God Is Bullshit

Thats once of the topics at the Atheist Convention ... little fundametalistic but really engaging topic. 
She has a book too and I cannot say how good.

Atheism is the new religion

Melbourne will be soon hosting Richard Dawkins the the Global Atheist Convention. Prof Dawkins is really smart man and many speakers at the convention are top intellectuals who I really respect such as Peter Singer

Dawkins is on the way to  Australia he is being interviewed a lot. Oh, my God - atheist convention sells out - The Age or Atheism's true believers gather  or Faith basher relies very much on faith in Herald Sun

He did release a new book  which I am told is quite good.

The interesting thing is that while is anti religion some of the speakers such as Russel Blackford at also spoke at the Parliament of the World's Religions and I worked with Russel and his colleagues to make sure Atheism in represented among the many religions at the 2009 Parliament. I enjoyed coordinating their sessions and wanted to attend it but I did not have time. I had too many people complaining the Parliament was too expensive. Guess what the Atheist convention is more expensive but it is sold out at $530 at ticket now on eBay.

Here am I with the Dalai Lama at the Parlliament 

The role of Government

As I am redesigning my CV to comply with requirements of the Victorian Government bureaucracy (see Tips for Applying on http://www.careers.vic.gov.au ). I wonder to what extend we can ectually expect that Government will actually take care of us. But anarchist have it this way:

(Anarchists) believe that governments all over the world create violence, oppression, exploitation, and chaos everywhere they are formed. This, according to Anarchists, is achieved through wars, taxes, suppression of personal freedoms, suppression of economic freedoms, and many other immoral acts of the state.

http://www.rottingnation.com/2008/12/18/why-anarchists-hate-the-state/

But many people do rely on the Government and expect that it will help them. Example is "A WOMAN who claimed to have been abandoned by the government after becoming entangled in a Mideast assassination was contacted by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on Friday night." reported in Herald Sun

So do we rely on ourselves or try to find the middle way? I do need to study it further

Can you predict earthquakes? Buddhist view

I cannot predict earthquakes but I think someone I know can. She was dreaming about a large earthquake this morning and there are two large ones happening on the same day in Japan and Chile:


This is the Buddhist view: "Buddhism is not concerned with explaining why this is so, it simply makes the common sense assertion that the universe is dukkha - sometimes at odds with our dreams, our wishes and our desires."
GOD, BUDDHISM AND THE TSUNAMI by S. Dhammika

Jobs Jobs Jobs

So I finally got my first interview with a local council. It is a job of 'Social Policy and Projects Officer' which sounds fancy and complex but it is quite basic role plus it is only part time.

Just wondering if I should apply for ASIO job as a surveillance officer. They must have a lot of fun now with the Spy Affair. Israel is getting a lot of bad press and their PR people are not managing it very well.

ASIO in Israel spy probe

ASIO investigating at least three dual Australian-Israeli citizens it suspects of using Australian cover to spy for Israel.

 

• Spies, lies and troubled ties

Best basic use software on the net

On practical note I have been setting up my new computer HP ProBook 5310m with new software:

Browser:
Google Chrome ... the fastest most intuitive browser. Did you know you can goolge just by inputing your query directly into the address line. This saves so much hassle going to google. Download it here 



Photo organizer 
Editor and organiser Picasa 3. Best and fastest.

Free from the Picasa Website

Video Converter
I found the best video converter on the net. It works flawlessly and it is really fast. It is called Ojosoft and you can download trial version which converts the first 2 minutes


Microsoft Office for Free
Download the Office 2010 Beta and use it for free till October 2010.
\
Microsoft Office 2010 Beta Download




Antivirus

Avast Free Edition. Light and easy to maintain.

Web Conferencing Software
Just discovered and are still testing DimDim which is web conferencing software which allows groups to convene and work collaboratively in meetings. I hope it support multiple videoconferencing. I am still looking for best solution.

Dalai Lama Now Knows Who Tiger Woods Is .... or Can Philosophy Save Us?

February 22, 2010, 5:35 PM

Dalai Lama Now Knows Who Tiger Woods Is

By ROBERT MACKEY

The Dalai Lama said he did not who Tiger Woods was

Buddhism is not newsworthy subject until is becomes connected to controversy, sports, celebrity or sex. In most recent weeks Buddhism was discussed in relation to Tiger Woods and HH the Dalai Lama and thus generated very large media interest. The sad thing is that Wood's Thai Buddhist heritage and the associated mediation and philosophy will soon drop of the media radar and Wood's scandal will remain. How can Buddhists make themselves heard in a serious way?


Related issue that I am really interested in is explored in this Guardian Weekly article:

Can philosophy save us? | Darragh McManus | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/...

Our culture – the media and the broader populace – is obsessed with the economy. And since Lehman Brothers went kablooey in September 2008, our fascination has gone to a deeper level. Googling the word "business" gets a scarcely feasible 1.6 billion hits. ...

In this article the author suggest that we should ensure that western style of rational philosophical discussion in the media and at schools can in fact save our lives in some weird way. He is against including narratives and religious philosophy and instead thinks that philosophy makes us ask questions such as "who am I?". This is very important questions but if asked in isolation from culture is meaningless and only leads to nihilism. If asked in complete oppression of culture leads to obsessions. So we need to strike a balance and raise philosophical questions in relation to their practical cultural context. Good example is the fact that Tiger Woods is wanting to apply his Buddhist heritage to his current situation. If this is discussed in greater depth and in relation to the Christian heritage of the US society it becomes useful ....

This was a great book and i think still is 

Royal Womens

We are visiting the best women's hospital in Australia ...apparently the healthcare in Melbourne in best in australia so if you are down under check this out 

Living and thriving in Melbourne

Melbourne has really well developed social support services. While neighbors just worry about themselves and don's really talk to each other the social support infrastructure is excellent. We have had Maternal and child Health Nurse visits on weekly basis, social workers call and drop in, we drop by doctors which is just around the corner and if worts comes to worst we can access residential program for mothers with babies. And the best thing is that this is all for free.

The one issue is that there is severe lack of kindergarten places. Melbourne university has waiting list with 800 parents waiting for over 2 years for a place. Local kindy is no better as there are only several places available for each age group. So lets hope that this news that the Government is promoting actually filters down to us:

Kinder teachers returned to work with new pay deal

News bulletin: 16 February 2010

More than 5000 kindergarten teachers across Victoria started the kinder year with better pay and conditions thanks to several new enterprise agreements that started this year.

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/news/newsalerts/2010/paydeal.htm

Nuclear or not

Been applying for job all around ... but in the mean time following news ... one of the most interesting debates raging in Australia is Nuclear or not .... i would really like to go to this debate: Intelligence Squared:

Australia should embrace nuclear power

4 March 2010 - Melbourne

In the wake of grave scientific warnings about the role of carbon emissions in climate change, prominent environmental scientists like James Lovelock have called for the world to employ nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Yet, Lovelock’s call has divided the environmental movement – and sections of the wider community – where there remain deep-seated fears about nuclear hazards (disposal, pollution, accident, weaponisation and proliferation).

But are such fears misguided or irrelevant when compared to the unfolding reality of adverse climate change?

Given our vast reserves of uranium, our stable political economy and isolation – does Australia have an obligation to embrace nuclear power?

The godfather of the climate change debate, Dr James Hansen, is coming from the United States to debate this vital issue of the use of nuclear energy as an alternative to the use of fossil fuels.

Joining him, for the affirmative, will be Dr Ziggy Switkowski, outspoken advocate of nuclear power and Dr Erica Smyth.

The negative will consist of Molly Harriss Olson, former Presidential advisor to President Clinton on energy, Dr Mark Diesendorf, world renowned writer on climate change and Dr Jim Green, nuclear campaigner for Friends of the Earth.

Buy tickets

Discuss this topic

Speakers

For:

• Dr James Hansen
• Dr Erica Smyth
• Dr Ziggy Switkowski

Against:

• Dr Mark Diesendorf
• Molly Harriss Olson
• Dr Jim Green

Speaker details to come. Please check back.

Jobs

So I am still working on my job applications currently waiting for response from 9 of them ... here is something worthwhile

That was yesterday ... the Tokarev family came around and took over the place for half an hour ...

Sundays are holy ..

It was beautiful morning so we went to

Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne www.cam.org.au 71 Orrong Rd Elsternwick VIC 3185 (03) 9523 8407 Get directions - Is this accurate? Write a review More information » I am also going to meditation in the evening to Jikishoan  Jikishoan Zen Buddhist Community Jikishoan Zen Buddhist Community conducts Zen meditation,retreats, dharma talks and orientation courses in Melbourne and Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. www.jikishoan.org.au/ - Cached - Similar -

Violence and Religion

Here are some interesting thoughts from Anwar Ibrahim and some proper local action ...

Vindaloo Against Violence

rotest racially motivated violence in Melbourne by dining at your local Indian restaurant on Wednesday 24 February 2010.

I wanted to find a way to show support for the Indian community and signal that I will not turn a blind eye to violence in our city.

This violence threatens all Melburnians' sense of safety and pride in their home. I want the Melbourne Indian community -and all immigrant communities - to know that they are welcome and entitled to feel safe here.

How cool would it be if Melbourne displayed a show of force by all going out and eating Indian on a certain night, to embrace and show solidarity with our local Indian community?

Let's do it!

Register your attendance and get more details at http://vindalooagainstviolence.wordpress.com/

Follow us on Twitter - http://twitter.com/VagainstV

Famili ....

My mum took some photos today ...are we there is is it just a fuzzy reflection of our karma?

Its raining ....

It started raining and the head is cooling and my mum is leaving for home. Here are some of her latest impressions.

Australie 2010

Gettin hot ...

Melbourne is getting hot and my mother is about to leave for home which is still freezing ... and life is itchy so we need to find some cooling space to stay and refresh for a while ... so there it is