I also agree with Cameron - the ‘why’ is important… BUT, I don’t know that it’s easy or even possible to convince people who don’t already get it. Those with a religious background tend to have it built in from a young age.

For Christians it’s “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

For Buddhists, the whole concept of suffering demands that we do whatever we can to relieve it.

Hindus and Muslims have similar imperatives.

Even if you take away anything which is specifically religious, you’re left with something which “affects you on a deeper level which is subliminal and powerful” as Dez put it.

For myself, (a software engineer) I have trouble finding a motivation for selfless acts for the benefit of others that is purely rational in nature - nothing as powerful as the basic humane instinct.

Praps when you’re having your mortal coil rewound next..month? you can absorb some literature. Maybe something you can use to stop Cameron and his Prime Minister nicking all the incandescent light bulbs of us.

And this is one of my issues, John McGuinness. This concept of palliative care can let people from different walks of life (and flights of fancy) come together and get things done (in between short showers and light bulb kelptomanic episodes, Cameron). And that’s great. But how does not fly apart?
I might prefer to give Cheney a hug!
And from an earlier podcast I remember someone else here in West Australia proposing a project (I forget what that was now) that was against all I stand for.
So that’s one major challange. Some kind of creed or constitution?

while I dont agree with him too often I have to say I agree with Cameron. The way to sell the idea of donation to the father bob foundation is to tell people what is in it for them, apart from the warm fuzzy feeling you get when you give. Appealling to their better nature just wont work in 90% of cases.

We need to do something, but what ??

I have read the manual that fr Bob was good enough to send to me cover to cover and it was full of some pretty good stuff when it came down to dealing with people, but it kind of left me thinking ..’ok thats great so what do i do now?’

Im guessing that I should go into a holding pattern and continue on doing what Im doing, buying the big picture from the guy outside flagstaff station and keeping my eyes peeled.
If there is something else i should be doing, please let me know.

I reckon the thing to do with cheney is to protest silently. Have everyone gather outside where he is going to be and when he arrives, everyone simply goes quiet and turns their back on him.

It would be a truely peaceful protest, and something that he would take more personally. Having people turn their back on someone as powerful as dick cheney (notice abscence of capitals) is bound to offend and perhaps embarress our own govenment ever so slightly.

As for little johnny making those comments about the presidential election, I dont think it makes a pinch of nannygoats poop difference to the americans. 90% of them wouldnt know where Australia was let alone care what the leader of the country thought. On a local scale though it does make him look more like a kiss ass to the australian public who he wants to vote for him in the upcoming election.

A smarter move would have been to say nothing at all about the presidential election

a bit of a brain fart on the part of mr howards political advisors I reckon.

Cheers

John

I thought your podcast was very interesting and thought provoking. From Heroes to Global Warming. One of your guests, Dez Rock (I believe the ‘Mother’ of the group from Sunbury) made a comment that affected me in a positive way.

It was about the Why and the return of investment in the human race.

“The return is subliminal if not necessarily direct. You have people who are looked after and there is a trickle down affect. It feeds the need (spiritual) in you that you’ve done the better thing. You see less people suffering on the street. It affects you on a deeper level which is subliminal and powerful.”

Father Bob also had a great comment in ‘The best way to start is out your own front door.’

In a world that is so concerned about themselves and what’s in it for them, here is a group who gets the importance of bettering the planet one step and community at a time. Kudos to you all and I will continue to listen.
Thank you.

Sincerely,
Robin Knight

I know about genetics because I am a Biology teacher at Melbourne Uni, and it was part of my honours degree.

I would like to learn more history, but I need to get some spare time before I can do that…

I don’t get how Michaela knows so much about genetics but didn’t know who Marx was. Kids these days…

Molly, I’ve been watching heroes, and thought Cam was right in that evolution involves mutation. If genes can’t change, then the phenotype would be static.

Thanks everyone!

Michaela.

Molly

Liam

This podcast not only tried to say what the big picture is, it shows what the big picture is. It does this by having five intelligent and interesting mates of different views and attitudes talking over and under each other. Highly entertaining in itself- and funny!- we have learned that the underlying thread of this enterprise transcends most of the differences people have between one another.

Bob’s a Catholic, but that doesn’t matter. Reilly’s been duped into believing in global warming, Bob sees though it, but that doesn’t matter because Andrew Decker said so. What matters is the common ground- that for one’s own reasons they share the aims of…The Farther Bob Foundation.
This is good for me, because if IT were tied in to Christianity or to more cycling and less cars I’d be backing away.

I’ve figured it out. All this ninja and Open Family and Docklands real estate and Bangkok orphanage business are part of The Father Bob Foundation. They’re subprojects of this big picture- the endevour to improve the condition of the people. Very simple.

Twofold,-

Aspirational- to create self-generating projects to improve the condition of the people

Pallative- to treat the symptoms of what’s wrong with the world

And that is what I have understood from this podcast. And now I can move on to wondering if that’s a good idea and if there’s something I can do to put my shoulder to the wheel.

Let’s listen now, and see.