Tensions grow again in Gaza with Israeli official reports of “attack tunnels” being repaired by Hamas, and calls for EU troop deployment in the region. Countless tunnels have been dug under Gaza, often with bare hands, to smuggle food, medicine, gas, building materials and other items, all of which remain scarce since the enclave was “put on a diet”.

Water too, of the drinking variety, has been in direly short supply, with access limited to a few hours a week. That there has been a long-term need for “smuggling tunnels” is supported by the medical reports of Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert, who noted back in 2009 that one child in three had stunted growth, due to prolonged malnutrition and starvation. He stated:

“As a result of the Israeli siege, there has been widespread development of anaemia among children and women due to malnutrition as a result of siege and poverty. Stunting, where a child is more than two standard deviations shorter than what it should be, is sharply on the rise. In 2006, around 13.5 percent of children were stunted. In 2009, 31.4 percent under age two were stunted.

In other words, every third child is less developed than he or she should be. And stunting does not only affect growth. It also affects brain development and the ability to learn. This is a direct consequence of malnutrition.

Remember, this is not caused by drought or natural disasters, but a deliberate, man-made lack of food and water, imposed, planned, and executed in the most detailed way by the Israeli government. They even calculate how many calories to let in to Gaza to avoid outright starvation, but to “just” cause malnutrition since that goes under the radar of human rights abuses.”

Antony Loewenstein on Gaza at Politics in the Pub

According to Antony Loewenstein, in a recent talk at ‘Politics in the Pub’ in Sydney, and Noam Chomsky on numerous occasions, liberal Zionists and the younger generation have become increasingly uncomfortable with the actions of the Israeli State and its US backers.

There has been little dispute that Gaza’s tunnels leading into Egypt are for the purpose of smuggling live-saving supplies. Whether those that lead to Israel are for the purpose of attacking Israelis “in their beds” is questionable.

May 18, 2014.
50,000 people have just rallied across Australia to protest the Abbott Government’s extreme Budget cuts and levies. It appears that all three of the other major Parties have been shocked into contemplating an Alliance to block the Budget and remove the government, whose choices have almost exclusively threatened the country’s most vulnerable: the young, the old, the sick, the poor, students, Aboriginals, refugees and the environment. While claiming a “debt emergency” that is negligible in relation to nearly every country in the world, the Abbott Government may also have threatened our Pacific neighbours, with the extravagant purchase of 58 F35 jet fighters to the tune of $12.4 Billion dollars.

50000 Australians came out to say NO MORE to an Abbott Government

The other Parties are also highly concerned by the Government’s break-neck efforts over the last 10 months, to dismantle 76 Government Departments, including the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Science. The Abbott Government has also intimidated and now slashed funds to the National Broadcasters, and Public Servants face dismissal, if they criticise their Government’s harsh treatment of refugees.

Tony Abbott (locally referred to as “The Mad Monk”) has also nominated himself as the Minister for Women and restored peerage (Knights and Dames), allegedly without ER’s signature on the Letters Patent. The Australian people may have been fooled by the Murdoch press into voting for this man, but they know now that they did not vote for their entire society to be over-turned, and the PM’s popularity has dropped dramatically since his election.

If enough pressure comes from voters to unite the other major Parties into alliance, they will indeed have the power to remove the Mad Monk in time for a “No Bah Humbug!” Christmas.

The speaker here is the celebrated Australian writer and journalist, Antony Loewenstein. He warns that the cruelty to refugees has been a result of bipartisan manoeuvres, and calls for a complete change of attitude from Federal Labor towards asylum-seekers. They opened the off-shore camps, and they must propose to close them again, and free the refugees, before they can expect public trust again.

Antony Loewenstein, author of 'Vulture Capitalism' speaks out for Australia's refugees

Legendary Australian journalist and writer Antony Loewenstein interviews Alexa D. O’Brien the evening after her appearance at the Sydney Opera House with Julian Assange, Glenn Greenwald and Robert Manne. Thanks goes to SAWC Sydney for bringing Alexa & Antony to the table; to Antony for his pointed questions (Part 1); and to Alexa for answering ours (Part 2).

Alexa D. O’Brien has become known as a “one-woman court record system” for her extensive coverage of whistleblower Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning’s trial. Alexa has also covered the WikiLeaks release of US State Department Cables, the Guantanamo Files, the global “war on terror” and the Arab Spring. In 2011 Alexa founded the US Day of Rage, a movement for democratic reform which precipitated Occupy Wall Street. She also played a key role in the lawsuit brought by Noam Chomsky and others against the indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA.

Alexa D. O'Brien: 'One woman record system' for the Military Court that tried Chelsea Manning