I wrote this piece a year ago. Gerard's land-clearing made the papers yesterday..

Sometimes clearing local land dwellers out for business purposes is quite successful. The British managed to evict many Highland Scots from potential sheep pastures by religious trickery. The children of some of those evicted ended up poisoning the flour in Aboriginal workers' rations to clear Australian land for similar purposes. I've got a strong feeling that something similar almost happened to my family.

pentagon told it must give up oil …..

May 2, 2007

‘Canadian-owned Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold producer, is exploring, building and operating huge, open-pit gold mines on nearly every continent on the planet.

‘President George W. Bush vetoed legislation on Tuesday that would have required him to begin withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Iraq this year, setting up a new showdown with Democratic leaders over funding the war, the White House said.

The long phase of the game seems to have started already. Yabber, yabber, yabber and a load of debate scoring bullsh*t. Christ I am so over it.. watching stuff just keep on rolling out and all sides just point-scoring without giving a tinkers's toss about the ethics of a situation. The trouble is that if I'm "into" politics and I'm feeling like this, how does the generally apolitical bloke or blokette feel?

 

from the ABC’s Lateline …..

 

from the New York Times …..

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

Published: April 30, 2007

Quiet Bush Aide Seeks Iraq Czar, Creating a Stir

‘Whether we leave or stay, the fighting will go on until one faction or another attains dominance. That means there will be no democracy in Iraq. And President Bush is wrong when he claims that all people desire freedom. They first desire survival and security.

‘Four years ago on May 1, President Bush landed on the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln wearing a flight suit and delivered a speech in front of a giant "Mission Accomplished" banner.

The wrongness of the WMD story was shrugged off by blaming faulty intelligence. The deceptive nature of the story of Private Lynch has no such scapegoat to hide behind. It emanated directly from the US Military, a portrayal of bravery under fire, and to say that the story was slightly colourised would be being diplomatic.

‘First Lady Laura Bush said this morning that "no one suffers more" than the president and she do when watching television footage of the carnage in Iraq -- potentially opening her up to charges that the first family is too removed from the anguish of American troops and their families.

As we busy ourselves for our traditional ANZAC celebrations, in memory of those servicemen & women who gave their lives on our behalf, perhaps we should reflect on the values imbued in that fine tradition & what they really mean to us today?

 

The prime rattus has announced that his government will target the scourge of the drug “Ice” in a tough new offensive against illicit drugs.