Australia

I think your time compass is a bit off there Clive. The 9th and last crusade took place circa 1300 AD, (though i think you could probably sustain an argument regarding the existance of contemporary 10th one) the Australians introduced race discrimination laws to protect Aborigines in 1975. Clearly in a historical time perspective, and especially since attitudes and institutions do not change over night as a result of legislation, you would regard 1975 onwards, as 'here and now'?

It's actually quite strange as Australia led the world at the turn of the last century in mnay respects in introducing a whole raft of progressive liberal laws, which are now considered the norm in so called civilised society. Their failure to apply the same forward thinking to Aboriginals and address race, does seem to be an inconsistant blot in what was otherwise a forward thinking agenda
 
You have Harry ! the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 though enacted to protect women - prevents discrimination on grounds of sex - hence it was found to be unlawful sex discrimination to give women free passes for lesiure services at 60 but men would have to wait till they were 65
 
Yes warbler, but was that law brought in to stop existing "shooting of aboriginals" ??

Of course not

But you miss the point. Civilised socities nearly all have a mixed past (to put it mildly) but have moved forward and continue to do so.

Many muslim societies seem intent on turning the clock back...
 
I couldn't tell you how widely spread the practice was in the early 1970's :lol: one would certainly like to think it wasn't occuring, but the fact is (I should qualify that and say "appears to be" in fairness) that in NSW it could be legitimately invoked as a defence in a court of law, and as things stood you'd have got away with it if the law (as relayed to me) was applied.

As regards the Muslim countries turning the clock back. I'm not sure that's entirely true. I think what you need to account for is what I'll call "state sponsored religon", this will almost always lead to regression regardless of denomination. There's enough secular states where Islam is the majority religon that aren't going backwards. Now you could say that some are coming from a low base, and when I think of the likes of Turkey, Morrocco, and Libya you'd probably be correct, so their progress has to be seen as relative and in context. It's those countries where religious orthodoxy and dogma are allowed to permeate into the government, the judicary, the media and the instruments of civil enforcement that present problems. Having said that, I can think one particular western country that has lerched in this direction in the last 6 years, and I'm far from convinced they've benefited for doing so, but coming from such high base, the threat isn't imminent. There is of course a tendancy to provoke backlashes against dogmatic movements, and with any luck this dangerous shift to teaching things such as 'creationism' in American schools as science, and the position on bio ethics to do with stem cell research might correct in the medium term?
 
I wouldnt be suprised if the influence of the christian right in the US has peeked. Bush took a battering in the last elections not just i believe, becuase of Iraq, but also issues such as stem cell (which rebounded badly) and his tiresome simple minded certainties.

The US would have Clinton back tomorrow and hes miles away from being a christian fundamentalist

iran is an example of a islamic country seeming intent on going backwards, but probably fairer to say that the islamic world seems more intent on standing still and consequently being left behind.
 
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