Pixelated Semantics

Semanticists queue here

Meanwhile Labor's spokesman on defence says David Kay's comments on the ABC last night discredit the Government's argument that there is a difference between an interrogation and an interview. "The Government is absolutely playing with semantics" he said, echoing News.com's reporting, and confirming again the analysis published here. While semantics is not commonly discussed in media reportage, it's noteable that recent statements by the government have brought a greater public awareness of the cognitive dissonance created by the exploitation of subtle differences in meaning. And with that, there is little more to say on the issue: after all, even negative attention still provides free PR for the semantic exploiters of Canberra and beyond.

Update: a couple of hours later and even the government is reportedly on the semantic bandwagon, though trying to use it as a defense or distraction: "This is a semantic debate about what is an interrogation and what is an interview," Minster Hockey told the Channel 7's Sunrise program. Except that David Kay and Mr Barton have unquestionably established that the issue is not over definitions any more, as the activity was certainly interrogation, but over the government's ability to tell the truth to its electors, and to answer the question actually being asked. It's worth remembering that the government has continually responded as if they were asked to deal with allegations of Australian complicity with torture, when in fact the question was simply over our presence at interrogations - no allegation of complicity in torture has to my knowledge ever been made regarding Australians. Complicity is an issue that is surely going to haunt Labour as well, with Opposition Leader Kim Beazley reportedly saying "the Senate should not waste its time hearing freed Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib's story". As if a man who has been slandered mercilessly in Parliament should not enjoy a right of reply - certainly politicians are the first to demand the same when their reputation is at stake. Here the ALP is again maintaining the proximity to the frequently corrupted government line in the same manner that has cost them several elections and a lot of respect, and if the Opposition is not prepared to stand for natural justice and human rights, then effectively the Australian people are now completely at the mercies of individuals with more power than compassion, and notions of parliamentary democracy representing the people are utterly useless.

Item posted by AutoEditor at 1:40 pm ::