Monthly Archives: October 2014
IPAN open letter to the PM and Defence Minister regarding treatment of Swan Island Peace Convergence activists
IPAN open letter to the PM and Defence Minister regarding treatment of Swan Island Peace Convergence activists
Wednesday 29th October 2014
Open letter to the Prime Minister Mr Tony Abbott and the Defence Minister Mr David Johnston
The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) bring together over 50 community based peace and justice organisations across Australia.
We wish to express our grave concern regarding the alleged actions of SAS personnel, towards a small group of peaceful protesters at Swan Island military base on the 2nd October.
It is our understanding the Swan Island Peace Convergence group has protested Australian involvement in foreign wars over the past 5 years with protesters treated lawfully and peacefully by the ADF and the Victorian Police Force.
We in the IPAN are concerned that the tactics used this time, which include hooding, stripping of clothing, physical and verbal violence from ADF personnel reflect the Australian government’s current policies which restrict civil liberties on the basis of the threat of terrorism to Australian citizens.
The actions of the ADF personnel are reminiscent of the treatment of prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison in 2004 by US troops, and indeed correlate with a number of inquiries into treatment of civilians by ADF personnel during Australian military engagement in Afghanistan.
We ask, are our young men and women in the ADF being trained to commit war crimes?
When viewed in the context of the government’s decision to send Australian forces into Iraq for the 3rd time we express our concern that the people of our country are being constrained in their democratic rights to protest this engagement as it potentially grows into a major war.
The members of IPAN request that findings of the investigation by the Department of Defence into the actions of members of the ADF at Swan Island be made public.
Signed:
Annette Brownlie on behalf of the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network
Medical Assn. for the Prevention of War
Lorel Thomas-Victorian Peace and Social Justice Network of Quakers.
Nick Deane- Marrickville Peace Group
Mr Norm Bullen- Just Peace Qld
Dr Chris Haw-Physicians against War
Georgia Murphy-SafeGround.
Peter Arndt Executive Officer-Catholic Justice & Peace Commission of Brisbane
Professor Alison Broinowski
Joan Jenkins-Bunbury Peace Group.
Australian Anti-Bases Coalition- Denis Doherty
Peter Murphy – Sydney Peace & Justice Coalition
Graeme Dunstan-Peacebus
Jim Green- Friends of the Earth
Beverley Polzin- Quaker
Stephen Darley-Campaign Against Foreign Military Bases (SA)
Peter D Jones, Tasmania Quaker Peace & Justice Committee (Hobart)
Philippine Australia Solidarity Assn
Philippine Caucus for Peace
Kathy Damm- Qld Quakers
Frances Kendall-Just Peace
Ruth Russell WILPF
Willy Bach- Standfast
Dale Hess
Rosemary Morrow Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute
Bevan Ramsden- Newcastle Peace Group
Romina Beitseen
John Hughes- Early Works
Rev Simon Moyle
Rev Alan Matheson AM
Joan Kitchen
Michael Henry- Just Peace
Shirley Winton- Spirit of Eureka Vic
Prof Richard Tanter
Daniel Brown Rite of Strings
Annie Didcott WILPF ACT
Bob Briton-General Secretary Communist Party of Australia
David Bradbury- Frontline Films
Roger Keyes- Adelaide Quaker meeting
Ann Rees- Adelaide Quaker meeting
Dr Janet Bodycomb MAPW Vic
Ross Battison Vic
Michael Hamel-Green- MAPW
Julie Marlow- Australian Anti-bases Coalition
Paul Malone
Margaret OÇallaghan
Hannah Middleton- Independent Activist
Anne Lane -Catholics in Coalition for Justice and Peace
The Hon Sandra Kanck
Boyette Jurcales- Ban the Bases
Father Claude Mostowik- Pax Christi
Maureen McKeown
Kay Mc Padden
Irene Gale AM
Margaret Jacobs- Member of Women in Black
Pip Hinman
May Kotsakis – Philippines Australia Solidarity Association.
Berlin Guerrero – Philippine Caucus for Peace
George Kotsakis – Migrante Australia
Independent and Peaceful Australia Network
PO Box 573 Coorparoo Brisbane 4151 Ph: 0431597256
Greens political body snatch of Gough Whitlam
While trying to make the case that Gough Whitlam’s policy success are thanks to the Greens, (which did not exist at the time and Whitlam was never a member of) The greens have produce this rather shameful poster.
The Greens attempt to claim credit for Whitlam’s policies.
This really speaks volumes about the Greens, totally opportunistic, with gutter level morality and absolutely no sense of tact.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-22/simms-a-legacy-belongs-to-all-progressives/5833112
In this spirit of this shameful act on the memory of a man dead but not even buried yet, we put the shoe on the other fott and give to the greens another great progressive, Joe Hockey.
Joe Hockey progressive champion of students.
Most interestingly during the media frenzy around the passing of Whitlam there has been little mention of the constitutional crisis at the time of his sacking, because that would bring up the fact Australia has a constitution, and people might actually start asking questions about the limits of governmental powers it imposes. Fortunately the Greens will never attempt to claim credit for our work.
Occupy London rebooted
http://occupylondon.org.uk/
In response to the brutal crackdown in Hong Kong Occupiers converged on London to show support for democratic principles.
Dave Cameron bleated about respect for democracy while allowing brutal crackdowns in his own front yard.
Apparently now even sitting on a tarp is enough to make police aggressive.
Can you believe ‘1984’ was actually written in this country?
Gold Standard discussed in Swiss Parlaiment
Swiss German with English subtitles.
“Save our Swiss gold”
This is what the initiative wants:
1. No further Gold sales by the SNB!
2. All our gold stored in Switzerland!
3. Physical Gold share minimum 20% of SNB Reserves!
Note its worth pointing out the Swiss never joined the European Union or adopted the Euro as its currency, despite being surrounded with European union countries. Ironically Switzerland hoards vast quantities of gold in bank vaults for the worlds elite but the common man on the surface still deals in worthless unbacked paper fiat called Swiss francs (CF). Bankers in Switzerland are called the Gnomes of Zurich for a reason.
“Islamic State Sex Slave Market” In London -It’s Not Islamophobia When Kurds Do It
Kurdish activists have staged a “Sex slave market” in London to draw attention to the plight of (allegedly) thousands of Kurdish and Yazidi women who have been sold into sex slavery by IS supporters.
The only mistake in the video is the disclaimer that IS have nothing to do with Islam. Obviously they themselves claim that they do , which is why they call themselves Islamic State and constantly quote the Koran to back up their atrocities, while more so-called “moderate” and Muslims who ignore the Koran are supposed to be the “real” representatives of Islam. Nothing in recent memory has been so full of contradictions and cognitive dissonance as the many statements defending Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance .
The Left has now hesitantly begun to support Kurdish activists, because a small number of left activists have been brave enough to speak up despite the constant barrage of criticism of” racism and islamophobia”.
Support this event in Melbourne next week: ” Stand With Kobane”
https://www.facebook.com/events/679783932135832/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
Happy 3rd Anniversary to Occupy Melbourne
Tagged cardboard boxes from Treasury gardens.
Its hard to believe its been 3 years. Somehow it seems longer, somehow it feels shorter.
What has changed in that time, the federal government changed from Labour to Liberal and nothing changed for the better, because while a government allows a reserve bank to exist the reserve bank is in control, not the government.
We learned about the illogical and poisonous aspects of the political left.
We learned about how the political right are complete sold out to large corporations.
We learned about how the laws that give fiat currency value are just as corrupt and hollow as the fake money it supports.
We learned its an information war, a battle for the hearts and minds of the people.
We changed the conversation, we got people talking about things they never talked about before, or were even afraid to talk about.
We put up with a lot of hardships, the harassment from Victoria Police, Melbourne City Council, and agent provocateurs, it was tiring, cold , wet and messy and at times dangerous.
BUT, it was totally worth it.
We went through as lot to spread a message but it’s up to you to hear the message and act upon it accordingly.
Good Luck.
All roads privatised proposal
Of course this means that:
1) The roads will be sold off cheaply to the puppet masters corporations.
2) Roads will not be maintained.
3) No new roads will be built.
4) Your right to travel freely will be gone.
5) The road tolling system will be a means of universal surveillance
Of course roads can be built without a government, but why do that when you can get the public to pay for it, and then buy at cents in the dollar from the government you installed into office. Then of course ransom the general public for using the roads they paid for, that y0u just stole off them.
Need government to build roads? No. Need a government to then sell your roads to a private corporation? No. Makes you wander why the corporation didn’t build the roads in the first place. Why not? Not economic, but stealing roads is economic.
XBOX and Cheezles
If corporations hadn’t taken over politics there might be such a promotion. sadly there is not.
Send all your empty Cheezles packets to Ewan Jones and you go in the draw for a job. Sounds great kids, so get off your XBOX and get posting those Cheezles!
Team Australia
The moment Tony Abbott coined this phrase it was yet another “suppository of wisdom” coming from Tony Abbott’s mouth.
It had ‘memebait’ written all over it. Fortunately SMH was on the job.
Team Australia Meme run by the SMH (Sydney Morning Herald) more or less what I would have done with the comment ‘Team Australia’.
For those too young to know what this all means allow me to explain. (Adult themes and language)
Relevance? Today is the first day Australian warplanes began flying armed over the regions disputed by Syria, Iraq and Kurdistan (and of course the boogeyman ‘de jour’; ISIS).
In case there is any blow back, remember no one outside of the Australian political system voted for military intervention, If you want to blame anyone blame a politician.
Occupy Central Hong Kong: leave a message on their wall
A massive projector has been set up at Occupy Central Hong Kong.
They have a system whereby you can submit messages to be projected on their actual wall (not a FB thing).
http://occupier.hk/standbyyou/
Looks a bit like this (actual size).
Projector at Occupy Central Hong Kong http://occupier.hk/standbyyou/
OCCUPYMELBOURNE.NET 
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