John Howard - Right or Wrong?

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John Howard - Right or Wrong?

Post by grim_tales »

I found this on Imports Forum:

Australian Prime Minister John Howard, says his piece!!!



Quote:
Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks.

Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques. Quote: 'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture.. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians.'


'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom'


'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!'


'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'


We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'


'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom,

'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.'


'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted'


Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, British citizens will find the backbone to start speaking and voicing the same truths.
.........

Did he actually say that? I certainly agree with some of what he said, we will accept you if you accept us, and immigrants must adapt but intergration is two way, if immigrants live in Britain they should learn English etc and respect our customs, but we should also respect them. There should be respect between immigrants and the indigenous people. :)
Won't his remark about Australia being founded by Christians come as a shock to the Aboriginies? :? ;) They were the original Australians who came first and were treated like scum by white Australians :(
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Post by saltysam »

i'll back him.
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Post by romerojpg »

If only the UK had balls like that.
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Post by Markgway »

Agree with much of what he said... but he goes too far in suggesting everyone adopt/respect Christianity... I certainly wouldn't.
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Post by gasteropod »

It's definitely right that anyone who emigrates to a country should respect that country's culture and not start complaining about everything and trying to erect things like mosques everywhere, which dent the country's unique look.
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Post by EvaUnit02 »

How old was the original article (NOT the Imports forum thread), Grim? Kevin Rudd has been the Australian PM since December.

grim_tales wrote:Won't his remark about Australia being founded by Christians come as a shock to the Aboriginies? :? ;) They were the original Australians who came first and were treated like scum by white Australians :(
Kevin Rudd (the current PM) has been making a considerable effort to make reparations to the aborigines. Eg He apologised for the whole Stolen Generation.
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Post by bradavon »

John Howard is a right wing dick head and the Aussies did a momentous thing getting rid of him. Kevin Rudd has already done more to fix Australia than Howard ever did, such as Eva mentioned. He needs to go further though.

While I agree everyone should learn English in an English speaking county, that should be obvious. He's worded it far too bluntly though, he's supposed to be a politician and good at speaking and if they do allow mosques to be deliberately targeted then really they're no better than the people they claim to be fighting against.

That would be so wrong and against so many fundamental human rights that Australia stands for, but yes overall I do agree that immigrants should be forced to integrate better than they personally may choose to. It needs to be done diplomatically though and not how Howard describes.

Integrating into a society works both ways. I don't see many Brits learning the local language when they go on holiday or move abroad. A bunch of hypcrotics most Brits are.
gasteropod wrote:and trying to erect things like mosques everywhere, which dent the country's unique look.
I'd argue that a countries unique look is made stronger by diversity and not only respecting one religion.
Markgway wrote:but he goes too far in suggesting everyone adopt/respect Christianity... I certainly wouldn't.
Agreed. That does take it way too far. People should be allowed to believe in whatever they want to believe. It being Atheism or Scientology.

It's a good job Howard is now out.
How old was the original article (NOT the Imports forum thread), Grim? Kevin Rudd has been the Australian PM since December.
Good question. Is it Howard the politician today or Howard the prime minister of yesteryear?
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Post by grim_tales »

I agree with you that intergrating works both ways, Brad. He says that they will accept the immigrants if they accept Australia, and then says everyone should adapt to Christianity? :? Er.. no, what about people who don't believe in any religion, or arent Christians?
Thanks Eva for the Kevin Rudd info. I didn't know that.
Brad wrote:I'd argue that a countries unique look is made stronger by diversity and not only respecting one religion.
True.
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Post by bradavon »

How old is the article Grim, as Eva asks?

You never knew John Howard was no longer in power?
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Post by grim_tales »

I knew that, but I didnt know the current PM had apologised to the Aboriginies.
I asked over at Imports Forum.
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Post by bradavon »

Thanks for asking.

You didn't know :| , fair enough though. It was all over the news at the time.
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Post by grim_tales »

I think the article is from sometime in 2006
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Post by EvaUnit02 »

2006?! Why the fuck are they only discussing it now over at the Import forums?! They call it Current Affairs for a reason, talk about an irrelevant thread.
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Post by bradavon »

Well I guess to be fair it's still a relevant discussion overall and if they're still Howard's views (which I imagine they are) then they're still accurate, even if he no longer has any power to do anything about it.
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Post by gasteropod »

bradavon wrote:I'd argue that a countries unique look is made stronger by diversity and not only respecting one religion.
So if every country has the same buildings, then how can any look unique? Mosques look best in their own countries.
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Post by bradavon »

No country has the same buildings. The architecture in Britain is different to other parts of the world. I don't think anywhere else except Ireland has terraced houses for example.

This is the 21st century, immigration has been happening for hundred of years, to say Mosques look best in their own country no longer works. I guess we should remove all churches from North America because the Native Americans sure didn't put them there ;)
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Post by saltysam »

I live in Liverpool,the European Capital of Culture.it's got some nice buildings but it's mainly a shithole :D
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Post by Markgway »

Salty's about... better watch you car stereo. :D
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