Philosophy

The Sydney Morning Herald ^ | 8/6/2005 | Paul Sheehan

[weatherwax]

SOME stories just slip away, even from plain sight. One such story began on January 30, in Auburn. It was a Saturday. Elections were being held in Iraq. The Iraqis in Sydney, as in Iraq, were voting in large numbers after years of repression. Almost 12,000 people registered to vote in Australia, most of them in Sydney. A polling booth was set up in Auburn, near the heart of the city's Iraqi community.

This did not sit well with some people. About two dozen men from several Middle Eastern countries gathered near the polling booth to intimidate voters. They took photographs, used video cameras, made threats and unfurled a banner which read "IF YOU VOTE, YOU DIE", mimicking a warning used by the Jordanian serial butcher Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, then busy waging a campaign of terror against the democratic process in Iraq.

[weatherwax]

They also displayed the black flag that Zarqawi featured in videos as he beheaded hostages and called for jihad against the West.

This presented a golden opportunity for Australian police and intelligence services. Two dozen brazen fundamentalists had outed themselves as criminals. Nothing happened.

[King Prout]

BUMP

[konaice]

By the end of Sunday night, two people had been treated for gunshot wounds, at least two dozen people had been assaulted, car windows had been smashed and shops vandalised. Hundreds of people were intimidated. All in the middle of Sydney on a summer weekend. Ten thousand kilometres from Baghdad. No arrests were made.

So where was Howard? Why didn't anyone call the police?

Does a bomb have to go off in the Sidney Opera Hall before Australian Police realize that New York and London and Madrid are not the only cities that are on the target list.

Actually, I would predict either Poland or Australia is hit next.

[fuzzy122]

"Actually, I would predict either Poland or Australia is hit next."

I think Hollywood or The Hamptons would get people focused again.
(Although I would not wish this on anyone.)

[Bahbah]

Nothing happened.

That's pretty amazing. "You Vote, You Die" is a direct threat.