text:
Politics without principles
The relationship between political principles and action is always inexact, but the current asylum seeker/boat arrival debate has had the moral compass spinning like a gyroscope.
Julia Gillard has been fighting for the principle of... well... ummmm... let's see. It moves a little, it began as a howl of outrage at the turpitude of the Howard government. Since then it's become more limited and the principle now seems to be the need to avoid exposing people to the risk of drowning. Well, says the Opposition, there was nobody drowning once the Pacific solution kicked in, because there was nobody coming.
Tony Abbot has been fighting for the principle that any person sent from Australia should only be sent to a country which is a signatory to the United Nations refugee convention. But, the Government responds, you are prepared to intercept and turn around boats, directing people to Indonesia, a non-signatory.
Those boats are not in Australia, argues the shadow attorney-general, Senator George Brandis, they are, potentially, being turned around by Australia, not from Australia. A fine moral point pivoting on a single preposition.
The moral complexities of the Opposition case do not end there. Where was the concern about people being sent to non-signatories when Australia, under John Howard, was sending people to Nauru, which is just now signing up to the UN convention? In fact Immigration spokesman Scott Morrison was until relatively recently declaring that not being a signatory to the UN convention was not an issue for the Coalition.
So, pointing to the contradictions in the Opposition case, Julia Gillard unfurls Labor's 'Offshore to Malaysia' banner. But not everyone in the ALP salutes, far from it. The Left points despondently to the Party Platform - that revered but often ignored document - which insists on onshore processing.
So in this new moral universe Tony Abbott stands shoulder to shoulder with, let's see, Bob Brown and the Labor Left. Not that the Left will be physically joining the Opposition for a vote in Parliament, their dissent with Labor's majority Right and their defence of the party platform extends to the Caucus debate but no further.
But, in Parliament with his new found friends, the Greens, Tony Abbott will carry the day. The result will be the end of offshore processing, which both Government and Opposition are united in supporting.
How did Tony Abbott come to this unlikely place. Julia Gillard says, sheer political self-interest. He saw the possibility that the Malaysia people swap would work and that would be the end of the policy gift that just keeps on giving for the Opposition. So they ignored the advice of the Immigration Department experts who said that while Nauru might have been effective in the past it would not work again. What works, according to those experts, is turning around the boats and because you can't do that now, Indonesia won't accept them, you effectively do it by sending the arrivals straight back to Malaysia.
The Opposition simply says we did it before with Nauru and temporary protection visas and we'll do it again.
Beyond the issue of boats the relationship between political principle and action is not much clearer. The Prime Minister used a weekend speech at Old Parliament House to again try to define Gillard Labor. She placed the current Government in a declared Labor tradition of collective action, with a new twist. "Today our ethos of collective action must respond to individual needs and demands for choice and control... For a long time our great movement believed that the highest aspiration of working people was for a decent job. Now we understand it can be to run a decent small business."
By the way, in these days of swinging voters and portable loyalties, "small business" is one of the few clear demographic groups which is solidly for the Coalition.
But the latest definition of Gillard Labor stands with previous ones in which the Prime Minister declared she was in favour of education and hard work. All things to all people is the approach when broad principles are declared and there is almost nothing the Prime Minister states at that general level that Tony Abbott would not endorse.
And when it gets down to the fine print, the role of principles is much harder to follow. Julia Gillard has taken the biggest public hammering over her support of a carbon tax. A tough policy, a hard sell, particularly as she opposed the tax until the Greens required its adoption as the price of holding onto Government. Fighting and dying for another party's policy is a heroism of a very special kind.
Tony Abbott's principles sometimes seem clearer, he is against the carbon tax and the boats. But even staying with those negative propositions, the boats debate has already taken him into the more troubled moral waters as detailed above. And on the carbon tax, and the mining tax, when they are linked to a bold declaration that "Taxes will always be lower under a Coalition government!" he is just plain wrong. Julia Gillard pointed out in Parliament, again, last week that the Howard government was the highest taxing in Australia's history when its tax take peaked at 24.1 per cent of GDP, compared with 21.8 per cent now under Labor.
Tony Abbott has been reported as declaring that in any choice between political principle and pragmatism he'll go for the pragmatic option. And he is far from alone in that.
Marius Benson has been a journalist since the dismissal days of the Whitlam government in 1975, and has interviewed every Australian prime minister from John Gorton to Kevin Rudd.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, parliament, federal-parliament, australia
First posted
Comments (129)
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20 Sep 2011 3:58:28pm
Wise man say:
"When you tell a man to buy a moral compass, you really want him to borrow yours"
21 Sep 2011 7:38:38am
very wise Ha ha !
On the ABC last night Abbott tried to use father frank brennan as a supporter of the LNP policy on turning the baots around.
father Brennan is also the same person in late 2010 who said that Tont abbott's own personal morality would not hold him back from putting the most vulnerable in the spotlight if he thought he would gain political advantage for himself and the LNP"
and ain't that the gosphol truth.
Spin Baby, Spin:
20 Sep 2011 3:58:46pm
Such a shame Gillard disregarded Immigration Department advice when implementing the Labor Party policy which encouraged the boats to come again. Now she's complaining Abbott's disregarding Immigration Department advice and it's all his fault the boats will continue to come. Pot. Kettle. Black.
Why not just re-introduce what worked and MOVE FORWARD? This is the year of decision and delivery...
20 Sep 2011 4:26:15pm
Advice is nauru is now too expensive,and times have changed as smugglers know that people sent to nauru end up here anyway.
The malaysian solution has not been tried as it has always been blocked,think abbott knows it will stop the boats ,and he would have to shut up.
by not supporting offshore amendmnt abbott is prostituting his own policy.
20 Sep 2011 7:25:11pm
naura 2 expensive ? I'll like to see why the goverment reckons reopening it will cost 1 billion dollars.
I actually think malaysia would work - why pay $10k - 15K to go from malaysia down to oz, when there is a very good risk that u will send on a plane straight back to malaysia.
but the libs cant admit that, so they shot down gillard since they can. Not that I expect labor to have done any difference if gillard was opposition leader, and abbot running the show
20 Sep 2011 7:58:59pm
Well, one of the reasons that we have this problem now is that the Labor Party, and Kim Beazley, gave Howard his head in a (frightened) show of bipartisanship.
It is Howard's Law that has not passed the scrutiny of the High Court now. Beazley, The Labor Party and the refugee advocates should have challenged the Immigration Act in Parliament, and the High Court, after Tampa.
21 Sep 2011 6:13:27am
Not that I disagree with the overall point, but I think you've forgotten the timeline somewhat. The 2001 election occurred within a few months of the Tampa arriving. Beazley and Labor rejected Howard's first act which would have permitted the boarding of boats and use of lethal force without even the possibility of judicial review. They supported the second act which is what we ended up with and there was an election called within weeks after that.
There wasn't really a great deal of time for anyone to take anything to the courts - by the time they might have, Beazley certainly was no longer Labor Leader and Julia Gillard had been appointed Shadow Minister for Immigration...
Devil's Advocate:
21 Sep 2011 8:48:45am
The law has passed the scrutiny of the High Court, it is the government's use of it that has not. Please don't blame the incompetence of this government on the previous.
21 Sep 2011 7:41:08am
Malaysia wont work.
The People smugglers will flood Australia with 800 people from Malaysia who will now get special treatment under the new agreement.
Then its bussiness as usual.
800 is a handful of boats, it needs to apply to all people coming via boats to work.
Only 43% of people sent to Nauru made it to Australia, some were resettled on other countries the rest return home.
The Pacific solution worked and worked well.
Drum Major:
21 Sep 2011 9:47:20am
Although it would be interesting to see how they would manage to get that first 800 to part with their money and get on a boat, knowing that they would be sent to Malaysia ... which I think is the point of the plan ... but I still don't agree with it, even if I get its logic.
21 Sep 2011 1:25:54pm
The Pacific Solution worked for who?
For the politicians not for the refugees.
If the objective is to see which political group is the most heartless then this discussion is heading the right direction.
If the objective is to look after the interests of refugees then JG & co. and TA & co. need a rethink.
Its about time people except we are all human and live on planet earth, which stretches far beyond the Australian coastline, and as humans, so do our responsibilities.
Spin Baby, Spin:
20 Sep 2011 8:01:50pm
Agree Naru will not work on its own, but it will with TPV's... PM has of course asked for "advice" that does not take account of TPV's. Spin, Spin, Spin...
20 Sep 2011 8:03:09pm
Well the declining 26 per cent are still trying to find good in bad policy. If Nauru was bad it would have been contested in the high court. It stopped the boats and more importantly saved peoples lives from drowning. If the current PM wants off-shore processing then bring back the pacific solution and stop blaming the Libs for all your mistakes.
20 Sep 2011 4:44:01pm
There was no previous solution that actually worked.
Nauru was a failure itself, Christ mas island was only marginally better.
We need at formulate an effective solution, and the Malaysian solution was getting awful close, so close that the opposition are afraid of it.
20 Sep 2011 7:06:53pm
Rubbish Bob.
The three part approach of turn the boats around, TPVs and Offshore processing clearly broke the People Smugglers business model in 2001. Anybody who fails to acknowledge this looses all credibility in the face of the facts.
But the world has changed in so many ways since this time, not least of which is other developed countries have significantly tightened their Asylum policies and most developed countries have also gone into deep recessions which put into question the benefit of moving to these countries.
Australia and possible Canada now clearly stand out as the preferred people smuggling targets.
I strongly suspect that the policies employed in 2001 on their own will no longer work. I think potential refugees will now be willing to pay the price and take their chances.
I also strongly suspect that the Malaysian solution by itself will not work. It is only limited to 800 people.
But a combination of the two might just stop the boats.
20 Sep 2011 9:41:46pm
At the risk of "losing my credibility" (in your eyes), offshore processing etc did not clearly break the business model. While it is possible it did reduce numbers to an extent, the proportion of refugees seeking asylum in Aus Australia roughly matches the worldwide pattern before, and after the Pacific "solution". Far from an open and shut case.
Spin Baby, Spin:
20 Sep 2011 8:02:59pm
Personally, I'd be happy with onshore processing and TPV's for those that arrive without an appropriate visa...
21 Sep 2011 1:28:57pm
Good thing you can show consideration for the people in less fortunate situations.
20 Sep 2011 4:55:05pm
What worked in the past wasn't processing in Narua, it was Howard getting the navy to tow back refugee boats to Indonesia. This was the single biggest message sent to refugees about the people smugglers i.e. that they couldnt guarantee re-settlement in Australia. Unfortunatley that strategy won't work today because the refugees will simply take an axe to the hull of the ship.
For my part I am not a fan of offshore processing but I can see the issue of going onshore. Here's an idea, if you can't break the people smuggler's model, why not take away their customers. Increase the number of UNHCR assessed refugees that Australia currently takes from Malaysia etc to 20,000 a year...we're big enough to take that sort of number. If you increase the chances of them coming to Australia without having to pay $10,000 and hop on a leaky boat, i know what I would do.
20 Sep 2011 6:31:43pm
So in other words give preference to people who are willing to pay crimninals to arrive in AUstralia as opposed to thoes whom are stuck waiting in a UN camp?
Why not put each boat person in a UN camp, pay for three peoples procssing and take back two to Australia. This means the UN is not 1c out of pocket not matter how you look at it and refuguees get treated in a UN camp. If the UN can not hod its own standards why should it demands its standards on us?
silver fox:
20 Sep 2011 6:48:35pm
Your idea won't work.
20,000 is a drop in the ocean.
Country Bumpkin:
20 Sep 2011 6:55:50pm
"Increase the number of UNHCR assessed refugees that Australia currently takes from Malaysia etc to 20,000 a year...we're big enough to take that sort of number. "
We might be big enough, but the idiots in charge can't provide adequate infrastructure or services for those living here already. How do you think we'll support the numbers you're suggesting?
20 Sep 2011 7:29:00pm
there the clarke and dawes version on a recent 7.30 report where we offered a free trip to oz. Do it once every week, month, or whatever.
thst would stop the people smugglars. but the goverment wont do it
Monica's wicked stepmother:
20 Sep 2011 5:24:19pm
I'm not an apologist for Julia Gillard, but it was Kevin Rudd who was Prime Minister when he stopped processing on Nauru.
Spin Baby, Spin:
20 Sep 2011 8:04:41pm
It was Gillard's boat people policy that Rudd implemented though...
20 Sep 2011 6:53:54pm
The problem is "Monica's wicked stepmother", it is Gillard that forced the plan to open our boarders, just like she forced Rudd to drop the ETS.
21 Sep 2011 6:18:11am
Umm... this is flat-out wrong. Gillard has always been someone pushing for offshore processing in the Labor Party. It was Rudd who advocated a softer approach. Go look at the policies Gillard was pushing as Shadow Immigration Minister when Crean was Opposition Leader.
In fact you might recall the night before Rudd was forced out, when he addressed the media about the challenge, he promised that if he remained Prime Minister he would not be "lurching to the right" on the issue of asylum seekers, implying that it was Gillard who would. So far, Rudd has been proved right on that.
So basically, the opposite of what you said is true.
Just saying, like:
21 Sep 2011 8:23:34am
And Rudd dropped the ETS because the Coalition refused to support it and threatened a double dissolution. Instead of calling their bluff, Rudd backed away from the single greatest moral challenge of our time ...
20 Sep 2011 7:55:01pm
Well, let's all go back to what worked in the past.
Here is a start: Coal fires and chimney sweeps,
Leeches and poultices for medicinal use.
The penny post for communication.
Halfpennies and farthings.
School leaving age 13 years.
I could go on ...
If, and that's a big IF, the Nauru solution stopped the boats five years ago, it may not stop the boats now. Are we to spend $1 billion to find out? It seems more like MOVING BACK than MOVING FORWARD.
20 Sep 2011 8:36:57pm
What you dont understand is that nothing worked. The boats still came under the coalition. And as long as there is war and war criminals they will still come. The only way to stop the refugees is for the wars to stop or to make it worse here - ie treat them as a war criminal would. Although it would seem that the major parties might end up doing the right thing by accident and treat them like people and process them here instead. As Winston Churchill said of the Americans, "they eventually do the right thing after exhausting all other options."
20 Sep 2011 9:05:19pm
Interestingly, last week from the Pacific Forum in New Zealand Cambell Cooney reported on Tuesday and Thursday on ABC News Radio that the Nauru government had taken their own legal advice about the High Court decision and that advice was that as things stand Nauru would not be eligible for offshore processing.
RON the Amazed:
20 Sep 2011 4:01:08pm
"The Opposition simply says we did it before with Nauru and temporary protection visas and we'll do it again". We have Abbott squandering an opportunity to protect the borders from illegal arrivals despite the prospect of a future legal challenge in the High Court, despite contrary opinion from the Immigration Department that Nauru is bad and ineffective policy and despite the many researchers contesting the so called success of the $1billion Nauru solution. This is a hopeless Opposition with very bad policy that should not be supported. Abbott has joined the Greens and rolled out the red carpet. AMAZING!
20 Sep 2011 5:21:31pm
What is AMAZING is that Ms Gillard has known all along that if human rights are not protected under the proposed legislation, then no one will support it. Howard put certain provisions in place to ensure hr but Labor can't bring themselves to do it.
20 Sep 2011 8:15:02pm
All the evidence is that Gillard and Bowen did not expect to lose in the High Court.
The refugee advocates have made it clear that they will challenge Nauru and Manus Island in the High Court if the Immigration Act stays as is - i.e. the Howard version. And they may well win.
So if Tony Abbott becomes PM, the strategy of off-shore processing in Nauru may not be open to him without further legislation. He may win a majority in the House of Reps but Labor and the Greens will control the Senate. Considering that he has been intractable over Labor's Bill now, is it likely that a Labor Opposition in the future will "do a Beazley" for Abbott?
Abbott, of course, is not really concerned about the truth or national interest. He just wants to keep "stop the boats" simmering until the next election. Once he is PM he need not do anything. His media mates will just tell everyone that the problem has gone away. Pragmatism before policy. A pliable "Gospel Truth".
21 Sep 2011 6:21:31am
Really? Which provisions would those be? Since Nauru wasn't a convention signatory back when Howard was PM anymore than Malaysia is now?
This is just a lie being spread by Abbott to try to provide a smoke screen of moral credibility to his political gamesmanship. Remember that the Howard Government's FIRST post-Tampa legislation (blocked by Labor) involved allowing people to board asylum seeker boats and use lethal force without even the possibility of judicial review. Plenty of human rights being protected there.
20 Sep 2011 4:10:37pm
If you journo's and media would shut up about boat people for 5 mins maybe this issue wouldn't get so much attention.
Shut up shut up shut up about boat people. You guys are part of the problem. Get it out of the headlines off the TV and off the net now.
20 Sep 2011 4:37:22pm
Well they need(I mean the journos) to keep doing the job they hired to do, don't they Billy Joe? Otherwise how would they make a living and get promoted too:) It is all about looking after self interest after all, like the pollies themselves, and not about doing the the right thing it seems!
Marilyn Shepherd:
20 Sep 2011 4:42:03pm
Absolutely agree, they whine on and on and on about 7.5 people a day.
The babbling drives me nuts.
silver fox:
20 Sep 2011 6:54:03pm
7.5 - is that the number who drowned?
What about billions that have been spent - that is newsworthy.
What abot the millions of refugees heading for Europe etc, sounding a warning bell about how big this issue will get for Aust. That's newsworthy.
What about the shallowness of the politicians this issue exposes. That's newsworthy.
This IS important, and should be reported.
Just saying, like:
20 Sep 2011 7:28:00pm
The issue for Australia will never be the same as it is for European countries simply because we are so geographically isolated. Perhaps if we were facing even 25% of what Europe was facing we might need to think differently about what we should do, but all this palaver over a pitiful number of people who seek asylum after arriving on a boat is a disproportionate response to something that really is not that big a problem.
20 Sep 2011 9:00:40pm
The death rate for people smuggler assisted asylum seekers is 4%.(This was mentioned in a question during Question Time). For a point of comparison the death rate for live sheep exports is 0.15%
20 Sep 2011 7:31:03pm
7.5 doesnt sound like a lot, but i its costing us millions. Thats serious tax payers money being spend.
Done Now:
21 Sep 2011 8:08:34am
Only thanks to the irrational overreactions that have been put in place by a succession of opportunistic governments who are in turn egged on by the media. If it weren't for the insanely overblown attention the issue received (and the knee-jerk 'solutions' that cost billions) the whole problem could probably be solved simply, quietly and humanely for a tenth of the cost.
20 Sep 2011 5:24:05pm
I agree. Since boat people make up 1.25% of our immigration quota each year, can we limit articles on the issue to 1.25% of the Drum's articles so that this issue can be put in some sort of perspective please?
In this way we might be able to limit the number of articles where both the Coalition and Labor proudly flaunt their moral bankruptcy and political degeneracy.
20 Sep 2011 5:35:28pm
My sentiments exactly.
How about we have a boat people free week or fortnight or month. A media blackout!!!!
Why don't we deal with something more interesting, like, the number of illegals in Australia and the employers employing them and paying cash under the table.
Or the number of welfare cheats and reforms to cut the numbers down.
Or the number of companies with the highest number of work related injuries.
Orrr... anything, anything but the boat people
20 Sep 2011 6:35:13pm
So in other words censor informaiton from the public. Australia wants to decide who arrives in Australia and how. Paying criminals to do so and not properly identifying yourself is a security issue.
I have an African friend who speaks Arabic and use to work for the migration department. He is frightened by the type of people we let into Australia believing there are too many extreemists.
I agree with him.
Still debate is not wanted by the left here. Who is going to be the first to call either of us racist?
20 Sep 2011 8:20:05pm
Can you reassure your paranoid friend?
It is not as if about 90% of those coming here are convicted criminals as it was in the early days of European settlement.
21 Sep 2011 6:23:14am
I agree with your friend. What with Tony Abbott and his supporters, this country has enough extremists already.
RON the Frightened:
21 Sep 2011 6:39:50am
I am more frightenend of the regressive conservatives who live here and get all worked up and hysterical about a small number of asylum seekers.
20 Sep 2011 4:17:49pm
The whole tawdry mess drags the unprincipled cynicism of modern Australian politics to unimaginable depths (and they are starting from somewhere already deep in the abyss). How can anyone take a word that any of the the scumbags say seriously?
J.G. Cole:
20 Sep 2011 4:18:42pm
Marius Benson - a sensible article.
Look, while I'm here let me unburden myself. Why do you think it is that critique of the Prime Minister always has a nasty, street cruelty about it? It tends toward the malicious ridicule, a cheap rankling and a venom that I have rarely, if ever, seen before.
In contrast....in sobering AND somewhat surprising contrast, we have the Coalition. Where you describe Gillard's principles with the dumb teenage mantra of "ummmmmm" you highbrow the Oppositions position with the gravitas of a "moral complexity".
Where you shadow Labor's political pragmatism under that tired dull cloak of "try to define Gillard Labor", you place in full glorious sunlight the innocent simplicity of the Coalitions "he Opposition simply says we did it before with Nauru and temporary protection visas and we'll do it again".
Where Gillard gets the rusty blade, "But the latest definition of Gillard Labor", Scott Morrison's hypocrisy gets the bland neutrality of a grocery shopping list.
I can understand the distinct bias coming from the Dullards that support the Coalition, but from journalists I expect better.
It is not just you that my much restrained spleen targets.......but you are here now.
As am I.
Country Bumpkin:
20 Sep 2011 6:58:51pm
Well at least it counteracts the floods of pro Gillard/Labor propaganda that's spouted ad nauseum by the ABC TV.
J.G. Cole:
21 Sep 2011 6:17:44am
The drought and wasteland conditions that exist in some parts of this country find personification in you (r comment).
Simply awful, ill-considered, puerile nonsense.
21 Sep 2011 10:47:11am
Since I resent the amount of exposure provided to the Coalition by the ABC and you think they favour Labor, I have enough nous to realise that the ABC probably get it about right.
James S:
20 Sep 2011 4:30:06pm
I'm over this nonsense totally. Asylym seekers are at best a 10th order issue. The more time we spend on this pointless topic, the less we spend talking about how to improve the health system, how to generate employment, how to speed up the introduction of the national disability scheme.
It is embarrassing that this is the issue that memorises us as a nation.
Wise up. We don't have a "problem" with asylum seeker arrivals by worldwide standard. Our only problem is that we waste so much bloody time agonising about it.
20 Sep 2011 7:01:57pm
It's a distraction from, as you imply in your post, the really important issues. That's the way politics works sometimes. Well, often..
20 Sep 2011 4:42:51pm
Prior to the 07 election, offshore processing was evil and not to be tolerated by the Labor Party. Upon taking office all offshore processing was stopped as promised, because it was such a bad policy and did nothing to stop the boats.
Now, according to Ms Gillard, offshore processing is the only solution. She has once again done a complete turnaround without even batting an eyelid. Now, according to the PM, it is somehow all the Coalitions problem and up to them to fix it.
Im not holding my breath waiting for the ABC political reporters to point this hypocrisy out to the PM, Chris Bowen or any other member of the Labor Government.
Stand by for two years of the Government blaming the Coalition for the problem that the Labor Government created.
20 Sep 2011 6:02:25pm
Tell me, if offshore processing is the answer why can't Abbott support the government's policy. The Act needs to be changed, Nauru is out under the High Court ruling. Abbott wants Nauru - the Government polcy would have given him that yet he opposed it - the silly little man is an intellectual vacuum. And he still has the hide to blame the government for his own failings.
20 Sep 2011 7:30:10pm
Labor could have left everything as it was when they took office. But they didn't. They created this problem; it is not the Coalitions responsability to clean up their mess.
20 Sep 2011 8:23:50pm
No Mick - the High Court ruling condemns Nauru as well. Sorry, do try and keep up.
20 Sep 2011 7:33:50pm
Why is Gillard blaiming the Coalition but not the Greens. She could get her Bill through with the support of her partners in crime, the Greens.
Miss Hel:
21 Sep 2011 7:46:28am
She is blaming the coalition because they are in furious agreement with each other - they both want offshore processing but Abbott is being stubborn. He can't bring the govt down so he is having a tantie.
21 Sep 2011 10:56:10am
If Abbot supported the government's proposal, it would deprive him of his biggest stick - the pitifully small number of refugees that arrive on our shores by boat. We can' have that! Labor might then get some traction in its proposals for a carbon price. If Tony had only his bankrupt 'policy' on global climate change to rely on- and we all know that consistency and coherence are not his strong points.
20 Sep 2011 4:52:00pm
It's true people are Fed up with the Subject. They just want what is better for Australia....
20 Sep 2011 4:52:59pm
I dont understand the problem of the Government getting the amendments they seek to the legislation. All they have to do is roll over and have some pillow talk with their bed partners. They have the numbers to get it through both houses of Parliament without the aid of the Coalition.
Or could it be that the relationship with the Greens and the independents is just a farce. A Government with no mandates, no power and no control.
What a mess.
20 Sep 2011 7:36:16pm
the greens dont roll over.
its labourthat ditches it principles whenever asked.
i was wondering if labor would make a deal with the libs. the first 400 go to malaysia, then the rest go to naru
both sides get what they want. short term Malayaia for labor, and a permanent naru for the libs
21 Sep 2011 6:29:38am
The Greens don't roll over. That would ruin their image.
Instead they will wreck and destroy legislation which is similar to their own policy because they say it doesn't go far enough. That would be, obviously, a complete lie, since you could always improve upon it later while taking the smaller improvement now. They do this to keep the issue alive as a way for them to undermine the Labor Party's support.
Don't believe me? Rudd's ETS was brought down not by Julia Gillard as everyone seems to have now decided. It was voted down by the Greens in Parliament. Gillard just convinced Rudd not to bring it back again. Less than one year later the Greens were running ads rewriting history having Labor voters from 2007 talk about how they were disappointed that Labor ditched the ETS... that the Greens voted down.
The Greens are another group of hypocritical politicians like the rest of them. The difference is that they're more sanctimonious and self-righteous than the parties which actually have to dirty their hands with the business of governing.
Oh, but they don't roll over.
Drum Major:
21 Sep 2011 10:01:37am
Let's get it right ... the ETS never made it to a vote because the Coalition threatened a double-dissolution and Rudd backed down rather than take a risk and call the Coalition's bluff. At that point, the Greens were not in a position to vote the ETS out because they didn't have the numbers to do that. I think that one thing that stands true in this is that the Greens have been totally consistent in relation to asylum seekers - they don't support off-shore processing and never have. The Prime Minister has also made that clear. The only way that she can get these changes to the legislation through is to get the support of the Coalition. As much as it pains me to say it, Tony Abbott is right not to support these changes because they go too far - to put total power in the hands of a Minister and to remove people's right to natural justice is not democractic ... that is a dictatorship. What Tony Abbott is rejecting is not the idea of off-shore processing - he's rejecting legislative change that even he thinks is a bridge too far.
Gary Lord:
20 Sep 2011 4:53:48pm
Long, long ago, people lived in small communities where ethics were the glue that kept society from falling apart. Those without ethics were ostracized, punished or even (if necessary) expelled. Let's not mention the death penalty can of worms.
But now we live in giant magapolises, on a globalized planet, and the ethical glue has become meaningless. Now everything is OK, as long as you don't get caught.
Our politicians, who should be leading by example, are the worst offenders. The media, who should hold them to account, are not far behind. And the people, feeling powerless, follow their lead.
As Confucius once said: "The grass must bend, when the wind blows across it."
The system is broken. We don't need new leaders, we need a new system.
Evan Hadkins:
20 Sep 2011 7:28:43pm
I wasn't so much ethics that kept small groups together as shame. These aren't quite the same.
Gary Lord:
20 Sep 2011 9:55:32pm
Where there are no ethics, there is no shame.
Drum Major:
21 Sep 2011 10:04:53am
I think that the High Court decision showed that the system is far from broken ... in fact, it showed that the system is healthy and robust by saying that no government is above the law. If you want shame - that's what Julia Gillard and Chris Bowen are contending with. If you want a modernist notion of ethics - ethics that stand separately from the individual - then you have that - its called the law. So to my mind, the system is working just fine.
20 Sep 2011 4:54:12pm
We all know what Abbott really means..."Stop The Boats" because it is his belief as was Howard's. Yeah, even though the vast majority ended up here anyway. Was seen to be tough...Howard.
Sort of the "shadow" without the "boxer"?
Gillard's Rainbow Coalition would do "the right thing" but we don't like the "boaties"...the polls have it!
Country Bumpkin:
20 Sep 2011 7:01:23pm
You seem to forget that the "vast majority" consisted of (I think) 3 boats in the last 2 years of Liberal government. You don't think that's an improvement over Labor's management?
20 Sep 2011 4:57:11pm
Gillard and Labor are hopeless. When Howard was PM, I remember the rampant bagging Gillard would give him on offshore processing. She claimed it was push factors that created the problem. On every count she was wrong.
The Malaysian solution will not work. The people smugglers are far too smart for her. The magic 800 will be reached very quickly, and what is plan B.
Gillard told us before the last election that she would not send refugees to countries not signatory to the UN convention. Yet she is happy to send them to Malaysia, a country not signatory to the convention. She also told us there would be no carbon tax under a government that she leads.
Gillard is a blatant and dishonest liar. Shame on anybody that supports her. Australia deserves better.
20 Sep 2011 7:40:02pm
why wont it work. would 800 people will willingly spend 10-15k to go to oz - knowing that its a plane trip back to malaysis. the smugglare would have to lower their price, or pay 800 to go first.
20 Sep 2011 8:24:16pm
If Australia deserves better they are not going to get it in Abbott.
20 Sep 2011 5:03:13pm
This is a huge issue and hard to find a way through. I don't like the fact that people take the risk of coming in small boats, endangering themselved and our Naval forces. I also don't like the way they have been treated, the length of time it has taken to process them, and worst of all the effects on the children involved. Ultimately, it is more humane to process them on-shore, so it is a case of moral values -v- Australian self-interest. At lease a trial of on-shore processing will confirm or allay the fears of the community. If off-shore proves best for all, hopefully Abbott, or whoever succeeds him shortly, will find the moral fibre to work with the Government to achieve a humane solution.
20 Sep 2011 5:03:37pm
I wish the Labor govt. would admit the error of their ways! Gillard, this is another failure and the HIGH COURT said so, blame them! We KNOW the boats would still come even if the Malaysia scheme went ahead. Tony should have let you make a fool of yourself again!
20 Sep 2011 8:29:43pm
Lisa, the High Court said that the clauses in the Immigration Act that the Howard Government wrote into law in a hurry were unconstitutional.
Gillard did not put in those unacceptable clauses. Howard did.
Now, it would seem to me that all those true asylum seekers sent to Nauru ILLEGALLY have a case for damages against the Australian Government, particularly if they have suffered psychological damage.
20 Sep 2011 5:05:42pm
I'm amazed that anyone expected Abbott to be able to make a sensible decision. All he can do, as he has demonstrated time and time again, is say no - even to his own policies.
John Md:
20 Sep 2011 5:16:16pm
Julia Gillard has succeeded in getting Toby Abbott to speak up for the rights of refugees. Given Tony Abbott's earlier stances, one is tempted to view this as a truly remarkable achievement!!!
Not that Nauru is any answer. It won't stop the boats (most will finally be resettled in Australia), it will be horrendously expensive, and it will put an awful lot of people through hell to no good purpose.
Big Polloodah:
20 Sep 2011 5:53:55pm
The Nauru solution will stop immigration cases from clogging up the courts.
20 Sep 2011 6:59:37pm
Most will not get to find their way to Australia. Get past the Gillard lies and see the real facts.
freddy fender:
20 Sep 2011 5:26:08pm
why are you going on about the opposition?
they are not in gov?
hello, wakey wakey!!
anybody home?
400 people have drowned because of these clowns running aus!
and they want to send children to malaysia, for a bit of a canning.
why dont you write about these stupid people in gov,
not the opposition, they cant fix this mess until labor gets wiped out at the next election.
Just saying, like:
21 Sep 2011 11:41:04am
Frankly, anyone who thinks that the Government is acting of altruistic concern for the well-being of asylum seekers is delusional.
John Robertson:
20 Sep 2011 5:26:39pm
Our politicians are obsessed with solving problems we don't have. The first is 'the flood of boat people'. All we need to do is what other countries do and we used to do. That is; process them onshore in a reasonably short time - say six weeks average - and relax about it. There is not the smallest risk of our being 'over-run'.
The next non-problem is 'carbon pollution'. What a ridiculous and unscientific furphy! Our coal production and everyone else's will ensure that CO2 continues to rise and thus continues to increase food production and Nature's bounty generally. Again relax and go with the flow.
Real problems; the Murray-Darling; how we will compete with neighbours who are at least as smart as us, work more effectively than we do and are paid a lot less; the disdain by too many secondary school pupils for good education.
And so the real problems go on and on. But we work ourselves into a froth about imaginary ills which matter not in the least!
20 Sep 2011 5:27:37pm
The PM knows what she's doing - she's outsmarting them all - onshore processing will be the result and she is then in a win/win situation. Well done Julia!!
the yank:
20 Sep 2011 5:40:39pm
Neither side is winning my vote with their public stance.
The only hope is that Labor, once Abbott and Co. have rejected their plan will then do the humane thing and proccess these people on shore. Bring them to my area. we have lots of space, we are close to Sydney and Canberra and need some industry to employ our young people.
20 Sep 2011 5:45:34pm
Why is tony abbott not pointing out to the PM that she got into bed with the greens to form government and so it up to them to suport the government not the opposition.
Gillard has bent over backwards to give Brown everything he wants yet when he rejects her Bill on assylum seekers she attacks Tony Abbott
20 Sep 2011 9:29:52pm
Are you saying Tony Abbott is unable to withstand attack? He is the master of that I would have thought.
Gratuitous Adviser:
20 Sep 2011 5:50:20pm
Situation is that the people smugglers are going to be the winners because of Abbott's stance. When the vote is taken and if the smugglers end up being the winners then I will be blaming the Liberals, and they will not be able to offload that responsibility by rhetoric. Its a golden opportunity missed because of stupidity on the part of Tony Abbott and his party. You will note, from previous blogs that this is a change of my position on this issue and I am sure that there are a lot of voters feeling the same way.
20 Sep 2011 5:53:11pm
There is only one way to undo the Gordian knot of asylum seekers: Use the Onshore Processing Sword.
20 Sep 2011 5:53:36pm
One sure way to stop the boats,make people smuggling a mandantry life sentence.No one would skipper a boat knowing that they will be locked up for life at their destination.Problem solved.
20 Sep 2011 8:49:20pm
The boat hands are not the profit takers in the smuggling business.. They are just as expendable as the asylum seekers to the big organisers
20 Sep 2011 6:02:01pm
Nauru will be the answer for Malaysia and Indonesia if Abbott win government ,it will solve their problem,they will supply the boats,for they know that the people will end up in Australia anyway .they will flood Nauru.
20 Sep 2011 6:16:17pm
The latest spin is that the government is seeking to protect asylum seekers by sending them to Malaysia.
Surely, at some stage, some political reporter, somewhere, has enough brains to just laugh in Gillard's face.
20 Sep 2011 7:56:19pm
Actually Hermit the reality is that the next death that results from a people smuggler boat sinking will be Tony Abbott's fault alone. He could have supported the government - he didn't, so if anyone drowns it's Abbott's fault now. You conservatives will have to live with that. Hope you can.
20 Sep 2011 8:49:34pm
You sound like Julia's Chief of Staff. "This is all the Oppositions fault & has got nothing to do with us". Crikey, I've got this all wrong. I thought the Govt was put there to Govern,not the Opposition.
20 Sep 2011 9:10:25pm
Rudd and Gillards governments are responsible. They changed the working programme The Howard Govt put in place. It has been all downhill from there.
21 Sep 2011 9:54:04am
You appear to be unaware that the High Court also ruled out Nauru, which resukted in the irony of Abbott faiking to support changes that would have legalised his option. Conservatives are unteachable.
20 Sep 2011 6:29:43pm
Its a diabolical problem - how do you discourage people from getting on boats and coming here? The only things that appear to have an effect are turning the boats around or sending them back to Malaysia. We cannot continue to do the former as the Indonesians will not accept them and the people themselves will scuttle the boat at the first suggestion of it being turned around. This could potentially lead to loss of life - and either way, we'd still get the illegals. The intelligence we have been getting for some time now is consistent - if they risk being sent back to Malaysia, they won't pay the people smugglers, period. Gillard ordered DIAC to brief Abbott on the same information she got. But it wasn't what Abbott wanted to hear as it didn't fit his political agenda, so he rejected it. Gillard & Bowen's point about the High Court decision is well made - it can and most likely will be used to prevent offshore processing. Abbott's preferred option of Nauru won't work - it will cost an enormous amount to implement and best advice we have - once again based on consistent intelligence - is that it is not considered a deterrent by either the boat people or the smugglers. It seems to me the government is trying to deal with a problem whereas the Opposition just use it for political mileage - as Marius puts it: 'the gift that keeps on giving'
20 Sep 2011 7:48:41pm
so lets get this right. its a problem, the goverment is trying their best (and they have been in goverment for 4 years), but its still the fault of the liberals ?
20 Sep 2011 6:52:12pm
As for the taxes as a percentage of GDP argument, shouldn't you at least mention than all of the current tax rates are as a result of policies of the Howard era. Hence the current rates would have equally applied to Howard. The latest rates were part of Labor matching the Howard promises of the 2007 election.
20 Sep 2011 7:05:38pm
Ms Gillard is furious with Tony Abbott over his refusal to agree to the Malasia solution.
Why isn't she furious with Bob Brown too?
What does she have to lose?
20 Sep 2011 7:15:00pm
*The result will be the end of offshore processing, which both Government and Opposition are united in supporting.*
I presume this is the case because they both believe a legitimate mandate is only possible by endorsing this policy at an election.
Lets be really pragmatic now.
No emotion.
Pure blindfolded evaluation of the scales of democratic weight of factually proven evidence.
This is going to hurt; but the question needs to be posed.
Did the High Court interpretation; however legally technically correct it may be; override the clearly evident will of the Australian people which obviously was the foundation of the intent of the Parliamentary legislation contested?
No emotion remember; and certainly no confused & confusing morality.
Justice is not morality; for the very good reason that justice is far more important to maintaining social cohesion.
20 Sep 2011 7:59:37pm
It staggers me that when por Labor policies fail they come back with the same answer. Its all Tonys fault. Tony is not in government you are Julia so act like a leader instead of a spoilt brat every time you dont get your way. There is an old saying that is so true today " If you lie down with dogs you will catch fleas". Labor decided to bed the Greens and Independants and have been very scratchy ever since
20 Sep 2011 8:01:37pm
Cambodia is the nearest Asian country which is a signatory to the UNHRC.
20 Sep 2011 8:09:39pm
As an ordimary citizen I have learned to put up with daft politicians. What I cannot bear is politicians without a moral compass -Gillard. I cannot bear a politician who has been shown how to take the back off his and shown how to meddle with the mechanics by George Pell so it points any way he chooses. I suspect that ordinary voters would prefer the asylum seekers not to get on boats. However, when they enter Australian juristiction it is common human decency to treat them with respect and compassion. Quite apart from fulfilling our obligations as country as laid out by many international agreements. Gillard as PM is failing in this and so is the party she leads. The fact that she is prepared to propose legislation that effectively puts a minister chosen by her to do as he chooses without legal oversight is or should be cause for grave concern. I know Abbott is beyond the pale, but Gillard is chasing him and hsa probably caught him up. Memo to self and friends- vote Green at next election.
21 Sep 2011 11:12:01am
I was so disillusioned with the others that I joined the Greens. This gives me a party to vote 1 for. However, my problem now is whom do I preference - the bottom of the heap or the bottom of the heap.
Could we please have an optional preferential system at the federal level (as in NSW) so that my vote still counts without giving it eventually to the morally bankrupt of either large party?
Stephen King:
20 Sep 2011 8:30:27pm
Quote..."The moral complexities of the Opposition case do not end there. Where was the concern about people being sent to non-signatories when Australia, under John Howard, was sending people to Nauru, which is just now signing up to the UN convention? In fact Immigration spokesman Scott Morrison was until relatively recently declaring that not being a signatory to the UN convention was not an issue for the Coalition"...
That says it all. No moral compass at all. Pure politics; pure an simple.
I'm disgusted at both side in this bankrupt debate.
20 Sep 2011 8:41:56pm
Frankly, we'd be better off if we put all the shock jocks and swinging voters from marginal seats into boats, and pushed them out to sea, never to return. Then some perspective might return to the asylum seeker debate in this country.
John the Veteran:
20 Sep 2011 8:46:55pm
The Government has previously said that they invited all members to have a comment about the Immigration Bill. However, on each side, if a member was to offer any comment which was out of line with his/her party, he/she would be disciplined. This is where the system is failing. This debate is ONLY going to work if EACH member of Parliament is permitted to comment exactly as his/her conscience dictates. The ONLY thing which destroys our Parliament is the dictatorship from political parties, yes, any of them.
It is fine for any Member to belong to a political party, but it is totally against the constitution for ANY political party to dictate how any of its members speak within the House.
Kind Regards,
Francis D'Astoli :
20 Sep 2011 9:02:47pm
My proposal is that we should have onshore processing for those who arrive by whatever means, and increase our intake from Malaysia and Indonesia. It may mean doubling or tripling our current intake but it will definitely destroy the people smugglers' "business model".
Kevin Cobley:
20 Sep 2011 9:36:47pm
Nauru only has a population of 8000 - 9000 people on a land area of 21 Squ klms and only about half of that land area is inhabitable.
Using financial inducements to get this poor nation to deal with hundreds refugees is despicable.
that country is not much bigger than Blacktown and has a lot less people.
David Crook:
20 Sep 2011 9:41:49pm
Lucky country??When I was a child growing up in Sydney I remember the words painted large on the side of a wall as one pulled into Redfern station; words that were removed sometime in the 1990's I think, "People who love people more than power and profit are the luckiest people in the world". This refugee debate has become all about money; how very, very sad. What awful people we have become with the wealth robbed from the earth that we robbed from others. I am so glad that I at least am still lucky.
Monique of Sydney:
20 Sep 2011 9:51:16pm
A very labor biased editorial. Juliar Gillard, is responsible, for this mess, - not Tony Abbott. She spins away, blames him, for alla nd sundry. Why not ask her partner, Bob Brown? Tony, is not obligated, to help her. His views on Neuru, have never varied. He went partisan on the cigarette packaging, if I recall. She is an absolute disgrace, for our country.
20 Sep 2011 11:55:15pm
OMG its tonys fault,or was it kevins fault??just maybe it was julies fault,wait a sec,thats rite it was johns fault,now listen ppl,i will tell u once and only once,if u dont understand this u will never understand anythink,forget all the BS and SPIN,this is a FACT,how many ppl where in detention when Kevin come into power,was it 4 or 6?now 4ys on how many do we have?what close to 5000?I guess u lovely lefties dont get it do u?
as i say to julie u made your bed now LIE in it.
David Free:
21 Sep 2011 1:14:24am
It is a time of no morality in politics. Demagoguery at its worst on both sides. I cant think of a Labor prime minister dependant upon an opposition leader to support him/her. It has shifted me to vote for The Greens now as they have been morally steadfast. And I dont care what people say/write about The Greens. They are the only light in all of this muck.
Luke Weyland:
21 Sep 2011 3:21:46am
I was in the ALP from 1979 to 84 when it opposed apartheid south africa, supported refugee rights, land rights, free tertiary education,
Now it supports Apartheid Israel, racist NTIntervention, wants to send refugees anywhere, charges students to TAFE and Uni, and supports the ABCC.
I now belong to Socialist Alliance.
John Dillinger:
21 Sep 2011 7:17:54am
Only a tiny percentage of immigrants come here by boat its a non issue blown out of all proportion by the media, just let them in and process them here in Australia.
If we want to get serious about illegal immigration then how about we start dealing with visa over stays & the thousands that come through our airports every year with no intention of leaving.
Wining Pom:
21 Sep 2011 7:48:48am
There is no discussion as to why the refugees are coming.
21 Sep 2011 7:59:49am
"Tis not only the politicians that have lost their moral compass, 'tis an increasing number of Australian electors - and they increasingly see themselves above and beyond the rest of the world. But we have seen populations destroyed before by their political masters. None have proved immune. And we may now on the verge of the Australian population being shown that it is not superior in any way.
Steve F:
21 Sep 2011 8:25:58am
The answer is simple, regain our humanity and process this trickle of desperate people onshore!
21 Sep 2011 11:17:43am
Where is the hope when we have one leader who is a pragmatist and another with fluid principles and hypocritical morality? Each with one intention to stop the boats and too deficient to find a way to do it. Mr Abbott is not PM though, or in government. Convention once was that the Opposition support the governments plan when the aims are the same. So Mr Abbott simply uses people as the pawns for one upmanship and winning at all costs. This is repugnant.
Mr Abbott had no problem with Nauru not being a signatory to the refugee convention when he was a Howard government minister.
The Malaysian solution is a solution as part of a legal enforcement issue intended to destroy the people smuggling trade out of Indonesia. As with any enforcement issue designed to stop wrongdoers, the innocent are usually caught up in it as casualties.
The morality of the Malaysian solution is an aside to the enforcement issue. It is not saying that the Malaysian solution is therefore acceptable. I find the growing lack of morality or better termed the increasing callousness of many in Australia, including the Liberal Party in particular, a distasteful evolution away from the fair go principle that Australia seemed to be unique in applying to issues like this once.
I have to comment that if Nauru was so successful last time then why does Australia have so many Nauru victims on disability pensions for mental health issues which they cite as their stay on Nauru being the cause?
And why should Australia pay five times the cost of processing on Nauru if the asylum seekers end up in Australia anyway?
And why was it that the Howard Government would not allow direct access to Nauru by independent observers if life for the asylum seekers were so good?
It was the inhumane temporary protection visas that was the success in reducing boats not Nauru. Nauru just pocketed millions for nothing. And it was the inhumane and immoral TPV's that had the bulk of the Australian media, charities, church leaders and human rights groups and many Australians demanding that they cease.
And of course the moral issue of towing boats back to Indonesian waters, supposedly at the sole discretion of Mr Abbott if he is PM and whether the vessels are seaworthy or not with the potential for drownings, is typical of MR Abbott's fluid principles, hypocritical nature and moral deficiencies.
What is in it for the Liberal Party in its obsession with Nauru? Its more than scoring brownie points over forcing a government to revert to the Nauru.
21 Sep 2011 2:54:42pm
I shall throw my unreserved moral support behind whichever party
that gives me coherent and unambiguous answers to two questions:
(a) How many refugees and asylum seekers Australia can and should accept?
(b) What will happen once this number is reached?
21 Sep 2011 3:11:03pm
The important thing is to stop the boats, we need control of our boarders. We need to take the steps required to make the boats stop, I dont agree with Malaysia though as saw on the internet what happens when they cane someone. Also I dont like the idea of sending unaccompanied kids to Malaysia. I am not a bleeding heart and lets lock the buggers up if it will stop them but I have kids and dont like the idea of kids being sent alone. If we start onshore processing their will be a flood of boats coming from the north, they say 600 a month, the numbers will increase, you just have to look at what Britain, France, Italy and the rest of Eurpoe are going through, we dont want these people to flood our country.
I think Naru is a good option, see if they like a few years on an island, if that makes coming to Australia less attractive then good, lets sned them there.
21 Sep 2011 3:37:58pm
If we want to talk pragmatics, which problem do we want to solve? Political "solutions" for the political problem of unwanted boat arrivals, or an ethical solution for one of the greatest challenges of our time-the existence of the greatest number of displaced people in history? For the former, keep talking about people smuggling and drowning, even though if Australia refuses to take them they'll get smuggled somewhere else and drown on the way. Doesn't seem to solve much- policy changes don't cure the root problem of desperation and persecution in the countries refugees come from. On the other hand, let's process asylum seekers on shore, try to engage other countries in our region in a dialogue about humane solutions to a human problem, and maybe we'll also spare a thought for how to address persecution in refugee-producing countries. International kudos much? "Australia leads way on refugee issue" doesn't seem like a negative headline to me.
Also- the government's dead Malaysia solution showed that we can fit at least 3200 more people into our humanitarian resettlement quota, so why don't we get on to that?
Unless of course the pragmatics of our ridiculous invasion fears get the best of us.
21 Sep 2011 3:59:55pm
Let me predict that there will now be a flood of asylum seekers setting sail on people smuggler boats for Australia.
The question will then become ... 'How are WE going to process all these asylum seekers in accordance with UN conventions, Australian humanitarian values, and the principle of a 'fair go' for all immigrants?'
Ooops Tony Abbott, you didn't think about that did you? Either Tony Abbott is stupid, or he is evil because he will make thousands of asylum seekers suffer just so he can become PM. And still the majority of the Australian electorate can't see through this opportunistic hypocrite?
Comments for this story are closed.


text:
l Some fine wicketkeeping by Friends of the Stadiums Debesh Dhali went in vain as his team lost to Biswanath Cricket Coaching Centre by 17 runs in their CAB Ambar Roy sub-junior meet pre-quarter final Thursday. Dhali claimed as many as seven victims, five stumped and two caught.
n Subhash Institute 173/5 in 25 ovs (Sudip Chatterjee 79, Prasenjit Biswas 35; Anindya Saha 3/37). Belgharia SC 81 in 24.1 ovs (Jeet Ghosh 2/11, Sambit Dey, 2/16). Subhas Institute won by 92 runs.
n Biswanath CCC (Palta) 104 in 24.4 ovs (Sumit Sarkar 3/23, Pritam Basu 3/24). Friends of the Stadium 87/8 (Anindya Barman 2/23, Nirmal Acharya 3/13). Biswanath CCC won by 17 runs.
l Rich tributes were paid to legendary footballer PK Banerjees wife Arati, at a condolence meet at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.
Scores of people and lady footballers, whose lives were touched by the affable Aratidi were present at the meet.
A visibly shaken PK Banerjee remembered how his wife had been like a mother and elder sister to an entire generation of footballers.
l Elite Cricket Club will be embarking on a three-week long tour of Kenya on July 13. The club will play 15 matches against premier clubs from the capital Nairobi and Mombasa.
Elite Cricket Club has also decided to sponsor Om Prakash Roy, the 14-year-old son of an Udayan inmate, for a year.
l Rohini Pandit and Prem Singh reached the final of the boys and girls under-10 category of the Britannia junior age-group tennis meet 2003 at the Ordnance Club on Thursday.
Boys and girls U-10: Rohini Pandit bt Azan Piperno 7-5, Prem Singh bt Avik DSouza; Girls U-18: Hena Valechha bt Dipti Srivastav 7-5, 6-0, Danielle Jones bt Richa Valechha 6-1, 5-7, 6-1; Boys U-14: Ranjan Prasad bt Rohit Kumar 6-2, 6-3, Dharamveer Viswakarma bt Sheikh Asghar 6-1, 6-3.
l The Don Bosco under-15 and under-13 sides will be leaving for Bangalore on May 18 to play in the All-India Pepsi cricket meet.
THE U-15 SQUAD: Avishek Jain (captain), Wilfred Lakra, Noel Gomes, Soumodip Mukherjee, Anirban Ghosh, Aditya Prakash, Arjun Pal, Vedant Mimani, Aman Sharma, Arka Roy, Agnesh Verma, Amritojeet Dasgupta, Piyush Agarwal, Ayan Pal, Amit Jaiswal, Prabhat Ekka. Coach Rajeev Sharma. THE U-13 SQUAD: Soumodipto Mukerjee (captain), Rahul Chatterjee, Chirag Shah, S. Sanjiv, Ashutosh Kejriwal, Ankush Dhyawala, Arijit Das, Pratik Balasariya, Nikhil Mukim, Yashwardhan Damani, Naman Goel, Saket Todi, Anirban Ghosh, Arjun Pal, Uchit Madhok, Akash Agarwal. Coach Amit Jaiswal.
l Arup Baidya, Anirban Mukherjee and Sanjay Das won their mens quarter final matches at the state ranking badminton meet at the Ordnance Club on Thursday.
l Eastern Railways Prarthana Uthappa, adjudged CSJCs basketballer of the year, received her award Monday.
l The Milo junior state basketball meet will held at the Rakhi Sangha courts from Saturday through Thursday. About 20 boys and 16 girls teams are expected to vie for honours.
CRICKET: Pepsi CAB Ambar Roy sub-jr meet (Eden Gardens , 8 am).
BADMINTON: Junior state meet at the Ordnance Club courts.
TENNIS: Britannia age-group meet: Final at Ordnance Club courts.

subset: commoncrawl


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Richard Wallis is founder of Data Liberate. A Technology Evangelist and Consultant, he is at the forefront in promoting, explaining, and applying new and emerging Web and Semantic Web technologies in the wider information domain. Richard is well known on the conference platform in the Semantic Web, Library, and Information Management sectors. He is also an active blogger and regular podcaster.
2012 will be the year that Semantic Web and Linked Data technologies could go mainstream, but yet will get talked about less. I believe this is inevitable, for a technology that is about to turn the corner, or kick up the adoption curve – choose your favourite phrase. Like the Web itself, already adopted by technology laggards, and now recognised only as a service that facilitates being 'in Facebook' or streaming movies to your tablet.
To support this theory, it is interesting look at some of the recent moves taking place in my own backyard, the UK. A couple of significant ones are coming out of the Talis stable. Talis have been at the leading edge of Semantic Web development for much of the last decade, with a reputation for promoting the practical benefits of applying Linked Data techniques and technologies, whilst evolving their cloud-based Linked Data platform to deliver and demonstrate these benefits in their own products and services.
Data Marketplace Kasabi.com has been incubating at Talis for a couple of years, taking the traditional technology startup path through alpha and closed beta. It emerged into public beta, focused upon engaging with the development community, back in March and has since been steadily attracting users and datasets. A low key announcement ahead of the recent holiday season, signaled a change of gear for the Kasabi team, to begin its "journey towards becoming a fully-fledged global business". Talis CTO Ian Davis, is stepping down to become full-time Kasabi CEO, with Leigh Dodds, who brought the project through from inception, taking on the CTO role. Although Kasabi is built on the constantly evolving Talis Platform, there is no mention of the technology in it's mission "to unlock the value in the World's data by enabling new business models for producers and consumers of data at all scales" The investment, and work on a second generation Talis Platform, plus the resources of the respected Talis Consulting team, are being rolled in to help make Kasabi a success.
This is a great example of utilising Semantic Web technologies to deliver business benefit, without shouting about it. Kasabi is operating in an active sector populated by Microsoft, Infochimps, and others. The team behind it have a clear understanding that implementing their service on top of Linked Data should give them advantage flowing from providing an ecosystem that enables simple data mixing and aggregation.
The shift in the Semantic Web spotlight, away from enthusiasts, towards business benefit proponents, is also being reflected in a significant move that I am embarking upon. I'm moving on from my role as a Technology Evangelist at Talis to set up Data Liberate, an independent organisation to "focus on introducing, simplifying, and demystifying these often superficially complex techniques and technologies." I am approaching both sides of the adoption problem – connecting those that can benefit from adopting Linked Data with those with the technology to help them, in terms that both understand.
I am taking this step so that I can provide independent help, to those that need to understand how to liberate business, social, economic, enterprise, and financial value from their data of all types. Yes, I will still be evangelising and demonstrating the power of Linked Data, but only sharing such terms on a need-to-know basis. I was recently quoted as saying, "Linked Data will be a success when people stop talking about it." The sooner we start talking more about the benefits of applying the technology, than the technology itself, the sooner it will be widely adopted.
I will be speaking about this further in a conference session, "The Simple Power of The Link" at the upcoming Semantic Tech & Business Conference in Berlin.
A third UK example is Garlik. Founded in 2005 to utilise, then very new, Semantic Web technologies in their internal systems to deliver functionality that would have been difficult to provide in other ways. They successfully developed DataPatrol to monitor and relate personal information published on the web to help consumers protect themselves from the risks of identity theft and fraud. On the technology front they also open-sourced the 4store triple store. In December it was announced that Garlik had been purchased by Experian, one of their major customers. A great vote of confidence in the value of adopting Linked Data technology. It is obviously core to Garlik's success and attractiveness to Experian, yet it is not mentioned in the press release by name.
Declaration of interest: I am a Talis shareholder and Founder of Data Liberate.


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Interrogated/Deflected by Michael Joo
We've been showing this exciting new Michael Joo sculpture titled Interrogated/Deflected in our stand at The Armory Show 2011.
For more information on this work email us on firstname.lastname@example.com.
Below, Michael Joo has given us a bit of background to the work and what it means to him:
"Interrogated/Deflected is a perfect miniaturized version of a much larger original sculpture that I made. Made from a three dimensional digital scan and cast in sterling silver, it is sculpted as if all of the white has been removed from a zebra. I am interested in the combination of a aggressively questioning something through dissection and the idea of deflection implied by the different reflective surfaces of the piece. I used silver for the sculpture because it has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any earthly element or metal. As in many of my works, it is important to me that the object has an unfixed identity and could be seen as a type of conduit. Cloning, genetics, and the idea of originality are themes revolving around this work."- Michael Joo, 2011


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BSF SI Admit Card 2017 – Board Security Force is going to conduct Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (LDCE 2017) for the post of Sub Inspector (GD). Hence many candidates applied for online application form. Therefore candidates are now looking for Admit Card. Accordingly to sources; candidates can download admit card 10 to 15 days before […]
Tag: BSF SI Exam 2017
|10th Board Result 2017
|SSC CGL Admit Card 2017
|Government Jobs 2017
|NDA 1 Admit Card
|12th Board Result 2017
|Bihar Police Admit Card 2017


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Your Overtons.com Session is About to Expire!
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THE 10th Glasgow Film Festival closed last night as organisers announced record-breaking admissions for the 369 screenings.
The festival concluded with the Scottish Premiere of Scotland-shot Under The Skin, starring Scarlett Johannson.
A packed programme of 369 screenings, panel discussions, live performances and pop-up cinema events ran across the city, with organisers confirming that ticket sales have already surpassed 40,000 admissions with final box office figures still to be confirmed.
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Allan Hunter, festival co-director, said: "This has been a thrilling 10th edition of Glasgow Film Festival. Our loyal and growing audience have more than confirmed their status as one of the best festival crowds in the world, greeting our guests with rousing welcomes and standing ovations and, as the numbers show, turning up in droves.
"We put together a huge programme of UK and European premieres, vintage treats and the unique pop-up events that have become a GFF speciality, and our audiences have provided us with enough encouragement and love to keep the festival going.
"We're all happily exhausted, inspired and glowing with gratitude that such a marvellous team effort has been met by such a generous public vote of confidence."
The festival has brought over 300 guests to the city, including Oscar-winner Richard Dreyfuss and actor-turned-director Jason Priestley, who took to the red carpet outside Glasgow Film Theatre for the UK premiere of Cas & Dylan.
Terry Gilliam also appeared to present his new film, The Zero Theorem.


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The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Review by soniclink15
"Short but Sweet"
This is my first review so I hope everyone enjoys it!
Link is back for his latest adventure, which is short but definitely sweet. Combining the game play of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, the artsy graphical style of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and the classic tunes remixed to create some amazing music the game is amazing. The only problem with it is that is very short.
Like most Legend of Zelda games are green tights wearing hero must save Hyrule and Zelda from an evil force. It starts out innocently enough. Zelda goes to Link's home (which is much larger then any of other Link's many homes for some reason) and invites him to go to the annual Picori Festival. The Blacksmith asks Link to take the ceremonial sword to the festive to give to the minister at Hyrule Castle so he can give it to this year's swordsmanship winner. Who happens to be Vaati. The winner also gets to touch the sacred Picori Blade. As Vaati enters the ceremony his true intentions are revealed, he shatters the Picori Blade, unleashes a flurry of monsters from their slumber that are in a chest that is sealed by the Picori Blade and on top of that he turned Zelda into stone. Picori as they are called by humans (they call themselves Minish) are the ones who gave humans this blade to combat evil from long ago with. The Picori are very small creatures who only appear only to children and they thrive off helping people. As Link being the only child to know of the situation everyone agrees to send Link to save the day by finding the Minish and having them forge the Picori Blade to break Zelda's Curse and to defeat Vaati. Link needs to find the four elements (earth, wind, water, and fire) to recreate the blade. Along the way Link meets his cap, Ezlo. Ezlo is like Navi, telling you where to investigate except he is much cooler. Along the way there are a few twists that I won't spoil for you. You got to find out the rest for yourself!
The graphics in this game are phenomenal for a Gameboy Advance game. Everything is detailed with bright beautiful graphics that are very reminiscent to Four Swords Adventure and Wind Waker. The 2-d sprites are great looking too as they appear clean and colorful making every character stand out without making them take thunder away from the stunning world. You can see Link's and Elzo's expressions throughout the game, like when they rest in a bed Elzo looks like he's exhausted. Also throughout the game there are familiar faces from other Zelda games that make a great transition from 3-d to 2-d. Also many of the enemy's appearances are 2-d copies of their 3-d counterparts in Wind Waker. Some of the characters that make reappear are Malon, Zell the snot nose kid from Link's island on Wind Waker, the King from Wind Waker and the King in this look extremely similar. Overall the graphics in this game are topped by few on the GBA.
The classic Zelda field song is back and sounds great as always in its new form. Throughout the different areas of Hyrule the field song gets remixed to flow well with the area creating great atmosphere. Of course there are some new songs that are all great. Link's battle cries are taken straight from the GBA version of Link to the Past which isn't bad but they could have had some new voices.
This game plays almost exactly like A Link to the Past but is enhanced by the R button, Kinstones, an array of new weaponry, and the ability to shrink to the size on an ant. With the overhead view taken from past 2-d Zelda games, the gameplay is near flawless.
The R button allows Link to role on the ground, which helps out a lot in those boss fights and it helps you get around faster which is a definite plus.
You find these things called Kinstones that look like half broken medallions. You find them from enemies, chests and even under rocks and grass. You take these Kinstones and you find a character in the game that has the other half and you fuse them together. Almost any character in the game can fuse them together with you. Even silly characters like the snot nose kid, a bay chick, or a dog. What's the advantage in this you may ask? Well when you fuse a Kinstone, something special will happen, like a doorway will appear or a chest will appear. Its fun finding all the secrets that Kinstones unlock. You can find rupees, shells, and other sweet stuff.
Another fun thing to do is to collect shells and in the basement of one of the houses in the town is a place where you can collect figurines of characters and enemies from the game. Much like the lottery in Super Smash Bros Melee you use shells as coins to participate in a lottery. Over time you have to put more shells in to raise your odds to get new figurines but the shells in general are easy to come by. There is also a gallery that shows your figures and offers a little bit of info on the character or enemy.
This game has the originals, like bombs and your bow and arrow, but like in most Zelda games there are some sweet new weapons too. Like the Gust jar. It sucks almost everything near by then shoots it away. You can suck up enemies and blast them away. It also clears out grass and can bring items close to you for your disposal. Another sweet weapon is the Mole's Claws. Throughout the game you see circles on the walls of the ledges and canyons, with these puppies you can burrow right into them, revealing secrets and caves to explore.
The last awesome addition to the game is its calling card, the ability to shrink. When you find a portal that lets you shrink you can shrink down to the minish's size. This opens up a lot of different areas that while in normal size look just like a pile of rocks or a rat hole in the wall. In the first dungeon the boss of it is normally an enemy that Link can dispatch of in a few hits but at Link's size it is truly a behemoth. Also another problem Link faces as mini Link is that normal places that regular Link can walk though are obstacles for him. Little puddles that normal sized Link can breeze though with absolutely no effort are giant lakes for mini Link. He also can't go up regular size stairs or get though the tall grass. So you have to know when to shrink and grow big.
The bad thing about Minish Cap is that it is short and easy. You can easily beat the main storyline in a few short hours. The sad part about it is that the game is so fun that time passes fast, plus the fact that it's a short game to begin with really cuts this game's replay value. The Kinstone and figurine side quests are fun to do but aren't really long either and sadly that is this game's downfall.
This game is as I stated earlier is extremely easy. The puzzles don't engage the brain's full thought process and the bosses don't tear you apart like other games. I didn't have to put down the game out of frustration or look at a FAQ because I got stuck like with most games of this genre. It just glides along easily, causing one not to put out their full gaming effort.
I want to give this game a higher score but sadly you are finished with it much too soon. The amazing graphics, the beautiful music, and the flawless gameplay are done almost as soon as you start it.
I give this game an overall score of 8/10.
Reviewer's Rating: 4.0 - Great
Originally Posted: 01/23/06
Got Your Own Opinion?
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Giants go large with 6-foot-8 Draft pick Woods
The Giants made their biggest pick thus far of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft in the ninth round.
With their ninth-round pick (268th overall) Friday, the Giants selected right-handed Stetson Woods from Liberty High School in Madera, Calif.
The 6-foot-8, 200-pound righty is committed to play collegiately at Fresno State.
According to Perfect Game USA, a baseball scouting site, the fastest Woods' fastball has reached is 93 mph.
Woods is the fourth right-handed thrower selected by San Francisco in the Draft and the second player to be drafted from a California high school by the Giants.
The Draft concludes Saturday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at 10 a.m. PT.
Ryan Hood is an associate reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryanhood19. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Well Being
Cane cozy useful and beautiful
If a walking stick or a cane is part of the life of someone you know, or if you use one yourself, why let it be a plain old un-embellished boring piece of humdrum equipment?
A friend of mine
needs support
when she walks,
thanks to some
severe injuries
she's sustained
over the years.
She keeps asking
Jim and me to
carve her a walking
stick, and, I keep
saying no… I would
much rather she
bought herself a
sturdy one and embellished it.
There are a whole lot of ways of making a walking stick or cane look gorgeous!
The cane in the photo is sporting a spool knitted cosy, with a little pouch stitched at the top.
You can also knit or crochet or weave, or even tat, a cosy to cover the walking stick, using your favorite yarn and fave technique. Actually, you could even match the cane cosy to an outfit. Why not have different cane cosies, so that it never gets boring?
Just spool knit, crochet, knit, tat or weave a tube that fits around the walking stick. I put a small drawstring through the top of the one
in the photo to secure it.
Glam it up, after all, just because something is sturdy and useful, doesn't mean it has to be dull and ho hum!
That's why we have yarn. It makes life more beautiful.


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Lincoln County 4-Hers traveled to Raleigh recently to attend 4-H State Congress. Congress is the high point of the 4-H year, bringing young people from across the state to the North Carolina State University campus for a week of activity. This year's Congress was July 19-23.
Jennifer Sherrill, 19, daughter of Todd and Janet Sherrill of Vale, won a trip to National 4-H Congress through the 4-H Application, Resume and Interview Program. Jennifer will attend National 4-H Congress in Atlanta, Ga. this fall with 19 other North Carolina 4-H members. The trip is sponsored by the NC Association of Electric Cooperatives.
Karin Okonski, 12, daughter of Brian and Betsy Okonski of Iron Station, won the Bugs and Bees Presentation for the 11-13 age division. She did a presentation about mosquitoes. Karin received a $75 savings bond.
Holly Mills, 14, daughter of James and Barbara Mills of Belmont, placed second in the North Carolina 4-H Fashion Revue and also received the Construction Award.
Hannah Reynolds, 15, daughter of Rick and Yvonne Reynolds, was inducted into the North Carolina 4-H Honor Club. Less than one-half of one percent of North Carolina 4-H members are inducted each year. Acceptance into the Honor Club is based on 4-H accomplishments in projects, community service, leadership, citizenship and community involvement.
The Lincoln County 4-H Junior Horticulture Judging Team received the state bronze award. Team members included Rebecca DeGregory, Kristin Okonski and Karin Okonski.
Other Lincoln County 4-H members who received county, district and state presentation awards were as follows:
Chelsea Mills, Veterinary Science, Cloverbud participation
Rebecca DeGregory, Veterinary Science, Cloverbud particpation
Anna Okonski, Fruit and Vegetable Use, Cloverbud participation
Kristin Okonski, Forestry and Wildlife, 9-10 county winner and district gold
Adam Parsons, Forestry and Wildlife, 9-10, county winner and district silver
Emily Sherrill, Beef Char Grill, 11-13 county winner, district gold and state silver
John David Parsons, Chicken Barbecue, 11-13 county winner and district gold
Elena Gann, Photography, 14-18 county winner
Holly Mills, Bugs and Bees, 14-18 county winner, district gold and state silver
Jenni Moore, Health, 14-18 county winner and district bronze
Derreck Sherrill, Pork Cookery, 14-18 county winner, district gold and state silver
Casey Snyder, Poultry Production, 14-18 county winner, district gold and state bronze
Approximately 850 4-Hers, volunteer leaders and North Carolina Cooperative Extension Agents attended 4-H Congress.
The 4-H program is conducted by North Carolina Cooperative Extension at North Carolina State and North Carolina A&T State universities. More than 200,000 young people between the ages of 5 and 19 participate in North Carolina 4-H activities each year with the help of 27,000 adult and youth volunteers.For more information on how to participate in 4-H programs, contact Lincoln County 4-H, NC Cooperative Extension at 704-736-8458
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StarTrek.com Production UpdatesBy Amy
October 19, 2000 - 6:49 AM
- StarTrek.com has updated it's production news site with new cast and writer/director lisitngs for two upcoming episodes, 'Shattered' and 'Lineage'. 'Shattered', as we were previously aware, sees Martha Hacket reprise her early-seasons role as Seska, but will also see Scarlett Pomers as Naomi Wildman and Manu Intiraymi as Icheb return, in addition to Vanessa Branch and Mark Bennington playing older versions of the two respective characters. The known listings for the cast of the episode can be found below. 'Lineage', on the other hand, an episode which sees B'Elanna Torres attempt to alter the DNA of her unborn baby, has a production number of 258, is written by James Kahn and directed by Peter Lauritson.
- Scarlett Pomers (Naomi Wildman)
- Mark Bennington (Adult Icheb)
- Martin Rayner (Doctor Chaotica)
- Vanessa Branch (Adult Naomi)
- Martha Hackett (Seska)
- Nicholas Worth (Lonzak)
- Manu Intiraymi (Icheb)
- Anthony Holiday (Rulat)
For more information stop off here at StarTrek.com's production site.
- In additon to the above information, the official site has also posted a number of new 'behind the scenes' shots taken from various Voyager episodes, including 'Unimatrix Zero' , 'Live Fast and Prosper' and 'Child's Play'. The two new slide-shows can be found here.
Discuss this news item at Trek BBS!
Add TrekToday RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation fan? Then visit CSIFiles.com!
Find more episode info in the Episode Guide.


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Condoms, etc.
Enemas & Anal Hygiene
Avoiding Bacterial Infections
Pain & Numbing
Anal Toys - A Quick Buying Guide
It's Fun! - Dispelling Myths About Anal Play
The term "anal play" includes any sexual activity involving the anal area from rubbing the anus with a finger, to using toys, to full penetrative anal sex. There are many myths and rumors floating around about anal play. Here are the facts:
Anal sex does not make you gay! The biggest mental hang-up heterosexual men have about anal play is that it somehow makes them gay. Most men get amazing pleasure from anal play. Enjoying it does not mean you are a latent homosexual.
Anal sex feels good for the receiver as well as the giver! The anus is full of nerve endings. The anal cavity also gives indirect access to the prostate gland in men or the g-spot in women. It is just as common for the receiver of anal sex to orgasm as the giver.
Anal sex should not hurt! If either partner experiences pain during anal play, they are going about it in an unsafe way.
Anal sex is not demeaning! This one comes from the idea that anal sex has to be a man bent over a woman on her hands and knees, her enduring the pain for his pleasure. Not only is anal sex not painful and quite pleasurable, but there are plenty of positions for anal including the intimate missionary position.
Anal sex is not dirty! While many people get extreme pleasure out of anal sex because of it being socially taboo, it has been long practiced in many cultures both for pleasure and as a form of birth control.
Anal sex and AIDS are not synonymous! You can get HIV through oral and vaginal as well as anal sex, but all the methods of reducing your risk in vaginal sex can be applied to anal sex including engaging in only monogamous sex using condoms.Communication
ALWAYS talk about anal play outside of bed first. In the bedroom, people feel vulnerable. Do not take advantage of this sense of open vulnerability to introduce the idea of anal play. Your partner will be unprepared to discuss how he or she feels about it and may feel a lot of pressure or panic.
Talk about exactly what you and your partner are comfortable with and when you want to start experimenting. Try out other forms of anal play before having anal sex. A little finger fun during oral sex or playing with anal toys is a good way to start out. You and your partner can see if anal play is something you like and if you want to go further with it.
Communicate during the act. Receivers should never be afraid of giving instructions like "slow down," "back off a little," or "more lube." The giver should check in often with their partner and make sure they are feeling only good things. This is not just about physical comfort, but emotional and psychological comfort. Neither partner should feel at all uncomfortable about stopping everything for any reason.
Negative emotional feelings like guilt or fear are common, but unnecessary. Communication will help you to work through these things with your partner.Relaxation
It is very important that the receiver of anal play is relaxed. Especially for beginners, make an evening out of it. Start out with a nice dinner to put time between the stressful work day and the playful evening.
In the bedroom, set an ambiance that is soothing. Start out with a clean atmosphere with no distractions. Turn off TVs, loud music, and phone ringers and make sure you will not be interrupted. Give yourselves lots of time.
Begin foreplay with massage. Keep up the sexual energy while kneading out tension.
Anal sex is easiest after the receiver has already had an orgasm. Use foreplay not only to sexually arouse your partner, but to give him or her a climax that will relax muscles even further.
Do not use alcohol or drugs to induce a relaxed state. One drink may be fine, but more than one will start to numb the receiver of anal sex to pain and make the giver less attentive and sensitive to their partner. Sensation altering drugs or alcohol can make anal play dangerous by altering the ability to feel pain.
Rub lube on the object of penetration whether it be a body part or a toy. Lube should be put not just on the tip, but all along the object of penetration. Rub lube all around the anus. Use massaging motions to lube up the area and push lube into the anal cavity. When you think you have used enough lube... use a little more. Keep your bottle of lube close by to re-apply when necessary.The biggest problem people have with anal play and it being painful is not using the right kind and right amount of lube.
The thicker and longer lasting, the better. The anal cavity is particularly sensitive to harsh ingredients that may be included in lubes with special features. Avoid lubes with added on features like warming or pleasure enhancing lubes. We recommend gel lubes or any silicone based lubricants. Silicone lube is thin, but long-lasting and very slick. Because silicone molecules are spherical, they roll over each other like ball bearings.
Latex condoms are the most established and safest condoms available for anal sex. Polyurethane condoms are available in two forms for those with latex allergies; male and female. Female condoms have an inner ring that helps keep them in place during vaginal intercourse. Remove this ring for anal use. The female condom is recommended over male polyurethane condoms for anal sex because it is less likely to break due to its larger size and less likely to slip into the rectum because of the outer ring.
Using gloves keeps hands clean and smoothes out rough calluses and joints. Keep nails short and filed or, to protect against long nails, stuff cotton balls into the glove's fingertips.
Dams, often used for cunnilingus, can also be used for rimming (oral sex on the anus, analingus). These are rectangular pieces of latex rubber that you spread over the vagina or anus to provide a barrier between the giver's mouth and the receiver's body. In a pinch, take a condom and cut it down the length for a makeshift dam.
Anal play can create a little mess. Waste does not enter the rectum until just before a bowel movement. The mess comes from small amounts of left over fecal matter mixing with lube. Many are not bothered by it and just wash up afterwards. Putting down a towel will avoid messing up the sheets. For those really bothered by the idea, you may feel more comfortable using a enema to clean out the anal cavity.
Enemas can be purchased at most pharmacies over the counter and are used to fill the anal cavity with water or a solution that washes out the area before being let out. Only use water enemas. Harsh chemicals and cleaning agents like bleach or vinegar can be harmful to the sensitive tissues of the anal cavity.
The anal cavity is very clean, but it does hold bacteria that can be harmful to other parts of the body. Once you use something on or in the anus, letting it come in contact with other parts of the body may lead to infection. The mouth, the vagina, and open wounds can all be negatively affected by anal bacteria. Do not under any circumstances go from anal play to vaginal play with the same object of penetration. Even a finger that has been used to stimulate the anus can carry bacteria over the vagina that can cause serious urinary tract infections.
Anal play should never hurt. When it does, something is not going as it should. The pain indicates that something is stretching or tearing. The anal cavity is very sensitive. Injuries take a long time to heal and tend to be extremely painful. In severe cases, injuries require surgery and uncomfortable and embarrassing late night trips to the emergency room.
To be able to avoid injury, you have to know it is happening. To know it is happening, you have to be able to feel the pain.
This is why it is you should not use anything to numb pain during anal play. This includes all products containing numbing agents (like Anal Eaze) and other substances such as alcohol or drugs that dull the ability to feel pain.
While this is most important for the receiver of anal play, it is true of the giver too. The giver is responsible for paying attention and communication with his or her partner and looking for signs of injury such as blood. If the giver is not clear headed, he or she may not be able to concentrate on being sensitive to their partner's needs.
Anal Toys - A Quick Buying Guide
There are three main attributes of toys that are very important when choosing something for anal play.
Safe: For an anal toy to be safe, it must have something to keep it from entering completely into the rectum. Plugs should have a flared base. Beads should be on a strong cord with a durable handle. Toys with sharp ridges should not be used. Rough seams should be filed down.
Clean: Toys made out of non-porous materials like silicone, plastic, glass, or metal are better for anal play. These toys will not hold bacteria that increase the chance of infections. To keep toys extra clean, use condoms on them.
Pull vs. Electric Cords: Pull cords are strong strings designed for pulling toys out of the body (like with anal beads). Electric cords cover wires carrying electricity from the power source to the toy (like with bullet vibes). Electric cords should never be used as pull cords because they can come out of the toy. If this happens, the toy is lost wherever it has been inserted and delicate tissues become exposed to live wires.
Anal toys: have three main purposes; enhance orgasm, provide a sensation of fullness, or stimulate the g-spot or prostate gland through the anal cavity.
Beads: Anal beads are used to enhance orgasm. They can be inserted during foreplay and then pulled out just before or during climax to give a little extra edge to orgasms.
Plugs: Plugs are intended to give a sensation of fullness which many people really like. They come in different sizes and shapes, but most are smaller at the tip and wider towards the base to make them easier to put in.
Beaded Plugs: Some plugs are designed to give the sensation of fullness you get from a plug and are shaped to offer the orgasm enhancement properties of beads.
Prostate /G-Spot Stimulators: These toys are easily identified by their bent shape. The angle is intended to make it easier to get the toy to hit just the right spot and stimulate the prostate or G-spot.


text:
Walgreens reaches $80 million settlement over painkillers
The nation's largest pharmacy retailer has reached a record-breaking settlement with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Settlement in years-long antitrust milk suit approved
Late last week, a federal judge gave the stamp of approval on a $158.6 million settlement in a long legal battle that had plagued the milk industry.
Merkin investors must wait for Madoff payout
Everyone burned by Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme wants their money, and they want it now.
Retail association opts out of billion-dollar settlement
The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) announced yesterday that it will reject a proposed multibillion-dollar settlement that it says is a "bad deal" for millions of U.S. merchants.
American Airlines and Orbitz settle long-running suit
Orbitz Worldwide Inc. and American Airlines (AA) have ended their two-year battle over travel distribution costs and methods.
Social networking app settles over privacy violations
On the same day in February that it released its recommendations on mobile app privacy, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement with Path, a social networking app.
Judge will approve settlement in Madoff feeder fund case
A federal judge said late last week that he will approve an $80.25 million class action settlement that will benefit those that invested in Fairfield Greenwich Group funds.
BP settlement costs rise again
BP, which is already on the hook for billions of dollars over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, will pay spill victims even more than it was expecting, according to the company's annual report.
Hyundai agrees to settle fuel-economy suits
Hyundai Motor Co. has agreed to settle several suits centered on the fuel economy of several models of its cars.
Nortel settles claim with long-term disability employees
A settlement between what was once one of the country's largest telecommunications manufacturer and its disabled employees has received preliminary approval from a bankruptcy court.