Rude or real? Process or practical?

April 14th, 2005
On 12 April 05, Alexander Downer came in contact with the uncomplicated 2GB Sydney Radio host Ray Hadley on the issue of child safety.

RAY HADLEY: “How many children do you have, and would you be happy for your children to be going to the little star club at the Sheraton Nusa Dua, knowing a three-year-old contracted gonorrhea? Yes or no?”

ALEXANDER DOWNER: “If I was, if I was rude to you, I would say that that is a preposterous thing to say. Obviously…”

RAY HADLEY: “You’re a pompous dope. That’s what you are. You’re a pompous dope.”

ALEXANDER DOWNER: “Don’t be so bloody rude.”

RAY HADLEY: “No, I’ll be more than rude to you. You’re a disgraceful, you’re a disgrace.”

ALEXANDER DOWNER: “Nobody on earth would put their children, really, you’re just so over the top.”

RAY HADLEY: “No, I’m not over the top. You knew, you knew…”

ALEXANDER DOWNER: “I didn’t know. I’ve told you that already. The police investigated the case, and they were unable to establish who in this hotel was responsible.”

Parents are asking for informed choice.
We are told when toys are unsafe and can damage a child, why are we not told of unsafe child care, so unsafe that we call it sexual assault?
Sexual assault on anyone is horrific, on children even more so.

Ray Hadley, in a very blunt way was telling the Minister that he doesn’t give a fuck about anything other than the even chance a parent has of keeping their child safe when they know of unsafe places to take their children.

Thanks go to the NSW Police Commissioner of Police for having this issue on the agenda and attempting to create structural change in our region.

Alexander Downer, dangerous, inappropriate, out-of-touch and told so!

Mia drawing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Independent Senator can’t grasp determinism or Karma

March 23rd, 2005

Determinism

“Senator Lees was ousted as leader of the Australian Democrats in 2001 partly for compromising with the Howard Government over the GST.”

Karma

“Outgoing independent Senator Meg Lees”

The sooner that Meg Lees gets the hell out of politics the better.
Not smart enough by a long shot Meg, to not see this coming…

2002-06-24-June-Meg-Lees-pee-in-tent-600

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image from here

Feeling less squeamish

March 4th, 2005

Family First make this government all, but lactate.
It is widely believed that this fledgling political force is a party aspiring to become a permanent third force in Australian politics.

In a meeting with Mr HoWARd, Family First chairman Peter Harris and Victorian senator-elect Steve Fielding pressed for Government concessions on a lengthy list of issues. One such issue, raised by Peter Harris could mean pressure to end (or put a time limit on) the current policy of indefinite detention,

"Stealing someone’s life by keeping them in detention for many many years is something that is not acceptable any longer, so we’ve lobbied the Government on that basis and they are very receptive to that issue."

This leaves me feeling slightly better about the new Senate.

What will be said of this dissenting voice? Dementia? PTSD? No recent battle experience?

February 24th, 2005

HoWARd would do well to heed and consider the voice of a former soldier who is drawing a comparison between Iraq and Vietnam.
Talking to commercial radio Major General Stretton said,

“Australia should not have been involved in Iraq in the first place as there were no weapons of mass destruction and no links with al-Qaeda. The whole lot of it has turned into a bloody civil war. All we are doing is reinforcing disaster. I just cannot understand it.”

“You would have noticed the prime minister use a new word … tilting. That is the same as the graduated response in Vietnam. In other words you just put a bit more in to stop it tilting the wrong way. It will end up exactly the same way. The whole thing is flawed strategy.”

“This talk about fighting for democracy, that is absolute, to use a phrase, bullshit.”

HoWARd had this to say in response to the Major General’s comments,

“I don’t think it is at all likely that we will send any more people but I am not going to get into this business of giving absolute guarantees and having everything I say on that analysed in the future.”

Too late Johnny, we’re onto you and we’re counting your lies.

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Image from here

Minister of Defence says he wasn’t in the room at the time, then asks for a glass of water…

February 16th, 2005

When Australia joined the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, HoWARd said he was very conscious of the dangers for the civilian population. Almost two years later, a parliamentary committee has exposed that no one in the Australian Government knows how many Iraqis have died.

The Office of National Assessments’ (ONA) Director-General Peter Varghese has told Senator Faulkner he too doesn’t have any reliable (or unreliable) figures on civilian deaths in Iraq.

Questioning Robert Hill the Minister of Defence, John Faulkner asks: "What attempts has the Australian Government made to try and ascertain what these figures might be?"

Robert Hill answers: "Well, we’ve accepted that it’s not possible at this time to produce an accurate figure on civilian casualties."

JF: "So, the committee is to take that as no attempts have been made, none whatsoever – zero, blotto, nothing."

RH: "Well I don’t think there is reporting mechanism."

JF: "Obviously not."

RH: "That’s what we’ve been trying to tell you, because I don’t believe the Americans know and the implication of the briefing I received was to that effect."

If we suspend disbelief and accept that the invasion of Iraq is actually Operation Iraqi Freedom then the rhetoric of March 2003 still holds. Read a few more News Transcripts from our allies Minister.

Iraqis are human and value life. They mourn when life ends. Children die and families and communities are left shattered.

Count them Minister.
They matter.