Trouble threatened

The Australian reports today:

A PALESTINIAN journalist has warned of a Muslim backlash over the failure of Australian authorities to grant him a visa in time to speak at today’s Brisbane Writers Festival.

It continues:

He said his visa problems would air throughout the Muslim world. “This could, in fact, incite trouble for Australia because there are a billion-and-a-half Muslims over the world and this will be publicised among those people,” he said. “They are not serving the Australian peoples’ interests, they are not serving Australian security, they are actually doing the opposite.”

Does anyone honestly believe that the “billion-and-a-half Muslims over the world” care that much about the Brisbane Writers Festival?

Anyway, the good news is that, despite all this huffing and puffing, the government hadn’t actually refused to give him a visa. Instead, they claim they were just following the usual process (which takes time). And it seems they may have been telling the truth with a visa being issued to the journalist a few days ago.  He’ll be attending the festival after all.