The web log of the Melbourne Uni Political Interest Society
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Reminder: Chris Berg tomorrow at 6:30!
The PIS Presents Pub Politics with Chris Berg
Thursday 21 May, 6:30pm
INU Bar, 1st floor Union House
Free Entry!
Chris Berg, researcher for the Institute of Public Affairs and regular columnist for the Sunday Age, speaks to the PIS about the Rudd Government's proposed internet filter and other current political issues. Bring your friends, and your questions, too.
The Political Interest Society will meet at midday this Tuesday in Doug McDonell 711 to watch TV. From 1pm we will hold the usual bitching-and-biscuits meeting, where we will discuss:
Defence white paper The government's white paper on defence has caused a bit of a stir. Is an expansion of our military warranted or necessary? Is there a risk of a country the size of Australia fuelling an arms race, as some have suggested?
Medicare and IVF Funding for IVF treatment through Medicare may soon be reduced. Is IVF treatment something that should be fully funded?
Jumps racing Dangerous and cruel, or a good way to keep retired racehorses occupied?
Branch stacking Following the revelations of corruption in Brimbank Council, branch-stacking is starting to look like a widespread problem in Australian politics. Are we concerned about branch-stacking? Is this kind of corruption inevitable in representative democracy?
Followed by a trip to the pub, where we will eat, drink and be merry until we run out of change
The Political Interest Society meet this week at midday in Doug McDonell 711 to watch TV, probably more of House of Cards provided Chris can bring it along again. I look forward to it.
Following that, the regular meeting will begin at 1pm, where we will discuss: Influenza pandemic It's been practically the only news story of the past week: a potential flu pandemic beginning in Mexico and spreading to the rest of the world. How serious do we think the threat of swine flu is? Have the Australian government done enough to prepare us?
Australian publishing and protectionism The Productivity Commission want to lift the ban on parallel importing of books in Australia. Publishers claim this will stifle local publishers and authors; supporters of the proposal say it will bring book prices down. Is it worth bringing down the prices of books if it means decimating local publishing?
Somalian Piracy President Obama was widely praised for his action on the rescue of a US captain held hostage by Somalian pirates. However, Somalian piracy has been a growing threat for some time. Is there any way to combat the overall problem? Are pirates simply criminals or is Western intervention in Somalia partly to blame?
Victorian Transport There's been a lot of attention on the proposed bushfire-related spending in the upcoming Victorian Government budget, but transport is quickly becoming one of the biggest issues for Melbournians as our public transport system becomes increasingly dysfunctional. What's wrong with public transport in Melbourne? Can we see a straightforward solution?
After which we will adjourn to PA's where members may feel free to try to find a way to impeach me before the AGM.
In other news, the Law Students Society is hosting a free public lecture regarding human rights:
An Australian Human Rights Act: Dispelling the Myths A public lecture featuring The Hon Catherine Branson QC, President of the Australian Human Rights Commission.
6:00pm–7:00pm, Tuesday 19 May 2009 Room G08 (Ground Floor), Melbourne Law School, 185 Pelham St, Carlton Vic 3053
The Political Interest Society meet again this Tuesday at 12 in Doug McDonell 711 for the appreciation of amusing politically-themed TV shows. As usual, we'll decide what to watch when we get there. I have The West Wing and Hollowmen - if anyone has something different they can bring along, like Yes, Minister, Party Animals or something else I haven't even heard of, feel free. (The room has VCR as well as DVD equipment, by the way.)
From 1pm in the same room we will have our regular weekly meeting to discuss:
China Is Rudd too close to China? Is improving relations with China a wise course of action or could it damage other foreign relations? (ie with the US?) Is the debate about China just a beat-up in the wake of the Joel Fitzgibbon kerfuffle?
Faked figures in hospitals Is it a concern that hospitals are falsifying records in order to meet targets? Can this be solved by replacing hospital staff, or is it a problem with the system?
G20 and free trade For once maybe we'll talk as much about what's said at G20 as we do about the protestors. In a time of recession, is free trade a sensible international policy, or do we favour more protections and the rhetoric of 'buy Australian'?
Bikie gangs In light of the bashing at Sydney airport several weeks ago, several states have moved to ban certain motorcycle gangs which are seen as criminal. However, Victoria's Charter of Human Rights may make such laws impossible in this state. Do we support the right to freedom of association, or would we rather see these groups banned here, too?
To be followed by cheap drinks and free food at the pub, perhaps long into the afternoon.
In other campus news, on April 21 there will be a lecture at the university by Tom Mann, a congressional scholar, on US politics. It's free, although bookings are necessary. More information can be found here.
The Political Interest Society will meet in Doug McDonell at 12pm this Tuesday to watch amusing politically-themed TV shows. Most likely Yes Minister or Frontline this week, though we're open to suggestions. Feel free to bring your lunch, too.
From 1pm we will be having our regular discussion meeting, where we will eat biscuits and argue over:
Euthanasia Do we want to see legislation allowing assisted suicide? Would such legislation be too open to abuse?
Palestine Solidarity Week This week is Palestine Solidarity Week at the Student Union. There has been some controversy over the union's financial support for PSW. Should the Student Union be picking a side in a conflict in the Middle East? Should they put money towards partisan political functions at all? Or should they stick to providing student services?
Foreign aid Recently there was some debate over Australian foreign aid programs supporting safe abortions in Third World countries. Should foreign aid from the Australian government be akin to charitable donations, with no strings attached, or is it acceptable to attach conditions to them?
Internet Filter Do we approve of the government's proposed internet filter? Is the legislation even likely to succeed?
To be followed by discount drinks and free chips at the Prince Alfred Until 5-ish.
This week in the PIS - an unexpected change of meeting place
Since the introduction of VSU mid-2006, and the Melbourne Model in 2007, the Political Interest Society has been embattled and sometimes struggled to survive. There have been drastic measures such as the 'infinity percent tax rise' of the $2 joining fee, and setbacks like the failure to produce an edition of our journal, Audi Alteram Partem, for 2009. (If there are any students in the club with journalistic ambitions who would like to help get it off the ground again, we'd love to hear from you!)
This week, we almost suffered another setback of this difficult era in the life of the politically interested when we lost our booking Alice Hoy room 242. Once again, the politically interested masses of the University of Melbourne find themselves estranged from the traditional homeland of Alice Hoy.
Fortunately, after hours of searching through the harsh wilds of Parkville Campus, your PIS committe have found another place where we can eat biscuits and shout at each other, all the way next door in the Doug McDonell building.
So, for this week, and for the rest of semester barring any more similar difficulties, the Political Interest Society will meet at 1pm Tuesday in Doug McDonell Room 711. Don't be put off by all the scaffolding out the front, the place is still open; you can access it by the fire door at the front of the building or the entrance to the lower floor on the northern side.
This week's topics to shout about:
Peter Garrett Peter Garrett made his name as the frontman of radical green-left band Midnight Oil, but is now a minister in a government that supports policies which are nothing like those he used to support. Is this hypocritical?
Pakistan Where do we stand on the crisis in Pakistan?
Robert Doyle, Lord Mayor He wants the bogans out of the city, wants to ban hailing taxis at night and now says Adelaide should be shut down as it has no redeeming features. How do we like the new Lord Mayor so far? And will he ever act on anything he says?
Queensland state election Is it at all possible for Labor to lose this election? Can Pauline Hanson win a seat standing as an independent or is her time up?
Followed by drinks at the pub from 2pm until we run out of change - which will be later than usual since our trips to the pub now come with free bar snacks - chips, wedges and nachos at the pub will now be coming out of the Political Interest Society's budget instead of your wallets.
The Political Interest Society will meet this week on Tuesday in Alice Hoy 242. The traditional discussion and consumption of biscuits will commence as usual at 1pm. However, as we fortunately get the room from midday onwards, at 12:15-ish we'll have a play around with the DVD player in the room and try putting on some politically-themed DVDs. Exact screening to be decided - but it'll probably be The West Wing.
After the regular meeting finishes at 2pm, we'll all head off to the pub where we'll either keep arguing or talk about all those things I didn't put on the agenda.
The topics for discussion this week:
An Accident in Zimbabwe The Prime Minister of Zimbabwe was injured and his wife was killed in a car accident a few days ago. Is this a bad sign for the stability of Zimbabwe's government?
Governor-General Quentin Bryce has been criticised for being too proactive in her role as Governor-General. Is there room for our head of state to meet with leaders from the ADF or meet with other leaders overseas, or should she stick to signing Bills? Trouble in Northern Ireland Real IRA have claimed credit for a shooting in Northern Ireland. Is this an isolated incident or the end of twelve years of peace?
Bushfire funds and insurance Should victims of the bushfires who didn't insure their homes receive more support from charitable donations, or the same amount as other victims? Should home insurance be compulsory in bushfire-prone areas?
Join the PIS for drinks as we watch the vote count for this historical election on CNN and drink beer!
10:30am until later Maori Chief Hotel 118 Moray St (corner of Moray and York streets) South Melbourne
You can get there by taking the 112 tram (leaves from Spencer St in the city) towards St Kilda and getting off at stop 117, the corner of Clarendon and York Streets, and walking a few blocks east along York St to pub. You can find a map at http://www.maorichief.com.au, along with other useful information like their menu. See you all there!
Although Australia still waits on broadband for all, its politicians are planning to provide this just in a 'clean' fashion. Clean is the euphemism used to disguise internet censorship on level with free, democratic countries like China, Cuba or Iran.
Please take some time to inform yourselves and take action. The cases of Dr. Haneef, Dr. Moeller and even the Benbrika case are alarming examples that those claiming to represent Australian citizens systematically dismantle democracy.
The internet expanded the connectedness of the little big island Australia, the planned internet censorship returns Australia to the beginnings of this country: Being a large prison.
Greetings to anyone who took an interest in the advertisement for the Political Interest Society in Farrago, and thank you for checking out our blog. Unfortunately the item in that magazine contained a small but important error - the room in which our meetings are held. This semester we hold our meetings, not in Alice Hoy 109, but in Alice Hoy room 330. At least the building was right.
We do hope to see some new faces at future meetings - people of all political backgrounds and opinions are welcome. The door is always open. Except when other students are being rowdy in the corridor and we can't hear each other. Then we might shut it. But you can always knock.
Keating! the Musical at Federation Square, Wednesday 20 August
Keating!the Musical is a show much loved by many members of the PIS, and which many other members wish to see. It charts the rise and fall of Prime Minister Paul Keating in song, through laments about life on the backbench, election debates in rap, victory songs in reggae and a ballad bemoaning Keating's loss to John Howard. It also has Alexander Downer in stockings.
After a long touring season, the final performance of Keating! will take place in Sydney this Wednesday. However, we will not miss out on this great event, as this last performance will also be streamed live to Federation Square.
The screening will not be on the big outdoor screen, which I presume will be showing the Olympics. Instead it will be in the cozier, less drafty, indoor public space known as the Atrium, which can be accessed from Flinders street as shown on this map. The Atrium also has a bar, Beer Deluxe, just one more advantage it has over the big, windy bit that the sports fans will be watching.
So please come and join the PIS for this great event! Meet at the downstairs bar at 7pm for drinks and laughs before the final show begins at 8pm.
Semester one was a tumultuous time for the Political Interest Society, first with the exile from our traditional homeland, the Alice Hoy Building, and then the resignation of President Fettling, but with hard work and determination we weathered that storm and the new President Rocke came to power with the promise that the biscuit tin would never again run empty, and no politically interested student would ever be left behind.
In Semester 2 we return again to the Alice Hoy building, this time to the loftier heights of Room 330. But there are many challenges in the months ahead, and after two months, the Rocke Administration's honeymoon is over, and they are going to have to produce results.
(Welcome to our new members for Semester 2. We all hope to see you at meetings soon, and I assure you, we aren't always this silly.)
The first weekly meeting of the semester, complete with biscuits for all tastes and ideologies, will be at 1pm Wednesday 30 July in Alice Hoy 330, followed by the traditional drinks at PA's. Another email will be sent out in a few days with the topics for discussion.
This will be followed the next day by the 2008 PIS Non-Annual Trivia Night, so come along and show off your political knowledge, or just come for a laugh. The Trivia Night will be held on Thursday, July 31 at 6:30pm, INU Bar, Union House. Entry is free and there are some great prizes to win.
Audi Alteram Partem is the biannual PIS journal, showcasing a range of political opinions and exchange of views. Matt, the AAP Editor, is currently putting together the Semester 2 Edition, and the deadline for submissions is Wednesday, August 6. If there's any political or social issue that you're passionate about, anything from emissions trading to the US elections to curfews for cats, we want to print it! For more information, contact Matt at m.incerti@ugrad.unimelb.edu.au
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That's all for now, but this semester still has many things to come, including the Society's tenth anniversary celebrations and the US Presidential Elections, so come along and get involved!
This year's AGM was memorable. We spent ages hanging around waiting for enough people to make quorum and ended up with at least ten more than we needed by the end of the meeting. There were barely enough candidates to fill the committee positions. Michael Pountney accepted his life membership with a spectacular display of grandiose waffling. Lindy provided us with lots of biscuits, and we finished twenty minutes early to rush off to the pub, where we all had lots of celebratory beer.
And yet, I have neglected to announce the results of that great election to those unfortunate members who couldn't join us! Please accept the heartfelt of apologies of this new, untested but devoted President.
So, as voted at the Annual General Meeting on April 30, the PIS committee for 2008-9 is as follows:
President: Megan Rocke Secretary: Charlie Goodman Treasurer: Stacey Nguyen Publications Editor: Matt Incerti Speakers Officer: Alex Davis Publicity Officer: Simon Coles Social Secretary: Dean Hallett
I know, I already promised to stay away from this blog, and probably I managed to scare away all other potential contributors from it, but hell, why shouldn't I be allowed to change my mind?
And actually, it's more meant like a reminder to those who'd like to engage in the PIS committee. Rule 1: Never question whether casting your valuable shining light in a small bag (your vote) changes anything. The PIS is bipartisan, if you dare to leave to holy left-right paradigm, you will be ostracized.
So thank you, Lindy, for reminding me that's it's inadequate to laugh at blatant lies of the soon former Prime Minister, when he's spruiking blatant lies. Thank you for silencing dissent expressed by laughter. Being not brought up in this splendid society, which, unlike Germany, is still f*cking proud of its genocidal history, it makes me laugh to hear any PM stating that all Australian live in prosperity, while during his time as PM more than 10 percent of its population fell below the poverty line.
But laughter seems to be an illegitimate way to air dissent, and is obviously considered offensive when its spontaneously erupts at the wrong moment. I certainly admit that alcohol contributed to the fact I was less inhibited to laugh at JH's lies. I just wasn't aware how socially unacceptable it is within the PIS to react in this way to preposterous lies of the current "leader".
I don't mind losing my bet to Charlie. Although I don't think Australia has any version of democracy that is less phony, corrupt and full of nepotism than any other "free" country in the western world, I'm glad to see that it takes less time (though still way too much) to identify utter incompetency than in my home country, which reelected its conservative government like a roo in the spotlight for 16 years (before experiencing an unprecedented redistribution of wealth towards the owning class under a "left" government).
However, reality-denying statements like I heard on this election night by the happy loser John Howard simply made me laugh. I still fail to see why Lindy felt obliged to tell me off for laughing, and who would be offended by a guy laughing out loud in a pub. I do recall earlier moments that night where I certainly have even been personally offensive with much more tolerant reactions. (I dont wanna mention ur name here, it's all a bit embarassing and confusing for me, but hey, I dearly appreciate your patience and tolerance, no matter how culturally inappropriate I might have behaved more than once we met.)
So I'd like to say thank you to all the people I met in the PIS for all the insights I could gain from some strata of the Australian society, especially to those who don't like me. Your ideas about Australian political reality will no longer be disturbed by a German anarchist (should I mention here how ridiculous the labels "german" and "anarchist" look next to each other? It takes a believer in representative democracy to say this without an ironic smile)
Unless some current members want to take on some committee positions, the PIS will face difficult times. The president cannot be reelected (two term clause), I will step back as treasurer (with a big smile like Costello), as the Melbourne Model encouraged me to dream larger, and learn something different somewhere else. Even the secretary might leave MU (more honourable than me) before being able to finish another turn. Australia wanted a change in government, the PIS change in leadership is inevitable.
Labour managed their grab for power tonight, promising new leadership. Some implications I would like to see (though Labour hasn't promised all of it) within the first 100 days would be: * Abolition of the IR laws * Reinstatement of Dr. Haneef working visa * Signing Kyoto and agreeing in Bali to a target that involves a reduction of CO2 emissions (Kyoto Target is 107% of Australias 1992 (?) emissions until 2005 or 2015 (hell, ask Robin Eckersley, she's the expert at MU for those nasty details)) * Revoking the Anti-Terror-Legislations
What I'm expecting is far from impossible, yet highly unlikely. I consider these expectations to be desirable, yet you might not agree with me (which saves you, as potential labour supporter, from finding excuses why certain promises could just not yet be implemented). The euphoria about the new leadership in Australia prevented any discussion about accountability issues in politics, and demanded piety for the departing leader.
My mission failed, I give up. Claim another victory. Democracy is so much cosier than personal responsibility, which is much more often required than each three years on election day. Follow your leaders. Don't question authority, never ever.
This month, we will commemorate nearly 3,000 victims of the attacks of September 11th 2001. We will not commemorate the million civilian victims killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, nor the 25,000 humans that starve daily, unspectacular, far away from the prying eyes of a sensationalist media.
From a psychological point of view, the unfortunate victims in New York belong to our ingroup. We know little to nothing about the cultures of Iraq and Afghanistan, which easily qualifies them as outgroup. We know even less about the people living in the heart of Africa, the common origin of all tribes of Homo Sapiens that populate this planet.
As humans most care about their perceived ingroup, they can be blatantly ignorant to the faith of their outgroups, even if our genetic heritage does not justify the popular idea of different human races.
The anti-terror laws, that have been introduced in most parts of the world in the aftermath of 911, the Madrid, Bali and London bombings, have already achieved their goals. No terrorist will be able to attack the free world anymore, after the Magna Charta and the rule of law have been suspended to fight the war on terror in most parts of the world, including Australia.
Civil liberties end now where national security starts, and national security is so important that it can’t be defined precisely but falls into the discretion of our wise politicians. Democratic tenets like the decision of independent juries or the separation of judiciary and executive powers were sacrificed, even in countries that have not experienced any terror attack themselves.
The images of the destruction of inner-city skyscrapers makes it easy to transfer the fear into the hearts and minds of anyone who lives in a country that displays the wealth of corporations in the midst of their cities. Fear, however, incapacitates reason, and reduces most decisions to fight of flight. This certainly increases the attraction for someone offering to go to war, even it will last generations.
The war on terror will certainly be perpetual, unless the people of the planet, who have to pay for this war with their taxes and even their life, step back from their fear and start using reason again. Because the war on terror can never be won, no matter how hard you try.
Terrorism lacks a commonly accepted definition, but it’s a fairly save bet that historical figures like Jesus Christ, Nelson Mandela, or Mahatma Ghandi would end up in an American torture camp like David Hicks, or be kept in solitary confinement like Dr. Haneef, or at least suffer from a constraint order like Jack Thomas.
Don’t get me wrong; I just used David Hicks, Jack Thomas and Dr. Haneef as example to illustrate the loss of the rule of law and civil liberties in Australia, not to sanctify them. However, unlike traditional wars against a well-defined enemy, the war on terror fights a method. Addition is a method to relate two numbers in a specific way, frying eggs is a method to prepare them as food.
Do you really believe the war on frying eggs could ever be won? Considering the well-educated audience of the blogosphere, I would be surprised to hear a single yes to this question, but you’ll never know. People develop all sorts of anxieties, and fried eggs might be one of them, but it seems less suited to spread a common fear amongst the majority of the population than the terrifying expression “terror”.
Nevertheless, the Australian government spend already billions of taxpayers money on this war on frying eggs, and will not stop doing so whether Howard remains PM or not.
Western governments fell into a hole after the end of the cold war. The threat of mutual nuclear destruction justified maintaining civil liberties, as those did not exist in the communist world. The tangible enemy allowed direct comparisons, so the Western World carefully refrained from arbitrary jurisdiction, secret prisons, restrictions to the right to strike or have a rally wherever you wanted.
As communism faded away as archenemy of the Western World, the necessity to keep up the illusion of a free society vanished with it. Yet, without fear as motivator for the abolition of rights and freedoms achieved mainly by social movements and direct action, reason might have caused an outrage about the introduction of anti-terror laws.
We are constantly reminded that the terrorists are out there to get us, terror suspects are arrested en masse, foiled terror plots and the memory of 911 keep the fear alive. The constant reinforcement of terror paranoia is designed to stop anyone to use reason to assess the size of the risk.
While we read often enough about the arrest of terror suspect (They are coming to get us, and they will use fried eggs if we don’t stop them!), we hardly hear about convictions. In the US, the two convictions that have been achieved for homegrown terrorists are as convincing as the case of Dr. Haneef.
Although the latest terror attack in Britain luckily didn’t kill anyone, and the perpetrators fit into the terrifying scheme of “home-grown terrorists”, biometrical visa will make the UK safer. However, passports cannot be the problem. Although the contents of the World Trade Centre were mysteriously blown to smithereens on 911, the passports of some of hijackers, which were used to officially cross the American border while being on terror watch lists, were found.
Reason cannot really explain why biometrical identification of every citizen helps defeating terrorism. And reason cannot explain why the WTC 7 collapsed on the afternoon of September 11 2001, although it was not hit by plane. The building closer to the World Trade Centre building 1 and 2 were severely damaged, but did not collapse. Unfortunately, the complete account of everything that led to 911, the 911 commission report, fails to explain why WTC 7 collapsed as well.
But thinking that they will come to get us might stop you from wondering why three massive steel-framed high-risers crumble in freefall speed to bits and pieces, although this never happened before and since then. And it might stop you from wondering whether less than 100 Australian victims, who were killed in the Bali attacks in 2002 and 2005, justify spending far more taxpayers’ money than about 2,500 people that commit suicide each year in Australia.
If they Australian government makes “securing Australian life” its priority, shouldn’t it use statistics to assess the size of the problem? It takes two weeks of suicide to have the same amount of life lost as in all terror attacks, which killed Australians in this century, and about three weeks in road accidents.
As long as you drown in fear, my comparison of the war on terror to a war on fried eggs might appear extremely inappropriate. Once you start using reason again, the advertising campaigns to suspect your neighbour seem like an outrageous waste of taxpayer’s money.
The US went to one war, along with Australia, before it even started an investigation of the events of 911, and to another one, before the results of the dubious 911 commission were known. Yet, both wars were sold to the public as a reaction to the events of 911.
Let me put this in other words for you. Without knowing the results of a forensic analysis (which didn’t really take place in the 911 commission) of the biggest crime case in the 21st century two wars, that killed about a million innocent people by now, were started. Not only did Australia participate in this unjustifiable wars, the cases of David Hicks, the Barwon 13, Jack Thomas and Dr. Haneef demonstrate that human rights and the rule of law are disregarded in this country, due to the (myth of the) global threat of terror.
When I use reason to analyse this situation, I think there is something utterly wrong with this picture. About one hundred people starved to death while you were reading this. They will not be out there to get you. Enjoy your fear.
PS: Somehow the 21st century seems not to have arrived in the PIS. The interactive and participatory part of modern digital communication media (such as blogs) remain a mystery to the majority.
I am a bit tired to entertain you here. And I don't want to create the impression that my views would be representative for the club. Or even being said aloud in meetings. However, feel free to check my rants from the centre of the future (which is the fringe of contemporary society) either here, here or here.
History is written by winners, that's why Australian history starts with the time the first settlers arrived. Writing history after a conflict is usually straight forward: The own effords can be heroised, the enemy demonised, and another clean just war (with some unfortunate civilian causualties) is added to the collection of fairy tales, commonly called history book.
I encountered a more immediate rewriting of history when I participated the G20 protests last year. Ten minutes of escalation were exaggerated to "Melbourne's most violent day", and no mainstream medium offered "fair and balanced" coverage of this events.
However, Chomsky's propaganda model offers insights into the constraints of mainstream media, so it's not too surprising that representatives of corporatism get in line against the Global Justice Movement (which is what is widely called with the derogatory and misleading term "Anti Globalisation Movement").
Yet, not all sources of information and reference are traded, some of them are free. Although we are constantly reminded to by our tutors not to use Wikipedia in academic context, we all know (and probably use) it.
"It is entirely legitimate for your personal political staff to make changes of a factual nature, but to engage public servants to go out there and re-edit history, it strikes me as odd to say the least."
That's Kevin Rudd's comment on the war on history fought by the Howard government. I wouldn't call it odd, just a typical sign of a nominal democracy that lacks sufficient checks and balances.
Dr. Haneef lost his visa because he visited a distant relative. John Howard confers with the Exclusive Brethren, his mate sold visas for cash, but his "character" is not in doubt. Have fun electing your next master - it's not the person Howard, that is particularly bad, it's a system that allows the ruling class to get away with more than its populace ever would. Baaah
To me, the following piece is an indication that history might repeat itself.
Such clergy response teams would walk a tight-rope during martial law between the demands of the government on the one side, versus the wishes of the public on the other. "In a lot of cases, these clergy would already be known in the neighborhoods in which they're helping to diffuse that situation," assured Sandy Davis. He serves as the director of the Caddo-Bossier Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. For the clergy team, one of the biggest tools that they will have in helping calm the public down or to obey the law is the bible itself, specifically Romans 13. Dr. Tuberville elaborated, "because the government's established by the Lord, you know. And, that's what we believe in the Christian faith. That's what's stated in the scripture." Civil rights advocates believe the amount of public cooperation during such a time of unrest may ultimately depend on how long they expect a suspension of rights might last.
Feds Train Clergy To "Quell Dissent" During Martial Law is the title of the youtube clip below.
I realised that quite a lot of the Australian people are caught in a kind of hypnosis - with the keyword "terror" used to sell the abolition of civil rights. Yet, once you forget your fear for a short while and dare dealing with the topic "terror" in depth, with analysis instead of the fear-mongering offered by main stream media, you might be able change your attitude, and your habitual reaction the next time somebody tries to sell you fear.
The video is a snippet of the (imho) excellent BBC documentary The power of nightmares, which was shown earlier this year on SBS. With a broadband connection you might watch this on Google video, if you missed it on SBS. I happily burn you a disc containing the three parts, if you're interested and not scared about the brainwashing a BBC documentary might give you.
Nobody told the Germans that they were living in a fascist state while it happened. I encountered while travelling the globe that this 12 dark years of German history still dominate the opinion about Germany and Germans. Hitler is better known than Goethe, Beethoven, Kant, Nietzsche, Heidegger or Heine. I met more admirers of the Gröfaz (Grösster Führer aller Zeiten / Greatest leader of all times) outside Germany than inside. (That doesn't mean that there's no Nazis in Germany, just that people don't share there racist opinion as easily as elsewhere.)
Nobody told the Germans in East Germany that they were living in a totalitarian state (which was called "German Democratic Republic" (GDR) and had compulsory voting). However, in Nazi Germany there were people like Schindler, who didn't need historians to tell them that something is utterly wrong with the proceedings of their government, but hadn't lost their empathy for other human beings and endangered their life by acting against the "law", and weren't brainwashed by governmental propaganda.
No government ever spread the word that they wanted to screw their population as good as they could, though historians have no problem digging up examples when this happened. Nowadays, we are conditioned to believe in "experts", and unless experts have more airtime to state that something is wrong in the state of Denmark, we dare not to compare the current situation with what we could have learned in history.
Nazi Germany and the GDR used their secret services to suppress democracy, dissent and governmental criticism. Secrecy due to "national security" was the cornerstone of their tyranny, and empowered the Gestapo and Stasi to arbitrarily detain people. Probably that causes me to get suspicious when I hear Philip Ruddock talking, who thinks it's okay that people don't get presented any evidence when they are charged for major offenses. Or to keep them in prison without charges. Or to accept the jurisdiction of fascist courts under the Military Commissions Act.
Another cornerstone was surveillance. Without the support of IBM, the census required to determine the arian or jewish origin, would have been hardly sufficient to kill millions of innocent people. Providing unique identification, which is nowadays done by fingerprinting, DNA sampling or similar biometric means, helped the Nazis to identify their targets.
East Germany, however, wasn't as rampant as Nazi Germany to kill opposition. "Just" those who wanted to leave the country were killed by automatic killing machines or vigilant guards. East Germany didn't have the technology to trace anyone by their DNA, that's why their secret service collected sweat samples of each and every citizen to chase dogs on them when necessary.
My parents fled East Germany, when my dad rejected to pay the union fees. Flyers were distributed in the area they were living, claiming my dad was a traitor to the working class for asking what the unions did for him.
I'm happy that my parents didn't wait 30 years for the Berlin Wall to come down, but fled before this dreadful thing was build. Fighting the system in East Germany was virtually impossible. It didn't kill you (unless you encountered vigilant border patrols or killing machines), but it thoroughly destroyed your chances to participate in society.
My dad (may his soul have a pleasant life after death) didn't wait until historians analysed the mechanisms that created the unjust society that emerged in East Germany after the war, but interpreted the disparity between government propaganda and everyday experience in a rational way.
However, fleeing your home country is no longer an option. Even people from Iraq and Afghanistan are send home, no matter what dreadful fate is waiting for them. What has changed is the opportunity to access information and to organise resistance against ostensibly "democratic" governments.
Although I'm known to you as the "German anarchist", I think that democracy is something worth trying. I might know what makes me happy, but I'm simply not sufficiently arrogant to state I would know what "everyone" makes happy. Unfortunately, I haven't encountered too many politicians in socalled "democratic" societies that share this point of view.
Democracy needs participation, and most advances for the life of "common people", like universal suffrage (for non-property owners, women, native people) has been achieved by direct action. The greek model of democracy just allowed property owning males to vote, females are just allowed to vote since New Zealand introduced it about 120 years ago, less than half a century ago Aborigines were allowed to vote in Australia.
(West) Germany has a longer history of universal suffrage than the US or Australia, yet the legalized feudalism in the US is used as an impeccable example for "democracy". (Does anyone remember Rosa Parks?)
We, the people, have been withdrawn from power or influence for most of the time in history. Germany was happy to have exchanged monarchy for democracy after WW I, yet it just took 15 years, less than a generation, to convert democracy into fascism.
We, the people, have been subdued to unjust governments for most of history, yet my fellow students take democracy for granted, and ridicule those who engage in activism.
We, the people, are now asked to give away the freedom of speech, the freedom of assembly, the rule of law and the right to strike. All of this for the phony "war on terror", which poses a lesser threat than to be killed by lightning.
Enjoy your unsubstantiated fear, or choose to think for yourself.
I took my pick. And I don't mind if you shout out loud: "Godwin's law!". History has repeated itself over and over again, and if you think "political correctness" prevents this, dream on. It is so comforting to forget that a nominal democracy (like in Germany after WW I) smoothly slid into fascism, and to assume that a nominal democracy is inherently safe from fascism.
(In Australia, Faheem Lodhi is imprisoned for a "thought crime" for 20 years. Lodhi was convicted on the basis of alleged future intentions. No actual plans for a terrorist act were uncovered.)
I don't want to convert you into any political camp, as I'm not adhering to anything that deserves this name. I'm more than happy to meet anyone who dares to think for themselves. Dissent is the essence of democracy, which prevents proselytizing. I'd just like to encourage you, if you have more than two brain cells, to assess for yourself whether "terrorism" is a big enough problem to give away the basis for any democratic system.
Jason Koutsoukis lobbies a lot for GM food in The Age lately. He quotes a governmental report that claims that GM food poses no danger to human health and the environment.
The US and Canada, two nations that engage a lot in producing transgenetically engineered food, don't label GM food as such, which makes it virtually impossible to determine which impact on individual health this food has.
Cross-pollination with conventional crop spreads the transgenetic material around - nature is no lab. Genetic material from GM corn in the US was already found in remote areas of Mexico, which has not allowed planting of GM crops.
Per definition, organic food can not make use of GM food, which means that there will be no more chance to produce organic food in the long run, or just on a very limited scale.
GM canola probably looks and tastes like conventional canola, but it is sufficiently different from it to deserve being patented. Basically, it is a new species. Australia has some experiences with introducing new species into its ecosystem, as far as I know hardly any positive experiences. There's lots of toads here naturally, so the cane toad can't harm.... There's lot of canola here, so GM canola can't harm...
The way Jason describes the customer's desire for GM food is quite interesting as well. The acceptance has risen, he states, but mentions no statistics. Was the rise from 10% to 11%? Leaving out precise figures nourishes the suspicion that most customers don't want GM food. Asking customers whether they would want to pay more for non-GM food is not really an objective way to find out about acceptance, and maintains the myth (also known as sales promise) that GM food can be produced cheaper, and the consumer would as well pay cheaper prices. Somehow this contradicts the capitalist mantra of maximising profits, but it nurtures the myth of benevolent corporations.
If you suspect that I don't want GM food to be introduced here, you are right. In Germany, illegally planted GM crops have already cross-pollinated adjacent crops, and thus destroyed the livelihood of organic farmers. Monsanto sued a farmer in Canada whose crop was affected by cross-pollination and made him pay for things he didn't want to have in first place.
Although I'm quite happy with your implicit consent to my prior postings, I'm curious about your thoughts about GM food.
Do you want it? Do you think the introduction of a new species into the Australian ecosystem is a good idea? If GM food isn't labelled, can we with certainty conclude that it has no health impacts? Isn't it a reduction of consumer's choice, if "the whole world" plants GM crop? Wouldn't there be an enormous advantage for Australia to be one of the few countries to still produce organic food?
A decent tyranny needs an evil family, willing keep the power in their hands, no matter what happens. Fidel gave his power to his brother Raoul Castro, Saddam Husseyn would have made one of his sons the next leader, and feudalism used inherited leadership systematically.
It comes as a bit of a surprise that in the US a single family got hold of the presidency twice. Yet, this will for power stems from the grandfather of the current US president, Prescott Bush.
Prescott Bush married into a wealthy family, which provided him with the job to organise financial support for Nazi Germany. At the end of the second world war he was found guilty of supporting the enemy, but was not penalised. The money earned in this nefarious activities built the basis for the wealth of the Bush family.
Prescott Bush's support for the Nazis was just consequential. A BBC documentary followed the traces of an attempt to assassinate Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933. There are very familiar names among the conspirators that planned to turn the US into a fascist country like Germany.
GWB has created enough Presidential Orders and Directives to declare himself as a dictator (in case of a national emergency, which is anything the president defines as such). He cannot be reelected, but he might simply cancel the elections.
The reason could be a terror attack, this time certainly done by terrorists from Iran, maybe even nuclear or chemical, in a place like LA or San Francisco. While the inevitable nuclear retaliation annihilates Iran, going to vote is uncertainly impossible. I hope I'm wrong.
I just wonder whether you still think democracy is healthy in the US when the next elections get cancelled, or another country gets attacked.
The PIS returns! Here is the agenda for this week's meeting, which takes place Wednesday at 1pm, in our new location of Room 109, Alice Hoy Building.
No smoking Why is it that, if you is sitting in a drinking establishment with politically interested people, you can play devil's advocate on all manner of issues - defend the Iraq war, agree solemnly with the PM that fighting climate change must not be at the expense of the economy - but if you refuse to agree wholeheartedly with this new smoking ban of Bracksy's in bars and restaurants, you are looked at like you have just escaped from an asylum? Is it possible that this ban is actually lousy policy?
Pakistan Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's semi-benevolent dictator, is in a spot of bother. A few months ago he dismissed a judge, as dictators are inclined to do, but all hell's broken loose ever since, both with Pakistan's democrats, and, more worryingly, with its Islamists. Tensions reached a new high just the other week, with the storming of the Red Mosque. And the latest Newspoll finds he has made up hardly any ground on Kevin Rudd. To take all this instability and supersize it, the Bush Administration, defying the general hope that its dumbest ideas are behind it, is planning on sending American troops into Pakistan. What's going to happen in Pakistan? Is Musharraf going to have to get off the fence, and choose between a long-promised return to genuine democracy, or a metamorphosis into all-out dictatorship? Or, will Pakistanis choose to overthrow him first? And: should America's policy of supporting Musharraf as an ally in the 'war on terror' be revised? Has it contributed to this whole mess?
Marriage So less people are getting married, and those that do are getting married later in their lives. Is this regrettable? Or is there an upside? For example, maybe if our PM had remained an ineligible bachelor and hadn't tied the knot to Lady MacBeth, we would have been spared 11 years and might still live under the rule of law... Discuss.
Federal politics Are the Coalition going to lose? Should they switch to Costello? How 'bout this Haneef business?
To be followed immediately by Hawkey Card-priced beer at PA's, on Grattan Street, from 2:15.
Previously, at the PIS ... PIS President Dave Fettling won his second term. It was the narrowest election margin in the history of the Society. One week later, he was inaugurated under a bleak overcast sky and with a record low turnout. While running the meeting that week, he was frequently interrupted and contradicted, leading to whispers he may already have become a 'lame duck PIS President'. Despite this the President was talking big: 'Let me put it to you this way. I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it', he told the assembled media at the Prince Alfred hotel. Meanwhile the PIS's mascot, the two-headed dog, was hospitalised again at the end of May, spending a night in Eltham East Veterinary Clinic. Flowers, get-well cards and Schmackos from concerned members of the Political Interest Society poured in. The dog is beloved by the PIS. Blanche, wife of former Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke, who agreed to become the official patron of the Political Interest Society in February of this year, wrote an apologetic letter to the PIS Committee apologising for her husband's poor attendance record at the club. But as she explained, "he's been hitting the turps pretty bad ever since the Keating! musical became a hit".
What sort of semester is it going to be for the PIS? There's ample evidence that the club is headed for disaster. The Young Liberals on campus, who attempted to crush the PIS four years ago, 'like the Soviets into Czechoslovakia in 68', as their then President described it, have been growing alarmed at the leftward turn in the Society's emails. While the Libs cautiously welcomed the election of Dave Fettling back in 2006, they have noticed of late his growing tendency to don army fatigues, smoke cigars, talk about a 'politically interested utopia', and refer to his Secretary, Eddie Clarke, as 'Raoul'. We tried to get a quote from the Young Libs, but they didn't answer. Then we tried again and they answered and they said that they were all gay. After being released from the vet in June, the two-headed dog has returned to the ranch he calls home, but has been feeling dizzy and lethargic. All PIS members are to pray for him. Thomas Friedmann in his regular New York Times column has asked the question, 'Is Dave Fettling the PIS's Mikhail Gorbachev?' Friedmann pointed out that the Soviet Union was going swimmingly until Gorbachev launched 'glasnost', which is Russian for 'going to the pub', and 'perestroika', which is Russian for 'stupid emails'. Gorbachev, says Friedmann, 'attempted to reform the unreformable...as a result, the whole Empire came crashing down'. Hmm. And the University of Melbourne Student Union has launched an investigation after two rank and file PIS members were caught breaking into the Clubs & Societies office and tampering with files. But I'm sure it's nothing.
