Ross Cameron you have been Deleted — how the Delete-People-Tactic destroys discussion

UPDATE: People are still angry over this on Twitter.Sign the petition.

Unpermitted words have a Weapons-Grade power over useful words at a rate of a billion to one

Speak a Forbidden Term and your entire career can be neutralized instantly. It doesn’t matter how many other useful ideas or contributions you make. Any breach unleashes a tidal wave of unrighteous indignation.  Then the honest players fold like daffodils in a breeze and leap to carry out the judgement of twitter mobs. Why do good people help the Lynch Mob every time?

The permitted word list is defined by the PC mob, it changes at random, and post hoc, and only applies to people who threaten collectivist power. Eminent scientists can be called “deniers” as if they are mental morons, they can be likened to pedophiles, asbestos-pushers and Hitler, and that’s not only OK, those people get lavish taxpayer funded careers and prizes. (Not mentioning any names Stephan Lewandowsky and Robyn Williams.)

Freedom of Speech is under threat —  we have to stand up to this

Tuesday, Ross Cameron said the four forbidden words “slanty-eyed, yellow-skinned“. Rude, yes, dynamite, no. They were better left unsaid, and potentially offensive, but not a sackable offence.

Suddenly the experienced former MP and long time commentator was a Proven Racist, which, like a dose of social Ebola, means he had to be excised lest his condition infect the rest of the show, or even the entire channel. Lordy, deranged Twitter Mobs might call Sky The-Channel-of-Racists! But here’s the thing, they already do that anyway.

As Andrew Bolt points out Ross was defending China. Co-host Rowan Dean told him off for sounding like an advert.

Ross Cameron has made decades of contributions to the national dialogue, with millions of useful words, but none of that counts if we reduce a whole person to a binary dot. In a one-nil national debate you are either a person or a racist! Thus everything he ever says on any topic can now be met with the inane “rascist” namecalling. That is, as long as we let namecallers control the conversation.

Think about the incredible power of these four words. Who died? Which trade deal was axed? The over-reaction (by non-Chinese people) is a patronizing put-down, as if the Chinese are such weak petals they can’t handle a colorful description or an old demeaning cliche.

Kevin Rudd thinks it’s all so important he declared Rupert Murdoch practically employed Ross Cameron to say this. “They knew exactly what they were doing”. Apparently defending China for 6.9 out of 7 minutes is an “extreme right wing view”. Shows what KRudd knows about politics.

Instead of sacking him, Outsiders could have invited some actual Chinese people on the show to reply. Ross could’ve explained himself face to face (if they wanted that, but they probably have more important things to discuss). Let him face that music. Why not find out whether Chinese people preferred Ross’s commentary to Rowan’s. That’s what a national conversation looks like. Not like a witchhunt.

Ross Cameron on Outsiders

A seven minute long monologue from Ross about the importance and achievements of China. Forbidden words at 5:20.

The Punishment Does Not Fit “the Crime”

Sacking him feeds the DeletePeople Movement, giving them a power they don’t deserve and destroying any chance of a sophisticated national debate.

The four poisonous words

Read the quote without the four bolded words. Ho hum. The spirit and intent of Ross’s point is clear:

I’m just saying to you that the Chinese civilisation is the oldest continuous civilisation in the world. OK, It’s not going anywhere. 1.4 billion people, it’s got about a sixth of the world’s population. All of them are studying English. If you go to Disneyland in Shanghai on any typical morning of the week you will see 20,000 black haired, slanty eyed, yellow skinned Chinese desperate to get into Disneyland because they like and enjoy and are embracing many aspects of Western culture…

We find the Chinese to be Australia’s single most important trading partner. The Chinese provide the greatest number of purchasers of Australian education exports, the greatest number of foreign students. We find a million Chinese coming to Australia each year to visit. One out of four ships leaving an Australian port goes straight to China.

Our national conversation is the most precious thing. It’s how we find and filter the truths, the good ideas. As long as we let the namecalling mobs DeletePeople the whole national conversation becomes a parody. It’s a minefield.

The true haters want to reduce the world to namecalling and a binary Yes:No answer.

He shouldn’t have said it, so lets ask him not to do it again, and put him back on TV.

9.2 out of 10 based on 100 ratings

144 comments to Ross Cameron you have been Deleted — how the Delete-People-Tactic destroys discussion

  • #
    Serp

    Bowdler has been surreptitiously resurrected and his strictures are again in force albeit with a shift in focus.

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    • #
      Sceptical Sam

      Hmmm, yes. Bowdlerized.

      But not if you’re a lefty. Take this most recent example of “get-out-of-gaol-free-racism”:

      Swisher: “what do you think of Cory Booker… saying ‘kick them in the shins,’ essentially…”

      Hillary Clinton: “Well, that was Eric Holder…yeah, I know they all look alike,”

      Listen to the hypocritical lead-in:

      https://youtu.be/_6U1Wmq-Ems

      And this creature wanted to lead the free world?

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  • #
    wal1957

    Of course he’s a waacist! He’s an old white guy so he must be! Plus he’s wearing a blue tie!

    Alright, so maybe he should not have used those 4 words, maybe.
    But, fair dinkum…. how would I describe Asian people as I see them….

    What annoys me more is the speed at which Sky succumbed to the chant of the SJW’s.

    [C’mon Wal. Jokes aside. I’m sure you can think of a better way to describe people. -Jo]

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    • #
      glen Michel

      I suspect the executive mob at Sky have been waiting to knockoff Cameron for awhile now. His position on Russia’s reclaiming Crimea(absolutely right) went against his masters weltanschauung. Polemic has its limits i guess.

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      • #
        Ted O'Brien

        It would certainly seem that “they” were out to get him. Only the very lowest application of intellectual rigour could find this offensive. It most certainly was not meant to be offensive.

        Ross Cameron and his comment should be reinstated, and his employers required to give a full explanation for this sacking. They should not be permitted to so join in the debasement of intellectual standards.

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        • #
          OriginalSteve

          The irony is, Australia is rather racist. We have a long history of it.

          I recall my wife tell me when she was supply teaching around Morden in South London, of native born white Brits who used the shout abuse at indian/sri-lankans/apkistani immigrants ( often just labelled as “pakkis” ), and these teachers would arrive at the school, rather shaken after having to endure it.

          I recall a story my father told me when he in the 1980s was learning japanese. This one anglo Australian chap he knew got to speak japanese so well, a japanese chap took offence so much that a gaijin could speak so well, that the japanese chap physically hit him with a clenched fist, protesting this anglo chaps proficiency in the process. His comment was the japanaese can be some of the most isolationist people on the planet.

          You never hear about that sort of stuff though…..

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          • #

            Steve, what are you on about? Here’s a list of supposedly the top 25 most racist nations. Australia is not on it.

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            • #
              Greg Cavanagh

              It’s funny; South Korea is on that list, but not North Korea?

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              • #
                Andrew McRae

                Perhaps not enough data is available to us here about attitudes over in North Korea, or more likely it’s quite difficult for a NoKo to be rascist towards people and attitudes they aren’t ever permitted by the regime to meet.

                Obviously to ensure Australia stays out of the top 25 list we need to federally fund an open NBN for North Korea.

                10

            • #
              sophocles

              I’m a New Zealander and proud of it. I visited Melbourne in 1991 where I stayed for nearly a year. I had only been there for about ten days when I stepped off a tram in Spencer St, to hear (very loudly)

              Too many bloody wogs!

              I’ve never heard that or anything like it in Auckland’s main streets, even up to today.

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              • #
                OriginalSteve

                I must have grown up in a quite racist area then, in the Riverina area of NSW. Many kids at my school etc were openly racist, including quite a few students at Uni in Melbourne. I think it still goes on, perhaps its just not as overt as it used to be. I’m not necessarily agreeing with it, it was just my experience growing up. Funnily enough, Ive always had friends who were vietnamese, greek, maltese, indian etc, and never had an issue.

                Historically, politicians have heavily traded on xenophobia in Australia, its been a solid vote winner for many generations…..

                Sorry, but it is what it is. maybe its changed in the inner cities, but out in the real world outside the inner city latte belt, I’m not so sure….

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          • #
            yarpos

            I find it odd that Australia gets a mention as an especially racist country. Do people walk around or major cities with a bag over their head and ear plugs in?

            I often wonder who they are comparing us with. Where is these racially inclusive nirvana that puts Oz to shame? Seriously, I have lived and worked overseas for many years , mostly in Asia and Europe. Racism is everywhere , its simply a matter of how well is dressed up. Go to any country in Asia and there is a slang term or list of terms for anglo/round eye/white people. I think we need to get over ourselves and realise that we arent unique.

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          • #
            Tel

            Australia is so totally racist, that people from all over the world, over every possible skin colour will happily risk their lives to get here.

            140

            • #
              OriginalSteve

              I think some people will go where they aren’t being shot at and hacked to bits…..that has a tendency to focus people minds…

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      • #
        el gordo

        I think its the vilification law in Australia that tipped the balance, plus the ever watchful thought police.

        41

  • #
    Lionell Griffith

    A very long time ago, I noticed the policy of some was to hold that if a person of a classical liberal persuasion (individual rights, limited government, rule of law, self ownership….) makes ONE mistake, he will never be able to do anything right again forever. His life must be destroyed down to the last morsel of virtue. At the same time, the people of the opposite persuasion can make ONLY mistakes and not be brought to account because “they have good intentions”.

    Sadly, this policy has gotten worse and more pervasive. Merely being someone of “the other side” and say something found unacceptable such as speaking clearly so as not to be misunderstood, is sufficient cause to enact total revenge. Simply because someone somewhere might take offense to to be treated is an error of monumental earth shaking significance.

    The old saying, “Sticks and Stones might break my bones but words can never hurt me”, has been long forgotten.

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    • #
      Roy Hogue

      Lionell,

      Old sayings have been out of fashion for a long time, never mind that they were true or had something to teach us. Unfortunately though, words could always hurt us. Just the accusation of something if it becomes public could ruin not only your day but the rest of your life. And it never had to be true to do that.

      We humans have this terrible problem called jumping to conclusions. It can be a jump right off a cliff for you or someone else if you do it. It’s very easy. For instance, if you think climate change is real, it’s very easy to believe Al Gore and many others without bothering to check out what they say.

      Someone in our not too long ago political past remarked about, “… the politics of personal destruction.” It’s a weapon as old as politics. The only thing different now is the loss of the personal moral values that kept it’s level down much lower than it is now.

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      • #
        Kinky Keith

        Interesting comment Roy.

        Communication really has changed a lot.

        KK

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      • #
        Lionell Griffith

        The so called hurt caused by words describing an opinion or fact is inferred by the offended from the values held by the offend which he FEELS were attacked. The hurt is bruised feelings and not a bruised body. There is no such thing as a right to not be offended especially not for a statement of an opinion or fact. The only exception is slander or libel as defined by law and can be prosecuted as specified in that law. The important difference is that slander and libel are false public statements with a clearly malicious intent to harm the character or reputation of its target. Truth is an absolute defense.

        I am deeply offended by those offended by what I say who think their taking offense gives them the right to destroy me. Yet my being offended by such things is no longer a consideration. Only the select correctly politically aligned are able to be offended by the politically incorrect. The statements, who’s assignment as incorrect, is subject to change without notice. Eventually you will be able to say today is Saturday and someone somewhere will be offended in spite of the fact that it IS Saturday where you stand. That offense will then set in motion a prosecution, assignment of extreme guilt, and your having to compensate the offended with your wealth, reputation, and, ultimately, life. The world of Orwell’s 1984 will be a paradise by comparison. It will be a war of all against all in which there are only losers.

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        • #
          Greg Cavanagh

          If you take the position that someone in the community may be offended, therefore you can’t say that. As the population grows and as we import more “other cultures” into our own, the chances of someone being offended become exponentially more likely. Add to that, that there is almost enthusiasm to take up the cause of someone else’s offense (we call these people social justice warriors), the only conclusion that one can make for a future society is that no disagreement can be mentioned about any subject else someone take offense at it. It would become, and is has already become with climate science, deniers, deplorables, etc, a culture of offense where all disagreement is condemned and the person who has a different opinion attacked and ostracized. This also has a name, eating ones own. Society would collapse into a dysfunctional utopian protected species land. The GBLother culture is already demonstrating how this plays out.

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          • #
            OriginalSteve

            If you make everything someone might say, you make all perversions acceptable, as peopel are too scared to speak up.

            THAT is the real objective.

            One of the central planks of communism was to mess up society so it was basically “dazed and confused”…..makes for an easier takeover if people dont know what is right and wrong any more….

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            • #
              Greg Cavanagh

              Night of the Long Knives, wasn’t just to quiet the vocal decenters, it was also to keep everybody else quiet. That is the strategy being employed. Same with causing people to lose their jobs, or suing them like Michael Mann.

              The Hate Crime laws are so lose and all encompassing that anybody could get entangled in them without even trying. Also all communication is recorded or in print form online. So it’s easy to speak rashly or unwisely even though you’re the nicest person on earth. You’ll be vilified all the more for being the nice guy who got caught out.

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        • #
          Roy Hogue

          There is no such thing as a right to not be offended especially not for a statement of an opinion or fact.

          True at least for a statement of fact, at least if it’s substantiated. Neither is there a right to not lose your job if your are accused of sexual misconduct unjustly or worse, of pedophilia.

          The harm can be much grater than being offended.

          I’m sure you must have watched at least a part of the Kavanaugh confirmation hearing so you should understand that he nearly lost a lifetime of good work because of what must surely be lies.

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          • #
            Lionell Griffith

            A statement of opinion is a true fact that one holds said opinion. Otherwise, even the statement of a fact with or without support can be treated as the source of offense and justly punished. That, and the belief that it is right to treat others as being guilty based upon a mere acquisition that can be justly punished comes from the same lack of rational thought. When there is no rational thought, there is no limit to what can be thought to be justly done nor a faulty reason for so doing. Thus the war of all against all in which everyone loses.

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            • #
              Roy Hogue

              Thus the war of all against all in which everyone loses.

              That is where we seem to be headed. As I have said in different ways before now, if you’re willing to be dishonest you can justify anything. But I think reducing the problem to its simplest terms distracts from the point — the intentional destruction of someone because they disagree with you is wrong and we should stop tolerating it. Unfortunately it’s sensational and draws an audience, feeding the desire of those who want those they disagree with punished.

              So expect CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS and especially MSNBC to continue the practice along with such worthless newspapers as the New York and Los Angeles Times.

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        • #
          ivan

          Unfortunately the education system is the leading offender in this. Children from preschool up are not being taught rational thinking, but to emote about everything, ‘how do you feel about that’. Just imagine what will happen when that is applied to maths, ‘what do you feel is the result of adding two to two’

          This is something the leftist snowflake menial SJWs have been using to get their own misguided way of thought to be the only way that everyone must think – brainwashing in fact – and if we do not fight back they will win and thw world will be a much poorer place for our children to live.

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      • #
        Ted O'Brien

        Roy. “..without bothering to check..”.

        The key word. Bother.

        In a too comfortable society, a large part of the population craves leadership. They don’t want the bother of doing their own research, so follow the bloke they think is in front.

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  • #
    pat

    star comment
    Sky is pathetic.

    it took from March, when the piece was aired, to August, for this:

    10 Aug: SMH: Watchdog clears ABC’s Tonightly following controversial skit
    By Broede Carmody
    The television watchdog has cleared the ABC of any wrongdoing after a conservative politician was called a “c—” on-air…
    As part of the controversial sketch, ABC comedian Greg Larsen singled out Australian Conservatives candidate Kevin Bailey…

    However the public broadcaster has always maintained it was within its rights to air the skit. On Friday, the Australian Communications and Media Authority sided with the ABC.
    While the watchdog found the segment was likely to offend given the word “c—” was said six times, it said it was important to consider that the language was part of a crude joke.
    “The offence in the segment was moderated by the nature of the program which is a satirical comedy,” ACMA ruled…

    An ABC spokeswoman declined to comment, arguing the ACMA ruling spoke for itself. But in its ACMA submissions, the public broadcaster said the word “c—” was unlikely to offend Tonightly viewers.
    “A dedicated comedy audience, watching a fresh and edgy program targeted at younger adults is more likely to accept and be relatively unoffended by the word ‘c—‘ in a sketch of this nature,” the ABC said…
    https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/watchdog-clears-abc-s-tonightly-following-controversial-skit-20180810-p4zwqa.html

    17 Apr: SMH: ABC renews Tonightly with Tom Ballard despite controversy
    By Broede Carmody
    If you thought Tonightly with Tom Ballard was going to water-down its jokes in the wake of the Batman byelection controversy, think again.
    The ABC has renewed the comedy series, with a second run expected to hit television screens in just two months’ time…
    For example, some ABC journalists were frustrated with the program in the wake of the Kevin Bailey controversy because – in their view – it wasn’t funny and only served to reinforce arguments that the national broadcaster is biased.
    Others within the ABC are firmly of the view that politicians shouldn’t dictate what is and isn’t acceptable satire…
    Despite the ABC’s head of entertainment apologising to Mr Bailey, management has stood by Tonightly’s right to produce eyebrow-raising content.
    “We’ve received nothing but support,” one Tonightly employee said…
    Dan Ilic revealed on Monday he had been appointed Tonightly’s new showrunner. The comedian has been a satirist for Al Jazeera and hosted popular web series That Startup Show.
    An ABC spokeswoman confirmed Tonightly has been extended and will return “after a brief hiatus”.
    “The series will return to air Monday, June 18,” she said…

    finally, the show was dropped – not on account of the above – and with plenty of love:

    14 Aug: ABC: ABC won’t be renewing the Tonightly with Tom Ballard program
    The ABC will not be renewing the Tonightly with Tom Ballard comedy program as it looks for a “fresh approach” to attract younger audiences…
    In a statement, the ABC said the final episode would air on September 7…
    In a statement, the ABC said the program “deliberately pushed boundaries to inform and entertain”.
    “We are proud of the program and its role in supporting some of Australia’s best emerging comedy talent.
    “Our thanks go to the very talented team members for their hard work and dedication in producing a complex and cracking show in quick time, over some 150 episodes.
    “We look forward to working with them again in the future. A special thanks to Tom for helping us to laugh, cry and sigh about the world.”…

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    • #
      Kinky Keith

      The proportion between the two examples is breathtaking.

      Direct use of the c word compared with what may have actually been a criticism of the use of the speech highlighted.

      And then for a final twist of the knife:

      Our taxes paid for the “C” word.

      Has the world gone mad, or am I overreacting?

      KK

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    • #
      glen Michel

      What passes as humour these days is of concern. Comedy festivals? Young audiences are so witless they largely fail to grasp a decent gag.

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    • #
      Roy Hogue

      About that word beginning with C — I don’t know about any other part of the world but here it’s the most offensive form of reference to a woman or parts thereof and ought to result in the immediate fring of anyone willing to say it over any broadcast medium or in a movie. I don’t care who you are or what justification you have. But we have already sunk to that level long ago where it’s tolerated.

      If you have seen the movie, “Inside Man,” you will know what I mean. And that actors with the stature of Denzel Washington and Jodi Foster would lend their skill to such a pile of garbage is a terrible disappointment. In addition to that about every other word in the whole script began with the letter F. If I had been alone and not dependent on family for a ride that afternoon I would have walked out within the first several minutes. Yrt without all the offensive words it would be one of the more interesting plots I’ve seen in a long time.

      Thus do we sink into the muck faster and faster.

      20

  • #
    pat

    star comment

    CNN hasn’t fired anyone:

    30 Oct: RealClearPolitics: Don Lemon: “The Biggest Terror Threat In This Country Is White Men”
    By Ian Schwartz
    CNN’s Don Lemon said people need to realize that white men radicalized to the right are “the biggest terror threat” to the country on Monday night…
    “So, we have to stop demonizing people and realize the biggest terror threat in this country is white men, most of them radicalized to the right, and we have to start doing something about them. There is no travel ban on them. There is no ban on — you know, they had the Muslim ban. There is no white guy ban,” he said…
    https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/10/30/don_lemon_the_biggest_terror_threat_in_this_country_is_white_men.html

    30 Oct: Fox News: CNN slammed as ‘disgraceful’ after Jake Tapper silent when guest says Trump radicalized more people than ISIS
    By Brian Flood
    CNN and star anchor Jake Tapper are under fire after he stayed silent when a guest declared that President Trump had radicalized more people than ISIS. Hours later, CNN’s Don Lemon drew the ire of Majority Whip Steve Scalise by declaring that Democrats don’t kill people, completing a 24-hour span being labeled CNN’s “new low” by critics…

    GQ Magazine columnist Julia Ioffe: “I think this president, one of the things that he really launched his presidential run on is talking about Islamic radicalization and this president has radicalized so many more people than ISIS ever did,” Ioffe said.
    Tapper did not chime in, but David Urban, the panel’s token conservative, didn’t appreciate the remark.
    Ioffe was continuing her rant about Trump’s “radicalized” supporters when Urban interrupted.
    “Jake, for you not to push back on that is irresponsible. That’s irresponsible. For her to say the President of the United States has radicalized more people than ISIS is irresponsible,” Urban said.
    Tapper said, “OK, you disagree with it,” as other panelists talked over each other and Ioffe stood by her claim…

    A CNN spokeswoman said Tuesday evening: “CNN has diverse panels of guests with a variety of views and obviously no anchor, including Jake Tapper, agrees with everything each one says. Julia Ioffe’s comments were regrettable and we’re glad she apologized.”…
    Ioffe offered a brief apology later in the show, chalking her comment up to exaggerating during “an emotional and personal painful time” and she was booked for another appearance on CNN a few hours later…
    https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/cnn-slammed-as-disgraceful-after-jake-tapper-silent-when-guest-says-trump-radicalized-more-people-than-isis

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    • #
      Spetzer86

      Well, when you’re down to fewer viewers than Cartoon Network you’ve got to start pulling out all the stops. We’ll see how things sit after next Tuesday.

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    • #
      OriginalSteve

      They seem to have ignored the many sleep cells likely inside the USA from international terror groups…..I suspect they will be a much bigger risk.

      All the leftist media are trying to do is poison the “heartland” well, to make everyone suspicious of everyone else.

      But we know the Leftists want to flood the USA with illegal immigrants, to bring about a degrading of the country.

      Ive got to the point where I openly challenge Leftists now, and they hate it, but I just drill into them and never let up…..

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      • #
        shortie of greenbank

        They know if they turn somewhere into a ghetto they can get more votes, while they themselves will live in gated communities away from the ‘riff-raff’. There is a reason why Detroit etc have never gotten any better and they have only held Democrats in charge for living memory.

        Our cities will go much the same way with poor policy designed to push more people on welfare such as forcing the pricing of power out of the reach of small business. We already have the central parts of these cities led by greens far removed from any form of reality.

        00

    • #
      yarpos

      They didnt have a Muslim ban, they had a ban on specific countries. Saying otherwise is a bald faced lie. But then it is CNN.

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    • #
      Roy Hogue

      he Biggest Terror Threat In This Country Is White Men

      Good, I rejoice in the fact that I terrorize them. I’ll work against them any way I can, including voting for Donald Trump a second time. If they want war then better that it starts sooner than later.

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  • #
    robert rosicka

    Said it the other day and I’ll say it again , I don’t find what he said offensive in the context of what he was saying and knowing that he is actually defending China .
    ABC were crucifying him and Fox News but mainly for their stance on Climate change and other issues such as asylum seekers .

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  • #
    Hanrahan

    It’s not what is said it is who said it.

    Just a few days ago Killary corrected an interviewer who mistook Holder for Booker and quipped “I know they all look the same”. The “right” press that I have read was, generally, pleasantly surprised that she could say something “funny” unscripted. No one I read went overboard calling her a racist. Could you imagine if Trump had made such a statement?

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  • #
    Kinky Keith

    I didn’t hear the comment made, but as has already been stated; context has a very big part in the interpretation of speech.

    Perhaps the speech was intended to convey the meaning that others might use this type of derogatory appraisal of the Chinese and so the comment was, in effect, a criticism.

    The Chinese “Management” is by no means perfect and could do with occasional confrontation.

    As an example of the sort of misunderstandings that can be deliberately encouraged for “gain” just consider one situation that was hidden from public view.

    At the end of the Vietnam war in 1975 one of Ho Chi Minh’s first priorities was to get the 200,000 Chinese nationals who had come down to help with the war To Leave North Vietnam.

    Then the Chinese have “helped” Tibet and no doubt they would like to help many other countries.

    Be wary of those bearing gifts.

    KK

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  • #
    Roy Hogue

    When I was teaching there were some words you had to say at the right time. One of them was diversity.

    In the context of politics that word is so ill defined that it’s not worth saying. Nevertheless when it came time to renew the college accreditation my course description had to say something about it. I was teaching C++ programming and I accepted everyone who met the course prerequisites. How simple could it get? Diversity was a nonstarter. But some PC words needed to be included anyway. I let my department chair fill in that statement. It looked weasel worded and avoided the obvious truth that diversity had nothing to do with what I taught, who I taught it to or how I taught it.

    So now it’s words you cannot say. Which is too bad for the PC police because I still speak my opinions as I see things and there isn’t much they can do to me because I simply do not care anymore. The recognition of the foolish does not have anything to offer and neither does their scorn. Life is a lot easier when you are honest.

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    • #
      sophocles

      `Sustainable’ and `Sustainability’ must be the new `diverse’ and `diversity.’

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    • #
      Serp

      Since “diversity” is de rigeur I wonder would a synonym such as “disunity” be regarded as proper in that environment?

      30

  • #
    James Murphy

    star comment
    – Megyn Kelly got fired by NBC for asking what is racist about darkening ones skin in order to ‘dress up’ as someone with darker skin than ones own.

    – Roseanne Barr was un-personed for a tweet which was insulting, but not much else.

    – Sarah Jeong was hired, and defended by the New York Times, despite being out-and-out racist.

    – Sarah Hanson-Young said that “It is not women’s fault that men behave like morons, and like pigs”, on national television, and nothing happens… taken in context, I don’t think this is particularly offensive (no more so than anything else that Hanson-Young says, anyway), but the hypocrisy displayed by her, and her supporters is astounding.

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  • #
    diogenese2

    I have just come back from Shanghai. I did not visit Disneyland but can attest to the teaching of English as at the Art Museum, where we saw intact artefacts dating back to the Xia Dynasty 2000BC, we foreigners were “collected” by primary school children as part of their day trip report. Whether or not the data collected was passed to the Department of State Security I do not know. China is that old but how long it has been civilised is another matter. In passing, my beef with Cameron is that he could not be bothered to do his homework. “in 60AD Julius Caesar….. “. His assassination was in 44 BC!
    Also, in China 20,000 is a very small crowd. In Tiananmen Square I observed four times that number in a 4 hour queue to view Mao Zedongs body. He is worshipped there and that visit is the Chinese Hajj. They are preparing for massive celebration next year to commemorate 70 years since Mao declared the Peoples Republic after yet another bloody civil war. This year they celebrated the 40th anniversary of Deng Xiapping economic reforms which transformed Mao’s disastrous communist economy into the capitalistic miracle China now is. The communist revolution in China actually lasted 29years. I read in the China Post that the number of people in absolute poverty (their standard) is only 160 million, but they are working on it. By the way, retirement age in China is 55y, and in the parks and temple grounds everywhere the old sit in the sunshine playing chequers and cards seemingly happy just to have survived to do so. Most in Tiannanmen Square were elderly. As I strolled across I got an eerie feeling that they were queuing for the tomb to reassure themselves that the old bugger was still dead.

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    • #
      sophocles

      60 AD. That was a big oops on Cameron’s part. As everybody knows (?) 60 AD. was in Nero’s nutty stewardship.(54AD – 68AD)

      I only remember that because 69AD was the Year of the Four Emperors: Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian. Vespasian was Nero’s most trusted general and was spending his time in Judea putting down three concurrent Hebrew rebellions. No, I’m not joking. There were three lots of rebels rebelling against each other as well as the Romans.

      If you think the current climate propaganda `wars’ are crazy, don’t worry. Humanity is capable of worse: in the rebellions Vespasian was trying to put an end to, the three factions on the other side, were each fighting the other two to the death and taking time to fight the Romans only when they had to. Cooperation was more accident than through any agreement. It must have been tempting to just surround Jerusalem and leave them to it after pacifying the rest of Judea. That was not Vespasian’s choice … and the rebels signed their own death warrants by treating the Romans as just an accidental side issue.

      It’s happened before … the European witch hunts are another example. Sigh.

      Humanity at it’s best. </sarc>

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  • #
    Rah

    This Yank realized that Aussies lost the fundamental right of free speech when this blog couldn’t legally post a quote from a Winston Churchill book on the nature of Islam I tried to post.

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  • #
    Rah

    BTW VP Mike Pence stated yesterday without equivocation that he believes that Republicans will hold a majority in the House and gain seats in the Senate. Pence is from Indiana and was the Governor of my state so I know him. He would not make such a statement without good reason

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    Rah

    This Hoosier voted early. For only the second time I voted straight ticket. This time I not only voted for every Republican; I also voted against every Democrat. If there was no R running for an office I voted for the Independent or Libertarian.

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  • #
    PeterS

    I didn’t hear anything that remotely would be a good enough reason for being sacked. Looks like freedom of speech is now dead in Australia. We are rapidly becoming an Orwellian society. Next we will have memory holes running hot to erase all things the elite don’t want us to remember.

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  • #
    AndyG55

    Gees, who knew that so many SJWs actually watched “Outsiders” !!

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    • #
      GD

      who knew that so many SJWs actually watched “Outsiders”

      They don’t. It’s special interest left-wing groups that monitor Sky for any hint of transgression from the leftist play sheet. They then alert Fairfax and the ABC.

      As these media organisations are perpetually in a state of slavering at the thought of attacking Murdoch’s Sky News, they are only too happy to run with it.

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  • #
    el gordo

    “If you stay here much longer you’ll all be slitty-eyed” (the queen’s husband to a group of British students during a royal visit to China).

    Its a gaffe, move along.

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  • #
    robert rosicka

    Going to be interesting what’s said in the show this morning as it’s the first show since the sacking

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  • #
    Dennis

    I’m just saying to you that the Chinese civilisation is the oldest continuous civilisation in the world. OK, It’s not going anywhere. 1.4 billion people, it’s got about a sixth of the world’s population. All of them are studying English. If you go to Disneyland in Shanghai on any typical morning of the week you will see 20,000 black haired, slanty eyed, yellow skinned Chinese desperate to get into Disneyland because they like and enjoy and are embracing many aspects of Western culture…
    We find the Chinese to be Australia’s single most important trading partner. The Chinese provide the greatest number of purchasers of Australian education exports, the greatest number of foreign students. We find a million Chinese coming to Australia each year to visit. One out of four ships leaving an Australian port goes straight to China.
    I am a ruthless realist in relation to Australian foreign policy. …like Henry Kissinger I don’t believe in indulging fantasies, or wishing the world was something other than what it is. My view of China’s conduct in the South China Sea, we have to remember that is the access to their ports. The Chinese could run out of fuel if they can’t get access to ships for more than a couple of weeks. You’ve got 1.6 billion people consuming energy, China simply cannot and will not risk inability to access their own sea lanes. I just say the Chinese have very little history of invading others or dropping bombs. The United States, NATO, Atlantic Alliance has dropped bombs in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Yemen, all over the joint. The Chinese have not dropped bombs on anybody else in recent decades.
    The greatest humanitarian achievement in human history is the lifting out of poverty of seven or eight hundred million people since Deng Xiaoping came to power in 1980. He committed to lifting the standard of living of the average Chinese by a factor of four which he managed to achieve. So I am not uncritical of the China’s conduct.
    Rowan Dean: Ross you are sounding like a PR firm. You’re sounding like a PR firm.
    Ross Cameron: It’s factual.
    I am heart-sick that such a malicious spin of Ross’s words could be so effective in panicking advertisers, ending Ross’s career, and damaging Sky.
    Morning Mail

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  • #
    Rosco

    “Tuesday, Ross Cameron said the four forbidden words “slanty-eyed, yellow-skinned“. Rude, yes, dynamite, no. They were better left unsaid, and potentially offensive, but not a sackable offence.”

    I have to disagree.

    He is an intelligent human being.

    Everyone is aware of the position relating to public comment – agree or not there are laws about it.

    He had to know there would be consequences.

    We are not in the 60’s anymore when the claims of “Yellow Peril” and “Reds under the bed” were commonplace in public discussion and I say thank god for that – not that I’m religious.

    He did not need to use those words at all and his message would not have had any less impact.

    Let’s be real – we’re all offended by being labeled “deniers” and would cheer if someone like Will Steffen were sanctioned in a similar manner !

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    • #
      Dennis

      Gweilo or gwailou is a common Cantonese slang term for Westerners. In its unmodified form, it refers to light skinned people of European descent and has a history of racially deprecatory use. Cantonese speakers frequently use gwailou to refer to Westerners in general use, in a non-derogatory context, although whether this type of usage is offensive is disputed by both Cantonese and Westerners alike.

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    • #
      robert rosicka

      Rossco it’s a badge of honour to be called a denier for me anyway , I wonder what they call that statue that was in Melbourne years ago ? The one that was known as the yellow peril ! Maybe it can’t be called that anymore .

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  • #
    PeterS

    As I stated before I can’t understand why. In fact I hear Rowan Dean on the same show state a lot more extreme points of view yet he hasn’t been touched, and nor should be. Neither have done or said anything to be alarmed about.

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    • #
      PeterS

      My guess is that both have been approached by management to tone things down a tad. One refused and was sacked while the other complied.

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  • #
    Greebo

    Kevin Rudd’s reaction is a bit rich, given he has been known to refer to the Chinese as “ratf#@$ers”. I’m pretty sure I’d prefer Cameron’s description if I were Chinese.

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    • #
      Dennis

      And when Rudd was a junior diplomat, third secretary at the Beijing Embassy, and when asked to welcome Chinese guests to an Embassy function Rudd apparently invited them to make love to their grandmothers (politely modified version).

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  • #
    GD

    Little by little, we are being silenced. First, it was Mark Latham, now Ross Cameron.

    Did anyone here watch the Outsiders on Sunday morning? Did Rowan Dean run a solo show?

    For those of us who use Foxtel Now (the cheap version), Sky takes forever to post videos and podcasts; yesterday’s Outsiders won’t be available till Wednesday at least.

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    • #
      Dennis

      Today on Outsiders Rowan was joined by Piers Akerman who did an excellent job as co-presenter, not surprisingly as he is a very experienced internationally, astute conservative journalist.

      One item that was amusing was the image of a high tide marker installed on a Sydney Beach when Labor Premier Nathan Rees was in office. The marker designed to reveal the man-made global warming ocean rise. I think it was around the same time when Tom Foolery announced that the Sydney Opera House would be underwater by 2000.

      The tide market is no longer in position.

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      • #
        Lucky

        The tide mark is now one hundred metres under the surface –
        as predicted by ‘our’ ABC science presenter Robyn Williams.

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  • #
    Rod McLean

    It seems to me that Ross Cameron was just being very sarcastic about people who hold that stereotypical view of Chinese people. Such sarcasm will often go over a person’s head, especially when they are looking for something else.

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  • #
    Serge Wright

    Ironcally, Chinese people do have yellow skin along with the other attributes noted by Ross. To provide a a detailed physical description of the appearance of a particular race is not actually racist. I’m sure Chinese people describe northern Europeans as being white skinned with blonde hair and round eyes, because they are.

    Of course Ross was acually speaking in favour of China and was being sarcastic by choosing those words to highlight the way many people (himself not included) stereotype the Chinese based on appearance. For those who watched the episode it was obvious he was trying to highlight the hidden fear still remaining within our society of a potential yellow invasion and fear of China, similar to the yellow peril of the 1800s.

    Of course, the bigger issue is the way these words were taken out of context to remove Ross by Sky management. It’s now obvious that Sky’s new boss is a lefty and we can probably expect the station to now toe the PC line. Very Sad :(.

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    • #
      Rod McLean

      Yes, the whole episode says a lot more about Sky News than it does about Ross Cameron.

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      • #
        OriginalSteve

        I wondered why Sky was being allowed onto free to air…..birds of a feather, maybe……?

        40

        • #
          el gordo

          You have taken your eye of the ball, it was Murdoch’s idea to go free to air in the regions so that the Coalition can win the next election.

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    • #
      gareth

      Quite clever really – you want to shut down someone who is saying that maybe CHINA isn’t the bogeyman and do so by labeling him as an anti-Chinese racist.

      PC Mob and folks who want to demonize CHINA 1 : Right-thinking Deplorables 0

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  • #
    Ronnie

    First up Jo Nova – CONGRATULATIONS for your courage in putting it all out there for all to see,even to the video clip which I am told has been deleted by the gutless management of Sky News.
    No longer can we sit back and consider these “language warriors” as some deplorable dills with so little self esteem they get their jollies in life from their confected moral vanity preening itself as virtue.

    Jordan Peterson is spot on when he claims that we must never let these malicious pests re-define the meaning of our language.
    As Jo has just revealed – look at what power it gives these …

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  • #
    Phillthegeek

    black haired, slanty eyed, yellow skinned

    Was a completely un-necessary comment. He could easily have restrained himself to:

    “20,000 Chinese desperate to get into Disneyland” and got the message across.

    Nope, he had to do the blatant racist appeal thing. Can see why. He wants profile, controversy, the sympathy of his fellow travellers and to crank up the outrage meter.

    Now, having freely chosen to put it out there that he is a racist git, he has to wear the consequences of being so stupid. Free choice and he made it.

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    • #
      robert rosicka

      I’m offended by the fact you’ve taken offence !

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    • #

      Sure Phil, and you will supply examples of left leaning people being sacked for equivalent gaffes in 3, 2, 1…..

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      • #
        Phillthegeek

        No, i’m not going to indulge your silly irrelevancies. You want to divert discussion from what a twit Cameron is, fine. Says a lot more about you than me pal.

        Cameron’s comments and the negative to them stand on their own as issue. This isn’t something that gets “balanced” like pairs in parliament.

        The laughable thing is that he got sacked by the management of the self indulgent intellectual cesspool that is Skynooz. Not even by the insidious “Lefties” of the ABC. 🙂

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        • #

          No Phil, my point was selective enforcement. It’s not ‘irrelevant’. It’s the issue.

          As usual, you’ve got nothing but bluff.

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          • #
            Peter C

            No Phil, my point was selective enforcement. It’s not ‘irrelevant’. It’s the issue.

            Thanks Jo. Phillthegeek is probably not the only one who did not get it.

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        • #
          AndyG55

          “self indulgent intellectual cesspool ”

          Use a mirror when you say that, phlop

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        • #
          glen Michel

          What drivel.All I can say is get some balance.

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        • #
          el gordo

          Cameron apologised after the event, as did Rowan Dean this morning. There is no denying Cameron tripped over the Racial Vilification Law in the same way that the Bolter did some years ago.

          Skynooze is a lot more exciting for blokes, just news and sports, which is heaps better than the cultural Marxists drivel on our ABC.

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  • #
    theRealUniverse

    Could refer to any asians from SE Asia to Japan including Korea!!!

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  • #
    Geoffrey Williams

    At the risk of offending other bloggers on the site I have to say that I do not support Ross Cameron’s use of the words ‘slant eyed yellow skinned’ in reference to Chinese people.
    Such comments are offensive, thoughtless and completely unnecessary. In an ever growing and changing world we need to be building bridges with other nations and not throwing around land mines and grenades.
    If I wish to side myself politically or any other way with someone in the media or whatever,then after his comment,it would not be Mr Cameron.
    GeoffW

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    • #
      Kinky Keith

      It’s a delicate balance and perhaps when in doubt follow the adage: Don’t.

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      • #
        Phillthegeek

        It’s a delicate balance

        No its not.

        Cameron should have just not been a dick and not chose to throw in a form of words that anyone with more than 2-3 brain cells would know, for certain, is blatantly racist.

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        • #

          So calling people “slanty eyed” is a sackable offence, but you can call anyone a dick and that’s OK?

          If Phil didn’t have double standards he’d have no standards at all.

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          • #
            Phillthegeek

            So calling people “slanty eyed” is a sackable offence, but you can call anyone a dick and that’s OK?

            Ok, obviously have to go into small word mode here.. 🙁

            “slanty eyed”……racist

            “dick”…………common derogatory expression with no racist overtones.

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            • #
              Kinky Keith

              Sad.

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            • #
              robert rosicka

              So Dick doesn’t offend you maybe but I’m sure others out there will be offended especially when it’s used in a derogatory way .
              Majority of people wouldn’t be offended depending on how it was used but isn’t this the point ? It’s subjective .

              23

              • #
                AndyG55

                Not to mention the number of time leftist commentators have used the :c” word and got away with it.. !

                But they are leftists, so they cannot be held to any standard of behaviour.

                I would love to see anyone on the ABC using the words “old white men” get immediately sacked. Just as racist.

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            • #
              peter

              Phill the goose, should note that I was in Vietnam in August. One of the local guides explained to us that the way we could tell Vietnamese from Chinese was that Vietnamese had squarer eyes than the Chinese who were “slanty eyed”. And thus the Vietnamese were more handsome than Chinese. I put this down to the experience of a very nasty border-war they had with China not too many years ago, Chinese expansionism on their southern border over the centuries and local bias. It didn’t worry me at all.

              But, thanks to Phill, I’m enlightened. “slanty eyed” is a racist term and shouldn’t be tolerated. Ban all Vietnamese, all 95 million of them! “Goose” on the other hand is a “common derogatory expression with no racist overtones”. I’m sure goose, I mean Phill, would agree. 🙂

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            • #
              Bribiejohn

              Narrow mindedness such as yours breeds intolerance and pettiness! Grow up!!

              12

            • #
              Egor TheOne

              Why is slanty eyed yellow skinned Chinese racist, but round eyed white skinned aussie not ? PLEASE EXPLAIN !

              WHY is the description of eye shape racist ……?

              WHY is description of skin color racist ….?

              Who makes up this rubbish ?

              Its just a lot of Marxist CRAP

              00

        • #
          AndyG55

          Phlop wouldn’t have a clue what “balance” was.

          Poor phlop… So hard to know what real balance is when you are leaning so far to the left.

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    • #
      robert rosicka

      I can see where some might be offended especially if you are unaware of exactly what he was saying and in context ?
      Rod at #24 I think has the best explanation.

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    • #

      Geoffrey, to repeat — the segment would have been better without those words. But it’s not a sackable offence.

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    • #
      Geoffrey Williams

      I would add that in these situations what we have to judge is the the history of these words and their use; these are ‘loaded’ expressions that were used and because of that they immediately resonate. And yes within Australia we may call each other somewhat coarse names eg ‘barstard’ etc but we know it’s a friendly usage. This was not one of those occasions.
      GeoffW

      10

  • #
    John anthony

    Unfortunately Ross was using hyberbole to complement the Chinese culture,but in the latest twist in the political correct trend Skynews failed a major test so nobody wins.

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  • #
    Eyal

    There is a new trend that will throw the PC mob and the censors of speech off the rail:
    Instead of the “hot” words or phrases, use brand names, preferably of left leaning companies.
    Example: “Look at those Googles, they are rioting like Nykes”
    or: “You are a Twitter brain, go Microsoft yourself!”
    This is awesome…

    40

  • #
    Global Cooling

    MSM loses its power if we the people just ignore their talking points. Better still if we create our own talking points.

    I am supporting equality over tribalism. Skin color, gender and sexual orientation are irrelevant compared to what we think about how societies should work. “Free everything” is populism. It is not sustainable or responsible.

    30

    • #
      el gordo

      ‘Better still if we create our own talking points.’

      I agree, decentralisation, bullet trains and satellite cities will ease the immigration upheavals in capital cities. We have to set the agenda so that government knows how to win the next election.

      21

  • #
    Jonesy

    Would Monty Python, or the Mavis Brampston show, Aunty Jack, How green was my cactus, Rubberey figures, Not the Nine Oclock News and a number of irreverent satire comedies even survive in today’s PC world…I think not!

    To quote..

    “Your Majesty is like a stream of bat’s piss…” described as “Your Majesty is like a shaft of gold when all around is darkness”

    The English language is replete with licence to have meaning in non direct interpretation. It is what gives us great mirth in the hidden meaning. Or, the great put down whilst giving an apparently praiseworthy toast…quite literally meaning not what is directly said..

    Ross was using the sarcastic licence of pointing out what the real racist view of the Chinese but really is meaning the Chinese people embrace and hunger for everything western…it’s really bad to have to revisit the joke and explain yourself to idiots. Only the true dolt would find offence in what Ross said….The hard left PC’s have a victory..watch them titter to themselves..idiots all!

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  • #
    Jonesy

    bugga…on the coat tails off Rod McLean up at #24…but what has satirical language ever done for us! …Splitters!

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  • #
    neil

    If all 1.6 billion Chinese are learning English, then why can’t anyone in Boxhill speak it? And why are all the signs in Boxhill shopping mall written in Chinese with small English translations underneath? Not just on the Asian shops but in the mall and in the carpark.

    China does not want to cooperate with us or even assimilate us they just want us to quietly fade away and leave Australia for them, they need our resources and they are getting tired of having to pay for them.

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    • #
      el gordo

      Funny, some things never change, that’s what the Eeora people were thinking when Arthur Phillip turned up.

      Australia is a very successful multiracial society and now a booming economy thanks to China. If you don’t like the new arrivals then may I suggest a life in the regions, they are practically non-existent out here.

      20

  • #
    John

    Thank you for your post Jo. I hope you and the readers who agree with you are expressing their outrage to Sky News that Ross Cameron has been sacked over a few inept words and his major contribution of filling in on other shows, original and entertaining commentary and hard graft of co hosting a nightly show – has been totally ignored.

    I am sure Marcus Aurelius would be leading an army of supporters to Sky’s door questioning their hasty reaction and pleading that they reconsider their decision. If you sit back and do nothing it will be one more step in allowing the Deep State to become even deeper.

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  • #
    MudCrab

    Kevin ‘Rat(cough)’ Rudd is lecturing on how to be polite to ethnic Chinese?

    Gosh!

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  • #
    Peter C

    This is a post about Freedom of Speech! Section 18C.

    Sky news has acted INAPPRORIATELY!

    How do we react to that. Turn them off?

    ABC is off limits so “free Speech” is now underground.

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  • #
    Dean

    Totally stupid thing to say. He would have known that was not going to add anything to his argument but he said it anyway.

    Have some well deserved time in the bin.

    Learn from it and come back and use better language to prosecute your point.

    00

    • #
      Egor TheOne

      Crap. The Ross is no racist, nor were his comments.

      Only Marxist ratbags and/or hard left idiots would say otherwise.

      20

  • #
    Egor TheOne

    The Ross should be immediately reinstatedwith an apology, while that dud Whittiker should be the one sacked.

    20

  • #
    Egor TheOne

    Good on you Jo for sticking up for the Ross.
    So too for Andrew Bolt.
    I think PM said a few words, and of course Rowan.

    But all the other weaklings gave been pretty quiet….more worried about their lucrative jobs , rather than their own freedom to speak their minds.

    Pathetic for the most part.

    30