Today, my International Studies teacher used an interesting, if roundabout, example to demonstrate the ludicrousness of self-determination. He said, “Suppose that Melbourne decides to break away from the rest of Australia. If we have the right of self-determination, we can do that, can’t we? Well, but if you grant that, then perhaps the people of western Melbourne might decide they’re different to the people of eastern Melbourne, so they might exercise their right to self-determination. But then, the people of Sunshine might decide they’re different to everyone else in western Melbourne, and exercise their right. Then the boys of west Sunshine might decide they’re different to the boys of east Sunshine, and before we know it, we’ve got a West Sunshine Republic on our hands. Do we want one of those? So the question with self-determination, therefore, is, ‘Where do we stop?’”
Keep in mind that South Ossetia is on the “Sunshine” end of the scale. Read on…
Something which has appeared on the BBC a couple of times now, but not once that I have seen in our own local media, is the Rudd government’s plan to erect a firewall to block Australians’ access to certain websites. The “cyber-safety plan” apparently comprised part of the 2008-09 budget, but was unfortunately overlooked by the Liberals so they could complain about taxes on luxury cars. The plan’s stated aim is to “help protect Australian children from the dangers of the internet” (as seen on the DBCDE website). Sounds good, right?
Well no, actually, it’s not good at all. I don’t care how many government-appointed consultative committees there are, how much they educate young Australians on how to be “responsible cyber-citizens”, how many different groups they insist they will be “working with”, nor how many excuses they offer as to why a mandatory firewall is necessary. Plainly and simply, it is not. This plan is an erosion of our rights, nothing more and nothing less — and should be opposed.
Read on…
Every day, my family gets a phone call (or two, or three) from real estate agents trying to push us out of our home. “Would you like us to evaluate your house? No obligations! No string attached!” or, “Did you know that we did a good job selling no.39? You should consider letting us sell your house,” or, “Did you know that house prices in your area have never been higher? Now’s a great time to sell!” We get the same thing in our maiboxes, too. Day in, day out.
The irritating thing is that these real estate agents aren’t just being shady — they’re actually pressuring us on a daily basis because it is my council’s policy to push us out of our home. The area in which I live has been designated an “urban village”. Council has decided that houses are unwelcome here; they want blocks of flats two or three storeys tall, at least fifteen dwellings apiece. Our house, which is old and situated on a huge block of land, is extremely attractive to developers — and, hence, to the council. Read on…
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