Happy Holidays

I have taken a break from the blogsphere, but I am back to wish all my friends a very happy festive season.



Enjoy your holidays.

Dog owners please read!

Please be warned!

If you are an owner of a dog that belongs to a 'dangerous breed' category and you also have a child or a visiting small child please take this as a warning.

Don't leave your dog with a small child unattended under any circumstances!

Only one little moment was enough for the following to happen.

See the photo below .....


Thank you!
THE DOG

Religious Reflections … I

Friday was the start of Ramadan for all practicing Muslim Turks. However, Ramadan starts on Saturday for the Arab nations. Just like Catholics and Orthodox Christians cannot agree on the same date to celebrate Easter, Sunni and Shite Muslims conflict on the date of Ramadan and Bayram.

What amazes me about the Muslim religion and the Jewish religion is that there are so many segmented and compartmentalized instructions. The believer is required to pray and observe strict religious practices, in order to meet God’s approval and receive a green card into heaven.

Billions of people in the world are brainwashed to believe a religion which is based on prayer, instructions, (holy) books, guidelines, sermons, ceremony and continuous recitation. The religious belief together with the continuous recitation takes over the mind and it becomes a mental exercise motivated by fear, moving the individual away from spirituality.

There are no formal list of items and practices that one must do in order to please God. God is the divine energy that permeates everything. It is simply love.

I must admit that families coming together to share a meal during Ramadan is a wonderful and enjoyable experience, just like Christmas Lunch. In fact it is wonderful to see people sharing, any time of the year. I do not want to demean the experience of Ramadan for the believer.

I just want to point out that there are NO formal steps to ascension.
People need to live the present moment with joy not fear.
In order to find Enlightenment, one needs to lighten up.

Truth leaps out of the box

Last week, I read an article about Rabbis being arrested for Organ trafficking. As appalling as the incident was, I did not post about it as some people think you have an agenda when picking up on Jewish atrocities.

Truth is, I have very little respect for any organized religion and I put them all on par with each other.

But what is interesting … today I see an article published by the Jerusalem Post stating the ‘TRUTH’ … that the ‘FBI sting was a case of Anti-Semitism!’ The charge does not come from Abe Foxman, he has very wisely remained silent on the issue, but from an Ultra Orthodox Community in Israel.

I am getting rather tired of their little game of overusing the ‘Anti-Semitic’ clause.

Former Israeli Minister Shulamit Aloni, is seen interviewed by Amy Goodman, in the video below. When asked about critics of Israel being labeled Anti-Semitic, she clearly admits, “Well it is a trick, we always use it.”



So they admit the deception. Well others may have had sympathy for this over-used ploy, but now the hoax is apparent and confirmed.

'Hitler Tree’ may face the axe

JASLO, Poland (Reuters) - An oak tree planted in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II to mark Adolf Hitler's birthday may soon face the axe if the local mayor has her way.

Authorities in Jaslo in rural southeastern Poland discovered the origins of the tree when plans were lodged to fell it to make way for a traffic roundabout.

"We obtained information that this is no ordinary tree but was put here to mark Adolf Hitler's birthday," said Jaslo's mayor, Maria Kurowska. "So should I try to improve our town's communications or should I allow a memorial to that criminal to remain standing? The choice is simple for me."

"It was 1942 when the Germans brought a seedling of an oak here and planted it in the center of the town with all honors, an army orchestra and salutes," said Kazimierz Polak, who was present at the planting ceremony as a child 67 years ago.

In my opinion, this tree ought to be preserved at all costs.

Perhaps the tree can be used as a trophy and donated to a new aspiring fascist leader or institution in the world. In fact they could transplant the tree to Monsanto headquarters or Knesset.

The symbolism would be priceless.

Vatican cries Poor

An interesting story has appeared in our newspapers. It seems that the Vatican is having difficulty with its finances.

According to the article, “The Vatican says it ran a deficit in 2008 as its finances and donations from across the world were hit by the global economic crisis. The financial report released … by the Holy See's press office listed revenues of 253.9 million euros and expenses of 254.8 million euros.”

Now am I supposed to feel sorry for the Vatican? Religious institutions pay NO tax, they have divine intervention from God, yet they always need MORE MONEY!

So where was the money spent? “Most of the expenses went to support the activities of Pope Benedict XVI and the Holy See's offices, especially Vatican Radio and other media divisions, the financial report showed.” So the money is NOT used to help the poor and disadvantaged but to spread the word! :)

Now I am not trying to have a dig at the Catholic Church. I have no respect for all religious institutions. There is a slang word for money and it is called ‘Mullah’. Do you have any Mullah? And in reality what is a Mullah? ... An Islamic religious figure. It is very interesting that over the years people have equated money and Mullah to be one of the same. I wonder why?

Instead of the Vatican divulging us its receipts and expenses, I personally would like to see its Balance Sheet. I would like to know what the Vatican is actually worth!!!

Now as an Accountant I feel the need to give the Holy Father some advice. As I grow older certain objects I own no longer hold any value to me but they may be of worth to another person. So I am having a bit of a clean out. I am going to put a piano my children no longer play in the Trading Post. Also I have an autograph from Bon Scott (AC/DC) which I managed to get in the 70’s which no longer means anything to me, so I am going to sell it on Ebay.

My advice to the Holy Father is to take some responsibility for your financial situation and stop burdening the faithful to continuously donate more money. The faithful have dire financial problems of their own. Perhaps the Holy Father should have a clean out and convert some of the Vatican’s small objects into cash. Perhaps the Vatican could sell some of its collection of OLD books on ebay? :) I know I would happily place a bid.

Now I do not want to be viewed as stingy. I do donate. I will offer money if a homeless person approaches me in the street. I recently donated to the Bushfire appeal and I have donated to drought-affected farmers who need money to feed their live stock. But donating to the Vatican is like donating money to the Rothschilds! But I do acknowledge the Vatican financial oversight, so I will offer a Prayer. :)

Encircle the Cat

In Australia we are approaching the end of the financial year. So that means a lot of work for Accountants ... schedules, reconciliations, budgets, tax returns and lots of boring procedure. I have not been posting lately for this reason. That does not particularly bother me. What is annoying is that I have not been able to read and comment on my alluring blog friends' sites. But I will be back. :)

A friend emailed this game to me. It is very addictive, even when one ought to be concentrating on more urgent issues.

Try to encircle the cat without letting it get out!

Start by clicking on the image of the cat - then on the light green dots to try to trap it with dark green dots. This game is not easy, it is a very smart cat!

http://www.gamedesign.jp/flash/chatnoir/chatnoir.html

Enjoy!