Amos and the Arab Spring, Refugees, Social Activities

Yesterday gave an address at the Unitarian Church on The Book of Amos and the Arab Spring, arguing that the poetic apocalyptic prophecies of Amos should be viewed in terms of justice and that the events of the Arab spring are a genuine and legitimate desire for freedom and democracy (it is extraordinary that this still has to be argued). As events that are generating asylum seekers, it is noted that the Australian Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers has come up with the worst possible set of recommendations, short of shooting people out of the water. The submission I wrote to the panel was orientated towards processing in Indonesia.

Friday night attended a work social function to see The Dark Knight Rises. I was less than impressed (apparently a dangerous claim to make). Saturday was another afternoon with Jacqui and Damien, working our way through the Monty Python Cheese sketch, followed by a large gathering for a father and son birthday dinner (73 and 49 respectively) for Frank and John.

Next Saturday will be presenting at the Linux Users of Victoria Beginner's Workshop with an pretty thorough introduction to the command line, followed by a meeting of the Victorian Secular Lobby with Jamie Gardiner, Vice-president of Liberty Victoria, former member (2000–2009) of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, speaking on changes to the Equal Opportunity Act and Federal perspectives.