"Liberty is NOT due to the Westminster system – it is as well established in France, Holland, Belgium, Scandinavia as it is here and in England. What all free countries have in common is the philosophical, moral and political gains made against religion-borne authoritarianism. We term this still ongoing process the Enlightenment."

That's true EJ but I was talking about Australia specifically which has a form of 'enlightened' democracy based on the Westminster system. The key elements of that system are separation of powers, equality before the law, privacy and property rights and most importantly freedom from religious prescription. Your other examples of 'enlightenment' differ slightly from the arrangements of these attributes but all have the same base.

Islam does not share this 'base' and in fact opposes it. The boat issue is not about more people coming although the illegality of their methods and the usurpation of Australia's legal sovereignty by those methods are important issues. The issue with the boat people is that they are Islamic and are an invasion.

Idiots who write such articles as this and support the boat people through the prism of their own sense of moral superiority are betraying their own country and should be treated as such

What a rancid response to an innocent person who was helped by Australia after one of the world's most hideous genocides.

I don't think Alex is responsible for what Israel does, but we are responsible for what our own racist government does.

A very poor response, Marilyn. As a Jew, Alex Kats is perfectly aware that Israel is a state created by Jews, for Jews, and he knows that Israel does not welcome non Jewish immigrants or asylum seekers. He does not say that he approves of this, but he did not bother to condemn it, either. I think it would be a reasonable assumption to claim that most Jews support the existence of the Jewish state.

But if the Jews create a state where they openly declare that their culture will be uppermost forever, and they will only accept Jews as immigrants, then Jews like Alex Kats can hardly wag their fingers at Australians for wanting the same thing in their own country. Especially since Australia has absorbed the millions of people from unrelated foreign cultures, while Israel rarely accepts anyone not a Jew.

It is a clear case of hypocrisy.

Since self interest is the prime motivator of human behaviour, could I suggest this scenario? As a descendent of an asylum seeker Jewish family, Alex Kats would like for Australia to continue this tradition. Since Jews have always been big on seeking asylum, then Alex is opposed to Australia tightening up its immigration laws. It may be in his Jewish people's interest to prevent non Jews from immigrating or seeking asylum in Israel, but it is also in his Jewish people's interest that every other desirable country to live in should not emulate Israel's immigration laws to preserve their own culture.

But rather than just come out and say that he understands why Australians feel that they are being swamped by immigration and that this will lead Australians to become a minority in their own country (something that the Jews would never accept in Israel) he uses an emotive and racist argument that Australians are just awful and greedy people that he is ashamed of.

As I pointed out earlier, this tendency for Jews to support policies which benefit Jews but which cause problems for their host populations, is probably one of the primary reasons for widespread anti Semitism.

As I said before the difference between Israel prescribing non-Jewish immigrants and the situation Australia and other Western nations face is that all immigrants are welcome by Australia including immigrants who want to destroy that pluralistic structure which welcomes all immigrants.

By comparison if you are a non-muslim try and go to an Islamic nation and be actively non-muslim.

I cannot comprehend the illogic, unreasonableness and vindictive moralising of people like Ms Shepard except in terms of an infantile egoism couched in moral certainty. It is unfathomable to me that any woman would defend islam, a cult which so oppresses women that it makes them invisible physically and socially.

Variety is the spice of life.
If you don't like being rained on you can try dodging raindrops or you can welcome them.
We don't get to choose when it rains nor where the rain comes from.

Well 'Carnivore' if this is the case, can you please make me a bloody great big tarpaulin?

Thanks

Geoff