Secular Europe Campaign and March 2012

Protest March and Rally – Sat 15th September 2012

 Don't like what is happening in Russia with Pussy Riot?

Don't like what is happening in Ireland with the Catholic Church, and it's history of evasion when it comes to child abuse?

Don't like the idea of paying a Church Tax?

Don't want your country signing Concordats with the Vatican?

  We protest against:

• the privileged status of the churches under Article 17 of the TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union)
•  the privileged status of churches in countries where they are established
• the special status of the Vatican at the United Nations and its economic and political privileges across Europe
• state-funded religious schools

  We Promote

• freedom of religion, freedom of conscience and freedom of speech
• women’s equality and reproductive rights
• equal rights for LGBT people in all the European Union
• a secular Europe – democratic, peaceful, open and just, with no privilege for religious or belief organisations
• one law for all, no religious exemptions from the law
• state neutrality in matters of religion and belief

When: 15 September 2012
Assembly: 13:30 Storey's Gate
March: 14:00-15:00 Storey's Gate, Parliament Square, Bridge Street, Embankment, London.
Rally: 15:00-17:00 Surrey Street (Temple Place)


Website for the event is  http://secular-europe-campaign.org/

All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.
-Thomas Paine

Single Frame Stories Week 4 "Positive"

Naturally Shockwave thought the batteries had gone flat in her bedrooms toys, and swapping them would be easy....ouwowowOWOWOW!!!!




“Electricity can be dangerous. My nephew tried to stick a penny into a plug. Whoever said a penny doesn't go far didn't see him shoot across that floor. I told him he was grounded.” - Tim Allen

Single Frame Stories Week 3 "Grave Mistake"

Chapter 1 Exercise, in "Tombraiding for Beginners". Shockwave always hated being last in the class to do the practical exercises.

My picture for the 3nd week of Single Frame Stories , this week the theme is "Grave Mistake".


Show me an archaeologist, and I'll show you a man who practices skullduggery. -Anon 

Single Frame Stories "Illumination"

My picture for the 2nd week of Single Frame Stories , this week the theme is "Illumination".

“There are two kinds of light - the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures."

James Thurber

Australian Christian Intellectual at work

Imagine the location :-
   National Marriage Day rally in Canberra, Australia. Tuesday 14th August 2012. Just outside Parliament House.

"I'm convinced that homosexuals (re)produces themselves by molesting children," he told the 200-strong crowd.

As said by Pastor Peter Walker. 

This would be the same Peter Walker of Australian Indigenous Christian Ministries who was Christian Democrat Candidate in 2004 Federal election http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2004/guide/snsw.htm

Someone who knows so little about genetics, science, etc would probably fit right in to the current Federal political system.

But if you swapped "homosexual" with "priest" it might explain why there are so many Christians in the world.


“No man dies for what he knows to be true. Men die for what they want to be true, for what some terror in their hearts tells them is not true.” - Oscar Wilde

Pussy Riot and the Russian Orthodox Church

            Image if you will, Tim Minchin walking into St Pauls Cathedral in London and starts singing "Woody Allen Jesus" and then Rowan Williams calling the PM to have him put in jail. ( Tim wouldn't really do this, either would Rowan Williams ).

But this is pretty much what Pussy Riot did in Russia, as was the response of  Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church (known as ROC from now on)

Well, you can see for yourself.

It's not something I would do, but then in the land of the Church of England, you wouldn't have to. 

While the coverage of the Pussy Riot girls is ongoing, there is an unpleasant under current from the ROC.

Vsevolod Chaplin is often a church spokesman:

Chaplin praised the growing closeness between church and state. "For the Orthodox believer,  like for Muslims, of course the authorities and the church are understood as one thing," he said. "Our ideal is the unity of the church and the authorities, and unity of the people and the authorities."
"In this way, we are decidedly different from the west. I think attempts in the west to separate the spiritual sphere and secular sphere is a historical mistake," Chaplin said. "Such a division is not characteristic to any civilisation except the west."
He denied the existence of corruption in the highest ranks of the Russian government and only criticised the authorities for one thing: not "speaking loudly enough" about western involvement in the growing opposition movement in Russia.

Amnesty are supporting Pussy Riot as prisoners of conscious, you can support them here.
  
http://www2.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/sms-action-network/pussy-riot


“The most important dictator, Putin, is really afraid of people,” says Squirrel. More specifically, he’s afraid of Pussy Riot. Afraid of a bunch of young, positive, optimistic women unafraid to speak their minds.”

Not everyone is happy to see Curiosity

Today was quite an amazing day, Mars Robot Curiosity landed in a quite amazing fashion.

I wonder what the local resident thought of it? 

All green of skin... 800 centuries ago, their bodily fluids include the birth of half-breeds. For the fundamental truth self-determination of the cosmos, for dark is the suede that mows like a harvest.- Martian Ambassador from Mars Attacks

Single Frame Stories "Last Words"

Whiskey Day and Botgirl Questi have created a project, Single Frame Story, the idea is to tell a story with a single image, with up to 140 characters of text.

This week it's the theme "Last Words"

At the moment I would like to have some words with whoever introduced the bug where Linux can't save pictures in most of the up to date viewers.
 

For those who don't know, Tony Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in Australia, and one time former health minister whose most well known "Achievement " was trying to keep the RU486 pill out of the country, being at odds with all experts.  In this act he showed he is not interested in the health of women, but in his post death credit rating. 


Little wonder he also thinks climate change is a hoax, again ignoring all scientific opinion.





I think the climate is too important to say we are going to wait until all our economic woes are over before we act effectively. Malcolm Fraser, former Australia Prime Minister

A First hand report of Scripture Classes in Australian Schools

         While watching this video from Skepticamp Sydney, I had that sinking feeling. Really everyone should see this.
I hope one day Scripture classes and Chaplains will be viewed with the same distaste as we do of the Catholic Laundries, and the Christian Brothers 1940s - 1950s orphanages

Thanks again to Chrys Stevenson

http://thatsmyphilosophy.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/what-really-happens-in-your-childs-scripture-class-and-beyond/

 As people become more intelligent they care less for preachers and more for teachers - Robert G. Ingersoll

Not so erotic fiction - 15 Greys from Planet Shade

Alliance Year 3789
Dear Diary.

It would be nice to be famous for saving those ships and the occasional planet, from certain doom, but no it's The Book I'm famous for..I can't escape it...ever.

Few people remember the asteroid deflection technique I developed on the planet Skyhawk...nope...it's That BOOK...grrr.... Everywhere I go it seems everyone in the frakking Galaxy wants to conduct "trade talks" on behalf of their planet with me..

Can you believe it Diary, it was over 40 years ago, We were moving fast back then after the Alliance setbacks, and I found myself over 200 light years from the nearest human, all by myself.

After months of searching and following rumors I finally found a real "Grey" from the legends of Earth and from other planets.

I finally ran into one of their starships (not via a collision, that's just a vicious rumour ) in a station in the far Finginita system. My poor little ship "Skittles" was in dock, and the Finginita (who look like kangaroos with really funky trilobite armour), were quite happy to make repairs in exchange for the .25% gain in their FTL drives I suggested to them. So yeah..I remember wondering what to do for the next two weeks, and I was just walking around their station admiring the artwork, and avoiding being eaten by the plants .

Then suddenly!!! da de dahhhh there one was...

The Grey seemed surprised to see a Human, actually I think it totally freaked out.  I was really really keen to make proper contact between the TransHuman Alliance and those known as "The People of the Shades"....as no one had found where these people had came from, but they seem to have travelled everywhere.

I remember speaking to the Grey while looking in to his great big eyes for nearly an hour, well, I just guessed it was a him, then suggested another meeting, the computer interpreter seemed to get it right, although it tried to tell me they lived on a giant ring that goes around their sun, a Ringworld..Yeah right, who would build something that unstable!

I explained, or tried to about the Alliance war with Original Earth of 90 years ago and the Chromosomal plague they used against us that caused 1 male birth to 225 female one, (admittedly a clever weapon, but I left out the side effects) that had freaked everyone out, and how the Alliance had manged to stay together.

The word meetings and rishathra seems to have had a number of meanings and I used the "Treaty Celebrations" meaning, and I certainly did say to bring everyone on their ship along.

A bit later..I wanted to make sure I recorded everything, so set up cameras all over my room.

 They didn't turn up, so so annoyed..."Bastards" I thought..I didn't remember to turn off the cameras in my room before I went to bed,
Made sure the Computer reminds me NEVER TO MAKE THAT MISTAKE EVER AGAIN!

 Then they turned up..

One spoke and their Translator beeped out "rishathra time"


WHAT??



Now I have my Diary meta-encrypted but if by any chance there is anyone reading it, stop now and do a word search on rishathra if on the truly bizarre idea you have never heard of it, or heard of  me by now.

GO SEARCH FOR IT.

OK...got it... all rather common now, but ..right...back to the story...

Their ship was a 15 man crew, and remember, I was far from home, not having even seen another human for months..so I thought well..yeah ok, lets get it on, it's not as if I can catch anything, and no one will ever find out.

Seven hours later and we hadn't quite finished. (They had also been in space a LOOONNNGGG time, and you know ...really... so had I).. the station pressure alarm went off...nothing kills the mood like asphyxiation typical isn't it... and then, EVEN MORE TYPICAL they teleported themselves out to their ship, leaving me behind....Male Bastards!!

Oh Crap! crap! crap.. get that suit on now!

Ewwww.. how could I ever forget putting on that emergency spacesuit, the smell! owwww and I needed a shower or three or four. After squelching  making my way through the airlocks..

Diary...should I put squelching?...sounds disgusting...but it was true..just what it sounded like when I walked
ran like hell through the passageways.

 anyway...got to Skittles, had a shower..scrubbed, scrubbed, bit tricky as she was only on battery power....poor old thing..

So later the Greys radioed over a large data file with cultural and navigational information...In my official report I said I got a huge data dump..ohh how they must have laughed rereading it later....

The guest quarters were still sealed due to a radiation leak as well as an air leak, and as I left nothing there of any value, I just waited the day or so until Skittles was ready, set a new course, said goodbyes to the Finginita and left. The Grey Shadians still had a few more days left. I hope they got what they wanted while they where there.

I never did find out who found the cameras, who published that wretched book, but by Thors hammer I will stick them in a box and drop them into a neutron star!!!bastards bastards bastards...

Anyway..yeah a year or so later, after a deep space mission of months away. I get back to the homeplanet

A priority one message said that Admirals Redgrave, Nino, Krauss, and Harley wanted to see me at their earliest convenience, meaning now.

So off I go, and noticed some strange looks on the way into the office. They were waiting for me, Redgrave looked like she was about to burst out laughing, Nino was flicking through some pages of a book..

I couldn't help notice the occasional raised eyebrow, and turning the book on it's side, looking carefully shaking her head,  flipped a page again. Admiral Harley seemed entranced watching her as well.

Then she threw it on the desk in front of me, she said to have a look through it.

"Yes Admiral" I said

It opened at page 20, and I looked, flicked to the next page.Hmmm..she certainly had a strange taste this girl, but does seem to be having a good time, I laughed a bit, and WOW! look at page 48, how does she do that? is that even possible..

Nino said to look at the front cover..

 Frakking Hell...you know that feeling when all the blood leaves your head, your knees go weak, and your about to fall off your stiletto heels....  (I'm about to go through it again just remembering it)..I was just going OMG OMG, OMG, flip flip flip 78 pages of pictures of me!!!and the title of the book "Shockwave Plasma and the 15 Greys from Shade".

As we are now a mostly female society, we have few sexual hangups, but this is like the meanest practical joke ever...

Harleys face is as clear to me now as it was then when she said "Congratulations, your picture book is a best seller"

OH!

She then said, this one was from the Library, and asked if I noticed the borrower comments and pointing arrows on the pictures.

!!!!!! I died...really

She then added "Departments of First Contact, Diplomatic Corps and the Rangers have taken started to use it as a text book. I'm not exactly sure of the context it's being used."

Admiral Redgrave must have bit though her glove...

I'm dismissed, and walk out and hear hysterical laughter just before I close the door..I remember running to the ship...

Diary....did I ever tell you my sister collects them?  yeah...collectors edition are out, and can you believe people send them to me to sign!!!

The messages I got!! Thousands of marriage proposals, job offers, and the occasional offers from surgeons asking if I need anything fixed, after pages 44 and 48 plus 66-69 I can see why they think I might need it... errkkkk. 

Mum just looked and me and said "You will find that porn is the only information that naturally travels faster than light" I said "Really"?   She was right. :-(

My sister had page 48 printed in 3D  "Almost as good as being a Grey"she says...bitch

I have been further from the Homeworld than anyone in the Alliance, and still, The Book is there before me and quite often someone, or something wants to make my acquaintance and waves  hands, suckers and tentacles in my direction to let me know...yeah thanks guys, girls and hirs. 

So what has she sent me?

And here we go, oh yeah....rather cheap version... same cover as always, and a few more endorsements on the back, some are probably even real.

OVER 280 MILLION!!!!!!   annnnddd That's probably about right about now Diary..

You know Diary...at one stage I had to change ships every 3 months because as soon I docked into a new spaceport I would get invites from other ships to "examine the crew"

I couldn't refuse Flash Gordon now could I? yeahhh don't bother...all over in a flash...name well justified..

So whats on the back of this edition?

So excited reading this my plunger snapped
Dalek Thay

We never though she had it in her, but pictures don't lie.
Barbarella

I can't believe how much I learned from this book.
Eccentrica Gallumbits of Eroticon Six.

She never replied to my marriage proposal.
Chewbacca

Now used at StarFleet academy on how not to do first contact
Admiral Janeway

Her reasons for my nickname "Flash" are an utter lie
Flash Gordon

A Frakking good read!
Kara Thrace

At least noone figured out I actually wrote "What to expect, when you don't know what species your expecting" and "Alien Sex and the Single Girl"

Finally...the location of the Ringworld...fake...Bastards!

Ok Diary, we are off to some place called Z'ha'dum, hopefully there will be no trouble. 

What's that screaming? A good many dramatic situations begin with screaming...— Barbarella

Next round of Deviant art picture 2012

So here are my latest commissions from Deviant Art. I still tell them to go with the Barbarella / Space Ranger theme

http://acaciathorn.deviantart.com/

http://lisemo.deviantart.com/

 

http://ahrrie.deviantart.com/

Then http://ahrrie.deviantart.com/ decided to do some clean lines on the sketch, and give me a robot :-)

These were quite inexpensive and I do like getting them done, but I'm trying to justify to myself the cost of more expensive 3D renders, and full colour pictures.  One problem with 3D renders is the face looks much the same in each picture, well at least I think so.

3D printing on the other hand.... 


“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” ― Edgar Degas

Holy Redundant Bishops in the Lords

          Britain has been trying reform the House of Lords for nearly a hundred years now, Tony Blair managed to clear out some of the Hereditary Lords with the House of Lords Act 1999, but since then the Governments of the day have managed to fill the upper house with life Peers.

Ever wonder why Tony Blair stopped there, just getting rid off the majority of Heredity Peers? In 1999, immediately before most hereditary peers were removed by the Act, there were 350 Conservative, 19 Labour peers and 23 Liberal Democrat peers. While the Bill was being considered, an amendment was passed which let 92 of the existing hereditary peers remain as Members until the next stage of reform.

The number of Lords is now about 886 while in 1999 there were 1,330, then 666 after the hereditary Peers left.There was a recent flood thanks to David Cameron creating over 100 last year.

 To put it plainly, the Lords is a club for friends of  the political parties. Have you been a Judge, a senior politician, a Banker, a Party donor or climbed to the top of the Anglican church  in England? Then there may be a spot for you in the Lords.

See, it's open to anyone..oh...wait..Anglican Bishops, the Lords Spiritual...looks like they are men only. Awkward....better get rid of them in the name of equality, and there is no real reason than anyone could think of to keep them is there?

So why are they there and why does it matter?

26 Senior Bishops and Archbishops of the Anglican Church (Church of England) get an automatic right to sit the Lords. No elections for them!

On the British Humanists site Holy Redundant they list the common arguments for the continued presence of the Lords Spiritual

1. The Bishops bring a unique ethical and spiritual insight to the affairs of Parliament.  
2. The Bishops speak for all religious opinion.  
3. There are Christians in Britain, so there should be Christians in Parliament. 
4.  The removal of the Bishops would mean the disestablishment of the Church of England. 
5.  Religious representation in Parliament is a good thing, we should widen representation to all faiths
6.  It is only humanists and other non-religious people who are opposed to the Lords Spiritual.

The BHA have given some rather polite answers here on this PDF (because the are nice and polite people)

I have a few different answers 

1) Then Bishop of Carlisle, the Right Reverend Graham Dow said that the July 2007 North Yorkshire floods were punishment for homosexual marriage laws to the Muslim fundamentalist who drove a truckload of explosives into Glasgow airport.

Floods are a Judgement on Society

2) I'm sure the Muslims and the Hindus and the Pastafarians are pleased about this. I would have thought they would have been so pleased to ask the Bishops to lead prayers in their local Mosque/Temple/Pirate Ship? No....

3) I'm quite sure there are lots of Christians in Parliament. David Cameron for example, at least he thinks there should be a Christian Fightback  and he is quite happy to "do God" at Number 10. I'm sure no one forgets Tony Blair deciding to become a Catholic and setting up his Faith Foundation.

4) This is the wrong way around, The Church of England is the State Church, meaning it has a privileged position in the role of the state. I would hope it does get disestablished but you need to do that first, then the Bishops will be removed for certain.

5) The  British Social Attitudes survey is taken every year, with 3000 people being questions on various aspects of living in Britain. The 26th Survey quotes 

There has been a sharp decline in religious faith in Britain, while in America people are much less likely to be atheist or agnostic. Despite this difference, people in Britain and America hold similar views about the place of religion in society. Most people are pragmatic: religion has personal and social benefits, but faith should not be taken too far. From politics to private life, many domains are seen as off limits to clerical involvement.

The 2011 Ipsos MORI poll on behalf the Richard Dawkins Foundation  is given the BRIN (British religion in Numbers) treatment and a relevant quote:

        Only 26% favoured the continuing presence of Anglican bishops in the House of Lords (32% against) and 32% the cost of hospital chaplains being met from NHS budgets (39% opposed)

  BRIN also have a page on the YouGov@Cambridge census of British life and attitudes

 16% agreed and 70% disagreed that Christians and the Church should have more influence over politics in the country – only among the over-55s did the proportion in favour of the proposition scrape above one-fifth.

 Who will represent the 390,000 Jedi? in the UK, the Lords Spiritual? I don't think so. Oddly there are more Jedi than Sikhs or Jewish people in the UK at least according to the Office of National Statistics

So it seems the answer is not to add more people to represent a section of society that is slowly dieing.

6) ICM Research among a representative sample of 1,007 Britons aged 18 and over, contacted by telephone on 10-11 March 2010.

‘Six out of ten Brits think bishops should be booted out of the House of Lords after defeating plans to cap benefits at £26,000 a year.’  (Hmmmm)

Poll from YouGov on the Bishops

So lots to think and read about in the matter of Lords Reform. Britain is not overly good at reforming politics, as we saw with the case for the Proportional vote.


 Different viewpoints on Lords Reform can be found here http://www.lordsreform.org/ , number 53 in interesting, as unsurprisingly the Muslim Council wants a place for minor religions in the Lords (funny that!).
The History of the House of Lords actually is quite interesting and can be read on Wikipedia

More information on Lord Reform can be found on these links:-


http://holyredundant.org.uk/

http://unlockdemocracy.org.uk/pages/elect-the-lords

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jun/27/lords-reform-elected-peers-bill

http://unlockdemocracy.org.uk/media/news/entry/lords-reform-new-research-reveals-the-price-of-patronage

Bishops collecting their £27,000 a year.

I have also heard it said the Bishops bring a moral viewpoint to the Lords. If I was in the Lords, I think I would be insulted. 

‘Representatives of the Church of England will retain the right to sit in the House of Lords by virtue of their faith, denomination, gender and vocation. In a Britain which is not only religiously plural, but also increasingly non-religious, there is absolutely no justification for maintaining the Church of England preferred status. It is an affront to the principles of democracy and equal citizenship.’  BHA Chief Executive Andrew Copson

Why the Zombie apocalypse will not be in the USA

                                                       
 You know it's going to happen one day, maybe not soon, but when you least expect it, the zombies will attack. You might be out minding your own business, when suddenly.... out they come, on the endless hunt for human brains.

Sods law will then dictate that your not going to be suitably dressed :-(

If I was in the USA, this wouldn't be much of a problem as I would also be suitably armed. Instead I will just have to climb on things and scream....

Yes, the long flowing red dress is wonderfully sexy, but all you need a one zombie to grab hold of it and your done for!

                                                                ARGHHHHHHHH!!

Getting your clothing right is seriously important.

So I have decided (after much thought) that slim fitting jeans, long sleeved top, and boots as high as you can get them is the ideal survival outfit.

I'm sure that everyone would agree, there is nothing worse than a severed zombie hand climbing up your leg....well...there is one thing...

Boots with straps or laces is a definite no no as they are just a climbing frame for zombie hands, and you don't want hands climbing inside your trousers.

Notice I still have the 5in heels?  Zombies aren't fast, but they are persistent, and if it starts to get really desperate, standing heavily on one of your companions feet will give you those extra minutes to escape as they slowly limp after you until they fall into the clutches of the undead horde.

I think it's quite reasonable to suspect that when the zombie apocalypse happens, it's going to happen in Australia or Britain or anywhere where people aren't well armed. Looks like the USA is safe in that regard.

USA citizens are well equipt to deal with zombies due to their possession of large caliber pistols. My experiments have shown that firing two pistols at the one target is much better than trying to shoot different zombies at the same time.

Armalite rifles are as common as brooms in the USA (so I'm told) and are able to put down the zombie attackers very quickly.

So you see,Australia is perfect as a target for the zombies as firearms are quite restricted and the means of dealing with the zombie hordes are much more limited.

How can we deal with Zombies in Australia?

We can legally own Archery gear...yeah, bows and arrows...although in my tests it takes ten arrows to stop one zombie, and by that time...well...your going to need a lot of arrows, and I strongly suspect trying to reuse them... IS A REALLY BAD IDEA...

There is always the traditional weapon, the axe, I guess it's good enough for Abe Lincoln...but really ickkkyyy as you have to get up close.

Desperate times make desperate measures, and a bat is a true sign of desperation during the zombie apocalypse.

How could I forget the traditional chain saw? Much more effective than the bat or the axe, but yeah....icckky zombie bits everywhere...this led to serious hair cleaning, and the noise, and the fumes where just awful. But hey..100% effective.

Last but not least in the Non-Firearm anti-zombie arsenal is the Molotov Cocktail.

Oh Bugger........Just be careful when throwing them, they are not toys...OK

So basically Australia is a goner in the case of zombie plagues, the only chance for residents is immediate quarantine, and possible "sterilization" of the area.

Further help on preparedness for the zombie apocalypse can be found at:

http://www.zombiesurvivalwiki.com/

http://zomblogofficial.blogspot.co.uk/

Very USA based, but entertaining is Guns and Gardens whose motto "Survive and look cute" I have taken to heart for this post.

Robert Smith of the University of Ottawa has modeled the results of a Zombie outbreak, and the results are quite bad. Unless the Zombies are destroyed quickly, it's just a matter of time before the entire human race is quickly infected. Only those is remote outposts and towns such as Mount Isa, Alice Springs and Outback stations will survive.Britain is pretty well stuffed due to the high density living.

While having your well deserved post-zombie bath, please don't add any  Bath Salts..really...it's just asking for trouble.

Thanks to Drag0nista for the discussion on the overwhelmingly important topic of what shoes to wear for the zombie apocalypse.

Thanks to Moggs Oceanlane for making me aware of the unique dangers with zombie survival in Australia.


“Indeed, one concern would be that the initial neoconservative response to a zombie outbreak would be to invade Iraq again out of force of habit.” ― Daniel W. Drezner, Theories of International Politics and Zombies

Urgent update on the National School Chaplaincy

Looks like the Australian Govt really wants these mercenary Missionaries in Australian schools.

Chrys Stephenson has turned on the ChrysSignal and we need to get this done.

National School Chaplaincy/High Court Challenge Update:

This is urgent. It would be great if everyone could get behind this today and promote it to your own networks. This is the time to mobilise folks. 

The Federal government announced last night they are going to pass legislation to circumvent the High Court ruling on funding for the National School Chaplaincy Program. This is a cynical, underhanded move which, I imagine, won’t impress the High Court at all. It is not at all clear that this attempt to snub the ruling won’t end the government back in the High Court, but we have to wait to see their legislation first.

What we can do immediately, although it won’t overturn the legislation, is try to get the Greens to stand up in Parliament and oppose it – or at least demand amendments to the program. This will get publicity about what is going on and shine a spotlight on what the government is doing. But we need *you* and your networks to help.

As a matter of urgency, please send an email to the following list:

senator.milne@aph.gov.au, adam.bandt.mp@aph.gov.au, senator.dinatale@aph.gov.au, senator.hanson-young@aph.gov.au,
senator.ludlam@aph.gov.au, senator.rhiannon@aph.gov.au, senator.siewert@aph.gov.au, senator.waters@aph.gov.au, senator.wright@aph.gov.au, senator.whish-wilson@aph.gov.au

Here is a sample letter. You can use your own words if you like, but please use the three dot points as they appear so we present a cohesive message.

Subject: Funding – National School Chaplaincy Program
Dear Senators and Mr. Bandt
You will be aware the ALP are planning to rush legislation through parliament to subvert the High Court decision in Willams v the Commonwealth and Ors.

This is an opportunity for the Greens to hold the government to account. The High Court has made a ruling which provides a greater level of public accountability and now the ALP – undoubtedly with the support of the coalition – intend to circumvent that ruling through legislation.

This is an opportunity for the Greens to make a public stand for some incredibly important issues, including public accountability, separation of church and state and our children’s right to a secular public education system.

I would be grateful if the Greens would represent my views in respect to this matter. They are as follows:

1) I do not support the Howard-Gillard program that supplies chaplains of any faith in Australia’s public schools, and I urge you to prevent the continuation of chaplains in today’s forthcoming legislation.

2) If we are to have Commonwealth assistance supplied to schools in this manner then I am firmly of the view that they must be fully qualified as school counsellors, which means they are qualified teachers with a degree in psychology and postgraduate qualifications in school counselling, and nothing less can do.

3) It is time to stop outsourcing this work to third party contractors and these fully qualified school counsellors must all be employed as public servants in the relevant Education departments in each state and territory in order to ensure some high level of confidence in their training, integrity and the outcomes.
Yours sincerely
————————————

Lisa Brown and Vaginas plus another VAGINA

         **Warning this blogpost has words considered unacceptable for  GOP members**

             So it's been a big couple of  days on the vagina front. The US states are continuing their war on womans bodies, this time they decided that Lisa Brown couldn't actually say the "V" word, you know the Vajayjay, the Lady Garden, Satans coin purse, the Jeremy Hunt.

Then Jim Stamas the Leader of the House banned her from talking for two days.

You can see the speech that got her banned on YouTube:-

Lisa Brown talks about it in her own words here at the Guardian, and on her website.

Barb Byrum was also silenced, as she might have also said the "C" word, you know "contraception", she has a video here of her and Lisa Brown, at a quick ad-hoc press conference


Twitter on the other hand, had great fun with the #vaginamovies hashtag yesterday.
Such as
"For a few Vaginas more", "The Vaginas Strike back" "Little Red Riding Vagina"

Remember this strange piece of Puritanism from Florida in March last year?

At one point [Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando] suggested that his wife "incorporate her uterus" to stop Republicans from pushing measures that would restrict abortions. Republicans, after all, wouldn't want to further regulate a Florida business.

Then

...the Speaker believes it is important for all Members to be mindful of and respectful to visitors and guests, particularly the young pages and messengers who are seated in the chamber during debates. In the past, if the debate is going to contain language that would be considered inappropriate for children and other guests, the Speaker will make an announcement in advance, asking children and others who may be uncomfortable with the subject matter to leave the floor and gallery.

This led to the creation of the website http://incorporatemyuterus.com/

 This is so really weird, and I shows the GOP war on woman, is real. I wonder how long before the Womans Protection Service I made up for my last comic become reality?

So in response to this attack I have decided to form "Virtual Avatar Girls In North America", and as I don't live in the USA, and I can think of noone better to head it up than Botgirl Questi.

So...
Dear Botgirl,
Please accept my nomination to head up VAGINA

 


"Finally, Mr Speaker, I'm flattered that you're all so interested in my vagina, but no means no."  - Lisa Brown

A womans place in Conservative run USA 2017

         In 50s and 60s America, the future looked bright and shiny with clean Atomic power, the promise of flying cars, space travel, and jet packs. Everything would be cheaper and people would be working less, as we would have robots to do it all.
         I guess the working less part has come true with all those jobs being off shored to China, but the rest has been a bit of a failure.
       Many advertisements of the time still showed women still at home, but in some of the Science Fiction of the time, sexual equality was a reality.
       We are still not there yet, and it looks like we are going backwards with the Fetal Personhood laws, and attacks on womans heath in the USA and the UK.
        You have to wonder just how bad it can get, and so I did:-

 

When women thrive, all of society benefits, and succeeding generations are given a better start in life. Kofi Annan

Jennifer Wilson asks What is objectification, anyway?

   Jennifer Wilson has written something I have been trying to express for a while, it's that term "objectification". It's one of those terms that seems to be the catch all for something we don't like, but not sure why.
  Read it here


"Today we need the humanities as much as ever, because we still need to cultivate our capacity for mutual respect, understanding and compassion, and this has always been the contribution that the humanities have made to education." Martha C. Nussbaum

Banned in the Leviticus

I have stolen this from thetumblratheist

Here’s chapter and verse on a more-or-less comprehensive list of things banned in the Leviticus book of the bible. A decent number of them are punishable by death.
1.Burning any yeast or honey in offerings to God (2:11)
2.Failing to include salt in offerings to God (2:13)
3.Eating fat (3:17)
4.Eating blood (3:17)
5.Failing to testify against any wrongdoing you’ve witnessed (5:1)
6.Failing to testify against any wrongdoing you’ve been told about (5:1)
7.Touching an unclean animal (5:2)
8.Carelessly making an oath (5:4)
9.Deceiving a neighbour about something trusted to them (6:2)
10.Finding lost property and lying about it (6:3)
11.Bringing unauthorised fire before God (10:1)
12.Letting your hair become unkempt (10:6)
13.Tearing your clothes (10:6)
14.Drinking alcohol in holy places (10:9)
15.Eating an animal which doesn’t both chew cud and has a divided hoof (11:4-7)
16.Touching the carcass of any of the above (11:8)
17.Eating – or touching the carcass of – any seafood without fins or scales (11:10-12)
18.Eating – or touching the carcass of -eagle, the vulture, the black vulture,the red kite, any kind of black kite,any kind of raven,the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey,the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat. (11:13-19)
19.Eating – or touching the carcass of – flying insects with four legs, unless those legs are jointed (11:20-22)
20.Eating any animal which walks on all four and has paws (11:27)
21.Eating – or touching the carcass of – theweasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard,the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon(11:29)
22.Eating – or touching the carcass of – any creature which crawls on many legs, or its belly (11:41-42)
23.Going to church within 33 days after giving birth to a boy (12:4)
24.Going to church within 66 days after giving birth to a girl (12:5)
25.Having sex with your mother (18:7)
26.Having sex with your father’s wife (18:8)
27.Having sex with your sister (18:9)
28.Having sex with your granddaughter (18:10)
29.Having sex with your half-sister (18:11)
30.Having sex with your biological aunt (18:12-13)
31.Having sex with your uncle’s wife (18:14)
32.Having sex with your daughter-in-law (18:15)
33.Having sex with your sister-in-law (18:16)
34.Having sex with a woman and also having sex with her daughter or granddaughter (18:17)
35.Marrying your wife’s sister while your wife still lives (18:18)
36.Having sex with a woman during her period (18:19)
37.Having sex with your neighbour’s wife (18:20)
38.Giving your children to be sacrificed to Molek (18:21)
39.Having sex with a man “as one does with a woman” (18:22)
40.Having sex with an animal (18:23)
41.Making idols or “metal gods” (19:4)
42.Reaping to the very edges of a field (19:9)
43.Picking up grapes that have fallen in yourvineyard (19:10)
44.Stealing (19:11)
45.Lying (19:11)
46.Swearing falsely on God’s name (19:12)
47.Defrauding your neighbour (19:13)
48.Holding back the wages of an employee overnight (19:13)
49.Cursing the deaf or abusing the blind (19:14)
50.Perverting justice, showing partiality to either the poor or the rich (19:15)
51.Spreading slander (19:16)
52.Doing anything to endanger a neighbour’s life (19:16)
53.Seeking revenge or bearing a grudge (19:18)
54.Mixing fabrics in clothing (19:19)
55.Cross-breeding animals (19:19)
56.Planting different seeds in the same field (19:19)
57.Sleeping with another man’s slave (19:20)
58.Eating fruit from a tree within four years of planting it (19:23)
59.Practising divination or seeking omens (tut, tut astrology) (19:26)
60.Trimming your beard (19:27)
61.Cutting your hair at the sides (19:27)
62.Getting tattoos (19:28)
63.Making your daughter prostitute herself (19:29)
64.Turning to mediums or spiritualists (19:31)
65.Not standing in the presence of the elderly (19:32)
66.Mistreating foreigners – “the foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born”(19:33-34)
67.Using dishonest weights and scales (19:35-36)
68.Cursing your father or mother (punishable by death) (20:9)
69.Marrying a prostitute, divorcee or widow if you are a priest (21:7,13)
70.Entering a place where there’s a dead body as a priest (21:11)
71.Slaughtering a cow/sheep and its young on the same day (22:28)
72.Working on the Sabbath (23:3)
73.Blasphemy (punishable by stoning to death) (24:14)
74.Inflicting an injury; killing someone else’s animal; killing a person must be punished in kind (24:17-22)
75.Selling land permanently (25:23)
76.   Selling an Israelite as a slave (25:42)

Do the old testament laws still apply? Jesus said so :-

 Matthew 5:17-19

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁷ Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
¹⁸ For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
¹⁹ Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

When one reads Bibles, one is less surprised at what the Deity knows than at what He doesn't know.
- Mark Twain's Notebook

Victorian Catholic Non co-operation

Detective Sergeant Kevin Carson has written a report into the suicides of at least 40 people sexually abused by Catholic clergy in Victoria, and urged a new enquiry into these and many other deaths suspected to be linked to abuse in the church.
The reports say it appears the church has known about a shockingly high rate of suicides and premature deaths but has chosen to remain silent.


Premier Ted Baillieu seem to be dragging its feet in implementing an enquiry into sexual abuse done by the Catholic Church.  You may member that he has long been a supporter of religion in schools as you remember one of his first payments was to Access Ministries so they can improve their ability to go into schools and spread their propaganda.

There was recently a child protection enquiry in Victoria, it  recommended that there be a wide ranging investigation of the Church, but what is most astonishing is the radio interview a few days ago on how the Victorian police have said that the Catholic Church is quite uncooperative in any matters were sexual abuse was concerned.

If you listen to the interview on 3AW of you will hear how the policeman basically states the Catholic Church will itself investigate any wrongdoing, and it believes that something illegal has happened it will tell the police, the officer says that he does not recall of any referrals to the police from the Catholic Church.
He may have been referring to The Melbourne Response.

It's quite astonishing that anyone can get away with this, imagine if it was an Insurance Company, imagine if it was BP or Microsoft, could any other institution get away with this?

We have with the Irish experience of child abuse and the Catholic Church as a template, going by their experience it seems that each Australian state will need an enquiry into it's abuse and cover ups.

A few weeks ago the catholic bishops sent out letters to all the churches to be read on Sunday about the evils of same-sex marriage. Nice to see they have their priorities right.

Here is ABC Lateline who also seem to think there are many more deaths to be investigated.

                                                             


Religious exhortation and telling people, telling children, that if they don’t do the right thing, they’ll go to terrifying punishments or unbelievable rewards, that’s making a living out of lying to children. That’s what the priesthood do. And if all they did was lie to the children, it would be bad enough. But they rape them and torture them and then hope we’ll call it ‘abuse’. Hitchens

Chrys-Slap

                    

I'm so envious of how Chrys Stevensen can produce such an amazing Chrys-Slap to the Catholic Bishops of Victoria, and their opposition to Same Sex marriage. You can feel her outrage just coming out through the page.  

Read it here


The church says the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the church. — Ferdinand Magellan