The Attorney-Generalissimo says the Government's proposed terrorising legislation is now watered down and has appropriate flowering.
Philip Ruddock has explained the new fiddles to concerned members of the Coalition's backbench and has assured Parliament the terrorising laws will assist spooks to stop terrorists before they know they exist....

A hard-hitting special report into the "war on terror". 

 

By Award winning journalist John Pilger.  

 

Breaking The Silence

 

 

Terrorist threat timing a coincidence: PM
The Prime Minister has rejected suggestions his announcement that Australia is facing a possible terrorist threat has been timed to avoid scrutiny of the industrial relations and counter-terrorism laws.
John Howard says he has intelligence now he did not have at the weekend, and the information concerns him.
However, Mr Howard has refused to outline the details of the threat.
He says the Government is doing everything it can to protect the community.
Mr Howard has told Channel 9 he has not timed the announcement of the threat to coincide with the workplace relations legislation, which was introduced into Parliament today.
"It is purely coincidental," he said.
"Now if I had made the calculation that I'll put this off for a few days so people won't accuse me of that, and something were to happen, people would have every right to condemn me unconditionally."
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock also says the timing is a coincidence.

Gusology:
Mr Howard says he had a responsibility to release the information. Well only the top bit that tells-not-much but but scare-a-lot... We still have (and will never have) no got a clue whether it's kosher or a porkie... The secret act, you know...

The 'Australians, Safe and Secure Under Ruddock's ASIO, Now Commit to Eternal Surveillance' Act.

 

From the Guardian

Blair's bad day ends in terror bill climbdown

Matthew Tempest, political correspondent
Wednesday November 2, 2005

Tony Blair today suffered one of the most damaging days of his premiership, with the twin blows of the resignation of David Blunkett and a last-minute climbdown on the most controversial aspect of the terror bill.

The work and pensions secretary, who Mr Blair had personally backed as recently as last night, resigned this morning, admitting he had made a mistake in not declaring three extra-parliamentary business interests.

Tonight, the government was forced to compromise on the proposal to hold terror suspects without charge for three months to head off a backbench rebellion.

66-strong majority had been reduced to just one - its lowest ever margin - over a bid by Labour rebels to insert a clause into the new bill demanding that any prosecution for "encouraging terrorism" be subject to proof of conscious "intent".

This evening, with half an hour to go until a vital compromise vote to extend detention without charge to 28 days from the current 14 days, but stopping short of the government's preferred three months, the home secretary offered a week's emergency cross-party consultation.

From Blair's day of calamity
[...] "When you have been in politics as long as I have, you can smell and feel when it is time to step away and I felt that between Downing Street and Portcullis House,"  [...]

What he smelt was something he stepped in. And then his own dog piddled on Tony Blair's feet.

Ach! Those estrogenic pheromones bring on the feelings and cause a lot of "mistakes".

The Editor,

Sydney Morning Herald.                                                                  November 3, 2005.

 

 

As usual, John Howard’s transparent theatrics on terrorism produced a box office sell-out for his populist play on fear. (‘Howard deflects nation’s gaze away from the ball’, Herald, November 3)

 

Of course, given the apathetic nature of the majority of our great leaders ‘mums & dads’, such public displays will shortly become redundant, as vocal minorities & other nuisances are cowed & despatched & our democracy quietly drifts off to an endless grey sleep.

 

But what do we really lose if freedom has no value & we aren’t prepared to defend it?

‘Tony Blair's plans for tough new anti-terror legislation have been subjected to a damning critique by Amnesty International, as MPs prepare to debate the measures today.  

 

In a submission to MPs, Amnesty International denounced the proposals to increase police powers of detention and make a new offence of the glorification of terrorism. It called them "ill-conceived and dangerous" , amounting to an attack on "the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law".  

 

The organisation's onslaught - in the strongest language it has deployed against the Blair Government - came as ministers braced themselves for sustained opposition to the Terrorism Bill when it is debated in the Commons from today. The Bill has already been condemned by senior judges, lawyers and civil liberties groups.’ 

 

Amnesty International On Terror Laws