Waleed Aly: 'The Project'; Susan Carland: 'Studio 10' - VIDEOS

Waleed Aly talks about how we can stop ISIL ‪#‎TheProjectTV‬
(Written by Waleed and Tom Whitty (@twhittyer)):

Waleed talks about how we can stop ISIL #TheProjectTVWritten by Waleed and Tom Whitty (@twhittyer)
Posted by The Project on Monday, 16 November 2015

And Waleed's wife Susan Carland, on 'Studio 10' this AM:

Muslim sociologist and Australian academic Susan Carland joined us today to talk about her new Twitter campaign and dealing with hateful messages on Twitter.
Posted by Studio 10 on Sunday, 15 November 2015

Ireland votes 'Yes' for gay marriage

In sensational news in, Ireland has voted 'Yes' for gay marriage.

In one of the largest turnouts in a referendum in Ireland, 62 percent of voters said 'Yes' - making Ireland the first country to adopt same-sex marriage via a popular vote.

The landslide is fantastic news, considering Ireland is a traditionally Catholic country that only decriminalised homosexuality two decades ago. Yes.

For more, click here.

Anti gay marriage folks: don't worry… nothing changes AT ALL in your marriage. There is no reason to oppose it, nobody is ruining "the sanctity" of your union. (*SMH*)

Australia, hurry the hell up and follow suit.

Ireland says "yes" - Getty images

'Forbidden love': Aussie woman in Lebanon: Sunday Night - VIDEO

On Channel 7's 'Sunday Night' program, they follow the Australian couple who made headlines a few months ago when a young mother fled the country for Lebanon, and later asked the Australian government for assistance in returning.

Here is more to the story, below. But first, from the show's Facebook page:

'The shocking story of an Australian mother controlled by Islamic law - hunted by her estranged husband, charged with adultery and disowned by her family for being with a man who loved her.'

As per the 'Sunday Night' Facebook page:

'We follow the unthinkable struggle of an Australian woman fighting to leave a controlling marriage to be with the man she loves. But Mahassan has been shunned by her family and her culture and labelled a criminal.'

Here is a trailer for the interview, which screens this Sunday:



'Sunday Night' will screen on Sunday (and each Sunday) at 8pm, on Channel 7.

More photos of the couple released to media at the time of the headlines:

'Muslim Hate in Australia': Social Experiment - VIDEO

A social experiment, filmed with hidden cameras, shows members of the public intervening when a man attempts to link conflict in the Middle East with Australian Muslims. And it's going viral.

The video was made by Sydney student Kamel Saleh and his friends for the upcoming Islamic Awareness Week - Islamophobia.

Kamel says: "The social experiment was possibly one of the most eye opening experiences ever."

Watch this video and be prepared to be moved:

'The Voice' Italy: Suor Cristina Scuccia Winner 2014 - VIDEOS

In Italy a few hours ago, Suor Cristina Scuccia from 'The Voice' Italy was crowned the winner 2014 of the singing competition.

Watch her winning performances:





And see the moment she won the comp… and at the very end, asking the audience to join her in an 'Our Father':



Read more about her journey here.

And see her performance with Kylie Minogue last month:

Pope Francis says "Cazzo": VIDEO

This.

The beacon of light to all Catholics - Pope Francis - said… "cazzo." (Cue: immature, juvenile laughter).

Now, as an Italo-Australian (born here, both my parents came to Australia from Sicily in 1966; dad was a cool cat who flatted with a bunch of Italian blokes in Kings Cross before that), I have heard "cazzo" in various contexts, and although cazzo translates to, well, "cock" (or penis, or dick, or… you get the idea), when you say "testa di cazzo" ("dickhead"), or "che cazzo fai", the context of "cock" changes to, er, "fuck."

So, "che cazzo fai" means, "what the fuck are you doing?", not, "what the cock are you doing?" (What the HELL am I doing writing this piece…)

And so, back to the Pope.

"Il papa" was delivering his usual blessed Sunday mass in Rome's St. Peter's Square on Sunday, and, hellooo... slip of the tongue!

Translated to English, he said: "If each of us were to accumulate wealth not only for ourselves but to put at the service of others, in this [dick/fuck], in this case, God’s providence would manifest itself in this gesture of solidarity."

Whoopsie.

Hey, my fellow Catholics, I mean no disrespect. But, C'MON… it's funny.

Watch:

No, hats off to YOU, Pope Francis

Lance Bass: Mother's Speech About Gay Son and Homosexuality

This is pretty fantastic.

In fact, it is the most honest, emotion-charged, raw piece written by a mother to her son, about his homosexuality.

Her son happens to be Lance Bass. Singer ('N Sync), actor, and media presence.

Here is what he wrote in the Huffington Post about his mother Diane's speech:

"Growing up as a gay kid in the south was not easy. The constant fear of people discovering who you really were and the inevitable shame that would fall upon you and your family dictated how you lived your life everyday. Luckily for me, I was fortunate enough to move to places where it wasn't a constant daily reminder that I was an abomination. For my family, however, they still live in ground zero of intolerance for the LGBT community and have the unique pressure of having a well known gay relative. When I came out, they came out.

For years they have had to deal with the judgmental looks and constant condolences from friends and strangers as if I had died. "I'm so sorry, you are in our thoughts." (To read more of Lance's piece, go here).

And now, Lance's mother's speech. So powerful.

"Let me start out by saying that I am not a public speaker. As a matter of fact, this is the first time I have ever spoken publicly on this topic and I hope you will bear with me. Ever since I agreed to speak to you, I have asked for courage and I hope you will pray for me as I try to tell you what is in my heart. 

I am here to share my testimony. Please know that I am NOT here to debate the issue of homosexuality. I would never do that because I do not have all the answers and will probably never have them in this life. The Bible warns of false teachers and I would never say anything that might possibly be considered false teaching. However there are some things I feel led to share that I know beyond a doubt are true and I will share those with you tonight.

First, I need to let you know that I have been a Southern Baptist all my life. I attended Sunday School and church as a child. I married a man with the same Christian principles as me and we raised our two children in the church as well. My husband is an ordained deacon, I taught Sunday School, sang in the choir, taught vacation Bible School, attended Bible studies and revivals just like most of you. Both my children were saved and baptized at an early age and two of my three small grandchildren have already been baptized. We are a Christian family with deep roots in the church and the teachings of the Bible.

Seven years ago, we found out that Lance is gay. We were totally blindsided and devastated because never in a million years would we have guessed it. Also, because it was such a public thing, the situation was so much worse on the family. I do not want to go into the personal details of that revelation, but I will tell you that the first thing I did was fall to my knees and ask, "What would Jesus do?" I almost immediately knew the answer... love my son. And that is what I have done. Never once did I ever think about turning my back on him. Never once was I ashamed or embarrassed. My feelings were more of sadness and just sheer disappointment in life.

If you believe that being gay is a choice, then the rest of what I say will not matter. I do not know why, but even as a staunch Christian, I personally never believed that being gay was a choice. I never knew a lot of gay people, but the ones I did meet I felt compassion for because I could feel their pain of being rejected and my heart always went out to them. Even though I never did believe Lance chose to be gay, I did not accept it as quickly as my husband did. His attitude was "It is what it is." My attitude was "Yes, it is what it is but my God can perform miracles so I'm going to beg for a miracle to zap Lance and change him to straight!" And I did just that. I continued to love my son, stand beside him, and defend him, but for several years I continued to pray relentlessly for a miracle.

Well, Lance is still gay. However, I did get a miracle. It is just not the miracle I prayed for. You are looking at the miracle tonight. The miracle is that I learned to have unconditional love and compassion for my son and others in the gay community. I haven't marched in parades or spoken at conventions, but I do feel that God has led me to speak out concerning the church's role. My son is a Christian and wants to be able to worship, but he does not feel that the church cares about him and has pretty much disowned him as a fellow believer. There is something terribly wrong with that and I have to speak up on behalf of my son and others who find themselves in the same situation. When I was a little girl, I went to a celebration with my grandparents on the courthouse lawn in Laurel. I was thirsty and ran to drink some water from one of the water fountains. My grandmother screamed at me to stop. When I looked at the 
fountain it had the word "Colored" on it and she told me I had to drink out of another one. I was only 6 years old but I knew something was just not right about that. Just as my heart told me something was wrong that day on the courthouse lawn, my heart is telling me that something is wrong with the way the church treats those who are gay.

I could tell you many stories that gay young people have told me about how so-called Christian people have treated them but I will only share one. One of the young men told me that he was searching for God and visited a large church one Easter Sunday. He was enjoying the beautiful service and feeling so drawn to what he was experiencing. 

Everyone was standing singing a hymn and when he sat down there was a note in his chair. It said, "You know you are going to hell." He told me that he never went to church again. I don't blame him, but to my knowledge, he has not accepted Christ and is lost. 

When I found out Lance was gay, I dove into the scriptures looking for answers. The scriptures that kept jumping out to me were Jesus's warnings about judgment. The person who wrote that note should heed those warnings. Jesus says in Luke 6:37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven." Jesus is telling us that we cannot lead others to him if we are judging and condemning them.

When I hear fellow Sunday School members, co-workers, politicians, and Christian people on TV and radio say negative, judgmental things about gays, I just cringe and it breaks my heart. Not only are the Christian community pushing away gays who are Christians, we are alienating those who are lost.

I believe with all my heart that Jesus would say to all Christians who are gay that they belong to him and that he loves them unconditionally. Jesus says in John 10:27-28, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."  

I feel like I am on a journey and it just continues on each day. I would like to share one final revelation on this journey. Because I am such a tenderhearted person, sometimes my broken heart felt unbearable so I asked God to take away my tender heart. I don't know why I did this, but I looked up the word "tenderhearted" in the dictionary and it meant "having compassion". One day after that I read this scripture: "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any TENDERNESS and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love... Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ." (Phillippians 2:1-5) God's message to me was clear. If he took away my tender heart, I would no longer have compassion for others. If I did not have compassion for others, I would not have the attitude of Christ. I never prayed 
that God take away my tender heart again. I believe the church needs to show that some compassion for everyone regardless of gender, regardless of race, and regardless of sexual orientation.  

My favorite scripture has always been, "God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1) I truly have found refuge in my Lord but I have to sadly tell you that I have not found refuge in my church. And neither has Lance and so many other Christians like him who want to be loved and accepted in a world that can be very cruel and hateful. I still attend church but admittedly with a heavy heart and with much anxiety. If I feel that way as the mother of a gay child, can you imagine the anxiety that a gay person sitting in my church feels? Once again, there is just something wrong with that.

It would take a book to tell you every little detail of my journey and all that I have experienced and learned along the way. I have tried to briefly give you a testimony of the things God has laid on my heart. It is my prayer that we can all try to have a Christ-like attitude while on this earth. We, as Christians, must let the Holy Spirit lead us to find ways to reach out to all people regardless of our differences because I truly believe it is the right thing to do. I am convinced that is what Jesus would do.

Thank you for allowing me to share with you and God bless you."

Diane Bass

Incredible, right? Here is Lance and his mother Diane:

Leah Remini & Ellen: Scientology jokes

So, Ellen and guest Leah Remini had a good ol' chuckle about all sortsa stuff during this just-in segment, including (Leah's former religion) Scientology.

Watch:

'Muslim Shore': SBS TV

"Seven Muslims, one house, unlimited prayer."

This is the intriguing tagline for the new, upcoing SBS show called 'Muslim Shore.'

Beginning on Monday 23 September at 9.30pm on SBS ONE, it has been described as a reality-TV-meets-social -experiment, when seven Muslim Australians are "given the keys to a party house with no rules" in SBS’s all-new reality series Muslim Shore.

The network today has just revealed an exclusive sneak peek of the series. Watch:

In the same vein of 'Jersey Shore' and 'Geordie Shore', 'Muslim Shore' brings a particular brand of humour, with a uniquely SBS twist. What do you think of the trailer?

This new series follows every move of these seven Muslim Australians - instant housemates.

These housemates won’t just be playing together, they’ll be praying together too.

Here are the SBS press bios:

Lamees is a hijabi honey with strong opinions who is ready to stir things up in the house.  

Aziz is a DJ with a totally shredded body whose main motivation to go to mosque is to pick up chicks. However Aziz has a dark secret to reveal; one which will shock the house to its core. 

Ayman is a mummy’s boy whose favourite type of girl is really just anyone his mum likes.

Ayman’s mum, Aunty Shiyama has moved into the Muslim Shore pad, and has brought her very traditional values along for the ride. She’s ready to wave her finger disapprovingly at the housemates’ behaviour, but might just be using her time to scout out a nice Muslim girl to marry her son off to.  

Laid-back Mohammad is an average “Mussie” guy trying to play by the rules of his religion. His obsession with Australia might just rub other housemates the wrong way. He’s totally ‘DTF’ - ‘down to fast’ for Ramadan.  

Michelle is an over-zealous convert to Islam and exhibits typical symptoms of 'Convertitis'. She is strong-headed and would like to be known by her new name, Maymoona. However, she is still trying to work out exactly what is halal and haram, and the exact direction of Mecca.

Shazrina is reserved and shy as hell. Given her first taste of independence, Shazrina might just be the “good-girl-who-gone-wild”, once let loose in the Muslim Shore house.   

Legally Brown, featuring Muslim Shore, premieres Monday 23 September, 9.30pm on SBS ONE.

Follow the conversation on twitter #LegallyBrownSBS

Ricky Martin on gay marriage: "Not about faith, it's not about religion, it's about human rights."

There has been something that has irked me for weeks.

While watching 'The Voice.'

No, it's not the 'cliffhanger' ad breaks. Or the fact that for weeks the judges wore the same clothes.

No.

It has been the very vocal support social media pals give one of the show's judges Ricky Martin... while being against gay marriage, something the passionate singer and TV judge holds very dear to his heart.

Ricky is father to his twin boys, who he parents alongside partner Carlos Gonzales Abella.

An interview with Ricky in news.com.au yesterday by journalist Holly Byrnes produced the best quote I have read on the whole gay marriage debate:

He said the legal recognition was "not about faith, it's not about religion, it's about human rights. It's about me having the opportunity to look my sons in the eye and say 'this is my husband and this is our family.' It's about self esteem, it's about dignity, it's about respect".

You can read the entire article here.

For me, this quote says all there is to say about gay marriage. And this coming from me; someone who still goes to church, will still have my children receive all their sacraments [Holy Communion, Confirmation], and would like to believe there is still plenty of good in the Catholic Church.

Supporting gay marriage is about completely accepting your fellow human being in a way that Christians say they stand for.

And you can't say you love Ricky without loving all of who he is and what he believes in; what he wants most in the world.

It's okay, friends. We can agree to disagree. I still love and respect you. But know that what Ricky says in the above statement is something that resonates with me, and I hope in some way it resonates with you, too.

Please feel free to comment below.

'Fresco Fiasco': before, after, memes

The 'fresco fiasco'. 

Below: way before, before, after.

'O Dio'.

Here's what happened, in the artist's own words:

Poor ol' love. And poor ol' painting. Totes ruined. For-ever.

The eighty-something artist named Cecilia Gimenez from Spain has caused a 'fresco fiasco' as she attempted to restore a plaster portrait of Jesus in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza, where it had been for more than a century.

Apparently upset at the way that the portrait 'Ecce Homo' [Behold the Man] by Elias Garcia Martinez, had been deteriorating in the church, so she decided to fix it. Well, she tried to. Gimenez says she was granted permission ["The priest knew it! He did! How could you do something like that without permission? He knew it!"].

Oh no. Un-salvageable.

And here come the memes:

"Scientology isn't a dirty word" - one woman's real-life story

Mention the word Scientology and it sure can polarise just like that.

But what if the story of what Scientology is really like - in the inner sanctum - was recounted by someone who actually lived it and followed it.

This is that story. Read on:

"I love telling people that I am a fourth generation Scientologist. I especially love it in social situations where someone has launched into a diatribe against Scientology in front of a big group. Just the look on their faces after I tell them is like chocolate for my soul. I definitely don't take personal offence to their ignorance; I just love their awkward stumbling to save face when I pretend I do and test how much they really know.

This is not to say I myself am not ignorant of other religions. I don’t understand Ramadan or Lent (I don’t even know if they are meant to be capitalised). I’ll never understand why it truly matters if the Sabbath is on a Saturday or a Sunday. I think that if there were a God, surely he’d just be happy that they’re dedicating a full day to Him. Of course I question Mary’s virginity and wonder how others can’t. I don’t know what makes Good Friday, Good Friday and why you aren’t supposed to eat meat, or the difference between Easter Sunday or Easter Monday – except that on Sunday mum used to hide eggs in the garden for us to find. As for Pancake Day, I can definitely understand Pancake Day. Why shouldn’t a whole day be dedicated to pancakes? In fact, why shouldn’t a whole religion be dedicated to pancakes? Now that makes sense to me, but I have no idea what it has to do with Christianity. Come to think of it, I don’t even know exactly what Christianity is (does it encompass all religions that believe in Jesus?). Having said all that, I would never disbelieve a religion based on things I’ve seen on Today Tonight or read in magazines. I actually don’t believeany information I gain from those sources. Brad and Angelina had had their first biological daughter before I believed they were together.

Some people might find the way I grew up a little odd. My first school was a Scientology school and I was there until year three. The Athena School was K – 10 with 99 students in total and now all that’s left of it is a sandstone shopfront in Sydney suburb, Tempe. Many classrooms were adjoining so we would have to walk through others’ lessons to get to our own. We weren’t allowed chocolate (forward thinking considering how fat we are all getting these days), we called our teachers by their first names and the best class for each week received a framed photo of L. Ron. Hubbard to hang in their classroom. Each week we wrote and decorated our very own “Success stories” based on the great things we had done that week.

When it came to practicing Scientology, I didn’t go to church; I went to events - massive galas announcing ‘wins’ for scientology. The one that stands out most was the 1993 event in which it was announced that Scientology had been officially made a religion. To this day people still wonder how it is a religion when it doesn’t have a God, per se. Worse still, many believe L. Ron. Hubbard claimed to be God Himself. The thing that I find most inspiring about this religion is that it accepts people of any denomination. Scientology’s focus is on the self. In essence, we are our own Gods. Just as in Buddhism - which I find to be the closest linked belief system to Scientology – we are all God. Everything has a life force; everyone is someone; everyone is connected.

Scientology does not threaten a fiery hell, though it does have Karmic principles. There are no commandments, just 21 moral suggestions for being the best person you can be, called The Way To Happiness:

11.     Take care of yourself

22.     Be temperate

33.     Don’t be promiscuous

44.     Love and help children

55.     Honour and help your parents

66.     Set a good example

77.     Seek to live with the truth

88.     Do not murder

99.     Don’t do anything illegal

110. Support a government designed and run for all the people

111. Do not harm a person of good will

112. Safeguard and improve your environment

113. Do not steal

114. Be worthy of trust

115. Fulfil your obligations

116. Be industrious

117. Be competent

118. Respect the religious beliefs of others

119. Try not to do things to others that you would not like them to do to you

220. Try to treat others as you would want to be treated

221. Flourish and prosper

So basically, everything that your parents, grandparents, bosses and teachers told or encouraged you to do. (Little fact: written in 1980, The Way To Happiness has been distributed in over 2,250 prisons worldwide.)

When I was young, I didn’t say prayers; I said postulates. I was taught to picture what I wanted with my day, with my year, with my life, for dinner, and just have faith it would eventually come. It’s funny that 16 years before the bestselling book The Secret was released in 2006, I was a six year old already practicing what this book suggests – you are a product of your thinking – because that is the foundation of Scientology. It’s about owning your situation. It’s about changing your thinking and changing your situation for the better, as well as helping those around you. After all, a planet packed with people who think and act negatively will negatively affect all of us. On a small scale, have you ever noticed how a mood can change in a room with a negative or resentful person? Put this on a larger scale and multiply it by seven billion. Scientific experiments continue to move closer to proving that global awareness shifts affect our planet’s magnetic fields with particular attention paid to the week post-9/11.

I no longer call myself a Scientologist. Not because I don’t agree with the belief system, but because I don’t feel that religious labels are necessary. I meditate like a Buddhist, I exclaim to ‘My God’ when I am surprised and I am one of the best Christmas present wrappers in the world. I eat organic and clean food like a Seventh Day Adventist, I don’t do anything on Sundays (because I don’t want to) and I treat others how I would like to be treated. I like the idea of taking my kids to church on Christmas, and they will get their Easter egg hunts, too. I don’t need to label myself because there are so many good ideas out there that I don’t need to say I belong to any of them but I definitely give thanks for many of them - especially Scientology. They used to think the world was flat until it was proved round - I feel the same way about religion.

PS. Tom Cruise makes me cringe."

Tell us, what do you think about Cass's story? Can you relate, but in the context of your own faith? [ie, feeling alienated by others based on your choice of religion?]. Share here.

You can - and should - follow Cass on Twitter here: @quickdrawmegraw

And read the rest of her entries here: http://littleskribbles.blogspot.com.au/

Kirk Cameron: 'Homosexuality is unnatural'

Kirk Cameron was born in the 1970s... and it looks like his views on gay matters are stuck there. Perhaps even decades (okay, centuries) before that.

He appeared on the 'Piers Morgan Tonight' show and was asked by Piers what his opinions were on gay marriage.

Now, feel free to disagree on whether gay couples should marry (I believe they should), but calling homosexuality... 'unnatural'?

Wow, Kirk. Seriously?

Looks like filming 'Growing Pains' years ago tampered with your head.

Watch:

Thoughts?