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Reality TV wagging the dogMargo: Richard Tonkin is our investigative writer. His archive is here. His Webdiary history began with my experimental offshoot Your Democracy, managed by my brother Hamish Alcorn after I took redundancy and went onto contract in September 2004. Richard has been a stalwart ever since. His first piece for Webdiary was Halliburton down under: Taking over South Australia by stealth. Richard is also a Webdiary comments editor. This introduction to a Voice of America story exemplifies my worries that Dr Haneef has been used in Australian media to portray the possibility that a person similar to him could attempt to assassinate the likes of US President Bush and Russian President Putin when they come to Sydney in September. The trouble is that if there is no "Australian connection" to the "terror scares" in Glasgow and London then the story being used to provide public support for the incredible amount of security that Sydney is about to endure will have much less credibility with the public. The intense APEC security is more likely to be regarded with suspicion. If there is truly a fear of attack then why is the Australian federal government not changing our terrorism alert status? Might the public have negative feelings to PM Howard if they perceive that his organising the visit of an unpopular "War President" has created a dangerous perhaps deadly environment for the people of Sydney? Bush will arrive here only several days before the sixth anniversary of the September 11 2001 terrorism attacks. Just as the date arrives US residents will be watching the President roaming abroad to help solve the problems of the world while a protective Australia makes sure his enemies can't harm him. Will the vision of such activity be enough to boost Bush's sagging polls and give him enough popularity to be able to justify invading Iran? Does this line of thinking bear any relevance to the desperate tactics that have been used to implicate Dr Haneef? Today's Australian reports that the Australian Federal Police have been discovered to have written implicating notes into Haneef's personal diary. Hedley Thomas and Andrew Fraser have discovered this in a transcript of Haneef's interrogation at Brisbane airport. [extract] Sergeant Simms states: "Now, as I was alluding to, or as I was going to show you, before ... police who have been looking through your diary have found some handwritten notes in the back of your diary. And one of these handwritten notes is details for Kafeel Ahmed. Telephone numbers and looks like an address. A couple of addresses. Now, that writing there, is that your writing?" When Dr Haneef again denies it is his writing, Sergeant Simms leaves the room. He returns and says: "Thought that might have been the case. In fact, it's not. This is what's been written by police. So it's not your handwriting at all." Have the AFP deliberately "planted" false evidence in order to justify Haneef's detection? Were they aware at that time that the SIM card was not in the burning jeep in Glasgow but inside a mobile phone in Liverpool? More important than those questions is this one: were the handwritten notes part of the information on which our immigration minister made the decision to deprive a man of his liberty virtually at the instant he was been set free by our legal system? I also wonder how such problems appear to the likes of the CIA and the FBI. In their eyes ASIO and the AFP must be beginning to look like colonial Keystone Cops. Can they trust our forces in a situation where the possibility of an attempted attack on the leader of the world's only current superpower is deathly high? If they can't get a simple propaganda job right, can they be trusted to make sure a "dirty bomb" isn't set off from a suitcase in the middle of Sydney? Surely you'd only be risking your integrity if you were prepared to let such a devastating thing happen. Bush would be evacuated with no harm, and a radioactive Sydney would be on American TV as a 9/11 anniversary reminder of the international urgency of continuing a proactive global War On Terror. Downtown USA might even support Iran attack, though perhaps more from fear of having what they're seeing on TV happen to them. I write these words only to raise the possibility of how such an unfolding timeline might one day need to be dissected in forums such as Webdiary, That is, unless such forums have been, by then, deemed to be inappropriate to Australia's national security interests and closed down. Stranger things have happened. In the meantime we're watching what is most likely to be an inept attempt at controlling a large population's sentiments. By the way, there's nothing that's been suggested in the Go-Bag that'll protect a Sydneysider from a dirty bomb. Bush would be safely back in Washington long before the residents of Rose Bay began reporting symptoms of radiation poisoning. The idea of creating fear of such an attack in order to win an election is not a new one. I first came across it ten years ago in the political comedy Wag The Dog. In that film the "producer" of a fake War On Terror made such a suggestion in order so save a President's dwindling pre-election poll figures. Nowadays the public, both US and Australian, are less likely to be watching films, more likely to be watching "Reality TV" While I've been writing these words this morning's Sydney Morning Herald has come out. Let's see how far the dog has been wagged now... But yesterday's report, in News Ltd newspapers, said that police found "images of a Gold Coast building" and its foundations in a raid on Haneef's apartment. The report said investigators were looking at documents referring to the "destruction of structures" and information that Haneef was one of a group of doctors who had been learning to fly in Queensland. In his statement, Mr Keelty denied the federal police were the source of the leak. Which brings me back to this synopsis of the movie's plot: To keep the media from learning of this, Presidential adviser Winifred Ames (Anne Heche) brings in political consultant and spin doctor Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro), a specialist in such salvage operations. Brean suggests fabricating denials of non-existent emergencies -- such as denials about the B-3 bomber. The denial, of course, is true, since no B-3 bomber exists. Brean visits the mansion of Hollywood producer Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman) and gives him the assignment to create a patriotic campaign centered around a war in Albania. Motss assembles a creative team -- Liz Butsky (Andrea Martin), the trend-setter Fad King (Denis Leary), and songwriter Johnny Green (Willie Nelson). Treated like an ad campaign, the songs and symbols are transmitted directly from a Hollywood soundstage to CNN. It's time we had some new scriptwriters, don't you think? But don't worry too much about the dirty bomb possibility. Here's what AP's Ben Stein wrote about it in 2002: [extract] The latest post-9/11 disaster scenario making news headlines is the "dirty bomb." The theoretical situation occurs when terrorists get hold of radioactive material from a hospital or food-irradiation plant, attach it to an explosive, and detonate the bomb in an urban area. The explosion spreads the radioactive material all over a city and exposes the population to radiation. Yet according to a health physicist, the biggest health risk from a dirty bomb would not, reassuringly, be cancer, but something more preventable: panic. Faulty assumption? There's a lot of it going round....
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Dirty Bomb Research Centre For Adelaide
The Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) is researching the use of a novel technique to deal with the after-effects of incidents involving a dirty bomb
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Mr Peter Lindsay, said the technique known as ‘luminescence’ would measure levels of radiation resulting from an explosion, so that appropriate treatment could be rendered to people affected by the incident.
A dirty bomb is an explosive device containing radioactive material which disperses radiation on detonation. Its primary aim is to deliberately spread radioactive contamination, unlike an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) which is designed to cause damage through a blast effect.
“DSTO is proactively developing ways of measuring radiation exposure because the amount of radiation will determine the type of treatment to be applied,” Mr Lindsay said. “Getting an accurate reading of the radiation dose will directly help the recovery effort.”
The method DSTO is developing is known as recombination luminescence which can measure the dose of radiation in common building materials affected by radioactive contamination.
DSTO scientist Dr Barnaby Smith said recombination luminescence measures electrons trapped in the crystal structure of building materials where they have been forced by exposure to radiation. “The number trapped is proportional to the radiation dose,” he said.
“Generally, the risk to health from radiation exposure is less than the public perception and lower than the risk of injuries from the blast,” Dr Smith said. “However, during an incident, public panic could exacerbate the crisis and even result in further casualties.”
He said dirty bombs were rightly referred to as weapons of ‘mass disruption’ rather than ‘mass destruction’.
Mr Lindsay said while no known incidents of dirty bomb explosions had occurred overseas, Australia could not afford to take any chances. “Our defence scientists are working actively to ensure that we are suitably prepared to minimise the effects of such incidents.”
“DSTO and the University of Adelaide are working towards establishing a Centre of Expertise in Luminescence that will enhance national security capabilities in this area,” Mr Lindsay said.
Haneef and Andrews
SMH covers it here.
You know, I don't have a problem with the Minister being able to cancel somebody's visa if they're of bad character. But to be able to cancel a visa because sombebody has an association, which can be no more than a blood relationship, with someone believed to be involved in criminal activities, is just not cricket.
Andrews seems to have used his Ministerial power simply to trump the courts, and it rebounded. Serves him right, I say.
Australia as a fascist society
It just came over the radio.. The Federal court judge said that Kevin Andrews made a "jurisdictional error" in cancellling Haneef's visa.
Would that normally happen in a 'fascist' society, Richard? Judges overturning decisions of the political leadership?
Haneef Beats Andrews In Court
It just came over the radio.. The Federal court judge said that Kevin Andrews made a "jurisdictional error" in cancellling Haneef's visa.
Andrews had indicated that he'd appeal if the case went the wrong way. Let's see what he has to say today.
John Pratt, I'm wondering if it's one of those new water cannon that can electrifiy its water, thus firing a "liquid taser." That would give the protesters quite a shock, pardon the pun.
What a mess. No terrorist example, just fences, snipers and water cannon.
An earlier water cannon report
[ABC Radio, August 20 2001]
The gear was nicely packed away before the city based media arrived. Nance won a Walkely for the report and is now ABC Radio's Adelaide current affairs reporter.
There may be quite a bit to report in Sydney over the next few weeks, I reckon
Water cannon won't stop protests
So this is where the champion of democracy has taken us. Forget the thousands of Australians, who marched in a vain attempt to stop the Iraq war. Anyone who wants to protest will be washed away. Why is the War criminal, being invited to our county in the first place? Couldn't they hold their talk fest on a desert island somewhere? How much is this going to cost the Australian Economy? Imagine the howl if unions threatened to close Sydney for a day.
New Sydney Water Cannon For APEC Protesters
Talk about a red rag to a bull.
[extract]
George's aqueous fantasies
Don't be silly, you can't use this water cannon – Sydney is still on water restrictions.
Hasn't just about everyone said that so far? :)
Maybe I'll get my car in now for a wash in the CBD.
The whole thing is sick. How many police officers could we have for the cost and maintenance of a "water cannon"? And what kind of sicko sadistic will volunteer for that job, eh? The usual guys who give the force a bad name?
I still think Canberra was the correct choice. No real productive business there to interrupt and no loss if the whole real-estate there was radioactive. And no casualties as everyone would happily leave for the public holiday. Might finally make Queanbeyan a real place. Whereas … lose Sydney?
A bent coat hanger? A set of torn New Wonder sails? A square circular quay changing shape? A Latte set becoming Frothy?
One thing that is rather foolish is not to call for blood donations ahead of time as most explosions result in huge burns and huge need for plasma. We already have heard from the Sydney Hospital director that there is no way they could cope with the casualties from any attack. I hope nothing happens as have just been roped in to be there for one of the days with a friend. Damn.
By the way, did they find all those missing rocket launches that the rogue ADF sold to "organised crime"?
That should break up riotous behaviour.
Cheers
PS: I wonder how Mr Bush copes with being so universally disliked by all normal caring rational humans. Probably just washes such worries away. And fantasises about water cannon.
Shutting the stable door
I don't know where this comes from:
[extract]
Press Trust of India
Melbourne, Aug. 17: Australian Federal Police (AFP) is trying to suppress transcript of their second interview with Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef, held in connection with failed car-bombing of Glasgow Airport, though immigration minister Mr Kevin Andrews already selectively quoted from it.
The AFP has provided Haneef’s lawyers with the transcript of the 12-hours they interrogated the Indian doctor before charging him on 14 July with providing resources to a terrorist organisation.
Bush to sign US-India Reactor Deal At APEC ?
It's the next logical step. It's amazing how quickly things have gone since, in an aside to conversations regarding Haneef, Downer told the Indian foreign minister that he might be able to organise a uranium deal. Now Howard has made an agreement subject to the finalisation of US-India arrangements.
If signed in Sydney it would be exemplary of the two non-Kyoto signatories making a "significant global contriburtion to climate change" or somesuch.
That would be a "good nuclear thing." I hope we don't see a "bad nuclear thing." Sure, the fence is apparently "bomb truck proof" as we're being told today, but nobody has yet talked about detecting something the size of a suitcase.
The "bad nuclear thing" could be the kind of catalyst the US is waiting for.
Oh.. a thought on the India deal. Isn't it lucky that Howard's mates Walker, Morgan and De Crespigny want to build a General Electric enrichment facility? It might come in handy after all..
Apec closures, ID requirements announced
The eight year old kids in the choir need security checks? Lovely.
Just posted by SMH:
[extract]
I wonder what will happen if you can't produce ID, or on doing so are found to be on the "black watch list?" Imprisoned without bail till Bush leaves, I guess.
It must nearly be time for the radiological drill.
Meanwhile the NYPD have released a report on homegrown terrorists. New York Times report here.
Webdiarist "Policing The Police" at APEC
Webdiary contributor Dale Mills was on the tellly on Tuesday night:
[ABC extract]
The ABC, being fair and balanced, went to the relevant NSW ministers and authorities for comment on APEC policing powers. None gave any.
When I was asking if my name would be checked on the list, I didn't expect there'd be an announcement of one:
[Herald-Sun, yesterday]
Melbourne and Sydney associates of Scott Parkin will be on it, for starters. Perhaps police, as a deterrance, could publish the list so everyone knows not to come?
A humble suggestion- Parkin supporters should take care not to end up as evidence against him when his trial resumes. It's almost to be expected, even if it takes a set-up. The arrest of "Parkin trained activists" would mean that ASIO and the AFP will have "got it right" in this case, and the backwash could publicly vindicate the shambolic saga of Dr Haneef. If that happens before the election, it will make a difference on how "the public" (as Downer has taken to calling us so often this week) perceives it's Government's manipulation of security fears for political success.
APEC Photo-op- Ins and Outs
Howard can't be happy that Bush has buggered up the prestigious world leader's photo to rush home to his spotlight. The swansong won't sound the same.
Interestingly the Sultan of Brunei seems to be sending a message. He's found a diplomatically legitimate reason not to attend, and it sounds like he might use it. Either that or he just wants his dinner setting moved further away from Downer.
Global Army Chiefs In Sydney Last Week- Why?
What was the message being sent by this action? Nineteen military leaders in a Sydney pub? It certainly dismisses the notion that APEC wasn't held in Canberra because of the lack of five star hotels.
Great advertising.
Google Denies Sydney Map Censorship
This could be entirely coincidental, but worth noting nonetheless.
The Age is reporting today that where once you could see the details of the clothing of people walking around the Opera House, now such detailed close observation is imposssible. The maps for areas of Sydney outside of Sydney's CBD are as sharp as ever.
Google denies they've been censored, claiming that the maps were changed due to problem with a siupplier.
An SMH piece in January (which uses the same phot of the Opera House as the new Age one) explained how a three-seater plan had been given permission to fly low over Sydney on Australia Day to take high-resolution photos.
[extract]
I'd be more convinced with today's explanation of Google told us what happened to the photos they took, and who were the suppliers of the removed photos.
"Denial" of new Manhattan Dirty Bomb Scare
This reeks of dog-wag. It's unverified and the radiological detection equipment being deployed is only a precaution. New Yorkers will be more acutely aware of the "dirty bomb" concept. The story is running globally, including "our ABC" this afternoon..
[extract]
I think the Aussie attack possibility probabilities just took another turn for the worse. One thing for sure, Howard has every excuse now to elevate Sydney's terror status for the APEC lockdown. Let's see...
Simulataneous Tri-City Al Qaeda Attack?
Mr Howard was saying on the radio this morning that, apart from rushing home to get ready for the Petraeus report on Iraq being handed to Congress, Dubya also had to get ready for September 11 commemorations.
How lame. Surely the 911 media ops would have been worked out ages ago. The fact that Howard has bothered to use this as an excuse is concerning. It's not the best reasoning for placing the Sydney CBD under virtual martial law several days ahead of schedule. Instead of merely on a planned long weekend, the city will be clogged during a working week because Dubya hadn't worked out what he was doing on his own "one day in September?" There has to be more to it.
Never mind the fact that city traffic movements would've been considerably minimised during a Bush weekend visit. The chances of a terrorist travelling concealed amongst commuting Sydneysiders have increased significantly.
I've just come across this piece from The Australian last year:
[extract]
A "less than 10%" likelihood was before "simultaneous attacks" on London and Glasgow, and a cousin of the perpetrators turning up in Queensland. You'd reckon that at that time the odds were perceived as much higher.
If there is or was such a fear amongst intelligence communities, then no wonder ASIO is annoyed at the Liberals’ political meddling in the situation.
What is Australia's true terror level for the next few weeks? Surely it should be raised at this point in time? Or would this be considered by Howard as politically damaging?
I just hope that what Mr Howard is telling us this morning is not that Bush is rushing home to tell the US media what he just saw happen to Australia.
Nothing conspicuous at all
Nothing conspicuous at all, Eliot. Not just in my mind either. Since you seem to choose to ignore it, here's that Voice Of America quote again:
The link is at the top of the piece, and not in my mind. If you can't see a correlation, and can't comment further, that's okay. I understand. Until you can muster an opinion of your own we should leave our debate there, in order to save you further self-embarrassment.
Sorry, I just realised the posting time of your last comment. See you on Monday.
Critique of Pure Reason
Mary j Shepherd said:
Yes. Imagine stealing from the Iraqis and calling it aid. But it's odd how selective you are about that sort of thing, Mary J.
One rule for the AWB. Another for member for Bethnall Green.
Adding insult to the Iraqi injury
http://www.aidwatch.org.au/assets/aw01091/Determining%20their%20national%20interests%20-%20Final.pdf
This report would tend to show why no-one from AWB has been charged and won't be. Australia is still stealing from the Iraqis and calling it aid.
It's disgraceful.
Why ASIO are annoyed: quotes from The Bulletin
From the Bulletin's "secret sources:"
[extracts]
"There was no security reason for the government, for Andrews to revoke his visa . . . so they revoked it on character grounds,"
"If he was deemed to be a security threat then (Attorney General Philip) Ruddock not Andrews would have been (publicly) prosecuting the case against Dr Haneef. Instead we see it became an immigration rather than a security matter."
"For a security dossier to have any weight it should have some basis in Humint (human intelligence) and Sigint (signals intelligence or electronic eavesdropping). This so-called dossier is based on circular intelligence - that is, somebody says something critical of the suspect which is not verified, but the next analyst bases their assessment on that information,"
"This so-called dossier on Haneef is based on nothing but what we call Rumint ("intelligence" based on rumor) and Gossint ("intelligence" based on gossip). It would not stand up in any genuine court of law."
Still wating, Eliot
Well, actually, they tortured and burned witches.
I wasn't aware that once the Spanish Inquisition was finished dealing with a witch, the witch was given a first-class airline ticket home to be re-united with his or her family?
Also, if you are concerned that the taint of terrorism will follow Dr Haneef for the rest of his life, shouldn't you be addressing those concerns to his family members who are engaged in terrorism?
After all, they're the ones who tried to stitch him up as a patsy.
Dr Haneef was exonerated of terrorism here, and was welcomed home as some kind of hero. Some 'taint'.
So, clearly, your analogy is forced and ill-founded. Perhaps you should show it to Dateline? They'd probably use it as their lead story.
Also, Joe McCarthy's central allegation was, of course, that during the 1950s Communists were actively trying to infiltrate important western cultural, political and military institutions with a view to subverting them on behalf of foreign interests, notably the Soviet Union.
And they were.
For example, Alger Hiss and Klaus Fuchs, both of whom at the time were widely proclaimed 'innocent' by their left wing sympathisers and various other assorted chumps and dupes in the west.
Clarification for Eliot
Eliot, one day, in an ideal world, you might actually respond to an email in good faith. But of course you're not interested in real debate, I know.
The 'forced and ill-founded' analogy was the Sydney Morning Herald's, not mine, and it referred generally to the 'war on terror' rather than specific details of how Haneef got back to India. Analogy - n. agreement, similarity. Look it up, Eliot, if you need to.
Certainly the tactic of extracting confessions under torture is something the witch hunts and America's war on terror have in common (and which you seem to be an apologist for). The general hysteria applied to both.
The taint of terrorism I referred to was specifically in relation to Haneef's options for travel and work. Do you really think it's likely, Eliot, that Haneef is likely to be let into Australia or the US any time soon? (And yes, I do realise that's different from being burnt at the stake.)
And I see you've become an apologist for McCarthyism, too? Good for you!
Burning Times
A song by Charlie Murphy that bears relevance:
"Those who don't know the past... "The new witch hunts
It’s not a novel idea, but the SMH today draws parallels between the 17th Century Salem witch trials, the McCarthy era of the 1950s, and the current ‘war on terrorism. Some quotes:
Meanwhile, the storm of lies, innuendo and speculation continues on Haneef. The burden of proof seems to have shrunk to Andrews’ ‘reasonable suspicion’.
Speaking of which, I notice India denies all knowledge of even preparing a dossier on Haneef.
I wonder how ‘lucky’ Haneef really is (Eliot’s words), given that the taint of terrorism will probably follow him for the rest of his life. At the very least his travel and work options are now probably severely limited, despite that lack of a single piece of evidence implicating him in the UK bomb plot or any other terrorist activity.
Oh, well. Better safe than sorry, right?
In related news, Justice Kirby lashes the High Court's decision to overturns the appeal against ‘Jihad’ Jack’s (he’s gotta change that name) control order.
Kirby drew a comparison with the High Court’s 1950s decision not to allow the banning of the Communist Party.
To get in ahead of everyone else: Kirby would say that, wouldn’t he?
Thank God SOMEBODY’S saying it.
Proof of UK incident tied to APEC?
Read the piece above the comments, Eliot, if you haven't already. According to Voice Of America, the two were tied together since the saga began. All the law-toughening talk since has been related to Haneef. It stands to reason that Haneef has been used as a device to give the AFP powers that even ASIO don't want them to have.
I'm lucky that you weren't around the place when I was questioning Aid spending. The story's just broken on misspending for wheat contracts. I'm off to Aid Watch for a look.
Unlike you, I don't just do this sort Monday to Friday 9 to 5. I probably should be as detached as you appear to be. Let's just say that my instincts tell me that Haneef is the tail that is being used to wag the dog of increased counterterrorism methods.
If you have time before you disappear for the weekend, could you please answer my question to you, instead of responding with a counter-question. Do you think Haneef and APEC security are related?
Well that's what you get for watching 'Dateline'
He was obviously lying about his reasons for leaving the country and lying about being ignorant of his cousin's Islamist political activities.
He was also aware that, as his Aunty described it, his SIM card was being employed in some kind of 'project' by his cousin Kafeel. That's beyond dispute now.
He also lied about his being prepared to 'dob in his cousin if he was a terrorist'. He knew before he left Australia.
So, perhaps he should stay in India, because given all that he's not going to be very welcome at the Immigration Reception Centre of too many of the world's airports for quite some time.
Why do people feel they have to defend such behaviour? I'm not saying we should arrest him or anything. But why invite him here?
Richard Tonkin asks:
Well, unless you can show a link between the failed bombings in London and the Glasgow airport attack, on the one hand, with some program devised to "circumvent civil liberties" prior to the APEC summit, on the other hand, no there's not connection at all.
Do you have any evidence in support of such a claim, Richard?
Richard Tonkin says:
The highest professional standards at 'Dateline'. Not like those Murdoch tabloids who exposed the AFP record of interview with Dr Haneef.
Hang on? His lawyer leaked the the AFP record of interview, didn't he?
SBS Dossier Compiled From Google News, Says Reporter
A Bangalore police officer has given SBS a file on Haneef. Bangalore police are, according to their assistant commissioner, not keeping a file on Haneef. If so, who gave the police officer the file to pass on?
Dateline's David O'Shea appears to be choosing his words carefully, suggesting that the document could have been partially compiled by someone with access to Google News.
Bangalore's deputy commission Hosar has said (of the files coming from his department) that ""That is all incorrect and false. I don't know where they got this information from or who they're quoting."
O'Shea couldn't question the officer who gave him the documents due to "logistical difficulties."
(Sourced from Hedley Thomas' piece on The Australian's website,via Google News)
I wasn't pretending, Eliot, were you?
The Al Qaeda claim was bogus, the dodgy dossier was bogus, the SIM card story was bogus, the baby's age was bogus.
Eliot, what do you believe Haneef to be guilty of, and why? Spit it out, man!
I notice you're still apparently not interested in any connections between this case and the forthcoming APEC summt, so I'll ask the precise question.
Do you believe that the Haneef case has been used as a device to circumvent civil liberties outrcries during the introduction of counterterrorism measures for the conference?
Haneef lawyers don't want inquiry before election. Doh!
Mary j Shepherd says:
You are wrong again, Mary J. Because this is Dr Haneef's timeline:
So, in fact while it took him a week to decide to visit his 'sick' wife, it took less than a day for him to split the scene after his cousin tried to blow up Glasgow airport.
Richard Tonkin says:
Yep. Given Dateline's track record, only a fool would listen to anything they said. We should have listened to Mick Keelty, instead.
Richard Tonkin says:
And it was clever of you to pretend that Haneef was innocent, too.
Mind you, I still believe Dr Haneef is innocent. But it's clear he wasn't being exactly honest with us about what he knew and his reasons for going back to India.
If you lie about so much as carrying bananas into Mascot Airport, you can get kicked out. There's no reason to make special favours for Dr Haneef of all people, let alone "compensate" him with a new flat!!
Richard Tonkin says:
Yes, he was.
Now, this is interesting:
Yeah. The last thing they want are any more surprises, I bet.
I call it doing a Bakhtiyari
That story started out with Ruddock refusing to allow a woman and 5 young kids out of Woomera when their dad was living in Sydney and they hadn't bothered to tell her. Then her brother jumped off the fence and was nearly killed - the wounds are horrendous - then at Easter the boys were seen screaming at the fence and became human beings.
A campaign started to have them released to their dad but Ruddock said no in case the other 50 wives and kids wanted to be with their husbands and fathers too. 49 were in the end.
Then they were taken from Woomera in the middle of the night, taken to Melbourne, then taken to the British embassy at the ages of 12 and 13, kicked out by the poms and arrested by 32 federal cops and taken back to jail.
The court released them so Ruddock appealed to keep them locked up. He said "they are from Pakistan" nudge, nudge, wink, wink and the whispers and leaks started.
Ali the dad ended up being Asghar Ali, or Ali Bakhtiyari, or Haji Ali Asghar, or Haji Asqar - plumber/electrician/shop owner/gas fitter from Kuwait, Pakistan, Iran or Saudi Arabia and even Afghanistan.
He was born in 1957, 1959, 1961 or 1971. He was illiterate or matriculated at the age of 4 - anyway you get the drift.
This is the same thing - that dossier was made up here in Australia as I said as it has the hallmarks of the illiterates who made the false documents for the Bakhtiyari family and other Afghans they tried to turn into Pakistanis.
I wonder how much they have wasted on this? The hospital thing in Tassie will end up having the most expensive hospital beds in history anywhere in the world. The hospital only has 94 beds - that is $450,000 per bed if full or $800,000 per patient now for the 56 people actually in hospital.
Could have built 200 houses for aboriginal families, 10 clinics or 20 schools.
Police dossier not Indian-prepared: Commissioner
[Extract from The Hindu]
Mary J, take a bow. Now the question will be this: Who planted the dossier to give to Dateline? Everyone, at least those concerned with the story at this end, knew SBS was coming.
I smell Downer in this.
Eliot, you have claimed victory waaay too early. Peter Russo says the saga is beginning to resemble the plot of the movie Groundhog Day, and I know exactly what he means. Daily we have fresh unsubstantiated smears, daily we have people attempting to capitalise on them to tarnish Haneef's reputation. Daily each set of allegations is proved to be false. Then it all starts again.
How much fiction can this Government create? Hopefully they're going to learn their lesson for the ever-increasing loss of trust they're creating for themselves.
I'm not prepared to surrender my way of life to these fascists. Luckily, as Groundhog Day nears Election Day, I don't think I'll have to.
We owe Haneef plenty, Eliot
Even with the generous allowance for Andrews, as it appears he was totally wrong, we are still back at the start, Eliot. Andrews has kicked this man out of the country for no good reason. I was prepared to concede a little... obviously you are not. You want to keep dancing the same jig.
I must admit it was clever of you to pretend to believe that Haneef was innocent.
I am not surprised that you have avoided discussing APEC. Actually, I expected it. You seem to be quite enamoured with totalitarianesque security measures. Perhaps you are living in the wrong country. Perhaps I am.
Egg
Mary J says:
What's not true, Mary J? The chat room transcript where Dr Haneef and his brother cooked up an alibi for him? About Aunty tipping him off about the SIM card being part of his cousin's "project"?
The cock and bull story about having to go home because his wife was sick? The nonsense about how he would dob in his cousins if he only knew they were terrorists?
Or do you mean the lies about the AFP writing in his diary? The lies about them releasing his record of interview to the media?
Just which particular un-truth do you mean?
Richard Tonkin says:
Yes. He was. We owe Dr Haneef nothing. But you want to give him a nice new flat and invite the family out, too. Maybe his cousins could come, too.
Eliot if was not true
Eliot the information in the so-called dossier was from an interview Mark Davis did weeks ago on Dateline and then we had the interview with the British security people last week stating what that dossier says.
That is not a police dossier as it was sent from Australia with that old passport photo on it. A real photo could have been got from his wife.
You, Eliot, are the most breathtaking straw clutcher I have ever come across.
Desperate Innuendo
Eliot, thanks.. I missed a bit yesterday and had overlooked that part of David Curry's remarks. I didn't want to comment till I was sure. I think David's right, as is Mr Wright. If you're considering yourself to be implicated, the last thing you'd want do would be notify the authorities of your location. I think Haneef's deeds in this instance match his words.
To use this to implicate someone is not quite as bad as to imply admission of guilt over taking an exclusive interview instead of giving a press conference. It's pretty close, though.
Haneef's visa? Andrews has stated over and over that his job was to determine suspicion of assocation. At the time, yes, all the circumstantials pointed to this, so I will concede that initially Andrews may have been correctly fulfilling his obligations as prescribed and predetermined by Immigration legislation. However, when those circumstantials became superfluous a rational man would have reversed his decision. Instead he demonstrated glinty-eyed political obsession. His boss Howard had probably decided that taking the logical path would be a poor show of strong leadership.
Yep, Eliot, I think we should give him his visa, a ticket back for his family, a nicer flat than the papparazzi broke into (if they were indeed papparazzi and not Liberal Party stooges), compensation and a public apology, all preferably accompanied by a handshake from John Howard.
Talking of desperate. Not to mention gullible.
Well, that's odd, because David Curry (below) along with the rest of knew all about the 'phone calls from the media, such as this 18 July Fox News item.
David says:
Another possibility is that Keelty and Andrews also knew about the chat room transcripts and selectively withheld those in order to make self appointed "commentators" and "experts" like Tony Wright look stupid. Seems to have worked.
So, tell me Richard. Dr Haneef? Should we renew his visa? Him being such a clean-living, harmless, helpful young chap and all?
Not till the fat lady sings
Eliot Ramsey, I don't believe "it's a catastrophe all round." It is however, becoming a catastrophe for our authorities as they desperately clutch at making media mileage out anything not yet ruled out. Does anyone truly believe that the Indian Al Qaeda slur constituted anything more than a hypothetical line of inquiry. If Commission Keelty hadn't heard of it before, I doubt it 's to be taken seriously. Yet Keelty seems happy to not rule it out. Good press, especially a day after he garbled the SIM card angle yet again.
I can't find online Tony Wright's piece from the Age yesterday. Apparently (I've only read on blogs) it claims that Keelty and Andrews have selectively witheld the information that Haneef had engaged in a number of phone conversations with UK police before his attempted departure. Have you come across any of this?
Oh Mindy - not changed enough
Miranda. Take her or leave her. I like Mohammed Haneef precisely because he is not Mother Theresa - certainly Kevin Andrews is not Mother Theresa either. I think Haneef is a particularly shrewd and perceptive young man. I think perhaps he may have half-understood both the potential for (and horror) of terrorists in his own family and the hyper-suspiciousness with which he would be met by Australian authorities.
I think the man is genuinely against terrorism. I am doubtful that Islam is all about peace and love (striking off the heads of infidels might be necessary from time to time, but it is not particularly loving) but nevertheless I have seen nothing here that points to any support for terrorism. What we see is a man that has tried to protect himself, shrewdly and effectively. Top marks to him for that.
We should make use of him, not persecute him. I would have offered him a job as an ASIO agent. Devine is right about the unpredictability of terror suspects, which is why we ought make use of our best and brightest. Crime and punishment is over, in regards to terrorism. We need to start thinking laterally about it, and start trying to reason with people, convert them, use them and reward their commitment to peace and love, whatever their associations.
A very useful asset
It's a catastrophe all 'round. If he isn't kosher (or halal), and I've long had a niggling bad feeling about it, how come our own immigration people didn't know about this?
I mean, the UK and India are still in the bloody Commonwealth, aren't they?
I still am sure Dr Haneef had no direct role in the attacks in London, but only Alice in Wonderland now would think he had no inkling what was going on or otherwise wouldn't represent a very useful asset to his cousins.
That SIM card isn't going away. And in hindsight, they had to be kidding he was only just going home to see his wife after the delivery of his baby daughter. I mean, he's a bloody doctor. If he didn't know she was having a difficult pregnancy, perhaps he should spend less time in chat rooms?
Even if the SIM card wasn't in the Jeep, it was being held on to for some reason.
It could be the Indian police dossier overstates his importance (probably does). But c'mon.......
Curried egg on face - the Italians have a special word for it
It's amazing, isn't it? No sooner had we all rolled out the 'context' and 'mistranslation' memes to rationalise the chat room transcript away, and some bloody Indian wolloper turns up at SBS's doorstep with yet another dossier on Dr Haneef.
I bet the Dateline team were absolutely torn with angst by that. On the one hand, here was a genuine scoop. On the other hand, it completely vindicated Kevin Andrews.
What to do?
I know. Pretend than an Indian police dossier on Dr Haneef would require some special additional "evidence" backing it up before Immigration officials should look askance at his visa renewal.
Yeah, sure.
If Dr Haneef was white trash from Alabama and an official FBI dossier turned up saying he had connections to the Una Bomber and the Klan, you'd all expect Kevin Anderson to just give him a visa anyway, would you?
Remember when I suggested there should be a word for people with an insatiable urge to repudiate themselves in favour of exotic strangers? I suggested 'xenophilia'.
It turns out that Italians actually have such a word. It's 'esterofila'.
NUMBANADA RILES THE WAIVES
ERII It turns out that Italians actually have such a word. It's 'esterofila'.
And I bet they swung it out on the davits when they struck their new little Aussie Ambassadoria in an island in the yellow Tiber the other day. Good on Numbanda for sheer grit and I-couldn't-give-a-f*ck front, by the way. But she's not without here past and it's sins.
And we need a proper ambassador at this capital. Italy is a big Califoniaesque economy and a big power. And our links are formidable.
I bet most of ERII's great-grandparents, like many of those of the rest of us, were post-Risorgimento gang labour, miners and fettlers, chopping cane or building and hewing throughout the new federation. Much harder workers than the whites.
Frère Jihad Jacques OAM née Woodforde SJ, il Monstro di Pastini
CURRYING FAVOUR WITH KLAN
MR JUSTICE ERII: On the other hand, it completely vindicated Kevin Andrews who must now be released from lethal injection and brought back to life with Dr Abbott's miracle Health snake oil drugs. Only £1/10/6d in a green bottle.
Vindicated? Oh yea, the poor bastard needs a touch of that, ERII. That, and electro-convulsive therapy. A good jolt of Old Smokey. Even opposition to the death penalty must have its exceptions .... Andrews, Howard, Bishop I, Bishop II, Dame Brendoan Maelstrom, Downer ... herd 'em all into shallow graves and knock 'em down as if they were Muslim tourists or Catholics or thieving blacks or something.
Dr Frère Jihad Jacques OAM née Woodforde SJ, coming to a tent show near you with Hucklebery Finn, Mark Twain and Akka. Warts cured. Blind made to see. Whited sepulchres degreased. Mad made to speak in fifteen different Pentacostalist tongues, usually simultaneously. ERII does it, so can you!! Hallelujah!!
Be SAVED!! Pass the plate. Kirribili needs the widow's mite. He's hungry for baby barbeque. The NT has given him a taste for it. He likes to crunch on the little sparrow-like black bones. And the shopping channels love it too.
Not radicals at all
It is a file from MI5 that we know was discarded weeks ago - British intelligence people told us so. It is claimed that he was on the fringe of something but no-one says what.
The bottom line is if any of it was true he would have arrested in India.
England have never wanted him. India are not investigating him for anything and the rest is smoke, mirrors and stupid journalists who just don't get it yet.
Alexamder Downer Vs ASIO
[Advertiser website extract]
Suprisingly, Lord Alex seems to have made the spooks unhappy
[Advertiser extract]
The newspaper's editorial proclaims today that:
Party Lines
If I had broadband and a less dilapidated rig the dossier would be on file. As it was I saw his picture and the first few lines before a crash, and when I rebooted the bloody thing had been taken down.
What a mess... just heard a report, didn't hear from which paper, that MI5 have records of Haneef talking to Islamic radicals in UK medical chatrooms.
I was wondering when the spooks would be brought in.. had been surprised they'd been kept out so far, to be honest. Did MI5 pass on the information to ASIO and thus to Ruddock? I so his initial self-presentation as a sideline spectator would be questionable.
Jenny Hume, with all respect, and for you I have much, I really don't think it's fair to suggest that this topic is being debated purely along party lines. There's a lot at stake here. Much advantage-taking of increased security powers is happening in a country to which and in which there is no obvious terror threat, to fulfill (only in my opinion) the deemed security needs of the APEC summit. I believe that whether or not the UK incident occurred the implementation of these measures was already planned. This way minimises the hue and cry of civil liberties debates. Haneef was intended to be a "convenient truth." to use to get the job done.
I do not espouse such a point of view lightly, and certainly not along "party lines." Using the expression reminds me that it once referred to the single line country phone systems on which everybody could eavesdrop. Tonight I'm hearing of new "Sneak and Peek" laws. My, how times have changed.
Oh Richard
Oh Richard: That is nice of you and the feeling is mutual. I try not to be unfair, but you know there is not a lot of balance shown here on this issue and it does fall onto party lines whether we accept that or not. But that does not bother me all that much. The right wingers will be sitting on the opposite side of the fence and just as irrational and emotional as some here. I am a bit of fence sitter myself. Maybe I am just getting too old to get too worked about anything these days.
We are all victims of the times we live in. And we are probably not going to be able to do much about it.
Don't think I am not alarmed about the new laws, because I am. But every time some idiot does something like Glasgow and London any ground we might have had for opposing them is shot from under our feet. Yes times have indeed changed..
And I guess what worries me a bit about all the hoo ha over Haneef, is that if Haneef was found to be less than kosher in the end,it could in fact makes things worse, because the government of whatever colour will simply be more empowered, and the peoples' voice less so.
I really think the police should have been allowed to do their job without all the media and public interference. I in fact think that Haneef will end up being a much bigger loser now than he might have been as a result of that interference. But time will tell. (Margo: But Jenny, the police did aggressive leaking to start the ball rolling!)
Now I am out of here for a week of so. Cheers mate, we will make peace and music sometime. Hoped to be down for a new baby soon, but am sorry to learn that that event is not now going to happen, so plans are in limbo at the moment.
Margo: Hi Jenny. Still way out west? When are you due back in Canberra? I'm planning to be there around the 21st of August. Driving (ugghhhhh).
I'll agree with you on this one, Jenny
Jenny:
One of the points I was trying to make by writing the piece was that where increased policing powers and levels for APEC would once have been subject to much more scrutiny they have now been invoked to handle an "emergency" situation.
I agree that if Haneef is "less than kosher" we have engaged in and lost the civil liberties debate through our stance on the merits of this one case. However, if Haneef is ok and we didn't stand up then we may lose important rights without so much as a whimper in the blind faith of supporting "national interest."
I'm particular interested in what powers of public scrutiny may be brought into play in September. For example, I have been planning to catch a bus over from Adelaide, bum around Sydney for a day or so then bus back(looking for a bed if anyone's got one to spare). Are my ticket times going to cost me an interview at the bus station, perhaps being held for inquiry to keep me safely away from APEC (not that anyone will get close) and popped back on the next bus out of town. Will my name be checked against a list of known activists to determine whether it's safe to let me roam at large in Sydney?
Are the feet of internal air travellers going to be scanned for "shoe bomb explosives" as my father's were in the US?
The SA Police Commissioner was just saying on the radio that our local coppers need permission from a judge before entering a premises to bug it. Downer wants to hand this ability unfettered to the AFP, and I bet the Bill is passed before APEC.
It is when elitist drongos such as Downer usurp such powers that we must question whether the methodology of their acquisition is fraudulent.
We can't afford to lose this, I know, because of the likely dissipation of our perceived integrity. However, neither can "They."
PS We don' need to make peace. Music, on the other hand...
I have it taped
It was a file written by Australia as far as I could see because it was just a reprise of his education, family, homes, and one line gave his "alias". Now that is the give away because in the transcript of interview it said his nickname for his immediate family was Afhtr or something but in the court transcipts for his bail hearing it was listed as an alias.
On the so-called dossier it was also called an alias. The rest was just the information that he was accused of helping the person in the Glasgow fire, which was not true.
Russo rightly pointed out that the police had not been to see them when they had been public for 4 days and had never been to interview the wife or mother.
In other words, nothing.