The Carapace

On Australia Day and racism #auspol

2012-01-30T00:12:00.000+10:00

Every year we see racial tensions peak on Australia Day. We have heard numerous suggestions from public commentators on how to avoid this problem, ranging from changing the date of Australia Day to removing it altogether. Yet not a single suggestion thus far actually addresses the underlying cause of the problem, an underlying cause which is not racism. Racism exists wherever you go. It always has and to some degree always will. Yet there are examples of societies around the world where people of different races do live together and flourish as the equals they are despite the racism of others who share those societies. Why is it then that Indigenous Australians are failing to do so?

If what Indigenous people seek is the elimination of racism they will be disappointed. If what they seek is altering the past they will be disappointed. Racism and historical injustice are forever the focus of media attention and seemingly then these are the issues affecting Indigenous people today. Yet my experience tells me that although these things may have been the cause of the issues we face today, the issues today are far more complicated than the black and white nature of racism.

No one is questioning the tragic events of the past, the Stolen Generation among them. Such tragedies are indeed worth remembering so that they never happen again, but let's put things into perspective. Today Indigenous Australians are afforded the same civil rights as any other person. Indeed, as a white male my civil rights are less than those of the average Indigenous Australian for the simple fact that I happen to be gay. As a result of British colonisation, Indigenous Australians are also the beneficiaries of all that a modern civilisation has to offer: education, healthcare, agriculture, and an extremely generous welfare system. Yet it is also true that they have fallen victim to the many vices of modern civilisation: alcohol, gambling, drugs and other substance abuse. A welfare system that was designed to give a hand-up out of poverty has done nothing more than give hand-outs and create a culture of dependence and of entitlement. So where did we go wrong?

The failure of every government trying to deal with Indigenous Australians has been that instead of wiping the slate clean and treating them as the equals they are, they have implemented a system of positive discrimination in the welfare system that favours the Indigenous. This has served only to foster racism with non-Indigenous Australians who may be just as disadvantaged as some Indigenous Australians and do not understand why simply being Indigenous entitles someone to be treated more generously by the welfare system. It has also served to foster a culture of entitlement amongst Indigenous Australians who now expect entitlements simply because they are Indigenous. Such problems will continue until governments understand that positive racism does not undo negative racism.

The simple fact is that races are a social construct, not a biological one. The genetic differences between human beings are for the most part unremarkable. It is our numerous similarities that are interesting. The only way we can move forward as one people and one country is to start acting like one. Yet the racial divide runs deep, and it goes both ways.

My experiences living in a regional area of Australia are for the most part negative. I see Indigenous Australians given every possible opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty and yet the vicious cycle continues. Money meant to contribute to the education and wellbeing of children is spent on alcohol and illicit drugs. When government money runs out, they turn to theft; usually of spray paint which is inhaled. I see gangs of Indigenous youths running the streets lead by adults, damaging property, inciting violence, shouting the popular racial slur "white cunt" and generally being delinquent. I see all of this only to be left more surprised by what I don't see - any policy change or response that will put an end to this vicious cycle.

What I am certain of is that without change we will not just see the loss of a generation, but of an entire people and culture. Yet it remains the policy decisions of the past that paralyse any government from enacting real change in the present. The Stolen Generation has ensured that no government dare do what we all know needs to be done today - remove Indigenous children from the care of abusive parents - and removed they must be if the cycle of abuse, poverty and a lack of education and employment is ever to be broken.

This will never be achieved without the support of Indigenous Australians who have broken free of this cycle and who understand that government action today is not motivated by racism, rather by the desire to see Indigenous youth break free of their chains. How we break those chains is the real issue facing us today, and it is always side-lined for the sake of making cheap shots so as to appear to stand on some proverbial moral high ground. If middle-class Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians did more on Australia Day than post tweets and Facebook statuses about how it is Invasion Day so they can feel morally superior then maybe we might see some positive change.

Too often is the race card played and the events of the past dragged up to justify the wrongs of the present. Well I am here to say that snide remarks achieve nothing. Intimidating political leaders achieves nothing. Burning the Australian flag achieves nothing.

If you want to achieve something you have to grow up and act with some integrity. You have to set an example for the youth who look up to you. In many societies elders are respected and revered. Yet many of our elders have come to expect this simply because of their age or title, in spite of which our political leaders behave as schoolchildren and many Indigenous elders have lost touch with the values and culture of their people. What this country needs now is for our elders to come together and to lead. There needs to be a bi-partisan approach from government leaders and Indigenous elders to stamp-out the neglect and abuse of Indigenous children. How is this ever going to happen when they act as children themselves?
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Same-sex marriage is a threat to humanity

2012-01-11T06:13:00.001+10:00

Or so says an abstinent former Nazi virgin paedophile protector. Yes, the Pope has it all worked out. Clearly the gays won't stop until they have destroyed the human race. First same-sex marriage, then total destruction. Why if same-sex marriage were allowed then before you know it everyone will turn gay and there won't be any more babies. Makes perfect sense. After all being gay is clearly a choice, one which apparently the Pope thinks is preferable to being straight, otherwise he wouldn't be so worried about everyone suddenly deciding to have a gay old time the moment same-sex marriage is possible.

Words Engraved

2012-01-09T06:54:00.000+10:00

Words Engraved produces videos promoting an empowering message of reason and humanism. Here is one of their videos:

More on the principle of compulsory vaccination

2011-12-31T13:50:00.001+10:00

In response to my recent post about compulsory vaccination I have been told to put myself in the shoes of those who are terrified of vaccinations, that freedom is a primal urge and that I am throwing away our freethinking liberation from religion because I support compulsory vaccination.

Of course, just because someone is terrified of vaccines doesn't make their beliefs any less irrational, in fact it just highlights how irrational they are; and freedom is indeed a primal urge, it is just I support the right of all members of society not to die of preventable disease over the right of a few irrational people to not vaccinate. All this goes back to the discussion I had about the fact there are competing rights and you sometimes have to choose which are more important. The freedom to choose which rights are more important, when it comes to matters of public health such as vaccination, should be conferred to the government and healthcare regulators. Why? Because they are the people who run the healthcare system, they are educated and qualified in those areas. Lunatic anti-vaccinationists are not. It is all very well for people to talk about their freedom if they want to drive on the wrong side of the road, but that kills people, which is why we make them drive on the same side as everyone else. Not vaccinating also kills people, so ultimately what is the difference?

Everyone seems to agree that it is wrong for a smoker to be amongst non-smokers while they are smoking because it unfairly puts non-smokers at risk. So smokers are isolated while they engage in that behaviour and this it seems is socially acceptable. Yet anti-vaccinationists walk among us all in society, the potential for disease transmission is always there. Of course, we try to protect children by requiring vaccination for school entry and by placing unvaccinated children in different classes to the minimise risk of transmission. The reality is that regulating a bahaviour such as smoking is much easier than regulating individual movements; even unvaccinated children placed in different classes still interact during lunch breaks for example; and once such people become adults regulating their movements becomes near impossible. The problem is worsened by the fact that anti-vaccinationists tend to congregate and belong to the same circle of family and friends. One can only imagine what would have happened were there a measles outbreak at the Woodford Folk Festival.

It seems to me that the banner of freethinking is being held high when one rebukes irrational and dangerous beliefs, whether they be religious or not; and make no mistake, anti-vaccinationists are irrational, dangerous people. Their actions result in disease outbreaks and the death of innocent people. If they really do think that vaccines are part of some Big Brother conspiracy then they should be ignored as every other lunatic conpiracy theorist is; and yes if they actually are insane as these people often are they should be committed and get the medical attention they need. If they would indeed act out violently against compulsory vaccination as the commenter suggests then they need to be locked up. However, I think such fears are exaggerated. Compulsory vaccination exists to the extent I proposed previously (click here) already in Italy and they seem to be doing just fine. Italy is no utopia and yet compulsory vaccination has been proven to work there. Frankly, we should be embarrassed that a country as religious as Italy has the sense to have compulsory vaccinations and we don't. I believe it can work here too.
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Some pictures of the @WoodfordFF

2011-12-29T21:32:00.002+10:00

Above is the banner that was flown over the Woodford Folk Festival earlier today as Meryl Dorey participated in a panel discussion about vaccination.

Below are some pictures of what was on offer at the festival and as you can see Dorey was likely talking to a very receptive audience.

As one Facebook commenter asked, just how many angels need to be crushed to make one dose of angel essence? I just wonder how many people were in need of legitimate first aid and were given homeopathic "treatment" instead. Indeed, the whole event seems to have been one great big "alternative medicine" expo with some bad music thrown in.

The practicalities of compulsory vaccination

2011-12-29T18:08:00.000+10:00

Yesterday I wrote about why I support compulsory vaccination in principle, which you can read about here. In short, people who support compulsory vaccination put the safety of all members of society above any single individual's autonomy. I would ask for any of you who want to talk about the principles of compulsory vaccination to join the conversation on that post and to reserve comments here for the topic of this post - the practicalities of compulsory vaccination.

It is of course not practical to ensure that everyone be vaccinated with every available vaccine, nor is it necessary or cost-effective. There should, however, be a minimum compulsory set of vaccines for every member of the community and these should be decided by a board of health experts who assess the relative risks and the epidemiology of disease. With a base level of compulsory community vaccinations there should also be compulsory professional vaccinations as there already are in many states for health workers and veterinarians. Such vaccinations address work-related risks that other members of the community are not exposed to. Finally, all other vaccines should be optional, but encouraged.

Similarly, there should be compulsory travel vaccinations for people traveling overseas to high risk areas. The reason for this is not only to protect the health of the individual but also the biosecurity of their home country. For example, both cases I cited in my previous post about recent outbreaks of measles in North Queensland were brought in by unvaccinated people traveling overseas (Hanna et al., 2000 & 2002), as were measles outbreaks in Victoria in 1999 and 2001 (Lambert et al., 1999; Andrews, 2001). Aside from the health risk posed to the community, the control of such disease outbreaks comes at a huge administrative and financial cost. The government and taxpayers foot the bill in cases such as these, all because a simple and cheap vaccination was refused.

Of course, I would never suggest that compulsory vaccinations apply to the few who do suffer severe adverse reactions to certain vaccines. The point would simply be to ensure that everyone who can be vaccinated is, and that is just about everyone. Compulsory vaccination should be like compulsory voting, you might not like having to do it but it remains your civic duty to uphold democracy and so too it should to uphold public health. If you don't like either of those things move to Africa.
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On Meryl Dorey, compulsory vaccination and free speech

2011-12-28T20:50:00.000+10:00

I am not sure why people have reacted so strongly against my suggestion that Meryl Dorey, a woman who spreads dangerous misinformation about vaccines, belongs behind bars and not on television. One commenter even went so far as to call me a fascist.

In this post I want to talk chiefly about two things: why I think vaccination should be compulsory and why I think freedom of speech should be limited when it comes to protecting and maintaining public safety. I expect that both these proposals will be met by a heated response from civil libertarians, which I welcome, although I will aim to address most of their concerns here.

Why vaccinations should be compulsory

A great way to eliminate the danger of children falling ill or dying as a result not being vaccinated because of insufferable morons spreading dangerous nonsense about vaccines would simply be to make vaccination compulsory, which in Australia it is not. You can call compulsory vaccination fascist too if you like, I just call it sensible. Ironically Italy is one of a few countries where there is compulsory vaccination, but only for diphtheria, tetanus, polio and hepatitis B; although this has apparently not been enforced for many years (Bonanni and Bergamini, 2002). Indeed, if you want the only true example of compulsory vaccination you have to go back to 19th century England where the Vaccination Act of 1853 ensured that smallpox vaccination for all infants in the first three months of life was compulsory on pain of fine or imprisonment (Wolfe and Sharp, 2002).

It was fortunate that it took until 1898 for the new Vaccination Act, a direct result of anti-vaccination proponents lobbying government, that allowed for conscientious objection to vaccination (Wolfe and Sharp, 2002). Indeed, despite the measures of the English 1853 Act smallpox went on to kill an estimated 300-500 million people in the 20th century and was not eradicated until there was a coordinated global effort by the World Health Organisation. Finally smallpox was declared to be eradicated in 1979, all thanks to widespread vaccination and in spite of efforts from the Meryl Doreys of the day opposing it.

The fact remains that for as long as there have been vaccines there have been anti-vaccinationists; and were we talking about adults making a decision about what they do to their own bodies I might understand, but that is not what we are talking about. We are talking about people who do not understand medicine and who do not understand vaccines making the decision to not vaccinate a defenseless child. At what point are we going to consider the rights of the child and the wider community to disease prevention over the right of ignorant parents to make the bad and misinformed choice to not vaccinate? If you ask me the rights of the former clearly outweigh the latter.

The simple fact is that disease outbreaks occur because of conscientious objection to vaccination. Consider for example two North Queensland cases: one in 2000 in which a family of five unvaccinated children of conscientious objectors were diagnosed with measles (Hanna et al., 2000); the other in 2002 saw another measles outbreak affecting seven children from four families in which all were a direct result of parents choosing not to vaccinate their children, with the exception of one infant too young to be vaccinated (Hanna et al., 2002).

Even people who still argue that the general public should have the right to refuse vaccinating themselves and their children would be hard-pressed to argue that people working in the health sector should not be required to have an up-to-date vaccination history. It is clearly important that they do, not just for their own safety as they come into contact with sick patients, but to prevent the transmission of disease to the many other patients they take care of. Yet Meryl Dorey thinks compulsory vaccination of health workers is not only wrong, she actually claims it has resulted in the spread of disease in this unreferenced presentation you can view by clicking this sentence.

People do not hesitate to scorn a pregnant woman who smokes or drinks alcohol. So too should parents who do not vaccinate their children be scorn. You may say it is their right to do so, but the trouble with rights is there will always be competing rights and sometimes you have to decide which is more important to protect. Vaccination is not only about the individual, it is about society. Consider by analogy education; one could argue their individual right to not be educated and have language and mathematics forced upon them. Despite this we see that the collective benefit to society is greater when people can communicate and so the individuals rights must come second to society rights. So we legislate minimum requirements in education regarding literacy and numeracy and have mandatory schooling to a certain level. Consider too the way we regulate vehicular traffic: people are not free to drive in any direction at any time they please, because that would be chaos and would result in countless road fatalities. So society sets road rules for us to follow and we are all better off for them.

Why freedom of speech should be limited when it comes to protecting and maintaining public safety

We already limit freedom speech and information and rightly so. Information is often classified or restricted by governments to protect individuals and societies. No one wants information regarding how to create biological or nuclear weapons made available to anyone seeking it under freedom of information, for the obvious reason that many people would use such information to harm the public good. Many countries also have laws against hate speech and incitement of violence that limit freedom of speech. I find it incredible that Derryn Hinch can be put under house arrest and banned from publishing in any media for naming a sex offender but Meryl Dorey is given a podium and a large audience to spread dangerous lies about vaccination.

The fact is that there are already many accepted instances in which we limit freedom of speech and the access and distribution of information. What I propose is that we should also limit the right of people to speak talk about medical issues to a public audience as though what they speak is medical advice when they have no medical qualifications. I don't see this as a huge imposition on the civil liberties of a great many citizens, I see it as a necessary and important move to protect public health and well-being from the harmful influence of charlatans, miscreants, the deluded and the dangerously misinformed. I also do not see how an organisation such as theAustralian [anti]Vaccination Network can be allowed to exist when the information itprovides along with the name itself misleading and theclaims it makes are demonstrably false and pose a clear threat to public health.

The problem with the majority of civil libertarians I meet is that they believe personal freedoms such as the right to free speech should always supersede public safety. I do not share this belief. I will always prioritise the greater good before individual liberty and I question anyone who argues that public health and safety is not the core of what should be considered the "greater good", though that is an argument to be had later.

The fact is that Dorey spreads false and misleading information that endangers people's lives without putting proper disclaimers on that information despite an order from the Health Care Complaints Commission to do so. As things stand today, perhaps the only thing keeping Dorey out of court is that she has no clear duty of care to the children afflicted by her dangerous misinformation. The other simple truth is we have little way of knowing just how many people her dangerous lies have influenced through the internet and numerous talks and just how many children have not been vaccinated as a result, only to fall ill and even die. Yet even if we were to find that a great many children had died as a direct result of her spreading such anti-vaccination conspiracy theories, my understanding is that Dorey and others like her could not be held accountable because in having no medical qualifications she has no duty of care. This is just my limited legal knowledge and if anyone does know of a way we can prosecute this woman please let me know, but the way things are currently seems very wrong to me. I just don't see how someone can make a career out of endangering lives and not be sent to prison. If saying that really makes me a fascist then I guess I am a fascist for public health. So be it.

This has turned into a rather long post and while I recognize I have not yet addressed all the issues I am in need of dinner. I will aim to expand on this post in the coming days and to address all comments which contain more than ill-conceived insults. For a discussion on the practicalities of compulsory vaccination click here.
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More embarrassment for the @WoodfordFF

2011-12-26T10:25:00.000+10:00

I recently posted about Meryl Dorey speaking at the Woodford Folk Festival. Dorey has no medical qualifications and spreads misinformation about vaccines. After a public outcry against giving an audience to this woman the event organisers have given a small reprieve, according to Chrys Stevenson:

"Woodford Folk Festival announce that Meryl Dorey's talk on vaccination and autism will now be replaced with a panel discussion featuring Professor Andreas Suhrbier, head of the Immunovirology Lab at the Qld Inst. of Medical Research and moderated by the Qld President of the AMA."

I suppose the real question is why are they having a talk about vaccination at a folk music festival in the first place? My guess is for the same reason they have a homeopathic first aid clinic - because they are all a bunch of silly hippies into folk music and "alternative medicine".

When I suggested that there should be a law requiring people to have medical qualifications to speak publicly and give medical advice about medical issues a commenter was quick to say that perhaps I should need legal qualifications to suggest changes to laws. This is a false comparison for the following reasons:

In our representative democracy in which we elect people into government to legislate for us we do not require that such representatives have legal qualifications (or any tertiary qualifications for that matter). This is something I have written about previously, as I believe certain portfolios such as health and education should require ministers to have experience in those fields. However, I don't believe people should need legal qualifications to suggest or to make changes to current laws, if they did then our society would be run entirely by lawyers, perish the thought. The point is that laws govern all aspects of life, from medicine to education and the environment, the law extends to every aspect of society and should therefore consider the views and expertise of people working in the areas it legislates for, as well as the people such legislation will affect.

Yes, I think people should require medical qualifications to give medical advice. I think that because when they don't the result is the spread of misinformation that can result in the death of innocent people. I know I called them silly hippies but the truth is I don't blame such people for their incorrect views regarding modern evidence-based medicine. Not everyone has the benefit of medical knowledge but they should have the benefit of medical information being conveyed to them by qualified people who do have that medical knowledge.

Click for more on Meryl Dorey, compulsory vaccination and free speech here.

Click for more on the practicalities of compulsory vaccination here.
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Forsake the glitz for God says Pope

2011-12-26T09:31:00.000+10:00

I kid you not. The Pope, a man with gold-embroidered everything, is urging you to forsake the glitz this Christmas for humility. He also called for a strengthening of faith to counter "liberal reason". If nothing else - and in fact I can think of nothing else - I respect the way the Pope doesn't pretend that faith and reason are compatible when clearly they are mutually exclusive. Faith is belief without evidence or in spite of evidence and is therefore not justified, which makes it irrational belief. Reason on the other hand is logical, evidence-based and therefore justified, making it rational. People who pretend faith and reason are compatible are intellectually dishonest or deluding themselves.
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Meryl Dorey and the Woodford Folk Festival

2011-12-21T02:39:00.001+10:00

Here is a video of Chrys Stevenson taking on Meryl Dorey on WIN news. Dorey heads the Australian [anti] Vaccination Network. She spreads misinformation about vaccines that results in disease outbreaks and the death of infants as a direct result of frightened parents not vaccinating their children. That is not just my individual medical opinion, it is the opinion of the entire branch of evidence-based medicine.

Dorey shouldn't be on television, she should be behind bars. There ought to be a law in Australia about having medical qualifications to speak publicly and to offer medical advice regarding medical issues. Until there is such a law people like Dorey will continue to spread dangerous nonsense unchecked.

Bagging out bloggers

2011-12-16T09:41:00.000+10:00

Bloggers in Syria and Egypt are being detained and imprisoned for promoting free speech, weakening national sentiment, and in the case of Egypt for being critical of the army who currently rules the country. At least in the UK people only take legal action against you when they don't like what you have to say, such as the case of sceptical blogger Rhys Morgan who has spoken out against miracle cures for serious diseases.

It really says something when the little people are the only one's speaking out against such insanity. Why do the medical associations turn a blind eye to outright fraud that belittles their profession? Why does it take a teenager blogging about this from his lounge room for the country to take notice? What a world.
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Rick Perry 0.o

2011-12-09T22:05:00.001+10:00

I am sure by now you have all seen this ridiculous ad by Rick Perry. If the number of dislikes on this video is anything to go by he won't be the next US President.

Here is a spoof of his ad, enjoy.

New Zealanders are my kind of people

2011-12-05T13:26:00.001+10:00

Someone found this in a New Zealand newspaper and posted it to Facebook. Had to share with you all.

Rise up against Rise Up Australia

2011-12-04T14:40:00.001+10:00

Another crack-pot political party has formed in Australia which we should all keep a watchful eye on. Rise Up Australia will be running candidates in Victoria and other states at the next election. A party led by a zealous Christian, pastor Danny Nalliah, it is opposed to same-sex marriage and adoption, supposedly to protect children, yet ironically supports caning children.

Mr Nalliah said we need to "keep Australia Australian". If you ask me it is pastor Nalliah, a Sri Lankan migrant, who is a little out-of-touch with Australian values. Of course I could be wrong, yet something tells me most Australians don't support corporal punishment of anyone, let alone children. One thing I know I am right about, however, is that same-sex marriage and adoption does not lead to "unstable environments" in which to raise children; and that pastor Nalliah saying children of such parents are at heightened risk of depression and suicide is completely baseless, ignorant and just plain wrong.

I can't say I disagree with upholding Australian values, it is just that they need protected from the like of Rise Up and pastor Nalliah, because of one thing I am quite sure - they do not represent the values most Australians associate with this great country and whether or not they sincerely believe they do does not make them any less delusional in this regard.
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Muslim medical students boycotting lectures on evolution

2011-11-29T14:34:00.001+10:00

In the UK muslim medical students are boycotting lectures on evolution. It is of course their right to do so, and so it should be the right of their lecturers to fail them if they do not fulfill the course requirements, without fear of reprisals from the Islamic community or a university board that is tolerant of utter ignorance so long as students pay the fees.

I don't understand why creationists would study a course the scientific foundations of which they are fundamentally opposed to in the first place. If you choose to study medicine you damn well study evidence-based medicine, not just the bits you think matter or the bits that conform to an old book written by a misogynistic, tyrannical paedophile who knew nothing about medicine himself.

No one should be exempt from taking biology classes that are a core requirement of the university course they are studying because of religious reasons. Perhaps these people ought to be studying a subject more suited to their way of thinking, like theology or Islamic history.
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Anna Bligh supports civil unions

2011-11-29T12:19:00.001+10:00

I recently wrote about an It Gets Better video made by Queensland Premier Anna Bligh. I criticized her for being all talk and no action on gay rights and after posting that blog to Twitter with an #auspol tag found that soon after @TheQldPremier started following me. All I can say is I am glad to see she is now supporting civil unions for same-sex couples. Although I disagree with the principle of dividing society by saying heterosexuals get marriage and homosexuals get civil unions, when in fact they both afford the same legal rights anyway, I think this is a good start.

Please go to andrewfrasermp.net and follow the link to sign his petition for civil unions, as it was Andrew who presented the bill to the House. You can also email John Mickel atlogan@parliament.qld.gov.au to tell him why we should have civil unions. As Speaker, Mickel may have the casting vote for the civil unions bill and has said he would vote against it as he thinksno-one cares that a large minority of our population is discriminated against by bigots like himself. He didn't actually refer to himself as a bigot but I think it was implied.

Rally for civil partnerships in Queensland

2011-11-24T12:10:00.001+10:00

Live in the Brisbane area? On Wednesday 30 November, from 5.30pm outside Parliament House there will be a rally for civil partnerships.

Understandably civil ceremonies have been criticized because they treat homosexuals as though they are second-class citizens not entitled to the same right to marry as heterosexuals. The situation seems very similar to the way African Americans were allowed to ride the same bus as whites but only if they sat at the back.

Ironically, in the UK where they already have civil unions heterosexual couples have sued for discrimination because only homosexuals are allowed civil unions. If nothing else this way homosexuals can have the same legal rights in partnerships and that is a step forward. Maybe one day they will take the next step and treat everyone equally and give everyone the same right to marry.

The following from Paul Crowther:

The Civil Unions debate and vote will take place on Wednesday 30 November at around 7pm in the QLD Parliament.

It would be great if we could have a crowd in the public gallery to witness this historic vote.

I have organised a rally at the front of Parliament House at 5.30 pm in support of the Civil Partnerships Bill. Andrew Fraser will address the rally at 5.45pm. We can then move inside and watch the debate and vote. It is important that we get a large crowd to this rally, as there is still significant opposition to the Bill and we need to send a loud and clear message to the QLD Parliamentarians that we expect them to vote in support of the Bill. Sadly, all LNP and Independent members of parliament will be voting against it at this stage.

Can you please let your networks know about the rally and the vote. I do not have the skills to do up a flyer to email around but would appreciate if someone could do one. I am hoping QNEWS will broadcast it to their readers.

Anyone wanting Paul Crowther's mobile number can contact Chrys Stevenson privately. She can also email artwork for placards:

Equal Love - Equal Rights
The Gay Agenda: 1. Equal Rights 2. See above
Equal Rights Now
Homophobia Has to Go

I will leave you with this very powerful clip from GetUp.

BBC debate: Multiculturalism

2011-11-13T18:00:00.001+10:00

Something to think about. What are your thoughts? Did this video change your mind either way? Leave your views in the comments below.

The future of Libya

2011-11-07T16:06:00.000+10:00

It's not looking good. In fact, Libya looks set to impose Sharia law on all its citizens, but not to worry because apparently "extremist ideology'" won't be tolerated under the new regime. Confused? You should be. Last time I checked Sharia law was pretty extreme. Apparently there are more extreme things than honour killings, forcing women to cover themselves in public, gender segregation, placing blame on rape victims rather than rapists, women not being allowed to vote or drive, cutting off the hands of thieves who probably needed that loaf of bread to feed their starving family and a financial system just as primitive as all of the afore mentioned barbaric practises. I could go on but you get the idea.

While I understand the implementation of Sharia law varies depending on which Islamist cesspool one happens to be unfortunate enough to reside in, the overwhelming theme is the subjugation of women and promotion of human suffering. This is progress? I think not. Like the oil that sustains it and the blood spilled on its streets, the future of Libya does not look bright.
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More Islamic anti-Semitism

2011-11-02T20:34:00.000+10:00

If I were to post every video of Islamic extremists carefully translated and posted to Youtube by Memri TV I am afraid to say this blog would be dedicated to them. Below is one of many displaying the anti-Semitic sentiment in Palestine. There could be no greater example of Islam being the exact opposite of the religion of peace it is touted as being by the western media than the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. You have it here straight from the terrorists mouth, they won't be happy until the throat of every Jew has been cut. Does this terrorist represent the views of every Muslim? Certainly not. Does he represent the doctrine of Islam? The answer is certainly yes.

Halloween burka

2011-11-01T15:15:00.000+10:00

I especially like the wooden box on rollers idea.

Catholicism in a nutshell

2011-10-28T23:19:00.001+10:00

God's love, we are told, is unconditional. If only one could say the same for the Catholic Church. Unfortunately when it isn't protecting child rapists as a matter of policy it is also cutting funds to charities that don't adhere to its ludicrous doctrines against abortion and condoms. Most recently a New York-based AIDS charity had funds cut after it was found to be distributing condoms.

The sheer nerve of such people to talk of God's unconditional love only to impose conditions as they see fit. There is not a single mention of condoms in the Bible and how could there be when it was written by a bunch of uneducated desert people millenia ago? How dare the Catholic Church claim moral authority over anyone when it is content to let people suffer and die of AIDS for choosing to now practise safe sex; people who likely contracted HIV/AIDS in part because of the Catholic Church's campaign against safe sex in the first place.

The hypocrisy of the Catholic Church beggars belief. I find myself wondering just how many of these shamed Catholic clergy wore condoms when they raped children? Isn't it ironic how God's unconditional love translates into paedophilia and not helping the needy, unless they first refuse to help themselves. That, it seems, is Catholicism in a nutshell.
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Back to blogging

2011-10-28T21:57:00.001+10:00

It is good to be back and blogging again. I have handed in my thesis and spent all of yesterday catching sea turtles. I managed to catch four with only one getting away, which I thought was not a bad effort for a first try. One did slap me in the face though and let me tell you from experience, being turtle-slapped hurts.

To get the ball rolling again and perhaps raise your blood pressure I will leave you with this clip of David Silverman, President of the American Atheists, being ~~interviewed~~ shouted down on Fox News.

Atheist music

2011-10-18T10:05:00.001+10:00

Sounds great to me. Keep your eye on this girl. I imagine with a whole album on the way she will soon be performing at atheist conventions the world-over.

Dawkins banned from venue for being atheist in the 'land of the free [to discriminate]'

2011-10-12T00:27:00.003+10:00

Remember Richard Dawkins' recent interview on The O'Reilly Factor? Well it wasn't so much an interview as it was O'Reilly ranting and raving for a few minutes while Dawkins' blood pressure steadily rose. Anyway, turns out it was also seen by the owner of The Wyndgate Country Club in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Consequently they have cancelled an event featuring Dawkins to be held there by the Center for Inquiry. How petty and spiteful. Apparently both are attributes of a good Christian. Feel free to contact the special events manager Olivia Pollock to complain.

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Dawkins on The O'Reilly Factor

2011-10-07T00:25:00.002+10:00

In this clip Dawkins is doing his best to remain calm as O'Reilly misrepresents his new book The Magic of Reality and brings up the same tired old arguments he did in a previous interview with Dawkins years ago.

Anna Bligh, It Gets Better

2011-10-04T14:37:00.000+10:00

So Anna Bligh is in on the It Gets Better campaign. How about equalizing the age of consent for anal sex so gay men are treated equally then Anna? Why is Queensland the only state that distinguishes between different forms of sexual activity and the age of consent? How about we also introduce gay marriage Anna? You can say it gets better but when you aren't really doing much to make things any better it all seems like a bit of an empty promise.

Blind faith, literally

2011-10-04T02:41:00.000+10:00

In a move that brings a whole new meaning to 'blind faith' a British-born man has gauged out both his eyes at a Sunday Mass in Italy because he 'heard voices' in his head that told him to do so. Doctors were unable to save his sight, which if you ask me seems something of a low priority for someone who has already lost their mind. It is fortunate these voices didn't tell him to harm other people. This is all just another shinning example of how the line between being religious and being insane is rather blurred. Well, blurry for those of us who can still see anything anyway.
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Obama on gay rights

2011-10-02T19:58:00.002+10:00

I haven't heard Obama talk with such passion in a while. It is heartening to listen to.

The Pope wants Catholics to "root out" evil

2011-09-25T18:47:00.001+10:00

In a departure from protecting his colleagues who have been rooting children, the Pope gave a speech in which he urged Catholics to 'root out all forms of evil' before going on to say the Catholic Church cannot accept gay marriage. In case you were wondering, there was no mention of paedophilia on the list of evil things to be 'rooted out'. He went on to say:

We, as Christians, attach great importance to defending the integrity and the uniqueness of marriage between one man and one woman from any kind of misinterpretation.

What I don't like is the way he talks as though he speaks for all Christians. It would be bad enough if he was talking as though he spoke for all Catholics but no, he has the nerve to speak for all Christians. The fact is he doesn't. Is it any wonder 181,000 German Catholics left the Church last year?

He scorned a lack of commitment to faith and urged listeners to not be "lukewarm Christians". He went on to speak of all the world's problems while implying faith to be the solution:

The world in which we live, in spite of its technical progress, does not seem to be getting any better... There is still war and terror, hunger and disease, bitter poverty and merciless oppression.

I am not going to argue about whether or not the world we live in is getting any better or worse, although I do believe humanity is in a better position today than at any other point in history to grow and prosper, in large part because of our scientific and technical progress. That progress though has come in spite of religious and superstitious nonsense, which has served as a hindrance every step of the way. It is no surprise that we see the most scientifically and technically advanced nations and developed economies in the most godless parts of the world like Japan.

Just how blind do people have to be not to notice that religion is a huge cause of war and terror, hunger and disease, bitter poverty and merciless oppression? How can religion be offered as a solution to the very problems it causes? It can't.
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Chrys Stevenson and the ACL

2011-09-20T01:15:00.000+10:00

You may know Chrys from her blog Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear, from her work in The Australian Book of Atheism (edited by Warren Bonnett of Embiggen Books), or perhaps you have never heard of Chrys before, in which case I am pleased to be introducing you to this fabulous freethinker. Her most recent work is an article in which she addresses the ridiculous influence the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) has on government, well worth the read.

I am glad to see Chrys speaking out about issues like this. It is high time we all took aim at the ACL and shut it down for being a terrorist organisation, because according to the Security Legislation Amendment Act of 2002 that is exactly what it is.
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If Eve had a sassy gay friend...

2011-09-20T00:32:00.003+10:00

Too funny. Had to share this.

You call that music?

2011-09-11T14:52:00.002+10:00

Just have a listen to this Christian song:

Couldn't listen to the whole thing could you? That clearly wasn't good music. How can it possibly have more views than this Alex Goot original below? His song is far more inspiring and uplifting. It also displays a little-known thing in the music industry these days - talent. Furthermore, the video employed the use of an actual person rather than poorly drawn stick figures.

By the way, if you haven't heard of Alex Goot before and like what you hear so far I suggest listening to some more of his tunes on Youtube. He has done a lot of covers of chart-topping songs and frankly he puts the original artists to shame. He has also written quite a few of his own now, including the one above.
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Anger grows over Adelaide preachers

2011-09-04T21:13:00.001+10:00

Adelaide is known as the City of Churches, so one does wonder why preachers see the need to take their message out into the public sphere, at a shopping center of all places. I am all for freedom of speech but this goes beyond simply talking about religion, these preachers are shoving it down people's throats in a public place. That is just wrong. I am not sure what the case is in South Australia but in Queensland we have public nuisance laws. Perhaps we ought to start legislating against street proselytizing or at least apply such public nuisance laws to zealots like this who disturb everyone else in such ways.

Clarke and Dawe take on Tony Abbott

2011-09-04T20:26:00.000+10:00

I have written previously about Tony Abbott and his archaic views. To think that he could be our next Prime Minister. Perish the thought.

Mocking Mubarak

2011-08-26T01:36:00.000+10:00

This is progress? A bunch of brainwashed, anti-America, anti-Israel, Jew-hating, conspiracy theorist children accusing Mubarak of giving the Egyptian people cancer. I can't really imagine the next generation of Egyptian children growing up to be tolerant and peaceful people if this is the atmosphere in which they are to be raised. At least the caller at the end agrees with me on that.

What do Bob Katter, John Murphy and Barnaby Joyce have in common?

2011-08-17T23:06:00.000+10:00

They are all wankers. You already knew that though. The real question is why am I bothering to take time out of my busy schedule to even acknowledge their existence? The answer is that they were all speakers at a recent pro-marriage rally recently in Australia. Why do they call it that anyway? How can you be pro-marriage when you are against marriage of people who don't fit your narrow definition of a 'family' or 'normal'? It wasn't so much a pro-marriage rally as it was an anti-gay marriage and pro-homophobia rally.

Labor MP John Murphy said relationships between same sex couples were not the same as relationships between men and women. I agree with Captain Obvious, same sex relationships are different in many ways, including the sex, which is in my opinion is much, much better. The western Sydney MP went on to say, "My electorate accepts that all people are equal, but my electorate also accepts, in fact rejects, that not all relationships are equal."

Ignoring the fact that Murphy apparently does not understand how a double negative works, let's just assume he meant to say that not all relationships are equal. I couldn't agree more with that because clearly not all relationships are equal. Relationships in which partners are honest with each other and themselves are always better than relationships in which they aren't; so when, for example, a homosexual marries a member of the opposite sex not out of love but out of fear and denial, you have a pretty sorry excuse of a relationship.

Senator Barnaby Joyce said that his daughters would be affected if gay marriage was allowed, "We know that the best protection for those girls is that they get themselves into a secure relationship with a loving husband and I want that to happen for them." I too can see how his daughters would be affected by gay marriage being allowed - the decreased stigma surrounding homosexuality would result in a significantly lower pool of closeted homosexuals to marry his daughters. His daughters might then have a satisfying sexual relationship with their future heterosexual husbands. Catastrophe.

Last and most certainly least, Katter thinks gay marriage is a joke that should be ridiculed. Meanwhile I happen to think that homophobes who wear ridiculous hats should be ridiculed. In other news Katter is releasing the new "abbreviated" name for The Australian Party tomorrow since the electoral commission rejected it. Am I the only person expecting The Aussie Party?
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Your daily dose of antisemitism

2011-08-09T09:54:00.001+10:00

Living in Australia where Christianity is relatively benign this kind of bizarre interpretation seems foreign even to my Christian friends. Sadly hatred of Jews seems to be one of the few things that unites Christians and Muslims in the Middle East.

I get email

2011-08-08T13:12:00.000+10:00

This little gem below is from Allison Karalus (karalusallison@yahoo.com). I Googled her and found she pretty much spams people's blogs with this exact same message, so I was flattered she went to the trouble of emailing my personal account instead of just spamming my comments, even if she couldn't think of anything original to write.

" KNOW YE NOT THAT THE LORD YOUR GOD HAS PROVED YOU?

GOD IS NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL MIGHT BELIEVE ON HIS NAME-JESUS.Repent & be baptized! Jesus said, “I am God there is none besides me." "I am the Way, the Truth & the Life. No man comes to the Father except by me." "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." "As many as received Him to them He gave the power to become the sons of God the Father even to those who believe on His name." Jesus' healing ministry began with adult baptism.

A New Agenda: We the people need no gas & no electric to have a man child with the spouses of our youth around the world. We shall build homes without electric, without gas, without roofs that exceed 7 & 1/2 feet, & with incinerators to burn garbage, burn dung, burn urine, & burn blood rags so that the entire sisterhood has a man child with the husbands of their youth.

TAKE MY CONFESSION WITH YOU. I have smoked cigars for 11 years & have no lungs, liver & kidneys at 44 years old. I continue to live through the Lord Jesus Christ as I received the Holy Spirit at 4 years old & was baptized as an adult in 1997. I continue to read my Bible& now use burned dung, urine, blood rags & tobacco butts to make meat offerings to eat. The Old Testament says that burned dung, urine, & blood rags were a part of the laws of Moses. Yes, it was in 2001 while I was driving toFlorida that I was talking to the saints in heaven & Isaiah said, "You know that 70 years from now the sun will be dimmed in the sky" Oh, I said, “I don’t know.” I went back over the Old Testament& it said, “The sun shall be dimmed in the sky” & "I shall make them eat the grass of the field.” & “all these things shall come to pass” before theLord Jesus Christ returns.

4 years ago I was stamping my feet at work over the excessive electric usage & complaining that I didn’t have a husband & children to God the Father. I prayed, kneeling at my bed as to adopting children. Then while I was at work I adopted over 500 children in Swahili (I was born with a spot-was a reject in Hebrew) to find out what day it was. I had been taught prophesy at Wheaton Evangelical Free Church in 1979 & 1980. We went back & forth in time while Governor Blagovich was verifying. We came up with 17 years of darkened sun before July 29, 2081.

July 29, 2081-the rapture of believers in Christ Jesus-all those who received the Holy Spirit-at the trumpet sound in heaven-1^st the dead & then the living ascended to heaven in a twinkling of an eye

July 29, 2081-2088-the Great Tribulation-God’s wrath is poured out on the earth, Judgment of the Believers in Christ Jesus & theMarriage Supper of the Lamb in heaven

2088-3057-the Reign of Christ Jesus-(the Bible stated “1000 years” & in actuality it was 969 years)

3057-3059-the Devil is loosed out of the pit –(the Bible stated “a time & a half” & in actuality it was 1 & three fourths years)-the battle of Armageddon-the nations are drawn together for the last battle in the Valley of Megiddo-the Lord Jesus comes down of a white horse with the words, “King of Kings, Lord of Lords” written on His thigh & a sword comes out of His mouth to destroy all who are in the battle. The bible says that the blood runs a “horses’ bridle high” & birds feed on the bodies.

3059-the old heavens& the old earth pass away & the new heavens & new earth are created by the Lord Jesus Christ-at this point in time the Lord Jesus says,“Depart from me I never knew you.” to all who died in the battle of Armageddon, to those who took the mark of the beast in their right hand or forehead during the tribulation, to all who died during our time without receiving the Holy Spirit, & to all those who died during the flood of Noah’s day in wickedness. Jesus says, “In this world you shall have trouble, but I have overcome the world.”

Jesus says, “If we confess our sins He is faithful & just to forgive us our sins & to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” "

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Fred Nile is a douche

2011-07-24T21:40:00.001+10:00

So apparently Fred Nile of the Christian Democrats is going to join forces with Robert Borsak of the Shooters and Fishers Party to block a key industrial relations bill unless the NSW Government scraps its newly introduced ethics classes, which act as an alternative to scripture in schools. If only Nile had taken some ethics classes when he was younger, perhaps then he wouldn't sink as low as extortion to get his own way. Oh well, God does it too so it must be okay.

As for Borsak and the Shooters and Fishers Party - neither of which I had ever heard of before - they apparently want changes to gun legislation that would have shooting implemented in schools as a standard school sport. Given the recent shootings of youth in Norway I find the timing of such a statement is pretty tasteless but no less ridiculous than it would have been were it said at any other time, ever.

Seriously why do people vote for these toss-pots? I think the lessons today are that religion and guns don't belong in schools, and that denial ain't just a river in Egypt, it is also a politician in NSW.
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On moral relativism and respecting different cultures

2011-07-21T12:19:00.002+10:00

This episode of The Practice broke my heart. It is an example of normative relativism at its worst. This is what happens when people assume all cultures are equal or at the very least worthy of equal respect and tolerance because there is no universal moral standard by which to judge them. Why is it even people who recognize cultures are different still hesitate to say that some cultures are better than others? Western culture is not by any means perfect but it is better than this, so much better.

I don't care if someone believes forcefully marrying and raping a child is a good cultural tradition, to such people I say fuck you. Just because a universal moral standard doesn't exist doesn't mean we can't judge people so clearly in the wrong. You can argue that I only believe forced marriage and child rape are wrong because I was raised in a culture where they are considered wrong. I wouldn't necessarily disagree, although I like to think that as a reasonable person capable of rational thought that my sense of morality goes beyond conditioning. What I want to know is if someone doesn't think it is wrong to harm another human being, a defenseless child no less, then what the bloody hell is wrong according to them? Breaking tradition? This is an irrational way of thinking that shouldn't be employed to answer important moral questions.

Morality needs to be reasoned and what is moral determined by the consequences of individual actions. Actions with a net negative consequence are inexcusably immoral as far as I am concerned. If you do not think child rape has negative consequences then again, fuck you. If as a species we cannot even agree that harming an innocent child is fundamentally wrong then what hope do we have?

There is a saying, perhaps you have heard of it - all it takes for evil to succeed is for good people to do nothing.

Man whipped in western Sydney under Sharia law

2011-07-20T00:50:00.003+10:00

A man has been granted bail after allegedly breaking into another man's house along with four others and lashing him 40 times for consuming alcohol, a crime under Sharia law. The barbarisms of Sharia are all too common in Islamic countries, which is why when something like this happens in Australia we rightly express concern. Some people brush off crimes like this as isolated incidents in the West. How very little consolation to the victims that is.

The problem with 'isolated incidents' like this is they can be the beginning of chronic problems. Take heart attacks for example: your first one may not be very big and could be viewed as an isolated incident, yet if you fail to act accordingly after even a minor heart attack the damaged tissue predisposes you to more frequent and severe attacks in the future. Extremists rely on us doing nothing when they attack us in such ways, even minor ones. They rely on us explaining away such atrocities as isolated incidents, as though their low frequency in any way excuses their indecency.

This act was so much more than an attack on one man, it was an attack on our fundamental perception of human rights. What does it say of our judicial system when someone can receive bail after breaking into someone else's house while they sleep, physically restrain them and lash them 40 times because their actions go against their own religious beliefs? How is it that even after being granted bail the alleged offender's lawyer, Tunc Ozen, can have the audacity to refer to the restrictions placed on his bail as "over the top"?

I will tell you what is "over the top" - lashing someone 40 times for drinking alcohol. Cases like these may be isolated incidents right now but we best respond with a firm hand lest the extremists among us push the limits of what they can get away with; something they are already doing with ever increasing zeal in this country, surely I am not the only one who has noticed?
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On living without religion in an indifferent and uncaring universe

2011-07-17T15:52:00.002+10:00

I am sometimes overwhelmed by the harsh nature of existence, the immense suffering of many and the inevitable death of all. It is in knowing this feeling that I see why people seek solace in religion. For me though the truth matters more than mere consolation. What is more, I find the notion that God does nothing in the face of such suffering or indeed is the cause of it to be even more distressing.

Perhaps the worst thing to come of religious beliefs though is that people accept their misfortune or good fortune as their destiny determined by a higher power. From such a notion comes only apathy and a view that one does not have to work to succeed, only pray to the right imaginary friend and accept them as one's master. Arguments about who has the real imaginary friend are inherently divisive and don't help matters. More importantly though is the way in which the religious relinquish control of their lives, a move which is inherently dangerous and the cause of much preventable suffering were they only to put their hands to work rather than clasp them together in prayer.

If we are to seek solace honestly, in a way that empowers us to better ourselves, those around us, and the shared environment in which we live, we must find it in human solidarity. The universe is indifferent to our existence, an existence which is fraught with danger and often simply a matter of surviving rather than truly living. Yet all of this misery only serves to make us appreciate the good times in life. There is much happiness to be had in life, discoveries to be made, friendships to foster, lovers to love, turtles to catch. For better or worse, we are all in this together, let's start acting like it.
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Skeptic my ass!

2011-07-15T11:52:00.002+10:00

Who is this woman? I don't know or care. What I do know is that she is not a skeptic. According to the title she use to be though, something I find hard to believe. If she was then she wouldn't have started by saying a skeptic begins by using their senses, because a skeptic knows just how wrong our perceptions of things can be. In fact as any good skeptic will tell you the only way you can hope to attain truth is through the application of the scientific method. She doesn't seem to "question whether or not God exists" at any point. She clearly has decided God does exist and then proceeded to pose a bunch of rhetorical questions designed to lead listeners to the same conclusion.

So just what were the incredible arguments that convinved this 'former skeptic' of the existence of God? Apparently, "God has spoken the 66 books of the Bible with amazing coherence" and the existence of God "agrees with the facts of reality." It gets better though, "creation had a beginning and therefore by necessity a beginner, a cause" one which apparently couldn't be anything other than an "uncaused cause". Incredible, just incredible. I am convinced; convinced this woman is a complete moron that is, despite the strategically placed bookcase in the background designed to make us subconsciously think otherwise.

On Rebecca Watson and Dawkins' infamous comment

2011-07-09T22:48:00.003+10:00

Everyone is angry with Richard Dawkins' comment regarding news of Rebecca Watson's story. Basically while at an atheist conference in Dublin Watson was propositioned by a man in an elevator at four in the morning to go back to his room for "coffee". According to Watson the man's exact words were, "Don't take this the wrong way but I find you very interesting and I would like to talk more, would you like to come to my hotel room for coffee?" This apparently left Waston feeling very offended in the view that she had been "sexualized". My understanding of heterosexual males though is that they find some women sexually attractive and who could blame the poor sod for trying his luck on one he happens to think is rather fetching? Are feminists such as Watson suggesting men never proposition women? Does that mean only women should be able to invite men back to their rooms for "coffee"? Why do we assume that even though the man said not to take things the wrong way that he didn't really just want to talk over coffee? Isn't that a bit sexist?

I am a gay male so maybe I am missing something here but if anyone (and I mean anyone) hits on me I take the compliment. I say thanks but no thanks if I am not interested or if I am interested I say thanks and then proceed to show that thanks in a number of ways I will leave to your imagination. While I can totally understand how being alone with someone in an elevator at 4 am could be a little scary and that no one knows how Watson was feeling at the time better than herself, I still question whether or not she has over-reacted a little. She wasn't assaulted or even harassed, all the guy did was ask a question. Sure, we all know what "coffee" at 4 am means and it was perhaps an inappropriate question given the circumstances but it was just a question nonetheless.

I get the feeling that sometimes feminists make a big deal out of small things like being flirted with and it detracts from real issues affecting women like female genital mutilation. I think that is what Dawkins was trying to say in his comment and although I wouldn't have been quite as sarcastic as he was, I agree with the point he was making.
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Muslims rally against banning the burqa in Sydney

2011-07-07T11:41:00.001+10:00

As those of you who follow my posts on the burqa know my principle objection against it is that it goes against the rights of women. A common rebuttal seems to be that women should have the right to choose what they wear. I agree. My point is that for most Muslim women that choice is to wear the burqa or suffer beatings and honor killings. Not really much of a choice is it? At a recent rally of over 2000 people in Sydney, rallying against a suggested burqa ban, Ms Ardati said:

''[Women do not wear the Islamic dress out of freedom of choice] Because to use freedom of choice as a justification, then we are also accepting of women who undress out of this same freedom of choice, and we can never do this as Muslim women. We dress like this because it is the command of Allah, not any man.''

There you have it, straight from the horses mouth. At the rally men and women were separated by a row of plastic markers. When approached by the Herald for questioning one women said she would have to ask her husband if she could speak. It gets better though, apparently women have two options:

''The Western secular way of life, which robs a woman of her dignity, honour and respect, where she is considered little more than a commodity to be bought and sold, or the option of Islam, where a woman's dignity, respect and honour are priceless.''

Isn't it interesting how in Islam a man purchases his wives, yet somehow this does not make them a commodity? Some people refer to this payment (Mahr) as a "bridal gift". In reality if the gift isn't big enough the woman's father refuses to let him marry his daughter. Islam also has its own wife beating etiquette, yet is apparently still 'respectful' of women? In fact in Islam women are treated as inferior in almost every conceivable way, yet we are told this somehow fosters their dignity. Give me a break.
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Evil jinn fills girl's vagina with cloth...

2011-07-04T00:21:00.003+10:00

Or so this exorcist from Saudi Arabia would have you believe. I just don't see a bright future for humanity when in the 21st century, despite all of our technological advances, we still have people parading around on television programs spreading such nonsense as the existence of spirits; yet alone evil ones that will clog up your vagina with a bunch of cloth.

Caning in Queensland Schools

2011-06-30T08:40:00.002+10:00

I was more than a little surprised to turn on the morning news and hear a debate about whether or not we should cane children. Surely, I would have thought, we had left the bad old days behind us. No surprise the only Queensland MP backing caning is also the only One Nation MP. Unbelievably though, corporal punishment is still being used at some Queensland schools, all of them Christian.

Well I am more than a little red-faced, especially after making a post about an Egyptian teacher caning preschool children in which I said I very much doubt that sort of thing goes on here. How very wrong I was. While I would hope it is not as prolific in Australia and that we wouldn't dare cane children as young as 5, it seems the basic assumption that we don't treat our children like dogs is now something I cannot take for granted. For shame.
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It's okay to be bad so long as God forgives you

2011-06-27T12:05:00.001+10:00

Jason Hooper, a US evangelist touring for Hillsong Ministries in Australia was let off without even so much as a fine after driving drunk as a skunk and crashing into a parked car. His blood alcohol level was 0.206, which carries a maximum fine of $3300 and 18 months in prison, neither of which he received. In fact his only punishment was a ban from driving in NSW for three years. Apparently Magistrate Wayne Evans let him off easy because he is a "person of good character" and under a lot of "ministerial pressure".

A man who cons people out of their money by claiming to have healing powers and endangers the lives of others by drunk driving is a person of good character? It doesn't take a genius to work out what Magistrate Evans religious beliefs are does it? Hooper claims God has forgiven him for his actions but when asked to elaborate as to how simply said there was a "process" by which he achieved forgiveness.

What an absolute joke. He should have been fined, charged and deported, then refused entry to the country just like anyone else with a criminal conviction.
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Egyptian cleric on "liberating" Israel

2011-06-23T15:33:00.001+10:00

Another radical Egyptian cleric to add to the list. I have written before about my concern for Egypt and the apparent rise in Islamic fundamentalism there since the revolution. Though perhaps it is not so much rising as it is simply no longer restrained. Now Israel is completely surrounded by people that want to "liberate'' it. In much the same way I would imagine Hitler tried to "liberate" Nazi Germany from the Jews - by killing them all. We all know that peace will only come to this region on the other side of a definitive war in which Israel is the victor. Islam has made sure of that, because in Islam there is no such thing as peace by diplomacy, only peace by domination.

Condell on women and Islam

2011-06-22T23:07:00.000+10:00

A timely post by Pat Condell on the treatment of women by Islam. It comes as the debate about banning the burqa is reignited.

Hurry up and ban the bloody burqa

2011-06-22T12:28:00.001+10:00

You can't trust someone who doesn't even show their face to a police officer? What a surprise. This woman is a piece of work. There couldn't be a better example of how the racist card is unfairly and maliciously played to get one's way and try to be above the law. In this case an Australian Muslim woman was sentenced to 6 months prison for making a false complaint about a police officer, which could have ended very differently had the alleged incident not been recorded by camera in the police vehicle.

Aside from medical reasons for enforcing laws against against the burqa there are the obvious moral ones. If you care about the freedom of women you cannot accept the burqa be legal. To believe women wear such a thing as a result of their own free will rather than coercion and conditioning by their male relatives is nothing short of delusional.

Freedom is great but everything has a limit. Giving people the freedom to enslave themselves and diminish their own rights is counter-productive. There are few parts of this world where women are truly free. Go to places where the majority of them wear the burqa and you will see that the oppression and subjugation of women is rife. If non-Muslim women traveled to such places they would be forced to wear a burqa or veil. Is it really asking too much that we expect the same when it comes to following our customs which are by any objective measure better?

Kuwaiti Islamist calls for electronic Jihad

2011-06-20T16:07:00.001+10:00

If I had a penny for every time an Islamist on Arabic television preached hatred of Jews and inspired Jihad I would be a very wealthy man indeed. The sooner we move away from using fossil fuels and giving countries full of fundamentalist crack-pots like this absurd amounts of money the better. If it weren't for the fact they are pulling their wealth directly from the ground they wouldn't have any.

Syrian "researcher" claims Al-Arabiya TV owner is gay

2011-06-20T02:57:00.000+10:00

What a shame that in 2011 places exist where being homosexual is an accusation. My thoughts go out to Syrian homosexuals who experience hardships that I can only imagine. The things this man wishes on strangers I would not wish on my worst enemy. The vitriol that Islam inspires against homosexuality is nothing short of despicable.

RE: Michael Putney in the Bulletin

2011-06-20T02:14:00.003+10:00

I am writing to express my disappointment with the piece posted by Bishop Michael Putney in the Townsville Bulletin on Thursday, June 16, 2011. In it he said that, "We are not opposed to homosexual people... what worries people like myself is that a word that has meant one thing for thousands of years and across the boundaries of cultures and religions, will all of a sudden be changed to mean something else". Bishop Putney stressed that he believes homosexuals should be entitled to civil unions so they have the same legal protections as marriage. As someone who has spoken with Bishop Putney on several occasions I am both surprised and disappointed by his statements and have to take issue with some of the reasons for his view.

One cannot say they are for equality and yet exclude a group of people from sharing in the wonderful institution of marriage on the basis of their sexuality. The definition of marriage might well be that it be between a man and a woman, this is of little consolation to homosexuals who wish to be married and treated the same as everyone else. The time has come to change the definition of marriage so it does not discriminate against homosexuals. To rally against that change is not in keeping with the message of inclusion that Bishop Putney likes to talk of regarding homosexual members of his congregation.

If we did create a separate legal framework for the union of two people who are homosexual, such as a civil union, we would only see heterosexuals claiming discrimination for being refused to partake in civil unions, as has already been the case in the UK. The answer is simple: one legal means of joining two people, regardless of gender - marriage. Change the definition of marriage to be the formal union of any two adult people, and use the exact words "any two adult people" so that transsexuals are not discriminated against either.

Bishop Putney went on to say, "For us it is not just about two people loving each other and wishing to have a legally recognised relationship. It is about the love between a man and a woman that is generative of children and creates families which are the foundation of our society and our religious communities". Never mind that every day orphaned children needlessly die of disease and starvation because of a lack of clean drinking water or food and that an exponential increase of our population will put a further strain on resources that only worsen such problems, Catholics apparently see it as their moral duty to create new mouths to feed while others suffer and die. Why not give homosexuals the right to marry and adopt? Believe it or not given the wonders of science with a bit of money homosexuals can also have children. The atomic family is an absurdity because families, just like love, come in many different forms.

Inaction against the violation of the rights of homosexuals seeking equality in marriage shows acquiescence, disinterest or consent - take your pick - but it is at least safe to say that those who do not support same-sex marriage don't much care about the discrimination of a group of people on the basis of their sexuality, whether they like to pretend protecting the definition of a word means more than that or not. I hope that in time Bishop Putney will come to see that things change and that you either change with them or get left behind.
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Prisoners of War would make great sex slaves

2011-06-16T07:49:00.000+10:00

Just listen to this Kuwaiti political activist on why Kuwait should introduce legislation for the purchase of prisoners of war (POW) as sex slaves. Apparently this has two benefits, the first being it saves POWs from slaughter and second being it means Muslim men can avoid forbidden relations with women by paying for them. Some might see this as a win-win-win: POWs aren't butchered to death, Muslim men get to fornicate all they like because they are paying for it and the local slave trade economy gets a boost. I think I sense a Nobel Peace Prize on its way for the religion of peace. Don't you?

Islamic cultural terrorism

2011-06-16T02:25:00.000+10:00

Everything I have said about Islam to date summed up in a single video by Pat Condell. Now there is a man I would vote for.

Egyptian teacher caning preschool children

2011-06-11T16:06:00.000+10:00

All cultures are equal? I don't think so. At least this is not an accepted practice in Egypt if the media response at the end is anything to go by. I very much doubt you would find something like this going on in an Australian classroom though. That the person filming this footage could actually laugh at children being beaten is absolutely disgusting and unforgivable. My blood is boiling.

Peter Jensen says same-sex marriage will lead to polygamy

2011-06-11T13:56:00.003+10:00

I have talked about Peter Jensen before in my Easter message from an atheist over at YAS. I was hammered in the comments for implying Jensen was stupid yet misspelling his name as 'Jenson'. Apparently a spelling error is a sign of stupidity and not simply human error. What I said still stands though, Jensen is a complete moron. Everything he says and believes only further proves this beyond any doubt and the latest garbage he is spewing, that same-sex marriage will lead to polygamy, is a case in point.

Never mind that he cannot give a single example of a country that has legalized same-sex marriage only to result in polygamy - because there aren't any - he actually makes the ludicrous assertion that the religious somehow own the institution of marriage - they don't. Atheists are permitted to marry. People are often married by celebrants with no religious affiliation and not everyone gets married in a church. For any heterosexual Australians who choose it to be marriage could be an entirely non-religious occasion.

This isn't about protecting the institution of marriage, this is about fighting against the "normalization" of "homosexual behavior". As Jensen said himself, "Ministers of the Gospel will find it increasingly difficult to teach Christian sexual ethics... since what they say will be contrary to what the state says". Christian sexual ethics? You have got to be kidding. I have never heard a more dishonest and misleading way of saying the state should endorse the homophobia of a minority group of religious fundamentalists rather than endorse equal rights for all.

Well the time for niceties is over my friends. I no longer hesitate to call people such as Jensen stupid. To do so is putting it lightly. He is clearly an ignorant, bigoted wanker.
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Egyptian Mustache Association: "We Respect Hitler's Mustache"

2011-06-09T00:18:00.002+10:00

I am not even kidding. No harm in respecting a man for his mustache though, undoubtedly one which was better than whatever small woodland creatures these guys have glued to their faces. The trouble is they don't just respect Hitler for his mustache, they respect him for murdering millions of Jews.

Egyptian cleric on the evils of Valentine's Day

2011-06-09T00:10:00.001+10:00

Well I seem to have stumbled across a bit of a theme so why not roll with it? There is apparently no shortage of radical Islamic clerics in Egypt (ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5). Now we can add this one who thinks Valentine's Day is a virus to the list. If you ever needed proof that Islam has a perverted view of peace you only need look at how it views a global holiday of love - with contempt. In Islam peace is not synonymous with love and happiness but with a world conquered by Islam and ruled by Shari'a law.

What is to become of Egypt?

2011-06-08T23:24:00.004+10:00

I am becoming increasingly worried by the Islamic fundamentalist media in Egypt. This is my third consecutive post on extremist Egyptian clerics. This is a very important time for Egypt in the wake of the protests as we could see it go the way of Iran.

For those who don't know it was after the overthrowing of the Iranian monarch that a referendum was held in which the Iranian people voted to become an Islamic Republic on April 1, 1979, with a full theocratic constitution put in place that December. No surprises that Islamists have already been implicated using violence and intimidation on referendum voters in Egypt.

Mubarak may well have been a dictator but he was at least relatively secular and benign. As a result not one woman was stoned to death for adultery during his reign. Now it looks like we may well see that practice, along with the other barbarisms of Shari'a return. Democracy just doesn't work when the majority of people are fundamentalist loons.

In a country like Egypt where 82% of people support the stoning to death of women for adultery you either control such barbarians with a benign dictator or you let the majority decide to brutally murder people, isn't democracy great? 84% of Egyptians also support the death penalty for apostasy from Islam. Am I the only one who thinks people with such barbaric beliefs are dogs that need to be kept on a leash rather than being set free?

Wife beating etiquette

2011-06-04T17:11:00.004+10:00

According to this Egyptian Islamic cleric women are honored when being beaten because there are so many rules about how to beat them nicely. Yes, Islam has a beating etiquette for your wives. For example you can't beat them in the face, after all we wouldn't want to make them ugly. You cannot curse them while you beat them. You are not allowed to break any bones or poke them in the eye. You cannot raise your hand too high and you must beat her from chest level. The beatings should always be a last resort too, like when she refuses to sleep with you. Can you feel the love when he beats you gently ladies? What an honor.

Islamic cleric rewrites history

2011-06-04T16:50:00.001+10:00

According to this Egyptian Islamic cleric the United States won the Vietnam War and then dropped an atomic bomb on it. This is the kind of misinformation presented daily through Islamic media to a largely uneducated mass of people who believe every word of it.

This cleric goes on to talk about the Islam you don't get to see in Western media - the real Islam. The Islam of conquest, subjugation and bloody Jihad. Conquered people are "asked nicely" to convert and if they refuse they simply pay higher taxes for being non-Muslims. If they then refuse to pay higher taxes they are murdered. Then there is peace under the tyranny of Islam. That is the real Islam. That is the Islam practiced and believed by mainstream Muslims as it is preached so emphatically on mainstream Arabic television.

Just because many Western born and raised Muslims have come to accept Western values of freedom, liberty and equality and adapted their concept of Islam (by ignoring most of what it actually teaches) to reconcile their beliefs does not mean that their version of Islam is the objectively true one. Nor does it mean that they represent what the majority of Muslims believe. In fact we know that Muslims in the West are very much a minority and were they to go to any of many Islamic nations around the globe they would be labelled as heretics.

People do not derive their morality from religion

2011-05-30T21:33:00.000+10:00

I just came home from a dinner with some Townsville humanists. I was reminded of this clip of highlights from the Intelligence Squared debate with Stephen Fry and Christopher Hitchens. It couldn't be more obvious that religion derives its morality from people and not the other way around. All of my religious friends (yes I do have religious friends) are intelligent enough to understand this. If they weren't they would be living by a moral code that is as archaic as it is barbaric. As we evolve so too does our sense of morality. All religion ever seems to do is impede this progress by attempting to establish an absolute morality, which aside from being impossible is more often than not iniquitous.

Pat Condell on blaming the Jews

2011-05-28T00:19:00.002+10:00

I have watched on with trepidation as antisemitism rises in Europe. A rise that has, coincidentally or not, corresponded with a rise in Islamic immigration. We know Islamic preachers in Europe are promoting hatred of Jews as well as homosexuals and the subjugation of women. We know that they are campaigning to implement Sharia law and are failing to integrate. We know all of this, so why aren't we doing anything about it? How is it that in the 21st century Jews are being stoned to death in Germany? How is it Jews are being driven out of cities in Sweden due to intimidation and threats of violence?

It is disgraceful that countries in Europe have sacrificed the freedom and protection of many various minority groups for the sake of appeasing just one, all in the name of multiculturalism. How long will it be before they work out when you protect one violent and oppressive minority at the expense of other peaceful minorities all you are left with is the violent one as all the others are driven out? This is entirely counter-intuitive if your goal is to promote diversity. Can you imagine if Christians were regularly spewing the same anti-semitic, homophobic, sexist, racist garbage with the ever increasing zeal that the Islamists currently are? No, you can't imagine it because we wouldn't have a bar of it.

Don't get me wrong (as most of you do whenever I post about Islam), I know Muslim people who are wonderful human beings and I would never paint them with the same brush as the extremists spreading hate. I have to ask though, where is the voice of moderate Islam in Europe today? I am not hearing it. If it exists at all it is being drowned out by the fanatics who perhaps are louder not just because they have bigger mouths but because there are simply more of them.

Unlikely lines to read in the Bible

2011-05-26T02:11:00.000+10:00

RE to critics: What is a paedophile ring then?

2011-05-24T11:36:00.005+10:00

Some people (who I happen to greatly respect) have said my referring to the Catholic Church as a paedophile ring is an overstatement and hyperbole. Therefore I think it prudent I respond in detail to clarify matters.

I want to be crystal clear: I am fully aware that not every member of Catholic clergy is a paedophile, just as I am aware the Catholic Church is an institution that does more than protect its clergy who are paedophiles and blame everyone except the paedophiles themselves. That is the problem though: it doesn't matter what else they are doing, so long as they are as a matter of policy protecting paedophile priests and blaming their victims they are a paedophile ring as much as they are a religious institution.

When the head of the organisation, the Pope, is not only a proven paedophile protector but has issued orders that as a matter of policy acts of rape and abuse of children are to be covered up and treated with the utmost secrecy I do not think it is an overstatement to call that organisation a paedophile ring.

Some might say that the clergy who aren't paedophiles still disagree with the paedophilia but think the reputation of the Catholic Church is more important than the rights of abused children. This would be a small saving grace were it not for the fact that aside from being grossly immoral many clergy are actually on record as blaming everything from secularism, homosexuality, the Jews, pornography and incredibly even the abused children for the sex scandals engulfing the Church and not, as one might expect, the paedophiles. One even went so far as to say criticism of the Church over this issue is analogous to anti-Semitism.

Is it really an overstatement to call an institution a paedophile ring when it is:

1. Headed by a proven paedophile protector
2. As a matter of policy dictates paedophiles be protected and acts of abuse covered up
3. Knowingly places paedophiles in the company of children
4. Then justifies the inevitable child rape afterwards by blaming everyone (including the victims) except the paedophiles themselves

If that is not a paedophile ring then I have to ask, with all due respect, what the bloody hell is?
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Get them while they're young

2011-05-23T12:25:00.000+10:00

Do you ever wonder why it is religious organisations try so hard to get to children while they are young? Why they weasel their way into our schools? Children are impressionable and believe anything people in positions of authority tell them. That is exactly why they need to be protected from this kind of abuse. We put up with the delusions of grown adults but we must not allow them to infect the minds of defenseless children and ensure that the next generation is brainwashed to share those delusions.

The Christians weren't the only ones hoping for the rapture

2011-05-23T12:14:00.000+10:00

The Australian Government is funding a paedophile ring

2011-05-22T21:07:00.005+10:00

For those of you who read the papers or watch the news you may have heard of the largest known paedophile ring in the world: the Catholic Church. I have previously posted about the Australian Government funding a school chaplaincy program [that in part employs Catholic clergy or chaplains] despite knowing of the Catholic Church's rampant paedophilia*. It seemed to me at the time that giving hundreds of millions of dollars to put people statistically far more likely to be paedophiles in schools to be something of a bad idea.

According to the Australian Secular Lobby sexual assault and rape allegations made against chaplains have not gone unnoticed by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relation (DEEWR). In fact they have been actively ignored. No action has been taken at all. Peter Garrett, the head of DEEWR hasn't even issued so much as a press release. You would think that Garrett would've learned by now that if you can't sweep a bungled insulation scheme under the carpet you sure as hell can't do so with child rape. Sack Garrett and stop the school chaplaincy program.

*This is not even to mention the many billions in tax exemptions the Catholic Church has and continues to receive.
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Evonne Paddison is a lying two-faced theocrat

2011-05-22T00:55:00.002+10:00

Hat-tip to Chrys Stevenson for this one. The video below exposes the outright lies of Evonne Paddison, CEO of ACCESS Ministries. You just can't trust these people with your children. Stop the school chaplaincy program.

Top ten reasons atheists have better sex

2011-05-22T00:30:00.000+10:00

So it is hitting the news that atheists have better sex than the religious. I could've told you that. Here are my top ten reasons why atheists are better in the bedroom:

1. No feelings of guilt before, during or afterwards
2. We don't rape children
3. We aren't ALWAYS doing it missionary style
4. We call out our partner's name during sex, not our imaginary friends
5. We don't think some pervert in the sky is watching us do it
6. We generally don't saw off parts of our genitals
7. We aren't saving our virginity for God
8. We try before we buy and don't wait until we are married to do it
9. When we are on our knees we sure as heck ain't praying
10. Our second comings don't take millenia

Got any other reasons atheists do it better? Add them in the comments below or tweet using #atheistsdoitbetter
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Islamic scholar calls Obama an apostate that must be executed

2011-05-20T15:24:00.000+10:00

This Sudanese Islamic scholar thinks Osama Bin Laden was a hero who died a martyr and that President Obama is an apostate who should be executed. I am still trying to work out which is uglier: his sentiments or the orange beard. Vote in the comments below.

Islamic scholar supports death penalty for homosexuals

2011-05-20T14:54:00.001+10:00

According to this Islamic scholar in Syria homosexuals should be put to death. Another rather telling thing he divulged is that the "head of the Islamic community in Australia" told him that "the garbage heaps of Syria are better than the gardens of Australia." I wonder if he was talking about Mr Ikebal Adam Patel the current president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.

Disgraceful anti-semitic cartoon in Iran

2011-05-18T14:59:00.000+10:00

There really isn't anything to say to about this except to highlight the hypocrisy of the many Muslims who condemned the Danish cartoon of Mohammed yet laugh at things like this.

Hamas MP dreams of the "great massacre" of the Jews

2011-05-18T14:44:00.000+10:00

They say one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. Maybe not so much in the case of Hamas when what they are fighting for is the annihilation of a race of people rather than the freedom of their own. People on the left side of politics ought to think twice before siding so readily with Palestine.

Muslim woman spits on Walmart employee

2011-05-18T14:17:00.004+10:00

Al-Doaifi, a Saudi Arabian woman in Florida is facing hate crime charges for spitting on a Walmart employee and several customers. Trouble started when the employee approached her to let her know she was using the wrong door. According the the employee, "She just spit all over me. All I was trying to do was tell her she was coming in through the out door. She was just ramming [her cart] into the door." Maybe she just couldn't see the out sign through her pink burqa.

Procedures have been started to get her deported back to Saudi Arabia. The fact real action has been taken and the Walmart employee and customers she spat on weren't put through cultural sensitivity training is a good sign that people, at least in the United States, are sick of (in this case literally) being spat on by Middle-Eastern raised Muslims who tend to view themselves as superior and do not treat others with the same respect they demand for themselves.
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Condell on Osama

2011-05-17T20:51:00.001+10:00

I recently wrote about the ridiculous public reaction to the death of Osama. In the video below Pat Condell has a few things to add.

RE: Kevin Donnelly "All cultures and religions are not created equal"

2011-05-16T11:50:00.014+10:00

It is a curious thing when a generally left-leaning atheist as I am finds themselves siding with right-wing religious loons, as I usually do on the issue of multiculturalism. Either I am wrong or they are right for the wrong reasons. It seems to me the latter is more likely.

You see like the right-wing religious folk I understand not all cultures and beliefs are equal. Unlike them this doesn't come from the mistaken belief that my own beliefs are superior because they are divinely inspired. Rather my belief that not all cultures and beliefs are equal comes from simple observation. A culture that treats women like property is not as good as one where they are treated equally to men. A theocracy is not as good as a secular democracy. The list goes on and on. It couldn't be more painfully obvious that not all cultures and beliefs are equal.

That is why on the issue of multiculturalism I find myself agreeing with the likes of Kevin Donnelly, who raised the problem of Islam being taught in Australian schools, whilst hypocritically implying that Christianity should be taught because "our culture is Western and steeped in the nation's Judeo-Christian heritage and moral framework." Here is where our views diverge. I do not believe religious instruction has any place in our public education system and the vast majority of Australians, whether religious or not, seem to agree. If religion is to be taught in schools it should be done so comparatively and by qualified teachers. As deputy president of the Australian Education Union Meredith Peace said, "Religion had a place as a subject of study in a comprehensive curriculum that acknowledged its role in the cultural, historical and philosophical development of society." Well said, although 'detriment' seems more fitting than 'development' in this instance.

It couldn't be clearer to a thinking person that people do not derive their morality from religion. On the contrary, religion derives its moral framework from people. That anyone could even suggest Christianity - a religion created from and glorifying of human sacrifice - to be the epitome of morality, demonstrates a degree of moral ineptitude that borders on the imbecilic. Actually no, it is just downright insane.
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Giant tortoises are delicious

2011-05-15T21:30:00.000+10:00

I didn't think QI could get any better but combining Stephen Fry and the show with chelonians* brings it to a whole new level of awesome.

* No, I am not talking about the monsters from Doctor Who.

Fingering the demons away

2011-05-10T22:50:00.001+10:00

This can't be true can it? Please someone tell me it is a joke. Don't the religious usually do their molesting behind closed doors? Not content with private molestation one South African self-described son of God, Paseka Motsoeneng, apparently rids demons from women by inserting his fingers in their vagina's and moving them around in front of thousands of people on Soweto TV every Sunday ("So-wet-o" this has to be a joke surely). What is more he does all of this while being spoon fed ice cream and having the women call out his name. Now if that isn't one of the most original and entertaining ways to get rid of demons I don't know what is.
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Muslim actress branded a "western slut"

2011-05-10T19:58:00.003+10:00

Sila Sahin, a Muslim German actress has been branded as a "western slut" among other things for posing in Playboy magazine. Her reasoning for the shoot was that after being brought up in a conservative Muslim family where she was controlled by men she wanted to feel free. I find it strange that anyone could find nudity more offensive than all of the name-calling, intimidation, threats of violence and murder they simultaneously attack this poor woman with.

Some have criticized the move asking how posing semi-nude could possibly provide a feeling of freedom. I for one though can't think of a better way for a Muslim woman to take ownership of her own body than to show it off. Whether or not she showed a bit too much is debatable, although in many places in the Middle-East showing an ankle is provocative and if a man rapes a woman it is her fault for being too flirtatious. I guess that is the sad thing about this - in the Middle-East women are literally treated like property so in the West if they are merely objectified this is viewed as liberating.

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Ladies get out of Louisiana

2011-05-10T18:22:00.003+10:00

Rep. John Labruzzo of Louisiana has introduced a bill to ban abortion. In fact you could face up to 15 years prison at hard labor for "first degree feticide". What a joke. He has also proposed paying for poor women to have their fallopian tubes tied and giving tax incentives for wealthy women to have children. Ladies get out of Louisiana before you find yourselves stuck living in the 1950s!!
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Geoff Shaw compares homosexuality to child molestation

2011-05-08T19:09:00.003+10:00

Geoff Shaw is the MP for Frankston which in itself is quite telling. He is also an active member of his pentecostal church, Peninsula City. In case you aren't familiar with the different denominations Pentecostals are the ultra crazy Christians. No surprises then that Shaw thinks it is entirely appropriate to equate homosexuality to child molestation or reckless driving.

What were Victorian voters thinking when they elected this one? I know we don't have a non-religious qualification for office, as much as I am sure some of my atheist colleagues would like us to, though I do think that when an MP so clearly applies religious rather than secular reasoning while making governmental decisions that they should forfeit office.

We all know that if the tables were turned and discrimination of people on religious grounds was being endorsed that Shaw would've been given the sack already. Imagine if he had compared belief in God as a mental illness on par with paedophilia. Although if the thoughts and actions of people like Shaw were true of all who share his belief in God then perhaps such a comparison would be valid.

I am sick of religious politicians voting in favour of being able to discriminate against everyone else. Why do you all keep voting for these people? What is wrong with the average Victorian voter? Are they just as bigoted as Shaw? Are they just plain ignorant of the fact they are voting for a homophobic moron?

The response from the Coalition on this matter was to ignore the remarks of Shaw although they did say:

"The Coalition government shares the same concerns as Jakob Quilligan regarding higher rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide attempts amongst young, same-sex-attracted people... That is why the Coalition provided $4 million over four years in this week's budget to deliver preventative support and early intervention services targeted at same-sex-attracted and gender-questioning people aged 10 to 25 years who are at risk."

The key words here I think are "preventative support" and "early intervention". It sounds alarmingly like such funding could be used to support programs that regard homosexuality as a disease or disorder in need of being treated. That would seem like a bit of an alarmist interpretation were it not for the fact such funding is endorsed by the likes of Shaw.

You can tweet about Shaw's comments at #sackgeoffshaw and be sure to include @TedBaillieu in your tweet.

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Enough of this leftist rubbish about Osama

2011-05-04T18:01:00.002+10:00

I just found a quote posted on Facebook regarding the death of Osama Bin Laden:

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: Only love can do that."
~ Professor Oak

Why have responses like this been so common in the wake of Osama's demise? I think it is perhaps the most perverse of all Christian teachings that we should love our enemies and yet for some inexplicable reason many atheists and liberal-minded people generally have adopted this ethos.

Well I don't love my enemies, I want to destroy them. This might sound cruel, even evil, were one to forget the context of my saying such a thing. You see in order for me to regard someone as an enemy there has to be a qualification: that they seek to destroy me, my loved ones, and my way of life without provocation or justification. Any person so pathologically driven towards harming others cannot be reasoned with or won over with love and you are delusional if you think they can be.

I think many of my colleagues have forgotten just who we are fighting or at the very least are ignorant of their motivations. The so called "war on terror" is a war against extremism, mainly but not limited to Islamic extremism. Although Islam is by any objective measure an extreme, bloodthirsty, murderous and intolerant ideology, many people seem to be ignorant of this and call themselves Muslim for what one can only assume to be entirely cultural reasons.

Reasonable people all too often forget that you cannot reason with people who are unreasonable - that is why they are called unreasonable. When such unreasonable people want to kill you there are two options: waste your time trying to reason with them or kill them first. To the likes of Osama the very existence of the west is a provocation. There can be no reasoning with such a man, no negotiations or diplomacy, no sending of flowers and chocolates to mend the broken relationship after he has killed more than 3,000 innocent people in a single day in an horrific act of mass murder.

We would do well to remember, as unfortunate as it is, that sometimes peace can only be found on the other side of war. I truly am sick of people insulting the brave men and women who fight and die to protect them while they sleep.

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Where Sweden went wrong on immigration

2011-05-02T05:40:00.001+10:00

Sweden is the quintessential example of what happens when you have a broken immigration system and tolerate the intolerance of others who instead of integrating into society segregate and seek to change it. I am not against immigration of anyone based on their religion. What I am against is the immigration of non-secular people who refuse to integrate into the societies so generously offering them asylum and a second chance at life. It just so happens that a large number of people who identify as Muslim are also non-secular, theocratic, treat women as property, and hold Bronze Age values regarding homosexuality, science, the justice system, economics, and just about anything else you can imagine actually.

We need to be firm on this. We need to be clear that while the free societies of the west are open and tolerant places we will not stand for the erosion of the very foundations in which our free societies were built. We will not tolerate the subjugation of women, the demonization of homosexuals, the violence and intimidation or the assault on our freedom of speech and democracies. We must control immigration so that people who refuse to integrate into society and repeatedly break the law can be deported. We have a lot to learn from the mistakes of places like Sweden and we had better learn fast.

Stand Up! Don't stand for homophobic bullying

2011-05-01T22:26:00.001+10:00

A wonderful clip produced by BeLonG Youth Services annual Stand Up! campaign in Ireland. For more information click here to visit their website.

Derren Brown - Miracles for Sale

2011-04-30T17:27:00.001+10:00

"You are about to see a world where greed and deceit raise their ugly heads, where lives have been needlessly lost, and where hope, the most precious gift of all is peddled at a price. This is the wickedness in the world of faith healing". Says it all really.

AC Grayling on the Colbert Report

2011-04-28T20:24:00.000+10:00

AC Grayling discussing his latest work The Good Book.

The Colbert Report
Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

When turtles fly

2011-04-25T20:43:00.000+10:00

Awesomesauce.

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How to fix our political system?

2011-04-25T04:39:00.001+10:00

So I read a recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald about the shortfalls of democracy. It reignited my thinking about the way our political system operates and how it could be better. So here is my two cents:

Every election people find themselves asking politicians what they will give them in return for their vote. They forget that we employ our politicians to do a job. We should approach the process of electing them as we would if we were hiring an employee. Can you imagine going into a job interview and having your potential future employer ask you what you are willing to give them in exchange for the job? Shouldn't you be hired on the basis of merit rather than bribery? Of course you should.

Meritocracy does not replace democracy because meritocracy is not a type of government. Meritocracy is a method by which government is formed. Meritocracy complements a democracy.

Currently we elect local representatives and the party with the most elected representatives forms government while the one with the next most forms the opposition. I disagree completely with party politics. People should be elected on the basis of their own principles, not the principles dictated by party power brokers. It is also naive to think that everyone in a political party will share all the same ideals. How is it that the vast majority of Australians support gay marriage yet we are unable to pass a law for it? The answer is party politics.

We need to do away with the party system and with the general concept of the Westminster system in having a government in constant competition with an opposition. The result of this competition is a counter-productive negativism that can be seen every Question Time and that spreads in the form of fear campaigns every election as the opposition fights for power and government fights to retain it. We also see people casting their votes not based on consideration of the positions of their local candidates but by which party has their preferred PM.What we need instead is an elected parliament of independent politicians not affiliated with any group and to become a republic with an elected head of state.

Ministers with portfolios should also be qualified for their positions. Imagine, if you will, a minister for health who actually has experience working in the healthcare system, or a minister for education with experience in the education system. Is this really asking too much? If someone has had a longer career in politics than they have in the workforce then they shouldn't be in politics. Of course we still need local members from electorates to ensure all Australians are represented by government, but when it comes to portfolios given to ministers that form Cabinet it makes sense that these people be qualified to do the job. The current method of the PM in assigning ministers to portfolios seems to be nepotism.

I think the Australian people are better at deciding who should do the job. How about in addition to our local representatives we have core portfolios which anyone anywhere in the country can run for so long as they meet minimal qualification requirements? That way we don't end up with ministers for the environment who know nothing about climate change to give just one example. While we are at it let's also abolish the state governments, we are the most over-governed people on the planet and all that comes from them is a never-ending blame game between state and federal governments.

These are just some thoughts I have been having. I am sure there are many loose ends to be addressed and I am very interested to hear your thoughts so please do comment below. I believe if we put our minds together we can come up with a system of government that is more productive, efficient, effective, and that has the vision to plan for the long term security and prosperity of this country.
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How to behave during an Islamic massacre

2011-04-23T19:36:00.002+10:00

Just in case you were wondering.

Paying for paedophiles?

2011-04-21T14:50:00.002+10:00

I had an argument with a creationist the other day. It reminded me of the video below. This is what will happen to our children in Australia if we continue on the current path of religious instruction in our schools. We must make every effort to ensure that schools are a place for teaching - not preaching.

The problem is compounded by a school chaplaincy program that ensures troubled children, instead of getting to see trained counselors to deal with their problems, only have access to unqualified clergy; which frankly I wouldn't trust around children given the rampant paedophilia going on in the Catholic Church.

I am not a lawyer, but I do wonder if given the Australian Government's knowledge of this rampant paedophilia, the cover-ups and the Catholic Church's position of dealing with such acts secretly and separately from common law, if that makes the Australian Government an accessory to every act of paedophilia committed by chaplains paid for under this scheme? There is something incredulous about us funding the world's largest known paedophile ring with $400 million of tax-payers money.
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People turning to God this Easter?

2011-04-20T18:47:00.005+10:00

Archibishop Roger Herft thinks that more people will turn to God this Easter due to the recent spate of disasters. Apparently "because you find God in those moments of [personal] crisis". What a pity you can't find him during moments of disaster when he could be of some help rather than mere consolation.

If anyone turns to God this Easter it will be to tell him what a complete and utter twat he has been watching on with indifference and letting tens of thousands of innocent people die (if he wasn't the one doing the killing). After which such people will hopefully realize God probably doesn't exist but a little thing called climate change certainly does.
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Arrogant atheists?

2011-04-18T11:43:00.003+10:00

Why is it whenever people (usually the religious) are losing an argument they resort to calling the other person arrogant? It is ironic because generally the reason they are losing the argument in the first place is because in their arrogance they held an opinion regarding a topic for which they had no knowledge or expertise. For them to then flip things around and make out that the other person is the arrogant one for defending a position they know to be correct, because they bothered to educate themselves on the subject before forming opinions on it, is little more than a desperate attempt to divert attention away from their failed argument and flawed reasoning.

So whenever people tell me I am arrogant and look down upon them I like to remind them that when you dig yourself into a hole of stupidity you shouldn't be surprised to find that I am looking down at you - after all it is you who dug the hole; and I certainly have no intention of joining you down there.
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One for the ID proponents

2011-04-17T17:39:00.003+10:00

Click the image to enlarge - because when God made our perfect eyes he apparently forgot to include a decent zoom function.

Gay pirates

2011-04-15T04:42:00.000+10:00

While fighting for gay rights lest we forget the gay pirates. This song is awesome and really quite touching in places.

Moshe Kasher at the Melbourne Comedy Gala 2011

2011-04-14T04:54:00.001+10:00

Funny. Cute. Enjoy. Remember to thank the comedians who donated their time by supporting Oxfam.

Sadie Black "Sunday"

2011-04-14T03:54:00.000+10:00

By now I am sure everyone who doesn't live under a rock has heard about Rebecca Black. She is infamous for her song Friday which is without doubt one of the worst songs of all time. That is why I am a little confused as to why a Christian Church would "parody" her video. Clearly they are unaware of the subtle difference between a parody and imitation. Do they really think this will get them more parishioners rather than drive them away?

The Carapace

On Australia Day and racism #auspol

Same-sex marriage is a threat to humanity

Words Engraved

More on the principle of compulsory vaccination

Some pictures of the @WoodfordFF

The practicalities of compulsory vaccination

On Meryl Dorey, compulsory vaccination and free speech

More embarrassment for the @WoodfordFF

Forsake the glitz for God says Pope

Meryl Dorey and the Woodford Folk Festival

Bagging out bloggers

Rick Perry 0.o

﻿﻿New Zealanders are my kind of people

Rise up against Rise Up Australia

Muslim medical students boycotting lectures on evolution

Anna Bligh supports civil unions

Rally for civil partnerships in Queensland

BBC debate: Multiculturalism

The future of Libya

More Islamic anti-Semitism

Halloween burka

Catholicism in a nutshell

Back to blogging

Atheist music

Dawkins banned from venue for being atheist in the 'land of the free [to discriminate]'

Dawkins on The O'Reilly Factor

Anna Bligh, It Gets Better

Blind faith, literally

Obama on gay rights

The Pope wants Catholics to "root out" evil

Chrys Stevenson and the ACL

If Eve had a sassy gay friend...

You call that music?

Anger grows over Adelaide preachers

Clarke and Dawe take on Tony Abbott

Mocking Mubarak

What do Bob Katter, John Murphy and Barnaby Joyce have in common?

Your daily dose of antisemitism

I get email

Fred Nile is a douche

On moral relativism and respecting different cultures

Man whipped in western Sydney under Sharia law

On living without religion in an indifferent and uncaring universe

Skeptic my ass!

On Rebecca Watson and Dawkins' infamous comment

Muslims rally against banning the burqa in Sydney

Evil jinn fills girl's vagina with cloth...

Caning in Queensland Schools

It's okay to be bad so long as God forgives you

Egyptian cleric on "liberating" Israel

Condell on women and Islam

Hurry up and ban the bloody burqa

Kuwaiti Islamist calls for electronic Jihad

Syrian "researcher" claims Al-Arabiya TV owner is gay

RE: Michael Putney in the Bulletin

Prisoners of War would make great sex slaves

Islamic cultural terrorism

Egyptian teacher caning preschool children

Peter Jensen says same-sex marriage will lead to polygamy

Egyptian Mustache Association: "We Respect Hitler's Mustache"

Egyptian cleric on the evils of Valentine's Day

What is to become of Egypt?

Wife beating etiquette

Islamic cleric rewrites history

People do not derive their morality from religion

Pat Condell on blaming the Jews

Unlikely lines to read in the Bible

RE to critics: What is a paedophile ring then?

Get them while they're young

The Christians weren't the only ones hoping for the rapture

The Australian Government is funding a paedophile ring

Evonne Paddison is a lying two-faced theocrat

Top ten reasons atheists have better sex

Islamic scholar calls Obama an apostate that must be executed

Islamic scholar supports death penalty for homosexuals

Disgraceful anti-semitic cartoon in Iran

Hamas MP dreams of the "great massacre" of the Jews

Muslim woman spits on Walmart employee

Condell on Osama

New Zealanders are my kind of people