Sunday 14 December 2014

The Rhymes and Routes Christmas Message, 2014




This is yet another scoop for Rhymes and Routes! At short notice, and at some inconvenience to himself, President Vladimir Putin of Russia has agreed to write the Rhymes and Routes Christmas message this year. Comments in brackets are by me – signed “B” for Blogmeister – otherwise, no changes have been made to President Putin’s text, even when he is critical of Rhymes and Routes.

Zdrastvootye! I am very glad to be writing Rhymes and Routes Christmas message, as the British newspapers never publish anything I send them, despite my articles being so brilliant and perceptive. As you can see, I am wearing my party hat, as I am very busy getting ready for the Kremlin Staff Christmas Party (That’s a party never banned in Russia!-B), and I think it show the lighter side of my nature.

I wish to extend Christmas greetings from all the people of Russia to the whole of Great Britain. Relations between us have been strained in recent times, but I wish to assure the British people that I bear no animosity towards them, despite their leaders and their interference in the Ukraine. I have been much misrepresented as an aggressor in this matter, but it is not fair. As that outstanding Angliski politician, Nigel Farage, a man who admires me greatly, has said, it was the Ukrainian fascists, with western support, who overturned a democratically elected Prime Minister, and replaced him with a nationalist puppet. Mr Farage is a man with whom I could do business; I hope he becomes UK Prime Minister.

There is lot of nonsense talked about me and my country in Western media. One of our many detractors, the Guardian journalist, Luke Harding, has written a scurrilous book called “Mafia State”, where he makes many unfounded accusations. I only wish he would back to Russia for visit, as I need a new judo partner. Even Mr Harding, though, praises me for presenting a positive image of my country to the world. As he rightly say, I spend more on the “Russia Today” channel than I do on social welfare programmes (er, well, Mr President…B).

My critics point to the fact that 56 journalists have been murdered in Russia since the early 90s – as is it were my fault! Anyone (especially Georgians, Chechens and Ukrainians – B) knowing me will tell you that I am far too busy to go round liquidating a bunch of pen pushers. If I did that sort of thing, would Luke Harding have left Russia alive? (I bet he locks his doors at night! – B) No, Russia is now a democracy, which allows legitimate protest. As an example – did we not release those anarchist harridans, Pussy Riot, from jail? Even after they blasphemously disrupted an Orthodox Church service, they were released from incarceration. I myself am a devout Orthodox believer, but I believe in free

speech. In the old days, in USSR, the Pussy Riot protest would not have happened, as there were no churches and no protests. I have to admit that I sometimes stand at the window of my office in the Kremlin, listening to Barbra Streisand singing “The Way We Were” on my iPod, and a little tear comes to my eye when I think back to those far-gone, happy times (What a touching image! – B).


To conclude this Christmas message, I would like to address the two contributors to this blog: Rednev and Blogmeister. My Friendly Security Boys – FSB  (It really means Federal Security Bureau - B)– have checked out both men carefully, and so I invite Rednev to come and sing at the Kremlin Folk Club Christmas Party. I offer him a 20 minute slot between Igor, the Whistling Tractor Driver from Tobolsk and the Under-21 Moscow Folk Dance Society. Please get in touch, Neville. As for Blogmeister, the FSB say he think of himself as a songwriter and poet – I offer him example of VladimirMayakovsky (He shot himself in 1930 – thanks, Mr President. B) and from what I see of his prose writing ability, he, too can come to the party – to write the menu. Anyway, I must return to work on Staff Party – I need to parcel up my presents. To the British people from the Russian people: с рождеством! – Merry Christmas!


Many thanks, Mr President, on behalf of the people of Britain. I don’t know if Neville will take up your offer, but I’ll pass it on. I must decline your offer to write the menu for the Folk Club Party, as, examining your message in detail, you are perfectly capable of writing badly yourself. Anyway, I can’t write in Russian. As for what you say in your message, readers must draw their own conclusions!

Tuesday 9 December 2014

Christmas, Christians, and a Season to be Wary

I was hoping never to return to this subject. Last year, I compared and contrasted the persecution worldwide of three groupings: Christians, Atheists/Agnostics and the Bahais. I was so dismayed by what I learned about their sufferings, usually in Islamic countries, that I decided not to discuss it again. Yesterday, however, I was in Central London with my wife, where I picked up a copy of the London Evening Standard. Glancing through casually, I saw an article by Rupert Shortt on the issue of religious persecution. Although Mr Shortt  writes only about the treatment of Christians in non-Christian countries, this extract from his article shocked me into action:
"Last month in the Pakistani province of Punjab... a Christian couple were tortured and burned alive in a kiln by a mob who falsely accused them of desecrating the Koran."
Mr Shortt's article covers a good deal of ground that I examined in my blog items. Christians (and others) face persecution and discrimination in countries from Morocco to Pakistan. In some countries, such as Nigeria, they face horrific violence. Shortt comments about Iraq:
"Even under Saddam Hussein, Christians enjoyed a relatively quiet (if not wholly untroubled) life. Before the ill-fated invasion of Iraq in 2003, there were 1.4 million Christians in the country. Now the figure has fallen below 300,000."
Such is the price of liberation. We can be sure that the so-called Islamic State will do nothing to reverse this trend.
I was interested enough to buy Shortt's book "Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack", which deals in greater detail with the repressive treatment of Christians in Middle Eastern countries, and North Africa. Of particular interest, given the season, was the treatment of Christians in the Holy Land, which is home to some of the most sacred places in Christianity. It was depressing to learn that local Christians face harassment and hostility from local Jews and Muslims. There have been attacks on Christians and their churches by ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel itself. "The Christian Post" comments:
"While most persecution against Christians in the Holy Land is at the hands of radical Muslims, believers are also persecuted by anti-missionary Jewish activists. The activists sometimes spray graffiti on Christian churches in what are called "price tag attacks" (exacting a price on anything that seems to threaten Jewish sovereignty). A few months ago, they painted "Jesus is a monkey" on a church that is a major pilgrimage site for Christians."
This harassment pales into insignificance, however, when we compare it to the treatment dished out to local Christians by radical Muslims. Consider this extract from a Wall Street Journal article in 2009:
"Meet Mr. Ibrahim (a pseudonym to protect him from reprisals), a 23-year old Palestinian refugee living in the West Bank. Unlike those descendants of refugees born in United Nations camps, Mr. Ibrahim fled his birthplace just two years ago. And he wasn't running away from Israelis, but from his Palestinian brethren in Gaza.
Mr. Ibrahim's crime in that Hamas-ruled territory was to be a Christian, a transgression he compounded in the Islamists' eyes by writing love poems.
"Muslims tied to Hamas tried to take me twice," says Mr. Ibrahim, and he didn't want to find out what they'd do to him if they ever kidnapped him. He hasn't seen his family since Christmas 2007 and is afraid even to talk to them on the phone."
The pressure continues. In an article from "The Arab Daily News" (click on link to see in full) printed in May this year, Roy Hanania says:
"Under Hamas, the population of Christian Palestinians has dwindled as fast as it has under Israeli oppression. In 1997, there were more than 5,000 Christian Orthodox Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. Today that number barely surpasses 1,500. Hamas fanatics have persecuted Christians not only in Gaza but also in the Palestinian West Bank."
Supporters of the Palestinian cause against Israel never mention this; during the recent Gaza conflict, the ugly side of Hamas was quietly ignored. This is monstrously unjust, because Palestinian Christian leaders have been among the most vocal advocates of the Palestinian cause.
So, as the season of goodwill and the Nativity of the Saviour of Mankind approaches, many of the followers of Jesus will be cautious in celebrating their faith.
Deus misereatur!