The Emperor's New Clothes (pt. 1)

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:20:33 +0000

What exactly is it that causes sane people to commit acts they know could lead to disaster? Does something internal cause them to make poor judgment calls? Do they listen to the advice of those without good advice to give? Do emotions cause them to make regretful decisions?

   Recent events in the news might cause some to wonder about this. Take Iraq for example. We no longer believe Saddam Husein had WMD. Those we look to for truth exaggerated, distorted and lied about the threat posed to our nation. We blindly went to war most of us having the faith we were doing what was right and just.

   We knew in our hearts our leaders wouldn't lie about matters of life and death and a fight they said was for our very civilization. We believed any dirt our government might have been doing was okay and was keeping us safe from the foreign menace. What else would we be throwing tax payer dollars into by the truckload except what was truly in the interest of the American people? We maintained the faith our public officials would never dupe those who pay their salaries in such a way.

So we went to war. Some of the most peace loving Americans decided Iraq was for the good of our nation. Through this war we hoped to stave off every bit of the new evil aimed at our soil. We faced an unknown enemy and trusted those in a position of authority to tell us what we needed to know to be safe. The only sure thing was the enemy could appear anywhere, could be anyone and could come at any time.

   We allowed ourselves to be bullied into cooperation and driven towards panic. At such moments self preservation often becomes our foremost thought and being alone means public sentiment could turn on you. We were sold the line of thinking that led us to such a place by those we trusted to tell the truth and ended up buying a lie.

   We now know it was b.s. There was no threat to our nation from Iraq. What we don't have now is who knew it, who didn't and who should have known better. The whole world is watching and as a member of the American public it's at times a little embarrassing the way we were tricked. One can only imagine what will come out of the closet next.

   No one is perfect but people we trust with tax dollars should be responsible and beholden to the laws of our country and states. When a crime is committed on the taxpayer's dime those responsible should be held accountable. People went ahead with evidence they knew was false, they falsified themselves and suspected was false. The public has a right to know their identities.

   I watched innocent people being duped by public officials while I was a student at the University of Connecticut's Landscape Architecture Department. People in positions of power put aside what was best for their students to recklessly pursue their own ambitions. It caused havoc, lawlessness and fear. It broke the stability and peace those authority figures were entrusted to uphold. Much of this was under the pretext of selling 9/11 as the best reason one had to be scared. Furthermore the tragedy of 9/11 was sold to young students as the perfect excuse to commit crimes that would go unpunished.

   The ensuing internal investigation dismissed the claims and tried to sweep the crimes under the rug. The perpetrators of the crimes are still employed in the same positions with nothing to stop them from future criminal acts. But just like the war in Iraq the search for justice continues, and just like the truth about the war in Iraq there's more information to come. Public officials must realize there is no real cloak to keep people from seeing the crimes they commit and spin simply postpones the inevitable. That cold breeze they're feeling is the truth trying to help them understand the reality of what they face in the years to come. Whether in a court of law or the court of public opinion they will be left standing with their pants down and they'll discover this when the only thing left to wonder is why they ever committed those acts in the first place. I hope I don't sound too harsh, but oh well do the crime and do the time.

To read more about my experiences at the University of Connecticut go to www.lawsuitagainstuconn.com.

“Australians no longer need to hide their racism”

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:58:49 +0000

Goodooga, northwest NSW, 8 January 2010 -- An Aboriginal activist, who was once engaged by the Australian government as a consultant on special race relations matters, says Australians are so racist that they cannot recognise it anymore because racism is so pronounced and active here.

“Australians no longer have to be covert about racism, they show it publicly,” Michael Anderson, leader of the 3,000 Euahlayi of northwest NSW, writes in response to the recent murder of an Indian student in Melbourne.

“Have a listen to Australian talk back radio programs, they appear to have an unlimited right to racially condemn people,” he writes.

The first Aboriginal public prosecutor in the district court of NSW in the field of criminal law, Mr Anderson says for the Victorian police to say that this is just another crime by ordinary criminals, shows their naivety in such matters as race relations.

“It is absolute cowardice on the part of the Rudd Labor government and their Liberal coalition Opposition to deny that the recent killing of an Indian student in Melbourne was racially motivated.

“The audacity of the government and police to say that the student should not have carried a lap top computer while walking to work after dark is absurd and pathetic.”

Mr Anderson, who lectured Aboriginal studies and politics at several Australian Universities, charges that Australians have always encouraged race supremacists to settle in Australia.

“Just look at the ‘chicken run’ from South Africa when the white race supremacists chose not to live under black rule. They were encouraged to come and live in Australia. It is not surprising that where they settled Aboriginal people have suffered increased racial abuse and physical attacks; just take Townsville as an example.”

He cites as another example of racism the Moree Plains Shire voting down Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s apology, saying in a resolution that they did not support it and that there was no need to support it.

Nearby in the general area, Mr Anderson now runs a sheep and cattle property on his traditional ancestral land in the lower Ballone river system on both sides of the New South Wales and Queensland borders.

The last survivor of the four young Black Power activists who set up the Aboriginal embassy in Canberra in 1972 cites other examples of racism:

· “You only have to listen to white Australians who after getting out of a taxi racially condemn the black and/or Asian drivers.”

· “How many white police or correctional institutional staff have been prosecuted for killing Aborigines in custody? How many more Aboriginal deaths in custody have occurred in prisons around the country since the Royal Commission Report?”

· “Governments can get away with passing discriminatory laws because the Australian public chooses not to want to know about it. This is what makes this country a dangerous place when it comes to racism.”

Mr Anderson implores the Indian government to demand that the Australian government take a more pro-active initiative on racism and to pass much stronger anti-racism laws.

“In particular this is a case where the media must be reined in and boundaries must be set. If Germany can set in place strong anti-racist laws which include how the media deal with such things, then so too can Australia.”

Michael Anderson can be contacted at 02 68296355 landline, 04272 92 492 mobile, 02 68296375 fax, ngurampaa@bigpond.com.au

Mr Anderson’s release in full:

It is absolute cowardice on the part of the Rudd Labor government and their Liberal coalition Opposition to deny that the recent killing of an Indian student in Melbourne was racially motivated.

The audacity of the government and police to say that the student should not have carried a lap top computer while walking to work after dark is absurd and pathetic.

For the Victorian police to say that this is just another crime by ordinary criminals is to show their naivety in such matters as race relations.

Australia is so racist that they cannot recognise it anymore because racism is so pronounced and active here. Australians no longer have to be covert about racism, they show it publicly. Take the Moree Plains shire, who two years ago voted down Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s apology; in a resolution the shire said they do not support it and that there was no need to support it.

Have a listen to the Australian talk back radio programs in this country, they appear to have an unlimited right to racially condemn people. Listening to these programs will give you a very good insight into the Australian mentality towards people of colour and racial origins.

Let us tell it as it is. Australians have always encouraged race supremacists to come and live in Australia. Just look at the ‘chicken run’ from South Africa when the white race supremacists chose not to live under black rule. They were encouraged to come and live in Australia. It is not surprising that where they settled Aboriginal people have suffered increased racial abuse and physical attacks; just take Townsville as an example.

In NSW and Western Australia police have waged a war on our youth, stopping them every time they walk in the streets in small groups, in some cases confiscating their personal property if they cannot show receipts.

You only have to listen to white Australians who after getting out of a taxi racially condemn the black and/or Asian drivers.

How many white police or correctional institutional staff have been prosecuted for killing Aborigines in custody? Consequently how many more Aboriginal deaths in custody have occurred in prisons around the country since the Royal Commission Report?

This is the only country in the world that has a Human Rights Commission but has the constitutional power to suspend it when they seek to pass special laws against any race it deems necessary. Thereby permitting themselves to pass discriminatory laws. And they can get away with it because the Australian public chooses not to want to know about it. This is what makes this country a dangerous place when it comes to racism.

Wake up Australia, you are a racist country and you don’t have to go far to find this out, listen to those you call friends when they talk of other races who come to live in Australia.

Australians demand that the new comers should give up their cultural identity, including their languages, to ASSIMILATE. We Aborigines can tell you a lot about this. This is RACISM, this is not patriotic Australianism.

I implore the Indian government to demand that the Australian government take more pro-active initiative on racism and to pass much stronger anti-racism laws. In particular this is a case where the media must be reined in and boundaries must be set. If Germany can set in place strong anti-racist laws which includes how the media deals with such things, then so too can Australia.

Indymedia Estrecho / Madiaq - Racism

The Emperor's New Clothes (pt. 1)

“Australians no longer need to hide their racism”