Avian Flu, anthrax, swine flue, ebola, the picture from China is foreign.

The links and posts here are recommended.

Niger.

Niger is not an isolated island of desperation - it lies within a sea of problems across Africa, says Nobel Prize laureate Desmond Tutu.

meanwhile in the motherland:
In the wake of Niger's food crisis, we must question the right of charities to have a monopoly on "calling famines", says Simon Harrigan, a freelance anthropologist with experience of famine relief in Sudan.

staying with the Guardian:
It's up to African writers to provide positive alternatives to the global media's preoccupation with hunger, war and catastrophe, says Doreen Baingana, Ugandan poet and novelist.

Starvation in Niger is not only an inevitable consequence of poverty, drought and locusts but also the result of applying free market policies to try to lift the country out of poverty.

over to the NYT:
It is shocking that the crisis in Niger developed in a year heralded as a year for Africa, says this editorial.

no pictures, the emotional effect is enough in words alone.

As part of semester II, alongside the history of Christianity, synoptic gospels, Australian Theologies, we are studying Practical Theology. It all becomes rather academic in the light of pondering Niger.

To pinch a line from JCSuperstar "what's it all about", indeed. weep and know no answers...

Dance of deception by James M. Wall " Among the messages of sympathy that poured into London following the July 7 bombings were condolences from the governments of Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iran, Turkey—all nations with majority Muslim populations—and at least two Muslim nongovernmental groups: Hamas and Hezbollah.

But as Middle East scholar Juan Cole pointed out on his Web site "Informed Comment," only ArabicNews.com and a few Chinese sites mentioned this list. The Western media gave little attention to this strong Muslim expression of solidarity.Why this omission? Support from Muslim nations did not fit the dominant narrative in the U.S., which insists that "the reason we are attacked is that they hate us and our way of life, and we are not going to let that deter us from fighting terror." This narrative is not based on reality."
hattip Don over at agonist.org.

Semester two has begun and the workload is massive. Assignments and book reviews on church history, the gospels, australian theologies, practical theology and other stuff I have already forgotten. There will be little time for agonising or blogging over the next three months.

BUT somethings are just too powerful and righteous to ignore. L O Y A L T Y by Larry Johnson, proud to be an American. I am well pleased. May more like Larry stand up and tell it as it is.

Other trees remain a naked forlorn testimony of the raging fireballs of January 18, 2003

Eucalypts trunks enveloped with new growth.

Sunday afternoon the family piled into the wagon and up into the Brindabellas we drove. Major rainstorm Friday evening had washed a lot of snow away but there were occasional mini drifts. Lots of trees are still bare from the bushfires but some are regenerating.

Just so it seems that the whole world cares about skippy, click here. Sometime I may vent forth on the use of animals as pseudo-heroes but life is busy this week, juggling home, work and a conference as well as preparing for Semester II, next week. Just click it. Thank You.

sometimes it's just fun to read and tinker. Remember that disclaimers are to ensure your safety.
As a kid I got thrown head over heels several times by playing around inside television sets and once by a vacuum cleaner that I had forgotten to unplug before I started examining the brush contacts on the motor.

Garage / yard sales are a great place to pick up hi fi gear that often just needs dust blown out or rubber bands replaced.

"I pity them"
Angelo, a barrister was interviewed by the BBC after escaping one of the train explosions in the London underground. Covered in soot, shaky, confused as to why more emergency workers were not assisting in the evac (he did not know or had not taken in the fact of multiple attacks), he was asked what he thought of the perps.

"I pity them". Asked to elaborate he responded that "such wicked behaviour can only be pitied".

Resilience and compassion mean that we will all arise again on July 8 and live. Terrorism means death, but humanity will overcome terrorism. We live to honour the dead and I too pity the wicked.

A little selfishly I am relieved that my eldest boy will not be in London for several months....

Hopefully, we will not be reading the likes of this in six months time.

Rain wonderful rain, plenty of rain around Canberra, too much on the north coast of NSW and the Gold Coast. Goulburn still needs more. Our Prayers of Intercession on Sunday include one each week thanking God for the rain we have received and praying for more rain for those areas that need it. It's a prayer being prayed across the Archdiocese.

The winter days are beginning to lengthen again so spring is coming. Cold weather will be the order of the day for several more months yet. Global warming is not a micro weather feature yet.

First semester is over, all assignments have returned to me with satisfactory results in essay writing and research. Beginners enthusiasm seems to have caused me to try to cover too much in my assignments so I am seeing a lecturer mid month to try and get a grip on what is required.
Footnotes gave my lecturers some grief. I have a lot of misunderstanding as to what each lecturer particularly seeks with respect to the correct citing of authors, texts, quotes and page numbers. Hopefully by October 2007 I will have mastered the art of citation.

Master numero uno living son turns 21 on July 6, so we had a surprise party for him on Saturday night. An assortment of relatives and friends recent and past managed to arrive and allow him an enjoyable evening that almost moved him to tears. Sweet boy. His ticket to Austria and the UK have been purchased - 'rock on' September is his song.

Diary entries for me at the agonist have been a bit post and run lately. Time does not allow too much self promotion. So casual readers don't miss out: read them >>>>>here<<<<<<.

This is one of three paintings by congo the chimp, that took the media by storm this week, pushing once again to the background the horrible ongoing violence and death toll in the Congo.

See, I'm safe with a good Christian family. On the weekend I went to Wisconsin.

Hmmm. the table is the same as the one in canberra, but this fellow is certainly not an australian. I'm told it's about 45�F in Canberra, sleet and snow on the way, I'm so glad I'm in sunny Minnesota.

Almost there, I can see home from here.

Uh oh, better wait here, I can hear someone coming. I cannot believe the grass, it is so green and lush compared to the dry, dusty brown stalks in canberra.

Down the shute and into the wonderful outdoors.

Never fear Uncle Minnesota Winnie to the rescue.

USA Customs Department, strip Kanga of beanie and scarf and prepare to cut open in search of contraband.