Equal Rights?

This picture is from the 19th century US periodical Puck. It is saying that the only group in society that will not assimilate are the dreaded Irish (I originally found this and a bunch of other anti-Irish illustrations from the 19th century here).

So here we are, in the 21st century, and of course the dreaded Irish still refuse to assimilate don't they?

What? You mean they have? Gosh. Do you think other cultures and nationalities might eventually assimilate, given time?

The inevitable result of Islamophobia

From the department of publishing what people want to hear:

The Sun newspaper has come over a bit modest. Following a Channel 4 documentary about media reporting of Muslims, the paper accepts some of its stories were "distorted". But they're not doing themselves justice. They weren't distorted – they were entirely made up. For example, a story about a Muslim bus driver who ordered his passengers off the bus so he could pray was pure fabrication.

But if reporters are allowed to make up what they like, that one should be disciplined for displaying a shocking lack of imagination. He could have continued, "The driver has now won a case at the Court of Human Rights that his bus route should be altered so it only goes east. This means the 37A from Sutton Coldfield will no longer stop at Selly Oak library, but go the wrong way up a one-way street and carry on to Mecca. Local depot manager Stan Tubworth said, 'I suggested he only take it as far as Athens but he threatened a Jihad, and a holy war is just the sort of thing that could put a service like the Selly Oak Clipper out of business'."

Then there was a story about "Muslim thugs" in Windsor who attacked a house used by soldiers, except it was another invention. But with this tale the reporter still claims it's true, despite a complete absence of evidence, because, "The police are too politically correct to admit it." This must be the solution to all unsolved crimes. With Jack the Ripper it's obvious – he was facing the East End of London, his victims were infidels and he'd have access to a burqua which would give him vital camouflage in the smog. But do the pro-Muslim police even bother to investigate? Of course not, because it's just "Allah Allah Allah" down at the stations these days.

I have no politically correct notions that demand that I ignore racially motivated violence. I know that minority racial groups can often give rise to racially motivated violence - like Lebanese men in Sydney gang-raping white women.

What I can't tolerate is when the media, in order to capitalise on this fear, creates stories out of thin air in the same way in order to gain financial rewards (more newspapers sold, more advertising space sold). In this sense, the market rewards the media for distorting facts rather than reporting facts.

Much of our current debate about terrorism since 9/11 has been based upon fear and ignorance. While Islamic terrorism is certainly on the rise it has yet to impact us (since 9/11) in the West any worse than, say, the IRA bombing campaigns in Britain or radical leftist groups like the Red Army Faction.

And this means, of course, that 9/11 in the light of history is now appearing to be an exceptionally unusual event rather than the beginning of a new pattern of terrorism.

AAAAAAAAA

A blog post with every single category marked (I'm doing this for scribefire)

The ALP today - it stinks

As the years have passed by, I have become more firmly entrenched in a centre-left political stance. This means, of course, that I am more likely to vote for parties that subscribe to my politics. This is why I am more likely to support the Australian Labor Party and the Greens when it comes to elections.

I am not a partisan, however. I am not a member of any political party and I see principle and ideas to be far more important than supporting a particular political party. This is why I can, for example, praise the Howard government for its fiscal intelligence while also criticising them for their immoral stance on immigration and the Iraq War.

Yet despite Howard's success, and the success of the Liberal/National coalition in Federal politics, Australia is now governed entirely by the Australian Labor Party. Not only is Kevin Rudd the new PM in charge of an ALP government, but every single state government in Australia is Labor as well. Despite the apparent ascendency of the Liberal/National Coalition since 1996, the hard fact is that Australia is dominated by the ALP. More than that, the chances of a revival in the coalition's electoral success is increasingly slim. The Liberal Party, for example, took around 37% of votes in the last Federal Election. The National Party is in even worse shape, getting only 5.5% of votes.

Of course part of the reason why these figures are so low for the coalition is because of the rise of the Greens to being Australia's third largest political party. Yet the party which has been affected least by the Greens is the ALP.

The ALP has been enormously successful in surviving the Howard years at state level by positioning themselves as a centrist party. The dominant right faction of the ALP has ensured that the more progressive/leftist members of the ALP have not had any real power since the days of Gough Whitlam.

Yet I would have to say that the price of this success has been corruption and inaction. The NSW Labor Party, for example, is enduring all sorts of political fallout - all of it the result of their own stupidity and greed. NSW Labor politicians have been threatening restaurant staff, sexually abusing teenagers, taking money from property developers and mismanaging state funds for quite some time now.

I can't remember the last time I voted for the ALP. I think it was in the 1980s. Ever since then I have voted Liberal, Democrat or Green. The survival of the ALP and its reputation does not concern me in the slightest. I abhor any form of politics that results in inefficiency and corruption. Even though I was deeply angry with Howard's treatment of immigrants and his position on the Iraq War, I cannot think of any major scandal rocking his government during his 11 years in power.

One of the most frightening things I can think of is the potential for Kevin Rudd to turn into a federal version of Morris Iemma, leading a federal version of NSW Labor. That would be complete disaster. Unfortunately I can't see anything positive yet about Kevin Rudd's (albeit short) time as PM. So far Rudd has been strong on words but low on actual, measurable outcomes. Unless Rudd actually starts doing something, I can't see anything beyond a descent into a long term NSW-type Labor activity. And that will do nobody any good.

Sweden best for immigrants

From the department of the-marketplace-is-not-always-the-most-efficient:

A study of how Europe integrates immigrants has exposed wide variations in the welcome foreign workers receive.

The European Union-backed research found Sweden doing the most to help migrants settle - and Latvia the least.

Overall, EU nations are only doing half as much as they could, said researchers acting for a consortium of 25 organisations across Europe.

The study of policies across the continent ranks countries on key factors affecting immigrants' lives.

The Migration Integration Policy Index is produced by a consortium of European organisations, led by the British Council and the Migration Policy Group in Brussels.

The reason Sweden is like this is not because its people are somehow more friendly than others, or that the migrants going there are somehow the nicest in the world - it's because there is an intelligent form of state-based aid to help immigrants assimilate into their new society. If Australia or other places in the world want good immigrants then it might be time to examine the Swedish example.