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Southeast Asia

Jakarta throws a lifeline to the Bali bombers

2007-10-09

INDONESIA'S Attorney-General has backed away from supporting capital punishment and indicated the executions of the Bali bombers will be delayed. Whoa, nobody saw that coming ... Hendarman Supandji's comments in an interview with the Herald also offer hope for six Australian drug couriers on death row in Bali, but they came as Kevin Rudd was mired in a damaging crisis over a Labor frontbencher's declaration that the bombers' lives should be spared. Congratulations Mr. Howard on your forthcoming re-election ... Opponents branded the Labor leader weak and insincere for reprimanding his foreign affairs spokesman, Robert McClelland, over a poorly timed speech articulating Labor's policy of universal opposition to capital punishment - including for the bombers, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. Last night Mr Rudd would not guarantee Mr McClelland would retain his portfolio if Labor won the election, saying only he would "be part" of the frontbench team. That was positively .. Hillary-esque ... Friday will be fifth anniversary of the Bali bombings, which killed 202 people but Mr Supandji's remarks bring hope to six of the "Bali nine" on death row, several of whom have challenged the constitutionality of capital punishment. I'm sure the aussie druggies's death sentence will eventually be ruled fully constitutional and applied; not so sure about the bali boomers. A Constitutional Court ruling is imminent and Mr Supandji said the Government would implement its decision if it ruled against executions. However, the possibility of other Australian prisoners, including Schapelle Corby, returning home to serve the rest of their sentences had receded because negotiations on a prisoner-exchange treaty had stalled, Mr Supandji said. Abdul Rahman Saleh - who Mr Supandji replaced earlier this year - strongly advocated capital punishment before the Constitutional Court. Executing drug traffickers was "essential" to deter drug use, he said. But Mr Supandji said Mr Saleh's remarks were "the personal opinion of the former attorney-general. It depends on the community in Indonesia as a whole, because the legislation is the product of parliament. "However, there is still controversy among the community about capital punishment. I leave it up to the people. If the Indonesian nation rejects it, as Attorney-General I have to follow it." Internationally, nations were tending to abolish capital punishment and the issue needed to be carefully considered, he said. The Constitutional Court would decide if its decision applied to people already sentenced or only future cases, Mr Supandji said. He dismissed calls to immediately execute the three convicted Bali bombers, Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron, before Friday's anniversary. First the trio must receive a copy of the rejection of their final appeal, then they would be asked if they would appeal for clemency. "This will prolong the process," Mr Supandji said. On Monday night, Mr McClelland said if Australia were to lead a regional movement to abolish capital punishment, it must oppose capital punishment in all cases. He singled out for criticism John Howard's support for the execution of the Bali bombers, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, saying it undermined attempts to save Australians abroad from death row and persuade other nations to abolish executions. As Bali victims and their families reacted angrily, Mr Rudd said Mr McClelland's speech was insensitive because of the approaching anniversary of the Bali attacks. As well as berating his frontbencher, Mr Rudd blamed staff members, including his own, for not vetting the speech. He rejected Mr McClelland's suggestion Australia form a coalition of like-minded nations to stamp out capital punishment in Asia, saying the United Nations was the preferred vehicle. Mr Rudd has long opposed capital punishment globally but was forced to talk tough to try to dampen the crisis. "I believe that terrorists should rot in jail until the next Ramadan for the term of their natural lives and then one day be removed in a pine box," he said. The Government said he was weak because Mr McClelland was simply articulating Labor policy. "Mr Rudd doesn't even have the courage or the decency to stand by his own policy [because] the so-called timing is inconvenient," the Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, said. "How can you run a country like that. You need to be a person of principle." The Prime Minister said Mr Rudd was blaming others when he should accept responsibility. Mr Howard also opposes the death penalty but said he would never argue for clemency for a terrorist. Trying to spare the bombers was "distasteful". The Treasurer, Peter Costello, accused Labor of supporting the bombers. "Let's have some sympathy for the 88 [Australians] dead and their families rather than sympathy for those people who cruelly and cold-bloodedly decided to kill them for no reason other than they were Australians." Mr Rudd rejected these assertions as "absolute nonsense" and "pre-election politics". "No diplomatic intervention will ever be made by any government that I lead in support of any individual terrorist life," he said. Mr Supandji said the three Bali bombers technically had no further right to appeal. He said they could attempt to have a district court reopen their cases and if it did "then we have to wait again". Lawyers for the men have indicated they would attempt to stretch out proceedings. "I cannot give any kind of estimate about when the execution will take place, but you can see from the process that it will take longer," he said.

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Southeast Asia

Indonesian Airliner Crashes; Australian Diplomats on Board

2007-03-07

I post this in Non-WOT but that could change as details emerge. At least 76 of the 140 people on the Garuda jet that crashed have been taken to hospital - but up to 54 are feared dead. It is still unclear how many of the Australians aboard the crashed Garuda jet were hurt. Many of them were Mr Downer's staff - diplomats from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - with their Indonesian counterparts plus Australian police and journalists. The Garuda passenger jet, GA-200, had left Jakarta at 6am local time for Yogjakarta, in the central province of Java. Survivors said there were up to three bangs then it burst into flames just before it landed at Yogjakarta. Some of the 140 people on board escaped the burning aircraft - a Boeing 737-200 - but more were trapped inside. Witnesses say only the tail fin was left undamaged. There were at least five members of the Australian media on board the plane, which was transporting journalists and officials from the Australian Federal Police and Department of Foreign Affairs and Tourism ahead of a visit by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. Most of those on board were diplomatic staff from both Canberra and Jakarta, who were part of a trip flying in advance of Mr Downer's mission to Indonesia. There were also RAAF representatives. Mr Downer had been scheduled to visit the central Javanese province for a series of meetings - including one with the Muhammadiyah, the region's largest Muslim organisation, and with the Sultan of Yogjakarta. Treasurer Peter Costello said Mr Downer was not involved. "The plane is burnt. The fire came suddenly from the front wheel,'' one witness, Hariman, said on ElShinta radio. One passenger who survived told local TV station RCTI TV that "before landing I felt the plane shake strongly''. "We overshot the runway, then I heard the sound of an explosion and ran through an emergency exit,'' continued passenger Muhammad Dimyati. Another, local Islamic leader Dien Syamsudin, told how he jumped to safety. "Before the plane landed it was shaking. Suddenly there was smoke inside the fuselage, it hit the runway and then it landed in a rice field," he said. "It caught alight when it landed,'' he said giving no more details. There seems to have been a problem before the plane landed - perhaps the pilot realized he was coming in long and tried to throttle up and go around again and blew the engines. Or perhaps a bomb or missile was the problem. This flight would certainly have been a prime target. As matt Drudge would say, Developing...

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Down Under

Hicksville - place with a secret

2007-03-01

SUPPORTERS of self-confessed Taliban warrior David (aka Abu Muslim Australia, aka Abu Muslim Astrailii, aka Abu Muslim Philippine, aka Muhammad Dawood) Hicks are either brainwashed or brainless. Their threadbare arguments to "Free Hicks" would indicate they have suspended any ability they may have once possessed to think logically. Blind emotion is clearly driving some, like millionaire Dick Smith, to contribute to this loser's cause when there are so many more better-defined causes in need of assistance. It is abundantly obvious Hicks' defence team hopes to win a victory in the court of public sentiment, probably because they fear the strength of the case against their client. If they believed they had a water-tight defence they could have relied on the injunction offered in John 8:31-32 – "And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." But they haven't. They have sought to dissemble, to obfuscate, to play to anti-US and anti-Howard forces, anything to keep their client from having his day in court. They have signalled they intend to launch further appeals, in addition to the one launched in Sydney this week, which will again delay any trial. Another diversion was announced yesterday in the US, where two other notorious Guantanomo prisoners, Hamdan and Khadr, filed petitions with the US Supreme Court seeking review of the habeas corpus removal provision in the Military Commissions Act in a third bid by the accused to try to use US federal courts to stop their trials. So much for their claims that they look forward to their day in court where they can confront the witnesses and the evidence against them. As the US chief prosecutor Colonel Morris Davis says: "If they really want their day in court, and if they believe the process is unfair, then why not go to trial and develop a record so everyone can see whether it is a fair or unfair process rather than just speculate on how it might work?" With much of the Australian media barracking for Hicks, many people have forgotten it was his father, Terry, who told the media that, in a conversation with his son shortly after 9/11, David said the Americans "are the enemy" and he was going to go to the fight. Terry Hicks said: "I told him what I thought of what he was doing," but "I can't tell him what to do – he's 26 years old and his own man." Terry Hicks concluded: "He's a terrorist in our eyes as he's fighting against his own." Colonel Davis says it "was interesting to hear Terry Hicks during the taping of (SBS program) Insight last week say David was just going back to Afghanistan to get his passport when in 2001 he described his efforts to talk David out of taking up arms against the US and the coalition." Then there was the front page story in The Sydney Morning Herald which said Hicks was chained in his cell for 22 hours a day. Sheer nonsense. Just like the charge that US prosecutors timed the swearing of charges to coincide with their departure from Guantanamo, when they were told a week prior in Colonel Davis' office when they were expected to be laid; or the claim that Labor would bring Hicks home for trial – what, under retrospective laws? Get real. Or the hysteria about military commissions, a long accepted means of trying those who commit offences against the laws of war which operated, for example, at the conclusion of WWII military commissions throughout Europe and the Far East. There is no requirement that those who commit war crimes must be tried in civilian courts. Hicks' lawyer Major Michael Mori may be the darling of the latte-lappers but his claim the new rules permit Hicks to be subjected to the death penalty was absolute hokum. It went unchallenged. NSW Attorney-General Bob Debus said last November: "I think it is fair to say that we are all shaken by the information that Major Mori has given us." But he hadn't even heard the charges. As Colonel Davis said: "You would think someone with the legal training required to be an attorney-general would be somewhat hesitant to form a fixed and definite opinion based solely upon the representations of an advocate for a party in interest. "You would think he would at least be interested in hearing the other side of the story before making up his mind on an issue in which he has no first-hand knowledge." Nope. True believers don't need facts. It's all in the vibe. Hicks hasn't been demonised, as Major Mori claims Treasurer Peter Costello has attempted to do. Hicks' admissions of his desire to kill Jews and Christians and destroy those who follow Western culture is all of his own making. He was a member of a group sworn to reject everything the West stands for – the equality of women, democracy, freedom to practise any religion. He certainly didn't need anyone else demonising him. Now, he and his team in their attempts to evade trial are behaving like the six Pakistani defendants and their lawyers in one of Sydney's more appalling gang rape cases of which author Paul Sheehan wrote in his best-selling book Girls Like You – deny, exclude, confuse, accuse. Hicks' supporters should listen again to what Terry Hicks said after speaking to his son the terrorist and believe both Hicks were telling the truth.

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Down Under

Pink and PETA take on Aussie wool industry

2006-12-21

Note that PETA doen't take on the Aussie Eid-sheep-for-sacrifice-supplying industry... Pop singer Pink has set her sights on the Australian wool makers calling for a boycott because of perceived sheep cruelty, and The Daily Telegraph reports that Treasurer Peter Costello has slammed her right back over her campaign against the wool industry. Animal rights activists are calling for consumers worldwide to boycott products made with Australian wool because of their controversial "mulesing" technique The Daily Telegraph reports that Costello claims Pink "knew nothing about mulesing, let alone Australian farmers." "I don't know if Pink is an expert on the sheep industry,'' Said Costello to reporters.

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Down Under

Sheik's rape blame sparks outrage

2006-10-26

AUSTRALIA'S Mufti has sparked widespread outrage and calls for his sacking after comments blaming immodestly dressed women for sexual assault and likening them to abandoned "meat". Treasurer Peter Costello branded the comments "totally unacceptable" and wants Muslim leaders to condemn the comments by Sheik al-Taj al-Din al-Hilaly, disassociate themselves from them, and pull their leader into line. Sheik Hilaly's comments were delivered in a Ramadan sermon to 500 worshippers in Sydney last month, The Australian newspaper reported. He blamed women who "sway suggestively" and who wore makeup and no hijab (Islamic scarf) for sexual attacks. "If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street, or in the the garden or in the park, or in the backyard without a cover, and the cats come and eat it ... whose fault is it, the cats or the uncovered meat," he said. "The uncovered meat is the problem. If she was in her room, in her home, in her hajib, no problem would have occurred." “ It's time we stopped just saying he should apologise. It is time the Islamic community did more then say they were horrified. I think it is time he left. ” Mr Costello said comparing women to uncovered meat invites people to treat them in a degrading and dehumanising way. He said the leaders of Catholic and the Anglican churches in Australia would never make such a comment. "This is totally unacceptable. This is comparing women to uncovered meat," Mr Costello said on Channel 7. "We really need political leaders to speak out against it.

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Down Under

Australia's worst drought in recorded history

2006-10-17

AUSTRALIA'S record drought may slice $3 billion from export earnings and cut economic growth by as much as 1 per cent this year. The bleak forecast, which will affect the election-year federal budget, comes as the Howard Government prepares to soften drought assistance guidelines to help stricken farmers. Senior Coalition figures yesterday hit back at claims the Government was wasting money by helping out marginal farmers. But Canberra also came under pressure from state governments - and its own backbench - to extend emergency relief to other states and to agricultural contractors, such as harvesters. The farm sector represented just 2.7 per cent of Australia's economy last year, but the drought could cut its total output by 40 per cent this year. Private sector economists are re-assessing their forecasts for economic growth following widespread failure of spring crops. Commonwealth Bank chief economist Michael Blythe said previous droughts had reduced Australia's economic growth by between 0.5 and 0.75 percentage points. "If you're only growing at 2per cent or so at the moment, then that is quite a sizeable reduction," Mr Blythe said. Private economists are forecasting similar growth reductions, although some, including ABN Amro and ANZ, say there is a risk of a larger fall of about 1per cent. The Productivity Commission recently calculated that the last three droughts had each reduced economic growth by 1 percentage point. Peter Costello last week said Australia was suffering a "rural recession", but he was unwilling to quantify the impact on the overall economy. Yesterday, he told Coalition MPs the drought was a serious economic issue. The Government has come under attack for propping up unviable farms, with a leading water scientist, Peter Cullen, and the Australia Institute, arguing it would be better to steer these farmers off the land. But Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile yesterday attacked these suggestions as "outrageous", while Nationals' MP Bruce Scott called them "un-Australian". The Nationals leader told Parliament Australia had very low levels of agricultural subsidies compared to Europe, Japan and the US. "We do not prop up unviable farmers in Australia. Australia's farmers are very competitive and they are facing dire circumstances," Mr Vaile said. The Government will further ease drought relief guidelines with an announcement expected within a week. The new measures, costing $350 million, are expected to be extended to South Australia and Western Australia.

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Down Under

Gunman shoots into Australian mosque, narrowly missing worshippers

2006-10-01

An unidentified gunman fired into a mosque in western Australia packed with hundreds of Muslims observing the holy month of Ramadan, but no one was hurt, police said Saturday. Around 400 worshippers were praying at the mosque in suburban Mirrabooka in the west coast city of Perth when the shooting occurred Friday evening, Western Australia state police Inspector Neville Patterson said. “Ali, head of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, declined to identify the leaders whose comments he thought might encourage such attacks. Prime Minister John Howard has described some segments of the Islamic community as "utterly antagonistic" to Australian society. His ruling Liberal Party deputy, Peter Costello, recently said Muslims who want to live under Islamic law have no place in Australia...” "A single shot was fired from a high-powered rifle from outside the mosque through a window on the second level, narrowly missing a couple of worshippers," Patterson said. The gunman, who fled the scene in a green sports utility vehicle, has yet to be identified, he said. The bullet was lodged in the mosque wall and ballistics experts were searching for more clues. Patterson said it was unclear whether the shooting was an attempt to murder or to terrorize. Ahdielah Edries, 38, said she was among 100 women and children praying on the second level of the mosque when the bullet whizzed past her. The men were on the ground floor. "I heard what seemed like a massive explosion and felt something go past my ear," said Edries, president of the Islamic Council of Western Australia. "If I stood a little bit to the left, I would be dead," she added.

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Down Under

Outrage as Australian Leaders Tell Muslims to Fit In

2006-09-13

Australian Muslim representatives are voicing outrage at comments by the country's two top politicians, who urged immigrants from Islamic societies to fit in, learn English, treat women with respect, and shun extremism. 'voicing outrage' is sort of a habit with ya'll, aint it? An Islamic leader warned that the remarks could antagonize Muslims and lead to a repeat of incidents such as the rioting in a Sydney beachside suburb last December, when groups of youngsters -- described as having a Middle Eastern background -- fought with whites. Prime Minister John Howard late last week said migrants should integrate into the way of life in their new country but that a minority of Muslims was opposed to accepting Australia's values. "Fully integrating means accepting Australian values -- it means learning as rapidly as you can the English language if you don't already speak it," he said in a radio interview. "People who come from societies where women are treated in an inferior fashion have got to learn very quickly that that is not the case in Australia." Howard's remarks drew a swift and critical response from Muslim leaders. Ameer Ali, chairman of an advisory group set up by the government to combat extremism in the 300,000-strong Muslim community, told a radio station the remarks could stoke violence. "We have already witnessed one incident in Sydney recently in Cronulla," he said in reference to last December's riots. "I don't want these scenes to be repeated because when you antagonize the younger generation ... they are bound to react." Other Muslim community representatives said the line adopted by Howard was encouraging racial tension. But Howard stood by his position, denied he was singling out Muslims, and refused to apologize. "No matter what the culture of the country from which they came might have been, Australia requires women to be treated fairly and decently and in the same fashion as men," he told reporters later. "If any migrants coming to this country have a different view, they'd better get rid of that view pretty quickly." Howard said while "99 percent" of Muslims in Australia had integrated, it was "self-evident" that a small section was unwilling to do so. "It's up to all of us to try and overcome that resistance." He said the critical Muslim spokesmen were "missing the point." Howard also addressed the issue in an op-ed piece published Saturday, in which he said those who reject integration viewed calls to integrate "as some kind of discrimination." "It is not. It is commonsense and, importantly, it is also a powerful symbol of a new migrant's willingness and enthusiasm about becoming an Australian." Howard's number two and possible successor, federal Treasurer Peter Costello, endorsed the prime minister's comments, and added some of his own. Costello said in a television interview Sunday that Australia's successful integration of migrants was attributable to "the attitude that when you come to Australia, whatever arguments you might have had in the old country, we start again and we start again with a common set of values and a common language." He also said Islamic leaders should be more public and unequivocal in denouncing terrorism being perpetrated "under the cover of religion." They should also make it clear to prospective converts to Islam "that when you join this religion you do not join a radical political ideology," Costello added. His comments brought additional condemnation from Muslim representatives, who said they would only further alientate the community. Writing in Sydney's Sunday Telegraph, conservative columnist Piers Akerman denounced what he called "shrill cries of outrage from self-described leaders in Australia's Islamic community." In Australia, he wrote, as was the case in the U.S. and Britain, "Muslim organizations have deliberately installed themselves as permanent aliens and adapted a culture of constant carping about the majority, from whom they maintain their isolation with such bitter determination."

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Down Under

Learn English, PM tells Muslims

2006-08-31

JOHN Howard has singled out Muslim migrants for refusing to embrace Australian values and urged them to fully integrate by treating women as equals and learning to speak English. The call for a shift in attitude among some Muslims infuriated community leaders last night, and comes as The Australian can reveal the Prime Minister's own Islamic advisers have already accused Mr Howard and senior ministers of fuelling hatred and mistrust by using "inflammatory and derogatory" language. Mr Howard said: "There is a section, a small section of the Islamic population, and I say a small section, which is very resistant to integration." "Fully integrating means accepting Australian values, it means learning as rapidly as you can the English language if you don't already speak it," the Prime Minister said during a radio talkback discussion. "And it means understanding that in certain areas, such as the equality of men and women ... people who come from societies where women are treated in an inferior fashion have got to learn very quickly that that is not the case in Australia." The comments prompted a fierce reaction from young female Islamic leader Iktimal Hage-Ali, a member of the Prime Minister's advisory group. She accused Mr Howard of threatening to further marginalise Muslims. "There's no value in pointing out the minority of the Muslim group," she said. "There's a whole lot of other ethnic communities whose parents, whose grandparents don't speak the English language, and it's never a problem in the mainstream Australian community for them to go on living their everyday life without speaking language. "Yet as soon as it's a person of a Arab descent or a Muslim person ... politicians feel like they need to bring it to mainstream attention as the only group, like marginalising us even more then we already feel marginalised today." As Mr Howard's Muslim reference group prepares to hand over its long-awaited report on how to tackle extremism and other problems in the community, The Australian can also reveal that the Islamic leaders the Prime Minister asked to advise him were actually gagged when they raised concerns about Government remarks demeaning the community. According to a draft of the final report of the Prime Minister's Muslim Reference Group - which will be handed to frontbencher Andrew Robb later this month - among the key problems identified by the community are isolation and radicalisation of converts and the treatment of women and young people. But in the report, produced as part of the Government's $35 million Muslim strategy, the group criticises "government leaders" for public comments fanning conflict and says the issue has grown worse in the context of the Israel-Hezbollah war in southern Lebanon. While the yet-to-be-released report does not identify the Government figures, The Australian has obtained a letter the reference group wanted to release in March attacking a speech by Peter Costello, in which he said many Australian Muslims had divided loyalties. But the group, led by academic Ameer Ali and made up of clerics and community leaders, was stopped by the Government from publishing the letter. The Australian understands the letter, which also refers to remarks made by Mr Howard, Philip Ruddock and backbenchers Bronwyn Bishop and Danna Vale, was sent to the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs for release, but never went past Mr Robb's office. The advisory group was furious about the Costello remarks and the furore that focused on Muslims when Ms Bishop called for traditional Muslim dress to be banned in schools and Ms Vale said Australia was in danger of aborting itself "almost out of existence" and becoming a Muslim nation. They were also upset that Mr Howard singled out Muslims when he told The Australian in February: "You can't find any equivalent in Italian, or Greek, or Lebanese (Christian), or Chinese or Baltic immigration to Australia. There is no equivalent of raving on about jihad, but that is the major problem." The gagged letter says Mr Howard and the other MPs were "just a few" politicians who have made remarks against "Islam and Muslims". "All we ask is that when Mr Costello, or any parliamentarian, wishes to have the debate about the citizenship of Australia or the 'mushy, misguided multiculturalism' they do so with the engagement of all Australians, rather than alienating any one community group," it says. Yasmin Khan, a member of the reference body's seven sub-groups, said last night she wrote the letter on behalf of the group and sent it to a Department of Immigration employee who said she would have to send it to Mr Robb's office. "She said ... 'We've got to release it through his (Mr Robb's) office' ... so we left it at that and I waited and waited and waited." A spokesman for Mr Robb last night told The Australian that the Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs, who is responsible for the reference board, had not received the letter. DIMA spokesman Sandi Logan said the department had received the letter and sent it back to members of the reference group. Despite the dispute, the Federal Government-- which through DIMA has worked closely with the reference group on the final report - has already agreed to a raft of proposals. Under the $35 million strategy, the Government has agreed to a series of programs ranging from a university for imams to issuing police with a detailed booklet explaining Islam. In a section titled "Addressing isolation and marginalisation", the group says society must be more inclusive to keep young Muslims away from radicalism. "A more inclusive Australian society is a key issue in making rigid thinking and possible involvement in terrorism less attractive to those at risk," the 26-page report says. Among other proposals from the group, set up in the wake of the London Tube bombings last year, research will be conducted by University of Western Australia and the West Australian Government into why young Muslims turn to militant Islam through extreme literature. "The project aims to develop an understanding of the pathways whereby second and third-generation Muslim youth in Western liberal democracies move to a position of militant Islamic identity," the report says.

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Down Under

Clank, clank... steel ones... Down Under

2006-08-23

Liberals are no match for fanatics By Dick Little Muslims in many countries outside the U.S. are under public scrutiny, particularly in Australia, because they are the ones carrying the bombs. The government "down under" is cracking down on militants. Prime Minister John Howard is making it clear extremist Muslims face deportation if they do not change their thinking and their message. He wants the Muslim community to "amplify" what he called "Australian principles of Democracy" in their mosques as well as their schools. "If those are not your values, if you want a country that has sharia law or a theocratic state, then Australia is not for you," he told a group of moderate Muslim clerics and scholars. His education minister, Brendan Nelson, is spreading the same message. He told a press conference if Muslims did not want to accept "local values," they should "clear off!" The Australian government apparently is taking a different stance from Canada and the U.S... The Aussie's position is "immigrants, and not Australians, must adapt." Since a London underground train was bombed the people of Australia have experienced a surge in patriotism. The London Tube bombings (July 7, 2005) caused a lot of concerns in countries like Australia that have large Muslim populations. According to the Christian Science Monitor, the Aussie government held a two-hour summit with "moderate" Muslim clerics to work on a "national strategy" for addressing intolerance and the promotion of violence and suggested measures for getting rid of radical Islamists. Missing from the summit were large numbers of young Muslims as well as critical and more conservative clerics. However, those attending hailed the meeting as a "successful first step" in an ongoing dialog. Ali Roude, the acting president of the New South Wales Islamic Council, agreed there must be more communication between the government and Islamic schools when it comes to teaching "common values" like democracy, fairness, and tolerance. "Radicals will be reacted to, whenever they make inflammatory remarks," he said, "it's much worse for us now because July 7 showed the world that the enemy is to be found within," (as opposed to Sept. 11 when the terrorists were all foreigners). Roude then changed his tune and accused the prime minister of "playing politics" with Muslim beliefs and traditions. Later, a senior member of the Federation of Australian Muslim Students and Youth came out in favor of the P.M.. "Muslims must interact more with mainstream Australia," Chabaan Omran said. He also expressed some reservations, however, saying he's worried about the word "assimilate." The prime minister remains very firm on the issue. He wants Australian values taught in Islamic schools, and warned the government would "monitor" what was said, "... (to) insure they did not foster terrorism." He further stated the government would go inside mosques and schools to ensure there was no support for terrorism. "We have a right to know whether there is, within any section of the Islamic Community, a preaching of the virtues of terrorism, (and) whether any comfort or harbor is given to terrorism within that community," he said. Australian Treasurer Peter Costello, believed to be "first in line" for Prime Minister Howard's job, said during a TV interview, "...this country was founded as a democracy...we have a secular state...our laws are made by the Australian Parliament...if those are not your values...if you want a country which has Shari law or a theocratic state, then Australia is not for you!" He went onto say some Muslim clerics recognize two laws: Australian and Shari. "There's only one law in Australia," he continued, "Australian law! We expect those (Muslims) to observe it!" The Prime Minister has been particularly blunt on the issue. He told a TV reporter his government would go inside Mosques and schools "...to the extent necessary to ensure there was no support for terrorism." "We have a right to know whether there is, within any section of the Islamic community, a preaching of the virtues of terrorism, whether any comfort or harbor is given to terrorism with that Community," he warned. He said his comments are directed toward those who are considering coming to his country, as well as those already there. "These (laws) are Australian values," he concluded, "There's no second law. There's only one law that applies in Australia and Australia expects its citizens to observe it!" Can you imaging if President Bush or any member of his Administration made such harsh statements what the "politically correct" media would say? The screaming would never end. Australians understand radical Islamists are a threat to everyone including their more moderate brethren. Radical Islamists are dangerous, evil, and probably a bit "warped" as well. They do not want to take over our country. They want to kill us all (including the "politically correct") because we, like the Australians have a strong belief in democracy and they hate us for it. Since we are the biggest kids on the block, they're going after us in an effort to scare the rest of the world into accepting their fanaticism. Fortunately for us, a large segment of these radicals have committed themselves to fighting us in Iraq. They are taking a severe beating, but they are bringing in large numbers of outside forces. It's regrettable the left in our country can't figure out the dangers in fanatical Islam. Instead they continue to push the idea, "...can't we just get along" and throw in a chorus of, "Cum Bah Yah." That works only with people who feel the same way they do. Radical Muslims preach hate and terror for those that have a different view of religion and politics. If we leave Iraq now, they will take over that country and then come here with a renewed vigor to kill us all. Whether you like it or not, our only real choice is to take them on there, or do it here. The choice is clear.

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Down Under

Australia celebrates baby boom

2006-06-03

Australia's government has claimed the credit for a baby boom, after a government campaign encouraged people to have more children. The country had 261,400 births in 2005, the highest number since 1992, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. Treasurer Peter Costello urged Australians to have more children two years ago, concerned about the country's ageing population. He introduced tax breaks for non-working parents and other payments. As part of the drive, he called for parents to "have one for mum, one for dad, and one for the country". Mr Costello conceded on Friday that the birth rate, up 2.4% on the previous year, also reflected the good economic conditions Australia is enjoying. "The number of births also reflects a growing level of confidence in Australia's future, the fact that families have been experiencing a high level of economic security under the coalition government," he said. Many developed countries have experienced a dipping birth rate in recent years. On Thursday, Japan announced its national fertility rate, which measures the number of children an average woman is expected to give birth to over her lifetime, dropped to a record low of 1.25 in 2005.

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Southeast Asia

Gunbattles erupt in East Timor Capital

2006-05-24

Sporadic shooting has continued around East Timor's capital Dili overnight, between troops and rebel soldiers. Australian soldiers could arrive in East Timor as early as this afternoon after the Government received an urgent request for help, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson says. Residents still in Dili have been told to stay indoors as bursts of gunfire could be heard close to Dili throughout the night. Rebel soldiers from warring factions are still positioned in the hills around the capital. Further west, East Timorese troops have engaged in an ongoing gunfight with a larger group of soldiers angry at their treatment and sacking from the army. Central Dili was almost deserted last night, as thousands of residents fled. Catholic churches and convents are full of refugees, many of whom have no idea when they will be able to return home. The decision to send troops is conditional on details being agreed with the East Timorese Government. The Vice Chief of the Australian Defence Force, Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie, will fly to Dili this morning to negotiate the make up and role of the Australian deployment. Acting Prime Minister Peter Costello says the troops will arrive in East Timor quickly once the details are finalised. "We will not be doing this by half measures, we will be doing what is required to ensure that they can discharge their obligations," he said. Dr Nelson told Lateline that the arrival of international forces should calm the violence between the East Timorese military and rebel soldiers. "It'd be my reasonable expectation that we will see those rogue elements if you like, come to heel," he said. The Minister says Australia could send up to 1,300 soldiers to East Timor. East Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta told the 7:30 Report that he believes the arrival of Australian forces will immediately calm unrest in his country. "The larger part, population remain very, very uneasy, panicking, and it is important that we restore calm with the presence of the first Australian units to land here," he said.

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