A LETTER OF SUPPORT TO JOURNALIST - HEDLEY THOMAS I was motoring along the freeway as a passenger in the front seat of the car on Monday afternoon about 1:20pm on the 16th June. My partner Richard (Ryszard) the designated driver had just switched the CD off and changed to one of our favourite radio stations - 2GB. I, in turn, decided to seize the moment and began discussing a topic of significant importance to me personally and subsequently turned the volume down. Most women fortunately are gifted with the talent of multi tasking, unlike our darling male companions (a big smile please!), especially my beloved, who cannot concentrate with 2 chatterboxes at the same time. The radio chatter in the background was just audible enough for me to hear. I never thought I would think, thank goodness Richard really does require two hearing aids but obstinately refuses to purchase them for my personal convenience or else I would have otherwise had to turn the radio off and would have missed hearing what was faintly being broadcasted in the background. Even though I was enthusiastically describing my life changing revelations to Richard I abruptly silenced my voice completely and turned the volume back up as my ears honed into Ben Fordham making the announcement that he was going to interview the Investigative Journalist, HEDLEY THOMAS. Naturally, my eyes widened and my ears perked up as I began to actively listen to the subject the boys were going to discuss in relation to the current Royal Commission. Just as an aside, Richard must not have been tuned into what I was talking about or more likely did not like my new ideas because he did not even ask me why I suddenly stopped mid sentence and sharply focused my attention elsewhere! Being acquainted briefly but significantly with Hedley Thomas, gentleman that he is, when he originally contacted me just over a year ago after another respected journalist and well-known Australian author Matthew Condon organized that Hedley Thomas do a telephone interview with me in March, 2013 in relation to the frustration I felt about my Mother, Shirley Margaret Brifman’s untimely and highly suspicious death. Importantly, Hedley and I discussed why no Coronial Inquiry was held into my Mother’s forced execution. A few days later the interview Hedley Thomas did with me appeared in The Weekend Australian. Being such a busy woman I unfortunately never had enough leisure time other than a random moment to read the newspapers but the few times I did peruse The Australian it always impressed and surprised me of the genuine quality and high standards of moral understanding its journalists displayed in its written content. If you knew the authors that entertained me, with the greatest minds that ever lived, I can sincerely state that my compliment is genuine. Matthew Condon confidently assured me that Hedley Thomas was a journalist of integrity and a personal friend of his as well and was an individual with high scruples and values. For once, I regretted that I gave Hedley Thomas such a brief outline, although, we did have to meet a fast approaching deadline. I felt his presentation was outstanding with the relatively brief material we covered. However, the most salacious is yet to be and I thought it wise to contain myself and take one patient step at a time. A few days later I jetted into Brisbane, Queensland in March 2013 for Matthew Condon’s book launch of, The 3 Crooked Kings. Since than, his middle book of the trilogy, titled Jacks and Jokers he recently finished writing for the disgraced corrupted Police Commissioner, Terry Lewis has now been released. My Mother and I featured on the opening page, much to my surprise, I might add. Matthew Condon asked me if I had any problem with him mentioning my name in his upcoming book and I replied that so long as it was truthful he would receive no objection from me. Little did I realise in a conversation I shared with Matthew in relation to another subject that required an Investigative Journalist to investigate an upcoming blockbuster of headlines currently being played out in real life as we speak and as was my Mother’s trait and obviously one I inherited according to an acquaintance friend of mine who observed I do this as well, my ramblings often jump from one topic to another because chattering triggers other memories that lead to another memory I normally wouldn’t have recalled because everything is connected and weaved and laced through what was happening at a particular time. Since I discovered what I would normally skip was so interesting for other people to learn about I have recalled many other entertaining morsels I will eventually share with those that desire to know. Back to the first book launch in Brisbane - Hedley Thomas plus many other journalists, television crews, politicians and extremely ‘interesting’ people to say the least where scattered throughout the audience that warm evening in South Brisbane last year. Finally, we have arrived back to this current week! Hang on in there a bit longer please. The comment I would like to share is exactly identical to the same issue I felt infuriated and hopping mad about at the time was that the Crimes and Misconduct Commission came under scrutiny and was severely censored with people voluntarily resigning because 242 files had been released to the public over several months that had a one hundred (100), yes, that is correct and it is not a misprint whatsoever, a one hundred year gag had originally been placed on some of these files. Especially my Mother’s! Many of the gagged statements in the order of 7,000 were in relation to statements or attachments too and records of interviews my Mother had given to the Internal Investigations Branch and also amongst these files my single statement I gave to the Fitzgerald Inquiry at that time. I also learned whilst I was attending the launch in Brisbane, these files have now been accidently shredded. Originally, we, the public were informed for many years they were lost or stolen, never to be located again. Regarding my own statement I remained nonplussed about because it was still filed in my memory banks. I don’t think Matthew Condon had fully realized the enormity of shock that reverberated through the gallery when his surprise guest, yours truly, was welcomed to join the panel in the last segment of the commentary. I think a pretty young journalist named Liz Minchin penned, ‘you could hear a pin drop!’ when I went to respond. Someone on the panel, probably Matthew, asked me a question in relation to the shredded files and I immediately replied with serious earnestness, ‘What are they going to do, shred me, too?’ They say comedy comes from tragedy and my life has been so serious I did not even realise I had the capacity to make an audience laugh. Being my first public appearance I missed most of what was happening from a dose of stage fright but I was able to assemble my wits together, momentarily, to finally relax enough to acknowledge at least the audience was responding merrily to the irony to something I answered with immediate alacrity, great sincerity and sobriety. Some questions like that are very easy and simply require a black and white answer. Other questions I fumbled through as there was so many branches and so many happenstances it was difficult to know how to be succinct when unbeknown to the panel there is so much they still need to hear about and my range to a simple question was so broad I did not know which branch of it to begin on. I could probably fill a dozen books with my life’s narrative. Seeing 40 years has slipped by what was not shredded had a new reduced sixty (60) year gag placed back on it! Sixty doesn’t sound quite as alarming as one hundred, I must admit. Oh, how subtle those in power can be when they want to keep us the public in the dark. Back to Monday afternoon and 2GB’s dialogue where Hedley was sounding very distressed and hot under the collar or actually a much more accurate description of his internal emotional and mental turmoil would be rightfully depicted as the voice of someone truly buffeting real life intellectual and professional oppression! Our society in general is one of two things or a combination of both. They are completely too trusting and/or brain washed so much so that we barely can recognize or identify what injustices are any more. When journalists or whistle-blowers or an ordinary person discovers or stumbles upon the truth of things that have been overlooked in the obscurity of the deliberate cover-up they are disguised in these individual people that follow the dictates of their conscious are required to actively develop, a very important verb word, please spell it out aloud D-E-V-E-L-O-P the courage and deliberately muster another very important verb word M-U-S-T-E-R the internal strength to speak up knowing and understanding somewhat that if you rock the boat with TRUTH your life will suffer in some form – initially! If you wish to pursue truth you will always be under threat or at the very least suffer the consequences that truth and pain are close companions. It is a terrible tragedy and has happened all throughout history that most people would prefer to remain shackled than pay the dues that real liberty demands. The most shocking thing of all is I truly believe that we are the first society in general not to understand what deceit is being orchestrated to so many of us. Since the 1960’s we have become so opened minded that most of our brains have spilled out – and unwittingly, too, I must add, because we are silently lured by our selfish lust or gain it originally suited us to abandon what no other educated society had ever done before. Our culture is in terrible decay and thank goodness to people that refuse to turn a blind eye and allow the deception to continue because turning a blind eye or minding your own business only supports the deceit you have been served up. It makes you guilty too. It also ensures your weakness will result mostly nothing. It is your duty and your business for those in power to act for the highest good on your behalf. You are more powerful than you realise. If you remain voiceless than you are a coward. EVERY SINGLE PERSON MUST ACTIVELY GROW A MORAL BACKBONE & STOP THE BULLYING! OVERALL WE ARE SO SELF INDULGENT, LAZY, AND GREEDY THAT WE NEED A RUDE AWAKENING IF YOU WANT AUSTRALIA TO BE A GREAT COUNTRY. Hedley Thomas, rightfully angry and passionately distraught about the whistle-blowers or journalists and professionals trying to do their jobs with integrity found they were brutally victimized, abruptly left jobless and completely demoralized. What can we do about it? Plenty, actually! The very same matters that the initial journalists and investigators were savagely abused and sacrificed heavily for in bringing this corruption to light are now being publicly trumpeted by a newer crew at the Royal Commission currently in open court. Hopefully, the Royal Commission won’t cover this scandal up and ignore the bravery of those who fought the initial good fight. These people deserve justice, too. What has steadily worsened when you think you have already hit rock bottom is to discover that as an individual in our current democratic society YOU really do not even have a voice. I don’t know if suffering in silence is an even worse punishment if you are aware and have a good active conscious. Often the individual that does want to help in this situation does not know where to begin. However, I will compile a list another day for anyone interested in defending the goodness and positive growth of a strong society. A warrior’s list specially prepared for those that want to step into the best show in town – telling the truth, but at least being psychologically prepared for what is to come will help you win the cultural battle that must be fought. Hopefully, sooner than later! However, first things first! We must awaken our dull minds and become more educated in the art of learning to listen well. Technically, we live in a time where most people have gone to school and are educated. This modern age of technology makes me think that people have become so indifferent to so many things that they behave like robots. Hello people! Hello world! Is anyone home? Is there any life or feeling at all in your mind that has not been pre-programmed in? PEOPLE, it is time to awaken from your slumber! I think it is TERRIFYING and ABSOLUTELY FRIGHTENING to death that a major proportion of our country’s citizens have lost their individual power to think logically anymore. Our brains are completely devoid of recognizing or connecting the intellect to the heart. It is time to start learning to listen first and foremost! Next attach some real drama to your lifeless brain and imagine how much courage these people demonstrated when they tried to speak up for us. They were and are in actual fact trying to protect YOUR rights to a life of fairness and goodness and common decency. Our society is so zoned out or empty because we are distracted by intimidation, fear or unawareness. We are lucky we do not live in America where teenagers have easy access to guns. They say that in the next decade youth suicide will be one of the countries biggest killers. Not disease. Empty modernism. People, my countrymen, my brothers and sisters, my friends, my neighbors, my community I don’t know how to communicate to you the peril you are creating with your selfishness. Well actually, I do know how to communicate the lessons I have learned the hard way and will start sharing them publicly wherever I can. I just need to make the time to write them out so you can handle the assaults coming your way. When you think things cannot get any more preposterous I forewarn you that the bullies are growing at alarming rates and are mostly winning in our society. The grown ups, the young and the old do yourself a favor. I am not trying to promote a particular radio station or tickle the fancy of a journalist that wrote about something that is important to me but what I am advising you to do is to connect to the internet and type in 2GB radio station and listen for a few minutes to the conversation of Ben Fordham having a chat to the journalist named Hedley Thomas on Monday 16th June 2014 and maybe do yourself another favor and replay it until your brain connects to the meaning within the journalist Hedley Thomas’ words and use that magic tool of yours that sits in the particular region of the brain called, IMAGINATION. Try to picture yourself acting out a role for a play and you had the role of whistleblower. Keep your imagination working and try feeling how much courage these devastated souls are that got the sack or ridiculed or bullied because they grew the courage to speak up for YOU. Than do your country a favor and telephone or email any radio station that you like to tune into and send them your email and than follow through by writing to a television show or news program that you are upset about such injustice taking place in your city and your country. Find your voice and type out a few simple words and insist and demand that those that suffered because they spoke up MUST be reinstated or much better still hired by organizations that celebrate dedication coupled with bravery and be recognized and honored and celebrated for their contribution in trying to make your world a better place to live in. Where do we go to find the courage to speak up truthfully? Anywhere and everywhere! Let the innocent children and idle teenagers who are brilliant with all this modern technology send an open invitation to everyone to congregate at Hyde Park in Sydney City or a local park in your neighborhood and say a heartfelt thank you for these valiant warriors who refuse to turn a blind eye to harsh realities enacted everyday in the playground of our lives and your country’s future life. If you want a great and strong and loving community you MUST participate in the energy flow and make a difference. Than and only than when you are out of your comfort zone and you do something positive and good and loving will your life on this planet mean something to you. You will not have lived in vain. The other upside is you may begin to heal the world with your loving involvement in creating a community where everyone is held responsible and are important and necessary. Don’t be selfish and focus on how embarrassed you may feel or isolated, either. Practice BEING BOLD about GOODNESS, JUSTICE & TRUTH and the outcome will eventually be worth your struggles. Your joy will know no boundaries. Who wants to eat a sandwich in Hyde Park for example and be part of a new world where we can ask for our words to fall upon open ears? What do they say in the movies: ACTION! Let’s make a date for some ACTION! Why don’t we pop into the courts and say thank you to people like the journalist Hedley Thomas for caring enough to share his anguish with you on open radio. Send him an email with a simple thank you from whoever you are. One word of encouragement can make all the difference to a person who is willing to speak up and take a punishment for it. The reason this type of person or journalist in this instance laments on live radio is he wants and needs your support to help him make a difference so he can speak up with more abandonment about the people that were punished spitefully and cruelly. If you feel all alone and no one but you turn up to say thank you or post something on the technology channels don’t worry about the stage fright. It is opening night. ACTION followed by BOLDNESS and when you arrive at your destination even if the destination is to push the send button on your email remember to start physically practicing the verb words of DEVELOP your COURAGE and MUSTER your INNER STRENGTH by reassuring yourself it is in your personal power, duty, right, responsibility and destiny to make our world a better place. I’ll sign off for now but if someone is taking some form of action let me know so I can join you, too. Oh, this is very important! The visual signal for our core or community is to do something ridiculously simple and unusual plus warm hearted and funny and that is kiss the ether or air and than gaze at someone and catch them with your heartfelt smile!
Posted on: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 13:51:06 +0000
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