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Dark_Apollo
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For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12
Dark_Apollo
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The lesson from the ruins of Notre Dame: don’t rely on billionaires

You remember the story, of course you do. One of the most ancient and holy buildings on Earth, Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, goes up in flames. As pictures of the inferno are beamed around the world, adjectives rain down: it is atrocious, disastrous, diabolical.

Barely has the fire been put out before some of the richest people in France rush to help rebuild it. From François-Henri Pinault, the ultimate owner of Gucci, comes €100m (£90m). Not to be outdone, the Arnault family at Louis Vuitton put up €200m. More of the wealthy join the bidding, as if a Damien Hirst is going under the hammer. Within just three days, France’s billionaire class has coughed up nearly €600m. Or so their press releases state.

A few folk question this very public display of plutocratic piety, but we are of course professional malcontents. Some of Paris’s 3,600 rough sleepers protest at how so many euros can be found for a new cathedral roof yet not a cent to put a roof over their heads – still, what do the poor know of the sublime? From all other seats, the applause is deafening. “Billionaires can sometimes come in really handy,” remarks the editor of Moneyweek. “Everybody is at our bedside,” says French TV celeb Stéphane Bern. Flush with cash, French president Emmanuel Macron vows the gothic masterpiece will be rebuilt within five years. Front pages scored, studio hours filled, the world moves on. You almost certainly haven’t heard the rest of the story – yet you should, because it comes with one hell of a twist.

Who will really pay for the restoration of Notre Dame?

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12
AnnaMayZing
Chasing Dragons
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Quote by gillianleeza


How absolutely true that is, Gill.



"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana

Molly
Administration
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Tams
Advanced Wordsmith
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BowTied
Advanced Wordsmith
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I get a kick out of some relatives who say, "Are you SURE you're gay?" They were among the hundred-plus people sitting in the pews of the church as my groom and I, all tuxed and buttoned-up and bow tied, arm-in-arm, with the organist playing The Wedding March, were walking down the aisle and being VERY publicly and conspicuously wed as groom and groom. Even if I decided I WASN'T gay, kind of too late getting away from it now!
BowTied
Advanced Wordsmith
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I get a kick out of some relatives who say, "Are you SURE you're gay?" They were among the hundred-plus people sitting in the pews of the church as my groom and I, all tuxed and buttoned-up and bow tied, arm-in-arm, with the organist playing The Wedding March, were walking down the aisle and being VERY publicly and conspicuously wed as groom and groom. Even if I decided I WASN'T gay, kind of too late getting away from it now!