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 Rumsfeld: Adelaide (Update)
cleaves, Friday, Nov 18 2005, 1:22am
Activists asserted their democratic right to protest Rumsfeld’s visit outside the heavily guarded Adelaide Town Hall regardless of Dr. Bob Such granting ‘permission’ to protest outside South Australia’s Parliament House. Let’s not miss a ‘subtle’ point; the right to protest is fundamental to a democratic society, let that right act as a barometer in any society that purports to uphold democratic values.
international /
social/political /
commentary
Howard’s Terrorists
peptide, Friday, Nov 11 2005, 2:18am
When forced to produce, what do we get? The same fanatic imbeciles that were paraded on the local media after the London bombings and some others armed with PVC pipe, ‘sticky-tape and chewing gum’! Compare these outcomes with real bombings in George St. Sydney, in the seventies. Most Australians are aware that, like all other nations, we have always had our share of extremist fanatics, they can be easily located in mosques, churches and synagogues around the nation. There is nothing new in this regard; the existence of social misfits does not warrant the implementation of draconian policies on a national level.
national /
social/political /
commentary
Snow Job: ‘Whip it good’, whip it to death!
nano, Tuesday, Nov 1 2005, 12:26pm
John Howard has raised the ‘spectre’ of a 'possible' terrorist strike (?) in order to implement, without proper parliamentary debate, a new law (or semantic alteration) designed to save us all! A ‘raw prawn’ strategy if ever there was one.
national /
social/political /
commentary
Appeasement or Cover-up
cleaves, Friday, Oct 28 2005, 3:38pm
Bush has announced that Libby is “innocent until proven guilty”, one law applies for disgraced officials while another for the Australian, David Hicks (and many others) who have been denied even the most basic human rights (while they rot for years in illegal detention centres around the world). Should we cite the flagrant double standard or rest in the assurance that a glaring hypocrisy and double standard would not pass unnoticed?
international /
social/political /
commentary
Terrorism Communism – McCarthyism or Reality
kwang zi, Wednesday, Oct 19 2005, 9:31am
Analysts and historians would recall the last time ’bogeyman’ hysteria gripped an unwary public; USA of the nineteen fifties and McCarthyism with the ‘red under the bed threat’ is now one of history's embarrassing moments. Joe McCarthy, puppet of ultra-right forces in the US, ruined numerous careers and lives – for nothing! The degree of 'threat’ attributed to the 'reds' proved to be wildly exaggerated, more a product of excited 'judgement' or shared delusion than accurate assessment. US intelligence agencies and ultra-right militarists fell victim to their own propaganda and the (dis)information warfare waged at the time.
international /
social/political /
opinion/analysis
Beast
finch, Monday, Oct 17 2005, 8:43am
Recent events have highlighted the failure of institutional religion in today’s world. We do not need to labour the point. Bush should ‘love his enemies and do good to those who would spitefully use him’; instead we have a hypocrite, liar, warmonger and plunderer. Bush is probably the most well known Evangelical Christian in the world today. This group elevates the Bible (a cultural product) to a position of authority reserved for Deity. Placing any thing before (above) the Living presence of God/Infinity/Harmony/Truth is denounced by all religions. It is little wonder this sect is perverse.
international /
social/political /
commentary
Bush, God and Transnationals
peptide, Friday, Oct 7 2005, 12:12pm
The tragedy (for the entire world) is not that Bush is delusional, mentally unstable and intellectually challenged – that is well known. Rather, it is that he remains as commander in chief of the USA – placed in that position by commercial and other financial interests.
The result for the world is war and innocent lives lost in favour of the accumulation of wealth for the few. That is the tragedy for the world, a tragedy of monumental proportions.
international /
social/political /
opinion/analysis
Spots and Stripes
peptide, Wednesday, Sep 28 2005, 4:46pm
John Howard, cringing colonial Prime Minister of Australia, infamous lackey, liar and inadequate personality has implemented draconian measures in order to ‘secure’ Australia against the terrorist bogeyman. It would be easy to believe that Howard fears a terrorist strike, but appearances deceive; his primary motivation is ideological. These 'new' measures are designed to erode democratic rights, inhibit free expression, eliminate voices of dissent and deflect the gaze of the population away from his criminal actions.
national /
social/political /
commentary
Proof
Kingfisher, Sunday, Sep 11 2005, 4:45pm
Philip Ruddock, Federal Attorney General to Australian, hopes to eclipse the neo-cons of the US in the race toward the fascist ideal of social uniformity and control (oppression). Ruddock has invoked his new 'anti-terrorist' laws – not to protect against ‘Islamic terrorists’ as claimed – but to silence voices of opposition, protest and dissent, as was the real intention. The charade was short lived; it was Ruddock’s inadequate and compensatory personality that 'blew it' for the entire conservative right.
national /
social/political /
opinion/analysis
New Orleans (Update)
cleaves, Friday, Sep 9 2005, 3:51pm
From bad to worse is the new sub-text slogan for Bush and his administration. Appearing on US media, flanked by Cheney, Rumsfeld and numerous other (wooden) neo-cons, Bush repeated his rehearsed lines – “we are problem solvers”. This statement met with numerous reporters clearing their throats; the problem is Bush and his inept administration. The emperor is not only without clothes but is also devoid of ability. The corporate driven Bush government is learning that managing a nation has little in common with running an oil company. [Those best suited for government are dedicated to the selfless service of others – a concept totally alien to conservative ideology.]
international /
social/political /
commentary
New Old Orleans
peptide, Friday, Sep 2 2005, 6:06am
The inadequate response to the recent crisis in New Orleans is not surprising in view of the ideology of American conservatism, specifically its social Darwinist aspects. Social welfare rates extremely low on the conservative scale of priorities; egocentric endeavours and an individual focus outweighs concern for the group; if the people complain then “let them eat cake”, but in New Orleans, let them eat air!
international /
social/political /
commentary
Pat Robertson – American Prophet
nano, Thursday, Aug 25 2005, 9:10am
Recent comments (see addendum) by Pat Robertson, ultra-right-wing Christian Zionist, calling for the assassination of Chavez, President of Venezuela, confirms America’s inverted form of ‘Christianity’; Robertson’s religious ideology is clearly Old Testament:
Exodus 15:3 The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name. Joshua 6:9 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury. 21. They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it; men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys. 24. Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD's house. 27. So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land. (NIV)
international /
social/political /
opinion/analysis
Sweeper
peptide, Thursday, Aug 11 2005, 7:48am
It is not often that semantics attracts our attention, but the recent media saturation with the latest word-fad has prompted this response. The latest word that is ‘sweeping’ through the vocabularies of all right-wing speechwriters is (you got it) “sweeping”! Have you noticed that there’s a ‘whole lot of sweeping going on’? “Sweeping new terrorist laws; sweeping new security measures; sweeping new changes”, etc. It is a shame that Bush, Blair and Howard haven’t been swept out of office. But it’s a bigger shame that we are being swept back into a quasi-feudal world of Lords and slaves – no need to guess what your status will be, but more on that later – for now, “the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. Disregard it at your own peril!
international /
social/political /
opinion/analysis
Shoot First
cleaves, Wednesday, Jul 27 2005, 5:54pm
The UK has recently undergone a social regression to a period in its history (many centuries past) when summary executions by the King’s representatives were common fair. Performing summary executions in the street is not new in England; this practice, however, was determined by the ancient powers to be counter productive – more revolts resulted from this practice than subjection/subjugation. But today, Blair’s England panders more to the racist sentiments of its people than good political sense. So be it, history has already dictated the inevitable outcomes.
international /
social/political /
opinion/analysis
Howard and the US
cleaves, Monday, Jul 18 2005, 1:42pm
John Howard, presently visiting the US, ‘leader’ without a national or personal identity and cringer extraordinaire (would someone remind him it’s not an embarrassment to be an Australian). Like his conservative predecessors, who looked to England for an ideology and identity, Howard looks to the US for guidance and direction. Australian history will not be kind to this pathetic, cringing little lackey.
international /
social/political /
opinion/analysis
The Art of Distraction
tide, Wednesday, Jun 15 2005, 7:28am
The most effective form of crowd control is distraction, from the Roman Colosseum to Mao Zedong’s domestic steel furnaces, leaders of the past and present all understand that the focus of the masses should never be directed at government or its leaders. Few (if any) of today’s leaders or governments could withstand the rigour of sustained attention from the population.
international /
social/political /
other press
Chinese Spies and Defectors
lao lin, Thursday, Jun 9 2005, 9:08am
The recent bid of a disaffected Chinese consular official to defect in Australia has displayed some curious behaviour from all concerned, not the least being the ineptitudes of Chinese government officials. Representatives of sovereign powers are not usually intimidated by journalists; however, during an interview (on the Australian media) the Chinese ambassador’s response to a question regarding the claim that three thousand Chinese 'spies' were operating in Australia, exhibited all the inexperience expected from Chinese officials in matters of international espionage.
international /
social/political /
commentary
The Ugly Australian
nano, Saturday, Jun 4 2005, 1:49am
The Australian media has lost itself in a ‘feeding frenzy’ once again. The Corby drug case in Indonesia has struck a resonant chord in the cultural consciousness. Media analysts would recall a previous occasion when the local media lost itself in itself and careered into a back lot of a Disneyland film set. It was the (now infamous) Chamberlain "dingo baby" case, a perfect example of objective reporting! A drone population was whipped into a state of distraction only to later confront the reality of Chamberlain’s innocence. This is the result of the media displacing the ‘story' and becoming the event.
editorial /
social/political /
commentary
  Semantic Subterfuge and Semiotic Terrorism
nano, Monday, May 16 2005, 9:23pm
This paper is an attempt to distinguish between the background (passive) and the foreground (active) in the social dynamic and the (foreground) passive and (background) active in the textual/cultural dynamic. If layers of meaning develop as a consequence of a chance semantic juxtaposition – be assured they are unintended or accidental. However, the writer would intentionally introduce a discursive contrivance, the textual 'dis-incorporator' or the "semiotic terrorist" – those who are able to reverse the prevailing method of reading/writing. (story and 2 images and 1 attached file)
international /
social/political /
feature
Intelligence USA
cleaves, Saturday, Apr 23 2005, 7:28am
It’s now official, but do these admissions carry even a vestige of credibility? The US administration recently announced that it was grossly in error regarding internal intelligence assessments of the existence of WMDs in Iraq. Someone forgot to inform neo-con PR that the bull has already wrecked the China shop.
international /
social/political /
feature
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