DogfightAtBankstown

another crisis

This time involving Inuit children living in Nunavik.

because any idea

No matter how banal, bizarre or absurd, can be art:

Experiments in Galvanism is the culmination of studio and gallery experiments in which a miniature computer is implanted into the dead body of a frog specimen. Akin to Damien Hirst's bodies in formaldehyde, the frog is suspended in clear liquid contained in a glass cube, with a blue ethernet cable leading into its splayed abdomen. The computer stores a website that enables users to trigger physical movement in the corpse: the resulting movement can be seen in gallery, and through a live streaming webcamera.

(Via Brown Cardigan)

the religion of peace

Likes people in pieces.

This is the sort of mindset that informs Islamists:

"It appears that the bombers' original aim was to have the first bomb go off on Haymarket and the second bomb go off in Cockspur Street just as the emergency vehicles are arriving," said Mr. Beaver, describing a crowd-funnelling technique that has become popular in Iraq. "It would have been a scene of complete carnage and mayhem."

Not only killing civilians but also killing those who arrive to assist, thereby creating fear over time such that people would not only be reluctant to move around but also reluctant to help, slowly paralysing and undermining our values.

Or so they think.

Some revellers who had been out enjoying London's nightlife early Friday were unfazed by news of the bomb, the Associated Press reported. Harry Haydon, 23, said he would carry on partying. "If you let it stop you, then you are letting these people get what they want."

Indeed.

the bear pit

Idiocy meets lofty disdain.

suz

Reminisces about being caught in the web.

give this news anchor

A medal.

media watch

Update 9: ABC scores a home goal.

Update: A reader writes: "What's a home goal?" It's a goal you score while playing on your home ground. It's also what the saint writes instead of "own goal" when suffering from a week long migraine, no doubt brought on by nicotine withdrawal and the associated stress of avoiding pubs.

mcmansions

Dubai style.

It's like Delfin on steroids.

so sue me

"This case was giving American justice a black eye around the world, and it was all the more upsetting because it was a judge and lawyer who was bringing the suit," said Paul Rothstein, a Georgetown University law professor.

Justice prevails.

sea of faith

There is something strangely compelling, to use a term beloved by our esteemed Barista, about watching the impending trainwreck of the Anglican Communion.

(another succint Binks comment)

Especially fascinating is the display of collective ignorance more commonly known as the General Synods of the provinces of the Global North. 

Recently it was the Episcopal Church of the U.S.A.  Presently, the Anglican Church of Canada is enchanting us with their General Synod, where, after insufferable debate about process, they voted that blessing same sex relationships is not against the Anglican church's “core doctrine”, after which another vote defeated a motion which would have allowed individual dioceses to authorise same sex blessings. And it appears two bishops switched sides between the two votes. 

Which means everyone will go ahead and do what they feel like anyway.

What you will see next, which will bring the decades-long slide of the Global North provinces (and perhaps a few others as well) to its natural climax, will be what has already been hinted by Muslim-Episcopalians, Hindu-Anglicans, Zen-Benedictine Bishops, Druid priests and whatever other form of Spong-Bob Heretic-Pants you may care to find.

Except on a much, much larger scale.

The rejection of the divinity and uniqueness of Jesus Christ.

manboobs and budgie smugglers

May I commend Rex Ringschott's post on Men in Togs to non-Australians.

This also reminded me of a question to which I have never found an answer. Down here, 'togs' is Aussie slang for 'swimsuit'.  However, a few years back, friends visiting from Brisbane informed me 'togs' was slang for 'trousers' up north.

Anyone want to confirm or deny?

(Well yes, I am not exactly asking you about the meaning of life, but hey, I never said I wasn't shallow).

lost generations

A thoughtful and sane interview on Lateline tonight with Prof Peter Sutton about the "crisis" in Aboriginal communities and the Federal Government's response. Worth waiting for the transcript if you missed it, even though the interviewer seemed to want to steer Prof. Sutton in a certain direction (and he wasn't going there) and the interview appeared to have been edited.

I think Sutton's assertion that the application of Australian law in full measure was spot on as was the need for some "paternalism" and giving up of adult rights in order to protect children.  No-one wants to see children removed from families, but hec, we remove kids from families now - even if temporarily - if they are in danger.  However, Sutton also pointed out that some children (and adults) may have well passed the point of no return from the abuse, neglect and damage they have endured.

It's like lost generations.

He also raised some good points about the good work the much maligned missions had been able to do in the past, particularly with regards to protection. 

I am actually a bit sorry and surprised that churches have not been called in to assist in the present strategy.  The majority of Aboriginals self-identify as Christian and churches can have a role - indeed do play a role now - in Aboriginal communities (and I mean those who do real pastoral work, not the people who just use church as a front for another activist group).

Anyway, I am still chewing this over.

Suspicions on the cobbled-together nature of the federal government's response are confirmed by Patricia Karvelas, and some of the measures are nothing new - many communities are already dry, and I point again to this announcement by Mal Brough in November 2006 about quarantining family payments. A round up of blog commentary in today's Missing Link - Ken's (passionate) post is a must read for the over jubilant.

I hate to say it, but from what I have read so far, I am fast concluding that there is a measure of political opportunism in the Federal Government's response (David is totally cynical), although as I have said elsewhere, if it means some good outcomes, even in the short term - I couldn't give a toss about politicians' posturing.

Update: Transcript of Sutton's interview

Via Pat in the comments, transcript of last night's (25/6) Lateline interview with Noel Pearson:

LEIGH SALES: Government logistics teams will head into some Northern Territory communities tomorrow, obviously they're going to have to tread sensitively. Given the emotions swirling around this and the situation in those communities, are you concerned that things could go wrong?

NOEL PEARSON: You know, the big danger for the Government, I think, is that they can't go marching in like cowboys. They've got to go marching in with humility, with support, not with arrogance, and they've got to enjoin the Aboriginal people of that community. Because you talk to me about one community that does not have within it sober grandmothers, sober mothers, sober men who are concerned about these problems and who would not welcome relief for their children and for their community.

There is within every community good people, and it's an absolutely shameful thing that those good people are misled by people whose children sleep safely at night. You know, that's the horrendous thing here. That the people who are nay saying any kind of intervention are people whose children, like my own, sleep safely at night. And I think that's a terrible indulgence.

When our children sleep safely at night, we seek to put road blocks in the way and we wish failure, we wish failure upon any decisive action that's going to deliver some relief of suffering to vulnerable children.

star wars

This post has a few updates to go yet.

sunday afternoon puzzle

What's wrong with this picture?

(via A Welsh View)

sunday hymn

Source

(Yes, America.  Where else.)

under the radar

It seems some in the Episcopal Church (namely those who do not hold to Christian orthodoxy, that is,the liberal Epsicopalians a.k.a 'reappraisers') want the story about the "Christian-Muslim priest" to just go away. 

This is no crisis of faith on the part of the priest here. Her own Q&A indicated she has been on this path for years.

To quote a commenter at GetReligion:

Seeing the rank absurdity of this Muslim woman/Episcopal priestess’ beliefs, with just a little digging I think it could prove to be an even more absurd tale, where she’s been encouraged in this direction by the action/inaction of others, poor training in theology, and abetted by a hierarchy that can’t be bothered to even learn about orthodoxy any more, much less enforce it. These kinds of stories are like watching a train wreck: you want to look away, but just can’t.

Not much digging required here.  She will tell you as much - and more - herself.

And to quote Terry Mattingly of GetReligion:

Folks, you cannot make this stuff up.

Click here for Zen-Benedictine theology.

Click here for Liturgical Dances with Wolves.

Here is the best old post we have on the druid story and some of the links still work. The latest is that the priest in question is a priest no more.

So why should this go away? Ms Redding is still a priest and was only sacked from her diocese due to budgetary constraints, not doctrinal error.

I guess for liberal Episcopalians, Zen-Benedicts, pagans and druids don't go around advocating death to Christians and gays for starters.

And the best of the fuzzy-brained liberal Episcopalians simply cannot fudge anything further than that.

propagandallah in the media

Remember that Harvard Study by Professor Kalb on Hezbollah propaganda during the Hezbolla-Israel war?

Watch an interview with Kalb on Israeli TV.

on the day

The Keilar family bury Brendan Keilar, a true hero who came to the aid of a woman in trouble in Melbourne's CBD last Monday, and news comes that the second good Samaritan, Dutch backpacker Paul DeVaard was minutes from death, a local mother and her five year old son are thankful that a stranger took note of an unwanted occupant in their car and had the presence of mind to tail them in his car and call police.

One charge of using a mobile while driving which will be happily ignored.

aussie aussie

AN Australian navy boarding crew in the Gulf of Persia repelled an Iranian gunboat that threatened them a matter of weeks before 15 British sailors were captured in a similar incident, a BBC reporter says.

The capture of the British crew in March developed into a major diplomatic incident before their release was negotiated.

But BBC reporter Frank Gardner, a security specialist, reported the Australians managed to avoid a similar incident - pointing their guns at the Iranians and used "colourful language" before a gunboat withdrew.

"What I've been told by several sources, military sources, (is that) there was a similar encounter, in this case between the Royal Australian Navy and Iranian gunboats, some months ago, or at least some months prior to the seizing of the British sailors," Gardner said on ABC radio today.

"The Australians escaped capture by climbing back on board the ship they'd just searched. I'm told that they set up their weapons.

"No shots were exchanged but the Iranians backed off and the Australians were able to get helicoptered off that ship and they didn't get captured."

He did not mention the name of the Australian ship.

Australians ships rotate through duties in the Gulf, chiefly searching ships.

"What I'm hearing is that it was a pretty robust attitude by the Australians," Gardner said.

"The words that somebody said to me was that they used pretty colourful language but I'm sure that alone didn't make the Iranians back off.

Howard wasn't aware of the incident and the issue according to the BBC, was whether the intelligence was passed on given the fate of the British sailors some weeks later.

But you know, regardless, I hope this incident turns out to be true: point a gun, and shout...er...piss off...and the Iranians run away.

Bee-yoodi-fool.

P.S. Count down to the first person who cries 'dialogue'!

Update: The ADF clarifies:

AUSTRALIAN sailors did repel Iranian gunboats in the Persian Gulf, but it was 2-½ years ago, and it wasn't at the expense of their British counterparts' reputation.

THE Australian Defence Force moved today to clarify a report by a BBC reporter who said an Australian navy boarding crew in the Gulf repelled an Iranian gunboat which threatened them not long before 15 British sailors were captured in a similar incident, in March this year.

A defence spokesman said today the incident involving the Australians, a four-hour confrontation after they boarded a grounded cargo ship, occurred in December 2004.

In addition the Australian incident wasn't reported at the time "because it was representative of operations in the Gulf."

the butchers of gaza

By some of their victims:

"I wanted to shoot myself for voting Hamas," another patient said. He came with his brother, who had been shot in the head while evacuating wounded people in his taxi. "We really believed Hamas would change things," he said.

"Hamas has money and weapons for the next 20 years. All the youngsters want to join it, it offers good wages, not what we get from the Palestinian Authority," he said.

"Hamas is no different from Bush. Israel is also to blame. Israel starved us, wouldn't let Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas] display any achievements or force, while Hamas kept getting stronger."

No doubt, royalties from Fafur which must be funding Hamas while the population starves.  Score one each for (a) and (b). 

Israel could have stopped Hamas' attacks on Fatah's offices, but it didn't, he added.

Yep Israel should not exist, but it's their fault a day can't go past without Palestinians killing each other. That would be (a) 

Later yesterday, Zecharia Alrai, 39, an officer in Fatah's elite Force 17 commando unit, arrived. He had been abducted by four Hamas gunmen a week ago. They loaded him into a jeep and drove him to an isolated spot, where they shot three bullets into his leg and dumped him.

"That's not Islam. That's evil and hypocrisy. How ironic that Israel is rescuing us from our Muslim 'brothers,'" he said. 

Like I keep saying, the biggest danger to Muslims is other Muslims. 

But it's never ever, ever, ever their fault.

the national emergency

Which took 30 years for someone to work out.

Part of me said, it's about bloody time, another part of me had my usual cynical reaction (you know, timing, method and all that) and another part of me thought, why are we only doing this for Aboriginals in remote communities, and not all Australians?  Oh wait, I think some of that comes next.

More on this later.

Update: Just collecting some links at this stage.

The Report (summary, recommendations PDF)

The Proposal

Tony Jones interview with John Howard on Lateline (gives me the impression of a cobbled together response)

Mal Brough announced quarantining of family payments in November 2006 (gives me the impression that at least one of the responses in the proposals has some politics associated with it...)

Update 2 (27/6): More links

Sutton and Pearson on Lateline

Mal Brough on The 7.30 Report. This is true policy on the run.

Two things that I think are worth highlighting while the dust is flying. First of all, it is a mistake to think every Aboriginal in either a remote community or in a regional or urban centre is either a victim or perpetrator of crime, alcoholism, child abuse etc. Secondly there have been success stories even in dysfunctional communities, such as the progress in APY lands in South Australia, as Health Minister Tony Abbott found out.

because only in america

Do you get DIY Christianity of the most absurd and dangerous kind.

Via a reader, by email: Welcome to Christian Domestic Discipline. Loving Wife Spanking in a Christian Marriage.

Yes you heard it.

For the kinky woman and those who wish they could cover their heads.

With a hijab.

in the spirit of green helmet

Brian at Snapped Shot brings you India's Rage Boy.^TM

Report all sightings to Brian!

(via Jihad Watch)

towers of silence

Continuing with a selection of items on  funeral rites and what they say about our culture.

A recently published book by Robert Larkins on the funeral industry in Australia, highlighted  in The Age with an excerpt on how cremation became popular in Australia:

CREMATION HAS A long history in Australia. Indeed, Australia is the site of the oldest known cremation in human history. Mungo lady was an Aboriginal woman cremated about 40,000 years ago near the shoreline of what was then a lake surrounded by lush vegetation. It is now arid land in the Mungo National Park in western New South Wales.

For unknown reasons, cremation fell out of general practice in Aboriginal culture, but it was not entirely lost. Rising waters isolated Tasmania 10,000 years ago, preserving the practice there. The indigenous community in Tasmania keeps the tradition to this day. Section 40 of the Tasmanian Burial and Cremation Act 2002 makes it lawful to conduct an Aboriginal cremation on Aboriginal land.

Cremation was definitely not part of the early white colonial tradition. Some may have been aware of the practice from colonial India, but most would have thought that it was strictly for the heathens.

The push for cremation sprang out of the British funeral reform movement, which in turn was spurred along by the funeral excesses of the Victorian era. Members of the medical profession were the loudest group of advocates for cremation, while the churches fiercely opposed the idea.

Cremation was a very emotive topic. The arguments were vigorous and hostile and in many ways parallel today's debates about euthanasia and abortion. In 1886 the Vatican issued a decree labelling cremation a pagan practice. As with euthanasia and abortion, the religious arguments were centred on the notion that our species is made in God's image and, therefore, it is sacrilegious to destroy it. The Resurrection was also brought into the debate. What would have happened if Jesus was cremated?

The arguments raged from the 1870s through to the First World War. The Australian dissenters were led by this country's founding father of cremation, Dr John Mildred Creed. He and his fellow "cremationists" went on public speaking campaigns, emphasising the health advantages of cremation. Cemeteries, they argued, were breeding grounds for disease: they contaminated the air, the soil and the water table; cremation was the sanitary alternative.

Unfortunately, there were some early colonial cremations that did the cause more harm than good. The negative press that surrounded these early examples probably held up public acceptance for decades.

The politics of dying.  Never mind the cost.

And on a slight detour, not everyone gets cremated in India. And it can still be an expensive business.

Via Mr Eugenides we have death and taxes debt:

Zoroastrians in India, followers of one of the world's most ancient monotheistic religions, are deeply split over attempts by the movement to pay mounting debts.

A decision by elders to erect garish advertising hoardings outside the movement's "Towers of Silence" funeral ground in Mumbai has outraged conservative members.

"Rev up your nightlife", exhorts a car advertisement erected last week outside the funeral ground where Indian Zoroastrians - known as Parsis - have left their dead to be picked clean by vultures for more than 300 years.

Mr Eugenides has more on bovine painkillers and solar panels.

latte not

Via J-Walk, the ultimate coffee cup.

Even at US$18 it still looks like a potty to me. 

Although it's not as patently absurd as this.

quack quack

I'm watching Media Watch for the first time in ages.  Something about offensive comments on online forums of newspapers.

Once again that old canard: Islam is a race.

One more time: Islam is not a race, it is a religion.

Ooooo Tim Blair - or rather his commenters - are getting a mention.  Just because he is a journo who happens to run a blog. 

Sorry Monica, until you learn to discern a few basic facts I don't think you can point fingers at others' lack of discernment.

Update: Tim Blair responds.

Update 2: Oooh Irf doesn't like Tim. Or should I say Irf's been sucked in.

Now here's the deal. I don't always agree with Tim and am not exactly enamoured of all of his commenters' comments and I have had a go at Andrea in the past for one of her bizarre censoring decisions (someone posting off topic).  But Irf is wrong.

It was Media Watch who muddled all the categories, starting off talking about newspapers, then switching to Tim's blog (because his day job is an opinion editor, too bad if he's had his blog years longer than he has been with his current employer) and then finishing with a statement mentioning papers and blogs.

It was Media Watch which lumped in Tim's blog (or rather some of his commenters) with those of major media outlets.

In the meantime, Media Watch also started going on about racism (highlighting comments on an article about a pub that banned Arabs and Islanders) and then jumped straight to a comment about a Lebanese Muslim - without pointing out that it was about a different story - before proceeding:

When we scanned the major newspapers we found lots of similar comments.

But by far the worst and most frequent were in Sydney's Daily Telegraph online - and usually in response to race stories.

Now, some call that racial vilification.

Others call it free speech.

That's what pipped me: mixing up categories. The reference to a Lebanese Muslim tucked in there amongst references to racism, implying Islam was a race.  And then:

Well, that's true.

There are some offensive remarks directed back at Anglo Australians.

And there are moderate voices in the din of racism.

Before:

But the anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, anti-Islander and anti-Aboriginal comments predominate.

Yep. Monica and the canards at Media Watch think Islam is a race.

And so it goes:

Either the moderator at Brisbane's Courier-Mail keeps a tighter rein, or there are few among his readers with racist views.

Because racist reader comments are few and far between on the paper's site.

In fact we found just one anti-Islamic post.

Meaning in their eyes, Islam is a race.

Not to mention the continual reference to newspapers before suddenly switching to one blog (hec, why not pick on some of the bile at Catallaxy and Larvatus Prodeo as well?)

It's not just newspaper and online editors who're prepared to tolerate cyber-racism in the name of free speech.

There are the bloggers.

Tim Blair, who edits The Daily Telegraph's opinion pages, also runs a blog.

He allowed this vicious discussion about Muslim taxi drivers supposedly knocking back passengers with guide dogs.

"Supposedly." Good grief that has been going on for years and prompted authorities to take action to suspend or cancel licences. And the issue was related to Muslim cabbies.

But see, how it was oh so carefully crafted.  To imply criticism of actions by Muslims or their beliefs or practices is racist?

Irf finishes his post thus:

Tim, I'd love to see how much longer you'd last at News Limited if you and your friends started posting comments about Asians or Chinese being turned into compost. Or Jews. Or any other group.

Or do you think you are above the law? Do three decades of parliamentary consensus on racial discrimination laws not apply to you?

Islam is not a race.  Even though Media Watch tried its darndest to make you believe otherwise.

About the only one who seemed stupid enough to fall for that was Irf.

Update 3: Jack Lacton at Kerplunk has much more. Phil at Larvatus Prodeo does a Government Gazette and asks about moderation. Even Mr Lefty isn't sure the attack on Tim was fair or moderation is a good thing.

Update 4: Tim continues.

Update 5: From the comments at Tim Blair's

This from MV (bottom of page):

Alhamdoulillah we were able to help the Media Watch researchers with this story. So there was a great benefit to collecting these quotes. Please keep them coming.

Posted by ahmedk, who should know, going by his details:

Group: Admin
Posts: 2,854
Joined: 30-Aug 01
From: Sydney, Australia
Member No.: 7

So was Media Watch in contact with MV, even though they didn’t contact Tim, who was actually featured in the program? I’m not familiar with the nuances of the use of “alhamdulillah”, but ahmedk seems to be praising allah that MV was a help to Media Watch, rather than just expressing a hope that it was.

Well yes the entire topic on that forum bears reading - the Daily Terror gets a work out, there's a reference to Mossie Mundine (do I check if it's the same item referenced by Media Watch?) along with threats to sue and what not.

And here we have Ahmed (who also thinks Islam is a race) a little earlier:

Please provide web links and the date as references to any comments you are posting.

For those who thought collecting these racist comments wasn't going to achieve anything, watch Media Watch (ABC TV 9:15p.m est) next Monday .

Salaam
Ahmed

(click for full size)

So it seems I was right. This was really just some Muslim propaganda.

Media Watch did not do any research on this story, it was just being a tool for a bunch of Muslims who can't tell the difference between race and religion (or rather they can, but they just can't cope with any criticism and want everyone to be subject to their imperialist and racist views - and then other Muslims wonder why they get a bad rap). 

And it seems Media Watch's Tim Palmer, was happy to oblige and tried to throw in a go at Tim Blair, only to be caught out making a prick of himself by quoting American commenters (and giving them real 'strine accents)

The word dickheads springs to mind.

Update 6: The Empire Strikes Back.

Update 7: Irf, who allows "hate comments" on his blog, continues his vendetta against the Daily Telegraph and Tim Blair.

Update 8: Poor Media Watch.  They trumpet themselves as such:

Media Watch is Australia's leading forum for media analysis and comment.

Conflicts of interest, bank backflips, deceit, misrepresentation, manipulation, plagiarism, abuse of power, technical lies and straight out fraud: Media Watch has built an unrivalled record of exposing media shenanigans since it first went to air in 1989.

The media provides the information we need to make decisions about our lives, but how reliable are the media reports that shape our views of the world?

Media Watch turns the spotlight onto those who literally 'make the news': the reporters, editors, sub-editors, producers, camera operators, sound recordists and photographers who claim to deliver the world to our doorsteps, radios, computers and living rooms. We also keep an eye on those who try to manipulate the media: the PR consultants, spin-doctors, lobbyists and "news makers" who set the agenda.

While all their friends at Muslim Village with their orchestrated campaign (cry blasphemy!) just show them up for the tools they really are. 

Don't choke laughing now.

Update 9 (27/6): Ho ho ho. With kudos to commenter Blink, Tim Blair has another nail in Media Watch's integrity coffin.

Note this post at Muslim Village by "Defender of Islam" quoting Ahmed back in January:

QUOTE(ahmedk @ Jan 24 2007, 05:06 PM)

As uncomfortable as it may be to have to read through this rubbish, it is important we keep a record of the hateful racist comments that the Daily Telegraph allows to be published on its moderated blogs.

There is some work being done in relation to an organised media response and legal action. But I am not going to disclose anything in relation to that here.

Just be patient, you will all have the opportunity to contibute with action alerts, fighting funds, etc, in the near future.

Salaam
Ahmed

Can you PLEASE tell me what is being done to stop this blatant racism by the daily terrorgraph, this is disgusting, how the hell could they allow such stupid & racist comments to filter through? Please tell us how we can complain I am dieing to know, and dieing to stop this bigotry. These bloggs are viewed by thousands of people, something must be done urgently. Salam alakium.

Well Ahmed can't help but brag about his work relationships. And of course other posters at Muslim Village have already indicated they have "contacts."

Annealy knows a lot of people who work at HREOC. And Al-CIAda (who lives in Canberra and has already written to HREOC and received a reply) who writes:

if enough of you complain they will.

dont worry man. i know guys who know guys.

federal election

Sure, whether we like it not, and despite the Federal Election being some way off, we are in election campaign mode.

And so far it just seems like tit for tat politics.

You got broadband? I got broadband.

You got carbon trading scheme? I got carbon trading scheme.

You got industrial relations policy? I got even more complex industrial relations policy.

You don't like petrol gouging? Guess what neither do I.

You got chicken entrails polls? I got chicken entrails polls.

Don't know about you, but I am still waiting for a fork in the road.

piskie madness

"The scary thing about commenting on the Episcopal Church" wrote Christopher Johnson earlier this month, "is that sometimes your jokes become real.  My crack about the United Nations being the Episcopal Vatican resulted in ECUSA's almost psychotic veneration of the UN's Millennium Development Goals[peace and blessings be upon them].  In December, 2003, I commented that John Chane had become the first Muslim bishop in the Episcopal Church.  Well, meet an Episcopal minister who considers herself both a Muslim and a Christian (page 9)."

Christopher then proceeded to fisk the item in an Anglican publication in his own indomitable style.

Now, the Episcopal minister, hits the mainstream press:

Shortly after noon on Fridays, the Rev. Ann Holmes Redding ties on a black headscarf, preparing to pray with her Muslim group on First Hill.

On Sunday mornings, Redding puts on the white collar of an Episcopal priest.

She does both, she says, because she's Christian and Muslim.

Redding, who until recently was director of faith formation at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, has been a priest for more than 20 years. Now she's ready to tell people that, for the last 15 months, she's also been a Muslim — drawn to the faith after an introduction to Islamic prayers left her profoundly moved.

Her announcement has provoked surprise and bewilderment in many, raising an obvious question: How can someone be both a Christian and a Muslim?

The journalist here, I think, does a good job in highlighting criticism by both Christians and Muslims as to how the two faiths are incompatible as well as pointing to those who support Redding's dingbat notions.  Unfortunately for the Episcopal Church, one of her supporters is her own bishop.  And when the Episcopal Church's überbishop is the fuzzy headed and obstinate Katharine Jefferts Schori one can understand why many senior clergy in the Episcopal Church couldn't give a toss about the rest of the Anglican Communion much less the historic Christian faith which by their vows, they are called to uphold.

The article also charts Redding's own journey^TM to her syncretistic faith.  I only wish the journalist would have explored the implications of her African-American background on her decisions a little further.  There is a ghost of racism - in fact reverse racism - that seems to emanate from her story.  It is something I have found over and over again: very often, those who advocate the loudest for "inclusivity" tend to be the most self centred (and sometimes the most dangerous.  Feel the love towards Catholic Monsignor Angelo Bagnasco).

One thing I also picked up - yet again - in these sorts of stories about 'deepened spirituality' is also a subtle sense of pride.  It's really lovely to have public shows of piety by prostrating yourself in prayer five times a day with great fanfare, preferrably with suitable headcovering. To think that you are doing something for God.

It's quite another to 'pray without ceasing' as Christians are exhorted to do, without the chest thumping on the local corner, and simply receive.

Update: Huzzah, now that it's hit the mainstream press, the viral gene has taken over.  Mainstream blogs Tim Blair, Mark Steyn, Hot Air, Crunchy Con, Power Line ("Bridge Person to Nowhere") and also The Curt Jester who gives you the positive side of being a Christian and a Muslim just to name a few. (Christopher Johnson adds a follow up.)

What I want to know is not only what Ms Redding will teach in her New Testament course as a visiting assistant professor at Seattle University, but how Ms Redding plans to reconcile this.

breaking

Gunman on the loose in Melbourne's CBD. Three critically shot.

Update: One person confirmed dead.

Inspector Stephen Mutton confirmed three people had been shot and a man had died. He said police were looking for a man wearing dark clothing and cap, last seen running up Flinders Lane with a handgun.

The offender is described as male, about 192cms tall, with short light brown hair and wearing a denim jacket and black jeans.

Update 2: Latest reports in the press and on TV indicate that the gunman tried to drag a woman out of a taxi, and when two men tried to intervene (possibly backpackers?), all three were shot. One of the Good Samaritans is the one who died. It seems there is some relation between the gunman and all the victims and the weapon has been recovered.

Update 3: The man who lost his life trying to assist the woman who was assaulted was a 43 year old solicitor.  A hero. "An act of extreme bravery."

Police have issued an arrest warrant for 29-year-old Christopher Wayne Hudson, a Hells Angel biker. 

red-eye

If you find it hard to get up in the morning, don't despair - you're not lazy, you're just genetically programmed that way, says the B-Society in Denmark.

Phew.

I just thought it was the 1C overnight temperature or something.

looney tunes

I have to put this in a separate post, because to put these names again in the same post as true martyrs would only make my skin crawl further.

One of our Pine Gap stooges, Bryan Law - who is without doubt an elastic band short of a jockstrap - is a periodic e-stalker of Tim Blair. 

His latest missive to Tim includes this priceless quote:

Here I was, all set for glorious martyrdom, and all I got was this stupid T-shirt (Rise Up Against War).

Complete with publicity photos.

"Bryla" - as he has been nicknamed by blog commenters - is a "Pagan with Catholic tendencies."  Meaning he is about as Christian as a Baal worshipper.

Our Lady Donna - Donna Mulhearn Human Shield ^TM - is a devotee of John Main, a pretend British Benedict Monk whose syncretistic Christian-Buddhist babble is now promulgated by the likes of Laurence Freeman (hmm, did Our Lady Donna's enlightenment coincide with a Freeman visit to Australia?  Oh, let me count the days...)

Christian? Who wants to quibble when it comes to marketing?  One just quibbles when it comes to the real work of peacemaking in the name of Christ.

But hey, "Christian" is good enough for Benny Hinn to call others to "stand in the gap," it's good enough for these shysters.

Bryla should be grateful the judge kept him out of jail so that he won't be suffering in his jocks.

gaza

What can you say. Let's see how the anti-Israel media handle this Palestinian on Palestinian violence.

(a) blame Israel
(b) blame America
(c) blame Fatah (because America backs them not because they are corrupt)
(d) side with Hamas (because they were "democratically elected" even though Palestinians knew they would face an international backlash - and what choice did the average Palestinian have - and the Hamas militia are NOT the official Palestinian Security Force)
(e) all of the above

of martyrs and madmen

The Pine Gap Six are a group of misguided political left wing borderline loonies.

Cause junkies.

They hide behind the name of "Christians against ALL terrorism" except they can't tell a terrorist from their toenail.  Their definition of terrorism is synonymous with Americans.  Which doesn't give me much hope about their definition of Christian either.

So you can tell I am not too upset at this conviction.

Amongst the guilty is one Donna Mulhearn, one former human shield in Iraq.

Yep Donna, such a testimony for Christ.

Of her own admission, naive and stupid thinking an Australian passport while wondering around the Iraqi war zone would shield her from U.S. bullets (not shield her from being caught in the crossfire of the real battle which was not for her attention seeking ego. And not that we don’t have other psychos carrying Aussie passports wondering overseas).

Once kidnapped by Sunni militia men-while running away when the going got REALLY tough-how did she talk herself out of it?

“We had an Iraqi translator with us and the interrogation turned out to be a moving, profound experience.

“I told them I was a member of the Labor Party and that we were working to get John Howard out of office at the coming election.

“It was amazing to be sitting there, discussing Australian politics. In the end they believed us and escorted us back to Baghdad because they were worried that other militia groups might abduct us.”

Labor party and John Howard are very moving and profound?

Praise the politics and curse the Aussie passport: they released her and killed others.

Now read this posthumous letter to Fr Ragheed by Adnam Mokrain, Professor of Islamic Studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Fr Ragheed Ganni, and sub-deacons Basman Yousef Daud, Wahid Hanna Isho and Gassan Isam Bidawed were killed on 3 June in Iraq.

Adnam Mokrain, a Muslim and friend of Fr Ganni, has more Christian sense then these Pine Gap loonies.

And knows a peacemaker when he sees one.

(Hat tip: Ian)

vicissitudes

Sculpture.

In an underwarter art gallery.

(via Feuilleton)

rome reborn

ROME - Computer experts on Monday unveiled a digital reproduction of ancient Rome as it appeared at the peak of its power in A.D. 320 — what they called the largest and most complete simulation of a historic city ever created.

Visitors to virtual Rome will be able to do even more than ancient Romans did: They can crawl through the bowels of the Colosseum, filled with lion cages and primitive elevators, and fly up for a detailed look at bas-reliefs and inscriptions atop triumphal arches.

“This is the first step in the creation of a virtual time machine, which our children and grandchildren will use to study the history of Rome and many other great cities around the world,” said Bernard Frischer of the University of Virginia, who led the project.

The $2 million simulation will be used by scientists to run experiments — such as determining the crowd capacity of ancient buildings — and as a scholarly journal that will be updated at each new discovery of one of Rome’s marvels.

Frischer also said students and tourists can also use the program to learn about ancient Rome.

The simulation reconstructs some 7,000 buildings at the time of emperor Constantine, when Rome was a vibrant and cosmopolitan city of about 1 million people, said Bernard Frischer of the University of Virginia, who led the project.

Guided by laser scans of modern-day Rome and advice from archaeologists, experts have rebuilt almost the entire city within its original 13-mile-long wall using the same computer programs architects use to plan new constructions, he said.

It even includes the interiors of about 30 buildings — among them the Senate, the Colosseum and the basilica built by the emperor Maxentius — complete with frescoes and decorations.

The simulation shows statues and monuments as they would appear without the dark smudges left by pollution. The computer experts also were able to accurately recreate buildings that are now almost in ruins, such as the temple dedicated to the goddesses Venus and Roma and the Meta Sudans, a fountain that stood near the Colosseum, Frischer said.

The program was created over 10 years by an international team of archaeologists, architects and computer specialists from the University of Virginia and UCLA, as well research institutes in Italy, Germany and Britain, he said.

Take a virtual look, here

 

(via Thoughts on Antiquity)

a quick thank you

To those who have emailed me off blog.  I will reply shortly...

dinky di not fair dinkum

Some time back there was a minor kerfuffle over some sample questions to the Citizenship test which were published by news.com.au and the Herald Sun. (The sample test is still up at news.com.au)

I fired off a (very badly worded) email to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship asking if they or one of their agencies had released either the resource booklet or sample questions to the media.  I also asked if a copy of the resource booklet was available.  The text of my email is below the fold.

Here is a copy of the Department's email reply (actually a PDF file of a signed letter) I received today. I have removed the officer's surname for the sake of his privacy:

Australian Government
Department of Immigration and Citizenship

(my email)

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for you interest in the proposed citizenship test. The ‘test’ you saw recently in the media was developed by the media, and was not developed by the Australian Government or the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

The resource material upon which the test questions will be based is still under development.  The Government has engaged expert consultants to help develop the citizenship test resource material. Test questions will be designed to test knowledge of that material.

In order to maintain the integrity of the test, the questions will not be released publicly.

Thank you for your response on this important matter.

Yours sincerely

(Peter xxxxx PSM)

First Assistant Secretary
Citizenship Test and Values Statements Taskforce

So where did these questions originate? Who at news.com.au and the Herald Sun would like to offer an explanation, do you think.  It seems someone in the media was telling porkies, no?

Dear Sir,

I am writing about the sample questions for the citizen test published by the Herald Sun and discussed in various other media outlets as well as by Australian bloggers.

There are four links and extracts at end of this email.

The first, from the Herald Sun with the sample questions states "Sample questions devised by the Federal Government"

The second from the Herald Sun merely gives details of the reactions and also mentions a resource book being developed by your Department. (I have attached full text)

The third is an extract from an interview with the prime minister which says the questions were made up by the newspaper but they sort of looked alright to him. From his website.

The fourth is from the Brisbane Times where the PM and Kevin Andrews apparently both deny the questions are "not ours".

I am not a journalist or affiliated with or a member of any political party.

I am simply asking these questions as a citizen - given the confusion, might as well get the answers from the horse's mouth.

Questions:
1. Is there a resource book called The Australian Way of Life or similar, being drawn up by the Immigration Department or an agent on behalf of your department or the Australian government? 

2. If so, has a draft or final copy been released to the minister, media or the public? Details?

3. If so, how may I get a draft or final electronic copy?

4. Has pool of sample or draft questions for a citizenship test being drawn up by the Immigration Department or an agent on behalf of your department or the Australian government? 

5. If so, has a draft or final copy of the sample/pool of questions been released to the minister, media or the public? Details?

6. If questions were released to the media, was there any request to make responses or other information available to you?

7. If so, bit much to ask if I can get an electronic copy of the sample/pool questions myself I guess.  So...were the questions published in the Herald Sun part of that sample/pool of questions developed by your Department or an agent on behalf of your department or the Australian government? 

8. Do you care to make any comment about the media reports ascertaining the questions are from the Federal Government? True, false, not attributable to anyone in your Department?  Is it worth a media release to clarify this?

I will be publishing my email along with your response on my personal weblog unless you really really really really prefer me not to. (I kind of like the idea of publishing correct information though)

Regards,
DogfightAtBankstown

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21752541-2,00.html

          

Are you dinky di?

             

May 18, 2007 01:00am

   

         

Article from:

                                          

An exclusive insight into the likely content of a new 'Aussie values' test for potential Australian citizens which will come into effect later this year.

         Sample questions devised by the Federal Government:

1. Which colours are repre