Thought by Presidents’ Day 2022

The third Monday in February, is sometimes understood as a celebration of the birthdays and lives of all U.S. presidents.
The origin of Presidents’ Day lies in the 1880s, when the birthday of Washington — commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and the first president of the United States — was first celebrated as a federal holiday.

On February 22 [February 11, Old Style] George Washington, also called ‘Father of His Country’, was born, and the Americans took that birthday to commemorate all their presidents.
Over the years, that birthday may have been watered down to just another day on the birthday calendar that passes like any other.

This year Grayson P. Walker looks at this birthday that ordinarily comes and goes without fanfare.

No family gatherings. No long-held traditions. Just another day on the calendar. But what was once sadly a day of apathy has become a day of acrimony.  {Give Thanks This Presidents’ Day}

What the whole world came to see on 6 January last year was a huge shock that filled people with disbelief that such a thing could happen in a civilised country. Things were so hectic at the Capitol that the nation’s founders could have turned in their graves. However, that event should not really be a surprise, because the 45th president of America had been inciting his people towards that day, proclaiming all kinds of lies as truth, and the gullible people listened to his words as holy.

Grayson P. Walker  writes

It’s jarring and oft-forgotten, but that belief — that all men are created equal — means each American has

“by nature and the Constitution, as much of the common sovereignty as another.”

This is as true for presidents as it is for you and me. Although our presidents are endowed with an honorary title that befits the office and are entitled to a special measure of dignity and respect, the trappings of office are temporary. Eventually, presidents return among us, like Cincinnatus before them, bearing only — as George W. Bush powerfully reminded us — the title of citizen. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t celebrate them. {Give Thanks This Presidents’ Day}

Many Americans, like the article writer, are convinced that they are being offered the president by God.

“… in the providence of God, presidents occupy an office akin to priests and parents, albeit different in degree (Rom. 13:1). Which means that this Presidents’ Day, we should thank God for them. {Give Thanks This Presidents’ Day}

According to Mr. Walker

each president, merely by virtue of having assumed office, deserves a special measure of dignity and respect— regardless of his accomplishments, or lack thereof, during his term in office. {Give Thanks This Presidents’ Day}

He seems to forget what damage Donald Trump has done to his nation. Instead of making it great again (MAGA) he destroyed a lot of what Barack Obama had created, and made sure that there came more division than ever before after World War II.

“Make America Great Again” or MAGA is a campaign slogan used in American politics popularized by Donald Trump in his successful 2016 presidential campaign.
Ronald Reagan used the similar slogan “Let’s Make America Great Again” in his successful 1980 presidential campaign. Bill Clinton also used the phrase in speeches during his successful 1992 presidential campaign and used it again in a radio commercial aired for his wife Hillary Clinton‘s unsuccessful 2008 presidential primary campaign. {Make America Great Again – Wikipedia}

So the call to make America a great nation again was nothing new. But Trump has played more ‘Little League Neighbour’ before and during his presidency.

Douglas Schoen has called Trump’s use of the phrase

“probably the most resonant campaign slogan in recent history”,

citing majorities of Americans who believed that the country was in decline. {Make America Great Again – Wikipedia}

Deputy general counsel to Oklahoma Governor J. Kevin Stitt, Mr. Walker worships at King’s Cross Church in Oklahoma City, asks us to take time to reflect and remember the presidents of the U.S.A.. But he reminds us, or wants us to believe that

… it is God who, according to the counsel of his will, is orchestrating all things such that the arc of history in this land — and, indeed, the world — continues to bend toward ultimate justice and peace (Ps. 89:14; Isa. 11:6).  {Give Thanks This Presidents’ Day}

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Read more about it in:

1. Give Thanks This Presidents’ Day
2. Facts: Why they matter and how to check them
3. The death knell of an Empire
4. Stress-test for democracy #1 Storming of the Capitol in Washington
5. Stress-test for democracy #2 A coup d’etat with bloodshed
6. Beyond the Culture Wars
7. 2021 in review #1 the most startling point
8. Looking at 2021 in a nutshell
9. The Moral Character of Public Officials: Remembering January 6
10. One year ago a sacred place was attacked
11. January 6: A Failed Apocalypse
12. Donald Trump requesting to block investigations about the insurrection
13. Hope For, But Not In, Evangelicalism

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Related

1. Presidents Day
2. Youngest and oldest presidents in US history
3. Lost Dog of the American Revolution: General Howe & George Washington
4. Still Quiet
5. President’s day – Somewhere between then and now it became politically incorrect to use the Bible as a reference point by presidents of our country.
6. Sweet Victories and Presidents’ Day
7. Happy Presidents Day!
8. GOP wishes happy Presidents Day to past presidents except Biden
9. Presidents’ Day
10. There’s No U.S. Without US
11. Days Off and Days On
12. The least they could do…
13. Tight And Ready
14. President’s Day
15. The Federal Holiday Is Still Washington’s Birthday, So Why Do Some Call It Presidents’ Day?
16. Minnesota Family Turns Child’s Old Room Into ‘Presidential Suite’
17. “White House Chair”: Buchanan Glee Club
18. Working at Home for the Holiday
19. Watch: Trump Gets Amazing President’s Day Surprise He’ll Not Soon Forget

Dear 2021,

Whichever way we turn, in 2021 we were able to experience another year that tried to undermine mankind.

In the New Year, never forget to thank your past years because they enabled you to reach today! Without the stairs of the past, you cannot arrive at the future!
― Mehmet Murat ildan

It was already an understatement to say that 2020 swept us off our feet, 2021 gave us a run for our money. (Perhaps even literally as well figuratively)

100 years ago another virus had after that terrible Great War tried to reduce the population by large numbers as if that horrible 4 years of war was not sufficient. It had brought down mankind to its knees by a microscopic being. And as if it has to come back every century, we too could feel what it is when a dangerous disease spreads around like mad.

But like the previous 2 years, we could find lightbulbs burning in the darkness.
Set against a backdrop of human loss and misery, many could continue their journey that started off a year before. Several people found new opportunities in this time of malaise. We could see changes in people’s lifestyles, and it was as if man now, at last, gave some rest to nature, having lesser cars driving around. In any case, the Corona period proved beneficial to the environment, with pollution rates decreasing drastically.

Set against a backdrop of human loss and misery was a journey of discovery and realisation that many were just learning to undertake. It brought about a tremendous change in people’s lifestyles, perspectives and proved beneficial to the environment, with pollution rates decreasing drastically. Adoption of minimalistic living practices became the norm in view of the virus’ indefinite tenure. As death tolls rose in a staggering manner, people dwelled in a constant state of apprehension of what the future would bring….. {Dear 2020}

For many, 2021 was a difficult ride, but we all have grown and gotten through it, hopefully learning lessons and making memories in the process. And as you say, we also think, that’s something to be grateful for.

Random Specific Thoughts

In the New Year, never forget to thank your past years because they enabled you to reach today! Without the stairs of the past, you cannot arrive at the future!
―Mehmet Murat ildan

Gosh, I’m almost certainly sure I’m going blind from all the screens. I keep wanting to say it is your fault. Is it?

I’m sorry – where are my manners?

I hope you’re well and the packing is going great. You have but mere minutes before you turn into yet another history chapter. Unlike your predecessor, you weren’t cruel or a fan of surprises but you were clever and cunning. This has been quite the rollercoaster of a year and well, to be honest – I’m not going to blame you for it. I was rather harsh towards 2020 now that I think about i,t and I feel terrible about it.

You see, as humans…

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Dear 2021,

So many might be cross with 2021 and by taking on such a negative view on that Corona year miss out on all the blessings they had that year.

It is true many of us would have wished it would have gone differently, but no matter what came over this world, a naughty virus, limiting us in many ways, it also created many opportunities.

Let it be known, in a few years time everything of 2019, 2020 and 2021 might be forgotten as in a sealed book somewhere up high in the bookcase or in a bookshelf in a dark corner.

The good things of it we carry with us with pleasure and hope soon to be relieved from that virus, but in the meantime, we shall not let us bring down.

 

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Preceding

Let’s count…

Musings of a Bookworm

Before I start I have to thank Deepthy from Random Specific Thoughts for coming up with this idea and then letting me borrow it for a post. You should definitely check out her post here.

So here goes…

Photo by Sindre Stru00f8m on Pexels.com

Dear 2021,

The things we experience in life change us, they shape our understanding and the way we view the world. And so, for me 2021, a year that can only be described as a rollercoaster of a year, wasn’t all bad.

Of course at times I wished things were different, and, to be perfectly honest, I still do. However that isn’t your fault 2021, it’s not the actual events that cause these feelings, it’s my perception and the experience I have of them. This may seem like an odd thing to say, especially taking in to consideration the pandemic and all its effects, but…

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Let’s count…

Now that we have closed the curtains of the year 2021, when we open the blinds for 2022, let us consider how lucky we are to have the light of 2022 coming to us.

On January 8, 2021 Sushmita Sahay wanted to start with an empty jar and fill it with notes about good things that happen to you, her and us. On the next new year’s eve, we then could open it and see what an awesome year it has been. She wrote:

Imagine what a life it has been for all of us… You tell me, is it worth it, all these plans, new year resolutions etc ? Shut inside our holes, masked up faces, sanitizing any human presence… simply praying to see just another day; unscathed. God managed to puncture the great human Ego. So it’s time to start with counting our blessings in reflection:

The lockdown proved it beyond doubt that we could all cook, or at least potter around the kitchen with productive results. God and government kept our food supplies running, thank God. {This Year…}

So many people found so much to complain, about being limited in their freedom, about not being able to do what they wanted to do, etc.. Many could be at home for more hours than they would have been able when normal work times would have gone on. Instead of enjoying the extra free time at home they looked for reasons to complain and moan.

Last year many people could enjoy more time for themselves. Like the year before:

Snatched moments of fresh air on the terrace, walking in solitude on deserted garden paths became the most beautiful experience. Alps can wait forever. {This Year…}

2021 had started with so many wishes and what did we finally get?

The virus marauded us… taking away our loved ones. {and it’s December}

All the year through, we heard cyphers and numbers, see lots of statistics and heard lots of predictions.

Two years of confinement, new words in our lexicon and the undying spirit! With such optimism, we tread on, specially we the 1.39 billion! …. it’s all up to the media… They are capable of pushing things out of collective memory! …. {and it’s December}

No end to woes, it seems Covid likes reruns…race for cure began, vaccine came, but new strains came in stronger. {This and that}

The Indian traveller still went from the extreme South to the East in all PPE and social distancing that an economy class ticket of a budget airline could vouch for, whilst she hoped she and her fellow Indians can resist this virus as well. She like we came to see that

A virus can change the fabric of a society; this has been proved beyond doubt, as human survival takes over all social gimmickry. Weddings and funerals being binding factors in the Indian context, have been eye openers in the recent times. The virus has successfully imparted a life-lesson at what all can you manage without. When attendees numbers were compulsorily reduced, it was about making do with barest minimum people and paraphernalia. Covid reduced expenses, alright, but also reduced the need for bonding between neighbours, relatives and friends… {This and that}

For this New Year we should try to open our eyes again with the positive colours of life, being grateful for all the things we still have.

Heartfelt

Remember what I said at the start of this year? No? Read it here👇 http://sushmitasahay.com/2021/01/08/this-year/

Although it was an emotional watershed year…we still have lots to be thankful for if we begin to count our blessings one by one. Just for starts, here I go…

1. We are still here, me writing you reading.

2. Hopefully, not all our loved ones are gone, some still are waiting with enough warmth in their embrace to hug our miseries away.

3. Then there is this immense blue sky, filling us up with thoughts of immense infinity.

4. A child/ your child smiled back at you, just like that! No reason( Its a wonderful Kodak moment, I tell you 🥰)

5. You were able to help someone in dire monetary need without expecting a return because God has been kind to you.

6. Like me, you didn’t have to visit the doctor this…

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Niet “de Moslims” maar de fundamentalisten zijn een probleem

Er waren Afghanen die zeiden dat zij wilden dat de Amerikaanse troepen zich terugtrokken, maar met een beter plan, en dat zij niet verwachtten dat het land zo snel zou vallen. Velen die diensten hadden geleverd voor de Amerikanen, Duitsers, Fransen, Nederlanders en Belgen hadden er op vertrouwd dat hun werk naar waarde werd geschat en dat hun werkgevers hen wel zouden beschermen. Dit was echter zonder de waard gerekend. Nu het ongelofelijke gebeurde, dat de Taliban zo snel kon oprukken en het land zo vlug kon veroveren, had vermoedelijk niemand verwacht.

Talibanstrijders houden de wacht langs de kant van de weg bij het Zanbaq-plein in Kaboel op 16 augustus 2021, na een verbluffend snel einde van de 20-jarige oorlog in Afghanistan, toen duizenden mensen het vliegveld van de stad overspoelden in een poging om te vluchten voor de gevreesde hardlinie van de islamitische heerschappij van de groep. Foto: AFP / Wakil Kohsar

Westerlingen veilig in Europa

Het is vreemd om te horen hoe bepaalde Westerlingen die hier in de Europese Unie in alle veiligheid zitten, de mensen proberen bang te maken voor naar hier komende Afghanen. Zo konden wij de voorgaande dagen enkel parlementariërs en vroegere generaals waarschuwen dat wij niet zo maar Afghaanse families op vliegtuigen naar hier laten komen omdat daar het gevaar in schuilde dat sommige van hun kinderen zich tegen onze maatschappij zouden keren en het Islamisme aan onze maatschappij zouden willen opdringen.

Er was zelfs een Belgische parlementariër die, ook al was hij zelf niet van Belgische origine, beweerde dat wij niet zo maar alle vluchtelingen in België konden binnen laten en dat wij hoognodig de al in België residerende Afghanen terug naar hun land moesten sturen.

Elk jaar zijn er wel een “Vredesweek”, “Mensenrechtenweek”, “Dag van Gelijkheid”, “Dag van de Vrouw”, “Dag van de Verbondenheid”, “Dag van de liefde”, enz., maar als puntje bij paaltje komt is er van al die mooie verkondigingen en beloftes op die dagen niet veel te merken na die dagen. Politici beloven ook heel veel, maar verwezenlijken weinig van de beloften die ze maken. ook zijn er weinigen die hun handen in het vuur willen steken om anderen te verdedigen. En vandaag komt het er zeker op aan om voor een bepaalde groep mensen op te komen en deze niet enkel te verdedigen maar ook om ze in veiligheid te brengen.

Penibele toestand in Afghanistan

In zeer korte tijd wisten de Talibanstrijders vanuit drie hoeken van het land verder meerdere streken van Afghanistan onder hun macht en controle te krijgen.

De Taliban hebben het standbeeld opgeblazen van een sjiitische militieleider die tijdens de Afghaanse burgeroorlog in de jaren negentig tegen hen heeft gevochten, zo blijkt uit foto’s die woensdag circuleerden, waardoor nog meer twijfel ontstaat over hun beweringen dat zij gematigder zijn geworden.

Elke actie van de opstandelingen tijdens hun plotselinge machtsovername wordt nauwlettend in de gaten gehouden. Ze houden vol dat ze veranderd zijn en niet meer dezelfde draconische beperkingen zullen opleggen als toen ze het laatst over Afghanistan heersten, waarbij ze de rechten van vrouwen vrijwel volledig afschaften, openbare executies uitvoerden en televisie en muziek verboden.

Ze hebben ook beloofd geen wraak te zullen nemen op degenen die zich tegen hen hebben verzet.

Maar veel Afghanen blijven zeer sceptisch, en duizenden haasten zich naar de luchthaven en de grens om het land te ontvluchten. Vele anderen houden zich angstvallig schuil in hun huizen, nadat gevangenissen en wapenmagazijnen werden leeggehaald tijdens het offensief van de opstandelingen in het land. Ook zijn er meerdere berichten dat er al Talibanstrijders van huis tot huis zouden gaan om vroegere medewerkers van de geallieerden buiten te sleuren en te straffen. Op televisie waren er al zulke beelden te zien van een man die letterlijk uit zijn huis werd getrokken en bijna gevierendeeld werd onder zijn pijn geroep.

Onder de Nieuwe wapperende Vlag

De opstandelingen hebben hun eigen vlag – een wit vaandel met islamitische opschriften – gehesen in de gebieden die zij hebben veroverd.

Het standbeeld van Baba Mazari in de provincie Bamyan, Afghanistan. Abdul Ali Mazari was de politieke leider van het Hazaravolk en het hoofd van de politieke partij Hizbe Wahdat.

Terwijl de Afghanen en de internationale gemeenschap afwachten of de Taliban hun beloften gestand zullen doen, circuleren op de sociale media foto’s van het vernielde standbeeld. Op de foto staat Abdul Ali Mazari afgebeeld. Hij was de politieke leider van de Hezb-e Wahdat-partij tijdens en na de Sovjet-Afghaanse oorlog, die in 1996 door de Taliban werd gedood, toen de islamitische militanten de macht grepen van rivaliserende krijgsheren. Mazari was een voorvechter van de etnische Hazara-minderheid in Afghanistan, sjiieten die werden vervolgd onder het vroegere bewind van de soennitische Taliban.

Het standbeeld stond in de centrale provincie Bamyan, waar de Taliban in 2001, kort voor de door de VS geleide invasie die hen uit de macht verdreef, berucht werden door het opblazen van twee enorme, 1500 jaar oude Boeddhabeelden die in een berg waren uitgehouwen. De Taliban beweerden dat de boeddha’s in strijd waren met het verbod van de Islam op afgoderij.

Een andere belofte van de Taliban die nauwlettend wordt gevolgd, is hun belofte om te voorkomen dat Afghanistan opnieuw wordt gebruikt als basis voor het plannen van terroristische aanslagen. Dat was vastgelegd in een vredesakkoord van 2020 met de regering-Trump, dat de weg vrijmaakte voor de terugtrekking van Amerikaanse troepen, waarvan de laatste aan het eind van de maand zouden moeten vertrekken.

De laatste keer dat de Taliban aan de macht waren, boden zij onderdak aan Osama bin Laden en Al Qaida, terwijl zij de aanslagen van 11 september 2001 planden. Amerikaanse functionarissen vrezen dat Al Qaida en andere groepen zich opnieuw in Afghanistan zouden kunnen vestigen nu de Taliban weer aan de macht zijn.

Moellah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund van de Pathaanse stam Popalzai

De Taliban hebben toegezegd een “inclusieve, islamitische regering” te vormen en hebben gesprekken gevoerd met voormalig president Hamid Karzai (van 2002 tot 2014),van de machtige Pathaanse Popalzai–clan, en Abdullah Abdullah, een hoge ambtenaar van Pashtunse en Tadzjiekse afkomst in de afgezette regering. Mohammad Yusof Saha, een woordvoerder van Karzai, zei dat de voorbereidende vergaderingen met Taliban-functionarissen de uiteindelijke onderhandelingen met Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, een van de oprichters van de Taliban in Afghanistan en de hoogste politieke leider van de Taliban, zouden vergemakkelijken.

Op foto’s die woensdag online circuleerden, was te zien hoe Karzai en Abdullah een ontmoeting hadden met Anas Haqqani, een hooggeplaatste leider van een machtige Taliban-factie. De VS hebben het Haqqani-netwerk in 2012 tot terroristische groepering bestempeld. De betrokkenheid van Haqqani bij een toekomstige regering kan internationale sancties tot gevolg hebben.

Reden om het land te ontvluchten

Als men na gaat wat er de afgelopen 20 jaar in Afghanistan gebeurd is kan men het niet verwonderlijk noemen dat er nu nog een grotere vluchtelingenstroom is opgetreden dan de vorige jaren.

Door de onzekerheid hebben duizenden Afghanen de afgelopen dagen geprobeerd het land te ontvluchten, en de VS en hun bondgenoten hebben geworsteld met het in goede banen leiden van een chaotische terugtrekking uit het land. De Taliban hebben dinsdag de civiele kant van de internationale luchthaven van Kaboel ingenomen en met geweld geprobeerd de mensenmassa’s in bedwang te houden. Zelfs een reporter van CNN botste op een lijn van Taliban strijders die een zeer agressieve houding tegenover de volgens Islamitische normen en in het zwart geklede vrouw namen, die voorzichtig achteruit stapte. (Men kan zich enkel afvragen wat deze Westerse vroouw daar nog deed en waarom zij nog niet teruggeroepen is naar Amerika, want haar leven kan daar duidelijk in gevaar zijn – wat werd aangetoond door de lichaamstaal van die Talibanstrijders.)

Voor het Westen is het makkelijk zeggen dat de mensen thuis moeten wachten op een oproep van de ambassade vooraleer naar de lcuhthaven te trekken. Hoe gaan zij dan op weg naar de luchthaven de controle posten van de Taliban kunnen passeren? Honderden mensen stonden woensdag vroeg buiten de luchthaven. De Taliban eisten documenten te zien voordat ze de zeldzame passagier binnenlieten. Veel van de mensen buiten leken geen paspoorten te hebben, en telkens als de poort ook maar een centimeter openging, probeerden tientallen mensen door te dringen. De Taliban losten af en toe waarschuwingsschoten om hen uiteen te drijven.

Welk gevaar vormen Afghaanse vluchtelingen voor het Westen

Al meerdere jaren proberen bepaalde politieke partijen hun landgenoten bang te maken voor een veroverende Islam. Hierbij vergeten ze dt het iedereen vrij is om een godsdienstige groepering al of niet te volgen. Als men zulk een angst heeft dat de Islam het christendom zou gaan vervangen, hoort men zich eerder af te vragen wat er verkeerd gaat in dat christendom dat mensen er een afkeer van krijgen.

Duidelijk is wel dat uiterst rechtse groeperingen totaal een vals beels schetsen van de Islam en dat zij alle moslims of Mohameddanen over de zelfde kam scheren. Zij doen er ook alles aan om “de Moslims” als gevaarlijke wezens af te tekenen. Zij willen iedereen doen geloven dat “de Moslims” een gevaar vormen voor de gemeenschap en de Westerse cultuur. Maar bestaat er wel iets zoals “Dé Moslims”? In de Moslimgemeenschap zijn er ook zeer veel strekkingen zoals men in het christendom ook zeer uiteenlopende strekkingen heeft en men daar ook niet kan veralgemenen om te zeggen “Dé Christenen”, ook al merken wij dat dit ook wel regelmatig gebeurd, vooral op de commerciële televisiezenders. Maar ook de stataszenders hebben het makkelijk over  “de christenen” terwijl zij in België dan feitelijk de Rooms Katholieken bedoelen, terwijl er in Nederland dan wel meer naar de “Nederlands Protestanse Kerk” of de “Gereformeerden” wordt gewezen.

Om dezer dagen geschoolde mensen te horen beweren dat men toch niet de Afhanen naar hier mag halen omdat zij dan een gevaar zouden gaan betekenen in de toekomst als hun kinderen groot zouden zijn en het Islamitisch geloof zouden gaan verkondigen, is waanzin.  Ten eerste kan het veel gevaarlijker zijn voor het Westen om nu al diegenen die de Westerse mogendheden geholpen hebben daar in Afghanistan in de steek te laten. Dat zal eerder een vijandig gevoelen tegenover de Westerse landen oproepen en een kiemend zaad vormen om wraak tegen die landen te nemen. En men kan er dan zeker van zijn dat die wraak niet zoet zal zijn.

Islamitisch en Christelijke fundamentalisme

De verstandigen zouden de mensen moeten doen inzien dat niet alle moslims even fanatiek zijn als die fundamentalisten. Islam, zo wel als het christendom heeft niets te maken met fundamentalisme, al kan men het even goed vinden in beide godsdienstgroepen.

Allah wil helemaal niet dat mensen elkaar uitmoorden. Wel is het zo dat Allah Al-Aliyy graag zou hebben dat meer mensen dichter tot Hem zouden komen en Hem herkennen als de Enige Ware God. Maar daartoe laat Hij iedereen vrij om zijn of haar eigen keuze te bepalen. God onderzoekt en kent het hart, dus heeft het helemaal geen zin om mensen onder dwang te ‘bekeren‘ en als Moslim of Christen – zij het Katholiek of Protestant– door het leven te laten gaan.

In de vorige eeuwen konden wij in het Westen ook meerdere fundamentalistische Christenen waarnemen. Ook zij gingen verschrikkelijk tekeer en lieten achter hen een enorm bloedbad. Vandaag zijn de fundamentalistische christenen wel minder gewelddadig, maar toch zien wij, vooral in Israël dat zij er nog steeds toe bijdragen dat er dodelijk geweld wordt gepleegd.

Als men meerdere debatten volgt valt het op dat er nu (zoals enkele jaren geleden) weer mensen zijn die de anderen bang willen maken dat de moslims de bedoeling zouden hebben om Europa, en eigenlijk de hele westerse wereld, te gaan onderwerpen. {multicultureel realistisch, moslims in nederland!} Vreemd genoeg zijn daarbij christenen die dan zeggen dat in Israël wanhopig onze westerse zaak verdedigt wordt zodat we niet overlopen worden. Maar zij zien over het hoofd dat zeer vele Zionisten eigenlijk land van anderen afnemen alsof het hun eigen grondbezit is. Verder zijn vele van die Zionisten ofwel zeer conservatieve Ultra Orthodoxe Joden, waarbij dikwijls de fout wordt gemaakt dat het allemaal Haredi zouden zijn, of helemaal geen gelovige Joden. Verder zijn er ook een heel groot deel Evangelische Christenen die met man en macht de Joodse gelovigen van hun geloof in dé Enige Ware God doen willen afzweren om hen ook hun valse Driekoppige godheid of Drievbuldigheid te gaan laten aanbidden. Hun aanwezigheid vormt trouwens nog meer olie op het vuur in het al woelige Midden-Oosten.

Iedereen moet beseffen dat elke vorm van fundamentalisme of uiterst orthodoxe theologische richting onverantwoord of zelfs onaanvaardbaar is, wanuit welke richting die stroming ook moge komen.

Maar men mag niet denken dat zulk een enge zienswijze enkel bij Moslims zou bestaan. Overdreven orthodoxie, een vaak anti-intellectuele tendens in de interpretatie van de kerkelijke leer kan men ook in bepaalde Christen gemeenschappen vinden.

Verlangen of terugkeer naar de wortels van een ideologie of geloof. Als zodanig is een fundamentalistische beweging een reactionaire beweging. Het doet opgang in verschillende stromingen van de Islam, evenals overigens in het Christendom en Jodendom. In de Verenigde Staten is het aan het einde van de negentiende eeuw opgekomen als reactie op Darwin’s evolutietheorie. {Cultureel Woordenboek.nl over Internationale politiek en fundamentalisme}

Beter bang voor de echte fundamentalisten

Men moet niet zo zeer bang zijn voor die Afghanen die naar onze streken zouden wegvluchten van de Taliban. Men moet eerder bang zijn voor die mensen die anderen hun gedachtengoed met alle macht wilen opdringen. Gevaarlijk wordt het zelfs wanneer bepaalde beperkingen voor de mensen in wetten worden gegoten waar niemand kan ontsnappen en waarbij zware straffen worden opgelegd. De verplichting die men volgens de wet heeft ten aanzien van wat men doet of nalaat gaat mee bepalen of er sprake kan zijn van fundamentalisme. Aansprakelijkheid kan vrijwillig zijn aangegaan (bijv. bij een contract) of door de wet zijn opgelegd en dan moet niemand voor zulk een akkoord gaan bang zijn. Aansprakelijkheid door de wet wordt wel gezien als het wezenlijke verschil tussen enerzijds klassieke en anderzijds sociaal-economische rechten. De klassieke rechten zijn meestal omgezet in wettelijke regels die de overheid bij niet-naleving aansprakelijk maken. Zo kan compensatie worden gevraagd in gevallen van marteling, een handeling waarmee het slachtoffer ernstige psychische of lichamelijkepijn wordt toegebracht, maar ook bij onwettige gevangenschap of hechtenis, of vorm van detentie waarbij de vrijheidsberoving door een overheid of een andere hogere (of sterkere) mach, en kan opheffing van censuur via de rechter worden afgedwongen. Sociaal-economische rechten zijn meestal als idealen geformuleerd, zoals de rechten op werk of huisvesting, waarvoor de overheid niet wettelijk aansprakelijk is. Maar ook aan sociaal-economische rechten wordt steeds vaker juridische aansprakelijkheid verbonden. Een rechter kan bijvoorbeeld boetes opleggen als vrouwen of leden van minderheden gediscrimineerd worden bij toegang tot bepaalde banen.

In Afghanistan en enkele andere Islamitische staten kan men zien dat de machtshebbers alles in het werk stellen om hun macht zichtbaar en voelbaar aan iedereen op te dringen. Voor die fundamentalisten is er geen sprake van andere ideologieën dan de hunne, en iedereen hoort zich naar hen te schikken.

Niet voor de vluchtelingen maar voor hen die deze mensen doet vluchten moet men eerder uitkijken en bang voor zijn. Het zijn diegenen die er een strenge eenzijdige interpretatie van een godsdienst op nahouden, die zich kenmerkt door religieuze onverdraagzaamheid.

De anti-semiet en evangelische prediker William Franklin (Billy) Graham jr., die een aantal ‘kruistochten’ organiseerde in de 20ste eeuw, waarvan er één leidde tot een groei van het evangelische christendom in Australië.

Velen vergeeten dat oorspronkelijk ‘fundamentisme’ de benaming was  voor een conservatieve beweging in het Amerikaans protestantisme in de 19e eeuw. Na de Tweede Wereldoorlog ontplooide de beweging zich vooral als een anticommunistische, evangelistische stroming vertegenwoordigd door predikanten als Billy Graham. Fundamentalisme was ook te vinden bij de Zuid-Afrikaanse Nederlands-hervormde kerk, of bij de Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (afgekort NG Kerk of NGK) de oudste van de zogenaamde Drie Zusterkerken in Zuid-Afrika, die apartheid verdedigde als de wil van God.

Veel te vell mensen vergeten dat fundamentalisme heden ten dag voorkomt in alle godsdiensten.
Maar hier in het Westen lijken de mensen enkel oog te hebben op de fundamentalistische aanhangers van de islam die `islamisten` worden genoemd.

Men mag niet vergeten dat fundamentalistische opvattingen vaak strijdig zijn met de mensenrechten, zoals in de ideeën over de ondergeschikte positie van de vrouw, de verkettering en vervolging van degenen die geen of een andere godsdienst zijn toegedaan en de weigering om het gezag van internationale verdragen te erkennen. duidelijk kunnen wij deze kenmerken warnemen bij bepaalde Islamietische groepen zoals de Taliban, Boko Haram, Al Qaida of Daesh en andere.

Wat ook verkeerd gaat is dat heel wat mensen die fundamentalistische islam gelijk stellen met terrorisme en zelfmoordaanslagen, wat niet zo hoeft te zijn, maar toegegeven wel dikwijls gebeurd. Sommige fundamentalisten nemen inderdaad hun toevlucht tot geweld, maar er zijn veel fundamentalisten die langs vreedzame weg hun overtuiging uitdragen en veel islamitische terroristen gebruiken een fundamentalistische opvatting van de islam als een excuus voor het nastreven van politieke doeleinden, zoals het terugdringen van Amerikaanse invloeden in het Midden-Oosten.

Diegenen die nu Afghanistan in een zeer korte tijd hebben weten te veroveren zijn fundamentalisten waarbij de politieke en economische macht voorop liggen en die een geloof opdringen aan anderen om hun machtspositie te verzekeren en om met een angstpsychose anderen tot hen te binden.

Het is voor zulke gevaarlijke dwinglanden dat de wereld eerder bang hoort te zijn dan voor diegenen die Allah aanbidden in alle eerlijkheid en vroomheid.

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Voorgaande

Uit de oude doos: Soennitische en Shiitische Moslims

Het gevaar om niets te doen tegen de oorzaak en de kwaal

De haat van IS voor Christenen

Het failliet van de war on terror

Duizenden op de vlucht voor Taliban

Een leven terug onder taliban

Vluchten naar een hoopvolle toekomst

Migratie en veiligheid even geherformuleerd

Islamofobie is contraproduktief

Een leven terug onder taliban

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Aanvullende lectuur

1. Uit de Oude Doos: Israël versus Hamas
2. Hersenspoeling en voortdurende intimidatie
3. Bekeerlingen en omgang
4. Christen vervolgingen in het Midden-Oosten
5. Wanneer de jongere oor kreeg voor Arabische klanken
6. Gevolgen van beperkingen van vrijheid in Turkijë
7. Angst en verlossing van het kwaad
8. De Vredesweek vraagt Internationale Gemeenschap Verantwoordelijkheid te nemen
9. Witte, grijze en zwarte tinten voor de Lage Landen en Europa
10. Veroverende geloofsgroep
11. Te late hulp voor Syrië uit Westen voedingsbodem voor Vechters voor een Islamitische Staat
12. Fundamentalisme en religie #1 Noorwegen
13. Fundamentalisme en religie #6 Versplintering
14. 2015 het jaar dat ISIS duidelijk maakte dat het ook in Europa is
15. 2015 het jaar dat ISIS duidelijk maakte dat het ook in Europa is – Vervolg 1
16. 2015 het jaar dat ISIS duidelijk maakte dat het ook in Europa is – Vervolg 2
17. Veroverende geloofsgroep
18. Uitdrijving bevolking provincie Idlib
19. Politici die trachten het geloof in de privesfeer te duwen of uit de maatschappij te bannen
20. Noodzaak om ons sterk te maken tegen twee bastions
21. islamitische militanten
22. Uit het archief: Macht, Olie en Religie
23. Fundamentalisme en religie #1 Noorwegen
24. Fundamentalisme en religie #6 Versplintering
25. Is een fundamentalistische kijk op de bijbel, de enige mogelijke kijk?
26. Bestaat er iets als Christelijk fundamentalisme
27. Jihad gedoe
28. Geloven in God

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Gerelateerd

1. Beschavingen… ’t is overal iets
2. Democratie brengen
3. Multicultireel, realistisch – Moslims in Nederland
4. peterzijnblog
5. Stop de islamisering en stem dadelijk PVV, de enige partij die NEE zegt tegen de islam in Nederland!
6. Syrische rebellen, Afghanistan aan de Middellandse Zee?
7. De islam, een anti-westerse veroveringsideologie wordt in Nederland al jaren geknuffeld
8. Met de Resolutie van Straatsburg in 1975,werd Europa verraden en verkocht aan de islam
9. De knikkers van Qadir
10. In Ander Nieuws: week 24/25
11. Afghanistan, een overdenking
12. De val van Afghanistan
13. Oud-ambassadeur waarschuwt: ‘Val van Afghanistan toont aan dat Israël enkel op zichzelf moet vertrouwen’
14. Na 20 jaar,Afghanistan is opnieuw in handen van de Taliban islamofascisten
15. Hamas feliciteert de Taliban voor zijn ‘overwinning op de Verenigde Staten’
16. Iran, Oman, Qatar en Hamas omarmen gewelddadige machtsovername van Afghanistan door Taliban
17. Bijleveld verantwoordt zich voor sturen militairen naar Afghanistan
18. Afghanistan: De val van Kaboel is een wake-up call voor Israël
19. Amerikaanse militaire delegatie bezoekt Turkije om de luchthaven van Kabul te bespreken
20. Afghanistan: de VS druipen af, komt Turkije in de plaats?
21. Val van Kaboel is grootste vernedering voor Amerika en het Westen in decennia
22. Chaos op luchthaven Kabul, duizenden Afghanen proberen te vertrekken
23. Talibanleiders gebruikten Twitter en WhatsApp om Kaboel te veroveren
24. Taliban bedankt Afghanen voor achtergelaten wapens
25. Onthoofdingen en executies: De bodem van het Ghazistadion in Kaboel was ooit doordrenkt met bloed
26. Handleiding van de Taliban voor een perfecte steniging in Afghanistan [in beeld]
27. Afghanistan, het spel van de schaduwen
28. Zomaar een moment uit het leven van een bureaucraat
29. Arabia
30. Jeruzalem: leven te midden van religieuze fanatici
31. ‘Het gaat niet om wat je gelooft, maar hóé je dat doet’

Judaism and Jewishness in 2020 America

A new Pew Research Center survey finds that many Jewish Americans participate, at least occasionally, both in some traditional religious practices – like going to a synagogue or fasting on Yom Kippur – and in some Jewish cultural activities, like making potato latkes, watching Israeli movies or reading Jewish news online.  The same could perhaps be said for European Jews.

Among young Jewish adults, however, two sharply divergent expressions of Jewishness appear to be gaining ground – one involving religion deeply enmeshed in every aspect of life, and the other involving little or no religion at all.

For Europeans it might be strange that overall, about a quarter of U.S. Jewish adults (27%) do not identify with the Jewish religion. Like all over the world we can find the strong feeling of ethnicity, more than religiosity.  The 27% U.S. Jewish adults who consider themselves to be Jewish ethnically, culturally or by family background, even when they have a Jewish parent or were raised Jewish,  answer a question about their current religion by describing themselves as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” rather than as Jewish. Among Jewish adults under 30, four-in-ten describe themselves this way.

The two branches of Judaism that long predominated in the U.S. have less of a hold on young Jews than on their elders.
In 2013 the Conservative movement was the second largest of the three main religious denominations within American Judaism, claiming 18 percent of American Jews. In some years in the 1950s, the movement was adding 100 new affiliate congregations annually.
In the 21st century, the movement’s long-term viability has continued to be drawn into question. The percentage of Jewish households that identified as Conservative dropped by 10 points — from 43 to 33 percent — between 1990 and 2000, according to surveys of the American Jewish population conducted in those years. By the end of the century, the movement was in serious decline, in such a way that some were fretting openly that Conservative Judaism was on the road to oblivion. About fifteen years ago Rabbi David Wolpe suggested that Conservative Judaism be rebranded as Covenantal Judaism. That name we hear also here and there in our regions, where some Jews and Jeshuaists consider themselves Covenantal Jews.
Today roughly four-in-ten Jewish adults under 30 identify with either Reform (29%) or Conservative Judaism (8%), compared with seven-in-ten Jews ages 65 and older.
Among Jews ages 18 to 29, 17% self-identify as Orthodox, compared with just 3% of Jews 65 and older. And fully one-in-ten U.S. Jewish adults under the age of 30 are Haredim (often known in English as “ultra-Orthodox.”), (11%), compared with 1% of Jews 65 and older. Approximately 1.2 million Haredim live in Israel, jealously guarding their traditions.

Strangely enough, or perhaps not, we can find several Jews who are somewhere “in-between”, themselves found to be not a believer, but who have not given up upon Jewish religious practice. some of them have even adopted more religious practices than they were ever raised with.
In the States, like in Canada and West Europe we find lots of Jews who adopted a religious Jewish lifestyle for themselves, in a similar way we have seen Christians also creating their own religious system and spiritual lifestyle.

In fora we can see that the participants who no longer believe were raised in various Orthodox communities around the world, ranging from Modern Orthodox to Yeshivish to Hassidic; and most spent their childhoods and years of their adulthoods studying in houses of Torah learning. Some were rabbis themselves, educators who dedicated years of their lives to spreading love of Torah and traditional Judaism among the Jewish people. {Why can’t I be secular?}

Remarkable is to notice that in the U.S.A. the youngest U.S. Jews count among their ranks both a relatively large share of traditionally observant, Orthodox Jews and an even larger group of people who see themselves as Jewish for cultural, ethnic or family reasons but do not identify with Judaism – as a religion – at all.  For non-Jews the difference is mostly not made, which gives a totally wrong view of Jews, them thinking all those things those civilian non-believing Jews do against Torah would be in line or acceptable to all Jews.

In the U.S., the same as in Europe, we can see that the youngsters, though not so interested to know if the food is kosher or not, still like a lot of traditional foods. As such, they like cooking traditional Jewish foods, visiting Jewish historical sites and listening to Jewish or Israeli music. Yet the survey finds that most people in the latter group (Jews of no religion) feel they have not much or nothing at all in common with the former group (Orthodox Jews). For many youngsters the Jewish traditions and lifestyle may feel outdated. Others may become unsettled because they find people in their forties searching for ways to live more in line with their ancestors, going back to the synagogue and praying again in the house. Some want to delve into the deeper meaning of Jewishness and Judaism.

It is a fact that Jews and Jeshuaists are a minority. For the U.S.A. in absolute numbers, the 2020 Jewish population estimate is approximately 7.5 million, including 5.8 million adults and 1.8 million children (rounded to the closest 100,000). The 2013 estimate was 6.7 million, including 5.3 million adults and 1.3 million children. The precision of these population estimates should not be exaggerated; they are derived from a sample of the U.S. public that is very large compared with most surveys (more than 68,000 interviews) but are still subject to sampling error and other practical difficulties that produce uncertainty. Furthermore, the size of the Jewish population greatly depends on one’s definition of who counts as Jewish.

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Find also to read

Judaism and Jeshuaism a religion of the future

Jewish Americans in 2020

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Related

1. American Conservative Judaism
2. Covenantal Judaism: Ki Tavo 5780
3. On Rosh Hashanah, a sermon to the unwelcome
4. Converting to Judaism sparks political uproar in Israel
5. Opening Israel to non-Orthodox Converts Should Have Happened Long Ago
6. A Journey of Discovery
7. Messianic Jews Say ‘Fake Rabbi’ Was Wrong Way to Reach the Ultra-Orthodox
8. Reform Jews Should Recite Qorbanot in Prayer
9. Parshat Eikev
10. Why can’t I be secular?
11. The Jewish teddy bear
12. What I’m Watching
13. Oh, come on, or: Srsly?

Heaving had too much rain

“A Drop Of Rain” shall not harm, but the last few weeks here in Belgium we had enough water and could witness some very major cloudbursts that caused huge water and mudflows. In 262 villages the damage was horrible. In Wallonia the clean-up shall take several weeks but now mountains of rubbish start already towering above the horizon.

Photo: Marc Gysen – Nieuwsblad

This year in several countries there is no reason at all to sing and dance in the rain.

Everyone will understand that the assistance and crisis management for one of the largest floods ever experienced in our country was and is a feat. Days (weeks) people did not get to see much help from the government, but luckily lots of citizens of this country showed to the government that this is not such a split country as many politicians want many to believe. While there appears to be a total lack of coordination, ordinary citizens have plucked up the courage to go miles away to offer help to the residents in the affected areas.

Many flood victims literally have nothing left. Only what they have on. Soon civic initiatives were launched. In several villages all over the country, there were collected warm blankets, sheets, non-perishable food, etc..

Dirt left behind by water in the July 2021 flood

In the face of this huge water disaster that has swept over Wallonia and West Germany, we have noticed a wave of great solidarity. The terrible thing also shows something very beautiful, namely the solidarity of ordinary people with their fellow man, while politicians sit around bickering and talking about setting up committees instead of rolling up their sleeves.

When there is a setback– a death, an accident, loss of job, or something of that sort – there is nothing funny. It doesn’t sound good to laugh at any of this. What looks appropriate in this condition is crying, cursing, expressing grief or all these expressions. {Finding Humour In Tragedy}

Belgium and West Germany are hit by an enormous disaster. Lots of families have lost close relatives and have seen their house and/or business seen destroyed by the strong mass of water which seemed to have had an unknown power.

It is difficult for anyone to move on without these expressions. The time taken for moving on depends on person to person and the degree of loss. Like everyone knows the bigger the loss, the more time it will take to heal. {Finding Humour In Tragedy}

But in the small details and by the many people who have come to help, several victims of this natural disaster were able to find some light in the dusk and occasionally got a smile on their face of satisfaction, that ordinary people had not abandoned them after all, as father state seemed to have done, or rather seems to be incapable of intervening with any real help.

Receiving some smile at several moments in the day of hard work getting rid of all the filthy gunk, makes saving the day. More often, crying is more near than laughing. But in these circumstances, we can see that laughing at a problem gives power and a sense of control over it. Otherwise, depression sets in and worsens the situation.

After the July flooding in Pépinster solidarity to clean-up, August 2021

Who would not be displeased and depressed to see a life’s work wiped off the map in a few minutes?

Much too often we hear voices expressing their thankfulness for those citizens from all over the country who came to help, though they also feel abandoned by the governement.

“Everything, everything, we had to do here ourselves. Where was the army? The police? Once we saw them. Then they came to save people. But they had already been rescued by family, by friends, by random people who came from everywhere. It’s fantastic, but it shouldn’t have been like this. There are also people whose job it is to help us,”

is a much-heard expression.

Wherever you go to ask in the villages where the Ourthe and the Vesdre suddenly seemed like the Amazon last week, so big, people speak highly of the volunteers. They were there as soon as they could be. They understood what was needed. They cooked, mopped, dragged, comforted. Some were young, others old. Sometimes they hardly spoke French, but Arabic, Dutch or Flemish. Everyone speaks of strangers who suddenly turned up with buckets and sponges, who cleaned whole houses from top to bottom and moved on without waiting for a ‘thank you’.

This is something “magical” and worth remembering how such a disaster brought so many people close to each other. The difficulty to cope with this situation was soothed by the helping hands. For years those traumatised people shall have to try to rebuild their life.

Not dealing with emotions or any kind of disaster will not get anyone out of that trauma. Instead, depression, anxiety and many more problems will arise in no time. {Finding Humour In Tragedy}

The coming days and months it shall be up to insurance companies and to the governments of the affected states or Länder, to do the restoration and healing work.

Wallonia is licking its wounds. Now that the water has receded everywhere, the devastation becomes clear and the living conditions for thousands of people have become very precarious.
After the drama of the floods, a second small disaster may now occur. It appears that many people are not insured, and will therefore not be able to claim financial support from the Walloon Disaster Fund. This appears to be the case in Verviers.

12 August: Cleanup Floods à Olne / Fraipont / Trooz ” grand nettoyage après les inondations ” Moirivay, 4877 Olne, Belgique

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A Pepinster des milliers d’habitants ont encore besoin d’aide
Les premiers bénévoles venus sur place nous ont dit avoir besoin de relève.
De très nombreuses personnes manquent encore de vivres pour se nourrir décemment chaque jour.

Vous pouvez faire un don, leur préparer un repas , des crêpes.
Un travail de nettoyage est encore nécessaire.

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Duizenden inwoners hebben nog steeds hulp nodig in Pepinster De eerste vrijwilligers die ter plaatse kwamen, vertelden ons dat ze hulp nodig hadden. Heel veel mensen hebben nog steeds niet het voedsel om elke dag fatsoenlijk te eten. Je kunt doneren, een maaltijd voor ze koken, pannenkoeken Een schoonmaakklus is nog steeds noodzakelijk.

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Preceding

A dangerous turning point – Earth facing the collapse of everything

Europe’s catastrophic flooding was forecast well in advance – what went so wrong?

Europe Floods: Death Toll Over 110 as Rescues Continue

Kolkende watermassa’s doorheen de straten

Faalt de overheid in aanpak van de overstromingen?

Open Discussie Zomer 2021

Overstromingen in Limburg, Duitsland en België door extreem zware buien

Toename van de kosten van extreem weer mogelijk onderschat

Solidariteit en hulpgoederen

Fraipont na de zondvloed, tussen miserie en veerkracht

De medische nood blijft hoog

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Related

1. Wateroverlast in het midden van de zomer
2. Waterramp voor Wallonië, Vlaams-Brabant en Limburg
3. Maas niet bevaarbaar door drijfhout en de te sterke stroming
4. New Flooding Leaves Trail of Destruction in Dinant, Belgium
5. Floods in Germany, Belgium Destroy Homes, Leaving Dozens Dead
6. The flooding swept away homes and part of a castle in western Germany.
7. Dark Stuff
8. Cleanup efforts underway following deadly, disastrous flooding in Europe
9. Rescuers race to prevent more deaths from European floods
10. Climate disruption is not just the heat, it’s also the flooding
11. Europe flood death toll tops 160, costly rebuilding ahead
12. 07/17/21 BBC: Europe floods: Rescuers race to find survivors as hundreds remain missing
13. Cleanup begins after deadly floods in Europe
14. German Of The Day: Kriegsgebiet
15. Watch compilations Europe flooding (July 2021)
16. Floods in Luxembourg
17. Death toll from European flooding passes 180 as rescuers search debris
18. What is causing the floods in Europe?
19. German Wine Regions Devastated by Flooding
20. Heatwave continues, flooding in europe and other parts of the world, “freedom day” has arrived.
21. Parts of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany experienced devastating floods in… – MMF Social Media Hub
22. Extreme Storms Will Be More Likely In Europe Research Shows
23. Belgium Hit With Renewed Flooding
24. Floodwaters inundate England
25. Flash Floods Are Proof That Climate Disaster Is Already Here
26. Germany flood loss near EUR 5bn, likely a single event for reinsurance: AIR
27. How well is flooding managed where you live?
28. After the deluge …
29. Flooding & Factions

Vaccinations and anti-vaxers

Ex-president Donald Trump was against vaccinations and even did want Americans to believe the “Chinese disease would soon be over”. This ego tripper managed lots of Americans not to believe in the dangers of the Coronavirus.

By his misleading words he got many Republicans, evangelicals, but also poor blacks, and Hispanics to believe it are foreign forces and socialists or, worse, communists, trying to undermine the American society. Today many are suspicious of the government which would have become in power by a fraud election. Conservative evangelicals are among the quickest to share all those absurd stories about a.o. coronavirus-related conspiracy reaching to the highest levels of government. In many countries we can see that it is the Religious Right which is a hothouse of anti-vax activism and health fads.

Fools will readily believe a case without closely seeking out and attending to the criticisms of it (Proverbs 18:17). They routinely judge before hearing. They also attend to and spread rumours, inaccurate reports, and unreliable tales, while failing diligently to pursue the truth of a matter. The wise, by contrast, examine things carefully before moving to judgment or passing on a report. {Wisdom and Folly in Christian Responses to Coronavirus}

a lot of youngsters only go be the headings on their Social Media. Titles on You Tube or on Facebook, without going to read the article, let withstand to think about it and to examine what is said in it.

They do not follow up closely on viewpoints that they have advanced, seeking criticism and cross-examination to ascertain their truth or falsity. And when anything is proven wrong, they do not return to correct it. {Wisdom and Folly in Christian Responses to Coronavirus}

You would think, in the U.S.A., after the new president tried to get some order again, the American citizens would get back to their senses. The number of new Covid-19 cases per day has increased dramatically in the United States in the past month. New, dangerous variants have spread widely. At first Trump could convince people not to wear masks, but luckily now they show up in many parts of the country. Artists, often looked at as being “left”, went to get their vaccination as soon as they could. CEO’s also did not wait to long before getting vaccinated. But for the lowest-income groups, we can see it is more difficult to get people over the line. In the U.S.A. only 1.1 percent of the population of poor countries has received a single shot. Some people have surrendered to a sense of doom because they formed unreasonable expectations that the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines would miraculously obliterate the virus.

You would expect after the 2020 lockdowns, the 2.4 million Americans hospitalised and the 610,000 killed, more Americans would hurry to get the vaccinations over and done with. But the unmistakable fact is that they’ve made great progress in recent months to smother the virus and steer national life back toward normal. Where 5,463 people died from Covid-19 on one day at the beginning of the year, the daily death count is now bouncing in the low hundreds. One good thing may be that already an undetermined number of people have acquired some immunity from Covid-19 by exposure to it.

Today in America, severe Covid-19 infections and death are almost entirely in unvaccinated people. And the vaccines are still remarkably effective — of the 163 million fully vaccinated in the United States, only 1,141 have died from the virus.

It is known that the older you are, the greater the chance of getting seriously ill or dying from CoViD, and the younger you are, the less likely you are to have serious symptoms. This makes a lot of youngsters not worrying or not afraid of getting infected. For them there are many reasons not to receive an injection. Though lots of those reasons are based on absurd messages on Social Media. Social Media is doing a lot of damage and undermining national safety. One would expect them to see now, that because of the success of the vaccination in the older population, that the infection rate from the Delta variant has sent the number of infections soaring, the number of deaths, at least right now, is surprisingly low.

Young and old should come to recognise this virus is not an ordinary virus, like we have seen previously several viruses coming over the lands. It is not a virus that shall allow us to cry victory soon. No matter who might be president or in power, all shall have to start with acknowledging that it’s not within our power to eliminate Covid-19 from our shores the way we have polio, or to vaccinate every American against the virus. If we’re willing to agree on an end goal of dramatically reducing the severe illness and deaths from the virus, however, we might begin to see what winning is about.

According to Anthony Fauci the vaccines are even effective against the new variants that people fret so much about.

“A higher percentage of Americans have taken a Covid-19 vaccine in the past seven months than took a flu vaccine during the catastrophic 2017-18 flu season (37 percent of adults). Only 54 percent of the American population had taken the Salk polio vaccine six years after its introduction. Viewed from these angles, Americans in 2021 have not been particularly “vaccine hesitant.”

he says. But when we see news coverage and some documentaries about the handling of CoViD in the United States we got another view, with a lot of people between the age of 20-40 coming up with a lot of reasonable and sometime idiotic fantasies why they do not want to be vaccinated.

All over the world people should become convinced that it is a matter of not only protecting yourself, but out of love for the other, protecting those around you. The more people we vaccinate, the safer we all are today and how sooner we can go back to a normal life. We need everybody to be able to go to work, to have all the shops, pubs and event centres open again. Trying to get everything working properly again, we should safeguard ourselves by taking enough precautions that the illness can not spread. The less opportunity dangerous variants will have to emerge and spread tomorrow the better our life shall be and the better our economy shall be able to recover from those two years ‘disaster’.

So many in France and Germany shout about their freedom being taken, but do they ever think about what freedom really might be? Freedom is also respecting the freedom of others!

The age factor helps to explain why the rate of vaccination has stalled and is unlikely to accelerate, especially among the 19-to-49 crowd, many of whom feel immortal. We also hear that several of that age group in Europe went only to get their vaccination to be able to travel or to go to music festivals.

Some people also point to the fact that lots of people die in car accidents or find their death by having cancer. They say the older generation reacted to strongly on a disease which perhaps should be regarded like any other flu variant or a disease that comes over our countries once in a while to bring a clean brush against overpopulation.

Jack Shafer, Politico’s senior media writer, agrees that everybody who can access a Covid-19 vaccine should line up and get the shot. Right now. But he also points out that we need to determine our “tolerance level” for the disease, realising that we are unlikely to eradicate it completely but that we cannot keep shutting down our society in an effort to eliminate all risk. According to him we also don’t do that with other diseases. He points out that in the 2017-2018 flu season, influenza put 810,000 Americans in the hospital and killed 61,000. Those are terrible numbers, but we didn’t panic, mandate masks, or lock down the economy.

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Also interesting to read

1. Remembering what happened in the previous influenza pandemic
2. According to Pew Most White Evangelicals Don’t Think COVID-19 is a Medical Crisis
3. Undermining security and democracy via the Internet
4. No time yet to relax the CoViD-19 restriction measures
5. Lockdown greetings for a newer year
6. Not created to be on our own
7. CoViD-19 Curation
8. A new start when the lockdown comes to an end
9. NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo his state of the state address
10. G7 and Building Back Better
11. Good time to sort out your friends and contacts
12. In Coronatime thinking about death
13. A living Word giving confidence
14. Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief

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Related

1. Wisdom and Folly in Christian Responses to Coronavirus
2. Employee shortage, COVID-19 surge leave ICU nurses exhausted
3. Japan’s pandemic entering ‘new phase’ as Tokyo COVID-19 cases hit record high
4. As delta variant spreads, New York City ramps up vaccination efforts among students
5. Clubs NSW calls for COVID-19 vaccinated individuals to be allowed back into venues
6. NYC, Big Employers Taking Hard Line Against Vaccine Holdouts
7. Be aware of othersAugust 1, 2021
8. Waking Up
9. Anti Vaxers
10. Hospital CEO tells anti-vaxers to ‘shut up’
11. Public hearing underway as thousands want a say in the proposed ban on religious exemption for childhood vaccines
12. How To Talk To Anti-maskers And Not Lose Your Mind
13. Mick Jagger and Dave Grohl mock anti-vaxxers in new song
14. Jaco: Welcome to the death lottery; wanna play?
15. Re- emerging
16. 07/12/2021 Summer Doldrums
17. “Freedumb Must Reign!”
18. 28 & 1/3 Grams
19. It Sails Through the Air
20. Covid returns again – Why are you still not vaccinated?
21. I’m mad as hell, and not sorry
22. Give Them The Stick, Not The Carrot
23. Jaco: Make the anti-vaxers pay
24. Those who not get to the vaccine
25. Anti-vaxers had their fun
26. Wild deer found to have coronavirus antibodies in four-state study

April a month of sunshine and drought (April weather report as seen in local newspapers)

March and April have been so bad this year, it looked like those months themselves were caught by Covid. Raindrops kept falling on our heads but the other heavy rainfalls and hailstorms did not bring enough water into the ground so that we still have to face the already three years shortage of groundwater level.

Often people want to see the neighbours green grass, thinking it is much greener. Though we know better, it sometimes gives comfort to look at some other weather reports, showing us that we are not alone sitting in a deep pit.

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To remember

• April 2021 = driest in Leicestershire since 1938.
• Normally 50mm of rain during month of April > 2.5mm
• Mountsorrel > 2.2mm = 4% of average
• Hinckley > 3.6mm = 7% of average
• 26 days of the month totally dry for them whilst here we had several days we saw some raindrops, but not really raining. Just to get wet
•  a few isolated snow showers on 3 days + showers on the 28th making up the small totals. I
• exceptionally sunny month > 209 hours recorded at Cosby = 39% above normal. =>2° sunniest April ever recorded in the county

Phil's Weather Blog

April 2021 was the driest in Leicestershire since 1938. Normally we would expect 50mm of rain during the month but this April Dave in Cosby recorded just 2.5mm the driest for 83 years way back to 1938 in his long standing weather records going back to 1836, most of which were recorded at the Towers hospital site in Leicester before he started his own records in Cosby in 1959. At Mountsorrel I recorded just 2.2mm just 4% of average and Dean Whitaker at Hinckley recorded just 3.6mm just 7% of average. 26 days of the month were totally dry with just a few isolated snow showers on 3 days and showers on the 28th making up the small totals. It was also an exceptionally sunny month with 209 hours recorded at Cosby which was 39% above normal. The sunniest day was the 22nd when Dave recorded 14 hours the maximum possible…

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A dangerous turning point – Earth facing the collapse of everything

Despite so much evidence to the contrary, “experts” deny there is any threat to the world’s ecology.
Study Disputes That Earth is in a ‘Climate Emergency’

Brietbart 07-Feb-21 by Delingpole

“There is no “climate emergency”, according to a study for the Global Warming Policy Foundation by independent scientist Dr Indur Goklany.
Dr Goklany concludes:

“While climate may have changed for the warmer:  Most extreme weather phenomena have not become extreme, more deadly, or more destructive.  Empirical evidence directly contradicts claims that increased carbon dioxide has reduced human wellbeing. In fact, human wellbeing has never been higher.

Whatever detrimental effects warming and higher carbon dioxide may have had on terrestrial species and ecosystems, they have been swamped by the contribution of fossil fuels to increased biological activity. This has halted, and turned around, reductions in habitat loss”.

The report would make hugely depressing reading for all environmental activists — even the Pope – if it was
infallibly accurate – which it is not!
Dr Goklany says there is little to scare us:

Yes, there will be more hot days, but fewer cold days. Oh? Where?

In the Arctic and the Antarctic of course – silly!

*There will be less tornados – #in Great Britain?
* There will be less floods, less frequent and smaller!
# Perhaps Goklany slept through last year, but there were half a dozen cyclones causing death by floods, drowning, landslides and inundation from January to December 2020 throughout the Southern Hemisphere!
*There will be less droughts and less wildfires.

# When does this begin? So far so bad in California and many parts of Australia. In October 1917 intense, deadly fires killed 41 people in Spain and Portugal, and in 2020 fires affected Sweden and Northern France as well as Italy and Spain where wildfires are not indigenous!

In 2020 for months, Siberia has been experiencing extreme heat due to a combination of persistent sunny weather and human-caused climate change. In addition to producing Arctic temperatures that cracked 100 degrees in June, the heat has fueled an enormous outbreak of wildfires, including fires on Siberia’s tundra……

Breitbart News Desk February 16, 2021:

The deep freeze that knocked out power in Texas spread across the country this week. The agency that manages power in fourteen states from Texas through Oklahoma and all the way up to North Dakota declared a state of emergency and ordered utilities to initiate rolling blackouts to cut electrical demand and stabilize the grid.
Meanwhile, a lot of fracking for oil has been brought to a halt by the freeze. Twenty percent of the U.S. oil production has gone offline, and some of the biggest refineries have been shuttered. The big problem is that the Texas oil kits are not set up for arctic weather. Up in North Dakota the extraction process is winterized, but that’s not the case farther south. Even something as simple as picking up oil in a truck to move to a refinery can become impossible when your roads are iced over, there are no snow ploughs or road salt, and no one has snow tires.
Crude oil production is down by more than four million barrels a day, twice what was reported a day earlier. Prior to the cold crisis, the U.S. was producing around 11 million barrels a day.
The Permian Basin, America’s largest oil field, has been hard hit. Production in the area that straddles western Texas and
New Mexico is down between 65 percent and 80 percent.

The melting Arctic has been watched closely by countries like China and Russia who are looking to take advantage of the increasingly available shipping lanes. But scientists have lamented the latest milestone, and are sounding the alarm about further environmental degradation due to increased shipping activity.

It is a very dangerous turning point

says Associate Professor Nengye Liu, an expert in international polar law at Macquarie University.

In Revelation 6:8-9 we can see that “Global Warming” is the result of the 4th Vial of God’s Wrath –

   8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 9  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

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‘Too late’:

David Attenborough warns Earth faces ‘total collapse’

Nick Whigham ·Assistant News Editor | Yahoo News| 24.2.20-21

The world’s most famous naturalist has issued a dire proclamation about the state of the planet, warning Earth is facing “the collapse of everything” if we continue on our current path.

94-year-old Sir David Attenborough warned overnight that climate change is the biggest security threat modern humans have ever faced while addressing the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) session on climate, saying it was “already too late” to stem the diabolical impacts of global warming.

   “There is no going back, no matter what we do now, it’s too late to avoid climate change and the poorest, the most vulnerable, those with the least security, are now certain to suffer,”

he said.

“And if the natural world can no longer support the most basic of our needs, then much of the rest of civilisation will quickly break down.”

Arthur Wright, Kallangur, Brisbane

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Related

1. Global Climate Change. Overstated or Understated?
2. Earth Is In Serious Trouble If We Don’t Make Major Changes. Period.
3. Stop the depletion of the earth
4. Earth had its coolest February since 2014
5. Climate Change Responsibility
6. The Triple Crisis: Coronavirus is increasingly linked to global warming and remaking the economy, call it a socialist trifecta
7. Sea-level rise caused by climate change> LTE Under Consideration: Re: March 1 Article, “Was climate change to blame?”
8. Scientists stunned to discover plants beneath mile-deep Greenland ice
9. New Permian Methane Leakage Study Confirms What We Already Knew
10. Routine Gas Flaring Is Wasteful, Polluting and Undermeasured
11. Rare Lizard’s Habitat May Open Up
12. “Arctic air freezes Permian shale fields”… Fake news?
13. Texas Oil Giant ExxonMobil Sells Some North Sea Drilling, Exploration Sites Amid Muted Oil Prices
14. Clean Fuel Opens Door for Sustainability
15. The two gravest threats to humanity
16. 60,000 Belgians take government to court over alleged climate inaction

Some Hope for 2021

Karla Surguine cried when the clock struck twelve on January 1st, 2021. She writes:

It never crossed my mind that I would be emotional about the moment wretched 2020 would turn to history, but my heart was relieved to see a conglomerate of pain walk away. I am not a believer that a different day immediately improved things; we are still in the midst of everything 2020 brought for us. However, I know for sure that 2021 is the year of hope. We hope that things will get better from here. They will not be as normal as a year ago, but we expect this year to bring healing to our bodies, hearts, and pockets. {My Hope for 2021}

At the beginning of the year, we all have a lot of resolutions or plans we want to realise in the new year. On the 31st of December many are waiting and counting down, ready for a fresh start and a New Year. Every year we want to have certain things of the previous year to be put in a bin to forget very quickly. 2020 brought us something we shall not easily forget, though we would love to see it soon over.

It’s crystal clear that 2020 was not as promising as we expected it to be, that was a year filled with challenges and hopes for a better future that we so craved to come as soon as possible and now it’s finally here but how can we manage to leave that outdated/shadowy mindset behind in order to bring up a fresh one that can take us exactly where we wanted to go in the former year but couldn’t utterly achieve? {Tips For a More Uplifting Mindset}

How many people do not spend their whole life stuck in situations where they wish to escape.  This last year was for many more a year we all want to leave behind. Though so quickly it shall not let us go loose. We must understand it is still going to be here for some while. So we shall have to be patient.

Beautyworkers writes:

Last year was a hard/different year and even if we don’t see many changes in the beginning of 2021, we have to be positive and think that we learn some things in the hardest times, and that good times will come. The good thinks we learned should be remembered and applied in 2021 (and maybe for the rest of our life) but there are always more things that we can try to be better. {Our 2021 Resolutions…}

For many 2020 has shown the importance of finding bliss in the little things and of being able to be with our beloved ones, trying to stay save and uninfected. Many of us could find in 2020 so much more time for themselves, because they did not have to go to work or could not open their shop. The obligated time for oneself could enrich us. The time of isolation could also be for many a time for reflection. We clearly see the result of it, by having even people starting a new business in this crisis time. Others found now the time to work in the house, doing renovations, or working more in the garden; All the green fingers seemed to have come out of the soil.

2020 surprisingly was also a year many could find renewed energy to things that bring them pure happiness, learning that change is okay, and setting boundaries in order to be their best self. Many people their eyes opened how they were the other years taken by their job full of stress, more working instead of living.
2020 brought them down to earth to reconsider. It was really a year of reflection for many.

Marcella Marie confesses:

I often get so caught up in work, stress, + daily to-do’s that I forget to take a moment to look around me and appreciate everything that I have. This is something that 2020 has taught me to do, and I am so grateful. I hope to carry this mentality into the coming year, because it has shown me what is most important in life.{New Year, New Manifestations}

Ranjani writes:

With a deadly virus lurking in unexpected corners, it was critical for everyone to maintain a good physical health. But it did not suffice, did it? To sustain those prolonged durations of lockdown, distancing ourselves from our loved ones, isolations and taking responsibility of our dependents despite our precarious emotional states, achieving and maintaining a state of harmony of the body, mind and emotions had become inevitable. {Entering a new decade with old values!}

We can look negatively to those lockdowns, or we can be glad we still could make the best out of it and stay healthy. She continues:

we are a lot calmer than what we were a year before and have embraced the uncertainty, albeit gingerly. {Entering a new decade with old values!}

2020 was for many a year that showed reasons enough to be thankful.

There’s no such thing as not having anything to be grateful for, it might be the most modest thing we can possibly think of that it’s still going to count as something to be grateful for, so grab a pen and a piece of paper and go do some grateful thinking practice or just type it on your phone. Whatever you fancy! {Tips For a More Uplifting Mindset}

Probably for most people things didn’t go the way they wanted them to go. All over the world, we got taken by the unexpected. However, one thing is for certain, all over the world, people are looking forward to some change.

A change in perspective holds the power to highly influence in your outcomes regardless of your setting point. So, perhaps adjusting the way we perceive things to be might not just give us the results that we want plus also helps us discern our dreams and hopes from a brighter perspective. {Tips For a More Uplifting Mindset}

All people were taken out of their comfort zone. Most of us are not yet sure what perspective 2021 might bring. But we all hope we shall be able to put an end to this mighty coronavirus tickling our society for such a long time. For sure in 2021 we shall need another strategy than in 2020.

See, this is the moment when we are supposed to be courageous and driven enought in order to let go of the control and boredom and take over a whole innovative attitude on how to take actions that are just as reasonable and that can take you where you are intented to go. {Tips For a More Uplifting Mindset}

Last few months we were allowed to go easy on ourselves and allowing us to have time for resting and even perhaps some time to go lazy (who knows?).

2020 was a rough year in which required so much of us to merely make it through to get to this point and so just for that we are deserving of the greatest amount of respect we could ever nurture for anyone…

So, please in the name of quality of life, the next time we find us beating ourselves up let’s remember that that inner, ugly and powerless voice has no inpact on our reality unless we grant it the strenght to. {Tips For a More Uplifting Mindset}

One of the good things of 2020 was also that lots of people became more aware of the difficult position others are.

People, otherwise preoccupied with their mundane problems, turned crusaders in support of the less privileged and the needy. There are reports galore in the media of people donating their earnings to relief funds, supplying essentials, arranging transport services, serving food to frontline workers, volunteering along with health care professionals, working round the clock to bring relief to patients, supplying medicines and protective gears, sharing their resources and opening their heart, mind and arms to fellow humans, across the world. {Entering a new decade with old values!}

2021 shall not directly bring new days, but the hope might be here now that in lots of countries vaccinations have been started.

In our minds getting something done can be a huge elephant that we have to tackle when all we have to do is beat the potato sitting on us. What happens to our dreams? What happens to our environment? What about our friends? Do we just accept turning into a puddle of screens or a piece of that silver tape on our couch that will not budge? It’s not worth it. These mindless activities just cause emptiness and blend our free time away. Again, it’s not worth it. By shifting just a little bit we can move the potato off its position and gain some momentum. Potatoes aren’t particularly heavy. {The 10 Minutes that Will Change Your Life}

The time being we shall just have to make the best of the coming months. Therefore, take some good books with you and watch some nice films with your partner and your kids. Take some more time to play outdoors and to play some family games inside.

Deciding to pick up a book for a few minutes a day instead of my phone, will water me and make me very fruitful, enabling me to give to others. As a consequence, I hope to sleep better, try new things around my neighborhood, discover new interesting topics, learn a bit about art, and cook some new dishes. Reading will breathe newness and refreshment in me. {My Hope for 2021}

Choose for 2021 to

• find happiness in the everyday
• read more
• set clear boundaries
• continue to prioritize health + wellness
• continue to grow
• to make the best out of life

To end:

So often we try to work at ourselves to change ourselves. But is that always change for the good? More often we need to accept ourselves more and find a way to fit in this world of diversity. It is not bad to have plans for the future and to work at yourself, but always think very carefully about it and do not have too high expectations.

We don’t know what the new year has in store for us. But let’s pack some optimism and newfound values and lessons learnt last year in our benevolence bag and make headway with a big smile! {Entering a new decade with old values!}

Good luck.

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Find also to read

1. In Coronatime thinking about death
2. Today’s thought “A New Year” (January 01)
3. The secular year coming to a close
4. If you’re going to try, go all the way
5. Good time to sort out your friends and contacts
6. A new start when the lockdown comes to an end
7. Do we need to learn to accept ourselves as we are?
8. A living Word giving confidence
9. We should use the Bible every day

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Related

1. What has this #coronatime brought to me?
2. Be yourself, Be at home
3. Work from Home: Quarantine Time
4. Complex dynamics and simple disappointments
5. The good behind the bad and the ugly
6. The 200 year present
7. Hope & possibility
8. New Year
9. Fresh Start
10. New Year, New Manifestations
11. Alive in the future – dead in the past

Let’s change

 

THE SEMPILL THINGS

The worst year yet? A lot of people would say so: “I’m glad to leave 2020 behind”, or “F*ck you 2020”, or whatever the trending caption of the moment is. 2020 has been a difficult year, but without it we wouldn’t be where are now. It’s shaken up all of us. And sometimes we need a shake-up. 2020 changed be me for the better in many ways –some good things, some great things, and some painful things that I wish would have panned out in a different way. I haven’t even come to the pandemic thing yet.

I’m hopeful for 2021, just as hopeful as I was at the start of last year. 2020 delivered in many ways and I’m pushing for ’21 to do the same. The attitude of wishing last year to go to hell is beyond me; the shift from one day to another makes no difference……

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2021 openen in onze bubble

Omdat we nog een paar maanden zullen vastgeketend zijn, zouden we blij moeten zijn als we nog steeds niet besmet zijn door die vreselijke ziekte die over de wereld raast. Hoewel we nog steeds aan de veilige kant moeten zijn, contact met te veel mensen vermijden.

Als wij de coronakilo’s voelen aankomen moeten wij beseffen dat wij niet alleen zijn. Een U.K. blogster die nu in Narnia leeft waar een eeuwige winter lijkt aangebroken te zijn, wil de moed er wel in houden. Wij mogen er op aan dat zij de feestdagen is weten door te komen. Nu was de tijd daar om als gezin samen te komen, binnen te blijven, films te kijken en bordspellen te spelen. Dat is ook wat wij hier in België hebben gedaan in onze eigen kleine bubble.

De U.K. blogster bestelt haar boodschappen online en gaat slechts één keer wandelen of fietsen per dag. Zij voelt zich georganiseerd en voorbereid met de overtuiging dat ze het wel zullen aan kunnen. Zij schrijft:

Het is januari 2021. We zijn ver in de toekomst en China heeft met Covid-19 een heleboel hel in de wereld losgelaten. We zijn allemaal nog steeds sociaal als een gek, wassen onze handen, dragen maskers, gaan nergens heen, doen niets, worden dik en eenzaam. Geen vakanties, geen knuffels met vrienden, geen eten in restaurants of uitgaan.
We gaan niet eens een kopje thee drinken in een café. Het is een waardeloos leven en ik zie niet in hoe het snel kan veranderen met de nieuwe, ultraoverdraagbare mutatie van het virus in ongebreidelde circulatie. {Happy New Year. SIGH.}

Als we in onze kleine bubbel blijven, wat willen we dan nog meer.
Tegenwoordig zijn er zoveel technologische wonderen die mensen van over de hele wereld naar onze deur kunnen brengen.

We hebben de mogelijkheid om met zoveel mensen over de hele wereld in contact te staan ​​en kunnen onze gedachten met hen delen. Maar we hebben nu ook veel meer tijd om boeken te lezen en films te kijken op ons kleine of grote scherm.

De blogster schrijft

Maar er is hoop. Er worden vaccins gegeven. Scheuten van sneeuwklokjes piepen uit het modderige gras en ik heb een nieuwe fauteuil en slaapbank gekocht op basis van een financieringsovereenkomst van 0% van DFS. Je moet geluk nemen waar je het kunt krijgen. Plus:-

De kinderen zijn gezond
ik ben gezond
We hebben een gelukkig, liefdevol gezin
Mijn ouders zijn gezond
De kerstverlichting is nog steeds aan en vrolijk
We hebben veel lekker gegeten
Ik lees ‘The Hobbit’ elke dag voor de kinderen en ze vinden het geweldig
We zijn veilig thuis
Netflix, iPlayer, mobiele telefoons, online gaming. Godzijdank.

Zo,
laten we genieten van het leven dat we mogen hebben!

Happy New Year. SIGH.

Being chained for some more months we should be happy when we are still not infected by that terrible disease. Though we shall still have to be on the safe side, avoiding contact with too many people.

When staying in our little bubble, what do we want more. Today there are so many technological wonders that can bring people from all over the world to our doorstep.

We have the facility to be in contact with so many people all over the world and can share our thoughts with them. But we now have also much more time to read books and to watch films on our small or big screen.

So, let’s enjoy the life that we are privileged to have!

Coronavirus Diaries

It’s January 2021. We are way into the future and China has unleashed a whole load of hell into the world with Covid-19. We’re all still social distancing like mad, washing our hands, wearing masks, going nowhere, doing nothing, getting fat and lonely. No holidays, no hugs with friends, no eating in restaurants or going out dancing. We’re not even popping out for a cup of tea in a café. It’s a shitty life and I don’t see how it can change any time soon what with the new, ultra-transmissible mutation of the virus in rampant circulation.

But there is hope. Vaccines are being given. Snowdrop shoots are peeping out of the muddy grass, and I’ve bought a new armchair and sofa bed on a 0% finance deal from DFS. You’ve got to take happiness where you can get it. Plus:-

• The children are healthy
• I am healthy
• We have…

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De ellendigste tendens van 2020

December 2019 bracht een eerste tijding van een soort virus dat in een marktplaats zou opgetreden zijn. Volgens China dat dit nieuws liefst niet kenbaar had gemaakt was dat vreemde nog ongekende virus dat in december 2019 in de stad Wuhan was uitgebroken, het coronavirus, van mens op mens overdraagbaar. De dokter die voor dat nieuwe dodelijke virus had gewaarschuwd was eerder wegens zijn slechte nieuwsvoering opgesloten in de gevangenis. Maar door de snelle verspreiding van het virus dat ook na het Chinese nieuwjaar buiten China werd gebracht, kon men de feiten niet meer stil houden. In Wuhan waar  zo’n elf miljoen mensen wonen werd de hoogste besmettingsgraad waargenomen in China en moesten de mensen zelfs 76 dagen lang in een harde lockdown, waarbij mensen helemaal niet naar buiten mochten. (Dus heel wat anders dan hier, waar meerderen steen en been kloegen.)

De nieuwsuitzending doorheen het jaar brachten ons allerlei corona weetjes. Uren radio en tévé geweld gingen aan dat coronavirus verloren. Soms leek het wel of er niets anders in de wereld gebeurde. Natuurlijk mocht Donald Trump op het palmares niet ontbreken. Met zijn bagatellisering van de “Chinese ziekte” en andere absurde uitlatingen mocht hij ook wel ons televisiescherm bijna dagelijks bezoedelen. Hierbij deed hij ons wel meermaals de ‘zure’ lach op anders ernstige gezichten brengen.

Naar het jaar 2020 dichter bij haar einde kwam doken wel wat meer positieve berichten op om die onverwachte pandemie klein te krijgen. Overall in de wereld waren dokters en verplegend personeel druk in de weer geweest om mensen er bovenop te helpen. Toch kwamen over geheel de wereld heel wat mensen te overlijden. 19.581 Belgen en 11.529 Nederlanders verloren het leven, wat niets lijkt te zijn tegenover de 346 000 doden die de Verenigde Staten moest optekenen, waarvan er honderd duizenden konden vermeden worden indien de president de nodige maatregelen had getroffen. In Nederland was de bevolking in 2019 nog gegroeid met 132.000 mensen, tot 17,4 miljoen inwoners, aldus het CBS. De sterkste groei sinds 1975, maar nu leek een uitdunningsslag begonnen te zijn.

Heel wat mensen in de rijkere landen vonden dat hun vrijheden werden beperkt en dat ze het oh zo moeilijk hadden dat ze het niet meer aan konden. Wat zij zeker niet zagen of niet in hun geest op riepen was datgene wat heel wat minder in het nieuws kwam maar daarom niet minder ernstig was.

De ellendigste tendens van 2020, waarvoor ook 2021 geen vaccin belooft, is namelijk die van vluchtelingenkampen en -stromen, en harde politieke dijken en dammen.2020 bracht geen einde aan de vluchtelingencrisis waarmee Europa al enkele jaren zit mee te kampen. Ook al mocht de pers er minder over gesproken hebben mochten wij dit afgelopen jaar  een recordaantal van bijna tachtig miljoen medemen-sen op de vlucht aantreffen. Ruim de helft van hen is ontheemd in eigen land, dertig miljoen hebben een erkende vluchtelingenstatus, ruim vier miljoen zijn in afwachting van hun asielaanvraag. Veruit de grootste massa’s vluchtelingen worden – geheel conform een populair politiek devies – ‘opgevangen in de regio’. In Turkije (uit Syrië), Colombia (uit Venezuela), Pakistan (uit Afghanistan) en Uganda (uit Zuid-Sudan, Congo en Somalië). Op een strookje als Libanon wonen naar schatting 1,5 miljoen vluchtelingen naast 4,5 miljoen Libanezen – en dan gebeurt juist dáár een ramp van nucleaire omvang, waarna de regering aftrad.

Erg genoeg waren er asielzoekers die ten einde raad hun tenten in brand staken, in de hoop beter onderdak te krijgen. Dit bracht hen echter in nog grotere ellende, onder de blote hemel in nachten die alsmaar kouder en natter werden. De komst van het coronavirus maakte de toestand nog nijpender, daar de gewone bevolking rond de kampen die mensen als een mogelijkedreiging begonnen te zien en hen afhield om verder hulp te bieden. De Verenigde Naties bleef vragen om extra noodhulp ter waarde van 500 mil-joen euro voor huisvesting, voedsel en gezondheidszorg. De extra belasting aftrek die door de Belgische regering werd beloofd voor giften aan goede doelen zal hopelijk toch ook iets extra hebben mogen bijdragen. De cijfers zijn hiervan nog niet gekend. Wel is geweten dat veel donoren toch nog aarzelden, want bij vorige acties bleek dikwijls het geld en goederen niet toe te komen waar het hoorde aan te komen. Omtrent Syrië was men ook bang dat het geld en de goederen in handen zou vallen van jihadistische strijdgroeperingen. Die bleven nog lange tijd doorvechten, omdat Idlib de laatste provincie was die nog niet in handen van Assad was en nog een goed toevluchtsoord leek.

De corona-epidemie beheerste zodanig het nieuws in 2020, en zeker in april, toen het virus zich wereldwijd uitbreidde en dagelijks duizenden levens eiste. Nieuws dat anders de voorpagina’s zou hebben bepaald, werd helemaal naar de marge geduwd. Waar dat sinds 2014 een burgeroorlog heerst, die aan meer dan 112.000 mensen het leven heeft gekost, kwam nog uitzonderlijk één Vlaamse reporter ons toch nog wat schrijnend nieuws brengen.

Over Jemen, bijvoorbeeld, wordt weinig meer vernomen. In het land, in het zuidwesten van het Arabische schiereiland, woedt de strijd vooral tussen de rege-ring en de Houthi-rebellen maar voort. Door bemoeienis van Saudi-Arabië, dat de soennitische regering steunt, en Iran, dat de Houthi’s steunt, bleef het conflict daar maar meer mensen verarmen en kampen met voedsel tekort maar ook met een tekort aan medische zorgen. Na vijf jaar oorlog is de helft van alle ziekenhuizen en klinieken verwoest. Er is gebrek aan voedsel, medicijnen en kleren. Miljoenen mensen dreigen te verhongeren.

Ook al mocht het positief lijken dat ISIS of Daesh zware tegenslagen had opgelopen in het Midden Oosten, konden zij ondertussen in Afrika nieuwe uitvalsbases oprichten. Dit deden zij door samenwerking met terroristengroeperingen als Al-Shabaab en Boko Haram. Aanslagen in Nigeria, Mozambique, Congo, Kenia en Somalië, kwamen eigenlijk onvoldoende aan bod in de Westerse media. Algerije en Ethiopië kwamen iets meer in de kijker doordat zuid Europa weer een toename van vluchtelingen te verwerken kreeg uit die streken.

Volgens de cijfers van de UNHCR zijn zestig miljoen vluchtelingen langdurig op de vlucht. De kans dat vluchtelingen naar hun land van herkomst terugkeren, neemt al jaren af. In de jaren negentig keerden nog anderhalf miljoen mensen terug, de laatste tien jaar is dat gedaald tot 385.000. Meer dan zestig miljoen vluchtelingen verblijven in landen of gebieden waar voedselschaarste en ondervoeding heersen, en waar de gevolgen van klimaat- en natuurrampen zich laten gelden. Een aanzienlijk deel van de tachtig miljoen vluchtelingen is nog kind: naar schatting zijn dat er tussen de 30 en 34 miljoen.

Wishing you a Happy New Year in this time of Corona

Happy new year! 

I do not now how the year 2020 went for you. For me it was like a rollercoaster ride having to bring over all the pages from the old Google sites into different multiple New Google sites.

It took months to transfer all the pages manually (because the website was to huge to convert,hence now divided in sites for each of the four languages.

It looks like the year took only two months, for me.

For everybody it was a year of isolation and perhaps also some coronastress. I have put on some corona kilos.

I do hope you were not to badly affected by the corona crisis.

We are not yet rid of this virus which took the whole world. With vaccinations started we may look forward to some better times. Though we shall still have to be patient until next Summer.

For now I send you and your family our warmest wishes for 2021. May this new start give each of us fresh inspiration and determination for the year ahead.