Gillard should demand US apology for threats to Assange

When is the Gillard Govt going to get a backbone and carpet the US ambassador, to demand the POTUS apologise publicly to Julian Assange, Australia and its people, for the death threats and calls for "extrajudicial measures" in the US media and by elected officials, that are being directed against a citizen (who has not broken any US law inside or outside of that country, as far as anyone can tell so far), of a country supposedly considered "no better partner and no stronger ally"?

And while Mr President is at it, he can tell everyone stateside including psyops, policy wonks, elected representatives and the media to take.a.cold.shower.

While I was aware of the hysterical hyperbole and public threats, perhaps it should not have been a surprise while watching 4 Corners "The Forgotten Man" on Monday night, to see in an excerpt from Fox TV, a commentator suggesting of Assange ..."illegally shoot the son-of-a-bitch", and another, "you should take this guy out, have the CIA take him out", and a third person interviewed say "that we may have to consider extrajudicial measures in order to detain him and stop him from proceeding". [Full transcript]

What the frak is in their Kool-Aid?!

Don't they have any idea of how they are presenting themselves, and by default, their nation to the rest of world, when they jump on that bandwagon, and make stupid, inflammatory and dangerous remarks like that?

And as a more pleasant aside and a demonstration to all the wingnuts and political wannabes out there, of how it's really done; winner of the evening goes to .... Senator the Hon. Helen Coonan on QandA. Just when you think you have her pegged, she displays true stateswomanship.

Egypt ahead

Didn't we all just burst with joy in solidarity for the Egyptian people when they achieved their aim of removing a US backed dictator of 30 years standing?

And marvelled at how much good will and fraternity was and is being shown by the people.  Men, women and children, secular and faithful, dancing together in the streets in celebration.  And then respect shown for the more than 300 protestors who lost their lives, becoming martyrs to the movement of 25 January 2011, when Egyptians finally had their say.

And then smiled, when the people came back to the streets to clean them up.  What an inspiration!

But I fear for Egypt.  I fear the military will dash the hopes and dreams of the Egyptian people by not ensuring as smooth a (and still ongoing) transition as was seen through the post Suharto era in Indonesia under the leadership of President, B. J. Habibie, in 1998.

And I fear more for Egypt, not from any internal threat, stuff up or constitutional meltdown, but from the usual running interference of the USA, its allies and organisations like the IMF and World Bank.

The Egyptian military may show true leadership and deliver a free and fair election process to their people, and the people of Egypt may elect a socialist government to redress the social inequalities, injustices and outrages perpetrated against them over the last 30 years, by a government which was propped up by the US and its allies, who turned a blind eye to, and even took advantage of the very same injustices for their own clandestine purposes when it suited them.

And if this happens, then just as the USA and its allies could not bring themselves to support a democratically, freely and fairly elected Humas* administration in Palestine in 2006, I fear the USA and its allies, will do the same again in Egypt.

They will deny a freely and fairly elected socialist government in Egypt, not because the election, when it comes, is not free and fair, according to international observers.

They will deny it as a knee jerk reaction to "socialism" and the prospect of a socialist government.

Because when it comes down to it, the USA is not about "freedom and democracy".  It is about what's in it for them.  (Not that that should be a surprise to anyone who's watched international affairs played out by the USA over the last 60 years.)

If the USA were a person, based on their actions and reactions toward other people (nations), they might well be declared a paranoid sociopath with gambling, sex, shopping and violence addictions.

They would be locked up for their own good and other peoples' safety, to undergo treatment, and not be let out again until they showed that they weren't going to wave a gun around and shoot themselves or an innocent bystander, and they showed that they could play nice and share with the other kids in the playground.

So I fear for the Egyptian people.  Because despite their hopes, they may end up continuing to be a pawn in the usual game, either under military rule or yet another dictator who will be anointed as acceptable to the USA and its allies.  It will be back to business as usual.

* I will not get into the debate over terrorist organisation status, corruption or any other argument which seems to be bandied about in regard to Hamas.  The election was declared free and fair, and they were the winners under the constitutional rules the election was held under.  Either it's free and fair and democratic - the people having spoken; in which case, suck it up and let them try to transition to a legitimate govt. without preconditions for recognition, or it's not free and fair democratic - in which case; complain and whinge all you want and try to effect change.

But don't trumpet freedom and democracy, and then deny it when you don't like the outcome, otherwise you might be seen for the raging hypocrites you really are.

America, the USA or something else?

When did the United States of America purloin the title of "America" for itself?

Over the years, it's begun to annoy the hell out of me.  I find myself yelling at the telly or radio journo, newsreader or presenter, "It's the USA or US or United States of America - you idiot!  The USA IS NOT America ".

And indeed, if you look at any atlas or globe, you will not find a place identified as "America" in the same way you'll find a "Europe", "Africa" and "Asia".

There is North America, Central America, and South America, often collectively referred to as "the Americas", but there is no "America" per se'.

And last time I counted, there were 22 other nations in "the Americas" (counting continental countries only).

But it's unlikely you'll ever hear natives of any of those nations refer to themselves as "Americans", although technically in  my opinion, everyone who is a citizen of any nation located in "the Americas" would be entitled to do so.  just think how often you'll hear of people referred to as Europeans, Africans or Asians.

I've asked a few Latin American (i.e. not "USian") friends and acquaintances what they think of the USA perennially being referred to, and referring to itself as "America", and the consensus seems to be that it's a nagging thorn in the side, and they wish it would stop.

This got me wondering.  How did the United States of America come to generally been known as "America", and is citizens as "Americans", when by other common measure, they are not the only ones entitled to use it?

I blame show business.  More specifically, song writers, lyricist and performers.

We have the anthems: America, the Beautiful and God Bless America.  Then there's show tunes and pop songs:  I want to be in America, Coming to America, spring to mind.  I'm sure there are heaps more, I can't be bothered looking just to plump out this post.

All these references in popular culture, being repeated time and again, across the globe, with barely a whimper, make for a meme which is almost impossible to counter.

So, on behalf of my Latin American friends and my own blood pressure, I say to the global news media and the USA:  STOP IT!  Stop referring to the United states of America as "America", and stop referring to citizens of same as being "American".  They're not.  The USA and USians are just one of many, in the Americas.

To the USA and USians I send this challenge.  What can you call yourselves if not "America" or "Americans"?  Get creative.  You've always prided your society as being innovative and forward thinking.

(And let's face it - if New Zealand - aka Aotearoa, Middle Earth, can rename, rebrand and market Chinese gooseberries to the world as "Kiwifruit" - surely you Yanks can come up with a new moniker for yourselves?)

Or maybe the new Americas bloc slated at a meeting in Cancun in February (for which spokespeople on all sides have already denied that it's an alternative grouping to the OAS), and from which the USA and Canada* will be denied membership, should take up idea as a PR exercise to get attention for their organisation, before getting into the heavy stuff? ;-)

Whaddya reckon?

*Inexplicably, IMO - Canada has always seemed to me, to have been much more sympathetic to Central and South American self governance, and less inclined to political interference than the USA, so I can only assume it's a bit of socio-political payback for simply being "first world". <shrug>

Palestine 09

"They stole my land, burnt my olive trees, destroyed my house, took my water, imprisoned my father, killed my mother, starved us all, humiliated us all. But I am to blame : I shot a rocket back. So they stole more of my land, burnt my olive trees, destroyed my house, took my water, bombed my country..." Palestine09

Featuring words partly inspired by one of the hundreds of hand-written anonymous placards carried at the Jan 3rd demonstration in London our Palestine 09 design expresses vividly the cycle of despair that has turned the tiny Gaza strip into a war zone of Israeli reprisals using its overwhelming military might. JUST £16.99!  Helping to raise funds for the Viva Palestina aid convoy to Gaza.

Buy this T-Shirt

Fields of Fire - Cluster Bombs in Lebanon - Part 1

Fantastically, hideously, horribly, horrifyingly outrageous.

Lebanon is just the latest in a long line of troublesome targets to have been carpeted with these obscenities in the name of "defence", or just bloody minded retaliation.

How can any civil society permit the manufacture of and profit from these abominations, or their government to sanction and use these weapons of mass mutilation and death?

The economic crisis is petty

Thanks to Barry Brook over at Brave New Climate for the throw on this.  (Even the comments have interesting links.)

Monbiot.com » This Is What Denial Does

The economic crisis is petty by comparison to the nature crunch. But they have the same cause.

By George Monbiot. Published in the Guardian 14th October 2008

This is nothing. Well, nothing by comparison to what’s coming. The financial crisis for which we must now pay so heavily prefigures the real collapse, when humanity bumps against its ecological limits.

As we goggle at the fluttering financial figures, a different set of numbers passes us by. On Friday, Pavan Sukhdev, the Deutsche Bank economist leading a European study on ecosystems, reported that we are losing natural capital worth between $2 trillion and $5 trillion every year, as a result of deforestation alone(1).

The losses incurred so far by the financial sector amount to between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion. Sukhdev arrived at his figure by estimating the value of the services - such as locking up carbon and providing freshwater - that forests perform, and calculating the cost of either replacing them or living without them. The credit crunch is petty when compared to the nature crunch.

The two crises have the same cause. In both cases, those who exploit the resource have demanded impossible rates of return and invoked debts that can never be repaid. In both cases we denied the likely consequences. I used to believe that collective denial was peculiar to climate change. Now I know that it’s the first response to every impending dislocation

... Monbiot.com » This Is What Denial Does

Salaam, Shalom, Shanti, Mir, Friede, Pax, Paz, Peace

The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations as an annual observance of global non-violence and ceasefire. Every year, people in all parts of the world honour peace in various ways on 21 September.

International Day of Peace, 21 September 2008

Salaam, Shalom, Shanti, Mir, Friede, Pax, Paz, Peace

Links of interest:

• International Day of Peace (wiki)
  
• Peace One Day (wiki)
• Search for Common Ground
• Google News search International Day of Peace
• International Peace Day in Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia (Byron Shire Echo)

Roots & Shoots (Goodall Institute) Each year, in support of the United Nations International Day of Peace, Roots & Shoots members and friends come together to promote peace. All over the world, young people craft Giant Peace Dove Puppets from reused materials and fly the Doves in their communities. From the high peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro to the low plains of Kansas, Peace Doves fly, held high by hopeful hands.

Peace is Hard ...

"Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

Nagasaki 9th August 1945

My father was a WWII vet., served in the Pacific, and like most veterans, didn't speak much about his experiences. When I was younger, I could never figure out why he hated the "Japs" so much, and we used to knock heads over the morality of the nuclear attacks.

As I grew up, and saw documentaries and gradually heard the filtered stories of the appalling behavior, the brutality toward Allied POWs and occupied civilians by most Japanese soldiers, I came to understand a little, why.

Last year, SBS ran very late at night (after midnight if I recall), a documentary series on the war from the Japanese perspective. It was very enlightening, and very sad.

And it brought to mind the paradox that "They do what the do because they are what the are, and they are what they are because they do what they do".

But even today, and with many musings on this vexed issue, I still cannot reconcile myself to those events, and the many other "lesser evils" committed on all sides, not being acts of terrorism and crimes against humanity.

I just wish we lived in a mature enough world where this type of failure of global humanity, is not an option.

Why the nuclear attack on Japan was right (The Age 06/08/03)

Wartime records and memoirs show that the emperor and some of his aides wanted to end the war by the summer of 1945. But they were vacillating and couldn't prevail over a military that was determined to keep going even if that meant, as a navy official urged at one meeting, "sacrificing 20 million Japanese lives".

The atomic bombings broke this political stalemate and were thus described by Mitsumasa Yonai, the navy minister at the time, as a "gift from heaven".

Without the atomic bombings, Japan would have continued fighting by inertia.

This would have meant more firebombing of Japanese cities and a ground invasion, planned for November 1945, of the main Japanese islands. The fighting over the small, sparsely populated islands of Okinawa had killed 14,000 Americans and 200,000 Japanese, and in the main islands the toll would have run into the millions.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

Lest we Forget

We knew the world would not be the same [streaming video]. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." I suppose we all thought that one way or another.

-J. Robert Oppenheimer (wiki)

Hiroshima marks bomb anniversary with hope for US change

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AFP) - The mayor of Hiroshima on Wednesday urged the next US president to work to abolish atomic weapons as the city marked the 63rd anniversary of the world's first nuclear attack.

• Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (UN) : wiki || IAEA
• Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp
• Anti-nuclear movement in Australia. (wiki)
• New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone (wiki)
• The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, Auckland Harbour (wiki)
• New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987 || NZ history online
• Medical Association for Prevention of War (Australia) : The nuclear chain