As the impending sham “trial” of Guantanamo Bay captive David Hicks approaches, Australian public opinion has soundly turned in his favour. This is not about supporting his alleged “crimes”, but his right to a fair trial. Amnesty has launched a new campaign. Try and imagine what it’s like living in his Gitmo cage…
Showing all posts in June 2019
Contempt for the life of the most innocent
The violence in Iraq has reached a truly macabre stage with the first case of children being used in sacrificial bombing missions. Insurgents detonated a bomb in a car with two children in it after using the children as decoys to get through a military checkpoint in Baghdad, an American general said Tuesday. . .…
Who is the enemy again?
One would assume that the Global War on Terror is predicated on the pursuit and disruption of Al Qaeda. Not so it seems. The neoconservatives envisaged that once the US invaded Iraq, all the US needed to do was side with the Shiites, who would in turn assist the US in its plans to later…
Lies, damn lies and more lies
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) presents “Iraq and the Media: A Critical Timeline.” It’s a devastating examination of the ways in which the mainstream media assisted the Bush administration in its campaign to invade and occupy Iraq. When the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, rants and raves irrelevancies about Iraq and dodgy polls are…
A New Voice for Australian Jews
My latest New Matilda column discusses the launch of Independent Australian Jewish Voices: Another intriguing response to the IAJV petition has been the objection to our mention of ”˜State-sanctioned violence’ — a clear reference to Israel (though we equally condemn Palestinian violence). For many Jews — and this has been shown in various letters in…
Lord Butler denounces Blair
Lord Butler, leader of the commission that wrote the Butler Report, denounced Tony Blair in the House of Lords. And President Bush as well. I have always believed that our Prime Minister had good reason for wishing to support the Americans in removing Saddam Hussein. But he had a problem. He had the clearest legal…
YouTube of the day
The struggle for democracy continues in Egypt, thanks to the internet (of course, vast US aid isn’t exactly helping the opposition’s chances):
Spanish delusions
Last night I heard Spain’s former Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, at the Lowy Institute, a local think-tank. The subject of the speech, “Reinventing the West”, promised to bring any number of rhetorical flourishes and the evening didn’t disappoint. The Australian reports some of his quotes: “Exiting Iraq without achieving stability will leave Iraq at…
Eggs Fail To Recognize Omelette’s Right To Exist
Zionist hardliners have typically denied the very existence of Palestine after the creation of Israel. Indeed, it’s likely that many Jews are unaware of the true history of the basis upon which Israel was first created. I suggested that she and her husband were perhaps confused about the non-existence of Palestine and Palestinians and they…