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[Max White]

Ladies and gentlemen, the ACT has done it! Gay marriage has been declared legal there. Well kind of, to avoid legal hellfire from a federal level they made a different sort of marriage that is still called a marriage, receives any and all legal rights a marriage gets (Unlike the civil unions setup) but it technically in a very lawyer sense a different thing than traditional marriage, therefor not redefining anything federal.

Still expecting some sort of challenge from the Coalition, but they have done all the water proofing possible.

[Frumple]

Sounds more like all but name.

[Max White]

It is identical in both rights and name, but slightly different in legal structure.
The original proposal involved redefining the federal definition, and on somewhat shaky legal grounds. The law passed doesn't actually change anything about the definition of marriage, it just adds another possible definition to choose from. Kind of like finding two definitions in a dictionary, rather than changing the original entry. It is still a marriage in name, just a slightly different breed.

EDIT: Yep, the Coalition has asked for a high court challenge. Its on.
Right now Joe Hockey is on tv talking about the debt, I'm assuming as a smoke screen. Better to talk about how much damage Labor did than to talk about a controversial issue.

[smirk]

Ha! Clever. Guess I'll hafta watch and see how this pans out. Also, it might get some resistance from the pro-gay-marriage side simply because it's still technically segregated. Sounds a bit too "separate but equal" for my biased US ears 0_o

[Max White]

Eh, people seem pretty happy so far.

In other news, the UN climate chief has linked the current bushfires to global warming. Well that puts some egg on Abbots face. As much as I don't think the fires should become political capital this is a pretty interesting opportunity for the Greens, assuming they can actually overcome the incorrect perception that they are against fuel reduction.

[Darvi]

Somehow my mind did some crazy jumps: Abbot denies global warming; global warming causes fires>Abbot conspiracing to spread the fires>Abbot running around the bush spreading petrol.

Wait did I say crazy jumps? I meant logical conclusions.

[Max White]

It's funny because Abbot actually has a history of running around the bush spreading petrol and lighting things on fire.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

He was a fire fighter, would have done hazard reduction burns. 

[Jimmy]

It's amusing the "war on bikies" in Queensland gets so little attention. For the uninformed, here's the bullet points.

• Bikies have been targetted by Queensland lawmakers due to a small number of bikies causing a public disturbance on the Gold Coast.
• Bikies found to have committed a crime will have an extra mandatory 15 years of jail time added on top of any sentence, regardless of their crime.
• Bikies holding an office within their group found to have committed a crime will have an extra mandatory 25 years of jail time added on top of any sentence, regardless of their crime.
• Bikies cannot refuse to give evidence to the police about their companions, and face additional mandatory jail time for doing so.
• Bikies will have new prisons made for them with 23 hour per day solitary cell detention and no rehabilitation.
• Bikies have been targeted by police with orders to stop and search them, regardless of suspicion.
• Bikies are banned from gathering in public in groups of three or more.
• Bikies are banned from owning tattoo parlors.
• Bikies are banned from their clubhouses.
• Bikies are banned from hotels.
• Bikies are banned from promoting their organization.
• Bikies will have their transport seized and crushed for doing any of the above.

Anyone here think this is a good idea?

Here's an interesting thought experiment: Replace the word "Bikie" in the list above with the word "Muslim."

[Max White]

Bikies is a bit of a misleading term. These laws don't target people with moterbikes, you can be part of a bike club and none of these laws will apply to you. The term that should be used is drug rings. Although I will say it is possible that 'bike gangs' are being punished worse than other drug syndicates, but I can't say that with any absolution.

All in all they are looking draconian, but not a subject I have done much reading on.

[Sheb]

Who does the law actually target, like, what are the exact conditions for that extra sentence?

[Max White]

Who does the law actually target, like, what are the exact conditions for that extra sentence?

That is a wonderful and somewhat tricky to answer question.
The answer seems to be who ever we feel like, and by we I mean some process to figure it out. You can see why some people are uncomfortable with this...

Anyway, apparently Abbott is more of a denialist than even Howard was! Article from 2006 showing that even now liberal ex-prime minister Howard was open to the idea that climate affects fires... So things are even worse now. Great, full of hope for the future!

[Max White]

Old news, but I found out today.

Spoiler: Unsavory image (click to show/hide)

The man in that image is the honorable Robert Borsak, representative of the Shooters and Fishers party, member of the NSW legislative counsel, and safari hunter. This man has a say in how NSW is governed, including laws relating to gun ownership and licensing, hunting practices and the management of national parks. This man is paid to represent my best interests, and will continue to be until the year 2015.


I'm sorry I just really needed to vent that little bit of rage. Fuck at this rate I'm thinking of running next state legislative election because even with my total lack of experience and general ignorance as to what the fuck I would be doing, I'm sure I would be considerably more suited to the job than the oafs running it right now.

[Jimmy]

Forget it. Politics, if Clive Palmer has shown us anything, is a rich man's game designed to reward you not for what you know, but who you know.

[Max White]

Were it any different I'm sure town planners would be working on Turing right now... 

[alexandertnt]

honorable Robert Borsak

To avoid a long-ish post, I can sum up my feeling about him with one word.

"Abhorrent"

honorable? honorable?!?!?!


Maby we can start the "Anti-Shooters and Fishers party". Hell, there was an "Anti-Green" party.