The only mitigating circumstance I can entertain regarding the humanitarian issues of Middle East is that the west has exploited and manipulated it since the first oil exploration contract was signed. We backed tyrants against the people choice of tyrant. The passage of commerce came before the welfare and betterment of the people, and that is the West’s fault.

To be precise it is the fault of global financiers and the west has recently become a victim of their greed as the Middle East has. But Muslims in numbers change the dynamic….their way or ongoing hostility, that is their credo and if you don't understand that you are hopelessly judgment impaired.

Western women who advocate Muslim migration should spend a year in any of the Middle East countries, at pleb level. I have two sisters, who are nursing sisters, and both spent over a decade working in Middle Eastern hospitals. They regularly gave me a firsthand perspective of what it is like to wear the full covering everywhere except in their units the hospital and other Western compounds.

They were regularly stopped in the street when they ventured to the supermarket. Often pulled over when in taxi’s by mosque guys on motor scooters who identify them as Christian or Caucasian and their MANY run ins with the Religious Police, again a bunch of yobbo's from the local mosque....I wouldn't want to be a woman there......and some want that here.

Dear Josephus,

What is my distorted position?

I'm seething the video was put out in the first place. I'm also seething that a group of malcontents in Sydney escalated a protest injuring police. I am disgusted that a young child should be holding up placards calling for beheadings.

But I will not allow this events to be used by others to heighten racial tensions in my country without a response from me. Ratcheting this up is only going to mean more social division. These are our citizens and our problem. How our country handles this and how it lives up to the kind of values I believe we stand for is hugely important to me. It should be for you too.

csteele writes

'These are our citizens and our problem'

Yes created by those blinded to the ideology that has stuffed many countries in Europe by demonizing anyone who spoke the truth. We know its our problem created by the apologist for a religion with a history of causing havoc everywhere it is allowed to.

csteel: These are our citizens and our problem. How our country handles this and how it lives up to the kind of values I believe we stand for is hugely important to me. It should be for you too.

Ahh, csteel, how I do love you. Now please enlighten the rest of us as to just what your solution would be for this situation. Please don't tell us it's not your job. As you have said, "These are our citizens and our problem." So you have made this your problem too.

Your ideas would be most enlightening, I'm sure. Then we all could discuss it over a glass of fine whine.

*to a greater extent in the riot - to a lesser extent on this thread.

Driven by fear mostly....*

Oh I am not so sure of that, Poirot. More like it was just a quiet
newsday and no other interesting threads on OLO :)

I don't think that you need fear wearing a burqa just yet, but
there is no doubt that if Australia imports lots of migrants from
Islamic countries, the outcome will be quite different then if they
came from say Buddhist countries. Given that I am an open critic
of the Catholic Church, I see no reason why Islam should somehow be
excempt from the discussion.

We give Runner a fair bit of stick over his religion, but if he
were to walk around Sydney with his kids carrying posters that we
should be beheaded for criticising Jesus, I am sure the debate would
be pretty lively too!

I cannot be expected to respect what people believe, but simply their
right to believe it

As I recall, the previous government took the word Multiculture out of the Immigration portfoilio, and was just going to let the ideology of MC die out. The current PM has raised the issue publicly a couple of times but there has been a lack of public interest. These riots will further deminish public support for MC ideology.

So I am looking forward to a change of government and see MC dead and buried. Then work on the introduction of selective immigration, which excludes those groups that have shown us they cannot/will not integrate.

I would also like to see immigration reduced to net zero, but with big busness donating to both major parties, that will not be forthcoming. I goes without saying that tough enough policies will be implemented to stop the illegals.

Usually nothing comes quickly in the political world and I have been an advocate against MC for 30 years, so a win there would be welcome.
The election is only about 13 months away. With luck we will survive till then.