One of the biggest advantages of Cummins’ design is its relative simplicity. It can be easily made using recycled materials, such as cardboard and metal.
Ms. Cummins' solar powered refrigerator works like this:Found on the energy matters web site.
The fridge’s inner chamber, which stores items like milk, cheese and other perishables, is surrounded by a layer of organic material, sand, soil or composted waste.
This layer is then sealed in between the solar fridge’s outer chamber and soaked in water. The device is placed in the sun and as the water evaporates, heat is drawn away from the inner chamber, dramatically cooling items inside.
These bullying behaviors would not exist without the undergirding and the patina of respect provided by religious fervor against LGBT people. It's time for "tolerant" religious people to acknowledge the straight line between the official anti-gay theologies of their denominations and the deaths of these young people. Nothing short of changing our theology of human sexuality will save these young and precious lives.
The Hon Chris Bowen MPOther addresses are at http://www.refugeeaction.org/rac/Contact_details.htm (cc your letter to your local rep and to Scott Morrison shadow minister.)
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
"I’ve now read the Times interview with the Archbishop in its entirety and want to begin by focussing on something that wasn’t reported elsewhere but is key to my Christian life and witness. Archbishop Rowan told his interviewer that “... the point of praying is to open yourself up to God so God can do what he wants with you. You come with empty hands, as silent as you can be and say, ‘Over to you.’ So you could say the function was to make you the person God wants you to be – in the full awareness that that might not be quite the person you think you want to be.”
Yes indeed. Prayer is opening yourself up to God and both ++Rowan and I pray in a similar way. The intention is to make you the person God wants you to be, and there’s the rub. Does God want me to be a priest? Does God want me to be gay? Does God want me to be celibate? Does God want me to love my partner and enjoy my life with him to the full? What do I do when these conflict, as they do at the moment? When I centre in prayer and say, ‘Over to you’, God still seems to be saying that each of these aspects of me are part of the person God wants me to be."
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While we were obsessing about perfecting PowerPoint slides and refining our messaging about the SCLM project, these earnest young people responded to the few crumbs of conversation they overheard at our dinner table like they were starving for hope. And if those crumbs gave them that hope and energy – and gave them the courage to come up to a table full of “church people” and say, “Wow … we want to know more about what you’re talking about!” then imagine how they and countless others like them are yearning for the banquet we set every time we gather to witness to God’s inclusive love.(The work being done was about liturgy for blessing same sex relationships in the Episcopal Church. It was not about evangelising!)
Some things can be faked but it is dangerous to make them appear as fakes. The old fox Jayewardene who took away most of the substance of democracy from Sri Lankans made sure that all the appearances were kept intact. Sirimavo Bandaranayake’s coalition governments foolishly took away the wigs from judges and that caused such an upset that the minister of justice and his secretary later lost their civil rights. But Jayewardene virtually destroyed the independence of the judiciary while keeping all the outward appearances correct. Not many found fault with him.In the meantime, let us also remember the Sri Lankan situation and those who seek asylum here and the people who are left behind to survive in a nation after the end of the war there. Canberra has been the home for a number of people from this island over a number of generations. If the exodus from post colonial Ceylon is included then that means some very important people in my life!
But the Rajapakse regime not only wants all power to themselves they also want to make it appear that they have all the power. They not only want make elections a mere ritual without substance but they want to make them appear so. Jayewardene knew that it not wise to disturb Colombo’s middle class. The Rajapakses, on the other hand do not feel happy unless Colombo’s middle class stand to attention whenever they appear before them. They want not only to be big but also to appear big. To feel that way, they are trampling very openly on elections and courts. The two things that Colombo’s middle class attach some importance to.
That perhaps may prove to be too much of a mistake.
The last day for the return of the writs with the formal election results is — wait for it — 26 October 2010. (The Electoral Commission does its best to make it well before then.) The Parliament must meet within 30 days of the day appointed for the return of the writs (25 November 2010). A Prime Minister lacking the support of the majority of MPs could hang on until them. Only if the House failed to support the government would the PM then be obliged to resign. The first test of this would be the election of a Speaker.and the Greens/government agreement: http://greens.org.au/greens_labor_deal
Itinerary:
10–18 September Charles Sturt University, Canberra, contact Scott Cowdell scowdell@csu.edu.au
Thurs, 23 Sept Eremos presents - The Challenge of an Opening Horizon at Paddington Uniting Church (Sydney). For more details, click here: http://www.eremos.org.au/news/james-alison-an-opening-horizon-thursday-23rd-sept
Fri, 24 Sept Eremos presents - The Shape of God's Affection at Pitt Street Uniting Church, Sydney. For more details, click here: http://www.eremos.org.au/news/james-alison-the-shape-of-gods-affection-friday-24th-sept
Sat, 25 Sept Eremos and the UTC present - Undergoing God at the Centre for Ministry, North Parramatta (Sydney). For more details, click here: http://www.eremos.org.au/news/james-alison-undergoing-god-saturday-25th-september
26 Sept - 2 Oct Perth (Contact Sr Mary Engelbrecht mengelbrecht@sosjwa.org.au)
3–9 October New South Wales, Contact Br Peter Carroll brp@trinitylismore.com
"Atonement was key to the old Temple Judaism of the time (and remains so for Rabbinic Judaism too) such that what really happened was that Christians interpreted the execution of Jesus in light of the rituals and theology of the Day of Atonement as practised in the Temple (in 30CE at Jerusalem and one also at Leontopolis in Egypt). In these rituals the High Priest slaughters first a bull and then a goat and then takes the blood into the Holy of Holies. The blood is then sprinkled and smeared on various parts of the Temple. The Day of Atonement is part of the New Year festival at the autumnal equinox which celebrates the creation of the universe and the renewal of creation. Blood is life and the animal blood represents the blood/life of the High Priest who represents Yahweh, the LORD, who creates and renews creation by an outpouring of the divine life. In esoteric Judaism, this outpouring is understood as the Tree of Life of Kabbalah by which creation occurs through the outpouring of the divine light through the 10 Sefiroth or emanations that comprise the Tree and mapping the process of creation, of consciousness. In Christianity, Jesus on the cross pours out his blood/life as befits the Heavenly High Priest through whom all creation came to be. Jesus on the cross instantiates the divine processes of creation, atonement, renewal. More than anything else atonement is about healing creation, making it whole, restoring it to balance, which is why a key aspect of Jesus public career is healing the sick. Jesus also forgives sin; forgiveness and healing more often go hand in hand in the gospel accounts. Healing, renewal, liberation, and forgiveness are all part of the ancient Jewish theology of Atonement as expressed not only through the annual rituals of Yom Kippur but the associated sabbath and Jubilee years which were proclaimed on the Day of Atonement."and a little later on:
"Nevertheless, while the Temple rituals of atonement were no doubt profound and awe-inspiring, death on the cross is not. It is brutal, disgusting, horrifying and shameful. Crucifixion was meant to debase and degrade as well as kill. So the sight of a person hanging bloodied and brutalised on a cross is not self-evidently an instantiation of the divine creative and healing process, far from it. I think it is this fact that lies behind the Christian stress on kenosis, self-emptying, that is understood from very early on as a hallmark of the divine, of the divine as manifested in Jesus. The god of Christianity is a god who submits to degradation and abandonment and death - eloi, eloi, lama sabacthani - this is a god who knows despair and brokenness. In other words this is a god who approaches humans on the same level, sharing human pain and desolation, who will submit to brutal death rather than summon legions of angels to lord it over humans."Now, Michael does use another blog, so I feel no shame using his, but there is just so much more. He is really writing about apokatastasis; I leap a bit to say: universalism... Origen is one of my favourites and he was called (after his death) a heretic for this. But it stays with the eastern church. the west abandoned it totally but we should revisit it. I recommend the whole of Michael's post. now I return to "Le Tour" (maybe that is why I don't write these things myself! :-) )
"For decades, we have known the days of cheap and easily accessible oil were numbered. For decades, we’ve talked and talked about the need to end America’s century-long addiction to fossil fuels. And for decades, we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires. Time and again, the path forward has been blocked -- not only by oil industry lobbyists, but also by a lack of political courage and candor.
The consequences of our inaction are now in plain sight. Countries like China are investing in clean energy jobs and industries that should be right here in America. Each day, we send nearly $1 billion of our wealth to foreign countries for their oil. And today, as we look to the Gulf, we see an entire way of life being threatened by a menacing cloud of black crude.
We cannot consign our children to this future. The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now. Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America’s innovation and seize control of our own destiny.
This is not some distant vision for America. The transition away from fossil fuels is going to take some time, but over the last year and a half, we’ve already taken unprecedented action to jumpstart the clean energy industry. As we speak, old factories are reopening to produce wind turbines, people are going back to work installing energy-efficient windows, and small businesses are making solar panels. Consumers are buying more efficient cars and trucks, and families are making their homes more energy-efficient. Scientists and researchers are discovering clean energy technologies that someday will lead to entire new industries.
Each of us has a part to play in a new future that will benefit all of us. As we recover from this recession, the transition to clean energy has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of jobs -– but only if we accelerate that transition. Only if we seize the moment. And only if we rally together and act as one nation –- workers and entrepreneurs; scientists and citizens; the public and private sectors.
When I was a candidate for this office, I laid out a set of principles that would move our country towards energy independence. Last year, the House of Representatives acted on these principles by passing a strong and comprehensive energy and climate bill –- a bill that finally makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy for America’s businesses.Now, there are costs associated with this transition. And there are some who believe that we can’t afford those costs right now. I say we can’t afford not to change how we produce and use energy -– because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security, and our environment are far greater.
So I’m happy to look at other ideas and approaches from either party -– as long they seriously tackle our addiction to fossil fuels. Some have suggested raising efficiency standards in our buildings like we did in our cars and trucks. Some believe we should set standards to ensure that more of our electricity comes from wind and solar power. Others wonder why the energy industry only spends a fraction of what the high-tech industry does on research and development -– and want to rapidly boost our investments in such research and development.
All of these approaches have merit, and deserve a fair hearing in the months ahead. But the one approach I will not accept is inaction. The one answer I will not settle for is the idea that this challenge is somehow too big and too difficult to meet. You know, the same thing was said about our ability to produce enough planes and tanks in World War II. The same thing was said about our ability to harness the science and technology to land a man safely on the surface of the moon. And yet, time and again, we have refused to settle for the paltry limits of conventional wisdom. Instead, what has defined us as a nation since our founding is the capacity to shape our destiny -– our determination to fight for the America we want for our children. Even if we’re unsure exactly what that looks like. Even if we don’t yet know precisely how we’re going to get there. We know we’ll get there.
It’s a faith in the future that sustains us as a people. It is that same faith that sustains our neighbors in the Gulf right now."
"There is a movement of the Spirit flowing in our world which is leading people in new directions, towards a reconnection with the earth, our environment and the inherent unity of all creation in God and away from dualism, polarization and the abuse of our planet and of each other."I am taken by calls for "new eyes for seeing" (since the WCC gathering in Canberra 1991). Colin quotes the Archbishop of Canterbury's sermon to the Royal Society
To keep the eye open is to keep open the possibility of health for the whole body (says Our Lord). And surely not only the body of the individual but the body of a society..But we are always hindered by what Bergson alerted us to:
"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend"
Like languages, religions express something about what it means to be human. The death of a religion, like the death of a language is an irreparable loss. Religious diversity must be fostered, encouraged, sustained and celebrated; respected.An important point that I hadn't really seen before. That Language and Religion can be the cradles, the containers in which we hold our culture and our humanity.
"All my life I have heard people talking about our big brains, our capacity to learn from our mistakes and the creativity we bring to fixing them,'' he said.
"Every day, at some point, this is what I hear. But I have to say that it's not what I see.
"Frankly, it's time we stopped kidding ourselves.
"'If the history of our engagement with this environment has taught us anything at all, it should be that we have been blind-sided by our arrogance. It should have taught us humility."
What drives denial?
What motivates the legion of climate deniers to send hate-mail? In recent years a great deal of evidence has come to light linking fossil fuel corporations with organisations that promote climate denial, but it would be a mistake to believe that the army of sceptical bloggers is in any sense in the pay of, or directly influenced by, the fossil fuel lobby.
Climate denialism has been absorbed by an older and wider political movement, sometimes called right-wing populism. Emanating from the United States, and defined more by what it fears than by what it proposes, the movement's enemies were helpfully listed in a 2004 TV ad attacking Democrat Howard Dean, whose supporters were characterised as a:
"tax hiking, government-expanding, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading, body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freak show.".....
In more recent years, the denial movement has been joined by some hard-line conservative Christian groups, including the notorious Catch the Fire Ministries and its witch-hunting pastor Danny Nalliah. According to Paul Colgan, these groups were heavily involved in the lobbying to have Tony Abbott elected as Liberal Party leader. ...
As this suggests, becoming a denialist does not follow from carefully weighing up the evidence (that is, true scepticism) but from associating oneself with a cultural outlook, taking on an identity defined in opposition to a caricature of those who support action on climate change. It is the energy in this wider movement that has seen climate denialism morphing into a new form of political extremism.I guess I will just have to accept the reality that Fred and I drink lattes (and chardonnay!), and we should be spending our money on a nice car rather than photo voltaics! But of course now we can actually expect to be making money from the panels. Does that make us "filthy capitalists?"
Some active climate deniers possess a distinct "mindset" comprised of a certain worldview, including a narrative centered on secretive forces - variously encompassing elected leaders, scientists, scientific organisations, environmental groups and the United Nations - that are using climate science and climate policies as a cover to accumulate power with the objective of creating a world government that overrides national sovereignty and deprives citizens of their rights.
Those who hold to this worldview often feel marginalised and persecuted. It attracts the unstable and fanatical as well as those with more legitimate political grievances. For political leaders so inclined, the energy being mobilised by climate denial is a golden opportunity. Although it remains necessary for these leaders to evince a concern for the environment, and even to pretend to accept climate science, they can speak to the denialist minority using dog-whistling techniques to signal that they are really on their side.
I don't have a future. As it is, there is no future in Gaza. I go across the entire width of Gaza on my motorcycle in 20 minutes. How can you see a future from within a box of matches?
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11122.shtml
"On 6th June there will be a special concert in the National Concert Hall to celebrate the 65th Birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi who remains under house arrest in Burma, held by the military junta. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She is a leader of democratic opposition to the military dictatorship; she has dedicated her life to the achievement of democracy in Burma through peaceful means. She has suffered assassination attempts, mental torture and now endless incarceration. This event is the concept of Keith Donald with whom I worked in Moving Hearts. He has gathered together a group who share the same birth year as Aung San Suu Kyi and we all plan to honour her birthday with a night of music, poetry and song."Interesting how a birth year can unite! We share so much that has shaped a generation. May the 1945ers find it a special year!
"...Also speaking at the press conference were international solidarity activists Bridgette Chappell and Ariadna Jove Marti of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). Chappell and Jove were illegally detained by the Israeli army in Ramallah and released on bail earlier this week.
“We are not breaking any laws and are standing in solidarity with Palestinians in a non-violent and legal way,” said Chappell. ““The ISM media office in Ramallah was raided by the Israeli military last night at 3am, which was the second raid this week,” added Chappell. “The Israeli army clearly has no regard for the Oslo Accords and Area A, which is under full Palestinian control. These raids and arrests are meant to intimidate and harass us, to stop us from bearing witness to the Israeli human rights violations that help perpetuate the occupation,” stated Chappell. “However, it won’t work.”
Chappell and Jove believe their pending case before the Israeli Supreme Court will take 3-4 weeks, while they are also appealing in the Jerusalem District Court against the ruling that they are not allowed into the West Bank.
Attending the press conference were representatives from the Spanish and French consulates. Jove praised the support she has received to date from the Spanish Embassy and Consulate, while Chappell reflected that assistance from the Australian Embassy has brought up questions concerning Australia’s close relations with Israel."
The Petition
We call on Christians around the world, and particularly Christian leaders, to oppose the extreme and violent “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” proposed in Uganda. We call on the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to end his silence on the matter, to condemn the bill in public and to urge Ugandan Christians to oppose it.
In addition to life imprisonment for consensual sexual activity between people of the same sex, the bill would introduce the death penalty for anyone whose same-sex partner is disabled. It would introduce imprisonment for anyone in authority – such as a priest or minister - who knew of homosexual activity but failed to report it.
Most Christians, who hold a range of views on sexual ethics, will be horrified by these measures. By speaking out, Christian leaders can expose the hollowness of the religious rhetoric used by the bill’s supporters. Given the place of Anglicanism in Uganda, it is important that Rowan Williams adds his voice to the opposition to the bill.
"...Exclusivists are not playing games: they really do believe that they have a mission to save the world from the three abominations of secularism, pluralism, and relativism, which they see as co-terminous. And if history tells us anything at all it is that ideologues on a mission are dangerous. The two flies in the ointment are fast growing into an army of locusts."Yesterday I had a phone call from a young man called Chris. He seemed ok, wasn't asking for money, just wanted to say something. I held on and heard that I was going to hell. I'm a bit sorry that I was about to leave the house when I got the call and simply gave my "christian credentials" to him rather than finding out and talking with him some more. But going the web site he mentioned I find the traditional catholics who know (who know) that the pope is a heretic (will join me in hell no doubt) and that the church has been wrong since Vatican II. (and Anglicans since 1660?) So we shrug our shoulders and let him get on with hopefully meaningless telephoning.
