Dear csteele,

I also have great respect for both the men and women in the Australian armed forces and the bureaucracy of the ministry. I met some of them when I was doing research for Senator Woodley. Every one of them I met was primarily concerned with the welfare and defense of Australia.

Unfortunately they were often overruled by the politician who headed the ministry. Kim Beazley pushed the Pacific Patrol Boat Project. The boats were used in the blockade of Bougainville condemned by the UN and their upkeep exceeded the military budget of the island nations. Australian Shipbuilding Industries which produced the patrol boats is in Beazley's electoral district and probably provided the margin of 300 votes by which he won one election.

Bob Hawke sold Mirage jets to Pakistan for $26,000,000 jeopardising an annual trade with India of $960,000,000.

Those in command of the forces and bureaucracy have not approved of these and other follies but have been overruled by the politicians.

David f

I know you have been asked before: If you are not writing a book of your extraordinary life - are you at least keeping a journal?

You remain one of the most informed and interesting contributors to OLO.

Regards

People,
we are drifting from the base story

I still think 9/11 was in inside job and the obsessed Muslims could not beleave thair luck to rub USA's nose in it and claiming the 'gig' thus playing into Bush's & Charney's hands and all that has happened

How evil this is from both sides.

JMCC wrote: "People,we are drifting from the base story"

Dear JMCC,

I started this string and your attempt to divert the string into a conspiracy theory about 9/11 is a drift from the base story.

Dear Severin,

Flattery is wonderful, and I greatly appreciate it. I don't think I have led an extraordinary life. My father lived in an anarchist commune in northern Manchuria, and my son has lived with the Xikrin, a tribal people, in rainforest Brazil. There is nothing in my life comparable to that. If you google the Smithsonian and William Fisher you will find a bit about him.

Autobiography is generally an attempt at self-aggrandisement and cannot be an objective appraisal of one's life. I recently read "Tolstoy" by Troyat. It's a great book and I believe much better than an autobiography would have been. I am writing a family history which will include parts of my life. It is intended only for my descendents and will gloss over matters which can hurt any living person. It will include a bit about my father's adventures.

My name is David Fisher, and you can find articles I have written for olo in the list of authors.

david f,

Would you care to respond to my question put to the forum discussion "Why we Fight" at http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=10348&page=3 ?:

"So, what makes you so sure that Islamist extremists. operating out of Afghanistan, were the principle perpetrators of 9/11, the London Tube bombings, the Bali bombings and the Madrid bombings ... ?

"Could you please cite any documentary evidence that has led you to this conviction?"

Interestingly, no-one else on that forum, has.

Daggett,

look in BigPond Movies and type 9/11 in the search section to find DVD's on this subject