Pistis wonders what to say and do (weekending January 29th 2022)

‽istis wonders what to say and do… (weekending January 29th 2022)

This week

• listening to ‘Letter to Kamilla’ (1)

• thinking and feeling deeply about the Holocaust and the persecution and murder of so, so, so many people and groups (2 & 3)

• reading about beliefs that somehow seemed to enable or fail to provide a foundation for challenge or opposition

• learning more about the architects and those who obeyed orders, those who spoke out, those who were complicit, those who were silent

• appalling at the organisation and structures that supported and enabled

• ...and now writing on Holocaust Memorial Day

‽istis worries about what to say. Questions the right to say anything. Feels guilty by association and utterly ashamed... 

And when sometimes less is more, in silence, head bowed, ‽istis will continue to ponder and wonder two main questions:

‽  If I had been there and then, what would I have said and done? 

‽ As I am here and now, what can I say and do?

This week, that is all…

© Pistis                                                                                                                    

NB: further reflections and comments linked to this week’s theme and past blog

entries to be found on Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t necessarily indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’: @Pistis_wonders. ‘Follows’ and respectful comment and dialogue welcome...  

 

1. https://www.thejc.com/life-and-culture/all/a-letter-to-my-murdered-great-grandmother-in-music-2JDzD5ZsxUdSwHceFHvtYr 

2. https://holocausteducation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/1.-Non-JewishVictimsOfNaziPersecutionMurder-Digital.pdf

3. From: https://www.hmd.org.uk/learn-about-the-holocaust-and-genocides/nazi-persecution/   'In addition to singling out Jews for complete annihilation, the Nazis targeted for discrimination and persecution, anyone they believed threatened their ideal of a ‘pure Aryan race’. Nazi beliefs categorised people by race, and Hitler used the word ‘Aryan’ for his idea of a ‘pure German race’. The Nazis believed Aryan people were superior to all others. Their devotion to what they believed was racial purity and their opposition to racial mixing partly explains their hatred towards Jews, Roma and Sinti people (sometimes referred to as ‘Gypsies’) and black people. Slavic people, such as those from Poland and Russia, were considered inferior and were targeted because they lived in areas needed for German expansion. The Nazis wanted to ‘improve’ the genetic make-up of the population and so persecuted people they deemed to be disabled, either mentally or physically, as well as gay people. Political opponents, primarily communists, trade unionists and social democrats, as well as those whose religious beliefs conflicted with Nazi ideology, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, were also targeted for persecution. Hundreds of thousands of lives were destroyed because of Nazi persecution, and many groups did not receive acknowledgement of their suffering until years after 1945.'

Pistis waits to see (weekending January 2022)

 

‽istis waits to see (weekending January 22nd 2022)

This week, ‽istis seemed to be doing quite a lot of waiting to see:

‽  whether a flat will sell, marking the end of an era for one family and perhaps the start for another

‽ the scale of the damage and loss after a volcanic eruption in Tonga: to lives, to homes; to livelihoods and businesses; to habitat, flora and fauna; to transatlantic cables and the very routes along which news, tragic or relieved, must travel to end the waiting (1) for many families separated, incommunicado

‽ whether the events on the Ukraine Russia border mark the mere rattling of sabres and the flexing of international muscles, the roar and pawing of a bear with a very sore head - or a significant moment in a future conflict and conflagration that could engulf us all leaving no one to write its history (2) 

 ‽ whether a report about parties (3) could lead to the demise of a Prime Minister and the end of the party for a party 

‽ whether the discovery of a coral suite (so much more than a mere bed) can give hope (4) or is merely an exception that proves a rule that climate change is deadly - under the ocean, on the land, in the sky.

And ‽istis wonders about others who perhaps wait this week...

And ‽istis wonders about forces that may possibly be at play - tipping one way or another. 

And ‽istis wonders whether we are playthings (5) or whether perhaps, possibly, maybe we could still be players when so much seems so far from being a game‽

© Pistis                                                                                                                    

NB: further reflections and comments linked to this week’s theme and past blog

entries to be found on Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t necessarily indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’: @Pistis_wonders. ‘Follows’ and respectful comment and dialogue welcome...  

 

1. https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/when-the-lines-go-down-what-tonga-disaster-reveals-about-global-telecom-122011800257_1.html 

2. https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ukraine Global Conflict Tracker

3. https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/sue-gray-investigation 

4. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/20/like-a-work-of-art-rare-stretch-of-pristine-coral-reef-discovered-off-tahiti-age-of-extinction 

5. https://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/flies-wanton-boys-we-gods

Pistis reclaims virtual reality (weekending January 15th 2022)

 

‽istis reclaims virtual reality (weekending January 15th 2022)

This week, ‽istis caught a news story (in a newly discovered online source for news, WION) (1) with the headline:  ‘Cows in Turkey enjoy VR headsets; owner reports they are more relaxed, milk yield increased’. Apparently, the farmer in Türkiye (a country with a new name for 2022) has been experimenting with VR (virtual reality) headsets for cows. 

Reportedly the illusion is created and, as if by magic, the cows may think that they are outside in a sunny field. The headsets have apparently been developed with vets, moulded for comfort and with software adapted to produce colours for the bovine spectrum.  WION reports:  ‘Izzet Koçak claims his cows' milk output has increased from 22 litres to 27 litres a day after using the VR devices on two of them. According to Koçak, previous studies have shown that environmental conditions affect the health and milk production of cows. In addition to walking his animals around the large pasture, Koçak allows them to listen to relaxing music with these VR glasses.’

And ‽istis wonders... 

‽  about the use  of technology in farming and the striving for maximum yields in an industrialised system with reliance on animals, sentient beings, at its heart 

‽ about matters of animal welfare and animal rights somewhere in the mix - where the phrase ‘treated humanely’ is sometimes used, and yet where there is ample evidence of  just how badly humans can treat each other (2)

‽ about the demand for both profit down throughout the chain and cheapness at the point of consumption, and the powerful pressures this demand may bring 

With visualisation apparently a powerful tool (3) in the preparation of athletes and sports people (though Novak Djokavic presumably did not conjure up images of Victoria’s Park Hotel to inspire him for the Australian Open!), then ‽istis began to wonder what virtual images and what illusions might be created that could help with my productivity, or yours or other people that we can think of? 

‽ Perhaps for me: A Twitter account with lots of followers; a regular slot in a newspaper or magazine; that finished ‘other project’ (dream on!)

‽ Possibly for you: left blank for you to complete as appropriate

‽ Maybe you might also like to provide your own answers for the following:

• an apparently beleaguered Prime Minister…

• an ex-HRH… 

• the England cricket team…

• every premier league football team apart from Manchester City… 

• Etc, etc.

And ‽istis wonders about reality and illusion, about the power of seeing, of imagining, of having just a glimpse of how things could be  - perhaps, possibly, maybe‽ 

© Pistis                                                                                                                    

NB: further reflections and comments linked to this week’s theme and past blog

entries to be found on Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t necessarily indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’: @Pistis_wonders. ‘Follows’ and respectful comment and dialogue welcome...  

 

1. https://www.wionews.com/world/cows-in-turkey-enjoy-vr-headsets-owner-reports-they-are-more-relaxed-milk-yield-increased-444060 From WION: ‘We are a team of seasoned and daring, young journalists of diverse nationalities. World is One, WION, examines global issues with in-depth analysis. Using our social media platforms we open the conversation about our world with our users. We provide much more than the news of the day. Our aim to empower people to explore their world. reportage and we stand for a globalised united world.’ (from ‘About Us’) 

2. It was tempting to look up Wikipedia to see if any particular atrocities occured this day or this week in ‘history’, but it appears that on this day ‘January 15th 2001 Wikipedia itself - a ‘free content encyclopedia’ - was launched by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger. Too good not to note!

3. See, for example: https://discobolulunefs.ro/media/September2020.4.pdf ‘VISUALISATION TECHNIQUES IN SPORT – THE MENTAL ROAD MAP FOR SUCCESS’ by R PREDOIU et al

Pistis reclaims game-playing (weekending January 8th 2022)

 

‽istis reclaims game-playing (weekending January 8th 2022)

Following on from the blog a couple of weeks’ ago, ‽istis continues to wonder at the potential view through a James Webb type telescope gone rogue, pointing back at the Earth, pointing at us and specifically pointing this week at what is now called the continent of Australia (1) - zooming in on grown-men playing games (or not)...  

‽  one person (apparently with prize-winnings at September last year of $153million (2) and with this fortune (3) gained from being very good and indeed better than most at hitting a soft-ish ball with a raquet) is required currently to stay in a hotel while visa matters are sorted out. His father ‘Speaking at a press conference in Belgrade… condemned the treatment of his son saying that he was being 'held captive' after he was placed under police guard at Park Hotel, in Melbourne... (that ) 'Jesus was crucified on the cross...  but he is still alive among us' 'They are trying to crucify and belittle Novak and throw him to his knees.' And protests by family, friends and supporters are mounted. (4)

‽  one team, sometimes good at hitting a hard-ish ball with a bat, sometimes good at throwing and catching too. A recent report claimed: ‘After two years of planning, England's Ashes campaign in Australia is over after 12 days.’ (5) and with the headline: ‘Ashes: Is this year's debacle England's worst recent Ashes performance away from home?’ The ‘rest’ will not be coming home with the prize: a replica (a replica, mind) of a terracotta urn, standing 10.5 cm high: ‘a vessel that some believe may have originally been used as a perfume bottle. It is believed to contain the burnt ashes of a cricket bail...’ first ‘fought’ over in 1882/83 (6) 

Still, while distracted by grown men playing games for a living and with some rewarded handsomely in cash, in kudos (or an old perfume bottle?) for being just that bit better - sometimes by the most minimal of margins (7) - at least the telescope won’t be focussing on prisoners of conscience, those experiencing arbitrary detention, those held incommunicado or in secret detention, experiencing unfair trials, some experiencing torture and other forms of ill-treatment (8). 

Thank goodness (wherever that is yet be found) that at least perhaps, possibly, maybe the news headlines and bulletins won’t really trouble us with too much reality for either the majority or the minoritised, too much of what could be there for the seeing. Instead they are full of the story of the current predicament of one man grown rich by hitting a ball very well, and a team apparently humiliated by not hitting a ball well enough. 

And ‽istis wonders if it is all just one big game being played on us - and we are all the losers‽

© Pistis                                                                                                                    

NB: further reflections and comments linked to this week’s theme and past blog

entries to be found on Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t necessarily indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’: @Pistis_wonders. ‘Follows’ and respectful comment and dialogue welcome...  

 

1. https://www.ipswich.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/10043/appropriate_indigenous_terminoloy.pdf Helpful information for ‘more appropriate’ and ‘less appropriate’ terms in relation to the history, society, naming, culture and classifications of Indigenous Australian and Torres Strait Islander people/s, recognising that: ‘language is also a vehicle for the expression of discrimination and prejudice as our cultural values and attitudes are reflected in the structures and meanings of the language we use. This means that language cannot be regarded as a neutral or unproblematic medium, and can cause or reflect discrimination due to its intricate links with society and culture.’

2. https://www.forbes.com/profile/novak-djokovic/

3. Legitimate, I think, to call this a fortune when ‘The average salary in Belgrade, Serbia in 2021 is around 60000 Serbian Dinars, or slightly more than 600 dollars.’  https://checkinprice.com/average-minimum-salary-belgrade-serbia/ 

4. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10376357/Novak-Djokovic-father-slams-Scott-Morrison-compares-sons-treatment-crucifixion-Jesus.html 

5. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/59816130 

6. https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sport/cricket/the-ashes-urn/ 

7. The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 1952 Olympic Games… was "probably the closest mass finish in Olympic 100 metre history" with the first four runners all clocking in at 10.4 seconds hand-timed, all six finalists within 0.12 seconds electric-timed (10.79 for first, 10.91 for sixth), and a photo finish necessary to separate the winners.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1952_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_100_metres 

8. https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/detention/

Pistis ponders resolutions (weekending January 1st 2022)

 

‽istis ponders resolutions (weekending January 1st 2022)

This week, for some the liminal days between festivities sacred and secular - celebrating the legacy of an old story of a means of redemption and the tantalising promise of annual renewal and a fresh start that the calendar may bring - ‽istis ponders resolutions made, kept and broken.

‽  Made: perhaps because a problem, challenge or difficulty has been identified and a solution imagined and proposed

‽  Kept: possibly because goals are realistic, specific, achievable, time-scaled, measurable; cost-and benefit motivation is high; the spirit is willing, conditions conducive; support available; incentives continuing; gratification deferable

‽ Broken: maybe because the flesh proves cliché-weak; the short-term pay-off overcomes the long-term benefit; the status quo proves too attractive and/or powerful; the cost too high; the motivation fades; the will-fades; it's all just too difficult

And ‽istis, lost this week in exploring an extraordinary record available to anyone with an open internet (1), wonders whether the same might be said for the fate of some of the 2617 resolutions adopted by the United Nations’ Security Council since 1946 and across nearly 9,000 formal meetings (and all the informal debate, dialogue, argument, petitioning, pleading, compromise, ‘politics’, acquiescence, compromise, bullying, coercion, ignoring, listening, mind-changing, trust- and consensus-building, etc. etc.) 

Thinking that these ‘resolutions’ almost certainly provide part of a picture of the issues, difficulties and challenges facing ‘us’ and of the complex processes and international dynamics behind what is ‘kept’ and what is ‘broken’ (or at least not yet realised), ‽istis also wonders whether, perhaps, possibly, maybe they also represent something of the best of us and the aims, aspirations, hopes and imagined solutions of the world; whether it is ‘we’ - or even ‘me‘ that we catch a glimpse of in the mirror... 

So, again as 2022CE begins, ‽istis continues to imagine and hope that perhaps, possibly, maybe things could be different:

• resolves somehow to keep trying to improve and improve things
• strives to be less of the problem and more of the solution 
• decides to remain seized of the matter.

© Pistis                                                                                                                    

NB: further reflections and comments linked to this week’s theme and past blog

entries to be found on Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t necessarily indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’: @Pistis_wonders. ‘Follows’ and respectful comment and dialogue welcome...  

 

https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/resolutions-0 A rich resource that  ‽istis plans to delve in to further and specifically this year.