Arjay, You are the one using this so called logic to support and prove your own bigotry and fears. Show me the evidence that the last election gave Howard, Vanstone and Ruddoch a clear and unambiguous mandate to lock children up in detention. While you're at it -- you might like to address how this last election provided a mandate for Howard et al to place and deport Australian citizens. What about the mistreatment of the Bakhtiyari family? What are your views on the Convention on the Rights of the Child of which we are signatories? This logic you assert is then in breach of several key provisions of the ICCPR, in particular Article 9 which forbids arbitrary detention and Article 10(1) which provides that ‘All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. If you and your family were imprisoned in another country you too would be depending on this convention to ensure that you or your families were treated humanly and with dignity. And by the way, just remember that I and others such as Sympneology, -those you accuse of being narrow minded, trendy, ego-centric idealistic, barrow pushing, bleeding hearts would be first ones standing up to support you and yours. But hey, don’t let this get in the way of spewing out your bilious crap just because you’re too lazy to get off your backside to look beyond you’re your vexatious and highly prejudiced worldviews.

Arjay, despite your unexpected display of a SOH on another thread I have to support Rainier and Sympneology. The previous election was based on economic security - that was the platform and that's what the majority of Australians voted for; the belief (whether right or wrong) that the economy (stupid) was better in the hands of the Libs.

Human rights, welfare, IR and other social concerns did not get a look in. Labour failed to emphasize these issues and Howard blithely side-stepped the issue. Ergot - the lack of mandate.

We did not vote for inhumane treatment of people be they our own (disabled, poor or aboriginal) or seeking asylum.

If you voted for the incarceration of children at the last election - time to have a good hard look at yourself.

Arjay, I very much doubt whether it would be possible for your perceptions to be corrupted any further. Your continuous reference to the “predominant culture”; your claim to the understanding of an “Australian character”; your insistence on the use of terms such as “swamping”, “limited resources”, “forgoing prosperity”; your “reality” of “anarchy”, “job taking”, “ethnic change” and your assertion that any contrary reasoning is “impulsive” and demonstrates “weakness” leads me to the conclusion that this corruption is absolutely unsalvageable.

I gave up responding to Arjay ages ago. IMHO, he and a few fellow travellers get far too much of this forum's oxygen.

(Yes, I'm aware of the irony in me giving him some more...)

Worry not,the Labor Party will rebuild more towards the conservative right,since that is the only chance they have of gaining power.It will probably take two more electoral floggings ,but finally the electorate will drag them kicking and screaming to their domain, instead of your social engineering experimental disasters.
Good to see I'm getting up your nostrils garra.Perhaps you should have me banned from this forum and then you could set up a mutual admiration society for the mono-tones of the left.

The vast majority of Australians see what I see,and you can call us all the names you damn well please,but we have at determination to see a more disciplined,ethical,committed, hard working ,patriotic,country no matter what your ethic background.

We are not going to stand by and watch this great country go down the sewer on the basis of your whims and fancies.