Detention without charge in UK

Detainee 'never quizzed in jail' . Looked this up after hearing on the Beeb World Service just now that the guy is supposedly a huge danger. Funny they couldn't produce enough evidence in court to prove that.

I'm scared of terrorism. I feel a major terrorist attack on Australian soil is inevitable. And yet, I'm not quite ready to trust the government - any government - to do whatever it likes with human beings.

You can tell when I'm writing. Suddenly the washing up gets done, and I post a ton of crap.

Images of war II

US media snap up pictures of returning coffins

Safe working conditions II

New assault on porn could prove embarrassing for some

"California's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the non-use of condoms in the studios as a work-safety issue."

Calling the Capitol

Doomsday law wins backing: legislation for electing new reps if a terrorist strike wipes out Congress. Had a bad moment in Washington in February when I really grasped just how close the Capitol is to the Library of Congress; if that fourth plane had arrived, it might not only have killed hundreds and thrown the country into chaos, it could've done a Library of Alexandria as well. Another heartfelt tip of the hat to the heroes who brought it down.

Genesis 6

... is here.

Notes to self for later research (must compare versions as synaesthete7 suggests):

- Another new text? Note the recap of Noah and his sons in 9-10.

- Who are the "sons of God"?

With the Flood we're into familiar territory to the amateur Sumerologist :-). The relevant Mesopotamian texts are (bits of) Gilgamesh and Atrahasis; there's also a parallel, I think, with the Egyptian The Destruction of Mankind.

A crucial innovation here is that God is punishing human evil - in a way, this is a continuation of the story of Cain. God is angry and despairing at his creation's corruption and wants to start afresh. In the Egyptian story, humanity is punished because of rebellion against the gods; in "Atrahasis" it appears to be an overpopulation problem. :-) These are very different motives. But all three stories have in common the divine compassion that saves humanity. More on this when we get to the end of the story.

What... the bleep... was that?!

My guess: an aircraft which got an engine fire under control. Could also have been some sort of display for ANZAC Day.

Buried Alive

Crap. I'm trashed after a long afternoon of training at the second hand book shop. There will be no more writing tonight. I got about 300 words done this morning and tomorrow is clear, so I can hopefully make up the word count.

And now, back to the Sodomobile. "THANK GOD FOR AIDS - GAL 6:7" ?! Damn fucking *right* "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" - and in your case, bigot, reap hearty lashings of glittering humiliation!!!

I refuse to treat the Bible with any less attention or respect because of these vicious devils; they could learn a lot by reading Galatians 6, which would teach them to worry about their own sins instead of other peoples' , to approach sinners with "meekness" instead of drooling hatred, and to "do good unto all men".