To you Steve Madden:

How do you think we arrive at the ever-changing 'system of laws' to decide these things?
Does that 'system of laws' just appear?
I would say: 'No. The community have a say in it'. [In other places, the Koran decides].

We participate in a democracy. Participation helps form the current moral bench-mark.
Policy makers try to reflect the will of the people - (with a fair bit of their own agenda too).

Each participant has a 'value system'. You say you have one, but you don't seek to influence others with it. Why not? Why forfeit your say? Is that a virtue?

tennyson etc

I do try to influence people with my point of view. But I do not do this by advocating banning things that are not in anyway illegal.

The AFA on the other hand have a warped view on so many topics and have excelled at making peoples lives miserable by there misguided zeal.

So, are we going to see another 'stack' of posts from the Bill Muehlenberg/Australian Family Association lobby like we saw following his 'Big Brothel'article yesterday? I hope not because that would damage OLO if it became a trend.

I somewhat agree with this article however I do not agree that the episode was a sexual assault or should be referred to as an 'alleged sexual assault'. Only a few people who were not involved have soalleged. A woman allowed 2 men to get into her bed, and a bit of horseplay followed. When one of the men attempted the 'turkey slap' the woman put a stop to the episode. While not edifying viewing or behaviour, if anything, it showed that even rather silly people who may have been intoxicated knew how to set and/or obey limits to their silly behaviour.

It was not seen on TV and if it were not for all the ill-advised commentary and over-reaction that followed it, exploited cynically for political purposes, it would not be worthy of any further attention.

"They are the ones who set up conditions that such activities were likely to happen as night follows day."

Are you sure it was that likely, Bill?

It did take six years.

The sun has set on the Big Brother house almost 500 times now! Please review your calculations in future before unleashing them on an innocent public. I'll be watching.

To Trade 215

If you believe in the absolute right of Freedom of Expression, then do you also approve of child pornography, slander, libel, incitement to racial violence, snuff movies, or publicising State secrets in time of War?

If the answer is "No", then congratulations, you do not believe in the absolute right to Freedom of Expression.

Since you presumably now realise that the principle of censorship is already a fact of life which is already widely accepted, then it only remains to debate on where we draw the line.

Australia's attitude to censorship has swung from one extreme to the other. Censorship was once very onerous, so much so that even university profesors were once prevented from importing polital books which kept them up to date on the important political events happening in Europe during the 1930's.

But today, parents are aware that the entertainment industries are promoting products to children displaying once undreaned of levels of vulgarity. Images on TV, on the Internet, in vdeo shops and in newsagents are now openly promoting sexual themes to children. And parents are concerned of the effects that this is having upon their kids.

What is wrong with parents now demanding that the entertainment industries clean up their acts?

I agree totally Bill! Big Brother was a disaster waiting to happen... this is not reality TV guys! The environment in the Big Brother House is like a science lab. However, in the science lab at my university we use mice, not actual human beings! Entertainment like this has a cost- these are real people.

Many people have mentioned their 'rights' to have this kind of stuff on the air, and that to put an end to it, would be a tragic end to their ' human rights'...but what about the rights of the individual to not have this kind of trash on TV? Before you say it...I know, why don’t I just turn off my TV? but why should I? I have the 'right' like you to keep mine switched on. While we all keep on voicing our rights, you have this right, I have another… lets keep in mind that while all things are permissible, not everything is beneficial! Can we just think about this for a second, remembering that these aren’t mice spinning on a wheel in some cage, these are real people. Is entertainment really worth this kind of mess!