When it was announced in October that the largest delegation ever of politicians and journalists were going to Israel in December I predicted the focus would be Iran. Screw the Palestinians. Well, you can imagine my deep shock to read over the weekend one of the supposedly serious reporters on the trip (Lenore Taylor of…
Showing all posts tagged Australia
David Hicks shows us what we became after 9/11
My following book review appeared in yesterday’s Sydney’s Sun Herald newspaper: AUTOBIOGRAPHY Guantanamo: My Journey David Hicks (William Heinemann, $49.95) Reviewed by Antony Loewenstein Almost 10 years after the Bush administration launched the ”˜”˜war on terror’’, the victims of the policy remain largely voiceless. The unknown number of civilians murdered by Western bombs have no…
News flash to hookers; Washington won’t give you anything you haven’t paid dearly for
Kenneth Davidson in the Age gets it right: As former Liberal prime minister John Gorton said in the 1960s, too many Australian politicians and bureaucrats are infected by the puppy dog syndrome: roll over and get your tummy tickled. Not much has changed. We are seen as a loyal ally. In Washington this gives Australian…
US elites don’t want to hear about failings of US elites
This is what passes for serious commentary in the US mainstream media. Dana Milbank in the Washington Post, after smearing Julian Assange and Wikileaks – “I confess I’d like to throw a cream pie in his face myself” – doesn’t like to be told that his beloved US may not be such a fan of…
Cuba ain’t no paradise and the US diplomat there is pernicious
These stories, via Wikileaks, if true are rather curious for a few key players. Western states are proven once again to largely ignore human rights (money is the key factor). And Michael Moore, for a film that certainly glorified the Cuban health system, is looking a little sheepish. One: Australia, Canada and several European countries…
Australian PM speaks like a drunken autocrat when it comes to rights
Australia is run by a politician clown who ignores the rule of law, smears an Australian citizen and wonders why so few people respect her position: Prime Minister Julia Gillard is under renewed pressure over her initial response to the WikiLeaks controversy. At one stage Ms Gillard labelled the actions of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange…
Note to US; Australia is ruled by right-wing people
The Australian media have been plowing through the Wikileaks cables related to our country. Many interesting bits but this caught my eye: ACTIONS WORKING WELL TOGETHER 3. (SBU) One senior figure told us the factions have “never worked as well together”. He opined that the end of the Cold War had played a big part…
Australia; no laws broken by Wikileaks
Oops Australia. Now how are you going to please your American masters? How about fully defending the rights of our citizen Julian Assange? The Australian Federal Police (AFP) say they have not found any breaches of Australian law by Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks organisation. Attorney-General Robert McClelland says that based on the information to date, the…