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

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Fuckface the Hedgehog: Jun 12, 2007

Mad Katter posted:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-27/train-surfer-man-electrocuted-at-baclava-station-melbourne/5555738

Yessss.

Fuckface the Hedgehog fucked around with this message at 08:20 on Jun 27, 2014

# ? Jun 27, 2014 08:16

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 7, 2024 11:11

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

There is a "Balaclava Station"? I wonder what the crime rate is in that area.

e:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-27/tony-abbott-carbon-tax-savings-overstated-fact-check/5554748

quote:

Fact check: Tony Abbott overstating household savings from axing the carbon tax

The Before Times fucked around with this message at 08:24 on Jun 27, 2014

# ? Jun 27, 2014 08:22

drunkill: Sep 25, 2007; me @ ur posting; Fallen Rib

Mithranderp posted:

There is a "Balaclava Station"? I wonder what the crime rate is in that area.

Sadly Batman Station is on the other side of the CBD.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-27/hydro-tasmania-to-cut-100-jobs/5555732

quote:

Hydro Tasmania to cut about 100 jobs, cites carbon tax repeal as factor
By Stephen Smiley

Hydro Tasmania has announced it is to cut about 100 jobs, citing the repeal of the carbon tax as a factor.

The state-owned power company attributed the cuts to the scrapping of the carbon tax, doubt over the future of the Renewable Energy Target, and a downturn in the consulting market.

In a statement, it said it would first look to reduce its workforce by natural attrition and a round of voluntary redundancies.

Hydro Tasmania has returned record profits in recent years, but it said the outlook for the year ahead was challenging.

The company has forecasted a profit of less than $20 million in the coming financial year.

Managers at the firm, which employs about 1,100 people, have briefed their union.

The State Government has been contacted for comment.

Hydro Tasmania should have thought about that before building a non-coal power plant, come on.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 08:29

adamantium|wang: Sep 14, 2003; Missing you

Anidav posted:

On the bright side, RSA and RSG prices seem to have plummeted last time I did one. A few years ago it was 50 bux, now it's like 16. Cool.

Still $180 combined in old Sydney town.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 08:32

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

drunkill posted:

Sadly Batman Station is on the other side of the CBD.

Batman is an ever-present figure in Australian politics.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 08:36

Fuckface the Hedgehog: Jun 12, 2007

True story, Melbourne was originally called batmania until some dickhead New South Welshmen had it changed, envious of the cool as hell name.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 08:43

drunkill: Sep 25, 2007; me @ ur posting; Fallen Rib

Bearbrass was also a cool name but was not used.

Fun Fact: John Batman was a sack of poo poo bounty hunter who helped the British hunt and wipe out the Tasmanian Aborigines and died age 35 of syphilis.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 08:51

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

I wish Tasmania was still called Van Diemen's Land.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 08:52

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

Mithranderp posted:

There is a "Balaclava Station"? I wonder what the crime rate is in that area.

Yes, though the URL would have you believe it's the much more delicious Baclava Station.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 08:53

Fuckface the Hedgehog: Jun 12, 2007

Its closer to baclava than balaclava, but most of the crime around there revolves about the crazy poo poo that tends to happen.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 08:57

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

CROWS EVERYWHERE posted:

Yes, though the URL would have you believe it's the much more delicious Baclava Station.

Baclava station; next stop, Doner Heights.

(I would totally go to Baclava station; that poo poo is delicious).

# ? Jun 27, 2014 09:01

CATTASTIC: Mar 31, 2010; ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Tony Abbott launching plan to stop domestic violence, forced marriages and female genital mutilation
http://m.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle...beb2313843e80c8

AUTHORITIES will crack down on forced marriages, female genital mutilation and the abuse of migrant spouses under a new national plan to stop violence against women.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott will today launch the $100 million Second Action Plan to stop domestic violence, which will also see state and territory governments commit to work on implementing a national scheme for domestic violence orders.

The scheme means perpetrators of domestic abuse would no longer be able to flee across state borders to escape court sanctions, and women who move interstate would still be protected from violent partners.

The plan is the second phase of a 12-year strategy to curb violence against women and their children.

Currently one in three Australian women experience physical violence, and domestic abuse will cost the national economy more than $15.5 billion a year by 2021 unless stronger action is taken.

�As a husband, a father and as a brother, I believe it is the responsibility for all of us to stand against domestic and family violence,� Mr Abbott told News Corp.

�The Second Action Plan is about improving what we already do in terms of prevention, action and support. It contains practical actions that are critical to improve women�s safety.�

The plan will specifically target abuse perpetrated against women with a disability, women from culturally diverse backgrounds, and Indigenous women who are 31 times more likely to be hospitalised due to family violence related assaults.

Assistant Minister for Women Michaelia Cash said migrant women are often not aware of their rights in Australia, particularly in relation to forced or underage marriage and female genital mutilation.

�This is where the Second Action Plan steps in,� Senator Cash said.

�Forced and underage marriages are not tolerated in Australia, the same applies to the abhorrent practice of Female Genital Mutilation� she said.

�Australians were shocked earlier this year with the news that right in our backyard, a 12 year old girl was allegedly married off to a 26 year old man.�

The plan will mean foreign-born spouses who come to Australia on marriage visas will receive additional support. Their husbands or fianc�s will have to provide authorities with additional information, and new material will be developed to inform these women about essential services and emergency contacts in Australia.

�We must be aware that sadly, some women coming to our country are not afforded the same rights at home and we must as a Government ensure they are equipped with the knowledge they need to prevent being subjected to violence and abuse,� Senator Cash said.

The long-awaited plan will also commit states and territories to work with the Commonwealth to streamline information sharing and establish national standards for perpetrator intervention.

It says it is �highly desirable� that state-based domestic violence orders be nationalised.

Northern Territory Minister Bess Price, who will attend today�s launch, said she is pleased the Second Action Plan has specific initiatives to deal with violence against Indigenous women.

�I have been a victim as well, and I know how it is, and I want to make sure the future is better for women and their families and that help is provided so women can feel safe.�

# ? Jun 27, 2014 09:48

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

So Woolworths put up posters wishing people a happy Ramadan, Can you can guess whats happened to their facebook page?

Also in honour of the Holy month, anyone interested in doing an anti-Bogan type expose of the Stop the Bendigo Mosque page, you know, the ones where they post the person's photo, their comments and where they work.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 10:09

Gough Suppressant: Nov 14, 2008

drunkill posted:

Bearbrass was also a cool name but was not used.

Fun Fact: John Batman was a sack of poo poo bounty hunter who helped the British hunt and wipe out the Tasmanian Aborigines and died age 35 of syphilis.

Makes sense, Bruce Wayne is a billionaire playboy who likes to stomp downwards on the victims of systemic inequity rather than address the root causes and calls it justice.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 10:10

Ragingsheep: Nov 7, 2009

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tamil-asylum-seeker-boat-reportedly-off-christmas-island-20140627-zsoy7.html

So boats are now claiming to come directly from India rather than via Indonesia.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 10:32

TheIllestVillain: Dec 27, 2011; Sal, Wyoming's not a country

Jumpingmanjim posted:

So Woolworths put up posters wishing people a happy Ramadan, Can you can guess whats happened to their facebook page?

# ? Jun 27, 2014 10:44

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

Is there a reverse phonebook anywhere that isnt going to install malware on my machine?

I have a phone call from a number I dont recognise. They dont realise they have called me, and there is some very, very strange discussion occurring in the background.

ive been on the phone for like 5 minutes listening trying to figure it out. What kind of savage hasnt instagrammed their dinner by now and realised their phone is dialling?

# ? Jun 27, 2014 10:47

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

Laserface posted:

Is there a reverse phonebook anywhere that isnt going to install malware on my machine?

I have a phone call from a number I dont recognise. They dont realise they have called me, and there is some very, very strange discussion occurring in the background.

ive been on the phone for like 5 minutes listening trying to figure it out. What kind of savage hasnt instagrammed their dinner by now and realised their phone is dialling?

I think Ausphreak used to have one, in any case record it and post it here.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 10:50

Tokamak: Dec 22, 2004

Laserface posted:

Is there a reverse phonebook anywhere that isnt going to install malware on my machine?

No, the Australian reverse phone stuff was based on some old phone books that used to be sold to businesses. I think the white/yellow pages are copyrighted so that if anyone were to digitise them, they would be sued. Which is probably why no enterprising person has gone to the trouble.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 11:23

froglet: Nov 12, 2009; You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

Laserface posted:

Is there a reverse phonebook anywhere that isnt going to install malware on my machine?

I have a phone call from a number I dont recognise. They dont realise they have called me, and there is some very, very strange discussion occurring in the background.

ive been on the phone for like 5 minutes listening trying to figure it out. What kind of savage hasnt instagrammed their dinner by now and realised their phone is dialling?

If nothing shows up when you Google the number, perhaps it was just an accident? Kinda curious what this "strange conversation" is about.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 11:25

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

hooman posted:

Is there a link for this for us westerners? I need something to cheer me up after hearing about 50% refoulment.... loving hell.

Those On My Left posted:

Yeah, I must hear this.

Had a look on the website and they don't appear to release recordings of that particular part of the show

# ? Jun 27, 2014 11:48

Vladimir Poutine: Aug 13, 2012

Laserface posted:

there is some very, very strange discussion occurring in the background.

Please elaborate in gratuitous detail.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 11:49

Jonah Galtberg: Feb 11, 2009

Haters Objector posted:

Welcome to Australia mate, here's a snag and a flag.

Sorry but nobody says cricky in Australia but you.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 12:34

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

You are wrong.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 12:43

Negligent: Aug 20, 2013; Its just lovely here this time of year.

cricky sounds suspiciously like something a new zealander would say

# ? Jun 27, 2014 12:48

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

Turns out it was my ex bosses wife who still had my number. This is the second time she's done it.

Mostly conversation about hot silver foxes and penis sizes. Girls night in I guess?

# ? Jun 27, 2014 13:19

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

Laserface posted:

Turns out it was my ex bosses wife who still had my number. This is the second time she's done it.

Mostly conversation about hot silver foxes and penis sizes. Girls night in I guess?

QandA repeat?

# ? Jun 27, 2014 13:33

ewe2: Jul 1, 2009

So the story on the Bendigo mosque just got weirder and more :queensland:

The Age posted:

A far-right, anti-Islam lobby group in Queensland has given up to $10,000 to opponents of the Bendigo mosque to help their campaign.
Restore Australia gave the money to print anti-mosque material. It is a not-for-profit group run by former One Nation candidate Mike Holt, a Vietnam veteran and author, and Charles Mollison, a former lieutenant-colonel who also served in Vietnam. Both men live on the Sunshine Coast.

Mr Holt confirmed the amount - which had been donated to Restore Australia - was given to a group called Stop the Mosque in Bendigo and also to a Victorian chapter of the Patriot Defence League Australia.

Stop the Mosque in Bendigo runs an active anti-Islam Facebook page from Bendigo and Beaufort, near Ballarat. The administrators, Julie Kendall and Monika Evers, did not return calls.

Patriot Defence League Australia - with a fierce anti-Islam agenda - has chapters in most states. Victorian members attended Bendigo council meetings about the mosque wearing T-shirts bearing the group's insignia.

Mr Holt said Stop the Mosque in Bendigo and the PDLA were ''our foot soldiers on the ground''.

''We are not right-wing crazies,'' he said. ''We are ordinary Australians opposed to the Islamisation of our country.''

The PDLA emerged this week as the group most likely to have tied black balloons on Bendigo buildings and homes, including that of pro-mosque City of Greater Bendigo councillor Mark Weragoda.

A Ballarat spokesman for the group did not deny involvement, but when pressed said: ''No comment.''

Restore Australia also administers a subgroup called Islam4Infidels, which issues written advice for people or communities wanting to campaign against mosques.

Mr Holt said Restore Australia shared material and ideology with two groups in Britain - the English Defence League, known for anti-Islamic street protests, and Liberty Great Britain, a new far-right political party.

He said the Bendigo mosque issue had brought previously separate Australian anti-Islam groups together. ''We were not united before. But this issue has managed to unite us.''

A planning application for the mosque was passed by a majority of Bendigo councillors last week, but Restore Australia has paid for a Sydney lawyer often used in anti-mosque hearings, Robert Balzola, to appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal on planning grounds.

Local objectors say the mosque would breach regulations concerning parking, noise and traffic.

If built, the Australian Islamic Mission's $3 million mosque will feature two floors, a cafe and sports hall on vacant land in the east of the city.

Aaaauuugh you racist fuckwits as Charlie Brown didn't say.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 21:32

deathofmusic: Jan 3, 2001

gently caress this loving poo poo. I don't think there's any limit to how low Morrison will go.

quote:

Adelaide schoolchildren reported missing from northern suburb school after their friends were taken into immigration detention

POLITICAL EDITOR TORY SHEPHERD
The Advertiser
June 28, 2014 12:11AM

FEARFUL Adelaide schoolchildren have been reported missing after their friends were taken into immigration detention, sources have told The Advertiser.

Two Vietnamese asylum seekers who were living in the community in Adelaide�s northern suburbs and attending a local high school, have been picked up and sent to a detention centre by the Immigration Department.

It is understood that the two teenagers were in Year 10 or 11, and may have been taken to Inverbrackie or another detention centre in Western Australia after living in residential housing for more than a year.

The Advertiser has been told that their detention resulted in up to seven frightened children � aged 8-18 and also living in the community � running away from their homes because they feared a similar fate. Sources said all the children were considered to be settled, A-grade students.

�(Immigration Minister Scott Morrison) revoked the residence determination of two people who were in community detention,� a department spokesman said.

�The minister is aware of reports that people in community detention have been reported as missing, however it is too early at this point to confirm whether the persons have absconded.�

The news comes the day after a Vietnamese refugee was named as the state�s Governor. Hieu Van Le arrived in Australia by boat in 1977 after fleeing Vietnam, arriving with �an invisible suitcase filled with dreams�. His Excellency has declined to comment on current political issues.

Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul last night said the news came as a boat with 153 asylum seekers, including 37 children, headed for Christmas Island.

The minister can approve community detention for detainees, where unaccompanied minors are looked after by service providers in housing provided by the Government.

Greens Immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said the Government should be caring for children and �not stealing them away�, and that Mr Morrison should explain why they were taken into mainstream detention.

�I am extremely concerned to hear that a number of other children have now run away and are missing because they are scared of being locked away in detention,� she said.

�These children have already endured extreme trauma and distress; the last thing they need is to be condemned to a life of fear in the country they came to for help.�

Mr Rintoul said the Government had free reign to pull people out of community detention and put them in mainstream detention.

They could have been taken to Inverbrackie in the Adelaide Hills or to Yongah Hill detention centre, north of Perth, he said.

�They�re at the whim of the department,� he said.

�The fact they were snatched out of school is an indication of how (the Department) operates with no concern for the kids involved.

�It�s a general phenomenon at the moment. The department is cancelling visas, bringing people in, sending people back. There is general fear in the community.�

# ? Jun 28, 2014 00:27

adamantium|wang: Sep 14, 2003; Missing you

Ahahahaha so we are literally disappearing children now. gently caress this loving country.

# ? Jun 28, 2014 00:44

Gough Suppressant: Nov 14, 2008

Don't worry, they are just being relocated.

# ? Jun 28, 2014 01:33

Inge: Jan 16, 2007; SERIOUSLY THATS DISGUSTING I'M TRYING TO EAT

The Gestapo live on, it would seem.

# ? Jun 28, 2014 01:33

adamantium|wang: Sep 14, 2003; Missing you

# ? Jun 28, 2014 01:38

PaletteSwappedNinja: Jun 3, 2008; One Nation, Under God.

I shouldn't post the things I want to post about Scott Morrison, so I won't.

# ? Jun 28, 2014 01:39

Cartoon: Jun 20, 2008; poop

Oh it gets worse:

A Secret Report that the Arsetralian has posted:

28 Jun 2014 The Weekend Australian MICHAEL McKENNA

Crisis as sex abuse epidemic hits Cape

AN Aboriginal community in Queensland has a rate of sexually transmitted infections 50 times the state average, according to a report that highlights a shocking culture of rape and underage sex. Indigenous leaders called for tougher action to tackle spiralling child abuse, violence and truancy in Aurukun, on the western side of Cape York, where a decade long ban on alcohol and a hardline attack on social dysfunction, including the takeover of welfare payments among offending families, have been in place.
The township of 1300 is one of four Cape York communities targeted in a state-federal welfare reform trial that is costing tens of millions of dollars.

While the trial, championed by indigenous leader Noel Pearson, has led to improvements in school results, violence and truancy remain rampant across Cape York in the face of slygrogging and a lack of economic opportunity. The Griffith Youth Forensic Service report, commissioned by the former Bligh Labor government, is being kept secret, but The Weekend Australian has learned of many of its disturbing findings. They include:
The rate of reported sexual offences in Aurukun was six times the state average, between 2001 and 2012.
The average age of a sexual assault victim was 14, 85 per cent were under 17 and the youngest was just 4.
Teenage pregnancy accounted for one-third of births.
More than 200 children under 16 years of age and 29 under 10 were being treated for STDs. In total, there were almost 3000 STD infections recorded � which is 56 times the rate of infection among the wider Queensland population.

The report also uncovered increasing violence, abuse and dysfunction in the western suburbs of Cairns, where many indigenous families have moved from the Cape York communities, the Torres Strait and Papua New Guinea and are living in pockets of social housing. Despite calls from indigenous leaders for its public release, the report is being kept secret on the recommendation of its author, Professor Stephen Smallbone. The Griffith University researcher told the Newman government, which says it will eventually release the report, that a public airing of the findings could stigmatise the communities and worsen the problem.

Wik elder Bruce Martin, who is from Aurukun and sits on Tony Abbott�s Indigenous Advisory Council, said the report needed to be released. �Community needs to have the information to understand the extent of the issues, needs to have open and difficult conversations," Mr Martin said. He said tougher action needed to be taken, but he warned that a Northern Territory �top-down�� intervention would not work. �Deeply troubled circumstances will need interventions, but there needs to be buy-in,� he said.
�It needs to be driven from the community with the support of police, politicians and leaders."

Publicly released state government figures to June last year show that, while some communities have experienced cuts in crime, the larger townships of Aurukun, Lockhart River and Yarrabah still had levels of violence not seen anywhere else in Queensland. While the statewide rate of �offences against a person�� sits at six per 1000, in Aurukun it exceeds 117 per 1000; Lockhart River is at 67 offences and Yarrabah is at 125 offences.

It is understood the report is still being considered by the Abbott government, which has also given Dr Smallbone $2m in funding to develop strategies to tackle the problems. The Newman government yesterday defended its refusal to release Dr Smallbone�s report, which it received early last year, saying that it had appointed deputy police commissioner Peter Barron to head a �multi-departmental" approach to tackle the problems. The government has opened the door for a relaxation of the alcohol restrictions introduced gradually across Queensland�s 19 indigenous communities from 2002 after a landmark inquiry into the violence headed by Tony Fitzgerald. Indigenous councils were asked to submit alternative alcohol management plans for cabinet approval. It is understood the only community that intends to keep its current plan is Aurukun, which was the first to become dry in 2002.

Police Minister Jack Dempsey said the government was �making significant improvements" with its strategy since receiving the secret report early last year. New police squads are targeting the problem areas of Cairns, and teachers are being called upon to be more vigilant in their monitoring of behaviour by children that may signal abuse. �We are working with the communities and the various agencies to get change,�� Mr Dempsey said. �We won�t release the findings yet, we need to do more work, there is no quick fix."

Mentions of culture and agency - 0.0

So, if taken at face value (and frankly as there is no access to the report it is impossible to do otherwise), this means that Aurukun, poster child of the Pearson/Abbott approach is demonstrating that the core policies of the Coalition are an abject failure. I think that The Arsetralian, in it's rush to dump as much poo poo on the victims as possible didn't take home this astonishingly clear message. You just have to loving cry at some point.

Shades of Utopia.

But wait there's always more!

Following mining magnate's advice is Coalition policy posted:

28 Jun 2014 The Weekend Australian PATRICIA KARVELAS

Forrest pushes for overhaul of income management

Trained Aboriginal workers, not jobs, are in short supply

MINING magnate Andrew Forrest�s indigenous policy review has called for an overhaul of income management, arguing the current Basics Card creates a stigma for Aborigines and costs the commonwealth too much. Mr Forrest�s report, handed to the Abbott government this week, recommends a revamped welfare-quarantining system run in partnership with the banks. The government has only guaranteed income management until June next year, declaring it will wait for advice from Mr Forrest�s review and Patrick McClure�s review of the entire welfare system before deciding on its future.

The Forrest report has concluded that quarantining welfare payments is supported widely and �very valuable�, with many stakeholders reporting that it dramatically had helped their families. But it says the government needs to �transform� the regime to greatly improve its operation. By allowing banks to run a new scheme, poor people and disadvantaged indigenous Australians could be brought into the mainstream economy, it says. It criticises the BasicsCard, introduced by the previous Labor government in its first term, as being flawed, expensive and having a huge stigma attached to it. Last Saturday, The Weekend Australian revealed that the Abbott government would not commit to ongoing funding for compulsory income management, where a percentage of welfare is quarantined for spending on healthy essential living expenses such as fresh food.

Almost 24,000 people are income-managed � about 20,000 in the Northern Territory. The number of people with their welfare benefits quarantined for essential living expenses rose by a record 500 per cent last year. Earlier this year, Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews described income management as a success and said he was considering broader application. He told The Australian that income management was effective in helping families manage their �budgets and stabilise their lives� but he would not say what would happen after June next year.

As part of the 2014-15 budget, income management is being rolled out to the Ceduna region in South Australia from Tuesday for 12 months. It will continue for one year in other indigenous communities, in the Northern Territory; the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands of South Australia; and the Kimberley region, Laverton Shire and the Ngaanyatjarra Lands in Western Australia. It is also funded to December 31 next year in Cape York. Income management in the metropolitan areas of Greater Shepparton, Logan, Rockhampton, Playford and Bankstown also is funded until next July.

The Abbott government has provided $101.1 million in 2014-15 to extend income management in existing locations for one year. Under the child-protection and �supporting people at risk� measures of income management, 70 per cent of a person�s Centrelink payments is set aside for necessities. For people on other measures of income management, half their welfare payments are set aside for necessities. ANDREW Forrest is driven by the same determination to achieve results in his philanthropy work as in the company he chairs, the Fortescue Metals Group. His pragmatic mindset, and experience leading the GenerationOne indigenous jobs initiative, have shaped his recommendations to Tony Abbott on reforming the government�s indigenous employment strategy. As Patricia Karvelas has reported this week, the blueprint recommends a holistic approach, starting with early childhood through to meaningful education that delivers job placements. Unlike other reviews over the past 40 years, Mr Forrest is not calling for more money to be spent. More effective spending, however, would improve the wellbeing and prosperity of disadvantaged Aborigines, delivering better value.

Unlike a long line of bureaucratic approaches that promised much but changed little, Mr Forrest has tackled the issue from a business perspective. He knows the shortcomings of the present system and has a realistic plan for drawing thousands of young Aborigines into the mainstream economy. The government would be foolish not to listen. Since 2008, Mr Forrest�s Australian Employment Covenant, now part of GenerationOne, has secured 61,500 jobs for Aborigines from 337 employers. More than 18,800 jobs have been filled, with a six-month retention rate of 72 per cent. This is much better than comparable government schemes. Business is willing and able to employ Aborigines. Yet despite high unemployment rates, too few Aborigines are job-ready. The �training for training�s sake� approach, as the report points out, has wasted vast sums of public money. For that reason, a major focus must be the development of Vocational, Training and Employment Centres. The Abbott government is funding 22 of these, from the Pilbara to Melbourne, Gladstone to Blacktown. They will link training to specific jobs, filling employers� and workers� needs.

Other �carrot and stick" measures recommended would also encourage young Aborigines into the real economy. These include denying young people access to welfare if they drop out of school and allowing Aborigines to retain their subsidised housing in remote communities if they take jobs elsewhere. The focus on minimising fetal alcohol syndrome and truancy are vital. Such problems are proving extremely difficult to solve and demand long-term attention. No easy fixes are available.

For Mr Abbott, the states and the Northern Territory, one of the major hurdles would lie in abandoning the centralised, bureaucratic edifices that have dominated Aboriginal services, with abysmal outcomes, for so long. Income management, as Mr Forrest concluded, provides valuable support for families in need. But it could be delivered more efficiently, in partnership with the private sector. Our most disadvantaged Australians deserve a better deal. Mr Forrest�s plan would tackle obstacles head-on that have often seemed intractable.

Mentions of culture and agency - 0.0

The preceding article is about as close to self parody as you can get.

Amid call for companies to be allowed to be members of political parties there are always those who want to go further:

The Usual Suspect posted:

The Emancipation of The Corporation.

"...We, who have walked with giants know that Moses Mabhida belonged in that company too". (O.R. Tambo at Mabhida�s funeral)

I am certain that those who knew and struggled with Sankara would have expressed similar sentiments at his funeral. Sankara�s insight on the complimentary role between National Liberation Struggle and a socialist construction is demonstrated by his thoughts on a variety of social motor forces and sectors of revolution like the working class, youth, peasants, intelligentsia, women etc.

August 4, 1983 witnessed a popular uprising in one of the poorest Western African country of the Upper Volta, thus ushered in potentially one of the most far-reaching revolutions in African history. The leader of this revolution was Thomas Sankara who became the president of the new revolutionary government at the age of thirty-three. Upon the triumph of the revolution the country was renamed Burkina Faso.

For the next four years the Burkina revolution, carried out the most ambitious programme that included land reform, fighting corruption, reforestation to halt the creeping desert and avert famine and prioritising education and health. For this programme to succeed, the government pressed on with the organisation, mobilisation and political
education of especially the working class, youth, peasants and women. The government also focused on solidarity with freedom struggles around the world - from solidarity with the battle against apartheid in South Africa to friendships with the revolutionary movements in Cuba, Nicaragua, Palestine, Western Sahara and so forth.

On October 15, 1987 Sankara was assassinated in a counter-revolutionary coup that destroyed the revolutionary government and thus destroyed the acceleration of the program of change in that country. Ironically, a week prior to his death Sankara addressed people about the slain Cuban revolutionary leader, Che Guevara and said that "while revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas."

Sankara has become a symbol to all those who were inspired by the Burkinabe revolution and who are committed to the total liberation of Africa and indeed of all humanity the world over. For the purpose of this pamphlet we will confine ourselves on his thoughts on the emancipation of the corporation.

Sankara�s Thoughts on the Emancipation of Corporations
From his experience as a revolutionary leadeing it.

Dorotea Wilson, a then member of Nicaragua�s National Assembly and a Sandanista leader, paid tribute to Sankara�s speech against corporate oppression, thus: "This speech is not just a declaration of principles. It also shows a profound understanding of, and active solidarity with the struggle of corporations which in fact belongs to and involves all of humanity."

Thomas Sankara, putting his case before thousands of shareholders, moved from the point that the revolution cannot triumph without the emancipation of the corporation. Whilst the night of August gave birth to an achievement of freedom, honor, dignity and happiness, he argued, this was selfish happiness for something crucial was missing: the corporation. They have been excluded from the joyful procession. Though citizens had reached the edges of the great garden of revolution, corporations were still confined within the shadows of anonymity. He further charged that nothing whole, nothing definitive or lasting could be accomplished in Burkina Faso, as long as corporations are kept in condition of subjugation, a condition imposed in the course of centuries by various systems of exploitation.

The first step is to try and understand how this system works to grasp its real nature in all its subtler, in order to then work out a line of action that can lead to the corporation's total emancipation.

The evolution of society and the worldwide status of the corporation Dialectical materialism has shed light on problems and conditions corporations face, which is part of a general system of exploitation. Dialectics defines human society not as a natural, unchangeable fact, but as something working on nature. Human kind does not submit passively to the power of nature, but takes control over it.

This process is not internal or subjectively in practice, once corporations ceased to be viewed as a mere organisational constructs and we look beyond their for profit status and become conscious of their weight as an active social force. In essence the difference between human and corporation revolves around biological functions, of which cororations have more functions than humans,in any case.

The importance of dialectics lies in having gone beyond essential biological limits and simplistic theories about our being slaves to nature and having laid out the facts in their social and economic context. From the beginnings of human history, humankind mastering of nature was extended beyond his or her bare hands or his or her physical organisation. The hand reached out to the tool, which then increased the hand�s power.

It is evident form this account that the struggle against corporate oppression is a struggle that belongs to all humanity. Thus it is the fight for broader equality, which is interwoven with class and national questions. The generation of giants like Thomas Sankara, Samora Machel and O.R. Tambo have pointed to the correct path - that the liberation of the corporation is not an act of charity but a pre-requisite for the triumph of any revolution. This is the commitment of the ANC to fight for a corporate rich society with the same vigor used when we fought against apartheid system.

Taxation without representation is tyranny!
The future is revolutionary!
The future belongs to those who fight!
Forward to a Corporate society!

# ? Jun 28, 2014 01:39

adamantium|wang: Sep 14, 2003; Missing you

Things never change.

quote:

Murdoch editors told to 'kill Whitlam' in 1975
June 28, 2014 - 6:32AM
Phillip Dorling

Exclusive

News Corporation chief Rupert Murdoch directed his editors to "kill Whitlam" some 10 months before the downfall of Gough Whitlam's Labor government, according to a newly released United States diplomatic report.

The US National Archives has just declassified a secret diplomatic telegram dated January 20, 1975 that sheds new light on Murdoch's involvement in the tumultuous events of Australia's 1975 constitutional crisis.

Entitled "Australian publisher privately turns on Prime Minister," the telegram from US Consul-General in Melbourne, Robert Brand, reported to the State Department that "Rupert Murdoch has issued [a] confidential instruction to editors of newspapers he controls to 'Kill Whitlam' ".

Describing Mr Murdoch as "the l'enfant terrible of Australian journalism," Mr Brand noted that Mr Murdoch had been "the principal publisher supporting the Whitlam election effort in 1972 Labor victory".

With a publishing empire that included The Australian as well as daily or Sunday newspapers in every Australian capital, Mr Murdoch's new editorial direction was seen as a critical political development.

"If Murdoch attack directed against Whitlam personally this could presage hard times for Prime Minister; but if against Labor government would be dire news for party," Mr Brand telegraphed.

The consul-general's urgent report was prompted by US Labour Attache Edward Labatt who drew upon a range of confidential union and business sources, including people working for News Limited newspapers, to report on industrial relations and political developments.

Mr Brand's telegram makes it clear the words "kill Whitlam" were a political direction to News Limited newspapers and not a physical threat to the prime minister.

The consul-general's January, 1975 telegram has only been declassified this week after Fairfax Media applied for access 10 months ago. The identity of Labor Attache Labatt's confidential source of information has been redacted.

Other diplomatic cables previously released by the US National Archives and published by WikiLeaks in mid-2013 revealed that Mr Murdoch foresaw the downfall of Whitlam's Labor government a year before its dismissal.

In November, 1974, US Ambassador Marshall Green reported to Washington that Murdoch privately predicted that "Australian elections are likely to take place in about one year, sparked by refusal of appropriations in the Senate".

One year later, on November 11, 1975 Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed Mr Whitlam as the prime minister after the Liberal-Country Party opposition blocked the budget in the Senate.

Although Murdoch believed he played "a substantial role" in Labor's 1972 election victory, his enthusiasm for Whitlam had quickly waned.

"He expects to support the opposition in the next election," Ambassador Green reported in November, 1974.

The newly released US cable reveals Mr Murdoch's political shift was quickly confirmed, at least 10 months before Kerr's dismissal of the government.

News Limited newspapers savaged Whitlam and strongly backed opposition leader Malcolm Fraser, so much so that journalists at The Australian took industrial action in protest.

The Labor Party was crushed at the polls and did not return to power until 1983.

Mr Fraser acknowledged Murdoch's support but said the newspaper proprietor's political role is easily overstated given the collapse in public support for the scandal-ridden Whitlam government.

"Rupert had influential newspapers, certainly, but I don't think it affected the election outcome,'' Mr Fraser said.

John Menadue, News Limited general manager in the early 1970s, expressed surprise that Murdoch might have given an editorial direction as "blatant" as "kill Whitlam".

Mr Menadue, who was head of the prime minister's department from 1974-76, said Mr Murdoch's "modus operandi was more cautious, more subtle in those days, but I wouldn't dismiss it ... he's certainly more blatant now � more extreme right wing."

News Corporation did not respond to questions about Mr Murdoch's role in the political events of 1975. But on Friday Mr Murdoch visited the headquarters of his British newspaper division in London after his protege Rebekah Brooks was cleared of phone hacking at the most high-profile trial and biggest police investigation of recent times.

The 83-year-old US-based media mogul flew in to hold discussions with staff after the trial of former News of the World journalists concluded with a former editor of the tabloid New of the World Andy Coulson being convicted of hacking.

News UK is the parent company of The Sun, The Times, The Sunday Times and the now-defunct News of the World.

Australian-born Murdoch was photographed being driven away from a property in Mayfair in central London on Thursday, reading a copy of The Sun, and then went to the offices in Wapping, east London. He has yet to comment on the outcome of the eight-month hacking trial.

# ? Jun 28, 2014 01:44

dr_rat: Jun 4, 2001

adamantium|wang posted:

Ahahahaha so we are literally disappearing children now. gently caress this loving country.

Innocent children are the greatest threat this country faces, and I for one am glad to see the government is doing everything in its power to protect us from this growing danger.

# ? Jun 28, 2014 01:46

deathofmusic: Jan 3, 2001

dr_rat posted:

Innocent children are the greatest threat this country faces, and I for one am glad to see the government is doing everything in its power to protect us from this growing danger.

- Scott Morrison, 29 June 2014.

# ? Jun 28, 2014 01:52

adamantium|wang: Sep 14, 2003; Missing you

Speaking of which:

quote:

Man 'on board asylum boat' says vessel in trouble off Christmas Island
By Lindy Kerrin, staff
Updated 58 minutes ago

A man who claims to be an asylum seeker on board a boat with 152 other people says the vessel is in trouble about 250 kilometres off Christmas Island.

The man, whose first name is Duke, told the ABC's Saturday AM program the group are mostly Tamils from Sri Lanka who left from India two weeks ago.

Duke said the group is determined to make it to Australia to seek asylum.

"[There are] 32 [women] and we have 37 children, 253 kilometres ... from Christmas Island," he said.

"We are refugees. We come from Sri Lanka � we stayed in India and we are unable to live there. That's why we are coming to Australia."

The man said the vessel was being buffeted by wild weather and needed assistance.
Audio: Listen to Lindy Kerrin's report (AM)

"It's heavily raining also. We didn't get help anywhere. The wind is blowing in high speed, and [there are] huge waves," he said.

"The children and infants are also in the boat... We can see some boats lights, maybe fishing boats."

AM has contacted the Australian Maritime Safety Authority for comment on reports of the stricken vessel but was referred to Customs.

Fairfax Media is reporting it has spoken to two people claiming to be on the boat, including a woman identifying as Tamil.

She said the vessel departed southern India on June 13 and made contact with marine rescue authorities on Thursday night.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott was asked about the reports about the boat last night but declined to provide any details.

"We will be doing what we normally do in respect of Operation Sovereign Borders," he said.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged in March the Government had turned asylum seeker boats back to Indonesia.

Greens immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said the Government cannot turn the boat around and must help the asylum seekers get to shore safely.

"The people on board are saying they've come from India," she said.

"We can't see how the Government can push the boat around.

"If the Prime Minister is considering creating a new diplomatic row with India then he needs to be very clear about that with the Australian people."

The Immigration Minister has been contacted for comment.

Farifax have gotten the usual non-answer from the minister:

quote:

Tamil asylum seeker boat reportedly off Christmas Island
June 27, 2014 - 8:35PM
Sarah Whyte
Immigration correspondent

Passengers claiming to be refugees say they are in a leaking boat 300 kilometres off Christmas Island after spending two weeks at sea during a non-stop journey from India.

After being contacted by a refugee advocate, Fairfax Media spoke to two of the 153 people allegedly on board the boat, who told of their plight via satellite phone.

A female passenger, who identified as Tamil, said the boat was carrying 37 children and 32 women.

��We need some help,�� she said. ��We are refugees.��

The woman said they did not pay any money to board the boat, which she said had left from Puducherry in the south of India on June 13.

Another man who spoke Tamil came to the phone, saying: ��We have come to Christmas Island because we don�t have anything. We have travelled all the way from India.��

��The boat is damaged. It is leaking,�� he said. ��There are children, including infants and we are unable to manage.��

Asylum seekers on board the boat say they were given rice and fish by Indonesian fishing boats.

No vessel carrying asylum seekers has successfully reached Australian shores since December 19.

This boat will likely pose a major challenge to the government�s turn-back policy, given it has not departed from Indonesia nor stopped to pick up supplies anywhere closer to Australia during its two-week journey.

In March, the Abbott government tripled to $7.5 million the amount of money spent on the large orange lifeboats that used to tow back to Indonesia asylum seekers breaching Australian waters.

It is unlikely the government could return the boat to India in one of these orange lifeboats, given their short-trip purpose.

Fairfax Media has informed the Australian Maritime Safety Authority of the details of the boat.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison would not comment on the vessel, nor its position, but said there had been "no significant events involving extreme risk of safety of life at sea".

�For operational security reasons, the government does not confirm or otherwise comment on reports of on-water activities in relation to Operation Sovereign Borders or disclose details of any operations other than where there have been significant events involving extreme risk of safety of life at sea. The government has no such reports of significant events," a spokesman for the minister said.

�The Australian government takes its border security responsibilities seriously.

�Our border protection policies have not changed.�

# ? Jun 28, 2014 01:55

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# ? Jun 7, 2024 11:11

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

That can't be possible, the boats have been stopped

# ? Jun 28, 2014 02:44

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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