The average lifespan was low, because of child mortality. Having people die during childhood really brings the average down, doesn't it? An infant mortality rate of 40% will cut the average down to the 30's. The standard deviation is important here. Lifespans are increasing, but the average is increasing moreso, due to a lowering in the standard deviations. More and more are making it being elderly, rather than the maximum lifespan increasing.
But think about this. We KNOW that many figures in classical history, over 2000 years ago lived to their 60's and even later. Plato made it to 80, Socrates 71, Leonardo Da Vinci 71, Plutarch 71. Pythagoras 75. These are good lifespans even by today's standards.. The average is low due to the higher likelihood of premature death which while IS a cause of death, it is different to increase longevity. Longevity hasn't change as much, what has changed is the lessened likelihood of being struck down by disease, war, starvation, etc.
So some see this 'average' and then extrapolate this to 150 year lifespans. But I ask, do these people not see these lifespans, stories and knowledge of 'old people', and then question this 30 year lifespan nonsense? Does no one think, that if people died in their 30's, that society would have fallen apart, as no one would be raising children?
It is interesting how people can spout such 'wisdom', SEE that history doesn't support it, and still spout it...
Comments
Official nonsense about diet and pre-industrial peoples
It is really quite incredible what nonsense officials spout, isn't it. I mean you only have to look at photographs of people who survived on 'paleodiets': pre flour and water Australian aborigines, Masai tribespeople, Zulus, PNG tribespeople, Pacific Islanders - most of them big, tall and very healthy. And those who lived in Africa lived in highly biodiverse environments with massive stocks of big predators and big grazing animals. Many of these people lived to a ripe old age UNTIL colonisation dispossessed them and made their lives increasingly precarious, contributing to high infant mortality and short lives - at the same time as it often actually caused the births of more children than customary. They have tales of their old people, they looked after their grandmothers, and photos of elderly people survive. Most of our data on these people comes from the time when they were dispossessed and was collected by the dispossessors, whom it suited to believe that these people had always died very early and had always lived in misery, just like the poor British when the same thing happened to them.
It is a big problem that we live in a society where anyone given authority by the press can spout fluent nonsense and no-one questions it. The sort of diet that is making us all fat today and causing diabetes II in children, where we consume excessive fructose and sucrose, has been marketed to us for years by giant corporations that profited from this change in diet, such as cereal producers.
So what is someone like that doing on the National Health and Medical Council - waxing disapproval of diets about which he admits he has no detail whatsoever? This is a government body that funds research! Ah, but where do those funds come from in our increasingly corporatised society?
Let's face it, anything to do with food in our society is big business, so, don't expect real science if there is a lot of money to lose.
Circular argument on diet and human lifespan
As someone who has read "Demography, territory and law", I now very seriously question the received knowledge that throughout human existence, most humans only managed to live for 2 or 3 decades, and for most of that time, never achieving even the biblical 3 score years and 10. To me it doesn't make much sense that people with access to food in its purest form and NOT obliged to work in unnatural postures and places (e.g. sitting down indoors , or crawling down a coal mine ) for most of their daylight hours would for the most part be unhealthy and die in what should be the prime of their lives.
This morning I heard an interview on the local ABC station with a spokesperson from the NH and MRC ( National Health and Medical Research Council ) about a “paleo diet” This person was opposed to such a diet because it meant eating what people ate thousands of years ago when life expectancy was "only about 30 years" and therefore it was an unhealthy diet. The interviewer asked him what a "paleo diet" consisted of, to which he answered that he didn’t know but that it must have been a poor one since people died so young . He said that NH and MRC knew what was a good diet for humans and it wasn’t a “paleo diet” ( which seems to consist of meat, eggs, salad (leaves) fish , shell fish fruit and nuts – shocking!! ) What if it could be shown that people did not die young and that many lived to 60 or 70 years old , even 80? Would it still be a terrible diet? The judgment from this authority relied entirely on the short lifespan conviction.
Government suggest first home buyers dip into super funds
After releasing the government’s intergenerational report last week, Mr Hockey said Australians should be given flexibility to use their superannuation in new ways. He went so far to suggest that younger people could be allowed to dip into their super savings to buy their first home.
The IGR says that we will be poorer in the future and have to work harder because of the high cost of an "ageing population" and their health care and pensions. Now, Joe Hockey is saying that people now should access their superannuation to help buy a house! That means more pensions down the track. If Hockey really wanted to make housing affordable, he's tone down the demands that keep outstripping supply. Tax breaks, high population growth, foreign investors, and negative gearing!
If governments stopped tweaking our demographics, we may find a way to have affordable housing, and stop pandering to the wealthy property investors. Housing has little to do with affordability, and all to do with satisfying investors. They thrive on demands not meeting supply!
Most of our growth is due to immigration, so the immigration tap should be turned down to 1990s levels, and not the full thrust we have now!
Double agent treachery!
A group of Iraqi popular forces shot down the US Army helicopter that was carrying weapons for the ISIL in the western parts of Al-Baqdadi region in Al-Anbar province on Thursday. The US Apache helicopters airdropped foodstuff and weapons for the ISIL. Also, Iraq’s army had shot down two British planes as they were carrying weapons for the ISIL terrorists in Al-Anbar province. The Iraqi parliament has asked London for explanations in this regard. US and Israeli-made weapons have been discovered from the areas purged of ISIL terrorists. ('ISIL' and 'ISIS' denote the same terrorist orgaisation. - Ed)
The US claimed that it had airdropped weapons and medical aid to Kurdish fighters confronting the ISIL in Kobani, near the Turkish border in Northern Syria.
Few in the Middle East doubt that Washington is playing a ‘double game’ with its proxy armies in Syria, but western audiences are kept ignorant. There's also the theory that ISIS and other terror groups have been generated as a sort of reaction to the repeated US interventions, or even whether they are actually paid agents of Washington? It appears that the US prefers a chaotic situation in Anbar Province, which is near the cities of Karbala and Baghdad, as it does not want the ISIL crisis to come to an end.
An extra 300 Australian troops are being sent to train Iraqis in the fight against the Islamic State terror group, with Tony Abbott refusing to rule out boosting the deployment further. There was a genuine risk of insider attacks by Iraqi soldiers on the Australians – so-called "green on blue" attacks that claimed several Australian lives in Afghanistan. "It's a real risk. It's a risk I take very seriously," Air Chief Marshal Binskin said.
Playing a game of "double agent" is dangerous, treacherous, and deceptive, not only of inside attacks by Afghani soldiers, but on the part of the US ostensibly fighting terror, and also supporting it!
Intergenerational report- madness
So, future generations will live longer, depite less spending on health care, and be poorer. Immigration will continue, towards "big Australia", in an effort to keep the proportion of age groups similar to a few decades ago, but the "pie" will be much bigger!
If our future, as set out by this report, is to be a reality for future generations, it's a concession of economic failure, and poor management of our once prosperous nation! How are we to pass on Australia to future generations with such bleak futures for them? There will be crowding, and massive costs. Productivity will decline, because of lack of jobs. We are heading towards the new third world country, and reckless "growth".
Population growth now is inter-generational theft! The "economic growth" model is deeply flawed and reckless. The focus on our Economy should be high living standards, jobs, affordable housing, and environmental integrity - and lastly- a healthy economy! After nearly 25 years of "economic growth", why are we to get poorer and poorer, and worse off each generation? The "projected" population growth of about 40 million by mid century is being treated as inevitable, when it's not! People are being scammed, and ripped off, by politicians with myopic vision and lack of integrity.
Our present human and natural resources should be protected and optimized, rather than relying on immigration to artificially tweak or demographics, and GDP.
Immigration does speed up Aging - FECCA
Check out this article:
Immigration speeds up Australia's rate of aging - FECCA
Wed, 2013-05-22 00:37 — Sheila Newman
From 2011 to 2026 ethnic people over 80 will increase by 59% compared with 29% in the Australian-born population. The rate at which Australia's population is ageing has been accelerated by immigration. Furthermore, this effect will increase. Immigration is a major contributor to the dementing demographic. These statistics run counter to the ideology peddled by the growth lobby and its promoters should be held responsible.
Aging migrants: Can you work this out?
Can you work this out?
When skilled workers come to Australia they may be an average of 25 years old.
They will only work for 35 years and then retire as old age people.
For people borne here it takes 65 years before they retire which means that in the meantime there are extra people dying during an extra time of 25 years.
Is immigration of skilled workers actually speeding up and increasing the unequal proportion of workers and retired people?
Steve Keen and economics
I do follow Steve Keen's blog.
Please note, the fact that these people are exceptions, proves the rule. There are some professional economists who saw it coming, but they don't represent the mainstream, and they stand as exceptions to the institution of economics.
Politically, it is the actions of the institution which matter.
Currently the world is suffering from lowering GDP expectations. Growth is slowing. We are now acknowledging that the best days have already passed! This is unprecedented. But why is it happening? Why after continuous improvement of quality of life, are we seeing the end of this trend, and the eventual reversal? Why is the West now working harder and harder to maintain the same quality of life?
It seems universally recognised that the 'good times' are over, but WHY?
This is the issue. The WHY isn't I believe a matter of economics. Some economist may be able to better explain the mechanics behind what is happening, and be able to better diagnose bubbles and busts, but what is the solution?
If the cause is not economic in nature, than economists can't address the cause. Our economic problems are outside the their scope of expertise.
The problem is a societal one, and I am NOT talking about whether we follow Marxism or Free Market Libertarianism. The clue is in the apathy that exists towards the problem of declining living standards...
In Planning, Jane Monk and
In Planning, Jane Monk and Adrian Salmon are examples of the permanency of bureaucratic decision makers vis-à-vis the transitory nature of Ministers. Their vision of a high density mega-Melbourne has overridden that of the public. In fact Jane is now a director of the Metropolitan Planning Authority.
Recently she was quoted in the Herald Sun as having said, "dividing the city into five sub-regions would allow councils to avoid parochial decision making." This assumption that only distant authorities may make decisions about anything is quite mad and antithetical to democracy. In a world where relocalisation is thought by many to provide the best democracy and energy logistics long term, this kind of elitist bureaucracy should be denounced and trounced.
Finally the fees for foreign buyers of Australian property are going to go up, but not nearly enough. They will go up to a few thousand dollars per million only. In Singapore the fees are so steep that they have greatly reduced this scourge which Australian politicians have failed to protect us from.
http://news.domain.com.au/domain/real-estate-news/foreign-buyers-set-to-be-hit-with-steep-fees-to-buy-australian-property-20150225-13ob2a.html
and another
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-25/foreign-real-estate-buyers-to-pay-fees-up-to-10000-dollars/6260748
So there is a little improvement in Australia, but not nearly enough. Still the real estate people and developers want it all their own way; they are convinced that they have a right to inflict their way of making wealth on the rest of us and they resent any attempts to claw something back or restrain their avalanche of concrete. Although Asia has protections against foreign development, Australian developers already sell about half of Australian property to Asia. If you go there you can see the advertising. Or just look at some foreign internet publications.
http://news.domain.com.au/domain/real-estate-news/jail-threat-for-developers-who-market-all-their-apartments-offshore-20150226-13parn.html
There are economists and then there are economists
The economists that you refer to as not seeing the GFC coming are referred to as economic rationalists or as John Quiggin prefers market liberalists. Economists who did manage to predict or anticipate some form of calamity arising are loosely referred to as Keynesians or Post Keynesians. Both John and Steve Keen belong to the latter group and have written books ("Zombie Economics & Debunking Economics") which outline the complete nonsense on which market liberalism is based.
Again both of these gentlemen have web sites (www.johnquiggin.com and www.debtdeflation.com) tackling a range of issues. John's blog is a more current affairs based site engaging with the general public in discussion on a wide range of topics. Steve's website is more economics based as he tackles economic rationalism head-on, he is currently based at Kingston University in England and is acquainted with Yanis Varoufakis Greece's current Finance Minister.
It is their insight into the connection between banks, debt and money and the denial of those connections by mainstream economists (economic rationalists) that has me intrigued. What we are seeing in Australia today is that very same denialism that caused the GFC in governments at all levels and of all persuasions, big business, the mainstream media including the ABC. Denialism is a product of neoliberalism where the rights of society are reduced and/or withdrawn in accordance with the prevailing doctrine at expense of the majority for the gain of the minority in power.
We are importing the wrong type of immigrants
We need the ones that DON'T grow old...
Immigration is no solution to an ageing population (16/12/2008) at http://eye-on-immigration.blogspot.com.au/2008/12/immigration-is-no-solution-to-ageing.html
Immigrants are closer to being aged than those who are born into the country. Ergo, increasing population by immigration WORSENS the ageing population problem. But if you ask people who make easy, lazy money from population growth what the solution is, they would, of course, prefer to bring in people who are instant consumers the moment they arrive, over say, people who might take 15-18 years before they become consumers.. You can't package a mortgage for a 1 month old...
Really, the argument boils down to this.
We've been importing people en-masse, as the West has been doing, for decades now and this has not produced any results. Simply, we've been implementing the 'solution', and it's not working.
Oddly, few actually make this point and stick to it. The population debate between Kelvin Thompson and Robert Doyle was interesting, and Kelvin made good points, and I think he made the point that population growth is simply not working, but I think that the tactic of putting forward 'intellectual' arguments, facts and stats doesn't quite stick with people, which is why perhaps the arguments aren't gaining much traction.
I don't think it is a matter of 'debate'. We've been pursuing growth for over 20 years, increasing the rate of growth and increasing the population size more and more. All that which this was supposed to 'solve', hasn't materialised. Growthists then say that we then need MORE growth. But I think the tactic to counter this is to point out, again and again and again, is any of this working?. And not just ask it, but hammer it again and again and again.
The issue of population growth as economic benefit is SETTLED. It's been tried, and isdemonstrably a failure. No Australian can reasonably argue that mass population growth has increased the availability of good housing, jobs, made transport easier and solved the ageing population problem. There is no evidence of this, and pressed, no growthist can find anything which doesn't involve the loosest interpretation of dodgy figures and distortion of obvious reality.
I think a more simple approach to highlighting this, and relentlessly demanding explanations as to how higher house prices, increasing unemployment and increased traffic can be interpreted as improvements. The question "where has this crap actuallyworked?" needs to be posed again and again and again and again until Australians are familiar with the line, and can ask, and realise that there is no answer to, that question.
The problem is, that this tactic is 'simplistic', and many people prefer to avoid simple argument in favour of more complex, more researched arguments which prove their intellectual cred.
ABC report on CFMEU nationwide demos March 4, 2015
At least the ABC covered the event nationally. I don't understand why the CFMEU itself is relying on a few commercial vids when surely they have plenty of footage taken by members.
Anyway, looks like this event was pretty successful. May we have many more.
Thanks to the CFMEU.
"Ageing population" hoax to overcome opposition to immigration
Tony Shepherd, chair of Audit Commission, has warned that the migration intake should be maintained at current levels and then rise in the years ahead to confront the challenges of an ageing population…
"In a sign that Australians will live healthier and longer lives, by mid-century there will be about 35,000 people over the age of 100. The continued arrival of young migrants will be essential to dealing with the ageing of the population…"
It's a futile effort to try and keep our population young, by diluting the "aged population" with an increasing flow of migrants! People are being regarded as economic units, or consumer units, to collect and artificially keep our GDP afloat.
… keeping net overseas migration at current levels will add $1.6 trillion to the Australian economy every year by mid-century, driving almost half the country’s economic growth over the coming decades.
What about the costs? It's pure Ponzi demographics, of keeping the pyramid of people growing, and discarding the vulnerable and older off the scale, and into the abyss!
There's no precedent that growing populations bring wealth, or can be kept "young". It's like the CEO of McDonalds recommending that we eat more junk food, or cigarette manufacturers telling us that we need to smoke more because it's "good" for our health and the economy?
It is big business and the owners of capital that are the primary beneficiaries of Australia’s high immigration intake. Just like Kevin Rudd, they are spruiking their own agendas under the label as "reports" or "news" when it's about corporate greed and power.
More and more consumers, and less powers from the public, creates a pool of human resources to manipulate and negotiate. More people means less resources per capita.
An "ageing population" is an inevitable step towards a sustainable population size.
Economists love growth, it gives them a job
The Finance biz love growth, because it gives them work. We ask economists and banks and money men what to do, and lo! Behold! They advocate the very things which require more investments and debts, i.e., whats good for their business. I am NOT talking about the economy in general, but their SPECIFIC careers and businesses. An analyst from a bank will support growth, because it makes his employer money. That is their prime motivation. Few state this. Even better, if their advice fails, they get paid to clean it up.
How many people who helped cause, or failed to foresee the GFC got fired? Analyst after analyst, economist after economist failed to predict it, and kept their jobs.
Our politicians don't see this. Most people don't. They honestly believe that the economic advice they receive is "objective". That the CEOs of banks and handlers of capital are being objective. This is like asking barbers whether people should get their hair cut more frequently, because the barber "knows about hair". Our obsession with economic experts is on the SAME level of silliness. Of course they would say what they say.
This might seem a basic point, but it underlies what is going on. Globalism, free movement of labour, financialisation, these are nothing more than the results of getting advice from people who just also coincidentally happen to profit money and power from it.
I think many people miss it. When Harry Triguboff talks about mass importing of people and ending the cottages and moving people into units, he is just arguing why we need his specific business. Yet no one just says it. A bank will advise for something that allows them to make more loans, but no one just says it
Australia under threat
Tony Abbott is trying to wind back the clock on Australia, and bring us back to our lawless beginnings, of few laws and regulations regarding the workplace, our health and our jobs. This is pure, and destructive, neo-liberalism of favouring the Economy, and capital business owners, over the population of Australia that governments are meant to represent. Our fore-fathers worked hard to bring our living standards up to that of a developed nation. Globalism is a giant force now set to give Australia a severe blow! Huge corporations, united together, and becoming increasing bigger and wealthier than governments, and the latter are meant to tow the line for their vested interests. That means they will be able to monopolize our retail sector, and quash any objections or controversy. To compete in the world market, our wages must decrease, along with workers' rights, so we can compete with third world competitors.
Humans are no more than economic units, to be exploited and manipulated for the convenience of Big Businesses, and $$$.
Hundreds of koalas killed in secret "cull"
NEARLY 700 koalas have been reportedly been secretly killed in a mass cull in Victoria due to concerns over starvation in a key habitat.
The Australian reports that 686 koalas were culled near the Great Ocean Road in 2013 and 2014 in response to overpopulation in manna gum woodlands in the area. Instead of unlocking their fragmented and limited habitat, they were lethally disposed of - for their own benefit.
Hundreds of koalas killed in secret mass cull
The cull is said to have been done in secret to avoid a backlash from locals and activists. Clearly, this is how our democracy works now - to avoid any ruffling of public feathers, things are done secretly.
Ironically, yesterday was World Wildlife Day, a new day to celebrate our native species and raise awareness. While the day’s intent is to bring attention to wildlife crime and illegal wildlife trade — a global epidemic bringing numerous prized species to the verge of extinction — there are also many other negative environmental side effects to the wildlife trade.
While these koalas are not victims of trafficing, they are victims of callous and lethal "management" in Australia - the land famous for mammal extinctions.
Threat of mercenary armies
These commercial armies are a threat, like an army of ravenous ants eating away and killing everything in their path. Restless and ravenous, army ant colonies are nature's Mongol hordes. They kill and eat anything in their way, digesting it even as they tear it apart! Anything that stands in their way will be overwhelmed. Army ants have large, scissor-like jaws called mandibles. Altruistic and cooperative toward one another, nestmates readily go to war to preserve their colony. They are actually highly social creatures.
Highly paid and well-administered human army machines are even more frightening! They can be used by corrupt forces, and not be responsible for taking commands. Americans are said to be less inclined to oppose a war that is being fought by hired foreign mercenaries, even when their own tax dollars are being squandered to fund it. Military contractors have seriously discredited themselves during the war in Iraq, shooting innocent people and angering the population against them.
Since many perform non-combat duties, it is not likely they have suffered as many deaths and wounds as GI’s. By some estimates, perhaps 1,000 perished in Iraq, about one mercenary for every four GI’s killed.
US war veteran Michael Prysner believes that the contractors have been already involved in a Ukrainian turmoil. Private US armies are carrying out their "dirty work" globally, according to Mr.Prysner.
Numerous US mercenaries are illegally operating in all parts of the world, and if the US has an intention to meddle into domestic affairs of another country with its own hands "clean", it sends mercenaries to conduct their "job" there.
Read more: US mercenaries pose threat to Ukrainians being ultra-violent individuals - US military vet at http://sputniknews.com/voiceofrussia/2014_04_11/US-mercenaries-pose-thre...
Planned "over-development" of Byron Bay
Hundreds of people rallied in Byron Bay yesterday (1st March) to protest against the proposed over-development of the town sparked by the recent controversial approval of rezoning of West Byron for hundreds of new homes.
The Echo: hundreds rally to protect Byron
There was a concert, with music and speakers.
The protest was organised by the Byron Residents’ Group (BRG) and Byron Young Residents Alliance (BYRA) with crowd estimates ranging from around 500 to just over 1,000.
‘The developers promoted the West Byron project as a place where young people could buy homes yet these young folk recognise that, like so many developments in Byron, they won’t get a look-in,’ BRG spokesperson Ms Coorey said.
This planning issue mask the real problem of Australia's heavy population growth, and the squeeze in our cities and the spilling over of housing onto iconic coastal landscapes. Australian singer-songwriter Xavier Rudd said the West Byron development would inevitably cause environmental damage.
Most of the West Byron land was repeatedly rejected by Council as unsuitable for development on multiple grounds. In November 2014 the Minister for Planning, Pru Goward — who has never been to Byron Bay — approved the rezoning of West Byron for intensive development. The BRG group We believe that Byron Bay is still unique among NSW’s coastal towns and that its character is what brings people here. If that essential small-town, nature-focussed, relaxed, community feel goes and is replaced by an over-developed crowded mess then everyone loses – visitors, business operators and residents.
Byron Bay Residents Group
The proposed residential area encompasses an isolated patch of core Koala habitat – an essential stepping stone in a corridor linking, through Sunrise, major colonies around Cumbebin and Tyagarah. Without this link Byron’s Koalas may not survive. The proposal is to clear some Koala habitat and to surround the remaining core Koala habitat with houses. The proponents do admit “It is acknowledged that the suitability of this habitat for koalas is likely to diminish with expanding adjacent urban development”.
Petition: The Honorable Mike Baird - Don't ruin Byron Bay
Population growth, and the housing industry, have become embedded into our economy, and it's unsustainable.
Water fluoridation increases hypothyrodism rate by 30% - study
Personally myself I have the white marks on my teeth from too much fluoride and had those marks for as long as I can remember. I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism last year. I 'fit' into that study though granted one person experience is a terrible way to prove or disprove anything.
Victorian government review of Prescribed burns
As part of the Andrews Labor Government’s commitment to keeping the state safe, the Inspector-General for Emergency Management (Victoria) has been asked to conduct a review of performance targets for the future bushfire fuel management program on public land.
The review will examine a risk-based approach to bushfire fuel management against the existing hectare-based performance target program. The Inspector-General for Emergency Management has been asked to deliver his report by the end of March 2015.
The review meets the call for action from Neil Comrie, the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, Dr Gillian Sparkes and others. It will consider the views of experts, current research and the work undertaken by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) since the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission.
Under the existing policy of Prescribed burns, burning 5% of bushland near human activity is nothing less that catastrophic. A 5% of burning each year, and then burnt again in another 5 years is not enough time for wildlife to successfully recolonize, and for connective habitat to grow back!
Under the present policy of Prescribed Burning, bush far from human activity will be burned simply to tick off quotas of hectares, without any real solution to protecting property and human lives.
According to Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water, Lisa Neville “The review will not affect the Department’s planned burning program for 2014-2015. It will begin a process to develop an evidence-based approach to reducing the risk of fire and protecting lives, communities and the environment.”
Read more on the AWPC website
Public kept like Mushrooms re new Hunter Valley coal mines
Large swaths of the Upper Hunter are likely to be cleared to make way for as many as 16 new or expanded open-cut coal mines, according to leaked studies prepared by the Office of the Environment and Heritage and 11 major mining companies.
According to a Biodiversity Plan, seven species including the regent honeyeater, diamond firetail and brush-tailed phascogale, face being wiped out in the region. Endangered communities at risk include the Hunter Valley Weeping Myall Woodland and the Warkworth Sands Woodland.
The Age: Revealed- Major new coal mines planned for the Upper Hunter
Terms of reference were signed off by the former federal environment minister, Tony Burke, in October 2012 - before the results of the Strategic Assessment Report on the Future Coal Mining in the Upper Hunter Valley and the Biodiversity Plan! So, these "reports" are worth not much more than the paper they are written on if the mines already have the green light!
Lock the Gate Alliance NSW Coordinator, Georgina Woods said, "We’ve suspected for some time that an agreement was being stitched-up behind closed doors with the coal industry to sign-off on extensive clearing of remnant woodland in the Hunter Valley to accommodate vast new areas of mining....
..coal companies (have had) privileged access to biodiversity information being kept from the public, and preparing to sign-off on potential wildlife regional extinctions to accommodate the coal industry".
"Apparently the coal industry was going to be given the final draft of this plot to wipe out Hunter woodland before the public saw any of it, and even before Cabinet was given a glance..."
Mines in the Hunter Valley are said to damage to human health, which is costing the community more than $650million a year, a report prepared by health experts, academics and environmental scientists says. The annual health costs from mining are $600million due to pollution from the Hunter’s power stations, $65.3million due to fine dust particle emissions from coal mines and power stations in the Upper Hunter and $13million from air pollution from coal in Newcastle.
Powerful mining corporation are now government "insiders" and are privileged with rights that are denied the normal public, and democratic processes!
New construction technics
Apart from indigenous plants - plants native to particular localities, which have evolved naturally to tolerate the harshest soil conditions and soil structures - nearly all plants benefit from human intervention in the form of healthy soil preparation. In a domestic sense, this means that the plants in your garden landscape http://beton.webege.com are more likely to survive and prosper if you can enrich the soil beyond its natural capacity.
Protest against the murder of Avijit Roy by Islamist extremists
Once again the religious extremists have struck and have murdered Avijit Roy, a Bangladeshi Secular Progressive Writer who stood against the right-wing religious and communal forces. Roy and his wife Rafida Ahmed were attacked by two machete wielding fanatics and a group called Ansar al Bangla has claimed responsibility for the murder. This is also a part of the ongoing struggle in Bangladesh ever since the Shahbagh movement of 2011, where hundreds of thousands of youth took to the streets to assert the secular and progressive values of Bangla society.
The killing of another secular and progressive figure coming soon in the wake of the murders of Narendra Dhabholkar and Com. Govind Pansare, as well as the rising tide of religio-extremists forces across South Asia, calls for the further unity of the secular and progressive forces across South Asia and the larger world.
We will congregate at Dadar Station (East) on Monday 2nd March 2015 at 5.00pm.
Message to Wildlife carers in Victoria
'RSPCA Burwood need carers to help with the wildlife they have in care. If anyone can help please contact the wildlife section of RSPCA Burwood and let them know. They were seeking help with a number of young ringtails on Friday and this is obviously ongoing. Please share.'
Leaderless and hypothyroidism...
Not so stupid, if I may say so Sheila. I've been lamenting for may years now at the lack of any party or leader for this country to hang its hat on. Apart from independents there's not a major party to which I could vote for let alone affiliate with. Our current neoconservative Federal Government has to be the worst of the worst, no leadership, no vision, no mandate, no discipline, no loyalty, rude, arrogant and inhumane. It is my belief that we don't live in a democracy, we live in an oligarchy with governments craven to big business and neoliberal think tanks.
It will be interesting in the next 12 months to see which way the penny falls with new governments in Victorian, Queensland and soon New South Wales. Business as usual will see their office terminated after one term or just maybe they have learnt and will have listened to the people. I agree with you we have too many rich people running our affairs, we need more battlers in there to get the job done. We don't need managers we need workers, people willing to get their hands dirty, take the crap on the chin and to do the right thing by word and action for the common good.
Thanks also for your insight into matters affecting the thyroid. I suffer from hypothyroidism as does my older sister and my dear mother when she was with us. I control the problem by staying fit and healthy and keeping my cholesterol and blood sugar levels under control. All of which was bequeathed to me from both sides of the family, don't you love it!!
We haven't realised the world has changed
I think the answer to why people struggle to believe this, is they haven't caught up to the present yet. The world is vastly different (and in many ways the same) but the changes haven't sunk in. People still live in the past and apply the systems and assumptions of the past today. Hence why the lack of economic recovery is leaving people scratching their heads. Its obvious with 21st century thinking, but few are there yet. The same for why we can't seem to have success in the M.E. Worse, the decline of philosophical development, of education and general insight and introspection makes us less able to adapt. We're kind of mentally collectively blocked.
I think people believe them, because of this assumption that all will turn out better anyway, as it has been in the past. This assumption makes turning a blind eye to lies not seem so bad. "Sure they lie, but were golden and progress is guaranteed, so it's not THAT important..."
Australia a hen house run by rich fat foxes
I think your judgement that Australians struggle to believe that a government in a western liberal democracy can truly be that callous and inimical to the Australian people is dead right. They feel the same way about the ALP and the Greens. An awful lot of Australians seem to be entirely taken in by symbols and slogans. Why, just because a party calls itself 'green' should we believe it is? Why, just because a rich fat man who is treasurer says that he is making bad laws for the good of the rest of us should be believe him? Why do we believe the ALP looks after the battler when they are only one step behind the Libs? Why do we elect rich people to administer us when this is like putting foxes in charge of the hen house.
Oh, stupid questions, I know.
Criticisms of this Fluoride and hypothyroidism study
Whilst interesting, I have two main criticisms about the abstract for this study.
The study is not really able to draw any causation between fluoride and hypothyroidism. New studies would have to be designed to do this. Comparing a range of different locations might be a way to start. Contributing factors to a higher reported rate of hypothyroidism could be more awareness of hypothyroidism or a tendency to diagnose it among GPs in the areas where it was reported more. Or you might find that the demographics were different, with for instance, more older people - thus a higher incidence of hypothyroidism. Or there could be a lack of iodine in the diet. Those are just a few possibilities besides fluoride. Nonetheless we should not be subjected to massive dumps of fluoride or other metals in our drinking water, some of which can occur due to leaching of soils from other processes, natural and industrial. See candobetter.net's pages about fluoridation. There is a particularly compelling article about the impact of fluoride dust on kangaroos near a brick factory.
My second criticism is that the writer does not show a serious awareness of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, both of which can cause irreversible brain injury if allowed to go too far. I guess that would be okay if he did not refer readers to a natural therapy page which suggests that people might need to see a doctor for additional insight, but to be wary of the medications they suggest. Those medications might save you from insanity, disfigurement and death! The writer makes the symptoms sound rather vague, but they can be very severe - including hallucinations, hyperacusis, loss of temperature control, hair loss, heart disease and death. There is also a higher rate of lupus and various other pathologies in people with thyroid problems. People should be fully aware of the seriousness of these illnesses.
In fact it is quite a problem in our society that doctors often fail to diagnose severe thyroid problems or fail to monitor treatment, allowing people to decline when bumping up their medication could keep them healthy. If you can see an endocrinologist about your thyroid condition you are likely to be better off than just by seeing a GP. I have worked in several psychiatric units and have often seen the results of failure to diagnose and failure to keep up treatment - by the GP and by the psychiatric unit. There is also disagreement in the field about the average range of results used to diagnose. It isn't easy having thyroid disease!
Always a good idea to go to a self-help support group if you have any serious illness and thyroid conditions are a good example of where group support and info exchange are really helpful. Check out the internet for such groups.
Another thing that a lot of nurses, doctors, even some pharmacists miss is that you must not consume food or drink (except water) with your thyroxin and must allow half an hour for carbohydrates and up to 3 hours for proteins before and after taking it. So very early in the morning or well after the evening meal. Otherwise it is likely to be rendered ineffective. It is also necessary to refrigerate thyroxin. It will only last out of the refrigerator for a limited amount of time. Vitamin E should also be tested as levels are often low in thyroid disease and boosting them helps a lot. Thyroid disease also affects or is associated with changes in cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
Lack of thyroid hormone or hypothyroidism is also the cause of 'cretinism' in babies, which is now eminently treatable if started ASAP after birth.
Water fluoridation increases hypothyrodism rate by 30% - study
By Mike Barrett – published on Global Research and Natural Society, 25 Feb 2015:
Adding to the evidence that backs many U.S. communities’ decisions to end water fluoridation, a recent study has found that fluoride within our water supply may be fueling thyroid issues experienced by millions of Americans, leading to depression and more.
After analyzing 98% of GP practices in England, the study found specifically that rates of hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid) were 30% more likely in areas that fluoridated their water. In the study, it equated to approximately 15,000 needlessly suffering from the ailment.
As mentioned, hypothyroidism is an issue that affects millions – often without anyone knowing it. It’s an issue that can lead to depression, weight gain, fatigue, aching muscles, weakness, and much more. While there are a number of causes of hypothyroidism, as well as numerous hypothyroidism natural treatments, this recent study suggests that limiting fluoride ingestion is one many should consider.
The study abstract’s findings concluded:
"Findings We found that higher levels of fluoride in drinking water provide a useful contribution for predicting prevalence of hypothyroidism. We found that practices located in the West Midlands (a wholly fluoridated area) are nearly twice as likely to report high hypothyroidism prevalence in comparison to Greater Manchester (non-fluoridated area)....
Victoria's public hospitals not being funded sufficiently
Victoria's public hospitals are cash strapped and most are not replacing buildings and medical equipment as fast as they are used, raising fears services will suffer, an Auditor-General report warns.
Auditor-General John Doyle’s financial audit found there was a “mismatch” between the hospital boards’ duty to provide services and their restrictions on how they used funding. There's a "mismatch" built into our economy, that's embedded with "growth".
A dozen Victorian public hospitals only had enough cash at the end of last June to fund their operations for a week or less, according to the report.
The report said the hospitals' low cash balance could put their ability to respond to "unexpected costs" at risk, which could result in money being diverted from other services to meet any new obligations. It doesn't increase our confidence in public health, if our State's budgets are running on a shoe-string.
More than two thirds of public hospitals have a poor capital replacement risk, meaning many hospitals are not replacing assets as they deteriorate. - See more at: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/local/melbourne/2015/02/25/hospitals-had-...
Patients in Melbourne's north and west waited an average of 60 days for an MR scan, while patients in the city's south waited 27 days.
Melbourne's population is expected to almost double to 7.7 million by 2051, as latest figures show that interstate migration is on the rise. The best plan for Melbourne is to reduce immigration to a sustainable level. Melbourne is an overloaded and over-stressed city which can no longer absorb 25 per cent of the total immigration program. Congested roads, public transport, longer hospital waits, unaffordable housing..and the list goes on.
Rather than the "ageing population" causing an over-demand on hospital services, a Grattan Institute report claimed it's simply that services are being overwhelmed by heavy population growth! The number of "sick kids" is causing the Children's Hospital to reach breaking point! With over 200 people per day and 1500 new residents arriving each week, our 2% population growth is straining all services! There's no light at the end of the tunnel! Our population in Melbourne will hit 10 million when we can't manage the numbers we have! Graduate nurses and midwives are finding it hard to get employment because of foreign workers.
LNP mentality
The Liberals have a Calvinist mentality. The wealthy are blessed by god, the poor are disfavoured. To them, it makes sense to reward the wealthy (they are doing the right things) and punish the rest.
Their Sydney North Shore attitude is an elitist one. In these circles, we are just scum. I think Australians are realising how bad and treasonous these people are, but probably struggle to believe that a government in a western liberal democracy can truly be that callous and inimical to the Australian people. So they are given the benefit of the doubt. It can't be as it appears, right?
Hockey and Abbott don't care one iota about the jobless. Not at all.
New report calls for radical welfare overhaul
Concerns have been raised over a proposed overhaul of the welfare system that could see more than half of Disability Support Pension recipients booted off the payment.
The proposal is one of a host of recommendations in a new report into ways to streamline and simplify Australia’s $150 billion welfare system.
This "overhaul" and "simplification" sounds suspiciously like a downgrading, and severe dismantling of the welfare system. It will disconnect more people from the "economic growth" pyramid system. Perpetual growth means weight must be shed off to keep some functions running!
The Disability Support Pension (DSP) would also be renamed the Supported Living Pension and recipients would need to prove their disability is expected to last for more than five years. In an effort to encourage people on welfare to find a job, the report also proposes introducing a “Passport to Work” scheme.
Even if you don't have both legs or hands,eyes the government can always say you are capable of doing some work and transfer you from DSP to Newstart which is lower paid and that is a point in those proposed changes and to save money. The great irony is that how people with disability will find a job? Not many employers will give them a job and people are either over or under qualified/experienced!
Most people want work not welfare. Where is this work going to come from? Manufacturing has died in this country because of the high Australian dollar and cheaper imports.
One recommendation of the report says that income support should not generally be available to young people in their own right until they are 22 but go to their parents instead. It assumes that parents have work, and the ability to support adult children.
Four Corners reporter Linton Besser revealed the corruption at the heart of the unemployment program aimed at helping some of this country's most vulnerable people. He traveled to suburbs where unemployment is a way of life.
Unemployment is now big business in Australia. Each year the Government spends about $1.3 billion on its welfare to work scheme. But what happens when there are simply not enough jobs to go around?
Four Corners went inside the industry, finding shocking evidence of fraud, manipulation, falsified paperwork, and the recycling of the unemployed through temporary jobs. No matter how much ‘activity’ each individual jobseeker undertakes, it’s not going to create more jobs.
Academics and experts have repeatedly pointed out the glaring paradox at the heart of the program: how can these agencies have any impact on the unemployed when the number of jobless far outstrip the number of job vacancies? It's pointless task, and the unemployed may just as well be paid to dig holes and fill them again!
Why are people still coming from India and other countries on 457 visas to work in petrol stations and supermarkets?
After 23 years of "economic growth", our economy may be bigger in absolute terms, but it's producing less surplus, and per capita wealth is declining. We as a nation are becoming poorer, and our wealth is being diluted as we share it with more people.
Bureaucracy and chaos: Utopia of Rules
Dennis K., I think you have expressed some major problems very succinctly here. Another thing to note is that a small class of people profit from this increasing chaos that the rest of us must navigate. There is some development in theory on this which I have started reading in David Graeber's The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy after seeing him interviewed in the second half of the often exhilarating Keiser Report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq1q75BpwK4&feature=player_detailpage#t=886
Kangaroos
Excuse me everyone, but this conversation is getting out of topic! We are talking about farmers, not kangaroo population!
It's only inevitable, because we refuse to control ourselves
If we human being took ownership of our decisions, our desires, and responsibility for what we do, then there won't be 'inevitable' but rather 'responsible'.
The author in this case has chosen not to have children (I disagree with the merits of this strategy, but respect the choice). Now, we may have desires or impulses to do certain things, such as eat meat, acquire goods and wealth, have children, but we also have the capability to self reflect and evaluate.
Listen carefully, and you'll hear people deliberately refuse to self reflect.
One example. I was a vegetarian some years ago for moral reasons and perhaps I should become one again. I noted that people objected to this decision, and pointed out that we were made to eat meat. Once at a restaurant when I ordered a meal with no meat, I was lambasted as being silly, because I had 'canine teeth' which proved I was designed to eat meat. Yes, this is true, but so what? Who's making the decision here? Me or natural impulses?
We hear blowhard Sam Kekovitch say the same with lamb. This is interesting, because we've become aware of our impulses, and then choose to subject ourselves to them. We use the impulse as justification, and override our mental ability to make a decision. I noted this a lot with people who had an issue with vegetarians. They didn't argue against me because I was hurting myself, but because I chose to make such a decision in the first place. I was being asked to abrogate my responsibilities as to the animals we had, and use impulses which I was aware of as an excuse. In short, to feign ignorance.
It's not just vegetarianism, but many other aspects. Wealth acquisition, starting a family. We argue that because we 'evolved' or had primal urges, we must act on them, and more worryingly, somehow believe that using your will and knowledge whether to ultimately proceed is wrong. You must submit to impulse.
Michael may well want to have children, but is using (in my opinion) higher order brain functions to forward project the consequences of this decision. If we all did such, we could bypass the rather cruel process of natural selection and mechanics and end up with the end result earlier, and without the unnecessary trouble in-between.
But at the moment, our culture promotes being subject to base impulse over thinking. It's present in our social system, financial system, education system etc. We allow people to be excused from the consequences of their actions, because they were acting according to 'natural desires', despite the fact we are aware that they COULD make a decision. We seem to think that passing off conscious decision making to impulses, is equivalent to not having the ability to make the choice in the first place. It seems to be going into overdrive, with advertising, the media plugging into the most basic psyco-chemical feedback loops. Titillation to get clicks instead of offering information.
This is what I found with the critics of my dietary choice. Because I may have had evolutionary capability and impulses, I was supposed to drop the ability to choose between taking a life and make the decision automatic. This might be good for animals which genuinely can't reflect on this matter, or simply can't survive without taking lives, but for human beings this doesn't wash. I didn't consider just doing 'what's natural' absolved me of the responsibility of the moral choice.
Dante reserved one of the inner circles of hell for those who remained neutral in times of crisis. When faced with a choice, you have to make a choice, and you can no longer claim neutrality. Whether it is your choice to act on greed, lust, gluttony, pride or anger. All I hear from the pro-growth lobby, is a call to disregard this choice and work on impulse. This mentality then sees growth and so on 'inevitable' and something we can't do anything about. They know there is a problem, but then use the lack of self introspection and self control as an excuse to absolve themselves of responsibility.
"Cowspiracy" film
Great article!
Just to highlight one of the points in this article, about the film "Cowspiracy", the chosen spokes people of the environmental groups interviewed all seemed to be onside with priorities and environmental values expressed by the interviewer/narrator until it came to the issue of animal agriculture, whereupon they either appeared not to have considered it, or took the industry as being utterly inevitable (since humans need to be fed). The reactions looked to be identical to the discomfort of most non -population-aware or non population -centred environmentalists when the "population" word is introduced. Human population growth is also seen by many as being inevitable. I would say that meat (and dairy) eating is seen by these spokes people interviewed as an integral part of being human and they balked at deviating from current conservation "solutions" to advocate a global switch to veganism. It would need to be at least large scale to have the intended effects i.e 1. to provide more food value on average per acre, so more land can be left as part of nature -and more information may be needed on this than came across in the film - , 2. a significant global reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and 3. a reduction in animal suffering.
Ultimately, though, to me the film showed 2 terrible alternative calamitous scenarios of mass production of plant based food against the status quo of plant and animal based food both for a massive, growing, open ended - volume of humans within an environment of ever diminishing nature.
ABC captured it last night
The ABC captured the dual dysfunctionality of Australian society, unemployment and family violence last night in 2 separate programs, "4 Corners" and "Q and A". "4 Corners" was a dismaying expose of how the privatization of what was the “Commonwealth Employment Service” has resulted in private companies doing what they are designed to do, which is to put profit ahead of everything. The program showed that this comes at the expense of the tax payer and at the expense of the client. It dismally showed suburban streets where no one had worked for a few decades. It showed the degrading experience of a woman who has been trying to find work via this privatized "service" for 8 years. The woman’s frustration and despair were palpable. There have to be thousands of Australians feeling these emotions for the same reasons. This would engulf your whole life. After this excellent expose came "Q and A" about widespread and increasing family violence, usually perpetrated by men and suffered by women and children. Australian society is getting to be a dystopia for many and in my view we must all see it for what it is, as a genuine dystopia when so many people are suffering. All the “middle class”, i.e. those not (yet) suffering have is a bit of a buffer against unemployment, homelessness and poverty. Whilst the "system” can treat people as badly as shown in the "4 Corners" program, none of us is safe. How did things go so wrong?
I guess we need to face the fact that the system we live in does not work primarily for us. It works for company profits. If you are lucky enough to pay tax it would be satisfying to see it go to services that enrich the whole community, but it would seem that increasingly it goes to thieves.
Australian manager class is conservative
The Australian managerial class is very conservative and lacking in vision. They will avoid anything slighly unfamiliar or different. They want cheap.
Older people would serve well imparting knowledge, but at the moment our culture favours malleable subserviant young upstarts over those who might think differently. Older people think different, which is a BIG problem as these thoughts don't coincide with the latest management courses and trends.
The other factor, a major one is the deterioration of the family, and the individualisation and mobile society. The destruction of more static communities and family networks which makes it less and less possible, or desirable for family members to support each other, in particular the elders. Young people stuck in cramped units can't have mum and dad move in with them. People moving all the time because of commutes can't share a larger house. It used to be common for multiple generations to live together and support each other, but the breakdown of society into "individual economic units" makes such arrangements difficult.
Consumption based society.
People thought that as technology took over people, we would have to work less. The problem is, they didnt take into account capitalism, which is unsuited to such a society. We have had to invent new consumption to keep people in "work" and also create a lot of pointless "make work" jobs and professions. Do we need so many lawyers, insurance companies, brokers, admin staff, real estate companies, middle managers, marketing staff, advertisers, PR specialists, tort lawyers? We could work fewer hours, but our system needs more consumption, so we create more and more rubbish jobs and goods to keep the status quo.
Because we all individually have to work to produce, and work is less and less needed, we have to invent demand through advertising and marketing so we can sell stuff we dont need to people who have to be brainwashed into wanting it.
The curve in inceasing longevity is flattening, most of the gains have been made already, unless a cure for aging is found (which is possible). So we overproduce and overconsume even more, and have to maintain this for life. The next generation pay off the overconsumption of the previous one. We are forced to spend and go into debt, and then, somehow fund ourselves. Debt is needed for the system, so its self defeating. If people start to save for the future, interest rates go down, and houses go up, to take the money that would be used for retirement from you to give to others to spend today on pointless, wasteful overconsumption.
I do remeber that "conversation", it featured in books I read as a kid about the future, but our socio-economic system led us to fill the gaps. It underestimated greed and narrow minded ness.
Cricketer Glenn McGrath's hunting photo scandal
McGrath had already issued a public apology on Saturday for killing endangered animals, including a large male elephant, after attracting a barrage of criticism on social media. The McGrath Foundation announced it was suspending its relationship with Greyhound Racing Victoria amid the fallout from the live baiting scandal.
The president of the McGrath Foundation breast cancer charity said he regretted taking part in the 2008 hunt after the death of his wife.
Photos have emerged of him holding a high-powered rifle next to the corpses of some big game (an elephant among them). Some fans declared they’d never give money to the cancer-fighting charity founded by McGrath and his late wife Jane.
Recent photos, originally posted on the website of Chipitani Safari Co, showed him posing with a dead buffalo, dead wild cats and a number of animal bones. “Track buffalo and tuskless elephant on foot, the real way! Also lion, crocodile, hippo, leopard, sable, kudu and eland,” the company says on its site. He was hunting in Zimbabwe. Hunting is not illegal, but worldwide animals are losing habitats to human encroachments, and numbers are plummeting.
Canned hunting is a major problem in southern africa and planned safari hunts, contrary to what you are sold, does little for communities, even less for conservation and they do absolutely nothing to deter poaching. It is truly appalling and for anyone who thinks it's cool to pat a lion cub consider what happens to that cub when it grows too big to be cute for humans to pat, and then later it is killed by a "hunter" - an animal raised and used to human contacts and confined!
McGrath said he would like to hunt on foot to be closer to the environment. He should be respecting the animals, and shooting with a camera, not actually destroying the "environment" he's enjoying!
In a note on Twitter, McGrath said he was going through an "extremely difficult" time in his life when the photos were taken, presumably referring to the death of his wife in 2008.
Feelings of dis empowerment and frustration can be dealt with and channelled into appropriate and positive actions, not by killing!
Ryan misses the point
Susan Ryan misses the whole point and value of “elders” be they ex plumbers or nurses or neurosurgeons. What these people have to offer is the benefit of their experience and their long term perspective. There is not much point in forcing a 70 year old into a stressful job requiring heaps of strength and /or sustained energy input. A younger person will do this much better. Referring to the last sentence in the article, the utilitarian approach of Susan Ryan (who is probably abut 70 but not a good example of the wisdom expected of an elder), I would agree that the perspective of older people is not wanted in today's Australian society as their perspective could threaten the government/big business machinery now in the process of making us all into ever moving cogs.
All except Birdseye & Edgell are imports
BUY ONLY BIRDSEYE AND EDGELL
Think about this and circulate to your family and friends:
The ONLY Australian manufacturer of frozen Australian grown vegetables (Simplot Australia) is not far from closing because a number of the other well-known Australian brands have moved their plants to New Zealand in order to capture the Chinese vegetable market where they market via New Zealand to Australian tables (without the food being labelled specifically as Chinese) and Simplot is finding it hard to compete.
This was shown on the program Landline on the ABC
SHOULD SIMPLOT CLOSE, THIS MEANS THAT NO AUSTRALIAN GROWN FROZEN VEGETABLES WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ALL AND WE WILL BE RELYING ON FOOD GROWN TOTALLY OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA.
For a number of reasons this is not a good situation.
1. As most people know, other countries do not necessarily have the strict guidelines for growing their vegetables that Australia has and by buying Australian we can be sure that lethal chemicals that may be used in other countries will not be used on Australian vegetables.
2. We would be losing Australians jobs.
3. If ever the world became unstable regarding wartime we would not be able to feed ourselves
It is imperative that we all support these Australian brands selling good Australian vegetable products (via Simplot): Birdseye and Edgell.
Next time you shop, please think about the future of Australian food.
What do you reckon folks? Let’s buy Birdseye and Edgell.
Some of us love our designer labels. We buy premium brand shoes, premium brand clothing and well known premium perfumes and handbags.
BUT ... we also look buy the cheapest food we can for our children to eat. That doesn't make sense.
This is so true. The farmers in Tasmania are extremely worried about Simplot's impending closure. They also have a lone food processing plant in Bathurst subjected to the same uncertainty.
If these last remaining plants close, it means that China then has total control over our fresh/frozen vegie industry.
It is particularly disturbing to see that Chinese-grown vegetables are coming in branded as a product of New Zealand.
PLEASE PASS THIS TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN
DON'T BITCH LATER ON WHEN ALL FOOD IS HALAL, IMPORTED AND EXPENSIVE JUST BECAUSE YOU SAVED A FEW CENTS BUYING THE CHEAPER BRAND TODAY AND HELPED
Longevity, work and the lost promise of a leisure society
It is just ridiculous to say that people should work till they are 70 because they might live to 100 or 150. To my knowledge nobody has ever lived to 150 and very few make it to 100. Does someone telling you when you are 70 that you can expect to live til 150 make you feel any younger, more energetic or “work ready” ? Is 70 going to be the new 50? or 40?
And regarding the scapegoating of older people, if I see any more footage on television of older people playing golf (as though they are doing it at everyone else’s’ expense and should be at work when there is nothing to say the footage is not taken on the weekend) in the context of a news item on pensions or tax concessions for superannuation, I will have to complain to the offending TV network. It is divisive and dangerous propaganda . It is saying to those suffering from overwork and/or financial stress “these people are the source of your stress and frustrations in life”. It is almost an incitement to violence. Why did I say “almost”? It is! In the best of all possible worlds working past normal retirement age should be a choice. The article says that working older people are healthier than non –working older people but does going to work make you healthier or do you go to work because you feel capable and have the energy because you are in good health?
Does anyone remember “the conversation “ (as they say in contemporary parlance) about the looming dilemma about what we will do with all our free time when fewer people are needed in the work force due to technological improvements. It was quite a short “conversation’ as I recall, perhaps in the 80s and unfortunately we certainly have not had to come to grips with this “problem”
Human right to insurrection
"Quand le gouvernement viole les droits du peuple, l'insurrection est pour le peuple, et pour chaque portion du peuple, le plus sacré des droits et le plus indispensable des devoirs". (Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1793, article 35.)
Translation:
When government violates the people's rights, insurrection is the most sacred of rights and the most indispensable of duties for the people and every part of them.
Rights of Man and Citizens, 1793, Clause 35
Foreign Investment Forum – Tuesday, 10 March, Vermont South
Foreign Investment Forum – Tuesday, 10 March, from 7pm to 8pm
Vermont South Club, Charlesworth Park, 30A Livingstone Road, Vermont South.
As you may be aware, an inquiry into foreign investment in Australian residential real estate was undertaken last year.
The inquiry was prompted by community concerns that foreign investment in Australian real estate is causing a distortion in the market and making housing less accessible and affordable; and it has become clear that there needs to be better enforcement of the rules for foreign purchases of existing homes.
In coming weeks, the Government will announce details of the reforms to foreign investment in residential real estate.
Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP, who is the new Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer and chaired the inquiry will address the forum on the work of the Committee, outline policy responses and take questions from the audience. Places are limited so you should RSVP asp.
Map
Complaint about Avaaz war-propaganda re Syria
I just sent this to Avaaz after receiving yet another of their apalling gung-ho emails toeing the US-NATO line unquestioningly. Are they employed and financed by Obama?
Re recent Avaaz email "A plan to save millions" https://secure.avaaz.org/en/syria_safe_zone_a/?bpdihcb&v=54215 : I am alarmed and appalled at Avaaz's continuing demonising of the Syrian government in your utterly uncritical representation of NATO involvement and propaganda in the Middle East. Your messages must now be partly responsible for many deaths and tortures due to your undermining of any order in the region. Obama should be tried as a war criminal for his crimes against Syria and several other Middle Eastern states. Is Avaaz solely united by ignorance? It seems to show all the self-criticism of the Hitler Youth.
United States intervention in Syria has only made matters worse
The US has intervened in the Middle East, and opened more than a can of worms, but a nest of vipers! The sad and simple truth is that the United States cannot lead any intervention without making a terrible situation even worse. President Obama proposed to take on ISIS with a U.S.-led mission to strike at Sunni extremists via an air war in Iraq and Syria. By arming and training competing Syrian rebels, they can simultaneously wage an insurgency against both ISIS and Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, they hope to de-stabilise his position.
ISIS are ruthless, fanatical, killers, on a mission, and that mission is to wipe out anyone and everyone, from any religion or belief system and to impose Shari’ah law. (The online Encyclopedia Britannica advises that "Shar'iah" is an alternate spelling of "Sharia." - Ed) Similarly, the Libyan revolution was Obama’s first major foreign intervention, and NATO involvement was framed in humanitarian terms. Previously, Libya had the highest standard of living of any country in Africa.
If America didn’t invade Iraq in 2003 probably we wouldn’t have ISIS or al-Qaeda in Iraq or anywhere in the Middle East now. Now, they've exposed a death cult.
Virginia Trioli joins the rest of Australia finally
When being interviewed by Virginia Trioli on ABC radio several years ago, I was explaining why we were lobbying for protection of our residential suburbs from inappropriate development when she interrupted making it clear that she was not prepared to accept BRAG’s position and switched me off.
Later on Twitter she extolled the virtue of Melbourne 2030 to make Melbourne a more compact city by encouraging development in the inner and middle suburbs saying “the focus on major transport hubs just seems smart to me” and criticized Plan Melbourne with its protection for existing suburbs from significant housing densification. Virginia went on to say that suburbs like South Yarra, Toorak, Prahran, Armadale, Malvern and yes, even Camberwell, could absorb more residents with little impact.
And now we find that Virginia is fighting against four levels of development next door to her home in North Melbourne (Saturday Age 21st Feb. 2015 - Domain section).
Just proves that we are all Nimby’s when development affects us personally. So, congratulations Virginia, you are now a Gold Class Nimby just like me.
Jack Roach
President BRAG and very proud Nimby, Camberwell.
In fact a new term has been suggested for Virginia -
'NIVBY' Not in Virginia's Back Yard ?
Globalism will perpetuate poverty
The problem with Brands comment, is it is just wrong. His argument is "cute".
The assumption is, that this can work. That nations can absorb large numbers of people, and remain the same at the end. Experience shows this is not the case. In performing this 'solution', we destroy the very thing we are giving away.
Take for instance fools like Doyle, who support high rise development and subdivision and crowding "because people like Melbourne". True as it is, the problem is, in accommodating this demand, the very thing that was desirable about Melbourne is being destroyed. The open spaces, the backyards, the lack of crowding. In every way, the push to 'share' what is desirable, is quickly eroding that which was desirable. The end result, no one has anything. Now that everyone has moved to desirable Melbourne, it has become a carbon copy of skyscraper ridden urban dystopias. What's the gain?
The problem is we take too much for granted. We assume our good situation is all luck, all circumstance. No one is taught about the thousands of years of painstaking philosophical, economic, political and cultural development which led to this situation we just attribute to 'luck'. The freedom, the prosperity, was largely in part due to a long torturous cultural development, debate, violence, revolution. To maintain this, one must understand this, the origin of our freedom, or economic views, of our scientific philosophy.
No one is educated in this. No one even seems to think one needs to know. Now we act like spoiled children who gained an inheritance, are blowing it, but have no idea, at all, how such an inheritance could be created in the first place. And those people we share with, are even less familiar, even less accomodating of the ideals and mentality and processed which allowed this.
No matter how moral it is. Brand's solution would leave everyone worse off.
Nationhood is about order and heritage
"The poor, or under privileged, or others simply seeking a better life may wish to move from one country to another...." So, he would be quite happy to have all the poor and hungry, from failed nations, camping on his doorstep - instead of rebuilding their own countries?
He's not serious, just being controversial.
The primary factors that bind a nation together is the common ancestry and common ideas.
Given what many churches teach today, it would seem that's it's un-Christian to have borders and sovereignties. Their general line of thinking runs something like this - God is love and that God loves all humans equally. Therefore, all barriers, i.e. race, nation, national boundaries, etc., must fall so as to permit God to make us all "equal"!
Nations are first mentioned in the Table of Nations listed in Genesis chapter 10. The Table of Nations classifies the people descended from Noah after the Biblical Flood. These nations are all listed by heredity, like branches off a tree that has Noah for its trunk.
The separation of vastly different peoples helps reduce conflict and promote fruitful diversity. Massive uncontrolled immigration defeats order and the enhancement of good communities. Love and compassion and order fare poorly in chaos - and also in the tyranny that often follows chaos.
Russel Brand is a clown
Literally.
The man's profession is being a jester. He's been a jester his entire 'working' life.
Whether it is Madonna, Brand, Clooney, Brangelina, whoever, these people live exceptional lives and they pretend that their concerns relate to our. They don't. How can they understand? I'm tired of their moralising.
Worse, they are hypocrites. Calling on ordinary working people to bear the cost of their ideas, while they spend millions on lavish mansions (which are NOT open to people who need them or who feel they could be better off there, oddly enough). It is not celebrities who have to compete with masses of cheap labour vying for their jobs or compete for real estate. It is not celebrities who have to move because neighbourhoods have become too dangerous. They can pretend that everyone else is being silly for wanting to control immigration, because the immigrants are not going to price them out of their homes, or undercut their roles in a new movie, or their incomes from being a TV star. Russell Brand has no personal stake, so he can be decadent and hold any morality he likes.
Besides, if geopolitical borders are 'imaginary', and therefore not worth worrying about, then we must point out, so too is the money he spends and has, the contracts that keep in in a job and the copyright that protects his work. They are constructs as well, which aren't "real". The right he has to stop me walking any time I like into his house, is based on the very idea which justifies borders. Does Brand allow free access to his house? Are we not part of the same sphere? Or do 'borders' suddenly matter when it affects him personally? Does he get to pick and choose when a border matters, and on what basis? I doubt I'll find a coherent philosophy.
Green light for super trawler
Minister for Agriculture, senator Richard Colbeck, has announced Seafish Tasmania's 95-metre ship Geelong Star will be eligible to fish once authorities have approved a vessel-management plan.
Late last year the Federal Government banned super trawlers, ships longer than 130 metres. Senator Colbeck said the Geelong Star's quota has been set at 16,566 tonnes for jack mackerel, redbait and blue mackerel for the 2014-15 fishing season.
That's enough to bring over-fishing to our shores, and suck tonnes of fish out of our seas - imbalance the oceans food chains.
Stop the Trawler
Super trawlers are large freezer-factory fishing trawlers that threaten our unique marine life and fisheries, and the recreational fishing, commercial fishing and tourism industries that rely on these. This trawler will bring industrial fishing to our nation, instead of the protection it needs. It's all about mega-greed and corporate power overwhelming any common sense and protection of our oceans.
The Global Oceans Commission, an environmental group formed by the Pew Charitable Trust, released a report addressing the declining marine ecosystems around the world and outlining an eight-step "rescue package" to restore growth and prevent future damage to the seas. Global environmental problems are NOT wanted in Australia.
The ant and the grasshopper
Australia has been the grasshopper, wasting what we could have had, and left nothing for when we need it. More advanced nations like Norway kept funds aside, but we chose to subsudise growth, speculate, speculate and speculate and gamble.
The money is tied up in assets, and cannot be unlocked as the reserve bank and the state ensure this wealth can remain tied up, to benefit those who hoard it.
The "aging population" needs to make a decision as to whther they get to keep what they have, or have it liquidated. Because unless things redress, it will be the only solution.
Drugs, prohibition, decriminalisation......
Drugs, unfortunately, are rife in our society and even more unfortunately we're introduced to them before we're born. It would be a huge turn around to eradicate this problem whether the drugs are legal or illegal. However, I do agree with you James that decriminalisation of drugs and safe injecting rooms/needle exchange facilities would make an impact on our current situation.
Prohibition has, to my knowledge, never worked when it comes to narcotics. By prohibiting any legal substance we immediately enhance the Black Market. Drug dealers proliferate selling anything and everything to make a quick quid often cutting drugs with other substances which aren't conducive to our health. Narcotics users don't know what they're buying and once addicted, have to have their fix. Drug users/addicts who are unable to support their habit, may turn to crime to help pay for their narcotics.
Wars and get tough on drugs campaigns also don't work and the sooner we start treating drug addiction as a disease rather than a crime the better for all including the taxpayer. By decriminalising narcotics we reduce the reliance of addicts on dealers and the price of the drug/s decriminalised drops and users/addicts switch to that drug. The result is the drug is to an extent controlled and the user/addict is under less financial pressure therefore less crime is committed.
Safe injecting rooms and needle exchange facilities make it possible for users/addicts to get their fix in a clean and safe environment. In the event of an overdose, attendants are on hand to assist the user/addict who can call for emergency assistance on their behalf. Again the use of narcotics is controlled and the cost to society is lessened. Safe injecting rooms could also provide counselling for users/addicts whether it be to get off drugs or other problems they may be facing.
The cost of providing these services to users/addicts would come from the money that is poured into getting tough on drugs campaigns, court and legal costs, etc. I reiterate yes our society is sick, but that is what we must treat it as, a disease, not as crime.
Creeping national debt ‘threatens’ our future
Treasurer says the 40 year outlook is grim, as Australia’s AAA credit rating is questioned. After nearly 25 years of glorious economic growth, and "prosperity", our future looks grim?
The five-yearly Intergenerational Report will reveal the challenges of the next 40 years, including an ageing population that will need better health and aged care. However, Treasurer Joe Hockey is maliciously pinning our poor economic future on the costs of an AGEING POPULATION! Older people will drain the nation's coffers, with their need for health care! This is despite chronic youth unemployment!
Ongoing population will ensure that each generation has a bigger "ageing population" and many will not be financially independent due to long term unemployment! We are being painted into a corner.
Treasurer Hockey is under intense pressure to strike an acceptable balance between unpopular cost cutting measures and stimulating a sluggish economy. He's ignoring the cost of the sugar-hit of revved up population growth, of a full throttle of immigration, that's been used to mask our ailing economy! The costs of growth are being ignored.
Immigration has been used for too long an economic boost to consumerism, and our economy has become oversized, obese, and ready to topple over with the costs of welfare - as a result of over-consumption, greed, short-term fixes and addiction to "growth"! Poor economic ratings - just add a few more thousand people and when that sours, and accummulates costs, just add more people to help pay the debts! The addiction to "growth" has come to rest, and our future is looking "grim" because the costs of growth outweigh the benefits! So, the cost of the "ageing population", not population obesity, is being blamed!
National Debt threatens our future
Schapelle is innocent of the crime of which she has been accused
Anonymous, thank you for concurring with my disgust at the actions of the Australian Federal Police, who knowingly allowed Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran to be be arrested in Indonesia, which has the death penalty for drug trafficking, rather than arresting them, after their return, on Australian soil.
Anonymous wrote:
Surely, then, there's more profits to be made from the smuggling of drugs due to the internal drug insecurity! Schapelle Corby was accused of taking drugs INTO the country, not OUT!
In fact, the street value of marijuana in Australia is far higher than it is in Bali. That alone should have made the Australian newsmedia and the federal government most suspicious of the allegation by Indonesian police that Schapelle Corby had attempted to smuggle drugs from Australia into Bali in 2005. Had they duly examined the 'evidence' against Schapelle Corby, they would have quickly come to the conclusion, as has any reasonable and informed person who has spent as much as 30 minutes informing herself/himself about the case, that Schapelle could not have attempted to smuggle cannabis to Bali.
Had the Australian government blown the whistle on the sham trial which led to Schapelle's imprisonment and used the full weight of its authority as a sovereign government to demand justice for Schapelle Corby, there is no way that the corrupt Indonesian judges would have been game to convict Schapelle for drug smuggling.
But, whether through ineptitude or malice, the Australian government of John Howard did not and so she was imprisoned for nine years until 10 Feb 2014, when she was released on parole. Her parole conditions preclude her from leaving Bali until July 2017
Anonymous wrote:
... there should be a tough crack-down on drugs inside the country, and the drug lords that provided these drug smugglers with their supplies.
I think the widespread use of drugs is a symptom of how sick society we live in is. Why anyone would want to smash his/her brain with narcotics, instead of bushwalking, reading, painting, playing sport, singing, ... is beyond me.
Nonetheless, if we wanted to reduce the harm caused to those who choose to use narcotics, the best approach would to be to decriminalise the use of drugs and find ways to supply the drugs for free or at cost price and to provide drug users with safe means to use the drugs. One approach is the use of needle exchange and heroin injecting rooms.
AWPC Media Release - grotesque abuse of native possums
To Whom it May concern:
We, members and committee of the Australian Wildlife Protection Council, and Animals Active, are shocked and appalled at the revelations that live animals, including protected native possums, have been used as lure to bloodlet greyhounds in the racing industry.
Possums, and all native animals, are protected by law, and this gives another layer of illegality, and disregard for the sentience and status of animals in our community.
This greyhound industry clearly has animal cruelty deeply entrenched, and embedded, into its history and practices. It's all based on gambling profits without productivity or integrity.
The use of wildlife for any industry or entertainment inherently exposes animals to abuse, exploitation and depraved cruelty.
The capture and killing of protected native animals in such as way is a flagrant violation of the Victorian Wildlife Act, 1975.
We demand that the greyhound industry be investigated, prosecuted, and shut-down.
Australian Wildlife Protection Council
Comments on this page are now closed. Further comments can be posted here. - Ed (21/2/15)
They were leaving Indonesia
The irony is that Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were LEAVING Indonesia, to come to Australia. Surely, then, there's more profits to be made from the smuggling of drugs due to the internal drug insecurity! Schappel Corby was accused of taking drugs INTO the country, not OUT! Of course the proof was destroyed.
Instead of executing the smugglers, who are said to be reformed and rehabilitated, there should be a tough crack-down on drugs inside the country, and the drug lords that provided these drug smugglers with their supplies.
Australia is officially against the death penalty, but is implicitly supportive of it if it denounced to the Indonesian police that the Bali Nine had drugs. The smugglers should have been caught arriving in Australia, if the real motive was to avoid the death penalty. Instead, they were reported and fell in a trap, with the AFP fully knowing that Indonesia has the death penalty for drug possession. They were betrayed!
A response to the above comment ban be found here. Comments on this page are now closed. - Ed, (21/2/15)
Australian Federal Police set up drug couriers for execution
The following was posted to a forum discussion on johnquiggin.com about the threatened execution of Australian citizens Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran by the Indonesian government for their attempt to traffic heroin from Bali into Australia in 2005.
Megan wrote on February 19th, 2015 at 22:10 :
The AFP knew exactly what the Bali 9 were up to and secretly told the Indonesians all about it, thereby ensuring the current outcome.
The role of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in setting up Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran to face execution is chilling and shameful. Regardless of how this turns out, the AFP should be made to answer before the public for their actions, ideally through a parliamentary inquiry.
In any case, if Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran deserve to face the firing squad, so too do members of the Indonesian police, who are also known to be corrupt and implicated in drug trafficking.
One of many articles which explain heroin trafficking is "Deep Events and the CIA's Global Drug Connection", originally published 6 Sep 2008, by Professor Peter Dale Scott. The global flood of heroin, particularly from Afghanistan after the invasion of 2001, shows that the Opium Wars of 1839-1842 and 1856-1860 never ended.
A couple of notches down in cruelty
Macro Meats have brought themselves down a couple of notches on the cruelty scale by withdrawing sponsorship of the greyhound racing industry but when you put it in perspective what else could they do? Killing en masse our native fauna to support an avenue for gambling, greyhound racing which harbours it seems the most depraved, sadistic, hard hearted creatures in human form is really an obscenity.
I would really like to see a prisoner exchange with the perpetrators of the greyhound industry's recently exposed cruelty with the convicted drug smugglers in Bali who await execution. I would be overjoyed to see the greyhound "trainers" who I saw on film this week executed. They could never be rehabilitated. They obviously enjoy inflicting pain on the weak and helpless and watching terror and bloodshed. I don't see any of those characteristics in the convicted drug smugglers in Bali.
Macro Meats withdraws support of greyhound industry
Greyhound racing’s biggest sponsor, Macro Meats, has withdrawn its support of the industry in the wake of the shocking live-baiting scandal.
The South Australian company, which specialises in kangaroo meat, was the naming-rights holder for major Group 1 races across the nation, including the $107,500 Adelaide Cup and $475,000 Golden Easter Egg, but has stopped all sponsorship immediately after the shocking revelations of animal cruelty.
While it's commendable that Ray Borda has withdrawn his support for the greyhound racing industry, in light of barbaric and horrific cruelty in the use of live animals for blood baiting, it ignores the inherent cruelty of the commercial kangaroo industry. Does he not care about the cruelty to kangaroos, but for the live animals used to lure greyhounds?
Borda, a passionate greyhound enthusiast, says the decision was easy and admits he was sickened once he saw the animal cruelty — aired on ABC current affairs program Four Corners. A pity he has no empathy for kangaroos, the mis-shot animals that die slowly and the 800,000 joeys that are disposed of by bashing on the head each year!
There's also the inherent cruelty to the greyhounds, of the over-breeding and the killing of up to 25,000 each year because they are "too slow" or injured! Maybe Ray Borda wants to keep a squeaky clean image, and maintain the extreme mass killings of our native kangaroos that happens outside the scrutiny of the public and animal activists?
News that Poroshenko is fleeing Ukraine may be premature
My own search of the web, unfortunately, failed to find confirmation of this story. Whilst the self-defence forces are clearly routing Poroshenko's troops, I have not found on Google News any stories of the collapse of the fascist regime. Stories I have found include:
Ukraine Truce Hangs by Thread as Rebels Claim Key Rail Hub, Ukraine: US accuses Russia of breaching ceasefire after fighting at key town , Despite Ukraine Truce, a Battle That Continues, Fighting continues for Ukraine town of Debaltseve as truce falters, ...
Western intervention, then and now
Hi Sheila,
How do you 'unwind' these issues, without more intervention? At this point, you either intervene, or leave the results of the intervention in place.
As for the middle east, this is an interesting read, if you didn't already know the history, which you probably are familiar with.
http://lostislamichistory.com/how-the-british-divided-up-the-arab-world/
While its has an Islamic bias, the use if division by the British is a standard tactic. They did the same thing with Cyprus, leading to Greek/Turkish tensions. We can't undo this, but what interests me, is why does this mentality still persist?
The same is true for African states. Arbitrary borders were drawn up, leading to divisions of nations. Yet, it interests me that no one sees the nature of the problem. Today, "all sides" of politics still treat these nations, as legitimate nations, as if the issues concerning their creation should not exist. They CAN'T exist. They're not supposed to.
http://peterslarson.com/2011/01/19/african-conflict-and-ethnic-distribut...
The above link shows ethnic borders, and you see little correlation with the current political borders (which DO correlate with how European powers divided Africa amongst themselves).
Our ability to intervene without creating more problems, relates to our own sense of nationhood and identity. For example, we KNOW that the African nation states were drawn up along colonial lines. We KNOW that the Middle Eastern states were arbitrarily created (again by colonial lines).
Most people stop there (if they even get that far).
Why has the West failed to realise why Iraq needed an authoritarian power to stay together? Why do we seem puzzled at these intra-national fights?
I think the answer is, we don't actually know what's going on! Even the anti-war Left, during the Iraq war, spoke of Iraq as a nation as real as any European nation like France or Italy or Britain or Greece.
So where is the misunderstanding? The current Western narrative, is that a country is an administrative entity, which contains an arbitrary collection of people who happen to pay tax to the same entity, have the same passports, and support the same 'team'. Our modern view of a country is one which is purely propositional and bureaucratic and economic. So we assume that this should work anywhere. Why CANT we just make people all 'Iraqis' or 'Angolans', and have them adopt this as the primary, and SOLE identity?
In short, we Westerners don't understand the problems, and therefore, no matter how well meaning someone might be, they won't be able to fix it, because their model of how the world works is fundamentally flawed. We can only pretend to relate.
We can only impose our own viewpoint on others because we've learned to shut out other views and systems. The necessity, the actions and beliefs and systems of other peoples aren't understood and are immediately rejected, because we've only tolerated one specific narrative of progress here. What is worse, is that in the West, the others don't exist any more. There IS only one correct way. One correct vision of 'progress'. We've philosophically accepted this and as a result, have become incapable of understanding the world.
This makes us incapable of successfully intervening anywhere, even with good intentions and perhaps part of the reason that Putin is gaining power and we are losing respect. We just don't "get it". We don't "get it" with regards to Islam. We don't "get it" with regards to Russia, the Middle East or China or anywhere. We've lost the ability to even see or understand different socio-political systems or what they are doing.
This is NOT just the ruling elite. This includes the student activists, the anti-war activists, academia. "Left" and "Right" subscribe to the same paradigms and goals and have the same tunnel vision.
Why this is so is another discussion, but I think this loss of political diversity means that talk of straightening out problems that we started will end up making matters worse (as has been demonstrated in the Middle East). It is only when we change our own view of the world that we can even hope to look at the rest of the world and not muddle it up any more.
I didn't mean to go off on a tangent, but I do believe that disparate issues interrelate. I don't believe that we can have effective political change, and change the actions of our leaders and politics, unless we acknowledge this problem and start to redevelop our politics and open it up. It is a fundamental step towards shifting power away from corporations and vested international interests. It is this reason that I think that we've been so ineffective at implementing, or instigating political change, and perhaps for the apathy as well.
Elite flee Ukraine - Poreshenko's family charter flight out
The latest breaking news from Ukraine: 1. The family of Ukraine president Poroshenko has urgently left the country via a charter flight. This means that the situation in the country is much more unstable than is being portrayed, and the true extent of turmoil is being underplayed. It also means that Poroshenko knows that he may […]The latest breaking news from Ukraine: 1. The family of Ukraine president Poroshenko has urgently left the country via a charter flight. This means that the situation in the country is much more unstable than is being portrayed, and the true extent of turmoil is being underplayed. It also means that Poroshenko knows that he may […] Read more
Peace helped by retaining state ownership of assets
The below is a bit of a loosely pinned rant:
Can't you also obviously pin Syria to Western intervention? The so-called rebels are being financed by US-NATO. America is currently salivating to go into Syria and destroy it on the flimsiest of reasons.
Sri Lanka is an argument between people who were brought there to work from the mainland in colonial times and those with a prior claim to Sri Lanka, if I am not mistaken.
Pakistan is the result of a British colonial border creation.
Egypt ... ugh...Such a confusing past of foreign interference.
And South Africa under Mandela, a product of western interference dismantling land-rights legislation before it could be submitted.
Iraq (as you have mentioned) with all its oil and gas privatised and dedicated to foreign corporate interests.
And Russia - I just realised that the same thing happened there - with Gazprom and other Russian petroleum assets - asset stripped according to laws written by the United States. These were clawed back by Putin, who also got rid of a bunch of oligarchs. Fantastic story. Who elsewhere is capable of doing this? Chavez did - but he is dead.
etcetera
I must say that I think everyone, including Australia and the United States, should be provided with national civil codes, in Napoleonic style. That would give citizens some legally defendable rights and it would place a break on corporate interference. But then I am always saying this and few people have any idea of what I am talking about . :-)
Globalization a threat to food security
Poor hygiene amongst Chinese workers as well as potentially contaminated water supplies in China are thought to be the likely causes of an outbreak of hepatitis A in Australia, linked to imported frozen berries. China, has been involved with packing these berries, sourced from both Chile and China.
One-kilogram bags of Nanna's frozen mixed berries were recalled on Saturday as a result of the health scare.
Hepatitis A is spread when traces of faecal matter containing the virus contaminate hands, objects, water or food. Health authorities say the infection was caused by poor sanitary standards at a processing factory in China.
The incident has highlighted concerns about Australia's food security, with more and more of our produce coming from overseas.
It's believed just 5% of imported produce is checked, in the wake of the Hepatitis A outbreak across 3 states.
A lot of consumers have been buying the cheapest imported product to reap the rewards of specialisation and economies of scale. This is where free markets and capitalism fall over. $$ don't care about health issues or food security. In an increasingly globalised world, more and more of the food we eat comes from overseas. It's not only patriotic to buy Australian produce, and keep jobs and production in Australia, but also as a security check of hygiene and safety. We need to protect our food bowls, and agricultural industries from free trade agreements that will globalize food even more - and even give a false assurance that we actually are able to produce all the food that we consume when we possibly over-rely on foreign imports!
Horrific cruelty exposed in greyhound racing industry
Greyhound racers are secretly blooding their dogs with live bait as part of systemic and widespread cheating within the country's multimillion-dollar industry, according to explosive evidence uncovered by ABC's Four Corners program.
Piglets, possums and rabbits tortured in sadistic greyhound training 'rituals'. Barbaric training practices in Australia's greyhound racing industry have been uncovered in ground-breaking investigations by Animals Australia and Animal Liberation Queensland.
Live baiting has been banned and criminalised for decades, but trainers and owners across the country have been using the illegal training method in the belief that it will improve a dog's performance.
The Victorian Government announced two separate investigations into the greyhound racing industry following the Four Corners story.
The state's chief veterinary officer was appointed to undertake a broad investigation into the industry, while Mr Perna was to conduct an independent probe. More than 20 greyhound racing dog owners and trainers across NSW, Victoria and Queensland have been suspended after a series of raids which allegedly discovered the illegal use of live animals being used to bait and lure dogs.
Any use of animals in "sports" or entertainment means they are open to abuse, exploitation and cruelty. There's so much money at stake, and money will drive cruelty.
Animals Australia: Take action re greyhound live baiting exposed
Peace preferable
Indeed, there would be fewer refugees if there was greater stability.
The sources of refugees are, according to the deaprtment of immigration...
Afghanistan
Iran
Stateless
Iraq
Sri Lanka
Pakistan
China
Egypt
Myanmar
Sorry I cant provide a link (due to technical limitations), but this info is easily searched and available on the government website. Note, this is on order of numbers.
We can pin Iraq and Afghanistan to Western intervention, and perhaps some of the stateless. But Sri Lanka is surprising (it is a holiday destination and the war has ended,and Sri Lankans I work with go back for trips). China is supposedly the new power and the future and our good buddies and trading partners. Recent figures may include Syria. Thats not to say there arent legitimate reasons, but these reasons seem to get ignored. I support withdrawing from foriegn military engagements, but we will still have push factors.
Australia needs to acknowledge this, and push harder. If Chinese are fleeing as legitimate refugees, due to persecution, then why are we allowing such a state to buy our assets? We have to ask these questions too. Is their money more important
Armed people smugglers threatened Italian coast guards
Armed smugglers threatened an Italian Coast Guard motorboat in the Mediterranean Sea on Sunday as its officers attempted to rescue migrants from Libya, reports said. The armed smugglers threatened an Italian Coast Guard motorboat in the Mediterranean Sea on Sunday as its officers attempted to rescue migrants from Libya, reports said. Now,the flood of self-appointed "migrants" has turned from a trickle, into a security threat!
After threatening the rescuers who had taken aboard the migrants, three of the smugglers jumped onto the then-empty migrants' boat and took off with it.
Italian Premier Matteo Renzi is pressing for U.N. intervention to stem the violence in Libya. Backed by NATO airpower and Qatar’s money and weapons, the militias defeated the Quaddifi's government forces. Libya became carved out between dozens of militias, which became the de-facto rulers of the territories under their control.
Italy has closed its embassy in Tripoli and repatriated its staff amid ongoing violence in Libya.
The U.N. says nearly 3,500 people died in similar crossings to Europe in 2014 and more than 200,000 were rescued. The number of migrants landing on Italian shores quadrupled last year, as more than 170,000 people from the Middle East and Africa fled humanitarian crises, piling pressure on the EU to form a long-term migration strategy. The UN are more focused on accommodating the "migrants" in their destination countries that actually address the problems that cause so many people to leave their own countries!
Grizzly video of Egyptian Christians being beheaded!
Islamic State has released a video that appears to show the beheading of a group of Egyptian Christians kidnapped in Libya. The victims in orange jumpsuits are made to kneel beside the sea in what is identified by militants in the video as the coast near Tripoli in Libya. Each captive is led by a black-clad executioner who is grasping a knife. The only sound is that of the crashing waves. They are made to kneel, and then one by one they are beheaded.
Militants in Libya had been holding 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians hostage for weeks, threatening them with death. “We will conquer Rome,” one of the executioners warns after committing the bloody act.
The gruesome five-minute long video, is called 'A Message Signed With Blood To The Nation Of The Cross'.
The Coptic Church said it was confident the Cairo government would seek justice. Al Azhar, the centre of Islamic learning in Egypt, said no religion would accept such "barbaric" acts. It's revealing that this is not a "religious" act, but one based on revenge, terror, fear, brutality and lust for power.
Although Christians have lived in northern Iraq and Syria for nearly two-thousand years, and at least six hundred years before Islam, today they face extinction across the region.
Across Northern Iraq, Christians are huddled in refugee camps, trapped in the desert, or trapped in their homes, waiting for death.
The word Copt is derived from the Greek word Aigyptos, which was, in turn, derived from "Hikaptah", one of the names for Memphis, the first capital of Ancient Egypt. The Coptic Church is based on the teachings of Saint Mark who brought Christianity to Egypt during the reign of the Roman emperor Nero in the first century. The call to Islam resounded in Egypt with the arrival of the Arab Muslims into the Christian country in 640 A.D. Coptic history from the first to the seventh centuries was removed from the textbooks of public schools for decades till the year 2002. In 1868, the Egyptian sheikh Rifa al-Tahtawi published a history of Egypt giving full attention to her Pharaonic civilization. In fact, the entire Egyptian population was Christian on the eve of the Islamic Arab invasion of 640 AD.
Egypt today may have a Muslim majority. But it has not been totally islamized yet.
Asylum seekers also product of wars Australia backs
You missed an important aspect, IMHO.
The asylum seekers we are getting tend to come from the countries we are at war with or supporting interventions in. Surely stopping wars would be a good way of stemming this tide.
(I know you disagree as to the amount the tide might be stemmed by this, but surely you concede that peace is more hospitable than war.)
Refugees as a smokescreen
This pretty much sums up the "refugee issue" in Australia...
Politicians with a complicit media froth and rave about a small number of people arriving by boat, in order to appear tough on borders to appease an Australian population which has an awareness that immigration is out of control. To keep attention diverted, poor people who risk their lives are used as a political football in order to make it appear that the government is doing the opposite of what it actually is doing, which is, namely, bringing in economic migrants on an industrial scale who can out compete young Australians for jobs and housing and push housing prices up for the economic betterment of a few investors who are tax payer subsidised and supported by corrupt elected officials. Most of these migrants are sold a lie anyway, as our government extols Australia as a land of opportunity, of people wanting to be culturally enriched, only to arrive and realise they are only here to serve as debt fodder to be exploited by unconscionable greed in a land with crushing costs of living and a gutted culture. In the meantime millionaire Chinese, whom many of which are laundering money and corrupt, can buy citizenship by buying Australian resources whereas children from troubled countries remain in detention centres.
(See also: China: The Largest Cheap Labor Factory in the World by Professor Michel Chossudovsky, with video (45:56min), - Ed)
I think this pretty much sums up the state of affairs.
No wonder the world balks at our policies regarding asylum seekers.
Unemployment Figures
If you use the Roy Morgan unemployment statistics which includes all people over the age of 14 who are looking for work plus those who are employed but looking for more work the problem becomes even more stark. Roy Morgan research shows the unemployment rate for January, 2015 to be 9.8% plus those looking for more work at 8.2% for a total of 18%. The same figures for January 2014 were 11.3% and 8.7% for a total of 20%. While the latter figures make the former look OK, what must be taken into account is that the total workforce in same period fell by some 97,000 while the total population grew by some 360,000. The Roy Morgan data is raw i.e. not seasonally adjusted and is done face to face, not by telephone.
Canned killing on Victoria's wetlands
This "canned hunting" is simply canned killing - of coldly and callously lining up a tame animal and shooting it as a trophy!
Premier Dan Andrews continues the cycle of male gun violence and cruelty to native waterbirds – including ‘canned hunting’ - by his government's announcement of a duck hunting season in Victoria.
Premier Andrews has ignored the latest science that shows a major decline in waterbird numbers and very few wetlands holding water. The shooting lobby must have their "sport" it seems, and can't be said "no" to!
“Birds seeking refuge from the drought in northern states will become sitting ducks on wetlands that have been artificially filled just prior to the Victorian duck shooting season. The government is introducing a form of canned hunting, just to please Victoria’s dwindling number of duck shooters, who make up only 0.4 per cent of the population,” Campaign Director Laurie Levy said.
See also : Coalition Against Duck Shooting, RSPCA page against duck shooting, Help end Duck Shooting.
Gold Coast businesses question their housing "boom" model
The secretary of the Gold Coast North Chamber of Commerce, Gary Mays, said it was vital to create more jobs in a variety of industries so people could live and work locally.
At least there are some voices out there, not actually criticising population growth, but our business model based on housing and construction growth, and youth unemployment.
There's no economic or social precedent for our high rates of immigration, and the population growth crush we are experiencing. Housing does not produce enough jobs, and adds to our unemployment rate.
Demographer Bernard Salt predicts the combined population of the Gold Coast and Tweed will double to 1.2 million in the next 35 years!
Unemployment rose over that period, from 5.2 per cent to the 6.4 per cent reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. The mantra is that "growth means jobs" - but what growth? Obviously population growth stimulates GDP growth, but there's no indication that this leads to economic growth, and jobs!
The housing "boom" is warping our economy, and leaving a damaging legacy of debt, social and environmental challenges, for future generations.
Gold Coast urged to diversify economy
Population growth is being used to mask a weak economy, and artificially prop up our GDP figures and consumption rates.
Gary Mays says that "the other thing is we've got to start utilising these graduates that we're turning out at a rapid rate from the universities with nowhere to go." Unemployed graduates is an indication of skills overshoot, and a stagnant economy, which flies in the face of our skilled immigration rate.
See also:
Queensland's Gold Coast losing its lustre – the Australian, 11 Jun 11 and Construction of the Gold Coast light rail system and major roadworks are causing big delays for frustrated motorists 14 Jul 13 and Roadworks cause major traffic gridlock on Gold Coast 21 Jul 13 – Courier Mail. - Ed
Islam and the frontier
Hi Sheila, The worlds largest Islamic population is in Indonesia. Egypt #5, Turkey #6
http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/places/top_50.htm
There is a list of conquests here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquests
During the 19th century, the Ottoman empire (which had subjugated the Balkans for many generations) was in decline, as all empires eventually decline. European states were able to reassert independence from the Ottoman empire through violent overthrow. It was, during the 19th century called the "Sick man of Europe". We could perhaps say the same about the USA! The Ottoman empire ceased to become a problem for the west.
These incursions aside, of which there were others in Europe, Islam spread largely due to the lack of cohesive political and religious systems in these regions beforehand, and a political/organisational vacuum. Islam provided a powerful socio-political movement and religion, of which, once established, or once enough power was gained, defended it's gains with force. It was an irreversible change, so to speak, at least outside of Europe. Islam was not able to conquer Europe, nor hold onto the Balkans (or convert it, except for two states).
Certainly, there are examples of countries which are almost completely Muslim being (relatively) stable. Turkey is an example, as were some Middle Eastern states. Egypt and Turkey are mostly Sunni Iran is 90% Shia. Libya is almost completely Sunni.
Iraq, which descended into violence after the authoritarian rule of the Baath party is more equally split, with 15-20% being Kurdish as well. Nigeria, is about 50% Muslim. Islamic violence in Africa is generally at the frontier. While not a 100% rule, the possibility of violence and conflict is (as usual), where two groups meet and complete. The more stable states are the more homogeneous ones. Syria is complex again, consisting of a slight majority of Sunni Muslims, but also a sizeable Christian and Shia population. Sunni's still form much of Assads powerbase though (which is what keeps him in power). This might be a testament to his popularity, I'm not sure. Certainly, it seems that a 'big man' is required to keep such a population together and working, and Assad is such a man.
The two major problems for US, are the two constant and persistent frontiers with Islam. The support of Israel as a western proxy state and energy interests, and the growing frontier at home. It is these frontiers where I think conflict of interests will arise, in particular as Islam rather than being strictly religious, straddles both religion and political movement. I don't see this frontiers disappearing any time soon. The Islamic population in Western nations is projected to increase (unless there is a drastic change to immigration policies), these are people who will likely demand more power and representation, and the support for Western proxy states in the Middle East and energy interests will also continue.
There is one other point, that Islam seems to adapt to the region. After all, Indonesia contains the worlds largest Muslim population, and most Muslims are in S.E. Asia, yet Islam there manifests itself differently from Middle Eastern or North African Islam. The "war against Islam" which some say is going on, seems to barely involve the majority of Muslims in South East Asia.
Australian political landscape is a sad joke
One can only envy other nations who have leaders who can communicate, think, talk and reason.
An American think tank, the CFR has labelled Abbott the most incompetent leader in the industralised world. I would say, by a wide margin. LNP apologists say that the issue is conveying the message, but the message itself is a dud.
It's not just Abbott though, its the entire entrenched "political class" which is the issue. There are barely better alternatives. A few elected members do exemplify good political stewardship, but they are exceptions, and without the support.
I think the Australian culture has an influence. Tall Poppy Syndrome holds back the capable, and there is a mistrust of those who want to be politically active and solve problems. Quite simply, our standards are low. Australia is run in the same manner that the British Raj ruled India. Just a resource to be used by the select few. Cronyism and corruption seems to not raise ire. Decisions and actions that would cause riots, protests and action in Europe seems to barely cause a murmer
Mr Dutton reveals a difficult time for immigration during 2009
Appearing on Channel Nine this morning, Immigration Minister Mr Dutton was asked about reports that one of the men who planned the terror plot entered Australia illegally. One came from Kuwait, and the other from Iraq.
"The initial advice to me allegedly one of the suspects may have come to Australia with some false documentation," he said.
"At that stage, bearing in mind it was in 2009... over that long period about 50,000 people came on 800 boats. "It was a difficult time for our intelligence agencies."
With such stresses on our Immigration Department, not only from "boat people" but during the "big Australia" of Kevin Rudd's period of ramped up immigration, it's not surprising that such soft border control has leaked through the system these misfit, terrorists.
Arrivals of migrants in the 1990s and 2000s contributed to the increase in the overseas-born population, with their proportion of the overall resident population rising to 27% by 30 June 2010. While the public were diverted by the debate on how to address the flow of boat people, the masses were arriving by plane - as the default driver of our economic growth!
Another piece of irony is that Saudi Arabia is building great wall — or rather, a great chainlink fence with razor wire — to “protect against ISIS” in Iraq.
Saudi Arabia wants to “insulate itself from the chaos engulfing its neighbours,” and it’s doing so with a supremely high-tech wall. Two high fences, 90m apart; 40 watch towers; over 1400km of fibre optic cable; underground movement detection. The International Organisation of Migration reports that 40,000 have people have died in the past decade alone trying to cross borders.
Walls are springing up across our world with incredible speed, which contradicts many cliches about globalisation. Saudi Arabia, one of the richest countries in the world, is bordered to the south by the poorest and most resource-scarce country in the region, Yemen, which has also become hotbed of terrorism. Human overpopulation, exposure of great ideological divides, resource protection, conflicts over limited land, and increasing porous international borders all fly in the face of the benefits of globalisation, and the one-world living in harmony idea.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar funding extreme Islam
Islam is growing, and so is their global influence. This is about numbers, and migration and the spread of the ideology. Thanks to liberal immigration into the West, and high fertility levels, it's spread across the world. Part of the problem is that it's spread from ancient cultures, and primitive countries, and thus there's clashes with the modern world.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia responsible for spread of radical Islam through funding. The two Gulf states have spent billions of dollars on promoting a militant and proselytising interpretation of their faith derived from Abdul Wahhab, or the original followers of the Prophet.
Many Saudis are known to have supported jihadist movements in Afghanistan, North Africa and the Middle East.
Islamic extremism is driven by a totalitarian interpretation of Islam that believes in a global Islamic state. Today, throughout the world, there has been a wave of radical movements, which sometimes turn militant, whose source can be traced to the Wahhabi movement. Now "Wahhabi" followers have taken up an increasingly confrontational standpoint attempting to impose their ideology in many regions around the world. The Wahhabi mentality asserts that Islam may be reformed by means of the sword. Under this modern ideological extremism, Islam's essential principle of tolerance has been abolished. The 18th century Wahhabi movement, which is a puritanical movement, initially aiming to return people to the right path of Islam.
Wholly different from peaceful followers of the Muslim faith, the adherents of radical Islam threaten the free expression of faith worldwide because they refuse to tolerate any religious, social, and political views but their own.
Middle East countries taken one by one
Dennis,
Given that Syria is a secular state, would you not support the government there?
And, regarding your feeling that militant Islam would be a problem independently of Western intervention, what about Libya? It was also relatively secular. Ditto Iraq. Until intervention.
Iran's reactionary religious extremism seems to be calming also.
This is my take on things: Arab and Islamic states take many forms. Not all of them militant and expansionist.
I would also suggest that militant Islam was not exactly a problem in the mid 19th century. It's a new problem.
It may have been a problem during the Ottoman Empire, if you were one of its colonies, but since the retreat of Islam from Europe, there was a long period of quiet. Interrupted by the oil-explorers and a couple of world wars.
What have I left out?
Sheila N
Commonwealth moves to tighten scrutiny of foreign investments
The Federal Government says it will tighten scrutiny of farmland sales to foreign buyers from next month.
Speaking at a sheep grazing property outside Canberra, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Australia was "built" on foreign investment from Britain, the United States and Japan. Yes, there was lots of "investment" in Australia's land during our Colonial past, which meant that settlers from Britain and America etc could come and grab land at bargain prices - land that was being looted from the traditional owners! Many of the "foreign" buyers actually became citizens, not remote owners!
Australia was also "built" on immigration, but that doesn't means we can keep the fantasy of youth young forever! It's childish to stay holding on what we did as a nation when we were young. Growth in middle age means growing fat around our waistlines, potentially causing medical conditions, and obesity. We must accept maturity as a nation, and that our land is a finite resource, and policies must be trimmed accordingly.
As it is now, the Foreign Investment Review Board is required to scrutinise farmland sales to foreign private entities of more than $240 million. So, with such as massive bottom-line, low, bargain-basement price, it's no wonder that not many properties have passed any "review"!
There's tighter FIRB restrictions already written in to the free trade agreements Australia struck with Japan, Korea and China last year, which lowered the threshold for scrutiny of farmland purchases to $15 million, and agribusiness purchases to $53 million. Being "open for business' means selling off our sovereignty bit by bit!
Commonwealth moves to tighten monitoring, scrutiny of foreign investment in farmland on ABC Rural (11 Feb 15 – updated 3.40pm)
The details of these "new" rules are not clear, but with Australia's identity being continually diluted by neo-liberalism, Multiculturalism, and globalisation, those patriotic enough to be concerned by the sale of Australia are probably feeling war-weary and defeated!
The Middle East, Terrorism and Skepticism
The M.E. is a clustermess of a problem.
There are two issues at play here, Militant Islam (which I think exists) and failed, botched Western interventionism. This has resulted is a "worst case" scenario, we no longer can agree whether a problem exists! For a national integrity viewpoint, this is a big issue.
Some point out that Islam is a violent religion whose spread had been largely by force and coercion, and others point to Western interventionism as the "cause". It's not exclusively one or the other. I don't think ending ME wars will help much, if at all (not that they shouldn't end, only that their cessation won't make much of a difference). The problem now is people cannot decide whether to interpret events like this in the context of militant Islam, or the context of the result of Western policy failure, or both. So there is then credence, reason to suppose false flags, overblown reactions, hype, but also reason to suppose a true clash of civilisations. Which interpretation is correct?
I view it as a problem with Islam, exacerbated by interventionism. The other issue is Israel, a problem in that our support of Israel is a major factor. No ending of wars in the Middle East can hope to ease relations, unless it comes with a decision to no longer militarily and financially and morally support Israel. As few are willing to face the antisemitism label which will result, there is little than can be done politically.
ECOENGINE mentioned a very basic point. Immigration from the third world involves importing these issues. Any area which demographically changes, comes to resemble the region the people moved from. There is a lot of tortured discussion to "explain away" this observation, but decades of observation of the mass immigration social experiment, I think solidly supports this observation. I've been to many European cities, and this observation holds true regardless of the country and their specific policies. The populations revert to a mean.
Demographics matters. The unprecedented population transformation WILL have effects on the economy, yet our neoliberal model says you can make wholesale changes to a population, and this will have no effect at all. This is ridiculous.
How long can terror threats in Australia be averted?
Mike Baird, New South Wales state premier, said a potential "catastrophic" incident had been avoided. Two men, aged 24 and 25, were arrested in a raid on a property in Sydney's western suburbs on Tuesday and have been charged with undertaking acts in preparation for a terrorist act.
A number of items were located including a machete, a hunting knife, a home-made flag representing the proscribed terrorist organisation Isil, and also a video which depicted a man talking about carrying out an attack.
Last year it was reported that pre-dawn raids across Sydney and Brisbane led to the arrest of fifteen people and the reported seizure of a scimitar, a gun, machetes, balaclavas and military fatigues which authorities said were to be used in a plot to “shock, horrify and terrorise” the community.
The raids involved more than 800 security officers and marked the biggest counter-terrorism operation in Australian history. Australia's national alert level was raised to high in September last year, classifying a terrorist attack as likely but not imminent.
Just how long can these terror threats be averted, and minimized? Each time there is a terrorist attack on a Western country, they all but trip over themselves and each other to condemn - at times not even waiting for anyone to confirm the actual motives of those ultimately held responsible.
The same set formula, the same mantras are reported. "We condemn. It has nothing to do with us or our faith." The last statement is probably true - the terror has nothing to do with their faith!
The reality is that the "faith" of Islam is what's "peaceful" about it. It's worship, obedience to a high power, and spiritual. What's not "peaceful" is the political and revenge agendas of Islam - of attracting the mis-fits, the unemployed, the discontented youths, the arrogance of their superiority, and justification for war and terror.
The world is not an oyster, and closed system of nations that we had in the past. Our soldiers went "off" to war, to defend our realm and that of our allies. Now, with borders shrinking, globalisation, finite resources and overpopulation causing mass migrations and the mixture of ideals, cultures and values, any involvement of Australia in global conflicts means that it comes to us - and doesn't stay out-there! Third world immigration brings third world problems, and rather than Fortress Australia we are embroiled in global problems bleeding across into our nation, and some of them today seem to have no end in sight. We can't even be sure of the "side" we are on! The Howard Government supported the disarmament of Iraq during the Iraq disarmament crisis. Australia later provided one of the four most substantial combat force contingents during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, under the operational codename Operation Falconer. Australian troops were deployed to remove a government without the sanction of the UN.
For more than two years, U.S. policy has quietly fueled the escalation of the conflict in Syria and undermined every effort to bring the Syrian people the ceasefire and peaceful political transition they need and want. The critical covert and diplomatic role the United States has played in a war that has killed at least 100,000 people means that their blood is also on our hands.
Australia was part of opening the Pandora's Box of a vacuum of leadership in Iraq, and a abyss of discords and conflicts that may not be peacefully resolvable.
Former president: Police or armed forces planted 2nd Bali bomb
From YouTube:
Wahid on SBS Dateline: Bali Bombing 2002
Uploaded on Jun 16, 2006
This is a clip from SBS Dateline, an Austrailian news show, in which former president of Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid, points to the involvement of the Indonesian Military Intelligence and Police in the 2002 Bali bombing. The transcript of this program has been removed from the archives of the SBS, Australia's Special Broadcasting Services. The whole transcript can be found on : Inside Indonesia's War on Terror (12 Oct 2005)
Shrinking opportunity and space
I think a good name for it is 'shrinking opportunity' economics.
New Islam development in Penrith
Last week, a group of 18- to 30-year-olds came together at a leadership forum in Penrith to discuss the Australian identity in the 21st century, and how best to overcome cultural differences. They concluded that, increasingly, there is not one single cultural identity. It's easy to manipulate the public and soften our nationhood and borders if we have little identity as a nation. Not having a clear identity means easy access into Australia, for immigration, globalization of our resources and culture, and more opportunities foreign interests.
Protestors were shouting their opposition to a proposed Islamic community centre in nearby Kemps Creek. A Protect Penrith group, of which Councillor Cornish is a member, will hold a meeting on February 22 in St Marys to further protest against the approval of the development application. "I grew up in Auburn and their first mosque in 1979 and now they have three and it is not a safe place to walk around at all," he said at a council meeting.
http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/01/23/08/08/police-to-keep-close-e...
Australia First is running a Penrith candidate at the March 28 election. Victor Waterson lives in Epping, and suggested that in light of terrorist attacks at home and overseas, residents should have a say in who to accept into the community.
Child brides, forced marriages, terror, conflicts, massacres of Christians, fighting within themselves, misogyny and apostasy and just a few of the evils! There must only be ONE law in Australia - not sharia law.
Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars promoting Islam and building muslim centres and mosques all over the world. Australia is gagged by stupidity and political-correctness!
Lets call it what it is, and it's not growth
I've seen plans for a new apartment block near the city that has 30 something square meter sized "apartments". Tiny!
Growth? Um, if unit sizes are shrinking, GDP per capita shrinking, space shrinking, opportunities shrinking, size of chocolate bars and packets of chips shrinking, where is the growth? wages are stagnating, shrinking in real terms. When I ask people what progress there is, all I get is smart phones. It seems if it were not for smart phones, there would be no notable meausurement of progress.
It is pretty much taken for granted now that the best days are behind us, not just here in Australia.
It's "cramming", "densification". It's "shrinking". It's "consolidation of wealth". I think people are too generous calling this "growth". It's proliferation, not growth. It's selling of what weve built up to benefit a few rent seekers.
It's the big 'crunch' of an unsustainable system running for inhuman purposes. As long as growthists can continue to maintain the facade that they represent "growth", then they'll get away with it, hiding behind the flawed judgement people make.
There is no growth. Only increase in the mose base of measurements, the number of breathing members of Homo sapiens who are not tourists here.
Cyclic propagation of population growth
The reports says that "extremely high-density developments...is facilitating rapid population growth in concentrated city areas, without consideration of whether the neighbourhood and local infrastructure can support these residents".
So, while our population growth for the nation is tweaked and manipulated at Federal level, to boost the vague metric of GDP, Victoria is actually feeding into and funnelling people into Melbourne by creating the apartments and facilitating the growth!
It's always a race to "catch up" with needed infrastructure, and the cost is defrayed onto the public purse! What other commercial industry has so much liquidity and flexibility that their costs can be passed onto the public, under the smoke-screen of being in their benefit?
Plan Melbourne is about catering for our "projected" population growth, but at the same time it will actually facilitate the growth - as a self-fulfilling prophecy!
The legacy of liberal Planning in Melbourne - a high density mes
High-rise apartment towers in central Melbourne are being built at four times the maximum densities allowed in some of the world's most crowded cities, including Hong Kong, New York and Tokyo, a scathing new report finds. Despite all the claims of developers and governments trying to create "affordable housing", this aim is trying to be achieved through smaller and smaller housing, an higher densities!
Leanne Hodyl is the co-ordinator of city plans and policy at Melbourne City Council. Her report said that "construction of skyscrapers in central Melbourne should be supported, because a big jump in the CBD's population had many benefits for residents, including easy access to jobs, shops and entertainment". And it made the city "more lively and animated".
Certainly it's "more lively and animated"! There's a crush of people and traffic, crime, homelessness, poverty and pollution!
It assumes that the big jump in population has nothing to do with governments tweaking our immigration rate, or that population growth is funnelled into Melbourne deliberately to pump up the housing BOOM!
It's about investors, maximising opportunities, not creating a city that's liveable or sustainable.
Construction was approved "with little regard on the effect on the residents within, the impact on the streets below or on the value of neighbouring properties", the report found.
"Melbourne's planning controls offer "cheap density" to developers as they are able to build unlimited density with limited need for a community contribution.
"Not one of the five cities that I studied – New York, Vancouver, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul - is choosing to develop in this way. What cities have to cope with the rapid population growth that city is supposed to cope with, and one that's being captive for the benefit of property developers, and all the hidden local and overseas "investors" in real estate?
"There was general consensus from the planning and design experts that I interviewed who manage and study these established, globally successful cities that the densities being delivered in central Melbourne are too high and many questioned whether they could deliver long-term liveable outcomes."
Social outcomes in Hyper Dense high rise residential environments
Hong Kong carefully manages and caps density in order to protect the liveability of the city for its residents. It requires developers to provide open space for their residents. In Hong Kong, significant density bonuses are not offered as increasing the numbers of people living in a neighbourhood above what is planned for is not accepted as there would be insufficient local infrastructure, for example schools, to support these greater residential densities.
Here, we end up with chronic "shortages" of social housing, jobs, schools, hospital beds and overloaded transport and roads!
It's the result of a dead-end economy, heavily embedded in real estate, stamp duty revenues, and profits from housing growth!
This is the legacy of the Liberals in Victoria, or deregulation of planning principles and ad hoc approvals of high density constructions, under our "planning" Minister, Matthew Guy! He was the antithesis of Planning - of deconstruction of principles and professionalism.
It's neo-liberalism applied to urban design, not people or environmental focus, but pure profits and opportunism.
Prescribed burning failed in Western Australia
Perth Premier Colin Barnett has declared the Northcliffe bushfire a natural disaster. It threaten lives and homes in Northcliffe and the subdivisions of Parkfield, Bracken Rise and Double Bridge.
The Northcliffe bushfire south of Perth, which prompted demands for more prescribed burns, started in a forest block that had a controlled burn five years ago, the Wilderness Society says. Shannon National Park was burnt in December 2009 by the old Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC).
Wilderness Society spokesperson said that "the fire has burnt through very large areas of forest and other vegetation that has also been recently prescribed burnt so it simply demonstrates that prescribed burning is of little or no benefit, especially under extreme weather conditions."
This information disputed claims that heavy fuel loads, due to a lack of controlled burning, were to blame.
Burning is a disaster in our bush, for plants and animals, and can't be solved by more burning! The fire lobby use this fire to promote more prescribed burns. There have been massive amounts of prescribed burns in the Northcliffe area in the last 20 years.
The problem itself can't be solved by the problem itself!
Northcliffe blaze started in forest block where controlled burn undertaken (ABC News, 7 Feb 2015)
VICTORIAN households now risk being charged up to $1000 a year
Our living standards are increasingly under attack. St Vincent de Paul Society research reveals electricity supply charges have more than doubled in five years. Gas is up 62 per cent.
Energy analyst Gavin Dufty said the industry appeared desperate to protect revenues in the face of falling consumption. If consumption of electricity and gas falls, so are our living standards. Do we go back to kerosene lamps, and the community fire in a 40 gallon drum, for cooking and heating?
Some households could potentially be charged up to $1000 a year for combined gas and electricity supply fees, depending on their retailer, type of tariff and residential location. Melbournians are particularly at risk because of extremes of temperatures, and cold and windy winters.
While price deals usually offered discounts on electricity and gas use, they rarely discounted the supply charge as well. It's actually the supply charge that overwhelms the costs - not the actual power used! We have gold-plated poles and wires, for electricity, in which private companies can charge for over and over again! Multinational gas mining companies can set the own prices, and we must pay the same rates, for OUR GAS, that export customers are forced to pay!
Herald Sun: Households slugged up to $1000 per year before turning on electricity and gas
Private companies are making great profits, and determining our eroding lifestyles.
Heavy TAFE cuts causing skills shortages
TAFE institutions around Australia are struggling under the impact of state budget cuts, and underfunding.
Courses are being cut, student fees have risen, campuses are closing and teachers are losing their jobs.
Communities across the country are rallying to support their highly regarded, world-class TAFE system.
Yet, our we have so-called skills shortages, of needs that can't be met in Australia? So, we have 457 visa holders and other categories of imported skills when the budget for TAFE has been axed!
With increasing unemployment, especially youth unemployment, how are they to get the skills, and if they do, they are then by-passed in favour of imported skilled workers. Multinational corporations are so powerful they are able to set and implement their own agendas, and dictate to governments the policies they want.
We don't have any skills shortages, but government bereft of ideas and patriotism for Australia. It's all about globalising Australia, and eroding our sovereignty to dumb-down the country as a global resource for mining quarries, cheap labour, and high rise apartments to warehouse them in!
Sign the Petition: Stop Tafe Cuts
Not true about Ian Lowe and Mark's ACF population motion
No it’s not true. Ian Lowe had already stepped down when Mark O'Connor moved a motion on population in November.
He did oppose an earlier motion, by Geoff Mosely, that the ACF advocate for the last federal election that people write in a particular slogan “Reduce immigration”— perhaps because he felt it was too closely associated with a particular person and and his oddities.
Ian’s view on population have not changed.
Sheila, You might want to alter that item.
Candobetter.net Editor: Okay. Thanks. That 'reduce immigration' thing is becoming a divisive factor on the population front. People don't mind doing it, they just don't want to be associated with the driving personality.
Transitioning to Direct Democracy
Direct democracy cannot be brought about overnight, for it to work properly it really needs years or decades, as it requires the establishment of major changes in the education system. For it to be truly democratic the majority of citizens must be involved, well informed and able to participate and make sound ethical judgement and decisions that form outcomes.
It also requires to some extent freely available means of communication to the machinery of government.
{Telstra taken back under the wing of government and made free (cost covered by taxes)}
This would allow... A dynamic constant referendum on all decisions of government. (Very do-able)
Similarly the privatisation of many government assets and services needs to be reversed. These need to be owned by the community once again....
Finally the direct democratic community cannot include the corporate community.....
Individuals in corporations can vote.... but the corporation itself cannot !
There are ideas gathering on:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Transitioning-to-Direct-Democracy-Globally/522137594485915?ref=hl
It appears that you need a Facebook account to view this page. You can get a free account from the Facebook home page. - Ed
What is "ecologically sustainable" population?
There seems to be a large chasm between official ACF policy and what they actually support!
Australia may have below-replacement fertility levels, but our population growth is overwhelmingly driven by immigration rates, at about 60% of our growth. The other 40% "natural" growth (of births over deaths) will also be highly influenced by immigration levels too. It's a political decision, with bipartisan agreement.
Australia can hardly address the rapid and impoverishing levels of population growth in developing countries while our own economy and GDP has become irrevocably linked to population growth!
"Ecologically sustainable" is too vague, subjective and unquantifiable. Already we have the highest rate of mammal extinctions of the modern world. Even our flagship species, such as koalas, are dwindling in numbers because of competition for resources.
As for consumption levels, Australia has great climate variations, of cold to extreme heat. This means the use of power for air conditioners and heating. It's inherent in a country that was never meant to support a high population.
Australia, the driest continent, now has 6 (?) desalination plants, consuming massive amounts of energy and emitting copious greenhouse gas emissions. Living in high rise apartments will further increase base consumption levels, through loss of natural vegetation and being a slave to switches and inside power.
We might be able to reduce and recycle on individual levels, but absolute "consumption" levels will only continue to rise. Migrants who come here must adopt our lifestyle, and this means projecting our population towards 70 million by the end of the century - unless the greedy "big Australia" policy is faced head-on! No conservation or environmental organisation can ignore the elephant-in-the-room of high population growth without hypocrisy.
ACF
Sheila I concur with your sentiments to the extent that e-mailed the ACF informing them of my disgust on their stance on population and the environment. Below is their "position" on population and it's a doozy:
ACF position on population and consumption
ACF believes that the unsustainable consumption of resources by a large and growing human population is at the core of most environmental problems facing Australia and the world. We believe it is essential that human population numbers and consumption patterns be brought within nature’s limits, and that this goal can be accomplished consistently with the values of justice, equity and respect for social and cultural systems.
The policy articulating ACF’s position on matters relating to human populations and demographic change can be found here.
In summary, ACF calls on the Federal Government to set a population policy that will:
• stabilise Australia’s population and resource use to ecologically sustainable levels;
• drive adequate infrastructure for the environmental consequences of demographic changes in Australian population settlement and distribution;
• develop and fund strategies that minimise the environmental impact of population growth and maximise biodiversity outcomes;
• maintain healthy regional and remote communities that include aboriginal communities and actively working on reducing Indigenous demographic disadvantage;
• assist other nations to achieve population stabilisation and ecologically sustainable lifestyles through non-coercive, holistic development programs;
• encourage migration policy that fulfils environmental, social and ethical obligations, rather than perceived economic needs.
ACF advocates for population policies that put ecological sustainability first, however we do not run dedicated campaigns on this issue at this time. This is for two reasons.
The first is because we believe that population growth is global issue with most of the world’s population growth occurring outside Australia. Our belief is supported by the following:
• The United Nations predicts that half of future global population growth to 2050 is expected in just 10 nations - US, India and central and northern African nations.
• Australia’s current birth rates are 1.9 children per family and are below replacement rates, meaning Australia’s population growth from birth is in decline.
As an Australian environment organisation, ACF has limited ability to affect global population dynamics, although we are supportive of those internationally focused organisations that are influential on this issue.
The second reason is that ACF has a responsibility to focus its resources on issues where we can have a significant environmental benefit for Australia. This includes consumption of natural resources and the resulting environmental impacts and pollution.
Australians have one of the highest ecological footprints on earth per person, 13th out of 152 countries included in WWF’s 2014 Living Planet Report. The report shows that ecological footprints in high income countries like Australia are significantly higher than medium and lower income countries because of consumption patterns. The same report shows that carbon pollution, mainly from burning fossil fuels, has been the dominant component of humanity’s ecological footprint for more than half a century, and remains on an upward trend. In Australia, carbon pollution makes up over half of our ecological footprint, highlighting the need for decisive action to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
ACF is addressing this threat through our Energy Revolution campaign to accelerate the shift from polluting fuels such as coal and gas to renewable energy. Achieving this will halve Australia’s ecological footprint and environmental impact and, through reducing export of fossil fuels, the emissions of trading partners. This will be a significant and transformation outcome which is why it is the focus of our efforts.
ACF campaigns on another major driver of unsustainability - the Australian economy – which is one of the most resource intensive and polluting economies of all developed nations. Our campaign aims to shift that economy to one that regenerates natural capital rather than deplete it which will require significant transition to economic policy in Australia and of course how we measure progress.
It is important that ACF continues to raise concerns about unsustainable population growth, however our limited resources require us to focus on the issues where we can make the biggest difference.
Having said that, ACF believes that it is important to challenge ourselves and our thinking to focus on what matters the most to Australia’s environment. Over 2015-16 ACF is reviewing the drivers of unsustainability in Australia and the pathways towards sustainability, and we will use this information to inform our future campaigns. This way we will be sure to focus on the major contributors to unsustainability in Australia and decline of our natural resources, and form campaigns to build a sustainable country.
You're right, they are spineless, their ignorance is appalling!
Yugoslavia fell apart soon after Tito died
Yugoslavia fell apart soon after Tito died, because Tito is what held Yugoslavia together. The independent states did not go back to Communism. There are Communist parties in Eastern Europe, and they don't get much of the vote. The KKE in Greece poll lower than Golden Dawn!
Yugoslavia is an interesting case, because Tito wasn't really aligned with the Eastern Bloc. Yugoslavia remained somewhat separate for various reasons, but mainly because Yugoslavia wasn't 'liberated' by the Soviets, and Tito wasn't a Soviet trained Stalinist.
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/51216/aleksa-djilas/tito-s-last-s...
Tito's Yugoslavia was undoubtedly not a totalitarian state of mass terror, but merely a moderately authoritarian, semi-efficient, corrupt, and somewhat farcical state, similar to many others in the world. The main guarantors of Yugoslavia's unity were the communist police and army. No force in the country could challenge them, and Tito always had complete control of both. So he did not need great political skills to neutralize any opposition, including nationalists and separatists. After all, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, the other two multinational countries in Eastern Europe, also were never threatened with disintegration so long as communists and their repressive police and army ruled them.
Which is how many Yugoslavs describe it. This was a 'soft' authoritarianism, but again, not a condition I would find desirable.
Can't you see that your own personal preferences are somewhat beside the point?
Actually, I think they are the point! What other point is there? Are my preferences less valid than yours? Aren't you arguing based on what in your opinion is preferable?
What point is the human endeavour of civilisation, if not to provide a better life, which is by definition, the life people want to have? I don't quite get why I should want something I don't find desirable (having my life and society run by bureaucrats), because of some abstract axioms and principles.
Isn't that the very problem we face now? That people are forgoing what they REALLY want (open spaces, less competition for jobs, less industrial scale migration, more affordable housing), for abstract ideals like "growth" which we are supposed to want, and accept despite the outcome being yuk? These economic ideals, are supposed to be 'good' in and of themselves, but we are told to keep rooting for them, despite the outcome being undesirable (say, globalisation), because they are 'good'.
Some people don't mind a more Communist system, some prefer freedom. I prefer to to able to use my own ingenuity, skills to profit as I see fit. I'm developing a product, which I think is useful, and if so, will be sold to companies. To have to be assigned what to do by a beauracry, no thanks.
But I also get that some people may prefer to be 'looked after', and that's their choice. I have no issue with society finding ways to accommodate that either. There are a range of psychologies, and good governance would allow them to coexist in niches.
We are trapped in the Ponzi pyramid
It's assumed that high population growth and the housing "boom" is the solution to our economic stagnation and debts in Australia, but actually it's the cause. It's an unsustainable Ponzi pyramid of property investors all with vested interests in high volume real estate sales, riding on high population growth! Our economy has become trapped into the "growth" model, and with record low numbers of first home buyers, the properties must be marketed to international investors. It's to keep the housing bubble inflated for as long as possible.
The real estate Ponzi scheme has a life of its own, and it's a monster that's consuming us. Urban growth means that former industrial sites are being swallowed by housing growth, adding to the unemployment rate. Hence, immigration rates are pumped up to increase the number of buyers, and then the public are locked into inter-generational infrastructure debt, and heavy mortgages or rents.
It's like the movie, The Matrix! It depicts a dystopian future in which the reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality called "the Matrix", created by sentient machines to subdue the human population. In this present dystopia, people are being stacked and warehoused in the Ponzi pyramid, and are forced to pay for high costs and see their jobs and skills being over-ridden and ignored while foreigners benefit. We are gagged by PC (political correctness), and with only a shred of democratic powers to avoid the heavy costs being placed onto the public, and treated as economic units.
ISIS volunteers incited by Australian media and gov policy
It was really sad to hear of yet another young Australian who has wasted his life on behalf of ISIS against the Syrian government. Apparently Jake Bilardi claimed to be motivated by the injustice of Australian, NATO and US intervention in the Middle East. I can understand that. So he goes to support ISIS. I can't understand that.
ISIS is destroying Syria in cahoots with the US and NATO. The people of Syria have voted in no uncertain terms to show that they prefer the current government. See Huge vote for Assad and http://candobetter.net/node/3888. And, if they did not prefer it, Syria would not have been able to maintain a fight against the so-called 'rebels', let alone ISIS and NATO and the US et al. But the Australian government and media do not acknowledge this. They cover it up, they ignore it. They aid and abet the warmongerers.
So disillusioned youth, rightly horrified by the illegal wars in the Middle East, think that it is all about religious wars and that Islam is being oppressed. No, religious fundamentalism is being encouraged by the West in order to destroy secular and functioning governments in the Middle East. Iraq, Libya, now Syria. More religious fundamentalism - and killing - will make things worse.
The Australian and other Western Media have consistently demonised the Syrian leader, Basha al-Assad, and so have completely invalidated the Syrian people who recently voted him in resoundingly and the Syrian army who follow his orders because they need a leader and a functioning government. And so many impressionable youth in Australia are absorbing this message uncritically and joining forces against Syria, thinking they are heros. Most recently ISIS is trying to brand itself as an alternative to NATO dishonesty but there are so many reasons to suspect that ISIS is actually a creation of NATO that is taking on a life of its own; a commercial militia looting the killing fields and setting up a new military state where violence will rule in the name of religion.
Any young boys will die for this and young women will be enslaved to it.
It's obscene!