This evening, Sydney has snipers on roofs in a ‘secure zone’, helicopters hovering overhead, steel barrier-fences up around Circular Quay. Most business people from the area have closed for the duration and have gone bush. A public holiday has been declared for Friday to dissuade people from entering the city.
The Supreme Court of Australia has supported the New South Wales Police Department and is issuing a prohibition order against protesters demonstrating in certain streets of Sydney where today, behind a ring of steel barricades, Little Johnny Howard and George Dubya were busy strengthening military ties between Australia and USA. Bilateral deal-making between dork and adoring dork. A dangerous-simpletons' love-in. The Court ruling is provocative to anyone who believes in the right to demonstrate in so-called democratic states. It was ironic, given the restrictions on peaceful protest here in Sydney, listening to a segment of Bush’s speech, in his casual, almost inarticulate style, where he decried the treatment of Aung San Su Kyi and others in Myanmar (Burma). He championed the right to protest. A true hypocrite, but an unassuming freedom-loving kind of guy, right ?
In case you don’t know, there is a meeting of various world leaders (including China, Russia, Indonesia and so on) attending an APEC ( Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) meeting in Sydney this week. If you would like to but can’t join the rally under the wondrous blast of the brand-new water cannon purchased recently, especially for this event, by the NSW government, you could look at the following example of resistance and make your opposition public in your own suburb -
Susan Schultz, poet, professor, critic and also editor of Tinfish Press has a sidewalk blog showing how small actions can have an effect.
The Webster-Schultz family workshop
After today's press conference, Dubya was hungry. He remarked, as he left for lunch with Little Johnny - 'I'm glad you invited me to lunch today' - a breathy pause - 'I'm a meat guy'.
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