by cameron | Jun 1, 2008 | Australian politics
More evidence that it doesn’t matter which one of the major parties is in power, the same game is played:
The narrow terms of reference were drafted to prevent any inquiry into the role played by Howard and his ministers. The inquiry was asked to report on “the arrest, detention, charging, prosecution and release of Dr Haneef, the cancellation of his Australian visa and the issuing of a criminal justice stay certificateâ€. Its instructions, however, are limited to identifying “any deficiencies in the relevant laws or administrative and operational procedures and arrangements of the Commonwealth and its agencies, including agency and interagency communication protocols and guidelinesâ€.
The Rudd government’s inquiry is designed to cover-up the essential character of the Haneef witch-hunt, as well as Labor’s role in supporting it until the whole case fell apart. Last July 12, while Haneef was still being detained without charge, Kevin Rudd declared he had “confidence†in the AFP to “handle this manner in an appropriate way†and reiterated that Labor would retain the anti-terrorism laws if it won office. Labor’s proposal for an inquiry only emerged amid widespread popular disgust at Haneef’s victimisation.
(link)
by cameron | Jun 1, 2008 | Iraq, US politics
You won’t hear this talked about on TV:
The hoax of Peak Oil – namely the argument that the oil production has hit the point where more than half all reserves have been used and the world is on the downslope of oil at cheap price and abundant quantity – has enabled this costly fraud to continue since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 with the help of key banks, oil traders and big oil majors. Washington is trying to shift blame, as always, to Arab OPEC producers. The problem is not a lack of crude oil supply. In fact the world is in over-supply now. Yet the price climbs relentlessly higher. Why? The answer lies in what are clearly deliberate US government policies that permit the unbridled oil price manipulations.
(link)
by cameron | May 28, 2008 | US politics
Scott McClellan, Former White House Press Secretary, has written a scathing memoir about his time as the spokesperson for the Bush White House (from July 2003 to April 2006). The book, he says, discusses “the story of how the presidency of George W. Bush veered terribly off course.â€
Apparently McClellan positions himself as the poor innocent guy who was fed lies by the White House and ended up looking like an idiot. Personally I don’t buy it. This is the same lame story all of the American leaders have been giving during Senate and Congressional hearings over the last few years:
“Well, shucks, if I’d known then what I know now, I wouldn’t have said/done those things.”
It’s the standard “get out of jail” card and it smells of bullshit to me. It was obvious to everybody with a slender grasp of the facts that the Bush White House was bullshitting about Saddam. There were plenty of people arguing against their case. If you’re going to stand up in front of the world and put a story out there, like McClellan did every day for three years, then you had better be sure that story is true and correct. As someone in the comments on the Politico site said, he should have put his country (and the truth) first, and his obsequious toadying to Bush last.
Read more.
by cameron | May 28, 2008 | CIA, Podcast, US politics
I just finished reading Tim Weiner’s book “Legacy Of Ashes: The History Of the CIA” and thought I should talk more about it. I think this is one of the most important books that have come out in the last decade. Why? Listen to the show to find out. I start by reading out a list of countries that the CIA has committed acts of terrorism and violence in, either directly or indirectly, over the last 60 years. It’s a long, long list.
Please buy and read the book.
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thepodcastnet-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=038551445X&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr
The music on today’s show is “Echoplex” from the new Nine Inch Nails album “THE SLIP“, which is licensed under a creative commons attribution non-commercial share alike license.
NIN encourage you to
remix it
share it with your friends,
post it on your blog,
play it on your podcast,
give it to strangers,
etc..
ROCK ON TRENT REZNOR!
by cameron | May 27, 2008 | Podcast
This is the longer audio piece from my chat with Jonathan Oxer. Jonathan has an RFID chip embedded in his arm which he can use to operate electronic devices in his house. Why? Listen and find out. If you haven’t yet seen the video to go with it, it’s here.
Keep up to date with Jon’s experimentation on his blog.
As a result of all the media interest in his high-tech home, Jonathan is set to host a new TV show called SuperHouse which will go to air later this year. Check out www.superhouse.tv to find out more.
The music on today’s show is “Demon Seed” from the new Nine Inch Nails album “THE SLIP“, which is licensed under a creative commons attribution non-commercial share alike license.
NIN encourage you to
remix it
share it with your friends,
post it on your blog,
play it on your podcast,
give it to strangers,
etc..
ROCK ON TRENT REZNOR!
