Holy words come at a hefty price - World - smh.com.au

Perhaps they have been misquoted, but it seems to me like another sign of how far Power has taken these men from the Love of God.

Read more at www.smh.com.au/news/wor...

The Bartlett Diaries » West Papua - asylum seekers and lessons from our history

A good discussion by Andrew Bartlett of the issues around the Papuan refugees.

Read more at www.andrewbartlett.com/...

Asylum seekers boat found - National - smh.com.au

How will the Talk Show Jocks and the other commentators react to this? Clearly we have a moral duty to grant these people asylum, assuming their story is true. I look forward to seeing how the DIMIA reacts.

Read more at www.smh.com.au/news/nat...

Guard forces disabled duo to crawl - National - smh.com.au

This story doesn't add up. Obviously, the security guard was an idiot, but if these guys needed wheelchairs to get around, why didn't they have their own? After all, when they got out of the car somewhere else, how were they going to move away from the car.

Read more at www.smh.com.au/news/nat...

Ruddock canvasses ID card review - National - smh.com.au

I have very mixed feelings about this. I can see the positives for this. If there is a reliable identifier that business can use to verify someone's identity, it will dramatically reduce fraud, however, recording that ID no against a record will make it infinitely easier to match data from a variety of sources. It scares me that this is happening under a government that has shown that it is not really interested in getting consensus.

Read more at www.smh.com.au/news/nat...

Marriage: same sex, same difference - Opinion - smh.com.au

This well thought out article makes you wonder why anyone who believes in liberal democracy would have the slightest hesitation to allow gay marriages. I definitely do not want to live in a theocracy, so why am I not more actively supporting the right of homosexuals to marriage (by whatever name).

Read more at www.smh.com.au/news/opi...

I spent the week with my sister Nicola in Crescent Head. We had a great time with their kids. I have to say though that it was good to get home to the relative peace and quiet of our place.

It is interesting that I am feeling a little inhibited about what I write after Nicola telling me (referring to my speculation that noone reads this) that she does read it.

It is one thing writing thinking that noone is reading, though that seems strange given this technically public forum.

Nic's house was totally chaotic and I don't think I could stand it for too long, but, despite that, the kids seem to have a great time and are all great kids.

Gay cowboy film blackout up north - Film - Entertainment - smh.com.au

This is really going to confront a whole lot of people. I hope it is very successful so that people are forced to think through this issue.

Read more at smh.com.au/news/film/br...

Street Stories - 24/12/2005: Locked In With Friends

I listened to this story on Podcast yesterday and it really hit home with what we could have been dealing with after Lauren's incident. This guy has been confined to a bed for eight years now without any ability to communicate or move. What is surprising is that his friends continue to keep up regular contact with him. Very moving story, especially after what we have been through.

Read more at www.abc.net.au/rn/histo...

For heaven's sake - Books - Entertainment - smh.com.au

Great article. I agree with so much of what she has to say. I bet there are lots of conservatives squirming over this.

Read more at smh.com.au/news/books/f...

Just put it up: Iemma - National - smh.com.au

This is starting to look like jingoistic McCarthyism. Do we all have to prove we are Australian by plastering every building with an Aussie flag? It is starting to be a bit llike those American movies where people randomly recite the Pledge Of Allegience and criticise others for not joining in.

Read more at www.smh.com.au/news/nat...

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty (I
think that God as Father is limiting. For me, Lifeblood, or Life force rings
truer.),

maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.
(I don’t know if God created the earth or it has always been. It doesn’t matter
to me either way. What I do believe is that God is at the centre of all
creation.)

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, light from light, true God from true God,

begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. (Is
Jesus God? I think that Jesus is God in the sense that we are all part of the
Unity of God. I think that Jesus’ self awareness or God-awareness is what makes
him God.)

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,

by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary and became truly
human. (Jesus has shown by his example a way to God)

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered, died and was buried.

On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end. (Now this one, I have no
clue about. I guess I will just have to wait and see.)

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son. Who with the Father and the Son is
worshiped and glorified.

Who has spoken through the prophets. (For me, this part of
God is the part that I see most clearly. The Spirit of God as the Life
force/heartbeat is what I relate most to)

We believe in one holy Catholic and apostolic Church. (This
is one that I really can’t agree with. Even though Catholic means universal, I
can’t see any universality in the Catholic Church. The exclusion of homosexuals
and the judgemental attitude that seems prevalent in both the church hierarchy
and far too many Catholics makes me feel uncomfortable to claim it as mine.)

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. (I
believe that there is nothing to forgive. Perhaps that is because of Jesus’
Death and resurrection, or perhaps not. I believe that our separation from God
is an illusion that we create for ourselves. There is nothing to forgive,
because there is no separation.)

We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
(I believe that Eternal life is now. We do not have to
wait for death to join in the life of God, it is already available to us if we
only accept.)

Amen.

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.

Read more at www.smh.com.au/news/opi...

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?