A thought for the month:
Master, you sowed good seed in your field, didn’t you? Then where did these weeds come from?’ . . . . “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them out?’ “He said, ‘No! If you pull out the weeds, you might pull out the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.” [Jesus of Nazareth, Holy Bible, Matt 13:27-30]
Fascinating analysis. Speculative all the way, but I believe it certainly gives way too much credit to these Tory MPs as voters.
Whatever alignment Rishi Sunak does and with whoever, as long as we have a Rishi Sunak versus a Liz Trust or a Penny Mordaunt, then Rishi Sunak is out in the final race.
I concede we would have had a keen context on our hands if the last two candidates were Rishi Sunak versus Kemi Badenoch. But that happens only in my dreams.
I do not have to think about it; I feel confident that Liz Truss is the next Prime Minister. That last vote was the final vote. With the two candidates left and the general Tory Party members voting, the result is as clear as daylight.
GG
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1. Context of the quote: you allude to the quote’s non-secular context. It is important to provide that context for those who might want to know:
A thought for the month:
a tenacious and unreflective pursuit of social justice as a necessary end can produce a worst case of social injustice
Master, you sowed good seed in your field, didn’t you? Then where did these weeds come from?’ . . . . “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them out?’ “He said, ‘No! If you pull out the weeds, you might pull out the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.” [Jesus of Nazareth, Holy Bible, Matt 13:27-30]
2.
Reflectivity: it is important to take note of the qualifier, the adjective,
"unreflective" in that quote; i.e. deep reflection is required
3. Python in the field: Regarding whether to leave a baby python in your field for latter
Hence, reflecting on the predicament with the python, though I do not consider it analogous to the wheat and the tare situation, the questions that I will ask are;
- what type of python is it?
- what danger lurks in it?
- do you only kill it?
- can you harmlessly confine it to a strip of your field?
- can you redirect it away from your field?
- can you tame it and make it into a living scarecrow in your field?
4. “rational, secular example”: I’ll give more than one. they are all around us
Femi J. Kolapo
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IMPROVE LIFE |
________
A thought for the month:
Master, you sowed good seed in your field, didn’t you? Then where did these weeds come from?’ . . . . “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them out?’ “He said, ‘No! If you pull out the weeds, you might pull out the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.” [Jesus of Nazareth, Holy Bible, Matt 13:27-30]
1. Context of the quote: you allude to the quote’s non-secular context. It is important to provide that context for those who might want to know:
A thought for the month:
a tenacious and unreflective pursuit of social justice as a necessary end can produce a worst case of social injustice
Master, you sowed good seed in your field, didn’t you? Then where did these weeds come from?’ . . . . “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them out?’ “He said, ‘No! If you pull out the weeds, you might pull out the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.” [Jesus of Nazareth, Holy Bible, Matt 13:27-30]
A thought for the month:
Master, you sowed good seed in your field, didn’t you? Then where did these weeds come from?’ . . . . “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them out?’ “He said, ‘No! If you pull out the weeds, you might pull out the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.” [Jesus of Nazareth, Holy Bible, Matt 13:27-30]
There are those of little faith who ask, “Why don't we see miracles like the apostles did?”
Fact is that even these days, miracles do happen. All things are possible. All things considered, including the whimsical , the unpredictable, the racial, the wantonly racist, the stiff upper lip, the bugger, the dog wagging his tail, we should not rule out the possibilities of Rishi Sunak as the next leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of Britain 2022-2025 and even beyond…
As the the pop-bard, Nobel poet-Laureate chirped back in 1964,
“ And don't speak too soon, for the wheel's still in spin “
Two things Sir,
“A week is a long time in politics.” - in the world of human and even military affairs, a long time during which much can happen.
This short quote from a longer shot of real left wing optimism @ https://bernardjporter.com/
: ” but acting now through either Sunak or Truss: whichever apparently more respectable candidate the 160,000 geriatric ex-Thatcherites who make up the Tory party in the country choose to succeed Johnson next month. At least, that is, until the next General Election, when I can’t see either of them – especially Truss – winning against Starmer.”
So, in the short run, Liz Truss may shoulder the responsibility of leading a post-Johnson Tory party, without any nightmare danger of Johnson remaining in the background and pulling the strings, an eventuality that is less likely should the younger upstart Rishi Sunak a key leader of the rebellion be the one who is moving in to 10 Downing Street with his Indian wife - and that’s why Boris Johnson has been shouting loud and clear - at the top of his voice to his party faithful : “ Anyone but Rishi Sunak ! “
Another factor is that there are more than a few people out there, among the Tory Party Faithful that are listening to their Beloved Boris. The one with a blond shock or mop of blond hair on his head.
What Sunak has going for himself - and he has wasted no time in yelling about it, is that of the two (he and Liz Truss) only he can lead the Tory Party to glory in the next general elections. Is he saying that because all the Hindus would vote for him? Just as all the British Yoruba would have voted for Kemi Badenoch? I ask because I’m sure that Sadiq Khan and maybe all the British Pakistanis will be sure to be campaigning and trying to persuade everybody to vote solidly against Rishi. They and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan sure would not like to have a Conservative Hindu as the everlasting Prime Minister of Britain. Indeed if the perspicacious Balachandra Rajan the author “ Under Western Eyes” were with us today, what would he be making of the history in the making with Rishi Sunak poised over the horizon to be the next Jewel in the Crown?
If “the 160,000 geriatric ex-Thatcherites who make up the Tory party” is a wholesome truth then we’re in for some tense, exciting and unpredictable decision making because according to the Katrine Marcal Dagens Nyheter article which I read this morning - “ The leadership battle is about the view of tax and racism, well, here’s the entire article ( automated Google translation) minus the photos of Reagan and Thatcher, for us to chew on and understand exactly what's at stake:
“Two candidates remain in the running to take over as British Prime Minister: former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. Who wins will largely be determined by two things: which path the Conservative Party chooses in economic policy, and how much racism still exists among its members.
On one level, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are equal: They both had heavy jobs in Boris Johnson's government. But during the party leadership struggle, they have positioned themselves differently on economic policy.
The UK has major economic problems. Inflation is 9.4 percent. At the same time, growth does not seem to want to pick up. The difference between what Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss want to do about it has been described as the difference between Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.
When Ronald Reagan was president of the United States, his economic policies were very much about what critics called "unfunded tax cuts." The idea was that a reduced tax stimulates companies and individuals to make money. The economy is picking up speed and the growth that is being created means that tax revenues are getting back.
In other words, you do not have to think about "financing" a tax cut by raising another tax or cutting expenditure items to make the budget go together.
Liz Truss' financial recipe has features of Ronald Reagan. Truss wants to reduce taxes by 40 billion pounds and does not worry that this will cause inflation to pull away. She also (like Reagan) wants to invest heavily in defence. Britain will spend 3 percent of its GDP on military spending and Truss does not think much about the deficits in British public finances. On the contrary, she believes that large tax cuts are necessary to kick-start growth, it is then the one that will improve the state's finances.
Rishi Sunak does not agree.
He has instead taken an economic position associated with Margaret Thatcher.
Sunak wants to prioritise the fight against inflation. That is what Thatcher tried to do when she came to power in Britain, he reminds members of the Conservative Party. Thatcher had seen how the Conservative government in the early 1970s tried to stimulate growth and how it drove up prices. Thatcher was not against big tax cuts (on the contrary!) - but first you have to overcome inflation.
It is not possible to make large reductions in the British corporation tax, Sunak therefore says. You risk overheating the economy! Liz Truss counters that it must be handled well by the British Riksbank. In that case, raise the interest rate! Sunak says it's not that simple. Large British interest rate hikes also risk hitting the housing market.
Rishi Sunak also accuses his opponent of being irresponsible with government finances. How can Truss be so sure that her tax cuts pay for themselves? "If the Conservative Party does not stand for budgetary discipline, then what do we stand for?" Sunak asked rhetorically on Sunday.
Now it is up to the members of the Conservative Party to choose the path: Fighting inflation with Rishi Sunak or tax-cutting growth policy with Liz Truss?
The election will have financial consequences.
Even for the outside world, the UK is the world's fifth largest economy.
The other big issue in the ongoing party leadership battle is racism. The UK has had two female prime ministers in the past. But an unanswered question is whether the British Conservative Party is also comfortable being led by a man of brown complexion. Rishi Sunak comes from the Indian minority in Britain. When he swears his oaths in Parliament, he does so on the Bhagavad Gita, not the Christian Bible.
Admittedly, the only British Prime Minister to have come from an ethnic minority was a Conservative Prime Minister. Benjamin Disraeli was a Jew and was in power in 1868 and 1874-1880. Even in modern times, the British Conservative Party has been better at highlighting politicians from ethnic minorities than the British left.
The ongoing conservative party leadership battle that has now boiled down to two candidates initially consisted, for example, of people with parents from Nigeria, Kenya, Mauritius, Pakistan, India and Iraq. It can be compared to the British Labour Party, where almost all the people who position themselves to one day take over the party leadership position are white men.
Although none of this means that there is no racism in the Conservative Party.
In 2015, for example, Rishi Sunak ran for parliament for the first time. It was in the Richmond constituency of North Yorkshire. He won, of course, this is not a constituency where the left has any real chance. But 15 percent of conservative voters suddenly chose to go to the xenophobic party UKIP.
Why?
It is unlikely that it had anything to do with Brexit. Rishi Sunak has always been a rock-hard Brexitist. Unfortunately, it is more likely that this sudden desire to leave the Conservatives for an xenophobic alternative had to do with Sunak's skin color.
The question is whether we will see similar effects during this summer's party leadership battle, or whether the election will be decided by the real question: the difference in economic policy between Sunak and Truss in a very difficult economic situation for the country."
Read more:
Erik de la Reguera: Ideological battle awaits in the final duel
Somehow the world, including the Black World, the African world, is usually more interested in US Presidential elections. Even in this forum the flicker of hope that was ignited by Kemi Badenoch’s prominence in the race has been more or less extinguished
Around 160,000 or so Conservatives, 97% of them white, half of them over 65 years of age are going to decide who becomes the next leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of Britain.
What Adam Raphael says in the latest edition of BBC Dateline London should put GG’s heart at ease :
“ The other odd thing about it is maybe it’s over before it’s begun; you’ve got Liz Truss who is so far ahead of Sunak, that unless some incredible stumble along the way - which is possible but is unlikely, she’s going to have a bigger majority than Boris Johnson had over Jeremy Hunt… Rishi Sunak in particular is on the defensive , he knows that he is far, far, behind...”
I had feared that GG was possibly hinting at Sunak’s race and colour being a distinct disadvantage, as something that could not possibly advance his dream or ambition to lead the Conservative party to election victory in 2025 as their leader and commander-in-chief, and in the intervening years to lead Britain to greater glory as Britain’s first Hindu Prime Minister to take the oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita instead of on the Church of England’s Holy Bible.Even considering what the symbolism of the Union Jack represents.
It may be payback time, but I’ve had serious reservations about that happening anytime soon not that the people of that great country ( Britain) have not much evolved from an earlier colonial era spirit unto a more global/ cosmopolitan mindset and outlook of the type that elected Barack Obama US President - but of course mindful that that would not have been likely to happen if Obama had not distanced himself from Rev. Jeremiah Wright who instead of blessing had once fatefully preached against America the Great, and secondly at that historic juncture, there was no way Barack Hussein Obama was going to be elected the next President of the United States if there was the slightest hint that he was going to take the holy Oath of Office on the Holy Quran instead of on Lincoln’s Bible…
Secondly, as students of colonial history, we all know that Britain is really not as “ insular” as some detractors would like to see her and that ought to include anyone who is conversant with Professor Porter’s British Imperial - What the Empire Wasn’t . Of acute relevance , the whole book, Chapter Six - “ The Empire at Home” — fast forward to e.g pages 130 -195 of that book, should do, beginning with
“ One other possibility , sometimes mooted, is that the British had to be instinctive imperialists because of their attitudes to “ race”. The idea here seems to be that because they regarded “non-white” peoples as inferior, they felt it have them a right to annex and rule them. There is indeed plenty of evidence of casual racism in British society throughout the imperial period ; and from about the middle of the nineteenth century of some proper “scientific” racist theories emerging. Those exhibitions of natives “natives” travelling the country undoubtedly encouraged the former, which was mirrored in children’s books, comics, cartoons, art, even music ( John Pridham’s Abyssinian Expedition, with its “Ethiopian Song” , the words of which are “ Yah ha yah ha yah ha”) , and a dozen other forms.”
I don’t have the stomach to post the latest blog piece feature in Porter’s Pensées..It is far too hostile and cruel to the wannabe leaders of the British Conservative Party
Still, all said and done, Rishi Sunak will readily agree that it should be easier for Sunak to become the UK’s next Prime Minister than for a Bible thumping ethnic Oyibo Brit born and bred in India to be elected India’s next President, any time soon…
"Still, all said and done, Rishi Sunak will readily agree that it should be easier for Sunak to become the UK’s next Prime Minister than for a Bible thumping ethnic Oyibo Brit born and bred in India to be elected India’s next President, any time soon"
Sadiq Khan, London's first Muslim Mayor was officially sworn in as Mayor in a multi-faith ceremony held in Southwark Cathedral in Central London.
Boris Johnson was appointed to the premiership by Queen Elizabeth II in a formal meeting at Buckingham Palace - he was not “sworn in “ by taking an oath of office on the Bible at Westminster Abbey ( which incidentally was being claimed as an ancient Hindu Temple /built on the site of an ancient Hindu Temple, and this was at the height of the Ayodhya palaver
Perhaps, we are too colour, too religion and sexual orientation conscious : Leo Varadkar of Indian heritage and openly gay , was Taoiseach ( Prime Minister ) and Minister for Defence of Ireland from 2017 to 2020.
Rishi Sunak’s trajectory is perhaps a little more spectacular. First you lead the rebellion against the Prime Minister who appointed you to the highest cabinet position. Then you want to take over his job , which he has described as “ the best jog in the world.” It’s a fast evolving drama, potentially of Shakespearean proportions, a n old Shakespeare type drama of five acts waiting to be played out. Whether it’s a comedy or tragedy remains to be seen. WE are now approaching Act 3. If it turns out to be a tragedy, what is Sunak’s “particular fault”? What’s Boris’s , if any? :
“So oft it chances in particular men
That for some vicious mole of nature in them,
As in their birth (wherein they are not guilty,
Since nature cannot choose his origin),
By the o’ergrowth of some complexion
(Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason),
Or by some habit that too much o’erleavens
The form of plausive manners—that these men,
Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect,
Being nature’s livery or fortune’s star,
His virtues else, be they as pure as grace,
As infinite as man may undergo,
Shall in the general censure take corruption
From that particular fault. The dram of evil
Doth all the noble substance of a doubt
To his own scandal.”
https://www.google.com/search?q=Hamlet+%3A+Act+1+Scene+4
Charlie Palmieri : A Giant Step ( for dancing )
Is it any wonder that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appealed to his people to “support anyone but Rishi Sunak” ?
We are to infer, that RS is the man who stabbed Boris in the back.
Treason.
History is busy recording the ongoing drama in which Rishi Sunak leads the rebellion ( the slew of resignations) to depose his boss Boris Johnson the UK Prime Minister who appointed him Chancellor of the Exchequer , and from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s point of view, as soon as he was thereby so ignominiously forced out of office, Rishi Sunak the ingrate ( himself guilty of some of the infractions with which the dear PM is being tarred and feathered: “Amid the Partygate scandal, he became the first Chancellor of the Exchequer in British history to have been sanctioned for breaking the law while in office after being issued a fixed penalty notice for breaching COVID-19 regulations during lockdowns”), “sharper than a serpent's tooth”, the ingrate wasted no time in declaring himself the Messiah / Saviour of the Conservative Party in general and the Messiah and Redeemer of the United Kingdom in all particulars, the Messiah who is going to liberate his country (the UK) and the Brits from the shackles of debt and inflation.
So, we may well ask, ``how did Sunak bag the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer in the first place?”. Well , “ He ( Boris) has also, remember, cleansed his party of the wisest of them – the ‘Remainers’; all except Truss” , according to Porter in “Boris’s Legacy (and the Morning Star - and, by the way, in the latest opinion polls Labour is leading the Conservatives by a whopping 14 points...
“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn't” - according to Mark Twain
When it comes to the autobiographical some of us are familiar with A mouth sweeter than salt, just as we know that for some people, “proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten”
Sometimes, fiction is sweeter than facts, at other times it’s vice-versa, i.e.uncontaminated & undecorated facts can be sweeter than fiction, myths. miracles and legends, as in the scriptures. Where do the facts begin and where does fiction end in this kind of tall claim :
“ Westminster Abbey was an ancient Hindu Temple /built on the site of an ancient Hindu Temple,”
Femi J. Kolapo |
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At this point in time, Kemi Badenoch who initially caused such excitement among the people of colour, the “I have a dream “ African diaspora hopefuls dreaming of the saucy Kemi as the ”First Black Female Prime Minister of the UK”, etc etc etc” and me dreaming that should that come to pass, Kemi would soon be inviting Bola Tinubu over to 10 Downing Street for tea. The excitement has long since subsided, she has unfortunately rapidly receded from the media’s radar and we hardly hear about her anymore. If she's lucky, with the next general elections due on Tuesday 28 January 2025, she might just bag a cabinet appointment in time to help the Tories win votes from those she most appeals to in the UK electorate.
As we must have all noted, in the final party hustings, first Sunak (of Hindu Indian ancestry) and then Truss (really British to the backbone) wasted no time in bashing Boris Johnson’s predecessor, namely, the current Lord Mayor of London Sadiq Khan ( ancestry, Muslim, Pakistan) for the crimewave that’s taken over the UK’s capital, “ the greatest city in the world”, chirped Truss, accusing him of being anti-business, anti-growth, anti-everything. As Sunak spat out his own lines, I couldn’t help thinking that at the back of his animosity and resentment there lingered the Hindu’s traditional political and religious hostility towards their Muslim rivals, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and that they should not import that kind of India vs Pakistan War nonsense over here, even as an inevitable feature of immigration, that you import old conflicts and tensions to the new safe haven/ greener pastures - because let’s face it, what future would Brittian hope for with the Conservative Party’s Rishi Sunak ( of the Hindu Faith, taking his oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita, as the UK’s Prime Minister and the archenemy, Labour Party’s Sadiq Khan of Islamic Pakistani Faith swearing on his Holy Quran as Lord Mayor of the UK’s capital? The superior Caribbean racist would describe the drama as the “Coolie” vs. the “Paki.” I have discussed the issue with a number of people: Would the British Hindu vote for the British Pakistani, just because they are from the same subcontinent? Ditto, how many I would vote for Y?
As Lincoln famously said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand” - But that's the whole point of British politics: The House ( of Commons) is always divided, at least between the reigning government and the usually vociferous - and ferocious opposition, and that’s why when seated and in full session, they are separated by two swords length… because they are always at each other's throats
Tomorrow, we're going to know whether it’s Liz Truss who has the Iron Lady as her role model or it’s Rishi Sunak the upstart wannabe who they say stabbed Boris in the back, that's going to be the next boss calling the shots at Number 10 Downing Street.
Whoever it is will have to address these issues that are portending what this article summaries as “The End”