Late in 2001, the then acting Chief of Defence Force (CDF) Air Marshal Houston had to contend with the Defence Minister, Peter Reith and the Prime Minister, John HoWARd who slavishly defended the lies and misleading images regarding the incident we have come to know as ‘children overboard.’

The following is drawn from the Executive summary of the report of the Select Committee on a Certain Maritime Incident.

“FINDINGS OF FACT: No children were thrown overboard from SIEV 4. […] On 7 November 2001, the then Acting Chief of Defence Force, Air Marshal Angus Houston, informed Minister Reith that children had not been thrown overboard from SIEV 4. On four other occasions the lack of or dubious nature of evidence for the ‘children overboard’ report were drawn to the attention of the Minister or his staff by officers from Defence.”

This from HoWARd in Senate estimates on 20/02/2002:

“Last night, they thought they had an Exercet [sic], they thought they had an Exercet from the Air Marshal. I think you had a decent torpedo from the Admiral, Mr Speaker.”

“If I confirm to the House which I have previously said about my discussions with Mr Reith. I specifically add that he did not convey to me in our discussion the discussion he had with Air Marshal Houston.” – HoWARd.

“I was concerned that I had the opportunity to speak to the Chief of the Defence Forces and had not had a proper detailed and conclusive report. I am certain I did not discuss Air Marshal Angus Houston’s comments with the PM because I felt it was wrong to do so without talking first to the CDF.” -Peter Reith

It is traditional practice that the ‘colour’ of CDF rotates between the three services- Army, Navy, Air force. It was widely believed that after Admiral Barrie it was to be Air Force blue for CDF. It is also believed that Air Marshal Houston, and with him the Air force, was being punished for his honesty in the children overboard affair and it would be some time before he became Air Chief Marshal Houston. That day came and now we have an honest man meeting a dishonest man yet again.

I predict that whilst Houston has the height to beat HoWARd even with Minister of Defence, Brendan Nelson acting as spit-bucket boy, CDF does not have the trickiness, the sneakiness or the dishonesty to beat the unflushable turd and his little fart that are our PM and Defence Minister, respectively.

Image from here

I have been offered a new job. It is in my field, but would involve a 10% drop in wages as this organisation’s employee agreement is not as generous as my current one. Unlike other new jobs, this one filled me with all sorts of ethical dilemmas when it comes to my contract, as the organisation states:

“Successful applicants may be offered an Australian Workplace Agreement (AWA) with an attractive package.”

I have to consider what my values are worth. Can they be bought off for say, 10 – 20% more money than what an employee’s certified agreement offers?

What value can I put on a supportive, hi-tech, forward-thinking workplace, with fascinating projects where management say fuck like the rest of us?

How could I attend my union rallies knowing that I campaigned AGAINST AWA’s way back when Peter Reith and Cheryl Kernot got together and did a deal.

What if I take the extra pay and donate it to a good cause?
I am excited about my new, extremely complex and interesting work and will say “Yes please.”

Now for the navel gazing…

Image from here

On Friday night along with about 1099 others I made my way to the City Recital hall to a GetUp! gig to hear MAJ Michael Mori speak.

It was fascinating (and refreshing) to hear someone in a US military uniform openly criticise his government and its structures. The Major’s flow chart left us in doubt that David cannot be released from the psychological horror that is Guantanamo bay. The Major was asked how he can keep his energy to defend David from sapping, year after year, against the structurally unfair and overwhelming odds, and he answered simply,

“Justice. Whether I am the prosecuting counsel or the defense counsel, my role is the same – Getting to the truth and being a part of a just outcome”

The most disturbing bit of data that came out of the night was the Major’s answer to the question,

“Given that Tony Blair did not tolerate Britons being kept in Guantanamo bay, do you think that president Bush and Co., if asked by HoWARd, would have released David Hicks?”

“Without a doubt”

The Major is a classic example of American culture for good – loud, brash, and without the slightest hint of timidity. It was no wonder that at the end Australians gave this man a standing ovation.

How would you feel if you were unsure, frightened and vulnerable about your unwanted pregnancy and called a pregnancy counseling service for what you would expect would be clear, factual, information about your options. No religious spin, no agendas and no guilt-trips. This is the current range of options:

• continuing with the pregnancy and keeping the child;
• continuing with the pregnancy and giving the child up for adoption;
• ending the pregnancy by having an abortion.

I have a good friend who is a therapist and he is currently treating a woman who amoungst other things was told by a pregnancy counselor that she should give birth to the baby as it’s early July birth date would entitle her to $4000 and

“Couldn’t you use $4000?”

Whilst my friend’s anecdote describing the unethical and unregulated nature of the pregnancy counseling sector, such behavior is not an isolated case if we consider a report coming out of data from SA.

I’m supporting Senator Stott Despoja when she says:

“It is disturbing that many women have been given misleading and deceptive information on pregnancy options at what can be an emotional time.”

E-mail me an address and I’ll happily send you a postcard.

In the current political climate of WorkChoices and tolerance fatigue, can I just underline that underneath our uniforms, we remain human beings deserving of dignity, respect and a living wage.

Images from here