One aspect of her program that particularly irritates me, is her frequent use of News Ltd or Sky News political correspondents to summarise the day’s political events, with the usual lightly disguised pro government spin.
Today’s piece was nothing more than an extended advertisement for an upcoming Sky News interview with Bush, in blatant contravention of the ABC’s editorial guidelines.

BTW, I think her ratings are going down the tube, which is hardly surprising

it’s just that it is so outlandish that I couldn’t begin to imagine it happening.

You mean outlandish like giving the vote to stone-age Aborigines or outlandish like the demise of the Communist Party of Australia …..or outlandish like covertly selling-off the war-service housing land at a time when there were a lot of war veterans’ families stuck in caravans and in substandard rental accommodation?

Liberals’ John Gorton was not hostile to service and ex-service personnel [he got is own burns scars in the cockpit of his own fighter aircraft!]; Labor’s Gough Whitlam was ex-RAAF too but his attitudes were rather ambivalent. It was those who came after Gorton who ranged from neglectful [at best] to downright hostile. Defence Minister, ex-RAAF Jim Killen - and Science and Technology Minister at the time of the Agent Orange scandal, ex-Army Brigadier Thomson - come immediately to mind. History will judge the current Prime Minister and his associates ….. heaps of lovely photos of politicians with brave Diggers notwithstanding.

The coalition side has been remarkably unlucky with its ex-military candidates - except for that terrific Australian, the Nationals’ Tim Fischer and maybe the Liberals’ Steve Pratt. Since the ’sixties in Australia, a “distinguished”[wtf?] military career rarely translated into a worthwhile political one for the coalition, whereas the ALP has had people like Tom Uren and the late Senator Jim Keeffe.

Defence Minister, Brendan Nelson, claimed that the killing was being done predominantly by al-Qaeda insurgents.

DAVID MARK: Last night on the 7.30 Report, the Defence Minister, Dr Brendan Nelson, made this statement in an interview with the program’s Presenter, Kerry O’Brien:

BRENDON NELSON: Well I can tell you Kerry that many many more would have died if the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and other countries were not there training the Iraqis, providing security.

The killing is being done by insurgents and it’s currently predominantly being done by al-Qaeda, which is an enemy to the civilised world, as much as it is to Iraqis and to Australia.

Nelson’s claim is, of course, nonsense. As Juan Cole reports, only about 2% of the estimated 100,000 insurgents in Iraq can be identified a al Qaeda.

For surely the perceived nature of the deployment might be radically altered by whom an armed force identifies as its most dangerous adversary.

Being apolitical doesn’t mean unaware. All military deployments are discussed between the politicians and Generals well before we hear of it.

Yes, I’ve read the records of many of these discussions between 1961 and 1965 in regard to commitment to Vietnam.

As subsequent events revealed, there was much room for improvement.

Many officers in the US Armed Farces have concluded that this opportunity for self-improvement was rejected.

Can Australian officers legitimately claim to be in a happier state of mind than US officers?

(I recognise that being the very junior member of a military/diplomatic coalition imposes special tasks and provides unique opportunities.)

I didn’t miss your point, it’s just that it is so outlandish that I couldn’d begin to imagine it happening.

I don’t recall Gorton turning on us and I’m the sensitive type but I do recall Whitlam gutting the Army. Must just be our different perspective. Over my long involvement I formed the opinion that the conservatives were more friendly to us military but sometimes it was a close call. For a long time there were no votes in the military and both sides of the divide acted accordingly.

In my opinion, any statement that includes the line “failed frolics of a surrender-monkey prime minister” shows a lack of objectivity but then that’s just me.

Fleet Air Arm. You are right, we lost the abilty of naval projection but that ability came at a huge cost and the atmosphere wasn’t there to accept the cost. However you originally said we lost the Fleet Air Arm…we didn’t, we lost the flat-tops. Of course, it could be said the F111s made up for this and today inflight refueling changes the picture considerably.

Katz,
Being apolitical doesn’t mean unaware. All military deployments are discussed between the politicians and Generals well before we hear of it. In addition to this, the soldiers can talk to the majors, the majors to the colonels and the colonels to the generals.This is particularly true in the SASR. No general worth his rank goes to a meeting with politicians without having discussed the ramifications of potential deployments beforehand with the people most likely to carry out the task. Officers who are always being surprised by events are weeded out long before achieving field rank.

Anna,

The issue is when and whether it’s right to express them while in uniform.

No issue…it is wrong but that wasn’t my point with Tinley. He looked for credibility using his military experience and those who don’t understand would easily take what he said as a professional opinion when it wasn’t - it was a personal one.

His comments about being shocked and traumatised about the Tampa insertion brings to question his professionalism. What sort of mission brief did he give his troopers? He says “We were effectively invading the sovereign soil of Norway. If he believed that at the time, and it is his right to do so, then he should’ve resigned his commission.

As Jock says Right-wing martials only become a problem when they try to short-circuit democracy then the same applies to left-wing martials…If Tinley disagreed so vehemently with the governemt he had no choice but to resign…and he didn’t, not then.

That’s why I don’t warm to Tinley

Yeah, I know, long winded but rest easy, I have to do some work now…bye

Does she screw up her face disapprovingly when saying the words “John Howard”?

Does her face light up glowingly when saying the words “Bob Brown”?

Does she shake her head with disapproval after each night’s story on that day’s massacre in Iraq?

Does she laugh mockingly after a story on George W. Bush?

Does she tear up when reading a story on Guantanamo Bay?

Mr Scott, a former NSW Liberal staffer, said the ABC had produced almost as many conservative politicians as Labor MPs.

He said NSW Liberal state MP Pru Goward was a former ABC journalist, as was former NSW Liberal leader Peter Collins, and federal Liberal MPs Gary Hardgrave and Cameron Thompson.

A former Liberal MP, Eoin Cameron, was the current host of ABC radio Perth’s popular breakfast program and ABC radio Coodabeen Champions presenter Ian Cover was a former Victorian Liberal parliamentarian, Mr Scott said.

“We’ve found nine former ABC journalists who’ve made it into parliament for conservative parties and 10 for the Labor party,” he told the committee.

“So, we’re seeing some at the moment but it’s a broad church and we’ve provided many candidates for both sides of parliament over time.”

Western Australian Labor Premier Alan Carpenter, Northern Territory Labor Chief Minister Clare Martin and former NSW Labor premier Bob Carr are all former ABC journalists.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21782210-1702,00.html

If two former ABC types running for office as Labor candidates implies a bias in that organisation, does the same charge apply to the armed forces where two former well regarded members are also doing the same for Labor?

This is silly, even by the risible standards of culture war commentary set by most Larva Prodders. All it implies is a couple of dis-affected army officers who are making the ALP some political capital during an unpopular war.

Anyone who implies that the ABC does not usually list Left or that the ADF does not usually list Right is being deliberately disingenuous.

Here, composed after a moments thought are a journalists and op-edders who currently work for the ABC and are fairly Left-wing:

George Negus;
Allan Ashbolt;
Juanita Phillips,
Virginia Haussegger,
Romana Koval,
Virginia Trioli,
Geraldine Doogue

Then there are the legion of ABC journos who actually worked for the ALP: Tom Switzer covers the multitude of sinners:

McKew, who was an ABC journalist for more than 30 years until she quit the national broadcaster last month, will now be a special adviser on strategy to the Labor Party.

at one time or another many ABC journalists have worked for the Labor party (think of Barrie Cassidy, Kerry O’Brien, Mark Bannerman, Alan Carpenter, Claire Martin, Mary Delahunty and Bob Carr, among others). In contrast, how many prominent ABC journalists have worked for the conservative side of politics in recent decades?

One: Pru Goward. And she is on the Far Left of the Liberal Party.

I dont have much of a problem with ABC-leftism. Left-wing sentiment for intellectuals is functional. They are professionals at social critics. Social critique aims at criticising authority and is therefore anti-Right. Left wing intellectuals are only a problem when they become start “marching in-step with the big battallions” (Orwell).

Nor do I have a problem with ADF-rightism. Right wing sentiment amongst military is functional. They are professionals at national security. National security aims at consolidating authority and is therefore pro-Right. Right-wing martials only become a problem when they try to short-circuit democracy.

I do have a problem with those who continually insinuate that Black is White and Up is Down ie standard “New” Leftist cultural commentary. (Which was looking old at least 20 years ago already.)

I’d be interested to know what appreciation the Officers of the SAS have of their deployments? Are they mostly naive or are they mostly cynical about they effects of their deployments? Or perhaps, are they seething about a misapplication of the kind of force they are capable of imposing on an enemy?

Nai’vity would be completely out of the question.

Kev Gillett:
This is a blog, not a scholarly journal, but my description of what happened to the Fleet Air Arm could be expanded to a 5 000-word paper if that would make you happier ….. of course were name-changes and there was some sort of career continuity, with significant modification, for the lucky ones. When all is said and done, Australia no longer has the ability to project credible air-strike capability independently and far beyond out shores …. however, the RAN still has a few squadrons with nice names…

You’ve missed my point.

a future Liberal government [if there ever is such a thing] might decide to disband the SAS Regiment because of it being too closely associated with the failed frolics of a surrender-monkey prime minister.

They have form.

When Gorton was PM at the height of the Viet-Nam War, nobody could have guessed at the time that his Liberal Party would, within a decade, turn on the very same service personnel they were praising to the skies for fighting Communism.

One does not publish full-face photos of serving SASR soldiers this century. Anyway, that’s not necessary. What is important is for the Prime Minister to be seen surrounded by sea of sandy berets. All the mug-voters want to see is their Dear Leader’s beaming or somber face [depending on the needs of the day]; they don’t want to be bothered looking at the faces of his military worshippers, just their backs. And if it is widely known that it is forbidden to show the faces of these special soldiers then photos of the prime minister addressing whole squadrons of them - and actually seeing all their faces - just adds to the mystique.

Of course the whole thing is a load of bollocks but its the bollocks that the mug-voters go for; that’s why they are and ever will be mug-voters. Sceptical informed voters, on the other hand, are not impressed by such shenanigans.

What SASR soldiers themselves think of politicians using their unit as a stage-prop will eventually come to light as they leave the ADF and as a few of them write their memoirs [should be hilarious reading].

They (once we) are mainly apolitical and look at these matters with a different mindset.

How do soldiers recognise if and when a situation isn’t suspectible to a military solution?

If and when soldiers encounter such a situation, how do they communicate that perception to their political masters, who presumably are anything but “apolitical” and therefore make decisions about deployment of the military with political in mind?

Secondly, had he spoken out while still in uniform you might have a point, but he didn’t. He waited until he’d been out for a few years. Unless you’re implying that SAS soldiers are all mindless borgs, soldiers can and do have political opinions, and views about the missions they’re going on. The issue is when and whether it’s right to express them while in uniform.

Thirdly, you seem to be implying that Tinley was in some way unprofessional, and your description of trained, efficient soldiers doesn’t apply to him. Which I am absolutely certain is not your intention, Kev. His choices after leaving the army should not be used to diminish the work he did for 25 years just because you and others hate/dislike/whatever he said.

Never suggested he didn’t and anyway supporting Afghanistan is ALP policy so no surprise there.

…being put in harm’s way for no good reason. I can promise the vast majority don’t see it that way. They will see both Iraq and Afghanistan as legitimate theatres for combating terrorism and after an incredible amount of hard and dangerous training they will want to put it into effect.

And they have.

Because you and others hate/dislike/whatever Howard and Bush and believe they lied about Iraq doesn’t cut it in the military. They (once we) are mainly apolitical and look at these matters with a different mindset.

Just sayin’.

High Tech Hit Squad doesn’t sit with the work they have done, in fact it’s a put-down, and I think you’ll find the Officers and troopers are more than happy with what they have been called upon to do; their only problem being they are a bit thin on the ground and some are overdeployed.

If you’re looking for mobs of Tinley’s in the SAS you will be disappointed believe me.

Graham Bell. 723, 816 and 817 Squadrons, RAN think they are still an active part of the Fleet Air Arm. What did happen was that the Aircraft Carrier Melbourne wasn’t replaced although in 1982 Malcom Fraser had contracts signed to buy HMS Invincible but the Falklands war put a stop to that. Hawke, of course wasn’t interested and it’s only now, with some degree of financial management and understanding of defence matters that we can look once again at flat tops, albeit small ones

Conservative Wogs* … Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells

Poor Connie.

When I first encountered her in the corridors of the NSW Government during the late ’80s she was aggressively Italo-Australian, all long dark hair tossed over the shoulder and rolling the “r”s in her surname, pronouncing her own and other Italian names with the kind of musical intonation that’s hard for non-Italian speakers to achieve without pressing the balls of the thumb, forefinger and middle finger together.

Then she married Mr Wells, and the Dave Clark Right began to assert themselves in the NSW Liberal Party. All of a sudden she starts caking on the makeup to hide that Mediterranean complexion and referring to herself as “Mrs Connie Wells”. Having gone to so much trouble to de-wog herself, her current persona seems somewhere between these extremes of Sophia-Loren-from-Wollongong and Stepford-wife. She ran against Tony Abbott and is only in Parliament because she probably has the numbers to knock over Bronwyn Bishop.

Is there anyone better qualified to root out and expose people in public life who are disguising their true natures?