Hastings Rationals Blog

The Vatican has attempted to redirect growing criticism over its handling of child sex abuse by claiming that such abuse occurs elsewhere too. (This is true, but is it relevant? This can hardly be a defence.)

Sex abuse rife in other religions, says Vatican [The Guardian, via RichardDawkins.net]

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A recent OECD report apparently reveals that Australia is one of the lowest spenders on public education in the world, but directs the second-highest amount to private schools. The Australian Education Union claims Commonwealth funding to one Adelaide private school is projected to increase by around 35% by 2012, despite a predicted increase in enrolments of just four students over the same period.

Teachers say private schools get too much [news.com.au]

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According to a Government-commissioned study, most 16 to 17-year-old boys admit to viewing online pornography - but they claim it’s an accident.

Teenagers watch online porn ‘by accident’ - Government study [news.com.au]

Yes. An accident. <roll eyes>

Religious lobby groups (Jim Wallace and company, we’re looking at YOU) will no doubt use the study to further prop up their feeble, hysterical and outright dishonest push for Internet censorship. Oh, speaking of which…

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A follow-up report, by one of the speakers at a round table event that was supposed to address Internet Censorship:

More smoke, more mirrors [EFA]

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And while we’re going to purge the entire Internet of all depictions of uncovered skin (lest our pure eyes and hearts be corrupted, and our empty heads filled with evil thoughts of… pleasurable physical activity - oh the horror!) let’s censor Australian television too. Because, apparently, there’s no “parent in Australia who is happy with the standard of content on commercial television screens.”

Tame the Tube ["Make a Stand" campaign by the Australian Christian Lobby]

(For what it’s worth, there may be many - parents and others - who are unhappy with the standard of content on Australian television… but not necessarily for the same reasons as members of the ACL.)

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The next federal election could be just around the corner. While Hastings Rationals is strictly a-political we think it’s time the major parties got a wake up call from the electorate. A lot of Australians are sick of being taken for granted, having our needs ignored and generally being treated like idiots. Inaction on climate change, continuing inequity in school funding, decomposing health systems, increasing influence of religious lobby groups (and ongoing influence of major polluting industries), Internet censorship… the list goes on, and unless the voters of Australia take drastic action then nothing will change - at least not for the better.

At the next election, please seriously consider voting for minor parties. Put the major parties (Labor, Liberals, Nationals) last. Every vote counts no matter who you vote for, and if enough people demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the status quo by making themselves heard at the ballot box then eventually politicians of all persuasions will need to take notice - or find themselves unemployed. Minor parties are important. Minor parties and independents can be powerful! (Think Brian Harradine, Family First, Nick Xenophon…) You can send a message to politicians that their behaviour and attitudes are unacceptable and need to change; all you need to do is change your vote…

Below - in no particular order - are a couple of minor parties you may consider voting for. We do not necessarily endorse all of the policies of these parties, nor the comments of their representatives, but encourage you to learn as much about them as you can and make your own informed decisions. There are other parties too, and independent candidates run in most electorates at most elections. Do your homework. Google is your friend.

• The Democrats
• The Greens
• Secular Party of Australia (separation of church and state)
• The Australian Sex Party (wide range of issues relating to sex, gender and individual rights; anti-censorship)

From the ABC Online:

Diminutive humans whose remains were found on the remote Indonesian island of Flores in 2003 truly are a new species, and not pygmies whose brains had shrivelled with disease, researchers say.

Full article

From ABC Online:

Arthritis Tasmania has condemned the actions of a church in north-west Tasmania which has cancelled a senior citizens’ Tai Chi class.

The Wynyard Baptist Church says the martial art goes against the Bible.

Full article here.

From the ABC:

Under-age sex laws ‘putting NT kids at risk’

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is warning that legislative changes in the Northern Territory could have a devastating impact on the health of many Indigenous children.

…and (emphasis added):

[Health Department staff] were told to report anyone under 16 who is sexually active, even if that person’s sexual partner is also under 16 or of the same age, and regardless of consent.

“Any person who has sexual intercourse with someone under the age of 16 is guilty of a crime and liable to imprisonment for 16 years,” Dr Bauert said.

“There’s no age defence, so if the person who was having sex with somebody under the age of 16 is 15, that is no defence.

“We are going to have young people not prepared to come seeking help in terms of contraception advice; they won’t be coming seeking advice in early pregnancy, if themselves or their partner are likely to be charged with a crime.”

Dr Bauert says patients will also think twice before seeking treatment for sexually transmitted infections.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Blacklist snares Bill Henson fan site

Senator Steven Conroy today released a statement regarding the supposed leak of the ACMA blacklist:

Internet list publication grossly irresponsible

Selected extracts:

“I am aware of reports that a list of URLs has been placed on a web site. This is not the ACMA blacklist.”

and

“There are some common URLs to those on the ACMA blacklist. However, ACMA advises that there are URLs on the published list that have never been the subject of a complaint or ACMA investigation, and have never been included on the ACMA blacklist.”

Meanwhile the WikiLeaks web site, including it’s published list of URLs, appears to be currently unavailable…

Update on Australian Internet censorship…

It appears the ACMA’s blacklist may have been leaked. Web site WikiLeaks claims to have received the list and published it on their website. We will not link to it directly, but it is easy to find. See the following articles for more information.

(more…)

Not sure what to make of this… an article from news.com.au…

 

Monash University bans doco audition posters     

• Filmmaker seeks virgins
• Offers students cash
• Recruiting students to sell virginity

A FILMMAKER has caused outrage by trying to recruit students to auction their virginity online - and film their attempts.

Victoria’s Monash University called police after receiving complaints about posters offering $20,000 each to a male and female virgin to appear in a feature-length documentary.

 

Full article

(Note the obligatory comment from religious lobby group, the Australian Family Association.)

 

UPDATE: An interview with the directory, Justin Sisely, here. Includes this gem:

“The crux right now is provocation and publicity so I want to start advertising before it even gets made. We want to create a little bit of media hype and attention throughout the public, they’ll follow the story and by the release date we’ll already have an audience.”

From an article on the ABC site:

Religious groups are furious Tabcorp has decided to open for gambling on Good Friday for the first time.

The decision to allow punters to place bets at agencies and hotels comes as New South Wales authorities consider an application by big retailers to open on Easter Sunday.

There appear to be 3 separate issues here:

• the relevance of restrictions on business based on traditional Christian religious holidays;
• the prevalence of gambling, and its associated problems;
• industrial relations implications, with staff possibly being required to work on public holidays.

(more…)

 A new American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) has found that almost all religious denominations have lost ground since the first ARIS survey in 1990.

Some excerpts from this article (emphasis added):

So many Americans claim no religion at all (15%, up from 8% in 1990), that this category now outranks every other major U.S. religious group except Catholics and Baptists. In a nation that has long been mostly Christian, “the challenge to Christianity … does not come from other religions but from a rejection of all forms of organized religion,” the report concludes.

(more…)