Last thursday (March 24th), there was a rather small meeting to officially launch The Q Society. This group is a very interesting one, and definitely to be watched, because they have been out there doing things rather than just talking, which a lot of us sometimes get accused of doing.
In this case, Q have gotten a petition up against the Marrickville council for their promotion of anti-semitism and sponsorship of the BDS campaign.
Now a lot of people don't realise this, but in Australia, local councils seem to be more concerned with what's happening overseas rather than doing stuff like, oh, collecting the rubbish, fixing the roads and school crossings. Municipal kind of stuff.
Not Marrickville. Hard Green/Left councillor Fiona Byrne wants to sanction Israel for their action in the Gaza region.
(I do rather suspect that this is yet more of the now commonplace new anti-semitism masquerading as righteous outrage, but what would I know?)
Q also petitioned the Port Phillip council about allowing a community house to expand its use by a muslim group for friday prayers. In an area that is predominantly non-muslim, this is a bizarre thing to do, but again, what would I know. We're talking about the Port Phillip council, and they've always been a bit left and strange. (In my opinion, of course)
So thursday's launch was not completely out of the blue.
Having met Vickie personally on a number of occasions, I can attest to the fact that she comes across as a horribly scary extremist thoroughly nice person.
She's also been getting out there, with the Australian Islamist Monitor interviewing her recently.
For a spokesperson, that's excellent to see.
On thursday evening, Martin King from A Current Affair was also there for a short time to interview a few people (not me, luckily!), and tape some of the talks.
There are a lot of things going on here in Australia in the arena of creeping sharia - finance, education, food, amenities, and the ongoing issues with illegal immigrants. Not that we're supposed to call them that. Asylum seekers is the politically correct term.
The Q Society are focusing particularly on halal food in Australia and the current push for islam to be a part of the schools' curricula. Under the guise of "cultural" studies.
For a small but growing group they aim high.
When you consider that several speakers pulled out at the last minute because they were frightened of speaking out in public, there is a need for some sort of action.
These speakers were from Afghanistan, Sudan and Ethiopia, so you'd think they would feel safe to speak in our (supposedly) free society.
Obviously not.
The keynote speaker was Pastor Daniel Scot, of the infamous Catch the Fires case here in Melbournistan.
A highly educated and entertaining man, it's no wonder he was charged with quoting the quran in a manner that made people laugh. He has an exquisitely honed sense of irony, and he uses it well.
Another speaker was a Pastor who fled Pakistan in fear as a christian, and now has a ministry here in Melbourne, preaching over the phone and via skype to groups in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and even London!
It took him over two years of effort with the Immigration dept to bring his wife and children to Australia and out from the oppression of Pakistan they suffered as christians.
There are a lot more stories like these, but unfortunately they never seem to see the light of day.
With the Q Society getting the information on what's happening out, then with luck we'll see more.
As the saying goes, sunlight disinfects, and the Q Society are doing an excellent job of disinfecting some of the misconceptions about sharia.
Way, way off the north-west coast of Australia, closer to Indonesia than Oz, lies a little itty bitty speck called Christmas Island. It used to be considered Australian Territory on a par with the mainland until the "asylum seekers" and their enablers, the people smugglers and refugee activists, realised that if you got to Christmas Island and claimed asylum, you'd be afforded all the legal and other comforts you could ever want without having to get all the way over here.
So a detention centre was built there, to process claims, which was difficult because somehow, these "refugees" could make it to Indonesia from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and so on, and get onto a boat, yet still not have any papers that would identify them.
This detention centre wasn't built to house more than around 600 or so people.
Under John Howard, aka the Evil Right Wing War Monger (the last conservative Prime Minister), regulations were toughened up and an exclusion zone was devised. So now you could get to Christmas Island, but you didn't automatically get Legal Aid or instant acceptance. Also introduced were Temporary Protection Visas, which did not give you all of the rights and benefits of a full Refugee Visa.
When John Howard was voted out in 2007, Kevin Rudd of the Australian Labor Party became PM, and as a part of his platform, he promised to loosen up the harsh regime that Howard had instigated.
In 2008, he did so.
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Bolta's graph outlines how since the laws have been loosened, there has been an exponential increase in boats arriving carrying illegal immigrants (or asylum seekers if you prefer).
There are currently over 2000 of these people on Christmas Island (with several thousand more on the mainland in detention centres and four-star motels), from several different nationalities.
If you spend enough time at Aussie blogs, you might come across a rare sighting of a commenter by name of The Frollicking Mole. The Mole has worked in the detention centres, and has had his say about it.
The Labor government's enabling of more people seeking to gain entry to Australia and the benefits that accrue upon acceptance as a refugee has led to the current rioting.
Especially since detainees are now being flown to the mainland to protect them from the violence.
Once on the mainland, they'll be pretty much right.
What Does Annie Lennox Bring To Your Relationship?
Stay by me, And make the moment last. Please take these lips, Even if I have been kissed A million times.....
Way back in a previous existence, I absolutely loved this song. Unfortuntely for this song, I still love it, but I now filter it through too many years of reading Roissy, The Spearhead and a bookshelf full of deadtrees.
I recently sorted out my cds and put them into folders rather than having several boxes of them stashed in a corner of my bedroom.
Now I can just pick a folder of discs to put under the car seat and I've got even more choice on wheels.
While this is nice - I've got Bach and Vivaldi there - it has also re-exposed me to music I've not listened to in years.
Annie Lennox being a case in point.
Lyn87 has written on The Spearhead today about something he calls "Transactional Relationship Value", or TRV for short.
Basically, it's what do you and your potential new life partner bring to the table. (That's my reading of it).
It's quite a timely article as he posits that feminism has lowered the TRV for modern women, so men should be somewhat more wary when engaging with them.
Why timely? Well, over the last month or so, I've had several of my female friends telling me that feminism and feminists have made it all so much harder for women in general to meet a decent man to settle down with.
The men who have been feminised (emasculated?) at this current stage of our society often don't have respect for women, or they are considered wimps and boys - not men - by women in their lives.
However... there is a recent trend of my friends laying the blame where it deserves to be laid.
That is with 40-odd years of feminism.
The idea that gender is a social construct* rather than a physiological characteristic.
The idea that men and women are "equal", and should be treated the same, when in fact they are physiologically quite different.
The idea that children can get their (male) role models from teachers, Scout leaders, coaches, rather than biologically related men. (Civitas dealt with that one a decade ago.)
The problem with all these ideas is, of course, that they don't work.
Songs like Annie Lennox's, when you deconstruct them, continue to promote the idea that women can behave any way they choose, and it'll all be okay.
Please take these lips, Even if I have been kissed, A million times.
Looking at where feminism has brought us; a time where women are more objectified than ever before and loving it, where women are rarely punished for heinous transgressions, my response now to those lines is:
Why?
Why would a bloke want to hang stay with a woman who is asks him to accept that she's been running around kissing every man and his dog?
What does she bring to the partnership? Can she cook? Iron? Change a fanbelt? Does she see things the same way as he does (within reason, biology willing lol)? And can he be sure that if she gets bored or falls out of love with him she'll try to work it through rather than just run out?
If her lips have been kissed a million times, longevity doesn't seem to be her strong suit.
*please follow this link especially and read the post there. Then read the comments.
Please leave your Political Correctness at the door. Freedom of speech and thought are mandatory.
Good grammar will be rewarded (although posting and drinking may impact upon this at times).
