Social Conscience?

I frequently feel now (especially when I read the paper and actually feel informed on world events) that we're slipping into some sort of dreaded communism right under our noses. I feel as though we're being led around by iPod's and television and sport and Wii. How can we hope to understand everything that is going on even in our own city! Maybe I'm being cynical, hell maybe I'm being paranoid.

Some Bees in my bonnet-

Centacare will be involved in an Abortion Counselling line, prompting fears the advice given will not be whats best for the mother, but for the church. Read more in today's Story in Smh , but this has been an ongoing issue.
I will say up front that I am Pro-choice and that I believe such a decision, while other factors may be considered and opinions may be asked for, abortion should be the mother's choice. And religion should play no part in a counselling service when the Catholic Church as an entity is clearly not even negotiable on the concept. Some counsellors are even so diabolical as to pretend they are pro-choice and then when speaking to unsure women, they tell them they are going to hell etc etc.
It has to make you wonder whether our decision makers are mental. I can understand budget restraints (which I think is the line they are taking here-they can provide "unbiased" and trained staff and are a large enough organisation-but at what cost...) but how can this be the outcome? How much money is being poured into who's pockets.... *shaking head*

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After reading days of stories of how the Cross City Tunnel is going into recievership after less than a third of expected traffic was using the tunnel, the other half of the coverage is how the Labor Government sold out and allowed all sorts of horrid concessions to the operators. How can these things only be discovered after the event? Or once the tunnel is about to open? What will we discover about the Lane Cove Tunnel? How can politicans make these deals that affect the public in such a negative way, with no waves? How can these things pass under our noses so effectively!! While obviously I am no expert on our road infrastructure, we appear to be clearly getting screwed in a lot of these deals. The Cross City Tunnel screwed our government into-

It had agreed on road closures from which it could only withdraw by paying
almost as much in compensation as it cost to build the tunnel. It took a $100 million sweetener in return for making unpopular changes to access roads and public transport. It agreed to steady increases in the toll.

And while apparently the CCT has cost us nothing-

The Opposition roads spokesman, Andrew Stoner, said small investors could lose
from the Cross City Tunnel's collapse because superannuation funds had invested
in it......
.....The Greens MP Lee Rhiannon said the Government was wrong to say the
Cross City Tunnel's collapse had no effect on taxpayers. They had paid for
negotiating the tunnel deal, planning approvals and surface changes, she said.

SMH

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Peter Costello has proposed taking the Murray Darling Basin, which spans four separate states into its own control. Now I know water is a very important issue, as I have discussed myself here. Somehow this smacks of misuse to me though. I somehow have visions of inappropriate water use in my head (and I don't mean a slip 'n' slide and Water gun). I'm sure I'm being paranoid about this one, but it gives me the willies somehow.

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The Exclusive Brethren-
Oh this organisation scares the hell out of me. This is a religious sect that is scary beyond all reason. The things that they have been featured for recently include- lobbying for their members to be given special concession in Family Court so that parental priviledges not be granted to parents that have left the cult (sorry, sect). They are no stranger to lobbying however, as they own businesses, Tyre shops, and they successfully lobbied for their associated businesses to be exempt from allowing Unions onto their business sites.
Their most recent coverage you may have heard of where it was discovered the top leaders covered up for FOUR YEARS the sexual abuse allegations of a mother and daughter that had broken ranks. They coerced the older of two girls into writing a letter of apology to the accused man and his wife, saying she was wicked and sinful and had brought it upon herself. Makes me nauseous I tell you.
And before that, the leader actively kept a father who had left, from his daughter by moving her and the mother 700km's away.
Disgusting. Women are not allowed to work and cannot even speak in church, as they believe the Scripture teaches.