Free Tibet in the Pool
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008Peter Nicholson’s cartoon at The Age, in Melbourne, provides a timely challenge to Olympic competitors preparing for the Olympics in Beijing.
Thanks to Mart the Rev
Supply Side Jesus
Monday, April 21st, 2008Here’s a cutting critique of the attempted capture of Jesus by neo-conservative economists who believe that the answers to the world’s problems can be solved by encouraging production and decreasing taxes.
Wes Ball took parts of a comic strip (art by Don Simpson) from Al Franken’s book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, and animated the panels set to the author’s narration. Working with Wes was Adrian Loudermilk who died in tragic car accident not long after.
Voting to Change A Federal Government in Australia
Monday, November 26th, 2007I voted in the Australian federal elections for the first time on Saturday. It was a moment our family had looked forward to ever since we became citizens on Australia Day earlier this year. We walked as a family down the local polling booth, run by the local Church of Christ.
Waiting outside the door were three party representatives with ‘how to vote sheets’, one on the left from Labour, and two on the right from Liberal and National. No one from the Greens or Democrats. I used to think the practice of ‘how to vote’ cards was an affront to democracy. But looking at the complexity of the voting form I can now see how handy it is to get some support from the preferred party. The House of Representatives voting form in Fadden had eight candidates, whom I was required to vote for in order of preference. When it came to the Senate I had the choice of ticking a party’s box or numbering all 65 candidates from Queensland in order. I chose to do all 65.
I’ll put my colours on the mast by saying that earlier in the week I’d had a great conversation with Rana Watson, the local Labor candidate for Fadden. We talked about ways in which the federal government can foster respect for the unique approaches to land and economy provided by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We both come from New Zealand originally and naturally think about the distinctive natures of the Maori and Aboriginal peoples. It was good to hear about how Rana got involved in politics through mobilising his fellow workers.
When it came to voting for the Senate I found myself hoping for an alternative voices that would keep Labor and the Coalition honest. Having made my top choices it was a matter of wading through the seemingly harmless Fishing Party and Australian Fishing and Lifestyle Party before consigning genuinely dangerous voices to the bottom of the heap.
After lunch out, and a leisurely walk home, it was time to head off to find aerial cables to connect up our TV in the new house.
Despite it clearly being a landslide to Labor, candidates generally refrained from public bitterness and bravado. Courtesy and dignity and respect for the democratic process came through in such a way as to put the lie to Sunday morning’s newspaper headlines of “PM’s pain as reign ends in night of blood”, “Invisible man fells minister”, and “Tribal warfare in western suburbs”. (Sunday Mail)
I am so looking forward to a climate in which a wide range of political leaders can provide leadership in their field and invite collaboration and consultation. I’m even tempted to explore joining a political party if that’s what it takes to become part of the development of the future policies of this country.
Jesus Washes Osama’s Feet in Seattle Malls
Monday, November 12th, 2007Heavenly Sanctuary, a Christian conference organisation focusing on the character of God, have stirred public opinion with a set of posters showing Jesus washing the feet of international leaders.
In the poster Jesus kneels at the feet of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former English Prime Minister Tony Blair, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, US president George W Bush, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Jiang Zemin, former president of China.
The poster was designed by Lars Justinen from the Justinen Creative Group for use on posters advertising the conference. Different versions of the posters had captions such as “Follow the Leader,” “God IS Great,” and “Jesus - Still Too Radical?” Heavenly Sanctuary had the posters in several Seattle malls but had to take them down after complaints from the public about the inclusion of Osama Bin Laden in the line up.
Greg Boyd
Greg Boyd reflects on the negative reactions to the poster by suggesting that many Christians have tragically allowed their patriotism to co-opt their faith.
“They have allowed their American citizenship to take priority over their Kingdom citizenship, despite the New Testament’s instruction for disciples to consider themselves “foreigners” and “exiles” wherever they happen to live (Heb. 11:13; I Pet 1:17, 2:11) and to consider their real citizenship “in heaven” (Phil 3:20). Many American Christians seem to want a Jesus who will defend their country and hate their national enemies as much as they do. Many want the Jesus of the Middle Ages whom Crusaders called on to help them slaughter, not serve, their Islamic enemies. Many seem to want to reduce Jesus to just another version of the tribal gods that have been called on for centuries to bless tribal battles. Most wars throughout history have been fought under the banner of some god or another.”
Greg goes on to write about the real Jesus who wrapped a towel around his waist and washed the dirty, smelly feet of people he knew would deny and betray him in a couple of hours.
Kofi Annan
What I find interesting is that Jesus is actually washing Kofi Annan’s feet. The guy who’s been responsible for challenging, rebuking, negotiating, supporting and resourcing world leaders, is the first to have his shoes off and treated to a foot bath by the one many would consider to be the ultimate expression of God’s character in the flesh. The others know that they’re possibly next in line for this treatment. They’re being taught a valuable lesson in leadership and character, a radical alternative to the survival-focused model of rule or be ruled.
The Wormed Turned On John Howard
Monday, October 22nd, 2007The front page of the Courier Mail (Brisbane) this morning began with a classic typo. “The wormed turned on John Howard last night as Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd outshone the Prime Minister in the one and only debate of the campaign.”
I listened to the first half an hour of the debate on ABC Radio, without the benefit of a worm. I arrived home to see the rest of the debate on Channel Nine.
It was surprising to see the audience response to Howard and Rudd as they spoke. I think I agree with Tony Abbott’s assertion that most of the audience had already made up their mind and were reflecting their personal response to the two contenders rather than engaging with what they had to say.
There were exceptions. Howard’s assertion that George Bush was changing his mind on climate change sent the worm to the pit. Howard saying that George Bush was wrong and Turnbull was right on climate change sent him up again. Rudd got a solid response to his claim that Bush was not open to discussing global warming. His alternative vision of reconciliation sent the viewers’ responses soaring. Rudd talked briefly about saying sorry as a matter of respect that could make it possible to get on with the task of working together for positive solutions.
It would be interesting to see the two prospective treasurers in debate. Peter Costello clearly would have liked to have been up front last night. The wormed would be treated to a different perspective on taxes and IR reform perhaps.
Right Time To Say Sorry
Saturday, October 13th, 2007John Howard has opened a new door with his policy announcement on reconciliation. Howard on Thursday evening told the Australian nation that he was ready to lead the next phase of Australia’s move through reconciliation, calling for a national referendum on the formal recognition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the indigenous people of Australia.
John Howard introduces the move by referring to the recent legislation surrounding intervention in Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory.
“This intervention – and in particular the public’s reaction to it – has been a watershed in Indigenous affairs in Australia. It has overturned 30 years of attitudes and thinking on Indigenous policy. The response from people around Australia has again highlighted to me the anguish so many Australians feel about the state of Indigenous Australia and the deep yearning in the national psyche for a more positive and unifying approach to Reconciliation.”
OK John. The intervention brought the federal government back from thirty years of leaving reconciliation in the too hard basket.
“This new Reconciliation I’m talking about starts from the premise that individual rights and national sovereignty prevail over group rights. That group rights are, and ought to be, subordinate to both the citizenship rights of the individual and the sovereignty of the nation. This is Reconciliation based on a new paradigm of positive affirmation, of unified Australian citizenship, and of balance – a balance of rights and responsibilities; a balance of practical and symbolic progress. It is this balance which holds the key to unlocking overwhelming support among the Australian people for meaningful Reconciliation.”
Individual rights and national sovereignty are concepts at the heart of the colonialism that has got us where we are today. It was the ignorance of group rights that led to the belief that the continent of Australia was unclaimed and open to ownership by the British. If there is to be any sense of balance, then individual rights, national sovereignty and group rights need to kept in tension. That of course will require governments with great skills of diplomacy, patience and discernment.
“I have never felt comfortable with the dominant paradigm for Indigenous policy – one based on the shame and guilt of non-indigenous Australians, on a repudiation of the Australia I grew up in, on a rights agenda that led ultimately and inexorably towards welfare dependency and on a philosophy of separateness rather than shared destiny. This nation spent (and wasted) a lot of time in the last 30 years toying with the idea of a treaty implying that in some way we are dealing with two separate nations. To me, this goal was always fundamentally flawed and something I could never support. We are not a federation of tribes. We are one great tribe; one Australia. I still believe that a collective national apology for past injustice fails to provide the necessary basis to move forward. Just as the responsibility agenda is gaining ground it would, I believe, only reinforce a culture of victimhood and take us backwards.”
Saying sorry is not about shame John. Collective responsibility for a nation’s past does not need to begin or end with embarrassment and disgrace. Apology paves the way for recognition of hurt, the giving and acceptance of forgiveness, and the shared will to work together for a better future.
Nations are almost always federations of tribes. Throughout the world attempts to ignore that fact have resulted in either the denigration of particular cultures or the disintegration of inter-tribal trust. Unity comes not from uniformity, but from reconciled diversity.
In his interview with the press, recorded on his Prime Minister’s web site, John says that he has no intention of saying sorry for the treatment of Aboriginal peoples, citing that the majority of middle Australia would not support it. A responsible government would take some responsibility for the education of citizens in their shared responsibilities for nationhood, including responsibilities for reconciliation. The present government is pouring millions of dollars into educating citizens about their responsibilities for the environment, stewardship of electricity and water, and internet safety. How about pouring millions of dollars into helping Australian citizens share responsibility for reconciliation?
Getup! Australia is responding to John Howard’s announcements by calling for the next parliament and PM say ’sorry’ as their very first act on the very first day. See the campaign page: The First Act Is Saying Sorry.
“Australia’s parliament holds a key to this new way forward - symbolically and practically. An apology is not about guilt or shame or individual responsibility - it is the embodiment of the spirit of reconciliation, and the springboard for a nation committed to stamp out the systemic ills that still flow from a nation unable to address its past wrongs. After over two hundred years of dispossession and ten years of despair, we must use this startling pre-election conversion to push for so much more: a commitment to close the health gap; Australia’s signing of the UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples; a consulted and empowered Indigenous community enjoying the rights and privileges of a first-world country - not just a non-binding amendment to the Constitution’s preamble.”
Join high profile leaders on Indigenous issues in the Getup! blog, giving their opinion on John Howard’s startling pre-election conversion and plan to amend the Constitution’s preamble.
Chaser Exposes APEC Security Hole
Thursday, September 13th, 2007Chasers War on Everything, the ABC comedy show, must have had an all-time high on ratings last night with their clip showing their trip into the APEC exclusion zone posing as a Canadian motorcade. Here it is on YouTube.
Apart from the cultural value of expressing Australian identity in terms of larrikin behaviour, the stunt served another basic purpose: the test of assumptions around security. Good one!
Osama and Jesus in Blake Prize
Tuesday, September 4th, 2007Priscilla Bracks, a Brisbane artist, has people talking about Jesus and Osama Bin Laden with her work, “Bearded Orientals”, entered in the Blake Prize for Religious Art competition.
Bracks says that her work is concerned with relationships between contemporary popular culture, and the futures we (for better or for worse) create. It is not intended as a statement but rather as a means to ask questions. In particular, she’s questioning the relationships between media, popular culture, and the development of truth, history and ideology.
“When you observe these two people, Osama Bin Ladin and Jesus, their ethics could not be more different. The only comparison that can be made is historical: both pursued by two of the world’s most powerful armies – the US and the Roman armies. Jesus is clearly defined by history, but I am interested in how history will treat the image of Osama.”
“To me this work is a cautionary tale about our fixation with crime, violence and catastrophe. Access to information is important and there are instances where this has been well balanced with the temptation to sensationalise. No war was declared against the Lockerby bombers. Instead they were extradited and tried for murder amidst media coverage that left few people with a lingering memory of their names. Similarly, Martin Bryant was moved to an inner cell in his Tasmanian prison to ensure his media attention did not turn him into a cult figure like Charles Manson. There is a wisdom in this approach that has been forgotten in the case of Bin Laden, and this lapse may have unintended, unwelcome effects in the future.”
“The controversy surrounding works on exhibition in this year’s Blake prize for Religious Art is an indication of why art is such a powerful means of exploring cultural and religious difference”, claimed Chair of the Blake Prize, Rev Rod Pattenden.
Rev Pattenden said of the controversy, “Whilst I am disappointed with the sensationalist beat up in some parts of the media I think there is a real nerve being hit here. I have received several angry phone calls from people claiming religious allegiance who have expressed themselves with clear hatred and violence towards other religious groups. Art and the Blake prize, in particular, does our culture a service when it can make us aware of our prejudices, out hatreds and the intolerance that sometimes underlies some forms of belief.”
Kevin Rudd and John Howard are both quoted by the media as saying the Bearded Orientals work insults the Christian heritage of Australia.
Andrew Bolt, columnist with Melbourne’s newspaper The Age, claims that the acceptance of the Bearded Orientals work in the Blake Prize competition is an example of the niceness of Christianity - too afraid to stand up for itself.
The dissonance caused by placing the two figures together is what makes this more than just a provocative dig at Christianity. As Bracks suggests, there are deeper issues at stake, regarding the way in which Australia’s engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan will be seen in the fullness of time. Christians have the opportunity to engage in meaningful intelligent conversation here, as do members of the press.
The irony in all of this is that the portrayal of Jesus in the second portrait reveals the domestication of his image. Would Jesus really have been wearing a cross? Carrying one maybe. But not as a fashion statement. And as for hair spray and gold-encrusted robe… Jesus has been made in the image of the original painter’s patrons.
Peter Costello Defended in Wikipedia
Friday, August 24th, 2007The news today has made much of the Prime Minister’s office computers being used to remove the words, “AKA Captain Smirk” from Peter Costello’s page on Wikipedia. Defense computers are about to be banned from editing other posts. Commentators are concerned that the government is re-writing history.
Wikipedia protocol makes it clear that any persons featured on the online encyclopedia have the right to remove derogatory remarks made about them. The etiquette also calls for a shared perspective to be developed by those editing each page. “POV” (point of view) is edited out by the Wikipedia community, allowing the content to evolve as a set of commonly held perspectives.
Behind the scenes of every Wikipedia article are layers available only to people who are registered as Wikipedia editors.
On the ‘talk page’, a forum for those who are working on the content of the Peter Costello article, writers grapple with suggestions that Costello could be described as a ‘radical Christian’, may or may not have been a member of the Young Labors at university, had ’some’ involvement in the dollar sweets prosecution, has been rumoured to have cancer, and has made dismissive comments about the calls for gay marriage. It is noted that this page is about an active politician who is running for office, is in office and campaigning for re-election, or is involved in some political conflict or controversy. Because of this, this article is at risk of biased editing, talk-page trolling, and simple vandalism.
Due to the interest the page is getting, the Peter Costello entry has been temporarily locked. After all, putting in and taking out the words “AKA Captain Smirk” does get boring after a while.
Australian Politicans Impact MySpace
Friday, July 13th, 2007MySpace launched impact.myspace.com in Australia today, a channel dedicated to Australian politicians and non-profit organisations.
The social networking portal features the following politicans, some of whom have been on MySpace for some time.
Kevin Rudd has 3380 friends, including Labor senators. He’s not ashamed to talk about his interests - the same list as on Facebook.com, and he’s already received 394 comments from supporters.
Bob Brown, leader of the Australian Greens, has 173 friends, including His Holiness 14th Dalai Lama, Xavier Rudd, John Butler Trio and Wolfmother. Brown already is a campaigner, familiar with the the mediums of medium and comfortable with his association with organisations like Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network.
Demcrats senator Andrew Bartlett’s MySpace site is a vivid orange, and features the Ups and Downs track, “The Perfect Crime”. He’s using his page to the full with an active blog. He has 196 friends, including Leonard Cohen, Make Poverty History, Liberation for Our Brother & Sister Animals, and Braveheart.
Other federal politicians featured on Impact MySpace include Steve Fielding (Family First), Peter Garrett (Labor), Joe Hockey (Liberal), Kerry Nettle (Greens), Tanya Plibersek (Tanya), Malcolm Turnbull (liberal), Warren Snowdon (Labor), Dennis Jensen (Liberal), Julia Gillard (Labor), Wayne Swan (Labor), Stephen Conroy (Labor), Maxine McKew (Labor), Nicola Roxon (Labor), Greg Combet (Labor), Steve Ciobo (Liberal), Sam Crosby (Labor).
John Howard, claiming that he would not want to lend his identity to a commercial enterprise (MySpace is owned by Fox Interactive), is represented by Howard Government (Liberal Party of Australia). As I write there are only eight friends, including Liberal senators Dr Dennis Jensen, Joe Hockey, Malcolm Turnbull, Mark Powell, Steve Ciobo, Cory and ‘How To Vote’. What’s happening here? Clearly the Howard Government does not include the National Party. The Liberal Party of Australia come across as slow to accept friends.
Impact Video includes Macho Man! John Howard, World Vision’s Teenage Affluenza, Kevin Rudd on MySpace, Anti-Ad Where Are You? tourism spood ad.
Impact Events feature ZeroSeven, a youth initiative of the Make Poverty History campaign.
