I've been thinking about what Knopfler said ... and feel obliged to
add a few extra comments.

I think it's common sense stopping those who would destroy our society, without ourselves undermining the basic principles that define our society.

I fully agreed with Tony Blair's warning to those who arrived in Great Britain from other countries, whether in search of a political safe haven or economic opportunity.

"Staying here carries with it a duty," he said. "That duty is to share and support the values that sustain the British way of life. Those who break that duty and try to incite hatred or engage in violence against our country and its people have no place here."

That same caution would be appropriate in Australia.

FACT: Lebanese Muslims were on a mission to cause trouble and looking for a fight.
FACT: Talk show host Alan Jones reported on an ‘as is’ basis. He read out whatever messages he received and did not practice self-censorship.
OPINION: "that was likely to encourage violence, in the lead-up to the Cronulla riot".

No doubt some Lebanese Muslims were looking for a fight, but on its own that hardly would have been sufficient to provoke a riot the scale of Cronulla.

No doubt Jones was primarily reading out the messages of his listeners, but by a) focusing exclusively on the inciteful messages and b) failing to criticise them, his actions can only have increased tensions. As an example, to one of the few listeners attempting to add some balance to the discussion, he replied "we don’t have Anglo-Saxon kids out there raping women in Western Sydney. So lets not get carried away with all this mealy-mouthed talk about there being two sides". To listeners who made comments like "if the police can't do the job, the next tier is us", he openly encouraged them.

No-one is arguing that Jones single-handedly triggered the riots, but having brought up the topic of Lebanese troublemakers on his show, he certainly could have done a lot more to prevent them. However reading some of the transcripts, it's not unreasonable to suppose that the riots were exactly what he wanted to happen.

Dear FRankGol....

You asked:

But, tell me, what has all that got to do with Mutlicultural Australia in 2007? Have you had any experience of that sort in this country?

Good point Frank. I think once you have been through such things, you see the 'writing on the wall' with greater clarity. The problems we faced, were due to 'difference' which was entrenched along religious and ethnic lines mate.

All I saw and experienced was the 'end game' of difference. I'm not so naive as to think we can eliminate 'difference' in the first generation of migrants..and even by the second, but I always remember a bloke of Greek background at Glen Cromie near Neerim Sth telling me "Australia is the most tolerant country in the world" (then he listed some intolerance he is aware of in Greece) and "I'm not really very 'Australian' but my kids are much more so, and their kids will be even more" and this is how it should be...

All I'm saying is 'lets help the process' by enhancing and encouraging the pathway, rather than hindering their journey by pandering to the 'old' cultural mentality.

To the extent that 'MC' (the reality) contributes to this, all well and good. To the extent that it impedes that highway to a healthier Oz... then I say lets tweak it.

The ways we experience those things here, are not to racially or religiously blatant. Fortunately we have a very solid rule of law where our police and military are not 'ethnically or religiously biased' although they do represent the predominant socio/cultural critical mass of 'white/anglo-saxon background' I guess. The only reason this is a good thing, is that due to the inherrent sense of overwhelming majority, there is less likelihood of them feeling threatened by small minorities. and behaving in racially reactionary ways. There focus is 'the law' rather than defending racial privilege per se.

I suppose if one group went around yelling 'white scum/skippies' to the police, they might eventually take a less patient approach :)

Foxy,

I note you stated that the African carjacking was just a Police matter. Nothing to do with MC.
Did you realise there was another African carjacking in Melton the other day. Nothing to do with MC of course. Nothing to do with race. Just a Police matter. MC is good for Australia.
Get real and tell the truth.

ozzie,

I noticed that all the Victoria Police senior officers involved in the current scandal are Anglo-Australians. Is this just a Police matter, or a failure of mono-culturalism?