Cheney's "nudge nudge, wink wink" to Australia

US Vice President Dick Cheney used classic dog whistle rhetoric yesterday, in a speech in which he urged Australia to remain with the occupation force in Iraq. Cheney told us that the US and Australia must stick together because we are “of the same stock.”

Don’t worry Mr Cheney, there is no chance that the people you pitched that message to could have failed to understand it. Thanks to your speech, we now know for certain what your “war on terror” is really about. There are people in this world who are not of the same stock, and those of us who are must join together in a crusade against them.

You can count on Australia.

Open Letter to the Defence Minister

Dear Mr Nelson,

You have taken your government's pro-war rhetoric to a new low today, when you compared Australia's involvement in the occupation of Iraq with the battle fought by Australian soldiers on the Kokoda Track during the Second World War.

I am a Vietnam veteran, and the son of a Kokoda veteran. My father fought in New Guinea after having previously fought in North Africa, Greece and Palestine. Mr Nelson, you have insulted the memory of my father, and all of the other Australian heroes who fought in New Guinea.

Mr Nelson, is there a mighty military force in Iraq that has already invaded several Asian nations and is advancing towards Australia? Of course there is not. Is there any force at all in Iraq that is capable of invading Australia? Of course there is not. Is there any threat whatsoever from Iraq that can compare with an imminent Japanese invasion? Of course there is not. No rational person would suggest that there is.

We in the veteran community have a term that we apply to the most contemptible of politicians. I refer to those who refuse to serve in the military themselves, but who enthusiastically send other people's sons and daughters to war. We call them Chickenhawks. You sir, are a classic example of a Chickenhawk. You are a disgrace.

Yours sincerely,

Lachlan Irvine

Iran in Iraq

I find it strange, bizarre even, that the Bush administration is making a fuss about the fact that Iranian weapons have been found in Iraq. Is this not the same United States that has provided weapons to every conflict, everywhere in the world, in the past 60 years?

Thank You Optus, Thank You Telstra

This blog has been silenced for a month by the combined efforts of Australia's biggest telephone companies, Optus and Telstra.

A month ago, we moved from one north-western suburb of Canberra to another north-western suburb of Canberra, a distance of a mere couple of kilometres. We informed our telephone service provider, Optus, well in advance of the move, and they had no difficulty cutting off the phone from the old address. Providing a service at the new address however, turned out to be an entirely different story.

Now remember, I'm not talking about some third world country with dodgy infrastructure. This is Australia's national capital in the 21st century.

Day after day Optus gave us excuses and promises, but no telephone service. Finally, after three weeks, they told us they had connected our phone. But still the phone was telling us it was not connected. It turned out that the Optus technician's attempt to connect us was foiled by Optus's great rival, Telstra. The previous owner of our new house had been a Telstra customer, and our phone couldn't be connected by Optus until it was first disconnected by Telstra.

A month to connect a telephone. Welcome to the information superhighway!