Assorted snippets from the World Press.

"BRITAIN and America are to persevere with plans for war against Iraq, even though they took a beating in the UN Security Council last night."

"There was little new ammunition in Mr Blix's words, by contrast, for Britain and the United States. The two countries must now decide whether to press forward and submit a new resolution to the Council declaring that Iraq is already in "material breach" of Resolution 1441 of last November, implying that the time for force has come."

"Rattled by an outpouring of anti-war sentiment, the United States and Britain began reworking a draft resolution Saturday to authorize force against Saddam Hussein"

"a diplomatic strategy that would demonstrate Britain and the United States want U.N. support but not at any cost."

There are, and have been over the past weeks, MANY more such snippets.

My point is?

My point is I am pissed off that our dear and glorious Australian Prime Minister is not getting a fair suck of the sav. I can only presume it is a devilish conspiracy by the International media to ignore this little Aussie leviathan. I read the newspapers, listen to the radio and watch the TV here in Australia and they give the true picture of our Prime Minister as a dominant player in all these events surrounding Iraq. If it weren't for his presence and invaluable input the whole Iraq strategy would fall into a screaming heap. Bloody hell, he is after all contributing 3 inflatable dinghies, a fully painted plastic model Tiger Moth, Bert Higgins and Joe Spencer from the Coonabarabran Army Reserve, 2 boxes of emergency rations Vegemite and a snake bite kit to the war effort. Ungrateful bastards!

WAKE UP WORLD, OUR JOHN STRIDES THE WORLD LIKE A COLOSSUS. IGNORE HIM AT YOUR PERIL!




'The Age' editorial cartoons.

Just a couple of points seeing as the 'media backlash' against today's unprecedented peace rallies has already begun (two million in London alone, another million in Rome and several thousand in New York...see, I told you that not all Americans were spineless fools). Firstly, following the original Gulf war when the objective was to get Saddam out of Kuwait and fell short of toppling him from power, the Americans backed the Kurdish uprising in the south of Iraq hoping that Saddam's government would collapse under their revolt. The Kurds were making extremely good progress and had claimed several cities when, for no particular reason but true to form, the Americans suddenly got bored and decided to remove their backing. Naturally Saddam moved in, killing thousands...possibly millions. And the same old shit returned to Iraq.

Any regime change in Iraq must be internal (the idea of an American general taking control of Baghdad being extremely unsettling). And the only way for an uprising of the populace (let's face it...nobody wants Saddam in power) would be to lift the stupid fucking UN sanctions that, far from crippling Saddam, are just crippling the Iraqi people, and then organise and actively help those trapped inside the regime to overthrow it. Time and time again the American and British administrations have let Iraq down and hurt its people. Saddam has taken his opportunities (granted courtesy of the great Western fuck-ups) to further compound the issue. Yes he's a bastard. Yes he needs taking out. No, there shouldn't be a war! It'll destabilise the Middle East, result in hundreds of thousands of innocent people being killed, cause further rifts between so called 'Christian' and 'Muslim' nations and plunge the world into an ever deepening crisis.

There have been some excellent quotes floating around today...Tariq Ali for example: "When a democratic regime fails to listen to its people then it's time for a regime change. Tony Blair must go!" and the reporter for Channel 4 news: "Today the largest focus group imaginable descended on London." Get your head from Bush's sphincter Blair and instead of conversing with the chimps try listening to your own electorate before democracy is completely dead.

"The British don't like Hussein any more than they liked Nasser. But millions of Britons remember, as Blair does not, the Second World War; they are not conned by childish parables of Hitler, Churchill, Chamberlain and appeasement. They do not like being lectured and whined at by men whose experience of war is Hollywood and television.

Still less do they wish to embark on endless wars with a Texas governor-executioner who dodged the Vietnam draft and who, with his oil buddies, is now sending America's poor to destroy a Muslim nation that has nothing at all to do with the crimes against humanity of 11 September. Jack Straw, the public school Trot-turned-warrior, ignores all this, with Blair. He brays at us about the dangers of nuclear weapons that Iraq does not have, of the torture and aggression of a dictatorship that America and Britain sustained when Saddam was "one of ours". But he and Blair cannot discuss the dark political agenda behind George Bush's government, nor the "sinister men" (the words of a very senior UN official) around the President.

Those who oppose war are not cowards. Brits rather like fighting; they've biffed Arabs, Afghans, Muslims, Nazis, Italian Fascists and Japanese imperialists for generations, Iraqis included – though we play down the RAF's use of gas on Kurdish rebels in the 1930s. But when the British are asked to go to war, patriotism is not enough. Faced with the horror stories, Britons – and many Americans – are a lot braver than Blair and Bush. They do not like, as Thomas More told Cromwell in A Man for All Seasons, tales to frighten children.

This war is about oil and regional control. It is being cheer-led by a draft-dodger who is treacherously telling us that this is part of an eternal war against "terror". And the British and most Europeans don't believe him. It's not that Britons wouldn't fight for America. They just don't want to fight for Bush or his friends. And if that includes the Prime Minister, they don't want to fight for Blair either."

ROBERT FISK. The Independent

The United States of America: Land of the Free!

Now showing at the Odeon.

For years I've heard the hype about this sole surviving superpower of the political stage. The Greatest Nation on Earth! The Dog's Cohones! The Big Apple! The best in music, movies, art and freedom of expression. So finally I took a closer look.

Such a disappointment!

What started out as a serious and enterprising proposition (the opening number: "Send to me your weary, your sick, your old and your young..." was most inspired) quickly developed into a farce and then, ultimately, a slapstick pantomime. The whole thing was nothing more than an arrogant conceit. The leading actors were unable to deliver their lines convincingly (George Bush in particular was not only cross-eyed but continually stumbled over the longer words) and the lack of conviction, intelligent observation and ironic humour was appalling. It could have been written by a six-year-old...cabbage that is. There was a singular lack of depth to most of the characters. The political understanding of foreign affairs was pathetically judgmental, amounting to little more than xenophobic name calling, and the idealism (for which the production was accorded its many accolades) was nothing more than trussed up capitalism masquerading as propaganda.

The sets were impressive enough, in a "not exactly beautiful but at least it's big" sort of way. And the supporting cast of millions playing the roles of common Americans varied from decent, intelligent people to idiotic morons with very few speaking parts. It was, however, the administration that let the whole thing down so badly. Not since I saw "Iraq: The Country Elects Saddam!" at the multiplex have I seen such a catastrophic miscarriage of democracy. In fact, the main thrust of the work...to set up democracies wherever the government could around the world...seems to have been built on a false premise, considering that America throughout the debacle blatantly ignored the democratic process within the UN.

On the whole then, not worth buying a ticket to see. The seating is uncomfortable (especially if you're trapped between two morbidly obese burger kings) and the craftsmanship is shoddy. There are some excellent bit-part actors and some great ideas floating around, but the main players are not up to the job and the ensemble carries too much pride, stupidity and bullishness to rate it amongst the other great civilisations.

In summary: Don't believe the hype.

The largest peace rally in known history has been taking part across Britain today as millions turned out in force up and down the country to protest against the looming war in Iraq. (Loved the slogan: "Make Tea...not War!") Even Fleetwood, much to my surprise, got into the swing of things. A couple of hundred people gathered around the town clock this dinnertime. (Don't laugh...that's almost half the population of the town, so it was quite a good turn out on the whole...well, half the literate population anyway.) Most were waving placards that read simply: "No!" (I assume they were protesting against the war. It was a bit unclear...especially seeing as the tram fares are set to increase next week.) Unfortunately I went into the bakers for half a dozen barmcakes and when I re-emerged they'd all disappeared. After half an hour of searching down the backstreets I reached the conclusion that they'd probably retired to the Fisherman's Arms for a pint of Boddingtons. Still...at least they tried.

Tony bin Blair, speaking from his safe-house in Glasgow this morning, defended his hawkish stance...although it must be increasingly difficult to see what's really going on in the inky darkness of Bush's ever tightening sphincter. "I'm proud to live in a democracy," Blair said, failing to see the irony of his words. "But, I put it to you simply (so that you can understand you ignorant peasants) that killing Saddam would be a humanitarian act." Well, I'm sure that we can all agree with that, but removing him by force? There's got to be another way. No matter how you look at this an estimated 50,000 innocent deaths cannot be construed as a humanitarian act. It's time to stop your constant spin Tony...we're all fucking sick of it. The only thing we want you to spin from now on is yourself on our middle digits. 'Nuff said. Enjoy the demos. This afternoon George Clooney, Tony Benn and Glenda Jackson reveal why Uncle Tony is a jug-eared pratt and Charles Kennedy and Bianca Jagger will be handing out refreshments in Hyde Park.

The Deputy Editor suggests we give the ROTW Gong of the Week jointly to Rae McDonald and the people of Bellingen, just some of the million faces in the streets of 600 cities around the World.

"Rae McDonald, 58, from London, said although she was not especially politically minded she felt strongly that there must be a way to avoid war. "I cannot make any difference by sitting at home and just grumbling," she said.

In the small town of Bellingen near the New South Wales central coast, Australia, the crowd of protesters was estimated by organisers to be barely smaller than the local population of 2,600.

From the Road to Damascus.

My epiphany has come. I have seen the light. How could I have been SO wrong?

Once the afterglow of my attendance at the Melbourne Rally for Peace had faded, I got ta thinkin'. In the cold light of dawn and after a slab of Foster's Cold Light, I realised this with blinding clarity. "Bugger me, George, Tony and John are the only ones who have got this whole thing right!"

It is a brilliant military, socio-political strategy. Surgically remove Saddam. In the process "colaterally damage" a goodly percentage of the millions of Iraqis who find Saddam as offensive, brutal and criminal as do the Coalition of the Rambos Willing.

Saddam is gone, loose ends are bulldozed into the ground, an American supremo rules the land, there is rejoicing in the streets street of Baghdad, liberated Iraqi mothers hold up bits of their children to wave at the saviours in khaki and peace reigns throughout the scorched earth land of oil and money milk and honey. An Iraqi population guaranteed to be forever grateful to their new overlords liberators. ("No hard feelings, cobber-effendi. I didn't really get on with most of the family, so I wasn't all that unhappy to see them get up close and personal with that smart bomb that didn't quite pass its '0' levels.")

Not a dry eye in the Whitehouse.

BRILLIANT!

Now if only that Osama bloke would just stop giving us grief and bugger off. I've head from informed sauces ('Bearnaise Associated Press' and 'Alliance Tartare') that he has signed up for the Saudi Arabian series of "Survivor". All I can say is vote him off ... vote early and often. The Florida Electoral Commission is overseeing the poll. Victory is within our grasp!

An extract from the 'Diary of A Feminist'. January 15th 2003:
Led an "All Lesbian Single Mother Anti-male Peace March" through Southport to campaign against the chauvinists intent on plunging women into war this weekend. As women we're sick of patching ignorant male soldiers back together. The wages are appalling. Did you know that a male surgeon earns twice as much as a female toilet cleaner? Testosterone-empowered bastards!

"Women Against Nuclear Campaigns" (or W.A.N.C. for short) the group was called. I thought the name up. And I designed most of the placards as well. Dildos linked in 'Peaceful Harmony'. Unfortunately the police confiscated most of them before we started, for being too pornographic. They said they were inciting a 'race riot' because the black penises were smaller than the white ones. Cretinous idiots! I'm just not very good at drawing that's all and I ran out of room on the right hand side.

Anyhow, we gathered at "Patel's Novelty Souvenir Emporium" armed with leeks, carrots and reunified South African lentils. Then we headed towards the prom, removing our clothes on route. We were jeered by fascist male bigots with their arse-cracks on display as we passed a building site. One of them told us to, "Get our kits back on for the lads..." When we tried to explain what we were doing the overweight monster went on, "Jesus...at least put your tits away, Love. Y' could tuck them things into your socks if you were wearin' any." I explained that bras were symbolic of the restraints on women's liberties. He said, "I don't care nothing about that, but you're frightening some o' the boys. They think you're threatenin' them with snooker balls in socks."

Then some other chauvinist git called out, "'Ere...I reckon you lot could prevent a war for all that. If Saddam saw you bunch o' fat cows comin' in the nuddy like that 'ee'd run for the 'ills. Y' wouldn't see 'im for dust!" Bloody men! They think with their penises and fuck with their brains. Er...or something.
Later we had a run-in with the Fleetwood Over 60's club who were down for the annual Inter-county Beetle Drive. They said we'd made Elsie Bagshaw sick and some seagull had tried to peck the carrots from her vomit and given her a heart attack. Naturally a riot broke out. Those biddies are vicious. They kept battering us with their Zimmer frames and we were only saved from hospitalisation by the intervention of the police. Our case comes up on Tuesday. Until then we're filing formal complaints against police brutality with the Home Secretary. Not that he'll listen...he's a male bastard, although his blindness is to be taken into consideration.

Editor's note: If you are going on one of the hundreds of anti-war rallies around the world this weekend then here's hoping you have more success than Brenda! Power to your elbow and all that!

Melbourne brought to a standstill by anti-war protest

Posted: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 19:08 AEDT

Melbourne's inner-city has come to a standstill as thousands of people rally against a war in Iraq.

Swanston Street in Melbourne's inner-city is overflowing with thousands of people calling for peace.

Some climbed scaffolding to get closer to the stage at the State Library where politicians and people from the Victorian Peace Network voice their protests against a war.

The network has told the crowd the war is not about terrorism or weapons of mass destruction but it is about oil.

Democrats Senator Natasha Stott Despoja has called for Australian troops in the Middle East to come home.

The crowd is meant to march to Federation Square but it is already overflowing.

It is thought the protest is the biggest peace protest in the country since marches 30 years ago against the Vietnam War in which Australian troops fought alongside US forces.




Oh yes, newpapers still love a good cliche photograph.

Report from Deputy Editor Sedgwick who was on the spot looking for a copper to wallop with a banner, but the bloody boys in blue were far too nice and, dare I suggest, even sympathetic. Wasn't like that back in my day, damn coppers have gone soft! I blame Reg Hollis!

I would estimate there to have been 100 - 150 thousand at the rally, (I am totally naff at estimating crowds) however most of the streets in the Melbourne CBD were packed and traffic brought to a standstill. To pinch an esoteric phrase used by highly qualified statisticians "there was a shitload of people there". A complete cross section of ages (from old farts like me to toddlers who had taken off time from writing their Ph.Ds to register their protest) and, to use an term of which I am very chary, "classes".

Jim Cairns, a warrior from the Vietnam Moratorium days, a former deputy Prime Minister and the conscience of the Australian Labour Party in the 60s was present ... more in sorrow and dismay than in anger and protest. He is ailing and fading fast, but was there for one last hurrah. Genuinely chilling was the intermittent playing of air raid sirens.

The rally may well have been a pissing into the wind ... dunno ... but as long as some of the gungho Australian politicians cop some of the spray it will have been worthwhile.

And now a word from our sponsor, Sheriff Bush

“The terrorists brought this war to us – and now we’re taking it back to them. We’re on their trail, we’re smoking them out, we’ve got them on the run. We’re hunting them down one by one, all across the world.”

Mmmm ... as at 14/2/2003 it's been 516 days since George W Sheriff said he'd catch Osama bin Laden 'Dead or Alive!'

Fancy our Mark Latham describing President Bush as "the most incompetent and dangerous President in living memory". Shame, Mark, shame!

"Here is a bit of collateral damage: The first time I met Abu Ziad was in 1998. He had been the chief accountant with the British Iraqi Oil Company. Then, he had five children and lived in a big house by a bomb shelter. He recalled how during the Iran-Iraq war, when nearly 1 million young men died on each side, he would be at home in Baghdad, hearing the sounds of women wailing in the night for another lost son, husband or lover. He remembered thanking God that he had married late, and that his children were too young to be sent to fight. Then, three years after that war, President Saddam led them into another. At 2am on February 13 1991, two bombs hit the al-Amiriya bomb shelter near his home. The first was a drilling bomb that pierced the roof and cut open the central heating tank. Boiling water poured through the ceiling on to the women and children below, who were playing dominoes, watching Tom and Jerry videos dubbed into Arabic and eating kebabs.

Only 15 minutes later, the second bomb exploded with such force that he never had the chance to identify the bodies of his wife and four of their five children: Zena, aged 14; Fuad, aged 12; Lena, aged seven; and Sadaad, aged six. "I saw a body being brought out, then I saw it was Zena's, but they were piling them on top of each other and I couldn't see if it was her. We weren't allowed to go close." Later that morning, Abu Ziad stood outside the shelter. He remembers noticing the ankles of the dead women and children. Their skin had been branded with the metal coils of red-hot mattress springs as they struggled to climb over the metal beds, and each other, to get out. The doors had been locked for security. Four hundred and six people, mostly women and children, died inside." SOURCE.

Oh yes, George. The terrorists brought this war to you – and now you’re taking it back to them, you're gonna smoke them out, you're gonna have them on the run. You're gonna hunt them down one by one, all across the world. Abu Ziad and countless other innocent Iraqi bystanders won't be able to thank you enough.

The irrefutable evidence Colin Powell has given us that Osama is in bed with Saddam. PORKIES, COLON, PORKIES!