Pericles, you are on the right track. We get a lot of Greg in Tas, and are used to his articles. He also revues music, movies and shows for the Mercury, doesn't seem to have much understanding of that either.

They use greg as a part of their shock troops, as with Ackerman and others. It's designed to give the impression the papers are open and unbiased, which is totally the opposite to the reality of their agenda.

People fear when their vulnerabilities are exposed, we see that with a lot of posters here. When they publish Barnes, they put him on the top half of the page and Ackerman on the bottom. Both totally different views. Yes this country has succumbed to materialism, but so has every country in the world.

Fear, yes Australians are beginning to fear, as the reality of the collapsing world catches up with us. That fear is justified, as until the last 30 years, we have been insulated. Now we have imported all the ills of the world by allowing religious cultures to impose their ways upon us. We have two options, allow religion to dictate to us and suffer the same fate as the rest of the world is undergoing, or remove religious expression and culture from our streets and public arena's.

There are no other options, religion will not allow anything, other than for them to be in control. Sadly it appears we will continue to argue whilst the undermining continues, until religious war fully breaks out here. With our current power brokers, the lib/lab coalition, we will only see a downhill trend. I don't see an answer unless we have a party or benevolent dictator, rather than the current path we are on to police state, that will throw out the elite and install reason and responsibility into our society. Something that is severely lacking in our current social makeup.

Greg Barns`s rants hurt the anti-racist cause. Regrettably there is racism in Australian society - among white Australians and also among various ethnic communities. However, the notion that `the world` is scandalised by Australia`s racism - including our Asian neighbours who are apparently free to practise their own without scrutiny - is just another assertion.

In an Asian region where Chinese and Indian minorities in Malaysia and Indonesia have long been subjected to racial discrimination, and where Japan is notable for a deeply institutionalised racism/racialism, the focus of Asian politicians and subservient Asian media on Australian racism serves to deflect attention from Asia`s abiding racist realities. Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan are only three examples.

In Japan over the past few years, the Governor of Tokyo, Ishihara, has declared that Koreans (really Japanese people, born in Japan, of Korean descent who are denied automatic citizenship because their `Korean blood`) `will riot in the event of another earthquake` and encouraged the Japanese police and military to `deal with` them. The Governor evoked memories of an earthquake over 65 years ago when some Koreans were murdered by their Japanese neighbours after they were falsely accused of poisoning wells among other alleged crimes.

Lurid headlines on newspapers, magazines and TV programs regarding `Foreigner Crime` further feed racism. The biggest `crime` foreigners commit here is visa-overstaying - illegal but hardly deserving of the xenopohobic hysteria being fuelled here by politicians in ways both unashamed and more subtle.

Racialist progaganda regarding `Japanese blood` is the norm here, epitomised by politicians such as the Foreign Minister Aso making a public speech about `Unique Japanese, of one blood`, `We Japanese park our cars the same way, we tie our shoelaces the same way`, etc. Foolish nonsense about a people who are of mixed Mongolian/Chinese/Korean ethnicity but it serves to place non-Japanese Asians in a position of inferiority and intensify prejudice here against all `Gaijin` - outside people.

These things are only the tip of the iceberg in Japan. Japanese (and Asian) politicians need to start addressing their own countries` racism as well as noting Australia`s.

"Fred Nile lives on the beachfront overlooking the beach and his wife does not wear a neck to knee swimsuit, nor does his family members. In fact the family wear the same as everyone else on the beach. The only reason Fred would have used the term was to overcome the abuse your Anglo-pest caused.

Posted by Philo, Saturday, 24 December 2005 7:49:11 AM"

Fred used this concept in his address to parliament. I read the transcript some years ago. I don't claim to have total recall, but I do remember that Fred got a bit carried away when he didn't get the level of support he had hoped for in his failed bid to stop all public nude bathing in NSW. He was particularly upset at Franca Arena for [in Fred's opinion] not representing the "ethnic community" and at Richard Jones for stating that he went to free beaches [clothes optional]. Possibly also at Elizabeth Kirby for saying that she had enjoyed going to a free beach.

I have found the following:
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LC19961204005
This is Fred speaking on behalf of the religious right Call to Australia Party and the Islamic Council of New South Wales on how all Australians should be forced by law to follow his line.

I have not personally found most Australians to be particularly racist, but I think it is natural to be wary of any group, whether or not they are defined by race and/or religion, who try to force their attitudes down everyone else's throat.

In matters of beach wear, as in probably most other situations where those who feel differently aren't forced to be part of it, I am pro-choice and I see this as basically the traditional Australian way. Isn't this what we call giving everyone a fair go?

Did anyone see Laurie Oakes' comments

Have a read....

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=77600

So . . . I read Laurie Oakes.
It's the usual Laurie sitting on the fence, not saying much.

Bozzie, thank you for your brilliant analysis on Barns article, we need more rational debate on both sides if we are to see any ground made, but appears only one party is coming to the table and that is the party that supports and understands what a lot of Australians are thinking, and that is that we in Australia are a decent,tolerant,law abiding, gifted young nation, made up of many races from all over the world who for all the rhetoric about racism get along pretty darn good, and that we have created a life here that is the envy of the rest of the world, and who would want that to change, I mean ask yourself would any country in the world who has what we have, would they voluntarly give up their way of life for a minorities religous and cultral doctrines, we are talking the complete and total rejection of our country and it's way of life by a minority that hunts in such large packs that it feels like the majority, why why why would you expect any persons/people or country to just roll over and take that ?, please don't just ridicule and label me, help me to understand, is it all a right wing conspiracy ?, are there any truths to what people are saying ?, and if so how do we handle them, what should we do to further accomadate these people, ban all things that are cultrally offensive ?, put the flag away for good ?, never sing the national anthem ?, all take up the islamic faith ?.......am I going to far ? yes of course I am !, that my friends is how it feels when you people go to far and will not be realistic in your debates, you are all playing a dangerous game with the psyche of poeple in this country, tell a person enough times that he is bad when he is not, and they will eventually prove you right.....is that the aim here ??
Anyway to all a MERRY XMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR