Marilyn please, facts don't get in the way of Shadow Spinmeister.

Marilyn.

<<I am sick to death of what passes for debate about this>>

And so am I Marilyn, so am I...most of what passes for debate, at least that which emanates from the refugee activist side,is more like sermonizing than debating.

It usually starts off with some activist with a big heart and a small understanding of real world situations telling us they are going to teach us the "facts" & whats true & what's not.

Then they proceed to tell us that country A is a horrible place.
And to reinforce it they start quoting things like:
<<thousands of women die in child birth every year and 25-37% of children die before they are 5>>
<< and millions of dead due to war (flood or famine)>>
And of-course it's somehow all our fault.
If we are there, we are faulted because we should not be there.
If we are not there, there we faulted because we should be there.
And in either case, we are obliged to take in anyone who can tell a good sob story and claims to be from country A.

It doesn't make an iota of difference that neither high infant mortality nor having a war in your country qualifies you for refugee status under the convention --the purpose is only to instil guilt, intimidate.

It is of-course no surprise that they often gain the endorsement of AGW believers. Since both groups have common ground: both want to make OZ the soup kitchen for the world.

The AGWers wants to do it under the guise of climate change & secret IPCC treaties.And the refugee activists want to do it under the guise of the Refugee Convention and economic migrants posing as refugees.

Did I say that it was our fault they die in childbirth? I don't think so but after 10 years of occupation and it is worse one would have to think that we are at least partly to blame.

The thing is that only 4500 people claimed asylum here last year after coming by sea and all but a handful will be allowed to stay so why do we continue this nonsensical "debate".

The convention is legally binding. End of debate.

Very true Marilyn.

Yet SPQR rants on about global warming - go figure?

Marilyn,

<<but after 10 years of occupation and it is worse one would have to think that we are at least partly to blame>>

"According to USAID, infant mortality rate has decreased by 22% and child mortality has dropped by 26% since 2003. It was reported in 2006 that nearly 60% of the population lives within two hours walking distance of the nearest health facility, up from nine percent in 2002.[2] The average life expectancy at birth was reported in the past at about 47 years[3] but has risen to as high as 64 for both sexes.[4][5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_in_Afghanistan

Not sure where you get your figures from --Radio Taliban?
But judging from the above, it would seem praise rather than blame would be in order. And things might have improved even further if the Taliban had not persisted in blowing up hospitals and murdering medical staff!

<<The thing is that only 4500 people claimed asylum here last year after coming by sea and all but a handful will be allowed to stay so why do we continue this nonsensical "debate">>
Only 4500...claimed asylum ...by sea!
But if most play the game I can't remember the <<exact date of (my) birth>> .Then cry "I want my mummy & relos" as was the case here:
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/high-court-rules-for-afghan-refugee/story-e6freooo-1226222067060
"Mr Shahi came to Australia in May 2009 and was granted a protection visa.Seven months later he applied for a global special humanitarian visa for HIS MOTHER AND OTHER RELATIONS"
You can multiply it by any positive number you like.

<<all but a handful will be allowed to stay>>
Come-on, be honest, even when they don't pass they get to stay,like this bunch:
<<More than 40 per cent of asylum seekers who arrived by boat in the past year were Iranians and, of the ones assessed, about two-thirds have had their application for refugee status rejected>>
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/more-than-a-thousand-iranians-risk-languishing-for-years-in-detention/story-e6freuy9-1226180501361

<<The convention is legally binding>>
The convention is a farce. It has no more credibility than the Tooth Fairy & Easter Bunny ...or Bonmot.

Well. of course Adam is a passionate supporter of boat people. As a lawyer, he is touting for business. I don't know how much of the $100,000 dollars per person that each boatperson costs the Aussie taxpayer to process goes to lawyers, but you can bet thqt Adam and his ambulance chasing mates will be doing their best to make sure that the proportion is as high as possible.