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"I never learned from a man who agreed with me" -- Robert A Heinlein
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 Lost in Translation
dingo, Thursday, Jan 25 2007, 6:12pm
‘Never look at what they want you to see, look at why they want you to see it’! This East European adage is attributed to the Gypsies but its real origin is lost in the sea of ethnic diversity that is Eastern Europe. My initial exposure to this European gem of wisdom was while watching a news report on TV with friends; one of the group rightly asked what had happened to Bush’s highly prized ‘democracy’ in his own nation where over seventy percent of the population rejects him and his incompetent regime? BUSH AND THE PUBLIC SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT DEMOCRACY IS REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT AND BUSH (with only 28% approval rating) IS NO LONGER REPRESENTATIVE! (story and 2 images)
international /
imperialism /
opinion/analysis
 Atheist Richard Dawkins on 'The God Delusion'
Terrence McNally via rialator, Wednesday, Jan 24 2007, 7:50pm
In the last few years, Americans have seen the dark side of religion. The events of 9/11 brought home the extremes to which some radical Muslims would go to defeat infidels and attain virgins. At home, we've seen assaults on the separation of Church and State and attacks on the teaching of evolution and the distribution of life-saving condoms. And now, it appears the godless are fighting back.
international /
theology /
other press
Assault on Language precedes Assault on Liberties and Identity
peptide, Wednesday, Jan 24 2007, 12:46pm
Effective attacks on cultural consciousness necessarily include attacks on language. These assaults are both overt and covert. The absurd new stock exchange expression, “profit taking”, which displaced the accurate and sensible word, “selling”, was implemented to eliminate negative connotations associated with the word “selling” in a stock exchange context. However, the replacement term “profit taking” is intentionally deceptive as it is obvious that selling is not always associated with profit taking; many divestments incur huge losses. It is revealing that the appropriate regulatory authorities have not challenged the widespread use of the new misleading (replacement) expression. The covert introduction of the less volatile phrase in the world of stock market trading reflects the deceptive and secretive machinations and manipulations of international finance. (story and 2 images)
international /
human rights /
commentary
Conservatism -- Predictable by Definition
budgie, Tuesday, Jan 23 2007, 9:51am
Bush’s State of the Union address was notable for its predicability, same old vacuous rhetoric; conservatives are nothing if not predictable. Bush essentially asked the American people to stick with him on his disastrous course. American expansionism must accelerate its push for Middle East domination and appropriation (theft) of Oil reserves as the puppet President loses tenure in two years. This push is very badly sold to the American people as the endless war on terror and the ‘democratisation’ (colonisation) of resource rich weaker nations. The over use of the words “win”, “success”, “victory”, is having the reverse effect, the population is beginning to display symptoms that are more common in aversion therapy clinics! It is quite astounding and revealing that Bush’s handlers are unable to offer real solutions; beating the same tin drum with a lead spoon would hardly attract support. (story and 2 images)
international /
peace/war /
commentary
Fed Up Soldiers Finding New Ways to Protest the War
Jeanine Plant via rialator, Monday, Jan 22 2007, 8:07pm
There is a strict protocol for military dissent. A service member can exercise free speech, for example, but she should be off-duty. She can protest the war, but not in uniform.
In an unprecedented move, 1,171 service members signed the Appeal for Redress -- a three-sentence statement that beseeches Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of troops from Iraq -- amid a flurry of anti-war activity happening around the country and a vigorous public debate about escalation in Iraq.
international /
peace/war /
other press
Dingoes and Dragons
barra, Monday, Jan 22 2007, 5:56pm
It is easy to overlook the critical issues in the present political climate of rapid change. While most eyes are on Iran and America’s woeful attempts to revive its international reputation by pursuing an already failed PNAC strategy, China quietly ascends with the minimum of fuss. Asian nations (including Japan) are fully aware of China’s unassailable supremacy in the region and its wider influence in regions traditionally the domain of western powers. It seems that even the Americans have been jolted into a new awareness of China’s place in the International Community. (story and 2 images)
international /
social/political /
opinion/analysis
A Handful of Lunatics
nano, Saturday, Jan 20 2007, 6:05pm
As the world races to nuclear confrontation in the Middle East the mass media is remarkably quiet on the topic. What is the latest news from the Persian Gulf? Confirmation of the reported build-up of Iranian troops on the Iraqi border required. Kurdish, Turkish and U.S. troop movements are strangely omitted from popular newswires. Follow-up coverage is a thing of the past, what is the latest from the Chinese leadership? THE PUBLIC DEMAND TO BE INFORMED AS IT IS THE PUBLIC WHO WILL DO THE DYING!
international /
social equality/unity /
news report
Perfect Contradiction and Double Standards
dingo, Friday, Jan 19 2007, 8:20am
The People's Republic of China has successfully destroyed one of its own satellites with a ground to space ballistic missile – the message was not lost on some superpowers! America has expressed outrage and has marshalled western nations to voice their condemnation and “demand” a full explanation from the Chinese Government. The new USA certainly is a huge departure from the old, it seems that creating a living hell in the Middle East with hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths to its credit is acceptable behaviour but China shooting down a piece of its own space junk is an offensive, outrageous act requiring a full explanation! (story and 2 images)
international /
social/political /
commentary
Convenient Coincidences
mantis, Thursday, Jan 18 2007, 10:00am
Analysts are trained to give special attention to what appears to be coincidence. A good example of this today would be the current hysteria in the UK over the racial vilification of an Indian actress on some inane TV show and ‘coincidentally’, in Australia, the mysterious ‘surfacing’ of an extremist DVD allegedly produced by an Australian Wahhabist Muslim. The mass media of both these nations is saturated by these attention-stealing ‘stories’. The attention of the respective populations has been conveniently diverted away from coalition forces quietly preparing for a nuclear attack on Iran. It could also be argued that the racist card is being utilised to soften western populations to the use of nuclear weapons – after all, unwashed Arabs and Persians are expendable, aren’t they? (story and 2 images)
international /
social/political /
opinion/analysis
Criminal Empire
Kingfisher, Monday, Jan 15 2007, 9:59am
Move over Mafia, Cocaine cartels, Russian, Balkan, Cuban groups, Triads and numerous other criminal organisations – the U.S. State is taking over! Today, the methodologies of the American State cannot be distinguished from the methods of organised crime. The latest executions of Saddam’s cronies and the newly signed deal to allow American Oil Companies unprecedented access and open slather exploitation of Iraqi Oil reserves leave little doubt regarding the real intentions of the illegal invasion. The Washington line of spreading ‘liberty’ and ‘democracy’ will go down in history as a feeble and transparent charade. Nevertheless, America has proven that caveman tactics of brute force and mindless violence (over 655,000 dead) succeed in satisfying immediate needs. It has also become apparent that the USA is unable to see the untenability of its actions in the long term – America has failed to assess the real costs of its morally bankrupt actions! (story and 2 images)
international /
social/political /
commentary
American Congress: Failed Institution
peptide, Friday, Jan 12 2007, 8:24am
Democrats have failed the American people (and civilised world) by allowing the lunatic U.S. President to re-introduce nuclear warfare in an already unstable world. Two extremely disturbing indications from Bush’s ‘new strategy’ spell madness in the clearest possible terms but the Democrats have made it clear, they will adopt the role of spectator, satisfying themselves with an ‘I told you so’ attitude AFTER the calamitous event. The non-interventionist attitude of the Democrats confirms INCOMPETENCE as a malaise that extends throughout the entire body of government in the USA. Any government that would plunge the world into a future holocaust earns for itself the status of nuclear target – where does it end? The only two nations likely to utilise nuclear weapons today are Israel and the United States, as has clearly been indicated by Bush and his echo, Condoleezza Rice, in their recent address: (story and 1 comment)
Last Commented Saturday, Jan 13 2007, 8:07am
international /
peace/war /
commentary
Bush, Somalia and the Future
fish, Wednesday, Jan 10 2007, 1:44pm
Bush’s impending demise is marked by frantic and desperate attempts to portray the illegal Iraq invasion and subsequent plunder of the precious oil resource, as a war of “noble” intent! Wars based on deception, lies and plunder, with over half a million civilian casualties, would be difficult to record as anything other than what they are – theft, murder and neo-colonial expansionism at any cost. Unfortunately for Bush and his neo-cons, the Truth regarding Iraq is widely known and it is that knowledge which will enter the historical record, not the drivel that issues from the mouths of imbeciles and psychopaths! (story and 2 images)
international /
social/political /
article
The American ‘Think Tank’
nano, Monday, Jan 8 2007, 5:47pm
The world can hardly wait to hear Bush’s new plans for the continued occupation of Iraq. With an official Iraqi death toll exceeding 655,000, social anarchy and failed state status fast approaching, the Bush regime has NOTHING to skite about and no where to go but HOME. The whole disastrous intervention in Iraq is living proof that myopic criminal endeavours always end in tragedy for the people. We recall that U.S. invading forces were under strict orders to secure one site only, the OIL MINISTRY in Baghdad – how telling! From the first day analysts were under no illusions as to the real intentions of the invaders – PLUNDER – the appropriation of Iraq’s most valuable resource. (story and 2 images)
international /
peace/war /
opinion/analysis
Verification
finn, Saturday, Jan 6 2007, 7:46am
Sunday, 7 January 2007, 1pm AEDT
A bulletin on Newsradio Australia, detailed Israeli rehearsals for an attack on Iran! Israeli attack aircraft are flying practise runs to Gibraltar in preparation for a (laser) guided missile attack on Iranian targets; the laser missiles would be followed by a nuclear strike in order to irradiate the target sites! Reference was made to the 1981 strike on an Iraqi target believed at the time to be engaged in developing WMD! (story and 3 comments)
Last Commented Sunday, Jan 7 2007, 9:09am
international /
peace/war /
news report
Selective Amnesia
Glenn Greenwald via rialator, Friday, Jan 5 2007, 8:13am
When political leaders make drastic mistakes, accountability is delivered in the form of elections. That occurred in November when voters removed the party principally responsible for the war in Iraq. But the invasion would not have occurred had Americans not been persuaded of its wisdom and necessity, and leading that charge was a stable of pundits and media analysts who glorified President Bush’s policies and disseminated all sorts of false information and baseless assurances. (story and 1 image)
international /
social/political /
other press
Cakewalk Crowd Abandons Bush
Patrick J. Buchanan via fleet, Thursday, Jan 4 2007, 9:13am
Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan, said a rueful John F. Kennedy after the Bay of Pigs. George W. Bush knows today whereof his predecessor spoke. (story and 1 comment and 1 image)
Last Commented Friday, Jan 5 2007, 9:34am
international /
peace/war /
other press
Bungles, Ghosts and Damage Control
jack rider, Wednesday, Jan 3 2007, 9:55pm
The Whitehouse is in damage control over the bungled execution of Saddam Hussein. The hurried execution backfired in the worst possible way; a vanquished leader should never be allowed to continue his work from the ‘grave’. Anthropologists are familiar with appeasement rituals and ceremonies for the dead, which are common to numerous cultures. In the wake of Saddam’s bungled execution these curious rituals begin to make sense.
international /
injustice/law /
commentary
Lies have Consequences
Ray McGovern and W. Patrick Lang via rialator, Wednesday, Jan 3 2007, 8:50am
"This war was launched without an immediate threat to our families... Radical "know-it-all" ideologues here in Washington bent facts, distorted intelligence and perpetrated lies designed to mislead the American people into believing a third-rate thug had a hand in the 9/11 tragedy and was soon to unleash a mushroom cloud."
All those who helped President George W. Bush launch a war of aggression—termed by Nuremberg “the supreme international crime”—have blood on their hands and must be held accountable. This includes corrupt intelligence officials. Otherwise, look for them to perform the same service in facilitating war on Iran. (story and 1 image)
international /
injustice/law /
other press
In Plain Sight
Kingfisher, Monday, Jan 1 2007, 4:40pm
Welcome to 2007, the year of plain sight and little doubt! The criminal incompetence of the Bush regime is impossible to hide, thanks in part to a highly successful American son, Bill Gates – and everyone thought that Bin Laden posed the greatest threat to the American way of life! It was Bill Gates, the world’s most successful capitalist, who, a decade ago, accelerated the development of the “information super highway”. His superbly streamlined and devastatingly efficient marketing machine facilitated the age of open communication that many take for granted today. (story and 3 comments and 2 images)
Last Commented Sunday, Aug 24 2008, 7:54pm
international /
social/political /
commentary
A Life of Crime
nano, Saturday, Dec 30 2006, 3:26pm
The execution of the murderer, Saddam Hussein, by American organised criminals via their proxies in Iraq, highlights the fact that criminals vying for power determine the course of the world. The coalition of Bush, Blair and Howard is directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians yet these leaders commit their crimes with impunity. The defining principle is not law (as is claimed) it is brute force! Economic and military power determine who is a ‘criminal’ and who is a ‘saviour’ regardless of the acts committed. (story and 1 comment and 2 images)
Last Commented Sunday, Dec 31 2006, 4:34pm
international /
social/political /
opinion/analysis
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