The Responsability of Speech

The Freedom to Speak

We live in a country where we have the freedom to simply open our mouths and say whatever we want. It may not have always been so, but this is a basic freedom that we enjoy in today's Spain. However! Take note, that the freedom to say whatever we want does come with a potential price.

In most modern countries laws exists that cover the consequences of what we may say. Laws on Libel and Slander;  incitement to break civil laws or cause a breach of the peace; laws against the obstruction of justice; and laws against conspiracy to commit unlawful acts.

When we publish our words we should bear in mind that if our words have gravity they will affect someone, or a whole group of people, either in a good or negative way. Once we have let our words out of our mouths, or to flow from our pen, they cannot be recalled. We can only apologise for them if on second thought they were inadvisable. Sometimes, we even have to pay a penalty for having issued them in the first place.

Recently, an unfortunate politician was shot to death in cold blood. A number of young people reacted by posting their glee that it had happened, and by suggesting other politicians who should be shot next. Apart from being hyper-insensitive to the victim and her family, it was a truly disgusting thing to do in the eyes of our society in general. If there were others who felt the same way they were wise enough to keep their mouths shut.

These young people are learning that there is a world of difference between the freedom to say something, and actually saying what is on your mind. This is a difficult lesson to learn. Many people have yet to learn their own lessons. There are not always penalties to be paid on the spot for bad judgement. For instance, we have seen speech in the public domain that was once controlled  by censorship now being punctuated by words that, in the past we were taken to court  and fined if we used them in polite society. These are words that add nothing but digust to polite conversation, so why do we do it?  It has become so that when we turn on entertainment that is free of such offensive words we breath a sigh of relief.

Maybe what we are seeing is the pendulum that was stuck firmly on the side of conservatism now on the side of libralism, and that when we are thoroughly sick from what we are now getting, the pendulum will swing towards the middle. Meanwhille, it is possible to go too far in the exercise of our freedom to speak. We do need to think before we act. There is a popular car bumper sticker that reads: "Engage brain, open mouth!"

That says it all. Whether we be young people or politicians, take note!

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael

Describe Life!

How will I recognize you in your future life?

The assumption is that you and I were here before, and that upon our "deaths" we will go forward to assume our new lives. So, firstly, we need a definition for life.

Perhaps, many people might choose to say that life is the ability to animate ourselves. During sleep we dream, and throughout our waking hours we loosely follow some sort of routine. That's a given!  However, it is my beleif that nature recycles our valuable bits. Once we throw off the vehicle in which we move around in, our talents, our accumulated knowledge, our spirits and our souls get passed on to other bodies. I think that Nature is far too thrifty and prudent to simply throw away perfectly good bits, and to start from scratch everytime a baby is born.

We can see examples of this, especially when we examine the performing arts society. The most stunning example for me is that of  Amira Willighagen, a nine year old Dutch girl, (find her on YouTube) who is just an ordinary youngster, execpt when she sings. When Amira sings she changes into Maria Callas. She was given the great gift of song that was so well used to thrill audiences for many years. What a waste that would have been had that talent died with Ms. Callas.

My own grandson, Ramon, is a world class singer. He was given that gift by his grandmother who had been a wonderful singer, but who, unfortunately died prematurely at the age of forty-two. I am able to recognize her in her continuing life in my grandson.

As fellow spirits who have passed through the death archway, it is highly unlikely that we will be able to visually recognize anyone whom we knew in this life because, of course we leave behind our costumes. The question is: how then will I know you?

From every day life, all of us have defining characters that say who and what we are, and that includes the good and the very, very bad among us.  At the very core of a person is that person's real bedrock life stem, around which everything else rotates. If you are my friend and I know you well, to the extent that I know you to be fundamentally a good and loving person with a kind and generous nature, I could identify your spirit in the afterlife by those attributes. If the absolute opposite is the case, well then, you would not be a friend of mine, but I might be able to identify you from your press.

However, I doubt that all your salvageable parts would go to one person. It's more probable that your bits will be farmed out to different destinations, with perhaps your soul or your spirit serving as a guardian angel to someone. I personally have two guardian/guiding angels that are with me 24/7. On my right shoulder sits a female who gives me wonderful advice. She clearly has my very best interests in mind. I think I know who she is. On my left shoulder sits a male. I have no idea who he is, however, he has a tremendous sense of humour, and although I could not say that he deliberately tries to make trouble for me, nontheless I do get into trouble by listening to him.

For instance, when I was a teenager, one of the girls from the neighbourhood asked me directly: "Do you like me?" My right shoulder angel said, now be honest when you answer the question. My left shoulder said, "Well, that would be fine if your answer is yes, but if you don't like this girl you have to be diplomatic about it. You just can't say No! I do not. That would not be gentlemenly of you." Needless to say this did not work out well for me at all.

Wouldn't it be great if there is life after death, as it seems to be, and that it were eternal and variable? That would be the best kind of eternal life there could be.


Copyright (c) 2014   Eugene Carmichael   

The Murder Trial of Oscar Pistorious

WHAT HAVE I DONE ???????????????

As most people will know, the trial has been suspended while Oscar undergoes psychiatric observation. I personally approve of this step because frankly, what I have heard thus far in the trial "don't make no sense to me."

The narrative would make perfect sense in my mind if it went something like this: It was Valentine's night when a discussion began between the two of them, and it escalated into a highly emotional state. That discussion probably concerned another man because, according to my hypothesis, he became very emotional. Reeva then did what most women would do. She headed for the bathroom and locked the door. He would have then did what most men would do, he followed and banged on the door, demanding that she open the door and come out.

Reeva would have none of that, so he huffed and puffed but the door would not open, so he went and got his gun. She said, you wouldn't shoot into the toilet, and he thought, or even said, Oh, I wouldn't? Bang! bang! bang! and bang! That was followed by the question that suggests a return to common sense:"What the fuck have I done?"

So often we see persons accused of some horrible action who show no signs of regret and contrition. In Oscar's case we have seen the opposite. The man has been so disturbed as to vomit.

What have I done to Reeva, her family, my family, to the whole of South Africa who were so proud of my sporting accomplishments, and to myself? I imagine that the weight of this question is so heavy we are moved to ask, what was he thinking, and could he have taken the action that he did?

What makes Oscar tick? This is not your average normal guy. He has achieved things few others has done. Perhaps he simply does not think as normal people do. I am in Spain writing about something that happened in South Africa, so perhaps there is a disconnect, but his only defense is that he intended to kill whomever was in the toilet, even if that person was having a shit. He simply says that he didn't think it was Reeva.

Is a psychiatric evaluation in order? You bet your bottom dollar it is!

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael

P.S. There is still no sign of missing flight MH370, and it is day 72. The black boxes may be found but the plane will not be with them. Look for the plane and the passengers in north west Austrialia.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

In my tribe there are men and women who prove that they are more than capable of making significant advances upon our society, or not!

It is natural to be proud of individuals from our own tribe when they achieve success. Neil de Grasse Tyson is such a person who generates pride. He was born on October 5th, a date that he shares with my son, Nathaniel, although the year is different. Tyson was born in 1958 to his mother Sunchita, a gerontologist of Puerto Rican background; and his father, Cyril, was a sociologist. He was born in Manhattan, but he grew up in The Bronx. He is no relation to Mike Tyson.

Were it not for the guidance and example of his parents, and  his own very strong curiosity and determination to go his own way, he might have become yet another lost soul from a very tough neighbourhood. However, at the age of nine he paid a visit to Pennsylvania where he could clearly see the sky and the stars, and from that moment astronomy called him to the study of The Universe.

He pursued astronomy with a passion, so much so that  his work and his successes came to be recognised by the noted, late, Dr. Carl Sagan, who saw in Tyson, pure genius. Dr. Sagan invited Tyson to join an undergraduate program at Cornell University, and generally took a young Tyson under his wing.

There is so much about Neil deGrasse Tyson to instill enormous pride in me for him. His list of achievements and appearances and Masters, and doctorates and honors is so long that one would have to stop to take breaths several times. Resulting from very hard, but evidently enjoyable work he attained a Doctorate of Philosophy in Astrophysicis. However, he went on to gain at least seventeen other Honory Doctorates, and at least seven Honors, including: Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive.

His career has taken him into cosomology, stellar evolution, galactic atronomy, bulges, and stellar formations. However, as Director of The Hayden Planetarium, Tyson challenged the traditional thinking of simply counting the planet Pluto as number nine of the planets. His approach is to group like objects together. The giant gas planets would all be grouped, as would Pluto be grouped  within like planets. This has led to him receiving a great deal of hate mail, a lot of it coming from children.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an Astrophysicist, an author, a science communicator, and a repeat television, radio, and print media personality. Currently he is host of National Geographic's "Cosmos" series.

For me to have men of Mr Tyson's talent and dignity to look up to is extremely important because I can bring him to my son's attention, and together we can say: "Yes, we Can!"

Copyright (c) 2014 Eugene Carmichael

Some Vacations should never End!

Bermuda. Not a lot of real estate, but it's heaven, nontheless.

I offer this bit of advice to all who will listen: Never let a lot of time pass without having face to face experience between yourself and your family and friends. They are simply too important in our lives, and in fact, they make us who and what we are.

I have just returned from a trip that was a series of family and friends reunions strung together.  I am overwhelmed by this feeling of fullness and richness and wellness. Having heard from family and friends, they feel the same sensations, so obviously having made the time and effort to get together it worked to everyone's benefit.

The mistake that we, as individuals make is that we think we are not critically important to others. We are naturally modest and that leads us to think in such terms, however, as part of a family we all play our part to make up the whole.

For instance, during this visit I finally got to meet my Great Granddaughter. I am the only Great granddad that she has, and she is my first, and my one and only great anything, so was that meeting important? It certainly was to me and by her reaction I think it was for her as well. She is nine years old! It has taken nine years for us to meet in person. That's not right! I should have made more of an effort to have brought us together sooner.

The man who is my friend since we were infants turned up in Bermuda after an absence of more than thirty years. It was not coincidence that led me to him as he lay in the hospital. We had fabulous face to face time which we may not have the opportunity to repeat. How special is that?

Another friend has had a run of very bad luck. Being able to sit together and talk things through is what being a friend is for. We were able to do that, which may have helped him to face his challenges. I certainly do hope so.

The other reason we should make a point of a yearly get together is that things change. People change. After a long period of time has passed I have to be very careful how I approach people. I just can't ask a woman how's your husband? Oh, he died! Or to ask a man, how's your wife? Don't talk to me about her. We're getting a divorce! How do I recover from such situations? It's not possible to do so.

Family and friends. If only we had more of both, but the ones we do have we should treasure more than anything material, because that is their worth, even if we don't always realize it. Call me sentimental, please!

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael   

Extraordinary Lives - Stories of Black Heroes and Heroines

Neil de Grasse Tyson

I was born into a sick western society that was Bermuda, that followed the lead of that part of American society that felt that black people were only fit to serve as slaves. We were told over and over again, as though it was a part of our education, that we were nothing; that we could not do anything; and that we could never ever amount to anything great. The odd thing was that most of us learned that lesson well. However, Elanor Roosevelt, the wife of the American president cautioned that in order to truly accept that a person was worthless would take the complete cooperation of that person to believe such nonsense.

That sentence belongs in the grouping as other one-line statements that changed the world. I heard it on the radio just one time, but it was like a kick to my backside or a real hard slap to my head. It stayed with me and it ate away at my self doubt until I came to the realisation how true it was. I got angry, and the anger grew into a statement of my own:

"I accept that I can never amount to anything with you standing in my way. I need you to lead, follow, or get the hell out of my way!"  I live by that mantra.

Human beings are tribal creatures. We are defined by the country of our birth, and our ethnic grouping. From within our group we can take pride in the personal accomplishments of people from our country, and in particular, when the person is from our group the thing that is being publicised might either be a matter for great pride, or embarrassment.

I am from the ethnic group of black people from around the world. My roots are in Africa, and my sub-roots are in Bermuda. I have many people who I hold in great esteem for their contributions to society who are white. However, there are some black people who have made fabulous contributions, especially in the performing arts. Those we all applaud and recognize, but others have long been making incredible, but quiet contributions that we take for granted.

I will focus on these people from time to time because they deserve our attention and respect, and because I want to reassure myself that I am not ignoring their accomplishments. I also suspect that in doing so I will succeed in making myself realize that I am somebody who is capable of achieveing greatness.

"Lead, follow, or get the hell out of my way!"

What an inspiring mantra.

I am going to highlight the life of Neil de Grasse Tyson, Astrophysicist, author, science communicator, and television personality. This man has one of the longest Wikipedia biographies I have ever read, so I shall not tag that onto the above-mentioned, but rather it will be his life and accomplishments that I will lead with in the first of this series.

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael

MH370 - Waiting for the other shoe to Drop!

What happened to this Plane?
My Theory


For one month I have been holding my breath hoping against hope that my first reaction was wrong. The more time that passes the more I am convinced that my first reaction is right, but that is not a good thing. Firstly, I hope and I expect that none of the family members will read this.

As information was given that the plane was turned away from its flight path, and both the transponder and the ACARS systems were turned off, my heart sank and I said a quiet "Oh Shit!" I felt that we are seeing the execution of a finely crafted and supported plan that has been years in the making, and it has the stamp of Al Quieda all over it. They have been promising that something big would follow 9/11, and even the modus operandi closely follows what happened on that day.

They used airplanes to get the attention of the world. Check! They flew one plane into one of the towers and when they had the attention of the news media and everybody on the ground they flew the other into the second tower. This situation has been a slow buildup of mystery that has got everybody in the world wondering how do you make one of the biggest airplanes in the world disappear?

There are 27 countries involved in trying to find some clue as to what happened to that plane. The world is waiting for the other shoe to drop. Even if it's that the wreckage has been found, or more likely the ransom demands will be received.

Why would Al Quieda steal an airplane with humans? Most probably to make some form of political point, but we can be assured that we will find out what that point is in the fullness of time. With 9/11 there was no point or ransom or reason given. That was just a very dramatic event.

Everything we know so far points to deliberate human intervention with a purpose. The plane was turned away from its flight path and the indentifying systems turned off. When the plane reached a new north/south flight corridor it dropped below radar so that even the unidentified pings were lost. However, science tells us that they headed south into the Indian Ocean where they could have flown halfway down the west coast of Australia. Conjecture has it that the plane flew as far as it had fuel, then simply fell into the ocean. We would have to accept that nonsenical ending in the face of all that happened before that had some clear intent.

If indeed this is Al Quieda, they would have the supporters and the determination, and the ego to pull off an event to eclipse their own "9/11 masterpiece." With that in mind, I believe flight MH370 is most likely parked under cover somewhere in North Western Australia with all passengers and crew on board being the guests of the abductors, awaiting the right moment; and what a moment that will be when the announcement is made. We will remember it until we have no more memory. The world will stop and stand quite still. I wouldn't even like to speculate what demands might be made. Perhaps, like 9/11 there will not be any demands. This might just be theatre, but the other shoe will fall, I truly do believe it will.

Is this how sick the world in which we live has now become? On the one side modern technology is making longevity more possible and more enjoyable, and on the other there are anti-humans who are determined to flush us all down the toilet.

The truly disturbing thing is that no-one, including the perpetrators have a clear idea as to why?

I hope, and I suspect that the Australians are doing an urgent sweep of the north-west territories. They aren't saying they are, which make me believe that they are taking the possibility very seriously indeed.

April 8th will mark one full month's anniversary!

Copyright (c) 2014   Eugene Carmichael

Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370

The Greatest Mystery

Firstly, I must say that I am from Bermuda where we live with the infamous Bermuda Triangle, which is part myth and part non-mystery, in that small boats often go mising and unseaworthy cargo ships have sunk in horrendous seas.  However, no regularly scheduled airline has ever been lost, nor have any cruise ships gone missing. Had flight MH370  gone missing anywhere near Bermuda it woud have taken on an unnecessary element of mystery. The only thing we have to be thankul for is that it could not have happened farther away.

As it is, it is tragic enough by the sheer fact that it seems to have just dropped off the face of the earth. That has been made worse by an ever increasing volume of theories as to just what happened. Science has given us a fair idea of where the plane went, so let's review that information. It left the departing airport and headed in the direction of Bejing, but as it headed offshore it left its flight path by making a left turn inland. Had it developed some kind of  on-board technical problem it would turn off the flight path and out of that corridor to head inland, but the cockpit would have advised the tower as to what it was doing. Instead, it appears that a perfectly normal conversation was held just before the turn.

As the turn took place the cockpit did a strange thing: they turned off the transponder and the CARS system which appears as a deliberate act to eliminate their identity. Had control of the cockpit been taken over by some third party that would appear to be an action that indicated a hijacking in progress. From that point flight MH370 was identified by the continuing radar blip without identifying symbols. The flight was followed across the land mass until it came to the junction of the north-south corridor at which time it dropped below radar.

It was a missed opportunity not to have scrambled airforce jets to follow the plane while it was enroute across the land mass, because once it dropped below radar it effectively fell off the face of the earth in so far as technology is concerned, with the exception that Boeing in Washington could tell that the engines were still working for another six hours or so.

Why were the two substantive and deliberate actions taken to render the plane invisible? Since it did not report mechanical problems, nor did it land for repairs we can totally rule that out. It seems that the plane and passengers were stolen with presumably the intent of ransom.

Science has told us that the flight turned south into the corridor, so if it did do that there would have been the likehood of landing in the northwest quadrant of Australia where there is a lot of territory into which it might possibly disappear, and where it would remain, if this was some very carefully crafted and supported plot, or it simply continued to fly over the Indian Ocean until it ran out of fuel, at which time it simply would have fallen into the sea.

Had it landed on Australian soil there would probably have been a purpose to that, but to simply fly it until it ran out of fuel makes no kind of sense at all.

Could a plane of that size really land in Australia without the Australians knowing? A good question for the experts, but I imagine that a search of the northwest must be taking place, although I haven't heard that is so.

The mystery continues as I write. The families reflect the growing stress on all people worldwide who might become air travellers. The Big Question is why is it taking so long to find some kind of definitive answer?  I am sure that those who are directly involved in the search are feeling the pressure more than anyone else to find something.

This is a mystery that will take as long as it takes to produce answers, if answers are ever produced. With 27 countries involved in the search it is very clear that no expense is being spared. We, meaning the whole world have to know what happened, even if we never get to know the why.

PATIENCE!

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael 

Las Fallas - The Unsung Heroes!

The Cleaners

Fallas has come and gone for another year. Valencia has celebrated its greatest festival of the year in very cooperative weather and by all reports it was another great success. The time between last year and this has passed so quickly that it seemed to me that the ashes from the 2013 event had hardly time to cool before it was time to do it all over again.

It's a little strange to actually live here where fallas attracts more than 2 million people to the city from all over the world. My wife and I are becoming to be like lots of Valencians: when its Fallas we often leave the area or simply ignore the whole thing. At least we will not participate in subsequent years unless we have visitors. It tends to become too much of a good thing.

The continuing economic crisis in Spain is putting tremendous strain on festivals of this sort, but Fallas has a continuous record of celebrating the end of winter. The city becomes an incredibily noisy place from the first day of March until the 19th, which also happens to be Father's Day. Fathers around the world usually celebrate the day in a dignified manner, but not in Valencia. That is the last day of fallas when we set fire to the monuments, most of which cost the equivalent of building an average size house. We blow them up and burn them down to get rid of them, which is kind of a shame, but what else should we do with them? Our excuse for making so much noise is to chase away the old man of winter. By March 31st it usually does work, so we keep doing it.

There are many players who are crucial to Las Fallas being what it is. Most central are the artisans who design and build the monuments. For them this is a full time career, and as soon as this year's fallas have concluded they begin work on next year's. There are the Falleras, the ladies who dress in those terribly expensive dresses and their men, and the clubs who support them; and the bands who provide the marching music, the police and especially the firemen, and everybody else who make a contribution. We get to see them and to interact with them, but I want to focus on a group of hard working people who are all but invisible, but without them the difference would be intolerable.

During fallas some 650 monuments are erected and then burnt, at which time the spectators walk away without so much as a backwards glance. If they did look back they would see the advance of the cleaning brigades who move onto the smoking mass and within minutes the entire mess is cleared away so that others passing by have no evidence that anything at all had happened. At the height of the burnings the overhead view of Valencia City is that of a great disaster in progress. By the time the sun rises over the city all is clean and quiet once again. To watch the cleaning process in action is a wonderful spectacle, equal in my opinion to all the other action but I couldn't even find one mention of the wonderful work that is done by these very dedicated people.

It's a shame that mayor Rita Barberá doesn't read my blog because if she did I could appeal directly to her to correct this oversight by shedding some well deserved light on the subject. Of course, for this to happen I would have to write in Valenciano Spanish, which is the language of choice for the Mayor.

Perhaps that might happen one day.

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael 

Why do dogs chase and kill cats if not to eat them?

They say he's man's best friend!

My wife asked the question that forms the title of this column. We wondered whether such behaviour places the dog in a special group with killer instincts, along with humans. The answer is yes, it does. It is true that other animals kill one another for reasons other than food, such as the right to mate, and the right to territory, but dogs kill for no apparent reason. We can only say that they are obeying their instincts.

The fact is that man's best friend is one of the most complex animals in the whole of the animal kingdom. More than most other animals dogs are the most successful in being brought into our homes and our hearts, but yet, they can just as easily turn and create some of the most horrific problems. A perfect example is the dog who was such a wonderful pet to his family, only to eat the new born baby who had been brought home.

Dogs are killers! In their natural state they are simply killing machines; they kill one another, other animals, sometimes for food, and they kill people. Yet it is we people who seem to think they are cute and charming. The dog is such a con-man he has it figured that if he gives a little love and affection to us we will give him a home with food, and that beats having to forage and kill everyday, just to survive.

One reason we think they are cute is that we can train them to an extent to do as we wish. They are smart enough to go along with the program and are capable of making themselves really useful, such as in search and rescue by using their superior sense of smell and hearing. Those dogs that act in place of a human's eyes sit at the very top of the totem pole as a valuable friend, in my estimation.

There is much to be learned by humans from our four-legged friend, the dog, but at the end of the day a dog is a dog. They are not children, nor are they toys, but they can be fountains of love and companionship, such as the handbag dogs. However, they don't have the human sense of morality and when they kill it happens because we, as being the person responsible for them, allow it to happen.

Dogs are also disgusting. I like to tell my friends that Max, my dog likes to eat cat food. When my cat vomits her food Max will lap it up, preferably while it's warm. He would really like to eat the food while it's inside of the cat, but I just won't allow it! Charming?

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael

The very sad trial of Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius

Under the circumstances I find it very difficult to adequately caption these photos.

On March 2nd, 2014 the long awaited trial of Oscar Pistorius got underway , wherein he is charged with unlawfully causing the death of Reeva Steenkamp, his then lover. Oscar admits to having shot her to death, but that it was an accident. The prosecution hold that it was no accident.

The event took place on February 14th, 2013, St. Valentine's Day, when most lovers show one another the depth of their love.

Many questions are outstanding about that fateful night, and it seems that everyone is somewhat impacted by the event, probably because Oscar was the darling and hero of the world by having overcome overwhelming odds to rise to the level of top notch athlete. He is The Blade Runner, a disabled man who competes against the fully able. From my own point of view I hold Oscar with the same degree of awe as I do Usain Bolt, and that is really saying something.

The trial is being broadcast around the world where it is considered South Africa's Trial of the Century. I find myself making comparisons with the O.J. Simpson trial in the United States, but there are differences. To begin with Oscar's trial is really a very sad spectacle of a young man who achieved much beyond all expectations, only to find himself, because of his own actions, in this very damming set of circumstances where there can be no winners. Reeva is dead and his future hangs in the balance.

A picture is beginning to emerge of a young egotistical, out of control man who had a love affair with guns, and a very hothead to go along with that. Too much fame, fortune, good looks, women at his feet, men who held him on a pedestal is a very potent poison that can get to anyone so afflicted. These things are not good and often bring celebrities to their knees. It is not a pretty sight.

I will reserve my personal opinion of whether I think he should be found guilty as charged or not; however, according to him he thought the person in the toilet was an intruder, who could have simply been taking a piss, however, with malice aforethought he fired four shots into the toilet intending to kill whoever was in there. He just didn't think it was Reeva. "I thought it was one of your people, My Lady,"  is what he will have to say to the lady black judge.

And this Oscar goes to .......prison for a very long time!

Copyright (c) 2014   Eugene Carmichael 

Me, and Katherine P.

Katherine P. A Formidable Force

I met Katherine P many years ago when I was manager of a cocktail lounge, which was part of a hotel. She arrived in my lounge on a Sunday evening before dinner. I welcomed her, introduced myself, made her feel comfortable and suggested that after dinner she might perhaps like to join us for our live entertainment, which she did.

During the course of the evening we kept up a running conversation, and towards the end of the evening she asked me if I might be available to take a drink with her in an after-hours place. I was only too happy to do so, and so we drove into the city and I parked across from a nightclub in their parking lot. As we were leaving the parking lot our way was barred by three men, one of whom walked up to me and pushed me in the chest, demanding to know where did I think I was going with a white woman?

Several things came into play at that instant: I was clearly under threat of grievous bodily harm from these three thugs, so I had to consider to stay and fight, or take flight. I had a lady to protect. For all I knew they were going to abduct and rape Katherine, and I couldn't have that. Thirdly, I was challenged in front of a lady, so my pride was hurt and that made me very, very angry. Perhaps worst of all they had pushed my ego button, so no way was I not going to meet this challenge head-on.

In the split second that all those thoughts ran through my mind Katherine turned to me and said, excuse me. She then stepped forward to loudmouth and showed him something, and said, "I'm a Secret Service agent for the United States government. I help to protect the President of The United States of America and the first Family. Because you idiots have allowed me to get this close to you, if I choose, I could kill each one of you right now with my bare hands, and there would be nothing you could do to stop it!"

It's interesting to watch what happens when a person processes really bad and dangerous information. The colour drains from their face and they go ashen; the mouth drops open and the eyes bulge; and the arms hang loosely.

She continued:" you are interrupting a perfectly lovely evening and you need to get out of our faces. WHY are you still here?"  The three men launched themselves away from us as though they were shot out of a cannon.

Katherine then turned to me and apologised for not giving me a chance to deal with the situation, but she thought her way would be the fastest and least complicated. She hoped I would forgive her. I looked her straight in the eys and said, "Katherine, I think I love you!"

It turned out that I was just what was missing from her life--a man to love unreservedly, who didn't interefere in her career. For four wonderful years she came to visit me as often as she could, never the other way, until the romantic relationship had run its course. However, before things really got under way I became aware that someone was looking into my background and who I was.

Katherine and I never discussed anything to do with her "Ops" in spite of my incredible curiousity, but none-the- less Katherine P takes the prize for The Most Outstanding Person I have ever met. What a woman!

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael

FGM /MGM

An image of a happy family.

FGM

Female Genital Mutilation is generally practised in some 27 sub-Saharian countries, Asia, and some parts of the Middle East. Typically it is carried out on girls before their fifth birthday, and involves the cutting away of all or part of the clitoris and clitoris hood, that part of the vagina when gently massaged can bring intense pleasure to the woman, resulting in orgasm. In more extreme cases of the practise the inner and outer parts of the labias are removed.

The procedure is most likely done without anaesthesia, with only a verbal caution to the girl to be brave and not to cry out. An unclean knife or razor blade is the intstrument and the circumsizor will themselves be unclean.

Wikipedia reports that more than 125 million girls have been put through this experience by their mothers who regard it as a matter of honour, as it establishes the mother's authority to bring up her daughter as she should. There is no medical reason or benefit to be gained, therefore it simply comes down to tradition, and the fact that the mother never enjoyed sexual intercourse, so her daughters likewise will never know the joy.

Clearly, this is the activity of ignorant people engaging in barbaric practise, and only education will eradicate it.

I tried to imagine the experience from the girl's point of view and I have to tell you that it absolutely turns my stomach. You are surrounded by everyone from the village and there you are, strecthed wide open to the world with some unclean old hag or man approaching you with a dirty razor to cut away what we instinctively think of as our private parts. The person holding you down will be your mother, the one you rely on to protect you. She is the ring leader saying yes, I want you to have this done! The background to all this is down by the river in the back of beyond.

But!

As people have immigrated from the original countries to places like Europe, including England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and also to the United States, they have retained many of their cultural beliefs, including FGM. Why would they do this? Perhaps because in such countries they find that MGM, or Male Genital Mutilation takes place, mostly in hospitals.

MGM

Circumcision, or Male Genital Mutilation is a shared religious belief between Muslims and Jews, but is rarely practised in Europe, Latin America, parts of Southern Africa and Asia. It generally has no medical benefit eexcept in extenuating circumstances, and the routine procedure to blindly follow tradition, especially if it is not religious, is to place one's neonatal child in excruiating pain needlessly, and perhaps significant risk. Perhaps the father had been circumsed as a baby so he thinks I'll have my boy likewise done. This is something that is better considered in the light of rational thought, and most of all, without haste.


The male evoled to be born with a foreskin. The foreskin is there for the purpose of enclosing the head of the penis and to keep it protected against dust and dirt. Humans developed clothes that now provide that protection, so the foreskin might be considered surplus to requirements, but as long as the man keeps his penis clean, having a foreskin is no liability. The main consideration is that if the baby grows into a man and decides for himself that he wants the foreskin removed, he can check himself into hospital and take the snip under proper surgical conditions.

The world is a constantly evolving place and there are a lot of outdated old fashioned ideas still in practise today, such as what we have been discussing, along with not allowing women to venture outdoors without a male relative, or to deny them the ability to drive a car. Education is the absolute key to changing such views and time to absorb the joys of learning.

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael 

Extreme Weather-The new normal!

Fearsome weather in motion.

It started with the most powerful storm in living memory that hit The Phillippines. We just felt it in our bones that no matter where in the world we lived, that Typhoon (Haiynan) affected us all. It was a sign that awful change was taking place that would eventually encompass the entire world.

For the past two months the people of North America and Canada, Portugal, Spain, Western France, Holland, Ireland, England, Wales, and Scotland have been living the nightmare that was beyond our imaginations-conveyor belt massive storms without seeming end. This past week, courtesy of Sky News, we have been locked to our television as they have concentrated on the storms and the effects on the South-West of England. That's my wife's country where we visited last summer. Then, the weather was mostly lovely, and that allowed us to visit Poole, Lyme Regis, Bridgewater, Somerset, and Cornwall. All are now under water with so many places described as such and such on Water, now being under Water.

I grew up on an island that was subject to occasional hurricanes with the attendant stress and loss of property, but usually due to only one passing storm at a time, or a season. Over the many years stress levels are automatically raised upon hearing that a weather depression has formed off the coast of Africa. At that point you start to think, "Oh boy, here we go again!" Now take that attitude and overlay it with the type of experience the people in the countries I have noted above have undergone, and are probably still having to endure and it becomes readily apparent that the worst damage of all is likely to be pyschological. Imagine yourself trying to contain or clean up the damage from storm number one only to realise that another is one the way, and after that there is an endless line of storms coming. How do you not lose your mind?  That is the question?

I am a little embarrassed to say that I live on the eastern coast of Spain, where at times, we have had very sunny and reasonable days while others have suffered so much. However, we can only say that this time we have been lucky, but we know our time is coming.

When we reflect on the history of the changing nature of the world, where in the beginning earth plates were joined up that are now split apart, and where there are now deserts there was once seas, we have to realise that no where is it written that that process of apocalyptic change is over permanently. The problem now is that there are seven billion people everywhere on the planet and when such changes take place they usually result in loss of lives and property. However, Mother Nature does not use the same accounting system that we humans use. She can only sustain just so much in human development. The rest She will destroy as fast as we can build it.

I agree, this is no way to end a column! Sorry about that!

Copyright (c) 2014   Eugene  Carmichael 

The Evolution of Women

Possibly the most beautiful woman-ever!

These days, my favourite pastime is to sit in the sun at a sidewalk cafe over a cup of coffee, thinking about nothing in particular, and watch the world go by. A short while ago a young woman came into focus, and lingered while she talked to a friend, as well as talking on her smartphone. She shifted around some, thereby giving me a 360 degree view of her. She was perfect! However, there are many women who are beautiful, but it got me thinking of how a man's perspective of women has so evolved from the days when I was a child.

I come from a society where women, all women were revered and respected, at least on my small island. Starting with my mother, the god-like figure in our household, to my sisters and my aunts and cousins. As a mere male I felt my place among the females. All we males automatically placed them on a pedastel. I'm not sure why we did that. We were probably manipulated in doing so, but no female ever insisted that we place them there.

I once stepped out of line. Our household routine was that we children who were old enough would have to wash the dishes, but when it came to my turn I balked. Washing dishes is woman's work, I ventured. My father was reading the newspaper at the time. He closed the paper in a very loud crumpling sound and I immediately went down on both knees, closing my eyes and making myself as small as possible. Incoming!!!

Needless to say, I never did that again. Even today my wife can say that she has an automatic dishwasher. That's me, you'all.

There was only one man in our neighbourhood back then, that we ever heard of who mistreated his wife. He was a drunkard, but one day he arrived home and gave his wife a wad of money, saying, perhaps you would like to buy yourself something nice. She said that she was so surprised she closed her eyes to thank the Lord. When she opened her eyes both he and the money were gone. Oh well!

That was then, this is now.

Now, we can expect a really nicely turned out woman to use foul language. Women who are confident and successful can enjoy sexual lives on their own terms, with a male partner, or someone from their own gender. A man on the prowl has to expect that the lone woman at the bar might be looking for the same thing he is.

Playboy and Penthouse, and their competition did us all a disfavour, although from their viewpoint they would argue the opposite. However, while those magazines promote beauty in a woman, the women shown to us might best be appreciated from afar, because up close and personal we may find that beauty is indeed, only skin deep. These are simply people, with possibly all manner of  what the stranger might consider as faults. Some of those faults should be avoided at all costs, so the watchword is, "Approach with caution.!"

I make no secret of the fact that the one woman most admired by me is Halle Berry. I sit through most of her films, and I enjoy her photos, and I wish her well in her life. However, I never ever want to meet her in person because I am fairly certain that my lofty opinion of her would be smashed.

Has the evolution of women been all positive? Probably not, but where it has meant their freedom and removal from the ridiculous  pedestal, where they didn't belong in the first place, that is good. Now they are free to simply be themselves, and that will mean the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the very ugly in character.

If we all are not free, then none of us are free! (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Copyright (c) 2014   Eugene Carmichael 

Living with Evolution

Evolution: The most complex subject !

By simply opening this topic I know I have entered into a very controversial matter, with supporters of equal passion for, and against the philosphy. I have looked down into the well of data and what I see is truly mind blowing, so I will not go there. I do not intend to get into any of the details of why I believe in evolution. In fact, I hope to reduce the mass of computations into a single word: change! Evolution is change, and change that is happening right in front of our eyes.

I was born in 1939, and for the first ten years of my life there did not appear to be any change. But change happens constantly, whether we can see or feel it. Just as the globe is constantly revolving, so is change happening. Example: for the person who suffers a coma for 50 years, the whole world will change around them, to the extent that before entering into the coma, the world that they knew would simply not exist when the awakening took place.

Charles Darwin's evolution challenges the Bible's version of the beginning of mankind. Adam and Eve versus today's mankind's beginning from the humble ape through to the brilliant things we are.

The reason I have chosen this subject at this time is because I found myself musing about the radical changes that have taken place in every aspect of our lives. There are lifestyle, morality, diet, physical makeup changes, especially as concerns the Southern Europeans and the Chinese, who have moved from being of short and squat stature to some being quite tall, such as the Spanish prince, and the Chinese government leader. There are also striking changes in industry; amazing changes in health care, to the extent that due to stem cell reasearch we are now being given the choice of living forever, or at least not having to die from simple old age.

Then, there is technology, and how that impacts on our ability to communicate with one another. From the beginning of the first computer and IBM the world took a quatum leap forward. There can be no turning back. To a child in his crib, he has entered a world that is manifestly much smaller than that of his parents. With a smartphone to play with a person on the other side of the world is the same as the one in the house next to his own. If the rate of change simply stayed the same in the computing world, by the time the baby of today reaches adulthood I shudder to try to imagine the power that person will hold in their hand.

Equality among humans has already advanced massively, and will continue to advance. For instance, there was a time that if you had a gripe that you wanted to get other people's opinions on, you were at the mercy of the controllers who had the printing press to give you the publicity. No longer! You simply use your own desktop to spread the message via twitter, and any of the other social sites, around the world in seconds.

Evolution/ Change is not always for the good, but it is like the ocean and the tides, and night and day. These things will happen and there is nothing that any human can do to stop them. True, we can, and probably will erase ourselves from the planet, but that will simply be the elimination of yet another species, like the dinosaurs, but the world will go on evolving, into the future.

Evolution, like it or leave it, believe in it or not. It  affects all aspects of human and animal life, and where humans have added to the evolutionary process by giving nature a helping hand that still counts as evolution.

Evolution. Change by another name.

Copyright (c) 2014   Eugene Carmichael

The impact of television on War

Entertainment in the early ages

Throughout the early history of mankind, before the arrival of widespread use of electricity, when men had far too much time to think, their choice of entertainment was to simply go and attack their neighbour's village, kill the men and capture the women. With the onset of travel facilities allowing for overseas journies, the idea spread to other primitive people who went out and invaded countries and claimed them for their own. One such country claimed it had stolen so many other people's countries that the sun never set on its empire!

The research I have done reflects that deep and wide thought has been given to the impact that television has on all aspects of our lives, but the question in my mind has not been addressed specifically. That question is: is the entertainment value of tv so powerful that it keeps men at home, and our minds sufficiently occupied as to promote peace among nations?

We see very clear examples of life in the developed countries compared with third world countries where fighting has continued for decades. Even those countries where it once was fashionable to invade other people's countries have moved to give those countries back to the people. The sons have wondered what the hell were our fathers thinking?

Television is all invasive and influences everything about our lives. In war, it may indeed avoid conflict by keeping people at home. Where there does exist fighting it is shown in all its horror. There is nothing glamourous about war, and the old image of young men eager to go off to see action was always misguided.

However, television can also be the instrument that ignites conflict. It is thought that the Arab Spring is a result of people in the countries having been able to see for themselves how free people live. Perhaps life in the free countries is not utopian, but if you are an oppressed person it may look far better that it actually is. That may indeed be worth  fighting for!

So, the next time you and I might think there's nothing worth watching on the box, we perhaps should pause to reflect that the boob tube might be the very reason for our peace and tranquillity.

 There's always tomorrow night's programming! Tonight, we can read.

Copyright (c) 2014   Eugene Carmichael  

Mrs. Hilda Smith, Bermuda's oldest citizen, died in her 107th year!

Bermuda's oldest treasure dies at 106 years, two months, and twenty-one days of age!

When I was growing up, I recall that people who were the age that I have now reached were asked, to what did they owe their longevity. Often they were pictured in wheelchairs. The rare person who lived to reach their one hundredth birthday would definately be wheelchair bound and drooling, and most likely they would be in bed. We have now entered into an era where we are living longer, and enjoying life.

Ms. Hilda Smith was one such person. She lived her professional life as a teacher, and in that regard she will have impacted a great many people, and a number of those she will have outlived herself. Her great love was music. In that regard she played the piano, the harp, and she was a tenor saxophonist. This was truly impressionable for someone who lived through the many decades of repression of women's rights, and as a black woman she suffered immensely through the dark days of racial segregation. How she received the news that the the world's most hated regime in South Africa had been taken over by Nelson Mandela, I do not know; and that the world's most powerful man, as president of The United States of America, is a black man, I can only imagine.

I presume that Queen Elizabeth II of England still sends out congratulatory messages to those who reach their one hundredth birthdays. In that case she would have sent such a message to Ms. Smith. A year after that the Queen visited Bermuda and heard a painist play God Save the Queen. That was Ms. Smith, at 101 years old. The Queen was suitably impressed.

Ms. Smith lived out her golden years in a home for the aged. The residents regularly receive visits from choirs who come to lead them in joyful song. The pianist was 106 years old, playing from memory.

As stars go, Ms. Smith was a super nova, one of the brightest in the universe. Yet she was so humble but at the same time, so brilliant. As a wordsmith I am sorely taxed to even express my admiration and respect for this wonderful person, who I am so sad to have to say that I never did meet her. Yet, she was my fellow Bermudian who lived out her life in the most positive manner, just by being her wonderful self.

She leaves mega shoes to fill and very large footsteps to follow. I suspect she will live on in the thoughts and conversations at dinner for a very long time to come. To be able to boast that you were taught be her is a considerable gong.

Hilda Smith
Born October 21, 1907
The end came on January 21, 2014
106 years, 2 months, 21 days

When asked to what did she owe her longevity, she replied: "I am in the Hands of the Lord. This is all his Doing!"

Amen!

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael

Call me Lucky! Lucky!

Apparently, I'm the luckiest man on Earth!

I was complaining to my wife that oce again I did not win anything substantial through the Spanish Christmas lottery, El Gordo. I said that were it not for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all. She replied that on the contrary, she felt I was perhaps the luckiest person she knows.

To begin with, when I was born I was given a maximum age expectancy by the actuary to age 47. Now, I am age 74. Perhaps they made a mistake and simply reversed the digits. (Oh shit!)

Secondly, a massive fire swept over our house without even touching the walls of the house. Lucky!

My children, and even my grandchildren have grown up to be model citizens. (Super good luck!)

Then she gave me a long list of why I am lucky just in being a man. Consider this:
I never have to fear getting pregnant.
I can wear a white T-shirt to a water park, or no shirt at all.
When guys talk to me they look me in the eyes, not at my chest
I have three pairs of shoes. that's two too many.
On vacation, the shoes I need are on my feet.
When I want to pee the whole world is my urinal.
Same work, more pay. (But, that sucks.)
I can open all my jars myself
The garage is all mine
My underwear costs $9 for a pack of three
I do my nails with my Swiss Army knife
I decide to grow a mustache, or not.
My wife does my hair, once every two years.
and finally,
One mood, all the time. No need to get cranky, unless my not so little man stops working.

When we put it like that, I guess I am a very lucky man indeed. I'm also very grateful to have won the lottery of life!

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael

And,........We're Off!

2014

We have got off to a reasonably good start with this new year. To begin with, Christmas and the end of 2013 went fairly well. No school full of small children had to die to mark the occaison. No one killed his neighbours with chemical weapons. No building fell on a workforce of hard working indentured labourers, and generally we were spared man made tragedies as part of our celebrations. Here in Valencia we celebrated with the good news that a third less people died over the holidays on the road. We are learning  not to be stupid. At our dinner table there were two designated drivers with the responsibility of getting everyone home safely. It seems many more tables were doing the same.

It was nature who added an element of excitement by visiting upon various areas mega-storms and intense cold and flooding. These things we have to put up with as, fortunately mankind has not learned to control the weather. Yet!

Here's my wish list for things I would like to see happen during this year:

-I would like to see the conflict in Syria brought to an end. President Obama can surely make that happen because he can do what no other can do, if he keeps the thought: "Yes, I can!"
- The poor Egyptians simply want to be ruled with intelligence, sympathy, and compassion. Is there no-one in that country that has those attributes?
- The mid-term elections in the Unted States might bring some relief to the White House, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
-Here in Spain I would like to see at least one sign posted that reads, "Now Hiring!"

One more thing: I want to win the lottery in a big way because there are so many people, of whom I am aware that desperately need my help. Think on that with your every bit of strength so that we can make it happen. Thank you!

Have a truly wonderful year with good health at the top of the list.

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael

GoodBye 2013! Hello Hope!

Here's hoping 2014 is less complicated than 2013, but with lots of choices as suggested by the HOKUSAI 2014 Calender!

We have not had a year that the general population was sorry to see pass into history for a very long time. When we said goodbye to 2007, little did we know that would become one of the good ole years of our lives. Of course we accept that life is subject to cycles, the ups and the downs, but this down has lasted so long, and will likely last for so much longer that it has become the new norm. That is not good.

Still, all things are comparative, and our own depression has to be properly set alongside what our parents have suffered through in their time. I have learned that life will hand us disappointments whether we are ready to accept them or not. We just have to learn to take them on board with more grace.

It is usual at this time of year to look back over the past twelve months and to review the things that have happened. All of the major stories are well known and are thoroughly depressing so I would rather not go over all that again, except for one thing: that is the matter of the most powerful typhoon/hurricane ever that struck the unfortunate people of the Phillippines. I refer to this because as a part of global warming I believe that we shall see ever more destructive events around the world, including parts of the world that normally is not affected by storms of this sort. See, more bad news!

For my family 2013 did bring forth one significantly good development: our son had met a young woman whom he finally deemed to be of sufficient quality to introduce her to us. Our feeling is that his choice is well grounded and that we are impressed by his common sense, especially when it comes to love. I think she is a keeper and we are very happy for them both.

We have now all but covered the complete cycle with our new son who arrived in 1990. I was fifty at the time and I was criticized for becoming a father at such a late stage in my life. It was said that I would leave him far too soon for him to have come to know me, but as things have turned out he only now needs to marry and present us a grandchild to finish the cycle. (Where did the time go?)

As we begin to close the door on 2013 we look forward to 2014 with some degree of trepidation. There are no signs that even suggest that the new year will bring us happiness and economic growth, but that need not stop us from thinking positively and hoping that the year will be an improvement over the outgoing one. Some things will happen naturally, such as growing older. I like to think that we also grow wiser, but that won't help us much if we lose our ability to remember what it was that we learned.

Why does life have to be so complicated?

Happy New Year!

Copyright (c) 2013  Eugene Carmichael

Speaking about South Africa

Frederick DeKlerk-Man of V ision

In 1986 I was working as an acountant/manager of reinsurance companies. Consequently my books could only close after inspection by an independent auditor. A young curly haired blonde man walked into my office and announced that his name was Brum, and that he was there to audit one of the companies. "Hold on!" said I, "you're South African aren't you?" He confirmed that he was and I saw red. We got off on the wrong foot, and I asked him why the hell he thought I would consent to work with him?

His answer changed everything and gave me an insight into white South Africa that was very enlightening. "Perhaps if I explain that I have escaped from S.A. you might see things in a different light." This is a long story that I must condense by saying that he told me that as a young graduate from formal studies he was conscripted into the Defence Force and was made to bear a whip and oppress the blacks with gusto, whether he was in agreement or not. The problem with totalatarian systems such as that in S.A. at the time, to be white was to be on the side of the National Party, and any show of reticence was viewed as possible treason.

He said that he was aware that many people who lived well on the backs of the blacks would talk among themselves in whispers about how wrong it all was. Even to get out by leaving was seen as letting the side down. In his case he was in Bermuda as part of his international training, but hell would have to freeze over before he went back.

Now fast forward a couple of years and along came F.W. DeKlerk who could see a bloodbath coming that would even embarrass South Africa's enablers, such as The United States of America under President Ronald Reagan, and Britain under Margaret Thatcher, both of whom described Nelson Mandela as that terrorist! There was no doubt that South African forces would win but there would be so many bodies to bury that the world likely would ostracize S.A. even further.

He concluded that the policy of apartheid was wrong and was leading the country in the wrong direction. He came to the obvious conclusion that something had to be done to turn things around. He set about to convince his party that a very radical move must be made, and as we now know, he was successful. How did he do that?

Most people are unaware that the talks between the ANC and the government took place in Bermuda under complete secrecy that even the media observed. Officials flew in and out and no-one uttered a word in public. However, after Mr Mandela's release Mr DeKlerk did come back to visit to thank the Bermuda government and the people of the country for our hospitality and cooperation. It was while he was going walk-about with a friend of mine that I bumped into him on the street.

Normally, that would have been a real surprise that would leave the average person speechless, but I had mused to myself that if I ever got the chance to meet him I would express certain specific thoughts to him. I did just that while thanking him for releasing Mr Mandela, and I also expressed my wonderment at his superb salesmanship. Perhaps, now that he had so much time on his hands he might like to sell life insurance for me?

His words to me will linger in my memory perhaps for all time: "Convincing the people of my party, overall, was much easier than perhaps I could imagine."  Those words underscored what the auditor had told me a few years earlier.This was exactly what they had been hoping for.

As if more proof was needed it was abundantly provided following President Mandela's death when all people came together to give thanks to a man sent from Heaven as a modern day saviour.

President F.W. DeKlerk deserves nothing less!


Copyright (c) 2013   Eugene Carmichael

WoW !!! What a Splendid way to say "Goodbye until we meet again."

Well Done! Oh Good, Valiant, Visionary, Peacemaker and Unifier!

The end has come to signify all formal responses to the death of President Mandela after ten days of observerances. The outpourings have been so immense that even for those people right there I doubt if they were able to take it all in.

I think it was all fitting and appropriate that such a larger than life man be honoured to the outer extent of human endeavour. Never before have I seen the passing of a man, or woman, be the opportunity that so clearly defined his entire life's work. Mr Mandela was born into apartheid, and he hated the system more than anything. His life's work was to overcome racial hatred. He was firmly against white oppression and black domination.

You would have to be very sincere to convince the children that are called the "born frees" that there was once laws in South Africa against whites and blacks inter-mingling, but there it was,  everywhere you looked, blacks and whites, and people of every ethnicity together, grieving over the natural passing of the father of modern South Africa, living proof that his struggle was for all the people.

In a perverse kind of way it could be argued that his life was perfect. A child from rural Africa, untainted by city ways was able to see not only the difference between right and wrong, but was also sufficiently moved to actually do what had to be done to fix the problem. He took the pain of indignation and insult, and he had the good sense to know that the best way to take revenge on the enemy is to do a far better job than they in making the world a better place for all. This he did, leaving the whole world wanting for more.

It is natural that the body wears out and the end of the individual's life here on earth comes to an end. However, it need not mean that the individual's spirit dies. It think that the spirit is eternal and recycable. Mr Mandela received his spirit from one of his ancesters, and he has passed his to another. He now becomes An Elder in Perpetuity. He will be found in every history book about South Africa and readers will be consulting his wisdom 5,000 years from now.

So, yes the time came when he needed to lie his burden down and to receive a well earned rest. He was accorded appropriate respect and dignity, and his mortal remains lie in what must surely be the most beautiful hills of Africa.

Anyone who can command the respect of such a diverse cross-section of the world's people when the end comes can be truly said to have lived a life well worth living.

"Well Done thou true and faithful Servant." Now, Rest in Peace and Love!"

Copyright (c) 2013  Eugene Carmichael

President Mandela is Dead! Long Live President Mandela!

Mr. Troublemaker!
The Great Unifier

At birth, the parents of Mr. Mandela gave him a name in the tribal language that I can neither spell nor pronounce, that translates into English as Troublemaker. An arrogant white man who had the same problem as I do, arbitrarially  changed his name to Nelson Mandela. However, his parents were right, because throughout his life whenever he confronted inequality, injustice and unfairness there would be trouble.

We have now come to the end of President Mandela's life, a time for reflection to review his life that was well worth living, and to ask ourselves how did his life impact upon our own? This is truly a huge subject that can occupy volumes, but it is the classic story of good triumphs over evil. Mr. Mandela was David, and his Golith was the National Government of South Africa. They left their homes in Holland and Britain and entered the home of Mr. Mandela and poisioned South Africa and did unspeakable things to the natives.

As  is widely known Mr. Mandela was sent to prison for at least 27 years of his life just because he made trouble by objecting to such treatment. However, Divine Guidence directed the hand of the judge not to put him to death because it was absolutely necessary that he be spared to rise from prisioner 46664 to become President of the country and The Great Unifier that he was.

He was born into an evil system of apartheid. So was I. We were forever told that we were worthless, and that we were unable to achieve anything of value. But Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of U.S. President Roosevelt declared that no one can make you believe that you are inferior without your personal cooperation. Mr. Mandela apparently believed that; I believe it, and obviously so does President Obama.

The world is challenged to find adequate superlatives to describe what we feel in our hearts. I think that Archbishop Desmond Tutu perhaps said it best: Nelson Mandela was like a diamond, almost flawless. Now we find ourselves treating him as delicately. He would not have wanted that. His sense of humour would have us sing and dance and celebrate the fact that we spent time together and we achieved something substantial along the way.

I personally love his humour:
 Upon meeting Queen Elizabeth II, it is reported that he walked up to her and exclaimed, Ah, Elizabeth, you are looking wonderful. You've lost weight! He insisted on addressing her by her first name. His advisors suggested he should be more formal as she is a very formal person. Supposedly he replied: Why? She calls me Nelson.

In a conversation with a music producer he is reported to have said that music is so important as a way to reach young people. They listen to music. They don't listen to old men and politicians, and I am both of those things.

When he became aware of the worldwide campaign to free Nelson Mandela, he replied, but my first name is not free.

Many people now speak of the great loss of this wonderful man, and truly the world has been a better place with him within it. However, I say that so long as we live by his ideals he will live on. He, will never die!

Archbishop Tutu asked, now what will happen that our father, the father of modern day South Africa, has passed on? The sun will rise just as before, but as usual it is up to each individual to do his best to make the world a better place, day by day. And if we do that, no matter where in the world we are, we honour his life, his struggle, and all his suffering.

Mala Yousafzai, a young woman whom I believe is the new Mandala, described him as an icon of equality and love! I think she's right.

President Obama said that President Mandela now belongs to the Ages. We love him so much, but it is time to love him enough to let go.

Rest in Peace!

1918-2013
95 years

Copyright (c) 2013   Eugene Carmichael  

The Life and Death of Canal NOU! (Canal 9)

In 1989, the autonamous government of the Community of Valencia established the broadcasting station of Radio Television de Valencia, (RTVV), popularly known as Canal Nou, (Canal 9). There were three television channels, Canal 9, Punto Dos, (.2) and Canal 24, a continuous news channel broadcasting in thirty minute loops. In addition to that there was the popular radio channel, and all broadcasted in the local language of valenciano.

It was a very popular creation and served the people well and was well received, even by the Socialist opposition as the station was created by the Party Popular, (the PP) even though that political party unashamedly used the station as its mouthpiece, hardly giving the opposition a look in.

When we first came to Valencia it was the channel of choice from which to learn this strange dialect of spanish that is sufficiently different from castillian to be a seperate language, in my opinion. Our son tuned in every saturday morning to watch Babala, with Maria Abradela, and in the process he learned a good deal of valenciano. For me, I watched the evening news and got my information particularly about events taking place closest to me, although even to today I am having to join up pictures with audio and assume I have got it right.

So, what went wrong with Canal 9? As with so many things that involve politics, simply put corruption took over and the rot set in. The broadcasting company allegedly became the dumping ground for influencial politicians to get their relatives and friends jobs, and as a result the burden on the broadcaster became ever more impossible to bear. At one point the company had very nearly two thousand people on its payroll. By comparison, the national broadcaster RTVE had only a fraction of staff. Something was terribly wrong.

Enter Alberto Fabra as presidential successor of the entire community following Francisco Camps, and President Fabra sees his mandate to turn around the state of being of the economy of Valencia and to turn over a new leaf in the way that things have been done in the past.

Consequently, his edict to the television station was that it materially reduce its staff and run itself properly, or close. All sorts of moves were undertaken in defiance but simply put the station could not be continued as it had been, and so, the order was given and voted on by the Valencia parliament, and in a midnight move, agents of the government had to push past guards put in place to stop them to pull the plug. Now, the station is silent. It has been one of the saddest things to watch, although no sadder than the closure of any business with the impact upon staff. In this case the step by step process has been so public. The news has been mostly about the doom overshadowing the station, with a lot of clips from past events to remind viewers and listeners of how important the station has been to our lives.

Ironically, just before the storm broke the news channel completely revamped its image, having dumped some popular personnel such as newsreaders and on-air sports personalities. We can only imagine how those people are feeling today.

I believe that we have not seen the last of broadcasting from Canal 9, although when it returns, and I'm sure it will as a private business that will closely watch its bottom line, it will be called something else. The former company that has debts, some say, over a billion euros can sell the premises and the rights and equipment, and even the goodwill, and from those proceeds they can pay perhaps one penny in the euro to creditors. Valencia will see the return of something, although we do not know what.

This is a classical when we say, Stay Tuned! For everybody who has been so badly hurt as a result of the corrupt interference of unnamed culprits in the past, I say that is a complete shame and is so sad. However, it is a lesson that we had all better learn and apply across the board.

 Corruption has a price that has to be paid in the end, and no-one is ever happy when the bill comes!

Copyright (c) 2013  Eugene Carmichael