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Originally written by Freakin' Salmon:

Stage 2 - The Round of Sixteen.

Two matches a day, single elimination, top team in one group plays second seed in another group.

Day 1 - Germany v Sweden (2-0)
........Argentina v Mexico (2-1, OT)
Day 2 - England v Ecuador
........Portugal v Dutch
Day 3 - Italia v Australia
........Suise v Ukraine
Day 4 - Brasil v Ghana
........Espana v France

The next stage pits the survivors of each day against each other (ie. perhaps Germany v Argentina), and then the Day 1 survivor versus the Day 2 survivor. Excepting the Dutch, the first eight teams look tough. The second eight, not so much. I'll change my prediction to Argentina beats Italia 3-1.

Stage 3 Matchups (Games begin 6/30/06)
Day 1 - Germany v Argentina
:)

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Originally written by Freakin' Salmon:

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Originally written by Ash Lael:

Oh, inevitably. It's all tied up together. But still, the actual practical situation does merit some attention.

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Fair enough, and I understand the "close to home" bit as well. So I pose the question. How does this decision affect you personally? I mean, my neighbor could have a habit of eating dog crap, but as long as he isn't in my yard following my dog, I've got no problem with what he is doing. But that is me. Someone else may want the guy to stop doing what he loves.

Is this an issue (in Canberra) solely about the distinction between marriage and civil union? Also, please give some background. It is incredibly difficult to parse positions within and without government. Candidates (and seated politicians) change positions regularly, and it would be pertinent to be informed as to how long the various parties have held the positions.

:)

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Originally written by Freakin' Salmon:

Ash - The reason I asked "why?" was because you felt there was a need to discuss this bit of Australian political agenda. The concept of marriage has become highly charged as of late, with various governments deliberately using that term instead of civil union. I saw no net gain in entering the discussion, and the trollage was imminent. It looks like a lot of folks had fun though, even though non-Australians have a very hard time absorbing enough Australian politics to understand the ramifications of the decision.

You were asking because it was Australian politics, right? I would hate to think that you were putting forward another religiously motivated debate thread. Those get old, fast.

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Originally written by Kelandon:

Does this look like a court of law to you? Innocent until proven guilty is a legal principle, not a moral one.

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Originally written by Drew:

Then contest it, Ash. Are you offended? Can you prove that your opposition to gay marriage is anything else?

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Originally written by Drew:

Opposition to civil unions for homosexual couples is motivated by fear and hate only.

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Originally written by Freakin' Salmon:

Why?

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Originally written by Sprung:

I really don't see the point of disallowing it. The pair love each other, so why should it not be official?

I'm not for same-sex marriage. A proper marriage, IMO, would be against the tradition that marriage was built around.

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The Federal Government has gained the support of a Family First Senator to successfully fight off a challenge to its decision to quash ACT laws for same-sex civil unions.

The Opposition and minor parties were challenging the Government's decision to disallow the ACT civil unions law.

Liberal Senator Gary Humphries, a former chief minister of the ACT, crossed the floor and supported the challenge.

"I'm not convinced that there was no alternative to disallowance," Senator Humphries said.

But despite Senator Humphries' move, the motion was defeated because Family First Senator Steve Fielding voted with the Government.

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Originally written by Thuryl:

In fact, there's a very famous Chinese fossil site which was discovered based on local legends of dragons. (Unfortunately, attempting to hire local labour to dig up the fossils backfired; paying an equal amount for each fossil fragment regardless of size resulted in workers deliberately breaking fossils, which was hardly the intended result.)

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Originally written by Khoth:

Millions of people die of preventable problems every year. We should be out there helping them instead of making pointless emotional appeals that won't change anything.

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Originally written by Drakefyre:

Tunisia vs. Saudi Arabia and Germany vs. Poland were the two most exciting games of the World Cup so far.

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