RP, Australia sign defense pact (tags)
The Philippines and Australia signed signed a security pact yesterday that will allow the countries’ militaries to hold joint counterterrorism exercises. The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) is the second such agreement entered into by the Philippines. President Arroyo and Australian Prime Minister John Howard witnessed the signing of the agreement by Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and Australian Minister for Defense Dr. Brendan Nelson. Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo vowed to question SOFA and said that they would press for the public disclosure of all the terms indicated in the agreement. “The VFA has already allowed the year-round presence of American troops. Now, they have the SOFA and they are saying that they are also taking other countries. How many soldiers from foreign countries would be allowed in our country?” he asked. Ocampo said Congress, particularly the committee on foreign affairs, was not informed about the provisions of the agreement.
Cheney’s speech at Sydney’s Shangri-la Hotel (tags)
The American Vice-President, Dick Cheney, today delivered his only address to the ‘public’ at the plush Shangri-la Hotel. He will later meet with the servile Defence Minister, Brendan Nelson and other minor government officials at Victoria Barracks, Paddington. The symbolism of Cheney’s visit in the last days of neo-conservative rule is not lost on Australians; the absence of the Prime Minster, John Howard, from the venue was the most notable aspect of the event!
See how Australian conservatives run! “No Australian should be surprised. In fact I would like to think they would support it ... The people who murdered 100 Australians in Bali trained in this place with these people and that's why we're there." The statement by the Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson is his latest despicable attempt to garner support and justify increased Australian military involvement in Afghanistan – the truth is the Howard government is at the beck and call of the Americans, that is why ‘we’ are in Afghanistan, Mr. Nelson. Defence Minister Nelson, in preparation for Dick Cheney’s arrival in Sydney tonight, has resorted to flagrant LIES and K-Mart political strategies to demonstrate to Cheney that Australian conservatives are able emulators of their master’s cheap tricks and lying political methods.
The USA is that way! The most servile government in Australian history achieved a new ‘personal best’ in bootlicking today. Yesterday's parliament question time witnessed the Minister of Defence, Brendan (studs) Nelson and the Foreign Minister, Alexander (cream puff) Downer bending over forwards in preparation for Cheney’s visit. Astounding as it may seem to most Australians these two lackeys were attempting to score political points by extolling the virtues of neo-colonial subservience to the United States!