Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Bloody hell! Why do programmers have to mess about with things? Now I have to work out how to run this blog again.
Poop!

Saturday, 31st July 2011

What the hell is happening to our world? It was bad enough when Martin Bryant murdered 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania; now we have Anders Breivik in Norway killing over 80 people, most of them young - teenagers. What is the cause of the apparent complete breakdown of decency and regard for others - the mindless hatred of one group by another?
In 1914 World War One saw the deaths of nearly the whole adult generation of the time - millions of men in uniform from all over the world. The "War to end all Wars" American President, Woodrow Wilson, called it. Twenty years later, the unthinkable occurred - it started all over again; and some would argue (looking at 20th Century history) that World War Two never really ended.
It is my belief that these two major conflicts (and the wars and "Police Actions" that followed) effectively blocked the transmission of the rules of civilised society from the generation that followed.
Many people today have not been taught the right way to interact with others. What about the respect for others and their property? If anything is found, the prevailing view would seem to be, "Tough luck. It's mine now." Where once we would immediately take it to the nearest Police Station.
Police seem to be viewed with contempt, and usually those who sneer at the police are the first ones to call on them when they are threatened or in trouble. Of course, later they all go back to sneering at the Police again.
I have personally witnessed drunken louts abusing Ambulance Paramedics who were trying to save the life of an injured motorcyclist.
Thankfully, not all people today are like this. Enough members of the Armed Forces returned from conflict to pass on the rules of society to their children so that the ways of polite, respectful behavior have not been lost. The Armed Forces still induct recruits to carry on the proud traditions of their parents and grandparents; and we should always remember that those who lose their lives in foreign wars, as they were once called, chose their path in this life.
We cannot understand why those who fall in conflict chose the lives they did. We can only wonder at their altruism and their willingness to put themselves in harm's way so that others may live safely - and there are millions who do not enjoy the peace and comfort we do today.
How can we help? By doing what we can to help others - sometimes all we can do is put a few coins in a beggar's hand. Do some volunteer work - there is a multitude of opportunities for that in our society. But, more importantly, we can make sure our children and grandchildren are well versed in the way to treat others as you would be treated, so that the next generation will know that all people are valued in the eyes of God. Teach them that every person, every animal, even the very Earth that we walk on, is but an aspect of God, and should be treasured and nurtured as such. If we all work for this, then our world can truly become a heaven on Earth.

Nineteen Eighty-Four

'If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever.'
This quote from Orwell's 1984, would seem to illustrate where our society is heading. When Immigration Minister, Chris Bowen, steadfastly insists that parent-less children will be sent to Malaysia, where there is no human rights laws. Where the Hell has his compassion gone? Has he not given a moment's thought to what will most certainly happen to them once he and his Cabinet colleagues have washed their hands of them? Especially the girls.
Oh wait - they're not children, they are "Unaccompanied Minors". Fine. The Minister is now employing the same tactics Hitler used against the Jews - announce that these are less than human and you can do whatever you like. Why not - it's how Hitler managed the "Jewish Problem" as he called it; and I see with mounting horror that the Government is talking of "The Pacific Solution".
In the name of all that's Holy and Compassionate - can nobody stop this? Bowen says they will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Crap. We all know what will happen - it will become all too hard for the authorities who will be in charge of it all, and soon we'll be hearing of "unfortunate errors" which will show that teenage boys and girls had "unfortunately" been the victims of paedophiles.
Nazism is still alive and, unfortunately, it seems to be in Australia.
The "Lucky Country" indeed.

We decided to spend Anzac Day travelling on the bus and tram to Glenelg – after all, it’s the only place on a public holiday that’s open in Adelaide. Don’t ask me why, I think it has something to do with the big stores in Rundle Mall. Who knows?

While we were waiting for the bus, just outside our home, along comes a man, in  his thirties we think, who, having passed us, decided to abuse a young, slight, woman about twentyish. Her crime? She was of Asian appearance. He finished his tirade with, “Lest We Forget”.

This paragon of (overweight) cowardly Australian Manhood, when he saw my wife and me approaching, immediately picked up speed and made himself scarce. God forbid he should have to deal with two incandescently angry (Anglo-Saxon) people! What he didn’t know was that the Asian woman he so cowardly attacked, spoke with an Australian accent – obviously being born in this country. We know this, because my wife apologised to the young woman, saying that we weren’t all like that. And who’s to say but that the woman’s grandparents may well have fought in the then South Vietnamese Army ALONGSIDE the Australian troops.

And while I’m in the subject, to those who would say that the “Boat People” are “Queue Jumpers” – there IS NO QUEUE! There are more illegal immigrants coming to Australia by air than there are by boat; and one should always bear in mind the “Boat People’s” situation must be dire to risk their lives and the lives of their families to get on a leaky boat to God knows what.

Lest we Forget. Indeed.

The politicians in Canberra have come up with yet another version of the old "we'll-cut-spending-on-welfare-to-help-the-country" scheme. This time it's the Opposition, and it beggars the imagination that a professed Christian would decide to try and penalise the very people that Christ was supposed to come to help.
Why is it that these so-called righteous people seem to have so little regard for the strugglers in our society - the ones who have to "do it tough" just to get by; while those who would make it even tougher for them live in perk-filled luxury at the expense of those very people they profess to care about.
It's a pity that the pollies in Canberra can't see the Karmic debt they are accruing and the questions they will have to answer when they stand before their higher selves.

Carbon and the Tax Debate - March 25th, 2011

Now I don’t hold much with politics and/or politicians, but the disgraceful way our Prime Minister (perhaps Mr. Abbott should remember that) is being treated, both inside and outside the House, just shows the way Mr. Abbott thinks. It is also interesting to note just who was NOT at the demo last week. Maybe the rest of the Opposition’s Front Bench are starting to back away from their leader? Not only the Opposition Leader, but the nasty little parrots on Sydney radio stations, who think that by spreading their invective to the simple minded will get them some sort of kudos. It’s easy to criticise – let’s see some of them go out and really work for the community they spend their time insulting with their mindless diatribes.

Earthquakes and the French Nuclear Tests March 11th 2011

While the latest earthquake (with its attendant tsunami) near Japan is in the news, I am reminded of the series of underground - and some above ground - nuclear tests carried out by France between 1966 and 1996 at Mururoa Atoll. With regard to the underground tests specifically, I wonder whether these may have so damaged the ocean floor as to begin the slow process of ever-increasing and expanding cracks. There is a pic that shows one of the cracks in the ocean floor, off Mururoa.
It may be “drawing  a long bow” but the increasing amount of seismic activity along the Pacific Rim may well be due to the French Nuclear testing, seeing as how the edge of the Pacific Plate runs right near the atoll.