to be "a man entering a women's competition", but because of arrogant, stupid, bullying idiots like you who seem incapable of letting go of the age old lie that gender is determined by a person's genitalia, or grasping the fact that transwomen are women.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So now you're having a public meltdown because a transwoman is entering the contest in spite of your disgusting bigotry, in the face of your appalling ignorance, rising to beat the challenge of your arrogant hypocrisy and your wishes to bully, exclude, crush, obliterate and erase her - along with all the rest of us.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRs2zirS2a7XCOVY86KtkafFrNxfh_Bo7-s0GmfI90rRJICsoTNFNOMSs_-iwogt4vCufMghDcZPT8zE2Isuf3sc443Rt5Aq9Dbn3l0u6ONdUVkP-XCi0A7fmtfMRNLVjkO_9xfs-eAqk/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="720" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRs2zirS2a7XCOVY86KtkafFrNxfh_Bo7-s0GmfI90rRJICsoTNFNOMSs_-iwogt4vCufMghDcZPT8zE2Isuf3sc443Rt5Aq9Dbn3l0u6ONdUVkP-XCi0A7fmtfMRNLVjkO_9xfs-eAqk/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Good for her. Good luck to her, I say - even though I despise "beauty pageants" for their misogyny, their shallowness and for demeaning and exploiting women as nothing else than the ideal sex-object for men, I hope she wins... and to hell with all you scumbag narcissistic TERFs, misogynists, homophobes, transphobes and religious terrorists for raining on her parade!</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Why should a transwoman competing in Miss SA upset anyone in SA? How many of those bellyaching whiners complaining that including transwomen is somehow spoiling an essentially pointless contest can name even <i>ten </i>of the most recent winners without doing an extensive Google search? Why should anyone even care? How does it affect them personally? How does it affect <i>you?</i> Does it take anything at all away from you - other than the entitlement you previously had to feel "better" than transgender people?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You're not victims. Nobody's debating your nature, mocking or undermining your right to exist, invalidating the premise for your inclusion or acceptance or rejecting your worth to society, or considering how the law does or should apply to you, opining whether or not you should be killed, fired, evicted or excluded for daring to exist - or how religious bullshit fantasy "laws" conspire to send you to some fictional hell or mean you're supposed to be a rotten person.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">No, but that's what you do when you see us.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You're not being persecuted. Nothing's being taken away from you. You're the ones doing the persecuting - you're nothing more than pouting, foot stamping psychopathic narcissistic schoolyard bullies. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">You disgust me.😡 Bunch of fucking Karens.</p><hr /><p style="text-align: center;">This website is about Christina Engela's human rights advocacy work.</p><p style="text-align: center;">To view her main website, visit <a href="https://christinaengela.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Christina Engela - Author</a>. To view Christina's inspiring and innovative DIY projects. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/InnovationDIY/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Follow Innovation DIY on Facebook</a>. You can also visit <a href="https://ourghostencounters.wordpress.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Our Ghost Encounters</a>, a website about the paranormal.</p><p style="text-align: center;">If you’d like to send Christina Engela a question about her life as a writer or transactivist, please send an email via the <a href="https://christinaengela.com/contact/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Contact</a> form.</p><p style="text-align: center;">All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2021.</p></div>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-60711799812927441152021-06-08T08:15:00.004-07:002021-06-09T03:37:26.430-07:00Prisons Of The Future - In Sci-fi, Galaxii, & Their Relation To The Contemporary<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYM-prjtxUOQHgK4KDQPMBeOm59RcaWxkBJq7PB6SMNaBSNYG1QqzBfPNLSXBMJmXHWHhFZMTGWD2pIDXLim4v2ThNDMpl7Crv4pmzw0-WMP1FpaUTfNd9SIYhNu-sYUTNg7fuPE4bVoM/s960/mma-2282013_960_720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYM-prjtxUOQHgK4KDQPMBeOm59RcaWxkBJq7PB6SMNaBSNYG1QqzBfPNLSXBMJmXHWHhFZMTGWD2pIDXLim4v2ThNDMpl7Crv4pmzw0-WMP1FpaUTfNd9SIYhNu-sYUTNg7fuPE4bVoM/s320/mma-2282013_960_720.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Modern prisons have by now been the setting for movies, books and series too numerous to mention. Some writers and movie makers have speculated about what form futuristic prisons might take - and they range from the ambitiously humanitarian and rehabilitative concepts of "Star Trek" and "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus,_Robot_Fighter" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Magnus, Robot Fighter</a>", to the opposite extreme of positively brutal dystopian prison environments as seen in movies like "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_(1992_film)" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Fortress</a>" and "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Race_(2008_film)" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Death Race</a>" for example.<p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">In this article (<a href="https://christinaengela.com/prisons-of-the-future/" target="_blank">cross-posted</a> from my author website) I'll be discussing the concepts of crime and punishment, and prison - in reality as well as in sci-fi settings - and the role of these in my own world-building in the <a href="https://christinaengela.com/bibliography-of-books-by-christina-engela/novels-by-christina-engela/the-galaxii-series/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Galaxii Series</a> universe.<br /><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><!--more--></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've been meaning to address the subject of prisons in the futuristic setting of my sci-fi stories for some time, seeing as the topic has come up before in the already released titles in Galaxii, though as little more than in passing mention. This time I'd like to lay out my thoughts on the subject in more detail, as the topic comes to the fore in at least one of the new unreleased (and as yet unfinished) titles yet to come. The topic of prisons in space, where the Earth might banish it most irredeemable citizens, appears in the next book in the Galaxii series, "Sentinel". This is as good a time as any to take a look at this topic, so here goes!</p><h2>Prison Systems, Earth In The Present Time:</h2><p style="text-align: justify;">There are generally four major types of formal prison known today which form part of international criminal justice systems, and they are:</p><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Jails & Detention Centers (for short term incarceration i.e. at police stations, suspects under arrest).</li><li>Juvenile Detention Centers (for children who commit criminal offenses - explain circumstances).</li><li>Minimum, Medium, and High Security Prisons (Penitentiaries).<ul><li>Medium security prisons are the standard facilities used to house most criminals.</li><li>High security prisons are reserved for the most violent and dangerous offenders.</li></ul></li><li>Psychiatric Care Facilities (Secure treatment facilities where criminally insane offenders are incarcerated under psychiatric care).</li><li>Military Prison, Detention Barracks, or Stockade.</li></ul><p style="text-align: justify;">Additionally, there are also other types of detention centers, such as political prisons (gulags etc.) immigration detention centers, and of course from history, concentration camps which were used to detain prisoners of war and civilians - for example, the British concentration camps of the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) and the Nazi extermination camps of the Holocaust (1939-45).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In our modern world of the early 21st century, prison is generally meant to be a punishment for transgressing criminal law. Most of us like to pretend that the lie told to us by most governments - that prison is meant to be rehabilitative, prison is meant to reform the characters of criminals and is supposed to be a learning experience - is true. If it were true, then prisons wouldn't be a breeding ground for criminal gangs whose reach extends outside prison walls, or a school where minor offenders go inside barely knowing anything about their particular criminal trades, and pick up tips, tricks and skills from their more advanced, experienced peers. Also, if this were so, then being sent to various prisons around the world - including the "3rd-world" and within the so-called "Western world" - wouldn't be so widely regarded as being "tantamount to a death sentence".</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Another phenomenon prevalent in todays prison systems which echoes the concept of private, corporation-run prisons - such as illustrated in the aforementioned film "Fortress" - notably in the USA, is that of for-profit prisons run by private corporations operating on contracts with the state, while traditional old state-run facilities have been shut down in large numbers. This has resulted in some peculiar tendencies over the past two decades, such as the politically motivated skewing of convictions and sentences by a judicially compromised legal system in order to keep these for-profit prisons operating - and profitable.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To illustrate the point (using stats from <a href="https://www.prisonstudies.org/country/united-states-america" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Prison Studies</a>), there were 4 455 prisons of different forms in the USA in 2005 (3,163 local jails at 2014, 1,190 state confinement facilities at 2005, 102 federal confinement facilities at 2005). To extend this example further, the official prison capacity, in other words, the total number of inmates the US prison system could accommodate to all levels was 2 150 000 in 2017 - while the actual occupancy level (based on official capacity) was rated at 99.8% in the same year! That means - officially at least - that by 2017 the USA had over 4000 prison facilities (4 455 in 2005) and 2 145 700 people incarcerated in its prison system! That's over TWO MILLION people - a STAGGERING amount!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well, the USA is a big country you might say - it's obvious it'll need more prisons! Obvious. Right, sure. Okay, it's a big country - but overall there are other problems with its prison system as well, mainly with what people are imprisoned <em>for, </em>but mainly with how it treats its inmates during and after incarceration. Being so close to their maximum capacity, US prisons are overcrowded, and most inmates tend to pass through the system more than once, with many being habitual repeat-offenders who serve a series of sentences in prison for similar offenses - or even crimes which gradually worsen (i.e. graduating from petty theft, to rape, to murder).</p><h3>Making Bad Worse:</h3><p style="padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><em>"In general, prison should have five goals, as described by criminologist Bob Cameron: retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, restoration, and rehabilitation. In his words though, 'Americans want their prisoners punished first and rehabilitated second.'" - </em><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-norways-prison-system-is-so-successful-2014-12?op=1&r=US&IR=T" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Why Norway's prison system is so successful</a>, Christina Sterbenz Dec 11, 2014.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">One of the biggest issues I have with many if not most prisons is that inmates convicted for violent and non-violent crimes also tend to mix freely within the prison population. For example, an inmate serving a sentence for fraud (a non-violent so-called "white collar" crime) could eat at the same table with a convicted multiple murderer. There is a huge opportunity, in my opinion, for cross-contamination.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Not only can entry-level, non-violent criminals rub elbows with much worse, violent criminals, but they can pick up skills, ideas, tips and tricks, and even training - making the entry-level criminal that much more worrisome when they're released back on the streets. That, and also the risk of that entry-level prisoner falling foul of a more violent convict's temper - or falling prey to the gangs operating in most prisons - or the thing nobody really wants to talk about: the culture of rape and sexual abuse that exists within prisons between inmates themselves. <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/220918/number-of-state-prisoner-deaths-in-the-us/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Statistics</a> reflect 4135 prisoner deaths (from a spectrum of causes) IN USA prisons between 2001 and 2018, over a 17 year period.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To make matters worse, the USAs' prison system makes it difficult for inmates to reintegrate back into society - parole hearings, while necessary, also dehumanize the inmates in a blanket sense - up to an including first-time offenders and minor criminals. In addition, once inmates are released on parole, they have to find employment in order to remain free - without the state making any kind of provisions or guarantees that former inmates can find the gainful employment they're expected to, resulting in a likely (even expected) return to crime - and prison.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Some US states also strip former-inmates, i.e. people with criminal records to varying degrees, of voting rights, adoption rights, and also the right to own a firearm. The focus then appears to be firmly on punishment rather on rehabilitation. This skewed, loaded, prejudiced system is essentially a self-fulfilling prophecy, which implies that those who end up in prison, belong there and don't deserve a chance to redeem themselves and have no place in society.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The concept of imprisonment as a punishment also challenges one of the primary foundations of criminal justice systems - in that the punishment should fit the crime - and I say this because more often than not, a person incarcerated for a slight misdemeanor, say possession of a small quantity of narcotics or the like, might be seized upon by a rougher, violent intimidating inmate who then molests that individual sexually and ruins their life permanently.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Gang rapes of this type, of inmates by other inmates are common and frequent in prisons, and especially I would say, in South African prisons. I have personally witnessed individuals commenting on such cases being discussed on social media that they were glad of these events and that the individuals "deserved it" - without even knowing the details of who was involved, or what they'd been imprisoned for.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hypothetically, a man incarcerated for insurance fraud (without any previous criminal record) has lost his job, his family and is serving a thirteen year sentence can be gang-raped by four other men sharing his cell and threatened with death if he protests. What then would be the motive for this man to survive for the next day, let alone for the day he is released, and beyond? He certainly wouldn't be the same person who entered the prison, that's for sure.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This hardly seems fair, just or commensurate with the crime, does it?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I mean, in terms of restorative and rehabilitative justice, one doesn't expect a person to be sent to prison to be raped, assaulted or killed by either prison guards or fellow inmates, does one?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yes there are hardened criminals who commit horrific violent crimes, and repeat offenders who keep on committing the same sort of crimes over and over again, often progressing to worse forms of crime - but in my opinion, those who start off on the road of crime with a petty misdemeanor while young, are too easily thrown among the hardened, vicious criminals instead of being handled separately with the aim being rehabilitation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The difference I think, is in the approach of governments and societies to crime and criminals. The Norwegian approach - and that of the Netherlands - appears to be starkly different, and vastly superior to the American model.</p><p style="padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><em>"In the law, being sent to prison is nothing to do with putting you in a terrible prison to make you suffer. The punishment is that you lose your freedom. <span style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><strong>If we treat people like animals when they are in prison they are likely to behave like animals.</strong></span>"</em> - Norwegian prison governor & clinical psychologist Arne Wilson, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/feb/25/norwegian-prison-inmates-treated-like-people" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Guardian</a> interview.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The reality of modern prisons in their mediocre (i.e. the USA example) and worst (third world examples) forms evokes the harsh dystopian concepts of future prisons found in the aforementioned examples: "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_(1992_film)" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Fortress</a>" and "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Race_(2008_film)" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Death Race</a>". In a weirdly similar turn-out in which life imitates art, modern inmates are at the mercy of brutal and corrupt guards and wardens, each other, and prison gangs operating across different prisons - and afterwards, the parole system makes their re-entry into normal society difficult, if not unlikely. A for-profit prison industry which is paid per head for each "guest" housed in their facilities, and which also has powerful ties in the form of political investors in their companies assists in keeping the prison system running close to full capacity.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now let's take a quick look at how some other countries on different continents deal with crime in relation to the USA.</p><h3>Comparison Of Prison System Capacities Between Countries:</h3><p style="text-align: justify;">In comparison to the USAs' prison system, those in Europe appear starkly different. Not only are there far fewer prisons in relation to the size of the populations in each country, but the overall capacity of each country's prison system is also far smaller in context. For example, the USA had a population of <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=USA+population+2017&newwindow=1&sxsrf=ALeKk03MphtoPXnreGyC9WX4XorUfZTDUw%3A1623134782183&ei=PhK_YMPQCoLCgQa44pCACQ&oq=USA+population+2017&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBAgAEAoyBAgAEAoyBAgAEAoyBAgAEAoyBggAEBYQHjIICAAQFhAKEB4yCAgAEBYQChAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjoFCAAQkQI6BAgAEEM6CgguEMcBENEDEEM6CAgAELEDEIMBOgcIABDJAxBDOgcILhCxAxBDOggILhCxAxCDAToGCAAQChBDOgoIABCxAxCDARBDOggILhDHARCvAToCCAA6FwguELEDEIMBEMcBENEDEIsDENIDEKgDOgUIABDJAzoHCAAQsQMQCjoHCAAQhwIQFDoKCAAQsQMQgwEQCjoHCAAQsQMQQ1CO2X9Y5cCAAWCUxYABaAFwAngBgAGRB4gB-zySAQwyLTUuMTEuMy4xLjGYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6uAECwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwjD5_SguIfxAhUCYcAKHTgxBJAQ4dUDCA4&uact=5" rel="noopener" target="_blank">325.1 million</a> in 2017, while the Netherlands only had 17.08 million.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In spite of the obvious size difference between the two, there are still disparities in the size of the US prison system versus the that of the Netherlands. Compare the US prison system's over 4000 prison facilities with a capacity to hold 2 150 000 people, with 2 145 700 people incarcerated, to the Netherlands with just 53 facilities, 14 630 inmate capacity and 10 887 incarcerated. On top of that, in 2016, the Netherlands actually began to <em>close</em> some of it's prison facilities due a lack of inmates! In 2016, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/no-one-can-explain-why-dutch-crime-is-so-low-2016-4?IR=T" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Business Insider reported</a> that the Dutch were closing 5 more prisons just three years after previously closing another 19 others!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">According to the same article, crime in the Netherlands has been going down each year since 2004. The incarceration rate is just 69 per 100,000 people, which contrasts with the US, where the rate is 716 per 100,000 — "the highest in the world". The US recidivism rate — that is, how often people who've been to prison end up going back — is <strong>52%</strong>, according to <a href="https://www.salve.edu/sites/default/files/filesfield/documents/Incarceration_and_Recidivism.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">2013</a> data. The Netherlands' was closer to <strong>40%</strong> (in 2016) and had been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/no-one-can-explain-why-dutch-crime-is-so-low-2016-4?IR=T" rel="noopener" target="_blank">declining for over a decade</a>. For comparison, Norway has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world at <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-norways-prison-system-is-so-successful-2014-12?op=1&r=US&IR=T" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong>20%</strong></a>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yes, but the Netherlands (and Norway) are so much smaller than the USA, right? However, that still doesn't account for the differences (and disparities) which are evident in the percentages - as follows:</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the Netherlands, a country of 17,08 million people, they had a prison capacity of 14 630 (<strong>0.08%</strong> of the total population) and which was 74.4% occupied in <a href="https://www.prisonstudies.org/country/netherlands" rel="noopener" target="_blank">2018</a>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">By stark contrast, the USA - a country of 325.1 million people, they had a prison capacity of 2 150 000 (<strong>0.66%</strong> of the total population) and which was 99.8% occupied in 2017!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But what about the "third world" countries? What about "Africa"?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Alright, simply for the sake of context, let's look at South Africa - my home country (which slipped into the "third world" category about a decade ago) - and even here the disparity when compared to the USA is simply astonishing: South Africa is a country of 59,62 million people with a prison capacity of 118 572 (<strong>0.19%</strong> of the total population) and which was <strong>124.8%</strong> occupied (over capacity!) in 2020. South African prisons are much more poorly equipped than American prisons, and overcrowded (by 124%!), with tens of prisoners jammed into communal cells! Of course, prison conditions in neighboring Zimbabwe are even worse, on a scale comparable even to some of the very worst prisons in South America.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">According to <a href="https://www.saferspaces.org.za/understand/entry/prison-violence-in-south-africa-context-prevention-and-response" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Safe Spaces</a>, <em>"Inmates and remand detainees experience extreme overcrowding and inhumane living conditions, including: poor ventilation; inadequate ablution facilities; lack of sanitation and privacy; a shortage of beds and bedding; insufficient supervision and oversight; and poor healthcare provision." </em>Added to that, <a href="http://www.702.co.za/articles/352659/over-500-inmates-die-in-south-africa-s-prison-every-year-survey-reveals" rel="noopener" target="_blank">statistics</a> recorded from 2015 to 2018 by the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services show that more than <strong>550</strong> inmates die every year - and that most deaths are due to inmates killing each another!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm simply blown away that South Africa - whose cities appear three times on a listing of the top 50 cities by murder rate in the world somehow STILL has a lower comparative percentage of convicted felons catered for and housed, than the USA! South Africa slots in neatly between the Netherlands and the USA, but it has to be said, far closer to the former than the latter in terms of the scores!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Some countries take the concept of "justice" to barbaric extremes, visiting such fates as torture, painful execution, beheading, and enduring amputations of various limbs for what most people would see as trivial differences of opinion rather than for actual crimes. Aside from that, there are also much worse prisons than the ones I've covered so far, with much, much worse and frightening reputations, but aside from revealing the vastly differing underlying Human views of crime and punishment, they do little to indicate what prisons and restorative or rehabilitative justice <em>should</em> look like in order to actually make things <em>better </em>- if not any worse.</p><h3>What Demographics Reveals About The US Justice & Prison System:</h3><p style="text-align: justify;">This incongruity seriously calls into question the level and type of attention the USA appears to give to the subject of crime and criminals, beyond just writing them off as people altogether and stuffing them out of sight into a dark gloomy box where they are left to their own devices - fester, and then if they ever come out again, are even worse than they went in! The focus in American prisons (and in fairness, <em>most </em>prisons around the world) is on <em>punishment</em> rather than rehabilitation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Take for example the number of inmates being repeat-guests of their governments in the USA (<strong>52%</strong> in 2013) who are rearrested for other crimes committed after being freed from prison, versus the Netherlands (+-<strong>40%</strong>). Also, bear in mind the relative sizes of those percentages - 52% for the USA in 2013 (1,574,700) which is significantly larger in relation to 40% for the Netherlands who only had a negligible 10,115 inmates in 2016!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is a number of worrying conclusions offered by all these bewildering statistics, chiefly of which for me, is the thought that either Americans have far more criminal tendencies than people from other countries, or they're just doing it all wrong.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I mean, aside from their punitive approach to criminal justice in the USA, there is a glaring disparity between how people convicted for the same or similar offenses are sentenced - which is usually determined according to race. According to a <a href="https://www.ussc.gov/research/research-reports/demographic-differences-sentencing" rel="noopener" target="_blank">2017 report</a> on sentencing disparities from the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC), black men who commit the same crimes as white men receive federal prison sentences that are, on average, nearly 20 percent longer! What's so deeply disturbing about this is, it isn't the 1950's USA I'm talking about, but 21st century America!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps what reveals the most disturbing thing about the US prison system is the demographics of its inmates in relation to the demographics of the USA as a whole. You see, the vast majority of inmates in US prisons are African-Americans (according to <a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/graphs/raceinc.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwqvyFBhB7EiwAER786Sl2cfJs7yuSoBiUczc2INefneIM2mco-2-NpZ3bOA8ikiZYaHXSIRoCBAQQAvD_BwE" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Prison Policy.org</a>) - with the second-smallest racial group in prison being Caucasians. Caucasians - or whites, statistically make up the majority of the US population at an enormous <strong>77%</strong> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States" rel="noopener" target="_blank">2016</a>) - while African-Americans account for only an estimated <strong>13.4%</strong> of the population - and yet they somehow account for the vast majority of inmates in US prisons! If that doesn't give you pause, what will?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There's a lot of talk about how, after the end of the American Civil War, the Southern former Confederate states made new laws that made staying out of prison virtually impossible for newly freed slaves - and turned prison labor for hire into a commodity - replacing the labor force the South had lost through abolitionism. This mindset has continued to the present day, as witnessed by archaic racist laws still in force in some US states, coupled with more recent additions which attempt to restrict access to voting rights based on demographics - so this to a degree, offers one quite compelling explanation for the current state of affairs.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The law, you see, can also be used as a weapon to be used against those whom the people in power despise and wish to subjugate or destroy. The Nazis - supported by law-abiding "good Germans", friends, colleagues and neighbors also used the law to make dissent and diversity a crime, but that - while on topic, is a discussion for another day.</p><h3>Don't We Want A Hopeful Future?</h3><p style="text-align: justify;">Rather than being a means of rehabilitation, most modern prison systems - even the one in the country which bills itself as the "best country in everything on Earth", the USA - completely write off the future of any of their inmates and not only expect them to fail at any attempt to reform, but set them up for failure - i.e. <em>planned</em> recidivism. The root of this obsession with punishment versus rehabilitation is to be found in the USA's historic obsession with religion, undoubtedly beginning with the puritan fanatics booted out of England three centuries ago.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the opposite end of the scale, we have the Utopian societal concepts found in "Star Trek" and "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus,_Robot_Fighter" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Magnus, Robot Fighter</a>" - where criminals, if they exist at all, are regarded as sick individuals suffering from some form of insecurity, psychosis or other mental illness, which can be fairly easily adjusted either through talking solutions or by means of advanced medical technologies or other forms of treatment. In the idyllic settings presented by both these series, villains suffering from megalomania or other "anti-social" conditions are pitied, cared for, mentally adjusted, cured, and allowed to continue living their lives. Crimes committed out of mental illness are regarded as symptoms of that mental illness - and how does one expect to hold someone who is truly mentally ill criminally responsible for their actions? It would be immoral to do so, wouldn't it? Their solution then would be to cure the mental illness (which, being in a technologically more advanced future, is possible for them).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's clear to me then, that these societies are not only more advanced than our contemporary one (where scientists are spending more time arguing with conspiracy theorist nut-bags who claim the Earth is flat - but can never seem to find the Edge), but also a bit more than my own in Galaxii. After all, where's the fun in reading stories about villains who can become good guys after a brief session in a mental adjustment booth (or a spell under the tinfoil hat and battery clamps)? As a sci-fi writer, I deal in fiction - but there needs to be some kind of basis in fact, and also there needs to be something about the future which makes people hopeful rather than depressed to read!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Being a science fiction writer, I decided to revisit this whole conundrum of crime and punishment and do it the way I thought best within my own world-building exercises, and as I thought best according to the needs of the stories I plan to tell.</p><h2>Prison Systems In The Galaxii Universe:</h2><p style="text-align: justify;">The concept of crime and punishment has to be one of the oldest foundation stones in this thing we call "civilization". After all, if people are going to live together, to co-exist as next-door neighbors, there has to be a sort of agreement between all neighbors that they will try to respect each other's spaces, not make loud noises between certain hours to avoid keeping the kids (and old grouches like me) out of sleep, and so on.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This obviously gave rise to child-concepts like laws, and then further, those whose purpose is to enforce laws and take action when they are flouted - and those whose job it is to judge guilt or innocence and decide appropriate forms of punishment. The oldest most comprehensive legal code containing forms of punishment, restitution and retribution can be found in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Code of Hammurabi</a>, a king of ancient Mesopotamia.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Terry Pratchett said that words are magic, because they have power. This rings true to me because in the sense of laws, these are words which set out what is permitted and what is not permitted - and lays out various consequences of any infractions - by which everyone is bound to abide or suffer the consequences. Far from just being spoken or written down and forgotten, words which make up laws are words of power, because they are formed from will and intent and have far-reaching, long-lasting effects beyond the transitory. Through laws and edicts, these words of power in turn create things and bring them into being - like contracts, governments, civil rights, liberties and freedoms - and that all-important <em>habeas corpus</em>.</p><p style="padding-left: 40px; text-align: center;"><em><strong>Law, as most students of law will probably tell you, is the glue which binds civilization together. It's also the gloopy mess that will stick to everything and make life really unpleasant for anyone caught up in it.</strong></em></p><p style="text-align: justify;">That said, when I started out building the Galaxii universe inside my head, I wanted it to be a well-oiled, smoothly running society. I wanted people to be advanced, intelligent and mature creatures who showed some interest in the universe around them and also in others. I wanted Terran society to be beneficent, based on science and intellect and also compassion and humanitarianism. I created heroes, like Mykl d'Angelo, Ripley Jones, and Joe Lofflin who epitomized those values.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">At the same time, I also needed to create villains - and in <a href="https://christinaengela.com/bibliography-of-books-by-christina-engela/novels-by-christina-engela/the-galaxii-series/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Galaxii</a> there are the ubiquitous Corsairs, space pirates who are really the lowest, meanest sort of individuals you could ever meet! I invented a whole back-story for them, how the Corsairs left Earth following WW3 and eked out a bleak, hard life in the black of deep space - and when they came into contact with their long-lost Terran cousins who started exploring space decades later in their neck of the woods, turned to piracy to sustain themselves! I birthed Corsair characters like <a href="https://christinaengela.com/faqs-answered-13-who-is-sona-kilroy/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Sona Kilroy</a>, <a href="https://christinaengela.com/cover-title-reveal-for-galaxii-4/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Captain Tonk</a> and <a href="https://christinaengela.com/cover-title-reveal-for-galaxii-4/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Green Beard</a> - and the <a href="https://christinaengela.com/elements-of-horror-5-vampires/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Hell Queen</a> still holds a special place in my dark little heart! That said, I also created <a href="https://christinaengela.com/faqs-answered-10-who-is-marsha-in-dead-beckoning-to-blachart/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Blachart</a> and gave him a Human face and a soul - he became an anti-hero, a man who'd spent most of his life as a Corsair, who changed sides and became one of the 'good guys' - at least most of the time!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Against the backdrop of all this futurism, futuristic technology and advanced civilization, I found it hard to justify thinking a society like the one I wanted the Terrans to have, would indulge in cruelty and barbarism - especially towards helpless individuals in their power. That seems cowardly too, don't you think? In fact, realizing this resulted in some serious introspection and also changed my own outlook on life, crime, justice and punishment!</p><h3>The Terran Judicial System - A Fresh Start:</h3><p>How would the Terran judicial system handle crime and criminals? Well, I've given it a lot of thought!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Under normal circumstances – that is, under the guidance of sociologists, criminologists and psychiatric specialists – prison in the Galaxii sense largely means rehabilitation and eventual reintegration back into Terran society, in which case a highly efficient system in essence reprograms inmates through applied psychology, access to free education, arts and culture, a temporary loss of personal freedom, austerity, and a back-to-basics approach to discipline. If you can't behave like a responsible adult by yourself, we'll teach you how!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This brings to mind the sentences given to criminals upon conviction. To my understanding, when someone is given a life sentence, it should mean "until they've stopped breathing" - but imagine my surprise when I discovered that this is not the case, generally speaking! In South Africa for example, 25 years is considered a 'life sentence' - although to be fair, I doubt anyone could survive a 21 year stint in a South African prison without some serious preternatural interventions, so yes, maybe it is. In Norway, judges dole out "life sentences" of 21 years - but with a difference. <em>"With few exceptions (for genocide and war crimes mostly), judges can only sentence criminals to a maximum of 21 years. At the end of the initial term, however, five-year increments can be added onto to the prisoner's sentence every five years, indefinitely, if the system determines he or she isn't rehabilitated. That's why Norwegian extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in a bombing and mass shooting, was only sentenced to 21 years." </em> It's also why it's unlikely that Breivik will ever take a breath of free air again.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, South Africa doesn't follow this Norwegian model - they not only give hardened murderers and serial rapists frivolous 25 year sentences and time off for good behavior, but they also allow them to go out on bail while on trial (allowing them to rape or kill again - and many have as has come to light) and then also to release them early because our jails are at 124% capacity and over-full. And while in prison, they simply develop into worse, more dangerous criminals, eager to get out and do some more crime - with little to no opportunity to reform or be rehabilitated, other than to turn to "Jesus" via church outreach programs - which in my view is hardly an improvement.</p><p style="padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><em><strong>It seems that neither does the prison system in South Africa satisfactorily remove criminal elements from society, nor does it make any serious attempt to rehabilitate them. Justice in South Africa, sadly, is a sick joke in all aspects.</strong></em></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Like the USA then, in spite of reams of twaddle espoused in the 1990s about South African prisons being about rehabilitation rather than punishment, South Africa's prison system is firmly entrenched in the punitive rut - albeit by the weight of corruption, incompetence and disinterest rather than by design.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'd like to think the Terran courts would be much more fair and conditions in Terran penal facilities would be much more humane than they are in our world. Indeed, while I believe that - as indicated by the Norwegian precedent, most inmates who’d been through the vastly more humane prison system of this future time - would rarely relapse to become repeat offenders – although it probably wouldn't be entirely unheard of. There would be those for whom rehabilitation was ineffective, who would remain wards of the social rehabilitation system.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Since the Terran Empire extends across a multitude of outposts and colonies across space, it's more than likely that colonies would have their own prisons - from the ordinary lock-up jail cells at Sheriff's offices to larger penitentiaries. Lulu Penitentiary on Deanna springs to mind. Of course, these would house the co-operative inmates, and inmates not imprisoned indefinitely - inmates for whom rehabilitation is still possible, even probable.</p><p>There are the worse one though - the ones whom today, we would say need killing - and that brings us to the subject of capital crimes.</p><h3>Capital Crimes & The Death Penalty:</h3><p style="text-align: justify;">We often see in the media, social and otherwise, portrayals of grief from the relatives of murder victims (or the victims of other serious crimes themselves) crying out for vengeance, for the blood of those responsible to flow. They want to visit pain and suffering on the person who killed X, raped Y, or crippled Z. I too am guilty of feeling and thinking such things - it's after all only Human to feel that - it's something akin to instinct, an animal outrage. We want to hurt them back because they hurt someone dear to us - and in fact, <em>us</em>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then it comes to the law - and in places where execution is regarded as a valid reaction or punishment for whatever capital crime. People in custody don't simply just die on command - someone has to carry out the order to execute that individual - by whatever method. In most countries today, as least those which still allow executions, hanging is the traditional method employed. In France, the traditional method (since the Revolution) was beheading by a devilish device called a guillotine. In the USA, several methods have been employed - death by hanging, lethal injection, electrocution, and the gas chamber.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In some cases, the state would invite guests to watch the executions, separated only by a glass window, to witness the person who <em>hurt</em> them and deprived them of something which was important to them, take their last breath - overcome by fear, remorse, and sometimes religion.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In all cases, what was common between all executions since time immemorial, was the detail that in order to carry out the execution, someone had to escort the condemned to the place of execution, restrain them or secure them in place. When a button had to be pushed, or a lever had to be pulled in order to carry out the sentence, someone had to perform this action - upon which weighed a life.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There have been many arguments about whether or not how many innocent, wrongly-convicted people have been executed by mistake - but to my view, the argument is moot. There have been - the only point that should be ascertained is <em>how many.</em> That said, we accept and understand that the majority of people executed for crimes like murder, at least earned that fate. But that's not the point I'm coming to here.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">My point concerns the individual carrying out the sentence - in relation to the system which claims to cherish the value of Human life.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yet it orders one Human being to end the life of another? Non sequitur.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">What's really surreal to me is that the executioner is not only paid for their services to the state in carrying out the sentence of death, but is allowed to live freely among everyone else. To frame this for you, let me explain it thusly:</p><ol style="text-align: justify;"><li>a killer has killed and the state decrees he must be killed in retribution or as a warning to others.</li><li>the killer is then killed by another person in the employ of the state, who is not punished for killing.</li></ol><p style="text-align: justify;">Further,</p><ol style="text-align: justify;"><li>Human society claims to be hostile to murderers and lives in fear that murderers exist among them, unpunished.</li><li>Executioners are murderers who not only go unpunished, but are rewarded by the state for killing, and exist freely among them.</li></ol><p style="text-align: justify;">It does seem a mite hypocritical, don't you think? While you may think I'm being flippant about this, let me ask you this: while all the debate about the death penalty has raged on and on - is it just, is it moral, etc., etc. - has anyone considered the following:</p><ol style="text-align: justify;"><li>what does the act of murdering someone as a state-paid executioner do to that person carrying out the sentence of death?</li><li>what sort of person would voluntarily perform this act - once or repetitively - in the first place?</li></ol><p style="text-align: justify;">In reply to the second-last question, I'd have to say there would be some definite psychological trauma or damage suffered by such a person - what sort of society would choose to inflict such harm on someone else to take upon themselves the mantle of a killer? This is especially relevant in the light of the next question.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In reply to the last question, my answer can only be 'a killer' or 'someone with a predisposition to cruelty and murder'! It would be someone who enjoys the act of killing and gets a thrill out of being rewarded for it - or worse, someone who feels nothing at all about it, a pscyhopath.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regardless of reason, both the condemned and the executioner are killers - the only difference then is the degree to which they are killers. - and any debate surrounding the issue of which one is worse and why is purely semantic. How is the executioner any better than the condemned he is to kill? How is the condemned then also - by implication - any better than the person they have judged as deserving to die?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">My main argument against the death penalty then is not just the perceived guilt or innocence of the party - but the harmful consequences to the individuals responsible for carrying out the execution, as well as the implications of these to the surrounding society.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Terrans then, no longer indulge the death penalty. Executions are forbidden - but something would have to be done with murderers and rapists - and pedophiles - especially those nasty Corsairs who themselves didn't recall their own crimes they were so many! They couldn't be locked up indefinitely either - especially Corsairs, who represented a great multitude of new inmates following the fall of their base-world, Meradinis! Most of the colonial prisons were small, medium security facilities more like psychiatric hospitals by that time, than hardened penitentiaries we know today! Besides, the thing with Corsairs was, they try to escape - and they were always escaping - and their comrades still free on the outside were always looking for ways to free them! What then, was to be done with them?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In a humane, Human-rights-oriented time, this created something of a moral dilemma, which after a brief time, was resolved. The Terran justice system no longer practiced capital punishment, principally because no matter how twisted, evil or dangerous an individual considered beyond rehabilitation was – or how tempting it might be to inflict pain and suffering and unspeakable horrors upon them for their equally abhorrent acts – the institute of justice took into consideration how this would affect the persons charged with carrying out such sentences. Although cheaper and perhaps more convenient – and even satisfying on some levels – Terran society in general did not wish to indulge or encourage any latent character flaws it didn’t have to. Instead, the notion of removing such people from Human society permanently – and keeping them so removed – rose to the fore and became the accepted norm.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In most cases, low-level criminals would be processed on their home planets, reintroduced into their home communities and their criminal histories ended there. For the others, the ones who were not inclined to reform themselves, or who for whatever reason still represented a danger to people around them, there are the maximum security prisons. These, as you might guess, are not like the others.</p><h3>Banishment - A Good Alternative:</h3><p style="text-align: justify;">In the 18th century, Britain established the colony of Australia and increased the colonial population by stuffing ships full of criminals - mostly petty thieves, and mostly people shanghaied into the dock on trumped-up or petty charges like stealing bread to survive - and sending them to that far-off land.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Terran Empire has a sound human rights value system, which not only prevents such a debasing and corrupt practice. Instead, a number of maximum security prisons has been set up at secure remote locations in quieter parts of Terran space. A good example of such a maximum security prison is the facility called Kobarr, on the planet it's named after - which isn’t a Terran colony – and neither is it <em>near</em> a Terran Colony – it's well off the beaten path, so much so that even the shuttle pilots bringing fresh inmates to Kobarr often tend to get a bit lost along the way! For some – even in those times – it is often considered a lot of effort to accommodate and transport people whose continued existence would be nothing more than a thorn in the flesh of Terran society… to some, a waste of resources. Even so, in maximum security prisons, the inmates are put to work growing and processing food, processing water and air to feed and sustain themselves. Kobarr is not a rehabilitation center, and as a maximum security prison, the inmates sent to that far-off place are the absolute worst of the very worst, and for nine point nine out of every ten inmates – generally speaking, it would be a one-way trip. Very few would ever leave there. This would be far from idyllic for the inmates however - they've lost their freedom, the hope of ever returning to their old lives - or any other life at all, and of ever seeing anyone they used to know again.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thus, the objectives of 1) permanently removing the individual from Human society 2) without killing them 3) without any chance of their escaping 4) and without pandering to the less civilized impulses of Human nature, are achieved.</p><h2>Conclusions:</h2><p style="text-align: justify;">It's more than philosophy when I say that how we treat other beings defines us as individuals - and how Humans treat other beings and each other, defines the Human race.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There are those who feel that if some people take it upon themselves to act like animals, then they deserve to be treated like animals - but they fail to realize that by perpetuating the same behavior, nothing will ever change. You can't fight racism with more racism - as the ANC is learning to its cost - and in the same vein, rewarding cruelty with more cruelty will only beget more cruelty.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There's no reason why something similar to what I've suggested couldn't be done in our time - such as banishing murderers and rapists to isolated facilities on deserted islands, or in the middle of the Sahara for example. And yes, I can hear a few people bouncing up and down shouting about how much they deserve to die - and how much they'd be happy to carry out that sentence themselves. I'm sorry to say that yes, I partially agree with you - but that only says more about us as Humans as a fractured species, doesn't it? I really believe my way is better.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Humans are really very similar to each other in the aspect that they don't mind if incredible suffering is visited on someone else - as long as it's not they who are the ones made to suffer. Nowhere has this been more apparent than in the recent pandemic, where everyone is criticizing those reluctant to have one of many dubious vaccines which have demonstrated potentially lethal side-effects. The risk is only to 3% of those who take it, they say - which is acceptable, they say - but when asked "what if you're unknowingly part of that 3%?" they suddenly don't know what to say further.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">My solution won't appeal to everyone - but then, neither has my view that the malicious politicians who lead countries to war with each other should be made to face each other in an arena in single-combat for the entertainment of the masses of both countries instead - to settle disputes that way! The world would be a far nicer, more peaceful, stable place if it was so. Millions of dead, crippled, widowed and orphaned people would likely agree if they had voices to be heard.</p><p>As I said, my solution won't appeal to everyone - but at least it's nice to know that a start has been made - in Norway.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I hope this adequately explains my thoughts and concepts of Terran justice in the time of the <a href="https://christinaengela.com/bibliography-of-books-by-christina-engela/novels-by-christina-engela/the-galaxii-series/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Galaxii</a> Series! Some of this will form part of the backdrop in some upcoming stories, most especially the fourth title in the series, "<a href="https://christinaengela.com/cover-title-reveal-for-galaxii-4/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Sentinel</a>".</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Feel free to email or message me via <a href="http://facebook.com/christina.engela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/pinkfuzzyninja" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter </a>or <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/christinaengela" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> if you have any comments or questions!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cheers until next time!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><img alt="Digital Autograph Christina Engela" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-13731" height="108" src="https://christinaengela.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Caligraphy-Christina-Engela-Copy-300x108.jpg" width="300" /></p>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-9749842513054867742021-06-07T00:51:00.003-07:002021-06-07T00:51:18.630-07:00A Peek At My Week! #6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbgNPuxFpzO61XPnvSMkDJXzktwD2BXThQljoLl5CEPxRocVfqBHJaSNdIsUyT7RaxwpJNC4oLwUMXdsunP0tHIC5ybocc2-LKtf9yPArCGfxXiodXj2h8DbPMEsoSgi7QtCzT8hQTed4/s2048/APIMW+Header+%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbgNPuxFpzO61XPnvSMkDJXzktwD2BXThQljoLl5CEPxRocVfqBHJaSNdIsUyT7RaxwpJNC4oLwUMXdsunP0tHIC5ybocc2-LKtf9yPArCGfxXiodXj2h8DbPMEsoSgi7QtCzT8hQTed4/s320/APIMW+Header+%25284%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Time for another Peek @ My Week! :) What did I get up to? What's new, what's happening - and why do Americans laugh when I tell them my car has two hooters? 🤔<br /><br /><a href="https://christinaengela.com/a-peek-at-my-week-6/">https://christinaengela.com/a-peek-at-my-week-6/</a>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787625573925551983.post-4844964022507290412021-06-01T00:30:00.006-07:002021-06-01T00:30:49.951-07:00Christina Engela’s Monthly Newsletter: #54 June 2021 <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQGQBjp-_PiXfHj4YmBffIExi-tjYc6UiAHYmzp_XqNqWJ27Y0bokO0mcXtKmcoiZEA1JBCXLMX4-aZiuzA3ls29gnFdP2NZ-_jheQF6cyuYGr5YIMUkCxmPmkyJrXjs_ckCYM6ZMOuM/s2048/Newsletter+Header+Jun+2021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQGQBjp-_PiXfHj4YmBffIExi-tjYc6UiAHYmzp_XqNqWJ27Y0bokO0mcXtKmcoiZEA1JBCXLMX4-aZiuzA3ls29gnFdP2NZ-_jheQF6cyuYGr5YIMUkCxmPmkyJrXjs_ckCYM6ZMOuM/s320/Newsletter+Header+Jun+2021.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Hello friends and fans - here's my latest newsletter! :) <p></p><p><a href="https://christinaengela.com/christina-engelas-monthly-newsletter-54-june-2021/">https://christinaengela.com/christina-engelas-monthly-newsletter-54-june-2021/</a></p>Christina Engelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14097267012315870041noreply@blogger.com0