A Cautionary Tale

I briefly touched on this matter in my previous post but subsequent developments warrant a separate post.

What follows is a very, very sad story, the moral of which is surely: If you know SFA about an issue, then keep your mouth shut. Otherwise...

But let me begin at the beginning. In the beginning was the Word & the Word was with Rupert Murdoch, & the Word was Rupert Murdoch:

"[T]he [boycott, divestment & sanctions (BDS)] protest is not only futile but counter-productive." (Editorial: Not the way to make the point, The Australian, 15/8/11)

"The BDS movement is misguided and counter-productive." (Editorial: Philistines for Palestine, The Australian, 3/9/11)

Got it? Murdoch/God says that BDS is counter-productive! So is NSW Greens MLC Jeremy Buckingham actually channeling Murdoch or is this just a case of 'great minds' thinking alike?:

"Mr Buckingham argued that the [BDS] campaign was 'counter-productive to the cause of peace and human rights in the Middle East'*." (Anti-Israel boycott opens fresh split in Greens, Sean Nicholls, Josephine Tovey, Sydney Morning Herald, 9/9/11) [* See my 9/9/11 post Which Side Are You On?]

Whatever the answer to my question, it speaks volumes about Buckingham that he and Murdoch are on the same wave length here.

Now observe how Loose Lip's dumb statement was pounced on by the crafty Senator Boswell, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, and used to beat Buckingham's federal colleagues around the chops in the Senate on 13 September:

"Senator Boswell: (Queensland) (15:53): I seek leave to amend general business notice of motion No. 400 standing in my name for today by omitting paragraph (c) and substituting the following revised paragraph: (c) agrees with the NSW Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham's assertion 'that the tone and public perception of the Max Brenner protests may be counter-productive to the cause of peace and human rights in the Middle East'." (Hansard, 13/9/11) As the sorry story of the federal Greens' walloping appears in my previous post, Wielding Zionism's Big Stick in the Senate, I'll move on...

Would that the story of how the clueless Buckingham supplied the stick used to thrash Bob Brown and Christine Milne in the Senate on Tuesday had ended there. But no, quite incredibly, another Green, Cate Faehrmann MLC, latched onto his fatal words and made them her own in the very thick of yet another attempt to wallop the Greens, this time in the NSW Legislative Council, yesterday:

"I share the concern of some members," cried clueless Cate, "that the tone and public perception of these protests have been counter-productive and they are of concern to me." (Hansard, 15/9/11)

And so I wearily repeat my question: Is NSW Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann also channeling Rupert Murdoch here or is this just another case of 'great minds' thinking alike?

Buckingham just sat out yesterday's Legislative Council debate in silence, thankfully leaving the defence of the BDS campaign to the two Greens in that cesspit who do know what they're talking about - John Kaye and David Shoebridge.

But not before enduring these buckets of slime from some of the specialists present:

"I strongly believe that [racist and unreasonable attacks on small businesses are] an infringement of people's rights and freedoms and an attack on free enterprise and I congratulate my colleagues on the stand they are taking on this issue. I include Greens member the Hon. Jeremy Buckingham, for whom I have great respect because he has spoken out against this campaign. This campaign is counter-productive to the cause of peace and human rights in the Middle East - it achieves nothing." The Hon. Marie Ficarra (Liberal)

"However, the comments made by Dr John Kaye are another issue. Dr John Kaye said we were making cheap political points and that the purpose of [my] motion was to cause wedges. I did not bring The Greens into this debate. I did not do this out of respect for people such as the Hon. Jeremy Buckingham... Even though we have grave differences on policies, the Hon. Jeremy Buckingham... [is] liked and respected in this House." The Hon. David Clarke (Liberal)

Murdoch's minions at The Australian must've been cacking themselves. Not to mention the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO, Vic Alhadeff, taking it all in from his perch in the visitors gallery. (See my previous post on Alhadeff's role in these goings on.)

And, speaking of slime, some of the same goo tipped on Buckingham will no doubt be coming Faehrmann's way.