Filed under politix …

Sep 18 2003
3 Comments
god, politix

Church and State

Our elected state representatives have been hard at work debating the big issues, such as whether it is appropriate that every day’s session of Parliament begin with the Lord’s Prayer.

It seems absurd to me that anyone persists in the thought that mandating a Christian prayer as part of our legislative process is anything other than offensive to the one-third of the population who aren’t Christian. It flies in the face of the separation of church and state, it seems inconsistent with s.116 of the Australian Constitution and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that it provides fuel to the fire of anti-Australian terrorist groups.

But at the commencement of every day’s session of Parliament, just before the President acknowledges that the Parliament meets on Eora land, the NSW upper house affirms that Our Father art in heaven, that His name is hallowed, and that His will be done. If that’s not enough, the Parliament declares the “kingdom, the power and the glory” to belong to the Christian God, “for ever and ever.” Continue reading →

Sep 11 2003
death, politix

Protester Suicide in Cancun

Cancun

A Korean farmer identified as Lee Kyung-hae has died after stabbing himself during a protest against the World Trade Organization in Cancun. Holding a sign that read “WTO Kills Farmers”, Lee stabbed himself at a barricade blocking the road to Cancun’s hotel district where the WTO ministerial meeting is being held.

[Full report from Reuters]

Sep 11 2003
death, politix, war

Dead people, wrapped in flags

samudra_flag.jpg

Today marks two years of the “war on terror” and, like many of us suspected at the outset, neither the good guys or the bad guys (assuming you can tell the difference) seems to be getting the upper hand.

The coming day will be a sad one for the people of New York and especially for those individuals who lost friends and family members in the WTC tragedy. The datastream will be littered with teary-eyed wives and children clutching photographs and buches of flowers. And we’ll all be forced to witness the Bruckheimeresque spectacle over and over again from every angle. Continue reading →

Aug 25 2003
politix, virus

Trade != Fair

The Cancun round of WTO shenanigans is just around the corner. It’s shaping up to be a crash-or-crash-through moment for the fair trade movement. This press release from the European AIDS Treatment Group explains some of the urgent issues affecting people with HIV/AIDS in developing countries: Continue reading →

Jul 30 2003
politix

Silvio scared of creepy crawlies

Berlusconi (ew)

Neo-fascist Italian media baron, part-time Prime Minister and full-time racist, Silvio Berlusconi is afraid of spiders, as well as Germans, according to a Reuters report that suggests that he issued a prime ministerial decree to forbid all eight-legged creepy crawlies entry to Italy.

A new law, apparently an emergency measure which resulted from Silvio’s unplannned micturation upon coming face-to-face with a daddy-long-legs at his Milan mansion, will slap a €10,000 fine on anyone caught bringing the hairy buggers into Emperor Silvio’s domain.

“We understand that the measure was dictated by the prime minister’s fear of spiders,” opposition MP Luigi Merduri told News Limited.

As for me, I love spiders, can’t get enough of ‘em. Seriously, I reckon they are underappreciated creatures; I even have a spider tattoo on my right shoulder. I’ve been fond of spiders since I was a kid, when I became accustomed to my dad picking them up, letting them crawl over him, once I even watched as he sat in front of the TV with a four-inch huntsman on his shoulder, which he absent-mindedly stroked, while watching TV.

The huntsman seemed to enjoy it.

Jul 22 2003
god, politix

St Sebastian he ain’t

Fred Nile

(Click the image for a larger version)

Fred Nile has resigned as a minister of the Uniting Church after the ex-methodists decided to allow ordination of openly-gay ministers a week ago.

The church has thrown out the Bible and is no longer a true church, Mr Nile says.

“They’ve adopted a policy which completely ignores the teaching in the word of God in the bible,” he told The Australian.

“I can’t stay in a church which does that because in fact, to a degree, the Uniting Church ceases to be a church.”

If he’s so principled, shouldn’t Nile have quit his cushy taxpayer-funded position as a member of the NSW Parliament, which recently voted to equalise the age of consent for gay men?

If he really wants to do the martyr thing, shouldn’t he quit the church and the state?

Of course, the $130,000 salary plus associated perks might just have something to do with it…

Jul 11 2003
politix

Hail to the Chief

Bush on Africa: “It looks a lot like Crawford [Texas], doesn’t it?”

Jul 01 2003
politix

He’s on a mission from God

“According to [Palestinian PM Mahmoud] Abbas, immediately thereafter Bush said: “God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them.” — Ha’aretz (via Crikey)

What is Betty Bowers going to make of this?

Jun 24 2003
politix

And I think to myself…

The ABC reports that our Minister for Immigration, Mr Ruddock, has announced that he will challenge last week’s Family Court ruling which found that it is illegal for the government to keep children in jail, indefinitely, without trial.

The fedferal government ask the High Court to confirm that the Family Court has no power to order the Immigration Department to release children who have committed no crime and who are detained against their will in appalling conditions in remote detention camps in the most remote and inhospitable parts of Australia.

I’m speechless.

Jun 09 2003
politix

Crean vs Beazley: HOT or NOT?

Who is to be the new leader of the ALP: Slimey Simon or Fart Boy? The caucus vote may still be a week away but the voters at buggery.org’s HOT or NOT have already made their minds up.

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