Comments

Sheila Newman

Mon, 2024-05-06 22:46

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/UkraineSupport47/Terms_of_Reference

Terms of Reference  

Australian support for Ukraine, with particular reference to:

(a) whether the support is timely, coordinated and comprehensive;

(b) whether support is appropriately coordinated on a whole-of-government
and whole-of-country basis;

(c) efforts to hold Russia to account, including by addressing mis- and dis-
information in Australian public debate and the region; and

(d) any related matters.

[The terms of reference (ToR) are quite brief - but it might be worth raising questions that are not directly addressed in the ToR

i.e. The ToR ask “…whether the support is timely, coordinated and comprehensive” but do not ask, for example,
whether the support provided by Australia is appropriate – i.e. should we be sending short-range air defence systems, drones for the Ukrainian military
or whether Australian involvement is actually required for a war so far away from the Asia-Pacific region
or whether Australia should be focusing more on matters in our own region
 

Given (d) any related matters, submissions could also focus, for example, on what role Australia might be able to play in working towards a sustained negotiated settlement]

admin

Fri, 2024-05-03 12:11

Editor's comment: Whilst I agree with abhorrance the murder, so far of over 34,000 Palestinians (which includes cold-blooded killing of medical staff, women and children at gun-point) candobetter must distinguish between anti-semitism on the one hand and anti-zionism on the other.

Some of the most effective and persistent opponents of Israel's genocide are, or were, themselves Jews. These include Marek Edelman (1919-2009) a leader of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Albert Einstein and Medea Benjamin (@MedeaBenjamin on Twitter).

Comments which imply that all jewish people are either willing participants in the crimes of the Netanyahu regime in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere or support those crimes, won't be published here.

The original title of this comment was "United States taxpayer killing innocent women and children in Gaza."

Anonymous (not verified)

Mon, 2024-04-29 14:38

https://twitter.com/peacemaket71

He is offended… NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg asked Russia to cancel the exhibition of destroyed equipment of the alliance. He used his Telegram channel to make the call, saying that this demonstration was offensive to the NATO bloc. Everyone knows that the North Atlantic Alliance is not a party to the conflict. The demonstration of technology in Moscow creates the impression not only of NATO's participation, but also of the alliance's defeat in this conflict. Russia should not show off equipment as if it has already won," Stoltenberg wrote.

In an interview with Tagesschau, the NATO Secretary General added: "The possibility of a Russian victory represents a much greater risk for NATO than the risk of being drawn into the conflict."

Trophies In the combat zone, American Abrams tanks are still waiting to be sent to the Russian capital. Six of them hit, one will be an exhibit. Then there is the Leopard that was imported last week and the French AMX-10RCR tank. Right next to it will be a Polish self-propelled gun "Krab" and a Ukrainian home-made tank. One is still missing Of all the equipment Kyiv received from NATO, only the British Challenger tank will not be on display. These tanks have not yet arrived in the area of frontline operations, they are standing on the outskirts of Kiev and preparing for defense. The Kingdom of Brist will be represented on Poklonna Hora by captured Husky and Mastiff armored personnel carriers. The Australian Bushmaster, the Austrian Pinzgauer 712M, the American M-113k armored personnel carrier and the Swedish CV90−40 infantry fighting vehicle will be added to the range of armored personnel carriers.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMQpdJfWgAAktan?format=jpg&name=small

admin

Sun, 2024-04-28 23:21

Tony, you should look at the Rumble page or the YouTube page of George Galloway (at https://www.youtube.com/@GeorgeGallowayOfficial/videos - try to copy and paste this link rather than clicking on it). On 29 February he defeated both the Conservative Party and the Labor Party to become the new member for the seat of Rochdale in the UK. That victory has inspired a groundswell of support for George Galloway's Workers Party across the UK. An an ever-growing number of self-funded Workers Party candidates will contest the next General election in the UK. It seems to me that they could form the next government there.

I expect that an equivalent Workers Party in Australia, just to start with, would attract a much greater degree of support than any of the minor parties now enjoy (with the possible exception of the Greens). I expect that many members of the Greens and other minor parties would want their parties to amalgamate with such a Workers Party or, if those parties did not, resign from their part to join that Workers Party.

patricia walsh (not verified)

Sat, 2024-04-27 17:38

This is a time when truth is needed and our Australian hero has become a world wide symbol for speaking truth to power... Anthony Albanese needs to have the courage of his people and demand Julian's release or he will never gain the respect of the Australian people or anyone else, as the world is watching to see if our government has any integrity or is just following it's US masters ...

Anthony Albanese has been gifted with the chance to save Julian's life ...does he have the courage? We pray that he does!

Thank your for your comment, Patricia. I didn't understand why you gave your comment the title from 'grandmother', so I changed it. Please let me know if you would like the title changed back - Ed.

James Sinnamon

Sat, 2024-04-27 02:12

Thank you, Sheila, firstly for having posted that letter to Julian Hill and, secondly, for including that letter in this insightful article about the threat by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other Parliamentary representatives to ban Twitter/X in Australia. Such a ban would remove from Auatralia what is probably the best platform for the free discussion of ideas on the Web. However, I don't think the discussion between Julian Hill and Liberal MP Keith Wolahan was a true debate as you implied right above the embedded video.

Whilst in that 6 minute embedded video, the Liberal Party MP Keith Wolahan made some good points, I don't think he argued anywhere nears as forcefully as should be expected in response to the Albanese government's threats to prosecute Elon Musk for not agreeing to ban that Video of the stabbing attack from Twitter world-wide. At the end, when Hill conflated the unjustified attempt to ban that Video from Twitter/X with justified bans on videos which advocate terrorism and pedophilia, Keith Wolahan did not object. So, this supposed debate concluded with Julian Hill and Liberal MP Keith Wolahan agreeing that Twitter and other social media platforms should ban such material.

Please keep us posted about any response or lack thereof from Julian Hill.

James Sinnamon

Wed, 2024-04-17 08:49

This morning (+10), neither Iran nor the rest of the Axis of Resistance appear to have been intimidated by Israel's bullying threat to try to start a global war, should Iran, respond, as iran has warned it would respond, to the planned attack by the baby-killers in Tel Aviv. Notwithstanding the fears expressed by George Galloway above and by Scott Ritter at US Marine Scott Ritter: "As an American I'm am SCARED over what's about to happen" on YouTube, this seems to be the least worst course to be followed by Iran.

Anonymous (not verified)

Tue, 2024-03-19 09:57

Intellectual Property Large tech companies are using large data sets to train neural networks without regard for the legality of their use of the data. Many authors have found out by accident that their copyrighted works have been used without permission for this purpose. We therefore ask the House to enact laws to prohibit the development or use of neural networks which were trained on copyrighted works without the copyright-holder's permission. Also to prohibit the development or use of neural networks trained on images or videos of people who have not provided explicit and uncoerced authorisation for their likeness to be used in this manner. from 48 citizens (Petition No. EN5707) This Petition appeared in Australian Hansard dated 18 March 2024

Anonymous (not verified)

Tue, 2024-03-19 09:54

This petition was recorded in Australian Hansard 18 March 2024.

Personal Information and Privacy
It's been proven that Google and other streaming services use microphone app on devices to listen to what people say .this
needs to stop.
We therefore ask the House to investigate why apps like google and others are breaking Australia law by illegally listening
to your conversation while using device
from 18 citizens (Petition No. EN5706)

Anonymous (not verified)

Tue, 2024-03-19 09:34

The petition below appeared in the Australian Parliament Hansard dated 18 March 2024.

Free-to-Air Broadcasting
The Prominence Framework for Connected Television Devices is a transparent attempt to ensure that the government's
propaganda outlets, the ABC and SBS, will receive speical priority on smart TV devices. The people of Australia have been
propagandised enough over the last four years, during the so-called pandemic and Voice referendum campaign. We don't want
any more. Perhaps the reason "local content" is struggling to find an audience is because people are tired of it; it's not providing
what they want. The very notion is Orwellian in its intrusiveness. I don't want the government having a node in my home.
We therefore ask the House to reject any prominence framework legislation put before it.
from 15 citizens (Petition No. EN5646)

Sheila Newman

Wed, 2024-03-13 07:37

PEACE!  No AUKUS!   No War! Nationwide activities Naarm/Melbourne Rally 1 pm Saturday 16 March, State Library Get involved!  Mobilise against AUKUS and War! Australia’s integration into US foreign and military policies not only risks a catastrophic war with China, but has also made Australia an accomplice in the Genocide in Gaza.   Demand Australia immediately resumes humanitarian aid to UNRAW and stops military exports to Israel. Join us in building a people's movement for peace, to cancel nuclear submarines and get out of the AUKUS war pact. Speakers: Keiran Stewart-Assheton – BPU Nasser Mashni  - Australia Palestine Advocacy Network Margaret Reynolds – former ALP Senator, member Labor Against War David Ball  -  MUA, Assistant State Branch Secretary Jackie Kriz – Mental Health Nurse and ANMF Delegate Steph Hodgins-May  -  Greens Senator elect  Come with friends, family, workmates and your neighbours.  Promote this rally widely.

Kerry Brown (not verified)

Sat, 2024-03-02 06:42

That young person may have realised the importance of knowing a little history before asking a question from a veteran activist like George Galloway.

James Sinnamon

Mon, 2024-02-19 00:42

The following was posted to the Canberra Conversations Facebook Group

The article, linked to below, has been adapted from a double-sided A5 leaflet,[1] which I handed out during the Melbourne protest for Palestine (now yesterday) on Sunday 18 February. The protest started at 12:00pm outside the State Library. After about 1 hour of speeches, the protest proceeded through the streets of the Melbourne CBD ending up outside Flinders Street Station. I believe I managed to hand out around 150 leaflets to protest participants and another 300 to other members of the public, who were, themselves, not participating in the protest, but were in close proximity to the march. The latter was the main intended target as the protestors would have already been aware of much that was in the leaflet.

Please feel most welcome to produce leaflets from this PDF file https://candobetter.net/files/endAustraliasSupportForGenocide_18feb24.pdf which is attached to the article below or any other PDF files that you may find on my web-site at https://candbetter.net if you think you may be able to put them to good use.

Footnote[s]

[1] I have formed the habit of using Officeworks to print leaflets. If you look at the PDF File, you will notice that it consists of two identical landscape A4 pages. On each A4 landscape page are two A5 portrait A5 pages, the first being the front of a double-sided A5 leaflet and the second being the back of the same leaflet. It costs 10c per side. So each double-sided A4 sheet costs 20c to print. After the A4 sheets are guillotined into A5 sheets (for a charge of $1 for up to 200 A4 sheets, I think or $2 for more), each double-sided A5 leaflet costs marginally more than 10c. Whilst it is a challenge to put sufficient information on an A5 sheet, I find that A5 leaflets are easier to hand out than A4 leaflets.

James Sinnamon

Tue, 2024-02-13 00:42

Yesterday, on Monday 11 February, at around 3:30PM, I spoke to members of staff at all four Parliamentarians who will be speaking to both tomorrow's 10:30am Press Conference for Julian Assange and at the protest on the lawns of Parliament House. All acknowledged that they had received my email. Each said that he/she would draw the attention of the Parliamentarian he/she respectively works for to that email.

Hopefully my email will have been read, or will be read by Josh Wilson, Bridget Archer, Andrew Wilkie and David Shoebridge and that they will all understand my point that, no matter how well tomorrow's press conference and rally goes, unless they attempt to put to Parliament the motion which calls upon the Government to act effectively to end the illegal imprisonment of Julian Assange, it will be much harder for them to hold this Government to account for its likely continuing failure to do so.

Even were the necessary procedural motion to suspend Standing Orders to be lost, if this time, Assange supporters were to call for a division, then it will be possible for us to know the name of each MP who used his/her vote to prevent debate. It will then be possible to hold each of them to account for having prevented the voices, of those Australians who want the government to act effectively in support of Julian Assange, from having been heard in our Parliament.

Should the motion be put, then it is highly unlikely that those opposed could win the debate, even should a majority subsequently vote against the motion.

All the pertinent facts about the monstrous treatment of Julian Assange by the Swedish, UK and US governments since June 2012 and how Assange could be freed today were the Government to choose to act would finally be put on record on Hansard. Also, on record, there would be whatever 'justification' for its inaction the Australian Government would try to put to Parliament. With the knowledge gained from this, I think very few members of the Australian public would judge the conduct of their government towards Julian Assange as conscionable.

NormandheR (not verified)

Mon, 2024-02-12 23:44

[CDB Editor: Whilst we welcome political comments calling attention to the utter injustice, the lies and horror currently being inflicted on Gaza, Candobetter has had to edit this comment brutally for a number of reasons.  The comment does not distinguish between Zionists and Jews in general.  Since there are many Jews who have dissociated themselves from Zionist massacres of Palestinians, to lump them together could be inferred as racist, which is illegal in Australia. The comment makes claims about Jacob Rothschild which, whilst probably partly true, are not verified.  But Rothschild died on 26 February 2024 and, since he is dead, he cannot be defamed. This comment must have been posted shortly before he died.  He has children who survive him, however, who could be defamed by inaccurate information. For instance, the comment alleges that the Rothschild family backed both sides of every war since Napoleon. There had to be some they missed out on, even if that were basically true - but the comment lacks documentation.]

How many Palestinians have been killed by Israel? More than 15,900 Palestinians killed in Gaza since Oct. 7 -Palestinian health minister. [Candobetter Ed. Now over 30,000.] Ramallah, West Bank, Dec 5 (Reuters) - More than 15,900 Palestinians, including 250 health workers, have been killed in Gaza since the outbreak of war on Oct. 7, see why Israel can kill innocent children with American taxpayer money 1- Because the God of Money of our World is a Jew who lives in Israel. [Links to picture of Jacob Rothschild, estimating his fortune at 500 trillion dollars, but we cannot verify this. Also asserting that the Rothschild family financed both sides of every war since Napoleon. Does not document this assertion, which seems unlikely to apply to every war in the world.] For more details, click on the following link. https://mega.nz/file/FqhzGKbB#bsX4PD-O59HEA0-rynD29xkk47dmddycY5CjZfoDLYg 2- Because https://www.tiktok.com/@thefearlessqueenmel/video/7307640994579680542?lang=en&q=why%20dont%20Americans%20knowl%20what%20you%20have%20seen%20&t=1701880206555.

See how innocent children are killed by the most powerful Israeli using American bombs at Al Jazeera Arabic Live at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNyUyrR0PHo

If you do not do something such as going on the street and telling your government which is [strongly supportive of Zionism] to stop killing the Gaza people and stop the Israeli War and send food to the starving people of Gaza.

If you can not do it then forward this message [to people who will],  so that the world will know [about] the new mass murderers of the world. It is ironic that [some] Holocaust [survivors] are creating a new Holocaust against the Philistines in Gaza. [Philistine is similar to an ancient name for some of the inhabitants of the area known as Palestine and the Old Testament described Goliath in David and Goliath as a Philistine]

If you do not do this also then you do not have a HEART.

[CDB Editor: As most readers would realise, Candobetter has often published articles supportive of Palestine and condemning what is happening in Gaza. James Sinnamon has frequently published leaflets on this site to be handed out at pro-Palestinian rallies.]

Olaf (not verified)

Mon, 2024-02-12 14:39

Podcast: http://www.radio4all.net/download/117317/129039/141159/?url=

Phil Taylor comments on the US excuse that it acted in self-defence when it recently bombed 85 targets in Syria and Iraq, killing about 30 people, causing extensive property damage, and destroying a 1200-year-old archeological site. Self-defence is not a defensible argument when your troops are illegally occupying the territory of sovereign governments. The US should get out of Syria and Iraq now!

James Sinnamon

Mon, 2024-02-12 01:48

I sent the following e-mail to four Parliamentary supporters of Julian Assange early in the morning of Monday 12 February, the day on which the House of Representatives resumes sitting :

Dear Andrew Wilikie, Bridget Archer, Josh Wilson and Adam Bandt,

Firstly, can I congratulate all four of you for having organised that protest and press conference at 10:30am this coming Tuesday 13 February outside of Parliament House in support of Julian Assange? Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it up there from Melbourne on that day.

As I wrote in an article about the the planned protest on my website (which which was adapted to become a PDF file for a a leaflet of which I have already distributed 400 copies), I welcome the fact that, contrary to what even a number of supporters of Julian Assange seem to believe, your publicity for the protest makes it clear that you believe that the Albanese government could make the UK government end the illegal imprisonment and torture of Julian Assange today, if it chose to.

But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has chosen not to act to end that illegal imprisonment. By not doing so, he has failed to uphold his basic duty of care towards an Australian citizen. For this, he and his government must be held to account before the Australian public who overwhelmingly want to see Julian Assange freed.

Whilst I think the planned protest and press conference are a fantastic and positive initiative for the campaign to free Julian Assange, unless motions, which demand that the Albanese government act to free Assange, are not also soon put to the House of Representatives and/or to the Senate, it will be much harder for the Albanese government to be held to account for its failure to act.

Whilst we all understand the great difficulty that members and Senators will face were they to try to put such a motion, the alternatives pursued by members of the Parliamentary Assange Support group in recent years have had little to no impact, as far as I can tell. These alternatives are: asking Government ministers what they are doing for Assange in Question Time, presenting petitions in support of Assange and making statements.

Whilst I can see that government ministers (from my recollection, Albanese and Wong) have felt uncomfortable when faced with questions about Assange, those questions have had almost no enduring effect on the government's conduct.

As far as I can tell, petitions and even the very informative and eloquent statements made on the floors of Parliament in support of Assange have had zero impact on any Government minister.

But were a motion which, if carried, required the government to act to end Assange's imprisonment were to be put, then those in support of Assange, in speaking for that motion, would be able to put on record the overwhelming evidence that

(1) Assange has been refused due process in a court system rigged by crooked judges;

(2) There is no way that any judge with integrity or any fairly selected jury would have put Assange behind bars even for one night;

(3) Assange's imprisonment in solitary confinement serves no judicial purpose and can only be explained by malice on the part of the judges;

(4) Should Assange be extradited, he faces the same kind of extreme torture that Chelsea Manning was subjected to for many years;

(5) No-one has been prosecuted for any of the crimes revealed by Wikileaks;

(6) If Assange, who, apart from his supposed 2012 'misdemeanour' of 'skipping bail', has broken no British law, can be treated in this way, then any other Australian citizen, who may have embarrassed members of the US government or its military, could also be treated this way.

In the face of all this evidence, regardless of how many vote in support of Wilkie's motion, the government will clearly be seen by all interested Australians, in the course of any debate, to not have a leg to stand on.

The motion that Andrew Wilkie and Adam Bandt tried unsuccessfully to put on 2 December 2021 is included below in the Appendix (see in the article above). This motion, or an adaptation of it could be used today.

Whilst, the necessary motion to suspend Standing Orders, could be defeated, if, this time, unlike in December 2021, Andrew Wilkie called for a division, then we would know the names of each of those MPS who would have used their vote to prevent debate and they could be treated accordingly by their constituents at the next election, if not before.

Yours faithfully,

James Sinnamon

Anonymous (not verified)

Mon, 2024-02-05 23:04

In an article about how youth and middle classes are being priced out of housing ("Sydney should act now to prevent young people, middle class from being priced out of housing, NSW treasurer says"), the NSW Minister for Youth & Housing has grotesquely scapegoated older generations, rather than point to the role of overseas buyers via the internet, massive migration, and government subsidies to the property development industry, none of which were ever put before any Australian electorate.  How dare she!

"Minister for Youth and Housing Rose Jackson said young people weren't at fault.

"It's older generations who are too lazy and careless to show up to the platforms and the forums young people inhabit to engage them in the conversations they want to have," she said."

With ministers like this, don't you wish Australia had a real democracy? How can the ABC quote comments calculated to increase confusion, without pointing out how false and harmful they are?

In the meantime, in the name of 'more housing', whilst 77% of Australia's population growth is descretionary - i.e. comes from overseas migration - Sydney is throwing more precious green space to developers:

"It comes as the state government revealed plans today around the 114-hectare Bradfield City Centre in Western Sydney.

The proposal includes housing, commercial spaces and green space near the Nancy-Bird Walton Airport due to open in 2026.

"Bradfield City Centre could deliver 10,000 new homes in the coming years, making a significant contribution to more, and more diverse, housing supply in Western Parkland City," Minister for Planning Paul Scully said."

Read more at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-05/nsw-sydney-housing-crisis-san-francisco-treasurer/103426896

Anonymous (not verified)

Sun, 2024-02-04 19:55

I notice that Australian News tonight 'reports' on the Houthis and the Red Sea blockage as if it were completely separate from the Gaza genocide.  By presenting these events as if they were separate, people are deprived of extremely important information.

NormandheR (not verified)

Mon, 2024-01-29 08:29

What human rights are being violated in Palestine? Deprivation
of the right to self-determination, extrajudicial killings,
restrictions on freedom of movement and assembly and illegal
settlements were some of glaring manifestations of human rights
violations of the Palestinian people see why Israel can kill
innocent children with American taxpayer money 1- Because the
God of Money of our World is a Zionist who supports and lives
in Israel. For more details, click on the following link. https://mega.nz/file/FqhzGKbB#bsX4PD-O59HEA0-rynD29xkk47dmddycY5CjZfoDLYg 2-
Because https://www.tiktok.com/@thefearlessqueenmel/video/7307640994579680542?lang=en&q=why%20dont%20Americans%20knowl%20what%20you%20have%20seen%20&t=1701880206555

See how innocent children are killed by the most powerful Israeli using American bombs at Al Jazeera Arabic Live at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNyUyrR0PHo
if you do not do something then you do not have a HEART

Sheila Newman

Thu, 2024-01-18 14:36

Although I implied that Mary was a widow, I entirely failed to mention her husband, Peter Hermann Drost. He was Dutch and in the import/export business, having a lot to do with Indonesia.  As I recall, Mary mentioned having nursed him during a final illness with cancer.  I do not believe they had any children, but I got the impression that Mary was very fond of her two nieces, whom she intended to leave the house to, in the expectation that they would look after the property, and not sell it.

DeFoe Mary (not verified)

Sun, 2024-01-14 22:22

The values Mary advanced in her public  life were for a High Culture Society, and for Citizens quality of living. Her appreciation of population effects were a driving factor in her advancement for the public good. A very genuine person who gave her all. Mary was awarded the Native Australian Award "The Order Of The Wattle Blossom" in 2017 "For exemplary engagement in advancing Residential Community Authority as paramount to retaining surburban heritage and culture". Eternal bliss be with her.    

David Z (not verified)

Sat, 2024-01-13 13:23

Australia has once again entered a new war sponsored by the USA.  Even if our Yemen War is only starting with six soldiers to the Bahrain naval base, it should have been debated. Parliament should have been recalled.   Alternatively, if Israel was forced to stop the genocide of Gaza, the Houthis would stop attacking ships. A tiny detail beyond the wit of anglo politicians.  

James Sinnamon

Fri, 2024-01-12 13:56

Thank you, South Africa, for bringing to the ICC just some of the mountains evidence of Israel's thoroughly evil conduct in Gaza. However, I am concerned that a large proportion of even the most outspoken supporters of Palestine, even from South Africa, still believe the BIG LIE that Hamas fighters killed 1,200 mostly civilian Israelis, many in cold blood, on 7 October.

Most of the dead were IDF/IOF ('O'='Occpuation') footsoldiers. 253 were Israeli civilians. They were killed as consequence of the order given to IOF forces to kill all the Hamas 'terrorists' on 7 October, regardless of the consequences for the hostages.

https://thegrayzone.com/2023/10/27/israels-military-shelled-burning-tanks-helicopters/ https://candobetter.net/james-sinnamon/blog/6727/israels-own-news-services-idf-tanks-helicopters-special-forces-not-hamas From Israel's own news services: IDF tanks, helicopters, Special Forces - not Hamas - killed 260 civilians at the Supernova Music festival (30/10/23)

It's clear that the Hamas fighters were exceptionally well disciplined and, in spite of what that must have endured from Israel throughout their lives, were quite humane and decent towards their Israeli captives - unlike Netanyahu, his offsiders and many Israeli footsoldiers. To describe the Hamas fighters as cold-blooded murderers is a baseless smear - whether intentional or not.

Sue (not verified)

Sun, 2024-01-07 17:38

Mary really made it happen in Melbourne. The energy it must have taken to organise the event featured and others is quite awe inspiring . It's interesting to hear the voices of people commenting after the Kelvin Thomson , Lord Mayor debate a decade ago. Those voices still exhibit a feeling that we can change this; change the endless growth and creeping dystopia. This is subjective but these voices  make me feel nostalgic even for that unsatisfactory time. Would we still think of calling for a referendum on population now since our Labor Federal government just thumbs its nose at the interests of the people and pumps up the migration intake to ridiculous heights. The accommodation crisis is such that people queue for affordable rentals and bid up the prices in Melbourne, competing against one another.   People sleep on the streets, their bedding stretching the whole width of a shop in my suburb in a squalid permanent campsite.  I think there was some hope 10 years ago, but I feel it is now evaporating. 

Olaf (not verified)

Thu, 2024-01-04 23:22

In Israel, 42 survivors of the October 7 attack by Hamas are suing the IDF, the Shin Bet security service and Israeli police over the massacre. The plaintiffs, who were attending the Nova music festival in southern Israel on October 7, accuse Israeli security forces of approving the event amid safety concerns and failing to shut down and disperse the crowd after receiving information about a security breach just hours before the killing spree. This comes as an investigation from The New York Times finds Israeli forces were poorly organized in their response and had no plans to stop such an attack, which went ahead “unimpeded” for hours. (Source: https://www.democracynow.org/2024/1/3/headlines/survivors_of_hamas_oct_7..., Jan 3, 2024.)

Mojo (not verified)

Tue, 2023-12-26 16:08

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Al Mayadeen Net URL Source: https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-warship-in-red-sea-nearly-hits-gabon-tanker-in--hysterica
  • 24 Dec 2023 21:57

The head of the Sanaa negotiating delegation Muhammad Abdul Salam revealed that an American warship "hysterically" released fire during a Yemeni Armed Forces' exploratory mission in the Red Sea. 

The head of the Sanaa negotiating delegation Muhammad Abdul Salam revealed that an American warship "hysterically" released fire during a Yemeni Armed Forces' exploratory mission in the Red Sea. 

He clarified that "While a Yemeni Naval forces reconnaissance aircraft overpassed the Red Sea in an exploratory mission, the American warship hysterically fired using multiple weapons, an act that unveiled its confusion and concern."

He also added that one of the missiles fired by the battleship exploded near a Gabon-owned tanker sailing through the Red Sea from Russian ports. 

If US attacks Yemen, its battleships will be struck

Related News

 

US attacks Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah facilities in support of 'Israel'

 

Iraqi Resistance drone strikes US occupation base

Earlier this week, the leader of the Ansar Allah movement warned the United States of America against attacking Yemen, stressing that American battleships and vessels would become a target for Yemeni missiles in the event of any attack.

In a speech, the Yemeni Resistance leader Sayyed al-Houthi said, "If the United States is considering targeting Yemen, we will not stand idly by," adding that engaging in a direct war with the US and “Israel", instead of US proxies, is what they aspire for the most. 

He stressed that “if America wants to fight Yemen’s stance in support of Palestine, then it would have to confront the entire Yemeni people,” adding that “if that is what America wants, then it will face a harsher situation than that it faced in Afghanistan and Vietnam.”

Sayyed al-Houthi warned Washington against launching any strikes because that would render it completely involved, stressing that Yemen has developed its capabilities on many levels.

Regarding the military US navigation in the Red Sea, he called it “illegal” and “a reckless and foolish aggression that only serves Israel,” stressing, however, that European countries that are complicit in the US move are risking their interests.

He stressed that the Yemeni Naval Forces’ only target in the Red Sea is Israeli ships and “Israel”-bound vessels because the Yemeni actions are never meant to undermine international navigation. Rather, the only target is to support the oppressed Palestinian people, he added.

On the US-led coalition in the Red Sea, Sayyed al-Houthi announced that its actual goal is not to protect international navigation; Rather, it only aims to implicate countries in protecting Israeli ships, in pursuit of militarizing the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and Bab al-Mandab.

ZPG (not verified)

Fri, 2023-12-08 10:01

The following are the last two paras of an article sourced from the Wall Street Journal on p9 of the paper Australian Thurs 7/12/23 - 'FLUSH THEM OUT BY FLOODING TUNNELS'. "Most Gazans don't currently have access to clean water. Among the sources for drinking water in Gaza are purification plants (ie desalination, dh) that have been recently disabled. Before October 7, three Israeli pipelines sent water into Gaza. Of those, one has shut down and the other two operate at sharply reduced levels. At its peak, the system provided 83 litres of water per person a day. Now Palestinians receive no more than three litres a day according to the United Nations."  

DeFoe Mary (not verified)

Wed, 2023-11-29 19:57

[See Candobetter Editor's comment at the end of this comment on use of the term 'White Australia.']

On this day 1854 the diggers of Ballarat made a stand for democracy and justice against an old order of patronage and privilege.

The miners "rebellion" on the Ballarat gold fields of 1854 left  Australians a powerful legacy:  The Eureka Stockade incident and its Southern Cross Flag were elements in defining who the Australians were in the then environment of imperial control of the continent.

Today, the freedoms won by past struggles - from our working conditions, to our culture, heritage and European derived identity - all the values that make for our Australian way of life - are being undermined by the UN/Globalisation Agenda, presided over by Lab/Lib/fake Greens.

Yet a rebellious spirit is on the march in declining Australia today as Australians consider their national future.  

The men of Eureka were not a riotous mob, but had formed the Ballarat Reform League  on 11th November 1854, which submitted their complaints to authority in an orderly fashion through democratically decided resolutions, appeals and formal deputations. 

The miners’ grievances related to restrictive licence fees, and enforcement. They were also disturbed by the presence of “coolie labour”; wanted access to land,  and sought the vote and representation in government. But in the face of an authoritarian administration serving colonial interests, they sought to attain their rights as free men.

This was the first time on our continent that men from the old nations of Europe joined together with an Australian mindset and under a uniquely Australian flag. Australia's nativist movement, from the 1850's onwards, celebrated the Eureka Stockade as an inspiration for the character and identity of Australians - European, democratic, independent, mateship, disliking of authority, determination, just returns from labour. 

The Southern Cross flag was subsequently taken up in the quest for independence and freedom from colonialism in the struggle to build "the Great Southern Nation".  In our history it has been acclaimed as "the Australian flag", "the safeguard of  Australian nationality", "the symbol of Australian liberty and unity",  "the emblem of White Australia".

In confirmation of solidarity, hundreds of the diggers swore an oath - "We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by one another and to fight to defend our rights and liberties".

The fight took place at 4 a.m. on Sunday 3rd December 1854 when the diggers’ stockade was charged by the troopers and police, being overwhelmed in a short time, the stockaders and bystanders continuing to be brutalised after surrender. The camp, as a peoples’ militia, was a failure, with some thirty diggers killed, as well as five troopers. Our Cross of the South was trampled in the dirt of Bakery Hill.

But at the price of the diggers’ blood, although the true spirit of their demands was never accepted,  the basic reforms they sought later came to be implemented, and the incident passed into our folklore tradition as "the finest thing in Australian history". 

In these new times our Southern Cross flag remains above all, a  flag to be raised high in our struggle for survival against the globalisation agenda for foreign dictates and financial control,  overpopulating by mass immigration, doctrines that compromise a future for our Australian nationality, and disaster for the ecological order of our ancient continent.

The Eureka flag reflects the spirit of Australians still - freedom, identity, democracy,  independence.

Commemorate the Anniversary.

Editor's comment

Candobetter Editor: Note that the White Australia policy, although later remarketed as something gratuitously racist, was historically an anti-slavery and cheap labour policy obtained by workers in exchange for allowing a free market to manufacturing. It was supposed to protect Australian workers' wages and conditions from being undermined by the import and use of slave labour. 

The British had managed with difficulty to gain an agricultural foothold in Australia, first by using ‘white’ slaves in the form of convicts, many of whom were convicted of crimes of political resistance or of poverty.  Their number was later supplemented by indentured labour, displaced aboriginals, and, until Federation, ‘black-birding’ – the practice of kidnapping Pacific Islanders and bringing them to work in Australia, principally for the Colonial Sugar Refinery Company.

The gold-rushes of the 1850s attracted capital, finance and economic migrants, resulting in rapid population growth and  economic and class diversification, and the formation of a working class. This class made a national wage-fixing pact with capital at Federation in 1904 and also obtained the agreement of the Colonial Sugar Company (CSR ) to outlaw black-birding and the importation of other 'non-white' labour, widely perceived as synonymous with slaving.  Australians did not want the problems that slavery had brought the United States.

“With Federation, the Commonwealth Parliament became dominated by spokesmen for ‘White Australia’. In October 1901 legislation was passed prohibiting the introduction of Pacific Islanders after 31 March 1904.” ( McKillop, R.F., referring to Bolton, G.C., A Thousand miles away: A History of North Queensland to 1920, ANU Press, 1972, p. 239, in “Australia’s Sugar Industry” on the Light Railway Research Society of Australia site, )

The Colonial Sugar Company aroused similar responses among indigenous Fijians who also objected to black-birding as well as to the importing of Indian indentured labour. (“The Indian Connection”, Frontline, Volume 17 - Issue 12, June 10 - 23, 2000, .)

The White Australia policy was abolished by the Whitlam Government. At the time, Australia had a relatively robust system of state industrial awards and a reasonable system to deal with industrial disputes across state boundaries. This system meant there was little profit in importing labor from overseas because you had to pay most industries according to the awards and that applied to migrants too.  Under John Howard around 2009, this was radically changed with the abolishing of state awards, and it became profitable and possible to import cheap labour. Migration has since been massively ramped up. (See https://candobetter.net/admin/blog/4612/sheila-newman-kennett-population-policy-numbers-and-flow-ons-regional-migration-and)

See also https://candobetter.net/sheila-newman/blog/287/overpopulation-immigration-multiculturalism-and-white-australia-policy

James Sinnamon

Mon, 2023-11-27 09:19

See also Israeli Children Sing Of Gaza Annihilation In HUGE Public relations Fail! (26/11/23) | Jimmy Dore Show

James Sinnamon

Sat, 2023-11-25 06:51

The following was posted to Facebook about the above article, which shows a picture of a Palestinian boy, wounded by the Israeli 'Defence' Forces' (IDF), moments before his death.

 

How many here would prefer to be protected from 'sensitive content' which reveals evidence of crimes committed by Israel in its war of extermination against the people of Gaza (So far, since 7 October, 14,500 have been murdered by the IDF)? https://candobetter.net/james-sinnamon/blog/6757/facebook-protecting-visitors-sensitive-content-or-trying-hide-evidence

ZPG (not verified)

Tue, 2023-11-21 09:41

Dear Local Member, You are paying for giant size posters going up around Port Melbourne, Albert Park and St Kilda. The posters say:- LABOR IS BUILDING 800,000 NEW HOMES VOTE LABOR - NINA TAYLOR This is a big lie. You should be jailed for being a corporation involved in deceptive conduct. (Professor Alan Fels, ACCC,  jailed me for that offence 2001-2008). Here is the latest statistics released by ABS..... With only 13,404 dwelling units approved nationally in September 2023, it will take  6154 months 513 years build 800,000 homes. This set of data is building approvals. The data for home completions is accessible, and equally depressing. See https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/building-and-construction/building-approvals-australia/latest-release

admin

Sat, 2023-11-18 10:32

I posted the following to Facebook :

I have posted the following beneath my article "From Israel's own news services: IDF tanks, helicopters, Special Forces - not Hamas - killed 260 civilians at the Supernova Music festival" (30/10/23) at https://candobetter.net/james-sinnamon/blog/6727/israels-own-news-services-idf-tanks-helicopters-special-forces-not-hamas#comment-278422#comment-278422

Please feel welcome to also post anything you post here to the abovementioned artcle, to "Young Israeli woman condemns Netanyahu's mass murder of Gaza Palestinians" (26/10/23) https://candobetter.net/james-sinnamon/blog/6725/young-israeli-woman-condemns-netanyahus-mass-murder-gaza-palestinians or to anywhere else which you may find to be suitable on my website.

Try to also include a link (URL) back to your Facebook post while it still exists (whilst I realise links to Facebook posts are usually very long). You may have to wait a few hours for us to to moderate your post you make sure it is not spam, it certainly won't be deleted.

admin

Mon, 2023-11-13 18:16

I posted the following to the Canberra Conversations Facebook page.

October 7 testimonies reveal Israel’s military ‘shelling’ Israeli citizens with tanks, missiles (27/10/23) | The Grayzone by Max Blumenthal
What really happened on 7th October? (24/20/23) | The Cradle by Robert Inlakesh and Sharmine Narwani

Why Israel Does NOT Want Hamas To Release Their Captives Katie Halper - Video (31/10/23) YouTube video by Katie Halper, Why Israel Does NOT Want Hamas To Release Their Captives - Katie Halper and Ali Abunimar (11/11/23) | Candobetter by Sheila Newman

Video shows Israeli turning to shake the hand of her Hamas captor as she is being released. She shook his hand because he had treated her humanely and given her the same food as they ate. On 7 October, it was the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) that began shooting with bullets, bombs and rockets at the Hamas fighters with their Israeli captives. Begin, not Hamas, killed 260 Israelis on that day. (See 2 articles linked to at the top for the evidence in articles which cite sources from within Israel including Haaretz.)

The deaths of those Israelis were then blamed, by Netanyahu and the corporate newsmedia, on Hamas. Those 260 deaths were then cynically used as pretext for the IDF to lanch its war of extermination on Gaza. So far, more than 11,000 Palestinians have been murdered in Gaza so far by the IDF.

Begin is a mass murderer and a liar.

Sue (not verified)

Fri, 2023-11-03 13:27

How many people understand all this? I met someone the other day who is on a board providing housing for the homeless and women fleeing domestic danger. Without getting too political, I gleaned from her that she felt that we had an obligation to refugees in this context. In other words that easing the housing crisis in Australia had to be balanced against the fulfilment of  Australia's international obligations to refugees from other countries.  She obviously did not realise what a tiny proportion of the influx of immigrants each year is due to refugees. 

James Sinnamon

Sat, 2023-10-28 00:53

The following was posted as a comment beneath ‘Enough is enough’: Albanese talks to Biden about Assange (23/11/2023) | The Age :

The fairytale is expecting that private requests should overturn due process and openness in court - the things Julian campaigned for, instead of trying to avoid openness and do things secretly - as here.

Having his day in court is the only fair outcome - avoiding it is enough is enough.

My comment : For Julian Assange to '[Have] his day in court' would require that, unlike all previous court hearings, the case would be decided by a fairly selected jury, rather than, as was previously the case, by a succession of crooked judges each of which was under direct orders from the British government. In such a trial, Assange, or his barrister would have the right to effectively cross-examine each of the hostile witnesses and have heard testimony from a large number of sympathetic witness. No court, which had tried Julian Assange in this way, would have been capable of keeping him behind bars at the conclusion of the trial.

admin

Thu, 2023-10-26 23:06

For the second time, The United States has used its veto on the UN

DeFor Mary (not verified)

Sun, 2023-10-08 21:10

This breaching of a Person of the Commonwealth right to personal freedom is unacceptable.

No doubt the piece of paper from the police employee would be addressed to an entity in Capital letters. Such an entity is the property of the State Corporation, and is not that of the living person it was handed to.

The claim for a debt under a fine as issued is in clear breach of the Imperial Acts Application Act which denotes Fines and Forfeitures before conviction are illegal and void. The same illegality emanates from the Magna Carta and Bill of Rights, and as per our Constitution.

Check out Constitution Watch, and Know your Rights websites.

Illegal intent from such paper should be rejected by posting it back to originator.

What sort of low grade individual could abuse this inspirational lady with her commitment to righting the appalling treatment to Julian.

No wonder recruits to police employees is reported to be collapsing.

The best to Lorine.

quark

Wed, 2023-10-04 13:55

 A decade or so ago I thought "aspirations' for Australia's population to be 50 million then 100 million were fanciful as it was clear in my mind that our environment could not sustain such a population. Now the figures tell us that are on track to reach 150 million in the next 80 years.  This will be a disaster environmentally given that most of the continent is uninhabitable. if no policies are put in place to change this outcome then only running into a brick wall of resource depletion and space constraints will. The loss of  our wildlife and other species will be the collateral damage.  Governments need to wake up as they seem to be in a comatose dream state of unreality.

James Sinnamon

Sun, 2023-10-01 03:06

I posted the following beneath an Adelaide for Assange Facebook post which announced that they protested every Tuesday outside of the Adelaide of of the Foreign Minister Penny Wong :

In my experience, our Friday evening vigils for Julian Assange, outside of Melbourne's Flinders Street Station are a lot more effective when we hand out leaflets.

Last Friday evening, we handed out approximately 250 copies of the double-sided A5 leaflet entitled "Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, end the illegal torture and imprisonment of Julian Assange or step aside". The PDF file from which the leaflet was printed is at https://candobetter.net/files/endTheIllegalImprisonmentOrStepAside_29sep23.pdf . It is embedded within the article of the same name, which has been adapted from the leaflet. The article is at https://candobetter.net/geoffrey-taylor/blog/6711/prime-minister-anthony-albanese-end-illegal-torture-and-imprisonment.

If you would like to hand out copies of that leaflet next Tuesday, please feel encouraged to download that file. I got those leaflets printed at Officeworks. I print them in black and white (colour costs quite a bit more ) for 10c per side. I then get charged $1 to have the printed A4 pages guillotined into twice as many A5 leaflets. So, to print out 300 double-sided A5 leaflets, I pay $31 .

Sue (not verified)

Mon, 2023-09-04 14:01

Artificial population- boosting in Australia by the use of artificial government- sanctioned cities, by-passing  public approval is a dangerous and  immoral human experiment with no logical end-point or justification.  It is a recipe for depressed automaton people who are likely to suffer from learned helplessness.  I would believe that the original author of this idea had got it from Barbie Land except that the idea pre-dates the film.  Perhaps it's a perversion of Fantasy Land but will of course, contrastingly be the unhappiest kingdom of them all.     

ZPG (not verified)

Wed, 2023-08-16 08:54

The national cabinet meeting on the housing supply will not dare mention the gigantic demand from 1.5 million new migrants. All delegates will remember what happened to Gladys Berejiklian when she had the brains and the courage to call for a halving of the immigration intake. The property mafia whacked her good.

Karina Finkenau (not verified)

Tue, 2023-08-01 03:24

Please have a look what is happening around the world! Please see with open eyes and do what is according to the law, according to Humanrights, what is necessary to save democracy,your can help to come to a historic decision to the better to the human to democracy and freedom,free Julian Assange !

Sheila Newman

Tue, 2023-07-25 16:20

The Senate Inquiry Committee has responded overall to submissions, announcing, as follows:

"Coordinated campaigns and form letters

The committee has received a large volume of material associated with two coordinated campaigns, including from a third-party coordinated campaign and the Australian Christian Lobby, as well as three form letters from Fair Agenda, Surrogacy Australia and Cherish Life.

Correspondence associated with the campaigns and form letters either note that they do not support abortion services, or that they do support abortion services.
In light of the similarities of the views expressed in the campaigns and the form letters, the committee has agreed to publish a sample of each of the campaigns and form letters along with the key topics raised by individuals and the number of emails received in respect of each campaign.

The committee will also be providing details of each of the campaigns and form letters in its final report."

Source: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/ReproductiveHealthcare

Vanessa Hegarty (not verified)

Fri, 2023-07-21 19:00

I heard an interview on Radio National today about this. https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/drive/report-blames-nimbys-for-a-more-racially-segregated-sydney/102622354 They seemed to be basing it on black & white neighbourhoods in America, an entirely different scenario. Apart from that, Sydney is west vs east whereas Melbourne luckily is more scattered with its low socio-economic areas, Frankston right next Mt. Eliza, Footscray in another direction etc. so we are quite different to Sydney demographically.  They also don't take into account that a lot of migrants want the big house with a back yard in the suburbs. A lot of Indians buy in new estates in Wyndam when a lot of them could probably afford a townhouse in Hawthorn for example. And they never talk about heritage and character being the main reason for NIMBYism of course most if this being in a city's oldest inner suburbs, although from memory the interviewer Andy Park did query this in the interview.  

Another point is that when the American soldiers returned from the war they were allowed to apply for government mortgages but only whites could apply. So I suppose a lot of segregation in the suburbs started from thereon. Although I know things were racist there before that, but when the soldiers cames back it was when America really prospered and the middle class and sprawling suburbs were created but the blacks had no help to be part of it.

quark

Tue, 2023-07-11 18:53

Golf course redevelopment as named by the Victorian Government is the fast track to a much diminished environment, The impact of losing the open space, access to nature , wildlife habitat and mitigation of the urban heat island effect, is compounded by the dramatic increase of population in the area.  How can this be anything but a negative and theft from the people of Victoria? 

admin

Mon, 2023-07-10 13:06

The following is in response to a US Action for Assange Facebook post:

Robert F. Kennedy Junior is far more capable or acting to free Assange than could Cornel West be by standing as a Greens candidate. How, given the idiocy of US 'instant runoff' voting, could Cornel West facilitating Donald Trump's victory over Joe Biden (or vice versa) possibly help free Julian Assange?

To be better informed, please visit RFK Junior's Twitter page at https://twitter.com/RobertKennedyJr . See also Help America put another Kennedy in the White House to free Julian Assange (5 May 23 - artcle above).

When RFK Junior becomes the Democrat Party nominee, I sure hope that Cornel West has the good sense to step aside and throw his support support behind RFK Junior.

Sheila Newman

Fri, 2023-07-07 22:01

It would, of course, be great if, as the developer suggests, Sonia Kilkenny's intervention has unsettled the whole investment community because that would assist democracy and help stop the horrible population and overdevelopment jugganaut speeding Frankston's way.

Anonymous (not verified)

Fri, 2023-07-07 21:57

The developer wanting to build up on 446-450 Nepean Hwy, Danny Ciarma, was quoted describing the people fighting for height limits as NIMBYs and seemed to think Kilkenny acting on behalf of her electorate was somehow a slur.  

"But the developer of 446-450 Nepean Highway, Urban DC founder Danny Ciarma, said the minister’s intervention was “suspicious”, “a slap in the face” and would “undermine investment confidence in the whole state, not just Frankston”. “She’s unsettled the whole investment fraternity, which is going to further exacerbate the whole undersupply issue that we face.”

“It is very clear to me that Sonya bowed to her voters as a local member of the area and put her local constituents in front of and before the greater planning policies of the state,” Ciarma said.

Premier Daniels Andrews has flagged a housing and planning reform package, expected within the next two months, that is widely expected to include greater state government planning controls and a smaller role for councils.

No decision had been made yet by VCAT, and Ciarma said he was unsure what the overlay would mean for the decision.

“I’ve spent the last 18 months working with council and the council planners very closely in formulating a design that meets the proposed structure plan in every way,” he said.

“It’s not for some disgruntled local NIMBYs to put their thoughts forward and have their wishes granted to the detriment of the greater good.”"

Source: Article by Rachael Dexter in the Age, 5 July 2023, "Minister intervenes on ‘Great Wall of Frankston,’" https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/minister-intervenes-on-great-wall-of-frankston-20230705-p5dlxh.html

Sheila Newman

Fri, 2023-07-07 21:08

Interim DDO14 with mandatory 3 storeys/ 12metre height along part of Nepean Hwy next to creek , until 27 Oct 2023. This is an interim outcome for the brave people arguing against the Great Wall of Frankston.  Unfortunately Frankston has also become a so-called 'Activity Centre,' since then, which means high-rises all over the place, especially in the CBD.

Convenor (not verified)

Sun, 2023-07-02 22:28

Many will remember Julianne seeking proof of corroboree grounds in the park during the fight against East West link.  Friends of Royal Park and Royal Park Protection Group have organised a Special meeting with presentations about the Wurundjeri relationship to  Royal Park.

 

You are invited to hear 2 presentations.

 

"(Not) Royal Park” – Recovering the Enduring Importance of a Kulin Nations Gathering Place for Culture, Health, Wellbeing and Healing”. 

Presentation by Alasdair Vance, Associate Professor, Child Psychiatry, Royal Childrens’ Hospital, University of Melbourne &  Janet McGraw, Associate Professor, Faculty of Architecture, Building & Design, University of Melbourne

 

“A name for Royal Park – Quor-nóng?”  Presentation by Andrew Tanner, Graduate Researcher, Linguistics, La Trobe University.

 

When: July 15th at 2pm

Where: Walmsley House

 

 

Regards

Paul Leitinger

Convenor – RPPG

Bill (not verified)

Sun, 2023-07-02 22:17

Pity the poor koalas whose trees will be bulldozed for little benefit to Australians either. "Some 100,000 homes, as well as hospitals, new highways a university and a city the size of Mackay are all tipped to be delivered to this booming South East Queensland region by 2046." https://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/moreton/moreton-bays-rising-population-to-result-in-housing-and-infrastructure-projects/news-story/f41e61b6a60741e47e603592a5e02423 

James Sinnamon

Sat, 2023-07-01 12:06

I posted the following beneath Ukraine Timeline tells the Story (30/6/23) | Consortium News by Joe Lauria:

Thank you, Joe. This is the best example of basic facts on the Russia-Ukraine conflict I have been able to find, so far. Still, I think this could be improved upon by additions (e.g. the US bombing of Nord Stream in September 2022 and Kiev's criminally insane bombardment of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant) and images to become a comprehensive fact-sheet about the Ukraine conflict - something to show our Parliamentary 'representatives' when they give sanctimonious speeches, which omit basic facts, in support of the Kiev regime. See also Zelenskyy's war of choice may have killed 300,000 Ukrainians at beneath the article "Putin rebuts in detail US-NATO accusations, provides dishonoured Ukraine neutrality agreement" (18/6/23).

James Sinnamon

Sat, 2023-07-01 00:54

It is surely even more in the interests of the Ukrainian people than it is in the interests of the Russian people to have the war ended now. One somewhat dated estimate of Ukrainian military dead is 300,000. So, at least many tens of thousands have died on both sides. This vast tragedy could have been avoided had Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelenskyy lived up to his April 2019 election promise to end the war. There is no way that any informed Ukrainian (apart from the nazis in the Azov battalion and the Right sector) who has seen through the lies of the Ukrainian state media, would want a peace settlement that does not include the arrest and trial of US puppet President Zilenskyy. It is in the interests of Ukrainians, most of all, that Russian soldiers, whether inside the Wagner Group or not, fight as hard as possible to remove Zilenskyy from power.

.

The above is part of a post that I posted beneath the video embedded below:

 

Last Warning To Ukraine | Prigozhin breaks his silence on the mercenary rebellion in Russia

 

On Douglas McGregor's comments on his own role in the Gulf War of 1990-1991

In the above Video, Douglas McGregor likens the strategic choices faced by the Russian general staff in 2023 to those faced by himself and the similarly outspoken ex-marine intelligence officer, Scott Ritter, during the Gulf War of 1990-1991. Whilst this may be valid in a technical-military sense, and whilst I admire Douglas McGregor for so courageously informing the world truthfully about the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2023, he seems, to consider the Gulf War to have been a just war by the United States and its allies against Iraqi aggression.

The fact is, that Saddam Hussein was deliberately set up by, amongst others, then US ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie. After the Kuwaitis, provocatively slant drilled, beneath the border, into Iraqi oil fields, he approached Glaspie to ask how the US would regard an Iraqi conflict with Kuwait.

Glaspie told Hussein that this would not concern the US.

However, after Iraq occupied Kuwait, contrary to what Glaspie had told Hussein, the US then launched its war against Iraq, with devastating consequences to both the people and infrastructure of Iraq, For more information, see Gulf War Documents: Meeting between Saddam Hussein and US Ambassador to Iraq April Glaspie (2012) | Global Research.

admin

Wed, 2023-06-14 11:40

I fear that, whilst I was deleting well over 100 spam comments posted by robots overnight, I accidentally deleted a comment with a title similar to the above. I apologise to the author for my mistake and ask him/her to please consider re-posting that comment either here or wherever else the comment was posted.

- Ed, 11:46am, Wed 14 June 2023 +10

admin

Mon, 2023-06-12 21:32

I received the following from the office of Greens Senator Penny All-man Payne:

Re: Please use your voice in Parliament this week to help free Julian Assange (Case Ref: PA6751)

Senator Penny Allman-Payne <[email protected]>

5:56 PM (3 hours ago)

to me

Dear James,

Thanks for your email to Senator Allman-Payne calling for the release of Julian Assange. My name is Kirsten and I am responding on the Senator’s behalf. 

The Australian Greens will continue to call on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to pick up the phone to the UK and US governments immediately to secure Julian’s freedom.

The information released by Julian Assange in Wikileaks has been used as evidence in court cases around the globe, freeing prisoners and exposing scandals, torture, murder, and illegal surveillance. 

The decision of the United Kingdom to extradite Julian Assange to the US has sickening consequences for Julian, his family and for press freedom around the world. His deteriorating health condition and the ongoing proceedings are unjust and torturous. Extradition to the United States sets a dangerous precedent for press freedom across the world. 

You can read Australian Greens spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Senator Jordon Steele-John’s, article on freeing Assange here: Free Assange | Australian Greens

It is time to bring him home. It is time for the Albanese government to do more. 

The Greens will always support journalists’ right to speak truth to power, and we will continue the fight to bring Julian home.

Just last month, Senator David Shoebridge, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, Senator Janet Rice and Senator Allman-Payne had the opportunity to meet Mrs Assange in Canberra. We are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Stella and the Assange campaign in this ongoing fight for justice for Julian.

Thank you again for your email and for your advocacy on this important matter. For any further information, please don’t hesitate to contact our Justice spokesperson, Senator David Shoebridge: [email protected]

In solidarity,

Kirsten Kennedy
Office Coordinator and Executive Assistant
in the office of @senatorpennyqld
www.pennyallmanpayne.com

admin

Thu, 2023-06-08 01:11

I posted the following to a the US Action 4 Assange Facebook page:

It seems to me that the best way that Ilhan Omar and other US supporters of Julian Assange can help win his freedom is to support RFK Junior's campaign to be the Democratic Party's candidate in the November 2024 Presidential elections. To find out how outspoken RFK Junior has been, please see his and related Twitter Pages https://twitter.com/rfk4potus https://twitter.com/RobertKennedyJr https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kennedy24?src=hashtag_click - and long Video Discussions with RFK Junior, for example, "Live Discussion Robert F. Kennedy Jr & Elon Musk: Presidential Candidate"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db9tSsFIfuA "Rekindling the Spirit of the Classic Democrat | Robert F. Kennedy Jr." at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1h5AhrDajI , etc., etc.

RFK Junior faces the same crooked Democratic National Committee which suppressed (bizarrely, with Sanders' own collusion) the 2016 grassroots campaign to make Bernie Sanders the Democrat Presidential campaign, but with RFK Junior's leadership and with a sufficiently large grass-roots campaign, he could succeed.

Whilst January 2025 when, hopefully, President Robert Francis Kennedy junior will be inaugurated, seems too long to wait for Assange to be freed, RFK junior's campaign should still greatly help to lift the profile of the Assange campaign, including here, in Australia[1] and quite possibly make the difference necessary to free him.

FOOTNOTE[S]

[1]  Here, In Australia,  Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has, so far, since he assumed the office of PM  in May 2022, failed to use the power vested in him as the leader of a sovereign state to end the illegal imprisonment  of Julina Assange Assange

Andrew Sparkinson (not verified)

Fri, 2023-05-26 22:31

Mr Albanese is entitled to his opinions also and it is becoming apparent he just may believe, that  heads in the sand types are voters too. by the way what whistle blowers have we persecuted?  

DeFor Mary (not verified)

Tue, 2023-05-23 19:17

End Politicians plague-level immigration and resultant overpopulation chaos. Clogged roads, crowded schools/hospitals/public facilities, pollution, waste, eco-system/environmental decline, home invasions, house price-rent madness, homelessness, wages falling, poor living conditions - Aussis now strangers in the street!
 
Population has increased by 30% in 13 years - 
70% being alien immigrants/ foreign 
students, and 457 Visa workers.    
     
The Conservation Society holds to 14 Million People as the Sustainable Population for Australia:-
Australia First will:-
I]    Introduce a Peoples’ Commission for Population, with paid delegates from community and environmental  groups to oversee sustainable population directions for our Native Land and Australian civilisation. 

ii]    The Commission to be authorised under the Citizenship Act, to direct Legislators for closing down the Lib/Lab/fake Greens destructive Immigration Programme.

iii]     The Commission to oversee orderly repatriation of [edited out for legal reasons] immigrant excess, to pursue a population level in accord with the Conservation Society optimum for our Australia. 

iv] Repatriation to involve [edited out for legal reasons] , welfare parasites, fake refugees, criminals, drug cartels, 457 visa workers, foreign students, etc.

v] A Public Educative programme to expose the extensive overpopulation effects to our Ancient Continent and its Ecological Order, Australian Heritage, and cause for economic decline to 
our People. 

   End all immigration!   
Australia First Party 
Reclaiming the Vision Splendid

 www.australiafirstparty.biz. 

godddrav (not verified)

Sat, 2023-05-20 15:06

Editor.  This message is about a Russian movie (also on youtube at https://youtu.be/S1hVw75H6dQ) which seems to be a critique of the soviet state (note that the Soviet Union no longer exists), departing from the question of whether one can effectively study the soviet union via its own publications. It's all in Russian. The actual message posted to candobetter says, "We offer visit the video room and look [url=https://ussr.website/государственная-граница-фильм.html] Good movies state border[/url] Interesting: Former captain of the border guard Vladimir Danovich refuses to emigrate from Russia and agrees to participate in the creation of a new border service of the young Soviet state.

Sue (not verified)

Sun, 2023-05-14 23:16

Frankston residents and visitors are being ripped off with this Great Wall. In fact Victorians are being ripped off as we don't have to live in a place to feel the loss when a place is ruined. Prof. Buxton articulates very well that the beauty of the  foreshore and sea will be commandeered for private benefit at the expense of everyone else. 

Reader (not verified)

Tue, 2023-05-09 20:49

The observations in this article mirror my perceptions. The ABC seems to have become a compliant vehicle for propaganda to disable Australian solidarity by making Australians distrust eachother. Thank you for stating it so clearly Sally.

James Sinnamon

Mon, 2023-05-08 01:44

I posted the comment further below in response to:

RFK Jr is an anti-vaxx conspiracy theorist. Just because he supports the release of Julian Assange is no reason to support him politically.

The above was posted beneath Australian prime minister feigns concern for Assange but defends “national security” secrecy (/5/5/23) | wsws by Oscar Grenfell, in response to an earlier comment in which I agreed with what was written in that article. My response to the above comment follows:

If RFK junior's views on COVID-19 and vaccination are so bad, that would surely be made evident in the televised debate that RFK Junior wants to be held between all who are contesting the Democratic Party pre-selection to be that party's presidential candidate.

However, the Democratic Party National Committee (DNC) has refused to allow this debate. Even if we disagreed with RFK Junior's views on COVID-19 and vaccination, should we not support a candidate who wants to end the shipment of billions of dollars worth of US weapons to the Zilenskyy regime in Kiev and close down all foreign US bases as well as free Assange?

Perhaps the editors of this World Socialist Web Site should ask someone to write an article here about the 2024 US Presidential elections. To article could explain whether or not any of the candidates for pre-selection in either the Democratic or Republican parties deserve support or, indeed, whether or not workers in the US and the rest of the world have any stake in the outcome of these elections.

admin

Fri, 2023-04-28 01:06

Robert F. Kennedy Junior's support amongst registered Democrats has now reached 19%, where (I think) it was previously 8%. He still has some way to go before he secures the Democratic Party nomination to be their candidate for the 2024 Presidential election, but this looks, to me, like good progress.

 

<div align="center"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Looks like Americans are waking up! <a href="https://t.co/SgqSaz8eYs">pic.twitter.com/SgqSaz8eYs</a></p>&mdash; North Carolina Music (@NewNCMusicScene) <a href="https://twitter.com/NewNCMusicScene/status/1651599713479557126?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

admin

Thu, 2023-04-27 23:11

The following was tweeted by Robert F. Kennedy Junior, who is seeking to become the Democratic Party Candidate in the 2024 Presidential elections following the decision by the Central Committee of the US Democratic Party not to allow him to debate the incumbent Democratic Party candidate sitting President Joe Biden in the forthcoming Democratic National Convention:

Anne-Marie (not verified)

Mon, 2023-04-24 11:04

In 1981 I went to China with a friend as independent tourists. Our connection at the time was a mutual friend working for the Australian Government in Beijing with whom we planned to stay. Unfortunately he was "Medivac-ed" out the day we arrived so we were on our own although still had the use of his apartment. In a nutshell, our stay in China was a nightmare from which we spent all our time trying to wake up. Basically we were unwelcome as independent tourists and as a result of this had a lot of difficulty getting around.  We were detained at Xian airport but after questioning, allowed to leave. The old Russian hotel we booked into asked us to leave ASAP. We could not make a successful train booking through China Travel Service as the tickets we were given were useless. Twice we waited at the station but there was no train.  It seemed equally impossible after several days of trying to book a flight out of Xian until we were lucky enough  to get a flight back to Beijing when a young man we met selling tickets by the roadside took pity on us and organised our "escape".  When we finally left China after about a 8 days of this stress I swore never to return and had not revised this resolution until seeing this video.  Perhaps I can finally expunge these bad memories. 

Richard Seeto (not verified)

Fri, 2023-04-14 20:10

I pull no punches as the time for polite discourse with these three Judases is long past.

To say that Australia as a government have no say over the protection of its own citizens is absolute bullshit of the ALP kind...

Let me make a suggestion, PM can tell Britain, now no longer great that unless it releases Julian Assange, we can cut contacts and trade with that decaying once great stealer, robber, rapist and genocidist of nations of the world and...for...

The US: Unless it releases Julian Assange forthwith, it can remove all its Australia bases and take them back to where-ever it likes...

Are these suggestions helpless?

What is helpless is that the Three Clown Judases of the ALP prefer to kowtow to the interests of a Foreign nation over and above our very own and they have a hide to insist that Australia has sovereignty over our political decisions...see ex PM Paul Keating's excellent interview in the ABC Journalists Club...

More foreign countries including organisations and Democratic members of Congress of the US are calling for the freedom of Julian Assange yet, our three faking Judas clowns are twitting their fingers doing fuckall saying they can do nothing. (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9MDpxVl0lY)

This I can say: Henceforth, I will no longer vote for or support the ALP and I exhort all True Believers to work to remove all three including Richard Marles who is instrument to yoke our Australian Treasury to continue to pay contributions and tribute to the UK and US for software upgrades, spare parts, maintenance etc. etc...And...

To add insult to injuries, the Yanks will have a lapdog to do the fighting in proxy for them whilst they sit back to direct the wars plus the US can say if and when we can use the nuclear submarines for whatever purposes we liked.

Good one???

Richard Seeto

Editor's comment: Thank you, Richard Seeto, for your insightful and informative comment. I have changed the title from "Pensioner's Discount" to "Remove military bases of the country now torturing Assange."

I think that the kind of Australian government which acts to make the US desist from its illegal efforts to extradite Assange would also remove, from Australian soil, all military bases of the US and its UK ally and it would end the military occupation of Northern Australia by 2,500 US Marines. Such a government would not need to allow such bases to remain in return for the US abandoning its illegal and morally repugnant efforts to extradite Assange. Could I also suggest that next time you post a comment, not to boldface the whole comment with the <strong> </strong> tags, but, for now, I have left the content of the above comment the way you originally posted it.

James Sinnamon

Thu, 2023-04-13 15:27

Earlier this morning I posted, to the Facebook Page Julian Assange Supporters - International", the following:

Thank you for allowing me to post here and make comments.

I am trying to get the Australian government use the powers vested in it, as the leadership of a sovereign nation, to make the British government end its illegal imprisonment of Assange and make the US government desist from its ilegal efforts to extradite him.

You can view past speeches I have made at our weekly Melbourne Friday evening vigil for Julian Assange on my YouTube Channnel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwD1peYXVZK-BFdAVGPDPpw . I have written articles about Assange on our web-site, candobetter.net/. Two recent examples are Letter to Attorney-General Richard Dreyfus, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong concerning Julian Assange (9/4/23) at and How, with your help, we can free Julian Assange (28/11/22) .

The fact that the Australian government has not even approached the British or US governments to ask, or even beg, for Assange's freedom, let alone demand it, makes the Australian government complicit with the US and the UK in the imprisonment and torture of Assange.

What is almost as bad is the fact that there is so little discussion of Assange in the Australian Parliament, even though there are 40 members of the Bring Julian Assange Parliementary Support Group" (https://www.assangecampaign.org.au/bring-julian-home-campaign/). Hansard shows that so far in 2023, Assange has only been mentioned twice. The frequency of Assange being raised was little better in the previous two years.

Once back in December 2021 an independent member of Parliament, Andrew Wilkie tried to move a motion which called upon the Australian government to act to free Assange, but the major parties (Liberal and Labor) colluded to prevent that motion even being put. So, there hasn't even been debate on Assange in Australia's Parliament.

Sadly, neither Wilkie nor any other supporters of Assange in Paliament, have made any further attempts to have Assange debated since then. 'Debate' is limited to a very occasional statement made in support of Assange or the presentation of a petition. These rarely even draw responses from the government, far less action to free Assange.

My post was approved. However, I subsequently could not find my own post from the main page of Julian Assange Supporters - International. I could only find it again, because I had previously bookmarked that page on my Firefox web browser. If I am not able to find that post, then how can any other visitors to Julian Assange Supporters - International find my post? I had truly thought that what I had written could help build the campaign to free Julian Assange by drawing the attention of other Assange supporters what is obstructing our campaign and making suggestions about how we can overcome those obstacles.

Sheila Newman

Tue, 2023-04-04 22:42

Barbara, you are dead right. The Sustainable Australia Party seems to be the only one serious about stopping overpopulation and overdevelopment.  Hard to imagine which independents to vote for, but having more independents may undermine the major parties, which are so invested in population growth and overdevelopment.  It is a shame that Clifford Hayes was not voted back in. He made some excellent attempts to reform the land-shark system that the Victorian State government takes advantage of.

Barbara (not verified)

Tue, 2023-04-04 21:27

For those concerned about overdevelopment, who did you vote for in past elections? As long as Liberal or Labor remain in power these developments will continue. If you are serious about stopping overdevelopment, take a very good look at indepentents. The Sustainable Australia Party is a good start. Clifford Hayes was against overdevelopment but was not voted back in. No council can afford to fight the amount of cases taken to VCAT. Remember this at the next council elections.  

Sheila Newman

Fri, 2023-03-31 10:28

  Next Monday 3 April 2023 10.30am at the Frankston Life Saving Club, Channel 9 is planning an interview regarding the Stop the Great Wall campaign. This is your chance to express your grave concerns for Council’s plan for the future of Frankston.  Turn up and show support for this Frankston cause.  

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