It was announced in the 2008 Federal Budget for Australia that the Labor Rudd Government will abolish all Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) and process them as full permanent visas.
From the minister for Immigration, Senator Chris Evans Read more »
It was announced in the 2008 Federal Budget for Australia that the Labor Rudd Government will abolish all Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) and process them as full permanent visas.
From the minister for Immigration, Senator Chris Evans Read more »
Google shareholders, on the request of the board of Google, have rejected two proposals that would compelled Google to follow more stringent human rights policies in places such as China. 1
Google provides the people of China with a censored version of the popular search engine due to the request of the Chinese government. Read more »
According to a US official, Sami al-Hajj is a manipulator and a propagandist trying to garner public sympathy for the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. 1Al Jazeera stated that Read more »
Amnesty International UK, has sent me another really good cartoon which I am posting here for your viewing pleasure.Enjoy!- Beju - Read more »
The former Guantanamo Bay chief prosecutor, Colonel Moe Davis, who was in charge when David Hicks was before the military commission on charges of providing material support for terrorism, has spoke out about the ongoing affairs at Guantanamo Bay. 1 Read more »
Amnesty’s got a new viral film about waterboarding torture out today.The film's an accurate recreation of what waterboarding torture (partially drowning a prisoner) is really like. It starts out looking like an advert for bottled water or vodka ... but then turns nasty. Read more »
China has won gold again in its most successful event, executing people. Read more »
Well, looks like I've been made to look like a fool. But, I am more than happy to be made a fool when I expect nothing and get a welcome surprise like in this situation. Read more »
Despite shooting 17 innocent Iraqi civilians last year in one incident, the US private security firm, Blackwater, has had it's contract renewed by the US government.After the incident, the US installed Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Al-Maliki, setup an investigation and concluded that Blackwater had no right to shoot the civilians because there was no grounds for them to fire. 1 Read more »
Hey everyone,I have decided to make a few changes to the blog. The layout and design will be changing shortly (hopefully), and today and I have finally registered a domain for the site.You can now change your bookmarks to:http://www.counteractnow.com/although the old URL will still work. Thanks Google :)The RSS feed should still be the same:http://feeds.feedburner.com/CounteractNow Read more »
The US troop death toll in Iraq has ticked over to 4000 just days after the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war with a further 29,000 reportedly been wounded in the conflict 1. Read more »
After 11 years of a Howard administration in Australia where human rights were a novelty, it comes as a big surprise to me to see the senate of Australia vote with the support of the Rudd government that human rights are sovereign and that the international media should be allowed to report on issues in countries under the control of China. 1 Read more »
Former Prime Minister John Howard simply does not get it. He was absolutely humiliated and kicked out of government. Yet, this is not enough for John Howard to realise that what he stood for and the policies that he created were utterly rejected by the Australian people.From ABC Read more »
Wired has posted some new photos from Abu Ghraib. Please note that the photos in the link below are quite graphic and grusome. Viewer discretion is advised.From the Wired website.
MONTEREY, California -- Psychologist Philip Zimbardo has seen good people turn evil, and he thinks he knows why. Read more »
Its Counteract Now's first birthday! I can't believe it has been a whole year of me venting my anger and frustration out on the world. All 152 posts of them! Good times.I would like to thank everyone who has read this blog, and a special thank you to all those regular readers who have signed on to the RSS and email mailing lists to the site.I would still like to have some other contributors post on the site. Everyone these days is "too busy". That hasn't stopped me yet! I promised myself I wouldn't go back into that mode of just being blase about issues. Read more »
For anyone who missed Four Corners tonight, please go to the Four Corners website and have a look. It is basically the only time politicians can be honest, once they are about to retire or are trying to distance themselves from a disastrous loss in the recent election. Everyone from Costello, Downer, Abbott, Hockey, McLachlan all ripping on the former Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard. Classic watching! Read more »
US President, George W Bush, is set to veto a bill passed by the US Congress which prevents the CIA from using harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding.White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said
The President will veto that Bill...The United States needs the ability to interrogate effectively, within the law, captured al-Qaeda terrorists. Read more »
Doug Goodyear, the Republican convention chief for the 2008 presidential convention for John McCain has been forced to resign after it was revealed that he was a public relations man for the military junta in Burma. 1 Read more »
With Burma being hit by a cyclone, killing hundreds of thousands, it is pleasing to see that tax deductible donations are on the increase in Australia.In the 2005 - 2006 financial year, the Queensland University of Technology has found that Australians donated tax deductible gifts worth $1.5 billion. 1 Read more »
After more than 6 years of being detained at Guantanamo Bay, Sami al-Hajj, who is a cameraman working for Al Jazeera has finally been released.Sami al-Hajj was never charged with anything, but his passport was flagged by the Pakistan authorities for ties with Al Qaeda. Even though Sami al-Hajj had flagged that the passport flagged had been stolen previously, this did not stop the US led coalition from detaining Sami al-Hajj and imprisoning him for over 6 years at Guantanamo Bay without charge and without trial. Read more »
Federal opposition leader, Brendon Nelson has defended the leader of the Liberal party in Western Australia, Troy Buswell, after he admitted to sniffing the chair of a female staff employee in 2005. 1This comes on the back of Troy Buswell's admission in the past that he snapped the bra of a Labor party employee and made inappropriate comments.Brendon Nelson stated that Read more »
US Democratic presidential hopeful, Senator Hillary Clinton, has vowed to obliterate Iran if Iran attacks Israel while she is the President of the United States.When asked on ABC News what she would do if Iran launched a nuclear attack against Israel, Ms Clinton stated Read more »
Since last Monday, the mainstream media has been utterly condemning the 2020 summit that Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, initiated and of course today (the day after), the media has been at it again, blasting the summit as nothing more than a talkfest or rhetoric which is not going to do anything. Read more »
The more things change, the more they stay the same.I'm sure I don't have to inform many readers of Counteract Now about what was posted in the news today, but for those unaware, the Australian government wants to give Australian employers the power to read their employees email to prevent a terrorist attack. 1 Read more »
The PNC Financial Services Group has awarded $50,000 USD to John Howard for good economic management, industrial relations, and for his Iraq/Afghanistan war policies and no, I am NOT making this up. 1 Read more »
Who would have thought that I could find such a great left wing website via a News Corporation publication like The Advertiser? Maybe the times are a changing? Hehehe.Over at Chomskys War I found a great video clip about a controversial book called Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed--and How to Stop It by Rachel Ehrenfeld. Read more »
When I read the headline at news.com.au of "Australia to be global activist - Rudd", and knowing that Kevin Rudd is about to go on a whirlwind tour around the world talking with world leaders including China, that human rights will be getting a mention. Read more »
Wired is reporting that the FBI between 2003 and 2005 demanded that phone companies hand over thousands of phone records which led to the FBI being forced to cover up their actions in 2006 with 11 blanket retroactive subpoenas.From Wired Read more »
Just like Burma, Tibet is making a stance against the Chinese controlled government which is suppressing their freedoms. Read more »
Vanity Fair magazine has reported that they have discovered documents which point to the US administration arming the opposition Fatah movement in order for them to take back control of the democratically elected Hamas party.US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, did not deny the report and stated that Read more »
With the summer Olympic games coming up this year, and the seemingly non stop barrage of criticism about China's human rights record (including from Stephen Spielberg), China has looked to resume talks with the United States about human rights. Read more »
So there is no conflict of interest, Dr. Michael Schiavone, who is the author of the book Unions In Crisis?: The Future of Organized Labor in America is my brother. Read more »
South Australia has always been ahead of other states and territories in Australia when it comes to being environmentally friendly. South Australia has less than 8 percent of the overall population of Australia, but produces 50 percent of the wind and solar power of the country. Read more »
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