tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123737562024-03-24T01:54:11.353+08:00olivebranch optimismIt doesn't look that way to me.olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.comBlogger217125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-67707306137021694322008-04-17T20:45:00.002+08:002008-04-17T20:58:11.840+08:00Everything must changeThere comes a line when politicking blurs the mind of even the most intelligent and compassionate people and I believe I have long ago past that point. I believe I have been mislead into not seeing both realities of the world; the political reality and the individual reality.The political reality is the one where everything is examined as part of a greater whole; "in context". The individual olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-54831370218071336102008-03-19T17:57:00.002+09:002008-03-19T18:00:27.025+09:005 Years too many.It's the 5th anniversary of perhaps the biggest atrocity my country has been involved in since my coming into the ability to understand the consequences of war. Iraqi's; I apologize that I FAILED to stop the invasion those years ago; and i PROMISE to make as much of a mends as can be made; when the chance to do so should arise.*nothing else to say*.olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-8043309129476283022007-12-29T09:01:00.000+09:002007-12-29T13:23:08.679+09:00Reflections On 2007A little over a month ago I blogged the pre-election post "May the Lesser Evil Win" and the lesser evil did win; considerably well too. It's a first in the part of my life whereby I actually understand the significance of a new government. Mr Howard had been leader of this country since I was less than 10 years old and had little understanding of the role of politics and politicians.Thus far olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-70226526473610514232007-11-24T08:48:00.000+09:002007-11-24T09:20:02.223+09:00May The Lesser Evil WinI haven't said much about this election to date; in fact I haven't said much lately at all. Today is election day here in Australia, the one opportunity that arrives every three years (aside from the very occasional referendum) where we as Australians have a chance to take part in our quasi-democratic process.There are two major contenders for Government and Prime Minister respectively; John olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-12332514249970028842007-11-17T01:53:00.000+09:002007-11-17T02:11:13.278+09:00Awesome, Really.I got a response out of my last post. Some may think it was a little bit tow-the-line media regurgitation because I was talking about the good ol' timetable crap. Well in some ways I guess those someone's are right. Part of my reason behind writing that post was because that IS the topic of discussion and because I do have opinions on it.It's gotta be done right for fuck sakes; and my friend is olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-8507981377951427112007-11-16T19:03:00.000+09:002007-11-17T00:07:08.701+09:00Iraq Timetable NecessaryA timetable for withdrawal from Iraq is a necessity. Any kind of political advancement depends on it. Iraqi citizens and blogger will tell you the same; in fact it is they who have convinced me of this. But what kind of withdrawal timetable can the US (or the democrats at least) set to begin a feasible large-scale withdrawal from Iraq?The Coalition leadership is unwilling to leave Iraq until olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-74491649478528423612007-10-28T17:42:00.000+09:002007-11-15T19:15:29.273+09:00Baghdad Bullshit.Al-Qaeda in Iraq has been cleared out of Baghdad by the US military. *BULLSHIT*.Here's what is really happening. The US invasion has peice-by-peice destroyed the very fabric of Iraqi society; beginning with it's economy and family units during the invasion of 2003. Foreign interests have pushed tensions to boiling point and beyond, exacerbating the poverty and poor conditions in Iraq. Eventuallyolivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-17214763115205890982007-07-18T07:52:00.001+08:002007-07-18T08:11:25.655+08:00IraqSince the toppling of Saddam Husseins regime in 2003, Iraqi civilians have suffered through many tragedies; but perhaps none is so great as the poor state of their general services. Electricity supply in Baghdad, like many of the other major cities in Iraq is unreliable and comes at most a few hours a day; though this is not the most pressing issue for Iraqi's who have lived with similar olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-65718717972510979522007-03-14T20:49:00.000+09:002007-03-14T21:02:50.120+09:00Kevin Rudd Labor PolicyThe news today presents an article entitled "Labor Iraq Policy at risk as US considers downsizing Jordan base", the meat of the article is that the US training base in Jordan could be downsized or closed; and the Labor parties policy had been to pull-out of Iraq and send Australian troops to the Jordan training facility to train Iraqi security forces. Unfortunately there are many complications inolivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-6717918446738289602007-02-28T14:33:00.000+09:002007-02-28T21:02:54.990+09:00Faiza al-Araji & NadiaOlivebranch Network contributor and blog-mum Faiza al-Araji, aswell as Nadia from "Talking About Iraq" are two out of many Iraqi's who have suggestions and strong emotions about how to build a peacefull, unified future for Iraqi's. Please, read their suggestions through these links: (Faiza) (Nadia) - and keep returning here to find more suggestions from Iraqi's and non-Iraqi's (particularly olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-9058487991568468212007-02-26T17:15:00.000+09:002007-02-26T18:35:59.687+09:00America & IraqIf the American administration truely planned to quell the violence in Iraq they would openly and publicly declare opposition to the recent Israeli request for a "corridor" through US-occupied Iraqi airspace in case of a decision to bomb Tehran.The February 25 telegraph.co.uk article by Con Coughlin anonymously sites a "Senior Israeli defence official" who commented that negotiations had begun toolivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-1170151797145419562007-01-30T19:08:00.000+09:002007-01-30T19:09:57.160+09:00General David PetraeusJust a quote, nothing more:(talking about what makes a successfull army officer//leader)"It's the hard work of drinking tea with the locals, delivering air conditioners to the mosques, meeting with the neighborhood clerics, getting to know the imams, and all the rest of that," he says. "You gotta build institutions, not just units." - General David Petraeus.olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-1169444384288130832007-01-22T14:36:00.000+09:002007-01-22T15:26:07.676+09:00OB Network BACKAll appears to be fixed. Thanks a bundle to James at SmartyHost- even though all he did was clarify my situation and run me through what I did just the other night; a repair on wp_comments database- it worked. Wether or not this is because he has some divine connection to the SmartyHost internet services is beyond me; im just glad its all back up and running.olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-1169382863851937932007-01-21T21:34:00.000+09:002007-01-21T21:41:41.230+09:00Troop Deployment DiscussionsThis is my reply to an email inviting me to "protest" here in Perth, Western Australia against the 20,000 additional troops to be deployed to Baghdad by the US military. Of course I am an anti-occupation activist and was most definately a prominant member of Perth's anti-war activist community before the war; but protesting this deployment is not something I can see any purpose in. Here is my olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-1168935965986347432007-01-16T17:02:00.000+09:002007-01-16T17:26:38.596+09:00All in a years work.As I begin writing this post it is January 16, 2007. If I track back one year the Olivebranch Network was yet to exist even as an idea- but would within a matter of days. I had recently won web hosting through a competition run by Sydney-based journalist/author/blogger Antony Loewenstein- who has since released a best-selling book entitled "My Israel Story", and is now working on a new book. In olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-1168326713991781602007-01-09T15:23:00.000+09:002007-01-11T01:54:28.296+09:0020,000 more troops to Baghdad & Anbar ???(WARNING, THIS POST IS SO FAR UNEDITED)So I heard on the news today that US President Bush is finally going to announce his plan to send an additional 20,000 US troops to Iraq. The news report said the troops were going to Baghdad with the mission of confronting the Shiite militia's and Sunni insurgency to quell the violent sectarian war which has been plaguing Baghdad of late. A later report onolivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-1167792763575658282007-01-03T11:10:00.000+09:002007-01-08T08:00:15.353+09:00Saddam's ExecutionThere are many reasons that Saddam Hussein's execution will be remembered as one of the important political events of 2006, probably a close behind the Democratic takeover of Congress in the US. There are so many points to discuss in considering whether this execution was a fitting end to Saddam's tale, or whether there were better options. I for one believe the latter, and will be arguing so olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-1167741792211000392007-01-02T20:46:00.000+09:002007-01-02T21:43:15.000+09:00How many really died in Iraq since 2003?Though I am neither on the ground in Iraq nor Iraqi myself I am beginning to develop what I believe is a good opinion about how many Iraqi citizens have died or dissapeared since the US-lead coalition invaded in March of 2003. Ridiculous hours of reading, research, discussion and chit-chat online have lead me to the conclusion that all Iraqi's who have access to the internet, or who have been olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-1166733391844806782006-12-22T05:34:00.000+09:002006-12-22T05:36:31.876+09:00Islam & The Middle Eastern Media (uni essay)The Middle Eastern media pushes an image of a united Muslim community which is against Western influence in the area as being the dominant identity of Islam; yet reporting by Arab and other regional media reflects the fractured nature of the religion. There are four main issues to assess when looking at representations of Islam; the representation of women, extremism, sectarianism, and of course olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-1165901834010219602006-12-12T14:05:00.000+09:002006-12-13T13:36:17.306+09:00An Inconvenient TruthWhat a name and what a book (haven't seen the film yet). As some readers may know I have been on a holiday on the other side of Australia (the beautiful Gold Coast) for two weeks (got back saturday night shortly before midnight). Before we left I spotted Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" in book form at the airport book-shop. I picked it up, flipped through and baught it. There was no iffing and olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-1163290566080315732006-11-12T08:15:00.000+08:002006-11-13T08:35:31.563+08:00Carbon Exchange!!!I've been hearing a lot of talk about Carbon Emission Exchange and Carbon Neutrality as of late, and I want to start by saying that I STRONGLY support the idea of an international carbon emmission exchange program. Why is it so important???Well, in any case if we wish to defeat Global Warming it is extremely important to bring big business and global corporations on-board in the fight to decreaseolivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-1163150125951344802006-11-10T17:07:00.000+08:002006-11-16T15:47:27.173+08:00Saddams PenaltyOn Sunday the 5th of November an event occurred which shook, and sometimes shocked members of the Iraqi blogosphere; Saddam Hussein was sentanced to death. For those who don't know the court case was in relation to the slaughter of 148 civilians in the town of Dujail 1982, as revenge for a failed attempt to assasinate Saddam Hussein. Iraqi's in the Middle Eastern blogosphere reacted in different olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-1162972685275828362006-11-08T15:27:00.000+08:002006-12-01T23:43:38.090+08:00Surviving the 21st century: 101.So we're in the 21st century (supposedly). We've been here 6 years already and all these promises of a better life and a better future seem to be collectively flowing out the door. Instead we are heading towards armageddon or at very least World War Three as the self-centred populations of developed countries do nothing but consume, consume, consume and consume a little more. We're still relying olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-1162468445840486452006-11-02T19:45:00.000+08:002006-11-03T04:47:19.023+08:00Ramadan, Politicians & WarLife goes on as norm in the Middle Eastern blogosphere with much discussion about politics, politicians and their many promises and failures. However one clear distinction can be noticed in the Lebanese blogosphere, the argument of who won the recent war in Lebanon. The question however is not who gained from this conflict, rather it appears to be who can shout we won the most//loudest. The olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12373756.post-1162467700631989162006-11-02T19:39:00.000+08:002006-11-02T19:55:26.883+08:00We're all the the same... While Muslim's leaders demand apologies and the Muslim street breaks out in protest against the Pope's use of an anti-Islamic quote from a 14th century Byzantine leader, many bloggers look at the reaction wondering why?.Keefy from Adventures in Dubai posted the entire text of the pope's speech and bet most of the protestors had not read it. Ramrumple wonders why it's not OK to portray Hassan olivebranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10953450996626873865noreply@blogger.com0