"Chain up Cheney/Troops out of Iraq" - Cheney visit protest in Melbourne : Melbourne Indymedia

It was effectively an open speakout, and a succession of speakers put their perspectives on issues connected with the war. Demands for the closure of Guantanamo bay and the unconditional release of David Hicks were prominent, as were calls for Dick Cheney and the rest to be tried for war crimes, breaching the Geneva Convention by waging an illegal war, pursuing the infamous practice of "extraordinary rendition", etc. Several speakers used the occasion to promote the upcoming rally on 17 March which will mark the 4th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. The case of David Hicks was also prominent, with suggestions that the Howard Government, now the only one in the world which supports the use of Guantanamo Bay, has a vested interest in keeping David Hicks out of the country for fear of what he might reveal if he were free to speak openly about his treatment as MamdouH Habib has. And this would be not just a question of embarrassment: there is legal opinion on record that members of the Australian Government could be liable to prosecution for war crimes by virtue of their support for and complicity in breaches of international law and the convention banning torture. The suspiciously suddent turnaround in Howard and Ruddock's public statements about Hicks was also mentioned, with a suggestion it may not have been entirely unconnected with the opinion polls and the approach of an election ...
No-one would be suggesting that a small rally such as this one would be enough by itself to stop Dick Cheney's visit or achieve any of the other demands, but as one speaker said, Tony Blair, whatever the public spin on it, has been forced to start withdrawing troops because year after year of unremitting pressure have made the political price too high. That is the only thing which will force a change in governemnt policy here as well, and for all that the numbers were small, passers-by were stopping to listen and ask questions, and there was a steady stream of signatures on the petitions for troop withdrawal and bringing David Hicks home, and people were taking leaflets and reading them...

On the subject of Guantanamo Bay, Julie Bain of RAC spoke about the new ultra-high security 800-bed 'detention centre' nearing completion on Christmas Island. (There is more about this on the RAC website - http://www.rac-vic.org.au, including a leaflet and photos.) Interestingly enough, last Novemeber officials from the US Homeland Security chartered a plane and flew in from Singapore to take a look at this state-of-the-art facility - judging from the plans that have been leaked it must have made their mouths water.

There will be another "Bring David Hicks home" protest today (Friday) at Casselden Place at 12 noon.

"The war on terror is not about defending our freedom ... it is about curtailing our freedom."

Cheney is a shocker but unfortunately those pictured above are just more of the same. Power trippers and liars.

You're a right wing troll. So just back and tell Murdoch's limited news then you may find someone who cares about what you think!

Where were you? On ya fat arse reading Murdochs Limited News!

Glass house Sheepie! The lamb of God! What's a matter Lamby can't you get a start?

The funny thing is that if you really believed what you were bullshitting about you wouldn't be so easy to wind up.

Answer this then. How can you have a socialist society when none of you work? Stop excpecting everyone else to do all the work while you rip off the welfare state and sponge money off middle class kids.

You aren't even socialists. You are just a cult with a fucked up guru. Trotsky must be rolling over in his grave.

Hey all you pro-war Trolls, Politicians the profiteering CEOs
you can now do the right thing
and send your brats to Iraq too
if you are so keen and all eh!

Prince Harry to serve in Iraq: defence ministry

Updated Thu. Feb. 22 2007 5:36 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Prince Harry will serve in Iraq, the British Ministry of Defence confirmed on Thursday.

The deployment would make Harry -- third in line to the throne -- the first royal to see combat since his uncle, Prince Andrew, fought in the Falklands War against Argentina in 1982.

Defence officials have said Harry would be kept out of situations where his presence would put his comrades at risk. Harry himself has said there is "no way" he would accept special treatment after undergoing rigorous training at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

"There is a tradition of royals serving in the armed forces, but Iraq has been a very unpopular war in this country. It's a very dangerous place and a lot of people suspected that the armed forces and the government would really back away from sending the prince into this kind of a situation. But he let it be known that he very much wanted to go," said CTV's London Bureau Chief Tom Kennedy.

Harry, 22, is expected to accompany his troops to Iraq in April or May, CNN reports. He graduated from the academy last year, where he was trained to lead 11 soldiers and four Scimitar tanks.

Harry had threatened to leave the army if he was prevented from joining his comrades on operations.

"There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst, and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country,'' he said in a television interview to mark his 21st birthday.

According to unconfirmed reports, the British police protection officer responsible for Prince Harry, known as Troop Commander Wales, flew to Iraq recently to make security arrangements for his arrival.

The Daily Mail newspaper claimed the 22-year-old is already referred to as a "bullet magnet" by fellow soldiers as his Blues and Royals regiment prepares for an anticipated six-month tour of Iraq.

His troops will likely perform reconnaissance missions in the desert, the Daily Mirror reported.

However, a royal family spokesman has declined comment and the Defense Ministry called the reports speculative, saying upcoming Iraq deployments had yet to be finalized.

Prince Harry and his older brother William, who is also with the Blues and Royals, have joined a long line of royals in the military.

Harry's father, Prince Charles, served as a pilot with the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. His grandfather, Prince Philip, had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy.

Even the Queen trained as a driver in the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service during the Second World War.

As the second in line to the British crown, William -- who is also a military officer -- is ineligible for combat service.

Tut, tut. Picking on poor old Nike will be a thing of the past.

Costello says that his new ammendments to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will make activist community groups pay up for paying out on business.

Big business says its great: the taxpayer funds the ACCC court action and they pocket the proceeds. Bet ya Nike give it a big tick!

Now you know why Pete's been smiling land whisling lately when his sociopath mates have seemed on the backfoot.

Stories yesterday:

http://news.google.com.au/news?hl=en&ned=au&ie=UTF-8&ncl=1113846923

Come one come all because you can't get blood out of stone dimwit!

All we have to do is send in the ant clowns for the action the rest is academic!

More than one way to skin a criminal!

Actually get a job instead of spongeing off the rest of us. Radical I know but a useful way to gain credibility for the cause.

Also consider replacing the dirty old paedophiles with younger more interesting folk.

tiny manlycouncil dweeb
is pissing into the wind

having erected a strange little historical fantasy world of 'right' and 'left', in which conveniently he's 'right'

has nothing to do with anything, and most of us here would just as soon piss on Marx's grave as he would himself

Capitalism, Marxism, it's all the fooken same drivel = economic fundamentalism... a belief system for those still scratching in the dirt,
people of little or no aspiration - all they can think to do is 'obtain financial security'
the dull, the weak, the stupid, who are grasping at the rudimentary basics of survival, scrabbling for resources just to make sure they've got enough,

or on the other side of the coin -same coin - tools devising idiot systems of equal distribution. Shouldn't have to be a big deal. Certainly not the basis for a belief system, or a political system, or a culture.

It's all fooken plumbing... has no bearing on the more substantial aspects of human civilisation and culture. And it's tedious for the rest of us who are a little bored with the obsession of the least capable and most afraid in our society with RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.

The 'left' of which you speak is largely a fiction, except for a few sad souls like yourself living in yesteryear... it's you and them and the Treasurer and Kevin Andrews and Greg Combet....

for the rest of us it's the next century already. Death to America, and rather the Sultan's Turban than the Cardinal's hat.

Hasn't the Nike store on Swanston shut down? The window adverts are still there, but it isn't actually a store. Were you aware that you were protesting against an empty shell?