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Libya had the highest standard of living in the entire Africa.

It tried to transform the country by using huge underground water aquifers by building an enormous water infrastructure -- first to be destroyed by NATO bombing -- itself a major war crime and among many country tragedies.

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In today's Libya, it is a death penalty offense to say things were better under Ghadafi.

If things then were so bad mandating a humanitarian attack, why would such a law be necessary? I mean, there's no law forbidding black people from saying things were better under slavery, but anyone who said such a goofy thing would be treated as a nutcase at best.

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In Australia we have a Senator called Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (the middle name alerts us that she has First Nations ancestry) who at the national Press Club this past week stated, in her opinion that there was no intergenerational trauma for Australia's Indigenous people (against all the evidence of Stolen Generations and in-built racist policies concerning policing (#BLM) and imprisonment). No, she said, glibly, in horrific fashion, to the broad smiles of many of that gathering - why, we now have running water and food (on demand - implying in shops). One wonders how this nation's people dating back over 60,000 years could possibly have lived without tap-water and shops? Ignorance - and currently encouraged by the political rightwing racists still wanting to cling onto control over First Australians as we head to a national referendum next month to say yes to recognition of First Australians in the Constitution and permit the national parliament to set up an advisory body of First Australians to offer counsel to the Parliament on all legislation affecting First Australians. The vast majority of First Australians in support - but not Ms Price - pushed forward in front of her rightwinger politicians to be their spokesperson. Ugly stuff.

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She doesnтАЩt know that on Sunday white settlers would ride out - for hunting -- killing native Australians for entertainment...

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That Warren Mundine might support the words of Ms Price and who is himself a man of First Australians background and a son-in-law of rightwing commentator Gerard Henderson - is simply appalling - though in Warren's case his support of Price's ugly comments comes from deceitful lying - he was once an SEO in the NSW State Dept of Education - in its "Aboriginal Education Unit" where no one was ignorant of the effects of colonisation on Australia's First Peoples. (In fact they were writing policies and support documents for introducing an "Aboriginal" perspective to the school curriculum.) I was in a unit alongside - but learning from its Education Officers - including two of its most respected officers - Linda Burney - the current Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs and now Sydney University academic Lynette Riley (once married to Mundine)... Both women of the highest integrity.

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I'm struck by how soft and easy-to-please Hedges' followers are ... they are nothing more than a pack of passive pushovers ... they seem totally content to have St. Chris spoon-feed them their weekly dose of darkness and that's it ... beyond that, they seem to demand nothing of him ... as we now stand in the midst of THE most perilous time in human history, they are oblivious to the way he has brazenly gone back on his word by refusing to directly confront tyranny, call out the perpetrators by name and comment on hard news developments ... his followers enthusiastically give him a pass and defend him as a "great journalist" even though he effectively retired with the lockdowns ... I've not seen a single person here express an interest in having him comment on the larger prime-time issues that dominate independent media discourse and shape our lives ... Hedges has in turn developed a cynical pandemic playbook in which he hides behind the plight of Assange ... and give him credit for finding new ways to exploit the Assange case to maintain his place in the independent media food chain ... this week he did a 2-part interview with Stella at her home, and before that devoted a sermon to Assange ... in the meantime, he has not had a word to say about the Maui "wildfires" or the proposed amendments to the WHO pandemic treaty ... I firmly believe that his peculiar PR strategy is no accident ... I believe he was told by TPTB to "stay in his lane" and I'd also bet the ranch he rolled over for them without a fight ... Hedges' followers comport themselves as true cultists - St. Chris can do no wrong and they can find no fault ... these people are actually classic enablers ... they fail to notice that although he denounces the corporate elites in general terms, Hedges has deftly taken sides with them on the issues of climate change and also failed to stand against them on personal medical autonomy ... Hedges flies in the face of his past principles and his followers robotically respond by saying "gimme more!"

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Kind of like Nicki Haley and Ramaswamy sucking up to MAGA racists that absolutely hate Pakistani's and refer to all east Indians as "Pakis"! Along with Uncle Tom Democrats like Jim Clyburn who crowned Biden and threw Bernie under the bus. The fact that Hillary the "Goldwater Girl" almost became president as a democrat is just more proof of the interlocking duopoly of US war monger hegemony!

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I will vote yes. Because if the Pentagon and US arms manufacturers, have a voice to Parliament via ASPI, then surely Australian First Nations should.

But I do agree with Lidia Thorpe, it ain't enough even if it is a small step in the right direction.

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Likewise. (Are you referencing a young Warlpiri man murdered by a pumped-up ex-military-become police officer in Yuendumu?)

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No, I was just talking about the Voice referendum, but when it comes to the story of white men murdering aboriginal people, you can't go past a movie called 'High Ground'.

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I have decided to stay away from that referendum, not because I am opposed to its stated aims but because despite all the hooha from the conservatives, if successful the plan will create a toothless tiger; one able to roar for as long as Oz media indulges it (knowing Murdoch & co that won't be long) but which has no way of enforcing its POV.

In my opinion a system which reserved a percentage of seats in the house of reps & senate for those first Australians identified as such by their communities would ensure that first Australians had a means to ensure their needs & wants are addressed.

This referendum is just performative; sleazy, corrupt labor party pols went for it because it is so meaningless they felt sure no one could oppose it, so enable a free goal.

That is not what is happening though as it has been made into such a culture war beat up by wealthy oil & mining interests lest it could cost them a coupla dollars as a proper form of honest & equitable arrangement of power sharing would have done.

The lib/nat pols who are fighting back are doing so regardless, ensuring disappointment for those first nations peoples who have been sucked into believing in it.

As far as dutton & co are concerned a win for labor is a loss for them, even if they are resisting a toothless tiger.

Nothing sums up the spirit of white australia more than this farce. So happy I'm not living there right now as it was the grass roots progress being made for indigenous Australians through the 80's & 90's which I found so great about Oz. We & local communities did some amazing things strictly at the behest of communities throughout a big chunk of Northern Oz during that time. All gone to shit now thanks to howard & weak arsed, neolib 21st century labor. The indigenous humans in Arnhemland I am still in touch with tell me that nowadays it feels as though they are prisoners in their own country.

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Debsisdead: I can't dispute you on any of the things you write here! Sadly. I think the reserved number of seats from each state/territory a sensible idea - and maybe so long as it was reserved for the non-aligned? But who knows, should the Referendum get up - it could be a future way to go...let's hope so. And be well - wherever you are in the world.

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She knows what her bosses want to hear.

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