"Our position is that whatever grievances a nation may have, however objectionable it finds the status quo, aggressive warfare is an illegal means for settling those grievances or for altering those conditions."

Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson

American Prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials

I Would Find A Way .....

...Fighting the “pork-barrelling-libbos

Below is the best part of an email I just recieved from Edgar Cook of the Digital Archiving Section of the National Library. Obviously I just want to say yes, but I have emboldened the part which I'd like people to read. Essentially I'm asking, in a general way, for people's consent that their comments be archived in perpetuity. If anyone knows anything about the law that I should, let me know also.

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Dear Mr Alcorn

Request for permission to archive Your Democracy web site

The National Library of Australia aims to build a comprehensive collection of Australian publications to ensure that Australians have access to their documentary heritage now and in the future. The Library has traditionally collected items in print, but it is also committed to preserving electronic publications of lasting cultural value.

Oh brother... How can we fight this kind of historical dis-information... In regard to the first letter the figure now is peddled at 2 million from the 300,000 killed by Saddam before the coalition of the willing invasion... Although it is impossible to know the exact numbers to the unit, the TRUE DEATH TOLL, plus or minus a hundred in the small figures and plus or minus 2,000 in the higher figures, stands as thus:

"The London Times reports that the British government and the United States government had secretly agreed to attack Iraq in 2002, before authorization was sought for such an attack in Congress, and had discussed creating pretextual justifications for doing so."

US Congressman John Conyers has written to President George Bush seeking his response to these explosive revelations.

Thank God for ‘truth, justice & the American way’.

It is now clear that the diminutive US Private, Lynndie England, aided & abetted by half a dozen of her erstwhile comrades, cunningly perpetrated an obscene reign of terror, torture & murder on unsuspecting US detainees across the globe: all without the knowledge of her chain of command superiors.

In the coming period we need a method to shadow individual MPs from issue to issue, as Howard's only check on power is the possibility of a Senator crossing the floor. Although Howard has more power than ever, he relies on the complete solidarity of his Senators, and Liberal solidarity has looked better.

As a tool to achieve this the Dome of Conscience shows great promise. It is a place where individual MPs and candidates can make their views known from issue to issue. So if a politician makes a public statement about an issue, I think we should get in the habit of telling that politician to place the view in this transparent, public domain.

Blood Rivers of Babylon...

The “legend of Sardanapale” Words and names vary from language to language and for the purpose of this short historical analysis I will use the word “Sardanapale” for the King of Nineveh back in 612 BC. The legend or what has been the “recorded history” for many years (and is still peddled in many modern history book and some web sites) is that “Sardanapale” the King of Nineveh died when the Babylonian, with the help of the Medes, besieged Nineveh until it fell in their hands.

Happy May Day?

What does that have to do with building a better democracy? May 1 is about trade unions marching with their flags and banners. It is the day when communists and socialists get together and dream about their version of a better world. It's the day when Euro Anarchists come out to play. It was also the day of those bizarre grotesque soviet parades. How is commemorating this day relevant to Australia in 2005?

May day grew out of the Haymarket Riot in Chicago in 1886 and subsequent protests and marches. Six people were shot for protesting for an 8 hour working day and May Day became their day of commemoration as well as becoming a rallying day for 40 hour week campaigns all around the world (Interestingly enough only Queensland's Labour Day coincides with May)