Sugar Cane : A delicacy for this young Kikuyu girl.
Mother and child
My three favourite Bantu children
A Maasai abode:
Built of wood, covered with a mixture of loam and cow dung.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Some Women of Kenya
Several years ago, in Kenya, we visited a Maasai Village.
The Men had gone out to look after their cattle
which is their wealth, and we asked permission
to photograph the women who had stayed behind
to look after their children.
A Maasai Mother with two of her Offspring.
The young boy already holds his walking stick
in the manner of the adult members of his tribe.
A well decorated mother.
A young woman, richly adorned!
She should be on Broadway.
The cap on the bottle under her arm reads:
"Milk of Magnesia"
Ear lobes can only carry so much weight.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
The Pot calling the Kettle black
Remember, some months ago, when Mr. Snowden absconded from the USA to China and then to Russia and told the world the news that the USA, through its National Security Agency was listening in on all telephone conversations and other electronic communication devices, including those of Heads of State, such as Mrs. Merkel of Germany ?
Mrs. Merkel expressed her disappointment, stating that this is something "you just do not do to your friends".
At that time I suggested that spying by one country on another, friend or foe, has been going on since time immemorial, and that European Newspapers should keep their shirt on and not get quite so 'holier than thou' in their expression of disappointment and disgust. The USA were pilloried and condemned, as only the Europeans are capable of doing.
Well, get a load of this: What do I read in this morning's "Kurier?"
It has been revealed that the German Security Service has been listening in on all kinds of electronic communications, including calls between the former U.S.Foreign Minister, Mrs. Hillary Clinton and the former President of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Anan.
Won't Mrs. Merkel and the German press be upset now!
Heavens, nobody knew.
Mrs. Merkel did not know and nobody else did either.
Not much they didn't...
Don't you think that the gist of the Clinton-Anan conversation was brought to the attention of the highest officials?
Don't you think that this is only one of innumerable conversations which the German Security Service listened in on ?
It really isn't the fact of cyber-spying which annoys me. No, with modern technology at everybody's disposal nothing less can be expected and appropriate precautions should be taken by all who want to keep their conversations a well guarded secret.
What does annoy me though, is the unmitigated hypocrisy of European news services and European politicians when they get all excited about something everybody does and everybody knows that everybody does.
What a case of a Kettle calling a Pot black.
That, in any event, is the opinion of
Bertstravels
Mrs. Merkel expressed her disappointment, stating that this is something "you just do not do to your friends".
At that time I suggested that spying by one country on another, friend or foe, has been going on since time immemorial, and that European Newspapers should keep their shirt on and not get quite so 'holier than thou' in their expression of disappointment and disgust. The USA were pilloried and condemned, as only the Europeans are capable of doing.
Well, get a load of this: What do I read in this morning's "Kurier?"
It has been revealed that the German Security Service has been listening in on all kinds of electronic communications, including calls between the former U.S.Foreign Minister, Mrs. Hillary Clinton and the former President of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Anan.
Won't Mrs. Merkel and the German press be upset now!
Heavens, nobody knew.
Mrs. Merkel did not know and nobody else did either.
Not much they didn't...
Don't you think that the gist of the Clinton-Anan conversation was brought to the attention of the highest officials?
Don't you think that this is only one of innumerable conversations which the German Security Service listened in on ?
It really isn't the fact of cyber-spying which annoys me. No, with modern technology at everybody's disposal nothing less can be expected and appropriate precautions should be taken by all who want to keep their conversations a well guarded secret.
What does annoy me though, is the unmitigated hypocrisy of European news services and European politicians when they get all excited about something everybody does and everybody knows that everybody does.
What a case of a Kettle calling a Pot black.
That, in any event, is the opinion of
Bertstravels
Saturday, August 16, 2014
God, the Designer, the Interior Decorator
"Oh, you must not, or at least you should not read the Old Testament", he said.
"Why not ?" I asked.
"Because the Old Testament is full of similes and parables which only theologically trained people can understand."
"Come on", I said. "I've read some of it, and it's all quite clear - nothing particularly difficult to understand.
The only thing difficult to understand is that anybody in his right mind will accept it as a 'God-inspired work'.
It is rather a collection of storeys written by a man called Moses and/or men like him in order to justify and excuse their very inhuman, human activities".
You kill: God made me do it.( Numbers 25:1-9 and Joshua 10:1-43 a.s.o. )
You steal: God made me do it ( Numbers 31:2-3 a.s.o.)
You rape: God made me do it (Numbers 7:9-10 a.s.o.)
Besides these cruel, murdering, stealing, raping activities there is another side to this God of the Old Testament and modern Governments have taken a leaf out of this book: (Exodus 25:2 ) God becomes a tax collector. At least Moses, the old scoundrel, tells his people that God told him that he shall collect from the people of Israel an "Offering" which shall consist of Gold, Silver and Brass.
Does God, as he exists in the biblical form, really need Gold, Silver and Brass ? I don't think so!
He created Gold and Silver! didn't he ? He must know that 'Brass' is made of Copper and Zinc.
It stands to reason that God has no need for those "Offerings", but Moses, this sly fellow, can use these riches and he knows that the easiest way to get them is to tell his people that God wants them.
....and blue and purple and scarlet and fine linen and goat's hair (Exodus 25:4)...
I can just imagine how urgently the Allmighty needs fine linen and goat's hair, and of course the quickest way to get these goodies is not to create them ( which surely would have been easy for the Creator) but to collect them as "Offerings" from the people of Israel.
Today's Tax Collectors are at least a bit more honest. They do not call those "Offerings". In a more straight forward way, they call them "Taxes", the non-payment of which lands you in Jail.
Can somebody, please, explain to me, without using a lot of gobbledygook what for this Allmighty, All Powerful God needs all these things, treasured by Man, and surely of no import to a God ?
And then, God becomes a designer of treasure chests:
"...and they shall make me an Arc."
Moses claims that God tells him exactly why he wants the Arc. (Exodus 25:8)..."and let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them..."
As I understand it, a "Sanctuary" is a refuge or safety from pursuit or other danger. Surely God needs not fear danger and needs not hide in a "Safe Haven".
The next Chapters and Verses (Exodus 36 -38 ) are devoted to an exact description of how the Altar and the Tabernacle are to be built. The specifications are so detailed and precise, that, in their meticulousness, they are almost funny.
Then Moses claims that God told him to cover the Ark with Gold. Inside and Outside.
God seems to really like Gold. Or is it, in fact, Moses who loves to surround himself with all these riches ?
As I've said earlier: I believe that Moses is a cheat and a scoundrel. Under his leadership there was a great deal of killing and stealing and raping going on. All of it, if you listen to Moses, ordered by God. Methinks Moe was not a very nice man.
Is there something in this whole story which is missed by
Bertstravels ?
"Why not ?" I asked.
"Because the Old Testament is full of similes and parables which only theologically trained people can understand."
"Come on", I said. "I've read some of it, and it's all quite clear - nothing particularly difficult to understand.
The only thing difficult to understand is that anybody in his right mind will accept it as a 'God-inspired work'.
It is rather a collection of storeys written by a man called Moses and/or men like him in order to justify and excuse their very inhuman, human activities".
You kill: God made me do it.( Numbers 25:1-9 and Joshua 10:1-43 a.s.o. )
You steal: God made me do it ( Numbers 31:2-3 a.s.o.)
You rape: God made me do it (Numbers 7:9-10 a.s.o.)
Besides these cruel, murdering, stealing, raping activities there is another side to this God of the Old Testament and modern Governments have taken a leaf out of this book: (Exodus 25:2 ) God becomes a tax collector. At least Moses, the old scoundrel, tells his people that God told him that he shall collect from the people of Israel an "Offering" which shall consist of Gold, Silver and Brass.
Does God, as he exists in the biblical form, really need Gold, Silver and Brass ? I don't think so!
He created Gold and Silver! didn't he ? He must know that 'Brass' is made of Copper and Zinc.
It stands to reason that God has no need for those "Offerings", but Moses, this sly fellow, can use these riches and he knows that the easiest way to get them is to tell his people that God wants them.
....and blue and purple and scarlet and fine linen and goat's hair (Exodus 25:4)...
I can just imagine how urgently the Allmighty needs fine linen and goat's hair, and of course the quickest way to get these goodies is not to create them ( which surely would have been easy for the Creator) but to collect them as "Offerings" from the people of Israel.
Today's Tax Collectors are at least a bit more honest. They do not call those "Offerings". In a more straight forward way, they call them "Taxes", the non-payment of which lands you in Jail.
Can somebody, please, explain to me, without using a lot of gobbledygook what for this Allmighty, All Powerful God needs all these things, treasured by Man, and surely of no import to a God ?
And then, God becomes a designer of treasure chests:
"...and they shall make me an Arc."
Moses claims that God tells him exactly why he wants the Arc. (Exodus 25:8)..."and let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them..."
As I understand it, a "Sanctuary" is a refuge or safety from pursuit or other danger. Surely God needs not fear danger and needs not hide in a "Safe Haven".
The next Chapters and Verses (Exodus 36 -38 ) are devoted to an exact description of how the Altar and the Tabernacle are to be built. The specifications are so detailed and precise, that, in their meticulousness, they are almost funny.
Then Moses claims that God told him to cover the Ark with Gold. Inside and Outside.
God seems to really like Gold. Or is it, in fact, Moses who loves to surround himself with all these riches ?
As I've said earlier: I believe that Moses is a cheat and a scoundrel. Under his leadership there was a great deal of killing and stealing and raping going on. All of it, if you listen to Moses, ordered by God. Methinks Moe was not a very nice man.
Is there something in this whole story which is missed by
Bertstravels ?
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Turn around -1-
His mother's name was Karoline and his father's nick-name was probably 'Manny'. They likely called him Freddy when he was born on the 21st day of October 1833.
The best schools were just good enough for Freddy and soon he showed extraordinary intelligence.
As time went on, he invented this and then he invented that, until he had amassed and registered over 350 patents. So, you might agree that Freddy was a smart guy. He had developed a keen interest in explosives and found to his everlasting dismay that Nitroglycerin was a most dangerous substance.
On the 3rd of September 1864 an explosion in a shed, used for the preparation of this chemical, killed five workers, including Freddy's brother, Emil.
One of the Newspapers reported this accident in the mistaken belief that it was Freddy who had 'bought the farm' and in a headline article said:
"The merchant of death is dead."
Had it really been Freddy who was killed, they would have had good reason for this statement, since, by this time, Freddy owned and operated over 90 armament factories throughout Europe in which he produced all manners of heavy artillery, along with his beloved explosives.
When Freddy realized what the world, or at least this Newspaper, thought of him, he decided to change his will and directed that the bulk of his considerable fortune must be used to bestow price-money for the best in this and the best in that.
Finally, one of Europe's biggest arms dealers made sure that one of his prices was to be given to the person who had contributed most to peace in the world.
Therefore we now are proud to present:
"The Nobel Peace Price."
Turn Around -2-
The cave was in a rock wall about three times his own height above ground. He discovered it when he climbed the tree which hid the entrance, to collect some eggs he had spied in a King Fisher bird's nest.
The cave was roomy, providing an entrance area and, just around a corner, a large space just right for him and his family. He climbed down, using the sturdy branches of the fig tree, and went to bring his mate and their three off spring.
"This is a good place" she indicated, more by her smile than by her words.
He was proud of her praise and returned her smile with his own.
The cave was inaccessible to marauding predators and promised to remain their own space, not co-occupied by kiss 'n kin.
At first sight he had called her 'lada' meaning 'song' or 'melody' and she was happy, now to have a name of her own.
While he was the stronger, she was the quicker and more dexterous and so they shared in the labour of bringing their few belongings and some dried food supplies up the tree and into their new abode.
Both had seen fire before, when lightening had struck a lone tree and the grassland was engulfed in burning.
and they enjoyed eating what sometimes was left as charred remains of a ground hog, too slow to escape.
If only he could make fire himself. When-ever and where-ever he needed or wanted it.
Then, one day he saw a large rock falling from the wall and a spark flew when it hit another rock on the ground. It took no time before he was able to make a spark by hitting rock on rock.
It was Lada who gathered some dried lichens and some very dry moss and indicated to him that he should try and make a spark while having the stone surrounded by this lichen and moss.
With determination he attempted it again and again. Then, all of a sudden, it worked and a slight whiff of smoke curled upward and was followed by a small flame. Tiny twigs and small branches, followed by larger branches and then large pieces of drift wood, they found down by the river, enabled him to control the flame according to his want and need.
The cave was roomy, providing an entrance area and, just around a corner, a large space just right for him and his family. He climbed down, using the sturdy branches of the fig tree, and went to bring his mate and their three off spring.
"This is a good place" she indicated, more by her smile than by her words.
He was proud of her praise and returned her smile with his own.
The cave was inaccessible to marauding predators and promised to remain their own space, not co-occupied by kiss 'n kin.
At first sight he had called her 'lada' meaning 'song' or 'melody' and she was happy, now to have a name of her own.
While he was the stronger, she was the quicker and more dexterous and so they shared in the labour of bringing their few belongings and some dried food supplies up the tree and into their new abode.
Both had seen fire before, when lightening had struck a lone tree and the grassland was engulfed in burning.
and they enjoyed eating what sometimes was left as charred remains of a ground hog, too slow to escape.
If only he could make fire himself. When-ever and where-ever he needed or wanted it.
Then, one day he saw a large rock falling from the wall and a spark flew when it hit another rock on the ground. It took no time before he was able to make a spark by hitting rock on rock.
It was Lada who gathered some dried lichens and some very dry moss and indicated to him that he should try and make a spark while having the stone surrounded by this lichen and moss.
With determination he attempted it again and again. Then, all of a sudden, it worked and a slight whiff of smoke curled upward and was followed by a small flame. Tiny twigs and small branches, followed by larger branches and then large pieces of drift wood, they found down by the river, enabled him to control the flame according to his want and need.
When the rainy season started and the nights turned chilly he sometimes allowed the
fire to stay on as he and his family enjoyed the warmth.
He knew nothing about carbon monoxide.
So when one night low pressure air hung over the valley
and the smoke created by his wonderful discovery could not leave his rock wall abode
neither he, nor Lada, nor their three children ever woke up again.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Bertstravels
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
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