The Goldstone article has had several updates and this is being added to work as another lead in to that article. The US quite predictably has said it will block the Security Council moves necessary to give the Report any teeth. The prospect is that an almost 600 page report will end up making a [...]
Archive for September, 2009
Getting to school in the West Bank
September 29, 2009
How often have you heard a parent tell a child how difficult it was for them to get to school. Long bus trips and the like, occasionally a long walk to get there as well. A recent piece of film taken in the occupied West Bank adds a new dimension to the trip to school. [...]
Netanyahu gets the better of Obama
September 27, 2009
Obama in his Cairo speech was supposed to deliver hope or at the very least a start to a process that may lead to greater things in the future. However, this well oiled politician delivered his usual tedious and seemingly endless parade of well wishing self congratulatory platitudes. (George Ikners ikners.com A Joomla site)
Israel blockade breached
September 27, 2009
An Israeli army cordon has been breached by activists attempting to get water into Gaza. For those of you who have seen some of the footage of activists trying to visit the area where Rachel Corrie met her death, or as some probably accurately say was murdered, there is a level of courage involved in [...]
Israeli Scientists out of Competition
September 25, 2009
Scientists have been removed from a contest because their university is on the West Bank, according to the Spanish government In a report on the Guardian site the following appears, (ikners.com A Joomla site)
Goldstone Report and the Israelis Updated
September 23, 2009
In all the talk about the Goldstone Report and the expected accusations of anti Semitism that flow from Israel whenever they are asked to answer even the simplest questions, a recent article by Richard Falk is very much to the point. Central to the article are his thoughts about why the Israelis did not attend [...]
Rudd will need more bodies
September 22, 2009
Is anyone surprised that the latest US thinking from the military madmen lead by McChrystal, means more troops. The only surprise, if there is one, is why it took so long for them to state their true position. It should take mere moments for NATO and obsequious slaves to US imperialism like us to echo [...]
African garbage dump
September 22, 2009
There is an article by Monbiot that basically deals with how you can treat Africa like a rubbish dump, as long as you hold the best cards in the deck. Unfortunately those who suffer are the Africans particularly children who end up with dangerous levels of toxic substances in their blood and other parts of [...]
Prime Minister Rudd and arms madness
September 22, 2009
It seems that many countries in this region have now had time to look at the ridiculous assertions in the Defence White Paper. No wonder that they are saying that we seem at least misguided to view India and China as security threats in the future. Instead of co-operating with and attempting to understand these [...]
White Defence Paper
September 22, 2009
The following is the Minister’s Preface to the document referred to by the PM and others as they prepare to arm this country to the teeth and kick sand in the faces of any rising, emerging or nearby country who thinks we may be an easy target for their evil intentions. The entries in italics [...]
Justice and Oppression
September 18, 2009
In a previous article on this site there were some thoughts expressed about oppression and the law. What was being said was that in an oppressive system any legal institutions as well as most forms of the law become both the actual oppression and the means to oppression. It seems that the US Supreme Court [...]
Houston and the problem
September 15, 2009
If you watched the interview with the Chief of the Defence Force, Houston on SBS you could be forgiven for thinking that if there is a problem this Houston is not the one to call. While he presents as anything but a military man, more like the man next door who has just volunteered to [...]
Fielding the new Alfred E. Neumann
September 14, 2009
At least in this country we have Senator Fielding to ease our fears about climate change. However, people do not have that same “it’s not our fault” approach to life in some countries overseas. Even in the Heartland of the Heartland Group so dear to a skeptic like Fielding people are becoming concerned. (ikners.com A [...]
Afghan escalation
September 10, 2009
In a recent article, the author Sherwood Ross sees the US today as a “failed state.” It is a failed democracy. Its people want peace and its elected officials make war.” He agrees with Davis Swanson who wrote recently that that the US is..” now a nation that regularly bombs civilians, detains the innocent, and [...]
Money spent in Afghanistan
September 8, 2009
If you want to have a very comprehensive document with links to documents in support, the latest Tomgram on Afghanistan is extremely helpful. Bearing in mind that here In Australia we not only support the war in Afghanistan but also want our own presence in the Middle East according to Rudd, all this comes at [...]
Jewish angst
September 6, 2009
The need to remind everyone about the past can combine with the present actions of any group and create all or some of the conditions that we are being asked to remember. The Israelis in Palestine are creating and maintaining a regime of devastation and destruction of the population that is not Jewish. ikners.com A Joomla [...]
Afghan Opium production
September 3, 2009
There has been a fair amount of news about the latest figures showing a decline in the opium trade in Afghanistan. The decline is said to be reflected in decreased crops and production. ikners.com A Joomla site
Coral Reefs
September 2, 2009
There is a good part of the Guardian site on the danger to coral reefs world wide. Fielding and others would have us believe of course that everything is ok just keep on polluting because it has no effect or something like that. All part of being sceptical I suppose. Go to link ikners.com A Joomla [...]
Doctors and torture
September 2, 2009
Physicians for Human Rights is a non profit organisation that has been looking into the medical professions role in assisting US bodies like the CIA with advice on techniques to be or being used in torture situations. A recent report also appears in summary form in the Guardian net site. ikners.com A Joomla site
Afghan ‘progress’
September 2, 2009
There are two videos available at the RealNews site that deal with the war in Afghanistan. The US public support for the war is eroding and what was seen by Obama as a good and just war during his campaign is fast becoming very unpopular. ikners.com A Joomla site
Bush and Obama
September 1, 2009
An interesting Tomgram arrived you can read the whole article at link. The conclusion is stark but accurate when it states. “Now, here’s the funny part. This dark fantasy of a third Bush term is also an accurate portrait of Obama’s first term to date. In following Bush, Obama was given the opportunity [...]
Monbiot, Climate and Fielding
September 1, 2009
Once again there is an article by George Monbiot that gets straight to the point in dealing with climate change. In Australia we are presently suffering the slings and arrows of people like Senator Fielding as well as the Rudd government. The former is lost in space, the latter is lost in pandering to commercial [...]
Afghanistan a view
September 1, 2009
There’s something in the air. That is apart from drone bombers and destruction. It seems General McChrystal has seen the light that others in the US have failed to see for the last 8 years. But does this ‘new vision’ really mean anything?