The Senate, pink Aussie flags and 5000 bums
Last Monday morning (1 March 2010), on the fabled steps of the Sydney Opera House, photographer Spencer Tunick – world renown for his photos of mass nudity – snapped a five-thousand strong contingent of butt-naked nudites under the House’s white sails.
Said Mr Tunick of the event, “Gay men and women lay naked next to their straight neighbours and this delivered a very strong message to the world that Australians embrace a free and equal society.”
Australians have been demonstrating “a free and equal society” for pretty much most of its recent history (yes, ok – many could state that that statement has a fair bit of contention, but by and large I hold it… Continue reading ...
Excerpt: Burqas, bathrooms and the public concern
[The following is an excerpt of an article I published on The Aristophrenium. Please visit The Aristophrenium to read the full article and to comment.]
“While the French government unveiled its plan to ban the burqa worn by some Muslim women, the reign in Maine leaves much to explain by proposing to allow transgendered people to use the bathroom of their choice. The contrast between the two stories is quite clear: the French move to protect its public while the Mainers move aside to endanger theirs.
Two burqa-wearers walk into a post office …
The stance taken by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, declaring last year that the burqa was not welcome in France, is one taken… Continue reading ...
Excerpt: Abstinence arouses displeasure Down-under and State-side
[The following is an excerpt of an article I published on The Aristophrenium. As indicated in my two-year anniversary post, I will be writing both here at thoughts out !oud and The Aristophrenium.]
“One thing that hasn’t been abstaining from the news in the past fortnight is culture’s attitude towards sex. There are two counts in particular that caught my interest: one was State-side, aroused by curious questions from Oprah Winfrey on her namesake’s show; the other was a reactive orgasm from Australia’s media and some members of it’s Federal Government (including the Deputy Prime Minister, no less) towards remarks made by the Opposition Leader.
Both instances concerned the topic of sexual abstinence and, while both were… Continue reading ...
“Gay marriage like incest” or “how to take quotations completely out of context”
In the wake of the repeal of same-sex marriage legislation by the constituents in Maine last month, the Australian Senate was presented with a private members bill to amend the traditional definition of marriage. The Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2009, seeking to replace the words “a man and a woman” with “any two persons”, attracted the largest number of submissions from the public – in excess of 28,000, a record number for any Bill.
Australian Senate rejects Marriage Equality Bill
The amendment was rejected by the Senate with a 2/3 majority of the submissions opposing the Bill.
These facts and figures would be amazing by themselves if it were not for the comments made by Family First Senator… Continue reading ...
Quote: people who don’t understand a social institution should be last to advocate its change
In the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle; a principle which will probably be called a paradox. There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: “If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I… Continue reading ...
Senator X takes Church of Scientology to task
South Australian Independent Senator, Nick Xenophon, brought Scientology back to Australian political and public headlines last Tuesday (17th Nov), by accusing the Church of Scientology of being a deceptive, malicious commercial enterprise, masquerading as a religion for protection.
And … he’s right. In the very words of Scientology founder, Ron L Hubbard, the organisation exists to “Make money. Make more money. Make others produce so as to make money . . . However you get them in or why, just do it.”. There is no religious function at all, really. The practices of the organisation as a whole is nothing short of being just a spectacular rort.
Rather than Senator Xenophon’s address regarding the evils of Scientology being taken… Continue reading ...
Record high submissions received by Senate Inquiry indicate 67% oppose the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill
Lodged as a private members Bill by Greens Senator Sarah-Hanson Young, the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2009 expressly seeks to alter the legal definition of marriage from “one man and one woman” to “any two people”.
Reported in a recent AAP article, the Bill had received a number of submissions in excess of 26,000 – a record for any Senate inquiry, indicating that the definition of marriage is of a key concern to many in the Australian constituency.
Approximately 67% of the submissions received were opposed to the Bill.
The report implies that the one-sided opposition may in fact be due to two factors: duplicate submissions and a large number of “formula emails sent by Christian groups”… Continue reading ...
John Howard speaks about the wrongs of an Australian Bill of Rights
Follow the link (John Howard on a bill of rights) to hear a short address regarding an Australia Bill of Rights that our ex-Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, delivered at the opening of Quadrant Magazine’s new offices in Balmain, NSW.
Mr Howard raises some of the key points as to why Australians should stand against a Bill of Rights and why a such a Bill is not only unnecessary but is fraught with danger. To paraphrase, Mr Howard states that a Bill of Rights (or Charter of Rights, same diff):
- carries with it the grossly incorrect notion that Australia, both legally and culturally, is devoid of adequate human rights measures. Proponents of the Bill frequently point to the Charters in other countries for examples of
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