(We) can do better

Israel’s Knesset has approved a bill criminalising denial of Israel’s version of events of October 7th, those who break this law could face 5 years in prison.

While the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warrant for the arrest, for the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, of Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has guaranteed him safe passage to travel to an event to mark the 80th anniversary of the all

A Prohibition Act passed 20 years ago stands as NT parliament's legal opposition to plans to dump nuclear waste in the NT. It simply prohibits handling, transport and storage of long-lived intermediate-level and high-level nuclear wastes (materials which are only found in the form of spent reactor fuel).

We are republishing the broad headlines of the International Peaceful Australia Network Newsletter here because it represents Australia's only effective peace and anti-war network.  Links will take you to their site, which is external and independent from ours.

Last Thursday 19 December 2024, Robert (Robbie) Barwick, the lead Citizen's Party (https://citizensparty.org.au) candidate for the Senate in Victoria, spoke to a protest outside the Mordialloc electoral office of the federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus. Robbie spoke in support of David McBride and a number of of other whistleblowers who had been unjustly prosecuted by Mark Dreyfus's department. He also spoke in support of former US Marine Corps pilot, Daniel (Dan) Duggan who fought in the First Gulf War of 1991.

The Frankston Beach Association has expressed deep disappointment in Frankston City Council’s decision to discontinue the Kananook Creek Governance Group, saying that this decision, made by the new Council on Monday, 2 December 2024, reflects a concerning lack of transparency and consultation. 

Independent Journalist Vanessa Beeley, who was based in Damascus up until the Al Nusra coup on 8 December 2024, discusses her evacuation from Syria, and what the end of the Assad Government means for the Syrian people and the future of foreign interference in the country. She also discusses the extreme suddenness of the coup and Russia's about-face, which seemed to lead so unexpectedly to Bashar al-Assad's very uncharacteristic resignation from his presidency.

ACBF calls to embrace the NSW's 'Improved Native Forest Management (INFM)' carbon method, for a 'transition to full plantation-based industry, sound good, but many forest campaign groups do not welcome this kind of announcement. That is because the government's  INFM modelling can be manipulated to suit further logging under other guises, assuming outcomes minus robust science and evidence, and benefit those large industries to simply buy imagined carbon credits to keep polluting.

In 1980, the Swedish pop group ABBA released a hit song, “The winner takes it all”.  As of December 8, 2024, the armed coalition headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, might be singing that song. In every conflict, there are winners and losers. On a scale from 1 to 10, the various factions involved in the Syrian civil war from 2011 to 2024 are rated below.

Click on the image to read Report No. 46. 

Click on the image to read Report No. 45.

From 26.50 minutes in you can hear a detailed account of how a Syrian mayor and the Christian town of Sadad, Syria - which is between Homs and Damascus, fought off the Isis branch Jabat al-Nusra/Al Nusra Front several years ago, at the cost of nearly 50 locals.

On December 9, Egypt accused Israel of illegally seizing a buffer zone in Syria. The area extends from the Golan Heights almost to the outskirts of Damascus. Israel troops and weaponry are now within hiking distance of the capital of Syria. Syria is now under the administration of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an armed opposition group from Idlib, which had been supported prior to 2017 by a covert CIA program.

An estimated one to three species of insects and other native invertebrates are becoming extinct in Australia every week, according to a new study revealing the immense scale of the nation’s biodiversity loss. 

Announced examination of Australia Submarine Agency shows cracks in AUKUS; Nearly half of Australian voters support a review of AUKUS and nuclear sub acquisition; USA not building submarines fast enough to meet their own needs, let alone Australia’s; USA preference is to base 'their' nuclear attack submarines in our ports

We express our sorrow at the fall today of Damascus, Syria, - a secular democracy - to takfiri terrorists backed by Western powers. They are led by Ahmed Hussein al-Shar'a, commonly known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani.  The US listed Al-Juliani as a 'Specially Designated Global Terrorist,'  in May 2013, and four years later advertised a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture.

Don Owers humorously points out the not-so-funny posturing in the Climate Council's loud criticism of Sky News and News Corp regarding disinformation on climate change, in the face of its own strange silence - dare we say collusion? - about the principal drivers of carbon emission growth in Australia, namely government and lobby-group-engineered population and intensive development growth.

The latest on Syria's very tricky situation from Kevork Almassian, surely one of the greatest modern journalists we have today.

The four former colleagues gathered at a suburban Italian restaurant for one of their regular "catch ups.” But were they really catching up?  They had not worked together for about fifteen years but, possibly through habit or email mailing list accident, had still kept in touch.  Only one still worked in the same clinical profession that had brought them together. 

Short simple video gives a good overview.

Unfortunately the 'Online Safety Amendment (Protecting Australian Children from Online Harm) Bill 2023 passed the Australian Senate last night, with an amendment to be inserted after section 63D.  I attach both the bill and the Senate amendment to the bill. 

Nature conservation groups are questioning the motives behind the Victorian Government’s “comprehensive” review of Parks Victoria. The move is raising concerns about the future of Victoria’s popular national parks and reserves, whose integrity is vital for both nature conservation and community wellbeing. Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos 

The new Counting Backwards song, Ballad of Yakamia is now out.  Yakamia contains the last patch of uncleared bushland in North Albany (Yakamia Forest), West Australia, which is under threat from housing development and road construction. The Council chambers are also located in Yakamia and it is there where decisions about the forest are made.