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ARCHIVES: 8 March - 14 March 2003 XTRY! XTRY! READ ALL ABOUT IT! 11 March 2003Maureen Dowd's The Xanax Cowboy in The New York Times, paints Dubya thus: Mr. Bush is trying to sound rational, not rash. Determined not to be petulant, he seemed tranquilized. It's amazing, but John Howard always sounds tranquilised too. (Or maybe he's just not interested in the boring subject of slaughter. We know his real passion is taxation.) It must come the from the inevitable fragmentation that results from spruiking someone elses cause, a cause the heart knows to be vile and unjust.As Dowd points out, Dubya is in it mainly to avenge his father...remember when he said of Saddam: "He tried to kill my dad!"? And yet grown people continue to follow such a man. Of the other reasons for this certain war, Dowd says: Donald Rumsfeld wants to exorcise the post-Vietnam focus on American imperfections and limitations. Dick Cheney wants to establish America's primacy as the sole superpower. Richard Perle wants to liberate Iraq and remove a mortal threat to Israel. After Desert Storm, Paul Wolfowitz posited that containment is a relic, and that America must aggressively pre-empt nuclear threats. That's a whole bunch of reasons to confuse the dumb shit in the street into agreeing, "Well yeah, let's go git em, whoever in tarnation they are!"
New Labour has now leapfrogged European Social Democracy and even Gaullism and landed in the lap of the most rightwing forces on the planet, from Americas Republican president George Bush to Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi. This result is the most glaring example of the fundamental dislocation between popular political culture and an isolated political class. We are stuck with a government that does not represent us, prosecuting a war we do not want.
In May 1997, the British electorate voted to replace the sleazy, arrogant Tories with someone they believed was full of promise and hope - the ever-smiling Tony Blair.
These are the actions of a regime engaged in a willful charade. These are the actions of a regime that systematically and deliberately is defying the world.
HOWARD IS NOT TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT BULK-BILLING "Predatory ideologue" * John Howard is in fact a silly little man out his depth as he leads Australia down the slippery, blood-soaked slope to ruin. The chorus of disgust with his blind loyalty to George W. Bush is getting larger and louder. Neville Roach writes in The Age: Those who will be particularly tested by this challenge are our leaders. We will soon know whether they are genuinely against this war or have merely paid lip-service to the cause of peace. Will Simon Crean's opposition match that of Arthur Calwell, and Jim Cairns against the Vietnam War? Will he demand that our troops be brought home if America goes to war without UN approval and Australia follows? Will journalists who find the war abhorrent stop merely reporting dispassionately that war seems inevitable, and instead in every article, every editorial, every report, highlight the murder and mayhem that our nation is about to unleash? Will the Christian churches be content with their pleas and prayers for peace, or will they declare those who prosecute this sinful war anathema? Will they lead the faithful in daily processions and round-the-clock vigils until their prayers are answered? Will they ensure their protests are heard by tolling the bells of every church in the land night and day until peace breaks out? * Coined by Anne Summers
"We have not seen any hard intelligence that establishes that Iraq is actively co-operating with al-Qaeda. It is quite clear to me that the Iraq issue is totally unrelated to the war on terror." But in Mr Wilkie's case, he is, I'm not sure how senior to be honest, I'm not sure he's terribly senior, I'm sure in the media he will become increasingly senior over [laughter] the next few days, as is the way with these things but in any case, I may have met him. I don't remember meeting him but I could be wrong there. Isn't our Foreign Minister a little darling? I only hope he's wearing those fish-net stockings when he gets the Mussolini treatment.
A former Liberal Party leader has criticised Prime Minister John Howard's support of the United States for its stance on Iraq. SERBIA'S HOPE BITES A RIGHT WING BULLET 13 March 2003 Norman Mailer recently said: "My long experience with human nature - I'm 80 years old now - suggests that it is possible that fascism, not democracy, is the natural state." He was speaking in particular of events in America since the Bush coup, but the actions of governments and their people since the beginning of time suggest he may be right. The latest example (and there may well be another tomorrow or the day after) is the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. Djindjic played a key role in the 88 days street marches, and was the political figurehead of OTPOR, the student coalition that brought down Slobodan Milosevic. Djindjic was also largely responsible for turning Milosevic over to the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, and has since been instrumental in restoring democracy and cracking down on corruption in the highest places of Serbian business and government. Concurrent with his killing is the beginning of the trial of Milosevic's wife, Mirjana "Mira" Markovic, Serbia's so-called Lady Macbeth, on charges embezzlement in the 1990s. This is a woman to be reckoned with, and while Milorad Lukovic, former commander of one of Milosevic's a special police units has been arrested for the murder, Mira cannot have been completely uninformed. Though far from untarnished, Djindjic was perhaps the last sane man standing in chaotic Serbia. He joins a pantheon of leaders terminated by the vested interests of a corrupt and self-serving Right, while those who committed crimes against humanity--Milosevic, Karadzic, Mladic, and their corrupt cronies, including Mira and Mihalj Kertes--will doubtless live long fruitful lives. Gore Vidal, optimistic that the US will one day reinstate its Constitution, nevertheless claims that he often has his "Mailer moments". He'd be having one today. UMERUHCAN NINNIES SPEW REMAINING BRAINS OVER FREEDOM FRIES 13 March 2003 The land of Adolescent Psychotic Nationalists is responding to France's determination to preserve civilisation by--hang on to your hair (as no one wears hats any more)--renaming French Fries and French Toast Freedom Fries and Freedom Toast. Yep, the laughing stock-cum-serial killer of the world has done it again. Menus in restaurants at Capitol Hill have already made the changes, with eateries all over the country in hot pursuit. Anything called French this or that will automatically become Freedom this or that, including Freedom Dressing, Freedom Ticklers, Freedom Kissing, and so on. Crank up the Star Spangled Banner as you read what sappy chucklehead extraordinaire (oops!), Walter Jones, R-North Carolina, has to say: "I represent a district with multiple military bases that have deployed thousands of troops. As I've watched these men and women wave good-bye to their loved ones, I am reminded of the deep love they have for the freedom of this nation and their desire to fight for the freedom of those who are oppressed overseas. Watching France's self -serving politics of passive aggression in this effort has discouraged me more than I can say." Couldn't bring himself to call France "Freedom," could he? Perhaps Umeruhcans will entertain themselves with this trivial pursuit while their country bombs the shit out of the current and subsequent enemies du jour (oops!).And there they are now: Mr & Mrs Umeruhca unwrapping those McFreedom burgers 'n' fries on the TV tray as they prepare to watch another round of jingoism about how they are the greatest blessing to mankind since Attila the Hun. "Now what do we call that awful language they speak over there?" wonders Mr Um. "Don't you worry none," says Mrs Er. "Mr Bush will figger it out." Before Shrub-a-dub spends too much time exerting all five per cent of his available grey matter to solve this problem, maybe someone will tell Him that French Fries and French Toast were invented by a White House chef in the 19th century. His name was Mr. French and he was an Umeruhcan. CNN story AMERICA'S VICEROY ADDRESSES A FALLEN NATION 14 March 2003 Like all rulers hated by a substantial percentage of the population, John W. Howard changed the venue of his National Press Club speech at the last minute, moving to the safety of Parliament House to avoid protests. Rotten tomatoes and eggs on the Prime Ministerial suit would have made him look silly in the small, mean eyes of his idol, George W. Bush. And there he droned on for his allotted time, saying nothing new with his own mean eyes shifting malevolently from side to side. He spoke without passion of his passionate desire for Australians to trust him in his folly, even though he offered none of the long awaited evidence. He took umbrage at "humanitaritian arguments" against liberating Iraqis from Saddam if it meant incinerating them in the process. "Perhaps it's become unpalatable or unfashionable to be reminded that the Iraqi people are oppressed by this current regime," he said. But then they are still alive, aren't they? Supposing a plan was developed, utilising the best minds of all the security agencies in the world, to remove Saddam without removing a hundred thousand people at the same time. Wow! Chicken Hawks say it can't be done, but let's face it, it's never really been tried. (3L0's Jon Faine explored the subject of Howard's selective memory this morning while interviewing Alexander Downer (who was using a mobile phone no doubt, because he was spinning so fast he must have looked like a Whirling Dervish). Faine was essentially making this point: John Howard is asking Australia to commit to a war that may bring terrorism to our shores in order to help the Iraqi people, while just 18 months ago he was shunning Iraqis seeking asylum from the same dicatator.) The period following Howard's speech was a little more interesting, because a number of journalists actually got to ask meaty questions meant to elicit responses with substance. Of course, they were left wanting. To the West Australian's Karen Middleton, he "indicated he might not always tell the truth about the activity of Australian forces if lives could be at risk" and that he hoped he would never have to lie. No one brought up his reputation as a pathological liar, especially his lies during the Children Overboard affair, but it would have been on their minds. What was amazing was that they all treated him as if he were a man who deserved respect. But how can you respect a man who has no credibility? Well, that's protocol for you. Many of us were hoping at least one of them would ask something to raise his ire; it's always a treat (or is it a treatment?) when L'il Dubya gets a question he doesn't want to hear or answer. "Well-well-well," he repeats like a parrot on uppers, and then goes on to obfuscate and ramble until he almost puts himself to sleep. He managed to put me to sleep. Unnoticed among the greats of Australian journalism, I was still snoring long after it was all over. A pity, because I had looked forward to being called upon to offer the following: Harold Hark, Scum at the Top, Prime Minister. No matter how often you say "I understand," it is clear that your understanding is limited to a narrow, frightening vision of government above the law, with no regard for the wishes of the people. My question: In view of this position and your dismal, prevaricating stream of unconscious drivel in response to the many reasonable questions put to you today, will you resign as Prime Minister forthwith? Instead, I had just managed to finish Laurie Oakes' left over wine when someone yelled: "Look! It's Nurse Betty dressed as a journalist. Call security!" |
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Published in Melbourne, Australia by the Political Prisoners of the Future.
