Hi Pete,

Still waiting for Wobbles :) Three days now. Do you think he's forgotten us :(

He did raise some issues though - he may not be aware that there may have been three or four waves of people gradually moving down from south-east Asia and Papua-New Guinea - after all, why not, if people could get here once, why not many times ? There may have been a couple of different groups before the Ice Age 25,000-30,000 years ago, and there most certainly may have been some migration over the past 5,000 years, which brought the dingo from either Vietnam or southern India, I think the jury's still out on that.

And there certainly were groups of small people, up in the Atherton Tablelands - Tindale and Joseph Birdsell did a lot of work with them around Kuranda (I think in the 1930s), and there are photos of a group in about 1910, and of Birdsell with some men, they all seem around five feet tall (150 cm). No real surprise there, since there are pockets of small people all over south-east Asia and southern India, and around the Mediterranean.

I suspect that all people, ALL people, in the world have at some time been cannibals, even just symbolically, insofar as symbolically eating one's enemies is pretty common in myth everywhere. Maoris and Fijians are very strongly rumoured to have captured and fattened people up specifically to be eaten. Of course, these may be just rumours, pulling the pakehas' legs, but 'narrative' is sometimes quite valid. Who are we do deny the cultural veracity of Maori 'story' ? That would be so insensitive.

And there wasn't much meat-based protein up there in the Scottish Highlands back in the days of the Picts ......

And my Irish great-great-grandmother's eyes would go all misty at the memory of those people from over the hill ..... especially, it seemed, their priest ...... delicious !

Joe

Hi Wobbles,

You're a bit quiet, are you okay ?

Just to help you along: let's look at a key issue, such as Indigenous deaths in custody.

The proportion of prisoners who are Indigenous is about 28 %.

Each year, the proportion of deaths in custody who are Indigenous is about 28 %.

What would you actually expect ? Indigenous people make up about 3 % of the Australian population. Are you suggesting - or is Mr Bilger suggesting - that only 3 % of deaths in custody should be Indigenous, and no more ?

Then, what proportion of deaths in custody should be Indigenous if only 3 % of the prisoner population was Indigenous ? 3 % ? Yes ! Yes, indeed ! Exactly ! 3 % of prisoners, 3 % of deaths in custody.

And if, let's say, NO prisoners were Indigenous, what proportion of deaths in custody should be Indigenous ? That's right, 0 %. None.

Regrettably, 80 % of prisoners in the Northern Territory are Indigenous. So the proportion of deaths in custody in the N.T should be no higher than 80 %. I wish it was far less, but that would mean far fewer incarcerations, and THAT would mean far fewer crimes committed. Am I suggesting that Indigenous people commit crimes, out of proportion to their population ? Yes. I wish they didn't, but that's their choice. [Get stuck in !]

The proportion of deaths in custody who are Indigenous depends on the proportion of prisoners who are Indigenous. It actually has nothing to do with the proportion of Indigenous people within the Australian population as a whole.

Would you like to discuss this further ? Or let another lie through to Mr Bilger for his gullible British public ?

Joe