Iraq Hope?

Iraq

It is appalling to see a comparatively modern country declining to the chaos of internecine civil war. That the British and Americans have to take responsibility for this state of affairs cannot be avoided. If every there was a cause to charge countries or two individual with creating a situation that is now developing into culpable genocide, this must be one.

There is little point in going over the ground that took these countries to the point of invading Iraq and inflicting war on it, perhaps even less so in examining the miss calculation and bungled after effects leading to current debacle. But the finger of guilt has to aim at the delusion of grandeur and the mantle of incompetence of an ex drunk with a Christian fundamentalist attitude, egotism and the subservient self interest of the bull dog.

Sadly retrospection gives no clue to a way of bringing peace to this now blighted country however it does generate a major force to instil a degree of fear for the next decade to these two countries against any further military adventure – they may still have not learned that the nature of war and its application has change, democracy is a powerful assuage to the pursuit of a war. See how to win a war.

So now Iran and Syria, part of the ‘axis of evil’ are being courted to seek a way out of the mess, to have them step in and influence the combatant to a point of stability, cease the internal sectarian wholesale murders and stop the slide into anarchy. Why should they?
It does seem that the Americans are tentatively willing to engage Iran but not Syria. This is not a feasible game, it will be more effective if both can be drawn in but it is equally uncertain that parties in Iraq will be of sufficient authority to carry forward any addition external ‘assistance’ influence.

The apparent general feeling in the Middle East that forms the background for much of its troubles lay in the sore of the continuing Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Gaza issues. This does not help the situation nor does the perception of American imperialism and its obvious commitment to support Israel, in all that it does, against the developing Arab Middle East trend. Without doubt the various forms of Islam and the constant vying for power of the sects, does seem the curse for the region. It is also seen as a slow spreading threat to the secular west which need not be the case if it is turned upon itself.

For now, will Iran & Syria play ball? Probably, if they can see a measure of opportunity in opening up a whole mid east debate and particularly given:-

They want nuclear energy,
They want Israel reigned in.
They want to humble USA,
They want separate influence
They have religious limitations
They do not want democracy.
They will bargain but at a slow pace.

There are some great differences between these two countries largely driven by multiply religious bipolar differences, this is little different to most of the mid east and Asia as it is punctuated with the many strands of Islam interpretation. Although the more extreme fanatic wants to focus on the west, there are at the same time factions within them that will continue to fight amongst themselves given the appropriate opportunity and others of greater moderation.

BUT they and others will be very foolish to ignore what has started and it will be dangerous for them not to participate, for one very good reason. They are at the moment stable, there is authority, order and control however if Iraq descend to a state of utter chaos with religious factions fighting for dominance, there is every possibility that a total theocratic state will back flash influence into their own countries. The last thing the Arab countries want is to see the spread of rampant uncontrolled fundamentalism. They must realise, like the Israelis have with demographics, that the tide is turning against the overall importance of the region. It might have suited the west in the past, at some stage to ferment insurrection as a way a destabilising unfriendly states and as a way of slowing their nuclear development however the game now is to get out. The same scenario may apply to the whole of the Middle East and beyond. Once the oil fades and subject to environmental pressures, the area will be of little interest, what then if they do have nuclear energy?

More political thought is turning to withdrawal from the mess however abandoning what has been created within Iraq, will inevitably lead to a horrendous blood bath until parties are exhausted with one vicious element becoming superior to the other, it will then take a decade+ to stabilise, assuming the trouble can be contained to this one country.


© Renot 2006
17.11.06

The Environmental Beginning.

The Environmental Beginning.

As I sit here looking out of a window I see, I think, for the first time in my life the mounting effect of the greenhouse debate. Many of the trees that surround us are still in full leaf, leaf that is turning to many shades of golden russet brown, which is a delight to see but today is mid November! In any other year that I can recall the autumn storms would have taken the leaves off these same trees and stripped them bare ready for winter. Now this year those same trees are hanging onto their leaves to provide a display of colour that is ominously most pleasing.

In some way the event which I see is a visible sign of the changing climate, which although interesting is a little disturbing, disturbing in that it is a very confirmatory effect that cannot be missed. Over the past few year we have had a number unusual seasonal variation, very hot days, mild winters, heavy rain to long dry spells; all of which, in being in this country, one can take as part of the debatable ‘normal’ weather pattern but this prolonged autumn effect is different.

By now November should be much colder with temperature in the regular low 10c but we have temperatures in the teens to low 20’s. There has been so far the odd cold 0c night that is eventually taken over by a warm day. As someone that likes the sun and the warmth it offers, it is rather pleasant to have this seasonal change yet the climatic uncertainty is confusing the plant life to the extent that it does not know if it is preparing for winter or spring. And spring is in evidence already with new green shoots starting before a winter is here.

The debate over the green house effect and the causes of it have been going on for some time focusing on the resent efforts of the Kyoto agreement that is largely driven by Europe and countered by the lack of interest from Canada, Australia, USA, China, India, these latter countries that have become the biggest polluters.

Although it has been argued by some that climate change is a normal long term fluctuation; with the increasing level of Co2, its uncertain effect on global conditions and as the natural effects have caused localised limited damage, it has been possible to react slowly or ignore just what is happening. Even the Stern report that examined the economic damage that would accrue from not taking mitigating actions, fails to be forceful enough to draw in the biggest polluters to pass comment. More interested government are starting to ramp up the possible actions to help mitigate the long term affects, which must be right, but without the big polluters such action is neutered.

There is looking out of the window instilled in me a sense that a tipping point has already been reached and this is the years in which it has started. From now on it may be that in some parts of the world it will get noticeably hotter, climate will be more volatile and bio sphere less secure. The assumption is that some countries may benefit while others suffer, with the expectation that this will impact more forcibly on poorer nation of the earth. This may not be the case.

Northern Europe has benefited from the Atlantic conveyor; the worry is that evidence shows it is slowing down. If it should stop within the next decade then Europe will be in real trouble for given its latitude it is likely that it will get considerable colder over winter months. And as there is already an issue with power supplies, it does create an interesting problem, how to keep warm? In addition, with the possible increase in summer temperatures, if a dryer condition prevails; further difficulties will be experienced like water shortage, crop and manufacturing reduction,

Paranoid? Should the overall earth temperature increase probably at a faster rate than currently anticipated sea level will rise to 20mt, from 2026 this will not be able to be ignored by any country with low laying coastal plains. The disruption will have a profound and long lasting affect on every aspect of political and economic life.

There has in the UK been a tendency to place nuclear energy production on coastal areas and as there has been no decision as yet on how to fill the energy ‘gap’ with possibly new nuclear facilities, should a similar strategy be taken the scenario is not promising.

In this context this government, being very concerned about the economics of nuclear power, is prevaricating on how to move forward. It has to decide on renewing the nuclear weapons stock and how or when to build new nuclear generating capacity. With this dithering it is in the process of creating a nuclear fiasco.
In looking at the most important issue power, it is abundantly obvious that the UK is in a precarious predicament re coal, gas, electrics, and ‘green power’ it does not have enough. In the near future it will diminish, external sources that are beyond control may be available subject to price and if the climate turns against them, discomfort all round.
To highlight the dilemma and uncertainty of direction Mr Alistair Darling MP, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in his Energy Review – Statement in London on 11 July 2006 said :-
“It will be for the private sector to initiate, fund, construct and operate new nuclear plants and cover the cost of decommissioning and their full share of long-term waste management costs.”
As a statement of such blind ignorance and profound consequence one does not have to dig deep to understand the implications of abrogating responsibility as has been proven already. The private sector will not take open ended financial obligation unless there is a distinct price advantage or cost is underwritten. So until the selling cost of energy increases to such a great extent to cover all cost as indicated by AD statement, perhaps in a situation that means there is little other choice of energy provision other than nuclear, it will be impossible for nuclear to be in the hands of the private sector and make it viable. Given the dire presumption of energy decline, the cost implication to future generation, environmental impact and the urgency, the government has no business throwing a strategic requirement to the justifiably maligned PPP (public private partnership). Would it be so generous with the control of nuclear weapons?
There are many factors that affect the climate of the earth. Some of the factors associated to physics can be extrapolated to suggest a possible format for climate change but no one really knows what is about to happen. Weather patens around the world will change; the assumption is towards a hotter world however if there is greater cloud cover might this precipitate a new glacial period instead with a higher light reflection and dimming sun?

It might have taken 500 years to reach this stage of human induced climatic change; it could take 2000 years to start to a rebalance it, assuming humans have some control over the process and the runaway point can be stopped. If not, for humans a world shaping event has started, heaven help them and the trees are not the first to know.


© Renot 2006
10.11.06

Supernatural

Supernatural.

The subject of the supernatural can lead one into a whole range of interpretations and subject matter however it is generally accepted as a term that describes something that is ‘pertaining to, or being above or beyond what is natural; unexplainable by natural law or phenomena; abnormal’.
In purely scientific terms there is very little hard evidence to support any view that such a thing exist being as it is in scientific terms a subject that does not lend itself to close repetitive scrutiny, scrutiny that does not measures up to the rigors of scientific testing. Therefore it fails to satisfy the seasoned sceptic of its existence or indeed any pretence of being acceptable within reality. Yet the supernatural does have a measure of interest, curiosity, or fear for many people, even the sceptic in vehemently denying its existence, if tested, has a slight question mark over their rejection of it, never the less the belief in the different strands of ‘supernatural’ have been used by people for far longer than the term itself has existed, why?

There is often confusion in using the many interpretation of the words related to supernatural and the language used to describe the effects are to some degree interchangeable dependant on who or what is attempting to describe the essence of it all. Some bodies will claim a partial element of the subject while rejecting other parts and will often seek a difference in interpretation that is not compatible with what they see as a legitimate use for themselves. In this light it is possible to put the two other terms:-Spiritual vs. Psychic,

What is spiritual essence, is it the same as being psychic?

The definition of Spiritual is-:
Of, pertaining to, or consisting of spirit; incorporeal. Of or pertaining to the spirit or soul, as distinguished from the physical nature: a spiritual approach to life. Persons closely akin in interests, attitude, outlook, etc. Of or pertaining to spirits or to spiritualists; supernatural or spiritualistic characterized by or suggesting predominance of the spirit; ethereal or delicately refined. Of or pertaining to the spirit as the seat of the moral or religious nature. Of or pertaining to sacred things or matters; religious; devotional; sacred. Of or belonging to the church; ecclesiastical: lords spiritual and temporal. Of or relating to the mind or intellect.

Whereas Psychic is assumed to be of a different order, described as:-
Pertaining to the human soul or mind; mental (opposed to physical). It is outside of natural or scientific knowledge; spiritual. Of or pertaining to some apparently non-physical force or agency: psychic research; psychic phenomena, sensitive to influences or forces of a non-physical or supernatural nature.
A person who is allegedly sensitive to psychic influences or forces; medium

This is all as dictionaries would have it and it does show the confusion in the duplication of meaning in attempting to define what each means, one - psychic leans toward the inference of having an element of mental processes, with the other, spiritual - tending to be associated with an etheric supernatural meaning. Both interpretations could be interchangeable and both have potentially a quintessence of religious overtones but does all this convey the essence of the terms outside the catch all of a religious adaptation, particularly with reference to any spiritual expressions that might also be labelled supernatural or psychic.

All religions claim ownership of a spiritual nature and extol the belief in a supreme being that exists outside the mundane of material life and of oneself. It, the Supreme Being is an indefinable, incorporeal, powerful assumed creator of all things. It is often depicted via the form of an agent, be it human like or idol, its shape is not necessarily meant to be the actual form of ‘god’ but as a token on which to focus on. These tokens are intermediaries, angels, saints, prophets, images etc used as an aid to the illusive form of god though they are often worshiped in their own right as a venerated idea often ignoring the fact that they are not a true images, they are man made artifices and not god made. But inevitably the article becomes more important than the essence of the idea in its representation.

Most religions take the Supreme Being as being of a god like figure and this being is separate and distinct from the human race and is the creator of all things. This god creator is seen as being totally external to humans but is called upon to act for humans benefit. Why this should be the case is not satisfactorily understood other than to place humans in a very special and separate selfish category to everything else. All religions have a different interpretation of a god like figure and bestow different modes of affinity to it with a variety of interpretation of intent, desire, worship and rules of accessing it and the power which they can call upon, be it supernatural, spiritual or psychic.

This difficulty of interpretation and the attachment of religious overtones to the topic is hard to overcome as the proof of evidence to support argument of its existence is contestable by anybody opposed to the very idea of any form of supernatural being or powers. For many the arguments fall into one of faith, either the subject is believed or not. And as no one can satisfactorily answer the questions why are humans or indeed all life here and is this all there is? These questions will always remain elusive to scientific solutions and swing to supernatural or religious opinions.

In pursuing religions the worshiper is moved to attempt to understand and live according to some type of scripture supposedly derived from god but more probably created or made manifest by an intermediary as in Jesus, Mohamed, Buddha, and other venerated prophets. The form of the main deity is always male never female; female are only handmaidens to a prophet seldom prophets in their own right and this points to a fundamental flaw in all patriarchal governed religions – women are not actively equal in religions and not able to approach or interpret the words of god. They are also probably not likely to be equal in number as priest or rabbi and never imams, or mullahs etc. This inequality of the power it gives to males in controlling population and subordination of females has to be usurped at some stage for it tend to indoctrinate ‘scripture guidance’ with a selective slant even to the extent that god is ridiculously assumed to be masculine.

Unfortunately the proof for a prophet’s guidance is ascribed to writings which are not verbatim but are believed to be so. In doing this the believer puts aside their own beliefs and takes such writing as the actual verbatim words of god, which cannot be true. Whether it is liked or not religion is a formidable power of uncertainty that can shape and has shaped civilisations. Because of its varied tortuous interpretation and the control it exercises on many peoples lives, it is allowed to propagate unchallenged to any great extent. Furthermore once religions becomes ossified into scriptures, objects and artefacts, protected by historical dogma it allows no progression, it become a reason for its own existence serving the demands of the organisations not the needs of the people and becomes evidenced in extreme scripture fundamentalism.

In some ways one can understand the tenacious grip that religion has on people, especially at a time of change and when they or their belief in their religions are under scrutiny. It provides an anchor onto their realty, it offers a created solace which is a useful foil against opposition but it also provides a shield behind which they can hide and in some cases use their belief as a rallying point and weapon to force control over others not of their belief. All this potential contentiousness to avoid having to adapt to change and perhaps give up power and authority to the individual self and evade having to examine the usefulness or truthfulness of their beliefs, whether or not they are based on supernatural or spiritual power.

So in attempting to differentiate between religious affectations and a purely non-religious understanding of the supernatural or spiritual (as the terms seem to be interchangeable) how does one describe a spiritual person without going into the realm of religions dogmas? Might it be possible to ascribe certain attributes that may manifest in physical action that are of a virtuous, kindness, generosity nature etc, or of psychic type ability?

In a spiritual sense as with the supernatural both are incorporeal and it might be assumed that this being the case a similar intangible nature also applies to the hidden aspect of humans attributed with a soul. This intangible essence may be linked to the five senses hearing, touch, smell, seeing, and taste with a sixth sense that might be the ‘spirit’ or psyche. The essences of the terms are expressions of the same source of power unfortunately religions do not necessarily see it this way and fail to advance.

If religions are to serve any purpose, it should be to teach humans to seek the meaning of their own lives as it applies to all life in a comprehensive spiritual way and how to access their internal element of godliness without the need for intermediaries. Religion should not be proscriptive; it should not worship the idols of scriptures but use them to help to understand how to manifest the natural supernatural or psychic ability.

That all cultures, throughout know time have looked to a supreme being or power and have bestowed a desire that their supreme being should have an interest in their well being is perhaps a mark of the need to fore fill an indefinable urge to have a reason for ones own or of all existence, with the perennial questions attached to why? From the dawn of human history there has been evidence that ‘man’ has sought meaning to existence. The first cave drawing show an awareness in trying to understand the world by copying a representation of life and having some respect for it even onto death. In some way this depicts the innate drive to satisfy the curiosity of extending the known boundary of the natural world, always to press forward in the search for knowledge and answer questions of – I wonder? If that drive to know was not something that was innate to humans, how far would they have got in being able to form questions? Maybe no further than all other animals.

It may be that things that are associated with supernatural are no more than an attempt to provide some element of hopeful control over existence or it may be that at a very innate old level man knows that what he has and all that he is endowed with, is a material illusion and yet that there is something else that lies outside his physical control, something that cannot be manipulated by direct corporeal effort but requires a practice of will and imagination. In some way recognising that there is something beyond the control of man be it the environment, the everyday ability to know what the future is, to know when one draws ones last breath and of course the evidence of and puzzlement of death, will continue to promote a feeling that there must be a purpose to life.

The continuing belief in an external power that can only be accessed by certain people or a certain mode of practice or worship of agents can continue to distance man from himself. To be able to recognise supernatural powers via some prescribed source might only aid the ignorance of the psychic elements that must infuse all spiritual being.

Possibly it is this infused power that is occasionally glimpsed which is called supernatural, spiritual, or psychic, is what is being tapped into when humans seek from the unknown? Does it really matter what it is called if in practice it can be called upon and used to improve the human state?

If a Supreme Being exist as god, one in its immeasurable wisdom that created all thing and brought into being intelligence, and awareness within man to know of its immense perpetual existence, would it have also imbued man with a sense of its own being, an element if godliness albeit a small part of it to know and be apart of the one? Whether humans choose to call up this inner power rather than always think of the power as being totally outside, is up to them. There may be only one god, it may have many facets, it may have many names, (Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim) it may be accessed with numerous words but it is available to everyone that wants to contact it. Blind obedience to religious doctrine that puts pressure on people to conform suppresses the will to listen to the spirit that resides within everybody. It can become so stifled that seeking the god within is no longer easily accessible, yet humans will continue to call upon the external spiritually supernatural when the influence is more personally to hand.

Although it cannot be proven, there must be a part of the humans psyche that with the application of will and desire can shape or bring into being actions that cannot be achieved by direct manipulation. Perhaps humans could learn to use the psychic ability to access the spiritual that lead to the supernatural?





© Renot 2006
1.11.06