When it comes to the entire disgusting and frankly astounding scandal that is the ongoing debacle around Julian Assange, there is one thing that must never forgotten nor underestimated, and that is:
SHAME ON YOU, AUSTRALIA!
This man, who is a hero to so many free-thinking, democratic-respecting people of this planet, was born in your country and is your son, Australia.
And how does Australia treat him? By turning their back on him, demeaning him in the most despicable and shameless manner, and being a pathetic lapdog to American imperialist politics and hypocrisy.
For a nation that always prides itself on its strong democracy and 'commitment' to human rights (the Aborigines, anyone?), and for having one of the best standards of living in the world, it's frankly pathetic.
I'll say it again:
SHAME ON YOU AUSTRALIA!!!
I'll tell you one thing, for what it's worth. I may be living in a country riddled with corruption and crime and nowhere near as 'advanced' as Australia, but I can almost guarantee this: South Africa, for all its many faults, would never, ever have done this to one of its own.
And that notion alone makes me more proud to be South African than to aspire to be the citizen of a gutless, cowardly nation like Australia.
Julian, no doubt about it - you were born in the wrong country, mate.
Julian Assange did the absolutely right thing on June 19th.
He entered the Embassy of the Republic of Ecuador in London and claimed asylum, on the grounds that he was being persecuted by the UK, Swedish and (potentially especially) United States governments. He requested political asylum as per under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Ecuador granted temporary protection during and told the world that they are considering the request.
He had no other choice. And it was something that I had been hoping he would have the courage (and good advice by others) to do. Because if there is one man in the public spotlight who is being hounded and having his rights raped and usurped like no other on this planet, it is Julian Assange.
And we all know that the Americans are just itching to get their grubby, fat hands on him so that they can charge him with spurious charges of 'high treason,' or some other legal claptrap that only a militarized state could conjure up, potentially consigning him to life imprisonment, or, worse, the death penalty.
His very life depended on him walking into that Embassy, and never being extradicted to Sweden (known lapdogs to the Yanks) if he can help it. You can count on that.
Ten days have passed. It seems an awful long time for the Ecuadorian government to be considering his application. We all know that Ecuador, and especially their incredibly smart and charismatic president, Rafael Correa, would love to grant asylum to this most whistleblower of note.
But the political and economic ramifications for a still-developing and small South American country like Ecuador must be crushing. Much as they may hate the strong-arm tactics and imperialist protestations of the United States, Ecuador must remain ever mindful of the sheer power of the world's biggest bully, never mind its biggest hypocrite.
Why not Venezuela? Surely a man like Hugo Chavez would do his nut to further grind American faces into his socialist groin by welcoming a man like Assange to Caracas with open arms? What a glorious middle finger that would be to los gringos up north. One would think so. Perhaps that is exactly what Correa is trying to achieve in these days that seem to drag on and on - a handover somehow to Venezuela, which doesn't even have an extradiction treaty with the US. One can continue to hope so, certainly.
Where is a healthy, cigar-smoking Fidel Castro when you need him?
And so Day Ten of his asylum in that London embassy almost comes to a close. And those os us who respect and honour and need this man wait with baited breath.
We wait for the very best outcome for him...and for us.
Gabon may not be the poorest of African nations, but nor is it the biggest or the most well-known. What is not in doubt is that it is a brave nation that seems highly committed to conserving its environment and protecting its natural heritage.
This small central West African nation may be oil rich, but at least its making an effort to fight the scourge that is the ivory trade.
In an encouraging report on Wednesday by the BBC online: "Gabonese President Ali Bongo has set
on fire nearly five tonnes of illegal ivory worth $9.3m (£6m) as part of
attempts to deter poaching. Mr Bongo said the burning was meant to send a "strong signal" to those who
still traded in ivory. Conservation group WWF has welcomed the move, saying it was an "indication of
the country's commitment" to curbing elephant poaching and the ivory trade."
The President went on to say:
"We don't want our children to inherit an empty
forest.”
Simple, wise words.
The BBC report continued:
"The pyre that was kindled in the Gabonese capital, Libreville, represented
the central African nation's entire government stockpile of confiscated ivory,
which resulted from the killing of some 850 elephants [italics for effect]."
This is a nation which also has a group of trained and respected eco enforcement officers, seen in the pic below patrolling the waterways of the country's lush forests, water avenues often used by smugglers of ivory and bushmeat:
President Ali Bongo said his country had a policy of "zero tolerance for
wildlife crime."
If only more countries would follow this type of lead, especially in Africa.
My hat off to you, Gabon. I am grateful for your valiant efforts. As I am sure the elephants are too.
I saw this image today on Yahoo Pictures - amazing bubble-like clouds that appeared over the town of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada:
Does nature, not to mention the sky above us, ever cease to amaze?
Just beautiful...
Did they blow it!
Greece had a chance - a chance to turn their second election this month into a middle finger at Brussels and the proto-capitalist fascist European Central Bank and to restore a bit of their national pride.
After the fiasco that was the first election, there was much hope that the smaller parties would rise and maybe become the dealmakers and dealbreakers that Greece so desperately needed.
The hope that the sell-outs of the traditional large parties like the centre-right New Democracy or play-play 'socialist' PASOK could no longer call the shots and sell Greece furthert down the river with more senseless 'bail-outs' and obscene 'austerity' measures.
Hope that all those mass demonstrations and encoraching despair and impoverishment of the Greek middle class would ferment enough anger to sweep anti-euro parties into power.
But, no, the Greeks screwed up their golden opportunity to really make a difference for themselves and for all of Europe.
So, knowing that their choice was this:
And instead of opting for this:
They instead opted for this:
They could have gone for the leftwing (and fervently anti-euro/ anti-bailout/ anti-austerity/ anti-kowtowing to the likes of Brussels and Merkel) Syriza party, but instead opted for the rightwing (and vehemently pro-euro/ pro-bail-out/ pro-austerity/ masochistic kowtowing to the likes of Brussels and Merkel) NDP.
As socialistrevolution.com put it: "Euro blackmail wins right-wing victory in Greece – what next?"
What next indeed.
And blackmail by the EU, ECB and Frankfurt financiers indeed.
The NDP will no doubt try to form some sort of pathetic 'national unity' coalition with PASOK, or the like, and back Greece will go, whimpering and cap in hand, willing whipping boy to the biggest financial Euro-Dominatrix of them all, Angela Merkel.
After all this time of me supporting the Greeks in their struggle against the decrepit and amoral euro juggernaut, it's time to say enough. After all that the likes of the NDP and PASOK have done to the Greeks, this is what they do when given a golden opportunity to shake up their own political and economic system, not to mention all of Europe?
All in the name of this delusion called 'stability' and this phantasmic 'dream' (really a nightmare) called the euro?
Pish.
I've said it many times before, and I'll say it again :
a people gets the government it deserves.
Do you get my point?
