Terrorism-Related Arrests in Australia

In the last week, nearly 20 men have been arrested for terrorism-related offences. About half (those in Sydney) were allegedly conspiring an attack and had allegedly procured materials to create explosives and recruited a suicide bomber. The other half (in Melbourne) were simply alleged to be members of a terrorist organisation. The arrests were conducted via raids on the suspects' homes, and were the product of about 18 months of police work.

Despite being alarming, this is a very positive development. It seems everybody expected it to happen sooner or later (either arrests or an attack), so the existence of potential terrorists in Australia was not apparently in doubt. While it's not pleasing to have this potentially confirmed, it's nice to know that police have been able to conduct an effective investigation. And it's especially good to see that the suspects are being hauled before a court instead of being dealt with in secret. There's a very real chance that the latter will become a reality in Australia, with worryingly draconian anti-terrorism legislation (with sedition charges and provision for secret detention) being debated in Parliament right now. The timing of these arrests couldn't be better: the suspects will be tried under existing laws. If they receive a fair trial and a just outcome is achieved, then it will help to demonstrate that the new laws are not needed.

A good opinion piece in The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) last week argued that Muslims feel less threatened in general, now that arrests have taken place and the courts will be handling the cases, as opposed to the situation before last week where the occasional raid would occur without arrests and without explanation. In other words, it's not possible that the latest raids were politically motivated because there's too much political risk in bringing the suspects to court. The writer was a regular contributor to the SMH on Muslim affairs, and is a moderate Muslim, and I'm struggling to remember his name. Anyway, in light of that positive piece, it was annoying, and predictable, to hear that the Lebanese Muslim Council protested recently about the police apparently targeting Muslims, blah blah blah.

What really inspired this blog posting was a letter in the SMH. Last night, I submitted one myself in reaction to the Lebanese Muslim Council's ramblings. It wasn't published, but a similar one was. I'm glad, because the one that was published said everything I wanted to say but much clearer and wittier.

Complaints about Muslims being targeted? Next thing it will be drivers complaining about being targeted for breath tests. Why shouldn't we concentrate where experience tells us the problems are? —Paul Frederick, Mosman

Anyway, I hope the suspects get a fair trial, and have no doubt they will.

Music: Three New CDs

I bought three CDs yesterday, and I challenge you to buy three more different CDs in one day:

• Kanye West, Late Registration (hip hop/rap)
• Frenzal Rhomb, Sans Souci (expletive-laden satirical punk/thrash)
• Tex, Don, and Charlie, All Is Forgiven (roots/blues/country)

Kanye West is a US artist; the other two are Australian.

Kanye West has two well-known songs on the radio at the moment: Gold Digger and Diamonds From Sierra Leone. The first is based on a Ray Charles vocal riff, the second on the James Bond Diamonds Are Forever theme, and the use of these sums up the appeal: catchy musical backgrounds with great rhythmic vocals on top. This album was awarded 5 stars by Rolling Stone magazine, a time-honoured accolade I respect even though the magazine no longer holds my interest. I've only listened to it once but thought most of the songs were of very high quality. I'll have to create a copy of it without all the boring "skits" that pollute nearly every hip-hop album.

Frenzal Rhomb are a noisy band I've never been interested in. But when I saw them play a couple of songs once, and heard a longer live set on the radio, I realised they're not meant to be taken seriously, and are actually damn funny. When I got a craving for a couple of their songs and couldn't let it go, I had to get the album. It's a good litmus test for a person's personality type, beyond the mere musical style, in that it's deliberately very offensive. With song titles like Stand Up And Be C*nted, World's F**kedest C**t, and a song whose main chorus line is "At least we know Russell Crowe's band is a f**ken pile of s**t", it's hilarious if that's your sense of humour. And despite being a nice guy, it's definitely mine.

Finally, Tex, Don, and Charlie. That's Tex Perkins, solo artist and leader of The Cruel Sea and The Beasts of Burbon; Don Walker, songwriting supremo behind Cold Chisel (classic 80s pub rock band); and Charlie Owens, longtime collaborator of both. Having mastered hard rock and surfy groove, Tex Perkins has trodden a more mellow path in recent years, and I'd like to get some of his solo stuff. Don Walker wrote fantastic rock songs for Cold Chisel, and has basically been a little-seen blues artist since. This collaboration is a genre album, predictably the common denominator between the musicians' current styles. After one listen, it seems that it's quality rather than inspiration that distinguishes this trio: they're not breaking new ground, just crafting good material. Of course, my impression may change. Their first album (Sad But True, released about four years ago, I think) is apparently a landmark release in Australian music, but unfortunately I haven't heard it. No complaints about this one.

Anyway, three completely different styles purchased and listened to in one day. Most enjoyable!