Thought I’d share this from Tony Abbott’s Battlelines:
John Ray, an academic writing in the 1970s, seems to have been the first Australian to have described himself as a ‘Burkean conservative’, after the late-18th-century British statesman rightly regarded as the founder of modern political conservatism. ‘I believe that the Vietnam war can be justified’, Ray said:
“…that conscription can be necessary, that most ecology activists are cranks, that the twentieth century is the best century we have ever had and that the twenty-first will be even better, that economic growth is a good thing, that strikers who defy the courts should be outlawed, that the White Australia policy is defensible, that Ian Smith of Rhodesia is neither a fool nor a rogue, that our ties with the monarchy are precious and should not be reduced, that we should have more foreign investment and continued population growth.”
You can read how the Vietnam war can be justified and the White Australia Policy defended in What is conservatism? A personal preface. Poems anyone? John Ray has also been recently featured at Lost in a Forest.
In Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Limited (No. 3), Justice Cowdroy has found that iiNet did not authorise copyright infringement:
[20] The law recognises no positive obligation on any person to protect the copyright of another. The law only recognises a prohibition on the doing of copyright acts without the licence of the copyright owner or exclusive licensee, or the authorisation of those acts. In the circumstances outlined above and discussed in greater detail in my judgment, it is impossible to conclude that iiNet has authorised copyright infringement.
[21] In summary, in this proceeding, the key question is: Did iiNet authorise copyright infringement? The Court answers such question in the negative for three reasons: first because the copyright infringements occurred directly as a result of the use of the BitTorrent system, not the use of the internet, and the respondent did not create and does not control the BitTorrent system; second because the respondent did not have a relevant power to prevent those infringements occurring; and third because the respondent did not sanction, approve or countenance copyright infringement.
Read the full judgment, including summary, from the link above and analysis from Nic Suzor.
The Queensland University of Technology has topped up its food bank in anticipation of students facing financial difficulty after the government failed to pass student income reforms last year.
The proposed legislation was to make changes to eligibility requirements for Youth Allowance and linked start up and relocation scholarships to the payment. At the time, Julia Gillard said that if the Bill failed to pass 150 000 students could miss out on government scholarships which included a Rural Tertiary Hardship Fund worth $20 million to assist rural and regional students.
Steve Fielding and the opposition voted against the Bill in the senate. Commenting on the Bill, Fielding said “that’s crazy” (why does he always use that word) and “its nothing more than hush money to keep the kids quiet”. This is an issue Fielding may relate to. Going on what he is willing to do and say in public, his kid/s must be swimming in “hush money” to keep his private antics under wraps.
Tony Abbott has been quiet on this issue but has broken what should have been a core promise by appearing in his budgie smugglers one kilometre inland. If students have the courage to view this image it is likely to offer some form of assistance by keeping them off their food for at least a few days.
Steve Fielding (the leader of Family First) announced via twitter and a press release that he was going to inspect the Christmas Island detention centre. Why?
I don’t know if the detention centre on the island is like palace [sic] or not. All I know is the boats keep on coming.
It looks more like a cage than a palace. Steve could have stayed home and read this article complete with pictures to find out this information. But there is another reason:
It’s important for an independent to take a look at what’s happening on Christmas Island because asylum seekers have become a political football in recent years.
That’s right, it’s important for Steve to see what is happening so he can get into the game and start kicking this political football. He doesn’t like to be left out of these things.
I want to find out once and for all what is happening on the island and then work a way forward with the government.
This isn’t an easy issue because on one hand it’s important we protect our borders but it’s also crucial we meet our international obligations.
I want to work with the Immigration Minister to make sure we deal with asylum seekers in a fair and just way.
We could just adhere to Article 31 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. That would be treating asylum seekers in a fair and just way. What do you think Steve?
Apparently, Steve will be speaking to ABC News Radio around 17:45 eastern from Christmas Island. Wonder which team he will be kicking for?
Post interview. Steve believes that conditions are so good on Christmas Island that it is a pull factor for asylum seekers. He also said that asylum seekers are guaranteed being resettled from the detention centre within three months. No mention of it being like a palace but I wonder if the conditions would be good enough for his family.
Update. Unbelievable. Check the reaction on twitter (search twitter: @senatorsteve) to the following tweets from Fielding, a true twat:
Conditions on Christmas Island are very good for detainees. http://bit.ly/9o4pTr
watching a boatload of 43 asylum seekers arrive on Christmas Island
And then this: just been using a nice new apple mac inside the detention centre. Not bad at all!
It has often been reported that Tony Abbott has a “problem with women”. Whether this is true or not, some women definitely have a problem with him. Now Abbott has made comments to the Woman’s Weekly on sex and virginity. He has said that women should regard their virginity as “a gift”, and that “gift” should not be given away lightly. He believes both sexes should avoid the temptation of sex and follow “the rules”. If one is unable to abide by “the rules”, Abbott has made the concession that contraception should be used. Perhaps it was his experience with Vatican roulette that allowed him to ignore the rules. More likely it was an endeavour not to alienate the majority of Australians who would advocate the use of contraception to avoid pregnancy or STI.
To be fair, Abbott went out of his way to point out that this was advice to his daughters, not to the “world at large”. And further: read more…
Apparently female ejaculation is not real. Well at least according to the Classification Board (which includes six women). It appears the thinking is – female ejaculate is urine, this could equate to a golden shower and that is a touch too kinky, so no fetish for you.
From Ms Naughty:
Female Ejaculation Films To Be Banned In Australia
I’ve received a circular from the Eros Association, the advocacy group for the Australian adult industry. Thanks to shit stirring by a fundamentalist Christian group, the rules have been tightened as to what adult films can be imported into Australia.
The Classification Board has explicitly stated that films featuring female ejaculation will now be seized and considered RC – refused classification. Effectively banned. This also means that female ejaculation sites will be considered RC (prohibited) for the purposes of the internet filter planned to be introduced here this year.
Eros says:
Customs have simply reacted here to what the Classification Board has done – that is, they have determined that female ejaculation is not a real event and therefore all issue from a women’s vagina is piss and therefore covered under the parameters in the Guidelines for ‘golden showers’. This means that if the shower happens to land on the body or in the mouth it is determined to be an offensive fetish and goes RC. The Classification Board’s finding that female ejaculation does not exist is something we will contest with them as there is a body of scientific (and personal) evidence that says otherwise. Even last month on the ABC Science Show with Dr Norman Swan, they spent an hour with scientists discussing this phenomenon and how it was not urine.
This decision ignores the research that shows that female ejaculate is not urine and there is some suggestion that all women may ejaculate. Of course, some of us playing at home are well aware of this, so how could this bodily function be considered offensive or abhorrent and refused classification?
Update. Ms Naughty also points out the obvious double standards: It’s fine for a man to ejaculate onto a woman’s face, but if a woman ejaculates onto a man’s face then it’s offensive or abhorrent.
Update II. From The Australian Sex Party:
The Board has also started to ban depictions of small-breasted women in adult publications and films. This is in response to a campaign led by Kids Free 2 B Kids and promoted by Barnaby Joyce and Guy Barnett in Senate Estimates late last year. Mainstream companies such as Larry Flint’s Hustler produce some of the publications that have been banned. These companies are regulated by the FBI to ensure that only adult performers are featured in their publications. “We are starting to see depictions of women in their late 20s being banned because they have an A cup size”, she said. “It may be an unintended consequence of the Senator’s actions but they are largely responsible for the sharp increase in breast size in Australian adult magazines of late”.
Elsewhere:
Somebody think of the children
(H/T @kathoc)
It is obvious Tony Abbott’s and the Liberal Party’s interests are far more important than Australia’s. If they were not, why would he call on the government to take action against Japan’s whaling activities when he believes it may harm Australia-Japan relations? Why does Abbott believe the government should take this action:
Well, he should deliver on his promises. [...] Kevin Rudd has been all talk and no action. Pre-election he said that he was going to stop the whaling by amongst other things, taking Japan to the International Court of Justice. [...] He shouldn’t make promises that he can’t keep.
But could this harm our relationship with Japan?
Well, of course it could and that’s why he should have thought long and hard before he made these promises.
So why should the government take this action then?
…Kevin Rudd should do what he says he would do and he promised…
This is not about solutions or what is best for the country, this is about the chance (as slim as it may be) for political leverage. After all, it’s not like Abbott and the Liberal Party would ever consider not honouring a promise, never ever.
So what is the Liberal Party’s position on this issue? They’ll tell you later.
Dear Steve Fielding,
This is a heartfelt plea to ask you to stop blocking us from your twitter feed.
We are aware that you are quite familiar with the painful feeling of rejection, and we are not just talking about Copenhagen here. How did it feel when Al Gore refused to meet with you, even after your very public appeal for a hearing?
We now know how you must feel standing on the outside and looking in, or torn between two places and a rock. It is not a nice place to be.
If we have done something to offend, we ask that may find it in your heart to forgive us. We are not asking you to take Jesus’ advice and follow us, just let us feel like one of the family first and we can take it from there.
Yours sincerely,
