Time online

A couple of updates from previous posts.

I emailed Ausgro yesterday about the concerns over Imidacloprid, linking to the story about bees in Europe and America likely being killed by this. This was the reply:

> Hi Peter,
> Bees are insects, this product kills insects. It is very safe in regard to pets, children etc. Have a look at the alternative chlorophos for lawn grubs etc, this is a nerve agent and is still in products for sale in bunnings mitre 10 etc. If your worried about bees, try using a natural pyrethrum and spray after sunset when the bees have returned to their hive.
>
> Regards
>
> Tony Locke
> Manager
> Ausgro Technologies

To me it looks like the guy hasn't the faintest idea on the subject. I don't even see any point in replying. I may email my local federal member of parliament to see what he says.

I sent the link of the article from England that was put in a reply (about psychiatrists trying to change sexual orientation) to Anthony Venn Brown at the Freedom 2b sight. As I said I'm not into religion myself, but for those that are he may be able to offer some assistance in bringing religion and sexuality together. He's no longer running the Freedom 2b site and has launched Ambassadors and Bridge Builders International. 

Anthony Venn-Brown’s journey to find resolution of his Christian faith and homosexuality spanned 28 years and included ‘ex-gay’ programs, marriage, children and being a high profile preacher in Australia’s mega-churches. When his autobiography 'A Life of Unlearning' was released in 2004, he became the first contact point for thousands of LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) people from religious backgrounds. He often says ‘It was like my inbox became a microscope into a hidden world as many isolated and alienated people reached out to someone they could relate to; many for the first time’.

Common themes emerged from the emails Anthony received and revealed the enormous suffering caused by misinformation and ignorance about sexuality and gender identity. What also became abundantly clear was that, LGBTI people of faith and religion, not only experience the normal issues of resolving their sexuality, coming out and finding their place in the community, they often experience these things with greater intensity and have additional issues to deal with. Because of the intense cognitive dissonance caused by their faith/sexuality conflict, they are one of the highest risks groups of suicidality, mental health issues and other areas of harm.

Moved by the many heart wrenching stories and great needs, a passion was ignited in Anthony to create change. In 2005 he co-founded Freedom 2 b[e]; a support network for LGBTI people from Christian backgrounds. Over the last 6 years, under Anthony’s voluntary leadership, Freedom 2 b[e] has become Australia’s leading organisation for LGBTI people from religious backgrounds. There are now chapter meetings and youth groups around Australia, an online community with over 4,000 visits per month and 30 volunteers and leaders.

Anthony has also become a respected community leader and was twice voted one of the 25 Most Influential Gay and Lesbian Australians (2007 & 2009) and was a finalists for ACON’s 2011 Community Hero Award. In June 2011 Anthony resigned as leader of Freedom 2 b[e] enabling him to use his experience and expertise to broaden his work of creating a better world for LGBTI people of faith. Ambassadors & Bridge Builders International (ABBI) was launched in November 2011.

At home today being the every second Tuesday off. Weather has gotten very cold in Sydney, strong southerly. Hope it's not as cold as last winter, when it was the coldest in 51 years. Already sneezing. Work tomorrow for three days. Daughter is giving most of the rent this week, and is back to a full week next week. Told her I'm not working Tuesday so only getting 3 days pay this week. That pretty much means I've got fuck all money for the third week in a row. Suppose I should just stop worrying about it as it can't be helped.

Oh yes, and I watched a very entertaining thing last night. A panel discussion between Atheist Richard Dawkins, and the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney George Pell. You can watch it if you like online, but it's only available for a couple of weeks:

http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/view/921568 

That Dawkins is a bit stuck up and he couldn't understand the humour here when the audience laughed and all, but it was excruciating watching Pell trying to explain some of the finer points of his faith. It's a good show on once a week here, with Twitter comments flashed on the screen through it and questions from the audience and online.

Last few days have been spending hours and hours online. It's a cheap way to pass the time when not being out. It's also pretty interesting.