Threats of war are coming from a new alliance. Led by Russia and China this “Axis of Outcasts” also contains such troubled stakes as North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Venezuela and anyone else who is an outcast in the international community.
Australia has changed radically since last week though it might not look like it on the surface.
Late Thursday night the Senate passed the National Security Amendment Bill (No.1) 2014 giving unlimited power to spies and secret police.
The laws have been maimed.
Unimaginable things can happen now, things that Australians have only read about in books.
Not books like Thomas Paine's The Rights of Man. Those principles have been thrown away.
Books like Stasiland, by Anna Funder, where the "puzzlers" of East Germany piece together secret police files shredded when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.
Strand by strand they find the secret horrors done to missing people.
They will never finish.
Germany now has a glass cupola over its Reichstag. The symbol was deliberate: the government is transparent and the people walk above them.
Sunlight disinfects the debating chamber of the Bundestag below. East Germany learnt what happens when you give up individual liberty and privacy to the state...
Australia has just voted in the opposite direction.
Now officials can break the law with immunity from prosecution - and without having to answer to a court.
They can act in total secrecy.
They will decide what they do and to whom and when.
They do not have to ask permission.
They will choose when to interfere in your life and when they won't.
They can dip into your most private communications and they don't need a warrant to do so.
Sometimes they will do it because it is necessary to fight crime. Sometimes because they enjoy it.
Nobody will be watching them.
...
Armed police patrolled the halls of Parliament in the days leading up to the vote so the Senators and MPs could physically see their lives were protected from imminent danger.
A sense of urgency was deliberately created by the media wing of the security forces to get the powers they want.
Media Watch exposed how NSW Police director of public affairs Strath Gordon's office provided professional video footage and photographs of massive Sydney terror raids to the media in the week before the vote.
...
The much-maligned PUP Senator Jacqui Lambie at least noticed the coincidence.
"We would not be in this position, where there are armed guards on high alert patrolling our national Parliament and where we are debating legislation that undermines personal rights and freedoms, if we had cracked down and taken a harder line with the enemy we face today - the sharia law extremists of 10 years ago," she said.
She correctly grasped a nettle avoided by the rest of the world since 2001 - and for which she has been attacked.
The war on "terror" is a euphemism for the war on "Islamist fascism".
The fear of inciting hatred against moderate, secular Muslims �-- who are themselves the first victims of Islamist fascists �-- has caused the entire Western polity to avoid the truth for more than a decade with the weasel word "terror".
Politicians have preferred to destroy civil liberties ahead of offending minorities no matter how reasonable or necessary to limit the spread of a theocratic, totalitarian, violent political ideology.
Islamist fascists Hizb-ut-Tahrir, banned across the Middle East, are free to roam Lakemba. Despite openly declaring itself as a political party with an ideology of Islam that is trying to establish a Caliphate under Sharia, Australia has not banned them. MORE AT THE LINK
#1
Laws passed in haste by people who didn't read them?
Many Senators clearly hadn't read the 128 pages of major legal changes in the NSA Bill.
We have a health care bill of around 3000 pages which was rushed through a Democratically-controlled Congress which was unread. It is is still highly unpopular. It sounds like the same scoundrels are behind your heavy-handed law which threatens liberty as were behind Obamacare.
anon 1: Too bad you don't have a 2nd Amendment to provide some checks against the possibility of a tyrannical government. Although, our present far left-wing government is trying to neuter this amendment here.
#2
And just how does the new situation in Oz substantially differ from the current 'secret police' powers being exercised in the USA with its secret court system beyond the review of its 'regular' court system?
#4
A discussion of the unconstitutionality of FISA courts. Here. The conclusion is that Constitution is being ignored but shouldn't by this administration. Otherwise what PK2 said.
#5
Actually there has been some efforts to reform the FISA court by both parties and Obama. Reform. However, as one can see, the chances of passing any reforms are slim.
#10
Perhaps as like the OWG Mighty USSA = OWG Weak USRA Global SSR = post-2015 OWG NAU Global Fed Union, the Secular Commies + aligned Marxists-Globalists, etal. think they can control Soon-to-be-Nukulaar Radical Islam or Nuclear Islam.
They may indeed succeed in forcibly imposing some kind of "justified" Socialism-Govtism on an unsuspecting Amerika - THE JURY IS STILL OUT, HOWEVER, ON WHETHER SAIDSAME SOCIALISM-GOVTISM WILL BE WESTERN DEMOCRATIC SECULAR, VERSUS ISLAMIC = LEGAL SHARIA.
[Ynet] Paleostinian leader's initiative to isolate Israel is not aimed at achieving a better starting point for future negotiations -- but at putting an end to the Zionist enterprise.
[Ynet] Islam has helped to destroy Arabic civilization, argue two Arab intellectuals in emotive essays in separate Western publications, and only intensive introspection by the followers of the faith can lead out of the century-long abyss.
It is perfectly feasible that this time it will really happen. It is perfectly feasible that this time, in light of the black fanaticism and the rivers of blood and death, the Arab intelligentsia will embark on some genuine introspection.
It is this soul-searching that Fouad Ajami demanded in his book "The Dream Palace of the Arabs" after the 1967 Six-Day War. It is this soul-searching that seemed to be inevitable in the wake of the attacks of September 11, but immediately turned into a long list of gripes against America and the West.
Continued on Page 49
#1
It is perfectly feasible that this time it will really happen.
Maybe. Maybe not. How many divisions do the Arab intelligentsia have? Like the man said, the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but it's a good way to bet. My money is on tribalism and violence.
As for Arab civilization (pfft) having reached a nadir, that won't happen as long as the oil money holds out.
#3
You can argue about "Islam versus the Arab world" ie Islam destroying civilization in Syria, Egypt, the valley of the Euphrates, Tunisia (in Arabia there was not that much of civilization to be destroyed) but not "the Arab world against Islam" since the Arab worlld is not fighting it. It keeps supporting it.
Posted by: Big Thromoth3646 ||
09/30/2014 7:38 Comments ||
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#5
Um, I keep missing this great Arab Civilization that they talk about.
They going back to Babylon or the Hittites?
Once Mo took over, it's my understanding that the great civilization was consturcted by dhimmis under the threat of the sword and by the appropriation of knowledge from the conquered.
Posted by: lord garth ||
09/30/2014 8:00 Comments ||
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#7
The article focuses only on the "dark Arab" regimes. There is also the "dark Persian" regime (which is most of theocratic dominated Iran).
The population of the planet is ~ 7B. Muslims constitute about 2B. Christians about 2B. The rest are spread among Hindus, Buddhists, Jews and other. Estimates are that about 10-30% of the Muslims support jihad/radical Islam. That is a huge number and a huge world problem. It is not the Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, or the Jews who are lopping heads and have notions of world-wide supremacy.
IMO many Muslims tend to go for the strong-horse, i.e. the "moderates" would tend to go towards radical Islam should they become the strong horse. This might alter the 10-30& percentages to higher numbers. When 911 occurred, many Muslims across the world danced in the streets and were sympathetic towards the 911 hijackers. Much like the good German/bad German paradigm during WWII. Good Germans were silent onlookers who went along to get along in a country of extremism? Unknowing residents of a country with very dark notions? Doubtful. There was more to it than that. There are other modern day examples of the strong horse phenomena such as the rise of Putin.
The ideology which spawns such notions of world-supremacy and domination is the problem. Anjem Choudary, the radical Muslim cleric who was arrested in the UK (also appeared on Hannity last night) articulated the threat clearly--he thinks the world should live under Sharia law.
#8
Good Germans were silent onlookers who went along to get along in a country of extremism?
Say that thse Good Germans(Tm) were quite happy as long as easy victories brought them higher living standards through the plundering of defeated countries. Later when their sons began to fall, their ships to sink and their skies filled with Allied bombers then and only then did they grow unhappy about the regime.
#10
Estimates are that about 10-30% of the Muslims support jihad/radical Islam.
I think this number is highly variable, depending on what government they live under & what pressures have been applied. What %-age of Muslims in occupied Mosul support the Jihad?
#11
I'd read that much of what we dislike in Islam is more or less Arab Imperialism/culture that was brought along with Islam in the early days. Most cultures retained some sense of themselves within islam until recently when Wahabbi oil money started radicallizing everyone again in the power vacuum left behind after the Cold War.
#13
In that bit of wisdom by JFM of, namely " Later when their sons began to fall, their ships to sink and their skies filled with Allied bombers then and only then did they grow unhappy about the regime." most likely lies the key to resolving the current conflict(s). However, it can't be done on the cheap and requires leadership and will.
"The president said, for a long time we've known about the serious threat from ISIL, but everyone -- us, the Iraqis, even ISIL itself probably -- was surprised by how quickly earlier this summer they were really able to take territory in Iraq," Harf said.
You see, even the Islamic State was shocked by their own capabilities. Thiers was a wondrous journey of self-actualization in the form of a campaign of crucifixions and beheadings.
"They moved more quickly than anyone could have imagined," she added, forgetting apparently that many did imagine ISIS's blitz across Iraq in specific detail.
�"You know, assessing the will of a force to fight -- the capability is one thing you can assess -- but the will is a tough thing to assess," she added. Because everyone really knew that ISIS had the capability to mount a smashing offensive across the Middle East, but no one knew that they had the stoutness of character to achieve it!
What an embarrassing display.
How much damage could the president have avoided doing to his administration if he had just said, "I underestimated ISIS and I overestimated the Iraqis." His critics would have had a field day with it for 48 hours, but the media would have quickly moved on to another story. It would have disappeared in short order. Now, the intelligence community is out for blood, and the president has sparked a bureaucratic war inside the Beltway. Much like his response to ISIS, Obama's underestimation of the intelligence community will likely prove to be shortsighted.
Posted by: Beavis ||
09/30/2014 10:34 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11126 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
#1
Yes, yes, yes.... "having worked there" meaning, During my extensive beltway career, I was once a Klingon analyst. Now I'm a Foggy Bottom talking head media plant. "Challenging assessments".....yea, well, they're massing on the border in staging areas adjacent MSR's (major supply routes), lots of technical vehicles with mounted heavy machineguns. Looks methodical, well organized and funded. People are flying in from all over Europe and Minnesota ..... could it be a parade in the making possibly? Should we be fusing imagery and signals with Kurdish reporting? Oh why bother.
#2
Years ago I can remember General Tommy Franks favorite line to intelligence briefing officers:
"Great run-down LTC Whozzit, now give me the fok'n.... so what."
Telling Franks that there were 235 HETS (heavy equipment transports) out of their motor pools or 'out of park.' HET reporting meant nothing to him without the so what. Everything means something, or it means nothing. Which is it? He weighed possibilities, asked for opinions from the peanut gallery, and seldom totally discounted anything out of hand. The prevention of strategic surprise was what he wished to avoid, and he did, quite artfully I might add.
#3
"The prevention of strategic surprise was what he wished to avoid, and he did, quite artfully I might add." As opposed to what happened early in 1968 when a distant relative of mine gave rather detailed intelligence found on the body of a North Vietnamese army officer, with the outline of the Tet offensive, on the verge of happening, personally to Gen. Westmoreland. Westy waved his hand at this and said, "They can't do that!"
When you live in an alternate universe that believes the dogma of Marx and Islam as the 'religion of peace', of course you'd have a problem 'predicting' human behavior (let alone economics*). Did you ever study how Mo spread the word?
* always that word about the economy - "unexpectedly".
#8
Though Mohammedan law makes me barf,
When the US goes under the scarf,
I'll take one for the team:
In my third string hareem,
I am willing to take charge of [hatchoo!].
#1
Read about this in TheTruthAboutGuns site, yesterday. Strong support, but also concern about the illegality of discriminating on the basis of religion. Could argue Islam is political/legal system so no legal problem; if that flies, then could also ban Democrats which might be closer to solving the problem.
#3
I like that second article, Besoeker. Also, it seems to me that, without barring an entire religion, that Hot Springs shopkeeper would be justified in refusing to deal with someone in the country illegally or someone who didn't understand the language well enough to follow safety instructions.
#5
Recent polls (2009) by CNN indicate less than 4 out of 10 support stricter gun control laws. Here. Among Democrats, about 6 in 10 want stricter gun control laws.
#6
Anyway, it seems like a prudent thing to do--that is ban Muslims from shooting ranges--stops sudden jihad although it seems like a really dumb place to suddenly go jihadist. Good way to get shot. As I understand it the Muslims have their own shooting ranges in the U.S. I'm not sure we know about all of them.
#7
This would have been easy to cast in a religion neutral light. Ban anyone who advocates violence against other religions. Done. And, while it may disproportionately affect one certain religion, it is not on its face discriminatory.
#9
I reckon I'll have to check that place out and give him my business next time I am shopping for some more rounds to one of my weapons. I usually get mine from Academy, but usually get my firearms at the gun show when they come here.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Australia has changed radically since last week though it might not look like it on the surface.
