I should have spent some time today writing about the Sudanese government’s reaction to the recent charges leveled by the ICC that President Omar al-Bashir has played a role in the genocide in Darfur. There’s little point though. Unfortunately, the Sudanese government has international precedence on its side… “Sudan's UN envoy said the International Criminal Court had no jurisdiction in Sudan and that it would not co-operate.” Like the United States, the Sudanese signed the Rome Statute in 2000 but refused to ratify it. The US, of ...More »

Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba’s (Ret.) new report regarding human rights abuses in Iraq and elsewhere, initiated and published by Physicians For Human Rights, has lent credible gravity to the argument that officials within the administration are guilty of war crimes… “The Army general who led the investigation into prisoner abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison accused the Bush administration Wednesday of committing "war crimes" and called for those responsible to be held to account. The remarks by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who's now retired, came in a ...More »

If you’re labouring under the misconception that the Bush Administration is going to leave office without first confronting the Iranians, it’s time to start paying serious attention. The propaganda machine is in full swing, led by a new report by the State Department that labels Iran the most active sponsor of terrorism. If you can believe it, the Sudanese government actually ranked lower despite the fact that it has been complicit in supporting the Janjiweed who have been responsible for a genocidal campaign in Darfur. ...More »

In 1994, the world turned its back on Rwanda. In 100 days, some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered while the international community did nothing. The Security Council sold UNAMIR down the river, events in the Balkans taking precedent over one of the most horrific and systematic acts of genocide since the Second World War. But make no mistake; those that did nothing had their reasons. The French were flying some of the individuals involved in the masterminding of the genocide out of the ...More »

I’m tired. Not a lot of sleep last night. I spent it in one of those semi-states of sleep, the sort where you’re aware that you have to be mindful of something that requires that you remain somewhat conscious but are still trying to sleep at the same time. It’s clear and sunny here again today, as it has been this past week. In fact, it’s been uncommonly beautiful for this time of year, even given the chill the wind provides here on the West ...More »

I love the War on Terror. Let’s face it, without it, what would I really have to write about on a daily basis? The world has been plunged into the most ambiguous event in modern history, placing those on all sides – and there is certainly more than one – in positions of ensuring their survival at any price. In that regard, even the perpetuation of the ‘war’ itself represents the survival of radical ideologies, be they those engineered in Washington or in the mountains ...More »

There are wars currently being fought around the world. Off the top of my head I can think of Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Israel/Palestine, Afghanistan, and I am sure there are others that I just can’t think of at the moment but feel free to add to the list. I guess I am just appalled by the main media news. The only time you hear about what is going on in those parts of the world is when there is some sort of ...More »

I first read Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart Of Darkness, when I was fifteen - being that it was the premise for one of my favourite films, Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. I would revisit it again in my late 20’s after reading an article in which Conrad’s time spent as the captain of a steamer in the Congo was highlighted. For those of you that haven’t read it, I would recommend that you do for numerous reasons, the foremost being Conrad’s commentary on the ...More »

Greetings and salutations matthewgood.org, other authors, visitors, fans, non-fans, distinguished guests...etc. In an effort to lower the quality of writing traditionally found on this site - Mr. Good and Mr. Mugford have commissioned me to write the occasional piece on the blog...site...web page... Matt thinks given my 10+ years in the CF, (I retired recently), that I might have something relevant to say... I had never questioned his judgment up until this point (he seemed relatively intelligent), but that said, what an honor! So I humbly accepted. To ...More »

The world’s been at it again. The old man’s been dancing the puppet strings, hauling out the scissors here and there. Yesterday, some 200 people were lost when a commercial airliner, landing at Congonhas airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil, skidded off the end of a runway in a torrential downpour before smashing across a busy road and slamming into fuel depot and warehouse. All 186 souls aboard the plane, crew included, were killed, and a further 14 in their cars on the road that the ...More »