ants

I would argue that any deserve what is being proposed. But even if they were, as a society being willing to provide that ‘worst’ let alone deriving pleasure from it is pretty sickening.

I find the enjoyment many get at the idea of prison being a brutal punishment where the incarcerated are beaten and/or raped on a regular basis pretty sickening. It is a shame it is such a common view in the west.

I’m not sure if this is a reflection of how much I post, that I missed something in the Me Too comparison, or something else! But taking it as the first, I usually post a little in the UK politics thread, 1-3 times per 20 pages? So, been around but post less.

None of this as you describe it is synonymous with the me too movement. It never said you can’t have a relationship with a power imbalance. Just the question at work and related spheres. You’re also the only one talking about sex, the link you gave doesn’t make that claim. Frankly, without more information it seems a hatchet job. now, the claims about harassment by BBC staff is absolutely Me Too, and if shown to be factual he should have the book thrown at him.

Wow, not touched this in a while. A whole heap of books I've read recently are the Magiford city books by K Shea. A combination of romance and urban fantasy, they're set within a high magic world and specifically the city of Magiford (duh!). They are a series of trilogies which each have different races but with each trilogy centering around one romance. The romances do vary in type, although there are some common themes (the men are always kick-ass). The stories are mostly told from the woman's perspective, although not exclusively. Although trilogy is separate, they're all set within the same area and build on each other. Some minor (and some major) characters show up in the later trilogies allowing the reader to track what is happening for a lot of the characters the books have moved on from, and creating a clearly defined arc. There is both an overarching villain group, as well as characters within each book and/or trilogy. The story writing is very good and engrossing, and although the mysteries can often be solved ahead of time, they're still definitely solid. The romances are all very fun; albeit they follow some stereotypes. The series has overall been a lot of fun, and I consumed it across a relatively short period. Now waiting for the next book, but luckily the author seems to write quickly. I'd strongly recommend it for anyone who enjoys paranormal romance, and probably for those who just like urban fantasy.

They presumably went under because there aren't enough with those views...

Although I absolutely agree with this, it is also worth noting Australian households weren't as leveraged in 2011, and so weren't as sensitive either.

Names please? Also, how does that work? In Australia a lot of blue-collar union members fall into this category. Those who vote for the Labour party, and are a big reason why although the party is to the left, it isn't that far to the left. Those types believe in social welfare systems, support for workers, taxing the rich. But they can be still quite bigoted and not particularly progressive. My father who was in management absolutely falls into this category. He'd never vote for conservatives. But he probably voted against SSM in the Australian plebiscite and will probably vote against the Voice in the upcoming referendum. In the US I believe the blue collar workers probably fall into the same category, to the degree that Republicans and Trump did quite well at peeling them away from Dems in 2016. Similarly in the UK the "blue-wall" Northern electorates voted for the Tories at the last election to get Brexit done. Also in the US, I believe the African American community can often fall into this category. There are many who want egalitarian justice, tax and welfare systems but are very socially conservative. There are lots of articles around how the AA community splits Democrat more because of what Nixon and subsequent Republican politicians did than because of any particular alignment with the Democrat party position.

Is there really much evidence that China has territorial (versus influence) ambitions beyond Taiwan and its immediate borders? I would have thought the trade issues you raise would mean China's main goal after Taiwan would be to gain control via influence, not force.

It would be interesting to see what would happen if Taiwan did choose to begin joining China. Would that completely nullify US/China military tensions? Would it actually impact world GDP one iota? Certainly from an Australian perspective it would actually be a fantastic outcome if it reduced tensions significantly. Which then raises the question, is there an incentive for the US to abandon Taiwan?

I don't know the answers, but isn't it a civil trial not a criminal trial? I believe the statute of limitations is up. In a civil trial it is balance of probabilities, not beyond reasonable doubt.

It is usually also a symptom of the rich being better at minimising recognised income. Such as being allowed to use trusts. One thing I like in Australia is that capital gains are (mostly) recognised as income and taxed at the same rates. I hate this. We need a review of our entire tax system, including the PHI rebates, superannuation, pensions, trusts and mortgage bonuses. It's been too long since it was all reviewed as a holistic whole.

The logic of both are astoundingly bad. For the Voice, even if she was right about New Zealand, how would that be relevant for the Voice given there will be no veto powers? And for the statement above by Paxter, it's the left who are the ones who do care about indigenous incarceration rates.

But that’s what usually happens when inflation is high, and one of the reasons governments nowadays try to keep it within a range. Because higher inflation causes a spiral exacerbated by greed and fear. that wasn’t the initial driver if the high inflation though.

That’s reacting to inflation and why we try and control it. If there wasn’t demand and initial inflation they couldn’t/wouldn’t do that.