Review: Haunted Australia

 Haunted Australia

 

Author:                               John Heffernan

Publisher:                           Scholastic

Type:                                   Soft Cover

Pages:                                  161

Genre:                                 non-fiction

Published:                            2005

ISBN:                                   9781865048260

 I purchased this book online at about three in the morning, along with a few others, i missed the fact it was a scholastic book. For those who don't know Scholastic does fine works making books easier for school children to access. However Scholastic books tend to be for younger readers, so it has large printing, is wide spaced, glosses over many details and sometimes descends into silly speak.  
 Now don't get me wrong using 'spooxpert' to refer to parapsychologists, or paranormal investigators was kind of amusing the first time, however it grated more and more with every single use, and by the end of the book i wanted to hit something. 
 To be fair to this book i am going to rate it as best i can for its child to teen target audience.

 The book is a collection of true ghost encounters from Australia, while some cover a few pages others take up a single paragraph.
 The book has a good introduction, and i should mention i suppose that the book does deal with ghosts and therefore mentions death a few times, as with everything, if you are concerned about younger readers, be a responsible parent and read it yourself first, and discuss it after you have both read it. There are no pictures in this book at all, though some pages have a pattern (as seen in the above photo).
 The book covers haunted houses, ships, theaters, hotels, islands, barracks, prisons, hospitals, roads and even a haunted toilet.
 There is a section on ghost animals including  horses and cattle in addition to the usual dogs and cats.
 Other topics covered include Indigenous spirits, 'guardian angels', ghost hunting, spook (min min) lights, ghost towns, phantom hitchhikers, animal PSI, possession and old hag syndrome.

 There is a short frequently asked questions, but sadly;

 "Why are you trying to make 'spooxperts' a thing?"

wasn't one of those questions, my personal conclusion is that it wasn't included because there is no excuse as 'spooxperts' is an unjustifiable abuse of the English language.

 The book closes with a glossary and some references. There is no index!

 OK so all joking aside, this is a decent book, i can see myself reading this in mid to late primary school maybe. It might have been nice to know there were other haunted houses in Australia. Its simple to read, doesn't get too dark and should peek a child's interest in exploring the subject more. Personally while i can understand not putting the home addresses in the descriptions i would still have liked to see times, dates, and names, some of the places described have been destroyed so why not give there locations. And it has no index, how can any book of this nature be published without an index? 

 I would recommend this book to younger readers who have an interest in the paranormal or are experiencing a haunting, books of this nature focusing on Australia are not too common so anyone interest in Australia or its history might also find this book a launching point to further research.

__

Remember always expect a skeptic to be skeptical of everything, not just what they don't want to accept.

Drop Bear Growls

Australia's Shame: Child Abuse

Australia's Shame

 By now everyone should have heard about the abuse of children uncovered by the ABC Four Corners program. 
 The short of it is that children held in detention centers in the Northern Territory of Australia are being abused and tortured for years with knowledge of the minister in charge.
 The government responded to public pressure by announcing a royal commission into the matter, but many are not happy with the terms of reference that this RC has been given. As an example the fact that many of the children being tortured are Aboriginal was not mentioned as needing addressing, in addition to the commission being limited to only the Northern Territory institutions.

 It should also be noted that the victims are suing the state institution and the Northern Territory has shamefully decided to counter sue, this is not how we should handle abuse victims.

 We are disgusted in this abuse and have to wonder what is wrong with people to be able to do this kind of thing. Lets have a look at some of the possible influences that may have led us to this.

 We know of the old saying that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and of the scientific studies showing that this old adage is indeed true. So more oversight, regular and independent review of footage, regular mental health checks for both inmates and staff, both might help in reducing instances like this in the future. 

 These particular instances of abuse obviously have a racial element, and with the rise of racist groups in Australia we really do need to clip this in the bud. People need to know it is not OK to abuse others due to their race. There may not be much we can do about the rise of racism in Australia, but we can educate our children, and continue to point out the racism of white supremacist groups. We can perhaps employ Aboriginal staff in centers where there are a large number of Aboriginal inmates.

 We need to stand up for the rights of children, when we have politicians attacking an anti-bulling program in out schools. When we have our Prime Minister bowing down to pressure from these politicians we cant be surprised when bullying of children is seen as acceptable in our society. You might think its just dandy for these people to fight for the bullying of LGBT children but what happens when its not just differences in sexuality, what happens when they turn their attention to race, gender, or class?

 Both major political parties in Australia favor offshore imprisonment of refugees. Refugees have been falsely imprisoned, abused, and killed in these camps. The refugees in these prisons are men, women and children. Can we be so shocked that our treatment of non Australian children influences our treatment of Australian children?

 This expose comes at the same time as George Pell, who has long been believed to have covered up pedophile priests within the church, faced more allegations of child abuse. We have chaplains in schools replacing skilled school counselors. We seriously need to keep church and government as separate as possible, when once respected institutions, that some still see as having the moral high ground, are complacent in abuse of children.

 We have hate groups and government ministers arguing that all Australians shouldn't have equal rights. When it seems acceptable to vilify and discriminate against innocent Australians, is it any wonder that basic human rights are being violated?

 Australia has a lot of work to do, we have a lot of damage to repair. This shame belongs to all of us, and you have an important role to play. Please stand up against racism, homophobia, sexism and the abuse of children, if we lose our humanity who knows where this could lead, it has already gone too far.

 Choose empathy and respect, instead of ignorance and hate.

 Why Power Corrupts
Cookie power trip 
torture device

Do Something Good:

Contact your Government representative:

Demand that every case of juvenile detention be investigated. Demand any accusation of abuse is investigated and the perpetrator charged. Demand the victims receive counseling, legal representation and proper compensation. 

Dismiss and charge the minister and all who knew of this abuse.

Fight for Marriage
Stop Abuse Business
Implement Anti-Bullying Program
Save Aboriginal Community's



 


 

BIGOT POINT: Children need both a biological Mother and Father.

BIGOT POINT:

Children need both a biological Mother and Father.

 This is an interesting one and i have heard it by some otherwise rational people. While on the surface such a statement might seam almost reasonable, personally this argument makes me sick, and it gives me great pleasure to debunk it. 
First lets look at what this argument is actually arguing against.

Those bigots using this argument are against:

* Same sex couples who are already raising children.

* Those who are caring enough to adopt a child.

* Those who choose to look after foster care children.

* Those who raise children from their partners former relationship,whether the need arises through separation, death or unfitness of the biological parent.

* Relatives who raise children because the parents are unable to do so for whatever reason.

* Single parents.

 As you can see when you actually examine their argument, its rather shocking. These people think children are better off on the street then in caring homes. I hope they never gain the power to remove these children from their homes.

 Then we have to consider that some biological parents are not fit to raise children. biological parents can unfortunately mutilate, neglect, indoctrinate, molest and abuse their own children. 

 Do these bigots really think that children are better off in that kind of environment then if they were adopted by a couple who really wants to care for the child or raised  by a single parent?

 I would hope not, but that is their argument. I would also hope they would put aside their prejudices if they were in a position to choose what environment a child was raised in.

 Their argument also neglects the fact that single people and gay couples often have extended family's of both sexes. Thankfully not all family's would turn their back on a single parent or same sex couple who are raising a child. Meaning the child will have both male and female influences.

 In the case of surrogacy, the birth mother, or sperm donor (are their better words for these amazing people?) who help a same-sex couple (or even a straight couple) often have an important place within this extended family.

 Further independent studies have repeatedly shown that same-sex couples are equal to or in some cases even better parents than their straight counterparts. I think this is probably because for same sex couples having a child is almost always a choice, and often a difficult path. So the decision is not made lightly.

 Some bigots will argue that the child of a same-sex couple will be bullied. The irony of this is mind blowing as it is people like those who make this argument raising bigoted children that do this kind of bullying. Surely the answer is to educate children and stop the bullying, to protect the children from bullying.

 There is also the fact that not all same-sex couples ever want to have children. The desire to have children is not and never has been a prerequisite to marriage eligibility in Australia (I am aware that some bigots argue it is, but ill go into that nonsense in another post).

 How could i forget the ridiculous spin off argument that same-sex parents would create gay children. This is so stupid its difficult to address, ill just say that most LGBT people are born from and raised by straight people.

  I would argue that instead of children needing both a biological mother and father, that children are better off with one or more adults who care about them. No one is depriving these children of anything, they are being gifted with a home that truly cares for them.

Bigot Points:

"Same sex marriage isn't biblical marriage."

"homosexuality is a choice."

"Same-Sex marriage isn't Traditional Marriage"

"Homosexuality is Unnatural"

 "Marriage Equality threatens religious freedom"

Further Reading:

Children raised by same-sex couples healthier and happier

Book Review: Awkward Moments Children's Bible

 Awkward Moments

(not in your average) Children's Bible

Volume 1 

 

Author:                                Horus Gilgamesh
Artist:                                  Agnes Tickheathen

Type:                                    Soft Cover

Pages:                                   80

Genre:                                  Mythology

Published:                            2013

ISBN:                                   978-1492177449

Source:                                Independently purchased 

The book is about 21cm square, there is a title page with a to and from box, just in case you want to give the book as a gift. There ia a forward written by David G McAfee, most of the pages are two page painting style illustration with a biblical verse, the art work is good and does bring to mind children's bible illustrations. The book ends with information about every illustration complete with QR code, a crossword and a fill in the blanks story.

The book is clearly not a children's bible, it is however in that style. The book is a satirical look at actual things from the bible that most people do not think about or are not even aware of. As well as parts that have been removed, heavily edited, added later or are just plain silly.

 My xx's mother happened to notice this book on the coffee table, she asked to look through it and i agreed. I had always thought that she was well versed in her religion, however she was adamant that even some of the well known verses shown were not in any bible.

  It is always amazing to me when i realise i know more about a persons religion then they do. 

One amusing issue that she was adamant about was that she claimed that Transubstantiation was only symbolic to Catholics and not literal. As much as i tried to explain, and even showed her on catholic websites that she was incorrect and that the wine was literally supposed to be blood, and the bread flesh. She still refused to believe. 

She eventually had her "zinger" saying that she had actually had the communion and that it was only wine and bread she ate. I explained that that fact doesn't change that the Catholics believe it to be a literal transformation, and that i wasn't arguing that i agreed with them, just stating what they believed. I even suggested that maybe the priest was having an off day and the ritual failed that day. But she couldn't wrap her head around it sadly, just saying "it wasn't flesh though!".

While i didn't "fact check" all of the books entries, the ones i wasn't sure about did check out. I think it would undermine what the author is trying to do for them to include falsehoods, i cant see them doing it.

I can highly recommend this book for anyone who has been effected by the christian bible (that's everyone). It is a great gift for anyone who draws from the bible in their religious beliefs. It is also an enjoyable read for those who have reformed their beliefs or escaped the church. 

Please check out the website for more information.