The discussion being generated by John Howard's manoeuvre-ings to crush dissent at APEC is fostering a vibrant discussion about the planned protests and APEC itself.
AAP reports: "The reason why we have this security clampdown in Sydney, the reason why people have been inconvenienced is because people in the past have practised and, in the current environment, are threatening violence,'' Mr Howard told reporters. "It's not the fault of the guests in our country.The Sydney Morning Herald blog is well worth a visit to catch the drift of this discourse as it also offers you an opportunity to contribute: They doth protest too much."It's not the fault of the American president, or the Chinese president or the Russian president, it's not the fault of the NSW government or the federal government. It's the fault of people who threaten violence.
"That's why you have to have heavy security. It's got nothing to do with the luggage or the behaviour of the people who are coming here as our guests.''
The introductory post, in a first I guess, links back to Green Left Weekly.
In the same publication, one of the SMH own scribes David Marr, defends APEC protestors.
From where I'm sitting, JH isn't gaining much out of this exercise except to highlight how much he relies on fear mongering to govern and how much disregard he has for democracy.
