Not sure what this is about, but it seems to be naked wish-fulfillment by someone with some real misanthropy issues.

""Racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, climate change denial, Islamophobia, genocide, problem gamblers, economic rationalism, political incorrectness, capitalism, hate speech, hate media, destruction of old-growth forests, inadequate support for the arts, too much money for independent schools, Qantas, bogans..."

In other words: 'Round up the usual suspects...'

Mervyn,

Are you intending to apply for a job openning in the Canberra or Tasmanian ABC?

You've the politically correct attitude.

Yes what is this about?
I think Scrooge from Dicken's A Christmas Carol had the last word to say about the essay - bah humbug!

Is this an example of the stuff that Mervyn teaches as communications (obfuscations) via his function as a university lecturer?

Jon J and imajulianutter I took it as mocking of those who try and paint Australia using those terms rather than as an endorsement of the views.

Could be wrong but a look at Mervyn's article http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=4897 "Ideological orientation: unfortunately, like so many of the humanities and social sciences, terrorism research has been badly infected by the simplistic “class, gender, race” theoretical template, which is being combined with related concepts to produce highly predictable research results that invariably conclude that it is the West and not terrorism that is at fault." seems to back that viewpoint.

R0bert

that we know as santa claws
is a consumeristic con-cept

the hard times are comming
spend up big on ya credit card

we want consumers...
so when we give austerity measures on them
they reduce their consuming...reduced consuming..means business goes bust
[or rather cant keep open their line of credit]
and eventually the industry goes os..[overseas..or gets sold as scrap]

and those who only wanted to hold
their patent rights...and business secrets and patents
got control over more of these community assets/info

and the middle credit class shrinks
more stop consuming[business wont risk their own credit
so expect govt to give them subsidy]..then own the lot

then default...and the world gets more corperate
as ever bigger multinational corperations....rule it over the living

govt serve the dead
for a corperaion..of itself is as nothing
without the living...serving the beast its food
[your tax cash]

ask if the kid would rather that latest xbox
or food..or a home...or a happy debt free family

or a ghovt that serves them
to become the best they can possably be
[healthy educated fed housed/involved..free]
[loving caring gracefull mercyfull]

ho ho ho
three maids a milking

just get the land-lords
to stop their lord a-leaping

raping pillaging and reaping

if your not building/making/helping
your destroying asset/value

taking more than your giving
who needs to own it all
our biggest threat
greed

there seems a big push on by athiests
to link/make..replace santa [satan]..into god

quote...""opening up every nook and cranny for his inspection."""

santa isnt god
heck he isnt even real

[yes kiddies i know thats a shock]
but see if they link god to santa
then tell you there is no santa
then you also dismiss god

clever aint it

see this non egsistant god-head

who sees nuthin..knows nuthing..cause he isnt real

heck notice how much even the christs birthday
is copverd over by this faulse godhead

WHY SAY THIS ABSURDITY
""The hidden-most corners of every soul
were laid bare to his gaze. Entire nations could be judged.

And now it was Australia's turn.""

se where this scam is leading
they cant say gods doing..it..cause god aint
so they say a figment of your imagation is...lol

talk about athiestic spin

"""Irrevocable. Absolute. Inscrutable. Unquestionable.
Santa knew well the nature of these judgments.""""

WRONG
santa dont egsist!

""And he knew his duty.""

wrong santa isnt real
he dont know nuthin[like any dead corpse]

""Steeling himself,
he pressed the button on the intercom to the outer office:
"Send in Count Odious," he ordered. Straightening up and vainly trying to suck in his ample belly, he awaited his dreaded guest.""

wroing wrong wrong
santa is a delusion to get us to feed the greedy
who's gred made others in need

feed need
not greed this xmass

its not judgment day
its christs birthday

talk about what christ would say
today....[listen with your heart..if its not good/loving gracefull/mercyfull...its not from 'him'...[noting even him
isnt he..the father]..only him the son

maybe we should have a day of love grace mercy
in rememberance FOR GOD..[and keep that day wholly..JUST for good][god]

ROFLMHO ... can't wait to read the next bit!

Must be me since most others don't seem to get it - or their humour is as dry as Sol.

Speaking as a Black Duck this time of the year is indeed a holocaust for my feathered cousins, that is turkeys and chooks.
And of course pigs too.
All of those nicely "dressed" hams and stuffed turkeys.
It is also a holocaust for all of those trees that are cut down to be covered with lights and pretty shiny things, which is of course quite de-light-ful. Then the dead trees are dumped on the medium strip to be collected by the council garbage service.
What is being celebrated via all of this chopping down of trees, stuffed turkeys and dressed hams?

Hilarious and very clever Merv.

I'll be cross if you don't write the next episode.

But I suspect you know we know anyway (or at least some of us do) so guess I'll forgive you if you don't.

And Bendle seriously expects us to believe that we rank above, say, China or Malaysia on the anti-Santa hit list. Those countries are not Christian but then Christmas is technically a pagen festival on which a Christian holiday has been imposed.

So do they still shoot criminals convicted of capital crimes in China and bill the criminal's family for the cost of the ammunition? Do they still have overtly racist legislation in Malaysia discriminating against ethnic Chinese, or was that Thailand? Or maybe it was both?

Bendle needs to stop reading far-left agit-prop and get out more. Then he might realise that whatever crimes he imagines Australia has commited, count as nothing compared to the crimes of other countries.

Be reasonable, Curmudgeon.

>>Bendle needs to stop reading far-left agit-prop and get out more.<<

Mr Bendle is a senior lecturer at a provincial university in far-North Queensland. Please adjust your expectations accordingly.

Pericles - true, I probably am hoping for too much..

Curmudgeon I made the point earlier but I think the author is mocking those who try and portray Austalia in such negative terms.

Possibly a little to subtle (sounds too much like the real thing) but one of his other articles http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=4897 suggests that he is an academic who's addressing the problem with simplistic attacks om the west.

See my post at http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=13030#224875 for an extract from the article which I think demonstrates the point well enough.

R0bert

Robert I agree, I think the author has his tongue firmly in his check (at least I hope so), though it took me a while to be sure (references to bogans and the virtuous elites escaping the apocalypse at UN conferences give it away I think)

A correction to my earlier post, should have read

"suggests that he is an academic who's addressing the problem of simplistic attacks on the west."

Rhian the tough bit is that sometimes what looks like parody is not. I'm thinking of one of the resident religious fundies who reads like someone mocking the worst extremes of christianity but who appears to be serious.

R0bert

""Racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, climate change denial, Islamophobia, genocide, problem gamblers, economic rationalism, political incorrectness, capitalism, hate speech, hate media, destruction of old-growth forests, inadequate support for the arts, too much money for independent schools, Qantas, bogans..."

In other words: 'Round up the usual suspects...'

....and you wonder why No one trusts anything:)

Humans:).......do you see what I see:)...probably not....

Oh dear.

CACTUS

I think you should remember the old adage "There is many a true word spoken in jest".

By the way OUG, what makes you think that God is any more real than Santa?

David

dear david...despite my lack of word skills
i have studied the science...[not so much for how to spell the words to appear wise...but to know their meaning]..this nessiataed reading the science holy texts with one eye on the text..the other in few dictionaries..

ok i know what the words mean
i know about genus and species
know the flow of melinun..how feathers form..and used to know the enzime that converts scales into feathers...have studied the basis of life...watched it develop...from its grey steak...to its eventual finalisation...

studied the studies of pigeons/fruitflies..darwins finches etc
and long sought this basis..in the science[no first life is given..no species is ever reported to have evolved into a new genus

its these basic things..that reveal the evolution theory
is no more than a theory...[sold to kids...when they were kids]

in short the..'most clever guys in the world..
still got no idea how god done it.,.cant replicate their theory[thus cant be a science]

along comes satan claws...the know it all
much like the godhead athieasts deney
clearly a fraud..yet sold by fool parents to kids

the same way the theory of evolution[of species]..is sold as a cure all to god...the end result is god-lessness[athistic faithfull..who think santa is the same as god..[to wit lie]

but santa is a clear lie
god..well lets hear ya case

no one has made the case for no god
santa is clearly not god...

so dont be mixing ya easter rabbit
with ya satan clause

if you dont know the cause
dont fein that you do..

if you know a lie is decieving others
you have the duty to your felow man..to say
hang on,...the king is naked..the theory is full of gaps

hang on..for santa to visit 2 billion kids during the one 24 hour night..can't be sustained by the science...

*neither can evolutionry theory

at best science MIGHT..one day...validate god
but the best its managed so far...isnt true science fact..

its theo-ry

OUG "ok i know what the words mean
i know about genus and species
know the flow of melinun..how feathers form..and used to know the enzime that converts scales into feathers...have studied the basis of life...watched it develop...from its grey steak...to its eventual finalisation..."

When you state that bit about the eventual finalisation, you display a lack of understanding of the totality of it all. The evolution process is still proceeding. Species are becoming extinct, rivers are gouging out new courses, volcanoes are producing new islands. Even man is changing as his immune system reacts to new challenges. Need I go on.

David