Comments
Why the hatred? Such is raw human nature
CH4 Plumes
Just an excuse for perpetual growth
Hi Vivienne...Iam not from
"Making money" and "profit" are misleading terms
- Because Australia has long ago exceeded its optimum population, additional numbers cannot create additional wealth, contrary to what many economists pretend. It can only make each existing inhabitant poorer on average because there are more people to divide the national wealth amongst.
- The growing scarcity of shelter forces those who have to buy it or rent it from others to pay for it an even larger proportion of their income.
- The land speculation and renting 'industries' and most of the banking 'industry' that create no wealth whatsoever, whilst consuming a good deal of our nation's economic resources.
Symbol of hatred of our wildlife
Koala Sunshine coast..
Rising costs due to population growth
Banks and Immigration
Qantas outsourcing its PR - spinning reputation maintenance!
Qantas Corporate Communication has spun a humble press release today which reads as follows:
'Australia's Qantas reeling after second mid-air scare' by Australian News.Net 6th Nov 2010.
'It was coincidence that on consecutive days Qantas passenger jets experienced engine problems that forced them to return to Singapore shortly after take-off, the Australian airline said Saturday.
Qantas spokeswoman Olivia Wirth, commenting on the latest incident, exonerated foreign maintenance facilities over the Boeing 747 that abandoned its flight Friday to Sydney after one of its engines had to be shut down.
'In fact, I can report that this recent aircraft, the 747, was actually maintained in Avalon in Australia,' Wirth said. 'Qantas has 85 percent of our maintenance. In fact, last year 92 percent of our maintenance was done onshore in Australia.'
Qantas grounded its A380 fleet Thursday after an engine on a superjumbo failed four minutes after takeoff, raining shards of metal onto Indonesia's Batam Island below.
The A380 landed safely in Singapore, despite the second engine on the left wing failing to shut down and tyres blowing as it touched the tarmac.
The Boeing 747 with 412 passengers and 19 crew on board returned safely to Singapore's Changi airport after an engine failure.
'As a precautionary measure, the captain sought clearance to return to Singapore, and the aircraft landed safely a short time later without incident,' the airline said in a statement.
Flight QF6, which returned to Changi around an hour after takeoff, had arrived from Frankfurt.'
But Olivia Wirth's statement is contrary
It has transpired that Wirth's above statement for QANTAS that 'In fact, I can report that this recent aircraft, the 747, was actually maintained in Avalon in Australia' is in fact contrary to that by Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association secretary Steve Purvinas who stated yesterday that it was:
According to industry sources, the damaged Qantas A380 recently underwent its first heavy maintenance stop in Germany with Lufthansa Technik. The jet is powered by four Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines.
Mr Purvinas said the heavy maintenance check - a root- and-branch investigation in which the aircraft is pulled to pieces and reassembled over a period of weeks - would be the first focus of investigators.
He said the incident highlighted concerns about the airline's maintenance.
"Certainly I think there are some danger signs starting to poke their heads out," he said.'
[Source: Read more]
Olivia Wirth's PR background
'Qantas picks Olivia Wirth as PR head' by Steve Creedy, Aviation writer, The Australian, 27th May 2009.
'TOURISM and Transport Forum executive director Olivia Wirth will become the head of Qantas corporate affairs.
This is part of Qantas's moves to consolidate the airline's public and government relations activities.
Ms Wirth will report directly to executive general manager government and corporate affairs, David Epstein, working alongside the airline's new head of government and international relations, Jane McKeon.
Joining the airline on July 14, Ms Wirth will be responsible for issues and events management, public relations and internal communications.
The consolidation reflects a belief within Qantas, whose reputation has taken a battering in recent years, that the airline needs to improve its internal and external communications. Insiders said yesterday the airline would be more active promoting its case externally and was looking to boost the level of engagement with employees.
The move is also expected to help the airline build relationships in Asia, as it pursues its expansion strategy in the region.
Ms Wirth has extensive experience in tourism and public affairs and is well regarded in political and business circles.
A veteran of the Australian Tourist Commission and its successor, Tourism Australia, Ms Wirth was also an adviser to former tourism minister Joe Hockey and worked for the industry lobby group Tourism Council Australia.
She joined TTF in 2007 after spending three years in London leading the corporate affairs team at Business in the Community, an organisation comprising the top 200 British companies.'
Northam residents vent fury over refugees
Make Brumby History Rally 14th November
A desperate US student who
Students crippled financially by loan debt
Multiculturalism is a corporate goal, not an ethnic one
Praise from an unlikely source.
The subtle message
Patriotism in Chile is admirable
Being anti-immigration is not racist!
The sooner a deadly flu
Disapproves of Greens Tweed Shire Councillor
Woman who fed Fraser Island dingoes fined $40k
Dr Vandana Shiva's Sydney Peace Prize
Permanent residency/citizenship to foreign countries
High density, high rise is unsustainable
Damaging the lethal urban sprawl and high density housing
Resisting Dickensian Gloom
Kurt Sonnefild, FEMA official, refuses to cooperate with 9/11
- On the weekend prior to the World Trade Center attacks, all electricity was cut off for approximately 36 hours , including the security cameras and control systems in a highly irregular maintenance operation;
- In the weeks leading up to the attacks there were several unusual evacuations of both towers;
- The company in charge of security at the World Trade Center, Securacom, was directed by Marvin Bush, George W. Bush’s younger brother, and Wirt Walker III, George W. Bush’s cousin;
- Hundreds of government personnel were pre-positioned in New York City on Sept. 10 ; and
- FEMA officials had already set up their command post at Pier 92 near the World Trade Center one day before the attacks?
Lets make it 2 billion..All
Haiti Cholera another nail in the UNHCR Coffin
Dick Smith is offering more
Growth lobby running scared
Robert Bowman opposes open borders
It is instructive to realise that the same heroic, courageous and principled person that stopped President Reagan launching nuclear war against the Soviet Union in the 1980's, tried to stop the 1992 and 2003 wars against Iraq, tried to stop the war against Afghanistan, and spoke out about the false flag terrorist atrocities of 11September2001 , also opposes unlimited immigration into the United States.
Perhaps it takes the same courage to stand up to the politically correct.
Below is what former Lieutenant Colonel Bowman has published on his web-site www.thepatriots.us:
www.thepatriots.us/pg_02_issues.html
http://www.thepatriots.us/pg_02_issues.html#MM
Immigration: "Immigration is a complex issue which cuts across party lines. Those in favor of “amnesty” or a “guest worker program” include pro-corporate Republicans, elements of the Roman Catholic Church seeking new congregants to replace millions of alienated and excommunicated parishioners, a few Union leaders hoping for new dues-paying members, and liberal Democrats driven by compassion for poor illegal immigrants seeking a better life. Those opposing the “guest worker program” include a few racist Republicans and a lot of disgruntled taxpayers who don't want to subsidize social services for illegals. None of the above groups sees the critical problem with illegal immigration (or indeed with uncontrolled legal immigration). The problem is that large numbers of immigrants willing to work for peanuts depresses the wages for all working Americans, including what's left of the middle class."
In Australia, the same political groups that stridently support mass immigration are publicly silent on the excuse for the current war against Afghanistan, despite raging controversy surrounding Jon Faine's attempt to start a witch hunt against Kevin Bracken.
Whilst Green Left is publicly silent on the 9/11 controversy, individual members of the 'Democratic' 'Socialist' Party, who distribute Green Left Weekly will take you aside to push something very similar to the official US government story about 9/11.
Odd clusters of wildlife signal Nature's call for help
"Out of Africa" does not justify ongoing immigration
Anthropogenic animal problems
Inhumane practice of shark finning
Corella cull on Kangaroo Island
Venezuela pre-Chavez
Anglophones need to take what they read about Venezuela in the Anglophone press with an entire shaker of salt. I agree with James that Chavez is wrong to prevent Arizonians from taking democratic control of their territory to prevent flooding of the labour-market and to prevent exacerbation of ecological degradation by overpopulation, but his remarks could be made in the context of an ongoing propaganda war between the US and Latin America, where the US has for many years sponsored and marketed privatisation and exploitation. I went into this with an open mind when I researched the article which I cite below for a book of energy articles in 2008. I cannot see how things could possibly have been described as 'better' - except for the corrupt elites - before Hugo Chavez won power.
Venezuela before Chavez:
“In 1998, or 168 years after independence, a tiny wealthy elite was separated by a vast chasm from the rest of the people, of whom one quarter were unemployed. This seems disgusting when you realize that Venezuela was then the second biggest [oil] exporter in the world and had received around 300 billion dollars in oil sales – or the equivalent of 20 Marshall Plans - over the preceding 25 years. It was in this context that Hugo Chávez and his social plan won the elections of 6 December 1998 with 56.24% of the votes.” (Nicolas Lehoucq, Paris Institute for International Studies).
Why and how Chavez won government of Venezuela:
"From the 15th C the indigenous long-term stable clan and tribal populations of Chávez’s people were ravaged by invasion, immigration, disease, dispossession and slavery. The original peoples nearly died out, then, completely disorganized, ballooned in circumstances where child labour was the only source of additional income for low-wage landless people. What is now called Venezuela contained a stable population estimated at around 400,000 Amerindians in 1498. (Now the population is around 27 million.) In the early 16th C King Charles Martel V granted Welsers German banking firm rights to exploit the people and resources of Venezuela in payment of a debt. The colony returned to the Spanish Crown within 20 years and hereditary land grants were made to conquistadores for a time, but later declared illegal. Meanwhile the Amerindians fought back until smallpox overwhelmed most of them in 1580. Not until 1821 did Simón Bolívar win the long indigenous struggle for independence.
In 1921 the discovery of oil permitted agricultural and industrial development. At the start of the Second World War Venezuela’s oil production was only exceeded by that of the United States. Much of the oil concession development involved attracted US, British, and Dutch companies. Venezuela became a democracy in 1958 and founded OPEC in 1960.
The historic inequities of colonial land distribution guaranteed a large population of impoverished rural labourers. As oil prices waxed and waned, productive agricultural holdings were neglected and waves of poor people left the country regions to look for work in the city, creating the slum of Caracas. Between 1959 and 1964 the government redistributed rural land to 150,000 families but many resold the land to speculators, it is said, because they had little education about farming and no ready market for their product. Other wealth redistribution and educative policies were carried out but these programs failed to establish themselves against a background of depressed commodity prices and political schism. The then Democratic Action (DA) government was aligned with the USA but many Venezuelans were sympathetic to the Castro regime in Cuba, which was charged with supplying arms to guerrillas in 1963. The state became increasingly repressive in the context of continued political unrest. In 1968 the Social Christians (SC) won government and remained in power until 1973.
In the wave of nationalizations following the first oil-shock, the DA Government created the State-run oil and natural gas company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PdVSA) in 1975-1976. PdVSA is Venezuela’s largest employer and provides 80 per cent of export earnings but, reflecting later trends to privatization, government revenue declined from 70.6 per cent in 1981 to 38 per cent in 2000.
The oil countershock of 1979 culminated in currency devaluation by one third and a change to an SC government, which remained in power until 1983, when AD was returned under Jaime Lusinchi. Despite promises to diversify the economy and deliver on housing, public health and education, the situation continued to deteriorate. In 1988 another AD president, Carlos Andrés Pérez, introduced an austerity regime, removing subsidies on gasoline as well as on a number of important consumables, culminating in hunger riots in Caracas, with a death toll of thousands.
Two attempted military coups took place against a background of continued repression in 1992 and Hugo Chávez led one of them. President Pérez later went to prison for 28 months with the government limping along under another recycled leader, Caldera, whose foreign policy was very USA friendly. In 1995, 103 per cent inflation hit the Venezuelan middle class. In 1997 doctors, university professors, and national telephone company workers went on strike. In December 1998 Hugo Chávez won the Presidency.
On 30 December 1999 Venezuela’s 26th constitution was approved by 71 per cent of votes. The Senate was replaced by a single chamber National Assembly, and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela came into being, named after the National hero. Presidential terms increased from five to six years and limitations on presidents serving a second consecutive term were lifted, but it became possible for the public to sack a president through a publicly initiated referendum. Privatisation of the oil industry, social security, health care and other major state-owned sectors was outlawed." (The above was an excerpt from the following book-chapter: Sheila Newman,"Venezuela, Chavez and Latin-American Oil on the World Stage,"Chapter 10 in The Final Energy Crisis - 2nd Edition, Pluto Press, UK, 2008.)
Pacific fisheries could collapse by 2035
Finning of sharks disgraceful!
Totally agrees with revulsion at shark fin restaurant
re: The Greens lack of population policy is their flaw
Venezuela slams Arizona’s illegal Immigration Law
Australia First Party
Greens beholden to 'pink' rights dilute green credentials
Vivienne and Geoffrey, your above comments are valuable and I respond to the discussion by making four summary observations. (On learing from your comments, I have since changed my reference to Greens 'focus' to Greens 'effort').
1. The original environmental conservation focus of The Greens has been steadily diluted and distracted as the Party has (1) sought more mainstream acceptance and (2) invited under its wing those with non-environmental conservation agendas - I have collectively branded these 'pink' - which is intentionally open to interpretation - 'pale Red', 'alternative lifestyle', 'liberal values', 'civil rights activists', but distinguishably human focused, not environmentally focused!
Hence much of The Greens polices are now grouped under 'Care for People', 'Human Rights & Democracy', and 'Media, Arts & Science.'
The Greens are suffering a classic 'quality for quantity compromise' and in seeking mainstream popularism have become a clichéd jack of all trades and master of none. Worse, they risk alienating their original environmental conservation ideological support base.
2. Scores of socialists and humanists disaffected within Australia's dominant Left-wing party - the Australian Labor Party (ALP) have become disillusioned by Labor's gradual Center-Right direction and by its corrosive factional politics. Many have defected to The Greens. In turn they have influence the direction of The Greens and the Greens in their conciliatory habit have modified their policy focus to adopt more and more 'pink' social justice agenda. With this 'accommodation' The Greens core environmental conservation focus is being diluted by increasing 'pink' 'Left-leaning', social justice policies.
3. The core driver of environmental degradation (including pollution, habitat loss, species extinctions) is the exponential human population increase and the unchecked encouraged consumerism per capita. More people in the same area causes more pressure on the environment - simple logic!
Climate change is merely a background broad incremental consequence; it is the consequence, not the driver of the environmental problems!
Brown and his Greens have sided with the population control lobby but only in vague in-principled support. Reason for the token support is that the new pink allegiances and policies adopted by The greens have inherently compromised the ability of The Greens to achieve a consensus on a population control policy that would be effective in reducing its environmental impact.
The Greens are now beholden to its 'pink' policies on social justice, yet have failed to recognise that both social justice problems and environmental problems are compounded by excesses in human population.
4. The genteel, academic and legalese make up of The Greens leadership has shaped a group think culture of idealistic passiveness with any change management specifying a conciliatory approach. A lack of effective principled 'balls' has meant a failure to take the conservation fight to the protagonists - the selfish property developers, property speculators, stock market, the banks, the growth lobby, the big corporate exploiters, the self-sustainable captains of industry and industrialisation.
Is it then any wonder, with The Greens beholden to a 'pink' agenda displacing their environmental conservation core, that conservation groups are disaffected with The Greens and that we are experiencing the emergence of a fresh wave of political groups fill the political void?
* Australian Protectionist Party
* Stable Population Party of Australia
* Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated of which I acknowledge being an active member.
Conclusion
If The Greens continue down their popularist vote grabbing 'pink' path, it is only a matter of time before the critical mass of environmental conservation disaffection in The Greens sees a new alternative 'green' party emerge. Personally, a political wing of The Wilderness Society has best chance of achieving that.
There is logic in this assessment, but that is another article.
Author's note: I have since added this comment to the text of my article.
Population indifference shows Greens' human rights insincerity
The Greens lack of population policy is their flaw
My complaint to the ABC of Faine's treatment of Bracken
JFK & others show that good-willed people can get to the top
Titicaca lake
The Good, Bad and the Ugly
Hope in the Gilluddite should be tempered by an uninterrupted watching of the classic 1966 US western film 'The Good Bad and the Ugly'.
By the end of this spaghetti western, one should be clear deciding who best portrays the metaphor for Labor's good, bad and ugly - in terms of governance and electoral performance.
The following immortal quotes from the movie ought assist, while listening to Ennio Morricone's legendary theme music:
"I've never seen so many men wasted so badly."
"Two hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money. We're gonna have to earn it."
"Tut, tut. Such ingratitude after all the times I saved your life."
"Every gun makes its own tune."
"The way I figure, there's really not too much future with a sawed-off runt like you."
Charities
Why are we heading for an unsustainable future?
Green Left Lunacy
I've read a few article from those purporting to be from the green left, yet at the same time pleading for continued population growth. Some of their arguments are (from memory, I don't feel like tracking them all down):
- Sure we'll have to stop growing our population soon. But for now we must keep growing. When is "soon" exactly? Well, it's soon.
- We must relieve overpopulation in other countries by letting in many more people! Otherwise they might think that we're selfish. Here's an article from Crikey blog along this line.
- The more people in Australia, the easier it will be to invest in green industries & our environmental impact will diminish. Economies of scale or something.
- As our numbers increase we will become ever more energy efficient and everyone will willingly make sacrifices to ensure our environmental impact will grow ever smaller.
Here's another article from Crikey which also seems to argue this.
(Crikey seems to have stopped blogging about population lately though.) - We've been spoiled by our low population density. We need to learn sympathy with people living in crowded third world cities by increasing our population density to match. This will teach us to live in a simpler, lower energy way just like them too.
(Of course I think these arguments are all nonsense.)
Australian Sovereignty Party
- Control of all zoning/States matters in all Member States and the control of our National parks, Rivers and Historical sites, Barrier Reef etc.
- Control over whether women are allowed to have babies.v
- Control over population
- Control over all food sources.
- Control over our Farms.
- Control over all Land and Property
- Control over the economic and judicial policies of all nations (Member States inc Australia).
Over-stretching our food bowl
Good reasons to be wary of Julia Gillard, however ...
Gillardite in office
Gillard's reckless legacy of waste and mismanagement from her championed 'education revolution' continues to plague her credibility now as PM. Gillard was complicit in the Rudd gang of four's failed insulation scheme and the failed green loans scheme. The Gillard Government's nationalisation of health has stalled. The emissions trading scheme seems all but abandoned. The Murray Darling water sharing solution ignored rural communities.
Some record of so-called 'reform'! It is not reform - it is Rudd's popularism legacy.
Now PM Gillard is spruiking 'reform' in tax and superannuation under another hastily thought through scheme, which in true Labor style has sought to only divide and conquer the mining industry. How can reform be based on selective favouritism of a few big mining companies?
It is Labor short-termism at best, driven by classic Sussex Street manipulative self-serving bullying. Dare anyone disagrees with Labor and its methods of 'reform', or Gillard will label you a 'Hansonite'. How unfair on someone who has long left politics!
Gillard is not moving forward. She is policy spinning and getting nowhere fast.
Her inexperience and simpleton outlook is revealing the real Gillardite that the Sussex Street puppeteers implanted as PM. Gillard and Keneally should really get along - same party, same puppeteers, albeit different puppet shows.
Julia Gillard's economic reforms?
Australia incapable of stabilizing population
'Growth' pushers stealing our time, wealth and future
What will we do with all our leisure?
Howard and Rudd will not be remembered well
Shearwater migratory birds under threat
Plea to Mr. Batchelor to stop savage lopping of trees
Sickening destruction of street trees by mad Brumby gov
How Jon Faine can best stop listeners from questioning 9/11
Editorial comment: A site visitor posted the comment below. We've embedded it for the benefit of others who want to make anyone who openly doubts former U.S. President Bush or Australia's current Prime Minister Julia Gillard, regret doing so.
hes doing it wrong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXWoXfyi9y8
nutter
How To Destroy a 9/11 Truther
Commerce, think tanks, media and government all one
prisons, not luxury camps
Asylum Seekers..
Cut growth to get to "only" 8 million
Jennifer Parkhurst faces faces charges of feeding dingoes
'The List' determines their 'course'.
'Anti-racists' silence on the most racist lie of all
“Free market economists” are paid to sell offshoring to the American people. High-productivity, high value-added American jobs are denigrated as dirty, old industrial jobs. Relics from long ago, we are best shed of them.Paul Craig Roberts is also an outspoken opponent of US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He tells the truth about the principle pretext for those wars, that is that the September 11 atrocity was carried out by terrorists operating from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. How can it be that such a nationalist as Roberts is prepared to tell the truth about the lie used to justify the US's and Australia's current wars, whilst Australia's militant and outspoken "anti-racists", for example the publishers of The Green Left Review are silent about it, and, in particular, the recent attempted persecution of Victoria MUA secretary Kevin Bracken? If you don't believe me, check out Green-Left Weekly yourself. Try searching it, using search, using the term "Bracken". Of course, there are stories avout Bracken's past record as an official of the MUA, but nothing about the current attacks on Bracken. --- BTW, Paul Craig Roberts, who can far more justifiably claim to be 'anti-racist' than the phoney revolutionaries discussed above has the most unlikely past of having been Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during President Reagan’s first term and of having been Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. Of course, he now repudiates his past service to the awful Reagan regime.
Immigration despite Victoria's record youth unemployment
Also thoroughly recommends Peter Andrews' book
Where to buy Back from the Brink
Wants to know how to get Peter Andrews' book
Only "white" people can be "racist"!
evidence of reverse racism
Reverse Racism
Laboral* invitation of hoards of foreign populations from contra-cultural societies is directly displacing the lesser numbers of traditional Australians (those born here and with traditional ancestral origins in Australia). It is a repeat of British colonisation of Australia that directly displaced Australia's Aboriginal people.
History regurgitated!
The Laboral policy of immigrant favouritism is Reverse Racism. It is discriminatory against local people and our traditional way of life. It is cultural treason. Then when an immigrant gets into a position of influence (management, politics) favouritism to the immigrant's countrymen and women is ignored by Australia's anti-discrimination laws.
One rule for immigrants, another rule to traditional Australians who are targeted by the these laws as if we are inherently racist. By favouritising and excluding immigrants, Australia's supposed anti-discrimination laws are passive reverse racism.
The tragedy is that the unjust discrimination felt by traditional Australians is causing legitimate disaffection. That disaffection and sense of injustice is steadily converting tolerant easy-going Australians, like myself, into angry resentful protectionists. The vocal outrage is perceived as racist, but it is an early cry for help. Cronulla in 2005 was a warning to governments. Heed it and curb the immigration and listen to us locals!
*'Laboral' is the hybridisation of the Liberal Party and Labor Party, so closely aligned ideologically at the Centre-Right that they factions of the same quasi-coalition, taking alternate turns of governing at Federal and State level.
Don't allow ABC's Q&A to whitewash Howard's misrule
"Committee of Melbourne" a misnomer
Haiti Australia and the Victorian Raj
I think the observation at the end of the above post,
"We should take an example from Haiti - where population growth has endangered the nation through consumption of flora and fauna, and thus vulnerable to Nature's extremities,"
is unintentionally ironic.
Sadly it would seem that the Victorian Colonial Raj does take its example from Haiti. I really do not believe that they intend to stop before there is nothing left. Victoria and Australia could easily become like Haiti within ten years at the rate of immigration that is being forced on us. No water, no housing, huge unemployment, and very low wages. Forests chopped down, schools and universities too expensive for the poor, and foreign ownership of most land and resources.
Out of Africa co-owner living in US...playing golf
Citizens rights
Claims Committee for Melbourne not promoting excessive growth
Room for more Melbourne immigrants - drain Port Phillip!
Melbourne - a most livable city...according to economists
Now here's a good one: Melbourne remains one of the world’s most liveable cities"ranked third in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) latest liveability survey" in February 2010.
"Australian cities dominated the rankings with four cities inside the top ten. Melbourne remains the most liveable city in Australia with a score of 97.5 out of 100, topping Sydney in seventh place and Perth and Adelaide at equal eighth.
Melbourne was also the highest ranked city in the Asia-Pacific, reinforcing why it is a great place to live and do business in the region.
Vancouver, Canada, home of the Winter Olympics, ranked first and Vienna, Austria came in second place. Toronto (4), Calgary (5), Finland (6) and Auckland (10) rounded out the top ten, while Zimbabwe’s capital Harare was ranked last.
The EIU’s Liveability Ranking, part of the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, assesses living conditions in 140 cities around the world by assigning a rating across five broad categories of stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
Melbourne achieved perfect scores in the areas of healthcare, education and infrastructure, according to the survey."
[Source: Victorian Government reference to the US Economic Intelligence Unit - a reliable source?]
VTHC policy on 9/11 & votes 66.7% for John Bracken in Poll now
Invasion labels attack locals standing up for their way of life
'Racist', discrimination' and 'xenophobic' are convenient cowardly invasion labels used to attack and silence locals who are standing up for their local way of life.
I just returned from visiting the Middle East, where I was careful to respect the local customs - do in Rome...
I'd like to see a secular Australian try immigrating to a strongly religious country and publicly imposing a secular liberal culture on the local populous - to try to get the government to change laws to recognise the rights of sectarian, modern western ideas and values! Good bloody luck!
Tolerant Australians being tolerant of foreigners who choose to impose their will and way are only letting Australian values erode to a lower standard. Foreigners arriving in droves and rejecting Australian customs, language, values and critical of the cultural sensitivities of locals are unwelcome invaders.
Change management is a real human issue to all involved. It took the Greeks and Italians three generations to assimilate into the Australian culture and now they are integrated and accepted.
What is despicable is that Aboriginal Australians are more marginalised than immigrants.
When in Australia, assimilate don't aggravate!
Migration from undeveloped countries is problem avoidance
Less people in a world of human excess would be bliss, and dare I say more 'sustainable' probably.
No country needs immigrants. Immigrants aspire a better life and wealthier countries offer it - simple. But to make the world more 'equal' is not solved by shifting high birth rates from undeveloped countries to developed countries, it is to improve the lot of those in undeveloped countries by addressing poverty and rewarding lower birth rates with a better quality of life.
Human quality of life is not found by communal sharing "allowing poorer nations to have access to their land, culture, social security benefits and housing" - show where communal sharing has worked in hunan history?
Migration from undeveloped countries to developed countries, avoids the cause of the problem driving the migration. Worse, its shifts problems to developed countries. The quagmire of human misery is moved around instead of it being resolved. Migration is social problem avoidance on a international scale.
Ahead if seeking human equality, is the more fundamental priority of maintaining basic life needs and human rights. Indeed, the UN is a failed organisation with a broken record of 'do as I say, not as I do' - Somalia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Congo, etc. And from where are the bulk of migrants fleeing?
"As details emerged this week of the U.N.'s knowledge of rebel activity in the villages where nearly 200 women were systematically gang raped by armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) late last month, human rights groups are demanding an investigation into the U.N.'s failure to prevent the raid from occurring. "These scandalous, outrageous atrocities should serve as a wake up call for the international community," Marcel Stoessel, Oxfam International's country director in the DRC, told IPS in a phone interview."
[Source: D.R. Congo: Outrage grows over UN failure to protect civilians]
If you want to get closer to the truth on human rights, don't listen to the UNHCR, listen to Amnesty International.
Strategic invasive desires of wealthy and unethical countries like the USA and Israel continue to cause similar migration pressures from Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon.
Human problems must be addressed in the countries of origin, not be used as the driver of mass refugee problems impacting on other countries.
Claims Committee for Melbourne not promoting excessive growth
If you would rather I (Andrew McLeod) not come just let me know.
In the interests of discussion perhaps listening to an argument
UN condemns Arizona's immigration laws
Look who the Committee is !!!
Jon Faine baits, refuses to debate, Kevin Bracken
Originally published:
21 Oct 2010
I was appalled to listen to Jon Faine's treatment of Kevin Bracken, yesterday on his radio 'talkback' show.
In spite of the treatment of those who question the official version of September 11 and hence the justification for the war against Afghanistan, which our Prime Minster now wants to last until 2020, that is, 19 years after the terrorist outrage was allegedly committed against US citizens with the collusion of the Government then, according to one recent online poll on the Herald-Sun, 46% of the Australian public agrees with the "conspracy nutter" Kevin Bracken of whom John Faine was so contemptuous.
Who does Faine, whose salary is paid for by the public, believe he is to be so unfairly dismissive of opinions which differ from his own? Anyone who thinks that Faine's treatment of Bracken, the Victorian Branch Secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia and the President of the Victorian Trades Hall Council, was fair and reasonable, should read for themselves the dialogue between Bracken and Faine as published on the PM web site:
KEVIN BRACKEN: Well I believe that the official story is a conspiracy theory that doesn't stand up to scientific scrutiny.
JON FAINE: Are you serious? Is this a hoax or are you serious?
KEVIN BRACKEN: No and I'd love to debate you publicly Jon if you think it's ridiculous.
JON FAINE: There's nothing to debate Kevin.
KEVIN BRACKEN: I challenge you to a public debate.
JON FAINE: There's nothing to debate.
KEVIN BRACKEN: Well the fact is that aviation fuel doesn't get hot enough to melt steel.
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: Jon Faine pressed Mr Bracken on which "nutter theory" he subscribes to.
KEVIN BRACKEN: In my mind the buildings were imploded.
JON FAINE: Yeah and you're the Secretary of the Maritime Union and you're on the Trades Hall Council Executive?
KEVIN BRACKEN: I'm the president of the Victorian Trades Hall Council and we've taken resolutions from both those…
JON FAINE: I think it reflects very poorly on your members Kevin that you have views that are so ridiculous, so extreme and so unacceptable and yet you hold office in some of our unions in Victoria.
KEVIN BRACKEN: I'd love to... if it's so ridiculous Jon I challenge you to debate me on it.
JON FAINE: It is; unequivocally.
KEVIN BRACKEN: The trouble is mate, blokes like you are keeping most of the people in the dark.
Note, which of the two tried to discuss the facts and which resorted to ad hominem dismissal of the views he disagreed with.
Contrary to what Faine claimed and in support of what 46% of Australians and much of world opinion believe, there is a great deal about the official account of the September 11 outrage which is open to debate by reasonable people. John Faine, who is, apparently, a lawyer, needs to explain to his listeners why he thinks that not one person has been captured or tried for mass murder with a proven link to 9/11, the Bali bombings, 7.7, the Madrid train bombings and other outrages, despite nine years of military occupation of Afghanistan.
Update 22 October: Jon Faine's poor treatment of Kevin Bracken, for daring to question the justification for bloody wars that have cost well over a million lives, and which have impoverished millions more since 2001, has created, an enormous public reaction against this attempt to stifle free debate. Most recently, Jon Fain has attempted to depict himself as having been the unjust target of persecution by "conspiracy theorists" in an attempt to win back public sympathy. (See story "9/11 conspiracy theorists swamping talkback: Faine" which did include embedded video of Jon Faine 'defending' himself.)
What children are taught