Piss off Noah – we don’t believe ya! Those sea levels are not going to rise, and if they do, we’ll nuke you lot before you even set foot on our land. That’s for my security. That’s what stability is about. That’s from a stable well-adjusted mind, in touch with reality and the facts…
No its nothing important, just a random thought. I liked the term that DFAT has apparently used to describe some of Australia’s closest neighbours. East Timor, PNG, The Solomon Islands, Fiji, etc.
I think that it is no coincidence that Australia’s neighbouring nations, the poorer ones, are starting to fail. Because I think that Australia has failed in its responsibilities to the region. Its not about monetary aid per se, and its not about the troop committments that have had to be made as a last resort. Its about democracy and democratic processes. Australian democracy under Howard has lost the plot domestically, and a consequence is that we don’t know how to constructively help these small nations. Our own democracy has become unstable and this instability is radiating out into the region, and beyond. The emphasis on law and order, ueber alles, to lock in authoritarian regimes – and the failure of politics to become an open forum for dissent and constructive debate to help solve problems – manifests as violent riots and bully tactics. We don’t know how to help build viable democracies. There are many other problems in these small states, but we could do much more in helping to train people and support fair democratic processes.
My main gripe is that they just don’t seem to get it. Democracy and freedom that is.
If a person’s, or a population’s, freedom is bestowed by authorities as a privelege, for people who have the right values for instance, it has the effect of enslaving the whole population. That very act of setting up those control order laws has effectively enslaved our whole population. Australians are no longer free. If an authority has the power to arbitrarily restrain a person’s freedom without having the evidence for guilt properly examinied in a court of law, then we all have had our presumption of innocence taken away from us. We are no longer free – regardless of how we feel today.
Don’t be so negative – look at everything that you have – it could be taken away from you – so cheer up, you are safe. These kinds of comments display a complete lack of understanding of what freedom is. Who are you to decide what I think and feel, and to impose a punishment or reward depending on how my thoughts and feelings match what you expect.
The separation of church and state again. This security regime is an inversion of the liberal democratic order. Phones can be tapped, cameras or microphones planted – and every private word spoken can be used as an excuse to have control orders placed on a person. The claims are not tested in court. And then we have those politicians who do wield power and vast amounts of cash – are they responsible for their actions? Clearly not now. We personally have next to no power, and yet can have the whole national security regime following our every move with the power to intervene arbitarily; while those who wield that state power can do so without consequence. That’s not democracy, and it ain’t freedom. And they want you to thank them for it – smile slave…
Oh, and I know that it is not clever politics to call ministers “fucking idiots”. But you’d think that members of Parliament know something about democracy, human rights and freedom. What are they doing there?
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WE wrote about the similar issue, earlier this morning – see http://weekbyweek7.blogspot.com/ and just scroll down
cheers
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[...] There is some discussion emerging over just how things came to be this way, and it seems that I’m not the only one concerned about the lack of stable development in Timor-Leste. Some say the problem is too much intervention, while others suggest we aren’t doing enough for ’soft’ issues like poverty and justice. [...]