Mood:  hug me

Well the start of the day could have been nicer.

 Picture: An ALP worker on polling day in Marrickville who reckons this writer "has a mental problem" (possibly parroting Piers Akerman here Greens and sanity? That's a bridge too far | Daily Telegraph ) and somehow "a bully" (?) for chalking "NO TUNNEL" at a polling booth. This same chap when we revisited the booth 3 hours later (to take some pics as below, and vote) said to this writer shamelessly, "why did you assault and defame a member of the public this morning?". Very disturbing. This writer as per the story below was the one being stalked by a random crazy drunk as they knew, and I received several threats of ultra violence from same 'member of the public' and these ALP folks were the witnesses, the Pharisees passing on the other side of the street metaphorically speaking, but more, blaming the victim (me) with it. Talk about ugly ALP machine. This writer may have a sharp tongue but also Gandhi 10 principles of nonviolence pinned to my front door.

Story

AT 6am we went on our morning jog and bought the daily press. The fruit and veg shop next door to the newsagent was setting up and a drunken fellow with cropped hair was talking to the ethnic shop owner in a slur. I stopped to see if everything was quite allright. Holding my paper up as if to read I said "I think I will buy something too". The street fellow suddenly decided not to be there anymore. Curious. The shoppie told me he had already had a box of plums stolen that morning. He had been up since 3am at Flemington markets.

 "Thanks for your support" he said. "That's okay, see ya later."

I held my Daily Telegraph which is a handy size in a roll as I walked home  from the newsagent still pre dawn in case I needed to defend myself.

But the morning was to get alot worse than that.

At the church on the corner the ALP were early, and first as usual, setting up their booth props in the shadows. I got in a mutual sledge about the "liars from the ALP in their tax payer funded cars" wanting to build "a Marrickville Truck Tunnel". They sledged back:

"It all in your head. You're going to support a [Green?] Party that can't deliver anything."

I said

"8 million containers are coming from Port Botany. How are they going to get to western Sydney? ....1000 people die of air pollution in this city every year ..... the govt hid the Commission of Inquiry report for 3 months ..... The trains can only take 40% ..... You set up a secret committee by Laurie Brereton when the Inquiry didn't give you the right answer"

That could have gone better. But it was about to get alot worse.

Picture: Taken at 9.35 am this morning at corner of Illawarra Rd and Warren Rd Marrickville, 3 hours after earlier incidents, 24th March 2007: Question: "Tom McLoughlin, SydneyAlternativeMedia news blog. On the record Minister, in relation to the terrible truck accident in the [Burnley] Tunnel in Melbourne, do you think that could happen here in Sydney with so many motorway tunnels?" Answer by Carmel Tebbutt local ALP MP for Marrickville: "I don't know anything about that. I really couldn't say."

On a whim I went home, close by, grabbed my big chalk and went back at 6.45 am now, and started scribbling NO TUNNEL on the footpath outside the booth. Probably illegal as not authorised or registered but hey I was doing free speech on the day of democracy. I was willing to run the gauntlet.

Picture: Embarrassing secret ALP policy? We chalked about 5 of these NO TUNNEL signs and they were washed off presumably by the ALP booth workers within 10 minutes before 7 am corner of Warren Rd and Illawarra Rd 24th March 2007.

The ALP guys hated that, but were relatively restrained applying emotional violence but not the physical kind: "You've got a mental problem doing that at this time of the day .... your a bully."

Charming.

I say: "Why do you say I'm a bully for exercising free speech? Are you projecting ALP culture [laughing]?" 

Picture: Green booth worker next to poster, image taken later this morning Warren Rd booth.

But it was about to get alot worse:

The drunk had appeared from the earlier creepy situation at the Vegie Shop looking for more trouble.

The drunk was at that empty phase 3 hours from his last drink, starting to sober up, unloved and unwanted, angry and obnoxious. Like a rat with plague he scuttled into the animated verbal exchange with ultra violent menaces 

"There is no fucking tunnel here. It's in Lane Cove. Get your fucking facts straight" bearing down on me crouched with chalk.

"Put your head up so I can take it off"

I say to the ALP guys: "This is the guy who tried to rob the veggie shop." I didn't actually know that but he was quite suspicious bailing out of the vegie shop so quick just for being watched, and I was warning the ALP blokes not to throw their lot in with this vicious looking fellow for nothing.

To be fair the 2 ALP booth workers had nothing to do with this nasty drunk although they unintentionally contributed to the danger with their side of the sledging.  At one point I said to them 

"Can you just stay close by, I don't deserve to be assaulted by this guy." 

But the ALP guys were too busy shrinking back it seems or just putting up their booth, or enjoying my predicament.

Well that sledge about the Vegie Shop really endeared me to the drunk. For the next 10 minutes I raised my fists twice crouching in self defence as this "I do black belt" nasty kept advancing at me and promised to take my head off. I said stuff to confuse him like  "I'm very strong ....Your an alcoholic, that's sad ....I'm a lawyer ... I will bankrupt you."  All before 7 am on a Saturday. Phew.

He was way down on the alcoholic anaesthesia now and seemed to need some red rage to postpone his own private hell, the inevitable black dog. He had an evil leer towards the end, of a desperado who needed someone's blood on the floor to get him through his own tragic world. Twice he crossed the road to pursue me and the second time moved to block my exit like a hunting jackal. At this I retreated the long way around the block to get home in one piece without "a punch on".

Marrickville is like that. You try and help a veggie shop owner, and criticise the ALP grip on power, and nearly get your head taken off, with ALP cronies treating it as a sideshow display. Any correlation between this crazy menacing me and the fact it's been an ALP seat for so long? One wonders when the dominant political paradigm is emotionally violent personal attack rather than honest policy, that seems to promote actual physical violence by others one step removed.  The gentle Graham Richardson giving permission to the frightening Tom Domicans of this world?

That drunk was living proof to me of someone taking ALP denials of their Truck Tunnel plan (as reported front page Daily Telegraph) as a justification for his own threats to "take my head off": Get your facts straight indeed.

To be fair the ALP booth workers didn't really want anything to do with the drunk. He was simply a nasty piece of work all of his own doing who lives directly opposite me (!) and knows "you're the guy with the van, with the [anti] nuclear poster. I pass it every day". He kept saying I was a "fucking hermaphrodite". Perhaps that's the clue - the guy is a self hating gay or Fred Nile supporter or unstable child sex victim? Certainly dangerous and a bit close for comfort. (For the record I am a hetrosexual with all the bits in working order and where they belong.)

No help from the ALP guys through all this extended menacing. They couldn't have cared less I reckon.

To show just how sly the local ALP can be, when I saw the fellow pictured above 3 hours later pictured here on the right: 

Picture: Ethical dilemma. The ALP booth worker, at right, is vexed about witnessing a determined menacing assault of this writer a trenchant critic of same ALP Party. What indeed has happened to society to lose its common decency to ignore the plight of someone in real danger? Said ALP booth worker told us after this photo "I wouldn't have let him hurt you, that's why I followed you down the street. [The drunk] came back here and starting sniping at us too." 

he loudly asked 'why did you assault and defame a member of the public this morning?' Charming.  

As if I was the one slurring "I'm going to take your fucking head off." Talk about victimising the victim of an assault. So now I had attacked a thug while crouching trying to chalk a message "NO TUNNEL", who had pursued me for 50 metres, crossing the road twice to get at me. Do the ALP have any shame with this false witness and bending of reality? Or was he worried I would indeed "complain" about the ALP booth workers lack of assistance to their boss Tebbutt MP? Not that I really blame them, the thug was really quite scary.

As God is my witness I never touched or threatened anyone and really was fearful actually, doing all I could to extricate myself, and tried several times to avoid this crazy from the local boarding house, feeling like Stephen Mayne on Walkley night. But unlike Glenn Milne this Thug was fit (like out of the Joint) and youngish and a much more serious proposition. Fact is violence makes me feel ill, but this Thug somehow had learned or been conditioned to feed on it like John Howard enjoys political conflict. Just strange really and frankly outside my experience. I was this Thug's sport and he was dog shit on my shoe I couldn't get off. Unlucky me.

But that's the ALP, black is white, night is day when under pressure. And so tricky. It's all about power really, in this case over the embarassment of the Marrickville Truck Tunnel plan. 

Democracy is so degraded here in NSW from fear and grasping, as per the tough questioning of Premier Iemma by Quentin Dempster last night about developer donations destroying democracy here on Stateline The Last Interview (which is damn quick transcribing work too up already from last night), and the machine workers seem to have learned their lesson well making fiction out of dangerous reality:

QUENTIN DEMPSTER: Mr Iemma, if re-elected, will you bring to an end the practice of developer donations to political parties?

MORRIS IEMMA: As part of – as part of a national system, because that’s the only way to achieve it, we have written to the Prime Minister, my predecessor had as well, Bob Carr had, we’ve called upon the Prime Minister as part of a national system - yes, we would.

QUENTIN DEMPSTER: You are not prepared to take leadership in something that is alienating the public and leading to public distrust about the integrity of the planning process?

MORRIS IEMMA: We have tough disclosure laws. It has to be a national system, otherwise you will end up with the donations being funneled from Canberra back into the states.

QUENTIN DEMPSTER: There is a skew here because the public has seen on the blip screen of Labor Party ads up to 15 million, we don't know exactly how much, that your party, through incumbency, has been able to get the slush funding from the developers. That's part of a systemic problem in New South Wales. That disconnect needs to - that situation needs to be addressed, does it not? You have had a huge incumbency advantage of getting slush-fund money from developers.

MORRIS IEMMA: The Labor Party undertakes the fundraising through the course of the term and does that fundraising from a wide range of groups, and individuals.

QUENTIN DEMPSTER: Developers donate money to buy access, and that's unhealthy.

MORRIS IEMMA: No, donations are made – all, all, who come to Government, put a case to Government are dealt with appropriately. We fundraise from a wide range of groups. Now, in relation to donations and disclosure, we have very tough provisions in New South Wales. As part of a national scheme, that's how it would work.

QUENTIN DEMPSTER: Can you assure the public that Brian Burke-like influence peddlers, people like Graham Richardson in the Sydney scene, will not be given access to your ministers if you’re re-elected?

MORRIS IEMMA: I can give that absolute assurance, nothing, nothing, inappropriate. All our dealings are appropriate.

.......................................

Postscript #1, 3 pm same day: After hiding from the Thug in my place  for several hours, then sneaking out to remove all identifying stickers and posters on my van, I called Marrickville Police to tell them I was scared. He's perched on the street and hurls abuse about bizarre gay sex and genitals at every nerve wracking attempt to transit. If he hasn't been in jail he's got an unusual sense of horizontal sports.

The police arrive pretty quick at about 2.30 pm and give me an interview. I'm grateful for being visible and for hearing me out. The cops have identified the now sober Thug opposite my place and promise to talk to him and tell him to leave me alone. They say I shouldn't have to hide, just keep out of his way. As I write this I can literally hear said Thug swearing at the world.

One of my colleagues in the activist movement send me a text from the polling booth nearby, and it reads "The police r here over the incident this morning they were talking 2 the alp guy who I think gave yr name they took a report."

When I rang said source back, she (NN) says ALP also mentioned this website, the police also spoke to the Greens booth workers, who had arrived during the second group of menacing assault and possibly witnessed the foul mouthed obscenities, and more verbal threats to "take my head off" and maybe menacing pursuit by the Thug down the street as I tried to get away from him (I couldn't be sure as I was too busy watching out for the Thug in fact).

One can only guess what self referential story the ALP cronies will cook up to make themselves look clean, just like the 'non existent' Marrickville Truck Tunnel plan. Their usual approach is to say I'm aggressive etc and that it was all my fault.

That's the ALP Left's preferred method of attack - emotional violence regardless of fact. It was the same at Waverley Council when I beat them pointless shutting the Waterloo Incinerator that they controlled (indeed a new $40M redevelopment plan for a waste to energy plant via incineration, and not easy to forgive). That's life in the ALP's NSW if you buck their system. And come 7pm tonight it will be again most likely.

Postscript #2 (about 8pm, same day) The Thug as we call him here has been noticeable the  last 4 hours of daylight sitting on the street frontage and wolf whistling and cat calling to every woman who has had the misfortune to walk down this street near a major bus stop, polling booth, shops and supermarket. This is the character of the Thug that the ALP booth worker above is potentially running against our witness above in the minds of the police today? I don't think so. And whoever wins in Marrickville today some old fashioned campaigning against sexual harrassment is in order around here. A neighbour who is a medical doctor was telling me this arvo he can hear the cat calling in the street from our backyard. Conclusion: The Thug is a social menace. And no I haven't seen anything quite like this specimen in all my time in Sydney.

Posted by editor at 8:03 AM NZT

Updated: Monday, 26 March 2007 1:20 PM NZT

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