Muslims try peaceful persuasion instead of bombing people



A big improvement

CHRISTIANS in Sydney will have their core beliefs challenged by provocative advertisements due to appear on billboards and buses in the next month.

The ads, paid for by an Islamic group called MyPeace, will carry slogans such as "Jesus: a prophet of Islam", "Holy Quran: the final testament" and "Muhammad: mercy to mankind". A phone number urges people to call to receive a free Koran and other Islamic literature.

The organiser of MyPeace, Diaa Mohamed, said the campaign was intended to educate non-Muslims about Islam. He said Jesus was a prophet of Islam, who was to come before Muhammad. "The only difference is we say he was a prophet of God, and they say he is God," Mr Mohamed said. "Is it thought-provoking? Yes, it is. We want to raise awareness that Islam believes in Jesus Christ," he said.

Mr Mohamed said he hoped the billboards would encourage Christians and Muslims to find common ground. They were not intended to downgrade the significance of Jesus. "We embrace him and say that he was one of the mightiest prophets of God."

MyPeace plans to extend the campaign, funded by private donations, to television.

The Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, Rob Forsyth, said it was "complete nonsense" to say Jesus was a prophet of Islam. "Jesus was not the prophet of a religion that came into being 600 years later."

But the billboard was not offensive, he said. "They've got a perfect right to say it, and I would defend their right to say it [but] … you couldn't run a Christian billboard in Saudi Arabia."

The bishop said he would pay for billboards to counter those of MyPeace if he could afford it, and "maybe the atheists should run their billboards as well".

A spokesman for the Australian Islamic Mission, Siddiq Buckley, said the campaign would increase awareness of the positive facts of Islam. "I would be looking at this as a good opportunity to explain what we mean."

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Abortion doctor gives women Hep C

Evidence of the low moral standard needed in an abortionist



A MELBOURNE doctor has been charged over allegations he infected nearly 50 women who visited his clinic with hepatitis C.

Police say anaesthetist James Latham Peters, 61, of Hawthorn will face 162 separate counts, including 54 counts of conduct endangering life, 54 counts of recklessly causing injury and 54 counts of negligence causing serious injury.

Police formally laid charges just before noon at the St Kilda Rd police complex where he was being held.

Police said the investigation continues, and Dr Peters could face further charges. The expected charges against Dr Peters come after a lengthy and complex investigation by police Taskforce Clays, established in April last year to investigate how the disease was spread to patients at the Croydon Day Surgery. He was taken into custody before 10am and is believed to be being questioned at the St Kilda Rd police complex.

The women had gone to the clinic to have abortions before being infected. A further 19 women treated by the doctor showed signs of past infection but there was not enough virus present for a definitive ruling. At least 4000 women who used the centre, now known as the Maria Stopes centre, have already contacted in connection with potential exposure to the disease.

The Health Department says 241 further women treated at the clinic between 2008 and 2009 could not be contacted, but it continues to cooperate with the police inquiry. "We would urge them to contact the Department of Health at their earliest opportunity,’’ a police spokeswoman said.

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Ambulance ramping at major Queensland Hospital is chaotic, claim paramedics



AMBULANCE ramping at one of Queensland's largest hospitals has reached "chaotic" levels despite a recent multimillion-dollar emergency department revamp.

Frustrated paramedics said the queue of ambulances outside the Princess Alexandra Hospital hit 22 on Monday, with several category two patients who should be seen within 10 minutes left waiting for hours. "This is on a scale that no one has ever seen before," a paramedic, who did not want to be named, said. "There were some very sick patients in there that should have been seen to. It's chaos, absolute chaos."

The spectacle of ambulances queueing, which lasted from noon into late evening, prompted numerous staff to take photographs, several of which have been obtained by The Courier-Mail.

PA's acting executive director, Liz Jordan, said it was "categorically untrue" that 22 ambulances were ramped outside the hospital. But she admitted 11 ambulances arrived "simultaneously" between 5pm and 6pm. "Even during this very busy time, the hospital emergency department coped well," Dr Jordan said.

It came just six months after the completion of a $134 million expansion of the hospital's emergency department, which increased treatment bays from 20 to 45.

Jeanette Temperley, of paramedics union United Voice, said ramping was not getting any better. "Ambulances are driving round and round the city trying to find a hospital to take their patients," she said.

Queensland Health's own website shows the Princess Alexandra Hospital has been on bypass at 10am on three days this week, accepting only the most critical patients.

While ambulances crowded the PA emergency department entrance on Monday, Logan Hospital was on bypass for 10 hours, the paramedic said. The worst he had seen was six southeast Queensland hospitals on bypass at once one day last summer, he said.

Opposition health spokesman Mark McArdle said the ramping situation at the PA was indicative of the crisis in Queensland's public hospital system. "Ramping delays treatment and it delays paramedics getting back out on the road to treat the sick and injured," he said.

Mr McArdle called for a "whole-of-hospital" approach to address the problem, including more beds and changes in discharge policies.

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Politicians in rush to defend coal seam gas

POLITICIANS have rushed to defend the coal seam gas industry despite more controversy surrounding it this week.

In a show of support for an industry whose image was dented by another gas leak near Dalby on Monday, the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and the Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, travelled to Gladstone yesterday to launch construction on Santos's Curtis Island LNG processing plant.

The $16 billion project is due to deliver its first gas in 2015. Ms Bligh said the environmental approvals had been the "most rigorous" in Australian history.

Environmental groups have complained that approvals for coal seam gas projects - most of which are in Queensland and NSW - have been progressing too quickly, and a moratorium should be placed on further approvals until more is known about the controversial fracking technique.

Fracking involves the pumping of high pressure water and chemicals underground to release gas stores.

As the Gladstone launch was under way, the Queensland Treasurer, Andrew Fraser, was also selling the case for the coal seam gas sector. "This isn't something that's happened in the last one or two years. This is not some wild experiment," Mr Fraser said.

Farming groups have expressed outrage that energy companies have the right to enter private property to explore for coal seam gas, but Mr Fraser said not all farmers were opposed.

"There's plenty of farmers who are quite happy they've got a second string to their income," he said.

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Note: I have two other blogs covering Australian news. They are more specialized so are not updated daily but there are updates on both most weeks. See QANTAS/Jetstar for news on Qantas failings and Australian police news for news on police misbehaviour. Lots on the police lately