PM Little Johnny promised before he was elected in 2004 to "keep interest rates low". He says he said that he 'promised to keep interest rates at lower levels'. Semantics are his best suit.
The interest rates are no longer within the power of the PM. They are (since the floating of the Australian dollar on the open market back in the Keating days) buffetted by the world markets, US markets, and finally set by the independent Reserve Bank.
It is the fact that he made a promise he could not keep.
He, last week, apologised for the rise.
He said the word he could not use for the stolen generation, the word, "Sorry".
"Sorry about that".
Now he says he is not 'apologising' at all. He merely said he was 'sorry for the pain' some mortgagees were feeling at the 6 rate rise in 3 years. He said there was a difference between "sorry" and "apologising".
We all scrambled for our dictionaries. The media, journalists, lexiographers and the common Aussie...well us, in fact.
Mmm. Very interesting.
Playing with words while Australian mortgage belt burns with fever!
Watching the American newscast explaining 'water-boarding' and its implications, its uses, its meaning and it purpose has again put into confusion what is really meant by terrorism, terrorists, investigating, interviewing and torture.
What does; "Having this in our tool kit" really mean?
When something is broken we can use a tool to fix it?
When something is missing we can reach into a kit and find the missing part?
When some knowledge is inconsistent we can fumble around in a bag and find the piece that explains it?
When someone won't tell us what we want to know/hear/act upon we can choose something else to help them tell us?
This tool kit may or may not include...torture.
This is a misnomer.
What is another name for;
"Extreme forms of duress"
"Selective targetting"
"Enhanced interrogation techniques"
What are these euphemisms?
They are 'torture' and 'assassination'.
The United States are at the moment in the throws of discussing these terms and what they mean in relation to the dirty business of getting people they have 'captured' to say stuff they can use so they can then use violence against another country, another religion, another creed, another land, another 'other'.
I heard a member of the US armed forces who has been trained in 'waterboarding' and has had it performed on himself as well as having done it to others talk about how it is really 'torture'.
The opposite view came from a 'lawyer' (Neil Livingstone) who says he has never done it, nor had it done to him, but it is NOT torture.
He was the one who said;'It is just another thing in our tool kit',
The CPO was asked; "Do you believe that water-boarding is a sure way of getting information?"
He said; "Definitely not. The person will either tell the truth, tell a part lie, tell a total lie or say what they think is wanted for the torture to stop. You cannot be sure which it is as it only takes, usually, up to 2 minutes for someone to 'break' under this duress. Anything you hear cannot be of any use under these circumstances. The information is less than helpful."
When "Right to Life" is mentioned you will note that it is only the 'right to life' of an embryo. Not 'right to life' of the poor, the needy, people in war zones, Iraqis, Afghans, the Sudanese, the starving, the destitute.
Maybe the term 'right to life' should be changed by those 'good Christian folk' as being the truer term of 'a woman's NO right over her own body'. If they actually took to helping the 'right to life' of those already born and alive and being slaughtered, forgotten, neglected, vilified, hated and reviled they may have more credence.
How about "Liberal" in the Australian parlance?
The "Liberal Party" in Australia is the least liberal of all the political groups here.
It maybe should be called the "Conservative/Status Quo" Party.
When the government introduced 'Workchoices' into the lexicon of Australian working parlance it was a euphemism for "Choices for Employers to do what they want with workers". It had nothing to do with the worker themselves except to warn them to never feel secure in work, never expect any fairness in the workplace.
So the spin of "Mission Accomplished" emblazoned across the bridge of a ship, the screech of 'War on Terror', the cry of "Attack on democracy", are all but examples of Orwellian parlance.
Remember that when 'they' say they are curbing your rights to keep you safer, that 'they' are putting up walls/ fences to keep you protected, that they are really doing the opposite.
When they say; "Trust me"...let the bells and whistles of warning scream into your soul!
Be very very careful what you believe. It most likely will be 'spin' for the sake of those wanting more power.
1946 - 2007
1961-2007
1946-2007
