This letter is as insignificant to the ordinary man as are the high sounding qualifications of its signatories.

If all that these people can do with their time is signing a letter of objection to one kind of bombs, they indeed live in a state of hypnosis.

Better not wake them up

Greg and Co,

Skeptic has a point. Advocacy/activism does seem to suffer from RDS. This may be attributed to the lack of proportionality. We cannot be other than sad at the loss of 28 Australian soldiers in eight years however; we get little air time for the annual loss of 250 children in our own homes or the 1,500 dead on our roads during a similar period.

We have refugee advocacy stuffing enforced compassion in our faces whilst we have the most appalling situation of indigenous Australians, many times greater and more distressing.

Perhaps proportionality is worth considering. Or you could try one of the “New Wave” of emerging alarmism of peak population, peak food or peak refugee immigration

I agree with the other posters, but will wait to see what the results of focus group testing by the ALP are ..

If the focus group test results deem this is an issue of unusual importance, then the government will jump on, make many announcements, run around wildly denouncing everything, will have the foreign affairs minister go to the opposite side of the planet, will make snippy comments in parliament alluding to the coalition supporting planetary death, being negative, being misogynous, hating puppies and being effective as an opposition.

All the while, not supporting the government in its clear and oft stated role of wanting to eliminate cluster bombs, and has always maintained that, regardless of no evidence whatever and it is a primary goal of the ALP.

The Canberra press gallery will focus their scalpel sharp investigatory minds to this, and question whether the coalitions policy of cutting down trees in Antarctica, is carbon neutral.

There will be Dorothy Dixers allowing the government to call attention to the coalition not going first in wanting to eliminate cluster munitions, and they will be asked in fact why do they continue, by being slow, to support cluster munitions.

There will be many Dix before the ALP is done, we will see the RH Albanese scream at the opposition that their scare campaign will not work as the public are well aware that the world will collapse if the ALP does not get this into their faces and homes by tonight at the very latest.

The ABC will then come up with articles every day with a new insulting name to apply to conservatives, not being of the left, must be bomb manufacturers and in the pay of big gunpowder.

All other aspects of running the country and looking like dills to the rest of the world by our knee jerk over reactions to minority bullying by little self important activist loudmouths, will be put aside to deal with this immensely important issue of the day ..

until something else distracts them ..

You know, I did not see a single one there who is likely to have a HE round, or a mortar bomb land on them, while they are eating their dinner, or drinking their wine.

If they would like to spend a 6 months tour in Afghanistan, then come back & give us the benefit of their experience, I would be interested.

Other wise they are just noise, & not very pleasant or useful noise at that.

I support the signatories, I would also call upon them to get the various groups to move toward banning camouflaged/hidden explosive devices, which are deliberately designed to kill civilians and those who seek to make areas safe for the same.

These are much more deadly and pernicious than land mines, they breach the rules of land warfare, cause massive civilian casualties, in the most horrific way possible.

Oh, hang on... We aren't talking about banning the weapons that are actually killing people are we? Certainly not when those weapons are used by the poor disenfranchised extremists of this world? No, they can use any weapons systems they please....

Wonder what will happen when they wake up and start using gas?

Hasbeen : I agree with you .
To me , the contributors to whom you refer seem to be a rent-a-crowd , smoke screening for those shining paragons of justice & decency - the US & Israel .