A warning before I start, there are images in this post which may upset some, so proceed with caution…

I was forwarded an email by a friend recently that I wanted to share, I have changed some of the wording, but you will get the gist…. after all a picture tells a thousand words.

Some of you may have seen the Academy Award Winning documentary “The Cove” for those of you who haven’t, here’s a link to the preview.

There are also many who would assume that this slaughter of whales and dolphins is only performed by the Japanese… You would be wrong.

The following images are from the Faroe Islands, which are a part of Denmark. Yes that’s right Denmark, a Western Country.

The sea is stained in red and it is not because of climate effects or nature. It’s because of the cruelty of the human beings (civilised human) who kill hundreds of the famous and intelligent Calderon dolphins.

This happens every year in The Feroe Island in Denmark. In this slaughter the main participants are young teens. Why? You may well ask It is a celebration, to show that they are adults and mature!

Although the dolphins aren’t celebrating, and neither should we.

In this big celebration, nobody misses out on  the fun. Everyone gets to participate in one way or the other, either killing or cheering on the cruelty from the shore like a fan at a footy match.

At this point I feel it is necessary to mention that the Calderon Dolphins, are near extinction and they get near men to play and interact. It is their way of showing and offering their friendship

Alas, these poor creatures don’t die instantly; they are cut 1, 2 or 3 times with thick hooks. And at that time the dolphins produce a grim cry like that of a new born child.

There is no compassion or mercy while this magnificent creature slowly dies in its own blood

I hope, like me, you have had enough of this type of treatment of these glorious creatures.

What can you do?

For starters pass this around, and get the word out there.

Then if you feel strongly enough below are the detail of the Embassy in Australia.

Netherlands Embassy Australia

120 Empire Circuit

Yarralumla Canberra

A.C.T 2600

Phone 02 6220 9400

Fax 02 6273 3206

Alternatively, here is an email address you can send abuse/constructive criticism to… cbramb@um.dk

Here is a link to their Facebook page…

http://www.facebook.com/dutchembassyaustralia

And here is how to stick it to them all over Twitter…

@NLinAustralia

https://twitter.com/#!/NLinAustralia

Let’s not let this continue….

Below is my twitter link, please don’t send the abuse to me…

Yesterday ABC24 televised the National Press Club speech given by Mr. Anthony Albanese,  then took it off the air to show a State of the Union speech by President Obama.

Usually, the NPC is also shown on ABC2 but not yesterday.   Viewers were instead treated to Mapping The World, and missed the entire question and answer segment of the NPC.  

WHY ABC?

The main stream media have all but ignored the speech given by the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Leader of the House, the Honourable Anthony Albanese MP.

It wasn’t difficult to find a copy of the transcript:-

http://anthonyalbanese.com.au/speech-to-national-press-club-government-with-a-purpose

Do the “journalists” have a problem with this?   If so, what?

Are they not permitted to report the contents of the Minister’s speech, or are they simply happy to put their names to third rate tabloid nonsense?

Or maybe they fell about after the long lunch laughing at their own jokes?

Update: Aboriginal Tent Embassy. This is clearly not on Pip’s topic, but that’s what this blog is about, being vibrant and accepting newsworthy items as they eventuate. At the request of Catching up, confirmed by Pip. Here is the photo referred to on wixxy’s Hey True Blue topic. (Min)

Another photo has now become available:

Some of my opinions are often seen as straying a bit left of centre,  and on occasion I may put things across a little bluntly, but I rarely ask for anything more than an open mind.

So with that in mind, I have a favor to ask of the gay community.

Not really a favour, probably more of a suggestion, or bright idea, you may well say.

Although you may think this idea is strange, and a bit funny, I am as serious as a heart attack.

I would like the gay community to adopt the Southern Cross as a symbol.

The Southern Cross is an iconic symbol of our country, that has been hijacked by bogans and racists, much to the dismay of the rest of us.

I, for one, would like to see the Southern Cross being used as a symbol of love and unity, rather than a symbol of fear and hatred.

I’m not suggesting you go and get tattoo’s, but maybe some T Shirts, pink Southern Cross pict badges for profile pics, some signage in clubs and shop front windows, maybe even some Southern Cross decorated floats in the Mardi Gras parade, that should get some coverage.

I was thinking maybe a pink Southern Cross, with Gay Pride Australia as the slogan…

Gay Pride Australia?

One can only imagine the outrage this would create amongst the Neanderthal community of rednecks. I can almost hear the sound of a million stickers being peeled off utes, the crys of anguish as tens of thousands of racists and homophobes come to the realisation that their beloved tattoo now has to go.

If there are 2 things the majority of these imbeciles hate, it is immigrants and gays. Can you imagine if every time someone saw a rednecks Southern Cross tattoo, they assumed that  the redneck was gay?

Personally, I can think of nothing funnier, and no group of people more deserving of grief…

I would like nothing more than to see their symbol of hate, become something that they themselves hate. It would be like having an ex- wives name tattooed on your arm.

For those of you who had the Sothern Cross tattooed on their arm before the rednecks hijacked it. If this diabolical scheme works there may come a day when once again you can display your nationalism with pride.

So what do you think people?

I say let’s take back our national symbol, and teach these idiots a lesson at the same time.

Spread the word, repost, share, retweet, get the message out there.

Do it for your country.

“Has Wilkie done a deal with Abbott?

Just asking the question seemed a little out of place at the time, but now, I’m far from sure about the answer.  

Whether ‘deal’ is the right word or not, something has changed over the last few days,  just as Mr. Wilkie’s statements changed.

ANDREW Wilkie has warned Labor will pay a high price for its pokies reform betrayal, vowing to pursue “warmer” relations with the Coalition, to vote against key budget measures and even to bring down the government if it acts improperly.

.

The government now views the other elements of its September 2010 power agreement with Mr Wilkie as void, and Ms Gillard will no longer meet regularly with him and will deny him access to Finance and Treasury briefings. But the government’s $340 million commitment to Royal Hobart Hospital will be honoured.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/julia-gillard-to-pay-for-betrayal-andrew-wilkie/story-fn59niix-1226250813763

That makes sense.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/37069309/The-Hon-Julia-Gillard-and-Andrew-Wilkie-the-Parties-agreement

Mr. Wilkie has dealt himself a Joker for the time being at least as the government is still intent on progressing the pokies reform and has released documents which show it will pay clubs at least $37 million to trial poker machine restrictions in the Australian Capital Territory.

The Government has now released the offer it sent to Clubs ACT on Friday, promising to compensate for and fund the changes to all pokies.

It promises to pay clubs a monthly compensation fee totalling $36 million for the year, and is also offering a total of more than $1 million for training, specialist workers and business planning.

A committee will then review whether more payments are needed during the trial.

New pokies plan

• Original deadline abandoned.
• Pre-commitment built-in to new machines from 2013.
• 12-month trial of mandatory pre-commitment in 2013.
• Trial to end early 2014 and be reviewed.
• Poker machines to display electronic warnings.
• $250 limit on ATM withdrawls.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-22/pokies-fallout-deepens-as-trial-cost-revealed/3786972

The real road-block in Wilkie’s way is the powerful cashed-up lobbyists, and if he thinks for a minute that an Abbott-led Coalition government would upset it’s powerful corporate friends he’s a fool.

An Abbott government might put forward some sort of legislation in an effort to please Wilkie and to wedge the Labor party, but it would not be intended to harm the Clubs and pubs and their pokies profits.

For the Coalition this is about bringing down the government, not the pokies industry.

Another point to consider is the Coalition’s desire to see this man out of Parliament….

A potholed pokies path.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/trials-and-errors-on-potholed-pokies-path/story-e6frezz0-1226250740991

Craig Thomson

• From: The Daily Telegraph
• January 23, 2012

THERE is little doubt that Australia has a gambling problem and in particular, a poker machine gambling problem.

The worst of the problem exists in NSW and there is a side to this story receiving very little attention.

The Wyong Shire local government area in my electorate on the Central Coast has the fourth highest number of poker machines in the state.

In 2010, $80 million was lost by Wyong residents on pokies.

We are talking about an area where the average income in 2009 was $39,694.

Nearly a third of the area’s wage and salary earners are paid less than $20,800 per annum. This is incredibly disproportionate and clearly something needs to be done.

After reporting these comments from Mr. Thomson in The Daily Telegraph,

The Prime Minister’s decision at the weekend was a victory for common sense.

It was timely and important.

The PM provided judgment and skill to course a path that is sensible and logical.

It is something that I and many NSW Labor MPs have been calling for – a comprehensive trial so that ultimately any legislation that comes before parliament is backed by scientific research.

Given the lack of evidence for a “silver bullet” for this issue, this is a commonsense approach. To do otherwise would have flown in the face of proper policy making.

It would have put the horse a mile in front of the cart, hoping the cart kept up.

This way we can be sure what works and what doesn’t.

Mr. Thomson makes the point that less than 2 per cent of the poker machine takings go back to the community.

news.com twisted the above words into something quite opposite….no surprise in that.

This is what came out of the propaganda machine:-

Craig Thomson undermines Julia Gillard’s reason for breaking her pokie promise, as her plan was improper policy making

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/craig-thomson-undermines-julia-gillards-reason-for-breaking-her-pokie-promise-as-her-plan-was-improper-policy-making/story-e6freuy9-1226250774602 

There is another factor at play here and that is the role of some States.

Law shift is pokies jackpot for clubs:

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/law-shift-is-pokies-jackpot-for-clubs-20120122-1qc94.html

ONE of Sydney’s premier leagues clubs stands to reap a financial benefit from a state government decision to make it easier for registered clubs to gain approval for up to 150 poker machines in new areas of the state.

The move significantly lowers the bar for the approval of poker machines in clubs established next to new housing estates or new development areas.

When Opposition Leader Tony Abbott offered one billion dollars for the Royal Hobart Hospital Mr. Wilkie rejected the offer.

Mr Wilkie described Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s offer of $340 million to redevelop the Royal Hobart Hospital as the only credible offer, despite the $1 billion put on the table by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

”I couldn’t even have confidence that they would find that $1 billion, particularly on Thursday after the black hole appeared in their costings,” Mr Wilkie told The Age yesterday.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-election/wilkie-defends-rejecting-1-billion-hospital-offer-20100903-14uhf.html#ixzz1kL4wlzVO

So,  Mr. Wilkie  has been around the block….firstly,  as a member of the Liberal party, twice as a Greens candidate, then as an Independent candidate in a Tasmanian state election,  and finally winning as an Independent and until a few days ago, being a player in the federal Minority government.

Currently, he is ”warming” to the Coalition.

A backward step?

• So we now have it, here at last is the Liberal Party’s Policy on asylum seekers
• ALL asylum-seeker boats that are found to have started their journeys in Indonesia are to be turned around
• A Liberal government will TELL the Indonesian president that Australia will no longer accept boats which embark from that country
• More Navy vessels patrolling our waters.

He (Tony Abbott) however has conceded, repeating his previously stated proviso, that it may not always be safe to turn around every single boat and that he ”would rely on advice from Navy commanders in each case”.

Yesterday, Tony Abbott received his advice from Former Chief of the Defence Force Admiral Chris Barrie (ret), who predicted that “Naval officers ‘would disobey’ orders to turn back asylum-seeker vessels under an Abbott government”.

It is highly unlikely that Admiral Barrie was advocating mutiny, but rather was indicating that “Policy can’t override international law; nor can it tell a commanding officer what decisions he must make at sea at the time”. Admiral Barrie added that commanders would always put safety ahead of policy.

One might consider that Admiral Barrie, having had to later contradict his original statement to the Senate Select Committee enquiry into A Certain Maritime Incident, by admitting:

“After speaking at considerable length on Sunday with Commander Banks, the commanding officer of HMAS Adelaide, I have now reached the conclusion there is no evidence to support the claim that children were thrown overboard”, that he is full aware of the implications of the politicisation of the ADF.

Given the tragedies at sea including many boat disappearances, the majority of which go unreported, Tony Abbott’s recent statement is cruel in its irony:

“The navy has done it safely before” … Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott.

The international relations implications Australia/Indonesia regarding the Opposition’s policy as espoused by Tony Abbott, was worthy of a one-liner from the Murdoch media:

A radical policy departure, this has far-reaching and unpredictable consequences for Australia-Indonesia relations.

Reported in the Sydney Morning Herald is that “the conclusion United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Indonesian authorities and a former naval chief as dangerous and breaching international law.”

Factual information has been provided by Saud Usman Nasution, chief spokesman for Indonesia’s national police:

“As far as asylum seekers go, they fall under international law. You can’t turn them away. You have to hand them over for processing to UNHCR, just like Indonesia. We don’t turn them away, we hand them to UNHCR for processing.”

From the UNHCR:

Richard Towle, said: “Any such blanket approach would potentially place Australia in breach of its obligations under the refugee convention and other international law obligations, and – as past experience has shown – is operationally difficult and dangerous for all concerned.”

Craig Emerson: “In boats there are votes”.

Hi there trendsetters, hip shakers, and sports fans, I trust you all enjoyed your time off, and have recovered from any drastically large uplift in the volume of alcohol consumed…

I have been a bit absent of late, and it’s not for the religious reasons that you are no doubt assuming…. I have actually been rather busy, despite the holidays. I have been doing something that our local Liberal MP’s may have read about in a book, I have been out talking to residents.

For those of you who don’t realise, I live in Sydney’s Hills Shire. Don’t get me wrong, I quite like it here, but living in an area that is dominated by Liberal politicians, and religious nuts, often one and the same, it does have its occasional drawbacks.

So, “what have I been so busy chatting to people about?” You may well ask…Well allow me to explain.

Here in the Hills Shire, in February and March last year, we all heard time and time again how wonderful things were going to be with a Liberal government in control of the state. Things were finally going to get done around here now that our local MPs, in particular David Elliot, and Ray Williams, who suddenly appear at election time, now get to experience being a part of government, rather than opposition. Streets would be repaved in gold, birds would sing, the sick would be healed, I was ready to start bathing in champagne, but alas, things have not turned out quite the way we had hoped.

The big promise of the supposed North West Rail Link, has been an absolute farce under the control of the same incompetent party that brought us Sydney’s Airport Link line, you may have heard of it, nobody uses it. I talk of course of the Liberal Party. This is a party that would struggle to plan a pub crawl, let alone a multi billion dollar piece of infrastructure.

It is interesting to note, that the opposition spokesperson for transport, Penny Sharpe, has spent for more time in the area talking to residents, community groups, and businesses, than the Minister who is supposed to be in charge Gladys Berejiklian.

This rail link, we were promised, was going to put the Hills Shire on the map. It was going to be state of the art, an underground line that would have little to no impact on the environment, or the landscape. It was going to ease the transport system in the area, boost employment, and give our local economy a kick along. All of this and publicly owned to keep the cost of using the service to a minimum.

Now, that has changed considerably… Now we have a promise the O’Farrell government can’t afford, so privatisation is back on the table. Suddenly there is to be huge impact on environment and residents as the final few kilometres are to be above ground… So high above ground in fact the idiots running this project have now dubbed it “Skytrain”… I kid you not… It has gone from being underground, to being on Cloud 9.

To their credit, the artists impressions release by the O’Farrell govt, make it look nice. The train all nice and clean gliding over parks and trees…. The reality could not be further from the truth.

A Govt Artists Misguided Impression

The reality is, it will be a noisy, graffiti covered railway going though cheap hi rise housing… No parks, no trees, just another noisy train rattling through a slum.

Maybe I should explain…

In order for this inept excuse for a state government, the same government whose Environment Minister states that logging is good for Koalas, to raise money to pay for their promise they need investors. Alas, this kind of investment comes from people who actually think before they make promises. Private investment companies, such as Macquarie, or the Federal Government, who now under Labor, are quite prone to actually researching before making decisions.

What these investors require before they spend either their money, or taxpayers money in the case of govt, is to be assured that it is a worthwhile investment. The main way they determine this is by a population density ratio.

This ratio says that you need a certain number head of population in the region per $million spend, for it to be a worthwhile investment. Unfortunately for Barry, and those of us who live here, the area falls a long way short.

The solution by the Liberal dominated Hills Shire council, has been to rezone vacant land, in areas like mine, to allow for cheap apartments. This way they cover the foolish promise of a foolish Premier, and protect the local Liberal members from the dramas associated with a huge promise broken by their leader, by bringing in a huge amount of new residents.

The large vacant area near where I live was to be small retail, cafe’s, restaurants, and a motel, this sounded great and the residents were all happy with that. Just before Christmas however, the councillors voted to change the zoning, and now we have 6 storey apartments going there.

The plan is to put all these people in as fast as possible, years, probably over a decade ahead of the rail link. In the meantime there are no plans to increase public transport in the area, no plans to increase capacity on the roads. The local government seems to assume these people will not own cars, and will just sit in their apartments all day, and never leave…

Guys, and Gals, may I be so bold as to suggest a little bit of planning might be in order… Or better still, go back to plan A restaurants and cafe’s, plan B is utter crap.

Houses in the area range in value from $800K to $1.2 Million. So locals have invested a great deal in their decision to live here.

These residents have gone from having the promise of an underground railway within walking distance, and restaurants and cafe’s at their doorstep, to having a noisy graffiti covered eyesore on top of them, and a slum that blocks out the sun and the sky, built right next door. It is nothing short of a disgrace.

To say these residents have been betrayed by both the Liberal Party and the Hills Shire Council is an understatement of epic proportions.

I have spoken to 3 local Real Estate agents regarding this, and all 3 of them have stated that if the cheap housing goes ahead, houses in the area will drop in value anywhere between $150K to $200K.

To make matters even worse, the area is a flood zone.

The imbeciles running the state now, have said that this is why the rail has to be above ground, due to the flood zone. Tunnels can’t possibly go underwater… Clearly none of the Liberal MP’s attempting to run this state have ever noticed that little thing called the Harbour Tunnel… But hey, it’s cheaper to go above ground, and after all, they don’t have to live here…

Alas, even though their colleagues recognize flood zones, our local Liberal MP’s and Councillors don’t. Clearly they think cheap housing and flood zones go together like roast beef and gravy… Stack ‘em high and see if they float, seems to be the attitude. It was only 12 months ago we saw the once in a hundred year floods hit Queensland, do these Councillors have that short a memory span, or is it just Liberal Party policy not to care?

When council elections come up in a few short months, residents here will remember who stood for the community as a whole, and who decided to betray residents in order to prop up a failing Premier. We will also remember who puts a developers wants, ahead of the community’s needs.

Liberal Councillors Preston, and Bolitho it is noted, have been the ones pushing hardest to build the slum, and to destroy the tone of the region. They are not even councillors for this ward. If you vote in their wards, please remember their blatant disregard for residents wishes when you vote.

In the meantime, feel free to contact them and let them know you are not happy with the way they treat the community they are supposed to represent.

The slum I refer to is planned for the Corner of Samantha Riley Drive amd Old Windsor Rd Kellyville.

Here are their mobile phone numbers:

Clr Robyn Preston: 0419 200 300 

Clr Larry Bolitho: 0412 174 413

Please feel free to call day or night, they are always happy to serve…

Alternatively, here are the numbers for the Liberal councillors for the ward where the development is planned for, you can contact them and let them know you are against the plans.

Clr Michelle Byrne: 0448 268 140 

Clr Mike Thomas: 0423 798 891

Thank you for your patience and support.

I will keep you posted.

Tony Abbott has vowed to get ‘even tougher’ on asylum seekers if he becomes Prime Minister

One has to wonder why Tony Abbott has had this sudden “look over there” moment when according to all the popular; or should I say the populist press, he has already placed his bets, and won on the poker machine issue.

A sneaking suspicion from yours truly is that all is not well in Tony Abbott’s paradise on the issue of poker machine reform. The clubs are threatening to throw in millions.  The clubs will be weighing up the odds.

Meanwhile, and it would seem for no particular reason whatsoever here is Abbott on this morning’s Sky News.

So we now have it, here at last is the Liberal Party’s Policy on asylum seekers:

• ALL asylum-seeker boats that are found to have started their journeys in Indonesia are to be turned around.
• A Liberal government will TELL the Indonesian president that Australia will no longer accept boats which embark from that country.
• More Navy vessels patrolling our waters.

The above clearly comes  from Tony Abbott’s Little Book of How To’s, and is filed under the letter S for Stop:  How to Stop People Smugglers. 

This could easily have been filed under the letter N for No, however that section is becoming rather chokka and in somewhat of a disarray.

Tony is clearly adamant that this is this will work, as he has described this as not just a deterrent – no, not just that it will stop ’em – but will stop ‘em ” in their tracks”.  He however has conceded, repeating his previously stated proviso, that it may not always be safe to turn around every single boat and that he ”would rely on advice from Navy commanders in each case”.

The logistics of the latter are yet to be ascertained, however on the face of it, it appears that firstly Navy commanders on interception of a SIEV will firstly have to launch boarding parties so as to assess the vessel’s seaworthiness.  Navy personnel will relay their assessment to the Commander, who will then contact the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister will then provide the Yea or Nay. 

By which time half of the crew will be fully engaged in a rescue operation as the SIEV would have sunk.

It is also likely that should Australia turn back boats as a matter of policy, that it would have breached its duty of care as a boarding party’s actions could be interpreted  as having been “taken into custody”.  

However, and I believe important to this issue is Abbott’s attitude towards our neighbor Indonesia.  I would suspect that Indonesia would be quick to reiterate its previous comment that future ‘returns’ will be unacceptable. 

This issue has (so far) received a one-liner from the Murdoch media:

A radical policy departure, this has far-reaching and unpredictable consequences for Australia-Indonesia relations.

I should add, that even if acceptable to the Indonesian government that this tactic of Tony Abbott’s is likely to run the risk of moving the problem sideways – that future SIEVs will not embark from ports in Indonesia, but that people smugglers will choose another country on which to focus for their operations.

With Australia day looming, I thought I would write something about what seems to be a popular subject currently, Australians and racism.

We didn’t really need Dr Charles Teo to tell us that racism is alive and well in Australia, one only has to walk around with eyes open.

For those who missed the stories on Dr Teo’s words, below is a link to the story in the Herald.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/racism-very-much-alive-in-australia-says-dr-charles-teo/story-fn7x8me2-1226247766763

I do however applaud Dr Teo for having the guts to come out and say it openly. Considering he is going to say it as part of the NSW Australia Day speech shows not only great courage, but also shows that racism has clearly impacted his life. When the brain surgeon tells us that his young daughter has been told to “Go Home”, because of her Asian heritage, by drunken Aussie revelers, and that this happened while she was out celebrating Australia Day, which is the national day of the country in which she was born, is nothing less than a disgrace. But you know what? I probably wouldn’t care too much if it was an isolated incident, but the fact is, it’s not…

Much of Australia’s racism is brought on by ignorance and fear.

Of course this ignorance is not helped by politicians pandering to the fear merchants…

Idiots like Tony Abbott suggesting that Australia break international laws and turn around asylum seeker boats that are in Australian waters, or just plain bastards like Scott Morrison complaining that the government wasted money  flying a young child to the funeral of his family, after they were killed in the Christmas Island tragedy. I mean, how low do we really have to stoop?

Ignorance can be helped by education and experience. I find most people who have racist tendencies have not travelled much at all, particularly abroad. It would be nice if everyone had the opportunity to travel, but I am somewhat of a realist. With that in mind, more needs to be done to educate the next generation of leaders in our schools, however it is going to take more than that to get over the fear aspect.

Thankfully, Hollywood seems to be doing the right thing for once. Television shows like Big Bang Theory, Terra Nova, and The Good Wife (I mean what is there to not like about Archie Panjabi?) seem to be trying to paint inter-racial relationships as the norm, in terms of both friendships, lovers, and partners. Amazingly, it is being done quite well and not coming off corny either, unlike like the old token black characters of old. I do wish we could see more of it on Australian television though.

Archie Panjabi

Hopefully this will have an impact if it is kept up. I believe it will, as like it or not, most of us absorb what is pumped into us by the networks, usually without realizing.

The problem is though, there will always be elements of society that are racist, it cannot be stopped unfortunately. You can’t fight history….

Those who think that the racism issue in Australia is exaggerated, might like to plan a family holiday to Brisbane in April. There the whole family can enjoy the Neo Nazi Festival that is going ahead despite cries of protest. I would provide a link for the event, however I don’t want to promote this sort of ignorance and blind hatred, even unintentionally…

But instead of hating the racist elements, maybe we should pity them. It must be awful to live your life in such fear.

Racists, being so fearful, are clearly the weakest link amongst us. Weak in many different ways, they seem to only act on mass (think Cronulla riots), they seem to be suckers for peer group pressure (hating others because their mates do), they think understanding another culture is too hard (easier to reject it), if they can’t understand something they put up mental barriers (I don’t get it, so I don’t like it).

However, they don’t want to appear weak, so they put up the tough image with the Southern Cross tatts, and the “Fuck Off We’re Full” car stickers.

Although these things are a blight on our society, and although we may be ashamed of their behavior, for now I think we will just have to put up with it, as while most of us hate it, there are those who will continue to encourage it.

To those who do encourage it, I say “Australia has always been a multi-cultural nation, love it or leave it”. Weakness is not a virtue, being a racist does not make you more Australian, in fact, quite the opposite.

There is however one part of this debate that seems to have gone overboard and off the rails a bit. It centre’s around some of the extreme views being vented by some individuals who seem to believe they are representing our indigenous communities.

Just because somebody is born here, is white, and does not spend their entire life apologizing to the indigenous community, does not make them a racist. With this in mind some of the more outspoken activists out there need to take a step back, we all know that you mean well, but think before you speak. Abusing people to gain respect is not unlike fighting for peace, or fucking for virginity, it is a wee bit futile. Apologies for the language, but I wanted to emphasise the point…

I’m not going to mention any names here, but I think we will have all seen them… On TV, Facebook, Twitter, in chat rooms etc… I usually commend what they are trying to achieve, it is just sometimes the method…..

Nobody has a say in where they are born, or what color they are born, so we need to show some restraint. I mean, if I had been given a choice it would have nice to have been born in the Bahamas’ with Bill and Melinda Gates as my parents, but hey……

I know a lot of people who don’t know much about Aboriginal culture, and celebrate Australia Day not to celebrate any invasion, but because they love where they live. Again, this does not make them racist.

I think most of us agree that more needs to be done to ensure that the indigenous communities are given assistance where needed, and supported in their decisions of how they would like to see their communities run. I am all for the hand up, rather than the hand out approach. However people need to understand that abusing someone or calling them a racist, just because they have not followed the events, or do not understand the issue, is not going to win someone over and make them agree with you. Using that line of thought and logic is like saying we are all born racist and as we grow up we learn not to be. Utter Crap.

Racism is more about lack of respect than anything else.

If somebody is not politically active, and does not fight for indigenous rights, but instead offers respect and some understanding, then I for one am happy with that. I think that if more people showed respect for each other, regardless of race, we would be back on the path to being the friendly country we fondly remember.

That would truly make us the Lucky Country.

But the massacre of Aborigines was frowned upon by latter Colonial and Federal Governments, however, it did not mean that they were not considered a doomed race.  These governments had a sinister role to play in that consideration; that of the evolutionary masters.  That of God.

Let us trace this.

The nineteenth European scientific discourse of the Great Chain of Being, arranged all living things in a hierarchy, beginning with the simplest creatures, ascending through the primates and to humans.  It was also practice to distinguish between different types of humans.  Through the hierarchical chain the various human types could be ranked in order of intellect and active powers.  The Europeans – being God-fearing and intelligent – were invariably placed on the top, whilst the Aborigines – as perceived savages – occupied the lowest scale of humanity, slightly above the position held by the apes.  Such ideas were carried to and widely circulated in the Australian colonies and helped shape attitudes towards the Aborigines.  So dominant was the concept that it helped develop the fate of Aboriginal people, even before Australia’s colonisation.  The image of the Aborigine simply confirmed prejudices based on this doctrine of evolutionary difference and intellectual inferiority.

In harmony with the Great Chain of Being, the theory of evolution in the social sciences (known as Social Darwinism), was accepted by nineteenth and early twentieth century Australians as further justification for their treatment of the Aborigines.  Central to the theory of Social Darwinism was the ideology that the Aborigines, who were considered to be less evolved, faced extinction under the impact of European colonisation and nothing could, or should, be done about it.  Government policies reflected these ideologies and provided the validation of oppressive practices towards the Aborigines, founded on the perceptions of racial superiority.

Four of the major policies are those relating to protection; segregation; assimilation; and the integration of Aboriginal people into the wider community.

Protection was influenced by the evolutionary theory that Aborigines would die out as a result of European contact.  Subsequently, all that could be done was to feed and protect them until their unavoidable demise.  The policy thus took on short term palliative measures that saw enforced concentration of Aborigines in reserves and missions – protected from European contact and abuse (such as hunting parties) to await their closing hour.

This policy was a humane one based on its presumptions, however, nature had not selected Aborigines for extinction.  Only the colonisers had.  Subsequently, governments eventually and willingly used protection policies as a mechanism for social engineering.  The policies of protection changed its fundamental goal to segregation.  Their differences are difficult to identify although their purposes are not: Aborigines were a dying race so they were protected from the wider community; the Aboriginal race had failed to die off, so they were segregated from the wider community.

The social theories that legitimised and institutionalised racism were never more evident than in the practices of segregation.  Segregation created two social and political worlds in Australia: one white and one black.  Whilst the Aboriginal race had ignored extinction, Government policies reflected the attitude that, nonetheless, by the 1940s they had still failed to progress since European contact.  Sentiment thus ruled that continued segregation of the Aborigines from the wider community would ensure white racial purity.

Segregation was pervasive in all aspects of public or political life.  Church or social organisations discouraged Aboriginal participation, and access to community facilities such as swimming pools or theatres were severely restricted, if not refused altogether.  Custom in many business establishments was also refused for fear of offending the white clientele.  Perhaps the most damning indicator of this racism, however, was the neglect of medical treatment and health services by white practitioners.  Policies of segregation were to degenerate into practises of apartheid when, in South Australia for example, association between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people became a criminal offence under Section 14 of the Police Offences Act 1953.

The policies of protection and segregation were continued even though the Aborigines had not faced their final hour.  ‘Full-bloods’ remained on reserves until their demise, yet the problem for the government came in the form of the ‘half-caste’.  These people looked increasingly like white people but behaved like ‘Black’ people.  The only was this could be countered was to assimilate them into the general population.

Assimilation of the lighter-caste population was still an endeavour to destroy Aboriginality: by absorbing them into the wider community – the breeding out of the colour, the process of genetic change –  it was hoped that they would eventually disappear.  A radical suggestion that selective mating would breed out the colour was also proposed.

Of the endless record of horrors associated with colonisation and racial supremacy, some of the assimilation policies adopted in the 1950s equal the worst.  In particular the taking of children away from their families by the Protection Board – as their legal guardians – and disposing of them as they saw fit.  As a prelude to the Reconciliation Convention, the Government reflected on this practice:

Children were taken away under government policies of protection and assimilation aimed at having indigenous people adopt European culture and behaviour to the exclusion of their family and background.  The assimilation policy presumed that, over time, indigenous people would die out or be so mixed with the European population they became indistinguishable (The Path to Reconciliation 1997, p 24).

Yes, I would argue that the total extermination of Australia’s Indigenous people was deliberately intended.  If not by the bullet, then by the policies of those governments that saw them as a stain on white purity.  God favoured the white man and they set out to do His work.

Why is it that the media subjects female politicians to such a blatant double standard?

On one hand the media insists on conformity, and to standards set by the June Dally-Watkins School of Etiquette and Deportment combined with Elle magazine, and yet this same woman cannot be seen to be too attractive or run the risk of being accused of deviously using her sexuality. Additionally, it is not just one single set of stereotyping to which female politicians must conform, but all shades in between depending on the circumstances and the current theme which the media organisation chooses to promote.

Even when clearly talented and intelligent, the media cannot seem to accept this but that it has to be males who are pulling the strings. This has been an ongoing theme. For example, the placard-wavers stating that the Prime Minister is Bob Brown’s “bitch”, and the casual acceptance by many of the patronising and denigrating tone of the Alan Jones interview.

Further evidence for this lies in the fact that while other politicians are indeed subjected to ridicule, that this is not based upon gender nor sexual orientation. For example we might have ‘prissy’ Pyne, Bronwyn Bishop’s beehive hairdo and Kevin’s Rudd-speak, that this is not based upon their gender but upon their mannerisms.

One has to wonder about the psychological profile of people who choose to use gender as a method of attack. Is it just the easy and lazy option added to a certain degree of misogyny, or brought about by upbringing and/or societal influences?

What was it that influenced Alan Jones and others to believe that they could speak in a certain tone, what were the motivators behind the Murdoch media’s Patrick Carlyon and Owen Vaughan writing a topic titled: The Audacity of the Grope? Is it inevitable that any female choosing to enter politics should be firstly judged on her appearance and sexuality rather than qualities of character, her knowledge, her determination and her integrity?

A great many people think they are thinking when they are just rearranging their prejudices: William James