Archive for April, 2010


Catherine Deveny on ANZAC Day

Filed under: ANZAC Day, violence, war — 9 Comments
April 24, 2010

This afternoon, between 3.01 pm and 5.16 pm, Catherine Deveny (@CatherineDeveny), a columnist for The Age newspaper in Melbourne, posted 14 interesting tweets about ANZAC Day.  One she deleted before I could save it. Here are the rest (warning: strong language):

Don’t support Anzac Day. Refuse to celebrate a glorification of war that ignores the suffering and carnage of (mostly female) civilians.

Anzac Day refuses to recognize the chest thumping and dick swinging politicians that create the death, suffering, torture and poverty of war.

Politicians should only be allowed to wage wars they have to serve in themselves and send their children to fight in. In the front line.

Anzac Day. Men only enlisted to fight for the money, for the adventure or because they were racist.

Anyone who lived through war not a fucktard says no parades, no medals, everyone who suffered and struggled remembered. Anzac Day Shits Me.

Anzac Day. Men only enlisted to fight for the money, for the adventure or because they were racist.

Bigger heroes the women who leave abusive relationships with nothing. More guts the survivors of sex abuse. No medals, fanfares or marches.

Anzac Day IS a glorification of war. They didn’t die for us but because they were risktaking testosterone fuelled men with a pack mentality.

I adore men. I hate bullies, homophobes, thugs, racists, misogynists and rapists in the name of war.

Anzac Day. I abhor people whose self-esteem is fuelled by nationalism approved misogyny, homophobia, racism or cruelty administered by relos.

Live your own life. Make your own mark. Stop feeling big because your dead relative killed people because they knew no better.

Anzac Day. Fuck repect. Respect is just code for ‘support our selective narrative used to prop up our power that we use to oppress.’

Remember war. The whole truth. Not the selective version. All the heros. All the victims. Not Anzac Day. Let’s move on and learn.

I respect the right to speak freely, and I have a lot of reservations about ANZAC Day, the mythology developing around it, and the pseudo-religious rituals often associated with it. But Deveny has made several significant but baseless claims here, and the onus is on her to provide evidence for these claims. And then there is the question of whether Fairfax Media should continue to print her work.

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Child sexual abuse and the church

Filed under: children, sexual abuse — Leave a comment
April 22, 2010

Several recent news stories have highlighted the tragic problem of child sexual abuse and the inadequate ways in which the issue is dealt with by churches.  In particular, the Vatican is accused of improper delay and inadequate response to abuse by clergy, and has blamed clerical abuse on homosexuals and pedophiles, drawing a causal link between the two. 

But it’s not confined to the Catholic Church.  There is a much wider problem of sexual abuse, trauma, denial and cover-up that reaches virtually every religious and non-religious group.  All of it painful and avoidable, all of it sin.

Which is why I’m pleased that Australian churches have adopted an excellent initiative called Safe as Churches.  It’s a comprehensive program to address sexual misconduct and abuse, offer strategies for accountability and transparency, and maintain safe environments in which to carry out church-based activities.

To learn more about the Safe as Churches program, [click on the link above].

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, Sunday 25 April 2010.

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No human rights bill for Australia

Filed under: human rights, politics and faith, religious freedom — Leave a comment
April 22, 2010

On Wednesday, Federal Attorney General, Robert McClelland, confirmed what most of us were expecting – that the Labor Government would not introduce a bill of rights for Australia.  This amounts to a rejection of the key recommendation of the National Human Rights Consultation report tabled in September last year.

Instead, a parliamentary committee will scrutinise legislation, and new bills before parliament, to ensure that they are compatible with Australia’s international human rights obligations.  And the government will invest $15 million in human rights education.

Those opposed to a bill of rights will be breathing a sigh of relief.  It’s not that they oppose human rights – that would be ridiculous.  It’s that a bill of rights would have had unintended negative consequences, such as giving more power to unelected judges, undermining the confidence of government to act in the public interest, and potentially curtailing religious freedom. 

This is a win for common sense, and for democracy. 

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, Sunday 25 April 2010.

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Fallout from the Icelandic volcano

Filed under: climate change, disaster — Leave a comment
April 22, 2010

It’s almost two weeks since ash from Mt Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano on the southern coast of Iceland, began drifting across Europe.

It’s ironic that tiny particles of silicon could have such a devastating effect on economic life, not only air travel, with tens of thousands of commercial flights cancelled, but also disruption to mail delivery, and shortages of fresh produce. Qantas alone estimates its losses at $1.6 million a day.

It’s also ironic that this eruption is belching some 150,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per day into the atmosphere, yet this is less than the carbon footprint of all the grounded aircraft, so it’s actually having a positive net effect on climate. But this is only a minor eruption. What chaos would result from a major eruption, or from several at the same time?

We do indeed live in a fragile ecosystem, with vulnerable national economies, and a precarious personal existence. May God have mercy on all of us.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, Sunday 25 April 2010.

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Famous quotes on the Eyjafjallajökull eruption

Filed under: humour — Leave a comment
April 19, 2010

Pat Robertson: “It’s God punishing Europe for having abandoned their Christian history!”

Joel Osteen: “If you just have enough faith, it will stop erupting.”

Tim LaHaye: “It’s a fulfillment of Revelation 6:15-16. Watch out for falling airplanes!”

Hal Lindsey: “It’s the end times and directly caused by Satan. Didn’t you see all those ‘ell’s in its name?”

Ahmedinejad: “There is no volcano erupting. It’s a Western plot to oppress Muslims in Europe.”

Sarah Palin: “Obama did it. It’s to make us want socialized medicine. I can see it from my house.”

Jesse Jackson: “It’s the neo-Nazis. The white supremacists just want to make people associate blackness with evil and violence again!”

The Taliban: “It’s an outrage. What that lady needs is a head covering. Keep a lid on her!”

The Dalai Lama: “Speak peace in the midst of the storm. Either it will go away or you will learn to cope with it better.”

John Lennon: “Imagine there’s no volcano.”

Hugh Hefner: “Now that’s an eruption!”

James Taylor: “I see fire and I see rain (of ash).”

Jane Fonda: “Make love, not lava.”

Craig Blomberg: “I just hope my family still gets to come to see me this summer!”

Brian Houston: “I’m believing for an end to the ash so that Bobby and I can head back to Paris, London, Kiev and New York next week.”

Jesus: “Do you think that these Europeans were worse sinners than all the others because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Feel free to add your own additions!

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