THE WIRE AND AGENTCOOP plus a maggie rant

If you fancy what I would describe as a 'real blokey blog', then look no further than agentcoop (there's a direct link on the right hand site of my site).

Anyway, I've thrown down the gauntlet to agentcoop to watch Season One of The Wire and write a blog about it. Since we had very different experiences of the Essaouira 2009 Festival, should be interesting to see what he makes of The Wire.

And on a totally different subject but I might as well write about it here, am I the only one to recognise the irony of items on the news?

Gross exaggeration coming up but I'm sure you'll get my drift. One half of the world seem intent on helping Haiti recover from the destruption of their country, searching for survivors, giving aid and support, whilst the other half are intent on actually causing death and destruction on as massive a scale as possible (i.e. in Afganistan etc).

Shame on all those terrorists/would be terrorists throughout the world. Life's difficult enough as it is without their negative and hateful actions.

What? I'm going to have a fatwah imposed upon me? Some-one's got to tell the truth - Allah/God isn't hateful and vengeful. He's a God of love although sometimes that can mean tough love, a very tough love indeed, but that's very different from the narrow interpretations that fundamentalists of all faiths home in on. So, read your Koran/Bible again.

And while I'm on the subject, because I'm pretty annoyed at this, American Evangelical T.V. 'Christian' preacher - Pat Robertson - read your Bible again if you really believe that God was punishing Haiti because of the voodoo superstitions sometimes practised there. In particular, read the bit about Jesus Christ, The Cruxifiction, The Resurection. The forgiveness of sin. 'I came to save the world not condemn it'.

Mr Robertson, you think you're not a sinner too? We all are. So, get off your moral high ground and start praying for desperate people who need all the help they can get. Show some humility. Stop judging.

And since I'm really in the groove now, a word or two to the Archbishop of York. No wonder so many people are put off the Christian Church if church leaders like you give such wishy-washy answers about God's intent/involvement in Haiti (Radio 4).

Yes, of course He's there, waiting for people to turn to Him and ask for his help, to be alongside them in their misery but it goes much deeper than that.

I believe that all these tragedies that we have witnessed over the years are 'wake up calls' for people to revalue what is important in their lives. To think beyond the 'me-my-and-I' mentality, the 'men/women have total control of their lives and can do what they want' mentality.

It's what I describe as 'very tough love'. Heart-breaking for us mere mortals and devastating for those involved. I'm sure if there was a better, less painful way for God to focus our attention back onto him, then He'd do it that easier way.

I can write this because I was involved in a war in 1974 in Cyprus.

I was so close to exploding bombs/machine-gun fire/bazooka fire that each day that I have survived from that is a bonus. I lost relatives, dogs, everything I possessed. My way of life, too. Became a refugee. Was traumaitised by the whole experience. So I am in no way complacent about the effects of disasters - natural and man-made. I just see it now as part of a much wider picture.

It's all there in Revelations (the last book in the Bible.) It's a pretty scary book but its predictions seems to be unfolding before our very eyes. Aren't there any Christian leaders with the guts to say this? Are they so frightened of their own beliefs? Don't they realise anyone can be next? Any one of us.

What? I'm going to be ex-communicated? I'm shaking in my shoes.

Shall probably regret writing all this tomorrow morning but it's actually what I'm feeling/thinking.

P.S. It's now tomorrow and I don't retract a word of what I've written. In fact, I've added a bit more for good measure.