::Politics & Humanity - Australia's Refugee/Asylum Seeker Debate Got this email from the inimitable Ross Farley (who I work with at Tear Australia). He does what I do in that he takes two bits of information that you may not normally put together, and then he puts them together with dramatic/sarcastic/deadpan yet so painfully obvious kind of way that it makes us squirm at our own stupidity and inhumanity. Thanks Ross!

*****************************************************

Hi,
There is lots of public discussion about asylum seekers so I thought I would get up to date on the current statistics. Then I thought I may as well pass on this information. So here is what I discovered.

_1. Refugees_

* There are currently about 10.5 million refugees in the world.

* The UNHCR has a resettlement program that finds new countries for
refugees. Various countries allocate the number of refugees they
are willing to take every year. (Australia has recently increased
its allocation to 13,500 places.) Unfortunately the total number
of places made available to the UNHCR for refugee resettlement is
only 76,740 per year.

* Many argue that all refugees should apply to the UNHCR and wait
for processing. It is a matter of simple arithmatic that they
would have to wait an average of 136 years to be resettled. (10.5
million refugees divided by 76,740 places) That is a very long
queue. (That figure of 136 years also assumes that there are no
more wars or natural disasters in the next 136 years to add to the
refugee numbers.)

* If the 100 wealthiest countries took an extra, one-off intake of
about 105,000 refugees each, then the argument that refugees
should wait their turn could begin to have some validity. After
that every wealthy country would also need to dramatically
increase the number of refugees they were willing to accept.

_Visa overstayers_

* Visa overstayers are illegal immigrants who came to Australia on
tourist visas and do not leave.
* The countries of origon with largest numbers of these illegal
immigrants are UK and USA.
* In 2007-2008, the number of visa overstayers was 48,500 compared
to 25 boat people arrivals. They outnumbered boat people by 1,904
to 1.
* Of the last 12 years, 2000-2001 had the most boat people arrivals.
That same year Australia had 60,000 visa overstayers. They
outnumbered boat people 14 to 1.
* Consider the differences. Asylum seekers usually enter Australia
openly and hand themselves over to the authorities and ask for
asylum. Visa overstayers pretend to come for a holiday when the
intend to stay. Refugees are also fleeing danger. What is so
dangerous in the UK and USA?
* Why is there such a public outcry about refugees but not about
visa overstayers?

I hope this is helpful and maybe I have saved you some research time.

Thanks,
Ross

_Sources
_www.immi.gov.au
www.unhcr.org
www.refugeecouncil.org.au

Labels: Asylum Seekers, Culture, Discipleship, Faith, Humour, Refugees, Resources, Tear, Theology

  Posted by Stephen @ 4:53 PM   0 comments

::Rants-Need a laugh? Need a laugh in your day? (NB: This will only make sense to Australians...)

I had heard that Pauline Hanson was running for the Queensland state seat of Beaudesert. I thought that was funny.

Then I read this article in todays Age newspaper, stating that larrikin celebrity footballer, Warwick Capper is going to run against her, to "give her some curry".

There were a few lol's in the office, however the final few paragraphs in the article sealed it for me.

Pauline Hanson, Warwick Capper and Big Brother, all in the one seat, in the upcoming Queensland state election.

Queenslanders: Do you see why your southern friends find you guys a bit funny!?

Labels: Humour, Politics

  Posted by Stephen @ 12:28 PM   0 comments

::Humor-You know you're a wog when...

1. Your grandmother's furniture is covered in plastic even though it's older than you.
2. You always have a friend who 'owes you a favour'.
3. You HAVE to use your hands when you talk.
4. If you are not understood, you would rather speak louder than rephrase.
5. You pronounce "comfortable" con-fort-a-bull - (like convertible)
6. It is always a fashion show .
7. You always dress to impress – even for a quick run to the supermarket.
8. You wear more cologne than deodorant.
9. You are a die hard football fanatic.
10. You don’t understand why anyone would call football “soccer”
11. You put Olive Oil in and on EVERYTHING and brag about how healthy it is.
12. You think nobody eats as well as you do.
13. You cook a meal that lasts 3 days.
14. You can't have a meal without bread/rice/pasta.
15. You have fruit trees in your backyard and when they are in season you live on them.
16. If you have guests, you will serve them food.
17. You tend to cross the street, anywhere you please, whether the light is green or not.
18. You are most likely considered the 'exotic one' amongst your friends.
19. You fight over who's going to pay the bill - but in reality you hate to pay.
20. You smoke as if there is no tomorrow & think it is sexy to do so while dancing.
21. If you are a girl- you give the look of death to any girl that looks better than you.
22. It is normal to see two guys kiss each other on the cheek .
23. You are boastful about your great English, except when it comes to using it to communicate with a foreigner.
24. You teach foreigners to swear in your language.
25. Your mechanic, plumber, electrician, accountant and travel agent are all blood relatives.
26. If you are a traditional male, women can be a bit plumper than average...all the better.
27. Your relatives alone can populate a small city.
28. Your family is over at your house all the time.
29. There is no such thing as quiet time.
30. You are older than one of your uncles or aunts.
31. You gossip about your own family...with your own family.
32. At least 5 of your cousins live on your street.
33. All 5 of those cousins are named after your grandfather or great grandfather.
34. Getting married is the only way to escape your parents.
35. When you go on a date you start thinking of lousy places where nobody would go so you don’t bump into family or friends.
36. You end up in a lousy place and still bump into the relative/friend with the biggest mouth.
37. You measure things in meters, grams, and litres.
38. You are not a farmer, but chances are high that some of your ancestors were.
39. Being away from the beach kills you.
40. The image of your country is extremely important.
41. You brag about how your country is the cradle of all great civilizations.
42. ALL of your guests will eat and drink something, willfully or not.
43. You do not just feel the heat in your thermometer - it doesn't take a survey to prove you're the most hot-blooded.
44. Since you are the most hot-blooded, you are also the most hot-tempered...
45. You view all fast food chains that claim to cook "foreign food" as SACRILEGE!!
46. When you come back to your country, your tribe invades the airport to greet you.
47. When you get married, the whole village/town/city end up at your wedding.
48. Your crazy elders are never sent to the asylum but stay with you at home.
49. A five seat car can indeed seat 13.
50. pfff ... Driving lanes those are for tourists!
51. You probably have more hair per square centimeter than anyone else in the world....unibrows anyone??
52. EVERYTHING is a matter of pride.
53. YOU ARE ALWAYS RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!

Labels: Culture, Humour

  Posted by Stephen @ 4:46 PM   1 comments

::Rants-For those who love mine... For those who have seen mine, have asked me where to get one, have commented on how much they like it, well, you can get your own! And even one for your baby!

Labels: Culture, Humour

  Posted by Stephen @ 10:28 PM   0 comments

::Rants-Humour This is one of the funniest youtube video's I have seen in a long time. Thanks to Steve Drinkall for putting me onto it.

Labels: Humour, Tear

  Posted by Stephen @ 5:11 PM   0 comments