Dr Mohammed Haneef has had the charge against him dropped, hints of the government now saying it should never have been laid, Mohammed freed from jail - into the arms of waiting immigration officials. Kevin Andrews is seeking advice on his decision to deport, so Dr Mohammed doesn't go straight into immigration detention. He now has to live at a residence as directed by the department, and will likely have regular reporting conditions. By all accounts he is keen to see his family, a cousin having flown over in the last week from India. Sadly, because his visa is presently suspended so is his employment. I guess this way the government gets him to go into debt to pay his own bills, while they continue to fuck around with his life.
Honest John, of course, is now out to change history to make himself appear all the more righteous. Thus, he is looking increasingly like sacking the fall guys, the Director of Public Prosecutions and Top Dog Plod. This guy (Johhn) reminds me increasingly of Stalin.
Steve Bracks has resigned from his premiership of the state of Victoria, citing personal reasons. A bit sad for that state, I think, as he seemed to be fairly well liked by most people (at least, not abusively hated). I myself have never really trusted him to be anything other than a power hungry labor politician. I wonder what will happen to his proposed high court challenge to Johnny's recent grab for federal control over the River Murray against Victoria's effective boycott of the 'national plan'. Are there any effective states' rights left, would be the eventual question to hit the high court.
Missionary Mal has lept on the centralist freight train in his usual inimitable style, publicly announcing he is inviting all and sundry to make suggestions about how he should spend the money he plans to remove from the states from their housing budgets. He will then choose the plan he likes the best. This is his idea of democracy. It will be some version of increased government subsidy of rack renters.
Finally, and most worryingly, is this news story about smiling phil's ramping up of censorship of politically 'incorrect' material. He seems to want to ban the publication of material advocating terrorism (as defined under the anti-democratic anti-terror laws brought in by this government). He wants to co-ordinate the definitions of 'terror' under present censorhip/classifaction processes with those of his anti-dem-terror laws.
Considering the possible broadness of definition of the terms 'advocate' and 'terror' under those laws, this will create a potent machinery for use by a future totalitarian state - the logical outcome of all of this. The treatment of Dr Mohammed shows how the forces of law and order, given a power, will use it. It will only take them to commit themselves fully and they will be able to imprison opponents of capitalist 'progress' under anti-dem-terror laws, and stiffle dissent or outcry of the chattering classes by shutting down their presses.
Not that this government would do that.
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