Many Western states are very keen to prematurely return asylum seekers to their country of origin despite the inherent dangers. Afghanistan or Sri Lanka yet safe? Of course not, but at least it’s one less problem for the government. And now this: Two asylum seekers who were deported to Baghdad and claim they were tortured…
Australian unions, Paul Howes, BDS and loving Israel
My following investigation appears in today’s edition of Crikey: The Middle East “quagmire” is largely “the fault of Israel”, according to Paul Howes, national secretary of the Australian Workers Union (AWU). In an interview with Crikey, the author of Confessions of a Faceless Man said that he was a “critical friend of Israel” and the…
Privatisation; the drug of a nation
Wall Street Journal article from 2007 that accurately summarises what’s happening to America: Is U.S. Government ‘Outsourcing Its Brain’?
Beware of a public opposed to Serco running the state
The recent news that Serco will be running Western Australia’s Fiona Stanley hospital has resulted in opposition, views largely ignored by governments desperate to privatise everything that moves: More than three quarters of Perth voters in marginal seats are opposed to the Barnett Government privatising services at Fiona Stanley Hospital, with only one in ten…
Being young, cool and cluey means embracing Palestine
The idea of supporting Israel and occupation simply doesn’t wash with many young Americans, including Jews, and the generational split is growing (see here). Who wants to defend settlements and apartheid? Years ago, backing Israel was cool. These days, with the internet and satellite TV, increasing numbers of people know that Palestinian rights is one…
Asylum seekers have rights, in case we’ve forgotten
This is wonderful news for human rights, refugees and decency: The [Australian] High Court has ruled in favour of two asylum seekers in a move that could undermine the Federal Government’s offshore processing system. The two Sri Lankan Tamils had their refugee claims denied and wanted to challenge that decision in the courts. But they…
Nir Rosen; a journalist’s job is to investigate and challenge power
Nir Rosen talks on Democracy Now! about his new book, Aftermath: SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: And what’s happening right now in Iraq? There’s been a long stalemate following the parliamentary elections in March. You were in Iraq many times since 2003, and you documented very closely, for example, Muqtada al-Sadr and the Mahdi Army. Where does…
How to get the BBC close to the Shell bosom
Looking for an efficient campaign to discredit critics, embrace friendly media and turn black into white? Israel, Sri Lanka and others, take note, truth could be on your side: Secret internal company documents from the oil giant Shell show that in the immediate aftermath of the execution of the Nigerian activist and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa…
More evidence of Colombo’s atrocities
Al-Jazeera airs new photographs of Sri Lankan government massacres of Tamils in the final stages of last year’s war. Just another global citizen dealing humanely with terrorism:
Australian BDS is heating up
The following press release appeared on 4 November: From October 29-31 more than 150 Palestine solidarity activists and supporters of human rights gathered in Melbourne for Australia’s first national Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) conference. The conference represents a watershed moment in the Palestinian solidarity movement in Australia with activists across various campaigns coming together…