Those of you who used to be on Whitepage may be interested to know that cc is back on Vox. She used to live in Sydney  but is in the bush now. You can catch up on her here. http://cc1804.vox.com/

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26506144-952,00.html

Article from:

BIBLE classes should be compulsory so children have a fundamental understanding of Christianity on leaving school, federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says.

"I think everyone should have some familiarity with the great texts that are at the core of our civilisation," Mr Abbott told the Herald Sun.

"That includes, most importantly, the Bible.

"That doesn't mean that people have to be believers."

But former Howard government Islamic advisor Dr Ameer Ali, said Mr Abbott's remarks were "over the top".

"It's one thing to say every child needs a good knowledge of history and geography or science," Dr Ali said.

"But it is something else to say all children should have a knowledge of the Bible. That might hurt other people who have their own holy scriptures," he said.

And the Australian Education Union's federal president, Angelo Gavrielatos, said that religion was not a priority for schools.

"There is a place for comparative studies of religion in the curriculum, but ultimately we consider it a private matter for parents and their children," he said.

Read more on the Herald Sun's website.

I thought long and hard about posting tonight. This is a time of year when I like to forget the crap of this world, I Iike to dwell on the good things in life. Those simple things we take for granted. Like good health, family, and the miracle of just being alive. But at this moment I am feeling rather despondent. For all his efforts, it seems that Obama will deliver a health system with cosmetic improvements. For all the efforts of a lot of good people, it seems that the Copenhagen talks will deliver a cosmetic "solution" to the climate change challenge that confronts us all. And I'll lay it on the line. Conservatives have brought us to this.

And I have to wonder why. All that Obama wanted to do was to make health care available to every American. I don't think that is unreasonable. After all, all other industrialised countries have provided for this basic necessity for their citizens decades ago.Yet, the richest country in the world refuses to do so. Instead, we are treated to a litany of lies and obfuscation that are really an insult to the intelligence of anyone with average intelligence. I really do feel for my many Vox friends who I know feel the way that I do. I do sincerely wish it was otherwise.

And it seems that the Copenhagen talks will be just that. Talks. And who will be celebrating the failure of the talks to deliver a plan to deliver the world from its folly? Why, those same conservatives who seem to think that so long as they resist change then that is all that necessary in this world. And it seems as though they have won. Only they haven't. We all lost.

Like I said, I'd sooner forget the crap. They sure make it hard, though. Maybe another whisky will help.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26497660-952,00.html

Cruise control driver runs down his critics

My Vox neighbour, Endeesea, has come up with a cracker of a post about the main impediment to much human progress. It's humans. 

http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001laauDGMXfkVe2Pbk9PlgC2KmENOF0w4WtESOwU9d-0VBhDI-bsBR-sNLXcDcfOAAjmgkfu8-OAIZioPnnWuys2rgVFd1beyQB9E1rIC0vCk%3D

" The purpose of commercial [media] is to induce mass sales. For mass sales there must be a mass norm ... By suppressing the individual, the unique, the industry ... assures itself a standard product for mass consumption.":

John Whiting, writer, commenting on the homogenization of corporate media program content

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"One of the intentions of corporate-controlled media is to instill in people a sense of disempowerment, of immobilization and paralysis. Its outcome is to turn you into good consumers. It is to keep people isolated, to feel that there is no possibility for social change.": David Barsamian, journalist and publisher

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The foulest damage to our political life comes not from the 'secrets' which they hide from us, but from the little bits of half-truth and disinformation which they do tell us. These are already pre-digested, and then are sicked up as little gobbits of authorised spew. The columns of defence correspondents in the establishment sheets serve as the spittoons.: E.P. Thompson, British historian

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The feudal barons of the Middle Ages, the economic predecessors of the capitalists of our day, declared all wars. And their miserable serfs fought all the battles. The poor, ignorant serfs had been taught to revere their masters; to believe that when their masters declared war upon one another, it was their patriotic duty to fall upon one another and to cut one another's throats for the profit and glory of the lords and barons who held them in contempt. And that is war in a nutshell: Eugene Debs 6 June 1918: The speech was given to about 1,200 people and was later used against Debs to make the case that he had violated the espionage Act. The judge sentenced Debs to ten years in prison:

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"[Y]our national greatness, swelling vanity; your denunciation of tyrants, brass-fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages." : Frederick Douglass - 1818 - 1895

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" When everyone is thinking the same, no one is thinking.": John Wooden

Tuskegee Airman: The Biography of Charles E. McGee, Air Force Fighter Combat Record Holder

Charlene E. McGee Smith

Sometimes I wonder if God uses me as a vessel to do something for him. I always try to approach everyone I meet even enemies with kindness and love. I'm thankful for the wonderful opportunities I have had to *bump* into some amazing individuals.