Aesop Fables updated-land rat and the frog

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When Mr.Rat advised his government he was heard. He knew the case of Greece, Iceland and several others; He saved the nations from their fate. As Chairman of the Federal Bank he raised interest rates or lowered it and he said his wise moves made the tax payer secure. 'Oh he could sleep like a log.' No wonder he was promoted to the level no president or Minister-President had ever reached.
One morning came Mr.Frog the financial wizard and said,'There is so much Pension Funds tied up and it could be put to work.' Mr.Rat thought that was wonderful. Mr. Frog showed his expertise in squeezing the last drop of wealth lying around untouched.' He hopped from one idea to another. These citizens fanning out every morning using public transport ot bicycles generate so much motion 'and we could convert it into energy. We can save on energy bills'. Another idea was to slap VAT on every tall tale around the pubs to reduce the air of impossibility to bare minimum. Mr. Frog made the eye of Herr direktor pop. 'I have half a mind to tax beer consumers for the foam!'Mr. Rat said with a wink in his eye. Next moment he said with a laugh,'I was joking. Let us leave some simple pleasures to our citizens'. At the end of the series of confabulations they agreed to work together as a team.
Mr. Frog as I said earlier flitted from one cheese paring policy to another till the great Recession came like a deluge. Mr. Rat went under since his fiscal responsibility to the nation made him highly detested. His so called 'wonderful' budget reform was sum total of Mr. Frog's many brain waves. It had made the man on the street seethe with frustration- and when the wave broke Mr. Rat was dead as a door nail.

Mr. Frog would have liked to move on since he owed the tax payer no responsibility. He didn’t waste any tears over the downfall of Mr.Rat. He saw himself more or less a roving fiscal advisor. To him the people were 'muppets' and he a financial miracle- worker. 'Perhaps China could do with my services.' he mused. Only when he tried he realized his connection with Mr.Rat was a liability and none wanted to hear him. Poor Frog, how long one can go on irresponsibly through the wreckage of his own making and not get hurt?
benny

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Aesop Fables: the fuller and the collier

A fuller whose job is to make the clothes shine had large grounds. He thought someone else could set up his trade there. He knew the rent would add to his profits. So he sent advertisements all around for some trader or an artisan to move in. One day a collier dropped in. He was interested. All he needed was a furnace and space for storing firewood. ‘Just let me in. I look after my needs and pay rent on the day agreed and give you no trouble’,said he.
The fuller took the collier to show his line of business. ‘See I only need sunshine and space to hang all the clothes bleached to dry out.’
The collier showed him in his turn how he worked. ‘See that chimney stack. It takes all the smoke and will not trouble you or me.’
The fuller however was not convinced. He said, ‘you shall keep your end of the bargain.I know. Unfortunately we share the same sky. I need the sun to make my clothes shine spotless and keep their whiteness. But can I trust wind or your smoke? I know you mean no harm. But the wind may blow all that smoke onto my space and undo my hard work. It is better that you go elsewhere. It will give me peace.’
The State and Religion cannot mix. There are so many imponderables and not a single state has been saved by religion. Instead Religion has only defeated every effort of best of men who would give peace to men within the state. Look at Spain under the Moors. How the Moors and Christians fought for its control? Imagine what would have been the case had the Moors still controlled Spain? It would have been another Syria under Bashar Assad or Libya. Now Spain under the Catholic Church produced Franco. With the Church interfering every horror man could think of under the sun has come one after the other: Inquisition, civil war, stolen children, forced adoption,sex abuse. For all the iron heel of church or dictatorship what is the economic situation? Unemployment is very high and Recession is very much there. If one looks where Spain (or any other nation where religion plays a vital role), it will be clear where these nations stand in terms of happiness.(OECD.org) Religion has been man’s own device to make him fall headlong into the pit of misery. Religion and State have been devil’s prescription for man’s pride that makes him think he is in control of his own destiny.
Remember Guernica? Remember Bali Bombing?
benny

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