For many, many years now, whenever I mentioned the moral cowardice of politicians and other urgers in sending everyone else off to war but avoiding military service themselves, I copped a torrent of vilification
..... much of it from war heroes, men with distinguished military service..
Again, whenever I mentioned the Defence force (=armed forces) lacked the children of outspoken politicians, prominent public servants (=civil servants) and other well-known identities ..... [and yes, I am aware that a few such, like the son of Colonel and Senator Newman, have had military service] ..... I copped abuse and scorn
.... much of it from war heroes, men with distinguished military service ....
Yesterday, one of Australia's major newspapers, "THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN" October 28~29, 2006. page 7, columns 1 & 2., "No pollies' children in military", Roy Eccleston reported that retired Admiral Chris Barrie has asked whether the nation's politicians are more comfortable sending other people's children to war than their own.
I roared laughing when I read the last sentence of that article " The Prime Minister's office had no response to Admiral Barrie's comments". ...... and now, a day and a half since that edition of the newspaper hit the streets, there has still been no comment from all the "wardroom warriors" and "mess heroes" who had cracks at me about this over the years. Ha..ha..ha..
Anyway, .... WELCOME ABOARD, ADMIRAL .....
29 October, 2006
22 October, 2006
Hungary .... October-November 1956
It is now fifty years since the Hungarian Uprising.
And what an uprising it was ..... the great hopes and the bare-handed courage of the Hungarian people stood in stark contrast to the timidity and moral cowardice of urgers in The West and to the ruthlessness of the Soviet authorities.
We can all celebrate the bravery of the Hungarian people fifty years ago. They will go down in history and be an inspiration for generations to come.
And what an uprising it was ..... the great hopes and the bare-handed courage of the Hungarian people stood in stark contrast to the timidity and moral cowardice of urgers in The West and to the ruthlessness of the Soviet authorities.
We can all celebrate the bravery of the Hungarian people fifty years ago. They will go down in history and be an inspiration for generations to come.
15 October, 2006
Why Howard will ditch War Veterans
Of course he will ...... Why wouldn't he?
Despite all the dedication and the skill shown by the Australian troops themselves in Iraq, Australia's involvement in Iraq is becoming more and more unpopular with ordinary Australians. The public were well aware that going into a war without post-war plans (other than to make Bush and all the other scalliwags rich on "cheap oil") was an idiotic thing to do, regardless of how bad Saddam Hussein was. Howard and his mob have been the most enthusiastic supporters of Bush and his military gambles and follies.
No matter how justified the overthrow of the so-called "Taliban" regime in Afghanistan may have been, the way in which Howard's mob got us into - and keeps us in - Afghanistan is also becoming unpopular.
Our military involvement in Timor Leste and in Solomon Islands should have been a dream run for any politician but both are turning into political nightmares.
Then, to compound their troubles, there are all the scandals involving the Australian Defence Force and the Defence Department that have popped onto public view despite all the spin-doctoring, all the intimidation and lies and all the attempts at cover-up.
Even getting rid of that troublesome priest, Archbishop Peter Hollingsworth, as Governor-General and replacing him with a genuine Army Major-General hasn't helped a bit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All in all, the excursions into military adventures by Prime Minister John Howard and his cronies, which started out so wonderfully, are now going horribly wrong. Only the feeble-minded and utterly gullible believe we are safer now because of Bush and Howard's failures.
Long before official reports were leaked and British and American officers spoke the truth about the real situation, ordinary Australians were well aware that there was a worsening credibility gap between what Howard's mob and the news media were saying and what was happening in the real world.
This set of problems, which would have been a challenge for a political leader who had actual experience of war and personal familiarity with military affairs, was exacerbated by the lack of military service of Howard and his cronies and their consequent dilettante approach to complex military and geopolitical issues; relying on the advice of experts is not enough if you don't comprehend what that expert advice really means out in the dusty noisy real world.
Since what started out as a terrific vote-winner has turned into something that will not only lose votes but put an end to the so-called Liberal Party itself. Military adventures are now seen as a LOSER! and the further Howard and his cronies distance themselves from them, the better will seem their electoral prospects.
Get ready for an abrupt change in political stance.
My guess is that Prime Minister John Howard and his cronies will unwrap themselves from the Australian flag so fast that they'll get carpet-burns.
Then get ready for rapid distancing of themselves from their bestest buddies - Bush, Cheney and that gang. Australia won't downgrade its relations with the United States of course but I'll bet the Chinese Ambassador will get fed up with being pestered day-in day-out by China's newest truest nicest pals.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So where do war veterans fit into all this?
Once more, they will become highly unfashionable.
And, given the so-called Liberal Party's disgraceful track record of spite and neglect, attacks on war veterans and on their entitlements will start up again.
War veterans - hitherto very useful for bolstering the prestige of Howard and his cronies - will again be seen as something to do with political failure.
It does not matter that the war veterans themselves had nothing to do with the political decisions that sent them to war; it is the perceived connection that is important even though such a perception is irrational.
For example. just look at the way the so-called Liberal Party, the supposed Anti-Communist political party, betrayed and cheated and maligned the Australian war veterans who had actually risked their lives in combat against real Communists.
They've got the template; they'll use it again.
Totally and Permanently Incapacitated war pensioners had better get ready for a whole truckload of lurid stories in the news media, especially on the shock-horror TV shows, exposing TPI "malingerers" who have "obviously nothing wrong with them"and who are "as fit as a fiddle". The inference being that everyone on a Veterans Affairs pension is an out-and-out bludger and deserves nothing.
Untrue?
Of course .... if you want to put an alternative point of view then buy yourself a TV station.
Unfair?
Naturally ..... if you want fairness and justice then be prepared to squander millions in legal actions that drag on for decades (for instance, look at the monsterous injustices committed against the survivors of the sinking of HMAS Voyager).
Not only would this help Howard and his cronies to shift blame for their own blunders and to distance themselves from perceived failure ..... but by turning many of the public against war veterans it will be so much easier to slash the entitlements of war veterans and their families, perhaps easier to abolish outright even more of these entitlements.
And , of course, the lack of unity of purpose among ex-service organizations as well as their ingrained fear of "rocking the boat" and of causing an undignified fuss would make the double-crossing of veterans so much easier to carry out.
As for the righteous expectation that no government would ever dare do anything so nasty to those whose lives were permanently harmed whilst serving their country, think again. Does anyone seriously expect ruthless political operators to be grateful or honest or kind?
Get ready, too, for valiant old Diggers, true war heroes, to be replaced in the news media by more convenient subjects for the Prime Minister's photo-opportunities.
It's sad ..... but again, the Bad will triumph and the Good will be vanquished.
Despite all the dedication and the skill shown by the Australian troops themselves in Iraq, Australia's involvement in Iraq is becoming more and more unpopular with ordinary Australians. The public were well aware that going into a war without post-war plans (other than to make Bush and all the other scalliwags rich on "cheap oil") was an idiotic thing to do, regardless of how bad Saddam Hussein was. Howard and his mob have been the most enthusiastic supporters of Bush and his military gambles and follies.
No matter how justified the overthrow of the so-called "Taliban" regime in Afghanistan may have been, the way in which Howard's mob got us into - and keeps us in - Afghanistan is also becoming unpopular.
Our military involvement in Timor Leste and in Solomon Islands should have been a dream run for any politician but both are turning into political nightmares.
Then, to compound their troubles, there are all the scandals involving the Australian Defence Force and the Defence Department that have popped onto public view despite all the spin-doctoring, all the intimidation and lies and all the attempts at cover-up.
Even getting rid of that troublesome priest, Archbishop Peter Hollingsworth, as Governor-General and replacing him with a genuine Army Major-General hasn't helped a bit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All in all, the excursions into military adventures by Prime Minister John Howard and his cronies, which started out so wonderfully, are now going horribly wrong. Only the feeble-minded and utterly gullible believe we are safer now because of Bush and Howard's failures.
Long before official reports were leaked and British and American officers spoke the truth about the real situation, ordinary Australians were well aware that there was a worsening credibility gap between what Howard's mob and the news media were saying and what was happening in the real world.
This set of problems, which would have been a challenge for a political leader who had actual experience of war and personal familiarity with military affairs, was exacerbated by the lack of military service of Howard and his cronies and their consequent dilettante approach to complex military and geopolitical issues; relying on the advice of experts is not enough if you don't comprehend what that expert advice really means out in the dusty noisy real world.
Since what started out as a terrific vote-winner has turned into something that will not only lose votes but put an end to the so-called Liberal Party itself. Military adventures are now seen as a LOSER! and the further Howard and his cronies distance themselves from them, the better will seem their electoral prospects.
Get ready for an abrupt change in political stance.
My guess is that Prime Minister John Howard and his cronies will unwrap themselves from the Australian flag so fast that they'll get carpet-burns.
Then get ready for rapid distancing of themselves from their bestest buddies - Bush, Cheney and that gang. Australia won't downgrade its relations with the United States of course but I'll bet the Chinese Ambassador will get fed up with being pestered day-in day-out by China's newest truest nicest pals.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So where do war veterans fit into all this?
Once more, they will become highly unfashionable.
And, given the so-called Liberal Party's disgraceful track record of spite and neglect, attacks on war veterans and on their entitlements will start up again.
War veterans - hitherto very useful for bolstering the prestige of Howard and his cronies - will again be seen as something to do with political failure.
It does not matter that the war veterans themselves had nothing to do with the political decisions that sent them to war; it is the perceived connection that is important even though such a perception is irrational.
For example. just look at the way the so-called Liberal Party, the supposed Anti-Communist political party, betrayed and cheated and maligned the Australian war veterans who had actually risked their lives in combat against real Communists.
They've got the template; they'll use it again.
Totally and Permanently Incapacitated war pensioners had better get ready for a whole truckload of lurid stories in the news media, especially on the shock-horror TV shows, exposing TPI "malingerers" who have "obviously nothing wrong with them"and who are "as fit as a fiddle". The inference being that everyone on a Veterans Affairs pension is an out-and-out bludger and deserves nothing.
Untrue?
Of course .... if you want to put an alternative point of view then buy yourself a TV station.
Unfair?
Naturally ..... if you want fairness and justice then be prepared to squander millions in legal actions that drag on for decades (for instance, look at the monsterous injustices committed against the survivors of the sinking of HMAS Voyager).
Not only would this help Howard and his cronies to shift blame for their own blunders and to distance themselves from perceived failure ..... but by turning many of the public against war veterans it will be so much easier to slash the entitlements of war veterans and their families, perhaps easier to abolish outright even more of these entitlements.
And , of course, the lack of unity of purpose among ex-service organizations as well as their ingrained fear of "rocking the boat" and of causing an undignified fuss would make the double-crossing of veterans so much easier to carry out.
As for the righteous expectation that no government would ever dare do anything so nasty to those whose lives were permanently harmed whilst serving their country, think again. Does anyone seriously expect ruthless political operators to be grateful or honest or kind?
Get ready, too, for valiant old Diggers, true war heroes, to be replaced in the news media by more convenient subjects for the Prime Minister's photo-opportunities.
It's sad ..... but again, the Bad will triumph and the Good will be vanquished.
14 October, 2006
North Korean Army - a modern-day Honve'dse'g in the East Asia grand strategy?
History does not repeat itself .... but there are patterns that do seem to recur.
What if we are all sitting on the brink of a cataclysm, such as faced the world in the summer of 1914?
If that is so then a coming together of unlikely forces is possible.
And taking that further, could the Chinese Peoples' Liberation Army soon mobilize so as to protect and further China's interests? Perhaps then, a comparison might be made with the highly efficient, well armed German Army under Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Being strong enough and ready to fight a war alone is good but having well armed allies standing shoulder-to-shoulder with you is even better.
So, stretching the 1914 analogy further, it would be useful to China to have the Koreans as allies, with the ROK Army being like the Austro-Hungarian Empire's Landwehr and the DPRK Army like the Honve'dse'g.
And just for the hell of it, the Japanese Self Defence Force might be equated with the army of old Bulgaria or Roumania in this analogy.
(Of course the analogy falls apart when we look for a modern-day equivalent of the old Ottoman Empire ....... or does it?)
What if we are all sitting on the brink of a cataclysm, such as faced the world in the summer of 1914?
If that is so then a coming together of unlikely forces is possible.
And taking that further, could the Chinese Peoples' Liberation Army soon mobilize so as to protect and further China's interests? Perhaps then, a comparison might be made with the highly efficient, well armed German Army under Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Being strong enough and ready to fight a war alone is good but having well armed allies standing shoulder-to-shoulder with you is even better.
So, stretching the 1914 analogy further, it would be useful to China to have the Koreans as allies, with the ROK Army being like the Austro-Hungarian Empire's Landwehr and the DPRK Army like the Honve'dse'g.
And just for the hell of it, the Japanese Self Defence Force might be equated with the army of old Bulgaria or Roumania in this analogy.
(Of course the analogy falls apart when we look for a modern-day equivalent of the old Ottoman Empire ....... or does it?)
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