The rodent certainly has plenty of gall …..

Straight-faced sledging of all things Muslim, whilst ignoring the lunatic Christian right, lead by bushit …..

And then more straight-faced lying when asked about the coup in Thailand …..

Prime Minister:

…… We condemn military coups. They are a throwback to a past that I had hoped Asia had emerged from, and it's a great disappointment.

Yeah , right.

Try telling it to Iraq.

If the illegal war of aggression, mounted by the “coalition of the willing”, including Australia, to effect “regime change”, was not a “military coup”, then what was it?

Coups are fine with the little hypocrite, so long as they suit our interests.

The great besider also had no problem with Australia supporting a coup in East Timor, whilst telling our unfortunate neighbour that they needed “a more compliant leader / government”, before going on to tell them that, in return for assisting East Timor with its security arrangements, Australia was “entitled to influence the East Timorese government”.

And, of course, the same goes for the Australian government’s interference in the Solomons.

But the classic example of the little fella’s hypocrisy were contained in his speech of welcome to the visiting military dictator of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, last year (Musharref seized power via a military coup in 1999).

To quote from the official transcript:

"Your excellency, General Pervez Musharraf, the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Today marks a first in relations between [our countries].

This is the first occasion we have been graced with a visit by a Pakistani head of state who, of course, is also head of government in that country. And I have a very special pleasure, and a very deep feeling, in welcoming President Musharraf, in saying on behalf of all of us how much we admire the exceptional personal courage he has displayed in recent years.

It's easier to make brave rhetorical speeches, about values of freedom and democracy and the rights of man, when you belong to a country, with whatever other faults it may have, [that] has always had a long, uninterrupted tradition of peaceful political exchange, however rumbustious it may get in a verbal sense on occasions.

But to be the leader of a country and to survive two assassination attempts, and to know there are people within your country whose only goal is not only to remove your government, which you can understand in a democracy, but also to remove it with violence and with force, if necessary, including your removal from this life …

So I pay tribute to somebody who has come through the fire of violent challenge to his position; somebody who has played a major role in the fight against terrorism; somebody who has understood the need to confront and defeat the extremist elements within our society that seek to visit death and terrorism around the world.

And also I salute somebody, in President Musharraf, who has led a transition of his country to a democratic state. Pakistan has not always been democratic, something the President freely acknowledged. And I do not think enough credit has been given to Pakistan under President Musharraf's leadership for the transition over recent years…"

So much for the Howard government’s position on military coups & military dictators …..

Just pure humbug.