Wellington Shire (Gippsland) Council Elections

So, it's council election time again and what do we have? Twelve nominees for nine positions, not a lot of choice. This is even more concerning when you look at the quality of the candidates involved. Not a lot of intellectual depth or relevant experience one might think.

But apart from personal knowledge of the individuals concerned, you have to go by the "blurbs" put out by the candidates to let us know a bit about them. These I find to be of limited use as they don't really tell me what I want to know. Here's a few tips for prospective candidates.

• I am not interested in your marital status
• I am not interested in your family
• I am not really worried by your age but a few younger people would be better
  
• I am not concerned by your gender

What I would really like to see is:

• Evidence of your ability to think creatively
• Evidence of your ability to think fast and make timely decisions in volatile situations
  
• Evidence that you have reasonable knowledge of current social and environmental issues
  
• A commitment to oversight of council officers and a willingness to purge or call to account those not performing as they should

Am I likely to see any such statements? I doubt it. We get the council we deserve.

Victoria Police, Spies and Democracy

Having previously written about the Twerp from Sydney and his government's attack on democracy in previous years, we now see the State Police up to their old tricks as well.

Having seen the demise of the old Special Branch (used by the Libs pre John Cain as premier of Victoria as an agency to spy on Vietnam Protesters and anyone thought to be remotely left wing) we see they are back. A report some months ago indicated that Victoria Police were actively spying on and infiltrating all sorts of community groups. Even the multi-denominational Palm Sunday walk at Easter was infiltrated with the cop concerned acting as secretary!

All of this is passed off as "intelligence gathering" and a need to keep an eye on civil unrest and possible terrorism.

Bullshit!

It's the Police and Government finding a new excuse to spy on anyone they choose, to take away more of our freedom of expression and threaten the democratic principles the very same Police and Government are meant to be protecting.

But wait, there's more.

A report in The Age states that "The internet communications and websites of anti-war campaigners, environmentalists, animal rights activists and other protest groups are being secretly monitored by state and federal agencies."

Anyone they think might be a political problem for them in other words.

Worse still perhaps, they've employed a private security firm to carry out this surveillance.

Where is out privacy in all of this? What of civil liberties and democracy? Where is the public outcry?

Rampant Nationalism A Dangerous Thing

Nationalism: noun, national spirit or aspirations, devotion to the interests of one's own nation.

It has long been recognised by scholars of history, that governments of the left or right that engender their populations with excessive patriotic zeal, have the ability to whip up amongst their population a frenzied belief that the state is right in all its ideologies and political agendas.

A charismatic leader in the right time at the right place, such as Adolph Hitler, can exploit this to devastating effect. What characterised Hitler was his ability to use rhetoric at vast public rallies to persuade an intelligent, well educated population to believe in and support horrendous programs and beliefs. They had been led to believe that the state was always right, Hitler was the state personified and so rampant nationalism led to the persecution of minorities and war.

If you view footage of Hitler's pre WW2 rallies, you will see and hear the rhetoric used and the crowd responding with chanting, fist waving etc. This is why I said in a previous post that Republican (and later to some extent, Democratic) rallies in the US reminded me of Hitler's rallies pre WW2.

This is not to say that there is any link with either of these parties and National Socialism. I merely make the observation that in the wrong hands, an excessively nationalistic/patriotic population can be manipulated by those in power.

George W. Bush exploited this to some extent with his so-called "War on Terror", designed in part to keep the population in fear as an excuse to impose draconian laws limiting individual freedom, infringing on civil liberties and fighting illegal and unjust wars.

The Twerp from Sydney tried the same thing here. Draconian and untested laws, fear or refugees etc. etc. and involvement in illegal wars.

China used its very effective form of nationalism to suppress the Tibet demonstrations associated with the Olympic Torch relay around the world.

We must ever be vigilant to protect our way of life from the agendas of any zealots from the left or right of politics.