nabraxas Posted July 16, 2004 http://www.johnhowardlies.com/ By Misha Schubert Canberra July 16, 2004 http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/...l?oneclick=true An unauthorised anti-Government website was pulled down for a "revamp" just hours after The Age asked why Labor was promoting the site in an official email newsletter. But the anonymous publishers of johnhowardlies.com, who could face a fine of up to $5000 if they are traced and refuse to comply with the Electoral Act, insisted yesterday their disappearance from the web was "an unfortunate coincidence". The Australian Electoral Commission said yesterday it would investigate the site after a complaint from the Government. Mark Latham's office refused to distance the Labor leader from the website yesterday, instead referring questions to the party's head office. But Labor's promotion of the site is at odds with Mr Latham's pledge that he is interested only in positive campaigning, rejecting "politics of fear and smear". Labor national secretary Tim Gartrell did not back away from encouraging voters to visit the website, but insisted Labor had "nothing" to do with it. He urged its publishers to reveal their identity by posting authorisation details as required under the Electoral Act. "We are not responsible for it or in any way connected to it," his spokeswoman said. "But it's a good idea for voters to understand the abysmal record of the Howard Government when it comes to telling the truth." Special Minister of State Eric Abetz demanded Labor dissociate itself from the website after he asked the electoral commission to investigate. "It is the height of hypocrisy for Mr Latham to sob about anonymous claims and then give full official Labor Party support to a site which is dedicated to anonymous claims," he said. An internet search shows the domain name was bought as the "ABC DEF corporation, at 123 Fourfive St Surfers Paradise, Tas, 7003". The site's registrar, Surfer's Paradise-based Global Netsaver, said yesterday it had no obligation to ensure correct registration details for any ".com" domain name - only for ".com.au" domains. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ramon Posted July 16, 2004 The web site is back up This web site is sorely needed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xenomorph Posted July 16, 2004 i spit on mark latham and this website. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterdragon Posted July 17, 2004 quite rightly too. imagine someone having the temerity to besmirch a fine honest politician like john howard, we are so lucky to have him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xenomorph Posted July 17, 2004 yes and bill clinton, i mean mark latham comes up with excellent speeches and is far better than john howard. i applaud him for his honesty and originality. im sure you agree waterdragon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterdragon Posted July 17, 2004 is this where you bung in one of those 'all the way with u.s.a' things that you do? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted July 17, 2004 not in the news and notices section he is not. and if the thread goes anywhere near the name calling (on either side) that it did on EA, then it won't last long at all. Political discussion is fine, but no personal attacks on other forum members please. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grapeshot Posted July 17, 2004 Why only little johny they all are fucking liers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Micka Posted July 17, 2004 they ALL lie coz they talk about things that they have very little information on or controll over and then they look stupid whe someone else decides to go the opposite way to what they said originally the fist rule of politics should be if your not in the know shut your yap coz it usually ALWAYS get's them in more trouble than it was worth. they always have to have the first & last word. outspoken wankers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterdragon Posted July 18, 2004 whatever gets rid of howard is fine by me, his brand of bullshit has gone on long enough. can't expect any improvement from latham either, but a change is as good as a holiday. maybe when politicians come to the realisation that they work for the people of a nation and not for big business then we may once again see something approaching democracy in the world. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xenomorph Posted July 18, 2004 "and if the thread goes anywhere near the name calling (on either side) that it did on EA, then it won't last long at all." rofl. :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gomaos Posted July 18, 2004 I must have missed that thread... which one was it? Otherwise I go with waterdragon: We need a change (to the better of course)! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted July 19, 2004 There are two things I like about this site: 1) That it isn't simply propaganda. The statements don't rely on anyone's interpretation as they are clear and calculated media statements. Ditto for the 'facts'. In most cases it is clear things like 'no GST'.... 'yes GST'. Or 'children overboard' ... 'no children overboard'. There are simply no two ways about it. And the details do not depend on any circumstances or context. The site barely mentions that Howard should be voted out. It certainly doesn't endorse anyone else (eg labor). It doesn't even say that liberal/national is bad. All it does is to show us that the current government lies whenever it suits it. If we let this government get away with it, then it is our own fault if future governments will lie to us increasingly more. This government certainly has lied more (and in respect to the most crucial issues) than any australian government I remember. I am sure that there are plenty of faithful liberals out there who are ashamed of the dishonesty of the government they voted for. And curiously enough, the 'PM in waiting' has a record of minimal duplicity. If I was an ethical liberal I would be hoping for Costello to take over asap. He is just a normal lying politician, but nowhere near as bad as that piece of dishonest scum howard. 2) Like www.moveon.org, this site is part of a new breed of emerging tools of democracy. At a time when political apathy is peaking, a new grassroots is emerging, that uses the internet as it's medium. This medium is not in the conrol of packer or murdoch and as such is probably more representative of true democracy than any other mainstream media. Don't get me wrong, the above comments are about the site, not about my political agenda. I would applaude such a site just the same if it was MarkLathamLies. To me it is a matter of information rather than just more propaganda. The australian public is getting tired of the dishonesty in our political system. This dishonesty and lack of integrity is the main reason why we do not value our democratic right and duty. It disempowers us. Anyone who loves democracy should be happy about a site that uses nothing aside from politician's undoctored quotes to show them up for what they are. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rev Posted July 20, 2004 so true give us back our regular scum the ones who had a little bit of respect for the publics intelligence a rort here and there we can expect but not whats gone on in Howards Australia Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alucinare Posted July 23, 2004 I was playing this game called Civilisation 3 and there is one form of government where there are no politicians but the people directly vote for whatever new bill is to be passed. I wonder if the might be a possibility in the future. Naturally it will have its cons but at least the variable of the politician, with self-interest, is eliminated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted July 23, 2004 given how easily people are influenced by media and money, such direct democracy can be even worse than what we have now. Ideally I would like to see more direct democratic processes rather than this move to a presidential style of government, but with democracy also comes responsibility and to be honest I don't think australia as a whole is educated enough about politics to make good decisions. I mean, how many poeple actually know how parliament works? How many understand basic economic principles? Unless a majority of people can say yes to those two questions I think direct democracy is even more dangerous than the scum we 'trust' now. I think democracy and politics should be a major subject in school/CAE and anyone who wants the right to vote should be able to show that they have some competency in understanding the process. In other words, I would like to see compulsory education and a competency based licensing system for the electoral roll. Just think about it. Why would you let someone decide matters of economics without having ANY understanding of how they work? I kinda like the swiss system which is a mix of politicians and direct democracy. It keeps them on their toes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterdragon Posted July 24, 2004 i agree with tort on that point. a direct democracy would be useful if the people of a nation took the time to make informed decisions. just relying on the media to keep us informed would be as useful as relying on special interest groups ie politicians, big business, etc. in these times the politicians do the bidding of big business because that's who funds them, the interests of big business almost never run parralel to the interests of small business or even consumers. big business seeks a monopoly and employs pollies and media media scum to secure it for them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
