The Guardian is an ostensibly "liberal" UK newspaper that has recently started up a web-based Guardian Australia version.
From a science-informed perspective (especially in relation to reportage of the worsening climate change crisis) the Guardian is a welcome addition to the Australian Mainstream Media (MSM) scene that ranges from the pro-war, pro-Zionist, pro-US, climate change denialist, extreme right wing Murdoch Media Empire (70% of city newspaper readership and including the national daily The Australian) to the Fairfax Empire (notable for the ostensibly "liberal" Sydney Morning Herald and the The Age in Melbourne). The taxpayer-funded ABC (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation; Australia's equivalent off the UK BBC) and the taxpayer-funded, universities-backed and academic -based web magazine The Conversation sit somewhere between Murdoch and Fairfax in politically-inspired malreportage, censorship and lying by omission.
Of course The Guardian is not alone in this perversion of the truth and deception of the public. For details of media-derived censorship by the global Murdoch media empire, Australian Fairfax media, the Australian ABC, the UK BBC, and the Australian universities-backed web magazine The Conversation in Neocon American- and Zionist Imperialist-perverted and subverted Murdochracy, Lobbyocracy and Corporatocracy Australia and elsewhere in the West see: see “Boycott Murdoch media”: https://sites.google.com/site/boycottmurdochmedia/ ; “Censorship by the BBC”: https://sites.google.com/site/censorshipbythebbc/ ; “Censorship by The Conversation”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by ; “Mainstream media censorship”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/home ; “Mainstream media lying”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammedialying/ ; “Censorship by The Age”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by-the-age ; “Censorship by ABC Late Night Live”: https://sites.google.com/site/censorshipbyabclatenightlive/ , "Censorship by ABC Saturday Extra": https://sites.google.com/site/censorshipbyabclatenightlive/censorship-by-abc-sat and “ABC fact-checking unit & incorrect reportage by the ABC (Australia’s BBC)”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/abc-fact-checking-unit , "Censorship by The Guardian UK": https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by-the-guardian-uk , "Censorship by The Guardian Australia": https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/home/censorship-by-the-guardian-a and “Censorship by Crikey (Australia)”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by-crikey .
This site records malreportage, censorship and lying by omission of The Guardian Australia. It includes examples of comments made to The Guardian Australia that have variously been CENSORED by The Guardian, thereby unwittingly revealing what The Guardian does not want it readers to read about, know about or think about. CENSORED comments below are in bold.
ON ABOUT 23 AUGUST 2014 THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA COMMENCED "PRE-MODERATING" MY COMMENTS TO PREVENT THE POSSIBILITY OF ITS READERS READING MY POSTS FOR EVEN A FEW SECONDS OR MINUTES, ALBEIT WITH SUCH COMMENTS BEING BURIED IN A LENGTHY COMMENT THREAD. I AM EVIDENTLY SAYING THINGS THAT THE NEOCON AMERICAN AND ZIONIST IMPERIALIST (NAZI) GUARDIANS WANT KEPT FROM PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE.
HOWEVER IN ABOUT NOVEMBER 2014 THIS "PRE-MODERATION" WAS REMOVED BUT POST-POSTING CENSORSHIP CONTINUED AS EXAMPLED BELOW...
THIS WEBSITE IS IN 3 SECTIONS:
(A) CENSORSHIP OF COMMENTS BY DR GIDEON POLYA
(B) COMMENTS BY DR GIDEON POLYA THAT THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA DID NOT CENSOR
(C) CENSORSHIP IN GENERAL BY THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA
(A) CENSORSHIP OF COMMENTS BY DR GIDEON POLYA
2016 CENSORSHIP
2016-04-29 Guardian re coral reef: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/29/great-barrier-reef-bleaching-made-175-times-likelier-by-human-caused-climate-change-say-scientists . My comment was CENSORED:
Dr J.E.N. Veron and other coral experts (2009): “Temperature-induced mass coral bleaching causing mortality on a wide geographic scale started when atmospheric CO2 levels exceeded ∼320 ppm. When CO2 levels reached ∼340 ppm, sporadic but highly destructive mass bleaching occurred in most reefs world-wide, often associated with El Niño events. Recovery was dependent on the vulnerability of individual reef areas and on the reef’s previous history and resilience. At today’s level of ∼387 ppm [405 ppm CO2 in 2016] , allowing a lag-time of 10 years for sea temperatures to respond, most reefs world-wide are committed to an irreversible decline. Mass bleaching will in future become annual, departing from the 4 to 7 years return-time of El Niño events. Bleaching will be exacerbated by the effects of degraded water-quality and increased severe weather events. In addition, the progressive onset of ocean acidification will cause reduction of coral growth and retardation of the growth of high magnesium calcite-secreting coralline algae. If CO2 levels are allowed to reach 450 ppm (due to occur by 2030–2040 at the current rates) [by about 2030 at the record current rate in 2016 of 3 ppm CO2 increase per year], reefs will be in rapid and terminal decline world-wide from multiple synergies arising from mass bleaching, ocean acidification, and other environmental impacts". To return to formerly pristine coral reefs we must urgently return atmospheric CO2 to the pre-Industrial Revolution level of circa 300 ppm CO2 (see “300.org – return atmosphere CO2 to 300 ppm CO2”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/300-org---return-atmosphere-co2-to-300-ppm ). However the anti-science, pro-coal Abbott-Turnbull Government is flagrantly heading in the opposite direction and recently approved the world’s biggest coal mine. Sensible, science-informed Australians will utterly reject the anti-science, pro-coal, climate criminal KOALition under all-smiles but Abbott-lite Malcolm Turnbull, vote 1 Green and put the KOALition last.
2016-02-25 Guardian Australia re Canada, Australia, Indigenous: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/25/indigenous-australians-and-canadians-destroyed-by-same-colonialism . CENSORED COMMENTS:
Shocking comparative statistics on hugely disproportionate Canadian and Australian imprisonment of Indigenous people. I dread to find what the Canadian figures are but (1) forced removal of Australian Indigenous children from their mothers is at an all-time high , and (2) it can be readily determined from the 2015 and 2016 Closing the Gap Reports that about 4,000 Indigenous Australians die avoidably each year from deprivation and dire circumstances deriving from what the marvellously articulate Stan Grant has called “the weight of history”. Yet Lib-Lab Governments will spend millions of dollars saving the life of just one (1) non-Australian round-the-world yachtsman who has deliberately and knowingly put himself/herself into acute danger (for details see Gideon Polya, “2015 perspective of ongoing Australian Aboriginal Genocide and Aboriginal Ethnocide”, Aboriginal Genocide: https://sites.google.com/site/aboriginalgenocide/2015-perspective and “Aboriginal Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/aboriginalgenocide/home ).
Of course Canada and Australia both have an appalling record of invading other countries and devastating other Indigenous societies. Thus over the centuries Australians have invaded 85 countries as compared to Canadians 25, the British 193, France 82, the US 70 (50 after WW2), Germany 39, Japan 30, Russia 25, Apartheid Israel 12 and China 2 (see Gideon Polya, “President Hollande And French Invasion Of Privacy Versus French Invasion Of 80 Countries Since 800 AD”, Countercurrents, 15 January, 2014: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya150114.htm and Gideon Polya, “Congress Of Vienna 2015 For Global Stability Fails To Address Key, Existential Nuclear, Poverty And Climate Change Threats”, Countercurrents, 12 January, 2016: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya120116.htm ).
It should come as no surprise that (1) Australia and Canada initially joined with the US and New Zealand in refused [sic] to endorse the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Australia eventually signed up under PM Rudd and breath-of-fresh-air, “it’s 2015” PM Justin Trudeau is set to change Canadian policy) and (2) Australia and Canada vie for being the strongest supporter after the US of nuclear terrorist, genocidally racist, racist Zionist-run, democracy-by-genocide Apartheid Israel and its ongoing genocide of the Indigenous Palestinians (see Palestinian Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/palestiniangenocide/ ).
2016-02-25 Guardian Australia re Argo, climate science: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2016/feb/24/critical-global-ocean-monitoring-program-struggling-to-stay-afloat-without-funding-promises-warn-scientists . CENSORED COMMENTS:
It is now very unlikely that the world will avoid a catastrophic plus 2C temperature rise but decent people are obliged to so everything they can to make the future “less bad” for young people and future generations (see “Are we doomed?”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/are-we-doomed ; “Nuclear weapons ban , end poverty & reverse climate change”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/nuclear-weapons-ban ; "Too late to avoid global warming catastrophe": https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/too-late-to-avoid-global-warming ).
However despite losing the Liberal party leadership over his espousal climate change action, PM Turnbull has adopted the regressive climate change inaction policies of his predecessor Tony Abbott. The Abbott/Turnbull slashing of the CSIRO budget and the consequent slashing of CSIRO climate science is symptomatic of PM Turnbull’s betrayal of Australia and indeed himself over climate change action.
The anti-environment stance of Turnbull (e.g. refusing to sign up at Paris to banning fossil fuel subsidies that would save over $7 billion annually; approving the Shenhua Liverpool Plains and Adani Galilee Basin coal mine obscenities) is the more surprising (1) in view if his former strong stance on climate change action that cost him leadership of the KOALition 6 years ago, and (2) Turnbull is an effective climate change denialist through inaction and is also a Catholic but in marked contrast scientifically-trained, chemically-trained and science-informed Green Left Pope Francis recognizes a looming climate “catastrophe” and “millions of premature deaths” from carbon burning pollutants, demands massive decarbonisation and conversion to renewables starting “without delay” “in the next few years”, rejects Carbon Trading as a dishonest “ploy”, advocates a “fully borne” Carbon Price (Carbon Tax) on polluters, proposes “boycotts” to bring neoliberal polluters to heel, and suggests “intergenerational solidarity” to address the worsening intergenerational injustice inherent in climate change inaction. Green Left Pope Francis' demand in his 2015 Encyclical “Laudato si'” for massive urgent action now is precisely that urged by scientists both individually and collectively. Thus the Synthesis Report of the March 2009 Copenhagen Scientific Climate Change Conference concluded that “Inaction is inexcusable” and the 2010 Open Letter by 255 members of the US National Academy of Sciences, including 11 Nobel Laureates, concluded that “Delay is not an option” (see Gideon Polya “Western Mainstream Media Censor Green Left Pope Francis' “Laudato Si'” Message For Urgent Action On Climate Change”, Countercurrents, 20 August, 2015: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya200815.htm ; Pope Francis , Encyclical Letter “Laudato si”, 2015: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html ; Gideon Polya, “Green Left Pope Francis Demands Climate Action “Without Delay” To Prevent Climate “Catastrophe””, Countercurrents, 10 August, 2015: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya100815.htm ).
Decent, science-informed, pro-Humanity, pro-Biosphere Catholic and non-Catholic Australians will utterly reject the anti-equity, anti-environment, pro-coal, pro-gas, pro-oil, anti-science, climate criminal KOALition led by charming and all-smiles but neoliberal, Catholic-Abbott-lite, Abbott-in-sheep’s-clothing, Tony Turnbull, Malcolm Abbott, Malcolm Turncoat, lipstick-on-a-pig Catholic Malcolm Turnbull – they will vote 1 Green and put the KOALition last.
2015 CENSORSHIP
On 13 December 2015 (2015-12-13) re Paris Climate Agreement to Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/12/paris-climate-deal-talks-julie-bishop-australia-environment , MY COMMENT WAS CENSORED BY THE GUARDIAN which evidently doesn't take sufficiently seriously the worsening climate genocide from climate terrorism - dirty, degenerate, irresponsible, racist, anti-science gutter censorship:
The Paris climate agreement has been greeted with unwarranted enthusiasm, especially by climate terrorists like Australia’s COALition Government that with climate terrorist Labor has a bipartisan policy of unlimited coal and gas exports that will see Australia exceed by a factor of three (3) the whole world’s 2010-2050 Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget of 600 Gt CO2 that must not be exceed[ed] if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a plus 2 degrees C temperature rise (see Gideon Polya, “ Australia 's Huge Coal, Gas & Iron Ore Exports Threaten Planet”, Countercurrents, 15 May 2012: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya150512.htm ).
The present plus 1 degree C temperature rise is already catastrophic for some island and megadelta communities and the Paris-declared goal of a 1.5 to 2 degree C temperature rise is catastrophic and also inevitable (see “Are we doomed?”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/are-we-doomed and "Too late to avoid global warming catastrophe": https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/too-late-to-avoid-global-warming ).
Thus the IPCC ( UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) “Climate Change 2014 [AR5] Synthesis Report, Approved Summary for Policy Makers”, (2014): “About 450 ppm CO2-eq, likely to limit warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels” (IPCC, “Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report, Approved Summary for Policy Makers”, 1 November 2014: http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/SYR_AR5_SPM.pdf ).
Unfortunately, Professor Ron Prinn (Professor of Atmospheric Science in 83-Nobel-Laureate MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Director of MIT’s Center for Global Change Science (CGCS), Co-Director of MIT’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change (JPSPGC)) (2013): “In the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE), we continuously measure over 40 of these other GHGs [greenhouse gases] in real time over the globe. If you convert these other GHGs into their equivalent amounts of CO2 that will have the same effect on climate, and add them to the NOAA measurements of CO2, you find that we are actually at 478 ppm of CO2 equivalents right now” (Ron Prinn, “400 ppm CO2? Add other GHGs and its equivalent to 478 ppm”, Oceans at MIT, 6 June 2013: http://oceans.mit.edu/featured-stories/5-questions-mits-ron-prinn-400-ppm-threshold ) .
Decent, science-informed Australians who care for their children, future generations and the Biosphere will utterly reject Australian climate terrorism, vote 1 Green and put the COALition last.
On 25 August 2015, The Guardian Australia published an article attacking former Labor leader Mark Latham: http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/aug/25/mark-latham-the-labor-leader-who-crashed-burned-then-exploded-again . My following comment was posted but then subsequently CENSORED and removed by The Guardian
Mark Latham's "crime" appears to have been used blunt Australian language and departing from the dishonest, cowardly, politically correct narrative of look-the-other-way Mainstream Australia. The Mainstream hatred for Mark Latham in US lackey Australia is highly questionable - indeed Mark Latham should have an honoured place among a quartet of patriotic Australian Labor leaders who were outstandingly decent enough to be subject to veto by serial war criminal US Governments and their traitorous Australian politician and presstitute lackeys , this quartet [quintet] including:
(1) Dr Evatt vetoed by the US and its Australian lackeys.
(2) Arthur Calwell ( a racist like most Australians of his time and now notorious for saying “Two Wongs do not make a White”, Catholic Calwell was excluded from office by the fanatically anti-socialist US, with the help of traitorous US agents like BA Santamaria and US lackey media and conservative politicians).
(3) Gough Whitlam (removed in a CIA-backed coup in 1975 facilitated by the advice of the currently topical, pro-war, US lackey Sir Garfield Barwick to traitorous CIA agent Kerr; Whitlam opposed the Vietnam War, stopped Australia’s war criminal involvement, brought out troops home and questioned the role of Pine Gap that continues to have a key role in US nuclear terrorism and illegal drone strikes from Libya to Pakistan).
(4) Mark Latham (publicly vetoed by the US Ambassador “Schiefferbrains” Schieffer in the 2004 election for opposing the illegal and genocidal Iraq War and vowing to bring our soldiers back from Iraq “by Christmas”; Latham was horribly smeared by Mainstream media and politicians ever since; Australia in 2014 commenced its Seventh Iraq War in a century with Iraqi deaths from Western violence or Western-imposed deprivation now totalling 9 million since 1914 (see Gideon Polya, “As UK lackeys or US lackeys Australians have invaded 85 countries (British 193, French 80, US 70)”, Countercurrents, 9 February, 2015: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya090215.htm ).
(5) Kevin Rudd (removed from office in a US-approved, foreign Mining Company-backed and pro-Zionist-led Coup in 2010, see Antony Loewenstein, "Does the Zionist Lobby have blood on its hands in Australia?": http://antonyloewenstein.com/2010/07/02/does-the-zionist-lobby-have-blood-on-its-hands-in-australia/ and Gideon Polya, "Pro-Zionist-led Coup ousts Australian PM Rudd", MWC News, 29 June 2010: http://mwcnews.net/focus/politics/3488-pro-zionist-led-coup.html ).; Rudd opposed the Iraq War, objected to Israeli crimes against Australia, wanted action on climate change, wanted a strong Mining Tax, and was publicly slapped down by the US when he suggested destruction of the Afghan opium crop – 1.2 million people have died world-wide since the US Government’s 9-11 false flag atrocity due to US Alliance restoration of the Taliban-destroyed Afghan opium industry from 6% of world market share in 2001 to 93% in 2007, the breakdown (as of 2015) including 280,000 Americans, 68,000 Iranians, 25,000 British, 14,000 Canadians, 10,000 Germans and 5,000 Australians; see “Afghan Holocaust Afghan Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/afghanholocaustafghangenocide/ ).
26 June 2015 Guardian article re Mallah & terrorism: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jun/26/abc-security-boosted-after-threats-over-zaky-mallahs-qa-appearance . My comment was initially published and then CENSORED.
The terror hysteria, defamation and hysterical demands for censorship from the Coalition is dangerous conduct that egregiously endangers Australian freedoms, rights, security and values – and has evidently endangered ABC staff. ABC chief Mark Scott was quite correct to defend the duty of the ABC to present a range of opinions, including unpopular minority views.
Missing from Coalition- and Murdoch media-led terror hysteria, is the Elephant in the Room reality that Zaky Mallah and the Lib-Labs (Coalition and Labor) have exactly the same anti-ISIS and anti-Assad “terror policies” in (a) being totally opposed to the barbarous ISIS non-state terrorism that arose directly from Australian state terrorism, UK state terrorism and US state terrorism in Iraq ( about 5 million Iraqi deaths from violence or violently -imposed deprivation since 1990 and 5 million Iraqi refugees; see Iraqi Holocaust, Iraqi Genocide”: http://sites.google.com/site/iraqiholocaustiraqigenocide/ ) and (b) supporting the equally barbarous US Alliance state terrorism policy of violently removing the secular Assad Government of Syria (so far, 0.2 million Syrians killed, a similar number killed by war-imposed deprivation, 11 million refugees).
The ABC, the Australian Mainstream media in general and the politically dominant Lib-Labs stand condemned for largely ignoring these Awful Truths and humane, civilized Australians who utterly abhor both non-state terrorism (e.g. ISIS that mass murders prisoners and terrorizes minorities) and state terrorism (e.g. US Alliance state terrorism responsible for 13 million Muslim deaths – half of them children - from violence or deprivation in the post-1990 US War on Muslims and over 30 million Muslim refugees; see “Muslim Holocaust Muslim Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/muslimholocaustmuslimgenocide/ ).
Peace is the only way but silence kills and silence is complicity. Decent Australians who utterly abhor both non-state terrorism and state terrorism will utterly reject the US state terrorism-complicit Lib-Labs, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
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5 April 2015 Guardian re “Reclaim Australia”: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/06/fighting-hatred-with-hatred-at-reclaim-australia-rallies-is-a-failure-of-progressive-politics . My comment was initially published and then CENSORED.
Anti-Arab anti-Semitism (Islamophobia, anti-Muslim bigotry) and anti-Jewish anti-Semitism are 2 equally repugnant sides of the same racist, anti-Semitic coin and should be publicly opposed by all decent people - as that great Palestinian humanitarian Jesus observed in the parable of the Good Samaritan , we cannot walk by on the other side.
Anti-racist Jewish actress Miriam Margolyes recently made the following pertinent comments on anti-Arab anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish anti-Semitism (2015): “ I have no doubt that it is because these murderous bastards [IS], the terrible things that they are doing, of course people are going to react in the way that they do and just the same as an ordinary person would be horrified if they saw what goes in Gaza and in Palestine. It is unacceptable and when you know that something is morally unacceptable, you have to do something about it. Not to the level of murder. That is not acceptable… I would like to say, Jews in Australia have made a huge contribution to Australia. Music particularly, for example, in Sydney would not exist almost without the Hungarian Jews who came here and have done such great things and made concerts possible. But I would like to see the Jews in Australia make an attempt to influence the government of Israel not to bomb hospitals and children in Palestine and innocent people. If Australians saw that not all Jews behave in the way that the Israelis are doing, maybe there wouldn't be this [anti-Jewish] anti-Semitism. And let's make absolutely clear, anti-Semitism is a rotten thing. It is an ignorant, stupid, horrible thing, as is anti-Muslim feeling. They have to be together” (ABC, Q&A, 2 March 2015).
2015-2-18 Guardian re AbdelLatif: http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/feb/18/sayed-abdellatif-and-his-extraordinary-detention-in-australian-immigration . My comment was CENSORED.
GideonPolya commented on Sayed Abdellatif and his extraordinary detention in Australian immigration.
17 Feb 2015 9:34pm
The Guardian Australia must be praised for reporting this outrageous case of human rights abuse by the Australian Government and its agencies that puts liberal democracy Australia in the same basket as grossly human rights –abusing military dictatorship Egypt that was indeed a party to this outrageous injustice.
In addition to this matter, Australian Immigration has an appalling reputation (not least for highly abusively imprisoning children as well as adults without charge or trial in remote concentration camps) and Australian Intelligence has been guilty of numerous failures that are detrimental to Australia 's security and reputation (Google “50 ways Australian Intelligence spies on Australia and the World”).
Australian Intelligence’s biggest crime: 81,000 Australians die preventably each year (1.1 million since 9-11) this being inescapably linked to the terror hysteria-driven fiscal perversion whereby the Lib-Labs (Coalition and Labor Right) have committed to a $125 billion long-term accrual cost to Australia of the US War on Terror (Google “Australian State Terrorism - Zero Australian Terrorism Deaths, 1 Million Preventable Australian Deaths”).
Re Australian Immigration , about 50 years ago I went down to the Immigration Department office in an Australian state capital to get the entry visa stamped for my fiancée. The guy behind the desk asked “Is your fiancée a prostitute?” to which I temperately replied “No sir”, he stamped the form and we subsequently married, and had 4 children and 3 grandchildren (see June Duncan Owen’s book “Mixed Matches. Interracial marriages in Australia). My father-in-law was an eminent lawyer and MBE who had helped negotiate independence for his nation and (spelling aside) had the same name as the unfortunate Egyptian refugee. Indeed his eminent and revered friend, colleague, future head of his nation's “royal family” and future prime minister and future president, had his bags searched by Immigration on a visit to Australia and the PM of a nearby country was ordered to remove his shoes by Australian Immigration.
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2015-2-16, Guardian, Sarah Malik and Ben Doherty, “Revealed: indefinite detention if asylum seeker is based on conviction secured by torture” http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/feb/16/indefinite-detention-of-asylum-seeker-is-based-on-conviction-secured-by-torture
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My comment was evidently CENSORED by The Guardian for containing things it does not want its readers to read, know about or think about.
0 1
Good on The Guardian Australia for reporting this outrageous case of human rights abuse by the Australian Government and its agencies that puts liberal democracy Australia in the same basket as grossly human rights –abusing military dictatorship Egypt that was indeed a party to this outrageous injustice.
In addition to this matter, oxymoronically-named Australian Intelligence has been guilty of some 50 involvements and intelligence failures that are detrimental to Australia 's security and reputation (Google “50 ways Australian Intelligence spies on Australia and the World”).
Australian Intelligence’s biggest crime: 81,000 Australians die preventably each year (1.1 million since 9-11) this being inescapably linked to the terror hysteria-driven fiscal perversion whereby the Lib-Labs (Coalition and Labor Right) have committed to a $125 billion long-term accrual cost to Australia of the US War on Terror (Google “Australian State Terrorism - Zero Australian Terrorism Deaths, 1 Million Preventable Australian Deaths”).
En passant, about 50 years ago I went down to the Immigration Department office in an Australian state capital to get the entry visa stamped for my fiancée. The guy behind the desk asked “Is your fiancée a prostitute?” to which I temperately replied “No sir”, he stamped the form and we subsequently married, and had 4 children and 3 grandchildren. My father-in-law who was an eminent lawyer and MBE who had helped negotiate independence for his nation and (spelling aside) has the same name as the unfortunate Egyptian refugee. Indeed his eminent friend, colleague and future head of his nation's “royal family”, prime minister and president had his bags searched by Immigration on a visit to Australia and the PM of a nearby country was ordered to remove his shoes by Australian Immigration.
2015-1-9, The Guardian Australia, “US-led Coalition carries out 15 air strikes on ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq”: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/10/us-coalition-12-air-strikes-isis-syria . My following comment was CENSORED by The Guardian Australia, presumably for containing things that its holocasut-ignoring and genocide-ignoring presstitutes do not want their readers to read, know about or think about.
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This report reveals the asymmetry of non-state terrorism versus Western state terrorism - at the same time as criminal non-state terrorist French citizens were killing 17 innocent people in Paris and being killed in the process, war criminal Western state terrorists operating illegally and with complete impunity in Syria and Iraq carried out 15 operations that may have killed 10 times as many people including civilians, noting that a substantial proportion of the 12 million people dying since 1990 in the US War on Muslims have been civilians dying from war-imposed deprivation (for detailed analysis see my book “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950”that includes an avoidable mortality-related history of every country and is now available for free perusal on the web).
The worst crimes of Muslim-origin non-state terrorists are those that are religiously skirted and censored by US-beholden Western media – the horrendous consequential US Alliance-imposed or complicit deaths from war and war-imposed deprivation in the post-1990 US War on Muslims (12 million), the post-2001 US War on Terror (10 million), the post-1990 Iraqi Genocide (4.6 million), the post-2001 Afghan Genocide (5.5 million), the post-1992 Somalian Genocide (2.2 million), the post-2011 Libyan Genocide (0.2 million), the post-2011 Syrian Genocide (0.2 million), and in Mali, the Central African Republic, the Yemen, Palestine, Pakistan etc (Google “Muslim Holocaust Muslim Genocide” ).
The 1950-2005 avoidable deaths from deprivation in countries occupied by France in the post-1945 era total 142 million (727 million for British-occupied, 82 million for US-occupied, and 24 million for Apartheid Israel-occupied countries) (Google “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950” ).
The US, UK, France and Apartheid Israel have invaded 70, 170, 80 and 12 countries, respectively (Google “US has invaded 70 nations – make 4 July Independence from America Day”) and are currently variously involved (and variously with Australian assistance) in killing Indigenous inhabitants of Mali, the Central African Republic, Libya, Somalia, Palestine, the Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan – US state terrorism, UK state terrorism, French state terrorism , Apartheid Israeli state terrorism and Australian state terrorism and indeed a racist and genocidal “death cult” extraordinaire.
OCTOBER 2014 CENSORSHIP.
On 29 October 2014 The Guardian published an article by Alyson Walsh entitled “Helen Mirren for L’Oreal: has the beauty industry finally wised up?””: http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2014/oct/28/-sp-helen-mirren-for-loreal-has-the-beauty-industry-finally-wised-up .
I attempted to post the following well-researched comment but my comments (which are singled out for “pre-moderation” by the Guardian Australia) have not appeared and have evidently been CENSORED by The Guardian Australia, presumably for containing things the endlessly CENSORING Guardian Australia does not wants its readers to read, know about or think about:
CENSORED COMMENT. “L'Oreal and Helen Mirren have unfortunately not wised up to the immorality of being linked with the genocidal racism of anti-Arab anti-Semitic Israeli Apartheid (for a detailed report Google the Electronic Intifada article "Boycott L'Oreal: Make up for Israeli apartheid"). Decent people around the world have responded to the horrendous Israeli oppression of the Palestinian People and the ongoing Palestinian Genocide by applying Boycotts Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against nuclear terrorist, serial war criminal, democracy-by-genocide Apartheid Israel and those linked with the apartheid rogue state (for details and anti-racist Jewish and non-Jewish views on BDS Google "Boycott Apartheid Israel", "Palestinian Genocide", "Jews Against Racist Zionism", and "Non -Jews Against Racist Zionism") .” END CENSORED COMMENT.
On 8 October 2014 The Guardian Australia published an article about alcohol-related cancer in Australia: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/oct/08/half-of-australians-unaware-excessive-alcohol-increases-cancer-risk .
A 5-decade career scientist, I attempted to post the following carefully researched comment but my post was CENSORED by The Guardian Australian , presumably for containing things that the Guardian Australia or its UK Guardian parent do not want their readers to read, know about or think about.
CENSORED COMMENT. There were 5,554 Australian deaths attributable to alcohol in 2010, including 3,467 male deaths and 2,087 female deaths (for details and documentation Google “Alcohol's burden of disease in Australia ”).
Indeed it is estimated that about 80,000 Australians die preventably each year, the breakdown including (1) 26,000 annual Australian deaths from adverse hospital events, (2) 17,000 obesity-related Australian deaths annually, (3) 15,500 smoking-related Australian deaths annually, (4) 10,000 carbon burning pollution-derived Australian deaths annually, (5) 2,000 avoidable Indigenous Australian deaths annually, (6) 5,600 Australians die alcohol-related deaths annually, (7) 2,100 Australian suicides annually, (8) 1,400 Australian road deaths annually, (9) 630 Australian opiate drug-related deaths annually with 570 annually linked to US restoration of the Taliban-destroyed Afghan opium industry, and (10) 300 Australian homicides annually.
Compare the 1 million preventable Australian deaths since 9-11 with the 6 Australians who died from terrorist incidents within Australia in the last 36 years with none of these incidents involving Muslims (for details and documentation Google "state terrorism, zero Australian terrorism deaths, 1 million preventable Australian deaths").
Science-informed Australians should demand an immediate reversion of resources for education, health and for preventive medicine from “terror hysteria”, espionage and war (thus the long-term accrual cost of the War on Terror for Australia is about $125 billion). END CENSORED COMMENT.
SEPTEMBER 2014 CENSORSHIP.
On 30 September 2014 The Guardian re “subversion” terror laws: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/30/counter-terrorism-laws-to-target-people-who-subvert-society-in-other-countries .
I attempted to post the following comment but it was CENSORED, presumably because it offended a Neocon American and Zionist Imperialist (NAZI) agenda within The Guardian:
CENSORED COMMENT. “One notes that all these "subversion" law proposals, with the possible exception of the disruption of an electronic system, have been and will be violated by:
1. successive Coalition and Labor Right (aka Lib-Lab, Liberal-Laboral) Australian Governments in the illegal and war criminal invasion and occupation of Iraq (2.7 million Iraqi deaths from violence or violently-imposed deprivation; Google "Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide" ) and the renewed illegal and hence war criminal invasion of Iraq, again without UN sanction;
2. militant extremist Zionist Australians involved as "foreign fighters" for Apartheid Israel in war crimes in Occupied Palestine in connection with the ongoing Palestinian Genocide, war criminal attacks on neighbouring countries, and indeed in Mainstream media documented Israeli attacks on Australian citizens (e.g. the bombing of 25,000 Australian citizens in Lebanon in 2006 and the various tasering, shooting, robbing and kidnapping of Australian citizens on Gaza Flotilla vessels); and
3. militant extremist Zionist Australians involved in subversion and perversion of Australian MPs, journalists, academics and institutions in the interests of a nuclear terrorist, genocidally racist, apartheid rogue state (for a detailed dossier I have sent to media, MPs and the AFP Google "Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity").” END CENSORED COMMENT.
26 September 2014 The Guardian Australia published an article by its deputy political editor Katherine Murphy about the “terror hysteria”-swayed Australian Senate’s passage of “the most significant restraints on press freedom in this country outside of wartime” and entitled “The acid test: Australian journalists must ask what agenda they serve”: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/26/the-acid-test-australian-journalists-must-ask-what-agenda-they-serve
My detailed and carefully researched comments on censorship by Mainstream Media itself including The Guardian Australia were CENSORED by The Guardian.
Accordingly, I attempted to post a SECOND even more detailed and documented comment but this too was CENSORED by The Guardian Australia, evidently for containing things it does not want its readers to read, know about or think about:
Fine words indeed from The Guardian Australia but like all Western Mainstream media (MSM) The Guardian Australian itself censors Elephant in the Room realities and informed reader opinions, evidently for involving things it does not want its readers to read about, know about or think about.
I am a much-published 5-decade career scientist and as a humanitarian scientist I am resolutely committed to QUANTITATIVELY informing the public about major realities that are censored by the US-beholden Western Mainstream media (MSM). However my resolute 24/7, year in year out attempts to penetrate the Mainstream Media Wall of Silence (albeit typically as carefully researched and documented comments lost in hundreds of reader comments in long comment threads) are routinely completely censored out by MSM ranging from the bottom-of-the-barrel taxpayer-funded ABC and the universities-backed The Conversation (that have both effectively blocked me from making informed comments and are guilty of applying sidelining, censorship, blocking and defamation to anti-racist Jewish opinion) to the ostensibly “progressive” Guardian Australia.
For details and documentation of such censorship by Western and Australian Mainstream Media including The Guardian UK and The Guardian Australia simply Google "Censorship by The Guardian Australia", “Boycott Murdoch media”, “Censorship by the BBC”, “Censorship by The Conversation”, “Mainstream media censorship”, “Mainstream media lying”, “Censorship by The Age”, “Censorship by ABC Late Night Live”, "Censorship by ABC Saturday Extra", “ABC fact-checking unit & incorrect reportage by the ABC (Australia’s BBC)”, and "Censorship by The Guardian UK".
For non-censored reportage of the Awful Truth and of informed reader opinions decent people interested in the truth (that is crucial for democracy, societal safety and security) should read New Matilda, Crikey, Green Left Weekly, and Red Flag in Australian and numerous humane Alternative media from around the world including Media With Conscience News (MWC News), Countercurrents, Bellaciao, State of Nature, Democracy Now, Alternet, Prison Planet, Counterpunch, Information Clearing House…
On 26 September 2014 The Guardian re the hypothetical “Inevitability”: of terror attacks by returning “foreign fighters” http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/25/major-terrorist-attack-inevitable-isis-eu
My following comment was CENSORED by The Guardian Australia presumably for containing things that it does not want its readers to read, know about or think about.
There is a hypothetical concern about Muslim “foreign fighters” returning home and committing mayhem. However this is extremely unlikely – thus zero (0) Australians have been killed by terrorists in Australia since the US false-flag 9-11 atrocity (Google “Experts: US did 9-11”) and only 6 in the last 36 years, this latter statistic yielding an "empirical annual probability of death from terrorism in Australia" of 1 in 109 million. Sensible, risk-averse people will consider the ACTUALITY of US Alliance “foreign fighters” killing and devastating the Middle East:
1. Zionist Australian “foreign fighters” are continuing to serve a foreign government and commit war crimes against Indigenous Palestinians and against Australians. According to Mainstream reports, Israeli forces (including such Australian foreign fighters) have variously tasered, shot, bombed, kidnapped, falsely imprisoned , tortured, maimed and robbed Australians or their relatives and violated Australian sovereignty and security by large-scale forging of passports and subversion of Australian children, students, politicians, parties and institutions in the interests of a nuclear terrorist , genocidally racist, Apartheid rogue state (for a detailed dossier sent to MPs and the AFP Google “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity”) .
2, Al Jazeera America reports that more than 1,000 Americans and as many as 4,600 other non-Israelis are currently fighting for Apartheid Israel and hence committing war crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
3. There are currently thousands of US Alliance “foreign fighters” from the US, UK, France, Australia and 6 Arab dictatorships variously and war criminally bombing Iraq and Syria in the absence of a US Security Council resolution .
4. US Alliance “foreign fighters” in the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia and Africa over the last quarter century have been associated with 12 million Muslim deaths (half of the children) from violence or war-imposed deprivation (Google “Muslim Holocaust Muslim Genocide”).
5. Rational risk management that is crucial for societal safety successively involves (a) accurate data, (b) scientific analysis and (c) informed systemic change to minimize risk to society. US Alliance Mainstream media, politician and academic “terror hysteria”, lying, intimidation and censorship endangers science-based rational risk management that is critical for societal safety - state terrorism indeed.
On 24 September 2014 The Guardian published an article by Paul Farrell, “Counter-terrorism law changes unnecessary, say top criminal lawyers”: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/24/counter-terrorism-law-changes-unnecessary-say-top-criminal-lawyers .
My following comment was CENSORED by The Guardian Australia presumably for containing things that it does not want its readers to read, know about or think about.
1. Zero (0) Australian have been killed by terrorists in Australia since 9-11 (and only 6 killed thus in the last 36 years) but 1 million Australians have died preventably since 9-11, this being inescapably linked to the fiscal perversion of Australian Governments committing to a long-term accrual cost of $125 billion to the War on Terror and killing 10 million Muslims abroad (half them children) through violence or violently-imposed deprivation instead of keeping 1 million Australians alive at home. The “empirical annual probability” for an Australian dying preventably is 1 in 294 whereas the “empirical annual probability” for an Australian being killed by a terrorist in Australia is 1 in 109 million. It is thus 370,000 times more likely for an Australian resident to die preventably (from adverse hospital events, smoking, alcohol etc) than to die from a terrorist attack within Australia (Google “Australian State Terrorism - Zero Australian terrorism deaths, 1 million preventable Australian deaths & 10 Million Muslims killed by US Alliance since 9-11”).
2. The genocidally racist Zionist terror organization Irgun that (a) collaborated with the Nazis, (b) killed Allied servicemen before, during and after WW2, (c) forced 800,000 Indigenous Palestinians from their homes and their country through genocidal massacres, (d) was the progenitor of the Likud regime running Apartheid Israel and (e) which has been roundly condemned by numerous anti-racist Jewish humanitarians including Hannah Arendt and Albert Einstein (Google “Jews Against Racist Zionism”) was deleted from the Australian list of proscribed terrorist organizations by Zionist sympathizers within the Australian Government.
3. The existing and proposed laws violate Australian freedoms, are selectively anti-Muslim, and in practice by omission give carte blanche to Zionist Australian "foreign fighters" continuing to serve a foreign government and commit war crimes against Indigenous Palestinians and against Australians. Al Jazera America reports that more than 1000 Americans and as many as 4600 other non-Israelis are currently fighting for Apartheid Israel. According to Mainstream reports, Israeli forces (including such Australian foreign fighters) have variously tasered, shot, bombed, kidnapped, falsely imprison , tortured, maimed and robbed Australians or their relatives and violated Australian sovereignty and security by large-scale forging of passports and subversion of Australian children, students, politicians, parties and institutions in the interests of a nuclear terrorist , genocidally racist, Apartheid rogue state (for a detailed dossier sent to MPs and the AFP Google “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity”) .
On 24 September 2014 The Guardian published a report on the conviction of former MP Peter Slipper: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/24/peter-slipper-avoids-jail-but-sentenced-to-300-hours-community-service .
My following comment was CENSORED by The Guardian Australia presumably for containing things that it does not want its readers to read, know about or think about.
Peter Slipper has been convicted, sentenced, and disgraced over $954 wrongly charged for taxi trips to a winery, noting that other MPs in similar situations have not been thus prosecuted and punished and instead offered the option of repaying the inappropriately used funds. Selectively applied law is injustice. Decent Australians await criminal prosecution of other MPs for vastly more serious crimes of commission and omission, for example:
1. Andrew Wilkie MP and John Valder, former president of the Australian Liberal Party, have demanded that former PM John Howard being arraigned before the International Criminal Court over the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003 that was associated with 2.7 million Iraqi deaths from violence (1.5 million) and from violently-imposed deprivation (1.2 million). All Coalition and Labor Right (Lib-Lab, Liberal-Laboral) MPs associated with this atrocity should be charged with war crimes (Google “Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide”).
2. The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War unequivocally demands that an Occupier must provide its conquered Subjects with life sustaining food and medicine “to the fullest extent of the means available to it” . However Australian Lib-Lab MPs are variously complicit in the deaths of under-5 year old infants totalling 0.2 million (Palestine, 1967-2014), 2 million (Iraq, 1990-2011) and 3 million (Afghanistan (2001-2014), 90% avoidable and due to gross violation of the Geneva Convention.
3. The “Little Children are Sacred” report quoted research indicating that 25% of Australian adults have been sexually abused as children (by way of comparison the figure is over 9 % in the US where 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse, and 17% in Apartheid Israel; Google “Horrendous pro-Zionist, Zionist and Apartheid Israeli child abuse exposed”). Yet Lib-Lab MPs remorselessly fail to take action over this appalling terrorist atrocity.
4. Zero (0) Australian have been killed by terrorists in Australia since 9-11 (and only 6 killed thus in the last 36 years) but 1 million Australians have died preventably since 9-11, this being inescapably linked to the fiscal perversion of successive Lib-Lab Australian Governments committing to a long-term accrual cost of $125 billion to the War on Terror and killing 10 million Muslims abroad (half them children) through violence or violently-imposed deprivation instead of keeping 1 million Australians alive at home. Lib-Lab MPs are stripping away our rights over “terrorism” (annual probability of being killed by a terrorist in Australia 1 in 109 million) while ignoring 81,000 preventable Australian deaths each year ( annual probability of an Australian dying avoidably 1 in 294) – deadly depraved indifference.
Decent Australians will utterly abhor Lib-Lab crimes of commission and omission, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
On 25 September 2014 The Guardian’s Katharine Murphy on Abbott & terror at the UN: http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2014/sep/25/tony-abbott-tells-the-un-every-country-is-a-potential-terror-target-politics-live .
My following comment was CENSORED by The Guardian Australia presumably for containing things that it does not want its readers to read, know about or think about.
People have been shocked by barbarous acts by ISIS Sunni rebels in the Syrian and Iraqi civil wars (beheadings, mass execution of prisoners, terrorizing of religious and ethnic minorities). However lost in the Mainstream media , politician and academic “terror hysteria” are the appalling realities of Western state terrorists grossly violating International law by their current invasions of Iraq and Syria (Google “Obama Iraq War and Obama Syrian War will both involve US Alliance in 12 types of war crimes” ) . These Western state terrorist atrocities are summarized below.
1950-2005 avoidable deaths from deprivation total 1,300 million on Spaceship Earth with Western state terrorists in charge of the flight deck, with such deaths in nations occupied by Western nations in the post- 1945 era totalling 82 million (US-occupied), 142 million (French–occupied), 727 million (UK-occupied), 24 million (Apartheid Israel-occupied) (read “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950” by Gideon Polya that includes an avoidable mortality-related history of all countries since Neolithic times and is now available for free perusal on the web ).
The US has invaded 70 nations, France has invaded 80, Apartheid Israel has invaded 12, and the UK has invaded 170 (Google “US has invaded”, “France has invaded”).
Australia has been involved in 30 genocides and participated in all post-1950 US Asian wars (Asian deaths from violence war-imposed deprivation totalling 40 million) (Google “ The Cambridge History of Australia ignores Australian involvement in 30 genocides”).
US state terrorism French state terrorism, UK state terrorism, Israeli state terrorism and indeed Australian state terrorism.
On 23 September 2014 re US climate policy: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/22/us-climate-change-john-kerry-un .
My following comment was CENSORED by The Guardian Australia presumably for containing things that it does not want its readers to read, know about or think about.
The worsening climate crisis has finally been recognized as a major issue by the Obama Administration. However the recent policy announcement on climate change by President Obama - 30% off 2005 greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution of America's dirty power plants by 2030 enforceable by the US Environment Protection Authority (EPA) under the Clean Air Act - represents too little too late and falls far short of what is needed to address the worsening climate crisis.
The coal-to-gas transition touted by the pro-gas Obama Administration and the US gas industry means replacing one dirty energy source (coal) with another dirty energy source (natural gas, mostly methane, CH4) that may indeed be dirtier than coal GHG-wise depending upon the extent of systemic natural gas leakage (CH4 has a Global Warming Potential 105 times greater than that of CO2 on a 20 year time frame and with aerosol impacts included). .
Further, the annual GHG pollution to be saved in 2030 through Obama’s measures will be only 4.5% of America's current total annual GHG pollution that is re-assessed at 10.3 billion tonnes CO2-e (CO2 equivalent) if the latest data on methane emissions are considered. In stark contrast, the whole world's 2010-2050 Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise is 600 billion tonnes CO2 and the US finally used up its “fair share” of this terminal carbon pollution budget in 2014 (Google “Pro-gas Obama's EPA-based plan to reduce coal-based pollution amounts to climate change inaction” , “2011 climate change course”, “Are we doomed?”, “300.org” and “300 ppm CO2”).
On 22 September 2014 The Guardian published an article by Daniel Hurst “Torture ruled out of counter-terrorism laws for Australian security agencies”: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/22/torture-ruled-out-of-counter-terrorism-laws-for-australian-security-agencies .
My following comment was CENSORED by The Guardian Australia, presumably for containing things that it does not want its readers to read, know about or think about.
It is a relief that the Coalition (albeit under pressure) has agreed to legislate for explicit prohibition of torture by Australian Security Services. However major problems continue with proposed and existing “terror hysteria” legislation.
1. The genocidally racist Zionist terror organization Irgun that (a) collaborated with the Nazis, (b) killed Allied servicemen before, during and after WW2, (c) forced 800,000 Indigenous Palestinians from their homes and their country through genocidal massacres, (d) was the progenitor of the Likud regime running Apartheid Israel and (e) which has been roundly condemned by numerous anti-racist Jewish humanitarians including Hannah Arendt and Albert Einstein (Google “Jews Against Racist Zionism”) was deleted from the Australian list of proscribed terrorist organizations by Zionist sympathizers within the Australian Government.
2. The existing and proposed laws in practice give carte blanche to Zionist Australian foreign fighters continuing to serve a foreign government and commit war crimes against Indigenous Palestinians and against Australians. Indeed according to Mainstream reports, Israeli forces (including such Australian foreign fighters) have variously tasered, shot, bombed, kidnapped, falsely imprison , tortured, maimed and robbed Australians or their relatives and violated Australian sovereignty and security by large-scale forging of passports and subversion of Australian children, students, politicians, parties and institutions in the interests of a nuclear terrorist , genocidally racist, Apartheid rogue state (for a detailed dossier sent to MPs and the AFP Google “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity”) .
3. Zero Australian have been killed by terrorists in Australia since 9-11 (and of 6 killed thus in the last 36 years none were killed by Muslims) but 1 million Australians have died preventably since 9-11, this being inescapably linked to the fiscal perversion of Australian Governments committing to a long-term accrual cost of $125 billion to the War on Terror and killing 10 million Muslims abroad (half them children) through violence or violently -imposed deprivation instead of keeping 1 million Australians alive at home. It is 370,000 times more likely for an Australian resident to die preventably (from adverse hospital events, smoking, alcohol etc) than to die from a terrorist attack within Australia (Google “Australian state terrorism - 1 million preventable Australian deaths since 9-11”).
4. From a philosophical perspective, trying to prove that you are NOT something ( e.g. a terrorist, a witch etc) is very difficult.
On 17 September 2014 The Guardian re China ban on dirty coal: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/17/chinas-ban-on-dirty-coal-could-cost-australian-mining-almost-15bn
I wrote the following carefully researched comment on the article but it was CENSORED by The Guardian Australia, presumably for containing things that this Neocon American and Zionist Imperialist (NAZI)-perverted and subverted, foreign-owned, neoliberal rag does not want its readers to read, know about or think about.
"This cut-back by China on dirty coal imports from Australia and other countries demonstrates the serious dangers from “stranded assets” of Australian investors and Australia as a whole relying on income from dirty fossil fuels.
The Carbon Tracker Initiative is “aiming to improve the transparency of the carbon embedded in equity markets. This will be done by identifying the scale of unburnable carbon currently listed on stock exchanges around the world in order to demonstrate the systemic risk to markets”. Carbon Tracker has found that between 60-80% of coal, oil and gas reserves of publicly listed companies are ‘unburnable’ if the world is to have a chance of not exceeding global warming of 2°C. The total coal, oil and gas reserves listed on the world’s stock exchanges equals 762GtCO2 – approximately a quarter of the world’s total reserves. If you apply the same proportion to the global carbon budgets to have an 80% chance of limiting global warming to 2°C, their allocation of the carbon budget is between 125GtCO2 and 225GtCO2, illustrating the scale of ‘unburnable carbon’
Leading climate change economist Professor Lord Stern commenting on the Carbon Tracker report: “Smart investors can see that investing in companies that rely solely or heavily on constantly replenishing reserves of fossil fuels is becoming a very risky decision. The report raises serious questions as to the ability of the financial system to act on industry-wide long term risk, since currently the only measure of risk is performance against industry benchmarks.”
“Divest from fossil fuels” is an alphabetically-organized website recording the opinions and actions of leading scientists, writers, activists and organizations (cities, counties, towns, universities, colleges, churches, investment groups and corporations) advocating Divestment from dirty energy that is destroying the Biosphere.
Economist and former Coalition leader Dr John Hewson heads the Asset Owners Disclosure Project (AODP) that in its own words: “is an independent not-for-profit global organisation whose objective is to protect members' retirement savings from the risks posed by climate change by improving the level of disclosure and industry best practice”. The AODP Global Climate Index rates the following Pension Funds as AAA in descending order in terms of climate risk avoidance: (1) Environment Agency Active Pension fund (UK), (2) Local Government Super (Australia), (3) CalPERS (USA), (4) Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW), and (5) VicSuper (Australia).
Unfortunately the pro-fossil fuels Coalition is not listening to Dr John Hewson. Sensible, risk-averse, science-informed Australian will reject the Luddite, anti-science, anti-environment, climate criminal Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last."
On 11 September 2014 re nurses dobbing in doctors: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/10/nurses-still-reluctant-dob-in-doctors-study .
I wrote the following carefully researched comment on the article but it was CENSORED by The Guardian Australia, presumably for containing things that this Neocon American and Zionist Imperialist (NAZI)-perverted and subverted, foreign-owned, neoliberal rag does not want its readers to read, know about or think about.
Science-based rational risk management that is crucial for societal safety successively involves (a) accurate data , (b) scientific analysis (this involving the critical testing of potentially falsifiable hypotheses ) and (c) informed systemic change to minimize risk. Unfortunately this is frequently perverted by a spin-based protocol of (a) lies, censorship, intimidation, (b) anti-science spin-based analysis that involves the selective use of asserted facts to support an partisan position, and (c) blame and shame with potentially disastrous diminution of reportage that is crucial for societal safety.
Science-based rational risk management is notably responsible for the safety of passenger aviation, the nuclear industry and indeed high technology “defense”. However it has been estimated that adverse hospital events are linked to the deaths 18,000 Australians and 180,000 Americans each year. Indeed annual preventable deaths in Australia (population 24 million), the UK (population 63 million) and the US (population 318 million) total 66,000, 150,000 and 1,300,000 , respectively (Google "66,000 Preventable Australian Deaths Annually”, “Nine reasons Scots should vote Yes for an Independent Scotland” and “One million Americans die”).
Risk assessment analysts refer to a “horizontal hierarchy” that is about 98% in aviation (98% of the time the pilot will immediately respond to threat reportage by the air hostess) but about 15 years ago only about 50% in medicine. Reportage is crucial to rational risk management but the Coalition’s abolition of the Climate Commission and the Australian National Preventative Health Agency (ANPHA), as well as its cuts to health and education, take Australia in the wrong direction.
Sensible, informed, and risk-averse Australians will reject the anti-science, spin-driven Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
The Neocon Americans and Zionist Imperialists (NAZIs) get away with egregiously false “terror hysteria” with the complicity of the Neocon American and Zionist Imperialist (NAZI)-perverted and subverted Mainstream media. A recent example is given below relating to the Guardian Australia that has an appalling record of CENSORSHIP (see "Censorship by The Guardian Australia": https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/home/censorship-by-the-guardian-a ).
On 9 September 2014 The Guardian Australia published an article by Katharine Murphy re ASIO & the asserted “terror threat” and entitled “Asio “actively considering” raising Australia’s terror threat level to high” : http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/09/asio-may-raise-australia-terror-threat-level .
I wrote the following carefully researched comment on the article but it was CENSORED by The Guardian Australia, presumably for containing things that this Neocon American and Zionist Imperialist (NAZI)-perverted and subverted, foreign-owned, neoliberal rag does not want its readers to read, know about or think about.
CENSORED COMMENT: “Since 1978 there have been 6 Australian residents killed by terrorism within Australia (the 3 killed in the Hilton Bombing that may well have been an Australian Intelligence operation gone wrong, the Turkish Consul-General and his bodyguard, and a security guard killed by a Right to life fanatic).
The average population of Australia in that period was 18.2 million. Accordingly the “empirical probability of Australian being killed by a terrorist within Australia in a given year” is 6 persons /(36 years x 18.2 million ) = 9.2 in 1 billion per year or roughly 1 in 100 million per year.
By way of comparison, the probability of being killed by s shark in Australia is about 1 in 1 million per year i.e. it is 100 times more likely for an Australian to be killed by a shark than being killed by a terrorist within Australia.
Indeed it is estimated that 66,000 Australians die preventably each year, this ongoing, unreported disaster being necessarily linked to the fiscal perversions of pro-One Percenter subsidy policies and the $125 billion long-term accrual cost of the War on Terror to Australia (Google “Endless War on Terror, Huge cost for Australia & America” and “66,000 Preventable Australian Deaths Annually” ). By way of comparison, annual preventable deaths total 1.3 million, 150,000 and 11,000 for the US (population 315 million), UK (63 million) and Scotland,(5 million), respectively (Google "Why Scots Should Vote Yes For An Independent Scotland”).
The “terror hysteria” and warmongering of the pro-war, US lackey Lib-Labs (Liberal-Laborals , Coalition and Labor Right) and politicized Australian public servants is dangerous and indeed deadly falsehood. Rational , informed Australians will reject pro-war terror hysteria, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.” END CENSORED COMMENT.
CORRECTION. There have been 22 fatal shark attacks in Australia since April 2002 (see “Shark attacks in Australia: a timeline”, Australian Geographic, September 2014) : http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2014/09/shark-attacks-in-australia-a-timeline/ ) . The average Australian population in that period was about 21.6 million. Accordingly the “empirical annual probability of an Australian suffering a fatal shark attack in Australia ” is about 22/12.3 years x 21.6 million) =0.8 per 10 million per year or roughly 1 in 10 million per year.
Since 1978 there have been 6 Australian residents killed by terrorism within Australia (the 3 killed in the 1978 Hilton Bombing that may well have been an Australian Intelligence operation gone wrong, the Sydney Turkish Consul-General and his bodyguard shot in 1980, and a security guard killed by a Right to life fanatic in Melbourne in 2001). The average population of Australia in that period was 18.2 million. Accordingly, the “empirical probability of Australian being killed by a terrorist within Australia in a given year” is 6 persons /(34 years x 18.2 million ) = 9.2 in 1 billion per year or roughly 1 in 100 million per year.
It is accordingly presently about TEN (10) times more likely (albeit still extremely unlikely) for an Australian resident to be killed within Australia by a shark (1 in 10 million per year) than to be killed by a terrorist within Australia (1 in 100 million per year).
About 66,000 Australians die preventably each year, variously from all kinds of preventable causes from smoking, drinking and obesity to homicide and suicide (see Gideon Polya, “Why PM Julia Gillard Must Go: 66,000 Preventable Australian Deaths Annually”, Countercurrents, 21 February, 2012: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya210212.htm ). The present Australian population is 24 million. Accordingly the “empirical annual probability of an Australian dying preventably in Australia” is 66,000 /24 million = 2,750 per million or 27,500 per 10 million and 275,000 per 100 million. Thus “the annual probability of an Australian dying preventably” is presently about 30,000 times greater than for dying by shark attack and about 300,000 times more likely than being killed within Australian by a terrorist.
For details of media-derived censorship by the global Murdoch media empire, Australian Fairfax media, The Guardian, the Australian ABC, the UK BBC, and the Australian universities-backed web magazine The Conversation in Neocon American- and Zionist Imperialist-perverted and subverted Murdochracy, Lobbyocracy and Corporatocracy Australia and elsewhere in the West see “Boycott Murdoch media”: https://sites.google.com/site/boycottmurdochmedia/ ; “Censorship by the BBC”: https://sites.google.com/site/censorshipbythebbc/ ; “Censorship by The Conversation”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by ; “Mainstream media censorship”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/home ; “Mainstream media lying”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammedialying/ ; “Censorship by The Age”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by-the-age ; “Censorship by ABC Late Night Live”: https://sites.google.com/site/censorshipbyabclatenightlive/ , "Censorship by ABC Saturday Extra": https://sites.google.com/site/censorshipbyabclatenightlive/censorship-by-abc-sat and “ABC fact-checking unit & incorrect reportage by the ABC (Australia’s BBC)”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/abc-fact-checking-unit , "Censorship by The Guardian UK": https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by-the-guardian-uk and "Censorship by The Guardian Australia": https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/home/censorship-by-the-guardian-a .
On 5 September 2014 The Guardian re Kenyatta & ICC: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/05/kenya-president-uhuru-kenyatta-icc-trial-collapses .
I attempted to post the following comment but it was CENSORED by The Guardian Australia, presumably for containing things that it does not want its readers to read about, know about or think about.
“Hardly surprising that the war crimes process via the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, has collapsed. Repeated, intolerable atrocities against Humanity are made possible by remorseless lying by omission and commission on the part of the perpetrators and complicit media. “The Politics of Genocide” by Professor Edward S. Herman and David Peterson (foreword by Professor Noam Chomsky; Monthly Review Press, New York , 2010) is a very important book that exposes holocaust-ignoring and genocide-ignoring by Western Mainstream media, political and academic Establishments except when the atrocities are committed by “enemies” of the US Alliance (Google “Book Review: “The Politics Of Genocide” by Edward Herman and David Peterson”.
Of no interest to the ICC or Western media is US lackey President Uhuru Kenyatta’s war criminal involvement in the US Somali Genocide (2.2 million Somalis killed by violence or war-imposed deprivation since 1992; 2 million Somali refugees; 1.3 million under-5 Somali infant deaths, 90% avoidable and due to gross US Alliance violation of Articles 55 and 56 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War that state unequivocally that an Occupier must provide life-sustaining food and medical services to its conquered subjects “to the fullest extent of the means available to it” (Google “Muslim Holocaust Muslim Genocide”).
Holocaust-ignoring and genocide-ignoring are far, far worse than repugnant holocaust denial and genocide denial because the latter at least admit the possibility of public discussion.”
On 4 September 2014 The Guardian re Tasmania forests: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/03/tasmanian-government-rips-up-forestry-peace-deal .
I attempted to post the following comment but it has evidently been CENSORED by The Guardian Australia, presumably for containing things this unethical, truth-perverting, censoring, lying, Neocon American and Zionist Imperialist-perverted and subverted rag does not want its readers to read, know about or think about.
The World needs to urgently stop and reverse man-made climate change through renewable energy and geothermal, CO2 sequestration via FORESTS, biochar and bicarbonate, and all this coupled with cessation of deforestation, industrial, agricultural and domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution and population growth. Science-informed Australians who care for their children and future generations will utterly reject the effective climate change denialism and climate change inaction of the anti-science Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
SE Australian Eucalyptus forests are the world’s best forest carbon sinks. The decision to scrap 400,000 ha of such forests by the Coalition Tasmanian Government backed by the Coalition Federal Government is environmental vandalism at its worst, not just destroying unique ecosystems but is also attacking a significant path to tackling climate change and - as recommended by climate scientists and biologists - returning the atmospheric CO2 to a safe and sustainable 300 ppm CO2 from the present dangerous and damaging 400 ppm CO2 (Google “300.org” and “300 ppm CO2”).
In 2009 the WBGU (that advises the German Government on climate change) found that for a 75% chance of avoiding a disastrous 2 degree Centigrade (2C) temperature rise the World can emit no more than a Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget of 600 Gt CO2 before reaching zero emissions in about 2050 (Google, “Solving the climate dilemma: the budget approach”). Australia's high Domestic plus Exported GHG pollution rate of about 2 Gt CO2-equivalent per year means that by 2011 Australia had already used up its “fair share” of this Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget and is now stealing the entitlement of all other countries (Google “Cut carbon emissions 80% by 2020”).
Australia's huge resources and bipartisan policy of unlimited coal, gas and iron ore exports means that it is set to exceed the whole world's Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget of 600 Gt CO2 by a factor of THREE (3). Global fossil fuel corporations intend to exceed the world's Terminal Budget by a factor of about 5. Methane leakage from East Siberian Arctic Shelf in coming decades, as estimated by Professor Peter Wadhams from 90-Nobel-Laureate University of Cambridge, will exceed 600 Gt CO2-equivalent by a factor of over 9. Using these revised estimates, the World will exceed 600 Gt CO2-e in 4 years time (for details and documentation Google “2011 Climate Change Course”: “Australia 's Huge Coal, Gas & Iron Ore Exports Threaten Planet”, and “Are we doomed?”).
The World needs to urgently stop and reverse man-made climate change through renewable energy and geothermal, CO2 sequestration via FORESTS, biochar and bicarbonate, and all this coupled with cessation of deforestation, industrial, agricultural and domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution and population growth. Science-informed Australians who care for their children and future generations will utterly reject the effective climate change denialism and climate change inaction of the anti-science Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last
On 2 September 2014 The Guardian re UN & climate change: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/01/un-weather-forecasts-2050-climate-change-floods-drought .
I attempted to post the following comment but it has evidently been CENSORED by The Guardian Australia, presumably for containing things this unethical, truth-perverting, censoring, lying, Neocon American and Zionist Imperialist-perverted and subverted rag does not want its readers to read, know about or think about.
“In 2009 the WBGU (that advises the German Government on climate change) found that for a 75% chance of avoiding a disastrous 2 degree Centigrade (2C) temperature rise the World can emit no more than a Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget of 600 Gt CO2 before reaching zero emissions in about 2050 (Google “Solving the climate dilemma: the budget approach”).
Australia's high Domestic plus Exported GHG pollution rate of about 2 Gt CO2-equivalent per year means that by 2011 Australia had already used up its “fair share” of this Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget and is now stealing the entitlement of all other countries (Google “Cut carbon emissions 80% by 2020”).
Australia's huge resources and bipartisan policy of unlimited coal, gas and iron ore exports means that it is set to exceed the whole world's Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget of 600 Gt CO2 by a factor of THREE (3). Global fossil fuel corporations intend to exceed the world's Terminal Budget by a factor of about FIVE (5). Methane leakage from East Siberian Arctic Shelf in coming decades, as estimated by Professor Peter Wadhams from 90-Nobel-Laureate University of Cambridge, will exceed 600 Gt CO2-equivalent by a factor of over NINE (9). Using these revised estimates, the World will exceed 600 Gt CO2-e in 4 years time (for details and documentation Google “2011 Climate Change Course”: “Australia 's Huge Coal, Gas & Iron Ore Exports Threaten Planet”, and “Are we doomed?”).
Science-informed Australians who care for their children and future generations will utterly reject the effective climate change denialism and climate change inaction of the pro-fossil fuels, anti-science Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.”
On 1 September 2014 The Guardian Australia published an article by Martin Chulov, “Iraqi forces take Amerli town from Islamic State fighters”: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/31/isis-islamic-state-iraq-advances .
I attempted to post the following carefully researched comment but after a day of non-appearance (The Guardian “pre-moderates” me to ensure that the Awful Truth cannot be seen even for a few seconds or minutes) it has evidently been CENSORED by The Guardian (for further examples of see "Censorship by The Guardian Australia": https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/home/censorship-by-the-guardian-a and Gideon Polya “The Guardian Australia Censors & Ignores Iraqi Holocaust And Iraqi Genocide Now Renewed By US & Australia”, Countercurrents, 1 September: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya310814.htm ):
Censored comment. "History ignored yields history repeated. Here is a short history of Australian involvement in Iraq - 2014 is the 100th anniversary of the British invasion of Iraq in November 1914 and the commencement of a century of Anglo devastation of Iraq . The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) assisted the British invasion of Iraq in 1915 and its soldiers unwittingly commenced the Palestinian Genocide with the Surafend Massacre in 1918. Australia was involved in the US-led 1990-2003 Sanctions War during which 1.7 million Iraqis died from imposed deprivation and 1.2 million under-5 Iraqi infants died (90% avoidably and due to US Alliance war crimes in gross violation of the Geneva Convention and the UN Genocide Convention). Australian special forces spearheaded the illegal and war criminal US-UK invasion of Iraq in March 2003 that resulted in 2.7 million Iraqi deaths from violence (1.5 million) or violently-imposed deprivation (1.2 million) and a further 0.8 million Iraqi under-5 infant deaths (Google “Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide” and read “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950”, now available for free perusal on the web).
The US and US-invited Australia are now re-invading Iraq. Exploiting barbaric acts by the IS Sunni rebels, the US and Australia have returned soldiers and air force planes to Iraq, and the US has intervened in the civil war with renewed massive bombing of Iraq and with Australia-directed drone strikes, with Australia now committing to air-supply of weapons to the Kurds and with Australian air force bombing a much-touted possibility.
Of course Iraq is just 1 of 70 countries that have been invaded and devastated by the US since 1776 . The UK has invaded about 172 countries and France has invaded 80 . Australia as a UK ally or (since 1941) a US ally has invaded scores of countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and Australasia. Why are these distant, non-Muslim, non-Arab-speaking, non-Arab and serial invader countries re-invading Iraq? Short answer: for US hegemony, oil, and non-Russian gas for Europe.
Renewed Australian military involvement in war-devastated Iraq is in the absence of (a) UN permission, (b) no clear threat to Australia, and (c) no clear invitation from the Iraqi Government (there are currently 3 governments in Iraq) is illegal and a further egregious war crime against the Iraqi people under International Law that will see an endless civil war for decades. As former ADF Lieutenant Colonel and now Federal Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has stated there needs to be proper Parliamentary discussion and respect for International Law . Peace is the only way but silence kills and silence is complicity." End censored comment.
AUGUST 2014 CENSORSHIP.
On 29 August 2014 The Guardian published an article by Daniel Hurst re the new Iraq War and entitled “Tony Abbott: any Iraq involvement will continue to be humanitarian” :http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/29/tony-abbott-any-iraq-involvement-will-continue-to-be-humanitarian .
I attempted to post the following comment but it was CENSORED by The Guardian, presumably for containing things The Guardian does not want its readers to read, know about or think about.
"Bill Shorten's craven, pro-war comments are as expected from the pro-war, US lackey Labor Right. However Labor's decent, informed and humane Tanya Plibersek is quite correct in alluding to the huge damage done to the US, Australia and Iraq by the Iraq War.
The long-term accrual cost of the US War on Terror has been $6 trillion for the US and $125 billion for Australia, these fiscal perversions being linked to US and Australian post-2001 preventable deaths of 16 million and 0.8 million, respectively, this being a shocking testament to the lunacy of spending huge sums to kill 10 million Muslims abroad through violence or war-imposed deprivation rather than keeping medically-compromised Americans and Australians alive at home (Google "One million Americans die" and "Muslim Holocaust Muslim Genocide").
The UK, US and Australia have vastly exceeded the horrifying barbarism of IS and are now set to do more through re-invasion. Thus US Alliance-imposed Sanctions and War in Iraq in 1990-2011 have been associated with 4.6 million Iraqi war-related deaths, 1.7 million violent deaths, 2.9 million deaths from war-imposed deprivation, 5-6 million refugees and 2.0 million under-5 infant deaths (90% avoidable and due to US Alliance war crimes in gross violation of the Geneva Convention and the UN Genocide Convention) (Google "Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide" and "UK, US, Australia & Iraqi Genocide 1914-2014" ).
Decent, informed and humane Australians will reject the Coalition and Labor Right warmongers, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last."
I attempted to post the further comment below but this too was CENSORED by The Guardian Australia. .
“My carefully researched post providing appalling statistics backing up Tanya Plibersek’s assertion that the 2003 war was “damaging” for the US, Australia and Iraq was CENSORED by The Guardian, presumably for containing things The Guardian does not want its readers to read, know about or think about. However it can be read if you Google “Censorship by The Guardian Australia”.
One is reminded of John Pilger (outstanding expatriate Australian UK writer and journalist) reviewing “The First Casualty” by Phillip Knightley (2003): “When I read the first edition of this remarkable book twenty-five years ago, I was struck by the following quotations. During the First World War, Prime Minister David Lloyd George told C P Scott, editor of the Manchester Guardian: "If the people really knew [the truth] the war would be stopped tomorrow. But of course they don't know and can't know".
History ignored yields history repeated (Google “Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History”, a book that is now available for free perusal on the web). Genocide censorship, holocaust censorship, genocide ignoring and holocaust ignoring are far, far worse than utterly repugnant genocide denial and holocaust denial because at least the latter admit the possibility of public discussion in the interests of public decency and public safety (history ignored yields history repeated) .
En passant, the assertion in the headline “Tony Abbott: any Iraq involvement will continue to be humanitarian” is utterly incorrect because, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, Australia , in addition to air force operations and soldiers on the ground in the Green Zone , is involved in US drone strikes: “Fairfax Media understands that the Pine Gap [telecommunications and spying] facility in central Australia is being used to direct drone strikes against militants in Iraq.””
On 26 August 2014, The Guardian Australia published an article by Bill Rowlings OAM (CEO, Civil Liberties Australia), “Will ASIO spy on world leaders at the G20 – soon you won’t be allowed to ask”, The Guardian Australia,: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/26/will-asio-spy-on-world-leaders-at-the-g20-soon-you-wont-be-allowed-to-ask .
I attempted to post the following carefully researched comment but it was CENSORED by The Guardian Australia, presumably for containing things that The Guardian Australia does not want its readers to read, know about or think about:
Excellent article by Bill Rowlings. Some further key points must be made in the interests of Australian liberty.
1. Australia shares its intelligence with the “5 eyes” (the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand) but no mention is made of the 6th eye, the Israelis. According to the Sydney Morning Herald’s Phillip Dorling: “The United States National Security Agency routinely shares intelligence data with Israel without first sifting through it to remove information about US citizens or the citizens of close allies including Australia, according to a top-secret agreement disclosed by US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden” (Google “US shares raw intelligence on Australians with Israel”).
2. Australian Intelligence is set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars more and more draconian laws violating our human rights from the Coalition – it is on the crest of a foreign-manufactured wave of Islamophobia, anti-Arab anti-Semitism and “terror hysteria” and all on account of the Sunni rebels in Iraq and Syria who are evidently prepared to try to match US Alliance barbarity with barbarity of their own. It is likely that hundreds of ISIS rebels have been blown to bits in disproportionate US “turkey shoot” responses to the awful beheading and there is a clear prospect of tens of thousands more rebels to be thus killed due to an “endless” and disproportionate US Alliance involvement in this civil war that threatens a lucrative non-Russian gas supply for Europe.
3. There is no mention by Australian Intelligence, politicians and media of Australian “foreign fighters” involved in the horrendous war crimes of Israeli state terrorism in Gaza, the Occupied Territories and the wider Middle East, not least in the latest Gaza Massacre involving 2,100 killed, 10,000 wounded, 450,000 rendered homeless and 1.8 million people traumatized in response to zero (0) Israeli deaths from Gaza rockets in the previous year.
4. In the last 50 years only 4 Australians have been killed by “terrorists” in Australia, 3 of them in the Hilton Bombing (that many believe was actually due to an operation-gone-wrong of Australian Intelligence) and the other a medical clinic security guard killed by a Right to Life fanatic (none of the “terrorists” were Muslims).
5. In contrast, Australian Intelligence does not deserve more money and powers when it demonstrably fails to protect Australian citizens and their relatives from the ACTUALITY of Israeli and dual citizen Australian-Israeli tasering, shooting, bombing, killing, mangling, torturing, kidnapping, robbing, and imprisoning Australians and their relatives, in addition to large-scale Israeli violation of Australian sovereignty through huge passport fraud, spying and subversion of MPs, media and institutions (for a detailed and documented dossier sent to Australian MPs, media and the AFP Google “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity”; also Google “ways Australian Intelligence spies”).
ON ABOUT 23 AUGUST 2014 THE GUARDIAN COMMENCED PRE-MODERATING MY COMMENTS TO PREVENT THE POSSIBILITY OF ITS READERS READING MY POSTS FOR EVEN A FEW SECONDS OR MINUTES, ALBEIT BURIED IN A LENGTHY COMMENT THREAD - I MUST BE SAYING SOMETHING RIGHT.
On 22 August 2014 The Guardian re Muslims & terror laws: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/22/christian-and-jewish-leaders-campaign-to-support-muslim-community . I posted the detailed comments below but they were rapidly COMPLETELY CENSORED presumably for containing things that the traitorous racist Zionist –subverted and perverted Guardian (albeit the best of Australia’s mainstream media and particularly good for science-informed climate change reportage) does not want its readers to read, know about or think about, CENSORSHIP of the informed comments of an anti-racist Jewish Australian scholar and long-time science academic, Dr Gideon Polya, that can well be seen as ugly anti-Jewish anti-Semitism.
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"The proposed new anti-terror laws of the pro-war, pro-Zionist, US lackey, human rights-abusing Coalition should be opposed because they are unfairly aimed at Muslims, ignore the massive threat of state terrorism to Australia and the world, and:
(1) include the dangerous Orwellian absurdity of the need for Australians to prove that they are not terrorism supporters (from a philosophy perspective, it is usually very difficult and sometimes impossible to prove a negative e.g. “that Tony Abbott is not an alien from outer space”);
(2) are clearly aimed at Australian Africans, Asians, Arabs and Muslims (unacceptable community-wide defamation, racism and bigotry).
(3) grossly invade Australian privacy;
(
4) totally ignore the serious problem of US state terrorism, UK state terrorism, French state terrorism , Israeli state terrorism and indeed Australian state terrorism linked to 12 million Muslim deaths from violence or war-imposed deprivation since 1990 and over 20 million Muslim refugees in the Zionist-backed US War on Muslims (Google “Muslim Holocaust Muslim Genocide”) versus 2,000 Westerners killed by Muslim-origin non-state terrorists in the last half century (this ignoring 2,000 Zionist invaders killed in Palestine and 3,000 killed in the 9-11 atrocity that almost certainly involved the US Government; Google “Experts: US did 9-11”);
(5) totally ignores non-Muslim Australians fighting for and committing war crimes and indeed war crimes against Australians for foreign states, notably Apartheid Israel that has tasered, bombed, shot, shelled, mangled, killed, kidnapped, tortured, falsely imprisoned and robbed Australians and their relatives as well as doing large-scale forging of Australian passports and subversion of Australian MPs, media and institutions (for a detailed and documented dossier sent to Australian MPs, media and the AFP Google “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity” ).
Decent, sensible, informed, patriotic Australians with a prime loyalty to Australia and no others will reject the lying terror hysteria of the pro-war, pro-Zionist, US lackey, state-terrorism-supporting Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
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On 21 August 2014 The Guardian published an article by anti-racist Jewish Australian writer Antony Loewenstein entitled “Diaspora dissent against Israel’s occupation is vital – and risky” : http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/21/diaspora-disagreement-against-israels-occupation-is-vital-and-vulnerable . The Guardian published my detailed comments below that drew a number of comments from pro-Zionists and then was COMPLETELY CENSORED presumably for containing things that the traitorous racist Zionist –subverted and perverted Guardian (albeit the best of Australia’s mainstream media and particularly good for science-informed climate change reportage) does not want its readers to read, know about or think about, censorship of the informed comments of an anti-racist Jewish Australian scholar and long-time science academic, Dr Gideon Polya, that can well be seen as ugly anti-Jewish anti-Semitism.
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Excellent article by outstanding anti-racist Jewish Australian writer Antony Loewenstein. He is one of numerous outstanding anti-racist Jewish and non-Jewish writers, intellectuals and leaders in Australia and around the world who variously condemn:
(1) the ongoing illegal Occupation and repeated war criminal Israeli massacres of Occupied Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, Lebanon and the Gaza Concentration Camp (the latest killing 2,000 and wounding 10,000 in Gaza in response to zero Israeli deaths from Gaza rockets in the year before the invasion),
(2) Israeli apartheid that is worse than South African Apartheid, forbids 6 million exiled Palestinians from even stepping foot in their own country, Palestine, and denies 72% of Israel’s 6 million Palestinian subjects human rights and the right to vote for the government ruling all of Mandatory Palestine (democracy by genocide);
(3) the ongoing Palestinian Genocide that has been associated with 2 million Palestinian deaths since 1936 from violence (0.1 million) or violently-imposed deprivation (1.9 million), 7 million refugees and the ethnic cleansing of 90% of Palestine.
For the opinions of numerous outstanding anti-racist Jewish and non-Jewish humanitarians opposed to nuclear terrorist, racist Zionist-run, democracy-by-genocide Apartheid Israel’s ongoing Palestinian Genocide and variously supporting Boycotts Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Apartheid Israel , simply Google “Jews Against Racist Zionism”, “Non-Jews Against Racist Zionism”, “Palestinian Genocide”, “Gaza Concentration Camp”, “Boycott Apartheid Israel”, and “Nuclear weapons ban , end poverty & reverse climate change”, “Israel's Gaza Massacre: 55 Anti-Racist Australian MPs Condemn Israeli War Crimes And Occupation” and “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity”.
Anti-racist Jewish and non-Jewish Australians will reject the Palestine Genocide-ignoring, and slavishly pro-Zionist Coalition and Labor Right (aka the Lib-Labs or Liberal-Laborals), vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.”
Record of censorship:
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I then posted the following comment but this too was CENSORED by The Guardian:
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The Guardian earlier published my detailed comments on this excellent article by anti-racist Jewish Australian writer Antony Loewenstein that drew a number of comments from pro-Zionists and was then COMPLETELY CENSORED, presumably for containing things that an evidently Zionist –subverted and perverted Guardian (albeit the best of Australia’s mainstream media and particularly good for science-informed climate change reportage) does not want its readers to read, know about or think about, this being egregious censorship of the informed comments of an anti-racist Jewish Australian scholar and much-published, long-time science academic, Dr Gideon Polya, that can well be seen as ugly anti-Jewish anti-Semitism of the kind routinely applied to anti-racist Jews by racist Zionists and their supporters. However you can read what The Guardian does not want you to know or think about by Googling "Censorship by The Guardian Australia".”
On 21 August 2014 The Guardian re Australian anti-terror laws: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/21/labor-could-block-key-elements-of-counter-terrorism-package .
The Guardian published my detailed comments below that was then rapidly COMPLETELY CENSORED presumably for containing things that the traitorous racist Zionist –subverted and perverted Guardian (albeit the best of Australia’s mainstream media and particularly good for science-informed climate change reportage) does not want its readers to read, know about or think about, censorship of the informed comments of an anti-racist Jewish Australian scholar and long-time science academic, Dr Gideon Polya, that can well be seen as ugly anti-Jewish anti-Semitism.
Recommend
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The proposed new anti-terror laws of the pro-war, pro-Zionist, US lackey, human rights-abusing Coalition should be opposed because they:
(1) include the dangerous Orwellian absurdity of the need for Australians to prove that they are not terrorism supporters (from a philosophy perspective, it is usually very difficult and sometimes impossible to prove a negative e.g. “that Tony Abbott is not an alien from outer space”);
(2) are clearly aimed at Australian Africans, Asians, Arabs and Muslims (unacceptable community-wide defamation, racism and bigotry).
(3) grossly invade Australian privacy;
(4) totally ignore the serious problem of US state terrorism, UK state terrorism, French state terrorism , Israeli state terrorism and indeed Australian state terrorism linked to 12 million Muslim deaths from violence or war-imposed deprivation since 1990 and over 20 million Muslim refugees in the Zionist-backed US War on Muslims (Google “Muslim Holocaust Muslim Genocide”) versus 2,000 Westerners killed by Muslim-origin non-state terrorists in the last half century (this ignoring 2,000 Zionist invaders killed in Palestine and 3,000 killed in the 9-11 atrocity that almost certainly involved the US Government; Google “Experts: US did 9-11”);
(5) totally ignores Australian fighting for and committing war crimes and indeed war crimes against Australians for foreign states, notably Apartheid Israel that has tasered, bombed, shot, shelled, mangled, killed, kidnapped, tortured, falsely imprisoned and robbed Australians and their relatives as well as doing large-scale forging of Australian passports and subversion of Australian MPs, media and institutions (for a detailed and documented dossier sent to Australian MPs, media and the AFP Google “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity” );
Decent, sensible, informed, patriotic Australians with a prime loyalty to Australia and no others will reject the pro-Zionist, US lackey, state-terrorism-supporting Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
Record of CENSORSHIP BY THE GUARDIAN:
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MAY 2014 CENSORSHIP.
On 29 May 2014 The Guardian Australia published an article re MH370: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/29/mh370-us-navy-says-too-early-to-dismiss-black-box-type-signals .
My following comment was CENSORED by the Guardian.
Numerous science, engineering, aviation, architecture, military and intelligence experts reject the "official version" of 9-11 and conclude that the US Government must have been involved in the hijacking of 4 planes and the destruction of 3 WTC buildings (of which one, WTC7, was not hit by a plane and had only minor fire damage), a position most notably adopted by some top American, German, Italian, Russian, Malaysian and Iranian intelligence intimates (for numerous such expert opinions Google "Experts: US did 9-11'). It seems very likely that the US Government and/or its state terrorism surrogates have the answers to what actually happened to MH370.
I posted a further comment:
My carefully researched comment was censored out, evidently for containing documented matters that the Guardian does not want its readers to read about, know about or think about, but which can be seen on the website "Censorship by The Guardian Australia".
MARCH 2014 CENSORSHIP.
28 March 2014, The Guardian Australia, re UN Report on US human rights - Matthew Weaver, “US human rights record chastised in UN report”: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/27/us-human-rights-record-chastised-un-report . My comment below was initially published and then REMOVED by the endlessly censoring Guardian.
The most fundamental Human Right is the Right to Life of BORN humans. However about 1.3 million Americans die preventably each year linked to the fiscal perversion of the US One Percenter Establishment committing America to a $6 trillion longterm accrual cost of killing 10 million Muslims (half of them children) in the US War on Terror. Thus, for example, researchers at 151-Nobel-Laureate Harvard University have estimated that 45,000 Americans die each year from lack of health insurance; 20,000 under-5 year old American infants die each year from lack of resources; the US Veterans Administration has estimated that 7,000 US veterans suicide each year out of an annual total of 30,000 suicides; and - surely of interest of the people of egregiously polluted Morwell, Victoria - 70,000 Americans die annually from air pollution (the Australian figure may be about 10,000 such deaths pa). Silence kills and silence is complicity - for the Awful Truth Google "One million Americans die preventably" and then tell everyone you can.
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs.
I accordingly made a second , edited post. My comment below was initially published and then :
My carefully researched and documented post was deleted but can be read if you Google "Mainstream media censorship" and check out "Censorship by The Guardian Australia". Edited version: The most fundamental Human Right is the Right to Life of BORN humans. However about 1.3 million Americans die preventably each year linked to the fiscal perversion of the US One Percenter Establishment committing America to a $6 trillion long-term accrual cost of killing millions of Muslims (half of them children) in the US War on Terror instead of keeping Americans alive at home. Thus, for example, researchers at 151-Nobel-Laureate Harvard University have estimated that 45,000 Americans die each year from lack of health insurance; 20,000 under-5 year old American infants die each year from lack of resources; the US Veterans Administration has estimated that 7,000 US veterans suicide each year out of an annual total of 30,000 suicides; and - surely of interest of the people of egregiously polluted Morwell, Victoria - 70,000 Americans die annually from air pollution (the Australian figure may be about 10,000 such deaths pa). Silence kills and silence is complicity - for the Awful Truth Google "One million Americans die preventably" and then tell everyone you can.
My carefully researched and documented post was deleted but can be read if you Google "Mainstream media censorship" and check out "Censorship by The Guardian Australia". Edited version: The most fundamental Human Right is the Right to Life of BORN humans. However about 1.3 million Americans die preventably each year linked to the fiscal perversion of the US One Percenter Establishment committing America to a $6 trillion long-term accrual cost of killing millions of Muslims (half of them children) in the US War on Terror instead of keeping Americans alive at home. Thus, for example, researchers at 151-Nobel-Laureate Harvard University have estimated that 45,000 Americans die each year from lack of health insurance; 20,000 under-5 year old American infants die each year from lack of resources; the US Veterans Administration has estimated that 7,000 US veterans suicide each year out of an annual total of 30,000 suicides; and - surely of interest of the people of egregiously polluted Morwell, Victoria - 70,000 Americans die annually from air pollution (the Australian figure may be about 10,000 such deaths pa). Silence kills and silence is complicity - for the Awful Truth Google "One million Americans die preventably" and then tell everyone you can.
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9-11 & MH370. The Guardian Australia re MH370: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/29/mh370-us-navy-says-too-early-to-dismiss-black-box-type-signals .
My following comment was CENSORED by the Guardian.
Numerous science, engineering, aviation, architecture, military and intelligence experts reject the "official version" of 9-11 and conclude that the US Government must have been involved in the hijacking of 4 planes and the destruction of 3 WTC buildings (of which one, WTC7, was not hit by a plane and had only minor fire damage), a position most notably adopted by some top American, German, Italian, Russian, Malaysian and Iranian intelligence intimates (for numerous such expert opinions Google "Experts: US did 9-11'). It seems very likely that the US Government and/or its state terrorism surrogates have the answers to what actually happened to MH370.
I posted a further comment:
My carefully researched comment was censored out, evidently for containing documented matters that the Guardian does not want its readers to read about, know about or think about, but which can be seen on the website "Censorship by The Guardian Australia".
RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ACT. On 25 March 2014, The Guardian Australia published “Racial Discrimination Act changes to include offence of vilification”, Race Act Amendments: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/25/racial-discrimination-act-changes-include-vilification . My following comments were CENSORED :
“I have never voted Coalition but mostly support Senator Brandis on this free speech issue. Setting aside legal responses to evil calls for violence, the only punishment for false or vile statements should be the ignominy of public exposure for so doing. However, by way of example, the powerful and vocal pro-Zionist subset of Jewish Australians has 100% Coalition support and perhaps 80% Labor support and backs the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Palestine (an ongoing Palestinian Genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention) - will it be "vilification" and "intimidation" under the proposed Amendments for humane people, notably anti-racist Jewish Australians, to condemn the Israeli-imposed Palestinian Genocide and advocate Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against a nuclear terrorist, serial war criminal, genocidally racist, democracy-by-genocide Apartheid Israel and its supporters? Indeed Australia's most eminent Jewish figure, Sir Isaac Isaacs, the first Australian-born Australian Governor General, declared (1946): "The honour of Jews throughout the world demands the renunciation of political Zionism" (for like humane and expert opinions Google "Jews Against Racist Zionism").”
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A further comment was posted but was also CENSORED.
“I have never voted for the Coalition but applaud the sensible Brandis Amendments that are about enhancing free speech. My informed comments in defence of free speech were censored by The Guardian but can be read on the website "Censorship by The Guardian Australia" (for ready access Google "Mainstream media censorship").”
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Another comment was posted but this too was CENSORED.
“AG Brandis’ Amendments are needed to protect free speech. However Zionists oppose this change in partone supposes because it weakens their ability to intimidate anti-racist Jewish and non-Jewish Australians opposed to the horrendous human rights abuses of an Apartheid Israel. One of Australia’s most famous Jewish public figures, Sir Isaac Isaacs, was strongly anti-Zionist, stating: “The honour of Jews throughout the world demands the renunciation of political Zionism… the Zionist movement as a whole...now places its own unwarranted interpretation on the Balfour Declaration, and makes demands that are arousing the antagonism of the Moslem world of nearly 400 millions, thereby menacing the safety of our Empire, endangering world peace and imperiling some of the most sacred associations of the Jewish, Christian, and Moslem faiths. Besides their inherent injustice to others these demands would, I believe, seriously and detrimentally affect the general position of Jews throughout the world". Would Sir Isaac Isaacs be vilified by Zionists today (as he was in the mid-20th century) under either the present or Amended Act? One notes that a leading opponent of the Brandis Amendment, Shadow AG Mark Dreyfus, is a leading pro-Zionist Labor MP but represents the seat of Isaacs named after leading Jewish opponent of Zionism, Sir Isaac Isaacs (for related humane opinions Google “Jews Against Racist Zionism”).”
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(B) COMMENTS BY DR GIDEON POLYA THAT THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA DID NOT CENSOR
THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS BY DR GIDEON POLYA WERE PUBLISHED BY THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA IN THE PERIOD 2006-2014:
2015-1-2 - http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jan/02/obama-imposes-sanctions-north-korea-sony-hack-the-interview#comments .
Correction: 5.5 million Afghan deaths from violence and war-imposed deprivation since 2001.
12
Another instance of the One Percenter-ruled US acting as policeman, judge, jury and jailer with Obama threatening action that will “will take place at a time and in a manner of our choosing.” Some key observations:
1. North Korea may have had nothing to do with the hacking of Sony.
2. US bombing of North Korea in the Korean War killed 30% of the population (Google “Korea and the “Axis of Evil”””).
3. The US has invaded 70 nations (Google “The US Has Invaded 70 Nations Since 1776 – Make 4 July Independence From America Day”).
4. As revealed by William Blum ‘s “Rogue State” and by world heroes like Julian Assange, Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning, the US is involved in subversion of every country on earth including Australia.
5. Australia has been involved in all post-1990 US Asian Wars, atrocities associated with 40 million Asian deaths from violence and war-imposed deprivation (Google “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950”, a book that that includes a history of every country and is now available for free perusal on the web).
6. Australia is currently involved in US war crimes in Iraq (our Fifth Iraq War in the last 100 years; 4.6 million Iraqi deaths from violence and war-imposed deprivation since 1990) , Afghanistan (5.5 million Afghan deaths from violence and war-imposed deprivation since 1990), and across the Muslim world (Australia’s Pine Gap is critical in targeting war criminal US drone attacks in Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan) (Google “Pine Gap drives US drone kills” and “Muslim Holocaust Muslim Genocide” ).
7. Former Australian PM Malcolm Fraser (16 December 2014): “The relationship with America, which has long been regarded as beneficial, has now become dangerous to Australia’s future” (Google “America: Australia’s dangerous ally”).
36
Southern Australia braces for weekend of extreme fire danger
Australia should be listening to scientists and the science-informed Greens.
Thus US experts found that “The incidence of large wildfires in western [US] forests increased in the mid-1980s … Subsequently, wildfire frequency was nearly four times the average of 1970 to 1986, and the total area burned by these fires was more than six and a half times its previous level”… “we show that large wildfire activity increased suddenly and markedly in the mid-1980s, with higher large-wildfire frequency, longer wildfire durations, and longer wildfire seasons. The greatest increases occurred in mid-elevation, Northern Rockies forests, where land-use histories have relatively little effect on fire risks and are strongly associated with increased spring and summer temperatures and an earlier spring snow melt” (Google “Warming and earlier spring increase Western US forest wild-fire activity”).
In addition to increasing forest fire extent and intensity, global warming kills and unaddressed man-made global warming is predicted to kill 10 billion people this century (Google "climate genocide").
DARA estimates that 5 million people already die each year from climate change (0.5 million) and carbon burning (4.5 million) (Google “Are we doomed?”) . About 10,000 Australians die each year from carbon burning (coal burning, vehicle exhaust and other carbon burning) (Google “Australian carbon burning-related deaths”).
The world is badly running out of time to deal with man-made climate change and needs to urgently reduced atmospheric CO2 concentration from the currently damaging and acutely dangerous 400 ppm CO2 to the previous safe and sustainable 300 ppm CO2. Biochar production from agricultural and forestry waste is a major way of achieving this after achieving zero greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution (Google “300 ppm CO2”, "2011 climate change course" and “Forest biomass-derived Biochar can profitably reduce global warming and bushfire risk”).
Science-informed Australians will utterly reject the anti-science, effective climate change denialist, pro-coal, pro-gas Lib-Labs (Coalition and Labor Right) , vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
5
2015-1-1 - http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/01/france-thomas-piketty-legion-of-honour#comments .
France’s rock star economist Thomas Piketty turns down Legion of Honour
Good on Thomas Piketty.
“Capital in the Twenty-First Century” by French economist Professor Thomas Piketty (Paris School of Economics, France) is a very readable, information-rich, must-read book about the basis of capital accumulation inequality past, present and future. In short, notwithstanding the expansion of democracy and social welfare in the 20th century, the world's wealth is overwhelmingly concentrated the hands of the rich. Thus, according to Oxfam “The wealth of the world is divided in two: almost half going to the richest one per cent; the other half to the remaining 99 per cent” (Google “Key book review: Capital in the twenty-first century”).
Of particular importance to Australia is Piketty’s finding that the share in total income of the top 1% in France, Germany, Sweden and Japan declined from about 20% in 1910 to about 8% in 1950 and thence remained low. In contrast, in the US, Canada, the UK, Canada and Australia a similar decline occurred from about 20% in 1910 to 6-9% in 1970 but after 1980 the One Percenter share of total income variously increased to 10-18%. A similar pattern obtains with the top 10% in these countries, a reality that Piketty describes as “the rise of the supermanager: an Anglo-Saxon phenomenon”.
Professor Piketty argues in this important book that current wealth inequality endangers both democracy (“one dollar one vote” replacing “one person one vote” as Democracy has become Plutocracy, Murdochracy, Lobbyocracy and Corporatocracy) and economic sustainability (for which the workers must also be able to purchase the goods and services they provide). Piketty proposes a progressive annual wealth tax to address these dangers.
Poverty kills and I have estimated that an annual global wealth tax of about 4% would yield US$16 trillion annually and enable raising all countries to annual per capita incomes equivalent to the US$6,000 per person per year of China and Cuba, countries for which annual avoidable mortality is zero (0) as compared to the horrific 0.4% pa for Indigenous Australians, similar to that in impoverished South Asia but occurring in one of the world’s richest countries with US$64,853 per person per year (Google “4 % Annual Global Wealth Tax To Stop The 17 Million Deaths Annually” and “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950”).
32
2014-12-29 - http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/29/taliban-declares-victory-afghanistan#comments .
Taliban declare victory in Afghanistan as Nato-led forces end combat mission
Some Elephant in the Room key points that are utterly ignored by US Alliance Mainstream media and politicians are made below.
1. The ostensible "excuse" for the Afghan War was 9-11 but no Afghans were involved according to the "official US version" and numerous science, engineering , architecture, aviation, military and intelligence experts say that 9-11 was a US Government "false flag" operation (Google "Experts: US did 9-11").
2. The Afghan War has been associated with as many as 1.3 million Afghan violent deaths (based on comparisons with expert epidemiologist assessments of Iraq War deaths), 4.2 million Afghan non-violent avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation, and 3 million Afghan under-5 infant deaths, 90% avoidable and due to US Alliance war crimes in gross violation of the Geneva Convention (Google "Afghan Holocaust Afghan Genocide").
3. Over 1 million people have died opiate drug-related deaths globally linked to the US Alliance restoration of the Taliban-destroyed Afghan opium industry from 6% of world market share in 2001 to 93% in 2007, the breakdown being 200,000 Americans, 50,000 Iranians, 18,000 British, 10,000 Canadians, 8,000 Germans and 4,000 Australians.
4. About 80,000 US veterans have committed suicide since 2001 (Google "1.5 million Americans die"). The long term accrual cost of the Afghan War has been estimated at $1-2 trillion.
5. Invasion of another country that has not attacked you is a war crime and genocide is the ultimate expression of racism . The US Alliance war criminals must be brought to justice before the International Criminal Court CC and via the ballot box. Decent, pro-peace, anti-racist Australians will utterly reject the war criminal Lib-Labs (Coalition and Labor Right), vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
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GideonPolya commented on France’s rock star economist Thomas Piketty turns down Legion of Honour.
01 Jan 2015 9:02pm
Good on Thomas Piketty.
“Capital in the Twenty-First Century” by French economist Professor Thomas Piketty (Paris School of Economics, France) is a very readable, information-rich, must-read book about the basis of capital accumulation inequality past, present and future. In short, notwithstanding the expansion of democracy and social welfare in the 20th century, the world's wealth is overwhelmingly concentrated the hands of the rich. Thus, according to Oxfam “The wealth of the world is divided in two: almost half going to the richest one per cent; the other half to the remaining 99 per cent” (Google “Key book review: Capital in the twenty-first century”).
Of particular importance to Australia is Piketty’s finding that the share in total income of the top 1% in France, Germany, Sweden and Japan declined from about 20% in 1910 to about 8% in 1950 and thence remained low. In contrast, in the US, Canada, the UK, Canada and Australia a similar decline occurred from about 20% in 1910 to 6-9% in 1970 but after 1980 the One Percenter share of total income variously increased to 10-18%. A similar pattern obtains with the top 10% in these countries, a reality that Piketty describes as “the rise of the supermanager: an Anglo-Saxon phenomenon”.
Professor Piketty argues in this important book that current wealth inequality endangers both democracy (“one dollar one vote” replacing “one person one vote” as Democracy has become Plutocracy, Murdochracy, Lobbyocracy and Corporatocracy) and economic sustainability (for which the workers must also be able to purchase the goods and services they provide). Piketty proposes a progressive annual wealth tax to address these dangers.
Poverty kills and I have estimated that an annual global wealth tax of about 4% would yield US$16 trillion annually and enable raising all countries to annual per capita incomes equivalent to the US$6,000 per person per year of China and Cuba, countries for which annual avoidable mortality is zero (0) as compared to the horrific 0.4% pa for Indigenous Australians, similar to that in impoverished South Asia but occurring in one of the world’s richest countries with US$64,853 per person per year (Google “4 % Annual Global Wealth Tax To Stop The 17 Million Deaths Annually” and “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950”).
GideonPolya commented on Taliban declare victory in Afghanistan as Nato-led forces end combat mission.
29 Dec 2014 9:20pm
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Some Elephant in the Room key points that are utterly ignored by US Alliance Mainstream media and politicians are made below.
1. The ostensible "excuse" for the Afghan War was 9-11 but no Afghans were involved according to the "official US version" and numerous science, engineering , architecture, aviation, military and intelligence experts say that 9-11 was a US Government "false flag" operation (Google "Experts: US did 9-11").
2. The Afghan War has been associated with as many as 1.3 million Afghan violent deaths (based on comparisons with expert epidemiologist assessments of Iraq War deaths), 4.2 million Afghan non-violent avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation, and 3 million Afghan under-5 infant deaths, 90% avoidable and due to US Alliance war crimes in gross violation of the Geneva Convention (Google "Afghan Holocaust Afghan Genocide").
3. Over 1 million people have died opiate drug-related deaths globally linked to the US Alliance restoration of the Taliban-destroyed Afghan opium industry from 6% of world market share in 2001 to 93% in 2007, the breakdown being 200,000 Americans, 50,000 Iranians, 18,000 British, 10,000 Canadians, 8,000 Germans and 4,000 Australians.
4. About 80,000 US veterans have committed suicide since 2001 (Google "1.5 million Americans die"). The long term accrual cost of the Afghan War has been estimated at $1-2 trillion.
5. Invasion of another country that has not attacked you is a war crime and genocide is the ultimate expression of racism . The US Alliance war criminals must be brought to justice before the International Criminal Court CC and via the ballot box. Decent, pro-peace, anti-racist Australians will utterly reject the war criminal Lib-Labs (Coalition and Labor Right), vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Labor returns to renewable energy target talks armed with Coalition's own advice.
23 Dec 2014 8:38pm
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Australia is a world leader in annual per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution, exceeded its fair share in 2011 of the world’s terminal Carbon Budget of 600 Gt CO2 (that must not be exceeded for a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise) and is now stealing the entitlement of other countries (Google “2011 climate change course”). This is what we should be doing but the pro-coal, pro-gas Coalition Government is resolutely NOT doing:
1. Change of societal philosophy to one of scientific risk management and biological sustainability with complete cessation of species extinctions and zero tolerance for lying.
2. Urgent reduction of atmospheric CCO2 from the current dangerous 400 ppm CO2 to a safe level of about 300 ppm CO2 as recommended by leading climate and biological scientists.
3. Rapid switch to the best non-carbon and RENEWABLE ENERGY (solar, wind, geothermal, wave, tide and hydro options that are currently roughly the same market price as coal burning-based power) and to energy efficiency, public transport, needs-based production, re-afforestation and return of carbon as biochar to soils and as bicarbonate to oceans, coupled with correspondingly rapid cessation of fossil fuel burning, deforestation, methanogenic livestock production and population growth.
Science informed, young Australians in particular and those who care for future generations will utterly reject the climate change inaction of the effective climate change denialist, pro-coal, pro-gas Lib-Labs (Liberal-Laborals, Coalition and Labor Right), demand a Green Revolution, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on WA shark cull: killing tagged great white risks safety of beachgoers, expert says.
22 Dec 2014 10:00pm
5
This absurd, anti-science, tagged shark-killing decision by the WA Coalition Government puts citizens at risk but is in keeping with other incisively stupid, anti-science Coalition policies at the State and Federal level that include:
(a) permitting gross agriculture- and coal exports-related pollution of the Great Barrier Reef;
(b) logging of SE Australians old growth forests (the best forest carbon sinks in the world; (c) unlimited coal, gas and iron exports (that will see Australia exceed by a factor of three (3) the whole world's terminal Carbon Budget that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% probability of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise);
(4) cattle in national parks;
(5) effective climate change denialist , climate criminal, ecocidal and terracidal climate change inaction (that has left Australia with a Carbon Debt of US$5.4 trillion that is increasing at US$300 billion each year or US$30,000 per year for each Australian under 30); and
(6) grossly insufficient action that sees 80,000 Australians die preventably every year (Google "1 million preventable Australian deaths" ).
Science-informed, risk-averse Australians who care for their fellow Australians will utterly reject the absurdly and dangerously anti-science Coalition, start no less than a Green Revolution, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Direct Action unlikely to meet emissions target, says Climate Change Authority.
22 Dec 2014 9:29pm
8
Australia's Domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution in 2000 was 565 million tonnes CO2-equivalent.
The Government's derisory target is 5% off 2000 GHG pollution by 2020 i.e. a reduction of annual GHG pollution by 565 x 0.05 = 28.25 million tonnes CO2-equivalent.
Leading climate economist Dr Chris Hope of 90-Nobel-Laureate Cambridge University estimates a damage-related Carbon Price of US$150 per tonne CO2-equivalent and hence a cost of this annual GHG reduction of 28.25 million tonnes CO2-equivalent x $150 per tonne CO2-equivalent = US$4,238 million = US$4.2 billion x 1 A$/0.81US$ = A$5.2 billion.
The Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) is A$2.55 billion, less than half the ANNUAL required cost of A$5.2 billion.
The Climate Change Authority is correct when it says that the ERF will “fall well short of achieving the reductions required to meet Australia’s minimum 2020 target”.
The same straightforward, quantitative analysis shows that Australia has a Carbon Debt of US$ 5.4 trillion that is increasing at US$300 billion each year, all this to be inescapably paid by young Australians and future generations, noting that the Carbon Debt per head for Australians under 30 is increasing at US$30,000 per year (see “2011 climate change course”, “Climate Justice & Intergenerational Equity” and “Are we doomed?”) .
While Government Debt can be ostensibly written off by printing money, Mother Nature is a remorseless creditor and Australia’s Carbon Debt will have to be paid by new-born Australians through building high sea walls, rebuilding everything to tornado- and super-hurricane- resistant standards, massive investment in desalination plants and extraordinarily expensive bushfire prevention measures.
Young Australians and those who care for them will have to start a Green Revolution before it is too late, utterly reject grossly insufficient Lib-Lab (Coalition and Labor Right) climate change action, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on After their divisive and craven campaign for higher fees, Universities Australia's days are numbered.
04 Dec 2014 8:14pm
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Congratulation to Stephen Parker, the vice-chancellor of the University of Canberra for breaking ranks with the VCs of Universities Australia and reporting that “Australian students already pay a higher proportion of their tuition than those in most OECD countries”. However the Awful Truth is even worse – they shouldn’t have to pay fees at all. All education can and should be free.
As a 5-decade career scientist who taught science to university and tertiary level students for 40 years, I can confidently assert that top quality undergraduate teaching can be provided for about 10% of the current cost using casual academics and for about 1% of the current cost through part-time expert accrediting assessments for top quality courses emplaced for free on the web (MOOCs) by top institutions like 152-Nobel-Laureate Harvard and 83-Nobel-Laureate MIT (Google “Accredited Remote Learning”:), the anti-intellectual, anti-science, and anti- youth Australian Coalition Government is hell-bent on hugely increasing the average HECS Debt. The average HECS debt is $15,200 and is repaid over 8.3 years but the Abbott Coalition Government wants to increase this HECS debt to circa $100,000.
However Minister Christopher Pyne is correct in suggesting that the ACCC should investigate university fees. The Federal Government and university academic CEOs (parasitic refugees from scholarship, of whom some on circa $1 million pa earn as much pre-tax as 100 casual academics on $10,000 pa) are grossly ripping off local and overseas students and should be investigated by the ACCC for corrupt, collusive, and horrendous overpricing of undergraduate tuition.
GideonPolya commented on Lima climate change talks best chance for a generation, say upbeat diplomats.
30 Nov 2014 10:12pm
2
The world is badly running out of time to deal with man-made climate change (for numerous expert opinions Google “Are we doomed?”).
Unfortunately the international consensus basis of the latest IPCC Summary for Policymakers (2014) has resulted in a consensus report that softens the present acute seriousness of unaddressed man-made climate change. Thus the IPCC Summary argues for a limitation of temperature rise to 2oC through limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution of the atmosphere to 450 ppm CO2-equivalent but hard evidence says that we have already reached 478 ppm CO2-equivalent, that 2oC is dangerous and now essentially inevitable, and that the world will use up its Carbon Budget for a 75% probability of avoiding plus 2oC within about 4 years (Australia used up its “fair share” in 2011 and the US in 2014; Google “International Consensus-Based IPCC Summary” ).
In Australia science-informed people who care for their children, future generations, Humanity and the Biosphere will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Lima climate change talks best chance for a generation, say upbeat diplomats.
30 Nov 2014 9:56pm
5
Well said and spot-on, GrumpyOldDog.
Indeed our fusion reactor is located 150 million km from Earth which is also protected from solar charged particles by the Earth's magnetosphere.
GideonPolya commented on The Chinese scientific revolution aims to tackle climate change.
30 Nov 2014 9:46pm
1
Excellent article by Professor John Abraham. Before it is too late people should be heeding and supporting expert scientists rather than non-scientist, effective climate change denialist , pro-fossil fuels corporates, journalists and politicians.
Professor Jorgen Randers (professor at the Norwegian Business School BI and co-author of The Limits to Growth in 1972, the Report to the Club of Rome) also has a positive attitude to Chinese action on climate change (2012): “I am a climate pessimist. I believe (regrettably) that humanity will not meet the climate challenge with sufficient strength to save our grandchildren from living in a climate-damaged world. Humanity (regrettably) will not make what sacrifice is necessary today in order to ensure a better life for our ancestors forty years hence. The reason is that we are narrowly focused on maximum well-being in the short term. This short-termism is reflected in the systems of governance that we have chosen to dominate our lives: Both democracy and capitalism place more emphasis on costs today that on benefits forty years in the future. The global result of this human myopia is described in my book 2052 – A Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years, a report to the Club of Rome commemorating the forty year anniversary of The Limits to Growth. The 2052 book forecasts a world of plus 2°C in 2050, and the likelihood of run-away climate change in the second half of the 21st century. Its website www.2052.info gives the statistical detail… In sum, I don’t believe that the free market, regulation, political leadership, or public education will solve the climate problem in time. Capitalism is unable to handle this long term challenge, and democratic society is unwilling to modify the market. In my view, we need something stronger, something that can counter the root problem: Man’s short-term nature. His tendency to disregard the long term consequences of current action. What can be done? Can democratic society be modified to solve the climate challenge? Eco-dictatorship may be to go too far. But something is needed to temper the short-termism of the nation state, probably something at the supranational level. For example a global central bank for climate gas emissions, introduced through democratic means – like the normal central banks. This is easier said than done. But still necessary. Otherwise, I predict, it will be the Chinese who solve the global climate challenge - singlehandedly. Through a sequence of 5-year plans established with a clear long term vision, and executed without asking regular support from the Chinese. They are already well on the way, for the benefit of our grandchildren” (Google “Are we doomed?”).
GideonPolya commented on Victorian Labor says its victory has revolutionised politics.
30 Nov 2014 9:21pm
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Not a mention in the article about what ultimately won the election for Labor - preferences from the Greens voters.
Though not actually belonging to any party, as a person of conscience and a scientist horrified by the worsening climate emergency (Google "Are we doomed?") I helped out the Greens with letter-boxing, handing out how to vote cards and scrutineering. At the count at our booth for Ivanhoe 86% of Greens voters preferred Labor over Liberal and I suspect that a similar figure obtained elsewhere.
Science-informed people who care for their children, future generations and the Biosphere will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on University fees: PUP accuses Abbott government of being desperate.
30 Nov 2014 9:02pm
10
As a 5-decade career scientist who taught science to university and tertiary level students for 40 years, I can state that top quality undergraduate teaching can be provided for about 10% of the current cost using casual academics and for about 1% of the current cost through part-time expert accrediting assessments for top quality courses emplaced for free on the web (MOOCs) by top institutions like 152-Nobel-Laureate Harvard and 83-Nobel-Laureate MIT (for details Google “Accredited Remote Learning”).
The average HECS debt is $15,200 and is repaid over 8.3 years but the anti-science, anti-education, anti-equity, youth-abusing Coalition wants to increase this HECS debt to circa $100,000 . The ACCC should be investigating the Coalition Federal Government and the university bosses (grossly over-paid, parasitic refugees from scholarship; a VC on $1 million earns as much pre-tax as 100 casual academics on $10,000 pa) ) for collusive and outrageous over-pricing of undergraduate tuition. Properly apprised of these realities, indignant students and parents will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Big four banks under pressure to rule out funding Queensland coal projects.
26 Nov 2014 12:09am
Taking methanogenic livestock production into account and the revised Global Warming Potential (GWP) for methane (CH4) of 105 relative to carbon dioxide (CO2) (1) (on a 20 year time frame and taking aerosol impacts into account), the world has only 3.5 years left before it exceeds the 600 Gt CO2-e Terminal Carbon Budget that must not bee exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise (Google “Only 5 years left to act" and “2011 climate change course”).
Climate criminal, terracidal and climate racist Australia used up its “fair share” of the whole world’s Terminal Carbon Budget in 2011 and since then has been stealing the entitlement of other countries. Indeed the bipartisan policy of unlimited coal gas and iron ore exports means that Australia is set to exceed the whole world’s Terminal Carbon Budget by a factor of three (3) (Google “Australia 's Huge Coal, Gas & Iron Ore Exports Threaten Planet”).
Australia needs to be closing coal and gas mines and not opening more. The Big Four Banks are betraying Australia , Humanity, the Biosphere, their clients and their shareholders through investment in soon to be “stranded assets” (the world will eventually force climate criminal Australia to stop polluting the one common atmosphere and ocean of all countries) .
One notes that the Bendigo Bank has a science-informed policy of divesting from fossil fuel companies (see Google “Divest from fossil fuels”). Science-informed Australians who care for their children, future generations, Humanity and the Biosphere will eschew the Big Four Banks, fossil fuel companies and the Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on George Brandis denies law changes allow targeting of Australian Isis fighters.
25 Nov 2014 11:41pm
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Greens Senator Ludlam is quite correct over the reality of Australian targeted killing of Australians and others (including civilians) in Iraq and Syria following the example of the US targeted killing of an American in the Yemen. As reported by Philip Dorling in The Sydney Morning Herald (Google ”Pine Gap drives US drone kills”” ): ”A Fairfax Media investigation has confirmed that a primary function of the top-secret signals intelligence base near Alice Springs is to track the precise ''geolocation'' of radio signals, including hand-held radios and mobile phones, in the eastern hemisphere, from the Middle East across Asia to China, North Korea and the Russian far east. This information has been used to identify the location of terrorist suspects, which then feeds into the United States drone strike program and other military operations”.
There is a Tale of Two Foreign Fighters in Australia. On the one hand, the Australian Government spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year on subsidizing the recruitment of Australian Zionist foreign fighters for the IDF to illegally serve in the war criminal Israeli occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and on tax deductibility of Australian donations towards erasing any memory of Indigenous Palestinian presence in ethnically cleansed areas of now 90% ethnically cleansed Palestine (Palestinian deaths from violence (0.1 million) or violently-imposed deprivation (1.9 million) total 2 million since 1936; Google “Palestinian Genocide”) .
On the other hand, the Australia Government is committed to a $125 billion long-term accrual cost of the War on Terror (10 million Muslim deaths from violence or violently-imposed deprivation since 2001; Google “Muslim Holocaust Muslim Genocide”), to a further $1 billion pa on Australia’s fifth Iraq War in the last century (the others being 1915-1918, the 1990-1991 Gulf War, the 1990-2003 Sanctions War and the 2003-2011 Iraq War, the Iraqi deaths from violence or war-imposed deprivation totalling about 5 million since 1990; Google “Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide”), to killing Muslim Australians and other foreign fighters in the Syrian and Iraq civil wars, and to draconian attacks on Australian human rights at home.
Anti-war, anti-racist, pro-human rights Australians will utterly reject both Muslim-origin non-state terrorism, US Alliance (US, UK, French, Israeli and Australian) state terrorism, and the warmongering, Australian-killing Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Graduates may be spared loan interest increases under crossbench compromise.
25 Nov 2014 9:59pm
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I have taught science to students in universities for 40 years. Missing from public discussion about university deregulation in look-the-other-way Australia are the realities that all education can and should be free and that undergraduate teaching can be provided for about 10% of the current cost using casual academics and for about 1% of the current through part-time expert accrediting assessments for top quality courses emplaced for free on the web (MOOCs) by top institutions like 152-Nobel-Laureate Harvard and 83-Nobel-Laureate MIT (Google “Accredited Remote Learning”).
Increasing fees and interest on HECS Debt flies in the face of reality. Indeed the Federal Government and the university managers (grossly over-paid refugees from scholarship who on $1 million pa can earn the same pre-tax as 100 casual academic teachers on $10,000 pa) ) should be investigated by the ACCC for outrageously massive and collusive over-pricing of undergraduate tuition.
I was extremely pleased to see from this Guardian article that the Coalition Government’s dangerous and irresponsible attempt to abolish the Australian National Preventive Health Agency was blocked by the Senate, noting that 80,000 Australians die preventably each year (Google “1 million preventable Australian deaths”). Hopefully the Senate will likewise reject the Coalition attack on our students and universities. Science-informed Australians who care for fellow Australians, for young people and for future generations will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Victorian Labor pledges separate state emissions reduction target.
25 Nov 2014 9:15pm
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Labor will reverse the Coalition environmental vandalism policy of cattle in the Alpine National Park and reverse the effective climate change denialist Coalition attack on the wind farm industry and lower the wind turbine distance from homes to 1 km .
However Labor’s failure to specify a carbon pollution reduction target or to take expert scientific advice and properly protect the Victorian forests that are the home of the Leadbeater’s possum and the best forest carbon sinks in the world (Google “2011 climate change course”) instruct science-informed, pro-environment people to give their first preference for the Greens, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Mental illness may be used to deny Australian citizenship under new bill.
24 Nov 2014 9:23pm
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Revoking citizenship for any reason is a fundamental human rights abuse that generates statelessness.
Revoking citizenship over mental health issues threatens a substantial body of Australians, about half of whom will experience mental health problems in their lifetime.
Revoking citizenship over mental health issues is redolent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s in which the mentally ill, disabled, homosexuals, political dissidents, socialists, Jews, Gypsies and Slavs were progressively denied rights, liberty and finally life itself on an horrendous scale.
I am biased in this matter as the son of a refugees from Nazism and a carer for many years of variously disabled persons, but I would urge all decent Australians to utterly reject those advancing this gross human rights abuse, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on ABC staff to learn fate after $254m Coalition budget cuts.
23 Nov 2014 8:50pm
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The ABC is an Australian icon and vital for Australian democracy that has increasingly become a Plutocracy, Murdochracy, Lobbyocracy and Corporatocracy in which Big Money purchases people, politicians, parties, policies, public perception of reality and political power.
The ABC positions itself between the Murdoch and Fairfax media empires and its reportage is accordingly biased and flawed (Google "Censorship by ABC Saturday Extra", "Censorship by ABC Late Night Live" and "ABC fact-checking unit & incorrect reportage by the ABC"). It nevertheless remains the major Mainstream alternative to Mainstream corporate media.
Sensible Australians appalled by Abbott's latest broken promises over the ABC and SBS will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Melbourne councils band together to buy 100GWh of clean energy direct.
18 Nov 2014 9:19pm
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This is an excellent move by Local Governments to bypass the anti-renewable energy and effective climate change denialist policies of the anti-science, science-ignoring Federal and State Coalition Governments.
The consensus-based 2014 IPCC Summary for Policymakers argues for a limitation of temperature rise to 2C through limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution of the atmosphere to 450 ppm CO2-equivalent, but unfortunately hard evidence says that we have already reached 478 ppm CO2-equivalent, that 2C is dangerous and essentially inevitable (yielding a Pliocene-like sea level of plus 25 meters at equilibrium) , and that the world will use up its Carbon Budget for a 75% probability avoiding of 2C within about 4 years (Australia used up its "fair share" of thisin 2011; Google "2011 climate change course")
Thus the using the IPCC data-based Global Risk and Opportunity Indicator we find that the Exceedance Probability for a 2C temperature rise with an equilibrium greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration of 450 ppm CO2-eq is 58.4% , and that if this were the annual probability of fatal flight accidents there would be 17,520,000 fatal flight accidents per year instead of 30 per year (Google “Global Risk and Opportunity Indicator”).
However Dr Ron Prinn (Professor of Atmospheric Science in 83-Nobel-Laureate MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Director of MIT’s Center for Global Change Science (CGCS), Co-Director of MIT’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change (JPSPGC)) has found that we reached 478 CO2-eq by 2013 (Google "consensus-based IPCC summary for policymakers").
We are badly running out of time to deal with the climate emergency. Science-informed citizens of Australia (0.3% of the world’s population but its Domestic plus Exported GHG pollution is 3% of the world’s total) will utterly reject the climate change denialist Coalition, switch to solar, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Windfarm restrictions have ‘crippled' the industry, says Daniel Andrews.
13 Nov 2014 9:56pm
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The latest IPCC Summary for Policymakers (2014) offers a RCP2.6 scenario that will “limit greenhouse gas concentrations to low levels (about 450 ppm CO2-eq, likely to limit warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels)”.
Unfortunately (1) Professor Ron Prinn (Professor of Atmospheric Science at 83-Nobel-Laureate MIT) reports that 478 ppm CO2-eq was already attained by 2013, and (2) Professor James Hansen (from NASA and 101-Nobel-Laureate Columbia University) reports that plus 2°C would be disastrous – at 2 °C Earth would be headed back toward equilibrium Pliocene-like conditions (sea level about 25 m higher than today).
We are badly running out of time to deal with the climate emergency but the Coalition at both the Federal and State level is heading in the wrong direction on all fronts, most notably by attacking the renewable energy industry that is vital for tackling climate change (for details of towns, corporations and countries that have committed to 100% renewable energy ASAP Google “100% renewable energy by 2020”).
The Australian Climate Council (the private donation-funded residue of the former Australian Climate Commission abolished by the Abbott Coalition Government) reports that under the Coalition investment in renewable energy has decreased 70% while the rest of the world (notably China, the US and the EU) are massively investing in renewable energy (Google “Lagging Behind: Australia and the Global Response to Climate Change”).
Sensible, science-informed Australians who care for their children and future generations will utterly reject the effective climate change denialist Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last (for science-based informing on the worsening climate crisis Google “2011 climate change course”).
GideonPolya commented on 'Killer robots' need to be strictly monitored, nations warn at UN meeting.
13 Nov 2014 9:27pm
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The planned US autonomous killer robot drones will not just be killing people - they will be killing hope. for Humanity. Key points:
1. Biochemist and acclaimed sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov's famous First Law of Robotics states that "Robots cannot harm humans".
2. It may be just a dream but the exponential increase in Artificial Intelligence (AI) suggests that super-humane, super-smart Artificial Intelligences (robots) will save Humanity and the Biosphere - the US is killing this dream.
3. As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, Australia's joint US-Australia Pine Gap facility plays a key role in targetting existing illegal and war criminal drone attacks across the world from Africa to South Asia as well as spying on Australians and the whole world.
4. Fortunately the pro-peace, pro-Humanity Russians and Chinese are reportedly developing effective anti-drone technologies.
GideonPolya commented on G20 climate change ad banned by Brisbane airport 'because it was political'.
03 Nov 2014 9:43pm
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This is par for the course for look-the-other-way, One Percenter-dominated Queensland which is hell-bent on destroying the Great Barrier Reef through fossil fuel exploitation, greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution, ocean warming, ocean acidification and consequent coral death.
I wear a badge saying "300 ppm CO2" wherever I go and in sunny Melbourne I frequently have to explain it to total strangers - the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was no higher than 300 parts per million in the last million years until after the Industrial Revolution; it is now over 400 parts per million and increasing at 2.5 parts per million each year; and climate scientists and biologists urge a return to 300 ppm CO2 ASAP for a safe planet for all peoples and all species (Google "300 ppm CO2" and "2011 climate change course").
However on a recent trip to Queensland as an expert witness for townsfolk trying to stop a huge gas-fired power station being approved for right next to their Queensland town, apart from the townsfolk who engaged my free services, the only person in Queensland who asked me about my "300 ppm CO2" badge was the air hostess as I boarded the plane back to sunny Melbourne.
GideonPolya commented on Richard Branson’s space tourism shows what today’s obscene inequality looks like.
02 Nov 2014 11:11pm
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The price tag of US$240,000 for a few minutes of space travel by the super-rich is indeed a huge testament to obscene inequality in a world in which:
(1) According to Credit Suisse and Oxfam the top 1% owns about 50% of the world’s wealth with the bottom 50% owning about 1%;
(2) About 16 million people die avoidably each year in the Developing World (minus China ) from deprivation and deprivation-exacerbated disease. Indeed it is estimated that 1.3 billion people have died thus in the period 1950-2000, with 1.2 billion dying avoidably in the Third World (three quarters of them under-5 year old infants), mostly in countries formerly ruled by European colonial masters (for a detailed analysis see “Body Count., Global avoidable mortality since 1950” now available for free perusal on the web); and
(3) As documented by French economist Professor Thomas Piketty, an increasing One Percenter share of annual income in the Anglosphere countries, and a worsening threat to democracy and indeed the global economy from excessive One Percenter wealth (Google “Key book review: Capital in the twenty-first century” by Thomas Piketty”).
GideonPolya commented on IPCC: rapid carbon emission cuts vital to stop severe impact of climate change.
02 Nov 2014 10:35pm
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PERDITION is defined as complete and utter ruin, or , theologically, a state of eternal punishment and damnation into which a sinful and unrepentant person passes after death.
The Abbott Government is promising COALITION, a state in which its policy of unlimited Australian coal, gas and iron ore exports will mean greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution that will exceed by a factor of three (3) the whole world’s Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget of 600 Gt CO2 that according to the Abbott-sacked Australian Climate Commission must not be exceeded between now and zero emissions in 2050 if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise (the limit set by most governments).
Australia already exceeded its “fair share” of the whole world’s Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget in 2011, the US will exceed its “fair share” in 2014, and the direst estimate is that the World as a whole may have only 4 years left before its exceeds this Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget (for further details Google “terracidal climate change inaction”, “300 ppm CO2”, “2011 climate change course” and “Are we doomed?”).
GideonPolya commented on Bill Shorten has second thoughts on terrorism laws that could mean jail for journalists.
29 Oct 2014 9:17pm
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If Shorten had real concerns about freedom of speech and the freedom of journalists to do their job without the threat of 10 years imprisonment he and the Australian Labor Party Opposition should not have voted for these draconian anti-terrorism laws.
Thanks to Shorten and the Coalition and the Labor Right (aka the Lib-labs or Liberal-Laborals) Australian journalists now face the threat of 10 years' imprisonment just for doing their job, this being longer indeed than the 7 years imposed on Australian journalist Peter Greste just for doing his job in the Egyptian military dictatorship.
Decent Australians who understand that transparency and freedom of speech are vital for our freedom, democracy and security will utterly reject the Lib-Lab state terrorism, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last (some Labor MPs, notably Melissa Parke, have opposed this trampling of our freedom).
GideonPolya commented on Tony Abbott says he will ‘shirtfront’ Vladimir Putin over downing of MH17.
13 Oct 2014 10:16pm
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The investigators have not yet made their report on who actually shot down MH17 but Australian PM Tony Abbott, Australian Opposition leader Bill Shorten, the ABC and SBS are blatantly asserting that “MH17 was shot down by Russian-armed pro-Russian Separatists”, assertions that are propaganda falsehoods and cruel politicization of the tragedy in the absence of an authoritative expert investigator report on the matter.
However Means Opportunity and Motive (MOM) analysis strongly suggests that the US-backed Ukrainians shot down MH17 and there is considerable hard evidence for this proposition (for a Global Research analysis Google “MH17 verdict: real evidence points to US-Kiev cover-up of failed “false-flag”” ” ):
1. The Ukrainian Government forces (Kiev Forces) have Buk ground-to-air missile systems and trained operators (the Rebel Forces have neither);
2. The Kiev Forces have very high altitude-achieving warplanes with air-to-air missiles (the Rebel forces don’t have an airforce)
3. Kiev and the US are withholding key Control Tower conversation and US surveillance data, respectively (Russia has apparently provided all such available information)
4. Kiev air controllers shifted MH17 from a safe southerly route to a dangerous northern route just before the attack;
5. High altitude Kiev warplanes were in the vicinity of MH17 before it was shot down
6. MH17 Fuselage damage indicates damage indicating warplane machine gun attack as well as air-to-air or ground-to-air missile attack.
GideonPolya commented on Cancer tumours destroyed by berry found in Queensland rainforest.
08 Oct 2014 4:17am
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A very encouraging discovery. A variety of pharmacologically-related compounds called Protein Kinase C Activators have been isolated from plants and indeed tens of thousands of bioactive compounds in general have been isolated from plants and shown to interact with biochemical targets (for a comprehensive summary see Gideon Polya, "Biochemical Targets of Plant Bioactive Compounds. A pharmacological reference guide to sites of action and biological effects", 860 pages, Taylor & Francis & CRC Press, London & New York, 2003; for Protein Kinase C Activators in particular see pages 323-326). Indeed the discovery of so many biologically active secondary metabolites from plants represents a powerful utilitarian argument for the preservation of wild nature and of rich, complex ecosystems in particular (in addition to the fundamental general conservation argument of not destroying complex things that you cannot replace).
GideonPolya commented on No one should be fooled into believing security is as simple as greater surveillance and deeper silence.
01 Oct 2014 11:39pm
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Excellent speech by Melissa Parke MP. All praise to Greens MP Adam Bandt, Independents Andrew Wilkie and Cathy McGowan, and Labor member Melissa Parke who were the only four (4) House of Reps MPs to oppose these draconian extensions of anti-terror laws that push Australia further towards a Nazi-style police state. Some key points below:
1. Zero (0) Australians have been killed by Muslim terrorists in Australia since 1788.
2. The “empirical annual probability of an Australian being killed by a terrorist in Australia” is about 1 in 109 million, about 5 times lower than the “empirical annual probability of an Australian being killed by a shark in Australia” .
3. Of the 6 Australians who were killed by terrorists in Australia in the last 36 years, none were killed by Muslims and it has been expertly speculated that 3 were killed by an Australian Intelligence operation gone wrong. However the new laws mean that an Australia journalist who reports hard evidence for this faces 10 years in prison.
4. Rational risk management that is crucial for societal safety successively involves (a) accurate information, (b) scientific analysis and (c) informed systemic change to minimize risk. The new terror laws criminalize reportage and hence seriously endanger Australians.
5. 80,000 Australians die preventably each year but to minimize this carnage takes money for education and health that will now be shifted to war and spying (the long-term accrual cost of the War on Terror to Australia is , so far, $125 billion).
6. The “terror hysteria” Lib-Labs (Coalition and Labor Right) have not put any quantitative estimate of the annual terror threat to Australia (my estimate is 1 in 109 million).
Decent, informed Australians who want rational risk management for a safe, free and prosperous Australia will utterly reject Lib-Lab war and “terror hysteria’, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on RAAF to begin non-combat sorties over Iraq supporting US air strikes on Isis.
01 Oct 2014 11:13pm
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The CoaIition Governrnent and Labor Right Opposition (aka the Lib-labs or Liberal-Laborals) are involved in renewed war crimes in Iraq that grossly violate International Law . Thus:
1. The Government us still awaiting permission from the Shia Iraqi Puppet Government installed by the US in “democratic elections” after exterminating the Baathists and the Sunni power base.
2. There is no UN Security Council sanction for the US Alliance invasion.
3. Iraqis have not invaded Australia, have not threatened to invade Australia and have not killed any Australians since 1915 despite Australia making war in Iraq on and off for 100 years.
4. The US alliance has already started targeting civilians and economic targets (oil refineries in Iraq, granaries in Syria).
5. Australia through Pine Gap is targetting US drone attacks from Africa to South Asia that indiscriminately destroy rebel targets and collateral civilians alike.
6. Australia has been involved in killing Iraqis in a remote Iraq that posed no threat to Australia on and off for 100 years (in 1915 the RAAF assisted British conquest of Mesopotamia and the UK air war continued into the 1920s with Winston Churchill advocating use of poison gas).
7. Australia assisted the UK conquest of Iraq 100 years ago that was subsequently associated with millions of avoidable Iraqi deaths from imposed deprivation .
8. Australia was complicit in the Sanctions War (1990-2003), the Gulf War (1990-1991) and the invasion and occupation of Iraq (2003-2011) that have been associated with 4.6 million Iraqi deaths from violence (1.7 million) or from violently-imposed deprivation (2.9 million) and 2 million under-5 Iraqi infant deaths, 90% avoidable and due to gross US Alliance violation of the Geneva Convention (Google “Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide” and “Australian state terrorism”).
Decent Australians who abhor war crimes will reject the war criminal Lib-Labs, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Bombing against Isis to start in hours as MPs back new Iraq war.
26 Sep 2014 10:14pm
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The US Alliance West including the UK is again in the grip of “terror hysteria” as an asserted justification for illegal and war criminal US-led invasion of Iraq and Syria without UN sanction. Ostensibly impelled by barbarous war crimes by ISIS, the UK has joined the US-led Coalition to destroy the ISIS rebels and has raised the UK “terror threat” level to “severe”. However it is estimated that the empirical annual probability of a UK resident dying from a preventable cause (e.g. smoking, drinking, obesity, adverse hospital events, violence etc) is 1 in 417, this being 38,000 times higher than the empirical annual probability of a UK resident being killed by a terrorist of about 1 in 16 million (for details and documentation Google “UK terror hysteria”).
The Domestic cost and the Overseas military cost to the UK of the post-1990 US War on Muslims including the post-9-11 US War on Terror is estimated at US$195 billion. This moral and fiscal perversion (killing Muslims abroad rather than saving British lives at home) could arguably translate to the equivalent of about 22,000 full-term British lives that could have been saved since 1990 as compared to 58 people killed in terrorist incidents in the UK this century.
The “empirical annual probability of an Iraqi dying from US state terrorism and UK state terrorism in 1990-2011” is 1 in 122, this being 130,000 times greater than the annual probability of a UK citizen dying from a terrorist attack (1 in 15.8 million). One notes that the UK has invaded 170 countries, France 80 and the US 70. The 1950-2005 avoidable deaths from deprivation in countries occupied since 1945 by the UK, France, the US and Israel total 727 million, 142 million. 82 million, and 24 million, respectively (for details see Gideon Polya, “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950”, that includes an avoidable mortality-related history of every country since Neolithic times and is now available for free perusal on the web).
GideonPolya commented on Australia signs controversial refugee transfer deal with Cambodia.
26 Sep 2014 9:53pm
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Qualitatively it is clear from a human rights violation, corruption and dire poverty perspective that Cambodia is not a safe place for penniless refugees having no inkling of Cambodian history, culture, economy or language.
Quantitative estimates of the risk involved in sending refugees from Australian concentration camps to Cambodia derive from readily accessible World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Population Division data.
Thus according to WHO the difference in infant mortality (in units of under-5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births ) between Cambodia (40) and Australia (5) is 35 i.e. of every 1000 under-5 year old refugee infants sent to Cambodia from Australia 35 will die before their 5th birthday as surely as if they were lined up and every 30th refugee infant shot dead.
According to UN Population Division data the difference in annual avoidable mortality (in units of avoidable deaths per 1,000 of population per year) between Cambodia (1.9 ) and Australia (0) is 1.9 (for details see Gideon Polya, “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950”, that includes an avoidable mortality-related history of every country since Neolithic times and is now available for free perusal on the web) i.e. of every 1,000 refugees sent to Cambodia from Australia 1.9 will die avoidably EACH YEAR - and 19 will die avoidably every 10 years as surely as if they were lined up and every 50th refugee shot dead.
Australians who vote for the Coalition and the Cambodia Solution are inescapably complicit in the deliberate passive murder of refugees and of refugee infants. Those who ignore, excuse, deny, support, advocate or are otherwise complicit in the gross abuse and death of fellow human beings - especially of children and women - have crossed the line separating decent Humanity from barbarism. Decent Australians utterly repelled by such gross abuse of children and women in particular will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Security laws pass Senate amid fears over ‘draconian’ limits to press freedom.
26 Sep 2014 2:17am
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Zero Australian have been killed by terrorists in Australia since 9-11 and only 6 in the last 36 years ("empirical annual probability of death from terrorism in Australia" 1 in 109 million) but 1 million Australians have died preventably since 9-11 ("empirical annual probability of dying preventably in Australia" 1 in 294) , this being inescapably linked to the fiscal perversion of Australian Governments committing to a long-term accrual cost of $125 billion to the War on Terror and killing 10 million Muslims abroad (half them children) through violence or violently-imposed deprivation instead of keeping 1 million Australians alive at home.
It is 109 million/294 = 370,000 times more likely for an Australian resident to die preventably (from adverse hospital events, smoking, alcohol etc) than to die from a terrorist attack within Australia (Google “Australian state terrorism - 1 million preventable Australian deaths since 9-11”).
Coalition and Labor Right (Lib-Lab, Liberal-Laboral) politicians and supporters failing to QUANTIFY the asserted "terror threat" to Australia are lying by omission and threatening Australia's freedoms and Australia's security - Australian state terrorists indeed.
GideonPolya commented on Freya Newman, the whistleblower behind Frances Abbott's scholarship, should be thanked not punished.
22 Sep 2014 10:51pm
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Excellent article by Julian Burnside.
Freya Newman is an Australia hero for courageously revealing important matters in the public interest.
Rational risk management that is crucial for keeping society safe successively involves (a) accurate information, (b) scientific analysis and (c) informed systemic change to minimize societal risk.
Of course the corrupt, neoliberal Corporatists, including the pro-One Percenter Australian Lib-Labs (Liberal-Laborals, Coalition and Labor Right) oppose disclosure at every step and persecute the courageous truth -tellers like Freya Newman (facing the possibility of 2 years' imprisonment) , Chelsea Manning (abusively imprisoned in the US), Julian Assange (imprisoned without charge or trial in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for 2 years), Edward Snowden (refugee in Russia) ...
Decent Australians who believe in an Open Society and disclosure- and science-based rational risk management to keep society safe will reject the anti-science Lib-Labs, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Howard should be tried for ‘conspiracy to commit mass murder’, says Andrew Wilkie.
22 Sep 2014 10:43pm
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Former Lieutenant-Colonel and intelligence analyst, Andrew Wilkie MP, is correct – the invasion of Iraq by the Coalition Government under PM John Howard was a war crime. John Howard and his war criminal colleagues – including Tony Abbot – should be tried for war crimes before the International Criminal Court.
Eminent American professor of International Law Professor Francis Boyle on the Iraqi Genocide (2012): “Approximately 1.7 million Iraqis died as a direct result of these genocidal economic sanctions, including within that number about 750,000 Iraqi children. In addition, another 1.4 million Iraqis died as a result of the Bush Junior/Tony Blair genocidal war of aggression against Iraq. To this appalling genocidal death toll must be added the 200,000 Iraqis President Bush Senior slaughtered in his 1991 Gulf War I. In other words, approximately 3.3 million Iraqis were exterminated by the United States and the United Kingdom from August of 1990 until the end of 2011 when President Obama had ordered the purported “final” withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iraq. And these are very conservative figures that I believe could be proven to the satisfaction of the International Court of Justice.” If one includes the 1.2 million Iraqi avoidable deaths under US All iance Occupation in 2003-2011 the total reaches 4.5 million (Google “Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide”).
Anti-racist Jewish British Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter in his 2005 Nobel Prize Acceptance speech stated: “We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts of random murder, misery, degradation and death to the Iraqi people and call it 'bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East'. How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war criminal? One hundred thousand? More than enough, I would have thought. Therefore it is just that Bush and Blair be arraigned before the International Criminal Court of Justice” (Google “Art, truth and politics”).
To paraphrase Harold Pinter, 4.5 million? More than enough I would have thought. Therefore it is just that Howard and Abbott be arraigned before the International Criminal Court.
GideonPolya commented on Abbott: reduction in freedom necessary to save lives from terrorism threat.
22 Sep 2014 10:15pm
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Zero (0) Australians have been killed by terrorists in Australia since the 9-11 atrocity (3,000 killed) that numerous science, chemistry, physics, engineering, architecture, aviation, military and intelligence experts conclude was due to the US Government itself (Google “Experts: US did 9-11”).
In contrast 81,000 Australians die preventably each year and 13 x 81,000 = 1,050,000 or about 1 million Australians have died from preventable causes since 9-11
The 1 million preventable Australian deaths since 9-11 represents an enormous, sustained failure of successive Coalition and Labor (aka Lib-Lab, Liberal-Laboral) Australian Governments in their primary duty of care for the security, health and welfare of Australians, this failure being inescapably linked to the fiscal perversion of Australian Governments committing to a long-term accrual cost of $125 billion for the War on Terror and killing 10 million Muslims abroad (half them children) through violence or violently -imposed deprivation instead of keeping 1 million Australians alive at home (Google “Australian state terrorism - 1 million preventable Australian deaths since 9-11”).
The Abbott Coalition Government wants to remove our freedoms because of a “terror threat” that it refuses to quantify in remorseless lying by omission because the probability is so low. . Thus six (6) Australian have been killed by terrorists within Australia in the last 36 years and given an average Australian population in that period of 18.2 million, the “empirical annual probability of Australian being killed by a terrorist within Australia” is 6 persons /(36 years x 18.2 million ) = 9.2 in 1 billion per year or 1 in 109 million per year.
With the militant, extremist Abbott Coalition wanting major cuts to health and education it is in effect promising 81,000 /365.25 = 222 preventable Australian deaths every day – Australian state terrorism indeed.
GideonPolya commented on Australia's counter-terror laws will restrict our free speech and free press.
22 Sep 2014 5:19am
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81,000 Australians die preventably each year, variously from all kinds of preventable causes from smoking, drinking and obesity to non-terrorist homicide and suicide. The present Australian population is 24 million. Accordingly the “empirical annual probability of an Australian dying preventably in Australia” is 81,000 /24 million = 3.4 per 1,000 or 1 in 294.
In the last 36 years there have been 6 Australian residents killed by terrorism within Australia (the 3 killed in the 1978 Hilton Bombing that may well have been an Australian Intelligence operation gone wrong, the Sydney Turkish Consul-General and his bodyguard shot in 1980, and a security guard killed by a Right to Life fanatic in Melbourne in July 2001). The average population of Australia in that period was 18.2 million. Accordingly, the “empirical annual probability of Australian being killed by a terrorist within Australia” is 6 persons /(36 years x 18.2 million ) = 9.2 in 1 billion per year or 1 in 109 million per year.
Thus it is 109 million/294 = 0.371 million or about 370,000 times more likely for an Australian resident to die preventably (from smoking, alcohol, obesity, non-terrorist homicide etc) than to die from a terrorist attack within Australia.
The 1 million preventable Australian deaths since 9-11 reflect a gross, sustained and bipartisan failure of Australian Government duty of care, this being inescapably linked to the fiscal perversion of Australian Governments committing to a long-term accrual cost of $125 billion for the War on Terror and killing 10 million Muslims abroad (half them children) through violence or violently -imposed deprivation instead of keeping 1 million Australians alive at home (Google “Australian state terrorism - 1 million preventable Australian deaths since 9-11”).
GideonPolya commented on Indigenous child removal in Victoria ‘highest since white settlement’.
18 Sep 2014 10:45pm
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So much for “Sorry”.
The shocking Victorian data on record Aboriginal child removal is reflected in the national data. Thus Paddy Gibson, University of Technology Sydney : “For each of the last five years, approximately a thousand Aboriginal children have been coming into the ‘out-of-home care' system long-term. This is a higher number than were removed during any time in the twentieth century. Half of the children have not been placed with kin or relatives. We are fast approaching the Stolen Generations removal rate cited by Rudd: between 10 and 30 per cent of all Indigenous children. A 2011 annual report from the Department of Family and Community Services found that 9.6 per cent of Aboriginal children in NSW were in out-of-home care. Across Australia , nearly 6 per cent of Indigenous children are in out-of-home care. If current trends continue, the figure will exceed 10 per cent by the end of the decade. While Kevin Rudd was apologising for the past Aboriginal children were being taken in numbers greater than at any time in the 20th Century” (Google “"Film Review: “Utopia” By John Pilger Exposes Genocidal Maltreatment Of Indigenous Australians" and "Aboriginal Genocide").
What can decent people do? Decent people should (a) inform everyone they can, (b) urge and apply Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against all people, parties, politicians, companies and corporations complicit in this ongoing, genocidal and ethnocidal Apartheid Australian maltreatment of Indigenous Australians, and (c) vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Iraq, Syria and the Islamic State: why Australia has an obligation to act.
18 Sep 2014 10:24pm
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For sure the ISIS Sunni rebels have committed barbarous acts (beheadings, mass execution of prisoners, terrorizing of ethnic and religious minorities) but that does not justify Australia and the US Alliance committing terrorist acts and war crimes and very likely on a vastly greater scale. Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek is in many ways an admirable person but is utterly wrong in supporting Australia’s illegal and war criminal involvement in Obama’s Iraq War.
1, War crimes. The renewed US Alliance invasion of Iraq and Syria involves war crimes in 12 key areas, notably because it has no UN sanction and is not in response to any invasion or threat to US Alliance countries (Google “Obama Iraq War And Obama Syrian War Will Both Involve US Alliance In 12 Types Of War Crimes”).
2. Iraqi Genocide. Professor Francis A. Boyle (eminent American humanitarian and international law expert) on the Iraqi Genocide (2012): “Approximately 1.7 million Iraqis died as a direct result of these genocidal economic sanctions, including within that number about 750,000 Iraqi children. In addition, another 1.4 million Iraqis died as a result of the Bush Junior/Tony Blair genocidal war of aggression against Iraq. To this appalling genocidal death toll must be added the 200,000 Iraqis President Bush Senior slaughtered in his 1991 Gulf War I. In other words, approximately 3.3 million Iraqis were exterminated by the United States and the United Kingdom from August of 1990 until the end of 2011 when President Obama had ordered the purported “final” withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iraq. And these are very conservative figures that I believe could be proven to the satisfaction of the International Court of Justice.” (Google “Legal Protection Of Children In Armed Conflict: The Iraqi Children Genocide”). If one considers an additional 1.2 million Iraqi avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation since 2003, the total of Iraqi war-related deaths in 1990-2011 reaches 4.6 million of which 2.9 million were non-violent deaths from US Alliance -imposed deprivation, about 50% children and about 25% women (Google “Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide”).
3. Terror hysteria. Due in part to Lib-Lab inaction and fiscal perversion (committing to a long-term accrual cost of $125 billion for the War on Terror) it is about 300,000 times more likely for an Australian resident to die preventably (from smoking, alcohol, obesity, guns etc) than to die from a terrorist attack within Australia. It is about 38,000 times more likely for a British resident to die preventably than to die from a terrorist attack within the UK (Google “UK Terror Hysteria exposed – Empirical Annual Probability of UK Terrorism Death 1 in 16 million”).
Decent pro-peace Australians who abhor war, war crimes and genocide will reject the Lib-Lab (Liberal-Laboral, Coalition and Labor Right) warmongers, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on RET: Labor may compromise if Coalition rejects Warburton report.
15 Sep 2014 11:05pm
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The World is badly running out of time to deal with man-made climate change. Indeed it has been estimated that the World will exceed in 4 years' time its 600 Gt CO2 Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise (Google "Are we doomed?" and "2011 climate change course").
100% renewable energy and cessation of greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution are key requirements but even then we have the $220 trillion job of returning atmospheric CO2 back from the current dangerous and damaging 400 ppm CO2 to the pre-Industrial Revolution circa 300 ppm CO2 maximum through CO2 sequestration as biochar and bicarbonate (Google "300.org", "300 ppm CO2" and "2011 climate change course").
Millions of individual Australians have already taken action by investing in renewable energy . Indeed tiny Scotland aims for 100% renewable energy by 2020 and the German state of Schleswig-Holstein will achieve 100% renewable energy in 2014 (Google "100% renewable energy by 2020").
The anti-science, pro-fossil fuels, neoliberal Coalition is doing everything wrong - it has a policy of unlimited coal, gas and iron ore exports (that will see Australia exceed the world's 600 Gt CO2 Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget by a factor of three) and now appears set to destroy Australia's renewable energy industry.
Science-informed Australians who care for their children and the future will utterly reject the effective climate change denialist, climate criminal Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Great Barrier Reef plan 'not enough to ward off UN in-danger listing'.
15 Sep 2014 10:38pm
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The Plan is a sham because (a) here is no prohibition on dumping dredgings for new ports and (b) there is no prohibition of greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution from Australia's world leading coal, gas and iron ore exports.
The world is running out of time to deal with man-made climate change (Google "Are we doomed?"). Indeed through its huge coal, gas and iron ore exports Australia will exceed the world's Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget of 600 Gt CO2 (that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding man-made climate change) by a factor of THREE (3) and Australia already exceeded its "fair share" of this Terminal Budget in 2011 and has ever since been stealing the entitlement of all other countries (climate change inaction, effective climate change denial, climate injustice, intergenerational inequity, climate terrorism) (Google "Climate justice & intergenerational equity", "Stop climate crime" and "2011 climate change course").
Decent, science-informed Australians who care for their children and the future will utterly reject the anti-science, anti-environment, pro-fossil fuels, effective climate change denialist, climate criminal Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Leadership at last! But where will the Iraq war machine take Australia?.
15 Sep 2014 10:19pm
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Missing from the public discussion about Australia's latest invasion of Iraq are the following Elephants in the Room:
1. Australia first invaded Iraq in 1915 i.e. it has been invading and devastating the region off and on for 99 years (Google “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950” a book that that includes an avoidable mortality –related history of every country since Neolithic times and now available for free perusal on the web).
2. Australia participated in the US-led attack on Iraq in 1990-2011 that was associated with 4.6 million Iraqi deaths from violence (1.7 million) and from war-imposed deprivation, 5-6 million refugees and 2 million unbder-5 Iraqi infant deaths, 90% avoidable and due to gross US Alliance violation of the Geneva Convention (Google “Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide”).
3. This latest Australia invasion of Iraq is a war crime in 12 key areas, most notably because there is no UN sanction, the Iraqis we are killing have not invaded or threatened far distant Australia, and in vowing to destroy ISIS, a religion-based rebel group in a civil war, Australia is violating the UN Genocide Convention (Google “Obama Iraq War And Obama Syrian War Will Both Involve US Alliance In 12 Types Of War Crimes”).
4. The “terror hysteria” driving this latest US-led war crime is egregiously falsely based – in any year the empirical probability of an Australian being killed by a terrorist in Australia is 1 in 111 million per year as compared to the probability of an Australian dying from a preventable cause of 1 in 360 per year. Terrorist is as terrorist does and the REAL deadly threat to Australia comes from pro-war, US lackey Lib-Labs (Liberal-Laboral, Coalition and Labor Right) committing to $125 billion for the War on Terror to kill 10 million Muslims (so far) while failing to keep Australians alive at home (Google “Endless War on Terror. Huge cost for Australia & America”).
5. The barbarous crimes of ISIS (beheadings, mass execution of prisoners, terrorizing religious and ethnic minorities) will be vastly exceeded by US Alliance war crimes in its latest War on Iraq and Obama’s Endless War on Terror Everywhere. (see point #2 above).
Decent, numerate, informed Australians will reject the war criminal Lib-Lab warmongers, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Tony Abbott: Australia to send military force to fight Isis 'death cult'.
14 Sep 2014 11:57pm
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The US and Coalition “terror hysteria” is an immense Orwellian lie to justify a war in which war crimes will be committed in 12 areas . Consider the following statistics:
1(a). About 1.3 million Americans die preventably each year out of a population of 319 million (2014). Accordingly, the “empirical annual probability of an American dying preventably in the US” is 1.3 million/319 million = 4.1 in 1000 or 1 in 245.
1(b). About 30 Americans were killed in America by “terrorists” in the 10 years since 9/11. The average US population in this period was about 298 million. Accordingly the “empirical annual probability of an American dying in the US from terrorism” is 30/10 years x 298 million = 1.0 in 100 million per year.
1(c). Thus it is 100 million/245 = 0.408 million or about 400,000 times more likely for an American to die preventably (from smoking, alcohol, obesity, guns etc) than to die from a terrorist attack within the US.
2(a). Similarly in Australia, about 66,000 Australians die preventably each year out of a population of 24 million (2014). Accordingly, the “empirical annual probability of an Australian dying preventably in Australia” is 66,000 /24 million =. 2.8 in 1,000 or 1 in 360.
2(b). 6 Australians were killed in Australia by “terrorists” in the last 37 years . The average Australian population in this period was about 18.1 million. Accordingly the “empirical annual probability of an Australian dying in Australia from terrorism” is 6/37 years x 18.1 million = 9 in 1000 million or 1 in 111 million per year.
2(c). Thus it is 111 million/360 = 0.308 million or about 300,000 times more likely for an Australian to die preventably (from smoking, alcohol, obesity, guns etc) than to die from a terrorist attack within Australia.
The warmongering politicians and politicized public servants are grossly lying about the “terrorist threat” to Australian - indeed THEY are the terrorist threat to an Australia in which 66,000 Australians die preventably each year linked to the fiscal perversions of (a) a longterm accrual cost of the War on Terror to Australia of $125 billion (Google “Endless War on Terror. Huge cost for Australia & America” ) and (b) subsidies for climate criminal greenhouse gas polluting corporations amounting to $300 billion per year in terms of the attendant Carbon Debt (Google “Australian Coalition Government Sacrifices Key Industries While Committing Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars To Carbon Pollution & War” ).
Terrorism is as terrorism does. Sensible, informed, numerate Australians will reject the “terror hysteria” of the warmongering Coalition and Labor Right (aka the Lib-Labs or Liberal-Laborals), vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Australia joining the fight against Isis can be justified – but where will it end?.
14 Sep 2014 11:42pm
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Obama’s Iraq War and Obama’s Syrian War will involve the US, UK, Australia and other US Alliance invaders grossly violating International Law and committing egregious war crimes vastly worse than the barbarous crimes of IS because:
(1) they do not have UN Security Council sanction;
(2) they have not been attacked or threatened by Iraq, IS or Syria;
(3) no permission was given by the attacked countries that are involved in civil wars;
(4) they will use illegitimate weapons and Australian-targetted drone attacks that cannot distinguish military combatants from civilians;
(5) they will no doubt (as in the previous 1990-2011 Iraq War) target civilian populations through economic disruption, economic blockade, attacks on infrastructure and urban areas ;
(6) there has already been mass torture and killing of Iraqi Sunni prisoners by the Americans and the US puppet Iraqi Government and mass murder of Iraqi Sunni civilians by Shia militias;
(7) there is certain to be gross violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War as in other US war zones from Somalia to NW Pakistan where since 1990 avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation have totalled about 9 million;
(8) the stepped up Obama Iraq War and Obama Syrian War will add to the carnage in those countries presently amounting to 0.2 million violent deaths in Syria since 2011 and 1.7 million violent deaths in Iraq since 1990 plus millions dead from imposed deprivation;
(9) Obama’s intention to destroy all Islamic rebels “wherever they are” all constitute genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention i.e. “ acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group”;
(10) the US and the US Alliance determination to exterminate such people “wherever they are” means decades more of war and massive avoidable mortality from war-imposed deprivation;
(11) the Obama Iraq War and Obama Syrian War will involve the active and passive mass murder of children in these impoverished countries in which about half the population are children;
(12) the explicitly adumbrated Obama War on Indigenous Muslim rebels “wherever they are” is an obscene continuing “endless” US war for hegemony and fossil fuels imposed not just on Iraqis and Syrians but on Muslims from Africa to South Asia and indeed elsewhere (Google “Obama Iraq War and Obama Syrian War will both involve US Alliance in 12 types of war crimes”).
GideonPolya commented on Science lobby are 'precious petals' for whingeing, says Ian Macfarlane.
10 Sep 2014 10:31pm
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The Coalition has taken an axe to science funding in Australia. In addition to being pro-war and anti-equity – par for the course for extreme right wing neoliberals - the Abbott Coalition Government is profoundly anti-science as reflected in the following:
1. cuts of $75 million from the Australian Research Council; $120 million from the Defence Science and Technology Organisation; $8 million from the Institute of Marine Science; $111 million from the CSIRO;
2. a major further shift from state support to impoverished student support for universities (yet top quality undergraduate tuition can be provided at (a) 1% and (b) 10% of the current cost by (a) expert examination of free web-based MOOCS and (b) casual academics);
3. abolition of the Climate Commission and the Australian National Preventative Health Agency (ANPHA), and cuts to health and education;
4. effective climate change denial through a pro-coal, pro-gas, pro-oil, pro-roads, pro-fossil fuels policy of climate change inaction;
5. substitution of (a) spin and censorship , (b) spin-based analysis and (c) blame and shame (culminating in human rights abuse and war) for rational risk management crucial for societal safety that successively involves (a) accurate date, (b) scientific analysis and (c) informed systemic change to minimize risk.
Sensible, informed, and risk-averse Australians will reject the anti-science Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Innocent passengers won't be detained at airports, Scott Morrison says.
10 Sep 2014 10:02pm
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The following documented statistics reveal the egregious falsehood of Coalition "terror hysteria".
There have been 22 fatal shark attacks in Australia since April 2002 (Google “Shark attacks in Australia: a timeline” ) . The average Australian population in that period was about 21.6 million. Accordingly, the “empirical annual probability of an Australian suffering a fatal shark attack in Australia ” is about 22/12.3 years x 21.6 million) =0.8 per 10 million per year or roughly 1 in 10 million per year.
Since 1978 there have been 6 Australian residents killed by terrorism within Australia (the 3 killed in the 1978 Hilton Bombing that may well have been an Australian Intelligence operation gone wrong, the Sydney Turkish Consul-General and his bodyguard shot in 1980, and a security guard killed by a Right to life fanatic in Melbourne in 2001). The average population of Australia in that period was 18.2 million. Accordingly, the “empirical probability of Australian being killed by a terrorist within Australia in a given year” is 6 persons /(34 years x 18.2 million ) = 9.2 in 1 billion per year or roughly 1 in 100 million per year.
It is accordingly presently about TEN (10) times more likely (albeit still extremely unlikely) for an Australian resident to be killed within Australia by a shark (1 in 10 million per year) than to be killed by a terrorist within Australia (1 in 100 million per year).
About 66,000 Australians die preventably each year, variously from all kinds of preventable causes from smoking, drinking and obesity to homicide and suicide (Google "66,000 Preventable Australian Deaths Annually”). The present Australian population is 24 million. Accordingly the “empirical annual probability of an Australian dying preventably in Australia” is 66,000 /24 million = 2,750 per million or 27,500 per 10 million and 275,000 per 100 million. Thus “the annual probability of an Australian dying preventably” is presently about 30,000 times greater than for dying by shark attack and about 300,000 times more likely than being killed within Australia by a terrorist - and this inescapably linked to pro-One Percenter Coalition dishonesty, inaction and gross fiscal irresponsibility by making subsidy of the rich more important than than keeping ordinary Australians alive.
Sane, numerate, informed Australians will reject Coalition "terror hysteria" and attacks on our human rights, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Obama to reveal Isis strategy – but pledges 'no Iraq war'.
07 Sep 2014 10:32pm
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The headline is contradictory and misleading - how can can you have massive, game-changing arming, advisers, "endless" bombing and Australia-directed US drone strikes in Iraq and yet pledge "no Iraq war"? This year marks the centenary of UK invasion of Iraq (1914) and the 99th anniversary of Australia's first invasion of Iraq (1915).
Iraqi deaths from US Alliance violence or violently-imposed deprivation total 4.6 million since 1990 and 2.7 million since 2003. Post-1990 under-5 Iraqi infant deaths total 2 million, 90% avoidable and due to gross violation of the Geneva Convention by the US Alliance, including Australia (Google "Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide"). Decent, pro-peace Australians will reject the warmongering Lib-Labs (Coalition and Labor Right), vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Scottish referendum: no campaign makes last stand to keep the union.
07 Sep 2014 9:55pm
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9 reasons why Scots should vote Yes for Scottish Independence (Google “Nine Reasons Why Scots Should Vote Yes For An Independent Scotland”):
1. An Independent Scotland would ban Nuclear Weapons and cease being a nuclear target .
2. A demilitarized Independent Scotland would have freed up resources to alleviate Poverty both at home and abroad.
3. Scotland aims for 100% renewable energy by 2020 (via wind, tide and wave power), a major example for Climate Change Action.
4. An Independent Scotland would dissociate itself from British Imperialism and UK state terrorism.
5. An Independent Scotland with a pro-peace, pro-health and pro-equity agenda could eliminate 11,000 preventable deaths in Scotland annually.
6. An Independent Scotland could recover sovereignty, social equity and genuine democracy by a wealth tax.
7. An Independent Scotland would have rejected the “No” advice of non-Scots serial invaders like Barack Obama and Tony Blair.
8. An Independent Scotland would resume a rational and healthy national life after a millennium of English Establishment hegemony.
9. A pro-peace, pro-equity, demilitarized Independent Scotland would provide an example for all other countries and peoples in the world.
GideonPolya commented on Flight MH17: Australia and Malaysia want to revisit crash site for remains.
07 Sep 2014 9:47pm
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Contrary to the US and Australian PM Tony Abbott blaming Russia for the MH17 atrocity without any evidence, Means Opportunity and Motive (MOM) analysis, entry and exit damage to the fuselage, and US-backed Ukrainian obstruction make it likely that US-backed Ukrainian forces shot MH17 down. US obstruction over both the MH370 atrocity and the 9-11 atrocity (Google “Experts: US did 9-11”) suggest US involvement in the MH370 atrocity e.g. by electronic hijacking.
John Chuckman (former chief economist for a major oil company, essayist and author of “The Decline of the American Empire and the Rise of China as a Global Power”) has concluded: “In each case, there appears to be only one explanation consistent with known facts… You might say we have a conspiracy of silence around an event of international importance. But why should that be so? Why is a country whose politicians regularly make speeches praising themselves about openness, democratic values, and fairness, found withholding critical information in two catastrophes of international importance? In the first case over the Indian Ocean, it is almost certainly because the United States itself shot down the airliner, either mistakenly or deliberately as it may have been regarded as a potential threat to the secret base at Diego Garcia… In the case of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, destroyed over Ukraine, I believe the United States is hiding the fact that the Ukrainian armed forces shot it down” (Google “Penetrating The Darkness Covering Two Malaysian Airline Disasters”).
GideonPolya commented on Australia is 'prepared to participate' in future air strikes in Iraq.
05 Sep 2014 10:36pm
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The Guardian Australia’s headline “Australia is “prepared to participate” in future air strikes in Iraq” is extremely misleading. As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald Australia is already involved in the US air war against Iraqis and indeed in the wider US drone war against Muslims from Somalia to Pakistan that crucially involves the Pine Gap facility: " Central Australia's Pine Gap spy base has played a key role in the United States' controversial drone strikes involving the ''targeted killing'' of al-Qaeda and Taliban chiefs, Fairfax Media can reveal. Former personnel at the Australian-American base have described the facility's success in locating and tracking al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders - and other insurgent activity in Afghanistan and Pakistan - as ''outstanding''. A Fairfax Media investigation has confirmed that a primary function of the top-secret signals intelligence base near Alice Springs is to track the precise ''geolocation'' of radio signals, including hand-held radios and mobile phones, in the eastern hemisphere, from the Middle East across Asia to China, North Korea and the Russian far east” (Google “Pine Gap drives US drone kills”).
GideonPolya commented on Brandis promises parliamentary inquiry on counter-terrorism laws.
05 Sep 2014 10:15pm
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Since 1978 there have been 5 Australians killed by terrorism within Australia (the 3 killed in the Hilton Bombing that may well have been an Australian Intelligence operation gone wrong, a Turkish Consul-General and his bodyguard, and a security guard killed by a Right to life fanatic. The average population of Australia in that period was 18.2 million.
Accordingly the “empirical probability of Australian being killed by a terrorist within Australia in a given year” is 6 persons /(36 years x 18.2 million ) = 9.2 in 1 billion per year or roughly 1 in 100 million per year.
By way of comparison, the probability of being killed by a shark in Australia is about 1 in 10 million per year i.e. it is 1000 times more likely for an Australian to be killed by a shark than being killed by a terrorist within Australia.
Conversely, about 66,000 Australians die preventably each year (0.8 million dying thus since the evidently US-perpetrated 9-11 atrocity; Google see “Experts: US did 9-11” ) and this carnage is linked to the long-term, accrual cost of the War on Terror to Australia of $125 billion since 2001 (Google “Endless war on terror. Huge cost for Australia & America”).
The “terror hysteria” of the Lib-Labs (Liberal-Laborals , Coalition and Labor Right) and politicized Australian public servants is simply egregious falsehood. Informed Australians will utterly reject this US-inspired mendacity, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Morwell mine fire inquiry points finger at operator GDF Suez.
02 Sep 2014 11:40pm
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Corporate and government failure over the Morwell fire is but part of a wider failure in One Percenter- and Ten Percenter-dominated Australia to protect Australian lives.
According to WHO air pollution kills 7 million people annually (Google “7 million premature deaths annually linked to air pollution” ) and of these about 10,000 are Australians. Thus, From Canadian and New Zealand epidemiological data one can estimate that currently Australian deaths from pollutants from the burning of carbonaceous materials currently total 9,646 or about 10,000 annually, the breakdown being 4,600 (coal–fired power stations), 2,200 (vehicle particulate emissions) and 2,800 (particulates from other burning) (Google “Australian carbon burning-related deaths”).
From UN Population Division it can be estimated that 17 million people die avoidably each year in the Developing World (minus China) from deprivation or deprivation-exacerbated disease on a Spaceship Earth with One Percenters in charge of the flight deck (Oxfam estimates that the One Percenters own about 50% of global wealth) . However in rich Australia about 66,000 Australians die preventably each year of whom 10,000 die from carbon burning pollution (Google “66,000 preventable Australian deaths annually”). Similarly, in the rich US it is estimated that1 million Americans die preventably each year of whom 70,000 die annually from air pollution ( Google “One million Americans die”).
In contrast, only 4 Australians have died from terrorism within Australia in the last half century (and none at the hands of Muslims) yet the Australian fiscal perversion of committing to a $125 billion long-term accrual cost to Australia of the War on Terror (and helping the US Alliance kill millions of Muslims abroad), instead of keeping Australians alive at home, is inescapably connected with 800,000 preventable Australian deaths this century ("Endless war on terror Huge cost for Australia & America").
Decent, science –informed Australians who care for fellow Australians will reject the pro-One Percenter, neoliberal, corporatist Coalition , vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last. Carbon burning pollutant-affected Morwell residents should demand huge compensation for economic damage, trauma, morbidity and mortality, noting that in Australia the Value of a Statistical Life (VOSL) is about $8 million.
GideonPolya commented on The Pacific islands are drowning, we need the world’s help.
30 Aug 2014 12:39am
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Excellent article by Samoa PM Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi.
The Island States are already dealing with the reality of creeping inundation and argue in vain for a 1.5C temperature rise limit. The world has a 2010-2050 Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget of 600 Gt CO2 that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a 2C temperature rise. However disproportionate greenhouse gas (GHG) polluter Australia (2 Gt CO2-e in Domestic plus Exported GHG pollution annually of 83 tonnes CO2-e per person per year as compared to Bangladesh’s 0.9 and Samoas’s 2.3 ) exceeded its “fair share” of this Terminal Budget in 2011 and is now stealing the entitlement of all other countries ; the bipartisan Lib-Lab (Liberal-Laboral, Coalition and Labor Right) Australian policy of unlimited coal, gas and iron ore exports means Australia will exceed the whole World’s terminal Budget by a factor of three (3); and the World is set to exceed the 600 Gt CO2-e pollution limit in 4 years’ time at current rates of pollution (Google “Are we doomed?”).
Already 17 million people (about 8 million of them under-5 year old infants) die avoidably every year due to deprivation and deprivation-exacerbated disease – and man-made global warming is already clearly worsening this global avoidable mortality holocaust with 5 million already dying from carbon pollution or climate change each year . However 10 billion avoidable deaths are predicted this century if climate change is not properly addressed, this yielding an average annual avoidable death rate of 100 million per year (Google “Climate Genocide”).
However, as adumbrated by Professor Ross Garnaut, Australia faces international sanctions if it does not rapidly curb its disproportionate GHG pollution. Humane, science-informed Australians will utterly reject the Lib-Lab climate criminals, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on The Pacific islands are drowning, we need the world’s help.
30 Aug 2014 12:39am
2
Excellent article by Samoa PM Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi.
The Island States are already dealing with the reality of creeping inundation and argue in vain for a 1.5C temperature rise limit. The world has a 2010-2050 Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget of 600 Gt CO2 that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a 2C temperature rise. However disproportionate greenhouse gas (GHG) polluter Australia (2 Gt CO2-e in Domestic plus Exported GHG pollution annually of 83 tonnes CO2-e per person per year as compared to Bangladesh’s 0.9 and Samoas’s 2.3 ) exceeded its “fair share” of this Terminal Budget in 2011 and is now stealing the entitlement of all other countries ; the bipartisan Lib-Lab (Liberal-Laboral, Coalition and Labor Right) Australian policy of unlimited coal, gas and iron ore exports means Australia will exceed the whole World’s terminal Budget by a factor of three (3); and the World is set to exceed the 600 Gt CO2-e pollution limit in 4 years’ time at current rates of pollution (Google “Are we doomed?”).
Already 17 million people (about 8 million of them under-5 year old infants) die avoidably every year due to deprivation and deprivation-exacerbated disease – and man-made global warming is already clearly worsening this global avoidable mortality holocaust with 5 million already dying from carbon pollution or climate change each year . However 10 billion avoidable deaths are predicted this century if climate change is not properly addressed, this yielding an average annual avoidable death rate of 100 million per year (Google “Climate Genocide”).
However, as adumbrated by Professor Ross Garnaut, Australia faces international sanctions if it does not rapidly curb its disproportionate GHG pollution. Humane, science-informed Australians will utterly reject the Lib-Lab climate criminals, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Renewable energy target review backs closure of scheme to new entrants.
28 Aug 2014 11:16pm
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In 2009 the WBGU (that advises the German Government on climate change) found that for a 75% chance of avoiding a disastrous 2 degree Centigrade (2C) temperature rise the World can emit no more than a Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget of 600 Gt CO2 before reaching zero emissions in about 2050.
Australia's high Domestic plus Exported GHG pollution rate means that by 2011 it had already used up its “fair share” of this Terminal Budget. Australia's huge resources and bipartisan policy of unlimited coal, gas and iron ore exports means that it is set to exceed the whole world's terminal budget of 600 Gt CO2 by a factor of THREE (3). Global fossil fuel corporations intend to exceed the world's Terminal Budget by a factor of about FIVE (5). Methane leakage from East Siberian Arctic Shelf in coming decades (University of Cambridge) will exceed CO2-equivalent by a factor of over NINE (9). Using these revised estimates, the World will exceed 600 Gt CO2-e in 4 years time (Google “2011 climate change course” and “Are we doomed?”)
The solutions to the climate emergency involve urgent reduction of atmospheric CO2 to a safe level of about 300 ppm CO2 from the current damaging 400 ppm CO2 (as recommended by leading climate and biological scientists; Google “300 ppm CO2”) and switch to the best non-carbon and renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal, wave, tide and hydro options that are currently roughly the same market price as coal burning-based power) and to energy efficiency, public transport, needs-based production, re-afforestation and sequestration of of carbon as biochar or bicarbonate, coupled with correspondingly rapid cessation of fossil fuel burning, deforestation, methanogenic livestock production and population growth.
Science-informed Australians who want a sophisticated, "smart, clean and green" future for Australia, will utterly reject the Luddite, anti-science and effective climate change denialist Coalition Government that ignores the science and is pushing Australia in the wrong direction. Australians who care for the young and the future will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on John Pilger: Australia is a land of excuses, not the land of the fair go.
27 Aug 2014 11:33pm
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It says a lot about look-the-other-way, Murdochracy, Lobbyocracy and Corporatocracy Australia that outstanding Australian journalist John Pilger is an Australian expatriate, although you can read his excellent writings in the best of Australia’s “Alternative media” Truth Tellers, the Green Left Weekly, Red Flag and New Matilda . Some key points below to back up John Pilger’s main humanitarian concerns.
1. Aboriginal conditions, Recognition, Treaty and human rights. As graphically presented in John Pilger’s important film “Utopia” (Google “Film review Utopia by John Pilger”), many Indigenous Australians live in Third World conditions in one of the world’s richest nations. Recognise and Treaty demands are impelled by the reality of about 2 million Aboriginal avoidable deaths from violence or violently- imposed deprivation since 1788, a continuing Aboriginal Genocide (2,000 avoidable deaths annually out 670,000 people, an annual avoidable mortality as a percentage of population of 0.3% per year as compared to 0.4% for South Asia (Google “Body count global avoidable mortality since 1950” and “Aboriginal Genocide” ), and a continuing Aboriginal Ethnocide (shocking Educational Apartheid, child instruction largely in a foreign language; before the British Invasion in 1788, Indigenous Australians had been living in Australia for about 60,000 years and there were 350-750 different tribes and a similar number of languages and dialects, of which only 150 survive today and of these all but about 20 are endangered). Notwithstanding PM Kevin Rudd’s “Sorry” Aboriginal child removal from their mothers is at a record historic high (see “Utopia”).
2. Huge wealth transfer from poor to rich. According to Oxfam the top One Percenters now own about 50% of the world’s wealth and the bottom 50% own about 1%. However as shown in French economist Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the twenty-first century”, the top One Percenter and Ten Percenter share of income is remorselessly increasing in the Anglosphere countries (US, UK, Canada, Australia). However Piketty argues that this huge and growing wealth disparity is economically unsustainable and threatens democracy (“one dollar one vote” having already replaced “one person one vote” in Corporatocracy Australia where it cost the largely foreign-owned Mining Industry a mere $23 million to get rid of popularly elected Labor PM Kevin Rudd) . 17 million people die avoidably each year from deprivation and deprivation-exacerbated disease but this Global Avoidable Mortality Holocaust could be eliminated by a Piketty-style Annual Global Wealth Tax of about 4% (Google “Review “Capital in the twenty-first century” by Thomas Piketty” and "4 % Annual Global Wealth Tax To Stop The 17 Million Deaths Annually"),
3. Western war and state terrorism. The US, UK and France have invaded 70, 170 and 80 countries, respectively, and the US Alliance continues to invade other countries from Mali to Pakistan. 12 million Muslims have died in the poist-1990, US-led War on Muslims (Google “Muslim Holocaust Muslim Genocide”). The US has resumed bombing Iraq and has adumbrated bombing Syria, with US lackeys like Australia scampering to be part of the latest war criminal “turkey shoot” (Iraqi deaths from violence or war-imposed deprivation total 4.6 million; Google :”Iraqi Holocaust, Iraqi Genocide”).
GideonPolya commented on Tony Abbott says counter-terrorism measures are not aimed at Muslims.
27 Aug 2014 12:04am
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PM Tony Abbott is egregiously misleading the Australia public when he asserts that the proposed terror laws are not aimed at Muslims. Thus there are 3 categories of "foreign fighters" in the Middle East at the moment:
1. "Foreign fighters" (including circa 100 from Australia) are variously involved with the Sunni rebels in Syria and Iraq (the Coalition opposes ISIS and involvement of Australian and other "foreign fighters" but backs the "moderate" rebels in Syria and war criminal foreign support for rebellion against the Syrian Government).
2. "Foreign fighters" (including hundreds and possibly thousands of Israeli Australians) recruited via taxpayer-funded pro-Zionist schools, and fighting with the Israeli military are complicit in horrendous Israeli war crimes e.g. 0.2 million under-5 Occupied Palestinian infant deaths from imposed deprivation associated with the illegal Occupation and over 2,100 Occupied Palestinians killed in the latest Israeli Gaza Massacre in the Gaza Concentration Camp in response to zero (0) Israeli deaths from Gaza rockets in the previous year (the slavishly pro-Zionist Coalition supports Apartheid Israel and ignores these extremist, militant Zionist "foreign fighters" even though Israeli and Israeli-Australian Israeli state terrorists have been involved in horrendous abuses of Australian sovereignty such as passport fraud, kidnapping, spying and subversion, and horrendous violence and human rights abuses against Australian citizens and their relatives in the Middle East).
3. "Foreign fighters" involved in illegal, war criminal state terrorist incursions into Middlle East countries come from France (Central African Republic recently largely ethnically cleansed of Muslims, Mali and formerly Libya, adumbrating Iraq and Syria), Egyot and the UAE (Libya), US (Libya, Syria, Iraq, Yemen), UK (formerly Libya and Iraq, adumbrating Iraq and Syria) and Australia (Iraq and adumbrating Syria) (the Coalition backs all these war criminal "foreign fighter" interventions) .
The Coalition Government backs the war criminal governments providing,subsidizing or ignoring "foreign fighters" for state terrorism in categories 2 and 3, and while formally opposing non-state Muslim "foreign fighters" in category 1 nevertheless backs war criminal foreign support for rebellion in Syria).
Decent pro-peace Australians will reject the pro-war, pro-Zionist, US lackey Coalition's dishonest "terror hysteria" and human rights-violating proposed new "terror laws" that clearly target Muslim fellow Australians - they will accordingly vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Higher education changes must pass before December, Coalition warns.
25 Aug 2014 11:51pm
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Four fundamental issues are missing from public discussion about "university deregulation" and are succinctly put below (key arguments in parentheses):
1. Australia needs a top quality scholarly and scientific research complement (respect for intellectual pursuits; postgraduate researcher training; national environmental, agricultural, economic and health security e.g. water experts to advise on the water crisis; climate change experts to advise on the climate crisis; health experts to implement the latest life-saving protocols etc etc ).
2. Impoverished undergraduate students should not have to pay for the national scholarly and scientific research complement (no more than they should be singled out for paying for Health, Defence etc).
3. Top quality undergraduate tuition can be provided for 10% of the current cost (by casual academics doing the job in 10% of the time for 10% of the money - I know, I have done both full-time and part-time university and tertiary level teaching over 40 years) and for 1% of the current cost (by expert academics and researchers on a part-time, user-pats basis providing rigorous examination of students doing the top quality courses (MOOCs) put on-line for free by top universities like 152-Nobel- Laureate Harvard and 83- Nobel-Laureate MIT) (for discussion Google “Accredited Remote Learning” “Crisis in our universities”, ABC Radio National “Ockham's Razor”).
4. All education can and should be free. Indeed Australia should be paying students (and not vice versa) to be technically trained and learn how to think rationally in the interests of a safe and prosperous nation.
Informed Australians who care for the young and Australia’s future will reject the Coalition’s attack on tertiary education, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on 'Direct Action' could meet emissions target if Coalition allows changes.
25 Aug 2014 11:34pm
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The Coalition’s policy of a derisory 5% off 2000 greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by 2020 and unlimited coal, gas and iron exports is climate change inaction and effective climate change denialism.
1. The world has a Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget of 600 Gt CO2 relative to 2010 that must not be exceeded before zero emissions in 2050 if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise (the agreed policy of world governments).
2. World greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution is so high (greater than 65 Gt CO2-e per year) that it may exceed this Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget in 4 years.
3. Australia’s annual Domestic plus Exported GHG pollution is so high (2000 Mt CO2-e per year) that it exceeded its “fair share” of the World’s Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget in 2011 and this giving the world’s highest annual per capita GHG pollution (83 t CO2-e per person per year as compared to Bangladesh’s 0.9).
4. Australia’s bipartisan policy of unlimited coal, gas and iron exports means that Australia will exceed the whole world's Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget by a factor of three (3).
5. The damage-related Carbon Debt at $150 per tonne CO2-e is $220 trillion and increasing at $10 trillion per year (for the world) and $1.7 trillion and increasing at $300 billion per year for for Australia – all to be paid by the young and future generations,
Young people and those who care for future generations will utterly reject the Coalition’s dangerous effective climate change denialism , vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last (for details and documentation Google “2011 climate change course” and “Are we doomed?”).
GideonPolya commented on Labor target Joe Hockey in question time – politics live.
25 Aug 2014 11:09pm
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The proposed new Australian anti-terror laws should be opposed because they diminish Australian human rights, are specifically and offensively aimed at our Muslim fellow citizens, and ignore the reality of foreign state terrorism against Australia and the world. The proposed laws:
(1) include the dangerous Orwellian absurdity of the need for Australians to prove that they are not terrorism supporters (from a philosophic perspective, it is usually very difficult and sometimes impossible to prove a negative);
(2) are clearly aimed at Australian Muslims despite zero Australian deaths within Australia from Muslim–origin terrorism (unacceptable community defamation, racism and bigotry).
(3) grossly impact Australian human rights and privacy;
(4) totally ignore the serious problem of US state terrorism and US alliance state terrorism linked to 12 million Muslim deaths from violence or war-imposed deprivation since 1990 and over 20 million Muslim refugees in the US War on Muslims (Google “Muslim Holocaust Muslim Genocide”) versus 2,000 Westerners killed by Muslim-origin non-state terrorists in the last half century (this ignoring 2,000 colonizing invaders killed in Palestine and 3,000 killed in the 9-11 atrocity that almost certainly involved the US Government; Google “Experts: US did 9-11”);
(5) totally ignores militant extremist Israeli Australians fighting for and committing war crimes against Indigenous Palestinians and indeed war crimes against Australians, and who have (according to Mainstream media reports) variously tasered, bombed, shot, shelled, mangled, killed, kidnapped, tortured, falsely imprisoned and robbed Australians and their relatives as well as doing large-scale forging of Australian passports and subversion of Australian MPs, media and institutions (for a detailed and documented dossier sent to Australian MPs, media and the AFP Google “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity” ).
Decent, sensible, informed, patriotic Australians with a prime loyalty to Australia and no others will reject the dishonest terror hysteria of the pro-war, state-terrorism-supporting Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Team Australia needs a captain who is prepared to listen to all the members.
23 Aug 2014 12:06am
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If it were as simple as just kicking goals to win in a fair sporting contest then getting behind Team Australia lead by the Coalition Government would be just fine. However decent, patriotic Australians who are (1) pro-peace, (2) pro-science, (3) pro-environment, (4) pro-human rights, (5) pro-education, (6) pro-child, (7) pro-Indigenous Peoples, (8) pro-national sovereignty, (9) pro-equity, and (10) pro-Humanity cannot support a Team Australia that is led by a Coalition that has an appalling record this century that is :
(1) anti-peace, pro-war (involved in illegal invasion of Iraq, Afghan War, Iraq War, renewed Iraq War, illegal drone strikes),
(2) anti –science (rejects expert science-based advice; closed down expert advisory bodies; slashed funds for universities, CRCs, the ARC, CSIRO, industrial research),
(3) anti –environment (pro-coal, pro-gas, pro-road transport , climate criminal climate change inaction; environmental vandalism re Great Barrier Reef, Murray-Darling, SE Australian forests, biodiversity) ,
(4) anti -human rights (grossly violates the human rights of Iraqi subjects, Afghan subject, refugee, NT Aboriginals; proposes further anti-terror laws aimed at Muslims but ignoring huge abuse of Australians by Israeli state terrorism ),
(5) anti –education (opposes equitable, needs-based funding; supports BAU Educational Apartheid and taxpayer –funding of private schools involved in intellectual child abuse through egregiously instruction) ,
(6) anti –child (highly abusively imprisons refugee children in off-shore and on-shore concentration camps without charge or trial; fosters Educational Apartheid, intellectual child abuse; ignores sexual abuse of 25% of Australians as children),
(7) anti -Indigenous Peoples (violates the rights of Indigenous Australians, Iraqis, Afghans; world’s biggest supporter after the US supporter of Apartheid Israel and hence de facto of its ongoing Palestinian Genocide),
(8) anti -national sovereignty (complicit in US nuclear terrorism and US drone strikes; hosts US military bases and nuclear-armed US warship that make Australia a nuclear target; ignores US and Israeli crimes against Australians and subversion of Australians and Australian institutions ),
(9) anti-equity (huge subsidies for Corporate One Percenters, notably a $300 billion annual increase in Carbon Debt), and
(10) anti-Humanity (threatens Humanity through support for nuclear weapons, minimal foreign aid and climate change inaction (for details Google “120 Reasons Why Australians Must Vote 1 Green & Put The Coalition Last”, “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity”, “Nuclear weapons ban, end poverty & reverse climate change”).
GideonPolya commented on Tasmania prepares to tear up forestry peace deal.
22 Aug 2014 12:12am
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This is environmental vandalism and climate criminality by the Coalition Tasmanian Government and permitted by the Federal Coalition Government as revealed by the following data:
1. The world has a terminal carbon pollution budget of 600 Gt CO2 relative to 2010 that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise (the agreed policy of world governments).
2. World greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution is so high (greater than 65 Gt CO2-e per year) that it may exceed this terminal carbon pollution budget in 4 years.
3. Australia’s annual Domestic plus Exported GHG pollution is so high (2000 Mt CO2-e per year) that it exceeded its “fair share” of this budget in 2011 and has the world’s highest annual per capita GHG pollution (83 t per person per year as compared to Bangladesh’s 0.9).
4. According to Professor David Lindenmayer and colleagues (ANU) the SE Australian temperate moist Eucalyptus regnans forests are the most carbon-dense in the world (up to 2,500 t C per hectare) and state “Our analysis shows that in the 14.5 million ha of eucalypt forests in south-eastern Australia, the effect of retaining the current carbon stock (equivalent to 25.5 Gt CO2 (carbon dioxide)) is equivalent to avoided emissions of 460 Mt CO2 yr -1 for the next 100 years.”
5. The damage-related Carbon Debt at $150 per tonne CO2-e is $220 trillion and increasing at $10 trillion per year (for the world) and $1.7 trillion and increasing at $300 billion per year for for Australia – all to be paid by the young and future generations,
Young people and those who care for future generations will utterly reject the Coalition climate criminals, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last (Google “2011 climate change course” and “Are we doomed?”).
GideonPolya commented on Tony Abbott condemns Clive Palmer’s comments about China.
20 Aug 2014 9:13am
Offensive and intemperate abuse from major greenhouse gas (GHG) polluter and Great Barrier Reef-threatening coal magnate Clive Palmer that was elicited by badgering from the ABC interviewer but not surprising in the context of Murdochracy Australia's extremist neoliberal culture fervently promoted by the rabidly neoconservative Coalition that declares that "everyone has the right to be a bigot". Decent Australians who abhor race-specifying intemperance, jingoism and bigotry will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Countering Violent Extremism program funding not renewed in budget.
20 Aug 2014 8:56am
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Four (4) Australians have been killed in Australia by terrorism in the last half century, 3 in the Hilton Bombing (that many believe was due to Australian Intelligence), another a health clinic security guard killed by a Right To Life fanatic, and NONE of them by Muslims. In contrast, the Australian taxpayer subsidizes private schools that brainwash Australian kids (intellectual child abuse) into accepting the rightness of invading, occupying, colonizing, devastating and ethnically cleansing Palestine, Hundreds (?), thousands (?) of these brainwashed kids go to Apartheid Israel, are trained by the IDF, and commit war crimes against Apartheid Israel's neighbour's and its Occupied Palestinian subjects (e.g. 2,000 killed and 10,000 wounded recently in the Gaza Concentration Camp in response to zero (0) Israeli deaths from Gaza rockets in the previous year). It is likely that some Israeli-Australians have been involved in the Israeli tasering, shooting, bombing, wounding, kidnapping, robbing, imprisoning, and torturing of AUSTRALIAN citizens or their relatives and in large-scale Israeli passport fraud, subversion and spying that compromises Australian sovereignty. ALL violent extremism should be countered by education and should certainly not be subsidized as it is by successive Lib-Lab (Liberal-Laboral, Coalition or Labor Right) Australian Governments. Decent Australians who abhor violent extremism, racism and genocide will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Plans for one of Australia’s largest solar power stations scrapped.
19 Aug 2014 12:38am
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To restore safety to our greenhouse gas (GHG)-threatened planet we must urgently achieve the following:
(1) change of societal philosophy to one of scientific risk management and biological sustainability with complete cessation of species extinctions and zero tolerance for lying;
(2) urgent reduction of atmospheric CO2 to a safe level of about 300 ppm CO2 as recommended by leading climate and biological scientists; and
(3) a rapid switch to the best non-carbon and RENEWABLE energy (solar, wind, geothermal, wave, tide and hydro options that are currently roughly the same market price as coal burning-based power) and to further greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution reduction through energy efficiency, public transport, needs-based production, re-afforestation and return of carbon as biochar to soils or bicarbonate to oceans coupled with correspondingly rapid cessation of fossil fuel burning, deforestation, methanogenic livestock production and population growth (Google "2011 climate change course").
Science-informed Australians must utterly reject the dangerous, anti-science, pro-fossil fuels, pro-coal, pro-gas, pro-One Percenter, future-destroying Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on 'Recapture' of Mosul Dam from Isis a major step forward, says Obama.
19 Aug 2014 12:21am
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ISIS are appalling but the war criminal Americans are even worse. The post-1990 US Iraq War continues as part of consolidation of the genocidal American Empire from Haiti to Afghanistan, with Coalition-ruled Australia now giving renewed assistance with "air drops", "embassy guards" and targetting of drone strikes via the Pine Gap US-Australian nuclear terrorism joint facility that makes Australia a nuclear target (Google "Nuclear Weapons Ban & Boycotts, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS)") .
By the time of the ostensible US withdrawal from Iraq in 2011, in post-1990 Iraq deaths from violence and from violently-imposed deprivation had totalled 1.7 million and 2.9 million, respectively, 5-6 million had been displaced, and under-5 infant deaths totalled 2 million, 90% avoidable and due to gross violation of the Geneva Convention by the US Alliance, including Australia (Google “Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide”).
The US has invaded 70 nations since 1776 (Google "US has invaded 70 nations") and avoidable deaths from deprivation in countries occupied by the US since WW2 total over 80 million (Google “Body Count Global avoidable mortality since 1950”). Decent pro-child, pro-peace Australians will reject the anti-Asian Lib-Lab warmongers and war criminals, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Government scientists 'warned against dumping' in Great Barrier Reef park.
19 Aug 2014 12:03am
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The Great Barrier Reef is an irreplaceable Australian and World icon that is acutely threatened by greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution, global warming, ocean acidification, agricultural run-off and dredging (Google "2011 climate change course"), and all this with the active complicity of the pro-fossil fuels, effective climate change denialist,, anti-science, anti-scientist, climate criminal, US lackey Coalition Government.
Science-informed Australians not brainwashed by the climate change denialist pro-One Percenter Murdoch media in Murdochracy, Lobbyocracy and Corporatocracy Australia will utterly reject the anti-science, anti-scientist, pro-One Percenter, neoliberal Coalition Government that has utterly failed in its duty to protect Australia and Australians from corporate theft of a safe atmosphere, a safe ocean and a safe Great Barrier Reef - science-informed, patriotic, pro-environment Australians will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Julian Assange confirms he is to leave Ecuadorian embassy 'soon'.
18 Aug 2014 11:44pm
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Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden are world heroes for exposing the global lying and spying by the genocidal American Empire that has invaded 70 nations (as compared to 170 by the UK and 80 by France; Google "Mainstream media lying" and "US has invaded 70") . Australians should be particularly grateful to Australian and World hero Julian Assange for publishing US documents via Wikileaks revealing that :
(1) the Australian Labor Government suggested war with China as a US option if China didn't play ball;
(2) the Australian Labor Government offering Australian forces in the eventuality of a US war against China; and
(3) 2 senior Labor MP "US assets" reporting confidential Caucus deliberations to the US Embassy.
Decent, patriotic Australians horrified by these revelations, and the US-UK-Swedish persecution of Julian Assange with the complicity of successive Labor Right and Coalition Governments, will utterly reject the US lackey Lib-Labs (Liberal-Laborals, Coalition-Labor Right), vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last (at least the the Leftish minority of Labor MPs put Australia first)..
GideonPolya commented on US bombers help Kurds retake dam as Obama writes to Congress.
17 Aug 2014 11:39pm
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The US has invaded 70 nations, the French 80 and the UK about 180 - now these war criminals are at it again, albeit against an evidently just as barbarous opponent. .
The US , UK and Australia illegally invaded Iraq in 2003 on the utterly false and illegitimate excuse that the Iraqis had Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). The invasion occurred after over 12 years of deadly sanctions, war and bombing that had devastated the infrastructure of Iraq , violently killed 0.2 million Iraqis in the Gulf War and killed 1.7 million Iraqis through war-imposed deprivation . The subsequent US-led invasion and occupation was associated with 1.5 million violent deaths (see the US-based Just Foreign Policy) and an estimated 1.2 million avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation (Google “Iraqi Holocaust, Iraqi Genocide”: and read “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950”).
However the US War on Terror has had a disastrous impact not just on Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya and other Muslim countries (10 million Muslim deaths from violence or war-imposed deprivation; Google “Muslim Holocaust, Muslim Genocide” ) but also upon the US itself and on Australia. The War on Terror was precipitated by the 9-11 atrocity that in the view of many science, engineering, architecture, aviation, military and intelligence experts must have involved the American Government itself (with some asserting Israeli involvement; Google “Experts: US did 9-11”), The long-term accrual cost to America of the Iraq War and the continuing Afghanistan War has been estimated at $3.5 trillion and $1-2 trillion, respectively (i.e. as high as $5.5 trillion) and the cost of the US War on Terror for Australia has been estimated at $125 billion. This huge fiscal perversion is associated with preventable deaths since 2001 in the US and Australia totalling 17 million and 0.8 million, respectively, associated with the US Alliance committing trillions of dollars to killing 10 million Muslims abroad in the US War on Terror rather than keeping Americans and Australians alive at home (Google “Endless War on Terror, Huge cost for Australia & America”)..
Sensible, science-informed, humane Australians will reject the state terrorism of the pro-war, pro-Zionist, human rights-violating, US lackey Lib-Labs (Liberal-Laborals, Coalition and Labor Right) linked to the preventable deaths since 9-11 of 17 million Americans and 0.8 million Australians, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Australia’s chief scientist tells PM's business adviser to stick to economics.
17 Aug 2014 11:21pm
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As sensible non-scientists might suspect, leading Australian scientists Professor Ian Chubb and Professor Tim Flannery are in accord with an overwhelming international scientific consensus on the dangerous reality of man-made climate change and non-scientist climate change denialists Maurice Newman and Dick Warburton are irresponsibly providing ignorant and dangerous advice,
If non-scientists Maurice Newman and Dick Warburton were to set up with brass plates to offer medical advice and asserted medical cures they would end up in gaol. Yet climate change and carbon burning kills 7 million people annually with this set to reach an average of 100 million per year this century if man-made climate change is not addressed (Google "Are we doomed?" and "Climate genocide").
.Non-scientists Maurice Newman and Dick Warburton also ignore the Carbon Debt reality that falls within their supposed economics area of expertise - the damage-related global Carbon Debt from GHG pollution is now $220 trillion and increasing at $10 trillion per year ($1.7 trillion for Australia and increasing at $300 billion per year), all to be paid by the young and future generations (Google "Climate justice & intergenerational equity").
Young people, those who care for them, and all sensible, risk-averse Australians will utterly reject a dangerously ignorant, anti-science, pro-One Percenter, climate criminal Coalition Government advised by dangerously incorrect and ignorant non-scientist climate change deniers - they will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last. .
GideonPolya commented on Tony Abbott's push to ditch renewables could hand coal and gas industry $10bn.
17 Aug 2014 10:51pm
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In 2009 the WBGU, which advises the German Government on climate change, estimated that for a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise, the world must emit no more than 600 billion tonnes carbon dioxide (CO2) before zero emissions in 2050. Unfortunately the global greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution is so high that the World will exceed this terminal budget in 4 years relative to 2014 - and Australia's Domestic plus Exported GHG pollution is so high that it used up its "fair share" of this global terminal budget in 2011 (Google "2011 climate change course") .
The Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CH4 on a 20 year time frame and with aerosol impacts considered is 105 times that of CO2. The 50 Gt (50 billion tonnes) of methane (CH4) predicted to be released from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf in coming decades is equivalent to 50 billion tonnes CH4 x 105 tonnes CO2-equivalent/tonne CH4 = 5,250 tonnes CO2-e or about nine times more than the world’s terminal greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution budget.
The world faces catastrophe unless global warming and this Arctic CH4 release can be stopped - unaddressed man-made climate change is set to exacerbate an already worsening climate genocide and cause 10 billion avoidable deaths this century (Google "Climate genocide"). .
The solution lies in 100% renewable energy ASAP, reduction of atmospheric CO2 to 300 ppm CO2 ASAP from the current dangerous and damaging 400 ppm CO2, and cessation of GHG pollution and population growth ASAP (Google "300 ppm CO2") - but for that to happen in Australia science-informed Australians must utterly reject the grossly irresponsible, anti-science, effective climate change denialist Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on MH17: no victims’ remains found in Australian team’s final three days.
15 Aug 2014 12:15am
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The US lackey Coalition Australian Government has an appalling track record in relation to the Ukrainian crisis and the MH17 atrocity, both of which it has disgustingly and dishonestly exploited for jingoistic, partisan reasons) :
1. by false assertion or innuendo without evidence that the Separatists or the Russians were responsible for the MH17 atrocity (it is far more more likely on current evidence that the US-backed, neo-Nazi-linked Ukrainian Government forces shot down MH17 with Buk ground-to-air missiles or warplanes by mistake or deliberately for political spin reasons, noting that the Separatists have neither and zero motive );
2. by falsely suggesting a "military purpose" for Russian humanitarian aid for Eastern Ukrainian cities being shelled and bombed by the Ukrainian Government forces, this causing, so far, about 2,000 killed and 200,000 Russian-speaking refugees;
3. by falsely claiming that the Separatists or Russians have restricted or hampered the MH17 recovery and investigation (the opposite is true - nearly all the bodies and the black boxes were collected rapidly and conveyed to the Dutch authorities by the Separatists whereas Ukrainian military aggression in the area in contravention of the UN Resolution has terminated forensic examination);
4. by applying US-promoted sanctions against Russia it has brought about counter-sanctions that will cost Australia $500 million each year.
Sensible Australians who want peace and justice in the Ukraine and truth and justice for the MH17 victims and families will reject the pro-war, US-lackey, spin-based Coalition and its Labor Right echo, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Should the Australian Greens party change its name?.
14 Aug 2014 11:38pm
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"Greens" in a word sums up the fresh, clean, beautiful, pro-equity, pro-renewables, pro-environment, pro-peace, pro-science, pro-child, pro-youth, pro-education, pro-human rights Greens as opposed to the mired, sullied,pro- dirty energy, pro-coal, pro-gas, pro-fossil fuels, pro-One Percenter, anti-environment, anti-education, anti-science, anti-child, anti-youth, pro-war, pro-Zionist, grossly human rights-abusing, US lackey Coalition and Labor Right (aka the Lib-Labs, Liberal-Laborals).
Sensible, science -informed Australians who care for the GREEN chlorophyll- and photosynthesis-based Biosphere, the young and future generations will reject the sullied, luddite, neoliberal, pro-war, anti-planet, anti-science, pro-One Percenter Lib-Labs, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Tony Abbott adviser warns of threat of 'global cooling'.
14 Aug 2014 11:16pm
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Non-scientist Maurice Newman's comments are incorrect, ignorant, dangerous and offensive as are his attacks on the integrity of the thousands of expert and dedicated scientists associated with the IPCC and like bodies.
With the world facing a worsening climate emergency (Google "2011 climate change course", "Climate genocide", "Climate justice & intergenerational equity" and "Are we doomed?") , it is a disgrace that this non-scientist climate change denialist is a key adviser of the Coalition Australian Government.
Sensible,science-informed Australians will reject the dangerously anti-science, anti-environment, pro-fossil fuels, and effective climate change denialist Australian Coalition Government, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Australia embraces missile and naval ties as it cements US defence pact.
13 Aug 2014 1:26am
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According to US President Obama’s chief science adviser Professor John Holdren the world is acutely threatened by nuclear weapons, poverty and man-made climate change. A comprehensive Nuclear Weapons Ban is needed to avoid an accidental full-scale nuclear catastrophe and a consequent Nuclear Winter that will wipe out most of Humanity and the Biosphere. Every person must stand up for Humanity and the Biosphere in the One Percenter-dominated US Alliance War on Terra (Google “Nuclear Weapons Ban & Boycotts”).
Complete nuclear disarmament in accordance with a Nuclear Weapons Ban is technically possible. About 50 countries support a complete Nuclear Weapons Ban and this is also supported by the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, the World Council of Churches and the International Trade Union Confederation. However a Nuclear Weapons Ban is opposed by nuclear-armed countries and their compliant and nuclear terrorism-complicit lackeys like Lib-Lab-ruled Australia who must all face Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) by the civilized world.
Decent Australians who utterly oppose mass murder – nuclear or otherwise – will eschew the nuclear terrorism-complicit Lib-Labs (Liberal-Laborals, Coalition-Labor Right) for making Australia a nuclear target, and will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Sydney will be 'rife with corruption' if business gets more votes.
13 Aug 2014 1:08am
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This is a further unacceptable, anti-democratic move in an Australia where "one dollar one vote" has replaced "one person one vote". Australia is a Murdochcracy, Lobbyocracy and Corporatocracy in which Big Money purchases people, politicians, parties, policies, public perception of reality and political power (Google “Mainstream media lying” and “Censorship by the BBC”). Some examples below:
(1). Tasmania (population 510,000) has as many Senators (12) as NSW (7.5 million), Victoria (5.8 million), Queensland (4.7 million), Western Australia (2.6 million) and South Australia (1.7 million) and 6 times as many Senators as the ACT (380,000) or the NT (240,000).
(2). The largely foreign–owned Mining Industry promised to spend $100 million to stop PM Kevin Rudd’s Mining Tax but in the event only spent a mere $23 million to overturn a popularly-elected PM in the US approved, Mining Industry-backed, and pro-Zionist-led Coup on 24 June 2010 (Google “pro-Zionist-led coup).
(3) Evidently informed by the success of the Mining Industry, the Pokie Lobby committed only $20 million to successfully block humane anti-gambling laws.
(4). Foreigner-dominated and subverted Australian Mainstream media and politicians ignore the horrendous reality that the long-term accrual cost of the War on Terror to Australia is $125 billion and this huge fiscal perversion is linked to 66,000 preventable Australians death each year and 0.8 million such deaths since 2001 (Google “Endless War on Terror. Huge cost for Australia & America”).
(5) Due to the powerful and fanatical Zionist Lobby representing a nuclear terrorist and genocidally racist foreign power, out of about 1,000 current Australian MPs only 54 (Green, Labor and Independent) plus former PM Malcolm Fraser signed a Letter condemning the latest Israel Gaza Massacre in the Gaza Concentration Camp (2,000 killed including 450 children, 10,000 wounded, 450,000 displaced, 250,000 homeless, 1.8 million – half of them CHILDREN – traumatized, in response to zero (0) Israeli deaths from Gaza rockets in the previous year) (Google “55 Australian MPs”).
GideonPolya commented on Data retention: Liberal backbencher calls for metadata warrant requirement.
13 Aug 2014 12:27am
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The latest "terror hysteria" demands for more diminution of our human rights evidently stem from the recent successes of Sunni rebels in Syria (where the US Alliance backs destruction of Syria and Sunni rebellion against the secular Alawite-dominated Assad regime) and in Iraq (where the US destroyed the country and the secular Sunni-dominated Hussein regime and now, with Australia, has resumed its Iraq War to support its Shia puppets against the now religiously-excited, ferocious and indeed barbarous Sunni rebels).
Terrorism experts say Australia has little to fear from any returning Muslim "foreign fighters" but public discussion ignores 2 huge Elephant in the Room realities: (1) the long-term accrual cost of the War on Terror to Australia is $125 billion and this huge fiscal perversion is linked to 66,000 preventable Australians death each year and 0.8 million such deaths since 2001, and (2) thousands (?) of dual citizen Israeli Australians brainwashed in taxpayer-funded Zionist schools have been/are "foreign fighters" in the ME and variously involved in war crimes (as in repeated Lebanon and Gaza Massacres and the ongoing Palestinian Genocide) and against AUSTRALIANS (according to Mainstream Media reports, tasering, shooting , kidnapping, torturing, falsely imprisoning, bombing , killing, subverting AUSTRALIANS and grossly violating Australian sovereignty through massive passport fraud). If Australian Intelligence (Google "ways Australian intelligence spies") won't act act against Zionist crimes against Australia in the public domain (Google "Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity") it does not need more abusive powers.
GideonPolya commented on Great Barrier Reef's greatest threat is climate change, says new report.
12 Aug 2014 11:48pm
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All patriotic Australians love their country and this means they love its (1) people, (2) multi-culture and (3) ecosystems. However the pro-coal, pro-gas, pro-fossil fuels, anti-science, anti-environment, climate criminal Lib-Labs (Liberal-Laborals, Coalition and Labor Right) are hell-bent on (1) sacrificing the jobs of 60,000 pro-environment Australians linked to the Great Barrier Reef, and worse still, perpetuating and worsening a One Percenter-dominated reality whereby 66,000 Australians die preventably each year (Google "66,000 Australians die preventably each year" ), (2) abusively reject the substantial pro-science, pro-environment and “fair go” Australian culture, and (3) continue to devastate for One Percenter profit Australia’s remaining ecosystems from the Victorian and Tasmanian old growth forests (the best forest carbon sinks in the world) to the Great Barrier Reef (acutely threatened by greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution, global warming, ocean acidification, dredging and other industrial and agricultural pollution).
Hopefully the UN through the World Heritage process may shame the Lib-Labs into ceasing or relenting on their anti-Australian and un-Australian War on the Reef, and indeed their War on Wild Australia, but in the meantime decent Australians who love Australia will reject the climate criminal, neoliberal, ant-science, pro-One Percenter, Australia-devastating Lib-Labs, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on University funding cuts will hit less prestigious campuses harder – union.
11 Aug 2014 11:08pm
Australia has an anti-science, anti-youth, neoliberal, Lib-Lab (Coalition-Labor Right, Liberal-Laboral ) political, media and indeed academic Establishment of which many received FREE tertiary education but are ignoring the reality that undergraduate tuition can and should be free and insisting that impoverished undergraduate students today should substantially pay for the scientific and scholarly research complement of Australia.
These Lib-Lab phonies are egregiously lying by omission and are not only forcing a greater HECS Debt on the young but also imposing an extra $300 billion of Carbon Debt each year on Australia's present $1.7 trillion Carbon Debt that young Australians and future generations will have to pay (Google "Accredited Remote Learning" , "Carbon Debt Carbon Credit"and "Climate Justice & Intergenerational Equity"). Young people and those who care for them and the future will reject the dishonest, anti-science, terracidal Lib-Labs, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Tony Abbott under pressure to put climate change on G20 meeting agenda.
10 Aug 2014 11:17pm
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Any Australian Government is morally obliged in the public interest to take seriously the advice of our leading medical scientists but the anti-science, neoliberal Coalition Government puts One Percenter interests ahead of the public and national interest. Some additional key points:’
1. WHO estimates that about 7 million people die annually from air pollution, mainly from carbon burning pollutants. Pollutants from carbon burning kills about 10,000 Australians annually (Google “Australian carbon burning -related deaths") .
2. 18 million people die avoidably from deprivation each year in the Developing World minus China (Google “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950”) with nearly half due to carbon burning and climate change.
3. In the absence of effective action on man-made climate change, worsening climate genocide will kill 10 billion people this century or an average of 100 million annually (Google “climate genocide’).
4. Obama’s plan will further shift the US from coal to gas but depending upon the degree of systemic gas leakage gas burning can be dirtier greenhouse gas (GHG)-wise than coal burning because the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of methane (CH4) on a 20 year time frame with aerosol impacts included is 105 times greater than for CO2 (Google “Pro-gas Obama's EPA-based Plan To Reduce Coal-based Pollution Amounts To Climate Change Inaction”).
5. The world is badly running out of time to act - the world’s Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget to avoid a catastrophic 2C temperature rise is 600 Gt CO2 but the world will exceed this in 4 years, Australia used up its ”fair share” in 2011, and CH4 to the extent of 5,250 Gt CO2-e will be released from the Arctic sea bed in coming decades (Google “2011 climate change course” and “Are we doomed?”).
GideonPolya commented on Christopher Pyne says 'all or nothing' stance will not work in Senate.
10 Aug 2014 10:35pm
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4 fundamental issues are missing from public discussion about "university deregulation" and are succinctly put below by one associated with universities for over 50 years variously as a student, researcher and teacher (key arguments in parentheses):
1. Australia needs a top quality scholarly and scientific research complement (respect for intellectual pursuits; postgraduate researcher training; national, environmental, agricultural, economic and health security ).
2. Impoverished undergraduate students should not have to pay for the national scholarly and scientific research complement (no more than they should be singled out for paying for Health, Defence , ASIO etc).
3. Top quality undergraduate tuition can be provided for 10% of the current cost (by casual academics doing the job in 10% of the time for 10% of the money - I know, I have done both full-time and part-time university and tertiary level teaching) and for 1% of the current cost (by expert academics and researchers on a part-time, user-pays basis providing rigorous examination of students doing the top quality courses (MOOCs) put on-line for free by top universities like 152-Nobel- Laureate Harvard and 83- Nobel-Laureate MIT) ( Google “Accredited Remote Learning” and “Crisis in our universities”).
4. In the interests of a safe and prosperous nation Australia should be paying students (and not vice versa) for students learning skills and how to think rationally.
GideonPolya commented on US forces bomb Isis militant positions in northern Iraq.
08 Aug 2014 10:31pm
The US Iraq War has resumed with a vengeance under Nobel Peace Laureate Obama with the knee-jerk support of the pro-war, US lackey Coalition, the pro-war, US lackey Labor Right (collectively known as the Lib-Labs or Liberal-Laborals) and of millions of White Australian jingoists. History ignored yields history repeated. By the time of the ostensible US withdrawal from Iraq in 2011, in post-1990 Iraq deaths from violence and from violently-imposed deprivation had totalled 1.7 million and 2.9 million, respectively, 5-6 million had been displaced, and under-5 infant deaths totalled 2 million, 90% avoidable and due to gross violation of the Geneva Convention by the US Alliance, including Australia, industrial scale mass murder that even the evidently brutal ISIS rebels would be unable to match (Google “Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide”). The US has invaded 70 nations since 1776 (Google "US has invaded 70 nations") and avoidable deaths from deprivation in countries occupied by the US since WW2 total over 80 million (Google “Body Count Global avoidable mortality since 1950”). Decent pro-child, pro-peace Australians will reject the anti-Asian Lib-Lab warmongers and war criminals, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Why Tony Abbott must tread warily on national security.
07 Aug 2014 1:22am
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Australian Government agencies should keep comprehensive tabs on all Australian extremists going off to other countries to kill people. However it is clear from Government pronouncements that its agencies are dangerously derelict in evidently not keeping tabs on (hundreds? thousands?) of militant extremist Zionist Australians going off to be trained as killers, participating in horrendous Israeli war crimes against and its Occupied Palestinian subjects and neighbouring countries and indeed (as reported in Mainstream media) being involved in crimes against Australians and Australia e.g. tasering, shooting, kidnapping, robbing, imprisoning, torturing, killing, bombing and mangling Australian citizens in the Middle East as well as Ben Zygier-style spying and violation of Australia's sovereignty and Border Security through massive passport fraud and other crime. I have sent MPs and the AFP a detailed and well documented account of 50 areas of Israeli crimes and threats against Australia (Google “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity”). Until the pro-Zionist, US-beholden Australian Government and its agencies vigorously and publicly oppose actual Israeli state terrorism against Australians (as opposed to the fortunately as yet unrealised risks from other terrorists within Australia) there should be no further perversion of Australian rights and no extra public money spent on US- and Zionist-promoted “terror hysteria”. Indeed it is estimated that the long-term accrual cost of the War on Terror to Australia is $125 billion, an horrendous fiscal perversion that can be linked to 0.8 million preventable Australian deaths since 2001 as compared to only 4 terrorism-related deaths within Australia in nearly 50 years (1 by a Right-to-Life fanatic and the 3 in the 1978 Hilton Bombing possibly due to Australian Intelligence itself )(Google “50 ways Australian Intelligence spies” and “Endless war on terror huge cost for Australia & America”).
GideonPolya commented on George Brandis concedes website visits will be saved for two years.
07 Aug 2014 1:07am
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It is obvious that Australian Intelligence should keep comprehensive tabs on all violent Australians going off to other countries to kill people. However it is clear from Government pronouncements that it is not doing its job and indeed is dangerously derelict in evidently not keeping tabs on (hundreds? thousands?) of militant extremist Zionist Australians going off to be trained as killers, participating in horrendous Israeli war crimes against neighbouring countries and its Occupied Palestinian subjects and indeed (as reported in Mainstream media) being involved in crimes against Australians and Australia e.g. tasering, shooting, kidnapping, robbing, imprisoning, torturing, killing, bombing and mangling Australian citizens in the Middle East as well as Ben Zygier-style spying and violation of Australia's sovereignty and Border Security through massive passport fraud and other crime. I have sent MPs and the AFP a detailed and well documented account of 50 areas of Israeli crimes and threats against Australia (Google “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity”). Until the US-beholden Australian Intelligence and Australian Government vigorously and publicly oppose ACTUAL Israeli state terrorism against Australians there should be no further perversion of our rights and no extra public money spent on Zionist-promoted “terror hysteria”. Indeed it is estimated that the long-term accrual cost of the War on Terror to Australia is $125 billion, a fiscal perversion that can be linked to 0.8 million preventable Australian deaths since 9-11 as compared to only 4 terrorism-related deaths within Australia in nearly 50 years (1 by a Right-to-Life fanatic and the 3 in the 1978 Hilton Bombing possibly due to Australian Intelligence itself )(Google “50 ways Australian Intelligence spies” and “Endless war on terror huge cost for Australia & America”).
GideonPolya commented on Free Speech 2014: Dreyfus calls Brandis 'walking disaster' as attorney general – the day's events.
07 Aug 2014 12:36am
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Untrammelled free speech is vital for science and scholarship and also for democracy and rational risk management crucial for societal safety. If one considers genocide denial and holocaust denial, the most repugnant, dangerous and offending abuses of free speech, these scholarship, democracy and societal safety considerations argue that the only punishment should be the ignominy of public exposure of the untruth and the underlying racism, bigotry and intellectual and moral deficiency. Thus, for example, for these cogent reasons some eminent anti-racist Jewish scholars have opposed the widespread European criminalization of "denial" of the WW2 Jewish Holocaust (5-6 million killed, 1 in 6 dying from deprivation) . For example, as related in “Denial, History Betrayed” by Professor Tony Taylor (p168), outstanding Jewish American scholar Professor Noam Chomsky (MIT) defended the right of free speech of a Holocaust-minimizing French academic, and Jewish American academic Professor Deborah Lipstadt (Emory University) (famous participant in the David Irving versus Penguin defamation trial in London) thought that Holocaust denial should not be criminalised because of the seriousness of repression of free speech in a democratic society (Google “Book Review: “Denial. History betrayed”). Nevertheless genocide ignoring and holocaust ignoring are entrenched in Australia, noting that these are far, far worse than repugnant genocide denial and holocaust denial because the latter at least admits the possibility of pubic discussion (Google “The Cambridge History of Australia ignores Australian involvement in 30 genocides” and “Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History”). Peace is the only way but silence kills and silence is complicity.
GideonPolya commented on If we are Team Australia, we need to be told more about these policies.
05 Aug 2014 3:21pm
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Clearly the AFP and Australian Intelligence should investigate and prosecute ALL Australians involved in killing people in the Middle East. However a major part of the problem are militant extremist Zionist Australians in the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) that is currently involved in the latest Israeli Gaza Massacre. After 4 weeks of Apartheid Israel’s latest Gaza Massacre, of the 1.8 million Occupied Palestinians in Apartheid Israel’s Gaza Concentration Camp (50% children and 75% women and children) , 1,800 have been killed (equivalent to 6 MH17 atrocities), 10,000 wounded, 450,000 have been driven from their homes, and 1.8 million are variously traumatized by the Israeli shelling, rocketing, mortaring and bombing of one of the world’s most densely populated conurbations – and all of this in response to zero (0) Israeli deaths from Gaza rockets in the year before this latest Israeli Gaza Massacre, and 28 such deaths in the last 14 years or 2 per year as compared to 130 Israeli deaths each year at the hands of fellow Israelis. The AFP and Australian Intelligence need to protect Australia from Australian Israelis involved in the present horrendous atrocity or in previously Mainstream media-reported Israeli state terrorism involving the tasering, shooting, kidnapping, robbing, imprisoning, torturing, killing, bombing and mangling of Australian citizens in the Middle East as well as espionage, violation of Australia's Border Security through massive passport fraud, and subversion of Australians and Australian institutions.
GideonPolya commented on Mundine: Indigenous funds squandered by bureaucratic ‘misery industry’.
05 Aug 2014 12:18am
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Lack of money for health, education and jobs in Aboriginal communities actually kills people. Thus 10 years ago about 9,000 Indigenous Australians died avoidably each year from deprivation and the avoidable death rate (avoidable deaths as a % of population per year) of 1.8% per year was higher than that in sub-Saharan Africa (1.0%). Things have improved somewhat and today 2,000 Indigenous Australians die avoidably each year with an avoidable death rate of about 0.4% (about the same as for impoverished India and this happening in one of the world's richest countries) (for details see "Aboriginal Genocide", “Film review Utopia by John Pilger” and my book "Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950", that includes an avoidable mortality-related history of all countries since Neolithic times and is now available for free perusal on the web). The long-term accrual cost of the US War on Terror for Australia is $125 billion yet zero (0) Australians have ever died from Muslim-origin non-state terrorism within Australia whereas 4,000 Australians have died opiate drug-related deaths since 2001 linked to the US Alliance (including Australian) restoration of the Taliban-destroyed Afghan opium industry from 6% of world market share pre-invasion to 93% by 2007 (for details and documentation Google “Afghan Holocaust Afghan Genocide”). Failure to enable decent living, health, education and employment conditions for Indigenous Australians in extremely wealthy Australia is deadly and racist. Racist is as racist does – shame Australia, shame.
GideonPolya commented on Soldier believed captured by Hamas was killed in action, says Israeli army.
02 Aug 2014 11:16pm
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Forgotten in public discussion about this latest Israeli Gaza Massacre are that the Gazans (half of them children, three quarters women and children) are Occupied Palestinians and conquered subjects of the state of Israel. that has grossly violated the Geneva, Rights of the Child and Genocide Conventions in its disproportionate action resulting, so far, in 1,600 Palestinians killed (80% civilians) , 8,000 wounded, 300,000 rendered homeless and 1.8 million variously traumatized with all this in response to zero (0) Israeli deaths from Gaza rockets in the previous year, 28 such deaths in the previous 14 years or 2 per year as compared to 130 Israeli deaths at the hands of Israelis each year. 2 million Palestinians have died from violence (0.1 million) or violently-imposed deprivation (1.9 million) since 1936 as compared to 3,800 invading Zionists or Israelis killed by "the enemy" since 1920 (Google "Palestinian Genocide") . Decent anti-racist Jewish and non-Jewish Australians will take the anti-Zionist advice of eminent anti-Zionist Jewish Australian figure Sir Isaac Isaacs (our first Australian-born Governor General) and like Jewish anti-racists (Google "Jews Against Racist Zionism"), reject the pro-Zionist stance of the Coalition and Labor Right, apply Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Apartheid Israel and its supporters ("Google "Boycott Apartheid Israel"), and vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on The Great Barrier Reef and the coal mine that could kill it.
01 Aug 2014 11:33pm
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Government is responsible for security of the nation and its assets. Rational risk management that is crucial for societal safety successively involves (a) accurate data, (b) scientific analysis (this involving the critical testing of potentially falsifiable hypotheses) and (c) science-informed systemic change to minimize risk. Unfortunately the anti-environment, pro-war , human rights-abusing and anti-science Coalition Government and the One Percenters it serves apply a perverted protocol successively involving (a) lies, deception, and censorship, (b) anti-science spin involving the selective use of asserted facts to support a partisan position, with (c) counterproductive “blame and shame”, worsening environmental catastrophe, war and more obscene, anti-democracy One Percenter enrichment outcomes. Top coral experts say that world coral started dying when the atmospheric CO2 reached 320 ppm, "most reefs world-wide are committed to an irreversible decline” and that coral is essentially doomed when atmospheric CO2 reaches 450 ppm – 20 years away with current atmospheric CO2 of 400 ppm increasing at 2.5 ppm CO2 per year (Google “300 ppm CO2”, ”Are we doomed?” and “2011 climate change course”). Responsible Australians will reject the anti-science Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Mining tax raised just $600,000 over past three months, Joe Hockey says.
31 Jul 2014 12:19am
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The Australian Coalition Government 's support for unlimited coal, gas and iron ore exploitation and its opposition to the Mining Tax, the Carbon Tax and effective climate change action means that it is actively promoting free and unlimited greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution of the one common atmosphere and ocean of all countries leading inexorably to terracide, the destruction of Humanity and the Biosphere (Google "Are we doomed").
This terracidal abuse carries a huge, Coalition-ignored cost that is measured as a Carbon Debt that is presently $220 trillion for the world and increasing at $10 trillion per year and $1.7 trillion for Australia and increasing at $300 billion per year - all to be paid by young people and future generations (Google "Carbon Debt Carbon Credit", "Climate Justice & Intergenerational Equity"), and "Stop climate crime").
Science--informed young people and those who care for future generations will reject climate criminality, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Australia's top eight universities push for higher fees, fewer students.
31 Jul 2014 12:01am
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I have been associated with Australian universities for over 50 years, variously as as a student, researcher, teacher, senior academic, NTEU member/elected officer, part-time academic, and full-time educator of the public.
The public should not be deceived by the Big Eight's push for "higher fees, fewer students" that flagrantly ignores the "minimal fees, more students" reality whereby top quality undergraduate tuition can be provided for (a) 10% of the present cost by expert part-time academics doing the job in 10% of the time for 10% of the money and (b) for 1% of the present cost by using expert scholars to provide rigorous accrediting examinations for top quality courses presently provided free on the web (MOOCs) by top universities like Harvard and MIT. (for details Google "Accredited Remote Learning", "Review Whackademia" and "Crisis in our universities").
It is not surprising that students and the public in general are deceived over these realities by non-teaching, non-researching, top management academics (VCs; parasitic refugees from scholarship) on circa $1 million pretax plus perks (equivalent to 100 part-time academics on $10,000 pa). Undergraduate students are being ripped off and should no more have to pay for the important and indeed vital research and research complement of Australia. than for parasitic fat-cat VCs on $1 million pa.
GideonPolya commented on Theodore Van Kirk, last crew member of Enola Gay, dies in US aged 93.
29 Jul 2014 11:59pm
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In America’s nuclear bombing of Japan up to 166,000 were killed in Hiroshima and up to 80,000 perished in Nagasaki. These utterly unjustified, war criminal attacks were militarily unnecessary, evidently simply “proof of principle”, and a US warning to other nations (notably the USSR). While post-1945 the Germans adopted a CAAAA (C4A) protocol of Cessation of killing, Acknowledgment of the crimes, Apology and Amends for the crimes, and Assertion ”never again to anyone”, in the US Alliance there is still considerable approval for this nuclear holocaust and mass murder of up to 250,000 people, mostly civilians. History ignored yields history repeated. Thus mostly civilian deaths from violence or violently-imposed deprivation total 40 million (post-1950 US Asian Wars), 4.6 million (Iraqi Genocide, 1990-), 5.5 million (Afghan Genocide, 2001-), 12 million (US War on Muslims, 1990-) , 10 million (US War on Terror, 2001-) and 2 million (Palestine Genocide, 1936-). As of 30 July, Day 23 of US- and Australia-backed, nuclear terrorist, democracy-by-genocide Apartheid Israel’s latest Gaza Massacre in the Gaza Concentration Camp, 1,200 Palestinians (80% civilians) have been killed, 6,000 wounded, 150,000 rendered homeless and 1.8 million (half children) variously traumatized from shelling and bombing in reprisals for zero (0) Israeli deaths from Gaza rockets in the previous year and 28 in the previous 14 year i.e. 2 per year as compared to 134 Israelis being murdered by fellow Israelis each year (Google “Palestinian Genocide”).
GideonPolya commented on Greg Hunt clashes with environment groups over Carmichael mine approval.
29 Jul 2014 8:59am
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1. The mine will produce 67 million tonnes coal pa and 4 billion tonnes of coal over 60 years, ultimately generating about 0.2 billion and 12 billion tonnes of CO2, respectively
2. The CO2 pollution pa from burning the coal will be 10% of Australia’s “fair share” of the world’s terminal pollution budget (600 billion tonnes CO2 for the world) and over 60 years 6 times Australia’s ”fair share”.
3. The Carbon Debt from this one mine in its lifetime of $1.76 trillion will exceed Australia’s present historical Carbon Debt of $1.7 trillion – all to be paid by the young and future generations.
4. This is gross environmental vandalism, climate criminality, climate injustice and intergenerational injustice. Young people and those who care for future generations will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on AMA warns against push by private health insurers into 'US-style care'.
24 Jul 2014 1:28am
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A timely warning from the AMA. Some horrifying statistics below on the American health care system towards which the neoliberal Coalition is pushing Australia.
About 1.3 million Americans die preventably each year this including 45,000 dying from lack of health cover and over 7,000 US veterans suiciding each year due to insufficient care (Google “1 million Americans die” and "millions of untimely American deaths").
Currently about 60,000 Australians die preventably each year including 2,000 Indigenous Australians, and, according to the Australian Nurses Federation, about 18,000 from “adverse hospital events” (Google "66,000 Australians die preventably each year").
Already the One Percenters own about 50% of wealth globally and pro-One Percenter and pro-Ten Percenter Coalition policies will further enrich the top decile at the cost of Australian health and Australian lives (Google "review Capital in the twenty-first century by Thomas Piketty" ).
Decent Australians who love their fellow Australians will reject neoliberal passive mass murder of Australians, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Australia 'addicted to roads', says leaked infrastructure report.
24 Jul 2014 1:00am
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Excellent article by Gabrielle Chan. Some horrifying statistics below bearing on the enormous cost to present and future generations of the pro-fossil fuel Coalition's anti-science, climate criminal, climate change inaction “road not rail” policies.
1. About 60,000 Australians die preventably each year, of whom 10,000 Australians die annually from carbon burning (7 million world-wide) , with vehicle exhaust accounting for 2,000.
2. 1,400 Australians die from road accidents each year.
3. A tram is 20 times more energy efficient than a 4WD.
4. The World has 4 years before it uses up its Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget of 600 Gt CO2 that must not be exceeded for a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise.
5. The common Coalition-Labor Right (Lib-Lab, Liberal-Laboral ) policy of unlimited coal, gas and iron ore exports means Australia will exceed the whole world’s Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget by a factor of three (3) and used up its “fair share” in 2011.
6. Australia’s annual Domestic plus Exported greenhouse (GHG) pollution is about 83 tonnes per person per year (the world average is 9, Bangladesh’s is 0.9).
7. The World’s Carbon Debt from GHG pollution and climate change inaction is $220 trillion increasing at $10 trillion per year (Australia’s debt is $1.7 trillion increasing at $300 billion pa c/- Tony Abbott).
Science-informed Australians – and especially Carbon Debt-impacted young people - will reject the climate criminal Lib-Labs, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last (Google "66,000 Australians die preventably each year", “2011 climate change course” and “Are we doomed?”).
GideonPolya commented on MH17: US intelligence says Russia 'created conditions' for plane disaster.
23 Jul 2014 12:10am
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In terms of Means Opportunity and Motive (MOM) , it is more likely that the US-, UK-, EU-, Australia- and neo-Nazi-backed Ukrainian Government forces were responsible for the MH17 atrocity. Unlike the rag-tag Separatists (1) they had Buk missile systems in the vicinity and skilled operators; (2) they have leaped to join the US-led anti-Russia lynch mob with fabricated evidence; (3) they immediately benefited from the US-led global media blitz; (4) the MH17 downing provided cover for the war criminal invasion of Gaza by US-backed Apartheid Israel (600 Palestinians dead, 4,000 wounded, 100,000 homeless in response to zero (0 ) Israelis killed by Gaza rockets in the year before the invasion) ; (5) in 2001 they had actually shot down a Siberian Airlines passenger airliner Flight 1812 with a missile killing all 78 on board (Google “Siberian Airlines Flight 1812”); and (6) Russian Defence has provided evidence for a Ukrainian warplane shadowing MH17.
In contrast, the pro-Russia Rebel Ukrainians had not been supplied with Buk missiles, lacked skilled operators, had nothing to gain by this atrocity and , contrary to utterly offensive media reportage, were the only people attempting to secure the bodies.(the Ukrainian Government has escalated military action in the vicinity.
GideonPolya commented on Great Barrier Reef's decline buried in government reports, says agency.
22 Jul 2014 11:57pm
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The irreplaceable Great Barrier Reef and the one common atmosphere and ocean of all countries belong to the World and their irreversible violation by the Coalition and its climate criminal One Percenter mates is environmental vandalism and theft backed by egregious mendacity, Large-scale coral dying commenced worldwide when atmospheric CO2 reached 320 ppm. Coral experts say that most world coral is doomed when CO2 gets to 450 ppm but atmospheric CO2 currently at 400 ppm and increasing at 2.5 ppm per year means that this tipping point for irreversible loss will be reached in 20 years (Google "2011 climate change course"). Australia's Great Barrier Reef is acutely threatened by greed-driven dredging, as well as by greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution-driven ocean warming (now plus 2C) and acidification (ocean pH has dropped by 0.1 pH unit). Climate scientists and notably coral biologists say that for a safe planet for all peoples and all species atmospheric CO2 must be urgently returned from the current dangerous and damaging 400 ppm CO2 to the pre-Industrial Revolution level of about 300 ppm CO2 (Google "300 ppm CO2", "300.org" and "Are we doomed?"). Science-informed Australians who abhor environmental vandalism, theft and mendacity will reject the Coalition’s terracidal, climate criminal and effective climate change denialist climate change inaction, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Great Barrier Reef 'in worst state since records began'.
21 Jul 2014 9:57pm
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Large-scale coral dying commenced worldwide when atmospheric CO2 reached 320 ppm. Coral experts say that most world coral is doomed when CO2 gets to 450 ppm but atmospheric CO2 currently at 400 ppm and increasing at 2.5 ppm per year means that this tipping point for irreversible loss will be reached in 20 years (for details and documentation Google "2011 climate change course"). Australia's Great Barrier Reef is acutely threatened by greed-driven dredging, as well as by greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution-driven ocean warming (now plus 2C) and acidification (ocean pH has dropped by 0.1 pH unit). Climate scientists and notably coral biologists say that for a safe planet for all peoples and all species atmospheric CO2 must be urgently returned from the current dangerous and damaging 400 ppm CO2 to the pre-Industrial Revolution level of about 300 ppm CO2 (Google "300 ppm CO2", "300.org" and "Are we doomed?"). Science-informed Australians will reject the Lib-Lab (Liberal-Laboral, Coalition-Labor Right) effective climate change denialist climate change inaction, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on When it comes to persecution, we've given Sri Lanka plenty of help.
17 Jul 2014 1:36am
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Excellent, humane article by outstanding anti-racist Jewish Australian writer Antony Loewenstein (author of “My Israel Question”). . UK Channel 4 and thence ABC TV’s Four Corners under ethical and humane journalist Kerry O’Brien also recorded in the “Sri Lanka’s killing fields” program the Israeli involvement in what has been called Sri Lanka’s Tamil Genocide by US international law expert Professor Francis Boyle in his book “The Tamil Genocide by Sri Lanka" . Professor Boyle has also written about the “Palestinian Genocide by Israel” and was a co-author with me and many other anti-racist scholars in a book on this (Google “:Review The Plight of the Palestinians”). About 0.1 million Tamils died and 0.3 million have been subjected to highly abusive confinement in concentration camps, this variously involving torture, rape and killing. By way of comparison, the Palestinian Genocide has involved 2 million Palestinian deaths from violence (0.1 million) or violently-imposed deprivation (1.9 million) since 1936 with currently 4.3 million Occupied Palestinians highly abusive imprisoned without human rights (since 1967) in West Bank mini-Bantustans (2.5 million) or the Gaza Concentration Camp (1.8 million) (Google “Palestinian Genocide”). The pro-war, pro-Zionist, US lackey Lib-Labs (Liberal-Laboral, Coalition-Labor Right) have trashed Australia’s reputation by making Australians complicit in the Tamil Genocide, the Palestinian Genocide and indeed other genocidal atrocities (e.g. Google “The Cambridge History of Australia ignores Australian involvement in 30 genocides”). Former PM Malcolm Fraser has likened Australia's return of Tamil refugees to Sri Lanka as akin to the return of Jewish refugees to Nazi Germany in the 1930s..
GideonPolya commented on White House Iftar dinner guests press Obama on surveillance of Muslims.
17 Jul 2014 12:56am
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Pro-war, pro-Zionist, US lackey, Lib-Lab (Liberal-Laboral, Coalition-Labor Right) Australia through its US joint facilities like Pine Gap is involved in this spying on not just Muslims but on everyone in the world and, according to the Sydney Morning Herald’s Philip Dorling, this information is subsequently shared with Apartheid Israel (Google “US shares raw intelligence on Australians with Israel”). as well as being critical for war criminal US drone strikes from Mali to Pakistan (:Google “Pine Gap drives US drone kills” and “The public deserves a spy inquiry now”). Yet Australian Intelligence (an evident oxymoron) ignores (for whatever reason from stupidity to treason; Google “50 ways Australian Intelligence spies on Australia”) the huge threats to Australia’s security from military-trained and other Israeli (including dual citizen Australian-Israeli) “extremist militant fanatics” who have been involved in gross violation of Australians and Australian sovereignty (as documented by mainstream media reports) through bombing, shooting, tasering, shelling, wounding, mangling, killing, torturing , kidnapping, threatening, defaming, bribing, blackmailing, and robbing Australians as well as forging passports, subverting and perverting Australian institutions and corrupting Australian MPs and public officials (for a detailed and documented dossier sent to MPs and the AFP about 50 such racist Zionist and Israeli crimes against Australia Google “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity”). Patriotic and security conscious Australians will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Journalists will face jail over spy leaks under new security laws.
17 Jul 2014 12:29am
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There will always be a tiny minority of violent and dangerous people and Australian Intelligence should keep tabs on them for our safety. However Australian Intelligence should not be given more powers until it stops ignoring (for whatever reason from stupidity to treason; Google “50 ways Australian Intelligence spies on Australia”) the huge threats to Australia’s security from military-trained and other Israeli (including dual citizen Australian-Israeli) “extremist militant fanatics” who have been involved in ACTUAL violation of Australians and Australian sovereignty (as documented by mainstream media reports) through bombing, shooting, tasering, shelling, wounding, mangling, killing, torturing , kidnapping, threatening, defaming, bribing, blackmailing, and robbing Australians as well as forging passports, subverting and perverting Australian institutions and corrupting Australian MPs and public officials (for a detailed and documented dossier sent to MPs and the AFP about 50 such racist Zionist and Israeli crimes against Australia Google “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity”). Decent, patriotic Australians will reject the traitorously pro-Zionist and morally bankrupt Coalition and Labor Right, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Coral reefs face heightened risk of fatal disease from dredging, says research.
17 Jul 2014 12:01am
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Another excellent article by the Guardian's Oliver Milman. Some additional relevant points can be made. (1) The Great Barrier Reef belongs to all Australians and to all Humanity, as does the one common atmosphere and ocean of all peoples that are subject to free pollution sanctioned by the pro-One Percenter, climate criminal Coalition that is STEALING from the world. (2) Coral is also threatened by man-made global warming (plus1C since 1900) and ocean acidification (pH now 0.1 unit lower) due to increased greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution (atmosphere C02 now 400 ppm versus pre-industrial circa 300 ppm C02; coral started dying world-wide when it reached 320 ppm) (Google "2011 climate change course"). We must urgently return CO2 to 300 ppm CO2 (Google "300.org" and "300 ppm CO2"). Young Australians will reject the climate criminals destroying their future, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last. .
GideonPolya commented on History will condemn climate change denialists.
16 Jul 2014 3:40am
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Excellent article by non-scientist but science-informed Professor Robert Manne. While the sheer ignorance, idiocy and irresponsibility of the non-scientist anti-science climate change denialists is obvious, the climate change inaction by the Coalition and PUPs amounts to effective climate change denialism that puts present and future generations at great risk. Anti-racist Jewish Canadian writer Naomi Klein has warned that climate change inaction or insufficient climate change action by people who publicly accept the danger of man-made climate change is even more dangerous than climate change denialism (for related views see Google “Terracidal climate change inaction” and “Are we doomed?”). Thus rhetoric aside, both the Coalition and the Labor Party Right (aka the Lib-Labs or Liberal-Laborals) have essentially the same policies of (1) a derisory 5% off 2000 pollution by 2020, (2) a derisory Carbon Price of $0 per tonne CO2-e (Coalition) versus $6 per tonne CO2-e (Labor) as compared the $150 per tonne CO2-e required for effective climate change action, and (3) unlimited coal gas and iron ore exports that will see Australia exceed by a factor of three (3) the terminal carbon pollution budget that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise. Science-informed Australians will eschew the effective climate change denialist Lib-Labs and PUPs, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last. To be better science informed Google “2011 climate change course”.
GideonPolya commented on Australia has a choice: join others to combat climate change, or stand alone.
15 Jul 2014 6:24am
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Hard to fault the science-based argument and fine rhetoric of Bill Shorten that demonstrate the utterly appalling, effective climate change denialist position of the climate criminal Coalition. However, that said, the pro-coal, pro-gas, pro-fossil fuels Coalition and the pro-coal, pro-gas, pro-fossil fuels Labor Right (aka the pro-coal, pro-gas, pro-fossil fuels Lib-Labs or Liberal-Laborals) have essentially the same overall climate change inaction policies of (1) a derisory 5% off 2000 greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by 2020; (2) a Carbon Tax of $6 per tonne CO2-e (Labor) and $0 per tonne CO2-e (Coalition) versus $150 per tonne CO2-e (what it should be for effective climate change action ) , and (3) unlimited coal, gas and iron ore exports that means that Australia will exceed by a factor of three (3) the whole world’s terminal carbon pollution budget of 600 Gt CO2 that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise (Google “Australia 's Huge Coal, Gas & Iron Ore Exports Threaten Planet”). Science-informed young people facing a $220 trillion Carbon Debt and those who care for them will try to save our future, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last - Labor has at least left us c/- the Greens the Renewable Energy Target (RET), the Renewable Energy Finance Corporation (REFC) and the Climate Change Authority (CCA) (Google “Letter to young people over $220 trillion Carbon Debt” and “2011 climate change course”).
GideonPolya commented on Julie Bishop 'appalled Chinese people', state-run newspaper says.
15 Jul 2014 2:19am
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The Chinese were remarkably gentle on Julie Bishop. Bushrangers are the least of it as exampled below.
(1) 40 million Chinese died under Japanese Occupation in 1937-1945 but the Coalition's hero Robert Menzies was called "Pig Iron Bob" for supplying the genocidal Japanese militarists with Australian iron in the1930s.
(2) By withholding grain from starving India Australia was complicit in the 1942-1945 Bengali Holocaust in which the British deliberately starved 6-7 million Indians to death for strategic reasons.
(3) Australia has been complicit in all post-1950 US Asian wars and the associated 40 million Asians deaths from violence or war-imposed deprivation.
(4) Re democracy, the Coalition is second only to the US in supporting nuclear terrorist, racist Zionist-run, democracy-by-genocide Apartheid Israel which excludes 72% of its Indigenous Palestinian subjects from voting for the government ruling all of former Mandatory Palestine.
(5) And then there is the Aboriginal Genocide and 29 other genocides in which Australia is complicit (Google “Review The Cambridge History of Australia ignores Australian involvement in 30 genocides”).
GideonPolya commented on Fofa changes stay after deal with Clive Palmer – the day in politics.
15 Jul 2014 1:45am
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The pro-fossil fuels, anti-science , effective climate change denialist Coalition Government doesn’t understand or doesn’t want to understand that the greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution that they now permit for free will have to be reversed by future generations. Thus the current price of Australian thermal coal is about $80 per tonne (t) or $80 per t C x (12t C/ 44 t CO2) = $22 per tonne of CO2 released on eventual combustion. However top climate scientists and biologists say that the atmospheric CO2 concentration must be rapidly returned from the present circa 400 ppm CO2 to about 300 ppm CO2 for a safe planet for all peoples and all species (e.g. coral started dying at 320 ppm CO2). It will cost of the order of $100 per tonne CO2 to sequester that CO2 as biochar ( C ) or bicarbonate (HCO3-) which means that for every circa $20 polluters get for each tonne of CO2 added to the one common atmosphere and ocean of all countries and all peoples, young people and future generations will have to pay about $100 to remove the pollution. This is massive climate injustice and intergenerational inequity and eventually the young will wise up to being robbed and lied to by the climate criminal One Percenters and will REVOLT (peacefully one hopes) e.g. for starters they will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last ( Google “Expert Witness testimony to stop gas-fired power” and “Letter to young people over $220 trillion carbon debt”).
GideonPolya commented on Nadine Gordimer dies aged 90.
15 Jul 2014 12:37am
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In 2008 anti-racist Jewish South African, Nobel Laureate for Literature and anti-Apartheid heroine Nadine Gordimer controversially broke the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Apartheid Israel and attended a writers’ conference there on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the invasion-, dispossession-, race- and genocide-based apartheid state. Nadine Gordimer commented “I decided to come under a lot of pain, which I felt due to the fact that friends, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, told me not to come”. Asked about use of the term “apartheid” for the race-based state and its appalling treatment of Indigenous Palestinians, Nadine Gordimer and replied: “To me, it is accurate in one sense. The way people are treated in the occupied territories is exactly the way the blacks were treated in South Africa” (for details Google “Dialogue with Nadine Gordimer” and for like opinions Google “Jews Against Racist Zionism”, “Non-Jews Against Racist Zionism”, "Palestinian Genocide", "Gaza Concentration Camp" and “Boycott Apartheid Israel”).
GideonPolya commented on Coalition to call Clive Palmer's bluff on carbon tax repeal.
13 Jul 2014 7:45am
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It is the Coalition that will have to "explain themselves" to the Australian people – and especially young people - for refusing to take action on man-made climate change. Thus the world is experiencing a worsening climate genocide in which 10 billion people or an average of 100 million people every year (and half of them children) are set to die avoidably this century due to climate change inaction (Google "climate genocide"). Further, young people and future generations will have to pay the presently $220 trillion Carbon Debt associated with One Percenter profligacy (and increasing at $10 trillion every year) or die in their billions. Science-informed young people and those who care for them will never vote for a climate criminal Coalition that is hell-bent on destroying their future – they will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last (for the Awful Truth Google “Letter To Young People Over $220 Trillion Carbon Debt”).
GideonPolya commented on Victorian Labor vows to counteract any changes to Racial Discrimination Act.
11 Jul 2014 12:25am
Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to “insult, offend or humiliate” someone on the basis of race and this is backed up by laws governing offensive behaviour. However there is a genuine concern about any in-practice politically-motivated constraints on our freedom of speech that is crucial for democracy and for science and other scholarly research. Thus Australia's most eminent Jewish public figure and its first Australian-born governor general, Sir Isaac Isaacs, wisely and humanely stated that “The honour of Jews throughout the world demands the renunciation of political Zionism” (Google “Jews Against Racist Zionism”) but would this statement that is eminently reasonable to anti-racist Jews “insult, offend or humiliate” pro-Zionist Jews? Indeed an anti-racist Jewish professor at Sydney University, Professor Jake Lynch, recently had to go to considerable expense in (ultimately successfully) defending his right of free speech in the Australian Federal Court against Israeli charges that he was violating human rights by an action in support of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against an Apartheid Israel and what numerous eminent anti-racist Jewish and non-Jewish scholars call its ongoing Palestinian Genocide (Google “Review The Plight of the Palestinians”).
GideonPolya commented on Zero carbon and economic growth can go together, UN study says.
10 Jul 2014 11:32pm
Excellent article. Through climate change inaction the Abbott Coalition Government is (1) effectively climate change denialist to the detriment of the new clean, green Industrial Revolution, Australia, Humanity and the Biosphere, (2) corrupt because the Coalition is massively supported by dirty and pro-pollution interests in Murdochracy, Lobbyocracy and Corporatocracy Australia, and (3) dishonestly in denial over the inescapability of damage-related Carbon Debt that is $220 trillion for the World and increasing at $10 trillion pa and $1.7 trillion for Australia, increasing at $300 billion pa, all to be paid by young people and future generations (Google "$10 trillion annual carbon debt" and "Stop climate crime"). Enraged young people and those who care for them will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Carbon tax repeal voted down in Senate - as it happened.
10 Jul 2014 3:24am
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I do hope that Clive Palmer declines to repeal the Carbon Tax. Today I sent the following letter to prominent and crucial MPs: "According to climate economist Dr Chris Hope from 90-Nobel-Laureate Cambridge University the damage-based Carbon Price of greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution is $150 per tonne CO2, and according to Dr James Hansen from NASA and 101-Nobel-Laureate Columbia University industrial man has added 1,466 billion tonnes CO2 to the atmosphere (1751-2014), this yielding a global Carbon Debt of $220 trillion or about 2.6 times the World’s GDP.
A revised annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution is 64 billion tonnes CO2-e (CO2-equivalent, including other GHGs like methane, CH4) and thus Carbon Debt is increasing globally each year by $150 per tonne CO2-e x 0.064 trillion tonnes CO2-e = $9.6 trillion i.e. by about $10 trillion annually, to be paid by future generations.
Australia’s historical Carbon Debt is about 11 billion tonnes CO2 x $150 per tonne CO2 = $1.7 trillion and this is increasing each year at $150 per tonne CO2-e x 2 billion tonnes CO2-e per year (Domestic plus Exported) = $300 billion annually, to be paid by future generations.
Those rejecting a Carbon Tax are complicit in an immense crime against Humanity, the Biosphere, the young and future generations (for documentation Google "$10 trillion annual carbon debt")."
"
GideonPolya commented on Federal MP lets loose on carbon tax backer.
08 Jul 2014 11:55pm
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The effective climate change denialist Coalition Government's policy of not having a Carbon Tax or a Carbon Price means it permits climate criminal corporations to criminally pollute the one common atmosphere and ocean of all peoples and all countries FOR FREE. However the cost of this pollution will be inescapably borne as a damage-related Carbon Debt on young people and future generations that is currently $200 trillion and increasing at $10 trillion annually worldwide and at $300 billion annually for Australia (Google "$10 trillion annual carbon debt"). In suburban terms, it is as if the neoliberal, corporatist Abbott Government permits criminal corporations to dump their waste in your front yard with the onus on young people to clean up the mess. For young Australians their Coalition-expanded HECS Debt is a Teddy Bear's Picnic compared to their inescapable share of this $300 billion annual Carbon Debt for Australia. Science-informed young Australians (and those that care for them) will angrily reject this massive climate criminality, climate injustice and intergenerational inequity, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last (Google "Climate justice & intergenerational equity" and "Stop climate crime")..
GideonPolya commented on 'Research' whaling by Japan to resume as Tony Abbott voices opposition.
08 Jul 2014 11:27pm
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I don't like whaling (the tasteless and needless killing of threatened, iconic and sentient creatures) but it should be noted that climate change inaction by the effective climate change denialist Abbott Government ruling an Australia that is a hugely disproportionate world leader in annual per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution (30 times worse than Bangladesh; Google "Climate Genocide") makes Australia a much greater threat to whale survival than Japan's bloody annual cull of circa 1,000 whales due to the following causal pathway: increased GHG pollution -> increased sea ice melting -> decreased sea ice-associated algae -> decreased krill -> decrease in krill-eating animals such as seals and whales (Google "2011 climate change course"). On this issue alone, science-informed, whale-loving, pro-Nature Australians will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on UN issued with roadmap on how to avoid climate catastrophe.
08 Jul 2014 11:07pm
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The Executive Summary of “Pathways to Deep Decarbonization” makes a key statement “The world is not on track to stay within the 2 degree C limit” and indicates a terminal carbon pollution budget before zero emissions in 2050 of 825 Gt CO2 for a 67% chance of avoiding a 2C temperature rise. Several years ago the Australian Climate Commission (sacked by the effective climate change denialist Abbott Coalition Government) (and its German Government’s advisory equivalent the WBGU) estimated a 600 Gt CO2 terminal carbon pollution budget that must not be exceeded for a 75% chance of avoiding 2C and estimated 14 years left (relative to 2014) before this would be exceeded. Unfortunately upwardly revised estimated of global greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution and methane (CH4) Global Warming Potential (GWP) relative to CO2 mean that Australia exceeded its “fair share” of this budget in 2011 and that the world has only 4 years left before doing so. The solutions are clear: 100% renewable energy ASAP, re-afforestation, atmospheric CO2 back to 300 ppm CO2 from the current 400 ppm CO2 ASAP and cessation of population growth, deforestation and GHG pollution from industry and agriculture ASAP (Google “2011 climate change course” and “Are we doomed/”). Science-informed Australians will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Australia forced into concession over Sri Lanka asylum seekers.
08 Jul 2014 9:28am
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This is appalling conduct by the Abbott Coalition Government that violates International Law and International Conventions to which Australia is a signatory and thereby trashes Australia's international reputation. Former PM Malcolm Fraser was quite correct in drawing parallels between forcibly returning Tamil refugees to certain imprisonment and abuse in Sri Lanka and the return of Jewish refugees to Nazi Germany in the 1930s. My father and uncle found refuge from Fascist Europe in Australia in 1939. However one notes that in 1933-1945 while a decent Australia took in 9,000 Jewish refugees from Nazism, New Zealand and some other parts of the British Empire essentially refused entry to Jewish refugees (see Martin Gilbert, "Jewish History Atlas"). On this issue alone decent Australians will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Ricky Muir seeking to save the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
08 Jul 2014 9:12am
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Full marks to Motoring Enthusiast Senator Ricky Muir for attempting to save the $2 billion Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena). To put Senator Muir’s excellent action in context, many science-informed climate scientists, biologists and climate activists call for reduction of atmospheric CO2 concentration to a safe and sustainable 300 ppm CO2 from the current damaging and dangerous 400 ppm CO2 (Google “300 ppm CO2”). This can presently be achieved through CO2 sequestration as cellulose (through re-afforestation and photosynthesis), biochar (through anaerobic pyrolysis of cellulosic waste) and bicarbonate (through accelerated weathering of limestone), coupled necessarily with 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY and geothermal energy and cessation of population growth, deforestation and GHG pollution from industry, transport and agriculture (Google “2011 climate change course”). Current climate change inaction is associated with an annual increase in Carbon Debt of $10 trillion pa globally and $300 billion pa in Australia – this adding to a gigantic $200 trillion Carbon Debt that young people and future generations will have to repay (Google "$10 trillion per year increased carbon debt").
GideonPolya commented on Japan's PM offers 'sincere condolences' for horrors of second world war.
08 Jul 2014 8:49am
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On 2 March 2007 Japan's PM Shinzo Abe stated that the 200,000 so-called "comfort women" continuously raped by Japanese soldiers in brothels run by the Japanese military during the Second World War were not coerced into becoming sexual slaves of the former Japanese Imperial Army: "There was no evidence to prove there was coercion as initially suggested. That largely changes what constitutes the definition of coercion, and we have to take it from there" (Tokyo correspondent Colin Joyce, “Japanese PM denies wartime “comfort women” were forced”, The Telegraph (UK), 3 March 2007). Also not mentioned in PM Shinzo Abe’s speech to the Australian Parliament, about 40 million Chinese died under Japanese occupation, 1937-1945. Similarly not mentioned in UK-born PM Tony Abbott’s speech, Australia was complicit by withholding grain from its huge wartime wheat stores in the 1942-1945 Bengali Holocaust in which 6-7 million Indians starved to death under the British, this atrocity being associated with the sexual exploitation of some 300,000 starving Bengali women and girls by civilians and by Allied soldiers via the British Military Labor Corps (see “Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History” and “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950” that includes a succinct history of all nations, both now available for free perusal on the web).
GideonPolya commented on Australia returns asylum seekers to Sri Lanka in sea transfer.
06 Jul 2014 11:17pm
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Eminent Australian and increasingly the conscience of Australia, former PM Malcolm Fraser, has described returning Tamil refugees to Sri Lanka like sending Jewish refugees back to Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Eminent American International Law expert Professor Francis Boyle in his book “The Tamil Genocide by Sri Lanka” has a subtitle “The Global Failure to Protect Tamil Rights Under International Law”. The Tamil Genocide has involved 100,000 Tamils killed and 300,000 Tamils highly abusively confined in concentration camps. For shocking details of large-scale imprisonment, torture, rape and killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka see the ABC TV Four Corners program “Sri Lanka’s killing fields”. In returning Tamil refugees to their genocidal persecutors and giving military and security cooperation with the war criminal Sri Lankan military, the Abbott Coalition Government has seriously endangered these 200 men, women and children, trashed international law, soiled Australia’s reputation and made Australia complicit in the Tamil Genocide after 2 centuries of other such involvements (Google “Review The Cambridge History of Australia ignores Australian involvement in 30 genocides” ). Decent Australians will find this utterly unconscionable, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Don't axe the tax: emissions trading supporters make last-ditch plea.
06 Jul 2014 10:47pm
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Leading climate economist Dr Chris Hope from 90-Nobel-Laureate Cambridge University advocates a Carbon Price of $100-$150 per tonne CO2 for effective climate change action. Taking the upper estimate of $150 per tonne CO2 and Australia’s annual Domestic plus Exported greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution of 2 billion tonnes CO2-equivalent means that the Coalition’s Carbon Price of $0 per tonne CO2 yields an Australian annual Carbon Debt of $300 billion, a huge annual debt that future generations will have to pay (Google “Climate Justice & Intergenerational Equity”). Numerous science-informed climate economists, climate scientists and climate activists, including Dr Chris Hope, favour a transparent Carbon Tax rather than a Carbon Trading-based Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) which they variously regard as empirically ineffective, consequently counterproductive, susceptible to dodgy market manipulation, and inherently fraudulent because it involves a government selling licences for corporations to pollute the one common atmosphere and ocean of all countries and all peoples (for 62 science-informed expert opinions favoring a Carbon Tax, Google “carbon tax needed not carbon trading”; also Google “2011 climate change course”). The pro-fossil fuels, anti-science, effective climate change denialist Coalition is burning up our future and generating enormous Carbon Debt for our descendants – young Australians and all Australians who care for our children and future generations will utterly reject all MPs opposing a Carbon Tax, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Scott Morrison urged to visit war-torn north during trip to Sri Lanka.
06 Jul 2014 1:57am
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If the 2 refugee-carrying boats were seized in international waters then the Australian crew and Government are guilty of piracy and kidnapping. If the Tamil refugee occupants were disposed of as it appears and forcibly returned to the genocidal Sri Lankan military then Australia is not just violating the Refugee Convention and other human rights conventions (notably the Rights of the Child) but will become complicit in false imprisonment and likely torture, rape and killing. What US international law expert Professor Francis Boyle has described in a book with the same name as “The Tamil Genocide by Sri Lanka” has involved 100,000 Tamils killed, 300,000 Tamils highly abusively incarcerated in concentration camps and further horrendous human rights abuses including torture and rape. The Coalition has made all Australians complicit in this ongoing atrocity. The return of Tamil refugees to genocidal Sri Lankan persecutors is akin to the return of Jewish refugees to Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Decent Australians who abhor child abuse, rape, torture, mass murder and genocide can never vote for the Coalition – they will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Dark snow: from the Arctic to the Himalayas, the phenomenon that is accelerating glacier melting.
06 Jul 2014 1:25am
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Excellent article. Professor Peter Wadhams of 90-Nobel-Laureate Cambridge University on the record loss of Arctic sea ice and the impending loss of all Arctic summer sea ice in a few years’ time (2012): “The entire ice cover is now on the point of collapse. The extra open water already created by the retreating ice allows bigger waves to be generated by storms, which are sweeping away the surviving ice. It is truly the case that it will be all gone by 2015. The consequences are enormous and represent a huge boost to global warming” (for further details and documentation Google “Are we doomed?”). The whole world has perhaps only 4 years left before it exceeds the world’s terminal carbon pollution budget of 600 Gt CO2 that must not be exceeded of we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise. Australia’s huge Domestic and Exported greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution means that it exceeded its “fair share of this terminal budget in 2011 and under the Coalition is running up a Carbon Debt of $300 billion annually for future generations to pay. Decent Australians who care for their children and future generations will do everything they can to oppose neoliberal climate criminality, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Edward Snowden should have right to legal defence in US, says Hillary Clinton.
05 Jul 2014 12:26am
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What bare-faced effrontery by Hillary Clinton. American hero and world hero Edward Snowden can engage in serious debate vastly better as a free person in Russia than as a highly-abused prisoner subject to torture and death threat in the American Gulag. America has invaded 70 nations since 1776 and Edward Snowden and Australian hero and world hero Julian Assange have helped expose how America subverts all nations on earth (Google "Make 4 July Independence from America Day" and “US has invaded 70 nations” and read “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950” that contains a succinct, avoidable mortality-related history of all countries and is now available for free perusal on the web).
GideonPolya commented on Carbon tax goes ‘lock, stock and barrel’, says Greg Hunt after call to keep ETS.
05 Jul 2014 12:11am
Many climate scientists, climate economists and science-informed climate activists would disagree with both non-scientist Minister Greg Hunt and non-scientist Professor Ross Garnaut. Thus numerous science-informed experts demand 100% renewable energy ASAP and a transparent Carbon Tax on greenhouse gas (GHG) polluting sources to help rapidly return the atmosphere to a safe and sustainable 300 ppm CO2 (from the current dangerous and damaging 400 ppm CO2) and variously reject the Carbon Trading Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) approach as empirically ineffective, consequently counterproductive, susceptible to dodgy market manipulation, and inherently fraudulent in permitting particular rich country governments to sell corporations licences to pollute the one common atmosphere and ocean of all countries and all peoples (for 62 such documented expert opinions Google “carbon tax needed not carbon trading” and for the science drowned out by polluter propaganda Google “2011 climate change course” and "300.org"). Australia has already used up its share of the world's terminal carbon pollution budget of 600 Gt CO2 that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise (the whole world may have only 4 years left in this regard; Google "Are we doomed?").
GideonPolya commented on Tony Abbott says Australia was 'unsettled' before British arrived.
04 Jul 2014 11:43pm
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This was another outrageously false and offensive statement from PM Tony Abbott that makes him unfit to be PM of Australia. Before the British Invasion in 1788, Indigenous Australians had been living in Australia for about 60,000 years. There were 350-750 different tribes and a similar number of languages and dialects, of which only 150 survive today and of these all but about 20 are endangered. After the brutish British Invasion, the Aboriginal population dropped from about 1 million in 1788 to about 0.1 million in the first century through introduced disease, deprivation and genocidal violence. The last massacres of Aborigines occurred in the 1920s but no Treaty has ever been signed. Indigenous Australians were only counted after a referendum in 1967 and were finally given some protection by the 1975 Racial Discrimination Act since violated by successive Lib-Lab Australian Governments in the NT. In the 20th century up to 1 in 10 Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their mothers, the so-called Stolen Generations, and despite PM Rudd’s “Sorry” this is continuing at record rates. Many Aborigines have Third World living, social, educational and health conditions. 2,000 Aborigines die avoidably from deprivation each year in a continuing Aboriginal Genocide and Aboriginal Ethnocide. Shame Australia, shame (Google “Aboriginal Genocide” and “Film review: Utopia by John Pilger”).
GideonPolya commented on Coalition to tighten laws to crackdown on alleged jihadists.
04 Jul 2014 11:23pm
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We already have laws prohibiting Australians engaging as non-state soldiers and these should be enforced with strong intelligence backup to minimize POSSIBLE threat to Australia. However we do not need new implicitly racist laws violating Australian human rights, What we do need are laws to criminalize Australians committing or being complicit in violence and other criminal acts against Australians while serving in the military or otherwise as agents of foreign states. Thus according to Mainstream media reports Israeli state forces - variously including traitorous Australians - have ACTUALLY been involved in tasering, shooting, bombing, shelling, maiming, torturing, killing, kidnapping, imprisoning, robbing, large-scale larceny, passport fraud, bribery, blackmailing, criminality, threatening, bullying, spying, perversion and subversion against Australians. Pro-Zionist Coalition or Labor Right (Lib-Lab, Liberal-Laboral) Australian politicians and others who steadfastly ignore the reality of Israeli state terrorism against Australians are anti-Australian terrorist sympathizers who endanger Australia in the interests of a foreign power (for details and documentation sent to the MPs and the AFP Google "Israeli state terrorism threats to Australia").
GideonPolya commented on George Brandis vow to detain alleged jihadists from Iraq and Syria ‘nonsense’.
03 Jul 2014 12:06am
4
Existing laws already prohibit Australians engaging as non-state soldiers. Those laws should be enforced with stringent intelligence backup, notably to avoid the POSSIBILITY of terrorist atrocities within Australia. If new legislation is needed it is to criminalize Australians committing or being complicit in violence and other criminal acts against Australians while serving in the military or otherwise as agents of foreign states. Thus according to Mainstream media reports Israeli state forces - variously including traitorous Australians - have been involved in ACTUAL tasering, shooting, bombing, shelling, maiming, torturing, killing, kidnapping, imprisoning, robbing, large-scale larceny, passport fraud, bribery, blackmailing, criminality, threatening, bullying, spying, perversion and subversion against Australians. Pro-Zionist Coalition or Labor Right (Lib-Lab, Liberal-Laboral) Australian MPs and others who steadfastly ignore Israeli state terrorism against Australians are anti-Australian traitors and terrorist sympathizers who endanger Australia (for details and documentation of the Awful Truth Google "Israeli state terrorism threats to Australia").
GideonPolya commented on Australia Institute director says Gore-Palmer ploy reset climate debate.
01 Jul 2014 11:19pm
4
Science-informed people welcome coal miner and major greenhouse gas (GHG) polluter Clive Palmer's intervention to save the Australian Climate Change Authority (CCA), the Renewable Energy Target (RET) and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) but this has NOT "reframed the debate about carbon pricing" in pro-coal, pro-gas, pro-pollution Australia that is a world leader in GHG pollution. Thus Clive Palmer has rejected the Carbon Tax and opted for a Carbon Trading-based ETS to be implemented when half a dozen major players in America, Europe and East Asia do likewise. However numerous economists, activists, scientists and climate scientists argue that what is needed is a transparent, science-based Carbon Tax rather than an ineffective and fraudulent ETS. The Carbon Trading ETS approach is variously condemned as dodgy because it is empirically ineffective, accordingly counterproductive and is inherently fraudulent because it would involve particular rich countries selling licences to enable corporations to pollute the one common atmosphere and ocean of all countries and all peoples (for 56 such expert opinions c/- of 300.org that demands an urgent return of atmospheric CO2 to a safe 300 ppm CO2 from the present dangerous and damaging 400 ppm CO2, Google “carbon tax needed NOT carbon trading”).
GideonPolya commented on Could Australia stay independent if the US went to war in the Pacific?.
01 Jul 2014 4:27am
5
Excellent pro-peace, pro-Australia article by former PM Malcolm Fraser. Australia has been involved in all post-1950 US Asian wars, atrocities that have been associated with Asian deaths from violence or from war-imposed deprivation totaling about 40 million (Google "Body count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950). The informed, humane rationality of Malcolm Fraser and the Greens is in stark contrast to the pro-war, US lackey stance of the Coalition and Labor Right (aka the Lib-Labs or Liberal-Laborals) that is contrary to the interests of Australia and Humanity. Sensible, humane, informed Australians will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on The strange case of how coal miner Clive turned climate crusader.
26 Jun 2014 12:31am
4
This has been a timely and useful intervention by Clive Palmer (albeit a huge greenhouse gas polluter) - there is retention of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Climate Change Authority and the Renewable Energy Target coupled with suspension of the ineffective, counterproductive and fraudulent Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) until major players (the EU, the US, East Asia) agree on an effective common policy. Like many other experts, renowned Indian physicist and environmentalist Dr Vandana Shiva condemns the ETS approach: “Regulating by carbon trading is like fiddling as Rome burns” Similarly Dr Chris Hope (Judge Business School, 90-Nobel-Laureate University of Cambridge) also condemns the ETS approach and supports a direct carbon tax : “If the best current scientific and economic evidence is to be believed, and climate change could be a real and serious problem, the appropriate response is to institute today a climate change tax equal to the mean estimate of the damage caused by a tonne of CO2. emissions… about $150 per tonne of CO2”. ( Google “Carbon tax needed not carbon trading”). With a carbon price of $0 per tonne CO2-e the Coalition is running up a “carbon debt and deficit disaster” for future generations of $150 per tonne CO2-e x 2 billion tonnes CO2-e (Domestic plus Exported) per year = $300 billion each year.
GideonPolya commented on Tasmania’s new laws threaten protesters with mandatory jail term.
24 Jun 2014 5:36am
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SE Australian Eucalyptus regnans (mountain ash) forests are the best forest carbon sinks in the world and Australia is a world leader in annual per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution. The Federal and Tasmanian State Coalition Governments permit and indeed encourage climate criminal pollution of the one common atmosphere and ocean of all peoples including all Tasmanians and all Australians . If the Tasmanian Government criminalizes legitimate dissent from climate crimes (cf press persecution in Kafkaesque Egypt under the military dictatorship) then the only options for decent people will be Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against all people, politicians, parties, collectives, companies and corporations complicit in ongoing , Coalition-promoted environmental vandalism and climate crimes (Google “Stop climate crime”). Young Australians and those who care for them and future generations will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Isis advance threatens Iraq's very future, claims John Kerry.
24 Jun 2014 5:17am
4
The US has re-invaded Iraq, a war crime that will be even more evident when, as repeatedly adumbrated, it commences bombing Sunni areas of Iraq back to the Stone Age - again. This war criminal US re-invasion of Iraq is happening with Australian support and complicity (Australia has, so far, only sent several dozen soldiers). Since 1990 Iraqi deaths from violence or violently-imposed deprivation have totaled 4.6 million and under-5 infant deaths have totaled 2 million, 90% avoidable and due to horrendous US Alliance and Australian war crimes in gross violation of the Geneva Convention (Google "Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide"). Decent, anti-war, pro-humanity Australians will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Greens block petrol excise indexation, which now faces Senate defeat.
24 Jun 2014 5:04am
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The enhanced petrol tax was supportable by science-informed people like the Greens as a type of urgently required Carbon Tax but such support evaporated when the effective climate change denialist Coalition proposed to spend the receipts on roads instead of rail. Rail transport can be 20 times more energy efficient than road transport and energy for rail transport (as opposed to dirty road transport) can readily be 100% renewable (Google "100% renewable energy by 2020"). Road vehicle exhaust pollutants kill about 2,000 Australians each year (Google "66,000 preventable Australian deaths annually"). Australians who don’t want to be complicit in climate crimes and the road vehicle pollution-related deaths of 2,000 fellow Australian each year will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on The last hope for carbon reduction in Australia?.
20 Jun 2014 12:43am
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Excellent article by Simon Sheikh. Australia is a world leader in annual per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution and in 2011 used up its “fair share” of the world’s terminal carbon pollution budget that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise. The world needs to rapidly return atmospheric CO2 to about 300 parts per million (ppm) from the current dangerous 400 ppm CO2. 100% renewable energy is a key part of saving the planet and costs estimates for 100% renewable energy for Australia range from $250 billion (Professor Peter Seligman’s scheme) and $350 billion (BZE’s scheme) down to $150 billion for substantial replacement with wind (for details Google “2011 climate change course”, “100% renewable energy by 2020” and “300 ppm CO2 ASAP”). The climate criminal Coalition Government is effectively climate change denialist through climate change inaction. Australians who care for future generations will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last (Google “Climate justice & intergenerational equity”).
GideonPolya commented on Defence admits transcripts critiquing Australia's 'strategic failures' destroyed.
20 Jun 2014 12:27am
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The long-term accrual cost to America of the War on Terror, the Iraq War and the continuing Afghanistan War has been estimated at $3.5 trillion and $1-2 trillion, respectively i.e. as high as $5.5 trillion. This has been associated with deaths from violence or from violently-imposed deprivation totaling 2.7 million (Iraq, 2003-2011) and 5.6 million (Afghanistan, 2001-2012) (plus 1.1 million such deaths in Somalia this century) (Google "Muslim Holocaust Muslim Genocide" ); 6,600 US combat deaths; 60,000 US veteran suicides; 230,000 American drug-related deaths from US Alliance restoration of the Taliban-destroyed Afghan opium industry from 6% of world market share in 2001 to 92% in 2007; and the preventable deaths of about 12 million Americans since 2001 (1.1 million per year) due to the fiscal perversion of killing millions of Muslims abroad rather than saving the lives of millions of Americans at home. The long-term accrual cost to Australia of the War on Terror has been $125 billion this being linked to 66,000 preventable Australian deaths annually or 0.8 million such deaths since 2001 (Google “Endless war on terror” for an MWC analysis).
GideonPolya commented on Obama to send up to 300 'military advisers' to help Iraqi army repel Isis.
19 Jun 2014 10:54pm
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250 more US soldiers to guard the Green Zone, now 300 more (some from the US Darwin base?) as "military advisers", Iraq added to the list of Pine Gap Australia-specified drone targets from Mali to NW Pakistan, conventional US bombing contemplated ... the US has war criminally re-invaded Iraq and done so with Australian support and complicity. Since 1990 Iraqi deaths from violence or violently-imposed deprivation total 4.6 million and under-5 infant deaths total 2 million, 90% avoidable and due to US Alliance war crimes in gross violation of the Geneva Convention. Bring on the war crimes trials (Google "Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide"). Decent anti-war Australians will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Iraq requests US air strikes as Isis insurgents tighten grip on oil refinery.
19 Jun 2014 2:29am
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In Occupied Iraq in 2003-2011 deaths from violence totalled 1.5 million (Google "Just Foreign Policy") , avoidable deaths from violently-imposed deprivation totalled 1.2 million, and under-5 infant deaths totalled 0.8 million, 90% avoidable and due to war criminal violation of the Geneva Convention by the US Alliance including Australia. Iraqi deaths from violence and war-imposed deprivation in the period 1990-2011 have totalled about 4.6 million and under-5 infant deaths have totalled 2 million (Google "Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide").
Q: What sort of criminal Iraqi traitors would ask the Americans to resume bombing their cities and fellow citizens?"
A: The Sunni-exterminating, Al Maliki Quisling US puppet Iraqi Government, that's who.
One supposes the Australian Lib-Labs (Liberal-Laborals, Coalition-Labor Right) would do the same. Thus the pro-war, US lackey Australian Coalition would evidently resume bombing Iraqis for Al Maliki as soon as they got the nod from the Americans. Decent anti-war Australians will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Treating Australians as parasitic 'leaners' is a grave mistake.
18 Jun 2014 6:24am
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Excellent humane article by John Quiggin. I always voted Labor and thence Green (when a neoliberal Right-dominated ALP came to resemble Another Liberal Party) on the basis that I was more than happy for Government to help the unemployed, the poor, the sick and others down on their luck. However I am far from happy seeing my taxes and my share of Australia's relatively modest indebtedness going to support lurks, perks and subsidies for the rich e.g. a $300 billion Carbon Debt annually for polluting for the one common atmosphere and ocean of all peoples; $31 billion annually for supporting tax-free religious operations and intellectual child abuse at religious private schools; $30 billion annually for superannuation subsidies; $10 billion annually for the burning of fossil fuels that kills thousands of Australians each year; $5 billion annually for negative gearing etc etc (for a detailed and documented analysis Google "coalition government sacrifices key industries" ).
GideonPolya commented on My motion on offshore processing was defeated. Where to now for Labor?.
18 Jun 2014 5:57am
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Full marks to ALP MPs Melissa Parke, Anna Burke and Maria Vamvakinou for demanding closure of these highly abusive, off-shore concentration camps for refugee men, women and CHILDREN. Unfortunately a swallow doesn't make a summer and the Caucus of the neoliberal Right-dominated ALP (aka the Alternative Liberal Party, Another Liberal Party) rejected the motion of these humane women. Those who ignore, deny, excuse, support, advocate or are otherwise complicit in gross abuse of mothers and children have crossed a line separating decent humanity from barbarism. Decent Australians for whom abuse of mothers and children is utterly unthinkable will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Double dissolution trigger provided by Senate rejection of bill to abolish CEFC.
18 Jun 2014 5:36am
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Very wise of the present Senate to retain the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). Leading German and Australian scientists have determined that the whole world's 2010-2050 terminal carbon pollution budget that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise is 600 billion tonnes CO2. Australia used up its “fair share” of this terminal budget in 2011 and the world may use up this terminal budget in as little as 4 years. We are badly running out of time to deal with a worsening climate crisis (Google "Are we doomed?") and Australia needs to drastically cut greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution and install 100% renewable energy ASAP (for what other are doing Google "100% renewable energy by 2020"). A Double Dissolution would be great given the Coalition's egregious untruths, radical departure from a "fair go" and effective climate change denialism . Australians who care for their children and grandchildren will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last (Google ":Climate justice & intergenerational equity").
GideonPolya commented on Will the internet kill the literary novel? Depends on who you ask.
17 Jun 2014 12:49am
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John Banville is correct about reading literary novels being a "minority sport". Indeed, by way of example, it is estimated that 46% of Australians are functionally illiterate (Google "37 Ways Of Tackling Australian Educational Apartheid And Social Inequity"). As a book club member I would assert from much experience that reading literary novels is actually threatened by the many second rate novels with intellectual pretensions posing as literary novels. English novelist and cogent social writer William Gerhardie (Google “Review God’s Fifth Column”) stated that “The criterion of a genuine work of literature is that you can open it at any page to savour each passage for itself, without the narcotic of induced excitement in the shape of knowing what has come before and speculating on what is to happen next, commonly called "a plot". If a book is worth reading at all it is worth reading more than once”. This is certainly true of John Banville’s beautiful writing that is a joy to read.
GideonPolya commented on When it comes to Iraq, Australia needs to look after its own national interest.
17 Jun 2014 12:22am
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Excellent, humane article in the national interest by former PM Malcolm Fraser. Australia has participated in all post-1950 US Asian wars, atrocities associated with 40 million Asian deaths from violence or from war-imposed deprivation (for details see "Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950", a book that includes an avoidable mortality-related history of every country since Neolithic times and is now available for free perusal on the web). In Occupied Iraq in 2003-2011 deaths from violence totalled 1.5 million (Google "Just Foreign Policy") , avoidable deaths from violently-imposed deprivation totalled 1.2 million, and under-5 infant deaths totalled 0.8 million, 90% avoidable and due to war criminal violation of the Geneva Convention by the US Alliance including Australia (Google "Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide"). Yet the US puppet Coalition will war criminally re-invade Iraq if the US tells us to. There are 1,500 million Muslims and 3,000 million Asians between Australia and Mother Europe - ergo, morality and International Law aside, Australia should stop invading and killing them. Make love not war. Decent, sane, pro-peace, pro-love-thy-fellow-man, pro-child, pro-International Law, Australia-first Australians will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Greens move to block clean energy cuts, setting up double dissolution trigger.
16 Jun 2014 1:00am
4
Renewable energy is crucial to stopping greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution (Google “100% renewable energy by 2020” and “Cut carbon emissions 80% by 2020”). According to top German and Australian climate scientists, the whole world's 2010-2050 terminal carbon pollution budget that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise is 600 billion tonnes CO2. The US finally used up its “fair share” of this terminal carbon pollution budget in 2014 and Australia used up its “fair share” in 2011 (for details and documentation Google “Obama's EPA-based Plan To Reduce Coal-based Pollution Amounts To Climate Change Inaction”) . The grossly insufficient climate change action from major GHG polluters like the US and Australia amounts to effective climate change denialism and will doom the planet to climate genocide (Google “Are we doomed”, “Climate genocide”, “Stop climate crime”, “Climate justice & Intergenerational equity”, and “2011 climate change course”). Young people and those who care for future generations will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Australia's richest 1% own as much as bottom 60%, says Oxfam.
16 Jun 2014 12:36am
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French economist Thomas Piketty has analyzed historical income inequality and wealth inequality in his important book “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” and argues cogently for a progressive internationally-based wealth tax of up to several percent to address the unsustainability of the present trend to greater inequality. Wealth inequality kills. Thus over 1 million Americans die preventably each year linked to deprivation and the figure for Australia is 66,000 annually (Google “One million Americans die” and “66,000 preventable Australian deaths annually”). 18 million people die avoidably from deprivation each year and over 1.3 billion have died thus since 1950 (Google “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950” that is available for free perusal on the web). The cruel, heartless Coalition budget will increase egregious inequality and assuredly kill many fellow Australians. Informed, humane people will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Obama calls for climate change action in California commencement speech.
15 Jun 2014 12:20am
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Fine words from President Obama but unfortunately his action on climate change simply fails to match his rhetoric. Thus the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution to be saved in 2030 through this measure will be only 4.5% of America's current total annual GHG pollution that is re-assessed at 10.3 billion tonnes CO2-e (CO2 equivalent) if the latest data on methane emissions are considered. In stark contrast, the whole world's 2010-2050 terminal carbon pollution budget that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise is 600 billion tonnes CO2 and the US finally used up its “fair share” of this terminal carbon pollution budget in 2014 (Australia used up its “fair share” in 2011) (for details and documentation Google “Obama's EPA-based Plan To Reduce Coal-based Pollution Amounts To Climate Change Inaction”) . With grossly insufficient climate change action like this we are doomed (Google “Are we doomed”, “Stop climate crime”, “Climate justice & Intergenerational equity”, and “2011 climate change course”). The differences between Abbott’s climate change inaction policy and Obama’s are that Abbott’s inaction policy is much more obvious and will get us to Armageddon a bit quicker than Obama’s.
GideonPolya commented on Tony Abbott is no action man on climate change.
14 Jun 2014 3:47am
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Whatever Tony Abbott's actual current views on climate change are, the reality is that through egregious climate change inaction he is an effective climate change denier. To be fair, the same criticism can be made of Shorten Right-dominated Labor which went to the last election promising to cut the Carbon Price from $23 per tonne CO2-e to $6 per tonne CO2-e as compared to the Coalition's $0 per tonne CO2-e. In stark contrast, leading climate economist Dr Chris Hope from 90-Nobel-Laureate Cambridge University argues for $150 per tonne CO2-e in order to get effective climate change action (for details and documentation Google "Are we doomed?").
Australia's annual Domestic plus Exported greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution is about 2 billion tonnes CO2-e per year and thus Abbott's climate change inaction is running up a Carbon Debt of $150 per tonne CO2-e x 2 billion tonnes CO2-e per year = $300 billion per year or $900 billion over the Coalition's 3-year term - all of which future generations will have to pay (Google "Climate justice & intergenerational equity"). Young Australians and those who care and sympathize for them will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last. .
GideonPolya commented on Australia may be hit with sanctions over 'occupied' East Jerusalem policy change.
13 Jun 2014 5:35am
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The Israelis have been highly abusively occupying what the civilized world, the UN and International Law call the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 1967. The Israelis have now ethnically cleansed 90% of the former Mandated Palestine of Indigenous Palestinians. The remorselessly pro-Zionist Coalition’s Orwellian determination to eschew the word “occupied” in relation to the manifestly highly abusively occupied Occupied Palestinian Territories is a falsehood that trashes Australia’s reputation and will cause immense harm to Australia through resultant boycotts in the 1,500 million-strong Muslim world, most notably in our neighbour Indonesia (population 250 million). Outstanding Jewish American scholar Professor Jared Diamond in his best-selling book "Collapse” (Prologue, p10, Penguin edition) enunciated the "moral principle, namely that it is morally wrong for one people to dispossess, subjugate, or exterminate another people" (see “Jews Against Racist Zionism”) . Anti-racist Jewish and non-Jewish Australians will boycott the Coalition, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on The Lowy Institute's poll: no surprises in Australian behaviours.
13 Jun 2014 1:23am
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Excellent article by Antony Loewenstein. It is notable that Antony Loewenstein quotes Stephen Fry and Noam Chomsky who like himself are prominent anti-racist Jewish humanitarians highly critical of horrendous Israeli abuses of Palestinian human rights (Google "Jews Against Racist Zionism"). It is not just the UK, US, NZ, Canada and Australia that share the results of Australian spying on all Australians and the whole world but also the Israelis (see Philip Dorling, “US share raw intelligence on Australia with Israel”, Sydney Morning Herald, 12 September 2013). Former PM Malcolm Fraser is correct - Australia should distance itself from aggressive US war policies and concentrate on TRADE rather than WAR with its Asian neighbours (so far Australia has participated in all post-1950 US Asian wars, atrocities that have been associated with about 40 million Asian deaths from violence or from war-imposed deprivation, similar to Chinese deaths under Japanese occupation, 1937-1945 ; Google "Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950" , an avoidable-mortality -related history of all countries that is now available for free perusal on the web).
GideonPolya commented on Protesters claim victory as forest clearing suspended at Maules Creek.
13 Jun 2014 1:02am
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There should not just be cessation of destruction of forests by coal mining - there needs to be rapid cessation of ALL fossil fuel exploitation in the world and in Australia in particular. Thus German and Australian scientists have estimated a World Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget of 600 billion tonnes CO2 that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise. Climate criminal Australia used up its "fair share" of this Terminal Carbon Pollution Budget in 2011 but the World as a whole has only about 4 years left (for details Google "2011 climate change course", "Are we doomed?", "100% renewable energy by 2020", "Cut Carbon emissions", "Stop climate crime", "Divest from fossil fuels", "Climate genocide", and "Climate justice & intergenerational justice"). .
GideonPolya commented on Abbott and Obama agree to extend Australia's defence cooperation with US.
13 Jun 2014 12:48am
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The best defence is being nice to your neighbours. In contrast, Australia has been involved in all post-1950 US Asian wars (Asian deaths from violence or violently-imposed deprivation totalling about 40 million, similar to Chinese deaths under the Japanese, 1937-1945), in the post-1990 US War on Muslims (12 million deaths from violence or war-imposed deprivation, over 20 million Muslim refugees), and the post-2001 US War on Terror (10 million such deaths) (Google "Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950", this avoidable mortality-related history of all countries since Neolithic times now being available for free perusal on the web) . I agree with former PM Malcolm Fraser that peace is the only way - we should make love not war with our Asian neighbours. The US marines should go from Australian soil and Australia should cease involvement with America's comprehensive global spying, US nuclear terrorism, hosting US nuclear-armed warships, and targetting war criminal US drones bombing villages from Mali to Pakistan.
GideonPolya commented on Trail of jihadist victories in Iraq could force renewed military action from US.
13 Jun 2014 12:29am
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The 2003 invasion of Iraq was illegal and a war crime and any repetition in part or in whole is unthinkable for humane people if not for Obama. The eminent US Just Foreign Policy organization estimated 1.5 million violent post-invasion Iraqi deaths, avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation under occupation totalled 1,2 million, there were 5-6 million people displaced and under-5 infant deaths under occupation totalled 0.8 million, 90% avoidable and due to gross US Alliance violation of the Geneva Convention (Google "Iraqi Holocaust Iraqi Genocide"). The US Alliance replaced a secular Sunni-dominated dictatorship having equal rights for women with a traitorous, Quisling, puppet, Shia-dominated, fundamentalist, sectarian government which abolished rights for women and is now at risk of being supplanted by Sunni fundamentalists with the notable merit of at least not being traitors like Al Maliki who is calling for the US to resume bombing Iraqi cities.
GideonPolya commented on Australia won't describe east Jerusalem as 'occupied' – and is wrong to do so.
11 Jun 2014 2:49am
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Brandis and Bishop are unfit to be Australian Government Ministers for (1) papering over Israeli war crimes in the highly abusively occupied Occupied Palestinian Territories and (2) the blatant falsehood of eschewing the descriptive "occupied" in relation to what are the Occupied Palestinian Territories according to the UN and International Law. Anti-racist Jewish and non-Jewish Australians, impelled by the post-WW2 Jewish Holocaust crie de coeur "never again to anyone", will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on ABC's Mark Scott believes Canberra doesn't understand broadcaster's value.
11 Jun 2014 2:20am
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The ABC is a national icon and the hostility it gets from the pro-war, human rights -abusing, anti-science, anti-intellectual, anti-environment and effective climate change denialist Coalition is testament to the ABC trying to do its job properly.
Nevertheless the ABC in safely positioning itself between the Mainstream Fairfax and Murdoch media has a bad record of timidity, self-censorship, censorship, lying by omission and malreportage (for shocking details Google "Censorship by ABC Late Night Live", "Censorship by ABC Saturday Extra" and "ABC fact-checking unit & incorrect reportage by the ABC").
A shocking example revealed by John Pilger’s outstanding movie “Utopia” is ABC TV Lateline’s false and demonizing reportage of alleged Aboriginal child abuse in Central Australia that created a media frenzy leading to the racist Intervention and race-based exclusion of Northern Territory Indigenous Australians from the protection of the 1976 Racial Discrimination Act (for details Google “Review Utopia by John Pilger”).
GideonPolya commented on Morwell mine fire: air monitoring was lacking as pollution hit hazardous levels.
03 Jun 2014 8:06am
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Carbon burning is deadly longterm through effects of pollutants (e.g. carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, heavy metals, radionuclides, organic carcinogens, and carbon particulates) that kill about 7 million people worldwide each year, including about 10,000 Australians (Google “Australian carbon burning-related deaths” and “Climate vulnerability monitor”). People in Morwell should have initiated expert evidence collection and health recording from the outset of the fires and should aim to get massive compensation from pollution-complicit government, government agencies and corporations. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that there is no threshold for damage from fine carbon particulates from coal and gas burning (for related documentation Google "Expert witness testimony to stop gas-fired power”).
GideonPolya commented on GM contamination rules should be relaxed, says biotechnology scientist.
31 May 2014 11:44pm
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A key argument against GM crops is that they can pollute GM-free farms and hence occasion substantial financial loss to GM-free farmers. I accordingly have great sympathy for the formerly GM-free but now now-decertified farmer Steve Marsh but eminent biotechnologist Professor Michael Jones is correct - the judgment against Steve Marsh was because the organic regulator set an unrealistically low limit on GM contamination with consequent imposed de-certification and financial loss on this blameless farmer.
GideonPolya commented on Conservative groups bid to wreck Obama's proposals on carbon emissions.
31 May 2014 11:23pm
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One million Americans die preventably each year and of these 70,000 Americans die annually from air pollution (e.g. from coal burning, vehicle exhaust, carbon burning in general). According to the US Earth Policy Institute “ In the United States, traffic fatalities total just over 40,000 per year, while air pollution claims 70,000 lives annually. U.S. air pollution deaths are equal to deaths from breast cancer and prostate cancer combined." (for details Google "One million Americans die preventably annually in USA" and “ Air Pollution Fatalities Now Exceed Traffic Fatalities by 3 to 1”). As many as 10,000 Australians die preventably annually from carbon burning pollutants under the pro-pollution Coalition ( Google "Australian carbon burning-related deaths"). If you love Australians and Australia vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Former students face thousands in interest payments under loan changes.
31 May 2014 11:08pm
Tertiary education can and should be free. Indeed the Government should be paying money back to students rather than the reverse. There is a huge HECS Debt Scandal ignored by Mainstream MPs and media that should be referred to the ACCC, specifically that accredited, top quality tertiary education can be provided (1) for 10% of the current cost if provided by part-time casual academics or (2) for 1% of the current costs through a system of academic experts marking accrediting examinations on top quality courses (MOOCs) currently provided for free on the web by top universities such as 152-Nobel-Laureate Harvard University and 83-Nobel-Laureate Massachusetts Institute of Technology (for details resolutely kept from the public by Establishment One Percenters simply Google “Educational Apartheid”).
GideonPolya commented on Nauru detention: serious health risks to children revealed in confidential report.
30 May 2014 3:26am
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Unfortunately Australia is ignoring its legal duty of care and the horrendous reality of numerous avoidable deaths of refugees from deprivation when they are transferred from a rich, low avoidable mortality and low infant mortality country like Australia to high avoidable mortality and relatively high infant mortality countries like Nauru, PNG or, as adumbrated , Cambodia (for technical details see my book "Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950" that includes an avoidable mortality-related history of every country since Neolithic times and is now available for free perusal on the web). Infant mortality in Nauru (10.5 under-5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births) is over 2 times greater than in Australia. (5) i.e. transfer to Nauru sentences 5-6 out of every 1,000 infants to death before their 5th birthday.
GideonPolya commented on MH370: Australia rules out main search zone.
30 May 2014 3:09am
2
My carefully researched comment was censored out, evidently for containing documented matters that the Guardian does not want its readers to read about, know about or think about, but which can be seen on the website "Censorship by The Guardian Australia".
GideonPolya commented on Obama to unveil historic climate change plan to cut US carbon pollution.
30 May 2014 2:52am
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Welcome news that Obama is finally doing something about man-made climate change but (1) it is probably too little too late for the US and future generations (Google "Are we doomed?" and "Climate Justice & Intergenerational Equity" ) and (2) the cap-and-trade Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) approach has been condemned by climate scientists and climate economists as empirically ineffective, consequently counterproductive and inherently fraudulent in that it involves the US (or, for example, Australia) issuing permits for US (or Australian) companies to pollute the one common atmosphere and ocean of ALL countries (for a cogent critique by eminent climate scientist Dr James Hansen of NASA, Google "It's possible to avert the climate crisis").
GideonPolya commented on Gist of Tony Blair's talks with George Bush over Iraq war to be published.
30 May 2014 2:35am
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Correction: 2014 is 11 years after the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003 - hard to keep up with US Alliance invasions and interventions.
GideonPolya commented on Gist of Tony Blair's talks with George Bush over Iraq war to be published.
30 May 2014 2:31am
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The failure of the Chilcot Inquiry to make its report 13 years after the illegal invasion of Iraq and this latest example of censoring the truth bode ill for the final report. A succinct interim report would include the following: (1) the invasion of Iraq was illegal (according to UK Deputy PM Nick Clegg and many others), (2) the UK, US and Australian leaders involved should be prosecuted for war crimes (according to former Australian Liberal party president John Valder, Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter and many others); and (3) the 1.5 million Iraqi violent deaths and 1.2 million Iraqi post-invasion avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation constitute an Iraqi Holocaust and an Iraqi Genocide (Google "Iraqi Holocaust, Iraqi Genocide" and Harold Pinter's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech "Art, Truth & Politics").
GideonPolya commented on NSA releases email in dispute over Snowden 'internal whistleblowing'.
30 May 2014 2:15am
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Sensible people would believe World hero and American hero Edward Snowden rather than officials of a US agency and a US Government committed to massive deception of not just Americans but of everyone in the world as revealed by the Snowden-leaked documents. By way of a further example, the US Center for Public Integrity established that the US Government told 935 lies about Iraq between 9-11 and the illegal, war criminal US, UK and Australian invasion of Iraq (Google "Bush, aides made 935 false statements"). .
GideonPolya commented on Coalition cuts refugee council funding despite budget promise.
30 May 2014 1:58am
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This was a move in keeping with the rest of the callous Coalition Budget. There is a bipartisan, Lib-Lab (Liberal-Laboral, Coalition-Labor Right) policy of treating refugees sufficiently badly in gross violation of the Refugee Convention and Rights of the Child Convention so as to “stop the boats”. In the process refugees will be killed or mangled through violence (as recently) or through imposed deprivation. Unfortunately Australia is ignoring its legal duty of care and the horrendous reality of numerous avoidable deaths of refugees from deprivation when they are transferred from a rich, low avoidable mortality and low infant mortality country like Australia to a high avoidable mortality and high infant mortality country like PNG or, as adumbrated , Cambodia (for technical details see my book "Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950" that includes an avoidable mortality-related history of every country since Neolithic times and is now available for free perusal on the web). A celebrated war crimes case brought by Indigenous Australians was rejected by the Federal Court, establishing immunity of Australians within Australia from such prosecution. However Lib-Lab MPs may face prosecution outside Australia for gross human rights violation.
GideonPolya commented on PNG police criticise Australian review of violence and death at Manus.
29 May 2014 5:05am
4
PNG is evidently protecting its own but both PNG and Australia are ignoring the horrendous reality of numerous avoidable deaths of refugees from deprivation when they are transferred from a rich, low avoidable mortality and low infant mortality country like Australia to a high avoidable mortality and high infant mortality country like PNG (for technical details see my book "Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950" that includes an avoidable mortality-related history of every country since Neolithic times and is now available for free perusal on the web). Thus, for example, according to WHO data the difference in infant mortality (in units of under-5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births ) between Cambodia (40) and Australia (5) is 35 i.e. of every 1000 under-5 year old refugee infants sent to Cambodia from Australia under the Coalition's Government's latest plan, 35 will die avoidably before their 5th birthday (Google "Cambodia is not safe for refugees").
GideonPolya commented on Tony Abbott kills off plan to recover unpaid student debts from dead people.
29 May 2014 4:33am
4
Strange inconsistency among the mercilessly neoliberal Coalition leaders. There is a huge HECS Debt Scandal that should be referred to the ACCC, specifically that accredited, top quality tertiary education can be provided (1) for 10% of the current cost if provided by casual academics or (2) for 1% of the current costs through a system of academic experts marking accrediting examinations on top quality courses (MOOCs) currently provided for free on the web by top universities such as 152-Nobel-Laureate Harvard University and 83-Nobel-Laureate Massachusetts Institute of Technology (for details resolutely kept from the public by Establishment One Percenters simply Google "Accredited Remote Learning" and "Crisis in our universities").
GideonPolya commented on ABC journalists to be offered redundancies after $120m budget cut.
29 May 2014 12:15am
The ABC is an Australian icon and has a vital educational, cultural and social role in Australia but is clearly being targetted by the neoliberal, corporatist, Murdoch media-backed Coalition in yet another broken pre-election promise. That said, the ABC has an appalling record of malreportage, incorrect reportage, and lying by omission (Google "ABC fact-checking unit & incorrect reportage by the ABC") as well as a highly offensive culture of remorselessly censoring out expert, informed audience views it evidently believes its audience should not know about or think about (for the Awful Truth Google "Censorship by ABC Late Night Live" and "Censorship by ABC Saturday Extra"). Of course the ABC is not alone in this variously dishonest, cowardly, unethical, dangerous and indeed traitorous conduct (e.g. Google "Censorship by the BBC").
GideonPolya commented on Victorian school relents on same-sex partner ban for debutante ball.
28 May 2014 11:56pm
11
Biblical homophobia still taught to children in taxpayer-funded schools in Australia was linked to the populate-or-perish policies of violent, genocidally murderous Bronze Age savages. Australia has an Educational Apartheid system whereby the 2 out of 3 of our children who attend Government schools are disproportionately excluded from good education, entry to university, entry to good universities and entry to top courses such as medicine and law. However the 1 in 3 of our children attending taxpayer-funded private religious schools are variously subject to egregious intellectual child abuse through the foisting on them of egregious falsehood e.g. gender discrimination, sexism, homophobia, misogyny, sexual guilt, unsafe sex, racism, jingoism, creationism, intelligent design, other religious clap-trap (virgin birth etc) and the right to invade, devastate and ethnically cleanse other countries.
GideonPolya commented on Australia to resume live sheep exports to Iran after 40-year boycott.
28 May 2014 11:41pm
2
For a more balanced discussion of Australian live animal exports and trade with sanctions-crippled Iran in general one needs to know that (1) according to FAO (Google "Chapter 7: Slaughter of livestock", humane pre-slaughter stunning is acceptable for Muslim Halal practice in Iran but not for Jewish kosher practice in Australia, and (2) the Australia-complicit sanctions against Iran are associated with about 100,000 Iranian deaths annually from deprivation (Google "Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950", an avoidable mortality-based history of all countries now available for free perusal on the web) yet Iran has zero nuclear weapons and opposes them while the state of Israel has several hundred; Iran has invaded no other country for several centuries whereas the state of Israel has invaded 12; and Australia has invaded scores of countries and plays a key role through Pine Gap etc in US spying on EVERYONE, US state terrorism and US nuclear terrorism.
GideonPolya commented on Joe Hockey video shows treasurer once protested against student fees.
28 May 2014 11:22pm
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I have been variously associated with universities for 50 years as a teacher and/or researcher. As an academic teacher for 40 years I can tell you that undergraduate teaching can be performed at about 10% of the present cost using part-time casual academics and at about 1% of the present cost with high quality, reading-only but expertly examined off-campus courses (e.g. the free Harvard and MIT offerings) (for details Google "Accredited Remote Learning" and "Crisis in our universities"). Top quality education from pre-schools and primary and secondary schools to universities and life-long learning can and should be FREE. Undergraduate tuition can and should be free - impoverished undergraduate students should not be forced to pay for the salaries and research expenses of Australia's scholarly and scientific complement.
GideonPolya commented on University leaders have serious concerns about higher education plan.
23 May 2014 8:02am
5
Universities have a 3-fold role to (1) research (but the Coalition Government has slashed non-medical research funding), (2) inform the public (but the anti-science and effective climate change denialist Coalition Government does not want to know about man-made climate change, renewable energy etc and has terminated key medical and non-medical science advisory bodies), and (3) teaching (but the Coalition has slashed university funding, forcing up fees, and thus discouraging student entry). However the undergraduate teaching function can be performed at 10% of the present cost using part-time teachers and at 1% of the present cost with high quality, reading-only but expertly examined off-campus courses (for details Google "Accredited Remote Learning" and "Crisis in our universities"). Parents and students are being grossly deceived by the anti-education, anti-science, promise-breaking Coalition Government and by egregiously over-paid Vice Chancellors (parasitic refugees from scholarship; 1 VC on $1 million pa earns as much pre-tax as 100 casual teaching academics on $10,000 pa ).
GideonPolya commented on Gonski school funding reforms: Abbott says cost is 'pie in the sky'.
22 May 2014 10:41pm
3
Good on David Gonski. Australia has an Educational Apartheid system that is remorselessly backed by the Coalition and that means that (1) the majority of Australian children attending Government schools are disproportionately excluded from good education, university, top universities and top courses, and (2) social inequity is preserved, opportunity is denied, 46% of Australians are functionally illiterate and 53% are functionally innumerate. However the "privileged" attending taxpayer-subsidized private schools are variously subject to child intellectual abuse through the foisting of egregious falsehood on children e.g. gender discrimination, sexism, homophobia, misogyny, sexual guilt, unsafe sex, racism, jingoism, creationism, intelligent design, other religious clap-trap (virgin birth etc) and the right to invade, devastate and ethnically cleanse other countries. Decent Australian who care for children and their right to equal opportunity will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Education regulator cuts may let in 'fly-by-night operators', fears Kim Carr.
22 May 2014 9:59pm
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Education from pre-school to lifelong learning can and should be free for all. However inequitable neoliberal commodification of what should be free is remorselessly taking us further from this ideal. Conversely, by way of example, Harvard and MIT offer their top course material free on the Web and a readily-implemented user-pays system of high quality examination of these free courses (MOOCs) would enable high quality off-campus tertiary education at circa $100 per course rather than the present average of about $20,000 that under the neoliberal Coalition's de-funding and de-regulation of universities will quickly rise to $40,000 (Google "Accredited remote learning"). Parents and students are being grossly deceived already about costs and standards and less oversight under neoliberal Coalition policy will worsen the rip-off. Pro-education and pro-equity Australians should vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Healthcare is not a product, no matter what neoliberalism has taught us.
22 May 2014 9:24pm
2
Excellent analysis by Humphrey McQueen. Neoliberalism seeks to maximize the freedom of the smart and advantaged to maximize their profits and assets as contrasted with the evolving social contract of social humanism that seeks to maximize human happiness, opportunity and dignity (Google "Review social humanism"). Already 66,000 Australians die preventably each year in neoliberal Lib-Lab--dominated Australia (for details Google "66,000 preventable Australian deaths annually") and heartless Coalition weakening of Medicare will worsen the situation. Decent Australians who love their fellow citizens will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on David Gonski breaks silence to attack Abbott government's school funding plans.
21 May 2014 11:44pm
2
David Gonski was very non-confrontational and polite in his language describing the parlous state of government schools and the further inequity promised by the Coalition Government's horror budget. The harsh realities are that Australia has an Educational Apartheid system in which the majority of Australian children attending state schools are disproportionately excluded from a decent education, university, top universities and top courses. An appalling outcome is that 46% of Australians are functionally illiterate and 53% are functionally innumerate (Google "Educational Apartheid" and "Educational Apartheid and social inequity").
GideonPolya commented on Leading scientists cautious about $20bn medical research future fund.
19 May 2014 10:38pm
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Excellent article. The immediate benefit from increased medical research funding is not "cures for cancer" but having more medical teams at the cutting edge of world advances and applying the latest advances for sick Australians - yet this is precisely what inept Abbott-Hockey are excluding. Presently 66,000 Australians die preventably each year (Google "66,000 preventable Australian deaths annually") - how many more under the inept and grossly inequitable Abbott-Hockey budget that slashes health funding?
GideonPolya commented on Australian government may ban environmental boycotts.
02 Apr 2014 8:55pm
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Since the 2013 election it seems that each week the corporatist, neoliberal Abbott Coalition Government has come out with new attacks on the environment and human rights (for details Google "120 reasons why Australians must vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last") but this latest retrograde attack on environmental activism and free speech encompasses both areas. However while the proposed legislation would ban boycotts of specific, named companies one supposes that it could not ban calls for boycotts against all companies in general that are linked to environmental vandalism such as the campaign for divestment in fossil fuel companies that is backed by numerous cities, towns, universities, colleges, pension funds and other organizations, including religious organizations like the Uniting Church in Australia ( Google "Divest from fossil fuels"). The latest IPCC Report confirms dangerous inaction in relation to man-made climate change (Google "Are we doomed?") and young people and all those concerned for future generations should urgently advocate and apply Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against all people, politicians, parties, countries, companies and corporations complicit in environmental vandalism and human rights abuse.
GideonPolya commented on Should the defence industry be at arm's length from Anzac commemoration?.
28 Mar 2014 10:38pm
2
The $350 million should be spent not on glorifying an utterly unnecessary, unjustifiable and evil war but rather on (a) the health of veterans and their families (e.g. the US Veterans Administration estimates that about 7,000 US veterans have suicided each year since 2001, this representing over 20% of total suicides; Google "One million Americans die"); and (b) science-informed telling of the Awful Truth about war (e.g. 40 million Asians have died from violence or war-imposed deprivation in Australia-complicit post-1950 US Asian wars; Google "Review The Cambridge History of Australia ignores Australian involvement in 30 genocides").
GideonPolya commented on Zoe's law: new bill could be drafted if law fails to pass NSW upper house.
28 Mar 2014 10:23pm
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Foetal damage (e.g. through alcohol abuse) must be urgently addressed but not at the expense of womens' reproductive rights. The concern by the Religious Right for the Right to Life of the UNBORN does not evidently extend to the Right to Life of BORN Australian subjects. Thus 2,000 Indigenous Australians die avoidably each year in one of the richest countries in the world; 1 in 15 refugee infants transported to Manus Island will die from deprivation; and, according to UN data, 3 million under-5 year old Afghan infants have died since 2001 under US Alliance and Australian Occupation, evidence of an horrendous war crime in gross contravention of the Geneva Convention - yet the silence is deafening from the religious Right (and indeed the Lib-Lab Silent Majority) (for details Google "Aboriginal Genocide", Afghan Genocide" and "Horrendous child abuse by pro-war").
GideonPolya commented on Great Barrier Reef and Indigenous heritage laws face 'one-stop shop' threat.
28 Mar 2014 10:01pm
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This is another instance in which asserted "speeding up of environmental approvals" by the neoliberal Coalition means speeding up irreversible destruction of the environment. The Great Barrier Reef belongs to all Australians and in a fundamental sense to all of Humanity. Dredging, shipping and run-off aside, Coalition (and Labor Right) climate change inaction policies of a derisory "5% off 2000 greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by 2020" and unlimited coal, gas and iron ore exploitation mean that Australia will exceed by a factor of three (3) the whole world's Terminal Carbon Budget of 600 Gt CO2 that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise. Indeed remorselessly increasing global GHG pollution means that the world is set to exceed this in 4 years time with world coral reefs being doomed (Google "2011 climate change course" and "Are we doomed?"). Decent Australians who reject theft and destruction of the Great Barrier Reef for private profit and the terracidal GHG pollution of the one common atmosphere and ocean of all countries will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on George Brandis has given Australia's racists a free rein.
26 Mar 2014 10:26pm
2
Brandis is right about maximizing free speech. Already denial or minimization of the World War 2 Jewish Holocaust is a criminal offence attracting up to 10 years of imprisonment in Austria and custodial punishment in many other European countries, Indeed denial of the Armenian Genocide (up to 1.5 million Armenians murdered in Turkey in the period 1915-1923) is an offence in both France and Belgium. However such criminalization of “opinion” disturbs many intellectuals because of the implicit threat to “free speech”, democracy and scholarly investigation. Thus, as related in “Denial. History Betrayed” by Professor Tony Taylor (p168), outstanding Jewish American scholar Professor Noam Chomsky (MIT) defended the right of free speech of a Jewish Holocaust-minimizing French academic, and Jewish American academic Professor Deborah Lipstadt (Emory University) (famous participant in the David Irving versus Penguin defamation trial in London) thought that Jewish Holocaust denial should not be criminalised because of the seriousness of repression of free speech in a democratic society.
GideonPolya commented on George Brandis has given Australia's racists a free rein.
26 Mar 2014 10:16pm
1
I have never voted for the Coalition but agree with AG Brandis' Amendment in the interests of maximizing free speech. Untrammelled free speech is vital for scholarly research, effective democracy and for rational risk management (crucial for societal safety) that successively involves (a) accurate information, (b) scientific analysis (this involving the critical testing of potentially falsifiable hypotheses) and (c) informed systemic change to minimize risk. Setting aside legal responses to evil calls for violence, the only punishment for false or vile statements (e.g. repugnant holocaust denial and genocide denial) should be the ignominy from public exposure for so doing, ideally in important cases through an efficient, expertly-informed, authoritative public process. One notes that holocaust ignoring and genocide ignoring are far, far worse than repugnant holocaust denial and genocide denial (which at least admit the possibility of public discussion ) - however holocaust ignoring and genocide ignoring are disgracefully entrenched in our society (e.g. Google "Review The Cambridge History of Australia ignores Australian involvement in 30 genocides").
GideonPolya commented on Morwell coalmine fire finally extinguished after 45 days.
26 Mar 2014 3:33am
2
DARA estimates that 4.5 million people die from carbon burning pollutants each year (the latest WHO estimate is of 7 million such deaths). It is estimated that about 10,000 Australians die from carbon burning pollutants each year, the breakdown being 5,000 (coal burning for power), 2,000 (vehicle exhaust) and 3,000 (other burning excluding bushfires) (Google "Australian carbon burning-related deaths"). All the people of Morwell (a) would have been well advised over 2 months ago to get expert sampling and analysis of their air (however EPA data should surely be available to the public) and (b) should be keeping detailed personal health records with a view to eventual class action litigation. It is one thing for climate criminals to actively destroy the Biosphere with Lib-lab (Liberal-Laboral) Government agreement (Google "Are we doomed") - but they should have to pay for collateral mortality and morbidity of Australians (Google "Expert witness testimony to stop gas-fired power plant installation").
GideonPolya commented on Greg Hunt confident of 'helping' China, US, India and EU cut carbon emissions.
23 Mar 2014 9:51pm
1
The proposition of Australia helping China, the US, India and the EU cut carbon emissions is on utterly Orwellian absurdity. The annual per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution in units of "tonnes CO2-equivalent per person per year" (2005-2008 data) is 0.9 (Bangladesh), 0.9 (Pakistan), 2.2 (India), less than 3 (many African and Island countries), 3.2 (the Developing World), 5.5 (China), 6.7 (the World), 11 (Europe), 16 (the Developed World), 27 (the US) and 25 (Australia; or 74 in 2010 if Australia’s huge Exported CO2 pollution is included) (Google "Climate genocide" and "2011 climate change course"). The bipartisan, Coalition-Labor (Lib-Lab, Liberal-Laboral) climate inaction policy involves a derisory 5% off 2000 GHG pollution by 2020 and unlimited coal, gas and iron ore exports that would see Australia exceed by a factor of THREE (3) the whole world's Terminal Carbon Budget of 600 billion tonnes CO2 that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise . Australia exceeded its "fair share" of the world's Terminal Carbon Budget in 2011 (Google “Australia 's Huge Coal, Gas & Iron Ore Exports Threaten Planet”). Science-informed, humane Australians who care for future generations (Intergenerational Equity) will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Another stolen generation: how Australia still wrecks Aboriginal families.
21 Mar 2014 9:18pm
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Excellent article by outstanding expatriate Australian journalist John Pilger. Researcher Paddy Gibson of the University of Technology Sydney: “For each of the last five years, approximately a thousand Aboriginal children have been coming into the ‘out-of-home care' system long-term. This is a higher number than were removed during any time in the twentieth century. Half of the children have not been placed with kin or relatives. We are fast approaching the Stolen Generations removal rate cited by Rudd: between 10 and 30 per cent of all Indigenous children. A 2011 annual report from the Department of Family and Community Services found that 9.6 per cent of Aboriginal children in NSW were in out-of-home care. Across Australia , nearly 6 per cent of Indigenous children are in out-of-home care. If current trends continue, the figure will exceed 10 per cent by the end of the decade. While Kevin Rudd was apologising for the past Aboriginal children were being taken in numbers greater than at any time in the 20th Century.” Egregiously differential treatment of segments of the population is Apartheid. For a detailed review of John Pilger's must-see film "Utopia" about maltreatment of Indigenous Australians see "Film review "Utopia" by John Pilger exposes genocidal maltreatment of Indigenous Australians by Apartheid Australia". And yes, any Apartheid whether in Apartheid Australia and Apartheid Israel today or the former Apartheid South Africa warrants Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against those responsible.
GideonPolya commented on How one refugee signalled the end of the White Australia policy.
18 Mar 2014 9:57pm
1
By the middle 1960s things had changed significantly. In 1966 I went down to the Immjgration Department offices to get approval for my non-European fiancee (the daughter of an eminent lawyer and MP who had helped negotiate Independence for her country) to enter and reside in Australia as my wife. The official behind the counter simply asked "Is your fiancee a prostitute?". Rather than jumping the counter and punching him, I simply replied "No, sir", he stamped the form, and I left. This is recounted in "Mixed Matches. Interracial marriage in Australia" by June Duncan Owen. In 1974 the Whitlam Labor Government abolished what was known as "the White Australia Policy". With 3 surviving children and 3 grandchildren we are approaching our 50th wedding anniversary after a lifetime personal testament to interracial harmony and the richness multiculturalism has brought to Australia.
GideonPolya commented on Nasa-funded study: industrial civilisation headed for 'irreversible collapse'?.
14 Mar 2014 10:17pm
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Excellent article (I should declare that I am on the International Advisory Board of the UK-based Institute for Policy Research and Development of which Dr Nafeez Ahmed is the Executive Director) . Rational risk management that is crucial for societal safety (a notable example being aviation) successively involves (a) accurate data, (b) scientific analysis (the critical testing of potentially falsifiable hypotheses) and (c) science-informed systemic change to minimize risk. Unfortunately, when it comes to consideration of the 3 key threats facing humanity - nuclear weapons, poverty (gross inequity) and resource depletion (including climate change) - Big Money gets in the way between science and public policy in our Murdochracies, Lobbyocracies and Corporatocracies and we have irrational risk management successively involving (a) censorship, lying, and intimidation, (b) anti-science spin (the selective use of asserted facts to support a partisan position) and (c) blame and shame that cripples crucial reportage (for numerous expert opinions Google "Are we doomed?").
GideonPolya commented on Climate change body chief: 'bad guys' won after the 'good guys' lay down.
11 Mar 2014 10:00pm
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Excellent article by the Guardian's Lenore Taylor and spot on comments by Bernie Fraser. The harsh reality is that the Coalition and Labor have exactly the same overall climate change inaction policies of (a) a derisory 5% off 2000 greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by 2020, and (b) unlimited coal, gas and iron ore exports that will see Australia exceed by a factor of three (3) the whole world's terminal carbon pollution budget that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise. The Coalition's Direct Action is inefficient, expensive and too little too late, and Labor's ETS is fraudulent. While Dr Chris Hope of 89-Nobel-Laureate Cambridge University says a Carbon Price of $150 per tonne CO2-e is required for effective climate change action, Labor has a policy of "terminating" the Carbon Price at a derisory $6 per tonne CO2-e and the Coalition has much the same policy at $0 per tonne. CO2-e. Sensible, science-informed Australians who care for the next generations (likely Guardian readers) will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last (Labor at least knows there is a major problem even if it won't take effective action). And yes, I am a scientist but censored and sidelined from telling the Awful Truth in neoliberal, look-the-other-way Australia However Google "300 ppm CO2", "2011 climate change course" and "Are we doomed?"
GideonPolya commented on 2029: the year when robots will have the power to outsmart their makers.
23 Feb 2014 1:01pm
According to the Australian Climate Commission (now sacked by the climate criminal , pro-pollution, terracidal Coalition Government) the world has only 15 years left at current rates of pollution before it exceeds the terminal carbon pollution budget of 600 Gt CO2 that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise (Google "Are we doomed" and see Australian Climate Commission, “The critical decade 2013: a summary of climate change science, risks and responses”, 2013, p7: http://climatecommission.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/The-Critical-Decade-2013-Summary_lowres.pdf ). The smart robots might evolve just in time to save their makers, Humanity.
GideonPolya commented on Why does Australian PM Tony Abbott support fossil fuel subsidies?.
05 Feb 2014 12:36am
2
Excellent article. In the face of wilfully stupid, ignorant, anti-science, climate criminality by a Coalition Government that rejects $25 million to help keep SPC-Ardmona, Shepparton, workers, fruit growers and the Goulburn Valley working but subsidizes fossil fuel burning by $10 billion pa and hence the killing of about 10,000 Australians each year by carbon burning-derived pollution (Google "Australian carbon burning-related deaths") , decent, sensible and humane people who care for fellow Australians, children, grandchildren, Humanity and the Biosphere will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last.
GideonPolya commented on Egypt to charge al-Jazeera journalists with damaging country's reputation.
29 Jan 2014 10:16pm
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The Al Jazeera journalists are merely trying to report the present day realities. It is the US-backed, Apartheid Israel-approved Egyptian military dictatorship that is tarnishing Egypt's reputation by overthrowing a democratically-elected government; threatening, proscribing, imprisoning, torturing, exiling and killing members and supporters of Egypt's first and only democratically-elected government; and unilaterally declaring the biggest political party in Egypt a "terrorist organization". The cowardly and unprincipled Coalition Government should unequivocally demand the immediate release of the Australian journalist, and demand massive compensation and impose punitive sanctions over the false imprisonment and torturing of Australians.
GideonPolya commented on Edward Snowden a traitor but US spy review is welcome, says Julie Bishop.
22 Jan 2014 10:26pm
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Edward Snowden is an American and world hero for exposing the extraordinary violation of the privacy and human rights of Americans and indeed everyone else on the planet by Australia-complicit US state terrorism. It is shocking that the neoliberal, US lackey Coalition and neoliberal, US lackey Labor (aka the Lib-Labs, Liberal-Laborals) back the Australia-complicit US spying on Australians - how do you describe people who back the spying on their fellow countrymen by a foreign country? For details of this continuing, treacherous Australian betrayal of Australians Google "50 ways Australian Intelligence spies on Australia and the World for UK, Israeli and US state terrorism". Decent, patriotic Australians will vote 1 Green and put the Lib-Labs last.
GideonPolya commented on François Hollande - the new French president.
18 Jan 2014 9:39pm
La belle France has invaded 80 countries since 800AD, testament to an entrenched culture of French hubris, French imperialism and French state terrorism. Many in France are currently angered over the “invasion of privacy” implicit in the titillating allegation of a love triangle involving the French President François Hollande but ignore or excuse the continuing, horrendous record of French invasions of other countries, French state terrorism and war crimes such as those for which Nazi German generals were hanged after 1945. Indeed the ongoing war criminal French invasion of other countries in the 21st century is regarded by many in the Orwellian, Zionist-perverted US Alliance Murdochracies, Lobbyocracies and Corporatocracies as “peace keeping” or “responsibility to protect” (”R2P”) i.e. these egregious war crimes are not considered to be crimes at all but are regarded as noble humanitarian endeavours (Google "President Hollande and French invasion of privacy versus French invasion of 80 countries since 800 AD").
GideonPolya commented on Balancing security and privacy: Bob Hawke faced dilemmas familiar today.
01 Jan 2014 4:19am
No, not "truth by vague analogy" but sensible private hypothesis based on precise analogy (public hypothesis being effectively forbidden by constraints on freedom of speech in Australia). World hero Julian Assange's WikiLeaks has already documented several Australian public figure CIA "assets" and one hopes that world hero Edward Snowden's iceberg (only the tip has been exposed so far) will document more in the interests of Australian democracy.
GideonPolya commented on Balancing security and privacy: Bob Hawke faced dilemmas familiar today.
31 Dec 2013 9:53pm
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US patriot Phillip Agee was treated shamefully by the US lackey Australian Government. His book "Inside the Company. CIA Diary" was about his time as a CIA operative in Latin America (mainly Ecuador) running politicians and trade union CIA "assets". Relevant to the current Zionist-promoted US War on Terror that has cost Australia $125 billion in long-term accrual costs and thousands of linked preventable Australian deaths (Google "Endless War on Terror. Huge cost for Australia & America") is Agee's revelation of how the CIA ran terrorist squads who would bomb Catholic churches in the realized expectation that socialists would blamed. However sensible Australian readers can make Australian analogies and readily determine those Australian public figures likely to have been CIA "assets" i.e. agents of a nuclear terrorist, serial invader rogue state (Google "The US has invaded 70 nations since 1776"). . For a detailed summary of such betrayal Google "50 ways Australian Intelligence spies on Australia and the World for UK, Israeli and US state terrorism".
GideonPolya commented on Indonesia spying: Barack Obama's blueprint 'would have avoided fiasco'.
19 Dec 2013 8:56pm
Correction: for a detailed analysis Google "50 ways Australian Intelligence spies on Australia and the World for UK, Israeli and US state terrorism").
GideonPolya commented on Indonesia spying: Barack Obama's blueprint 'would have avoided fiasco'.
19 Dec 2013 8:54pm
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The Australian Intelligence spying on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and colleagues was offensive and damaging to Australia's national interest but is simply the tip of an iceberg of related offenses in which Australia Intelligence (surely an oxymoron) puts the interests of war criminal, nuclear terrorist rogue states like the UK, US and Apartheid Israel before the interests, laws and rights of Australians (for a detailed analysis Google "50 ways Australia Intelligence spies on Australia and the World for UK, Israeli and US state terrorism").
GideonPolya commented on Universities hit by funding uncertainty as federal efficiency dividend delayed.
17 Dec 2013 10:02pm
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Universities face a grimmer time with adumbrated further funding cuts, further casualization of the workforce, Coalition threats to cut off Federal funding to academics and institutions it doesn't like (e.g. those supporting Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Apartheid Israel' and its ongoing Palestinian Genocide) and 10 years in prison for any academic scientist who mentions when questioned by a non-Australian and not having a permit, any of thousands of unexceptional things defined by the appalling Defence Trade Controls Bill (Google "Impact of Defence Trade Controls Bill on academic freedom"). Academics should strike back with the Awful Truth to shed implacable light on vampyric Lib-Lab politicians. Despite threats to their crucial funding, academic climate and environment scientists speak out against government climate change inaction and environmental vandalism (Google "Are we doomed?" and "2011 climate change course") but unfortunately humanities academics, who don't crucially need research funds, continue to hide the Awful Truth (Google "Review The Cambridge History of Australia ignores Australian involvement in 30 genocides").
GideonPolya commented on Tony Abbott welcomes Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's roadmap to restore ties.
27 Nov 2013 12:28am
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World hero Edward Snowden et al as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age has revealed that Australia doesn't just spy on President and Mrs Yudhoyono - through joint facilities with the US (notably Pine Gap) it spies on all Australians and indeed everyone in the world, this data going to the Americans and thence to Apartheid Israel and is used to target war criminal drone strikes from Africa to NW Pakistan. While Australians wait for an apology that will not be forthcoming under the mantra "we do not comment on intelligence matters" they will sensibly follow the Indonesian example of applying negative feedback - sensible Australians will vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last (for other Coalition and Liberal-Laboral crimes Google "120 reasons why Australians must vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last").
GideonPolya commented on Australian shift on Israel 'part of more balanced approach' to Middle East.
25 Nov 2013 10:13pm
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These decisions have shamefully put Australia well outside the international community's overwhelming circa 160 nations to 10 anti-racism consensus that democracy-by-genocide Apartheid Israel is (1) violating International law in annexing occupied Palestinian land (2) violating the Geneva Convention in its treatment of the Occupied Palestinians. 2 more reasons to dump the Coalition last (Google "120 reasons why Australians must vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last").
GideonPolya commented on Australia slides down to bottom on climate change performance index.
18 Nov 2013 3:03pm
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Both Labor and the Coalition have the same climate change inaction policy of a derisory "5% off 2000 greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by 2020" plus unlimited coal, gas and iron ore exports that sees Australia set to exceed by a factor of THREE (3) the whole world's terminal carbon budget of 600 Gt CO2 that must not be exceeded if we are to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise. Indeed Australia has such a huge annual Domestic plus Exported GHG pollution that it has already used up its "fair share" of the world's terminal carbon budget (Google "2011 climate change course" and "Australia's huge coal, gas & iron ore exports threaten planet"). The Abbott Coalition Government has made things worse by moving to undo what little its Labor predecessor managed to install (e.g. the expert Climate Commission and a price on carbon).
GideonPolya commented on No more evasion and prevarication – Britain's elite must be held to account.
17 Nov 2013 10:09pm
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The invasion of Iraq was illegal and a monstrous war crime that was associated post-invasion with 1.5 million violent deaths, 1.2 million avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation and 0.8 million under-5 year old infant deaths, 90% avoidable and due to horrendous war crimes by the US Alliance (including the UK and Australia) in gross violation of the Geneva Convention (Google "Iraqi Holocaust, Iraqi Genocide").
GideonPolya commented on Carbon pricing, one year on: independent expertise is crucial.
02 Jul 2013 12:08am
Excellent article. The world is running out of time to deal with the carbon crisis. Thus both the Australian Climate Commission and the WBGU (which advises the German Government on climate change) both agree that for a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise, the world can emit no more than 600 billion tonnes of CO2 between now and zero emissions in 2050. The Australian Climate Commission estimates that the world has only 15 years left at current rates of pollution before it exceeds this terminal greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution budget. However using the latest NASA GISS, US EIA and World Bank estimates I estimate that we have only 5 years left and that Australia exceeded its share if this terminal budget in 2011 (Google "Doha climate change inaction").
The Coalition and Labor (the Lib-labs, the Liberal-Laborals) have the same disastrous policy of a derisory 5% reduction in Domestic GHG pollution and unlimited GHG exports (via coal, gas and iron ore) that will see Australia exceed the whole world's terminal GHG pollution budget by a factor of three (3). Labor's deceitful Carbon Tax underestimated the tax on fugitive emissions of methane by a factor of 137-329 (Google "Australia's Carbon Tax scandal") and as pointed out by Lisa Caripis, the adumbrated Labor fast-track to an ETS would emplace a scam whereby pollution permits can be purchased overseas for a laughable $5 per tonne CO2-e (taking into account huge $12 billion pa subsidies for fossil fuel burning and the cost of circa 10,000 Australian deaths annually from carbon burning, the ACTUAL Carbon Price is presently circa $150 per tonne CO2-e; Google "Australian carbon burning-related deaths").
If Rudd Labor continues to support a disastrously counterproductive coal-to-gas transition (Google "Expert witness testimony to stop gas-fired power plant installation") and indeed opts for a derisory ETS fraud (it is fraudulent for an Australian government to sell permits to pollute the one common atmosphere of ALL countries) then decent Labor voters will vote 1 Green and put Labor last until it reverts to decent values e.g. saving the Planet for our children and grandchildren (the Coalition is just as bad but unlike neoliberal Labor has not actually betrayed Labor voters and values; Google "100 reasons why Australians must reject Gillard Labor").
GideonPolya commented on Kevin Rudd unveils his ministry - as it happened.
01 Jul 2013 12:33am
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Unelected Senator Bob Carr's assertion that most asylum seekers coming by boat are ":economic refugees" is highly offending: (1) it seeks to impose political pressure on the hitherto independent refugee assessment process (that has found 90% of such people to be genuine refugees) ; (2) it ignores the reality that these people have undertaken an extremely hazardous course to escape intolerable circumstances; (3) it ignores the horrendous reality that most Sri Lankan asylum seekers are Tamils fleeing the Tamil Genocide ( 100,000 killed, hundreds of thousands in concentration camps, widespread torture, rape and killing; see "The Tamil Genocide by Sri Lanka" by outstanding US international law expert Professor Francis Boyle); (4) it ignores the horrendous reality that 100,000 Iranians die avoidably each year under Carr- and Labor-supported sanctions; (5) it ignores the reality that successive Australian Coalition and Labor (Lib-Lab) Governments have been variously complicit (through diplomatic alignment, alliance with the US, military involvement) in the generation of over 20 million Muslim refugees (the breakdown being 7 million Palestinians, 5-6 million Iraqis, 3-4 million Afghans, 2 million Pakistanis, 2 million Somalis, 1 million Libyans, 1 million Syrians, 1 million Myanmar Rohingyas); and (5) it ignores the reality that most of these asylum seekers are fleeing genocide, war, gross human rights abuse, lack of democracy or flawed democracy - that latter an irony evidently lost on unelected Senator Carr who needs to be punished at the ballot box by indignant, humane voters.
GideonPolya commented on A green bailout to stop deforestation.
07 Sep 2009 11:42pm
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An excellent article by Tony Juniper and a sensible, compelling proposal for very low cost cessation of terracidal deforestation.
According to top climate change economist Sir Nicholas Stern: "The problem of climate change involves a fundamental failure of markets: those who damage others by emitting greenhouse gases generally do not pay. Climate change is a result of the greatest market failure the world has seen. The evidence on the seriousness of the risks from inaction or delayed action is now overwhelming. We risk damages on a scale larger than the two world wars of the last century. The problem is global and the response must be a collaboration on a global scale… For $10-15bn (£4.8-7.2bn) per year, a programme could be constructed that could stop up to half the deforestation [that contributes 15-20% of annual GHG emissions]" (see: Alison Benjamin (2007), Stern: Climate change a market failure, The Guardian, on Sir Nichols Sterns Royal Economic Society (RES) lecture in Manchester: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/nov/29/climatechange.carbonemissions and Nicholas Stern (2007) Bali: now the rich must pay, The Guardian,: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/nov/30/comment.climatechange ).
The tragedy of the worsening climate emergency of man-made global warming is the current loss of species – species extinction rates are now 100-1,000 times greater than baseline rates in the fossil record. Thus Dr Phillip S. Levin, Dr Donald A. Levin (2002) (Dr Donald A. Levin is Professor of Biology, University of Texas, Austin; his son Dr Phillip Levin is a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service): The numbers are grim: Some 2,000 species of Pacific Island birds (about 15 percent of the world total) have gone extinct since human colonization. Roughly 20 of the 297 known mussel and clam species and 40 of about 950 fishes have perished in North America in the past century. On average, one extinction happens somewhere on earth every 20 minutes. Ecologists estimate that half of all living bird and mammal species will be gone within 200 or 300 years. Although crude and occasionally controversial, such statistics illustrate the extent of the current upheaval, which spans the globe and affects a broad array of plants and animals…The current losses are, however, exceptional. Rates of extinction appear now to be 100 to 1,000 times greater than background levels, qualifying the present as an era of mass extinction. The globe has experienced similar waves of destruction just five times in the past (see: http://www.soc.duke.edu/~pmorgan/levin&levin.2002.the_real_biodiversity_crisis.html ).
Another tragedy is the sheer avoidability of this First World-led suicide of Humanity that is most dramatically illustrated by the extremely low cost of preventing terracidal deforestation (see Forest biomass-derived Biochar can profitably reduce global warming and bushfire risk, Yarra Valley Climate Action Group, Melbourne: http://sites.google.com/site/yarravalleyclimateactiongroup/forest-biomass-derived-biochar-can-profitably-reduce-global-warming-and-bushfire-risk ).
GideonPolya commented on Fencing off Bangladesh.
05 Sep 2009 11:22pm
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There may well be a further reason for the Bengali Wall - to keep out steadily increasing Bengali climate refugees.
Mega-delta Bengal (Bangladesh and Indias West Bengal) are acutely threatened by man-made global warming (anthropogenic global warming, AGW) due to inundation due sea level rise (SLR) and storm surges from greatly more energetic hurricanes. I warned of this impending disaster a decade ago in a book entitled Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British history. Colonial rapacity, holocaust denial and the crisis in biological sustainability (G.M. Polya, Melbourne, 1998; now an updated 2008: http://janeaustenand.blogspot.com/ ).
Top UK climate scientist Dr James Lovelock FRS has estimated that fewer than 1 billion people will survive this century due to unaddressed, mainly First World-complicit global warming – a climate racist climate genocide involving the avoidable death of 10 billion non-Europeans including 6 billion infants, 3 billion Muslims, 2 billion Indians, 0.5 billion Bengalis, 0.3 billion Pakistanis and 0.3 billion Bangladeshis (see: Climate Disruption, Climate Emergency, Climate Genocide & Penultimate Bengali Holocaust through Sea Level Rise: http://sites.google.com/site/yarravalleyclimateactiongroup/climate-disruption-climate-emergency-climate-genocide-penultimate-bengali-holocaust-through-sea-level-rise ).
This already commenced, worsening climate genocide and Bengali Holocaust will be 100 times bigger in terms of deaths than the 1971 Bengali Holocaust (in which US-backed West {Pakistan troops killed 3 million Bengalis in a mostly male-specific gendercide and raped 0.3 million Bengali women), 30 times greater than the 1769-1770 Great Bengal Famine under the rapacious British (10 million over-taxed Bengalis starved to death) and 50 times greater than the WW2 Bengali Holocaust (in which 6-7 million Indians were deliberately starved to death under the British in 1943-1945 ; for a recent BBC account involving myself, Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen and other scholars see Bengal Famine: http://www.open2.net/thingsweforgot/bengalfamine_programme.html ).
Racist White Australia, Apartheid Australia, is a major culprit in this already commenced and worsening, terminal climate genocide of Bengalis Annual per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution in units of tonnes CO2-equivalent per person per year (2005-2008 data) is 0.9 (Bangladesh), 0.9 (Pakistan), 2.2 (India), 5.5 (China), 6.7 (the World), 11 (Europe), 27 (the US) and 30 (Australia; or 54 if Australias huge Exported CO2 pollution is included (see Wikipedia, List of countries by greenhouse gas emissions per capita: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_greenhouse_gas_emissions_per_capita ; Australias 5% off 2000 GHG pollution by 2020 endangers Australia, Humanity and the Biosphere : http://sites.google.com/site/yarravalleyclimateactiongroup/australia-s-5-off-2000-ghg-pollution-by-2020-endangers-australia-humanity-and-biosphere ).
India and Bangladesh can do something about this looming climate genocide by taking the major climate criminal culprits – notably anti-Asian, anti-Arab anti-Semitic, Islamophobic and climate criminal Apartheid Australia - to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and by doing this NOW. Indeed I have made a formal complaint to the ICC over this and related genocides in which Apartheid Australia is complicit (see Formal complaint to the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court re Australian Government involvement in Aboriginal Genocide, Iraqi Genocide, Afghan Genocide and Climate Genocide : http://climateemergency.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html ).
GideonPolya commented on Afghanistan's oppressed still need Nato.
05 Apr 2009 4:11am
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The continued war against the people of Afghanistan (50% children and 3/4 women and children) is an outrage against humanity.
The "excuse" of alleged Afghan involvement in the 9-11 atrocity is fatuous - even according to the "official Bush version" of 9-11 NO Afghans or Iraqis were directly involved - indeed there is considerable evidence for US and Israeli complicity in the 9-11 atrocity (see "US responsible for 9/11? Swiss Scientists Doubt Bush Official Version": http://mwcnews.net/content/view/22944/26/ ).
The carnage in the Afghanistan war should not be separated from the carnage in other parts of the "American Empire".
Thus, as of April 2009, in the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories post-invasion non-violent excess deaths total 0.3 million, 1.0 million and 3.2 million, respectively; post-invasion violent deaths total about 10,000, 1.3 million and about 2-4 million, respectively; post-invasion under-5 infant deaths total 0.2 million, 0.6 million and 2.3 million, respectively; and refugees total 7 million, 6 million and 4 million, respectively.
This constitutes a Palestinian Holocaust, an Iraqi Holocaust and an Afghan Holocaust; a Palestinian Genocide, Iraqi Genocide and Afghan Genocide as defined by Article 2 of the UN Genocide Convention; and egregious war crimes due in part to Occupier war criminal non-supply of life-sustaining food and medical requisites demanded unequivocally by Articles 55 and 56 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War – thus the Gaza Concentration Camp has been under US-backed Israeli blockade for 2 years and according to WHO the total annual per capita medical expenditure permitted by the Occupiers in Occupied Iraq and Occupied Afghanistan is US$124 and US$29, respectively, as compared to US$6,714 for the US (for detailed documentation of sources see Iraq invasion 6th anniversary. 2.3 million excess deaths: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/29360/42/ )
It can be estimated from UN data that about 50,000 Occupied Afghans have died non-violently but avoidably in the first 40 days of the Obama Administration (see: Obamas Afghan War, Who is the worse terrorist, Obama or Osama?: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/29546/42/ ). However if the ratio of violent/non-violent excess deaths in Occupied Afghanistan is the same as that in Occupied Iraq (1.3) then the violent Occupied Afghan deaths in the first 40 months of Obama's rule total 1.3 x 50,000 = 65,000. Because the US doesn't do body counts of "the enemy" we don't know the full horror of the Afghan Genocide.
A key statistic from UN Population Division data is that the "annual death rate" of Occupied Palestinian, Occupied Iraqi and Occupied Afghan under-5 year old infants is 1.6%, 2.2% and 6.0%, respectively - as compared to an "annual death rate" of Australian prisoners of war of the Japanese of 10% (and for which war crime Japanese generals were tried and hanged).
Bring on the war crimes trials at the International Criminal Court for Bush, Blair as recommended by UK Nobel laureate the late Harold Pinter - and for their successors in the Afghan Genocide, Obama, Brown, Rudd, Sarkozy, Harper and Merkel.
GideonPolya commented on The journey for justice continues.
11 Nov 2008 2:17am
Excellent article by George Newhouse.
The continuing appalling treatment of Indigenous Australians by the extreme right wing Liberal-National Party Coalition and Labor (collectively known as the Lib-Labs) requires international intervention, either at the UN or International Criminal Court (ICC) level or through personal and collective, intranational and international Sanctions and Boycotts as were successfully applied against the racist Apartheid regime in South Africa.
There is an ongoing Aboriginal Genocide (with genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention as "acts committed with intent to destroy in whole or in part" and with "intent" clearly established by sustained, remorseless conduct) by the Lib-Labs).
Thus the "annual death rate" is 2.2 % for Indigenous Australians and 2.4% for Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory - as compared to 0.4% (what it should be), 2.5% (for sheep in Australian paddocks), 2.7% (Occupied Iraqi infants), 6.2% (Australian-occupied Occupied Afghan infants) and 10.2% (Australian prisoners of war of the Japanese in World War 2, for which crime Japanese generals were tried and hung). 9,000 Indigenous Australians due avoidably EACH YEAR, and 90,000 dued avoidably in the 12 years of the Coaltion Government (for further details and detailed documentation see "Racism in Australia. la Trobe, "Bundoora Arabesque" & Aboriginal Ethnocide: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/15960/42/ and "Aboriginal genocide. Racist White Australian Child Abuse & Passive Mass Murder": http://mwcnews.net/content/view/15140/42/ ) .
The suspension of the 1975 Racial Discrimination Act in relation to Northern Territory Indigenous Australians is an outrage - by way of reductio ad absurdum, just consider the world reaction if the UK Government suspended "equality" for Jews, Scots or the Welsh?
Of course White Australia and the US, Canada and New Zealand have refused to ratify the recent UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.
Not reported by the lying, racist mainstream media in Murdochracy Australia, the "Little Children are Sacred Report on which the racist Lib-Lab Intervention was based (p57) states that it is not possible to accurately estimate the extent of child sexual abuse in the Northern Territory and the only QUANTITATIVE estimate offered in the Report is that 70% of all female Aboriginal prisoners in New South Wales jails had suffered sexual abuse as Children (Report, p5) and that 1/3 Australian women suffered sexual abuse as children
Thus, the Report refers to studies in AMERICA indicating that 25% of females and 10% of males experience childhood sexual abuse (Finkelhor, D. (1994), Current information on the scope and nature of child sexual abuse, Future of Children, 4(2), pp31-53) and in AUSTRALIA indicating that 34% of females and 16% of males experienced non-penetrative abuse with 12% females and 4% of males reporting penetrative child sexual abuse (Dunne, M.P., Purdie, D.M., Cook, M.D., Boyle, F.M. & Najman, J.M.(2003), Is child sexual abuse declining? Evidence from a population-based survey of men and women in Australia, Child Abuse & Neglect, vol. 27 (2), pp141-152).
I have done my duty by writing about these matters to all State and Federal members of parliament and to thousands of additional journalist, academic and other variously eminent and influential citizens, urging them to "please inform everyone you can" (see " Climate Emergency, Exceptionalism & Ignoring Downunder. Letter to Eminent Australians over Public Honesty": http://mwcnews.net/content/view/25702/42/ ) . The response (in the sense of promising to inform others) was a mere 0.2% - a shocking testament to the Culture of Ignoring, Denial, Politically-correct racism (PC Racism), Looking the Other Way in White Australia, the Land of Flies, Lies and Slies (spin-based untruths).
I have also made a formal submission over White Australia's continuing Aboriginal Genocide to the International Criminal Court (see:
http://climateemergency.blogspot.com/2008/02/formal-complaint-to-international.html ).
What can decent people do about White Australia's deadly, gross abuse of Indigenous Australians (as well as Indigenous Iraqis and Indigenous Afghans) ?
Decent people (a) should inform others about racist White Australia's continuing crimes and (b) apply personal and collective, intranational and international Sanctions and Boycotts against genocidal, human rights abusing, racist White Australia.
GideonPolya commented on Overdoing the anti-Americanism.
05 Nov 2008 8:52pm
This naive article is based on the absurd notion that "criticism of US policy" is "anti-Americanism" with the implicit assumption that the term "anti-Americanism" is a dreadful pejorative.
"Zero tolerance for racism", "never again to anyone" and "bear witness" are the fundamental core messages from the WW2 Jewish Holocaust (6 million dead, 1 in 6 dying from deprivation), the WW2 Western Theatre Holocaust in general ( 20 million Slav, Jewish and Roma dead) and the WW2 Eastern Theatre Holocaust (35 million Chinese dead due to Japanese war and occupation, 6-7 million Indians deliberately starved to death in the man-made Bengal Famine, the Bengali Holocaust by their British rulers, 1943-1945).
Decent people are OBLIGED to "bear witness" about such atrocities and the major perpetrators the holocaust atrocities today are the Americans and their Bush-ite and neo-Bush-ite Western Murdochracy allies. Expert UN agency and medical literature data indicate that non-violent and violent avoidable deaths (excess deaths) associated so far with the Bush Wars 1990-2008 total a shocking 9-11 million (for details and documentation see "9-11 Excuse for US Global Genocide. The real 9-11 atrocity: Millions [9-11 million] Dead in Bush Wars": http://mwcnews.net/content/view/25184/42/ ).
Most of the victims of violent US imperialism from Occupied Haiti to the currently US invaded Northwest Provinces of Pakistan are Women and Children. Decent people are obliged to PROTEST the active and passive mass murder of children by the Americans - that doesn't make such decent people "anti-American" it simply makes them people who believe "thou shalt not kill children" (see "Children of Lesser God. MWC News & Gideon Polya World #1 for "thou shalt not kill children"": http://mwcnews.net/content/view/19454/42/ ).
Putin and Medvedev are OBLIGED to at the very least comment diplomatically on mass murdering US Alliance warmongering and nuclear terrorism.
GideonPolya commented on Adapt now, or lose.
20 Oct 2008 8:58pm
What do Europeans want to "win" in the Occupation and Devastation of Afghanistan? A prize for genocide and mass infanticide?
Article 2 of the UN Genocide Convention defines genocide as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. Intent can be surely established from sustained, remorseless policy leading to destruction (see: http://www.edwebproject.org/sideshow/genocide/convention.html ).
The US Alliance involving the US, NATO and Australia is complicit in an ongoing Afghan Genocide (post-invasion violent and non-violent excess deaths 4-6 million, post-invasion under-5 infant deaths 2.1 million, 4 million refugees) - yet even according to the "official Bush version" of the 9-11 atrocity (3,000 victims) NO Afghans were involved.
The US, UK and Australia are also involved in the continuing Iraqi Genocide (post-invasion excess deaths 2 million, post-invasion under-5 infant deaths 0.6 million, 6 million refugees) (for details see the 2008 edition of Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History, Colonial rapacity, holocaust denial and the crisis in biological sustainability": http://janeaustenand.blogspot.com/ ).
GideonPolya commented on Cold war in the Caribbean.
13 Sep 2008 3:25pm
Just compare $800,000 in alleged Venezuelan bribes with the American accrual cost of $3.5 TRILLION from monies spent on the mass murder of Iraqis (as estimated by Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University) (for details and documentation see "US state terrorism and the Iraqi Genocide": http://www.stateofnature.org/usStateTerrorism.html ).
Indeed since the 7th anniversary of 9-11 has just past in which decent folk remebered the 3,000 murdered (quite possibly by their own Government ) - but not a mention in the Mainstream media of the Western Murdochracies of the 9-11 million avoidable non-violent and violent deaths associated with the Bush Wars (1990-2008) in a swathe of countries including Occupied Haiti, Occupied Somalia, Occupied Iraq and Occupied Afghanistan (for details and documentation see " 9-11 Excuse for US Global Genocide. The real 9-11 atrocity: Millions Dead in Bush Wars": http://mwcnews.net/content/view/25184/42/ and
"Media-ignored 9-11 Crime - 9-11 Million Dead in Bush Wars":
For the run-down of US crimes in Latin America just read William Blum's "Rogue State" - and for quantitation of the horrendous number of Latin Americans actively and passively murdered by the racist, genocidal Americans see Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950 (G.M. Polya, Melbourne, 2007: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1375/247/ and http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ).
Indeed for an electrifying critique of horrendous American crimes in Latin America read the Nobel Prize Acceptance speech of Britain's own wonderful, anti-racist, humanitarian Harold Pinter: http://www.countercurrents.org/arts-pinter081205.htm .
Viva Hugo Chavez!
GideonPolya commented on Anyone can be governor general in Australia - unless you're an Aborigine.
07 Sep 2008 11:03pm
A thoughtful article by Germaine Greer - too thoughtful for White Australia's Land of Flies, Lies and Slies (spin-based untruths).
These days (unlike 20 years ago) Australians passionately and genuinely declare that they are not racists and I believe them - but the horrible reality is that while being avowed non-racists, White Australians have been complicit in horrendous race-specific crimes historically and some of these crimes are continuing (for a detailed, documented catalogue of White Australian participation in past and continuing Genocides as defined by Article 2 of the UN Genocide Convention: http://www.edwebproject.org/sideshow/genocide/convention.html see "Australia's Secret Genocide History. La Trobe, Bundoora Eucalyptus & Black Crimes of White Australia: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/22128/42/ ).
Thus White Australia while asserting its "non racism" is currently involved in an ongoing Aboriginal Genocide (9,000 avoidable Indigenous deaths annually); Iraqi Genocide (98,000 under-5 infant deaths annually, 140,000 non-violent avoidable deaths annually); Afghan Genocide (314,000 under-5 infant deaths annually, 450,000 non-violent avoidable deaths annually), and Climate Genocide (Australia is one of the world's worst greenhouse gas polluters, the world's biggest coal exporter and its greedy policies threaten billions and contribute significantly to the climate change impact on avoidable deaths of 16 million people each year from deprivation and deprivation-exacerbated disease (see: Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950 (G.M. Polya, Melbourne, 2007: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1375/247/ and http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ; see also "Palestinian, Iraqi, Afghan, Biofuel and Climate Genocides – Silence Kills and Silence is Complicity ": http://www.liberalati.com/?q=node/261 ).
This White Australian avowal of non-racism while being involved in horrendous race-specific crimes can be described as "politically correct racism" or PC racism (see "Politically correct racism in proto-Nazi White Australia ": http://mwcnews.net/content/view/3499/26/ ).
Thus White Australians ignore the horrendous reality of 25 million avoidable Indigenous deaths in the post-1950 US Asian wars (in all of which White Australian has participated as part of out "American insurance policy" against what many Australians still call 'the yellow hordes").
My partner is a non-Indigenous Black Australian whose grandparents were slaves of Australians in the South Pacific cane plantations (a dear elderly friend remembers the whip scars on her mother's back) so I have a better grounded attitude than most Australians to "all men are created equal and have an unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" - indeed an attitude more akin to that of our mutual "tell it like it is" heroine Germaine Greer.
Here are some statistics from the medical literature, and UN Agencies that should horrify decent folk but which are assiduously kept from the Australian public and the world by lying, politically correct racist Mainstream media in the White Australian Murdochracy: the "annual death rate" is 2.2% (for Indigenous Australians), 2.4% (for Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory who were stripped of protection of the 1975 Racial Discrimination Act by the Rudd Labs and Howard Libs in 2007), 2.5% for Australian SHEEP, 2.3% (for under-5 year old infants in US-, UK- and Australia-occupied Iraq) and 6.3% (for under-5 year old infants in US-, UK-, NATO- and Australia-occupied Afghanistan) - as compared to 0.6% (under-5 year old infants in both Tibet and China), 10.2% (Australian prisoners of war of the Japanese in World War 2) and 17% (Jews in Nazi-Occupied Europe, 1941-1945).
GideonPolya commented on Climate change isn't something to be believed or disbelieved.
04 Sep 2008 2:30am
We are familiar with the notion of getting an expert second opinion when an expert medical specialist has diagnosed life threatening circumstances. Leading world climate experts offer the expert diagnosis that the World faces a life-threatening Climate Emergency requiring urgent action to stop carbon pollution and indeed to reduce existing atmosphere greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution.
However inexpert, non-scientist politicians and corporate spokespersons with vested interests in fossil fuel burning and their inexpert climate sceptic supporters are merely expressing inexpert partisan opinions that would be seen as dishonest and dangerously irresponsible in the context of expert medical specialist diagnosis of life threatening circumstances.
The Melbourne-based Yarra Valley Climate Action Group (see: http://sites.google.com/site/yarravalleyclimateactiongroup/Home ) has placed a series of well-documented Climate Emergency Fact Sheets on its website including recent, Web-documented, expert opinions of outstanding, world-leading climate change experts and other eminent scientific experts and top scientific organizations with expertise to make authoritative comments about the Climate Emergency and related matters.
Thus, for example, Dr James Hansen (top US climate scientist; Director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies; member of the prestigious US National Academy of Sciences; 2007 Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science; see: http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/ ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hansen ; for 1880-present NASA GISS Global Temperature graphed data see: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/ and http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/ ) has stated (with 8 UK, French and US climate change scientist co-authors, 2008) that we must REDUCE atmospheric CO2 concentration: Paleoclimate data show that climate sensitivity is ~3 deg-C for doubled CO2 [carbon dioxide; atmospheric CO2 280 ppm pre-industrial], including only fast feedback processes. Equilibrium sensitivity, including slower surface albedo feedbacks, is ~6 deg-C for doubled CO2 for the range of climate states between glacial conditions and ice-free Antarctica. Decreasing CO2 was the main cause of a cooling trend that began 50 million years ago, large scale glaciation occurring when CO2 fell to 450 +/- 100 ppm [parts per million], a level that will be exceeded within decades, barring prompt policy changes. If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm. The largest uncertainty in the target arises from possible changes of non-CO2 forcings. An initial 350 ppm CO2 target may be achievable by phasing out coal use except where CO2 is captured and adopting agricultural and forestry practices that sequester carbon. If the present overshoot of this target CO2 is not brief, there is a possibility of seeding irreversible catastrophic effects (see: http://arxiv.org/abs/0804.1126 ).
In relation to the recent book Climate Code Red. The case for emergency action by David Spratt and Philip Sutton (Scribe, Melbourne, 2008; see: http://www.climatecodered.net/ ) Dr Hansen has stated A compelling case … we face a climate emergency.
Rational risk management are strongly advised to act on the expert advice of world leading climate scientists like Dr Hansen and his colleagues.
Indeed, only a few days ago the North Pole became an Island for the first time in human history (for graphic picture see: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1050990/The-North-Pole-island-time-history-ice-melts.html?ITO=1490 ).
GideonPolya commented on Don't write off Palin as VP.
01 Sep 2008 3:40am
For a comprehensive list of reasons for why Sarah Palin would be a disaster for the US and the World see "20 Reasons Why Sarah Palin is Unfit to be US Vice President ": http://digg.com/world_news/20_Reasons_Why_Sarah_Palin_is_Unfit_to_be_US_Vice_President and
Quote: "Palin policies depart from rational, science-based risk management – the Arctic is melting, the World faces a Climate Emergency. Dan Quayle-like Sarah Palin is a real-life caricature of a female Religious Right Republican – a former Beauty Queen, BS in journalism and small-town mayor, Palin is a Religious Right climate sceptic who is anti-abortion, anti-Science, anti-intellectual, anti-Gay, pro-capital punishment, pro-Oil, pro-Gas, pro-Coal , pro-Creationism, pro-Intelligent Design, pro-Zionist, pro-Bush, pro-McCain, pro-War, pro-Gun and pro-Carbon pollution and may end up with her finger on the nuclear trigger".
GideonPolya commented on Don't write off Palin as VP.
30 Aug 2008 9:53pm
It would be fine to have a woman VP or a woman President - if only because the Men have made such an awful mess of America and the World. However Sarah Palin comprehensively fails and is unfit to hold any public office because of her extreme right wing attitudes to the core threats to Humanity and to Children in particular.
According ot the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, the world's biggest general scientific organization and the publisher of the world's top scientific journal Science), the major threats to humanity are (1) nuclear weapons, (2) global warming and (3) poverty (see: http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/index.php/csw/details/holdren-aaas1/ and http://rationalriskmanagement.blogspot.com/) . Where does Palin stand on these core issues?
1. Palin supports American Empire, nuclear weapons, US and Israeli nuclear terrorism, and the invasion, occupation and devastation of other countries (countries currently occupied and devastated "in whole or in part" by the US or its surrogates with Palin's support include Occupied Haiti, Somalia, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Diego Garcia, Iraq, Afghanistan and robot-bombed Waziristan in Pakistan)
2. Palin is intimately connected with Big Oil and supports the burning of fossil fuels to the extent of raping one of the world's last pristine wildernesses (Alaska) to get more oil to burn (see what Palin's mates have done to Alaska's environment that now threatens the world via the US National Snow and Ice Data center, NSIDC, "Arctic sea ice now second-lowest on record": http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/ ).
3. Palin supports violent and subversive US global hegemony that is associated with 16 million avoidable deaths annually (9.5 million of these avoidable deaths being under-5 year old infants) (see: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ and Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950 ,G.M. Polya, Melbourne, 2007: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1375/247/ and http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ).
However what makes Palin utterly unfit for any public office is her involvement in US mass murder, and specifically US mass paedocide (mass pedocide) in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories - using estimates from the UN Population Division, UNICEF and top US medical epidemiologists, one can estimate the human cost of the continuing, Palin-supported Palestinian Genocide, Iraqi Genocide and Afghan Genocide - post-invasion excess deaths 0.3 million, 2 million, and 3-6 million, respectively; post-invasion under-5 infant deaths 0.2 million, 0.6 million and 2.3 million, respectively; refugees totalling 7 million, 4.5 million and 4 million, respectively) (for the latest details and documentation see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/19915/42/ ; http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Messages190308.htm#polya ; http://www.countercurrents.org/polya080208.htm ; http://www.liberalati.com/?q=node/261 ).
Allomothering ("aunt behaviour" in the case of Women) is a core social primate (man, monkeys, apes) behaviour involving affection and care for the children of others. Palin grossly violates this core social primate injunction by her complicity in the deaths of about 2 million ijnants (Iraq, 1990-2008 under War, Sanctions, Occupation) ) and a further over 2 million infants in Occupied Afghanistan (see "Mass infanticide by US state terrorism - thou shalt not kill children" : http://thoushaltnotkillchildren.blogspot.com/ ).
GideonPolya commented on In Europe, as in Asia, Nato leaves a trail of catastrophe.
20 Aug 2008 1:57am
Not mentioned in an otherwise excellent article by Simon Jenkins is the horrendous human cost of the Afghanistan War as assessed from the latest UN Population Division and UNICEF data: post-invasion violent and non-violent excess deaths (avoidable deaths) total 3-6 million; post-invasion under-5 infant deaths total over 2 million; refugees total 4 million. This is not merely an Afghan Holocaust but an Afghan Genocide as defined by Article 2 of the UN Genocide Convention (see "Top US Lawyer And UNICEF Data Reveal Afghan Genocide ": http://www.countercurrents.org/polya080208.htm ).
About 7 years after the defeat of Nazi Germany the annual under-5 infant mortality rate was 20 per 1000 births as compared to 10 in the UK. 7 years after the war criminal invasion of Afghanistan the rate in Occupied Afghanistan is 235 under-5 year old infants dying for every 1,000 births (see: Children of Lesser God. Thou shalt not kill children: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/19454/42/ ) .
While the death ratio of enemy civilians/own military deaths in WW2 was about 10 for the UK and Germany (17 for the US) (and indeed prior to the Ardeatine Caves massacre in Italy, Hitler ordered 10 civilians to be killed for every German soldier killed by partisans), the death ratio in Occupied Afghanistan is 3-6 million Afghan deaths (see above)/934 US Alliance deaths (see: http://icasualties.org/oef/ ) i.e. a death ratio of 3,211-6,424 i.e. 3,200 to 6,400.
63 years after the fall of Berlin, Germany is again involved in Genocide but this time an Afghan Genocide in collaboration with the US, UK, Australia and NATO in Occupied Afghanistan. The US Alliance call it "democratic imperialism",; some humanitarian writers like John Pilger call it "democratic tyranny"; one is compelled to call it, albeit inexactly, "democratic Nazism".
GideonPolya commented on Violence runs through this 'stable' India, built on poverty and injustice.
07 Aug 2008 1:44am
It is important to compare the death toll from alleged non-state terrorism in India as set out in the article (of the order of hundreds killed per year but the relative involvement of , for example, likely US, Israeli or other "state terrorism" in these events as compared to Hindu or Muslim non-state terrorism is not clear) with the annual avoidable deaths (excess deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) due to failure of successive Indian Governments to deal with endemic poverty (millions dying per year).
Avoidable death (excess death, deaths that did not have to happen) is the difference between the ACTUAL deaths in a country and the deaths EXPECTED for a peaceful, decently-run country with the same demographics. Thus in 2003 there were 3.7 million excess deaths in India as compared to essentially ZERO on this standard in North America, Western Europe, China, Japan and some advanced non-European countries (see Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950 , G.M. Polya, Melbourne, 2007: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1375/247/ and http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ).
Of course successive Indian Governments have done enormously better than India's colonial ruler Britain - the "annual excess death rate" in 1947 was a genocidal 3.1% in India under the racist British but by 2003 has fallen to 0.35%. As pointed out by 1998 Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen, China has dealt with endemic poverty far better than India as reflected in annual death rates (see: Drèze, J. & Sen, A. (1989), Hunger and Public Action (Clarendon Press, Oxford) and
Drèze, J., Sen, A. & Hussain, A. (1995), The Political Economy of Hunger (Clarendon Press, Oxford)).
GideonPolya commented on Muted woe at WTO.
31 Jul 2008 12:19am
1
In 1943-1945, 6-7 million Indians were deliberately starved to death by the British when the price of rice doubled and then doubled again (for a variety of reasons; for a recent account of this forgotten British atrocity see the recent BBC broadcast involving myself, 1998 Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen and other scholars: http://www.open2.net/thingsweforgot/bengalfamine_programme.html ).
In the last year the price of rice has tripled but the difference between Now and Then is that Indigenous Governments in major rice-producing and consuming countries are dedicated to keeping their Subjects alive – as opposed to sacrificing them on the altar of war-time strategic necessity.
History ignored (or in the case of the man-made Bengal Famine, largely deleted) yields history repeated – and rice importing and consuming countries of Africa (if not of Asia) are under acute threat as indicated in this excellent article by Raj Patel: It's a serious concern: in Ghana in 1998, for example, local rice production accounted for over 80% of domestic consumption. By 2003, after liberalisation, that figure was less than 20%. What India wanted was the right to protect farmers if this happened. The US and EU proposed a threshold for support that was too high to be meaningful. India, backed by a range of other countries, held its ground.
It is not just about protection of farmers – it is also about the right and duty of Indigenous Governments to protect whole populations from mass starvation due to First World-driven food price increases. Thus UK, US and EU mandated biofuel diversion of food for fuel has made a huge contribution (some say 75%) to the recent huge global food price rises (see: http://climateemergency.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html ).
GideonPolya commented on Iraq's unseen violence.
30 Jul 2008 2:50pm
Photographs say things that statistics can't (see the moving anthology of humanitarian photographs that have changed the world entitled "My Brother's Keeper" by Alessandra Mauro, Contrasto, Turin, Italy, 2007: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/17435/26/ ). Nevertheless the horrendous mortality statistics from the Iraqi Holocaust in Occupied Iraq must also be reported.
Indeed denial of the Jewish Holocaust (6 million dead, 1 in 6 dying from deprivation) deservedly attracts up to 10 years in prison in Austria.
The eminent BRussells Tribunal has reported the horrrendous death toll in Occupied Iraq as of the 5th anniversary of the unprovoked and war criminal US, UK and Australian invasion: from authoritative estimates of 5-year violent deaths of 0.91 million and 1.36 million, respectively, and estimates of 5-year non-violent excess deaths of 0.77 - 0.87 million, we can estimate that post-invasion violent plus non-violent excess deaths in Occupied Iraq will total 1.7 - 2.2 million as of March 2008. In addition one can estimate 1.7 million Sanctions excess deaths (1990-2003), 1.2 million under-5 infant deaths under Sanctions, 0.2 million Iraqi Gulf War deaths, 0.6 million post-invasion infant deaths (UNICEF) and 4.5 million Iraqi refugees (UNHCR). This is an Iraqi Holocaust and an Iraqi Genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention (see:
http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Messages190308.htm#polya ).
Unfortunately these horrendous mortality statistics are NOT reported by holocaust-ignoring Mainstream media in the complicit Western Murdochracies.
GideonPolya commented on The world's will to tackle climate change is irresistible.
30 Jun 2008 8:39am
1
One hopes that Dr Pachauri is correct. Unfortunately climate criminal Australia - the World's biggest coal exporter and the Developed World's worst per capita fossil fuel-derived carbon dioxide (CO2) polluter - has NOT got the message and nor has the US.
Thus while top US climate scientist Dr James Hansen (head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York) pleads for a "negative CO2 emissions" policy to REDUCE atmospheric CO2 from a manifestly dangerous current level of 387 ppm to a safe level of no more than 350 ppm (see: [URL=http://mwcnews.net/content/view/23119/42/]"Clean Energy World" painting. NASAs Dr Hansen Pleads for Negative CO2 Emissions[/URL] ), Australia's present Federal Government policy is to increase its coal exports and it still refuses to act on domestic CO2 pollution. The US - which still refuses to sign Kyoto - is similarly irresponsibly and selfishly recalcitrant.
Consulting the US Energy Information Administration (US EIA) database (see: <A HREF="http://www.eia.doe.gov/">US EIA</A> ) we obtain the following information on annual per capita fossil fuel-derived carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution in tonnes (t) per person per year for Australia and other major polluters (2004 data): 19.2 (for Australia; 40 if you include Australias coal exports), 19.7 (the US), 18.4 (Canada), 9.9 (Japan), 4.2 (the World), 3.6 (China), 1.0 ( India) and 0.25 (for Bangladesh).
Current Australian Federal policy of reducing domestic CO2 pollution by "60% by 2050" while continuing to expand its world-leading coal exports effectively means INCREASING total Australian domestic plus exports fossil fuel-derived CO2 pollution by 50% by 2050.
GideonPolya commented on Scarcity in an age of plenty.
16 Jun 2008 12:59am
The core message from this outstanding humanitarian and Nobel Prize-winning economist are that the Iraq War and oil price rises, the biofuel perversion, global pollution and global warming (e.g. manifested in Australia and CIS drought) and huge Western agriculture subsidies in the US and the European Union (that have weakened agriculture in the developing world) have contributed to the current global food price crisis.
The EU, US and UK have obscenely legislated for mandatory feeding of food to cars. The UK Chief Scientist Professor John Beddington FRS has recently said that this threatens "billions".
The key thing that will save some major developing countries from biofuel famine and biofuel genocide is having Indigenous Governments capable of protecting their citizens- unlike the situation in the "forgotten" Bengali Holocaust, the man-made Bengal Famine in British-ruled India in World War 2 when 6-7 million Indians starved to death under the merciless British regime when the price of rice quadrupled [the price of wheat has doubled and that of rice has tripled in 2007-2008] .
GideonPolya commented on The cost of war keeps on rising.
15 Jun 2008 4:21am
An otherwise excellent article did not indicate the horrendous magnitude of the human cost in Occupied Iraq. It is estimated from authoritative UN agency and top medical epidemiological data that post-invasion violent plus non-violent excess deaths in Occupied Iraq totalled 1.7 - 2.2 million as of March 2008. In addition one can estimate 1.7 million Sanctions excess deaths (1990-2003), 1.2 million under-5 infant deaths under Sanctions, 0.2 million Iraqi Gulf War deaths, 0.6 million post-invasion infant deaths (UNICEF) and 4.5 million Iraqi refugees (UNHCR). This is an Iraqi Holocaust and an Iraqi Genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention (for a very detailed and documented summation see Iraqi Genocide: http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Messages190308.htm#polya ) .
To the $3 trillion accrual cost of the Iraq war as estimated by Economics Nobel Laureate and outlined in the article we need to add the cost of reparations (e.g. as paid by the Nazis after World War 2). Thus if a human life is valued at $5 million (e.g. see the Ontario Ministry of Energy study that estimated the true cost of coal-based electricity with environmental and human costs included as 5 times the market cost with this assumption: http://www.evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=8836 ) the 2 million Iraqi post-invasion excess deaths would demand reparations of $5 million x 2 million = $10 trillion; inclusion of the 1990-2003 excess deaths would lift the reparations bill to $20 trillion.
GideonPolya commented on Forget terror, fear capital.
31 May 2008 11:52pm
Excellent article by Guy Dammann.
The World (if not the majority of citizens of the Western Murdochracies, informed by racist, lying, holocaust-ignoring Mainstream media) is witnessing ongoing local and global catastrophes that are driven by greed and capital and whose COST is best measured in terms of excesss deaths (violent or non-violent avoidable deaths, deaths that should not have happened) (see "Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950" ,G.M. Polya, Melbourne, 2007: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1375/247/ and http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ).
Using estimates from the UN Population Division, UNICEF and top US medical epidemiologists one can estimate the extent of the carnage in the resource hegemony- and capitalism-driven ongoing Palestinian Genocide, Iraqi Genocide and Afghan Genocide (genocide as defined by Article 2 of the UN Genocide Convention) post-invasion excess deaths 0.3 million, 2 million, and 3-6 million, respectively; post-invasion under-5 infant deaths 0.2 million, 0.6 million and 2.3 million, respectively; refugees totalling 7 million, 4.5 million and 4 million, respectively)(see "Palestinian, Iraqi, Afghan, Biofuel and Climate Genocides - Silence Kills and Silence is Complicity": http://www.liberalati.com/?q=node/261 ).
16 million people die avoidably from deprivation each year on a Spaceship Earth now threatened by Biofuel Famine, Biofuel Genocide and a Climate Emergency and Sustainability Emergency threatening Climate Genocide - the UK Chief Sceintist Professor John Beddington FRS says that "billions" are threatened by the criminal biofuel perversion 9and related food prcie-elevating perversions) and top UK climate scienbtist Professor Lovelock FRS says that over 6 billion will perish this century due to unaddressed climate change (see: "Climate Emergency, Sustainaiblity Emergency": http://climateemergency.blogspot.com/ ).
What to do? Here is a short list:
1. Address the threat by rational risk management (that keeps planes in the air, makes nuclear power stations) successivelyy involving (a) accurate data (zero tolerance for lying media and polticians), (b) scentific analysis (zero tlerence for spin) and (c) systemic change to minmize risk to humanity.
2. Declare a global climate emergency and act on it urgently.
3. Follow the advice of leading climate scientists (e.g. NASA's Dr James Hansen) who say we have already passed a key tipping point at 385 ppm atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) at wgich all Arctic summer ice will be gone in a few years and catastrophe looms - Dr Hansen says we must REDUCE atmospheric CO2 to a safe and sustainable 300-350 ppm by cessation of fossil fuel burning, adoption of renewables (GDP growth is possible in a solar economy but NOT with a carbon-based economy) re-afforestation, carbon return as biochar to soils etc.
4. Adopt a "needs" rather than "desires" based economic model with scrupulous respect for the "entitlement" (1998 Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen's term) to basic physiological survival - a recipe paradoxically for cessation of catastrophic population growth.
GideonPolya commented on Cowardice of silence.
31 May 2008 6:31am
Excellent article by John Pilger - and full marks for describing Western calls for military intervention as "idiocy".
While irresponsible, Western war-mongers have suggested "war" as a solution to the humanitarian crisis in Burma (e.g. war-mongering suggestions by the French Government), the urgent PRACTICAL, HUMANE solutions to the Myanmar military junta intransigence involve (a) offers of irresistably massive assistance to be urgently delivered by ASEAN neighbours, and (b) collective international promise of International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutions and targetted Sanctions for all those involved substantially in ANY major, active or passive human rights abuses.
Thus WHO data ( see: http://www.who.int/en/ ) indicate that "annual total per capita medical expenditure" and "under-5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births" are $38 and 104, respectively in Myanmar (Burma) - as compared to $19 and 257, respectively, in Australia-, France-, UK-, US-, and NATO-US Alliance-occupied Afghanistan versus $3,123 and 6 (Occupier Australia), $3,040 and 5 (Occupier France), $2,560 and 6 (Occupier UK), and $6,096 and 8 (Occupier USA) (evidence of gross violation of the Geneva Convention by the US, UK, NATO and Australia).
In Myanmar 1 million are homeless, 0.75 million face starvation, 80,000 are dead and 60,000 are missing. According to UNICEF data (see: http://www.unicef.org/index.php ) in Occupied Afghanistan 327,000 infants die each year, corresponding roughly to 327,000/0.7 = 467,000 total avoidable Occupied Afghan deaths from deprivation annually (for impoverished Third World countries, infant deaths/total excess deaths = 0.7; see "Layperson's guide to counting Iraq deaths": http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5872/26/ ).
Indeed while White Australia and Apartheid Israel are training Burmese goons (according to the article) , post-invasion excess deaths in the Occupied Palestinian Territory total 0.3 million and post-invasion under-5 infant deaths total 0.2 million; the "annual avoidable death rate" for Indigenous (Aboriginal) Australians is 1.8% as compared to 1.6% for Australia-occupied Occupied Afghanistan (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/15140/42/ )and essentially 0% (using the same benchmarks) for Western Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and East Asia (excluding Mongolia and North Korea).
The US Alliance countries in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories are involved in active and passive mass murder (post-invasion excess deaths total 2 million and 3-7 million, respectively) and indeed active and passive genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention - as is the Burmese military junta (see: "Passive Genocide by Burma Junta & US Alliance. Mass Killing by US Empire & Myanmar ": http://mwcnews.net/content/view/22634/42/ .
GideonPolya commented on Counting the cost.
26 May 2008 1:08am
The cost of the Iraqi War has been authoritatively measured in terms of (A) the accrual cost in US dollars and (B) the human cost in terms of violent or non-violent excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen ( see: "Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950" , G.M. Polya, Melbourne, 2007: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1375/247/ ).
(A) 2002 Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz (Columbia University) and his colleague Professor Linda Bilmes (Harvard university) have estimated an accrual cost of the Iraq War of $3 TRILLION; he has further stated that this has "bankrupted" the US with enormous downstream consequences (see: "World writers slam Iraq war. Iraq Invasion 5th Anniversary": http://mwcnews.net/content/view/21006/42/ and http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Messages190308.htm ; "Award winning economist says America has bankrupted itself with the Iraq war ": http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2007/s2236161.htm ).
(B) As of March 2008, post-invasion violent plus non-violent excess deaths in Occupied Iraq will total 1.7 - 2.2 million as of March 2008. In addition one can estimate 1.7 million Sanctions excess deaths (1990-2003), 1.2 million under-5 infant deaths under Sanctions, 0.2 million Iraqi Gulf War deaths, 0.6 million post-invasion infant deaths (UNICEF) and 4.5 million Iraqi refugees (UNHCR) (see "Iraqi Genocide": http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Messages190308.htm#polya ) . This is an Iraqi Holocaust and an Iraqi Genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention. American war dead total about 4,081, UK dead 176 and total Coalition deaths 4393; and the US PHYSICALLY wounded total about 30,000 (see: http://icasualties.org/oif/ ).
Mainstream media and politicians resolutely IGNORE the horrendous human cost of the illegal, war criminal Iraq War and there is consequently ALSO a deep psycho-social cost in the US, UK and Australia, "look away" societies associated with complicity in horrendous holocaust commission, genocide commission, holocaust denial and genocide denial.
However outstanding Jewish British Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter, in addition to his 2005 Nobel Prize Acceptance speech in which he demanded war crimes trials of Blair and Bush (see: http://www.counterpunch.org/pinter12072005.html ) has recently (March 2008) succinctly stated of Blair, Britain, America and the Iraqi Genocide: "The invasion of Iraq was a criminal act. The occupation of Iraq remains a criminal act. The British government under Blair and the United States administration are war criminals.It's as simple as that" (see: http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Messages190308.htm#pinter ).
GideonPolya commented on Why oh whine.
24 May 2008 2:30am
Well said, Ian Williams.
We have the same anti-China "whining" today from racist White Australia whose founding PM, racist Edmund Barton stated: "The doctrine of the equality of man was never intended to apply to the equality of an Englishman and the Chinaman"(Australia's first Prime Minister Edmund Barton debating the Commonwealth Immigration Restriction Bill (1901), the notorious White Australia Policy that only finished in 1974).
And our National Poet, alcoholic racist Henry Lawson in a poem "The Old, Old Story" (1913)repeated the same line: "Beware of the East, O Christian, for the sake of your fairest and best; It is written, and written, remembered, that the tide of invasion goes west."
In the 21st century things haven't changed despite the veneer of "political correctness" . Thus outstanding Latin American writer Eduardo Galeano wrote recently of China and Britain in commenting on the 5th anniversary of the war criminal Anglo-American-Australia invasion of Iraq (2 million post-invasion excess deaths in the ongoing Iraqi Genocide): "In the middle of the nineteenth century, the murder of China deserved to be called The Opium War. Victoria, the drug trafficking queen, forced dope on the country in the name of the freedom to trade. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the murder of Iraq deserved to be called The Oil War. George W. Bush, more pipeline than president, crushed the country in the name of the freedom to lie." (see: http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Messages190308.htm#galeano ).
Without in any way minimizing Amnesty International concerns over human rights abuses in Tibet and one-party China, here are some germane, topical, UN Population Division- and UN ESCAP-derived statistics IGNORED by Western Mainstream media but published recently by top Chinese newspaper Shanghai Daily (China population 1.3 billion) (see: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200804/20080417/article_356139.htm and by a top Indian publication the MilliGazette (about 200 million Muslim Indians): "the "annual under-five-year-old infant death rate" is about the same (about 0.6 percent) in Tibet and China as a whole as compared to 6.2 percent for US- and Australia-occupied Afghanistan, 0.12 percent for occupier Australia and 0.16 percent for occupier United States.
The annual infant death rate in occupied Afghanistan (6.2 percent) is 51 times that in occupier Australia, 38 times that in occupier US and similar to the ''annual death rate" of 10.2 percent for Australian prisoners of war of the Japanese in World War II - a war crime for which key Japanese leaders were tried and hanged."
In the Climate Emergency and Sustainability Emergency now facing the world, Western China-bashers (notably climate criminal Australians) IGNORE China's huge hydro, wind and solar implementations and IGNORE the follwing statistics - 2004 data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA; see: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/country/index.cfm ) reveal that "annual per capita fossil fuel-derived CO2 pollution, APCP" in tonnes CO2/person is 19.2 (for Australia; 40 if you include Australia's coal exports), 19.7 (the US), 18.4 (Canada), 9.9 (Japan), 4.2 (the World), 3.6 (China), 1.0 ( India) and 0.25 (for Bangladesh) (see: http://climateemergency.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html ).
In 1947 racist White Australian Immigration Minister Arthur Calwell notoriously stated "Two Wongs do not make a White" - but on the above carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution statistics the climate criminal "Coal is King" Australian Lib-Labs are saying "TEN Wongs do not make a White" (more embarrassing still, the Australian Federal Minister for Climate Change in the effectively "do nothing", climate criminal, Australian Federal Labor Govermment is Senator Penny Wong).
GideonPolya commented on Smear-faced cheek.
12 May 2008 11:01pm
Deleted by moderator.
GideonPolya commented on Little Caesar.
08 May 2008 9:40pm
High technology US warfare targets civilians to minimize politically-sensitive US military casualties - and McCain's personal role as a bomber of women and children and a supporter of the bombing of women and children was hardly "honorable". For his legislative warmongering alone he - as well as Bush-lite, neo-Bush-ite Hillary Clinton - should be arraigned before the International Criminal Court (see: "US mass infanticide. 4 million reasons why Hillary Clinton is unfit to be president": http://mwcnews.net/content/view/19275/42/ ).
Violent (from bombs and bullets) and non-violent (from deprivation) excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that should not have happened) in post-1950 US Asian Wars now total about 25 million (1 million in Korea, 13 million in Indo-China, 2 million in the Bush-Clinton Sanctions War on Iraq, 8 million in Occupied Iraq and Afghanistan i.e. in the Bush War on Asian, Muslim, Arab, non-European Women and Children) (see: "Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950" (G.M. Polya, Melbourne, 2007: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1375/247/ ).
Palestinian Genocide, Iraqi Genocide and Afghan Genocide - post-invasion excess deaths 0.3 million, 2 million, and 3-6 million, respectively; post-invasion under-5 infant deaths 0.2 million, 0.6 million and 2.3 million, respectively; refugees totalling 7 million, 4.5 million and 4 million, respectively) (for the latest details and documentation see: "Palestinian, Iraqi, Afghan, Biofuel and Climate Genocides - Silence Kills and Silence is Complicity": http://www.liberalati.com/?q=node/261 ).
"Honorable"? Any American knowing this and supporting McCain or Hillary "Strangelove" Clinton has parted company with decent humanity.
GideonPolya commented on Picky feeders.
29 Apr 2008 10:50pm
The world is facing a global food price crisis that threatens billions of people in the developing world with famine. Prices for major food commodities such as wheat, rice, corn and soybean have doubled in the last year or so. The price of rice has doubled in the last 6 months. Food prices in US$ have been driven upwards through a combination of factors, notably: (1) the immoral (and net CO2 polluting) diversion of food for biofuel (impelled by global warming considerations, peak oil, increased oil prices, economics, US, EU and UK legislation); (2) US dollar decline; (3) oil price impact on agriculture costs; (4) anthropogenic global warming (and consequent intensified droughts); (5) increased demand for food (notably meat) from the new Asian giants; (6) fear, speculation and unilateralism (for a very detailed, documented analysis see: "Biofuel famine, biofuel genocide & the global food crisis": http://climateemergency.blogspot.com/2008/04/biofuel-famine-biofuel-genocide-and.html).
Global non-observance of basic human "entitlement" to food (see 1998 Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen) means that millions who cannot buy food will starve to death. History ignored yields history repeated - when the price of rice doubled and then finally quadruped 6-7 million starved to death in Bengal and adjoining Indian provinces in 1943-1945 in the "forgotten" Bengali Holocaust, the man-made Bengal Famine in British-ruled India during World War 2 (see the recent BBC broadcast - involving myself, Professor Sen and other scholars - on the "forgotten" Bengal Famine: http://www.open2.net/thingsweforgot/bengalfamine_programme.html ).
In 2008 CO2-polluting biofuel is legislatively MANDATED in the US, UK and EU and we are feeding food to cars and trucks while 4 billion go hungry and face starvation - in WW2 at the time of the "forgotten" Bengal Famine the Argentinians burned WHEAT to run their railways, there being a war-time coal shortage, while 6-7 million starved to death in British-ruled India.
The SOLUTIONS involve: (1) cessation of the biofuel perversion (except for environmentally and morally acceptable biomass and algal systems); (2) cessation of Biosphere-threatening CO2 pollution (indeed according to top US climate scientist Dr James Hansen, NEGATIVE CO2 emissions are required to reduce atmospheric CO2 to a safe and sustainable 300-350 ppm from the present unacceptable 385 ppm); (3) respect for Humanity and "food entitlement" for all on Spaceship Earth; (4) cessation of the Third World Holocaust (16 million avoidable deaths annually) e.g. by "economic efficiency credits" (countries such as Bangladesh or peoples such as Indigenous Australians modestly rewarded for high efficiency and low impact on the Biosphere) and other measures (notably female literacy, and paradoxically lowering infant mortality )to limit population and Biosphere impact.
GideonPolya commented on A man-made famine.
15 Apr 2008 11:57am
Excellent article Raj Patel - and "man-made famine" an acutely appropriate title.
In January I was part of a BBC broadcast together with 1998 Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen (Harvard) and other scholars about the "forgotten" Bengali Holocaust, the 1943-1945 World War 2 man-made Bengal Famine that killed 6-7 million people in Bengal and adjoining provinces of Assam, Orissa and Bihar when the price of rice doubled and then finally quadrupled - those who could not pay for food simply starved (see: http://www.open2.net/thingsweforgot/bengalfamine_programme.html ).
The reasons for the increased PRICE that killed 7 million people (there was food available to feed the starving) were complex: decreased imports, Japanese occupation of Burma, the British divide-and-rule policy from 1941 of provincial food autonomy, huge cutback in Indian Ocean shipping (ultimately due to the misplaced bombing of German cities - see C.P. Snow's brilliant "Science and Government" that is urgently relevant today ). Ultimately ruthless, efficient "market forces" meant that war-boom, cashed-up Calcutta sucked food out of a starving, rice-producing countryside - and a merciless, SUSTAINED (i.e. INTENTIONAL) British colonial administration policy "scorched earth" let millions starve.
The Bengal Famine has been essentially deleted from history and "history ignored yields history repeated" - indeed I wrote a detailed book about this 10 years ago ("Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History": http://janeaustenand.blogspot.com/ ) that I am currently editing and postscripting for a 2008 second edition - with the current global food crisis as the living and DYING proof , again, of history ignored yields history repeated.
The CURRENT global food price crisis stems from US, UK, EU biofuel perversion (noting that grain-derived ethanol and deforestation-based palm oil production are huge net CO2 polluters ); anthropogenic climate change (e.g. drought in Australia, CIS); oil price rises; livestock diversion and Asian demand ; globalized market lacking core protection for what Professor Amartya Sen described as "entitlement" to food.
This month the UK began compulsory biofuel in petrol - just as the UK Chief Scientist is warming that the biofuel perversion threatens "billions" (see "Global food crisis": http://mwcnews.net/content/view/21277/42/ ) . The UK, US and EU is feeding food to its cars as millions starve - 4 million are malnourished and 16 million die avoidably from deprivation and deprivation-exacerbated disease each year (see: "Body Count": http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ and http://mwcnews.net/Gideon-Polya ).
History repeats. According to General Wavell's diaries, in WW2 the Argentinians used millions of tons of WHEAT to drive their trains (there being a shortage of coal) - while millins starve in British-misruled India.
A temporary solution counter to IMF policy (and also helping to drive up prices) has been found already by some major rice-producing countries who have already placed constraints on rice exports to meet the threat to their populations in a merciless globalized world in which the rich feed food to cars while 4 billion go hungry. The bottom line is that on Spaceship Earth we must observe IN PRACTICE "all men are equal and have an unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".
GideonPolya commented on How the race war started.
16 Jan 2008 10:37am
"Hating on Jews", "rant" and "fraud" allegations from an American Bush-ite or neo-Bushite in this thread above are FALSE, defamatory, highly obnoxious, profoundly offensive ad hominem abuse - the MORE offensive since the wider family of the victim of this abuse was decimated by the Nazis in the Holocaust.
False, defamatory, highly obnoxious, profoundly offensive abuse (e.g. false race hate smearing ) directed against anti-racist humanitarian Jews is utterly unacceptable and is just as repugnant when applied to ANY anti-racist humanitarians.
The fundamental message of the Jewish Holocaust is zero tolerance for racism. Outstanding American scholars Dr Mark Weisbrot (Just Foreign Policy) and Dr Paul Craig Roberts (Father of Reaganomics) and outstanding UK-Australian writer John Pilger all talk of the Iraqi Genocide and/or Iraqi Holocaust - genocide being the ultimate expression of racism.
Bald denial by Bush-ites or ignoring of the carnage and their culpability by neo-Bush-ite Clinton Democrats won't DISAPPEAR the 4.5-8 million post-invasion excess deaths in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories as assessed from UN agency, commercial polling and top medical literature data.
The Bush-itesd and the neo-Bush-ite Clinton Demoicrats are involved in Holocaust Commission , Genocide Commission, Holocaust Denial and Genocide Denial - evil and repugnant in relation to the Jewish Holocaust (6 million victims), the wider WW2 Holocaust (26 million Slavic, Jewish and Roma victims) and to ALL Holocausts and Genocides including the Iraqi Genocide (1.5-2 million post-invasion excess deaths, 4.5 million refugees) and the Afghan Genocide (3-6 million post-invasion excess deaths, 4 million refugees).
GideonPolya commented on How the race war started.
15 Jan 2008 10:17pm
What an extraordinary ability Americans have of not seeing the Gary Larsen ELEPHANT hiding behind the sofa (Brits, Aussies etc of the Anglo-Celtia Murdochracies have the same problem due to racist, lying, Mainstream media who ignore the horrendous mass murder of the Bush Asian Wars).
All this talk of political correctness, condescension, nudge-nudge, wink-wink in the context of possible racism while IGNORING the immense reality of Hillary Clinton's involvement in the ongoing Iraqi Genocide (1.5-2 million post-invasion excess deaths , 4.5 million refugees) and the Afghan Genocide (3-6 million post-invasion excess deaths, 4 million refugees).
Here are some UNICEF- and UN Population Division-derived estimates of under-5 year old infant deaths in the Hillary Clinton-supported UK-US devastation of Iraq and Afghanistan (the Awful Truth is only a few mouse-clicks away): the Gulf War and Sanctions War against Iraq (1990-2003;1.2 million); Iraq War (2003-present; 0.6 million); Afghan War (2001-present, 2.2 million); 4 million in all, 90% avoidable and due to horrendous US Alliance war crimes i.e. 3.6 million avoidable infant deaths - IGNORED by Mainstream media (however see "US mass infanticide. 4 million reasons why Hillary Clinton is unfit to be President" on Canada-based MWC News).
If these actively and passively murdered infants were ethnically and/or culturally Semitic JEWISH children (as opposed to the ACTUALITY of being ethnically and/or culturally Semitic MUSLIM children), the Clintons, the Bushes, Dr Rice (aka Dr Death), Cheney, Blair etc etc would no doubt be behind bullet-proof glass in Tel Aviv awaiting the judgement handed down to Adolph Eichmann (who was complicit in the deaths of 1.5 million Jewish children in WW2).
If nudge-nudge, wink-wink, condescension etc is akin to racism, what do you call the Clinton-complicit mass murder of 3.6 million Iraqi and Afghan infants?
Endlessly self-deceiving, Bible-spouting, self-righteous and Christianity-declaring but mass murdering, mass infanticidal, mass paedocidal, war criminal, RACIST America needs to be reminded of the great Jeffersonian assertion: "all men are created equal and have an unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" - and need to be FIRMLY INSTRUCTED by the civilized world: "Thou shalt not kill children".
GideonPolya commented on In Obama we trust.
11 Jan 2008 10:28pm
I am an anti-racist, humanitarian, agnostic, humanist scientist and ah jess LOVE Jesus' social policies (e.g. "love thy neighbour as thyself", "whosoever harms these little ones ..." etc, etc.
As a pragmatist I can see that religion as a methodology helps billions of people cope with life ( and horrific impositions such as genocidal US state terrorism and imperialism).
However that said, I would be vastly happier if the Religious Right Americans (most of them) would practise their beliefs behind closed doors as consenting adults and not inflict it on either (a) their children (intellectual child abuse) or (b) the rest of the world (in which 16 million people die avoidably each year on Spaceship Earth , about 10 million being INFANTS, with "less than 55 population, 20% resource consumption" America in charge of the Flight deck) (see "Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950", copies in some major libraries).
I am utterly disgusted and appalled by the dishonesty and hypocrisy of the Bible-spouting, mass murdering, mass paeodocidal Racist religious Right Republican (R4) Bush-ites and the neo-Bush-ite Clinton Democrats.
True, Obama and Edwards ARE part of the war criminal, climate criminal, genocidal American Establishment (what a shame decent guy and outstanding American Dennis Kucinich is like a snow flake in Hell) - but they ARE the best things going.
And we certainly don't want Hillary Clinton who has been recently parading around America with her awful husband and his awful former Secretary of State Madeleine "the price was worth it" Albright - all complicit in the Sanctions against Iraq associated with 1.2 million Iraqi under-5 infant deaths (1990-2003)(90% avoidable).
Hilary Clinton supported the Sanctions on Iraq (1.2 million infant deaths, 1990-2003), the Iraq War (0.6 million post-invasion under-5 infant deaths, 90% avoidable and due to US Alliance war crimes) and the Afghan War (2.2 million post-invasion under-5 infant deaths).
Allomothering (aunt behaviour for females) is the hard-wired social primate behavioural trait (common to social primates such as Man, monkeys and apes) that ensures care and affection for the infants of Others - yet a huge body of Americans will support a WOMAN who grossly violates this Prime Fundamental.
Obama IS cleaner on the Iraq War (but Bomber Obama - Bahma Obahma - wants to Bomb Pakistan).
Unfortunately racist, lying , holocaust-ignoring Mainstream media of the American Murdochracy (and of the other Western Murdochracies) IGNORE the crimes of the Bush-ite Republicans and the neo-Bush-ite Clinton Democrats.
However some truth gets through holes in the Mainstream media Wall of Silence - the following are titles of recent articles from Alternative Media that QUANTITATE the crimes of the child-killing American Religious Right: "US mass infanticide. 4 million reasons why Hillary Clinton is not fit to be president" (Canada-based MWC News); "how many kids will Bush America kill in 2008?" (Countercurrents; answer: about 0.5 million); "How many kids will the US kill in 2008?" (ICH; about 0.5 million); "US voter - how many kids did Hillary Clinton help kill?" (US Newsvine; answer 4 million under-5 year old infants, 90% avoidable deaths).
The paradox is that decent, anti-racist, humanitarian AGNOSTICS or ATHEISTS believe in "love thy neighbour as thyself", "all men are created equal and have an unalienable right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness", "thou shalt not kill" and most importantly "THOU SHALT NOT KILL CHILDREN" - but the religious right DON'T.
Unfortunately the politically dominant, racist religious right Bush-ites and Clinton neo-Bush-ites - for all their endless Bible-spouting, breast-beating moralizing - in practice are UNBELIEVERS when it comes to fundamental moral imperatives such as NOT indulging in child abuse, child killing, invasions, occupations, mass murder, active and passive mass murder, mass infanticide, mass paedocide, genocide, climate criminality and climate genocide (set to kill 6 billion humans in the next century according to the UK's Professor James Lovelock FRS).
GideonPolya commented on The year when nothing happened.
01 Jan 2008 2:37am
Readers of this thread - false, ad hominem abuse such as "delusional crank" (PresidentD from the US above) is obnoxious in being false, abusive, and made with the courage of anonymity and is no substitute for rational comment.
I am merely an economically conservative MESSENGER reporting data available from authoritative humanitarian sources such as the UN agencies, the top medical literature, the UK ORB company etc. and my ideology is essentially that of the American Declaration of Independence "all men are created equal and have an unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" and the fundamental human moral generality "thou shalt not kill children" (either passively or actively).
Those anti-racist humanitarians of the left, right and centre who adhere to these principles are neither "cranks" nor "delusional" but merely decent human beings who care for Others.
The MAJOR CRIME of the Democrats (and Republicans) in 2007 "the year that nothing happened" has been turning a blind eye to the active and passive mass murder of Indigenous Occupied Iraqis and Occupied Afghans by the war criminal US Alliance. The estimate of excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) in the 21st century Bush Asian Wars is (so far) 4.5-8 million (for a detailed methodological and statistical analysis see "Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950, G.M. Polya. Melbourne, 2007; copies in major libraries).
I am in good company in my "caring" for Humanity in relation to the "left-right continuum". Outstanding US writer,editor, academic and conservative "Father of Reaganomics" Dr Paul Craig Roberts urges us to "stop Bush" by "dumping the US dollar" in order to STOP what he calls the "Iraqi genocide" - and outstanding UK-Australian writer John Pilger from the "left" also applies the same descriptive to the Iraqi Holocaust that has been associated (so far) since 1990 with 3.4-3.9 million excess deaths, 1.8 million under-5 infant deaths and 4.5 million refugees.
The repugnant EVIL of this imposition (noting that half the Iraqi population are children, three quarters women and children) can be seen in comparison with the Jewish Holocaust (6 milion victims, 1 million passively murdered through deprivation)- denial of the Jewish Holocaust is punished by 10 years imprisonment in Austria and by lengthy custodial sentences in some other European countries.
Germany has proposed that the EU widens the crime of holocaust denial to include denial of post-war holocuast and genocides - if this is successful then holocaust-ignoring and genocide-denying Democrats and Republicans (and Aussie and UK Lib-Labs too) - the "year that nothing happened" indeed!! - had better be careful about their European holiday plans.
GideonPolya commented on The year when nothing happened.
31 Dec 2007 11:40pm
There are surely 2 blatantly obvious reasons for "the year when nothing happened" perceptions as explored (variously with considerable delicacy) by Al Gore in his recent book "The Assault on Reason", (1) the politicians are more concerned with fund-raising for the election cycle, keeping lobbyists such as the military-industrial complex, the Zionist Lobby, the other fundamentalists etc happy and (2) failure of mainstream media - and the dominant "idiot" electronic media, TV networks in particular - to report what was ACTUALLY happening at home and abroad.
Thus UN-REPORTED by Mainstream media and politicians in the American and Western Murdochracies it is estimated that DOMESTICALLY in the US 20,000 under-5 year old American infants died avoidably in 2007; 18,000 Americans died in 2007 because they could not access medical services; 29,000 Americans died in 2007 from gun-related violence etc etc.
Also UN-REPORTED by the Mainstream, a lot happened in 2007 in US- or US surrogate-occupied territories around the world (Haiti, Somalia, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan) in which - according to UNICEF - about 0.6 million under-5 year old infants died in 2007, about 90% avoidably and due to US or US Alliance war crimes.
And as reported by the eminent Justforeignpolicy.org, the world's top US Bloomberg public health school at Johns Hopkins University, the UK ORB organization, the UN and others - but essentially NOT reported by holocaust-ignoring mainstream media and politicians - the post-invasion excess deaths in Iraq now total over 1 million.
Indeed post-invasion violent and non-violent excess deaths in the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories now total 0.3 million, 1.5-2 million and 3-6 million, respectively; post-invasion under-05 infant deaths total 0.2 million, 0.6 million and 2.2 million, respectively; and refugees total 7 million, 4.5 million and 4 million.
But for Mainstream media and politicians in the Western Murdochracies 2007 was "the year when nothing happened" - to find the truth you will have to turn to honest, anti-racist humanitarian correspondents in Alternative media such as MWC News (Canada), the quite conservative US Newsvine, Countercurrents, Sulekha (India), US CounterPunch, Democracy Now, or decent Mainstream media such as Haaretz (Israel) and the Bangkok Post (which recently demanded - on its front page - war crimes trial of Bush's now-ousted Asian Sheriff, former PM Howard of Bush-ite Australia - if the lackey why not the master? )
Al Gore's final, considered prescription for evading the "year when nothing happened" perception is indeed to turn to mainly electronic Alternative media that attempt to tell it as it is - but seriously Kyoto- and Iraq Sanctions-tainted Al Gore is sufficiently "realist" to avoid being too harsh or specific about Murdochracy print media.
GideonPolya commented on Obama's tough call.
06 Aug 2007 4:56am
Excellent article. I agree with Peter Preston's conclusion that Obama's threat is far from prudent. Barack Obama's parents hardly gave him a blessing (the meaning of barack) when they called him Barack Obama. North American pronunciation of Barack Obama approximates to their pronunciation of Barrack a Bomber. After Obama's threatening war-mongering - including the implied suggestion of even using nuclear weapons if there were no civilians involved - Barack Obama is going to have to live with Barrack a Bomber, Barrack for a Bomber, Barack a Bomber, A Bomber Obama, Barack O'Bomber etc (e.g. A Bomber Obama threatens Pakistan: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/15881/42/ ).
GideonPolya commented on This draconian outrage has shaken Australia awake.
29 Jun 2007 5:55am
Richard Flanagan is a decent, anti-racist Australian (I thought his Gould's Book of Fish and the recent The Unknown Terrorist were great). I applaud the bipartisan support for more police and welfare personnel being sent to Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory but am NERVOUS about the authoritarian flavour of the exercise, the use of ARMY personnel in BATTLE DRESS and the Bush-ite Coalition Government motives, the more so because of the complicity of the Coalition Federal Government in 1,600 AVOIDABLE under-5 year old Indigenous Australian infant deaths and 90,000 AVOIDABLE Indigenous Australian deaths in total over the last 11 years.
Here are germane realities not covered in Richard Flanagan's otherwise excellent article NOR by Australian Mainstream media:
(a) The recent anecdotally SHOCKING Report on Aboriginal child sexual abuse was unable to put a NUMBER on the extent, (although it cites 70% of NSW female Aboriginal jail inmates as having been sexually abused as children) AND that in Australia AS A WHOLE 34% of females and 16% of males experienced non-penetrative abuse with 12% females and 4% of males reported penetrative child sexual abuse (Dunne, M.P., Purdie, D.M., Cook, M.D., Boyle, F.M. & Najman, J.M.(2003), Is child sexual abuse declining? Evidence from a population-based survey of men and women in Australia, Child Abuse & Neglect, vol. 27 (2), pp141-152). In Australia AS A WHOLE 40,000 Australian children are sexually abused each year (see Sexual Abuse, ed. Healy, J., Volume 179, Issues in Society, The Spinney Press, 2003: http://www.spinneypress.com.au/179_book_desc.html ).
Yet Howard is not sending the Army into non-Indigenous communities and the wider problem is not being publicly discussed.
(b) the National Indigenous Times has recently published an edition (14 June 2007) dealing with shocking Aboriginal MORTALITY figures; see these articles that represent a damning indictment of Racist White Australia and Government neglect; see: http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=11552 , http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=11553 , and http://www.nit.com.au/opinion/story.aspx?id=11551 .
The realities of the on-going Aboriginal Genocide: "annual death rate" is 2.2% (for Indigenous Australians), 2.4% (Indigenous Australians inthe Northern Territory), 0.4% (what it should be for a comparable high birth-rate society), 0.7% for White Australia, 2.5% (for SHEEP in Australian paddocks), a genocidal 2.7% (Occupied Iraq under-5 infants), 5.7% (Occupied Afghanistan under-5 infants), 10% (Australian POWs of the Japanese in WW2)(for details and authoritative DOCUMENTATION see: "Sydney Madonna & Aboriginal Genocide": http://mwcnews.net/content/view/10865/26/ and "Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950": http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ .
The racist, Bush-ite Coalition Australian Government AND the holocaust-ignoring Mainstream Australian media utterly IGNORE the complicity of the Coalition Federal Government in horrendous Passive Child Abuse (1,600 AVOIDABLE under-5 year old Indigenous Australian infant deaths in 11 years of the the Coalition Government) and Passive Mass Murder (90,000 AVOIDABLE Indigenous Australian deaths in total over the last 11 years of the Coalition Federal Government) (see "The Awful Truth", National Indigenous Times, 14 June 2007: http://www.nit.com.au/news/story.aspx?id=11555 ).
The ultimate in Child abuse is that causing DEATH. White Australia is IGNORING horrendous avoidable deaths of Aboriginal infants (1,600 such deaths during Howard's reign so far) and a genocidal Aboriginal avoidable mortality of 90,000 such avoidable deaths over the period of this evil, Bush-ite regime - a disgusting and irresponsible government that must be PRAISED for now (pre-election) providing more police and welfare personnel and CONDEMNED for its hypocrisy, dishonesty and complicity in huge Aboriginal avoidable mortality over the last 11 years.
Decent Brits, Europeans, decent folk everywhere should eschew Racist White Australia as a tourist destination until it STOPS this sustained, continuing Passive Mass Murder of Indigenous Australians (8,000 Aborignes dying thus EACH YEAR).
GideonPolya commented on Let Hamas govern.
19 Jun 2007 11:14am
There are 2 types of people in this world - decent, anti-racist people who regard abuse of subjugated Women and Children (such as the cowardly, war criminal Racist Zionist abuse of Occupied Palestinians, 75% of whom are Women and Children) as utterly REPUGNANT - and those who think otherwise and seek to deny, ignore or obfuscate such abuse (ugly, cowardly, racist denial akin to genocide denial).
The standard pro-Zionist ad hominem abuse, non sequiturs, unsubstantiated assertions and bald denials cannot hide the awful truth: UN Population Division and UNICEF data indicate that in the Occupied Palestinian Territory the post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that should not have happened) total 0.3 million, the post-invasion under-5 infant deaths total 0.2 million and the post-invasion AVOIDABLE under-5 infant deaths total about 160,000; the latest UNICEF data indicate that 2,400 under-5 year old Palestinians die every year due to gross Israeli violation of the Geneva Convention (for details see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13415/42/ , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/14899/42/ ).
The supporters of Racist Zionist war crimes and the obscene 40 year Occupation and subjugation of Palestinians have helped PERVERT anti-racist Western values that reached a pinnacle with the last major decolonizations in the 1960s. The poison of Racist Zionism and its evil anti-Arab anti-Semitism and Islamophobia made possible the Bush-Blair wars on Iraq and Afghanistan that have been associated (so far) with post-invasion excess deaths of 1.0 million and 2.4 million, respectively and post-invasion under-5 infant deqths of 0.5 million and 1.9 million, rrspectively (90% avoidable and due to ggross UK-US war crimes; UN Population Divsion and latest medical literature data; for detailed analysis see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13099/26/ ).
The Racist Zionists have not just grossly violated the Women and Children of Palestine - they have trashed the values and reputations of the West - including White Australia where anti-Arab anti-Semitism and Islamophobia is firmly entrenched despite the ethical protestations of previous Prime Ministers Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser. Indeed the continuing passive Aboriginal Genocide in pro-Zionist, war criminal, Bush-ite Australia is due to a culture of IGNORING and LYING, actively promoted by the Racist Zionist and Bush-ite lobbyists.
Thus consider the following stastics from UN agencies and the medical literature: the "annual death rate" is 2.2% (Australian Aborigines), 2.4% (Australian Aborigines in the Northern Territory), 0.4% (what it should be for a comparable high birth rate community), 2.5% (for Sheep in Australian paddocks), 2.7% (under-5 year old Occupied Iraqis), 5.7% (under-5 year old Occupied Afghans), 0.1% (under-5 year olds in Apartheid Israel, racist White Australia) and 0.5 % (Occupied Palestinian Territory) (source: Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950: http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/, for detailed analysis see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/11968/42/ ).
Anti-Arab anti-Semitism is just as evil and repugnant as anti-Jewish anti-Semitism (anyone who thinks otherwise is by definition an egregious RACIST) - the Racist Zionists who have perverted American, Australian and British values (most notably the fundamental prohibition of the gross abuse of Women and Children) are actually guilty of BOTH forms of anti-Semitism in their support for poisonous and violent anti-Arabism and their false vilification of the numerous outstanding Jewish scholars who are speaking out against horrendous Racist Zionist crimes against the Palestinians.
For an UTTERLY SHOCKING catalogue of Racist Zionist abuses of Palestinian Women and Children just see UNICEF: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html .
Who should decent Brits, Americans, Canadians or Aussies believe - vitriolic, anonymous pro-Zionists trying to obfuscate and hide horrendous, UN-documented crimes against Arab Women and Children OR outstanding Jewish scholars speaking out against Israeli human rights abuses and demanding Peace with non-racism, equity, justice and reconciliation, great Jewish scholars such as Professors Chomsky (US), Reinhart (late of Israel), Pappe (Israel), Altman (Australia), Finkelstein (US), Ollman (US), Cox (Australia), Singer (US), and Rose (UK)?
GideonPolya commented on Let Hamas govern.
19 Jun 2007 5:29am
Whether people like it or not (it's not my country, nor that of Apartheid Israel and its Racist Bush-ite and Racist Zionist supporters) Hamas won the parliamentary elections (albeit in elections held under the guns of the US-UK-backed Racist Zionist Occupiers). Yet UK, US, EU, Apartheid Israeli machinations have led to the democratically-elected government being confined to the Gaza Concentration Camp and the rest of Israeli-occupied Palestine being ruled by an Israeli-, EU-, UK-, Oz- and and US-backed regime. So much for Western commitment to "democracy".
The key issue that people conveniently ignore is the Geneva Convention that demands that Occupiers keep their Conquered Subjects ALIVE. Thus Articles 38, 55 and 56 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War demands that the Occupier supplies the Conquered with life-sustaining requisites (see: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/y4gcpcp.htm ) - but the war criminal reality is that Racist Zionist-run Apartheid Israel is doing the reverse, it is STARVING Gaza (with UK, US, EU, Oz support) to overturn the results of a democratic election.
The appalling essence of this gross human rights abuse becomes apparent when you appreciate that half the Gaza population are Children and three quarters are Women and Children. UNICEF data (see: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html ) indicate that 2,400 Occupied Palestinian under-5 year old infants die avoidably each year due to Apartheid Israeli war crimes - that's SEVEN (7) Palestinian infants being deliberately murdered EVERY DAY by Racist Zionists (RZs) with the complicity of US and US Alliance Racist Zionists (RZs) and Racist Bush-ites (RBs) (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/14899/42/ ).
UN-derived data indicate an "annual under-5 year old infant death rate" in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (2003 figures) of 0.5% as compared to 0.1% in the Occupier, Apartheid Israel (from the recently-published book Body Count. Globalavoidable mortality since 1950: http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ) - indicative of gross violation by Apartheid Israel of Articles 38, 55 and 56 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.
As I say, Palestine is not my country - and nor should it have been of violent Racist Zionist colonizers. However I am a fellow traveller on Spaceship Earth with America - backed by US-Israeli State Terrorism (USIST) - at the helm. 44,000 people die avoidably EVERY DAY on Spaceship Earth under this captaincy. Further, the Nazis wiped my family from the face of Europe in WW2 and I strongly object to the murderous, 40-year Racist Zionist violation of the human rights of the Palestinians imprisoned in the Israeli-run Concentration Camp called the Occupied Palestinian Territory - of whom half are Children and three quarters are Women and Children.
Put quantitatively (see Body Count: http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ; there should be a copy being catalogued in the British Library), (A) the Nazis killed 0.2 million out of 0.7 million Hungarians Jews in 1944-1945 and (B) the post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, avoidable mortality) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory total 0.3 million with a current population of 3.7 million.
Anyone denying (A) faces 10 years in prison in Austria; anyone denying or minimizing (B) also deserves rigorous prosecution (indeed this may happen under recent German proposals about genocide denial before the EU) (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12483/26/ ).
Anyone who denies, ignores, excuses, minimizes, obfuscates, advocates, supports or is otherwise complicit in horrendous abuses of Women and Children has crossed the line between decent humanity and proto-Nazi barbarism.
Pro-Zionists and Bush-ites in Britain supporting child-killing, woman-violating, Racist Zionist (RZ) Apartheid Israeli anti-Arab anti-Semitism in WORD and horrendous DEED (2,400 Palestinian infants murdered by Apartheid Israel each year, 200 Palestinian children violently killed by Jewish Israeli Concentration Camp guards each year ) should be PROSECUTED under the same law that was sensibly applied recently to an intemperate Muslim demonstrator in London for rhetorical advocacy of hate and violence. That said, PEACE with non-racism, equity, justice and reconciliation is possible NOW in the Holy Land (e.g. see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5175/42/ ) - but can only happen when a majority of decent Israelis discard their evil, child-killing, Racist Zionist (RZ) leaders.
GideonPolya commented on 1967: A fragmented existence.
07 Jun 2007 1:04am
Readers of this thread - notwithstanding the imperative of good manners and the Guardian's clear objection to personal attacks on posters, false, defamatory, ad hominem abuse by pro-Zionists and directed at anti-racist humanitarians is commonplace on Comment is Free (and typically effected with the courage of anonymity).
The now-routine pro-Zionist practice of falsely defaming anti-racist Jewish and non-Jewish critics of gross Israeli human rights abuses as "anti-semites" is FALSE, profoundly offensive, defamatory and intimidatory and obfuscatory of sensible interlocution.
False, defamatory abuse of anti-racist, humanitarian Jews by pro-Zionists can be seen as anti-Jewish anti-Semitism (in addition to the standard and equally repugnant anti-Arab anti-Semitism) - indeed FALSE, defamatory abuse of anti-racist, humanitarian Jews by pro-Zionists is also utterly repugnant.
The JEWISH HOLOCAUST in Hungary 1944-1945 killed 0.2 million out of a Jewish population of 0.7 million (INCLUDING to the best of my knowledge all but a dozen members of MY wider family there) (for detailed analyses of this atrocity see Martin Gilbert's excellent books Atlas of the Holocaust, London, 1982 and Jewish History Atlas, London, 1969; a recently published book comprehensively dealing this and pre- and post-war atrocities is BODY COUNT. Global avoidable mortality since 1950, Melbourne, 2007: http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ); there were consequently (immediately post-1945 and thence in 1956, hundreds of thousands of refugees; unoccupied Jewish homes and property were confiscated by the Communists post-war.
Anyone denying the reality of the Jewish Holocaust faces 10 years in prison in Austria and lengthy custodial sentences elsewhere in Europe.
The PALESTINIAN HOLOCAUST post-1967 has been associated with 0.3 million post-invasion excess deaths and 0.2 million under-5 infant deaths (3/4 avoidable deaths) (UN Population Divsion data)(current Occupied Palestinian population 3.7 million); there are now 7 million Palestinian refugees with 4.2 million registered with the UN; all of the Holy Land is occupied by Apartheid Israel and there has been massive expropriation of land and homes; Apartheid Israel deliberately kills 2,400 Palestinian under-5 year old infants EACH YEAR through the sustained, war criminal non-supply of life-sustaining requisites to the Open Concentration Camp otherwise known as the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)- indeed the Palestinian Holocaust amounts to a Palestinian Genocide as defined by Article 2 of the UN Genocide Convention (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13415/42/ ).
One sincerely hopes that German proposals get up for widening Genocide Denial and Holocaust Denial Laws in the EU (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12483/26/ ) - these laws would constrain the pro-Zionists simultaneously supporting both the ongoing COMMISSION of the Palestinian Genocide by Racist Zionist-run Apartheid Israel and its false, human rights-trampling DENIAL.
You can understand from the impact of the Holocaust on MY family why I am a resolute anti-racist humanitarian and necessarily APPALLED by the subjugation, abusive 40 year imprisonment, ethnic cleansing and dispossession of the Palestinians (3/4 of whom are Women and Children)- to maintain otherwise would be like spitting on my martyred forebears. Those KNOWINGLY and deliberately asserting otherwise in relation to me or any other anti-racist humanitarians are engaging in defamatory and profoundly offensive LYING.
GideonPolya commented on 1967: Israel's miracle.
06 Jun 2007 11:25pm
For the record, I regard both anti-Jewish anti-Semitism and anti-Arab anti-Semitism as evil and repugnant; to my knowledge only about a dozen of my wider family survived the Jewish Holocaust in Hungary 1944-1945; our family homes were emptied in 1944-1945 by the Nazis and confiscated by the Communists post-war.
With this tragic background I am necessarily a resolutely anti-racist humanitarian and deeply distressed by the continuing illegal, 40-year subjugation, horrendous traumatizing and dispossession of Occupied Palestinians (3/4 of whom are Women and Children).
Accordingly I must PROTEST over the now routine, crude, abusive, kneejerk, profoundly offensive and often defamatory false AD HOMINEM ABUSE on Comment is Free directed by pro-Zionists at both Jewish and non-Jewish anti-racist humanitarians opposed to gross human rights abuses by Israel (noting that this defamatory abuse is typically done with the courage of anonymity).
False and defamatory personal attacks on named anti-racist, humanitarian Jews by pro-Zionists can be seen as repugnant anti-Jewish anti-Semitism (in addition to the routine anti-Arab anti-Semtitism implicit in support for gross human rights abuse of Palestinians)- indeed false, personal attacks on ANY anti-racist humanitarians are repugnant.
I note the Guardian's excellent ethical policy: "We will remove posts that contain racist, sexist or offensive/threatening language, personal attacks on the writer or other posters ..."
The Jewish Holocaust in Hungary 1944-1945 killed 0.2 million out of a Jewish population of 0.7 million (for detailed analyses of this atrocity see Martin Gilbert's excellent books Atlas of the Holocaust, London, 1982; a recently published book comprehensively dealing this and pre- and post-war atrocities is "Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950, Melbourne, 2007: http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ); there were consequently (immediately post-1945 and thence in 1956, hundreds of thousands of refugees; unoccupied Jewish homes and property were confiscated by the Communists post-war.
The Palestinian Holocaust post-1967 has been associated with 0.3 million post-invasion excess deaths and 0.2 million under-5 infant deaths (3/4 avoidable deaths) (UN Population Divsion data)(current Occupied Palestinian population 3.7 million); there are 7 million Palestinian refugees with 4.2 million registered with the UN; all of the Holy Land is occupied by Apartheid Israel and there has been massive expropriation of land and homes; indeed the Palestinian Holocaust amounts to a Palestinian Genocide as defined by Artivcle 2 of the UN Genocide Convention (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13415/42/ ).
We cannot walk by on the other side. Peace is the only way but silence kills and silence is complicity. We are obliged to inform others of gross abuses of human rights.
GideonPolya commented on 1967: Israel's miracle.
06 Jun 2007 2:20pm
Disgusting Zionist propaganda whitewashing illegal, war criminal Invasion and 40 years of war criminal Occupation, subjugation, theft and both active and passive mass murder of Palestinians by Apartheid Israel.
Even leading Israeli politicians and generals admit that there was no threat in 1967. Thus a recent article by Stephen Lendman in Rense.com (see: http://www.rense.com/general76/forty.htm ) contains the following revealing QUOTES from top Israeli politicians and generals indicating that there was NO threat and that the invasion and occupation had been long planned:
The New York Times quoted Prime Minister Menachem Begin's (1977 - 83) August, 1982 speech saying: "In June, 1967, we had a choice. The Egyptian Army concentrations in the Sinai approaches do not prove that (President Gamal Abdel) Nasser (1956 - 70) was really about to attack us. We must be honest with ourselves. We decided to attack him."
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (PM 1974 - 77 and 1992 - 95) told French newspaper Le Monde in February, 1968: "I do not believe Nasser wanted war. The two divisions which he sent into Sinai on May 14 would not have been enough to unleash an offense against Israel. He knew it and we knew it."
General Mordechai Hod, Commander of the Israeli Air Force during the Six-Day War said in 1978: "Sixteen years of planning had gone into those initial eighty minutes. We lived with the plan, we slept on the plan, we ate the plan. Constantly we perfected it."
And as for the 40 year Occupation by Racist Zionist-run Apartheid Israel: UN Population Division, UNICEF and UNHCR data indicate the following horrific Occupation outcomes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT): post-invasion excess deaths 0.3 million; post-invasion under-5 infant deaths 0.2 million (about 75% avoidable and due to Apartheid israel war crimes); 85% of Palestinian Christians have fled; Palestinian refugees total 7 million with about 4.2 million registered with the UN; 80% of Holy Land homicides are committed by Jewsih Israelis; annual under-5 infant death rate 0.5% (OPT) as compared to 0.1% (Occupier Apartheid Israel); Apartheid Israel deliberately murders 2,400 under-5 year old Palestinian infants EACH YEAR - 7 DAILY - through deliberate, sustained refusal to supply life-sustaining requisites demanded unequivocally of Occupiers by the Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war (see Articles 38, 55 & 56: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/y4gcpcp.htm ). A Palestinian Genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention (for detailed assessment see: http://www.stateofnature.org/civilAndInternational.html and the recently published book Body Count - Global avoidable mortality since 1950: http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ).
UNICEF (see: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html ) details horrific cicumstances of OPT children.
Half of the abusively subjugated and imprisoned Occupied Palestinians in the Open Concentration Camp of the West Bank and Gaza are Children, three quarters are Women and Children. Any Jew, Brit, American, Westerner - indeed any person - who knowingly denies, ignores, excuses, minimizes, obfuscates, supports, advocates or is otherwise complcit in gross abuse of Children (like that perpetrated by Racist Zionist-run Apartheid Israel in the OPT) has crossed the line between decent humanity and barbarism.
GideonPolya commented on 1967: A fragmented existence.
05 Jun 2007 11:14pm
Helen Patterson - thank you for your humanity, honesty and clear-thinking.
Just ONE example o of horrendous human rights abuse and war crimes by Apartheid Israel: a simple check with UNICEF (see: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html ) reveals horrendous annual under-5 infant deaths in Occupied Palestine - simple arithmetic using UN Population Division demographic data reveals that 2,400 under-5 Occupied Palestinian infants die every year - that's SEVEN (7) DAILY - due to Apartheid Israeli non-supply of life-sustaining requisites unequivocally demanded of Occupiers by Articles 38, 55 and 56 the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (see: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/y4gcpcp.htm ).
This anti-Arab anti-Semitic active and passive mass murder of Palestinians by Racist Zionists has been going on now for FORTY (40) YEARS with anti-Arab anti-Semitic Western complicity - the post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) now total 0.3 million and the under-5 infant deaths 0.2 million (see: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya050607.htm and http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ).
Any Jew, any Brit, any Westerner - indeed any person - who KNOWINGLY denies, ignores, excuses, minimizes, obfuscates, supports, advocates or is otherwise complicit in gross abuse of Children - or indeed of anyone - has crossed the line between decent humanity and Nazi-style barbarism.
GideonPolya commented on 1967: A fragmented existence.
05 Jun 2007 1:56pm
A very moving article. The war criminal invasion, seizure and 40 year traumatizing of the Palestinians by Racist Zionist-run Apartheid Israel is a blot on Humanity and on the anti-Arab anti-Semtic Westerners who continue to support this gross and continuing, RACIST violation of human rights.
UN Population Division data (see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ ) indicate that the post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) total 0.3 million and the post-invasion under-5 infant deaths (largely avoidable) total 0.2 million. Articles 38, 55 and 56 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Civilian Persons in Time of War (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/7958/26/ ) make it absolutely clear that an Occupier must do everything in its power to preserve the health and lives of its conquered subjects � and ESPECIALLY of Children and Mothers. Three quarters of the Palestinians are Women and Children.
The latest UNICEF data (see: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html ) (2005 figures) inform that the �annual under-5 infant death rate� in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) is 23 deaths/1,000 births as compared to 6 in Israel proper and in Australia. Accordingly the �annual avoidable under-5 infant death rate� is 23 � 6 = 17 deaths/1,000 births. UN Population Division data (see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ ) indicate that the population of the OPT is 3,762,000 and the annual birth rate is 37.5/1,000 of population. Accordingly the annual number of births is 37.5 x 3,762 = 141,075. Accordingly we can calculate that the �annual under-5 infant deaths� in the OPT = 23 x 141.075 = 3,245 and that the �AVOIDABLE annual under-5 infant deaths� in the OPT = 17 x 141.075 = 2,398.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that �from 1920 through 1999, a total of 2,580 residents of Mandatory Palestine and, since 1948, the State of Israel fell victims to hostile enemy action; in most cases, terrorist attacks� and �1,130 people have been killed by Palestinian violence and terrorism since September 2000.� Deducting the pre-1949 deaths specified on this site yields post-1949 Israeli deaths from �terrorism� as 2,646. Thus EACH YEAR nearly as many Occupied Palestinian under-5 year old infants die AVOIDABLY (2,400) as have Israeli victims of �terrorism� over the LAST SIXTY (60) YEARS (2,600) (for a detailed analysis see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13415/42/ ). About 80% of homicides in the Holy Land each year are committed by Jewish Israelis (for a detailed and documented analysis see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/7958/26/ ).
UNHCR (see: http://www.unhcr.org/publ/PUBL/4444d3c92f.html ) indicates 4.2 million UN-registered Palestinian refugees in the Middle East alone. Israel continues to violate UN Resolution 194 for refugee return. There are some 7 million Palestinian refugees of which 4.2 million are actually registered with the UN.
The Israeli Human Rights group B�tselem (see: http://www.btselem.org/English/Statistics/Casualties.asp ) estimates that so far (30 April 2007) since September 2000, about 4,100 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis (about 1/5 children) and about 1,000 Israelis (military and civilians) by Palestinians.
According to a report in leading Australian newspaper The Age: �Melbourne academic Abe Ata says there were 400,000 Palestinian Christians in 1948; today there are 60,000, and falling fast � i.e. a 85% decrease tantamount to Genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention.
The �annual under-5 infant death rate� (2003) is 0.5% (OPT) as compared to 0.1% (occupier Israel) (UN Population Division data).
According to UNICEF (see: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html ), in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: �Landmines and other unexploded ordnance are an ongoing threat to children; chronic malnutrition affects nearly 10 per cent of children under age five. The situation is most acute in Gaza, where 50,000 children are malnourished; about half of children under age two are anaemic and 70 per cent have vitamin A deficiency �children in nearly a third of all families experience anxiety, phobia or depression�.
Half the Occupied Palestinians are Children and 3/4 are Women and Children. Any Jew, any Brit, any American, any Westerner - or indeed ANYONE - who denies, ignores, minmizes, obfuscates, excuses, supports, advocates or otherwise is complicit in gross abuse of Women and Children - or indeed of anyone - has crossed the line separating decent humanity from proto-Nazi barbarism.
GideonPolya commented on Smoke on the screen.
11 May 2007 3:22pm
YES - and not only smoking but a lot of other things should be banned or pejoratively presented in movies.
The breakdown of the roughly 7 million annual world-wide deaths from tobacco, drugs and alcohol (2003) is as follows: 4.9 million (71%; tobacco-related), 1.8 million (26%; alcohol-related), 223,000 (3%; illicit drugs such as heroin, cocaine and amphetamines); and 70,000 (1%; heroin-related) (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1858/26/ ).
The estimated current breakdown of Australia (population 20 million) deaths from tobacco, drugs and alcohol is as follows: 19,000 (tobacco-related), 7,000 (alcohol-related); 700 (accidental deaths from illicit drugs) and about 400 (opioid-related accidental deaths).
I strongly object to American movies portraying (a) SMOKING as normal (it kills about 400,000 Americans each year); (b) GUN USE (guns kill about 30,000 Americans every year and will have killed about 240,000 Americans by the time pro-Gun Bush leaves office, if he is not impeached before then); (c) people looking at each other while driving and not wearing seat belts (motor car accidents kill about 45,000 Americans annually); (d) alcohol abuse (see (c)).
I also profundly object to the glorification in American movies of post-war American soldiers. The excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that shoulkd not have happened) total 19 million for post-1950 US Asian wars (mostly Women and Children).
While the Allied civilian deaths/Axis military death ratio was about 9 in WW2 (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1858/26/ ), the "enemy deaths"/US military deaths ratio in the Bush War on Terror (as of May 2007) has been about 3.4 million excess deaths/3,400 US military deaths = 1,000 (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13099/254/ ).
The latest US Asian war, the Bush War on Terror, is in horrendously actuality a War on Women and Children, involving post-invasion excess deaths (so far) in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories totalling 1.0 million and 2.4 million, respectively, mostly Women and Children and due to gross Occupier violation of the Geneva Convention that demands that Occupiers keep their conquered subjects ALIVE (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13099/254/ ).
The Bush-Blair War on Terror is in horrendous actuality a cowardly and racist War on Muslim Women and Children, a War on Arab Women and Children and a War on Asian Women and Children. Those complicit in the active and passive mass murder of defenceless Asian Women and Children should NOT be glorified in movies - and NEITHER should smoking which kills 400,000 AMERICANS each year.
GideonPolya commented on Picasso's Guernica battle lives on.
30 Apr 2007 2:27pm
I thoroughly endorse Sprinty's view that Picasso's Guernica has a UNIVERSAL message - but it is a message that is still being callously ignored.
Thus last year I was moved by the crucifixion of Lebanon to create a huge painting called "Qana" after the Israeli bombing of the town of the same name in mid-2006. My "Qana" is based in underlying geometry on Picasso's terrifying masterpiece (a double Golden Rectangle geometry bounded between upper and lower horizontal strips) but is one third the size, with much colour, pre-Christian, Christian and Muslim themes and designed so that it will not scare children (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/9547/26/ and http://mwcnews.net/content/view/14171/42/ ).
Picasso's Guernica should stay in Madrid - but the world must take the lesson to heart. The latest medical literature and UN Population Division data indicate that the post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that should not have happened) in Occupied Iraq and Occupied Afghanistan now (April 2007) total 1.0 million and 2.4 million, respectively - mostly Women and Children and due to gross Occupier violation of the Geneva Conventions (see The Cost of War: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13099/26/).
GideonPolya commented on Tricky wicket.
01 Apr 2007 10:16pm
Nagraj Gollapudi is getting as near the truth as is permitted by lying, racist Mainstream media.
That money (including dirty gambling money) is big in Cricket is obvious. What is WORSE is how Cricket is a huge PROPAGANDA success for First World hegemony over Spaceship Earth in which 16 million people die avoidably every year (about 10 million under-5 year old infants)(ditto the Olympics and the Commonwealth games: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5668/254/ ).
Thus the BIG Global Bengali news in the last week has been the Giant-killing performance of the Bangladeshi minnows at Cricket - would they beat the Aussies again?
The BIG Bengali news EVERYDAY (like the domestic road toll in some public spirited newspapers in Australia) SHOULD BE how the Bengalis are faring in the bowels of Spaceship Earth with the First World in charge of the Flight Deck (think Irish emigrants and the "Titanic"). However racism, lying by omission and Cricket keep such dreadful stuff out of even the remote reaches of our dailies.
One is reminded of Nazi propaganda about the WW2 Theresienstadt Concentration Camp (a halfway house before Auschwitz) - they even made a movie for the benefit of the Red Cross showing children playing, theatrical and music productions etc. Nearly everyone was eventually shipped to Auschwitz and was killed. The BIG LIE continues - I was recently in Prague and the tourist guide declared that there were no Concentration Camps in WW2 in Czechoslovakia.
The annual per capita income in Bangladesh is about 1% that of the world's biggest greenhouse gas polluter the US. Climate Genocide driven by First World Climate Criminals has become a harsh reality with the recent disappearance into the Bay of Bengal of the Indian Bengali island of Lohachara (former population 10,000). Bengal � including West Bengal (population 85 million) and Bangladesh (population 153 million) is a densely populated part of the world that is acutely threatened by First World greenhouse gas pollution, global warming and consequent sea level rises and storm surges (for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment summary Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Summary for Policymakers, see: http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf ).
Indeed a British group Bring Climate Criminals to Justice (BCCJ) focuses on the growing global warming threat to Bangladesh and on lobbying for legislative changes to Bring Climate Criminals to Justice (see: http://www.climatecriminals.co.uk/ ).
The REAL Aussie VERSUS Bangladeshi MATCH-UP can be seen in relative Greenhouse Gas Pollution data: for Australia the annual per capita CO2 production is 19.2 tonnes but Australia is also the world�s biggest coal exporter. If we include the CO2 from Australian coal exports in the picture, then the figure for Australia becomes 40.3 tonnes per person per year as compared to 20 (the US), 20 (Canada), 3.7 (China), 1.0 (India), 0.7 (Pakistan) and 0.25 (Bangladesh).
Thus Australia with 0.3% of the World�s population produces 3.0% of the World�s CO2 pollution, the US with 4.7% produces 22.2% and the UK and its former European-settled colonies (�Anglo-Celtia�; the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Israel) with 7.2% of the World�s population produce 32% of its CO2 pollution � as compared to BANGLADESH with 2.4% of the World�s population producing 0.14%, India with 17% producing 4% and China with 21% of the world�s population producing 18% of the world�s annual CO2 pollution (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13576/254/ ).
In 1750 Bengal was one of the most technologically, agriculturally and administratively sophisticated countries in the world. However since 1757 (this year the 250th anniversary of Plassey; I had the honor and great pleasure of meeting the Last Nawab of Bengal, a charming ex-British Army WW2 veteran and decended from Mir Jafar who betrayed Bengal to the British in 1757 and was thence installed as Nawab), the British were involved in genocidal enslavement of the Bengalis for 2 centuries with resultant horrendous BRITISH-MADE Bengali Holocausts that have been largely white-washed out of history e.g. the 1769/1770 man-made great Bengal Famine (10 million victims), the 1866 Bengal-Orissa Famine (about 1 million victims), the 1943/1944 Bengal Famine ( 4 million victims; suggested by Colin Mason in A Short History of Asia to have been due to a deliberate scorched earth policy by the British), 1947 Partition (hundreds of thousands killed, millions of refugees) - and THENCE the 1971 US-backed West Pakistan rape of Bangladesh (3 million killed, 0.3 million raped) - and NOW looming Climate Genocide c/- Climate Criminals Bush America and Bush-ite neo-con Australia (see: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ).
MASS MURDER of Bengalis by racist occupiers, by First World economic hegemony, or through Climate Genocide by Climate Criminals is simply NOT CRICKET.
GideonPolya commented on Newspeak is alive and well.
24 Mar 2007 8:54pm
Newspeak is evidently alive and well on The Guardian Comment is Free.
A few days ago I took the trouble of posting a quite lengthy comment on this story about our Orwellian media and provided detailed links to my assertions.
That commentary has been deleted (by WHO? WHY?).
What I said in essence was that in Orwell's 1984 Big Brother declared that "war is peace, slavery is freedom and ignorance is strength" - and that this mantra is now entrenched in the West through the lies and slies (spin-based untruths) of Bush-ite politicans and Corporate mainstream media.
However Big Brother also declared that "2 plus 2 does not equal 4" and this is well illustrated by the generally steadfast Mainstream media refusal to publish authoritative, medical literature- and UN agency-derived estimates of the horrendous post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that should not have happened)in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories that now total 1.0 million and 2.4 million, respectively, this being consonant with post-invasion under-5 infant deaths (90% avoidable and due to US Alliance violation of the Geneva Convention) totalling 0.5 million and 1.9 million, respectively (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13099/254/ and http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13296/42/).
Of course Winston's job in 1984 was to censor the public record.
I wonder how long this Comment will survive on The Guardian Comment is Free?
GideonPolya commented on A hostage to misfortune.
24 Mar 2007 8:32am
Comment is Free readers: I am merely a messenger reporting (as is my duty as a decent world citizen) horrendous mortality due to war criminal Occupier NON-provision in the Occupied Palestinian Territory of life sustaining requisites demanded unequivocally by the Geneva Convention, a cornerstone of International Law.
The carnage in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories is even worse where post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths) now total 1.0 million and 2.4 million, respectively, these UN Agency- and medical literature-derived estimates being consonant with similarly sourced estimates of post-invasion under-5 infant deaths totalling 0.5 million and 1.9 million, respectively (for details and documentation see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12904/42/ , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13099/254/ , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13296/42/ , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12741/42/ , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/11968/42/ ).
Guardian readers will have to decide for themselves in relation to the reasonableness of:
(a) the horrendous quantitative post-invasion death-related assessments of top US (and world) medical epidemiologists, UNICEF, the UN Population Divsion and WHO; the expert judgement about "de-Nazification" of outstanding JEWISH American financier, philanthropist and Hungarian Jewish Holocaust survivor George Soros; and the expert HUMANITARIAN opinions CONDEMNING ISRAELI HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES of outstanding JEWISH intellectuals such as Professors Noam Chomsky (MIT, US), Norman Finkelstein (Saint Paul, US),Bertell Ollman (NYU, US), Stephen Rose (Open University, UK), (the late) Tanya Reinhart (Israel), Ilan Pappe (Haifa, Israel), Peter Singer (ex Australia, now Princeton, US), Dennis Altman (Australia) and of OTHER outstanding JEWISH intellectuals such as Dr Jennifer Loewenstein (Oxford), Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter (UK), Antony Loewenstein (Australia; "My Israel Question", Melbourne University Press), Gideon Levy (Haaretz, Israel), Deb Reich (Israel) and of members of Independent Jewsih Voices (IJV; UK), Independent Australian Jewsih Voices (IAJV), Not In My Name (NIMN, US) and like humanitarian Jewsih organizations committed to PEACE with NON-RACISM, equity, justice and reconciliation in the Holy Land (for examples of such PEACE proposals see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/533/254/ , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/9253/254/ , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5175/42/ .)
VERSUS
(b) the utterly FALSE, virulently defamatory, ad hominem abuse above from an unknown supporter of Israeli policies with the courage of anonymity.
GideonPolya commented on A hostage to misfortune.
24 Mar 2007 6:02am
Fascinating perspective on the sociology of the kidnapping of a total of 55 foreigners in Gaza over the last 3 years.
Of course no mention in the article or this thread of the kidnapping that is so huge and so awful and so deadly that by now well-established racist, anti-Arab anti-Semitic Western CONVENTION the racist, lying, genocide-ignoring Mainstream media does not say anything about it - the kidnapping and traumatizing, abusive imprisonment over the last 40 years of 3.5 million Palestinians by Anglo-American-backed, racist, violent, genocidal, Zionist-run Apartheid Israel.
While NO HARM has come to the 55 foreigners in the hands of who the US-Israeli State Terrorists (USISTs) call "terrorists", a HORRENDOUS HARM has come to the Prisoners of prot-Nazi Apartheid Israel - thus straightforward analysis of the latest UN Population Division demographic data (see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ ) the post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that should not have happened) now (March 2007) total 0.3 million and the post-invasion under-5 year old infant deaths total 0.2 million (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12954/42/ ).
Inspection of the latest UNICEF figures (see: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html ) informs us that the �annual under-5 infant death rate� in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) is 23 deaths/1,000 births as compared to 6 in Apartheid Israel proper and in its staunch supporter Racist White Australia. Accordingly the �annual avoidable under-5 infant death rate� is 23 � 6 = 17 deaths/1,000 births.
UN Population Division data (see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ ) indicate that the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory is 3,762,000 and the annual birth rate is 37.5/1,000 of population. Accordingly the annual number of births is 37.5 x 3,762 = 141,075.
Using the above information we can calculate that the �annual under-5 infant deaths� in the OPT = 23 x 141.075 = 3,245 and that the �AVOIDABLE annual under-5 infant deaths� in the OPT = 17 x 141.075 = 2,398 (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13415/42/ ).
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs site (see: http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa ) gives detailed statistics showing that post-1948 Israeli deaths from �terrorism� OVER SIXTY YEARS as 2,646 - yet the Racist Zionists are killing about 2,400 Palestinian infants ANNUALLY through non-provision of the life-sustaining requisites unequivocally demanded of Occupiers by the Geneva Convention Relative to Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (READ THEM, especially Articles 38, 55 and 56: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/y4gcpcp.htm ).
US-UK-Oz-backed, Racist Zionist-run, Apartheid Israel is engaged in a slow but continuing Palestinian Genocide while the World looks the other way - just as the World looked the other way when the Nazis wiped MY family from the face of Europe in Hungary about 62 years ago.
What Racist Zionist Apartheid Israel is doing is GENOCIDE as defined by the UN Genocide Convention (Read Articles II & III; see: http://www.preventgenocide.org/law/convention/text.htm ) - 0.3 million post-invasion excess deaths; 6 million Palestinian refugees; 80,000 Palestinians fleeing every year; 85% of Christian Palestinians have fled the Land Christ Trod; Apartheid Israel killing 2,400 KIDNAPPED Palestinian infants every year (SEVEN INFANTS KILLED DAILY).
I fervently hope that current German proposals for criminalization of genocide denial IN GENERAL get up in the EU (I prefer No-penalty Genocide Denial Criminalization, NGDC: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12483/254/ ). However in the interim one faintly hopes that Racist British Justice will deal with "race hatred and violence" being spewed out DAILY with horrific consequences by British Racist Zionists - Apartheid Israel (to which these traitorous bigots owe primary allegiance) is killing about 7 Arab infants every day (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13415/42/ ).
Given these appalling realities (the truth is only a few mouse clicks away but is IGNORED by racist, lying, genocide-ignoring Mainstream media) one can understand why outstanding Jewish American financier, philanthropist and Hungarian Jewish Holocaust survivor George Soros has called for the "de-Nazification" of Bush Amerika (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12714/254/ ) - Britain could do with a good "de-Nazification" program too, starting with the virulent, traitorous, racial hatred- and violence-promoting Racist Zionists who are a vile BLOT on Jewry AND on Britain.
GideonPolya commented on Opportunism knocks.
22 Mar 2007 7:33am
Excellent article by Naima Bouteldja. It is not just in France and Britain that the race card is being played - Racist Zionists (RZs) and the Racist Bush-ites (RBs) have successfully entrenched anti-Arab anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and xenophobia throughout the West.
The consequences range from the Western DOMESTIC obscenity public rudeness from total strangers to women and girls wearing the hijab or simply otherwise perceived to be foreign (apparently quite common in Politically Correct Racist White Australia to all account) to the horrendous OFF-SHORE reality of mass murder and horrendous trauma in the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories.
Thus the post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that didn't have to happen ) in the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories now (March 2007) total 0.3, 1.0 and 2.4 million, respectively, and the corresponding post-invasion uder-5 year old infant deaths total 0.2, 0.5 and 1.9 million, respectively (as estimated from the latest medical literature and UN agency data; for details and documentation see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12904/42/ , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1375/247/ , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13099/254/ , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12741/42/ ). And of course, the racist, lying , holocaust-ignoring Mainstream media simply ignores this on-going carnage and trauma - there being more important things to report in the estimation of these racist bigots such as the threat, in their perception, to Western civilization from Muslim women and girls wearing the hijab.
The proto-Nazi RZs and RBs have entrenched anti-Arab anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and xenophobia in Australia. The former political foes and former PMs Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser have both commendably spoken out against this xenophobic obscenity that has led to the shooting up of a crowded mosque, the burning down of a mosque, routine public vilification of Muslims and Islam in the mainstream media, egregious physical violence (such as the Sydney Cronulla Beach riots involving thousands of red-neck racist yahoos) - and the cowardly abuse from total strangers directed at women and girls wearing the hijab or even women merely thought to be foreigners.
I am an agnostic humanist but have the pleasure of wide-ranging family connections including variously-observant Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Christians as well as agnostics. I am regularly angered by stories of abuse from total strangers directed at Muslim women and girls.
Thus, by way of example, a few months ago 2 professional women from my tribe, one Anglo-Indian and one Indo-Malay, neither wearing the hijab and only one actually Muslim were accosted by a gang of young louts in the heart of Melbourne and told to "go back where you come from". That's what happens when cowardly, racist politicians pull the race card (typically in a cowardly, dog-whistling, politically correct way) with the complicity of cowardly, racist media (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12399/42/ , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/3499/254/ ).
From anecdotal evidence I suspect that most Muslim women and girls have experienced something like this in Australia. Inescapable business will prevent me from attending an interstate nikkah (Muslim wedding) shortly but I have engaged a female attendee to do some research on the matter using a large sample of women and girls.
Racism is indefensible. What should be a HIJAB NON-ISSUE is well to the bottom of the list of social issues facing the West, at the TOP of which are racism, anti-Arab anti-semitism, Islamophobia, democratic imperialism (democratic tyranny, democratic Nazism), invasion and occupation of other countries, mass murder of Muslims (mostly Women and Children) in Occupied Iraq and Occupied Afghanistan, the Iraq Genocide, the Afghan Genocide, the Palestinian Genocide and the looming horrendous Climate Genocide from the selfish , racist profligacy of major greenhouse polluters such as Bush America and Bush-ite White Australia (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12578/42/ ).
There should be ZERO TOLERANCE OF RACISM. If your partner or associate excuses or supports ANY racism (KKK, Nazism, Racist Zionism, Racist Religious Right Republican (R4) Bush-ism - including directing what, typically Asian or African, Muslim women and girls should wear in Western societies in which only the female genitalia are required to be covered in public) tell him or her "I don't do nazis".
GideonPolya commented on Iraq: the realisation.
21 Mar 2007 6:28am
The fundamental problem is the OPPOSITE of the Title - there has NOT been a "Realisation" over Iraq, mainly due to the lying by omission and commission of racist, lying, holocaust-ignoring Mainstream media - and as we all know, history denied and history ignored yields history REPEATED.
However Honest and Alternative media can provide estimates from Nobel Prize-winning US economist of the accrual cost of the Bush War on Terror ($2.5 trillion) and the post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that didn't have to happen) in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories (1.0 million and 2.4 milion, respectively) (as of March 2007; from top medical literature and UN agency data) (see: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m31251&hd=&size=1&l=e , http://www.newstatesman.com/200703120024 , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13099/42/ , http://www.stateofnature.org/humanCostOfEmpire.html , http://www.countercurrents.org/iraq-polya070207.htm , http://open.newmatilda.com/crosswire/?p=77 ). Post-invasion Occupied Iraqi excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) now total ONE MILLION as of MARCH 2007, after 4 years of war and as estimated from data from the top US medical epidemiology group in the World�s top Public Health School (the Nobel Laureate-containing Bloomberg School of Public Health) at the top US Johns Hopkins University, published peer-reviewed in the top UK medical journal The Lancet and endorsed by 27 top Australian medical experts.
Consonant with post-invasion excess deaths in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories totalling 1.0 million and 2.4 million, respectively, the post-invasion under-5 year old infant deaths total 0.5 million and 1.9 million, respectively; the number of refugees total 3.8 million and 3.8 million, respectively; and, according to WHO, the annual per capita medical expenditures permitted by the Occupiers are $64 and $23, respectively, as compared to $2,874 (Australia), $2,389 (UK) and $5,711 (US).
The accrual cost (i.e. the long-term committed cost) of the Bush Iraq and Afghan Wars is now $2.5 TRILLION, this estimate coming from 2001 Economics Nobel Laureate and former Chief Economist of the World Bank US Professor Stiglitz (Columbia) and Professor Linda Bilmes (Harvard), who also estimate a cost of $6.5 million for each US soldier killed. Assuming the �all men are created equal� this leads to a Reparations Bill of $ 6.5 million x 3.4 million = $22 trillion.
These horrendous outcomes indicate gross violation by the US Alliance of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (notably Articles 38, 55 and 56), UN Genocide Convention (specifically Article 2) as well as of the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Rights of the Child Convention. Peace is the only way but silence kills and silence is complicity. We are inescapably obliged to inform everyone about horrendous abuses of humanity.
In 1945 ordinary Germans said that �they didn�t know� that the Jewish Holocaust was happening. The same excuse cannot be used by the citizens of the US Alliance, notwithstanding the continuing lying by commission and omission of racist, holocaust-ignoring Mainstream media � the awful truth is only several mouse clicks away.
Further, post-defeat in 1945 the Germans followed a post-Holocaust protocol that can be summarized by the acronym CAAAA (C4A) - Cessation of the killing, Acknowlegement of the Crimes, Apology, Amends, and Assertion that it will never happen again. The Americans haven't made it to first base with C, A, A, A or A. The REALISTIC best outcome in 2008 will be a Clinton victory (i.e. a victory by someone who voted for the war), no A, A, A or A and Cessation only until such time as racist, violent, self-absorbed proto-Nazi America decides to resume its over 2-century War on non-European Women and Children (currently a cowardly war on Asian, Arab, Muslim and South Asian Women and Children).
Now you can understand why outstanding Jewish American financier, philanthropist, Holocaust survivor and CONSERVATIVE George Soros has recently called for a "de-Nazification" of America.
GideonPolya commented on A belief that dare not speak its name.
16 Mar 2007 9:17pm
As evidenced by all kinds of anonymous people on this thread in a presumed "anti-atheist" camp, the serious problem with the delusional theists is that they impose their irrationality on public policy and do so in particularly abusive fashion.
Hence the sheer EXTRAORDINARINESS of an American Congressamn actually "coming out" and declaring that he is an atheist i.e. that he does NOT believe in spooks, virgin birth, transubstantiation, 1 + 1 + 1 = 1 (shades of Orwell's 2 plus 2 does not equal 4 in 1984), creationism, rapturing up, God's Own country ...
It is a dangerous world - and particularly dangerous for Arab, Asian and Muslim Women and Children subject to horrendous, ongoing mass murder lead by the Racist Religious Right Republican (R4) Bush-ites and their confreres. However for the rest of us the MOST ACUTE DANGER comes from (a) NUCLEAR WEAPONS (darling toys of the R4 Bush-ite extremists in particular) and (b) GLOBAL WARMING (noting that R4 Bush-ite America is the world's biggest greenhouse gas polluter, Bush-ite White Australia is the big country with the highest annual; per capital carbon dioxide pollution and the world's biggest coal exporter - and neither will sign up to Kyoto or seriously limit carbon dioxide pollution).
Yet while our overwhelmingly agnostic or atheist top scientists warn us of the threat of nuclear weapons, there is an overwhelming scientific consensus on anthropogenic greenhouse gas pollution and global warming, the delusional Religious Right can convince highly literate Western weight of democracies otherwise by simple weight of abusive rhetoric with Mainstreammedia compliance.
A good example of this is provided by this thread. The post-invasion excess deaths in Occupied Iraq now totals ONE MILLION (as estimated from the latest top medical literature published in a top medical journal by World's best medical epidemiologists) is consonant with 3 other estimates from 3 other authoritative data sets, namely the UN Population Divsion, UNICEF and previous estimates from a world-leading medical epidemiology group published peer-reviewed in a top medical journal)(for detailed documentation and discussion see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12904/42/ and http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1375/247/ ) - yet this is readily publicly countermanded by abusive denial by anonymous interlocutors or by bald denial by Bush-ite politicians (notably Bush, Blair and Australia's Howard).
While SCEPTICISM lies at the heart of Science (which is fundamentally about critically testing potentially falsifiable hypotheses) most of us defer (at least on an operational basis) to the collective wisdom of US National Science Academicians (93% non-theist), the Royal Society (similar) , and top medical opinion rather than the abusive, assertions of anonymous interlocutors or the bald spin of Bush-ite religious extremists such as Bush and Blair.
Religion might help some people get through life - as no doubt do all kinds of bizarre or adventurous sexual practices. However all such things, helpful as they may be to the practitioners, should be practised by consenting adults in private and not imposed in the public arena to the detriment of health and safety. It would be much healthier if there were much greater public condemnation of irrational, religious beliefs being foisted on public policy by dangerously deluded religious politicians - would we tolerate televised in flagrante self-abuse in the House of Commons?.
A recent example dramatizes this. It is unexceptional for air travellers to wear religious symbols notwithstanding the implicit irrationality (we can be raptured up to heaven, fly through the sky, our Protector will alter laws of physics at will etc)- however a former Australian student of mine was recently repeatedly denied air travel in the UK and Australia for wearing a T-shirt carrying a picture of the world's #1 R4 Bush-ite, Dubya, and the indubitably true caption "World's #1 terrorist" - 7,000 Western civilians killed by Muslim-origin non-state terroristsover the last 40 years (incudingcolonial Israelis and assuming - huge assumption - no US involvement in 9/11 - as compared to 3.4 million post-invasion excess deaths in Bush's War on Terror (see: http://www.newsvine.com/allen-jasson, http://gpolya.newsvine.com/ and http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13099/42/). (see: http://www.newsvine.com/allen-jasson ).
GideonPolya commented on A belief that dare not speak its name.
16 Mar 2007 2:45am
Oxford Professor Richard Dawkins (like H.G. Wells, BRITISH; born in Nairobi, Kenya) in his outstanding book The God Delusion (Bantam, London, 2006, p100) describes the mass delusion in acceptance of the supernatural in contemporary America.
Professor Dawkins points to a 1998 study published in the prestigious UK science journal Nature by Drs Larson and Witham that estimated that 93% of the members of the prestigious US National Academy of Science do not believe in a personal God - as compared to over 90% of Americans believing in the supernatural.
The US has more Nobel Laueates than any other country (MIT alone boasts 62). However Professor Dawkins further points out that, QUOTE: "The only website I could find that claimed to list "Nobel Prize-winning Scientific Christians" came up with six, out of a total of several hundred scientific Nobelists. Of these six it turned out that four were not Nobel Prize-winners at all; and at least one to my certain knowledge, is a non-believer who attends church for purely social reasons."
The American public is occasionally and transiently exposed to expert new revelations about 9/11 (e.g. see: http://www.newsvine.com/9/11 and in particular how the BBC reported the collapse of WTC buidling 7 (WTC7) half an hour before it happened and with the still standing WTC7 building over the left shoulder of the live TV lady presenter).
The Lies and Slies (spin-based untruths) of Corporate Mainstream media and Bush-ite politicians have created a Goebbelsian nightmare in contemporary America (the rest of the West is not far behind). Spin wins out by weight of propaganda applied to an overwhelmingly "delusional" theistic American population (a substantial proportion of whom supposedly believe that ET visits regularly, the world was made about 6,000 years ago and that they will all be raptured up to heaven in a few years' time).
Really seriously, post-invasion Iraqi excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) now total ONE MILLION as of March 2007 (655,000 as of July 2006 based on a pre-invasion Iraqi death rate baseline), after 4 years of war and as estimated from data from the top US medical epidemiology group in the World�s top Public Health School (the Nobel Laureate-containing Bloomberg School of Public Health) at the top US Johns Hopkins University, published peer-reviewed in the top UK medical journal The Lancet and endorsed by 27 top Australian medical experts.� (see: http://www.newstatesman.com/200703120024 , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12904/42/ , http://open.newmatilda.com/crosswire/?p=101 and http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13099/42/ ). Yet America, led by their #1 Delusional, simply and baldly is in DENIAL over this continuing horrendous mass murder, mainly of utterly innocent Women and Children.
No doubt many despairing agnostics and atheists secretly wish there WERE a GOD to HELP US from the dangerously delusional Americans and especially from the Racist Religious Right Republican (R4) Bush-ites responsible for post-invasion excess deaths (as of March 2007) of 1.0 million in Occupied Iraq and 2.4 million in Occupied Afghanistan (mostly Women and Children and largely due to US Alliance war crimes) (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13099/42/ and http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1375/247/ ).
For a cogent analysis of American theistic delusion and its horrendous consequences (how do you put 90% of 300 million people on the psychiatrist's couch?) read the outstanding book "Death's Dream Kingdom. The American psyche since 9/11" (Pluto, London, 2006) by Professor Walter Davis (Ohio State University).
GideonPolya commented on No truth and no reconciliation.
13 Mar 2007 2:01am
All decent people must insist that Japan acknowledges the fullest extent of its crimes in WW2.
However it must also be said that the same applies to the British - and indeed to ALL those involved in gross human rights abuses.
Thus while everyone is rightly aware of the WW2 Jewish Holocaust (5-6 million victims) very few are aware of the contemporaneous man-made Bengal Famine in British-ruled India (4 million victims) that has been largely deleted from British historiography and hence from general public perception in a CONTINUING process of racist holocaust denial.
The man-made 1943/1944 Bengal Famine (studied by 1998 Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen, Cambridge and thence Harvard) occurred because when the price of rice (for a variety of reasons) rose 4-fold those on the edge who could not afford it simply starved under a ruthless and racist British administration (the consequent 1940s demographic defcit in Bengal was about 10 million).
Colin Mason in his book A Short History of Asia (Macmillan, London, 2000) has condemned the ignoring of this atrocity by British historians and politicians - indeed he has speculated that it may have occurred as a result of deliberate scorched earth policy by the British to discourage Japanese invasion from India.
The British-forgotten man-made Bengal Famine was associated with horrendous military and civilan sexual abuse of starving women and girls that was so big as to affect demographic statistics for Calcutta where perhaps 30,000 females suffered such abuse - the total number of victims of such abuse in the British Military Labor Corps and in civilian life may have totaled hundreds of thousands province-wide i.e. was on a scale commensurate with the comfort women abuses of the Japanese Imperial Army.
An entrenched British culture of (a) academic, media and politician lying and (b) of unstated ubermensch belief means that this man-made famine atrocity - as well as the horrendous attendant sexual abuse of women and girls - has been largely swept under the carpet. For detailed accounts of this conveniently forgotten British atrocity see: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ , http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/stories/s19040.htm, Greenough, P.R. (1982), Prosperity and Misery in Modern Bengal: the Famine of 1943-1944 (Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York). Greenough, P.R. (1988), Famine in Embree, A.T. (1985a) (editor), Encyclopaedia of Asian History (Collier Macmillan, London) pp457-459 ).
Of course the British and their Canadian, American and Australian offshoots are still LYING and indeed lying about contemporary, on-going atrocities - thus authoritative medical literature and UN agency data indicate that the post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that should not have happened) in the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories now total 0.3 million, 1.0 million and 2.4 million, respectively, and the refugees total 6 million, 3.8 million and 3.7 million, respectively (for detailed analysis and documentation see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12904/42/ , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1375/247/ and http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13099/42/ ).
GideonPolya commented on No news is bad news.
11 Mar 2007 12:29pm
No news is bad news? No more Mainstream media lying by omission and commission will be GOOD news.
Here are several extremely important RECENT stories that you will NOT find reported by racist, lying, Mainstream media but which ARE published in Alternative media.
#1. How the BBC and CNN reported the demolition of WTC7 on 9/11 half an hour to an hour before it happened and with the WTC7 building standing in real time through the window behind the presenters � as reported in a succession of articles in the Alternative media and as thence reported on the American Newsvine (which actually has a relatively conservative readership in my opinion) (for detailed stories see: http://www.newsvine.com/wtc7 ).
#2. How Australian company AWB funneled US$250 million to Saddam Hussein while the Australian Government steadfastly looked the other way (that part so far you might have read in the Mainstream media ) at a cost of up to 20,000 under-5 year old Iraqi infant lives (that was reported in a fullsome, detailed speech to the Australian Senate which was of course NOT reported by lying racist Mainstream media) (for detailed stories see: http://www.newsvine.com/awb ).
#3. The latest data from the UN Population Division and from the top US medical epidemiology group in the World�s top Public Health Department (the Nobel Laureate-containing Bloomberg School of Public Health) at the top Johns Hopkins University, published peer-reviewed in the top medical journal The Lancet and endorsed by 27 top Australian academic and institutional medical experts indicate 1 MILLION Iraqi post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12904/42/ ). Similar authoritative data indicate post-invasion excess deaths in Occupied Afghanistan total 2.4 million as of March 2007 (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13099/42/ ). This carnage is resolutely IGNORED by Mainstream media.
#4. Another story you will read in a recent issue of The New Statesman and the LA Times and in Alternative media (e.g. the excellent Canadian MWC News) but which is no doubt generally ignored by racist, lying Mainstream media is the estimate by 2001 Economics Nobel Laureate US Professor Joseph Stiglitz (Columbia) and his Harvard colleague Professor Linda Bilmes of the $2.5 TRILLION accrual cost of the Bush War on Iraq and Afghanistan (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/13099/42/ ) .
There is a wealth of quite HORRIFYING hard data stories being reported in the scientific literature and by international agencies such as the UN Population Division, UNICEF, WHO and UNDOC and being reported in Alternative media by scientists and scholars such as myself (e.g. see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1375/247/ and http://gpolya.newsvine.com/ ) but which is largely unreported by lying, racist Mainstream media.
This lying has been going on for a long time. Thus how many Brits would be aware of an event in WW2 that killed almost as many people as died in the Jewish Holocaust, was down to "us" and which has been resolutely wiped from British history, media and general public perception? The 1943/44 man-made Bengal Famine killed 4 million, was associated with horrendous military and civilan sexual abuse of starving women and girls and a 1940s demographic deficit in Bengal of 10 million (see: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ). Colin Mason in "A Short History of Asia" (Macmillan, 2000) condemns the lying by omission by British writers and speculates that this atrocity may indeed have been due to a deliberate, scorched earth policy by the British to head off possible Japanese invasion from Burma.
Ordinary Germans in 1945 claimed that �they didn�t know� about the Holocaust. The existence of Alternative media means that Western citizens cannot use the same excuse today about the awful truth � notwithstanding lying by commission and omission by racist, lying, holocaust-ignoring Mainstream media.
GideonPolya commented on History: the legalised version.
27 Feb 2007 8:59am
I agree with Ian Williams that Genocide Denial and Holocaust Denial should not be punished by a custodial sentence or even a fine - however something certainly needs to be done about it .
Thus the latest medical and UN agency data indicate that the post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen)in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Terrtories total 1.0 million and 2.2 million, respectively - largely due to gross US Alliance violation of the Geneva Convention that demands that an Occupier does everything "to the fullest extent of the means available to it" to keep its Conquered subjects ALIVE. However this on-going carnage is not reported by mainstream media or politicians in a continuing act of Genocide and Holocaust Denial (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12578/42/ ).
Genocide Denial is wrong and utterly repugnant for 3 major reasons: (1) it is falsehood; (2) it is profoundly offensive to the memory of the victims, survivors of such atrocities, their loved ones and indeed to all of decent humanity; and (3) it increases the probability of repetition of such awful crimes � history ignored and history denied yields history repeated. Indeed it is for these sorts of reasons that Germany (currently in a leadership position in the EU) has controversially proposed a measure that would criminalize not only those who deny or diminish the Holocaust but those belittling ANY genocide, mass murder, war crimes and other crimes against humanity.
However criminal penalties for Genocide Denial will constrain free speech and scholarly research. Accordingly I have proposed �No-penalty Criminalization of Genocide Denial� (NCGD) which exposes, arraigns, tries and convicts Genocide Deniers � but preserves free speech by applying NO penalty other than the public disgrace of conviction for the crime of Genocide Denial (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12483/42/ ).
On-going Genocide Denial by media and politicians enables its continuation. Consult UNICEF (Google UNICEF: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html ) and you will quickly discover that 0.5 million under-5 year old infants die in Occupied Iraq and Occupied Afghanistan each year (1,300 daily, ONE PER MINUTE) - 90% avoidably and due to UK-US-Australia-NATO Alliance war crimes.
Bush, Blair and their Coalition confr�res should be arraigned for War Crimes as demanded by 2005 British Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter; the World Tribunal on Iraq headed by outstanding Indian writer and Sydney Peace Prize winner Arundhati Roy; and by outstanding former Malaysian PM Dr Mahathir (see: http://www.countercurrents.org/arts-pinter081205.htm , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/861/42/ and http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1779467/posts).
Indeed Dr Mahathir ("annual under-5 infant death rate" 0.14% in Malaysia as compared to 0.15% in UK and 0.17% in the US) suggests the punishment of PUBLIC IGNOMINY for war criminals convicted by his suggested non-government organization NGO international war crimes tribunal (as I do for No-penalty Genocide Denial Criminalization, NGDC): "We should not hang Blair if the tribunal finds him guilty but he should always carry the label as a war criminal, killer of children, liar. And so should Bush and the pocket Bush of the bushlands of Australia.�
The Genocide Perpetrators need to be identified by formal evidentiary judicial processes; trial of Genocide Deniers and Ignorers (e.g. most British journalists and politicians) is a way of doing this; but to preserve free speech and untrammelled scholarly inquiry the punishment for this heinous crime should simply be the public recording and detailing of conviction (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12578/42/).
GideonPolya commented on Once the most beloved country in the world, the US is now the most hated.
19 Feb 2007 6:13am
Jan Morris is only partially correct but misses a number of key points about WHY Amerika is "the most hated".
There are 2 Americas - the America that the World STILL loves of inspiring writers, leaders, entertainers, scientists, sportspeople (Carson McCuller, Martin Luther King, Mohammed Ali, Father Daniel Berrigan, JFK, Paul Robeson, Jane Fonda, the Dixie Chicks, Arthur Kornberg, Arthur Miller ....) and the AMERIKA still evilly involved in bringing war and devastation to scores of millions of Men, Women and Children in the Developing World.
The post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) associated with US Asian wars now total about 19 million; the post-invasion excess deaths in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories total 1.0 million and 2.2 million , respectively, and there are 3.7 million refugees from Iraq and 3.7 million refugees from Afghanistan (as determined from the latest UNHCR, UN, UNICEF and medical literature data; for details and documentation see: http://www.countercurrents.org/iraq-polya070207.htm , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/12261/42/ ).
Of course civilized people around the world STILL LOVE the inspiring America that believes that "all men are created equal and the the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pusuit of happiness" and utterly DETESTS - and is morally obliged to detest and expose - the racist, war-making, war-mongering, genocidal, Racist Religious Right Republican (R4) Bush-ite Amerika that denies these "inalienable rights" to Arabs (anti-Arab anti-Semitism, anti-Arabism), Muslims (Islamophobia), Haitians, Diego Garcians, Somalians, Afghans, Palestinians, Syrians ... - and is now beating the drum about "nuking Iran" (I have just done Google search for this obscene phrase that constitutes a criminal offence if uttered in the UK today as "incitement to racism and murder", and indeed is Genocide Promotion and Holocaust Promotion - and found 228,000 URLs).
GideonPolya commented on Resisting the Israel lobby.
09 Feb 2007 6:08am
Congratulations Abe Hayeem and to the Independent Jewish Voices for speaking out against Jewish and non-Jewish complicity in horrendous Israeli crimes against the Indigenous Palestinians.
What has been done to the Arab Palestinians by the Racist Zionists (RZs) is, in short, genocidal disempowerment, dispossession, deprivation, devastation and displacement on a massive scale: 0.7 million Palestinians expelled in 1948; half the UN-allotted Palestinian lands seized by the RZs in 1948; 6 million Palestinian refugees (4 million registered with the UN); 80,000 Palestinians fleeing their homeland each year; 85% of West Bank Christians ethnically cleansed by the RZs; 80% of Bethlehem Christians have fled; sacrilege of Muslim and Christian places of worship; harassment and prevention of religious observance by Christian and Muslim Palestinians; and as estimated from UN Population Division data (see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ ), post-1967 excess deaths and under-5 infant deaths in the Occupied Palestinian Territory total 0.3 million and 0.2 million, respectively - a PALESTINIAN GENOCIDE (as defined by the Internationally-agreed UN Genocide Convention, Article II, sections a-d: http://www.preventgenocide.org/law/convention/text.htm ).
The RZs are still effectively saying after 40 years of running the Occupied Palestinian Territory �Prison� (as perceived by outstanding American Jewish scholar Professor Noam Chomsky) or Concentration Camp � �leave or your Children may die� because the "annual death rate" for under-5 year old Palestinian infants is an appalling 4 times higher than that in Israel - indicative of gross violation by Apartheid Israel of the UN Charter and the Geneva, Universal Human Rights, Rights of the Child and Genocide Conventions) (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/11968/42/ ).
Three quarters of the Palestinians are Women and Children. Over 80% of Holy Land homicides are committed by Jewish Israelis, typically Israeli soldiers (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/7958/254/ ). One in 5 Palestinians killed by Israelis since 2000 have been Children.
Any Jew - or indeed anyone - who ignores, denies, minimizes, excuses, obfuscates, supports, advocates or effects gross human rights abuses against Women and Children - or indeed anyone - has crossed the line between decent humanity and barbarism.
I repeat, congratulations Abe Hayeem and the Independent Jewsih Voices for your courageous and ethical stand against racism and human rights abuses on the part of Apartheid Israel and those who support the racist ethnocracy of Apartheid Israel.
Peace is possible in the Holy Land but it requires acceptance of NON-RACISM by those running and supporting UK-US-backed Apartheid Israel. Peace with equity, justice and reconcilation is possible NOW.
GideonPolya commented on Who speaks for Jews in Britain?.
06 Feb 2007 11:33pm
Excellent article by Brian Klug. All decent people are OBLIGED to protest human rights abuses whether by Israel or any other country.
Indeed Jews (or any other people) ignoring, denying, excusing, minimizing, obfuscating, advocating, supporting or effecting gross human rights abuses by Israel (or any other country) have crossed the line separating decent humanity from barbarism.
Verbal anti-Jewish anti-Semitism typically involves making false, vilifying assertions about Jews - and that is exactly what Racist Zionists (RZs) do in falsely labelling anti-racist , humanitarian, Jewish critics of Israeli human rights abuses as "anti-semites", "self-hating Jews" or "traitors".
In doing so RZs are guilty of anti-Jewish anti-Semitism - in addition to their entrenched anti-Arab anti-semitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and racism.
Indeed when RZs falsely apply the vilification "anti-semite" to anti-racist non-Jewish critics of Israel who are merely saying exactly what outstanding Jewish critics such as Professor Noam Chomsky are saying, then they are guilty of indirect anti-Jewish anti-Semitism.
Anti-Jewish anti-Semitism and anti-Arab anti-Semitsm - both the stock in trade of the Racist Zionists (RZs) - are both vile and repugant as is all racism - as surely all decent people will agree.
As anti-racist, humanitarian Jew Brian Klug correctly and IMPORTANTLY says in his excellent article: "We reject any attempt to suppress legitimate public debate and we abhor the culture of vilification. The slur of "traitor" or "self-hating Jew" is especially noxious. For, if we feel compelled to protest against injustice to Palestinians, this is partly because of the lessons of our own history: the Jewish experience of marginalisation and persecution. Furthermore, when the language of human rights is spoken, many of us (secular and religious) hear the voices of those Hebrew prophets, rabbis, writers, activists and other Jewish figures down the centuries for whom Judaism means nothing if it does not mean social justice."
And, of course, what decent anti-racist Jews (including outstanding Jewish writers and scholars such as British Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter, Australia's Antony Loewenstein, Israel's Deb Reich and Gideon Levy and Professors Noam Chomsky, Steohen Rose, Norman Finkelstein, Bertell Ollman, Ilan Pappe and Tanya Reinhart) have been objecting to are the horrendous violation of the Arab Palestinians by the Racist Zionists (RZs) , in short, genocidal disempowerment, dispossession, deprivation and displacement on a massive scale: 0.7 million expelled in 1948; half the UN-allotted Palestinian lands seized by the RZs; 6 million Palestinian refugees (4 million registered with the UN); 80,000 Palestinians fleeing their homeland each year; 85% of West Bank Christians ethnically cleansed by the RZs; 80% of Bethlehem Christians have fled; post-1967 excess deaths and under-5 infant deaths in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) total 0.3 million and 0.2 million, respectively - a Palestinian Genocide (as defined by the Internationally-agreed UN Genocide Convention).
Three quarters of the Palestinians are Women and Children. The RZs are still saying after 40 years of running the OPT Concentration Camp - leave or your Children will die (the "annual death rate" for Palestinian infants is an appalling 4 times higher than that in Israel - indicative of gross violation by RZ-run Apartheid Israel of the UN Charter and the Geneva, Universal Human Rights, Rights of the Child and Genocide Conventions) (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/533/254/ , http://mwcnews.net/Gideon-Polya , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5175/42/ , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/11409/42/ ).
GideonPolya commented on The big Afghanistan push comes to shove.
30 Jan 2007 8:57am
The Occupier of another country has acute, unequivocal responsibilities under the Geneva Conventions to keep its conquered subjects ALIVE (read them, especially Articles 55 & 56: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm ).
The US, UK, Australia and NATO have grossly violated these obligations in Occupied Afghanistan as shown by the following estimations from UN Population Division data and UNICEF data.
(a) From UN Population Division data (see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ ) the post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) in Occupied Afghanistan now total (as of January 2007) 2.2 million - mostly Women and Children and mostly through US alliance violation of the Geneva Conventions.
(b) From the the same source, the post-invasion under-5 infant deaths in Occupied Afghanistan now total 1.9 million.
(c) Year 2005 annual under-5 infant death rate (i.e. as a percentage: deaths for every 100 under-5 year old infants in 2005 in a particular country) was 6.7% (OCCUPIED AFGHANISTAN ); 2.8% (Occupied Iraq); 5.5% (Occupied Somalia); 2.7% (Occupied Haiti); and 0.47% (Occupied Palestinian Territory) � as compared to 0.12% (Occupi-er Australia) and 0.12% (Occupi-er Israel)(as determined from the latest UNICEF data: http://www.unicef.org/ ; for detailed analysis see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/11968/42/ ).
The war criminality of what the US and its allies the UK, Australia, and complicit NATO countries are doing in Afghanistan can be most dramatically seen by comparing the above annual under-5 infant death rate in US-occupied Afghanistan (6.7%) with the �annual death rate� of 10% for Australian prisoners of war (POWs) of the Japanese in WW2 - noting that for crimes such as this Japanese generals were tried and hanged in the aftermath of that conflict.
Peace is the only way but silence kills and silence is complcity. Decent people are absolutely obliged to INFORM OTHERS about such horrendous abuses of huamnity and to act ethically in all their dealings with those complicit in such horrendous crimes.
The US recently put up a UN resolution RIGHTLY condemning the obscenity of Holocaust Denial - however this was an act of gross hypocrisy and dishonesty because the Resolution IGNORED numerous OTHER Holocausts including the ongoing Iraqi Holocaust and the ongoing Afghan Holocaust ( post-invasion excess deaths 0.9 million and 2.2 million, respectively PLUS refugees totalling about 3.7 million for EACH occupied country EQUALS Genocide and Holocaust).
The US, the UK and their Allies are involved in Holocaust Promotion, Holocaust Commission and Holocaust Denial in relation to both Afghanistan and Iraq (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/11293/42/ ).
GideonPolya commented on Confronting the playground bully.
12 Jan 2007 3:42am
Emdad Rahman is spot on. Bush US state terrorism is an immense threat to the world as revealed by the events of the last TWO (2) weeks in which the US has invaded the territory of TWO (2) countries. Thus the invasion and occupation of of Somalia by US-backed Christian Ethiopian forces and associated attacks on Somalia by US forces are gross violations of the UN Charter (see: http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/chapter7.htm ), of International Law and of Federal US Law. Ditto the US attacks on an Iranian consulate in Iraq yesterday (in International law a criminal attack on Iranian territory).
The war criminal Bush Administration and its American SUPPORTERS are violating US Federal Law which states that causing death in violation of US-cosigned International Agreements merits the death penalty. Thus Cornell University Law (see: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00002441----000-.html ) states in part, QUOTE:
(a) Offense.� Whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, commits a war crime, in any of the circumstances described in subsection (b), shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.
Somalia is one of the poorest countries in the world. The repeated invasion of one of the world's poorest countries by the world's richest country, Bush America, is an evil obscenity and a cowardly war crime.
Three quarters of the population of the Muslim world targetted by US state terrorism are Women and Children - the Bush War on Terror is indeed a War on Women and Children , or more specifically a War on Arab, Muslim , Asian and African Women and Children.
UN Population Division data (see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/) indicate that 1991-2005 excess deaths in US terrorism-afflicted Somalia total 1.9 million. This carnage is ignored by lying, racist, Mainstream Western media. Now US Terrorism has gone for another attempt at subjugation of Muslim Somalia by hated foreign Christian aggressors.
Not content with evil Amerikans RAPING about 1 in 4 American female children and about 1 in 6 American male children (for utterly appalling detailed statistics see: http://www.prevent-abuse-now.com/stats.htm ), even more violent and evil US state terrorism and its evil proxies are involved in horrendous violence and passive genocide around the world (thus post-invasion under-5 infant deaths in the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories now total 2.5 million, avoidable deaths 2.3 million; the post-invasion total excess deaths total 0.3, 0.9 and 2.1 million, respectively) (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/11683/42/ ).
Emdad Rahman is dead right - with dead being the operative word. Decent people around the world are absolutely OBLIGED to (a) inform others about horrendous crimes against humanity and (b)act ethically in all their personal and buskiness dealings with those complicit in such crimes.
Peace is the only way but silence kills and silence is complicity. I completely agree with Emdad Rahman's conclusion: "We are reaching a situation where individuals will have to make wise and informed choices. Do you join the playground bully, stay silent or make a stand? A step in the wrong direction could prove to be very costly. It is time for all those with conscience to stand up and be counted."
Comprehensive International sanctions and Boycotts were successful against the racist Apartheid regime in South Africa - and are urgently required to bring rampant, mass paedocidal, war criminal US terrorism to a halt.
GideonPolya commented on The :-) defence.
07 Jan 2007 8:04am
I am an agnostic humanist scientist. I agree with Muslim ScepticOptimist's position on the conviction of Umran Javed whose intemperance has undermined sensible discourse and unwittingly promoted British xenophobia that is routinely virulently and poisonously directed against Arabs (anti-Arab anti-semitism) and Muslims (Islamophobia).
However one hopes that Umran Javed's sentence will be proportionate - after all those in Britain who are daily promoting ACTUAL wars on Muslim countries that are ACTUALLY killing huge numbers of Arabs or Muslims (i.e. the racist Zionists and Bush-ite warmongers) have not even been CHARGED, let alone tried and convicted of promoting killing and racism.
Let there be no mistake about this: anti-Arab anti-Semitism is RACISM that is no less evil that anti-Jewish anti-Semitism; anti-Arab anti-Semtism and Islamophobia are entrenched in Bush-ite Western societies and have permitted the Bush-Blair War on Terror that is in actuality a horrendous War on Muslim Women and Children: the post-invasion excess deaths in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories now total 3.0 million - mostly Women and Children and largely due to racist UK, US, Coalition and NATO war crimes in gross violation of the Geneva Conventions that demand that Occupiers keep their conquered subjects ALIVE (e.g. see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/11293/42/ ).
Indeed this racist double standard makes the British legal system PASSIVELY guilty of promoting egregious racism and violence. Hardly surprising when you consider centuries of British racism, 1.5 billion excess deaths in British India, 0.75 billion post-1950 excess deaths in countries in which Britain was a major post-war occupier (estimates derived from from UN Population Division post-1950 demographic data; e.g. see http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5668/247/ ).
And now the Racist Zionists in Apartheid Israel and no doubt in the UK as well are actually seriously, publicly advocating NUCLEAR BOMBING of non-nuclear Iran (advocated planned DEEDS of mass murder) because the Iranian President wants to see the end of Racist Zionism (WORDS, and a position consonant with the Human Rights conventions of the UN). Actually I would have thought that ALL decent people would want an end to Racist Zionism in the Holy Land and the replacement of racist, ethnocratic Apartheid Israel with One, Two or Two-in-One State, non-racist, democratic solutions i.e. peace with equity, justice and reconcilitation.
The ACTUALITY of the post-invasion excess deaths in Occupied Iraq deriving from the WORDS of the Bush-ite warmongers in Britain and elsewhere have been recently estimated at 0.7 million by a top US medical epidemiological group, from a top US university (Johns Hopkins), published peer-refereed in the top medical journal The Lancet and endorsed by 27 top Australian medical experts. (Using a more appropriate baseline for comparison brings the post-invasion excess deaths in Iraq to 0.9 million).
I guess that in relation to prosecution of those advocating racism and homicidal violence (e.g. invasion, occupation and mass murder in Arab and/or Muslim countries as advocated and effected by the racist Zionists and Bush-ite warmongers), racist and politicized British justice will turn out in the end to be just as crap as British cricket.
GideonPolya commented on Lifting the veil.
23 Dec 2006 5:22am
Rajnaara - a very sensible article with a sensible conclusion: "The alternative is Sir Ian Blair's suggestion: to take the security issue seriously while dealing with this in a sensitive manner. I speak for a chorus of Muslim women who say "please check my ID at airports", whether or not we wear the veil. It is for the collective security of us all."
Of course the hijab and niqab debate is a "straw man" that hides a far more serious problem in Western countries - that of entrenched, Racist Zionist-promoted, anti-Arab anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and xenophobia that has permitted (a) harassment of Muslim women in Bush-ite Western societies such as Racist White Australia, Bush-ite America and Apartheid Israel and (b) vastly more serious, the Bush-Blair War on Terror that in terms of victims is in actuality a cowardly War on Muslim Women and Children.
In Bush-ite Australia neocon politicians have been beating a highly successful xenophobia drum to get the politically decisive racist electoral constituency vote. The downside that these ugly "politically correct racist" politicians don't consider are the dreadful consequences for Muslim women and girls on the streets of Australian cities. A small anecodotal sample: I recently went bush-walking north of Melbourne with 4 friends - all of us (2 male, 3 female) were White and non-Muslim but 4 told horrible stories of actual violence and threat to Muslim neighbours or acquaintances (the exception was a farmer who did not encounter Muslims in his remote location).
Of course the really horrendous outcome of entrenched, Racist Zionist-promoted, anti-Arab anti-Semitism and Islamophobia is the Bush-Blair-led invasion and occupation of Muslim countries by US-Israeli State Terrorism. From the latest medical literature and UN demographics it can be readily estimated that the post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) in the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories total 0.3, 0.9 and 2.1 million, respectively - mostly Women and Children and mostly due to Occupier violation of the Geneva Conventions that demand unequivocally that Occupiers keep their conquered subjects ALIVE. Yet this horrendous carnage continues because of racist, lying, holocaust denial by Mainstream media and by the perpetrators - Bush and Blair are involved in horrendous Holocaust Commission and Holocaust denial (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/11293/42/ ).
For a quickly ascertained statistic relating to violent, racist abuse of Muslim women: check out UNICEF (see: http://www.unicef.org/ ) and you will quickly discover that 0.5 million under-5 year old infants die every year in the UK-US-occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories i.e. 1,300 every day (e.g. on Christmas Day) and one per minute due to UK-US war criminality promoted by Racist Zionist-promoted, anti-Arab anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
While 7,000 Western civilians have been killed by Muslim-origin non-state terrorists in the last 40 years (including Israelis and making the now very shaky assumption of no US or Israeli involvement in commission of the 9/11 atrocity), the post-invasion excess deaths in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories now total 3.0 million - one thousand (1,000) times greater than the number of people murdered on 9/11 (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/10528/42/1/1/ ).
The hijab and niqab "debate" hides a horrendous, continuing Western crime against defenceless Muslim Women and Children in the continuing, paedocidal, UK-complicit Bush Wars. The perpetrators should be arraigned before the International Criminal Court (as indeed advocated by British Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter in his 2005 Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech).
GideonPolya commented on Fortune favours the brave?.
21 Dec 2006 10:10pm
Tony Blair's crimes extend far beyond warmongering and incompetence to Iraqi Holocaust commission and Iraqi Holocaust Denial (and Afghan Holocaust commission and Afghan Holocaust Denial) - crimes he shares with the Racist Zionists (RZs) of war criminal Apartheid Israel and Western Israel Lobbies, the US-Israeli State Terrorists (USISTs), the Racist Religious Right Republican (R4) Bush-ites, Western Bush-ites in general, George Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Dr Condoleezza Rice (Dr Death).
Using the latest medical literature data on excess deaths in Occupied Iraq and a Syria/Jordan mortality baseline, UN demographic data and a UN-derived estimate for Afghanistan, the post-invasion excess deaths in Occupied Iraq and Occupied Afghanistan total 0.9 million and 2.1 million, respectively � a total of 3.0 million deaths, 1,000 (one thousand) times the number of people murdered on 9/11. These estimates are consonant with independent UN data on post-invasion under-5 infant deaths, currently 0.4 million and 1.7 million, respectively, for Occupied Iraq and Occupied Afghanistan (for details and documentation see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/11293/42/ ).
The 2005 Nobel Laureate for Literature, British playwright Harold Pinter, in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech entitled �Art, Truth and Politics� (delivered by videotape on 8 December 2005; see: http://www.countercurrents.org/arts-pinter081205.htm ) accused US President George Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair of war crimes in Iraq. After detailing the huge human cost of decades of violent US interventions in Central and South America, Harold Pinter described the invasion of Iraq as �an act of blatant state terrorism� and called for the arraignment of Bush and Blair before the International Criminal Court, declaring: �How many people do you have to kill before you qualify as a mass murderer and a war criminal? One hundred thousand? More than enough, I would have thought.�
3.0 million? More than enough, I would have thought.
GideonPolya commented on United we stand.
30 Nov 2006 1:27pm
Brendan Barber - well said! Australia is most definitely no longer the land of the "fair go" after 10 years under the racist, extremist, Bush-ite, neocon Coalition. 50,000 people in Melbourne and 40,000 in Sydney today (Thursday 30 November) attended rallies against the draconian Industrial relations (IR) laws today.
Of course the IR Laws are the least of it - the same racist, Bush-ite neocon Coalition has been involved in the large-scale and traumatizing imprisonment of refugees including refugee children; the "annual death rate" of Indigenous Australians (Aboriginal Australians) is 2.2% (2.4% in the Northern Territory) as compared to 0.4% (what it should be), 0.7% (White Australians) and 2.5% (sheep in pre-drought paddocks of Australian sheep farms; the Coalition is complicit in post-invasion excess deaths of 0.9 million in Occupied Iraq and 2.1 million in Occupied Afghanistan (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/10528/42/ ); Australia is complicit in 18 million avoidable deaths associated with US Asian Wars due to obscene Australian "US insurance policy" involvements under racist conservative Coalition governments.
And don't think that Brits - and not just British workers - are immune from damage from the endlessly dishonest, racist and incompetent Australian conservatives. The Australian Wheat Board ripped off US$250 million off the UN Oil-for-Food in bribes to the pre-invasion Iraqi Government (while the Australian Government looked the other way despite 3 dozen explicit warnings) - thereby killing up to 21,000 Iraqi infants and funding post-invasion violence that has killed about 3,000 Coalition soldiers i.e. Australian betrayal of its allies and its own soldiers in the field.
Australia under the Bush-ite neocons is the world's worst per capita greenhouse gas polluter and the world's biggest coal exporter and refuses (with Bush America) to sign up to Kyoto. England (especially East Anglia and London) is acutely vulnerable to global warming-linked sea level rises (which I presume is why Blair has broken ranks with Bush and Howard over this issue).
While Bush, Blair and Howard all baldly and dishonestly deny expert US medical research indicating horrendous excess deaths in Occupied Iraq and expert advice from top US, Australian and UK defence and intelligence that the Iraq War has exacerbated the non-state terrorist threat, only George "nucular" Bush and John "computer says no" Howard are global stand-outs in denying the acute urgency of the global warming crisis.
GideonPolya commented on Whose fault is it anyway?.
04 Nov 2006 12:14am
Whose fault is it? Whatever the outcome (pundits say Democratic control of Congress) the almost certain likely failure of Americans to overwhelmingly consign the evil, Racist Religious Right Republican (R4) Bush-ites to the sewer of history will be due to lying by omission by the generally racist, holocaust-denying Corporate Mainstream media.
Thus the latest authoritative medical (Octonber 2006, The Lancet) and UN data (UN Population Division & UNICEF) indicate that the post-invasion excess deaths in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories total 0.9 million and 2.1 million, respectively - a total of 3.0 million excess deaths, 1,000 (one thousand) times the number of people murdered on 9/11 (and this quite possibly having occurred with the active or passive complcity of US authorities)(see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/10528/42/ ).
Yet US Bush, UK Blair, Oz Howard and the extremist, racist, lying, corporate US media say NO in bald denial of these authorititative estimates.
Similarly, the international scientific consensus is that global warming is an acute problem; the former top economist for the World Bank Sir Nicholas Stern has issued his report indicating the urgent need to constrain greenhouse gases (chiefly carbon dioxide, CO2) to 550 ppm and that keeping it to 450 ppm may not be achievable. However CO2 is currently at 380 ppm, increased by 30 ppm over the last 17 years and, according to Dr James Lovelock FRS (Gaia Hypothesis), at 500 ppm the critical climate homeostasis (balance) by ocean phytoplankton fails and the Greenland ice sheet goes (see Dr Lovelock's The Revenge of Gaia, Penguin, London, 2006).
Yet US Bush, Oz Howard and the extremist, racist, lying US media (but fortunately NOT UK Blair because the England and London are acutely threatened by global warming) say NO in bald denial of these authoritative estimates.
Many Germans in 1945 could assert that they didn't know about the Jewish Holocaust - Americans in 2006 don't have quite the same excuse because enough of the awful truth about Coalition war crimes and horrendous excess deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan has squeezed through the Mainstream media gate. Indeed the most incurious R4 Bush-ite could not fail to realize that something is seriously wrong.
And as for climate change the Americans have the evidence of their own senses - assisted by the apparent conversion over global warming of Global King-maker media mogul Rupert Murdoch (now evidently belatedly getting concerned - as all sensible people are - about the nightmare world being left for children and grandchildren etc).
Americans KNOWING about the horrendous excess deaths in Iraq and the acute seriousness of global warming and who fail to help kick out the evil Racist Religious Right Republican (R4) Bush-ites will make themselves KNOWINGLY and UNFORGIVABLY COMPLICIT in racism, mass murder, mass paedocide, genocide, passive genocide, holocaust denial, ecocide and TERRACIDE - the killing of the Planet Earth.
GideonPolya commented on The numbers do add up.
13 Oct 2006 2:55pm
An excellent analysis by Daniel Davies.
This expert epidemiological survey estimate just published in The Lancet of 655,000 post-invasion Iraq avoidable deaths is in close agreement with estimates based on 3 other sets of data that have been publicly available for several years, specifically (1) from UN Population Division data (563,000); (2) from UNICEF data (639,000); and (3) from unamended data published in The Lancet in October 2004 (791,000) (for details and documentation see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/10149&Itemid=1 ). The basis for these other estimates is outlined below.
1. Avoidable mortality (excess mortality, deaths that did not have to happen) is the difference between the actual deaths in a country and the deaths expected for a peaceful, decently-run country with the same demographics. From UN Population Division Data (see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ and http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ) the post-invasion avoidable deaths in Occupied Iraq and Occupied Afghanistan (as of October 2006) are 563,000 and 2,090,000, respectively, for a total of 2,653,000 avoidable deaths; by way of comparison, the corresponding post-invasion under-5 infant mortality figures are 437,000 and 1,665,000, respectively, for a total of 2,102,000 deaths (i.e. about 80% of the total avoidable mortality). Iraq Body Count (see: http://www.iraqbodycount.net/ ) estimates that 44,000 � 49,000 Iraqi civilians have died violently post-invasion in Iraq.
2. Another way of estimating post-invasion Iraqi deaths due to war is from under-5 infant mortality figures reported and regularly updated by UNICEF (see: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html ). Detailed analysis of infant mortality and avoidable mortality for every country in the world since 1950 reveals that for Third World countries "under-5 infant mortality" is about 0.7 times the "total "avoidable mortality" (see MWC News: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5872/26/ ). Checking the latest data on the UNICEF website we see that 122,000 under-5 year old infants die each year (12 months) in Occupied Iraq from which one can readily calculate 639,000 post-invasion avoidable deaths in Occupied Iraq.
3. A further way has been to consider the initial report by Dr Les Roberts et al (2004) in The Lancet in which they estimated a post-invasion annual death rate of 12.3 persons per 1,000 of population (see: http://www.zmag.org/lancet.pdf ). Subtracting the annual death rate in impoverished but peaceful neighbouring Syria and Jordan (about 4 deaths per 1,000 of population per year) we get a post-invasion annual avoidable death rate of 8.3 per 1,000. This yields an estimated post-invasion Iraqi avoidable mortality of 791,000.
Estimates 1-3 are in good agreement with the estimate of 655,000 from the latest expert epidemiological survey published in The Lancet (October 2006).
There must be formal public scrutiny of the politicians, public servants and media whose dishonesty enabled this disaster and arraignment of the major culprits (Bush and Blair) before the International Criminal Court as recommended by British 2005 Literature Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter (see: http://www.countercurrents.org/arts-pinter081205.htm and http://www.countercurrents.org/us-polya211205.htm ).
GideonPolya commented on Why worry about terrorist attacks? You are much more likely to die from smoking or be killed in a car crash.
23 Aug 2006 6:41am
Lionel Shriver is spot on in his analysis. For detailed quantitative estimates of the empirical probabilities of Westerner death from terrorism, smoking, cars, their spouses etc see: http://www.countercurrents.org/us-polya211205.htm ).However an even more exacting analysis can be made by comparing deaths from Muslim Non-state Terrorism with those from Western State Terrorism.
Western civilian deaths from Muslim-origin non-state terrorism total about 4,000 (the last 5 years) and about 7,000 (over the last 40 years, counting Israeli victims as well and assuming no US or Israeli complicity in 9/11 - however see the authoritative, scholarly, academic, mathematics-, physics- and chemistry-based articles in the Journal of 9/11 Studies that strongly suggest US complicity: http://journalof911studies.com/ ).
The post-invasion avoidable deaths (deaths that should not have happened; excess mortality; avoidable mortality) in the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories total (as of July 2006) 0.3, 0.5 and 2.0 million, respectively - 60% under-5 year old infants and variously due to gross, war criminal US, UK, Coalition, NATO or Israeli violation of the Geneva Conventions that demand that Occupiers keep their Conquered Subjects ALIVE) (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/7958/26/ ).
About 3,000 Western soldiers have been killed in Occupied Iraq and Afghanistan.
However Western State Terrorism has also killed a lot of Westerner civilians ("collateral damage" in the Bush-Blair War on Terror that we can already see as a horrendous War on Asian Women and Childen). Thus 0.7 million people have died world-wide since 2001 from opiate drug-related reasons and due to US-UK-restoration of the Taliban-destroyed Afghan opium industry which is now about 89% of world market share - this including about 2,000 Australians, 1,200 Scots, 3,000 Britishers, 3,000 Canadians and 50,000 Americans (see: (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1858/26/1/1/ , http://www.countercurrents.org/us-polya281005.htm); see see CROSSWIRE, 18 August 2006:�Compulsory history in Australia means compulsory lies�: http://open.newmatilda.com/crosswire/ ).
The "collateral damage" becomes much greater if we consider the impact of Bush-Blair war-mongering on oil prices for the Third World and the horrendous diversion from the REAL problem of Spaceship Earth - global warming and an annual avoidable mortality totalling 16 million (44,000 daily and 60% under-5 year old infants).
Even within metropolitan Anglo-Celtic countries we can see huge avoidable mortality. Thus the US is the world's richest country but the "annual under-5 infant death rate" is 0.17% for the US as compared to 0.07% (for Singapore). The difference (0.1%) corresponds to 100,000 avoidable under-5 year old deaths in the US alone due to the policies of the paedocidal Bush Administration (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/7102/26/ ).
Even within my own country, Australia, we can estimate the following death toll from Western State Terrorism: (1) 2 soldiers killed in Occupied Iraq and Afghanistan plus several �collateral� Australian civilian deaths; (2) about 2,000 Australian post-2001 opiate drug-related deaths (as of August 2006) associated with the US-Coalition restoration of the Taliban-destroyed Afghan opium industry that now accounts for about 89% of world market share (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/1858/26/1/1/ , http://www.countercurrents.org/us-polya281005.htm); (3) about 34,000 Indigenous Australian post-2001 avoidable deaths due to criminal, White Australian non-provision of life-sustaining requisites � the required money being spent on killing Iraqis and Afghans on behalf of the US Administration.
Those who KNOWINGLY ignore, obfuscate, deny, oppose or lie about sensible scientific analysis of horrendous atrocities such as 9/11 (3,000 victims), the post-invasion avoidable deaths in the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories (as of August 2006, 2.8 million) and the lesser but still horrendous collateral deaths world-wide and within the Western State Terrorism countries themselves, become COMPLICIT after the event.
Lionel Shriver gets top marks as one of very few writers permitted through the Media Gate in the Wall of Silence who has actually begun to quantitatively address the human cost of the so-called War on Terror. For more on the horrendous actual human cost of US-UK-Israeli State Terrorism see: http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gpolya/links.html and http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ).
GideonPolya commented on Why Bush needs Lieberman.
20 Aug 2006 9:15am
The post-Holocaust message is that Racism is totally unacceptable - Racism, even of the nudge-nudge, wink-wink Alf Garnett kind, leads us down the road to Auschwitz or the obscenity of Western-occupied Iraq and Afghanistan (where, according to UNICEF, 1,300 Muslim infants die EVERY DAY, 90% avoidably and due to gross UK-US-Coalition-NATO violation of the Geneva Conventions that demand that Occupier is obliged to do everything "to the fullest extent of the means available to it" to keep the Conquered Subjects alive (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/8655/26/ ).
Lieberman is Jewish and his position on US-Israeli State Terrorism (USIST) in the Middle East is a total disgrace in this post-Holocaust view of things. Colonialist 19th century Zionism is Racist in theory (people from distant lands invading and colonizing a foreign country with the dispossession, disempowering and ethnic cleansing of the Indigenous inhabitants) and horrendously so in practice (invasion, mass murder, gross human rights abuse and large-scale ethnic cleansing).
What has been resolutely forgotten is that Israel kidnapped and imprisoned a whole country (the Occupied Palestinian Territory) in 1967 that now has a population of about 3.8 million, of whom about 10,000 are imprisoned in high security prisons. As with the Jews of Nazi-occupied Europe up until about 1941, the Palestinians are actively encouraged to leave by the Israelis but there is (a) no return, (b) irreversible loss of family property and (c) few countries are willing to take them.
There are now 6 million Palestinian refugees in the Middle East (many still being bombed and shelled by the Israelis); 80,000 Palestinians left last year, up 50% on the year before; 70% of West Bank Christians have fled a Land they hold Sacred; 80% of Bethlehem Christians have fled a city they hold Holy � but they are encouraged by huge infant mortality, huge avoidable mortality, huge child malnourishment and an annual infant death rate that is a genocidal 4 times higher than in the contiguous Occupier country. The post-1967 avoidable deaths and under-5 infant mortality in the Occupied Palestine Territory now total 0.3 million and 0.2 million, respectively (for detailed documentation see: http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gpolya/links.html and http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/).
If the roles were reversed we would certainly regard the US-Israeli State Terrorists (USIST) Occupiers that Lieberman fanatically supports as Nazi-style anti-Semites.
Zionism is racism and racism is utterly wrong, no ifs or buts. Its supporters have suborned the anti-racist values of the West and perverted our political processes - even Rightist politicians from the traditionally anti-Semitic reaches of the Anglo Establishment (such as the Bush-ite Racist Religious Right Republicans, R4s) conform to a mandatory first rule of Western politics - be totally pro-Israel or die politically.
The only sustainable future in the Holy Land and environs involves Peace with Equality, Justice and Reconciliation that is eminently achievable NOW on an initial Interim basis (do a Google Search for interim peace plan). Racist Zionism represents the greatest threat since Nazism to Jewish people within Israel and around the world.
Those who support racist Zionism, and are beholden to the Israel Lobbyists such as Lieberman, are actually doing an immense disservice to the Jewish People - and in gross violation of the 3,000 year humanitarian Jewish tradition from the Mosaic 10 Commandments (thou shalt not covet, steal, lie, kill), through the Love of Jesus Christ to outstanding contemporary Jewish humanitarian anti-racists and opponents of racist Zionism (such as Professors Noam Chomsky, Marjorie Cohn and Stephen Rose, Yehudi Menuhin, Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter, Emmanuel Todd etc etc).
GideonPolya commented on Cuba's humanitarian mission.
17 Aug 2006 12:32am
Tom Fawthrop - excellent balanced article. UN Population Division and UNICEF statistics confirm the outstanding success of Cuba in the health arena (for source data see the latest UN data: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ and http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html ; also see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5489/42/ and http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5872/26/ ).
Thus in 2003, the "annual under-5 infant death rate" in both Cuba and the United States was 0.17% despite the US having an annual per capita income about 40 times greater.
In contrast, the "annual under-5 infant death rate" was 0.66% for Latin America and the Caribbean and 0.51%, 2.74% and 5.72% for the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories.
The difference between the "annual under-5 infant death rate" of 0.66% for Latin America and the Caribbean and 0.17% for Cuba (0.49%), coupled with a South American under-5 year old population of 56.5 million means that EACH YEAR about 277,000 under-5 year old infants die avoidably in "free" Latin America and the Caribbean due to historical US hegemony and the absence of Cuban-style health services (crucially involving high female literacy, good primary health care and good governance in the "interests of the people" i.e. "democracy" at a fundamental level of Mother and Child).
The Racist Religious Right Republican (R4) Bush-ites and their ilk clearly in practice do not believe in the Right to Life of BORN non-European, African, Asian and Latin American children.
Fidel Castro deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for infant health (if not for political pluralism and free speech).
In contrast, Olmert, Bush, Blair and Dr Rice (Dr Death) and their associates and Coalition/NATO confreres should be arraigned before the International Criminal Court (as recommended by British Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter) for the horrendous, war criminal involvement in the mass mortality of their Conquered Asian INFANT subjects - the post-invasion under-5 infant mortality in the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories now (August 2006) totals 0.2, 0.4 and 1.8 million, respectively due to gross Occupier violation of the Geneva Conventions which demand that they keep their Conquered Subjects ALIVE (see: http://www.countercurrents.org/us-polya211205.htm, http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gpolya/links.html and http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ).
GideonPolya commented on Following Fidel.
02 Aug 2006 11:48am
Richard Gott's comments on "the well-educated and well-fed Cuban population" under Fidel Castro are well supported. Cuba is a one-party dictatorship and many dissidents have been punished by imprisonment. HOWEVER, credit where credit is due. Notwithstanding over 40 years of criminal US economic sanctions and acute threats from the super-violent US (described by Professor Noam Chomsky as the world's number one terrorist state), Cuba has somehow managed to deliver a rreasonable life, very high adult literacy, very high female literacy and fantastic health outcomes.
Some 2003 figures for the United States and Cuba for readers to mull over (primary data sources the UN Population Division and UNICEF): annual per capita income $37,610 (US) vs $1,170 (Cuba); adult literacy 98% (US) vs 97% (Cuba); life expectancy 79 years (US) vs 77 years (Cuba); avoidable mortality 34,000 (US) vs zero (0) (Cuba); "annual under-5 infant death rate" 0.17% (US) vs 0.17% (the same) (Cuba) - as compared to 0.51% (UK-US-backed Israeli-occupied Occupied Palestinian Territory), 2.74% (UK-US-Coalition occupied Iraq) and 5.72% (UK-US-Coalition-NATO-occupied Afghanistan).
People who support the war criminal Bush and Blair Governments are in no position to criticize the outstanding achievements of Cuba under dictator Fidel Castro.
And as for human rights abusing imprisonment of some political opponents in Cuba, of course I deplore the imprisonment of such dissidents (en passant, a highly gifted cousin of my grandmother was a British Daily Worker journalist imprisoned for 7 years in solitary confinement by the Stalinist Communist authorities in Hungary, 1949-1956 - and, of course, left to rot by the British Government).
However my fellow Australian - and British dual citizen - David Hicks (who has not injured a soul as far as I know) has been renditioned, raped, tortured and abusively imporisoned without charge or trial in US-occupied Cuba for four and a half (4.5) years by the war criminal US Government with the full support of the war criminal UK and Australian Governments (post-invasion avoidable deaths in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories total 0.5 million and 2.0 million, respectively - 60% utterly innocent under-5 year old infants and due to non-provision of life-sustaining requisites unequivocally demanded of Occupiers by the Geneva Convention (see http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm and http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ).
The same war criminal US,UK and Australian Governments complicit in horrendous torture and imprisonment of hundreds of detainees in US-occupied CUBA also support the war criminal Israeli State Terrorist bombing and shelling of 140,000 Westerners (25,000 Australians, 20,000 Brits, 25,000 Americans, 0,000 Canadians and 20,000 French citizens) (as well as of millions of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, of whom 50% are Children and 75% Women and Children, for goodness' sake)- only the French Government has demanded immediate cessation of the genocidal Israeli violence.
Richard Gott's assessment of Fidel Castro seems pretty fair to me when you ignore the spin and look at the actual relevant numbers and the outstanding humanitarian performance by Cuba. Viva Cuba!
GideonPolya commented on Following Fidel.
02 Aug 2006 11:46am
Richard Gott's comments on "the well-educated and well-fed Cuban population" under Fidel Castro are well supported. Cuba is a one-party dictatorship and many dissidents have been punished by imprisonment. HOWEVER, credit where credit is due. Notwithstanding over 40 years of criminal US economic sanctions and acute threats from the super-violent US (described by Professor Noam Chomsky as the world's number one terrorist state), Cuba has somehow managed to deliver a rreasonable life, very high adult literacy, very high female literacy and fantastic health outcomes.
Some 2003 figures for the United States and Cuba for readers to mull over (primary data sources the UN Population Division and UNICEF): annual per capita income $37,610 (US) vs $1,170 (Cuba); adult literacy 98% (US) vs 97% (Cuba); life expectancy 79 years (US) vs 77 years (Cuba); avoidable mortality 34,000 (US) vs zero (0) (Cuba); "annual under-5 infant death rate" 0.17% (US) vs 0.17% (the same) (Cuba) - as compared to 0.51% (UK-US-backed Israeli-occupied Occupied Palestinian Territory), 2.74% (UK-US-Coalition occupied Iraq) and 5.72% (UK-US-Coalition-NATO-occupied Afghanistan).
People who support the war criminal Bush and Blair Governments are in no position to criticize the outstanding achievements of Cuba under dictator Fidel Castro.
And as for human rights abusing imprisonment of some political opponents in Cuba, of course I deplore the imprisonment of such dissidents (en passant, a highly gifted cousin of my grandmother was a British Daily Worker journalist imprisoned for 7 years in solitary confinement by the Stalinist Communist authorities in Hungary, 1949-1956 - and, of course, left to rot by the British Government).
However my fellow Australian - and British dual citizen - David Hicks (who has not injured a soul as far as I know) has been renditioned, raped, tortured and abusively imporisoned without charge or trial in US-occupied Cuba for four and a half (4.5) years by the war criminal US Government with the full support of the war criminal UK and Australian Governments (post-invasion avoidable deaths in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories total 0.5 million and 2.0 million, respectively - 60% utterly innocent under-5 year old infants and due to non-provision of life-sustaining requisites unequivocally demanded of Occupiers by the Geneva Convention (see http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm and http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ).
The same war criminal US,UK and Australian Governments complicit in horrendous torture and imprisonment of hundreds of detainees in US-occupied CUBA also support the war criminal Israeli State Terrorist bombing and shelling of 140,000 Westerners (25,000 Australians, 20,000 Brits, 25,000 Americans, 0,000 Canadians and 20,000 French citizens) (as well as of millions of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, of whom 50% are Children and 75% Women and Children, for goodness' sake)- only the French Government has demanded immediate cessation of the genocidal Israeli violence.
Richard Gott's assessment of Fidel Castro seems pretty fair to me when you ignore the spin and look at the actual relevant numbers and the outstanding humanitarian performance by Cuba. Viva Cuba!
GideonPolya commented on Come and see.
01 Aug 2006 11:14pm
Haifa - well written and timely. According to UN officials most of the victims of the civilian-targetting bombing and shelling are Wonen and Children. The world is seeing war crimes and genocide in the Middle East. However behind the awfulness of VIOLENT deaths lies a numerically far worse reality of NON-VIOLENT deaths (avoidable deaths, excess deaths) due to war criminal destruction of crucially life-sustaining economies and infrastructure.
The crimes of the racist, war criminal Israel Establishment and its Bush-Blair-led UK-US backers against Arabs and Muslims were horrendous BEFORE the latest Israeli War on Arab Women and Children. Thus the post-1967 avoidable mortality (excess mortality, avoidable deaths) in the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories totaled 0.3, 0.5 and 2.0 million, respectively - 60% under-5 year old infants and due to Israeli, UK, US, Coalition and NATO violation of the Geneva Convention (see http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm and http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ).
The latest Israeli War on Women and Children has killed about 1,000, wounded thousands, made about 1 million homeless, threatens genocide in Southern Lebanon, and has devastated infrastructure with the likelihood of over 40,000 avoidable deaths ANNUALLY if Palestine and Lebanon are bombed and shelled to a "UK-US-occupied Iraq" scenario (for a detailed analysis see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/8279/26/ ).
Westerners should also be concerned over what is happening to their OWN citizens in Lebanon - about 140,000 Western citizens (25,000 Australians, 25,000 Americans, 50,000 Canadians, 20,000 Brits and 20,000 French citizens) have been bombed and shelled by the Israelis for 2 weeks - but only the French Government has demanded a cessation.
As an Australian I am angered tha our neo-con and slavishly Bush-ite Government supports continuing Israeli devastation of Lebanon and Palestine and hence the continuing bombing and shelling of our OWN citizens - and our cowardly Labor Opposition is too scared of the US Ambassador and the vitriolic Israel Lobby to say boo. Only the sensible and humane Australian Greens have demanded bipartisan cessation of the violence.
Westerners who support the war criminal bombing and shelling of their OWN citizens by war criminal Israeli State Terrorism are traitors and terrorist sympathizers - and should be dealt with by Shaming, the Law, Boycotts and the Ballot Box.
International Sanctions and boycotts worked against the racist Apartheid regime in South Africa and should be urgently applied to halt the war crimes of Israel and its racist UK-US supporters.
GideonPolya commented on A long war of attrition.
28 Jul 2006 1:14am
Comment is Free? This is an EDITED version of a Comment-is-free comment apparently withheld (perhaps automatically by a robot) for the possible reason that it contained particular non-gutter and accurate descriptives (denoted BLANK below) of current Israeli actions against the defenceless civilian citizens of Palestine and Lebanon. This is also by way of an EXPERIMENT, to test this hypothesis (by removing these terms)(several corrections included as well).
Decent Britons should be angered over Israel Lobby, BLANK and other supporters of the war criminal, genocidal, BLANK Israel Establishment - perhaps 750 Lebanese and Palestinians dead, thousands wounded, 800,000 homeless and massive infrastructure and economic damage that is predicted to cause 43,000 avoidable deaths annually if Palestine and Lebanon are devastated to a "UK-US-occupied Iraq level"(see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/8279/26/ ). 50% of the civilians being targetted by the BLANK are Children and 75% Women and Children? What sort of BLANK-style monsters make "endless war" on defenceless Women and Children, whether for OIL or WATER?
In comparison, Israeli deaths - while deplorable - total about 50. Indeed the "annual Israeli homicide deaths from all sources" yields an "annual homicide rate" of 44/million as compared to 54/million for the United States. However the overall "annual homicide rate" for the WHOLE of the BLANK-occupied Holy Land - BEFORE the latest genocidal Israeli Escalation - was 124/million with over 80% of deaths caused by Jewish Israelis (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/7958/26/ ). Who are the "terrorists" the BLANK, the Israel Lobby, BLANK and their supporters endlessly salivate about?
Britons should be well beyond anger over the reality that 20,000 British citizens (plus 25,000 Australians, 25,000 Americans, 50,000 Canadians and 20,000 French citizens) have been cowering for weeks under war criminal, civilian-targetting BLANK bombing and shelling - yet only the French Government has demanded immediate cessation.
Those who support the sustained, war criminal bombing and shelling of tens of thousands of their OWN citizens by foreign State Terrorists are TRAITORS and TERRORIST SYMPATHIZERS - and should be dealt with by the Law, Boycotts and the Ballot Box.
GideonPolya commented on Absolutes are not possible in the Middle East.
27 Jul 2006 3:08pm
I agree with Martin Woollacott's conclusion "The search for absolute security solutions has bedeviled Israel from the beginning, and it is time it was abandoned" and with Digit's solution "the thing that really needs to happen - immediate Israeli withdrawall from the West Bank and Gaza." However to this I would add the need for an "interim" solution to permit "immediacy".
The Israeli's want total internal security and total control of defence of the Holy Land - and the Ultrazionists would like ALL of the Holy Land. The Palestinians want peace and untramelled independence (freedom) from their worst enemies who have had them under violent, racist, genocidal and traumatizing occupation for nearly 40 years - indeed from only half a dozen years after the final de-colonization of Africa.
Well here is an "interim peace plan" for the Holy Land that can do ALL of that - and indeed MORE - and do it NOW (as we said at the marches for 40 years: "what do we want? Peace! When do we want it? NOW!)" - 2 states; pre-1967 borders; militia disarming; joint provision of airport-level total security; interim international defence of all of the Holy Land by Israel alone ("inequitable" but the Israelis would currently accept nothing less); racism, bigotry and incitement illegal; reconciliation a la post-Apartheid South Africa; and secure access by ALL Palestinians and Israelis to ALL of the Holy Land.
The current escalation by Israelis is horrendous,involving about 500 Palestinians and Lebanese killed (so far), thousands wounded, 800,000 homeless and massive destruction of life-sustaining economy and infrastructure leading to an "Iraq scenario". About 50 Israelis have died, half of them soldiers. If Palestine and Lebanon become another "Occupied Iraq" with an "annual under-5 infant death rate" of 2.74% (as compared to 0.12% in Israel), then the annual number of "avoidable under-5 year old deaths" will be about 27,000 and the "annual avoidable deaths" will be about 43,000 (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/8279/26/ ).
Peace with security, equality, justice and reconcilation is the only sustainable future for Israel, the Palestinians and their neighbours. If anyone else has a better "interim peace plan" (do a Google search for this phrase) they should advance it urgently. About half the Palestinians and Lebanese are Children and three quarters are Women and Children. This appalling war on Women and Children has to stop now. If the US continues to block peace then International Sanctions and Boycotts - "free market choice" and successful against the racist Apartheid regime in South Africa - is the only alternative to stop the horrendous - and quite possibly deliberately "unforgiveable" - violence of the Ultrazionist Israeli Establishment war criminals driving genocidal Israeli state terrorism.
The war criminal Israeli Establishment is not merely devastating 2 helpless countries - it is threatening a sustainable peaceful future for Israel and grossly violating not only International Law but a 3 millennium Jewish humanitarian tradition that is surely the greatest contribution of the Jewish people to humanity.
People in the Western democracies should throw off their deference to the malignant and racist Israel Lobby and the current catastrophe gives them every reason to do so with 25,000 Australians, 25,000 Americans, 50,000 Canadians , 20,000 Brits and 20,000 French citizens cowering under Israeli bombing and shelling - yet only the French have demanded a cessation. Those who support the bombing and shelling of their own citizens by a foreign state terrorist regime are traitors and terrorist sympathizers.
GideonPolya commented on Is there a Messiah in the house?.
18 Jul 2006 10:58am
bobdoney's suggestion is spot on. Unfortunately the US is vetoing UN attempts to get a ceasefire.
Mainstream Media lying has critically enabled US, UK and Israeli war crimes on a huge scale in the Middle East and Central Asia. Thus some of what Mainstream media will NOT report: 50% of the Palestinians are Children and 75% are Women and Children. The post-invasion avoidable mortality and under-5 infant mortality in the Occupied Palestinian Territory totals about 0.3 million and 0.2 million, respectively (see: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ) � and largely due to gross Israeli violation of the Geneva Convention (see: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm ).
Muslim-origin non-state terrorism that has killed about 7,000 Western civilians over the last 40 years (assuming no US or Israeli complicity in the 9/11 atrocity). However US, UK, Coalition/NATO and Israeli state terrorism has been responsible for horrendous mortality in Muslim countries. Thus the post-invasion avoidable mortality (excess or avoidable deaths) in the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories so far (as of mid-July 2006) totals 0.3, 0.5 and 2.0 million, respectively (see: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ and http://mwcnews.net/content/view/8023/26/ ); about 60% of the victims are under-5 year old infants and this carnage is occurring due to Occupier violation of the Geneva Convention which demands that Occupiers do everything within their power to preserve the health and lives of their conquered Subjects (see: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm ).
The above appalling statistics - deriving from publicly accessible UN data (see: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html and http://esa.un.org/unpp/ ) and acutely relevant to the �War on Terror� - are simply NOT reported by lying, racist Mainstream media.
Those who ignore, excuse, support, advocate or are knowingly complicit in word or deed in the gross human rights abuse of Children and Women - and indeed of anyone - have crossed the line between civilized humanity and proto-Nazi barbarism.
Media honesty and public recognition of the degree of disproportionality in the Israeli responses would surely increase the intensity of international demands for ceasefire and then peace with equality, justice and reconciliation. Thus BEFORE the Israeli escalation in Gaza , about SEVEN (7) Palestinian Children were dying avoidably in the Occupied Palestinian Territory EACH DAY (as compared to about ONE (1) Child EVERY MINUTE in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories).
Including this "avoidable death baseline", one can estimate roughly that the "death ratio" of "Arab deaths"/"Israeli deaths" over the last 3 weeks has been about 600/20 = 30 - as compared to the "death ratio" of "enemy civilians deaths"/"German military death" = 10 ordered by Nazi leader Adoph Hitler and carried out in the March 1944 Ardeatine Caves Massacre in Italy (indeed the WW2 "Allied civilian deaths"/"Axis military deaths" ratio was about 9).
International Sanctions and Boycotts helped stop South African Apartheid and could also hopefully halt Apartheid Israel state terrorism against innocent Women and Children.
GideonPolya commented on Pride and prejudice.
07 Jul 2006 8:52am
1
I agree with InDisguise. The reason decent people around the world want to boycott war criminal, racist Israel is because of gross Israeli human rights abuses against Palestinians. Hirsch's deliberate confusion of this major humanitarian stance by falsely linking it to repugnant homophobia is obnoxious.
Just read below what courageous, humanitarian Jews and Israelis have to say about Israeli "terror" and "war crimes".
Thus Gideon Levy (Haaretz, Israel) on Israel and Gaza: �The "summer rains" we are showering on Gaza are not only pointless, but are first and foremost blatantly illegitimate. It is not legitimate to cut off 750,000 people from electricity. It is not legitimate to call on 20,000 people to run from their homes and turn their towns into ghost towns. It is not legitimate to penetrate Syria's airspace. It is not legitimate to kidnap half a government and a quarter of a parliament. A state that takes such steps is no longer distinguishable from a terror organization. The harsher the steps, the more monstrous and stupid they become, the more the moral underpinnings for them are removed and the stronger the impression that the Israeli government has lost its nerve.� (see: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/733427.html ).
And Israeli Yesh Gvul spokesperson: �Yishai Menuhin, a spokesman for Yesh Gvul, said: "We call for our government to stop targeting Palestinian civilians � the targeting of civilians is a war crime � and start negotiating with the elected Palestinian leaders, not to arrest them."� (see: http://www.palestinemonitor.org/nueva_web/updates_news/news/Israeli_rally_opposes_Gaza_offensive.htm ).
Top American law academic Professor Marjorie Cohn states re Israel action in Gaza: �Collective punishment is likewise forbidden by Article 75 of Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions. As four US Supreme Court justices agreed in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld last week, Article 75 is "indisputably part of the customary international law."� (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/8033/26/ ).
UN data indicate that SEVEN (7) Palestinian Children are dying avoidably EVERY DAY due to Israeli violation of the Geneva, Human Rights and Rights of the Child Conventions. The post-invasion avoidable deaths in the Occupied Palestinian Territories so far total 0.3 million (for Israeli and Palestinian death statistics see: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ).
The greatest contribution of the Jewish people to humanity has been 3 millennia of humanitarian discourse from the Mosaic Ten Commandments, through Love thy Neighbour of Jesus to the courageous humanitarianism of outstanding contemporary scholars such as Professor Noam Chomsky (US) and Professor Stephen Rose (UK). The courageous Israeli dissenters quoted above belong to that marvellous Jewish humanitarian tradition - as do the 300 British Jews who have recently condemned Israel's war criminal targetting of civilians in Gaza - where half the population are CHILDREN and three quarters are WOMEN AND CHILDREN for goodness' sake.
In contrast, those who ignore, deny, excuse, obfuscate, support, advocate, effect or are otherwise complicit in gross human rights abuses of Children and Women - and indeed of anyone - are at serious variance with humanity.
GideonPolya commented on Kicking off debate.
05 Jul 2006 2:51pm
At some point ignoring "race" and "race-related avoidable mass mortality" becomes "racism" and "holocaust denial", respectively (both utterly vile in my book) - and justifying such "ignoring" in terms of "keeping sport and politics part" (as in arguments against the boycotting of sporting contacts with Apartheid South Africa) simply compounds the problem.
Thus if not permitting a non-European to eat in a restaurant (as in the US until the 1970s) is "racism", what is European countries spending billions of dollars sending armies halfway round the world to kill utterly innocent men, women and children in impoverished, non-threatening non-European foreign countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan? "Violent, grossly human rights-abusing racism" in my book.
David Irving is in gaol under Austrian law for denying aspects of the Jewish Holocaust. However Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter recommended in his Acceptance speech that Bush and Blair should be up before the International Criminal Court for actual invovlement in contemporary war crimes in Iraq (see: http://www.countercurrents.org/arts-pinter081205.htm) and billions of decent people round the world would agree.
Inspection of the latest UNICEF reports (only a click away: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html ) informs that the annual under-5 infant mortality in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories totals 0.5 million annually (1,300 daily, one per minute) - this being 90% avoidable, and largely due to war criminal Coalition/NATO non-provision of life-preserving requisites unequivocally demanded of Occupiers by the Geneva Convention (see: (http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm). And of course, none of this is reported by racist, lying, Mainstream media even through it is authoritatively reported by UNICEF and the information is only a click away.
I certainly did not support the teams representing racist, child-killing war criminal countries of the US Alliance in the World Cup. I was particularly pleased that the Germans and Japanese were defeated (they clearly didn't mean it when they said "sorry" in 1945 because they've been at it AGAIN in the last few years as part of the war criminal, child-killing US Alliance in Bush's cowardly, obscene and racist War on Asian Children.
According to UN Population Division data, the post-invasion avoidable mortality (excess deaths, avoidable deaths) in the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories now total 0.3, 0.5 and 1.8 million, respectively and the post-invasion under-5 infant deaths about 0.2, 0.4 and 1.4 million, respectively - largely due to "passive genocide" by racist, war criminal Israel and the racist, war criminal US-led Coalition/NATO Alliance countries (see: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/) and a death toll VASTLY greater than the Sharpeville Massacre of several hundred people that prompted indignant sporting and other boyctts against racist Apartheid from decent people around the world.
It was a shame that the "clean" Latin Americans and Africans bowed out of the World Cup. However the Italians recently voted to get their soldiers out of the Iraq child-killing fields and deserve our support for that (in addition to their intelligent and stylish play on the football field).
Those who ignore, deny, obfuscate, excuse, advocate, support or effect gross human rights abuse of Children - or indeed of anyone - have crossed the line separating decent human beings from barbaric psychopaths.
GideonPolya commented on How can we escape this bloody impasse?.
18 Jun 2006 9:52am
I must agree with abtyalon, monstruooo & peaceinourtime that the Australian treatment of Indigenous Asutralians is shocking - the "annual death rate" is 2.2% (Indigenous Australians) and 2.4% (Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory) - as compared to 2.5% (Australian sheep in paddocks on Australian sheep farms)(see: (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5004/26/ & http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/html/html_bulletin/bull_44/reviews/thomson/reviews_thomson_1.htm).
I would also observe that while the "annual under-5 infant death rate" of 0.51% (Occupied Palestinian Territories) is 4 times higher than that in Israel (0.12%) it is vastly lower than that in UK-US-Australia-Coalition-occupied Iraq (2.7%) or UK-US-Coalition-Australia-NATO-occupied Afghanistan (5.7%)(UN data, 2003).
The Geneva Conventions demand that the Occupiers preserve the health and life of their conquered subjects (see: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm ). All those responsible should be brought to account before the International Criminal Court - most notably Bush and Blair as suggested by British Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech last year (see: http://www.countercurrents.org/arts-pinter081205.htm)
GideonPolya commented on How can we escape this bloody impasse?.
17 Jun 2006 11:43am
abtalyon - re your comments: the "annual under-5 infant infant death rate" is the Occupied Palestinian Territories is 0.51% (2003) as compared to 0.12% in 39-year Occupier Israel - the differential (0.39%) is in violation of the Occupier's obligation under the Geneva Conventions. The world's best is 0.07% in Singapore (anything above that high standard is essentially avoidable).
The argument of "arab norm" is racist and won't wash - if similar stats obtained in Melbourne there would be an outcry, adducing an "arab norm" would probably be against our racial vilification laws and officials deliberately dispensing differential health outcomes on the basis of an "arab norm" would end up in gaol for manslaughter.
The international community has LAWS devised to constrain occupier misbehaviour e.g. the Geneva, Universal Human Rights and Rights of the Child Conventions (of course Israel, apparently operating on the basis of unilaterally-perceived Divine Dispensation, rather akin to 1930s Aryan Supremacy, says that it is not subject ot the authority of the International Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice).
People such as the violent, racist, human rights-abusing Israeli Establishment who ignore, deny, excuse, obfuscate, minimize, support, promote or engage in human rights abuse applied to Palestinian children (like shelling a beach-side family and then blaming the Palestians) are beyond the pale - they are an utter disgrace to a highly respected Jewish humanitarian tradition from Jesus Christ to Stephen Rose.
And furthermore, contrary to your assertion, a key part of Syria has been subject to illegal Israeli occupation since 1967 (and, as I understand, the Arab inhabitants substantially "ethnically cleansed", just as with the Arab Christians of the Occupied Palestinian Territory who now only represent about 2% of the Indigenous population there, as compared to representing about 20% of the Israeli Arab population).
GideonPolya commented on How can we escape this bloody impasse?.
16 Jun 2006 11:16am
monstruooo - everything you say is simply underscores the immense multi-race, multi-religion and multi-cultural complexity and SUPPORTS the need for a humane, TWO state, peace with justice solution. That need is also supported by the appalling DEATH statistics (the official, multilateral sources for which are documented in the reference provided: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ). The reality is that as we go from immediate family to city, to nation and then to distant foreign strangers our "practical regard" for others diminishes. OCCUPATION typically involves rule by people with diminished "practical regard" and in the disputed Holy Land this is compounded further - that is ultimately why in the Occupied Palestinian Territories about 2,400 under-5 year old Palestinian infants die avoidably each year and 1,000 Palestinians (including some 200 kids) are shot and some 9,000 wounded each year by Occupying Israeli solders .
GideonPolya commented on How can we escape this bloody impasse?.
16 Jun 2006 7:21am
peaceinourtime - your perfectly sensible "one state solution" would be just dandy in an IDEAL world and that is why I suggested an IMMEDIATE "interim peace plan" to stop the killing NOW (e.g. see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5175/42/ & earlier in this debate) involving 2 states, 1967 borders, joint airport-level total security provision, access by ALL to ALL of the Holy Land and, crucially, INTERIM international defense of the Holy Land by Israel alone (because the Israelis would not accept anything less). Given peace, making racism and bigotry illegal, instituting South African-style reconciliation instead of Israeli Apartheid, one supposes that a prosperous, peaceful, secure Israel/Palestine would eventually coalesce peacefully like the EU countries into something like your "one state solution".
My background is evidently very similar to yours which may well account for our similarly TOLERANT views. My forebears were ethnically cleansed from the Scottish Highlands 2 centuries ago, thence from Europe in WW2 by the Nazis, but I was fortunate to acquire a huge, largely Muslim Indian family by marriage (however 4 million of their folk were killed in the "forgotten" man-made Bengal Famine of WW2 in British-ruled India - possibly through a deliberate British scorched earth policy). Peace with justice and accomodation is the only way.
I just cringe when I read the xenophobic, counterproductive, ultrazionist hate, terror hysteria and racist "spin". A dispassionate analysis of UN demographic statistics reveals that since 1967 avoidable deaths and under-5 infant deaths in the Occupied Palestinian Territories total 0.3 million and 0.2 million, respectively; 2,400 under-5 year old infants die AVOIDABLY EACH YEAR in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, roughly the same as the total number of Israelis murdered by Palestinians over the last 40 (FORTY) years (see: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ). The post-1950 avoidable deaths (excess deaths) in countries attacked and partly occupied by Israel totals 24 million.
Sustained Israeli psy-ops propaganda, assisted by racist, lying mainstream media, has been very effective in providing an EREWHON-like reversed public perception of the awful reality in the Holy Land (e.g. for a ripping account of Israeli deception read Gordon Thomas' "Gideon's Spies. Mossad's Secret Warriors", Pan, New York , 1999, especially re Princess Di, the Pope and Robert Maxwell). Israeli psy-ops LIARS and their fanatical supporters and Mainstream media collaborators on the Web are "e-LIARS", an unfortunate ANAGRAM of "ISRAEL".
GideonPolya commented on How can we escape this bloody impasse?.
15 Jun 2006 2:58am
Hillel - I respect your evident humanity and your sensible question - how to escape the impasse?
Patrick1971 & fyrg advocate a sensible Israeli political process for peace - but meanwhile the killing will continue (data: the post-invasion avoidable mortality and under-5 infant mortality in the Occupied Palestinain Territories total 0.3 million and 0.2 million, respectively; the current "annual under-5 infant mortality rate" is 0.51% in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, 4 times higher than the 0.12% in Occupier Israel; since September 2000, Palestinians have killed 1,133 Israelis, Israeli soldiers have killed 5,144 Palestinians, including 952 children, and wounded about 45,000 Palestinians) (see the UN Population Division, UNICEF, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs & for detailed doumentation see: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ).
Lovenktrantz1 and others suggest an internationally-guaranteed plan - but realistically this would probably (certainly?) be unacceptable to the Israeli Establishment
Allow me to at least offer a just PLAN that is importantly an INTERIM peace plan - "interim" permitting an IMMEDIATE end to the killing based on acceptable justice and maximum benefit for all - and especially for Mother and Child.
Thus INTERIM peace with justice is possible NOW in a way that provides immediate peace with justice, grants Israelis (and Palestinians) secure access to ALL of the Holy Land and grants the excessively fearful Israelis INTERIM unilateral defense of all of Palestine.
A suggested INTERIM PEACE PLAN would involve the following: 2 states; return to the already internationally-agreed, legal 1967 borders; militia disarmament; joint provision of airport-level total security for the Holy Land; interim defense of the Holy Land by Israel alone (they would presently accept nothing less); human rights guaranteed for all; racism, bigotry and incitement illegal; reconciliation after the fashion of that in post-Apartheid South Africa; secure access by ALL to ALL of the Holy Land.
Under this Interim Peace Plan, the killing stops immediately, there is interim peace with justice - and everybody would largely get essentially everything they want (on an indefinite, interim basis).
Peace with justice and reconciliation is the only way forward. If anyone has a BETTER, workable Interim Peace Plan for IMMEDIATE implementation (e.g. Google "interim peace plan"), they should suggest it as a matter of urgency - EACH YEAR about 200 Israelis are killed, 1,000 Palestinians are killed, 9,000 Palestinians are wounded, and about 2,400 under-5 year old infants die avoidably in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Presently 5 million Israeli Jews live in DENIAL; 1 million Israeli Arabs live under racist Apartheid; and 4 million Palestinians in the Occupied Territories live under a continuing, 4-decade, violent, criminal, human rights-abusing Occupation in "ghettoes" that are increasingly seen as "concentration camp" staging areas en route to a final "ethnic cleansing" when racist, proto-Nazi ultrazionists finally turn off the water supply (already constrained) and simply demand "leave or die" .
GideonPolya commented on .
14 Jun 2006 7:43am
I am highly irritated by offensive, intrinsically racist, kneejerk ultrazionist reactions to tragic stories such as this. Any people who ignore, deny, minimize or excuse human rights abuses - and especially the killing of innocents - are utterly beyond the pale. The REALITY is that Israel has been illegally occupying the West Bank and part of Syria for nearly 40 years and the Ruler is responsible for the security, safety, health and welfare of the Ruled - as indeed spelled out in the Geneva Conventions that Israel violates daily (see: see: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm ). The post-invasion avoidable mortality and under-5 infant mortality in the Occupied Palestinian Territories total 0.3 million and 0.2 million, respectively; the current "annual under-5 infant mortality rate" is 0.51% in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, 4 times higher than the 0.12% in Occupier Israel; since September 2000, Palestinians have killed 1,133 Israelis, Israeli soldiers have killed 5,144 Palestinians, including 952 children, and wounded about 45,000 Palestinians) (see the UN Population Division, UNICEF, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs & for detailed doumentation see: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ). All this tit-for-tat violence is wrong and is utterly and tragically AVOIDABLE. Peace with justice is the only way. INTERIM peace with justice is possible NOW in a way that grants Israelis secure access to ALL of the Holy Land and unilateral defense of all of Palestine. A suggested interim peace plan would involve the following: 2 states; return to the internationally-recognized 1967 borders; militia disarmament; joint provision of airport-level total security; interim defense of the Holy Land by Israel alone (they would presently accept nothing less); human rights guaranteed for all; racism, bigotry and incitement illegal; reconciliation as in post-Apartheid South Africa; secure access by ALL to ALL of the Holy Land. If anyone has a better INTERIM peace plan to stop the killing NOW, then they should urgently suggest it in the interests of peace, justice and reconciliation.
GideonPolya commented on Bachelet refuses to budge in Washington.
11 Jun 2006 9:05am
Viva Michelle! Dr Rice (more appropriately, Dr Death - see below) is a bully and complicit in horrendous war crimes in Iraq - as correctly perceived by no less than British Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter (read his Nobel Acceptance speech re the US, South America and Iraq: http://www.countercurrents.org/arts-pinter081205.htm ). America, Cuba and Singapore have �annual per capita incomes� of $38,000, $1,200 and $21,000, respectively (2003 figures), but their �annual under-5 infant death rates� are 0.17%, 0.17% and 0.07%, respectively. The US, the richest country by far in the world, SHOULD have the lowest infant mortality - i.e. that of Singapore � and the difference of 0.1% and a US under-5 infant population of 20.1 million translates to an avoidable under-5 infant death toll of about 20,000 each year. Over the last 5 years, the perverted priorities of the Bush Administration have killed 100,000 AMERICAN infants (see: http://gpolya.newsvine.com/_news/2006/05/23/216563-how-bush-killed-100000-us-infants and http://mwcnews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7102&Itemid=26 ).
More seriously still, the "annual under-5 infant death rate" is 0.66% for "free" Latin America and the Caribbean - 0.49% higher than for Communist Cuba - and an under-5 population of 56.5 million. We can accordingly calculate that US hegemony and "freedom" US-style robs about 280,000 BORN South American infants of the "Right to Life" EACH YEAR (i.e. numerically equivalent to the toll from about 100 WTC atrocities every year - and Bush-appointee Professor Morgan Reynolds has suggested that if the WTC buildings were explosively demolished then 9/11 would be down to the American Government too). Of course, before Labor voting Guardian readers get superior over American perfidy (a mild descriptive for mass murder) they should consider that the "annual under-5 infant death rate" is 2.7% and 5.7%, respectively, for UK-US-occupied Iraq and UK-US-occupied Afghanistan - amounting to about 0.5 million deaths each year (1,300 per day or roughly 1 per minute, and 90% AVOIDABLE) and evidence of gross UK, US and Coalition/NATO violation of the Geneva Conventions (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5489/42/ , http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5872/26/ ).
GideonPolya commented on Situation vacant for man in white suit.
11 May 2006 2:33pm
DanielDavies - (1) "Iraq & Afghanistan figures ... an order of magnitude greater than the highest credible estimates" - according to (surely credible) UNICEF (2006) (see: http://www.unicef.org/index.html ) the ANNUAL under-5 infant mortality in Occupied Iraq and Afghanistan totals 0.5 million; according to the (surely credible) UN Population Division data (see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ ) the post-invasion excess mortality and under-5 infant mortality in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories total 2.3 million and 1.8 million, respectively (for further layperson-friendly explanations see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5872/26/ and http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ). (2) "400,000 deaths from opiates in 4 years simply ridiculous" - Curtin University of Technology, National Drug Research Institute, Media release, 25 February 2003, Tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs responsible for seven million preventable deaths world wide [annually] (see: http://db.ndri.curtin.edu.au/media.asp?mediarelid=40 ) - the breakdown is roughly 5 million (smoking), 1.8 million (alcohol) and 0.2 million (illicit drugs, of which opiate-related deaths are about 0.1 million). Afghanistan was invaded roughly 4.5 years ago`and accordingly 4.5 x 0.1 million = 0.45 million = 450,000 (still ridiculous? - 2 plus 2 may not equal 4 in Orwellian Blair Blather Britain but it still does so yet in the rude Antipodes). 3,200 British post-2001 opiate drug-related deaths (including 1,200 Scots) are 3,200 reasons for IMPEACHING Blair - and for ESCHEWING lying, racist, holocaust-denying Mainstream media who UNETHICALLY refuse to report either mass avoidable mortality in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories or Bush-Blair-complicit opiate drug-related deaths of their OWN citizens. As Martin Bell puts it a la Gary Larson "We ignore the elephant in the room".
GideonPolya commented on Should we care about Prescott's affair?.
01 May 2006 9:36am
I don't really care what consenting adults do in bed or from the chandeliers although I must confess to LOVE reading the salacious details of what British politicians get up to (they do a good job of out-performing Little Britain satire).
However I strongly object to dishonest Media Moralizing given the sheer IRRELEVANCE of the John Prescott Affair and their NON-REPORTAGE of SERIOUS matters - there just happens to be a WAR on that, according to the latest UNICEF reports (http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html ), is associated with nearly 1,200 AVOIDABLE under-5 year old infant deaths in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories EVERY DAY due to non-provision by the UK-US Coalition of life-sustaining requisites demanded of Occupiers by the Geneva Conventions.
Yet the UK Yellow Press will simply NOT report this continuing "passive gencoide" of the innocent - NOR will they report the post-invasion avoidable deaths (excess deaths) that now total 2.3 million in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories (the post-invasion under-5 infant deaths total 1.8 million as of April 2006); NOR the reality of 3,200 post-2001 UK opiate-related deaths since the Coalition restoration of the Taliban-destroyed Afghan opium industry (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5489/42/ ).
The Yellow Press should report Blair, Prescott and Straw (as well as Bush, Dr Rice (Dr Death) and Rumsfeld) for their complicity in the above crimes. However, while the Yellow Press evidently cares not a jot for Asian infants, Asian mothers or even for British heroin addicts, perhaps it could drag itself away from Prescott's sexual performances and consider the following BETRAYAL OF OUR SOLDIERS IN THE FIELD:
US Intelligence can listen to your phone calls, read your e-mails, contracts, tenders, know ALL through the Echelon spy satellite system and then pass this on to fraternal intelligence services in Anglo-Celtic UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The UN Volker Report and Australian Cole Inquiry revelations show that US and UK Intelligence MUST have known from the very start in the late 1990s about the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) "Wheat for Weapons" scam that diverted US$250 million from the UN Oil-for-Food Program, killed up to 21,000 Iraqi infants through diversions from scarce food and medical funding, "funded the Iraqi insurgency" and "killed or maimed two divisions worth of American soldiers and countless thousands of Iraqis� (according to staunchly pro-American but anti-Iraq War Australian Opposition Leader, Mr Kim Beazley).
IF Bush and Blair KNEW and did nothing, then they (and their colleagues and spooks in the know) BETRAYED their own people, their Coalition allies and their own soldiers in the field (see MWC News: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/6390/26/1/1/ ).
Patriotic Britons of whatever political persuasion (including Mainstream journalists) should tear themselves away from PAGE 3 POLITICS and get their TEETH into this utterly outrageous AWB affair - and demand the TRUTH about who (in addition to AWB and Australian Ministers, spooks and public servants) betrayed British and Coalition soldiers in the field.
GideonPolya commented on Trading blows.
28 Apr 2006 1:56am
Fellowtraveller: we are clearly on the same wavelength but there is cause for OPTIMISM if there is public insistence on a global PARADIGM SHIFT. Thus the examples of disparate, poor countries with essentially 0 (ZERO) conservatively assessed annual excess mortality (avoidable mortality) such as Cuba, Sri Lanka, Paraguay, Syria and Tunisia DEMONSTRATE that (relative) peace, high literacy, good governance and good primary health care CAN deliver excellent avoidable mortality outcomes DESPITE annual per capita incomes of about US$1,000.
A suggested paradigm shift would be to RATIONAL GLOBAL RISK ASSESSMENT. With the recent dire predictions by Britain's Chief Scientist of global warming up 5 degrees Centigrade by the end of the century and James Lovelock's assertion in The Revenge of Gaia (2006) that basic global homeostatic mechanism may have been irreversibly damaged already, First World Brits and Third World Bengalis can be seen to be in the same boat (Spaceship Earth)i.e we need a sangfroid, dispassionate, scientific paradigm shift from US and THEM to simply US (i.e. all humanity on Spaceship Earth) with humanitarianism (evidently grossly deficient at present) being a happy BONUS.
Since CONSUMPTION is the core of the potentially catastrophic global warming problem one could propose hard-nosed, non-altruistic, Earth-saving Consumption Credits (like Greenhouse Gas Credits for NOT generating carbon dioxide). Thus the Bengalis (annual per capita income about US$400) would do very well, the Americans (annual per capita income about US$40,000) very badly - and a modest increase in Bengali or Third World annual per capita income to about US$1,000 coupled with peace, good governance, good primary health care and LITERACY is then expected to decrease both avoidable mortality AND birthrate (and help save the planet).
GideonPolya commented on Making the law an ass.
26 Apr 2006 11:00am
According to the latest UNICEF report (2006), in 2004 the under-5 infant mortality was 122,000 in Occupied Iraq, 359,000 in Occupied Afghanistan and 1,000 in the occupying country Australia (noting that in 2004 the populations of these countries were 28.1 million, 28.6 million and 19.9 million, respectively) (http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html ).
About 1,300 under-5 year old infants die in Occupied Iraq and Afghanistan EVERY DAY and 0.5 million die ANNUALLY (about 90% AVOIDABLY) due to non-provision by the US-led Coalition of life-preserving requisites demanded by the Geneva Conventions (http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm ):
Article 55: To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate �
Article 56: To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring and maintaining , with the cooperation of the national and local authorities, the medical and hospital establishments and services, public health and hygiene in the occupied territory, with particular reference to the adoption and application of the prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics. Medical personnel of all categories shall be allowed to carry out their duties �
Of course, the �avoidable under-5 infant deaths� now totalling 1.6 million represent but one part of the overall post-invasion avoidable mortality in UK-, US- and Coalition-occupied Iraq and Afghanistan now totalling 2.3 million (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5489/42/ ).
Those who SUPPORT Coalition military strategies that minimize politically-sensitive Coalition military deaths at the expense of horrendous civilian deaths, those who DENY and IGNORE these horrendous consequences, those who would WATER DOWN Conventions designed to protect utterly innocent civilians such as INFANTS are morally bankrupt � the Coalition war criminals (Bush, Blair, Dr Rice (Dr Death) and their Coalition confreres) should be arraigned before the International Criminal Court as advocated by British Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter.
CHALLENGE: what do FEMALE Guardian readers think about this?
GideonPolya commented on .
21 Apr 2006 4:49am
Neo-Con Americans suffer from a "national pathological narcissism" that is the subject of "Whiteness Studies" in a number of US colleges and universities and involves, among many other things (such as, presently, mass murder of 0.5 million Muslim infants annually) a view of "truth as convenient perception" (hence non-existent WMDs etc etc).
Hence the extraordinary and demonstrably FALSE assertion (above) (presumably from American Mainstream Media) that things have improved in Afghanistan in "every category in which comparisons are possible".
Thus, below are some comparisons between key social parameters in Afghanistan in 2002 and 2004 (for the latest UNICEF reports see: http://www.unicef.org/index.html )
Under-1 infant mortality rate/1000 births = 165 (2002) & 165 (2004)
Under-5 infant mortality rate /1000 births = 257 (2002) & 257 (2004)
Annual no. of under-5 deaths = 283,000 (2002) & 359,000 (2004)
Life expectancy at birth may have increased slightly from 43 (2002) to 46 (2004 estimate).
The post-invasion avoidable mortality now (April 2006) totals about 0.5 million (Occupied Iraq) and 1.8 million (Occupied Afghanistan); the post-invasion under-5 infant mortality totals 0.4 million (Occupied Iraq) and 1.4 million (Occupied Afghanistan)- see "Layperson's guide to counting Iraq deaths" in MWC News: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5872/26/
As in George Orwell's "1984", neo-con America evidently believes that 2 plus 2 does not equal 4, War is Peace, Ignorance is Strength and Slavery in Freedom.
Saint Augustine ("On Lying") observed that "When regard for truth has been broken down or even slightly weakened, all things will remain doubtful".
Greedy, ignorant, lying, Racist Religious Right Republican (RRRR, R4) America (and its racist Coalition partners) is demonstrably involved in the passive mass murder of Iraqi and Afghan infants in gross violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (1950) (see: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm ):
�Article 55. To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate �
Article 56. To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring and maintaining , with the cooperation of the national and local authorities, the medical and hospital establishments and services, public health and hygiene in the occupied territory, with particular reference to the adoption and application of the prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics. Medical personnel of all categories shall be allowed to carry out their duties ��
The ANNUAL death toll of 0.5 million under-5 year old infants in UK-US-Coalition-occupied Iraq and Afghanistan (for the latest UNICEF reports see: http://www.unicef.org/index.html ) means that the Coalition is grossly violating the demands of the Geneva Conventions.
Cowardly, racist, lying Mainstream Media will eventually report "newsworthy" US abuses of the Geneva Conventions (such as the torture and killing of of prisoners) but IGNORES the horrendous passive mass murder of Iraqi and Afghan infants.
And now - unconstrained because of the cowardice, racism, and lying of Mainstream Media - the greedy, racist US Administration and its proto-Nazi allies are about to do the same (possibly with US or Israeli nuclear weapons) to the infants of IRAN ... while the rest of the World looks on and "walks by on the other side" - even Jack Straw (who should be arraigned with Blair before the International Criminal Court for complicity in Coalition crimes against infants and mothers) was moved to declare them "nuts".
George Galloway is GREAT but can, if anything, be criticized for his "moderation".
GideonPolya commented on .
20 Apr 2006 1:12am
As a decent human being (AS OPPOSED TO your average, ignorant, "see no evil, hear no evil", racist, war-mongering, child-killing, mother-abusing, mass murdering, proto-Nazi Coalition VOTER in the US, UK or Racist White Australia), I have MUCH MORE than "the slightest interest in the truth" about MAN-MADE MASS MORTALITY. After all, it was racist Sassanachs who cleared my forebears from the Western Highlands (replacing them with SHEEP) and more recently the racist Nazis who wiped my more immediate forebears from Europe.
According to UNICEF (November 2004) the number of under-5 infant deaths in Coalition-occupied Afghanistan in 2002 was 283,000.
According to UNICEF (April 2006) the number of under-5 infant deaths in Coalition-occupied Afghanistan in 2004 was 359,000 (see: http://www.unicef.org/index.html ).
Even in Racist White Australia (annual aboriginal death rate 2.2%, annual death rate for SHEEP on Australian farms 2.5%), 2 plus 2 still equals 4 (except when it comes to Government assessment of corrupt Australian wheat contracts that ripped off US$250 million from the UN Oil-for-Food Program at a cost of an estimated 21,000 Iraqi infant lives)(reported in Hansard, the Australian Senate, Wednesday 1 March 2006, pp30-31; see http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/dailys/ds010306.pdf and http://www.newsvine.com/awb).
From the above, it is clear from these UNICEF reports that annual under-5 infant mortality in Afghanistan under the proto-Nazi US-led Coalition INCREASED by 76,000/year over merely 2 (TWO) years.
The Racist Religious Right Republican (RRRR, R4) Americans are disconnected from REALITY and fundamental HUMAN VALUES. Racism has been integral to mainstream America since the year dot but now we have the phenomenon of Racism linked to sheer irrationality about OTHER matters (we read that a large proportion of the R4s believe that ET exists, that the Aliens have landed, that we will all be "raptured up" shortly, that global warming is not happening, that God created the World in 6 days SIMULTANEOUSLY by 2 contradictory methods etc etc).
Hardly surprising that American R4s variously IGNORE, DENY and SUPPORT Coalition racist violence and racist occupations that are killing 0.5 MILLION MUSLIM INFANTS EACH YEAR in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories.
Hardly surprising thet American R4s IGNORE the human and economic cost of the Bush Wars � 2.7 million excess deaths and US$1-2 trillion (see: http://www.newsvine.com/uk & http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5489/42/).
If these "passively murdered" Muslim kids were Jewish, then Bush, Blair, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Dr Rice (DR DEATH) and their Coalition confreres would be in shackles behind bullet-proof glass in Tel Aviv awaiting justice and the hangman's noose.
GideonPolya commented on .
19 Apr 2006 11:14pm
PROOF POSITIVE of comprehensive, racist, holocaust-denying Mainstream media lying by omission over Western-complicit mass mortality in the Muslim world: they will simply NOT report the following particular Web-accessible, authoritative, UNICEF data that is ONLY A CLICK AWAY ( see: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html):
According to the latest UNICEF report (2006), in 2004 the under-5 infant mortality was 122,000 in Occupied Iraq, 359,000 in Occupied Afghanistan and 1,000 in the occupying country Australia (noting that in 2004 the populations of these countries were 28.1 million, 28.6 million and 19.9 million, respectively)(http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html).
About 1,300 under-5 year old infants are dying EACH DAY in Occupied Iraq and Afghanistan , 0.5 million will die in the coming year (90% avoidably) and 1.8 million have died post-invasion due to non-provision by the US-led Coalition of life-preserving requisites demanded by the Geneva Conventions (http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm).
Of course, the "under-5 year old infants" are merely ONE group of victims of racist Anglo-American democratic imperialism (democratic tyranny, democratic Nazism) in the Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories. For more broad-ranging statistics consult the following links: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ; http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gpolya/links.html) ; and MWC News: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5948/26/ .
Those who IGNORE, DENY or SUPPORT man-made mass mortality of ANY PEOPLE (let alone UTTERLY INNOCENT INFANTS) are utterly beyond the Pale and "proto-Nazi". Unlike Nazi Germany, the UK, the US and its Coalition partners such as Racist White Australia are all democracies - and their complicit citizens continue to IGNORE, DENY or SUPPORT Coalition racist violence that is killing 0.5 MILLION MUSLIM INFANTS EVERY YEAR.
In relation to the continuing Coalition carnage, DECENT PEOPLE around the world are OBLIGED to (a) ESCHEW racist, holocaust-denying Mainstream Media, (b) INFORM everyone of the continuing catastrophe and (c) AVOID (where possible) any personal or business dealings with those complicit in Coalition war crimes. Would you buy soap made in Auschwitz?
GideonPolya commented on My countries right and wrong.
16 Apr 2006 11:37pm
We share a crowded Spaceship Earth that according to James Lovelock's "The Revenge of Gaia" (Penguin, London, 2006) has been abused to the point of non-homeostasis and unsustainability. Sustainability is the problem and practical recognition of COMMON HUMANITY fundamental to the solution. "Blaming and shaming" the British for their appalling colonial crimes from Ireland to India is only useful to the extent that THEY ARE STILL DOING IT (en passant, the genocidal Sassanachs ethnically cleansed my Highland ancestors in favour of SHEEP - according to independent Canadian and Australian accounts, my forebear fled Culloden to Ireland from their lands near the Mull of Kintyre as Guigan McDonald and returned as Donald NcGuigan). Appalling abuses of humanity require a protocol with the acronym CAAAA (C4A) and which involves Cessation, Acknowledgement, Apology, Amends and Assertion of non-repetition. C4A is what the Germans did post-1945 when faced with the reality of the Jewish Holocaust (6 million victims). In 1997 Tony Blair Acknowledged and Apologized for the Irish Famine (1 million died, 1.5 million emigrated with many dying in the process; cessation of British crimes against the Irish ceased in 1922) but in 1997 Her Majesty merely Acknowledged the actuality of the 1919 Amritsar Massacre. The 1.5 billion avoidable mortality in British India (1747-1947; the greatest human catastrophe and greatest ever crime) is not even Acknowledged by generally cowardly and racist British academic historigraphers. One searches British history and media mostly in vain for any Acknowledgement of the World War 2 man-made Bengal Famine (4 million victims; 1941-1951 Bengal demographic deficit over 10 million; huge military and civilian sexual abuse of starving women and girls; according to Colin Mason's "A Short History of Asia" (Macmillan, London, 2000) possibly the result of a deliberate British "scorched earth policy" to block Japanese advance into India). CESSATION (as well as the 4As) is required in relation to the ON-GOING UK-US "passive genocide" in the OCCUPIED IRAQI & AFGHAN TERRITORIES due to NON-PROVISION of life-sustaining requisites demanded by the Geneva Conventions (post-invasion under-5 infant mortality and excess mortality totalling 1.8 million and 2.3 million, respectively; post-hostilities under-5 infant mortality totals 3.0 million comprising 1.6 million for post-1990 Iraq and 1.4 million for post-2001 Afghanistan). The genocidal, racist British Establishment is STILL mass murdering kids around the world untroubled by any Acknowledgement from racist, lying Mainstream Media or from cowardly, lying, mendicant academics. Silence kills and silence is complicity - and history ignored yields history repeated.
GideonPolya commented on Not so nuts.
13 Apr 2006 5:23am
The bottom-line argument in any dialogue about "policy" is the human cost. What would a "bombing war" and "sanctions" against Iran cost in terms of UNDER-5 INFANT MORTALITY and EXCESS DEATHS? Some idea can be obtained from the latest Web-accessible UN and UNICEF information about what sanctions did to Iraq. According to the latest, Web-accessible UN Population Division and UNICEF data, the "under-5 infant deaths per 1,000 births" in oil-rich Iraq vs impoverished Syria were 200 vs 170 (1953), 50 vs 44 (1990) and 125 vs 16 (2004) i.e. infant mortality decreased enormously under Saddam but increased hugely after 1990 due to Western intervention. The post-1990 under-5 infant mortality in Iraq under war-criminal UK-US sanctions, bombs and occupation now totals 1.6 million and the post-1990 excess deaths (i.e. avoidable deaths) now total 2.2 million. The post-invasion under-5 infant mortality and excess deaths in Afghanistan now total 1.4 million and 1.8 million, respectively. [KEY REFERENCES: for the latest UN Population Division data see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ ; for the latest UNICEF data see: http://www.unicef.org/index.html ; and for a detailed account of post-1990, Coalition-complicit Iraqi infant mortality see MWC News: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5948/26/ ]. The 1990-2003 excess mortality and under-5 infant mortality in IRAQ under sanctions and bombing totalled 1.7 million and 1.2 million, respectively. IRAN has a population about 2.5 times greater than that of Iraq. The UN-derived statistics on IRAN "under-5 infant deaths per 1,000 births": 220 (1953) -> 72 (1990) -> 38 (2004) - Iran's performance has been vastly better than that of South Asian countries (except for Sri Lanka and the Maldives) but not as good as that of Syria - as seen by the 2004 figures for UK-US-Occupied Afghanistan (257), Pakistan (101), India (85) and Bangladesh (77) vs Syria (16) and Sri Lanka (14). IRAN's performance has now doubt been affected by diversion of scarce resources in the face of sustained US hostility including the US-backed Iran-Iraq War. In the ABSENCE of war, IRAN is set to further improve the bottom-line lot of Mother and Child (i.e. survival). US and/or Israeli bombing and sanctions against Iran is potentially a crime against innocent humanity exceeding that against Iraq and Afghanistan. ADVOCACY of bombing and sanctions against a poor, remote, non-aggressive, non-imperialist, non-expansionist country with the prospect of millions of infant deaths is no less than PURE EVIL.
GideonPolya commented on .
11 Apr 2006 7:24am
Seen from the perspective of Mother and Child things were vastly better under brutal dictator Saddam Hussein before the West brought 16 years of horror - and how many more? Saddam Hussein�s crimes are dwarfed by a 2.2 million Coalition carnage in Iraq. According to the latest UN Population Division data (see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/) and UNICEF data (see: http://www.unicef.org/index.html ), by 1990 �under-5 infant deaths per 1,000 births� reached a MINIMUM of 50 in oil-rich Iraq under Saddam Hussein as compared to 44 in its neighbour, resource-poor Syria (from catastrophic high values of about 170-200 in the immediately post-colonial era). However Western-imposed Sanctions immediately reversed this trend, leading to doubled infant mortality and avoidable mortality for a dozen years; the ultimate US-led invasion and occupation further increased mortality so that by 2004 �under-5 infant deaths per 1,000 births� had reached 125 in UK-US-occupied IRAQ as compared to 16 in SYRIA. The post-1990 under-5 infant deaths in Iraq total 1.6 million (90% of them avoidable) and the post-1990 excess mortality (avoidable mortality) now totals 2.2 million. Similarly, in Occupied Afghanistan the post-invasion under-5 infant deaths and excess deaths total 1.4 million and 1.8 million, respectively (see MWC News: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5872/26/ ). For a detailed account of how Saddam Hussein�s crimes PALE in comparison with the 2.2 million post-1990 Coalition carnage see MWC News: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/5948/26/. For related articles on "Newsvine" see: http://gpolya.newsvine.com/mortality . Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter was spot on in his Nobel acceptance speech demand for the arraignment of Bush and Blair before the International Criminal Court. The continuing, 16-year passive mass murder of Muslim infants by the racist Coalition is the utter moral pits.
GideonPolya commented on Inaction is indefensible.
08 Apr 2006 7:06am
"The issue at hand" is the urgent need for UN-sponsored intervention to stop the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. As pointed out by Brian Brivati, SOMEBODY should act and do so sensibly - and if the UN fails to act then perhaps NATO should act. However the NATO forces used should NOT come from Coalition countries with "blood on their hands". Succinct quantitation of horrendous, ongoing Coalition crimes against Muslim civilians is not "a political soap box of condemnation" but an obligation on all decent people - and acutely relevant to WHO should save the innocent in Darfur. According to the latest, Web-accessible UNICEF reports (2006), in 2004 under-5 year old deaths totalled 106,000 in Sudan (population 35,523,000) as compared to 122,000 in UK-US-occupied Iraq (population 28,057,000)(for rough estimates of "avoidable mortality" divide by 0.7). For a glimpse of what things WOULD have been like in Iraq (even under a brutal dictator) WITHOUT racist Anglo-American violence, just compare the under-5 infant mortality in 2004 of 8,000 in impoverished neighbouring Syria (population 18,582,000) - a country with mortality statistics comparable to Iraq's back in 1990. Sudan needs FEWER racist, proto-Nazi, genocidal, war criminal psychopaths - not more.
GideonPolya commented on Inaction is indefensible.
07 Apr 2006 1:21am
Brian Brivati is correct. Effectively ignoring horrendous man-made mass mortality and human rights abuses simply ensures their continuance. Immediate, SENSIBLE international intervention is urgently required - but involving UN-sanctioned forces from countries NOT involved in gross mass mortality and human rights abuses (thus Coalition countries would be excluded because of their continuing war criminal conduct in Occupied Iraq and Afghanistan). History ignored yields history repeated and the world's failure over Rwanda is currently being repeated over Darfur. Going further back in history one can note (1) it was not until 17 December 1942 - 30 months before the end of WW2 in Europe - that the Allies formally acknowledged the actuality of the Jewish Holocaust [6 million victims]; (2)in 1944 Churchill rejected pleas from General Wavell for relief of the Bengal Famine and blocked humanitarian efforts of Mountbatten and the Canadians; in writing to Roosevelt in mid-1944 he stated "I am longer justified in not asking for your help" [the man-made Bengal famine killed 4 million and has been "rubbed out" of British history; (3) Mainstream Media still IGNORE the post-invasion avoidable mortality in Coalition-occupied Iraq & Afghanistan [2.3 million]. In Sudan the current annual avoidable mortality and under-5 infant mortality (2003 figures) are 260,000 and 100,000, respectively. ACTION is needed NOW.
GideonPolya commented on More of the same.
30 Mar 2006 9:06am
It was not until 17 December 1942 - 30 months before the end of World War 2 in Europe - in a formal statement to the House of Commons by Anthony Eden in the name of 11 Allied Governments - that there was official recognition of the reality of the Jewish Holocaust (see W. Laqueur, "The Terrible Secret. Suppression of the Truth about Hitler's "Final Solution"", Penguin, 1982; B. Wasserstein, "Britain and the Jews of Europe 1939-1945", Oxford University Press, 1988). In his final analysis of this "overall failure", Professor Laqueur cited fear, reckless optimism, disbelief, lack of experience or imagination or a combination of these. The bottom line, of course, is that IGNORING abuse of humanity ensures its CONTINUATION and that History ignored yields History repeated - and THAT is why humane reporters such as Laila El-Haddad and the agencies of the UN should be listened to very seriously. Some further scholar-derived statistics relevant to Palestinians and other presently violently Western-subjugated people: the "current annual under-5 infant death rate" is 0.1% (N America, Australasia, Israel & most of W Europe), 0.5%(Occupied Palestinian Territories), 2.7% (Occupied Iraq), 5.7% (Occupied Afghanistan) - as compared to "annual death rates" of 2.2% (Australian aborigines), 2.5% (SHEEP on Australian sheep farms) and 10% (Australian POWs under the Japanese). We cannot walk by on the other side.
GideonPolya commented on The great traditions of American foreign policy.
19 Mar 2006 10:52pm
The degeneration of public life in America - the land we love for its free speech and its great , humanitarian leaders and writers - is surely due to LOSS OF EFFECTIVE FREE SPEECH. Scientists are committed to a process involving truth, reason, free communication and the critical testing of POTENTIALLY FALSIFIABLE hypotheses. However in UK-US-Australian Mainstream Media we frequently encounter lying by omission, un-reason, censorship and anti-scientific "spin" (selective use of asserted "facts" to support a partisan position - remember the Iraqi WMDs? AN APPALLING EXAMPLE is provided TODAY, the Third Anniversary of the UK-US-led invasion of Iraq. From UN and UNICEF data it can be readily estimated that the post-invasion excess mortality in Occupied Iraq and Afghanistan totals 2.3 million and 0.5 million infants die there EACH YEAR (90% avoidably) due to non-provision of life-sustaining requisites by the Occupying Coalition in gross contravention of the Geneva Conventions - yet this horrenous, continuing war crime is UTTERLY IGNORED by UK-US-Australian Mainstream Media (except by the US "Newsvine" and the UK Guardian "Comment is free").
GideonPolya commented on Betty's flying circus.
18 Mar 2006 1:02am
HER MAJESTY impresses all with her decorum and sense of duty. She is clearly much LOVED by the British people and by many far-flung Anglo-Celtic subjects (and most notably by Fijian ex-subjects). HOWEVER such affection should NOT hide the historical realities behind the British Commonwealth that are fundamentally best assessed by AVOIDABLE MORTALITY (EXCESS MORTALITY)- the difference between ACTUAL deaths in a country and deaths EXPECTED for a peaceful, decently-run country. The AVOIDABLE MORTALIY has totalled about 0.6 billion (British India 1857-1837 and including the 1769/1770 10 million victim Great Bengal Famine); 0.5 billion (British Raj under Queen Victoria, 1837-1901, including massive man-made cholera and famine deaths); 0.4 billion (British India 1901-1947, including the "forgotten" man-made WW2 Bengal Famine of 4 million victims that was possibly due to a deliberate British "scorched earth policy"); 0.7 billion (British Commonwealth 1953-2006) - NOTING that about two-thirds of these deaths would have been AVOIDABLE INFANT DEATHS. THE LATEST UN FIGURES indicate that the post-invasion avoidable mortality totals 0.5 million (UK-US-occupied Iraq) and 1.8 million (UK-US-occupied Afghanistan), with post-invasion under-5 infant mortalities being 0.4 million and 1.4 million, respectively - and with this appalling carnage deriving from NON-PROVISION by the Occupying UK-US-led Coalition of life-sustaining requisites demanded of the Occupier by the Geneva Conventions. TO PARAPHRASE the famous words in 1975 of deposed Australian PM Gough Whitlam, "Well might we say, God Save the Queen, for nothing will save (Britain's reputation)"
(C) CENSORSHIP IN GENERAL BY THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA
IRAQI GENOCIDE IRAQI HOLOCAUST, Using The Guardian Australia Search function to search The Guardian for the term "Iraqi Holocaust" yields ZERO (0) results, A Guardian Australia Search for “Iraqi Genocide”yields ZERO (0) results and a Guardian Australia Search for “Iraq Genocide” yields 5 results, 4 of which relate to “possible Iraq genocide if US troops are withdrawn” ” and one refers to “Yesterday was a very special day: Saddam Hussein was charged with genocide.” that essentially relates to atrocities against the Kurds under Saddam Hussein (0.2 million dead, 1.5 million refugees, 1980-1991: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdish_people ). This extraordinary Black Hole in reportage by The Guardian occurs despite the 4.6 million war-related deaths and 5-6 million Iraqi refugees that make the US Alliance violation Iraq since 1990 an Iraqi Genocide as defined by Article 2 of the UN Genocide Convention. Using the ABC Search function to search the Australian ABC (the Australian equivalent of the BBC) for the terms "Iraqi Holocaust" yields ZERO (0) results, and an ABC Search for “Iraqi Genocide” yields 5 results (all comments by me to ABC Radio National’s Late Night Live program compered by Phillip Adams; see: http://search.abc.net.au/search/search.cgi?form=simple&num_ranks=20&collection=abcall&query=%22iraqi+genocide%22 ).
The Americans have almost completed their withdrawal from war-devastated Iraq that since 1990 has suffered 4.6 million war-related deaths, 1.7 million violent deaths, 2.9 million avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation, 5-6 million refugees and 2.0 million under-5 infant deaths, 90% avoidable and due to egregious US Alliance war crimes in gross violation of the Geneva Convention. However the Mainstream media of the Western Murdochracies and Lobbyocracies have resolutely refused to report the carnage of the 2 decade US War on Muslims in an ongoing process of utterly repugnant genocide complicity, genocide ignoring, genocide denial, holocaust complicity, holocaust ignoring, and holocaust denial.
Thus Australian ABC News of the taxpayer-funded ABC (Australia’s equivalent of the UK BBC) : “ The US military has officially ended its war in Iraq, packing up a military flag at a low-key ceremony nearly nine years after the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein. There are a little more than 4,000 US soldiers in Iraq but they will depart in the coming days, at which point almost no more American troops will remain in a country where there were once nearly 170,000 personnel on more than 500 bases. The withdrawal ends a war that left tens of thousands of Iraqis and nearly 4,500 American soldiers dead, many more wounded and 1.75 million Iraqis displaced, after the 2003 US-led invasion unleashed brutal sectarian fighting” (see “US military marks end of its Iraq war”, ABC News, 16 December 2011: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-15/us-military-marks-end-of-its-war-in-iraq/3733982 ). Another ABC News report talks of “100,000 plus” Iraqi dead.
The ABC’s “Tens of thousands” or “100,000 plus” dead Iraqis enormously underestimates the death toll. Thus the eminent US Just Foreign Policy organization estimates on the basis of expert medical epidemiological data that post-invasion violent deaths total 1.5 million and comments “The number is shocking and sobering. It is at least 10 times greater than most estimates cited in the US media, yet it is based on a scientific study of violent Iraqi deaths caused by the U.S.-led invasion of March 2003” (see: http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/156 ). In addition some 0.2 million Iraqis were killed in the Gulf War. The BBC has similarly plumped for 120,000 Iraqi deaths as estimated by thje Iraq Body Count organization (based on utterly unreliable “media reports”) but at least as the decency to qualify this with the expert medical epidemiological estimates of 600,000 deaths by 2006 (that translates to 1.5 million by 2012 as estimated by Just Foreign Policy) (see Paul Reynolds, “Wikileaks: Iraq war logs increase pressure for openness”, BBC News, 27 October 2010: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11613349 ).
However violent deaths represent one part of the post-invasion death toll. Non-violent avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation as estimated from UN Population Division data (2006 revision data i.e. before the US Puppet Maliki Government was installed) total 1.2 million (2003-2011, under US Occupation) and 1.7 million (1990-2003, under Sanctions and US, UK and Israeli bombing).
UN Population Division data (2006 Revision data) show that Iraqi under-5 infant deaths totaled 0.8 million (2003-2011) and 1.2 million (1990-2003). In 1999 Carol Bellamy, former Executive Director of UNICEF had noted that if the substantial reduction in child mortality throughout Iraq during the 1980s had continued through the 1990s, there would have been half a million fewer deaths of children under-five in the country as a whole during the eight year period 1991 to 1998 and that “Today's under-5 mortality rate of 131 per 1000 in south and central Iraq is comparable to current rates in Haiti (132) and Pakistan (136)”(see: https://sites.google.com/site/iraqiholocaustiraqigenocide/bellamy ). After US Puppet Maliki was installed, UN statistics were revised to claim that Sanctions, US, UK and Israeli bombing (1990-2003) and thence of violent Occupation (2003-2011) actually led to a DECREASE in under-5 infant mortality (deaths under-5 per 1,000 births) from 47 (1995-2000) to 44 (2000-2005), 42 (2005-2010) and 41 (2010-2015) (see: http://esa.un.org/wpp/unpp/p2k0data.asp ).
In 2007, the United Nations estimated that nearly 5 million refugees had fled the country since 2003, this figure not including internally displaced persons (IDPs). Iraqi refugees generated by the war total 5-6 million (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugees_of_Iraq and UNHCR: http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486426.html ).
Dennis Halliday was the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq from September 1, 1997, until 1998. He resigned after 34 years with the UN, including being UN assistant secretary-general, over the Sanctions imposed on Iraq, characterizing them as “genocide”(see: https://sites.google.com/site/iraqiholocaustiraqigenocide/halliday-denis ). Nearly 22 years of Western war against the Iraqi people is now associated with 4.6 million war-related deaths, 1.7 million violent deaths, 2.9 million avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation, 5-6 million refugees and 2.0 million under-5 infant deaths (90% avoidable and due to gross US Alliance violation of Articles 55 and 56 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War which demand that an Occupier must provide life-sustaining food and medical requisites to its conquered subjects “to the fullest extent of the means available to it” (see: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/y4gcpcp.htm ) .
This constitutes an Iraqi Holocaust and an Iraqi Genocide according to by Article 2 of the UN Geneva Convention: (see: http://www.edwebproject.org/sideshow/genocide/convention.html ) which states: “In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: a) Killing members of the group; b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
War is the penultimate in racism and genocide the ultimate in racism. It is very powerful to quote expert opinion. Thus eminent physicist Stephen Hawking on the key existential threats facing Humanity (2018): “We see great peril if governments and societies do not take action now to render nuclear weapons obsolete and to prevent further climate change” (Stephen Hawking, “Brief Answers to the Big Questions”, John Murray, 2018, Chapter 7). Most of the following websites alphabetically list expert opinions in 4 inter-connected key areas, namely “Reverse climate change”, “Stop lying and censorship”, “End war and genocide”, and “Free Palestine”, Everyone is invited to make use of this substantial resource and to feel free to disseminate this list to everyone they can.
REVERSE CLIMATE CHANGE
“1% on 1%: one percent annual wealth tax on One Percenters”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/1-on-1 .
“2 degrees C”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/2-degrees-c .
“100% renewable energy by 2020”: https://sites.google.com/site/100renewableenergyby2020/ .
“300 ppm CO2 ASAP: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/300-ppm-co2-asap .
“2011 climate change course”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/2011-climate-change-course .
“300.org”: . https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/300-org .
“300.org climate crisis glossary”: https://sites.google.com/site/climategenocide/300-org-climate-crisis
“300.org – return atmosphere CO2 to 300 ppm CO2”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/300-org---return-atmosphere-co2-to-300-ppm .
“Are we doomed?”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/are-we-doomed .
“Banyule Climate Action Now”: https://sites.google.com/site/banyuleclimateactionnow/ .
“Biofuel Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/biofuelgenocide/ .
“Carbon Debt Carbon Credit”: https://sites.google.com/site/carbondebtcarboncredit/ .
“Climate crisis articles”: https://sites.google.com/site/climatecrisisarticles/home .
“Climate Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/climategenocide/ .
“Climate Justice & Intergenerational Equity”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/climate-justice .
"Climate Revolution Now": https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/climate-revolution .
“Cut carbon emissions 80% by 2020”: https://sites.google.com/site/cutcarbonemissions80by2020/ .
“Divest from fossil fuels”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/divest-from-fossil-fuels .
“Eco-socialism, green socialism”: https://sites.google.com/site/ecosocialismgreensocialism/
“Gas is not clean energy”: https://sites.google.com/site/gasisnotcleanenergy/ .
“Methane bomb threat”: https://sites.google.com/site/methanebombthreat/ .
“Nuclear weapons ban, end poverty & reverse climate change”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/nuclear-weapons-ban .
“Older people and climate change”: https://sites.google.com/site/olderpeopleandclimatechange/home .
“Science and economics experts: carbon tax needed and not carbon trading”, 300.org: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/sciennce-economics-experts-carbon-tax-needed-not-carbon-trading .
“Stop air pollution deaths”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/stop-air-pollution-deaths .
“Stop climate crime”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/stop-climate-crime .
"Too late to avoid global warming catastrophe": https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/too-late-to-avoid-global-warming .
“Yarra Valley Climate Action Group”: https://sites.google.com/site/yarravalleyclimateactiongroup/Home .
STOP LYING & CENSORSHIP
“ABC censorship”: https://sites.google.com/site/abccensorship/abc-censorship .
“ABC fact-checking unit & incorrect reportage by the ABC (Australia’s BBC)”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/abc-fact-checking-unit .
“Boycott Murdoch media”: https://sites.google.com/site/boycottmurdochmedia/ .
“Censorship by ABC Late Night Live”: https://sites.google.com/site/censorshipbyabclatenightlive/ .
"Censorship by ABC Saturday Extra": https://sites.google.com/site/censorshipbyabclatenightlive/censorship-by-abc-sat .
“Censorship by the ABC”: https://sites.google.com/site/censorshipbytheabc/ .
“Censorship by Crikey (Australia)”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by-crikey .
“Censorship by SBS (Australia)”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by-sbs-australia .
“Censorship by The Age”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by-the-age .
“Censorship by the BBC”: https://sites.google.com/site/censorshipbythebbc/ .
“Censorship by The Conversation”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by .
"Censorship by The Guardian Australia": https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/home/censorship-by-the-guardian-a .
"Censorship by The Guardian UK": https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/censorship-by-the-guardian-uk .
“Educational apartheid”: https://sites.google.com/site/educationalapartheid/ .
“Experts: US did 9/11”: https://sites.google.com/site/expertsusdid911/ .
“Expose holocaust denial & ignoring”: https://sites.google.com/site/exposeholocaustdenialignoring/Home .
“Exposing Australia”: https://sites.google.com/site/exposingaustralia/home .
“Free university education” : https://sites.google.com/site/freeuniversityeducation/home
“Lying by omission”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammedialying/lying-by-omission .
“Mainstream media censorship”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/home .
“Mainstream media lying”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammedialying/ .
“Questions Q&A won’t ask”: https://sites.google.com/site/questionsqawontask/home .
“Subversion of Australia”: https://sites.google.com/site/subversionofaustralia/home .
END WAR AND GENOCIDE
“Aboriginal Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/aboriginalgenocide/ .
“Afghan Holocaust, Afghan Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/afghanholocaustafghangenocide/ .
“Iraqi Holocaust, Iraqi Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/iraqiholocaustiraqigenocide/ .
“Afghanistan Genocide essays”: https://sites.google.com/site/afghanistangenocideessays/ .
“Art for peace, planet, mother & child”: https://sites.google.com/site/artforpeaceplanetmotherchild/ .
“Bengali Holocaust (WW2 Bengal Famine) writings of Gideon Polya”: https://sites.google.com/site/drgideonpolya/bengali-holocaust .
“Gideon Polya”: https://sites.google.com/site/drgideonpolya/home .
“Gideon Polya writing”: https://sites.google.com/site/gideonpolyawriting/ .
“Iraq Genocide essays”: https://sites.google.com/site/iraqgenocideessays/ .
“Muslim Holocaust Muslim Genocide”: http://sites.google.com/site/muslimholocaustmuslimgenocide/ .
“Poetry reviews by Gideon Polya”: https://sites.google.com/site/poetryreviewsbygideonpolya/ .
“Report genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/reportgenocide/ .
"State crime and non-state terrorism": https://sites.google.com/site/statecrimeandnonstateterrorism/ .
“Stop state terrorism”: https://sites.google.com/site/stopstateterrorism/ .
FREE PALESTINE
Apartheid Israeli state terrorism: (A) individuals exposing Apartheid Israeli state terrorism, and (B) countries subject to Apartheid Israeli state terrorism”: https://sites.google.com/site/palestiniangenocide/apartheid-israeli-state-terrorism .
“Boycott Apartheid Israel”: https://sites.google.com/site/boycottapartheidisrael/.
“Gaza Concentration Camp”: https://sites.google.com/site/palestiniangenocide/gaza-concentration .
“Jews Against Racist Zionism”: https://sites.google.com/site/jewsagainstracistzionism/ .
“Non-Jews Against Racist Zionism”: https://sites.google.com/site/nonjewsagainstracistzionism/ .
“One-state solution, unitary state, bi-national state for a democratic, equal rights, post-apartheid Palestine: https://sites.google.com/site/boycottapartheidisrael/one-state-solution .
“Palestinian Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/palestiniangenocide/ .
“Palestinian Genocide essays”: https://sites.google.com/site/palestinegenocideessays/ .
"Zionist quotes re racism and Palestinian Genocide": https://sites.google.com/site/palestiniangenocide/zionist-quotes .