Australian Politics
quote by Rachel Maddow: But here’s the thing about rights-they’re not actually supposed to be voted on. That’s why they’re called rights
use of Rachel Maddow’s words or image is in no way meant to suggest that she in any way supports the content of this post or this blog
post added by Penny Carter @redglitterx
text of image: A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
image created by @redglitterx
use of quote in no way suggests that King would have in any way endorsd the contents of this post or this blog
Uncle Sam is from the initials for United States
for a poster size copy: save as or save and download
digital mischief by @redglitterx
That was a slogan, made popular in Britain during World War II, but gained some local flavour when the US Military decided intervene in the Pacific and resulted in many US military personnel based in Australia or getting R&R here.
And as of last night the first detachment of US Marines arrived in Australia for training, (or perhaps to gain the US a military presence in a strategic location to Asia) in Darwin for next six months. The first 200 marines touched down in what will eventually build up to 2,500.
Sounds expensive? Not for the US, as we are the ones paying for (some of) it
Australia will provide a range of support with costs shared under existing legal, financial and logistical arrangements
Source: here
So, where is the benefit for Australia? What exactly do we get for all this?
[it] supports Australia’s long-held strategic interests in supporting US engagement in our region in a manner – and – could also provide new opportunities for Australian and US engagement with our partners in the region
Source: here
In other words, we get to be even bigger poodles than we were previously, and as for engaging with our neighbours, nothing says I care
like increasing the military presence of the US Military in our country.
However, analysts in China and elsewhere say they fear that the moves could backfire, risking a cold war-style standoff with China.
(Jackie Calmes).
What happens if a Marine goes troppo, or runs over a local in a military vehicle, or assaults a child? Will they be whisked back the US to avoid prosecution? In fact, could they even face prosecution in this country for crimes they commit while here?
When they say it will only be six months, we must remember, these are USA six-months
, and bear little relation to the same calendar the rest of humanity use – much like the second Iraq war which was supposed to last only six-months and become 10-years.
There is always the inevitable mission creep, where there is an expansion of a project beyond its original goals. Once the system is in place, it would be so easy to extend the six-months, to another six-months, then another six-months. And before you can whistle Yankee Doodle Dandy, the Marines are here permanently and numbers heading towards 3000, 4000 and more.
What about unmanned drones, or nuclear weapons, or biological or chemical weapons, or cluster-bombs? Weapons that are banned in Australia, will the Marines be allowed to import them and use them? US officials say No
, but how reliable is the word of an organisation that told us there were Weapons Of Mass Destruction in Iraq
As Peter Garrett sang all those years ago: US Forces give the nod, it’s a set back for your country
digital mischief by @redglitterx
based on image from Over-paid, over-sexed and over-here: US Marines in wartime Melbourne 1943
The class war is over. I mean, the rich have won. Let’s be blunt about it when you see the tax cut. It’s really to comfort the comfortable. I think it is a question of what are taxes for? Are they just to return to people who are lucky enough to make that kind of money and able to pay them, or is it a question of are we going to build a fairer, more humane, more just society with better schools? How about the 45 million Americans without any health insurance? Are we going to be concerned about the hospitals that are being punished right now because we’ve had to put a cap on Medicare spending?
– Mark Shields
Mark Shields is a USAmerican political columnist and commentator, who provides weekly political analysis and commentary for PBS’ award-winning PBS NewsHour, which airs in Australia on SBS.
From the Depths, Painting by William Balfour Kerr, 1906
text by @redglitterx
additional text by Mark Shields speaking on PBS Newshour
use of quote is in no way intended to imply that Shields or PBS Newshour in anyway endorse the contents of this post or blog
US Forces give the nod, it’s a set back for your country
Peter Garrett sang those words in 1982, and now, about wanting to get the United States military out of Australia and Australia’s foreign policy.
All these many years later, Garrett is part of a Labor government that just opened Darwin for permanent occupation by US Marines, complete with drones, and possibly nuclear weapons, and giving away Cocos Island for a US military base.
Activists fought to get US Bases Out in the 70s and 80s – and now it seems we have to fight those battles again in this century too.
text by @redglitterx
use of song is in no way intended to suggest that Midnight Oil, or the US Military in any way endorses the contents of this post or this blog
Who gets the risks? The risks are given to the consumer, the unsuspecting consumer and the poor work force. And who gets the benefits? The benefits are only for the corporations, for the money makers.
César Chávez
César Chávez founded the United Farm Workers union
image by @redglitterx
quote by César Chávez is in no way intended to suggest that Chávez would have in any way endorsed the contents of this post or this blog
text of image: While there is a lower class, I am in it, where there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free. – Eugene V. Debs
Debs was a US American union leader, one of the founding members of theIndustrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies)
image by @redglitterx
Turn Left 2013 