Gangsters' hold on Sydney is safe - Opinion - smh.com.au

I seldom agree with Miranda Devine, and I don't agree with all of this, but I think we really need to bring issues like this out into the open. Government should be made to answer this and we need more honesty along with tolerance.

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Baby's sex test offers new hope - National - smh.com.au

This is one of those signs of the times that scares me. It is just not the thought that people will easily abort foetuses that have abnormalities, but rather the message that it is sending to people with a disability, that they are disposable. It might be starting with sex and genetic disorders, but as the testing becomes more sophisticated, surely the opportunity to select on hair colour, and so many other characteristics will occur.

Where will it end?

Woman, 37, indicted for wedding boy, 15 - World - smh.com.au
It is interesting that society, and me, find it less 'evil' when the male is the child than when the female is the child. I don't know if women feel the same, but I suspect most men think that they would love to have been in this position as teenagers.

I am very aware of the hypocrisy of this and that there is no difference in the ability of a boy or a girl to make a valid decision for themselves, but at some level, it seems worse for a girl.

Chiding for Catholics who stray - World - smh.com.au Another example of how out of touch and irrelevant the vatican is to the lives of it's people and to the life with God. I wonder what they are referring to when they mention profane music in church?


Things like this make me wonder how long the church has left.

I am amazed at how I find my self searching out companionship/solace relief from my aloneness from the internet. I know that I get a lot of information, and stimulating input and reflective ideas from the internet, but too often during each day I go in search of diversion. I am trying to understand what it is that I am seeking. When I notice myself doing this it reminds me that there is nothing that I need that I don't already have.

Push to ban headscarves divisive: Dems - National - smh.com.au

Noone who had read my blog would be surprised to hear that I am opposed to this move to ban the use of headscarves. For a start, while I agree that moslems are using the head scarf as a badge of 'defiance', I don't agree that they necessary mean that they are supporting terror. What I think they are saying is that in spite of the negative pressure exerted by their society, they are still proudly moslem. It is interesting though that it is the women that must bear the burden of this 'defiance'. I wonder why moslem men are not required to show some visual symbol of their religion?

Another interesting effect of this proposal is that moslem girls are far more likely to experience Australian life and become integrated into Australian society if they are attending public schools, yet by following this course of action, we are forcing these girls into the limited thinking that would be provided by attending a religious school.

Although I feel that I could do more to make the world a better place, it fills me with joy to think that my efforts and those of others who petitioned the Australian Government to act for this man have saved his life. Aussie wins clemency from Vietnam death sentence - World - smh.com.au

Too often, we say, "But what can one person do" but this is another illustration that one person can make a difference!

I just checked my cousin's blog The Adventures of a Little Fish in a Big Sea and was disappointed to find that he hadn't blogged since April, when it occurred to me that it had been quite a while since I had blogged too. I have no idea whether anyone reads my blog because I have never had a comment added (sorry Louanne, I forgot that you did once). I suppose when we blog we are all hoping that someone out there cares enough to stop by and read. But then again, I read lots of blogs and almost never leave any comments. I wonder, if this need to be noticed/loved is something we all feel, but that we tend not to reach out, how ironic it is. Is it really that simple, that all we need to do is to reach out instead of waiting for others to reach out to us?

Ruddock accused of raid leak - National - smh.com.au The 'security' forces are running rough shod over our civil liberties and what does everyone do? Watch Big Brother I guess. How long will it be before people realise what is being done in their name?

Sex assault strike force: have you seen this man? - National - smh.com.au What on earth is a seven year old doing on the streets on his own at 9:30pm!!!

I spent Monday and Tuesday in Brisbane. I am amazed at how easily I can deceive myself that flying interstate and staying at fancy hotels makes me a great person. Qantas are running a competition at the moment to win a Lexus. You dont have to do anything except fly to be in the running for the prize. I read that the prize was worth $150K and thought of course I would sell the car and pay off the mortgage. Then I saw the car and started thinking how great I would look in it. We truly are children.

It could have been five weeks ago - World - smh.com.au And this story is a fantastic illustration of why Australia should not be in Iraq except in a peace keeping role. We clearly do not understand the local culture and are not doing enough to learn. In a country that was 'liberated' over two years ago, and has had 'democratic' elections, it is deplorable that military forces would behave like this. And for australia to be involved is so far from what we believe of ourselves!

I have always found Juan Cole's observations to be informative and accurate. Here is what he says about the future of peace for Iraq.Informed Comment

Against his will, the transfusion that saved a boy - National - smh.com.au: "determination"

This is a difficult situation! I think I would have found as the judge did. Even though he is at an age of reason, a child would find it very difficult to look beyond the grounding that he had received. Even as an adult, I find it difficult to know whether I am thinking rationally, or deciding based on programming and rationalising my justification. I think for adults, we just have to accept that they have the right to make a decision. However, I say all of this without the experience of having a religious view that is so violently different than the mainstream. I suppose some of my views are, but I can't think which of them is at risk of being opposed in the courts.

A matter of where life is cheaper - Opinion - www.smh.com.au

A great article. It really makes you think. I have been very alarmed by the obvious xenophobia and racism inherent in most of the reporting of the drug cases in Indonesia. I find it particularly ironic that people are so critical of the Indonesionan (Napoloeonic) legal system where the onus is on the accused to prove innocence. At the time of the trial of Amrozi and the others accused of the Bali bombing, the media and talk back were 'waxing lyrical' about how much better the Indonesian system was for getting a quick result.

Australia's sexiest woman - People - www.smh.com.au

How fascinating the role that 'fame' has in whether people are considered 'sexy'. Some of these women are not particularly outstanding, it is merely the fact of their fame that defines them as 'sexy'. To me that confirms that the largest sex organ is the brain. We are all deluding ourselves constantly and can create happiness for ourselves at anytime, merely by imagining it.

Although I do believe this, yet I still manage to create unhappiness for myself too often. Why do I do it. And also, if I do create happiness for myself with my imagination, is this the same as putting my head in the sand or can I create 'happiness' and still act as an agent of change?

Ratzinger a strict defender of orthodoxy - World - www.smh.com.au

Is this a great day for the church? My gut says no. I don't see Ratzinger as inclusive in any way. I think he is far more interested in following the rules than in celebrating the love of God. My prayer is that I am wrong.

Families of alleged traffickers Bali bound - World - www.smh.com.au

This can't be good for Schapelle Corby. I'm sure that the general public in Indonesia would think that Australia if full of drug dealers. Except for the possibility of corruption, she probably is better off without a jury trial. Hopefully the Judges are not swayed by public opinion.

This weekend was the first quiet weekend we have had in over a month. Donna and I went out to dinner on Saturday night, but that is about all. It was nice for a change.

Crowds angry as police close queues - World - www.smh.com.au

How ironic that people caught up in religious fervour could lash out at the police. To me this seems a long way from God! God must surely be shaking her head just like me.