From the ABC

PM declines Cole invitation

The Prime Minister says there is nothing
more that Government Ministers can offer the Cole Inquiry.

Earlier
today, Commissioner Terence Cole issued an invitation for anyone with
information about kickbacks or the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal to appear before
his inquiry. He made special mention of Members of Parliament and public
servants. 

'I was startled to hear
Prime Minister John Howard of Australia exclaim in a BBC interview last night
that he could not understand why pictures of starving Jewish interns of Bergen
Belsen, Dachau, and Aushwitz had been aired, yet again, by an Australian TV station
a few days ago.  

"I
don't understand what news value there is any longer in showing more pictures
of starving Jews, tortured in these prison camps."  

This sounds like the kind of conversation probably occurring in DFAT round about now

"There is the excuse we used for the Munich Agreement: It occurred
before certain important facts were known, and couldn't happen again."

"What important facts?"

"Well, that Hitler wanted to conquer Europe."

"I thought that everybody knew that."

"Not the Foreign Office."

‘Now, mounting a Hyde Park
soapbox to praise Chechens’ valiant struggle or urging Palestinians or Iraqis
or afghans to keep resisting foreign occupation will be a crime. Terrorism has
erased the term “justice” from our minds. 

The litmus test of free speech in
letting people you detest say what they choose & defending their right to
say things that may be painfully hateful or deeply stupid. 

Tony Blair just trampled this
basic British right. Britain now joins sleazy, third-world despotisms where
‘The Glorious Leader’ alone determines what one may & may not say. 

‘"If I was the president, I could stop terrorist
attacks against the United States in a few days. Permanently. 

I would first apologize - very
publicly and very sincerely - to all the widows and the orphans, the impoverished
and the tortured, and all the many millions of other victims of American
imperialism. 

I would then announce that
America’s global interventions - including the awful bombings - have come to an
end. 

‘The whole world is watching a human drama that is both
tragedy and travesty. As if the lessons of Vietnam had been presented to dull
students and needed repeating, Americans and peoples of all nations watch as
President George W. Bush's pre-emptive and unconstitutional war in Iraq
continues. The cradle of civilization is being turned into its grave by a
president whose undefined "noble cause" has thus far cost the lives
of almost 3000 American soldiers, wounded and maimed almost 20,000 more, and
killed tens of thousands of Iraqis. 

‘As all students today know, Iraq is the country that the
US invaded with the attempt to convert the state and the people from enemy to
friend. On the face of it, this sounds rather implausible, of course. Good
fences make good neighbours. Friendship and peace are not usually the result of
insults, sanctions, invasions, bombings, killings, puppet governments,
censorship, economic controls, and occupations. If this generation learns
anything from this period, that would be a good start. 

‘In November 2000 Saddam Hussein demanded Euros for his
oil. His arrogance was a threat to the dollar; his lack of any military might
was never a threat. At the first cabinet meeting with the new administration in
2001, as reported by Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, the major topic was how
we would get rid of Saddam Hussein – though there was no evidence whatsoever he
posed a threat to us. This deep concern for Saddam Hussein surprised and
shocked O’Neill. 

It now is common knowledge that
the immediate reaction of the administration after 9/11 revolved around how
they could connect Saddam Hussein to the attacks, to justify an invasion and
overthrow of his government. Even with no evidence of any connection to 9/11,
or evidence of weapons of mass destruction, public and congressional support
was generated through distortions and flat out misrepresentation of the facts
to justify overthrowing Saddam Hussein. 

 The Australian push for imported corporated labour is picking up speed.

Released on the Treasurer's website yesterday

The Treasurer today announced improvements to the taxation arrangements for
temporary residents which will give Australia one of the most competitive expatriate
taxation regimes in the world.

A foreign source income tax exemption for temporary residents was introduced
into Parliament twice in 2002, but failed to pass the Senate because of Labor
Party opposition. The Government announced it would re-introduce the measure
in the 2005-06 Budget.

Defence Chiefs yesterday admitted they had made a $1
billion mistake in buying Vietnam-era helicopters in the belief they could
upgrade them. 

Chopper Purchase
A $1 Billion Mistake

With Howard, Abbott & their ilk convincingly defeated on the future regulation of RU486 today, it’s worth taking a minute to reflect on the disgusting racial & religious bigotry implicit in Danna Vale’s comments this week, particularly given that they are indicative of an increasingly common mindset in our country, consistently encouraged by the Howard government. 

In the typical alarmist & dishonest “dog-whistling” fashion that has become the hallmark of the government, Danna Vale claimed that Australia would become a Muslim nation within 50 years, if the current claimed annual abortion rate of 100,000 foetuses was not curtailed.