THE GUARDIAN
By Helen Davidson
11/21/2013
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Drunken criminal descendant Mark Testor |
Crosby is now working full-time for the Conservative party in Britain.
Textor has been accused by Indonesian media of insulting members of the government in a racially-loaded tweet on Wednesday which compared an unnamed individual to “a 1970s Pilipino [sic] porn star” who has “ethics to match''. It was soon deleted.
While it appeared to be referring to Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa or perhaps president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Textor told Guardian Australia by text message the tweet did not refer to Natalegawa. When asked who it did refer to, Textor replied “nobody”.
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Indonesian response to Testor, AU spies |
Questioned by an ABC reporter in Canberra on Thursday afternoon, Textor denied the tweet had been deleted, saying: “I don’t think I did. I think it’s there for anyone to read.”
Asked if he thought it was causing offence in Indonesia and if he should apologise, Textor said: “I can’t apologise for what people imagine.
“I was not referring to anyone in particular but if you want to imagine someone that’s fine by me.”
Nevertheless, on Thursday afternoon Textor sent another message and tweeted: “apologies to my Indonesian friends – frustrated by media-driven divisions – Twitter is indeed no place for diplomacy.”
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Australian ASIS spies appear to be bragging about tapping President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife |
Asked why he had deleted some of the earlier tweets, Textor told Guardian Australia: "Because it's part of the apology process." He said it was "hardly hiding", given the number of times he had been retweeted.
In question time on Thursday, the prime minister, Tony Abbott, said Textor’s tweets were "tacky comments and they have been withdrawn and apologised for" when questioned by the opposition leader, Bill Shorten.
When criticised by an Indonesian Twitter user on Thursday morning, Textor said he would “continue free speech”.
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ASIS gave phone recordings to Obama's murdering CIA |
Textor has been a vocal critic of the spying story.
“'Apology demanded from Australia by a bloke who looks like a 1970s Pilipino [sic] porn star and has ethics to match #Fairfax demands appeasement',” he wrote on Wednesday.
The tweet, which was soon deleted, was followed by: “That last tweet was for those who think we should take all this silly, manufactured moral outrage seriously. #spy”
That last tweet was for those who think we should take all this silly, manufactured moral outrage seriously. #spy
— Mark Textor (@markatextor) November 19, 2013
@JeSeGrey @sstockbr @peartonjohnson @MalcolmFraser12 @chrismurphys @kimworldwide @latikambourke @ABCNews24 lol. pic.twitter.com/THecYVwRMB
— Mark Textor (@markatextor) November 20, 2013
In another, Textor wrote: "Yo! Fidel! BFF? #bayofpigs. #tweetlikeSBY”
Yo! Fidel! BFF?#bayofpigs. #tweetlikeSBY
— Mark Textor (@markatextor) November 19, 2013
“While 'convenient', the online conversation is not 'intimate' – there is no need for the special investment that good manners require. I'm as guilty as anyone here,” he wrote.
“Indeed the 'quick draw' nature of forums like Twitter lend themselves to anger and energy, rarely patience or civility.”
The deputy Labor leader, Tanya Plibersek, said Textor’s comments were “highly inappropriate”.
“This is a person who is in the prime minister’s inner circle. The Indonesians know that he is a longstanding adviser to the Liberal party. And I think these sort of loose comments can do nothing to repair the relations between our two nations,” she told reporters in Canberra.
The Liberal MP Steven Ciobo stressed that Textor had no official position in the party.
“Mark Textor is a private citizen, not a government appointee,” he said.
“The comments that he makes I think are inappropriate but they are comments that are made in a private capacity.”
Asked by Guardian Australia to elaborate further, Textor replied: “It’s a tweet.”