May 18, 2006
Howard in Canada
May 18 - Australian prime minister John Howard
addressed a packed Commons and spoke directly but eloquently about the dangers we face in this war on terror:
"Terrorism will not be defeated by nuancing our foreign policy," he said.
"Terrorism will not be defeated by rolling ourselves into a small ball and going into a corner and imagining that somehow or other we will escape notice."
America's '100% ally' also directed some blunt words to anti-Americans:
"Australia, as you know, is an unapologetic friend and ally of the United States," Howard told a Commons chamber that has heard frequent criticism of Washington in recent years.
"The United States has been a remarkable power for good in the world. And the decency and hope that the power and purpose that the United States represent in the world is something we should deeply appreciate," he told a packed Commons to sustained applause.
[...]
"For those around the world who would want to see a reduced American role in the affairs of our globe, I have some quiet advice. That is, be careful of what you wish for. Because a retreating America will leave a more vulnerable world."
I've previously expressed my gratitude (and relief) that Australia steadily and forthrightly provides leadership in the war on terror for southeast Asia - the western flank in this conflict - and I'll gladly say it again: thank you, Australia. Your deeds are noticed and appreciated. Also, it won't hurt for us to remember that when the tsunamai devastated that region in 2004 that Australia was the first on the scene providing rescue and relief operations.
Australia is a member of the Commonwealth and one would think that country would get more recognition here. Australia saw to the evacuation of and medical treatment for Canadian citizens after the 2002 bombing in Bali but that received scant attention here much less any outpouring of grief from Candian citizens for the deaths of Australian citizens.
There's no way around it: the rugged capability of the Australian military and navy do not reflect well on the Canada of recent years. If, as the news report snidley suggests, Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper considers John Howard to be a role model then that is not a bad thing at all.
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Support for Howard's foreign policy is falling in Australia. Approximately two-thirds of Australians now want their troops out of Iraq, despite the fact that there have been no fatalities in combat. If anything, it looks like Australians are even more squeamish, if that's the word, than Canadians are.
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/brasiapacificra/196.php?nid=&id=&pnt=196&lb=bras
Posted by: mijnheer at May 20, 2006 01:58 AM (itXUD)
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Nice going. The Iraq war is a disaster, the US is crumbling before us, and that git from Australia thinks he has anything to tell us.
And Deybway Stratekigos thinks the cash she got from Cherry Tab was worth it?
Posted by: Malika at May 20, 2006 02:41 AM (SjxYX)
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Howard is an all-grown-up world leader who understands that having the largest muslim country in the world only a few miles from the north shore of Australia could be a very bad thing if the fascists are allowed to take over Islam entirely.
Liberals in North America, despite their smarm, couldn't care less about people other than themselves - witness grandstanding Jack Layton who says we should abandon the Afghan people to the vengeance of the Taliban, many would be slaughtered before they starve to death - but Jack doesn't care, he's making blathering points.
There are plenty of people around the world who are willing to risk their lives to get into one of the english speaking countries and virtually no one in an english speaking country who wants to get out - not even liberals. So despite what lefty morons have to say, they and every one else demonstrates their true feelings by voting with their feet.
Posted by: infidel at May 21, 2006 11:42 AM (7pBiD)
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I do NOT understand what you guys on the left are missing. It is really simple. Sometimes doing what is best isn't about public opinion polls. Howard is in this war against terrorism because it is his belief. It was when he was re-elected too. Australians understand you stand up for what you believe in. It appears that the mushy libreal left in Canada and the US seem to believe democracy is never worth shedding blood over, but if not for democracy, I can tell you that radical Islam has no problem shedding our blood for their beliefs...
Posted by: Mark in Oshawa at May 22, 2006 10:57 AM (lk44h)
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Well well, Malika must have gone to liberal charm school in the last year or so. Last I read from Melickya (see, get it, just like "Deybway". I should be a liberal) her criticisms of Debbye were along the lines of "dumb name for a dumb girl". Stunningly witty display of liberal superiority.
Sorry about ousting your choice, Saddam, 'Lick.
Posted by: mikem at May 24, 2006 01:57 AM (EzNXf)
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I would not talk to Malika directly. School is a long term cure, but for prompt up to date correction www.MichaelTotten.com is excellent medicine. Fun too.
This musing may save your credit data and ID.
Pay by Bank money order and by mail. Keep your card off-line!
My bank gives free BMOs.
In the interest of your readers data safety. Wait till the new smart cards come into use before on line card - buying.
Until Smart Cards come into use in North America, as they are in Europe, Credit Card dealings are not fully secure on the web!
E-Commerce in Crisis: When SSL Isn't Safe
================================
http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=12100DICXAH7
May 25, 2006 11:31AM 
*It's not a problem of authentication but one of transactional authorization,* says Bruce Schneier, leading security expert and CTO of Counterpane Internet Security. *No matter how hard you make the initial authentication for the end-user or hacker, the malware can just wait until the authentication is done and then manipulate the transaction.*
Robbing a brick-and-mortar bank seems like petty theft compared with a new breed of cybercrime that, according to a growing number of security experts, is siphoning untold millions of dollars from banks and their customers using SSL-evading Trojans and ever more refined phishing techniques.
Yet as phishing gets slicker, users are getting smarter. As the average Joe becomes less likely to type in authentication information in response to an e-mail, more and more cybercriminals are turning to SSL-evading Trojans.
These Trojans install themselves on unsuspecting users' PCs and either capture user log-on credentials or manipulate transactions after a successful log-on.
In both cases, the SSL connection between PC and bank remains intact. The user may think the confidential online transaction is protected against mischief -- but it is not. (continued...) [From the pros... not just this foggy dude.] TG
http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=12100DICXAH7
Posted by: TonyGuitar at May 26, 2006 02:34 PM (2GVBQ)
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Sorry about the lateness of wading in (my video card went and I've been offline these past two weeks -- naturally it happened right before the Victoria Day weekend) but Mark, Mike (great to see you again!) and Tony said pretty much what I would have said.
One thing I'll never get used to: the ill-concealed glee with which the left views atrocities like bombs going off and killing Iraqi civilians in markets.
The Iraqis are actually you know,
there and they don't think the steps they've made to take control of their country amount to a disaster. No matter how anyone tries to spin it, their voices are the only ones that count, and their energy and growing confidence shows the left for what it really is: tired and cynical.
Of course it hasn't been easy. If we wanted easy we could have sent a different, apocalyptic-style message. We took the hardest road - no, we blazed a trail into unmapped territory and, as there was no prior example, have had to improvise and adapt on the spot.
I think we've done a damned fine job and, even as we reflect this weekend on the fine men and women who have given their lives in pursuit of this noble ideal, we'll also stand a bit straighter in the knowledge that the U.S.A. can still produce people of vision of courage -- and that capability is what truly dismays the lefties.
Posted by: Debbye at May 26, 2006 06:35 PM (MGJW8)
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Wow, That*s the perfect way to say that.
The left is quite subdued in Canada. So much recovery and repair for them to do.
Different matter in the USA though. There are such vast numbers who make loud forceful arguments based on emotion rather than facts and the majority of those are liberals.
I saw a conspiracy theory video. The crux of which no reasonable person could accept, yet the effort to promote it is very professional and to the uninformed, almost believeable.
I wonder why Google crries this? Sanfrancisco Lib.. Democrats?
Trusting that viewers to this site are not too gullible, here is the link.
http://tinyurl.com/bj7qs
Now remember Zwicker can make you think black is white so keep your guard up. TG
Posted by: TonyGuitar at May 27, 2006 06:40 PM (2GVBQ)
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October 03, 2005
Bali Update
Oct. 3 - Tim Blair deals with
rumours and
some accounts that dispute the official story that the three bombs that hit two restaurants in Bali were the work of homicide bombers as well as the persistent rumours that other bombs failed to detonate by remote because the phone service went down after the initial bombs went off.
It appears that Indonesians (probably Balinese) were the largest number of casualties. CNN reports 21 dead and at least 132 wounded:
The latest attacks killed at least two Australians, one Japanese and four or five other foreigners whose nationalities have not been determined, hospital officials said. The other victims were Indonesian.
Earlier reports put the death toll higher because body parts were entering the morgue in separate body bags, police said.
Among the wounded are 68 Indonesians, 20 Australians, six Koreans, four Americans and four Japanese, with five others unidentified, according to Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari.
Two of the three chief suspects are Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohamed. They are Malaysians and believed to be al Qaeda operatives. The CNN account is somewhat understated; bin Husin and Mohamed are both wanted in connection with the Jakarta attacks of 2003 and 2004, as well as for their part in the 2002 Bali attack:
Syaiful Bahri, alias Apuy, was sentenced for helping the fugitive masterminds behind the attack make their bomb.
The blast, in September last year, killed 10 innocent people and the suicide bomber.
Judge Sucahyo Padmo said Bahri, 26, was guilty of "providing assistance" to Malaysians Azahari Husin and Noordin Top, who are both wanted over the September 9 attack.
Bahri helped purchase potassium used to make the two-tonne truck bomb that exploded outside the heavily-fortified mission and helped master bombmaker Azahari mix the chemicals into an explosive cocktail.
The judges said he also helped hide Azahari and Noordin, who have managed to evade police despite a three-year manhunt launched after the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people - including 88 Australians.
The pair are also blamed for the 2003 blast that ripped apart Jakarta's JWMarriott hotel, killing 12.
There is something sinister about those who travel about Indonesia and other hot spots building bombs and persuading others to lash on those bombs to blow up themselves along with people eating in restaurants or nightclubbing. Calling them "terrorist enablers" is accurate but makes them sound like a group designed for a wearying number of papers submitted to psychology associations; the words I prefer are not appropriate for a blog my parents read but in their own way are more satisfying.
I'm not as angry as I was Saturday but that's not to say that I'm calmer. Bali is a beautiful island and the ideal target for Islamist extremists. The tourism industry is vital to the island's economy, which was only beginning to recover after the devastating attack of October 12, 2002, and most of the inhabitants are polytheist Hindus or Buddhists and seen as an impediment to Jemaah Islamiyah's stated goal of turning Indonesia into a strict Muslim state. If the intent of the terrorists is to isolate and impoverish Bali they may have finally succeeded.
We in North American don't pay enough attention to the Western theatre of the war on terror (fortunately, the Australians do.) Maybe this latest terror attack will get the public's attention and events in Malaysia, Thailand, the Phillippines and Indonesia will be placed in context in this worldwide war on terror.
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October 01, 2005
Blasts in Bali Tourist Area
Oct. 1 - Details are extremely sketchy thus far:
Blasts in Bali tourist area:
EXPLOSIONS in a popular tourist area of Bali have injured at least three Western tourists and damaged buildings.
The blasts occurred along Jimbaran beach and in Kuta Square.
The area has been cordoned off and staff from nearby businesses told to leave the area, witnesses say.
A restaurant and neighbouring shop were damaged in one blast.
There is no confirmation of what caused the explosions, nor how many people were injured.
At least three Western tourists were injured in the blasts, El Shinta radio reported.
Just a caution: there is no evidence as of yet that this was another terrorist attack. But that doesn't change the fact that I am having a hard time breathing much less writing coherently. Some memories are seared so deeply that it doesn't take much to trigger a reaction.
Hope and pray. That's all we can do (for now.)
11:30 - The Australian news is reporting at least 4 bombs were detonated in the two areas; at least 19 are dead (mostly foreigners) and 51 wounded. (CNN also has the story here if your browser hates Java.)
It is suspected that Jemaah Islamiyah (an affiliate of al Qaeda) is behind the attacks. From CNN:
A report issued in early September warned that bin laden and his top lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahiri may be planning a series of attacks in October, dubbed "The Great Ramadan Offensive."
Tim Blair is updating as information comes in. An early report said that at least one Australian was dead and Tim Blair reports that ABC (the American network, as opposed to ABC, the Australian equivalent of the CBC) lists two Americans among the dead.
12:04 - Tim Blair is updating here as information comes in. (Sorry for the redundancy. No sleep.)
12:26 - FoxNews reports two Americans and one Australian among the dead. The nationalities of the other fatalities are not yet known. There are a number of wounded; Fox reports 38 with the largest number being Indonesians (2
which, in all liklihood, means Balinese, i.e., Hindus.
12:35 - According to Focus English News, police found another four unexploded devices were found on the island. They say there are 23 fatalities.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is reported to be on his way to Bali.
12:50 - I believe Australia is 11 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight time, so it's likely going to be a long and grim night for many Australians and Indonesians as they await specifics.
"The Great Ramadan Offensive" indeed. Remember when the USA was urged not to begin the Afghan campaign until after Ramadan so as not to inflame the Arab street? I wish, I really wish, that they would get inflamed about al Qaeda's new offensive, but having been so quiet about the Iraqis who've been murdered by the pious terrorists it's unlikely they'll be too upset about a few dead Westerners and Hindus.
I keep waiting for that breaking point - that moment in time when Muslims around the world unite in opposition to the desecration of their religion and heritage. This latest attack is unlikely to provide that spark, nor will a few bombs set off in Christian neighbourhoods in Lebanon or in British subways.
Maybe there will be no spark that takes because there is no tinder. It may well be that fatalism and cynicism, two afflictions which also burden us, will prove too deeply rooted for healthy growth.
There are some things I simply must take care of before I try to sleep. Later.
13:27 - It suddenly occurred to me that the BBC would be broadcasting their evening news at this time, and I tuned it in. They are covering the Bali blasts extensively (please don't point out the obvious; I could be shopping or clubbing or ... painting my nails instead of having to spend hours trying to write posts if the American news media would just do their &*@$# jobs.)
The BBC reports there were 3 bombs and there are 22 dead and 38 wounded -35 of which are said to be foreigners.
An expert on Jemaah Islamiyah pointed out that this is the first terror attack in Indonesia since Yudhoyono took office. Trenchant point.
More from Tim Blair: a Japanese woman is among the dead. He also reports that the high number of Indonesia wounded (2
has been reported by Sangla Hospital. Eight Australians and two Americans are also reported to be injured.
I plan to continue to pretend that I can focus on mundane, personal stuff.
20:36 - An Australian news agency is now reporting 32 dead and 101 injured from the bomb blasts. One Australian teen is confirmed to be dead and at least 17 Australians are injured. (CNN reports 36 dead and 103 injured.)
There remains confusion over the identities of the dead and wounded, but it is probable that the majority of those dead and wounded are Indonesian. CBC is reporting 3 Canadians sustained minor injures in the blast and were released after treatment and Fox reports 49 Indonesians, 17 Australians, six Koreans, three Japanese and two Americans were injured, according to an official at Sanglah Hospital. [By the way, I failed to mention earlier that a specialist burn unit at Sanglah Hospital was built by the Australian government after the 2002 Bali attacks. Sadly, it has proven useful.] Early reports that two Americans were killed may have been erroneous.
From CNN:
[Australian Foreign Minister Alexander] Downer said it appeared most of those killed were Indonesian. He said 17 Australians were among the injured. Local media reports also said several foreigners are among those wounded.
So far 15 bodies had been identified, according to Reuters news agency, quoting hospital officials. It said among the dead were 12 Indonesians, including a six-year-old boy, two Australians and a Japanese national. The wounded included 17 Australians, six South Koreans, three Americans, three Japanese and one Briton.
Downer said Australia was sending a response team to Bali, and Australian Federal Police were ready to work with their Indonesian colleagues in investigating the attacks.
It's worth saying again: The al Qaeda network in Asia is extensive and murderous. Australia is the Western front of the war on terror and doesn't get half the recognition she deserves.
Lift a few to the redoubtable Australians this evening and give them praise. Say a prayer for the Balinese who have endured more than their share. Remember that those who have died in terror attacks over the years have been a persistent reminder that the war on terror isn't about a religion but a stand against heartless murderers who attack innocent people because their message is so perverted that they cannot persuade by reason.
Death to them, I say. Death and eternal damnation.
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I was about to say terrorists was a safe assumption (what was the last explosion you heard about in Bali?) but:
-------------------------
BALI, Indonesia (AP) - Bombs exploded almost simultaneously Saturday in two tourist areas of the Indonesian resort island of Bali, killing at least 19 people and wounding 51 others, police and hospital officials said.
The victims included at least two Americans.
The blasts at Jimbaran beach and a bustling outdoor shopping center in downtown Kuta "were clearly the work of terrorists," police Maj. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai, a top Indonesian anti-terrorism official, told The Associated Press.
Posted by: Jay at October 01, 2005 11:17 AM (PIbeE)
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Thanks for the update, Jay. When I first read it I misread 191 instead of 19 and flashed back to three years ago.
Time to get grim again.
Posted by: Debbye at October 01, 2005 01:15 PM (7V64P)
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June 16, 2005
Douglas Wood's rescue
June 16 - Wretchard makes some very shrewd observations about the rescue of Australian Douglas Wood in Iraq in
The Six Weeks.
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May 16, 2005
"for Canada is in meltdown"
May 16 - The British media are noticing what is going on here (
Your Majesty, this trip could get political.)
The Daily Telegraph notes that the Queen's trip here could be delayed if
... her private secretary, Sir Robin Janvrin, answers his phone between now and then to an apologetic Canadian prime minister delivering the news: "It's all off." For Canada is in political meltdown.
The Liberal government is teetering on the brink of collapse and, should prime minister Paul Martin fall before the Queen is airborne his advice could be to stay at home.
His demise will automatically trigger a general election, and Canada in the middle of an election campaign is no place for a Queen who has avoided political hot potatoes throughout her 53-year reign.
Mr Martin has so far staved off a vote of confidence over allegations that the Liberal government gave millions of dollars in contracts to firms in Quebec, with many of those firms, allegedly, then paying kickbacks to the Liberal Party.
But, under pressure from Conservatives, he is being forced to hold one on Thursday when parliament gathers to vote on his federal budget. That is two days into the Queen's nine-day tour of Saskatchewan and Alberta.
If he is still standing by the time she touches down, the prediction is he will lose the May 19 vote.
Thus the man who greets the Queen as her prime minister at the bottom of the runway steps at Regina may no longer be her prime minister two days later.
The article goes on to question what would happen at government functions held in her honour should there be no government.
(And yes, the facts as reported are somewhat off.)
And, for all you Constitutionalists, Pixy Misa compares today's situation in Canada to a 1975 incident in Australia in which the Governor-General recognized and performed his duty.
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My understanding, and this may be mistaken as it's been a while since I read the Canadian Constitution, is that the Governor-General's powers lapse in favor of the Queen while she is in the country. Thus, her presence in Canada in the middle of all this would needlessly complicate things both for the country and for the monarchy. Moreover, the Queen's commitment to remaining apolitical, and the perception of her as a "foreigner" (even though her visit is as Queen of Canada, not of the UK) would likely prevent her from acting as Sir John Kerr did in Australia, at precisely such moments as it may be appropriate, and when the GG might have been prepared to do so.
Posted by: Dave J at May 16, 2005 02:21 PM (kLLbt)
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I normally have no interest in royalty (anybody's) but it sounds like the Queen's in a quandry. If she shows, she'll be said by some to be supporting a not-quite-legit government. If she calls it off, some will say she's doing the opposite.
Posted by: Jay at May 16, 2005 02:49 PM (PuNh2)
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Who said that criminal was even the PM in the first place? I'm wondering if fixing elections and stealing money to fund them makes him a legitimate PM under constitutional law?
Posted by: Brian Walsh at May 17, 2005 12:33 AM (vAI+5)
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April 25, 2005
ANZAC Day 2005
Apr. 25 - What can we say about the Australians? Solid friends, valiant warriors, the kind of people you can trust to watch your backsides - which they do every day in a region just as deadly with terrorist activity as the Mid-east - and first in whenever there's a catastrophe, be it tsunami, cyclone, or bombs.
The generic Australian news site has a wonderful flash show (probably only for today) and has the video for services in Gallipoli, where over 17,000 gathered for the dawn services to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the the beach assault in 1915.
Australia's prime minister addressed the assembled:
"It lives on in the valour and sacrifice of young men and women that ennoble Australia in our times," Mr Howard said.
"In the scrub of the Solomons, in the villages of Timor, in the desert of Iraq and the coast of Nias.
"It lives on in the nation's easy familiarity, in Australians looking after each other through courage and compassion in the face of adversity.
"So we dedicate ourselves at this hour, at this place, not just to the memory of Anzac but to its eternal place in the Australian soul."
In Iraq, not even sandstorms prevented Australian troops from observing the day.
Commander of Australian forces in southern Iraq, Lieutenant Colonel Roger Noble, said he felt a sense of history with the new mission effectively starting on Anzac Day.
"I think it's fantastic to get there for Anzac Day," Lt-Col Noble said.
The Australian military had historic links to the region with a number of Australian soldiers during World War I having operated across southern Iraq, he said.
[...]
Australian troops also remembered Anzac Day at Camp Victory in Baghdad.
About 200 troops and guests attended the dawn service despite the sandstorm and light rain.
Senior officers who laid wreaths at the service included multinational force commander US General George Casey, Australia's Middle East national commander Air Commodore Greg Evans, Lieutenant General David Hurley and British Major General Mark Mann.
Australian army chaplain Major Dave Hoskin officiated at the service, which included a moving audio-visual presentation to the song And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda.
Colonel Orhan Goktepe, commander of the Turkish contingent in Iraq, read Kamal Ataturk's tribute to the Anzacs and spoke of a mutual respect and friendship between Turkey and Australia.
Police posted as part of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) joined the
Australian troops in the Solomon Islands to mark the day and special tribute was paid during the service to the two Australians who have died there, Australian Federal Police officer Adam Dunning and army Private Jamie Clark.
In Sydney, 250,000 people lined the streets to cheer participants in the Anzac Day march.
In Brisbane, 15,000 cheered the march and many held signs that said "Thank you."
In Adelaide, Bill Denny, chair of the RSL Anzac Day committee said "We must never glorify war on Anzac Day. .." Five Turkish veterans had travelled from Turkey and participated in the ceremonies.
There were up to 30,000 in Victoria, where
The parade featured a large contingent of children and grandchildren of war veterans proudly wearing war medals on their chests and carrying black-and-white photos of their relatives as they marched towards the Shrine of Remembrance.
In
Perth, a 107 year-old veteran led the parade
WEAKENED by recent illness and hunched low in his seat, Australia's oldest World War I veteran Peter Casserly led the Anzac Day parade through Perth, attracting heartfelt cheers from the thousands who lined the streets.
Tim Blair
writes:
Australia is a young nation, and so finds it easy to place itself on the right side of history. We are not swung off course by the historical ballast carried by older countries; we fight the right wars, for the right causes. Australian servicemen and women have prevailed in many heroic conflicts. Yet AustraliaÂ’s national day of remembrance for our fallen is tied to a battle ninety years ago that we lost, catastrophically. ...
Anzac Day is less to do with loss or victory than it is to do with struggle and defiance, even when facing certain defeat. But Anzac Day also serves to remind us of Australian triumphs ...
Read the post and by all means follow the links.
Some other great reads:
Ozguru's excellent post on Anzac Day,
James Ozark and his daughter mourn the loss of her great-great grandfather in that war.
Bastards Inc. writes what ANZAC Day means to them:
It is claimed that Australia lost her innocence on the shores of Gallipoli. I would counter that rather than losing anything, Australia gained a reputation.
Just 170 men out of the Australian 4th Brigade that landed ashore on the 24/25 April 1915 made it off 8 months later. Out of over 4000 men, 170 left.
The death toll at Gallipoli was horrific:
While paying tribute to the 8709 Australians who died at Gallipoli, and the 50,000-60,000 who served on the peninsula, Mr Howard also remembered the 2701 New Zealanders, 21,000 British, 15,000 French, 1358 Indian, 49 Newfoundlanders and 86,000 Turks who died in the campaign.
As an American, I feel honoured to mark this day and to express my gratitude for the enduring fraternity between two of Mother England's more rambunctious kids.
I also dropped by Kathy's site, knowing that she too would remember to thank our valiant ally today. Well done!
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Just gave you quote of the day for that second-to-last line. I'd track you back but that could start getting a bit circular so I thought I'd leave a comment instead...
Posted by: Kathy K at April 25, 2005 11:48 AM (iONpT)
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Thanks, Kathy. I smiled when I saw you had beaten me to Ozguru's site this year.
This has become one fine tradition.
Posted by: Debbye at April 25, 2005 11:57 AM (36r6u)
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"we fight the right wars, for the right causes"
I guess we can use that as an indicator of how we're doing, since they've always been on our side. If they ever say no, we'll have to wonder.
Posted by: Jay at April 25, 2005 01:29 PM (PuNh2)
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If ever they say no, I will certainly take a second look (and probably a third and fourth) at the situation.
Posted by: Kathy K at April 25, 2005 10:46 PM (hvmeN)
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Debbye,
"This has become one fine tradition."
That it has. Let's do it again next year!
Posted by: Kathy K at April 25, 2005 10:48 PM (hvmeN)
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Kudos for saluting our Australian brothers in arms. They are certainly deserving of it and America is fortunate to have such steadfast allies.
As an aside, within my circle of friends, who have no other connection to Australia, three have separately visited Australia on vacation flying halfway around the world for that pleasure.
Posted by: mikem at April 26, 2005 06:39 PM (EzNXf)
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Decided to take a vacation in Oz?
Posted by: Jay at April 30, 2005 10:18 PM (PuNh2)
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Debbye lost her password again...
Posted by: Tuning Spork at May 02, 2005 10:23 PM (C05iP)
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April 21, 2005
Penciled in for August. Check.
Apr. 21 - We are taking time out from our regularly scheduled coverage of Liberal Party Corruption to relay an urgent message to France from the
axis of countries that don't suck.
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Don't get too worried about France. They have only ever been in one war where they can claim victory - and that was against...
the French. It was a civil war!
Seriously, the French will prostitute themselves and sell weapons to the highest bidder before they will defend themselves.
"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordian". D. Rumsfeld.
Posted by: Bill at April 21, 2005 10:20 PM (ya7TE)
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The key to all this boils down to one point: as a rule, any country that ever gets its ass handed to it by MEXICO is no longer allowed to be called a "great power" with a straight face. 300+ years to kick out Spain. Three years to kick out France.
Posted by: Dave J at April 21, 2005 10:59 PM (kLLbt)
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Historically speaking, the French
lost their civil war, and had to be rescued by a Corsican.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at April 21, 2005 11:20 PM (AIaDY)
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I am no fan of France, to say the least, but I am mystified by this. France is seen to do a lot of objectively distasteful things that it considers to be in its best interest, but why this? Trade? And at the cost of aligning themselves with a huge totalitarian government against a tiny democracy? And specifically approving military action against that small island of democracy?
I'm floored. Must be hell on the francophiles.
Posted by: mikem at April 22, 2005 12:32 AM (EzNXf)
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They're desperate. Look at that ecomony, 10-12% unemployment (something like that) and of the people employed it's either one in three or one in four who actually work for the govt.
The govt there was hoping for the eu subsidy effect but it looks like they may not be getting that. That only leaves one choice - sell anything to anybody who's willing to pay, whether that's nukes to Iran or other military technology to China.
Posted by: Jay at April 22, 2005 01:22 AM (PuNh2)
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move it up a few weeks to late july and your casulaties will drop to zero, the entire french nation will be on vacation so there won't be any trouble getting the humvies down those narrow streets!
Posted by: keith at April 22, 2005 02:02 PM (xfdnu)
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And those dumb French thought there weren't any WMD in Iraq. I'm boycotting French wine. That'll teach 'em!
P.S. Why do we have to have French on our cereal boxes?
Posted by: mijnheer at April 22, 2005 02:15 PM (QKBqr)
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The July idea is a good one - otherwise dealing with the number of people surrenduring could be an overwhelming problem.
Posted by: Jay at April 22, 2005 03:02 PM (PuNh2)
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Give the french proper credit. They did think Saddam had WMD's. So did the Kurds and Iranians, whom he used them against. (Oops, bad taste to bring that up.)
Posted by: mikem at April 22, 2005 04:54 PM (EzNXf)
10
Instapundit has this up:
"The Canadian company that Saddam Hussein invested a million dollars in belonged to the Prime Minister of Canada, canadafreepress.com has discovered."
Nuance, I guess.
Posted by: mikem at April 22, 2005 04:58 PM (EzNXf)
11
Bash away at the French, but one thing they are is consistent. Everything they do or say is for France's benefit. Even when it's something that common sense tells you is wrong, if the French see gain or profit in it for France itself, they will do it. And to hell with the rest of the world.
Posted by: Ted at April 23, 2005 08:55 AM (+OVgL)
12
Ted, have you ever Barbara Tuchman's
The March of Folly? What you mean is that what the French do or say they BELIEVE is to benefit France, but in many cases that couldn't be further from the truth.
Posted by: Dave J at April 23, 2005 11:23 AM (kLLbt)
13
Maybe there is a french master plan going on. They know they're hopelessly inept when it comes to anything military, and their diplomacy skills aren't mnuch better. So what sort of strong point does that leave them? Treachery.
They want to provide China with military technology - say they do that. The Chinese as a result of all this new equipment go ahead and attack Taiwan knowing europe is on their side (ahem). We then (with the Australians, probably not the Brits) join in. Bad news for the US (in addition to China of course) which on a relative basis puts france/europe at the top.
They realize they're incapable of bringing themselves up in the world pecking order, so the plan is to bring the US down.
Hopefully we'll decide it's perfectly sensible tho to bomb the crap out of any country that's providing weapons to the enemy - which would mean once again the french screwed up.
Posted by: Jay at April 23, 2005 04:36 PM (PuNh2)
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April 17, 2005
Australian troops head for Iraq
Apr. 17 - PM Howard of Australia told the soldiers departing for Iraq
"You go with our support, our prayers and our good wishes for a safe mission and a return home for all of you."
Members of the Al Muthanna Task Group have already begun departing for southern Iraq, with the navy's heavy-lift ship HMAS Tobruk setting sail from Darwin with 200 crew and 20 Australian light armoured vehicles with little fanfare yesterday.
The troops, mainly from Darwin's 1st Brigade, will be deployed by sea and air during the month.
Mr Howard, joined by Defence Minister Robert Hill, and Defence chief General Peter Cosgrove, attended a barbecue to formally farewell the bulk of the troops at Darwin's Robertson Barracks.
Thank you, Mr. Howard, for being a 100% ally.
Apr. 20 - 04:25: The DoD press release is here.
Posted by: Debbye at
11:58 AM
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Post contains 147 words, total size 1 kb.
1
One wonders about John Howard's moral compass when you read stories like this. Sending troops into causes that lack a "just cause" is the most irresponsible thing that a civilian leader can do.
This is the kind of irresponsible politics that gets people killed for no good reason. Howard wants to curry favour with an inept and incompetent American President that started a War in Iraq on a foundation of lies and deceit.
This deployment will not change the course of life in Iraq, but its likely to get Aussie troops killed or maimed for no just cause.
Its sad, how Howard manipulated the electorate, by withdrawing forces before the election and then sending them back after he fooled Australian voters.
Posted by: Joe Green at April 17, 2005 03:45 PM (5dXW9)
2
Back off, Joe. This is one post where you don't belong.
Posted by: Debbye at April 17, 2005 03:59 PM (KCctB)
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One post where he doesn't belong? How about one blog where he doesn't belong?
I'll leave out one country where he doesn't belong (or should that be two countries?).
Posted by: Jay at April 17, 2005 04:12 PM (PuNh2)
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Debbye wrote:
"Back off, Joe. This is one post where you don't belong."
Why don't you explain that Debbye. You are an American living in Toronto, Canada. I am a Canadian living in Alberta, Canada. I am at home. You are not.
The topic of the blog was Australian troops head to Iraq. I commented that the PM of Australia drew down the Australian troop levels before the elections and is now restoring them, having misled and fooled Australians about the war in Iraq.
You want me to "back off"? Explain yourself.
Posted by: Joe Green at April 17, 2005 04:37 PM (5dXW9)
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Or do you and Kate at smalldeadanimals in Saskatchewan work for the same paymaster in Washington?
I think the public that visits this blog would appreciate knowing that. Who is paying the piper?
Posted by: Joe Green at April 17, 2005 04:40 PM (5dXW9)
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Hundreds more bodies just found in mass graves and some people still wonder if we had any just cause to end Saddam's murderous rule. Sad. Play ostrich all ye like, Joe. The troops'll keep doing the good work. May your chains sit lightly upon you.
Posted by: Tuning Spork at April 17, 2005 07:46 PM (bFfj3)
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I never said that a "just cause" did not exist in Iraq. What I said was that the US illegally invaded a sovereign country without authorization. Britain did likewise. As such, they are liable for damages, and war reparations to the citizens of Iraq.
There was a way to take down the Saddam Hussein Government in Iraq that would have been far less bloody and would have not taken anywhere near as long to restore order, peace and good government. To say nothing of electric, telephone, and water utilities and medical care.
It required the US and Britain, together with other members of the Security Council to reach a finding that Saddam's defiance of the Security Council Resolutions was unacceptable, and that the Government of Saddam Hussein was a "criminal government" and that all sovereign nation states, the Security Council and the armed forces of Iraq itself were obliged to arrest the members of the Government, and bring them to justice at the International Court of Justice in the Hague.
Had that happened, had 400,000 troops from the United Nations massed on ALL the borders of Iraq including Turkey, Syria and Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the regime would have collapsed in a matter of days. There would have been no need for extensive military operations, and there would have been no looting. Indeed, the Iraqi Army itself would not have been disbanded, and there would have been no need to rebuild one.
And, anyone firing upon such incoming troops would have been automatically charged with war crimes.
Today instead of a growing force of insurgents of some 200,000 Suni Arabs organizing to repel the American invasion, most of these troops would have come home, and order would have been restored in Iraq without the 100,000 plus dead Iraqi civilians, women and children.
There would be some 1500 American servicemen that would be alive today, and there would have been far fewer than 37,000 American servicemen who sustained serious maimings and injuries. The numbers for the British is also very high and very tragic.
Of course, in the single area where a "just cause" existed, in terms of Saddam Hussein's criminal record of mass murder and mayhem, that is the one area that George Bush refused to enter and execute.
Unlike Bill Clinton who led NATO into a war against human rights abuses, George Bush declined to do so. With that single act, he lost all moral authority to lead the United States, and certainly the moral authority to lead the worlds democracies to restore civility and lawfulness in Iraq.
Right wingers hate it when you point to their guy and find him wanting. But that is exactly what has happened.
The Americans and the British and even the Australians are going to pay a very high price for this vigilante form of anarchy.
Kofi Annan is right. Its an illegal war. And nothing that can now be said can erase the stain of that truth.
Posted by: Joe Green at April 17, 2005 08:17 PM (5dXW9)
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Do you see any blog ads on this page? I pay the piper, Joe -- with blood, sweat and tears. I also have something called a job, which doesn't leave me time for trolling on other blogs.
As T.S. pointed out, there are hundreds of mass graves of Iraqis who were brave enough to stand up to Saddam and paid with their lives -- and the bastard also took the lives of their young children.
I have read comments by jerkoffs like you with a clenched jaw and tried not to lash out at the idle, sanctimonious verbiage you emit but don't you freaking mess with the valiant Australians! You don't have the creds because this once proud country of Canada has become an international joke.
Coward! Canada is now in a quagmire of corruption and lies because people like you were too busy gossiping about the neighbours and why? because it was too damned hard to tend to your own house.
You still don't get it - it isn't the USA that's on trial, it's the rest of the world.
Posted by: Debbye at April 17, 2005 08:32 PM (k7/Bm)
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I think that guilty verdict came in a while ago.
Posted by: Jay at April 17, 2005 08:49 PM (PuNh2)
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Joe, therein is the contest, I think. When does doing what we "know" is right have to obey protocol (Law)?
As a "protocol addict" I tend to want to meet you on rule-of-law grounds. But, as a "liberty lover", I tend to want to beat the snot out of you. I bet that there's a way to really explore this, not on just where we fall in theb debate, but on how we apply our love of Liberty and our love of Law, and how they sometimes seem to be at odds with each other.
Or not. Whatever. You know how to reach me...
Posted by: Tuning Spork at April 17, 2005 11:57 PM (hcKm5)
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In addition Joe, though I disagree with you, it's difficult to muster much sympathy for your case when the organization you consider to have some sort of moral authourity is the ... _U.N._ and where other members of the UN, like France, basically said "No how, no way, never ever" .
Of course, the French did that out of deep moral conviction, and there was no financial or other evidence of connivance.
And gosh darn, the UN itself is above any reproach of having any financial interests that might have some influence on it's decisions.
Besides if you want to argue minor legal mattter, perhaps you can enlighten me, since the 1991 cease fire had been broken in spirit and in letter by Saddam, could operations not simply resume at any time without any further input?
Posted by: FRed at April 18, 2005 08:47 AM (bL0CM)
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"What I said was that the US illegally invaded a sovereign country without authorization. Britain did likewise."
I assume you're an attorney, Joe? I'd hate to have a battle of wits with the unarmed. If you're opposed to the war on political grounds, have the honesty and courage of your convictions to make a policy argument rather than hiding behind legalisms that hold no water.
Legally, the war was a recommencement of active hostilities that had been temporarily suspended in 1991 by a ceasefire--not an armistice, let alone a peace treaty--the terms of which Saddam repeatedly and almost constantly violated. Indeed, every single time one of his AA guns painted its radar onto a US or British plane patrolling the no-fly zones (and there were hundreds of such instances) was an overt act of war.
Posted by: Dave J at April 18, 2005 10:54 AM (kLLbt)
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Joe:
Re: "..... together with other members of the Security Council to reach a finding that Saddam's defiance of the Security Council Resolutions was unacceptable,..."
What fairy tale world are you living in? The UN is the most morally corrupt (and possibly criminally corrupt) organization in the world. Saddam already had France on the payroll not to mention half of the UN.
Do you really think all of the Iraqis who were indebted to Saddam (e.g. the Saddam Fedayin) would cooperate with a new regime - i.e. help slit their own throats?
Posted by: John B at April 18, 2005 11:33 AM (ju7Wp)
14
John B wrote:
"What fairy tale world are you living in? The UN is the most morally corrupt (and possibly criminally corrupt) organization in the world."
Then why on earth do you Americans remain in that kind of corrupt international organization???
Its very simple to quit. Just pull out, renounce your treaty obligations under the Charter, and save yourself the money. Why the hypocrisy of pretending to be concerned with world peace when in fact you Americans are war mongers looking for some "action"?
At least the rest of the world could then respect you Americans for having the courage of your convictions.
And indeed, the UN SHOULD leave US soil when that happens. Im Canadian, I strongly support the UN, but at least we would no longer have the constant American manipulation of this international body for its own decrepid and immoral ends.
And perhaps we would then all see better where the bear shits in the woods and make new security arrangements for ourselves and our friends.
As for Canada's Foreign Policy vis a vis the US, my view is to let it freeze over and move into a very deep freeze.
The first to go would be the US Customs Agents now operating in Canada and we SHOULD revert to a full and formal relationship with the use of Passports and other complete border formalities.
If that leads to delays in trade, too bad, so sad, but we can go back to what we had before without all the disputes over softwood lumber, cattle and a host of other things we do not need to have conflicts over.
And Canada can become much more self sufficient, starting with the Armed Forces that should NEVER AGAIN depend upon the US for support in places like Rwanda for example.
Everyone is criticizing the PM over Dafur, but the facts are that placing thousands of Canadian troops in harms way and having to depend upon the US for support would just be a repeat of the problem that General Dellaire encountered in Rwanda. As Dellaire tried to stop a genocide, American diplomats and intelligence operatives in New York were working to sabatoge General Dellaire sensitive mission to stop mass murder in Africa.
The US and Bolton are posturing, and I am sick of it. Its immature and childish, and like most of the rest of the world, I am sick and tired of this adolescent American behavior.
The US is capable of much better behavior. Its time to do just that and stop acting like the global brat. Either that, or act like adults and leave an organization that you are not in agreement with. Its long overdue to call America's bluff.
Posted by: Joe Green at April 18, 2005 07:33 PM (5dXW9)
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Dave J wrote:
"I assume you're an attorney, Joe? I'd hate to have a battle of wits with the unarmed. If you're opposed to the war on political grounds, have the honesty and courage of your convictions to make a policy argument rather than hiding behind legalisms that hold no water."
I have on many ocassions and I will again here.
First of all, no democratic nation ever goes to war without a "just cause". It utterly immoral to your own troops and its utterly immoral to civilians, women and children in harms way to do anything otherwise.
The US has the most advanced and sophisticated information gathering system in the world. It many not know the worlds secrets, but it surely knows what it does not know. For the Americans to claim they had credible intelligence that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, chemical and biological weapons along with the missiles to carry such warheads to Europe and American was an outright lie.
Now, the analysis of threats to ones national security is not based upon irrational fears. It comes from detailed analysis and study. In no way shape or form can it be said Saddam's Iraq posed a credible threat to American national security. In fact during that time, Saddam's Iraq did not even pose a credible threat to the national security of Israel.
If the US had evidence that caught the Russians and the French in cheating with Saddam in the Oil Smuggling and Oil for Food Program, then IT SHOULD HAVE CONFRONTED these countries in the Security Council with its hard evidence IN PRECISELY THE SAME MANNER THAT JACK KENNEDY CONFRONTED RUSSIA during the Cuban Missile Crisis, with pictures, data and other material that could not allow the Russians to slink away. Russia after that UN presentation by the US, took a terrible hit in its reputation, and it never fully recovered its prestige after that that speech by Ambassador Stevenson.
Had the US done exactly the same thing, PUTIN and CHIRAC would have been driven into a political corner that in Chirac's case would have almost certainly cost him the leadership of France.
Not only would have truth prevailed, American prestige would have risen even higher than it was in the aftermath of 911. And that was because America was following its "prime directive" in seeking the truth, and in seeking the moral authority to lead the democratic nations of the world.
Instead, the US played the harlot.
The point of this, is simply that careful US leadership and patience WOULD have won a Security Council Resolution declaring Saddam Hussein a Criminal Government, and that the UN Blue Helmets were authorized to move into Iraq for the explicit purpose of taking down the regime, arresting its members, and bringing them to justice before the International Criminal Court of Justice in The Hague. The Blue Helmuts of the United Nations would have prevented the widescale looting, it would have prevented the kinds of casualties that we have seen in Iraq every since the "Mission Accomplished" banners were broken out, and by now, most of this force would have passed on their duties to the Iraqis themselves.
THAT is what COULD HAVE HAPPENED and that is what SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED.
Instead what the Bush Administration has showed the world, are all the reasons that America has lost its moral authority to lead the democracies.
That is where the "neocons" have led you. And I must say, you are now "stuck" because there is no way out.
Jean Chretien spoke for MOST CANADIANS when he said "no UN mandate to invade Iraq - No Canadian troops!". It was the precise and right answer to the Bush war mongers.
Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations said it best. "This is an illegal war".
The reasons why its illegal is as plain as the United Nations Charter itself, and the US in this instance has shown the world that its word is no good when it comes to treaties and international agreements because it does not do what it says it will do.
Instead, George Bush strolled into the General Assembly, reminding me of Hitler strolling down the streets of Paris after the Blitzkreig.
Even Yassar Arafat's famous pistol does not rival this "ultimatum performance".
Posted by: Joe Green at April 18, 2005 07:55 PM (5dXW9)
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FRed wrote:
"Besides if you want to argue minor legal mattter, perhaps you can enlighten me, since the 1991 cease fire had been broken in spirit and in letter by Saddam, could operations not simply resume at any time without any further input?"
I do not know if you have been following the news, but its crystal clear that the legal advisors to the British Prime Minister were giving him explicit legal advice that British participation with the United States was almost certainly illegal without further and explicit mandates from the Security Council to take military action.
Robin Cook the Foreign Minister of the day, resigned over the issue. And the senior Counsel to the Prime Minister's Office likewise resigned. Both refused to lie to Parliament. All of which, has been published in the British Press, and all of which is going to be major factors in the coming British elections.
Blair deserves to lose the election over this single issue. Just like the former PM of Spain.
Its too bad, because I liked Tony Blair.
Posted by: Joe Green at April 18, 2005 08:28 PM (5dXW9)
17
Debbye wrote:
"You don't have the creds because this once proud country of Canada has become an international joke."
I sure do. I am a Canadian citizen. I served for many years in the Armed Forces of Canada. We do not go to war lightly or easily. I have every right and all the credentials to express a detailed opinion on this misbegotten war in Iraq and why Canada rightly refused to get into an "illegal war", as characterized by the Secretary General.
Unlike you, I respect the United Nations, and I expect that Canada, unlike America, will honour its international treaty obligations to the UN Charter.
Finally Debbye, you are not the only person here who works for a living. Its just that most of us do not moan and groan about it.
As for the Aussies, just like for Americans, I am deeply saddened when good men fall because fools do not know how to resolve their conflicts and disputes.
You have a clown and a fool for president. Sorry to be that blunt about it. But its time for you to wake up and smell the coffee.
Wolfowitz, Perle and Rumsfeld feel you can bully the world because you are bigger or more powerful. You are going to find out, just like the schoolyard bully found out, that sometimes little guys can make your life pretty uncomfortable.
Posted by: Joe Green at April 18, 2005 08:39 PM (5dXW9)
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Joe is shameless.
All I have to say is this:
everytime you go to buy something made in Canada (even better if it came from Quebec), just start thinking about how much we support ya!
We have to get rid of these freakin' commies that are running this country!
Posted by: Brian Walsh at April 18, 2005 09:26 PM (vAI+5)
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You are a shameless piece of Canada, Joe Green. You falsely accuse Debbye of accepting payola for her blogging efforts, from her "paymaster in Washington". She defends herself by stating that she pays for everything herself.
Your response is not an apology nor a withdrawal of your charge. Instead you attack her for responding at all, describing her denial of your charges as moaning and groaning about having to work. Just pathetic, just Joe Green.
You really have no shame. And from once again reading another long tome from you explaining that Canadian and UN inaction garners international respect and action by the US breeds disrespect, I have to assume you will not improve.
PS: Long ago, intelligent anti-war commenters dropped the "just a few more years of sanctions and Iraq would now be free" line of thought. It was just too risible and transparently false to withstand the guffaws that immediately followed. You didn't get the message, of course.
Quit trying to defend Canadian cowardice, just accept your place in the world. Switzerland has made billions from standing on the sidelines of history. Canada will learn to do the same. In the meantime, get out of the way of those who liberate others and at least salute your Australian and British brothers for their willingness to lay it on the line.
Posted by: mikem at April 18, 2005 10:29 PM (EzNXf)
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Joe, that's quite a bit you've posted since I was last here and I'm not going address every point because, oy, that would take all night. I'll just this:
Hmmm.
The people who say the things that you do have some things in common. They are not soldiers and they not oppressed. The opinions that matter most are those of the liberated and the wanna-be liberated, and of the soldiers who are willing to risk their lives to liberate them. They value the same thing, and will thank you very much for not standing in their way.
We can yammer on all day and all night about
lies vs faulty intelligence or
bullying vs rescue. But all we'd be doing is arguing about whose more important or who deserves deference: the tyrant or the People.
We side with the People. By siding with the U.N. you are, as recent history shows, siding with the tyrants.
Sic semper tyranus. A dios.
Posted by: Tuning Spork at April 18, 2005 11:13 PM (Ns1Gb)
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And another thing...
We hold these Truths to be self-evident:
That all men are created equal;
That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights;
That among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness;
That to secure these Rights governments are instututed among men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the Governed.
This is what we're fighting for. Do you agree that this is even WORTH fighting for? 'Cuz right now I'm not so sure. Do you agree with the adage
Sic Semper Tyranus? Yes, or No? Don't wait for the translation...
Yes, or No?
Posted by: Tuning Spork at April 18, 2005 11:26 PM (Ns1Gb)
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Joe Green has previously registered his disdain for those words. In fact, Joe used the occasion of Terry Schiavo's dying days to get a dig in at Americans, stating that she was dying to pay for the Founding Father's sins in declaring independence from Britain.
Real classy guy, that Joe.
And Canadians whine about not being respected. Gee, I wonder why.
Posted by: mikem at April 19, 2005 05:27 AM (EzNXf)
23
Well said, people.
It pains me sometimes that more people in this part of the world don't seem to recognize how important Australia is, not only in the war on terror but their overall importance in the South Pacific.
It donwright infuriates me when Canadians knock Australia.
Fact is, any time there is an emergency in that region it is Australia who steps up to the plate and gets the job done.
The first responders to the December tsunami were the Australians, who deployed their air force to get aid to the survivors. (The U.N. hadn't even scheduled its first meeting yet, and even I can't deny that the U.N. leads the world in scheduling meetings.)
What did Canada do? Wait -- and raise money that didn't help anyone because there was no way to airlift supplies to the victims. They didn't even decide to deploy their disaster relief team (DART) until over a week later which was able to assist people who were alive only due to the incredible efforts of the US and Australian military.
Canada talks but Australia acts -- and their actions save lives. Their deployment to Iraq will be to protect the Japanese civil construction teams, another humanitarian effort.
While Canada was giving money to the Tamil Tigers, Australia deployed its troops to protect the inhabitants of East Timor.
Moral compass? That needle isn't pointing north but spinning wildly and trying to find a moral pole because moral relativism is destroying the ability to know right from wrong.
Posted by: Debbye at April 19, 2005 09:13 PM (KwCoG)
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God bless the Aussies. They must use wheelbarrows to haul their balls around. It's a pity the Canadians have let theirs atrophy.
Posted by: Mitch at April 19, 2005 11:18 PM (1DkBS)
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In fairness, there are still plenty of Canadians who want to reassert themselves as principled members of the Anglosphere, but the Opposition has been fractured since 1993.
But Australia! What good friends they have been. They got stronger after Bali (unlike the Spanish who wimped out completely yet are still under threat, more fools they.)
ANZAC Day is next week and we'll be able to celebrate our friendship and solidarity during the commemorations.
Posted by: Debbye at April 20, 2005 06:46 AM (KwCoG)
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I have no idea what this website is all about, I happened to stumble across it while looking for something else.
It was nice, however, to see that people in other parts of the the world have noticed what we Australians are doing in our own corner. I've often wondered if the news ever gets out.
I don't know if I'll ever find my way back here but thanks for the kind words anyway.
Posted by: gaj at April 20, 2005 11:14 PM (DCfOe)
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Joe Green is really a piece of work.
The liberation of Iraq was "illegal"? According to whom? The U.N., which we have established to be hopelessly corrupt?
I have every right and all the credentials to express a detailed opinion on this misbegotten war in Iraq and why Canada rightly refused to get into an "illegal war", as characterized by the Secretary General.
Apparently, yes.
Look, Joe, we don't give a shit about what the U.N. says. Tony Blair does, which is why Colin Powell went back to the Security Council to try to get yet another resolution. (And we know how that turned out.)
Unlike you, I respect the United Nations, and I expect that Canada, unlike America, will honour its international treaty obligations to the UN Charter.
Fuck the U.N. (Sorry, Debbye.) The U.N. is rotten to the core.
There was no way the the Security Council was going to oppose Saddam. There was no way to remove Saddam without sending in troops. Saddam needed to be removed. We did the job. Canada sat around sucking its thumb, which is a shame because in years gone by, Canada was a strong and dependable ally of freedom.
Hopefully once Paul Martin and his gang are kicked out, Canada will be able to reclaim its honour.
Debbye -
In fairness, there are still plenty of Canadians who want to reassert themselves as principled members of the Anglosphere, but the Opposition has been fractured since 1993.
Absolutely. I'd love to see Canada rejoin the AONTDS. And New Zealand too, if they ever get rid of their isolationist nanny-syndrome government.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at April 21, 2005 11:12 PM (AIaDY)
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Pixy, do you suppose that New Zealand and Canada share the same problem, i.e., they are geographically located next to kick-ass countries so don't worry about defending themselves?
Posted by: Debbye at April 23, 2005 08:10 AM (1y3js)
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Debbye, you rule. NZ and Canada are free to go wobbily all they want 'cuse they know they're best pals with -- and protected by -- the real powers that be. They're the middle child. They stomp their feet 'cuz they just
hate that.
Posted by: Tuning Spork at April 24, 2005 11:45 PM (X37gK)
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Thanks, T.S. I love the
middle child characterization! Unlike the vagaries of birth order, though, N.Z. and Canada chose their roles and yet it's
our fault that the results haven't been so great.
I'm not giving up on Canada yet. The Adscam scandal may give Canadians a chance to re-assess who they are and what this country is, or they can pretend it's just an anomaly and lose their self-respect.
I guess each nation has periods in which they can either bite the bullet or eat one. Canada is due for one such.
Posted by: Debbye at April 25, 2005 12:20 PM (36r6u)
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April 03, 2005
Australians grieve loss of 9
Apr. 3 - Nine Australian military personnel, 6 naval and 3 air force, were
killed when their Sea King crashed on an island off Sumatra's west coast. Their home base ship, the
HMAS Kanimbla, had been headed home after conducting relief operations in Indonesia after last December's tsunamai when an earthquake hit Sumatra and they were turned around to assist efforts there.
This crash was the worst flying naval accident in Australian history.
The casualties have been named:
... pilot Paul Kimlin, and Lieutenant Mathew Davey, a doctor, both from the ACT; Lieutenant Matthew Goodall, a helicopter observer, from NSW; Lieutenant Jonathan King, a pilot, from Queensland; Petty Officer Stephen Slattery, a medic, from NSW; and Leading Seaman Scott Bennett, an air crewman, from NSW.
The other three victims were air force Squadron Leader Paul McCarthy from West Australia; Flight Lieutenant Lyn Rowbottom from Queensland; and Sergeant Wendy Jones from Queensland.
The ship captain, Cmdr. George McGuire, is leading a crew to retrieve the bodies of their comrades. Two unnamed survivors of the crash have already been rescued and are being treated for serious injuries aboard the ship.
An investigation is to be conduced into the cause of the crash of the Sea King. The choppers have been in service for 30 years and recently "underwent a life expansion program, with the navy estimating the fleet will remain in service until at least 2015."
Prime Minister John Howard spoke to the tragedy, sending his condolences to the victims families and saying that "they had died helping others in great need."
They died in the service of this country, they died doing good things in the name of this country and they died living out the essential decency and compassion and mateship of the Australian people – so strongly displayed towards the people of Indonesia," he said.
The Kanimbla will continue its earthquake relief work in the region, which I find wonderfully consistent with the Australian character.
The fatalities will likely give additional sobriety to upcoming ANZAC Day ceremonies later this month in Australia. They suffered no casualties during their missions in support of Operation Iraq Freedom, but the relief efforts in Indonesia were also undertaken in the cause of humanity and the price of that cause too can be high.
Our condolences go out to the familes of the fallen as does as our deep respect for Australia's determination to continue their humanitarian efforts in Indonesia. They were the first to dispatch relief teams last December after the tsunamai hit, and although their quick and massive response did not receive the kind of acknowledgement in our media to which they were entitled, there are many Americans who do recognize the sterling qualities of this staunch ally and give daily thanks for their friendship.
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March 20, 2005
Don't mess with Australian diggers
Mar. 20 - Investigations into allegations of sexual exploitation by U.N. peacekeepers has brought this to light: in 2001, an Australian digger who reported allegations of abuse in East Timor had to be defended and
Diggers drew guns during a confrontation with Jordanian troops.
Australian digger Corporal Andrew Wratten had been told by some children that Jordanian peacekeeping troops had offered them food and money for sex.
"Wratten informed PKF (peacekeeping force) that he had been receiving complaints from local children about Jorbatt (Jordan Battalion) abuse," said a senior UN official who was based in Oecussi at the time.
"A Jordanian officer in HQ informed Jorbatt that he had ratted on them. Wratten and his guys manning the helo (helicopter) refuelling pad in Oecussi town started getting threatened.
"There was one occasion where Aussie Steyrs were pointed at Jorbatt and Jorbatt M-16s pointed at Aussies."
[...]
Corporal Andrew Wratten had to be evacuated and Australian commandos sent to protect Diggers in Oecussi, an East Timorese province in Indonesian West Timor, after he told the UN of the pedophilia that occurred in May 2001.
The Australians drew their Steyr assault rifles after being confronted by Jordanians armed with M-16s, in an escalation of verbal threats triggered by the betrayal of Corporal Wratten by a Jordanian officer in the Dili headquarters of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor.
Two Jordanian peacekeepers were expelled in July, 2001, after an investigation into the abuse.
As no Jordanian is quoted in the above story, we don't have their side as to what happened and the Jorbatt involved may not even have been aware that they were protecting pedophiles.
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1
Everything about the un that's currently being discussed has been going on for ages. The people in charge don't care as long as they get their big fat tax free salaries and bribes. I think the folks there just see the whole pedo thing as a low level form of corruption and so perfectly normal.
Did I ever tell you about this one?:
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/POLITICS/UN/peace.html
(the site itself I wouldn't recommend - they're anti everything)
Posted by: Jay at March 20, 2005 10:26 PM (PuNh2)
2
I'da put my money on the Aussies,I'm just suprised they even bothered with guns
Posted by: big al at March 21, 2005 09:49 PM (SO/54)
3
Wow Jay.
What a great source. I especially like how you recommend it, and then say "don't trust if for anything else".
Ho ho ho- how rich.
This is like when talk radio and right wing bloggers recommend Christopher Hitchens as a critic on their side.
Wow- the media and internet DO make you stupid. (for example, just look at Debbye's blogroll)
Posted by: Blackglasses at March 22, 2005 11:37 AM (t+KkC)
4
BG, wasn't it you who I made fun of a few months ago for a post where, in the same paragraph, you said that the Toronto Sun was only read by idiots and halfwits and then immediately admitted that you read it several times per week for sports and features?
Yeah, it was you.
And you've done it again.
Posted by: mikem at March 22, 2005 05:00 PM (EzNXf)
5
Mikem: You have reached new levels of sad-funny with your fanatical ranting, much like i would expect from a drunk on a street corner (one of which i fought on St. Patricks Day)
We are close together more ways than you think!!
LET US RUB DICKS TOGETHER TO MAKE FIRE (RE: FRICTION)
I WILL LET YOUR RUB YOURS AGAINST MINE (SO YOU ARE THE GAY NOT ME) OR COURSE, ACCORDING TO EINSTIEN IT DOES NOT MATTER!!! HEAT (AND GAY) WILL BE GENERATED IN ANY CASE!!!
Posted by: Blackglasses at March 22, 2005 07:09 PM (t+KkC)
6
I rest my case.
Can you blame Americans for our patriotism when we have Canadians like Blackglasses to compare ourselves to? And he is quite par for the course, as my experiences here have shown.
Someone, somewhere pulled off the greatest scam ever when they convinced an eager group of embattled Canadians that their's was a superior society.
Cowardice is courage.
Ignorance is intellect.
Bizzaro world.
Posted by: mikem at March 22, 2005 08:04 PM (EzNXf)
7
Blackglasses, in addition to your fondness of reducing everything to personal insults, you are making a serious error in thinking your comment relates in any way to the post.
Homosexuality is not the same as pedophilia. There is a vast difference between acts between consenting adults and the violation of children, and I refuse to term those who engage in the latter as straight or gay and prefer the term "sick bastards."
Mike can take care of himself so I won't comment on the stupidity of the rest of your post.
Posted by: Debbye at March 22, 2005 08:15 PM (Gf7j8)
8
Jay, thanks for the link. It's a beyond chilling to see the many stories about torture and killings by U.N. blue helmets on one page.
Posted by: Debbye at March 22, 2005 08:31 PM (Gf7j8)
9
TO DEBBYE/MIKEM(ONE AND THE SAME) at the UN water saftey camp:
HERE COMES MIKEM/DEBBYE JIZZYMCPISSFACE WITH THEIR TOYS HERE TO TELL US ALL ABOUT WATER SAFTEY. TO BEGIN:
SUPPOSE SOMEONE DUMPS A BUCKET OF SAND UPSIDE YOUR HEAD WITH ONLY A SMALL HOLE WHERE YOUR MOUTH WOULD GO
THEN A HUGE DICK CHOKES YOU UP GOOD AND BLUE.
BETTER PUCKER UP BUTTERCUPS.
that's all for today.
PS: mikem/Debbye "Canada" count: 2!
PPS the only thing that actaully chills Debbye to her core is that the propoganda machine that feeds her her daily dose of "reality" might break down one day and she might actually have to think for herself without the assistance of the PARTY.
*Shudder*
Posted by: Blackglasses at March 22, 2005 10:24 PM (t+KkC)
10
In between you calling Zerbisias classless and agreeing with the Eva-Braun-ish All-Hate-Kate that she's fat pig...
...How many people this year have been murdered by Americans? I'm not just talking about the appalling murder rate in the States itself, but, when you factor in all the Iraqis this year who were murdered by Americans...
So, Dubbya...how many bodies are your people responsible for, as of right now?
And this isn't a snot-box question, Dubbya. I want an answer; in numbers.
Posted by: Malika at March 23, 2005 01:29 AM (9RRQI)
11
Oops, Malika is off her meds again, careening around the web. Somebody call her Mom.
Posted by: mikem at March 23, 2005 01:50 AM (EzNXf)
12
Considering Saddam was murdering between 200 and 1000 per day (700 is the most common average I've seen) a little math is enough to show that Bush is way into positive territory.
At 18,000 max killed because of the war, the Iraqis were ahead after less than 4 weeks of the war. Even with that nonsensical made-up number of 100,000 they were ahead a long time ago.
Posted by: Jay at March 23, 2005 02:26 AM (PuNh2)
13
Malika clearly is off her meds
and on the wrong web page as I've never commented on Zerbisias's appearance - period - nor have I called her classless. (I did say that warbloggers write with "more class" than she does. There's a difference, which you'll learn about when you reach high school.)
Jay's point is correct: I've killed fewer Iraqis through my support of OIF than Malika has killed through her defense of Saddam's regime with its plastic shredders, mass graves, gas attacks on Kurds and and her present support of those terrorists who bomb religious processions, the opening of a new water treatement plant, hospitals, funerals, murder Iraqi judges and journalists, kidnap and behead people who work for companies trying to aid the people of Iraq, and bombing Iraqis who are lined up to vote.
Joe Green does have a healthy sense of humour (who knew?) but clearly doesn't live in T.O. The theme of this week is ... well, actually, it's "look at all that ugly brown grass. We need rain!"
Posted by: Debbye at March 23, 2005 04:03 AM (Gf7j8)
14
Please clean the piss off your face before you post again.
Thank you
Posted by: Blackglasses at March 23, 2005 05:49 PM (t+KkC)
15
Debbye wrote:
"Joe Green does have a healthy sense of humour (who knew?) but clearly doesn't live in T.O."
Oh yeah? I went to a Blue Jays game, ate a hotdog with onions and mustard, and had a coke in the skydome with the roof retracted. I like American baseball because it does not move nearly as fast as Canadian hockey. You have time to figure out whos on first, and whose not on the field between short business meetings. Beats golf in my opinion.
You are also about to discover my powers as an oracle. May the snow fall upon you and may the invasion begin. The winter you see Debbye, is something uniqe to Canadian Politics that the Creator endowed us with. It kills bugs, mites, tics and fleas, and scatters Canada's enemies both foreign and domestic, to the four corners of the earth.
Besides, my predictive powers of snow fall in Ontario are nearly perfect since I get to observe it in Alberta about three days before it befalls you in the Golden Triangle.
There is still hope for you Debbye, as an American I mean. You would have received a much better reception in Canada had you been a war protestor or a draft dodger, never-the-less we have to work with what we are given.
For my part, I propose a new Bi-Lateral Peace Commission. We should appoint Mark Twain and Stephen Leacock to be its members, and then we should drag George Bush and Paul Martin and his detractor, Stephen Harper and the current nobody from the NDP before it, to answer for their indiscretions.
Finally the guilty should be executed by snowballs. Don't you see that as being fair Debbye? I suspect that just perhaps both are as pure as the driven snow. And what better way to go, then in a blizard of fatal snowballs.
Posted by: Joe Green at March 23, 2005 06:05 PM (5dXW9)
16
I can see why some bloggers don't have open comments after viewing BG's highly stimulating reparte`.
Posted by: big al at March 24, 2005 01:04 AM (tAeDA)
17
big al:
You can't tell me with a straight face that you've never given head to anonymous Marines in the back of a Camaro with Quiet Riot Playing, can you???
I though not.
Posted by: Blackglasses at March 24, 2005 04:45 PM (t+KkC)
18
Forget the snowballs and politicians, Joe, and go with the exchange between Mark Twain and Stephen Leacock. Wouldn't that be something to witness? (Yes, I know they're both dead, but that's not what I mean.)
Sherman, set the dial on the Time Machine!
Posted by: Debbye at March 24, 2005 05:55 PM (tkiwS)
19
Debbye wrote:
"Forget the snowballs and politicians, Joe, and go with the exchange between Mark Twain and Stephen Leacock."
Well, some of the red necks would get nervous at Mark Twain's "liberal" views on slavery for example, which "neocons" still seek south of the 49th parallel as being economically necessary for "freedumb".
On the other hand, Stephen Leacock's view of his "banking career" could be enlightening for government deficits and public debts incurred with that curious phenomina called "optional wars". I think they both would have a lot of insight into that topic, and might even succeed in a new understanding that both Canadians and Americans would agree to, something we have not seen since D-Day in Normandy.
It would be historic. One thing is certain however and that is "behind Leacock's beyond" would stand a man who would make surgery funny in Congress. That is something Americans have not seen since the days of Davie Crockett.
Maybe that is what is missing these days in the US, not enough medicine of the Mark Twain variety.
Posted by: Joe Green at March 24, 2005 08:34 PM (5dXW9)
20
And no doubt the Marxists would have regarded Leacock as a "reactionary" from McGill (nothing original in this broken record either).
Actually I think that Leacock taught his class more about Marxist economics then all the subsequent drivel that was churned out by Andrew Coyne (whose nameless and hapless relatives also had banking careers --- at least until the epoch that Mr. Diefenbaker ended).
Something like what Mark Twain taught us about humanity when Huck Finn and his friends went rafting one day.
Who knows Debbye, these two might have actually inaugurated a CAN-AM scholarship or a prize for the best meandering bloggers. Mark Twain I am sure would have had a twinkle in his eye as he would ask a nameless Governor what made the machine stop just short of the finish line, where it ran out of gas.
I think both of them would have liked Theresa Kerry and her great cooking and hostessship. They both might have written an ode to the tomato as a kind of duet.
I also think they would have liked Laura Bush as well, who has that most rare quality for an American woman, "royal jelly". Jacqueline Kennedy had it, but in pretty small quantities compared to Princess Diana who was a real Princess that could conjure up the whole country to cry without a spoken word.
So I think that perhaps Mark Twain and Stephen Leacock would have taken both these ladies to dinner and fine conversation and told the men folk to attend to chores feeding the pigs on the back forty.
I don't know that Debbye, its only a hunch.
What do you think? Would they have sponsored a pork roast?
Posted by: Joe Green at March 24, 2005 08:55 PM (5dXW9)
21
How many of her husband's best friends would an American woman have to royally romp with in bed to gain your final approval, Joe?
I thought well of Princess Di's charitable causes and even her, but your favored Royal Family and the British press thought she was a disgraceful tart for sleeping around with Charles' friends.
"I think both of them would have liked Theresa Kerry and her great cooking and hostessship."
She dropped the 'Kerry' and went back to Heinz after the campaign, Joe. You know... that sincerity thing. I am not surprised that you like Theresa Heinz. No one else does, not even the Democrats who tried mightily to shut up her wacky hateful mouth. She made Hillary look like Mother Theresa. Scared the heck out of a lot of people that she might end up as First Inmate. But just the type of woman I imagine a Canadian man admiring... wealth by marriage.
Posted by: mikem at March 24, 2005 10:27 PM (EzNXf)
22
Mikey more clearly then ever before demonstrates why he should not be seated at the table, and should be banished to the back forty where he could at least do something appropriate to his station in life, feeding pigs.
Pig farmers, in case you missed it lack humour, and are never kosher.
Posted by: Joe Green at March 25, 2005 06:45 PM (5dXW9)
23
Taking lessons from Blackglasses now, Joe? Making pig and kosher references? Going for the Aljazeera audience? How Canadian.
Posted by: mikem at March 25, 2005 09:31 PM (EzNXf)
24
Losing sleep over my posts mikem?
That was easy.
Glad I'm getting under your skin. Please post another CANADA CANADA CANADA CANADIANS post soon. I like having the same thing (Utterly Canadian- Totally Canadian-Decidedly Canadian-Completely Canadian) repeated ad nauseum- it's like watching American cable news. And i'm itching to call Canadians Nigerians.
Posted by: Blackglasses at March 26, 2005 06:53 PM (0xnjB)
25
Oh yeah, BG, you are getting under my skin. Keep posting. More people, Americans and other, need to hear the voice of Canada that you carry.
Posted by: mikem at March 26, 2005 07:29 PM (EzNXf)
26
Here's another article about un peacekeepers and the diggers. Saw elsewhere about this, a pic of a bunch of goats in a pen, one looking up and the word balloon was "Oh no! It's the un peacekeepers again!":
"Children were not the only victims - in early 2001, two Jordanians were evacuated home with injured penises after attempting sexual intercourse with goats."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12655192^2703,00.html
Posted by: Jay at March 27, 2005 12:57 AM (PuNh2)
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March 04, 2005
Australia requests appeal for light Bashir sentence
Mar. 4 - Update:
12:42 - Darn, I should have read Belmont Club earlier. Wretchard's post
The Foundations of Barad-dur confronts the issue behind the issue.
Radical cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was sentenced to 30 months for his part in the 2002 Bali bombing which killed 2002 people:
The radical Muslim cleric was yesterday sentenced to just 30 months in prison for his part in the deadly conspiracy that claimed 88 Australian lives in October 2002.
He was also cleared of four other serious anti-terrorist charges including the 2003 J.W. Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta which killed 12 people.
But the court heard no testimony from Mubarok, sentenced to life in prison, or Amrozi, sentenced to death. Mubarok refused to testify, and Amrozi never appeared in the makeshift court in the Agriculture Department's auditorium in south Jakarta.
The judges also found Bashir visited a JI training camp in The Philippines in 2000.
But they cleared the Islamist cleric of all charges connected to the 2003 blast at Jakarta's Marriott hotel, which killed 12 people.
[...]
One of Bashir's senior defence lawyers, Mahendradatta, told reporters the judges' finding was "illegal", because they had not relied on direct testimony to convict Bashir, but rather on police interviews.
The preacher has always denied any connection with terrorism, and repeatedly alleged the US and Australia pushed Indonesia into trying him. His lawyers have pointed out Bashir had been in prison for nine months when the suicide bomber attacked the Marriott hotel.
Bashir was jailed shortly after the Bali bombings, and he has already been tried and convicted once. Released and immediately rearrested in April last year, the preacher was charged under Indonesia's new anti-terrorism laws in connection with the Marriott blast, and under the penal code in connection with the Bali bombings. After a five-month trial, the judges from South Jakarta district court acquitted him of all five charges in connection with the Marriott blast, and two of the three charges connected to the Bali bombings.
Both Australia and the U.S. have condemned the light sentence, and Australia has called for the prosecutor to appeal the sentence.
Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said the issue was something Australians felt "very passionately" about.
"Our ambassador in Jakarta has already raised with officials in Jakarta that the sentence isn't very long," he said.
"We feel this as Australians because so many Australians died in the Bali bombing. We've got to, as a country, not just a Government, express the view on behalf of those whose loved ones were killed in Bali."
He believed a sentence of about eight years, as sought by the prosecution, would have been more appropriate.
Ba'asyir (Bashir) was found guilty of "an evil conspiracy" but acquitted of direct involvement. As he has already been in jail for 10 months due to his suspected links to the 2003 bombing of the Marriott, he will be released next year. He was acquitted last year of being the head of Jemaah Islamiyah, a terrorist group in Indonesia that has ties to al Qaeda.
more...
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February 24, 2005
Jihad on the Pacific Rim
Feb. 24 - If you have time (and even if you don't) I strongly recommend reading the article
Dire Straits by Austin Bay in the
Weekly Standard about the growth of terror networks in the Southern Pacific.
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November 25, 2004
Arrests in Australian embassy bombing
Nov. 25 - Four men involved in the pre-election bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta last September have been detained and were
planning more bombs, police say:
National police chief General Da'i Bachtiar said crack anti-terror police arrested the embassy attack field co-ordinator, named Rois, near Bogor on November 5, along with three other men: Hasan, Apuy and master bomb-maker Sogir.
Officers burst into their hideout and overpowered them before they could set off suicide bombs.
A cache of explosive packs and bundles were found at the scene -- chilling evidence more attacks were planned in the wake of the September 9 embassy car bomb blast that killed 11.
The four were detained in secret for almost three weeks as the hunt for other terrorists continued.
[...]
Even so, JI's [Jemaah Islamiah] principal bomb masterminds -- Malaysians Azahari Husin and Noordin Top -- are still on the run.
[...]
The missing pair are also implicated in the 2002 Bali bombing, which killed 202 people -- including 88 Australians -- and the August 5, 2003 attack on the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta, which killed 12 people.
The most important of the four arrested is Rois, alias Iwan Darmawan.
He is accused of being the right-hand man of Azahari, the bespectacled, British-trained engineer believed to have overseen design of the Bali bombs.
Rois is said to have recruited Heri Golun, the embassy suicide bomber.
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November 18, 2004
Australia renews pledge to fight terrorism
Nov. 18 - From Nov. 16, a reminder that the valiant Australians are leading the fight on terror in the Pacific (
Canberra vow to boost terror fight) and forging an impressive coalition with her nieghbours.
In a speech delivered at the opening of the 41st Australian parliament, their firm committment to fight terrorism was re-affirmed and some new steps announced:
[Governor General Michael] Jeffery said the government intended to keep a controversial election promise to create six Australian police "flying squads" for quick deployment across borders to "disrupt terrorist networks."
Canberra also will create a counterterrorism and intelligence training school for Southeast Asian and Pacific countries.
"The Australian government places high priority on strengthening cooperation with our regional neighbors and offering assistance in capacity building in the fight against terrorism," Jeffrey said.
There is much too little in the news media about Australian leadership in the war on terror, but I for one feel heartened to have these doughty warriors as good friends and allies.
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October 25, 2004
Our real allies
Oct. 25 - The news that
50 unarmed Iraqi soldiers were waylaid and murdered is perhaps the grimmest in several acts of violence in Iraq yesterday which also saw the death of a U.S. diplomat, Edward Seitz, and has been more than adequately covered everywhere, but I wanted to bring attention to the death of a Bulgarian coalition soldier which may have been overlooked:
A Bulgarian soldier was killed and two others were injured in a car-bombing near Karbala, the Bulgarian Defense Ministry said. Karbala, a Shi'ite holy city south of Baghdad, had been quiet since U.S. troops routed Shi'ite militia there last spring.
We don't often remember to thank the soldiers from other nations that are actively supporting the efforts in Iraq. My condolences to this man's family and hopes for a speedy recovery for the two injured soldiers.
11:56: 3 Australian diggers have been injured in the first ever attack on an Australian convoy:
The three-vehicle convoy, which protects Australia's diplomats, was hit when a bomber drove a car laden with explosives into it at about 8am Baghdad time, also killing several Iraqi civilians.
The attack happened 350m from the Australian embassy, which is outside the city's fortified Green Zone.
The convoy was believed to be on routine patrol or having returned from dropping off a diplomat. There were no diplomats with it at the time.
Defence Force spokesman Brigadier Mike Hannan said one of the soldiers was undergoing surgery last night for facial injuries, another was concussed and the third was treated for minor abrasions and released.
He said the injured were taken to a US medical facility and their families were being contacted.
What can one say about the valiant Australians? (Not enough, quite frankly.) Thank you, mates.
The most arrogant aspect of the Kerry campaign has been his disregard for the real allies who are fighting and dying in Iraq in favour of promoting his phantom allies:
U.N. ambassadors from several nations are disputing assertions by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry that he met for hours with all members of the U.N. Security Council just a week before voting in October 2002 to authorize the use of force in Iraq.
An investigation by The Washington Times reveals that while the candidate did talk for an unspecified period to at least a few members of the panel, no such meeting, as described by Mr. Kerry on a number of occasions over the past year, ever occurred.
Kerry probably got the year wrong, having meant that they all chatted that Christmas they spent together in Cambodia.
It's likely there will be a sustained campaign against American, Iraqi and coalition forces this coming week as the increase in violence is clearly intended to influence the U.S. elections, but it is my belief that knowing we are being manipulated will stiffen, not weaken, our spines.
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October 19, 2004
PM Howard wants new security pact with Indonesia
Oct. 19 - One of the many reasons I like Australian PM John Howard is his resolute leadership in the South Pacific. His latest initiative is to seek a new
security pact with Indonesia:
PRIME MINISTER John Howard wants to strike a new anti-terrorism treaty with Indonesian President-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after he is sworn in as leader of the world's largest Muslim nation.
[...]
While law enforcement agencies already co-operate on many fronts, Mr Howard now wants to enter into a formal deal with Indonesia to help pursue terrorists.
The south-east Asian terrorist network Jemaah Islamiah, which has close ties to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, is based in Indonesia and has carried out a string of deadly attacks across the country in the past three years, most notably the Bali bombing which killed over 200 people in 2002, and the attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta last month.
Mr Howard said today he would use his visit to Jakarta to signal his strong commitment to Australia's relationship with Indonesia.
Mr. Howard also intends to visit the Australian Embassy in Jakarta which was attacked shortly before the Australian elections.
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October 17, 2004
Mark Steyn on the Australian elections
Oct. 17 - Mark Steyn writes about Australian PM John Howard for
The Australian in
The short man stands tall. An excerpt:
But it wasn't until 9/11 that I – and many others around the world – came to appreciate just how good the new bloke was. Rhetorically speaking, Howard is my favourite of the Anglosphere warriors. Tony Blair oscillates between being excessively messianic and vocally anguished in a rather camp way. George W. Bush staggers around like a groggy prizefighter stumbling through the same lines over and over ("Saddam Hussein is a dictator. He gassed his own people. He's a dangerous man. He gassed his own people. He's a dictator", repeat for 15 months, then invade).
But Howard, for a man routinely described as having no charisma, manages to hit just the right tone. The French got all the attention in the days after September 11 with that Le Monde headline – "Nous sommes tous Americains" – but even at the time I preferred Howard's take: "There's no point in a situation like this being an 80 per cent ally."
You can take that one to the bank. The "we are all Americans" stuff turned out to be not quite as straightforward as at first glance, and masked a ton of nuance, evasion, sly Yank-bashing and traditional Gallic duplicitousness as ripe as an old camembert wrapped in Dominique de Villepin's poetry. Even when they were touting that headline, the French were never more than 34 per cent allies.
By comparison, that ABC radio interview three years ago where Howard did the 80 per cent riff is brimming with great material. I especially liked this bit: "I'm sure the Americans will behave in a targeted yet lethal fashion."
If you're still here ...
why?
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October 09, 2004
Hurray for Howard!
Oct. 9 - Leapt out of bed, logged onto Australia news and began to breathe again:
Latham concedes defeat to PM.
Throughout last night's Kerry-Bush debate I noted the lack of any mention of Australia, and surmised it was due to the fact that the voting was taking place.
Great news! Now I can admit how worried I was (probably because the election had been described as too close to call) that we would lose our staunch ally.
The Anglosphere, aka Chirac's Biggest Nightmare, is speaking. Is anyone listening?
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1
I breathed easier, as well, mi lady. November 3rd, I hope the world begins to understand.
Posted by: Blue Stars at October 15, 2004 10:34 PM (vnt0O)
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July 05, 2004
Australian digger awarded Bronze Star
July 5 - Australian Colonel Peter (Ted) Acutt was awarded the Bronze Star for exceptionally meritorious service (
Digger awarded US war medal).
"He was instrumental in maintaining effective coordination between various coalition military elements, the Coalition Provisional Authority and emerging Iraqi ministries," Mr Brough [Asst. Def. Min. Mal Brough] said in a statement.
"In particular, Colonel Acutt was a strong advocate of cooperative planning for security matters and some of his initiatives have assisted the transition to Iraqi sovereignty."
Well done, Colonel. Deepest respects and gratitude to you and the other valiant Australians.
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1
In that short report SMH couldn't resist mentioning that John Kerry also has a bronze star. Just amazing.
Posted by: Fred Boness at July 05, 2004 06:29 AM (oUV1M)
2
Heh, I noticed that, but they failed to point out that Sen. Kerry served in Vietnam!
Posted by: Debbye at July 05, 2004 06:54 AM (iN9jY)
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June 02, 2004
Australia Terror Watch
June 2 - An Australian court sentenced British-born Jack Roche nine years in prison for plotting to bomb the Israeli Embassy in Australia (
British Muslim is jailed for al-Qa'eda embassy bomb plot.)
The Australian press reports that the prosecutor, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock, has asked officials to appeal leniency of the sentence.
Roche could be released on parole from prison in Western Australia in May 2007 - after District Court judge Paul Healy on Tuesday reduced what he said would have been a 12-year sentence to nine years because of Roche's co-operation with authorities in October and November 2002 and his eventual guilty plea.
The article also notes that Roche may have received a light sentence because he may have tried to become an informant after contacting the ASIO (Australian Security Intelligence Organisation) in 2000.
Mr Ruddock has confirmed ASIO failed to respond when Roche left two messages in July and August 2000 - three months after his return from Malaysia, Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he met al-Qaeda terrorists.
"The Government does see the issue of terrorism and the potential harm it could wreak in Australia as a matter of very real significance," he said.
The government source said ASIO had been aware for more than a year of one officer's failure to contact Roche.
Another Australian, Bilal Khazal, has been
charged with publishing documents inciting terrorism on the internet (with more
here about a list of targets.)
I have to run a search tomorrow - sorry, I have to get ready for work - but I believe Khazal's name came up during a trial in Spain of al Qaeda operatives accused of assisting the Sept. 11 plotters.
Khazal had been sentenced in absentia by a Lebanese court for his part in the bombing of a MacDonalds in April, 2003.
Khazal is said to be connected with Saleh Jamal, who was arrested in Lebanon and gave an unexpected confession about his association with al Qaeda:
THE Sydney fugitive arrested in Lebanon has confessed to raising terror funds in Australia, recruiting potential holy warriors and organising bombings, Beirut's chief prosecutor said last night.
In claims that surprised Australian authorities, Prosecutor-General Adnan Addoum said the movements of Saleh Jamal, 32, had been monitored before he jumped bail in March using a false passport.
Mr Addoum said Jamal had confessed to attending Palestinian refugee camps since he fled Australia in March and to forming links with al-Qaeda members in Lebanon.
He also apparently confessed to a role in a bombing last month near the embassy district in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Police sources confirmed yesterday that a second man arrested with Jamal, Haitham Milhem, was also a Sydney resident. The nature of the charges against him were due to become clearer by early this morning.
Tim Blair comments
here on Roche's sentence, and Professor Bunyip has some
links that refer to the website said to be run by Khazal.
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06:29 PM
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