Last week, German government worked overtime to prevent a conference organised by Jewish organisations from taking place. Outright lies were used to justify suppression of free speech, and it attracted little comment from the governments and media of western nations. Is this a glimpse of where are heading towards? Continue reading Conference to support Palestinians violently shut down in Germany→
Whistleblower David McBride will face the start of his trial today (Monday 13 November), and last week, a group of other high-profile whistleblowers signed an open letter to the federal government to call on it to honour the promise to legislate protection for whistleblowers and cut down the cost of waging a legal defence. Continue reading David McBride’s trial for whistleblowing Afghanistan war crimes has just begun→
David McBride, the whistleblower on war crimes in Afghanistan perpetrated by Australian military personnel faces court on 13 November. He was charged over disclosures that revealed the murder of non-combatant civilians. He faces up to 50 years in prison. None of those who committed the killings have been charged.
This double standard has not gone unnoticed. Public opinion is on McBride’s side. This has resulted in the backdown from holding a secret trial in a closed-door tribunal. There will now be a trial by jury – except that anything deemed to be of national security will still be heard behind closed doors. A fair trial is by no means guaranteed.
McBride deserves the support of everyone.
This interview with investigative journalist Michael West reveals all this and the human side of David McBride.
Virginia Bryant is an award-winning artist/painter whose writings have been featured in daily newspapers and other publications. The flowing article Los Angeles Progressive 29 October 2023) she shows that there is also a vigorous campaign in the United States to win the Freedom of WikiLeaks founder Jullian Assange from persecution and a lifetime of imprisonment. Two politicians are spearheading a bipartisan effort within the Democrat and Republican parties and building support within the Congress and Senate, as part of the broader campaign. Most American agree that Assange should be freed.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and James McGovern (D-Mass.) are circulating a letter to their colleagues in the House of Representatives calling on President Biden to end the prosecution of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is facing a possible extradition to the U.S. for publishing classified U.S. military documents. Continue reading Truth Is the Central Issue of Our Time→
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) has sent the following, which seeks global condemnation condemns the extra judicial execution of a union organizer by the paramilitary Philippine National Police. Such killings of union and other leaders are routinely practiced in the Philippines and are becoming more frequent udert the new Marcos regime.
Interview with Gabrial Shipton Julian Assange’s brother reveals the movement to free Julian is growing, and this is being helped by the Australia cross-party delegation of members of the federal parliament, which has gone to Washinton to put to their American counterparts, Australia’s call to stop the persecution of the award-winning journalist and publisher. Nine in 10 Australians support Assange, and support is growing in the United States.
Australia’s support is so strong that the prime minister and the leader of the opposition agree that “enough is enough.”
Gabrial suggests that perhaps those in Washington who value the Alliance the United States has with Australia might to consider this. He finishes by paying tribute to his brother’s courage, standing up in difficult situation marked by years of unjust imprisonment.
Civil libertarians have always argued that Australia’s anti-terrorist laws pose a major threat to democratic rights. They provide government with the means to punish those who criticise what it does. There is concern that the introduction of these laws has been accompanied by an increasing militarisation of Australia’s police forces.
Protests are rocking France again. This time it’s over the police shooting and killing of a 17-year-old at a traffic stop. Being of Algerian descent, he was not white, and like in the United States, racial killing of black and Brown skinned people by police is commonplace. Continue reading France erupts after police killing of a teenager→