Prosecution of whistleblower David McBride an extraordinary injustice

This is why we are grateful that David McBride, a former British Army major and Australian Army lawyer, has encouraged us to acknowledge that our defence forces made some terrible mistakes in Afghanistan. Didn't we hear even the US President acknowledge his own country's mistaken and too-hasty decisions concerning retaliatory wars in his recent visit to Israel?

Yet we understand that, following McBride's revelations, we are going to use finicky and outdated whistleblowing laws this coming week which might end with him being sent to jail.

I ask Mr Dreyfus, our Attorney-General, please to intervene so that, whatever it does in its defence, this country cannot be accused of covering up its mistakes with clever but confusing use of its laws and legal system.

Taking whistleblower David McBride to court because he told the truth about crimes committed in Afghanistan is an extraordinary injustice when you consider recent judicial statements in regard behaviour of troops and the ongoing pressing of charges.

There can be no other reason for this case to continue than attempting to frighten any future truth-tellers. We will never again be able to believe in our judicial system if this case go ahead.

As they did during the Voice campaign, clearly supporting the "yes", the ABC is now repeating in their reporting on the Israel-Gaza war, shamefacedly displaying their bias, portraying Hamas - designated as a terrorist organisation by the US, the UK, the EU, Canada, Australia, and Japan - as the victims.

Worse still, the ABC's imbalanced reporting is enabling Hamas to win the propaganda war.

Every ABC report on an Israeli air strike, regurgitates Hamas spin, telling us how many children have been killed or injured, using exaggerated Hamas figures without verification, but ignoring how many Hamas terrorists, the actual targets, have been killed. Nor do they mention that Hamas are using women and children as human shields.

In contrast, BBC TV is much more balanced, reminding us that there are innocent victims on both sides, but not forgetting what started this latest conflict and that there are still 240 Israelis, including men, women, children, parents and grandparents, being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

When the IDF bombs a target, which strangely enough, according to Hamas is always a "hospital", it's deemed a war crime, whereas the rape, murder, torture, and mutilation of men, women, and children in the October 7 incursion by Hamas was not?

My ABC, Your ABC is now Their ABC. Problem is we don't know who they are?

1. Hamas have a non-negotiable position that Israel has no right to exist and that all Jewish people must be expelled or killed. This is totally unrealistic and unacceptable.

2. Israel has reneged on the Oslo Accords and has an unstated but clear intention to annexe the West Bank. Contrary to international law, Israeli settlements are being established throughout that region and the human rights of the Palestinian people are being systematically undermined and destroyed.

3. This Israeli position has pushed the Palestinian people into desperate measures and Hamas, financed and armed by Iran, has taken advantage of this situation for its own purposes, without regard for the consequences for the civilian populations of Gaza or Israel.

4. Hamas has responded to their suppression in Gaza by terror and culminating in its barbaric raid into Israel on October 7 during which they took hostages (including young children) and murdered hundreds of innocent civilians.

5. The Israelis had no choice to respond but the nature and extent of the response has led to grievous suffering of the Palestinian populace who are being used as human shields by Hamas.

Is there any solution to this awful situation? I can see no hope of any real progress until mutual exhaustion leads to a realisation that that the two-state solution to the West Bank imbroglio is the only viable option and that both the Arab and Jewish peoples will be better off with each making concessions to reality and history.

To avoid that happening is going to require statesmanship , diplomacy and leadership of the highest order.

It is now known that some 13 of the 31 members of the UK's Labour shadow cabinet have received donations from a prominent pro-Israel lobby group or from individual funders.

The list of recipients includes party leader, his deputy, shadow foreign secretary, who is now shadow international development minister. These donations were provided by Labour friends of Israel (LFI), a pro-Israel lobby group which takes MPs on "fact-finding" missions to the region, as also happens in Australia as well, with massive donations as well from multi-millionaire business tycoons and long-time pro-Israel lobbyists.

More than half of the UK shadow cabinet are listed as parliamentary supporters or officers of Labour Friends of Israel. If we conducted a survey out here in this US-sycophantic government, therefore by association Israel supporters as well, we might find that even though Australia may not reach 86% of Israel-control of government members as in the USA, but with the PM, Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers leading the way, we could soon reach that number as well.

So much for anti-apartheid, humane policies or any sign of justice from this now very feeble and corrupt country with a government to match.

Professor Robert Goldman has provided readers ("Is Israel ignoring rule of proportionality", Opinion, November 11) with a detailed analysis of the circumstances in which Israeli attacks on Palestinian military installations located within or underneath civilian objects can constitute war crimes, including possible application of the rule of proportionality.

Curiously the Professor does not address the activities of the other side in this dreadful war. Did the Palestinian attack of October 7 constitute a war crime? Did the taking of civilian hostages constitute a war crime? Does the firing of rockets from Gaza to civilian villages in Israel constitute a war crime? Does location of military installations in or under civilian buildings constitute a war crime?

Political advertising should abide by laws similar to those that protect consumers from commercial misleading advertising, says MP Zali Steggall ("Australians back truth in advertising", October 20).

Why aiming so low? Commercial advertising is rife with deception, infiltrating even the children's section at the National Library of Australia's bookshop.

Its website advertises 17 children's classics, each one priced at "x dollars and 99 cents". Revered titles aren't spared: Saint-Exupery's "Little Prince", $19.99; May Gibbs' "Snugglepot and Cuddlepie", $39.99; Dr Seuss' "Oh, the places you'll go!", $19.99.

Constant exposure to petty, low-level deceptive advertising is far from trivial or inconsequential.

It insidiously erodes social trust, normalises dishonesty and sets the scene for serious fraud. No surprise then if idealistic little princes and princesses at some point transmogrify into misleading advertisers and cheats - political or otherwise.

Oh, the places you'll go!

Great caution is needed before attempting to force disclosure of clinical details of a mental health patient ("Opposition calls for full release of review", November 9).

Even the efforts to force disclosure, as well as any disclosure, will be observed and absorbed by many citizens for whom the disclosure efforts will ricochet as a demonstration of what happens to their clinical details if they seek mental health support.

Life events can impact anyone and everyone's mental health and create a hitherto non-existent need for mental health support. Our community needs to build confidence in mental health support so we seek it when we need it, rather than needing to be forced to accept same in sometimes desperate circumstances.

It is also as well to remember that the term "mental health" covers a wide range of mental issues: some folk with mental health difficulties can advocate for themselves and some need a mental health specialist (a psychiatrist) to advocate for them.

There is also the fact that no politician to my knowledge has the mental health training to comprehend the clinical details. This is not an issue for political wedging, even though secrecy and obfuscation is the standard response of our current government. We can afford confidence in our Chief Psychiatrist.

As a military power Israel's position is that might is right. But history will be written by the pen.

Why did it take 10 hours for someone at Optus to try turning the network off and back on again?

I understand it is illegal to go overseas from Australia to fight in a conflict, other than as a member of the military of a recognised country. So if there are people heading to join Hamas (Mark Sproat, Letters, November 10), they certainly wouldn't be telegraphing it. On the other hand, I think I have read of people leaving Australia to enlist or re-enlist in the Israeli military, as that is not illegal. I wouldn't be explicitly or implicitly encouraging or daring Australian residents to do either.

I'm not sure whether I am more ashamed to call myself Australian every time Pauline Hanson shares her opinions in the public forum, or when I consider the number of Australians who voted her in.

Wailing about wind farms isn't about the whales, won't help whales, and doesn't in any way lessen real hurdles with nuclear, the Coalition's one energy policy.

Could distillers perhaps turn expired stocks of hand sanitiser into gin? ("States wash hands of expired sanitiser", November 10, p19)

I had some distractions in the past few weeks. Just wondering if I (or any other readers for that matter) had missed out on the memo which described Hamas for what they really are; a bunch of cowardly scum who are quite happy to hide behind innocent people and expect to be able to create chaos at will. I don't know what else is missing in the Middle East at the moment (besides peace) but oxygen is clearly in short supply.

Keith Hill (Letters, November 10) has a charming message about the tooth fairy always needing cash. The need, however, also extends beyond middle class respectability. I tell my grandchildren, dishonest people will always need cash. Even large bags of cash seem to change hands even in high places, untraceable and untaxable.

With the catastrophe unfolding in the Middle East, it has seemed to take the war in Ukraine off centre stage. We must not forget that Russia is murdering Ukrainian civilians every day.

With its indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza killing thousands of civilian men, women and children Israel was shown the world it has unmatched military might. But does it now have on its side moral right? That is the question for humanity.