Auspol February 2017 - Choo choose your candidates wisely..

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CATTASTIC: Mar 31, 2010; ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

# ? Feb 17, 2017 05:36

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# ? May 15, 2024 03:02

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

I promised to write a more in-depth thing about the abortion thing in QLD but didn't have the time, please 4give me

:siren:

The Curious Case of Abortion Legality in QLD :siren:

Backstory
So basically abortion is illegal in QLD, although it's not technically enforced. This creates a large amount of uncertainty for people requiring the procedure, and well as practicioners (as it's effectively extremely easy to start cracking down on abortion if a conservative enough government came to power). An independent MP (formerly Labor) has introduced a bill in order to decriminalise abortion (with caveats, still fairly restrictive), which has kickstarted the current series of events. This issue was/still is not really considered a big issue for the current state government, which is why a vast majority of Queenslanders (especially anti-abortion people, it seems) are ignorant to the legal status of abortion in QLD.

The Fight Without: Opponents of Abortion
A variety of groups (with fair overlap) are the primary opponents to the decriminalisation of abortion, inclusing the LNP, One Nation, the Catholic Church, and a variety of religiously-orientated interest groups. The arguments against abortion are couched on myth, falsehood, and theologically-driven arguments. The LNP is flat-out against decriminalising abortion (probably trying to capture the far-right voter demographic), so there's definitely mainstream opposition to abortion (although it doesn't get a lot of media-time, I suppose it's not a good public look). The leader of the Catholic Church in Brisbane has compared abortion to Nazi eugenics programs.

A Tale of Two Protests
The anti-abortion organisation "Cherish Life QLD" organised a large anti-abortion rally on Saturday the 11th of Feb, which drew a crowd of about ~400 people. There is a fair amount of consternation on the part of the anti-abortion people, as Cherish Life claim that about 4,000 people attended their rally, a claim which is dubious at best due to facebook event reach, march size, and the ability to fit the entire procession into Speaker's Corner infront of Parliament House (for reference, the largest protest in Brisbane recently was the Invasion Day march, which drew a crowd of about ~2000 people, which allows us to judge absolute size). I helped shadow organise a counter-protest which ended up getting press disproportionate to our numbers, which was about 30 people. This has led to some pretty serious accusation of fake/zionist media on the part of the anti-abortionists, but there you have it. The anti-abortion protesters where extremely aggressive and our counter-protest was harrassed about three times prior to the actual event. During the event, anti-abortionists broke police lines in order to try to reach us, so it was actually a little hectic given the number disparity.

There was a pro-abortion rally yesterday, being the 16th of Feb. This rally was organised by the Womens Abortion Rights Campaign, which is basically an organisation from the '70s who did the initial campaigning for abortion. I wasn't able to attend, but I hear they had a turnout of about 300~ people (disappointing given that support for the decriminalisation of abortion is supposed to approach 70-80%). Apparently this also drew a counter-protest, but their facebook page has taken a beating due to some extremely dedicated shitposters. I didn't see much media on it so this is pretty disappointing.

Why are we losing the fight to decriminalise abortion? Solidarity vs. Exclusionism
I'd argue that there's two primary reasons why the pro abortion rights cause is somewhat falling behind in this latest saga, one being more global than the other. Firstly, I think that apathy, ignorance, and complacency on the part of the people who support the decriminalisation of abortion is really hurting the cause. I think that the general population doesn't see people being prosecuted for having abortion means that it's not a crime, it's not really talked about openly, and therefore don't have a need to make themselves counted/heard. The flipside is that the anti-abortion crew have generated what they perceive as a real impetus for action, something which is pressing and therefore requires mobilisation. Straight up, the anti-abortion rally was better organised, had better funding, and pulled conservatives from all over QLD (who got bussed in). A lot of this is in the Trump-style derision for "mainstream media" or whatever, especially due to what they feel was unfair reporting of their rally. They are using Facebook better than the abortion rights campaigners, and it's really showing. They also have better support from standing politicians, whereas the ALP, true to form, are a gigantic sack of flour which aren't taking a hard position publicly.

The second problem is an ideological rift between the left-wing pro-abortion activists, specifically WRT LGBTQIA people. The WARC has caused a large rift in the pro-abortion movement in QLD through their (implicit) profression of Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminism, which has alienated a lot of potential people from attending/supporting the cause publicly. This reared it's head when the WARC chose not to support any counter-protest to the anti-abortion rally, citing that they did not want to incite a counter-protest to their event (they copped a lot of flak anyway, so they might as well have supported us). Pro-Choice QLD is an alternative to WARC, which are more inclusive/less TERF and comprised of younger activists, however WARC have proven to be extremely territorial regarding the plugging of events/etc so I fear the damage has been done. As a straight white guy involved in all of this, I really take a position of inclusivity and solidarity (as I am a unaffiliated socialist and antifascist) so the WARC thing really burns me because I feel like they aren't pulling their weight for the cause.

The Future
An article posted today had a good breakdown on where the State MP's stand. Currently, 14 MPs are for decriminalisation, 12 are against, and 44 did not state an opinion/undecided. We can almost safely say that the LNP/One Nation will vote against the bill, which leaves the ALP/everyone else to ensure it gets through (this could be a tough ask). I'm not sure whether this issue could be a problem for the LNP (they have not received ~any~ flak about this position), but it'd be interesting to see how the regular LNP voter feels about this (probably won't care). This could be a key moment for the ALP to take a stance and stand for something, especially since thet backflipped on the Adani coalmine, ensuring that they will cop poo poo from the Greens forever.

From the street level, this really highlights some of the problems that left-wing activism has in QLD (specifically Brisbane). Feminist-orientated events have (apparently) been quite territorial/exclusionary in the past, which has basically drained the pool of goodwill for causes such as this. This can probably be addressed through younger, more inclusive (and therefore more relevant) organisations stepping up to the plate to start providing that real solidarity that we actually need right now. A large proportion of street activists in Brisbane hail from the queer community, so implicitly/explicitly excluding them from your poo poo is the dumbest move ever and it really shows. The established "Newspaper Socialist" groups (Socialist Alternative and Socialist Alliance) don't really seem to be interested in events like this unless they are selling newspapers/pushing their brand, so they really need to gently caress off and evaluate whether they are actually a force for change or whether they are just want to be seen doing something good for the sake of brand recognition.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 05:42

open24hours: Jan 7, 2001

Recoome posted:

The WARC has caused a large rift in the pro-abortion movement in QLD through their (implicit) profression of Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminism, which has alienated a lot of potential people from attending/supporting the cause publicly. This reared it's head when the WARC chose not to support any counter-protest to the anti-abortion rally, citing that they did not want to incite a counter-protest to their event (they copped a lot of flak anyway, so they might as well have supported us).

I tried searching for this and I couldn't find anything, not even tweets.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 05:49

hooman: Oct 11, 2007; This guy seems legit.; Fun Shoe

God even Queensland feminists are hosed up idiots.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 05:52

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

open24hours posted:

I tried searching for this and I couldn't find anything, not even tweets.

What do you mean?

Also this is somewhat of an inside scoop because I was involved in it. There's probably not a lot of media but there certainly was a thing in their facebook page/messaging.

e: Like I'm not sure what you are wanting here. I don't want to provide messages due to privacy concerns (for all parties involves), but I'm close enough to the thing to be able to give an overview on what happened.

Recoome fucked around with this message at 05:58 on Feb 17, 2017

# ? Feb 17, 2017 05:55

open24hours: Jan 7, 2001

I mean if the WARC are an anti-trans organisation I'd expect it to get some coverage? I'm sure they have some members who are, but so would most groups with a diverse membership.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 06:01

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

open24hours posted:

I mean if the WARC are an anti-trans organisation I'd expect it to get some coverage? I'm sure they have some members who are, but so would most groups with a diverse membership.

I'm not sure if you are just being an obtuse idiot on purpose or whether you just aren't getting the whole "implicit" part.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 06:03

Tokamak: Dec 22, 2004

Zenithe posted:

I'm currently under an SDA work agreement, here are some of its greatest hits:

-possible to work 10 hour shifts with no break (token break, no time spent not working)
-only public holiday that gets extra pay is Christmas day, everything else standard weekend rates regardless.
-expired in 2014, meaning that the last three years everyone under the agreement has been getting an effective paycut as inflation goes up.

smh. I wish other unions spoke up about the SDA, they are an embarrassment. What's the point of union solidarity if they don't even make an effort to work in the best interests of their members.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 06:06

open24hours: Jan 7, 2001

Recoome posted:

I'm not sure if you are just being an obtuse idiot on purpose or whether you just aren't getting the whole "implicit" part.

Re-read my post and insert the word 'implicitly' after 'an' if it makes it easier.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 06:07

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

open24hours posted:

Re-read my post and insert the word 'implicitly' after 'an' if it makes it easier.

I said the whole thing came up like days before the counter-protest (which was on Saturday), and the WARC rally was ~yesterday~ so it's only really being talked about in activist circles in Brisbane (so you won't find a lot of external coverage about it). It's basically bad enough that the WARC are allegedly having an inclusivity workshop soon�

# ? Feb 17, 2017 06:12

open24hours: Jan 7, 2001

But why? Are they saying they don't want trans people coming to their rallies or what?

# ? Feb 17, 2017 06:16

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

What's with all the gays in the NSW Liberal party?

# ? Feb 17, 2017 06:27

ungulateman: Apr 18, 2012; pretentious fuckwit who isn't half as literate or insightful or clever as he thinks he is

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

What's with all the gays in the NSW Liberal party?

they just want to gently caress more people in the rear end, i guess

# ? Feb 17, 2017 06:41

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

ungulateman posted:

they just want to gently caress more people in the rear end, i guess

The NSW division of the Liberal Party is basically a gay club.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 06:47

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

open24hours posted:

Recoome posted:

I'm...sure...you are just being an obtuse idiot

# ? Feb 17, 2017 06:55

open24hours: Jan 7, 2001

WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

So you're prepared to just accept an allegation like that as true? What do you know about this group that I don't?

# ? Feb 17, 2017 07:06

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

I don't. I just know your posting.

e:Like if a newspaper interviewed Recoome, would that make you accept it?

# ? Feb 17, 2017 07:07

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.

quote:

Yahoo7 has been fined $300,000 and convicted of contempt of court for publishing an article that aborted a murder trial, with a judge saying that one of Australia's biggest media companies put profits before professional journalism.

Its employee, Sydney journalist Krystal Johnson, who wrote the article, has escaped with a good behaviour bond, the Supreme Court in Melbourne heard on Friday.

Johnson, who had not been in court in Melbourne to report on the case, copied details from an accurate report of an earlier hearing to use in her article.

She then bypassed subeditors to directly publish it on Yahoo's news website.

Justice John Dixon last year found both Yahoo and Johnson in contempt of court, saying that the article was prejudicial.

The judge ordered on Friday that Yahoo7 be fined and convicted over it, saying it had "primary responsibility for the contempt".

Yahoo7 also failed to ensure its systems for supervising journalists and controlling the publication of information "were sufficient to prevent prejudicial material from being aired," he said.

"Commercial pressures, such as meeting deadlines and ensuring there is immediacy regarding the reporting of current affairs, and incentives in the form of larger audiences and substantial profits were at the forefront of Yahoo7's considerations."

As one of Australia's biggest media companies, he said "professionalism in its management and staff" were expected of Yahoo7.

"In view of the kind of high-volume, time pressured work Yahoo7 expected of its journalists, Johnson's mistake was readily foreseeable."

The article was published last year in the first week of the trial of Mataio Aleluia, who was charged with murdering his girlfriend Brittany Harvie, and revealed material that had not been put to the jury.

The trial was aborted to prevent the risk of an unfair trial.

Aleluia was later found guilty of murder in a separate trial.

Johnson promised the court through her lawyers to be on good behaviour for two years.

Justice Dixon said that provided she did this, the contempt charge against her would be dismissed on this day in 2019.

Neither Johnson, nor the head of Yahoo7's editorial team, Simon Wheeler, appeared in court on Friday.

Justice Dixon said it was a serious contempt which caused stress and inconvenience to the victim's family, Aleluia and the jury members who were discharged.

It also wasted a considerable amount of time and put a burden on court resources.

Johnson's offending article included a Facebook post Ms Harvie wrote before she died, in which she feared Aleluia might one day put her "six feet under".

The article was read about 4000 times in Victoria before it was taken down.

Yahoo's system for reviewing articles before they were published relied on the experience and judgment of individual journalists, the judge said.

While Yahoo!7 had since hired more staff and introduced legal training, this showed the contemptuous article was partly published because of inadequate resourcing, "driven by profit or commercial motivations".

The court also had no commitment from Yahoo's board, only from Wheeler, that the mistake would not be repeated, the judge said.

The company had apologised for the mistake initially, but later unsuccessfully tried to challenge the charges of contempt, he said.

Johnson did not intend to interfere with the trial and was "shocked and ashamed" that she had.

Justice Dixon also took into account her age, lack of journalistic experience and vulnerability "through being assigned a high level of responsibility by Yahoo!7".

She was unlikely to reoffend, he said, given the severe impact of the public criticism on her since she was charged.

The court previously heard she had been abused over the contempt on social media and that other media had questioned her ability.

"I accept that she has learned in a harsh and unforgiving way, a lesson that she will not forget," the judge said.

dumbass.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 07:23

open24hours: Jan 7, 2001

WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

I don't. I just know your posting.

e:Like if a newspaper interviewed Recoome, would that make you accept it?

No? Would you? I'm not even trying to argue that's it's not true, I just want him to elaborate on what he's accusing them of.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 07:28

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

open24hours posted:

No? Would you? I'm not even trying to argue that's it's not true, I just want him to elaborate on what he's accusing them of.

Yeah yikes what is "Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminism", it's a real head scratcher!

open24hours posted:

So you're prepared to just accept an allegation like that as true? What do you know about this group that I don't?

Had to deal with them m8. I'm not quite sure what you aren't getting here but you are missing the point of my big dumb write-up by a mile. A whole bunch of transgender people came out and said "I am being excluded from participating in WARC debate", "the focus the WARC is taking is excluding transgender people", and a person even said "I don't feel safe being at a WARC rally due to me being transgender". How more explicit could this be? It's not something the WARC are going to parade around, but an group can have TERF undertones through it's actions.

I'm kind of getting the impression that open24hours is this dude who has an idea on what feminism is but hasn't had a lot of exposure to groups which are very anti-trans.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 07:46

BBJoey: Oct 31, 2012

real motherfuckin open24hours posting hours, smash that motherfuckin like button

# ? Feb 17, 2017 07:47

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

This is a video of the pro-choice rally yesterday

# ? Feb 17, 2017 07:51

open24hours: Jan 7, 2001

Recoome posted:

A whole bunch of transgender people came out and said "I am being excluded from participating in WARC debate", "the focus the WARC is taking is excluding transgender people", and a person even said "I don't feel safe being at a WARC rally due to me being transgender".

That's really all I wanted to know, it wasn't clear from your first post what you were getting at. I hope they can address it.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 07:54

Cartoon: Jun 20, 2008; poop

NOT IN MY SAFE SPACE!

# ? Feb 17, 2017 08:39

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

# ? Feb 17, 2017 11:40

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

Mr Christensen�s other frustrations include a push from moderate Liberal MPs for same-sex marriage, and the fact that he was not given a position in Cabinet.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 11:57

Starshark: Dec 22, 2005; Doctor Rope

Why wouldn't you give him a cabinet position? He's an expert on everything from gays are icky to what toppings go best on a Domino's.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 12:02

Cartoon: Jun 20, 2008; poop

Starshark posted:

Why wouldn't you give him a cabinet position? He's an expert on everything from gays are icky to what toppings go best on a Domino's.

Too competent for this cabinet Mr Speaker.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 12:10

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.

The only cabinet position that Christensen is amply qualified for is Kitchen Cabinet

# ? Feb 17, 2017 12:15

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

Some would say over qualified.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 12:16

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

Lid posted:

The only cabinet position that Christensen is amply qualified for is Kitchen Cabinet

"Now Anabelle, this is how you slaughter a cow"

# ? Feb 17, 2017 12:25

Starshark: Dec 22, 2005; Doctor Rope

"This, Annabelle, is my signature dish. A pie floater. Only instead of mushy peas, which I don't like, I use KFC gravy. And for my piece de resistance, I top it with a kilo of mozzarella cheese. But wait - who's this? It's our surprise guest! Joe Hockey!"
"G'day George, fancy seeing you here! I've come to talk about the new Ben and Jerry's flavour - cookies and more cookies - which we're going to road test on Annabelle's show!"

# ? Feb 17, 2017 13:22

Zenithe: Feb 25, 2013; _{Ask not to whom the Anidavatar belongs; it belongs to thee.}

Starshark posted:

"This, Annabelle, is my signature dish. A pie floater. Only instead of mushy peas, which I don't like, I use KFC gravy. And for my piece de resistance, I top it with a kilo of mozzarella cheese. But wait - who's this? It's our surprise guest! Joe Hockey!"
"G'day George, fancy seeing you here! I've come to talk about the new Ben and Jerry's flavour - cookies and more cookies - which we're going to road test on Annabelle's show!"

He's from QLD, so replace your garbage suggested dish with a lasagna topper.

# ? Feb 17, 2017 13:30