Miscellaneous comments from 12 June 2014

Thu, 2014-06-12 09:57 by admin

This Miscellaneous comments page has been closed. Please add further comments to the page . - Ed

Comments made on the previous Miscellaneous comments page from 14 Apr 2014 can be found .

If you have anything you would like to raise, which is likely to be of interest to our site's visitors, which is not addressed in other articles, please add your comments .

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admin

Thu, 2014-06-12 13:53

March 10, 1966: After 31 assassination attempts against his life, Charles De Gaulle ordered France’s withdrawal from NATO’s military integrated command. This decision was formally reversed almost half a century later under Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidency. De Gaulle adopted a foreign policy independent of the Anglo-American axis.

His March 10 1966, not only pertained France’s decision to withdraw from NATO’s integrated military command, but also to remove NATO’s headquarters from French territory, thereby leading the establishment of the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.

In today’s World, the leaders of the EU and the Western military alliance, above all the elites of France, Germany, Italy are scared, terrorized of a potential US backlash, a reaction like the "reaction" that produced 31 assassinations attempts against the French leader.

This reaction would no doubt be forthcoming if they decided to defend the national interest of their countries, e.g by and the financial looting of the EU by Wall Street and the city of London.

But this is the historical moment, in which these countries are gambling their future existence as sovereign states, and US political intimidation can be fought back. But these European leaders are corrupt and coopted by Washington.

De Gaulle gave an example and because he challenged openly the forces that tried to kill him — and, above all, kill France as and independent and sovereign country – he won. He was able to send the occupation forces of NATO packing. He won a second Resistance after that against Nazism.

Bandicoot

Mon, 2014-06-16 10:54

Activists who break into farms to secretly film suspected animal cruelty are being targeted by tough new biosecurity measures, triggering fears severe abuse will remain hidden. It follows a series of incidents where animal welfare advocates trespassed onto piggeries and abattoirs to obtain undercover footage – in some cases, recording horrific treatment which led to operations being closed down. This tough new approach is an acknowledgement of the success of activists, not for profit animal rights groups, and the power of the Internet and technology! Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce has gone far enough to call them camera-carrying "vigilantes"! The "biosecurity" threat is because these animals have compromised immune systems, due to effluent, cramming, unnaturally living inside, and being dose with preventative levels of antibiotics. Victorian Farmers Federation president Peter Tuohey said farmers needed more protection from animal activists. Giles family abattoir at Trafalgar closed in 2011 after an activist posing as a photographer helped level animal cruelty charges against the company. Charges against the owners were dropped but three abattoir employees pleaded guilty to animal cruelty. The coalition first committed to strengthen protection for farmers from trespassing animal activist groups in 2010. Walsh says that the election promise has not been forgotten and that the government will “have some more things to say around the right to farm”. At least the people of Victoria can have their say at the ballot box in November! This is not about a farmers' rights to farm, but the rights of animals to exist free from pain, cruelty and abuse! Since the days of traditional farming, when livestock were more or less visible, big corporations have take over and become more powerful, economically and politically. Due to population growth and bigger markets, and increasing land and resource costs, animals are increasingly fast-tracked to slaughter and more processed in factory-like industries, with lower standards of animal welfare. The departments in charge of "animal welfare" such the DEPI are also responsible for representing the farmers, so there are increasing and glaring conflicts of interests. It's the fox in charge of the chickens scenario! So, instead of prosecuting farmers and producers for shilling animal cruelty, the target will be "to shoot the messengers"!

nimby

Mon, 2014-06-16 12:46

The American ag-gag laws are infiltrating into Australia, but under the "biosecurity" threat to the animals! They are hiding their anti-animals rights agenda through portraying them as a biosecurity threat. Factory farms are inherently cruel and deprivation is a major feature of their existence. This means cramming animals together in large quantities, in un-natural and potentially disease-thriving conditions. The use of anti-biotics it not for medication, but for preventative purposes. The animals don't live long lives, so their chances of becoming infected or suffering from the ill-effects of anti-biotics is reduced. However, humans are increasingly being threatened by anti-biotic resistant bacteria, and it has the potential to throw us back in the days of amputations and other methods of fighting infections. It's hard to stop anti-biotics entering our own food chain if these animals are consumed. The "welfare" of animals, what's behind these new harsh laws protecting farmers, and the use of anti-biotics, means that any person entering a factory farm could be potentially catastrophic! What needs to be reconsidered is the whole unnatural process animal agriculture has evolved into, due to population growth, people migrating to cities, urban expansion and the demand for mass commercial food products.

Anonymous (not verified)

Mon, 2014-06-16 12:58

Iran and the US share an interest in blocking ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) advances and re-asserting government control over areas seized by the group. It is a classic Middle Eastern ‘enemy of my enemy’ scenario, which makes for strange bedfellows. Iraq is battling an offensive by Sunni militants who have advanced to within 80 kilometres of Baghdad's city limits after seizing a swathe of the country's north. Iran may consider cooperating with its arch-foe the United States to fight the Sunni extremist militants in Iraq. The United States, which spilled blood and untold treasure upending Iraq and then working to stabilize it as well as training the Iraqi army, doesn't want to see its work entirely undone by marauding extremists. Neither will the allies! Tehran is open to the possibility of working with the United States to support Baghdad, the senior official said. "We can work with Americans to end the insurgency in the Middle East," the official said, referring to events in Iraq. President Barack Obama said the United States was not ruling out air strikes to help Baghdad fight the insurgents, in what would be the first U.S. armed intervention in Iraq since the end of the U.S.-led war. Once the Pandora box is opened, it's incredibly hard and aggressive trying to shut it!

Sheila Newman

Mon, 2014-06-16 14:46

I think the Lowy Inst (which you give a link to, Anonymous) is mistaken here, probably due to an interest in supporting the US for commercial reasons.

My understanding is that the US/NATO alliance is attempting to isolate Iran due to its position on the Caspian Sea (where there are large, if hard to get to, petroleum reserves), its own reserves, and its geopolitical position in relation to pipeline supplies and Russia. Iran and Syria had a good relationship but the US does not want this because, starting with Iraq and Afghanistan, in a replay of the Great Game of the late 19th century, it wants a wasteland that it can simply take over. There is no humanitarian motive; quite the opposite. I personally feel that we can blame, almost entirely, US policy for preventing this region from repairing itself after 20th century colonial rule.

Have a look at a map of Iran and its neighbours on the Caspian; you will see that the US, with NATO as its lackey, has been trying to alienate and disorganise these countries, including Georgia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and, I think, Turkey.

I think the US partly gets away with this behaviour because people have been brainwashed into thinking that the disorganisation of Arab countries happened all by itself. It did not.

Furthermore, I think that the United States has something similar in mind for Australia. That is my inference because the Australian and State governments are engaged in a wholesale disorganisation of local populations and democracy by constant undemocratic injection of mass immigration, having rendered toothless all institutions capable of safeguarding Australian civil rights to housing, affordable water, food, employment, fair wages etc - all so far without firing a shot.

admin

Tue, 2014-06-17 00:33

It seems as if I accidentally deleted a post from a contributor who uses the tpgi.com.au ISP. My apologies if that contributor was you. It is not always easy to distinguish one genuine comment from amongst several dozen spam comments. If you have another copy, could you please re-post i? Thank you, the editor

PostGrowthEra

Wed, 2014-06-18 13:14

World Refugee Day is held every year on June 20. It is a special day when the world takes time to recognize the resilience of forcibly displaced people throughout the world. The UN General Assembly, on 4 December 2000, adopted resolution 55/76 where it noted that 2001 marked the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and that the Organization of African Unity (OAU) had agreed to have International Refugee Day coincide with Africa Refugee Day on 20 June. There are an estimated 42.5 million people displaced by persecution and conflict in the world. This breaks down to 15.2 million refugees, 26.4 million internally displaced persons and 895,000 asylum seekers. More than 300.000 people fled the fighting in the Iraqi city of Mosul last week have reached Iraq's Kurdistan region seeking refuge. Many have no money, and nowhere to go. "Environmental degradation, overpopulation, refugees, narcotics, terrorism, world crime movements, and organized crime are worldwide problems that don't stop at a nation's borders." -- Warren Christopher - American lawyer, diplomat and politician. During Bill Clinton's first term as President, ... "When food becomes scarce, refugees often turn to desperate measures to feed themselves and their families. We are particularly worried about the health of the refugee population, domestic violence and refugees resorting to illegal employment or even to prostitution, just to put enough food on the table." ~ Antonio Guterres, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Labor, the Coalition and the Greens have all missed the mark on asylum seeker policy because of their failure to acknowledge the underlying issue of overpopulation. While the global population has ballooned from 2.5 billion to over 7 billion people since World War II, political tussles have given way to protracted ecological resource show-downs. Overpopulation is now the leading cause of conflict. "When the manger is empty, the horses will bite each other", is an old danish saying. Global, social, and economic trends, including the interplay between population growth, urbanization, natural disaster, climate change, rising food prices, ethnic conflict, and religious conflict, are just some of the factors that are influencing this proliferation in displaced people. Overpopulation will create revolutions and civil wars, which in turn will produce a constant flow of refugees. When the World in 1918 was trying to recover from the carnage of the First World War and the Spanish flu, we were around 1.8 billion people on the planet. The International Organization for Migration, for example, has suggested that in a 4 degrees Celsius world, the commonly cited estimate of 200 million people displaced by climate change by 2050 could “easily be exceeded.” The enormity of the problem of refugees makes it a growing emergency, but while Western nations try to interfere with internal conflicts without addressing the root cause, and being in denial. the problem can't be fixed. We can only put band-aids on the problem, and ignore what's driving it. Charity starts locally, but we could start with a more balanced and humanitarian immigration intake, of suitable people only, instead of poaching the masses of skilled, well-heeled and educated from developing countries.

PostGrowthEra

Sat, 2014-06-21 10:22

The overall figure of 51.2 million displaced people soared by six million from a year earlier. They included 16.7 million refugees and 33.3 million displaced within their homelands, and 1.2 million asylum seekers whose applications were pending. "We are really facing a quantum leap, an enormous increase of forced displacement in our world," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres told a news briefing. Most refugees have found shelter in developing countries, contrary to the myth fueled by some populist politicians in the West that their states were being flooded, Guterres said. Over 50 percent of the refugees are children, with many of them traveling alone and some falling into the hands of human traffickers. What's not mentioned is that for the last 50 years, world population multiplied more rapidly than ever before, and more rapidly than it is projected to grow in the future. In 1950, the world had 2.5 billion people; and in 2005, the world had 6.5 billion people. By 2050, this number could rise to more than 9 billion. “As many people are forcibly displaced today as the entire populations of countries such as Colombia or Spain, South Africa or South Korea,” said Guterres. “Immigration is not part of the problem of modern societies,” asserted the High Commissioner, “it is part of the solution. Without immigration many of our communities would become completely unsustainable.” On the contrary, immigration is part of the problem as it gives an escape valve, an option, rather than caring for patriotic territories and natural resources. There are no new wildernesses to conquer, no new colonies or "new worlds" to settle in, and our environment can't sustain more people. It's a shifting the deck-chairs on the Titanic scenario, of moving the problem on!

Anonymous (not verified)

Sun, 2014-06-22 09:52

Candobetter.net Editorial Comment on the following:
[See below for actual comment.]
We think that the writer makes good points about the overwhelming size of the investor population overseas and that China is a good example of a large number of people who could overwhelm the interests of Australian home-buyers and citizens generally by raising the cost of housing and raising the population numbers further. We also would like to point out that other big populations are also investing in Australia, such as India. Furthermore many other foreign investors are in the mix, such as Germany, Singapore and Qatar. One also finds special encouraging arrangements from the NFIRB for specific countries and governments, such as Singapore.We would refer readers to the Australian National Foreign Investment Review Board, for details and also to view the policies that encourage investment in land-clearing and new building. In fact, we need look no further than our own government for the agents of our increasing dispossession. After all, they invite these foreign investors and give Australians no say in the matter.

We want to be clear, however, that we do not agree with singling out any particular nationality or ethnic group as problematic. We are not saying that the writer does this, but we want to be crystal clear. We want to emphasise that our interest in the problem is its numerical value. Furthermore, we note that, t, along with other BRICS countries, for Russian policy, the world would have absolutely nothing to stop a frightening commercial and military US/NATO-based hegemony overtaking everything and everyone, . In the latter case the Western imperialists are supporting anti-semite Nazis who overthrew the democratically elected government of President Victor Yanukovych in March 2004. Many of us believe that something similar is designed for Australia and that the selling off of land and fuel rights, with the disorganisation and impoverishment of the population here is part of this.>

AUSTRALIA FIRST PARTY-: Whatever will benefit Australia - that we are for;
whatever will harm Australia - that we are against. William Lane :-

PRESS RELEASE
Nominations for the
Australian Peoples Movement Award

The Mao Tse-tung
Order of the Third Hand

are invited from Individuals of The Commonwealth

CRITERIA.

This Award is for Scabs who aid and abet the scourge of Chinese Imperialism in Australia, manifested in their conniving for unwanted exploitive “developments”; the selling and purchase of resources and assets of Our Commonwealth, and the accompanying demographic swarm and cultural recolonisation of our Native Land. It exemplifies a Traitor Class motivated solely by monetary gain, and devoid of any respect or loyalty to the Australian People, our identity, heritage, sovereignty and independence.

The Award is to be granted quartedly, commencing 30th June, 2014, the Anniversary of Lambing Flat Uprising, a premiere folkloric occasion of our European derived civilisation.

The Award is of ongoing character and our Australian Peoples Movement on the Day Of Reckoning will bestow further to recipients.

Please forward the name and address of the person to be nominated, with supporting references, to the address below. Include your own name and address.

AUSTRALIA FIRST PARTY
Identity - Freedom - IndependenceP O Box 223 Croydon 3136. National Contact Line 02 8587 0014www.australiafirst.net email: [email protected]

Australia First Party - Reclaiming Australia for Australians

By over-all planning, we mean planning which takes into consideration the interests of the 600 million people [Candobetter Ed. Something missing in this sentence] of our country. In drawing up plans, handling affairs or thinking over problems, we must proceed from the fact that China has a population of 600 million people, and we must never forget this fact. Mao Tse-tung. 27/2/1957.

Tony (not verified)

Sun, 2014-06-22 16:18

The Chinese were the biggest real estate investors, approved for $5.9 billion worth of housing investments - followed by people from Canada ($4.9b), the US ($4.4b) and Singaporean investors ($2b). Last financial year foreigners applied to buy $5.4 billion worth of existing houses, across Australia, almost double the tally for the previous year. Malaysian, Taiwanese and South Korean buyers are in the market, targeting new apartments and townhouses in east coast cities. Perth is seeing interest from South Africa and investors from the Middle East are active in south east Queensland. Canadians invested just under $5 billion in Australian real estate, and Americans $4.4 billion. Singapore was next with $2 billion, then Malaysia with $1.6 billion; in between were the British, on $1.7 billion.(this year's data) China registers as the highest number of FIRB approval who are estimated by some financial institutions to be purchasing about 12 per cent of new homes. A Credit Suisse report estimated that 18 per cent of new homes in Sydney and 14 per cent in Melbourne are being bought by Chinese buyers, with up to $44 billion Anonymousof investment expected in the seven years to 2020. The Asian-Australian investment - predominantly Chinese - is being felt in the real estate market. While the door might be open to other nations, it's Chinese that are typical of the property investors in Australia. Cash pouring in from China is responsible for a “flood of unregulated investment”. Young people priced out of the market, official indifference, how Hong Kong doesn’t let the same thing happen. The housing bubble can't be maintained enough for the greed of property developers, despite our record immigration levels, so our housing market is opened to foreigners. A Canadian 28-year-old visa for scheme for foreign property investors, which had a backlog of 65,000 applicants, was axed by Canada earlier this year. That was less than a week after the Post revealed how the massive queue had been created in the Hong Kong consulate, which was inundated with applications from rich Chinese mainlanders.

Loss of sovereignty (not verified)

Mon, 2014-06-23 12:09

More pertinent to the question in Australia's First Award to the Scabs is not the nationality of the country buying Australian land and housing, but the treachery of our Government. The FIRB exists to give some assurance that there is accountability on who, and how many, foreigner are accessing our sovereign wealth in terms of housing, business and land sales. It raises the prices, locks locals out of housing, and keeps the housing bubble inflated. This promotes private profits, and keeps up the status quo of immigration and "growth" of our GDP. The RIRB are no more than observers, counting the sheep as they escape from the open gate! There's no country with a free market economy than Australia, with our government's drive to globalize our nation. This means internationalising our universities, jobs, skills acquisitions, and our population are all global - undermining our nationhood and selling off our sovereignty.

Sheila Newman

Fri, 2014-06-20 20:24

Adobe Flash player does not work with 64 bit systems. Every time I fix the problem by disabling a code, overnight it comes back. There are people all over the web complaining about how videos of all kinds freeze and refuse to play in the presence of Adobe Flash player if you do not constantly manipulate the mouse. Furthermore, browsers hang and there are delays keying in information. This is tiresome and damages productivity and enjoyment. How can Adobe Flash Player continue to allow this to happen, for months on end in an environment filled with complaints? People have no choice but to use this flash player but the news services and video sites that force its use should find another supplier or demand a solution. I am absolutely furious. But Adobe Flash Player seems to emanate from some company that has no interest in getting or providing feedback. This is why I am commenting on candobetter.net about the problem. Maybe if enough noise is made on the internet about this, Adobe will reform of get out of everyone's way. Additionally, I have noticed that people are being sold 'tune-up' programs to fix what are probably just symptoms of this adobe problem. Most people cannot tell the difference. The tune-up programs don't even detect the problem. If some tune-up program did detect it, I would buy it.

Sheila Newman

Mon, 2014-06-23 01:45

Candobetter writer drew my attention to this absurdly phrased and scary explanation of Australian law on freedom of information, which says:

Under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act), all government agencies must disclose or release information unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure. When deciding whether to release information, staff must apply the public interest test.

" There are only limited and specific interests against disclosure that an agency can take into account. These are:

law enforcement and security
individual rights, judicial processes and natural justice
responsible and effective government
business interests
environment, culture, economy and other matters
secrecy and exemption provisions in other laws."

As Michael commented, "This is a great way for a dictatorship to operate."

Loss of sovereignty (not verified)

Wed, 2014-06-25 17:22

A court in Cairo found Australia's Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed guilty of spreading false news. Hundreds of journalist are protesting in London for Peter Greste's 7 years imprisonment. He's been charged with the spreading of "false news". and for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. It puts every international journalist at risk.

Greste was arrested in Cairo with colleagues at the end of December 2013. The interior ministry said the journalists were accused of news reporting which was "damaging to national security".

This kind of verdict does nothing to support Egypt's claim to be on a transition to democracy, and the Australian Government urges the new government of Egypt to reflect on what message is being sent to the world about the situation in Egypt. Egypt is the largest and most important country in the Arab world. Much of Egypt’s crisis comes down to a battle over identity. Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood overestimated the extent to which Egyptians identify with Islam. Citizens identify less and less with their countries and identify more and more with Islam and as Arabs.
Amnesty International petition for Peter Greste:

Matthew Mitchel... (not verified)

Thu, 2014-06-26 06:22

Defenders of the South East Green Wedge - Bulletin - Call to Arms (Barry Ross Jun 25 at 6:27 PM) Folks, This is an appeal for volunteers to attend a mortgagee's auction at noon on Friday, 4 July at 565 McClelland Drive, Langwarrin. The property is just south of Peninsula Private Hospital. The reason for this appeal is that we are planning a well behaved, good humoured gathering of people with placards to warn prospective bidders of the pitfalls of purchasing the property and at the same time raise awareness of why the land should be acquired as an addition to the abutting Pobblebonk Wetland Reserve. In the online real estate advertisement for the auction, the land is being touted as 'Residential Land' when it is exactly the opposite in that it is in the Green Wedge, is zoned Rural Conservation Zone and is covered by an Environmental Significance Overlay, a Significant Landscape Overlay and a Wildfire Management Overlay. See the ad on: The Pobblebonk Wetland Reserve is a magic little perched wetland that sits in a sand dune system and is protected by a decaying layer of vegetation that stops it draining into the sand. We believe there is a strong case for the property to be included in the Pobblebonk Wetland Reserve because it is part of the same wetland system. It would replace some of the wetland area that was destroyed by the construction of the Peninsula Link Freeway and would provide a valuable buffer to the planned extensions to the Peninsula Private Hospital. The land has been illegally cleared a couple of times over the past few years but is re-establishing nicely and should look at treat in a few years. A haul road was built across the property to assist with the construction of Peninsula Link. This haul road was meant to be removed and the area reinstated by Oct '11 but so far no action appears to have been taken to enforce the removal. The press has been told about the gathering so it is important that we get reasonable numbers to show we are fair dinkum. There is a small parking bay at the entrance to the property and parking in the Peninsula Private Hospital carpark, though this can be busy at times.. Please do your best to come to the auction and bring along a placard to show your support with message along the lines of protecting the Green Wedge / keeping the land for nature / the need to expand the Pobblebonk Wetland Reserve / this land is not suitable for development. Hope to see you at the auction on Friday, 4 July at noon.

nimby

Tue, 2014-07-01 08:23

Welfare groups have accused the Abbott government of dumping Australia's sense of a fair go after targeting payments to unemployed young people, families, pensioners and people with disabilities in its first budget. People with severe impairments, terminal illnesses or who have the capacity to work less than eight hours a week will be exempt. Several welfare groups have slammed a interim welfare reform report and called on the government to rule out some of the more controversial measures. It suggests that many of the 830,000 recipients on the Disability Support Pension would be moved off it, but suggested people with mental illnesses could be one such group. Only people with a permanent disability could receive the payment. Thirty per cent of people on a disability support pension are people with mental health conditions and these conditions are often episodic in nature. It's claimed that much of the welfare spending rise was linked to Australia's ageing population and reliance on the aged pension. So, to counterbalance the "ageing population", we have artificial population growth! We have one in six children living in poverty and it's on the rise, and a crisis of youth unemployment. Governments love immigration and population growth but seem to think of people as static tax-payers, or economic units. Skilled migrants have a higher rate of unemployment than Australian born. People come with disabilities, illnesses, and they all age! Back in 2011 the Victorian MP Kelvin Thomson says Australia can sustain an ageing population by increasing the productivity of its present population, especially older people, rather than importing migrants and workers. However, "growth" continued and these words were ignored. Forcing disabled people to work, and others on welfare, is a cruel irony as there are few jobs available. They will be humiliated and feel despair. We still have record levels of skilled migration, and temporary migrants with work permits are flooding the casual jobs market. The logical conclusion of a market-based economy will mean de-linking people from the economy, and discarding them along the way as heavy burdens. "They may need counselling or therapy, but it’s very important to keep them linked with education, training or a job” said welfare expert Patrick McClure. “Australia’s current welfare system is incredibly unwieldy, with around 20 payments and 55 supplements which is complex to administer and difficult for individuals to access and understand,” Minister for Social Services Kevin Andrews said. He said the number of people allowed onto this payment had grown in an ad hoc manner over many years if not decades. Over the last decades, Australia's population has swelled, along with the number of people on welfare. There's no indication of a rising rate of disability, but a rise in absolute numbers.

Loss of sovereignty (not verified)

Wed, 2014-07-02 14:35

A French woman against the state for breach of religious freedom. However, the European Court of Human Rights has upheld France's 2010 ban on full-face veils in public. In written evidence, the woman of Pakistani origin testified that she wore the full veil of her own free will and was willing to remove it whenever required for security reasons, addressing two of the main arguments put forward by French authorities in support of the ban. The French argue that it conflicts with gender equality, human dignity and the ability to socially integrate. France has the largest Muslim community in Europe, with over 5 million people. France was the first European country to pass a law banning burqa and niqab garments that conceal the face in public. Belgium later followed suit. While the also covers balaclavas and hoods, the ban has been criticised as targeting Muslim women. According to Europe's human rights court, the law did not exceed the margin of interpretation by states in implementing the European Convention on Human Rights. It's claimed that the country's tenets of secularism are being degraded. It's also a security threat as it's hard to identify the individuals.

Loss of sovereignty (not verified)

Thu, 2014-07-03 13:15

A group of around 140 adults and child migrants were sent to California to be assigned case numbers and undergo background checks before most were likely to be released under limited supervision to await deportation proceedings. They were greeted by anti-immigration demonstrators, with slogans such as "return to sender". The group is part of a growing wave of families and unaccompanied minors fleeing Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras and streaming by the thousands into the United States by way of human trafficking networks through Mexico. The are said not to be economic migrants, but are avoiding crime and violence. Authorities estimate 60,000 to 80,000 children without parents will cross the border this year in what the White House has called an “immediate humanitarian crisis.” The surge has left U.S. immigration officials scrambling to handle mass numbers of Central American migrants who, by law, the government cannot immediately deport, as they normally could illegal border crossers of Mexican or Canadian origin. The massive migration movements across the world are causing mayhem and the humanitarian crisis is impacting globally. The crisis is being addressed as a humanitarian one, but the source, of over population, is still largely not recognised. A mix of poverty, violence and smugglers' false promises is prompting the Central American inflow. There aren't enough beds, food or facilities. In a recent conference on overpopulation in Washington DC, Victor Davis Hansen talked about his latest book, “Mexifornia,” explaining how immigration – both legal and illegal was destroying the entire state of California He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream. A large part of the problem, Hanson believes, comes from the opportunistic coalition that stymies immigration reform and, even worse, stifles an honest discussion of the growing problem. Corporations, contractors, and agribusiness demand cheap wage labor from Mexico, whatever the social consequences. Meanwhile, academics, journalists, government bureaucrats, and La Raza advocates envision illegal aliens as a vast new political constituency for those committed to the notion that victimhood, not citizenship, is the key to advancement. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that ‘An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.’” “Here is how they do it,” Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm said: “First, to destroy America, turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bicultural country.” History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other- that is, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precedent.

Anonymous (not verified)

Fri, 2014-07-04 09:40

With the United States preoccupied elsewhere, Central American gangs have grown in power and numbers; today, local officials estimate their size at 70,000-100,000 members. The marabuntas, or maras, as they are known (after a deadly species of local ants), now pose the most serious challenge to peace in the region since the end of Central America's civil wars. In the past few years, as Washington has focused its attention on the Middle East, it has virtually ignored a dangerous phenomenon close to home.

San Petro Sula, Honduras, has a highest murder rate in the world, higher than in Afghanistan or Syria! While America has been distracted by the Middle East, there's been a growing power of Central America's gangs and their ability to shuttle between their home countries and the United States.

The violence currently rocking Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala is not only causing a refugee crisis in the United States. Every country in the region has also been affected as children are running for their lives and seeking safety wherever they can find it.

According to the UNHCR, asylum requests from Honduran, El Salvadoran, and Guatemalan nationals have increased 712 percent in the neighboring nations of Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Belize since 2009. [Center For American Progress, 6/18/14]

The United States is not the only country seeing an influx of migrants from the Northern Triangle. Between the years of 2008 and 2013 the UN recorded an increase of 712 percent in the number of individuals leaving that region and settling in places like Mexico, Panama, Belize and Costa Rica. The US government projects that 95 percent of South American cocaine travels through Central America and Mexico before landing in the states. They recruit and forcefully use children to carry out their activities. Those that do not participate are made examples of through kidnapping, torture, or murder.

Instability breeds poverty, desperation, violence that inevitably bleeds into neighboring nations.
The tens of thousands of Central American youths will likely never be deported and many will be released in the U.S. while they are being “processed.” Besides receiving food and shelter, the Honduran newspaper article says, kids will receive English classes, participate in sports and other programs while their relatives are tracked down in the U.S.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said the unaccompanied alien children (UACs) should be returned to their countries rather than released to an adult in the U.S. "Allowing them to remain here will only encourage the next group of individuals to undertake this dangerous and life-threatening journey here," Perry said. When the Obama Administration releases UACs to adults in the U.S., no checks are done to determine if they are legally present". (NumbersUSA)https://www.numbersusa.com/news?f[0]=field_sub_type%3A2056

The majority of Central America has been suffering from drought, which is only worsened by overpopulation. Currently, overpopulation is factoring into drought, slums, and violence in Central America. With individual countries facing separate populations problems and becoming more fragile, there are few places to find help. Young, impoverished and uneducated young people get captured by the lure of drug money, and weapons. It's a downward cycle of decline.

DennisK (not verified)

Mon, 2014-07-07 09:18

I think it was on this blog, that someone pointed out that tension with the 'other' was more pronounced on the frontier. Indeed, it is usually at the frontier where tension exists between groups. Germany has a rivalry with France, due to a shared border. Same with Poland. Yet France and Poland don't have a rivalry. The closer one is to the fronteir, the keener the senses waryness is about the other, and potential threats. A frame of mind that those who aren't on the fronteir may not understand, or even consider ill informed. Greece and Turkey. Russia and Ukraine. Jews and Europe. China and Vietnam. The push for diversity and social pluralism has done something quite drastic. It has made everywhere the frontier. Every country. Every city. It actually demands that every place become a frontier and holds this as a some kind of virtue, so what was once confined to national borders, is now pushed to be universal. The social instability that this creates then obviously follows, so like all countries which have frontiers within them (Iraq, Yugoslavia) greater control and suppression of the people has to take place to keep this state of affairs functional for the ruling powers. Should the stringent dictatorial control be removed (Hussein, Tito), things fall apart. Even Hitler knew this, as he wished for Germany to constantly have an active frontier after the war to keep people on guard and legitimise the power of the state over the people. In the USA, these fronteirs are appearing everywhere, and the state is having to futher control people as a result

Loss of sovereignty (not verified)

Fri, 2014-07-04 13:19

The review, the most comprehensive to date of Caribbean reefs that are vital tourist attractions for many island nations, said climate change had played only a minor role in the reefs' demise, despite past speculation it was a main cause. “Even if we could somehow make climate change disappear tomorrow, these reefs would continue their decline,” said Jeremy Jackson, lead author of the report and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s senior adviser on coral reefs. “We must immediately address the grazing problem for the reefs to stand any chance of surviving future climate shifts.” Climate change of course is a severe threat, but it's been used to cover every environmental shortfall and decline. If climate change doesn't get there, overfishing will do the job first! Careful examination of the data suggests overfishing as the most likely reason for the disappearance of large predatory fishes across the region. "Large predatory fish such as groupers and sharks are vitally important in marine food webs," Chris Stallings of The Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory said. The Caribbean is an environmentally and economically significant region. It's home to 9 percent of the world's coral reefs and some of the most diverse ecosystems. These reefs also span 38 countries and serve as a vital economic driver, generating more than $3 billion annually from tourism and fisheries. Marine fish provide 15 percent of all animal protein consumed by humans. Under this intense pressure — 15 percent of 7 billion people (and growing), every year, year in, year out — global fisheries are collapsing. A vast amount of the discarded waste of 7 billion consumers also finds its way to the oceans.

Loss of sovereignty (not verified)

Tue, 2014-07-08 15:08

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is meeting with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Canberra today, where the agreement will be signed. Tariffs will be lifted on Japanese imports such as cars and TV sets and there will be a reduction in barriers to some Australian primary produce such as beef in what the Agriculture Minister said was a one-sided negotiation. "Free Trade is a euphemism for a bilateral trade agreement,” Mr Joyce told Radio National today. "We have removed many of our tariffs, while Japan had retained its barriers to our important exports. It becomes a begging mission when everything you want and you somehow have to convince them from a position of nothingness that you are somehow going to give something back,” said Mr Joyce. The Greens' Peter Whish-Wilson called on Mr Abbott to pressure Japan not to restart scientific whaling. Prime Minister Abe has conceded that their whaling is commercial, but wants to revise it to give another scientific justification. "Mr Abbott needs to ratchet up the pressure on the Japanese prime minister today and let him know that lethal whaling, commercial whaling is not acceptable to the Australian community." There's nothing "free" about the wildlife being lethally "managed" by Japan's harpoons, and it remains to be seen if Tony Abbott actually mentioned the whale slaughter issue. Whales are not pawns to be handed over to Japan in return for trade agreements, especially after the damning ICJ condemnation recently. Ignoring this court case would be a gaping omission and hypocrisy.

Bandicoot

Wed, 2014-07-09 11:40

UK climate change expert Lord Deben has attacked Tony Abbott's plan to scrap the carbon tax, accusing the Prime Minister of "recklessly endangering" the future of the world. He said that “while the 66 countries that account for 88 per cent of global emissions have passed laws to address global warming, Australia is repealing them.” Not only is our Prime Minister failing to upgrade efforts to combat climate change, he's deliberately dismantling them! Lord Deben is a former head of the Conservative Party who served under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and now the head of the UK Committee on Climate Change Tony Abbott is really exhibiting racist and discriminatory attitudes to international communities. Our heavy energy consumption and resource-intense lifestyles are unsustainable, and adding to global greenhouse gas emissions with reckless abandon! "That seems to me to be very sad because Australia is a great nation, an English-speaking nation that ought to be leading the world instead of going backwards." Abbott is indirectly declaring that our economy can be irrevocably liked to economic and population growth, and the rest can deal with the fallouts of carbon emissions, species extinctions, ecosystem demolition and scarcities. While he may personally disregard climate change as "crap", as our Prime Minister he has a moral obligation to be a responsible leader of the Australian government and formulate policies for the benefit of the voting public - and the international community. Deben said that the Abbott Government "appears to be more concerned with advancing its own short-term political interests" than dealing with global warming". Lord Deben also said:"“I think there can be no growth unless there is green growth,” stressing that population growth would put increasing pressure on finite resources such as gas, while renewable energy was a natural limitless resource. “If we want to grow in this world, we can only grow in a green way". Green growth sounds awfully like plain old "growth" with a green covering! While renewable energy sources may decrease per capita use of energy, in absolute terms it could increase, along with greenhouse gas emissions, due to population growth outstripping the reductions.

nimby

Wed, 2014-07-09 13:15

Senator Peter Whish-Wilson hand-delivered a letter to Japan's Prime Minister Shinto Abe, from activist group Sea Shepherd, during an official dinner at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday night. The letter warns that ships and volunteers from the group would resume their harassment of Japanese whaling ships. "Our ocean is dying, Mr Prime Minister, and when the ocean dies we will follow," Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson told Mr Abe in the letter. "We cannot live on this planet with a dead ocean." A team of biologists from the University of Vermont, under conservation biologist Joe Roman, have tallied several decades of research on whales from around the world; it shows that whales, in fact, make a huge difference — they have a powerful and positive influence on the function of oceans, global carbon storage, and the health of commercial fisheries. “The continued recovery of great whales may help to buffer marine ecosystems from destabilizing stresses,” the team of scientists writes. The letter reassured Abe that Sea Shepherd were not anti-Japan, or contrary to their culture. Many of their citizens support whales, they claim. Although Japan's whaling was ruled as not scientific by the International Court of Justice, and illegal, in a great contradictory leap of logic, they plan to still engage in research to collect the "indispensable scientific information in order to manage the whale resources". Whales are not commercial "resources" and do not need to be managed! Their freedom should be part of the "free" trade negotiations. Whales have peacefully and harmoniously existed for millions of years in the oceans, adding to marine ecosystems. Modern humans have been around for only 200,000 years, and it's the latter that needs "management"!

Bandicoot

Fri, 2014-07-11 11:39

The day was established by the United Nations Population Fund, whose mission is to deliver a world “where every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled.” By 2050, demographers from the United Nations project that the population will reach 9.6 billion. Asia is facing a shelter crisis as its population continues to grow with 500 million people already living in slums. That figure is set to grow to a staggering 840 million people by the end of the decade, according to Habitat for Humanity Australia. In many developing countries, adolescent girls lack access to quality health care. They are prevented by cultural norms and lack of education from making decisions about the timing, number and spacing of their children or whether they deliver their babies in hospital. Approximately 77 million people are added to the earth's population each year. That’s nearly 220,000 people added to the planet every day. The scientific consensus is that the current population expansion and accompanying increase in use of resources is linked to threats to the ecosystem, including rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, global warming, water shortage and pollution. Most of Australia’s population growth is due to immigration, about 500,000 a year (less than 3% of whom are refugees) and while Australia has an immigration policy it doesn’t have a population policy. The world's population has implications for the distribution of resources and balance on our planet. A Media Release by Sustainable Population Australia says that by 2050 about two-thirds of all humans will live in urban areas. Most of the anticipated urban growth by 2050 will occur in Asia and Africa. Already, more than half the global population lives in cities. Three years ago, naturalist Sir David Attenborough expressed such a concern, saying urbanised people were growing out of touch with the natural world “of which we are, in fact, a part.” “Conservation efforts should protect habitats of endangered species, but many countries in Africa and Asia where the greatest population and urban growth will occur, are too poor to protect such areas. The Center for Biological Diversity will be distributing 40,000 “endangered species condoms” Friday, which is World Population Day. The stunt is designed to highlight the link between rapid human population growth and the decline of some wildlife species. The Endangered Species Condoms are wrapped in colorful packages featuring six different endangered species and information to help volunteers start the conversation about the impact of runaway human population growth on polar bears, panthers and other imperiled wildlife. The Center has given away more than half a million Endangered Species Condoms since 2009.

Anonymous (not verified)

Sat, 2014-07-12 12:16

A Republican lawmaker said the country will be destroyed if the U.S. continues to allow thousands of immigrants to cross the border illegally. "You cannot bring hundreds of thousands of people in this country without destroying the country,” said Rep Louie Gohmert. “Then there’s no place that people can dream about coming.” Gohmert continued: “Either we’re going to enforce our law and remain strong economically and otherwise, or we ignore the rule of law and go to being a third world nation.” There’s a growing recognition that Barack Obama is an incompetent poser, working out of his depth, and his administration is the gang that can’t shoot straight. The “humanitarian crisis” on the southern border is the most persuasive evidence of all that America is adrift in a sea of incompetence, blown about by every ill wind that blows. Mr. Obama promised in 2008 that he intended to transform America, and he is well on his way. Anyone who looked closely at the man and the influences that shaped who he would become risked being called a racist, a nativist, a bigot and a redneck yahoo. Making the United States over into a Third World country is exactly what this president is about. He is of the Third World. He spent his formative years in the Third World, and when his mother, obsessed with the Third World, brought him back to America, he sought out the company of those who dreamed of making America over into the world’s largest welfare state ">PRUDEN: An immigrant surge en route to a Third World USA He has no intention of deporting more than a few token illegals, probably the gangbangers who came in with the rest. Not a single U.S. city is included in the world’s top 10 most livable cities. Only one U.S. airport makes the list of the top 100 in the world. Roads, schools and bridges are falling apart, and trains—none of them high-speed—are running off their tracks. High school students are rated 30th in math, and some 30 countries have longer life expectancy and lower rates of infant mortality. The only things America is number one in these days are the number of incarcerated citizens per capita and adult onset diabetes.

DennisK (not verified)

Sat, 2014-07-12 19:45

As the USA becomes demographically closer to Mexico, we can expect its economy and political structure to also resemble Mexico. Many say that the Californian economy is in decline, but it isn't. It is merely equilibrating to a new standard, as is the rest of the USA. But it's not the fault of the Mexicans. Obama has expelled more illegal immigrants than any previous president. Republicans have been at the forefront of pushing this demographic change. There is essentially little to no operational difference between the two parties (a difference in rhetoric, image and stated philosophy yes, but not in operation). The USA has been sold off years ago. It is a dying empire, resembling all previous dying empires. Increasing wealth inequality. Hedonism. Rule by a few rent seeking wealthy vested interests. Overstreched imperialism and increasing control and tyranny at home. Blaming Obama (he is definitely corrupt as well, with a very poor sense of freedom) is passing the buck. The entire plutocratic class should be held responsible. I sense that soon, or even beginning now, will come a time when those who caused this problem will deny they were ever part of it.

PostGrowthEra

Mon, 2014-07-14 12:11

The US study found that southern Australia is drying out because human activity has changed the concentrations of greenhouse gases and ozone in the atmosphere. In an accompanying article in Nature Geoscience, Professor David Karoly from the University of Melbourne wrote: "The study is one of the very few instances where regional rainfall changes have been linked to human-caused climate change." Increasing greenhouse gas levels, depleting ozone layer are shifting rain belts southward. Scientists believe the world is still on track to become more than 2 degrees Celsius warmer - and that potentially means whole ecosystems could be wiped out. There is the possibility of widespread and permanent damage to coral reef systems, particularly the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo in Western Australia. Some native species could be wiped out. CSIRO chief research scientist Mark Howden said the latest science predicted production could drop by up to 40 per cent under a severe drying scenario. The Murray Darling Basin will change dramatically and will no longer be the food bowl of Australia. We hear a lot about Australia becoming the food bowl of Asia, but Australian agriculture potential will be restricted by decreasing rainfall in the South. The dream of Australia being the "food bowl" of Asia is an economic dream not based on reality. She should be building up a fortress of sustainability and self-reliance, and independence - not globalisation.

Sheila Newman

Mon, 2014-07-14 20:03

Thanks for this, Post Growth Era. And, if sea-level rises as some predict, since most of us live on the coasts, where most food is also produced, and most infrastructure is built and more being developed, we will become climate refugees in our own country. I note however that scientific promulgations on climate change have still not taken on board (and elsewhere) which shows a strong relationship between coastal forest removal and changes in wind patterns leading to reduced rainfall inland and desertification. This is absolutely crucial in my opinion. See also the new article on candobetter.net about Victorian prescribed forest burning policy - our foolish and uneducated politicians are are creating a hell on earth in Victoria.

Bandicoot

Wed, 2014-07-16 09:30

target: NSW Planning Minister Pru Goward signatures: 12,108 In Byron Bay, NSW, developers want to construct a sprawling housing and industrial project that would wipe out koala habitats and potentially poison local marine wildlife. So why is the New South Wales planning department considering approving the endeavour? Byron Bay is a sweet, sleepy seaside town with gorgeous beaches and unique wildlife populations. Every weekend, backpackers and families drive into the area to walk along the sandy streets and admire the pristine views. A massive housing development, which would increase Byron's population by a full third, could ruin the village's green-conscious character forever. Plus, the planned project cuts straight through the habitat of a population of around 240 koalas, all of whom would be put in grave danger by the construction and increased traffic. And given that the buildings will be constructed on wetlands containing soil elements that can become toxic when exposed, the water trickling from there into the sea could be lethal to fish and other marine wildlife. Byron Bay's mayor thinks the development would be a "monstrous addition." Its residents are terrified that their home will be forever destroyed. NSW officials must listen to the state's people rather than big companies' pocketbooks. Tell NSW planning minister Pru Goward to stop the West Byron development and save one of the jewels of the coast!

Anonymous (not verified)

Fri, 2014-07-18 16:24

Malaysia is reeling from the second tragedy to hit its national airline in less than five months. Russia Today cites a report from the Interfax News Agency quoting unnamed sources who claim the doomed flight had a similar path as a plane carrying Russian President Vladimir Putin.0 Some relatives of those on board the MH370 accused the airline of engaging in a cover-up, and there have been persistent conspiracy theories over the fate of the plane, including that it might have been shot down. In an incident still shrouded in controversy and conspiracy theories, a Korean Airlines flight 007, flying from Alaska to Seoul in South Korea, was shot down by a Russian fighter on September 1 1983. The aircraft came down at sea, killing all 269 people on board. Eighteen years ago today, TWA Flight 800 exploded over the Atlantic Ocean near on July 17, 1996. There were no survivors. Government investigators concluded the plane was brought down not by a missile but by a spark in one of the plane’s fuel tanks. Aircraft wreckage that was inconsistent with a centre fuel tank explosion. In addition, they allege a conspiracy by the NTSB and FBI to destroy and cover-up evidence. While the Crimea was regarded as too dangerous to fly over because of military aircraft movements, eastern Ukraine was not deemed off-limits even though two Ukrainian military aircraft were shot down this week. Flight MH17, a Boeing 777, first flew on 7-17-97 and crashed 17 years later, on 7-17-14. There is also the mystery of Malaysia Airline Flight 653, which crashed on Dec. 4, 1977, after a reported hijacking, the details of which are still unknown. The tragedy of modern airline travel is that they are easy targets for mass killings, political cover-ups, and conspiracy theories. Could this mean the end of safe international air travel?

Sheila Newman

Thu, 2014-07-24 13:04

This comment was initially posted, possibly erroneously, as a comment in response to the article (23/7/14) by . The spelling and grammatical errors in the included letter have not been corrected. - Ed

Letter re Australia First Party campaign to retain Australian education for Aussies. www.australiafirstparty.net

[Writer name deleted for privacy]

Hi

I am an oversea student.

Obviously I have no offence towards you. You can still fight for our absence, call us thieves or whatever and we just prepare for our new semester or get a new job. That's completely legal and we are all comfortable, aren't we?

But I want to remind you that don't always blame on Asian culture. I always long for getting a table in Chinatown without lining up with Australians. I always hope my Australian classmates to stop copying my homework." id="txtFs_1">1 I always want Australian coffee shops could take the place of bubble cups. However, the reality shows most of Australians adapt to Asian culture. There is nothing about the culture but the ppl. If Australian don't like it, the culture would die automatically. If you want to blame on the culture, please blame on those Australians who like it first.

I still hope you can succeed in getting all oversea students away from Australia. I could foresee that Myki" id="txtFs_2">2 would be 7 dollars per touch on and the medical entry fee would be 16 dollars. You know the government better than me, right?

Footnote[s]

" id="fnFs_1">1. ">↑ This is the first time I have heard an implied allegation that native Australian students routinely cheat. Whilst it cannot be assumed that any group of students is either wholly dishonest or wholly virtuous, I have heard much anecdotal evidence that there is more cheating amongst foreign students than amongst native born students. - Ed

" id="fnFs_2">2. ">↑ Myki cards are used to store credit with which to pay fares on buses, trams and trains in Victoria.

This Miscellaneous comments page has been closed. Please add further comments to the page . - Ed