World Youth Day 08 (4 Viewers)

[scarybunny]

Sounds like a massive orgy for young Catholics.

But with NO CONTRACEPTIVES.

Because a) Alan won't be there to hand them out and b) they're not allowed to use them anyway.

 

[Road Runner]

Sounds like a massive orgy for young Catholics.

Epic Fail. People jumping up and down during concerts and doing mosh pits is more of an example of an orgy for young people. Therefore you are wrong ! Thus you failed in life with your 0.5 UAI.

 

[HalcyonSky]

Epic Fail. People jumping up and down during concerts and doing mosh pits is more of an example of an orgy for young people. Therefore you are wrong ! Thus you failed in life with your 0.5 UAI.

hahah what the fuck

Step 1) pronounce the post an epic fail
step 2) construct moshpit example
step 3) therefore, original post is wrong
step 4) ????
step 5) Thus, original poster fails at life + 0.5uai

WHAT MAN

 

[Captain Gh3y]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/annoy-squads-preemptive-strikes/2008/07/04/1214951010653.html

Civil libertarians are outraged and gay groups say they feel intimidated after receiving calls from the NSW police "World Youth Day investigations squad" asking them about planned protests during the event.

Gay Brisbane artist Luke Roberts, who created the artistic persona "Pope Alice" in the 1970s, said he received a call yesterday morning from an officer who questioned him about the "kiss-in" his alter-ego is planning to hold in Sydney during World Youth Day.

"He was very polite and respectful but it was a long conversation," Mr Roberts said. "No one wants to get a call from the police, do they? You immediately wonder whether the police are listening in to your phone line."

The police action comes days after the revelation that special laws have been passed for the event allowing police to clamp down on people causing an "annoyance or inconvenience" to World Youth Day participants and issue fines of up to $5500.

The laws could be used to target the actions of Pope Alice, who claims to be the "Queen of Heaven and curator of the universe", if authorities deem them to be annoying during the event.

But Mr Roberts said he would press on with his plans.

He said the kiss-in at Taylor Square was "in the spirit of the 60s" and a demonstration of same-sex affection planned to coincide with the presence of Pope Benedict, "the chief homophobe of planet Earth in the gay capital of the world".

"But of course with all these laws a whole new atmosphere has been created," Mr Roberts said.

Paul Harris, co-convenor of the gay Catholic group Acceptance, which was recently told by World Youth Day organisers to abandon a planned forum on homosexuality during the event, told ABC radio he too received a call from police.

"Initially I thought it was the World Youth Day people, I thought it was some kind of World Youth Day CSI, some secret police of the Catholic Church trying to investigate what this gay group is on about," he said.

Paul Hanrahan, co-ordinator of pro-life group The Helpers of God's Precious Infants, said he had received a call from the World Youth Day investigations squad but he did not find it intrusive at all.

"We are a group which you would have to say have beliefs that don't depart from the Catholic Church but we were called too,'' he said.

"It's not about restricting protests, [police] are just trying to facilitate the massive number of pilgrims in Sydney, I don't find a problem with that at all, it's just logistics.''

Mr Hanrahan said his group would hold its usual vigil outside an abortion clinic in Surry Hills on the Saturday before World Youth Day.

A police media spokesman charged with handling World Youth Day inquiries said: "One of our teams has just made contact with various groups that have shown an intention that they want to protest at World Youth Day, just to see what they would like to do so we can facilitate all the requests, just to try to co-ordinate things."

He said the inquiries were aimed at making sure the protests ran safely and traffic and transport factors could be identified and police did the same thing when preparing for last year's APEC summit in Sydney.

Australian Council of Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman said the police action was "unacceptable".

"Police know full well that such a call has a chilling effect on the person being called," he said.

"If what you are intending to to do is perfectly democratic then people like Pope Alice are entitled to feel intimidated.

"History has shown that we are a modern enough democracy and flexible enough to have such an event as World Youth Day run concurrently with people who want to make a protest.

"The special laws have shown how easily ordinary civil liberties can be suspended if the particular group is influential enough."

 

[Snaykew]

Guys, these laws are necessary. Infact, we need to make them PERMANENT. This way we can imprison those who have different ideas and values to those in power. We cannot allow such disgusting thoughts to be public. We must suppress such thoughts with these laws. Infact, we should expand them so that police have much more powers to imprison without trial ideas and thoughts contrary to the Church.

 

[katie tully]

RETAILERS are bracing for a trading downturn during the World Youth Day period, with the city's largest department store predicting it will lose tens of millions of dollars as shoppers avoid the city centre.

However, the State Government has curtailed the ability of businesses to seek compensation for losses.

Bernie Brookes, the chief executive of Myer, said road closures and warnings to the public to stay away would have "catastrophic" consequences. His city store expected to lose between $20 million and $30 million in sales during the 10-day event.

Myer is increasing its marketing in the hope of persuading pilgrims to visit its other stores. Mr Brookes said the impact of the marketing would be interesting to see, but "it is going to be significantly catastrophic for the city store".

A high dollar, lack of free time for pilgrims and the limited budgets of many of them mean any lift in sales is unlikely, said the executive director of the Australian Retailers Association, Michael Lonie.

"Basically they, [association members] are concerned that the city is going to be deserted and people are being encouraged not to come."

However, the body that represents big business in Sydney has told retailers to get behind the event, which it predicts will market the city as a successful venue for big events. A statement from the Sydney Chamber of Commerce's executive director, Patricia Forsythe, said the "level of cynicism is disappointing".

"All this naysaying begs the question of whether we are a global city or a provincial outpost," she said. "Sydney must have an aggressive approach towards attracting major events, given the competitiveness of the international tourism market and the strength of the Aussie dollar."

The chamber estimates the celebrations will bring in about $230 millionfor accommodation, food outlets, transport, entertainment and hospitality and retail.

Mr Brookes said he understood the marketing advantages of staging such an event but "struggled to understand the balance" of putting Sydney on the map and the impact on business.

"There's enormous hidden costs on truck drivers, taxis and the like, and I hope someone is calibrating the true cost of it."

The Government has reduced the ability of businesses to seek compensation for youth day losses. In what the president of the NSW Law Society, Hugh Macken, called an "extraordinary and unnecessary" piece of legislation, anyone working on the week-long Catholic event will be exempt from liability for the tort of "nuisance" by Section 49 of the World Youth Day Act.

Mr Macken said the exemption might prevent a shopkeeper whose business was damaged from suing anyone involved with World Youth Day for nuisance.

Everybody knows Catholics are filthy, cheap bastards and that there is no way their tourist spending is going to compensate for the thousands of people who are flocking from the city.

Like fuck, who goes into a country with $400 spending money? Who does that? Motherfuck, do you guys watch border security? They sure as shit don't let any Asian motherfuckers in when they've only got $500 to spend.

 

[katie tully]

Look at the awesome shit I can get at WYD!

only $50!

 

[Snaykew]

What the hell? One Myer store earns 30 million dollars in a 10 day period? Holy shit.

 

[katie tully]

I'll be the coolest kid in town with this!
http://shop.wyd2008.org/products/97011660_m.jpg

 

[withoutaface]

What the hell? One Myer store earns 30 million dollars in a 10 day period? Holy shit.

Myer in the city is hueg.

 

[scarybunny]

The Catholic church should realise that this whole thing is just making us all very bitter towards them.

Boo.

 

[chicky_pie]

What the hell? One Myer store earns 30 million dollars in a 10 day period? Holy shit.

Could you also guess how much they lose through shoplifting? lol

 

[emytaylor164]

Could you also guess how much they lose through shoplifting? lol

I would guess millions.

 

[banco55]

I'm sure I'm not the only one hoping that some people get out there and protest provactively (not violently or obstructing anyone but something like handing out condoms or having strongly worded placards about the Catholic child abuse scandals). Then the government's bullshit about "you have nothing to worry about, free speech isn't under threat" can be put to the test.

 

[^CoSMic DoRiS^^]

If I had $5500 to just throw away, I would do something, nothing hugely drastic or destructive, but I'd wear sarcastic tshirts and brandish condoms with pride for sure.

Immature, perhaps, but the satisfaction would outweigh my guilt over being juvenile about something I can't change.

 

[Josie]

If I had $5500 to just throw away, I would do something, nothing hugely drastic or destructive, but I'd wear sarcastic tshirts and brandish condoms with pride for sure.

Immature, perhaps, but the satisfaction would outweigh my guilt over being juvenile about something I can't change.

My friends and I will be there with our boxes of condoms and our newly screenprinted t-shirts.

I was originally in two minds about going, but this retarded legislation is MAKING me do it.

Currently going with 'My imaginary friend is better than your imaginary friend' except it's not highly original.

 

[scarybunny]

I liked the "I find your lack of faith disturbing" shirt. Mostly for star wars reasons.

 

[Snaykew]

On the plus side, this is a great commercial venture by the Church and its affiliates. Sure, nothing will actually be accomplished on the day but they will make loads of money nonetheless with their overpriced merchandise.

 

[CharlieB]

My friends and I will be there with our boxes of condoms and our newly screenprinted t-shirts.

I was originally in two minds about going, but this retarded legislation is MAKING me do it.

Currently going with 'My imaginary friend is better than your imaginary friend' except it's not highly original.

according to the legislation, a person may be fined $5500 for causing annoyance at a World Youth Day event.

As long as you protest respectfully i don't see how wearing a shirt and handing out condoms will attract a $5500 fine.

On the other hand, if you protest and hold up the pilgrimage to Randwick for example, this probably will attract a fine.

On the plus side, this is a great commercial venture by the Church and its affiliates. Sure, nothing will actually be accomplished on the day but they will make loads of money nonetheless with their overpriced merchandise.

yes profits which will in-turn flow into schools, nursing homes, local parishes, hostels, hospitals, support services for the marginalised and the like.

 

[banco55]

according to the legislation, a person may be fined $5500 for causing annoyance at a World Youth Day event.

As long as you protest respectfully i don't see how wearing a shirt and handing out condoms will attract a $5500 fine.

On the other hand, if you protest and hold up the pilgrimage to Randwick for example, this probably will attract a fine.



yes profits which will in-turn flow into schools, nursing homes, local parishes, hostels, hospitals, support services for the marginalised and the like.

You forget to mention compensation payouts to the victims of the pedophile protection racket that the Catholic Church ran for decades.