THE IRON ORCHID: Aung San Suu Kyii film, "The Lady"

I have just seen this wonderful and touching film, the story of the leader of Burma's Pro-Democracy Movement for over some three and a half decades. The film was panned by the critics, but it is the critics who should be panned and banned from daring to so downgrade this wonderful human story and a film about such an important leader and her people.This film depicts not only the family's struggle that this heroine had and still has to endure, but also the people's struggle for freedom and human rights in that poor but beautiful Buddhist country in the middle of Asia.

I feel that the film was instigated by her British-born  children for their late father, Professor Michael Aris to give the world his and their side of the story and their father's devotion to this unbelievably brave lady whom they adore and who her husband seems to have dubbed "the iron orchid". As much as I was not happy with the film of that other leader, "The Iron Lady" and the way poor Margaret Thatcher's current Altzheimer situation was highlighted in that film, I and Ernie absolutley loved the way Suu, her struggle and her family were depicted in this film.

My personal interest in Aung San Suu Kyii's plight goes back a long way. In the mid 1990s when I was ICJW Vice President for Australia and Suu was first placed under house arrest, I contacted her husband in England with the idea of getting an international women's movement to take up her cause via the UN and the Commission on the Status of Women. I got his address from the British Consul (a funny story in itself, see later) and when he replied he asked me not to proceed as he felt that too much attention would jeopardise her position even further. So obviously I did not go on with this project, but in the film it shows how much he apparently worked internationally to try to influence the Burmese junta to release her.

The Burmese Generals' cruelty and inhumanity towards her and particularly towards her supporters would be unbelievable, but for the fact that I am far too familiar with plenty of other similar despotic regimes and their inhuman and inhumane behaviour towards their fellow countrymen,- still going on today there and in plenty of other places as well! The actors, particularly 'Suu' bear an unbelievable resemblance to the real people. Many of the scenes were authentic from the era and even some more contemporary as from today,- the credits at the end testify to the courage of some of the journalists responsible for these.

RE MY CONTACTS WITH THE BRITISH CONSUL AND HIS WIFE IN MELBOURNE AT THE TIME OF THE ABOVE.
The NCJW Victorian premises happened to be adjacent to a UNICEF office manned by volunteers. One of the volunteers was the wife of the British Consul who walked in one day curious to see what NCJW was all about. She came from Leeds and mentioned she had many Jewish acquaintaces there. Then one day we got a phone call  to ask how she can get in touch with our leadership as she had a request from a British wife of a Parliamentarian visitng Melbourne with her husband, to meet "the Jewish fraternity" in Melbourne. They happened to belong to a Parliamentary group, "Friends of Israel" and she wanted to make some contacts with like minded people here.

It happened to be at the time not only Good Friday, but like this year, also the eve of Passover when I got the call from our office asking me what to do about it. When I rang back to the Consul's wife to try and explain that while we are part of the "Jewish sorority, rather than fraternity', nevertheless most of the Jewish community cannot officially partake of foods that were not specifically Kosher during the week of the Passover 8-day religious holiday! Oh, she said,- no problem. Just tell me what to make,- I want you to come for lunch and my caterer will make whatever you want him to prepare.

Since that was still not OK, I suggested to her our Kosher caterer who then would bring his own crockery and cutlery and then everything would be fine for those in our community who are strictly observant. So it came to pass that about 8 NCJW senior members, together with the Consul's wife and her VIP English guest ( a member of a distinguished business family) sat down to a full Kosher catered Passover lunch in the beautiful dining room of the British Consul's home in Toorak.

After that we became firm friends while they were stationed in Melbourne. They attended many of the formal functions at NCJWV. Then one day we received an invitation to sponsor them while they were embarking on a farewell driving holiday around Victoria, by guessing the number of miles/kms. they would cover, with the first prize a whole case of Irish whisky! Guess what,- she turned up on my doorstep one morning with half a case, i.e 6 bottles of the best whisky,- I tied for first prize! She continued writing to some of us for a while from their next posting in China, saying how much they missed us all in Melbourne!

Watching the film about this warm human story,-a tragic yet uplifting saga of a family destined for sacrifice and greatness, I could not help but be very moved. I pray for Aung San Suu Kyii and her people who seem to be a very nice and gentle, warm people made up of various tribal cultures, that they may eventually succeed to achieve that which we all wish for ourselves,- to live in peace and freedom.

GOD & RELIGION or Godless Religion!

MEDIA RELEASE
13 April 2012

Atheist Alliance International congratulates the 2012 Global Atheist Convention, A Celebration of Reason

The 2012 Global Atheist Convention, A Celebration of Reason will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre this weekend, 13 - 15 April.

Arranged and hosted by the Atheist Foundation of Australia, A Celebration of Reason will feature some of the world's leading atheist speakers including Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Ben Elton and Eugenie Scott.

Atheist Alliance International will be represented at the Convention by Tanya Smith, President, and Victor Franco, Director. Tanya Smith said "With thousands attending, this will be the largest atheist convention ever, anywhere. Followed by atheist conventions in the Philippines, Canada and Germany over the next month or so, A Celebration of Reason is a leading example of atheists being visible, organised and saying 'the damage done to our society by religion has got to stop'. It will be a fantastic weekend of rational thought and a unique opportunity to hear from this group of world-class speakers."
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TWO MILLENIA OF GUILT RESULTED IN CARDINAL PELLS' FAUX PAS on Q&A!

ABC'S TV progam Q&A featured leading UK atheist, Richard Dawkins and the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Pell debating "GOD"!

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The Jewish community was rightly up in arms at the way Cardinal Pell referred to the Jews as 'culturally inferior' at the time of The Exodus as featured in the Bible and more tellingly he avoided answering re where was God during the Holocaust,- answering instead that 'no people suffered more than the Germans'!!!

In defence of Cardinal Pell though on Q&A, it must be understood that the issue being debated was “God”,- not the Jews or the Holocaust.

Asking for an explanation is one thing, attacking the Archbishop as the community did in the pages of the Australian Jewish News for his off-the cuff comments in that testing environment is another.

Given the guilt carried by the Christian Churches and doubtlessly well understood by the Archbishop re the teachings of the Catholic Churches in particular for over 2 thousand years about supposed  ‘Jewish guilt’ over ‘deicide’, how could he turn around and ‘blame God’ for not protecting the Jews in the Holocaust?

It was obvious that Cardinal Pell tried to infer that the evil perpetrators,- i.e. the ‘suffering Germans’ not Christianity ,- were punished severely (by God!)

He asserted that Hitler and the Nazis were atheists like Stalin and the Communists,  not Christians, - which Dawkins strongly refuted!

 Let’s face it,- our continued Jewish survival and now our thriving national identity in Israel must be a source of deep embarrassment not only to Christianity but to all those who want to claim that only their religious belief systems are the pure road to salvation for humankind.

Trying to counter Dawkins’ taunts re ‘proof’ for the religious’ claims of a heaven for their followers and hell for non-believers like the atheists (and Jews!), was obviously making Cardinal Pell quite uncomfortable,- as it should have. But I think he did quite well in defending the indefensible on behalf of his religion.

 However, he came across very uncomfortable and not at all convinced about his own, let alone God’s and religion’s role in society today!

I don’t think he should have accepted to come onto the Q&A program on that topic. He is in enough trouble over the Church’s role in the sex scandals permeating over decades in their schools

Should we not reserve our Jewish media attacks for real enemies and anti-Semites.-  so we may not be accused of crying wolf too often in our multicultural democracy? In my opinion, we should have dialogue with those from other faiths whom we would not wish to alienate.

Re the existence or not of a God,- i.e the belief systems enshrined in all the religions supporting such a mythical being looking over us mortals,- I do not see that there need to be a conflict. If it is comforting for people who are suffering to believe in this almighty supremo or God is there to help them,- then why not give them that support. Atheism is OK for the realists,- and as one myself and a scientist I do not submit to this belief in  a real God existing somewhere up there in heaven.

However, I do like to say 'please God' when I wish for something good to happen or something bad not to happen! Why not? On the other hand, there is also millenia of Jewish tradition that has little to do with having to believe,- it is part of our culture and it is what our communities are all about.

What I certainly do not subscribe to and in that I probably have this in common with the atheists,- is to be told by humans,- partyicularly as usual it is always the MEN,- who try to scare their flock with fire and brimstone if they do not subscribe to their particular belief system. Moreover, they then impose severe punishments, sometimes to death, if whatever they order to do and how to behave is not followed to the letter! That is what the organized religions try to do sometimes to extreme!

If religion is a sop to the masses, particularly the uneducated masses, as the Communists believe, then so be it. Misuse of religion however, leading to ethnic persecution of its non-adherents and ethnic cleansing for the non-believers will hopefully disappear from the face of the earth,- together with those who try to impose it on the weak and unscrupulous followers.