There are many outspoken and courageous women on the planet, many of whom are forced to live in a state of constant fear of reprisals from people who disagree with their views. Names that come to mind are Malilai Joya and Arundhati Roy. Despite obvious personal risk these women have both continued to let their [...]
Archive for October, 2010
The position of donkeys according to Rabbi Yosef.
October 31, 2010
It is always instructive to look at people’s views and opinions when they seem to collide with logic and reason. Racism and discrimination are two areas where the views of some people express irrational thoughts and feelings particularly when what is being said is that one group or type of people are in some way [...]
World wide response to the latest Wikileaks
October 29, 2010
There is an interesting article at the Guardian site that deals with media responses, around the world to the Wikileaks material. The piece is titlead Iraq war logs: media reaction around the world, you can see the whole article at link. The countries referred to in the report are looked at on an individual basis, [...]
Halliburton and bad cement in the Gulf oil disaster
October 28, 2010
If it’s not over ‘til it’s over there is a lot more to come regarding the recent oil disaster in the Gulf. A report says that,”It appears not everything is dead and buried in the Gulf of Mexico. Halliburon shares are now plunging on a Bloomberg report which finds that the cement Halliburton Co. recommended [...]
Interview re present situation in Iraq
October 28, 2010
There is a very good video interview with Sahar Issa available at the Real News site. You should take the time to watch the interview as it deals with the present situation in Iraq with references to the Wikileaks situation and the type of difficulties face by journalists who are trying to report happenings in [...]
The elections in Afghanistan an exercise in corruption supported by the US and its willing alllies
October 28, 2010
The latest piece from the Tom Dispatch site via their subscription service is a very readable account of the elections in Afghanistan. You can access the article at the site at link. What the article features after a brief introduction from Tom Englehardt is the level of deceit and outright fraud involved in the elections [...]
A video of a person on the flotilla and his views
October 27, 2010
You may like to take the time to view a video available at the Gilad Atzmon site if you go to link. The video features Ken O’Keefe a former US Marine and US citizen. Please be prepared to listen to someone speaking his mind on what he see as an issue when the flotilla was [...]
Toxic dispersants after the Gulf oil mess
October 27, 2010
It seems that there are gruesome after effects of the Gulf massive oil spill or more correctly the infusion, seeing as the oil was introduced to the sea from the bottom and not spilled on top. The is a good investigation at al Jazeera that is very much a must read when looking at just [...]
Monbiot and “Astroturf” movements
October 27, 2010
There is a very good piece by George Monbiot (link) that deals with what could be called the “Tea Party Movement.” He clearly sets his thoughts out in the opening when he says that, ”The Tea Party movement is remarkable in two respects. It is one of the biggest exercises in false consciousness the world [...]
The Talks about Palestine and Israel
October 26, 2010
The latest short article by Abdel Bari Atwan at his website (link) makes very good reading, particularly because it gets to the point so quickly and makes a very effective series of observations. Once again whatever your own views may or may not be it is worthwhile reading anything from such a renowned and respected [...]
Q & A Is he still the PM
October 26, 2010
While listening t a fairly sickening interview between one ABC person and Tony Jones it became fairly obvious that Jones loves to refer to Howard as “the Prime Minister”. Perhaps a US style approach or just good old fashioned crawling. With the daily releases of news about torture in Iraq and Howard’s claims to be [...]
Question and Answer military style
October 26, 2010
In an exclusive report the Guardian has an article titled “Humiliate, strip, threaten: UK military interrogation manuals discovered” For those of you that may still think that wars are fought by the noble forces of good to overcome the forces of evil it seems that some sides use any methods available to them to succeed. [...]
An excellent interview regarding the Wikileaks
October 25, 2010
There is an exceptional interview at the Democracy Now site. For convenience I have included the transcript of the entire discussion between those involved. It represents a very good opportunity to listen to a first hand account of the content of some of the Wikileak material (link)l. The interview commences,” WikiLeaks Iraq War Logs Expose [...]
Karzai gets money from any side
October 25, 2010
It seems that international accounting is just as mysterious as what happens in corporations when large amounts of money are involved. A report in the Guardian (link) shows that Karzai is able to take money from both sides when it is needed. As we are led to believe Iran is at least a monster and [...]
More on Wikileaks and torture
October 25, 2010
Nick Davies who wrote “Flat Earth News” has prepared a piece for the Guardian on the Iraqi abuses and systematic torture, overseen by the US. You can read then entire report at, link. He commences with the proposition that,” Mistreatment of helpless prisoners by Iraqi security forces included beatings, burning, electrocution and rape” The article [...]
Life for Palestinians in refugee camps
October 25, 2010
Stephen Lendman has written an article on life in refugee camps in Palestine you can read the full article at link. The article deals quite sensitively with the ongoing horrors and deprivations that life in these refugee camps entails. He commences with the observation that,” Besides mass slaughter and destruction, wars create refugees, millions at [...]
What the Taliban talks are really about
October 25, 2010
In an interesting article at the Guardian site (link) titled “Taliban peace talks with Hamid Karzai are ‘mostly hype” the authors look at what has recently been described as some sort of ‘peace’ talks or resolution talks between Karzai and the Taliban. What seems to be the position is that,” Observers say that there is [...]
Elite Corporations as alien monsters
October 25, 2010
A recent article by Rebecca Solnit at the TomDispatch site makes very good reading (link) Titled “Jurassic Ballot” it deals with what the elite structures in capitalism are doing and the absolute havoc and destruction being created both to humans and the environment. Solnit gets to the theme of the article very quickly when she [...]
The Middle East stop the lies, tell the truth
October 24, 2010
What follows is a report on the Wikileaks from the Guardian (link). For convenience the whole report appears below. There are some very interesting aspects covered about the US activities in Afghanistan and Iraq in particular. Perhaps the simplest way to look at these reports is what Noam Chomsky has been saying for quite some [...]
Avnery on fascism and Israel
October 24, 2010
Noted commentator Uri Avnery has written a very interesting piece about the rise of Fascism in Israel. You should remember that he was a previously a member of the Knesset and now continues to oppose a great deal of thae actions of Israel toward the Palestinians. The article is titled,” Weimar in Jerusalem: the rise [...]
What will it take to stop politicians and the military lying about the Wikileaks
October 24, 2010
There is a really good article about the Wikileaks at the Guardian site. You can read the report at link. There are several other wonderful sources of material on the leaked documents at the Democracy Now site, which features an interview with Daniel Ellsberg. That material is at link. There is also a transcript of [...]
A view on security contractors
October 22, 2010
Whatever your views are on Afghanistan it is hard to find any redeeming features in the festering ‘private’ security companies operating there and around the world. It is hard to imagine a more dangerous and cancerous growth then these Rambo type neo imperialist type heroes running free with what at times seems universal blessings. Here [...]
The Civil trial about Rachel Corrie
October 21, 2010
An article by Harriet Sherwood in Haifa concerning the Civil trial about the death of Rachel Corrie is something that is very much worth reading.(link) She commences by saying that, ”The Israeli soldier at the controls of the bulldozer that crushed the pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie told a court today that the first time he [...]
US Bases in Afghanistan- an opinion
October 21, 2010
Nick Turse is the associate editor of Tom Dispatch. In that position he has written numerous articles and books related to events in the Middle East. A latest offering invites the reader to consider a fairly basic question.” Digging in for the Long Haul in Afghanistan How Permanent Are America’s Afghan Bases? Here in Australia [...]
The talks with the Taliban
October 21, 2010
What follows is an interesting and very short piece by Jason Ditz about the ‘talks’ in Afghanistan. As necessary as real talks aimed at a settlement are there is certainly no place for the prospect of talks being used as yet another political weapon in a never ending battle. The brief article is titled,”Is Afghan [...]
The ‘so called’ Afghan talks with the Taliban
October 21, 2010
What follows is an interesting and very short piece by Jason Ditz about the ‘talks’ in Afghanistan. As necessary as real talks aimed at a settlement are there is certainly no place for the prospect of talks being used as yet another political weapon in a never ending battle. The brief article is titled,”Is Afghan [...]
UK gives in to Israelis
October 20, 2010
Once again Stuart Littlewood is responsible for an exceptional article on the position in Palestine and the Israeli forces assembled against the Gazans and those on the West Bank. The Latest article deals with the carte blanche that the UK’s William Hague has ruthlessly organised to allow all manner of Israeli war criminals unlimited access [...]
Afghanistan will never end, because we lack the courage to stop it
October 19, 2010
The day’s headlines abound with phrases like “Gillard gets tough” and the war goes on, a new figure of 2014 has suddenly emerged as some sort of form guide assertion about how long it will take. For those of you who are surprised and expected some sort of rational approach to the continuing slaughter in [...]
Monbiot and the Naomi Klein Shock Doctrine
October 19, 2010
In yet another superb article Monbiot looks at the combination of the Naomi Klein theories about the Shock Doctrine and the more ‘advanced’ capitalist British state. To Klein the doctrine had its greatest application as part of the US Imperial Project and her book The Shock Doctrine outlines in very great detail what the doctrine [...]
The world is silent to Israeli actions
October 19, 2010
The following article really speaks for itself and needs no elaboration. You can view the article and the video of the ‘dance’ at the Sabbah site at link. It is especially sad when you think back to a scene from Palestine when a woman who has had most of her family killed was asked basically [...]
Article on Nagoya Conference needs to be compared to Monbiot
October 18, 2010
We are destroying life on earth sounds a simple proposition and it is, the difficulty is that so many governments and the international corporate looters of the environment cannot see that this is what is taking place. As the Nagoya Conference started, Radio Free Europe published an article that makes very good reading. It faces [...]
Biodiversity and Nagoya Summit- Monbiot
October 18, 2010
Following the recent article on this page about Monbiot and Chapron perhaps this following article by Monbiot should be added for you to read in full. It is only short and can be found at the Guardian site as well as at link. It concerns the upcoming summit at Nagoya and has some very interesting [...]
Afghanistan and Iraq like looking into a mirror
October 18, 2010
Iraq today is a true testament to the philosophy of the US Imperial Project. It also epitomises the mean and savage kill to win complex of the modern US state and its Allies. Look at what noted commentator Tom Englehardt says about the position in Iraq today. He notes that,” no sooner had U.S. troops [...]
Multiculturalism and John Howard nothing has changed
October 17, 2010
Just when you may have thought we would or should have ,some respite from John Howard, he has the habit of bobbing up everywhere. A report in a Vancouver paper s a few hours ago sees him coming out with the same nonsense that fuelled the children overboard saga and our wonderfully paternalistic to different [...]
Evolution and the experiment with higher life forms
October 16, 2010
The evolutionary experiment using humanity as a higher life form has been a fallure. What has been unleashed on the planet is far from a saving force. It directly consumes all in its path and grows in a cancerous fashion. Worse still the process is not amenable to the application of any critical analysis. On [...]
Stop criminals vandalising the planet. Save the species
October 15, 2010
There is a first rate article at the Guardian site at link. The Guardian invites readers to distribute the article as widely as possible as long as there is a link to the original site. The co-authors of the article are George Monbiot and Guillaume Chapron is assistant professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural [...]
Email from Chomsky
October 13, 2010
An email from Noam Chomsky Noam Chomsky University of Leeds (UCU) – Blog, November 30, 2009 I had a startling experience a few weeks ago. I travelled to Mexico City for talks at the National University, an enormous and very impressive institution with high standards of achievement and scholarship. Entrance is selective, but the university [...]
An Email From Chomsky
October 13, 2010
An email from Noam Chomsky Noam Chomsky University of Leeds (UCU) – Blog, November 30, 2009 I had a startling experience a few weeks ago. I travelled to Mexico City for talks at the National University, an enormous and very impressive institution with high standards of achievement and scholarship. Entrance is selective, but the university [...]
An Email from Chomsky
October 13, 2010
Noam Chomsky late last year sent an email to the University of Leeds. It raises some interesting matters and is reproduced here in full. An email from Noam Chomsky, November 30, 2009 I had a startling experience a few weeks ago. I travelled to Mexico City for talks at the National University, an enormous and [...]
Talking about Israel; the consequences
October 13, 2010
You may remember the humiliating experience handed out to Helen Thomas the veteran reporter after asking a question at the White House. In fact you may suspect that at 90 years of age she realised that there was nothing that the team of racist pro Zionists could really do to her. There is a short [...]
Pepe Escobar; follow pipelines
October 13, 2010
There is a wonderful article by Pepe Escobar at the Tom Dispatch site, you can look at the whole article at link. The article commences with the observation by Escobar that,” Future historians may well agree that the twenty-first century Silk Road first opened for business on December 14, 2009. That was the day a [...]
The US Navy the Real World and Climate Change
October 13, 2010
There is an article that talks about the US Navy and its position on Climate Change at link. For convenience since it is a short article the whole of it is reproduced here. Note the attitude to man made climate change. “The U.S. Navy has to take man-made climate change seriously, because it has to [...]
The rush is on for oil under the polar ice
October 12, 2010
In a recent article the topic discussed was “Climate change could lead to Arctic conflict, warns senior Nato commander” You can read the article at link. The discussion reveals the fact that the “rush is on” as far as oil in the Arctic is concerned now that there has been a major melt down. As [...]
Monbiot on values.
October 12, 2010
In a recent article George Monbiot looks at values, extrinsic and intrinsic and how thinking the new century has lost a positive association to those values that could be called intrinsic and has succumbed to the extrinsic values as the factors to be used to survive. The article is available at link. He starts with [...]
Israelis shoot children
October 11, 2010
In a recent article the Israeli troops have been accused of shooting children in Gaza (link) . The reports of the shootings are documented by Defence for Children International. The allegations say quite plainly that the victims, the children were.” were scavenging for rubble, say rights groups. Attacks allegedly took place outside 300-metre buffer zone .” [...]
Death in Afghanistan
October 11, 2010
In another Guardian article at link there seems to be some confusion about one of the latest deaths in Afghanistan and once again the US is shown to be incapable of being trusted to tell the truth. The article commences with,” Linda Norgrove may have been killed by US special forces. British aid worker held [...]
Murdoch under attack
October 11, 2010
A Guardian article on a proposed Murdoch takeover is quite illuminating. You may remember Rupert he came from a long line of media crazies and rapidly rose to a position of power and control far beyond what he is even slightly capable of controlling. His recent efforts in China and his propensity to adore “Yes” [...]
Atwan on al-Qa’ida
October 11, 2010
Abdel Bari Atwan an outstanding journalist, newspaper editor and author of books including “The Secret History of al-Qaida” has written an article at his website at link. He commences the article with a simple observation that,” Al-Qa’ida stronger despite nine years of ‘war on terror’ 4 October 2010. Nine years of ‘war on terror’, the [...]
Atwan on al-Qa’ida
October 11, 2010
Abdel Bari Atwan an outstanding journalist, newspaper editor and author of books including “The Secret Life of al-Qaida” has written an article at his website at link. He commences the article with a simple observation that,” Al-Qa’ida stronger despite nine years of ‘war on terror’ 4 October 2010. Nine years of ‘war on terror’, the [...]
Obama and a leaked letter
October 9, 2010
In a recent article Stuart Littlewood looks at a leaked letter from Obama to Netanyahu. It seems that Obama is really feeling the heat on his worthless presidency and desperately needs help from Netanyahu. As the head of the US empire Obama the emperor is not doing well at all, this is despite the awesome [...]