Hello Individual,

When I decided to go vegetarian as a high school project (when I was at a private Christian school) my parents hated the idea, threw a plate a meat in front of me and demanded I eat it - in which I said no - and one of my parents worked in a leather factory and previously a meatworks.

When I've mentioned it - many people have found this very strange.

However, its the best thing I have ever done - and do you know what PC means for me? "Personal choice" and I love it in a free democratic country!

P.S I'm not going to put into a box by the media - I'm just going to be myself.

Look at the good things about yourself and be yourself - and try to work well with other people - there's lots of good people out there of all types.

Dear Banjo,

My nephew while studying in Lismore went to the
aid of a female student on campus. He was beaten
to a pulp by young thugs and ended up in a coma
and a plate in his head. He has been brain-
damaged and will never be normal
again. And his assailants were not Muslims.

You talk about Imamms marrying under-age girls.
Of course that should not be tolerated. And
we need stronger laws. But
what about the child sexual abuse by our churches
that is currently being looked into by The Royal
Commission. How much damage have they done over
the years - and condoned it, moving priests
from parish to parish to do the damage all over
again - with the churches protecting them.

We can always look for the evils in this world
amongst all groups. I'm not by any means trying to
excuse this kind of behaviour - simply asking for
a balance. Bad people do bad things - and of course
we need to have stronger laws. In the Cowan case -
with the murder of little Daniel Morecombe - I would
not have hesitated to give that creature the
death penalty. I can't even begin to imagine what his
parents and family have been through. And hopefully
this pedophile will never see the light outside of
prison ever.

cont'd ...

Dear Banjo,

You ask what "alien" practices should we accept in this
country? Therein lies the problem. Your entire premise
is wrong. I see things in a totally different light
to you - obviously. Immigration has always been an
important element in Australia's nation building.
We have integrated millions of people from different
backgrounds from over 200 countries and we have drawn
from them to build a successful nation. Just to remind
you that more than 100,000 migrants from 30 different
countries worked on the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a huge
hydro-electric power generating project in the
Australian Alps. The project took 25 years to complete
from 1949 until 1974.

I look upon immigrants as people who want to come to this
country to make a contribution. And I don't view anybody
as an "alien," because I believe that our civic values
include respect for the equal worth, dignity and freedom
of every individual, religious tolerance and so on.
I believe in living out these values in everyday life,
and in local communities. I believe we need programs
to educate newcomers for an overriding commitment to
Australia. And the different experiences we bring with
our different backgrounds and cultures can all serve to
enrich that shared commitment. As I've stated previously
so many times - Australia's different cultures are a
strength which makes for a dynamic society - but of course
this must be within a framework of our laws - all
Australians have the right to express their culture and
beliefs.

I can't make it any clearer for you.

Hi there FOXY...

Bad people do bad thing all the time ! Whether or not they're Christian, Muslims or whoever. Evil has no boundaries, nor does Good.

I don't think the issue under discussion herein, is a question of good or bad. Rather whether or not Islam is compatible with Christianity or to be more precise, is it compatible with our unique Australian way of life, as we now know it ?

It's my profound belief, the recent Islamic arrivals, post the War in 'The Lebanon', ARE NOT compatible nor reconcilable even congruent with the Australian way of life, or our culture as it exists here today.

Of course, there are always exceptions to this. I have no doubt whatsoever, there are Muslim Men and Women who lead highly productive and contributory lifestyles here in Australia. Yet still faithfully practice their religion, together with their own particular mores and customs, all without conflicting with any other Faiths or Denominations, or with any other opposing Nationalities.

Dear Nathan,

<<Yes 'Yuyutsu' they put their life on the line - but would I have wanted them to die? No - or I would not be here today.>>

I am glad your family members made it and that you are here now among us.

Let me assure you that I don't like it when someone drowns. It's only that if we start actively rescuing everyone who comes, then there will be hundreds of millions of them coming and we cannot afford it. Let me also assure you that my approach has nothing to do with race and/or culture, but only with the sheer numbers.

The government's alternative (including previous governments) is to incarcerate people, even families with children - this I find unacceptable, even if it happens to work. Obviously not everyone can come, or we would be packed here like sardines, so I rather have nature itself and its great ocean do what's needed, rather than my own hands.

I have stopped commenting on this thread as I find it intimidating. I am not surprised that Belly sadly left - I will miss him. I do believe or at least hope that the Nazi attitudes expressed by some members here is not representative of greater Australia.

Foxy,
The Imam referred to apparently was an authorized marriage celebrant. This being so he would be well aware of our laws regarding marriage. Such a light penalty is an insult to our society. Hope there are other grounds for his deportation.

I relation to the other matters, we have more than enough social and cultural issues without importing more from people whose grouping has shown they have nothing but contempt for us.

I have always advocated the death penalty for heinous crimes where there is no doubt about guilt. Anita Coby, Mrs Morse, Colins and another girl near the Vic border, on the coast, all come to mind, and there are more. The death penalty will not bring Daniel Morecombe back but it does guarantee no repeat offences.

Again you get onto the contribution of migrants, which I have acknowledged. I was a kid when the SM scheme was being built. We were well aware of it and touring the area I can really appreciate and marvel at how they did it.

With the overwhelming success of the post war immigration, there was no need for the trendy multicultural ideology that was imposed. We had education and language programs in existence. No, MC was to promote ethnic cultures without any gain for us and all governments have continued it. I think they feel they are courting the ethnic vote, but many older migrants I know are resentful of the migrants today. No similarity to the conditions of your parents era.

I do not agree with your talk of 'diversity' and 'enrichment', I need to see practical gains for all the funds spent and that is not there.
I still think we should not burden ourselves more by allowing in those groups that have shown us they resent our society and believe their culture overrides our social norms. Even Sydney soccer brought out ethnic violence and team names had to be changed.

I do not mind us being multi-racial, but multicultural never, we have too much diversity now.