In his Opinion piece in
yesterday’s Australian, In
A Limbo Beyond The Laws Of War, Neil James arrogantly criticises the Law
Council of Australia for speaking out on the continuing cruel & illegal
incarceration & torture of David Hicks.

Whilst an academic debate on the
meaning & applicability of the “laws of war” in the Hicks case is bound to
fascinate military buffs & the occasional lawyer, it would be of greater
value to the specific debate if it were relevant: which it isn’t. 

From the ABC …..

Stanhope to appeal to G-G to save civil unions law 

ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope
will appeal to the Governor-General to try to save the Territory's civil
union legislation. 

Prime Minister John Howard and
the federal Attorney-General have announced they will advise the Governor-General
to disallow the law. 

‘The Cross-City tunnel's 50% discount ends today, and will
be replaced with a permanent reduction of just 17c. People had started to use
it because they felt that it was quite a good deal at $1.78. But now that it's
going back up, guess what'll happen, Cross City Motorway Pty Ltd? We'll stop.
It doesn't matter how much advertising there is. Sydney has made its position
to the operators entirely clear: with all due respect, we contend that it's a
bloody a rip-off. And we simply aren't going to use it. So there. We'd rather
sit in an interminable traffic jam, thanks all the same.  

‘“Power,” Harvard Professor Joseph Nye, Jr. tells
us “is the ability to alter the behavior of others to get what you want.
There are basically three ways to do that: coercion (sticks), payments
(carrots), and attraction (soft power).” Today’s American soft power—our
ability to influence others overseas through who we are and what we do—is
shrinking, as poll after poll shows. This loss of soft power reduces
America's ability to shape global developments in ways favorable to the
national interest. What can be done about this? 

Australia seems to be getting
along quite nicely without an American Ambassador. 

This month will mark the 16^th
month that the position has stood vacant, with former Ambassador, John Thomas
Schieffer, having packed-up his BBQ & headed-off to Japan back in February
2005. 

After forgetting about the
position for more than a year, the Bush administration announced the
appointment of Robert McCallum as its Ambassador Extraordinary &
Plenipotentiary to Australia, back in March. 

from tonight’s 7:00PM ABC
News Report ….. 

‘A United States military probe
has exonerated US troops in the deaths of Iraqi civilians in the town of Ishaqi
in March, finding American forces followed standard procedures and committed no
misconduct, defence officials say. 

The defence officials, speaking
on condition of anonymity, say an investigation found no wrongdoing by US
forces.  

‘With an arrogance bordering on intimidation, the
administration of George W. Bush wishes to impose its will onto Chile's
sovereignty and force that country to impede Venezuela's admission to the
United Nations Security Council. 

That attempt came to light on
Sunday, April 28, when the Chilean daily La Tercera published a report - based
on Chilean diplomatic sources - titled "White House Ultimatum."
Progreso Weekly has translated that report and summarizes it here. Words [in
brackets] are PW's clarifications. 

 
Lawyers refuse to
undergo new security clearances .....

Lawyers representing a group of
men charged under the Federal Government's anti-terrorism laws say they
may go to the High Court to fight a requirement that they undergo security
clearances. 

Up to 50 lawyers representing the
men are refusing to submit to the clearances that are required under the
new laws. 

In a coastal town at the shores of Mr Downer's Mayo electorate, the nuclear debate is rippling through the community.

Downer's
fellow S.A. Senator Anne McEwen has cheekily suggested that the tourism
city of Victor Harbor, known to many as "God's Waiting Room" would be an ideal site
because of the abundance of water.

The Minister for Foreign
Affairs has responded rather cattily to the suggestion, describing
McEwen as a senator that nobody has heard of.

"There is no plan to build a nuclear power station anywhere in the
whole of Australia, least of all in Victor Harbor." Mr Downer told the Victor Harbor Times.

‘Something that senior officials call the "war
paradigm" is the Bush administration's central organizing principle. They
do not use the phrase publicly, just among themselves, but they bend policy to
serve it. After Sept. 11, 2001, they instantly adopted the war paradigm without
any internal discussion. George W. Bush, who proclaimed, "I'm a war
president" and insisted that he made decisions "with war on my
mind," assumed the war paradigm as his natural state and right.’ 

PM can't rule out premiums rise
with Medibank sale .....

Prime Minister John Howard says he cannot guarantee insurance premiums
will not rise when the Commonwealth sells Medibank Private. 

The major insurer is expected to be
sold in the next 12 months. 

The Federal Opposition says a
document inviting tenders for the public relations campaign shows Medibank
Private cannot guarantee premiums will not rise, and that it fears a class
action from members. 

President Bush has claimed in the past,
"We are making
progress in the march of freedom - and some of the most important progress
has taken place in a region that has not known the blessings of liberty: the
broader Middle East." (Last month, the New York Times found this
assessment to be overly
optimistic.)  

From the ABC …..

Prominent Australians' Snowy letter given to Parliament

A letter signed by a group of prominent Australians calling for the sale
of the Snowy Hydro scheme to be suspended has been handed to Federal
Parliament. 

The signatories include former
prime minister Malcolm Fraser, actor Cate Blanchett and poets David Malouf
and Les Murray. 

From the ABC …..

US orders ethical training for troops 

A top US commander in Iraq has
ordered combat troops to be trained to abide by moral and ethical
standards on the battlefield. 

The move is an apparent reference
to allegations Marines killed civilians last year.