Schapelle and fishermen

Today’s Age leads with the story of the impending release of Schapelle Corby.

Irrespective of what one might think of the case, I believe that most fair-minded people would agree that eight years for smuggling 4.2 kilograms of cannabis into Indonesia is a penalty paid.

Of particular interest to myself is the following:

Relations between Australia and Indonesia have improved with a series of high-level visits and recent suggestions by Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa that a prisoner-exchange program could be established between Australia and Indonesia.

Indonesia’s Justice Minister has also linked Corby’s case with dozens of its underage citizens in Australian detention for crewing people-smuggling vessels. Several Indonesian youths have been released in recent weeks.

The above is something which former Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd had been working hard to achieve. The background is that Australia has requested clemancy for Australian citizens imprisoned in Indonesia, with the response from Indonesia being that why should they; that Australia housed many Indonesian youths on people smuggling convictions.

Indonesia considered this somewhat hypocritical of Australia, to demand fairer treatment of our citizens whilst denying fairer treatment of under-age people smugglers.

This has been highly political with the Gillard government expecting a public backlash for “being soft on” people smugglers.

I therefore thought it an opportune moment to repost an article I wrote last year:

People smuggler fishermen

Federal authorities, due to mandatory sentencing routinely charge impoverished Indonesian crewmen who crew boats to Australia with offences as people smugglers

- these carry mandatory jail terms of up to 20 years.

In what human rights lawyers consider to be an injustice, more than 150 crewmen face charges that carry penalties as harsh as for murder.

Hence a major reason why the Federal Opposition’s claim that the Labor government is “encouraging” people smuggling, is wrong. “Encouragement” does not equate with mandatory jail sentences of up to 20 years and their livelihood, their fishing boat impounded and destroyed. The minimum sentence for first-time offenders is a five-year jail term with a three-year non-parole period.

Interviews with Indonesian people smugglers have confirmed:

The Indonesian crewmen are usually paid the equivalent of a few hundred dollars in rupiah for steering a boat into Australian waters. They are told Australian authorities will take care of them – even paying them for each day they are detained – before quickly flying them back to Indonesia.

The con is easily sold because for years that was the way Australian authorities treated the crew of illegal Indonesian fishing boats.

And this is still the way that illegal Indonesian fishermen are treated. The main job of the patrol boats out of Cairns and indeed Darwin is not the interception of people smugglers, but illegal fishermen poaching in Australian waters. It is therefore unsurprising that the above illusion has been easy to sell by the people smuggling organisers.

In Indonesia people smuggling laws do not exist, therefore nothing has ever been done to stop embarkations. Some blamed John Howard’s poor relationship with Indonesia as a cause, however Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has likewise been unsuccessful. Indonesia might agree to do “something”, but does nothing.

A recent article provides that there is a legal challenge to the prosecution of people smugglers, this being a test case under the Migration Act.

Legal Aid solicitor Gavin Green has stated that accused people smugglers are arguably entitled to bring asylum seekers here and should be acquitted. ”Under this legislation it is not unlawful to bring people to Australia who have a lawful right of entry.”

That is, should the court finds that the passengers have a lawful right to seek asylum then surely the prosecution must fail. Basically a prima facie act which is illegal becomes lawful should the result be something which is lawful. A comparison might be break and enter. Prima facie this is unlawful, but if the result for example is to rescue someone trapped, then the original act thereby becomes lawful.

There is clearly a lot of money changing hands in Indonesia over the issue of people smuggling with the victims being not only asylum seekers who have a genuine right to seek refugee status in Australia, but the impoverished fishermen/smugglers who received little more than a pittance and yet are facing years in Australian prisons. Ignorance of Australian law is not a plea one might say.

The Adventures of Political-Girl, or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Stupid

Guest post by: Inga Westerberg

There are a handful of people who have had the luck to be bitten by the radioactive spider of thought. Truly, a handful. A minority that can actually dissect an argument, understand the premise, know what one is, even. Weigh up the supporting arguments as logical, factual, relevant and come away with an in depth understanding. A judgement. The ability to understand the difference between an ethical and a moral argument. This is a rare gift. And half of those gifted thus do not care to practice their super power in regards to ‘national discourse’. Because it’s unattractive for the most part. It’s dirty work. It comes with the same look of horror that accompanies the revelation of the super hero’s injuries underneath his dinner suit, and a decent helping of “WTF?!” It’s like dropping your shark repellent spray at the dinner table; people begin to back away slowly.

I wish someone would have told me. I have not had the fortune of happening upon a partner, because of my well, unattractive habits of talking politics at the table, my dog is the most politically informed subordinate I have in life! Damn. And who doesn’t have those dark moments when they wish they could ‘trade up’? Batman did. Those Charmed girls when I was a teenager had super powers and fought demons, but they still wanted a ‘normal life’. Even Buffy ran away at one point.

Eventually though, they all come to realise something very important. If they stopped being what they were, if they did ‘trade up’ for benign beauty and blissful ignorance who would fight the demons and the criminals? No one.

When I was learning about how my nation worked as a young person, I figured that the people in the parliament and the very important Houses I liked to visit must be such people. Superheroes fighting for the health and happiness of the citizens. That was naïve, and perhaps my continued belief that those who enter the fray, for the most part are good people wanting to do just that is still naïve. The truth of the matter is, that there are some who grace the seats of those Noble Houses nation wide, who are not so capable, and who even if they are capable, have no interest in addressing the needs of the citzenry.

Never has this been so evident as in the person of Tony Abbott. Watching his Budget Reply Speech was like watching a H.S.C. Student who did not read the book in question write an essay on the subject. I had to go back. I didn’t recall either Peter Slipper or Craig Thompson mentioned once in the Federal Budget. Clearly, Abbott either didn’t understand the nature of the question, or he has some other plan afoot! Thankfully, I happened upon Senator Milne’s reply, given there was no coverage besides the live stream, very thankfully, because if I was a H.S.C. marker, she would have rode the wave of the bell curve over Abbott’s head on addressing the question alone. Agree or disagree, point form, POW!!.

It’s been a week of reading friends and family, politicians, commentators prattle on about the budget that got me to thinking about the fact that only few of us actually have the power to know. Some comments have been personally hurtful as FB provides me with a myriad of opinions about how single Mum’s and those on Income Support are taking money from those who deserve it, those who work. We’ve all had to listen to the erudite arguments about foreigners in regards to foreign aid. How businesses are people too. The truth is, for the most part they are not even personal opinion, they certainly lack the weight to qualify as arguments. They’re the reaction of children being told they can’t have the last chicken wing because someone else missed lunch. There is indignation without reason. They are catchphrases hit upon in a moment of fear, somebody think of the children! Without much thought about who those children are.

If you have a mind to follow the thought threads of budget ramifications, you might know who those children are. You might, like me, get angry at those who fail to understand what you do.

So after an extended period screaming in the silent safety of the bat-cave, it’s time to put the cape on.
I’m not a scholar, an economist, I’m not even a politician. That is all true. But I am a citizen, and I know something. Maybe I can be an agent for good. Perhaps there are people reading this who feel the same way. That maybe there ought to be a little more truth and justice, and a proper fight against fear and fear mongers. I don’t know that dissecting the budget is actually what people need to hear, if there is uncertainty in the first place, maybe they just need someone to roll out the bat signal. Or, in fact, take it in hand and make an effort to put the damned thing away!

Say “yes!”. Put on your Superman cape or grab your stake for some good ol’ fashioned demon slaying! Be fearless! Those of us who have that little bit of knowledge, who can see a little bit further, who are insane enough to actually sit through and listen to Question Time (in the Senate, no less), or can read a piece of legislation, don’t worry about the essay style answer and 50 ways you would improve the budget. That is not important right now. That is not what our nation needs. There will always be those not interested, not able to negotiate such bland and tedious thought threads. But you can effect the mood. You can slay the demons of fear. You can be positive. What you know does make you powerful. And we need to get a bit old fashioned about how we wield this power.

We need step out of the blog sphere and tell people with our voices again. We need to say it at dinner, and we don’t need to go through the details. No one asks Batman how the Bat Mobile works, they just like that it shows up. It’s time that those citizens with power show up in brightest day and darkest night and point out the fact that they are not afraid, that they understand and they are not concerned that tomorrow somehow all hell will break loose. And even if it did, we should be confident we’ve got that covered.

When it comes to things like the Federal Budget which, pertaining to money, always send the majority quivering and head shaking to find shelter, there is only one superpower we have that will do any good against the terror of a doomsday-ist opposition.

I don’t think this a bad budget. I think this budget is good. Treasure Swan is a world renowned finance minister. He did the best job of all the people who are finance ministers in the world steering our little ship we call Australia through the GFC and the aftermath. He is competent. He has all the details regarding our common wealth. He is unlikely to miss anything so dire to warrant fear. He has organised it so we will have a little buffer as we navigate still further into the murky waters of the global economic future. Really.

I don’t think this is a bad budget, I think this is a good budget. A budget negotiated by a minority government. I am not afraid of minority government. Our system is designed precisely to accommodate a myriad of voices and find compromise and ways to move forward as a whole. It is only the media that is afraid of minority government, because too many players make it too hard for them to write. Do not listen to them. They’d pull out the bat signal for a huntsmen on the ceiling of the Senate. Be glad your diversity is represented. I am not afraid of diversity. I am not afraid of compromise for the benefit of all. Really.

I am not afraid to help people who earn less than me. I am not afraid to say that companies are NOT people. I am not afraid of the Carbon tax, or the MRRT. I am not afraid that we can’t change our economy and how we use energy. I have faith in those learned people who are scientists and engineers and technicians to advise us and that we will move forward as a whole towards positive change, slow, though that may be. I am not interested in the voice of a minority of very rich people having a tanty about losing a few million of their billion dollar bottom lines. I am not afraid to tell them to kiss my grits. Really.

I will not stand idly by and listen to people who will tell you that those doing this work, those representing the majority of our citizens and formulating our nations budget are not doing good work. Abbott’s ad nauseum chanting that our government is incompetent is the problem. His fear mongering is the problem. Even the press have taken to calling him “Mr No”. And he is, for the sake of it and his own political interests. We remember the Howard government. Really.

It’s time to put that furrowed brow away. The stupid need you. They need you to smile. Those closest to you in their hearts know you know something they could care less about. Try “that Abbott’s a wanker! Relax, guy! It’s all good!” And then talk about the fact that the Greater Western Sydney just won a game in their first season! Disconcert the disconcerted with your quiet confidence. The truth is for the most part those secret agents are agreed. Poll after poll of people who give a rat’s backside show majority support for a great many things like marriage equality, ethical treatment of refugees and a faith that climate scientists are not trying to undo the world through evil conspiracy. Arguing the finer points is important, but you don’t bring spectators into the Fortress of Solitude.

We need to maybe consider ourselves alike to those superheroes who smiled, looked good and only show up in a crisis. The only super power that is universal, across the multiverses, is that the superhero knows something that everyone else doesn’t. He is empowered and he is not afraid. And it is always that superpower that works to the best effect.

Inga Westerberg is a member of the Tasmanian Greens and currently lives in Hobart. But still goes for GWS in the AFL.

Time Travel and other adventures

With thanks to JooR:

I have a functioning time machine (I know it sounds unbelievable, but I assure you it works), and which I need a 2nd person to operate with me.

I’m looking for someone who is adventurous and reliable. Preferable a male; or a female with a good deal of imagination.

I do realise that this is short notice, but I am leaving this evening May 8th 2012, and plan to return May 17th 2012. I am going to June 1983. I don’t have any reason for this date; the number came to me suddenly.

If you are serious about time travel and you are reliable, then please contact me. You do not have to pay anything, but you would have to provide someone to watch my goldfish for the time that we are gone. The only qualifications needed are that you are reliable and that the circumferance of your head is no more than 64cm.

We will be leaving from either Melbourne, or Canberra or FNQ. The place of embarkation is flexible. Let me know if you want to go with me.

Guest Post: ANZAC Day

Guest Post by JooR

In 1915.. on the 25th of April.. Allied Forces invaded Turkish soil… WE WERE THE INVADERS… and we were defeated in that campaign. But We remember those who served, we commemorate their mateship, their resilience, their determination…AND I WOULD LIKE TO THANK TURKEY.. the land we tried to capture.. for allowing us EVERY YEAR to return to commemorate the landing of the ANZAC…..

In these times of ugly bigoted racism rising it should be reminded to some, that Turkey is an Islamic Nation and they have paid us a great honour in allowing and joining with us in our commemorations.

ANZAC Day is the day on our Calender that has always meant the most to me..have never been a Big Australia day person.. and I worry that ANZAC Day will become a day that is abused by the dumbfuck racist bogan, another day to drape the flag around one’s shoulders and allow it to drag along the ground…

Another day to cry AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OI OI OI (which in itself is disrespectful because without the Kiwis it would only be AAC DAY).

Another day to abuse the *Mozzies* and the *towel heads* and cry STOP THE BOATS…………..

And .. that is ALL NOT what ANZAC DAY IS ABOUT….

ANZAC Day is to remember those that fell and those that fought and it is NEVER about the glorification of war, although .. SOME try and make it so……

It is about the bloke beside you and watching out for him and hope he is watching out for you.. It is about thinking of the people left at home.

It is about WHAT was important to Australians at one time, but has seem to be going the way of the ANZACS themselves.. lost to time..

Even realising that the bloke on the other side of the trenches, though with a different faith, a different language and a different look were really not that unlike ourselves… They had family, they had mates, they had their fears and their nightmares….The bled when they were wounded and died when their wounds were too great.

In No-man’s land the men of both sides came together to bury their dead before returning to the trenches and adding more numbers of those that they just buried..

ANZAC Day reminds me that War is a bloody awful thing.. but amazing stories , strangely stories of hope, can come from war time.. and maybe NOW we need to be reminded of that..

We need to be reminded that although we were the invader.. that Turkey has forgiven and had forgave decades and almost a century ago and that they lost Thousands at Gallipoli themselves.. AND YET… THEY have the Dignity .. to allow us to return every year.

Would we have the dignity ????

ANZAC Day

Tomorrow is ANZAC Day. This day is probably the only truly unique national day for Australia.

I recall being a somewhat cynical teenager in the ’70s watching our Vietnam soldiers parade thinking that they had fought for a lost war, yet something said to me that the valour was to be honoured. I think that there is something very special about the Australian way of thinking, that we honour defeat even more than we honour victory. The thought of killing more of our enemy than they have killed us does not bring with it pride, not for we Australians.

It is perhaps having persisted in a harsh environment that we consider all life to be honoured, not to be wasted.

On this day I also give honour to our original Australians who fought, the Aboriginal volunteers who fought in all wars from the Boer War onward. Historian David Huggonson, spent 20 years researching the Aboriginal contribution to Australia’s military campaigns and discovered the names of 428 Aboriginal soldiers who served in WWI. This is from a population of 80,000 persons.

There is another way which I believe that we Australians are different; that is with a certain scepticism, we do not believe in the rallying cries but rather join in the fight when we believe that there is a job to be done. We are foremost practical nation of people.

I will use this as an opportunity to tell you about my father. Dad was a factory hand who had no schooling after age 12, he lost a finger in an industrial accident when he was 18yrs old. Dad didn’t believe in war as being a solution to any problem, plus being a passionate nationalist Dad did not believe that we should be fighting England’s wars. However my father then found himself a conscript, and was sent to Milne Bay. According to my father his entire time was spent on midnight raids to the US forces camp so that they could steal coffee and chocolate. The US forces were well rationed.

I very much doubt that this was all that Milne Bay entailed, but that was the way that my father liked to describe it.

My father was repat’d out of Milne Bay with acute malaria and spent another 6 months in a psych ward. I have his medals with my name roughly scribbled on the box. I took them for show and tell when I was 4 years old.

My father never attended an ANZAC Day service, and never marched.

I read an article which said:

Prime Minister John Howard was using the same technique the same day at Gallipoli, telling the crowds that the “valour and the sacrifice” of the ANZACs lived on in the Iraq deployment. By using the language of government rhetoric in the context of a commemorative speech, both men attempted to render current government goals indistinguishable from the goals of Australia’s war dead. If the dead are sacred, and their goals are likewise, then a government professing to have the same goals can shelter behind that sanctity, laying claim to it for their own ends.

Stereotypes of Australian servicemen are used to construct concepts like ‘Anzac spirit’, which are also open to political exploitation. The mythological digger is a brave tough idealist, a laid-back larrikin and an all-round good guy. His image is co-opted to define what is truly Australian, and what is the converse.

To tell you truth, I do not give a damn. Today is the day that I think of my father and his sacrifice. I can see my father in my mind’s eye, neither glorifying the ANZAC sacrifice nor being cynical that this did entail sacrifice. One can intellectualise, but I cannot walk in the shoes of the ANZACs. I would not presume to know the thoughts which they thought.

Therefore, here’s to our ANZACs.

Guest post: Missing the Forest for the Trees

It has been a week since Senator & leader of the Australian Greens, Bob Brown announced his retirement from both positions, & Senator Christine Milne as his replacement as the party’s leader. It has resulted in a news week decidedly more green in colour as journalists & commentators dissect & analyse Brown’s legacy, 4 decades of activism & political representation, & pointedly, the impact of his resignation on the party. A key consideration, of course, has been the analysis of Christine Milne in the role of Deputy Leader, & hypothesis regarding her impact on the Greens as its leader.

All of this is, well, completely understandable. Because there are few things the Australian media love more than a political party leadership- er, challenge? Change-over, is the better word, but let’s face it, once again, the Australian Greens have outed themselves as the glaring anomaly in the Australian political landscape.

Firstly, because there was no challenge. The integrity & continuity of the party proper remains intact & unchanged. Australians might not recognise it. They have simply failed to understand its significance. But there it was, Brown with every ounce of class & integrity he always brings to any public appearance, & the party proper consolidated behind him. There was no challenge. The two major parties have for a very long time set the bar very low in terms of leadership change-over. More to the point, a change in leadership has had huge ramifications in terms of policy in both the ALP and the Coalition. From Howard to Turnball to Abbott and we’ve seen three separate positions on climate change policy, particularly in the more recent change-over. Between Rudd to Gillard there was a shift (& back again) in both climate change policy regarding both the carbon tax & the MRRT. Further, at the core of the leadership change-overs has been the ad nauseum discussion, dissection & debate about who within the party is actually pulling the strings. Faceless men, factions & corporate contributors all & each playing a role in policy direction, politicians kowtowing to lobbyists, union bigwigs, Gina & Clive. Leaving the average Aussie sure of only one thing; politicians have a goal, power for its own sake, & the benefit of the fewest, either for themselves or for the puppet masters behind them, & certain of the bad taste it leaves in our mouths. On a week to week, almost day-to-day basis there is barely a reference to politics & policy without reference to broken promises, back-flips, parties bowing to pressure, liars & shifting positions.

It seems impossible to consider a political party, consolidate around a core belief, and progressive enough to consider change of any sort as an opportunity for growth. Yet, over the last week, we’ve been given a glimpse into such a party. Is this a case of having missed the forest for the trees?

Annabel Crabb said it beautifully in the opening paragraph of her her piece for the ABS’S The Drum ‘Bob’s bombshell a turning point for Greens‘. The fact is, there’s no previous leadership change-over at a Federal level in the party to compare to this current event. Crabb suggests another interesting point, for most, Green equals Brown, both in terms of his negotiating historic minority government agreements at a Federal level, the target conservative media has long time pinned to the leader’s back, & in terms of “the extent to which he has managed to persuade his notoriously hardline followers to accept hitherto-unthinkable concessions.” (Not that anyone wants to generalise about the Green’s membership, much.) The question is: is it possible for Milne to live up to task she conceded “was a daunting” one?

Or is it? The truth is, Milne is being handed an entirely different party to the one Brown took to & through a myriad of firsts; in the Tasmanian parliament, the Federal Senate, not to mention the fact that Brown is a trail-blazer of the most personal kind being the first openly gay member of the Federal Parliament. Milne doesn’t need to be any of those things. As Ben Eltham pointed out in his article, Milne has an entirely different political climate to negotiate going forward, particularly in the event of a Coalition minority or majority outcome of the next Federal election. With which she has experience at a State level. More to the point, she has an entirely different party to lead. Where Crabb speaks of the green hard-liners, the party has progressed considerably, the facticity of which was better addressed by the stable polling in the high teens in terms of preferred party Federally for some time now. And the record votes for Green representatives counted Australia wide in elections since 2010. As our erstwhile eyes & ears on the ground in Liverpool, Signe Westerberg said in her blog post regarding the local NSW Greens branch meeting, the leadership change over didn’t rate a mention, given the important policy issues that needed to be discussed.

Surprised we might have been at Brown’s announcement, but not in the new leader who has as long & as diverse experience in the party & the political arena. Certainly, there is a sadness for many as we farewell from the high profile role a visionary leader who has been a most passionate & intelligent politician where such people are thin on the ground in Canberra. But comparing Milne to Brown is not going to address the significance of the Green leadership change-over. Milne has the experience, has been Deputy of the Australian Greens, one of Brown’s closest advisors, has in recent years negotiated in the minority government environment resulting in Green’s policy outcomes being met, & represented the party in global forums.

Like her or not, she is a passionate advocate of core Green values, she is a woman of integrity, and of her word, & no-one who has seen her speak in public, the media or the Senate would argue she lacks the nous to lead from either a minority government position, balance of power position or from opposition. Whilst the other Woman in Power, PM Julia Gillard can scarcely convince a puppy she is a hard nosed negotiator, Milne was swept into the leadership by a confident party room and membership who are in no way confused about her ability to do just that. & in classic Milne style, she has hit the ground running, today calling out the Opposition Leader in no uncertain terms.

The comparison should not be between Brown & Milne, but between parties. Whilst a leadership challenge can see a complete halt to policy discussion in either the ALP or the Coalition, (or, let’s face it, complete turn around in policy platforms) for the Greens, it was business as usual. They did not skip a beat, & at no point has the party had to stop to consider that the new leader will bring a host of new party sound bites. The lines are the same, the core values aren’t being called into question. No lines drawn in the party room sand, no factions, no faceless men. Just a man retiring and a woman deemed most competent moving into a new position.

Well wishes for Brown and confidence in Milne were expressed as brief comments before the matter at hand was discussed. None of the Greens representatives were hassled to declare their position. The positions was the same. There was a seamless continuation of policy debate. Senator Rachel Siewert embarked on her week of living with off only the equivalent of the Newstart Allowance, highlighting the issues faced by people looking for work and the need for an increase.

Senator Lee Rhiannon continued meeting with people in rural NSW & Senator Milne threw down the gauntlet to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, whilst maintaining the pressure in regards to sustainability & economic outcomes as outlined in Mike Seccombe’s article in The Global Mail that presents Milne with her finger firmly on the economic pulse of the nation. Just to sample some of the diverse policy passions of the Greens representatives.

And THAT is the point. If we allow ourselves to loose focus on Brown who has been the face of the Australian Greens for so long, we might see a rich forest of talent, passion, integrity & a well spring of policy ideas. We might see what it is that the Australian people have long considered an impossibility, or a fallacy; a cooperative of people, a true grass roots party, centred on tangible core values, busy working towards the future of our nation.

Written by Inga Westerberg

Inga Westerberg is a member of the Tasmanian Greens & currently lives in Hobart.

Bob Brown quits!

I’m taking this one straight off the immediate press release as published in The Age:

Bob Brown has resigned as leader of the Australian Greens. He will also resign from the Senate.

Senator Brown made the shock announcement to his Greens Party colleagues this morning.

“I am sad to leave but happy to go. It is good knowing that the Greens have such a depth of talent and experience lined up for leadership – I could only dream about that a decade ago,” Senator Brown said in a statement.

“It is prime time to hand over the reins.”

Senator Brown has been a senator for 16 years. He has lead the Australian Greens since the party formed in 1992, seeing the party’s vote grow to double figures.

Senator Brown is due to address the media in Canberra at midday.

What would you do if….

This is just a fun post, and I would like to thank Jen O-O R for her original topic.

Jen wrote:
HUMOUR ME I AM BORED…

so what would you do if… through some whacky supernatural event your mind was transferred into the bodies of the following people (over a series of days.. you are stuck with the body for 24 hours).

1. Tony Abbott
2. Gina Rinehart
3. Your least liked Neighbour
4. Julia Gillard
5. Andrew Bolt
6. Cate Blanchett or Geoffrey Rush
7. YOU NOMINATE ANYBODY YOU LIKE FOR NO# 7

Easter for pagans

Easter in Australia has always been noted by religious observances and traditions. I dare say that in Australia today, no matter your country of origin, no matter whether you are Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Baha’i, that somewhere over Easter you will enjoy an Easter egg, or a piece of hot cross bun, or honey cakes.

It’s quite a contradiction isn’t it, how some young Jewish bloke who ran foul of the law for sedition and died for his crime could end up being equated with chocolate eggs, fluffy bunnies and fruit buns. He ended up crucified, and we ended up with the chocolate.

I therefore thought that I would skip the entire issue and write about the other Easter, the pagan one.

Let’s start with the name Easter. According to Old Venerable himself, St. Bede, (672-735 CE), and I am certain that he wouldn’t mind me using this familiarity; in his book De Ratione Temporum he noted that Easter was named after Eostre. Eostre was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people. There are a number of variations, but all are derived from the ancient word for Spring.

One thing that you can say about the early religions, and this is that they were pragmatists; we don’t have an occasion for a religious celebration, so we’ll just borrow yours. Rebirth, the coming of the Northern Hemisphere Spring coinciding with the resurrection of saviours being popular.

Here is a quote:

Spring is in the air! Flowers and bunnies decorate the home. Father helps the children paint beautiful designs on eggs dyed in various colors. These eggs, which will later be hidden and searched for, are placed into lovely, seasonal baskets. The wonderful aroma of buns baking in the oven waft through the house. Forty days of abstaining from special foods will finally end the next day. The whole family picks out their Sunday best to wear to the next morning’s sunrise worship service to celebrate the savior’s resurrection and the renewal of life. It will be a thrilling day.

The above is a description of an ancient Babylonian family 2,000BC honouring the resurrection of the god Tammuz, who was brought back from the underworld by his mother/lover Ishtar after whom the festival was named. Ishtar being a derivation of Eostre.

Christianity found many converts, and why not given that their religion was based almost entirely on preceding religions, many of which were pagan.

The fertility symbols associated with Spring are obvious, bunnies and eggs. And this is why Easter always falls at the time of the Northern Hemisphere Spring Equinox. It’s very little to do with Christianity, but all to do with our pagan ancestors.

But what better way to celebrate, than to bite the head off the bunny goddess, go nekid to a pagan fertility rite, get yourself a slice of toasted hot cross bun, or honey cake and enjoy the holiday.

From the crew at the Café, Happy Eostre, Ishtar or Easter.

Thank you to Bob R. of Hawaii for the pic. This is of course of Easter Island.

April: Autism Awareness Month

Original artwork: Briony

Autism is a complex disorder. If I was to look at a “normal’s” IQ test result then this would be a reasonably straight line, a few ups and downs but overall; regular. This is not so for someone with one of the Autism Spectrum of Disorders, our IQs read akin to roller coaster; troughs and quite often substantial highs.

An Autism Spectum Disorder (ASD) person, can be perceived as being exceptionally clever and/or talented, however on occasions quite dense. Ok, so I know that you’re going to believe me on that one.

Therefore the fact is, do not take it for granted that we are intelligent in all matters.

People with ASD have problems with social and communication skills, the most notable of these is taking statements literally. The invention of smileys is a god send to ASD people, because then you know when the person is smiling when they make the statement, or is it serious? This is not clear to people such as myself with ASD. I’m certain that everyone has been through this: But I didn’t know that it was a joke. People with ASD have to deal with this on a daily basis, having to interpret whether the person is serious or just joking. Then throw sarcasm in for good measure. With sarcasm, an ASD person is well and truly stuffed, because the statement contradicts the person’s intention.

An example of taking things literally comes from a young lad, age 14yrs. This boy had previously been diagnosed as being “a behaviour problem” and from this example, you will see why.

P* to his High School Geography teacher: How do I write an essay?
Geography teacher: You would write it as you would talk to me.
P* replied: But I wouldn’t talk to you.

Although the cause of ASD is unknown, it is a reasonable assumption that this is a genetic disorder, albeit the exact cause of it has not yet been found. Within one family you may find one person with a milder manifestation such as Asperger’s Disorder, someone who is verging on Savant, and yet another person in the dark realms of the severely autistic.

Many people with ASD have unusual ways of learning, of paying attention and of reacting to sensations. Within this imaginary set of blood related people you might have someone who cannot speak on the phone, someone with a series of phobias and hypersensitivity, and someone with a special talent, usually mathematical or musical. An example of hypersensitivity might be an ability to hear a conversation across the street, and this might coexist with an ability to sort data in one’s brain, due to the ability to visualise the pattern. A negative trait might be not being able to have certain fabrics touch the skin. We all have phobias, but ASD people are often endowed with a number of these, and all relate to a hypersensitivity.

An Asperger’s person is likely to be fascinated with technology as technology reacts in a logical sequence, cause and effect.

The first Autistic person to challenge perceptions of what it means to have ASD is a lady by the name of Temple Grandin. This lady was, as a child recommended for a special school but due to her mother’s perseverance, Temple Grandin learned to speak and then later discovered a special talent: she could visualise how cattle perceive things. Yes a very unusual talent isn’t it, but Ms. Grandin went onto a highly successful career in the US cattle industry. A movie has been made of her life story which I don’t think is in the video shops, but it can be downloaded. I would highly recommend this for anyone interested in true life stories.

“What would happen if the autism gene was eliminated from the gene pool?

You would have a bunch of people standing around in a cave, chatting and socializing and not getting anything done.” ― Temple Grandin, “The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism & Asperger’s”

Asperger’s especially are characterised by all encompassing, all pervasive interests and can become fixated on things. When these interests have a practical application generally there isn’t a problem, but these can become a problem when these interests take the place of normal human interaction. For example, an all pervasive interest in Egyptology can become a career, but an all pervasive interest in watching Three Stooges movies does become a problem. A young lad who I was assisting when a Disability Advocate had a fixation on tomatoes, another much younger boy had a fixation on his mother’s elbows.

Almost all Asperger’s have an unusual gait. I personally tend to “trot” when I walk, and have to concentrate on taking larger steps.

Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person’s lifetime and today, 1 in 110 individuals are diagnosed with some form of autism from the spectrum. Males are far more likely to be diagnosed with ASD than females, however it is unknown whether this is genetically based, or rather that society expects more conformity from males than from females; that is, it’s a matter of expectations.

From my Invisible Disabilities topic:

Wallace: After everything she told me, and checking on your excellent record in college, I’m wondering why you choose to drive a taxi for a living.
Donald Morton: At my interview with IBM after I graduated college, they asked me what my plans were, and I said, “Probably go to McDonalds for a 12-piece McNugget and two cheeseburgers, and then do my laundry.”
Wallace: Did they laugh, at least? – Mozart and the Whale, Biography & Autobiography by Jerry and Mary Newport (both have Asperger’s and Mary is also an autistic savant)

The Autism Awareness Campaign can be found at: Autism Awareness

Note: the above artwork is Briony’s first ever color drawing.