Our Daily Bleed...
What has been separated from the mother,
Must again be joined; for we were born of spirit, & to spirit all mortal things return, As it is necessary in the method of the earth. So sings the parable of singleness. My comforter does not conceal his face; I have seen appearances that were not marshalled By sleep. |
DECEMBER 25
JESUS OF NAZARETH
Persecuted leader of an underground liberation movement,
jubilator, social radical, martyr, son of a God.
CHRISTIAN CHRISTMAS. Santa Claus — Capitalist Tool or Red Menace?
BIRTH DAY OF MITHRAS. Persian symbol of the ever-returning sun, celebrated at midwinter & embodying the triumph of light over darkness. He is recalled in blazing fires & puddings.
Aztec calendar: Today is CIPACTLI (Crocodile). Protector of the day is Tonacatecuhtli, Lord of Nurturance, the primordial god of creation & fertility. Cipactli is an auspicious day, signifying advancement & honor. It depicts energy & work, rewards & recognition. A good day for beginnings.
BIRTH DAY of the sun god ATTIS, at Phrygia, now in Turkey.
Congo: CHILDREN'S DAY.
CELEBRATE OUR MONKEYS ANCESTORS DAY.
0 -- Symbolic beginning of the destruction of the world in the name of Jesus Christ & Western Civilization. The birthday of the 'christ-god' only falls in step with the 25th in 354CE & only becomes important enough to merit the name 'Christmas' in 1132CE.
JESUS 1997 PATRON SAINT
Persecuted leader of an underground liberation movement, Jubilator, social radical, martyr.
Apocryphal birth of Jesus Christ, in an obscure village, child of a peasant woman. Worked in a carpenter shop until 30. Then for three years an unemployed itinerant preacher. Never wrote a book, never held office, had a family or owned a house. Didn't go to college, had no credentials. Never visited a big city nor traveled more than 200 miles from his birthplace. Did none of the things one usually associates with greatness.
He was 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him & his pals ditched him. Turned over to his enemies, went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, his only property. Buried in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.Fully fits the description of a bum, a vagrant, a ne'er do well.
God rest ye Bleeders/Bibliomaniacs/Moocheads, let nothing you dismayRemember there's no evidence there was a Christmas day.When Christ was born just is not known, no matter what they say,Glad tidings of reason & fact, reason & fact,Glad tidings of reason & fact.
There was no star of Bethlehem, there was no angel song,There could have been no wise men, for the journey was too long,The stories in the Bible are historically wrong,Glad tidings of reason & fact, reason & fact,Glad tidings of reason & fact.
Much of our Christmas custom comes from Persia & from Greece,From solstice celebrations of the ancient Middle East,Our so-called Christmas holiday is but a pagan feast,Glad tidings of reason & fact, reason & fact,Glad tidings of reason & fact.
(this ran in sci.archaeology in 1994, with a credit to "author unknown")
Don't trust me.
— John
How certain are you, LimeyBeing?
— Dan
That was the consensus in the Groves of Academe last I heard.
— John
The beauty of this multicultural system, to me, resides in its total lack of allegiance to any one emic reality, & in its conditioning the users to think in comparative realities. Thus, to most Americans, December 25 means Christ-mass & even the atheists feel dragged into the Reality Grid of the Romish cult. But on my multiple calendar system, the same date appears in many guises — as 25 Zeus, 72 p.s.U. or as 25 December Anno XC or as 25 Sable 122 E.P. or as 5 Nivose, 203, or as 22 Rajab, 1373 A.H. or as 67 International Relations, 3178 y.C., or as the 22nd day of the 11th month, 4692, or as 11 Dog, 5106, , or as 23 Teves 5755 A.M., or as 67 Realpolitik, 5994 A.L. You have a wide choice of what to celebrate. Why not celebrate all of them? But don't go driving afterwards.
Although Christians celebrate December 25 as the birthday of Christ, no one in the first two Christian centuries had any knowledge of the exact day or year in which he was born. Most Christians were more interested with the story of his death. However, early in the fourth-century, Church fathers, who were concerned about the popularity of Mithraism, designated December 25th, the traditional birthday of the sun god Mithras, as Christ's official birth date. The celebration of the birth of Christ also took over the pagan winter solstice holiday, which like the birthday of Mithras, fell in late December. From thereon, December 25th was to be observed at a holy mass, or "Christ's Mass."
336 -- First recorded celebration of Christmas on December 25 occurs in Rome.
1611 -- Merry Christmas?:
Settlers under Sir Thomas Dale destroy Apamatuks village on the lower Appomattox River in Virginia; settlers erect townsite of Bermuda Hundred on the site.
Thus the Blessed Isles are converted into a Leviathanic wilderness or, in the other language, the Wilderness is converted into a part of Christian Civilization.
— Fredy Perlman, Against His-story, Against Leviathan!
1621 -- New Old World: No More "Age of Empires"?: Massachusetts halts all sinful game-playing, confiscates toys. Sorry, No more Sega Dreamcaster. No more Sony Playstation. Toy R Us lays off thousands. Toys.com sees shares fall from $86 to two-bits.
1642 -- Isaac Newton, astronomer/mathematician, author of Principia, lives, Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire.
1647 -- England: "Multitude's Idle Day": in opposition to miserable puritanism & the increasing centralisation of authority, a Canterbury crowd close down all the shops that have obeyed the order to open for Christmas. They proceed to serve free drinks for all, pelt the Presbyterian minister with shit, & open the city gaol.
When the mayor is vanquished & his officers seen off, the crowd produces footballs & some billeted republican soldiers desert & join in the fun.Source: [Calendar Riots]
1721 -- William Collins, pre-Romantic poet considered one of the finest English lyric poets of the 18th century, lives, Chichester, Sussex. His "Ode on the Popular Superstitions of the Highlands of Scotland" (1749) anticipates many of the attitudes & interests of the Romantic poets.
1771 -- Dorothy Wordsworth, sister & caretaker to William, lives, Cockermouth, Cumberland. Her own writings, Alfoxden Journal & Grasmere Journals are appreciated as much for the imaginative power of their description of nature, perfection of style, & revelation of a personality of unusual quality as they are for the light they throw on her brother.
"I should detest the idea of setting myself up as an author."
1776 -- New Old World: During the American War for Independence, General George Washington violates the traditional Christmas truce, leading a secret crossing of the Delaware River with 5,400 troops, hoping to surprise a Hessian force celebrating Christmas at their winter quarters in Trenton, New Jersey.
The unconventional attack comes after months of defeats for Washington's army, & the loss of New York City & other strategic points in the state. At about 11 at night on Christmas, his army begins crossing the half-frozen river at three locations. The 2,400 soldiers brave the freezing temperature, rain, & icy river, & reach the New Jersey side of the Delaware before dawn. The other two divisions (some 3,000 men & important artillery) fail to reach the meeting point by the time of the attack. At approximately 8am of December 26, his remaining force, separated into two columns, reaches the outskirts of Trenton & descends on the unsuspecting Hessians. Trenton's 1,400 Hessian defenders are groggy from the previous evening's festivities &, after months of decisive British victories throughout New York, underestimate the Patriot threat.
(Oh, & did we mention his famed dentures weren't made of wood?)
1796 -- Writer Fernán Caballero (Cecilia Francisca Josefa de Arrom) lives.
1837 -- US: Beloved & Respected Comrade Leader Col. Zachary Taylor, commanding 1,100 troops, attacks Seminole tribe on north shore of Lake Okeechobee, Florida. 170 troops & 14 Seminoles killed.
1868 -- US: Despite bitter opposition, Beloved & Respected Comrade Leader President Andy Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion (the Civil War).
1870 -- Germany: Rosa Luxembourg's 'official' birthday — see 5 March.Source: [Calendar Riots]
1875 -- Jessie Wallace Hughan, founder of War Resisters League (WRL), lives.
"A war is not like an earthquake or a tornado — it is an act of men & women. Wars will cease when men refuse to fight — & women refuse to approve. Do not allow people to lead you to think for a moment that war is a necessary institution."
1887 -- Overwhelmed by poverty, ideological confusion, grief at his grandmother's death, & ineligibility as a peasant to enter the Imperial Kazan University, Maxim Gorky attempts suicide at 18.
1892 -- Rebecca West lives. English journalist, novelist, critic. Her companion for 10 years was H. G. Wells. Their son Anthony is also a noted author & critic. West is perhaps best known for her reports on the Nürnberg trials (1945-46).
1899 -- Film tough-guy Humphrey Bogart lives again. Stars in John Huston's film of anarchist B. Traven's novel, Treasure of the Sierra Madre & other excellent films such as The African Queen, Casablanca, The Big Sleep & The Maltese Falcon. Humphrey Bogart was an expert chess player & played for stakes.
1902 -- England: Dec 25/26, founding Congress of the Federation of the Anarchist Groups of Yiddish language of the United Kingdom & Paris, held in London.
A federation of Jewish anarchist groups was formed in 1902, the circulation of the papers & other publications increased, & a thriving social club was opened in Jubilee Street in East London in 1906.
1903 -- Radical illustrator Raphael Soyer, lives — the quintessence of weary wistfulness.
1910 -- Dynamite Xmas?: Dynamite bomb destroys a portion of the Llewellyn Ironworks in Los Angeles, where a bitter strike is in progress.
1914 -- All Quiet on the Western Front?: Traitors, cowards & would-be draft dodgers & riff-raff celebrate Christmas in no mans land.
Just after midnight on Christmas morning, the majority of German troops engaged in WWI cease firing guns & artillery, & commence to sing Christmas carols.
At certain points along the Eastern & Western fronts, the soldiers of Russia, France, & Britain even hear brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing. At the first light of dawn, many of the German soldiers emerge from their trenches & approach the Allied lines across no man's land, calling out "Merry Christmas" in their enemies' native tongues. At first the Allied soldiers suspect it to be a trick, but soon climb out of their trenches & shake hands with the German soldiers. The men exchange presents of cigarettes & plum puddings & sing carols & songs & the Christmas Truce lasts a few days.Documentation is fragmentary since it was contrary to direct orders & the legal penalty for such fraternizing with the enemy was death! But even in this brutal war, peace was found on this day by ignoring political & military authority.All quiet on the Western Front, nobody saw
A youth asleep in the foreign soil, planted by the warFeel the pulse of human blood pouring forthSee the stems of Europe bend under forceAll quietAll quietAll quiet on the Western Front
— Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Bernie Taupin
1919 --Chile: Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) forms administration.
1923 -- ToysRUs?: 57-year-old author/socialist H. G. Wells spends Christmas morning playing with his new toy soldiers.
1924 -- Rod Serling lives in the Night Gallery, Twilight Zone, Binghampton, NY.
1925 -- Carlos Castaneda lives. Anthropologist & author of number of book describing the teachings of Don Juan, a Yaqui sorcerer & shaman. Castaneda kept himself out of the public eye & there has been much debate as to whether or not his books are documented fact or entirely fiction.
1926 -- Nicaragua:
The prostitutes of Puerto Cabezas help Augusto C. Sandino obtain arms & ammunition.
Nicaragua — a country condemned to produce cheap desserts — keeps ruining the digestion of its customers. In vain the invaders seek victory through hunger, by burning huts & crops.
Families are forced to flee & wander in the mountains. The campesinos believe Sandino knows how to lure the rainbow to him; & as it comes it shrinks until he can pick it up with just two fingers.
1927 -- Argentina: In Buenos Aires, the National City Bank is bombed, killing two & wounding 23 American & Argentinean customers: it is the work of anarchist (Giovanni & the brothers Scarfo) proponents of violent action.
1936 --
Spain: Generalitat de Catalogne publishes a decree legalizing abortion. Pushed for by the women's anarchist group "Mujeres Libres" & enacted because of the strong presence of the libertarians. Article 4 specifies abortions should not exceed three months pregnancy, except in the event of therapeutic need.
http://www.ephemanar.net/decembre25.html
1936 --France: French anarchiste militant Paul Bernard lives.
1938 -- R.U.R. or Are You Ain't?: Karel Capek, dies in Prague. Czech novelist, short-story writer, playwright, & essayist. His last plays were BÃlá nemoc (1937; Power & Glory) & Matka (1937; The Mother). His brother, writer Josef Capek was sent to a German concentration camp & died at Belsen in April 1945.
1941 --
1945 -- US: Christmas tree catches fire in a Hartford, Connecticut hospital. 15 patients & three others die. Gods wraith for excessive fire regulations.
1946 -- W.C. Fields shoots his last billiard ball, Pasadena, California. Loved kids & dogs.
1965 -- Timothy Leary stopped at the Mexican border & busted for marijuana. What we call a borderline case?Leary was arrested regularly & was held captive in 29 different prisons throughout the world.1972 -- Nicaragua: Downtown Managua destroyed by earthquake.1973 -- Tommy Chambers (Scotland) finishes 51 year cycle tour (799,405 miles).1977 -- Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) dies, Switzerland. A socialist, obviously hellbent straight to hell.CHARLIE CHAPLIN
Comic genius & snob, deported from US for radicalism & under-age sexual escapades.
At its peak, the CIA's network included 800 news & public information organizations. Can't those welfare queen liberals mind their own business? These were used for propaganda efforts, or even as cover for operations. Another dozen foreign news organizations were infiltrated by paid CIA agents. At least 22 American news organizations had employed American journalists who were also working for the CIA, & nearly a dozen American publishing houses printed some of the more than 1,000 books that had been produced or subsidized by the CIA. When asked in a 1976 interview whether the CIA had ever told its liberal media agents what to write, the head of the CIA, William Colby replied, "Oh, sure, all the time."
Lots of liberals whine, saying it's not the government's business to tell people what to think. Bunch of sore losers.
1978 -- US: Nicked?: Four American members of Rainbow Alliance in St. Nick garb arrested for climbing fence at Pilgrim Nuclear Plant in Plymouth, Massachusetts.1978 -- Cambodia: Vietnamese troops invade.1979 -- Afghanistan: Russia invades. Geopolitics dictates that the US will take it's failing turn next.1980 -- US: At the Black Alternatives Conference, Walter E Williams says that the "minimum wage law systematically discriminates against the most disadvantaged members of the labor force."How does this law discriminate against blacks? Apparently because blacks "cannot produce $ 3.10-an-hours worth of goods & services." Wow, he's black & he's correct.
Wages reflect the performance of workers — in short, that white men produce more now, & produced even more now than everyone else in the past! CEOs have suddenly gotten more productive, but workers are becoming less so. During recessions & depressions, wages fall because workers, despite being desperate to keep their jobs, are somehow not working as hard.
& of course, rich kids with inheritance work hardest of all, because Jesus predestined them with inheritance.
Enjoy statistics? Also worth noting is that in 1976 the high school OVER qualification rate for blacks was 52% — that's 27% HIGHER than for whites. Whatever that means...but if you quote these statistics people will assume you're well-read.
1981 -- The J. Geils Band play a Christmas concert for the inmates of Norfolk Correctional Center near Boston, the group's hometown. Following the show, lead singer Peter Wolf tells the audience, "We wanna be the first to buy you all a free drink on the outside." (Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.)1983 -- Joan Miro, Spanish surrealist, dies at his home in Majorca, last clocked doing 90.1989 -- Romania: Beloved & Respected Comrade Leader Nicolea Ceausescu Communist dictator, & his wife, are executed.1990 -- India: Mass demonstration to protest dam building & flooding of thousands of farms. Project is eventually significantly reduced, proving that the IMF & World Bank don't always succeed in keeping the rabble in line.1992 -- South Africa: Death of Helen Joseph, anti-apartheid activist.2006 -- James Brown, Godfather of Soul, dies.Singer, jail bird, soul brother #1 ('Say It Loud - I'm Black & I'm Proud' (1968). A massive influence on most forms of black music — soul, hip-hop, funk, R&B & disco.
Later known as Soul Brother Number One, his debut R&B chart entry was "Please, Please, Please" in 1956 ( "A dynamic, religious fervor runs through the pleading solo here. Brown & the Famous Flames group let off plenty of steam." — Billboard)
When fighting numerous traffic violations in the 1980s, his wife Adrienne claims diplomatic immunity on grounds that she is the wife of the Official Ambassador of Soul.2009 -- Ireland: Two more bishops resign due to child sex abuse allegations contained within the Murphy Report. They were Dublin's only remaining two serving auxiliary bishops.
Who's this bum
crept in from the streets
blinking in the neon
an anarchist among the floorwalkers
— Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Director of Alienation
Christian, n. One who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbor. One who follows the teachings of Christ in so far as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin.I dreamed I stood upon a hill, &, lo!
The godly multitudes walked to & froBeneath, in Sabbath garments fitly clad,With pious mien, appropriately sad,While all the church bells made a solemn din —A fire-alarm to those who lived in sin.Then saw I gazing thoughtfully below,With tranquil face, upon that holy showA tall, spare figure in a robe of white,Whose eyes diffused a melancholy light."God keep you, strange," I exclaimed. "You areNo doubt (your habit shows it) from afar;& yet I entertain the hope that you,Like these good people, are a Christian too."He raised his eyes & with a look so sternIt made me with a thousand blushes burnReplied — his manner with disdain was spiced:"What! I a Christian? No, indeed! I'm Christ."— G.J.
— Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
4500 --
Anarchist Chronology
anti-CopyRite 1997-3000, more or less
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