Howard and his Dick

US Vice President Dick Cheney flies into Australia on Friday to try to prop up his mate John Howard aka The Lying Rodent (Senator George Brandis, Liberal NSW). What against? the rising tide of Australian public opinion on the Iraq War, David Hicks abondonment in the 'gulag of our times' Guantanamo Bay etc.

Cheney is, with Donald Rumsfeld, the architect of the war in Iraq and the power behind the throne in The White House. To say that he has a conflict of interest is an understatement. DC was President of Halliburton. This corporation was granted a $7 billion no-bid contract after Sadam was ousted. It was quickly discovered to be ripping off the government by overinflating its costs. There's nothing like profiteering while a country slips into civil war.

Supposedly the rodent is going to ask for some US action on David Hicks. According to The Washington Post, Cheney has said that the Guantanamo Bay policy is ' a correct one'. It reported '...in the wake of an overwhelming vote in both Houses of Congress to specify the anti-torture policy of the U.S. military, Cheney put out the word that the Administration had no intention of following this legislation, but would ignore it as they saw fit... he reiterated opposition to congressional intervention on the topic of detainee interrogations.'

A MARKED MAN

In fact Cheney looks like a marked man. He is emerging as the target for impeachment for his involvement in the Palme affair amongst others. Today's New York Times wrote, 'In his closing argument, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the chief prosecutor, said that disclosure of Ms. Wilson's identity was used by the White House to discredit her husband's assertions that the Bush administration had distorted intelligence to justify invading Iraq. He said the disclosure of her name cast a cloud over the Bush White House in general and over Mr. Cheney in particular.'

Howard and his Dick - what a sight to behold! They are now left holding it on their own as Blair withdraws British troops. It's going to be fun to see what spin they put on this particular disaster (for them).

A Can of Worms

2007 is an important year. Australian society is searching for answers to profoundly disturbing issues. The advancing of the hands of the Doomsday clock to 5 minutes to midnight dramatically highlights the immediacy for action over climate change. Against the wishes of the Australian people we have been drawn into the morass of the Iraq War and the desperation of US foreign policy. This government holds an abysmal record on its treatment of refugees, David Hicks' internment without trial in Guantanamo Bay and industrial relations, just to mention a few.

Musicians,for the most part, have kept their heads down and grumbled amongst themselves. There has been the occasional concert for a specific cause, eg The Necks concert for refugee action.

In this election year I think we should let society know that we do care about what is happening.

I would like to open a can of worms: to reach out to musicians from all genres to form a broad based group that promotes debate and awareness of these issues and gives musicians the confidence that they can effect change.