Advice for Senator Conroy on freedom of expression

I was watching "Insight" on SBS last night and then went online later to look at the discussion.
There were some very good points made, but I really got a chuckle out of this!

Artistic Expression

When the musical 'Hair' was released in 1968 it was the subject of intense debate. In Australia there were threats of official sanction, and in New Zealand the actors were arrested and tried. Senator Conroy, you are reaping the benefits gained by the eventual acceptance of that musical. You can only get away with your exceptional haircut because of the boundaries that those brave thespians crossed. Please remember that the next time you ask your hairdresser for 'the usual'.

Maudie's Ex

Yamba

Guest Speak is a North Coast Voices segment allowing serious or satirical comment from NSW Northern Rivers residents. Email ncvguestpeak at live dot com dot au to submit comment for consideration.

A little pre-emptive tit for tat......

Click image to enlarge

Good morning, Mr. Rudd....

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Religion shows its ugly side in the Clarence Valley

On 24th March a 73 year-old scripture teacher was removed from the Year 6 class room of a Grafton public school after she informed children that the 2009 Victorian bushfires were God's punishment for that state decriminalising abortion.
Shades of Danny Naylor!
According to Monday's The Daily Examiner a spokesperson for the Clarence Valley Ministers' Fraternal (who train these religious educators) described the incident as "a slip of the tongue".
Yeah, a slip that was so-oo long that calling it that is pure spin.
What this incident shows is that religious instruction has no place within a secular public school curriculum.

On the Internet you are never [#%**?] safe

President of the Australian Labor Party (Queensland) and state secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union is reported to be taking a certain unlovely name and shame website to court alleging defamation and supposedly asking for $600,000 in damages.

It seems that the website might have been used by guests to further some very bitter union infighting.

Apart from an article in The Courier Mail nothing much had surfaced about this little dog fight until Wikileaks published this week.
Now the entire world has a fair idea what the complaint is about, courtesy of documents with lots of [#%**?] and considerable legal correspondence from Carne Reidy Herd (a generous political donor to Queensland Labor in the past) which developed earlier in the year.

When are prominent people going to learn that softly, softly is a much better approach when requesting uncomfortable comments be removed from websites if that is their legitimate desire?

G20 in London, March 2009: words in pictures

Montage by Stephen Hird

Who knew Helen Liu? The Mata Hari furphy

Who knew Helen Liu?
Everyone it seems.
Who really cares?
Only Tony Abbott and Co.

Abbott was in full spate on Meet the Press last Sunday:
"I think there's absolutely no doubt that John Howard in his first term would have sacked a minister who had been as inept as this. Absolutely no doubt but look, I think there are also questions for Kevin Rudd. What's the extent of his relationship with Helen Liu? And if he does have the kind of extensive relationship with Ms Liu that it seems he might, given the reports in today's paper, perhaps he should be fronting up to this Commission of Inquiry which is currently looking in to the whole question of Joel Fitzgibbon and these disclosures."

Now if Tones the Terrible really wants to worry about something coming out of China he can try this widespread 'spying' on for size.
If what appears to be a group of teens high on big brother's alcopops could hack an Aussie government website last week, it's odds on that Australia was caught by this particular covert international digital information gathering operation which entered over a thousand computers in 103 countries and close to 30% of these were considered "high-value diplomatic, political, economic and military targets".