Nationalism in all forms is abhorrent. It doesn't matter what side of the political spectrum the person is on. Both of Australia's major parties are buying into the American patriotism bullshit.

I'm just confused as to why Channel 10 would want a terrorist who spent the whole interview blaming Tony Abbott for everything on their programme.

Nationalism in all forms is abhorrent. It doesn't matter what side of the political spectrum the person is on. Both of Australia's major parties are buying into the American patriotism bullshit.

Would hardly call Mr. NSA himself the 'golden boy' of leftism anyway.

Edited by damonzzzz: 24/6/2015 03:32:37 PM

what about Israeli racism?

McDunce still doesnt understand

How do you know I don't understand? #classicCrackersRetort

its a safe bet and your response confirmed it

You don't speak for me or anyone else #classicCrackersRetort

you're on tilt now

you're on tilt now #classicCrackersRetort
:lol: I could write a bot to replace you because you are so predictable. That's part of why I enjoy you so much. <3

you can pretend with smilies all you want McDunce, but I know the truth about you

how old are you? you claim to be an adult but you behave like a 10 year old

Just stooping to your level. Anyway, I would hate for you to get injured so let's leave it here. The comedy must not end.

Edited by mcjules: 24/6/2015 04:23:07 PM

Zaky Mallah: ABC cowers in the face of Q&A fallout

For two days, a storm has raged around the ABC's Q&A program. Government ministers, including some who have been known to defend its independence, have used the most extreme language.

"Leftie lynch-mob", Prime Minister Tony Abbott contributed. "Disgraceful," added Immigration Minister Peter Dutton. And Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull banged on about Mallah as though he were some firebrand terrorist whose very presence imperiled the studio audience. "A very, very known quantity", Turnbull called Mallah. And then demonstrated that he either doesn't know, or doesn't care, what Mallah has been doing and saying since the rise of Islamic State.

And in the media, which is supposed to do the occasional dig around the facts of a case, scarcely a voice has been raised to point out that most of the assumptions of the government, and what one might term the right-wing lynch-mob that is calling for Tony Jones' head on a platter, are profoundly wrong.

The media outlet most interested in the matter, the ABC itself, has been silenced, as its managing director, Mark Scott, cowers before the onslaught. Q&A has not been permitted to defend itself. No ABC program has been permitted to allow Mallah to explain himself: I understand that an interview with Mallah recorded on Tuesday was not broadcast, by order of the managing director. [A spokesman for the ABC confirmed that an interview was recorded and not broadcast, but denied it was withheld on the directions of Scott.]

Regardless, quite early on Tuesday morning, the ABC surrendered the pass to its opponents by admitting to "an error in judgment" – and since then has said virtually nothing.

No one would argue that the decision to allow Mallah to ask a question on the program went swimmingly well. No one would deny that in including him, Q&A was taking a risk. As the ABC's statement rightly says, "there is always risk in undertaking live television… circumstances will happen that are not anticipated".

But despite what the prime minister and so many others appear to believe, the producers were not offering a pulpit to an advocate for Islamic State. Turnbull's portrayal of Zaky Mallah and his views is profoundly misleading. "He had served a term of imprisonment for threatening to kill ASIO officers," he said.

Well actually, he served two years in solitary in the Goulburn super-max a decade ago, awaiting trial on terrorism charges for which he was acquitted. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of threatening Commonwealth officers and was sentenced to time already served. Which is not, of course, to say that he was not at the time a seriously deluded and dangerous young man. He was 19.

More recently, Turnbull continued, as though Mallah had not changed his spots in the least, "he had travelled to Syria in the pursuit of what he described as 'jihad' ".

Mallah did travel to Syria in 2012. The "jihad" he was interested in joining was the fight against the tyrannical government of Bashir Al-Assad, and the outfit he joined for a few days – without engaging in any combat, he insists – was the Free Syrian Army. This is the force which the United States is now training and which Australia supports.

As The Australian's Adam Shand reported at the time, the former would-be suicide bomber realised "how misguided his anger towards Australian society had been...'Go to Syria where your brothers are dying for freedom, democracy and the true Islamic way, rights guaranteed in this lucky country,' he says…. 'We Muslims have so much freedom here (in Australia) yet we are causing so much trouble'."

Since then, Mallah has been outspoken in his condemnation of Islamic State. On Channel Ten's The Project last October he said: "I'm on this program this evening to distance myself from the actions of these individuals, these idiots, these wankers, who are giving Islam and the Muslim world and the Islamic community in Australia a bad name and for those who are considering to join ISIS I hope ASIO is onto you, I hope your passport is refused and I hope you are arrested and locked up."

In one of numerous video blogs on YouTube, Mallah calls on Australia's Salafist imams to join the fight against extremism: "You need to condemn terrorism. You need to condemn fundamentalism. You need to condemn those who are brainwashing our youth into believing that a group like ISIS is fighting for jihad. They are not fighting for jihad. They are fighting for bulls---."

Zaky Mallah has always been an attention seeker and a loose cannon. He was guilty of publishing appalling and inexcusable tweets about News Corp columnists Rita Panahi and Miranda Devine some months ago, and again today. But there was no reason at all for Q&A's producers to suspect that he would suddenly become an advocate for Islamic State.

And nor did he. His final, notorious comment was not a call to arms – although it's easy to see how many viewers took it that way. It was, if you watch it again, the comment of an angry young man, a born and bred Australian with no other nationality, who has been trying for some years to counter the lure of Islamic State in his own community, and who had just been told by a member of the government that ideally he should be expelled from the country by ministerial decree.

A few weeks ago the government convened a conference of experts in de-radicalisation from around the world to advise it how to counter the propaganda pull of IS. Two of those experts appeared on the ABC's Lateline.

It's worth reading or watching what they had to say - in particular, Britain's Abdul-Rehman Malik on the increasingly draconian legislation being passed in his country and in ours: "I think some of that language - the death cult language, the language of taking away citizenship - I think it's headed in the wrong direction. And remember there's going to be kids - and it's already happening - who've gone out there, who survived, and who want to come back. Don't take their citizenship away. They could be our best allies…. They're going to be the best ambassadors to say, 'You think you're creating a utopian society out there? You're not. I've seen it, its hell; let's not go down that route'. "

Zaky Mallah never joined IS but, more than a decade ago, he was a radicalised would-be terrorist. He has since become an ally – or a potential ally – in the fight against IS. But he's condemned because of his record and the ABC is excoriated for daring to give him a voice.

The ABC has apologised for its temerity – and closed down the right of its program-makers to say a word in their own defence. Thus does the politics of fear divide us all, and conquer our fundamental liberties.

http://www.theage.com.au/comment/abc-seems-to-be-cowering-in-silence-over-qa-program-fallout-20150624-ghw8hs.html

which particular points McDunce?

cutting and pasting someone else's article without highlighting particulars doesnt demonstrate much insight or comprehension on your part

which particular points McDunce?

cutting and pasting someone else's article without highlighting particulars doesnt demonstrate much insight or comprehension on your part

Dont worry ricey will disappear soon . And wamamie will take his place

Nah you'll enjoy wamakie more ; )

A ricey my child, this isn't one of your yr 9 English assignments that are due at end of the semester. I don't need to demonstrate anything. It's an article that discusses some angles that haven't been covered here. Nothing more.

You're welcome to post your "thoughts". I always enjoy reading them.

So you copy and paste someone else's article and you cant even articulate your own thoughts on any specifics. What value have you added to the discussion?

The stage is yours McDunce, lets see what you have to offer...

Brilliant #classicCrackers

...so, that'd be nothing then

The most predictable thing about you is that you'll never stop posting until you get the last word. Love it #classicCrackers

Edited by mcjules: 24/6/2015 06:23:06 PM