Genocide

Last night I had a terrible time trying to sleep. In the end, I don't think I slept much at all last night. I kept thinking/dreaming of people being killed.

Reason? I watched Hotel Rwanda yesterday afternoon. It is the true story of some of the happenings of the Rwanda Genocide. I cried. How could a world not care about the killing of millions of people??? Didn't World War II teach us anything??

In 1999 The Guardian reported:
The West must share the responsibility for killings in Rwanda and Bosnia.

Watching the film tore me apart inside. Reading the news articles about it ripped my heart again! Caring about the fact that people hacked eachother up with machetiis requires me to feel! and it hurts badly!

So I'm left with a problem. Do I continue reading these issues. I have very little power to do anything about them. I live in a foreign country and have little or nothing to do with my own. I have no political sway.

If I ignore the cries of these millions of people (because genocide is still happening TODAY) does the blood of the victims fall on me?

Australia...get it right

Australia is often misunderstood. Even in uncyclopedia it is completely taken out of context.

Check it out!

Mars and Snickers on the loose!

It wasn't long ago that Mars and Snickers bars were taken off the shelves of Australia. Now, they're back

If it weren't for the fact that i'm now scared forever into believing that candybars are easily tampered with, i might go out and buy one to celebrate....

then again, i might just go out and buy one anyway.

Adventism and social justice

I was reading an article in the Review today about 4 Adventist friends (two African Americans, one Caucasian, one Latino) in the 1960s who marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. They marched to make a stand against the racism in their country.

The official church stance on racism at the time was, "don't get involved". These four men where discouraged from marching, they were discouraged from socialising together, they were discouraged from being friends. But they were and they did.

Over the years, many of these men have distanced themselves (to varying degrees) from the denomination due to the churches reactions to their stand on racism.

Today, the church (as a denomination) has a "no comment" stand on social justice. Many of the members (aka The Church) have made pro-active comments about the need to support social justice in the world. Their efforts are noticed and appreciated by those of us who often feel distanced from their denomination.

But without an official stance from the denomination, we are seen as renegades of our religion by those outside our faith.

Our faith will continue to challenge us to act. That won't change. But a little support might be nice....

Please send more help

I was asked to write a quick letter to a friend outlining the best and worst of my highschool. It took me almost no time at all to remember the worst thing my highschool ever did, asking Mr. Fignole to leave.

He was an amazing teacher. He was my handbell teacher. He taught rhythm and music...But mostly he taught us respect. We respected him and he respected us. Sadly, he was not the most loved teacher in the music department.

Due to some shady dealings on the part of some of the richer families, this man was asked to leave the High School. Well...Asked to leave is a bit harsh, "his contract was not renewed".

The school let go of a man who had more experience in music than ANY teacher we had yet been introduced to. Sadly, the new teacher to replace him was a fresh graduate with very little expirience compared to Fignole. We missed him terribly...we eventually grew to like our new music teacher...although for myself, i never was able to appreciate him like i appreciated Fignole.

So where ever you are, Mr. Fignole, here's to you! You are great, just like you've always been!

Coma

There was a report on the news last night about a woman who woke up from a 20 year coma. According to the report she had knowledge of events and music that happened while in that comma. Immediately, the news reporter used this as evidence that we shouldn't "be so quick" to let a coma patient die.

BULLOCKS I say. For every one person that wakes up after 20 plus years there are hundreds more who NEVER wake up. There are two reasons this story made news here:

1. We just had a person die because they were taken off the machines instead of being forced to continue living. Therefore, it comments on current events

2. But mostly it adds fuel to the debate. It says that the hope that someone will wake up should be enough to pay thousands and thousands of dollars because one day, they might wake up! And if you don't do this, your being cruel because the person is still inside that being, although science and medicine both say there isn't much brain activity happening there.

Being that this is my blog and I like to mix things up...Try this on for size.

Even if there is a person who is aware in that comatose state, is it fair to the family to go through the mental trauma of having a family member but not having them? Is it fair to the children in the family to have the expense of a family member in hospital put upon them? Is it fair keep a spirit captured inside the brain with any way of expressing itself?

Maybe all these things are nothing. Maybe if I were put into a situation I would feel differently...But for now, I tend to think that death is better than a comatose life...For the patient and the family!

Islam...

Have you ever thought that your country should be ruled closer to the principles of goodness? It isn't a foreign concept. Most people want their government to do good things for the people. They want their government to be moral.

The Islamic political group, Hizb Ut-Tahrir has the following purpose:

To revive the Islamic Ummah from the severe decline that it had reached, and to liberate it from the thoughts, systems and laws of Kufr, as well as the domination and influence of the Kufr states. It also aims to restore the Islamic Khilafah State so that the ruling by what Allah (swt) revealed returns.

In the United States there is a Christian political group called, The National Reform Association. Its mission is:

to maintain and promote in our national life the Christian principles of civil government

In Australia, the Christian Democratic Party says,

The Christian Democratic Party has for over twenty years represented the concerns of people who support Christian values, schools and caring institutions, family life, and who uphold the importance of the Commonwealth Constitution.

Now, explain to me the difference between "Christian Values" and "Islamic Values". Much of their Bible is shared, so the values can't be THAT different.

No matter the similarities, it is still Hizb Ut-Tahrir that is under investigation. Is the investigation a necessity? Maybe...But you won't find as many resources going into the Christian activists who are trying to liberate Chapel Corby. They aren't a threat...They don't post threats, attack Embassies, or speak in hate-filled terms. Not like those damn Muslims!

Quick update

I'm busting my butt keeping out of trouble, moving chris into a new house in sydney, working, and occationally looking for real work. But you can read all about it by clicking HERE