Saturday 19 October 2002

An American Down Under

Several aspects of the recent Bali atrocity deeply disturb and for more than the high casualties of friends and family members we (collectively) lost, and also for more than the obvious connection to Bush's agenda through its timely event. At the top of my list is the Australian mainstream media's reporting of the bombings and immediate use of key 'Bush-buzz-words' designed to plant in the mind through power of suggestion that those responsible for the bombings were conveniently one-and-the-same as those needed as scapegoats by the Bush Administration. Instantly, as if orchestrated by the same group who scripted the 9-11 reporting moments after the first attack in New York, and without one single shred of evidence as to what even caused the explosion at the Sari night club, the terms 'MUSLIMS', 'TERRORIST', 'AL-QAEDA' and links to HUSSEIN were being thrown into our faces over and over.

As if the terrorist attacks are some kind of F***ing game with nations keeping score the Aussie Channel Nine news compared the Australian death toll in Bali to the September 11 attacks pointing out that, per capita, Australia suffered more losses. The Monday after the Bali bombing Prime Minister John Howard attempted to ã9-11ä the tragedy by creating his own 'day of infamy' slogan saying: "For the rest of Australian history, 12 October 2002 will be counted as a day on which evil struck." But while the Oz government and mainstream media appear to be fully 'Americanized' in their thought and tactics they aren't fooling the Aussie people. Talking to folks on the street I found that while the Aussies hurt deeply for their own who were killed in Bali they look at the tragedy as a human tragedy and hurt and pray equally for all 20 + other countries who lost citizens and loved ones. One mother at our childrenâs school almost hit the nail on the head when she commented that these terrorist attacks would not have occurred if the United States president was not such a bully wanting to go to war with everyone. Her friend replied very correctly that "it seems whenever one of those Bushes are in charge over there the US goes to war with someone."

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