GOVERNMENT ANTI-TERRORISM PARANOIA RIFE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

As an example as to how far Governments will go in terms of their anti-terrorism paranoia we may take a recent Western Australian case as a perfect example as to how stupid and idiotic some Governments really are.

A colleague who writes for railway magazines recently decided to do some stories for his various publications about new urban railway developments in and around Perth, these new developments being somewhat of a trendsetter in Australia in terms of public transport systems.

He contacts the various transport authorities in Perth including the transport Minister by email and phone and hears nothing from them in return.

So much for open Government-media relationships which, in my view, do not exist in Western Australia in any case.

The man goes to Perth and when he presents himself at the various locations he gets told and lectured upon that he is not allowed to photograph any railway facilities in Perth or anywhere else in Western Australia, this despite the fact that he had an official duty to perform as a journalist and advising accordingly well in advance and despite the fact that these new facilities are public assets, owned by the public, not the WA Government.

In other words, Western Australian Government officialdom turned the exercise into a hide and seek farce.

As an aside, the man did get his pictures in full glorious colour as well as the information that he was seeking so the whole Government emphasis on people not being allowed to take pictures of trains and railway facilities turned out to be a farce in any case.

What is the upshot of all this?

It proves that Government, the WA Government in this instance, have no idea as to how to develop and maintain beneficial relationships with journalists doing a legitimate job.

Governments have no idea as to how to prevent terrorism attacks on public facilities as a potential terrorist would never go onto a railway platform in full daylight taking pictures of trains, he or she would not be that stupid.

Government regulations of this type only highlight the fact that they wish to have control of media and other such processes, rather than preventing terrorism at its roots through clever and creative intelligence. In short, given the way Governments do things, only highlighted by the stupidity of the Western Australian Government in this case, proves as to how badly focused and badly managed places like Western Australia really are.

My message to the Western Australian Government would be this.
"Your railway system is not a terrorist target as terrorists are simply not interested in your trains as a target. Your railway system is a public asset, not a Government one. Allow people to carry out their legitimate profession in the appropriate manner without interference".

In my view, while Western Australia may well be a great place to visit, its Government needs to 'get real' as to from whom, from what and when threats exist in terms of anti-terrorism laws and regulations being acceptable and appropriate.

My name is Henk Luf.
And That's The Way It Is

Politics Factzone: The truth about Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il, the leader of the free world, has decided to move on to more fertile grounds, leaving with us just the memories of 8-color rainbows, singing Korean women and couple of nuclear weapons. But who was this man whose next ambition would have been to get the next Nobel Peace prize? Here are just a few facts you should know about. more Top 5 Conspiracy Theories Related to John F. Kennedy's Assassination 26.Aug 2011 Since just after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, conspiracy theories abou...read ISRAEL KEEPING GHADDAFI AFLOAT 10.Mar 2011 ...read Glen Beck Is NOT the Anti-Christ! 10.Mar 2011 Hurtful and fiery rhetoric is now media’s default setting! This slippery and m...read Recipe for A REVOLUTION! (10 easy steps - try not to get burned!) 28.Feb 2011 Rebellion is cooking in the air. People are mad as hell, and not going to take...read THE ASSANGE CASE. CIA INTERFERED WITH SWEDISH LEGAL PROCESSES EXTREME RIGHT POLITICS A DANGER TO EUROPEAN UNITY THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY. OUT OF TOUCH, OUT OF FOCUS, OUT OF CREDIBILITY AND HOPEFULLY, OUT OF THE DOOR Opinion World governments charged with criminal negligence (in response to Megaupload case) EARTH (thecheers.org) - Federal authorities of the universe have charged the governments of all the countries in the world as well as the operators actually in power in these countries with operating a criminal enterprise, the Galaxy warriors announced Today. more The Great OSCARS 2011 – or so it would seem 5.Mar 2011 So, how exciting......a morning off, the Academy Awards. I wish I could say the...read Top 7 Expensive Bordellos. Prostitution: Shakedown, Tier Down, and Priced Out 31.Jan 2011 According to a report of the Washington DC-based US Department of State, The Ph...read The Great Secret and Reason for the JFK Assassination 11.Oct 2010 The great question is why the great secret? On June 4 1963, President Kennedy s...read Don't Do it! The 3 Worst Times to Get Tattoos 4.Oct 2010 As a general rule, tattoos gotten after 2 am are a bad idea. But in a bigger pi...read

Travel Travel Warning 13 September 2010 - DO NOT TRAVEL TO IRAN 13.Sep 2010 TRAVELWISE has been watching the situation in Iran for some months in relation ...read more TRAVELWISE TRAVEL ADVISORY 5th June 2010. DO NOT TRAVEL TO ISRAEL. 5.Jun 2010 Given the recent incident whereby the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, used...read TRAVELWISE. 16 APRIL 2010. EUROPEAN TRAVEL ALTERNATIVES 16.Apr 2010 Travelwise issues the following advice in relation to cancelled flights to, fro...read TRAVELWISE 6 APRIL 2010. AUSTRALIAN AIR TRAVEL. THE BEST WAYS TO TRAVEL BY AIR IN AUSTRALIA. 5.Apr 2010 Regular readers might have seen and read the various advisory and no-fly notice...read TRAVELWISE 2 APRIL 2010. QANTAS. 2.Apr 2010 Some concerns have been raised in relation to some of the maintenance practices...read Sport No Payoff From the Playoffs $16.50 will Get Anyone in the Hall Mr McGwire Stupid Athlete Tricks Technology Think Big! Think the World's Largest International Trade Show Top 9 cool laptop accessories for laptop geeks Twittering: I'm not that interesting Cheers Jesus' Answering Machine Brown Couch or twelve midgets in the town square How To Be Happy Drugged Out Saturday Nights Muslim Decapitation: Bad, or Simply Misunderstood?