Pretend for a moment that you’re a terrorist travelling to another country as a tourist/migrant/conference delegate/competition winner. Under “occupation” in the forms you must complete , do you write:

  1. Bomb-thrower
  2. Freedom Fighter
  3. International Terrorist
  4. Radical Jihadist
  5. Muslim Fanatic

The correct answer is of course “3. International Terrorist”, by virtue of the fact that you are travelling to a foreign country. If you are intending to blow people up in your country of birth, you would be “Home-grown Terrorist” – a different category altogether.

Now that we have that sorted, a special Sunbeam Mixmaster award to all those who have tried to make a security issue out of the 457 visa held by the doctor of Indian heritage presently helping police with their inquiries. My guess is that he put down “doctor” as his occupation.

Against tough competition from the mainstream media, the Gold Mixmaster goes to Australian Bus and Coach for its coverage of the Transport Workers Union seizing on the alleged 457 link to Britain’s incompetent would-be bombers:

Terrorist attacks show why to fear foreign truckies: union

Arrests of foreign doctors in Australia over links to Britain’s attempted terrorist attacks are an example of why the 457 visa system shouldn’t be extended to the trucking industry, the union says.

In its continuing campaign against importing foreign drivers to meet the skills shortage, the Transport Workers Union (TWU) says the arrests of foreign-trained doctors practicing in Australia are a reminder that “Australians are at risk”.

“The 457 visa contains no adequate background checks,” Senior TWU official Mark Crosdale says.

“Imagine the impact of a truck fully loaded with explosives. This visa must be stopped from being extended to truck drivers, before disaster occurs in Australia.”

And so it goes. Keep those fridge magnets prominently displayed on the Mack’s dashboard.