JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED

John Winston Howard has done a Rupert Murdoch. He has mutated into a BLOODY AMERICAN!. Howard is damaged goods as an Australian politician. He has to go. AND HICKS HAS TO COME HOME!


HOWARD DOESN'T WANT HICKS BACK
From: AAP

THE Federal Government today rejected calls for David Hicks to be returned home after The United States' highest court found the military commissions set to try the Australian terror suspect were unlawful.
Prime Minister John Howard urged US authorities to find another forum to try Hicks, saying he had no sympathy for the Adelaide-born man accused of training as a terrorist with al-Qaeda.
Hicks' father, lawyers and politicians demanded Hicks be brought home after the US Supreme Court ruled overnight that the military commissions set up to try Guantanamo Bay detainees were unlawful.
.................. READ THE FULL STORY http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19637221-2,00.html


and further... REACTIONS to the ruling.

MIXED REACTION TO GUANTANAMO RULING
From: Reuters
June 30, 2006

A US Supreme Court ruling invalidating US military tribunals for Guantanamo Bay prisoners has rocked the Bush administration and attracted comment around the world.Here's what key players are saying:
PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH:"As I understand it - now, please don't hold me to this - ... there is a way forward with military tribunals in working with the United States Congress. As I understand, certain senators have already been out expressing their desire to address what the Supreme Court found. And we will work with the Congress.
"And one thing I'm not going to do, though, is I'm not going to jeopardise the safety of the American people. People got to understand that. I understand we're in a war on terror, that these people were picked up off of a battlefield, and I will protect the people and at the same time conform with the findings of the Supreme Court.
LT. CMDR. CHARLES SWIFT, a lawyer for Salim Ahmed Hamdan, defendant in the case before the US Supreme Court:"All we wanted was a fair trial and we thank the Supreme Court. Yes it is a rebuke for the process. ... It means we can't be scared out of who we are."
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL:"Today's Supreme Court ruling blocking the military commissions set up by President George W. Bush is a victory for the rule of law and human rights. The US administration should ensure that those held in Guantanamo should be either released or brought before civilian courts on the US mainland."
ZACHARY KATZNELSON, lawyer for 36 Guantanamo inmates including Ethiopian Binyam Muhammad, one of 10 who faced charges before the military commission:"I think its a fantastic victory for us. It's a strong rebuke from the Supreme Court to President Bush. They clearly have said he is not above the law and that the men at Guantanamo absolutely have rights, and the military commissions are just blatantly illegal."
NICHOLAS HOWEN, secretary-general of the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva:"Now is the time for the Bush administration to move ahead swiftly to release all prisoners in Guantanamo against whom there is insufficient evidence of criminal acts having been committed, abolish the military commissions, and if there is anyone who is suspected of a criminal offence, they must be tried under normal US criminal law in normal US criminal courts."
JOSE-LUIS DIAZ, spokesman for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour:"On the merits, it would seem to be a vindication of the need for vigilance in the protection of all human rights, including those of persons suspected of terrorism."
US SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY, Vermont Democrat on Judiciary Committee:"For five years, the Bush-Cheney administration has violated fundamental American values, tarnished our standing in the world and hindered the partnerships we need with our allies. This arrogance and incompetence have delayed and weakened the handling of the war on terror, not because of any coherent strategic view it had, but because of its stubborn unilateralism and dangerous theory of unfettered power.
SENATORS LINDSEY GRAHAM AND JON KYL, Republicans of South Carolina and Arizona:"We are disappointed with the Supreme Court's decision. ... It is inappropriate to try terrorists in civilian courts. ... We intend to pursue legislation in the Senate granting the Executive Branch the authority to ensure that terrorists can be tried by competent military commissions.
SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts Democrat:"This decision is a stunning repudiation of the Bush administration's lawless behaviour at Guantanamo. As we approach the Fourth of July, it is entirely appropriate that the Supreme Court has reminded the president and Secretary Rumsfeld that there is no excuse for ignoring the rule of law, even when our country is at war."
SENATOR JOHN WARNER, Senate Armed Services Committee chairman and Virginia Republican:"I don't regard it as a blow, it's an interpretation of the law."
MICHAEL MORI, a military lawyer appointed to defend Australian prisoner David Hicks before the tribunals:"It doesn't come as a shock to me. The military lawyers who have been defending the defendants at Guantanamo have been saying this all along. Any real lawyer who isn't part of the administration knows this violates the Geneva Conventions."
MUNEER AHMAD, civilian lawyer for Canadian defendant Omar Ahmed Khadr:"We are very happy. ... It's clearly a decisive blow to the administration's view of what its powers are."
ARMY SGT 1ST CLASS LAYNE MORRIS, who helped capture Omar Khadr:"I'm disappointed because I think it's justice delayed. I think in the long run it's going to end up having the effect of all those people spending more time in Guantanamo, which I have absolutely no problem with."- Sgt Morris was blinded in the right eye by shrapnel during the firefight and agreed to testify against Khadr.
FARHAT PARACHA, whose husband was sent to Guantanamo in 2004 after 15 months at a detention centre in Afghanistan:"There is no justice. They have no rights, even don't have status of prisoners of war. It reminds me of the medieval era. ... Really, it is not serving any purpose but triggering more and more hatred."

XIKU KICKS THE HABIT

BEER HELPS CHIMP TO QUIT SMOKING
From: Agence France-Presse
June 26, 2006

XIKU the chain-smoking chimpanzee has almost kicked his deadly habit thanks to the efforts of zoo keepers in China, but it has taken a beer or two to help get him through detox.
Xiku became addicted to smoking while mimicking the habits of humans during a career as a circus performer, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
By the time he was sent to a zoo in Urumqi, the capital of China's northwest Xinjiang region, in 2002, Xiku was already smoking 10 cigarettes a day.
That number doubled as visitors threw him cigarettes for amusement, but he is now down to smoking four a day after some unorthodox efforts from zoo keepers, Xinhua said.
``At the beginning, he became irascible when he wanted to smoke, jolting windows and doors,'' Xinhua quoted one of the keepers as saying. ``We sometimes gave him some sunflower seeds or a bottle of beer to help him shake off the addiction and visitors are no longer allowed to throw him cigarettes.''

MY ROTTWEILER BUNDY WITH CHOOK

SPEAKING OF ROTTIES.. This chook was the inseperable friend of Bundy. They slept together and shared dinner bowls. The chook has her own story.

BLOOD FOR OIL

Can't get law and order, can't get electricity, can't get water supplies, human shit flows in the streets, can't rebuild bombed infrastructure, can't travel in safety, can't get medical treatment, can't get schools rebuilt, can't bring dead children back, can't get rid of these fucking invaders! But we can break all production records in our extortion of Iraq! I still remember the triumphant look in Bushs' beady little eyes when he announced "The southern oilfields are secured!" Meanwhile ammunition dumps were left to be looted, arming the most radical people in Iraq, which Saddam never allowed. Meanwhile treasures of antiquity, so carefully guarded for thousands of years, were left to looters and vandals. The most heavily guarded facility in Iraq was the Ministry of oil building, the nerve centre for Iraqs oil machine. With all of the above in mind, please read this article:

IRAQ OIL OUTPUT HITS RECORD LEVEL.
From: Agence France-PresseJune 26,
IRAQ'S oil production is now over 2.5 million barrels a day, a record since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the country's oil minister said overnight.Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani said on US television that Iraq hopes to be producing 4.3 million barrels by 2010 and to be challenging Saudi Arabia as the world's largest producer by 2015.Production was about 2.5 million barrels a day when president Saddam Hussein was deposed by US-led forces in 2003. It then collapsed to virtually nothing and has been slow to rebuild because of insurgent attacks and other problems.In an interview with CNN television, Mr Shahristani emphasised that only one month and three days after the Iraqi government took office, "we have been able to break a record"."Today's oil production was in excess of 2.5 million barrels a day. And that's a record since the fall of Saddam's regime in April 2003," he told CNN's Late Edition program.He said Iraq hopes to increase production to 2.7 million barrels by the end of the year and to 4.3 million barrels by 2010, which would be a new all-time record for Iraq. The minister said Iraq's highest oil production was 3.5 million barrels a day."Our ultimate aim is to reach more than six million barrels a day, hopefully by 2012."And needless to say, Iraq holds one of the largest reserves of oil and gas in the world, and we are determined to prove it has the largest world reserve."

ALLIES AT WHAT PRICE? (click here)

AUSTRALIA'S biggest-ever defence project, the $16 billion Joint Strike Fighter, has potential flaws that could reduce the world's newest warplane to just an "average aircraft", according to internal Defence Department documents.
The documents reveal the JSF is beset with serious software problems and a cockpit display system so bad it had to be almost completely redesigned.
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson, a staunch defender of the troubled JSF program, will travel to the US at the weekend for talks with the plane's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin.
But despite the latest setbacks with the project, Dr Nelson still supports plans to spend $16billion to buy up to 100 of the yet-to-be-built JSFs to replace the ageing F-111 strike bomber and F/A-18 fighter jets from 2012.
Dr Nelson described the JSF program as not only the most expensive, but also the most challenging, defence project in Australian history.
"We are very committed to the JSF as it will deliver all the capabilities we need and want," he said.
Dr Nelson agreed that the transfer of information from the US to the project partners, such as details of the plane's stealth technology, was a significant issue and he vowed to walk away from the project unless guarantees were given.
"I will be meeting with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld next week and this issue will be discussed," he said.
Despite the risks raised in the Defence Science and Technology Organisation report, he said, he remained confident the JSF was the best choice for the Royal Australian Air Force.
The $256 billion US-led JSF construction program has been dogged with cost blowouts and production delays, raising doubts about the value of the deal and the ability of Lockheed Martin to deliver the new fighter on time.
Now, Australian scientists from the DSTO have identified "major risks" to the plane's performance in its complex software, advanced cockpit displays and central computer system. A DSTO report from December, obtained under Freedom of Information laws, warns that a "technical risk assessment" by DSTO found "major risks" inherent in the aircraft's cockpit display system.
"Late or substandard software development within the display system results in poor mission system integration," DSTO says.
"Realisation of this risk may result in loss of functionality, poor system reliability, or poor man-machine interface which reduces the pilot's ability to perform."
It describes the integration of technology for the plane's cockpit as being only "at the laboratory breadboard stage".
Sources told The Weekend Australian last night that the cockpit problems were so severe the system had been completely redesigned.
Another major problem identified by Defence scientists is the central computer system - the same issue that led to the Collins-class submarines initially being labelled as "dud subs".
DSTO complains of difficulty assessing the scale of the JSF's software problems because of a lack of information from the US.
"Software is a key enabler ofthe integrated mission systems, which transform a kinematically average aircraft into a highly capable weapon system," DSTO says.
"The lack of technical information prevents DSTO from conducting a thorough analysis of the integrated performance of the (cental computer system).
"The lack of information is due to a number of factors including the novel acquisition approach, US International Trade in Arms Regulations, and what would appear to be proprietary restrictions."
The first JSF test plane was built early this year and will have its first flight later in the year. But the partnership between the US and its allies over the plane has been fraught.
Australia and Britain - which also plans to buy the plane - have complained to the US about Washington's reluctance to share the JSF's stealth technology, warning they would pull out of the deal if that technology were not made available.
Britain has since signed a deal with Washington to share the stealth technology, but Australia has yet to do so.
Opposition defence spokesman Robert McClelland warned yesterday that the JSF's problems, and possible delays in its delivery, could leave Australia with a dangerous gap in air capability. "Billion-dollar bungles like the Government's mismanagement of the Super Seasprite helicopter project could really pale in comparison to this unprecedented $16 billion project - big enough to account for almost the entire annual Defence budget," Mr McClelland said. "If Labor win Government we will closely examine the option of acquiring F-22 Raptors, at least in the initial procurement phase, to ensure Australia does not forfeit regional air superiority between retirement of the F-111s in 2012 and delivery of replacement JSFs in 2015 at the earliest and more likely 2017." The Howard Government has paid $155 million to join in the design of the JSF, with a final decision on the purchase of the plane due in 2008. Cost overruns have lifted the average fly-away cost of the plane from $45 million to more than $60 million per plane.

SAD DAY FOR DEMOCRACY

www.crikey.com.au reports: The Senate has just passed the biggest attack on Australia's system of campaign finance since the Hawke Government first mandated disclosure of donations to political parties more than 20 years ago. Despite vigorous opposition from Labor and all the minor parties, individual donations of up to $10,000 can now lawfully remain secret. This gives Australia arguably the weakest system of political disclosure in the developed world. In the US, all donations above $US200 must be disclosed, and during election campaigns any contribution above $1,000 must be revealed within 48 hours. Contrast that with Australia, where the Russian Mafia could have donated $9,999 to the eight different Liberal Party branches on July 1 last year and at least we would have been told about it (although not for 19 months until February 1 2007). Under the new laws, such donations from international mobsters would permanently remain secret.In the UK, political leaders even have to reveal how much they spend getting their hair done, whereas an Australian political party could pay $5 million to Mick Gatto and no-one would be any the wiser.What we now have is a recipe for corruption. In a world where political and business accountability and transparency is on the rise, the Howard Government has taken a retrograde step and abused its Senate majority like never before. It's a sad day for democracy.

PERPETUAL WAR

PM would welcome US bases
From: AAP
June 19, 2006

Prime Minister John Howard said today he would warmly welcome the establishment of American military bases in northern Australia.
The Financial Review reported that two joint Australia-United States bases, designed for military training and as forward camps, would be established at Bradshaw in the Northern Territory and Yampi Sound in Western Australia.
Mr Howard did not confirm the details but said the government would welcome the American presence.
"We made an announcement some time ago ... to the effect that we were going to expand the capacity for training and operations exercises ... in northern Australia for Americans," he said.
"Whether you describe that as bases or not, I don't know.
"Can I say very openly that the notion of that sort of thing occurring in Australia ... involving American forces is not something that I would other than very warmly welcome."
Mr Howard said he expected the public and the states would support such operations, which would generate substantial income.
"As far as I'm concerned, subject always to the proper arrangements to fully respect and maintain and continue to observe Australian sovereignty, the notion of bases or operational facilities or training facilities by Americans is something I would warmly welcome," he said.
"My understanding is that all the Americans want at the present time is to have a capacity to train.
"I don't have any difficulty with that and I imagine it would be quite warmly supported by the Australian public."

WHAT THE HELL IS HOWARD THINKING! WAR WITH INDONESIA?

MUSIC MAKING A DIFFERENCE

http://www.worldonfire.ca/ It's astounding how little money it takes to make a huge difference to so many. If this song encourages anyone to be a donor. All the better. Sarah McLachlan could have spent $150,000 to launch her song, but instead she made a difference! enjoy.

COFFEE REDUCES LIVER DAMAGE FROM BOOZE

Coffee May Cut Cirrhosis Risk06.13.06, 12:00 AM ET
TUESDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- Drinking coffee seems to protect alcohol drinkers from liver disease, a new study suggests.
Every daily cup of coffee reduced the incidence of cirrhosis, a condition that destroys liver tissue, by 22 percent, according to researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, in Oakland, Calif.
However, Dr. Arthur L. Klatsky, the leader of the study and an associate in Kaiser Permanente's research division, said the results "should not be interpreted as giving a license to drink without worry, because of all the other problems connected with drinking."
Liver damage is just one of the "multiple medical and social problems caused by heavy drinking," Klatsky said, adding, "the only proper advice is to drink less." Three drinks a day should be the limit for most people, he said.
The study finding was no surprise to Dr. Constance E. Ruhl, co-author of a study published last December in the journal Gastroenterology. Data from the National Health and Nutritional Survey showed that people at high risk of liver disease had half the likelihood of being hospitalized for cirrhosis if they were coffee drinkers.
"The thing that is different about their [the Kaiser Permanente] study is that they were able to look at different causes of cirrhosis and the relationship of coffee with those different types, which we were not able to do because we did not have data on what caused the cirrhosis," Ruhl said. "Also, their study was larger."
The Kaiser Permanente researchers analyzed data from more than 125,000 people who were free of liver disease when they had examinations between 1978 and 1985 and who gave information about their alcohol, tea and coffee consumption.
By the end of 2001, there were 330 cases of cirrhosis in the group, 199 caused by alcohol consumption. For each cup of coffee they drank per day, participants were 22 percent less likely to develop cirrhosis caused by alcohol.
"It's encouraging to me that they found something similar," Ruhl said. "It's additional evidence that there might be a relationship there."
The new study findings appear in the June 12 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Ruhl works at Social and Scientific Systems Inc., a for-profit organization that does research on public health. Her study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease and was done in collaboration with Dr. James E. Everhart of the NIDDK.
The mechanism by which coffee might protect the liver "is pretty speculative at this time," Ruhl said.
One possible mechanism has been suggested by Dr. Bruce N. Cronstein, director of the division of clinical pharmacology at New York University School of Medicine. He recently reported that caffeine induces the release of adenosine, a molecule that prevents the inflammation that leads to kidney damage.
Still, the picture of caffeine's potential protective effect is far from complete, Ruhl said. "The next step is to do clinical trials to look at the relationship between coffee and liver disease," she said. "Also, we need laboratory-type studies because it is not clear what components of coffee might have a direct effect on the liver."

OPIATE ADDICTION AND LIVER DISEASE

OVERDOSE PARADOX
THE mystery of long-term heroin users dying by overdose despite experience with the drug may have been solved by a study linking overdoses with liver disease.
Researchers have puzzled for years about why heroin users defy the laws of experience and mortality that apply to others who practise risky activities and are more likely to survive as they age. Instead heroin overdoses are more likely to occur among people who have used the drug in a similar way for many years than among novice users.
The NSW Drug and Alcohol Research Council investigated 841 deaths due to opioid toxicity and found 10 per cent of those aged 35 to 44 and a quarter of those aged over 44 had been diagnosed with cirrhosis.
This could make them more susceptible to overdose, said Professor Shane Darke from the Drug and Alcohol Research Council at the University of NSW.
"They've got these phenomenally high rates of … liver disease," Dr Darke said. "If they hadn't died of overdose, they would have died of cirrhosis."
A 70 per cent incidence of hepatitis C and a high rate of alcohol consumption may account for the likelihood of liver disease, the study said.
Nearly a quarter of those studied had multiple-organ disease. "They're drinking, they're using heroin frequently, their bodies are just wearing out," Dr Darke said.
In 2004, 357 Australians died of heroin and opioid overdose. Those aged 25-34 comprised the biggest group at 43 per cent, followed by people aged 35 to 44 (28 per cent), 45 to 54 (18 per cent) and 15 to 24 (10 per cent).
Meanwhile, a significant number of injecting drug users are not being tested for hepatitis and other blood-borne diseases despite national public health policies, a survey has found.
Transmission of blood-borne viruses among drug users is still a considerable problem in Australia, with hepatitis B and C still spreading rapidly.
A survey of 222 drug and alcohol services has found that while about 75 per cent offer some testing and vaccinations for these conditions and HIV, fewer then half do so routinely.
The study, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, also found only one-third offer these testing services routinely on site.

BIZARRE RAPE PREVENTION DEVICE

KLEINMOND, South Africa - A South African inventor unveiled a new anti-rape female condom on Wednesday that hooks onto an attacker’s penis and aims to cut one of the highest rates of sexual assault in the world.
"Nothing has ever been done to help a woman so that she does not get raped and I thought it was high time," Sonette Ehlers, 57, said of the "rapex," a device worn like a tampon that has sparked controversy in a country used to daily reports of violent crime.
Police statistics show more than 50,000 rapes are reported every year, while experts say the real figure could be four times that as they say most rapes of acquaintances or children are never reported.
Ehlers said the "rapex" hooks onto the rapist’s skin, allowing the victim time to escape and helping to identify perpetrators.
"He will obviously be too pre-occupied at this stage," Ehlers told reporters in Kleinmond, a small village about 60 miles east of Cape Town. "I promise you he is going to be too sore. He will go straight to hospital."
The device, made of latex and held firm by shafts of sharp barbs, can only be removed from the man through surgery which will alert hospital staff, and ultimately, the police, she said.
It also reduces the chances of a woman falling pregnant or contracting AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases from the attacker by acting in the same way as a female condom.
South Africa has more people with HIV/AIDS than any other country, with one in nine of its 45 million population infected.
Ehlers, who showed off a prototype on Wednesday, said women had tried it for comfort and it had been tested on a plastic male model but not yet on a live man. Production was planned to start next year.
But the "rapex" has raised fears amongst anti-rape activists that it could escalate violence against women.
"If a victim is wearing such a device it may enrage the attacker further and possibly result in more harm being caused," said Sam Waterhouse, advocacy coordinator for Rape Crisis.
Other critics say the condom is medieval and barbaric — an accusation Ehlers says should be directed rather at the act of rape.
"This is not about vengeance ... but the deed, that is what I hate," she said.

CHERNOBYL LEGACY

The nuclear debate has conveniently forgotten all the truths we uncovered in the sixties. Click on the title for a reminder. WE CANNOT INFLICT THIS ON HUMANITY FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS TO COME!

NUCLEAR FIASCO BUILDS

WA rejects nuclear power plant
From: AAP
June 04, 2006
A LIST of 14 possible sites for a nuclear power plant in Australia were a facade to soften up the West to accept a nuclear waste dump, the West Australian premier Alan Carpenter said today.
A submission to federal cabinet nine years ago reportedly lists a number of sites for a nuclear power plant.
The document was obtained by a Sydney newspaper.
"People would not only be surprised but stunned to learn that the federal cabinet considered possible sites ... without disclosing them to any state government," Mr Carpenter said today.
In a statement issued afterwards, Mr Carpenter said the leaked submission named sites in the electorate of O'Connor held by Wilson Tuckey, Brand held by Kim Beazley, Canning held by David Johnson and Pearse held by Judi Moylan.
Mr Carpenter says the document specifically mentions a site near Perth airport.
"People should wake up to what's happening around Australia, particularly in WA," said Mr Carpenter. "Only a few weeks ago, we had three prominent WA Liberal MPs supporting a nuclear waste dump in WA," he said.
"This is all a facade in the Howard Government's push to soften up West Australians for a nuclear waste dump."

Western Australia is obviously the target for waste disposal....... to be continued.