John Pilger on Obama and Obama, the brand

"Real activism has little time for identity politics" - John Pilger

Time for change is NOW

Got an emailed attachment in my inbox this morning - a signed petition/statement from a number of members of parliament in relation to the pending vote of no confidence against Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister, Sir Michael Somare.

It's worth a read.

Download the report here (right click, save target as):

Papua New Guinea Opposition Media Campaign 2009

Perfectly Frank

"We are not going to have an election just to please Australia and New Zealand. That's not going to happen".
- Frank Bainimarama

He's been called a dictator, a disgrace and a blot on democracy in the Pacific, but Fiji's interim Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, says he just wants to make his country a better place.

In a rare interview with Mark Davis he comes out fighting against his critics...on SBS's Dateline (on Sunday, August 1, 2009).

Documentary: The battle between Moderate and Radical Islam

Since yesterday, I've been busy working on a briefing analysis that I need to present to a group of highly opinionated I.R. students. I need to present an analysis on the bi-lateral cooperation between Australia and Indonesia as a result of the Bali attacks on October 12, 2002.

Whilst researching for this topic, I came across the following documentary, by Al Jazeera, in all its entirety conveniently available on YouTube.

Note that Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world. Contrary to the beliefs and actions that are often referred to as "Islam radicalism", Islam is actually a a religion of tolerance and peace. Members of Jemaah Islamiah (JI) interpret the teachings of radical Islamist ideology as reaffirmed in such radical "boarding schools" (such as the one that Abu Bakar Bashir is the principal of) and are consequently encouraged to idolise posters of prominent jihad leaders such as Osama bin Laden (its true, watch the doc below). Such schools of teaching are actually breeding grounds for "terrorism" (a Western concept) however, the students of such schools are really "soldiers of war". I think that Indonesia needs to really take a firmer stand against such institutions as the curriculum that they have encourage these kids to see the world in a "us vs them" paradigm. Even though Indonesia is a developing democracy (after the fall of Suharto), all its citizens have the freedom to worship what ever religion they choose. However, like the anti-Semitic movement that dominated Germany's Nazi Party which eventually lead to WWII, this 'jihad' against non-Muslims (The West predominantly) is escalating as we speak.

Indonesia: Hearts and Minds (Part 1)



Indonesia: Hearts and Minds (Part 2)



Indonesia: Hearts and Minds (Part 3)

Another day at the office for Ban Ki-Moon

There has been much debate (especially in my IR tutorial) regarding Ban Ki-Moon's performance so far into his five year tenure at Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Some have argued that he is trying to accomplish too much.



I think we can argue that he is trying to achieve too many things but we must also remember that this man is the Secretary of the United Nations. In his role, he doesn't have the 'privelege' to choose which issues he should choose to address and issues he can't put on the agenda and present it into a small, neat portfolio to the world. Unlike self-interested governments who focus predominantly on domestic national issues, the United Nations has a larger amount of transnational issues to raise public awareness about and help resolve. I think as the dominant international organisation, he is doing a great job by educating the global international community and reminding them of the plight of others around the world. If he failed to raise such issues through the media especially, as individuals, we may not be as educated and be as inquisitive into these issues if he completely failed to acknowledge them. Failing to acknowledge these issues, would undermine the strife and violations that are occuring and eventually we would even further marginalise the importance of these issues.

Put yourself in his shoes. What gives anyone the right to say that the genocide in Sudan is less important//more important than the economic global crisis for example. To argue one case against another, would create a lot of negative responses from all sides. As the lives of millions of people have been affected by both issues - the pool of poor and vulnerable people is just too large to not address.

It's just another day at the office for Ban Ki-Moon.

and to reiterate Ban Ki-Moon it can be either a "make it or break it year full of issues that aren't solved into a make it work year full of solutions."

:)

Watch President's Obama's Speech, Cairo 2009

Last week Tuesday, I attended a seminar presented by the U.S. Consul General , Judith Fergin titled "The U.S. - Australia relationship: Confronting global challenges together." During the speech, she noted that President Obama was delivering a historical keynote address in Cairo that same afternoon.

I didn't get a chance to watch it live and if you didn't get a chance to either, here it is.

Spowf

Note: subtitles are available, click the CC option on the selection above.

Ex-Guantanamo Bay detainee is released

After seven years without trial, Guantanamo Bay Prison detainee Binyam Mohamed has been released from the controversial prison.

I'm aware the when David Hicks was released, there was an enforced media ban on him which prevented him from speaking publicly about his ordeal.

Since, his release - Mohamed's lawyers have requested that President Obama release documented evidence (including photographs) which detail abuse and torture inflicted upon Mr. Mohamed during his incarceration.

My question is: Can Binyam Mohamed sue the United States government? If so, on what grounds?

Through their eyes: The Darfur Genocide

I've recently signed up to be a member of The Hub which is the world's first participatory site where individuals, groups, networks and organisations can bring their stories of human rights abuses and draw the attention of citizens worldwide. Members can upload videos, photos or make comment on posts. It's a great site - volunteers all over the world with acclaimed human rights advocacy organisations such as Amnesty International make frequent postings as well.

Well, so we all know that George Clooney didn't rock up to this year's 81st Annual Academy Awards...instead he was briefing U.S. President, Barack Obama and Vice President, Joe Biden on the ongoing conflict in Darfur, Sudan. This genocide has been going on for a few years now and the fact that someone of George Clooney's celebrity and association with the United Nation's (he is a U.N. Messenger of Peace) brings great publicity before this modern day genocide went off the radar. You would have thought that world would have taken a more firm stance in the aftermath of Rwanda.

The Sudanese government has time and again denied supporting the mass killings and atrocities that have been instigated by the Jajaweed Militia, however, witnesses continue to raise claims about Government helicopters being used in the assault against innocent civilians. To difuse the Government's rejection of any involvement, video below is a shocking testimony from four alleged perpetrators who have been involved in the Sudan crisis - one was a senior officer in the Sudan Army Force, one a high-ranking Janjaweed commander, another a Janjaweed footsoldier, and the last a Sudanese soldier. In this video you see the genocide through the eyes of these four men. They give very key details about who were financiers behind some of the attacks through to detailed accounts of some of the attacks. The stories of these four men make a direct link between the accounts of witnesses claims and their own experiences in the lies that the Sudanese government has been telling the world over and over again. Phil Cox, an independent film-maker who assisted in the production of this film states the importance of this footage as being "the first time that the people can see a Sudanese, Arabic-speaking, high-ranking commander saying that 'We did this.' It never happened before." In a nutshell, the testimonies of these four alleged perpetrators could be used against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and others if this case was to go the the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Watch the video here.

Related articles:

Group releases film allegging Darfur war crimes - International Herald Tribune
Shocking video testimony from Darfur perpetrators (Aegis Trust) - By Samir Padania, The Hub online

O arise all you sons of this land

Post Courier

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Motigate debate
gagged in Parlt

GOVERNMENT yesterday gagged the Opposition from
asking questions relating to two controversial issues – Motigate Affair and
Mobile War.
On the first day of the sitting yesterday, Parliament Speaker
Jeffery Nape walked in an hour after the ringing of the bells and stopped
Parliament from raising any questions or issues concerning the Moti affair.
Mr Nape said, “I understand that the matter is before the court or the
Defence Council, therefore I wish to inform Parliament that we should not
discuss it.
“Any questions relating to the Moti case will not be entertained
until the report is tabled before Parliament.”
And the Opposition decried
this and termed it dictatorial.
At a news conference attended by all
Opposition members, they said the gagging of debate on important issues
concerning the nation was a disgrace.
Opposition Leader Sir Mekere Morauta
said the Speaker misled the Parliament.
He told reporters that his office
checked with the Supreme Court only on Monday and there was nothing to say that
the Moti issues was before the courts.
He said the Opposition had some
questions regarding the issue and the report was explicit where it said laws
were broken and responsible people should be prosecuted.
Sir Mekere,
supported by his deputy Bart Philemon and former Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan,
said the recommendations of the report is clear and the alleged threats by the
PNG Defence Force to arrest the Prime Minister and NGOs’ outcry were symptoms of
the leaders not doing the right thing.
In saying this, the Opposition called
for the Prime Minister to step aside immediately.
“There is a growing chorus
of dissatisfaction everywhere.
“We are doing injustice to the people,” Sir
Mekere told reporters.
Sir Julius called on respective government bodies
like the Ombudsman, police and public prosecutor to act independently and act on
the recommendations of the Moti report.
Mendi MP Francis Awesa said there
seem to be two laws, one for the small people and the other for the leaders,
supported by Sir Mekere who said a small person gets belted up for stealing a
packet of biscuit and a leader gets free after all these allegations.
Meanwhile, attempts to ask the Communication Minister Patrick Tammur on the
alleged submission to the Cabinet was also gagged with the front bench of the
Government interjecting with points of order and calling on the speaker to rule
it out of order which the Speaker eventually did.
Parliament adjourned to
this morning at 10.

This article raised a number of questions. What does it mean to be independent and free? Are we really independent and free? As outlined in our National Pledge, do our leaders really pledge to:

"Build a democratic society based on justice, equality, respect and prosperity of our people"

Have Papua New Guinea's leaders become so ignorant and blinded by their own visions of personal wealth, status, power and self-interest? Is our society going to the dogs? Maybe one needs to provide certain public figures with clearER definitions of these fundamental governing principles, imperative to the promotion and enforcement of the rights of the men, women and children of any democratic country. It makes me wonder...

At war with the sea

A recent report on global warming warned that entire
cultures are at risk of being wiped out if nothing is done. There is still
a lot of debate about whether rising sea levels and rising temperatures are the
result of pollution or simply normal cycles of climate change. But there's one
group of people (a group of people too close to home) that doesn't need any
convincing about this. In the documentary 'That Sinking Feeling', Steve Marshall
visits a group of islands in the South Pacific that seem to be disappearing one
hut, one garden, one village at a time.

- World's Untold Stories

Global warming effects on Cateret Islands Part 1

Global warming effects on Cateret Islands Part 2

The journalistic shot heard around the world

Both these images have been strategically juxtapositioned in order to raise an issue that relates to the priority placed on events or people that are considered to be "soft entertainment news" and ones that register on a more important global agenda. Some critiques may argue that celebrity news is totally irrelevant and important air-time should not be dedicated to the lives of those who live 'comfortable' and 'priveleged' lives when the time set aside to feature such unecessary headlines may have covered other headlines that register on the economical, social or political agenda - issues that are more 'real'.

The 'journalistic shot heard around the world' was one which involved MSNBC's co-host and news reader Mika Brezezinski, in which she refused to read Paris Hilton's release from jail as the news lead.

"On June 26, 2007, near the
beginning of Morning Joe, Brzezinski
refused to read a report about Paris Hilton's release from
jail. One hour later during another news break segment, her producer Andy Jones
again pushed the story as the lead, ranking it over Republican Senator Richard
Lugar of Indiana's break with President Bush on the Iraq war,
which Brzezinski considered more important. After several unsupportive remarks
from host Joe Scarborough, she
attempted to burn the story's script on the air, but was physically prevented
from lighting it by co-host Willie Geist. She then tore
up the script, and one hour later, got up and ran another copy of the script
through a paper shredder retrieved
from Dan
Abrams's office. The incident was quickly popularized on the Internet, and
in the days that followed Brzezinski received large quantities of fan mail
supporting her on-air protest as a commentary on the tension between 'hard news'
and 'entertainment news."

(Source: Article on Wikipedia about Mika Brzezinski)

This video has raised a number of issues personally. Firstly, I admire Mika Brzezinski for her ability to actively stand and vocally argue her views for being 'such a journalist' as Joe Scarborough had called her. My question is to Joe Scarborough is: "If she is such a journalist, then what are you?" Obviously, Mika Brezesinki through her actions and views has expressed an absolute distaste and has obviously put her own career and job security on the line with her reactions. Unlike Joe Scarborough, she is not willing to compromise or sacrifice her beliefs and attitudes and conform to expectations of what people think she should do or say. Secondly, not only do Joe Scarborough's remarks connote a sense of misogynistic views that he has deep-rooted within his immature mind (as his actions and words suggest in the video), it is even more disturbing when he blesphemises with the following: "How do I further the kingdom of God on heaven". Seriously, what a PIG! Overall, I salute Mika Brzezinski on her ability to stand up for what she believed in - in front of millions of viewers, which compromised her career and job security, as well as for her ability to control and poise herself whilst arguing her point with two immature, unprofessional, pigs whose equivalents I would hope never to have as co-workers.

"To the news now..."

- Mika Brzesinki