Auspol January 2017: relentless incoherence and incompetence.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Auspol January 2017: relentless incoherence and incompetence.

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open24hours: Jan 7, 2001

The 'it's the TPP or protectionism' is one of the worst false dichotomies since 'death camps or open borders'.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 00:02

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# ? May 20, 2024 18:14

Ian Winthorpe III: Dec 5, 2013; gays, fatties and women are the main funny things in life. Fuck those lefty tumblrfuck fags, I'll laugh at poofs and abbos if I want to

https://newmatilda.com/2017/01/23/think-the-muslim-australia-day-billboard-should-be-re-instated-think-again/

quote:

A public campaign backing the use of photos of Muslim children on an Australia Day billboard has received widespread support. Somayra Ismailjee explains why it shouldn�t.

A�campaign�to reinstate �Australia Day� billboards featuring a photograph of two Muslim girls wearing the hijab has raised over $165,000. The initiative has been�hailed as an act against racism, but not all Muslims agree.

By now, most are familiar with the story: the�controversial billboard�was removed after garnering threats and negative attention due to its representation of two visibly Muslim children, photographed at an �Australia Day� celebration a year prior. While many have been in favour of reinstating the billboard as a statement of Muslim belonging, the issue of �Australia Day� itself being advertised has rightfully attracted criticism.

Organisers and proponents of the campaign argue that reinstating the billboard is a gesture against the Islamophobia which saw it removed in the first place � that the 12 billboards and half a dozen newspaper ads to bear the image this week are a defiant move against the climate of racism targeting Muslims in Australia. This wholly skips over the underlying dynamic.

Islamophobia cannot be fought without undermining white supremacy, and white supremacy in Australia is contingent on the oppression of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people � of which��Australia Day� is a significant marker.

There is no �anti-racism� in an act which further entrenches the systemic oppression of one group, for the sake of token inclusions of another.

Vicious attacks�directed at the two young children featured in the campaign have also shown that even Muslims participating in public displays of patriotism are rarely accepted in mainstream society, so why is the image of Muslims still co-opted to perpetuate the myth of an inclusive state?

Muslim communities are fed the idea of respectability politics: that if we �integrate� better, and �assimilate� into beliefs and values that Western countries lay claim to, then bigotry will no longer affect us, and Islamophobia will cease to exist. Symbols and gestures are used to negotiate on this level of politics: attempting to make the hijab synonymous with the colours of blue, red and white, or smiling, non-threatening faces, overlooks the true nature of racism.

It cannot be fought and won with billboards while the bodies bearing the brunt of racialised violence are ignored.

In light of this, many Muslims have since taken to�social media�to express their concern about the celebration of �Australia Day� and the use of Muslim children in advertising it, while the sister of the two girls featured in the billboard�also addressed the history of �Australia Day� in a post responding to the abuse faced by her family,�stating �Most [Aboriginal people] do not celebrate Australia Day as it is a day of mourning to them, as it was the day their ancestors were killed and oppressed by the British settlement!�

As Muslims, we must acknowledge that much of the persecution we experience is inextricable from the history of oppression against Aboriginal people. The racialisation of, and ongoing violence against, Aboriginal bodies has been central to the foundation of the Australian state: a state built ongenocide, which has sought to uphold the perceived �purity� of whiteness through decades of�brutal assimilation policies, forced closures of Aboriginal communities, restrictions on immigration,�securitisation measures disproportionately targeting certain ethnic groups, and�overt racism permeating its political class.

Children locked up in immigration detention on Nauru, August 2016. This image is courtesy of Mums 4 Refugees.

Some of the most�systemic examples of Islamophobia in Australia�have their roots in mechanisms of violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.�Manus,�Nauru�and Christmas Island, where hundreds of people of colour are indefinitely detained � most of them Muslim or from Muslim-majority countries � are�known as modern-day gulags, but they are not unique. As�Researchers Against Pacific Black Sites�point out through their work, the offshore detention of people seeking asylum can be located among a tradition of the Australian state trafficking people of colour away to islands such as�Rottnest, which was historically used as a prison for Aboriginal men.

It is ironic, then, that the crowdfunding campaign is considered an example of Australia�s benevolence toward people seeking asylum, with�one representative of the Australian Muslim Women�s Association stating�that the nation�s approach to refugees is �inclusive� and �ethical� as evidenced by the response.

This divorces individual acts of generosity from their political context � in actuality, Australia�s treatment of refugees has been�internationally condemned, named both�morally�andlegally�reprehensible. Meanwhile RISE, a refugee welfare organisation run entirely by refugees and ex-detainees of Australian immigration detention centres,�have distanced themselves from the billboards, acknowledging Aboriginal sovereignty and attempts throughout history to erode it.

There is a growing movement among Muslims to reject the celebration of January 26th as �Australia Day� under the firm belief that our acceptance should not come at the exclusion of any other minority. Further, our communities should be aware of our role as settlers and the role of our complicity in perpetuating the dispossession of Aboriginal people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Muslims.

Relying on nationalism for acceptance immediately positions us at odds with those victimised by it. While much of this occurs under the exercise of power by white supremacists and saviours alike, it is up to our communities toovercome the dynamic�which pits us against one another.

As stated by the collective �Muslims Say No To Australia Day � Invasion Day � Billboard� on Facebook, the billboard �is merely a symptom of a much wider problem that must be addressed in its entirety within the Muslim community�.

It is also telling that of over $165,000 raised by the campaign, most has been spent on placing billboards and advertisements � images symbolising the integration of Muslims into the liberal fantasy of a �multicultural� utopia � in every state and territory, while only �leftover� funds were intended for donation to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.�In this campaign, the idea and visual semiotic of Muslim assimilation has been prioritised over the actual wellbeing of Muslims in Australia, particularly those made most vulnerable by the state � refugees.

In a hasty change to the campaign after many, including the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and Larrakiah Muslim writer Eugenia Flynn, called for the money to be�donated to Aboriginal services, these �leftover� funds will now be given to Indigenous X and�Children�s Ground. Although seemingly a step in the right direction, it is evident that in the mainstream cause for �anti-racism�, symbols still pervade over material realities.

As Aboriginal voices�continue to point out, spending such a significant sum of money on nation-wide billboards celebrating a day of dispossession has come at the direct cost of ignoring how the funds could, instead, be used to aid communities most affected by it.

While the intentions behind the campaign may have been benevolent, its impact is contentious and damaging. To construe it as an act of anti-racism is to ignore what truly underpins racism in Australia � socially, politically, and historically.

Turns out the racists were right: muslim kids on billboard = bad

# ? Jan 24, 2017 00:52

Recoome: Nov 9, 2013; Matter of fact, I'm salty now.

A broken clock is right twice a day, but the racist people were wrong about why the billboard was taken down (Australia Day is for whites only, as opposed to opposing Australia Day all together).

# ? Jan 24, 2017 01:01

Futuresight: Oct 11, 2012; IT'S ALL TURNED TO SHIT!

Man. It's so rare for a group of people to refuse pandering and say no this is not just about us, this is about an underlying issue. Impressive as poo poo.

No credit to the racists who got it taken down for their own reasons though.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 01:09

Frogfingers: Oct 10, 2012

I don't buy into that nationalistic poo poo at all but you never give in to nazi demands.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 01:15

Ian Winthorpe III: Dec 5, 2013; gays, fatties and women are the main funny things in life. Fuck those lefty tumblrfuck fags, I'll laugh at poofs and abbos if I want to

Higsian posted:

Man. It's so rare for a group of people to refuse pandering and say no this is not just about us, this is about an underlying issue. Impressive as poo poo.

No credit to the racists who got it taken down for their own reasons though.

What group of people are you referring to?

# ? Jan 24, 2017 01:36

Tokamak: Dec 22, 2004

Ian Winthorpe III posted:

https://newmatilda.com/2017/01/23/think-the-muslim-australia-day-billboard-should-be-re-instated-think-again/

Turns out the racists were right: muslim kids on billboard = bad

Spending money on billboards is slacktivist neoliberalism and was already bad before the racists latched onto it :smug:

# ? Jan 24, 2017 02:01

Recoome: Nov 9, 2013; Matter of fact, I'm salty now.

Well honestly I agree, the path of least resistance is fighting about billboards, which also kind of detracts from some of the underlying issues (recognition of the oppression of First Australians)

# ? Jan 24, 2017 02:03

open24hours: Jan 7, 2001

That this was an Australia Day billboard, and not some other generic holiday, seems incidental. There are two entirely separate arguments going on, one is about racists trying to prevent Muslims from participating in society and the other is about Australia day and what it represents. Trying to join those arguments seems like a waste of time at best.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 02:11

Recoome: Nov 9, 2013; Matter of fact, I'm salty now.

I thought the main argument that the racists used was that the Muslim chicks didn't represent Australia day, or what it means to be Australian (which conflicts with the Invasion day movement).

# ? Jan 24, 2017 02:18

Ian Winthorpe III: Dec 5, 2013; gays, fatties and women are the main funny things in life. Fuck those lefty tumblrfuck fags, I'll laugh at poofs and abbos if I want to

Recoome posted:

I thought the main argument that the racists used was that the Muslim chicks didn't represent Australia day, or what it means to be Australian (which conflicts with the Invasion day movement).

Which is exactly what the author of the New Matilda article is doing.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 02:21

open24hours: Jan 7, 2001

Recoome posted:

I thought the main argument that the racists used was that the Muslim chicks didn't represent Australia day, or what it means to be Australian (which conflicts with the Invasion day movement).

That's right, and saying that Muslim people don't represent Australia and therefore shouldn't be used on a billboard that appeals to 'Australianess' is an attempt to prevent them from participating in society. I don't see any fundamental difference between this and people who argue Muslims shouldn't be allowed to build mosques or whatever.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 02:21

Synthbuttrange: May 6, 2007

TOP STORIES
Government scrambles after Trump pulls US out of TPP

The Government is scrambling to rethink the Trans-Pacific Partnership after Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Asian trade deal, with Malcolm Turnbull hoping the remaining 11 countries can salvage the pact.

:laffo:

# ? Jan 24, 2017 03:27

norp: Jan 20, 2004; TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP

let's invade New Zealand, they have oil

It's not like this was telegraphed months ago, he literally said the day after he was elected that it would be scrapped on day one.
Wait for next week when he cancels the refugee deal.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 03:29

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

loving hell, even if they hoped the Congressional Republicans / Pence could have salvaged the TPP how did they not think it was a possibility once Trump won?

# ? Jan 24, 2017 03:32

iajanus: Aug 17, 2004; NUMBER 1 QUEENSLAND SUPPORTER
MAROONS 2023 STATE OF ORIGIN CHAMPIONS FOR LIFE

Doctor Spaceman posted:

loving hell, even if they hoped the Congressional Republicans / Pence could have salvaged the TPP how did they not think it was a possibility once Trump won?

What exactly has the current government done that's given you the idea that they are capable of planning even five minutes in advance for things?

# ? Jan 24, 2017 03:54

Cartoon: Jun 20, 2008; poop

Well their incompetence is so monumental they might accidentally do the right/clever thing at some point just out of blind chance/dumb luck.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 03:58

Solemn Sloth: Jul 11, 2015; Baby you can shout at me,
But you can't need my eyes.

Cartoon posted:

Well their incompetence is so monumental they might accidentally do the right/clever thing at some point just out of blind chance/dumb luck.

They're not wrong they're just alt-right

# ? Jan 24, 2017 04:22

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Anidav posted:

Here is your deal!

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/24/2017-01798/special-observances-national-day-of-patriotic-devotion-proc-9570

That's just loving disgusting.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 04:58

Recoome: Nov 9, 2013; Matter of fact, I'm salty now.

Anidav posted:

Here is your deal!

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/24/2017-01798/special-observances-national-day-of-patriotic-devotion-proc-9570

NATIONAL DAY OF PATRIOTIC DEVOTION
9570
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
A new national pride stirs the American soul and inspires
the American heart. We are one people, united by a common
destiny and a shared purpose.
Freedom is the birthright of all Americans, and to preserve
that freedom we must maintain faith in our sacred values and
heritage.
Our Constitution is written on parchment, but it lives in
the hearts of the American people. There is no freedom where the
people do not believe in it; no law where the people do not
follow it; and no peace where the people do not pray for it.
There are no greater people than the American citizenry,
and as long as we believe in ourselves, and our country, there
is nothing we cannot accomplish.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United
States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by
the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby
proclaim January 20, 2017, as National Day of Patriotic
Devotion, in order to strengthen our bonds to each other and to
our country -- and to renew the duties of Government to the
people.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand
seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and forty-first.
[FR Doc. 2017-01798 Filed: 1/23/2017 2:00 pm; Publication Date: 1/24/2017]

# ? Jan 24, 2017 05:36

Griffball: Sep 6, 2010

Recoome posted:

NATIONAL DAY OF PATRIOTIC DEVOTION
9570
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
A new national pride stirs the American soul and inspires
the American heart. We are one people, united by a common
destiny and a shared purpose.
Freedom is the birthright of all Americans, and to preserve
that freedom we must maintain faith in our sacred values and
heritage.
Our Constitution is written on parchment, but it lives in
the hearts of the American people. There is no freedom where the
people do not believe in it; no law where the people do not
follow it; and no peace where the people do not pray for it.
There are no greater people than the American citizenry,
and as long as we believe in ourselves, and our country, there
is nothing we cannot accomplish.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United
States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by
the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby
proclaim January 20, 2017, as National Day of Patriotic
Devotion, in order to strengthen our bonds to each other and to
our country -- and to renew the duties of Government to the
people.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand
seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and forty-first.
[FR Doc. 2017-01798 Filed: 1/23/2017 2:00 pm; Publication Date: 1/24/2017]

Doesn't making it the day of your inauguration kind of seem a little "Great Leader" ish to even the dumbest american? Or am I severely underestimating the term "Dumbest American"?

# ? Jan 24, 2017 06:57

UrbanLabyrinth: Jan 28, 2009; When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence; College Slice

Bush (day of prayer and thanksgiving) and Obama (day of renewal and reconciliation) did something similar.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 06:58

DancingShade: Jul 26, 2007; by Fluffdaddy

Griffball posted:

Doesn't making it the day of your inauguration kind of seem a little "Great Leader" ish to even the dumbest american? Or am I severely underestimating the term "Dumbest American"?

Dumb racist isolationist autocratic fervor transcends single nationalities.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 06:59

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

Naming Inauguration Day is something presidents do, Trump just picked something a bit more self-aggrandising than usual.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 06:59

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

The phrase "patriotic devotion" rubs me the wrong way. Jingoism always does.

As Griffball put it, it also has a terrible ring of Great Leader to it which, given it's Trump we're talking about here, shouldn't surprise me in the least.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 07:39

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

https://www.buzzfeed.com/markdistefano/he-thinks-its-funny-you-think-hes-mad?utm_term=.yma2d2ajG#.buVn6n1WG

Buzzfeed did an article on David Lionhat getting owned on twitter.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 08:54

Comstar: Apr 20, 2007; Are you happy now?

Well well well. Who do we have here?

quote:

A whistleblower at Origin Energy has filed an explosive legal action that alleges the company's former chief executive and current president of the Business Council of Australia Grant King engaged in a massive cover-up at the energy giant.

The 66-page amended statement of claim filed in the Federal Court on Monday alleges a management cover-up that includes serious non-compliance with regulations relating to safety and the environment, hundreds of wells in Australia and New Zealand that hadn't been maintained for more than 10 years, leaks of oil and gas, contaminations, a failure to inform regulators or the ASX of breaches and the material altering of reports to the board on risk and compliance issues.

In at least one case the regulatory and legislative breaches were so serious they could have cost people their lives, the claim alleges. To fix some of the problems would have allegedly cost tens of millions of dollars.

What a coincidence. So, what's, the Business Council of Australia been calling for? Lower regulations and compliance rules perhaps?

# ? Jan 24, 2017 09:41

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

Comstar posted:

Well well well. Who do we have here?

What a coincidence. So, what's, the Business Council of Australia been calling for? Lower regulations and compliance rules perhaps?

"But see, if we were properly following the regulations, we'd be costing the business 10s of millions of dollars!"

# ? Jan 24, 2017 09:48

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

Comstar posted:

Well well well. Who do we have here?

What a coincidence. So, what's, the Business Council of Australia been calling for? Lower regulations and compliance rules perhaps?

Thats nothing, the previous BCA president killed a kid and I am not joking.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 10:19

VodeAndreas: Apr 30, 2009

loving Centrelink.

I've received zero contact about my supposed debt since I confirmed my income on 3/1/17 and I just tried to submit a complaint/feedback online as it's kind of hard to contact them as someone with a full time job.

After spending 10min entering my lengthy complaint and prefered outcomes etc. it chooses to let me know that the service is unavailable at the moment... Couldn't the site have told me that up front?

# ? Jan 24, 2017 11:07

Konomex: Oct 25, 2010; a whiteman who has some authority over others, who not only hasn't raped anyone, or stared at them creepily...

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

Thats nothing, the previous BCA president killed a kid and I am not joking.

Did he post a profit that year though?

# ? Jan 24, 2017 11:17

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

Konomex posted:

Did he post a profit that year though?

She, you sexist pig

# ? Jan 24, 2017 11:23

WhiskeyWhiskers: Oct 14, 2013; "هذا ليس عادلاً."
"هذا ليس عادلاً على الإطلاق."
"كان هناك وقت الآن."
(السياق الخفي: للقراءة)

Is it sexism to think a really contemptible business person is more likely male? I guess it is.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 11:29

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

Is it sexism to think a really contemptible business person is more likely male? I guess it is.

[img]www.bandt.com.au/information/uploads/2014/06/gina-rinehart-1260x840.jpg[/img]

# ? Jan 24, 2017 11:42

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

quote:

Kroger taps Panahi to contest next election

Bryce CorbettShare on twitter
by Bryce Corbett
Question: What's more terrifying than having conservative columnist Rita Panahi railing at the system from the outside?

Answer: Having her terrorising it from within. Which is exactly what the Liberal Party's Victorian president Michael Kroger would like to see happen. Or at least that's his current position.

Kroges has entreated Panahi to throw her hat into the ring of the division's upcoming preselections (it's like Oscars season, but for socially awkward people of limited functional ability).

The emerging Herald Sun columnist, whose imitation of Andrew Bolt leaves even Him blushing, has had Kroger in her ear whispering the cursed name of Frankston. Many a deplorable to be found riding that train line!

The other one in Kroger's basket of tricks is the Legislative Council's Western Metro spot, currently held by Bernie Finn, so conservative he considers Bolt a fugitive member of the Grateful Dead.

Kroger controls the numbers in neither electorate. Yet his Panahi ingratiation project has been a long and ardent one. Finely sculpted eyebrows were raised and twin-set pearls jiggled last month at the Liberal Women's Council when she took the lectern as Christmas guest speaker. Kroger loves a name, and increasingly Panahi is one, particularly among the party's bored old ladies. Mr Albrechtsen has had far stupider ideas than slotting an anti-Pauline reactionary sheila into the Liberals' armoury.

No date is yet set for the vote in Frankston, though Finn's upper house spot will be finalised by the end of March. Then, Panahi has until November next year before facing the southern provincials.

Constituents of Frankston: you have been warned.

http://www.afr.com/brand/rear-window/kroger-taps-panahi-to-contest-next-election-20170118-gtu145

# ? Jan 24, 2017 12:03

DancingShade: Jul 26, 2007; by Fluffdaddy

VodeAndreas posted:

loving Centrelink.

I've received zero contact about my supposed debt since I confirmed my income on 3/1/17 and I just tried to submit a complaint/feedback online as it's kind of hard to contact them as someone with a full time job.

After spending 10min entering my lengthy complaint and prefered outcomes etc. it chooses to let me know that the service is unavailable at the moment... Couldn't the site have told me that up front?

Your mistake was assuming it wasn't designed to extort money from the unfortunate in every underhanded way possible.

Including preventing you from getting basic service to access things.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 12:07

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

I hadn't realised Albrechtsen and Kroger were loving.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 12:11

ewe2: Jul 1, 2009

Doctor Spaceman posted:

I hadn't realised Albrechtsen and Kroger were loving.

Well they're married, but that's no indication.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 12:17

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

ewe2 posted:

Well they're married, but that's no indication.

The only way I can cleanse the mental image of them is to pass it on to other people.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 12:21

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# ? May 20, 2024 18:14

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

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

http://www.afr.com/brand/rear-window/kroger-taps-panahi-to-contest-next-election-20170118-gtu145

I hope that racist little hate monger doesn't get the Frankston seat, although they did vote in that moron Geoff Shaw.

# ? Jan 24, 2017 12:42

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Auspol January 2017: relentless incoherence and incompetence.

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