Newsflash for the legislators.... Criminals dont respect nor follow the law.

So, by all means, pen a few more words above a nice wax seal, barrell out a few uniformed burley blokes with guns, search bags and make a whole lot of noise. Afterall, it is your job Philip.

Thanks for letting the terrorists know wots going on at your end. Thanks for alerting them to what targets go into the too hard basket. Thanks for letting them know that they need to look for softer targets. You know Philip, when the only tool in your tool box is a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail. So, do your job and bang away. lm sure the neighbours wont complain about yor incessant banging on. All that noise is very comforting to their frail backbones and delicate sensibilities.

Keep the scare campaign going and make sure you keep the folks in a perpetual state of fear and paranoia. Conditions from which only government can deliver us. Ah govt. They have come up with the perfect model of perceived action. Keep starting fires, then be the first on the job to put the thing out. Yes, the lunatics are in charge of the assylm and the arsonists have the keys to the fire truck.

Ah, now l feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel safe. Thank the lord for government. Where would we be without their protection?

You followers of Mr Rudduck, please note that none of us are in love with terrorist activities, but just want Mr Rudduck to get in touch with any genuine Middle East historian, where he will be told as he already knows, that the moot cause of today's terrorist problems are as mentioned a few years ago by the CIA as blowback or payback caused by Western injustice and intrusion into Arab territories.

Moreover, what Mr Rudduck might need to do, is shut down all humanities classes in our universities, knowing at the same time that historical works are thoroughly checked by experts. Please remember that these are are not people who come out with political spin or half-truths believing they are justified for the good of the country.

The sordid facts are that the nations that have foolishly joined together in the attempt to get rid of terrorism in the wrong manner, have only made terrorism ten times more likely especially against our three English-speaking nations, who now have to keep justifying even more spin and lies to get themselves out of the mess they are now in.

Indeed, a safe bet could be if some of us oldies could live long enough, that democracy promised for Iraq and other associated Middle East peoples, will not be much different than the Dyarky India-style democracy promised to the Iraqis after WW1, with Soviet-style Angliphola commissars wary of every Iraqi government move

Brushy, not wanting to criticise my elders, but something you shared bears further scrutiny.

"Blowback/Payback for meddling in Arab/Muslim affairs."

Is it not possible, that the West, in full recognition of previous Arab attempts to 'rule the world' as you should well know, (Moors stopped at Tours in 732 and Ottoman Turks at Vienna in 1680s) are actually giving the 'blowback/payback' for those aggressive adventures ?

Or, perhaps, its as simple as 'nothing has really changed' in terms of human nature. The Soviets were in there thick and fast during the early years of Israel's establishment, they were just as much in with the Arabs, to further their own self interest etc... everyone is always making alliances and seeking to fend of other alliances, and are working to weaken potentially threatening states and movements.
In fact I'll bet you did it also in the schoolyard long ago :)

I think we should be thankful that we live where we do, under our freedoms that are not really impingned on by the new Anti Terror laws very much (for those of us who have no connection with such movements)

Guaranteeing supply of crucial resources by influencing governments of countries which own them, has been and I think always will be, par for the course' of life. The only morality recognized by most sovereign states it seems is 'survival' with little regard for the 'means' of achieving this.

Quite a sad predicament actually. I'm glad my citizenship so to speak is not 'of' this world, I hope all of us will find that peace which is in the Kingdom of God, through Christ.

Riposte - Part 1

Mr Ruddock. The time has come for me say to your face that you are very much "a person of interest" in my life. I have you in my eye sir, and I shall keep you in my eye.

I am 58 and grandfather to five beautiful, innocent girls. It is beyond the power of my words to express the love I feel for them. Yet I will tell you sir that their right to their fair share of happiness is no more than that which rightfully belongs to the children of Iraq.

If this is truly a democracy, then I must accept my share of the blame that falls when one's own country is complicit in an illegal invasion, predicated on a pack of lies, on another country which is barely able to fend for it's own children.

We knew. We knew very well that the population of that emasculated country was grossly over-represented by children under 16, didn't we?

Yet we were cheerleaders when Iraq's towns, dwellings and families were smashed in that celebration of violence. Only laser-guided uranium cored ordnance can light the Arabian sky with that peculiar hue that so thrilled us as we watched by our comfortable firesides.

Yes we understand the guilt but no, we do not dream of retribution. We, the common people, are better than that. Only the common people, free of the need to bow to corporate masters and political overlords, can offer the care, love, respect and understanding to others of different ethnicities. Only we can bridge that gap. It's not so great.

Riposte - Part 2

Let's take two steps back from these counter-terrorism laws and ask ourselves (cui bono)..... who benefits?

One doesn't have to be an Oxford scholar, Karl Jung or an Imam to see what these counter-terrorism laws really are. They are the outward expression, the canker, the ulcer that grows from the guilt of so many misdeeds. They are the legislations of frightened, guilty men who don't know how to dismount the dragon.

....because, try as you might, you will never feel safe from the ghosts of the dead, the faces behind the razor wire, the accusing eyes. There is no law so strong, no treasure so large, no office so high, that will ever grant the peace of mind that you seek. The bogeyman will always be at the back of your mind....

Mr Ruddock, you and the rest of the inner cabal are destined to live behind concrete barriers... perhaps forever. Whether those barriers are designed to separate you from Islamists or from the likes of me, only you can say.

But I will tell you this. Me, my children and grandchildren have no need of your imported counter-terrorism laws. We have no need of hidden cameras, political correctness or the mutual distrust that must inevitably ooze through this once great society. Spare us the odium of government spooks and free market "security consultants" (read mercenaries), all of whom will fatten on this sunrise industry, even as our spirit withers.

There was once a time when your colleagues described you as an exceeedingly compassionate man. With that in mind, please let us get on with our silly dreams, no matter the danger. Don't deliberately make us a part of the Great Malfunction.

Mr Ruddock,

Should I admire your courage in signing off personally on an Onlineopinion piece on your proposed new counterterrorism laws? Unless it’s a way of testing the public water, or simply getting hold of opponents’ arguments and identities I doubt whether the pseudonyms preferred by most OLO contributors would stand up for a moment to your department’s technical investigation. It might be a case of “let a thousand flowers bloom” ?

In my own name, I say that I fear and oppose your proposed legislation. I support the current Getup campaign to energise state premiers against it and urge others to do the same – see Getup’s website.

On state terrorism, the sinking of SIEV X on 19 October 2001 and the drowning of 353 innocent asylumseekers mostly women and kids is right up there.

So when will you heed the Senate’s repeated calls for a full powers judicial inquiry into the sinking of SIEV X and the Australian government’s people smuggling disruption program? When will you respond to Senator Faulkner’s September 2002 challenge to your representing Minister in the Senate (Chris Ellison) to come clean about the deaths on SIEV X and the disruption program ? When will you release the names of the SIEV X dead? When will you give us the full truth on what you know about the sinking of SIEV X from the time when you were DIMIA’s Minister? After all, your former department co-directed with AFP (and still does) that same disruption program that remains impenetrable and unaccountable.

Until you begin to come clean on what may have been an act of, at best, serious negligence of the government’s duty to protect human life in operational border protection, and at worst, Australian-instigated state terrorism on Indonesian soil, it is impossible to take seriously anything you say urging us to trust your sense of public responsibility and integrity concerning your proposed anti-terrorism laws. We are justified in not trusting you, Mr Ruddock.