May I wish all my Vox friends a Very Merry Christmas, and Best Wishes for the New Year.
Your company during the past year is sincerely appreciated.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26512112-5003402,00.html
Books prove prayer can cure cancer, says archbishop
TERMINAL illness such as cancer can be cured by prayer, the head of the Catholic Church in Australia said.
But Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal George Pell admitted such cures, like the miracle attributed to Mary MacKillop, were obviously rare.
"Yes obviously (cancer can be cured by prayer)," Cardinal Pell told ABC Television today.
"And there are quite a number of examples in the books."
Cardinal Pell said that wouldn't give sick people a false sense of security because they realised cure by prayer was a "very long shot".
The Vatican has recognised Mother Mary's role in the healing a woman with inoperable cancer during the mid-1990s after she prayed to Mother Mary.
It was the second miracle attributed to Mary MacKillop, set to become the nation's first saint 100 years after her death.
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
Tony Abbott preaches all children must read the Bible
December 18, 2009 11:00pm
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.
"I think it would be impossible to have a good general education without at least some serious familiarity with the Bible and with the teachings of Christianity."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
THE driver stuck on cruise control at 100km/h on the Eastern Freeway and EastLink has lashed out at those casting doubt on his story.
"You weren't in the car," Chase Weir said. "If anyone can fake a 000 call and all that screaming, show me how."
Readers swamped the Herald Sun website and talkback radio to also ask why the Ford Explorer driver didn't turn off his engine or shift the gear selector into neutral.
Click here to listen to the dramatic 000 call extract
Mr Weir told police the ignition key would not move and that he could not put the car into neutral.
On trying to brake, he could not slow below 80km/h.
The 22-year-old Queenslander's ordeal began at 12.40pm on Tuesday when he was unable to slow for his Eastern Freeway exit.
It ended just over 30 minutes later on the Moorooduc Highway at Frankston, when he finally managed to stop the vehicle using the handbrake and the brake pedal - on the wrong side of the road.
Police considered radical measures to stop Mr Weir.
But it was Sgt Marnie Goldsmith who in effect rescued him, talking him through his panic after he dialled 000.
Mr Weir thanked her in person.
Sgt Goldsmith said: "He shook my hand and I said 'I can give you a hug'."
Mr Weir said it was only her calm response that allowed him to keep his head.
"She was saying, 'the car won't stop but you're still OK'. I was panicky, but she kept me calm."
She explained: "I just said 'I'll tell you when it's time to panic and we're not there yet'."
Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority operator Jay Kemp, who co-ordinated the response, said: "There is no standard procedure to stop a car stuck on cruise control. It was extraordinary."
The first police unit to reach Mr Weir thought it would all end in tragedy.
Sen-Constable Steve Warr and Constable Stephen Glenk from Doncaster kept other vehicles away from him.
"We knew the traffic would bank up and we wanted to end it prior to Frankston," said Sen-Constable Warr.
"We discussed about 50 different options, from using our van or a truck to stop him, using the guard rail, or running him into a paddock.
"By the time the last 3km came up, it was too late. I thought there were going to be fatals. I said over the air - 'It's going to be bad'."
The Explorer will now be examined by police and Ford. Mr Weir claims six Australians have contacted him on Facebook to claim similar issues with their cars.
National Motoring Editor Paul Gover writes: If you are faced with a jammed accelerator, or a stuck cruise control, do not panic. Firstly, push down very hard on the brake. If it doesn't release the accelerator, don't panic.
If it's a manual, push down on the clutch, which should disengage a cruise control, or knock the lever into neutral. Do the same for an automatic, but go gently on the shifter.
Selecting neutral will disconnect the engine from the gearbox and allow you to brake to a stop.
If you cannot get into neutral, try turning the engine off (do not lock the steering). You should be able to steer and brake to a stop.
In the absolute worst case, do as Mr Weir did to stop.
My Vox neighbour, Endeesea, has come up with a cracker of a post about the main impediment to much human progress. It's humans.
" 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
=
"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
=
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
=
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:
=
"[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
=
" When everyone is thinking the same, no one is thinking.": John Wooden
Clean coal plan gets fast track
- From: The Australian
- December 14, 2009
A MAJOR clean coal power plant and
carbon storage project is being considered for planning approval in
Queensland, even though a feasibility assessment has not been completed
and a site is yet to be found, along with the necessary $4.2 billion in
funding.
The Bligh government confirmed on Friday that Co-ordinator-General Colin Jensen had given significant project status to ZeroGen, which is wholly owned by the state with initial backing from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Shell and the coal industry.
The declaration signals the start of comprehensive environmental assessments, even though the project is still at the pre-feasibility stage.
Most stakeholders are awaiting carbon policies to determine the way forward.
A feasibility study, if warranted, would not be completed for almost two years.
But ZeroGen has considerable political support.
The Bligh government declared ZeroGen capable of being one of the first companies in the world to build a commercial-scale power plant -- generating the equivalent of 400 megawatts -- combined with geosequestration technology.
Queensland Mines and Energy Minister Stephen Robertson said the Bligh government was showing its commitment to reducing carbon emissions.
"Integrating a coal gasification power plant with the capture and storage of (carbon dioxide) emissions to generate low-emission electricity for the national electricity market will put Queensland in the driver's seat when it comes to clean coal technology," Mr Robertson said.
The Rudd government last week announced ZeroGen was one of four projects for its $2bn carbon capture and storage flagships program.
But even if successful, ZeroGen would only share in $120 million in commonwealth funding for pre-feasibility work, and the proponents are operating on tight timeframes in their bid to have the power plant running by late 2015.
ZeroGen chief executive Tony Tarr said last week the project would help to safeguard Queensland's coal industry while putting the state at the forefront of technological development.
"It is widely understood that if several large-scale integrated CCS (carbon capture and storage) projects are not developed within the next decade, there is a real possibility we won't be able to deploy the technology in time to prevent greenhouse gas emissions from exceeding reasonable limits," Dr Tarr said.
Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said the commonwealth government was, through its CCS flagships program, contributing to the G8 goal of at least 20 large-scale integrated CCS projects globally by 2020.
Drilling tests have continued in central Queensland's Northern Denison Trough in an effort to find a location for about 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide to be stored over the life of the project.
The project was greatly revamped early last year, when its proponents succumbed to pressure to double ZeroGen's planned electricity output and fast-track development of a commercially viable plant.
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/libs-fear-joyce-will-overpower-hockey-20091213-kqdc.html
Libs fear Joyce will overpower Hockey
December 14, 2009
Alan Moir Cartoon Of The Day, The Sydney Morning Herald
Nick Minchin was the first Liberal to try to rein in Barnaby Joyce. It was April 2005 and Joyce's reputation preceded him.
Elected six months earlier, Joyce was still two months away from taking his place in the Senate. He was already on the record opposing various Howard government policies ranging from the sale of the remainder of Telstra to the abolition of compulsory student unionism and the scrapping of state awards for a single federal award system.
Minchin, the Liberal Senate leader, left Adelaide's eastern suburbs for Joyce's home in St George, Queensland, to make his acquaintance, meet the family, chew the fat and spell out the rules. At the time, the strategy concerning Joyce was ''to kill him with love'' and it was believed Joyce would calm down once he entered Parliament. ''It's a long walk to go and sit with the other side with your mates watching you,'' one of Joyce's colleagues said at the time.
Three years later, Peter Costello, in his memoirs, summed up the failure of the Liberals to contain Joyce and the bad taste it left in the Liberal establishment. Joyce, he said, was ''a populist'' who ''believed that the hope of the National Party lay in distinguishing itself from the Liberal Party''.
''Since the Government had a majority of one in the Senate, Joyce was able to grandstand on practically every issue. He felt no loyalty to the Coalition. He wanted to share the Coalition's record of achievement in economic management but he also wanted to oppose the measures necessary to deliver those results. The more he demanded, the higher his profile became.''
Costello noted that Joyce was supported by the same people who were behind the disastrously parochial Joh-for-PM campaign that wrecked John Howard's 1987 election campaign.
Joyce, once more, is topic du jour thanks to his elevation last week as the Opposition spokesman for finance and debt reduction. It was part of Tony Abbott's bare-knuckle approach. Joyce, the so-called ''retail politician'', would use the same populist style that helped swing sentiment against the emissions trading scheme, to range across a swag of issues while banging on about Labor's debt.
Joyce rose with the full imprimatur of Minchin and Abbott but he drove a hard bargain. He wanted the key portfolio and demanded the shadow ministry be expanded by one so his entry did not result in a fellow National being punted. There are 14 Nationals in Parliament - nine MPs and five senators. Nationals make up 15 per cent of the Coalition caucus and 20 per cent of its shadow cabinet.
If the idea of promoting Joyce was to get him into the tent to curb his excesses, it failed miserably in week one. Joyce aired the gamut of his policy beliefs including his trenchant opposition to Chinese sovereign investment, his support for greater bank regulation, his support for unconstitutional zonal tax treatment, and his alarmist statement that the United States and Queensland could default on their debts.
There will be no reining in of Joyce. As he told the Herald on Tuesday: ''It's not as though you have a personality transplant when you go into cabinet.''
The less apparent danger for Abbott is the internal damage and ongoing unrest Joyce will cause. While the weekend papers were full of warnings of what Joyce could do to the Coalition's economic reputation, the internal ill-feeling that Costello articulated began to well up by the end of last week.
Since the election two years ago, Joyce has led a ramped-up push to differentiate the Nationals from the Liberals. This has caused him to be frequently disloyal to the Coalition and contemptuous of the Liberals, so much so that Malcolm Turnbull, before he fell, was under real pressure to split from the Nationals for good. Then, in one fell swoop, the leadership changed and Joyce became a lead figure in the Coalition.
Not only do the aggrieved Liberals feel the Nationals are overly represented in shadow cabinet, Joyce is now espousing views that are anathema to Liberal philosophy of the free market, foreign investment and less government regulation.
Mainstream Liberals feel as though they are having their noses rubbed in it. They fear Joyce will overpower and dominate the senior finance spokesman Joe Hockey - just as he rendered irrelevant the Nationals leaders Mark Vaile and Warren Truss - and become the economic voice of the Coalition. What may go down well in the front bar of the pub in St George is unlikely to resonate in Collins or Pitt Street.
''This is going to be a disaster,'' said one MP. ''Great retail politician? Sure, but so was Pauline Hanson''.
