Are we waiting for a financial saviour?
By Stuart Fairbairn - Lesmurdie, WA
I find it interesting that with all the hype over previous rate reductions, this month's quite substantial change has been received with a rather more subdued response from both the media and the market. Has the economic situation sunk to the point where we simply do not accept what the Reserve Bank is doing to shore up the problem? Are we sitting back with bated breath to see what is going to be the next saviour of the economy?
Whatever happens, think back just a few months to the point where the economy (at least in Western Australia where I am) seemed to going from strength to strength, and wonder why "internationalism" and "one world" has not worked. Maybe it is time to become just a little insular (the USA did this after the "great depression" and then made a fortune when the rest of the world sunk into WWII - and they profited for decades after thanks to "lend lease").
Think about it!
The $44 million blindfold
Why are people who are for the currently proposed mandatory internet filter ignoring all the paid professionals? Industry experts have all more or less agreed that the current technology is insufficient for doing what they want. If I were to step onto a tennis court against Roger Federer, I would not expect to win. He is a professional and I play tennis on the Wii. So why are we even listening to these moral crusaders who have no background or experience in the technology they claim will magically fix all our social problems? They are not qualified to speak on such matters. This is like a palaeontologist telling cardiologists how to do their job.
The point I find most abhorrent is that these people claim that blocking child pornography on the net would "save the children". Too bad for the children who have already been abused and whose images are being traded. Too bad for the future victims of child abuse, but it is OK, Australians are going to have a $44 million blindfold forced on us so we cannot see it.
I would rather the Government gave that $44 million to law enforcement bodies so they can catch and put away those monsters who commit the crime in the first place. And by doing so, hopefully the children can be saved.
Niko Camara - Camberwell, VicAuthorities partly to blame for Mumbai tragedy
The Mumbai tragedy has many facets that led to this terrible incident. The state governments and the police force have got to shoulder a lot of the blame. Instead of concentrating on national security they have been involved in creating and blessing communal violence. In Gujarat, Hindus were encouraged to kill Muslims. In Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala, Hindus were encouraged to kill Christians and burn down their churches. In Maharashtra, the Shiv Senas were encouraged to kill Biharis and enforce a name change of Mumbai over Bombay. The Central Government, for fear of loosing popularity, was turning a blind eye. On a wink and a nod from the police force and politicians, forces of evil were let loose.
With all this turmoil happening, no one was paying attention to the intelligence reports that were filtering through and when the wolf really appeared, everyone was ill prepared to deal with the situation. The police force was not trained to deal with it because in all previous incidents they were used to playing a silent spectator's role. The politicians too did not have a clue as to how to deal with the problem because they had never organised or been involved in a security drill. The innocent public were bystanders in droves watching the incident unfold like a movie shoot.
It is time that the politicians took stock and treated every Indian alike, whether they be, Hindu, Christian or Muslim. The actions on the street are contrary to that of the constitution. The father of the nation is paying a heavy price in having sought freedom. The freedom that he envisaged is yet to materialise.
Winston D'Cruz - Keysborough, VicISP filtering won't protect children
Clive Hamilton's recent piece in the Opinion section of ABC News Online starts with "Don't try and tell me what I can and can't do on the internet" - asserting that the statement is typical of the attitude driving resistance to mandatory ISP level filtering. Clive is incorrect.
The push against mandatory ISP level censorship is one that is spearheaded by online civil rights groups such as Electronic Frontiers Australia. Contrary to Clive's apparent assertion, groups such as these are not populated by libertines who are enraged that their unfettered access to child abuse material is at risk of being taken away. These organisations are populated by parents and children, Liberal voters and Labor voters, technologists, lawyers, students and the unemployed. All of us have one thing in common however, we understand that the proposed Government filtering will do nothing to protect children and will cement Australia firmly at the bottom of the world in terms of Internet stability and speed.
Talk of radical individualism is specious when it comes from filtering advocates. It's designed to describe opponents as selfish and conjures the image of "Somebody think of the children!". Advocates of this position are encouraging us further to think of filter critics as gluttons for whom the removal of the feast of dangerous habits on the Internet would be unthinkable.
Clive states that "We know that parents are extremely concerned and feel overwhelmed by the pressure on them to regulate their children's access to this type of material", and I suppose to some extent it makes sense. Parents should be concerned about their children, it's largely what keeps them alive and well until they are adults themselves. The argument that this is support for mandatory filtering however is simply silly. Clive's source for his statements regarding parental concern is likely to be the five-year-old Australia Institute commissioned Newspoll that found that over 80 per cent of parents support the notion of an optional filter against pornography. He doesn't provide a source for the notion that parenting is overwhelming.
Geordie Guy - Waverton, NSWFilter will help porn industry victims
I will totally support the Government imposing a filter on the internet to try and stop some porn.
Maybe it's true that there are programs to beat the filter.
The most important thing here is that we as a nation are seen to be trying to do the right thing and the right thing to do here is to try and help some of the victims of the porn industry.
If you are desperate for your porn fix I am sure you will look for ways around the filter, but for those who innocently stumble over a porn site it will be a blessing.
I applaud the Government for trying to do the right thing - we should never stop trying to do what is right.
Craig Robson - Surrey Hills, VicShared cycleways are not the solution
A couple of points regarding the Harold Scruby piece on risks to pedestrians using shared cycleways. Firstly, these facilities are usually constructed using funds set aside for cycling facilities. It is reasonable to expect that they are fit for purpose i.e. to be cycled on at bike speed, not walking pace.
Secondly, if a cyclist is to be persuaded off the road and onto a cycleway then the facility must be of a good enough standard to permit a journey time not much worse than the road.
In summary, then - Harold's got a point, but possibly not quite the whole point. Shared cycleways are not an adequate solution; government - including councils - need to do their job properly. They must either make every road (and road user) safe for cyclists or build alternative cycling facilities that are also safe.
Martin Geliot - Faulconbridge, NSWDon't forget the Iraqi civilian toll
I've just read the news story about Bush's intelligence "failure" in Iraq. You mention the deaths of 4,000 US service personnel as one of the costs of the invasion. ... My main concern is that nowhere in your news report do you mention the deaths of a million Iraqi citizens as a consequence of the attack upon Iraq, deaths directly attributable under the Geneva Conventions as the responsibility of the occupying power, the US.
Those million deaths are not hyperbole. There are the Lancet studies, those by the respected UK polling agency Opinion Research Business (ORB) and, more recently, a conservative study conducted by the WHO and backed by the Iraqi Government that determined that at least 200,000 collateral civilian deaths occurred. However one wishes to assess these figures, two clear facts remain: (1) the large numbers of Iraqi deaths make a mockery of Western concerns over 4,000 dead US personnel; and (2) Western countries and media refuse to come to terms with the fact that egregious war crimes have been committed against the Iraqi nation and people.
We have learned not to stand silent when Jews are being loaded into cattle trucks. Respectfully, a million Iraq dead civilians deserve an honest mention from the ABC, don't you think? The insidious racism that permits us to kill people on the say so of people in blue suits should be well behind us. There were a million Iraqi dead, ABC, killed as certainly as if Bush and his cohort had shot them in the street personally. They sure as hell deserve a mention in your news reports.
Damien Haining - Culcairn, NSWSelf-supporting retirees suffering under rates cut
We were told that the recession was caused by the banks giving loans to people who obviously could not repay it. Now by reducing interest rates you encourage the same thing and the government is helping banks by guaranties to do the same things. Giving money to car manufacturers for mismanaging their business, helping pensioners whose majority should have saved for their retirement. The only people who do not get any help are the self-supporting retirees, who have worked hard and saved and now live on the interest of their savings. Now that the interest rate is low it is time that tax on saving interest should be abolished, which will not only help the self-supporting retirees but will encourage people to save.
Michael Kennedy - Vaucluse, NSWNo surprise Govt stores doing well
I am weary of reporting that does not seem to ask searching questions. For instance, the continual reporting (in reference to the NT Intervention) of how shopping for food has increased at stores taken over by the Government (called 'Outback Stores').
Of course more food is bought at a certain shop if that is the only shop where you can use your store card (now called BasicsCard).
Choice is now limited and where people previously were able to shop at alternative shops or go to their station or other community store, half and sometimes all of a person's money is now channelled into one outlet.
Store managers will talk up their success: after all they want to keep their lucrative jobs with the Government.
Marlene Hodder - Alice Springs, NTSearch for news
Have Your Say
Write to us and we will publish selected emails. Contact us.
In Brief
The operation carried out by Dr David Nott in DR Congo deserves wide coverage. The operation was extremely difficult, even with all facilities and was carried out in an area of warfare and very limited support. Dr Nott had to carry out the procedure by following SMS instructions.
The fact that he did this, despite the adverse conditions, shows that good can, and is, being carried out in the world today. Perhaps more coverage of good, rather than sensational, usually bad, would help to correct the imbalance in people's thinking. Yes, bad is being done, and will always be, but to have people thinking that bad is more likely to happen to them than good has turned populations into fearful, and therefore malleable by politicians, beings.
Valerie Craig - Orange, NSWIt is not good news for seniors that the interest rates have been reduced again; my income has dropped by 50 per cent and I'm going to have to sell my property to retain any sort of income level. Those on a fixed income are spenders who have saved for their retirement and are now in great financial pain.
Betty Skinner - South Perth, WAIt is clear India is under attack - but where the killers came from is unclear. Rather than accuse the Pakistani Government, Indian officials need to work with it in order to destroy these murderous extremists as quickly as possible.
Luke Weyland - Strathfield, NSWBarack Obama consults with Harvard professors. The Australian Government consults with hairdressers. I didn't realise Australia had such a skills shortage! I better come home quickly.
Marianne Hartmanis - Cape Town, South AfricaBen Cousins has an illness that he is working through and we should support that and wish him well.
Jane Allen - Brisbane, QldThank you, Senator Evans, for showing common sense and decency and compassion, in your decision to grant a permanent visa to Dr Moeller and his family. Time now to brief the case officers of the department on using the same criteria when making their decisions.
Cathie Bond - Queenscliff, Vic
