Archive - 2004

Balkans: Local Courts Currently Unprepared to Try War Crimes
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/10/14/croati9500.htm

With the intensity of the Australian election and other committments I have only fleetingly watched parts of Friday night's presidential Mass Debate II and Wednesday night's Mass Debate III, which ended about ninety minutes ago. Bush had clearly improved on his horrendous performance in MD1, even make a joke about scowling during MD2.

Egypt/Israel: Attacks on Civilians Are Unjustifiable Crimes
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/10/12/egypt9497.htm

Statue of Columbus Toppled in Caracas, Venezuela; Solidarity Actions World-wide
http://www.indymedia.org/or/2004/10/112106.shtml

Funeral of fair Australia
http://www.indymedia.org/or/2004/10/112114.shtml

Corporate Media / Indymedia
http://www.indymedia.org/or/2004/10/112116.shtml

On this day, 13 October 2000, Open Office was born. I switched from Microsoft Office to the open source productivity suite in April of this year, and can highly recommend it.

This is the press release issued by OpenOffice.org today:

The Liberal Party Old Boys Club has found gainful employment for another early retiree. Richard Alston is set to become chairman of Broadcasting Services Australia Ltd.

One year on, UN takes up Greenpeace Iraq warnings
http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/news/details?item_id=613590

U.S.: Gov. Schwarzenegger backs away from Commitment to Prison Reform
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/10/04/usdom9483.htm
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger squandered a critical opportunity to reform California?s troubled prison system when he vetoed two prison bills this month, Human Rights Watch said today.

October 12, 10:54 pm.
http://www.empirenotes.org/#12oct041
October 12, 10:54 pm. A few weeks ago, I posted about the "Fallujah Bombing Massacre" Video. The original link to the video is outdated, but you can find it here. This video has been going around the world and the Pentagon has confirmed that it is genuine. It was one of the subjects of CNN's Newsnight with Aaron Brown yesterday. Here's part of the transcript: We begin in Iraq with a rare look at ...

Maintain your rage and enthusiasm through the campaign for the election now to be held and until polling day.

- Edward Gough Whitlam, 11 November 1975

I probably haven't been as deflated about a federal election result since Gough was kicked out of office and then beaten in a landslide 29 years ago. I was too young to vote then. I made my federal election debut in 1977 and the result wasn't much closer. 1980 was a lost cause summed up in two words, "Bill" and "Hayden". 1983 was a fantastic occasion, Bob Hawke taking the Labor Party to victory and Malcolm Fraser losing control of his lower lip during his concession speech. 1984, 1987, 1990 were victories, close, but still won by Hawke. 1993 looked doomed to be the end of the Labor reign, until John Hewson tried to explain GST to Mike Willesee: