The Iron Fist and the Velvet Glove

1:20 Malcolm Turnbull has had a bad week and we start off by looking at the

citizenship fiasco and his poor political skills. When the issue arose

he should have told the members in question to stand down while

waiting for the High Court to resolve the matter. By declaring

categorically that the High Court would clear them he put his own neck

on the line and also crossed over into a problem with the separation

of powers.

8:40 In an interview on the 7:30 report, Barnaby Joyce admitted that he

thought the High Court might decide against him. Given that, there is

no doubt he should have stood down pending their decision.

9:50 We look at the decision of the High Court and discuss the commonsense interpretation that the High Court

applied which could hardly be described as brutal literalism which

is the description given by Senator George Brandis.

20:08 Ministerial decisions by the two disqualified Ministers are now in

question and we look at the legal arguments and ramifications.

One player who acted appropriately was Canavan however, after the

decision, when asked what his priorities were he said it was to help

start a new coal-fired generator and to support the Adani mine

project. Where do we find these politicians?

25:45 New Zealand has sworn in a prime minister who is an ex Mormon turned agnostic.

29:28 We look at the Queensland State election and the issue of preferences.

34:09 Corey Bernardi‘s party will not contest the Queensland State election

as they did not register in time, however, they have told their

supporters that the most important policy to look at is whether a

Party supports the safe schools program.

35:30 The Catholic Church again displays its lack of moral fibre by refusing

to sign up to a national redress scheme.

37:39 The Australian Federal police raid on the AWU is not a good look

for our democracy. The government has already had a royal commission

looking into the union movement and this looks like a government

abusing its powers. The next thing we know they will be accusing Bill

Shorten of sodomy.

Pauline Hanson suggested that minister Cash is a victim of a witch

hunt by the union movement and she managed to say this with a straight

face.

Thanks to Adam for updating the secular index in relation to Jim Chalmers.

44:20 A priest removes evil spirits from a Las Vegas hotel room.

49:02 We look at a fact check as to whether Karina Alcatel was correct about changes to

same-sex marriage causing the closure of a school in the UK. Of

course, it was rubbish.

54:54 The Fist has another attempt to convince the Velvet Glove that

categorising people based on their beliefs is a legitimate practice.

1:04:48 Corey Bernardi wants a lot of amendments to the proposed marriage

equality legislation and does not want to legislate in haste.

1:06:26 A magic man steams himself to death.

1:10:01 John Hewson says that the defence department needs to be reined in and

made accountable.

1:12:26 John Menadue explained why our NBN is a disaster and the blame lies

with John Howard.

1:17:00 Christians think they are more moral but studies show that they are

not. Interestingly they watch less porn on Sundays but make up for

that on other days.

1:23:04 Jackie Lambie and the Senate crossbenches are looking at an admirable

reform in relation to lobbying. Michael West has done a study of the

Australian situation regarding lobbying.

1:27:24 Bob Brown won a High Court case which summoned an implied right of

freedom of political expression and that right may come back to haunt

our community regarding the abortion clinic exclusion zones.

1:33:47 We finished off with a discussion of our excursion to a...

We have banged on about marriage equality for months. This episode will be a marriage equality free zone.

4:59 We start off with the assisted dying debate and the fact that the debate is not happening in Queensland despite the recent Labor conference passing a motion in favour of introducing voluntary euthanasia laws.

8:36 In last weeks episode, we opined that Paul Keating would have got stuck into opponents of progressive law reform however 48 hours later he produced an article strongly criticizing the proposed assisted dying laws in Victoria. Unfortunately, his arguments were emotional and factually incorrect. His main argument was that the current view of what it means to be human is sacred and cannot evolve and he objected to the idea that some people are better off dead. He incorrectly stated that the slippery slope argument has been fulfilled in other jurisdictions and he accused others of an emotional argument which he himself was guilty of.

18:46 We refer to an excellent article from Neil Francis from his “dying for choice” blog which puts forward a good case that our current politicians are unrepresentative swill particularly in relation to conservative politicians and there voting patterns on voluntary euthanasia bills compared to the support for these bills in the community.

23:31 A growing share of Americans says it is not necessary to believe in god to be moral. All religious segments are moving in the correct direction on this matter but the group which is trailing behind our black Protestants.

26:31 Meanwhile in Australia according to a recent Ipsos Global Poll, 2 in 3 Australians think religion does more harm than good in the world. At the same time, we are comfortable being around people with different religious beliefs to our own. Therefore, call us suspicious and call us tolerant.

28:24 The Pew research centre recently looked into the grand challenges facing us in the 21st century and one of these challenges turns out to be the breakdown of trusted information sources. They went on to conduct a survey of a large number of technologists, scholars, practitioners, strategic thinkers and others and ask them whether they thought the problem with fake news would get better or worse over the next 10 years. 51% of the experts expected things would not improve while 49% thought they would.

Of the people who thought that things would not improve, their main reasons were that humans are selfish, tribal, gullible convenience seekers who put the most trust in that which seems familiar.

Also, there are strong incentives for the rich and powerful to disseminate false information but little incentive for the truth.

Of those who thought that things would improve, their main reason seem to be that technology would improve to provide better filtering and algorithms to weed out fake news and they also thought that ratings would become important and trusted.

Following are some quotes  from experts who felt that the situation would get worse

* It comes down to motivation. There is no market for the truth, the public isn’t motivated to seek out verified vetted information, they are happy hearing what confirms their views and people can gain more creating fake information than they can keeping it from occurring.

* Too many groups gain power through the proliferation of inaccurate or misleading information. When there is value in misinformation, it will rule.

* Big political players have just learnt how to play this game. I don’t think they will put much effort into eliminating it.

* Overall at least a part of society will value trusted information and find ways to keep a set of curated quality information resources. This will use a combination of organisational and technological tools but above all will require a sharpened sense of good judgement and access to diverse sources. Outside this,

2:10 We start with the extraordinary homily

from Sydney’s Archbishop Anthony Fisher in which he advised Governments

that they should, in general, keep out of the friendship business and

out of the bedroom. In an extraordinary display of self-control he

managed to say this with a straight face.

6:02 This is just one of many examples in this episode of the pot calling

the kettle black. Of course, his comment is correct about the

government but the purpose of the legislation is to ensure that

government stays out of the bedroom and the Archbishop has displayed

incredible gall and chutzpa by failing to acknowledge that too often

the Church itself is the one guilty of interfering in the bedroom.

7:38 The Archbishop complained about religious people potentially losing their jobs

without recognising that this already happens to gay teachers in

religious schools.

9:22 Fortunately not all of the congregation agreed with him.

11:41 The Fist likes the advice of Anna Krein who suggests that rather than

trying to defend the ability of gay couples to properly look after

children we should instead turn the heat on religious groups by

mentioning the Royal Commission and asking why they don’t have their

cap in their hand on this issue.

15:17 The Fist apologises to his children and grandchildren for the sorry

state of truth in our society. It has been either prevented by anti-discrimination

laws, rendered meaningless by moral relativism or obscured by snake-oil salesmen who promote distorted concepts with gall and bravado to a public whose critical thinking skills have atrophied.

18:53 We explore an interesting article from Dying For Choice which shows

that religious commitment is generally week although stronger in a

category described as “Other Christian” which can only mean evangelical

groups. There is a link between religiosity and opposition to marriage

equality and voluntary assisted dying.

24:21 The Fist tricks the Velvet Glove into an admission over the

categorisation of Muslims which was made in episode 54.

30:20 There is an event on in Brisbane on 30 October and listeners are

welcome to join The Fist, The Velvet Glove and The 12th Man.

31:37 Some wealthy private schools in Victoria have claimed that up to 26% of

their students are suffering from disabilities and this coincided with a new regime of self-assessment leading to increased funding for those schools. The spokesman for the Catholic sector described the

data as “dodgy”.

36:32 If you are worried about the Adani coal mine then worry no more as a

recent day of action included a prayer vigil.

38:15 We look at an article which puts forward the case in favour of

thoughts and prayers.

41:51 The Sydney Anglican diocese has given $1 million dollars to the no

campaign yet the no campaign claims that they are the poor cousin in

financial terms in this debate.

47:26 The no campaign has given in on the results of the survey and is now

manoeuvering to have the legislation drawn up so as to install

religious privilege under the guise of religious freedom but

fortunately, the Labor Party is proposing to go ahead with a draft

bill that does not allow bakeries, florists or photographers to withhold service to gay couples.

50:36 We refer to some new entries into the secular index.

55:40 It has been a while but we have a “you cannot be Kyrgios” segment.

59:27 Donald Trump hates everyone in the White House and we examine the 25th

Amendment which provides another option for removing this awful man

from the Presidency.

1:04:10 Tony Abbott believes in transubstantiation yet pokes fun at primitive

people who kill goats to appease the volcano gods. The Fist is not

Highlights from October 2016

2:45 Exorcisms and Islam’s view of The Devil and 5 things prophets have in common.

5:49 Embryos and medical research and how ISIS is more progressive than the Catholics

8:52 Scary Clowns, Ronald McDonald and The Hijab wrapped up into a lively discussion.

13:27 Donald Trump and lexicographic preferences. The Velvet Glove may regret his statement when forced into a corner by The Iron Fist.

23:06 Democracy for Realists

31:47 Government funding of private schools

37:51 It’s not just tax breaks. We give religions all sorts of funding to do jobs the government should be doing.

39:05 Cardinal Pell on climate change

40:12 Let’s get out of The Middle East

42:53 Submarines – a certain disaster

49:38 Assisted dying and a Canadian story

52:59 The vasectomy story

55:25 The Pope effect encourages exorcisms

57:48 Amazing gun ownership statistics. 78% of Americans do not own a gun. 19% own 50%. 3% own 50% of all guns.

1:00:04 Our Hillsong excursion

1:08:26 There’s going to be bacon !!

1:10:53 Deep Throat and David Van Gend

1:12:20 The Masculinity of Skiing landscapes

1:13:36 Right Wing Tony’s FIFO idea is stolen

1:18:19 Legal submissions by religious advocates to the Royal Commission

1:28:04 The Hijab does not protect women from “wolf whistling”

1:34:00  Like a brick thrown in troubled water by Roy Zimmerman

01:06 The Fist and The 12th Man discuss the shooting in Las Vegas and refer you

to the Bill before Congress called the Sportsmen’s Heritage and

Recreational Enhancement Act. This diabolical piece of legislation

proposes to allow US citizens to purchase silencers without background

checks and forces the government to destroy records of

transactions regarding silencers.

19:41 A survivor thanks The Man in the Sky

24:47 We look at Iain Benson from Notre Dame University in Sydney and his

calls for special legislation to ensure religious freedom. He refers

to the Canadian case of Trinity Western University Law School which we

explain and we also criticise Professor Benson for his double standards in

various aspects of his arguments.

Freedom For Faith is a Christian legal think tank. We like to think

that the Iron Fist Velvet Glove podcast is a secular think tank.

44:43 We take a look at the survey by National Church Life Survey showing

attitudes of Australians to Religion, God, Prayer and Spirituality.

56:08 We take aim at the Australian Federal police for insisting that their

employment practices must match the community they serve.

1:00:51 We congratulate friend of the podcast Jenelle for her excellent work

in contributing to the federal secular index and in particular

her research into Eric Abetz and Terri Butler.

1:04:24 After a short absence, Yassmin Abdel Majied returns to the podcast and

we discuss her narcissistic personality.

1:17:08 John August sent us a voicemail message regarding Gillian Triggs and

her thoughts on Sharia divorce courts and we discuss the implications.

1:29:45 Jimmy Is normally a fan of The Fist’s arguments but he takes issue with

The Fist over US athletes “taking a knee”. The Fist attempts to justify

his argument. As part of that, he reveals a disturbing quote from The

Reverend Jesse Jackson.

1:50:45 Roy Morgan research visited The Fist household.

1:53:28 A three-year-old in Nepal has been declared a living goddess. It is

apparent that in Nepal, animals receive more protection than three-year-old

children.

1:57:29 The Fist argues that apologising for an allegation of sodomy is itself a slur against sodomites deserving of an apology and manages to convince The 12th Man.

The Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act

Australians were asked, “Is religion good for society?”

AFP employment practices

Eric Abetz

Abdel-Magied has popped up again.

The truth about soaring power prices: wind and solar not to blame

John August on Triggs and Sharia

Sharia law used to settle divorces in Muslim community

Jimmy on “taking a knee” see comments section in episode 115

2:31 In this episode of the podcast, we note that Tim Nicholls arrived at the correct answer on marriage equality but he scores no marks for his calculations. In our view, deciding the marriage equality question based on St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is poor practice for a State Opposition Leader.

4:19 Previously, The Fist would have opined that Tim Nicholls is out of step with the mainstream of Australian society, however, a recent Essential Report survey reveals that huge numbers of Australians believe in Heaven, Hell, Angels, Ghosts, Extraterrestrials and climate change conspiracy theories so perhaps Tim Nicholls is a true representative after all.

10:07 A Facebook post by Far Kew is spot on where she expresses her anger that people think it is ok to vote against marriage equality because they’re pissed about receiving a text message.

14:18 Jane Caro says she has no problem with religious organisations discriminating against people provided there is proper publicity of the discrimination.

20:21 The Fist points out that the marriage equality argument is an example of bike shedding.

19:01 Mrs Betty Bowers, America’s best Christian succinctly describes the double standards that apply in relation to religious freedom and persecution.

23:47 In the USA there is a brouhaha regarding athletes taking the knee during the playing of the national anthem and the raising of the American flag. The Fist fails to convince The Velvet Glove to change his mind, however, Brandon Tatum proves to be a better Advocate.

35:46 We take a look at proposed legislation for assisted dying in New South Wales and Victoria and also look at a useful document provided by Dying with Dignity.

46:55 Landon Hardbottom scolds The Fist and The Velvet Glove and threatens them with retribution.

53:24 Two surveys of white Evangelical Christian’s taken 5 years apart show that they are bereft of any moral fibre.

56:05 Kenan Malik has visited Australia and is not afraid to tackle some difficult ideas regarding indigenous Australians.

Equally troubling is the romanticization. It has become the accepted truth that Indigenous peoples have a culture stretching back 65,000 years. Humans have been on the continent for that long, but no culture extends over such a time span. Today’s Indigenous Australians no more have the same relationship to the spiritual tradition of Dreamtime stories as did those first inhabitants than modern Greeks relate to “The Iliad” in the way their ancient forebears did.

The idea of an unbroken, unchanged culture has a flip side that has always animated racists. It was once used to portray Indigenous Australians, and other nonwhite races, as primitive and incapable of development. Likewise with another common claim: that Indigenous people have a special attachment to the land and a unique form of ecological wisdom. This, too, draws on an old racist trope, a reworking of the “noble savage” myth. The fact that in contemporary debates such ideas are deployed in support, rather than denial, of Indigenous rights does not make them more palatable.

When I raised these issues with Australian academics and activists, many suggested that as someone with a European perspective, I did not grasp the nuances of the Australian debate. That may be true. But many of the issues are global, not local. From America to South Africa, from India to France, questions about the legacies of colonialism, the authenticity of cultural traditions and the meaning of democracy in pluralist societies dominate public debate.

Tim Nicholls relies on the Bible

The Fist talks to Tanya, the Captain of the Australian chapter of The Church of The Flying Spaghetti Monster.

21:57 Should a priest be allowed to deny marriage for a couple who supported marriage equality via a Facebook post?

24:22 The Fist theory on marriage and the delegation of a civil function.

29:36 A Bill of Rights discussion

34:39 Israel Folau tweets. Should we care? The Fist argues that Alan Joyce is not entitled to speak on behalf of Qantas on an issue which is not core to the business.

 

Links:

www.pastafarians.org.au

Malcolm Turnbull defends right of church to refuse to marry couples who support gay marriage

FRANK BRENNAN. We need a Bill of Rights

Church cancels wedding because bride and groom supported gay marriage on Facebook

Nationals reject George Christensen’s bid to ban the burqa – but only just

Police Urge Floridians Not to Fire Their Guns at Hurricane Irma: “You Won’t Make It Turn Around”

Aboriginal elders who signed anti-marriage equality petition don’t speak on my behalf

Dameyon Bonson

Israel Folau

We have a new feature. if you listen to the podcast directly from the post on our website, you will be able to jump directly to different topics by clicking on the relevant time stamp. Hopefully, this will make it easier for you to share your favourite parts of our podcast.

01:43 In this episode, the Iron Fist admits to an error regarding trans-generational trauma.

10:40 An indigenous Alice Springs councillor says there is no need to change Australia day and people should not feel guilty.

12:52 The National Secular Lobby announces Philip Adams and Jane Caro as ambassadors.

14:02 A Tasmanian couple refuses to pay rates because the land belongs to God so the council sells the property for half of its market value.

15:38 We propose a collective noun for a group of religious nutters.

17:08 Donald Trump initiates a national day of prayer and a “scrotum of religious nutters” gather around to pray in a manner that would breach Matthew Chapter 6 verse 5.

22:59 The Fist argues that a group of Far Right Nationalists should not be guilty of a criminal offence and the Victorian Racial and Religious Tolerance Act goes too far.

30:04 On the other hand, the Fist agrees with Peter Dutton that a famous advocate against vaccinations should not be given a Visa to enter Australia. The Fist argues that Kent Heckenlively would likely cause injury or death and has crossed the line in much the same way that inciting violence crosses the line of acceptable free speech.

46:47 We also look at the limits to free speech from offensive language laws which address the F word and the C word.

52:18 Indians who are complaining about the meat and livestock ad and its implication that the Hindu God Ganesha eats meat should find something more worthwhile to complain about.

53:22 The Fist thinks that trolls on the Secular Party Facebook page should be banned.

56:40 Hopefully, the new Reason party will take some advice from The Fist about submarines.

59:30 American protestants do not understand the basic tenets of their own religion.

1:02:22 An art exhibition in South Australia is shut down because of the cultural appropriation of a sacred indigenous figure. This is a worrying trend. It leads to a conversation about copyright.

1:08:51 We finish off with a few quick stories about the marriage equality debate.

 

The Links:

Tasmanian home sold to recover rates unpaid by owners, who said land belongs to God

Be wary of anyone claiming to speak on behalf of a group

Indigenous Alice Springs town councillor Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says Aboriginal people have become professional mourners and it’s time it stopped.

Trump prays for Houston – ugh …

Far-right nationalists found guilty of inciting serious contempt for Muslims after mock beheading video

Freedom of speech takes a hit

In this episode The Fist and Simon do a book review of Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.

The phenomenal New York Times Bestseller by Nobel Prize-winner Daniel Kahneman, Thinking Fast and Slow offers a whole new look at the way our minds work, and how we make decisions. Why is there more chance we’ll believe something if it’s in a bold type face? Why are judges more likely to deny parole before lunch? Why do we assume a good-looking person will be more competent? The answer lies in the two ways we make choices: fast, intuitive thinking, and slow, rational thinking. This book reveals how our minds are tripped up by error and prejudice (even when we think we are being logical), and gives you practical techniques for slower, smarter thinking. It will enable to you make better decisions at work, at home, and in everything you do.

Buy it here.

03:07 What is Fast and Slow thinking

09:20 Sequencing matters

10:29 A new meeting procedure

13:00 Anchoring, Redwood tees, real estate, sentencing

19:30 Kidney cancer, small numbers, class sizes, and the mean

25:26 Highly intelligent women on average tend to marry less intelligent men

27:35 The experiments are deceptive

30:07 The seizure in a booth experiment. We infer the general from the particular but not the particular from the general.

36:32 The Patreon account should be updated to take advantage of anchoring

39:30 A bad font leads to better comprehension

45:08 We hate losing more than we like winning

48:42 How well we remember experiences and the cold water torture test.

55:06 The benefits of a premortem

In episode 111 the Fist is joined by the 12th Man.

01:02 We discuss:

* What is the best date for Australia Day,

* 10:51 Stan Grant and Cook’s statue,

* 15:30 Trans-generational trauma,

* Aborigines who elect to identify with part of their ancestry and after dividing their own identity complain about inclusion of that identity in society.

22:13 We look at the removal of racist place names in Queensland such as Nigger Creek, Nigger bounce, Mount Nigger and seven instances of Nigger Creek. The Fist gives reasons why these should be changed but not our historical statues. The 12 Man disagrees.

29:10 A recent survey shows that 39% of Australians agree with what Pauline Hanson did by wearing the burqa in Parliament house while 38% disapprove.

33:03 Australia’s former Human Rights Commissioner  Gillian Triggs says sharia law should be allowed in Australia.

36:15 We look at the chances of successfully objecting to prayers in parliament by virtue of section 116 of the Constitution.

42:04 Clive Palmer thinks his Catholic credentials will help him in his court case.

43:43 Statisticians suggest that a new standard of probability should be used in research studies.

52:24 We look at the evolutionary basis of identity politics and note that it has reached the point that people are looking for insults.

59:30 Greg Craven is a well respected lawyer but favours the seal of the confessional.

1:05:24 The Fist suggests that the Church is like Mayweather and the opponents are like McGregor. The Church is playing rope a dope with its opponents.

1:09:53 Privilege as regards priests, journalists and lawyers. The Fist explains the difference.

1:15:33 The 12th man previously had a high opinion of Greg Sheridan but hopefully the Fist changes his mind.

All cultures are not equal or at least they are not equal in preparing people to be productive in an advanced economy.

1:21:30 We finish with a defence of the bad white working class.

It is the working class who are likely to suffer economic disadvantage from migration and are least likely to cope with politically correct speech and the people who champion ideas often do so knowing that they are immune from the negative effects.

The links:

Racist place names to be struck from the record in Queensland

Trans generational trauma – from a man playing a guitar using western chord progressions, using a sophisticated audio system and playing to a national audience after sitting next to the Attorney General and claiming to speak on behalf of all Aboriginal people.

Essential report

‘Sharia’s no different to Catholicism’: Ex-human rights commissioner Gillian Triggs says Sharia law courts SHOULD be allowed in Australia – just as the Vatican already influences everyday life

Official prayers in federal parliament are divisive and unconstitutional and should be scrapped

Clive Palmer thinks that beefing up his Catholic credentials is a good career move.

It will be much harder to call new findings ‘significant’ if this team...