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Since October 1995

Monday 16th June 1997

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There is an interesting report on the Fairfax journalist who will not shut-up - Margo Kingston (Sydney Morning Herald) as detailed in Telnem's media watch web site.

Interesting that as a Fairfax journalist she had to go the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to have her point of view heard!

Here is an extract from that article:
"The problem with Kerry Packer is that he is so powerful, the politicians aren’t game enough to cross him. Look at history. Go back to 1991 when he and Conrad Black through Toorang wanted to take over Fairfax, He said, because of the cross-media (rules) he could only have 15% in print, 1) he said I don’t control it, I won’t try to control it, 2) he said foreign ownership restrictions are ridiculous, let’s blow them out of the water. Peter Costello, then on the print-media inquiry now Packer’s chief urger with Richard Alston, said back then I haven’t got a problem with foreign ownership, my problem is diversity, I really care about diversity therefore I’ll let foreigners in provided they don’t increase concentration. Now, Kerry Packer has changed his mind. Now he doesn’t care about media diversity and he does care about foreign ownership. He doesn’t care about media diversity because he wants to take over Fairfax and keep (Channel) Nine, but he does care about foreign ownership because, guess what, he doesn’twant to have any competition to buy Fairfax. The only competition comes from foreigners. And now, the government has completely switched its rhetorical and logical position and is again arguing for Mr Packer. Now when you have a man so powerful that he can buy Graeme Richardson to talk the Labor party around and Michael Kroger to talk the Liberal party around, and Howard and Costello and Alston jump to his every need no matter how irrational, no matter how transparently incoherent their arguments, we have a huge problem. And yes, personally I am very scared, personally, of Mr Packer taking over Fairfax."

This is the society that we call a democracy in Australia, but is it? Is is any wonder then that the media moguls will play every trick in the pack to try to remove those who might upset their cosy self-seeking interests?

One thing for sure your interests as an Australian voter are not even in consideration when discussions at high levels go on behind closed doors.

An Asian group in Melbourne is urging Asians around Australia to join One Nation.

Ms Hanson last night welcomed the move saying that the Asian members of One Nation would soon realise that they had been misinformed about the intentions of the One Nation party. In Melbourne One Nation representative Andrew Carne confirmed that he had been approcahed by Asians to join One Nation and that he welcomed their membership hoping that they would play a valuable role in letting their community understand the issues that the party stood for.

The 139 illegal Chinese boat people who arrived off the coast of northern Queensland on Thursday has triggered fear that a large scale illegal immigration racket is being organised. It is alleged that some of the boat people paid as much as Au$14,000 to be part of the group travelling to Australia.

All had drivers licences, were neatly shaven and had their hair neatly cut when they were caught by immigration officials. Their baggage included designer t-shirts, suits and sunglasses.

Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer said, "Clearly, this particular operation involved a level of sophistication which is a concern."

Pauline Hanson's One Nation Official home page.

Political:

Senior journalists in Fairfax who have got everything to lose if Fairfax falls to Packer are taking a last stand against the duplicitous and shonky ethics that are now very apparent in Australia.

It is a sad enditement of how bad the situation has got when you hear a journalist in the know say, "Now when you have a man so powerful that he can buy Graeme Richardson to talk the Labor party around and Michael Kroger to talk the Liberal party around, and Howard and Costello and Alston jump to his every need no matter how irrational, no matter how transparently incoherent their arguments, we have a huge problem."

The trouble is what can we as ordinary Australians do about it if those elected to look after our interests clearly do not.

Next time you read something that Beazley, Howard or other leading politicians say in the press just remember that they know what is going on behind the scenes and yet they do not have the guts to tackle the problem that they have created.

Integrity and honesty in Australian politics is dead....

You say:

>I will put your comments up in the YOU SAY section of today's news. I will
>not add to your comments just point to yesterday's post.
>
>I do not like unsolicited email which suggests that money could change hands
>for information or exclusive interviews - especially when the topic is a
>serial killer.

It's fine were it's at. I may have jumped the gun a little myself. You can leave it in place. As far as I'm concerned, it's a dead issue. No pun intended...grin

Be safe. I am in the middle of reloading my web site as for some reason it went completely out of wacky about 5 hours ago when I updated it. Later.

The Thin Blue Line,
Riley G
Psychic Detective & Remote Viewer
Retired New York City Police Officer

Personal trivia, from the global office:

Have a great day.

Here are a couple of image from the boat cruise yesterday - the boat on the left.

The sea eagle that came and scrounged some sausage bits during our journey (right).

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