'Belief in God brings order and discipline to sexual relationships'

So went the contention at a Multi-cultural event held recently in Belfast. It is unsurprising that those intellectually inclined towards achieving agreement on how others should behave in their personal lives should pick up on such an issue. Having only 140 characters of knowledge on the proceedings I am unable to fully comment on anything beyond the choice of title, but will attempt not to let this stop me.

It can be assumed that this is a secular vs religious question that reflects positively on those of faith. The 'holier than thou' position is not so often associated with carnal activities but seems to come through all the same in offering faith as a means of salvation both here on earth and in 'heaven'.

Harm reduction advocates appear to have come to the conclusion that the ill effects of promiscuity and other 'indulgences' should be treated with humanity and compassion without stigmatising the cause of these effects. Agreement however, on the above mentioned contention will not remove the need for humanity to deal with the effects of 'disorderly' and 'undisciplined' sexual relationships (although it may reduce the occurence). It will however impact on the ability of human beings to empathise with the 'self-inflicted' suffering of others.

It leaves me asking the question that Selwyn Black asked my own dear first lady;

'Where is god in all of this'

conflict junky

“If you’re under 25 and you live on a sink estate in Lurgan, Craigavon, Derry or Belfast you have a romantic view of the Troubles and no memory of just how fucking awful it was.” so runs the unattributed comment in last week's Economist

I am not sure how useful it is to counter this undoubted truism with a quote of my own.

"If you're of any age, and you are enfranchised anywhere in the world, you have a romatic idea of disenfranchisement, and have no idea of how just how fucking awful it is."

The article itself refers to those who have become bored of daytime tv, clearly indicating that it is not just the young that are susceptible to the allure of violence. The 'fundamentalism' of others would also support this transgenerational disaffection. So it is not just the young and ignorant that are involved.

Effective strategy is absent, remarkably similar to pretty much all the other conflicts in the world and references to lack of community support indicate a validation of violence if it existed.

As an individual, enfranchised by a collective of systems that chooses violence as a means of furthering its objectives, it is impossible to moralise with regard to those that choose violence as a means of furthering their own. I write this upset that the erstwhile Economist feels that the moral approach offers suitable journalistic coverage of this issue.

Another way please...

symposia

There is a mug in my parents cupboard with 'Avoid Symosia, for they involve much chatter and idle talk' on it. I always liked this mug, and not just for the use of plurals ending in 'ia', and tend to try to avoid places where the chat is time filler rather than the purpose.

So, perhaps a surprise to find myself in the last week, going to one symposium after another and trying to make some sense of it all. Interesting as the subject matter might be, it is often hard to maintain the attention any particular presentation deserves as it does into ever more detail about the methodology used to bring about conclusion that most people seem to generally agree with already. So on Reproductive Commodity Security, National Health Programming and HIV Prevention and Care, I am now more knowledgable than I was at the start of the week, but not so clear on what all the experts were doing there other than informing ignoramouses like myself. Ostensibly I was there to network, and did so with all the capriciousness I could muster, the levels varying significantly.

The next week will be the same, as will the week after that. Its not a lifestyle I particularly desire, but it is better than being in the office, and it's hard to look ahead to a working life of this and all the associate trappings.

But in fires like these are the destinies of big world works forged -