Serious Political Analysis

A Warning, originally uploaded by glennpeters.

This photo was taken on the Dight's Falls End of Victoria Park, only 20 metres from where Melbourne rawk svengali (and top mate), Jeff Samin lives.

Dear Danny Update

I got a reply from Catch the Fire Ministries' Danny Nalliah (pictured above). Here it is.

danny@catchthefire.com.au
to me

Thanks mate. it is a free democracy. you have your right to have your say.
Thanks and many blessings/Danny

And here's my response, emailed only minutes ago.

Dear Danny,

I have problems with you hiding behind the "free democracy" argument.

First, list me all the times the word, "democracy" is mentioned in the bible.

I'll help you. Zero.

And if there's one concept you see a lot of in that book it's "love".

Where's the love in your corrupt gibberish against Islam? Isn't "love" the most important of all words for all Bible following Christians?

Finally, democracy is not free. Democracy and a right to free speech comes with responsibility. You know, morals, values and all that. In everything we do, we must think of a correct and reasonable way of doing so.

For example, I could call you an evil Sri Lankan cunt stick but doing so would be wrong. Sure, I'm "free" to call you an evil Sri Lankan cunt stick but I know as a man of the cloth, you would be offended and possibly hurt by such debase arguments. Therefore, in this email I've chosen not to call you an evil Sri Lankan cunt stick.

Regards,

Glenn Peters

Stay tuned for more.

For Sale: Drum Sticks, One Owner

Ringo's drumsticks used at the 1964 Festival Hall show are on Ebay. The auction is currently at one bid for US$999.

UPDATE: Auction ended and reserve not met at US$5,300.00 (AU$6,888.04)

eBay item 7524038143 - BEATLES RINGO STARR AUTHENTIC CONCERT USED DRUMSTICKS

Dear Danny, You Are An Angry Freak Who Should Go To Jail

Somebody should close down the so-called church, Catch The Fire. Their pastors were found to have vilified Muslims by a Melbourne Court today.

The court ordered they must apologise or they will face a prison sentence.

Pastor Danny Nalliah has been doing the talk radio rounds protesting the verdict. I heard him speak to ABC's Virginia Trioli a few minutes ago and couldn't resist sending him this email.

Dear Danny,

I have just heard your interview with Virginia Trioli on ABC 774.

I found your arguments and manner extremely offensive and morally inept.

How can your angry rhetoric possibly help you achieve your church's 'vision' "to reach people from all walks of life into the Kingdom of God."

By the way, your website is almost as ugly as your opinions.

regards,

Glenn Peters

I Was Maimed By Deep Soul

A few years ago when I was working at Shock Records, this compilation, Dave Godin's Soul Treasures Volume 3, came by my desk. When I say 'came by my desk' I mean exactly that. One of my jobs there was to get a huge pile of cds or press releases from record importers and write a one or two sentence review of each for the weekly record company release sheet given to all the record shops.

With up to 40 reviews a week, I was a one man record reviewin', press releasin' production line. Pity nobody read my guff. The record shop owners would only read Shock's release sheet to find out when the new Craig David single was coming out. Nothing's changed, only it's Ricki Lee now.

This record stunned me.

This is what I wrote on the release sheet:

"My balls are on fire and I'm crying, crying, crying. This is and will be the most perfect soul compilatation you will ever hear. Order as many of units your shop can afford of this one, NOW! One for you, one for your lover, one for your mother, one for your father, one for neighbour, one for the Chinese bloke who owns your local milkbar, one for the drunk guy on the train on the way to work, one to your local MP, one to your parole officer and thousands to all the sad people in the world and thousands more for the the happy. Trust us on this one."

And this is what I should have written:

"Deep soul rarities compiled by renowned soul DJ/Journalist Dave Godin featuring cuts by James Brown, Baby Washington, Toussaint McCall, Carla Thomas, Bobby Womack, Irma Thomas, Rick James and many more."

A week later I was asked to leave the company.

Please, Don't Hurt Me

please don't hurt glen, originally uploaded by doctor paradox.

As you may well know, my name is Glenn and I live in Glen Waverley. My local shopping center is called The Glen and when I was a wee Glenn, I would have to trudge down Glen Street every day to school which was, of course, called Glen Waverley High.

But what really annoys me is when people spell my name incorrectly. You may as well throw stuff at me if you're going to spell my name with one 'n'.

Here's a TV advertisement about the brighter days of my life. Essential viewing!

Number 710 With A Bullet!

In only a month I have jumped 106 places to be the 710th best Scrabble player in Australia. Yay!

ASPA Rankings List.

And Then I Shot Him

"There's nothing nice about prison except that it makes you stop running."

Brenda Hodge was the last person to be sentenced to death in Australia. Later her punishment was reduced to life in prison. She was a guest on ABC Local Radio earlier this morning.

By the time you read this, the interview will be here.

Hammer Anvil Out of the Congo

Meet Bill Turner, president of Aussie mining company, Anvil. With help from the Congalese government and The World Bank, Anvil make money from mining the violent remote eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It must be pointed out that Anvil's building of a small primary school and health clinic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, bragged about by the Anvil president, in the 4 Corners report are mandatory to ensure their newly approved insurance policy taken with the World Bank insurance agency, MIGA.

This brings another point. Why and how did this arm of the World Bank approve "Political Risk Insurance" to Anvil only last month? Surely the World Bank would have had some intelligence there was a question mark on the West Australian's potential link to the killings in Kilwa, last year.

According to press releases by Anvil and MIGA, this is the first such insurance policy offered to a mining company anywhere in the world.

It is irresponsible for the World Bank to encourage any further mining in volatile countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo.

On their website, Anvil justify their work in the Democratic Republic Congo saying, "positive political developments in recent years have ushered in a workable political climate under which Anvil is now able to operate."

Try telling that to the 15 women and girls who the UN reported were raped last month by government backed militia in the Congelese village of Sonsa, only 250km from the site of yet another of Anvil's mines in the DRC's east.

If the recent reports by the World Health Organisation, "Congo the Curse of Gold" or Medicans Sans Frontiers report on the DRC's current rape endemic, "I Have No Joy, No Peace of Mind" are anything to go by, Anvil and other western mining companies must get out of the Congo immediately. Merely throwing your arms up in denial like Anvil's president, Bill Turner did on Monday night's 4 Corners is unacceptable.

Sadly, Anvil's mission statement proclaims the Australian company is "Forging a Great Future in the Congo". Instead, I feel they and other mining companies, with financial help from the World Bank, are only digging the African country deeper into worse times of rape and murder.

Link to Four Corners Report

Where the Wild Things Are

"I don't know how to write for children," says Maurice Sendak, the 76 year-old "picture maker" in this wonderful little interview for NPR.

NPR: A Conversation with Maurice Sendak via Boing Boing.