"Australian intelligence agencies fear that Israel may launch military strikes against Iran and that Tehran's pursuit of nuclear capabilities could draw the US and Australia into a potential nuclear war in the Middle East." (Intelligence chiefs fear nuclear war, Philip Dorling, Sydney Morning Herald, 13/12/10)
Great, just great. Israel could suck its suckholes, Australia and the US, into a war. Nukes optional. Hands up those of you who'd like an embassy posting in Tehran.
"Australia's top intelligence agency has also privately undercut the hardline stance towards Tehran of the United States, Israeli and Australian governments, saying that its nuclear program is intended to deter attack and that it is a mistake to regard Iran as a 'rogue state'. The warnings about the dangers of nuclear conflict in the Middle East are given in a secret US embassy cable obtained by WikiLeaks and provided exclusively to the Herald. They reflect views obtained by US intelligence liaison officers in Canberra from across the range of Australian intelligence agencies. 'The AIC's [Australian intelligence community's] leading concerns with respect to Iran's nuclear ambitions centre on understanding the time frame of a possible weapons capability, and working with the United States to prevent Israel from independently launching uncoordinated military strikes against Iran', the US embassy in Canberra reported to Washington in March last year. 'They are immediately concerned that Iran's pursuit of nuclear capabilities would lead to a conventional war - or even nuclear exchange - in the Middle East involving the United States that would draw Australia into a conflict'. Australian concerns about a unilateral Israeli military strike against Iran are also recorded in another US embassy cable sent to Washington in December 2008, reporting on discussions between the then chief of Australia's top intelligence agency, the Office of National Assessments (ONA), Peter Varghese, and the head of the US State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), the assistant secretary of state, Randall Fort. The embassy's report of the meeting, which included senior officers and analysts from both intelligence agencies, says that 'ONA seniors and analysts were particularly interested un A/S Fort and INR's assessments on Israeli 'red lines' on Iran's nuclear program and the likelihood of an Israeli strike against Iranian nuclear facilities'." (ibid)
That Rudd, unlike Australia's intelligence agencies, instinctively puts the Iranian cart before the Israeli horse becomes apparent when we read that "A cable sent in July 2008 further records that the former prime minister Kevin Rudd was 'deeply worried' that the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's intransigence concerning Tehran's nuclear program meant that the window for a diplomatic solution was closing and that 'Israel may feel forced to use 'non-diplomatic' means'." (ibid)
May feel forced to use 'non-diplomatic' means. Because it feels insecure, right Kevvie?
One can imagine the language that the following views would have elicited from Rudd when put to him. For Rudd, the only country in the Middle East allowed a security problem is Israel:
"ONA analysts expressed the view that the Iranian government appeared determined to acquire nuclear weapons, though this would probably be driven by the desire to deter Israel and the US than an intention to strike against other Middle East states. 'ONA viewed Tehran's nuclear program within the paradigm of 'the laws of deterrence', noting that Iran's ability to produce a weapon may be 'enough' to meet its security objectives', the US embassy reported to Washington... ONA urged a balanced view of Tehran as a sophisticated diplomatic player rather than a 'rogue state' liable to behave impulsively or irrationally. Mr Varghese was telling the Australian government: 'It's a mistake to think of Iran as a 'rogue state'." (ibid)
The bottom line here is that Australia, under the 'leadership' of Rudd and Gillard, could be sucked into the vortex of war by the Middle East's real rogue state. The evidence, thanks to WikiLeaks, is there for all to see. But do our politicians, editors, and assorted pundits really want to know?
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
WikiLeaks 7: When Israeli Eyes Are Smiling
And still they come:
"The Israeli ambassador to Australia found Kevin Rudd to be 'very pro-Israel' and senior Australian diplomats warned the former prime minister that his condemnation of Iran risked retaliation against Australia's embassy in Tehran, according to leaked US diplomatic cables. The secret cables, obtained by WikiLeaks and provided exclusively to the Herald, reveal the Israeli ambassador, Yuval Rotem, was pleased with Mr Rudd's 'very supportive' attitude towards Israel's position on the Middle East peace process and his strong attacks on the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." (Israel praises Labor allies, Philip Dorling, Sydney Morning Herald, 13/12/10)
There's that name again, Yuval Rotem. Is it not obvious by now that Israel looms larger than it should in Australian foreign and domestic affairs? That something deeply dysfunctional, even downright kinky, is going on here? That Australia's real interests are far from being served by the clowns who misrepresent us?
And surely by now there's some inkling out there in ms media land that a certain steroidal state with Mediterranean views punches way above its weight in the Australian arena?
After all, as those WikiLeaks documents have informed us, it's Rotem who briefed DFAT officials when they wanted to know what Rudd was up to on the foreign policy front, Rotem who interrupted Stephen Smith's holiday to drum up support for his country's 2008-2009 wilding in Gaza, and Rotem to whom Gillard applied for an instant rambamming. (See my WikiLeaks 4 & 5)
So why is there still no comment anywhere in the Fairfax press - not an editorial*, not an op-ed, not a letter, not even a bloody tweet - on the propriety of Israel's apparently very central role in deciding where we're heading as a nation? [*Today's Herald editorial (Back to Mid-East drawing board), instead, bends over backwards to excuse Netanyahu and Obama for the current collapse of the so-called peace process.]
And here's Rudd, once so supportive of Israel's position on the Middle East peace process, now wailing in Cairo that "no real progress" has been made because "Israeli settlements on Palestinian land were 'destroying' the chances of peace," but, good Christian that he is, somehow finding it in his heart to forgive, because, as he mantra-ed, "Israel had security fears that needed to be taken into account." (ibid)
Israeli settlements are popping up on occupied Palestinian land faster than mushrooms after rain, but Rudd's always mindful that Israel's still not over its 62-year-old (and counting) anxiety attack. No point even mentioning Palestinian anxiety, of course. Rudd's compassion only goes so far.
Anyway, back to our script: "The leaked cables reveal that Israeli diplomats saw Mr Rudd as an important ally. Mr Rotem told US officials in July 2008 that during his first meeting with Mr Rudd after the 2007 federal election, the newly elected prime minister had described Mr Ahmadinejad as a 'loathsome individual on ever level' and [said] that his anti-Semitism 'turns my stomach'. The US embassy noted that while opposition leader, Mr Rudd had taken a 'very strong stance' on Iran, including calling for Mr Ahmadinejad to be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court for his calls for the destruction of Israel." (ibid)
So hot to trot is he, the silly bugger had to be hosed down by senior bureaucrats:
"The Israeli ambassador said that the secretary of the of the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Michael l'Estrange, and the director-general of the Office of National Assessments, Peter Varghese, had 'met several times to convince the PM to think through the consequences of his rhetoric on Iran'." (ibid)
So there were consequences to Rudd's pre-election brain snap? (See my 21/12/07 post Testing Time for Rudd) Apparently:
"Asked by the US embassy about whether Rudd's views on Iran had elicited any response, Mr Rotem said the Iranian government had reacted to the prime minister's statements by taking 'retaliatory measures' against the Australian embassy in Tehran. 'These measures made it harder for the embassy to conduct its day-to-day business', Mr Rotem observed. The Australian government has never publicly acknowledged any Iranian response to Mr Rudd's public criticism of Iran and its President." (ibid)
You mean the Australian embassy in Tehran was stormed and our diplomats held hostage? And we weren't told about it? OK, that was the US embassy in 1979, but still. So did any Fairfax journalist bother to get a response from the Iranians when Rudd's 'We're taking that loathsome individual to court' madness was doing the rounds? (For Rudd's eventual emergence from this particular brain snap, see my 16/10/08 post Rudd QC Ceases to Act)
"Mr Rotem went on to tell tell the US embassy that Israel saw Australia 'as playing an important role in the 'global PR battle' on Iran because PM Rudd is viewed favourably by the 'European Left', many of whom are sceptical about taking a tough line towards Tehran'. The ambassador said Israeli officials would normally have been concerned at the prospect of a Labor government: 'However, this was not the case because Rudd had long gone out of his way to stress his strong commitment to Israel and appreciation for its security concerns'. Commenting that DFAT officials are very frank in expressing their annoyance with the PM's micromanaging of foreign policy issues, Rotem laughingly said that 'while I understand their point of view, how can I complain about having that kind of attention from the PM'." (ibid)
A willing tool in Israel's PR arsenal. One who goes out of his way to please. Why, he practically throws himself at us!
And the pretender to the throne? She's not exactly playing hard to get:
"The Israeli ambassador's enthusiasm for the Labor government extended to the deputy prime minister Julia Gillard, with the US embassy reporting in January last year that Mr Rotem was 'very satisfied' with the Australian response to Israel's military offensive in Gaza. 'Rotem said he had been impressed with acting PM Julia Gillard, who has taken the lead in co-ordinating the [Australian government] public and private response to the Gaza fighting... Rotem said that Gillard and [national security adviser Duncan] Lewis have been very understanding of Israel's military action, while stressing the need to minimise civilian casualties and address humanitarian concerns'. Mr Rotem said Ms Gillard's public statements surprised many Israeli embassy contacts as being 'far more supportive than they had expected'." (ibid)
Another who goes out of her way to please. Why, she's even hotter to trot than he is! Did you notice her batting her eyelashes at me?
"The ambassador added that he would be 'playing to Rudd's vanity' to encourage him to pay an early visit to Israel and continue to speak out in support of a hard line against Iran's nuclear ambitions." (ibid)
Proof - if proof were needed - that our 'leaders' are putty in Israel's hands.
Next post: WikiLeaks 8: No, Prime Minister
"The Israeli ambassador to Australia found Kevin Rudd to be 'very pro-Israel' and senior Australian diplomats warned the former prime minister that his condemnation of Iran risked retaliation against Australia's embassy in Tehran, according to leaked US diplomatic cables. The secret cables, obtained by WikiLeaks and provided exclusively to the Herald, reveal the Israeli ambassador, Yuval Rotem, was pleased with Mr Rudd's 'very supportive' attitude towards Israel's position on the Middle East peace process and his strong attacks on the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." (Israel praises Labor allies, Philip Dorling, Sydney Morning Herald, 13/12/10)
There's that name again, Yuval Rotem. Is it not obvious by now that Israel looms larger than it should in Australian foreign and domestic affairs? That something deeply dysfunctional, even downright kinky, is going on here? That Australia's real interests are far from being served by the clowns who misrepresent us?
And surely by now there's some inkling out there in ms media land that a certain steroidal state with Mediterranean views punches way above its weight in the Australian arena?
After all, as those WikiLeaks documents have informed us, it's Rotem who briefed DFAT officials when they wanted to know what Rudd was up to on the foreign policy front, Rotem who interrupted Stephen Smith's holiday to drum up support for his country's 2008-2009 wilding in Gaza, and Rotem to whom Gillard applied for an instant rambamming. (See my WikiLeaks 4 & 5)
So why is there still no comment anywhere in the Fairfax press - not an editorial*, not an op-ed, not a letter, not even a bloody tweet - on the propriety of Israel's apparently very central role in deciding where we're heading as a nation? [*Today's Herald editorial (Back to Mid-East drawing board), instead, bends over backwards to excuse Netanyahu and Obama for the current collapse of the so-called peace process.]
And here's Rudd, once so supportive of Israel's position on the Middle East peace process, now wailing in Cairo that "no real progress" has been made because "Israeli settlements on Palestinian land were 'destroying' the chances of peace," but, good Christian that he is, somehow finding it in his heart to forgive, because, as he mantra-ed, "Israel had security fears that needed to be taken into account." (ibid)
Israeli settlements are popping up on occupied Palestinian land faster than mushrooms after rain, but Rudd's always mindful that Israel's still not over its 62-year-old (and counting) anxiety attack. No point even mentioning Palestinian anxiety, of course. Rudd's compassion only goes so far.
Anyway, back to our script: "The leaked cables reveal that Israeli diplomats saw Mr Rudd as an important ally. Mr Rotem told US officials in July 2008 that during his first meeting with Mr Rudd after the 2007 federal election, the newly elected prime minister had described Mr Ahmadinejad as a 'loathsome individual on ever level' and [said] that his anti-Semitism 'turns my stomach'. The US embassy noted that while opposition leader, Mr Rudd had taken a 'very strong stance' on Iran, including calling for Mr Ahmadinejad to be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court for his calls for the destruction of Israel." (ibid)
So hot to trot is he, the silly bugger had to be hosed down by senior bureaucrats:
"The Israeli ambassador said that the secretary of the of the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Michael l'Estrange, and the director-general of the Office of National Assessments, Peter Varghese, had 'met several times to convince the PM to think through the consequences of his rhetoric on Iran'." (ibid)
So there were consequences to Rudd's pre-election brain snap? (See my 21/12/07 post Testing Time for Rudd) Apparently:
"Asked by the US embassy about whether Rudd's views on Iran had elicited any response, Mr Rotem said the Iranian government had reacted to the prime minister's statements by taking 'retaliatory measures' against the Australian embassy in Tehran. 'These measures made it harder for the embassy to conduct its day-to-day business', Mr Rotem observed. The Australian government has never publicly acknowledged any Iranian response to Mr Rudd's public criticism of Iran and its President." (ibid)
You mean the Australian embassy in Tehran was stormed and our diplomats held hostage? And we weren't told about it? OK, that was the US embassy in 1979, but still. So did any Fairfax journalist bother to get a response from the Iranians when Rudd's 'We're taking that loathsome individual to court' madness was doing the rounds? (For Rudd's eventual emergence from this particular brain snap, see my 16/10/08 post Rudd QC Ceases to Act)
"Mr Rotem went on to tell tell the US embassy that Israel saw Australia 'as playing an important role in the 'global PR battle' on Iran because PM Rudd is viewed favourably by the 'European Left', many of whom are sceptical about taking a tough line towards Tehran'. The ambassador said Israeli officials would normally have been concerned at the prospect of a Labor government: 'However, this was not the case because Rudd had long gone out of his way to stress his strong commitment to Israel and appreciation for its security concerns'. Commenting that DFAT officials are very frank in expressing their annoyance with the PM's micromanaging of foreign policy issues, Rotem laughingly said that 'while I understand their point of view, how can I complain about having that kind of attention from the PM'." (ibid)
A willing tool in Israel's PR arsenal. One who goes out of his way to please. Why, he practically throws himself at us!
And the pretender to the throne? She's not exactly playing hard to get:
"The Israeli ambassador's enthusiasm for the Labor government extended to the deputy prime minister Julia Gillard, with the US embassy reporting in January last year that Mr Rotem was 'very satisfied' with the Australian response to Israel's military offensive in Gaza. 'Rotem said he had been impressed with acting PM Julia Gillard, who has taken the lead in co-ordinating the [Australian government] public and private response to the Gaza fighting... Rotem said that Gillard and [national security adviser Duncan] Lewis have been very understanding of Israel's military action, while stressing the need to minimise civilian casualties and address humanitarian concerns'. Mr Rotem said Ms Gillard's public statements surprised many Israeli embassy contacts as being 'far more supportive than they had expected'." (ibid)
Another who goes out of her way to please. Why, she's even hotter to trot than he is! Did you notice her batting her eyelashes at me?
"The ambassador added that he would be 'playing to Rudd's vanity' to encourage him to pay an early visit to Israel and continue to speak out in support of a hard line against Iran's nuclear ambitions." (ibid)
Proof - if proof were needed - that our 'leaders' are putty in Israel's hands.
Next post: WikiLeaks 8: No, Prime Minister
Iraq Again
"I'm really sorry to bother you. I know you have more important things to deal with. Health insurance, tax cuts, a BP oil spill, another Gaza flotilla.
"Yeah, it's Iraq again. And will always be.
"I will not let this GENOCIDE go by. I will not let the Holocaust of Freedom & Democracy vanquish me. So it's Iraq again, on the agenda. I put it on the agenda. Top priority. Top of the list.
"Iraq, a country the size of California, in the words of US general Odierno, has witnessed the LARGEST movement of military equipment - the US armada - since WORLD WAR II.
"IOW the world has seen nothing like it for a country the size of California.
"World War II? Do any of you out there read history? Do you know how many nations were involved back then? Back then, when military technology was nowhere near as 'advanced' as it is today.
"Iraq, a country the size of California, a 'third world nation', broken by over 10 years of sanctions - and all this military might to defeat 'the enemy'? And you expect me to just let it go so you can concentrate on your health insurance, tax cuts, and Gaza flotilla?
"Oh boy, you've never met a true Iraqi.
"The fact of the matter is I will never let it go. Not until Justice is done. Like it or not - that's the way it is and that's how it shall be.
"No one talks of Iraq anymore. Or hardly ever. Read again what I've written above.
"Fuck it! I will not let those bastards drive us into the shadows of cemeteries. I claim life by claiming words.
"Yet I feel so powerless. An old keyboard. Hundreds of articles. Hundreds of testimonies. And a lone voice. Where are the Iraqis?
"Are they all ghosts of this Occupation? Is there anyone at home?
"At times I feel like giving up. This isn't something I can do alone. I'm not Superwoman. Ignorance surrounds me like a thick wall of silence. I try to keep that tiny flame alive in me, in the darkness. If it dies, so do I.
"No, I will not let them erase it.
"Facing my old keyboard and typing these words, at times incoherent, is my only sanity.
"No, I will not let them erase it.
"It's Iraq again."
Layla Anwar, Yeah, Iraq again! 6/12/10
"Yeah, it's Iraq again. And will always be.
"I will not let this GENOCIDE go by. I will not let the Holocaust of Freedom & Democracy vanquish me. So it's Iraq again, on the agenda. I put it on the agenda. Top priority. Top of the list.
"Iraq, a country the size of California, in the words of US general Odierno, has witnessed the LARGEST movement of military equipment - the US armada - since WORLD WAR II.
"IOW the world has seen nothing like it for a country the size of California.
"World War II? Do any of you out there read history? Do you know how many nations were involved back then? Back then, when military technology was nowhere near as 'advanced' as it is today.
"Iraq, a country the size of California, a 'third world nation', broken by over 10 years of sanctions - and all this military might to defeat 'the enemy'? And you expect me to just let it go so you can concentrate on your health insurance, tax cuts, and Gaza flotilla?
"Oh boy, you've never met a true Iraqi.
"The fact of the matter is I will never let it go. Not until Justice is done. Like it or not - that's the way it is and that's how it shall be.
"No one talks of Iraq anymore. Or hardly ever. Read again what I've written above.
"Fuck it! I will not let those bastards drive us into the shadows of cemeteries. I claim life by claiming words.
"Yet I feel so powerless. An old keyboard. Hundreds of articles. Hundreds of testimonies. And a lone voice. Where are the Iraqis?
"Are they all ghosts of this Occupation? Is there anyone at home?
"At times I feel like giving up. This isn't something I can do alone. I'm not Superwoman. Ignorance surrounds me like a thick wall of silence. I try to keep that tiny flame alive in me, in the darkness. If it dies, so do I.
"No, I will not let them erase it.
"Facing my old keyboard and typing these words, at times incoherent, is my only sanity.
"No, I will not let them erase it.
"It's Iraq again."
Layla Anwar, Yeah, Iraq again! 6/12/10
Sunday, December 12, 2010
The ABC of Zionist Propaganda
When was the last time you saw a decent documentary on the contemporary Middle East on the ABC? The last I recall was screened as long ago as 2003 (Israel's Secret Weapon)! All we ever seem to get these days are wildlife, ancient history, or World War II.
But the government broadcaster hasn't just been playing it safe. This year saw it engage in a bizarre process of literally fending off a push to have an Australian doco on Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories screened. (See my 11/11/10 post Words Behind Words)
It's not as if the absence of documentary meat is the only evidence we have for what seems to be the adoption of a deliberate policy of not frightening the horses. How's this for an admission?
"The ABC managing director, Mark Scott, has told an audience of film and television producers that the way he had been able to secure additional funding was by convincing the government the national broadcaster was working in its interests." (ABC chief tells how to win funds & influence people, Karl Quinn, Sydney Morning Herald, 18/11/10)
And if we have a government that seems constitutionally incapable of sensibly distinguishing between the national and the USraeli interest, is it any wonder that the 'B' in ABC can only stand for 'bland'?
I wish I could say though that that's as bad as it gets, but I can't. The ABC has reached the sad point where it is now deliberately promoting Israeli propaganda:
We got our first inkling of what's afoot when we learned, in October, that the ABC's political editor (and co-anchor of the coming post-Kerry O'Brien 7.30 Report), Chris Uhlmann, was to join a 17-member politico-media caravan to Israel led by Zionist lobbyist Albert Dadon and set to depart this month.
The climactic moment of this mass rambamming was reported to be a ceremony at Yad Vashem to honour Aboriginal activist William Cooper, promoted by Dadon as the "only man in the world who had the courage to protest and stand up against Kristallnacht." (See my 25/10/10 post Record Rambam).
Dadon's attempt to co-opt Cooper's memory should, of course, be viewed in the context of the Israel lobby's strategy of courting indigenous Australian spokespersons in an effort to mask Zionism's assault on indigenous Palestinians. (See my 11/2/10 post Zionism Goes Native)
In a sign of things to come (?), The 7.30 Report ran an item on Cooper on December 1, featuring Dadon and insinuating familiar Zionist propaganda tropes:
"You look at the de-legitimization that Jews were subject to at the time and perhaps it took someone else else that was himself de-legitimized to recognise the humanity of those people." (Dadon)
"We, the Jewish people were people without land and the Indigenous people were able or could have their own land, but others prevented it." (Shmuel Rosenkranz)
Cooper, we were told, "will be honoured by an academic chair [in Studies of Resistance] established in his name [at Yad Vashem]."
To entertain the idea that this might include indigenous Palestinian resistance to Zionist dispossession, colonisation and apartheid would, of course, be to invite derision.
So far, however, the ABC's deliberate peddling of Zionist propaganda has been most evident on Radio National - on, of all things, The Science Show.
A headline in The Australian Jewish News of 26/11/10 said it all: The science of promoting Israel.
The AJN went on to report: "A series of ABC Radio programs is highlighting Israel's scientific credentials and achievements. Host of Radio National's The Science Show, Robyn Williams, recently visited Israel as a guest of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he interviewed more than 20 top scientists from both the university and elsewhere in Israel. The interviews are now being featured on the weekly program. 'I was delighted to be invited', Williams said, while praising the state of Israeli science. 'Innovation is going brilliantly... and much to my surprise, an awful lot of the research being done is not necessarilly that which relates to the country's own immediate need'. Scientists in Israel are working on diverse projects including diabetes and HIV research, nanotechnology and fish farming in Uganda. Williams is the first ABC Radio journalist in what businessman Leon Fink, who has instigated and financed several initiatives to promote Israel's scientific achievements, hopes will be a continuing program. Fink said he established the program in response to negative press the Jewish State had received recently."
So far, in this series on what Williams calls "Israeli science," we've been treated to a nanotechnologist who talks of seeing "nano Stars of David" under his electron microscope, a Palestinian scientist "working in Israel" who gives the thumbs down to BDS, a scientist who is "helping the starving children of Uganda to eat," and an item on the Einstein archive at the Hebrew University in which we were informed of exhibitions in "Jewish museums in Sydney and Melbourne" which focussed on the great atheist's "Jewish identity**."
[*See my 16/11/10 post Oh Puh-lease! ;** Just how tiresome Einstein took the business of identity politics emerges in a review of the 7th volume of his collected papers: "One of his first attempts to sum up relativity for the layperson appeared in an article for The Times on November 28, 1919. An earlier issue of the paper referred to Einstein as a 'Swiss Jew', prompting a witty analogy: 'By an application of the theory of relativity to the taste of readers, today in Germany I am called a German man of science, and in England I am represented as a Swiss Jew. If I come to be regarded as a bete noire, the descriptions will be reversed, and I shall become a Swiss Jew for the Germans and a German man of science for the English!" ('With fame I become more stupid', PD Smith, The Guardian, 31/8/02)]
I'll leave you with some "Israeli science" I very much doubt will be getting a look-in on The Science Show. How about the Hebrew University's Talpiot program, for example:
"[T]he program... operates mostly out of view. During a rare recent visit to the classified program, housed on the Hebrew University campus... officials would not disclose the work done during the military phase of the program and identified cadets only by their first initials... Each year, the program selects the most prominent high school graduates in science and submits them to 3 years of grueling study, paid by the government, followed by 6 years of paid service in the military... [But] instead of serving in combat units, Talpiot graduates are charged with improving the armed services through technological innovation. Some of the cadets delivered. Avi Loeb, who entered Talpiot in the early 1980s, developed a way to make projectiles travel at more than 10 times existing speeds... Another Talpiot innovation came from Amir Beker... During his military service under Talpiot in the late 1980s, Mr Beker learned that Israeli helicopter pilots were suffering from severe back pain from vibrations during flight. To build a better seat, he first had to determine how to measure the effect of vibrations on the human vertebrae. Together with a Talpiot classmate, Mr Beker led a team that installed a custom seat in a helicopter simulator, cutting a hole in its backrest. Training a pen on a pilot's back, the team used a high-speed camera to photograph the marks caused by a range of vibrations. The researchers analyzed the computerized data to come up with a way to redesign the seats." (How an elite military school feeds Israel's tech industry, Christopher Rhoads, The Wall Street Journal, 6/7/07)
Just imagine the sparkling repartee if ever Robyn Williams were to get within cooee of these blokes:
Robyn Williams: Jeez, Avi, enabling the IDF to take out Palestinian civilians 10 times faster must have been an enormously satisfying achievement?
Avi Loeb: Yes, Robyn, but one can't rest on one's laurels. I'm now working on making our projectiles 1,000 times faster!
Robyn Williams: Amaaazing!
Avi Loeb: Yeah, ain't it though.
Robyn Williams: Strewth, Amir, imagine how much more comfortable it must be now for those helicopter pilots firing their 10-times faster Hellfire missiles at Palestinian civilians.
Amir Beker: And don't forget the collateral benefits, Robyn - a surefire cure for Palestinian back pain too.
Robyn Williams: Pure genius, Amir!
Amir Beker: High fives, Robyn!
Oh, yeah... and I'd like an interview with the Israeli scientists who invented the 'skunk bomb'.
But the government broadcaster hasn't just been playing it safe. This year saw it engage in a bizarre process of literally fending off a push to have an Australian doco on Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories screened. (See my 11/11/10 post Words Behind Words)
It's not as if the absence of documentary meat is the only evidence we have for what seems to be the adoption of a deliberate policy of not frightening the horses. How's this for an admission?
"The ABC managing director, Mark Scott, has told an audience of film and television producers that the way he had been able to secure additional funding was by convincing the government the national broadcaster was working in its interests." (ABC chief tells how to win funds & influence people, Karl Quinn, Sydney Morning Herald, 18/11/10)
And if we have a government that seems constitutionally incapable of sensibly distinguishing between the national and the USraeli interest, is it any wonder that the 'B' in ABC can only stand for 'bland'?
I wish I could say though that that's as bad as it gets, but I can't. The ABC has reached the sad point where it is now deliberately promoting Israeli propaganda:
We got our first inkling of what's afoot when we learned, in October, that the ABC's political editor (and co-anchor of the coming post-Kerry O'Brien 7.30 Report), Chris Uhlmann, was to join a 17-member politico-media caravan to Israel led by Zionist lobbyist Albert Dadon and set to depart this month.
The climactic moment of this mass rambamming was reported to be a ceremony at Yad Vashem to honour Aboriginal activist William Cooper, promoted by Dadon as the "only man in the world who had the courage to protest and stand up against Kristallnacht." (See my 25/10/10 post Record Rambam).
Dadon's attempt to co-opt Cooper's memory should, of course, be viewed in the context of the Israel lobby's strategy of courting indigenous Australian spokespersons in an effort to mask Zionism's assault on indigenous Palestinians. (See my 11/2/10 post Zionism Goes Native)
In a sign of things to come (?), The 7.30 Report ran an item on Cooper on December 1, featuring Dadon and insinuating familiar Zionist propaganda tropes:
"You look at the de-legitimization that Jews were subject to at the time and perhaps it took someone else else that was himself de-legitimized to recognise the humanity of those people." (Dadon)
"We, the Jewish people were people without land and the Indigenous people were able or could have their own land, but others prevented it." (Shmuel Rosenkranz)
Cooper, we were told, "will be honoured by an academic chair [in Studies of Resistance] established in his name [at Yad Vashem]."
To entertain the idea that this might include indigenous Palestinian resistance to Zionist dispossession, colonisation and apartheid would, of course, be to invite derision.
So far, however, the ABC's deliberate peddling of Zionist propaganda has been most evident on Radio National - on, of all things, The Science Show.
A headline in The Australian Jewish News of 26/11/10 said it all: The science of promoting Israel.
The AJN went on to report: "A series of ABC Radio programs is highlighting Israel's scientific credentials and achievements. Host of Radio National's The Science Show, Robyn Williams, recently visited Israel as a guest of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he interviewed more than 20 top scientists from both the university and elsewhere in Israel. The interviews are now being featured on the weekly program. 'I was delighted to be invited', Williams said, while praising the state of Israeli science. 'Innovation is going brilliantly... and much to my surprise, an awful lot of the research being done is not necessarilly that which relates to the country's own immediate need'. Scientists in Israel are working on diverse projects including diabetes and HIV research, nanotechnology and fish farming in Uganda. Williams is the first ABC Radio journalist in what businessman Leon Fink, who has instigated and financed several initiatives to promote Israel's scientific achievements, hopes will be a continuing program. Fink said he established the program in response to negative press the Jewish State had received recently."
So far, in this series on what Williams calls "Israeli science," we've been treated to a nanotechnologist who talks of seeing "nano Stars of David" under his electron microscope, a Palestinian scientist "working in Israel" who gives the thumbs down to BDS, a scientist who is "helping the starving children of Uganda to eat," and an item on the Einstein archive at the Hebrew University in which we were informed of exhibitions in "Jewish museums in Sydney and Melbourne" which focussed on the great atheist's "Jewish identity**."
[*See my 16/11/10 post Oh Puh-lease! ;** Just how tiresome Einstein took the business of identity politics emerges in a review of the 7th volume of his collected papers: "One of his first attempts to sum up relativity for the layperson appeared in an article for The Times on November 28, 1919. An earlier issue of the paper referred to Einstein as a 'Swiss Jew', prompting a witty analogy: 'By an application of the theory of relativity to the taste of readers, today in Germany I am called a German man of science, and in England I am represented as a Swiss Jew. If I come to be regarded as a bete noire, the descriptions will be reversed, and I shall become a Swiss Jew for the Germans and a German man of science for the English!" ('With fame I become more stupid', PD Smith, The Guardian, 31/8/02)]
I'll leave you with some "Israeli science" I very much doubt will be getting a look-in on The Science Show. How about the Hebrew University's Talpiot program, for example:
"[T]he program... operates mostly out of view. During a rare recent visit to the classified program, housed on the Hebrew University campus... officials would not disclose the work done during the military phase of the program and identified cadets only by their first initials... Each year, the program selects the most prominent high school graduates in science and submits them to 3 years of grueling study, paid by the government, followed by 6 years of paid service in the military... [But] instead of serving in combat units, Talpiot graduates are charged with improving the armed services through technological innovation. Some of the cadets delivered. Avi Loeb, who entered Talpiot in the early 1980s, developed a way to make projectiles travel at more than 10 times existing speeds... Another Talpiot innovation came from Amir Beker... During his military service under Talpiot in the late 1980s, Mr Beker learned that Israeli helicopter pilots were suffering from severe back pain from vibrations during flight. To build a better seat, he first had to determine how to measure the effect of vibrations on the human vertebrae. Together with a Talpiot classmate, Mr Beker led a team that installed a custom seat in a helicopter simulator, cutting a hole in its backrest. Training a pen on a pilot's back, the team used a high-speed camera to photograph the marks caused by a range of vibrations. The researchers analyzed the computerized data to come up with a way to redesign the seats." (How an elite military school feeds Israel's tech industry, Christopher Rhoads, The Wall Street Journal, 6/7/07)
Just imagine the sparkling repartee if ever Robyn Williams were to get within cooee of these blokes:
Robyn Williams: Jeez, Avi, enabling the IDF to take out Palestinian civilians 10 times faster must have been an enormously satisfying achievement?
Avi Loeb: Yes, Robyn, but one can't rest on one's laurels. I'm now working on making our projectiles 1,000 times faster!
Robyn Williams: Amaaazing!
Avi Loeb: Yeah, ain't it though.
Robyn Williams: Strewth, Amir, imagine how much more comfortable it must be now for those helicopter pilots firing their 10-times faster Hellfire missiles at Palestinian civilians.
Amir Beker: And don't forget the collateral benefits, Robyn - a surefire cure for Palestinian back pain too.
Robyn Williams: Pure genius, Amir!
Amir Beker: High fives, Robyn!
Oh, yeah... and I'd like an interview with the Israeli scientists who invented the 'skunk bomb'.
Friday, December 10, 2010
WikiLeaks 6: Working for the Man
Spooky!:
"The federal Labor minister and right-wing powerbroker Mark Arbib is one of the US embassy's valued confidential contacts, providing inside information and commentary on the workings of the government and the ALP. Secret embassy cables obtained by WikiLeaks and made available exclusively to the Herald reveal that Senator Arbib has been in regular contact with US embassy officers. His candid comments are incorporated in reports to Washington with requests that his identity as a 'protected' source be guarded. Embassy cables refer to Senator Arbib as a strong supporter of Australia's alliance with the US. They identify him as a valuable source of information on Labor politics, including the former prime minister Kevin Rudd's hopes to forestall an eventual leadership challenge by his deputy, Julia Gillard. 'He understands the importance of supporting a vibrant relationship with the US while not being too deferential. We have found him personable, confident and articulate', says an embassy profile written in July 2009. 'He has met with us repeatedly throughout his political rise'." (Yank in the ranks: The powerbroker Mark Arbib has been America's Labor Party insider for years, Philip Dorling, Sydney Morning Herald, 9/12/10)
Arbib is the other quintessential whatever-it-takes ALP politician. Mark Latham had him pegged as one of those who "live in a world of non-stop political manoeuvres and gossip, no structured thoughts about making society better. Their only points of reference in public life are polling and focus groups." (See my 23/6/10 post The Ins & Outs of the ALP)
Unlike Dorling's report on Gillard, there is no reference to Israel in his report on Arbib. Proof of his allegiance to the USraeli agenda, however, may be found in the accusation by former Labor MP and critic of Israel, Julia Irwin, that he "ordered her to take a trip to Israel and submit her speeches on the Middle East to him for clearance." (See my 30/7/10 post Get Thee to Israel!) Ditto for this contribution from one of his appearances on the ABC's Q & A (7/5/09): "[T]o really understand the Israeli people and understand what they've been through and understand where they're coming from in terms of their security... you've got to go to Jerusalem and you've got to go to the Holocaust Museum..."
What does emerge, however, is that he reportedly "told embassy officers that, unlike [former leader Kim] Beazley, he supported Australia's military commitment in Iraq 'as well as the war on terrorism in general'." (ibid)
Predictably, Arbib was not the only ALP politician with a fondness for whipping into the embassy for a chat and a cup of whatever: "Other Labor politicians reported as regular contacts include the former minister Bob McMullan and Michael Danby, a serving MP." (ibid) At various points in his Diaries, Latham calls McMullan, immortalised as 'Comb-over', a "snake in the grass" and a "treacherous bastard." Of Labor's 'Minister for Israel', of course, you'll need no introduction - just click on the tag below.
Other Labor politicians (and union bosses) to get a mention in Dorling's WikiLeaks reporting include Victorian senator Dave Feeney, parliamentary secretary for Pacific Island Affairs Richard Marles, national secretary of the Health Services Union Kathy Jackson, Victorian secretary of the Australian Workers Union, Cesar Melhem ("The AWU works diligently to place its own members in parliamentary positions, both at state and federal levels. This includes Bill Shorten."), an unnamed National Union of Workers (NUW) source, and Dave Noonan and Bill Oliver of the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union (CFMEU).
PS: Marles, Danby and Shorten will all be traipsing off to Israel this month to take part in one of Albert Dadon's Australia Israel Leadership Forum shindigs. (See my 25/10/10 post Record Rambam)
"The federal Labor minister and right-wing powerbroker Mark Arbib is one of the US embassy's valued confidential contacts, providing inside information and commentary on the workings of the government and the ALP. Secret embassy cables obtained by WikiLeaks and made available exclusively to the Herald reveal that Senator Arbib has been in regular contact with US embassy officers. His candid comments are incorporated in reports to Washington with requests that his identity as a 'protected' source be guarded. Embassy cables refer to Senator Arbib as a strong supporter of Australia's alliance with the US. They identify him as a valuable source of information on Labor politics, including the former prime minister Kevin Rudd's hopes to forestall an eventual leadership challenge by his deputy, Julia Gillard. 'He understands the importance of supporting a vibrant relationship with the US while not being too deferential. We have found him personable, confident and articulate', says an embassy profile written in July 2009. 'He has met with us repeatedly throughout his political rise'." (Yank in the ranks: The powerbroker Mark Arbib has been America's Labor Party insider for years, Philip Dorling, Sydney Morning Herald, 9/12/10)
Arbib is the other quintessential whatever-it-takes ALP politician. Mark Latham had him pegged as one of those who "live in a world of non-stop political manoeuvres and gossip, no structured thoughts about making society better. Their only points of reference in public life are polling and focus groups." (See my 23/6/10 post The Ins & Outs of the ALP)
Unlike Dorling's report on Gillard, there is no reference to Israel in his report on Arbib. Proof of his allegiance to the USraeli agenda, however, may be found in the accusation by former Labor MP and critic of Israel, Julia Irwin, that he "ordered her to take a trip to Israel and submit her speeches on the Middle East to him for clearance." (See my 30/7/10 post Get Thee to Israel!) Ditto for this contribution from one of his appearances on the ABC's Q & A (7/5/09): "[T]o really understand the Israeli people and understand what they've been through and understand where they're coming from in terms of their security... you've got to go to Jerusalem and you've got to go to the Holocaust Museum..."
What does emerge, however, is that he reportedly "told embassy officers that, unlike [former leader Kim] Beazley, he supported Australia's military commitment in Iraq 'as well as the war on terrorism in general'." (ibid)
Predictably, Arbib was not the only ALP politician with a fondness for whipping into the embassy for a chat and a cup of whatever: "Other Labor politicians reported as regular contacts include the former minister Bob McMullan and Michael Danby, a serving MP." (ibid) At various points in his Diaries, Latham calls McMullan, immortalised as 'Comb-over', a "snake in the grass" and a "treacherous bastard." Of Labor's 'Minister for Israel', of course, you'll need no introduction - just click on the tag below.
Other Labor politicians (and union bosses) to get a mention in Dorling's WikiLeaks reporting include Victorian senator Dave Feeney, parliamentary secretary for Pacific Island Affairs Richard Marles, national secretary of the Health Services Union Kathy Jackson, Victorian secretary of the Australian Workers Union, Cesar Melhem ("The AWU works diligently to place its own members in parliamentary positions, both at state and federal levels. This includes Bill Shorten."), an unnamed National Union of Workers (NUW) source, and Dave Noonan and Bill Oliver of the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union (CFMEU).
PS: Marles, Danby and Shorten will all be traipsing off to Israel this month to take part in one of Albert Dadon's Australia Israel Leadership Forum shindigs. (See my 25/10/10 post Record Rambam)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
WikiLeaks 5: Israel Runs Bang Through It
Today's WikiLeaks blast in the Fairfax press is a beauty:
"US diplomats closely followed the rise of Julia Gillard, applauded her shedding of Labor Left allegiances and confidently predicted that she would be the next prime minister more than 8 months before she deposed Kevin Rudd... Although an early report by the then ambassador, Robert McCallum, said Ms Gillard was 'a loyal and competent deputy', US diplomats had no doubt about her ambitions and as early as June 2008 declared her the 'front runner' to replace Mr Rudd. US diplomats were anxious to establish Ms Gillard's attitudes towards the US alliance and other key foreign policy issues, especially on Israel and Palestine. They were hampered by the fact that the embassy had relatively little contact with her during Labor's years in opposition. Numerous Labor figures were drawn into conversation about Ms Gillard with 'many key ALP insiders' quickly telling embassy officers that her past membership of the Victorian Socialist Left faction meant little and that she was 'at heart a pragmatist'. The NSW Right powerbroker Mark Arbib* described Ms Gillard as 'one of the most pragmatic politicians in the ALP'. When embassy officers reminded Paul Howes, the head of the right-wing Australian Workers Union, that 'ALP politicians from the Left, no matter how capable, do not become party leader, he said immediately: 'but she votes with the Right'. The embassy privately expressed pleasure at Ms Gillard's preparedness to affirm her support for the US alliance, but there was some doubt about the strength of her commitment. 'Although long appearing ambivalent about the Australia-US Alliance, Gillard's actions since she became the Labor Party number two indicate an understanding of its importance', the embassy reported to Washington in mid-2008. '[US embassy political officers] had little contact with her when she was in opposition but since the election, Gillard has gone out of her way to assist the embassy... At our request, she agreed to meet a visiting member of the [US] National Labor Relations Board, after prior entreaties by the board members' Australian hosts had been rebuffed. Although warm and engaging in her dealings with American diplomats, it's unclear whether this change in attitude reflects a mellowing of her views or an understanding of what she needs to do to become leader of the ALP', the embassy reported. 'It is likely a combination of the two. Labor Party officials have told us that one lesson Gillard learned from the 2004 elections was that Australians will not elect a PM who is perceived to be anti-American'. " (Embassy supported pragmatic Gillard, Philip Dorling, Sydney Morning Herald, 9/12/10)
I'll just stop here for some observations.
Well, there's that word again - Israel. Feel a theme coming on? More of that later.
First, am I imagining things or is it the case that the US here is involved in a process - or at least verging on involvement in a process - of choosing our prime ministers for us? That bit about reminding Howes that ALP politicians of the Left do not become party leader, that bit about an understanding of what she needs to do. Most interesting...
Second, that bit about the embassy being hampered by the fact that it had relatively little contact with her during Labor's years in opposition doesn't quite gell with the following revelation from ubiquitous former Labor leader and critic of the Australia-US alliance, Mark Latham. Remember here the above cable is from 2008: "Over the years I have received tender messages from Gillard saying how much she misses me in Canberra... One of them concerned her study tour of the US, sponsored by the American government in 2006 - or to use her moniker - 'a CIA re-education course'... She promised 'to catch up when I'm back from the US and I'll show you my CIA-issued ankle holster'. I never got to see her ankles or her holster, but I will say this: you have to hand it to those guys in Washington... Within the space of 2 years they converted her from a highly cynical critic of all matters American into yet another foreign policy sycophant'." (Latham turns on 'brainwashed' Gillard, Christian Kerr, The Australian, 20/8/09) See my 22/8/09 post Gillard: 'Sycophant'.
Poor old Mark, he thought Gillard was a highly cynical critic of all matters American when, cavernously hollow woman that she is, she was just saying what she had to say - or thought she had to say - to climb the Labor ladder at the time.
But I digress. Let's get back to our theme - the one that runs bang through all of this -Israel:
"The embassy also applauded what it describes as Ms Gillard's 'pro-Israel' stance, reporting in October 2009 that she had 'thrown off the baggage' of being from what one analyst called the 'notoriously anti-Israel faction' of the ALP. 'As acting Prime Minister in late December 2008, Gillard was responsible for negotiating the government's position on Israel's incursion into Gaza. Left-wing ALP MPs, a group to which Gillard used to belong, wanted her to take a harder line against Israel. 'Instead, she said Hamas had broken the ceasefire first by attacking Israel - a stance welcomed by Israel's supporters in Australia. MP Michael Danby, one of two Jewish members of parliament and a strong supporter of Israel, told us that after the Gaza statement he had a new appreciation of Gillard's leadership within the ALP'." (ibid)
Actually, Gillard was never anti-Israel, not even at university. She knew nothing of the issue and had no interest in finding out about it. Every inch the professional whatever-it-takes politician, she knew instinctively even then that putting one's career first and a real concern for the Palestinian wretched of the earth - or any other for that matter - don't go together. So it's not as if she had to be re-educated. (See my 14/8/10 post The Real Julia Gillard.)
But there's more, much more. In my 8/12/10 post WikiLeaks 4: Let's ask Rotem, he'll know, I mused as follows: "Now how about a WikiLeaks cable reporting [Israeli Ambassador Yuval] Rotem describing [Gillard] as prime ministerial material." Well, how's this for Dorling's final paragraph: "The Israeli Ambassador, Yuval Rotem, told the embassy that Gillard 'has gone out of her way to build a relationship with Israel and that she asked him to arrange an early opportunity to visit'." (ibid)
She asked him! Ambassador, I feel the siren call of your country. I can resist no longer. I am ready to be rambammed. Organise it at once, will you?
Typically, there's not a whisper anywhere in either today's Age or Sydney Morning Herald, not even on the letters page, of our theme. What does that tell you?
[*I'll deal with Arbib and friends in my next post.]
"US diplomats closely followed the rise of Julia Gillard, applauded her shedding of Labor Left allegiances and confidently predicted that she would be the next prime minister more than 8 months before she deposed Kevin Rudd... Although an early report by the then ambassador, Robert McCallum, said Ms Gillard was 'a loyal and competent deputy', US diplomats had no doubt about her ambitions and as early as June 2008 declared her the 'front runner' to replace Mr Rudd. US diplomats were anxious to establish Ms Gillard's attitudes towards the US alliance and other key foreign policy issues, especially on Israel and Palestine. They were hampered by the fact that the embassy had relatively little contact with her during Labor's years in opposition. Numerous Labor figures were drawn into conversation about Ms Gillard with 'many key ALP insiders' quickly telling embassy officers that her past membership of the Victorian Socialist Left faction meant little and that she was 'at heart a pragmatist'. The NSW Right powerbroker Mark Arbib* described Ms Gillard as 'one of the most pragmatic politicians in the ALP'. When embassy officers reminded Paul Howes, the head of the right-wing Australian Workers Union, that 'ALP politicians from the Left, no matter how capable, do not become party leader, he said immediately: 'but she votes with the Right'. The embassy privately expressed pleasure at Ms Gillard's preparedness to affirm her support for the US alliance, but there was some doubt about the strength of her commitment. 'Although long appearing ambivalent about the Australia-US Alliance, Gillard's actions since she became the Labor Party number two indicate an understanding of its importance', the embassy reported to Washington in mid-2008. '[US embassy political officers] had little contact with her when she was in opposition but since the election, Gillard has gone out of her way to assist the embassy... At our request, she agreed to meet a visiting member of the [US] National Labor Relations Board, after prior entreaties by the board members' Australian hosts had been rebuffed. Although warm and engaging in her dealings with American diplomats, it's unclear whether this change in attitude reflects a mellowing of her views or an understanding of what she needs to do to become leader of the ALP', the embassy reported. 'It is likely a combination of the two. Labor Party officials have told us that one lesson Gillard learned from the 2004 elections was that Australians will not elect a PM who is perceived to be anti-American'. " (Embassy supported pragmatic Gillard, Philip Dorling, Sydney Morning Herald, 9/12/10)
I'll just stop here for some observations.
Well, there's that word again - Israel. Feel a theme coming on? More of that later.
First, am I imagining things or is it the case that the US here is involved in a process - or at least verging on involvement in a process - of choosing our prime ministers for us? That bit about reminding Howes that ALP politicians of the Left do not become party leader, that bit about an understanding of what she needs to do. Most interesting...
Second, that bit about the embassy being hampered by the fact that it had relatively little contact with her during Labor's years in opposition doesn't quite gell with the following revelation from ubiquitous former Labor leader and critic of the Australia-US alliance, Mark Latham. Remember here the above cable is from 2008: "Over the years I have received tender messages from Gillard saying how much she misses me in Canberra... One of them concerned her study tour of the US, sponsored by the American government in 2006 - or to use her moniker - 'a CIA re-education course'... She promised 'to catch up when I'm back from the US and I'll show you my CIA-issued ankle holster'. I never got to see her ankles or her holster, but I will say this: you have to hand it to those guys in Washington... Within the space of 2 years they converted her from a highly cynical critic of all matters American into yet another foreign policy sycophant'." (Latham turns on 'brainwashed' Gillard, Christian Kerr, The Australian, 20/8/09) See my 22/8/09 post Gillard: 'Sycophant'.
Poor old Mark, he thought Gillard was a highly cynical critic of all matters American when, cavernously hollow woman that she is, she was just saying what she had to say - or thought she had to say - to climb the Labor ladder at the time.
But I digress. Let's get back to our theme - the one that runs bang through all of this -Israel:
"The embassy also applauded what it describes as Ms Gillard's 'pro-Israel' stance, reporting in October 2009 that she had 'thrown off the baggage' of being from what one analyst called the 'notoriously anti-Israel faction' of the ALP. 'As acting Prime Minister in late December 2008, Gillard was responsible for negotiating the government's position on Israel's incursion into Gaza. Left-wing ALP MPs, a group to which Gillard used to belong, wanted her to take a harder line against Israel. 'Instead, she said Hamas had broken the ceasefire first by attacking Israel - a stance welcomed by Israel's supporters in Australia. MP Michael Danby, one of two Jewish members of parliament and a strong supporter of Israel, told us that after the Gaza statement he had a new appreciation of Gillard's leadership within the ALP'." (ibid)
Actually, Gillard was never anti-Israel, not even at university. She knew nothing of the issue and had no interest in finding out about it. Every inch the professional whatever-it-takes politician, she knew instinctively even then that putting one's career first and a real concern for the Palestinian wretched of the earth - or any other for that matter - don't go together. So it's not as if she had to be re-educated. (See my 14/8/10 post The Real Julia Gillard.)
But there's more, much more. In my 8/12/10 post WikiLeaks 4: Let's ask Rotem, he'll know, I mused as follows: "Now how about a WikiLeaks cable reporting [Israeli Ambassador Yuval] Rotem describing [Gillard] as prime ministerial material." Well, how's this for Dorling's final paragraph: "The Israeli Ambassador, Yuval Rotem, told the embassy that Gillard 'has gone out of her way to build a relationship with Israel and that she asked him to arrange an early opportunity to visit'." (ibid)
She asked him! Ambassador, I feel the siren call of your country. I can resist no longer. I am ready to be rambammed. Organise it at once, will you?
Typically, there's not a whisper anywhere in either today's Age or Sydney Morning Herald, not even on the letters page, of our theme. What does that tell you?
[*I'll deal with Arbib and friends in my next post.]
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Pharaoh Mubarak I
American presidents just adore him:
"When President Obama called for a 'new beginning' in US relations with the Muslim world a year ago, he picked Cairo as the setting for his speech. It was a provocative choice, the capital of a close ally of the United States but also of the three-decades old autocracy of Hosni Mubarak. When Obama declared his commitment to 'governments that reflect the will of the people' and said that leaders 'must maintain your power through consent, not coercion', Egyptians thought they heard a not-so-subtle reference to their aging leader. One enthusiastic Egyptian shouted, 'Barack Obama, we love you!' - the only such interjection during the address. A year later, Egyptians are scratching their heads about why Obama came to Egypt." (Obama needs to support Egyptians as well as Mubarak, Dunne & Kagan, The Washington Post, 4/6/10)
He's sooo democratic:
"A coalition of Egyptian rights groups on Monday urged President Hosni Mubarak to nullify the results of the country's parliamentary election because of widespread vote rigging. Egypt's ruling party is expected to almost completely sweep parliament after the second round of voting, held Sunday. The two top opposition movements boycotted the runoff because of fraud allegations in the first round. Full results are expected Tuesday... The two rounds of voting are for 508 parliament seats. In the first round, the ruling National Democratic Party swept up almost all the 221 seats that were determined. Mubarak appoints 10 additional lawmakers to the 518-seat body. The first round of the vote, Nov. 28 and the runoff Sunday were marred by reports of armed clashes in the north and south, along with reports of vote buying and ballot box stuffing in many areas. The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition movement, held a fifth of the outgoing parliament, but didn't win a single seat in the first round. Twenty-seven of its candidates had been slated to contest the runoffs, until the Brotherhood and another key opposition group, the liberal Wafd party, announced they would boycott." (Monitors urge Egypt's election results be annulled, Salah Nasrawi, The Washington Post, 6/12/10)
The Egyptian people think he's an absolute legend and tell all sorts of admiring anecdotes about him, which always begin with Have you heard the latest one about the president? Speaking of which, here it is:
"Mubarak goes to a primary school to talk to the students. After his talk he offers a question and answer session. One little boy puts up his hand and Mubarak asks, 'What is your question, Ramy?' Ramy says, 'I have four questions: First: Why have you been a president for 29 years? Second: Why don't you have a vice president? Third: Why are your sons taking over the country economically and politically? Fourth: Why is Egypt in a miserable economic state and you're not doing anything about it?' Just at that moment, the bell rings for break. Mubarak informs the kids that they will continue after the break. When they resume, Mubarak says, 'Okay, where were we? Oh! That's right... question time. Who has a question?' A different little boy puts up his hand. Mubarak points him out and asks him what his name is. 'Tamer', the boy says. 'And what is your question, Tamer?'
"'I have six questions: First: Why have you been president for 29 years? Second: Why don't you have a vice president? Third: Why are your sons taking over the country economically and politically? Fourth: Why is Egypt in a miserable economic state and you're not doing anything about it? Fifth: Why did the bell ring 20 minutes early? Sixth: What have you done with Ramy?' " (At once sly & tragic, Farid Farid, The Australian Literary Review, 1/12/10)
Silly question that. Ramy's in irons, of course:
"Egypt has become a police state where citizens receive no protection from torture, human rights groups said in a report. 'The basic feature of human rights in Egypt today is the prevalence of a policy of exception in which those responsible for violations usually escape punishment and a climate of impunity intentionally created and fostered for several decades', said the report by 16 Egyptian human rights groups published overnight. 'With this policy of impunity gradually becoming the norm, the prerogatives of the security apparatus have been expanded and Egypt has turned into a police state', the report said. The rights groups... have lashed out at the state for its 'systematic' use of torture. 'Egyptians enjoy no protection against torture - a systematic, routine practice', they said. 'Crimes of torture continue to be an everyday practice in police stations (as well as) prisons and even on public roads. In many documented cases torture has resulted in death, despite the Egyptian government insisting they are isolated cases', the groups said. The report said that torture is not limited to political activists but is applied to society's most vulnerable. 'Everyone who falls into the hands of the police, particularly the poor, is in imminent danger of torture and bodily harm inflicted through various means, including beatings, kicks, floggings, burning with cigarettes, sexual harm... electroshocks to the feet, head, sexual organs and breasts, and hanging from iron bars or the door of the cell', the report said. Egypt has been operating under a state of emergency since the 1981 assassination of president Anwar Sadat, which has been renewed repeatedly since then despite protests from rights groups and regime opponents. The report accuses the government of exaggerating the danger of political Islam and of 'manipulating religion and culture' to justify human rights abuses." (Torture 'systematic' in Egypt, AFP/Herald Sun, 4/12/09)
Now what was that about Iran?
"When President Obama called for a 'new beginning' in US relations with the Muslim world a year ago, he picked Cairo as the setting for his speech. It was a provocative choice, the capital of a close ally of the United States but also of the three-decades old autocracy of Hosni Mubarak. When Obama declared his commitment to 'governments that reflect the will of the people' and said that leaders 'must maintain your power through consent, not coercion', Egyptians thought they heard a not-so-subtle reference to their aging leader. One enthusiastic Egyptian shouted, 'Barack Obama, we love you!' - the only such interjection during the address. A year later, Egyptians are scratching their heads about why Obama came to Egypt." (Obama needs to support Egyptians as well as Mubarak, Dunne & Kagan, The Washington Post, 4/6/10)
He's sooo democratic:
"A coalition of Egyptian rights groups on Monday urged President Hosni Mubarak to nullify the results of the country's parliamentary election because of widespread vote rigging. Egypt's ruling party is expected to almost completely sweep parliament after the second round of voting, held Sunday. The two top opposition movements boycotted the runoff because of fraud allegations in the first round. Full results are expected Tuesday... The two rounds of voting are for 508 parliament seats. In the first round, the ruling National Democratic Party swept up almost all the 221 seats that were determined. Mubarak appoints 10 additional lawmakers to the 518-seat body. The first round of the vote, Nov. 28 and the runoff Sunday were marred by reports of armed clashes in the north and south, along with reports of vote buying and ballot box stuffing in many areas. The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition movement, held a fifth of the outgoing parliament, but didn't win a single seat in the first round. Twenty-seven of its candidates had been slated to contest the runoffs, until the Brotherhood and another key opposition group, the liberal Wafd party, announced they would boycott." (Monitors urge Egypt's election results be annulled, Salah Nasrawi, The Washington Post, 6/12/10)
The Egyptian people think he's an absolute legend and tell all sorts of admiring anecdotes about him, which always begin with Have you heard the latest one about the president? Speaking of which, here it is:
"Mubarak goes to a primary school to talk to the students. After his talk he offers a question and answer session. One little boy puts up his hand and Mubarak asks, 'What is your question, Ramy?' Ramy says, 'I have four questions: First: Why have you been a president for 29 years? Second: Why don't you have a vice president? Third: Why are your sons taking over the country economically and politically? Fourth: Why is Egypt in a miserable economic state and you're not doing anything about it?' Just at that moment, the bell rings for break. Mubarak informs the kids that they will continue after the break. When they resume, Mubarak says, 'Okay, where were we? Oh! That's right... question time. Who has a question?' A different little boy puts up his hand. Mubarak points him out and asks him what his name is. 'Tamer', the boy says. 'And what is your question, Tamer?'
"'I have six questions: First: Why have you been president for 29 years? Second: Why don't you have a vice president? Third: Why are your sons taking over the country economically and politically? Fourth: Why is Egypt in a miserable economic state and you're not doing anything about it? Fifth: Why did the bell ring 20 minutes early? Sixth: What have you done with Ramy?' " (At once sly & tragic, Farid Farid, The Australian Literary Review, 1/12/10)
Silly question that. Ramy's in irons, of course:
"Egypt has become a police state where citizens receive no protection from torture, human rights groups said in a report. 'The basic feature of human rights in Egypt today is the prevalence of a policy of exception in which those responsible for violations usually escape punishment and a climate of impunity intentionally created and fostered for several decades', said the report by 16 Egyptian human rights groups published overnight. 'With this policy of impunity gradually becoming the norm, the prerogatives of the security apparatus have been expanded and Egypt has turned into a police state', the report said. The rights groups... have lashed out at the state for its 'systematic' use of torture. 'Egyptians enjoy no protection against torture - a systematic, routine practice', they said. 'Crimes of torture continue to be an everyday practice in police stations (as well as) prisons and even on public roads. In many documented cases torture has resulted in death, despite the Egyptian government insisting they are isolated cases', the groups said. The report said that torture is not limited to political activists but is applied to society's most vulnerable. 'Everyone who falls into the hands of the police, particularly the poor, is in imminent danger of torture and bodily harm inflicted through various means, including beatings, kicks, floggings, burning with cigarettes, sexual harm... electroshocks to the feet, head, sexual organs and breasts, and hanging from iron bars or the door of the cell', the report said. Egypt has been operating under a state of emergency since the 1981 assassination of president Anwar Sadat, which has been renewed repeatedly since then despite protests from rights groups and regime opponents. The report accuses the government of exaggerating the danger of political Islam and of 'manipulating religion and culture' to justify human rights abuses." (Torture 'systematic' in Egypt, AFP/Herald Sun, 4/12/09)
Now what was that about Iran?
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