Let's see if we can lower our international standing even further!

That seems to be Israel's current thought process. After the colossal fuckup that was an attempt to flex her muscles, the bastion of Arabian democracy is now soiling her image on the domestic front.

ISRAELI MP Haneen Zoabi faces being stripped of her citizenship for joining last week's aid flotilla that ended in a bloody showdown with Israeli commandos.

The move to strip Ms Zoabi of her citizenship is being driven by Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who has accused the Palestinian Knesset member of participating in an act of treason.

...

''In recent days,'' Mr Yishai wrote, ''Israel's citizens have witnessed how an Israeli member of parliament, Haneen Zoabi, headed a group of terrorists who aimed to hurt Israel Defence Forces soldiers, under the protection of her parliamentary immunity.

''This is a premeditated act of treason and there is documented proof of this,'' he wrote.

...

Last night, Israeli MPs were set to begin debating a law that would allow an MP to be removed from parliament ''if he or she acts in support of an enemy nation or terrorist group engaged in armed struggle against Israel, participates in incitement to racism and rejects the existence of Israel as a democratic Jewish state''.

To recap: to oppose Israel's brutal, Punisher-esque, vigilante style attacks on activists is to warrant being stripped of citizenship and is SIDING WITH THE TERR'ISTS. With logic like that, why doesn't Ben just dissolve parliament for the national crime of holding terr'ist sympathisers? It's hardly that much more of a step to a dictatorship.

Wasn't this the reason why we went in there in the first place?

I kinda thought that one of the reason why we headed to Afghanistan was because the neo-Nazis Taliban were there. If the coalition could set a half-decent Iranian-style theocracy (which is, realistically, the best chance we've got), then the plight of Afghan women would surely improve.

Not so.

AFGHANISTAN has quietly passed a law permitting Shiite men to deny their wives food and sustenance if they refuse to obey their husbands' sexual demands, despite international outrage over an earlier version of the legislation that President Hamid Karzai had promised to review.

The new final draft of the legislation also grants guardianship of children exclusively to their fathers and grandfathers, and requires women to gain permission from their husbands to work.

There is nothing-nothing- can describe this legislation. What perhaps makes it even more horrific is that this was done in a cynical attempt to gain a few votes at the next election. Karzai, who is supposed to be our ally, has sold out any principles he once had in order to retain power. He's chasing the pure-evil vote, which is apparently rather strong in Afghanistan. Heck, wasn't the point of going to Afghanistan to help improve its human rights situation? If women are re-reduced to slaves, what was the point of all those lives lost, both soldiers and civilians? I get the feeling that by the time Karzai's rule ends, Afghan women will be wishing for the return of the Taliban.

Thankfully, the Secretary of State has shown to be at least vocally supportive of women's rights (whether that translates into action is entirely something else), and I've sent a half-decent email in support:

Dear Secretary Clinton,

I have learned recently that President Karzai has passed legislation effectively reducing women to slaves. These horrific laws will undo what progress has been made since the fall of the Taliban, and will undermine efforts to combat fundamentalists and extremists. I understand that you are taking a tough stand in regards to womens' rights internationally, and I strongly urge you to take action in defense of Afghan women.

Yours sincerely,

...

Cross-posted at Shakesville.

Who's in charge of Australia? Not Labor, that's for sure.

Heard the news, boys and girls?

SENIOR Israeli diplomat Dan Gillerman has urged Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd not to send a delegation to a United Nations forum on racism, saying it will be used as a platform to bash Israel.

And Australia, being the sovereign multi-nation that would never kow-tow to the capricious whims of another country on matters which it has no authority to call the shots...has mindlessly obeyed Israel and has boycotted the summit. Even worse, America has shunned it too. Nice 'change' you got there, Obama.

Having read some of the stuff that went on 8 years ago, I do see some degree of antisemitism in the original forum in regards to the focus on the Middle East, whilst neglecting the rest of the world (Israel isn't the only country with race problems. Especially in '01).

However, that is a damn poor excuse for not attending this summit. What does Australia expect to gain from not attending? If there is no racism or antisemitism (Israeli paranoia notwithstanding), we will look like we have our collective heads up Israel's collective arses (we do anyway, but this would just highlight it further). And if there is genuine antisemitism at the conference, would we be more effective in trying to tone it down or walk out rather then not being there at all?

Bloody hell-I though one of the reasons why we voted Johnny out was because we were tired of other countries dictating what we did.

And on a final note-Age?

Get your friggin' act together.

From the world of Andrew "I'm a journalist! No, really, I am! Why are you all laughing?" Bolt:

You don't like the way Israel has historically treated the Palistinians?

Captain Lefty, Sarah, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International- you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. All Israel has done is exercise his* democratic right to kill those random brown people who may have disliked Israel (if they didn't then, they certainly will now)-those same democratic rights the Coalition of the Willing have been wielding for the past 6+ years.

You'd all better unanimously apologise for insulting the 2nd Greatest Country To Bless This World (TM), or be banished from the internets forever.

*In accordance to Israeli policies, all terms of remotely feminine nature (her, she, etc) have been replaced with male counterparts for the foreseeable future.

(Note on the label: yes, I know that 'Arabia' covers only a portion of the Middle East, which I'm pretty sure doesn't cover Israel. But let's face it; Arabia is a far better name. So I'm sticking with it, geography be damned)

Neoconservative politics and ideology in Arabia: PWNED

As George Bush limps to November, his Presidency shot to pieces from the war in Iraq, it’s always good to know this. And this.