tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36501932009-12-10T14:55:21.111+11:00The weblog of Irfan Yusuf, lawyer and writer who was once a small-c conservative but is now politically left right out. His often irreverent take on things appears in some 15 newspapers in Australia and New Zealand as well as online. His book "Once Were Radicals: My Years As A Teenage Islamo-fascist" was published in May 2009.Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.comBlogger771125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-16621509063104961882009-12-10T13:30:00.006+11:002009-12-10T13:41:07.865+11:00

Ah, religion — such a wonderful force for good in an otherwise uncharitable world. So many great deeds of generosity and self-sacrifice are committed each day in the name of it.Over the weekend, I saw many such deeds on display at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, held at the Melbourne Convention Centre. My desired destination was the exhibition hall to purchase some incense or perhaps

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-65715185081200290152009-12-01T23:46:00.003+11:002009-12-01T23:49:53.445+11:00

An awesome song by Aussie band Rose Tattoo about how news can generate passion and idealism in those who care about their world and feel empathy for their fellow human beings, including those humans demonised as troublemakers and terrorists.Bookmark this on Delicious

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-46947787111891856932009-11-29T18:18:00.005+11:002009-11-29T18:41:15.084+11:00

Why is Fred Nile's self-styled Christian Democratic Party running 9 candidates for the Lower House seat of Bradfield? Maybe because the average human brain has 9 times the amount of power as the average CDP brain.Certainly whoever came up with the following questionnaire didn't have much grey matter to play with.The most important political (as opposed to theological) issue for the CDP is

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-53205514110756279362009-11-23T17:01:00.003+11:002009-11-23T17:06:32.496+11:00

Watch the latest business video at FOXBusiness.comBookmark this on Delicious

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-82652263163181949232009-11-15T13:54:00.006+11:002009-11-15T14:54:16.096+11:00

It's just stupid logic. Where are the Southern Baptists flying planes into buildings? True, but then where are Muslims (or Sikhs often stupidly mistaken by bigots to be Muslims) attacking abortion doctors and clinic in the name of Jesus? You can go on and on about this nonsense, but what would it achieve? Would it make any of us feel safer? And actually be safer?Social cohesion is an essential

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-72065099470241675882009-11-14T19:08:00.000+11:002009-11-14T19:10:28.763+11:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the EconomyBookmark this on Delicious

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-1257117169653156322009-11-14T18:13:00.008+11:002009-11-14T18:47:33.611+11:00

Not all American conservatives are boofheads. Just look at this Bush appointee who appears on the Rachel Maddow show ...Notice what this Bush political appointee has to say about wingnut conservatives. That's right. A Bush appointee. Even Bush would not be stupid enough to appoint wingnuts, who must seek employment instead as bloggers and opinion editors in American-owned tabloids.And so we have

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-84105050269504217752009-11-12T19:57:00.007+11:002009-11-13T22:40:11.384+11:00

A spokesman for the Defence forces last Friday reiterated this truism:Eligible people may join the ADF irrespective of their ethnicity, race or religion.Alan Howe, executive editor of the Herald & Weekly Times, described this remark almost dismissively as... the strictly politically correct line.Howe’s column, also published in the Brisbane Courier Mail, began with these words:There are 2006

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-54281157453354674042009-10-31T00:37:00.004+11:002009-10-31T00:47:24.112+11:00

People who don't believe in miracles should consider this.Greg Sheridan has just had a column published in The Australian which:a. acknowledges that Donald Rumsfeld did something wrong; andb. does not cite some conversation Sheridan claims to have had with some world leader or unnamed overseas and allegedly influential source.He's returning to earth! It's a miracle!!Words © 2009 Irfan

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-54105390158025416652009-10-27T02:21:00.005+11:002009-10-30T15:26:39.550+11:00

STOP PRESS!!: THIS MOVIE IS SCREENING FRIDAY 30 OCTOBER 2009 AT THE PALESTINIAN FILM FESTIVAL IN SYDNEY. FOR OTHER SESSIONS IN MELBOURNE AND ADELAIDE, VISIT THE PFF WEBSITE HERE.This film looks like a real gem. Hopefully it will be coming to cinemas down under also.And here are some interviews with Cherien Dabis, the director of the film. Also included are profiles of some of the cast.Bookmark

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-52206912586150621322009-10-26T19:02:00.004+11:002009-10-26T19:15:55.377+11:00

What’s the difference between a terrorist and a terrorist? And when is a terrorist deemed a genuine refugee who doesn’t pose any threat to Australia?Victor Rajakulendran, secretary of the Australian Federation of Tamil Associations, provides some clues. He acknowledges that there are members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam aboard the Australian Customs vessel Oceanic Viking, landing in

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-26465563713837873062009-10-23T15:09:00.005+11:002009-10-23T15:35:14.737+11:00

You’ve heard of tabloid media going after thick sheiks. Now some are even using fake sheiks.At about 2pm yesterday my office received a message to call someone from Radio 2GB, home to such leading lights of quality journalism as Alan Jones. I called back and spoke to a female who worked with Jason Morrison. She wondered if I knew much about a certain Sheik Haron who had apparently been charged by

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-3467858820764240612009-10-17T14:05:00.001+11:002009-10-17T14:06:37.240+11:00

A must for all Andrew Bolt readers!RACIAL TENSION HEADACHE @ Yahoo! VideoBookmark this on Delicious

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-72002355360104085952009-10-16T20:00:00.012+11:002009-10-30T15:03:44.348+11:00

I’m sure readers will remember that show National Bingo Night. Readers of South Asian heritage will have particularly fond memories of the Bingo Commissioner who kicked so many goals for their ancestral culture in Australia with this classic performance.How could we ever not forget?Dr Tanveer Ahmed had more than just failed TV game shows in his comedic repertoire. Indeed, perhaps his best comic

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-33120255955845632642009-10-16T15:33:00.005+11:002009-10-16T16:07:37.428+11:00

Excuses, excuses. Andrew Bolt is full of them. And after reading this entry on his blog, I'm convinced Bolt is full of it.Bolt has a serious dilemna.I now face a moral dilemma. My intention has been to allow on this blog a discussion that is as free as possible - freer, in fact, than you will find on virtually any other blog. Even my worst critics, several of whom post here almost every day, will

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-77000616895718019942009-10-12T18:08:00.004+11:002009-10-12T18:39:47.788+11:00

The awesome threesome of Allah Made Me Funny are touring Sydney for the second time. They fly in for a show this Wednesday at the Riverside Theatre in Parramatta before heading off to the World's Funniest Island festival in Sydney Harbour over the weekend for a couple of shows.Here's the trailer from their movie.And here is a report from Al-Jazeera English.Bookmark this on Delicious

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-50899744324801434762009-10-03T02:05:00.006+10:002009-10-03T02:31:18.784+10:00

Fit to Print: Misrepresenting the Middle EastJoris LuyendijkScribe, 243pp, $29.95The Pope had just delivered his Regensburg address. The entire Islamic world (whatever that means) was up in arms. Churches were ablaze, nuns shot, flags and effigies in flames. Or so we in the West were told.One such article reached my attention. It was accompanied by a photo taking up a quarter of the tabloid page

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-11931135081879879662009-10-02T21:24:00.001+10:002009-10-02T21:26:05.105+10:00

Bookmark this on Delicious

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-15782993215881249942009-09-22T19:43:00.006+10:002009-09-22T20:03:50.916+10:00

Before my membership lapsed in 2002, it was a place where homophobes gathered and made jokes about all those “faggots” who formed a “Pink Triangle” cabal in the small ‘l’ faction known as the Group (or as we referred to them, the “Left”).In fact, we had a theory about the powers-that-be in the NSW Young Libs, which was then controlled by the Left. We assumed that each alternate year, a homosexual

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-84696582692019660102009-09-21T22:38:00.003+10:002009-09-21T23:01:26.929+10:00

It's great to learn that Australian actor Toni Collette has won an Emmy Award for Best Actress for her brilliant portrayal of a woman suffering from a debilitating mental illness in United States of Tara.Collette plays all four personalities of her character Tara with such ease. This show is at times hilarious and at times tragic when one considers the enormous impact Tara's antics must have on

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-11505352212486836622009-09-16T01:51:00.008+10:002009-09-16T03:22:11.596+10:00

I wonder if Michael Danby will make a speech in Parliament about this.Tim Blair, far-Right opinion editor of the Sydney tabloid Daily Telegraph, published a comment on his blog that literally calls for Mecca to be destroyed and facilitated all-out war in South Asia and the Middle East involving invasions of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria etc.Here it is:The US should have

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-26914532949316835182009-09-14T20:07:00.005+10:002009-09-15T14:56:22.090+10:00

Mr Michael Danby, former editor of what used to be called the Australia-Israel Review and now Federal Labor Member for Melbourne Ports, has a go at two popular Australian websites - Crikey and NewMatilda. He engages in a grievance mass debate in the House of Representatives on 7 September 2009, the contents of which can be read here.Mr Danby was scathing of these websites' moderating comments

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-9303311854939154772009-09-08T05:53:00.007+10:002009-09-08T06:38:55.137+10:00

It's amazing how much spare time federal Opposition MPs have.In Tony Abbott's case, the time was put to good use by his penning a sort-of-memoir and sort-of-manifesto entitled Battlelines. In it, Abbott sets out his vision for conservative politics which is at times useful in its coherence and at other times sycophantic to the point of nostalgia in its blanket praise of John Howard and his

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-80290388285926352132009-08-17T12:54:00.002+10:002009-08-17T12:58:19.997+10:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the EconomyBookmark this on Delicious

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650193.post-15975022559999487292009-08-15T15:23:00.003+10:002009-08-15T16:04:49.877+10:00

In Australia, our own PM Kevin Rudd has signalled his opposition to recognition of same sex marriage. In the United States, the matter is the subject of hot debate. A number of states have already legislated to recognise such marriages. And in the state of Maryland, supporters of the cause have found an interesting ally.I'm proud that I'll have stood on the right side of history: In support of

Irfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12032825228704836828noreply@blogger.com5