Country pubs need sports bars and well-run TABs where old fashioned punters like a drink and a bet at the TAB, not at home on the phone.

Every motel should have a two for one drink card to the local for visitors and regional produce on menus with a glass of local wine with daily specials.

More than a month ago the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel must take necessary steps to avoid acts of genocide against the Palestinian population whose land it occupies. As I observed at the time, the ICJ's warning also applied to all those countries who are signatory to the Genocide Convention, obliging them to take action to prevent such acts by Israel, and to refrain from incitement to continue with the ethnic cleansing of Palestine's indigenous population.

Now it appears that both Israel and her allies including Australia have thumbed their noses at the ICJ, while our media has simply ignored the deadline. The consequence, and now confirmed acts of genocide to which Australia is party, include the killing of over 3500 Palestinian civilians in Gaza this month, the increased restriction of humanitarian aid supplies, causing acute hunger in northern Gaza, and war crimes committed against medical staff and patients in the few hospitals still functioning.

Far from being chastened, Israel now threatens to drive the population from their last camp in Rafah, terrifying an already sick and starving population, with children reportedly wishing to die rather than face some fate worse than death.

What does it say for our collective humanity that we just sit back and watch this horrific and sadistic butchery by the Israeli occupation forces, pretending we are powerless to prevent it? We are now equally guilty for failing to prevent a genocide.

MORE COMMENT

A young guy was motoring down the freeway at 100kmh when he was overtaken by a chicken doing 120kmh. So he sped up to follow the chicken. But shortly it turned off down a dirt track and into a farm.

When the young guy got to the farm, he was met by the farmer. He said, "wow, I was just overtaken by a chicken doing 120kmh and he ran into your farm." The farmer said, "yair, we breed them. They all have four legs, because everybody loves drumsticks."

"Crikey!" said the young fellow, "what do they taste like?" The farmer replied, "we don't know, we haven't been able to catch one yet."