Spooks Spin at The Oz

Submitted by Bob Burton on

After being deported by the Australian government, U.S. peace activist Scott Parkin has ridiculed claims against him in The Australian. "If I am such a threat, why have the FBI not even phoned me since my return from Australia to follow up [Australian intelligence]'s silly allegations? ... As I always say and sincerely believe, it is unprincipled to do anything violent at any time, including in a protest situation." Under the front-page headline "Deported activist was to teach tactics of violence," The Australian's Foreign Editor, Greg Sheridan, and co-author John Kerin reported claims from anonymous intelligence sources that Parkin's civil disobedience training was "likely to increase violence" at demonstrations. It is not the first time Sheridan has breathlessly reported spin from an intelligence source. On July 12, 2003, he wrote that "well-informed sources" told him U.S. troops had discovered what they believed to be "decisive proof of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs."

Main Source: 
Sydney Morning Herald, September 22, 2005
Topics: 
Activism
Journalism
International
War / Peace

Comments

Michael Ewin replied on

The Scott Parkin case had nothing to do with Scott Parkin per se.

It was a test case for a number of reasons:
A. The loss of civil liberties in the name of terrorism. This was a benchmark case to test reactions.
B. It would also have been "a test" to see how Australian media people would respond and re-act.
C. It is also designed to intimidate what are called "activists".
D. The statement made by the attorney general as regards Scott also was a test case as to see who would challenge what he is saying "on record".
E. All the other test cases in the "boiling the frog syndrome" are more controversial. Keeping the Australian national in the American prison in Cuba. The Statements by Muslim leaders etc

Here in Western Australia an academic who wrote and published an anti-war book has come under the attention of American Military, but the local press remains silent.

All these test cases are testing to see how compliant Australian Media is.

The Australian newspaper is controlled with-in the Rupert Murdock agenda - so we can expect the editor to quote "un-named" contacts from with-in the Australian intelligence community - and no one challenges if the source indeed made 'such and such' a statement.
This recently happened with a front page Australian newspaper fear story (will post the day and date).

Margo Kingston's web diary seems one independent media along with indymedia.org