Devastation

The last time I went to Europe I came back and said....I don't need to go to Rome again (don't let me fool you...if you'll pay I'll go!) and I don't need to go to London again (see above) 
BUT if I never go to  Paris again then I will feel diminished 
This last attack threatens that.
I do not want to never be able to go to Musee D'Orsay, to the Picasso Museum, the Rodin Gallery...and to Notre Dame.
Mind you (going back to Rome) I love the Lateran Basilica and assisted at Exposition for a week!

The change in my life- The Popstar

This first week of 2015 was a monumental week for me 
A couple of years ago, probably when I was feeling a bit down, 
I prayed the prayer of a patriarch (look up Abraham, Isaac and Jacob if you need to understand the Jewish Christian heritage.)...but there are plenty of other Patriarchs & Matriarchs....
I think of Henry  & Lillian Clark for example, 
who would never have thought of  themselves as such 
and yet parented 4 daughters, 2 sons, 9 granddaughters,  4 grandsons who in turn have parented  8 daughters & 7 sons...
this will at least give L something to check and tell me I have got the numbers wrong
I prayed as Abraham and Sarah had prayed...
or tried to... that I too would be the father of a generation.
She's looking pretty good so far, 
more than one person has commented that she would appear to have her eye on me....
and those long curly baby fingers...
well I am pretty well wrapped around them!

Let us rejoice..in what is really happening

I am not a refugee but I am an immigrant to Australia. I note that in the more than forty years I have lived here every generation of immigrants has been viewed sceptically and  with cynicism. At the time I came to these shores, Italians and Spanish immigrants were regarded as a profound threat  to our lifestyle. Well that was wrong then! 
They appear to have entered Australian society and been hardworking, their culture, and society has deeply enriched our quality of life
Then there were the Vietnamese and the Cambodians. To some they spelled out the end of Australian society.  Next time you go to the doctor ask yourself where we would be if these devastated families had not encouraged their children to succeed and to be good Australians. To get good education and, indeed, to succeed!
I have encountered the Iranian, Sri Lankan and African communities who are in the process of doing likewise.
I don’t want to be naïve and suggest that everyone coming to Australia has been without problem, but it does seem to me that our recent history tells us that no one comes to these shores, girt by sea, wanting to ruin this country.
So I will be voting for those who tell me, not that they are repelling refugees, but to those who are telling me that they believe that those who are fleeing to Australia need to be encouraged to fulfill their potential. And by extension, to continue the history of this nation which is not only young but free and is deeply enriched by those who seek sanctuary and security for themselves and their families here

What we pay you for?

I suppose politicians have a tricky and responsible job. Which is why we pay them a lot of money. So I am always a little disappointed when they fail to deliver. There is, sadly, not much to pick between both sides. Maybe that is because in the search for truth, justice and....well let's not get carried away....but maybe there are only a few limited answers.
We could at least expect that opposing parties might actually offer us some choice of policy, but they don't seem to.
So I am disappointed when:

• Both sides seem to be remarkably silent about the injustices in Immigration law
• Both sides capitulate to logging interests because there are critical votes at stake
• Neither side seems concerned about the obvious injustices done to Mohammad Haniff as they were about David Hicks
  
• Both sides accept the heresy of the 'free market' which dictates everything about economy

When will one side or other actually offer something that looks not just like pragmatism, but like hope and vision. If we can't have vision couldn't we have a little imagination instead of this wretched cynicism that you seem inten to dish up.
Isn't THAT what we actually are paying you for?