A thoughtful contribution.

I agree with Arjay concerning obligations. This country and its hedonistic, me-me people needs a good dose of instruction on obligations.

If anyone in Australia does not feel that his or her rights are taken care of under existing legislation, they should have a good look at themselves.

There are two many Australians, particularly the younger ones, who confuse 'rights' with being able to do as they please, and to hell with everyone else.

The whole is the sum of its parts.

The nature of any one part necessarily informs the whole, by definition.

Thus the notion that "when individual rights have to suffer for the good of the whole" is a flase dichotomy, propelled by a self refuting circularity.

When the individual suffers, a whole suffers, as it is the sum of its individually suffering parts.

The irony is the notion that the whole is improved by a deterioration in its parts.

Something cannot be simultaneously true and false.

You dont expand freedom by limiting it. In fact doing so is a good cover for taking something away and getting people to say thank you.

l think it would be more honest to say... in the interests of power, control, dominance and maintaining a self serving status quo, we are prepared to do what ever it takes, including the promulgation of speciously rationalised propaganda campaigns in service of our self interested a priori motivations. All the way thru to shooting ourselves in the foot so that we can out-hobble an opposition that we have just crippled.

Short-sighted, self-interested, emotion and irrational, in the extreme.

To read a statement like this from a Queens Counsel is beyond belief. He would have to be related to the grub in the Federal Court as he has much the same attitude towards anybody with a different religious belief who dared to question his corrupt authority. I tend to agree with Marilyn.

We live in a post 9-11 world. Our world is defined by the enemies of western civilisation, and not by ourselves. The aim of radical Islamists is unambiguous - to destroy western civilisation. This is for them an overriding and virtuous goal, ordained by a religion and one which as believers they are bound to pursue. Any means are open to achieve this goal, including the destruction of whole cities and populations by nuclear and biological weapons.

spender is happy to wax lyrical about hypothetical bogeyman stories, but spends not a word on america's actual current use of torture and extra-judicial murder. he says:

"Will there be individual injustices along the way? Almost unavoidably. We must try as hard as we can to make sure this does not happen. If torture is ever to be used, it is to be only in the most extreme of cases and under the strictest of supervision."

how does he suppose to police the kind of people who feel they are sanctioned to torture? it's obviously working wonderfully well even as it is! this is a qc who cannot see the dangers of sanctioning a state to engage in such barbarism, even when the evidence is appearing before his eyes? what a truly pathetic and disgusting man.

spender is right in one respect: he declares the world has changed. now, softly spoke barbarians are given a forum to preach torture, in the name of goodness. well done, spender, and well done OLO. kafka is proud of you.

Health is a right, education is a right and so is free speech. If we could have our time again I would say "housing or land is a right," and so is the right to work. We need to rethink the ways we work.

I want a bill of rights for Australia. I understand it is mentally and emotionally challenging for a nation to be upfront and vibrant about all the moral underlying issues to be costed through the debates but that is better that then the murky situation we presently live with (Emu Antic's) that appears to only serve those with access to resources (usually legal) and the social capital they need to emancipate what they feel is 'their right".

Just look at today for example.

We got a right for Alma Ata realized through Medicare. Yes it is to be worked through as a nation between all States regardless of the silly arguments against it. I thought we as a world agreed on RIGHTS FOR HEALTH FOR ALL. I also thought that business world were "problem solvers". It appears to me to be better to face a human evolutionary (sociopolitical) problem in our attempt to give ACCESS to Health for ALL economically, than to continue to isolate Health as an option for those only, lucky enough, who can afford it.

If I were the Doctors, including the Leader of the Federal Opposition, I would help solve the problem (as a leadership moral strength) by working to provide "better health" inclusively, as a baseline and work up from that.

Lets Face the REALITY. Health crosses over in all areas of life and is not and can not be just a free market issue.

Doctors need to "take responsiblity", as do we ALL!

More below;

The Right to Freedom of Speech. Anyone scared to hear and or agree with their opposition or critic sometimes, is not a problem solver. The ALP needs to be congratulated today for its policy to speak out on anything that might be pressing in relation to the Games in China. This policy is unifying as it reduces much potential violence, give Australians the independence they need to be Australians.

I agree, the Stadium is off limits for anything that would disadvantage the concentration of the Olympic participates. It would be difficult to argue with that. Fair is Fair there,

The "economy". The right for all citizens in this next BUDGET. It is the first chance we get to attempt step toward balance, perhaps the last this decade, before the elder-baby-boomers make their impact of needs felt, among other things. These are challenging times. While I appreciate the work of business, it is not "good business" to lopside the BOOM. The economy is creeping with unintended "invisibles". Ie: Homelessness, Single Mothers, growing Household Debt, unnecessary amounts of Household Stress, not to mention the fuel prices (transport costs), rising food prices and the tug-a-war over work and wages.

The foundation of the Australian system will erode if we do not work to keep-up or re-adjust with the times. Our foresight as a nation is primary given we can see what is happening in other countries. We have the knowledge. We know we can have both sides of the Cake if we use our nations knowledge constructively. I DEMAND this too, is a RIGHT for All Citizens.

When I argue for individual rights I argue the times we live, the way we have broken our natural links within community (as people) through industraliation, in the social, econmic and cultural breakdown through the "nuclear family".

We have some mending to do.

If we want to continue with high end "capitalism" , we need to take some responsiblity for it, and accept the socio-economical-structures (adjustments) by counter-acting the uneven or disconnected pathways it creates - even if it all just happened... unwittingly.

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