I used to consider myself an atheist. Now, when asked, I say I am agnostic. It is not that I have doubts but I don’t want to be bundled in with the atheist crowd.
In answering such a question, it is too difficult to explain the distinction between atheism and anti-religionism and to be honest, the lines are often blurred.
Is it any wonder?
This Easter we have been witness to baffling brawls over halal chocolate Easter eggs and squabbling over whether or not a footy match should be played on Good Friday. I adopt the laissez-faire approach in these matters but I find it troubling that those who advocate sombre reflection on religious holidays are cast as extremists.
Religion is often mocked by atheists. Mockery is fine in some instances but when people are painted as sub-human for holding supernatural beliefs, items of faith in all organised religions, it is clear there is an attempt to wantonly discriminate against people and limit their movements and their associations.
Full column here.
I cannot believe people here would actually think Dutton could possible lead this Nation he is an absolute disgrace. His reckless efforts yesterday to incite further xenophobic reactions should have him sacked. It just shows what little judgement those who support him have.
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/png-officials-refugees-dispute-peter-duttons-account-of-manus-island-violence-20170421-gvpdu4.html
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/peter-dutton-delivers-a-new-low-with-comments-on-manus-island-rampage-20170420-gvp6tr.html
Dismayed, give us a quick smile mate before you forget how to.
Now there you go. The new message is out from Labor central. Be prepared to hear more about Dutton from Dismal over the next few months. Not an original idea in his Dismal head.
Oh my. Irony? This from the one who wants to run an election on the fear and smear of all people who may be immigrants to divide the Nation even further. Man if you were any more small minded your brain would be a black hole, oh wait you already suck the oxygen out of everything for no return.
Did you actually address what I said…….
The less said about your mate dutton the better he is a disgrace and should be sacked for his reckless and deliberately misleading comments last week. Anyone deliberately trying to demonise and mislead on asylum seekers and immigration is not acting in the National interest only their own narrow minded idiocy. Oh that’s right you want to use it as an election issue again because your side has been the worst government this Nation has seen and need distraction, fear mongering and dehumanising of anyone who does not fit into your bigoted view of the world. Is that “addressing” your points. What have you cons got? Dehumanise the dirty foreigners, blame and shame the unemployed, attack the unions, cut funding to Public health and Education Subsidise Private Health and Education, cut funding to collective bargain industries massively subsidise foreign resource companies, reduce taxes on businesses that pay no tax or minimal tax, increase taxes on those earning the least. What do we see today another FN Qld wanker Brandis last week still saying No cuts had taken place to funding for legal service today “New” funding or reversal of the cuts? You and your lot have your priorities so FD up it is no wonder you need to divide the nation to have any hope. Above in numerous comments you continue to present a view that all the Scientist on the planet are Wrong and you a right. Easter was last week get over the fantasy stuff and wake up to yourself. Remember the Grandchildren? The ones you cons always bring up when talking debt, oh that right you don’t talk about debt now that you have doubled it do you? well those grandkids will not be remembering you favourable they will be asking WTF was wrong with you people?
JTI, I see the final episode in the Carl Williams saga has played out with hitman Stephen Asling getting a life sentence for the contract killing of Graham “The Munster” Kinniburgh commissioned by the aforementioned Williams.
Asling would not have given a jot about doing the job, but it is probably his last unless he knocks off a fellow inmate for fun. I recon he might have regrets now.
The worst of all the Melbourne underworld murders, Lou. Good riddance to Mr Asling.
Lou,
Water off a ducks back I’d reckon.
Football tips entered on the appropriate web site please Ladies & Gentlemen
Swankiest v GWS, head has to rule over heart (unfortunately) even though it’s at the SCG.
Swannies!……spell check👿
My phone does that too,Tracy
Bloody annoying, especially when you find it changed everything you’ve just typed after hitting Post. Some of the transmutations are quite funny at times
Well,the Swankiest got their arse kicked Tracy. the little brother has come of age, and the Swannies are in a bit of bother.
There’s always a first for everything.
Manly are decidedly persisting me off, can’t win at home but can manage it away, didn’t tip them the other night but luckily no one else did either.
I probably should go and dig out the naughty mat as I didn’t watch this mornings mandatory viewing, he probably didn’t notice anyway.
Manly are clearly happy to be away from home Tracy, and who can blame them, every other week having to turn up to that shithole in Brookvale.
Now the Leagues Club has been flogged off, I think a lot of Manly players rightly feel homeless. Even the Marlins get to play on a little gem of turf down by the beach.
Enjoyed their Rnd 2 win at home against the Bulldogs though, 36 – 0. Take that Hasler. Cherry-Evans put on a master class. I put their lack of home form down to the name change for Brookvale. Lottoland? Who thought that was a good idea.
The fake news around putting GST on all goods purchased overseas is astounding.
Statements like “We are the only country that does it” abound.
https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty
I bet e-bay does not restrict stuff going into the UK.
Exciting news today, Mr Insider, as VPOTUS Mike Pence fly’s in to Australia. He has been on an Asia Pacific tour and arrives 1st in our beautiful city of Sydney. POTUS Trump we read will be doing an Asia Pacific tour later in the year and given the warm friendship between Australia and the USA, great allies, am sure he will visit Australia as well. Do hope he brings FLOTUS Melania Trump!
http://tinyurl.com/mwupa26
Yawn.
LOL come in spinner!
A Few surprises in the ODI squad for the Champions trophy all the big quicks in plus Big john Hastings. No room for “the Finisher” Faulkner.
Watts this? Turnbull arcs up with a bright spark idea? Ohm my! This will generate some comment. In the current situation I see positives and negatives, but he seems to have gone to earth.
A very “Electric” comment there G Whizz love it.
He’s far from electric Wizz, very capable of turning a positive into a negative, and when all is said and done, certainly not earthed. Would not pass an electrical inspection, whatever the questions and answers were. He needs a short fuse just to warm up.
I am no apologist for Kim Jong-un…all I am saying is ANY country should have the right to defend themselves. I know he is a nutter but we have nutters on our side too. Why should the Yanks and their allies (who have bombed more than anyone) be the only ones allowed to have WMD’s.
Well, they’re not. The Russians and the Chinese do, too. And possibly some others we don’t know about.
But let me ask you this: Why should police and the military – who have shot more people than anyone else – be the only ones allowed to have guns? I’d like to keep a gun in the house for personal and property protection but I’m not allowed to. It is a crime in Victoria to arm yourself for the purpose of personal protection.
The guys with the big guns and their political masters don’t want anyone else to have them. It’s the same with nation states.
There was a question in there so I’ll answer it: because guns are very dangerous, and the more of them there are around, the more people they kill. So, just like other dangerous things, like cobras, explosives, poison gas etc, we regulate their possession and keep it to a minimum. Most people like it that way. It’s not a conspiracy. It’s not even a political issue outside the US.
That was a rhetorical question, John. BASSMAN’S logic – that every nation has a right to defend themselves with whatever weapons they want – can be reasonably extended to everyone.
I no more want North Korea to have nuclear weapons than I want every household to keep machine-guns and grenade launchers.
Whoa up there John, you’ll be telling us next that cars kill people.
Join a club. Become a sporting shooter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS9uGktUCrY
Practice a lot. Then, ” gee whizz constable, I was practicing my fast draw when these desperadoes broke into my house. I plugged ’em both and then fired a warning shot into the air. Or was that the other way around?”
I think you may need this vital info soon dear BASSMAN if you feel its ok for nutjobs like Kimmy to have access to Nuclear weapons. Cheers.
http://tinyurl.com/mxyftfd
In the case of Kimmie Bassman, I think he has managed to turn defence in to offence, he doesn’t give a stuff who he offends. Remember this is the guy who blew a South Korean navy ship out of the water last year, totally unprovoked. It is clearly all based on keeping him in power, even if the military gets all the money while the population is on starvation rations.
I did like his demonstration of Korean military might by broadcasting a demo by Taekwondo experts, after his missile blew up on launch. If he were to get a real nuke weapon, good chance he’d use it. He doesn’t need that kind of force to defend the homeland.
Cause they are on OUR side Bassy
Where you the one who used to take the bottle tops off the milk at school?
Nope!. Grew up in QLD and they used to put the milk out under a not too shady tree.
I was in constant trouble for not not drinking the warm revolting stuff and could not afford flavored straws like the other kids.
Ha that’s funny JT. We were having exactly the same discussion last night about warm school milk. Can’t drink the stuff to this day – not even a sip.
“I am no apologist for Kim Jong-un…all I am saying is ANY country should have the right to defend themselves.”
Your reference to “ANY country” Bassy, obviously doesn’t include Australia if you’re serious about your ongoing petty snipes at our Defence expenditure and your belief we’ll never be required to defend ourselves.
We can’t continue to live in and enjoy the best paddock in the world without the need to maintain and renew our fences. If you think we can, you’re living in that rabbit hole with Alice, mate.
There are much better ways to defend ourselves.Bank of ICBM’s across the top of Australia with a red button in Canberra. Job done. And this came to me via a guy VERY high up in our military 30yrs ago.
Our coastline is too big to patrol and our population is too small to defend a land mass the size of ours Bald. This way no one would dare come near us.
Yep!
But not fixed ones – they can be taken out too easily.
Two countries that Hitler left alone = Switzerland and Sweden.
The reason – yep you can invade but it will cost you and he decided it was not worth it.
Eventually our defense will have to mirror that philosophy.
How much would it cost to set up a system like this….cheaper than subs and planes that will be out of date by the timecwe get them?
What could possibly go wrong?
It was C.Link court day today. Dumb old me against the Robot who was lawyered up. I can’t afford lawyers so I represented myself. I won the 1st Administrative Appeal Tribunal case. C.Link appealed the umpires decision. Not to be slighted, I took them on again in a 2nd Tribunal. Hey I won again. It must have cost them (us!) a fortune. Their photocopying alone was about 180 pages along with many individual typed letters that were not ‘form’ scripts. Then, multiple postages of heavy documents back and forth which they paid for. The heavily pregnant (due 8th May) bride and I are on a nite out to celebrate. Our win has saved us thousands. I can’t go into it in too much detail for I am sure govt bots spidercrawl these sites. Briefly the Robot said I did not tell them something by a ‘certain date’. I proved that I did…3 times as a matter of fact.
I have had three tussles with C.Link now and won them all. The 1st one occurred when they stopped my pension. The bride and I went on a cruise and they said I had ‘left Australia’. I secured ships logs to prove I was always in Australian waters. I am getting the feeling they don’t like me Bald. That said, all of the C.Link people I had to deal with were firm but courteous and very professional.
Good to see you have a win Bassy.
You Champion BASSMAN go hard young man well don!
so harassment???? what are your avenues for recompense there bassy?
I am a happy camper. I dnt wanna aggravate them any more than I have Bald!
None
Iran , accused of alarming provocations , Rex Tillerson (The Oil Mogul) is there anyone this mad mob of bastards won’t pick a fight with ? , Ever get the feeling they are biting off more then they can chew, Syria , Russia , Iran , Hezbollah , ISIS , Iraq , Afghanistan ,Somalia, Yeman , North Korea , China , Oh hang on they are mates now , right.
Isn’t strange America is now bombing Al Shabaab in Somalia a fourth world country if there ever was one , It’s been 24 years since the good old USA had anything to do with Somalia, hasn’t been much reporting on that little entanglement has there . Could it have anything to do with a British exploration company finding OIL off the coast of said country ? …
I’d say it would have plenty to do with it Bill.
Absolute rot Bill not close to the truth.
And the truth is?
You appear to have suddenly become a regular foreign affairs correspondent Bill.
Have they pushed you out of the closet, or have you emerged of your own accord mate?
Mate, politics here in Australia has lost the excitement and sparkle same old MT , TA , Crazy Barnaby , Mad Dutton / Hanson it’s more entertaining across the way … Hey, did you know a bloke named Richard Glover from a Sydney radio station had a piece in the Washington Post the other day writing about the number of Australians now tuning into events in the good old USA . Check it out WP, NYT , LA-T , MSNBS , CNN , TYT , but stay away from Fox News , much to far Right for my standards …..
Fox is too right, but you’re recommending MSNBC?