Category Archives: Conflict resolution

Citizen funding of the Australian ABC or Nationalise?

In the public interest.

This came into my inbox which is an example of advocacy.  I am studying this topic at the moment and grassroots action will have to be taken to ensure the Australian Broadcasting Commission (not Corporation) returns to the people it was created to reflect and represent. It was the mainstay of the public interest and typically challenged those in power, which is part of holding those in power to account.

I realise today that the assertions of ‘left’ wing is propaganda.  Essentially from my own research it has become apparent that it is anything that challenges power it is labelled, in this case ‘left’ wing which is euphemism for socialism alluding to communism.  In truth there is no right wing or left wing there are orientations of ‘service to self’ and ‘service to others’.  These perspectives are labelled to create ‘the other’ in adversarial conflict. In conflict resolution it is ‘othering’ or glee clubs to garner power ‘against’ so that they can defeat the evil ‘other’ rather than embrace democracy as diversity and listen to the helpful other (critic) who may be right.  Humility makes allowance for this and in reality it opens the mind to possibilities as life will always bring you this other as a form of rebalancing.  Then one embraced you look at what is left.

You will have to contemplate that, right? what’s left?

We are dealing in truth with fear of loss of control or beneath that powerlessness parading as power. The real power is within.  The ego reacts by seeking to control e.g. stacking boards, donations, lobbyists, mergers and acquisitions to consolidate power. Creating power blocs appears the trend rather than demonstrating an openness to contrast as democratic clashing it up. Those who desire the world in their image seek to influence their voice over others rather than learning from the agora of diversity that all voices are equal and have a purpose, often unseen until historians review an event. 

In the future it will be about honouring the voices and rights of all people to hold their own view but not controlling the agenda to force others to agree with a point of view.  Instead the hard work of conflict resolution asserts that it is only when people deeply listen to what they take offence about will the pearl of self understanding emerge.  The outcome of a win win is the art of reconciling difference to a point where both can co-exist sharing rather than dominating as is the foundation to any society or grouping of people.  A mature evolved society seeks to work out a fair outcome, perhaps this was the essence behind Advance Australia Fair.  Perhaps we have to relearn why this statement was made. 

Life is meant to clash it up as a means of honing what is wanted.  A clash forces you back onto your own truth to determine is this true, is it what you really want?  Many do not know how to communicate with their polar opposite, yet that opposite turns up the moment you declare yourself this way or that.  Life is full of contrast and always the teacher is in the form of the so called ‘other’.  Your enemy is your greatest teacher in reality.  They are the one you will learn from as they challenge your beliefs. Many resist this confrontation as they do not wish to confront themselves, so they suppress the other as they are uncomfortable. Yet this discomfort reflects a lack of peace within where a person hasn’t been honest with themselves or insecurity is sitting there unexamined. So the other comes to shine a light or create a conflict which challenges.  This is how we expand ourselves beyond what we believe. 

I encourage respect of the ‘other’ regardless or likes or dislikes. We all play our part.  The people are being placed in situations where they have to reach for their own power. Speaking up, reclaiming democracy, funding causes are ways that the voice of those marginalized (the Australian public) can be heard. 

In the end there will be a discussion about nationalizing of public assets to bring them back to the public who own them.  Assets are being sold off in order to weaken democracy and rights.  This is done without citizen consent or awareness.  Subtle control is exercised through boards – out of sight and out of mind.  This has to be put before the public in a referendum, not just the devolvement through public/private partnerships, staged corporatization or breaking up of important assets but through public consent. Do they want privatization or nationalization is a key question. 

From a higher perspective there is no other.

Over the weekend, Andrew Bolt lashed out at the ABC and GetUp members like you, Susan. Again.

Why? Because he’s clearly terrified about the power of 3701(and counting!) extraordinary people who chipped in for a campaign to get more funding for our ABC at the upcoming Federal Budget. Can you join them?

The Australian also attacked our recent “headline-making” ABC report today, while Bolt accused us of “shaking the can” for “the Left’s ABC”.1,2

They want more money, power and influence for the Murdoch Press’s anti-democratic, ultra-conservative, climate-wrecking agenda. And the ABC is one of few things standing in their way – with its unparalleled levels of public trust and outstanding independent journalism.

That’s why we’ll be making sure the ABC is front and centre of the upcoming Eden Monaro by-election – a contest the entire country will be watching. We’ll also work in strategic areas where the ABC provided emergency services during the bushfires, and make a powerful case for the additional services additional funding would make possible.

Can you chip in $12 and stand up to the Murdoch Press by fighting for a stronger, fully-funded ABC?

Here’s a copy of the original email we sent you last week.

References:
[1] GetUp collects money for the Left’s ABC, Andrew Bolt, The Herald Sun, 10 May 2020
[2] GetUp chases cash via the ABC, The Australian, 11 May 2020

——-

Susan,

“Never get between an ABC presenter and a bucket of taxpayers’ cash.”

That’s what Andrew Bolt spat at ABC legends Paul Barry, Adam Spencer and Ellen Fanning for backing a fully-funded National Broadcaster.1

Bolt was joining the IPA and others in the Murdoch Press seeking to repudiate a rigorous report, funded by GetUp members, which shows how much our ABC has lost.2

It’s clear they have an agenda in the lead up to the upcoming Federal Budget. And Bolt summarised it in two words: “Cut it.”3

But our ABC report also highlighted the deeply felt support and need for our National Broadcaster. And before the next Federal Budget, there’s set to be a hotly contested by-election in Eden-Monaro, where the ABC has been critical throughout the bushfires and coronavirus crises.

By working in Eden-Monaro and other strategic electorates, together we can launch a positive campaign about the ABC’s vital role in our national life. That includes a big advertising campaign, elevating the voices of people who relied on the ABC for bushfire broadcasts, and pushing for additional services that’ll scream out for more ABC funding.

Can you chip in $12 to support the campaign for more ABC funding ahead of the Federal Budget and the hotly contested Eden-Monaro by-election?

In just a few days, our new ABC report has generated more than 250 media mentions, attracted support from ABC presenters and even a response from Communication Minister Fletcher who actually tried to deny the ABC is being systematically defunded. 5 We’re definitely making waves.

But one of the key findings of our research is that while people love and rely on the ABC, they don’t realise how much has been cut by this Government. And what that has cost in ABC jobs, programmes, and resilience.4

When we make that clear, many of them – from young parents to retirees – are ready to take action to defend the ABC.

That’s the next frontier for our ABC campaign – educate and energise thousands of people in Eden-Monaro and beyond to demand more for our ABC, so it can deliver more for all of us. And with Bolt and the IPA already ramping up the attacks, we have to start now.

Click here to chip in $12 to energise people from all stripes to support a bigger, better ABC.

Our exclusive research has shown us who cares about the ABC, why they care, and what will get them out of their seats to defend it. Now we need to fund the campaign to light the spark:

  • A deep dive in Eden-Monaro. Specific polling and on-the-ground research in Eden-Monaro showing local support for increased funding and highlighting the local reasons and personal stories of why the ABC matters for their local communities
  • Advertising and community building. An advertising and action-taking campaign for Eden-Monaro and other strategic electorates to educate and energise communities to stand up for their ABC
  • Sparking exciting new content. Supporting the development of new content ideas for the ABC based on what our research shows people want to see from our Auntie (for example additional education content for our kids and increased emergency services)

The Federal Budget is a few short months away, the Eden-Monaro by-election could be set at any time, and Bolt and the IPA are lining up their ‘cuts’ agenda. If we don’t all stand up now for our ABC, who will?

Can you be part of it? Click here to launch a positive campaign to get more funding for our ABC.

Thank for standing up for our ABC,

Alix, Sarah, Tosca and Bea – for the whole GetUp team

PS – In a world turned upside down by coronavirus, the impossible happens every day. Newstart doubled overnight and millions are being supported to stay in their jobs, because it was needed. And as a nation, we’ve never needed our ABC more. That’s why more funding for the ABC is a fight we can win, if we all chip in together.

PPS – This won’t be the first time GetUp members have succeeded in putting the ABC front and centre of a by-election. In 2018 our movement mobilised in the Mayo by-election. The campaign was so successful it saw Liberal Candidate Georgina Downer, a former IPA staffer, professing her support for our National Broadcaster.

Check it out!

GetUp members dressed up as B1 and B2 stand behind Liberal Candidate and ex IPA staffer Georgina Downer
GetUp members having fun with Liberal candidate and ex IPA staffer Georgina Downer at the 2018 Mayo by-election.

References:
[1] ABC presenters cry for money they didn’t actually lose, Andrew Bolt, Herald Sun, May 7 2020
[2] Report on ABC funding cuts ‘surprising’ and ‘deeply regrettable’ says Communications Minister Paul Fletcher, The Daily Telegraph, May 6 2020
[3] ABC presenters cry for money they didn’t actually lose, Andrew Bolt, Herald Sun, May 7 2020
[4] It’s Our ABC, A report for GetUp by Per Capita, May 2020
[5] GetUp media monitoring services, 7 May 2020


GetUp is an independent, not-for-profit community campaigning group. We use new technology to empower Australians to have their say on important national issues. We receive no political party or government funding, and every campaign we run is entirely supported by voluntary donations. If you’d like to contribute to help fund GetUp’s work, please donate now! Please note we’ve updated our Privacy Policy. If you do not wish to receive updates to peacefull@worldpeacefull.com from GetUp, please unsubscribe.

Our team acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet and work. We wish to pay respect to Elders – past, present and emerging – and acknowledge the important role all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within Australia and the GetUp community.

Authorised by Paul Oosting, GetUp Ltd, Level 14, 338 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000.

SAS soldier Braden Chapman speaks out about War Crimes

The article below is from the ABC and discusses Australian SAS war crimes in Afghanistan. War is not a game, real people die. No-one thinks deeply about the real suffering for families of each death, how terror impacts communities and the reality that violence cannot bring peace no matter how you dress it up. Only peace brings peace.

All violence has the same root, powerlessness. The destruction of war or violence deepens powerlessness which expands violence. It is a formula that has never been about peace, it has always been endless war as men believe force works. War is an imbalance with our true nature.

Immediately looking at the story below I contemplate the Australian Federal Police raids on the ABC. The person of interest was David McBride, an SAS officer who was raising concerns about military abuses and as a lawyer investigating humanitarian law.

Refer YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXWoKgKyudk
Refer YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNp7pHbZ0HE

This issue is a murky one in the sense that where is the line drawn in respect of lawful killing. I always feel uneasy with the words ‘lawful killing’ contrasted to the situation when civilians are arrested and jailed if they commit murder. Yet in the military setting they have safeguards as they are in the business of killing. They use buzz words such as national security, defending democracy, ridding the war of terrorism when it is evident through important whistle-blowers that the wars are not about defence but oil interests. It is evident that there is a revolving door into government by commercial interests who are making money out of disasters, a term coined ‘disaster capitalism’. Disaster capitalism makes clear that defence contractors are paid in one day what a regular soldier makes in one week and do not have government oversight at all. The large military industrial complex is embedded in government as contractors alongside government employees with high level secret clearances. This is called the ‘deep state’.

My heart goes to the Afghan citizens who have experienced decades of heart wrenching abuse, who are the poorest people on the planet and who have suffered like no other with no outpouring of compassion for their plight. They have experienced their families murdered, Taliban oppression, harassment and murder of women who break (in their eyes) sharia law, they witness their country invaded, ransacked, polluted with depleted uranium and turned to rubble with no legal consequence. They have been so hungry that they eat grass and dirt. The perpetuated violence was the continuance of the cold war orchestrated by elements in the United States attempting to create another Vietnam for Russia. The CIA paid mercenaries (extremists) to come in to Afghanistan and fight the Russians. The violent war lords had no allegiance other than to money were ruthless in their violation of human rights, executions and exploitation. This country which was once a peaceful country where families were incredibly close, poetry and music was their entertainment as they survived the harshest winters and invaders to become a hardy people. Their innocence was shattered.

I recall Donald Rumsfeld regarding Afghanistan as not a good target as it was a pile of rocks. He wanted more spectacular targets to feel he was fighting a real war and could test out weaponry. Thus, we are not talking responsible leadership focused on the noble vision of securing peace and security, but rather an cold and calculated interest in perpetuating violence without any regard for civilians using the name of national security which is today code for commercial interests who have co-opted the US government through donations or political status. It was Scott Ritter, the former weapons inspector in Iraq who stated the US was engaged in an illegitimate war of aggression. The same applied to Afghanistan. He was critical of John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister who he regarded as turning Australian into the 51st State of the US. He advised for us to take down the Australian flag and hoist up the US flag. Thus, Australian military activities in Afghanistan are under the command of the US and the real issue is under humanitarian law how are civilians (unarmed) protected.
Refer my recordings of Scott Ritter at the University of Melbourne: https://www.worldpeacefull.com/peace-journalism/

This link is how a few US Generals viewed the leadership of Donald Rumsfeld. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/04/donald-rumsfeld-iraq-war

The Australian government followed US policy and entered Afghanistan to fight ‘terrorism’. The close ‘oil’ relationship between the Bush family and the Saudi Royal family and the revelations about the Clinton Foundation and Isis funded by the Saudi’s, suggests the interests having nothing to do with the public interest but are commercial profiting from conflict. The fact that the Saudi’s funded the US invasion of Afghanistan matching dollar for dollar (see Charlie Wilson’s war) reveals foreign interference and collaboration with other agenda’s playing out. The US nationally promoted the cold war fight with Russia and ironically the Taliban went to Texas to meet with Unocol to construct a gas pipeline. The profits from the deal between oil barons, the US government and the Taliban provided material aid to an extremist regime (created by the war with Russia) that violated human rights justified by extreme Islam. The Taliban hung people in Kabul stadium, religious police raids, oppressed and stoned women to death and applied harsh punishments for anyone violating Sharia law.

Ref https://www.counterpunch.org/2002/01/10/bush-enron-unocal-and-the-taliban/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/west_asia/37021.stm

The is the “pink elephant” in the room where all look the other way, it is the profit that matters not the human rights of people. Torture emerges from the same indifference to humanity that is profiled in the psychopath. I always remember Bill Clinton’s announcement of decoupling of human rights from trade (as a red flag) and later the US exited the UN Human Rights Council as a statement of ‘who they have become’. That should alarm the Australian government given the Australian people’s values and what we regard as the very basis of democratic principles and the rule of law. This demonstrates a culture of violent abuse that is called business as usual, as it is profit that matters not human life. Does this make America great? I am sure Abraham Lincoln would turn in his grave as life, liberty and happiness is distorted for the benefit of the few not the many.

Afghanistan is the poorest country on earth and was used for a proxy war benefiting commercial interests without any regard for civilians. There has been no compassion for these long suffering people who survived against the odds. They would see the great evil in the West as their country was polluted with depleted uranium, villages bombed, civilians addicted to heroin, women turning to prostitution and an illegal child trafficking trade. They are a beautiful and kind people, very humble and simple who had no defence against forces greedily seeking their resources and not standing in nobility to protect an abused people. The greed is a core issue.

The most important issue in this sad tale is the US shadow government and deep state has to be put on the global agenda and referred to the International Criminal Court for ‘crimes against humanity’. These are unaccountable powerful organisations, corporations and non profits engaged in illegal endless wars, the drug trade, guns and trafficking. Kevin Shipp (former CIA) stated Hillary Clinton heads up ‘a criminal cartel’ in Washington D.C.. This must be investigated in an international court of law. Otherwise the dark intelligence war becomes one of assassinations to silence whistle-blowers furthering the targeted killing of civilians rather than justice. Refer https://www.fortheloveoffreedom.net/

Refer https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/julian-assange-clinton-foundation-isis-same-money-saudi-arabia-qatar-funding-a7397211.html

As a peacemaker it is vital that the truth comes out if peace is what we truly desire for our children and grandchildren. Yes, it can be scary as those who feel threatened will use legal or bullying means to silence others. The rule of law by neutral judges holding the real scales of justice must be the nonviolent pathway that leads to peace and reconciliation as accountability is central to trust in government. This has to be done as the violence is ‘not who we are’ as we become awakened to the fact that we live in a global village where not only are we each others keepers (responsible for each other) but to know ‘what you do to another returns to the self’ (universal law). For those who believe they are fighting for a higher power I can assure you that power is love as truth. Denial and powerlessness stays silent in the shadows. True power is the love that shines the light on the darkest corner, for even those languishing in ignorance and hatred are calling for the light of change. Karma can only be removed by unconditional love. So there is a way out of darkness.

My last point is I want my country to become sovereign and protect the civilians interests not follow the unofficial licence to abuse and murder civilians in illegitimate wars that do not benefit our country. May those in positions of power find the wisdom to Advance Australia fair for the highest good of all. Australia could position itself as a mediators not accomplice in crimes against the people. What stops them bringing this behaviour to Australian citizens when oppression orders a crack down and criminalises dissent? We must all remain vigilant to the wolf in sheep’s clothing or the smiling assassin.

It is the truth that sets us free. ‘us’ has two meanings.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/former-australian-sas-soldier-braden-chapman-speaks-out-about-unlawful-killings-and-war-crimes-in-afghanistan/ar-BB11gHcQ?ocid=spartandhp

 

Special Air Service Regiment sandy berets © Commonwealth of Australia Special Air Service Regiment sandy berets They are Australia’s elite special forces, the lethal operatives of the Special Air Service Regiment, the SAS.

For years, the secrets about what they did in the valleys, fields and mud villages of Afghanistan have remained hidden.

Until now. 

Former SAS operative Braden Chapman first deployed to Afghanistan in 2012, when the brutal conflict there was in its 11th year.

With a major inquiry soon to report on suspected war crimes, Chapman, who was on many covert missions, has decided to speak out about what he saw.

He said he witnessed soldiers in SAS patrols commit executions in cold blood.

A Four Corners investigation has uncovered a culture of impunity and cover-up within the SAS.

“When you’re back at the unit, people would make jokes about the size of the rug that they’ve swept everything under, and that one day it’ll all come out and people are going to be thrown in jail for murder or anything else that they’ve done,” Chapman said.

Attached to 3 Squadron SAS as a signals intelligence officer, Chapman’s mission was to track Taliban targets.

He said there was a “buzz of elitism” being part of the SAS.

“It is the best thing you could do for your career to go to that unit, especially when you’re a lower rank and you’re actually gonna get to do a lot of hands-on stuff.” 

But he was soon shocked at the behaviour of some of his comrades. 

“They’re going to look back and see that we were the guys in there murdering people, and invading, and not there to do something that is honourable,” he said.

‘Almost like target practice’

In May 2012, Chapman was on patrol with 3 Squadron SAS in a village.

The unit was moving towards a target building, when they saw an Afghan man leave the area.

“When we got to within maybe 20 to 30 metres away and he saw us, he quickly grabbed his phone from his pocket and he threw it. And at that stage he stopped. He put his hands up just like that, then just stood there,” Chapman said.

“As we got closer to him, the soldier then just fired and hit him twice in the chest and then shot him through the head as he walked past him.”

Chapman said the soldier was an experienced member of 3 Squadron SAS.

“I was only 5 to 10 metres behind him at the time,” he said.

“The visual image to me was, the guy had his hands up and then it was almost like target practice for that soldier.”

Chapman was ordered to go through the dead Afghan man’s pockets.

Another Australian patrol with an assault dog then arrived at the scene.

3 Squadron SAS soldiers during deployment in Afghanistan in 2012.

“It [the dog] actually came and started chewing on the head of the man who’d been shot. And I remember looking to the dog handler and saying, ‘Can you get this thing away from it,’ because it was pretty gruesome,” Chapman said.

“And he’s just like, ‘Oh, let him have a taste.'”

Chapman said the killing by his fellow SAS patrol member disturbed him greatly.

“In my books, it’s murder.”

Just days later the helmet camera of another SAS operator captured members of 3 Squadron discussing the soldier who had killed the Afghan man with his hands up. 

“F***ing bullshit. Not happy with it.”

“[The soldier is] a brother, but, ‘Bash who I want. Shoot at whoever. Kill a kid. Oh well, just keep shooting c***s.'”

The soldier who shot the man is still serving in the special forces.

‘Straight-up execution’

During the same month, a 3 Squadron SAS patrol was searching for an insurgent bombmaker when another unlawful killing took place.

The patrol’s dog handler and another SAS soldier, who Four Corners has called Soldier C, were headed towards a mud compound when a young Afghan man in his 20s was spotted in a wheat field by one of the Black Hawk helicopters ahead.

What happened next was captured on a helmet camera. 

Soldier C aims his assault rifle at the Afghan man.

The man is cowering on the ground and appears to only have a set of red prayer beads in his right hand.

Soldier C turns to the dog handler and asks: “You want me to drop this c***?”

The dog handler tells him to ask the patrol commander.

Soldier C then asks the same question twice to the patrol commander, whose response is inaudible on the video.

Within seconds, Soldier C squeezes the trigger and the bullet tears into the Afghan man on the ground.

The Australian shoots him twice more and then walks off.

Chapman was not aware of this shooting until Four Corners showed him the video, but knows the identity of the soldiers involved.

“He’s asked someone of a superior rank what he should do. But it comes down to the soldier pulling the trigger. It’s a straight-up execution.”

The killing of the civilian, identified as Dad Mohammad, was later investigated by the Australian Defence Force (ADF), after Afghan tribal elders complained.

Soldier C told ADF investigators he had killed the Afghan man because he had been seen with a radio.

He also said he shot the young man from 15 to 20 metres away, in self-defence.

But the video shows he was fewer than two metres away while the man was lying on the ground.

Dad Mohammad's father Abdul Malik said his son had face wounds. © ABC / Four Corners Dad Mohammad’s father Abdul Malik said his son had face wounds. The ADF investigators concluded that Dad Mohammad was lawfully killed because he posed a direct threat to the Australians.

Four Corners can reveal that Soldier C is still serving in the special forces.

As part of a major inquiry into allegations of war crimes within the special forces in Afghanistan, the Inspector-General of the ADF is investigating whether it was common practice to plant radios on bodies.

Chapman said throughout his deployment, there was systematic use of planted weapons and radios to justify killings.

“I did see plenty that were planted,” the former soldier said.

“They definitely got them off somebody else and walked over and sat it next to a body.”

Chapman said weapons were also planted on dead Afghans.

“Other members of my troop back in Australia, they did use to joke about how the same serial number [of a gun] was in every single photo of a dead Afghani,” he said.

“So, you know, inferring that somebody was planting these AK-47s.”

‘Someone’s lied giving evidence’

Another incident that still haunts Braden Chapman involved the death of an elderly Afghan man, Haji Sardar, during a raid on the village of Sarkhume in mid-March 2012.

Chapman is the only Australian witness to speak publicly about what happened to Haji Sardar.

He said Haji Sardar was initially shot in the leg by the SAS-led patrol.

An Australian medic helped patch up the wound, which was not life-threatening.

A senior SAS soldier then took the injured man away.

“Some time later he came back and our medic asked him, ‘What happened, where is he?’ Because he’d worked on him, he [the medic] considered him his patient. And then he [the soldier] just…shook his head and said, ‘He didn’t make it.'”

Chapman said the SAS medic was upset, because he believed the man had been killed.

“He was just saying that the man, he was fine. There was no way he would have died, and he knew that the soldier had killed him,” he said.

After complaints by villagers, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) found Haji Sardar had been beaten to death by an Australian soldier.

“Haji Sardar was first injured and then taken away for investigation and died as a result of torture,” said AIHRC chairwoman Shaharzad Akbar.

AIHRC chairwoman Shaharzad Akbar and Haji Sardar after he was killed.

Australian Defence Force investigators later determined that Haji Sardar had been carrying a weapon and that his killing was lawful.

AIHRC was told by villagers that Haji Sardar was an unarmed civilian.

“I’d say that someone’s lied giving evidence because there’s no way that you can justify an execution,” Chapman said.

Four Corners has obtained hours of footage shot by members of 3 Squadron SAS during the unit’s 2012 rotation through Afghanistan.

It shows the destruction of buildings, motorbikes and the shooting of dogs.

“We try and say that we’re there to help and the Taliban are bad. But if we go in and we start destroying infrastructure or destroying their private vehicles and burning down their homes it doesn’t really send the right message,” Chapman said.

“They’re going to run straight back to the Taliban, who usually are not doing that.”

Potential for war crimes charges

Braden Chapman’s squadron and its time in Afghanistan in 2012 are of key interest to the Inspector-General’s investigation.

Glenn Kolomeitz, a former special operations lawyer for the ADF in Afghanistan, said the special forces were highly trained in the rules of war.

“These guys were given training throughout their work,” he said.

“[There’s] no excuse in terms of the training as provided and the understanding, absolutely.”

Mr Kolomeitz said he believed there was potential for charges to be laid under the war crime murder provisions of the Commonwealth criminal code.

“We have obligations at international law, domestic law, and indeed moral obligations, to not ignore these sorts of allegations,” he said.

3 Squadron SAS successfully captured many targets during its deployment in 2012.

Chapman said the unlawful killings he witnessed may constitute war crimes, and he believes the soldiers responsible deserve to go to jail.

“I just want the truth to come out, and people who did commit crimes to be held accountable,” he said.

He said he also believed officers who ran the special forces should wear some of the blame.

“It is a culture issue as well, and these incidents that are happening would filter through to them. They know what’s going on over there,” he said.

Chapman said a strict code of silence was observed by members of the regiment.

He said he learned this early on in his deployment when talking with one of the more experienced operators.

“He said to me, ‘I hope you’re ready and prepared for this deployment because you need to make sure that you’re OK with me putting a gun to someone’s head and pulling the trigger. Because I don’t want to read about it in 10 or so years.'”

Chapman said that soldier was the one who later dragged the wounded Haji Sardar away before he was found allegedly beaten to death.

For Chapman, speaking out is his chance to atone for staying silent about what he witnessed in Afghanistan.

He believes even if he had made a complaint at the time, it would have gone “nowhere”.

“I didn’t break any rules of engagement,” he said.

“But I feel now that even if it had ruined my career back then, I probably should have made that complaint.

“It’s definitely affected me. You try to look back at your career, try and be proud of it, but then you’ve got all these incidents. You see yourself as part of the bad guys.”

Defence did not answer Four Corners’ questions about particular incidents involving the killing of Afghans.

In a statement, it said the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force was investigating “whether there is any substance to rumour and allegations” about possible war crimes committed by Australian special forces in Afghanistan.

It said the inquiry was ongoing. 

Barriers and INsights for Peace in the Middle East

I had a flow of consciousness when I was seeking to understand the underlying issues of peace in the Middle East – notably Israel and Palestine. I send love to all sides. Love wants all to win/win.

I allowed a flow of consciousness to just work on impressions without filter. I can’t be thinking politically or religiously or sensitively. I am just writing what comes to me as I am seeking solutions and the roots of the conflict that may not be visible.

So I will post what I wrote and if it serves, great, if not then it is just more words circling the world.

I start with my contemplation around Israel.

The real issue is the insecurity those in power feel, they fear their Arab neighbours as they were outnumbered.  The partitioning of Palestine was forced onto Palestinians and they were not asked permission for the Jewish resettlement after WWII.  Deep within the psyche of the Zionists who sought a political state of Israel was an awareness that they were taking land. They used political influence in London to colonise a occupied land.  I think of the Australian aborigines at this point acknowledging Captain cook was not supposed to land in Australia if it was occupied.  So there is an awareness of stealing land but dressing this up as a refuge for holocaust survivors.  Of course fascism was not only in Germany it was in leaders of Zionism who believed in absolute rule. This shows itself clearly in Mayer Amschel Rothschild‘s statement: “Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws!” This disregard for the rule of law and the rights of people is the core problem that has not been healed in the Middle East.  The spin doctoring of ‘victimhood’ is to garner sympathy to justify violence that has repressed a people in the name of independence when they are dependent on US support and the US weakness is corporate power in government in the United States that seeks profit (greed).  So business deals become negotiations rather than peacemaking. Making money is the security.

Using violence to maximise fear to prevent any backlash against Israel is the modus operandi which they believe is security.  It is not security it is a form of imprisonment.  The wall erected to keep the Palestinians out, is a psychological wall that does not want to see it blocks others and calls it defence.  It is not defence it is denial that refuses to take down walls and solve the problem.  Much energy has been expended to keep enemies out rather than investing in peace to learn to live together as the Kibbutz movement taught.

Power and wealth is the greed that drives non resolution of the conflict.  Militarism that psychologically shuts down (represses) emotions or felt humanity is the wall used to not see the human suffering, deprivation, starvation, terror that the moderate Palestinian people feel.  They are the abused without doubt. 

World leaders and polticial parties have been complicit in this crime against humanity, which all violence against civilians is. Yes one can talk of suicide bombers and ignore the gunships, the surveillance, the torture in jails, the blackmail etc. but God sees all.  This is the all seeing eye that never sleeps.  The akashic records record all we do as humans and this is opened when people pass over as spiritually each of us are given insight into our lives. So all is visible. 

How to come out of tyranny is the key question?  Rothschild comes to mind.  I see the pyramid and cap stone, I see the networks, that have invested in power and money in the belief that this is freedom.  Freedom from fear is the real freedom.  Freedom from darkness is the real freedom. How to come out of darkness how to bring my people home, are the words coming to me with tears actually.  The truth sets all free.  Home is God. The word Yahweh came to me to replace God. All people are “my people”.

Peace and reconciliation commissions for a renewable future.  The truth about Israeli crimes is surfacing now.  This can not be held back or concealed any more.  I feel for the words seal of David (so will check what this means – would be the 3,000 year old seal).  I see the seal of Solomon and Star of David.

My sense is the second is not having found resolution about the Holocaust, the deep fear driving the tyranny has been held there.  As they felt targeted and marked and this is why there is agreement around defence. Yet that must be healed as the holocaust is over as the Palestinians are feeling the pogrom, that must be recognised. What you do to another returns to the self (feeling Germany).  So I will look at the Seal of Solomon.  I like the circle around the Star, it felt like circling the square.  Okay this is the occultism that is seeking for black magic I feel, freemasons are there.  The lust for power is there.  The star has been contained.  You have to face your demons.  Make peace with the dark side of those engaged in the torture and violence calling it defence which is an untruth as the violence has caused the reaction from the Palestians.  I feel now for nuclear weapons.  The dots in the Solomon’s Seal I see as atoms as the containment of Israel, it is a false protection as it has a half life of 4 billion years and is a threat hanging over peace like a plaque.  The one ring comes to me and has come to me in poetry before, I see the Hobbit here and the mythical Temple of doom where the enlightened temples were distorted to become musings on doom.  The freemasons use magic for power as a ring, paedophile ring comes to me.  Dark energy. 

So how to liberate Israel from its darkness.  I feel for the light of God immediately.  I see the sea levels rising, not as punishment but more as cleansing.  Interestingly enough the fires in Australia have the same feeling of cleansing which came up in poetry. This is not to diminish people’s suffering in these events but nature is responding to the imbalance.  Holding onto rituals entraps minds so there must be a willingness to trust life and let go of the ring of power.  To come clean, to wash away the dark aspect.  I do see Jesus here washing the feet, I feel forgiveness in this. This coming clean allows the Palestinians to feel more fully their grief that has been turned into hate and they need to release the hatred (hurt) so they can heal.  That is why I have referred to the Middle East as a wound.  It is a really deep wound that both sides co-created as they are in pain and do not know the way of peace. The land of Philistines, this came to me, I have to look it up (I am not religious).   It says a biblical conflict with the Israelites.  Roots are there.  Interestingly the 5 city states are: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath, from Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north.  his description portrays them at one period of time as among the Kingdom of Israel‘s most dangerous enemies.

I did feel the words karma earlier but didn’t write them, now I see it is a ancient battle. It has roots in karma.  So I am looking at the battle now to gain insight.  I am not expert just go with the feeling. 

The following is a list of battles described in the Bible as having occurred between the Israelites and the Philistines:[43]

I smile at David and Goliath as these words came up 4 times for me over the week. I met a Christian called David who is homeless.  I just felt the jews to be homeless.  I was told in a court room that I was in a David and Goliath situation as I sought to challenge power.  The Palestinians have been challenging the Zionists in power.  It seems impossible but they can’t stop as they feel to their core an injustice as their people are hurting.  I felt these words again, I will sit with it for a moment.  I will find out about that… interesting Goliath is a philistine giant (power) David is the young one in single combat (defenceless). It is about the underdog.  This is courage to fight against the odds.  The world took the side of Goliath against David is what I am feeling.  This speaks of bullying and how glee clubs form around those who are frightening to not be bullied.  Fear creates that vortex.  So the karma here appears to be the Israelis were the underdog and now they are Goliath playing it out.  I have felt this before.  Whereby the victim becomes the tyrant.  The bully (Goliath) is defying God.  Funny I just saw Luke Skywalker in the scene where he approaches the death star for a final run and Obi one says ‘trust the force luke’.  What I see is that faith has been lost.  This is The Way of peace is to have faith and let go of control, this is the pathway for leaders and those supporting what is dark.  Goliath speaks of God on his side using the power of God in alignment with Israel.  Goliath is turning the battle into God’s battle which is untrue.  God is not in any battle, God is on neither side but on both sides at the same time as the battle is experienced.  David throws stones, I see immediately stone pelters (including Kashmir here) as the Palestinians, many youth throw stones.  It is so clear.  Goliath is hit and falls to the ground.  I am also seeing Lilliput so will go to that.  Apparently that is Gullivers Travels. I am following feeling here so I just go there, bare with me.  Gulliver is shipwrecked becomes a prisoner of a tiny race of people. He assures good behaviour and is given residence and is a favourite at the court of Lilliput. He must go around the kingdom but not hurt anyone.  The Lilliputians focus on trivial matters, cracks become political rifts. He helped subdue neighbours but refused to force them into being a province.  The displeasure meant Gulliver was charged with treason for crimes he didn’t commit. I felt Jesus here being tried by the Romans on false charges, the jewish priests behind the scenes. I also felt the Palestinians expressing the trivial and political issues, Hezbollah, interference from other nations.  I won’t go further than that as they are impressions.

Going back to David and Goliath there are issues of saving face in that Israel has not been able to defeat Palestine, no matter the power brokers around them.  Afghanistan comes to mind as another poor country that defeated the US. So the notion of power as winning has been tested that it doesn’t work and those in power who have sought dark ways to accumulate power have not won the battle.  This feels to me to be the sticking point and the intractable nature of the conflict they are unable to disengage from. If they admit defeat then they will be seen as weak which fuels the wound of the shadow of the holocaust and vulnerability amongst hostile neighbours.  The power alliances have only served to deepen this intractability. They have not served Israel in truth as they supported their false view of power, they were seduced by money and lacked inner power (faith) to say no to violence.  The Palestinians have expressed violence as defence as well.  Cruelty has happened both sides which inflames hatred. Tit for tat doesn’t work. Revenge doesn’t work. They are stuck.  Yet peacemakers exist on both sides.  The walls refuse to allow peace in the middle east.  I am going to Jerusalem now.  As biblical issues are around this city.  I see Jesus walking, I see a donkey.  He was trying to remind people of love.  He was an Essene. I will check this. They are a jewish sect which is the alliance beween Christians and Jews.  The Essenes are a holy sect. I feel for holy grail which freemasons seek.  The cup as a chalice. I noted the candles as symbolic for the jewish people.  Shabbat, meaning peace in the home.  Yet the home is not at peace.  The word ‘Home’ has levels. It is where we feel loved, safe, family and it is the origin some call God.  Is home the land of Israel or is it peace? This is the question being asked.  Breaking bread comes up.  To share with others, fellow travellers. The Palestinians are neighbours, fellow travellers in life on this journey home. It is indeed those who challenge us who are our greatest teachers, I have seen this clearly in my own life. There is no enemy other than hatred, unresolved conflict coming from within projected out as the ‘evil other’. There is no evil other only darkness mirroring darkness as people are hurting and finding it hard to transcend the conflict.  Generations have been stuck and learned the hatred passing it from father to son, are the words.  It is time to break the lineage of hatred.  Christians aligned against the ‘evil other’ and also have the same olive branch to consider. Will they accept peace not in a holy land but as a holy person.  

In the peace process they must become warm and inviting to the Palestinians. The Kabbalah is shared.  The same God is the feeling.  There is much in common to share.  God is not asking for respect for God but feeling love, as love is God. This is Oneness.  Star of David I am looking at and I see David and Goliath again.  I am looking at the meaning prior to Israel.  Two equilateral triangles is balance.  It connects to the seal of Solomon in Islamic tradition, I feel family here.  It is a shield.  The hexagram symbolises Crown, Wisdom and Insight. I see the crown as a chakra not a crown in the royal sense. So wisdom is to know you don’t know, insight is intuition.  It is not unlike the process I am going through now where I know I don’t know and allow guidance to find and feel what is true. I could be wrong as this opens to higher knowledge. So righteousness is not in this flow, I am not seeking to be right but feeling for truths in words (abstraction from truth).

The connection to Solomon’s seal is the bigger picture I feel.  Secret societies Order of the Golden Dawn. Again I am moving back to the star but predating Israel.  I discover it is used in Freemasonry. Heathrow airport is in the design of the star.  I find that interesting.  It’s connected to the US military sword.  It represents the Zionist community. 

The power of the pentacle is to keep away evil spirits it is a power used against adversaries. So magic. Magic is being used.  In some of the ancient language it reveals yielding of the other, domination comes to mind. This can be confused with the power of God which is not domination but surrender. Surrender is not a failing it is relinquishing the ego and allowing a higher will to guide.  It is letting go of the ego and trusting life. So there is no subjugation in this yielding. One simply stops fighting and accepts what is.  Byron Katie comes at this point – loving what is.  The evil other issue is the sticking point.  As one believes they are fighting the great Satan when they are still in the act of fighting not loving. Was there not the statement ‘resist not evil’. Religion holds people into these adversarial battles against darkness, yet unaware that the moment you enter the battle the darkness (yin/yang) within you rises and feels like anger, hatred, revenge, control, torture, domination, greed, cruelty, repression and so on.  When you know yourself (and be true) you wll recognise the darkness is within. That doesn’t mean a person is all bad, but all people have both elements in them in a duality.  We all know this to be true.  The invitation is to choose love.  That is where all are struggling as stories are believed yet universal truth waits for your welcome (warming invited in) as loving your enemy, turn the other cheek, mercy and so on. These are pathways out of conflict.

Fear needs protection, faith does not.  The military industrial complex has been built around protection and defence without faith.  Real trust and surrender needs no protection as one’s life is handed over to a higher truth. This is hard for people as they fear.  So a culture of fear creates more fear and more defence and more security and more conflict and on it goes until a limit situation arises.  This is how escalation occurs in endless wars without end that do not serve humanity.

I’ve just found a Arab-Israeli peace group.  I noted it is a US institute of Peace, that can’t be the one as it needs to be a neutral third party.  I would suggest Transcend be contacted – Johann Galtung who is an expert in peace building and was the father of peace research based in Oslo.Ref. https://www.transcend.org/galtung/

The two state solution is clearly The Way forward to honour diversity and then communicate on an equal footing. The Palestinians need their own State as they are stateless. This is homelessness in their own home. They need an equal seat at the round table.  Funny how roundtable keeps coming to me.  Equality is another core issue.  Poverty and structural discrimination on the basis of money can create a picture of a lesser people this can also be a barrier as the dominant party seeks to control the agenda rather than meeting as equals.  Respect is critical for peace in the middle.  Peace and reconciliation to discuss and acknowledge the situation as part of healing, apologies, compensations (war reparations) and restoring relations through diplomatic channels utilising women as they are in tune to deeper needs in people and they won’t let the male stubbornness get in the way.  An international tribunal must be set up from the Hague to start a judicial process.  This matter should have been taken to an international Court rather than allow unequal parties to engage in violence in a asymmetrical war zone with families. This acceptance of war in civilian areas is unacceptable, particularly when the dominant party states it is democratic and does not use democratic dialogue and processes to resolve conflict.

Illuminating the One in the Resolution of Conflict

This video explores the illumination of humanity. The video demonstrates a ancient Mayan perspective where disputes are being resolved through wisdom, enlightenment, empowerment and moving from shadow to light.

We are not resolving conflict in our world, we are still utilising force to get what we want. Illumination is expanded awareness that emanates from within. We all have the ONE within us when we become still and hold an intention for truth and peace.

Peace is not idealism, it is who we are when we are open to the light of higher consciousness.