on 12-09-2014 04:30 PM
As the terror alert has gone up a seperat thread is in order.
Tony Abbott announces Australian terror threat raised from ‘medium’ to ‘high’
Australia's terror threat level has been raised from medium to high, meaning a terror attack on home soil is now officially considered "likely".
The nation's outgoing spy chief ASIO Director General David Irvine says an attack could manifest itself in a "Bali-style attack, although Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday that the agencies had not detected any "particular plots".
Mr Abbott expressed confidence that the authorities are "smarter than terrorists and would be terrorists," and would remain "one step ahead" of their malice.
Mr Abbott made the much anticipated announcement at a media conference with the Attorney-General George Brandis and Mr Irvine four days after the ASIO chief flagged the escalation.
Mr Abbott stressed that raising the terror threat level did not mean a terror attack was "imminent" but said it meant there are people in Australia with the "intent and capability" to carry out at terror attack.
He said it would "not make any difference to daily life" for the vast majority of Australians but it would mean "more security" at airports, ports, military bases, public buildings and large public events, including the upcoming AFL Grand Finals. But he said football fans should not be deterred from attending the games
Normal life in Australia can and must go on," he said. "We want people to go about their normal lives and we certainly want to people to enjoy the football if their teams are lucky enough to be in the grand final," he said.
Acting Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin said sports fans "fortunate enough" to have tickets to the grand final should still attend as police have "well worked" plans for securing major matches.
PM Tony Abbott watches as ASIO chief David Irvine explains the increase in terror threat level. Photo: Luis Ascui
"You may expect to see heightened police presence but it won't be intrusive, I'm sure," he said.
Mr Abbott also said a "modest information campaign" would begin within weeks.
Mr Irvine said the events in the Middle East over recent months had activated people at home who support the extremism propagated by ISIL militants in Iraq and Syria.
He said 60 to 70 Australians were among the 10,000 foreign fighters fighting alongside the terrorists in Iraq and Syria and some had returned home.
on 14-09-2014 02:32 PM
on 14-09-2014 02:54 PM
Reminds me of this joke:
A young boy was sitting in the back seat of the family car with his father at the wheel, enjoying a relaxing Sunday drive in the Australian countryside when suddenly the father began to swerve the car dangerously across the road side to side, while blasting on the horn with one hand and screaming obscenitioes out of the window. The startled boy asked his father "Dad, why are you doing that!?" to which the father replied "Someone told me it keeps the wild elephants off the road." The boy said " But Dad, there are no elephants around here!" And the father replied with a big grin on his face "You see how effective it is!"
on 14-09-2014 03:18 PM
@purplecarrot-top wrote:
Abbott has been itching for a war. Warmonger is what he is. Let him and his mates send their kid first.
That's because he knows that rule number 1 in "The Manual of Becoming a Popular President" is to:
"...involve your country in a war. Any war will do. Just make sure it is short and that only the right amount of men get killed. Not enough killed and it will look as if we didn't really need to go to war. Too many killed and it will look like we are losers."
It's called 'the rally around the flag' effect and it involves a huge amount of propaganda (usually just before the decision is announced) to justify the action.
on 14-09-2014 03:21 PM
GO TEAM AUSTRALIA!!!!
on 14-09-2014 03:26 PM
And this from Wiki could have been written with Australia in mind:
Controversy[edit]
The idea of the syndrome is seen as controversial[citation needed] because it implies that crises and more importantly, wars actually benefit presidents for political purposes. It is argued that because wars increase the popularity of a president, a president might be more willing to use military force if his approval rating is dropping. Because this diverts attention away from the handling of domestic policies, some[who?] believe the rally round the flag syndrome encourages diversionary foreign policy.
on 14-09-2014 03:29 PM
Off to war we go.......again......
on 14-09-2014 03:32 PM
@i-need-a-martini wrote:
@purplecarrot-top wrote:
Abbott has been itching for a war. Warmonger is what he is. Let him and his mates send their kid first.That's because he knows that rule number 1 in "The Manual of Becoming a Popular President" is to:
"...involve your country in a war. Any war will do. Just make sure it is short and that only the right amount of men get killed. Not enough killed and it will look as if we didn't really need to go to war. Too many killed and it will look like we are losers."
It's called 'the rally around the flag' effect and it involves a huge amount of propaganda (usually just before the decision is announced) to justify the action.
on 14-09-2014 03:39 PM
14-09-2014 04:11 PM - edited 14-09-2014 04:11 PM
I do believe in the US airstrikes and I had no objection to the RAAF ferrying arms and ammunition, because I think we owe that much to the Iraqi peopleafter creating the vacuum that these momsters have moved into. but I cannot see anything good coming out of sending in combat troops.
on 14-09-2014 04:15 PM
600 😞