[Peakoil] Fwd: Howard effectively conscripts all public transport users

[Alex P]

Interesting viewpoint

Alex
O4O4873828

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http://www.sydney.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=56754&group=webcast

      Bus user, train user, ferry user? You've just been conscripted by 
the PM 
      by Tom McLoughlin, ecology action 9:08am Sun Jul 10 '05 
article#56754 
      address: 1 Henry St Turrella 2205 phone: 0410 558838 
ecologya at telpacific.com.au  

          When was the last time a warmonger federal politician like John 
Howard, wrong on WMD, wrong on AL Qaeda links, avaricious for oil and USA 
trade deals, caught public transport? Not for a long time and guess what? 
He just conscripted you to the front line in his war on terror. 

      My mum wanted me to join the military. You give away your freedom 
but you do get alot of benefits. It's a moral tradeoff. Financial security 
of a certain level, mainstream acceptance, free education, alot of extra 
training and self reliance I suppose. But it was the conscience bypass 
that gave me pause. Kill someone at the orders of someone else? No thanks. 
I'm too Christian for that.

      But I accept many people do take the offer and have voluntary moral 
bypass surgery. A friend of mine has a son who has just applied to join up 
to Duntroon officer training course. My car was sold to me by a guy who is 
moving to army training camp. He even gave me a discount after amicable 
disagreement on geo politics but he liked the environmental stuff. Gotta 
love democracy in this country. He was NESB too. Maybe that was why.

      But the main point of this post is that Howard has done a Channel 9 
Laurie Oakes interview this morning. For those who are not in the know, 
this is the Sunday morning political show with the biggest ratings around 
400,000 from memory in this slot. It sets the tone of coverage on the 
nightly news and sometime for several days too. Smallish compared with 
prime time but caning all the others. It is also the flagship of the 
Publishing and Broadcasting Pty Ltd (PBL) media interests, with the Sunday 
show also known as Kerry Packer's figleaf. Oakes also writes for the 
Packer's Bulletin.

      This is all axiomatic to me, but I am realising most people are not 
wonks or media tragics like me.

      So Howard admits just now Australia is a terrorist threat to Laurie 
Oaks aka The Sphere of Influence. Put that together with all the other 
media outlets 

      - like Channel 7 news update just now, 
      - and Homeland security Opposition McLelland on Ch 10 Meet the press 
just now, 
      - and Bob Carr NSW Premier on ABC prime time tv news last night, 
      - and not to mention the press today Sunday 10th July 2005 which I 
haven't really seen yet,
      - 'Prof' Paul Kelly of News Ltd Australian on Insiders just now that 
we are the fourth of the four main Coalition of the Willing, yet to be 
attacked in the heart of its main cities after New York (pre Iraq), 
Madrid, London

      that public transport is our very own soft target here in Sydney and 
potentially Melbourne. In fact Jana Wendt is just launching a feature 
story by the very sharp Ross Coulthard on Sunday as I write.

      All the public transport users are now effectively drafted into the 
war on terror. All the kids, the babies, the brothers, sisters, mothers, 
fathers. Conscription by any other name but no military benefits, no 
financial incentives etc etc. No choice. Many marched against Howard's 
military adventurism in the middle east. 500K in Sydney in fact. Canada 
declined. Germany declined. France declined. These are not your standard 
shirkers in geo politics. 

      But Howard took a real politik geo political stance but you can be 
sure he and his ministers won't be riding the public transport. The 
cruelty of geo politics doesn't work like that. 

      cpppcltrust.com/ecologyactionsydney 
     



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