Why do these people come here if they have to stand out and be so conspicuous ..and then say they are find it hard to assimilate.

Of course its going to be hard, if one insists on wearing a Bin Liner over ones head.

But then if one does ones home work its not hard to find the real reason

Its the same reason why they are insisting on buildng a mosque near Ground Zero ..and callng it Cordoba House.

Easy really

Don't be such a tease, bigmal.

>>But then if one does ones home work its not hard to find the real reason. Its the same reason why they are insisting on buildng a mosque near Ground Zero ..and callng it Cordoba House. Easy really<<

And that reason is... what?

The generous spirit of the likes of Rhys Jones is misplaced.The burqa is an explicit sign that a muslim woman does not want to be assimilated. Leslie

I just realized, I didn't even need to debate this one.
Unmasking the bigotry behind the prohibitionist arguments was easy.
Standing back and letting the bigots do it for me is even easier.

We're waiting for an answer to Pericles' question.

And here's another question from me: What has "assimilation" got to do with anything? Isn't that what the Cybermen say on Dr Who? "You will be assimilated!" Just before they say, "Resistance is useless!"

CJ Morgan, Ludwig, pemmy, just_dulcie, Rhys Stanley, Pericles etc

How are you going to enforce a burqa ban?

Are you going to arrest women who defy the law and wear a burqa?

What will you do if a few thousand women protest the ban by parading through the streets of Melbourne wearing burqas?

Don't be ridiculous!

There are certain circumstances - eg entering a bank or testifying in court - where a burqa ban may be justified. For the rest, grow up! This isn't even worth discussing.

Besides I know of no better way to encourage the wearing of burqas than banning them.

Pericles,

About the ground zero mosque or whatever. I suspect this is a storm in a teacup. It will blow over. Just a thought, tho'

--The German Government would be within its rights in setting up a German cultural centre next door to Auschwitz.

--The Australian Government has the right to set up a memorial to the first fleet next to Uluru.

--Jyllands Post has the right to publish cartoons of Muhammad.

--And Muslims definitely have the right to erect some sort of a "cultural centre" within two blocks of ground zero.

In each case I would defend the rights of the parties concerned to do it.

But in the unlikely event that any of the above-named parties asked my opinion as to whether they SHOULD go ahead I would counsel them to refrain.

"The generous spirit of the likes of Rhys Jones is misplaced.The burqa is an explicit sign that a muslim woman does not want to be assimilated. Leslie"

And why the hell should she have to ? One of the values that Australians treasure, surely, is the right to choose. How and why we choose is up to us, each of us.

Assimilation, sameness, is NOT an Australian value. Otherwise, all you NRL supporters would be shipped off to NZ and stamp-collecting would be banned as a minority interest. And God help us left-handers.

How is this anybody's business besides the women involved ?