i'm doing a phd, from home, to take care of my daughter to cut after school costs. as for fuel allowance it comes in at 20 euro a week a bag of coal is 12-15 euro. a bag of coal heats the house for a day and a half

goodness we have to get some wood cut for the winter now. the nights are nearly gone. thanks anfor, it's not too original though but it's not so difficult to do I guess.

as for the bit that went over your head maybe read it a loud.
and no NO one should go cold or hungry etc there is no logical or economical reason however they do. a lot of people. presumably not your "friends" though...

Its difficult enough ML I try but sometimes its hard not to be cynical but its whats needed to enjoy and make the most of life..

Its dangerous to dwell too much upon the wrongs of the world, coz really, even if you spent your nights and day being an activist, and your spare time working for charities, and then still found the time to go into politics - there's very little you can do about it.

I agree. It's not good for one's mental health either. Mary Robinson, as UN High Commissioner, has made a similar point a few times in the past.

unfortunately st. perry cormo i have not the time to dedicate myself as fully as you illustrate possible. but i'm not a complete defeatist. yes there is little i can do but i can change my life and express me attitude then maybe change or broaden yours bring up my daughter in a way that encourages her to be active and politically astute and who knows one by one if the change starts with me then maybe my grandchild will be a real leader some day...

Yes that is true, but, however, imagine if each person just did one thing to help someone who needed it.. That would be an awful lot of good...

and its irresponcible to not dwell on, acknowledge, debate and try to understand and illuminate the mechanisms that support the wrongs of the world. like uninformed or complacement attitudes...

Its also wrong to spend all your time doing that... You have to be able to see some of the good things too...

Oh but I do.... a lot of the time. I speak out against them too.
I'm certainly not uninformed or complacent. By a long shot.

But there comes a time in my life when I have to switch off, else I'd have a breakdown. Seriously, I would. Simply because there is so much wrong in the world.
Switching off from the evils of the world to have time for yourself is, actually, very responsible.
Because if I burn myself out from worrying about it all too much, I'll never ever be able to achieve anything, in my own small way.
Its a bit like looking after your own mental well-being as a means to being able to then look after your friends and loved ones.
You're no good to anyone if you're a sobbing mess, huddled in the corner of a padded cell.
Look at what happened to Nietzsche.

Speaking of doing good... I'm watching 'Secret Millionaire' ... this show always has me in floods at the end when they hand out the cash.

there is a lot of good as you said in individuals doing good things i see that all the time. and it gives me heart. its just disheartening right now. and i'm still waiting on the workig class revolution...

You must have blinked during the sixties and missed it!!

A lot of those guy promoting the revolution are businessmen now... things change..

Create your own revolution in your own life...

I think you're gonna be left waiting ... the working class aspire to be the middle class.

Stalin and his boyos in Soviet Russia fucked up any hope of any proper socialist revolution for a long, long time to come.

Capitalism has become greedy and ugly, but it still offers a very aspirational role model.

Your average citizen, given the choice, wants things for him/herself, not for the collective.

Its the postmodern condition Perplexed... the collapse of various societal grand narratives have seen a massive rise in individualism to the complete detriment of any new form of collective social order.

st P i wasn't refering to you well complacent a little by the sounds of it are also fed up???
for the sake of my mental health i do consider these things. its morally nb to me. wish i was a secret millionaire.
have i any cash i don't know about? offshore? maybe in the sofa...