The journalist who's facing gaol for talking to a prisoner

BRISBANE: Journalist and documentary-maker Anne Delaney would probably rather be working on her latest project than sitting in the Inala magistrate's court, facing a possible two year stretch in a Queensland gaol.

But next week the film-maker will defend herself against a charge of illegally 'interviewing' a prisoner in the Wacol women's prison.

Delaney has been charged under Section 100 of the Queensland Corrective Services Act, which makes it an offence to "interview" a prisoner either inside or outside a Queensland gaol.

Ms Delaney spoke to prisoner Louise McPhee, but did not record the interview or even take any notes of the conversation. McPhee is in prison for the manslaughter of her child but Delaney thinks there may have been a miscarriage of justice in the case.

After spending a short time with the prisoner, Delaney was confronted by two police officers and arrested inside the Wacol facility.

The journalists' union, the MEAA, has called on the Queensland DPP and the Director-General of the prison system to drop the charges. Federal Secretary of the MEAA, Chris Warren, describes the actions of the Queensland Corrective Services department as a "death sentence" for democracy if journalists can't investigate or reveal information that is clearly in the public interest.

"Queensland's recent history highlights that responsible journalism is a vital weapon against corruption. The Fitzgerald Inquiry proved that," said Warren.

So far the Queensland media seems to be ignoring this story, but the global clearing house for press freedom, the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, has put the case on its alert list.

A fundraiser in Sydney last weekend raised over $5000 towards Delaney's court costs. SMH journalist David Marr spoke at the gathering, and he told Crikey that the Corrective Services media policy is designed to censor and control media access to prisoners. "The policy allows access only if it does not embarrass the Queensland Government."

Anne's case is listed in the Inala magistrate's court for hearing on Tuesday and Wednesday next week. The MEAA is concerned that Section 100 of the Queensland Corrective Services legislation may be unconstitutional, given several high-profile cases which ruled there is an implied right of comment on political matters in the Australian Constitution.

Anne Delaney has worked for the ABC and SBS and has produced and directed several films. Now her lawyers have taken the unusual step of notifying all the state and territory Attorneys General that a possible constitutional issue it to be raised in the Inala local court, which is more used to hearing cases of drunk and disorderly.

By Martin Hirst posted 17 November 05

Related Media Links:

Abu Ghraib one day, Queensland the next

In Queensland the prisons are protected from unwanted media attention by legislation that forbids media access to prisons under threat of legal sanction.

In 1996 former Courier Mail journalist, Ms Ella Riggert, was fined $1050 for conducting an interview with Tracey Wiggington, Queensland's alleged 'vampire killer', at Brisbane Womens Prison. Two other Queensland journalists, Ms Lou Robson and Channel Nine ACA reporter, Margueritte Rossi, also suffered the same fate when they conducted 'unauthorised' telephone interviews with prisoners from the Woodford and Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centres. Both journalists were fined $300 but no conviction was recorded.

Riggert, Robson and Rossi were constricted by law to accept the sanctions of Section 104 (10) of The Queensland Corrective Services Act 1988 No.89 which carried a maximum penalty of $3000 or two years imprisonment for anyone who; (f) without the authority of the Commission, interviews a prisoner (within the meaning of section 10) or obtains a written or recorded statement from such a prisoner, whether within or outside of a prison commits an offense against this Act. The Queensland Corrective Services Act 2000 reinforced the previous Draconian sanctions with harsher penalties for those who tried to penetrate the veil of secrecy that surrounds the Queensland prison system.

USA Prisons: Free-speech lockdown

With the heavy hand of corrections firmly around our collective throats, ending the media prohibition is the only way to change society's misguided perception about prisons and prisoners.

Related QLD Prison Abuse Links:

Sir David Longland Correctional Centre

The exercise yards in all units in B Block are now closed in with extra cladding to all external surfaces. No direct sunlight ever comes into the exercise yards at any time of the day. Block walling surround more than three-quarters of the yard. A portion of one wall is covered in with compressed steel mesh with small holes, plus another mesh fence being the original fence. No fresh air comes into these yards because of the mesh and the fact that there is no cross ventilation for air to pass through the yard. The roofing of all unit exercise yards in B Block have been covered in stopping any sunlight. In the summer months, heat generated from the tin roofing over the exercise yards makes the yard so hot, normal use is avoided.

SIR DAVID LONGLAND CORRECTIONAL CENTRE QLD - CELLS IN B BLOCK

The cells in B Block are like no other in any Queensland prison. After Mr. Cooper was severally embarrassed by the Abbott and Co escape on 4th November 1997, he visited B Block and the surrounding grounds. It was that visit, by Cooper, that set in motion a plan (up the ante) to make sure security in B Block would never embarrass him again. It was like closing the gate after the horse has bolted.

Related Prison Links:

Pentridge Prison Memorial
*Ricky Morris* 29/10/2005-18 Years Later "Thinking Of You And Missing You" Gone But Never Forgotten. It all started back in May-05 when I decided to do a website on the memory of my brother 'Ricky' and that's when it all began for myself a journey I never imagined. From that date forward to this I have received a lot of information and spoken to all sorts of people from high up to general people whom either knew nothing or some that knew it all.

Darwin prison riot threat alert
PRISONERS threatened to riot at Darwin jail after complaining about overcrowding and the quality of food, it was learnt yesterday.

New rules in Goulburn prison
The following outline is provided as a guide to ensure a consistent and effective approach in dealing with charges and applying sanctions applicable to failed urine tests.

Custody as the challenge to corrections
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'A Nice Day Out' From Risdon Prison
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NEW INDEPENDENT RISDON PRISON REPORT
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Prisoner total rises 15% in six years
England and Wales are continuing to jail offenders at a higher rate than any other major country in western Europe, it emerged today. New research indicates that the government's use of prison as its main tool of penal policy has increased by 15% since 1999.

Adler punished for being in prison
NSW: Sydney businessman Rodney Adler has been transferred to a higher-security prison as punishment for allegedly attempting to conduct business activities from jail even though people are sent to prison for punishment not to be punished?

Department of Corrective Services fails to rehabilitate offenders
NSW: Unpopular people will be forced to wear tracking devices at a cost of $5,000 dollars per unit because the NSW Department of Corrective Services failed to rehabilitate those offenders at a cost of $65,000 a year while they were held in custody for many years.

Parole Board Membership
NSW: The Law Society is aware that two former long standing police officers Mr Robert Inkster, an Mr Peter Walsh, were appointed to the Parole Board as Community Members for a period of three years from 17 January 2005 until 16 January 2008.

Corrected or Corrupted
A psychiatrist from the prison Mental Health Team attached to Queensland Health made the comment that 25 per cent of inmates suffer from a diagnosed mental illness.

Tasmanian prison support visit
Prisoners from Risdon Prison and Prison Action & Reform (PAR) in Tasmania have requested support from the Australian Prisoners Union and Justice Action following the siege in the prison ending on May 9.

Prison Action & Reform challenge the Attorney General
Members of Prison Action & Reform are furious with the latest lies from the Attorney General -- Judy Jackson, and demand that she produce evidence to support her ludicrous claims.

Tasmania PAR banned from Risdon
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Chronology of a Tasmanian Prison System: A Documented Report
We believe that the people of Tasmania - both victims of crime and the general public - have the right to know that the Tasmania Prison Service is delivering a humane and just system of containment that is conducive to the reintegration of inmates back into Tasmanian society.

Association for the Prevention of Torture
The Optional Protocol requires 20 ratifications to enter into force. All States Parties to the UN Convention against Torture should seriously consider ratifying the OPCAT as soon as possible. National Institutions and others promoting the human rights of people deprived of their liberty need to be informed of their potential role as national preventive mechanisms under the OPCAT.

PRISON ACTION & REFORM INC: Tas Prison Complaints
TASMANIA: Prison Action & Reform was formed in response to the five deaths in custody that occurred between August 1999 and January 2000. Chris Wever, Vickie Douglas, Rose Macaulay, Judith Santos and others came to together to fight for reform in an outdated, increasingly cash-strapped and uncaring system. Of the original members, three lost loved ones to the Tasmanian prison system.

MISTREATED IN CUSTODY - NO ACCOUNTABILTY
I was in custody in NSW six weeks ago, and was a victim of an aggravated assault incited by a prison officer. Despite this happening in front of many witnesses, including correctional services officers and other detainees, and under mandatory video surveillance, a formal complaint to the NSW Commissioner of Corrective Services an his Professional Conduct Management Committee only revealed that as far as they were concerned, this didn't happen.

ICOPA XI International Conference on Penal Abolition
We are excited to announce that ICOPA X1, the eleventh International Conference on Penal Abolition will happen in Tasmania, Australia from February 9 - 11,2006. Please pass this onto all networks.

Ex-Prisoner Locked Out of Prison
The NSW Department of Corrective Services (DCS) has revealed a policy which bans ex-prisoners from entering prisons.

Justice Action: Access to our community
NSW: Justice Action went to the NSW Supreme Court before the last Federal election on the constitutional right for prisoners to receive information for their vote. The government avoided the hearing by bringing prisoners' mobile polling booths forward. We pursued it after the election. This is the report.

Risdon prisoners' seize prison to protest mistreatment
Apparently one prisoner had been mistreated and held in isolation in an SHU (Segregation Housing Unit) [Solitary Confinement] because, he'd had and altercation with a screw. SHUs cause severe mental harm - regarded as torture - and are a cruel, inhumane and degrading way to keep prisoners.

No Safe Place
In a brief four month span from August 1999, five men died in Tasmania's Risdon prison. Their deaths have put the state's corrections system in the dock and led to the planned demolition of a jail which even the State's Attorney-General now calls an "appalling facility".

MORE PRISONERS LOCKDOWNS HAVE OFFICERS ON EDGE
NSW POLICE Commissioner Ken Moroney has issued an ultimatum as well, to the lawless youths holding Sydney's streets to ransom?: Learn some respect or face jail?

Tough line on crime fills jails
The tough law-and-order policies of governments around the nation are behind an explosion in the prison population by almost 80 per cent in the past two decades.

FAMILIES OF PRISONERS FORUM
14,500 children in NSW go to bed each night with a parent in prison!

LEGAL VISITS AT PARKLEA PRISON
I am a prisoner in NSW and I am currently held in Parklea Prison. I am concerned about what is going on in NSW prisons and this is my story.

Parklea Prison: No calls for six days
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Prison visits in crisis in NSW
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Prison boom will prove a social bust
Hardened criminals are not filling NSW's prisons - the mentally ill and socially disadvantaged are, writes Eileen Baldry.

The prison system requires assiduous oversight
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Where the Norm is Not the Norm: HARM-U
In the absence of public policy, this paper is an attempt to shine a light through the rhetoric and test for coherency in the policy and function of NSW’s only supermax prison, the High Risk Management Unit. Its present use will be compared with the ‘vision’ flogged by the Premier and the Department of Corrective Services (the Department) at its inception in 2001.

Crime and Punishment
Mark Findlay argues that the present psychological approach to prison programs is increasing the likelihood of re-offending and the threat to community safety.

People: 'Prisoners' of Drugs'
People who are addicted to heroin usually take the drug because it relieves them of problems such as low self-esteem, distrust and fear of abandonment. They may have poor communication skills & poor relationship skills.

Justice Denied In NSW Corrective Services
There used to be a (VJ) or Visiting Justice who would go into the prison and judge any claim or accusation that was made by any prisoner or prison guard. If it were found that a prisoner had offended then punishment was metered out.

Prison guards test positive for drugs
NSW prison visitors banned from using the toilet The visit is only for about one hour and any thing less than that is an insult. If it's proved that a visitor has broken the rules the punishment should apply to them. But collective punishment on all visitors should not be made general when others haven't broken the rules especially if it restricts all visitors from normal human needs like using a toilet.

NSW prison visitors banned from using the toilet
The New South Wales Government has introduced several initiatives to stop contraband getting into prisons they said last Friday. But under the guise of "stricter rules" the department had also introduced banning all visitors including children from using the toilet unless they terminate their visit at any NSW prison after using the toilet.

Watchdogs slaughtered in NSW
On Tuesday the Carr Government reduced transparency and accountability yet again and New South Wales is in danger of becoming entrenched with cronyism and intimidations with the Carr Labor Government that continues to slaughter the watchdogs.

Sir David Longland Correctional Centre
The exercise yards in all units in B Block are now closed in with extra cladding to all external surfaces. No direct sunlight ever comes into the exercise yards at any time of the day. Block walling surround more than three-quarters of the yard. A portion of one wall is covered in with compressed steel mesh with small holes, plus another mesh fence being the original fence. No fresh air comes into these yards because of the mesh and the fact that there is no cross ventilation for air to pass through the yard. The roofing of all unit exercise yards in B Block have been covered in stopping any sunlight. In the summer months, heat generated from the tin roofing over the exercise yards makes the yard so hot, normal use is avoided.

SIR DAVID LONGLAND CORRECTIONAL CENTRE QLD - CELLS IN B BLOCK The cells in B Block are like no other in any Queensland prison. After Mr. Cooper was severally embarrassed by the Abbott and Co escape on 4th November 1997, he visited B Block and the surrounding grounds. It was that visit, by Cooper, that set in motion a plan (up the ante) to make sure security in B Block would never embarrass him again. It was like closing the gate after the horse has bolted.

Inspector General Ignored On Womens Prison
Four months after a report from the Inspector General on Mulawa Correctional Centre, key recommendations involving safety and welfare of prisoners and staff have been ignored. Kathryn Armstrong (former chair of Inmate Development Committee) and Annabel Walsh, released from Mulawa Womens Prison in February, have produced an independent report confirming the findings of the Inspector General.

Prison Privatisation: Death camps looming in NSW
I asked for the identification of the person I was speaking to and was told that I was not entitled to that information. I needed to verify the call and asked for a name or number to register my call because I was asked to get those details by my coordinator.The person refused to identify themselves either by name or number. I asked to be transferred to a senior person and was refused. The person I spoke to then hung up the phone.

Corrections Victoria and criminal acts: SCS-4\320 UPDATE
You have stated "Section 30 of the Corrections Act 1986 and the Information Privacy Act 2000, restricts the release of confidential information regarding prisoners, I therefore am unable to provide any information regarding this matter."

Death camps looming in Victoria
A letter was received on 15 January 03 from SCS-4\320 a remand prisoner in Victoria's Barwon Prison I later found out that the prisoner was in the Acacia High Security Unit.

Civil libertarians condemn planned changes to prisoners' privacy rights The New South Wales Government is using a recent case involving [framed] serial killer Ivan Milat to justify its decision to remove the privacy rights of prisoners. But really just another attack on Ivan Milat from Parliament House.

Black Nexus
The Separation of Powers Doctrine is nowcontaminated witharangeofcolours, now leaving us with a black shirt on a once blue bridge that crossed that thin blue line. The 'Amery and Woodham show'.

Prison Mind Games-Do they exist?
Directives are given inside the prison system that are not consistent with the law in NSW. And not in the good interests of the health and well being of the prisoners.

The Government is likely to abolish the Inspector General of Corrective Services position The Mulawa inspection report recommendations below strictly illustrate how important he is.

Anti-hoWARd government protest a success

Over 200,000 people have protested at the anti-hoWARd government rally in Melbourne, with at least 150,000 or more in other capital cities and in regional centres throughout Australia.

Huge crowds packed into Federation Square in Melbourne this morning.

Protesters marched across the city to the Carlton Gardens, where Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) secretary Martin Kingham said the rally was a huge success.

"Looks like 200,000 to me - the biggest industrial rally that I've ever seen in Melbourne," he said.

Thousands of building workers attended the rally despite the threat of a $22,000 fine each for taking part.

Australian Workers Union (AWU) secretary Bill Shorten says today's rallies are just the beginning of a campaign against the Howard Government.

"You asked what is the strategy for the next 700 days - the strategy is to fight - to fight in the workplace, to fight in the community, to fight in the media and to get rid of the Howard Government," he said.

Brisbane

In Brisbane, over 10,000 workers marched through the inner-city to the Queensland National party headquarters to protest against the industrial relations laws.

The protesters had earlier gathered at Southbank to hear the Queensland Premier Peter Beattie and union leaders speak.

Sydney

In Sydney, trucks and demonstrators blocked a major motorway as part of the protest.

New South Wales Transport Workers Union secretary Tony Sheldon says protesters on the M4 motorway wanted to draw attention to the impact they say the laws will have on the trucking industry.

"They're determined to protect motorists, their loved ones, their next door neighbours from the excesses of the Howard legislation that's going to cause more and more deregulation of the trucking industry and more unsafe rates and unsafe practices while there's a drive to the bottom," he said.

As expected the Labor Party bureaucrats were out in force to capitalise on the discontent for their careerist ambitions but interestingly the video of Bob Brown got a much bigger cheer than that of Kim Beazley, a nice contrast to the previous demo where workers were seen chanting "beazley, beazley".

Huge crowds certainly put a smile on most people's faces

By Shame HoWARd Shame 15 November 05

Workers rally against Industrial Relations law

SYDNEY, Tuesday, 15 November: "Hundreds of thousands" of workers rallied in a day of national protest against the Howard Government's new industrial relations law.

In Sydney, a rally comprising "a genuine cross-section of the Australian community", and estimated by the ABC's reporter at "maybe 40,000", met at Belmore Park before marching though the city to Chifley Square to hear speakers against Howard's law.

An exuberant and very noisy march left observers in no doubt as to their resolve. At one point, there was an unnecessary diversion when some of the marchers taunted the visiting Uruguayan footballers, who were watching the procession in George Street.

A single handwritten banner, "Say NO to working poor", summarised the thrust of the new legislation, which Victoria's Premier Bracks declared had been the lot of many workers following the regressive legislation in that state by the former Kennett government.

The new laws have been an obsession of Prime Minister Howard for many years, and, contrary to its stated intention--to usher is a new era of "choice" in the workplace--promise to ignite more nation-wide protests from unions, who see the legislation as stripping away a century of hard-won rights for workers.

Opposition leader Kim Beazley promised a Brisbane rally, estimated by ABC reporters at about 10,000, that, if elected, he would "stand on the steps of Parliament and rip these laws up".

ACTU President Sharan Burrow told the Melbourne rally, which unions put at 150,000 to 200,000 (ABC Midday News), that the unions were defending "values that shape the way we care about each another". "We must not be the first generation of Australians who leaves our kids with fewer rights at work than we inherited, and we won't", she said.

By Roy Garner 15 November 05

Hundreds of thousands rally against IR legislation
People rallied in 300 locations accross Australia today to protest the Federal Government's proposed changes to industrial relations laws, WorkChoices. According to police, around 150,000 people congregated in Melbourne, from where speeches were broadcast throughout the country. In Sydney, thirty thousand gathered in Belmore Park and Martin Place to watch the broadcast before marching to Chifley Square.

Australia: Why I went to the rally today
"I actually asked to speak at the rally because all of this makes me really angry, " said 27 year old Misty Matthews, who now works as a cleaner and patient support in a government hospital.

Related:

House passes IR bill after debate gagged
The House of Representatives has passed the Federal Government's industrial relations (IR) bill after debate on the legislation was gagged.

Brisbane to protest HoWARd at charity function
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Australia: Right to strike to go
'The right of workers to leave their jobs is a test of freedom. Hitler suppressed strikes. Stalin suppressed strikes. But each also suppressed freedom. There are some things worse than strikes, much worse than strikes - one of them is the loss of freedom.' US President Eisenhower.

Unfair Industrial Laws: It's up to you!
When the WorkChoices legislation was before Parliament, GetUp members sent emails to Senators Barnaby Joyce and Steven Fielding asking them to stay strong and independent. This was followed up with a national telephone campaign.

Australia: Caught in a poverty trap
ONE of the delights of watching a superhero movie, be it of the bat or spider variety, is when the grotesque machinery developed and demonstrated by the hero's foes is turned back on them with typically devastating results.

Costello's anti-Job Network weapons discovered?
THE Federal Government had cut $500 million in funding to private sector employment agencies to ensure taxpayers received value for money, Treasurer Peter Costello said?

Pity Labor Couldn't be United over Social Services Cuts?
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Happy mothers day: Single mums forced to work!
AUSTRALIA can no longer sustain its warfare system, but can sustain the social dollar and that depends on where your priorities are? USA/Iraq or Australia?

HoWARd Gov't could be slued, community warns
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Work for the dole and prison industry slavery
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'Social Services cheats' may face election next time around
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Single parents deserve a living wage and not persecution
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Labor sees problems in welfare proposals
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Dismantle the war machine, slash taxes, privatisation and keep social services The Centre for Independent Studies report says the flat-rate income tax of 10 per cent would ensure most Australians could afford to pay for essential services such as health and education, instead of relying on welfare [social service] payments.

Costello to force single mums to look for work?
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The HoWARd Government is simply robbing the disabled blind
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Encouragement is the key to social-services-to-work programs
Corporate Welfare! I think we should start with Ingeus Company. Telling us what we already know for $$$$!

Peter Saunders shake-up is long overdue: Welfare Not Warfare
Peter Saunders: Many DSP claimants are older men with limited skills who have had difficulty finding work?

Welfare Reform for Warfare Expenditure?
John Howard: "Self-evidently we would have liked the major combat to have gone differently ... [but] coalition withdrawal or defeat is unimaginable."

Govt plots post-July strategy?
Fascist Prime Minister insists he is not on a mission to punish welfare recipients [social services.]

HoWARd 'determined' to make the disabled woRK?
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Opposition pension claims valid
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Thousands march for disability protest
"We are not prepared to go back to the dark ages. This has to be reversed," Mr Preston said. "We are hoping that the community sees that we shouldn't be taking money from people with disabilities. These people have had it tough all their lives (and) there is already more unmet need than we can cope with."

Howard's Job Network Bailout
Up to 670,000 people on disability support pensions will be encouraged to sign up to the Job Network under a radical new plan to get disabled people off welfare and into work.

THE HILLSONG'S ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF ' NEO-LIBERALISM' Only a bent mind would envisage the possibility or think of the concept that a '2nd Neo-Liberal 'front' promoted by the right and posing as a Church would enter politics under the flag of "Family First Party".

Costello, Howard's Disciple
JOHN HOWARD AND PETER Costello lost their vision for Australia from the time they were elected and embarked on a vision for the neo-Liberals.

Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel?
Well praise the Lord the light is Hell bent here on Peter Costello, treasurer of the Howard Government who now has his own "flock" of onward Christian Soldiers.

Corporate Welfare

Corporate welfare or how to steal social services?
Ever wondered why there are so many homeless, why we need a 10 pc GST, lack of services for mental disability, still paying off the Olympics, poor public transport planning etc etc etc?

Unemployed:

Work for the dole is legal slavery
Work for the dole was originally sold to us by Howard as a warm and fuzzy light work project. We would be working for nothing but we would be enjoying giving back something to the community, so it was reckoned.

FIGHT UNEMPLOYMENT!
Peter Costello commended this result in his budget speech. Even if we were to believe this figure it still means more than half a million living at a level much lower than that is recognised as poverty.

Mark Latham's, token gestures for older unemployed
StandUp appreciates the fact that Mark Latham is concerned about older unemployed people. His specialist job network proposal aimed at older people might provide a bit of assistance.

Work for the dole failure for two thirds
THE Un-Australian: " MORE than a third of the people who completed the Howard Government's work-for-the-dole programs last year were in jobs or studying within three months of finishing.

Work for the dole? $10.00?
StandUp! Wishes to draw your attention to a serious attack on all of us--work for the dole. We were assured that unemployed would not be forced to work in areas where employed workers would normally be employed. This has shown to be a lie! Under work for the dole, unemployed have been forced to carry out; concreting, tiling, landscaping, repairs, renovation, painting, gardening, nurses and teachers aid work.

'WORK FOR THE DOLE' REDUCES JOB PROSPECTS
A major independent study commissioned by the Government and released today under Freedom of Information by The Australian newspaper indicates that the 'Work for the Dole' program actually reduces the job prospects of unemployed people.

Youth welfare system unfair: ACOSS
The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) is warning urgent action is needed to fix youth poverty and disincentives for the unemployed to improve their job prospects.

Bringing up children Can we afford it?
Peter Costello expects us to carry out our patriotic duty by going home and having more children. But for most people it is a struggle to bring up one child let alone two or three.

Federal Budget: Tax cuts for the rich!
For the Howard government, unemployed people are not even worth thinking about.

Private job network agency blues
Can you trust a private job network agency? No you can't! A friend of ours is registered at MTC Marrickville.

Indigenous Social Justice Association Djadi Dugarang
INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT. Part 1

Centrelink puts the screws on prison debt
A 1999 study by the Brisbane Prisoners Legal Service revealed that on leaving prisoners had an average debt of $14,031. Almost one in five had a debt to Centrelink while in prison. This debt arose as a result inability to cancel things such as leases, Social Security payments, utilities and telephones.

Democrats approve tougher welfare penalties: But how does that pan out?
There used to be an old saying in Australia" if your hungry steal a sheep and leave the pelt on the fence.

Six weeks, six months, six years: inmates have little chance of making fresh start Even prisoners who serve short sentences are likely to suffer long-term consequences, including increased rates of homelessness and unemployment.

Military Spending

Howard: We as a nation have got to invest heavily in defence?
Fascist Prime Minister John HoWARd has indicated the Government will make major changes to work place laws, cut disability support forcing the disabled to work and increase his defence commitment.

Hill primed for war!
Australian Caretaker Defence Minister Robert Hill has announced a multi-million dollar upgrade of the Pearce Air Force base in Western Australia. Hill says $87 million would be spent on a major upgrade of the base, which is Australia's main flying training facility.

Troop deployment not a deepening of effort: Hill
Deploying an extra 30 troops to Iraq was not a deepening of Australia's involvement because they were being sent to protect those already there, Defence Minister Robert Hill said yesterday.

Auditor Generals damning defence report
The Defence Department computer system upgrade has cost Australia tens of millions of dollars in a gigantic bungle, according to the Federal Opposition. The Commonwealth auditor-general has issued a damning report into the project.

Brisbane to protest HoWARd at charity function

Australia: Brisbane activists and concerned citizens will protest John Howard at his attendance at a charity ball this Wednesday, November 9th. The man who banned the word 'hypocrite' in parliament will be attending a gala fundraising dinner event for Rosies this week in Brisbane.

Rosies is a charity organisation that gives aid to homeless people on the streets of Australia's cities. It doesn't take a brain-surgeon to figure out that Howard's polices on social services reform are probably contributing to increased need for the services of charities like Rosies. (Part of Howards' privatisation of everything)

Howard will be joined at the dinner event by retired head of the Australian Armed Forces, Peter Cosgrove.

Brisbane people will be turning out to greet the PM on Wednesday evening at 6:30pm on the steps of the Brisbane Convention Centre (Rydges Hotel end).

If you're in Brisbane and would like to let the PM know what you think about his IR reforms, treatment of refugees, social services reforms, terror laws, destruction of the environment, pro-nuclear stance or the myriad other anti-social things Howard and his government has done: Join us! Let him always be reminded that we know his government is founded on lies: WMD lies, children overboard lies, terror lies.

Government is meant to serve the people, not the other way around.

*****Protest the PM: John Howard visits Brisbane Wednesday Nov 9 . Gather 6pm outside the Brisbane Convention Centre cnr Glenelg and Merrivale Strs.South Brisbane.

By peace now! 7 November 05

Related:

Open Letter to Kim Beazley
Dear Kim, dear polluticians, I really want to know before Christmas, why you are in the Labor Party, and not in the Liberal Party. (Me too!)

Bush, God and Transnationals
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 race that doesn't stop the nation
CANBERRA: And welcome to Canberra on the first Tuesday in November for the race that doesn't stop the nation. The Anti-Terrorism Cup. The final horses are being brought into the barriers, and we are almost ready for the start.

Constitution: Defending Against State Terror and Despots
Australia has no major laws that are not derivatives of English Law and all of our major laws rely on British court precedents for interpretation and implementation. These laws and our Constitutional Monarchy system create a situation where, even if Howard and all State Premiers vote unanimously on the Anti-Terrorist laws, and every ALP/Dem/Lib/Nat/Green party hack also votes unanimously on their laws, and even if such laws are given Royal Assent, those laws are still void.

Open Letter to Australian Senate
Every West Australian needs to take note of the proposed terror legislation that will be debated in the Senate next Tuesday. Our own Premier has sold us out, and the time has come for some serious and organised protest in WA to protect our democracy and civil liberties. Write to the Senate, to the papers, and to every political party. This is a fundamental issue that affects the future of our society.

Australia: Right to strike to go
'The right of workers to leave their jobs is a test of freedom. Hitler suppressed strikes. Stalin suppressed strikes. But each also suppressed freedom. There are some things worse than strikes, much worse than strikes - one of them is the loss of freedom.' US President Eisenhower.

Australia, the International Image and disintegration of human-rights The international image of Australia is, by now, surely under question, if not from the governments of the international community, then from the organisations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the United Nations. And not least from the citizens of the world who watch the news, seeing Australia but thinking South Africa, or Communist Russia.

Stanhope flags doubts on 'hasty' terrorism bill
ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope says he may refuse to sign off on parts of the Federal Government's hasty terrorism bill.

Unfair Industrial Laws: It's up to you!
When the WorkChoices legislation was before Parliament, GetUp members sent emails to Senators Barnaby Joyce and Steven Fielding asking them to stay strong and independent. This was followed up with a national telephone campaign.

Our human rights are poor: judge
Australia's reputation as a human rights champion [?] had been so tarnished in recent years that it could be called a wolf in sheep's clothing, the retiring High Court justice Michael McHugh said yesterday.

Question Everything: Worry, be alert and alarmed!
BELIEF in the future is perhaps the most important value for a free society. It is what makes so many interested in getting an education, or investing in a project, or being nice to their neighbours. If we think nothing can improve or that the world is coming to an end, we don't work hard for a better and more civilised future. And we will all be miserable.

It's not the terrorists' it's us
While we watch the latest round of appalling violence and mayhem spilling across our screens it is worth considering its cause.

Spots and Stripes
It is well known that John Howard, infamous lackey and liar, is devoid of anything that could be remotely regarded as masculine or manly; the draconian measures he has implemented to 'secure' Australia against the terrorist bogeyman are astounding.

ABC: Inside the Insiders
These shows demonstrate how even our best mainstream news/current affair shows are effectively another corrupt decoy for career politicians (and the rich they serve) to legislate their way to further wealth... via media cronyism.

Australia: Cop Watch - drugs in the force
Taking the illegal drugs leads to the officers associating with drug suppliers, stealing drugs, stealing money and supplying friends, and providing confidential information to the drug suppliers.

Exporting the death penalty - Bali 9
Did the AFP believe the Bali 9 would get an 'on the spot' fine or something? ...and had observers present during one of the drug raids by Indonesian police claim they have - "ended co-operation with Indonesian police investigating the Bali Nine because they could face the firing squad if convicted."

Nuclear Power PR campaign debunked by report
Anti-nuclear activists replied to advocates of nuclear power with a comprehensive damning report 'Nuclear Power - No Solution to Climate Change'. Fifty people attended the launch held at Northcote Town Hall organised by Friends of the Earth. Speakers included report author, Dr Jim Green, physicist Dr Alan Roberts, and President of the Medical Association for the Prevention of War, Dr Tilmin Ruff.

News on David Hicks:
Hicks is being used as a 'pawn' for prime Meanster john hoWARD's war crimes against humanity. HoWARd has also been linked to his co-offenders, tony bliar, and george w bushit's, US Military Industrial regime.

Victorian cops the most corrupt in Australia
A weekly round up of news on the cops. Former Australian Crime Commission Chair says Victorian cops are the most corrupt in Australia -- so they are given extra powers -- and so Melburnians can be patrolled by the army -- and have business deals with McDonalds. Top cops in NSW cleared after investigation -- but another one charged with child slavery. Western Australian police officer leaves the force under secrecy -- and Canberra hospital nurse tells the Federal Police to bugger off.

What is Happening to Australian Democracy
"Australia nominally has all the right democratic institutions--regular elections, parliamentary sovereignty, ministerial responsibility, an independent judiciary, federalism, a non-partisan and expert public service and a free press.

Hundreds attempt self-harm in detention
Nearly 900 immigration detainees have tried to harm themselves in the past three years, Immigration Department figures reveal.

The clock is ticking: Aboriginal Leaders
Aboriginal leaders say only immediate action will remedy the appalling state of remote communities in the Northern Territory, writes.

Association for the Prevention of Torture
The Optional Protocol requires 20 ratifications to enter into force. All States Parties to the UN Convention against Torture should seriously consider ratifying the OPCAT as soon as possible. National Institutions and others promoting the human rights of people deprived of their liberty need to be informed of their potential role as national preventive mechanisms under the OPCAT.

Pressure remains on Australia as Kyoto takes effect
Australia and the United States have both refused to ratify the deal, arguing it is not in their best interest. They will be denied access to a new international trading market where developing countries will get credits for cutting back emissions.

'CORBY VIDEO HELP REBUFFED'?

On page19 of the BRISBANE "SUNDAY MAIL" there was an article entitled "CORBY VIDEO HELP REBUFFED". IF it is true, (the article which follows) it PROVES (IN LAW) the claim that OUR GOVERNMENT HAVE WITH-HELD EVIDENCE FROM THE LEGAL DEFENCE OF A CITIZEN.

I believe this is the CRIMINAL charge of; "ATTEMPTING TO PERVERT THE COURSE OF JUSTICE." With the full support of the Corby family I have been sending written (and e-mail) requests to the "International Criminal Court"(In the HAGUE), e-mail "as a concerned, fellow citizen" TO INVESTIGATE MR.A.Downer (specially, in person), and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs for "With-holding evidence, and/ or attempting to pervert the course of justice".

Please bear in mind that FROM THE VERY FIRST DAY; Qantas and the Department of Foreign affairs have always stated (verbatim); that there " was no c.c.t.v footage, as that system wasn't switched on".

The article in yesterday's paper stated; (quoted, verbatim) that; FORENSIC computer experts have retrieved closed-circuit TV footage from Brisbane air-port that could help Schapelle Corby's case.

The security-camera images are from the check-in hall, where in October, Corby, 28,took the flight to Bali that led to her drug conviction. The article goes on to say that; Qantas said that it offered her legal team a chance to see the images in December but had no reply.

SCHAPELLE'S LAWYERS HAD REQUESTED (six HOURS) AFTER SHE WAS ORIGINALLY" detained, that "ALL SECURITY AND ALL CLOSED CIRCUIT T.V footage from ALL baggage CHECK-IN, and ALL" general surveillance" areas be; stored, and/or presented for her defence. SIX HOURS IN.NEARLY A YEAR LATER THE GOVERNMENT AND QANTAS STILL HAVE NOT "PRESENTED" this KEY"EVIDENCE" TO HER DEFENCE, and for NEARLY A YEAR HAVE GONE"ON RECORD"DENYING that the footage even EXISTS.

All OF THIS MUST BE HIGHLIGHTED, and presented in her defence NOW, as a year in HELL, under threat of DEATH for the most part, after saving up "for years" for a holiday's JUST AN OUTRAGE.

OUR GOVERNMENT and QANTAS are the only CRIMINALS HERE but SCHAPELLE is the only (person) FACING LIFE IN JAIL unless WE ;(YOU, and I) DO SOMETHING. Can you please confirm the INTERNATIONALL CRIMINAL COURT'S (The International Court of Human Right's) address, and/or write/e-mail them on behalf of Schapelle CORBY; What would be the worst part of this if you were in her shoes; not being able to go for a swim, then a shower when it's STINKING HOT IN A TINY, CROWDED CELL.

Or would it be the BODY CAVITY SEARCHES, being performed by a "Leering, smiling, laughing "probably homosexual prison guard.

Signed, sincerely, Guy Pilgrim. Phone; 0407 745 089

By Guy Pilgrim posted 16 August 05

Related:

It was me! 'New Corby trial'
SCHAPELLE Corby has been handed a second chance to fight for her freedom. But she got no second chances with the Daily Telegraph.

AUSTRALIANS PAY BRIBE TO VISIT CORBY IN BALI PRISON:
The Corby drug trial has become Bali's latest tourist attraction. Australians are taking time off to lend moral support to Schapelle Corby.

Corby lawyer pleads for Australian help
The lawyer for a Queensland woman facing drugs charges in Indonesia says it is not too late for Australian authorities to assist her defence.

THE DRUG-RIDDEN STREETS OF BALI:
Chris Allen, took to the streets of Bali and found it possible to buy a smorgasbord of illegal narcotics from dealers.

PLANNING TO TRAVEL OVERSEAS? BEFORE YOU GO, READ THIS!
Currently, 214 Australian citizens are languishing in prisons around the world. The majority of these having been convicted of drug-related crimes.

Australian Peace Activist Arrested in England - Aldermaston Break In!

UK: England: Brisbane peace activist Treena Lenthall, was arrested Friday August 5th. following a break in at the Aldermaston nuclear weapons factory (England). Lenthall previously served 4 months in Darwn jail for the Jabiluka Ploughshares action.

International peace gardeners arrested planting vines and fig trees inside Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston, UK; first court appearance on Hiroshima Day, Saturday 6th August.

In the early hours of Friday 5th August, nine peace gardeners from Europe and Australia planted vines and fig trees inside and outside the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston, UK, transforming it into a garden of peace and justice.

Calling themselves the Aldermaston Vine & Fig Tree Planters, the group arrived at dawn, cut a garden gate in the perimeter fence and entered carrying spades, trowels, watering cans, five vines and five fig trees, which they proceeded to plant.

Arriving police were offered a choice of grapes, fig rolls, grape juice or wine. Some of the police chose the grapes and then arrested all nine on suspicion of criminal damage to the perimeter fence.

After a day's questioning in nearby police cells, all nine were charged that "without lawful excuse, [they] damaged a section of the outer perimeter fence... to the value of £500 belonging to The Ministry of Defence". One gardener was released, whilst the other eight, who all gave their address as "Aldermaston," were remanded in custody overnight. The eight will appear at Reading Magistrates Court at 9.30am on Saturday 6th August-- Hiroshima Day-- for a bail hearing.

The previous day, Thursday 4th August, ten gardeners had planted a vine and a fig tree outside the main gate of AWE Aldermaston and informed the authorities of their intention to return and continue the peaceful conversion of the base. The nine arrestees are: Sr Susan Clarkson (England), Per Herngren (Sweden), Mike Hutchinson (England), Barbara Smedema (Netherlands), Treena Lenthall (Australia), Martin Smedjeback (Sweden), Les Gibbon (England), Lizzie Jones (England), Stephen Hancock (England). The two non-arrested peace planters are Orla Cunningham (Ireland) and Thomas Helgeson (Sweden). In a joint statement given to police on both the 4th and 5th of August, the eleven say:

"On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the bombings of the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we come to the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston, UK, to plant vines and fig trees."

"They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Instead, everyone shall sit underneath their vine and fig tree and none shall make them afraid.' (Micah 4:3) "

Disarmament, economic conversion and nonviolence are vital ingredients for creating a just world in which everyone enjoys the earth's abundance.

In these fearful, suspicious times, we invite people all around the world to transform military bases into gardens of peace in which beauty and life shall flourish."

Supporters will gather outside Reading Magistrates Court at 9.30am,
Saturday 6th August. Messages of support are welcome, and the eleven extend their love, support and action to all those remembering the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Contact: Stephen Hancock on 07766 904547 (or 07717 324 057)
Email: vineandfigtree@hotmail.co.uk Photographs available:

Figs and Vines

"and everyone shall live underneath their vine and fig tree and none shall make them afraid..." Micah 4:3 Vine & Fig Tree Planters:

The following is the first in a three-part series marking 60 years since the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Part two will be published on August 8, part three on August 9.

In the early morning hours of August 6, 1945, an American B-29 warplane, named the Enola Gay, rolled down the runway of an American airbase on the Pacific island of Tinian. It flew for almost six hours, encountering no resistance from the ground.

At 8:15 a.m. local time, the plane dropped its payload over the clear skies of Hiroshima, a Japanese city with an estimated population of 255,000. The atomic bomb that the plane was carrying, "Little Boy," detonated some 600 meters above the city center, killing 80,000 people--30 percent of the population--immediately or within hours of the explosion.

Three days layer, on August 9, a similar plane carrying a more powerful weapon left Tinian but had more difficulty reaching its intended destination. After encountering fire from the ground, and finding its target city Kokura covered in clouds, it flew on to its second target, Nagasaki, a heavily industrialized city of about 270,000. Due to the specific topological features of Nagasaki, and to the fact that the bomb missed the city center, the effects were slightly less devastating. An estimated 40,000 people were killed outright.

Vine & Fig Tree Planters

Over the next several months, tens of thousands more died from their injuries, including radiation sickness caused by the nuclear devices. While exact figures involving such magnitudes are inherently difficult to come by, estimates of the total number of men, women and children killed within four months of the two blasts range from 200,000 to 350,000. Never before had such devastation been wrought so quickly.

The bombs, combined with a Soviet invasion of Japanese-controlled Manchuria on August 8, led quickly to the end of the war in the Pacific. On September 2, the government of Japan signed a treaty with the allied powers that essentially ceded complete control of the country to the American military.

Japan's surrender, coming four months after the surrender of Germany, brought the Second World War to an end. At the same time, it marked a new stage in the increasingly antagonistic relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union, which had been military allies in the war. Within four years, the Soviet Union acquired its own nuclear weapon, initiating a nuclear arms race that continued for four decades.

The official rationale given by the US government for its use of nuclear weapons in the war has always been that it was necessary to save American lives by avoiding the necessity of an invasion of Japan. After the war, government officials, facing criticism for their decision to use the bomb, suggested that between 500,000 and 1 million Americans, and several million Japanese, were saved by dropping the bombs that completely destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

This rationale has always been highly suspect, and in subsequent years much evidence emerged demonstrating that not only were the estimated casualty figures from an invasion highly exaggerated, but that the war could have been quickly ended even without an invasion.

While the reasons for the use of the bombs are complex, they center around two interrelated geopolitical aims of the American ruling elite at the end of the war: (1) the desire to limit the influence of the Soviet Union in East Asia by bringing the war to an end before the Soviet forces advanced far into China toward Japan, and (2) the wish to have a physical demonstration of the unrivaled power of the American military, and its willingness to use this power to advance its interests.

The motives behind the decision to use the atom bomb will be examined in detail in the second part of this series. The contemporary significance of this most terrible anniversary--including the recent explosion of American militarism and the push to develop new types of nuclear weapon--will be the subject of the third article.

By Ploughshares posted 7 August 05

Related:

Hiroshima and Nagasaki:
August 6 and August 9 will mark the 60th anniversaries of the US atomic-bomb attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A tiny group of US rulers met secretly in Washington and ordered and had carried out the two worst terror acts in human history.

Australia: We're Living In A War Zone
Prime Minister john hoWARd and his cronies have now placed us in a war-zone moving defence capabilities to Australia's south-east coast.


US-inflicted carnage on Iraqi people
The Dossier of Civilian Casualties 2003-2005, published this month by the organisation Iraq Body Count (IBC), is the most detailed assessment to date of how the illegal US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq have caused the death and injury of tens of thousands of civilians.

CCTV for illegal and degrading war
Prime loser john hoWARd says he is impressed with how effective closed circuit television cameras have been in identifying suspects in the London bombings.

Resistance in Iraq legitimate: Sadr
Moqtada Sadr says he will not take part in Iraq's political process while the US remains. Resistance to foreign troops in Iraq is "legitimate", Shiite leader Mr Moqtada Sadr said.

Don't Blame Bush
Maybe you think that it's all just a bad dream. In a few years there will be a new President of the United States and everything will be different then. Everything will be back to normal. The bad news is, you are awake. The really bad news is, it isn't Bush.

Suicide bombers may target PM: UK
AUSTRALIA: UK bombers are warning fascist war criminals like john HoWARd that they could become victims to suicide bombers if they continue to pre-emptively kill, maim and torture innocent indigenous people in sovereign nation states like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Galloway breaks consensus over London bombings
He said: "The purpose of terrorism is not only to kill and maim the innocent. It is to put despair and anger and hatred in people's hearts. [Also as a call to arms for the British people to try to legitimise the occupation's of Iraq and Afghanistan and to continue with their resource wars in the Middle East.]

London terror bombings: a political crime!
Once again, the world is witnessing horrific scenes of death, injury and suffering sustained by people who bear no responsibility for the crimes committed by their governments.

Galloway: Cry for social change
Then there came a time when the colonies said, "We want to become independent and free." Now we are returning to the colonies we were driven out of. The most significant of these is Iraq.

UK false flag: where the bombers struck
The London transport system was coping with the peak of the morning rush hour when the coordinated terror attack the capital had feared became reality.

Zarqawi: Everywhere and nowhere
AMMAN, Jordan - A remarkable proportion of the violence taking place in Iraq is regularly credited to the Jordanian Ahmad al-Khalayleh, better known as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and his al-Qaeda-linked organization in Iraq.

US confirms civilian deaths in Afghan air strike!
American-led forces have mistakenly killed scores of Afghan civilians since engineering the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001, including 48 who died when a wedding party came under attack three years ago.

Labor, 'Showroom Dummies'
Labor does not oppose illegal and degrading wars? Nor do they stand up for renditioned and tortured citizens, welfare rights, people held in detention for years on end? Or anything else that matters to the marginalised voters who have to rely on the minor parties time and time again for some support.

Australia: Lib/Lab Cult Squad
AUSTRALIA: WHEN pastor peter costello delivered a speech in July last year from the pulpit of the hillsong church, an 18,000-strong cult, based in Sydney's northwestern suburbs, most people wrote them off, all accept those neo-liberals who were seeking the gargoyle vote.

Back to kill the innocent
THE fascist Federal government will send Australian militants and guerrillas to war on Afghanistan, two years after they were last deployed there in the mountains full of indigenous people.

Crush, Kill, Destroy, Labor Wants War on Afghanistan
Labor's Pre-emptive war spokesman, robert mcClelland, says Australia needs to redeploy troops to Afghanistan after an attack today against a US helicopter left 17 missing.

Howard off to US, UK - part 5
PART-5- PRIME minister john hoWARd will meet US president george w buSHIT, British prime minister tony blair and queen 'imperialism' herself during a 10-day visit to the United States and the UK next month.

Searching for resistance in Afghanistan
Tribal leaders listen in a meeting in Miana Shien, Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, on Saturday in an attempt to end the fighting that has killed more than 175 freedom fighters since Tuesday.

Battlelines drawn on Security Council
THE US has outlined its first detailed position on UN Security Council reform, proposing a limited expansion of the permanent membership by two nations - one of them Japan - and foreshadowing a major statement next week on specific criteria to be met by candidate countries.

Bush's demon-aid tactic strikes again
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is the George W Bushit's mastermind demon to help bolster support to continue to wage the US-led Illegal and degrading war on Iraq. Another report that senior aide to Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (a George Bushit demon) used time and time again, as an excuse to wage war in Iraq has allegedly been captured.

Zarqawi tape 'magic': ABRACADABRA
An [alleged] audio recording in which Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, alleged Al Qaeda's leader [scapegoat and patsy in the resource wars who must have bled to death in Iraq by now], 'already', denies reports that he has been seriously wounded, and that's magic, says Mr Houdini, a magician.

Lying and bullshitting the same thing
Australia: The Un-Australian Newspaper: "AS well as all the bullshit in politics, there's even more in our metaphoric and colloquial language. Bullshit is the subject of serious philosophical inquiry in a little book called On Bullshit, published by the 'highly respected' Princeton University Press. To the surprise and delight of the author, it's stampeding out of bookshops all over the world."

Is this our most dangerous Newspaper?
The Daily Terrorist should be managed with manacles and flown into Siberia via a jumbo jet tomorrow amid fears government fascists may attempt to use them again on someone else.

IRAQ: Washington gives up on Iraqi security forces?
According to a United Press International report published the next day, General John Abizaid, who directs all US military forces in the Middle East, described the progress in developing Iraqi forces to fight the anti-occupation resistance as "disappointing".

UN Dialogue among Civilizations
This roundtable is a contribution to the UN Dialogue among Civilizations project that began in September 2000. At the first round table debate on Dialogue among Civilizations, Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN stated that, cultural diversity - in his opinion - is not only the basis for the Dialogue among Civilizations, but also the reality that makes dialogue necessary, since the perception of diversity as a threat is the very seed of war. [The role of religion in creating a culture of peace and moving on from a culture of fear.]

Zarqawi' figment of the US imagination, used time, and time again! US propaganda 'terror monster' the alleged Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq has been used by the US and its Coalition of the Killing as an excuse so many times he has bled to death, surely?

BUSH ON TRIAL
Tuesday May 17, 2005, Brussels - Today, representatives of the World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) delivered a law summon and invitation letter addressed to President Bush at the US Embassy in Brussels.

Iraqi police vent anger at US after car bombings
Iraqi police hurled insults at US soldiers after two suicide car bomb blasts in Baghdad killed at least seven people and left 19 wounded, including policemen. "It's all because you're here," a policeman shouted in Arabic at a group of US soldiers after the latest in a bloody wave of attacks that have rocked Baghdad this month. "Get out of our country and there will be no more explosions," he told the uncomprehending Americans staring at the smouldering wreck of a car bomb.

UK report shows Iraq war illegal: former defence chief
Ruling Class Lord Goldsmith said a final UN resolution may be needed, that hard evidence of Iraqi non-compliance may have been required, and the UK could face sanction by international courts.

300,000 Iraqis protest occupation and genocide
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Chanting "Death to America" and burning effigies of President Bush and Saddam Hussein, tens of thousands of Iraqis flooded central Baghdad on Saturday in what police called the largest anti-American protest since the fall of Baghdad, the capital, exactly two years ago.

Annan calls for human rights agency revamp!
The commission has been harshly criticised recently by human rights groups claiming it has become less of a body for upholding human rights, and more of a haven for violators.

Attacks kill 21 two years after Iraq invasion
IRAQ: At least 21 people were killed on Sunday in attacks mainly targeting US/Iraqi security forces on the two-year anniversary of the US-led illegal and degrading war on of Iraq.

Wolfowitz's World Bank nomination worries Oxfam
The head of Oxfam in Australia has raised concerns about the nomination of US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz as the next head of the World Bank.

USA - FEELING THE HEAT FROM INTERNATIONAL FIRE:
It seems the United States of America (The World Watchdog) is dictating and practising double-standards --- a unique law for America and another set of laws for all other countries.

CALL TO ACTION of the ANTI-WAR ASSEMBLY
Two years after the invasion of Iraq, there is more opposition to the war in the US, in the coalition countries, and all over the world than ever before.

Returning veterans of Iraq/Afghanistan
In the last two years, nearly one million U.S. service-members have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Regardless of how you may feel about the war, most of us agree that those service-members deserve the best possible care and treatment our country can provide.

The Veil of Freedom
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two years after the invasion of Iraq and just weeks before the country's first free election, [occupation, US puppet gov't] "Amina" began wearing a headscarf for the first time in her life. Her father insisted upon it.

Iraqi women eye Islamic law
BAGHDAD - Covered in layers of flowing black fabric that extend to the tips of her gloved hands, Jenan al-Ubaedy knows her first priority as one of some 90 women who will sit in the national assembly: implementing Islamic law.

IRAQ: Shiite and Sunnis to unite against occupation?
Iraq: "I call on all religious and political powers that pushed towards the elections and took part in them to issue an official statement calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of the occupation forces from Iraq", Moqtada al Sadr, the popular young Iraqi Shiite cleric who last year led an armed rebellion against the US-led occupation, declared on February 4.

Democracy, Iraqi style
"In a darkened hall, candidates for Iraq's main Shia party sit listening to a turbaned cleric speaking into a microphone. They are being told how to campaign for the election without getting killed.

Violence continues ahead of Iraq Shoe Sale
Pre-Shoe Sale violence in Iraq is showing no signs of abating with the deaths today of two American militants following on from yesterday's killing of 22 US/Iraqi militants.

US transport company pulls out of Iraq
A large American transport company has become the first contractor to pull out of Iraq because of the continuing violence.

Rumsfeld's war, torture and occupation ideology!
War criminal Donald Rumsfeld faced critical questioning at a Washington media conference, after the announcement that it was a suicide bomber who caused the blast inside a US military base in Mosul yesterday, killing 22 people including 14 illegal militants.

Annan admits to a tough year
United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan admits he has had his worst year at the United Nations and he is looking forward to it being over.

Iraq sale to be contested by 100 buyers
A hundred buyers, blocs and independents will contest Iraq's first shoe sale, in decades, on January 30, the George Dubya Bushit - Iraqi Sales Commission (GDB/ISC) said.

Fallujah refugees in desperate need of aid: UN
More than 200,000 people who fled Fallujah ahead of the US attack have yet to return and many are in desperate need of aid, with temperatures in Iraq heading towards freezing, a new UN emergency report says.

UN panel proposes criteria for legitimate military action
With countries still bitterly divided over the war in Iraq, a high-level panel appointed by the United Nations has recommended a five-step guideline to determine when to use military action.

Indonesians rally against Fallujah assault
About 8,000 Indonesian Muslims have staged a peaceful rally against a major US-led assault on Iraq's rebel city of Fallujah, which has claimed 2,000 lives.

UK politicians launch Blair impeachment bid
Parliamentarians and celebrity campaigners have launched a bid to impeach UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for "gross misconduct" over his justification for the Iraq war.

'This One's Faking He's Dead' 'He's Dead Now'
Fallujah: Video shows US soldier killing wounded insurgent in cold blood
by Andrew Buncombe in Washington.

US: Very superstitious? Writing's on the wall!
The US military says it has discovered close to 20 torture sites in the course of its massive attack against the resistance in the Iraqi city of Fallujah?

World Vision Aust pulls out of Iraq
The organisation says the country has simply become too dangerous and its decision to leave was made before the apparent murder of Care Australia's Iraq director Margaret Hassan.

US Senator slams !!! 'dysfunctional, rogue' CIA
Influential US Republican Senator John McCain blasted the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a "dysfunctional" and "rogue" organisation that needs to be reformed.

Civilian death toll to rise in Fallujah
The attack on the Iraqi city of Fallujah has taken its toll on Iraqi civilians no doubt including children and young babies. Iraqi's have witnessed civilian casualties. Yesterday during the assault on the main hospital nurses and patients were blindfolded after the US/Iraq militia stormed the main hospital and took control.

Illusionary demons blamed for US led Attack Iraq, Fallujah
In the name of an illusionary figure thought up by US militants suggests that Al Qaeda's? ally "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi" has called on Muslims to take up arms against their US enemy as American militia attacked the Iraqi city of Fallujah? Just a coincidence or just good timing?

Full-scale attack on Fallujah begins
Correspondents say radio traffic heard at a US militant's staging post just outside Fallujah indicates US/Iraqi militia have moved at least four blocks into Fallujah, and are still advancing.

US/Iraqi militants storm Fallujah hospital
United States troops and US/Iraqi militia have seized the main hospital in the Iraqi city of Fallujah without a fight, according to a pool reporter travelling [in-bed] with the troops. Those in hospital beds did not resist they were too sick and the doctor kept on operating regardless.

US warplanes and artillery attack Fallujah!
Journalists [in-bed] with the US military say warplanes fired at suspected resistance targets around Fallujah as night fell on Sunday, while artillery shells pounded a nearby town.

State of emergency: Allawi 'killer of saints'
The US puppet, Iyad Allawi otherwise known as "Sock" killer of saints has declared a state of emergency for 60 days to quell violent resistance gripping the country ahead of January's shoe sale.

US Empire Votes For Pre-Emptive War!!!
United States President George Dubya Bushit has been re-elected, winning four more years to press his war on liberty after a bitter campaign against Democrat John Kerry that focused on the US empire's role as - imperialists - initiating pre-emptive war - on the sovereign nation of Iraq - without the United Nations approval and in direct contravention of International law.

Saddam's family dismiss lawyer
The family of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has dismissed the head of his defence team. Other team members had accused the lawyer, Mohammad Rashdan, of acting without consulting them.

Who's counting the dead in Fallujah? CARE?
In distress: CARE says it is deeply concerned about the wellbeing of Mrs Hassan. But who's counting the dead in Fallujah?

Iraqi civilian deaths put at 100,000
Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed in violence since the US-led invasion last year, according to public health experts who estimate there were 100,000 "excess deaths" in 18 months.

Unknown News Update - 2009
More than 103 times as many people have been killed in these wars and occupations than in all terrorist attacks in the world from 1993-2004. About 241 times as many people have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq than in the ghastly attacks of September 11, 2001.

Bushite group threatens civil liberties in Iraq
Allegedly a group led by George W Bushite has forced freedom fighters to threaten to behead a Japanese hostage it said worked with Japanese forces in Iraq if Tokyo does not withdraw its forces from the country within 48 hours.

US secretly moved prisoners out of Iraq for questioning: report
The CIA has secretly transferred detainees out of Iraq for interrogation after asking the US Justice Department to write a memo justifying the practice, which violates the Geneva Conventions.

Weapons inspectors missed WMD in Iraq
An Iraqi minister has said United Nations nuclear inspectors are welcome to return in response to concerns of an "apparent systematic dismantlement" of Saddam Hussein's once-vigorous nuclear program.

US accused of breaching international law
The United States is violating international law by holding prisoners in its war on terror incommunicado and in secret hiding places, Human Rights Watch said in a report to be published on Tuesday calling for an end to such practices.

Allies 'planned' Iraq war despite denials
The United States, Australia and Britain started to plan the invasion of Iraq months before the conflict, according to a report Wednesday quoting a leaked Pentagon document.

UN warns of Iraqi malnutrition
One in four Iraqis are dependent on food rations to survive and many of them have to sell what little food they have for basic necessities like medicine and clothes, the UN World Food Program (WFP) said.

Jordan's king doubts Iraqi elections possible
Iraq is far too unsafe to hold elections as scheduled in January and extremists would do well in the poll if Baghdad tried to hold it, Jordan's King Abdullah said in an interview. Excluding troubled areas from the nationwide poll would only isolate Iraq's Sunnis and create deeper divisions in the country, he said.

Annan tells world leaders to respect law
United Nations (UN) secretary-general Kofi Annan has made an impassioned plea to bring about the rule of law across the globe today. Mr Annan told world leaders to respect international law at home and abroad.

CO-OFFENDERS DO NOT REBUFF UN ON 'ILLEGAL WAR'
The 'coalition of the killing's' complicities - the US, Britain and Australia - have insisted that their countries' military action in Iraq was legal after they have committed war crimes against humanity.

Iraq war illegal, says Annan
United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan says the United States decision to invade Iraq in March 2003 was "illegal". Australia was a key supporter of the war on Iraq and sent troops to join the United States-led invasion last year.

Bush team 'knew of abuse' at Guantanamo
Evidence of prisoner abuse and possible war crimes at Guantanamo Bay reached the highest levels of the Bush administration as early as autumn 2002, but Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, chose to do nothing about it, according to a new investigation.

Journalists ordered to leave Najaf as fighting continues
Journalists have been kicked out of Najaf as clashes flared in the Iraqi city, prompting speculation that a major United States-led assault on enemy Shiite fighters was imminent.

Enemy Mortars attack opening of Iraqi summit
US Enemies have fired mortars at a meeting where Iraqi puppet government leaders met to pick an interim national assembly, killing at least two people.

Iraqi Women in the Occupation Prisons As Material and Means of Violations It is important to say at the beginning that there are many psychological, social and cultural obstacles for Iraqi women to talk openly about what they actually went through inside the occupation prisons.

Ancient Babylon ruined by foreign troops: Iraqi minister
Iraq: Foreign forces in Iraq have caused severe damage to the site of ancient Babylon, one of the world's most renowned archaeological treasures, and need to leave the area as soon as possible, Iraq's Culture Minister Mofeed al-Jazaeri said.

Whatcha Gonna Do, When They Come For You? Bad boy!
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was a threat and sought to possess weapons of mass destruction, United States President George W Bush reaffirmed when asked why no such weapons had been discovered in Iraq.

Saddam trial US propaganda
Saddam Hussein's trial will play an important part in the US election no doubt and for that to work at its potential just put a "women" behind it "She called the trials". Then add some "cleansing" like she's just doing the dishes and then some "reconciliation" by slaying Hussein during a US election. Now you can go and tell everyone you're reversing the trauma but really you're killing two birds with one Saddam.