Utopia tonight 10.35 ITV

[Jim Brady]

BAFTA award winning director John Pilger presents a thrilling and moving documentary detailing the plight of the Aboriginal population in Australia's poorest region.Utopia.Drawing on extensive archive footage and numerous in depth interviews Pilger exposes the shocking abuses suffered by the First Australians from the early days of white settlement to the present day,and draws surprising parallels with South Africa during apartheid.
Regards.
Jim.B.

Full story here for our friends in oz if they are interested. www.mirror.co.uk john pilger

[Captain Kong]

I couldnt find the Article Jim.
But I did see a trailer on the prog.
I have seen many aboriginals in the Bush towns. They seem to be living in squalid conditions and do not seem to have any hope.
A lot of them get their money from the Government and go on the cheap booze with it.
I was in a very small bush town in the Northern Territory, with Anne, we were stopping overnight in our van, and in the very small shopping centre of just a handfull of shops, one a liquer store. Outside was around 20 Abos.
Inside was just one girl at the till
When we went in to buy a bottle of wine for dinner, they all came in, so Anne and I hung about until they were all served in case of trouble. We then went to the till and said to the girl we were waiting in case you had trouble with them. She said, No problem with them, They know they will not get any more if they do so they are well behaved.
When we went out they were all sat on a wall supping their grog.

[Jim Brady]

Brian.if you go to www.mirror.co.uk at the top of the paper on the right pictures are coming up Ronnie Biggs David Beckham etc they are moving and you can move them also.When you see Pilger with the Abo kids if you click the small picture that will take you to the story'
Regards.
Jim.B.

[Jim Brady]

According to the story minerals from Aboriginal land in Western Australia are being shipped to China for a billion dollars a week profit,that sure is some money!!!
Regards.
Jim.B.

[Chris Allman]

Quite honestly I feel very sorry for the Aborigines, just as I do for the North American Indians. It was their lands and the white man, mainly Englishmen, came and took the land from them and then treated them like ****. Hitler tried this in Europe and everyone fought to stop him and thankfully succeeded. But what is the difference between him and the white men and women who plundered the lands of the Aborigines and the Red Indians and subjected them to killing, torture and ultimate humiliation. People in glass houses comes to mind.

[j.sabourn]

I feel sorry for the Anglo Saxons, a bunch of eyeties came and enforced their laws and better roads and way of life on them also. John S

[happy daze john in oz]

John Pilger an Australian loves to produce article that decry Australia so very few here take any notice of him. But the facts first.
The Aboriginies did not nor do not now own the land, no one owns the land we like them are just custodians of it for the next generation.
When the white man came here in 1788 he found what was still then stone age man, they had no contact with any one from any other country.
The white man has attempted to instill in them the things they have learned over a period of over 2,000 years and have attempted to do thisd in 200 years.
The white man brought disease they never knew, alcohol and drugs. Some of them have embraced the new concept whilst others would rather be left to the old ways. Many have attempted to inprove conditions for them, but sadly many of them do not want to change.

It may take another 200 years before we can say they are truly integrated. As to the mining, they are not interested in such but much of the money spent on them, and it ammounts to billions, comes form the tax reciepts of the mines.

But as with all races some have done very well, politicians, lawyers, builders, business owners. It is now the minority of them that still stand out and as with any such people there will be those who will never want to change forthe bedtter.

[j.sabourn]

From my understanding of the Aborigine culture, there is no common language as each tribe speaks a different lingo. Most countries have gone through a period of evolution with various inventions etc. I believe the Aborigines had not even discovered the wheel, and neither the bow and arrow. Relied on throwing sticks (boomerangs). Think they had discovered fire as this would have been obvious due to the frequent natural fires this continent has. I don't think the Aborigines have been treated any worse than the aborigines of any other country, and in fact Australia deals extremely fair with them. Never had a very high opinion of Pilger and the likes of him who like to raise controversy as a means of making a worthwhile living for himself. If he is so concerned should take up residency with one of the tribes of the real ones, not the make belief ones with about one tenth aborigine blood . Cheers John Sabourn

[happy daze john in oz]

As some of you know I do volunteer work at the local community health centre, I am also on the consumer committee. We now have an Aboriginal advisor to cope with the local members of which we are now told there are 500 in a community of some 33,000.
Most of them are as white as you and I, maybe one eigth or even one sixteenth Aboriginal. But of course if there are hand out available why not be one?

[j.sabourn]

Does that mean that you consume aborigines John. Could be a new delicacy along with Crocodile and Emu. Cheers John S