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[JesseEwiak]

Yep, a really sad state of affairs.

As an American, and I said it in the middle class thread, what has happened is we've become trained not to ask "why does that person have that benefit and how can I get it" but "why does that person have that benefits and how can we take it away."

But hey, we wouldn't mind some backup that raising the minimum wage hasn't caused prices to spike 157% daily.

 

[hidys]

As an American, and I said it in the middle class thread, what has happened is we've become trained not to ask "why does that person have that benefit and how can I get it" but "why does that person have that benefits and how can we take it away."

But hey, we wouldn't mind some backup that raising the minimum wage hasn't caused prices to spike 157% daily.

I posted this in the that thread already but when inflation is running at just 1.2% it being too low is something you need to worry about not the reverse!

 

[markot]

Reagen and co have made selfishness an ideal. Its not about economics, or about much beyond people not thinking some people 'deserve' what they get. Whereas, they do obv. Get what you can while you can and screw everyone else.

Speaking of scum sucking pieces of shit who you wouldnt piss on to save for a million dollars.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-06/cory-bernardi-says-pro-choice-is-pro-death/5183852

 

[Dryk]

Even if some people are using abortion as contraception. That is not a widespread view or practice and I doubt that the sort of people who indulge in it would make a model parent.

 

[bomma_man]

Damn I wish that book was out for Christmas!

 

[Lafiel]

Even if some people are using abortion as contraception. That is not a widespread view or practice and I doubt that the sort of people who indulge in it would make a model parent.

Is there any evidence that suggests most abortions are undergone because of financial reasons or "matters of convenience"? because that's what most conservatives on the issue seem to believe.

 

[Dead Man]

Bahahahaha!

http://assholeoftheday.us/tagged/asshole-of-the-year

 

[shanshan310]

Is there any evidence that suggests most abortions are undergone because of financial reasons or "matters of convenience"? because that's what most conservatives on the issue seem to believe.

Eh, who cares if they are. If you can't financially support a child that's as good a reason as any. Isn't it pretty hard to adopt out here? It doesn't seem like there are many other options.

 

[Shaneus]

Bahahahaha!

http://assholeoftheday.us/tagged/asshole-of-the-year

Wait, in a US-centric poll of "Asshole of the Year" Abbott came in second? Wow.

 

[Lafiel]

Eh, who cares if they are. If you can't financially support a child that's as good a reason as any. Isn't it pretty hard to adopt out here? It doesn't seem like there are many other options.

In the hypothetical scenario that it was the case and most abortions were for matters of convenience and it was considered a issue for people (who'd prefer abortions to be for cases of teenage pregnancies, incest, rape etc) the best course of action would be better public sex education programs or things like subsiding birth control under healthcare.. not making the whole act illegal which would have far more negative consequences.

Also, people aborting for financial reasons is a pretty sticky issue for someone like my mum as she raised me and my sister while my dad was working a apprenticeship at 20.. It's pretty narcissistic to expect everyone to make the same level of sacrifice as she did for me and my siblings.:/ but I presume that line of thinking is actually in line with how a lot of conservatives treat the issue, esp with their whole "bootstrap your way out of poverty" ideal.

 

[hidys]

Reagen and co have made selfishness an ideal. Its not about economics, or about much beyond people not thinking some people 'deserve' what they get. Whereas, they do obv. Get what you can while you can and screw everyone else.

Speaking of scum sucking pieces of shit who you wouldnt piss on to save for a million dollars.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-06/cory-bernardi-says-pro-choice-is-pro-death/5183852

I have a feeling one day Bernardi is going to do something so demonstrably stupid that he will have to be disendorsed.

 

[A More Normal Bird]

I have a feeling one day Bernardi is going to do something so demonstrably stupid that he will have to be disendorsed.

A part of me is very surprised that he hasn't been already. I don't think someone running for pre-selection or even a challenging candidate would get away with half the stuff he's said.

 

[Mondy]

Again, I mustve missed the memo that announced Cory Bernardi was at all relevant to anything. His views, which would be relatively commonplace in the U.S, are entirely fringe here.

His electorate must be very disconnected from either politics or reality to keep on electing this guy.

 

[Dead Man]

Again, I mustve missed the memo that announced Cory Bernardi was at all relevant to anything. His views, which would be relatively commonplace in the U.S, are entirely fringe here.

His electorate must be very disconnected from either politics or reality to keep on electing this guy.

South Australian senator Any fuckwit with a Lib or Lab next to their name can get those, they just need the party to put them on the ticket.

 

[Dryk]

South Australian senator Any fuckwit with a Lib or Lab next to their name can get those, they just need the party to put them on the ticket.

Truth, they each get 2 or 3 quotas easily and put the fucker at #1. He's not going anywhere.

 

[shanshan310]

In the hypothetical scenario that it was the case and most abortions were for matters of convenience and it was considered a issue for people (who'd prefer abortions to be for cases of teenage pregnancies, incest, rape etc) the best course of action would be better public sex education programs or things like subsiding birth control under healthcare.. not making the whole act illegal which would have far more negative consequences.

Also, people aborting for financial reasons is a pretty sticky issue for someone like my mum as she raised me and my sister while my dad was working a apprenticeship at 20.. It's pretty narcissistic to expect everyone to make the same level of sacrifice as she did for me and my siblings.:/ but I presume that line of thinking is actually in line with how a lot of conservatives treat the issue, esp with their whole "bootstrap your way out of poverty" ideal.

Mmm, that's true. I would consider teenage abortions to fall into the convenience/ financial reasoning though. And while better sex ed programs may help they are already pretty top notch imo, and there are always gonna be times when birth control fails. Plus I don't think some of the "pro-life" people are as interested in preventing unwanted pregnancies as they are in preventing abortions.

 

[bomma_man]

Mmm, that's true. I would consider teenage abortions to fall into the convenience/ financial reasoning though. And while better sex ed programs may help they are already pretty top notch imo, and there are always gonna be times when birth control fails. Plus I don't think some of the "pro-life" people are as interested in preventing unwanted pregnancies as they are in preventing abortions.

Yeah if they really gave a shit you could buy the pill over the counter and condoms would be coming out of my arse. It's all about trying to put a lid on female autonomy.

 

[D.Lo]

Yeah if they really gave a shit you could buy the pill over the counter and condoms would be coming out of my arse. It's all about trying to put a lid on female autonomy.

It totally is not.

Some people believe abortion is killing/murder. As such they want it stopped.

Argue why it is not killing/murder to convince them otherwise, don't just assume they're an evil misogynist. Some might be, some definitely are not.

I'm a very left leaning person, and a Labor party member, but it gives me the shits that so many lefties assume a position on something aside from whatever the main push is means it comes from some kind of evil idea.

 

[Jintor]

eveeeeery speeeeerm is saaaaaaaacred
everrrry speeeeeerm is greeeeeeeat
iffffff a sperrrrm is waaaaasted
god gets quiiiteee irrraaaaate

 

[AdventureRacing]

It totally is not.

Some people believe abortion is killing/murder. As such they want it stopped.

Argue why it is not killing/murder to convince them otherwise, don't just assume they're an evil misogynist. Some might be, some definitely are not.

I'm a very left leaning person, and a Labor party member, but it gives me the shits that so many lefties assume a position on something aside from whatever the main push is means it comes from some kind of evil idea.

I just find it annoying that the focus is often simply around stopping abortion instead of encouraging safe sex. If you want abortion to be stopped the solution is to stop unwanted pregnancies in the first place not forcing to people to go through with it when it happens.

The argument about whether or not it's murder is pointless. Not because it's unworthy of discussion but because there is not going to be a consensus. It's a divided issue and it's going to stay that way.

Personally i don't assume that anti abortion sentiments come from an evil source. I know my mum for example tends not to support abortions (though wouldn't have them banned) and she is very left leaning and is as far from religious as you can get. It's just that so often i see people who are so anti abortion and yet don't want kids getting sex ed at an appropriate age or getting as much access to birth control as is needed.

 

[bomma_man]

It totally is not.

Some people believe abortion is killing/murder. As such they want it stopped.

Argue why it is not killing/murder to convince them otherwise, don't just assume they're an evil misogynist. Some might be, some definitely are not.

I'm a very left leaning person, and a Labor party member, but it gives me the shits that so many lefties assume a position on something aside from whatever the main push is means it comes from some kind of evil idea.

I get that people genuinely think it's wrong, but if they do not instead promote things like contraception then I find it hard to believe that they are genuinely interested in reducing abortions, given the evidence that abstinence based sex education is useless, and that banning legitimate abortions will only increase illegal abortions (and as a consequence the deaths of many women). At that point it's either (as I said) concern trolling, or a stubborn moral stand that takes priority over everything including evidence or rational policy.

Actually the later seems to be the basis for the entire Liberal party platform so I guess you might be right.

 

[Myansie]

It totally is not.

Some people believe abortion is killing/murder. As such they want it stopped.

Argue why it is not killing/murder to convince them otherwise, don't just assume they're an evil misogynist. Some might be, some definitely are not.

I'm a very left leaning person, and a Labor party member, but it gives me the shits that so many lefties assume a position on something aside from whatever the main push is means it comes from some kind of evil idea.

It's not about killing/murder either. That's more of a talking point as when you start to look at the numbers, legal abortions save lives.

This is about sex. Bernardi views the world as a cess pit of promiscuos sex corrupting our sense of morality.

 

[A More Normal Bird]

It totally is not.

Some people believe abortion is killing/murder. As such they want it stopped.

Argue why it is not killing/murder to convince them otherwise, don't just assume they're an evil misogynist. Some might be, some definitely are not.

I'm a very left leaning person, and a Labor party member, but it gives me the shits that so many lefties assume a position on something aside from whatever the main push is means it comes from some kind of evil idea.

That's true, but it's also worth noting that people can often hold views without knowing the true origins and/or motivations of them. Someone opposed to action against climate change may feel they've arrived at their view due to sound reasoning, framing it with a seemingly innocuous statement such as "I just don't believe that humans could have that type of impact by themselves," without considering that if not for the existence of agenda-driven media, think-tanks and institutes, they may not have been conditioned into thinking they had enough understanding of the issue to question the overwhelming consensus of the world's experts in the first place. This can happen with all sorts of topics, from the most wonkish of policy debates to the most personal moral considerations.

In this instance it's right to say that not all of the people on one side of the fence are solely concerned with upholding some form of patriarchy, but that doesn't mean they aren't doing so unwittingly or supporting those who have it as a primary goal.

 

[hidys]

So my mayor decided to put up a new billboard which is shown upon entering the town.

What a wanker.

 

[Shaneus]

So my mayor decided to put up a new billboard which is shown upon entering the town.

What a wanker.

Oh god. SMH.

 

[Lafiel]

He's done a excellent job of making Geelong more bogan!

 

[A More Normal Bird]

You know, say what you want about Tony Abbott, at least his six-pack is real.

 

[roosters93]

One good thing Cory Bernardi has caused is funny Amazon reviews.

Stolen shamelessly from a junkee.com article

 

[Dead Man]

Heh. In other less funny news (well, kind of hilarious when I think about it) is this gem:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-07/indonesia-says-second-boat-forced-back/5189332

Indonesian police have told the ABC that a second boat carrying asylum seekers has been forced back to Indonesian waters by the Australian Navy.

The first boat was found shortly before Christmas on an island called Rote in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara region.

It allegedly had been "pushed" or forced back into Indonesian waters by the Australian Navy.

The 47 asylum seekers on board have told authorities they were adrift after running out of fuel, before running aground on the island about six days later.

A second boat carrying 45 asylum seekers has now been found on the same island.

Local police Chief Hidayat says group also claims their boat was pushed back by the Australian Navy.

Indonesia's foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, has again reiterated his country's opposition to any move by Australia to turn asylum seeker boats around.

"Let me just once again put on record our rejection of [policies] that resemble the pushing back the boat," he said.

"Such policy is not actually conducive to a comprehensive solution to the issue."

Dr Natalegawa has previously raised his concerns with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who told him Australia would press ahead with the policy.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has released a statement in relation to reports surrounding the first boat.

The statement says the Government will not comment on the reports.

"For operational security reasons, the Government does not disclose, confirm or otherwise comment on reports of on-water activities in relation to Operation Sovereign Borders," the statement said.

"Australia respects Indonesia's territorial sovereignty and will continue to do so, just as Indonesia has stated it respects Australia's territorial sovereignty.

"It is not the policy or practice of the Australian Government to violate Indonesian territorial sovereignty. Any suggestion to the contrary is false."

 

[Dryk]

Isn't the Indonesian PM is still waiting for us to apologise over the spying thing?

In other news I lost all respect I had for the ACCC this morning

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...rnment-to-sell-off-assets-20140106-30cea.html

 

[bomma_man]

An announcement of a non-announcement? Kojima would be proud.

 

[bomma_man]

More gold

These are some of the delightful assortment of reviews slowly creeping onto Bernardi's magnum opus.
"I read this book hoping to find advice on how to successfully overthrow a tyrannical warmist regime. But there is no details within on how to make gunpowder or bombs contained – not even contact numbers for my local far-right militia! Fail!"
Curious canines also apparently weighed in on the book, sharing Bernardi's concerns about the apparent links between bestiality and gay marriage.
"As a dachshund, I can't actually read this book or any other, but I thank Corgi Bernardi from the bottom of my heart for stopping gay marriage, and the widespread cornholing of both urban and rural animals that would have occurred should such a thing have eventuated."
"After catching me reading this, my dog divorced me." writes Sandra M.
Comparisons were also made to the ill fated Star Wars Holiday Special: "Even the Star Wars Holiday Special had Bea Arthur and multiple Wookies. Not to mention the first ever appearance of Boba Fett. And Carrie Fisher was floating on something."
Some even credited Bernardi with saving their marriage. “Lately I’ve noticed several worrying trends in Helen’s behaviour. She's been spending too much time on her iPad and I think it’s exposing her to some dangerous ideas.”
“The other day I walked in and caught her watching Modern Family. She quickly turned the TV off, but we both knew.”

 

[Dryk]

Remember all that talk about reigning in useless and repetitive Australian research? Well fuck that we've got an industry to destroy and a psychosomatic illness to spread!

THE controversy over wind farms is set to flare again with the Abbott government preparing to commission fresh research on the impact the giant turbines have on nearby residents. The National Health and Medical Research Council - which only three years ago found no evidence of adverse health effects, but a need for ongoing study - has again been tasked with responding to community concerns and will soon make a targeted call for new research.

 

[AdventureRacing]

What possible impacts could they even be looking for?

 

[Dryk]

That's something that the anti-wind turbine lobby has never been able to nail down. Wind turbines cause a non-specific illness that has whatever symptoms people are currently presenting with at the time.

I could write whole essays on the topic due to the reading I've had to do for my PhD. The only claims that ever hold water is that wind turbine noise can sometimes be really goddamn annoying and even those are still in dispute. South Australia's EPA just finished a report on 10-weeks of noise diaries and real-time monitoring they did last year and found that a lot of the time the noise people are complaining about is at times the turbines aren't operating.

The simpliest explanation for that is that over time they've started to attribute periods of annoying wind noise to the turbines when it was actually always there. Sort of like how if you get eerie whistling through the trees a few times a year you don't think about it but if your next door neighbour buys a wolf all of a sudden its a menace.


Now bats are a whole other story. They have sensitive bodies and the low pressure zone behind a turbine is enough to rupture their innards. Sort of like a deep-sea fish.

 

[Dead Man]

That's something that the anti-wind turbine lobby has never been able to nail down. Wind turbines cause a non-specific illness that has whatever symptoms people are currently presenting with at the time.

I could write whole essays on the topic due to the reading I've had to do for my PhD. The only claims that ever hold water is that wind turbine noise can sometimes be really goddamn annoying and even those are still in dispute. South Australia's EPA just finished a report on 10-weeks of noise diaries and real-time monitoring they did last year and found that a lot of the time the noise people are complaining about is at times the turbines aren't operating.

The simpliest explanation for that is that over time they've started to attribute periods of annoying wind noise to the turbines when it was actually always there. Sort of like how if you get eerie whistling through the trees a few times a year you don't think about it but if your next door neighbour buys a wolf all of a sudden its a menace.


Now bats are a whole other story. They have sensitive bodies and the low pressure zone behind a turbine is enough to rupture their innards. Sort of like a deep-sea fish.

I read some time ago about the flickering shadows being very unpleasant for some people, I could buy that, if your house is in the shadow zone of the turbine blades, but yeah, other than that, shut the fuck up. You can go live next to the coal power station instead.

 

[Dryk]

I read some time ago about the flickering shadows being very unpleasant for some people, I could buy that, if your house is in the shadow zone of the turbine blades, but yeah, other than that, shut the fuck up. You can go live next to the coal power station instead.

I think there's a lot of merit in continuing research in the area. But it's not pressing enough for this kind of focus, especially since said focus has been shown in the past to make it worse. Work is still being done, work will continue to be done. The government's best course of action is to sit back and let it happen the way it currently is and we'll find what we find.

 

[hidys]

And now Bernardi is looking into legal action against a fellow Liberal for some comments he made.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...hints-at-legal-action-over-gay-obsession-jibe

Here is what Warren Entsch said

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...bernardi-on-gay-obsession-20140107-30fhl.html

 

[Mondy]

Please Mr. Bernardi, don't stop talking, write another book, keep on doing something, because you've done more to help the Centre Left than any other conservative figure in Australia.

 

[A More Normal Bird]

Please Mr. Bernardi, don't stop talking, write another book, keep on doing something, because you've done more to help the Centre Left than any other conservative figure in Australia.

Yeah, in the past I'd thought that Bernardi was kept around because he could promulgate unpopular views without tarnishing everyone else, but now I'm thinking he might be a double agent sent to destroy the Liberal party from the inside. Maybe it's both.

 

[Ruthless_Barbarian]

No more stop the boats. It's now HIDE THE BOATS!

 

[markot]

ITS A MILITARY OPERATION SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS!

 

[shanshan310]

http://m.theage.com.au/federal-poli...treated-more-harshly-poll-20140108-30g97.html

Most Australians think asylum seekers who arrive by boat are not genuine refugees and there is strong support for the Abbott government to treat boat arrivals more harshly.
A nationwide opinion poll by UMR Research shows that 59 per cent of people think most boat arrivals are not genuine refugees.
The poll, based on a nationally representative sample of 1000 online interviews, shows only 30 per cent of Australians believe that most asylum seekers are genuine refugees while 12 per cent are unsure.
A strong majority of Australians, 60 per cent, also want the Abbott government to “increase the severity of the treatment of asylum seekers.”
Groups most strongly favouring harsher policies are older Australians (aged over 70 years – 68 per cent), and self-employed people (71 per cent). People in Queensland and Western Australia are slightly more supportive of a more severe approach (65 per cent and 64 per cent respectively) than in Victoria and NSW (both 62 per cent).

Jesus fucking Christ.

 

[Dead Man]

60 per cent, also want the Abbott government to “increase the severity of the treatment of asylum seekers.”

What the fuck, Australia?

 

[shanshan310]

What the fuck, Australia?

I literally cannot think of a way we could treat them more severely other than shooting them on sight.

 

[AdventureRacing]

It's not really surprising to me. Entire elections have basically been won on the back of governments promising to get tough on boat people. This has been drummed into the general public and the way i hear people talk about asylum seekers is disgusting.

 

[Mondy]

http://m.theage.com.au/federal-poli...treated-more-harshly-poll-20140108-30g97.html




Jesus fucking Christ.

Australia is a racist country, news at 11. Followed by A Current Affair with Tracy Grimshaw: Muslims, welfare, housing commission and Lebanese gangs.

 

[Omikron]

Pyne has picked a couple guys to review parts of the national curriculum.

This is one of them:

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4478982.html
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2692732.html

 

[Dead Man]

Pyne has picked a couple guys to review parts of the national curriculum.

This is one of them:

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4478982.html
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2692732.html

Even though religion is not as strong as it once was, we are also a Christian nation and it's no accident that parliaments around Australia at the state and Commonwealth level begin with the Lord's Prayer.

Oh dear.

 

[Omikron]

The presser held just now by Pyne clearly indicates they are going to put a conservative stamp on the curriculum because he believes it is currently too 'skewed'.