|
2 March 2004. Thought for the Week: "I
have come that you might have Life and have it more abundant."
|
A Most Blessed Holy Week
For All our Readers
TO SUMMON OUR LOYALTY TO GOD
by Nigel Jackson
Whilst the following was sent to the editor of the Melbourne
Age as a response by Mr. Nigel Jackson, it was thought
appropriate to give it prominence in this edition of On Target.
"There is nothing "curious",
as you put it in your editorial (20/3), about the survival
of the union jack on our national flag, for it is a noble
emblem that proclaims our historical and cultural origins.
Nor would the creation of an Australian republic be a "reform",
but, rather a falling away from one of the most successful
constitutions in the world, based on the grandeur of eleven
centuries of royal tradition.
As for the heraldic significance of the union jack's positioning
in the top left quadrant of our flag, betokening subordination,
does it not occur to you that, though the physical British
empire has gone, the more profound cultural British empire
survives - here and elsewhere - embedded in the English language;
and that this is an empire acknowledgment of which causes
us pride, not shame?
Within the union jack is the sacred icon of the cross, a precious
Christian symbol, certainly, but also a more ancient carrier
of meaning of a worldwide provenance.
And while it is true that the stars of the Southern Cross
"shine on everyone alike", they also gleam in the
night as heralds calling us to raise our hearts, much as our
Sovereign stands as the Star of our realm to summon our loyalty
through her to God.
It is in this context that the will of the people truly will
be done, whereas the "democracy" that you espouse
is just a chimera and means of chicanery by which a worldly
despotism hopes to thrive at our expense."
|
SLASHING AGAIN THE GORDIAN KNOT
by Betty Luks
At this most holy time of the Christian calendar it is a time
for reflection on the eternal things, those things above the
physical, the material -- the things of the spirit, the foundation
of any community or society. In his study of ancient myths
and legends, The White Goddess, the poet Robert Graves
wrote an interesting footnote on the legend of the Gordian
master-knot, the truths within which are being played out
in the world today.
Gordium was in ancient Eastern Phrygia and according to local
tradition whoever untied the knot would become master of Asia.
Because of its position, Gordium commanded the main trade
route across Asia Minor from the Bosphorous to Antioch, so
that, the manifest meaning of the prophecy was that nobody
could rule Asia Minor who did not hold Gordium.
It was from Gordium that Alexander the Great began his Eastern
campaign which culminated in the defeat of Darius at Issus.
The Gordian knot should have been 'untied' by reading the
'divine' message it contained…but
Alexander who had not the learning, patience or ingenuity
to perform the task decently, used his sword.
By cutting the master-knot Alexander ended an ancient religious
dispensation, and since his act seemed to go unpunished -
he afterwards conquered the whole of the East as far as the
Indus Valley - it became a precedent for rating military power
above religion or learning; just as the sword of Brennus the
Gaul thrown into the scales that measured out the agreed tribute
of Roman gold, provided a precedent for rating military power
above justice or honour…..
March 2004: In the occupied land of the
Palestinian people, in the territory known as the 'Gaza-strip',
a wheel-chair bound elderly Muslim cleric, whilst being assisted
and escorted from a place of worship - a mosque - was blown
to pieces by a missile fired by an Israeli pilot from an American-built
Apache helicopter-gunship, on the orders of neo-Alexanderian-neanderthals.
|
PITY THE 'BLIND' MAN
As usual, the venom spills over on to
the pages and into his articles at anything which even remotely
reminds him of Christianity, or of that great patriotic Australian,
Eric Dudley Butler, and/or the Australian League of Rights:
"Passion at the forefront of religious bigotry",
by Phillip Adams, The Australian, 23rd March 2004.
First he takes Mel Gibson to task for daring to recoup 'squids
of money' from the venture.
Come on Phillip! Mel would have learned all the tricks of
the trade and the importance of publicity from his Hollywood
Jewish mentors and managers. Why is it alright for ones such
as the Abe Foxman's of this world to amass fortunes but not
for a Christian gentile such as Mel Gibson?
Anyway, the Jews who hate Jesus Christ just can't help themselves
- they are the ones who have brought the movie to the attention
of the public - and to Christians in particular - by continually
harping on it and criticising it. Their own actions gave it
such good publicity.
He complains the film contributes to
religious conflict, quoting David Denby of The New Yorker:
"Gibson's timing couldn't be more unfortunate: another
dose of death-haunted religious fanaticism is the last thing
we need."
Now that's a bit rich coming from the group who have churned
out 'holocaust-death-haunted-religious-fanaticism' movies
all these years!
He outrageously suggests that the story of the Crucifixion
"ties in to thousands of years of anti-semitism."
As the Jewish convert to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Steven
Greenhut, wrote (On Target 19th March 2004): "They (the
critics) are sounding increasingly bitter, increasingly desperate
given the success of the movie and their own irrelevance."
How does Stephen Greenhut's impression
of the film differ from Phillip Adams'?
Stephen wrote: "The beauty of the film, beyond the magnificent
imagery, fine acting and stunning photography, was the portrayal
of the key action of our faith as a real event. This, I suppose,
is a close portrayal of how the crucifixion and the hours
leading up to it took place. As such, I watched and wondered.
What would I have done?"
He noted: "I can't recall any similar effort to shut
down a movie, to destroy the reputation of a producer or to
associate a project with the vilest half-truths and innuendoes."
How snide and revealing are your comments
Phillip Adams!
Just to give his article the right finishing touches, he has
a go at Fred Tobin, Hutton Gibson and of course, Eric Butler.
But to continue with Stephen Greenhut:
"Because the Gospel story still matters. It still offends.
It still causes haters of the message to want to crucify,
albeit figuratively, the messenger."
Is this why Phillip Adams will never understand where Eric
Dudley Butler and the Australian League of Rights are coming
from? How can you explain to a blind man the Light of the
Sun?
|
SEEMS BUSH'S LITTLE 'MATE' IS IN TROUBLE
The electronic and print media are abuzz
with the news of John Howard's waning credibility in the minds
of many Australian people -- and his dwindling electoral stocks.
A new opinion poll has predicted a huge groundswell vote against
Howard in the federal elections due before Christmas, giving Labor
a lead of 10%, which, if eventually translated into the ballot
box ensures a route of Coalition members in the House of Representatives.
Howard has had a hugely damaging public brawl with the Chief of
the Federal Police, Bill Keelty, who earned respect and approval
from his fellow-Australian for his work in Bali after the terrorist
attack in 2002.
Keelty expressed the view that Australia was more vulnerable to
terrorist attack since its 'entry' into Iraq and the Madrid massacres.
Howard, unwisely, disputed his police chief's view and publicly
reprimanded him, but was forced into 'damage control' after many
people expressed outrage at the behaviour of the Prime Minister.
|
LABOR MEMBER SPEAKS OUT ON SALE OF TELSTRA
by Don Auchterlonie
Federal Member for McMillan, Christian Zahra spoke out against
the sale of Telstra during a recent debate in Parliament on the
'privatisation' of Telstra Bill.
Victorian activists should send the politician messages of support
and encouragement for the stand he is taking. Mr. Zahra says there
is no support in rural areas for the sale of Telstra.
He conducted his own survey of the rural areas of his electorate,
and over 12,000 people responded to him. Out of the 12,000 who
responded 10,079 thought the Telstra services would deteriorate
if the remaining shares were sold. Overwhelmingly, the people
said, "Do not sell the remaining shares of Telstra"
reported Mr. Zahra.
It was reported in the local paper he went on to denounce the
Nationals for failing to stand up for country areas. "The
Nationals have really sold out the interests of rural and regional
Australia," he said, "They have been a gutless mob."
|
THE CRIME COMMITTED IN OUR NAME
by John Pilger from LewRockwell.com.
22nd March 2004.
"The invasion of Iraq, which began one year ago today,
was 'organised with lies,' says the new Spanish Prime Minister.
Does anyone doubt this any more?
And yet these proven lies are still dominant in Australia.
Day after day, their perpetrators seek to obfuscate and justify
an unprovoked, illegal attack that killed up to 55,000 people,
including at least 10,000 civilians; that every month causes
the death and injury of 1000 children from exploding cluster
bombs; that has so saturated Iraqi towns and cities with uranium
that American and British soldiers are warned not to go where
Iraqi children play, for fear of contamination.
Set that carnage against the Madrid atrocity. Terrible though
that act of terrorism was, it was small compared with the
terrorism of the American-led 'coalition.' Yes, terrorism.
How strange it reads when it describes the actions of 'our'
governments. So saturated are we in the West in the devilry
of Third World tyrants (most of them the products of Western
imperialism) that we have lost all sense of the enormous crime
committed in our name.
This is not rhetoric. In 1946, the judges who tried the German
leadership at Nuremberg called the unprovoked invasion of
a sovereign country "the supreme international war crime."
That principle guided more than half a century of international
law, until Bush and Blair and Howard tore it up, covering
their actions with a litany of lies.
On February 4 last year, in a speech
lasting less than an hour, John Howard referred more than
30 times to the "threat" posed by Saddam Hussein.
He offered authoritative detail: that Iraq's "arsenal
of chemical and biological weapons (was) intact" and
was a "massive program." All of this was false.
Ray McGovern, one of the CIA's most senior analysts and a
personal friend of George Bush snr, told me: "It was
95 per cent charade. And they all knew it: Bush, Blair, Howard."
The true danger is where a rampant superpower will strike
next: watch out Korea, Syria, Iran, even China.
The genocidal embargo aided and abetted
by Australia
Set that truth against the present carnage in Iraq, and set
it against the wilful destruction that preceded it, which
was barely reported in Australia.
The UN's two senior officials in Iraq in the 1990s, Denis
Halliday and Hans Von Sponeck, both assistant secretaries-general
of the UN, have described in detail a "genocidal embargo"
imposed by America under a UN flag of convenience, aided and
abetted by Australia.
"Almost a million Iraqis died as a direct result,"
Halliday told me, "including at least half a million
children. The UNICEF studies are on the record. It was US
policy to destroy the infrastructure of Iraq, such as the
water supply, which killed thousands of infants. By the time
Bush invaded, a once prosperous country was a stricken nation."
In fact, UN records show that up to July 2002, more than $US5
billion worth of humanitarian aid, approved by the UN Security
Council and paid for by Iraq, was blocked by the US.
How many Australians are aware of this and Australia's complicity?
Howard sent RAN ships to police what
in reality was a medieval-style siege? Who dared listen to
Halliday and other distinguished witnesses that it was this
terrible siege that reinforced Saddam's rule and prevented
the Iraqi people from getting rid of him?
Framing national debate in terms and clichés of
mendacious power
All this has been suppressed in Australia while the latest
lies are channelled and amplified by journalists. I am not
referring to the usual far-right windbags but those broadcasters
who believe sincerely they are being objective; by constantly
framing the national debate in the terms and clichés
of mendacious power, they collude with it, censoring by omission.
Do they ever consider that the very notion of a 'war on terror'
is absurd when the power in Washington claiming to combat
terror has run an empire of terror: Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia,
Laos, Chile, El Salvador, Nicaragua and now Haiti, again?
By comparison al-Qaeda is a lethal flea. The true danger is
where a rampant superpower will strike next: watch out Korea,
Syria, Iran, even China.
As the prisoners begin to struggle home
from the American concentration camp at Guantanamo Bay, the
scale of the crime is emerging. We now know that the British
military command virtually refused to send troops to Iraq
until Blair gave them a guarantee they would not be prosecuted
by the International Criminal Court. Blair's guarantee was
worthless. And that frightens the British establishment, and
the Australian establishment, too.
Unlike the US, Britain and Australia are signatories to the
ICC.
The times are changing; Washington-manipulated
show trials of Third World dictators are giving way to the
promise of universal justice, however tenuous it may seem.
The dock awaits those Westerners who bring terrorism to faraway
countries, then watch it blow back in our faces. Like al-Qaeda,
they should not be allowed to get away with it."
John Pilger was born and educated in
Sydney, Australia. He has been a war correspondent, filmmaker
and playwright. Based in London, he has written from many
countries and has twice won British journalism's highest award,
that of "Journalist of the Year," for his work in
Vietnam and Cambodia. © John Pilger 2004, John Pilger
Archives.
|
BUSH SAYS 'GOD' CHOSE HIM TO LEAD NATION
by Barry Turner
The following article was taken from the Australian League
of Rights' sister publication the British On Target. The writer,
Barry Turner, is a former British Army officer. He has written
extensively on the horrendous circumstances and appalling
conditions the Iraqi people have had to suffer - and for which
much of the responsibility lies at the feet of western governments.
God in the service of George W. Bush
- some god!
The caption to a photograph published in The Independent
on Sunday 9th November, 2003 ran "a boy lies in hospital
after being severely injured by a cluster bomb near his Baghdad
home:
The covering article was headed "Allies resist call to
clear up lethal aftermath of war", and opened with: "The
British and U.S. governments have significantly watered down
efforts to create a legal obligation to clear up millions
of bombs in former war zones such as Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan
and Laos, aid agencies say".
In Iraq these were the innocent people
that the Coalition Forces "invaded" to liberate,
some 10,000 of whom perished. Countless more were maimed arid
injured in this relentless United States drive towards "democracy"
amongst the alien and historic cultures of the Middle East.
This, of course, does not include 1,000,000 innocent Iraqi
men, women and children who died as a result of the deliberate
destruction of the civilian infrastructure during the first
Gulf War in 1991, and a decade of unnecessarily draconian
sanctions driven by the United States and the United Kingdom
in the name of the United Nations.
It does not include a legacy of directly inflicted or American-sponsored
genocide elsewhere, in East Timor, Latin America and Indo
China.
Let us take just one view, from the United
States grass-roots, sent by one of our correspondents, in
the case of the contrived United States invasion of Panama
under President Bush the elder:
"Well you're better off taking chances on the "outside"
until this shit [Iraq, 2003] blows over. I was gonna re-up
[re-enlist] back in '88 but I had a feeling that Central America
would be calling me. Sure enough, a year after I got out Bush
1 sent my old unit to Panama. Trust me, from what my old cohorts
told me about that event you want nothing to do with a mess
like this! My old unit did perimeter duty on a civilian neighbourhood
that the air force fire-bombed. They burned down about 10
city blocks, elderly, kids, babies, everybody burned. If you
ever get a chance, go to a video store and rent a -movie called
"The Panama Deception". That tells the story
of what happened down there. . . . It was fun playing G.I.
Joe in peacetime, but it's sheer hell in war time!"
Those senior officers of the Armed Forces
who take up directorships in the Armaments Industry, those
who stroll dutifully to Christian church services at the weekend,
those senior civil servants who formulate our policies, those
off-shore bankers and tycoons who milk our economy, and the
economies of Third World countries they help to arm or "liberate",
those mothers who drive their children to school in well-upholstered
off-road four-wheel-drive vehicles during the week and many
others in the comfortably secure materialist environment of
Great Britain, (and Australia …ed) might well reflect
on precisely which god, or what kind of god, they have in
mind…?
|
ARISTIDE AND THE OPERATION 'ENDURING
SWEATSHOP'
Succinct summary of the US-fomented Haitian
coup d'etat. Excerpts from "Hidden from the Headlines"
a Haiti Action Committee pamphlet https://www.haitiaction.net/HidFrame.html
"The United States is attacking
Haiti's government and popular organizations not because Haiti
is a compliant partner, but precisely because it represents
an alternative to globalization and corporate domination.
Despite strong opposition from the business sector, on February
7, 2003, Aristide doubled the minimum wage from 36 to 70 gourdes
a day. This wage hike affects the more than 20,000 people
who work in Port-au-Prince assembly factories, which contract
with major U.S. corporations such as Wal-Mart and Disney.
In 1995, with near universal support from the Haitian people,
Aristide disbanded the Haitian military, perhaps the single
greatest advance in Haiti since independence. Clearing away
the prime historic instrument of state repression has allowed
the Haitian people to enjoy a level of freedom of speech and
assembly unprecedented in Haitian history.
When Aristide returned to Haiti in 1994,
U.S. officials expected that Haiti's public enterprises (the
telephone, company, electrical company, airport, port, three
banks, a cement factory and flourmill) would be quickly sold
to private corporations, preferably to U.S. multinationals
working in partnership with the Haitian elite. In the last
months of his first term as President, Aristide refused to
move forward with privatisation, calling instead for a national
dialogue on the issue. It was at this point that $550 million
in promised international aid stopped flowing.
Haiti is currently implementing a Universal
Schooling Program aimed at giving every child an education.
More schools were built in Haiti from 1994-2000 than between
1804 and 1994 - many in rural areas where no schools existed
previously.
These programmes represent a progressive agenda, initiated
under the most trying conditions. They give hope to the people
of Haiti, as demonstrated by the massive popular support that
continues to be manifested for the Aristide government. And
they are the reason that the United States government has
targeted the government of Haiti.
The Short Answer - Aristide
1. Doubled the minimum wage
2. Dismantled the military
3. Built schools
4. Opposed privatisation
5. Won elections
US interests are
1. Economic: Secure Haiti as cheap labour source for US multinationals'
sweatshop suppliers
2. Political, or The Mafia Don principle: demonstrate to other
leaders in the region what happens when you defy the US agenda
(a special delivery on that message to Chavez in Venezuela)
3. Strategic: Create a Haitian military that will operate
as US proxy so that #1 will happen and #2 will not be necessary
again.
Summary
Aristide symbolised the popular resistance to the US neoliberal
agenda in Haiti and the region. Haitian neoliberals, representing
the sweatshop owning class, could not win democratic elections,
due to the strength of the popular movement led by Aristide.
The US created the "Contra" force to invade and
destabilise Aristide's government, and then sent in the US
Marines to remove him. Now they will install the sweatshop
owners as puppet government, assassinate the leaders of the
Lavalas movement, and re-establish the Haitian military to
protect the interests of US multinationals and the sweatshop
owners in maintaining Haiti as a cheap labor assembly production
site.
|
URGENT SUBMISSIONS FOR SENATE ENQUIRY
INTO REPUBLIC
from Phillip Benwell, Australian Monarchist
League
There are only a few days to the close of submissions for the
Senate Inquiry into a Republic. As of the 21st March, only 110
submissions have been posted onto the Senate web-site. Admittedly
it is ten days since they have posted submissions, but 110 submissions,
of which approximately half are negative to the Inquiry is not
enough to make the sort of impact we need. If you have not yet
written your submission, may I urge you to do so saying in your
own words:
NO to any plebiscites. They are contrary to our Constitution and
should not be used to upset a Referendum result with which Senators
are not in agreement.
NO to a further Referendum on constitutional change. After all
it is just over four years since the last exhaustive debate and
Referendum of 1999.
NO to a republic. This is not an issue with the people. Using
polls of 1200 people is not sufficient to warrant such a large
expenditure by the Senate on this Inquiry.
Submissions can be emailed as follows: The Secretary, Senate Legal
and Constitutional References Committee, Parliament House, CANBERRA
ACT 2600. Phone: 6277 3560 Fax: (02) 6277 5794 Email: legcon.sen@aph.gov.au
|
BASIC FUND
The Basic Fund figure has risen to $18,614.60
- that's very encouraging. Although it would be such a load off
our minds if we could have a rush of contributions which would
bring us up closer to the target for this financial year. Please
consider contributing to the fund. The League works with a very
moderate basic fund, but it does need to fill it each year. |
ADELAIDE CONSERVATIVE SPEAKERS' CLUB
The next gathering of the CSC will be held
on Monday 5th April, 2004 at the Public Schools' club, 207 East
Terrace (cnr. Carrington) Adelaide. A two-course Dinner, $18 per
person, will be served from approx. 6.30pm. Guest speaker on "Sex
Education in the Schools", is Mr. David d'Lima, J.P., B.Th.,
Dip. Ed. David, a member of Festival of Light, has served in a
full-time 'faith' capacity since 1994.
Children in South Australian State Schools have been exposed to
morally bankrupt sex education for many years. But in 2003 a far
worse attack upon their welfare surfaced when 15 State Schools
began trialling the controversial "Share" sex education
curriculum. David will reveal why many parents were outraged by
the package and why the Labor Government has been forced to reconsider
its approach.
Bookings to be in by Thursday 1st April by phoning: 8296 4704.
The message will be taped by the Mayo Tape Library as usual. Readers
of On Target can obtain a copy of the address by ordering from
Mayo Tapes, Box 6, Hahndorf, South Australia 5245. |
BOOKS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMON LAW
"Magna Carta" - Its
continuing importance in our lives today. Price$ 8.00 posted
"The Making of Magna Carta"
- Price S8.00 posted
"The Father of Lies"
- by Arthur Chresby. Price $5.00 posted
"Towards Better Government"
- An excellent booklet for understanding common law and how
common law is an integral part of our Constitution and law
today, in other words RIGHT NOW!
Excerpt: The Magna Charta 1225, which is still valid today
and is the hallmark of our freedom and liberties, states:
"No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or be disseised
of his freehold, or liberties, or free customs or be outlawed,
or exiled, or any otherwise destroyed, nor will we not pass
upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgement of his
peers, or by the law of the land. We will sell to no man,
we will not deny or defer to any man either justice or right.
Price $8.00 posted
"The Westminster Tradition and
Australia" - The parliamentary democratic system
inherited from Britain by Leslie R. Marchant. Price S20.00
posted
"The Australian Heritage Series"
- Three excellent essays by Canon Arthur Fellows, Dr. David
Mitchell and Dr. Geoffrey Dobbs. Price $8.00 posted
"The Essential Christian Heritage"
- Magna Carta - Individual Sovereignty - English Common Law
- Charity - Representative Government -Personal Responsibility
by Eric D. Butler. Price $3.50 posted.
|
