Upcoming Events

International | Consumer Issues

no events match your query!

New Events

International

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

Anti-Empire

offsite link North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Trump Assembles a War Cabinet Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Slavgrinder Ramps Up Into Overdrive Tue Nov 12, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link ?Existential? Culling to Continue on Com... Mon Nov 11, 2024 10:28 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link US to Deploy Military Contractors to Ukr... Sun Nov 10, 2024 02:37 | Field Empty

Anti-Empire >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Richard Tice Demands Apology From Matt Hancock Over Covid Vaccines: ?Horrendous at Every Level? Thu Jan 16, 2025 15:38 | Will Jones
Reform Party leader Richard Tice has called for former Health Secretary Matt Hancock to apologise over his handling of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, calling it "horrendous at every level".
The post Richard Tice Demands Apology From Matt Hancock Over Covid Vaccines: “Horrendous at Every Level” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Keir Starmer?s Human Rights Lawyer Chum is Shipwrecking His Government Thu Jan 16, 2025 13:00 | Will Jones
From handing over the Chagos Islands to compensating Gerry Adams, Starmer's decisions owe more to human rights lawyers than sound politics. He needs to sack his chum Lord Hermer before he shipwrecks his Government.
The post Keir Starmer’s Human Rights Lawyer Chum is Shipwrecking His Government appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Why the ?1 in 73 Muslims in Rotherham? Statistic Is Misleading Thu Jan 16, 2025 11:00 | Noah Carl
One figure that has been repeatedly cited in the grooming gangs debate is that 1 in 73 Muslim men in the town of Rotherham has been prosecuted for grooming gang offences. However, this figure is slightly misleading.
The post Why the ?1 in 73 Muslims in Rotherham? Statistic Is Misleading appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Heat Pumps May Never be Cheaper than Gas Boilers, Miliband Admits Thu Jan 16, 2025 09:00 | Will Jones
Heat pumps may never be cheaper than gas boilers, Ed Miliband has admitted as Labour sneaks a new boiler tax through Parliament that will push up prices.
The post Heat Pumps May Never be Cheaper than Gas Boilers, Miliband Admits appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Net Zero vs AI: Starmer Hasn?t Worked Out That The U.K. Can?t Be a ?Superpower? in Both Climate and ... Thu Jan 16, 2025 07:00 | Ben Pile
Keir Starmer wants Britain to be both an "AI superpower" and a "clean energy superpower". He can't have it both ways, says Ben Pile. AI is hugely energy intensive and inconsistent with the path Net Zero is leading us down.
The post Net Zero vs AI: Starmer Hasn’t Worked Out That The U.K. Can’t Be a ‘Superpower’ in Both Climate and Computing appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Trump and Musk, Canada, Panama and Greenland, an old story, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Jan 14, 2025 07:03 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?114-115 Fri Jan 10, 2025 14:04 | en

offsite link End of Russian gas transit via Ukraine to the EU Fri Jan 10, 2025 13:45 | en

offsite link After Iraq, Libya, Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, the Pentagon attacks Yemen, by Thier... Tue Jan 07, 2025 06:58 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?113 Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:42 | en

Voltaire Network >>

What is "luck"?

category international | consumer issues | opinion/analysis author Wednesday December 22, 2004 12:00author by i remember Report this post to the editors

a reflection on chance.

As I watched the annual Televised lottery numbers taken from the drum this morning by little orphan children, and the first prize awarded to a ticket whic had been bought in the Catalan Town of "Sort" which translates to the english "Luck", I thought about the concept of luck as one of the other writers of the collective in the last days as wondered about "Belief".

The biggest lotteries on the continent have names, the pre-Christmas lottery in Spain is called "the fat one" and the company "Bruja d'Oro" or "witch of gold" boast the most ticket sales.

Certainly many people go to the town of Surt to buy their tickets thinking the name of the place will give them "luck", and so the "odds" of the winning ticket being bought there are thought to be "better".

But at end, it is the orphan children of Madrid who pick the numbers from the drum, and indeed are not they lucky to be so well housed and fed and have their fifteen minutes of fame on TV?

Wasn't the buyer of the ticket in Surt, lucky to live in the Spanish state and not have problems translating their "surt" into "suerte" and claiming the 900,000approx Euros?

Maybe they won't be lucky, maybe the money will bring them grief...

Wasn't Harney and Mc Dowell and all the rest lucky to get the parents they did and the education and opportunities they did and do so well?

Weren't all the soldiers who killed and survived the spanish civil war, the irish civil war, the european wars lucky?

Weren't all the young men who weren't drafted linto armies lucky?

Wasn't the thief on the cross lucky just to get his leg broken and hobble away?

My friends in NYC tell me they were lucky not to be in the Twin Towers that day.

My friend in the wheelchair with whom I was that day, says she was unlucky to be in the car crash, but lucky to come out of the coma.

My students told me they were lucky not to have relatives in Madrid that other day.

Some say they are unlucky to lose governments.

Some say there is nothing as luck, it is all destined.

Luck seems for many to walk hand in hand with superstition. The belief that by doing certain things, or saying certain things we may change the order of cuases and effects.

Those religious fanatics who knock on my door, telling me how a name ought be pronounced to stem the end of the world, are as superstitious as those who would read cards for me and tell me will I meet any tall dark strangers...

Those of the calvanist tradition and many oriental traditions believe luck is a sign of favour from God a sign of being "elect".

Some dedicate their fine monkey brains to the analysis of numbers, statistics and look for micro and macro indicators daily to predict and see the future trends, of stock markets, share prices, currency values, share of budget for old people, demographic increase of those who will survive birth, global warming et cetera...

Some just "live day by day".

"I am lucky through my unluck", somehow would never have seemed a line from any Aquinine or Augustine text.

But the poor wth less than a Euro a day go to heaven.
and the cows of the EU get 4eu a day.

Some farmers say they are lucky to have black sheep...

 #   Title   Author   Date 
   I don't know about you mate     jeff    Thu Dec 23, 2004 04:43 
   mistranslation     Jordi    Thu Dec 23, 2004 14:12 
   Practice     Sean    Thu Dec 23, 2004 23:09 


 
© 2001-2025 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy