Politics and the Afterlife

One day a woman who was a great politician and a senior official in her party was killed. When she reached the other world, Saint Peter welcomed her and said:

– “Where would you like to spend your eternity, in Hell or Heaven?”

She thinks about it for a while and says:

– “I am not sure”.

– “Then”, says Saint Peter, “we will do the following, you will spend 24 hours in Hell and 24 in Heaven and then you decide”.

The politician agrees. So they first go to Hell.

There the politician sees all her dead politician friends playing golf, gambling in the casino, drinking champagne, flirting, and generally having a lot of fun. Even the Devil was with them, telling them the best jokes. All was very nice and the politician was having a great time.

But before she knew it, 24 hours passed, and Saint Peter took her to Heaven. Heaven was a very quiet place with a peaceful atmosphere, the angels were playing peaceful music with their harps and lyres, the philosophers were talking about life and death and everyone was talking together with God who was very sweet and pleasant.

The politician was feeling very good and before she knew it, those 24 hours had passed, Saint Peter asked her what she had decided now that he had seen both places…

The politician thinks about it a bit and tells him:

– “Heaven was very nice and peaceful, but in Hell all my friends were there, and they had more fun, so I would prefer Hell.” 

Saint Peter respects her wish and sends her to Hell.

But Hell was a little different now, a broken-down place with a suffocating atmosphere and all the politician’s friends were working in the warehouses and carrying huge stones while the Devil was above their heads and ordering them around all the time.

The disgruntled politician goes and asks him:

– “What happened here; Yesterday everything was so nice, and everyone was having fun…”

And the Devil answers her:

“Then we had an election campaign, today you voted for us!”

Μια μέρα σκοτώθηκε μια γυναίκα που ήταν μεγάλη πολιτικός και μεγαλοστέλεχος στο κόμμα της. Όταν έφτασε στον άλλο κόσμο, την υποδέχτηκε ο Άγιος Πέτρος και της λέει:

– «Πού θα ήθελες να περάσεις την αιωνιότητά σου, στην Κόλαση ή στον Παράδεισο»;
Εκείνη το σκέφτεται λίγο και λέει:
– «Δεν είμαι σίγουρη».
– «Τότε», λέει ο Άγιος Πέτρος, «θα κάνουμε το εξής, θα περάσεις 24 ώρες στην Κόλαση και 24 ώρες στον Παράδεισο και μετά αποφασίζεις.»

Η πολιτικός συμφωνεί. Πάνε λοιπόν, στην Κόλαση.

Εκεί η πολιτικός βλέπει όλους τους πολιτικούς φίλους της που είχαν πεθάνει να παίζουν γκολφ, να ποντάρουν στο καζίνο, να πίνουν σαμπάνια, να φλερτάρουν και γενικά να διασκεδάζουν πολύ. Ακόμα και ο Διάβολος ήταν μαζί τους και κάνανε παρέα, λέγοντάς τους τα καλύτερα ανέκδοτα. Όλα πολύ ωραία και η πολιτικός περνούσε υπέροχα.

Πριν όμως να το καταλάβει, πέρασαν οι 24 ώρες και ήρθε ο Άγιος Πέτρος να την πάρει να πάνε στον Παράδεισο. Ο Παράδεισος ήταν ένα πολύ ήσυχο μέρος με ήρεμη ατμόσφαιρα, οι άγγελοι έπαιζαν γαλήνια μουσική με τις άρπες και τις λύρες τους, οι φιλόσοφοι μιλούσαν για τη ζωή και το θάνατο και όλοι μαζί συζητούσαν με τον Θεό που ήταν πολύ γλυκός κι ευχάριστος.

Η πολιτικός αισθανόταν πολύ όμορφα και πριν να το καταλάβει, πέρασαν και αυτές οι 24 ώρες, ώσπου ήρθε ο Άγιος Πέτρος για να τη ρωτήσει τί αποφάσισε τώρα που είδε και τα δύο μέρη…Η πολιτικός το σκέφτεται λίγο και του λέει:
– «Ο Παράδεισος ήταν πολύ ωραίος και γαλήνιος, αλλά στην Κόλαση ήταν όλοι οι φίλοι μου και διασκέδαζαν πιο πολύ, οπότε θα προτιμήσω την Κόλαση».
Ο Άγιος Πέτρος σέβεται την επιθυμία της και την στέλνει στην Κόλαση.

Όμως, η Κόλαση ήταν λίγο διαφορετική τώρα, ένα διαλυμένο μέρος με αποπνικτική ατμόσφαιρα και όλοι οι φίλοι της πολιτικού δούλευαν στα κάτεργα και κουβαλούσαν τεράστιες πέτρες, ενώ και ο Διάβολος ήταν πάνω από τα κεφάλια τους και τους διέταζε συνεχώς.

Η πολιτικός δυσαρεστημένη πάει και τον ρωτά:

– «Τι έγινε εδώ; Προχθές όλα ήταν τόσο ωραία και όλοι διασκέδαζαν…»

Και ο Διάβολος της απαντά:

«Τότε είχαμε προεκλογική εκστρατεία, σήμερα μας ψήφισες!»

Source

Samarra, Evangelia.

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Fanni is Radnóti's wife
Located near the Tang capital city of Chang’an, site of the modern city of Xi’an in Shaanxi province, in central China.
Soldiers of that time commonly wore a white head cloth, similar to what is still worn by some peasants in China today.  The implication is that the conscripts were so young that they didn’t know how to wrap their head cloths, and needed help from elders.
Before China’s unification under the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C. there were several competing smaller kingdoms.  Han and Qin were two of these kingdoms. Han was located east of famous mountain passes that separated that area from the power base of the Qin dynasty, with its capital in Chang’an. The Qin dynasty itself only lasted about 15 years after unification due to its draconian rule, but soldiers under Qin rule retained a reputation as strong fighters.
The area of Guanxi, meaning “west of the passes”, refers to the area around the capital city of Chang’an.
This is an alternative name for a province in western China, now known as Qinghai, which literally means “blue sea”.  Kokonor Lake, located in Qinghai, is the largest saline lake in China.  
Before China’s unification under the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C. there were several competing smaller kingdoms.  Han and Qin were two of these kingdoms. Han was located east of famous mountain passes that separated that area from the power base of the Qin dynasty, with its capital in Chang’an. The Qin dynasty itself only lasted about 15 years after unification due to its draconian rule, but soldiers under Qin rule retained a reputation as strong fighters.
Oulart Hollow was the site of a famous victory of the Irish rebels over British troops, which took place on May 27, 1798. The rebels killed nearly all the British attackers in this battle. (Source: Maxwell, W. H. History of the Irish Rebellion in 1798. H. H. Bohn, London 1854, pp 92-93, at archive.org)
The phrase "United Men" is elaborated upon in the Notes section below.

Ghetto


An Italian word meaning “foundry.” It originally referred to a part of the city of Venice where the Jews of that city were forced to live; the area was called “the ghetto” because there was a foundry nearby. The term eventually came to refer to any part of a city in which a minority group is forced to live as a result of social, legal, or economic pressure. Because of the restrictions placed upon them, ghetto residents are often impoverished.

"You’re five nine, I am do-uble two"


A reference to the year 1959 and the year 2020.

"The Currency"


Meaning US dollars - this is drawing attention to the fact that Cuba is effectively dollarized.

"Sixty years with the dom-ino stuck"


This sentence is a reference to the Cold War notion that countries would turn Communist one after the other - like dominos. Cuba was the first domino, but it got stuck - no one else followed through into communism.

رحلنا


رحلنا, or "rahalna," means "we have left."

Habibi


Habibi means "my love."

Ra7eel


Ra7eel, or "raheel," means "departure."

3awda


3awda, or "awda," means "returning."

أهلاً


أهلاً, or "ahalan," means "welcome."

a5 ya baba


a5 ya baba, pronounced "akh ya baba," means "Oh my father."

golpe


Treece translates "golpe" as "beating", which is correct, however misses the secondary meaning of the word: "coup".

Carlos


The “Carlos” referred to in the poem is most likely Carlos Bolsonaro, a politician from Rio de Janeiro and the second son of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s current president. His and his father’s involvement in Marielle’s murder has been questioned and investigated.