The Battle of Mt Ainslie cast into sharper definition.

The Levellers and New Model Army? I’ve seen ’em both. Crap Punk/Folk…

Ok, can anyone tell me what time kick off is for this event?

And if I bring my ghetto blaster does anyone object to having “Theme from Suspiria*,” by Goblin played?

*The singular most frightening piece of music ever recorded.

There isn’t a misconception about the Roundheads, Johnboy. The Levellers may at one time have constituted a large part of the New Model Army (without really ever ‘filling’ it), but only as rank and file troops who were often brutally suppressed by the army’ Grandees. Indeed the one Leveller in a real position of power, John Lilburne, resigned his commission as a sign of dissent at having to sign the Solemn League and Covenant, an act which, as I’m sure you’re aware, was drawn up to protect the presbytarian Church in Scotland in order to get Scottish military assistance to balance the feared influx of Irish Catholic troops rumoured to be joining the royalist cause. Despite professing a desire to support freedom of religious choice, many Levellers signed this covenant, giving the Parliamentary side the impetus it needed to carry on the fight.

Which, of course, led to the Commonwealth, and years of religious intolerance, Cromwell’s excesses in Ireland and the persecution of the liberal arts in England, which was my original point.

Giving this “event” any attention at all is just encouraging them. Will be a long way away from the “action” thankfully.

#12 I totally agree. As much I would love to go up there and join the action, I know these people (who I choose to call fruitloops) will just lap up all the attention, especially if there are cameras around. I think it would be better to not give this group any “oxygen”. This doesn’t mean I agree with them. It’s a free country, they can express their (ridiculous imo) views.
Hopefully it rains, or whatever, there must something we could do to distract the slavering media away from these clowns. Trouble is this is being reported elsewhere (eg SMH). It’s a news winner, loonies + Canberra. just be normal, very normal.

I think everyone is entilted to their own opinons, paster Danny can keep his to himself, I wounder if he is going to perform an exocison lol, anyone willing

…all I can say about this is…’these pretzels are making me thirsty’…right…have I got your attention?

…about this pastor and his band of merry men…who gives a flying f**k?!!!

To briefly address the misconceptions about the roundheads.

Cromwell’s later excesses shouldn’t detract from what the likes of the levellers who filled his armies were fighting for.

Which was equality before the law and the freedom to worship in a manner of their own choosing.

As to the defenders of pastor danny, intolerance is the one thing that a tolerant society can never brook.

If he wants to stay in Dandenong with his trailer trash then more power to him, but he’s not, so he needs to be opposed.

I’m not going to be setting dates or times, someone else will have to provide the leadership there.

Idiots doing the talking is not the problem. The problem is when clever people do the talking and the idiots do the listening.

I’d take free speech over people who think they know better than everyone else regulating things.

Banning the voicing of thoughts and ideas is a very slippery slope. Do you want people to ban things because you don’t have the ability to do your own critical thinking or ability to make good choices?

Think about what the prevailing attitudes were with respect to womens rights, racism, etc 100 or even fewer years ago. I’m sure a lot of people would have liked to ban the freedom of speech around the civil rights movement (to take an American example).

Mount Ainslie is a lovely and peaceful place to walk of an afternoon … home to roos, wallabies, echidnas and shy birds. It is also a place where you can quietly contemplate the Kokoda Track replica, or look down Anzac Parade and enjoy the view of the city. I don’t think it’s a good idea to wreck the vibe that the tourists and walkers enjoy, and that keeps the stress to wildlife minimal …

Jenna57 said :

Aah, free speech. Something we only accept when others agree with our point of view? (tongue frimly in cheek)

The Commonwealth has passed no law expressly defining or protecting freedom of speech of citizens.
The ACT has a terrible piece of cuddlefluff legislation, the Human Rights Act.
(Which only affects public authorities, in any case)

This is a question of tolerance vs intolerance.
It all depends on where you want to draw a line for tolerating an intolerant attitude, to the extent of potentially condoning hate speech and fostering vilification.
A completely tolerant society risks of permitting those who are intolerant, and allowing movements to grow which foster further intolerance.

If your version of ‘tolerance’ is that tolerance is a warm, woolly, feel-good attitude,
and includes ‘anything goes’, you’re already a willing victim of somebody reframing the definition in their favour to your own detriment.

Tolerance is instead a principle: an ethical demand that everyone should respect everyone else’s rights and liberties, not a demand to license everything, least of all behaviour that threatens the rights of others.

Jenna57 said :

Aah, free speech. Something we only accept when others agree with our point of view? (tongue frimly in cheek)

Jenna,

Free speech only works when the idiots are mute.

Free speech for the dumb!

Because fundamentalist Christians trying to stop people ‘practicing witchcraft’ are all about ‘free speech’, aren’t they.

Don’t confuse ‘free speech’ with loudmouth bigots. I wonder how firmly your tongue would be planted in your cheek if it were a white-power rally come to town.

It might be fun to play on CTF’s ignorance and be (or pretend to be) pagans and dress up and carry a dead something-or-other over your shoulders etc etc

You’re right, that would be fun! I’m off to find a dead something-or-other. See you there!

Seriously, I’m inclined to think that basically these people just want attention, and anything we do would provide that. I’m all for constructive debate, but when your opponent is starting from an premise of “this book, and specifically our interpretation of it, are unquestionable truths” or whatever, and derive all their arguments from that, the idea of constructive debate is pretty much off the table. After that, anything we might try is just going to be confrontation without any hope of a positive outcome. Let them have their little party then bugger off back to wherever they came from – Canberra will still be here on Sunday.

If they were advocating actual warfare or violence or what have you, that’s a different matter (and surely one for the police), but from the few details I can gather this pretty much ammounts to a protest. And sadly, one of the more distasteful aspects of supporting freedom of speech is that you have to provide that freedom to everyone, even (especially!) those you disagree with.

But feel free to disagree 😉

Aah, free speech. Something we only accept when others agree with our point of view? (tongue frimly in cheek)

If it’s kicking off after 5.00 pm, count me in.

I’d dearly love to partake in some good old fashioned witch burning and/or christian killing this weekend.

Sadly, I’ll be in Japan. Get some videos for me.

It might be fun to play on CTF’s ignorance and be (or pretend to be) pagans and dress up and carry a dead something-or-other over your shoulders etc etc but what we rational thinkers really need to do is calmly demonstrate–through rational and normal conversation and evidence highlighting their factual flaws about Mt Ainslie–that their efforts on the mountain will be fruitless and completely nonsensical. It might even be worthwhile to warn them that they could be ridiculed. As an athiest, I am more than happy to ignore them and let them go about their thing (or suggest they shouldn’t bother) but I would not want others to taint rational thinking and common sense with stupidity by taunting the poor deluded souls.

one wonders if 7001 years ago they gave a sh$t

Seriously though, can we get a group trip happening? I wouldn’t mind throwing some stones at these idiots.

Although, I’ll be doing that either way.

Really, if you want to show Danny as lunatic fringedweller, just take a camera, say it will go on YouTube to document the Opening Salvo of the 09-? Spirit War, ask him gentle questions about what they are doing, and keep the focus on him and his followers.

Going up there dressed as mind-controlling\babykiller\warty\lighter than a duck witches is just going to trip the man into being justified.

However, seeing a conspiracy whereby you credit opponents have total control of the world through parliament is just outright paranoia.

I think you’ll find, Johnboy, that Parliament was actually on the side of cutting off people’s human rights in Seventeenth century England. If we lived under the glorious reign of Oliver Cromwell now, you and your folk-music loving chums would be the first into the ducking stools.

fnaah said :

So, Johnboy, is there actually a plan? Meet at a certain time/place, with slogans printed on placards/tshirts/etc?

I am going to wear my hat with a flap on the back so i fit in with all the fashionable christians and top off the rest of the outfit with a touch of stigmata.

Don’t give the idiots any more attention than they deserve. What would have been a bunch of tools standing around praying or yelling or whatever by themselves and then skulking off has been turned into this almighty spectacle, albeit Satan almighty.
Now that National media has got on board, CTF will get reams of free advertising and coverage. If there is a showdown ( and by showdown I mean some uncomfortable name calling) between Christian nerds and Witch nerds and sh*t stirring nerds then Today tonight will lap it up and Nalliah will get his mug on National television. Which is exactly what he wants.

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy said :

Wyvernsridge said :

In the olden days, there was always a bucket of tar and a bag of feathers…. but that is unacceptable today. So, maybe some rational conversation about what we feel about their nutbaggery?

Even better, how about some rational discussion that doesn’t involve name calling and emotive rhetoric.

Like calling homosexuals ‘satanic’ perhaps? Or maybe viewing marital problems as evidence of the Devil’s influence?

Is it possible to be more irrational and emotional than this?

Really, VY, it staggers me that you continue to stick up for this mob of fools.

Trunking symbols said :

QUOTE: “Me trying to explain it to you is like trying to teach a cricketer how to play soccer,” Mr Nalliah said.

Translation: “I’m cannot rationally justify my position so I’m going to arrogantly claim that you wouldn’t understand it anyway.”

GnT said :

In related news, CTF’s Danny Nalliah has been nominated for a Good News Week Religion Award.

That one’s a tough one, they’re all such good nominations. I think I’m going to have to vote for the pope though, unfortunately many more people take him seriously.

So, Johnboy, is there actually a plan? Meet at a certain time/place, with slogans printed on placards/tshirts/etc?

Unfortunately I’m attending a pagan wedding ceremony this weekend so I’ll be unable to have a healthy debate with irrational nutjobs. I’ve tried to convince the couple to conduct it atop Mt Ainslie, but they didn’t like that idea 🙁

In related news, CTF’s Danny Nalliah has been nominated for a Good News Week Religion Award.

Not sure the civil war analogy works in this case as the religeous nutbags were on the side of parliament. In fact one could argue that all Pastor Danny and his friends are doing is expressing their democratic right to make their (wrongheaded) point and that in fact those that plan to oppose them are in fact acting as the cavaliers in argueing for the status quo.

What time?
I love taunting idiots.

Go get ’em tiger! I haven’t seen anyone so worked since a middy was placed in your hand unwittingly.

QUOTE: “Me trying to explain it to you is like trying to teach a cricketer how to play soccer,” Mr Nalliah said.

Actually it is quite easy to teach a cricketer how to play soccer. My cousin, for example, was an accomplished cricketer during the summer months and played soccer during winter.

Wyvernsridge said :

In the olden days, there was always a bucket of tar and a bag of feathers…. but that is unacceptable today. So, maybe some rational conversation about what we feel about their nutbaggery?

Even better, how about some rational discussion that doesn’t involve name calling and emotive rhetoric.

In the olden days, there was always a bucket of tar and a bag of feathers…. but that is unacceptable today. So, maybe some rational conversation about what we feel about their nutbaggery?