Your author is still surprised by the blatant lies disguised as political commentary from many if not all members of the international mainstream media machine. While the New York Times and LA Times are obviously notorious for jumping the gun and apply conventional thinking or no thinking in their coverage, your author received a taste of this same incompetency while listening to the BBC radio and their coverage of the recent Australian national election.
In short Prime Minister John Howard, friend to America (which earns him the persona non grata label from Liberal Democrats), was scheduled to be the longest serving head of Australia. He was first elected in 1987 and again in 1996 while his Liberal Party dominated the Australian Parliament. He continue to serve such role until the Liberal Party defeat just a week ago. Previously Howard challenged labour laws and passed significant reforms that freed up issues such as hiring and firing thereby diminishing the power of organized labour, thus a boom was born. Under his tenure Australia’s GDP grew at 3.5-4% annually, a first for their country. The economic prosperity also spurned historically low unemployment. In April 2006 the Howard administration proudly proclaimed their federal debt totalling $96 billion was paid off, something we here in America should consider.
On the international front Howard joined President Bush and the war against terror becoming a voice for pro active initiatives against organized violence in the lower Pacific. Following September 11th terrorist attacks in the US, Australia joined the battles in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2002 the Bali bombing attack in Indonesia resulted in 202 deaths, 88 were Australian. This spurned a change in Australian laws and aggressive investigations began on questionable figures in their country. In November 2005 international attention was focused on Australia when 16 would be Islamic radicals were arrested in Sydney and Melbourne in what was described as a foiled terrorist plot. One of those arrested was Abu Bakr, an Algerian immigrant and Muslim cleric who previously described Osama Bin Laden as a ‘great man’. Muslim terrorists would have to find another western safe haven to concoct their violence.
Howard also earned admiration from your author when he said point blank that Muslim terrorists pray that Senator Barack Obama and the Democrats takeover the White House in 2008. He later earned honorary American citizenship when he refused to apologize for the statement.
Prior to his electoral defeat, polls in Australia indicated that most trusted their economy and safety with Howard and the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party campaigned simply on this fact with a bit of smugness stating ‘you never had it so good’, which is probably true. However it was not meant to be and Kevin Rudd with the Labor Party won a strong victory. Many Australian pundits have speculated that Labor was able to paint or portray labor unions as a vital part of the Australian economy and that Howard’s legislative measures had greatly curbed the role of organized labor. Additionally Rudd has planted seeds with China for what many envision as strong relations for the future. Of course your author had to scour the Australian press accounts to even present this explanation.
However if someone was to listen to the BBC and your author dare says the American mainstream media machine they would have been told that Howard and the Liberal Party lost due to their relationship with Bush and the ‘unpopular’ Iraq War. Your author has previously asked, ‘when was a war ever popular?’. Rudd has committed to bringing the 500 Australian troops in Iraq back home. Yes 500, out of the estimated 25,000 personnel that make up the Australian Army. The BBC failed to present you the reader with that comparison but that’s okay the media has failed to report the whole story and success in Iraq. The BBC also failed to explain why Howard was in power and much of it with a majority in Parliament during the tragedies and triumphs of the Iraq War up to the successful surge and current events unfolding with Sunni Iraqis joining the Coalition Forces in an effort to takedown the last of the terrorists operating in the country. In fact the uncovering of just how biased and skewed most mainstream media entities are relative to their coverage of the Iraq War is another success, which should never be forgotten.
Historical writings or presentation often forget significant nuggets of information when discussing those of significant accomplishment. The legendary Prime Minister Winston Churchill is revered in history but following World War II he opposed nationalized healthcare and social welfare initiatives that were the talk among the ‘intelligent’ do-gooders. As a result he along with the Conservative Party were defeated in 1945. The United Kingdom would pay a steep price in decades to come for implementing such measures. In 1938 Time Magazine, back when their publication was considered relevant, named Adolf Hitler their Man of the Year. In that same year Hitler had taken over enough of Europe and called a meeting in Munich with Prime Ministers Chamberlain of the United Kingdom and Daladier of France and Italy’s Mussolini. No one then criticized Hitler as he dominated the gathering drawing a new map for Europe. Hitler’s recognition by Time and others legitimized his quest and began a snowball that saw the near defeat of France and England. Often times those who document history choose to ignore or de-emphasize events in the background that lead up to the big picture. In this case 'diplomacy', a favorite word with the American Left as they attempt to understand international events, backfired and set the stage for World War II. When history writes about John Howard and his Liberal Party, following the sentence where it indicates he was defeated by Rudd there should be an asterisk stating that under Howard’s administration Australian’s economy came out of the dark and into the light as well as defining the country as an international power, informing the world that their country is more than a continent with an outback and kangaroos. John Howard placed a significant identity on his home country that will never be forgotten, shaping our world much more than the opinion page of the New York Times or the BBC's hurried and brief analysis of his defeat.
Media outlets whether in the US, Europe or elsewhere are best advised to only attempt, albeit poorly, reporting events unfolding in their own backyards. Too many times in the past they have demonstrated that they lack the tools and resources to present the customer with the entire story here much less abroad.
