I was strolling along Hyde park, Sydney, last Saturday, August 6, when I coincidentally walked into the Hiroshima rally, without any prior knowledge.
By the time I was at the rally, there was already a campervan parked in front of the fountain. In my estimation, that there must have been at least two to three hundreds gathered in the park to hear the speeches. Various speakers from Australia, including a Member of Parliament in Philippines took to the microphone and gave inspiring speeches on US imperialism, nuclear plants in Australia and the historical disastrous effects of war.
Occasionally, some protestors who had gathered right in front of the van broke out in chants of “SHAME ON THE US!” in protest of the Lebanon – Israeli war.
After listening to some fiery speeches and taking pictures of protest placards and posters, I found myself talking to a woman activist who was distributing leaflets on the secret military base, Pine Gap, located in Australia, Alice Springs.
Apparently, there is a current campaign going on to lobby for 4 non-violent activists, from a group, Christians Against ALL Terrorism, who had entered the military base without permission. They are now currently charged under the Defence (Special Undertakings) Act 1952; which has not been used; and carries a maximum jail sentence of 7 years, with an additional two years for taking photographs within the base.
For a very warm day in cold wintery Sydney, it was a somber reminder that some of the world’s terrible and unjust wars continue to be waged against innocent civilians.
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Prisoner begged to be shot after CIA beating
RALEIGH, North Carolina: A CIA contractor beat an Afghan prisoner so badly he pleaded to be shot to end his pain, prosecutors said yesterday at the start of a trial that raises questions about the treatment of detainees by US interrogators.
David Passaro, a former special forces medic who worked under contract with the CIA, is the first civilian to be charged with abusing a detainee in the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr Passaro beat Abdul Wali for "two solid nights", leading him to plead with prison guards to shoot him to end his suffering, prosecutor Michael Sullivan said in an opening statement. Wali died of his injuries.
"At one point he (Mr Passaro) lined up on Wali as though he was going to kick in a football game and kicked him full in the groin. Abdul Wali was lifted into the air," Mr Sullivan said.
Mr Passaro is charged with four counts of assault and accused of using his hands, feet and a large torch to beat Wali, an Afghan detainee, who died two days after the interrogation in June 2003.
Mr Sullivan held aloft a 60cm black metal torch for jurors and said Mr Passaro used it to beat Wali, telling prison guards he was acting under "special rules".
"That was not true ... Passaro had no special rules," Mr Sullivan told jurors.
Reuters
"Free Palestine and Lebanon" ??!!!
WTF ? When was Lebanon not free in the first place ?
Also, Palestine was FREED you moron !!! The Gaza Strip was returned to you terrorist scum, until you bastards decided to go kill, bomb and kidnap more Israelis despite all these concessions
Peace to Lebanon and Israel.
I think the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima should be celebrated, not protested against.
As far as Israel is concerned: they have every right to do whatever it takes — including pre-emtive strikes — to secure peace for their citizens.
On Aust freedom: As a regular contributor to the ATO, here is my POV: Autralia has no choice but to defend itself against global terror. It is unfortunate that many of the freedoms have been chipped away. But it is POINTLESS blaming Howard, Downer and Ruddock — Labour would have done the same if it was in power.
CentreLink supplies the money to many supporters of terrorism who live in Aust society...
...but then again, I was never a big fan of "multiculturalism" either.
Where the heck is Pauline Hanson when you need her? ;-)
Remember Bali, Jakarta, Egypt,Spain, London, Afghanistan, Iraq, India (Mumbai), even Pakistan, and many other places where innocent people are killed ....especially under the guise of religion; AND when the name of God is invoked.
Religious leaders OUGHT to stand up and correct these slogans from the mad terrrorists before their own religion gets hijacked and ridiculed.
To give you a comparison, when the IRA (Irish Republican Army) fought the British up to the 80s (whatever their reasons or justifications or lack of), they do NOT use God's name to fight for their 'freedom'.
So, it became an isolated problem within UK, most of the time.
What if they had invoked religion and got the Catholics around the world to support them ?
Fortunately, these people are more sensible and eventually got what they wanted with a WIN-WIN situation for both parties.
The TEMERITY of some other people to use religion to fight for their freedom!!! WHY BLAME OTHERS WHEN THEIR RELIGION GETS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE LATER.
It is important that religious leaders of any faiths set a good example first by their actions.
Happy Birthday Singapore and Best Wishes to all of YOU- Singaporeans and our visitors:
I am ALSO happy today because of the following:
It was a pleasant surprise to note that our Foreign Minister, Mr. George Yeo, a Catholic, in an article by Mafoot Simon (ST journalist)had mentioned of tolerance and accepting alternative views. (ST dated 9 August: Page 29)
He spoke whether there is a need to ban the screening of the controversial The Da Vinci Code.
I quote:
" If you ban it, it means that you are giving it credence.
And it suggests that you are afraid of it...and your faith is fragile..If your faith is fragile that you can't take any alternative view, then it can't be a deep faith."
Well said !
And my PERSONAL compliments to the Catholics for their measured and matured reactions, especially to their religious leaders who set the right example.
I like to commend and applaud also Mr. George Yeo's 'inclusiveness' of all religions. He quoted visiting Cardinal Martino (Vatican) that ' while we may be different, we're all created by the SAME creator, and HAVE TO UNDERSTAND ONE ANOTHER.'
Frankly, I support his proactive approach in thinking of interfaith issues when he made a trip to the historic Buddhist sites in India in February 2004....where he also visited a famous Buddhist centre of learning that was established in the 5th Century and which lasted for 700 years.
(remember this religion is one of the oldest in the world.
How many religions can claim to be older than 2000 yrs old ? And it preaches tolerance and stood the tests of time.)
This Centre of learning fell into ruins in 1193 when an obscure Turkish adventurer plundered the treasures of the Buddhist monasteries.
( an act of intolerance of one's religion by the invaders ??)
Mr. George Yeo hoped that the original glory can be resurrected, as these sites are very important to the millions of Mahayana and Theravada Buddhists in East and SE Asia.
He concluded, " Our willingness to listen to one another and respect differences mark us out as a multi-religious society reflecting the religious diversity in the world. This is not a choice we make; it is core to what we are in Singapore."
When I read this, what comes to my mind is the senseless destruction of the famous Babiyan Buddhist Statues in Afganistan by the Talebans !!
An act of intolerance which has no place in a civilised world.
On this National Day, I think this speech by Mr. George Yeo is a HAPPY and TIMELY NOTE. We can pat ourselves on the back, if I may humbly say, especially when as mentioned in this blog above, there are SO MANY cases in OTHER countries where zealots and bigots (and maggots) have hijacked the true meaning of religions.
Happy Birthday Singapore !
Majullah Singapura !
if i am not mistaken, some people are in the jails of Singapore due to their refusal to carry guns as it violates their religion (Jehovah's Witness)
"Since 1972 more than 100 Jehovah's Witnesses have been imprisoned for refusing to perform military service. In 1997, 30 of them were in prison for such refusal, half of them serving a second sentence."
http://www.wri-irg.org/co/rtba/singapore.htm
falungong practitioners are also being taken to trials.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/07/30/2003321047
Do what you preach, Mr George Yeo. Or else you will lose whatever little trust that we still have in you.
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