Auspol June - Can't Afford the Education to Think of a Witty Thread Title

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G-Spot Run: Jun 28, 2005

Second time today someone has told me they are going there. Did they improve the burgers recently. because when I went a few months back it was alright at best. Huxtaburger is pro.

# ? Jun 3, 2014 13:16

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# ? Jun 7, 2024 08:30

hambeet: Sep 13, 2002

You Am I posted:

Shaw has gone off the deep again, and he doesn't care about the damage he does to either the parliament or State Libs.

Those On My Left posted:

These are all reasons why the government might not fall, or at least might not fall immediately. But this whole debacle still has substantial ramifications for how much parliamentary business (including the passing of legislation) the Victorian Government will be able to proceed with for the rest of the year. And Governments typically like to actually do things in their election year.

Which is why I'm skeptical of anything happening right away.

# ? Jun 3, 2014 13:16

G-Spot Run: Jun 28, 2005

Won't someone please think of the babies in their mummies tummies

# ? Jun 3, 2014 13:19

ewe2: Jul 1, 2009

quote:

‏@Hippopeteamus 1m
There once was a chappie called Bolt
Who was captured molesting a goat; >

@Hippopeteamus 2m
> Young Bolty got ranty
And went and sued Aunty
So George had the statutes re-wrote.

# ? Jun 3, 2014 13:20

You Am I: May 20, 2001; Me @ your poasting

Those On My Left posted:

Fact: I'm spending this weekend in Magnetic Island.

I'll get the pitchforks ready

Kat Delacour posted:

Won't someone please think of the babies in their mummies tummies

Babies are like dole bludgers, leeching off the system.

# ? Jun 3, 2014 13:24

Paracausal: Sep 5, 2011; Oh yeah, baby. Frame your suffering as a masterpiece. Only one problem - no one's watching. It's boring, buddy, boring as death.

Kat Delacour posted:

Second time today someone has told me they are going there. Did they improve the burgers recently. because when I went a few months back it was alright at best. Huxtaburger is pro.

I went there last weekend and felt it was overrated. Still nice, just not $20+ hamburger nice. Give me Big boy BBQ any day.

# ? Jun 3, 2014 13:32

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3EBUV4bwiQ

Andrew Wilkie announced that he will vote to block supply.

:golfclap:

# ? Jun 3, 2014 13:33

Doctor Spaceman: Jul 6, 2010; "Everyone's entitled to their point of view, but that's seriously a weird one."

Quantum Mechanic posted:

A stirring defence of the repeal of 18C from professional fuckface Campbelltown mayor Clinton Mead

Libertarian Senate Candidate (Tasmania) Clinton Mead?

# ? Jun 3, 2014 13:47

Quantum Mechanic: Apr 25, 2010; Just another fuckwit who thrives on fake moral outrage.
Waaaah the Christians are out to get me

lol abbottsgonnawin

Doctor Spaceman posted:

Libertarian Senate Candidate (Tasmania) Clinton Mead?

That's the one!

# ? Jun 3, 2014 13:50

Those On My Left: Jun 25, 2010

TG-Chrono posted:

I went there last weekend and felt it was overrated. Still nice, just not $20+ hamburger nice. Give me Big boy BBQ any day.

It's definitely not cheap, but it's super tasty. I would like to try Huxtaburger some time.

# ? Jun 3, 2014 14:01

webmeister: Jan 31, 2007; The answer is, mate, because I want to do you slowly. There has to be a bit of sport in this for all of us. In the psychological battle stakes, we are stripped down and ready to go. I want to see those ashen-faced performances; I want more of them. I want to be encouraged. I want to see you squirm.

Just finished watching John Pilger's Utopia.

Australia, kill you are self

# ? Jun 3, 2014 14:09

CROWS EVERYWHERE: Dec 17, 2012; CAW CAW CAW; Dinosaur Gum

webmeister posted:

Just finished watching John Pilger's Utopia.

Australia, kill you are self

It's very depressing :smith:

My favourite bit was the Rottnest hotel and the interviews with people on Australia Day.

# ? Jun 3, 2014 14:11

Those On My Left: Jun 25, 2010

Mithranderp posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3EBUV4bwiQ

Andrew Wilkie announced that he will vote to block supply.

So here's my nerdy mcnerdnerd question - why isn't this happening in the house, but in this committee room?

# ? Jun 3, 2014 14:14

Nuclear Spy: Jun 10, 2008; feeling under?

Those On My Left posted:

So here's my nerdy mcnerdnerd question - why isn't this happening in the house, but in this committee room?

The Federation Chamber

quote:

The Federation Chamber is essentially a debating committee, established to be an alternative venue to the Chamber of the House for debate of a restricted range of business. It operates in parallel with the Chamber of the House to allow two streams of business to be debated concurrently. Since its inception in 1994 the Federation Chamber (then known as the Main Committee) has become increasingly important in managing the time allocated to House business��allowing more time for scrutinising government legislation and for private Members� business and discussion of committee reports.

Doesn't really answer your question though...

EDIT: VVVVVVV Is it an AusPol-photoshopped version?

Found this instead:

Nuclear Spy fucked around with this message at 14:36 on Jun 3, 2014

# ? Jun 3, 2014 14:31

Senor Tron: May 26, 2006

Mithranderp posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3EBUV4bwiQ

Andrew Wilkie announced that he will vote to block supply.

Has that it's happening gif been deleted?

# ? Jun 3, 2014 14:33

webmeister: Jan 31, 2007; The answer is, mate, because I want to do you slowly. There has to be a bit of sport in this for all of us. In the psychological battle stakes, we are stripped down and ready to go. I want to see those ashen-faced performances; I want more of them. I want to be encouraged. I want to see you squirm.

CROWS EVERYWHERE posted:

It's very depressing My favourite bit was the Rottnest hotel and the interviews with people on Australia Day.

For me there were two parts that hugely stuck out, aside from Rottnest which I hadn't heard of before. Firstly, that the Stolen Generation was still going on :psyduck:

, and that the Intervention was 100% predicated on lies. I mean, I remember it starting, and thinking at the time that something was off about it, that slimy characters like Howard and Brough had suddenly discovered a national emergency of Aboriginal pedophiles that required ARE TROOPS just months before an election.

But to find that it was literally 100% lies - not misunderstandings, dodgy reports or well-meaning mistakes - but actual out-and-out deliberate deception is just outrageous.

# ? Jun 3, 2014 14:51

Anidav: Feb 25, 2010; ahhh fuck its the rats again

webmeister posted:

Just finished watching John Pilger's Utopia.

Australia, kill you are self

I love this movie but hated the content because it's so sad

# ? Jun 3, 2014 14:53

Ler: Mar 23, 2005; I believe...

webmeister posted:

Just finished watching John Pilger's Utopia.

Australia, kill you are self

Just got it from my favourite torrent merchant, literally 1min 30sec into it and already feeling extremely sad

# ? Jun 3, 2014 14:56

Milkfred E. Moore: Aug 27, 2006; 'It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.'

I haven't seen or heard of Utopia. Can someone give me a rundown?

# ? Jun 3, 2014 15:07

Ler: Mar 23, 2005; I believe...

In a few words - Australia's genocide and inhumane treatment of Indigenous Australians
Trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht8_5UlcgSQ

# ? Jun 3, 2014 15:14

Lizard Combatant: Sep 29, 2010; I have some notes.

wrong thread

Lizard Combatant fucked around with this message at 15:28 on Jun 3, 2014

# ? Jun 3, 2014 15:22

Anidav: Feb 25, 2010; ahhh fuck its the rats again

Milky Moor posted:

I haven't seen or heard of Utopia. Can someone give me a rundown?

Watch it for free here.

# ? Jun 3, 2014 15:31

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

CROWS EVERYWHERE posted:

It's very depressing My favourite bit was the Rottnest hotel and the interviews with people on Australia Day.

Can you elaborate? I haven't seen it and sort of don't want to, because it sounds like it will be hugely depressing and preaching to the choir anyway, but I've spent a lot of time on Rottnest and I'm curious as to what this is about.

I vaguely recall hearing that the Rottnest Lodge was built over a mass burial ground, but there's also a place across the grassy square at the edge of the bush which is fenced off and clearly marked as a mass burial ground.

# ? Jun 3, 2014 18:55

webmeister: Jan 31, 2007; The answer is, mate, because I want to do you slowly. There has to be a bit of sport in this for all of us. In the psychological battle stakes, we are stripped down and ready to go. I want to see those ashen-faced performances; I want more of them. I want to be encouraged. I want to see you squirm.

It's not particularly about the mass grave - although that gets a mention, as does the road running through it - it's more about the white-washing of it all. The glossy brochures talk about how the island is "historic", without ever really going into detail about why it's historic. They hire a $240/night room (which is basically just 4 prison cells merged together), and talk about how this space would've held 51 Aboriginal prisoners, and at least 15 people would have died in this particular hotel room. And that none of the guests would have any idea of this.

The guy also told a story about how the first batch of prisoners, who'd never seen a hanging before, were made to construct a gallows and then watch a fellow inmate get hanged.

# ? Jun 3, 2014 22:48

Seagull: Oct 9, 2012; give me a chip

# ? Jun 3, 2014 23:51

adamantium|wang: Sep 14, 2003; Missing you

Pope in 2009:

# ? Jun 4, 2014 00:18

Halo14: Sep 11, 2001

# ? Jun 4, 2014 00:47

Drugs: Jul 16, 2010; I don't like people who take drugs. Customs agents, for example - Albert Einstein

That's been there for years

# ? Jun 4, 2014 00:48

nogthree: Jun 28, 2008

Labor just announced they're filing against Shaw for contempt of Parliament.

This is getting real interesting.

# ? Jun 4, 2014 01:10

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

List of people who think uni fees will decrease: Pyne, Hockey

Those who say they will double in cost on average: the universities

quote:

Universities Australia modelling warns of fee increase under proposed higher education reforms
LATELINE BY EMMA ALBERICI
UPDATED 2 HR 29 MIN AGO
VIDEO 10:28 Universities Australia CEO Belinda Robinson joins Lateline
VIEW TRANSCRIPT
LATELINE
University students will be forced to pay an average of double the existing fee to study at universities under the Abbott Government's proposed reforms to higher education, according to new modelling provided by Universities Australia (UA).

Belinda Robinson, the chief executive of UA - which represents the country's 39 universities - warns that measures in the budget threaten to encourage students to study overseas.

"We might start to see Australian students voting with their feet and in fact starting to consider international higher education providers," she told Lateline.

The UA modelling has shown that an engineering graduate working full time can "reasonably expect" to accumulate a debt of up to $119,000, which could take 26 years to pay off.

Under existing arrangements, that debt reaches less than half that - at around $49,000 - which is paid off at least eight years earlier.

Ms Robinson told Lateline that the Education Minister's claim that the budget reforms will mean students and taxpayers share the cost of university education 50-50 does not take in to account the fact that the new scheme sets no limit on what fees an institution can charge its students.

The students' contribution will be significantly higher than the Government's, if fees, as expected at some universities, reach the heights they are already set at for foreign students.

In his first budget speech last month, Treasurer Joe Hockey said the higher education sector was being held back and "couldn't compete with the best in the world".

Ms Robinson said it was not clear to Universities Australia that the Government's reforms will in fact deliver the best system in the world.

She pointed out that Australia already does "pretty well" by world standards.

Australia is already the third most popular destination for international students outside the UK and the US.

"We regularly have between five and six of our universities in the top 100 of the world rankings and we're voted by Universitas 21 as having the fifth best system in the world, so we do very well," she said.

Graduate earnings and unemployment

ABC Fact Check looks at Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne's claim that university graduates earn more money over a lifetime.
The Government's plans to charge real interest on student loans for the first time may prove a disincentive for graduate mothers to return to the workforce after having children.

This finding by UA seems inconsistent with Prime Minister Tony Abbott's real wage paid parental leave scheme.

If the same aforementioned engineering graduate decides to work part time for six years while they raise a family and then return to work, they can expect to pay between $111,100 and $122,500 which will take about 26 years to pay off.

Under existing arrangements the debt is less than half that and, at $50,200, the debt would be paid over 19 years.

"If we're not careful what we will start to see is a situation where students are being deterred not only from participating in university study but in fact taking time out of the workforce to do things like have children because it will be such a financial burden for them once they re-enter the workforce," Ms Robinson said.

According to the UA modelling, a nursing graduate working full time accruing a debt at 4 per cent can "reasonably expect" to accumulate a Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debt of up to $56,900, which will take up to 17 years to repay.

Under current rules, the debt would be paid off over 11 years and cost $23,400.

If a nursing graduate chooses to work part time and raise a family for six years then return to full-time work, that debt will rise 169 per cent (against current fees) to up to $66,200, which would take 22 years to pay off.

Education Minister Christopher Pyne hopes to change indexation arrangements on the Government's funding for tertiary institutions.

Instead of lifting the rate of growth in taxpayer contributions each year by an indexation figure that acknowledges the true costs of education, the Minister will index by the consumer price index.

For the universities sector, the decision to both reduce funding to the university sector and drop the rate of indexation for the Government's contributions represents another broken promise according to Ms Robinson.

"In the lead up to the election, we were given an assurance that a Coalition government wouldn't change the funding arrangements for universities or indexation," she said.

Universities Australia is calling on the Abbott Government not to rush through its changes to higher education funding.

Ms Robinson said it would be better if the Government adopted a more staged approach.

"Because there is a lot at stake and if we get this wrong it's going to be very, very difficult to turn back."

UA analysis also found universities would have to charge communications students almost double what they do now to make up the shortfall from the reduced Commonwealth contributions.

People wanting to study climate science would be charged 110 per cent more.

DERUGLATE EVERYTHING!

# ? Jun 4, 2014 01:33

Amethyst: Mar 28, 2004; I CANNOT HELP BUT MAKE THE DCSS THREAD A FETID SWAMP OF UNFUN POSTING
plz notice me trunk-senpai

Sometimes I think Pyne actually believes his own bullshit.

# ? Jun 4, 2014 01:49

CROWS EVERYWHERE: Dec 17, 2012; CAW CAW CAW; Dinosaur Gum

webmeister posted:

For me there were two parts that hugely stuck out, aside from Rottnest which I hadn't heard of before. Firstly, that the Stolen Generation was still going on , and that the Intervention was 100% predicated on lies. I mean, I remember it starting, and thinking at the time that something was off about it, that slimy characters like Howard and Brough had suddenly discovered a national emergency of Aboriginal pedophiles that required ARE TROOPS just months before an election.

But to find that it was literally 100% lies - not misunderstandings, dodgy reports or well-meaning mistakes - but actual out-and-out deliberate deception is just outrageous.

I had a friend (now ex-friend) in high school who "doesn't believe in" the Stolen Generations. And doesn't believe there should be any kind of apology for it because even if it did happen it was "hundreds of years ago". And she was smart, too, generally speaking (we were in mostly the same classes as each other and were in direct competition for best marks in the class most of the time), which makes it worse. She absolutely refused to listen to everyone else rightfully giving her poo poo for it or even things like my mentioning having gone to primary/early high school with people who were direct descendants - sons and daughters - of people who were taken from their parents in the 1950s and 60s. Like, people my Mum's age - and it's only stopped officially happening.

One book I read in a fit of masochism was about how the Stolen Generations weren't really a thing because it was all done legally so we should just stop worrying about it. That's the point, you loving shithead: it was all perfectly legal and above board and approved by everyone in power, which is why it's so hosed up.

# ? Jun 4, 2014 01:52

Drugs: Jul 16, 2010; I don't like people who take drugs. Customs agents, for example - Albert Einstein

Free Speech lover Chris "Dog Fucker" (Alleged) Kenny has foiled the ABC in their quest to write jokes about people.

# ? Jun 4, 2014 01:54

Anidav: Feb 25, 2010; ahhh fuck its the rats again

A highschooler I knew thought the Stolen Generation was a made up story that came from socialists.

# ? Jun 4, 2014 01:57

Seagull: Oct 9, 2012; give me a chip

Haters Objector posted:

Free Speech lover Chris "Dog Fucker" (Alleged) Kenny has foiled the ABC in their quest to write jokes about people.

He must gently caress a lot of dogs.

# ? Jun 4, 2014 02:02

Endman: May 18, 2010; That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even anime may die

I forgot to do a writeup of that clean energy lecture I went to last week, so I'll just sum it up in a couple of sentences:

China and India are investing heavily in renewables and not building more coal plants because they're too expensive. Therefore they won't buy our coal for much longer from our mining industry that only survives on the subsidies it gets from the govt, and because the Australian govt is exclusively populated by Sydney University's Special Needs Class they'll instead pump more money into the dying industry and the country will spiral into depression. :toot:

# ? Jun 4, 2014 02:12

Cartoon: Jun 20, 2008; poop

Dog loving is a big money earner!

A whole bunch of dog fuckers posted:

4 Jun 2014 The Australian SHARRI MARKSON MEDIA EDITOR

ABC capitulates to Chris Kenny

NINE months after broadcasting an offensive skit featuring The Australian�s columnist Chris Kenny by The Chaser team, the ABC will tonight issue a comprehensive on-air apology as part of a formal defamation settlement that includes paying all legal costs and some damages. Despite the ABC and The Chaser team vowing to contest the matter in court, backed by an internal review that found the skit met editorial standards for satire, the apology will tonight be broadcast on ABC1 at about 9pm, before the Jonah From
Tonga show.

The Chaser team will not be permitted to republish the material or make public statements that detract from the settlement, to prevent a repeat of the way presenter Julian Morrow undermined managing director Mark Scott�s personal apology to Kenny in April. Hours after that apology, Morrow tweeted a picture of Mr Scott in a compromising position and rejected his public statements, stating: �We are not taking any steps to settle the legal action. If the ABC wants to then that�s a matter for it.�

Mr Scott�s failure to act decisively in the Kenny matter has cast doubt on his tenure as the ABC�s boss and editor-in-chief. The action stems from a skit on the Chaser�s election campaign show, Hamster Decides, that depicted Kenny in a carnal act and called him a �dog f. .ker�. Kenny said it was clear if he had not commenced legal proceedings, he would not have won an on-air apology and said it had been �worthwhile� to pursue the case. The details and costs of the settlement will remain confidential.
�It shouldn�t be this hard to get the taxpayer-funded national broadcaster to behave decently, but at least it�s finally happened,� Kenny said.

It is understood the ABC board is meeting today and had been pressing Mr Scott to finalise the matter. Kenny said he decided to sue the ABC, production company Giant Dwarf and its presenter Andrew Hansen for defamation because of the offensive nature of the skit, and its subsequent damage to his reputation, but also because he considered it an attempt to silence him. �I was singled out because I�ve been a critic of the ABC and it was an attempt to silence (muzzle - CE) me," he said. �People have suggested to me it�s anti-free speech to launch a defamation action, well I think it�s quite the opposite in this case. I was singled out because I dared to criticise the ABC and it (the skit) was an attempt to intimidate people out of criticising the ABC.�

Responding to criticism that journalists should not pursue law suits and commentary that satire should be exempt from defamation, Kenny said he did not �take legal action lightly but in the end you have to draw a line. They can mock me, they can tease me, they can find examples to ridicule me with all they like but somewhere there has to be a line," he said. �I accept that the line is grey, but I think this case was so obviously beyond the pale that nobody would disagree.�

Kenny was at a birthday dinner for his pregnant wife Sunita when the skit aired and he was instantly inundated with messages from friends and colleagues who had seen it.
He said the offensive nature of the skit �really wasn�t very pleasant for my wife or young children�. The defamation proceedings that followed were unpleasant as well, he said, with the ABC employing bullying tactics, which included publicly releasing a legal letter in an attempt to force him to drop the case. Kenny said he was grateful he was in a position to take his fight up to the ABC � an option not available to others who had been wronged by the taxpayer-funded organisation. �They do use these intimidatory tactics," he said.

�I was able to take the ABC on and make this stand and get an apology on air, and that�s very important, but I do worry about people, individuals in society who might think they�re wronged by the ABC, it�s a very difficult, large, well-funded beast to take on. �I think really when they�ve done wrong, they should look at it immediately themselves, come to a reasonable judgment and if they�re wrong apologise quickly.� Kenny said many of his supporters, angry at the offensive nature of the skit, encouraged him to persist with the defamation proceedings and take the ABC to trial. His primary aim, he said, was not to win compensation, but to achieve an apology and for the ABC to concede that the skit had �crossed the line�. �Many people didn�t want me to settle � they wanted to see a court ruling against the ABC � I can understand their point but I think the ABC has been made to see sense, and having forced apologies in court and on air, as well as appropriate costs and damages, it would be intemperate to push on," he said.

It was not the first controversy for the Chaser team, which has been in hot water on multiple occasions over insensitive and distasteful skits. Kenny said he wondered �if and when� the Chaser boys were �going to grow up but that�s Mark Scott�s problem if he�s going to keep employing them.� When the case is formally discontinued in court, the ABC will read an apology and a statement will be read on Kenny�s behalf.

Well clearly the skit raised some hackles. I can't but think that this was an inside (the ABC) job given the executive management. Still any victory for the freedom to gently caress dogs unmolested by a partisan press is a great day for dog fuckers.

Speaking of mans inhumanity to man.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-03/family-demands-answers-on-australian-death-in-yemen-drone-strike/5497908

quote:

Australian killed in Yemen: family demands answers on Islamic convert Chris Havard's death in US drone strike

7.30 By Dylan Welch

Updated 1 hour 42 minutes ago

The parents of an Australian man killed in a US drone strike in Yemen are calling on the Federal Government to give them a full account of how their son died and what proof they have of his alleged links to Al Qaeda. Christopher Havard was killed when a car he was travelling in was hit by a missile fired from a US drone last November. Now documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws by 7.30 show Havard and the joint Australian-New Zealand national killed in the same strike had been on an Australian Federal Police (AFP) watch list because of their links to the banned Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) terror group.

The documents also reveal that the Muslim convert Havard was a suspect in the December 2012 Al Qaeda kidnapping of three Westerners in Yemen. The three, including Austrian citizen Dominik Neubauer, were released in May last year, after a multi-million-dollar ransom was paid. The documents reveal that the AFP began investigating Havard's possible involvement in the kidnapping before his death. The documents also reveal what the Australian Government knew, and when, about Havard's life in Yemen.

When news of the drone strike broke in April, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs said: "There was no Australian involvement in, or prior awareness of, the operation."
But the documents obtained by 7.30 show that DFAT sent Foreign Minister Julie Bishop a document about Havard four days before his death on November 19. Referring to "Australians facing detention overseas on terrorism-related grounds", the Government has obscured much of the document on national security grounds. However, it does reveal that Havard was assessed by the Government as being "involved" with AQAP.

Another document sent to the Attorney-General's office reveals the AFP had launched Operation Viljandi to investigate Havard's role in the kidnapping of the three Westerners. The dual Australian-New Zealand national who died alongside Havard in the strike was Daryl Jones, aka Muslim bin John, another Muslim convert who Havard met in Christchurch. The documents reveal some confusion within government about whether Havard and Jones were involved with AQAP. In a submission sent to Ms Bishop's office before the drone strike, they say Jones was only "probably" associated with Al Qaeda, and Havard was only "involved" with the group.

But in another document sent to Ms Bishop a fortnight after their deaths, they refer to the pair simply as "AQAP members". Mystery over death as Government 'changed stories every week' On November 19, 2013, Havard and Jones were driving in Yemen's east with three AQAP members when their car was blasted apart by a drone-fired missile. Havard's family say the government first told them he had been killed in a Yemeni government air strike on a mosque. Later, they were told that he was killed in a car.

"It was at least a month after he was killed before we knew," said Neill Dowrick, who became a father figure to Havard during his troubled upbringing in Townsville. "Chris was collateral damage, and from there the stories just got more and more, they changed the stories every week." "They said the coroner was going to ring us and tell us how he was killed. We haven't had that. No death certificate. Every time we ask questions they just won't answer. They won't give us any explanation whatsoever," Havard's mother, Bronwyn Dowrick said.

Just how Havard came to be in Yemen in the first place is a story in itself. His father died when he was two and he grew up an only child in Townsville. While in his teens, his mother Bronwyn began a relationship with Mr Dowrick. Mr Dowrick admits Havard got into trouble in his youth, and says when he was 16 he spent time in prison for car theft. "Because he'd done a small crime and he was in jail with really bad criminals, when he come out he said, 'nup', he never wanted to go back there for any reason," Mr Dowrick said. From there Chris Havard travelled and worked odd jobs before enrolling to study at James Cook University, where he met some Muslim students. One day he called his mother to ask if he could convert to Islam. "He asked us if he could, if it was OK if he could join up, and be Muslim. And we said 'Yes, if that makes you happy, and that's what you really want, yes'," Bronwyn Dowrick said. "And from that time he changed his whole life, his outlook on life," added Mr Dowrick.

Havard became a Muslim in a small ceremony in 2008 at Townsville's King Fahd mosque. According to his parents, he became a new man. "He give up the drinking, he give up the smoking, everything. Because he believed what was in the Koran," Mr Dowrick said. "He wouldn't even let you touch it (the Koran) unless you went and washed your hands first. That's how much he believed in it." Buoyed by his new faith, Havard moved to Christchurch in New Zealand, where he joined the local mosque. Havard told his parents it was during his time at the Christchurch mosque that he first encountered radical Islam. "When he moved into the mosque he realised what they were trying to convert people to. That's when he left and went to Dunedin. He didn't agree with what they were teaching," they said.

In 2010, his parents received some startling news. "All of a sudden he rings up and says, 'Oh, I'm thinking about going to Yemen'," Mr Dowrick recalled. "He was offered to go to Yemen to teach English." Havard never told his family who paid for his trip. "Because he'd picked up the Arabic so well, someone - of course he never mentioned names, that was one thing he never did - he said 'They've offered to pay for my trip to go over there and teach English'," Mr Dowrick said.

Caught in the middle of global war on terror

In 2011, Havard landed in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, one of the centres of the US war against Al Qaeda. Since the late 1990s the group now known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, (AQAP), has waged a war against the US. In response, the US has launched a CIA-run campaign of targeted killings of AQAP members, relying in recent years in particular on unmanned drones armed with tank-busting Hellfire missiles. In Townsville, the Dowricks never suspected that would have any bearing on their son. But one day in 2012 Mr Dowrick took an unusual phone call. "It was from ASIO, and they just told me that they cancelled his passport, and I just passed it on to Chris, that they had cancelled it," he said. "[Havard had] actually gone to the airport to fly out, then he couldn't. So then he had to stay in Yemen."

Since Havard's death his parents have received death threats and have been harassed on the streets of Townsville.

Neill and Bronwyn Dowrick say they want the truth from the Australian Government.

"We feel we don't belong. Where do we belong? How do we move on? We�ve got no closure. We've got no proof of Chris's body or death certificate or how he was actually killed, so how can you move on?" Mr Dowrick said. The Dowricks are clear on what they actually want from the Australian Government. "The truth," Ms Dowricks said. "The straight-out truth. No lies. The straight-out truth," Mr Dorwick adds. The Dowricks could not raise the money needed to bring their son's body home, and, on a Friday in April, agreed to his burial in Yemen.

"That Friday night I was within this far of hanging myself," Mr Dowrick said. "Because, you know, everyone rang, and I chucked the phone in the toilet, and it didn't die. But I felt like, because I felt like I'd let Chris down, I felt like hanging myself. "I didn't because I knew it'd affect Bronwyn more. I had to make a decision, I made it. I don't feel good about making that decision, but I had to make it because the Government was pushing us that much, and I knew they'd win anyway. "But I'd like one of them to go through the same as what we've been through." "Every time we ask questions they just won't answer. They won't give us any explanation whatsoever," Ms Dowrick adds.

Proud to be an Arsetralian :australia:

# ? Jun 4, 2014 02:24

Doctor Spaceman: Jul 6, 2010; "Everyone's entitled to their point of view, but that's seriously a weird one."

quote:

Kenny was at a birthday dinner for his pregnant wife Sunita when the skit aired and he was instantly inundated with messages from friends and colleagues who had seen it.
He said the offensive nature of the skit �really wasn�t very pleasant for my wife or young children�.

In Defence of the Chaser�s False Depiction Of My Dad Having Sex With Dog, by Liam Kenny.

# ? Jun 4, 2014 02:28

The Before Times: Mar 8, 2014; Once upon a time, I would have thrown you halfway to the moon for a crack like that.

Endman posted:

I forgot to do a writeup of that clean energy lecture I went to last week, so I'll just sum it up in a couple of sentences:

China and India are investing heavily in renewables and not building more coal plants because they're too expensive. Therefore they won't buy our coal for much longer from our mining industry that only survives on the subsidies it gets from the govt, and because the Australian govt is exclusively populated by Sydney University's Special Needs Class they'll instead pump more money into the dying industry and the country will spiral into depression.

It really shits me because they HAVE to know that there's way more potential in renewables, despite the fact that coal has been lucrative in the past. It's one of the fastest growing industries in the world. With all our space and abundant natural resources (and our awesome scientists) we could/should be investing heavily in research for renewables, as well as putting up lots of those wind farms that Hockey finds so "offensive" (because they are a reminder that his attitude to renewables is wrong). And when Solar technology gets a bit more efficient, how about we install a gently caress off big solar array somewhere in the middle of nowhere?

Nope let's just dig holes.

# ? Jun 4, 2014 02:30

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# ? Jun 7, 2024 08:30

Cartoon: Jun 20, 2008; poop

Mithranderp posted:

Nope let's just dig holes.

Steady on. No hole shaming!

# ? Jun 4, 2014 02:33

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Auspol June - Can't Afford the Education to Think of a Witty Thread Title

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