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Chris:

Well... I've been working at a little 'do' called the Adelaide Show. I managed to slip in as a ride assistant by the skin of my teeth and sort of ended up as a ride assistant of a relatively emasculating ride which will remain nameless until the storyline arc about it starts. Also let it be said that I was relatively injured by it, and had to forfeit several days worth of work, and potentially money.

Oh, and as for you Travis, I would have won that "When will Chris update the site next Pool".

No ranting. Too much pain.

Mark:

Greetings, all. I haven't said anything much for a while now, so I thought I probably should. And before I launch into my rant, I might as well disown the following other person while I'm at it: Russel Crowe. Although he lives here, he is still a New Zealander. They can take the credit for spawning someone so prone to dummy spits.

You know, I hate a lot of the things politicians in this country have done. I really do. And so do a lot of other Australians. In my "Announcement" comic, I denounced the current Liberal Government for its stance on refugees. The Government either palms them off to poor Island nations in exchange for aid, or if they are forced to take them they put them in detention centres in the Australian desert. Children who are unaccompanied by adults are also put in the same detention centres. They are held in these centres until their claims are processed, and it is decided whether or not they are genuine refugees. This can take years.

The Government explains this to the public as follows: They are queue jumpers. They could be terrorists. If they can afford the exorbitant fees the people smugglers charge, their life wasn't all that bad in the first place. That sort of thing. Very "Us against them" sort of language, very provocative although in a subtle fashion, designed to cause a resurgence in racial predjudice. This can be very effective when the world has just seen some Naughty Naughty Arabs kill lots and lots of Innocent Americans For No Good Reason Whatsoever. It isn't as bad as in the US, where you merely have to look Arabic to be suspicious nowadays, but poor refugees who resort to leaky boats to cross the sea are all quite suspect in the eyes of some idiot Australians.

They are not the real reasons, as far as I can see. The Government is perfectly aware that a terrorist is more likely to fly in on an aeroplane, entering the country legally. If they are going to die in a suicide attack anyway, what is the point of hiding your identity? The Government is also aware of the queue jumpers who also come in via aeroplanes. The people who overstay their visas by years. The government very carefully ignores these people, as they are quite often British and usually fairly well off. It seems to me that the real reasons the Government doesn't like refugees is that they are poor, from a non-european background, and generally unskilled labour. They fear more people in unemployment queues and statistics, which make them look very bad Economic managers indeed. They fear an even more multi-cultural nation. They possibly think that if they are not careful, Australia will lose its basically European cultural base. They are perfectly happen to celebrate ethnic diversity, so long as it is European ethnic diversity, or else a very small portion of the population.

I just heard that asylum seekers who are not granted refugee status, are charged for their stay in detention centres. $26,000 for six months, approximately. Because they are not granted asylum, they cannot work here in Australia to pay off their debt. And $26,000 is somewhat difficult to raise in the country of origin for most of these people. Finally, they would be barred from entering the country by a "legitimate" route until they pay off the debt. A neat little system, eh? Never let it be said I don't admire the cunning of our politicians.