Mood:  caffeinated

and more background here too on 'absent' MP for Lindsay's neighbouring colonial heartland seat of Macarthur:

Tuesday, 15 January 2008

Memo Pat Farmer MHR: You can run but you can't hide from the Islamic School racism issue
Mood:  sharp
Topic: big media

 

This is not a well packaged story. It’s a contemporaneous traverse of the Sunday television free to air political talkies indicating the agenda of Establishment interests: Better to know ones rivals and allies  in Big Politics and Big Media.

Indeed it’s the tv version monitoring task similar to what Nelson Mandela refers to here in his book Long Walk to Freedom (1994, Abacus) written in Robben Island prison (where he was meant to die like other African resister chiefs of history in the 19C), at page 208

“..newspapers are only a shadow of reality; their information is important to a freedom fighter not because it reveals the truth, but because it discloses the biases and perceptions of both those who produce the paper and those who read it.”

Just substitute ‘Sunday tv political talkie shows’ for "newspapers" in the quote above.

For actual transcripts go to web sites quoted below except with Riley Diary on 7. And note transcripts don’t really give you the image content value.

Media backgrounder – this section under construction till later Sunday/Monday

- Garnaut ‘green man’ full pager in SMH tension with NSW Govt sell off agenda hitting the rocks.

Sunday 9, 7.30am- 9.30am

- Tim Lester story on Hornets (nest).

- footage of Chinese brutality in Tibet.

- Iraq ‘improvements’ [feeding into McCain electioneering] with Iraqi guy with obvious American accent. But other stuff about rubbish workers central role, won’t help to publicise. PR with child with flower like 60ies flower in gun barrel image. Pretty shallow stuff.

- Ch 9 has dead air moment of 15 sec?

- Ross Greenwood on US market meltdowns [echoes max Walsh/Doogue piece]

- what she we do about Chinese human rights? Bill Crews taking up the

- adbreak with classifications warning, curious timing Free TV Australia. Volunteers Australia advert. Like Ch31 advert choice. Not payers for the network. But important info too so well done Ch9. RSPCA too with John Laws voice over – aint that grand? 9 may be reacting to potty mouth cook bad PR by Gordon Nobody.

- interesting do it yourself adventure tourism.Wild Women lady looks like a champ mid life story. Super mums 4000-8000 steps training nights. Addressing risk averse society. Brigitte Muir is one hell of a straight talker.

- talent is (prof) Hugh White, Lowy Institute with the big money, re $1 billion.

Olympic medals have blood of 1.2M Tibetans. Strong youngish spokesperson. Great footage of strong identity culture.  Strong points about dumping nuke waste, 47% of world popln depend on water from Tibet. Bill Crews on morality, Judas taking the coins to sell goods to China for trade. Terrible, terrible. Film maker Lara Damiani release later this year. Diaspora cultural ‘don’t carry your Olympic medals home with Tibetan blood, leave them there’ repeated by Ellen Fanning as “powerful.

- lead story re super hornets – missed a bit – footage of Minister JF with Aust Defense Assoc Neil James in front row.  JF hangs hat on “secret briefings on capability” which is midly scoffed at by ex air commander. Nick Minchin stodge defending the ex govt.  Agt between Coalition/Govt re flying pig f1-11, says ignored the real status of the jets.  Lib Jensen MP (Defense science background) disagrees with F1-11 cancellation numbers.

- Raptor sought F-22, US not going to release, pipe dream by Nick Minchin. Max Smart advert seems quite appropriate as Ellen says “clear as mud”.

- Laurie Oakes (LO) on petrol pricing with assisant treasurer - great public interest - mostly about regulatory transparency by ACCC  but really at the margins of peak oil trend. Cunning ratty more than mousy.

- on climate change, disjunction issue re price down on petrol, says no contradiction re oligopoly profits. LO accept emissions trading scheme will put petrol up, hedges about this unarguable fact compared to Garnaut on MTP 10. Big change says CB as big as trade liberalisation and deregulation.

- CB line about keeping as low as possible avoiding corporate profit taking is fair enough. [talk about nationalising the sector is fair enough too, though this govt would never, though NRMA  chief is calling it a natural monopoly like water and power, which does resonate].

- CB "ALP said at the time what we thought about demonising one sector of society" .

[Well yes in the seat of Lindsay, but in Pat Farmer's neighbouring seat in Camden that's not what the ALP said at all. They pandered to the racist redneck vote on the subtext of "planning issues" as per this:

23 November 2007 Rudd opposed to Islamic school - Local - General - Camden Advertiser

 

and notice this guy who looks very much like AWU's Gavin Hillier at Camden pre election, like some southern good ol white boy, as "protester no.5" on NSW stateline recently:

Gavin Hillier, prominent retired logging unionist on Stateline footage as protester no.5?
Mood:  caffeinated

 Hillier in 1995 NSW Govt RACAC panel

- Advert Dalai Lama in Australia June 11-15? 2008.

http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/default.asp

10 Meet the Press:  8- 8-30 am

Health funding theme. Footage of Ruddster re fresh ideas. Nelson press club re $20B surplus.

Press roundup leans into Lindsay fake pamphlet. Also leverages Obama speech on reflection. Missed 2^nd one. Qld hosp beds. Serial candidates. Publishers in bidding war for Howard (?) biog.

Nicola Roxon Health minister. Proverbial mousy MP, very articulate lawyer type. Recently married apparently, under boring jacket pink top works, discreet lipstick lacks contrast. Cut down welding goggle glasses. Mmm, could be a bit more Amanda Vanstone as undoubtedly solid thinker (despite fat food PR issue pre election) should be cautious about becoming stolid.

Emily Rice 10, Peter Martin Canberra Times.

2^nd talent is Prof Ross Garnaut.

Out take is Moir on Rudd squeak on China abuse of human rights.Adventist Church blood bank advert.

G – least cost to the economy as a whole not least cost to producers of energy. PB – already screaming for free permits. G – a lot of claims [rent seekers] legitimate lower income, regions, innovators, new networks, job will be to establish clear priorities. G – no case generators free permits, don’t stack up

[clash with human rights story on 9]

PM – asks charging for permits going to rise prices. G – will anyway raise prices what the market will allow [he is soooo right, and why he is an Aussie JK Galbraith after all, with a major bullshit detector re captains of industry].

PB – price of petrol? G – yes price will go up … missed the rest.

Meet The Press - Watch Political Video Online - Channel TEN.

Riley Diary 7

- whistle rock song theme. ‘Angry’ Nelson press club speech, deathly imagery. Work Choices anger parliamentary.  Great footage of barney in question time, bit misleading re narrow slice of Parliamentary life. Dead parrot humour is great Monty Python re ALP tree of knowledge,

http://www.seven.com.au/sunrise/weekend

Insiders 2: 9- 10am

No broadcast for Easter Sunday

Home page is http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/

Posted by editor at 9:43 AM NZT

Updated: Monday, 24 March 2008 3:24 PM NZT

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Mood:  quizzical

Mmm. A consumer puzzle.

Easter is a good time to cook. So we took the ColesWorth's special on Vietnamese sourced basa fish. Add soy, sweet chili sauce, can of chopped tomato and frozen mixed veg in the fast cooking electric pan with heavy glass lid.

Should be good. But what happend to the green veg, absent in both bags of mixed veg? Plenty of corn, carrot, cauliflower. Actually we had a third bag from Aldi the other day which was abundant with beans and brocoli so we think they are trying. We can honestly say we have never before seen a bag of mixed veg with absolutely no greens at all. Did NZ run out of them?

It's a mystery.

Posted by editor at 2:37 PM NZT

Updated: Saturday, 22 March 2008 4:06 PM NZT

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Mood:  bright

HESTA for instance in their latest brochure in our mail have signed up to the United Nation’s Principles for Responsible Investing (PRI), and something called the Investor Group for Climate Change (IGCC) and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP 5).

Westpac have a suggestive picture of upstanding Old Growth native forest as part of their full page advert recently 19 March 08 and a reference to www.westpac.com.au/corporateresponsibility

Colonial First State Bank similarly are moving on the Herald sponsored Earth Hour energy reduction exercise to train up business and society generally on “turning off” where possible. As a global education strategy it’s got resonance, and the statistics on reduced energy use seem to bear out the activity despite the initial scepticism.

It’s all good “natural capitalism” financial housekeeping against waste including energy waste, a concept pioneered by secular saint and renewable energy guru Amory Lovins who founded the Rocky Mountains Institute in the USA: There is no waste in nature.

Meanwhile ANZ are being asked to finance the dinosaur environmental vandalism of Gunns Ltd pulp mill to destroy natural forests, with a deal of pollution involved, not least CO2 equivalence from land use change.

 [PDF] ANZ and Gunns

The Wilderness Society - Make the Banks Accountable

It’s a bad look Mr ANZ, very bad, and morally wrong according to recent advice of the Pope on the modern mortal sins.

List of mortal sins gets longer under Vatican overhaul - World ...

Posted by editor at 11:33 AM NZT

Updated: Saturday, 22 March 2008 2:20 PM NZT

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Mood:  accident prone

Opposition Leader Nelson attempted an Obama (speak for 30 minutes without notes) at the National Press Club last Tuesday 18 March 08. His talk had a(nother) whiff of faux conviction politician, and over reaching, with personal anecdotes regarding tragedy in medical practise, especially by comparison with sincere alpha aggressive rivals like Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and departed John Howard MP - all feared for their capacity for ‘wet work’ – that is capacity to damage the ALP yet now in Govt despite all that: The confidence and clarity of these anti ALP types are presumably based on their deeply held convictions and life experience, right or wrong. Does Nelson have that conviction, right or wrong?

The credibility gap, that Annabel Crabb's article in the Herald 21-23 March 08 above is reinforcing, builds on the dangerous satire of strongly performing Lindsay Tanner in Parliament question time last week: Framing Nelson as a barracker for ‘two AFL teams in the one competition, both St Kilda, and Sydney Swans’ (previously South Melbourne). It's superficially pursuasive line by tough guy Tanner.

This in turn seeks to resonate with Nelson famously having been a member of the ALP who then became a member of the Liberal Party, and now it's leader. That might look like a guy who is confused, which can be a fatal reputation for ‘a leader’. But is it? An equally likely explanation is that it looks like two parties who have converged.

Tanner himself is under severe pressure in his own seat of Melbourne from the burgeoning (left and yet environmentally conservative) Green Party. The times suit the Greens message and up until now the ALP’s tactic has simply been to steal their rivals clothes with such as Peter Garrett (former president of the Australian Conservation Foundation) as double agent out of the green movement in Victoria, but also such as Jeff Angel in NSW (director of the Total Environment Centre and ACF satellite ).

Rudd has won the election for being in many ways the ALP Christian conservative version of John Howard, newer model, which is always nice for greater reliability and extended product life span. A little different, but a lot the same.

Starts to look alot like the accusation against Brendan Nelson’s reputation for “sliding around” and “question of character” (to borrow veteran analyst Laurie Oakes terminology from a recent crunching Sunday 9 interview) is actually the same pragmatic political 'washing powder' whichever the Party packaging.

Yes Nelson does slide, yes he does present like a Jim Hacker, Yes Minister type compromise candidate between Abbott (hard right social and economic policy) and Turnbull (open minded, moderate on social policy, dry on economics) the short term non descript ‘interim’ leader standing for everything and nothing. The same accusation made against Rudd in early 2007 with some resonance.

Is there really any difference between the modern spiv poll driven developer/special interest funded opportunistic ALP, and the modern opportunistic poll driven developer/special interest funded Liberal Party? To ask the question is to answer it.

And here’s another reason why we take Tanner’s prima facie attack on Nelson with a grain of salt – we are having a post VFL/tragic/religious sporting life experience with anterior cruciate ligament injury to prove it. And 4 best & fairest trophies too.

We remember St Kilda as a pretty dirty thuggish team in the 1970ies. We started out barracking for Essendon like Tanner does, as a young bloke, but got so disgusted with their thuggery we moved on to Fitzroy aka Roy Boys, who are now the Brisbane Bears. The metaphor doesn't bear too much deconstruction does it? Both dirty, both unlovable, different colours but essentially the same. Just like the ALP and Liberal Party. So Nelson embodies that duplicitous duality, as does Rudd, as does Tanner.

That’s why Tanner’s attack has the unintended consequence of saying as much about himself as it does about Nelson. How ironic.

But there is actually another valid disjunction between the ALP and Coalition thanks to the former leadership of Simon Crean (and even Mark Latham) as per this shocker in the Sydney Morning Herald sourced to the UK Guardian:

21 March 2008 Iraq's civilian dead: why US won't do the maths

The last several paragraphs relate largely to the good Dr Nelson's time as Howard Government Defence Minister, with the hypocratic oath worth how much exactly?:

The first survey found at least 98,000 such deaths up to October 2004. The second survey, in the summer of 2006, interviewed a separate but also randomly chosen sample of 1849 households and found an excess of 655,000 deaths up to June 2006, of which 601,027 were said to be from violence rather than natural causes. This amounts to 2.5 per cent of Iraq's population, or more than 500 deaths a day since the invasion.

The estimates were explosive and were widely reported around the world. They met instant dismissal from the White House and London. "I don't consider it a credible report," Mr Bush said. Mr Blair's spokesman said the study's result "was not one we believe to be anywhere near accurate".

The editor of The Lancet, Richard Horton, admits the figure "seems crazy". "But the second study validated the first one. The pre-invasion mortality rate is the same in both, and the upward lines of the post-invasion rate are exactly the same."

He is particularly pleased by information unearthed last year by a freedom-of-information request by the BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones. This found that the chief scientific adviser to the British Ministry of Defence described the methods used by the second survey as "close to best practice". The adviser warned the Government to be "cautious" about criticising the findings .

The most detailed criticism of the Baltimore study appeared in the January issue of the National Journal, a right-of-centre magazine aimed at US policy-makers. It described the study's Iraqi field director, Riyadh Lafta, as "a child-health official in Saddam Hussein's ministry of health when the ministry was trying to end international sanctions against Iraq". It said he claimed high rates of child malnutrition during the sanctions period without giving data from the pre-sanctions period by which they could be measured. It alleged he and his interviewers for the study worked "under brutal political pressure" at a time when the ministry was controlled by Moqtada al-Sadr, the anti-occupation Shia religious leader.

The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health defends Dr Lafta, saying he was one of few doctors who never joined Saddam's Baath party. He has often worked with international groups since 2003 and "asked that he not be contacted by the media out of concern for his safety and that of his family".

Finally, it points out that more recent data suggests an even higher figure. The British polling firm Opinion Research Business asked 1720 Iraqi adults last summer if they had lost family members by violence since 2003; 16 per cent had lost one, and 5 per cent two. Using the 2005 census total of 4,050,597 households in Iraq, this suggests 1,220,580 deaths since the invasion.

Posted by editor at 11:20 AM NZT

Updated: Monday, 24 March 2008 3:28 PM NZT

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Mood:  a-ok

That little #3 at bottom left of the article pictured means third edition, and likely country readers and websites may not get the late,  impacting story?

It tells of the repercussions of this similar post by SAM here

14 March 2008 

How could ex MP Burgmann have supported Joh style Part 3A repeal of green laws in NSW Planning Act?
Mood:  down
Topic: nsw govt

and

Thursday, 13 March 2008

The trouble with Meredith Burgmann, career lefty, disaster tourist, feminist
Mood:  down
Topic: nsw govt

In that last post we write:

Nor is Burgman flattered by the poor governance of her feminist co author and former staffer Yvette Andrews at the very large community space at Addison Rd Centre:

Saturday, 16 February 2008

How to get a $65Kpa community sector wage without any open job selection process?
Mood:  sharp
Topic: local news

Who has presided over the destruction of the cyber gateway for over 8 months (work this writer did in good faith, non aligned, equal prominence to all tenancies):

addison road centre "Come back soon. We are just getting it better. This Website is still under construction."

Talk about cynical. This writer was moved to publish this satirical job advert

Addison Rd Centre General Manager Job Vacancy closing date 1st April...

Nor is Burgmann free herself of the Addison Rd taint of poor governance as mate Andrews is well known to protect Gallery director Cutcliffe, an ALP aligned grifter who has enjoyed 4 years rent free 2003-7 despite $30K paintings on private sale. Cutcliffe's lease has been sanitised with highly discounted lease from 2007 under Andrews management via a new 'non profit entity' created for the purpose with guess who reputed to be on that company directorships? It's unconfirmed but the claim by one tenant is that it is in fact Meredith Burgman who has given presentations at same gallery.

And to that sharp commentary we add this now:

To: [Clover Moore Mayoral PR flak]

Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 12:41 PM

Subject: Fw: Cr Olive re Addison Rd Board fyi re s.20 Protected Disclosures research, ARC website down 8 months now

----- Original Message -----

To:  [Marrickville Councillors]

Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 12:39 PM

Subject: Cr Olive re Addison Rd Board fyi re s.20 Protected Disclosures research, ARC website down 8 months now

Dear Peter

Regarding your position on the Addison Rd Board you may find it interesting that I've been researching the Protected Disclosures Act 1994 (NSW) here in relation to the Gillian Sneddon/Orkopoulos scandal at State level but there is a spinoff regarding ARC too:

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/pda1994251/

This is not an exhaustive correspondence, with full cross referencing just to say that by section 20 (no need to read in full, see comments below this extract)

PROTECTED DISCLOSURES ACT 1994 - SECT 20

Protection against reprisals

20 Protection against reprisals

(1) A person who takes detrimental action against another person that is substantially in reprisal for the other person making a protected disclosure is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months, or both.

(1A) In any proceedings for an offence against this section, it lies on the defendant to prove that detrimental action shown to be taken against a person was not substantially in reprisal for the person making a protected disclosure.

(2) In this Act, "detrimental action" means action causing, comprising or involving any of the following:

(a) injury, damage or loss,

(b) intimidation or harassment,

(c) discrimination, disadvantage or adverse treatment in relation to employment,

(d) dismissal from, or prejudice in, employment,

(e) disciplinary proceeding.

(3) Proceedings for an offence against this section may be instituted at any time within 2 years after the offence is alleged to have been committed.

.................................

Notice in particular it's a serious offence (up to 12 months prison) for other Board members, say John Reynolds, Yvette Andrews to take "reprisals" action against the centre website site builder (me) for making a grievance complaint to the "principal officer" of a "public authority" which includes any body that can be investigated by for instance the "auditor general" or "NSW Ombudsman". Is ARC such a body. I will be looking into this.

This calls up the fact that Peter Talmacs told me my removal from that website work (which has been down for 8 months now it seems) was "vindictive".

My best guess so far is that the ARC is indeed subject to the Protected Disclosures Act and that within 2 years of the said reprisal the perpetrators can by prosecuted for an offence. Assuming the ARC is covered by the Protected Disclosures Act then notice also that the onus of proof of defending a charge of reprisals is on the defendant, that is Reynolds or Andrews.

I would be very interested to know if the minutes of the Board re both Andrews and Reynolds participated in my removal from the website work (around Sept 07) as punishment for making a complaint against Reynolds bullying (late July 07 from memory). I have no doubt myself. And it's up to them to prove otherwise.

I have correspondence from Laird my complaint [was] in jurisdiction for centre work on centre time (this is denied by the Board but it's a lie) and that's my direct evidence as a solicitor. It wasn't Art Resistance work.

You might want to know that Reynolds told me in April or May 2007 that to quote "I did a good job" on the centre website. Laird was over joyed with the website building too. Most every tenant was.

I can predict that current Board members will claim the work was not professional or whatever and they wanted a professional website builder. Well that's subjective and contrary to most feedback and it is after all a community centre not a corporate enterprise. But where is the centre website? It's been down 8 months. Talmacs told the truth it was "vindictive" and I'm getting quite interested in taking it further now that I've pretty much exposed Meredith Burgmann's stalking of Clover Moore for ALP dishonesty about voting for Part 3A of the Planning Act, as well as alleged ARC taints. ....

Yours truly

Tom McLoughlin, editor www.sydneyalternativemedia.com/blog, solicitor

Posted by editor at 1:22 PM NZT

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Mood:  sad

The headlines tell the story ....

- 19 March 08 MP owed debt to developer for renovations - National - smh.com.au

- 19 March 08 Fired staffer slates Iemma | The Australian

- 19 March 08 New Labor sex scandal/ Claim Orkopoulos given police tip-off, p9 Sydney Daily Telegraph

- 19 March 2008 City catches $12b metro

- 19 March 08 Low traffic forces Lane Cove Tunnel's backers to write off millions

- 20 March 08 Tunnel vision in NSW - Editorial - Opinion - smh.com.au

- 20 March 08 Great idea, but white elephants trumpet

- 20 March 08 'Public transport premier' eyes history

- 20 March 08 Driverless trains - how apt for the state we're in

- 20 March 08 Tunnel trouble won't hurt metro - National - smh.com.au

- 20 March 08 Crikey - Milton Orkopoulos' other victim By Alex Mitchell

- 21 March 08 Iemma's tunnel vision goes to water | The Daily Telegraph

- 21 March 08  Sex MP's staffer Gillian Sneddon to sue Labor | NEWS.com.au

- 21 March 08 p5, Clover in clover as Burgmann set to quit mayoral race

..... and so do the cartoons .....

Posted by editor at 11:01 AM NZT

Updated: Friday, 21 March 2008 11:52 AM NZT

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Mood:  don't ask

There's quite a bit of coverage about the alcohol industry, aka culturally 'acceptable' drug pushers, in the washout from PM Rudd fanning a 'moral panic' over binge drinking:

- 20 March 08 Advertisers and alcohol industry prepare for inquiry showdown ...

- 20 March 08 Alcohol ads ban 'ignores internet' | The Australian

- 19 March 08 New liquor rules will ruin us: pubs

- 20 March 06 page 3 'girl' Sydney Daily Telegraph

How country superstar Catherine Britt beat grog | NEWS.com.au ...

- 21 March 08 Liquor giants call time on alcopops

- 21 March 08 Closing time: court upholds hotel decision JULIAN LEE | Days of sickly sweet alcopops laced with energy may be numbered.

We totally agree with putting the weights on the disaster of binging. Been there done that. We even spent 12 months slog work in a fine wine and liquor shop called KM Lynch in Warrnambool in our gap year out of school. A pretty miserable education in human nature it was too.

But make no mistake the pushers are working their corner as is their democratic right, the alternative being all the ills of prohibition. We noticed this push in the retail adverts:

And judging by the Big Media content there is quite a way to go - a caller pre 7 am told Simon Mahoney yesterday that she dreaded the chaos of Easter break with 6 adults and 7 children on the south coast so she was off to get a few bottles of wine for several drinks. How's that for gormless recruitment exemplar? The lesson for today  children, when stressed out turn to drink. That's the perils of talkback.

And today the Good Friday Telegraph has a dating article featuring happy times in a boozy pub facing off with the singles. Same lesson - stressed getting a partner? Turn to your local alcohol/pub scene and get over it.  It's arguable whether this page 3 story same newspaper really balances the situation. Looks like the cashed up pubs and alcohol industry haven't got too much to worry about yet.

Posted by editor at 10:10 AM NZT

Updated: Friday, 21 March 2008 10:54 AM NZT

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Mood:  sharp

If it looks like a murderous dictatorship and smells like one ... then chances are it is one behind the veil of choreography.

That's what underlines the demands for transparency of PM Kevin Rudd in relation to to so called Beijing AustChina Technology Ltd, which looks a dab hand at the spooky world of telecommunications on their own website, and their Australian man Ian Tang.

Notwithstanding past contacts with both sides of politics:

   

   

Hon. John Howard, Australian Prime Minister (2nd from the left) and the CEO of AustChina at a Dinner presented by the Australian Embassy

   

   

Kim Beazley, Australian Labor Party Defense Spokesman ?amp;#710;Right?amp;#8240; and an AustChina Company Director

Because if it is a front company for the Chinese Communist dictatorship in Beijing, or just as likely their instrument as and when needed, then the duchessing leads to compromise of Australian sovereignty. And who is so naive as to think China Inc vertically integrated with the central Chinese CP, are not up for it? Time to get real folks.

Diplomat defector Chen Yonglin has warned us clearly about naive engagement amounting to national "suicide", and frankly we take him at his word:

Lateline - 20/06/2005: Chinese defector details spy claims

8 March 2008 ASIO not the only one advertising for 'spies' ?
Mood:  quizzical
Topic: aust govt

           



Chinese whispers and the Aussie killing machine
October 1, 2006
Reporter :Sarah Ferguson
Producer : Nick Farrow

Video link
Watch video 

 

with echo here:

China's desire for inventor's gun just tip of iceberg - World ... Hamish McDonald Asia-Pacific Editor, October 2, 2006 also ironically on Fairfax

and here

Chinese after our weaponry - Business - Business - smh.com.au 2 Oct 2006

 

 

Do you think the 2 million refugees in Darfur as reported by David Brill on SBS Dateline last week have got to this situation on their own with resource hungry China playing the angles there?

   
   Tibet 2000: Environment and Development Issues

State of Tibet's environment: The Government of Tibet in Exile

Australia Tibet Council - Key Issues

A very high cost for what the Dalai Llama describes as material advances via Chinese presence from a 'spiritually advanced but materially backward' country:

Getty Images

China accused the Dalai Lama of masterminding the uprising to undermine the Olympic Games in Beijing

Dalai Lama threatens to quit over Tibet violence - Asia, World ... The Independent 19 March 08

And now 'massively expanding their mining interests' here in Australia.

The Coalition Opposition here are on the attack not on some shallow racial xenophobic vote trawling exercise. The democratic concern is much bigger than that - it's leveraging the geo politik tension our super power ally USA has with China/China Inc. Just ask the 450 km long nation of Taiwan with China Inc Big Brother's nuke missiles breathing down their neck. Just ask the democracy movement being strangled in Hong Kong. And rival for regional influence Japan.

China has all the grace of a unique panda bear from a distance while close up a ravenous hunger and fatal claw. As per North Korea and Burma according to former Canadian MP David Kilgour here on SBS again:

Interview with David Kilgour

Australia as a fairly vigorous democracy, and with all the open politiking of the Sydney Olympics 1993-2000 as a comparison, will have to bite the bullet and say NO to the clammy embrace of the China INc dictatorship sooner rather than later, or else be forever doomed to smile at the proverbial crocodile eating us alive, like Tibet. This is the point that Shadow Minister Andrew Robb is referring to regarding "judgement".

Here is a range of coverage in the Big Meda this last 7 days, additional to the above:

- 18 March 08 China locks out BHP and Rio ore | smh.com.au

- 19 March 08 Rudd faces China showdown | The Australian

- 19 March 08 BHP stands firm in row over China boycott | smh.com.au

- 19 March 2008 China blockade won't last long: BHP | The Australian

- 19 March 2008 China's blackballing won't work | The Australian 

- 19 March 08 Oppressed Tibet needs moral support now - not in another 60 years ...

- 20 Marach 08 No reason for Rudd to take Japan out of the equation - Opinion ...

- 20 March 08 Rudd cops flak for ignoring Japan, vows two visits - National ...

- 20 March 08 p1 Rudd's China junket the start of a beautiful friendship| The Australian

- 20 March 2008 High-level moves to reassure Beijing over foreign investments ... Dennis Shanahan/Andrew Trounson

- 20 March 2008 Akerman: Chines whispers

All of this coverage is good for democracy. Bringing PM Kevin Rudd an acknowledged China expert to account is all to the good too. That's the difference between the two countries.

To his credit PM Rudd has risen to the occasion so far, within the contraints of his political instincts on ABC AM show here:

20 March 2008: Rudd discusses paid trips scandal

Such democratic concerns also have a cost hence Rudd's subdued tones. It's a cost that Australians have always bargained for Mr PM.

Posted by editor at 6:58 AM NZT

Updated: Friday, 21 March 2008 10:08 AM NZT

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Mood:  special

Deja vu?: West Wing tv series Series 7, episode 8        "Undecideds" 

We're not much into cult of personality but that's what we call a superior orator. Win or lose this guy has courage to speak publicly on any hot issue directly with a poise and moderation that comes over like fresh air.

The conservative press are reporting this as "Candidate gives the speech of his career" . Some cynics are implying that confronting racism so openly is a fatal third rail of US politics. To which we say we are about to find out. 

Posted by editor at 9:37 PM NZT

Updated: Friday, 21 March 2008 10:18 AM NZT

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Mood:  quizzical

Thursday, 28 February 2008 Stop press: Developer given enough rope on Deb Cameron ABC 702
Mood:  vegas lucky
Topic: nsw govt

Friday, 29 February 2008

Questions remain how stand over man Younan passed himself off as ICAC officer
Mood:  not sure
Topic: nsw govt

Monday, 3 March 2008

From Wall St to Wollongong, Daryl Hannah as Beth Morgan, Paul Matters v ALP Right developers
Mood:  sad
Topic: nsw govt

Here is a feature in The Australian from back on 8-9 March 2008 on developer and union funding of political parties:

8 March 2008 Parties with money to spurn | The Australian

And the issue of dodgy ALP financing is still metastising as here into the Transport Workers Union allegations of secret slush fund:

March 16 2008 Union's secret 'slush fund' to help ALP | NEWS.com.au Business

All this context not least relating to the ALP at high levels suggests more reasons for PM Rudd, who it must be said has succeeded within that millieu to take the prize of Prime Ministership, to feel quite some pressure over a certain Mr Tang. Mr Who? Over to Crikey.com.au who seem to have the running on this (while noting an oblique reference by Alexander Downer to Beijing AustChina Technology Ltd in another context apparently in the Adelaide Advertiser

Crikey.com.au report this today:

19 March 2008 Rudd's AustChina connections have more Tang

These issues free of discriminatory comment or xenophobia are definitely worth chasing down.

A heckle went over the tv broadcast back to the Opposition to "put up or shut up".

Maybe someone will.

Or not - because Rudd or someone has let it be known that his honours thesis as a god fearing student (significant that by comparison with godless ideologies) was on ... wait for it "Dissidents of China" or such like.

Sooo, yes money politics in the greedy developer sense, or industrial espionage sense, could be in play, but Rudd's patriotism is not really an issue. As Swan said above - and party non aligned here - it was their job to engage with the economic value China offered to Australia. Most high paid workers in Western Australia and Qld and mining sector generally are likely to agree.

But yes, bring in the sunlight. China is a corporate dictatorship to be very cautious about like most ruthless capitalist corporations too. The snake head meets the tail in this respect, and funny to say Santamaria got that one right. It's all about avoiding totalitarianism.

Which is why we should acknowledge the profound role of politics in the Beijing Olympics  

Posted by editor at 4:34 PM NZT

Updated: Wednesday, 19 March 2008 5:54 PM NZT

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