Terrorism
AUSTRALIA needs to overhaul its travel warning system or end up looking like the boy who cried wolf.

We found out last week that 567,000 Australians visited our neighbour Indonesia last year.
This means more than half a million Australians either didn’t know about - or, more likely, happily ignored - the Australian Government’s travel warnings when they flew off to Bali for a week of sun, surf, beer, braiding, tattoos and tummy upsets.
Continue reading "Our travel warning system is the boy who cried wolf" »
“That’s not insulation, THIS is insulation,” a Canberra insider quipped in mock Paul Hogan at news of Australian involvement in the Dubai assassination plot.

Three weeks of intense scrutiny over the bungled $2.45 billion free home insulation scheme, suddenly gave way to a news of an `actual’ political assassination.
And what a story it was, instantly providing Kevin Rudd and his beleaguered Environment Minister, Peter Garrett with some welcome political insulation. As former Liberal leader, John Hewson, noted, the PM grabbed it with unusual relish, so keen was he to start talking about something else.
Continue reading "Espionage and terrorism give Rudd some insulation" »
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Robert Smissen says:
Does Kevin Have a Junie Moroni & a Dr Cairns Read more »
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casba says:
@Persephone. How much is Labor paying you to spruik these inanities that pour profusely form your lips? They are paying you, right? You could not, not be on the payroll and write such gibberish. You are a classic example of a pure unadulterated Ruddite- or should that read Luddite? Read more »
Tony Abbott has accused Kevin Rudd of sexing up the language in the counter-terrorism white paper. Very Wag the Dog. Join us here from 2pm for our live coverage of Question Time.
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John A Neve says:
Sherlock, As I have explained before on this site, a Financial Debits Tax, would reduce tax for the majority, possibly all taxpayers. But would catch every one, as a result the government would have a greater tax income. Think outside the box Sherlock, you are all too busy proving that… Read more »
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Sherlock says:
John you said that the “the pool of payers would be larger” I’m just interested where these extra taxpayers are going to come from. Your question? You mean are the rich getting richer? Certainly are as they have been since the beginning of time and will continue to do so.… Read more »
It was so simple for the Opposition. Keep hammering Peter Garrett on the details of when exactly he saw Minter Ellison warnings about the risks associated with the Government’s home insulation scheme.

If they didn’t get his scalp, they would at least have a strong message about Ministerial incompetence in the Rudd Government for the Federal Election campaign.
Then this morning Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham jumped the shark.
Continue reading "Coalition’s own goal in the insulation shoot-out" »
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John A Neve says:
Asproella, Rudd has no control over the oppositions members, so he cannot send them anywhere. Perhaps you should direct your concern to Mr Abbott. While this project could and should have been handled better, many of those companies that have lost out should never have been involved in the first… Read more »
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asproella says:
Shame on Kevin Rudd for making this insulation debarcle where people have died and people are losing their busineses into a political point scorer for his election,sending out all his mps into their electorates to help people who have had insulation fitted .What about none Labor electorates???? do they have… Read more »
The Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is due to visit Australia in early March and will be addressing both houses of Parliament.

It’s not that common to have a foreign leader address the Australian Parliament but it will be repeated later in March when the US President Barack Obama is expected to do the same.
Australia-Indonesia relations are always complex. At the leadership and government level they remain strong as the Howard Government had left them, despite frustrations in official Indonesian ranks over the Rudd Government’s handling of the Oceanic Viking saga and the ongoing issue of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers that remain in limbo off a West Java port.
Continue reading "Our role in defending democracy in Indonesia" »
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Dan says:
But how would the killing of a small number of Australains by extremists prove that an entire country hates us?! Read more »
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Dan says:
I don’t need to learn to read to know that you’re a fanatic. Read more »
Who’s going to say it first? Surely in the prickly conversations going on through the ranks of Australian sport and diplomacy, many people are suggesting it: that we shouldn’t be going to the Commonwealth Games.

It is one thing to take your own life in your hands by getting on a toboggan and going down an ice chute but it is quite another for governments and sporting authorities to send athletes to a place where people are threatening to kill them.
Following today’s threat of a terrorist attack on the Games in New Delhi from an al-Qaeda offshoot the stakes have been raised to vertigo-inducing levels. Fox Sports reports today:
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Concerned Aussie says:
Fully agree with Etrix… I think India very well deserve to host the games. This event will reflect to other members of Commonweatlh & other new countries that with right attitude & approach every nation can economically grow like India has… definitely there lot of issues to tackle in India… Read more »
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Etrix says:
I see you are quite jealous of what India has achieved in just 60 years after independence… This is natural for someone like you who hasn’t achieved anything meaningful in life to feel that way… I have full sympathetic to you… As saying goes Elephant does not get distracted when… Read more »
As a new year begins we should look at where we are with the struggle against Jihadi terrorism.

Retrospectively, we can now see a pattern in the role of Pakistani based Jihadists and new potential threats to Australia.
Three Australians, Gareth McEvoy, Nathan Verity, and Craig Senger, were murdered in Jakarta on July 17 by al-Qaeda’s South East Asian franchise, Jemaah Islamiyah.
Continue reading "On terrorism, we need to tell Pakistan enough is enough" »
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Davido says:
Yes Sri… a hard time. India needs to stop pretending it is the victim all the time. In the twelve months up to Mumbai there were 13 terrorist acts in India (there may be more of that I am not aware of). ALL of these were perpetrated by Indian terrorists.… Read more »
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ChrisJ says:
I believe Jezza is believing the propoganda and false history spread to justify zionist apartheid and land theft. There are tens of thousands of Muslims living in Iran despite strong efforts by Israel to frighten them into moving to Israel “to make up numbers” and displace those who have… Read more »
England is reportedly seriously considering pulling out of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in India in October because of fears its team will be targeted by Pakistani militants.

If it does pull the pin, it will be the first time England has not competed in the Games’ 80-year history - it’s potentially a very significant move. Presumably if the Brits pull out they won’t be the only ones - the whole Games could be in jeopardy.
Sport and geo-politics have always been inextricably linked, and sometimes this has resulted in great peril for the athletes. Images of the 1972 Munich Olympics, when Israeli athletes were taken hostage and then murdered by extremists with links to Fatah, are seared into our memories.
Continue reading "If we stop playing sport have the terrorists won?" »
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Garry says:
We can take any flight, visit any land, ride any train, sit & watch any sport, sit and enjoy a coffee in a cafe somewhere and it is a fact of life someone somewhere will want to kill you for that choice. (as happens somewhere in the world everyday) Terrorism… Read more »
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Dan says:
Thanks Wombat, I really appreciate it. I probably should ignore these people. Its just with Eric, he’s so much like an aggrevating child. The less said about Steeve and his bizarre anti-Chinese nonsence the better. Nonetheless, you are absolutely right, Wombat, that I probably shouldn’t bother. Thanks for your support! Read more »
Last night The Punch took a flight from Canberra to Melbourne and settled in for a viewing of Qantas’ in-flight news bulletin provided by Channel Nine.

Slowly recovering my obligatory takeoff fear of dying next to some guy in a Ralph Lauren t-shirt and blond tips in his hair, it occurred to me that the entire bulletin had not mentioned the biggest news story of the last few days: the failed terrorist attack aboard the Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit.
Absolutely nothing was reported in an almost half hour long broadcast about a failed terrorist attack aboard a passenger plane which a little group called Al-Qaeda have now claimed responsibility for. A story that still commanded high priority during their national news broadcasts that evening.
This wasn’t some shocking editorial oversight by a confused news editor, rather it’s very intentional Qantas policy not to inform it’s passengers of airline disaster related news stories.
Continue reading "Do we need to know about terrorism while in the air?" »
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Steeve says:
People use religion as a cover for all sorts of depraved stupidity to further their ends. Did it start with Mohammed? hell no,.. Look at what Titus did to the Jewish faith in AD70 or even Nero to the early christians a few years later… Violence in the guise of… Read more »
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David says:
How can anyone argue that there is no religion-based intentions behind these terrorist groups? Look at the facts here people: The IRA is a Catholic organisation that was unwilling to let a Protestant minority run Ireland. The Taliban is a radical political arm of Islam. Nothing less. Saddam Hussein’s regime… Read more »
An evocative photograph taken last week underscored that old utterance about a picture being worth a thousand words, and prompted at the same time some perennial questions about war in general, and about the particular war being waged at present in Afghanistan.

The AP photograph showed a small boy in the Afghan province of Helmand, standing on top of a small mound, his left hand reached out to clasp the right hand of a uniformed and heavily-equipped US marine.
Just what the two of them might have said to one another was not recorded in the caption, nor in the report below, which detailed a call from the UK Minister for International Defence and Security, Baroness Ann Taylor, for Australia to commit more troops to the NATO effort against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.
Continue reading "Afghanistan needs us to decide if we’re fighting on" »
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watto says:
Eric if you take your own advice and look up google Bush was trying to negotiate an oil pipeline through Afganistan. I suggest you look up “diplomacy” on dictionary.com - the definition does not say commercial interests…. Enjoy your “cheap” gas prices mate! Read more »
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Eric says:
John, bin Laden was the leader of al-Qaeda, the organisation that planned and executed the 9/11 attacks. Afghanistan was hosting al-Qaeda training bases, and Osama bin Laden himself, at the time. I suggest that Google is a useful source of information. Read more »
It went for 90 minutes, six times longer than the time allocated, so if you’re after a full transcript you’ll have to wait until Sunday.
Not since Kruschev banged his shoe on the table has the United Nations played host to a comparable level of madness, as Libya’s Colonel Gaddafi launched a sleep-deprived rant this morning which made Fidel Castro sound succint, Boris Yeltsin look dignified and Kim Jong-Il seem sane.
I’m not suggesting that you subject yourself to the above video in its entirety - it’s only 10 minutes long, no-one has yet bothered to upload the full 80 minutes - but the first couple of minutes are worth a look, as it seems Gadaffi has been mugged by the stationery aisle at Officeworks as he takes to the podium with a mountain of yellow legal paper and pieces of foolscap, and then waves like a sports star at the crowd before delivering his opus magnum.
Continue reading "Was this the craziest speech of all time?" »
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Cos Seven says:
Whenever I see people dismissing a speaker for his attitude, appearance and other non-speech-content matters I know he has spoken that truth which they cant bear to hear. What truth is that? The truth that implicates them. Read more »
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Sam says:
He spoke of how Lybia agrees with the UN Charter but doesn’t support the UN’s action (or lack thereof) in the wars that have taken place since the ratification of that charter. He also asked how Saddam Hussien, the president of a country, could be hanged in a dark room… Read more »
Has anyone else noticed there was something missing from the reaction to last week’s failed terrorism plot to stage a Last Stand at Holsworthy?

I pricked up my ears and sniffed the air but try as I might I could no longer detect a dog whistle, that barely audible call to channel justified fear into something altogether more ugly.
In a sign that the Howard era is finally over, both the Prime Minister and the besieged Opposition Leader exhibited a fundamental decency in playing the men and not the race.
Continue reading "Down boy - no more whistling to tune of terror" »
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Dan says:
R.E.L. Your talk of Islamicism taking over by winning eharts and minds is absolute nonsence. Burt even if it were true, there’s nothing wrong with attempting to win hearts and minds. Also, Howard played the man, not the ideology. He dog-whistled so much that he might as well have had… Read more »
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Aaron says:
Spot on Peter. There’s a stack of good (but detailed non-headline grabbing) work the Rudd Government (especially McLelland and Evans) have done on civil liberties and refugee/immigration reforms etc etc. They appear to have intelligently restrained themselves from blowing their own trumpet on a lot of these progressive reforms. The… Read more »
The ABC has been criticised for not mentioning the “M” word in their coverage of the arrest of the alleged terrorists in Victoria, for planning an attack on the Holsworthy army base in Sydney.
There have been calls from media pundits that members of the relevant community condemn terrorism.
As a member of the relevant community I’m not afraid to use the “M” word: Melburnian.
Continue reading "As a proud Melburnian, I denounce all terrorism" »
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Josh says:
No Real point to that article. Plus you left out that Vic has a substandard replacement to NRL (yes I knocked AFL). Get over yourself Read more »
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LM says:
Steven, I see how it’s not easy to understand the logic behind what I’m saying. But you see it’s just that where you were born or even live for a certain period of time doesn’t often accurately reflect your ethnicity or how you identify yourself and it’s difficult to explain… Read more »
If you really want to depress yourself, type the name Sheik Hersi Hilole into Google.

He’s an Islamic scholar and Somali spiritual leader who, almost two years ago when still based in Sydney, was howled down as a rabble-rouser for issuing what his (Islamic) critics dismissed as a reckless, baseless warning about the radicalisation of young Somali refugees in Melbourne.
Hilole is now living and working in Singapore as an academic. No doubt he watched the events in Melbourne this week with a sense of weary despair. For without wishing to prejudge the terror charges, the case which the prosecution will try to prove is pretty much a scene-by-scene enactment of the scenario painted by the cleric in 2007.
Continue reading "The decent Islamic leader whom we ignored at our peril" »
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al says:
So Marilyn, if there is no “Radical Islam” in this country…then you are claiming Hersi Hilole, someone who lived and preached in the Somali community is a liar. That’s a pretty big claim for an outsider. Read more »
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Brad says:
When you live in poverty in a strange country and you just cannot seem to fit in, anyone or anything that comes along accepting you: well regardless of the cause you are part of a new family. Young people who join gangs, even young people join the military to escape… Read more »
One of the most disturbing things about this morning’s counter-terrorism raids in Melbourne is the profile of the suspects, who were allegedly planning a Mumbai-style machine-gun attack on Australian Army barracks.

They were, The Australian reports, construction workers and taxi drivers of Somali and Lebanese descent, living in suburban Melbourne.
Combine this with the admission of Anglo-Australian terrorist Shane Kent that he was part of a terrorist organisation and it’s clear terrorists don’t look like anything in particular and could be living in your street.
Continue reading "Race profiles a blunted tool in fight against enemy within" »
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johnv_au says:
The profile is they will be muslim they will be residents in the country they are going to attack and young and ready to kill non muslims and the authorities and law abiding muslims will probably already know them and they will be driven by what is happening to muslims… Read more »
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Paul says:
Paul Colgan your politcally correct views in this case are absolute nonsense. how many innocent people will have to die before fools like you admit that our biggest terrorist threats are from EXTREMIST MUSLIMS primarily of ARAB AND AFRICAN DESCENT. how on earth do you get away with publishing drivel… Read more »
Social media proved itself an an extraordinary tool today with the best coverage coming out of the Jakarta bombings provided by people on the ground with mobile phones and Twitter accounts.

But today’s events also proved that no matter what you think of journalists and the major media outlets they work for - there’s a reason why we filter information and images.
There’s a photograph all over the internet right now you won’t find on any mainstream news site - and nor should you. It shows a victim of the bombing, believed to be from New Zealand, who is now being reported as having died from his injuries.
Continue reading "Citizen journalism: you might not like what you see" »
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Maree says:
Has it occurred to any of you people knocking the mainsteam press that the bloggers and tweeters also choose what to present? Nobody publishes every photo they have. That would not be practical in the print media. Everyone who publishes—whether in a newspaper, on TV or on the internet—edits. Read more »
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Joe says:
Yes, please don’t distract the sheep from their two most important functions in life: working and consuming. Reality will only confuse and upset them. How will they know what to think without having their opinions dictated to them by agenda driven journalists? Read more »
Australian travel journalist Natasha Dragun lives down the road from the Ritz and Marriot hotels in Jakarta. She filed this post for The Punch on the bombings today.
I’ve lived in Jakarta for about 15 months (I moved here having spent 5 years in Beijing, and now work for a travel magazine based in Jakarta). I’ve always felt extremely safe here.

In fact, I’ve felt safer here than when I lived in Melbourne. Everyone here is always so friendly and lovely.
I’ve never been scared for my safety – even during the elections, or the executions of the Bali bombers… my family and friends were more worried than I was.
The security at both hotels (the Marriott and Ritz) is extremely tight, so I just don’t understand how the bombs got in.
Continue reading "“I heard the second one go off”: post from Jakarta" »
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Amanda says:
Thanks for your story Natasha. I too am a woman and have lived and worked in Jakarta for 10 years and have never felt any less safe here on a daily basis than I did in Australia. I have many Indonesian friends who were some of the first people to… Read more »
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Yanjune says:
Thanks for your story Natasha. Indeed, it is not about a country or the people or a particular religion. It is simply a terrorist matter and could happen in anywhere. Unfortunately it happened in Jakarta, Indonesia. Read more »
THE continuing carve-up of Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty has been framed around the events of 2007; or, rather, around one event, the botched handling of the terror investigation into Mohamed Haneef.

It has been used to deride Keelty as incompetent and pig-headed, as a morally questionable plod who cobbled together the flimsiest of cases against a poor subcontinental fellow who was jailed for a fortnight and waited a full year until every charge against him was dropped.
There was another event in 2007 that provides a more telling insight into Keelty’s character. It has enjoyed limited discussion in the days since he announced his resignation, as it undermines the agendas of those who are determined to portray him as set out above. This is because it goes to three things: courage, professionalism and decency.
Continue reading "Departing chief cops more flak than he deserves" »
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davido says:
OMG. Can we please have a professional who can do the job properly!? Read more »
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bill says:
looking forward to the day we get a decent blog network. that’s for setting it up as a model for others to follow, but based on your angle, you won’t be winners in the end. Read more »
He’s one of our most misunderstood and maligned public figures - and today, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty has confirmed he will be quitting the job on September 2, thirty-five years to the day he joined the force.

Keelty was reviled by the Left for his pursuit of exonerated terror suspect Dr Mohammed Haneef, and vilified by the Right for daring to suggest that the 2005 Madrid bombings were the direct result of the then conservative Spanish Government’s commitment to the war in Iraq.
The Madrid episode was a low point for the Howard Government - and was only defused when John Howard, who’s never been great at saying the s-word, invited Keelty to a secret dinner at Kirribilli House where he apologised to his face.
Continue reading "The day John Howard said sorry to Mick Keelty" »
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SOMEWHERE in a cave in Afghanistan, a guy has just got home after a hard day’s jihad, cracked an ice-cold tube of something halal, and is laughing himself silly watching Australia’s Funniest Home Videos.
Not the normal program, where parents deliberately place their toddlers in front of the swing in a bid to win the Sony camcorder.
But the 6pm Sydney news from Monday night, where one of the biggest cities in the southern hemisphere shuddered to a halt because a few power cables cacked themselves and shut down two sub-stations.

And despite our alleged possession of a world’s best practice city-wide warning system, nothing was done to activate it - and, more importantly, nor could it have been. It’s not like we’re not prepared. The authorities have helpfully armed the nation with fridge magnets.
Continue reading "The Joker would have been proud of Sydney’s dark night" »
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