“After my marriage, I only kissed two men; my husband and the man that murdered my family”
Christ, the embodiment of God, commanded that the redeemed are to love their enemies. Sabina and her husband Richard Wurmbrand, founders of ‘VOICE OF THE MARTYRS’, take this command to its extreme. As Romanian Jews during WW2, they are persecuted by the Fascist NAZI’s and when the Russians took over, they were persecuted for being Christians.
Romania was under NAZI rule for 4 years (1940-1944) and then under the Communists for 18 years (1947-1965). Under both administrations, Sabina and Richard were targeted for prosecution. They survived by loving their neighbour, and their enemies.
Richard converted to Christianity amid a mortal battle with TB. In his preparation for death, he hoped there was a God, and found HIM.
“GOD, I know you don’t exist, but if you do, it’s up to you to reveal yourself to me!”
‘Sabina’,the movie, covers the ‘NAZI years; when they met and married. They had been secular intellectuals with financial success, both reckless party people. The movie follows, their conversion and their commitment to a higher will. Richard changes his career from stock broker to pastor. From reckless to fearless they navigate the treacherous rule of the Iron Guard and the NAZI’s.
A follow up movie that documents the Communist era is ‘Tortured for Christ’ where Richard is tortured and imprisoned for 14 years. Both the Fascists and the Communists made a common enemy of God.
“I am not afraid for those Jews (the murdered), God will surely compensate them for what they suffered. I am anguished when I think, what will happen to their murderers when they stand before God.”
Snatching souls from the eternal torment of Hell is paramount in their minds and both are willing to suffer to save a soul. Sabina and Richard face their persecutors with two fundamental foundations of their faith.
‘If your enemy is hungry give him something to eat, if he is thirsty give him some water.’
and
‘Whoever will save his life shall lose it and whoever will lose his life for my sake, will save it.’
Sabina was an unwilling convert initially, but as Richards commitment persisted, her resolve submits after a party where she is confronted by the immorality of her peers.
Whist a third of Romanian Jews were murdered, including 11,000 in one day, Sabina and Richard survive the NAZI years, by loving their neighbours. Her family does not, they are taken to the camps to meet their end, including her young 14 year old brother.
The path of Christianity is marred by demonic institutions, at every turn, but the Wurnbrand’s rise to the occasion, not only to confront their enemies but also to comfort them. Both knew that death was not a fearful transition for them; they had the golden ticket to Heaven, and no-one could snatch away their prize.
In ‘Tortured for Christ’, (the Communist era); a guard that had been torturing Richard see’s him praying, in frustration he yells..
“Your wife (Sabina) is in prison and your son is an orphan, who are you praying for?”
Ken Ham an Australian science teacher that rebuked the evolution theory due to lack of reasonable evidence, wrote ‘The Lie: Evolution/ millions of years‘, in 1987 and was re edited in 2024. He has written over 20 books and been awarded 6 honorary doctorates. He founded the Creation museum ; Answers in Genesis and his most remarkable achievement the Arc Encounter which re-built Noah’s Ark, to scale in Kentucky USA.
The evolution theory that created some humans superior to others, some ‘primitive’ and others ‘evolved’ was founded in the 1800’s, in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. Genesis disputes this claim in its 4000 year old bible, that links us to one family; a premise that DNA supports.
Actual Title of Darwins book
Ham wrote in his book titled ‘A Flood of Evidence’ 2016, that it doesn’t take millions of years to create rock, gemstones or fuel.
“Scientifically, we can prove that it doesn’t take millions of years to form rock”
FLOOD OF EVIDENCE
He lists the examples:
ROCK
concrete
clock found embedded in rock (Washington)
Spark plug found embedded in rock
Ship bell in marine concretion (Vic, AUST)
The petrifying wall of Knarsborough, that turns teddy bears into stone.
PRECIOUS STONES
Apollo Diamonds makes diamonds in days; Lifegems & Petgems turns cremated remains into diamonds and Flame Fusion creates rubies in days.
FUEL
Argonne National Laboratory forms coal in months; Gippsland, Victoria can generate crude oil and natural gas. Crude oil can also be made from sewerage.
The evolution theory of random process, mutations and nothing creating complex life forms that include sophisticated DNA structures is not plausible. Creation came from a creator. A designer of incomprehensible intelligence, functioning outside of time, observing His creation and deciding on its future.
Evidence points to a short Earth time-frame of thousands of years, not millions. Population growth can be historically mapped and its size is relatively small in regard to the vast open spaces through out the Earth. Most major populations are in cities.
Secular scientists deny the flood in favour of the millions of years theory based on their interpretation of fossil records. There are many flaws to their reasoning such as; some records are of animals in the state of eating each other, proving they died instantly and trees extending through layers of the fossil records.
‘Trees make great examples, even though there are others… the tree just sat there for millions of years?’
pg 110, FlOOD OF EVIDENCE
There are over 300 world flood legends in a variety of cultures and the Creation Museum focuses on the Aztecs, the Hawaiians, Chinese, Miao and Tanzania accounts. The Bible links all the populations on the Earth to Noahs family of 8 people, that we are all related to. In Gods estimation, this was the only family that would obtain salvation. DNA supports this claim.
The Arc re-creation was built in 2016, a barge designed to weather the storm and rescue remnants of animal life for future populations. According to the the biblical dimensions it is 510 feet long (approx. 1.5 football fields), 85 feet wide and 51 feet high. It is a 100 million dollar tourist attraction with the largest timber structure in the world.
Gospel ; Matthew account of next Earth transformation.
The Bible explains that God created everything, and that the complex designs of the Earth were created by a the excellence of a Creator.
Science claims there was a big bang (and a puff of smoke) ..like magic.
It takes a lot of faith to believe the scientific version and rationality to understand that someone created something.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book
Love Adelaide March for Life 2025
Individuals sway in the sea of social norms that engulf our thoughts and actions, and we are all victims of our generation. It’s easy to imagine that our choices are random and that the consequences are a future haze, of little consequence. So long as it’s legal!
When the COVID drama was raging, and it seemed right to force, sack and inject; State Governments through-out Australia rushed through legislation without public scrutiny. These included in some states, legally enforced death of elderly, ‘assisted suicide’ and laws that enabled the death of healthy babies on the verge of birth, under ‘abortion’ legislation.
The abortion laws were a major focus of Parliament that aimed to widen existing Abortion Laws boundaries. SALRI (Sth Australian Law Reform Institute) put forth 66 recommendations stating that some of the changes should be no longer classified under Criminal Law and to be treated as a public health issue. SALRI recommended the abortion time limit to be moved to 22 weeks and 6 days. However since the law was passed, incidents of 26 weeks have also occurred.
drjoannahowe.com
The law does not include specific anti-coercion offences. The drive to promote abortion without coercion safety nets seems to allow situations of abuse, without caring about the mental and emotional health of the mother. Therefore a woman could be forced into an abortion and she is not legally protected.
CHINA-ONE CHILD POLICY
In China, enforced pregnacy checks include work places and the Government can force abortions at any stage of pregnancy, including a newly wed’s first born.
All pregnancy’s have to have government pre-approval.
Melbourne had enacted the reform in 2008 and allows the termination of the baby up to 24 weeks ‘on demand’. At 24 weeks the baby is now considered viable, which means they could survive if they were born.
drjoannahowe.com
Abortion comes with medical risks that include infection, bleeding and damage to the womb. It also includes emotional and mental health issues. The uncounted child, a memory that lingers through-out ones life. Society changes, laws adapt but it’s a path of destruction, death , humiliation and stigma.
Guard your life and those unborn, choose your partner wisely and face consequences with courage and faith.
Fortunately we live in a country and community where single mothers are treated with respect which is a positive feature when men cower from responsibility and treat sex as a sport. Human lives are valuable.
In Adelaide, 4000-5000 people took the the streets to ‘stand in the gap’ for the unborn child and mother. A community shares the consequences of unconscionable laws where silence enables evil to flourish.
reference: China policy refer to Insanity of God;RIPKIN Nik pg213
Her urban pilgrimage from Port Melbourne housing commission confinement to an exclusive education at ‘Mac Rob’ and Melbourne Uni and then landing the dream job of working with Charlie Perkins, famous Aboriginal activist and later to be honoured by a retrospective exhibition at the Ian Potter NGV Gallery , for her major role in the Australian Arts. Intelligence, wit and a ‘way of seeing’, enabled Destiny Deacon social mobility and success.
In writing is reads like a Cinderella tale, and yet the ugly sisters racism and sexism left their mark on her perception of self and fuelled her political and artistic roles. Born into a large family with both parents engaged in Aboriginal rights, would have bred a restless spirit in Destiny. Able to throw off the shackles of the housing commission stigma and pass the entrance exam of Mac Robertson high school, would open doors for her future academic role at Melbourne University.
OVER THE FENCE 2000
Despite her intellectual achievements Deacon would be ‘looking over the fence’, not fully assimilated. She had access to the very best of what ‘white society’ offered, but being ‘Blak’, she also shared the inner trauma of a ‘mob’, a community that had been denied, deprived, daunted and desecrated. Working with Charle Perkins would have sharpened her political position, it also introduced her to Perkins daughter Hetti, a NSW Art Gallery Curator. Destiny and Hetti would form a friendship and a working relationship where Deacon was represented by the NSW Gallery collection.
ADOPTION 2000
Her art work is thoughtful and provocative, she coined the term ‘Blak’ and used doll avatars to carry her observations and statements. The dolls are a profound choice, to illustrate the innocence and manipulation of Aboriginal communities and their children. Her work strikes the core nerve of the ‘stolen children’ cruelty, where the emotional damage was ignored, as they were treated as pawns.
The Darwinian experiment of taking children to make them white, was sparked by Darwins visit to Australia in 1836. His theories led to social prejudice, with terms such as ‘primitive’ being used to create a social divide that carved Aboriginal policy. The evolution fantasy, perverted the perception of Aboriginal people to the point that they were regarded as ‘fauna’.
BORDER PATROL 2006
Deacon found her niche in Koorie Kitch and Australiana, as a form of story telling. The exhibition at the NGV Ian Potter Gallery honours her life and her story as an International Artist raised in the streets of Melbourne.
Frank Hurley may have been hired to document historic events, but this limitation would not constrain his desire for interpretation. For Hurley, the photographer, not the camera was the image maker. The camera was his art brush, a mere apparatus.
His haunting images were both spontaneous and constructed. Hurley was accused of manipulating his images to create a reality that was not. His work was both fact and art which blurred his role as documentary maker and story teller.
His major commissions included an Antarctic expedition in 1911 and again in 1914-16 and war photographer for WW1 and WW2. He’s personal adventures took him to Papua New Guinea and as a photo journalist of the Australian landscape. He was also an early film maker for movies.
During the wars, Hurley was assigned as a cameraman to record the dark period in human history, where mutilated bodies littered the landscape. Hurley used black and white, and new colour technology to capture the mayhem.He found that the images didn’t capture the intensity of the drama , therefore he re-created many of the images with composite constructions to emote the event, to a greater height.
No longer documents of the event in reality, he is an expresionist, a borderline surrealist, verging in the realm of romantic horror. The question is, how much enhancement blurs the lines between drama and fiction?
‘To convey the grandeur of the experience, Hurley employed a series of artistic strategies including dramatic re-enactments, the addition of dramatic lighting effects and most contentiously composite photographs, where several negatives were montaged together to convey a more dramatic narrative than that captured in a simple exposure’
Sasha Grishin
Hurley used weather effects to enhance his images, in a way that film employs music to raise the emotional tempo. What his critics labeled as fake within the context of time, may be considered normal practices today. Many Earth images are frequently accused of being composites.
When it came to photographing his own country, his lens was used to idealise the Australian experience, as a place of hope and optimism.
Australian Art, A History Sasha Grishin 2013 / Frank Hurley, The man who made history ABC 2004
‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fades not away, reserved in Heaven for you. Who are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last times.’
Peter 1,3-5
Christmas celebrates Christs birth, and this is a suitable honour to do, as we celebrate sovereigns birthday, albeit the wrong day.
Christ; son of the living God, YHWH, is anointed Judge over our lives. On our last day, we will be face to face with Him, all alone, to give account for our lives, the believing and unbelieving.
Christmas reminds us that a spiritual King has been born, known as the Messiah. Born in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago. For these centuries the WORD has been spread throughout the Earth and we have been given the opportunity to receive the gift of life in His eternal kingdom or not.
The ‘Last Days’ are when the world has ‘gone too far’ in the wrong direction, as the the days of Noah. Our civilisation is like a large structure (idol) that believes it has replaced God, however in the Last Days, an angel would be sent to chop it down, a frightening time called the Great Tribulation.
The false idol of our vanity isn’t worth worshipping as it will never let us be free . The yoke will come (digital identity), a yoke over the mind (media/laws), a yoke over our labour (reduced rights) and a yoke over our children (education). Only a Living God has ears to hear, only a Living God has an army to protect you, only the Living God can give life after death.
The baby born in a stable is now a King in Heaven, awaiting the moment of His return, to judge the nations. The Great Tribulation began on October 7, the match that sets off the nations. After the nations have expressed their stand, the Judgement begins.
‘Goat Nations’ will be handed over to the fullness of demonic depravity. Dramatically, the Earth will crack, wild weather will come and armies will ravish. People will hunger and thirst, not only for food, but for a glimpse of truth, hope and love, the blessings that come from the Living God.
In Judgement, the GOAT Nations will be cast into great darkness as they refuse to repent. The SHEEP Nations that put their trust in the Living God, will be spared the worse of it, as angels will be sent to defend them against a force that desires the death of their bodies and their souls.
Jesus (Yeshua) was born to save, His actual name means salvation.
Is Australia turning into a Goat Nation? If so, brace yourselves, as Hell is on its way. There is time to become a Sheep Nation, begin your return to God this Christmas day and remember Jesus. Those that stand with God (YHWH) will survive the trials and behold the new Eternal Kingdom. A kingdom on Earth to save you and give you a life of love and peace, a home where no evil can touch your soul.
but to those who repent, He permits return and He encourages those who are losing hope.
Frida Kahlo was shackled in a body, and rooted to an artist, that life had chosen for her. She may have aspired to be a doctor, and marry a young man, to have a car load of children; but this was not for her.
“There have been two great accidents my life, one was the trolly, and the other was Diego.”
Her flowing garments distracted the viewer of the restrictions within.
The exhibition celebrates the marriage of a Mexican couple that played definitive roles in the Modern Art movement, that of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Rivera was an artist employed by the communist party to promote the working class and Kahlo became an icon for the feminist movements.
Their marriage was not a happy one due to Diego’ affairs and Frida’s health issues. They divorced after Diego slept with Frida’s sister and reunited after many years of difficulty.
Within the deep loneliness of betrayal, she made a friend of self portrayal, documenting her stoic response to a body was held together, and coming apart, like her marriage; she was on shaky ground. The unsmiling cool demure, and films of Diego shuffling around her like a creative volcano, that was ready to explode, depict the tension.
Despite Frida bravado and staunch feminist tendencies, she was vulnerable to the whims of her husband. Somewhere within this mistress of disguise, was a frail heart, that revolved around her Rivera.
Diago on my Mind 1943 KAHLO
Diego, an accomplished artist, was 20 years her senior, who studied fresco painting in Italy and a was a Mexican art star. As a communist he was interested in the condition of the worker.
Fresco wall art 1932
In his portraits and paintings, we see the ‘lover of persons’, that Frida would have basked in. His sensitive attention to the the subject and ‘eye’ for subtle beauty is enriched in his depictions.
Calla Lily Vendor 1943 RIVERA
It is disappointing that there is no portrait of Frida by Diago, in the exhibition . There is, however a portrait Cristina Kahlo, who betrayed her sister.
Portrait of Cristina 1934 RIVERA
Why should Frida care, she can paint herself. Years of watching her face develop in the mirror over her bed, made her a authority of her image.
Self portrait with necklace 1933 KAHLO
Art, science and a husband could not heal Frida, they just added to her pain. The catholic and communist doctrines could not dress her wounds. Death like a skeleton hovered over her bed, like other South Americans, the dead haunted the living.
The tender call from Heaven, to heal it’s daughter was unheard, her idols were Lenin and Diego. A life without God, as we know it. However as injured as she was, she forgave. She forgave the trolly and she forgave her husband, they married twice.
Both Diego and Frida painted portraits of their Art Patron, Natasha Gelman.
by Frida
Friedas depiction has the intimacy of a woman painting another, with curls that echo the shape of the curlers, as though they are invisible and present. Her face paint, earrings and fur coat are fashionable, without personality and the cold gaze of her eyes, reveals very little of her character. The clothes , like Frida’s costumes, distract us from the truth within. Frida does not depict a content person, the eyes seem to linger on an unhappy memory.
Portrait of Natasha Gelman 1943 RIVERA
In contrast, Rivera’s portrait of Natasha is a much more dramatic and sensual with a statement of glamorous fashion. Frieda painted her with eyes glazed over, but Diego captures a bold and defiant stare. The lily theme re-appears, (refer to the vendors) however when he painted them with the flower traders they were vibrant and dramatic, now they have lost their power, and fade in the customers abode. To Diego, she is a woman of sexual appeal.
The flowers are designed to ornament the patron, she is the principle Lily. her money can buy her a place in a Diego composition, and in return he gets a commission and a champion for his artistic inheritance.
Ironically the capitalist exchange of Art Patron and Client, harnesses Frida and Diego, despite their ideology .The Gelman’s even framed a letter written by Frida begging for money,.. a rather shallow thing to do.
Acclaimed New Zealand Documentary Director, Annie Goldson is a strong formidable countenance and she needs it, as many of her subjects are capable of murder or the victims of the culpable hand. She needs to know when to back off.
Goldson began her career as a Journalist and has ‘inched her way’ into filmmaking. She tackles the hard facts behind the news stream and goes into the bog, looking for the truth. As a political observer she finds her stories ‘everywhere’, she is curious and like Alice in a complex Wonderland, has to adapt quickly. We may wonder why the terrorists are so irate, she takes her team and her camera and asks them. She is a historians torch into the unknown.
He Toki Huna: New Zealand in Afghanistan
Brother Number One, a challenging work, presents from past events of the Cambodian Genocide under Pol Pot.
New Zealander Ron Hamill, the films source, explains how his carefree adventurous brother Kerry ,sailed into a nightmare.
“An innocent man brought to his knees and killed in the prime of his life”Ron Hamill
Goldson records Hamill’s emotional pain as he addresses the torture and death of his sibling at the War Crimes Tribunal.
The mass Genocide that murdered 2,000,000 ( a 1/4 of the population) was led by a ‘charismatic and smiling’ leader Pol Pot who was indifferent to the torture of babies. In 1975. He led the Kamor Rouge into Nu Pen and in 72 hours he had cleared the city of its inhabitants and sent them to work in labour camps, to grow rice that he would export as the population died of hunger, overwork or beating.
“Documentaries are always a challenge.” Goldson
Her films are intense political dramas that set the stage and cast its light into the ‘heart of darkness.’ Her other well-known films that she Directed are; Punitive Damage and An Island Calling
All photo’s courtesy of Annie Goldson film extracts.
Despite the age of the novel, its potent warning remains.
Orwell wrote the book in 1948, but it’s most relevant to those born in 1984 as the days of surveillance are upon us. ‘Big brother is watching’. Ironically Steve Jobs included a clip of the movie when Apple launched the Mac, in 1983. 1984 and the internet age coincide and determine the possibility of life imitating art.
Many of us read 1984 at school, a few of us saw the movie and though it’s been dormant for a decade or two, it resurfaces in a blaze.
Written as a Sci-fi, he wrote it based on events he witnessed as a Colonial Policeman in Burma. He never went to university and was not author previously, but what he wrote continues to resonate through time.
‘Why was he writing it? For the future, for the unborn’ (1984)
In ‘1984’, war is prolific, slavery, torture and imprisonment without trial, are common and fear abounds. The population is constantly aware that they are being watched and denied privacy.
He explains that ‘double speak’ is talk that reframes negative terms as positive and this language is used to subvert and confuse the masses.
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength
Orwell knew the exploitation of power as he saw it first hand, as an inflicter, not a victim. He had used a female slave as a house companion, enforced cruelty and led men to their deaths. 1984 was to purge the pain of his conscience and to warn the innocent.
‘The hate had started.’ Orwell
1984
“To hold the population down by force, I was in the police, which is to say. I was part of the machinery” Orwell
Although Orwell engaged in an evil authority he could not digest it, it disturbed him and led him to undermine his future life in acts of penance. 1984 was written to warn the innocent and to have hope that a future he saw could be prevented.
“ I watched a man hang once …… I didn’t realise what it meant to destroy a healthy conscious man…cutting a life short when it is in full tide, this man was not dying, he was alive, just as we were alive. He and we were a party of men, seeing, hearing and feeling, understanding the same world and in two minutes one of us would be gone” Orwell
Today young children play killing games, in their rooms on their computers. Some of the video games are rich in realism which makes the malice more personal; some are playing on Defence websites that observe their results for recruiting purposes. Many parents adopt the slogan, ‘Ignorance is Strength.’
‘So vicious was the boys demeanor it was hardly a game, it was frightening like tiger-cubs that will grow into man eaters … Mrs Parsons eyes flitted nervously from Winston to the children and back again….they do get noisy, she said. They’re disappointed because they couldn’t get to see the hanging, I’m too busy to take them.’ 1984
Orwell like Vincent Van Gogh walked away from his middle class life to become ‘down and out in Paris and London’, as a hobo he hoped to rid himself of the imperialist past that haunted him.
According to Orwell, war is ‘double think’, it is to use the product of the machine without producing goods. It is designed to strip human resources so those that have absolute power, can enjoy power.
If people live hungry and are overworked, even when it is easy for all to live well, it serves cruelty. Orwell explains in 1984 that there is a surplus of resources and all are able to live well but this is contrary to the desires of the ruling class.
‘The slave population allow the continuous tempo of war to be sped up …the primary aim of warfare is to use up the products of the machine without raising the general standard of living, the problem of what to do with the surplus’ 1984
They took all the treesPut 'em in a tree museumAnd they charged the peopleA dollar and a half just to see 'emDon't it always seem to goThat you don't know what you've gotTill it's goneThey paved paradiseAnd put up a parking lot
Surrealism was born during the lunch break between the wars, a century ago. What had become of the precious Earth, of life. Nothing made sense anymore. The bombing catastrophes of crushed homes and disfigured people. Normal life was a nightmare and people couldn’t talk openly anymore, so surrealism became a language also; a visual code.
In 2009 the NGV hosted the Dali exhibition ‘Liquid Desire’ and the most haunting and disturbing painting was Mountain Lake (1938). The painting captured the helplessness of what was coming.
The backstory was that the communications between Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister; and Adolf Hitler were cut, leading into the horrific 2nd War. Dali’s works are full of crutches, just as Melbourne artist John Brack’s shop windows, are of artificial limbs, for the war veterans that came home.
The war broke out in 1914, but before the turn of the Century the Pre-Rapaelites were encouraging people to return to nature.
What will the artists say now. Apartments have become prison cells. We need to think in our isolation, where Australia will be in the future. Not just for us, but for all of us.
During the recess of WW1 and WW2, could the German Jewish war veterans that fought for the German Army, have imagined that a new war was coming, that would destroy them, if it could. In those day’s Europe folded, now they follow the piper. These are new days.
In the second war, some unlikely alliances rose to survive; England, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and the Old Commonwealth; then the Americans came to fight. As these quarters rested, new wars brewed and we often wonder, who lit the match. The Asian wars, the African wars and the Middle East. Nation against nation. Weapons, Hired Guns and Slaves are a thriving enterprise and someone is making a profit.
Refugees; homeless, all full of anxiety, rock in the ocean and await angry shores for a smile, a wave and a welcome new home. Could it be you, will it be you?
How do you prepare for war? Who are our friends, who is a spy? If the bully fails, are we safer or worse off? Do our blind guides know where they are going?
Will the garden idols save us? Who are the hired hands fighting for? Don’t lose your head, stay calm; why should we care?
How do you prepare for war? Will your house survive? Where will you hide? What will you wear? Can you make a fire, or plant a garden when the fuel and food are gone. Who will you pray too, when the bombs fall? Ask a refugee and ask how they survived a war.
There are 2 concepts of the Globe or Orb, that we live in. Most scientists claim that we live on Earths surface and the ancients believed, that we are within an enclosed structure known as the firament. In 1958 the the physicist James Van Allen discovered the ‘ceiling’ was made from radioactive particles, it became known as the Van Allen Belt.
The Belt region has posed an obstacle for those hoping to travel into the high regions and has been a serious blow to the advancement of the Space race. Debate and suspicion regarding the integrity of the moon landings was reconsidered and weighed up against the level of damage the craft and astronauts would have suffered if they went through it. Most satellites drift around in lower orbit.
In 1962, Scientists went to the Pacific to test its nuclear capacity by setting off rockets into the sky, it was known as Operation Fishbowl. Hundred’s of atomic explosions were hurled into space, during this era, making the islands below uninhabitable and causing unknown levels of destruction beneath the sea. It seems as though the rockets exploded below the Belt, however the Ring of Fire in the Pacific region has an unstable ocean floor, the plates can shift, creating earthquakes, tsunamis and setting off volcanoes in the vicinity.
In 2012 Scientists sent up the Radiation Belt Storm probe that was later renamed the Van Allen probe, it has been analysing the Belt with the intention to make way for future space missions. Ultimately the objective is to make a way through it. The data is currently being analysed with the hope of piercing it for Moon and Mars missions. It is seen as an obstacle, not a necessity.
Should the Space projects continue without a public ethics commission to assess the risks involved. Currently we are dealing with a leaking nuclear plant in Japan due to a earthquake and tsunami. Has the Ring of Fire damage been fully assessed after the last experiments. If they rip a hole in the Van Allen belt what will happen? Nobody seriously knows, but it can’t be good for the environment. Maybe it will rock the Earth off its axis so it swings like a drunk person. Maybe space debris will come hurling down with meteorites of fire or ice. What will the next generation inherit if we remain complacent.
Jerusha Mather is an enduring voice of equality for disabled students seeking access into courses that they are grossly underrepresented in. Her personal journey began in Sri Lanka, where at birth, the doctors told her parents that she would never walk or talk, later she was officially diagnosed with cerebral palsy. In Australia, she received strenuous and heavy therapy and began to see drastic improvements in her physical heath.
“I was able to walk and talk – although it was not perfect, it was something of a miracle to me.”
At school, she joined the advanced maths group and was invited to participate in a statewide maths tournament. She was a Kwong Lee Dow Scholar at Melbourne University and the first to become social justice captain in high school however during her VCE exams, she was not given appropriate support.
“I was not even offered a scribe which made things challenging for me”
Despite the odds, Mather was accepted into a Biomedical Science Degree at Victoria University, a step closer to fulfilling her plan to become a Doctor.
Gender equality that has enabled women to become medical professionals has given female patients access to female doctors that share similar anatomy and conditions. For disabled patients, the opportunity to benefit from a truly empathetic doctor in a similar situation is highly unlikely.
“I believe it is because of, and not in spite, of my disability that I will make an excellent candidate to become a doctor. I have a sense of empathy unmatched by my colleagues, understanding of life with a chronic health condition and remarkable patience.”
As a patient, Mather has experienced the spectrum of health care professionals, the good and bad. She is motivated to be part of a generation of doctors where communication and compassion are paramount tools. Mather drew inspiration from the recognised and notable work of Dr Janice Brunstrom; a paediatric neurologist in the USA who has cerebral palsy.
“My career aspirations are also in neurology, though her dedication to her profession, continuous development, and desire to utilise her disability to her advantage have been a true motivational force for me.” Mather
Disability effects a high proportion of the community yet most have been denied pathways to medical training due to both direct and indirect discrimination by educational authorities. In some instances, disability discrimination is overt and direct; in others, it is founded on lack of knowledge of disability issues and inclusion practices. By law, educational facilities are to make ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ for their disabled students however the definition is vague and broad.
Curriculum adaptation needed; curriculum limited; or curriculum needs not addressed. Components of courses or post-qualification employment not accessible HumanRights.gov.au
Not enough has been done regarding curriculum needs and adaptation for people with disability. Academic courses for general qualifications contain areas that such a student with cannot complete or access. This creates difficulties with enrolment (advice and information issues), with granting qualifications or accreditation, and with post-qualification work or profession.
“There are still quite a few internal barriers for someone like me who wants to become a doctor. One of the major barriers is passing the GAMSAT. Now Section 2 is quite straight forward because I can type that section. Nonetheless, section 1 and 3 requires a fair bit of handwriting which is extremely difficult for me to complete. I think there is an unrealistic expectation for people with a physical disability to do it all in their head, which is merely impossible given the nature and complexity of such a test. I do not think that this is the only concern here, every student must undertake an interview, in which I fear the possibility of discrimination.”
Due to ACER, being an independent organization, students with disability do not get appropriate funded disability support to help them prepare for the required tests. Students with disability require a levelled playing field, where all get the same chance.
“Although the university was very supportive, we did find it difficult, however, to source appropriate academic support staff. Thus, some of my academic support workers came late to class. Some of them did not write quality notes. Some did not facilitate my independence. Some did not understand what was required of them. Admittedly, it was a bit disappointing to see.
One of the most hurtful experiences I have ever had was when a doctor (with a disability) suggested I should be a ‘grocer’. He was the last person I expected to hear it from. I also had a lot of online trolls saying negative things about me. I was bullied a lot by past mentors and GAMSAT tutors.”
Mather believes that there are various specialties that a person with a disability can display excellent competence in and demonstrate safe clinical practices such as pathology, radiology, rehab medicine and general practice.
“I am completing my honors in biomedical sciences at RMIT University this year and am hoping to do further research, but I hope that one day, I will be serving you as a doctor.”
Please sign my petition here to produce an alternative pathway for prospective medical students with disability:
“What it is to be human ……..Art really did matter, not to escape, but fundamentally to reflect and improve society.”S. Grishin
Sydney heavy-weight, art star Brett Whitely is ‘put in the ring’ with an obscure Melbourne, printmaker and sculptor George Baldessin at the Ian Potter, Federation Square Gallery. The shared show is ‘Parallel Visions’, however apart from sharing a generation and meeting Francis Bacon, there is very little to link them. A fairer state rival for the brash Sydney-sider, may have been the dark and menacing Peter Booth. It is an excellent exhibition and for Whitely fans, the collection of his work spanning his wanderings with line and continents, is intriguing and includes the English Christie series; the American Dream and hometown Bondi and the Harbour.
The exhibition remembers the career of Baldessin that was cut short when the artist died young in a car accident. The prints are the highlight of his work and invite the viewer to linger over the subtle details. The NGV reminds locals of an artist that could have fallen into obscurity, his work remains relevant in our generation embracing the inward, awkward Melbournian disposition. The subtle compositions have a haunting beauty.
Whiteley’ bold and confident work reads like a visual autobiography, tracing the influences and mood of the time. The Christie murders reek of Bacon’s violet influence and remains as some of his strongest work in form and colour. The American Dream that creates a (hotel) room within a room, is scarred with a haphazard spray of lipstick red, not typical of his earlier paintings. Although the area is cluttered with detail, there is a startling emptiness in the work, that may have been why the Americans rejected it; maybe it struck to close into the New York bone.
When Whitely returns to Australia he is crushed, dispirited and convicted and in need of a BEX to sooth his aching head. Lazing on the beach and staring out into the harbour restores the man and the artist, bringing forth some of his most recognisable work such as ‘Evening coming in on Sydney Harbour’ 1975. Whitely travelled far and wide, to come home with fresh eyes.
The show stopping art storm is fixated on capturing the Melbourne imagination with no expense spared, and this year it is free.
The journey starts and ends in the Moroccan coffee house but our focus is on the second floor, up the Reko Rennie elevator, an elevator that is part of the Galleries structure; not imported. From the Australian Aboriginal world, without excess to the post-communist decadance, up the spine into the heart and soul of the human mind.We arrive at the GOU PEI exhibit, a Chinese Fabric Artist that engineers her Masterpieces, stitch by stitch, bead upon bead, golden thread and a mantle of dreams. Inspired by an ancient past with dresses that would inspire the Pope. Her exhibit arrived in Melbourne, as precious as the Emperors Palace treasures and is located in the eye of the TRIENNIAL storm at the NGV.
Pei claims her work denies what it succumbs to, human vanity. Heart, soul and creativity, with a barrage of craftsmen on the floor, and this has happened before, in Dynasties past, a royal glass slipper for the ball. Rhianna , contemporary Diva, herald in the Artist at the Met Gala, formally the Costume Institute Gala, in New York.
The NGV hive, houses the Queen in an exhibition that begins in a blaze of glory.
Like Michelangelo, one can imagine that she is ripe for Vatican success.
The NGV has gone wild, Curated by Simon Maidment’s team, a wonderland passing from one installation to another, a mind altering experience of Art.
As art-life drifts out of the fringe into the mainstream an unholy alliance bridges the gap between today and tomorrow. The current stream sedating, a war brewing.
Guo Pei couture
Mueck’s sculptures
It’s an epic bombardment, a Cultural revolution in it’s full thrust of life bordering on the ruin of decadance. Ron Mueck explores the human condition and its vulnerability in the wake of God-like delusions.
Artist, Mel O’Callaghan explores these questions through her dramatic Video Art currently on display at NGV Australia. Resistance and endurance is a rite of passage each of us will pass through eventually, a relative condition at every age.
Ensemble within the NGV space is cinematic, with life-size actors in a war-like water-battle. O’Callaghan uses the violence of the force to explore existence. It is when we let go , that life spirals and the body is swept away.
‘What a single body is capable of when enduring a voluntarily experience of duress is a powerful thing to behold’ Callaghan
Australian O’Callaghan lives in Paris and gave a live performance at the Serralves, taking it out of the dark theatre space and into the light of day.
O’Callaghan considers the body as a vehicle of ‘imposed labour’. The resistance of a ballet dancer perhaps or an underpaid worker forcing him/herself out of bed? Consider the Soldier preparing for death, or worse. Each day we battle, not to win, just to remain standing.
‘To fall, to begin again which is where the virtuous aspect comes into violence. It’s not being purely negative but rather a creative force’ O’Callaghan
Her work also relates to the Political and Economic climax point that is coming into focus.
‘…. those mounting feelings of deep despair that force acts of extremism’
On a mild Winter weekend, Melbourne’s Music elite came together to honour the songs of Bob Dylan before a full house at the Memo in St Kilda. Friday night was dedicated to acoustic Bob and on Saturday night, it was electric Bob.
The ‘All-Star’ back up band, consisting of Benny Franz, Stephen Hadley, Ben Wiesner , and Shane O’Mara , melted seamlessly into each other, but it was guitar legend O’Mara that stole the night with his stella performance. It was a group of musicians fit for the honoured legend himself.
Who is Bob Dylan? Songwriter, Poet or Prophet; Jew or Christian? His lyrics resonated with the crowd that held resolute with dignified appreciation of the words and the artists. Loud talkers were quickly hushed.
Come gather ’round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone. If your time to you Is worth savin’ Then you better start swimmin’ Or you’ll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin’. Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide The chance won’t come again And don’t speak too soon For the wheel’s still in spin And there’s no tellin’ who That it’s namin’. For the loser now Will be later to win For the times they are a-changin’. Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don’t stand in the doorway Don’t block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled There’s a battle outside And it is ragin’. It’ll soon shake your windows And rattle your walls For the times they are a-changin’. Come mothers and fathers Throughout the land And don’t criticize What you can’t understand Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command Your old road is Rapidly agin’. Please get out of the new one If you can’t lend your hand For the times they are a-changin’. The line it is drawn The curse it is cast The slow one now Will later be fast As the present now Will later be past The order is Rapidly fadin’. And the first one now Will later be last For the times they are a-changin’.
Each vocalist made his songs their own and each captivated the audience. Liz Stringer was haunting, almost gothic as her lone figure shone in the darkness etching the words and reaching into the void. Song-bird Lisa Miller was mesmerizing and thrust the show forward, her talent is palpable. Chris Wilson’s scratchy soul voice penetrated into the mind of the listener, like a dark cry and ‘Raised by Eagles’ duo Luke and Nick raised the tempo with a bit of rockabilly. All of the vocalists on the night where exceptional.
A memorable evening.
Audience response.
“Shane O’Mara is a Melbourne music legend and of Liz Stringer, you need to get her last two albums.
George Orwell’s 1984 , adapted by Robert Icke & Duncan Macmillan, is currently playing at the Comedy Theatre.
‘You don’t have to be an expert to know that Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year.”
Unwriting people, removing words, controlling thoughts was Orwell’s dismal view of the future. The play explores the tragic demise of the human spirit with brutal clarity.
Tom Conroy as Winston
Winston played by Tom Conroy, is man of fear that falls prey to the Party machinery by daring to hope. His Partner in crime, the fierce and splendid Julia (Ursula Mills) is a vision that bursts into his life to set it ablaze for a brief moment.
O’Brien (Terrence Crawford) Winston (Tom Conroy) & Julia (Ursula Mills)
The wooden interiors and costumes seem reminiscent of the 50’s when the book was written, a generation looking through the keyhole of the condition of the world in 1984. There are no clumsy cream PC’s or the continuous screening of the Iran- Iraq war that dominated our tv’s, in the 80’s. In its essence, the rich nostalgic settings creates a longing for something personal and contrasts the horror of The Ministry of Love.
The Cast, in 2 minutes of Hate
The acting,direction and effects are flawless. Fiona Press as Mrs Parsons is formidable, by merely stirring a caldron, she captivates a mood that seeps onto the stage.
The Lighting (Natasha Chivers), Sound (Tom Gibbons) and Video Designer (Tim Reid) are major players in the production and carry the full power and might of Big Brother. It’s a beautifully crafted masterpiece, the sets have amazing attention to detail and border on the sublime.
Paul Blackwell , Terence Crawford & Tom Conroy
Audience response:
“Nothing is believable, everything is manipulated, it’s unfortunate for humanity”
Do you think the play has any relevance to you? MP
“Which agencies are believable and which aren’t , its awful and in the end all you have is your own soul and that’s ripped apart as well.”
So what did you think about the play?
“It’s done amazingly well , there is nothing held back”
Would you recommend it?
“Very much , I want the world to see it”.
Some audience members had to leave midway in the final act, it is confronting.
This Charming Man, the very affable Matt Stewart draws in a full house as he gives a ‘Dry’ dose of ‘Very Dry’ at The Chinese Museum in Chinatown. He has taken his routine out of The Fringe and into the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, for a fresh round of laughs.
Getting to the venue is half the adventure, up the street hustle of Chinatown and into the historic site that sets the tone for the nights event. Stewart is unassuming, able to ‘break your guard’ whist never pouncing..
The key to his art is his unflinching delivery as he stares into the bright lights that veil the audience. He promises to give ‘A pretty Good Show ‘ It’s most likely one of the top ‘Pretty Good Shows’ on the circuit.
Even though Matt’s not your mate, he could be. With comic cool he creates a friendly rapport as he spins absurd Aussie tales and butters it with wacky wisdom. He is edgy with a blunt delivery. ,
As a Caped Crusader, Stewarts superpower is to engage, indulge and transfix.
“It’s always been about sharing stories, identity loss and grief, determination , imagination , self belief, cultural integrity, hope and justice, reliance , cultural pride, and more than anything it’s about my people’s survival of spirit.” Hill
Noongar woman, Sandra Hill was a stolen Aboriginal child that was forced into foster care at the age of seven by the Australian Government due to the Assimilation Policy that was still active in 1958. Four children were removed from their mother’s house, they included her self , her two sisters and a brother. They were the 3rd generation of children removed from this family line.
‘In 1994 Hill was employed as the Aboriginal Community Cultural Officer. During this period she applied for, and was awarded, a Creative Development Fellowship from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts. This afforded her the time to carry out research relating to her life experiences as a member of the Stolen Generations’ (extract from Design & Art Australia on-line)
Hill’s work is held in many private collections and is also represented in Major Art Galleries throughout Australia, currently her mixed media work “Beyond the Pale’ is on display at the NGV Ian Potter Gallery at Federation Square in the Australian Art Exhibition. She explores domestic labor as part of the ‘Assimilation Project’.
In the past, Domestic colleges were set up to train poor white girls and ‘half-caste’ Aboriginal children to attend to the needs of the wealthy.
‘In the early issues of Home Beautiful there was a feeling of nostalgia for the passing of an age in which almost everyone in the middle and upper classes could afford to keep a live-in maid. Even at the turn of the century , architects and designers were discussing the ‘servant problem’ and trying to come up with ways to help women face a future without servants’The Australian Home Beautiful, from Hills Hoist to High Rise.
NGV
ref: page 73, Household Help: The Servant Problem. The Australian Home Beautiful from Hills Hoist to High Rise Hardie Grant Books Oliver J.
One woman is murdered, every week in Australia by her spouse. It’s an alarming statistic. The White Ribbon campaign is designed to inform the nation of this serious dilemma. This is a national, male led campaign to end violence against women. Globally, White Ribbon is active in more than sixty countries.
White Ribbon Ambassadors advocate themselves to protect women. They come from all walks of life and include former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Within our community men are adding their names to the growing list.
Mick Doleman, Deputy National Secretary of the Maritime Unions, for 43 years, spoke to Melbourne Press in regard to his commitment to this cause.
Mike attributes his moral compass to the early influences of his life. He came from a strong family. At 15, he became a sailor and mixed with a breed of men that he deeply respected. He emulated himself on these early role models. The men were smart in worldly affairs and possessed a great respect for women, aboriginals and other nationalities. They spoke up against racism.
In 1978, Mike was aboard the Blythe Star when it sank, off the east coast of Tasmania. He was 18 years old and spent 11 days with ten men, on a life boat where three died before they were rescued.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” he claims.
In 1984 he became the Assistant Branch Secretary of the Seamen’s Union of Australia. He was the first person in the Maritime Industry to establish a sexual harassment policy. He has been honored as the White Ribbon Ambassador of the year, for two years.
“Government’s have to put massive resources in place and police need to be trained in how to deal with domestic issues” Mr Doleman states.
Many children are traumatized by domestic violence. By recognizing the seriousness of abusive relationships, lives can be saved through intervention. Through the White Ribbon campaign, men have become united to protect women.
We arrive at the GOU PEI exhibit, a Chinese Fabric Artist that engineers her Masterpieces, stitch by stitch, bead upon bead, golden thread and a mantle of dreams. Inspired by an ancient past with dresses that would inspire the Pope. Her exhibit arrived in Melbourne, as precious as the Emperors Palace treasures and is located in the eye of the TRIENNIAL storm at the NGV.
melbourne press 