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The gutsy Kevin Rudd
The Gutsy Kevin Rudd
Below is Rudd's full speech to the Chinese students at Peking University delivered in Mandarin. Not included in this translation is a joke told by Rudd to the students that goes something like: "Not afraid of the heaven, not afraid of the earth, but afraid of an outsider speaking in Chinese language". The rhymin' is somehow lost in translation.
One thing you can't accuse of our Dear Leader is that he is lacking guts. Not only delivering his speech in Mandarin, he again repeated his concern about Tibet. A real surprise is the mention of the so called May 4th Movement of 1919.
This was the first ever student led movement that was "anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement in early modern China. Beginning on May 4, 1919, it marked the upsurge of Chinese nationalism, and a re-evaluation of Chinese cultural institutions, such as Confucianism. The movement grew out of dissatisfaction with the Treaty of Versailles settlement, termed the Shandong Problem. Coming out of the New Culture Movement, the end result was a drastic change in society that fueled the birth of the Communist Party of China (Wiki)".
And some of the writers he mentioned were not exactly Communist writers, they were more of the progressive writers. Some of them were criticised during the cultural revolution for being too "bourgeois". Yes, our Dear Leader has got the TICKER.
His reference to Tao - “Harmony in the Natural Environment. Our shared future is not only one about harmony between nations and peoples. It is also about harmony with nature — the “Unity of Man and Nature” — a concept with ancient roots in Chinese thought” is again reflected here, as there was an article about this just before the election in the SMH by Annabel Crabb.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=BKmXSYi49IU
Yes, our Dear Leader has got the TICKER and brain.
***
A conversation with China’s youth on the future (by Kevin Rudd)
9 April 2008, Peking University
I begin by congratulating Peking University which this year celebrates its 110th anniversary – making this university three years older than the Commonwealth of Australia.
Peking University is the most famous in China. And it has played an important part in modern Chinese history. In the early 20th century, when China was going through a period of rapid transformation, it was Peking University that led movements for a new era in Chinese educational, cultural and political life. Peking University was at the centre of the May 4th Movement. The May 4th era — for I realise that it was a transformative decade from 1917 to 1927 — was one of crucial and lasting importance in the emergence of a modern China.
Many famous figures in this period were active at your university. One thinks, for example, of Cai Yuanpei, Chen Duxiu, Hu Shi, Li Dazhao and Lu Xun. This year, 2008, is the 90th anniversary of some key events of the May Fourth era: — through his essays for the major magazine New Youth the writer and educator Hu Shi successfully advocated the use of modern vernacular Chinese in education and the media. This helped bring about a major change in the way that the young people of China expressed themselves to their compatriots.
Also the writer Lu Xun published the first, and justifiably famous, story in modern Chinese, Diary of a Madman. I would also note that Lu Xun’s design for the school crest of Peking University is still in use. Indeed, you, the students of Peking University today, are heirs to a great tradition of intellectual engagement with your country.
Studying China. This is not the first time I have visited Peking University. But it is the first time I have given a speech here. It is a great honour for me. And it is a great honour for me to address the students of this university because you are an important part of China’s future. I first started studying China and the Chinese language in 1976.
It was a different China back then. Zhou Enlai had just died. Mao Zedong was still alive. And the Cultural Revolution had not concluded – indeed our Chinese language textbooks were still full of class struggle.
Some have asked me why I decided to study Chinese. I had grown up on a farm in rural Queensland where China seemed very remote.
I remember as a teenager following closely the visit of Australia’s Prime Minister Gough Whitlam to China on television in 1973 after the Australia Labor Government recognised China in 1972. I remember watching the footage of him meeting Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping escorting his party on a tour to the Great Wall.
That visit inspired my interest in this extraordinary country. When I went to university I knew that I wanted to study China.
I went to the Australian National University in Canberra. And for the next four years I studied Chinese language, Chinese history and Chinese literature together with Japanese and Korean history as well. I even studied Chinese calligraphy, but my calligraphy was ugly then – and it is even uglier now.
Later I became a diplomat. Because I was a graduate in Chinese, the then Australian Government decided to send me to Sweden – where in those days I could barely find a decent Chinese restaurant. I eventually made it to China in 1984 when I started work at the Australian Embassy. But I did not remain a diplomat.
I wanted to enter politics. I was elected to Australia’s Parliament in 1998 and after serving in parliament for nine years in opposition, my party won the general election last year and I had the honour of becoming 26th Prime Minister of Australia.
Australia and China. Some people think that Australia and China are new friends. But in fact our history is already long. Chinese settlers came to Australia first in the nineteenth century. When gold was discovered in Victoria and Queensland in the 1850s, the first major group of Chinese migrants came to our shores. We now have over 600,000 people who claim Chinese ancestry.
After English, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) is the most widely spoken language in Australia. The Chinese community has deep roots in Australia and is an important part of modern Australian society. It includes people like Dr John Yu, one of Australia’s leading surgeons and Australian of the Year in 1996. And the young mathematician, Terrence Tao, who I met recently.
The flow of people has not all been in one direction. Some Australians – though a smaller number – have made China their home.
George Morrison is one such person. Morrison first came to China in 1894. He lived here for 20 years. In Australia, he was known as “Chinese Morrison”. And here in Beijing, during the Republic of China, Wangfujing, home to George Morrison, was known as “Morrison Street”.
It is easy to see why people become fascinated with China. China has thousands of years of continuous recorded history, but it is a country of constant change. When I look at the China of 2008, I see a very different country to the one I studied in the late 1970s and the one I lived in during the mid 1980s.
China and the World. The changes in China since the 1970s have been remarkable. And the change in China has led to a profound evolution in the relationship between our two countries. China’s policy change 30 years ago this year to “reform and open up” was the start of your country’s re-connection with the world. China’s companies began trading with others. China’s people began to travel. China’s students began going overseas to study in greater numbers.
The world began to see China, and the people of China began to see the world, in new ways. This institution, Peking University, through its teaching, research and search for knowledge has also had a profound influence on China’s changes. Its graduates have made a big contribution to your country’s engagement with the world.
To many people in China, these changes bring a better and richer life. People are able to make decisions about where they work, how they live and set their own goals. They can build their own businesses. At the same time, there are still many problems in China – problems of poverty, problems of uneven development, problems of pollution, problems of broader human rights.
It is also important to recognise that China’s change is having a great impact not just on China, but also on the world. The scale and pace of China’s economic development and social transformation is unprecedented in human history. Never before have so many people been brought into the global economy in such a short period of time.
Just look at some of the figures. China is now the world’s third-largest trading nation. Its exports are growing at over 30 per cent per year. GDP per capita has nearly doubled in the past five years. People in Australia and around the world recognise that China’s economic development is having a profound global impact. They understand that China’s demand for resources is driving global growth.
But China’s growth can also cause anxiety. Some people are concerned about their jobs moving to China. When people overseas are faced with big changes and uncertainties like these they get nervous. We all need to appreciate these anxieties and their origins. Today I would like to make a suggestion.
I think that you – the young people of China, the generation that will see China’s full integration into global society, the global economy and the overall global order – have an important role to play in the life of the world. The global community looks forward to China fully participating in all the institutions of the global rules-based order, including in security, in the economy, in human rights, in the environment. And we look forward to China making active contributions to the enhancement of that order in the future. It is a necessary task of responsible global citizenship.
It is a big responsibility you have. You are the product of China today. And you are the representatives of China’s tomorrow. You will be the ones who define how the world sees China. “Harmony” was the dream and hope of that great Chinese thinker and activist Kang Youwei. The Hundred Days reform movement, like Peking University, also marks its 110th anniversary this year.
Kang proposed a utopian world free of political boundaries. China has variously articulated its approach to development as one of “peaceful rise”, “peaceful development” or more recently that of a “harmonious world”.
In 2005 the then US Deputy Secretary of State Bob Zoellick spoke for his part of his concept that China would and could become a responsible global stakeholder. As I said last week in a speech to the Brookings Institution in Washington, it is worthwhile thinking about how to encourage a synthesis of these concepts of a “harmonious world” and the “responsible stakeholder”.
The idea of a “harmonious world” depends on China being a participant in the world order and, along with others, acting in accordance with the rules of that order. Failing this, “harmony” is impossible to achieve. “Responsible stakeholder” contains the same idea at its core – China working to maintain and develop the global and regional rules-based order.
This year, as China hosts the Olympics, the eyes of the world will be on you and the city of Beijing. It will be a chance for China to engage directly with the world, both on the sports field and on the streets of Beijing. Some have called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics because of recent problems in Tibet.
As I said in London on Sunday, I do not agree. I believe the Olympics are important for China’s continuing engagement with the world. Australia like most other countries recognises China’s sovereignty over Tibet. But we also believe it is necessary to recognise there are significant human rights problem in Tibet. The current situation in Tibet is of concern to Australians.
We recognise the need for all parties to avoid violence and find a solution through dialogue. As a long-standing friend of China I intend to have a straightforward discussion with China’s leaders on this. We wish to see the year 2008 as one of harmony, and celebration – not one of conflict and contention.
Harmony in the Natural Environment. Our shared future is not only one about harmony between nations and peoples. It is also about harmony with nature — the “Unity of Man and Nature” — a concept with ancient roots in Chinese thought. We all share responsibility for the future. One of the big future challenges for Australia and China is climate change. Australia is committed to strong action domestically and internationally on climate change.
Because we know that climate change is the great moral, economic and environmental challenge of our time – one that all nations have to work together to overcome. That’s why climate change will be an important part of my discussions with the Chinese leadership this week. It is important that China play an increasingly prominent role on climate change. An effective global response to climate change will require the active participation of all major emitters.
I also believe it is important for China’s own future. Unless we are successful, China will face increasing pressure on its water supplies, changing rainfall patterns and rising sea levels. A strong relationship, and a true friendship, are built on the ability to engage in direct, frank and ongoing dialogue about our fundamental interests and future vision. In the modern, globalised world, we are all connected; connected not only by politics and economics, but also in the air we breathe.
A true friend is one who can be a “zhengyou” , that is a partner who sees beyond immediate benefit to the broader and firm basis for continuing, profound and sincere friendship. In other words, a true friendship which “offers unflinching advice and counsels restraint” to engage in principled dialogue about matters of contention. It is the kind of friendship that I know is treasured in China’s political tradition. It is the kind of friendship that I also offer China today.
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Free speech , shovels for it, and the real agenda , nukes for OZ
Hi guys – sorry, been away and hyper busy. Hope all are well and see the usual defenders of truths are out there. Me, I believe in free speech to the point of letting people bury themselves in it – please give Eliot a shovel.
If we could look back to Mr Rudd's speech I think we have an incredibly important document here. Plenty of shovel duty.
He reflects and expresses the globalist ideals now so predominant amongst certain groups, almost Trotskyist.
He describes our foreign policy and one can only contemplate with some confusion how different our foreign policy and our UN voting pattern is to our Australian values so often paraded. For him to proudly crow about recognising the invasion and annexation ofTibet by China Tibet (1950s) which saw the exile of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government, just as we for so long recognised the annexation of East Timor and West Papua with almost pride, is lip curling. Kissinger would be proud of such (and the company gains for that in minerals and resource). The Whitlam era was certainly quite a time for the pair. Perhaps Rudd is more like Whitlam than he realises.
Our apparent values of freedom, self determination, justice, recognition/support of international law, democracy and promotion of freedom of religion and political views and association, and equality before law and condemnation of torture, state assassinations and imprisonments are all the antithesis of whatChina
Were it not for the resource of a cheap labour force that made Walmart-type wheelers and dealers rich and the consequent demand for our resources (and buying of our companies), then those with wiser heads may have held sway and pointed out the inherent dangers of empowering and enriching such a fascist totalitarian state for a few others to get rich.
If instead the reforms had come first – the Tibetans given autonomy rather than ethnic cleansing and cultural genocide, andTaiwan Indonesia
But what of these summits and the security of our nation? Do we actually have a choice or is it already mapped out? Have any of those bogeymen issues become realities in planning, always there in the background, really?
At the recent summit it was quite a shock how the agenda seemed to already be determined by the Chairperson. In this case, I am talking of nuclear weapons development, nuclear power/recycling/waste all here locally. Firmly pushed despite no consensus form the rest of the group. Interesting to say the least!
One can only wonder what Mr Internationalist has planned for us, how we shall sit and for whom we shall stooge and send our sons to battle for, and what dumping ground our land will be used for. Usually it is profits, as it has always been. Already theArtesian Basin
Truly an organised skilful manipulator with high intelligence and no moral limits is far more dangerous than the clumsy twerps we just had who bounced from one ideologue bubble blurp to another. This is a Machiavelli moment. We have a Blair-ite New Labor that Mandelson would have been proud. So where to, Julia?
Expect spin, more and more ever skilful. Judge by the deeds, not the words.
Cheers
Fiona: Good to see you back on Webdiary, Angela.
State of play
Another moderator suggested to me the other day that we should set up a blog specially for the two of you, Craig Rowley and Eliot Ramsey. Seems like a fine idea to me.
Meanwhile, these are my views on this episode:
No further posts on this matter will be published.
Wrong day
Craig Rowley: "Given the ABC's news content of this type is produced centrally, what was played as part of the news bulletin on ABC Classic FM at 8:00 am on 11 April was most likely (I'd say 95% confidence level) to be the interview completed with Bob Brown on 10 April, i.e. the interview for which I've already provided the audio link."
Hang on, I only just noticed that the date on the recording you gave is 10 April. The news item I heard was 11 April, and it sounded nothing like this. For a start, it was a sound bite in the news, not an extended interview.
I swear to God, Rowley, when I get to the bottom of this, you'll never hear the end of it.
Give media monitors a call
Craig Rowley: "Richard, thanks; but Eliot Ramsey has not claimed to have just heard some ABC employee reading out what they think Bob Brown said."
How's the hunt for the tell-tale ABC-FM Classic News transcript going?
You know, Bob Brown calls for the PM to boycott the Beijing Olympics on one day (7 April), but I "lie" about him doing so just four days later (11 April).
Any luck?
Maybe give Media Monitors a call if Julia Lester hasn't come through. Cheerio.
'Liar' is a very strong word.
Richard: "Until such can be found, I think we should let this matter rest. Without evidence it's gone as far as it can. "
Fair enough. And presumably, then, Craig Rowley will apologise for his 'lying' remark, and acknowledge that Bob Brown did indeed call for the Prime Minister to boycott the Beijing Olympics.
In good faith, I have apologised for incorrectly attributing to Julia Gillard's the "appearance" remark. And that was merely a mistake on my part.
I didn't call anyone a liar. Repeatedly.
I haven't called Craig a "liar" for mixing up the news report he heard on whatever radio station with the 11 April ABC-FM Classic item I heard in which Bob Brown called on the Prime Minister to boycott the Olympics in Beijing?
He's clearly wrong - and should acknowledge this.
Richard: Craig believes otherwise. Further extrapolations are a moot point until it's ascertained whether supportive evidence exists. So we'll wait and go from there. Okay, Eliot?
Craig's timetable hunt.
Yeah, that's cute, Craig. My mistake about Julia. Off topic, of course, irrelevant, but you are absolutely correct. My apologies Webdiarists (and Julia Gillard too), for that error.
Now, back to my "lying" about Bob Brown calling on the Prime Minister to boycott the Beijing Olympics accusation. How's that hunt for that transcript going? Not the 11 April transcript, mind you, nor Bob Brown's press release stating clearly that the PM should boycott the Beijing Olympics.
The other one...
"Now just to be certain we're agreed on which audio broadcast that transcript will document; you heard the interview on the 8:00 am news bulletin that followed Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book i: Fugue in C sharp minor on Friday 11 April 2008, yes? After the news bulletin you would have heard Beethoven's Coriolan: Overture, Op 62, yes? "
The news on ABC-FM Classic at 8.00am, 11 April 2008, Craig. That's it. Doesn't matter what music came before or after. The transcript showing I "lied" about Bob Brown's call to the PM to boycott the Beijing Olympics. Which you still deny, I note.
Bob Brown calling on the PM to boycott the Beijing Olympics, as previously stated by Senator Brown and consistent with his media release. That's the one alright - about which you have repeatedly accused me of "lying".
Having a bit of trouble with it, are you? With you "timetable"?
What if I pop back again tomorrow to see how you're going?
Richard: As you're no doubt aware, Eliot, it will be difficult to obtain the transcript of the reading of an ABCnews bulletin.News items, sure, ABC-written transcripts of interviews,no worries, but to get this information you'd need either a written report from a monitoring service or an audio recording of the broadcast. The ABC don't provide transcipts (in my experience) of anything that isn't already transcribed.
Until such can be found, I think we should let this matter rest. Without evidence it's gone as far as it can.
The transcript
Richard, thanks; but Eliot Ramsey has not claimed to have just heard some ABC employee reading out what they think Bob Brown said.
No, he's claimed to have heard Bob Brown himself make a statement in a recorded interview that was played as part of the news bulletin on ABC Classic FM at 8:00 am on 11 April.
Given the ABC's news content of this type is produced centrally, what was played as part of the news bulletin on ABC Classic FM at 8:00 am on 11 April was most likely (I'd say 95% confidence level) to be the interview completed with Bob Brown on 10 April, i.e. the interview for which I've already provided the audio link.
As I said before I'll set my own (realistic and reasonable) timetable for obtaining and sharing the proof that the audio link I provided is what was actually broadcast during the news bulletin on ABC Classic FM at 8:00 am on 11 April, which in turn will prove that Eliot Ramsey has deliberately misrepresented what Bob Brown said in the interview.
Richard: I agree that this is the most likely hypothesis. If it was an ABC Classic link (as opposed to Newsradio) you'd have an open-and-shut case. You two seem to have agreed that a transcript of the ABC Classic broadcast is the only possibility for a conclusive resolutiion. I have a longstanding friendship with the afternoon presenter of that station, Julia Lester. I'll give her a ring later and ask her advice.
Objective.
Fiona Reynolds, thanks for the interesting piece about Mark Bahnisch, the Queensland government's well know policy consultant and founder of the "centre-Left blog, Larvatus Prodeo".
Like all consultants working for Labour Governments, whether in Queensland or Canberra, Mark can be relied on putting an absoluetly objective spin on any media release they issue under his advice.
Spin, balance, and objectivity
Any time, Eliot Ramsey. So pleased you found it interesting. Presumably Mark Bahnisch's spin is balanced by that of those equally objective adherents of Howardism that lurk in the Dirty Digger's undergrowth. Presumably also, nobody, but nobody posting on Webdiary would ever be guilty of spinning anything...
Yes please Craig, do that.
Craig Rowley: "How about I contact Bob Brown's office and get a transcript to share with you?"
That would be good, Craig. Tomorrow okay? I'll pop in here from time to time to see how it's going.
Okay
Okay, I'll set my own timetable and seek that transcript. Keep an eye out for it. It could come at any time!
Now just to be certain we're agreed on which audio broadcast that transcript will document; you heard the interview on the 8:00 am news bulletin that followed Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book i: Fugue in C sharp minor on Friday 11 April 2008, yes? After the news bulletin you would have heard Beethoven's Coriolan: Overture, Op 62, yes?
Just goooorgeous
Scott Dunmore: "I've heard she can be cow with the way she treats her staff."
Ohhh, but doesn't she look loooovely!
Fiona: Eliot, I shall be charitable and hope that your pursuit of this trivial meander is an attempt at satire. Alternatively, are you sending yourself up? Whichever, this particular topic (Ms Bryce's looks, that is) is now closed.
Symbolism, significance, and spin
Eliot Ramsey and Kathy Farrelly, you might both like to consider the following from today's edition of New Matilda:
But hey, what would Mark Bahnisch know about such matters?
Appointment of Bryce a good one.
Interesting piece from Mark Bahnisch Fiona.
Bryce is, in fact, very highly regarded in Queensland, and won't put a foot wrong in the top job .But along with all the usual qualifications for a "safe pair of hands" in a sometimes controversial position(legal and Gubernatorial experience, for example), Bryce's nomination sends an important message to all of us- no matter where we live, or where we hail from.
Well said. I have been, as many know, a staunch critic of the PM, but in this instance his appointment of Bryce to the position of GG was a good one and in the best interests of our nation.
And, what a wonderful role model Bryce will be for our youth, both male and female.
Not too sure about that
"And, what a wonderful role model Bryce will be for our youth, both male and female."
I've heard she can be a cow with the way she treats her staff. Unsubstantiated but our heroes and heroines rarely come without flaws.
No more massages for you Scott.
Perhaps Scott, Bryce being a high achiever, is a perfectionist. Wants the job done, but done well. I imagine she would not be very tolerant of mediocrity.
Nothing wrong with that. Might be hard on some of the staff, though. Particularly those who are not inclined to pull their weight.
A Bit Of Caution On Rudd
If anyone on here admired Howard I don't why they are worried about Kevin Rudd. His policies are fairly consistent with previous Liberal PMs before him, or most Labor PMs. It's Howard who was the aberration and the radical, and that's why he was booted and certainly why I celebrated the day I heard about Work Choices as I knew it finally meant the end.
Who know's what else he had in store.
Rudd is there to stay and will leave at a time of his own choosing. Aussies just will not want the upheaval of a change of Federal government but we should look forward to some fun at state level. If only the NSW Liberals could get their act together, but sadly they have been poisoned by Howard as well. Never forget - it was he was behind the elimination of John Brogden who would have easily won government .
It's some of Rudd's ministers who we should be watching. My major disappointment to date is Robert McClelland as AG.
As an astute lawyer I'm hoping he's playing a waiting game to see just what is happening in the AFP, ASIO etc. These are organisations that need a major shake-up and which became powerful fiefdoms under the Howard government, answerable to no-one.
Australian National University research
On the issue of research into good looks and their effect in politics, there's this item from December 2006:
Interesting research ...
Perks, Plumage, PR & Picture Ops
Kathy Farrelly: "Eliot, it is you who has made Bryce's looks an issue of contention here.No one else appears to be the least concerned with that aspect."
Nobody doubts Ms Bryce's ability, as I have repeatedly said, nor her personal qualities. What I'm skeptical of is the Prime Minister's motives in appointing her to what is essentially a token role, and the timing of his announcement.
Let's admit it, the Governor General's role is a combination of (a) perk, (b) plumage, and (c) public relations. It's not that taxing a role, otherwise.
Now, I seriously doubt whether Ms Bryce would even consider accepting a 'perk', so that leaves 'plumage' and 'public relations'.
As I correctly predicted months ago "some kind of Gender & Ethnic Equity Token appointment" would be "absolutely imperative from a PR standpoint" when replacing Michael Jeffrey. After all, the role serves no other purpose.
I actually predicted the stunt would happen. Remember? Not that that's any claim to fame, because as plenty of people point out now, the Prime Minister is utterly PR stunt obsessed.
And as Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard's "so long as people judge her on her achievements and not on her appearance" comment (or Freudian slip) reveal, the "appearance" factor was obviously on their minds. Why else would Julia say that? can you even begin to imagine her saying something like that about the very capable and much admired Marie Bashir?
So, plumage and PR. And picture opportunity.
Gillard's Answer
Eliot Ramsey: "And as Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard's "so long as people judge her on her achievements and not on her appearance" comment (or Freudian slip) reveal, the "appearance" factor was obviously on their minds. Why else would Julia say that?"
First truth, Eliot Ramsey has misquoted what Julian Drape (for News.com.au) reported Julia Gillard to have said, which was:
Second, the words Julian Drape had quoted were from an interview by Lisa Wilkinson on Today as documented in this transcript as follows:
Three, it is clear why Julia Gillard said what she said. She was asked a question. She answered it.
Kiss me Cate
Yeah. I must be "lying" about Ms Bryce's good looks. I concede it's inconceivable that Kevin Rudd would orchestrate a public relations stunt around a beautiful woman.
Is Cate still coming to the 20.20 gabfest thingy?
Still No Evidence. Still Meandering Off On A Tangent.
I was being facetious Eliot.
Eliot, it is you who has made Bryce's looks an issue of contention here. No one else appears to be the least concerned with that aspect.
Most everyone else is focusing on her abilities and qualifications. You know, the fact that she is an academic and a lawyer and has also managed to raise five children!
Of course it's inconceivable that Bryce would be appointed to the position because of such impeccable credentials. Yeah, it's just got to be the good looks.
Oh, and one other thing Eliot. Whilst I concede that Bryce is a pleasant looking woman with a nice smile, she is 66 years old now, and her beauty has faded, as you would expect it to at such an age. I have seen pictures of her in her younger days and she was certainly a handsome looking woman. In our youth obsessed society today, I doubt that she would be given a second glance when walking down the street.
That's the reality.
It's time for Eliot to make his correction
Yes, it is time Eliot
Eliot Ramsey: "I'm fairly sure, Craig, that's a different interview altogether."
How about I contact Bob Brown's office and get a transcript to share with you?
Eliot: "... the comments Bob Brown made calling on the Prime Minister to boycoot [sic] the Beijing Olympics were not only entirely consistent with those in his media release on 7 April ..."
Not so. Brown Brown's media release on 7 April did not simply "call on the Prime Minister to boycott the Beijing Olympics as you're making out, Eliot. There was a very clear "if" condition attached: In the interview on 7 April the "if" condition is expressed as an "unless" condition: "He shouldn't go unless their behaviour proceeds to a better plane."
Eliot: "What I find absolutely staggering is that you'd call another Webdiarist a 'liar' on nothing more than ..."
My basis for saying that is based on more than this occasion. You've made inaccurate claims about what was broadcast on more than one occasion.
Plausible deniability
Kathy Farrelly: "For crying out loud ,the woman is a stately 66 year old not some drop dead gorgeous model!"
Check this out...
"I look at Ms Quentin Bryce's beautiful face and body language and can feel her joy ..."
- SuziHB of Sunshine Coast 5:15pm April 13, 2008
Yeah, right Suzi. Anyhow..
"QUENTIN Bryce could become Australia's best governor-general - so long as people judge her on her achievements and not on her appearance."
- Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard
That was an odd thing for Julia to say, wasn't it?
Did it come up at Cabinet discussions?
Not only were Ms Bryce's obvious good looks a factor in the government's choice, so too obviously was the tactic of "Plausible deniability".
Really, all day I've been hearing people comment on it.
Time, Eliot...
Give it up.
Evidence? Where is the evidence?
Hmmmm.... Eliot, 1 comment out of 163 mentions Bryce's beautiful face?
Hardly evidence, Eliot. I had to meander down to almost the end of the column to see Suzi HB's opinion.Yes folks, that's right, one person's opinion. Could be Bryce's niece for all we know. It's plausible, don't you think, Eliot?
Anyhow, to be fair I had a quick squiz at some of the comments myself.
Some were unimpressed and angry at her appointment, while others were extremely happy, mentioning her suitable qualifications and role model status. Apart from dear Suzi's comment never saw another that mentioned Bryce's looks. Honestly, Eliot, how you could have even been bothered to scroll down that column of opinions is beyond me. Smacks of desperation.
With regards to Gillard's comment, whether it was odd or not isn't the point, is it?
It proves nothing.
One swallow does not a summer make.
Liar
Craig Rowley: "The point I had made was that Eliot Ramsey had lied about the content of that particular interview broadcast on the ABC on the morning of 11 April 2008."
Craig, not only did I not lie about the ABC news broadcast of that morning, I was able to direct you to a press release by Bob Brown on 7th Apr 08 stating quite clearly that in his view the Prime Minister should boycott the Beijing Olympics and separately a link to an ABC News site where Bob Brown says the same thing on that day, too.
These are perfectly consistent with the ABC broadcast I heard on the morning of 11 April 2008, where Bob Brown again called on the Prime Minister to boycott the games.
That you didn't hear it, or mis-heard it, is no indication in itself that it somehow didn't happen - and doesn't justify your calling me a liar.
Correction
Eliot Ramsey: "That you didn't hear it, or mis-heard it, is no indication in itself that it somehow didn't happen - and doesn't justify your calling me a liar."
Oh dear Eliot, I heard it. I heard the complete interview. I heard it correctly.
Perhaps you mis-heard it?
Want to hear it again? Just to check and all.
Here it is: the audio recording of the interview broadcast on ABC radio on the morning of 10 April 2008.
If you've not lied about what was broadcast that morning, then you'll have no problem with making a correction; will you now Eliot?
Good looks are a saleable commodity in politics as elsewhere
Kathy Farrelly: "Looks are immaterial."
But the practical realities are for any politician hoping to make an impact on the media, dressing up picture opportunities is part and parcel of daily life.
Good looks are a saleable commodity - a type of currency if you like - and that's why more than ever before it dominates society at large, in its public morés, its newspapers, its advertising, television programmes, its social, cultural and political behaviour.
As the historian Arthur Marwick pointed out of our times: "More and more people behaved as if they recognised that 'mere' physical beauty had a particular value of its own."
You wouldn't have to be a Kennedy to understand that.
Stirring The Pot.
Sorry Eliot you're just s**t stirring mate!
Bryce is highly qualified for the job. Your point of view may have had some validity had her qualifications been suspect.
Marie Bashir is another highly qualified candidate, however at 78 years of age would probably not have the energy that Bryce at 66 years of age would have.
"More and more people behaved as if they recognized that 'mere' physical beauty had a particular value of its own."
Where is your evidence to suggest that that statement is relevant to Bryce's appointment, Eliot?
For crying out loud, the woman is a stately 66 year old not some drop dead gorgeous model!
Stop meandering off on a tangent and give it a rest.
Bob Brown's call to Rudd to boycott Olympics on Green website
Craig Rowley: "Senator Brown did not say that Rudd's stance achieved nothing, and although he did tell Kevin Rudd to up the ante over Tibet, he did not tell him to boycott the Olympics."
Here's Bob Brown's media release 7th Apr 08
Here's Bob Brown on the ABC that same day:
The point is ...
The point I had made was that Eliot Ramsey had lied about the content of that particular interview broadcast on the ABC on the morning of 11 April 2008.
Not 7th Apr 08.
The morning four days later.
Friday, 11th April 2008.
Bob Brown did not, in the interview broadcast on Friday, 11th April 2008, tell Kevin Rudd to boycott the Olympics.
It is not the first time Eliot Ramsey has lied about something broadcast.
Correction II
The interview was on Thursday 10 April.
The audio recording has been provided.
It proves Bob Brown did not at any time in that interview call on Kevin Rudd to boycott the Olympic Games as Eliot Ramsey had claimed.
It's time for Eliot to make his correction.
C'mmmoooooonnnn
Craig Rowley: "Would Eliot Ramsey have suggested that a "beauty contest" was central to the GG appointment if a man had been appointed?"
I'm suggesting the timing of the stunt, and the obvious good looks of the new Governor General designate, would have been factors affecting the choice by a Prime Minister who appears utterly obsessed with media spin and picture opportunities. And I'm pretty darned sure if it had been necessary to appoint a man to the post, and the choice was between, say, former Australian of the Year, Lleyton Hewitt, and the emininetly qualified Judge Lex Lasry, it would 'C'mmmoooooonnnn' - notwithstanding the latter's excellent credentials and impeccable 'progressive' background in political activism, yes.
Rchard: Rudd's defence of the decison is here.Sounds Like Fun Times Abound
Eliot Ramsey, Mr Rudd could always bring out Miss Australia for the budget announcement. Maybe she could explain why gas, produce, and housing prices aren't have only got dearer? A bit of T & A might go down well for the poor guy getting his "socialistic welfare" stripped?
Rchard: Okay, perhaps we might be giving casual readers the wrong idea. The appontment of a female GG is indeed a breakthrough. Perhaps somebody could write a piece, start a thread on the validity?
I need something for the evening news as soon as I land
Craig Rowely asks:
"Why would the PM then sit on the news that the Queen had appointed Ms Bryce to replace Major General Jeffery?"
So Kevin could announce it to take the media focus off the "achievements" he made on the World Discover Tour, that stunt having gone now well past its 'use by' date without any substantive outcome to show. And because it's a whole week to the 20/20 Gabfest stunt.
See 'Pretty in Pink' below...
But the fact is he hasn't sat on it
The announcement was made almost as soon as it was practicable to make it.
PM Rudd and his minders did not sit on it for weeks or months.
As soon as the Queen had made the appointment, Rudd announced it.
"Pretty in Pink" below is just more lies.
Rchard: I thought it was more of "a vibe kind of thing", Craig,and with humour intended. Eliot's postulaton that the announcement (which didn't need Rudd's personal visit to orchestrate) might have been used as a success story for the trip isn't as outlandish as it might appear. Such media tactics, after all, aren't the sole property of the Liberal party.
Not my vibe
Richard, personally I don't like the misogynistic "vibe kind of thing" that tries to reduce our nation's first female GG to something "beautiful to look at" and just a "photo opportunity" in order to make a cheap shot at Kevin Rudd; and I don't find it humorous; but if that's the kind of crowd you want to hang with ...
Rchard: Hey, I even hang wth Morrs dancers! Maybe I need to get out more? And maybe I'm not taking things serously enough? Sorry if I've offended, Craig.
Thumbs up from me!
Richard, I think the appointment of Quentin Bryce as GG is a significant and positive move. Bryce has impeccable credentials. A high achiever, who will serve as a brilliant role model to our youth. She has accomplished so much and managed to raise a brood of children too! You have to admire the woman.
Looks are immaterial. She is certainly most deserving of the position in my opinion.
Not craven enough, apparently
How utterly paranoid does one have to be to consider it 'insulting' to Labor Government appointees to describe them as "of undoubted talents and probably the most admired and personally likeable Governor that NSW has had since Arthur Phillip"; and as "physically beautiful" and "capable"?
Should I kowtow first, maybe?
Not enough, apparently
"How utterly paranoid does one have to be to consider it 'insulting' to Labor Government appointees to describe them as ... [etc]"
That's disingenuous of Eliot Ramsey.
One insult was to suggest the crucial factor in Quentin Byrce being appointed our next GG is because she is "physically beautiful" and the other was to infer that Marie Bashir was not appointed as our next GG because she was deemed (by Eliot Ramsey) somehow less "physically beautiful."
Would it have been suggested if they were men?
Would Eliot Ramsey have suggested that a "beauty contest" was central to the GG appointment if a man had been appointed?
Pretty in pink
Prime Minister’s personal jetliner: over the Pacific
Kevin R: Well, that all went really well until the bloody China thing on the last day. We got nothing there, really.
PR Director: Some good coverage of you looking ‘tough’ on Tibet and the Chinese students cheering you looked great, very ’statesmanlike’.
Kevin R: Yeah, but the bastards running the place gave us nothing. And now the Maoists have got control of the refugee camps in Nepal. We need something else before I touch down in Canberra. I don’t want questions about the China thingy. The speech in Chinese looked good, though, hey? I spent all night practising the bloody thing (laughs). But I want nothing on Tibet or BHP Billiton. Effing’ catastrophe, that.
PR Director: What if you drop in on the Youth Summit unannounced the moment we touch down? Listening to youth? “You are the future of this great land.” That sort of thing? Boy and girl, one on either side? Two best sorts there? Little speech about the “leaders of tomorrow”?
Kevin R: Maybe. But that’s what? Fifteen seconds into the evening news? Then what? I’m not taking questions on China, okay?
PR Director: We could announce the ‘Quentin Bryce as Governor General’ decision? ‘Historic moment for women’, blah, blah?
Kevin R: It’s terrific, I know. But shouldn’t we save it for something really special? And I’m worried about the ‘Queensland’ thingy coming up again?
PR Director: Sure, but Cate Blanchett’s not for another week, and if you feel you really need something now?
Kevin R: Fair enough. Cate will look terrific, won’t she? We can stick Quentin on now, looking positively regal and gorgeous, maybe some more really cute kids. You know? the ‘Ahhhh’ factor’?
PR Director (laughs): Then roll out Cate next week? By then Tibet and will be old news. And Cate’s not from Queensland?
Kevin R: And looks even better in pink than Quentin.
Condescending token appointment to GG role was long predicted
As I said on the Open Letter to the Prime Minister thread.
I have no doubt that Quentin Bryce as Governor General will do a 'great job' (whatever that entails as Governor General, an essentially token appointment no matter who occupies the role), but it's another predictable PR/Picture opportunity stunt, the tactical timing of which was impeccably designed to divert media attention away from the 'outcomes' (ha ha ha) of Rudd's just-completed World Discovery Tour stunt.
So, why not NSW Governor Marie Bashir? I mean, Governor Bashir's own credentials and experience would make her an obvious contender for the title, no?
Well, no. Given the Prime Minister's utter obsession with media stunts, I'd say his PR handlers were thinking 'picture opportunities'. Because, while Governor Bashir is a woman of undoubted talents and probably the most admired and personally likeable Governor that NSW has had since Arthur Phillip, Governor Brice is physically beautiful.
So, an appointment from the 'high moral ground' of a 'person of gender' to a 'token' role and who is also beautiful to look at should cover the three central elements in any Kevin Rudd stunt:
Now, the next stunt? Oh yes, the lovely young students at the 20/20 Youth Summit and then Cate Blanchett at the 20/20 gabfest.
I'm sorry, but government by "whatever looks good with Mel and Kochie on Sunrise" is beginning to turn my stomach a bit.
It's beginning to turn my stomach a bit
Eliot Ramsey provides nothing to substaniate his allegation that the appointment of Quentin Bryce was based on the consideration he has suggested.
The fact that he suggests those considerations only proves he'll stoop to insulting two Governors in a desperate attempt to try and lay a punch on the PM.
Richard: Being a bit of a cynic, it was my first thought hearing the news. It probably was the same for a few others.The timing of the announcement
Richard, Kevin Rudd advised Queen Elizabeth to appoint Ms Bryce when he met the Queen in London last week. The Queen promptly acted on the advice. Major General Jeffery tendered his resignation as Governor-General yesterday.
Why would the PM then sit on the news that the Queen had appointed Ms Bryce to replace Major General Jeffery? How many weeks or months should he have sat on the news?
Indeed, the claims being made may have some substance if he had sat on it for week or months.
Instead, the fact is that the news was announced as soon as practicable after the decision had been confirmed by the Queen's appointment.
I suggest the claims Eliot Ramsey made have no substance and the slurs on two fine and outstanding people, current NSW Governor Marie Bashir and current QLD Governor Quentin Byrce, are sickening.
I should have stayed a dinosaur.
In fact, Fiona, on the lower house ticket I draw a neat little square below the list of names and place a "1" inside. Then in my neatest script write "none of the above"
Or course the Senate tablecloth, for someone who has the brain of an albatross (however an improvement on my dinosaur ancestry), is a problem: I can't fly or think backwards. As such I just eat the bloody thing and suffer the consequences.
Anyway, this mindless old albatross has a special "rendezous" on a star lite isle - somewhere. If I can get the navigation thing worked out I should make it in time.
Sweet dreams Fiona.
I take my spade and I dig dig dig
Pretty disheartening stuff, eh Justin? I think Fiona's advice is certainly sound. Working backwards always works for me!
Scott is a very perceptive guy I reckon. It all comes down to charisma. Howard never had it. Rudd has it in spades!
Let's hope though, that Rudd doesn't get carried away with his own self importance and digs himself into an early grave.