Posts Tagged ‘UK’
Saturday, May 8th, 2010
Hamish Macdonald; 8/5/10;
Worth reading; Jill Jollife; Scribe Pulications,2009
After the debacle of “sexed- up” intelligence and misleading statements to legislatures by George Bush’s administration and allied governments as they decided to invade Iraq, the use of “national security” to block public scrutiny of such decisions is not accepted as readily as it was. How much more so when defence and intelligence agencies use the same excuse to stop disclosure of the information that backed vital government decisions on foreign policy and the safety of Australian citizens 35 years ago? An interesting test comes up later this month when a Canberra academic takes on the Defence Department at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to get a series of secret intelligence bulletins put out by its analysts at the height of the East Timor crisis from October to December 1975, covering Indonesia’s invasion of the then abandoned Portuguese colony.
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Tags: Australia, Timor, UK
Posted in Human Rights, Indonesia, Terrorism, War | No Comments »
Friday, May 7th, 2010
Stay in Touch; 7/5/10, SMH
Tiny worms which took “hair of the dog” to treat their hangovers exposed themselves to increased alcohol dependency. Just like people. Neuroscientists from Britain’s University of Southampton found that the nerve cells of one-millimetre worms exhibited the same symptoms of alcohol withdrawal and dependency as humans. Video footage showed the worms became overactive in alcohol withdrawal and showed spontaneous and deep body bends – a behaviour rarely seen in “teetotal” worms. The behaviour eased when they were given small doses of alcohol, which in turn increased their dependency.”This research … enables us to define how alcohol affects signalling in nerve circuits which leads to changes in behaviour,” Professor Lindy Holden- Dye said.
Tags: Drugs, UK
Posted in Drugs, Health & Children | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
David Brown, Sean O’Neill & Richard Owen; 13/4/10
Pedophile priest in Britain was told by the Roman Catholic Church to avoid contact with children to protect himself from “unfounded allegations” after reports that he was abusing schoolboys. Father David Pearce was allowed to continue living in the monastery at Ealing Abbey, West London, which ran the neighbouring St Benedict’s School, months before he started to abuse his final victim. Yesterday the Vatican made clear that bishops must “always” report such crimes to the police. A letter obtained by The Times shows that the Diocese of Westminster’s child protection commission was aware of allegations dating back to the late 1980s against Pearce, a former headmaster at the independent school. The police had investigated at least two cases but no charges were brought.
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Tags: Christianity, Europe, Pedophilia, Rome, UK
Posted in Christianity, Health & Children, Human Rights | No Comments »
Monday, April 12th, 2010
Brad Norington, 12/4/10; (2 Items)
The Vatican has insisted the Pope acted “expeditiously” by the standards of the time when he hesitated – as a cardinal – to dismiss a priest convicted of molesting two boys. lawyer for the Vatican issued a statement yesterday after reports that the Pope, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, signed a letter in 1985 saying more time was needed and “the good of the universal Church” had to be considered. After weeks of sex abuse scandals involving the Catholic Church in Europe and the US, the Pope has attracted personal criticism over his handling of a further case involving Stephen Kiesle, who was convicted of tying up and abusing two young boys in a California church rectory.
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Tags: Christianity, Pedophilia, UK, USA
Posted in Christianity, Health & Children, Human Rights, USA | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
6/4/10
The leader of the world’s Anglicans has expressed “deep sorrow and regret” for saying the Catholic Church in Ireland was “losing all credibility” over the paedophile priests scandal. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams apologised to Diarmuid Martin, the Archbishop of Dublin and one of Ireland’s most senior Catholics for “difficulties which may have been created” by the remarks. Archbishop Martin had earlier said he was “stunned” by the “unequivocal and unqualified” comments, which were made in a BBC radio interview to be broadcast on Monday.
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Tags: Christianity, Pedophilia, UK
Posted in Christianity, Health & Children, Human Rights | No Comments »
Saturday, April 3rd, 2010
3/4/10; (2 Items)
Cardinal Pell offers a splendid non sequitur when he says that atheists don’t sponsor community services. Of course they don’t, at least not as atheists because most atheists don’t belong to an identifiable group or join identifiable atheists clubs. The cardinal may think atheism is a religion but it’s not an organised church. Does he really think that the supporters of agencies such as Medecins Sans Frontieres and Oxfam, and even of some religious charities don’t include atheists? I’d be happy to show him my credit card statements. Some atheists such as Richard Dawkins are bigoted when they refuse to accept that people can have honest religious beliefs and uncivil in the way they discuss questions of belief. Pell is similarly bigoted and uncivil in his denial that atheists can be honest disbelievers. R. J. Fisher, Leichhardt, NSW
-There is a delicious irony in the hate mail against atheists by the worshipers of the God of Love. We have been labelled as ‘idolaters’ by their leaders. I am now deciding whether I will choose to be stoned to death or burned at the stake. Perhaps both to make sure. I wonder where George Pell gets the information that we don’t contribute to charities? Garth Slade, Bicton, WA
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Tags: Christianity, Pedophilia, UK
Posted in Christianity, Health & Children, Human Rights | No Comments »
Friday, March 26th, 2010
Ben MacIntyre; 26/3/10
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband was diplomatically livid. “Such misuse of British passports is intolerable.” Israel had broken every rule, he said, by cloning British documents that were used by some of the hit-team sent to kill the Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel room. In retaliation for forging Her Britannic Majesty’s signature, the senior Mossad officer in London is heading home – presumably on his own passport. Miliband is firmly opposed to state-sponsored identity theft. He did not, however, offer an opinion in his Commons statement on whether it is acceptable to break into a hotel room in a sovereign foreign country, inject its occupant with muscle relaxant and smother him with a pillow. A few months earlier, a notorious Taliban terrorist named Baitullah Mehsud was sitting on the roof of his father-in-law’s farmhouse in Pakistan. He was spotted by an unmanned Predator drone operated from CIA headquarters thousands of kilometres away in Langley, Virginia, and was blown to pieces by two precisely aimed Hellfire missiles. Twelve others also died.
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Tags: Israel, Settlers, Terrorism, UK
Posted in Human Rights, Israel & Palestine, Terrorism, USA | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
24/3/10
Britain was expected early today to expel an Israeli diplomat from London over the use of forged British passports in the Mossad assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. The move by Foreign Secretary David Miliband is the most severe rebuke from the five countries whose passports were faked for the January 20 hit in Dubai. It sets a high bar for Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, who on February 25 called in Israel’s ambassador to Canberra, Yuval Rotem, over the theft of four Australians’ identities. Mr Miliband was scheduled to address the House of Commons over the issue at 3.30pm (2.30am AEDT) following the conclusion of an investigation into the use of fake British documents. Mr Miliband’s office declined to provide details of his statement in advance, citing parliamentary rules. But a government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the decision.
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Tags: Israel, Terrorism, UK, USA
Posted in Human Rights, Israel & Palestine, Terrorism, USA | No Comments »
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Duncan Gardham; 11/3/10
US intelligence agencies misled allies, including Britain, about US mistreatment of suspected terrorists, the former head of MI5 has said. Eliza Manningham-Buller, who retired as head of Britain’s domestic spy agency in 2007 and is now a member of the House of Lords, said the Americans suppressed details of their harsh handling of some prisoners, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is accused of organising the September 11 attacks. “The Americans were very keen that people like us did not discover what they were doing,” she said on Tuesday at a lecture at the House of Lords organised by an academic group. Britain’s spy agencies have been heavily criticised for alleged collusion in the torture overseas of terrorism suspects, including people in US custody.
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Tags: Terrorism, UK, USA
Posted in Human Rights, Terrorism, USA | No Comments »
Friday, March 5th, 2010
Susannah Moran; 5/3/10
Former “child migrants” have launched a class action in New York against a number of religious orders and this could include up to 10,000 people now living in Australia, the US, Britain and Malta. Australian lawyer Adrian Joel has been working with New York law firm Sharma & Deyoung. Last week British Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologised to the children who were taken from their families in Malta and England and shipped to Australia and other Commonwealth countries. Many were exploited as child labour and sexually and physically abused while in care. “To all those former child migrants and their families, to those here with us today and those across the world, to each and every one I say today we are truly sorry,” Mr Brown said in the House of Commons. “We are sorry that the voices of these children were not always heard, their cries for help not always heeded.”
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Tags: Australia, Christianity, Human Rights, UK, USA
Posted in Australia, Health & Children, Human Rights | No Comments »
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
Angus Hohenboken; 25/2/10
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologised last night for Britain’s role in sending thousands of children to Australia to face psychological and physical abuse and forced labour. An estimated 150,000 youngsters, aged as young as three, were sent to Commonwealth countries under the Child Migrants Program in an attempt to give them a “better life”. But many ended up being abused, physically and sexually, in foster homes, state-run orphanages and religious institutions. It is estimated 7000 to 10,000 child migrants were sent to Australia from Britain, Ireland and Malta between 1920 and 1967. After being told their parents were dead, most were separated from their siblings. Last night, Mr Brown conceded that the scheme left many people emotionally scarred for life.
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Tags: Australia, Children, Migrants & Refugees, UK
Posted in Australia, Health & Children, Human Rights, War | No Comments »
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
11/2/10
A fromer Guantanamo Bay inmate was shackled and told he would “disappear” if he failed to cooperate with US interrogators, Britain revealed, in a move Washington warned may affect intelligence-sharing. The details of the “cruel, inhuman and degrading” treatment of Binyam Mohamed by US authorities were disclosed today after Britain lost a months-long court battle to halt publication of the once-secret information. The White House expressed its dismay at the court’s decision to release information that the CIA had passed to Britain, saying it could hamper future intelligence cooperation between London and Washington. “We’re deeply disappointed with the court’s judgment… because we shared this information in confidence and with certain expectations,” said Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for President Barack Obama.
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Tags: Guantanamo Bay, Terrorism, UK, USA
Posted in Human Rights, Iraq, Terrorism, USA | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Christopher Hope; 10/2/10
Tens of thousands of secret documents could contradict evidence given by members of the Blair government to the inquiry into the Iraq war, its chairman, Sir John Chilcot, has suggested as the former prime minister lashed out at the hunt for a ”scandal” and a ”conspiracy” over his controversial decision to back the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Sir John disclosed that the panel was examining far more documents than previously thought. He said the papers would form the core of the inquiry and show ”what really went on” in the build-up to the start of the conflict. He said that the inquiry team would examine the documents ”over the next few months”, adding: ”That will enable us to see where the evidence joins together and where there are gaps.”
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Tags: Iraq, Terrorism, UK, USA
Posted in Human Rights, Iraq, Terrorism, USA | No Comments »
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
Paolo Totaro; 4/2/10
The British government has caved in to pressure from the Pope and churches by abandoning controversial reforms that would have forced religious groups to abide by anti-discrimination laws. The amendments drawn up by Labour would have effectively removed the right of churches and religious schools not to employ homosexuals. They drew unprecedented public criticism of another nation’s legislature by the Pope, who described them as a violation of ”natural justice”. But the proximity of a national election, which is due in May, and strong opposition to the changes, particularly in the House of Lords, has drained the beleaguered government’s resolve. The Minister for Equality, Harriet Harman, has battled for years to make churches and religious groups, including faith schools, abide by anti-discrimination legislation.
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Tags: Christianity, Homosexuality, Human Rights, UK
Posted in Christianity, Homosexuality, Human Rights | No Comments »
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
4/2/10 ; http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/letters/index.php/ theaustralian/comments/blair_lacked_basis_for_war
As an expatriate Briton in Australia, I would like to comment on your editorial defending Tony Blair following his evidence to the Chilcot inquiry (“Blair has no case to answer”, 1/2). In the first place, the legality of the war on Iraq was, to say the least, dubious. Moreover, Blair specifically informed the House of Commons, and thus the British public, that the action was being undertaken on grounds relating to Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, namely Saddam Hussein’s failure to comply with the UN’s directives to dismantle the WMDs, and the perceived threat to Europe and the Middle East that they posed. When the supposed WMDs proved to be a mirage, Blair (and George W. Bush) switched ground to the “removal of a tyrant” argument.
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Tags: Iraq, Terrorism, UK, USA
Posted in Human Rights, Terrorism, USA, War | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Paola Totaro; 3/2/10
Tony Blair not only misled the public about his decision to take Britain to war in Iraq but deliberately ordered that Cabinet critics be cut out of intelligence and military briefings in the lead-up, the Chilcot inquiry has been told. Clare Short, a former International Development minister and vehement critic of the Iraq war, has delivered a scathing description of the “presidential” style of Tony Blair’s leadership and described a Cabinet of yes men that were regarded as “his mates” while critics who were sidelined and “leaned on”. She said she believes the “machinery of government in Britain is now unsafe” and that from September 2002, she was deliberately cut out of briefings as Mr Blair had put a “block on communications” .
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Tags: Iraq, Terrorism, UK, USA
Posted in Human Rights, Iraq, Terrorism, USA | No Comments »
