1DN’s Hero and Villain of the Week – 02/09/2011

Hero – David Manne, Executive Director of the Refugee & Immigration Legal Centre .

Hero - David Manne

David Manne and his team at the RILC brought the action in the High Court against the Government’s “Malaysian solution” that was this week found to be unlawful. The ruling by the court was historic, in that in provides a major hurdle for this and any future Government to attempt to process Asylum Seekers offshore. But history is not forged by those who sit by why injustice takes place and High Courts do not rule against a Government unless a group of people do Hero like work to ensure that justice is done. In a time when politics has become particularly dirty, tea party like rallies in Canberra, politician’s caught up in serious legal issues and a parliament ground to a halt by mud-slinging the good news is that not all leaders are politicians and most politicians are NOT leaders. So our 1DEADLYNation.com hero of the week for leadership, commitment and an amazing achievement for Human rights is David Manne and the team at RILC.

Villain  – News Limited “columnist” Andrew Bolt

In a week where his News Ltd stable mate, Glenn Milne, could have beaten him to the prize. Bolt proves there is nothing like a hissy fit to get your name in the papers and be this weeks Villain. The Australian newspaper kicked off the week by publishing an article by Milne about PM Gillard that was short on facts and high on Chardonnay fumes. The false and defamatory article was pulled by News Ltd and an apology put in its place. To Bolt this was the equivalent to appeasing the Nazi party and he would take his flaming sword of freedom to the airwaves.  “What are you so afraid of? What else would you stoop to in order to cling to power? I was considering resigning as a News Limited columnist,” Bolt screeched. “I thought this company that I love, that I have long admired for its defence of free speech, had caved in to pressure from a Prime Minister to close down reporting of a matter of public interest.”

A blogger can strike? Hippy!

So Bolt took his bat and ball and went home. But like most cry babies and bullies it only lasted for a day and with his sword still out of its sheath went on the rampage about Democracy, Freedom, Socialism, Lenin and why he just had to hold strong for the good of the nation. Sorry Andrew, but your pen pal Milne got it wrong, suck it up and get on with writing about why Carbon Dioxide is actually a beautiful rainbow creating lolly drop from God. But you are this weeks Villain!

*credit to http://www.sarcastic.com.au for Bolt image.