Wills overturn
Last year the High Court decided to remove Phil Cleary from his parliamentary seat, because at the time he nominated for election he was a government employee, though on leave without pay.
It is outrageous that the decision of the voters of Wills was overturned because of a legal technicality.
It is even more outrageous that public servants are discriminated against by being forced to resign from their jobs in order to contest an election, with the risk that they may not be reemployed if they are not elected.
This danger is particularly acute under a government such as Kennett's, which is trying to cut public service jobs and might welcome the chance to get rid of public servants who oppose the Liberals in an election.
It is unjust that public servants, unlike others including business people, risk their livelihood by contesting an election.
The law must be changed to prevent this from happening. If necessary a referendum should be held.
Chris Slee
Melbourne
Permaculture and population
I=PAT seems to have been the flavour of the month in GLW #84. You had 2 letters and 2 articles on it.
Graham Matthews says "There is no hard evidence that the 'natural' concept of carrying capacity may be applied to humanity" (my italics). He thinks permaculture's success exposes the idea in italics as scientism.
Any ecology scientist free of all agribusiness management pressures would use permaculture potential to work out the land's carrying capacity. It is agribusiness that uses scientism to justify its major decisions. It uses science only for the detail work.
Mark O'Connor ignores permaculture. It can quadruple food supply per arable hectare, reclaim dust-bowls, improve oxygen supply and co-generate power. It is also a great sink for waste, including carbon dioxide. But there are problems it can't solve when there are too many people.
I=PAT can, but need not, be scientism. It is a generic formula. We must determine the variables that make up the Affluence and Technology levels. Then we can derive constants for each sub-population and sum the results.
If Allen Myers had plenty of time on his hands and did good research he could work all this out. (He'd probably need a sixth generation computer though.)
The starving and brutalised masses of Asia, Africa, the Europe have never got the best possible help.
Only the right Left governments in all parts of the world would give such help. We must see to it as soon as may be that permaculture becomes the one food and biological materials source in all countries. Agribusiness and food processors and distributors have too much capital invested for this to go on under any present type of government.
This is still no excuse to increase the number of people in the world. All people need some materials that permaculture can not provide. Most such materials can run out.
Once, Australia's slogan was "Populate or perish!". We and the world need a new slogan now: De-populate or perish!
Xanana Gusmao, the East Timorese independence leader, was captured by the Indonesian military two months ago. He was tortured and forced to appear on Indonesian television stating that the East Timorese should stop their struggle and the independence movement should surrender.
When his trial began last Tuesday the mainstream media finally paid some attention to his plight. Evidence of torture and mistreatment came when he stated in court that his nationality was "Indonesian" and that his profession was "GPK" — an acronym for trouble maker.
The independence movement in East Timor has good reason to make trouble: 200,000 Timorese have been massacred by the Indonesian government since the 1975 Australian- and American-approved invasion. Thousands of families have been broken up, citizens brutalized in every day life, fundamental rights have been denied to the East Timorese.
And what have the Australian government done? The ALP government espouse humanitarian internationalism and righteously claim they have to bring other Asia-Pacific nations to Australia's level of justice. Their hypocrisy is blatant when considering the way they've ignored Timor's cries for justice. Bob Hawke, when asked why Australia acted on the invasion of Kuwait and not East Timor, said "Look now, you don't want to start an argument with me, do you?" and refused to comment any further. And on the Dili massacre of November 1991 the ALP took no action at all, refusing to jeopardise precious trade and military relations.
You can really see how much a life is worth to these politicians. Xanana Gusmao, independence movements around the world and others struggling against torture, genocide and oppression need to be fully supported, not ignored because profits will be lost.
Although I am a person who tends to reject ideological dogma d a copy of your newspaper (GLW 85) because I was struck by the dramatic cover illustration — The World according to Clinton. Wow, this should be interesting! I thought. A radical new and alternative perspective on the Clinton presidency.
Imagine my disappointment then, when I discovered the same tired old Marxist rhetoric. Even more disappointing then the cliches about being a lackey of the capitalists etc (which may in fact even be true, who knows?).
We have statements like "(Clinton) won't change the decline of capitalism." It's funny how religions and ideologies are always predicting the end of the world, so their utopia — be it Kingdom of God or True Communism — can manifest.
I much prefer the less ideological approach of Stewart Jackson of the WA Greens (p. 3 same issue). But even he says "we need to change the way people think". Yes, sure we do, but how? When the old conservatives have carked it, and the younger generation takes power, then we'll see a change (assuming of course that the younger generation hasn't been fucked up by the conservative ideology and so-called "pragmatism" of the older one in the meantime), and not before.
And that's why Clinton's election is of importance. For the first time, the "baby-boomers", with their greater social and environmental sensitivity, have taken over from the horribly conservative protestant-work-ethic cold-war types of the preceding generation. Sure, Clinton and his staff are all yuppie millionaire lawyers, so perhaps one should be cautious in expecting too much empathy with the poor.
Finally, I would like to point out that Australian society does have one very good unspoken law. It's called giving someone a fair go. If Clinton bombs out, and turns out to be another Bush, I'll join you in your condemnation of him. But it seems like sour grapes to criticise the guy as a lackey of the "ruling class" before he's even had a chance to prove himself.
The news that the UN is ready to impose sanctions against Israel unless it is prepared to do something about the 400-odd Palestinians sent into exile, is a timely reminder that Iraq is not alone in being the focus of attention in the Middle East.
A case in point is the Consul General of Israel and his letter to the Sydney Morning Herald on January 26.
Iraq poses less of a threat to the security and stability of the Middle East than is imagined, for should Iraq collapse, the way is then open for a flood of Iranian Fundamentalists, a constant nightmare to Arab sheikhs.
I sometimes feel that Israel has a siege mentality, that the the Holocaust, has warped their sense of objectivity. Much of this trouble stems from the Balfour Declaration of 1917 in which the Palestinians saw Palestine already as a state, and to which the Jews were mainly indifferent.
However, the persecutions by Hitler changed all that, and after bitter and protracted struggles, Israel was born in 1948.
Mr Goren is under the impression that the US sent troops to the Gulf War of 1991 out of sheer altruism. He is greatly mistaken. Oil is the lure and will remain so until the Arab oil wells run dry.
Whether he is justified or not, Saddam Hussein as head of state in Iraq will continue to make life as difficult as possible for his enemies in the West, as well as his nearer neighbours.
Conciliation seems to be the only answer.
When I look at the slow response of the German authorities to the upsurge of right wing violence and agitation and compare it with the paranoia and overkill methods used against leftist groups (violent and non-violent) I feel that the ruling class has not been cleansed of its sentimental yearning for conservative bullshit values.
Even today many citizens in Germany are refused entry into any public service job if there is suspicion of left and extreme left wing leanings. Until very recently right wingers had far better chances on that score which is hardly surprising considering the premier of the catholic and proto-fascist state of Bavaria refused to take part in a popular gathering against neo-nazi activities.
The police force, not only in the conservative states, have a reputation for brutality, which is hardly surprising considering what a "fine" tradition they can look back on. Demonstrators at Brockdorf and Frankfurt have experienced it to the full. Women have fought long and hard for the legalisation of abortion in Germany but once again the coalition of the catholics, their reactionary political allies spearheaded by Bavaria and other religious crackpots not only prevented any liberalisation but are overturning the east German pro-abortion law and persuade the other east European governments to follow suit.
On the economic front insanely high interest rates keep the former GDR impoverished and create pressures on unions and living standards. And those bankers responsible for this are going to colonise eastern Europe!
I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am with Ian Bolas' review of Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula (GL, January 20). Obviously Ian must not have read Bram Stoker's original story or he wouldn't have been so generous with his praise for what was essentially a thoroughly B-grade vampire movie.
The original Bram Stoker's version was entertaining, spellbinding and very scary. Coppola's bastardised version is none of these. Stoker's version definitely has more in the way of Gothic sexual eroticism, even if it is in a more subtle form than the cheap shots of "tits and arse" in Coppola's version.
Ian Bolas' inference that there is a deliberate correlation between AIDS and the Coppola film is purely coincidental. The concept of a vampire infecting his victims' blood and Bram Stoker's novel both predate AIDS. I suppose if you have a strong enough imagination you could probably even read a few of Freud's largely discredited findings into Coppola's film.
I really would like to know what "issues" Ian Bolas believes have been raised by the story. I really don't think there are any. What Ian Bolas describes as "overt eroticism", I refer to as "body fascism" and the general exploitation of female form and sexuality.
Why couldn't Coppola, or whoever made the movie and paid Coppola to have his name splashed all over it, stick with the original brilliant story line? To put Stoker's name to Coppola's film is to insult the dead. To compare the film with the book is to compare a five year old's finger painting with the Mona Lisa.
Ron Guignard
Stepney SA
[Edited for length.]
Hypocrisy on human rights
Rachel Evans
Melbourne
Disappointed
Alan Kazlev
St Kilda Vic
[Edited for length.]
Under siege
Marcus Finnane
Bondi Junction NSW
Germany
Michael Rose-Schwab
Rapid Creek NT
Dracula
Robert Byrne
Newtown NSW