Stop the US from attacking other countries, and refugee numbers are likely to significantly decline.

The majority of refugees are coming from countries that the US has attacked, and 50% of refugees in the world now come from Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia.

Both Turkey and the US justified their attack on Syria by saying that Assad was mistreating prisoners.

We now see what Erdogan is doing to prisoners in Turkey.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/07/how-erdogan-made-turkey-authoritarian-again/492374/

And we see what the US does to its prisoners in places such as Guantanamo Bay

http://www.smh.com.au/world/terror-torture-and-torpor-inside-guantanamo-bay-with-the-forever-prisoners-20141211-125m1z.html

The US is completely full of it, and considering the damage the US does to the world and the chaos it causes, Australians should be closely looking at our alliance with the US.

Dear Jay and Hasbeen,

Let's look at a scenario: Australia is becoming uninhabitable because the ozone-hole is growing and every day you remain in Australia rapidly increases your chances of cancer. It is also no longer safe for planes to fly into Australia and so you take a boat and reach Indonesia, now a fully-Muslim country.

Would you actually agree that you would be obliged to accept and assimilate into their Muslim culture (and religion)?

If not, then on what grounds do you expect others to assimilate into yours?

Self-defence is fine and discrimination is good, so why bundle all issues into one?

«Even if it's moving to a new Country»

No problem - YES!

«not accepting their Culture»

No problem - YES!

«demanding that the Host Country change their Culture to suit them or they'll Rape, Pillage & Murder anyone who doesn't agree»

NO WAY!
- That is a threat and has crossed all lines, so now self-defence kicks in.

For a further clarification, please check out "Another Last Wish" in http://www.haruth.com/jhumor/Jhumor13.html

Jayb,

"Even if it's moving to a new Country,"
Yes.

"not accepting their Culture,"
Depends what you mean by "accepting". They MUST tolerate the culture, but need not adopt it, as like the locals they should be free to determine their own culture.

"demanding that the Host Country change their Culture to suit them"
Depends on what you mean by "demanding".

"or they'll Rape, Pillage & Murder anyone who doesn't agree."
Absolutely not. Threatening to commit serious crimes is itself a serious crime, and all terrorist organisations should be crushed regardless of what they're fighting for.

Terrorists should not be allowed to come to Australia, and we generally shouldn't even let supporters of terrorist groups in. But we shouldn't use the existence of terrorists as an excuse to discriminate against innocent people.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Hasbeen,

It's people, not culture, that should be suitably respected.

Australia is a free country with a policy of multiculturalism, so immigrants have just as much right to determine their culture as everyone else, and they do.

It's the law, not the culture, that should be (and is) determined by the government.

BTW the culture in most Muslim countries is fully functional. Where countries are in chaos, the problem tends to be with the law (and its enforcement or lack of) not the culture. Although admittedly in countries such as Saudi Arabia, where laws are unnecessarily strict, a culture of law evasion has developed.

Aidan: Depends what you mean by "accepting". They MUST tolerate the culture,

Semantics, but OK. The problem is moslems don't tolerate our Culture. Unclean meat as an example & the Cronulla Riots as a result.

They don't even tolerate their own Culture if they are of a different Sect. Lakemba Riots as another example.

You are saying that Australians have to be tolerant of moslems but they don't have to be tolerant of us because of multiculturalism. Our Culture upsets them so we have to change our Culture. Good one son. Not bloody likely!

Hi Aidan,

When you write

"everyone should have a right to decide their own culture"

I'm sure you don't mean that they have an equivalent right to their own laws ? i.e. the men, since it is usually men who dictate in any culture, because they have the power, rather than the women ?

Everybody in Australia should equally enjoy the protection, and submit to the constraints, of the same laws. In most cultural systems, there may be inequality, even gross inequality and injustice, but there can't be inequality in a democratic system of law. Long may it remain so.

Joe

Dear Joe,

«I'm sure you don't mean that they have an equivalent right to their own laws?»

Why not - so long as their laws only apply to those who accept them and do not impinge on others who do not.

«i.e. the men, since it is usually men who dictate in any culture, because they have the power, rather than the women?»

Everyone who is legally in Australia - man, woman or child, should be able to take refuge in Australian law. However, it should not be automatic for those who are not interested.

«Everybody in Australia should equally enjoy the protection»

Everybody in Australia who so wishes...

(including those whom we can reasonably assume on the balance of probabilities that they would so wish if they could)

«and submit to the constraints, of the same laws»

To the extent that those laws protect others who did express (explicitly or implicitly) their wish to enjoy the above protection.