Megaphone Mal tells Liberals to go to hell, but no one is looking forward to the journey

Sending Malcolm Turnbull is a good idea? Ray Hadley, 2GB, October 25:

(Home Affairs Minister) Peter Dutton didn’t think Malcolm Turnbull should lead the nation but he does think (he) should lead government negotiations in Indonesia … “I think it’s appropriate in the circumstances.”

Megaphone diplomacy? Claire Bickers, AAP, October 30:

Speaking after a meeting in Bali with Indonesia President Joko Widodo … Mr Turnbull said … “The President expressed to me, as he has done to Prime Minister Morrison, the very serious concern held in Indonesia about the prospect of the Australian embassy in Israel being moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem … it would be met with a very negative reaction in Indonesia.” … Asked whether … Mr Turnbull’s comments undermined him, Mr Morrison said simply: “No.”

Enough? ABC News, November 1:

Scott Morrison rules out sending Malcolm Turnbull on more diplomatic missions

Facts? Turnbull tweets November 1:

A few facts. @ScottMorrisonMP asked me to discuss trade and the embassy issue in Bali …

Turnbull tweets later, November 1:

So, my previous tweet — a simple statement of fact has been described in the media as “lashing out” (the Oz) or as a “public rebuke” (SMH). Neither characterisation is reasonable, but is objective reporting unadorned by sensationalism a thing of the past?

Send a pro? Louise Williams, Sydney Morning Herald, June 23, 2007:

The Soul of Discretion. When the respected career diplomat Allan Taylor was posted to Indonesia as ambassador … (the) quietly observant and personally reserved (man) was said to be more Javanese than Australian … (A) consummate professional known for … (his) integrity and quiet thoughtfulness … (he) worked for both Liberal and Labor governments and was highly regarded for a professionalism which put him above party … politics.

Mal had half the qualifications? Caskie Stinnett, Out of the Red, 1960:

A diplomat … a person who could tell you to go to hell in such a way that you actually looked forward to the trip.

Reuters, ABC News, November 1:

Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was suffocated in a premeditated killing as soon as he entered Saudi Arabia’s consulate … Istanbul’s chief prosecutor’s office has said.

Sanctions? Reuters, October 31:

France doesn’t rule out any sanction against Saudi Arabia … Germany has said it will stop arm sales to Riyadh.

Elana Beiser, Committee to Protect Journalists, December 13 last year:

The number of journalists imprisoned worldwide hit … (a) new record in 2017, and for the second consecutive year more than half … (134) are behind bars in Turkey, China, and Egypt … (the) worst three jailers.

Not only journos. ABC News online, November 1:

Satellite imagery … of western China lifts the lid on … (28) internment camps used to indoctrinate vast numbers of the region’s (Muslims.)

Jamal Khashoggi (posthumously), The Washington Post, October 17:

There is only one country in the Arab world that has been classified as “free” … (three are) “partly free”. The rest … (are) “not free”. As a result … in these countries … a state-run narrative dominates the public psyche, and … a large majority of the population falls victim to this false narrative. Sadly, this situation is unlikely to change.