Shonga, where did Col say that the Golf/Iraq war was legal. I've found a spot where he points out that a teachers union was promoting the idea that a US lead war is illegal - that is not the same thing as declaring it legal. In the lead up to the war I heard a lot of conflicting opinions regarding the legality of the war but am not aware the the issue has ever been fully put to the test.

At this stage legal or otherwise appears to be a matter of opinion, it would be interesting to see a definitive authorative answer to the question though.

R0bert

Shonga – you made a claim – your last post merely aludes to what you think I might have said but does not define when, where or even what I actually said to justify your accusation.

You have a choice

Either Identify and substantiate what you claim I said and present it here
or
Apologise

Robert, not for the first time do I thank you for your observations. Doubtless, it will not be the last either.

:)

Col,
Two things, First my apology for taking you out of context on your 7 Feb post,if you are critisising teachers for their percieved stance,[percieved only by you and Maximus, and possibly Robert, the three stouges] I quite wrongly assumed you were against them, nice to see you may have had a change of mind, and agree that the war is in fact illegal.Second, the other Politics is LIFE. Politics covers our lives, we have Government Depts for Health, Education, Industrial Relations, Sport, Immigration, Treasury these Departments and their policies control every facet of our lives, so politics is life....which is why we need more female perspective introduced into the decision making of all political parties.

SHONGA, thanks for the apology.

You bring up a good point in your comment

“these Departments and their policies control every facet of our lives, so politics is life”

I understand what you say and completely disagree with it.

Like you and everyone else on the planet “my life” is the product of the decisions I make.
Whether to study or play,
whether to risk all on migrating or not,
whether to be faithful to my partner or to ‘play-around’,
whether to cherish my daughters or neglect their need for a father. Etc. etc.
None of that is controlled by government or its departments.

I then have the “relationships” which form important facets of my life, professional, social and business friends, family etc.
which ones will be sustained and which ones will not.
None of that is controlled by government or its departments.

Then there is a small, but significant part of mine and everyone else’s lives which is regulated by our elected leadership.

To use Hawke’s analogy of the “playing field”, my observation is

Government are like the referees, they set the rules and try to ensure fair play but how we, as individuals, decide to play the game is entirely up to us. The name of the game is “Life” and whilst in part it is “regulated” by government, is not “controlled” by government.

In this respect, I try to play the game as hard as I can but not unfairly because, what goes around comes around and this is the only time I will get to play, there is no rematch.

I would suggest, 95%+ of my life is of my making and 5% is shaped by external influences. Your proportions might be different, that is up to you and how you perceive what “control” you have over your life and what you are prepared to do about it.

Condello was murdered last week.
How did he "play the game"?

I only hope his children look to his example and find it within themselves to do better, because they would find it hard to do worse.

The ratio of women to men is increasing. It seems nature won't be baffled by BS.

You only need one Bull but will their be any fields left after they finish playing with their guns and bombs?

There are some animal species that get the male to look after the kids. Maybe society should have a rethink on job roles.

In saying that, we could then comment about "his" lack of accountability in contributing to taxes.

Col,
I take something my grandfather told me 40 years ago into account when I say politics is life. He was a wise old Englishman, a gentleman, with a great love for his family, his adopted country, and for humanity in general, he cared about people, and he cared about life. He told me once "Politics is life son, because politics affects the price of a loaf of bread, and also effects how much money you will have in your pocket to pay for it" obviously I have never forgotten that, and just as obvious nothing has changed.
Regards,Shaun