Jonah 3:1-3a, 5, 1o (NIV)
'Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you."
Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh.
The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.'

Nineveh (or Mosul, as it's now known) is the centre of the oldest Christian community in the world, the Assyrian Church.
Although they are better off than Christians in most predominantly Islamic countries, the Assyrian Church has suffered heaps under the Iraqi government, which intends to 'Arabise' the entire country, and forces Christians to sign papers denying their beliefs. Many Assyrian Christians are feeling threatened by Saddam Hussein's government with the likelihood of countries like Australia, the US, the UK, Spain and Italy attacking Iraq. Many are leaving the country, as they did after the Gulf War ended in 1991, for Europe, North America and Australia.
Any day now, every Australian home will be receiving a package of pro-war propaganda from good old Johnny Howard, intended to frighten the Australian public. Jim Soorley, the Mayor of Brisbane has suggested that Australians who don't think Australia should go to war with Iraq should send it back to him, with anti-war slogans added if they like.
Jim Soorley's anti-war website

This afternoon Russel returned from Croatia, and came to the Bach Pad to get some of his stuff and take it to the house he's sharing with Bussy this year. He says he'd be able to speak more fondly of the trip once he's had some sleep. He also said that Nathe was moving in this afternoon, and I said I'd be out.

Mopped all the vinyl floors.

At work tonight I had to clean the whole floor by myself, so it took till 7:oo pm.

After work Heather picked me up, and asked if I had to go home before we went to dancing lessons. I said I didn't, so she asked if I wanted to have tea at her place, and I said that'd be nice.
Dave Who Is Not Called A Doctor (Heather's brother) was out with Hannah at Adam and Ruth's, and Graeme (their dad) was still at work, so it was just Heather, Jenny (Heather's mum) and myself. We had a vegetable and chicken stir fry.

Speaking of chicken, I got some abuse in the guestbook concerning my eating of chicken. I fully agree with Christopher White. Anyone who is a carnivore (i.e. person who eats only meat) should eat vegetables fruits and cereals also. But I must ask him why he thinks animals have souls. And if we inherit the souls of the animals we eat, does a cat inherit the should of a mouse it eats? To what measures is he venturing to prevent carnivorous animals from eating other animals and inheriting their souls? Do plants have souls? If not, why not? If they do, do you inherit their souls when you eat a felafel? Or wear a cotton shirt? Or use a pencil and/or paper? And what are the consequences of 'inheriting' a soul?

Anyway.

When we got to the dance hall, some of the others were already there. Al had jsut got back from Mareeba today. He said the guy his parents are staying with at the moment has a hugely swollen knee because he cut it and it got infected because of the tropical weather.
We're doing Latin street dancing, which is meant to be easier than proper Latin. It wasn't to hard, but it took a while to work out, probably because we were getting told three contradictory ways of doing the dance. It was lots of fun though.