'Trump's Aussie Mates'

"Mark Latham, Ross Cameron and Rowan Dean, or 'Trump's Aussie Mates', have teamed up for a new panel show on Sky News called Outsiders. It'a an answer to the ABC's Insider program, the embodiment of an out-of-touch, inner-city Leftist class, according to the trio. Former Labor Party leader, Latham, former Howard government frontbencher, Cameron, and editor of The Spectator magazine, Rowan Dean, hosted a US election-day function called Trump's Aussie Mates on November 9 in Sydney. High on Donald Trump's unexpected victory, the three men joined Sky's Paul Murray Live that night to discuss and celebrate what had just transpired." (Trio trumpeting views from the outside, Jake Mitchell, The Australian, 21/11/16)

For the dirt on all three of 'Trump's Aussie Mates', just click on the labels below.

All I want to do here is ask whether this is the same Mark Latham who poured scorn on what he called Labor's 'Little Americans', or the 'Big Mac faction', in his 2005 book, The Latham Diaries, and who wrote there (p 393) that:

1) "The Americans have made us a bigger target in the War against Terror."
2) "The truth is, the Americans need us more than we need them."
3) "The Alliance is the last manifestation of the White Australia mentality."

An Australian First?

Has an Australian politician's total ignorance* of a subject ever gotten in the way of his holding forth on it?

Until Monday night's Q&A my guess would've been no.

I'm happy to have been proven wrong.  

The topic under discussion was Saudi society/women.

When compere Tony Jones asked ex-Labor leader Mark Latham for his opinion, Latham responded simply:

"I just don't know enough about the society, Tony, to add to the discussion. You are better getting another comment from Lina than from me."

Now in case you think I'm making too much of Latham's achievement here, contrast his admirable restraint with the waffle which followed from motormouth Craig Emerson:

"More broadly I think the progress of women is stuttering progress at best. You know, they strive - they seek the sorts of opportunities that blokes have had for thousands of years, and when they do they often find they're up against resistance, a brick wall. You think of that poor little girl who the Taliban shot in the head because she wanted to go to school. She did go to school and she encouraged other girls to go to school. Now that's an extreme example but that's what, you know, young women can be up against around the world. Another girl was doused with acid because she wanted to have a boyfriend who wasn't designated by her parents or someone else to be the right and just boyfriend. I mean these are basic rights that I think women around the world do not enjoy and I think women and men should back them in and continue making progress because it is not satisfactory."

[*See my 6/2/12 post On Ignorance.]

The Powerlessness of One

These two quotes were made for each other:

"Cabinet sources told The Australian yesterday that at least 9 ministers spoke against Ms Gillard's 'personal decision' to have Australia vote against the resolution to give Palestine observer status at the UN. The torrid meeting was described as 'vigorous' and 'willing' with only one minister, Senator [Stephen] Conroy, prepared to speak on Ms Gillard's side and only one other Minister, another Victorian, Bill Shorten, prepared to vote with the Prime Minister." (PM facing rebellion in the ranks, Dennis Shanahan & David Crowe, The Australian, 28/11/12)

"Bob Brown is killing us on this issue through the power of a simple, commonsense message: Bush is an imbecile and Australia should not be a part of his war. Mind you, our position could be worse - Conroy could be in charge. At today's Shadow Cabinet he formally moved that we endorse Howard's deployment of troops and an American invasion of Iraq, irrespective of the UN. Not even the other Big Macs - the US faction of Rudd, Smith and Swan - could support him. All he had was his own vote. Imagine that: the ALP supporting Bush and Howard in the invasion of a country on the other side of the world without UN approval. If we followed the Conroy doctrine, after the next election, Brown would be the Leader of the Opposition." (Mark Latham, The Latham Diaries, 2005, p 211)

Beyond Silly

"Ross Cameron, the brilliant but creepy Liberal Member for Parramatta, has talked me into participating in his youth leadership forum in Canberra. I rather suspect it's a front for mobilising young Christian soldiers, plus some quality box for Ross." (The Latham Diaries, 14/2/97, p 57)

Every so often the corporate press publishes an opinion piece of such surpassing silliness as to leave you shaking your head in disbelief.

Iran versus Israel: more oil on troubled waters, by Howard-era politician,  seriously sexy evangelical and occasional Sydney Morning Herald columnist Ross Cameron, is as fine an example of the What the f..k! genre as you could ever hope to read. It appeared in Saturday's issue.

Some gems:

"For many Australians the name Iran conjures images of bearded and severe Ayatollahs and a wide-eyed President Ahmadinejad occupying the no-man's land between sanity and fanaticism."

Yes, an Islamophobic, Iranophobic and Ziophilic press that serves up flummery such as this certainly has a lot to answer for.

"Since this country could easily become the biggest, cataclysmic news story of the year, it is worth spending a few minutes trying to understand its pathology."

Iran's pathology? I rest my case.

"The Shiites are the Pentecostals of Islam - true believers on an evangelical mission."

Wide-eyed happy slappers?

"While Sunnis are largely resigned to a Jewish homeland, the Shiite diaspora can't utter 'Israel' and 'legitimate' in the same sentence."

Try telling that to Sunni Palestinians and Egyptians. Shiite diaspora? The Shiites of Lebanon and Iraq are a diaspora? And here's me (and they) thinking they're Lebanese and Iraqis all along. Silly me (and them)!

"Ironically in the current tension, Persians and Jews share the most ancient bond of affection of any two surviving cultures."

But of course! The evidence is just sooo compelling:

"Unlike Sunnis, Shiites and Jews share the idea that edible creatures of the sea must have fins or scales."

Man, you should see those Sunnis tucking into whale and dolphin. Incontrovertible evidence, no doubt about it, of the ancient bond of affection between Sunnis and Japanese.

"The Iranian Bahais have their pilgrimage shrine in Israel."

Err... but it dates back to when the place was still called P-a-l-e-s-t-i-n-e, like in the 2nd half of the nineteenth century. Israel only ethnically cleansed its way into being in 1948. Go figure!

"Neither side are Arabs."

Except for the roughly 60% of Israel consisting of Arab Jews.

"History tells us that Israel and Iran can be friends but Iran's resolve to follow its own course seems as intense as Israel's determination to survive. Iran's leaders believe they are following a righteous path. That moral conviction, combined with oil and gas, Hamas and Hezbollah, is a volatile force."

Israel's determination to survive? Oh yes, and on just a few hundred nukes a day too! And BTW - how did Sunni Hamas get into the picture? Weren't Sunnis supposed to be resigned to a Jewish homeland?

What really puzzles me is why a bloke who clearly knows nothing about the Middle East gets prime space on the opinion pages to demonstrate this. This is not to say, however, that a piece from Cameron is entirely devoid of interest. After all, anyone whose Wikipedia entry reads like the plot of a soap opera definitely has something to offer. I'm just not sure it belongs in a paper that has pretensions to quality journalism.

The Carr Doctrine So Far 3

"Ended a long day with a private fundraising dinner at the home of a businessman, Paul Binstead of Pymble. Carr was the star turn, laying into the Americans over Iraq, a scarifying 15-minute critique of their faulty strategy and how it will foster Islamic fundamentalism worldwide. It's a measure of how bad the Americans are going that someone loke Bob, an old Cold War warrior, is up them for the rent. I need him to come out publicly and say these things. The thug Armitage and his underlings are in the Murdoch papers all the time: the born-to-rule mentality of American imperialism, trying to interfere in our sovereign system, trying to help Howard. They see us as a colony, not an ally. Carr is the senior Labor head of government in this country - he could play a vital role, put them back in their box. But he won't. When push comes to shove, he's like the rest of the Labor conservatives: scared of Murdoch, scared of Packer, scared of the Americans, our great and powerful friends. Bob is going to the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue in June, the foreign policy club funded by the US. He won't repeat his comments from tonight publicly, they would throw him out of the club." (Tuesday, 20 April 2004: The Latham Diaries, Mark Latham, 2005, p 281)

So far, Murdoch court reporters love Bob Carr:

"In keeping with the early battles against what he calls the 'comms' in the Labor Party, Carr's position remains hard Right. He will not only be as pro-US as Alexander Downer, he will also be able to match his Washington hosts in Civil War history, as well as the history of the Kennedy administration. On a personal note, I spent a week in Israel with Carr and his wife Helena in 2010: his hawkishness was everywhere on display, including when he told our hosts that were terrorists threatening the citizens of NSW, he would have built a dividing wall here too." (The hard Right man cometh, Imre Salusinszky, The Australian, 3/3/12)

And yet, despite his place in Mark Latham's famous conga line of suckholes and his total ignorance of the history of Palestine/Israel, Carr is described in Salusinszky's report as having a "passion for history" (quoting Michael Egan) and a "knowledge of the issues above anybody else in Australia and far in excess of anybody in public office" (quoting Morris Iemma), and is alleged (by Salusinszky) to have "doubled the IQ of Gillard's caucus."

"Carr was always serious about foreign affairs. He founded Labour Friends of Israel. He was a passionate social democrat, which made him a serious anti-communist all through the Cold War. He gave the NSW Right whatever class and elan it had." (Carr right choice for foreign job, Greg Sheridan, The Australian, 3/3/12)

However, there's a fly in Sheridan's ointment: "Going back through Carr's blog in detail yesterday, I was struck, generally, by its erudition and range, but there were one or two things to disagree with. I think he is a bit too sanguine about the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran, and a bit Pollyanna-ish in his interpretation of the Chinese government."

And what's this?:

"Bob Carr has removed an attack on the Dalai Lama from his personal blog where he decribed the spiritual leader as a 'cunning monk'. Australia's next foreign minister, Mr Carr said his views on the Thoughtlines blog were personal ones, but he did not want them to distract from his plum job." (Foreign Minister deletes Dalai Lama attack from blog, Samantha Maiden & Linda Silmalis, Sunday Telegraph, 4/3/12)

And the Carr Doctrine So Far? Well, it's still on Thoughtlines as I type, but will that too be removed or subjected to a judicious nip and tuck, I wonder?

Mistress of Reinvention

By the time you swear you're his
shivering & sighing
and he vows his passion is
infinite, undying -
Lady, make a note of this:
One of you is lying.
Dorothy Parker

"Over the years I have received tender messages from Gillard saying how much she misses me in Canberra... One of them concerned her study tour of the US, sponsored by the American government in 2006 - or to use her moniker - 'a CIA re-education course'... She promised 'to catch up when I'm back from the US and I'll show you my CIA-issued ankle holster'. I never got to see her ankles or her holster, but I will say this: you have to hand it to those guys in Washington... Within the space of 2 years they converted her from a highly cynical critic of all matters American into yet another foreign policy sycophant." (Latham turns on 'brainwashed' Gillard, Christian Kerr, The Australian, 20/8/09)

"Distinguished members of the Senate and the House... You have a true friend down under. From my parents' generation, the defining image of America was the landing at Normandy. Your 'boys of Point-du-Hoc'... risking everything to help free the world. For my own generation, the defining image of America was the landing on the moon. My classmates and I were sent home from school to watch the great moment on television. I'll always remember thinking that day: Americans can do anything. Americans helped free the world of my parents' generation. Americans inspired the world of my own youth. I stand here and I see the same brave and free people today. I believe you can do anything still. There is a reason the world always looks to America. Your great dream - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - inspires us all. Those of you who have spent time with Australians know that we are not given to overstatement. By nature we are laconic speakers and by conviction we are realistic thinkers. In both our countries, real mates talk straight. We mean what we say. You have an ally in Australia. An ally for war and peace. An ally for hardship and prosperity. An ally for 60 years past and Australia is an ally for all the years to come. Geography and history alone could never explain the strength of the commitment between us. Rather, our values are shared and our people are friends. This is the heart of our alliance... The eyes of the world are still upon you. Your city on a hill cannot be hidden. Your brave and free people have made you the masters of recovery and reinvention. As I stand in this cradle of democracy I see a nation that has changed the world and known remarkable days. I firmly believe you are the same people who amazed me when I was a small girl by landing on the moon. On that great day I believed Americans could do anything. I believe that still. You can do anything today." (From the transcript of Julia Gillard's speech to Congress, 10/3/11)

"And while barely a couple of hundred of the 535 elected representatives and senators showed up for Gillard's speech, officials avoided embarrassment - and an echo chamber - by back-filling with staffers and interns and even a few rows of school children in navy blue uniforms. Their welcome was genuinely warm, even if it also reflected the weight of Australia's worldly standing. And when the Prime Minister entered the chamber at 11:05am, they stood and turned towards her, applauding dutifully, some juggling Blackberries and iPhones that would keep them in touch discreetly with matters of state du jour - federal budget cuts and Libyan no-fly zones. They were on their feet again 5 minutes later when Gillard's mostly staccato lines touched on friendship, again after another couple of minutes when she told them they could achieve anything and soon again when she confirmed Australia's betrothal. They rose, too, mid-speech when she condemned Iran's nuclear program. But some American brows appeared to furrow ever so slightly when she offered what might have been construed as gratuitous advice... The PM made her way from the chamber at 11:40, autographing the printed programs of a handful of eager attendees as the crowd beat a hasty retreat, mostly through side exits, and the students made a beeline for Senator McCain." (Congress laps it up as the Prime Minister lays it on thick, Simon Mann, The Age, 11/3/11)

Running Amok at The Australian

Murdoch's The Australian, which ludicrously bills itself as the 'Heart of the Nation', is the most blatantly and relentlessly ideological of Australia's corporate fishwrappers. This purveyor of climate change 'scepticism', free market fundamentalism, militarism, Islamophobia, general all-round nastiness, and (despite the occasional sop to the contrary) pro-Israel zealotry, was recently the subject of a well-deserved verbal walloping by former Labor Party leader Mark Latham. Some excerpts:

"In the self-indulgence stakes it is hard to beat The Australian. Newspapers are supposed to talk to their readers about interesting events. Too often The Australian talks to itself about itself. Barely an edition passes without the denigration of its imagined foes, defined as those who disagree with its editorial line and/or work for rival media companies - a broad catchment. Barely an edition passes without the invention of a new angle by which the paper can boast of its imagined magnificence." (Yes, it's you I'm talking about, The Weekend Australian Financial Review, 29/12/10)

"The problem with modern journalism is one of expectations. As Peter Costello has noted, journalism is the only profession in which its proponents have no direct experience with their subject matter (as parliamentarians or public servants) yet regard themselves as experts. Given the nature of their work, reporters spend a lot of time hanging around important people, building an impression that they know what these people are thinking. These two factors combine to create a psychology of false wisdom. When a politician provides a journalist with off-the-record information, it is usually reported at face value. No weight is given to the way in which politicians tell reporters only what they want them to hear - to set a certain agenda, to destabilise a certain opponent, to achieve a certain self-serving goal. Journalists have an expectation of knowing all when, in practice, they can only ever know a small portion of a politician's activities." (ibid)

[Although Latham doesn't mention foreign editor Greg (Jerusalem Prize) Sheridan in his serve, the glove certainly fits. With respect to the latter's 'coverage' of the Middle East conflict in particular, and Middle East issues in general, he acts merely as a medium for Israeli politicians, channeling their words and agenda, unmediated by any hint of critical analysis or scepticism.]

"[The Australian's] owners and managers not only have a strongly formed opinion about politics, they believe their views should be adopted by the political system. Its editorial statement of December 18 captures this approach neatly: the paper has 'well-developed ideas about what Australia needs and it is against this vision that we assess policies and tactics'. This could readily pass for the charter of a political party. In some respects, this is what The Australian has become. It sees itself as a participant in the political process, forging a lively policy agenda and making and breaking political leaders. Have no doubt The Australian considers itself one of the most important institutions in Parliament House. It has moved beyond the dissemination of news and into the distribution of political power. Just as it is willing to browbeat politicians who defy its editorial line, the same self-indulgent methods are applied to its rivals in the media. Ultimately, this is what its edition of December 18 was about. It declared that day 'a crisis in political journalism that mirrors the crisis in the political class' and, more generally, the media 'have lost the trust of consumers'. I agree with these statements. The sad thing for The Australian is its lack of awareness in appreciating its own role, spearheading the decline in political journalism in this country. As the ancient Greeks inquired, in words inscribed on the golden stone walls of Delphi, 'who will guard the guardians?' The Australian is out of control." (ibid)

I'm reminded of an earlier Latham reflection on the antipodean component of Murdoch's "Evil Empire":

"How bad are News Limited and its anti-Labor propaganda? It's a running dog for Howard and the Libs, with its shocking stance on Iraq, the neoconservatism of The Australian and its disgraceful defence of Abbott and his scam with Australians for Honest Politics. In my experience, it's a company run on personal connections and preferences, not the facts. I'm embarrassed to think I used to be a columnist for the Tele. Ian Moore and David Penberthy have their heads in the toilet bowl over Sandra in my office and this business with her partner, who's in strife over his role in a Port Kembla brothel. In truth, the Tele loves brothels, they help to pay their wages and add to Murdoch's profits. Just look down the back of the paper, page after page of brothel advertising. Moralising, hypocritical Tories - is there a worse species of animal on earth?" (The Latham Diaries, Wednesday, 3 September 2003, pp 232-233)

Wonderful stuff!

WikiLeaks 6: Working for the Man

Spooky!:

"The federal Labor minister and right-wing powerbroker Mark Arbib is one of the US embassy's valued confidential contacts, providing inside information and commentary on the workings of the government and the ALP. Secret embassy cables obtained by WikiLeaks and made available exclusively to the Herald reveal that Senator Arbib has been in regular contact with US embassy officers. His candid comments are incorporated in reports to Washington with requests that his identity as a 'protected' source be guarded. Embassy cables refer to Senator Arbib as a strong supporter of Australia's alliance with the US. They identify him as a valuable source of information on Labor politics, including the former prime minister Kevin Rudd's hopes to forestall an eventual leadership challenge by his deputy, Julia Gillard. 'He understands the importance of supporting a vibrant relationship with the US while not being too deferential. We have found him personable, confident and articulate', says an embassy profile written in July 2009. 'He has met with us repeatedly throughout his political rise'." (Yank in the ranks: The powerbroker Mark Arbib has been America's Labor Party insider for years, Philip Dorling, Sydney Morning Herald, 9/12/10)

Arbib is the other quintessential whatever-it-takes ALP politician. Mark Latham had him pegged as one of those who "live in a world of non-stop political manoeuvres and gossip, no structured thoughts about making society better. Their only points of reference in public life are polling and focus groups." (See my 23/6/10 post The Ins & Outs of the ALP)

Unlike Dorling's report on Gillard, there is no reference to Israel in his report on Arbib. Proof of his allegiance to the USraeli agenda, however, may be found in the accusation by former Labor MP and critic of Israel, Julia Irwin, that he "ordered her to take a trip to Israel and submit her speeches on the Middle East to him for clearance." (See my 30/7/10 post Get Thee to Israel!) Ditto for this contribution from one of his appearances on the ABC's Q & A (7/5/09): "[T]o really understand the Israeli people and understand what they've been through and understand where they're coming from in terms of their security... you've got to go to Jerusalem and you've got to go to the Holocaust Museum..."

What does emerge, however, is that he reportedly "told embassy officers that, unlike [former leader Kim] Beazley, he supported Australia's military commitment in Iraq 'as well as the war on terrorism in general'." (ibid)

Predictably, Arbib was not the only ALP politician with a fondness for whipping into the embassy for a chat and a cup of whatever: "Other Labor politicians reported as regular contacts include the former minister Bob McMullan and Michael Danby, a serving MP." (ibid) At various points in his Diaries, Latham calls McMullan, immortalised as 'Comb-over', a "snake in the grass" and a "treacherous bastard." Of Labor's 'Minister for Israel', of course, you'll need no introduction - just click on the tag below.

Other Labor politicians (and union bosses) to get a mention in Dorling's WikiLeaks reporting include Victorian senator Dave Feeney, parliamentary secretary for Pacific Island Affairs Richard Marles, national secretary of the Health Services Union Kathy Jackson, Victorian secretary of the Australian Workers Union, Cesar Melhem ("The AWU works diligently to place its own members in parliamentary positions, both at state and federal levels. This includes Bill Shorten."), an unnamed National Union of Workers (NUW) source, and Dave Noonan and Bill Oliver of the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union (CFMEU).

PS: Marles, Danby and Shorten will all be traipsing off to Israel this month to take part in one of Albert Dadon's Australia Israel Leadership Forum shindigs. (See my 25/10/10 post Record Rambam)

WikiLeaks 5: Israel Runs Bang Through It

Today's WikiLeaks blast in the Fairfax press is a beauty:

"US diplomats closely followed the rise of Julia Gillard, applauded her shedding of Labor Left allegiances and confidently predicted that she would be the next prime minister more than 8 months before she deposed Kevin Rudd... Although an early report by the then ambassador, Robert McCallum, said Ms Gillard was 'a loyal and competent deputy', US diplomats had no doubt about her ambitions and as early as June 2008 declared her the 'front runner' to replace Mr Rudd. US diplomats were anxious to establish Ms Gillard's attitudes towards the US alliance and other key foreign policy issues, especially on Israel and Palestine. They were hampered by the fact that the embassy had relatively little contact with her during Labor's years in opposition. Numerous Labor figures were drawn into conversation about Ms Gillard with 'many key ALP insiders' quickly telling embassy officers that her past membership of the Victorian Socialist Left faction meant little and that she was 'at heart a pragmatist'. The NSW Right powerbroker Mark Arbib* described Ms Gillard as 'one of the most pragmatic politicians in the ALP'. When embassy officers reminded Paul Howes, the head of the right-wing Australian Workers Union, that 'ALP politicians from the Left, no matter how capable, do not become party leader, he said immediately: 'but she votes with the Right'. The embassy privately expressed pleasure at Ms Gillard's preparedness to affirm her support for the US alliance, but there was some doubt about the strength of her commitment. 'Although long appearing ambivalent about the Australia-US Alliance, Gillard's actions since she became the Labor Party number two indicate an understanding of its importance', the embassy reported to Washington in mid-2008. '[US embassy political officers] had little contact with her when she was in opposition but since the election, Gillard has gone out of her way to assist the embassy... At our request, she agreed to meet a visiting member of the [US] National Labor Relations Board, after prior entreaties by the board members' Australian hosts had been rebuffed. Although warm and engaging in her dealings with American diplomats, it's unclear whether this change in attitude reflects a mellowing of her views or an understanding of what she needs to do to become leader of the ALP', the embassy reported. 'It is likely a combination of the two. Labor Party officials have told us that one lesson Gillard learned from the 2004 elections was that Australians will not elect a PM who is perceived to be anti-American'. " (Embassy supported pragmatic Gillard, Philip Dorling, Sydney Morning Herald, 9/12/10)

I'll just stop here for some observations.

Well, there's that word again - Israel. Feel a theme coming on? More of that later.

First, am I imagining things or is it the case that the US here is involved in a process - or at least verging on involvement in a process - of choosing our prime ministers for us? That bit about reminding Howes that ALP politicians of the Left do not become party leader, that bit about an understanding of what she needs to do. Most interesting...

Second, that bit about the embassy being hampered by the fact that it had relatively little contact with her during Labor's years in opposition doesn't quite gell with the following revelation from ubiquitous former Labor leader and critic of the Australia-US alliance, Mark Latham. Remember here the above cable is from 2008: "Over the years I have received tender messages from Gillard saying how much she misses me in Canberra... One of them concerned her study tour of the US, sponsored by the American government in 2006 - or to use her moniker - 'a CIA re-education course'... She promised 'to catch up when I'm back from the US and I'll show you my CIA-issued ankle holster'. I never got to see her ankles or her holster, but I will say this: you have to hand it to those guys in Washington... Within the space of 2 years they converted her from a highly cynical critic of all matters American into yet another foreign policy sycophant'." (Latham turns on 'brainwashed' Gillard, Christian Kerr, The Australian, 20/8/09) See my 22/8/09 post Gillard: 'Sycophant'.

Poor old Mark, he thought Gillard was a highly cynical critic of all matters American when, cavernously hollow woman that she is, she was just saying what she had to say - or thought she had to say - to climb the Labor ladder at the time.

But I digress. Let's get back to our theme - the one that runs bang through all of this -Israel:

"The embassy also applauded what it describes as Ms Gillard's 'pro-Israel' stance, reporting in October 2009 that she had 'thrown off the baggage' of being from what one analyst called the 'notoriously anti-Israel faction' of the ALP. 'As acting Prime Minister in late December 2008, Gillard was responsible for negotiating the government's position on Israel's incursion into Gaza. Left-wing ALP MPs, a group to which Gillard used to belong, wanted her to take a harder line against Israel. 'Instead, she said Hamas had broken the ceasefire first by attacking Israel - a stance welcomed by Israel's supporters in Australia. MP Michael Danby, one of two Jewish members of parliament and a strong supporter of Israel, told us that after the Gaza statement he had a new appreciation of Gillard's leadership within the ALP'." (ibid)

Actually, Gillard was never anti-Israel, not even at university. She knew nothing of the issue and had no interest in finding out about it. Every inch the professional whatever-it-takes politician, she knew instinctively even then that putting one's career first and a real concern for the Palestinian wretched of the earth - or any other for that matter - don't go together. So it's not as if she had to be re-educated. (See my 14/8/10 post The Real Julia Gillard.)

But there's more, much more. In my 8/12/10 post WikiLeaks 4: Let's ask Rotem, he'll know, I mused as follows: "Now how about a WikiLeaks cable reporting [Israeli Ambassador Yuval] Rotem describing [Gillard] as prime ministerial material." Well, how's this for Dorling's final paragraph: "The Israeli Ambassador, Yuval Rotem, told the embassy that Gillard 'has gone out of her way to build a relationship with Israel and that she asked him to arrange an early opportunity to visit'." (ibid)

She asked him! Ambassador, I feel the siren call of your country. I can resist no longer. I am ready to be rambammed. Organise it at once, will you?

Typically, there's not a whisper anywhere in either today's Age or Sydney Morning Herald, not even on the letters page, of our theme. What does that tell you?

[*I'll deal with Arbib and friends in my next post.]

The Toad

"I used toad because I knew I couldn't get away with turd." (Alan Ramsey on why he called Howard The Toad)

"Sycophancy means obsequious flattery; servility. Alternative phrases are often used such as aple-polishing; ass kissing; ass licking; bootlicker; brown nosing; crawler; fawning; flunky; groveling; hanger-on; kowtowing; lackey; lickspittle; sucking up; toady; yes man" (en.wikipedia.org)

"Pandemonium, simply because I called Howard an arselicker in today's Bulletin. If anything, I was restrained - Howard has got his tongue up Bush's clacker that often the poor guy must think he's got an extra haemorrhoid." (26/6/02, The Latham Diaries, Mark Latham, 2005, p 195)

"John Howard was among firm friends on Sunday night at Lincoln of Toorak, delivering the keynote address at a tribute dinner for [former World Jewish Congress senior vice-president] Isi and Naomi Leibler. Acknowledged by Isi as 'the statesman who displayed the greatest support for Israel of the time', the former Liberal prime minister gave some insights. 'It is true that in my time as prime minister I stuck up for Israel... because I thought it was right to do so, because I thought the homeland established for the Jewish people is their right'... Earlier, Isi recalled his trip with the then Australian prime minister to Ramallah in 2000, when the Oslo Agreement still had currency. Isi received an unwelcome embrace from Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat, whom he had railed against throughout his years as the PLO's terrorist chieftain. Afterwards, Isi had privately expressed scepticism to Howard about those peace overtures, and was struck by the Australian leader's 'principled approach and friendship'. 'I will never forget John Howard's response', said Isi, quoting the former Australian leader. 'If Arafat reneges on his commitment', he said, 'the people of Israel and the Australian Jewish community should rest assured that I will not let them down'." (Howard's kind words for Leiblers and Israel, The Australian Jewish News, 3/9/10)

Protect a Politician Syndrome

I know this is off-topic but I've got to get it off my chest, OK?

I may be imagining things, but have you noticed the alacrity with which 'parents' seem to be thrusting their clueless sprogs - who don't even have the wit to poo, pee or projectile vomit when the occasion demands - into the outstretched arms of our 'leaders' out pestering the flesh this election?

But no, that's not really the subject of my gripe because I've noticed a far more disturbing trend, something quite pathological actually, which seems to afflict people who've probably never even experienced the transforming joy of meeting a pollie in a mall, people whose kids are most probably off their hands, people with the time and energy to read newspapers and write to their editors for Pete's sake. In fact, I've even invented a name for it - protect a politician syndrome. This bizarre behaviour is characterised by an irrational urge to coddle politicians and shield them from imagined threats, as opposed to the perfectly rational desire to curse the narcissistic bastards and throttle the living daylights out of them.

Take a look at this letter from yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald for example:

"Why has Channel Nine employed Mark Latham? His confrontation with Julia Gillard clearly crosses just about every boundary we have ever seen in an election. I doubt whether he would have had the courage to pull off such a a stunt had he not been employed by the network. I have to wonder at the motives of the executives in hiring the ultimate political loose cannon." (Paul Whiting, Tamworth)

There were 5 other letters in like vein on the same letters page!

Yesterday's Australian was no better:

"If a known and certifiable loony with Mark Latham's form had been allowed to get as close to Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin and treat them so disrespectfully, they would have been briskly whisked off to some dark prison and given a painful lesson in manners. Perhaps we have a bit to learn about prime ministerial security." (Richard Sallie, Nedlands, WA)

Then there was this directed at the 7.30 Report's Kerry O'Brien in the comments section of its website:

"Still fuming after such disgraceful treatment of the PM who maintained her composure under rude, hectoring, interrupting, trivial and personal questioning. Kerry needs to badly learn some manners, and to stop posturing, as if he is God Almighty... The ABC should pull O'Brien into line." (Colin Smith, 10/8/10)

Paul, Richard, Colin: seriously guys, you need help.

Mark & Kerry: ramp it up!

Where Do We Get Them From?

Your Australian polly-waffle is best approached with a Lathamesque sensibility:

"Got through the rest of the day by conditioning my mindset, by sending up the absurdity of what I do. Toured the Townsville Show with Anita Phillips, our hapless candidate for Herbert. When I said troops out by Christmas, she told the local media, 'He didn't say which Christmas.' Where do we get them from? And how do I give them back?" (The Latham Diaries, Mark Latham, 2005, p 312)

"A final piece of Caucus cruelty. Sharon Grierson rang me yesterday to say that she should be on the frontbench because she has emotional intelligence; apparently there's a fad American book on this subject. 'Howard wins because he's got emotional intelligence. We need more people with emotional intelligence; I've got emotional intelligence, you know'. What am I here: the leader of Australia's oldest political party or the Hare Krishna? I feel like R.P. McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the only sane man in the asylum." (ibid, p 365)

In addition to not knowing which Christmas is which or possessing emotional intelligence, an essential qualification for your Lib/Lab polly-waffle these days is a complete and utter ignorance of the Middle East conflict and/or a total absence of principle or conscience, such that, when the lobby calls, touting a freebie, he or she is as putty in its hands. Here's the latest batch (that I'm aware of):

"Twelve members of the Parliament of Western Australia arrived in Israel for a 10-day visit, including the Minister for Water, Dr Graham Jacobs, on the initiative of AIJAC, the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council. For all the representatives, this was their first visit to Israel. They toured all over the country, from the Golan to the Negev, and met key figures in government, academia and the media. They saw, at close range, people and places one usually encounters only on the news, in order better to understand the challenges the State of Israel faces... At the present time, KKL-JNF (Jewish National Fund) is completing plans for the ANZAC Route - a series of historical sites along the 'Major Military Outflanking' route, a maneuver [sic] that was executed by soldiers from Australia and New Zealand during World War 1. These sites tell the heroic story of the conquest of Beersheba from the Turks by the Australian Mounted Division*... Adele Farina, MP: 'This visit to Israel has been fascinating and has helped all of us understand the complexity of the problems you are dealing with. We had the privilege of meeting interesting people who presented various points of view regarding Israeli society. Today I have a much better understanding of the special connection of the Jewish community in Australia with the State of Israel'. Tony Krsticevic, MP: 'We hear about Israel all the time, and I wanted to see with my own eyes what is really going on here. I was a little hesitant before the trip, but I have been pleased to discover that Israel is a lot quieter and friendlier than I thought. It is amazing to see how people manage to live normal lives in the shadow of an impossible security reality'. Steve Lieblich, from AIJAC, one of the initiators of the tour, concluded: 'The best way to conduct public relations is to bring people here. One can literally see the change effected in people with regard to Israel over the course of the trip. The connection with KKL-JNF helps a lot, as it is a professional organization that deals with water and ecology, issues that are very important to Australians'." (Western Australian Parliament members visit the Negev with KKL-JNF, jnf.org.au, 13/4/10)

[*The lengths to which Israel and its lobbyists will go to to concoct historical 'connections' with Australia are extraordinary. See my 1/5/08 post Zionist Myth-In-formation.]

But there's more. The lobby sucks these buggers in even before they've become MPs:

"A group of young Australian political leaders has arrived for a visit to Israel, to acquaint themselves more closely with life in the country, understand its complex realities and see how cooperation between Israel and Australia can contribute to both nations. They have been visiting sites all over Israel, have met a variety of local public figures and have viewed KKL-JNF projects in the south. All the guests were surprised to discover that Israel was not exactly as they had seen and heard it described in the news. The visit was initiated by AIJAC as part of the Rambam Israel Fellowship Program. Lauren Jones, who hosted the group on AIJAC's behalf, explained that the study tours provided in Israel for public figures, journalists and interest groups give those taking part a better understanding of Israeli society and the challenges faced by the State... Andrew Porter of Melbourne, who is an advisor to the Australian Prime Minister: 'It's amazing to see how you manage to make use of every single drop of water and develop every bit of land. Australia and Israel share some points of similarity and face some of the same challenges, such as the water issue. It's very important to continue to promote cooperation between the two countries in every area'. Ben Morton of Perth, Liberal Party State Director: 'Israel is very different from what I expected. Until now I knew very little about the country, but here I've learned a great deal about the local security and social situation. There are things that can be understood properly only after discussing them with the local people and seeing the places for oneself; this means that it has been a very important for me'. Sally Cray of Sidney [sic], senior advisor to the office of the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull, MP: 'In the area where I work there is a large and active Jewish community with which I maintain constant contact. So, when I heard about the opportunity to visit Israel, I didn't hesitate for a moment. This visit has enabled me to identify with the profound love that Australian Jews feel for Israel, and understand their desire to be involved in what goes on here'. Tim Lisle-Williams, from the office of Mark Dreyfus MP, Federal Member for Isaacs: 'As I work for one of Australia's two Jewish members of Parliament, it was very important for me to visit Israel. I now have a better understanding of the realities of life in Israel and the difficulties the country faces. Australia is a huge country, while Israel is so small - but you don't understand how enormous the difference is until you get here'." (Young leaders from Australia visit KKL-JNF reservoirs, jnf.org.au, May 2010)

But the lobby doesn't just hoover up pollie-waffles, there's God-botherers too:

"A group of 34 Australians, comprising 21 Christians and 13 Jews, recently returned from the inaugural Australian Interfaith Israel Tour. Hosted by the Australian Council of Christians and Jews, the aim of the tour was to explore the religious beginnings and relationship between the three Abrahamic faiths and learn from the archaeology, history, politics and sociology of the region. Organiser Dr Philip Bliss said the trip's packed program was aimed at giving people a taste of Israel. 'By providing all the background and the origins and all this stuff, people understood by the end of that 10 days, if not earlier, the psyche of how Israelis think and feel', Dr Bliss said. An important message he hoped participants learnt was not to trust everything in the media and to delve deeper, he said... It was not lost on Dr Bliss that the group arrived in Israel two days after the Gaza flotilla incident. 'It was particularly interesting having that as a living example on how things can get taken out of proportion or misrepresented - and that there's two sides to every picture', he said." (Seeking similarities in Israel, Australian Jewish News, 16/7/10)

Expletive deleted.

The Heart That Throbs for Bomber Bob

"Prime Minister Julia Gillard says Bob Hawke is her role model, declaring his qualities 'the gold standard for any Australian head of government'. 'For those of my generation, in our 20s for most of the Hawke era, Bob Hawke is the benchmark for the prime ministership', she said last night. Mr Hawke had the capacity to take advice, an orderly sense of administration, confidence in delegating to an exceptional team of ministers, effectiveness as cabinet chairman and 'a wisdom that combined deeply held values with a sturdy political realism'. Ms Gillard, who was launching Hawke: The Prime Minister, by Mr Hawke's wife Blanche d'Alpuget at The Wharf Restaurant in Sydney, said Mr Hawke would be hitting the campaign trail this year." (Hawke the gold standard for any PM, says Gillard, Michelle Grattan, The Age, 13/7/10)

To fully appreciate Hawke's wisdom that combines deeply held values with a sturdy political realism one only has to hark back to 1974:

"The ACTU president, Mr Hawke, said yesterday that if he were the Israeli Prime Minister he would drop an atomic bomb on invading Arabs. This outburst by Mr Hawke, who is also federal president of the ALP has astonished Labor Party chiefs... Mr Hawke said, 'If I had 18-year-old, 15-year-old and 11-year-old kids like mine and saw these Arab tanks coming over the hill to push them into the sea, I would use the atomic bomb to stop them'... Mr Hawke argued with Mr Hartley and Mr McMullin. Slamming the table in emphasis, Mr Hawke reportedly told them, 'If I were the Israeli Prime Minister I would use the bomb on the Arabs. Mr McMullin... told him: 'You cannot justify the use of nuclear weapons under any circumstances'. Mr Hawke replied heatedly: 'Why? Because of world morality - the world has stood by for 25 years and watched attempts to push Israelis into the sea without lifting a finger. If I were the Israeli prime minister I wouldn't give a damn about world morality - I would use the atomic bomb to protect my own'." (Hawke: I'd A-Bomb Arabs, Chris Forsyth, The Daily Telegraph, 16/2/74)

And if Hawke is La Guillotine's gold standard she must have her sights set on something like Bob and Blanche's "multi-storey mansion on Middle Harbour" which had former Labor leader Mark Latham musing, "I kept on thinking about Chifley's house in Bathurst and Curtin's in Cottesloe. Yes, we have changed too much as a Party. Maybe I'm the odd man out these days, but I dislike wealth on this scale." (The Latham Diaries, Sunday, 14 March 2004, 2005, p 273)

The Conga-Line of Suckholes Revisited

Where's Kevvy and what's he up to these days? Sucking holes over in you-know-where, of course:

"Rudd is expected in Washington today for the annual Australian American Leadership Dialogue, of which he is a founding member." (Shocked Obama phoned Rudd first to offer a global job reference, Peter Hartcher, Sydney Morning Herald, 12/7/10)

Kevvy's hole-sucking goes way back:

"Shadow Cabinet met in the morning. We had a long debate and more confusion about our position on Iraq. Rudd reported on his recent trip to Washington and New York, but he need not have bothered, it's all in Glenn Milne's column this morning. As ever, Rudd is insatiable for publicity. He is such a big-noter, telling Milne he held talks with four of the five members of the Security Council: France, Britain, Russia and the US, but not China. Then his prediction: 'Rudd is convinced a second UNSC resolution allowing the use of force against Iraq will be passed without either France or Russia exercising their right of veto... His instincts are the vote will go 13-2 or 12-3. France, Rudd thinks, will either vote for it or abstain'. Keating, for one, thinks this is nonsense - the Russians sacrificed too much in World War II to be pushovers for the Americans. Brereton is also sceptical: 'Mate, he says whatever the Americans want him to say. They own him lock, stock and barrel'. This has always been Danger's [Brereton's] view of Heavy Kevvy - too close to the US. He's certainly part of the foreign policy establishment... At Shadow Cabinet, you could almost feel Crean urging Rudd on, praying that he's right about the Security Council. Simon doesn't want to get between the Americans and their dirty little war - that's what the caveats are about. UN approval is the Leader's best way out of this issue - his ticket to respectability at the next Australian American Leadership Dialogue, the US-sponsored club that our senior people have signed up for. The US owns more than Rudd." (The Latham Diaries, Monday, 3 February 2003, 2005, pp 211-212)

"Crean's staffers are enjoying themselves today. His foreign policy adviser, Carl Ungerer, was up in Rudd's office and found Kevvy's eight-year-old daughter wrapping up a present for Mr Schieffer, our mate over at the US Embassy. A peace offering, apparently, for the nasty things we said in Parliament about Schieffer's baseball and land development partner, George W Bush. Sounds like Rudd's part of the conga-line. Kevvy reckons he got a call from the Embassy asking, 'Mr Rudd, what's a suckhole?' After he gave them a diplomatic answer, the Embassy official wanted to know, 'Is Mr Latham allowed to say that about the President?'" (Latham Diaries, Thursday, 12 February 2003, p 214)

Bushama simply adores him:

"Just before he phoned Julia Gillard to congratulate her on ascending to the prime ministership, Barack Obama called the man she'd just assassinated to take it... As Obama told the ABC's 7.30 Report in April: 'Kevin is somebody who I probably share as much of a world view as any world leader out there. I find him smart but humble. He works wonderfully well in multilateral settings, he's always constructive, incisive'." (Hartcher, 12/7/10)

But other Americans reckon he's a bit of a sook and should get back to what he does best:

"[H]e has also irritated some senior US officials in the past fortnight in numerous phone calls to Washington. 'Kevin has been whiny and mopey', said one. 'There's been too much 'if only' this and 'if only' that. He needs to just suck it up and get on with things'." (Hartcher, 12/7/10)

The Big Mac Lobby

A must-read in today's Age from senior lecturer in international relations in the school of international and political studies at Deakin University, Scott Burchill:

"The primary goal of the US lobby in Australia is to insulate the alliance from changes of government after elections and leadership movements within the major political parties. Bipartisan support for the US alliance cannot always be assumed, however, so strategies are devised to raise the strategic aspects of the relationship above the fray of domestic politics in both countries.

"During the Second Gulf War, Washington's boosters in the Australian media sought to quarantine the alliance from widespread public hostility to George Bush. So, Labor leader Mark Latham could get away with describing Bush as 'the most incompetent and dangerous president in living memory'. But his questioning in his diaries of the value of the alliance confirmed for Australia's US lobby that he was unfit for office.*

"The Australian American Leadership Dialogue meets annually (alternately in the US and Australia). It's an invitation-only bipartisan group of politicians, journalists, academics and businessmen who work to preserve and protect the bilateral relationship from criticism and challenges. Its deliberations are not made public.

"One of the group's primary aims is to socialise contemporary and future leaders into accepting the incontrovertible importance of the alliance. In the past week, the group has had good reason to believe that its investment in Julia Gillard - who has been attending its meetings for several years - has paid off.

"In one of her first policy statements as Prime Minister, a remarkably obsequious Gillard told US President Barack Obama it was a 'great honour and privilege' just to talk to him. She then 'reassured' the President of her fidelity to the alliance, and gave him Australia's continuing support for the military campaign in Afghanistan. Kevin Rudd may be gone, but his approach to the longest war in Australia's history would not be changed by his successor.

"To say that the conversation Gillard had with Obama was a missed opportunity does not fully capture the folly of her first foreign policy utterance as Prime Minister.

"Three points stand out.

"First, popular support in Australia for the Afghan war has collapsed. Depending on which poll you read, either 54% (Lowy) or 61% (Essential Media) of the population oppose continuing military involvement in Afghanistan and want Australian troops withdrawn. These views have no representation in the lower house of the Federal Parliament. They are not even considered by the new Prime Minister to be a factor that qualifies Australia's participation in the war. Gillard's reflexive support may reassure Washington that she is 'sound' on national security - that the 'informal bar' on someone from the Left becoming Prime Minister could be lifted, to quote one lobbyist. However, it fundamentally betrays the wishes of the people she now represents. In response to findings that 55% of Australians are not confident that Australia has clear aims in Afghanistan (Lowy poll), former Labor senator Stephen Loosely reportedly said that 'as long as [there is] bipartisan support for [Australia's] Afghanistan contribution in Canberra, declining popular support for the Afghan conflict is not an issue'. This is a perfect illustration of elite disdain for public opinion. No wonder the same poll found that 69% believe the government pays too little attention to their views 'in comparison to the opinions of foreign policy experts'.

"Second, the vigorous discussion of the war now taking place in the US media and inside Washington is not mirrored here. This is largely the government's fault. For a war that seems unwinnable and futile to so many Australians, the absence of an equally vibrant debate in this country is an indictment of our democratic processes. What are our politicians so frightened of? The forensic examination of tactics, personalities, operations and the Taliban - which can be found across the US press every day - is almost entirely missing from the Australian media. It is only when tragedy strikes and casualties increase that analysis rises briefly above the superficial. Comparisons with the Vietnam War could not be more striking.

"Third, the humiliating departure of General Stanley McChrystal provided the opportunity to ask Obama critical questions - and leverage Canberra's support against more definitive criteria. We could be asking: What are your war aims? When will they be achieved? What are your criteria for 'success' in Afghanistan? What is the exit strategy? Instead, Gillard rushed to 'reassure' Obama (as if he needed it) that Australia would continue to be an uncritical ally in a war the public opposes. It's an inauspicious start in diplomacy for our new Prime Minister."

An inauspicious start indeed but what would you expect from La Guillotine who can't seem to get enough of USraeli lobby love-ins and whose preferred reading matter is 'airport trash'?

Former Labor leader Mark Latham, who referred to La Guillotine in his Diaries in 2004 as "our rising star," has since noted the transformative effects of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue on her: "Over the years I have received tender messages from Gillard saying how much she misses me in Canberra... One of them concerned her study tour of the US, sponsored by the American government in 2006 - or to use her moniker - 'a CIA re-education course'... She promised to 'catch up when I'm back from the US and I'll show you my CIA-issued ankle holster'. 'I never got to see her ankles or her holster, but I will say this: you have to hand it to those guys in Washington... Within the space of two years they converted her from a highly cynical critic of all matters American into yet another foreign policy sycophant'." (Latham turns on 'brainwashed' Gillard, Christian Kerr, The Australian, 20/8/09)

[*"I should say something publicly on this, questioning the need for the American Alliance. That's the worst thing about this job, the things that need to be said, but that would turn the Party upside down (the Big Mac faction would go ballistic). The Americans have made us a bigger target in the War against Terror - Australian lives are certain to be sacrificed on the altar of the US Alliance. Look at New Zealand: they have their foreign policy right, and it's the safest country on earth. Labor should be the anti-war party of Australian politics. Other than World War II, every war this country has fought was disconnected from our national interests. All those young Australian lives lost in faraway lands, the folly of imperialism and conservative jingoism. I detest war and the meatheads who volunteer to kill other human beings. The US Alliance is a funnel that draws us into unecessary wars; first Vietnam and then Iraq. With Bush and Howard there will be more to come. They wouldn't fight themselves, of course, but they readily send other people's children to fight in their name. The truth is, the Americans need us more than we need them. Pine Gap is vital to their international security network. Plus the Americans restrict our capacity to trade and integrate with Asia - one day their trouble with China will be our trouble. Politically, why does the Alliance survive? Because a significant number of Australians still think we need an insurance policy against invasion by Indonesia, that's why. Poor old Indonesia. They can barely govern themselves these days, let alone invade us. The Alliance is the last manifestation of the White Australia mentality. Sacrificing Australian pride and independence - and our national interests, properly defined - for the safety blanket of great and powerful friends. It's just another form of neocolonialism: a timid, insular nation at the bottom of the world, too frightened to embrace an independent foreign policy. And its politicians, more comfortable swanning around Washington with their Anglo masters than doing business in Asia." (The Latham Diaries, 1/12/04, 2005, p 393)]

Talk about on the mark.

The Ins & Outs of the ALP

Maxine McKew (MP for Bennelong) is definitely in. For example, when it comes to the Middle East conflict, she has a knack for articulating her party's position that is second to none. Which probably means she's destined for a senior position in the parliamentary party and explains why she gets to appear on cool television shows such as Q & A (31/5/10):

Audience Member: Are we applying double standards to Israel?... If [say] Iraq had behaved like that [massacring unarmed protesters on the high seas] we would be jumping up and down... and intervening...

Tony Jones: I just want to get a quick response from Maxine McKew, and I'll ask you as a corollary to that, Maxine, does this shake your faith in Israel at all?

Maxine McKew: ... I think it's a bit too early to say we should be jumping up and down about anything. We were only really apprised of this about mid-afternoon Australian time... We need a lot more information so I'll leave it at that. Shake my faith in Israel? Well, Tony, I remember being in Israel in the 90s and there was still hope after the Oslo process that things could move, but, you know, things are very fragmented now, very far apart. So I lament that. You know, I grew up, you know, schooled in, you know, the horrors of the holocaust and absolutely believing in the fundamental importance of the state of Israel and its right to exist, but I also believe that there has to be, you know, space for the Palestinians. The fact that this issue is still as unresolved in the new century, you know, as it was in the last century is deeply depressing.

Julia Irwin (MP for Fowler), on the other hand, is definitely out. You can see why from her 16 June adjournment speech, where her grasp of party policy detail on the Middle East conflict was embarrassingly shaky to say the least. Which, I suppose, helps explain why she's not only on the nose in party circles but why she won't even be standing for re-election next time around. Oh, and why you'll probably never see her on Q & A:

"Like millions of people around the world I watched with horror the actions of the Israeli armed forces in their assault on the freedom flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. The predictable response from the Israeli propaganda machine portrayed the murder of 9 peace activists as yet another act of self-defence. While the Secretary-General of the UN has called for an independent international inquiry, the US and Australia are again happy to leave the inquiry in the hands of the Israeli authorities. And even if there were any adverse findings we could expect the matter to be brushed aside like the damning Goldstone report into Israel's war on Gaza in 2009. This reminds me very much of those apologists for Stalinism who were blind to the human rights abuses of that brutal regime. They would justify any atrocity by saying that it was in defence of socialism and begin each statement with words like 'you have to realise that more than 20 million Russians were killed in the great patriotic war'. But that is how Western leaders excuse the gross abuses of human rights committed in the name of self-defence by the state of Israel. Are they blind to the evidence presented by UN agencies, by Amnesty International or by the Red Cross, none of which could remotely be described as terrorist organisations? And are they also blind to the damage done to their standing in the world community by their unquestioning defence of Israel?

"My own awakening to the reality of life in the illegally occupied territories came in a visit in 2000. I mention just one incident that has left a lasting impact on me. We were walking through the streets of East Jerusalem when we were confronted with a group of teenage Israeli youths each carrying a submachinegun slung over their shoulder and with a 'go ahead, make my day' look in their eyes. The group came across an old woman sitting in her doorway selling her homemade cheeses from a large platter. To my amazement, one of the youths kicked the platter down the alley spilling the cheeses onto the ground. I will never forget the tearful expression on that old woman's face or the mocking laugh of the youths as they swaggered off down the street.

"While this was hardly a gross abuse of human rights, it is part of everyday life in the illegally occupied territories. When taken together with the abduction, imprisonment and torture of more than 10,000 Palestinians, including children and a number of members of the Palestinian Legislative Assembly, the reality of life under the jackboot of Israeli occupation can be felt. And to that can be added the bombing of schools, hospitals and UN stores during Israel's war on Gaza and so many other documented cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity. These are not the acts of a civilised nation.

"Yet, like the Stalinists of old, some world leaders continue to deny the reality, or, worse, defend it in the name of Israel's right of self-defence. But while nations' leaders fail to act, responsible citizens throughout the world are beginning to take action. The worldwide campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions [BDS] against products and services originating in whole or in part in the occupied territories is gaining momentum. I am pleased to see unions in Australia, including state branches of the CFMEU and the Australian Services Union, joining this movement. Churches, universities and trade unions are refusing to invest in enterprises conducting business in or involved in construction in the occupied territories. Unions in Europe have applied international law forbidding the international exploitation of illegally occupied territory and have embargoed goods made in the West Bank. Faced with the refusal by Israeli authorities to allow academic freedom in the occupied territories, many universities have broken contact with Israeli institutions with ties in the West Bank.

"When governments refuse to act in the name of civilised society t0 prevent gross abuses of human rights, we as individuals have a duty to act. The campaign of BDS deserves the full support of every thinking and caring Australian."

No sooner had Irwin finished her speech than Graig Emerson (MP for Rankin and Minister for Small Business etc, etc), who by the way was on Q & A this Monday night, stood, peg on nose, and relieved himself thus: "I want to make it clear that, in making her adjournment speech tonight, the member for Fowler was not speaking on behalf of the Rudd government."

Tell us something we don't know, minister.

PS: "Lunch with [Mark] Arbib at Azuma's in Sydney. It's interesting to listen to these machine guys: they live in a world of non-stop political manoeuvres and gossip, no structured thoughts about making society better. Their only points of reference in public life are polling and focus groups. And so it is with Arbib. Some snippets from him. The focus groups showed that people like me, but they think I need another three years in Opposition, after which they will give me a go... The focus groups also show that it's popular to bash the blacks: 'You need to find new issues, like attacking land rights, get stuck into all the politically correct Aborignal stuff - the punters love it'. Maybe he should have had lunch with Pauline Hanson, though not at Azuma's... We also talked about the quality of Labor MPs in NSW, and he wants to get rid of Irwin in Fowler: 'We had it all lined up before the 2001 election. Irwin was going to the State Upper House and Maxine McKew was going to run for Fowler. She would have been fantastic but then she backed out, said she couldn't stand living in Cabramatta or Liverpool'. So Maxine wants to be a Labor MP, but can't stand the sight or smell of Labor voters, hey?" (The Latham Diaries, 1/11/04, Mark Latham, 2005, pp 369-370)

Gillard: 'Sycophant'

From The Australian Jewish News of 21/8/09: "Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said her recent trip to Israel (see my 29/5/09 post Her Brilliant Career) vindicated the position she took earlier this year on the war in Gaza. Speaking to The AJN... Gillard, who was acting prime minister at the time, said she correctly emphasised Israel's right to defend itself against rocket attacks from Gaza. '[My trip to Israel] reinforced in me that the judgements we made at the time were the right judgements', Gillard said. 'We, as a nation, have always been very strong on supporting Israel's right to defend itself and to seek security in the region. When you've got a circumstance where rockets continue to be fired at Israeli communities, then the Israeli government is going to react'." (Gillard: trip to Israel vindicated Government stance on Gaza)

Gillard's continued parroting of the Israeli mantra of self-defence is either totally cynical or betrays an abysmal ignorance of international law. The following data is culled from the paper, Gaza: Not a War of Self-Defence, by international law expert (School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London) Victor Cattan (humanrights-geneva.info, 19/1/09):-

1) An occupying power cannot, under international law (Chatham House Principles of International Law on the Use of Force in Self-Defence), invoke self-defence against an attack from those it occupies. (I say occupying power because, despite its September 2005 withdrawal, by controlling Gaza's entry and exit points, its airspace and territorial waters, Israel merits this description under international law.) Rather, Israel's 27/12/08 attack on Gaza was merely an act of aggression of the kind outlawed by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg (1945).

2) Nor can Israel rely on Article 51 of the United Nations Charter to argue that it had the right to defend itself against an "armed attack." The International Court of Justice (ICJ) distinguishes between a "frontier incident" and a military action having sufficient "scale and effect" as to constitute an "armed attack." Moreover, Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza cannot be viewed separately from Israeli attacks on Gaza. 11 Israeli deaths from September 2005 to December 2008 have to be seen in the context of 1,250 Palestinian deaths for the same period.

3) Nor should it be forgotten that Israel violated a ceasefire which had been in effect since June 2008, by killing 6 Gaza Palestinians on 4/11/08. This led to retaliatory rocket and mortar fire, resulting in 1 Israeli death in the week prior to Israel's "act of aggression" against Gaza on 27/12/08.

4) Nor can that "act of aggression" (27/12/08-18/1/09) qualify as self-defence because, according to an ICJ ruling on the use of force in self-defence to repel an "armed attack," said force must be necessary, proportionate and in conformity with international humanitarian law.

5) It goes without saying, but can never be said often enough these days, that all colonised peoples, including the Palestinians, have been accorded, by UNGA resolution 2649, the right to restore their right of self-determination "by any means at their disposal."

Ex-Labor leader and Gillard mate, Mark Latham, who used to think she should head up the party, now has this to say about her: "Over the years I have received tender messages from Gillard saying how much she misses me in Canberra... One of them concerned her study tour of the US, sponsored by the American government in 2006 - or to use her moniker - 'a CIA re-education course'... She promised 'to catch up when I'm back from the US and I'll show you my CIA-issued ankle holster'. 'I never got to see her ankles or her holster, but I will say this: you have to hand it to those guys in Washington... Within the space of 2 years they converted her from a highly cynical critic of all matters American into yet another foreign policy sycophant'." (Latham turns on 'brainwashed' Gillard, Christian Kerr, The Australian, 20/8/09)

Ditto for the guys in Jerusalem.

Military Madness Miscellany

"One of the habits of our national life is to glorify all aspects of the military. I have always assumed this gushing, out-of-proportion praise could only come from those who have never met our soldiers and experienced first-hand their limited intelligence and primeval interests in life." Mark Latham (Latham berated for attack on Diggers, The Australian, 12/6/09)

"They may not legally be able to join the armed forces yet, but that hasn't stopped a group of Tasmanian students from getting right into the defence of Australia. Four pupils have received Defence 2020 National Youth Challenge awards... 'We had to do all these assignments'... Bothwell District HS' Gemma Lovell explains... 'We had to speak to someone who's been in the army... I learnt how all the army people help everyone overseas, like in Afghanistan. A lot of people are very poor and don't have any food or anything like that, and the way [the Army] help is really good. It's not all fighting... The most challenging thing I did was when we went down to Holsworthy in Sydney, which is the army base. Me and this guy from Queensland had to ask questions of the army people that had come back from Afghanistan a few weeks back... We got to hold these machine gun things [which] was pretty cool and it all got filmed and goes on a website'." (Defence insight secures win, spress.com.au, 11/2/09)

"Soldiers in Afghanistan will carry cash to pay civilians whose family members are killed or injured or whose property is destroyed as a result of Australian Defence Force operations.... Defence believes allowing tactical commanders the discretion to make on-the-spot payments will help it win the 'hearts and minds battle'." (Troops give cash to Afghan victims, Cynthia Banham, Sydney Morning Herald, 2/7/09)

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"And I will be going to Israel on a Yachad Scholarship to study disability issues and the role of women in the Israeli military." (Senator Mitch Fifield, Adjournment Speech - Gilad Shalit, 25/6/09, mitchfifield.com) [See my 11/7/09 post Hot on Gillard's High Heels]

"We ought to pay close attention to what preoccupies our military. While defense officials hold discussions on buying the F-35 combat jet at $200 million per plane, the IDF is mostly busy with miserable, pointless police work that befits an occupation army... In the dead of night, soldiers in elite and not-so-elite units break into the homes of Palestinians... and needlessly awaken and frighten women and children. Their comrades spend their service standing at checkpoints, occasionally shooting and killing needlessly. Other soldiers chase after children throwing stones or Molotov cocktails and shoot at them... We saw it, of course, during Operation Cast Lead, the war that provoked almost no opposition. As reported last week by... Human Rights Watch, our drones bombed helpless Gaza residents... Our jets and helicopters, among the most sophisticated in the world, are bombing residential neighborhoods. They may be preparing for an operation that fires the imagination in Iran, but meanwhile they are circling the Gaza sky as if it belonged to them. If that were not enough, we now have the most advanced system of all: female soldiers who are lookouts trained to shoot live fire after completing 'precedent-setting training'. The army newspaper Bamahane reported it with great enthusiasm: 'This is the first time female soldiers will shoot automatic gunfire from within a WR, noted the CO of the TB', whatever those initials mean. In simpler language, it means that 19-year old girls are playing with joysticks in an air-conditioned room and 'taking down' people. This then is the great progress of the 'people's army' - to train women to kill, while their comrades, soldiers and Border Police, are routinely sent to shoot live fire at unarmed demonstrators at Bil'in and Na'alin. This, for the most part, is the IDF's balance sheet. This is what largely preoccupies the best, most moral army in the world. Pilots who have never fought in an air battle and soldiers with no army against them now spend most of their time maintaining the occupation in a kind of pathetic combat, and they are our protective shield. When the day of reckoning comes, we will remember this." (Our IDF, Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 6/7/09)