How ANZ bank is backing cluster bombs

Just one more reason to dislike the banking industry: A postcard produced by campaigners shows six-year old Abdullah, pictured with his left arm missing above the elbow. It explains the Iraqi boy was sleeping in his home in 2003 when a cluster bomb came through his window, the shrapnel blowing off his arm and tearing…

Remote-control killing in Palestine

What is an occupying army to do when people are simply not as keen to kill Palestinians anymore? It is called Spot and Shoot. Operators sit in front of a TV monitor from which they can control the action with a PlayStation-style joystick. The aim: to kill. Played by: young women serving in the Israeli…

Hizbollah rearms and accused of terrorism and Israel just continually rearms

Remind me who is the neighbourhood bully in the Middle East? It certainly isn’t Hizbollah or Lebanon: Hezbollah on Wednesday shot back at US charges it was stockpiling sophisticated weapons, accusing Washington of destabilising the Middle East and vowing to continue to build its artillery. “The resistance has the right to use all legitimate means…

America wants to send weapons above the atmosphere

We’re seen the future and it’s militarised space: The Pentagon’s test launch of two unmanned space vehicles this week have highlighted the efforts being made by the United States to develop a new generation of high-altitude weapon systems. The United States Air Force (USAF) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) test launched a…

Please don’t drop our bombs on poor Palestinians

Perhaps, step by step, Western nations are realising Israel illegally uses their weapons against civilians: A group of British lawmakers are expected to call Tuesday for the reevaluation of arms deals with Israel after a recently published report claimed that British weapons were “almost certainly” used in Operation Cast Lead in December 2008, The Guardian…

A mainstream reporter who wants to talk about occupation

Leading Australian journalist Paul McGeough answers some questions for newmatilda.com: What’s the headline you’d most like to see on the front page of a daily newspaper? World’s last arms manufacturer closes plant, joins former competitors aiding agriculture projects in… Africa. What question should we ask our next interviewee? Australia is occupied by a foreign power and…

Weapons for Israel

In case anybody was worried about the relationship between Washington and Israel, rest easy, friends, business isn’t being interrupted: As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington this week absorbing the full wrath of the Obama administration, the Pentagon and Israel’s defense establishment were in the process of sealing a large arms deal. According to…

Just how many weapons do we really need?

Waste, futile spending and over-blown excess is routine in the arms world (see this recent Sydney Morning Herald report that outlined the vast problems with the Australian Defence Department). And now this: The United States scored last in a new study that examined how 33 major militaries spend funds on weapon systems – while potential…

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