On 29 January 2003, Mary Kelly, a 50 year-old Irish nurse, climbed a fence in broad daylight at Shannon airport in the west of the Republic of Ireland and 'disarmed' a US Navy warplane with an axe. "Fully aware of the consequences" — up to 10 years' imprisonment — the mother-of-four 'smashed' the plane's nose-cone […]
Shannonwatch is a non-governmental organisation established to monitor the use of an Irish civilian airport by foreign military. These plane-spotting peace and human rights activists conduct "continuous monitoring of all military flights and rendition-linked flights in and out of Shannon [Airport] and through Irish airspace," many of them occurring in the dead of night. Shannonwatch […]
Tonight's post will be brief — just a quote — in honour of the victims of the Christchurch earthquake (pictured) and all who suffered in the recent floods and fires in Australia. These all may have been caused by climate change. "All across the world, in every kind of environment and region known to man […]
I write to you from Australia, where an area bigger than Germany and France combined is under water. Filthy, noxious water and mud. Three-quarters of Queensland has been declared a disaster zone – that’s a disaster twice the size of Texas. In a small town called Grantham, west of Brisbane, buildings were not so much filled […]
US psychologists concerned about the treatment of alleged Wikileaker 23 year-old Bradley Manning have written an open letter to the US Secretary of Defense. They describe the conditions in which he has been held since July 2010: "in solitary confinement … in his cell for approximately 23 hours a day, a cell approximately 6 feet […]
On Human Rights Day this year, the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission continued its tradition of hosting an oration in Melbourne. This year's guest speaker was award-winning journalist, author and political and social commentator David Marr and his topic: "Does Australia really give a damn about rights?" In a delightful coincidence, Federation Square […]
Tomorrow's election in Burma will have very little to do with democracy. Human Rights Watch says: "Only two parties will field candidates for almost every open seat: the military-backed party and the pro-military former Burmese socialist party. Political parties not aligned with the military report that they’re being prevented from campaigning. … Opposition to military […]
Long overdue, 2 important steps have been taken this year to formalise the human right to water. In July, the UN General Assembly declared that safe and clean drinking water and sanitation constitute a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. Although no-one voted against the motion, 41 […]
As one of the most loyal members of the 'Coalition of the Willing,' Australia has been involved in the present war in Afghanistan for nearly a decade. Under the Australian Constitution, the Prime Minister can declare war without the endorsement of parliament. Bush's 'deputy sheriff' in the Antipodes, Prime Minister John Howard, committed Australia to […]
You could hardly ask for a more peaceful protest. Last year 14 anti-war demonstrators walked onto Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, USA, seeking to hand-deliver a letter protesting the use of drones. Drones — known in military jargon as 'unmanned aerial vehicles' — are miniature flying machines with no pilot or crew on board […]
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