Mood:
not sureTopic: legal
Picture: Truck accident in Rockdale about 5 years ago. Images taken by this writer as a local resident/witness. If one looks closely at the top image you can see a truck has flipped onto its side and is being lifted about a metre aloft with wheels at right angle to the ground. It looks strange because the heat of the fuel fire has literallly vaporised half the metal tank on the trailer. No one was killed in this accident which in itself must have been a minor miracle. There were some people sleeping in the burnt buildings nearby at the time of the one vehicle accident at a sharp corner just before the rail bridge.
Note this pre publicity by the police and their captured political representatives in State Government in the press today:
APEC gets tough on protesters | The Daily Telegraph
This writer spent 2 years on Bondi Safety Committee 1996-97 as an elected local councillor and we learned to never let the police set the tone of pre event publicity. The principle looks the same today even as big as the APEC conference will be in Sydney in September 2007.
Police inevitably predict aggressive clashes with the public and suggest criminal behaviour by protesters which is the police paradigm and in fact what they plan for. This has the effect of promoting their own importance and budget in a highly convenient fashion for the bureaucracy. It is also self fulfilling prophesy because the minute number actually looking for sport at the police expense take it as an invitation to come on down and box on.
In a sense they all get what they want at the expense of the broader public. But there is a much more serious aspect of distraction from real risk profile for such an event.
What worries this writer most is not loud ferals, even pushy ones, or mindless street violence. And certainly not organised recognised non govt groups who never want the reputation for violence. What worries me, and should worry everyone not least Big Media and Govt:
1. is those 7 or so missing rocket launchers reported in the Murdoch press and media release of the federal/NSW police. Still missing?
2. Canberra is set up for gatherings away from the largest centre of population, not just for one offs like APEC, but to avoid opportunistic coups via a big rally taking over the parliament house (theoretically possible in Sydney of 4M but not Canberra).
3. Is Howard secretly hoping there will be an attack to get votes in a patriotic fervour?
4. The petrol tanker scenario. See these pics above of a truck accident in Rockdale 5 years back we locals of the time witnessed - large volumes of fuel and a spark can destroy anything, including melt the tanker in half, like a hot knife through butter. That's scary.
None of these are protester related, marbles or stuff like that. Those are so marginal and in truth this writer has never ever witnessed that in 15 years of ngo activity as God is my witness, 6 or so arrests for peaceful protest without conviction, and solicitor now. That said, we don't like seeing anyone get hurt, democracy activists police or anyone. For moral reasons but also quite practical - draconian blow back by the system. Gandhi is my way even if we can't be a saint like him.
We were quite surprised indeed to read the quite calm and brutal article in the Herald recently on the history of lethal attacks on political leaders. This was suggestive of activity way beyond the aims or objectives of the local ngo movement I've known this last 15 years in Sydney. Here is the reference, and we had to wonder how responsible the article was but here it is anyway relying on the Herald as precedent:
Gunning for democracy works, just don't miss - Opinion - smh.com.au
Postscript #1 May 29th 2007
As we hear of alleged sadism of police filming capsicum spray victims on their mobile phone, and police 'on patrol' at the local McDonalds (read feeding their face), we notice the Peerless Hack on APEC in the press today below: Coincidence really given we put a version of the above comment piece on that Daily Telegrpah story which they did publish. Here is the Akerman headline and notice the yellow sunshine and bogus image of Deputy Premier John Watkins in their graphic:
Stay tuned for our analysis of the "natural gas" and "other working groups looking at other aspects of the energy industry".
These are great euphemisms by Hackerman refering to the Bush-Howard Global Nuclear Energy Partnership spread of radioactive stain across the world. Indeed this is confirmed by Nigel Wilson recently in the business pages of the Australian so no point in denials. It's salad days for the nuke pimps with a missile defence shield boosting an arms race and thus nuke weapon deterrent here too on Australian soil. If only Howard can win the next election. And if there were any doubt about Mr Yellow take a look at this image:
Here is the web link to the story at:
APEC more than insular views with my comment, but will it go up?
"Piers, you are being euphemistic about the
"working groups looking at other aspects of the energy industry"
Not so much "natural gas" as in fact the Bush-Howard Global Nuclear Energy Partnership spreading radioactive risk to the world.
Nigel Wilson, an excellent News Ltd journo says APEC will do as much in The Australian business section p20 24 May 07.
Trouble is, nuke industry boosting of missile defence shield promotes an arms race and nuke weapon deterent here on our soil. Are you ready for the apocalypse, what about your daughters?
Come on Piers, publish this. I've copied it."
