Child abuse
Uncategorized - - Posted on December, 13 at 1:02 pm by Ken L
The community’s preference for public symbolism as a substitute for considered action is on display once again. This time, the hysterics are baying for blood because a ‘pack of gang rapists’ didn’t get sent to gaol for life, or chemically castrated, or sent to the chair, or whatever other response they believe is appropriate. The public prosecutor has been suspended for not demanding they all be locked up.
As usual, the incident is treated as if it happened in a vacuum. The considered opinions of the prosecuting team, the defence counsel and the judge - the people to whom we have entrusted the administration of justice - have been ignored because the Noel Pearsons and Hetty Johnsons of this world prefer to make grand statements in which they, coincidentally of course, become the focus of attention. Clearly, according to them, these rapists should all have been locked up, regardless of the circumstances of the case.
And once you’ve locked them up, of course, the problems will all go away. Look how well it’s worked in the USA.
What about the children? Well Noel Pearson seems to think we should go back to removing them from their parents. OK, let’s go with that thought for a little while.
The Sydney Morning Herald has been running stories all year about the dysfunctional NSW Department of Community Services. Tens of thousands of children are abused and at risk of harm, and DOCS is doing a crap job of preventing it. Just a couple of weeks ago the Telegraph reported that ‘Principals have revealed thousands of children turn up to school showing signs of severe physical abuse or extreme neglect’. Not necessarily indigenous children, you understand, just children. And we are concerned about all children, are we not? I mean we’re not singling out those poor backward blackies for special attention again are we?
So we have thousands of kids being abused. One died a couple of weeks ago from malnutrition. Her parents have been arrested and charged with murder so I guess we’ve fixed that problem too.
Anyway here’s the solution to this mess according to the current Answers’R'Us pundits:
1. Punishment. Lots and lots of punishment for anyone who abuses children. Build more gaols. Send in more police. Whatever it takes.
2. Remove children at risk. HA! How simple was that? And we can put them … ummm … with foster parents, no wait, we can’t get enough foster parents as it is … in homes. Yeah, run by Catholic priests or the Barnados or someone like that. Cos we know that works soooo well from the last time we did it. The children will all come out like little Neville Bonners.
3. Keep criticising DOCS. Who cares if they’ve got an impossible job. Who cares if 99% of the population trying to be a case worker for DOCS would probably have a nervous breakdown inside a month. They’re public servants dammit and we demand that they perform!!!!! NO I DON’T KNOW HOW TO HELP THAT’S THEIR FRIGGIN’ JOB.
Maybe we can privatise DOCS … sell it with the electricity distributors as a package deal. Some Chinese company might be interested … they’re good with children.
So end of rant, but this kneejerk response to stories of child abuse in Aboriginal communities is just sickening. It is not a law enforcement problem, or at least not primarily, and it’s not a problem that’s going to be solved by mass removal of children from their families. Most of all, it’s not a problem that’s going to be solved in six months or six years. It’s a problem that might never be solved at all, which is one of the many many reasons we should be saying sorry to indigenous people out of a deep sense of shame and not as an exercise in paternalistic internal diplomacy.
And to forestall some smartarse asking how I would solve the problems, I haven’t got a clue. However, I’m smart enough to know it and acknowledge it and not rush into print with my instant ‘common sense’ nostrums. There was, however, a report pubished earlier this year by Rex Wild and Patricia Anderson. For some reason nobody seems terribly interested in its recommendations, even though it was based on an investigation into this very subject. Maybe that’s because it took a perspective longer than the next media interest cycle.
But I am sure that nothing of value will be achieved by locking up thousands of people and creating a new generation of rootless children.
Posted in Uncategorized |
December 13th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
But but but … righteous indignation feels so good! It needs no financial sacrifice or painful thought on our part.
December 13th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Personally, i hope that this episode of abuse is dealt with by wide-thinking & rational individuals. I refuse to judge the boys/young men because i don’t know the full facts of the situation and i’m tired of hearing the Corporate media HYPE & DISTORTIONS we normally get. They, like Obs, don’t give a sh*t about this unfortunate young girl. They’re about hooking in an audience…& increasing ratings…& making dosh off the advertisers. When they’re not scoring political points for their bosses. Half the time the talking heads/newsreaders gloat or smile when they’re regurgitating the day’s PAP, demonstrating their REAL understanding of the topic & general interest level.
Dealing with the problem of child abuse thruout society is complex…& takes years of “forgiveness”, “positiveness”, “education”, “establishing effective education and career pathways for all individuals in society”…redefining the concept of WORK…& EFFORT.
And working out who the REAL bad influences are. And what motivates negative behaviour.
Resorting to the use of draconian measures like throwing young men into jail for sexual mistakes or for smoking dope etc…& building Titan jails where Big Pharma & Fundy religion have free reign…& espousing “zero tolerance”…well, it’s just plain lazy & ignorant.
Certainly the BIG STICK approach has its moments…but in the long run i think we need to look at the MEDIA…scrutinise their role in creating irresponsible societies…& promoting the FEAR & INSECURITY & lack of EQUALITY that drives people to excessive drinking & anger etc. One only needs to check out the claptrap offered on most channels these days…& in computer games…in order to realise that the kids are feeding on an UNHEALTHY environment. Parents need to take more responsibility. Before BIG BROTHER govt. decides to do it for them. Which is what Noel Pearson seems to desire.
FOCUS on the ROOTS of the problem. Not just the symptoms & consequences of the disease.
We live today in a fear-mongering, knee-jerk reaction, hyped-up, finger-pointing society similar to contemporary USA & Britain. I wonder what all three of those countries have in common? Think media.
It’s also in the Right-Wing media’s interest to wedge Labor & force it into taking draconian justice/security style measures & turn it into a Right-Wing puppet…& turn the MAN-HATING extreme feminists loose in order to fracture the Left again.
When Right-Wingers promote news channels (like FOX NEWS) that play the “falling standards can be blamed on the Left” & “Christians are superior” game…whilst simultaneously promoting shows (on FOX 8…& even FOX NEWS) that glorify violence, sexual titillation, irresponsible celebrities & models, business cowboys, gambling in casinoes & soft porn…I think you get the idea that wealthy HYPOCRITES are F*CKING w/ our society…& having a laugh at our expense…& turning individuals against each other like black holes suck in matter. Munch Munch Munch…
No longer Eyes Wide Shut
——-
Your posts are excellent this week Ken.
“separation of powers”…remember that phrase you Corporate media wankers.
December 13th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
and BTW, during my extensive travels & variety of jobs/careers i’ve learnt that far too often it is those who point the finger & yell the loudest who often are the guiltiest when it comes to sexual abuse (at least in their own minds). Growing up in harsh households & strict schools where religion is used like a whip can send people loopy. That’s a fact. Look at how many Republicans have been jailed &/or fined for so called “sex crimes”. How many have been forced to lay on the bed of nails of their own making? Plenty. There’s a list out there in cyber-space somewhere. But i’m not interested in playing the same game they do.
Certain radio jocks are also good examples. I’ll leave it to your imagination.
December 13th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Meanwhile as the urge for retribution works its cleaning magic on the souls of the outraged, the restorative needs in the short and long term of the children as victims and sometimes as perpetrators,are neglected.
December 13th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
I’m sure he wasn’t referring to Hetty personally.
December 13th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Oh and don’t forget the tremendous ‘restorative’ that such venting represents as a means of experiencing again and again the cheap and nasty thrills of ‘rescue’ fantasies, so beloved of authoritarian, bloviating F wits. It’s nearly as good as the thing it represses.
December 13th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Apparently the girl has foetal alcohol syndrome, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the boys have similar problems. That’s not the result of any single event and neither was the rape or the judgement of it.
Not that accumulated context is going to stop the ravings we’re seeing over this.
Noel Pearson seems to be going out of his way to prove he’s a suitable applicant for Alan Jones’ job when he retires. It’s pathetic.
December 13th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
“bloviating”
I’m 59, an avid reader, yet haven’t come across that word before until the last ten minutes when I’ve seen it used four times, once here and the other times on another blog.
One of those perfect English words that is so self-explanatory.
December 13th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Ken,
Your link to the “Little Children Are Sacred” report is damaged. It should be http://www.nt.gov.au/dcm/inquirysaac/pdf/bipacsa_final_report.pdf
December 14th, 2007 at 7:09 am
Thanks Mike.
December 14th, 2007 at 7:26 am
Remove all the BS and what remains is that a bunch of men/boys put their ugly bits into a 10 Y.O.
If they were white and living in say, Greystanes or Rockingham or wherever would all this discussion be going on? No, because the law of the land, where aboriginals also live incidentally, would have been applied.
Why are there separate rules for blacks? At the risk of being racist I must ask this seriously in the hope that someone may tell me something convincing without using the word “traditional”
About the “now deeply concerned” parents. It is all, entirely, completely and utterly their fault. They knew she “liked it a bit” (a police report), she had been sexually assaulted at least once before and had several consensual sex experiences (same police report) If the police report is true, why didn’t the parents do something along the lines of normal parenting and keep her away from well known rapists?
Then there’s one of the boys fathers who wants his son given “traditional” aboriginal punishment? Where was he when he knew his son being a sicko before the offence?
Yeak, OK, these folks live in really crappy conditions, I understand that. What I don’t understand is why. Why live in areas that give absoloutely no stimulation at all so that filling your lungs with petrol fumes, filling your belly with grog and fillilng your mind with…..well, nothing really is all that there is? If Arakun et al is such a shit place, get up off your arse and go somewhere else. Dont load your willingly accepted disadvantage on anyone else. Do something for your selves for a change.
December 14th, 2007 at 9:39 am
enkew, you spoke a lot of truth in saying :
That is why we have Separation of Power and independent people passing judgments and sentences, as they know the FULL story.
December 14th, 2007 at 10:52 am
Hi all,
Speaking of media reaction to this case here’s a copy of an exchange with M. Devine in response to her Thursday column …
you are the racist. seriously. If you have half a brain, examine it. you and your ilk continue to do so much harm.
Miranda Devine
The Sydney Morning Herald &
The Sun-Herald
201 Sussex Street
Sydney 2000
02 9282-1102
________________________________
> From: pbrosnan@iinet.net.au
> To: devinemiranda@hotmail.com
> Subject: God help you
> Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:52:46 +0900
>
> Hi Mandy,
>
> Another day, another black bashing column eh? It’s easy money isn’t it. Set out some dreadful incidents that could happen in any community but make it look like an exclusively black problem. Accuse those who are really concerned with the plight of indigenous Australians of being the cause of the problem.You offer no solutions just bile laced with vitriol. It is fortunate that their is no-one in power now who will give you the time of day.
>
> cheers
>
> Patrick.
>
> PS. I think the Oz would welcome another in-house racist.
December 14th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Why has this word ‘ilk’ become so popular, particularly with wingnut pundits and loonie commenters? They seem to think it’s a bad thing, whatever it is, cos they always manage to make it drip with contempt.
I’d like to get to know my ilk but I don’t know who my ilk is. Or should that be ‘are’? If anyone reading is in my ilk please let me know.
December 14th, 2007 at 11:25 am
She’s one gigantic intellect, Miranda. No wonder the conservatives are in trouble. I doubt if the standard of their cheerleaders in the media could be lower.
Time for generational change I think. Or brain surgery.
December 14th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Ken, the ilk is a thin layer between the ego and the id. In males it has a large pair of antlers which are covered in a velvety fuzz during the amorous spring season.
December 14th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
‘Ilk’ just means of the same name, place or designation.
Therefore, Ken, if we’ve shared the same country where little johnny rotten ruled with an iron fist for the last decade, we’d be seen as of the same ilk. Just as we ‘ilked’ together as our country defied to world on so many issues for so long.
No use denying it to an Icelander or a Tanzanian, we’d be lumped together like two ilks in a pod.
Invading lotsa foreign countries all the time, an observor would say we’re all of the same ilk. And we’re ilked when large parts of Europe now call us “the little thugs from down under”.
And we were, up until microseconds ago, of the same ilk as the USA which has just derailed and hijacked the Bali Climate Conference. I guess they’re just all alone now, ilking along by their miserable selves.
So can Kevin 07 once again restore a grain of our prestige to the world stage? Ilked if I know.
December 14th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Most aboriginal communities are the product of horrendous abuse and dispossession. Invading settlers and their descendants murdered, raped and enslaved aborigines at will- with little fear of the law.
Those who survived the initial ’settlement’ of their tribal lands were progressively rounded up and forced to live in missions, compounds and settlements or forced into slave labor on stations. Women and children were used as sex slaves by any male, be they missionaries or stock-men, who felt so inclined.
Remote indigenous societies are the product of deprivation and hellish treatments meted out to generations by the ‘invaders’ and their descendants.
Today’s residents are trapped in these places with no where to go. Name one town or city in Australia where residents would meekly accept a family from a dysfunctional aboriginal community moving into a house nearby. You can imagine the howls of outrage, prefaced by the words “I am not racist – but…”
Enkew asks - “Why live in areas that give absoloutely no stimulation at all so that filling your lungs with petrol fumes, filling your belly with grog and fillilng your mind with…..well, nothing really is all that there is? If Arakun et al is such a shit place, get up off your arse and go somewhere else. Dont load your willingly accepted disadvantage on anyone else. Do something for your selves for a change”
Such sentiments are nothing more than Howard/Hansonite racist tripe.
Aurukun is a refuge of last resort. As dysfunctional as it is it offers the comfort of a community, against the indignity of rejection and isolation in the long grass on the outskirts of a town full of racists.
Want to make a real contribution Enkew. Get a few of your mates and sponsor and mentor a family from Aurukun. Find a house in your neighborhood for them to live in. Help with education and be tolerant of their antisocial behavior until you teach them the social skills necessary to function in your society. Provide them with jobs. Be patient and tolerant as the process will require more than one generation.
Too hard, not your responsibility, lack compassion? Well at least get up off your arse and find out how to spell Aurukun.
December 14th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Ilk’s popularity in the wingnutosphere almost certainly stems from one of them having seen Hitchens or somebody using it, and thinking it sounded smart and pompous. They’re like a horde of fucking lemmings, in case you hadn’t noticed, or deer, or other easily frightened herd prey animals.
I’ve seen a couple of responses from Devine, Ms M. to criticism (from myself and Jack Robertson). This “You don’t even know what an idiot you are!” theme is about the extent of it. Compare the subject column to Mike Steketee’s in the Oz:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22914192-7583,00.html
I used to think her stuff was just cynically market driven, now I lean towards just-not-very-bright.
December 14th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
The two ‘aint mutually exclusive, Sean.
December 14th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Suffer the little children…brought to you by news organisations American style.
Lyn, isn’t “ilk” shooting a favorite past-time of a certain Vice President? Apparently he shoots his “ilk” in the face when they encroach on his space during his Manichaean paranoid adventures.
“differing of opinion Hawks and ‘ilks’ to the Left of him,
can’t quite agree with your insane views anymore ‘ilks’ to the Right
even a few of the traitors in front
Bang, bang!!!
Volley’d and thunder’d;
an old dude storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly Dick & Addington rode and well,
Into the jaws of Islamaphobia,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the Neo-Cons.
…bang, bang”
(not quite The Charge of the Light Brigade by
Alfred, Lord Tennyson)
December 15th, 2007 at 12:54 am
“Dealing with the problem of child abuse thruout society is complex…& takes years of “forgiveness”, “positiveness”, “education”, “establishing effective education and career pathways for all individuals in society”…redefining the concept of WORK…& EFFORT.
And working out who the REAL bad influences are. And what motivates negative behaviour.”
Well how does it go again? Fail to finish school, have a child before you’re married and marry before 21 years of age and you have an 80% chance of being poor in the US. Axiomatically that would include the offspring and there’s little doubt that rule would apply in Australia too. Recognise the same problem here too?
http://www.frontpagemag.com/blog/Default.aspx
Of course we silly coservatives, neocons, RWDB wingnuts and whatnot understand it implicitly and bring our children up accordingly. When liberal progressives, over 30 years ago began their brave new world of paying women to have children with any number of different men, we knew where it would lead and now it has. When they practised their same anything goes, progressive racism with their very own time warp poodles, the results are even more horrendous. I’ll keep tut tutting in my leafy suburb at your lack of values and appalling outcomes and leave you to figure it all out for yourselves shall I? After all I doubt you’ll heed my advice, like I made my children do. They’re doing just fine you’ll be pleased to know. I can understand why you want to apologise to the aboriginal folk of course. Kevin will no doubt do that for you so you can all feel better and move on.
December 15th, 2007 at 1:56 am
And from a source that shall remain nameless, not that we would want any of this to get out internationally of course and hence the cover up-
POLICE officers stationed in Cape York have backed claims that officers from Queensland’s Department of Child Safety routinely withheld information of child abuse, the police union says.
Union deputy president Denis Fitzpatrick today said he had spoken to officers following allegations by a Cairns police officer that a Queensland Government minister ordered child safety officers not to report some incidents of child abuse to police.
Mr Fitzpatrick said the officers from remote Aboriginal communities had spoken of a “systemic problem” with the relay of information from the department to police.
He said the department had failed in its primary duty and called for anyone responsible for withholding information to be sacked.
“It seems amazing and remarkable to me as a police officer that an organisation that is set up with its paramount intent of looking after child safety does not relay information of child sexual and physical abuse to the police – it just defies belief,” Mr Fitzpatrick said in Brisbane.
“If these kids are physically and sexually abused and the option is available to remove them from that environment then that has to be done in the interests of the safety of the child.”
Mr Fitzpatrick suggested the Government may have been suffering from “a stolen generation hangover” but also placed the blame on former child safety minister Mike Reynolds, who is also a north Queensland MP.
“At the time, he made public comment about police,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.
“He showed disdain, distrust for police and I’m just saying that it may be the case that that sort of intent flowed through this particular organisation.”
Ah well if you’re suffering from ‘Stolen Generation Hangover’, there’s always more of the same liberal progressive remedies to perk you up a bit-
“Lesbians to get access to IVF treatment”
headline here(WARNING: private media link!)
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,22923841-5005962,00.html
now that old fuddy duddy, Catholic Bracks is gone.
December 15th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Or perhaps you could all take in a good arts movie to relieve the stress of it all
‘A GREEK court has acquitted the director of an art show on charges of obscenity and an attack on national symbols, citing freedom of expression.
A video showing a woman masturbating to the Greek national anthem by Greek-American Eva Stefani was displayed at the Art Athina contemporary art show in Athens last June.
After a visitor reported the video to police, Art Athina director Michalis Argyros was arrested and charged.
He spent the night behind bars, provoking an outcry from local artists, who mobilised to defend him.
At his trial yesterday, the court ruled against the prosecutor, who had argued the video made no sense and that “Nudity is a work of art only in Renaissance paintings”, the Eleftherotypia newspaper reported.
Works of art that slight religion or national symbols are actively pursued in Greece by followers of the Greek Orthodox Church and right-wing political parties.’
Now I could think up something really artistic like a bloke in a university cap and gown open at the front with only a Che T-shirt underneath, sporting Kyoto and save the whales badges, a Koran in one hand, while he masturbates all over the customary aboriginal flag. That should get the ‘Yartz’ juices really flowing and if perchance some unappreciative troglodyte complains to the fascist authorities, you can all come out in the streets in support of my artistic freedom.
December 15th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
On second thoughts, scratch the Koran eh?
December 15th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
Obs emerges from his den drenched in talk radio buttcrack stench…it’s the smell of an unfortunate brain wiring…a ham with tosser salad, sprinkled with dried bullshit and toasted frontal lobe. Swilled down w/ a glass of sanity free Serbian wine, drawn from the withered vines of the killing fields.
My wife spent all week consoling Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander students she knows and cares for, helping them to deal with the tragic death, by accident, of a an Aboriginal friend who worked with her to coordinate the homework centre for a few years (before your Coalition mates Obs in their infinate wisdom gave the funding the axe)…my mother-in-law, at the request of my partner, has contacted a friend who runs a charity, who now intends to assist the poor man’s wife & his 4 children under the age of ten, in order to help them thru the bad days and nights without the main breadwinner…their loving Father…& ensure the kids have some kind of halfway decent Xmas. The school has run an appeal & the staff, including my wife, have given what they can. She’ll make discreet contact with his relatives at the funeral in order to find out when we can drive some of the Xmas stuff etc. over to their home.
My wife’s mate died last Saturday Obs.
And i kept your BS thru the week to myself. That’s how most on the Left work. They give a sh*t. Walk the walk…not just talk the talk & let others, like big corporations, do the work for them. You should be fck’n ashamed of yourself.
December 16th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Yes, your less than wise ex-Treasurer, Peter Costello, provided incentive for young women to leave school and be paid between 3-5000 dollars for having children. After having promoted luddite programs like ‘abstinence’ that they know don’t generally work, but in fact lead to unfortunate girls getting pregnant. Ensuring that Australian society now has a new generation of poor children.
Your lot doesn’t fool me Obs. It’s you crackerjacks that keep the poverty cycle happening…all because you want to create a new group of cheap labor, disposable soldiers & and uneducated youngsters who support your war-mongering, fast & unhealthy food, fossil fool selling companies…& in turn vote for Neo-Libs & Neo-Con artists who provide them with handouts whilst controlling their morality via the evangelical churches, some private schools, the TV set & radio, and by way of their welfare payments.
NO LONGER EYES WIDE SHUT
December 16th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
nasking
It is people like you who are the problem. It is people like you, the rest of Australia must be made aware of, so we can tackle this problem honestly. I suspect one of Howard’s lasting legacies will be having the guts to go through with The Intervention. One of the current government’s lasting legacies will be rolling it out beyond the NT.
Hopefully, you people will apologise, then slip off and leave our indigenous people alone. You have done far, far, too much harm already.
December 16th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Jesus Christ.
What did we do to deserve this pompous ass coming here with his gibberish?
Yeah nas, we should put you in a cage and parade you around the country like the North Vietnamese did with pilots they shot down, cos da people need to made AWARE. Hallelujah brothers n sisters.
Come back from exile soon please LP … your pet trolls are missing you.
December 16th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
BTW
Don’t you just adore the capitalisation of ‘The Intervention’?
It’s kind of like ‘The Surge’. Or ‘The Second Coming of Our Lord’.
These clowns … honestly.
December 16th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Ken L
And what will you say in years to come when your grandchildren ask, “And poppy, where were you when The Luvvies were supporting genocidal policies against the aborigines? Did you stand up and be counted shouting “Enough of the Luvvies? Did you help Marcia Langton, Noel Pearson, the women and children of Wadeye? Did you heed the warnings of Nannette Rogers? Or did you spit and fume from Glebe on the Internet to all your Luvvie mates about the Rodent Howard for 15 years and console yourself with the latest DAvid Williamson play?”
What will you say, Ken?
December 16th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
That’s right, i’m the problem. I’m generally opposed to abortion apart from specific medical/moral reasons. I oppose the death penalty but i’d strangle with my own bare hands any bas*ard who tried to do my loved ones in. I’m a vegetarian who captures insects in the home if possible & puts them outside because i think most LIFE should be cherished…but i’m a hypocrite because i just can’t beat the cheese addiction & adopted two feral cats who require fish & chook to survive. I detest radical feminists who use their trauma &/or hatred of men to gain & wield power…but i’m a feminist in that i believe in equal rights for women before the law & equal pay for the same effort/labour.
I believe in choice…whether it be education, healthcare, childcare, utilities & the media…but i also believe that industry must be regulated at certain levels if it receives govt assistance & uses lobbying to influence politicians & create uncompetitive monopolies…and in turn public service must be accountable to the taxpayers…& to a certain degree money should be kept out of politics, and that includes businesses, unions, religious-based lobby groups etc…but I am convinced that is highly unlikely until we can evolve the political system into something more Democratic.
I believe people should be rewarded for their stewardship of the land…that goes for small & large farmers, Aboriginal communities etc. After retiring from my career due to illness i have not once applied for Govt. assistance, incl. a Health Care Card, because i believe my wife earns enuff, we should feel lucky for what we have considering the lot of many others around the World, but i do believe in a safety net…& reciprocal effort & attending training courses for the long-term unemployed.
I don’t believe in creating public housing that leaves the assisted without mutual obligation contracts…& also w/out convenient access to places of employment, public transport, parks for play, community centres and nearby health clinics.
I believe that land developers & war-mongers & media conglomerates & certain wealthy individuals & Corporations have far too much control over certain parties and politicians. And i’m convinced that some dynasties, in league w/ certain lobby groups infiltrate high level Govt executive posts and construct Wars…over & over & over again…for both asset acquisition & zealot reasons (religious &/or addiction to a territory).
I’m certain many millions have died unnecessarily because these lunatics have not only constructed grotesque regimes & fed them (& in turn contributed to the arms race & continuation of poverty) but also use their media mates or those sycophants & profit slaves looking for eye catching LIVE TV, to help topple said regimes…& in turn redirect tax revenue & business effort from positive developments including affordable healthcare & education for all across the Planet…towards promoting death and destruction & infiltrating countries with resource sapping & enviro-destructive industries & businesses, that eventually fills the coffers of the same bast*rds who started the game. And in turn constructs new villains & traumatised groups that can be used for more violent purposes down the road. I also think “Catch 22” is an insightful novel.
I also believe that many belief systems can be useful as a means to coping with mortality, loss & the panic that can arise regarding ‘existential’ questions…& “are we alone in the Universe”…but far too many are myopic, and based on mythology rather than fact, interpreted by those more interested in retaining power & rewards & expressing their guilt, xenophobia and sometimes moral madness…or to mobilise the easily impressionable (young children), gullible, badly educated &/or emotionally vulnerable in order to fulfill an election goal or create a War against some region/Country in order to steal/control their resources.
I personally feel there are far too many coincidences, varieties of pursuing existence & time perception oddities in the World for Evolution to be the only theory that makes sense…but it seems to work well as one theory that might explain one aspect of an incredibly complex Universe…and might play an integral role in this sector of the Universe but not in others.
I can be a reductionist of the first order…& sometimes far too harsh on my critics. I tend to rage internally when I see other species being denied their right to exist without pain & enslavement…and I realize I’m a pathetic bugger sometimes because I find it difficult to socialize and tolerate the far too oft narrow views of others I stumble across at the occasional party or trip to the mall.
I fervently believe in multiculturalism…& see a necessity for political focus shift every decade or so at a Federal & State level in order to ensure that certain introduced cultures either get a fair shake…or are diluted due to the “fanatic” element. I’ve lost trust in Conservative political parties because I believe they have been hijacked by moral midgets & a few greedy bast*rds who are the most mean-spirited bunch of trolls to come along since Western religious zealots used their power to dunk alternative thinkers in water & tortured them sadistically whilst accusing them of being witches & the Devil’s disciples…instead this present lot accuse innocent people of being Islamic terrorists & act out similar torture…& order brave young patriots to drop bombs on communities regardless of the loss of life, referred to in the steely voice of a Grid Iron coach as “collateral damage”.
And if you don’t like opinionated people who hold diverse, sometimes seemingly contradictory views on issues because they can’t be fit into a sound-byte…and who can point the finger and rage at greedy bast*rds who purport to be “compassionate Conservatives” as well as any of you buggers who support them can…then yes, I’m your problem.
But I feel confident in predicting that if you & your mates don’t back off on persecuting the Arabs & Persians…& don’t start focusing on defeating poverty by means other than creating enviro-destructive jobs & ill-thought out land development…& don’t stop the revenge/hate talk…but rather attempt to heal the Planet’s wounds…& join the move towards ‘cleaner energy’…you’re going to have a darn site more problems to deal with than me. I think some of YOUR Aboriginal people have been aware of that for a good, long time. So perhaps you need to open your ears & start listening to the views of some of the Elders who are not Noel Pearson. He has some valid ideas…but he ain’t “the be all & end all”…the way ATSIC wasn’t.
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and Ken, as you well know, there is little integrity behind most of their words. It’s all about SHOW ME THE MONEY!…yelled thru the fog of moral panic & political wedging…most of those like JG would make superb Evangelical Ministers or Car Salesman or Real Estate Auctioneers.
December 17th, 2007 at 6:34 am
Yep! I guess I must be THE PROBLEM TOO.
These kids - and that’s what they are, kids, are now the playthings of us adults - for money no less - how many newspapers has the story sold - how many have play the political one upmanship - the same culture that puts titillating kids on the pages of glossy magazines?
December 17th, 2007 at 6:49 am
Eh I’ll say:
“That paternity case got thrown out of court. So stop calling me poppy.”