Monday 18th May 1998

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Today's Headlines
an Aussie's viewpoint on Australia's first daily Internet newspaper.
Since October 1995

One Nation captures new voters with a vote for common sense.

Pauline Hanson's One Nation party 's new gun policy will win support from farmers and people in rural areas in the lead up to the Queensland election. On Saturday One Nation leader Pauline Hanson launched the new gun policy that advocates relaxed gun laws.

Here is an extract from the gun law policy (full policy at this link):

Principles:

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Firearms’ Policy is based on the following principles:

• Shooting is a legitimate sport and pastime and participants should be treated accordingly.
• Australians have the right to defend themselves and their families in their own homes.
• Disarming law abiding Australians is not in the national interest and will do nothing to reduce crime.

The policy also stresses that people should have the right to use semi-automatic and military style guns and says home owners should be allowed to use guns to defend themselves.

One Nation's candidate for Gympie, Ian Petersen, who is expected to romp home in the state election said that the party was ready to bring back democracy into the country and to change the social fabric of Queensland for the betterment of Australians.

One Nation spokesman Santo Ferrari says current laws disregard legitimate gun uses by people in rural areas.

"The National Party have not been looking after rural Australia especially," he said. "They do not deserve the vote of a lot of people out there that are very disillusioned with them not only on gun laws but of various other issues also." No power for change.

Media bleat-up the preference game.

The toad of toad hall was back at his slimy best yesterday, Laurie Oates, Packer's spokesman on the Sunday programme, tried to corner Foreign Minister Alexander Downer into stating publicly that he would put One Nation last on the "How to vote card". Foot-in-mouth Downer squirmed his way out of that one - unlike Peter Costello who fell straight into the toad's trap last week.

Today's Courier Mail highlights the decision by a Liberal electoral body's decision to put One Nation last on their How to vote cards. The Ryan electoral council which covers the seats of Indoorpilly, Mount Ommaney, Ashgrove and Moggill - with only Mt Ommaney currently being contested by One Nation.

The decision has cost David Watson, the current Liberal member and representative for Moggill my vote. He will be put last with the ALP - where they both belong.... gutless wonders.

Meanwhile the Minister for Health and Family Services, Dr Wooldridge, has urged the Liberal Party to ensure Ms Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party is placed below the Labor Party on how-to-vote cards at the next Federal election.

Asked how he felt about the Liberals directing preferences to One Nation in any seat, Dr Wooldridge told the Seven Network's Face to Face program: "I certainly hope federally it doesn't happen."

He confirmed that the Victorian party would put One Nation at the bottom of its how-to-vote card.

But Dr Wooldridge also said it would be futile for him to urge any State Liberal body to direct its preferences away from One Nation, revealing the battle moderates face to forge a coherent position at the next Federal election.

Oh, how I look forward to One Nation holding the balance of power... believe me Packer and Murdoch have a lot to be concerned about when this big political event happens.

Yesterday I studied the Australian Press Council (APC) Annual Report No 21. the report spells out just how concentrated media ownership is in this country and yet states that, and I quote:

The Council also recommends that the Trade Practices Act be amended to provide that, where the acquisition of a newspaper, magazine or other media outlets would have the effect or be likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition, and:

• a) there is no persuasive evidence before the Australian Competition and Consumer Competition of an alternative proposal to acquire the newspaper, magazine or other media outlet on similar or better terms; and
• b) the vendor indicates that if the acquisition does not proceed the newspaper or magazine or other media outlets will be closed.

the acquisition shall be deemed to be likely to result in such a benefit to the public that the acquisition should be allowed to take place.

In other words Murdoch can put the heat on Fairfax (like he is at the moment with cut-price papers in Victoria) destroy their profit margins and then walk in for the kill.... all approved by the APC!

Scott concerned about racism in elections

Reconciliation Council head, Evelyn Scott, says support recently unleashed in Queensland for Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party does not surprise her.

Speaking at a "Sea of Hands" event in Cairns yesterday, Ms Scott said One Nation support had helped reconciliation by exposing racism. But she says she is very concerned about how racist views will impact on the upcoming State and Federal elections.

"We have governments in power that haven't made any of the right decisions in terms of justice and equity for indigenous people," she said.

"And it doesn't seem to be on their agenda. So, I guess it is very important."

Yeah, and what about other non-indigenous Australians, Ms Scott?

Who's catching on from whom?

The extract from the Washington Post article below makes me wonder who is catching on from whom, Australian or US politicians?

The Justice Department's campaign finance task force has begun to examine whether a Clinton administration decision to export commercial satellites to China was influenced by contributions to the Democratic Party during the 1996 campaign, department officials said.

The inquiry is at a preliminary stage and has yet to determine whether there are grounds for a criminal investigation, the officials said. The task force is looking at allegations by congressional Republicans that the administration issued a disputed waiver for a satellite deal with China to a U.S. aerospace company because its chief executive is a major Democratic contributor.

GOP leaders have already started investigations into the matter in both the House and Senate and are attacking the administration in increasingly heated terms for what they describe as a possible betrayal of national interests. The administration insists that policy on technology transfers was not influenced by politics.

The same task force is also pursuing information suggesting that a Chinese state-owned aerospace company funnelled illegal contributions to Democratic coffers in 1996. Investigators say there is no evidence linking those alleged contributions to the satellite deal.

At the center of the new line of inquiry are two U.S. aerospace companies, Loral Space and Communications Ltd. and Hughes Electronic Corp., that have sought to save time and money by having their commercial satellites launched atop Chinese missiles. Since U.S. sanctions were imposed against China after the 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square, the president has been required to grant waivers of export controls for the satellite deals to go through.

You say:

Subject: GUN NATION

I like it! We must have friends in the Sunday Mail after all. Or perhaps it's run by foreigners who don't know THAT A VERY LARGE PERCENTAGE of Australians live in the city of Brisbane who loved to go shooting, and most of them that I know were Labour voters too.

What a bonanza of free advertising for the Party. The name Gun Nation is a good name for Australia as well. Switzerland has been free from invasion for a very long time simply because it is a "gun nation", only there its compulsory.

The antagonistic rhetoric is helpful too. Australians simply hate being treated for fools, as though they can't think for themselves.

Philip Madsen.

Subject: economic rationalist salmon too

I liked your illustration of economic rationalism, Philip Madsen. We laugh, but it's no joke anymore. The loonies are definitely running the asylum when the state government is trying to placate local pork producers by helping them find export markets for their pork. Meanwhile we are expected to eat Danish pork. And I betcha the big supermarket chains are going to buy Danish.

Tasmania's Atlantic salmon industry is facing a similar threat from the Canadians demanding access to our market. I suppose the Tassie government will help the salmon farmers find export markets for their fish. How kind.

Why can't we eat our own food, and the Danes and Canadians eat theirs. We can trade for what we lack and can afford to pay for. And they can too. This admittedly common-sensical system used to work quite well before. Why can't it now?

Antonia Feitz

Subject: light at the end of the tunnel?

According to the Washington Times (11/5/98) ridicule is proving to be an effective weapon against pc in the US. And the prospect of winning $1000 for nominating the worst examples is a pretty good incentive for having the courage to speak up. The Wilmington, Del.-based Intercollegiate Studies Institute has made its inaugural Polly awards. These awards are granted to expose to public ridicule the most outrageous examples of political correctness in the US higher education system. Winners are presented with a parchment citing the reasons they have been chosen.

Arizona State University's Theatre Department won first prize for sacking acting professor Jared Sakren. His offence, according to the Polly citation was his determination to stage works from the 'sexist European canon' including Aeschylus, Ibsen and especially Shakespeare. Feminists on his review panel were 'offended' by his text choices. After sacking him the Department staged 'Betty the Yeti' about a logger who has sex with an abominable snow-woman and becomes an environmentalist. Uplifting stuff if you're pc, I suppose.

However Rachel Alexander, a second-year student at the University of Arizona College of Law, so sympathised with Mr. Sakren that she related the details of his dismissal to ISI and was awarded the $1,000 Polly first place prize. 'I read about it in a local paper', Miss Alexander says. 'It was so shocking'. Indeed.

Other winners were:

• Cornell University, for protecting and encouraging the burning of a conservative student newspaper which had run a parody on 'ebonics'.
• The University of Michigan, where a philosophy professor discovered a number of white students with outstanding qualifications were rejected while other, less-qualified applicants were accepted for racial reasons.
• The State University of New York, for wasting tax-payers' money of an 'academic' conference featuring such topics as, 'How to Get What You Want in Bed', and 'Sex Toys for Women', along with sales booths for sexual paraphernalia and live demonstrations of whipping.

* Yale University, for the 'dumbed-down' curriculum of its women's studies program which now focuses on the most radical issues of militant feminism and homosexuality.

Only problem is that our libel and defamation laws would probably prevent us from doing something similar.

Antonia Feitz

Personal trivia, from the global office:

Another perfect day in paradise.

Have a good one.

Recent stories exclusive to  (how to) subscribe/rs of the Australian National News of the Day:

Unethical trifecta expose Courier Mail's intellectual prostitutes - 9th May 1998
MIGA - son of MAI exposed - 8th May
Just me and Pauline - 5th May
One Nation breakfast - 4th May
Just who are the Mont Pelerin Society - 3rd May
The Internet and the DEATH of the MAI - 30th April  
Launch of Pauline Hanson's re-election campaign - 29th April  
Second One Nation protest surprises Bob McMullan - 28th April  
Sultan of Brunei buys up big tracks of Australia - then negotiates Indonesian "settlements" 25th April
Maritime Union of Australia win in the Federal Court 22nd April
Just who is behind the dock war? 19th April
One Nation Birthday Party on Pauline Hanson's farm 10th-12th April
One Nation state and federal candidates meet in Toowoomba 4th -5th April

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