Rats to the Trot-lot of You

My knowledge of the Roman Catholic Church is embarrassingly tiny.  Like most heathen Englishmen, I view its existence, and its mysterious practices, with a beady and suspicious eye.  I have an in-built antipathy to any movement that demands total loyalty to one individual based, apparently, on some sort of incandescent belief in a proposition that is, in the face of all common-sense, totally mad.  One thinks, not only of the Catholics and their pope, but of the old Bolsheviks and Lenin, the Germans and Hitler, the current SWP and Trotsky, the list of the brain-dead is, well, as old as mankind.

But as I say, my knowledge is limited, and so it has proven difficult fro me to come to even an ignorant opinion on the merit or otherwise of Cardinal Ratzinger as pope.  Fortunately, there are plenty more ignoramus's out there who are only too happy to provide an opinion - or, as my old mother used to say, open their mouths and let their bellies rumble.  Let us begin with the Virtual Stoat, a site run by the Oxford Emeritus Professor of Sneering and Disdain who comes up with this witty heading: "God's Rottweiler: It's Ratzinger!!"  Later he comes out with: "I can't get the Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club page to open right now", and then heads another post, yes, you guessed it: "King Rat".  They teach that sort of wit at high table, you know!

Then Chicken Yoghurt came up with this little pearl: ".. the papal conclave have condemned yet more people to misery and death", but from what deep recesses of his imagination that came from must, alas, remain between him and his confessor.  Probably it is an obscure reference to one of the cherished myths of the left-liberal episcopacy that were we to litter Africa ankle-deep in French letters, the equally mythical Aids figures would suddenly disappear.   (Yes, I know, it's hard to understand how some people believe this twaddle.)  I will not test the tedium stamina of my reader by quoting the various shrieks, yelps and squeals that emanated from the female section of the Guardian - which includes most of the men - but will simply report that extreme anguish and even self-flagellation were the order of the day when the news broke that cardinal Ratzinger was the new pope.

Well, as I started by saying, I am not an expert on Rome, but one can't help feeling that with enemies like that, he can't be all bad.  Like most popes before him, he won't understand a damn thing about economics, or geo-politics (except when the interests of the Vatican are concerned, when suddenly they become very worldly-wise in an instant.)  Hopefully, like his predecessor, he will continue to put 'people' first, not 'The People', please note, just 'people'.  Allowing them to be born in the first place, seems like a good start to me.

Comments

[Mr E]

Let them be born? More of them? These are the buggers who, given half a chance, take to blowing up our offices, hotels and shopping centres. We need to send them all the french letters we can muster. If they can't fathom what they are for, put bromide in their water.

[David Duff]

Thank you, 'Mr E', but who, or whom, do you mean exactly by "them"?

[Mr E]

I'd have thought it was rather obvious.

Have the PC Police got to you as well?

[David Duff]

Well, no, it's not obvious to me. Do you mean the Germans? Twice in the last hundred years they took to ".. blowing up our offices, hotels and shopping centres" but these days they seem pretty quiescent.

[Mr E]

I think you're being a bit disingenuous now David. I really thought a 'call a spade a spade' chap such as yourself would appreciate a 'naughty' joke.

I would explain it in full, but (having come over all paranoid) I'll refrain lest the PC Police (or, indeed, any of the people in question, they're not a nice bunch) find this post while conduting a Google search.

[David Duff]

Well, the Trot-lot are always telling me how thick I am, and who am I to argue with people who not only read the unreadable Leon, but claim to actually understand the mouth-foaming dribble he produced over the years.

So, I'm sorry but I'm still confused. The only other people to take "..to blowing up our offices, hotels and shopping centres" were the 'Oirish'. Do you mean them? Honestly, I've wracked my brains and my (admittedly dodgy) memory of 65 years and I can't think of anyone else whose blown up anything in this country.

Anyway, I thought I had made it clear from my post that I hope that the new pope will continue to do his very best to ensure that *all* potential for human creation is maximised not minimised.

As for your self-confessed paranoia, I can only suggest you keep taking the pills.

[Jez]

I'm as perplexed as you over this one, David. I thought liberals (such as myself) advocated condoms and birth control in disadvantaged places such as Africa and swathes of Asia and weren't thinking, as David rightly mentions above, about Belfast and Berlin.

I lived abroad for much of the past seven or eight years and so was somewhat disconnected from British current affairs, but I'm sure I would have heard of African terrorists blowing up our shopping centres, had there been any. Which there weren't.

[Mr E]

You're nearly there old boy! Now, what sort of 'Oirish' were the 'Oirish' in question, religion-wise?

But sorry, it's not actually a very funny joke. It's not even mine. In fact when I first heard it, it concerned one Guido Fawkes and his exploits.

[David Duff]

I was interested by Jez's comment which is proudly open in its support for birth control in various so-called third world countries. I confess that I have never understood the logic. These countries are more than capable of feeding themselves given certain legal, governmental and world trade conditions as the late, great Lord Bauer never stopped pointing out. If that chimera, 'world opinion', had concentrated on the sanctity of private property and the enforcement of contract law; good governance and the cessation of all government subsidies everywhere, food would be in even greater abundance than it already is, and more to the point, it would be where it was wanted.

[Larry]

"...birth control in various so-called third world countries. I confess that I have never understood the logic..."

Are you of the opinion that AIDS is a myth? Or that french-letters don't stop it spreading? Maybe some people in 3rd world countries would like to be able to have sex without the risk of either contracting HIV or having babies. What's wrong with that?

"...best to ensure that *all* potential for human creation is maximised."

Presumably then you're not concerned about the global population explosion either.

[David Duff]

Greetings to Larry who asks: "Are you of the opinion that AIDS is a myth? Or that french-letters don't stop it spreading?"

My reply is that AIDS does indeed exist, but the cause of the infectious spread of AIDS is due (with a tiny percentage of exceptions) to those indulging in anal sex, or those sharing and re-using medical equipment, mainly needles. Regular anal sex is a minority past-time but the use of condoms will help protect those who engage in it. Obviously, condoms will do nothing for those drug-users in western countries who regularly re-use needles, or those poor people in Africa whose impoverished medical clinics are forced to re-use equipment. Also, as Michael Fumento points out on www.fumento.com/disease/aids2005.html it is worth noting that "You don't even need to go to a clinic to be injected with HIV: Almost two-thirds of 360 homes visited in sub-Saharan Africa had medical injection equipment that was apparently shared by family members. This [...] can explain why both a husband and wife will be infected."

Fumento points out that in Zimbabwe in the 1990s, condom use increased enormously and sexually transmitted diseases dropped - but AIDS continued to grow at 12% p.a. which rather confounds your argument.

There is one other factor you should consider when looking at AIDS statistics from Africa. The ability of many African nations to compile any sort of viable statistics on AIDS (or anything else) is extremely limited by money and the difficulties of reaching the hinterland. However, their leaders can spot a gold-plated gravy train at ten paces, and they don't come more heavily laden than the western sponsored AIDS bandwagon. I ask you, are they going to say that most of the deaths in their country were due to tetse flies, or malaria, or dirty water, or TB, in which case they will be donated a pittance; or are they going to put it all down to AIDS and claim their place on the gravy train?

Finally, you ask if I am worried by "the global population explosion". You will not be surprised to find out that I am not. What does worry me is 'the global population implosion' which has already begun in western countries and which will spread to others during the coming century. Remember, you read it here first!