Insults the Americans will accept

Australia’s Foreign Minister told an inquiry, yesterday in Sydney, that an American serviceman in post-Saddam Baghdad, Captain Blake Puckett’s warning of Australian corruption was ignored because: "Because this was information provided by a captain in the US Army, a junior officer in the US Army."

This comes just one day after Deputy PM and Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, said that he didn’t trust the American’s because; “…aggressive complaints by the US were simply a means of deflecting criticism of the huge subsidies the US wheat industry received." Don’t trust Americans…

These men are effectively numbers 2 and 3 in Australia’s power hierarchy, and they are charged with various aspects of the countries relationships around the world. That they both see fit to belittle the US, its government and its military personnel is curious.

Even more curious is that these insults have elicited no response from the US. Nothing from the new Ambassador in Canberra, no diplomatic notes dispatched from State, nothing out of the White House or the Pentagon.

There are no nationalistic congressmen or celebrated vets calling foul, no ranting editorials, not even the odd paragraph so far as I can see. And it is not that Australia is too far away, or of no real significance. Rice graced the sunny shores not even two weeks ago. She sat and had a delightful ‘Tête á Tête’ with Downer, according to picture reports. Bush will be looking to Australia again if he embarks on another mid eastern adventure, to shore up his support base.

It’s not even that the US media didn’t cover the story, but any mention of Captain Plukett was ‘in passing’ and of no significance and Vaile was pretty much ignored as he is everywhere.

So the precedent has been set now, the US and its military personnel are obviously fair game for any foreign official who is desperate to cover his arse. I wish Senator Tom Harkin all the best in his assault on the whole sordid affair, but I fear no one will be listening.

Want a job? Call India

It is a slow day for scandal, so much betwixt and between with Australia’s slow paced Cole Inquiry adding little of any great moment. That the smarmy Foreign Minister, facing the inquiry in person, managed to convey total failure to comprehend the import of intelligence dispatches warning of corruption. Business as usual downunder…

What caught my eye, while I was out there dredging for juicy snippets wasn’t so much corrupt activities as the corruption which is undermining our economies:

"A call center with 40 or more experienced agents can be of tremendous value for a buyer," said Kiran Upadhya, a Bangalore-based consultant with Uni Solutions. "At an older call center, workers will be happy to now be working for a Western firm, especially if given a 20 percent pay increase," he said, adding, "just give them Friday and Saturday nights off.

“Indian call centers are being purchased by U.S. and Canadian companies seeking to quickly gain access to call center services offshore, particularly outbound services. Although media attention focuses more on the sale of U.S. assets to Asian and Middle Eastern firms, this trend in the other direction highlights how globalization is linking economies, consumers and businesses around the world.

“The size of centers being sold ranges between 50 and 100 seats, with 75 to 80 seats being the most common. Call centers in the range of 20 to 30 seats are not being sold to Westerners because these facilities are usually not worth the effort to acquire.”

With the US debate on immigration raging, based largely on the availability of low wage workers, the trend to taking ‘service’ industries offshore should be a very real concern. This is especially relevant to the US economy which is in debt to the tune of around $30,000 for every man, woman and child.

Some might recall a time when there was a strong manufacturing sector, that is ‘home made’ goods; when there were viable resource industries right here at home; when mom and pop farms supplied much of the fresh food we consume daily.

Then some smart dick economists who preached that these labor intensive industries were too expensive, they must be moved offshore where wages are lower. First garments and footwear went, followed by all manner of goods. No wonder most western economies are in dire debt to Asian economies.

These bright spark economists claimed that our economies must be based on service industries; that is, we don’t actually make or produce things anymore we simply sell our dubious solutions resolutions skills.

Then the mantra ramped up to ‘get big or get out!’ Having gutted the jobs base the economists then moved to the blanding of our cultures to a one size fits all, with a tinge of circus if not bread.

Well now, because people seem to need a living wage in our western economies, those service industries are being shunted off to low wage countries. Already the next industry sector is emerging; it is based on debt consolidation. Now there is the joke, the scandal if you will; we are facing increasing national and personal debt throughout the western economies.

Can these wizard economists who led us to this promiseland now explain how debt can effectively be reduced when the income base is being rapidly reduced? I guess they will just tell us to go buy an Indian call centre. The 20 seaters are going cheap!

Bush admin advises Aussie crooks?

According the Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa, the Bush administration has sided with Australia instead of American wheat growers in the oil-for-food scandal.
Bear in mind, this particular saga of the sandal delivered $300million delivered into Saddam’s hands while the US and partners, including Australia, were preparing for war.
"We've now discovered that the Bush administration advised the Australian Government on how to handle the Australian Wheat Board's growing public problems about its dealings in Iraq," Harkin said.

This story has been building for months now, but not in the US media. There might have been a flurry during Senator Coleman’s tantrum some months ago, but that quickly subsided, apparently because of the exposure to the president.
At the time of posting Harkin had not managed any media outside Australia, from my searches. There are questions to be addressed, in the US as well as in Australia and Iraq on this issue.
Let’s hope someone in he media picks it up soon.

Don’t trust Americans…

Australia’s Trade Minister Mark Vaile's dismissive view of criticisms of AWB was "flavoured" by months of self-serving criticism of the Australian wheat exporter by the Americans, he said yesterday.
Vaile told the Cole (Oil for Food) inquiry the US Administration was a constant detractor of AWB (the country’s monopoly wheat exporter), but only because it wanted to deflect criticism of the subsidies it paid its own wheat industry.
In a written statement to the inquiry, Vaile said he first became aware of the American allegations of AWB’s, kickbacks to Saddam’s regime, in about June 2003.
"It was my view that the US Wheat Associates were particularly aggressive competitors and detractors of the AWB and Australia's single desk wheat marketing system," he says.
"The US Wheat Associates had been constant critics of the single desk system, accusing it of being a trade distorting mechanism and accusing AWB of unfairly using the system to their commercial advantage.
"It was my view that our wheat marketing system was not trade distorting and that aggressive complaints by the US were simply a means of deflecting criticism of the huge subsidies the US wheat industry received."
He said it was not until last October, when the UN handed down its final report into corruption of its oil-for-food program in Iraq which found AWB had paid nearly $300 million in kickbacks, that he no longer believed what AWB said.

South Africa's quandry

That South Africa’s former Deputy President Jacob Zuma, on trial for rape and still facing corruption charges, has let down his country’s high hopes became evident during last weeks hearings.
But more than just his country, Zuma has let down those campaigners everywhere, who would and did fight for indigenous self determination in former colonial countries.
To be sure, there will always be seemingly insurmountable difficulties for subjugated cultures that must make a massive leap to conform to the demands of global capital pressure.
But they are economic pressures and can be ameliorated, to some degree at least, other cultural and social aspects all being well.
Zimbabwe’s Mugabi has been a prime example of what not to do, no doubt putting even more pressure on the transitional economy in South Africa. Accommodation between the former white rulers and the indigenous population was always going to be difficult, but the like of Zuma turning on his own is not a helpful sign for the country.

It has been widely reported that Zuma, speaking at his rape trial, resorted to what politicians around the world practice as the main tactic against prosecution; they find the lowest common denominator and play it mercilessly.
As one repor puts it: Zuma's testimony, delivered as if from a deep, dark moral vortex into which the last decade of gender and social transformation had been sucked, did everything it could to give credence to all the major prejudices that attach to his name and image.
In the first instance, Zuma chose to hide behind, what he claims is; ‘Zulu culture’. That is, the woman was wearing a skirt which exposed leg, so it was his duty, as a Zulu male, to respond to the invitation.
Mondli Makhanya, Johannesburg Sunday Times editor Zuma, he says, is exploiting the idea of Zulu tribal sentiment. "Zuma has played along with this surge of Zulu nationalism, apparently buoyed by it. He has increasingly resorted to Zulu symbolism and appeals to cultural sensitivities".
That was among the most notorious of his positions, but on a continent swamped by aids infection:
“Zuma said he took a shower straight after sex with his HIV-positive rape accuser as a way of reducing his chances of contracting the virus and that he had unprotected sex with the woman because he believed the risk of transmission was minimal. Zuma also disclosed that he has multiple sex partners.”
This, I might add, from the man who was responsible for programs to address the problem of Aids in South Africa. The fallout from that statement has driven a rash of publicity attempting to put the record straight on transmission of the disease.

The other worrying aspect of this very political trial is the complicity of the media in open attacks on the alleged victim. Previous rape claims by the accuser would hardly seem odd in a country where rape is still seen as some kind of male prerogative.
That it comes in defence of a high profile, and still popular political leader, suggest deep social problems in the country.
Zuma may well be innocent or even be a victim of conspiracy, but his behaviour does not inspire confidence in his ability as a leader. Leaders like Zuma are no better than their hated ‘white’ predecessors.

What propaganda? Not US

I guess propaganda has always worked well in the US because it serves up what the wider public wants to hear. It does little, however, for the reputation of a free and fearless media in that country.
Oddly, Rupert Murdoch’s Australian flagship newspaper; The AUSTRALIAN ran this story, which surely must mock his US media outlets:
US media drive to undercut Zarqawi

THE US military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the threat posed by al-Qa'ida leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in an effort to turn Iraqis against the Jordanian-born terrorist.

The Washington Post reported yesterday that the propaganda effort may have overstated Zarqawi's importance to the Iraq insurgency and helped the Bush administration tie the war to the terror network responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Good old Rupert, he always was adept at playing both ends against the middle, that’s how he built his media empire. But he also faces stiff competition in Australia, where other outlets would sniff out attempts at propaganda and throw it in his face.
Well let’s be fair here, The Washington Post did just that in the States. It was WaPo who broke the story:
Military documents show that for the past two years US military leaders have been using Iraqi media and other outlets in Baghdad to publicise Zarqawi's role in the insurgency.

The documents explicitly list the "US home audience" as one of the targets of a broader propaganda campaign, the Post said. According to the newspaper, Colonel Derek Harvey, who served as a military intelligence officer in Iraq, told a US Army meeting at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: "Our own focus on Zarqawi has enlarged his caricature, if you will - made him more important than he really is, in some ways.

The report said that a "selective leak" about Zarqawi was made to Dexter Filkins, a reporter for The New York Times, based in Baghdad. Filkins's resulting article, about a letter supposedly written by Zarqawi and boasting of suicide attacks in Iraq, ran on the Times front page on February 9, 2004.

The Post said leaks to reporters from US officials in Iraq were common but official evidence of a propaganda operation using an American reporter was rare.

US military chief spokesman Mark Kimmitt told The Post that "there was no attempt to manipulate the press".
"We trusted Dexter to write an accurate story, and we gave him a good scoop," General Kimmitt said.

Well, there you have it; if you trust the professional propagandists and a compliant media, you can all sleep well under the protection of ‘Homeland Security’ and the military.
All is well, just flick on The Simpson’s and kick back. Rupert and co will take care of the difficult stuff for you.

Australia, USA, trade and corruption

Monitoring progress of the UN Oil for Food scandal, around the world, is a bit like watching treacle ooze; uphill.
Over a year from the meticulous disclosures of the Volker Panel report another US corporation has come under the spotlight. In what was ingenuously styled as ‘one of the few’ US companies involved, Georgia’s AGCO Corporation has be singled out for investigation over its dealings with Saddam.
The US administration, unlike their clumsy Australian counterparts, has managed to escape scrutiny of their role in the kickbacks scandal. To be fair, the spectre of Bush’s administration giving tacit approval to feeding millions of dollars to Saddam at a time they were planning war is too much for the most stoic critic in that country.
Not so in Australia where senior ministers will be the star witnesses, this week, at the Cole Inquiry. Deputy PM, Mark Vaile, has already had his time in the hot seat.
No admissions where forthcoming, unless we count the admission of being derelict and ‘too busy’ to conduct vital aspects of his specific ministerial responsibilities.
It seems governments can afford to promote and protect inept performers, unlike their corporate counterparts. It should be recalled that the former CEO of the country’s monopoly wheat exporter was shown the door following his remarkably similar performance in the witness box.
Unlike Vaile, the next two ministerial witnesses, PM John Howard and foreign minister Downer, are expected to put on a far more polished performance of denial, obfuscation and deflected blame.
In fact Vaile has led that approach as he tried to shift most of the blame for the wheat scandal on to cabinet colleague Alexander Downer, repeatedly telling the Cole inquiry yesterday he did not have "ministerial responsibility" for issues involving the UN.

UN Official fits pieces together
Their call to explain comes against a backdrop of revelations from a former high ranking UN officer, Felicity Johnston who was Chief Customs Officer at the UN Office for the Iraq program for the four years running up to November 2003. She was in fact responsible for vetting all oil-for-food contracts.
Johnston says she made the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade aware of the Iraqi demands for kickbacks more than six years ago, and she insists that Australian ministers bear a responsibility for the payments.Johnston became aware in late 1999 of Canadian complaints that Iraq was asking for kickbacks and that AWB was known to be paying them.In January 2000, Johnston insists she raised the allegations with New York-based DFAT (Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs) official Bronte Moules. She says Ms Moules was assured by AWB that the claims were categorically untrue. Moules has denied the conversation, but Johnston has said that it is now known that AWB's senior management was not sincere.
Johnston reveals that the UN's contract experts missed a crucial clause in AWB's contract, which showed the company was paying big illegal "discharge" fees.

US Involvement
Which brings me back to the role of the US’s Bush administration in this abuse: There is a little matter of US Wheat Associates complaints to then Secretary for State, Colin Powell. These were complaints which caused a diplomatic flurry at the time, but were subsequently buried.
That USWA suddenly backed off raises some interesting questions, given that they are a powerful and astute lobbing body. No doubt they were warned off, but what was the sweetener in that deal?
Then there is the celebrated blindsiding of US Senator Coleman and his hearings into the scandal. It must have been compelling stuff which made that dogged investigator suddenly lose interest in the whole affair.
To be sure, he came back with a blustery, but lame reprise when the issue finally hit the headlines. But for a second time the good senator was silenced.
This issue runs deep, not just in Australia, or the USA. Russia is conveniently denying any involvement in the scandal, and will no doubt pull the same bunch of strings to ensure their claim sticks.
India, ready to sacrifice their foreign minister of the day, is just getting around to calls for inquiries into government involvement. So it goes around the world, where hapless corporations, no doubt guilty but hardly without tacit approval, take the fall.
But then the UN is the animal of governments, dependent on them for existence.

West Papua background

Just as a bit of background on why West Papuans are seeking refuge...
PAPUAN refugees given asylum in Australia claim they are victims of a secret war carried out by undercover Indonesian forces aimed at destroying the independence movement.

In testimony that helped them win Australia protection visas, they alleged persecution at the hands of Indonesian soldiers operating out of uniform who make no distinction between armed rebels and civilian activists.

They alleged persecution by Indonesian security and intelligence agencies, which also are partners with Australia in the fight against terrorism. more... The Melbourne Age

Would the USA help Australia?

It is a rhetorical question, of course. No Australian government would be particularly inclined to test those particular waters; better to turn a blind eye to regional injustice than engage.

I’m referring to the ever present threat, just two or three hours flight due north of Northern Australia, Indonesia.

Bear in mind, Australia, despite its vast land area, has a population just over 20 million. Compare that to it’s nearest northern neighbour, Indonesia with its 201 million people, making it the world's fourth-most populous nation.

The politically and culturally dominant island of Java is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with more than 107 million people living in an area the size of New York State.

The threat, given that disparity, comes into play when the regions old injustices come to the fore. It all harks back to the old colonial powers and the creation of borders without due regard for ethnic and cultural differences.

In fact, given the sprawling mass of the Indonesian / Melanesian archipelago, it was no doubt seen as politic to force the grab bag of peoples under the hegemony of one central power, Indonesia. It must be rembered that the US was an active participant in deciding the fate of societies to be swallowed up by Indonesia.

Looking back to the factors surrounding the decision to create this uneasy conglomerate, I found the words of one of Australia’s most insightful politicians. R G Casey was an adept diplomat and the Country’s foreign Minister (equivalent to US Secretary for State) as the colonial era was coming to a close.

It was on April 5, 1952 that Casey told Indonesia's then president Sukarno:

'Nothing was likely to disturb this relationship [between Australia and Indonesia] so quickly or so gravely as Indonesia getting sovereignty over West [Papua] New Guinea. Any change in sovereignty in West New Guinea would set the whole Australian people aflame, without distinction of political party."

Well it hasn’t yet set the people ‘aflame’, but the issue of self determination for West Papua is returning with a vengeance to haunt both countries.

Tensions rose dramatically over the past few weeks, following Australia’s decision to give refuge to a number of people fleeing the harsh Indonesian rule of their homeland. Taking them in wasn’t a political choice but a legal imperative. Given the threats, the bluster and bullying from Indonesia, the Australian government has not declared that it will take steps to stop future refuge seekers entering the country.

We have seen in the past the ruthless efficiency which the Australian government employs to stop refugees entering the country’s territorial waters. This is not about justice or compassion, but about sacrificing the rights of some for the security of others. In many ways the approach is understandable, but it is a dangerous path to decide who should have their rights and who should not.

Underlying this, as one of our readers pointed out recently, is the schoolyard bully mentality dominant in Indonesian affairs. It is a fair comparison, given that Indonesia so much resembles the oaf, who unable to focus his scattered energies in deliberately considered options, simply resorts to threat and bluster. Like the bully, Indonesia appears to suffer a cultural inferiority complex with a national ego which can be so easily punctured.

The Good News

Perhaps there is good news for the people of West Papua who crave the right to self determination, but lack any real international support to achieve that dream.

An umbrella organisation of Papuan independence groups is seeking the talks, with an Australian academic acting as intermediary. Associate Professor Damien Kingsbury, of Deakin University, is approaching a Finnish conflict resolution group is see if it can mediate in the talks, as it did in negotiations that led to a peace settlement in the Indonesian province of Aceh.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is believed to be open to the prospect of negotiations as a way out of the diplomatic and political impasse his Government faces in Papua, where Jakarta confronts widespread resistance to its rule.

Dr Yudhoyono has made repeated public comments about his desire to resolve the conflict in Papua, where widespread and entrenched political and community opposition has surpassed a guerilla movement as a major challenge to Jakarta's control.

Internationally mediated talks would be an acknowledgment by Jakarta that its current offer of "special autonomy" for Papua has failed to ease tensions between Papuans and the central government.

If he can successfully broker a settlement, the Indonesian President will show the kind of leadership which many; supposedly more sophisticated, western leaders are incapable of. It sounds far fetched, but with the many domestic tensions facing his government Dr Yudhoyono can see a way to pull the scattered social strands he rules together into strong, forward thinking country.

I wish him success in both endeavors. The world already suffers from too many ‘bully’ leaders. A lesson from Indonesia could serve us all well.

See previous posts:
West Papua Crisis
Cartoon diplomacy a croc
Great Indonesian Cartoon Scandal
Cartoons a real Downer

UN ‘Oil for Food’ scandal Roundup

Australia – Pakistan - Russia
JUST when we thought the news couldn’t get any more sensational, with reports that two senior Australian government ministers must face that countries official inquiry, the scandal haws come to life elsewhere.
Well more or less, with Russia, that that paragon of probity and transparency, declaring: The UN commission has failed to prove that Russian companies were involved in the oil-for-food corruption scandal in Iraq…
And Pakistan revealing damning evidence of Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s alleged involvement in the scandal.

FIRST things first… We, at Talk about Corruption (TAC), have reported evidence from the outset alleging the involvement of Australian government ministers in that country’s infamous kickbacks to Saddam.
It is inconceivable that the country’s monopoly wheat exporter, AWB could have operated their illicit scheme without government’s tacit approval, either by omission or commission.
So now we wait breathlessly for the foreshadowed appearance of Foreign Minister Downer and Deputy Prime Minister Vaile, before the Cole Inquiry in Sydney. Downer should fair pretty well under scrutiny of the lawyers, he is a practiced liar. Less secure is the country’s bumbling 2IC and Trade Minister. Vaile has already had his badly scorched cojones pulled from the fire more than once in this episode.

To Pakistan and the new woes for the old PM…
WE at TAC have a little more difficulty with Pakistan’s charges against BB. It could be fond memories of her late father, Ali Bhutto, or just that we have a sneaking regard for this former leader, but there is also an element of political intrigue which raises doubt.
“Bhutto is the eldest child of a famous political family that has often been compared, in both power and tragedy, to the Kennedys and the Nehrus.
Benazir (the name means "one without equal") was raised in a Karachi mansion by a British nanny, dressed in clothes from Saks and educated abroad.
In 1977 her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan's first democratically elected prime minister, was deposed by General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, who is now president.
Two years later, despite appeals from President Jimmy Carter and Pope Paul II, Bhutto was hanged on a disputed murder charge. Benazir spent her subsequent years in prison planning her vengeance against Zia through her own rise to power.
As Peter Galbraith, a college friend who is now an Asia expert with the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, puts it, "Benazir got her B.A. from Radcliffe, her M.A. from Oxford and her Ph.D. from Sukkur jail." Writer Anne Fadiman October 1986
Successive Pakistani regimes have tried everything to date, short of another murder, to wipe Bhutto from their political landscape.
We will not dispute hard evidence against Bhutto if it supported, but at this stage it screams of the ‘boy who called wolf!’
Meantime Pakistan has not produced very much to support any real determination to address their country’s role in this scandal.


THEN there is dear old Russia. Not us, they cried, we had no involvement in the corrupt activities. That proposition is as difficult to swallow as Pakistan’s charges.
With Russia’s current reputation for rampant corruption at every level, and their comfortable involvement with Saddam’s regime, the word bullshit comes to mind.
But, treasuring my quiet life in the country, with all limbs and faculties intact, I will refrain from uttering it.
There is something about Russia which has always fascinated me. Not the various governments, I might add. Regardless of what they have been called, their supposed philosophies, they are steeped in heavy handed subjugation of the people.
Given a little freedom, it seems the people are more than ready to play the rules, as their rulers have so able demonstrated over millennia. Corruption and worse is ubiquitous in heartbreak old mother Russia.

Outguessing Bush Polls

Following up from yesterdays ‘Winds of electoral change’ blog:
I’m still not comfortable with the business of electoral prediction; there are simply too many variables for gut feelings to cover. Today’s polls on Bush’s low ratings could just as easily tip the balance back in his favour, if not in the short term at least before the real poll.
I’m not sure how the ‘underdog’ effect works in the US, but I suspect the sympathy or fear vote works much the same anywhere. The voter is simply too uncertain to be able to make dramatic leaps.
From a story doing the rounds, in light of the poor polling we have:
Republicans said they feared the worst unless the political landscape quickly changes.

“These numbers are scary. We've lost every advantage we've ever had,” GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio said. “The good news is Democrats don't have much of a plan. The bad news is they may not need one.”

While that comment reflects my thoughts in the earlier blog, it is also a well known tactic of ‘judo politics’; that is, use your opponents strength/weight against them.
Having said that, with Republican’s leading figure hovering around the 35-40% approval on various issues, it is difficult to image how the numbers can be pulled back, no matter how cagy the strategy.
Okay, I’m thinking out loud here, but as I said, there are so many variables, especially this far out from the election.
Take this observation, for example:

“I think we will win the Congress,” Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean said, breaking the unwritten rule against raising expectations.

Yes it is an unwritten rule, but the novelty, if not hubris, of the situation so often trip up contenders who gain such a strong advantage in the pre election period. But that comment is tempered by the reality:

Strategists in both parties say it would take an extraordinary set of circumstances for Democrats to seize control of Congress.

Beneath it all we still have Joe Voter who knows there are serious problems but is virtually powerless to effect real change:

“I'd just as soon they shut (Congress) down for a few years,” said Robert Hirsch, 72, a Republican-leaning voter in Chicago. “All they do is keep passing laws and figuring out ways to spend our money.”

I’ll let you know mid November what the outcome is likely to be. Meanwhile it is more absorbing than trying to tease the answers from a London Times cryptic crossword. The clues are all there, but for now I’ll stick with erasable pencil to start filling the squares.

Lord Luvaduck! It’s Sir Grasper

While the USA wallow in presidential misdeeds and Australian political leaders are being called to account for their roles in ripping off the UN’s Oil for Food Program, the troubles in the third arm of the ‘coalition of the willing’ are passing us by.

But they shouldn’t be ignored, our British allies. Taken together, the three governments create a compelling picture of moral and ethical failure.
It must be more than coincidental that all three administrations who have banded together as our ‘world police’, the arbiters of what is good for our world, should be under increasing scrutiny for ethical breaches.

There is little need to revisit Bush’s litany of alleged misdeeds. Australia’s Prime Minister Howard still manages to stay a step ahead of serious trouble, unlike his senior ministers, caught up in the Oil for Food saga. But Howard still has many other issues to fend off.

In Britain Prime Minister Blair and his government are under police investigation, for among other things the cynical act of raising party funds by selling the countries peerages.
Well we all know that the Brits are a stuffy lot, well those who inhabit the social heights in that country. The ordinary Brit has about the same regard for knighthoods and peerages as their colonial kin.

The last Australian knighthood was awarded back in the early 1970s, and then a few inopportune words by a newly elected Labor Party convinced the Queen of England, Australia’s head of state, that her honours might no longer be appropriate for the rough colonials. Canada was withdrawn from the honours roll shortly thereafter.

Dog of a title
Tony Blair “Denies accusations of offering peerages for cash after four people he nominated for honours were found to have made substantial loans to the party ahead of the last election without the knowledge of Labour's treasurer and other elected officials.” BBC
Note there is no mention of a blanket denial, just that he apparently forgot to advise some key colleagues. But the affair brings something to light that has been long suspected.

For the ordinary Australian, and no doubt Brit, sir could just as easily be rendered cur! It was well understood then that these ‘honours’ and entitlements were for the most part bought, not earned.
I his defence the PM’s ‘ex-spin’ chief Alastair Campbell has come out of the woodwork. Campbell was a notable figure in Blair’s push for involvement in the Iraq adventure.
He wrote in a newspaper column, "I can't help wondering why there was never a police inquiry in the Thatcher years into the link between peerages and donations, not to mention the corrupt practice of knighting serving editors and ennobling proprietors who sucked up to Thatcher in print.”

Hey, that sounds familiar. That’s the US Republican’s mantra – “they did it too” – they “were more corrupt than us!” Some spin, sounds like a qualified admission.
We can thank Campbell for adding another gem to Blair’s dubious crown:
Referring to the investigation into Blair allegedly using the phrase "fucking Welsh", Campbell said: "What both the Welsh nonsense and loans situation have in common is that they were the subject of media and political frenzy."
Great spin Alastair, that should be worth at least a dukedom, if Tony is still allowed to toss his titles of privilege around.

So there you have it, the ‘Sheriff of the Free World’ and his two deputies are a real inspiration. Yes sir, George, Tony, Johnny, we can see now where we have erred. Give us another chance and we’ll become good grasping corrupt citizens of the world too.

Judas Revealed

Knowing my antipathy towards the organised church; my beloved forwarded a bumper sticker to amuse me. It read:
I’ve got nothing against God; it’s his fan club I hate!
Now this isn’t actually about corruption, though there was alleged bribery and a mysterious suicide involved.
That was in the gem which followed later in the day with a report from National Geographic about the newly released details of the ‘Judas Gospel’. We’ve known for some years of the existence of this document. Like many of the ‘Dead Sea scrolls’ this document, found in Egypt, went through a translation and verification process.
The fun part now is going to be for that fan club mob. I know the arguments well; the first will be to deny its validity because it’s not part of the ‘Bible’.
If you throw back that the parts of the ‘Bible’, as we know it, were cobbled together by various early church councils; then suggest there were ulterior motives in that cobbling you will be met by furious denials:
“Those who put the Bible together were inspired directly by God!” That is probably the most common rebuttal.
Of course, like most of the fan club’s arguments, it lacks logic. For one thing it ignores the very political atmosphere in which the early church was formed. It also suggests that their God lost interest and stooped his personal inspiration and intervention after the bible was shaped.
It would be just as easy, of course, to argue that God inspired this find now at this point in history, to suit her own purposes. But as one who has serious misgivings about a meddling God, I won’t even visit that prospect.

I actually enjoyed studying the structure and history of the Bible in my younger days. It is pretty amazing how patches, additions and rewrites can readily be identified in the New Testament, and how stories in the Old Testament can be traced through various cultures dating back to the earliest written records.
The God of Israel was hardly a unique entity, and equally how many of the traditions of the modern church reflect or imitate those of other cultures. It seems their inspirational God is never one to waste a good idea.

Anyway, the Judas story should really put the cat among the gargoyles. According to the information released old Judas wasn’t such a bad guy after all. Jesus specifically wanted his best pal to do the dirty work. Seems he didn’t want an enemy to get all the fun and pleasure.
There is always hope that the release of the document will get members of the fan club actually thinking about the basis of their faith and belief. After all, there is life outside the confines of narrow, imperative of evangelism.
There is always hope, but I doubt if anything will make an impact on the bulk of the organised church.

Winds of electoral change

After many years of election watching, and without the benefits of the psephologist’s tools, I am increasingly reluctant to predict electoral outcomes. The reluctance is more so when observing systems, such as that of the USA, from the outside.
But I do get excited about patterns and trends, and there is a strong theme growing throughout the western democracies.
The trend is not to or from a political stance. It’s not the groundswell of Christian activism we have been witnessing or a restoration of what the Americans call ‘liberalism’ or vaguely leftist policy.
The ordinary voter knows diddly-squat about political philosophy, and they are not likely to be enlightened by the infotainment fed to them as hard news.
It’s more likely the collective electorate is suffering something along the lines of ‘ennui’. A self serving political culture grounded in a concept of entitlement, which frequently translates as grasping greed, has left the voter stunned. Of all the choices, all the certainties there is only one reliable outcome, in the minds of most, another corrupt body of lawmakers.
I know many politicians would protest at that summary, defend themselves and fellows as upright, hardworking paragons. I guess they have to believe that, despite evidence to contrary.
The ordinary Joe is no longer suckered by these self righteous protests. Part of the reason they no longer buy it is that they are constantly informed by politicians themselves about ethical failures.
Where it really comes undone is many of the champions of ethical public behaviour are tainted themselves. It seems to simply go with the territory. Republican presidential aspirants such as Senators John McCain and Bill Frist are both stained on ethical issues.
On the Democrat side the potentially most powerful advocate for clean government, Senator Ted Kennedy, disqualified himself many years ago. Despite redeeming himself in so many ways, he knows there are many unanswered questions to come back and haunt him. Then there is Hillary, with allegations of encyclopedic proportions swirling around her.

Deciding Factor
By my observations of the current voter trends, one of the electoral certainties has gone down the toilet in this unethical political swamp – the power of incumbency. Every politician knows the natural advantage of incumbency but I suggest, at least for now, that power has become a negative,
The Democrats can do little to stop their potential return to power, short of monumental self destruction. This is not because of what they stand for, but rather that they are the only, albeit poor, alternative.
If the Democrats rail about Republican corruption and ethical failures they will give Joe Voter even more reason to distrust politicians en masse. But that probably won’t stand in their way.
If they do the unthinkable and sell policy over the usual political fare dished out at elections, they will probably just deepen voter contempt, but that still won’t stand in their way.
A potential win, under those circustances, is no great vote of confidence for the party or the system.

Lesson from Canada
We saw it in Canada when the Liberal’s were dumped for a fragmented and barely intelligible Conservative Party. Even though Canadians knew the Conservatives would most probably turn their backs on some deeply held social ideals, like not getting involved in US wars, the voters yielded to a compulsion for change. Any change!
It is not logical, but either is the body politic. When there are so few real logical choices change seems to be the rule.
The trend is moving in that direction in other countries too. Other US allies like Australia and Britain. In neither of those countries do the opposition parties present any great differentiation from the incumbent governments, it is simply that they are not the current government.

Like Canada’s Liberals, the Republicans and the incumbents in those other countries, might actually welcome the respite. The depth of corruption, of ethical lapses big and small tends to build over the life of a government.
It is nigh impossible to plug every hole or govern effectively when fending off various assaults. It reaches a point where the most minor issues, lapses which would otherwise be overlooked, just add to the burgeoning pile.

Responding to voter unrest
It probably is unfair on some genuinely decent politicians. But legislatures, administrations are collectives, with collective responsibility. If those genuine politicos genuinely want something better for their constituencies, the first thing they would do is fight to take away from the lawmakers all control over areas of potential self interest. They would fight for the establishment of fully independent corruption watchdogs; they would fight for fully independent electoral commissions; they would fight for independent procurement agencies.
Only by distancing themselves from areas of proven, grasping self interest will they convince Joe Voter that there is actually some equity in our collective political systems.

West Papua Crisis

I had a bit of fun last week with the Australian/Indonesian cartoon war, perhaps the underlying issue needs to be dealt with now.

The cartoon war was triggered by Australia giving temporary refuge to a group of West Papuan boat people. The reaction of the Indonesians to the Australian moves underscores their concern over a continuing push for West Papuan independence.

The unrest stems back to 1952, when the Netherlands recognised Papuan self-determination as a right in accordance with Article 73 of the Charter of the United Nations, and began preparing the nation for independence.

The territory was given a governor and an administration of its own, directly under the Hague. Had not Indonesia interfered, West Papua would have achieved self-determination by 1970.
Indonesia claimed the territory on the basis that New Guinea formed part of the colonial territory of the Dutch East Indies. Between 1954 and 1960, West New Guinea was an annual issue for discussion at the UN General Assembly.

But it was one of those backroom deals between nations which saw Papua absorbed fully into Indonesian control. That control has never sat well with the people of the province.

Where is it?

West Papua, the western half of the New Guinea island, termed "Irian Jaya province", or, more recently, "Papua" under Indonesian control, is just under five times the size of the island of Ireland, and is immense in its tribal and ecological diversity. It has some 240 different tribal peoples, each with its own language and culture. Indigenous Papuans in West Papua and Papua New Guinea speak some 15% of the world's known languages. West Papua together with the rest of the island of New Guinea, are the lungs of the Asia-Pacific, containing the last great surviving virgin rainforest after the Amazon.

You can find out more from:

West Papuan Action

Papua Press Agency

West Papua Information Kit

WEST PAPUA HOMEPAGE

There are many more Internet sources about West Papua. Independence is critical issue for these people. Have a look around and offer your support for their aim of self determination.

DeLay headlining frenzy

The Tom DeLay saga is difficult to just put aside. So much of it goes to the heart of ethical government, in the US and beyond. predictably the resignation has spawned a rash of headlines around the web spur some odd thoughts, others are just odd:
DeLay legacy: Corruption This is an op-ed piece from – Palm Beach Post
Rep. Tom DeLay is leaving Congress. He blames "liberal Democrats," but if he wants to blame someone other than himself - and, of course, he does - Rep. DeLay should blame Republican enablers who were content to let him misuse power so long as they benefited.
A reasonable summary, but as a side thought: How thick skinned are these so-called leaders that they can risk going down in history, their own legacy, as outright crooks? A second thought, given the reigning culture of entitlement, is the blame factor the writer alludes to.
DeLay Blames 'Politics of Personal Destruction' ABC News
The ‘Legacy’ word pops up in other headlines:
Departing DeLay leaves troubled legacy for GOP Arizona Republic
Or a little more cleverly: DeLay is Gone, But DeLayism Continues, Activists Say Political Affairs Magazine, NY and
The culture of corruption will outlast Tom Delay - Working for Change

I really like the coy: Hurt by taint of corruption, DeLay decides to step down Globe and Mail, Canada
Thos Canadians can be so damned polite! Taint of corruption? I would have thought it was the full, unfiltered sewage works.
Compare that to the ‘pull no punches’: Arianna Huffington: Tom DeLay's 1.3 Million Reasons for Calling It Quits From Yahoo News. Or the even more blunt: Rivera Happy that “Dark Lord” DeLay is Gone.
And cruel but funny: CNN’s Jack Cafferty Calls Tom DeLay “A Cocky Little Bandy Rooster” - NewsBusters


Is the real depth of the man is revealed with this one? DeLay Says He'll File Ethics Complaint Against McKinney. In Human Events they run the story of the parting DeLay, quoting: “If nobody in this House files an ethics charge, I am,” DeLay said in response to a question about McKinney. “Her behavior is outrageous. And it’s not the only time.”
Personally I would have thought that even the “Dark Lord” might have more pressing issues to deal with, notwithstanding his well known concern for ethics.

These are cute, maybe some sub-editors will dine out on them for a few days.
DeLay reaction MyWestTexas.com, TX
Foes want Ohio's Ney to follow DeLay; he says no way Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH
Ney: ‘I Am Not DeLay,’ Rules Out Retirement Wheeling Intelligencer
And just plain curious: The Cheery New Face at CBS News; Tom DeLay to Quit; Lab-grown Organs Are Here phillyBurbs.com, PA or…
Powerline: Tom DeLay "too liberal" Minneapolis City Pages, MN

There is also a reminder that the tiny Pacific island protectorate, Guam is a as American as ‘apple pie’ and intertwined with the DeLay story:
No loss for Guam with DeLay out Pacific Daily News, GU Before he was swept up in a lobbying scandal, a Tom DeLay resignation from the US House of Representatives might have meant a loss of an ally or an adversary ...
Camacho's opponents deny involvement with Abramoff scandal KUAM.com
Election questions linger Pacific Daily News
Alleged strategy for Ada-Camacho campaign was to smear Gutierrez KUAM.com
It's a crazy old world, but each to their own...

Those schizophrenic Canadians

Ipsos Reid have been talking to those Canadians again, seeking their views on political utopia.

According to their latest release: “most Canadians feel the minority-governing Conservatives and the opposition parties have a responsibility to try, as best as possible, to make the current government functional.”

The minority Conservative government is expected, by the people, to:

· “Have a responsibility to listen to the opposition parties and amend their policies to prevent being defeated”(78% agree, 39% of those “strongly agree”); and that they

· “Were elected on a clear platform and should implement these policies even if they risk being defeated by the opposition parties” (75% agree, 36% of those “strongly agree”).

Funnily enough, when the questions were reversed and focused on the oppositions need to be cooperative, the responses were pretty much the same.

I don't know if the Canadian voters are schizophrenic, or is it just a case of; “tell what they want to hear Beryl so they’ll just piss off!”

I know most Canadians would love nothing more than a political utopia, where everyone ‘just got along’. If that were really the case then why have elections and choose between competing policy positions? We could just appoint a bunch of well meaning people to sort things out over a cup of tea and biscuits.

Instead of the ‘polity’ we could call it the ‘politey’ and any potentially divisive issues would of course be banned. No talk of war, or those dreaded homosexual; no sidetracking down abortion lane.

Not that Canadians are opposed to a bit of heated discussion, but that is generally reserved for ice hockey, which makes sense if you think about it. More and more sport is playing the role of ‘aggression valve’ in the world.

So there you have it, let the arguments be about sports and the politics can become an agreeable side issue, preferable one rarely visited.

Kind Words for DeLay

Rep. Tom DeLay (R.-Tex.) announces his retirement after 22 years of public service, and how to Democrats react? With a thank you? Nah. These are Democrats we’re talking about.

Instead of recognizing this public servant’s devotion to government, Democrats last night decided to go on the attack. Like him or hate, DeLay at least deserves thanks for his commitment to public service. RightAngle (Human Events Online)

I wasn’t going to get into the DeLay Day celebrations; after all I’m just an observer not a participant. But then I happened on this wonderfully illogical commentary.

To be honest, I thought it was a send up, you know – sort of liberals pretending to be fascists taking the piss out of liberals to show the fascists up as wanks. But I was wrong, this bloke was serious, they can show themselves as wanks with no outside help.

So come on all you mean hearted liberal bastards, how about finding something nice to say about Tom, as a sort of going away present.

House Majority Leader John Boehner didn’t have any problem suck holing his predecessor: “He has served our nation with integrity and honor, and I'm honored to call him my colleague and friend.”

As they say, the only difference between a shithead and a brown nose is perspective!

But come on; let’s hear how he’s got a great golf swing, of how gracious he is to allow someone else to take a swing at congress. How about some accolades for DeLay the lobbyist? You know damn well he’ll deliver the goods.

What about the fact that Tom was willing to put his neck in the noose to make sure other candidates had the readies required to fight their own elections? Selfless or what?

On the other hand you could just make those raspberries louder and longer.

Canadians Talk fresh elections

According to an Ipsos Reid (IR) poll Canadians are giving serious thought to the acceptable lifetime of the recently elected minority Conservative government. Unlike the USA, there is no fixed period for parliamentary election, and as we’ve already seen, a government can be booted from office at any time.

But when a vote of no-confidence ‘brings the house down’, it is usually no laughing matter. People generally resent having to show up at the polls at a too regular frequency to sort out what elected members cannot.

That makes this Ipsos Reid poll particularly interesting, because it suggest that Canadians or at least 60% of them, have put a notional time limit on the parliament ranging from 6% who want to go back to the polls to 22% who are willing to give the government up to 2 years.

The actual figures are:

· Six percent say as “as soon as possible”;

· 10% say “sometime in the next six months”

· 23% say “not for another twelve months”;

· 22% say “not for another two years”; and

· 36% say “not until their term runs out in about four years from now”.

For the benefit of mikevotes and others who like to see the detail of the polls I’ve put PDF files here for the news release and the tables. However I think we can trust the credibility of IR who broke down the reasoning for a fresh election to:

“…the five priorities the Conservatives have said they will deliver on for Canadians, half feel that if they don’t “clean up government by passing the federal accountability act” (53%), “work with the provinces to establish Patient Wait Times Guarantee” (51%), and “make our streets and communities safe by cracking down on crime” (50%), the opposition should force an election.”

I can understand why those issues feature, although it is somewhat distressing to see ‘Law and Order’, the old political ‘pea and thimble’ trick, in the list.

Curiously what is not mentioned is the only issue I am hearing discussed; Canada’s increased involvement in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Harper was cagy on two issues leading up to the election, his Christian Right supporter base and his pro war stand. He will no doubt pander to his Christian buddies, and meddle in what are essentially non political issues.

More troubling is the unheralded escalation of the country’s military stance into a frontline position. Kandahar is not the peacekeeping zone Canadians are used to supporting, it is a war zone. The full import of 'Operation Enduring Freedom' only came home to most Canadians with the first body bag.

As the father of one of the soldiers already killed in that operation puts it: “My son is readying for war. If only I could be sure of what he was fighting for.” Time Canada

A review of Canadian media headlines rates concern of the country’s entry into this adventure as a key concern, but I guess IR didn’t see it the same way and simply didn’t allow for the question.

I look forward to seeing another attempt by IR after a few more body bags come home. No doubt the Canadian military have finally been given the opportunity to strut their stuff in a real engagement, but it remains to be seen whether Canadian voters share their dreams of glory.

As one Canadian voter put it to me recently: "I'd rather have politicians who are pilfering the public purse than ones who send our kids off to war; especially a war which has nothing to do with us.”

An odd flavored democracy

The weekend’s election in Thailand has been a fascinating study in political dynamics. Former telco billionaire and current Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is fighting desperately to hold onto the reigns of power.

His first term government was dogged by scandal which drove the chaos in urban Thailand throughout the campaign period. Middle class urban voters are determined to dump the sticky PM who holds on through a strong rural voter base.

Voting is compulsory in Thailand, but has a curious option on the ballot for a simple "NO, I don’t want to cast a vote". This came into play in a big way at the weekend as most opposition parties took the high ground and refused to participate in the election. A vote against Thaksin essentially became the ‘no vote’.

The Election Commission said 50.1 per cent of voters in the capital had marked their ballot papers "no vote", versus 45.9 per cent who supported candidates of Mr Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party.

Countrywide Thaksin claims 60 percent of the vote. His party got 16 million votes, compared to about 10 million `no votes' and other parties, according to Thaksin. A tally by Thai television station iTV indicated his party had received 44.4 percent of the popular vote nationwide, with 85 percent, or 28,084,686 votes counted. The Election Commission has not yet released comprehensive official vote totals.

As a further complication the opposition boycott of the poll left Thaksin's ruling party uncontested in 278 of 400 constituencies for the lower house of Parliament, leaving little doubt from the start about the outcome.
Minimum turnout requirements mean some parliamentary seats will remain vacant. This will force a series of by-elections that delay the convening of a new Parliament and raise constitutional questions about whether Thaksin can form a government without another national election.

It is early days yet, as the official figures are not yet released, but we can expect the demonstrations against the Thai government to continue, at least in Bangkok. Thai flavoured democracy sure has a spicy tang to it.

Ancient forests' fight is on

The recent election in Tasmania (Australia) gave rise to serious concern about the future of the islands ancient forests. By close of voting it looked like the Greens party, protector of the State's fragile environment was on the road to annihilation.
By the end of last week the re-election of their fourth sitting member, Kim Booth, was confirmed. While the result does not put the Greens into any stronger position in the parliament it is an obvious cause for concern among the State’s forestry sector.
Since the election result was announce there has been a flurry of activity to mitigate any influence the Green’s and their community equivalent, the wilderness Society might now have.
The logging industry claims that Wilderness Society television advertisements screened during the election campaign advocated voting for the Greens and were political.
Logging industry representatives want the society's tax-deductible status reviewed by the Federal Government, saying the advertisements went beyond environmental advocacy to political advocacy.
Society campaign coordinator Geoff Law says the logging industry is trying to stifle debate."We ran the advertisements about old-growth logging with the intention of getting positive policies from all political parties."
Legal muscle on civil rights (Hobart Mecury)
That counterclaim comes as a legal push to protect corporate protesters from lawsuits, such as the Gunns 20 action get underway. More than 145 lawyers have backed a call for legal reform to protect freedom of speech and to make public participation in political debate a right.
The Gunning For Change report author Greg Ogle said legal action and threats scared people into silence.
"Lawsuits against community activists have a chilling effect on freedom of speech and the rights and abilities of the community to engage in political action."
Gunns Limited, Australia’s biggest hardwood sawmill and the world biggest hardwood woodchip exporter, is suing 20 environmentalists and groups, including federal Greens leader Bob Brown and The Wilderness Society, for more than $6 million.
So the concern expressed in our recent Democracy for Sale blog is somewhat lessened by these fascinating news pieces. I know first hand that the Tasmanian Forestry sector are an arrogant bunch who would barely raise a finger unless there was a very real threat.
For many years they believed that simply ignoring the conservationists, denying them airtime, would be enough to kill the threat. It didn’t.
That Gunns and others in the industry are now so active in fighting the threat to their freedom to destroy the ancient forests of Tasmania, including the threatened Florentine and Styx Valley’s shows more than anything that the fight is still well and truly alive.

Cartoon diplomacy a croc

After the storm in a tea cup, over that infamous Danish cartoon the Asia-Pacific version blew up this week when an Indonesian newspaper cartoon depicted Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Foreign Minster Downer as a pair of dingoes, with Howard screwing Downer.

It was a pretty pathetic effort as cartoons go and gave most Australians a good belly laugh. In response award winning Australian cartoonist, Bill Leak, released his own cartoon in the Weekend Australian depicting the Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as a dog mounting a Papuan while saying: "Don't take this the wrong way …" The caption reads: "No Offence Intended."

Well what do you know, the Indonesians ore offended by Leak’s cartoon. If ever we needed it, this is a prime example of political correctness out of control. In this instance, if it is not bad enough for the Indonesian to launch their ingenuous rant about the Australian cartoon, the arse licking Aussie FM wades in to inflame the sensitive little flowers of Indonesia.

This is the very same Foreign Minister caught up in a trail of lies of the UN oil-for-food scandal. The same guy who can’t find it in him to admit to documented facts. He is the one who is willing to offend the Australian voters’ perception of ministers of state.

PC, political correctness, is a crock of shit! At best it might give breathing space to social minorities as they adapt to the rest of society, but it should not be a crutch. At worst PC becomes a blind from which attacks can be launched before retreat to the safety of so called propriety.

PC is one of the factors which allows and feeds the terrorism bogey. Islamists hide behind it, just as extremist religious groups do. As to Indonesia, they hardly have any claim to minority status, representing the fourth largest population in the world.

Predictably they some Indonesian saw fit to launch their pathetic cartoon attack, then duck back under cover of their precious sensitivities. It is school yard stuff, pathetic and juvenile. But when I was in the school yard there was a rule – if you can dish the shit you’d better be able to take it back, because it will come back.

In the process it is all about a non issue. The people of West Papua (New Guinea) could never rely on the Australian government to promote their claims for independence from their Indonesian oppressors.

The Indonesians know that, but I expect they are still smarting over losing East Timor. At least they can be honest about their motives, they being both Indonesians and Australiana.

Farmers, lock up your piggies

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Great Indonesian Cartoon Scandal

As an addendum to the ‘Great Indonesian Cartoon Scandal’ reported yesterday (below) at some tedious length; we now have Australian Prime Minister’s response:

"I have been in this game a long time," Mr Howard said. "If I got offended about cartoons, golly — give us a break."

I have been working all night to translate this response for both Australians and all you foreigners out there. The fact is, Australia has a foreign head of State, the Queen of England, and a PM who speaks some strange foreign language.

It should also be noted that Howard is not entirely cognizant of elements of the sexual act, with animals or otherwise. He probably holds the record as the most asexual leader that robust country has ever had.

So my rendering of his response into Australian is something along the lines of: "Bloody hell, give us a break. Look, why don’t you all just fuck off – and get a dog up ya!”

Cartoons a real Downer

Out of fairness, given comments in the story below, I thought it only right to provide you with some of the aforementioned depictions of Australia’s Foreign Minister, The Hon Alexander Downer.

Democracy for Sale

Democracy, or the idea of it, is something we in western economies tend to regard with almost religious fervor. Yet like religion, rather than truly engaging with it, most are along for the ride, content to be taken where the leaderships (church and/or state) command.

Sure they are both complex animals, but that is the function of those holding power not of the basic concepts themselves. I intend, largely for my own satisfaction, to take a look at democracy; the myth and the reality. I’m sure to tread on some toes along the way, but seeing as it is just you and me reading it there is no real damage meant or done.

We are going to start way down South, toward Antarctica, in the Island state of Tasmania where corporate interests have already shown a flair for buying government: Read more here

Muslim cartoon attack a joke

After all the carry on over the infamous Swedish cartoon, Indonesians Islamists have launched their own toon offensive, or is that offensive toon?

It is difficult to know just who they are trying to offend however. Australian’s have a different view of their elected officials, and depicting PM Howard and FM ‘Piggy’ Downer as dingoes screwing is pretty lame by that country’s standards.

Downer is often depicted, cartoon wise, in net hose and heels. In a tough ‘blokey’ country ‘Piggy’ is already seen as a bit of a ‘nancy’, and needless to say, a joke.

Depicting the Prime Minister ‘sexually’ is offensive to some of who simply can’t imagine anything more gross. The man was not elected for his sexual charms. In fact it is rumoured that even his hand goes to sleep first in bed.

But there is a serious side to this issue, and it’s about Indonesia’s continued hegemony over West Papua (New Guinea). This latest ‘storm in a tea cup began when Australia signaled that it would give refuge to a group of Papuan refugees.

Even John Howard was not so base as to send these people back to almost certain execution. On the other hand Howard, and Indonesian Authorities understand this well, will in no way entertain independence for West Papua.

I guess what the Indons are really worried about is the Australian people. Howard wasn’t too keen on helping East Timor gain independence either, and was forced only by massive public opinion to take action.

Once that tiny nation came into being the Howard Government made the best of the situation and raped them for the lion’s share of the Timor Sea oil wealth.

It’s more about Oriental fireworks and noise making than any political realities. West Papua should have the right to self determination, but it is not going to happen soon.

Inane cartoons could well prove counter productive so far as the Australian public is concerned. For most, the hapless West Papuans barely exist. If it wasn’t for activists like science personality Tim Flannery few Aussies would have a clue or even care what was beyond their Northern coast line.

So good on you Indonesia for lifting this subject into the light and allowing people a closer look at how brutally the worlds fourth largest population views the wider world.

Idiocy of voting technology

I’ve been musing privately of late over the inane introduction of electronic voting in the US. You can get all sorts of electronic gadgets these days, but research shows that most of them end up idle at the back of a cupboard.
“Why on earth,” I keep asking myself, “do you ignore a tried and true method of registering a vote and toy with gadgets?”
Fair enough that those of us from countries aligned with the British Commonwealth are considered a tad backwards to some Americans. It took us years to before we made cars with chromium fins. Some of us didn’t even have TV before the late 1950s.
Not that there is a blanket repudiation of technology under British influence, more a tendency to stick with what works. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it…
Voting is one of those areas we, that is Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many other places, where simple is still seen as best.
No need expensive network infrastructure, no machines, computers, punches or things that can go wrong. We don’t tempt Murphy’s or Sod’s law. If it can go wrong it will, and voting is too important.
Polling places supply ‘hard copy’ lists of enrolled voters. Officials use a good old wooden rule to sight across the page, Surname, given name and address. Then they use a good old pen to mark through the details once a ballot paper is issued.
Note: Ballot PAPER. Yes a piece of ordinary paper with the candidates names printed on and handy little boxes to tick or number to signify the voters choice. Voters can mark these pieces of paper with a pen or pencil supplied or their own.
When the polls close officials gather these papers, in the presence of scrutineers, and separate them, in the first instance to piles representing the first preference the voter has marked on the paper.
True the results are fed into a computer once the count has been completed to each level, but afterwards there are these bits of paper which act like a receipt, something which can be checked and rechecked.
Sure things can go wrong, a pen can run out of ink or a lead break on a pencil, but I’m sure these officials, clerical types that they are, have plenty of backup in that department.
The thing is it is uncomplicated, it works and it costs a fraction of the price to set up and maintain.
What I really enjoy about paper ballots, having had the opportunity to scrutineer a few times, are the terse messages written on some papers. It’s a waste of time of course, as they go into an invalid vote pile. But they are entertaining for those who do see them.
Come on America; take a step back from technology to something that really does work. I vote for paper and pen voting!