Most Australians are idiots, but yeah, they have probably got this one right.

I'm a little worried about centrelink handling this properly though. We kept getting calls from the day care saying we had to pick up our kids because centrelink said they were no ok because of a vacant ion issue. A day or two later we would get a letter from centrelink because their eldest sister had missed her immunisation. Each time she missed the immunisation. Her little brother and sister got kicked out of child care. And we would have to explain to centrelink that the reason that she kept missing her immunisations was because she was dead. And yes, her status was still dead and yes she was still likely to miss her next immunisation as she would still likely to be dead. Ever fucking time. So no, I don't trust centrelink on this. We are probably likely to be cut off tax benefit b because we still keep refusing to get her immunised.

[size=6]Malcolm Turnbull Downs A Glass Of 1998 Bordeaux In Under 26 Minutes[/size]


Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has shown his lighter side, finishing a glass of limited release Bordeaux and a bowl of lightly salted basil-and-thyme crackers in less than half an hour.

Egged on by his dinner guests at his harbour-side home, Mr Turnbull said he was proud of the achievement. “It takes me back to my uni days when we’d knock back a Barossa Shiraz without even decanting it,” he said.

But not everyone was impressed by the display. Wine expert Jerome Winaberg said it sent the wrong message to young drinkers. “The last thing we need is for a government minister, in such a high profile position, to be drinking good wine without letting it breathe. He didn’t even swirl it in his glass between sips.”

Mr Turnbull laughed off the criticism, saying it was just a light-hearted display and that everyone had rushed through a Premier Grand Cru at some point in their life.

On a lighter note:



Edited by paladisious: 20/4/2015 10:53:47 PM

Coalition defends negatively-geared ‘battlers’

Just when you thought policy making couldn’t get any lower, we got the following from Social Services Minister, Scott Morrison, who defended negative gearing as a way for battlers in the suburbs to get ahead:

“You’d be surprised how many people…particularly in small business who don’t earn a lot of money who have invested through negative gearing into properties to provide for their own retirement. That is a fairly common practice”…


http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2015/04/coalition-defends-negatively-geared-battlers/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily
+MacroBusiness&utm_content=Daily

Anzac day 'glories war', Melb students say

A MELBOURNE university student group has caused uproar over its plans to oppose Anzac Day events on the grounds they glorify war.

THE Monash University Student Council will debate a motion on Thursday calling on its members not to support or promote any Anzac Day "celebrations" arguing it is an exercise in war glorification and patriotism.

The Australian Liberal Students Federation has condemned the move as the "ultimate disrespect" to those who died defending the country.

Can you believe how pretentious some of those left wing student groups are, that the way to attain their jollies and seek attention is to disrespect war veterans who spilled blood for this country.

Negative gearing isn't exactly unique to Australia, most countries do it. Didn't Labor they try lifting it in the 1980's and ended up bringing it back?

Can you believe how pretentious some of those left wing student groups are, that the way to attain their jollies and seek attention is to disrespect war veterans who spilled blood for this country.

Huh?

I respect the ANZAC tradition and believe it deserves its National Day of recognition along with the merits of the RSL but I think with the demographics of Australia changing (i.e. more Non Anglo Migrants) it has become somewhat diminished with those who aren't of WASP background. Those sections of the community can't really relate to the ANZAC legend because their grandfathers 9 times out of 10 didn't serve in the ADF. I come from a Non Anglo background and have been to the RSLs a few times on ANZAC day, and I think some treat as an excuse to get pissed and fight over a game of two up which I think what it should not be about. Yes its a free country, to do what we want, but I think if people thought it sacred then the necessity to have skinful of piss should not be a requirement.

[size=6]What do Muslims think about Anzac Day?[/size]
April 20, 2015
Kuranda Seyit


The arrests of several youth in Melbourne and the alleged planning of an attack during Anzac Day got me thinking about what Muslims think about the Anzac tradition.

The irony of the Gallipoli campaign and the Anzac tradition that followed was that Australia as a Christian nation was engaging in a conflict with Turkey as a Muslim nation and after 100 years, the war has brought these two enemies closer together.

If the Aussies and Turks had nicknames for each other, surely they must have been mates at heart.

This is a great testament to the nature of Australians and Turks, both being easy-going and open-minded, with similar approaches to life. At the time of the Gallipoli landings, Turkey was, in fact, still the Ottoman Empire and the whole society was governed by sharia law.

Yet, the soldiers were generous and kind, they understood sarcasm and loved to make jokes about themselves and their enemies. During the Gallipoli campaign, once both sides understood they were in a stalemate and it would be a long campaign, their sense of humour came through, strongly. The two sides exchanged gifts, usually in the form of sweets and cigarettes, but when the Aussies threw bully beef over the trenches, the Turks promptly threw it back, as it was not halal.

They would often wave to each other from across the trenches and they gave each other nicknames: the Aussies called the Turks Johnny, Abdul or Jacko. The sign of a great friendship is often marked by the giving of nicknames; Sully for Sullivan, Smitty for Smith and so on. If the Aussies and Turks had nicknames for each other, surely they must have been mates at heart.

In between, the powers that be – the Germans on the Turkish side and the British on the Anzacs' side – ordered the men to charge at each other, often resulting in carnage and great loss of life. Both sides knew the whole affair was senseless and if back in 1915 there was a different way to settle disputes, I am sure the Anzacs would have preferred a good old arm-wrestle or a log-throwing contest to settle who got the peninsula.

Today, 100 years on, Australia is a land made up of many different nations and religious groups. Among them are more than 50,000 Australians of Turkish heritage and more than half a million Muslims. There has always been divided opinion on the Anzac tradition among Australia's Muslims.

I remember as a young boy at school, we would commemorate Anzac Day with an assembly and the bugle would play the Last Post and we would all say together, "lest we forget". As a Turk, I had mixed emotions – these soldiers had invaded Turkey and thousands were killed. But as an Aussie, too, I had great fondness for this country, so how was I to feel? For a 13-year-old, it was difficult. I chose the former and decided to be a conscientious objector and not to celebrate and glorify war.

But today, as a school teacher, my feelings have changed. I visited Turkey, with my wife and son, several years ago and, for the first time, toured the Gallipoli peninsula and saw just how compact the battle zone was, the trenches and all the grave sites and tombstones. It was a very moving experience.

If most Muslim Australians are like myself, they view the Anzac campaign as a conflict that saw the loss of many innocent lives and devastated families and loved ones; a battle that ultimately had no consequence to the outcome of the war; a period in our collective history about compassion, empathy, mateship and wisdom; and a time that helps us reflect on the futility of war. I think most of us would agree that while we would never want to see anything like that again, we still see the importance of the conflict and its relevance to our development as nations and as respective great countries.

The most important thing for me about the Anzacs and the Turks is the great sacrifices young men made to fight for their cause; for Australians, it was defending the Commonwealth and standing up to the Germans, and for the Turks it was about defending their home soil and believing in their right to defend their honour and religion.

That is why, when it comes to this year's Anzac Day commemorations, I am certain many Muslims, Turks and Australians in general will be out there, remembering the fallen, the ones who made the sacrifice and let's not forget those who came back, traumatised by the war but never complained or wanted anything extraordinary. I, as a Muslim, a Turk and an Australian, am very proud of how this nation has matured and for me the Anzac spirit is firmly set in my psyche and forever in my heart as an Australian.

Kuranda Seyit​ is the secretary of the Islamic Council of Victoria and of Turkish descent.

I respect the ANZAC tradition and believe it deserves its National Day of recognition along with the merits of the RSL but I think with the demographics of Australia changing (i.e. more Non Anglo Migrants) it has become somewhat diminished with those who aren't of WASP background. Those sections of the community can't really relate to the ANZAC legend because their grandfathers 9 times out of 10 didn't serve in the ADF. I come from a Non Anglo background and have been to the RSLs a few times on ANZAC day, and I think some treat as an excuse to get pissed and fight over a game of two up which I think what it should not be about. Yes its a free country, to do what we want, but I think if people thought it sacred then the necessity to have skinful of piss should not be a requirement.

I respect the ANZAC tradition and believe it deserves its National Day of recognition along with the merits of the RSL but I think with the demographics of Australia changing (i.e. more Non Anglo Migrants) it has become somewhat diminished with those who aren't of WASP background. Those sections of the community can't really relate to the ANZAC legend because their grandfathers 9 times out of 10 didn't serve in the ADF. I come from a Non Anglo background and have been to the RSLs a few times on ANZAC day, and I think some treat as an excuse to get pissed and fight over a game of two up which I think what it should not be about. Yes its a free country, to do what we want, but I think if people thought it sacred then the necessity to have skinful of piss should not be a requirement.

You come to Australia and respect Australian soldiers and traditions? What's so hard about that.

And it's a bit rich coming from an Asian to lecture others about racism. They're the most racist people I've ever encountered.

Well if they are Turkish then its not surprising of the joint embrace for ANZAC tradition, however Im talking about other NESB backgrounds.

Think of say Vietnamese people. Im sure they would have mixed feelings about the ANZAC since they were invaded by American and Australian forces.

I remember the racist sentiment towards Vietnamese people by Australians,...I mean seriously what did they expect the Vietnamese to do? just bend over and wave a white flag.

It was actually proven in a study that Australians are among the least racist nations just earth, and Asians were among the most racist. But we know that's not possible since only white people can be racist.

everyone is racist. its all about context. i never said asians werent racist.

what i mean by that is , im talking with respect to ANZAC it woukd be hard to celebrate if your relatives were perpetrates by those forces in the past and also if u cop stick racially

if u cop stick racially

I'm highlighting the fact that they're just going to debate whether to do this, given that you seem to think it's already a plan in the works. It'll surely be voted down for being the foolish thing that it is.

If they are so offended by the celebration of our culture and history, why would they continue to live here?

I'm all for immigration, but not if you are aiming to build your own secular society that impinges on the beliefs of those that built the nation.

I'm highlighting the fact that they're just going to debate whether to do this, given that you seem to think it's already a plan in the works. It'll surely be voted down for being the foolish thing that it is.

You don't have to celebrate Anzac Day and do the dawn service thing, but even if you are a recent immigrant to the country you should at least respect the day and the sacrifice thousands of soldiers made for this country. What you certainly shouldn't do is piss on that sacrifice by arguing Anzac Day glorifies war and shouldn't be promoted. If you do this you are a royal turd.

How people choose to observe Anzac Day is up to them, if they get pissed or watch TV all day it's up to them. Just don't disrespect it.

It was actually proven in a study that Australians are among the least racist nations just earth, and Asians were among the most racist. But we know that's not possible since only white people can be racist.