"..well, until your friends, the Taliban, took over..."

Disingenuous prat.

(Anti thought interacting with you was like trying to have a conversation with a parrot. I don't think you're worth having a conversation with at all...a parrot would be a more mature option)

Poirot,

Thank you for your pools of wisdom, shallow and stagnant though they may be.

Now, perhaps we can get back to the issues ? Or don't women's rights mean much to you ?

Oh, of course, you're on the reactionary Left, so the answer is 'No, there are more important things, like culture'.

Cheers :)

Joe

For anyone who's interested.

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4771966.html

Also, you may like to look up the work of Dr Vandana Shiva in India.

http://www.navdanya.org/about-us/from-the-founder

Navdanya's mission....pertinent to women in traditional societies the world over.

http://www.navdanya.org/about-us/mission

I'll just add, Joe, that I've come to the conclusion that it's pretty well pointless to try an engage you in a serious sharing of views.

You prance around with your holier-than-thou platitudes regarding women's welfare, but at the first instance that someone makes a pertinent point in opposition to your views, then you get personal.

All of sudden I'm relegated to being "a friend of the Taliban" or someone to whom women's rights, their safety and well-being means nothing - to name merely two instances where your tactic is to unfairly personalise the debate employing through-away insult.

If our debates were boxing matches, then they would see you pulling hair, biting ears and directing many kicks below the belt. Pretty soon people would know that you don't play fair...and they wouldn't bother with you anymore

Navdanya is certainly a worthy cause, no doubt about it.

Poirot, your Unleashed article on the spectrum of feminism around the world inevitably had many good points. I'm a little unsure where a defense of Peter Slipper might fit on that continuum, or a cosy friendship with Kyle Sandilands, or an attack on blue ties, or laws against people - sorry, men - looking at their watches.

Now, back to topic: there is an interesting article in the Australian's Magazine section, a review of a tiny book by Pascal Bruckner, on love and marriage, and how freely-chosen marriage is becoming a touchstone in Arab and other countries, as a counter to arranged marriages and honor killings, especially in countries under the thumb of the religion of peace.

Well worth reading.

Joe