Just a Thought

Anyone notice how all the Australian bogan SUV crowd, who used to drive black vehicles, seem now to be driving white SUVs?

My theory: having recently voted for Morrison, they're now virtue-signalling, a term of abuse, as you know, that they reserved for the liberal/left. Of course, research into sales of white SUVs would probably be useful at this point.

The Redundancy of Dave Sharma

File under 'once a rooster, today, a feather duster':

"The place was the House of Representatives. The day: Thursday, July 25, 2019. The time, 3pm. This will go down in Australian political history as the Day that Dorothy Dixers, which are embarrassing at the best of times, finally committed political harakiri. Liberal backbencher Dave Sharma took to his feet to deliver the pre-approved question - the last question in what, remarkably, was only the fifth question time of the 46th parliament. 'My question is to the Prime Minister,' he read. 'Will the Prime Minister update the house on further action the government has taken this week to deliver on its priorities?" (The day the Dorothy Dixer died... surely, Alice Workman, The Australian, 26/7/19)

"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity." (Ecclesiastes 1:2) - Sharma's bizarre ambassadorship to Israel, the Wentworth by-election surprise - moving our embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem - his pro-Israel advocacy pieces for Murdoch's Australian. All in the past. Now this...

Scott Morrison Courts Trump at G20 Summit

Why not come and play golf here in Australia?

"Prime Minister Scott Morrison has invited US President Donald Trump to visit Melbourne in December... to attend the President's Cup golf tournament, seizing the opportunity to strengthen ties with the President during their working dinner at the G20 summit... While Mr Morrison extended his invitation during the private meeting, Mr Trump was asked during the opening remarks at the start of the meeting if he would attend the the golf tournament and replied: 'I'd like to. It might not be easy, but I'd like to." (PM invites President to visit in December for golf tournament, David Crowe, Sydney Morning Herald, 29-30/6/19)

Mind if we join you in a war against Iran?

"Prime Minister Scott Morrison backed Donald Trump in taking a harder line against Iran in an escalating dispute over its nuclear program after the US President came close to launching a retaliatory strike last week.* Mr Morrison said the federal government would throw its support behind Mr Trump's effort to force Iran to the negotiating table as experts predict it will breach its agreed cap on low-enriched uranium within days... Mr Morrison said Mr Trump made 'no requests' for Australian measures but he did not rule out military... assistance." (PM backs Trump on Iran, David Crowe/David Wroe, Sydney Morning Herald, 29-30/6/19)

[*Clarification: Yes, I'm aware that Iran didn't attack any oil tankers, hence no "retaliatory strike."]

Morrison Itching to Attack Iran

Read and digest this opening paragraph from Peter Hartcher, international editor of the Sydney Morning Herald:

"Iran is far from Australia. Yet if it goes to war with America the consequences could be uncomfortably near." (Acute problem with US-Iran war, 25/6/19)

If IRAN goes to war with America?

Incredibly, what Hartcher is doing here is reversing over a century of US regime change dating back to the overthrow of the Queen of Hawaii in 1893 under US president Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893) (See Stephen Kinzer's Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq, 2006, pp 11-30)

Typically, Hartcher's only concern is how this will affect Australia - and who does he cite on this matter? Who else but the former Liberal senator and Australian Army commander responsible for the siege of the Iraqi city of Fallujah in 2004, major-general Jim Molan:

"We are 90 per cent dependent on imported fuel... and we have only around 23 days' supply in Australia." (ibid)

Moving on, however, Hartcher cannot help but deal with the stark reality of the matter:

"The new US President pulled out of [Obama's] Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)]. He was persuaded by the urgings of US hardliners and by the governments of Iran's biggest foes - its neighbours Israel and Saudi Arabia. These countries want Iran crushed, and they want the Americans to do the crushing for them." (ibid)

Will wonders never cease? Hartcher's got Israel right for once!

Now the Sydney Morning Herald of the same day (25/6/19) carried the following report:

"US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is touring the Middle East and Asia looking to build a global coalition against Iran... not only throughout the Gulf states, but in Asia and in Europe... " (Pompeo seeks anti-Iran coalition, Darlene Superville, AP)

Unsurprisingly, in yesterday's (26/6/19) Sydney Morning Herald, we read that:

"The Morrison government has left the door open to joining a co-ordinated international effort to ratchet up pressure on Iran, saying Australia is 'in consultation with our allies and partners' as tensions rise between Washington and Tehran." (Australia open to anti-Iran push, David Wroe)

Could it be any clearer than this? The United States is gunning for Iran, not, as Hartcher has it, the other way around. And Morrison wants in on the action, just like his Liberal Party predecessor John Howard did in 2003. Incredibly, we have learnt nothing as a nation since then.

Why Aren't Australian Journalists Backing Julian Assange?

First, the latest shocking news on the fate of WikiLeak's Julian Assange:

"Julian Assange will face a five-day US extradition hearing in February next year, a judge has ruled. [He] faces an 18-count indictment, issued by the US Department of Justice, that includes charges under the Espionage Act... Ben Brandon, representing the US, formally opened the case, a day after an extradition request was signed off by the [UK] home secretary, Sajid Ravid." (Julian Assange to face US extradition in UK next year, Haroon Siddique, theguardian.com, 14/6/19)

The following letter of concern over Assange's fate, naming Australian journalist Peter Greste, appeared in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald:

"Andrew Fowler's article was excellent in its balanced reporting of the facts ('Raids a wake-up to journalists who left Assange swinging', June 12). This was in stark contrast to Peter Greste's article several weeks ago, written with a certain callousness. Assanges's treatment does not reflect well on other journalists or on our successive governments. Fowler is correct that what has occurred to Assange may well occur to other journalists if they do not toe the line." (Virginia Robison, Killara, letter to the editor in Sydney Morning Herald, 14/6/19)

In addition, full page ads placed by journalismisnotacrime.org appeared in both the Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian yesterday signed by 38 Australian journalists, including Greste, Alliance for Journalists' Freedom. The ad is billed as an "Open letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Leader of the Opposition Anthony Albanese, Members of the Parliament of Australia," and is headlined "JOURNALISM IS NOT A CRIME".

Part of the text reads: "A healthy democracy cannot function without its media being free to bring to light uncomfortable truths, to scrutinise the powerful and inform our communities. Investigative journalism cannot survive without the courage of whistleblowers, motivated by concern for their fellow citizens, who seek to bring to light instances of wrongdoing, illegal activities, fraud, corruption and threats to public health and safety. These are issues of public interest, of the public's right to know. Whistleblowers and the journalists who work with them are entitled to protection, not prosecution. Truth-telling is being punished."

There are reference in the text to "whistleblowers Richard Boyle, David McBride and Witness K," but, significantly, not to Julian Assange.

The failure to include Assange in the ad would seem to have a lot to do with Peter Greste's 12/4/19 SMH/Age opinion piece, Julian Assange is no journalist: don't confuse his arrest with press freedom:

"As someone who has been imprisoned by a foreign government [Egypt] for publishing material that it didn't like, I have a certain sympathy for Assange. But my supports stops there. To be clear, Julian Assange is not a journalist, and Wikileaks is not a news organisation... Journalism demands more than just simply acquiring confidential information and releasing it unfiltered on the internet for punters to sort through. It comes with responsibility... We at the Alliance for Journalists' Freedom are committed to restoring public trust in in journalism, which can only happen if its practitioners work with responsibility and respect. I has never been about opening up a hosepipe of information regardless of the consequences."

Parenthetically, has Greste, I wonder, taken the trouble to read The Wikileaks Files: The World According to US Empire (Verso, 2015). It contains an extensive introduction by Julian Assange and contributions by a range of journalists on the various regions covered by the files?

Understandably, aware readers - especially in Melbourne's Age - bridled at Greste's piece. John Wallace, for example, director of the Asia Pacific Journalism Centre, and a former member of the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) judiciary committee Victoria, had this to say in the Age's letters pages:

"In Australia MEAA journalist code of ethics offers a less rigid view of journalism, one that allows departures from its standards under certain circumstances. The code's preamble states, in part, that 'Respect for truth and the public's right to information are fundamental principles of journalism'. In its guidance clause, the code recognises that sometimes there will be a conflict in its standards, and that in cases of 'substantial advancement of the public interest' it may be appropriate to override any particular standard. If one accepts the Wikileaks disclosures did substantially advance the public interest, Assange's work can certainly be seen as journalism."

Commented another, "Greste's commentary is especially churlish, given the wholehearted support he enjoyed from the Australian community during his own ordeal. A little less pomposity, please." (Nicholas Grey, Kent Town, SA)

One of the most pointed and relevant comments critiquing Greste's piece came in the form a tweet by an Australian journalist of Palestinian origin, Jennine Khalik: "thinking of being a white male journalist and getting arrested in egypt so people think everything I have to say once im out is relevant and insightful." (May 25)

Greste's assessment of Assange as 'not a journalist' cannot be allowed to stand. In fact, a retraction of his 12 April commentary and an apology seems to me to be in order.

World Vision Australia's Forgotten Man

While I agree wholeheartedly with former World Vision head Tim Costello here:

"Celebrated humanitarian Tim Costello says middle Australia feels it is 'doing it hard' and some consider their annual trip to Bali a 'fundamental human right', while remaining oblivious to real suffering overseas. Mr Costello, who has stepped down as chief advocate of World Vision Australia, says political rhetoric over cost-of-living pressures has helped foster a misguided mindset among voters that they are struggling. He also called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to reverse his government's 'mean' foreign aid strategy, calling it embarrassing and foolish." ('Australians don't know how blessed they are', Nicole Hasham, Sydney Morning Herald, 11/6/19)

And here:

"World Vision says the Coalition has cut Australia's foreign aid budget each year since it came to power in 2014, to just 21c in every $100 of gross national income. It says the United Kingdom spends 70c in every $100 - a commitment enshrined in law - while Switzerland spends $1.10. Foreign Affairs  Minister Marise Payne has been contacted for comment. She has said the government was targeting its aid at the Indo-Pacific region. Mr Costello said foreign aid was at historic lows and urged the government to show 'moral leadership'." (ibid)

I'm wondering if Tim Costello, in his retirement, intends to focus on the plight of World Vision Australia employee Mohammed El Halabi, arrested by the Israelis in 2016, and put on trial accused of channelling millions of dollars of Australian government aid funding to Hamas. Halabi has languished in an Israeli prison ever since, and has alleged torture by his captors. And this despite DFAT and World Vision's own forensic audit finding no evidence of the misuse of of World Vision funds by El Halabi, and Israel's own failure to produce any evidence to back up its claims.

Tim?

(See my 23/3/17 post The Halabi Affair and others if you will.)

One Month Ago in Australia is Now Ancient History

Truly, it seems only yesterday, when on May 5 this year I ventured out to a Sydney Writers Festival (SWF) event called A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth.

Chaired by ABC Four Corners' Sophie McNeill, Mexican reporter Anabel Hernandez, Iraqi-American writer Dunya Mikhail and Turkish journalist Ece Temelkuran were discussing the dire threat to journalists in their countries of origin. If my memory serves me correctly, an underlying assumption of the discussion then was that all were speaking in a country, Australia, where freedom of the press could, more or less, be taken for granted. (Palestine, Syria and Iran aside, of course.)

How ironic is it now, in the light of the recent Australian Federal Police (AFP) raids on News Corps reporter Annika Smethurst and the ABC, that, barely a month on from May 5, this assumption can no longer be legitimately entertained?

What with Australia's abandonment of journalist Julian Assange and the plight of whistleblowers such as Richard Boyle (who blew the whistle on the ATO and faces 6 life sentences if found guilty) and David William McBride (a former legal adviser to Australia's special forces in Afghanistan and named alongside three ABC journalists in the ABC's search warrant),* not to mention PM Morrison's wholly unconvincing assertion that his government had been "operationally at complete arm's length" from the raids, it appears as though the comforting assumption of May 5 at the SWF that Australia has a free press and that msm journalists and public-spirited whistleblowers are safe from harm's way was nothing more than an illusion.

[*See Whistleblower caught the eye of storm, Michael Whitbourn, Sydney Morning Herald, 6/6/19. This, mind you, going back to the ABC's then uncontroversial publication on 11/7/17 of The Afghan Files, when Malcolm Turnbull was still prime minister! Note that Morrison succeeded Turnbull on 24/8/18. You can draw your own conclusion about the timing of these raids. I note too that Sophie McNeill has tweeted on the subject of the raids, referencing The New York Times, thus: "Shame. 'Australia stands out. No other developed democracy holds as tight to its secrets, experts say, and the raids are just the latest example of how far the country's conservative government will go to scare officials and reporters into submission'." (Australia: The world's most secretive democracy)]

Morrison in the Solomons...

... schmoozing with the faithful.

Before departing the Solomon Islands for the UK, PM Scott Morrison spent his time there doing what comes naturally to him:

"Scott Morrison won the hearts and minds of the Solomon Islands' people, not through their politicians but their priests. Mr Morrison and his wife Jenny were escorted into St Barnabas Anglican Cathedral for an ecumenical service with the nation's church leaders... Anglican Archbishop Tome thanked God for Mr Morrison's visit, describing it as a 'historical day' in the life of the church... Archbishop Tome said Australia was 'a big brother, a big sister, or a mother' to his county. But Mr Morrison told the gathering Australia was more like a 'twin, a fellow family member' to its Pacific neighbour.

"The Prime Minister, who was earlier mobbed by children at Bishop Epalle Catholic School, said the churches were crucial to the region's social fabric, particularly in the Solomon Islands where more than 90% of people are Christian. Mr Morrison  - who attends an evangelical church... said while church and state should be kept separate, 'Australia understands the importance that faith communities play'... " (PM presses the flesh among the faithful, Ben Packham, The Australian, 4/6/19)

It should now be clear that despite his parroting about the separation of church and state, it's Morrison's actions in mixing with the faithful that reveal the real nature of the man.

"Earlier, Mr Morrison and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare agreed to expand a Pacific churches partnership initiative to encourage more exchange visits with Australian churches... At the conclusion of the service, Mr and Mrs Morrison spent time meeting dozens of the nation's church leaders, discussing the role that Christianity could play in Australia's Pacific 'step up'." (ibid)

As our recently re-elected Christian Zionist PM mixes more and more with the South Pacific faithful, we can expect to see the Solomon Islands joining the usual Pacific suspects who have long lined up with USrael in UN fora. In fact it has already done so - at the UNGA on 30/11/18. The General Assembly, having, in a resolution, "reiterat[ed] that any action by Israel to impose its laws jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City of Jerusalem is illegal and therefore null and void," the Solomons lined up with Australia, Israel, the US, Canada, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Guatemala to vote against it. (See my 7/12/18 post Morrison at the UN.)

A former Australian prime minister once opined in the 90s that Australia was in danger of turning into a banana republic. Under Morrison, it seems, we're more in danger of turning into a Cassava Christocracy.

Murdoch Venom

Reading Murdoch's Australian is like watching a funnel web spider walking leisurely across your living room floor. You are so transfixed by the horror of it all that you just cannot look away.

By way of example, here are just two from the rag's letters page:

"Now that the Coalition has received a new mandate, Scott Morrison should follow up on the commitment he made at last year's Wentworth by-election to move Australia's embassy to Jerusalem. (Ari Hurwitz, Vaucluse, NSW, 27/5/19)

"I'm not buying Anthony Albanese's change of heart. A damascene conversion requires him to repent, and I suspect he still harbours the mortal sins of open borders, wealth redistribution, rampant taxation and class warfare deep in his breast. Belief in the discredited miracle of magic-pudding economics won't be sufficient to get him to the Pearly Gates of the Lodge." (Peter Raftery, Indoorroopilly, Qld, 27/5/19)

Morrison: Business As Usual at the UN

For example:

"The United Nations general assembly has overwhelmingly backed a motion condemning Britain's occupation of the remote Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean. The 116-6 vote left the UK diplomatically isolated and was also a measure of severely diminished US clout on the world stage. Washington had campaigned vigorously at the UN and directly in talks with national capitals around the world in defence of the UK's continued control over the archipelago, where there is a US military base at Diego Garcia. The vote was in support of a motion setting a six-month deadline for Britain to withdraw from the Chagos island chain and for the islands to be reunified with neighbouring Mauritius. It endorsed an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in February, calling on the UK to relinquish its hold on the territory in order to complete the process of decolonisation." (UK suffers crushing defeat in UN vote on Chagos Islands, Owen Bowcott/Julian Borger, theguardian.com, 23/5/19)

Right... so who comprised this charmless, colonial gang of six who voted against self-determination for the dispossessed and dispersed Chagossian islanders? Wouldn't you know it:

The US, Hungary, Israel, Australia, UK and the Maldives.

Not, mind you, that, with the Murdoch press trumpeting Morrison as The Messiah from The Shire, you'd expect to see this telling information in the Australian msm.

Trump Conscripts Morrison

Strap yourself in, Australia, and brace yourself for what could be Christian Zionist PM Scott Morrison's first regime change war:

"The ABC confirmed the President and Mr Morrison spoke at length about security challenges around the world, especially Iran. Mr Trump warned Tehran to 'never threaten the United States again' as concerns over a potential US-Iran conflict escalate. The US is sending B-52 bombers to the Middle East to counter what the Trump administration says are 'clear indications' of threats from Iran to US forces there. Shortly after the leaders spoke, the White House issued a formal read-out of their conversation. 'The two leaders reaffirmed the critical importance of the long-standing alliance and friendship between the United States and Australia, and they pledged to continue their close cooperation on shared priorities,' Deputy Press Secretary said in a press statement." (Donald Trump likens Scott Morrison's election victory to his 2016 presidential win and Brexit, Andrew Probyn/Andrew Greene, 20/5/19, abc.net.au)

It's Time

Scott Morrison: "Australians can be absolutely assured I will burn for you every day." (Not time to risk Labor: Morrison, Joe Kelly, The Australian, 17/5/19)

Australians: Sorry, Scott, not necessary, just tomorrow, OK? But, hey, don't forget to crash first.

The $3.5m Question

Hmm...

"It has been dubbed Scott Morrison's secret $500,000 fundraising coup - and it happened at billionaire Anthony Pratt's mansion [Raheen in March]... Here's what we missed. [Liberal federal president Nick Greiner made sure to invite Charles Goode, he of the impressive Melbourne Rolodex and also the chair of the Cormack Foundation, the much debated $75 million Liberal-aligned donor. And Greiner - the clever man - made sure Goode was seated next to the Prime Minister. Scomo sure didn't waste the opportunity. We are informed by senior Liberal sources that before the Raheen dinner, the Cormack Foundation - whose board also includes former PM John Howard and fellow grandee Richard Alston - had agreed to donate $3m to the federal party's campaign fund. After Morrison's dinner chat with Goode that amount was increased by $500,000 to a record $3.5m..." (ScoMo's $500,000 booster, Margin Call, Will Glasgow & Christine Lacy, The Australian, 9/5/19)

Remember how, despite former PM Malcolm Turnbull's extensive services to Netanyahu, he had to pay $1.75m of his own money to pay for his 2016 election campaign? (If not, see my 6/3/18 post Poor Old Malcolm.)

Well, what to make of the above? Seems like Anthony Pratt's Raheen was no more than a venue for this fundraiser, and Howard and Alston, like Turnbull before them, are having to dip into their own pockets to fund Morrison's election campaign.

Which has me puzzled: if the Zionist money of yore is no longer forthcoming, then why are these Liberal Party clowns still bending over backwards, foreign policy-wise, for Israel?

Morrison's 'International Duties'

What ever could Michael Fullilove, executive director of the Lowy Institute, possibly mean by this nonsense?

"Scott Morrison has served as Prime Minister for nine months, carrying out his international duties with confidence." (A world of difference goes unnoticed, Sydney Morning Herald, 3/5/19)

This perhaps:

"Australia quietly opened a trade and defence office in West Jerusalem in March, with no official government announcement and no officials attending the meeting." (Australia opens trade and defence office in Israel, Louis Dillon, defencedirect.com, 3/5/19)

What a mensch is Morrison, eh?

Lie Back & Think of Two States

The Labor candidate for the WA seat of Curtin, Melissa Parke, "has pulled out of the contest after reports she told a public meeting last month that Israel's treatment of Palestinians was 'worse than the South African system of apartheid'." (Labor's candidate for Curtin, Melissa Parke, withdraws from federal election race, abc.net.au, 12/4/19)

Parke didn't pull out - she was pushed out. And what's more, she was pushed out not for any wrongdoing on her part, but simply for stating the bleeding obvious.

The details of the push are still murky, and will likely remain so, but this will come as no surprise:

"ECAJ chief executive Alex Ryvchin said he had conveyed his concerns about Ms Parke to several Labor figures." (Jewish advocates label WA Labor's star pick for Curtin 'extreme and divisive', Nathan Hondros, watoday.com, 10/4/19)

Yet another example of the malign hold of the Israel lobby over Bill Shorten's Labor Party.

Presumably, the ideal Labor candidate/politician is one who does no more than mindlessly chant the 'two-state' solution mantra.

But, of course, the Israel lobby has an even greater hold over Morrison's Liberal Party.

Scott Morrison's principal private secretary, Yaron Finkelstein, described as "in charge of the political strategy of the office," and "a former advisor in the Howard government, and later the chief executive of heavyweight of Liberal campaign firm Crosby Textor," (Power behind the leaders, Sydney Morning Herald, 12/4/19) has some very interesting baggage indeed:

"The NSW Liberal Friends of Israel group was launched at NSW Parliament House in Sydney this week [15/8/12]... Chairman Yaron Finkelstein told J-wire: 'All Liberal State and Federal Members of Parliament from NSW have been asked to join the Liberal Friends of Israel, and be active participants in its programme of events which include intelligence and policy briefings, visiting speaker functions and ongoing Australian/Israeli political exchanges'." (NSW Liberal Friends of Israel, Henry Benjamin, jwire.com, 15/8/12)

Did anyone dare decline?

Know Your Prime Minister

Some insights into the character of Australia's PM Scott Morrison, culled from Herald journalist Peter Hartcher's expose: 'He was in it right up to his neck': How Morrison deposed a PM (26/3/19)

His duplicity:

"When a reporter asked Scott Morrison if he had ambitions for Malcolm Turnbull's job at a joint press conference, he responded by throwing a friendly arm around his prime minister's shoulder. 'This is my leader and I'm ambitious for him!' he declared exuberantly. That was on August 22, 2018. Two days later, Turnbull was gone. Morrison had taken his place."

His disciples:

"Once Turnbull had realised he probably couldn't survive, his key numbers man, Craig Laundy, the workplace minister at the time, agreed to talk to Morrison's backers about the situation. They were now simply doing the numbers for Morrison. The Turnbull and Morrison camps were united in seeking to block Dutton. Laundy sat down in the office of one of Morrison's key organisers, Alex Hawke... two days after the first ballot. He found himself in a meeting of Morrison's core support crew - Hawke, Stuart Robert, Ben Morton, Lucy Wicks and Bert van Manen. It was the Morrison prayer group... "

His scheming:

"Joyce told Turnbull, 'But Morrison is a schemer. Watch out for him. He's going to come for you.' To be noted as a schemer in a profession of schemers is a professional compliment. Such was Morrison's reputation in the Coalition."

His fascism:

"As the new immigration minister, Morrison brought forward a proposal to start detaining asylum seekers who were living in Australia on bridging visas awaiting the outcome of applications for permanent visas, according to multiple former and current ministers and officials. These were people living in the community. Morrison asked for $9 billion to $10 billion... to pay for a mass detention program. There were some 30,000 people in this category in Australia at that time... A spokesman for the Prime Minister said he had no recollection of such a proposal."

Morrison & Tarrant: Six Degrees of Separation?

Scott Morrison 2011:

"The opposition immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, urged the shadow cabinet to capitalise on the electorate's growing concerns about 'Muslim immigration', 'Muslims in Australia' and the 'inability' of Muslim migrants to integrate." (Morrison sees votes in anti-Muslim strategy, Lenore Taylor, Sydney Morning Herald, 17/2/11)

Scott Morrison 2019:

"I'm horrified by the reports I'm following of the serious shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand. The situation is still unfolding but our thoughts and prayers are with our Kiwi cousins." (Tweet @ScottMorrisonMP, 14/3/19)

Note that Morrison cannot even bring himself to use the word terrorism ("serious shooting"), or Muslims ("Kiwi cousins").

In the mold of the Norwegian white supremacist terrorist Anders Breivik, the white supremacist perpetrator of the New Zealand massacres, Brenton Tarrant, had stated in a manifesto that his aim was "to take revenge for the thousands of deaths caused by foreign invaders in European lands throughout history."

This is arguably only a matter of degrees away from the real Scott Morrison, so beautifully summed up by Sydney Morning Herald journalist Tony Wright. (Remember that, before becoming immigration minister, Morrison was the managing director of Tourism Australia, trying to persuade people to visit Australia through an international advertising campaign starring model Lara Bingle, exclaiming, 'Where the bloody hell are you?'):

"His job these days," wrote Wright, "is to persuade would-be visitors to stay away from Australia. The old tourism chief has reversed his talent for propaganda by launching an international advertising campaign warning that the boat borne will find themselves in a concentration camp in the malarial jungles of Manus Island or the sweat box of Nauru, not a Lara in sight, if they so much as think of climbing aboard a leaky craft. Being an enthusiastic Christian, he declares that his concern is for the safety of what he calls 'illegals'." (Morrison keeps House in dark, 14/11/13)

Pre-Election Fundraising at the Pratt's

Sarah Ferguson: They're [the Israel lobby] still a very small group of people. How do you account for them wielding so much power?
Bob Carr: I think party donations and a program of giving trips to MPs and journalists to Israel. (7.30 Report, 9/4/14)

***

And the latest news on the political donations front is as follows:

"Treasurer Josh Frydenberg struggled to get past security when he drove himself to the billionaire Pratt family mansion Raheen for a fundraiser last night. Life's a bit like that for the Liberals right now... Last night's event was a Liberal Party pre-election fundraiser with Melbourne's money: a $12,000-a-head dinner hosted by the billionaire family matriarch Jeanne Pratt.

"Despite the salubrious setting, selling selling tickets wasn't as easy as for events at previous elections.* All up, we're told there were fewer than 100 people at the Kew mansion. That's including the Morrison ministry. 'The Libs aren't going to bloody win, are they?' one well-connected Melbourne businessperson told us, explaining the lack of paying guests.

"Not everyone kept away from an autumnal event that, some might observe, skewed towards the pale, male and stale. Those along were each gifted two federal ministers per table... In trundled the determinedly optimistic Foreign Minister Marise Payne, the endangered Attorney-General Christian Porter, the Xavier College-alumni turned Catholic-loving Education Minister Dan Tehan... and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann and his fellow Turnbull-slayer Mitch Fifield...

"Presumably paying guests spotted by Margin Call included Myer boss Garry Hounsell... Vocus Bob Mansfield (Telstra's chair back in the Howard era), Arnold, Bloch Leibler senior partner Mark Leibler and Pratt family member Raphael 'Raffy' Geminder, the billionaire chair of packaging outfit Pact.

"While Jeanne was on hosting duties, we gather that her son and Raheen housemate Anthony Pratt (Australia's richest person) was last night away on business.

"Bet you the Visy billionaire is back in the manor when ascendant Labor leader Bill Shorten and his troops arrive for a reciprocal fundraising event in a couple of weeks. Some fundraising dinners are better than others - even when they're held at your place." (More ghosts than guests at Lib fundraiser, Margin Call, Will Glasgow & Christine Lacy, The Australian Business Review, 13/3/19)

'A Call for Help from a Population in Despair'

When you hear Australia's shambolic Christian Zionist prime minister Scott Morrison prating that "[t]he UN General Assembly is now the place where Israel is bullied and where anti-Semitism is cloaked in the language of human rights... This year the Human Rights Council passed 6 motions condemning Israel compared to a total of 14 across the rest of the world" (70th Anniversary of Australia's formal diplomatic relationship with the State of Israel, aph.gov.au, 19/2/19), consider it a salutary reminder of just how vital and necessary is the work of the UNGA in general, and the HRC in particular, in documenting and calling out the serial crimes of the apartheid state. Crimes such as those outlined in this press release from The UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2018 Gaza protests, for example:

"The United Nations Independent Commission of Inquiry on the protests in the Occupied Palestinian Territory today presented its findings. The report focuses on the demonstrations in the Gaza Strip, referred to as the 'Great March of Return and the Breaking of the Siege'.

"The Commission has reasonable grounds to believe that during the Great March of Return, Israeli soldiers committed violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Some of those violations may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity, and must be immediately investigated by Israel,' said the Chair of the Commission, Santiago Canton of Argentina.

"The Commission was mandated by the Human Rights Council in May 2018 to investigate all alleged violations and abuses of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in the context of the large-scale protests that began in Gaza on 30 March 2018. The Commission comprises Santiago Canton of Argentina (Chair), Sara Hossain of Bangladesh and Betty Murungi of Kenya.

"More than 6,000 unarmed demonstrators were shot by military snipers, week after week at the protest sites by the separation fence.

"The Commission investigated every killing at the designated demonstration sites by the Gaza separation fence on official protest days. The investigation covered the period from the start of the protests until 31 December 2018. 189 Palestinians were killed during the demonstrations inside this period. The Commission found that Israeli Security Forces killed 183 of these protesters with live ammunition. Thirty-five of these fatalities were children, while three were clearly marked paramedics, and two were clearly marked journalists.

"According to the the Commission's data analysis, the Israeli Security Forces injured 6,106 with live ammunition at the protest sites during the period. Another 3,098 Palestinians were injured by bullet fragmentation, rubber-coated metal bullets or by hits from tear gas canisters. Four Israeli soldiers were injured at the demonstrations. One Israeli soldier was killed on a protest day but outside the protest sites.

"'There can be no justification for killing and injuring journalists, medics, and persons who pose no imminent threat of death or serious injury to those around them. Particularly alarming is the targeting of children and persons with disabilities,' said Sarah Hossain. 'Many young persons' lives have been altered forever. 122 people have had a limb amputated since 30 March last year. Twenty of these amputees are children.'

"The Commission found reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli snipers shot at journalists, health workers, children and persons with disabilities knowing they were clearly recognizable as such.

"Unless undertaken lawfully in self-defence, intentionally shooting a civilian not directly participating in hostilities is a war crime. The Commission found reasonable grounds to believe that individual members of the Israeli Security Forces, in the course of their response to the demonstrations, killed and injured civilians who were neither directly participating in hostilities, nor posing an imminent threat. These serious human rights and humanitarian law violations may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity.

"The Commission took note of the Israeli claim that the protests by the separation fence masked 'terror activities' by Palestinian armed groups. The Commission found however that the demonstrations were civilian in nature, with clearly stated political aims. Despite some acts of significant violence, the Commission found that the demonstrations did not constitute combat or military campaigns.

"The applicable legal framework was thus based in international human rights law. This assessment did not change even though the Commission's investigation revealed that some demonstrators were members of organized armed groups. Others were members of political parties. International human rights law prohibits the use of force based solely on a person's actual or alleged affiliation to any group, rather than their conduct.

"The Commission found that some members of the Higher National Committee organising the protests, which includes Hamas representatives, encouraged or defended demonstators' use of indiscriminate incendiary kites and balloons, causing fear among civilians and significant damage to property in southern Israel. The Commission concluded that Hamas, as the de facto authority in Gaza, failed to prevent these acts.

"The Commission conducted 325 interviews with victims, witnesses and sources, and gathered more than 8,000 documents. An integral part of the investigation was comprehensive analysis of social media, and of vast amounts of audio-visual material showing incidents, including drone footage.

"The Commission was mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to focus on accountability and identify those responsible for violations and alleged international crimes.

"'The Commission will place the relevant information in a confidential file to be handed over to the High Commissioner of Human Rights, to provide access to this information to national and international justice mechanisms. The International Criminal Court is already concerned with this situation,' said Betty Murungi. [...]

"'The onus is now on Israel to investigate every protest-related killing and injury, promptly, impartially and independently in accordance with international standards, to determine whether war crimes or crimes against humanity were committed, with a view to holding accountable those found responsible,' said Santiago Canton... 'The Commission finds that these protests were a call for help from a population in despair', Santiago Canton reminded. 'Not only Israel but also the de facto authorities led by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have responsibilities towards them. The Commission calls on Israel to lift the blockade of Gaza, and on all three duty bearers to comply with their responsibilities and improve the living situation in Gaza.'

"The Israeli authorities did not respond to repeated requests by the Commission for information and access to Israel and to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

"A fuller report, containing detailed factual and contextual information and legal analysis will be published and presented to the Human Rights Council on 18 March 2019 in Geneva." (No justification for Israel to shoot protesters with live ammunition, 28/2/19)

Ten Years is an Eternity in Politics

"Australia's Jewish leaders have praised Scott Morrison's attack on the UN's 'anti-Semitic agenda' as the nation celebrates 70 years of diplomatic relations with Israel." (PM praised for UN swipe over Israel, Richard Ferguson, The Australian, 20/2/19)

Did you know that "the nation" (aka Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten) has been singing Happy Birthday to You/Israel in federal parliament?

Think about it! There are 193 nations in the world - but only one that I'm aware of gets a bipartisan birthday bash every 10 years in federal parliament. And that's an apartheid state! Now how crazy is that?

Morrison used the opportunity, predictably, to berate the UNGA, "the place where Israel is bullied and where anti-Semitism is cloaked in language about human rights," while Shorten intoned the usual Labor mantra about Doc Evert being in the delivery room at the birth.

The aforementioned "Jewish leaders," by the way, constitute a veritable roll call of Israel lobbyists in Australia:

AIJAC's Colin Rubenstein - "Prime Minister Morrison was entirely correct in his reflections on the lopsided 'bias and unfair targeting' of Israel at the UN. Israel, a thriving 'beacon of democracy in the Middle East' with an independent judiciary, has been subject to overwhelmingly more criticism than any other country." (ibid)

Anti-Defamation Commission's Dvir Abramovich - "The PM... should be saluted for naming and calling out the UN's institutional anti-Israel bias, and for his iron-clad assurance Australia will always stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel against those hostile forces who wish to demonise and defame her."

Executive Council of Australian Jewry's Alex Ryvchin - "We commend the Prime Minister for vowing to stand with Israel at the UN, and for condemning the hypocrisy and double standards in its obsessive and disproportionate focus on criticising Israel."

Zionist Association of Australia's Jeremy Liebler - "Western countries who lay sole blame on Israel for the ongoing conflict in the Middle East bear real responsibility for the continuation of Hamas' terror activities."

Still, Israel's 70th was a pretty low key affair when compared with the lavish party thrown by former Labor PM Kevin Rudd back in March, 2008, for Israel's 60th. (See my 6 posts on the subject, all titled The Israeli Occupation of Federal Parliament.) Suffice it to recall Rudd's magnificent, gem-encrusted gift to Israel at the time, namely the following parliamentary motion:

"That the House: (1) celebrate and commend the achievements of the State of Israel in the 60 years since its inception; (2) remember with pride and honour the important role which Australia played in the establishment of the State of Israel as both a member state of the UN and as an influential voice in the introduction of Resolution 181 which facilitated Israel's statehood, and as the country which proudly became the first to cast a vote in support of Israel's creation; (3) acknowledge the unique relationship which exists between Australia and Israel; a bond highlighted by our commitment to the rights and liberty of our citizens and encouragement of cultural diversity; (4) commend the State of Israel's commitment to democracy, the Rule of Law and pluralism; (5) reiterates Australia's commitment to Israel's right to exist and our ongoing support to the peaceful establishment of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue; (6) reiterates Australia's commitment to the pursuit of peace and stability throughout the Middle East; (7) on this, the 60th Anniversary of Independence of the State of Israel, pledge our friendship, commitment and enduring support to the people of Israel as we celebrate this important occasion together."

Simply stunning, eh?

Strange to tell, Rudd neglects any mention of Israel's 60th in his recent memoir, Kevin Rudd: The PM Years. Ditto for his grand tour of Israel in December 2010, during which the late Shimon Peres described Israel as being in love with Australia, and Rudd, speaking in Jerusalem's King David Hotel, joked about Menachem Begin's Irgun terrorists back in 1946 "undertaking some interior redesign" of the hotel. (See my 1-4 posts titled The Kevin Rudd Road Show for the details.)

Truly, ten years is practically an eternity in politics.