Open mic, Pte Jake Kovco, Letters, Cartoons

Last night I played guitar and sang at The Famous Blue Raincoat Cafe Bar in Yarraville. James Wakeling helped my out with some impressive accompaniament , licks and fills. I did about 4 or 5 songs. I think I did fairly well. Not too nervous either.
The cheese platter was delish. and the Chai Tea was lovely.

I've just come in from excercising in the park. And now it's time to do some serious blogging.
Here goes:

The prime minister has rejected claims by Pte Jake Kovco's widow that the army and the government had covered up over the circumstances surrounding his [Pte Kovco's] death."I can give her an assurance that there will be no cover up," Mr Howard said. (Pathological liar)

The government initially said Pte Kovco died when his gun discharged as he was cleaning it. It has since said the soldier was not cleaning the weapon when it accidentally discharged, but the details of exactly what happened remain unclear.
Under this Government things are never quite as they seem. Always some murkiness and secretiveness .

Jake's mother is an impressive woman. To hear her being interviewed over her son's death, click here, [click].

In my opinion, most of the letters to "The Age" today are very poignant.
Here are most of them. (Isn't it great, when you've got your own blog, you get to choose)


Sick comment belies what it is to be an Aussie
April 28, 2006

As a child I was called "wog", my parents before me "dago", my grandfather before them an "alien" who was locked up in an Australian internment camp during World War II. I was told to "go back to my country", when I was actually born here in Australia.
Now, the latest taunt by Hugh Morgan tells me I have a mental illness because I have dual citizenship ("Morgan rates dual citizens as 'bipolar' ", The Age , 27/4). And yet, my allegiances are staunchly to Australia. Little would he know. The truth of the matter is that it's a wonder we didn't get a mental illness from all the racist taunts we received as children and from all the challenges of straddling two cultures - which many of us did successfully, to our credit - without being scarred.
The real problem is in the way bigoted people view migrants: it's the look of the migrant's face that offends, not the number of citizenship papers they have (where was the advantage for Vivian Alvarez Solon in having Australian citizenship papers, when it was just the look of her face that had her deported?). And does Morgan honestly believe that scrapping dual citizenship automatically increases allegiance to Australia? I've heard more rational arguments from people with mental illness!
Citizenship is not one of the most important elements of personal identity. Take it from someone who's had personal experience in this. Cultural integration is one of the most important elements of personal identity. Mr Morgan should concentrate on developing the elements that contribute to cultural cohesion and not on the imposition of social and legal sanctions.
Take heart, Mr Morgan: monoculturalism is a curable disease. There's still hope for you and those who think like you.
Josie Cannizzo, Regent

None more dinky-di than my 'Yank' son
HUGH Morgan's comment that a person with dual citizenship had "at least the beginning of a bipolar disorder" is offensive and misinformed.
Our son was born in the US while my husband was posted there as a serving member of the Australian Army. At birth, he automatically became a US citizen and we also registered him as an Australian citizen. We have lived in Australia ever since and although our son, through circumstances beyond our and his control, has dual citizenship, he is a loyal and committed Aussie.
He has lived in many parts of Australia; has friendships spanning a multitude of wonderful cultures; enjoys bush camping with Aussie singalongs around the campfire; has trekked the outback and visited Aboriginal communities; adores our beautiful beaches; is a valued member of our local community; is a music buff and sports fan and has attended Anzac Day dawn services since he was a toddler.

This is what makes him an Aussie, not the certificate upon which his citizenship is printed.
Sarah Harris, Camberwell

When ignorance meets intolerance
IT IS most unfortunate that Hugh Morgan chose to expose both his ignorance of medicine and his intolerance of other nations when he compared dual citizenship with bipolar disorder in a speech at Deakin University this week (The Age, 27/4).

Yesterday, at the British consulate-general's office in Melbourne, I swore allegiance to the Queen and became a British citizen. I am now a proud holder of British and Australian citizenship and feel neither melancholy nor manic about this.

Only an introverted, ignorant person could believe that holding dual citizenship makes individuals disloyal to their country of residence or unable to embrace the cultural and political ideology of their chosen nations.

My husband is British and is planning to become an Australian citizen in due course. Our two-year-old daughter, born in England, holds British and Australian citizenship. We have families on both sides of the equator, and plan to move freely between Britain and Australia to live and work until we are unable to travel. We feel privileged to be in a position to do this.

I suggest that Mr Morgan researches the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV) for the definition of bipolar disorder before his next public speech; he may also find the definition of delirium interesting reading.
Dr Beth Christian (emergency physician), Port Melbourne

Gratuitous insult
HOW disturbing to read that Hugh Morgan equates having dual passports to having bipolar disorder. Did he even bother to research bipolar disorder before coming out with his naive and insulting comparison?
Sufferers of bipolar disorder do not choose to have the condition, nor can they just give it back, whereas a person with dual passports can choose to hand them back any time.

In most cases bipolar disorder is a hereditary condition, not obvious in childhood, but manifesting itself in the late teens or 20s. The disorder can be managed with medication, counselling and social support.
However, one of the intrinsic problems of this disorder is a reluctance by the sufferers to seek appropriate help. So the sufferers, their families and friends lurch from crisis to crisis, in an emotionally and financially draining search for stability and happiness.

We live in hope, and sometimes hope is all we can cling to. Suicide is an ever-present risk.
How dare Mr Morgan use his high profile to trivialise bipolar disorder? Say what you mean, Hugh, that holders of dual passports are lacking in patriotism - but don't imagine that using mental illness as an insult has won you any friends.
Name and address withheld

A smart idea, if you're rich
JOHN Howard's proposed non-compulsory "smartcard" (The Age, 27/4) is a calculated attack on the privacy rights of the poor. The card is not compulsory, except in instances where a person requires government assistance - those who can't fend for themselves due to circumstances usually beyond their control.

The card will contain "biometric" information about the holder, at least a photograph, as well as personal details ordinarily considered the private business of the individual. Those who do not require government assistance (and those who would like it, but earn too much money) are not subject to this level of personal privacy compromise.

Mr Howard claims the card will save $2 billion-$3 billion in welfare fraud each year. Perhaps he should look at cutting back on the obscene levels of corporate welfare he has provided by means of subsidies of private health insurance and education. (What about Corporations, eg Mitsubishi)
Far greater savings will be made there, but Mr Howard has cast himself as some sort of bizarre Robin Hood - everything he does redirects public money from the poor into the hands of the rich.Fred Abery, Wheelers Hill

Attack on liberty
THE Howard Government's so-called "smartcard" is just a national ID card by default. When aligned with the anti-terrorist laws and the powers of our security and spy agencies, this card has enormous potential to invade our privacy and erode our civil liberties.
Mr Howard says the card isn't compulsory, (pathalogical liar) but there is the big con: just try accessing government services without one and see the run-around you receive from the public service acting on Government instruction.
Reject this ID card to be introduced by guile.
John Barry, Croydon

We're still the foreign aid meanies
YOUR headline "Overseas aid to double within 4 years" (The Age, 27/4) uncritically perpetuates Alexander Downer's misrepresentation of the Government's plans for aid. As Tim Colebatch's report makes clear, Australian aid this year is $2.5 billion and an increase to $4 billion in 2010 is likely to be a real increase of well under 40 per cent, rather than a doubling.

If this amounts to around 0.36 per cent of national income as is claimed, this would be only half the UN target of 0.7 per cent, and less than two-thirds of the European Union countries' commitment of 0.56 per cent of their national incomes to aid by 2010.
The OECD announced earlier this month that in 2005 Australian aid was barely half the national average of other donors: 0.25 per cent of national income compared with the average effort by all donors of 0.47 per cent.

The Government's plans will continue to keep Australia among the meanest donors.
This is disgraceful, given the strength of Australia's economic position, the budget surplus, the repayment of all Commonwealth Government debt, and the desperate needs of the sixth of humankind living in absolute poverty.
Our capacity to contribute more and the imperative for doing so are clear, as your editorial "Aiding or abetting Third World poverty?"
(The Age, 27/4) argues.John Langmore, national president, UN Association of Australia

And something less serious (or is it) : Dirt pills may help to ease kids' asthma: [click]