Sunday, November 28, 2004
To date, Sunday 28 November 2004, it has been published in the Melbourne MCV. The Sydney Star Observer, which would have been an important place for it to be published, has ignored it. Its editor is more and more ignoring my letters, possibly because they are saying things which might upset his "sensitive" readers and put them off his bar paper!
MCV edited out my last sentence about Professor Flint and John Laws. Pity!!!
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Mannie De Saxe, Lesbian and Gay Solidarity Melbourne
PO Box 1675
Preston South
Vic 3072
Phone:(03)9471 4878
email: josken@zipworld.com.au
web: http://www.zipworld.com.au/~josken
The reason John Laws is so dangerous is because he has such a huge
listenership in Australia, and people hang on to his every "pearl of
wisdom".
It is for this reason that the recent homophobic attack by Laws on a
visitor to this country must not be allowed to die down.
Homosexuals are assaulted, verbally and physically, around the world
on a daily basis, leading to mental and physical maiming, and in many
cases to death.
Homophobia is generally propagated by the world's three major
religions' fundamentalists, resulting in events like Matthew Shepard's
ghastly murder in the USA a few years ago, and some equally
horrendous ones in Australia on an ongoing basis. Who will ever be
able to forget the pictures of the "Reverend" Fred Phelps of the
Westboro Baptist Church holding banners outside the funeral of
Matthew Shepard saying Matthew was damned because he was a
homosexual and was spreading AIDS!
The word poofter is used as a daily term of abuse for any reason
whatever, by small children onwards, most hearing the word from
parents, siblings, and school friends. It has got to be stopped, and
education has got to start at the youngest age possible to inform
children of the disastrous use of the word. Ever seen what happens at
schools? Ever seen teachers' responses?
It is an international disgrace - the world statistics for gay-bashings,
murders, suicides are horrendous! The buck stops - where???
Laws apologises?? His apologies will only be seen to be sincere when
he takes measures to counteract his homophobia of many years
standing. I hold no briefs for the very discredited Professor David Flint,
formerly of the Australian Broadcasting Authority, but Laws' attacks on
him were further homophobic utterances.
Lest we forget!!
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Laws told his listeners on radio 2UE in Sydney that Kressley was "strutting around" at the Melbourne Cup and it made him "really worried" about the state of the country.
He asked, "Who is this pompous little pansy prig who's strutting around everywhere yesterday (2 November 2004) telling Australian blokes how to wear their pocket square as he called it? That's poof speak for handkerchief . . . Who is he? He might be famous in certain circles, circles being the operative word - we know where they are."
Laws went on to call Kressley a "pillow biter" who was unfit to judge women's fashion.
"I remember when Australia was a land of proud, dedicated women and hard-drinking men. M-E-N, men. Why this sudden proliferation of pansies, I don't know. It's a major issue," he said, before playing a recorded sound bite that said "piss off, pansy."
Now he is trying to get himself off the hook, after a delegation from gay and lesbian organisations went to see him and after the words he used in his broadcast were graffitied on the new premises of the New Mardi Gras organisation.
This reminds me of the story of Stalin and Trotsky after Stalin had banished Trotsky and other members of the politbureau that Stalin had accused of plotting against him and his government, to Siberia. It was the May Day Rally at Red Square outside the Kremlin in the late 1920s, and the huge army parade was marching past. At a pause in the ceremonies, Stalin was handed a telegram and a big smile lit his face. "Comrades, comrades" he said, I have just recieved a telegram from Trotsky, and this is what he says. You were right. I was wrong. I should apologise."
While Stalin was beaming, an old comrade, who had been listening to the story said to Stalin, "Comrade Josef, don't forget that Comrade Leon is a Jew." "So," said Stalin, "what are you trying to say?"
"Comrade Josef," he said, "This is how it reads - 'You were right? I was wrong? I should apologise?"
And so to John Laws - he was wrong -he apologises - and the harm he has done is incalculable!
Now let's hear all the voices from members of the gay, lesbian and transgender communities, continuing to complain, until Laws is censured by 2UE, the ABA (ha ha ha!!!) and all other relevant organisations such as the Anti-Discrimination Board, Bob Carr and other prominent citizens - including our well known homophobic prime minister and his minister for trying to damage one of our famous judges, Bill Heffernan, the PM's behind the scenes bully boy - well, one of them, anyway!
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
This photo needs to be given its context. It comes from The Age newspaper of 12 November 2004, and the photo appears beneath the heading:
Howard condemns Ku Klux Klan photo.
The article which follows, by Brendan Nicholson, from Canberra, reports on a particular army base in Australia.
This is the whole report:
"An episode in which Australian soldiers posed in Ku Klux Klan-style hoods with black recruits has been condemned by Prime Minister John Howard and senior army officers.
Mr Howard said the photograph, taken just before the soldiers went to East Timor, was offensive.
"I'm fairly broadminded and reasonable about pranks and so forth in the military, " he said. "But anything that touches upon somebody's race and particularly involving such an abhorrent organisation as the Ku Klux Klan is not a joke."
The photograph was taken at Townsville's Lavarack Barracks in September 2000 and involved soldiers from Delta Company of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Australia Regiment.
White soldiers donned laundry bags with eye holes cut in them and posed in intimidating fashion behind several dark-skinned recruits.
Some of the black soldiers involved are considering legal action and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission is also investigating.
The incident has already been the subject of one inquiry, which resulted in soldiers from the unit being told to undergo additional "equity and diversity" training to counter racism.
A further complaint was made recently, with a second investigation to be completed by Christmas, according to Army Chief General Peter Leahy.
Soldiers have also claimed that armour plates were removed from a black soldier's bulletproof jacket in East Timor, and that offensive messages were scrawled on black soldiers' equipment.
General Leahy said the Ku Klux Klan photograph was deplorable. "we're appalled by the behaviour that brought this photograph about," he said.
He said he was disgusted that soldiers still thought they could get away with behaviour "of this intolerable nature. Where have they been whilst we've been training and dealing with matters of equity and diversity?"
He said the army believed the soldiers thought it was a prank, "a bit like a school photograph - they thought at the end of the formal photographs 'We'll have a fun one.' Well, this one wasn't fun. They got it wrong and the consequences, while unintended, have been deplorable."
But the local federal MP, Liberal Peter Lindsay, said there was no racism at Lavarack Barracks. "It was just a fun thing before the troops went overseas," he said.
He said the photograph should never have been taken, but that an inquiry was "a waste of time." "Out in the general community, nobody would even turn a hair."(my italics)
Townsville photographer Richard Fraley, who took the picture, said it was done as a joke and was not racist.
Platoons competed to see who could come up with the best "fun photo," he said. "These guys ran off, grabbed these (laundry bags) and came back for the Ku Klux Klan stuff. That's all it was. There was no ceremonies, and the whole thing took two to three minutes.
"I have been with the army taking their photos since Vietnam. I have never, ever, seen any racism."
Townsville residents are familiar with allegations of Ku Klux Klan activities in their city. In August 2003, local Aborigines complained when leaflets bearing the letters KKK and a swastika appeared in letterboxes. Homeless Aborigines have also complained of rock and petrol bomb attacks by skinheads.
General Leahy confirmed that since the photograph was taken some of the officers involved had been promoted.
He said he found "incomprehensible" the claim about the bulletproof jacket. "We're a team. We work together to keep each other alive. It's a dangerous environment out there. I just can't understand how that would have happened."
Brisbane lawyer Simon Harrison said he was considering complaints of brutal treatment from more than 50 former members of the Defence Force.
The allegations, relating to treatment over the past two years, included psychological bullying and a case where a soldier suffered pneumonia and frostbite after being forced to stand under a cold shower.
Defence Force Chief Peter Cosgrove said the photograph was galling because the force had a good record of looking after indigenous recruits.
The day before this story broke in The Age, there had been a radio programme on the ABC in The World Today, which reported the story and interviewed the Defence Force Chief General Peter Cosgrove and the loval Federal MP, Peter Lindsay. Here is that report:
ABC Online The World Today - No 'core of racism' at Lavarack barracks: local MP [This is the print version of story http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2004/s1241256.htm]
The World Today - Thursday, 11 November , 2004 12:10:41
Reporter: Alexandra Kirk
ELEANOR HALL: The Prime Minister and the Chief of the Australian Defence Force have condemned the actions of Australian soldiers posing as Ku Klux Klan members for a photograph, which has been splashed across the nation's tabloid newspapers today.The photograph shows soldiers dressed as Klan members, while Aboriginal and other dark skinned soldiers sit in the front row, without the white hoods.The army investigated the incident, which occurred at the country's biggest army barracks in Townsville, but the defence chief, General Peter Cosgrove, has revealed another investigation is now underway.The local Federal MP, Peter Lindsay, says the photo should never have been taken but has described as "outrageous" allegations that there is racism at Lavarack barracks.From Canberra, Alexandra Kirk reports.ALEXANDRA KIRK: The photograph was taking on the parade ground of Lavarack barracks in Townsville in 2000, just before the battalion was deployed to East Timor. The Prime Minister says action was taken by the army. The newspaper reports say the official report found the incidents to be "a jovial banter", and that while the army found the photo to be in poor taste, no further action was taken and the officers behind the stunt now hold senior positions in the military.John Howard says the photo's in very bad taste, and he condemns it. He says anything touching on someone's race, involving an abhorrent organisation like the Ku Klux Klan, is not a joke.Defence Force Chief General Peter Cosgrove agrees, saying it's inappropriate, offensive and galling.PETER COSGROVE: It was investigated when it was first presented in early 2003, and action was taken then. There's been further complaints since then, and of course they're what is being dealt with now by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission, and equally by the army.ALEXANDRA KIRK: According to newspaper reports, the scandal's set to deepen because victims of racist abuse at Lavarack barracks are preparing to launch civil action against the army over the photograph and "other acts of bastardisation".But the local Federal MP, Peter Lindsay, denies there's any core of racism at Lavarack.PETER LINDSAY: These are outrageous allegations and should just be treated with the contempt they deserve.ALEXANDRA KIRK: And what, according to you, are the real facts?PETER LINDSAY: Ah, well, I'm going to quote the photographer who took the picture, and he is adamant that on the day the photograph was taken it was just a fun thing before the troops went overseas. There was absolutely no context of racism…ALEXANDRA KIRK: But do you regard putting hoods on and dressing up as a Ku Klux Klan is just a fun thing?PETER LINDSAY: That's another matter. The… and that comes really to the core of the issue, and I think this is what really needs to be brought out.Members of the Defence Force have a higher duty to abide by standards that the normal community wouldn't abide… necessarily abide by. And we've seen issues such as kitten killers up here; we've seen the sign in the helicopter that flew past the Gold Coast, now we've seen these. Those are sorts of things that I think that the commanders in the Defence Force just are very, very unhappy about, because soldiers really should know that they shouldn't carry on in this matter. And I think that's the core of the issue. But there's no racism core whatsoever, and people should understand that.ALEXANDRA KIRK: How do you know that there's no racism core?PETER LINDSAY: I'm the federal member in Townsville, and I would be the first person to know if there was any unsettling racism appearing up here, and I am very close to the Defence Force, and there is absolutely zero reports to me of anything of that nature, and as I say, I would know if there were.ALEXANDRA KIRK: Well, the Chief of the Defence Force says that there was an investigation into this photograph, but there's a subsequent one now. Do you support the incident being investigated a second time?PETER LINDSAY: To me it seems a waste of time, I've got to say to you. But, look, it doesn't hurt to just double check. But I think we should move on. I think what we should address is the issue of making sure that the members of our Defence Force – and there's 55,000 of them – every last one of them understands that the Defence Force has standards that are higher than the rest of the community, and that goes for things like drug use, for example, intolerance and so on, and…ALEXANDRA KIRK: Do you agree with that approach?PETER LINDSAY: Yes, inappropriate behaviour, yes.ALEXANDRA KIRK: So, what do you say about the photo then?PETER LINDSAY: It should never have been taken, and everybody would agree with that. But it's the sort of thing that out in the general community nobody would even turn a hair at. You go to a bucks party and you see that sort of thing done. And as long as it's understood in the context that it was taken, people don't take offence. But it shouldn't happen in the Defence Force, and that photograph should never have been taken.ELEANOR HALL: Peter Lindsay, the Federal Liberal MP for the Queensland seat of Herbert, speaking to Alexandra Kirk.
© 2004 Australian Broadcasting CorporationCopyright information: http://abc.net.au/common/copyrigh.htmPrivacy information: http://abc.net.au/privacy.htm
This is a picture of John Howard's Australia - 2004 racism version. Racism is an ongoing problem in Australia, and actions like this only go towards inflaming an already tense situation, aggravated by Australia's involvements in the imperial wars of the USA and UK.
The Age report which carried the above story reported on the Army's catalogue of tragedies at Lavarack and elsewhere. So whatever arguments the politicians have of bastardisation in the Army not occurring, the evidence suggests otherwise. No wonder what has gone on in Iraq at Abu Ghraib and other places shows this to be endemic in the nature of armies. This is what we fight wars for!!???
Friday, November 12, 2004
Do they think that Palestinians will stop fighting for a homeland free of Israelis just because Arafat is dead?
And, as if all of this isn't bad enough, the stupid Israelis have re-arrested Mordechai Vanunu on some new trumped-up charges, because he wants to leave Israel and has tried to speak to journalists! What possible secrets could Vanunu have after 18 years of cruel Israeli incarceration?
Maybe what they are really worried about is that what he whistle-blew on 18 years ago is still a current issue which they don't want the rest of the world to know about!
As if the rest of the world wasn't aware that South Africa and Israel combined their technology and brains and exploded a nuclear device in the South Atlantic about 20 years ago!
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Our brave new world is a very ugly place to be living in at the moment.
As for the USA and Iraq - the scandal and murders get worse every day, and the world allows it all to happen! The Iraqi people are expendable, all Africans are expendable - Darfur just doesn't matter - no oil there, no vast mineral wealth - who cares? And the same for the rest of Africa - France bombs the hell out of the Ivory Coast, but that, too is ok - they are just protecting French citizens and French interests - to say nothing of being a colonial power in the region to regain some control - must be some wealth there!!
Thursday, November 04, 2004
The Health Minister Tony Abbott has started on the abortion debate, the Education Minister Brendan Nelson has started on the education debate about universities being controlled by the federal government and not the states, industrial relations is already on the drawing board, Medicare is in their sites, censorship has already got worse and worse since 1996 - it has crept in more and more in every sphere of our lives, security is being thrown at us out of our tv screens on a regular basis - the list goes on and on, and that is just for starters.
Soon it will be the aged pension and other welfare beneficiaries who will be "rorting the system" so we will need to be put in our places, and of course this also ties in with the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Telstra will be sold and we will then get local calls charged on a time basis, thus making internet usage almost a luxury.
And today, 3 November 2004, comes the news that George W Bush has been re-elected as president of the USA.
That doesn't leave too many western so-called "democracies" left to lurch further to the right. Racism is on the rise in Europe and the refugee problem has become even worse than it has been in many European countries to say nothing of the concentration camps in which asylum seekers to Australia have been incarcerated for years.
The prisoners in Guantanamo Bay will now be abused even worse than they already have been, and the two Australians will probably perish in Guantanamo or US prisons.
What a depressing scenario, and we haven't even touched on Israel and Iraq yet!
