Champas Socialist

Reply to Sex Ed in Schools in Politics JoeUser Forums

mslady death I hoped you might come up with a better argument than "because I don't think it should". One of the biggest problems we are facing is that adoption is shrouded in secrecy and treated as taboo, a dirty secret, thus leading to mass feeelings of guilt for anyone who chooses to give their children to a "better" family. Why should people be madfe to feel that they should be ashamed of adoption? Shhhh shh honey, we don't talk about those things

Reply to Islamic Extremist calls bin Laden a "good man" in Politics JoeUser Forums

Dr Guy, yes he's walking a tight rope, but very few realise he is. In most presentations of him you only get to see him saying "Bin Laden is a good man" and then he's cut off. I agree with you Furry. Mundine expressed himself poorly, and did so at a very insensitive time, but his comments were a similar viewpoint to those of Noam Chomsky. Whether you agree with Chomsky or not, it does seem that from the terrorists' viewpoint, part of their ang

Reply to Islamic Extremist calls bin Laden a "good man" in Politics JoeUser Forums

I didn't call bin Laden a good man. But I would expect priests and imams to do so. (This is off-topic but I wouldn't necessarily call him an evil man either, because I think that's a simplistic way of looking at it. I don't think Hitler was an evil man either (and I have a blog planned on that topic). They did very evil things and were consumed by evil. But anyway, the point is not what I think, but what this Imam is saying. I think the Imam

Reply to The Adventures of Sketchy Girl in Humor JoeUser Forums

Who's the blonde?

Islamic Extremist calls bin Laden a "good man" in Politics JoeUser Forums

Is Sheikh Mohammed Omran really as extremist as is suggested or is he just a scapegoat for the media and the Government? He is often quoted as saying that Osama bin Laden is a great man. Yet listen to the full context of what he is saying. This is the advice he gives to those involved in the WTC attacks: “"This is not the right way to handle your unj

Reply to Instructions for Becoming a Mellow Left-Winger in Politics JoeUser Forums

Good article. For me the key ingredient to realising all these ideas was last year's elections. I put a lot of time and stress into trying to get my Prime Minister unelected, and he actually got an increased majority. It was then that I realised I was having no effect. Prior to that, I thought blogs were a great tool for democracy. Of course, I'd have to let others judge whether I am a mellow lefty, but I have certainly considerably mellowed.

Reply to A Blogger Bitches in Blogging JoeUser Forums

"*Bump* That would be the Champas theory of Blog attention. *Bump*" He he. Yes it would be. I totally agree with you Tex. If you must bump, come up with something a little more original than just writing "bump". I occasionally bump an article by putting in a comment that actually relates to the thread, but bumping for the sake of bumping is lame, shows very little imagination and is f++ing irritating. I don't get the point of bumping

Reply to Political Correctness Gone too far: Mate-Gate in Politics JoeUser Forums

Ta, btw is a British/Aussie expression for thankyou. Pronounced the same way as the stuff they put on roads.

Reply to PETA: Sinking to New lows in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Oh look, I don't deny that they have very poor techniques for convincing others. I said that ages ago. What I'm saying is simply that if we rise above their juvenile level of debate, and actually analyse what it is they are trying to argue (rather than taking the ad just from what it says), then we might see that they aren't actually trying to denigrate any humans at all. They place a high value on human life, they simply place equal value on animal li

Reply to Sex Ed in Schools in Politics JoeUser Forums

Oh and btw, why the hell shouldn't adoption be covered? Surely our society has enough stigma attached to something that could prevent a lot of abortions already without making it taboo. What: you think if we cover our eyes and pretend abortion and adoption don't exist, the kids won't notice they exist and they won't discuss them in the playground? Oh yeah, I remember how in high school playgrounds, we really steered away from anything controversial. Su

Reply to Sex Ed in Schools in Politics JoeUser Forums

I'm an Aussie so I can't comment on what your schools do, but I had 4 clumps of sex ed through school: 1 week each in Year 4, Year 6, Year 8 and Year 9. All treated very clinically and very biased towards procreative sex, as though our bodies are nothing but machines with elementary functions to perform. All done through a transimission approach, with no real chance for us to clarify any misconceptions we had or things we wanted to know. What, were the

Reply to Shoot first ask questions later: Revisited in Current Events JoeUser Forums

That the guy was shot.

Reply to Political Correctness Gone too far: Mate-Gate in Politics JoeUser Forums

Ta mate!

Reply to PETA: Sinking to New lows in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Claiming animals are equal and claiming they are the same are quite different things. Dr Guy, you are still approaching this from your own beliefs. It is irrelevant whether you think that their assertion that humans and animals are equal is a sustainable position. There are millions of arguments against what they have to say. (Incidentally I believe we are equal because humans and animals have souls, the rest is irrelevant, but my beliefs are

Reply to Why the Loony Fringe is Eventually Doomed to fail in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Oh dear.

Reply to Political Correctness Gone too far: Mate-Gate in Politics JoeUser Forums

Nice thoughts Furry (though I'm sure you're not surprised to hear I also like Hawkey more than you do). Good to see you are still alive, we missed you last week. Hope we'll see you this week. I think Kim Beazley's thoughts on the word 'mate' around the time of Howard's infamous Constituional preamble were pretty on the money. It's a great word in all its connotations (deliberately patronising, referring to the club for the boys, or affectionat

Reply to Snuggling or Foreplay? in Misc JoeUser Forums

msladydeath, an insightful to you. Why define it? It is beautiful, it is fun, sometimes it will lead to more, sometimes it won't.

Political Correctness Gone too far: Mate-Gate in Politics JoeUser Forums

BALLARAT MHR Catherine King calls staff "mate" when she visits Parliament House, and is happy for them to address her in the same way. She said a memo sent to security staff and attendants at Parliament House banning them from using the term when addressing visitors and parliamentarians was political correctness at its worst. "I think it is absolutely ridi

Reply to What Next? in Misc JoeUser Forums

I am strongly in favour of many elements of "PC", but I agree this is a ridiculous one. In fact, it is because of my "gender is a social construct" stance, that I deliberately make sure I use the term "mate" for women as well as men, and for boys and girls in the classroom. I'm not trying to masculinise anyone, it's just a good, affectionate term. Give that woman a Hahn Lite!

Reply to PETA: Sinking to New lows in Current Events JoeUser Forums

I'm sorry Dr Guy, I don't follow your analogy. But to have a stab at what I think you are talking about (and I may be way off here, cos I just need it explained a little more), the difference again is that the Nazis had a viewpoint that was saying that Jews are worthless, as in they claimed Jewish people were worth less than what everybody else thought they were worth. PETA has not actually claimed that black people are worthless: they still

Reply to Shoot first, ask questions later? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

I guess some of just hoped that merely not realising that the call of Stop was directed to us, or we didn't hear it would not lead to our death. Arrest, sure. But blown to smithereens? A little overreaction I reaction.

Reply to Shoot first ask questions later: Revisited in Current Events JoeUser Forums

It's a sad and scary day for democracy. Regardless of the new evidence.

Reply to Look at me! I'm a political cartoonist! in Politics JoeUser Forums

Woohoo! Look at me! I can use a computer too! Tnaks KIngbeeeee!!! Thanks, ParaTedf, that's thwe best compliment I've had since turning my hand to this.

Reply to Why some Immigrants don't assimilate in Politics JoeUser Forums

I don't know what's happening to mwe. I'm too old to sell out to the Right. Yet here I am, at least in part agreeing with LW!!! I do agree that some effort should be made to understand and participate in a new culture. However, I think that the reason this often isn't done is because many Australians are often very unwelcoming to non-white foreigners, and instead greet them with "This is Australia, not Austr-Asia" or the other quotes I included in the

Reply to Why some Immigrants don't assimilate in Politics JoeUser Forums

You're right Moderateman. It is astonishing that in a country in which Muslims are free from discrimiantion and prejudice that tere would still be some tension from their side. Those Islamics are so ungrateful. (No I'm not saying that discrimination justifies bombing. I'm pointing out the spuriousness of your comment, that's all).