Saturday, March 28, 2009

Justice Marcus Einfeld

Zao shang hao, as we Aussies say in the China morning


Mr Waterstreet, it was a relief to read your column today.

I remember nothing but good when I think of Justice Einfeld. I still do!
The car episode is nothing more than that; an episode. It is not the story itself.

What Joel Fitzgibbon has done [as has nearly every pollie our land has produced] outweighs by far the misdemeanour
our learned Judge has ... I cannot locate the exact verb for this ... and the profligate waste and lies of men and women in
government that have cost us, as a community rather than a nation, during the time of my lifespan.

You mention that noble man, Lionel Murphy. I think of his wasted face as he neared death and I think of the good he had
done for us and I think with equal passion the schadenfreude of that era. The same with Graham Kennedy and a host of others
who, in public life, have been vilified once their usefulness as pleasure instruments has passed.

Justice Einfeld's courage to stand against the tide has always thrilled me. Here was one man intent upon justice, rather than upon
self-appointment. The fact that his list of accomplishments blurs the single outstanding achievement says it all, in my books.

Show pony indeed! He is a charismatic character bound to upset the pernicious among us. Christ upset the morons of his time.

Justice Einfeld moved equally among all strata of Aussie society. I didn't know him; but I knew of his ethics and of his heart, an organic
instrument that beat congruently with ours.

As for Paul Sheehan, I am loathe to be reminded that he carries an Irish name. Others have suffered by his poisonous pen. I shall not waste
my time on further thoughts of that cur.

I would be grateful if you were to convey my high regard to Marcus [how I would be so proud to be able to call him by his first name]
Einfeld. I worked for others many years ago whose religion bore heavily upon them in the public arena and I loved them for their stoicism.

With respect

Adrian


Adrian Keefe MA
International College
Hubei Normal University
82 Cihu Road
Huangshi Hubei 435002
People's Republic of China

Friday, March 27, 2009

Oz and China and th US

Australia's former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam opened the way for US President Nixon's visit to China in 1972 and Australia has been foremost in settling Western nerves about China's emergence into the international community. Australia's largest ethnic group is Chinese.It is natural that the two countries, both of similar physical size but with hugely disparate populations, should coincide in matters vital to the peace and stability of the world.

Moreover, Australia is also America's closest ally and is in a position to calm down any hysteria that emerges when perceptions get out of hand.We Australians know full-well that China is a friendly neighbour.