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Australia And US As One- letter reprint from Adelaide Advertiser Thursday 21/7/ 05, Corp Defamation Laws 28/7/05

Yes, we are at one with the U.S.

Rupert Murdoch is right.  Australia is as one with America.  We act on U.S. advice in our forieign policy, our international trade schemes, our control of our natural resources, and the co-ordination of our infrastructure.

Generallly we seem to be " cutting out the middle man" by eliminating Australian input and letting U.S. interests implement and carry out the tasks.  The local citizenry, once in charge of its own country, appears to have been demoted to serving as a labour force for "global necessities."

When U.S. rock group KISS toured here recently, they commented on stage that they loved coming to Australia because everything was so  familiar here.  "It's like the 51st state of the U.S.A." said guitarist Paul Stanley.  Five thousand Adelaide residents cheered and clapped in response.

A key point of Mr Murdoch's argument is that without a common adversary Australian and American activities tend to "drift apart"  unless there is the necessity of a battle.  Could this possibly be because Australians prefer to make their own decisiions unless there is no choice but to comply with the wishes of the Government of the United States?

Richard Tonkin

For Those Who Came In Late.. please read

Halliburton Down Under, Above And Beyond 

Squealing jumbo

There's some pleasurable reading here, Richard, by Juan Cole. It's only an excerpt, but it's enough. Let us know if you can defeat Salon's Site Pass demon.

My article at Salon.com, "The Iraq War is Over and the Winner is . . . Iran" is just out online. Excerpt:

' the Bush administration cannot have been filled with joy when Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and eight high-powered cabinet ministers paid an extremely friendly visit to Tehran this week. The two governments went into a tizzy of wheeling and dealing of a sort not seen since Texas oil millionaires found out about Saudi Arabia. Oil pipelines, port access, pilgrimage, trade, security, military assistance, were all on the table in Tehran. All the sorts of contracts and deals that U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney had imagined for Halliburton, and that the Pentagon neoconservatives had hoped for Israel, were heading instead due east. Jaafari's visit was a blow to the Bush administration's strategic vision, but a sweet triumph for political Shiism.

New South Aust Corporation Defamation Legislation

I won't, and don't make a habit of blogging every letter I have published.  However, this topic is getting a fair bit of media space in S.A. at the moment, so here's my "two bob's worth"  on today's Adelaide Advertiser Opinion page::

 

Allowing firms to sue will curb free speech (28/7/05)

I don't agree that corporations should have the right to sue individuals for defamation

If such laws are passed, how will an indvidual who sees and injustice be able to speak.?  Will the informal networks of commentators in various parts of the world be able to discuss their theories on website "blogs" without fear of losing their all to litigation?

I admit to having personal fears in this situation.  A quick internet search of my name will show you what I've been writing.   There are some corporations who will not approve of what I have to say..

Will I change what I write for fear of being sued? No- I believe what I say to be true.  I hope that others hold the same sense of self-belief, and continue to speak when they see something that they feel is wrong.

At any rate, if gigantic commercial enterprises  sue  individuals for speaking their mindss, they will only create martyrs, who are known to be very bad for business... especially "big" business. The easiest solution would be to pass legislation compelling corporations to always speak the truth..  Then individuals wouldn't need to go looking for it.

Richard Tonkin

Encrypted

You are doing a valuable public service, Richard.

Put another shilling in the spell-checker, keep changing your passwords, and light a candle for Juanita Nielsen.