Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

A three-month-old baby girl has been bludgeoned to death in a remote Northern Territory Aboriginal community.

Her skull was bashed with a rock during a disturbance at Epenarra, a violence-prone community in desert country north of Alice Springs.

The baby's mother is 16. Her father is 17.

Two weeks into Howard's War on aboriginal communities and nothing has changed. This tragic death shows the immediate need for more police on the ground, but where are they going to come from? 

...The headless horseman

No, Thank you phil.

Nice to see you have the courage of your convictions. Asked to put something forward apart from criticism, and......

 .. if my mother were here, she'd thank you too.

G'day Paul Morrella, and thanks for your critique of my M3 posts.

You sure do know how to add value... almost to the point of inflation, one could say.

phil kendall:

Sooo, were one to parrot the pushed paradigm propaganda, one would possibly be retailing (admittedly others') lies. The only question then is Q: consciously (aka with malice aforethought), or not?

I am constantly accued by you of pushing propaganda. Who's propaganda exactly is it that I am pushing? And why would I be pushing it?

Let's see "truth seeker", how close to the mark on my beliefs you really are. Interestingly, apart from glib feel good banalities, you never make your political beliefs known. Something there to be embrassed about?

phil kendall:

Q: Why won't anyone disprove murder for oil?

The US government, does not own, any oil company. All major oil companies are publicly listed entities. That means: Any person can be a shareholder (in fact shareholders are from all around the world). Oil companies are not the US government. The US government does not get oil from Iraq.

phil kendall:

Not content with that distraction, Paul starts another over M3. His three consecutive bites at the M3 cherry can be seen above; almost nothing but more confusion. (Oh! Only IMHO, of course!) Paul's mangling of M3 could be compared to an unlamented other's toadal® failure to justify his otherwise unfounded objections to the "Economic Hit Man."

I made no comment about the "Economic Hit Man". That is incorrect. You have no understanding of economics. That is quite apparent from your mistakes regarding inflation. You also understand little about money supply, or how it is measured.

As far as hiding inflation goes, it's not being hidden. See SMH Jun30/Jul1, here: "There have been four consecutive years of 20 per cent-plus returns" and here: "During the great boom housing prices went up by an average of 150 per cent", say. It's the possible US' printing money contribution that's being obscured by dropping M3 reporting.

Phil:

When someone tells us "A tax cut is the equivalent of a pay rise," then they are simply parroting the pushed paradigm propaganda.

A tax cut is equivalent to a pay rise. If you understood economics, you would know this.

The fact of the matter here is that a) the tax cuts in Aus at the moment are nothing of the sort, being merely the government taking less than what they had planned to take, and b) worse and conclusive, the tax-share of GDP is rising while the wages-share is falling, and that by so-called increasing employment. Y'can probably work that one out for yourselves!

Less theft of someones money you mean.

phil:

PS We now know exactly why you are 'chatting' with me Paul; you told us so, on June 28. Nice. And for how much longer?

Paranoia is no excuse for ignorance.

 .. some have it, others don't.

-=*=-

Paul Morrella is only the latest in a series of posters who say that they don't agree with 'murder for oil,' but when challenged to disprove it, they toadally® squib it:

«Phil, you ask me to "exclude oil theft" as a motivation. It is not possible for me to comply with this request; at this time.»

Q: Why won't anyone disprove murder for oil?

A: Because (IMHO) it's a fact.

I reiterate, that the time for arguing any of this is over. I have spent a big bit'a the last four-plus years documenting the evil progression starting with the filthy, premeditated WMD lies, through the illegal US/UK/Aus invasion of Iraq, then turned brutal occupation, and ending (for the moment) with the greedy rip-off plans embodied in the attempt to force US-prepared legislation (the 'oil law') onto the puppet Iraqi government - however successful this foul attempt may eventually be. (Hopefully, not.)

Another reiteration; that unsubstantiated statements dis/prove nothing; any person is free to try to disprove 'murder for oil' at any time, so far nobody successfully has - and I never expect anyone to do so, on the simple grounds that (IMHO) it's just not possible. Mr Morrella, in objecting without providing substance, is doing nothing more than deploying a time-wasting distraction.

Not content with that distraction, Paul starts another over M3. His three consecutive bites at the M3 cherry can be seen above; almost nothing but more confusion. (Oh! Only IMHO, of course!) Paul's mangling of M3 could be compared to an unlamented other's toadal® failure to justify his otherwise unfounded objections to the "Economic Hit Man."

As far as hiding inflation goes, it's not being hidden (see SMH Jun30/Jul1, here: "There have been four consecutive years of 20 per cent-plus returns" and here: "During the great boom housing prices went up by an average of 150 per cent", say.) It's the possible US' printing money contribution that's being obscured by dropping M3 reporting. Any flippant mention of any difference between headline, and core inflation is only more futile distraction; what we see are rampant price increases (houses, stocks), the exact definition of inflation[1].

Paul Morrella: "What exactly am I lying about?"

Well, Paul, it's like this: the kleptocracy immerse us in lies. "All politicians lie!" - is the MSM 'excuse,' say, for Howard's seeming inability to tell us the 'truth of any matter.' The MSM itself lies, both by omission and commission, in their daily reporting. Attributing almost all violence in Iraq to sectarian or Al Qaida cannot be true, but that's what they do. I call the collective bumf that the kleptocracy wants us to know (as distinct from and opposed to the truth), the pushed paradigm propaganda.

When someone tells us "A tax cut is the equivalent of a pay rise," then they are simply parroting the pushed paradigm propaganda. The fact of the matter here is that a) the tax cuts in Aus at the moment are nothing of the sort, being merely the government taking less than what they had planned to take, and b) worse and conclusive, the tax-share of GDP is rising while the wages-share is falling, and that by so-called increasing employment. Y'can probably work that one out for yourselves!

Sooo, were one to parrot the pushed paradigm propaganda, one would possibly be retailing (admittedly others') lies. The only question then is Q: consciously (aka with malice aforethought), or not?

-=*end*=-

PS We now know exactly why you are 'chatting' with me Paul; you told us so, on June 28. Nice. And for how much longer?

Ref(s):

[1] inflation n. 1 inflating. 2 Econ. a general increase in prices. b increase in the supply of money regarded as causing this.  inflationary adj. [POD]

Hello, Scott Dunmore

Money supply; I don't know what it is anymore. Of course in the old days before the deregulation of the banks kicked in the reserve banks would call in money so that it could not be lent but now banks "lend" money they don't have. Perhaps you could enlighten me.

The worlds largest banks (I presume you speak of), adhere to understood international standard rules and regulations. The standards and regulations are applied by the home nation's central bank.

There is no need to physically stop lending when monetary policy can be applied (lifting interest rates). This automatically makes the borrowing of money less attractive, as opposed to other options.

Money is essentially a confidence issue. One would have to be convinced it is worth something, to trade something else for it. This applies for any monetary system throughout the history of the world.

Banks do not make money up, out of nowhere. Essentially they facilitate a confidence transaction - and are paid handsomely for this service. This "confidence" is constantly viewed and tested by the central bank, along with other authorities, and ultimately its customers. When your mother gave a guarantee to pay the tuck shop, weekly, on your behalf, was she making money from nowhere? If you had of as a child, applied for a Rolls Royce, would this application have been passed (with or without mums guarantee)?

Essentially a central bank works as both the guardian angle, and hard nosed loans officer. One does not borrow for a home at the best rates without a certain backing (percentage of deposit), this rule is equally the same for banks. If you were to put down a 30 per cent deposit on a home, and borrow the remaining 70 per cent, would this make you either instantly bankrupt, or a money printer? The rule of banking is no different.

It is no nation's interest, nor a banks interest, to destroy the confidence in ones financial system. That is not to say it does not, and cannot happen.

Scott Dunmore:

Have you ever given thought to the nature of "money"? What is it?

Money is merely a representation (credit) of a trade. Whether it comes in the form of gold, paper or sea shells, it makes little difference to what it means.

Scott Dunmore :

With the lack of a global currency, that leaves our manufacturing industry hostage to the likes of China with it's artificially pegged exchange rate, (leave aside the difference in lifestyles and expectations of Chinese workers.) Alan Curran take note.

Well not really. Any person can make a statement about what something is worth. I may think my house is worth a trillion dollars. The problem I will naturally have is nobody else does. Money like all products is worth only what somebody else is willing to pay. The pegging of the dollar is at this point working for the Chinese. There is no guarantee that this will always be the case, and that confidence in its value, will not sour.

Scott Dunmore

So this is what we are left with, money as an end in itself, the fool's gold of modern times. Better we revisit Adam Smith, the only original economic philosopher.

Well perhaps, and perhaps not. I would have to get more detail.

Scott Dunmore

Much has been said in this forum about the vulnerability of the USD, it could collapse in a heap tomorrow.

Maybe, and It is of course possible, personally I do not see any evidence - though we all have our own opinions. One could also be hit by a bus tomorrow, I for one am not going to forever avoid a road because of this.

If half the world were to suffer disaster tomorrow, it would not be fully insured, even if people had taken an insurance policy - the world insurance industry would simply not be enough liquidity. No person would seriously advocate dismantling the entire world insurance industry and all insurance polices tomorrow because of this - without a viable alternative. So why would people wish to dismantle the world's entire monetary system, without equal consideration?

If anyone has an alternative, I am always interested in reading it. Thus far, I have seen little approaching a serious fool-proof alternative.

phil kendall:

Sub-text to the 'U.S. M3 money supply as a proportion of gross domestic product' figure [same wiki]: "Money supply is important because it is linked to inflation by the 'monetary exchange equation'."

Well yes, and when have I denied money supply is not important? Note: The wiki link differs from the M3 assertion made above by dear Phil. Money supply is measured by MO, M1, M2.

phil kendall:

I leave it to you, dear reader, to decide: which parts'a this M3 story are core- or non-core lies[3].

Dear reader may like to look at this graph first http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Components_of_the_United_States_money_supply.svg

Hopefully dear reader will have noted the correlation between M2, and M3. The fact may that both move exactly in tandem. That M2 is still published makes M3 largely redundent (I would say totally).  There is no need to view the figure to understand which direction money supply is headed.

phil kendall:

Q: Is there any evidence of inflation? Well, consider the stock-exchanges; appr. 20% 'growth' per year in the past few years. House-prices (US, Aus) have sky-rocketed; in Aus house-prices doubled in a short span, thanks (not just IMHO but demonstrably; see here and here) to Costello. But Q: where does the extra dough come from? (Don't say A: people earn it. Anyone been getting 20% pay-rises per year? No, they borrow it. From banks. Who get it from electronic creation of credits.)

You seem overly keen on somebody having a look at your posts, so I did. Unfortunately for you, they do not prove rampant inflation. Though inflation is a part of the price, it is not anymore a part, than can already be truthfully measured.

In the first linked post, you go some way to answering the question of why house prices have risen so dramatically.

phil kendall:

Taxation, it has been said by many wiser than I, can - and quite obviously here does - distort the market. Already-fat cats have been enabled to get obscenely-fatter; the actions of these get-filthy-rich-easy types, aided and abetted by what can only be described either as corrupt or incompetent politicians have excluded many'a battler from the once-great Aussie dream; an'olden in the drive-way of, a few sprogs playing cricket under the Hills hoist in the backyard of, their very own now sadly unaffordable home.

Nothing here about inflation. Guess it did not suit the argument at the time?

In simple terms what is happening is a return of the original owners money. What you are failing to see, is that one does not pay income tax, when one does not have an income. That this theft (taxation is legal theft), is being returned on the provision one is involved in certain economic ventures (real estate, stocks), should cause a tendency toward such products. I am lead to believe this was also the case, whilst Australians enjoyed a tax free status on gold - especially during the 1980's.

This return of money (yes it has been made), may or may not be inflationary depending on the monetary, and fiscal situation of the time. If it is inflationary there is no reason at all to think, it would not come through in the core inflation statistics.

Other reasons for product appreciation: population growth (housing is a finite product), Development bans (plays into the finite product), favourable tax treatment of foriegn investmet, financial deregulation and competetion, trends (larger and more comfortable homes) etc

phil kendall:

Anyone been getting 20% pay-rises per year? No, they borrow it. From banks. Who get it from electronic creation of credits.)

Well yes, and you have answered the question for yourself. A tax cut is the equivalent of a pay rise. Thus this allows the gearing to operate at higher monetary levels. The fiat system is based on confidence (no different to a gold standard actually), this confidence will throughout time ebb and flow - boom and bust. That however is a different propostion to the one you are making. That is; to claim inflation is somehow a world conspiracy being hidden away.

phil kendall:

The above Paul echoes the Fed. So far, so good?

I have not taken notice of M3, my entire working life. If that reflects the view of the Fed, well that's nice. As to why they choose to no longer publish the figure, well that is up to them. It does not fill me with dread.

phil kendall:

Q: M3 is considered important enough by Rep. Ron Paul to propose legislation, but dismissed by FedRes and 'our' Paul M. Which Paul you gunna believe?

Well obviously in your conspiracy laden world, you would have to believe Ron Paul on this particular issue. Than you would take the word of the gardener if it reflected your views.

phil kendall:

My subtitle mentions propaganda, I usually preface it with the qualifier lying.

What exactly am I lying about?

It would seem you think by not publishing M3, this allows the United States (probably Israel) to cover up rampant inflation? This rampant inflation thus does not come through in any other published figure: Would this be correct?

Note: I have no problems with M3 being reported. My feeling is it is irrelevant, however others obviously (namely gold bugs), think differently. The Fed reported the reasons for no longer collecting the data. I accept on face value those reasons. MO, M1, M2 covers money supply adequately in my view.

phil kendall:

if the US is 'printing' dough in inflationary quantities, then hiding M3, say, is considered to be the same as trying to hide the inflation itself. Not my theory; just a summary of what I've read.

It is not possible to hide inflation.

Love to hear your theories of how the economic system should be managed?

 Subtitle: what's a bit'a harmless propaganda between friends?

-=*=-

G'day Paul Morrella.

I showed one'a my links that you complained about to a 15 year old girl. She quickly identified the problem, namely a prefix added by the WD entry-system, should any link lack "http://" at its start. All one has to do is delete the WD-added prefix - or re-run the original Google query that I provided, and she's Jake.

Paul Morrella: "Talk about trying to find a diamond in your ear, Geesh!"

Anyone know what that statement is supposed to mean?

Good news for Paul:

«As of March 23, 2006, information regarding M3 will no longer be published by the Federal Reserve, ostensibly because it costs a lot to collect the data but doesn't provide significantly useful data.»

But kindly note the weasel-word ostensibly[2].

Wiki links to a 'Federal Reserve Statistical Release, H.6:'

«M3 does not appear to convey any additional information about economic activity that is not already embodied in M2 ...»

The above Paul echoes the Fed. So far, so good?

But kindly note the weasel-word appear.

Different views from another Paul:

«... On March 7th, 2006, Congressman Ron Paul introduced H.R. 4892 in an effort to reverse this change.»

M3 definition [same wiki]: "M3: M2 + all other CDs, deposits of eurodollars and repurchase agreements."

Kindly note that by this definition, M3 is not in M2 (or M1, M0). The FedRes statement "not already embodied in M2" is starting to look more than just a bit 'iffy.' That might explain the weasel-words, eh?

M3 graphs here & here, figures used are taken from the St. Louis Federal Reserve.

Funny, how US$10,000 billion (and climbing, but we can no longer see by how much or how quickly); it was 80% of US GDP in 2004, can be called 'largely redundant?'

Sub-text to the 'U.S. M3 money supply as a proportion of gross domestic product' figure [same wiki]: "Money supply is important because it is linked to inflation by the 'monetary exchange equation'."

Conjecture: if, as alleged in other items linked-to by me previously, the US is 'printing' dough (note that 'printing' is a simile, what actually occurs is electronic creation of credits) - if the US is 'printing' dough in inflationary quantities, then hiding M3, say, is considered to be the same as trying to hide the inflation itself. Not my theory; just a summary of what I've read.

Q: M3 is considered important enough by Rep. Ron Paul to propose legislation, but dismissed by FedRes and 'our' Paul M. Which Paul you gunna believe?

Q: Is there any evidence of inflation? Well, consider the stock-exchanges; appr. 20% 'growth' per year in the past few years. House-prices (US, Aus) have sky-rocketed; in Aus house-prices doubled in a short span, thanks (not just IMHO but demonstrably; see here and here) to Costello. But Q: where does the extra dough come from? (Don't say A: people earn it. Anyone been getting 20% pay-rises per year? No, they borrow it. From banks. Who get it from electronic creation of credits.)

Try this (US):

«Printing money is not a problem as long as it is done to keep pace with real economic growth and to provide necessary liquidity for the markets. Have a look at this M3 graph:
[2nd graph above]
The money supply has been growing (on average) at over twice the growth of the economy and has grown around 40% in the last five years alone!
...
As anyone will tell you the fiat currencies we have are valued based on "confidence". Well how confident can people be (and other central banks) when they can't see one of the most important numbers in the economy?»

My subtitle mentions propaganda, I usually preface it with the qualifier lying. I usually ascribe 'propaganda' as the label on lies propagated for or on behalf of the 'ruling kleptocracy®.' My estimation of the FedRes is that it is an integral part of that kleptocracy, and anyone pushing the FedRes 'line' could therefore be a pro-kleptocracy propagandist. Oh! 'Only' IMO, of course and as usual!

Worth a repeat, Paul: try pulling someone else's leg, OK? You put up a demonstrably dud link (i.e. containing superseded info, and that after accusing me of posting 'sham links!' Provide proof!) I'll say it again, assertions without substantiation are just that: unsupported assertions. Paul, you've made such unsupported assertions - but worse, unsubstantiated accusations. All - IMHO - worthless.

=*=-

Sooo, Jenny Hume, is that the sort'a stuff you meant, when you said "The facts and reality of history have had some pretty good revisions on this site?" And, assuming you included me in your rather sweeping statement, could you suggest any motive for this particular 'lefty' to propagandise? I mean - in true Aussie style - just what'd possibly be in it for me?

-=*=-

My closing comment: in general, I spend a lot'a time on preparation of posts; I try to substantiate anything that I think may be regarded as contentious with reputable, checkable quotes, and/or links. If I hazard an opinion, it will in general be based on such checkable sources and I'd only be too glad if any mistake or oversight of mine were to be reported. OK again?

-=*=-

I leave it to you, dear reader, to decide: which parts'a this M3 story are core- or non-core lies[3].

-=*end*=-

PS There's a piece from the NYT's Thomas Friedman on bloggers in the SMH today. A quote:

«...Seidman writes.
"In the information age, life has no chapters or closets; you can leave nothing behind, and you have nowhere to hide your skeletons. Your past is your present."»

Well may one say "Beware, your sins will find you out!"

-=*=-

Ref(s):

[1] propaganda n. 1 organized propagation of a doctrine by use of publicity, selected information, etc. 2 usu. derog. ideas etc. so propagated.  propagandist n. & adj. propagandize v. (also -ise) (-zing or -sing). [Latin: related to *propagate] [POD]

[2] ostensible adj. concealing the real; professed.  ostensibly adv. [Latin ostendo ostens- show] [ibid.]

[3] lie2 —n. 1 intentionally false statement (tell a lie). 2 something that deceives. —v. (lies, lied, lying) 1 tell a lie or lies. 2 (of a thing) be deceptive.  give the lie to show the falsity of (a supposition etc.). [Old English] [ibid.]

 phil kendall:

Highest on the list of things going wrong - if the indications from the legion of honest scientists working on the problem know what they're talking about - would be a climate-collapse triggered by a vast excess of CO2, what I call the greedastrophe®.

What you call the "greedastrophe" is effectively pollution. Pollution did not begin yesterday, indeed the pollution you are referring, began with the industrial revolution. Although I do not share your nihilistic outlook (I do note you give no solutions except pontification), I believe you have misnamed this pollution problem. Any person that has had the pleasure to visit ex-communist Eastern Bloc nations, will realise economic growth and incredible environmental pollution do not always go hand in hand. This problem will also not be solved by killing economic growth, actually I think in doing so, the process will only be hastened.

phil kendall:

Second on the list of things going wrong - if the murdering bloody disasters in say, Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq are indicative - would be a world system out-of-control, as I've said many, many times before. The world's putative policeman - the UN - is not; it has been corrupted, consciously so, and the main corrupters - seems to me, are the US and Israel, which, when combined with the Israel Lobby infesting the US forms USrael, and along with rest of the Anglo (Christian) CoW® being neatly summarised as: the wannabe world hegemon plus its illegal sprog and the poodle with dag, all mass-murdering to enable theft (of oil, land and water).

phil kendall:

Third on the list of things going wrong - if the rip-offs evident in the mining industry are indicative - would be, as far as we, the sheople® are concerned, a government/industry - in the US, the m/i-plex, also toadally® out'a our control, dedicated to (ever further!) enriching a fat-cat keptocracy already filthy-rich beyond any dreams of avarice, descending into disgusting obesity. How utterly horrid! Not to mention criminal.

What you call the "m/i-plex" is in fact an industry that directly supplies hundreds of thousands of jobs, millions indirectly. You have more chance of finding the m/i-plex at a bowling ally in Ohio, as you do in the stratespheric atmosphere of a Wall Street office bloc.  Equally the same applies for the mining industry.

phil kendall:

And "Get some morals!"

See where I'm going, Paul?

Yes, I see where your going. You are going nowhere.  Outside of pontification, you have no solution.

As I said Jenny, history, contrary to whatever you may believe, has no political boundaries; it is indifferent to your politics and, indeed, mine. It is not a matter of left or right, history is only a matter of facts and it is relentless in its striving to have its truth revealed – regardless of whether you accept them or not. Like you, I don’t wish to deal with propaganda but, unlike you, I am prepared to accept the reality of history’s evidence.   Something you seem unable to do

The difference between us is that my open mind, left-wing if you like, allows me to face the reality of history’s evidence while your closed right-wing mind, which remains in constant denial as any truth contrary to your beliefs emerge, only allows you to see what you want to see regardless of how self-evident that emerging truth is. Turning your back on it and hoping that it will go away will not change the truth or the reality of history.

As for what I am or what views I hold; they are neither here nor there, it isn’t about me. It’s about reality. It’s about facing up to that reality. 

This should be another thread but no time tonight.

Well the theme of this election is beginning to emerge - the biblical parallels are heating up:

first the children,

now the crippled [disabled],

next the weak [elderly - although we had some of them covered today],

and next the hungry [debt ridden middle class?]...then which group?

All of this would be a lot easier to take if Howard had announced when that he would hand over the leadership in August and at least was doing all of this as his last grand gesture, rather than an unashamed grasp at another term in office.

 Jenny, you say: “The facts and reality of history have had some pretty good revisions on this site over the year I have been around.”

 
Is that so? What ‘revisions’ are you talking about exactly?

 
If history requires revising because some new facts and evidence comes to light that renders the original historical interpretation of an event obsolete then so that history should be revised. Historians are doing it all the time. Left or right politics has got absolutely nothing to with it. Facts are facts. They can’t be ignored or brushed under the carpet simply because they don’t fit into your particular political comfort zone.

 
You say: “There is debate and there is pushing propaganda. I have no time for the latter and refuse to be drawn into responding to it”. I couldn’t agree more but it does seem that debating the reality of history is something you are incapable of doing due to your inability to explore other possibilities that are opened up as new evidence comes to light. It seems the shutters have come down for you because of some political precept you have that dominates and predetermines the extent to which you are willing to examine evidence that’s outside of your preset political boundaries.

 
As I suggested earlier, if you wish to withdraw from a debate that discusses the realities of history then it’s probably best for the debate that you indeed do so. 

 Subtitle: what every troll should know.

-=*=-

Y'know what, Paul Morrella?
Kindly allow me to remind you, of where we actually are.

Highest on the list of things going wrong - if the indications from the legion of honest scientists working on the problem know what they're talking about - would be a climate-collapse triggered by a vast excess of CO2, what I call the greedastrophe®.

Second on the list of things going wrong - if the murdering bloody disasters in say, Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq are indicative - would be a world system out-of-control, as I've said many, many times before. The world's putative policeman - the UN - is not; it has been corrupted, consciously so, and the main corrupters - seems to me, are the US and Israel, which, when combined with the Israel Lobby infesting the US forms USrael, and along with rest of the Anglo (Christian) CoW® being neatly summarised as: the wannabe world hegemon plus its illegal sprog and the poodle with dag, all mass-murdering to enable theft (of oil, land and water).

Third on the list of things going wrong - if the rip-offs evident in the mining industry are indicative - would be, as far as we, the sheople® are concerned, a government/industry - in the US, the m/i-plex, also toadally® out'a our control, dedicated to (ever further!) enriching a fat-cat keptocracy already filthy-rich beyond any dreams of avarice, descending into disgusting obesity. How utterly horrid! Not to mention criminal.

That should be enough, for now.

Well, of course some of the sheople® were/are still disturbed. Going back a bit, I personally entreated:

"Leave it to Blix!"

"No killing!"

"NO WAR!"

To which is added: "Stop the rip-offs!"

And "Get some morals!"

See where I'm going, Paul?

Elegantly simple really, in the words of the Jackson & McCartney song, "I'm a lover, not a fighter;" I fight the good fight: me - n'me mates - we have right on our side.

Any opposing me/us, on the above themes, say, simply don't.

phil kendall:

Subtitle: trolls, distractions and obstruction.

Translation: I have run out of any coherent argument, so insults will suffice.

phil kendall:

Sorry, but not too sorry (SBN2S): the current cycle began, shortly after I said something like "Time to stop arguing over now quite obvious facts, time to develop solutions."

No, the current cycle began, when you so rudely attempted to pick on people, whose only crime was to express their freedom, and write something you did not agree 100% with. That the "facts" used where less than obvious (mostly just plain wrong), only showed you up, for the bully you are.

phil kendall:

I, for one, have better things to do, than to uselessly, pointlessly argue over obvious facts with trolls, aka distractionist and obstructionist pushed paradigm propagandists.

Translation: I am taking my bat and ball, and going home.

Note: Whilst there, you might want to learn the difference between headline, and core inflation, amongst a great many other things.

 Subtitle: say one thing, do another.

-=*=-

«MAL BROUGH: Kerry, I have no issue on personally taking the blame.
I said when I came into the portfolio and had that summit and put $130 million into it there would be change.
I am positive if you go back to Mr Tickner or Senator Heron or any of the other previous Indigenous Affairs Minister on both sides of politics, when they've come into this, they felt they have implemented the sort of changes that were necessary only to find them fail.
This is the first time that we have wiped the slate clean and taken on all of the taboos. We are talking about compulsorily acquiring land, ...»

Ooops!

"Waffle, waffle, blah, blah, ... compulsorily acquiring land."

Well, well, well: three holes in the ground - more like hundreds, how many aboriginal lands will they so 'acquire'? - and how many to be mined for Uranium and/or filled with deadly radioactive waste?

-=*=-

And another thing: what sort'a utter foolishness is it, to send one'a (the lying, murdering) B, B & H off to 'solve' any Palestinian problem?

There's only one viable solution to any'o that: RETURN PALESTINIAN LANDS BACK TO THE PALESTINIANS!

-=*=-

Notice it's almost exactly the same modus operandi; see Palm Island, then again yesterday.

Predictably, self-interested indigenous naysayers have found uncritical support from members of what we have previously described as the psychotic Left, with their distorted perception of reality, who again demonstrate just how detached they have become from the modern left-wing embrace of the rights and responsibilities debate as they continue to put symbolism and gesture politics ahead of finding solutions to immediate human suffering.

The Australian has taken a swipe at those that have pointed out that the sending of troops to aboriginal communities is not going to solve the long term problems. A knee jerk reaction to a very complex problem is no solution. The problems will only be addressed when all governments and stake holders are brought together in consultation. One side of government going it alone will not succeed. It is a top down approach so favoured with conservative governments, but a quick fix solution is no solution. We need the detail of the Howard plan to be able to give it support. Blind support given to a smoke and mirrors show is more likely to cause harm.

Jenny, if you think that the Great War was triggered by the death of an Archduke then you are sadly very much mistaken. And if that belief is representative of your considerations of history, as demonstrated by the narrow-mindedness of a somewhat subjective statement like: “I don't think the family of those who died on the Cole would see that matter in quite the same light as you”, a statement that ignores entirely how the families of some 650,000 Iraqis that have died since the US invasion of their country might also feel given the lies that they died for, then I doubt you would have much to offer any debate regarding contemporary history since it’s obvious that you have no desire at all to accept the facts of history unless they fall within what you consider the parameters of your otherwise closed mind.

The upshot of that is; if you wish to withdraw from a debate that discusses the realities of history then it’s probably best for the debate that you did so.   

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners says there has been a ground swell of doctors who want to play a part in the Government's emergency measures against child sex abuse.

Dr Jenny Reath says health checks for children is a good start but a long-term and fully funded response is needed.

"We're very pleased the Government has realised the urgency of the situation and is looking to provide some sort of response to that," she said.

"Although we do have some concerns about the initial planning in this, or perhaps the lack of planning, and in particular it appears there hasn't been a great deal of consultation with local communities."

Concerns about initial planning or lack of planning seems to be a trade mark of the Howard government.

Zinni has been a critic of the Iraq war since before the invasion and served briefly as a special envoy for President Bush. He wrote that he was moved to speak out by "false rationales presented as a justification; a flawed strategy; lack of planning; the unnecessary alienation of our allies; the underestimation of the task; the unnecessary distraction from real threats; and the unbearable strain dumped on our overstretched military."

Lack of planning seems to be a common theme, the words of Zinni on Iraq fit so well with Howard's "War on Aboriginals"  

 Subtitle: trolls, distractions and obstruction.

-=*=-

Sorry, but not too sorry (SBN2S): the current cycle began, shortly after I said something like "Time to stop arguing over now quite obvious facts, time to develop solutions."

Anyone arguing that we even slightly approach "the best of times" is - frankly - wasting my time, and is distracting and/or obstructing any chance of even considering how we may possibly progress.

Anyone supporting certain parts of the status quo - here I specifically refer to the immoral/criminal bits; the lying and cheating as typified by the mining/resource-rent rip-offs, then especially and most horribly the murdering theft parts, as typified by the ghastly murder for spoil (Lebanon 2006, Iraq 2003+) carried out by and/or on behalf of the ruling kleptocracy of the wannabe hegemon, its illegal sprog plus the poodle with dag - aka current pushed paradigm propagandists, are, by the principle of accessories before, during and/or after the fact, not just equally (ir)responsible, but also equally guilty.

I, for one, have better things to do, than to uselessly, pointlessly argue over obvious facts with trolls, aka distractionist and obstructionist pushed paradigm propagandists.

Just as Howard says one thing (suffer the little children) but does another (grabs aboriginal lands for filthy radioactive reasons (aka "The greatest treason")), pro-status quo propagandists use misleading - possibly lying, criminal - methods in an attempt to support the vested interest (almost toadally, diametrically opposed to our, we the sheople's interest); in other words in support of a system heading us all straight down towards the tor-let® tubes. Hardly an 'enlightened'[1] destination.

-=*end*=-

Ref(s):

[1] the Enlightenment. a European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition. It was heavily influenced by 17th-century philosophers such as Descartes, Locke, and Newton, and its prominent exponents include Kant, Goethe, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Adam Smith.

 phil kendall:

Paul, you could possibly reflect on "a merry-go-round of dodgy claims and sham links in an attempt to back up false statements" - in direct reference to your own "Sure they do" statement/link (outdated material!?) - and then try pulling someone else's leg, OK?

Sorry but your rather tawdry attempt to besmirch me is wrong (as usual).

The entirety of your links (that do not work for me), relate to M3, which has for the last twenty years, been largely redundant. For any other interested in the supply of money, there are three measurements still remaining. The two in common use are M1 and M2. Talk about trying to find a diamond in your ear, Geesh!

phil kendall:

[1] Claytons: "the drink you have when you're not having a drink."

I prefer: When one comes up short, he comes up short.

 Jenny Hume, I’m afraid I don’t deal in half-baked theories about what Osama bin Laden and his so-called al Qaeda organisation was supposed to have done – especially now that the entire credibility of the US governments version of the events of 9/11 is coming down like a house of cards as it becomes increasingly obvious that WTC7 was deliberately destroyed by people who clearly had nothing to do with bin Laden or al Qaeda. It begs the question: If bin Laden and al Qaeda had absolutely nothing to do with the collapse of WTC7 then, considering the totally bizarre coincidental events of that day, did he have anything to do with the total collapse of WTC 1&2 which collapsed in exactly the same way as WTC7? So far no actual evidence at all. None.

 
I’m not sure how much of the Taliban/US relationship you understand but the reality is nations don’t go off to war with other nations unless one nation has what the other nation wants. The US went to war against the Taliban government in Afghanistan because the Taliban wouldn’t accept what the US was offering in order to get the pipeline across. The US offered them either a ‘carpet of gold or a carpet of bombs’ – the Taliban told them where the US could stick their pipeline and so they got a ‘carpet of bombs’. All the US needed was an excuse to go in. Within months we had 9/11. It was such a convenient event that the US couldn’t resist using it as casus belli for going into Iraq  as well killing several birds with one stone there.

  It’s about geo-political realities; the rest is pure rhetoric and propaganda designed for those in our western societies like those that were ready to fall for all the garbage about Saddam having WMDs that were an immediate threat to the world and that he was up to his ears in 9/11 with bin Laden. All rubbish. The US government played up to the fact that the western world were walking around like stunned mullets just after 11 September 2001 and took full advantage of a shocked and gullible US and western world public to gain support for their wars.

  It’s not about USS Cole or embassies being bombed or World Trade Centres being knocked over or militant Islamists with renal failure that live in remote caves directing all this; it’s about resources, wealth and hegemonic power. If you want to believe this airy-fairy garbage about the self-righteousness of the Western world then that’s fine but sooner or later reality needs to be faced.

  I realise that all this is totally unpalatable to many on the right, and some even on the western left, as it takes them outside of their cosy comfort zone of western middle-class ‘they hate us for our values’ self-righteousness but unless you shove aside all the rhetoric and propaganda and pluck up enough courage to either get out their and see for yourself what’s going on or at least step outside of the square consensual opinion and have the courage to demand real answers to seriously unasked questions then you may as well remain content to simply continue believing what you are told to believe.

 
But let’s just go back a bit.

  
You say:

“Every country in history looks to how it can meet its resource needs. The US is no different. That it would see stability and investment in a region with a vital resource as a necessary goal makes economic sense. How it pursued that goal is another matter. All that link does is articulate the goals for a stable region and future investment there.”

All countries do look to see how they can secure their resource needs as you say and the US are indeed no different in that respect; however, they do differ in other respects from other countries inasmuch that they have the wherewithal to forcefully secure their needs if other methods of securing them fail. Hegemony in the Caspian Basin region is as important to the US as hegemony in the resource rich Middle East; it’s not just about a pipeline across Afghanistan . There are many, many extremely complex geo-political considerations that dictate how a nation state interacts with another nation state – one doesn’t go to war expending much blood and treasure just because someone rammed a rubber ducky into one of your battleships.

 
Makes great propaganda though!

Margo: Damian, a reminder that Webdiary does not publish arguments that the Americans or the Isrealis perpetrated S11.

Damian Lataan says:

We’re living in a world gone mad. After all the horror that the world went through during the twentieth-century we’re priming ourselves up to do it all over again in the twenty-first century.

The 20th century was plagued by mass-based nihilist apocalyptic redemptionist political cults which rose to power in one nation state after another because the leadership of liberal pluralist democracies were too afraid to stand up to them.

This was because democratic leaders were afraid to offend the deluded pacifist tendencies of otherwise culturally influential bourgeois psuedo-intellectuals on the moderate Left and anti-Semites.

Actually, come to think of it, you've got a point.....

phil kendall:

Me: We-e-ell, matey, I wouldn't be too sure of that, if I was in your boots (horrors: perish the thought!)

Well matey, don't go claiming you have out of control, demand-pull inflation, with subdued national wages acting simultaneously.

phil kendall:

Over a looong period, I have been trying to find out the royalty figures; so far with extremely limited success. Why that? Could it possibly be, that the royalty figures are disgustingly low?

Like most of your claims, you later go some way to unintentionally answering this question yourself.

phil kendall:

There is less doubt as to the wages paid to the miners; higher, continuing longer house-price inflation in WA is possibly attributable in (large?) part to the boom-miners' wages.

Almost certainly, added with the flow-on effects of that extra money. This extra money will also show up nationally through higher government surpluses, higher government spending, and looser fiscal policy through the taxation system (people will demand it).

The last post you said:

The present crisis began when the mining companies worked out that they could get resources for not much more than a song - plus the wages paid to the (AWA-conditions-depressed?) workers. In a nutshell: we is bein' robbed. See Perkins' "Hit Man" for more detail.

So which one of your claims is not correct?

phil kendall:

So-called 'headline inflation' is a manipulated figure, and (from my recall) excludes housing. Why that?

Headline inflation measures supply shock products such as food, and energy. Both of which are highly price volatile in the short term. That is why I used the example of core inflation (flat screen TV's etc). House prices do not fluctuate dramatically in short periods of time; hence not included in headline inflation.

phil kendall:

Then, could the 'headline inflation' figure be deliberately manipulated to suit Howard&Co?

No.

phil kendall: 

If we take a peek at 'asset inflation' we can split that (my convenience) into a few different parts; i.e. housing, share market - and some/any other, who cares? I'm under the impression that the share market is 'driven' in some large part by the super funds, I just wouldn't care to guess at that any further. But an asset shortage has been reported; what else is that except too much dough pursuing too few goods?  

Again you are hinting at demand pull inflation, however; you are attempting to use a hinted at "questionable" headline inflation figure to simultaneously prove hidden out of control supply-shock inflation. Hint: You would not have record employment, diminishing wages, and asset inflation operating in conjunction with one another.

Community member Mario Giuseppe said police officers were due to hold a meeting at Mutitjulu tomorrow. "This community is in terror," he told the ABC. "I thought the Government was here to protect the women and children and they are scaring the living daylights out of them. This is bringing back a lot of memories and opening a lot of scars for these old people here."

Women feared police were being sent in to take their children away, he said. "They think the army is coming to grab their kids and the police are coming to help them. The women and the kids are scared and they are running to the sand hills."

Mutitjulu elder Vince Forrester said he was worried for the safety of the women and children during the cold desert nights. "You don't bring an army into a community. This is intimidation," he said.

Community members have also asked the Government to clarify how it proposed to enforce an alcohol ban when there was a five-star hotel 20 minutes from the town.

"We have been begging for an alcohol counsellor and a rehabilitation worker so that we can help alcoholics and substance abusers but those pleas have been ignored," the Randalls said.

They said services in the community had gone backwards since Mr Brough became minister.

Explosive allegations about Mutitjulu were aired on ABC TV's Lateline program a year ago. It reported claims that young girls were being offered as prostitutes in exchange for petrol, and children as young as five had sexually transmitted diseases.

Shortly afterwards, Mr Brough withdrew annual funding of $3 million to the community and appointed Perth-based Brian McMaster as administrator of the local council.

But 10 days ago, the community won a Federal Court appeal against a December ruling that the appointment was valid.

The full Federal Court bench found the Government had been unreasonable in giving the community only 24 hours to respond to the appointment of the administrator.

Now, under the Howard Government's plan, Mutitjulu could again fall into the hands of the commonwealth.

The Federal Court has found the Howard government to be unreasonable, 10 days after the decision  Howard's storm troopers are arriving. Put yourself in the place of these people. Would you trust the Howard government on it's past actions?. This is not a quick fix situation, Howard has no understanding of Aboriginal culture and he has played a big part  in causing the escalation of this problem by withdrawing funds. The links between Howard's use of police and Mugabe's or all too chilling.

"The police came. They had been sent to destroy the house," said Herbert Nyika, Charmaine's father. "They knocked down the building, the walls; they smashed everything. This was when our child was trapped inside. She died there." Her mother, Lavender, said: "I blame the government because it is they who instructed the police to do what they did. It is terrible. I have lost my daughter in such a strange way."

She added: "Of course they have managed to clean up the city but at the same time they have brought suffering to the people - property destruction, homelessness and now the death of a child."

Worthing reading this if you haven't found it already.

"...

When Fraser passes the microphone to Harry Wilson, an angrier, younger man, the tension rises. Wilson proclaims that this is the Tampa again. This is "black children overboard … this Government is using these kids to win the election".

His words echo a joke drily recounted earlier to the Herald by one local official that the Prime Minister, John Howard, the magician politician, has pulled a rabbit out of his hat. "Only it is a black rabbit."

..."

Margo: Just put the link to that piece up now!

 .. but not nearly enough cents.

Subtitle: Claytons[1] inflation.

-=*=-

Paul Morrella: "Both propositions cannot be simultaneously correct."

Me: We-e-ell, matey, I wouldn't be too sure of that, if I was in your boots (horrors: perish the thought!)

-=*=-

Paul Morrella: "the Australian Reserve Bank has an inflation band target of 2 - 3%."

Me: Far be it for me, to suggest any actual wrong-doing, but having some 'inflation target' may be one thing, reporting some 'headline inflation' figure a distinct 2nd other, and then actually seeing what really goes on in the economy, a 3rd - and possibly radically different - thing altogether.

-=*=-

1. We are told that we're in the middle of a minerals' boom, and I have no reason to doubt that. What I do have a problem with is finding out exactly how much dough our mineral exports are earning, and exactly where this dough is going.

Over a looong period, I have been trying to find out the royalty figures; so far with extremely limited success. Why that? Could it possibly be, that the royalty figures are disgustingly low? (Horrors: perish the thought!) One suggestion came from Gareth Eastwood who said that we (the sheople®) get our 'slice' from company tax. (Gareth's statement, seems to me, is a tacit admission of low royalties...) Hmmm. The company tax rate stands at a nominal 30%, but didn't a recent report - from the tax office itself - estimate the actual effective rate at something more like 5%? See my problem here?

(Little wonder then, that the mining companies fly workers vast distances... on pre-tax dollars, one assumes? This is just one of many possible ways how they may 'drag-down' the tax rate? Who knows, but the very fact that we aren't informed is what? Suspicious? I mean really, daaarlings, exactly how suspicious? Just why can't we know? Why won't they tell us? Silly questions. Then, there is the non-small fact, of big slabs of any dividends 'disappearing' o/s...)

There is less doubt as to the wages paid to the miners; higher, continuing longer house-price inflation in WA is possibly attributable in (large?) part to the boom-miners' wages.

2. So-called 'headline inflation' is a manipulated figure, and (from my recall) excludes housing. Why that? Unless under a bridge, we usually live in some sort'a housing. Then, there's bananas, to which Costello recently ascribed a decisive influence in a recent 'good' value of 'headline inflation.' Hmmm. As well as bananas, 'headline inflation' does account for flat screen TV's etc - i.e. off-shored manufactures, where not all costs are included in the prices on offer. Seen any pollution figures for China lately? (Cough! Cough!) I've heard a term like 'non-included externalities;' here (actually, over there) are a really big swag of 'em. Then, could the 'headline inflation' figure be deliberately manipulated to suit Howard&Co?

(Tip: see

«Federal public servants sabotaging public access to information: Podger
Former Health Department secretary and public service commissioner Andrew Podger, who has served both Labor and Liberal governments in a 37-year career, says a combination of salary bonuses and relatively short-term contracts for senior public servants has served to reduce the independence of the bureaucracy.»

3. If we take a peek at 'asset inflation' we can split that (my convenience) into a few different parts; i.e. housing, share market - and some/any other, who cares? I'm under the impression that the share market is 'driven' in some large part by the super funds, I just wouldn't care to guess at that any further. But an asset shortage has been reported; what else is that except too much dough pursuing too few goods?

«The world is rolling in money because of the loose monetary policies of the US and Japan that were implemented to combat deflation, or rather the threat of it.
...
Throughout this period a debate has raged in central banking circles about whether monetary policy should target only consumer price inflation or also respond to excessive asset price increases as well; ...»

(My comment on Kohler's "to combat deflation" assertion. IMHO, the most likely reason that the US is 'printing' currency is to paper-over GWBush's shortcomings, as well as financing his disastrous 'dreams,' the prime example of which being the illegal invasion of Iraq, now turned brutal occupation...)

But housing is part of our national dream, our 'cultural landscape:' "We all wanna own our own homes!"

Sad, sadder, saddest: no longer possible for far too many, due in large part to Costello; see here and here.

-=*end*=-

PS
Web Results 1 - 50 of about 1,400,000 English pages for US m3 no longer published OR revealed. (0.13 secs)

Hits 3, 4, 5...

«M3 monetary aggregate no longer publshed by Fed Reserve
Basically no longer reporting M3 will do away with proof that we're financing our own debt. Purchases of U.S. Treasuries through the pprivate Hedge Fund ... - 38k»

«Money supply - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
As of March 23, 2006, information regarding M3 will no longer be published by the Federal Reserve, ostensibly because it costs a lot to collect the data but ... - 47k»

«Financial Sense Editorial "The Silver Bridge" by Hugo Salinas ...
The M3 data for the USA is no longer published by the Federal Reserve, ... The study of the EOCD revealed that the Norwegians, with an annual per capital ... - 28k»

Paul, you could possibly reflect on "a merry-go-round of dodgy claims and sham links in an attempt to back up false statements" - in direct reference to your own "Sure they do" statement/link (outdated material!?) - and then try pulling someone else's leg, OK?

Ref(s):

[1] Claytons: "the drink you have when you're not having a drink."

Phil Kendall, you do seem to have the unfortunate knack, of contradicting yourself, in a short period of time. You wrote:

phil kendall:

but has really accelerated of late; the US no longer even bothers to inform us of just how much dough they're 'printing.' (Tip: squillions.)

Sure they do

(Tip: It is not "squillions)

You wrote:

 we've got inflation (yeah. You wanna disprove it?

No, because you have got inflation. In fact, the Australian Reserve Bank has an inflation band target of 2 - 3%. The better question would be: What is wrong with manageable inflation? Especially when one considers the reverse is deflation.

'Asset-shortage,' whatever. Just far too much money sloshing around. Hard to understand where that's going.

What you would be referring to is the Keynesian theory of demand-pull inflation. This of course does not come through in the core inflation figures (flat screen TV's etc).  The better explanation of why this is may not be occurring, is given by you, in the very next para.

The present crisis began when the mining companies worked out that they could get resources for not much more than a song - plus the wages paid to the (AWA-conditions-depressed?) workers. In a nutshell: we is bein' robbed. See Perkins' "Hit Man" for more detail.

Both propositions cannot be simultaneously correct.

 .. but not too sorry.

-=*=-

G'day Jen.

If I appeared at all 'short,' it was possibly because of this: "Sorry but not as you say." (Jenny Hume on June 26, 2007 - 3:51pm.)

I think you'n I've canvassed this before; that I don't regard WD so much as a nattering place, as work?

Sooo, no-one ort'a be really be surprised, if my 'work' - occasional opinion, but always solidly grounded on research (I do my best) - were to be so capriciously dismissed. Eh?

We won't go into who's "Sorrier."

(But then how very nice of Damian Lataan (g'day) to flesh out the question of "the US invasion of Afghanistan being a land-grab" with a few pertinent facts. And Damian's conclusion is (IMHO!) worth a repeat: "amazing coincidence!")

And as a BTW (aka 'by the way'), thanks for the back-handed compliment, always assuming that you had 'prioritised' your objection (for what it was worth); one assumes you had lesser - or dare I say it, no objection to the rest of my 'what is the end-game?' - speaking as you do with some familiarity?

phil kendall

1. Yes, the poppies. Think: CIA secret flights to anywhere in the world, think of by-passing all airport security, think 'undercover agents,' think of all that potential dough ... "follow the money!"

Will the SUV drivers of America get discount narcotics, with the stolen gas? Quite a marketing strategy. You sure you never attended biz school?

Jenny Hume, while you personally may not see any reason why anyone would want to grab a slab of dirt down that part of the globe there are some very powerful oil people that can think of 2.5 billion reasons. Take a peek here and scroll down to around page 30 and read the astonishing remarks of John Maresca of Unocal as he testifies in front of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific of the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, in February 1998. This is the appropriate bit in case you miss it: 

“The second option is to build a pipeline south from Central Asia to the Indian Ocean. One obvious route south would cross Iran, but this is foreclosed for American companies because of U.S. sanctions legislation. The only other possible route is across Afghanistan, which has of course its own unique challenges. The country has been involved in bitter warfare for almost two decades, and is still divided by civil war. From the outset, we have made it clear that construction of the pipeline we have proposed across Afghanistan could not begin until a recognized government is in place that has the confidence of governments, lenders, and our company.
    Mr. Chairman, as you know, we have worked very closely with the University of Nebraska at Omaha in developing a training program for Afghanistan which will be open to both men and women, and which will operate in both parts of the country, the north and south.
    Unocal foresees a pipeline which would become part of a regional system that will gather oil from existing pipeline infrastructure in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. The 1,040-mile long oil pipeline would extend south through Afghanistan to an export terminal that would be constructed on the Pakistan coast. This 42-inch diameter pipeline will have a shipping capacity of one million barrels of oil per day. The estimated cost of the project, which is similar in scope to the trans-Alaska pipeline, is about $2.5 billion.”

The US invading Afghanistan was on the cards, by an amazing coincidence, just months before Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden got together to plan and execute the events of 9/11.

 .. to do a land-grab in Afghanistan.

-=*=-

1. Yes, the poppies. Think: CIA secret flights to anywhere in the world, think of by-passing all airport security, think 'undercover agents,' think of all that potential dough ... "follow the money!"

-=*=-

2. Think: oil pipeline.

-=*=-

3. Think: lily-pad; another link in the filthy chain of Ami bases.

-=*=-

Perhaps you can think - of some other reasons (apart from your having traipsed around - what - 20, 30 years ago?)

 We’re living in a world gone mad. After all the horror that the world went through during the twentieth-century we’re priming ourselves up to do it all over again in the twenty-first century.

 
John Howard is putting this nation in to a situation that can only be described as disastrous – both for Australia and for our neighbours. The unprecedented peacetime military build-up (and, yes, peacetime – we’ve not actually declared war on anyone and nor has anyone declared war on us) by Australia  can only be seen by our neighbours as nothing less than threatening to them.

  This is how the warmongering lunatic Greg Sheridan of The Australian envisages a militarised Australian as we head into the twenty-first century:

Consider the following prospect. Two huge amphibious ships, each weighing 27,000 tonnes, each carrying a full battalion of Australian soldiers and then some, with more than 1000 soldiers on each ship.

 
Each is also carrying a dozen Abrams tanks, as well as lighter vehicles and amphibious vessels for landing. Each has a fully equipped hospital in case there are casualties. Each also has eight helicopters, six for unloading troops and two for defending and supporting the ships.

The troop ships are escorted and guarded by three air warfare destroyers. Each of these is equipped with the US Aegis combat system, the most advanced naval combat system in the world. Each has a phased array radar that enables it to engage and destroy hostile aircraft at a range of more than 150km. Each of these destroyers, at a modest size of 6250tonnes, has 48 separate missile cells. Each is also equipped with advanced sonars for anti-submarine warfare.

The Wedgetails, the F-35s, the destroyers, the amphibious ships and the commanders of the land force are all networked into the giant US-based satellite and electronic intelligence system, which detects any movement or communication of any potentially hostile force the second it happens.

 
Finally, Australia 's quiet, immensely capable Collins class submarines have gone in close to the destination point and landed Special Air Service troopers, the best small-unit infantry forces in the world, to prepare the way for the larger Australian party to follow.

  Well, I have considered what he has described and one can only come to the conclusion that we live in world led by madmen determined that we should all live in perpetual fear – fear of a non-existent enemy over every horizon, an enemy that morphs more and more into the mythical ‘al Qaeda’ everywhere we turn – it gets mentioned a lot but there’s never any actual proof that its there; we’re just told that it is and, like Orwell’s Emanuel Goldstein, we just believe it.  

 
Already that fear is being realised but it’s not over the horizon; it’s being realised right here in our own back yard. Our army and police are moving in against entire communities HERE IN AUSTRALIA in a move that is nothing less than a land grab on behalf of Howard’s Corporatist Union (Mining Section) chums. He says he’s doing it in the interests of Australia unaware of the fact that most thinking people in Australia are aware that the phrase ‘Australia’s interests’ is simply a euphemism for Big Business in Australia.

 
We need to be very, very frightened here in Australia, not of the boogie man we are told to fear, but of the lunatics and corporatist fascists that are leading our own country to the disaster of never ending fear and war all in the pursuit wealth and power.

Eliot, John Howard was the PM when all of those abuses in the concentration camps were doing, he had thousands of reports like the one I linked and you want more examples.

Howard ordered the continued jailing of children AFTER receiving detailed reports from the UNHRC, UNHCR, Amnesty, Human rights watch, doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers and so on.

Mark Latham's first question to Howard when he became leader of the ALP was "will you release the children from detention before Xmas".    No was the short and long of it.

It is surely encouraging to Margo and Management team to see the number of opinions Howard's latest act of bastardry has caused.

Fortunately for Australia the great majority have seen through the "Shock and Awe" scam, at least as far as the "free speech" of the Webdiary is concerned.

I was particularly interested in the "Wake-up Call" from Jane Lahey - brilliant reasoning without dressing and clearly well thought out.

Well done Jane.

I feel somewhat akin to you because - besides myself - you are the first to admit to being f-r-i-g-h-t-e-n-e-d of a future under the Howard "New Order". [That reference is my considered similarities between Howard and Hitler]

Anyone who has suffered under the fear, hatred and uncertainty of the Howard Liberals, real or perceived, must have huge reservations against a person who has NEVER EVER shown any DUTY OF CARE for the Australian people, old or young; service personnel or not; infirm; poor or in need of assistance. 

Just imagine this lying rodent arguing that the Aborigine women and Children should not be afraid to report their problems!!!

His entire 11 years has been in applying the "gag" to our Parliament, the Public Service and anyone else in fear of the ASIO, the Sedition Laws and the Anti-Terrorist laws built simply on suspicion.

Two courageous journalists from the Herald Sun were leaked a document which showed that Howard intended to slash the benefits to Veterans.  Howard prosecuted them and they were fined $7,000 just recently.

A concerned Custom official has lost half of his superannuation because he "blew the whistle" on the lack of security by Sydney Airport's boss, (Howard's mate) and Howard prosecuted him and he received 9 months suspended sentence.

His lying government leaked a document to Andrew Bolt, their favourite  Journalist who,  also works for the Herald Sun, and absolutely nothing was said or done.

And now the Work-no-Choices legislation which provides the fear for  even the best employees to be sacked at any time, day or night.And the SMH Ross Gittins, who has written some excellent financial articles - claims that the number of FULL-TIME JOBS is increasing!

When you can be sacked at any time there is no such thing as Full time employment, isn't that so?

Everything has been for the benefit of the Corporations and their media along with the perhaps 10% of our population.

I know I become passionate about this spiteful little schoolboy and I would hope that every ex-service personnel will realise that he treats them past and present as commodities and has frozen benefits under the Gold Card, tried to slash their entitlements by $500 million and employees private enterprise to spy on those who dare to claim war-caused injuries.  Fair Dinkum.

Yes Jane, your article was right.  'Well might we say" we should all be afraid of Howard - ALL of us.

 Subtitle: "follow the money!"

-=*=-

«[Narrator:] The legend you are about to hear is true
Only the needle should be changed to protect the record

[St. George:] This is the countryside
My name is St George
I'm a knight

Saturday, July 10th, 8:05 pm
I was working out of the castle on the nightwatch
when a call came in from the Chief
A dragon had been devouring maidens
Homicide
My job, slay him»

-=*=-

Cast: 1) 'they,' the kleptocracy. 2) 'they,' the sheople. 3) 'we,' the witness/investigators.

-=*=-

The kleptocracy are those who 'control,' i.e. the 'front-men' politicians (aka puppets), the military force plus the Harvard Business School of Sharks (aka m/i-plex), the 'mouthpiece' MSM (aka venal, corrupt traitors), sundry (mostly r-wing) 'think-tank' (pseudo) academics and the dreadful neoCon cabal (of course), the Israel Lobby and any shadowy 'illuminati' or other 'banksters' - no specifics here (wha'd'ya expect?) - these shadows may exist or not, but this is not the place to trot out some to-be-poo-poo-ed conspiracy theory! - just looking for the facts:

[Knave:]
What's to describe
You see one dragon, you seen 'em all

[St. George:]
Would you try to remember, Sir
Just for the record
We just want to get the facts, Sir)

I said 'no conspiracies;' what 'unites' the kleptocracy is that they all seem to be rowing in the same direction. Coordination, if it exists, must be on the QT. But conspiracy? Nah! When the choice is between conspiracy and a cock-up, we choose the cock-up every time. The only problem with this cock-up however, is that it's driven by greed beyond avarice and performed by murdering criminals, plus their accessories, the proxies and propagandists.

The kleptocracy in general, are amongst the fattest of the sometimes obscenely fat-cats.

The sheople® are the hapless, powerless multitudes (we at chezPhil do not belong, we generally don't 'do' TV - we try to keep our minds clean and fresh). Basically, the sheople do whatever they can, whilst doing what they must; food, clothing & a roof. All else - TVs, games, iPods, home-delivered pizza - is luxury; except that the (flat-panel, wide-screen) TV is now almost mandatory; a general must - for it is the instrument of control.

Then there's people like me'n you - not too sure about you; puzzling it all out.

-=*=-

1. The present crisis began in 2000 with the 'stolen election' of GWBush.

The judiciary failed utterly.

The MSM acted as a unified Bush cheer-squad.

The illusion of democracy collapsed.

It was a power-grab.

-=*=-

In the hiatus between 'election' and '9/11' we saw what could only be described as a pig-higorant hick from the (Texas) sticks. Coincidentally(?!) some time before this time, we also 'elected' our very own runt-on-a-rampage, starting in 1996. Just as the UK got their Bliar®. Coincidentally again(?!) it all changed - or so they tell us - when the twin towers fell - or were pushed (by parties un/known; WD forbids speculation). Now the US (with side-kick UK and hanger-on Aus) has gone on a thieving, murdering rampage, hence the wannabe hegemon and the poodle with dag

Terrorism? Debunked, see Pape's "Dying to kill."

Afghanistan was a land-grab.

Iraq is an oil-grab.

-=*=-

2. The present crisis began in the nineties, when Bush(the elder) then Clinton embarked on their own (mini) wars. What these two showed, is that both Repugs and Dummocrats will murder. This sort'a bipartisanship is toadally undemocratic.

-=*=-

3. The present crisis began in the '70s with the election and subsequent dirty (Lib/MSM/CIA?) putsch to displace Whitlam. (I dimly saw - through a film of my own tears - the tears of so many others...) It continued with the election of the Hawke/Keating governments when those two 'worthies' showed us that Labor could (and did) sell-out to the big end of town. It is rumoured that the current Labor mob have dumped any lefty-ideas. This sort'a bipartisanship is toadally undemocratic. Needless to say, as was the preceding dirty putsch.

-=*=-

4. The present crisis began with what many consider the illegal establishment of so-called 'modern-day' Israel. As if the actual establishment wasn't questionable enough, we got the King David Hotel atrocity and Deir Yassin massacre et al. Basically daaarlings, a 'nation' founded on blood, living on blood, none of which is theirs to shed - since it belongs to the former legal owners and their mates. Hence the illegal sprog.

The Israeli invasion of Lebanon was an attempted water-grab.

The Israeli invasion of Palestine was/is a land-grab.

-=*=-

5. The present crisis began with the A-bombing of the two overwhelmingly non-military, aka civilian targets in Japan. The history didn't start there of course; colonialism had been going on for yonks, but the nukular option - now on everyone's table - made things a bit more piquant, shall we say? Like, end of civilisation anyone?

The nuking of Japan was an intimidatory mass-murder life-grab.

-=*=-

6. The present crisis began perhaps with the fall of 'Bretton woods' under Nixon ("The Bretton Woods system was finally undone by the most destructive venture of the Pax Americana, its criminal war in Indochina..." - y'cn getcha own ref.) - or perhaps under Reagan ('deficits don't matter,' say) - but has really accelerated of late; the US no longer even bothers to inform us of just how much dough they're 'printing.' (Tip: squillions.) Along with the out'a control Japanese Yen and the out'a control Costello - we've got inflation (yeah. You wanna disprove it? Try here and here; Alan Curran - now known to be not his/her real name - never even acknowledged my hard work.) 'Asset-shortage,' whatever. Just far too much money sloshing around. Hard to understand where that's going.

But inflation is a savings/lifestyle-grab.

-=*=-

7. The present crisis began when the mining companies worked out that they could get resources for not much more than a song - plus the wages paid to the (AWA-conditions-depressed?) workers. In a nutshell: we is bein' robbed. See Perkins' "Hit Man" for more detail.

Currently, mining is a resource(our treasures)-grab.

-=*=-

8. The present crisis began with the 'ramp-up' of CO2 production. Could be the 'real biggie,' the one that actually does what nukular so far only threatens.

The greedastrophe is a goodbye-grab.

-=*=-

9. The present crisis continues now before our very eyes, with Howard sending in the Army to stop child-molesting. Q: will the army go into bedrooms?

Howard is a lying hubris-grab.

-=*=-

Not only is we bein' robbed, we're being lied to. Well, natch: we saw this 'in spades' over Iraq's non-existent WMDs. But not 'just' that, it's day in and day out, and the bigger the lie the better. Our troubles are in comparison small, there's the people 'under the gun' everywhere that the US, UK and Aus plus Israel want to steal some resource; the wannabe world hegemon plus its illegal sprog and the poodle with dag, all mass-murdering to enable theft (of oil, land and water) - if they want something, anything - then in they go, guns blazing DU-tipped death.