ON THE WALLABY- 14th July 2006

"Nothing doth more harm in a state than when cunning men pass for wise."- Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626”

SO WHERE ARE THE STATESMEN AND WOMEN?

One of the great traits of Australians has been, until the Howard era, an underlying ethos of a “fair go for all” and whilst it is still there, albeit in a flickering light, even a cursory glance at this weeks events in Israel and Lebanon shows that that line of thought certainly does not exist in the halls of most of the worlds corridors of power.

One aspect of this whole schemozzle is that I, and many others, foolishly thought democracy was about the will of the people and that will having control.

If that is the case, and I still believe it is, then how come Hamas, who, by all accounts, participated in an above board election in Palestine, won it decisively, have now incurred the wrath of the world, had their finances cut off, even including money owed by Israel, and are regarded as pariahs?

If ever there was an action made to all but guarantee the feeding of “terrorism” and its growth, it has been the treatment of Hamas.

Sure, I don’t agree with their violence, just as I don’t agree with Israel’s building a bloody great wall across the border and pounding the bejeebers out of Gaza on a whim but hey, if they won fair and square, and I thought that even someone as dumb as George Bush would have recognised that, as former President Lyndon B Johnston once commented on an adversary, “he’d rather have them in the tent pissing out than outside pissing in”.

The Palestinian issue is at the heart of all Middle Eastern problems and if that can be solved, much angst and bloodshed will be spared.

So I ask the question- where are the world’s statesmen and women who can stand and say “enough is enough”?

Where are the persons of such stature that can gather the warring parties and broker a deal?

They must be there for if they are not, our global world and society is indeed in dire straits.

THE MIDDLE EAST IN 40 YEARS AND WITH NO OIL-WHO WILL GIVE TWO HOOTS?

What an irony! In about 40 years (or less) when the world runs out of oil, who will give two hoots about the Middle East?

Certainly not the captains of industry with their hands all over that region (George Clooneys great film Syriana shows that graphically) nor those with other vested interests that see Jew against Arab.

Nup, I reckon it will revert back the “old days” where both Jew and Arab lived and worked alongside each other in relative peace and harmony and because they were of no major economic interest to the major powers of the day, so be it.

Australia, however, with her vast mineral wealth will be and whilst I hope I have the waters of Broken Bay washing over my ashes when it happens, have no fear that one day we will have to justify to the world why so few people own so much land and so much wealth.

A remark made to my father back in 1954 when I was a lad accompanying him and some cattle clients into western Queensland was the genesis of my above comment and 52 years later, I think the man was correct.

Carpe diem

Tony

Tony Fountain

Professional Speaker, auctioneer and author

Sydney NSW Australia

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