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Emails and articles of interest are posted here by John Ray to make them more widely available
"And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" -- Genesis 12:3
My (Gentile) opinion of antisemitism: The Jews are the best we've got so killing them is killing us.
I have always liked the story of Gideon (See Judges chapters 6 to 8) and it is surely no surprise that in the present age Israel is the Gideon of nations: Few in numbers but big in power and impact.
Postings from Brisbane, Australia by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.) -- former member of the Australia-Soviet Friendship Society, former anarcho-capitalist and former member of the British Conservative party.
America is no longer the land of the free. It is now the land of the regulated -- though it is not alone in that, of course
The Leftist motto: "I love humanity. It's just people I can't stand"
Why are Leftists always talking about hate? Because it fills their own hearts
Envy is a strong and widespread human emotion so there has alway been widespread support for policies of economic "levelling". Both the USA and the modern-day State of Israel were founded by communists but reality taught both societies that respect for the individual gave much better outcomes than levelling ideas. Sadly, there are many people in both societies in whom hatred for others is so strong that they are incapable of respect for the individual. The destructiveness of what they support causes them to call themselves many names in different times and places but they are the backbone of the political Left
The large number of rich Leftists suggests that, for them, envy is secondary. They are directly driven by hatred and scorn for many of the other people that they see about them. Hatred of others can be rooted in many things, not only in envy. But the haters come together as the Left.
Leftists hate the world around them and want to change it: the people in it most particularly. Conservatives just want to be left alone to make their own decisions and follow their own values.
Ronald Reagan famously observed that the status quo is Latin for “the mess we’re in.” So much for the vacant Leftist claim that conservatives are simply defenders of the status quo. They think that conservatives are as lacking in principles as they are.
The shallow thinkers of the Left sometimes claim that conservatives want to impose their own will on others in the matter of abortion. To make that claim is however to confuse religion with politics. Conservatives are in fact divided about their response to abortion. The REAL opposition to abortion is religious rather than political. And the church which has historically tended to support the LEFT -- the Roman Catholic church -- is the most fervent in the anti-abortion cause. Conservatives are indeed the one side of politics to have moral qualms on the issue but they tend to seek a middle road in dealing with it. Taking the issue to the point of legal prohibitions is a religious doctrine rather than a conservative one -- and the religion concerned may or may not be characteristically conservative. More on that here
Some Leftist hatred arises from the fact that they blame "society" for their own personal problems and inadequacies
The Leftist hunger for change to the society that they hate leads to a hunger for control over other people. And they will do and say anything to get that control: "Power at any price". Leftist politicians are mostly self-aggrandizing crooks who gain power by deceiving the uninformed with snake-oil promises -- power which they invariably use to destroy. Destruction is all that they are good at. Destruction is what haters do.
Leftists are consistent only in their hate. They don't have principles. How can they when "there is no such thing as right and wrong"? All they have is postures, pretend-principles that can be changed as easily as one changes one's shirt
I often wonder why Leftists refer to conservatives as "wingnuts". A wingnut is a very useful device that adds versatility wherever it is used. Clearly, Leftists are not even good at abuse. Once they have accused their opponents of racism and Nazism, their cupboard is bare. Similarly, Leftists seem to think it is a devastating critique to refer to "Worldnet Daily" as "Worldnut Daily". The poverty of their argumentation is truly pitiful
The Leftist assertion that there is no such thing as right and wrong has a distinguished history. It was Pontius Pilate who said "What is truth?" (John 18:38). From a Christian viewpoint, the assertion is undoubtedly the Devil's gospel
"If one rejects laissez faire on account of man's fallibility and moral weakness, one must for the same reason also reject every kind of government action." - Ludwig von Mises
The naive scholar who searches for a consistent Leftist program will not find it. What there is consists only in the negation of the present.
Because of their need to be different from the mainstream, Leftists are very good at pretending that sow's ears are silk purses
Among well-informed people, Leftism is a character defect. Leftists hate success in others -- which is why notably successful societies such as the USA and Israel are hated and failures such as the Palestinians can do no wrong.
A Leftist's beliefs are all designed to pander to his ego. So when you have an argument with a Leftist, you are not really discussing the facts. You are threatening his self esteem. Which is why the normal Leftist response to challenge is mere abuse.
Because of the fragility of a Leftist's ego, anything that threatens it is intolerable and provokes rage. So most Leftist blogs can be summarized in one sentence: "How DARE anybody question what I believe!". Rage and abuse substitute for an appeal to facts and reason.
Their threatened egos sometimes drive Leftists into quite desperate flights from reality. For instance, they often call Israel an "Apartheid state" -- when it is in fact the Arab states that practice Apartheid -- witness the severe restrictions on Christians in Saudi Arabia. There are no such restrictions in Israel.
Because their beliefs serve their ego rather than reality, Leftists just KNOW what is good for us. Conservatives need evidence.
“Absolute certainty is the privilege of uneducated men and fanatics.” -- C.J. Keyser
"Almost all professors of the arts and sciences are egregiously conceited, and derive their happiness from their conceit" -- Erasmus
THE FALSIFICATION OF HISTORY HAS DONE MORE TO IMPEDE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT THAN ANY ONE THING KNOWN TO MANKIND -- ROUSSEAU
"Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him" (Proverbs 26: 12). I think that sums up Leftists pretty well.
Eminent British astrophysicist Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington is often quoted as saying: "Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine." It was probably in fact said by his contemporary, J.B.S. Haldane. But regardless of authorship, it could well be a conservative credo not only about the cosmos but also about human beings and human society. Mankind is too complex to be summed up by simple rules and even complex rules are only approximations with many exceptions.
Politics is the only thing Leftists know about. They know nothing of economics, history or business. Their only expertise is in promoting feelings of grievance
Socialism makes the individual the slave of the state – capitalism frees them.
MESSAGE to Leftists: Even if you killed all conservatives tomorrow, you would just end up in another Soviet Union. Conservatives are all that stand between you and that dismal fate.
Many readers here will have noticed that what I say about Leftists sometimes sounds reminiscent of what Leftists say about conservatives. There is an excellent reason for that. Leftists are great "projectors" (people who see their own faults in others). So a good first step in finding out what is true of Leftists is to look at what they say about conservatives! They even accuse conservatives of projection (of course).
The research shows clearly that one's Left/Right stance is strongly genetically inherited but nobody knows just what specifically is inherited. What is inherited that makes people Leftist or Rightist? There is any amount of evidence that personality traits are strongly genetically inherited so my proposal is that hard-core Leftists are people who tend to let their emotions (including hatred and envy) run away with them and who are much more in need of seeing themselves as better than others -- two attributes that are probably related to one another. Such Leftists may be an evolutionary leftover from a more primitive past.
Leftists seem to believe that if someone like Al Gore says it, it must be right. They obviously have a strong need for an authority figure. The fact that the two most authoritarian regimes of the 20th century (Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia) were socialist is thus no surprise. Leftists often accuse conservatives of being "authoritarian" but that is just part of their usual "projective" strategy -- seeing in others what is really true of themselves.
Following the Sotomayor precedent, I would hope that a wise older white man such as myself with the richness of that experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than someone who hasn’t lived that life.
IQ and ideology: Most academics are Left-leaning. Why? Because very bright people who have balls go into business, while very bright people with no balls go into academe. I did both with considerable success, which makes me a considerable rarity. Although I am a born academic, I have always been good with money too. My share portfolio even survived the GFC in good shape. The academics hate it that bright people with balls make more money than them.
If I were not an atheist, I would believe that God had a sense of humour. He gave his chosen people (the Jews) enormous advantages -- high intelligence and high drive -- but to keep it fair he deprived them of something hugely important too: Political sense. So Jews to this day tend very strongly to be Leftist -- even though the chief source of antisemitism for roughly the last 200 years has been the political Left!
And the other side of the coin is that Jews tend to despise conservatives and Christians. Yet American fundamentalist Christians are the bedrock of the vital American support for Israel, the ultimate bolthole for all Jews. So Jewish political irrationality seems to be a rather good example of the saying that "The LORD giveth and the LORD taketh away". There are many other examples of such perversity (or "balance"). The sometimes severe side-effects of most pharmaceutical drugs is an obvious one but there is another ethnic example too, a rather amusing one. Chinese people are in general smart and patient people but their rate of traffic accidents in China is about 10 times higher than what prevails in Western societies. They are brilliant mathematicians and fearless business entrepreneurs but at the same time bad drivers!
The above is good testimony to the accuracy of the basic conservative insight that almost anything in human life is too complex to be reduced to any simple rule and too complex to be reduced to any rule at all without allowance for important exceptions to the rule concerned
"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here. For roughly two centuries now, antisemitism has, throughout the Western world, been principally associated with Leftism (including the socialist Hitler) -- as it is to this day. See here.
Leftists call their hatred of Israel "Anti-Zionism" but Zionists are only a small minority in Israel
Some of the Leftist hatred of Israel is motivated by old-fashioned antisemitism (beliefs in Jewish "control" etc.) but most of it is just the regular Leftist hatred of success in others. And because the societies they inhabit do not give them the vast amount of recognition that their large but weak egos need, some of the most virulent haters of Israel and America live in those countries. So the hatred is the product of pathologically high self-esteem.
Conservatives, on the other hand could be antisemitic on entirely rational grounds: Namely, the overwhelming Leftism of the Jewish population as a whole. Because they judge the individual, however, only a tiny minority of conservative-oriented people make such general judgments. The longer Jews continue on their "stiff-necked" course, however, the more that is in danger of changing. The children of Israel have been a stiff necked people since the days of Moses, however, so they will no doubt continue to vote with their emotions rather than their reason.
Who said this in 1968? "I am not, and never have been, a man of the right. My position was on the Left and is now in the centre of politics". It was Sir Oswald Mosley, founder and leader of the British Union of Fascists
The term "Fascism" is mostly used by the Left as a brainless term of abuse. But when they do make a serious attempt to define it, they produce very complex and elaborate definitions -- e.g. here and here. In fact, Fascism is simply extreme socialism plus nationalism. But great gyrations are needed to avoid mentioning the first part of that recipe, of course.
Politicians are in general only a little above average in intelligence so the idea that they can make better decisions for us that we can make ourselves is laughable
A quote from the late Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931–2005: "You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
The Supreme Court of the United States is now and always has been a judicial abomination. Its guiding principles have always been political rather than judicial. It is not as political as Stalin's courts but its respect for the constitution is little better. Some recent abuses: The "equal treatment" provision of the 14th amendment was specifically written to outlaw racial discrimination yet the court has allowed various forms of "affirmative action" for decades -- when all such policies should have been completely stuck down immediately. The 2nd. amendment says that the right to bear arms shall not be infringed yet gun control laws infringe it in every State in the union. The 1st amendment provides that speech shall be freely exercised yet the court has upheld various restrictions on the financing and display of political advertising. The court has found a right to abortion in the constitution when the word abortion is not even mentioned there. The court invents rights that do not exist and denies rights that do.
"Some action that is unconstitutional has much to recommend it" -- Elena Kagan, nominated to SCOTUS by Obama
The U.S. Constitution is neither "living" nor dead. It is fixed until it is amended. But amending it is the privilege of the people, not of politicians or judges
The book, The authoritarian personality, authored by T.W. Adorno et al. in 1950, has been massively popular among psychologists. It claims that a set of ideas that were popular in the "Progressive"-dominated America of the prewar era were "authoritarian". Leftist regimes always are authoritarian so that claim was not a big problem. What was quite amazing however is that Adorno et al. identified such ideas as "conservative". They were in fact simply popular ideas of the day but ones that had been most heavily promoted by the Left right up until the then-recent WWII. See here for details of prewar "Progressive" thinking.
The basic aim of all bureaucrats is to maximize their funding and minimize their workload
A lesson in Australian: When an Australian calls someone a "big-noter", he is saying that the person is a chronic and rather pathetic seeker of admiration -- as in someone who often pulls out "big notes" (e.g. $100.00 bills) to pay for things, thus endeavouring to create the impression that he is rich. The term describes the mentality rather than the actual behavior with money and it aptly describes many Leftists. When they purport to show "compassion" by advocating things that cost themselves nothing (e.g. advocating more taxes on "the rich" to help "the poor"), an Australian might say that the Leftist is "big-noting himself". There is an example of the usage here. The term conveys contempt. There is a wise description of Australians generally here
Some ancient wisdom for Leftists: "Be not righteous overmuch; neither make thyself over wise: Why shouldest thou die before thy time?" -- Ecclesiastes 7:16
People who mention differences in black vs. white IQ are these days almost universally howled down and subjected to the most extreme abuse. I am a psychometrician, however, so I feel obliged to defend the scientific truth of the matter: The average black adult has about the same IQ as an average white 11-year-old. The American Psychological Association is generally Left-leaning but it is the world's most prestigious body of academic psychologists. And even they have had to concede that sort of gap (one SD) in black vs. white average IQ. 11-year olds can do a lot of things but they also have their limits and there are times when such limits need to be allowed for.
Jesse Jackson: "There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery -- then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved." There ARE important racial differences.
Some Jimmy Carter wisdom: "I think it's inevitable that there will be a lower standard of living than what everybody had always anticipated," he told advisers in 1979. "there's going to be a downward turning."
R.I.P. Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet deposed a law-defying Marxist President at the express and desperate invitation of the Chilean parliament. He pioneered the free-market reforms which Reagan and Thatcher later unleashed to world-changing effect. That he used far-Leftist methods to suppress far-Leftist violence is reasonable if not ideal. The Leftist view that they should have a monopoly of violence and that others should follow the law is a total absurdity which shows only that their hate overcomes their reason
Did William Zantzinger kill poor Hattie Carroll?
The "steamroller" above who got steamrollered by his own hubris. Spitzer is a warning of how self-destructive a vast ego can be -- and also of how destructive of others it can be.
Many people hunger and thirst after righteousness. Some find it in the hatreds of the Left. Others find it in the love of Christ. I don't hunger and thirst after righteousness at all. I hunger and thirst after truth. How old-fashioned can you get?
Heritage is what survives death: Very rare and hence very valuable
I completed the work for my Ph.D. at the end of 1970 but the degree was not awarded until 1974 -- due to some academic nastiness from Seymour Martin Lipset and Fred Emery. A conservative or libertarian who makes it through the academic maze has to be at least twice as good as the average conformist Leftist. Fortunately, I am a born academic.
As well as being an academic, I am an army man and I am pleased and proud to say that I have worn my country's uniform. Although my service in the Australian army was chiefly noted for its un-notability, I DID join voluntarily in the Vietnam era, I DID reach the rank of Sergeant, and I DID volunteer for a posting in Vietnam. So I think I may be forgiven for saying something that most army men think but which most don't say because they think it is too obvious: The profession of arms is the noblest profession of all because it is the only profession where you offer to lay down your life in performing your duties. Our men fought so that people could say and think what they like but I myself always treat military men with great respect -- respect which in my view is simply their due.
Two lines below of a famous hymn that would be incomprehensible to Leftists today ("honor"? "right"? "freedom?" Freedom to agree with them is the only freedom they believe in)
First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean
It is of course the hymn of the USMC -- still today the relentless warriors that they always were.
I imagine that few of my readers will understand it, but I am an unabashed monarchist. And, as someone who was born and bred in a monarchy and who still lives there (i.e. Australia), that gives me no conflicts at all. In theory, one's respect for the monarchy does not depend on who wears the crown but the impeccable behaviour of the present Queen does of course help perpetuate that respect. Aside from my huge respect for the Queen, however, my favourite member of the Royal family is the redheaded Prince Harry. The Royal family is of course a military family and Prince Harry is a great example of that. As one of the world's most privileged people, he could well be an idle layabout but instead he loves his life in the army. When his girlfriend Chelsy ditched him because he was so often away, Prince Harry said: "I love Chelsy but the army comes first". A perfect military man! I doubt that many women would understand or approve of his attitude but perhaps my own small army background powers my approval of that attitude.
The kneejerk response of the Green/Left to people who challenge them is to say that the challenger is in the pay of "Big Oil", "Big Business", "Big Pharma", "Exxon-Mobil", "The Pioneer Fund" or some other entity that they see, in their childish way, as a boogeyman. So I think it might be useful for me to point out that I have NEVER received one cent from anybody by way of support for what I write. As a retired person, I live entirely on my own investments. I do not work for anybody and I am not beholden to anybody. And I have NO investments in oil companies, mining companies or "Big Pharma"
UPDATE: Despite my (statistical) aversion to mining stocks, I have recently bought a few shares in BHP -- the world's biggest miner, I gather. I run the grave risk of becoming a speaker of famous last words for saying this but I suspect that BHP is now so big as to be largely immune from the risks that plague most mining companies. I also know of no issue affecting BHP where my writings would have any relevance. The Left seem to have a visceral hatred of miners. I have never quite figured out why.
Despite my great sympathy and respect for Christianity, I am the most complete atheist you could find. I don't even believe that the word "God" is meaningful. I am not at all original in that view, of course. Such views are particularly associated with the noted German philosopher Rudolf Carnap. Unlike Carnap, however, none of my wives have committed suicide
I have no hesitation in saying that the single book which has influenced me most is the New Testament. And my Scripture blog will show that I know whereof I speak. Some might conclude that I must therefore be a very confused sort of atheist but I can assure everyone that I do not feel the least bit confused. The New Testament is a lighthouse that has illumined the thinking of all sorts of men and women and I am deeply grateful that it has shone on me.
I am rather pleased to report that I am a lifelong conservative. Out of intellectual curiosity, I did in my youth join organizations from right across the political spectrum so I am certainly not closed-minded and am very familiar with the full spectrum of political thinking. Nonetheless, I did not have to undergo the lurch from Left to Right that so many people undergo. At age 13 I used my pocket-money to subscribe to the "Reader's Digest" -- the main conservative organ available in small town Australia of the 1950s. I have learnt much since but am pleased and amused to note that history has since confirmed most of what I thought at that early age. Conservatism is in touch with reality. Leftism is not.
I imagine that the RD are still sending mailouts to my 1950s address
Most teenagers have sporting and movie posters on their bedroom walls. At age 14 I had a map of Taiwan on my wall.
"Remind me never to get this guy mad at me" -- Instapundit
I have used many sites to post my writings over the years and many have gone bad on me for various reasons. So if you click on a link here to my other writings you may get a "page not found" response if the link was put up some time before the present. All is not lost, however. All my writings have been reposted elsewhere. If you do strike a failed link, just take the filename (the last part of the link) and add it to the address of any of my current home pages and -- Voila! -- you should find the article concerned.
It seems to be a common view that you cannot talk informatively about a country unless you have been there. I completely reject that view but it is nonetheless likely that some Leftist dimbulb will at some stage aver that any comments I make about politics and events in the USA should not be heeded because I am an Australian who has lived almost all his life in Australia. I am reluctant to pander to such ignorance in the era of the "global village" but for the sake of the argument I might mention that I have visited the USA 3 times -- spending enough time in Los Angeles and NYC to get to know a fair bit about those places at least. I did however get outside those places enough to realize that they are NOT America.
If any of the short observations above about Leftism seem wrong, note that they do not stand alone. The evidence for them is set out at great length in my MONOGRAPH on Leftism.
COMMENTS: I have gradually added comments facilities to all my blogs. The comments I get are interesting. They are mostly from Leftists and most consist either of abuse or mere assertions. Reasoned arguments backed up by references to supporting evidence are almost unheard of from Leftists. Needless to say, I just delete such useless comments.
My academic background
My full name is Dr. John Joseph RAY. I am a former university teacher aged 65 at the time of writing in 2009. I was born of Australian pioneer stock in 1943 at Innisfail in the State of Queensland in Australia. I trace my ancestry wholly to the British Isles. After an early education at Innisfail State Rural School and Cairns State High School, I taught myself for matriculation. I took my B.A. in Psychology from the University of Queensland in Brisbane. I then moved to Sydney (in New South Wales, Australia) and took my M.A. in psychology from the University of Sydney in 1969 and my Ph.D. from the School of Behavioural Sciences at Macquarie University in 1974. I first tutored in psychology at Macquarie University and then taught sociology at the University of NSW. My doctorate is in psychology but I taught mainly sociology in my 14 years as a university teacher. In High Schools I taught economics. I have taught in both traditional and "progressive" (low discipline) High Schools. Fuller biographical notes here
MY OTHER SITES
DISSECTING LEFTISM
GREENIE WATCH
TONGUE TIED
AUSTRALIAN POLITICS
GUN WATCH
PC WATCH
EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL
FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC
EYE ON BRITAIN
SOME MEMOIRS
LEFTIST ELITISM
SOCIALIZED MEDICINE
IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL
RECIPES
OF INTEREST
Of Interest 3
There are also two blogspot blogs which record what I think are my main recent articles here and here
Mirror for "Dissecting Leftism"
China Mirror for "Dissecting Leftism"
Alt archives
Longer Academic Papers
Johnray links
Academic home page
Academic Backup Page
General Backup
General Backup 2
Selected reading
MONOGRAPH ON LEFTISM
CONSERVATISM AS HERESY
Rightism defined
Leftist Churches
Leftist Racism
Fascism is Leftist
Hitler a socialist
What are Leftists
Psychology of Left
Status Quo?
Leftism is authoritarian
James on Leftism
Irbe on Leftism
Beltt on Leftism
Critiques
Lakoff
Van Hiel
Sidanius
Kruglanski
Pyszczynski et al.
Cautionary blogs about big Australian companies:
TELSTRA OPTUS VODAFONE AGL St. George bank Bank of Qld.
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Saturday, August 02, 2003
MENZIES THE INTERNATIONALIST
My recent post about Australia’s longest-serving Prime Minister, the very conservative Sir Robert Menzies, has stimulated one of my readers to point out a few things about him that the Left would rather forget:
“Your recent blog post about Menzies' defusing of a hardline anti-communist group with his advocacy of a (unwinnable) referendum, highlights what a consummate domestic politician and international statesman Menzies was. The referendum helped split the Australian Labor Party opposition, even though the breakaway hardline anti-communist Democratic Labor Party, also opposed the proposed ban of the Communist Party.
Historian David Day has shown that Menzies' 1940s conflict with Churchill was not the minor historical footnote it is often portrayed. Day sees Menzies as concerned that Churchill's single minded 'destroy Germany first' strategy risked weakening the British Empire as an independent force in world politics and exposing Europe to Russian domination. Day generally comes down in favour of Churchill, who he sees as being more realistic, however it is hard to fault Menzies' foresight here. Excerpt:
"Menzies might have been misguided in his prolonged attachment to appeasement and the Empire, and his London activities certainly did little to discharge his responsibility for Australia's defence. But there can be no denying the essential greatness of the man. In a short time in London he cut a wide swathe through British politics and was compared favourably with the best that Britain had to offer. While some of the plaudits were more anti-Churchill than pro-Menzies, most of the admiration he generated was genuine. Never before or since has an Australian political figure received such widespread acclaim on the world stage." (p253, Day 2001)
Then there is Menzies’ role in fostering a peaceful transition for an independent Singapore out of the Malaysian federation. A role acknowledged by Singapore's first PM Lee Kuan Yew himself.
It is hard to think of any Australian prime minister since Menzies with this sort of influence either in South East Asia or the world at large. Paul Keating, a recent Labor Party PM who loudly plays his own harp about his "Asia focus" was barely on speaking terms to the Malaysia's leader.
Of course not all of Menzies' diplomatic forays were successful -- e.g. the Suez incident (but whose are?). Can anyone imagine a modern Australian PM playing a role in mid-East crisis diplomacy today? The amazing thing is that the left-leaning media and intellectual class of Australia almost completely ignore Menzies' historic role in foreign affairs, pumping up Whitlam or Keating, who in truth were bit players in comparison.
Whitlam and Keating are usually lauded as projecting a new "independent" "Asia focus" foreign policy, yet the reality was that their rhetoric was superficial, and meant for domestic consumption only. Keating used his "vision thing" about "Asia" and "multiculturalism" to keep the left on board whilst he privatised government owned businesses. He thus managed to 'only' lose Labor's traditional blue collar vote to Howard. (Michael Duffy says this is still a problem for Labor)
Although some Whitlam ministers made wild personal statements about foreign policy issues his government was more moderate. Whitlam followed Britain in recognising the Peking regime, a step that in fact put Australia out of step with most of our Asian neighbours, as did his (ultimately dropped) plan to withdraw Australian forces from Malaysia/Singapore. Beyond that there is little Whitlam foreign policy legacy. Without a corresponding commitment to increased military spending, and probably conscription -- something the left would oppose -- this so called "independent" foreign policy stuff is all bluster.
Yet Australian leaders have often pursued "non-conformist" policies. Billy Hughes in 1919 pushed a tough reparations line at Versailles, insisting our 50,000 plus war dead (more than the US) earned an Australian seat at the Paris Peace Conference.
He also vigorously defended the 'White Australia' policy from what he saw as pious idealism from Wilson. Wilson was advocating a anti-discrimination clause for the new League of Nations, even though his administration introduced segregation into US federal employment.
Labor's Curtin also instituted a new line in WW2, effectively a pro-US stance, that Menzies later formalised in ANZUS. John Gorton even dabbled with the idea of a nuclear armed Australia. However the approach of these leaders is not what is meant by those who idolise an "independent" foreign policy. Australian intellectuals use "independent" as a code word for left-wing or anti-American, not necessarily a pro-Australian or "national interest" foreign policy. Interestingly they regard "Fortress Australia" as equivalent to "xenophobia", their ultimate term of abuse. The old idea that "good fences make good neighbours" is somehow lost on them.
Australian prime ministers themselves, Labor and Liberal, unlike the supposedly informed chattering classes, usually see Menzies as their personal standard for comparison. Labor’s Keating could get quite hung up about Menzies despite a 30 year gap between their respective reigns. Menzies' long shadow may be why Australian PMs of all stripes often propose grandiose international schemes, like Keating's APEC, hoping to secure their historical memory and thus outclass Menzies. Of course none of these 'castles in the air' ever amount to anything. Maybe they should concentrate on 'fence mending'.
The Left love to paint Menzies as some kind of old duffer addicted to the British Empire. Yet for most of his career the Empire was still a force to be reckoned with, and even had something of a 'last gasp' in the 1950s/early 60s over the “Confrontation” with Indonesia’s Sukarno and the development of the Blue Streak missile, an attempt by the UK (with Australian help at Woomera rocket range) to build an independent nuke missile force -- though that was ultimately scratched by the Brits in the early 1960s. So Menzies' Empire loyalty was not in fact out of date. To say so is an anachronistic “after the fact” judgement!”
posted by JR
9:52 PM
Sunday, July 27, 2003
Would Bush Release His "Prisoners?"
By Arlene Peck
For six years I chaired a Jewish discussion group at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. During those years I learned a little about the penal system and the thousands of dollars it costs to keep those criminals in jail. Of course, that being a maximum prison, people may have complained about the high cost of incarceration but they sure didn’t give a thought to letting those hardened criminals out. Whatever the savings, it just wasn’t worth it.
In fact, it’s never worth it to open the gates of hell and release murderers and rapists onto the general population. Hey, even if one or two managed to escape, all points bulletins are issued and the news media have a field day until those inmates are captured. We fought a war following 9/11 and a lot of our soldiers died. I don’t care how many human rights organizations march, our government has no plans to open the doors of Guantanamo and let the terrorists out.
These are bad people and they belong in jail. On that we're all in agreement. However, I’m astounded that there seems to be a growing contingent of morons out there who are pressuring Israel to release between 3,000-5,000 terrorists that have murdered Jews.
Personally, I find it mind-boggling that Israel has already released over 350 of these terrorists. One has even been honored upon his return to the Palestinian Authority, gave his customary kisses to Arafat and then was appointed to the post of an advisor. This man, incidentally, planned and carried out an attack against a school bus which was loaded with children. The parents of one family, where three of their children lost limbs as a result of a deadly explosion, are still in mourning. And Israel opens the jailhouse doors? Am I the only one who sees insanity in this?
What happens to the leaders of Israel once they get elected? And I don’t just mean Ariel Sharon. He possibly has been the biggest disappointment but pretty much the past four--Peres, Rabin, Netanyahu, and Barak have given carte blanche to the wishes of everyone but their constituents. Who would have believed that these men, either because of weakness or corruption, would have sold the citizens of Israel down the Road to Hell?
Has anyone noticed that Abbas was not only the terrorist in training with Arafat , but Abbas was the same man who financed the cold-blooded Munich Olympic massacre. In addition, he's still making out those checks to the Palestinians and vowing that the Intifada must continue. What will he do with the released inmates? Hire them into his new police force as Arafat did in Oslo I? Will Peres send them the guns again? Is this where you want your tax dollars going? A billion more is waiting in the wings.
I am astounded that Sharon, of all people, is now catering to Mahmoud Abbas, also known as yadda yadda, yadda, who believes that both the Holocaust and the Temple are a myth . Despite all this, Bush , Powell and Rice see nothing wrong with the mass release of criminals who have not suddenly been transformed into choir boys. Oh, and let's not forget the negotiations that Israel is obliged to engage in with terror organizations to get their executioners back on the streets. Disgusting.
Our President, as a former Governor of Texas, is not known for pardoning convicted murderers or releasing known convicted criminals. His state has and probably still does have the largest mortality rate for criminals on Death Row. As Governor , Bush was not famous for complying with wishes from state authorities for the wholesale release of "prisoners", otherwise known as inmates. So why is he so accommodating when it comes to demands that Israel be victimized in this manner? Back when he was Governor , Bush wasn't a good bet to be offering "goodwill gestures" for any kind of Texas "peace process".
It should be obvious that once a nation releases on a grand scale its incarcerated murderers, and all those who are hell bent on their destruction ...this is asking for trouble ! It’s outrageous that our country is demanding, and Israel is acceding to, letting out the most hardcore elements who have killed before and who are preconditioned to kill again. Israel might as well issue a press release informing the enemy that it's "open season" on the killing of Israelis.
Relying upon the so-called "hudna", or temporary cease-fire, for protection is like relying upon the discredited Oslo Accords for the same purpose. Why would any country in its right mind willingly agree to such a prisoner release? It is no answer to say that pressure was brought to bear on the Sharon government. That factor cannot be allowed to result in an appreciable diminution of Israeli security. The United States might be the world's only superpower but, in the case of Israel, who can respect any country that so slavishly acts like it was a vassal state?
It's ironic how when we pre-empt and destroy the enemy, as we recently did with Saddam's evil sons, it's great! It's morale boosting! Hey, George Bush even gets on television and gives a press conference praising the action and calling them murderers and terrorists who will never be able to do that again. Terrific . I totally agree.
Yet, had it been an Israeli operation, the evildoers would have been described as "activists" who Israel was attacking in violation of the sacred Road Map. I have a difficult time swallowing the double standard .
A recent poll , conducted by the Neil Newhouse Public Opinion Strategies, found that 83% of Americans said Israel should not release any Palestinian prisoners who have been involved in the killing of Israeli citizens . And just 15% said they have faith in the hudna, compared to the 78% who said the hudna isn't enough to secure peace. Oh yes, and a McLaughlin poll found that 71% of Americans oppose creating a Palestinian Arab state, only 13% favor it. Hardly anybody agreed to the wanton opening of jails either.
Frankly, though, in a way I think that those who advocate the massive prisoner release have a marvelous idea. The more I think about it, opening up the prisons is looking pretty good to me. But with this catch: let's open the prisons AND the borders and send them out to their twenty-two brother nations. A massive move-out might just be the solution and if they are going, let them go as far away as possible! When a people have only one thought for my people and that thought is reflected in the word death, Transfer is the only solution. Before getting any more politically incorrect, however, I think I'll tackle that topic in another column.
posted by JR
12:09 AM
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