Current Affairs

[thorfinn]

Well, here's a whole stack of articles for people to go read, split out into categories.

War...

"Don't mention The War. I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it." You know, didn't someone say that the war was over already? Remind me, who was it? Oh, that's right, Bush. Of course, George, yes, The War Is Over. You said so, it must be true.

• War on terror 'uniting' Muslims - The Age - February 14, 2004
• Defence chiefs admit vaccine side effects - The Age - February 21, 2004
• When love is a battlefield - The Age - February 23, 2004
• US war dissenter seeks asylum in Canada - The Age - February 23, 2004
• Fresh troops heading to Iraq - The Age - February 23, 2004
• SAS exploits in Iraq revealed - The Age - February 23, 2004
• War may grind on like Vietnam - The Age - March 1, 2004
• Bombings raise fear of religious war - The Age - March 3, 2004

Remember The Guantanamo...

When even the Military lawyers who are supposed to be conducting the trials are criticising them, you just know there's something seriously wrong. And when Spain and Russia can stand up for their citizens and get them out of that hell hole, what the hell is our supposed government doing? Oh, that's right, sucking on the Shrub's toes, like usual.

• Rumsfeld defends Guantanamo detentions - The Age - February 14, 2004
• Spain secures Guantanamo release - The Age - February 14, 2004
• Panel to review terror detainees - The Age - February 14, 2004
• Guantanamo panel pitiful, Hicks lawyer warns - The Age - February 15, 2004
• Hicks has valid reasons to be tried in Australia: lawyer - The Age - February 15, 2004
• Court to rule on Bush's war powers - The Age - February 23, 2004
• Military lawyers criticise Guantanamo trials - The Age - February 26, 2004
• Seven Guantanamo inmates handed to Russia - The Age - March 2, 2004

Border Protection

Oh wait, it's not just the war, there's all these refugees, too. Can't have that, can we.

• National MP calls for refugee amnesty - The Age - February 6, 2004
• Secrecy bid in courts under fire - The Age - February 6, 2004
• Manus Island's $1m man - The Age - February 11, 2004
• Incidents of self-harm high among detained children - The Age - February 12, 2004
• Changing views on high - The Age - February 21, 2004
• Asylum zone to shrink - The Age - February 21, 2004
• Tampa Afghans given reprieve - The Age - February 25, 2004
• Talks on refugee abandoned - The Age - February 26, 2004
• Latham repeats PNG support, urges end to detention - The Age - February 26, 2004

Intelligence, Invader Style.

"It's not stupid, it's advanced..." Intelligence. Such a deceptive term.

• Iraqi leader defends intelligence - The Age - February 20, 2004
• CIA struggles in Iraq, Afghanistan - The Age - February 21, 2004
• Howard defends pre-war intelligence - The Age - February 22, 2004
• Aust ignored FBI Bali warnings: report - The Age - February 26, 2004
• Ministers at odds over Iraq inquiry - The Age - March 1, 2004
• PM's Iraq claims 'not supported' - The Age - March 2, 2004
• Hard to explain ONA changing advice - The Age - March 2, 2004
• Advice not 'sexed up', but ignored: Beazley - The Age - March 2, 2004
• Doubt cast on Howard's reasons for Iraq war - The Age - March 2, 2004
• Report backs Age revelations - The Age - March 2, 2004
• Tough questions remain unanswered - The Age - March 2, 2004
• Weaknesses to be found from the start to the end - The Age - March 2, 2004
• Why we now need a full inquiry - The Age - March 2, 2004
• British watchdog demands war documents - The Age - March 3, 2004
• Going to war is always a call for government - The Age - March 3, 2004
• Iraq claims hardened after Bush call - The Age - March 3, 2004

Iraq

Elections? What elections? Who needs them anyway. They're just not democratic.

• Iraq poll plan divides council - The Age - February 19, 2004
• UN approves timetable for power transfer - The Age - February 21, 2004
• White House admits failure of caucus plan - The Age - February 21, 2004
• Sistani hints at allowing election delay - The Age - February 21, 2004
• Elections not possible for a year: US - The Age - February 21, 2004
• No election in short term, says Bremer - The Age - February 22, 2004
• Polls at least a year away: Bremer - The Age - February 22, 2004
• Iraq fails to meet Bush deadline - The Age - March 1, 2004

Haiti

The Good Ole U.S. is up to the usual tricks with deposing elected governments. And much as Powell wants to deny it, Aristide himself is happily telling people that it's American troops that removed him.

• U.S.-Sponsored Regime Change in Haiti - Alternet.org - March 2, 2004
• Whacking the Hornet's Nest - AlterNet.org - March 2, 2004
• Restoring order in Haiti - The Age - March 3, 2004
• Powell denies Aristide forced to go - The Age - March 3, 2004

Free Trade Agreement

The claimed benefits are predicated on a AUD/USD exchange rate of 1 AUD to 0.5 USD. Somehow, I don't think that's likely any time soon. Plus, nobody's seen the actual text of the agreement... We seem to be relying on the word of the Trade Minister. For some reason, I don't put much stock in the value of "truth" as stated by anyone from the Liberal Party. The stuff said by the US trade department seems to imply that the US will be winning the trade war after the FTA goes in... Funny, that seems to be slightly at odds with what our Trade Minister claims. I wonder who is right. Actually, no, I don't.

• We've certainly got free trade in politicians' porkies - Sydney Morning Herald - February 16, 2004

Politicians' "Ethics"

Of course, we all trust our politicians to behave ethically and even handedly, right? Hah. Christian Right Wing Nutters ahoy.

• The Junk Science of George W. Bush - AlterNet.org - February 26, 2004
• Abbott sparks AIDS ire - The Age - March 3, 2004

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies

Pollies dancing... Aiee. Bad touch, bad touch!

• Why the Government is tying terror to economic security - The Age - February 27, 2004
• Labor strikes a terror ban deal with Coalition - The Age - March 3, 2004
• Will Latham be bad for business? - The Age - March 3, 2004
• Seeing off Labor will need new tactics - The Age - March 3, 2004
• Latham would win in landslide: poll - The Age - March 3, 2004

Hooray for Science!

Still, lets end on an up note. We've discovered that Mars once had liquid water! Yay! No direct evidence of life yet, but liquid water is generally considered to be a necessary pre-condition.

• NASA: Liquid water once on Mars - CNN - March 2, 2004
• Opportunity for life on Mars - The Age - March 3, 2004

Comments

[brahe.livejournal.com]

The whole "border protection" thing gets me. Politicians seem to be in a muddle (I suspect half of it is intentional) about the whole issue. Why do these people who arrive by boat pose such a threat? Aren't there people who are capable of being just as dangerous arriving by plane? Is it because of the ethnic backgrounds of the arrivals? Are those racist assumptions? Aren't Irish just as likely to be IRA or something as an Afghani refugee being a terrorist?

And lets not forget, the majority of illegal immigrants we get are from the UK anyway.

Grrrr.

[thorfinn]

It's racism. Little Johnny's just not saying so out in public, because he's got the brains to realise that that's a Career Limiting Move. Little Johnny is more racist than Pauline Hanson, and that's pretty hard.

[brahe.livejournal.com]

He's made that quite clear though, ever since his treasurer days back in the 70s. I'm surprised Fraser put up with him. And I'm saddened that what seems to be the majority of the Australian public agreeing with him on the refugees issue. (Yes, most of the folks around "our" age who we seem to hang around with probably have similar opinions to us, but when you look at opinion polls, voting results, etc. it's quite disheartening).

[blarglefiend.livejournal.com]

And tying a couple of threads together, we have <a href="http://www.chaser.com.au/show_story.asp?ID=905&ED=82>this</a>.

[thorfinn]

*chuckle* That's funny.

A few more articles on the refugee theme...

[lostwanderfound.livejournal.com]

Whistleblowers from behind the razorwire: here (http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/04/23/1019441244807.html), here (http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/04/23/1019441244295.html) and here (http://www.abc.net.au/pm/s214965.htm). Plus here (http://www.geocities.com/craig_motbey/index.html) for some details of the 2002 Easter protest at Woomera.

terrorist attacks on a "need to know "

[my-ichiban.livejournal.com]

remmebr NYE and we where watching for terrorist attacks and nothing happened. There was a terrorist attack on NYE and well its wasn't important to report here or the US fotunatley the BBC repported the event. i was quite confused when i found it no where else. and i watched our news paper/TV for the next week and nothing.
But i guess these aren't the terrorists that we are fighting in our "war on terror"


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3360647.stm

i think this will take you there