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Bob Ellis writes an open letter to Independent MPs Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor, imploring them not to side with Murdoch’s shady propagandists.
Dear Rob and Tony,
It is wrong that you should side with Murdoch ‒ whom the Mother of Parliaments the House of Commons, called ‘unfit to run a major international company’‒ against anybody, or to imagine he somehow stands for freedom of speech.
Nobody under him has freedom of speech.
They must say what he says, in the tone of Bill O’Reilly, to keep their jobs.
They must sound like Palin, Rove, Bolt, Akerman, to stay in work.
They must support the Iraq War, and Sarah Palin, and Glenn Beck, and John Howard, and his right ‒ that is, Murdoch’s right ‒ to sell tobacco to the Third World.
They must persecute Slipper, Thomson, Hicks, Habib, Haneef, Obama, Bill Clinton and Teddy Kennedy.
They must agree that Fox News is ‘fair and balanced’ and Rebecca Brooks guiltless of any wrongdoing — like bugging the anguished relatives of the dead.
- Click on image to access this 2 May 2012 story on ABC Online.
Lincoln said:
“Freedom does not, and should not, include the freedom to oppress.”
I suggest you move an amendment saying no mogul who controls fewer than three newspapers is subject to these rules.
The more media Murdoch owns, the less freedom of speech there is — and hence, the less freedom in our country.
Please vote for freedom of speech, not its enemy.
Yours,
Bob Ellis
Rupert Murdoch’s “Sydney comic book”, the Daily Telegraph, yesterday depicted Communications Minister Stephen Conroy as Joseph Stalin. On page 2 of today’s paper, they apologised to Stalin for this comparison.
(Click here to sign the petition asking the Australian Press Council to prosecute the Daily Telegraph over its depiction of Stephen Conroy as Joseph Stalin.)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
36 Comments
Bloody Murdoch and his demon minions! Bring them down now! Their shrill and purile demand to totally own the public conversation make them more suitable for the guise of Hitler, Stalin and every other son of a bitch who would want to control the minds and souls of the average punter.
170 signatures to go on the change.org petition.
Tinfoilhatter
the link for the petition
https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/australian-press-council-prosecute-the-daily-telegraph
What chance a fair and unbiased media ? STUFF ALL
even the most ardent MSM supporter could not see the Conroy article as fair and balanced
c’mon folks! It’s easy to write comments…take the time to sign the petition as well.
To everyone out there – please urge everyone you know who would normally not consume electronic media to go online and see what people are saying about the MSM and Murdoch propaganda war on Australians. If you hear someone agree with the propaganda rags dont just tell them they are being made a fool of but prove it to them – show them why on your smartphone by pulling up a contradictory fact fom one of the reputable news site such as this. Do not stay silent and let people remain in ignorance. Sites like IA are a fantastic resource, use it to educate others. There is too much at stake not to!!
Thanks for the link for the petition. I have signed and will send it onto my friends. I think the msm have gone too far. Thank goodness for IA, Australians for Honest Politics where you can go and get facts in reporting not MSM opionions which are reported for their own gain.
Just signed the petition. I thought Oakshot and Mr Windsor was better than that. forget about your jobs for a second and ask yourselves Why is Tony Abbott lunching with these NEWS LTD every week in Private at their HQ to discuss strategies to get The PM.you can’t tell me that you didn’t know this, we all do.
Why don’t you bring it up with the PM or ask in QTime who he meets every week at the NEWS LTD?
It has to stop. this insult on MR Conroy is a disgrace and Tim Williams last night thought it was funny. that man has to go so does the editor of the comic book The Telegraph.
I am seething. Wale up Australia.
Wale Up Australia, or Whale up Australia or Wail up Australia?
1. I have no idea.
2. Watch out for Japanese Boats
3. No, don’t. There is too much of it from Murdoch and his sycophants already for everyone to tolerate any more.
;{D
Whether the Government planned this all or if it was just a fluke of people not being able to help themselves, but what is in the Press now is incredible!
Well we have it from the IPA and Rupert themselves. The Horses mouth, so to say. Their Corporation is not there to look after the Interests of the Public, but the 5th Estate holdings are theirs to push what they see as their best interests. I never thought I’d be so happy that the IPA could not help itself in publishing its Fascism, but for Rupert to publish it as his word, PRICELESS.
I think we can disregard the Murdoch Press from here on as any relevance in the political discussion.
As to the proposed Media Laws, the Government would do a Master Stroke now to withdraw them and poke it’s tongue out at Murdoch. Touché!
What is not needed is to control the Media, but to fix up the glaring “Conflict of Interest” between Corporate Law and the needs and Care of the Law of the Society that nourishes and provides the wealth to these Corporations. To say it is not required would be outstanding arrogance in the face of humanity! Time for all Politicos’s to declare their stand? Definitely for our Politicians and Lobbyists for this election to do so, after Murdoch and the IPA’s decree of their stand!
The Murdoch media empire is demeaning the Government of Australia with it school bully antics, using photoshopped images to mock those who disagree with their view of the world.
I still blame the Murdoch empire in promoting the rise in refugee arrivals in Northern Australia by using his outlets to tell the world that with the probable election in September of Abbott & his slimy Liberal Party, there will be a ‘tougher’ policy on refugees. People smugglers who read or hear this propaganda think that they had better hurry & deliver their human cargo onto our doorsteps before the September election.
This has to end!
Comparison to totalitarian despots? Godwin’s law-News (very)Ltd loses the argument…….Lol
The irony is if they felt the need to photoshop a despot/dictator, it should’ve been with Murdochs face.
Thomson has said nay, I don’t think it’ll get through.
Conroy has treated the Indis and Greens very poorly on this one. Bad strategy, might be to our detriment.
It shocks me always when I read the sort of tripe presented that non-existent people smugglers are bringing refugees here.
Why do cretins in Australia think our policy makes people leave home? Did any change in policy force 1 million Syrians to leave home, did some smugglers force Syrians to leave home or would that be the fucking civil war.
Fair dinkum, the cretinous level of spew chucked up by the likes of csaw drive me to despair.
The law has not changed moron, the refugee convention is still law.
Nothing but a full page retraction would suffice,it is about time ACMA acted ….it is time
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151560681246419&set=o.274330505796&type=1&theater
any chance you could put this photo on IA ?
Give Williams the flick Today.
The British are rejoicing that their PIMA stopped Rupert from getting control of BSkyB and that James has left the country as they watch streams of cops, public servants, journos and all manner of people going to jail for the crimes of a criminal organisation like the Murdochs.
Lets see if this makes the front pages tomorrow .
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian monthly jobs growth hit a near 13-year high in February, an “extraordinary” result that helped keep the unemployment rate steady and eased pressure on the central bank to cut rates.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said 71,500 jobs were created last month, smashing forecasts for a rise of 10,000 and the biggest jump since July 2000.
UBS economist George Tharenou said: “It is clearly a strong result and shows that employment growth is tracking much faster than some people had been expecting.”
The bureau said the rate of unemployment stood at 5.4 percent, unchanged from January due to more people re-entering the workforce, and better than predictions for a rise to 5.5 percent.
Thursday’s figures come just nine days after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates at historic lows of 3.0 percent, saying previous cuts were beginning to take effect.
Macquarie Bank senior economist Brian Redican said the numbers were “extraordinary” and added: “With that kind of employment growth there is no rationale for cutting rates.”
HSBC Australia chief economist Paul Bloxham expects the unemployment rate to stay below 5.5 percent for the remainder of 2013, edging down in the second half of the year.
“This survey helps add further weight to our view that the soft patch in the economy is probably behind us,” he said.
“The housing market is recovering, house prices are rising, consumer sentiment has bounced and equity markets are up.”
The question is why we allow a foreign citizen – namely Murdoch, who own and runs something like 75% of the media in Australia to continue to do so?
Have signed the petition. Disgraceful, News Ltd allowed to publish so much incitement to hate, should have been removed from all sales/giveaway outlets immediately.
xiaoecho, I find the main problem with showing people the alternative viewpoints is that they will not read them. They are quite happy to re-send vexatious, nasty, hateful, factually wrong emails to all and sundry without any analysis of the contents themselves. They will not read any reply you send, complete with references.
Their minds are closed to all that would disturb viewpoints that have been corrupted by News Ltd, the voice of the LNP. Facts do not mean anything as they feast on the mendacious opinions (not journalism) of people like Bolt and Pickering.
I fear all is lost in the search for rational, objective and fact driven public discussion as it has been reduced to simplistic slogans, the latter day soma, for the brain dead.
“I don’t understand anything,” she said with decision, determined to preserve her incomprehension intact. “Nothing. Least of all,” she continued in another tone “why you don’t take soma when you have these dreadful ideas of yours. You’d forget all about them. And instead of feeling miserable, you’d be jolly. So jolly,” from BRAVE NEW WORLD.
For those who don’t remember soma was a key ingredient of Aldous Huxleys Brave New World, a drug to keep the population in line. A bit like News Ltd and Fox News. The use scare tactics to keep the populations incomprehension intact.
Don’t question, just believe what we tell you because we (News Ltd) are your champions against that dreadful government.
And this crap is what the MSM advocate and what our money is being spent on.
Today approximately 30 families and children were transferred from Manus
camp to Inverbrackie detention facility in South Australia.
Many of the mothers are pregnant and were told that they would not be
transferred to Australia but would have their babies in the
primitive hospital on Manus. These women are taking Malaria tablets
which puts them further at risk.
Someone has relented or possibly the PNG authorities have refused the
women, hence the transfers.
Sadly a Howard government strategy has been included. This is to
separate families to ensure compliance.
An Iraqi mother and her 8 year old daughter were sent leaving the
father and son behind in Manus. The child has a blood disease and
serious ear infection.
They were told that they would be sent back as soon as the child recovered.
This was a standard Howard /Ruddock ploy when children were sent from
Nauru for medical reasons. Mothers and siblings were left.
Surely by any standard this is nasty brutish and cruel.
more madness : watching the Ch 7 afternoon news today as a breathless right wing loon and Alan Jones acolyte Ben Fordham tells us news crews are gathering outside Gillard & Rudd’s offices for expected leadership spill….text messages winging around Parliament House..etc etc blah blah.
Nothing happened.
techinbris. sorry about that, it was suppose to read WAKE UP Australia. my letters are all fading on my laptop. oops
Oscar jones. No doubt it was NEWS LTD spreading these rumours,they are running out of puff. This is their playing card this week. wonder what it will be next week.
” reddragon
14 March, 2013 at 11:57 pm
Oscar jones. No doubt it was NEWS LTD spreading these rumours,they are running out of puff. This is their playing card this week. wonder what it will be next week.”
Fordham finally admitted that text messages came from LNP.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/mar/14/operation-weeting-four-arrests-alleged-sunday-mirror
And here we go, four more arrests from the great moral Murdoch empire.
Thanks for the petition link. Signed it and passed it on.
Kindest regards
MarilynS, I will think you would agree with me if I condoned sending to our Concentration Camps, one politician or a direct family member of theirs, for every Asylum Seekers that is interred. Till that refugee is humanely given freedom to work and exist in life, free of persecution, no release. Watch the processing ZOOOM!
I think we’d be rid of those Concentration Camps in no time if Politicians were truthful to themselves on how justified their choices are after the experiencing of their “solutions”. One never knows, unless you give it a go. We’d even set up a “special” Tents for those who just can’t stop promoting the experience. I am sure we can create a lasting impression for you to cherish for the rest of your days!
For those who feel it is justified to persecute those less fortunate, well if you love it so much, do it to those Submissive, that would desire such treatment. There are always some. That way you don’t have to do it to anyone who doesn’t want it. Maybe your Partner in life? No? Why not? I thought they liked what you are?
See how silly Discrimination is everyone.
Reddragon, or should I call you DdraigGoch? (I do remember my experiences in Wales)
I was only attempting some darkish humor in the twilight cast by the situation we discussing. No apology is required.
I agree Tech, and if we sent the wankers to war that would stop the slaughter of innocents as well.
In another step towards totalitarianism, the LNP and partisan lecturers are now recruiting students, making them pay their own fees instead of paying marketers to campaign against Labor.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-university-of-technology-marketing-students-given-assignment-to-develop-campaign-for-federal-lnp-candidate-bill-glasson/story-e6freoof-1226598204355
Failure to conform with getting the best result for the LNP equals a fail naturally.
MarilynS, Back in the early 60′s we marched from Oxford to London, in a ban the bomb demonstration ( seems so Passe now)we marched against the Viet war and the dismissal, I wish I still had half the passion of my younger self, you have it in spades, maintain the rage Marilyn, maintain the rage.
I find it instructive that the Murdoch media sought to characterize Sen.Conroy’s media review as the actions of a military tyrant. I almost expected this Right wing megaphone to issue an instinctive call to ‘send in the troops’ and I’m sure, under the right circumstances, they’d do it (hey, they did it in Venezuela). Which got me thinking about the next war (Iran, 2013) and the manner in which we will be going there (read the recent US developments if you doubt the changed climate).
The manner in which the West — in fact, all modern nations — go to war is extremely disturbing. We have the technologically right. We can destroy in a week what has taken a century to build, to take functioning nations and turn them into no-go zones and wastelands for generations. Yet we never question the ridiculously immature human judgement backing these decisions. Any political hack and second rate lawyer like John Howard can determine themselves a statesman and order murder and mayhem on an unimaginable scale in a country far away.
The key point here is society’s refusal to accept that we are still fundamentally chimpanzees, intelligent for sure, but driven by emotions, group pressures and poor judgement very close indeed to our simian cousins. The John Howards and George Bushes of this world, drunk on power and popular adulation, will wave the comparison away as contemptible, a sleight upon the maturity of judgement of the human species of which they, in their own humble assessment, are the pinnacle. We don’t let child molesters in our schools yet we let psychopaths and narcissists run deadly armies as their private playthings.
The ancients, lacking sufficient military hardware to confuse themselves on their invincibility and for whom military defeat involved their own brutal death and that of their families, acknowledged their simian limitations and took out insurance — the exchange of hostages. Key family members would be sent to live in comfort with the enemy on the understanding that if attacks ever occurred they would be the first to die. I imagine Barack Obama’s daughters as exchange traded hostages, living as students on downtown Tehran and having the time of their lives learning different cultures and being treated as honored guests, with a few limiting restrictions on their movements. The families of Iranian leaders would be welcomed in the US in the same way.
There are many pluses for such a program, not the least of which is that it would make war a last resort rather than the first. But we are beyond this, right? It’s an affront to the dignity of our human nature (the same human nature that brought us Auschwitz, Pol Pot and Nagasaki). That it calls into question the reliability of our intellects and judgement (and so it should).
Virtually any action is preferable to war. So we should have a program of exchange hostages as a global peace initiative. But, fearful of admitting to our human limitations, we shy away from the one truth that will protect us. We overrate our judgement, believe our own propaganda and are our own worst enemies. We lack the collective moral fibre to face up to our own weaknesses. We need to demand of our politicians that they aim lower, not higher. And that our media do better than endless calls for war.
Joan, I might be 60 now and old and sick but I am still as angry as I was when I protested against the invasion of Vietnam when I was 13 years old.
Another Hazara has escaped a brutal deportation today in our courts, the only thing that is now saving refugees from our deranged racist government.
If you were watching Media Watch last night you would have been told that if you make a complaint to The Press Council about the matters discussed in the article above then your complaint is going to fall on deaf ears,I have written to Rob Oakeshott ,Tony Windsor,Adam Brandt….asking them to consider a from of standard that the public deserve not what the media wants us to swallow,I have notice on all our networks nobody has done a poll on people to see if some form of standard is neccessary,A good question would be framed like this”Would you be more or less likely to buy a Newspaper if you knew that there was some accoutabilty” I bet NewsPoll would not put that to anybody it is push Polling