Hello Savage Pencil, seeing as you seem to think this is about me I will tell you where I have been over Darfur - with the rest of the peace movement trying desperately to get the racists of the three governments who could make a difference do something, anything.

I have had letters published pointing out for example that our aid to the people of Darfur was less than the cost of locking up one family of refugees for a year to help the millions who have been displaced.

I have lobbied pollies of all stripes in various ways and I don't care what colour people are and never have.

Now back to Israel. They have lot the war. And that is a very, very great tragedy for the people of Israel and Lebanon and a greater tragedy than ever for the people of Palestine.

In the past when Israel feel they have lost they crack down harder and harsher on the people of the Gaza and that is a tragedy.

No person who saw 60 minutes last night, the scale of utter destruction in Beirut, the mass grave of children's bodies could ever believe that the lives of a couple of soldiers, people trained to defend and kill, are worth the price.

Even most of the US conservatives, many Israelis and others have complained.

Leigh, here is a news flash. Australian citizens live in every corner of the world and they are all equal in the eyes of the law. If people who are Australian citizens choose to live in Lebanon they are allowed to. Similarly they are entitled to the same help as any other Australian. Like it or lump it that is the law.

How dare you suggest that some Australians should stay in Lebanon and be blown up just because they don't always live here. Just how bloody dare you.

Marilyn,

Leigh believes that only Australians whose blood is white-coloured should remain safe.

Today, I met a woman who works for the US embassy in Canberra. She is married to an Australian and has dual citizenship. This enables both her and her husband to travel between the US and Australia, to work in both countries and to keep their family unit together.

Hardly 800 of the 25,000 dual Australian-Lebanese civilians take Centrelink benefits. What are the rest doing?ebanon has no social security. They must be performing economically useful work.

The business and professional contacts made by dual Australian-Lebanese civilians benefit all Australians. If Leigh denies this, it is obvious she has no real or tangible loyalty to Australia.

Time for the UN to be saved from US imperialism.

United States has placed itself in charge of global decisionmmaking without any license. Her only license is one of self-appointment. The belief that because she is now unipolar, and to have achieved that position through the fall of the Soviet Union, the US automatically should rule the world.

But how wrong it is in a world that the US is always pressing should be democratic, which should mean that the US should only rule this world through a democratic vote arranged in a democratic institution such as the United Nations.

But because the UN does try to make laws at the behest of global representatives, the US now continually knocks back such laws because they are against the interests of Pax Americana, a cynical label for a country which like the old Roman Empire, for the last few years has insisted in holding the big end of a non-libertinian stick

Part Two

No more proof of America’s lack of global democratic activity has been her recent countermanding of a UN Resolution to fully discuss the Israeli attack on Lebanon. And how does our modern US countermand such laws?. By means of an outmoded veto only placed in the UN constitutrion originally through the insistence of the world’s two strongest powers to each have entitlement to use the veto at the time, the United States and the Soviet Union.

Furthermore, the fact the US has been allowed to use her outmoded veto, proves what a dumbed down set of scaredy-cats we now have as national and commonwealth representatives, which includes not only Britain, but our gutless Labor opposition in Australia, which appears to regard John Howard as Labor’s spokesman in world affairs which he definitely is not, which has been proven every time he prostrates himself before George W Bush, as just a weak lackey of Pax Americana.

It is suggested that with such impending problems again pressing our Middle East, America’s undemocratic and autocratic attitude to the situation should be much more discussed through our so wonderfully convenient Online

Boaz says: "Sorry... all this 'raging against Israel' is most pathetic, biased, and unsound.

If anyone wishes to RAGE against someone, rage against THOSE WHO CAUSED the problem ...i.e. Hezbollah."

Boaz there is a new problem and an exacerbation of an old problem created by Israel bombing the bejesus out of ordinary citizens, killing and terrorising civilians, bombing the infrastructure of a democratic country, and from an Australian's perspective bombing without regard for our fellow citizens. This is a terrorist action.
Why are the Liberals and Labour not raging against this callous disregard for our people?

It is starting to become a little clearer to me why we have been bombarded by anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, anti-Islamic propaganda.

Oldest trick in the propagandist books, get your "useful idiots" to stir up resentment, sentiment and hatred then no one will be concerned when the powers that be kill them.

Liberals and Labour leaders should be ashamed of themselves for not condemning Israel and the USA’s support for these terrorist activities.

The tactics described below by a disenchanted Iraeli have been used in OLO.

If the person is a Gentile, you cry, "You're anti-semitic" which is nothing more than a smokescreen.

But, if a Jew is the person doing the exposing, you resort to other tactics:

First, you ignore the charges, hoping the information will not be given widespread distribution.
Second: If the information starts reaching too many people, you ridicule the information and the persons giving the information.
Third: If that doesn't work, your next step is character assassination. If the author or speaker hasn't been involved in sufficient scandal, you are adept at fabricating scandal against the person or persons. (Ted Lapkin's methods to a tee).
Fourth: If none of these are effective, you are now to resort to physical attacks.
But, NEVER do you try to prove the information wrong.

These are propagandists' methods. Far-right, white supremists use similar methods.

In relation to the fourth tactic one can see why the Israeli's bombed Christian TV stations. The stations were sending the graphic pictures of Israel's "disproportionate and counter-productive" attacks on civilians.

Nicely said Rancitas,

I wonder how many people really know to what extent they are being used by unseen interests behind the scenes.