Tag: Injustice

America's Shame

Vijay Prashad: The No-Rules International Order

The U.S. government was enraged. On June 11, 2020, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13928, which authorised his government to freeze ICC officials’ assets and ban them and their families from entering the United States.

In September 2020, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Bensouda, a national of Gambia, and senior ICC diplomat Phakiso Mochochoko, a national of Lesotho. The American Bar Association condemned these sanctions, but they were not revoked.

The U.S. government eventually repealed the sanctions in April 2021, after Bensouda left her post and was replaced by the British lawyer Karim Khan in February 2021.

In September 2021, ICC Prosecutor Khan said that while his office would continue to investigate war crimes by the Taliban and the Islamic State in Afghanistan, it would “deprioritise other aspects of this investigation.”

This awkward phrasing simply meant that the ICC would no longer investigate war crimes committed by the United States and its allies from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The ICC had been sufficiently brought to heel.

Source: Vijay Prashad: The No-Rules International Order

Injustice, Justice

Sofronoff Inquiry failed to question rogue Lehrmann juror

The Sofronoff Inquiry’s failure to address the juror who caused the Lehrmann rape trial to be aborted raises questions about the A.C.T. legal system, writes Paul Begley.

Source: Sofronoff Inquiry failed to question rogue Lehrmann juror

Justice

Pell and Lehrmann trial verdicts have shaken public confidence

Conclusions to the trials of both George Pell and Bruce Lehrmann have increased the public’s distrust in our legal system, writes Paul Begley.

Source: Pell and Lehrmann trial verdicts have shaken public confidence

Justice

Brittany Higgins looks to fresh legal action after trial dropped

Fighting the System is far more effective than simply another case heard and judged.

Brittany Higgins has vowed to fight for a better justice system after reports she plans to launch a compensation claim against her former employer and a Coalition minister.

Source: Brittany Higgins looks to fresh legal action after trial dropped

Justice

Higgins’ story sparks reform conversation – Michael West

A prosecutor’s decision to drop charges against the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins in a parliamentary office has sparked calls for changes to how the justice system supports complainants.

Source: Higgins’ story sparks reform conversation – Michael West

Justice

Victorian sentencing laws force ‘injustice’ say judges

The judges described mandatory minimum sentences as wrong in principle, particularly given it wasn’t open to courts to consider sentencing options outside of jail.

They required judges to be instruments of injustice, imprisoning people when not warranted, and inflicting more severe punishment than a proper application of a sentencing principle could justify.

“This blunt, oppressive sentencing regime is contrary to the public interest and incompatible with modern sentencing jurisprudence,” they said in a judgment published on Thursday.

Victorian appeal judges have derided the state’s mandatory sentencing laws, saying they force them to be “instruments of injustice”.

Source: Victorian sentencing laws force ‘injustice’ say judges

Informed Comment, LNP, LNP Corruption, LNP Government

Crown v Shannon: bigwigs off the hook, small fish fried – Michael West Media

ASIC, Crown Resorts

This isn’t splashed across the front pages of our MSM why? It certainly however indicates their right-wing, top-down propaganda bias. Morrison’s promised ICAC has been discarded and a stained promise remains. Australia’s international corruption index has blown out and the pigs are ripping the guts out of everything that remains. Super and wage theft have been gouged, while workers and their families have lost billions. $8 companies were given contracts that now values them at $340M. Mates have jobs doing sweet FA and earn $600K and grants well we saw the grants they came and went in some cases like Bridget McKenzie.

Nine years ago we were voted best economy on the planet and our Treasurer then voted the world’s best and we had just faced the GFC and won governed by the Gillard ALP. Bills were passedbut then along came 9 years of listening to “nope nope nope” of LNP government with Frydenberg still telling us we are the worlds best economy when the world says we are not.

Our privately owned MSM Murdoch the largest is proving to be the Australian equivalent of Russian State Media a propaganda machine loved by Putin. It might well be criticizing Scott Morrison but it sure as hell isn’t criticizing the L-NP for dragging this country down economically or reputationally on every social metric. They are after all the worlds best promisers who do nothing and when and if they do it’s so late its a useless token gesture. Yes Morrison promises to make the NBN the best in the world and liberate Christians from discrimination. What criticism there is in our MSM, is minimal and isn’t calling for a necessary change of government. Quite the opposite in fact, they are still branded the best economic managers by corporate Australia while government debt blew out to almost $1Tr and filled the pockets of their donors. The truth is staring us in the face. Are we better off under a Morrison/LNP than we were under a Gillard lead ALP?  Is our material Economy, Health, Education, Wealth, Housing and Welfare better? Have Corruption, Broken Promises, Discrimination, Racism, and Climate action improved? Let’s be the honest judges and not simply accept the word of the worlds worst salesman!

One guy prosecuted for allegedly running a company while bankrupt, ten Crown directors off scot free for washing $70bn through casinos for Chinese Triads, drug and sex traffickers and other assorted criminals. One rule for rich and powerful, another for the rest. Michael West reports on the world of deluxe double standards.

Source: Crown v Shannon: bigwigs off the hook, small fish fried – Michael West Media

Australia's Shame, Uncategorized

No, Australia is not the US. Our shocking racial injustice is all our own | Greg Jericho | Business | The Guardian

Blak Lives Matter protest

via No, Australia is not the US. Our shocking racial injustice is all our own | Greg Jericho | Business | The Guardian

Trumpland Revealed, Uncategorized

The Manafort Sentence Is a Lesson in White Privilege | The Nation

Paul Manafort 2018

The sentence handed down by Judge T.S. Ellis to Paul Manafort is shockingly light. Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman was convicted of various financial crimes and could have ended up with 25 years in prison. Instead, Judge Ellis sentenced him to 47 months. To add insult to the overall injury, Ellis opined that Manafort had lived “an otherwise blameless life” as part of the justification for the light sentence.

Judge Ellis handed down a fundamentally biased sentence. Law Twitter is right about that, and rightly inflamed. Ellis is the same judge who gave former Louisiana congressman Bill Jefferson a 13-year sentence following conviction on corruption charges. It’s the longest sentence ever handed out to a member of Congress. (Jefferson was released after serving only four years, when Ellis accepted a Jefferson plea deal in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in McDonnell v. United States, which redefined our understanding of bribery of public officials.) This seems like a good time to mention that Jefferson is an African American while Manafort is an otherwise blameless white man.

via The Manafort Sentence Is a Lesson in White Privilege | The Nation

Israel

The danger of ignoring Arab opinion: 100 years since Balfour | +972 Magazine

Palestinian men carry black flags at a protest marking 100 years since the Balfour Declaration outside the British Consulate in East Jerusalem, November 2, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Lord Balfour, for one, sharply rejected the Wilsonian approach. “In Palestine,” he declared, “we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country, though the American commission has. [. . .] Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is…of far profounder import than the desire and prejudices of the 700,000 Arabs who now inhabit that ancient land.”

In the end, Lord Balfour had his way. Instead of independence, boundaries were drawn, dismembering the Arab East and creating British and French spheres of influence over the newly created states of Lebanon and Syria (France) and trans-Jordan and Iraq (Britain) as well as Palestine (also to the British, with the understanding that it would become the “Jewish Homeland”).

And so, the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration is not cause for celebration. Rather it should prompt us to recall the grave injustice that imperial acquisitiveness and racist insensitivity have done to an innocent Arab nation. Their rights and opinions were ignored and as a result the last 100 years have been marked by unceasing conflict and suffering. This is the shame of Balfour.

via The danger of ignoring Arab opinion: 100 years since Balfour | +972 Magazine

Israel, Israel Crimes

Israelis must speak up about the injustices here, and the world must listen | +972 Magazine

The world is not against us — rather, it is at best indifferent to the oppression of Palestinians, and at worst colludes in it, which is why Israelis must inform decent people about what is happening here. I was invited to attend a series of meetings organized by French activists that were held this week. The participants were involved in Palestine solidarity work, some of them with longstanding ties to Palestinian communities. Several visit Israel-Palestine on occasion, and assist however they can from afar. [tmwinpost] And yes, they are ardent supporters of all forms of non-violent struggle, particularly boycott. Every year, at…

Source: Israelis must speak up about the injustices here, and the world must listen | +972 Magazine

Indigenous Australia

The Indefinite Detention Without Trial Of Aboriginal People – New Matilda

The uprising in Kalgoorlie was a cry for reform of a failing justice system, writes Michael Brull. Some readers have responded sceptically to Chris Graham’s analysis of the Kalgoorlie uprising, and the many injustices Aboriginal people have faced in the criminal justice system. In theory, some of their reservations have some validity. It is trueMore

Source: The Indefinite Detention Without Trial Of Aboriginal People – New Matilda

Israel

Palestinian prisoner placed in admin. detention — after serving 15 years | +972 Magazine

Bilal Kayed was supposed to be released from Israeli prison after serving a nearly 15-year sentence. Instead, he was placed under indefinite detention without charges or trial. Photos and text by Ahmad al-Bazz/Activestills.org Palestinian prisoner Bilal Kayed was meant to be released from Israeli prison on Monday after serving 14.5 years. Instead Israeli military authorities decided to put him in administrative detention for a period of six months, which means he will be held indefinitely without charge or trial. [tmwinpost] On Tuesday dozens of Palestinians took part in a solidarity protest in the West Bank city of Nablus. Kayed’s detention came as a…

Source: Palestinian prisoner placed in admin. detention — after serving 15 years | +972 Magazine

Labour, Uncategorized

While watching farm employers pocket thousands of dollars at the expense of foreign labour was demoralising, I found it even more degrading to bear sexual harassment on a daily basis. This system must change.

From sexual harassment to being underpaid – I’ve seen how the work-for-visa system is broken

Police Accoutability, USA

137 shots, no justice: Cleveland protests as another cop goes free – Would the judgement be the same if 2 black cops pumped 137 shots into 2 unarmed white men?

137 shots, no justice: Cleveland protests as another cop goes free

137 shots, no justice: Cleveland protests as another cop goes free – Salon.com.

Thomas Picketty

New Thoughts on Capital in the 21st Century
Australia's Shame, Injustice

Not left Not Right No Voice in a MSM World of Newscorp Commentators. Increased ADF & Security Budget Feels Orwellian to me

Why do we march against the Abbott Government? Admittedly marching will not change the government or the government’s ideology, but it will help to raise awareness of important issues and get people thinking.

I had seen the media bias and I had seen the damage this bias had caused; both at a personal level and towards our national psyche. I knew that we could never rely on the media to support our cause. Newscorp has 70% control of our MSM print distribution. It’s as if we are Foxtel controlled. Even when 100,000 march the MSM ignore the fact. Strange that it goes unnoticed.

This a great country no doubt but it does have some great inequalities and injustices. March Australia is not aligned with any political party, its grassroots and calling for decency, transparency and accountability in government.

What happened to understanding and education on issues, instead of judgement and fear? It is mind-boggling to have an election based around  slogans ‘stop the boats’ and ‘axe the tax’ and now ‘terror alert’. It really gives us sense of an Orwellian world more so when $650 mill is to be directed at ‘national security’ and the ADF budget is increased while welfare is to be axed.  $650mill ‘to keep us safe’ . It’s a very ominous sound bite if you ask who is the ‘us’,’  and from ‘whom’ employing increased surveillance,hardware and policing will lead to arrests just to substantiate these decisions.

Are Australian’s really so concerned about a small amount of asylum seekers that wouldn’t even fill a small stadium ? Especially since most asylum seekers come by plane? Do we ever hear ‘stop the planes’? The majority of boat people are found to be genuine refugees. It even says so on the parliamentary website. Why pander to people’s fear and ignorance for cynical political gain. It’s What about ‘stop the ignorance’ and ‘stop the fear mongering’ ‘attend the issue’? Using words like ‘leaners’ and ‘illegals’ ‘radical’ does nothing to help people understand the situation. Why not tell people that ‘it is not illegal to seek asylum,in Australia whether by boat, plane or any other.

Labeling people as ‘leaners’ creates unnecessary stigma and actually demoralises people. Particularly when the majority don’t want to be on welfare. 15% youth unemployment isn’t solved by heavy-handed supervision it’s about creating  jobs and opportunity. Youth radicalization comes with demoralization of people who need to be energized and inspired by hope and opportunity.

It’s why 100,000 March for Australia