NSW Discrimination Finally Proven

On 23 March 2006 the Administrative Decisions Tribunal handed down an important decision concerning the entitlement of international students to be granted travel concessions for use on public transport in NSW. It effectively decided that full fee paying international students in NSW are entitled to travel concessions in the same terms as local Australian students.

These two albums are a must hear for anyone who likes their revolutionary hip hop. Immortal Technique was born in Peru and moved to Harlem where, like so many others in the poor black and hispanic community, he turned to crime to get out of the ghetto. However something snapped and changed this perceptive man's view of the situation he was in, I am guessing in the lead up to and especially during a stint in prison he refers to in one of his tracks. Technique refers to a 'mentality implanted in us'; a 'ghetto- bred capitalistic mental' whereby people turn to drug dealing, prostitution and robbery to get a better standard of living for themselves in a coutry with a virtually non existent welfare system. But Technique, who I must emphasize was quite the 'gangsta' realised that trying to get out of the ghetto through crime not only fed the racist media propogated myth that blacks or hispanics are a more barbaric, crime prone people; it was also futile to try and escape capitalism through capitalism; by trying to escape one form of robberry and exploitation by practicing and subjecting yourself to another form of it. So he became a revolutionary.

No, this is not a philosophical discussion of the fact time is an illusion, just thought it might grab some attention. This is rather, a response to two articles from the last issue; “The SIMS” and “I Am Free….” Both discussed the issue of free will and fate (choice and destiny) from both sides of the argument. I personally believe this to be an irrelevant debate.

FATE and FREE WILL are constructs of the human mind. They are Absolutes. Like black and white, good and evil, they simply don’t exist in nature. It’s all varying shades of grey. So, no-one is 100% destined to do something, and, no-one is completely ‘free’. Just like black/white, up/down, blunt/sharp, etc, you can’t have one without the other. If you don’t believe me, read up on DIALECTICS, a philosophy developed by Frederick Engels.

These are the kind of basic misconceptions, I believe, to be the reason for much of the destructive conflict in the world. They stem from our need, as post-renaissance human beings, to measure, quantify, categorise, predict and control everything we come into contact with. After 400 years of this, most people have lost the ability to view the world, and everything in it, as anything but separate entities. Which, is true, but it’s only half the truth.

I think we need a global paradigm shift towards a holistic worldview, one that encompasses every thing, system, process and force, on its’ own terms, within its’ relevant context.

This view must be centred round the only universal truth that exists, that of UNITY. – “Everything can be broken down into its constituent parts, and, is itself a constituent part of a larger whole. With no upward or downward limit.”
With this perspective, people can begin to relate things together and see the patterns underlying life and nature.

I believe once people do this, they will see how pointless the debate about free will and destiny is. Just as irrelevant as the ‘Science vs Religion’ debate, or whether “God” exists or not. It’s like having a debate over who is more important, man or woman. Only ignorant people think one is more important than the other. You already know they are both equally as important, just in different, but complementary ways. 
Intelligent Design or Evolution? They are words. Words that make us believe they are separate, conflicting ideas. How about these words;
God is the Evolving Universe, or, we Intelligently Designed Ourselves.

I started out as a god-fearing Christian, then became and atheist, then agnostic, then a Pantheist. Now I choose to reject labels of this kind, because they only help disintegrate our society and views. We need terms that help integrate all our combined knowledge, experience and wisdom. Why not have spiritual beliefs rooted in science?

My views on theological issues can be summed up by a now dead comedian, Bill Hicks.
“Young man on acid today realised that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration. That we are all one consciousness experiencing itself, subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we’re the imaginations of ourselves.” I think views such as this one would aid our society in actually becoming multi-cultural. 

At the moment we have ‘micro-culturalism’, many cultures living separately in one fractured society. Instead of our current primary and secondary education systems having schools for different religions, sexes, etc, we need a move towards all schools being an even mix of boys/girls, rich/poor and Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Athiest, Buddhist, etc. If society and the business world has this mix, don’t you think it should be reflected in our education institutions. Otherwise our schools become breeding grounds for racism, sexism and most other –isms.

Also, in relation to last issues story on abortion, my adopted friend put forward the argument that “if abortion was more widely accepted, then he wouldn’t exist”. But, as I said before, this is only a half view, an incomplete picture of both sides of a story. Because, as I said, “But if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”

We must rid ourselves of such a black and white view of what is ‘good’ and what is ‘evil’. No baby is born inherently evil. It is the systems in place that allow people like George Bush to believe he can bring about world peace, with a ‘War on terror’. News for right wingers, WAR IS TERROR. So don’t hate, this leads to terrorism. Instead, get frustrated with Howards’ oppressive regime and use this frustration to do something positive. Show sympathy towards others and FIGHT THE SYSTEM that embraces hatred. 
Never resort to violence, because “An eye for an eye, makes the whole world blind”

So, have ‘faith’ in yourself and your own intuitions/judgements, reject ideologies (like globalisation) and do something positive for yourself, your family, our society and the ecological systems that support it all. Remember; 
“The only true ‘evil’ is when good men do nothing”

  - Timothy Webster.




addition if possible
- "If job losses are the primary reason the timber industry continues logging old growth forests, don't we have a duty to protect japanese whalers jobs. They have families to feed too."

Tower tower quite contrary

why do you work but every tenth time?

Harried users harbor suspicions

of big-brother ambition

It was the day before dole day and the well had run completely dry, I just needed that fucking cash like some desperate junkie crawling helplessly for his next fix. The sound of monotone doctors came beaming out of the television like a lighthouse, its piercing gamma rays penetrating into my consciousness, their pale green surgery wear blended into the background like camouflage.

DVD, 2006

Dir: Roger Mitchell

(Hopscotch/Roadshow, M)

Oh say, can you see… by the Con’s pearly light…

Oh say, can you say YES MEN and WOMEN?

The rarest of opportunities: a meeting for students with the US Secretary of State, Madam (as they call her) Doctor (as they croon) Condaleeza Rice...

“Who?” Was the response from some pals that I excitedly told. “Oh, is that that Aboriginal Lady on the news about the war?” Yeeeeahhh… that’s her…

Daah dah, dada da daah da...

A hero’s theme. I can't help but let it fill my head when I look down from up here. Getting harder to fly above this city, the way it keeps growing. Maybe the air's thinner up here. Neon melts into a flashy fuzz up ahead. Maybe it's the smog.

What are these friggin HUBS? Are they happening or not? When? Why?

It’s probably best to be honest from the outset. I picked up this CD because I thought my mum would like it and I could pass it on to her after I reviewed it. Not my usual listening criteria...