Oz had highest proportion of Commonwealth soldiers killed in WW1, around 1.35% of the total population of 4.5 million. The RSL says of the 331,781 Oz soldiers serving in WW1 (about 8% of the total population) 60,284 died (about 1 in 5 or nearly 20%), and 152,284 wounded (about 1 in 2 or nearly 50%). Of course psychological damage isn't counted. It could easily have been 100% with very large numbers of soldiers very seriously effected with what we would now call PTSD. Alcohol was pretty much the only available treatment for war related stress since admitting to any form of mental illness would result in social exclusion. The suffering of families grieving the dead and trying to deal with the wounded was massive. Given the survivors were mostly young men the impact on their families would ripple across generations - until World War Two, which was slightly less devastating in numerical terms but turned into the multi generation Cold War proxy wars in Korea, Malaya, Indonesia and so on. (http://www.smh.com.au/comment/a-tribute-to-the-dead-of-world-war-i-20141110-11jkcx.html)
So have we developed a culture of avoiding wars and caring for it's (local) victims? No, we have created cultural spin to avoid examining the horrible and pervasive realities of wars and continued to minimally support it's local victims, returned soldiers and their families. It was recently reported that nearly three times as many returned soldiers have suicided than died during the ten year deployment to Afghanistan (http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2014/s4124785.htm). PTSD sufferers are being 'treated' with the anti psychotic Seroquel which keeps them quietish but doesn't approach the actual problem, which can be treated with intensive, live-in neurotherapy (the US Marines are doing it). The new Federal pay deal for the military, after years of haggling, increases pay less than the inflation rate, reduces holidays and conditions so that soldiers and their families are considerably worse off. (http://www.smh.com.au/national/public-service/defence-force-tribunal-approves-belowinflation-adf-pay-deal-20141103-11g4tr.html) Now it looks like the PM has rolled over to expected US requests and agreed to more troops against ISIS pretending the mission is not 'boots on the ground', which is hard to do when you are accompanying Iraqi soldiers on missions, but then jesuitical spin is Fedgov's speciality. (http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/nov/11/australian-special-forces-moving-into-iraq-tony-abbott-says)
On Remembrance Day we should remember the sacrifice of the soldiers, the suffering of their families, and the massive damage to our society. We should also remember to despise the decades of pious spin and the reality that our society regards soldiers, in service and returned, as expendable.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Friday, May 2, 2014
Con mission by idiots
It's been a while but the Coalition has pulled the old 'Commission of Audit' trick again. For those too young to remember, this is how it works:
Step 1. Select an 'independent' commission composed of extreme ideologues. Give them a brief to look at how to 'fix' things which are assumed to be desperate, especially if they are not. 'Fix' in this context means both emasculate wherever possible and put in place future rorts (as in 'the fix is in').
Step 2. Put off doing anything much for as long as possible saying the commission needs time to report. This allows the government to do some of the policy development it didn't do in opposition when it was concentrating on naysaying, abuse and developing slogans for the election.
Step 3. When the Commission reports, watch while everyone explodes in indignation at the proposed absurdity and cruelty. Carefully gauge from these reactions what may or may not be a policy winner (usually in a substantially modified form), what is only mildly crazy, criminal or immoral (suitable for future policies), and what can be publicly canned as evidence of rectitude. Wait while the public and media exhaust themselves.
Step 4. Present watered down versions of the selected policies in the Budget relying on people to think 'Well at least it's not as bad as the as Commission of Audit proposed!'. Rely on over exposure, emotional exhaustion, inertia, depression and distraction to allow the Budget to pass, possibly after making a few relatively cheap side deals to buy votes.
Step 5. Repeat after being returned to government next when people have had time to forget.
Basically it's all touch flame to blue paper, stand back and rob people while they're blinded by the flash. It seems to work every time because political opponents concentrate on the issues rather than the process. I wonder how we'd go if we concentrated on exposing this process as being a con job? That the people of Australia are being handled by spin doctors in an extremely dishonest, disingenuous and cynical way?
Step 1. Select an 'independent' commission composed of extreme ideologues. Give them a brief to look at how to 'fix' things which are assumed to be desperate, especially if they are not. 'Fix' in this context means both emasculate wherever possible and put in place future rorts (as in 'the fix is in').
Step 2. Put off doing anything much for as long as possible saying the commission needs time to report. This allows the government to do some of the policy development it didn't do in opposition when it was concentrating on naysaying, abuse and developing slogans for the election.
Step 3. When the Commission reports, watch while everyone explodes in indignation at the proposed absurdity and cruelty. Carefully gauge from these reactions what may or may not be a policy winner (usually in a substantially modified form), what is only mildly crazy, criminal or immoral (suitable for future policies), and what can be publicly canned as evidence of rectitude. Wait while the public and media exhaust themselves.
Step 4. Present watered down versions of the selected policies in the Budget relying on people to think 'Well at least it's not as bad as the as Commission of Audit proposed!'. Rely on over exposure, emotional exhaustion, inertia, depression and distraction to allow the Budget to pass, possibly after making a few relatively cheap side deals to buy votes.
Step 5. Repeat after being returned to government next when people have had time to forget.
Basically it's all touch flame to blue paper, stand back and rob people while they're blinded by the flash. It seems to work every time because political opponents concentrate on the issues rather than the process. I wonder how we'd go if we concentrated on exposing this process as being a con job? That the people of Australia are being handled by spin doctors in an extremely dishonest, disingenuous and cynical way?
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