Category Archives: john howard is a fool

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More on Amnesty International report

This is the ABC’s take on Amnesty’s report:

This year Amnesty’s annual report into global human rights abuses focuses on the politics of fear, and argues fear thrives on “myopic and cowardly leadership”.
The Government is singled out for criticism for its portrayal of “asylum seekers in leaky boats” as a “refugee invasion”, which Amnesty secretary-general Irene Khan says contributed to John Howard’s election win in 2001.
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Amnesty spokeswoman Katie Wood says Australia also failed to act strongly on claims of mistreatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
“Australia should have been fairly sceptical of the assurances given by the United States, given the amount of information about torture and other ill treatment practised by the US in Guantanamo and elsewhere,” she said.
“It should have been enough to put them on notice to really insist upon an independent and proper investigation into all those allegations made not only by David Hicks but also Mamdouh Habib.”
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The London-based group also says it is seriously concerned about the low rates of prosecution for violence against women and the “lack of support services for Indigenous women”.
“The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women expressed concern about the high level of violence against women, and the low rates of prosecution and convictions in sexual assault cases,” the report said.
“The committee was also concerned about the continued violence and discrimination faced by women in Indigenous, refugee and migrant communities.

Amnesty hits Aust on refugees, women’s rights, ABC

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John Howard ‘PM a short-sighted fear-monger’

I notice the headline and the focus of the story have changed since I first saw the article. I guess the SMH fears Howard more than they fear Amnesty.
Anyway, the headline is now ‘Amnesty claims a shoddy caricature, PM says’.
And the lead in:

“Prime Minister John Howard has robustly defended his government against claims by Amnesty International that it is as divisive as Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s regime.
The human rights pressure group has accused Mr Howard of portraying asylum-seekers as a threat to national security.
In a report released overnight, it also criticised Australia’s role in the war on terror and its treatment of female victims of violence.
Amnesty secretary-general Irene Khan said the fear generated by leaders such as Mr Howard “thrives on myopic and cowardly leadership”.
Ms Khan lumped Mr Howard in with Mr Mugabe, US President George W Bush and Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir in a paragraph about leaders who used fear to suit their political agenda.”

I like what Howard’s done here:

“In statement today, Mr Howard rejected the way Australia was characterised in the Amnesty report.”

They weren’t characterising Australia, you blockhead, they were characterising you.
But Amnesty weren’t taking it:

Ms Khan stood by her comments today, accusing the Howard government of having an “appalling” domestic human rights record regarding its treatment of asylum seekers and indigenous people.
These failures had undermined its good work overseas

Howard said:

“I believe many Australians will be as offended by this report as I am”

Not if they’ve got any sense, they won’t. Living in Europe gives me far too clear-sighted a vision of the damage Howard has done to Australia’s reputation overseas.
Final word to Amnesty:

Ms Khan also urged Australian voters to think about giving others a “fair go” at this year’s election.

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“An Australian senator has caused a storm of protest for describing a female politician as “deliberately barren” and therefore unfit to govern.
Bill Heffernan said Labor Party deputy leader Julia Gillard did not understand the public because she had no children.” BBC
If I didn’t need it I’m so tempted to hand back my Australian passport at times like this.

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Fab.U.Lous: “Too often in the media, currency is given to the theory that everyone should be allowed to marry regardless of gender, outlook and whether the two people are creating a suitable family environment in which to bring up children.
Well, it is time to ask some hard questions about this attitude. The only way we will save marriage is to reclaim the institution for the mainstream. Marriage is for normal people who want to raise children in a healthy and secure environment. This is why we should ban religious fundamentalists from marrying.” SMH

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“Prime Minister John Howard has clashed with Sir Nicholas Stern over climate change, saying the former World Bank chief economist’s views should not be treated as “holy writ” and could do great damage to the Australian economy.
Sir Nicholas has called on Australia to be an international leader in the fight against climate change by slashing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 60 per cent by 2050, ratifying the Kyoto Protocol and being at the forefront of new technologies, such as clean coal.
But when asked by Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd if he would commit to the 2050 target, Mr Howard declared he would put the national interest first.” The Age
Is he really that short-sighted? Or does he think a political win justifies the environmental damage? From this distance it seems Australia is already suffering the effects of global warming, I don’t understand why it’s not the first country to respond.

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“In failing in its duty to David Hicks, the Government has failed all Australians and shaken the foundations of Australian law. Ultimately, the Hicks case is not just about Hicks, it is about the rule of law. If the Government can recklessly abandon the law in the case of one Australian, it can much more easily abandon the law and its duty to other Australians.” Abandoning principle of law endangers us all
Someone asked why I’d still vote in Australian elections when I haven’t lived there in so long. I guess it had never occurred to me that I wouldn’t have an interest in Australian politics. Even though I’ve left, I’ll probably return some day. And as I said, somewhat rantily, “I hate Howard with a passion, and I hate what he’s done to Australia and I want him out so the country has some chance of claiming back ‘mateship’ and ‘a fair go’ and everything else he’s co-opted into his slimy xenophobic misogynistic homo-panicked puniverse.
And on a personal level I want a leader who doesn’t hate gay people.”

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Nothing particularly new – reports about Australians in the UK have said that people are now using as a chance to extend their professional skills and build up their savings before, but Why pulling pints is passe for the new breed of Aussie overseas is still a reasonably interesting read, particularly on returning expats:
“But knowing people who return to Australia is a different matter. Last March, based on a 2003 study by researcher Graeme Hugo, a Senate inquiry concluded that 30 per cent of expatriates were undecided on whether to return to Australia.
More contemporary research also shows that expats are staying put. The head of the Menzies Institute for Australian Studies in London, Carl Bridge, says growing numbers of Australians (particularly heterosexual couples) indicate they will never return.”
I wonder if they thought to ask homosexual people whether the Australian governments’ shocking record on gay issues puts them off returning.