Disaster Capitalism

Disaster Capitalism

 

In other news…

Better the devil you know?

 

Howard’s appeal on 60 Minutes tonight fits right into the well-worn Disaster Strategy.

 

On the one hand:

you’ve never had it so good

but on the other:

“these are savage, uncertain and untamed times”.

In other words, you should feel disoriented and anxious and hang on to what you know.

“Love me or loathe me, people know where I stand and what I believe in.”

Quite so, John.

It’s just that we hate what you stand for and despise what you believe in and we don’t want any more of it.

…But We Weren’t

…But We Weren’t

Moe Keelty – yet again

 

Let’s not mince words about Indonesia. While most of its ordinary people, at least the ones we have met, are in the range from friendly to wonderful, it has seemed to us, looking at reasonably recent history, that for the most part Moe Keelty’s Indonesian friends, the police, and their friends  – politicians, military, police, judiciary – are corrupt, ignorant, stupid, racist, bigoted and brutal.

But, you know, we knew we could be wrong.

But we weren’t.

” JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) Indonesia’s anti-terrorism chief was relaxed as he mingled with the guests on his lawn. Muslim hard-liners swapped tales of al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan and the Philippines. Convicted Bali nightclub bombers feasted on kebabs. 

Indonesian law enforcement – Moe Keelty’s friends.

Three Stooges

Three Stooges

Howard’s 3 Stooges

 

Predictably enough, the rightwing’s stooges are being wheeled out to divert the taint of almost inevitable defeat away from John Howard.

Downer

Larry” Downer is a self-deluding fop and a dandy. He’s a joke. But as long as he is in the cabinet he’s a dangerous joke.

He tells Australia that he has sent “a firm message” to the Burmese military thugs to tell them to stop being naughty. I bet the certifiably deranged General Than Shwe is quaking in his jackboots and is preparing to call elections and hand over power to Aung San Suu Kyi on the basis of Larry Downer’s polite finger wagging. I bet he really cares what Downer thinks.

Meanwhile as Minister for Foreign Affairs Downer has been in charge of one of the most disgraceful – and furtive – exercises in complicity with corruption, by which Australia supports – with AFP personnel – a brutal police state which ruthlessly subjugates its people – all with the help of the joke who is the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police.

 

Keelty

Yes, the man who has been running the AFP assistance to the Myanmar police thugs is our favourite Stooge, “my PM right or wrong, and how else can I subvert democracy for you today, John”, “Moe” Keelty.

Keelty, who has declared war on “teh climate” for christ’s sake, and presumably won’t be satisfied until the climate is totally destroyed. Keelty, who is in bed with Indonesia in the most obscene way and who, as AFP Commissioner, complaisantly condemned stupid Australian kids to possible/probable death by firing squad surely only to please the Indonesians instead of doing the right thing and arresting them back in Australia where they would face a real justice system with some integrity. Let’s not mince words about Indonesia. While most of its ordinary people, at least the ones we have met, are in the range from friendly to wonderful, it seems to us, looking at reasonably recent history, that for the most part Moe Keelty’s Indonesian friends – its politicians, military, police and judiciary – are corrupt, ignorant, stupid, racist, bigoted and brutal. But, you know, we could be wrong.

 

Andrews

And then there’s the other Stooge, “Curly” Andrews.

Now, people ought to stop taking his latest outburst about Sudanese refugees seriously.

It was not a considered or serious position. It was not about real policy. Don’t look for justification or evidence to support his assertions. It wasn’t intended for you. It was a dog-whistle intended only for the loony right, Pauline’s mob. You can see it was intended for her lot because:

” Speaking at a Gold Coast Media Club function today, Ms Hanson said she welcomed Mr Andrews’ move, adding, “It’s been recorded in Victoria that there is a 25 per cent increase in HIV.

“There is TB, and a case of leprosy which has been recorded in South Australia.”

Ms Hanson said the federal government had a responsibility to ensure the safety of Australians.

“You can’t bring people into the country who are incompatible with our way of life and culture,” she said.

“They get around in gangs and there is escalating crime that is happening.”

Score one to Kevin Andrews and John Howard. After all, they need to bolster all the support they can get, even if it is the crazies, the filth.

Strangely enough, these claims have been made before by other racists, too.

Jingoistic Tamworth Mayor, James Treloar, tried to keep Sudanese refugees out of Tamworth earlier this year, claiming that:

” They have been before the courts on numerous charges. Of the 12 Sudanese people who live in Tamworth, eight have been before the courts for everything from dangerous driving to rape.

In an earlier post, we noted

” an uncanny similarity between [Treloar’s] claim and a 2004 British editorial claiming that,

the papers have revelled this month in reporting on court cases against asylum seekers for everything from dangerous driving to rape.

Tamworth police, however, have denied any local Sudanese people have been charged over a matter of a sexual nature.

According to Acting Police Commander, Greig Stier

“They are a very small representation, in the two years of research that I can give you, in relation to being involved with police. And the times they are involved with police are minor traffic matters, are the majority of those offences.”

[Mayor Treloar] said that

“They come from countries where there are outbreaks of TB and polio. How can we trust the department to screen those things?”

Observers noted an uncanny similarity between [Treloar’s] health scare and a claim by … Pauline Hanson, that federal parliamentary secretary for immigration, Andrew Robb, had admitted on television that the Government was letting in many ‘black South Africans’ with health issues.

[He] indicated there was around about 37 per cent of black South Africans that were coming in with ongoing health issues … “There’s increasing numbers of TB (tuberculosis) and they have picked up … it could be almost one third that actually carries TB.”

Strangely enough, people like Pat Buchanan and Newt Gingrich claim that

” Illegal aliens have tuberculosis and leprosy.”
“Many of them are child molesters, they’re drunk drivers and rapists and robbers.”

Gosh! It’s almost as if there’s international collusion between all these racists!

Well, we know a number of Sudanese people. In our experience we have found those we have met to be universally charming, full of life and laughter, and keen to participate and make a life in Australia. Which is extraordinary considering the circumstances which brought them here. (Quite a contrast to the stooges, Hanson and the right generally, whom we find almost universally ignorant, bigoted, nasty, hateful, judgmental and life denying.)

Only a few more sleeps and perhaps we can wake up from this nightmare.

Loose Ends, Bad Ends

Loose Ends, Bad Ends

  

Loose ends:

 

‘Lying’ Downer,

the Minister for opening his mouth and seeing what comes out, denying everything on principal and making it up as he goes

”  has rejected claims of a major connection between opium production in Afghanistan and funding of the Taliban, al-Qaeda and terrorist groups in South-East Asia.”

Also, water flows uphill.

Philip Ruddock

this week opined that people are sick of opinion polls and won’t decide whom to vote for until the campaign gets under way.

”  I think people have been polled out, quite frankly…In the end, I think people do make their judgments not only on your record but on the vision you have for the future…”

What he meant to say was that coalition politicians are sick of opinion polls that keep showing Labor with a 14-point 2PP lead.

Also, according to Friday’s Burson-Marsteller survey of 1156 voters only 77% of them have firmly decided whom they’ll vote for, and only 56% of them have decided to vote for Labor.

Also, we agree that the coalition has done a good job of articulating its vision for the future: more of the same, lots more, except meaner and greyer and colder.

Howard

Despite his determination to paint every Australian as a Palestinian-style terrorist who just can’t be trusted, a delinquent intent on murder and mayhem, who deserves to be locked away from the cringingly-fearful Israeli-style power elites behind a three-metre high steel wall, Howard is proud of the opportunity to display one of the beautiful cities of the world (minus inhabitants, of course) to his powerful pals. It’s just so sad that they won’t be able to see anything of the city except for, you know, a three-metre high steel wall.

 

 

Bad End

 

Alberto Gonzalez

Bush’s nasty, slimy, footpad, redefines “American Dream”, “lead”, “public service”, “honorable”, and “noble”.

Video evidence:

Also evidence of his slimy dishonesty :

George Bush

redefines “integrity”, “decency”, “principle”, “service”, “good name”, “talented”, “honorable”

Senator Chuck Schumer (D)

covers more of the ground here.

What Cheney Really Thinks

What Cheney Really Thinks

Invading Baghdad Would Create a Quagmire

 

In this interview from April 15th, 1994 Dick Cheney reveals the reasons why invading Baghdad and toppling Saddam Hussein‘s regime wouldn’t be a great idea. He also stipulates that “not very many” American soldiers’ lives were worth losing to take out Saddam during the Gulf War.

Less than a decade later …… ?

Feel we need a shower to cleanse ourselves of this man’s ordure. What an immoral hypocrite he really is! And one of Howard’s “mates”.

Now with Karl Rove deserting the sinking ship on 31 August, perhaps Cheney won’t be far behind. At least he will be more isolated than ever.

Haneef “Not Uninnocent”

Haneef “Not Uninnocent”

 

The materials available to me

While there are inferences that are available from the material I have, I am of the view that they are not sufficiently strong to exclude reasonable hypotheses consistent with innocence.”

– Damien Bugg, DPP

Did the Government interfere in any way with the investigation of Haneef, the charges brought against him and the withdrawal of his visa?

I am advised to aver that there are inferences that may be drawn from the material that is available and that such inferences are not inconsistent with any number of hypotheses, including that Mr Howard may have jumped up and down with glee when Dr Haneef was apprehended at the airport, that Mr Ruddock lit the black candle, donned his black hood, rubbed his skeletal hands with grim and cold satisfaction and began practising his hangman’s knot, and that Kevin Rudd said, “Shit! another wedging attempt! Memo to troops: say nothing and do nothing!” However, I am also bound to assert that whilst such hypotheses may not be inconsistent with the materials available to me, the material is at the same time not inconsistent also with other hypotheses which are themselves not inconsistent with innocence and which a reasonable person may think do not exclude the possiblity of lack of guilt.

You mean they were probably all over the Haneef affair like a rash but you can’t prove it?

Your hypothetical distillation of my exposition of the matters pertinent is unable to be confirmed by the person standing before you.

Why not?

I am not unconstrained by the requirement to utilise linguistic circumlocutions characterised by the passive voice, double negatives, arcane concepts and elaborately constructed sentences designed to confuse and obfuscate thereby ensuring that recipients of such communications are not unmistaken as to the purport of the communiqué.

You have to bloviate.

It may be not incorrectly hypothesised that a reasonable person might form the inference that the proposition which has been put by my interlocutor is sufficiently persuasive as to have a reasonable prospect of securing a conviction.

Meanwhile, Kevin Rudd is reported¹ to have commented,

“Fuck! Fucking fuck! How the fuck can I fucking well claim a fucking moral victory now? Who’s the fuckwit who told me to say nothing, do nothing? Why didn’t the fucking bastards tell me they were going to fuck the whole fucking business up! Cunts!”

¹Whilst there are inferences that may be drawn from the material available, we are of the view that they are not sufficiently strong to exclude reasonable hypotheses consistent with Mr Rudd’s innocence of the use of the quoted expletives.