<< GOUGHFEST 2005 ~ MAIN ~ FAITH-BASED REPORTING >>
MESSAGE IGNORED
Liberal wimp John Valder demands that the Prime Minister follow public opinion:
Don’t forget, Mr Howard, that if ever there is a terrorist attack in Australia, it is you personally who must take the lion’s share of the blame for it as a result of your rushing to support George Bush in the Iraq war. Remember how you flew in the very face of public opinion, as evidenced by those huge street marches back in February 2003, and whose clear message you just chose to ignore.
Possibly because he was listening to other, more coherent messages, from people who aren’t into street puppetry and dirt baths. Here’s Tony Wright in this week’s Bulletin:
A month ago, The Bulletin pointed out during a long interview with Prime Minister John Howard that he had copped strong criticism for proposing draconian anti-terrorist legislation.
Howard blinked and declared: “Not in the community, I haven’t.”
From commentators, then, The Bulletin persisted.
The prime minister gave one of his knowing looks.
“Oh, very much so,” he volunteered happily. “It’s a commentariat issue. The public has worked it out. The public is very much in support of what we’re doing.”
John Howard is rarely so comfortable as when he believes the public is on side and “the commentariat”, by which he means the left-leaning chattering class, is at odds with him.
Less than a fortnight later, the favoured newspapers of those same chattering classes, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, published a poll that agreed overwhelmingly with his view.
“Voters say yes to terror Australis,” the front page of the Herald screamed. The poll found that three-quarters of the voting public thought it was fine to lock up suspected terrorists without charge, put them under house arrest or shackle them with tracking devices.
The Herald later corrected that figure; seems only 66% suppported Howard. Still, that’s a much bigger slice of Australian opinion than represented by 2003’s skanky marchers. As Valder—who evidently suffers Margolian spelling issues—might say, this “encpasulates” just how “seriusly” the public regards terrorism.
ABC’s permanent lump Phil Adamski is onto all this, fortunately. He spent 9 whole minutes interviewing an obscure bloke who was arrested for acting ‘suspiciously’ with a backpack and mobile on a train station in London.
An example of ‘what can happen with these new laws’, said Phil ominously.
After 8 minutes, we found out that the bloke was treated well, soon released and had written to his MP, who is a civil rights lawyer! [Writ to follow?]The foreign-sounding bloke then contradicted Admaski who believed ‘several stations were evacuated’ because of this stupid suspicion.
Bloke ended by saying that it ‘was something that was to be expected ‘in the present climate in London.
What a disappointment!Oh the revelations! Oh the pity and horror!
Worse than Abu Ghraib!
Thank God we have Admaski exposing all these crimes.O/T No-Pasaran has the latest unibody countNo-Pasaran
One of my favourite leftist contradictions is their steadfast belief that military conflicts are a cause for humanitarian concern, but doing nothing isn’t.
When the politicians (left and right) listened to the Australia people during the 1970s we turned our back on Asia and millions died in Cambodia.
Its disappointing that so many only perceive actions as being wrong, rather than inactions.
Nothing on Margoville about the lovely chaps assaulting the members of the press. maybe if they were seen handing out liberal party leaflets a bit earlier…
Posted by thefrollickingmole on 2005 11 09 at 05:02 AM • permalinkOf course, Valder was one of the people involved with Not Happy, John.
So Valder is the sort of dick who would blame society if someone broke into his house and murdered his wife.
He is an idiot.
Posted by Major Anya on 2005 11 09 at 05:16 AM • permalinkI see Jon Stanhope via ABC online is trotting out the same stuff as Valder ie Iraq involvement increased terror risk. Pray tell Mr Stanhope how many French troops were involved in that “illegal” invasion? I bet those 3 poor christian Indonesian school girls were somehow involved in Iraq invasion as well. The Afghan campaign of course has been officially excused by bin Laden as reason for violence.
One wonders what these people would have said in 1939 and Britain declared war on Nazi Germany? And of course everything I have said above has been said a thousand times on this site so why do I bother? They are brick wall conversationalistsPosted by the nailgun on 2005 11 09 at 05:24 AM • permalink#14 - andrea - when did teemo register?
#18 - Don’t worry about those Indonesian christian girls - people like Mr Stanhope have it under control - they will liaise with their numerous highly placed friends in the jihadi community (such as Imam Weerin Kahoots) and make sure it does not happen again.
Until then, any mention of it is an attack on muslims.
/sarcEast Timor has of course also been cited as a reason for Islamist revenge on the West. As has the retaking of Spain and Sicily.
One wonders what these people would have said in 1939 and Britain declared war on Nazi Germany?
Oh, “these people” existed in 1939, and they squealed the same squeals then that they squeal today.
I read recently, I think in Freakonomics, that politicans know they can safely ignore public protests. Certainly Mr Howard knows this.
Protesters are noisy and occasionally articulate but even when 100s or 1000s are marching in the streets they are still a small minority. Only committed and motivated types - mostly always liberals - march in the streets.
So Mr Howard took no notice of reconciliation and refugee protests - and now he can safely ignore terror low protestors
Posted by walterplinge on 2005 11 09 at 06:18 AM • permalinkJohn Valder is from that old mind your own business school of liberals. If it ain’t happening to me don’t get involved. Hey if the Mafia are collecting protection money from the shop next door, don’t get involved. The problem is that this weakness is noticed by the Mafia, and sooner or later they come to you and your isolated, weak and vulnerable. However if everyone unites to repel the Mafia they can’t compete. They go elsewhere. So, as Peter Garret said its better to die on your feet than live on your knees (not that he would know as he wants the whole nation to live on its knees). We can stand up and fight with our friends, or we can lie low, hope our friends win, and if they don’t? Well then you just wait to die!
Posted by platey mates on 2005 11 09 at 07:11 AM • permalinkArab/Islamist hatred goes unchecked in other quarters - and once again the world looks on and is ‘concerned’:
Christopher Hitchens
It looks as if the realists have won the day in the matter of Darfur. Or, to phrase it in another way, it looks as if the ethnic cleansers of that province have made good use of the “negotiation” and “mediation” period to complete their self-appointed task. As my friend Johann Hari put it recently in the London Independent: “At last, some good news from Darfur: the genocide in western Sudan is nearly over. There’s only one problem—it’s drawing to an end only because there are no black people left to cleanse or kill.
http://www.slate.com/id/2129657/blogstrop: teemo joined in September. Why?
Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2005 11 09 at 07:57 AM • permalinkInsomnia is a terrible affliction, Vinny.
Besides, I was out of town, just 4 days from riding the all same lines that got bombed July 7, and my daughter lives 2 minutes from the No 30 buses.
After that I watched backpackers and black burka-clad women on the buses and trains very closely too.
Quite ridiculous to Phil, I know, but I was taking an interest.
Page 1 of 1 pages
Members:
Login | Register
| Member List
Didn’t the polls show majority support for military action prior to the liberation?
I remember thinking at the time how the polls (which had swung to favouring our involvement after initially being against it) had wrong footed the anti-war critics because they had all been crowing about how the PM should listen to the “voice of the people” - until the “voice of the people” turned against them - then they became unrepresentative swill!