Comments
US journalist James Wright Foley goes unflinching to his death
Julian Cribb: grim future for food security
Continuing population growth will make Australia a food importer
The Population Ponzi- for little result
Almost 10 million migrants over the next 50 years will swell Australia's population to more than 40 million by 2060 and more than 50 million by 2100. This is to stimulate our economy, and keep our population "young" instead of ageing. However, is the 40 million a point in time for continuing growth, or a target reach and then stabilize! Two such scenarios are completely different, and their graphs would reveal this. With no plan for our population, it's likely that the 40 million by 2050 is just part of a continuum, of ongoing growth!
With such full throttle rates of growth, the "tap" can't just be turned off! It's like slowing down a full-speed train, and it takes time. However, this momentum isn't being considered, and nobody is questioning what happens after 2050. There simply isn't a plan!
Between now and 2050 the number of:
- older people (65 to 84 years) is expected to more than double;
- very old people (85 and over) is expected to more than quadruple, from 0.4 million people today to 1.8 million in 2050.
In 2010, there will be an estimated 5 people of traditional working age for every person aged 65 and over. By 2050 only 2.7 people of traditional working age are projected for every person aged 65 and over.
Australia's population is projected to double to 46 million by 2075, according to the latest population projections released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) - "but under our high and low scenarios it could be as early as 2058, or after 2101."
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/lookup/3222.0Media%20Release12012%20%28base%29%20to%202101
The number of people 65 and over is projected to double, from 3.2 million people, (14 percent of the population) in 2012 to 6.8 million (20 percent) by 2040. So the quadrupling of our population, the percentage of older people will decrease by only by a mere 6%!
It's seems to assume that income tax is the main resource for funding older people! And, for all the population growth, there'll be only 2.7 people of traditional working age for every person over 65 (instead of 5 now)! The cost of population growth is massive, yet will achieve little to dilute the ageing! Government revenue should be more than from income taxes, and be from productivity, industry, knowledge-based learning, and innovation - what we're losing in Australia do to globalisation!
It's not hard to recognise a Ponzi scheme - and this one is. Economists and governments only see and consider raw statistics, and are in a frenzy to keep our economy growing, against natural demographic trends, a planet of finite resources, and use whatever means to keep our populations at an traditional working age! It's absurd and unrealistic. There are many multiple factors and variables to consider with regards to demographics, and the social, environmental, quality of life issues, and economies of growth are being ignored. The traditional owners of this land are being swallowed and overlooked, and we're being inundated by foreigners to create a country of strangers - "diversity" of integrity and nation-hood!
Twenty-five per cent of Japanese are over 65. But not only do they live longer, they work longer, stay healthier, care for their elderly better – and have found ways to pay for it. By around 2017, the number – though not the proportion – of over-65s will actually stabilise, meaning the costs associated with ageing will tend to level off.
Protecting foreign assets with force - reply to Dennis K
” in my conversations with my foreign colleagues I did not hide the fact that our goal was to ensure proper conditions for the people of Crimea to be able to freely express their will. And so we had to take the necessary measures in order to prevent the situation in Crimea unfolding the way it is now unfolding in southeastern Ukraine. We didn’t want any tanks, any nationalist combat units or people with extreme views armed with automatic weapons. Of course, the Russian servicemen did back the Crimean self-defence forces. They acted in a civil but a decisive and professional manner, as I’ve already said."Putin continues:
"It was impossible to hold an open, honest, and dignified referendum and help people express their opinion in any other way. Still, bear in mind that there were more than 20,000 well-armed soldiers stationed in Crimea. In addition, there were 38 S-300 missile launchers, weapons depots and rounds of ammunition. It was imperative to prevent even the possibility of someone using these weapons against civilians. [I.e. there was a safety issue.]"(Source: http://eng.kremlin.ru/news/7034)
A case of Russia claiming territory
At no point in the conflict has Russia made any claim on Ukrainian territory. If you are aware of where this has occurred, Dennis, please advise.
Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annexation_of_Crimea_by_the_Russian_Federation
Power of China's economic growth - property and "investment"
See also: China's richest man earmarks $1.7 billion to spend on Australian property SMH (13/8/14), China’s richest man Wang Jianlin commits $1.7b to Australian real estate AFR (13/8/14).
China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, came to Australia for a whirlwind visit in June, and he was feted by the most senior political figures in the country. Now, his property conglomerate Wanda, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, announced that it would invest $HK12.5 billion, or $A1.7 billion, in the Australian real estate sector, including building a $900 million tourist resort on the Gold Coast. Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb welcomed Wanda’s decision which follows on from the explosive investment by Chinese real estate companies in residential property in Australia over the last 12 months.
Chinese buyers’ insatiable appetite for overseas property is one of the major driving forces behind the aggressive investment strategy of major developers. The demand from foreign investors for Australian bricks and mortar is set to intensify for at least three years, driving a boom in apartment construction activity. Around 10 million of the wealthiest Chinese families, or around one in seven, are interested in migrating to Australia, according to a survey conducted by the broker. Tourism & Transport Forum chief executive Trent Zimmerman said the number of Chinese visitors to Queensland grew faster than the national average in 2013, rising by 16 per cent to more than 300,000.
A free market economy, based on open borders and international property and immigration, means Australia is "open for business" and is being globalized. For developing countries migration has unprecedented benefits including the transfer of skills and the direct cash benefits of remittance flows as migrants send a proportion of their income back home. This year's remittance flows to developing countries will exceed $436 billion, rising to $516 billion in 2016, or over five times the global foreign aid budget. The removal of tariffs and government subsidies, together with free trade agreements and international wages inequalities was only ever going to end with the loss of jobs and industries. We have lived well and now have been drawn into the capitalists' ultimate dream - pay global workers a pittance and maximise your profits.
The lure of investment in Australian property is because all properties in China are lease-held, which means they have a lease term of 70 years which is obtained via a land grant between the land user and government-run land administration department. After the lease expires, there is no certainty about what will happen to the land. Most of the time, it depends on the sitting government’s policies. In big cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Canton, all of which have huge populations, prices are high and property yields are low. In China it does not matter what grade of commercial real estate you invest in; it is difficult to maintain a return through real estate. Also, the federal government is facing demands from China that it be allowed to import workers for projects funded by Chinese investors as part of the free-trade agreement.
Penny Wong wrote: "A modern, competitive, innovative and productive nation must be open to the world – and engaged with the world. Our approach is to empower more Australians so they can share in the opportunities of an increasingly globalised world". It all sounds fine in economic theory, but the politicians, in spite of the glaring social problems that unfettered globalisation has created, will defend free trade and globalisation and convince the public – that there are no alternatives.
The Trans Pacific Partnership, a secret agreement between 12 nations, will grant to corporations, rights that are above those of individuals, communities and sovereign governments. Corporations will be able to sue governments for lost revenue if they are prevented from doing business based on environmental concerns. Protectionism is a swear word in polite society.
With the release in February of an Australian Strategic Policy Institute report, even Australia has been forced to confront China’s startling economic growth and increasingly assertive territorial demands. It doesn’t name China as a possible aggressor, but paints a worrying picture of the communist country’s amazing growth and its willingness to use growing military might to achieve its aims.
Tensions in the region are already rising. Beijing made headlines in November after declaring an “air defence zone” in the East China. It triggered a Cold War-style standoff with Japan, South Korea and the United States. It is reportedly considering a similar “air defence zone” in the waters between the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam.
When has Russia ever claimed Ukrainian territory?
David Suzuki
How long before China has a claim on Aus like Russia on Ukraine?
Dick Smith deserves our support
National Press Club: Dick Smith and Graham Turner
Australia - threat from terror - but the immigration doors open!
Record CBA bank profits
Australia warns of poor outlook for Great Barrier Reef
No English version of brochure to Chinese investors found
Thank you, Suzie Gold for informing us of this scam and for providing us with an English language translation. Curiously, I could find nothing about this when I searched the NSW Department of Trade and Investment website with either the DuckDuckGo or Google search engines. See, for example:
"Jenolan Caves" site:trade.nsw.gov.au
Clearly Premier Mike Baird intends to keep the citizens of New South Wales, in whose interests he is supposed to be governing, in the dark about their sell-off plans.
Pro population propaganda dominates mass media topics
Even more frightening than the content of such propaganda (Rob Burgess: we need more migrants etc ) is that the mainstream newsmedia actively seek it out and publish it. There is no balance whatsoever. It is just constant repetition of the mantra: growth, growth, growth at any cost to the rest of us. The press publish almost nothing else except subsidiary pillars of propaganda, such as long musings on radio about how new immigrants have a harder time getting employment than ... some other cohort in Australia. No sympathy for the growing unemployment of people born here. Never linked to the growing black economy and misery that more and more Australians are forced to submit to in order to pay the rent to the people who have somehow become our masters. The mainstream press is a kind of Marie-Antoinette press and its owners deserve the same fate as that insensitive and manipulative lady for utterly betraying the people they pretend to inform and entertain. Well, okay, I'm not in favour of the death penalty, but the people in charge of the mainstream newsmedia should be sent to prison along with the people in politics who gave them such immense and unjust power. We have no laws, however, to get that justice.
Chinese Brochure produced by the Dept of Trade and Investment
The notice below is from a campaigner petitioning the NSW Govt to publish a register of Crown Lands in and around Sydney before any more of them are sold off to developers. Clearly the Federal Govt is actively using public funds to promote the fire-sale. You can join a petition HERE. 1
suzie gold, Sydney
10 Aug 2014 — Is the public aware of the Chinese Brochure produced by the Dept of Trade and Investment which takes the form of a glossy brochure written in CHINESE show casing "potential investments opportunities"
"We are proud to showcase just a few of the potential tourism investment opportunities that are all in premium locations and will shortly be available including
2 adjacent sandstone buildings, which are unique to Sydney’s history and heritage
A commercial property that has high commercial potential for redevelopment and is immediately opposite the famous Sydney Town Hall
Unique Sydney Harbour tourism opportunities
North head sanctuary
Fuel tanks at George’s Heights Headland Park, Mosman
Greenfield opportunities on Middle Head Rd Headland Park, Mosman
The Jenolan Caves, lease all or some of 30 buildings"
I believe this is scandalous.
The brochure figures large at para 5.1 of the submission from
Crown Land is Our Land to Premier Baird.
Footnote[s]
1. ↑ The full URL for the petition is: https://www.change.org/petitions/the-hon-mike-michael-bruce-baird-mp-postpone-the-government-s-proposals-to-allow-the-largest-sell-off-privatisation-of-crown-public-land-in-our-history-until-you-supply-the-public-with-a-complete-list-of-all-crown-land-in-nsw/sponsors/new. .
Member for Corio Richard Marles under fire on population growth
A FEDERAL Labor MP based in Geelong has been blasted for supporting higher population growth when the region is suffering severe joblessness. Geelong has been hit hard by present or looming job cuts, including losses at Alcoa, Ford, Target, Boral Waurn Ponds and Qantas at Avalon Airport. "Victoria’s unemployment rate has now increased to 7 per cent, and youth unemployment across the country is now 16.1 per cent, the highest since 1991," MP Kelvin Thomson said. "Despite this we currently have over one million migrant workers in Australia with working rights."
Member for Corio Richard Marles under fire over population growth call for Geelong region (11 Aug) Herald Sun at http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/member-for-corio-richard-marles-under-fire-over-population-growth-call-for-geelong-region/story-fni0fit3-1227020888701
People like Marles seems to think that adding more people actually stimulates the economy, and thus it creates more jobs! He is ignoring that industries are declining, and our economy is being held together by more fragile, self-supporting strings! He's out of touch with reality, and thinks that the great growth of previous eras can be perpetuated forever - with no constraints of costs of living, housing unaffordability, increasing poverty and homelessness. Humans are not tradeable commodities, to be stacked in shoe-box housing, or on the streets, and be accumulated as inanimate economic units! Marles is cushioned by his own privileges, and wealthy existence. All politicians should have contact with the masses, the people on the street, and be forced to spend a minimum hours each week walking the streets and speaking to the general public. Otherwise, we end up with a Marie-Antoinette-esque naivety and cold distance, from the hungry masses - "give them cake"!
Rob Burgess: We need more migrants in a crisis, not less
In a complete counter-logical defence of high immigration at a time of heavy unemployment, there's an article that in a crisis we need MORE migrants! It's a "just add people" logic, totally contrary to empirical evidence and any precedent.
He says that the matching up of the jobless numbers with the immigration numbers paints a false picture. It paints migrants as a "burden" to the economy, and is a product of populist unrest! The biggest "burden" to the economy is not migrants, but the "ageing population" - and young migrants are meant to be the solution!
Angela Chan, national president of the Migration Institute of Australia, says that’s just not true. Employers in regional and remote Australia find it extremely difficult to fill positions with workers who have families, homes and lives in our capital cities -- cities that house the unusually high figure of 85 per cent of our population. However, most skilled migrants don't go to regional or remote areas, but settle in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne!
We need more migrants in a crisis, not less (8 Aug) by Rob Burgess in Business Spectator
Would the Migration Institute ever promote leveling off immigration? It's like expecting an egg farmer to recommend eating less eggs.
Heavy immigration is a vain attempt to increase the GDP! It's like force-feeding a sick child, to gain strength when what's needed is optimising of corporate functions and stability. Australia's wealth is being diluted by more and more people to share it with. Per capita gdp has flat-lined in the last decade and many people are facing harsh times. We have increasing costs of housing, food, utilities and more poverty and homelessness. The economy can't be evaluated purely by "jobs" and GDP at the cost of human welfare, crime, intergenerational inequity and the environment.
Japan has an ageing population, yet their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Japan expanded 1.60 per cent in the first quarter of 2014 over the previous quarter. Their lifestyles will improve with time, and their economy is based on productivity, manufacturing exports, high skills and knowledge. These economist see the meta level of figures, and economic data, rather than human welfare, gross employment rates, opportunities for young people, and living standards. The more of us there are, the more our common wealth must be shared.
Please always keep your own copy of your post to candobetter
Great article: "The Lies driving big Australia" in new emag
Chinese theme park land clearing- how to lodge objection
The development will start
The development will start with a Buddhist temple.
Wyong Mayor, Doug Eaton says the park, to be known at Chappypie China Time, will cater for the growing Chinese tourism market and provide a massive boost to the coast's economy. If Chinese tourists want to come here, why would they want to be in China-land? Surely they could see Chinese icons in their own country? It would be like Australian tourists going to China to see a theme-park based on Australiana! All the mock Colonial houses, transplanted gum trees, wildlife that are considered "pests" in their own homeland, and other tacky reminders of our past!
The development would provide thousands of jobs! As if this justifies it? Jobs and jobs, and tourists who don't want to be immersed in Australian natural bushland, but will see it cleared, denuded and sterilized into a comic, clique of their own country!
What happened to my previous comment?
Oh my God! What next?
Glyphosphate birth defects - Farmer alarm re Monsanto Roundup
Opposed to $500 million Chinese theme park for NSW Central Coast
Subject was: Imperialism.
Australia First Party
Mr Ya Zhang Zhong 13th July 2014
Executive Official
Shanghai Municipal People’s Government OPEN LETTER
200 People Avenue Post
SHANGHAI CHINA Zip: 200003
Dear Sir,
RE: CHINESE THEME PARK PROPOSAL - WARNERVALE, AUSTRALIA
I write on behalf of members and concerned citizens, in relation to reports of your intentions of economic exploitation and political propaganda in Warnervale via a Chinese Cultural theme Park.
The concern is that the any such undertaking by foreign sources is imperialistic, undermines our integrity and independence, and is not in the interests of our Australian People.
In addition, the cultural decline from such an alien concept dumped into our Australian society, together with likely resulting deterioration to the critical eco-systems of this near pristine region, is not acceptable, We consider this a very serious matter.
It has also been reported that Messrs Doug Eaton and Robert Stokes MP, members of the political caste in Australia has been acting to facilitate this exploitation, but be under no illusion that this has any sanction of the Australian People.
Your Shanghai Government enterprise may have been further misled by other elements of our political caste that foreigners’ exploitation in our economy is welcome, however this stance emanates from Quislings, the likes of whom our Australian Peoples Movement will ensure accountability for such actions.
Your attention is drawn to understanding that imperialism in the economy of Australia in dispossessing Australians of the ownership and benefit of our own resources, is an intolerable compromise of the Commonwealth of our People.
It may also be that the Shanghai Government has been influenced by the current large scale transfer of your fellow country men into Australia, a virtual re-colonisation process that has never been sanctioned by the Australian People as it undermines and degrades our European derived civilisation. This is a matter that can now only be addressed by either their voluntary departure, or directed repatriation back to your own country.
I therefore caution against ignoring this situation in continuing with this imperialistic intent, and bring to your notice that our Australian Peoples Movement, under the full authority of our People, will enforce without redress or compensation, the eradication of such projects, as a necessity for our national self respect and independence
I therefore urge your enterprise to add to the process of mutual respect between the Australian and Chinese People by refraining from such imperialistic activity as has been reported.
To this end, I request a public announcement from you rescinding from this exploitation, which will effectively close this very important matter.
Your immediate attention will be appreciated.
Yours faithfully,
Bob Beavers
State Convenor
NSW Branch P. O. Box 593 Rockdale 2216
www.australiafirstparty.net ausfirst [ AT ] hotmail.com National Contact Line - 02 8587 0014
Australia First Party - Reclaiming Australia for Australians
Why is Natalya NOWHERE to be found in the mainstream media?
In its 'reporting' of Ukraine the Western mainstream media (msm) never misses an opportunity to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for allegedly annexing Crimea. The mainstream media barely ever reported, and has long since 'forgotten', that over 97% of Crimeans voted to join Russia, rather than be subject to the same kind of rule to which the Kiev fascists are now attempting to subject their countrymen in East Ukraine.
An even less explicable omission by the msm is mention of Natalya Poklonskaya. Searches of the Melbourne Age, The Australian, the BBC and The Guardian found not one mention of Natalya (see image below).

Why is it that the newsmedia, that focuses so excessively on attractive young women, has judged such an unusually attractive figure, who paid a key role in Russia's supposedly immoral 'annexation' of Crimea, to be totally un-newsworthy?
The reason for their total exclusion of Natalya is this: the editors understand full well, that what they write about Ukraine, Crimea, Russia, as well as the MH17 tragedy, is a tissue of lies. Were their readers to ever learn of Natalya and that she repudiates their claims about Ukraine, then many of their readers could not help but to become more curious and start to look more critically at what they are being fed.
In all likelihood, given the widespread availability of alternatives to the mainstream media – RT, PressTV, Global Research, Voltaire Net, Land Destroyer and Paul Craig Roberts – it would take very little time for their readers to see the msm editors for the unconscionable liars that they are.
Met Mal Fraser and Mother Agnes in June - talked about this
This is a comment from one of our authors, David McIlwain, who is currently traveling. He has just spent a couple of months in Syria and Russia. On the above interview he emailed me:
"I have watched Oksana’s interview with Fraser. I’m a great fan of hers, but I must admit also of Fraser. Perhaps I don’t have to struggle with the evident baggage of those who lived here while he was PM, but even they would admit to his change of mind which sees him even on the ‘left’ of the Greens. What really made a difference for me was meeting him with Mother Agnes Mariam last June, and hearing him talk about his experience in the Balkans when he was head of CARE. This seems to have turned him against the US in a fairly solid way, following the illegal NATO bombing campaign against Serbia. Mother Agnes of course is not a great admirer of the US, and shared her views on the centrality of the CIA in fomenting conflicts. I understood Fraser to feel that, in relation to the US, Australia’s agreement – the ANZAS treaty - was only an agreement to come to each other’s aid if one was threatened by a foreign power. It wasn’t an agreement to cooperate in fighting the other’s wars, and this was entirely undesirable.
Fraser also told us how he had met Vladimir Putin at that time, and found him a very smart as well as ‘amusing’ man.
I would like to know what Fraser has to say now, following the downing of MH17 – I’d be surprised if he is suffering the delusions being encouraged by our media and governments.
In desperation, I recently sent a letter to the AGE. I know they won’t print it.. but perhaps someone will look at the articles I included links to. There were so many other letters I could have written today, about the Gaza massacre, about the ‘threat of terrorism’, about the 69th anniversary of the Hiroshima war crime, which went unnoticed yesterday...
It’s getting hard to keep up!"
The Australian humpback dolphin has been declared a new species
TWA 800 covered up too
Intelligence analysts in the United States had already concluded that Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by an air-to-air missile, and that the Ukrainian government had had something to do with it. Associated Press reporter Robert Parry said "some US intelligence sources had concluded that the rebels and Russia were likely not at fault and that it appears Ukrainian government forces were to blame". Malaysian Airlines confirmed that the pilot was instructed to fly at a lower altitude by the Kiev air traffic control tower upon its entry into Ukraine airspace. Spanish air traffic controller claimed it was not an accident, that the Ukrainian authorities shot down MH17 and were trying to "make it look like an attack by pro-Russians" . His Twitter account was closed down shortly after the tragedy.
The Malaysian Airline MH17 Crash: Sixteen Central Issues Which Cannot be Ignoredon GeoEngineering Watch
Although his account has yet to be fully corroborated, some of his claims have been confirmed by Malaysian Airlines and the Russian authorities.
Despite claims to the contrary, there has not been a shred of tangible evidence to support the conclusion that Russia supplied the rebels with the BUK-M1 anti-aircraft missile system that would be needed to hit a civilian jetliner flying at 33,000 feet. How could such a conclusion be formed so early, before full investigations? Pro-Russian activists fighting the Ukrainian government said the jetliner had been shot down by a Ukrainian jet.
Looking at photo-reconstruction, one can easily tell that the SU-25 or other fighter-jet that was firing into the cockpit from the pilot's left side didn't just riddle the area surrounding the pilot with bullets, but that it then targeted-in specifically onto the pilot himself, producing at his location a huge gaping hole in the side of the plane precisely at the place where the pilot was seated.
Evidence Is Now Conclusive: Two Ukrainian Government Fighter-Jets Shot Down Malaysian Airlines MH17. It was Not a ‘Buk’ Surface to Air Missile (8/8/14) by Eric Zuesse on Global Research
July 17, 1996 at 8:19, TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747, was cleared for takeoff at New York's JFK Airport on a flight to Paris. Twelve minutes later, TWA 800 exploded, the parts raining down in the Atlantic ten miles south of Long Island.
There were 270 eyewitnesses of the explosion of the TWA 800 who said they saw what looked like a missile strike the aircraft. The testimony of these witnesses was corroborated by radar data and the investigators ignored all these witnesses. There were three investigations into TWA800 that did not agree with the "official" story. One was by the Union for aircraft workers, one by the organization for retired air crash investigators, and one by the NTSB (National Transportation and Safety Board).
Operation Northwoods (see Wikipedia page - Ed) was a series of proposals written by Department of Defense back in the 60s, which directly advocated committing acts of terrorism within the United States, and even proposed shooting down a civilian airliner in order to blame it on Cuba, and this would be used to justify a war. These documents were declassified in 1997, and there are thousands of copies available for download on the internet (for example this one from George Washington University). On July 3, 1988 the U.S.S. Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 killing 290 people. The TWA flight 800 tragedy occurred exactly 18 years before the MH17 tragedy, on the very same day. On July 17, 1996 TWA flight 800 was downed over Long Island.
Kiev confiscated the voice recordings of the Ukrainian air traffic controllers and is not making them available and if the US Military do not release their radar and satellite raw data, chances are slim that we get the undoctored versions.
AWPC letter re bandicoots to Sen Birmingham, Sec Environment
It would be great if there were petitions regarding population
Southern Queensland & northern NSW’s worst drought in 113 years
Mr Hunt the perfect "Environment" minister for Abbott government
To be honest, I'm still
North is our garden
Endless bounds to share in Australia
More than 4000 sheep cooked alive on board ship
Mr Hunt- population growth to spread to Northern Australia
Climate change aid to Vanuatu cut off yet population surges
Study finds logging increased intensity of Black Saturday fires
Comment published by SBS but no other comments
Kangaroo cull is disgraceful
More than 1500 kangaroos shot during ACT government cull
Response to Dennis K's subtle important differences
Comment on SBS reporting bias on Ukraine and MH17
Global disease and dis-ease the result of globalisation
Environmental activists and officers under lethal threat
A man 79, is accused of killing 51-year-old NSW Environment Department compliance and regulation officer Glen Turner at Croppa Creek, 55 kilometres north of Moree in northern New South Wales. The land was being inspected for illegal clearing and environmental assessment. There had been a long running dispute with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, and the 79 year old had a criminal history.
Such is the value and pressure on land that we are becoming like third world nations, where the death toll for environmental activists is horrendous. The anti-environmental movement is more cashed-up and powerful than the altruistic environmentalist protecting the integrity of Nature, because of it's natural values and non-human benefits.
According to a report released by the London-based NGO Global Witness, at least 908 environmental activists have been killed over the last decade. That number is comparable to the 913 journalists killed in the course of their work in the same period and is likely on the low side—reporting is inconsistent in many countries, and full data for 2013 hasn’t yet been collected. 2012 was deadliest year ever for environmentalists, with 147 killed.
Not only do activists and rangers get threatened and murdered, but corruption allows "environment" ministers to cave into the enemies – and their economic powers can't be resisted! There is a money trail to the Government from big banks, and mining and infrastructure corporations that increasingly have more clout than the public, or grass-roots opinions. Investments and money have swayed decision-making and moulded so-called independent political decisions to suit the big money spinners at the cost of integrity and long term interests in the environment – even the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef! Greed is the "god" of today, and as natural resources become more expensive and lucrative to own it means more destructive and invasive techniques to obtain energy and power.
See also: Man, 79, charged with murdering environment officer after alleged shooting at Moree, NSW (30/7/14) ABC News, Moree shooting: Croppa Creek unites for Glen Turner's family (30/7/14) The Northern Daily LEADER, Government environmental worker shot dead after serving notice to man illegally clearing vegetation at Croppa Creek (30/7/14) Daily Telegraph, Tragic end to disputes over illegal land clearing (30/7/14) Glen Innes Examiner, Land clearing linked to NSW farm killing (30/7/14) Yahoo News.
Dredging of the Great Barrier Reef - mockery of "Environment"
Regarding my e-mail about prescribed burns; Animals in Croatia
ACT anti-wildlife government affects judicial outcomes
Contact details for Minister Ryan Smith- Victorian government
Croat concerned by Australian wildlife extinction threats
Subject was: "The link to Minister Ryan Smith will not click."
I am in the process of writing my own e-mail and it is taking longer than expected because I always get "bogged" in something that I notice along the way. I notice that the link to Minister Ryan Smith will not click; I searched his name using Google and found his e-mail. I did not "sign" the petition because the address format is for residents of Australia and I live in Croatia and would rather send an e-mail where I can use my correct details. I am not sure if there is time to send a paper letter. (I was not sure whether to write this in a comment or send a message; but when I click "contact" it refers to James).
Dear Sime,
Our apologies for the incorrectly typed mail links. That's been fixed now. I have also included the e-mail addresses in the page so that they can now be copied and pasted, as well as clicked on. (I prefer the former method.) Thank you for your post and for your concern about animal rights in Australia. Sadly, they are no not going well right now, but we are confident we can change that (although, possibly not before a few more endangered mammals become extinct).
How are animal rights in Europe these days? I trust that animals are faring better in Croatia than they are in England where there is almost no wildlife to be found. Please stay in touch. - best regards, James (aka 'Ed')
KAL007 faulty air path no accident
NEO – Cold Case...MH17 faint echos of KAL007 Shootdown (23/7/14) by Jim W. Dean, Managing Editor of Veterans Today
KAL007 pilot trainer David H. Adrian quoted saying the Korean pilot Capt. Chun could NOT have flown by accident into Soviet airspace in 1983.
Record numbers living on Melbourne streets
Philippine population officially hits 100 million
Narrowly consolidated media makes bad stuff easy
Subtle differences are the most important one.
Nazi menace to humanity cannot be exaggerated
Dennis K wrote:
There is a difference between being a true Nazi, and just doing Nazi stuff because it matches what you wanted to do anyway. ...
Your post seems to be splitting hairs.
If it is possible to take issue with the over-use of the term "Nazi", then surely that is preferable to what the mainstream media are doing: concealment of the facts that the extreme right-wing Ukrainian Government includes 3 Nazis and its security forces are dominated by Nazis and the demonisation of those who are fighting against them?
Whatever label we give to these people, they are thugs and killers in the pay of the ruling elites of Ukraine and the West no less than German Nazis were in the pay of German elites and the most corrupt elites in Britain and the United States from the 1920s until 1945.
Islamist jihadists, who have waged a bloody war against Syria since 2011 and, before that, Iraq and Libya, are no less in the pay of the ruling global elites.
The conflicts of 2014 in Syria and Ukraine are no less a struggle for the future of humanity than was the Second World War.
Those who are fight Nazis and their like in Syria and Ukraine are no less fighting for us than were Australians on the Kokoda Track or the Red Army at Stalingrad in 1942.
It's the action, not the label
Check population policy of organisations first
Rotten Kieve (Ukraine) government collapsing
Non-rebel Ukrainian gov air defence exercise behind MH17 crash?
MH17: China Defends Russia, Criticizes the West
China’s state media has strongly condemned the Western response to MH17, and largely backed Russia.
By Zachary Keck
July 24, 2014
After an initial degree of hesitancy, China’s state media has come out strongly in favor of Russia regarding the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17.
A number of editorials in Chinese state media in recent days have strongly condemned the Western response to the downing of MH17. The nationalistic Global Times, for instance, featured an editorial on Monday that ostensibly called for full disclosure from Russia, as well as an extensive and fair investigation led by either the United Nations or the International Civil Aviation Organization. Much of the editorial, however, was a scathing critique of Western efforts to implicate Russia in the attack. [...]
Read more here: http://thediplomat.com/2014/07/mh17-china-defends-russia-criticizes-the-west/
Global wildlife decline driving slave labor, organized crime
Our earth is not static, and climate change not new
Save Ballina's koalas from Extinction
Jonathan Moylan, 1yr-8mnth prison commuted 2 yr bond
Jono Moylan decision - immediate release on $1000 bond
Nazism more than a fashion statement - reply to Dennis K
[Editor's note: We should precise that the Odessa Massacre referred to here is the recent event of 2 May 2014, in order to avoid confusion with the Odessa Massacre of 1941. The 2 May 2014 atrocity is reported here
and here:http://scgnews.com/the-odessa-massacre-what-really-happened among many other sources.]
Hi Dennis K.
Hope you will appreciate that I have gone to some trouble to respond carefully.
You wrote that "
This article destroys its own credibility by using the word "Nazi" ad infinitum."
Hadn't noticed such excessive use of 'Nazi' in this article, but agree that Daniel Bushell's work is very confronting and generally scares me, so I don't look at it all that often. That said, he is usually right, just too close to the awful truth. For me, the Nazi ideology in the Svoboda political party in Ukraine seems undeniable and fits into the history of Russia vs Nazi affiliations in Ukraine. We will try to get together an 'About Ukraine and the Nazis' page on candobetter.net to deal with this one.
You also write:
"That term is 70 years old. Can people not think of anything new to label political opponents? I mean, the original hippies that used it are in nursing homes now."
An oldie but not a goodie? That is the way I thought it might be at first, as a kind of grotesque attempt to label a nationalist movement in Ukraine. Footage of the Svoboda leader, Oleh Tyahnybok,[1] was kind of persuasive that he really is a Nazi, but it was the participation of Svoboda and the extreme persecution of communists and anti-Kiev protesters at the Odessa Massacre, that convinced me, on top of the special history of Ukraine vis a vis Nazis and the official celebration of the role of a Nazi collaborator ( Stepan Bandera) in the second world war. The extreme cruelty of the Svoboda paramilitary at the Odessa massacre, seemed very Nazi style, and they wore Nazi insignia. They barricaded the doors of a trade union building where anti-government protesters were then set fire. When people jumped out the windows but survived, there was systematic beating of those survivors and, notably, they were ultimately stabbed or strangled to death. Apparently those who made it to hospital all had stab wounds as well as burns and injuries from jumping. [The footage is widely available and there are multiple direct reports. See the film called "Fascism as it is" by Andrew Karulov embedded in the notes below for a statement on this.] Reports also exist about how snipers targeted both sides of the Maidan. These also seemed like hallmarks of fascism, and since the Nazi insignia appears prominently among people in the crowds, and the Svoboda logo seems derived from the Nazi insignia, no matter how vieux jeux this may seem, I do find it credible. Oh, also, attacks on people marching in anti-Nazi war commemoration parades in Ukraine. Some references for these statements in the footnote. [2]
Fashion is one thing and you can have fascism under different names, but the ultimate use for Nazi and like movements is to frighten other citizens into submission. They are doing this very well in Ukraine. (See [2] again)
You also wrote:
"Nazi" is used so often to describe people against global ethnic homogenisation, its no wonder that young people end up adopting Nazi imagery as means of saying "F$%# You" to the system.
Initially you seemed to question whether there really are actual Nazis operating at a significant level in Ukraine (Kiev side). Just above, you seem to concede that young people may indeed be adopting Nazi imagery as a means of revolt against a system that marginalises them. So you seem to be saying that they are putting on a kind of act, but not sincerely being Nazis. However, it is clear that some people wearing Nazi insignia are going through with the whole thing - anti-communist, sadistic, bullying, beating up citizens and politicians, and political murder - where the Odessa massacre is only one example of several to hand.
You say:
Is the tail wagging the dog here? Is the mainstream media and popular repetition of the "Nazi" theme causing young people to take it up in opposition to the globalist ideals of that media?
Well, this is something you and I have touched on before here. That is, that people may feel they have nowhere to go except towards the extreme right in order to find expression of their disagreement with mass immigration taking over their jobs and communities. It is probably true that the globalist media has a role in modeling some of this behaviour. I would suggest that the behaviour is also manipulated to a large degree by power elites (sorry about the cliche)via the globalist media in order to sow unrest in the communities they seek to disorganise, by getting people acting out roles of Nazis to frighten ordinary citizens and attack alternative political organisations, especially communists and socialists.
However, my understanding is that in Ukraine the Nazi narrative (with its historical opposition to communism) has a long-lasting life of its own since WW2 due to oppression under the Soviet regime causing people to embrace the Nazi promise to liberate Ukraine from communism. Even though the Nazis had a documented plan to get rid of the Ukrainians and slavs, many Ukrainians believed them and presumably felt they had little choice. This acknowledges that the Stalinist regime was a terrifying and deadly one. It does not however take the position, for instance, that communism or socialism are any worse than capitalism and, if they embody social rights, I would say they are better. However, I also have a position that anarchism - or local democracy - is better than any overarching political hierarchy. People prefer to retain power in their local communities and delegate upwards, rather than receive policies from distant imposed governments - such as the Victorian State Government - when those governments do not really represent them and do not really permit them any significant say in public life. I prefer the European system of communes - like France's (which is unfortunately changing).
So, again, my understanding is that there is significant actual Nazi activity, however anachronistic that may seem to someone in Australia today.
The globalist capitalist agenda is also to blame by removing social protections and promoting rampant unemployment, unfair wages, criminal powerbrokers in the form of the oligarchs who behave like an ultra-rich mafia - as they also do in the United States, Russia and elsewhere, but here they are promoted unfettered by the United States and NATO.[3]
You wrote:
I would hazard a guess it does, just how people became "satanists" to rebel against Christian moral tightness.
There may as you say be something in that, however my understanding of Satanism is that it is seen as another way to get power over people, just as the Christian religion is. i.e. they are both kinds of political systems that use magical thinking (praying, sacrifices, deities etc). The Christian Church (with christianity as its doctrine or ideology) was the major form of government in the Middle Ages and was one of the forces, along with royalty that battled the French revolutionary forces and Napoleon. Satanism was also derived from 'pagan' or naturalistic religions of animism etc and these religions - like local governments by clans and tribes - were taken over by the Roman empire with its gods and later by the Roman Church (which became the ideological head of the Roman Empire). So pagans were designated as anti-Christ. Where the 'devil' came in I am not sure, but there must have been a lot of opportunities.
You wrote:
Oh, and of course the russian media would say this!
Criticism of the media needs more analysis than this. I find that RT interviews people on both sides, whereas the mainstream anglo (and EU media) does not. There are also numerous alternative sites to get more info from, and people whom one can actually contact. RT gives a lot more detail and variation and documents that you can investigate, whereas the mainstream media in US/Australia gives almost nothing but rumour and does not even acknowledge the other side. The Oz media representation of the recent downing of aircraft has been almost pure fiction, totally illogical and based on no evidence at all and leaving out entirely the role of the Kiev regime. Its political theory seems to be some pop-psychology one about personalities on the world stage. Sorry, but that ignores the geopolitics entirely. In fact, it is my strong impression that the Australian PM was so taken in by his disinformation sources that he actually had absolutely no idea even that there was bombfire going on in East Ukraine all the time, making his suggestion of putting in an international force to safeguard the accident scene completely ridiculous. And that is just one of my criticisms. See my articles for further ones.
NOTES, REFERENCES
[1] Oleh Tyahnybok is the leader of Svoboda. Although criminal proceedings against him for anti-semitism have not yet succeeded, his actions and words embrace Nazi-values of anti-semitism, anti-communism, and violence. A reference to start with is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleh_Tyahnybok#cite_ref-SIEKP81212_2-0":
"In October 1991 Tyahnybok became a member of the Social-National Party of Ukraine. He is characterised as representative of Ukraine's far right. From 1994 until 1998, Tyahnybok served as a member of the Lviv Regional Council. In 1998, Tyahnybok was first elected to the Ukrainian Parliament as a member of Social-National Party of Ukraine; in the parliament he became a member of the People's Movement of Ukraine faction. In 2002, Tyahnybok was reelected to the Ukrainian parliament as a member of Victor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine bloc. In parliament he submitted 36 motions for debate, but the parliament adopted only four of them. In the majority of his motions, he opposed the introduction of the Russian language as the second official state language; proposed recognition of the fighting role of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and Ukrainian Insurgent Army during World War II; called for the lustration (regulation of political involvement) of former communist officials, security service officers and undercover agents; and demanded the prohibition of communist ideology. None of these motions was adopted.
On 20 July 2004 Tyahnybok was expelled from the Our Ukraine parliamentary faction after he made a speech in the Carpathian Mountains at the gravesite of a commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. In the speech, which was aired on television in the summer of 2004, he made comments such as,
"[You are the ones] that the Moscow-Jewish mafia ruling Ukraine fears most"
and
"They were not afraid and we should not be afraid. They took their automatic guns on their necks and went into the woods, and fought against the Muscovites, Germans, Jews and other scum who wanted to take away our Ukrainian state.""
[2] The following film contains footage of violent fascist and nationalist activities with neo-nazi insignica prominent and public. In the film, people are seen repeatedly carrying an image of Stepan Bandera, who collaborated with the Nazis in WW2 in an effort to achieve Ukrainian independence from Stalin's regime. Roman Shukhevych who was a political assassin and carried out many executions of Poles during WW2 for the Nazis is also celebrated as a hero in this footage. That this ambiguous hero is celebrated widely and publicly in Ukraine gives insight into how ambivalent the Ukraine population may be towards Nazi philosophy. Oleh Tyahnybok is also shown as a public figure in one of these events, around 08.15 minutes. At 9.33 minutes footage of the unbelievably awful Odessa Massacre begins. Note that other massacres of people in public buildings have also occurred in the same style in Ukraine since then, but I cannot document everything here. At 12.02 we see Victoria Nuland (foreign ambassador for United States) and John McCain in company with Oleh Tyahnybok and the acting President of Ukraine, Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov, who was also received by the President of the United States, prior to Porischenko being 'elected'.
Below is a less sensational, but with more detailed documentation, film by journalists about fascism in Ukraine today. It documents murders and disappearances, harassment of journalists, and shows some footage from the Odessa Massacre as well as other incidents.
Battleground Ukraine by Professor Andrei Fursov
[3] Promotion of fascists and oligarchs by US/NATO: I'll refer to the above film from 12.02 minutes and note that the US has constantly suppressed criticism of Ukraine or even consideration of its likely role in the bringing down of the Dutch airliner and of its continuous bombing of East Ukraine, its use of Nazis, etc. See the first part of this video compilation:
Agreed. It won't go away without applying scientific logic
Jonathan Moylan returns to Supreme Court for verdict on sentence
What: Jonathan Moylan, 26, will appear before the Supreme Court in Sydney for sentencing tomorrow, Friday 25 July, at 2pm. Supporters will hold a vigil outside court from 1.30pm.
The sentencing this Friday follows a hearing on July 11, at which the judge adjourned sentencing to allow time for deliberation.
In January 2013 Moylan issued a press release on ANZ letterhead saying the bank had withdrawn its $1.2 billion loan facility from Whitehaven’s Maules Creek Coal Project in NSW on environmental and ethical grounds.
Moylan is charged under section 1041E of the Corporations Act, pertaining to the making of false or misleading statements. The maximum penalty is ten years in prison and a $765,000 fine.
When: 2pm, Friday 25 July. Supporters will hold a vigil outside the Supreme Court of NSW from 1.30pm.
Where: Supreme Court of NSW, 184 Phillip St, Sydney.
Media Contact: Rick Laird, Maules Creek farmer, is available for comment. Call Nicola Paris on 0422 990 040 or Madeleine Egan on 0423 100 113 to arrange an interview and for further information.
Rick Laird is a farmer from Maules Creek. His family has been farming in the district for more than 150 years, but the future of their farms is now under threat from Whitehaven’s ANZ-funded Maules Creek coal mine. Rick will travel from Maules Creek to support Jonathan Moylan at court on Friday.
Jonathan Moylan will not be available for comment before sentencing. His availability to comment after sentencing is TBC, subject to the outcome of the sentencing.
BACKGROUND
ANZ provides a $1.2 billion loan facility to Whitehaven Coal, primarily intended to develop the Maules Creek Coal Project. The Maules Creek Coal Project is a new open-cut coal mine being developed in Leard State Forest and adjacent farm land near Maules Creek in north west NSW.
Leard State Forest is located between Narrabri and Boggabri. It includes the most extensive and intact stands of the nationally-listed and critically endangered Box-Gum Woodland remaining on the Australian continent. The forest is home to 396 species of plants and animals and includes habitat for 34 threatened species and several endangered ecological communities.
The Maules Creek Coal Project is approved to extract up to 13 million tonnes of coal annually, and estimated to produce 30 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year. The mine is expected to operate for more than 30 years. The coal will be railed from the mine in north west NSW to the port of Newcastle for export. The coal mine project boundary is approximately 5 kilometres from the Maules Creek township.
Maules Creek farmer Rick Laird speaking in support of Jonathan Moylan on July 11 told media: “ANZ’s loan means Whitehaven Coal can turn Maules Creek from a farming village into an open-cut pit. We rely on groundwater to water our livestock and for our household water supply, and the Whitehaven Coal mine will lower our water table by 5-10 metres. We’ve been fighting this mine for years, and the stand that Jono took means that people now know what’s happening at Maules Creek. Jono stood with us, and now we’re here to stand with Jono.”
On the day of the release Whitehaven Coal’s share price went from $3.52 to $3.21 before a trading halt, recovering to $3.53 within an hour of trade resuming. Whitehaven's share price has since plummeted due to slumping coal prices, closing at $1.68 yesterday.
Overseas student complaint/support/contempt?
This comment was initially posted, possibly erroneously, as a comment in response to the article MH17 Airline tragedy and Abbott's antics: Who needs evidence when you've got 'conviction'? (23/7/14) by Sheila Newman. 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.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 Myki2 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]
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
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 Miscellaneous comments from 24 July 2014. - Ed
Not the first time commercial airline shot down
This article destroys its own credibility
Who needs evidence when you've got conviction?
Downed Plane
Editorial comment: MikeP clearly has either not read the article or, if he has, has chosen not to respond to the arguments and evidence presented in this article. Whatever may be the case, nothing has been added to the discussion. Those who wish to know the truth and find out who is trying to conduct a proper investigation into the MH17 tragedy and who is trying to prevent a proper investigation and protect the guilty will find it on Global Research, VoltaireNet, Paul Craig Roberts, Land Destroyer and RT and here, on Candobetter. - Ed
What an incredible article that is breath taking in how nonsensical you can be when you are blinded by partisanship.
Who do you think the pro Russian movement in Ukraine is funded by which countries weapons do they use? They are well organised and trained. They may well have a perfectly good cause as most of East Ukraine is ethnically Russian and they have been part of Russia for most of the. last six centuries but Russia pulls the strings and runs the strategies. They fired at what they believed was a Ukrainian army Transport with a very sophisticated major army weapon that could knock a plane out of the sky at 30,000 feet That is blindingly obvious. That is was a stupid mistake is blindingly obvious and brought down worldwide opprobrium on Putin is axiomatic they stuffed up pure and simple. It's a public relations disaster for Putin to be sure so like all such disasters you spin to cover up your miss deeds. Blaming anyone but the obvious idiots who did it is madness. But then I suspect you might recognise that little problem.
Matthew Guy: "We're having more babies"
Korean airliner KAL 007 shot down by USSR in 1983
The Russian army is not unified and controlled as well as in other developed countries. Maybe the separatists bribed the army to get the weapons, or hijacked it. It needs investigation. Korean Air Lines flight 007 from New York to Seoul (after refueling in Alaska) flew into Russian airspace due to a navigational error and was shot down by Soviet fighter jets. All 269 passengers and crew, which included 63 Americans, were killed. There's an eerie parallel.
Editorial comment: There is much printed and on-line material to suggest that the KAL 007 incident was a staged provocation by the United States. One example is KAL 007 on what-when-how. It cites works on KAL007 including KAL 007-The Cover Up (1987), by David Pearson, which I own and much of which I have read. One outcome of the deaths of 269 people aboard KAL 007 was that public opposition to the deployment in Europe of Cruise and Pershing missiles directed against the USSR was overcome. - Ed
No gain for Russia in airline incident - article response
The Daily Mail article cited above shows a covered truck and gives a very vague story.
Even more importantly, it doesn't supply a motive.
What gain could Russia have in shooting down an airline?
There is no obvious motive (that I can see) and plenty of reasons not to. I've written an article here "Motive lacking in Russia blame for airline attack"in response to the Daily Mail allegations. I welcome ongoing discussion of the points I make at the base of that article, or here.
What weapon was used to shoot down the MH 17?
Seeing as the Malaysian Air 777 was transiting from west to east, high over the border between the two rivals, may have classified the aircraft as a Ukrainian military aircraft? A friendly fire incident was quite possible if airliners continued to use routes over the troubled region.
If rebel forces were either given these surface to air missile systems from Russia, or one similar such as the more modern SA-11/17 "Buk" — it is fairly clear Russia has backed these forces — or at least initially, with material and training, then it would also implicate Russia in this tragic event.
it is quite possible that Russia's air defense apparatus along the border with Ukraine was on high-alert as it may have already shot down two Ukrainian aircraft. Ukrainian officials believe Russian separatists fired a ground-to-air BUK missile that downed the plane, but in an interview with TIME, separatists leaders claimed they had nothing to do with the incident.
What was a passenger plane doing anywhere near the area? As it turns out, aviation authorities had addressed the Ukraine situation and taken precautions. They just didn’t think non-combatant planes flying at 33,000 feet were at risk. Flight restrictions often apply only under certain altitudes. Planes are most exposed to ground-level threats when they’re taking off and landing—that’s when they’re within range of small arms and shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft missiles.
Malaysia Airlines had flown this route repeatedly over the past several weeks without incident, as had other carriers.
The SA-11 "Buk" is designed to engage military aircraft and missiles at altitudes of up to 72,000ft. It is in service with the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces, as well as other forces around the world.
Reports from Ukraine suggested a BUK had been smuggled in the dead of night into Russia soon after the plane was blasted out of the sky on Thursday last week.
It came after images were released of a launcher rumbling through Torez, held by pro-Russian separatists, just two hours before the Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2699170/Is-BUK-missile-launcher-shot-MH17-smuggled-Russia-Motorist-captures-military-truck-carrying-BUK-M1-border-town.html#ixzz383f42eoF
Tragic loss of MH17
Animal cruelty
Fairy wren
Unemployment surges correlate directly with immigration surges
Markets are subject to peoples wishes, but not "Free Markets"
Poverty and poaching
What links do unions have with Socialist groups?
Petition: Save Byron Bay Koalas from Housing Development!
Cultural Celebration
Is the message that globalisation isn' t sustainable?
MUA right to oppose cheap foreign crews in Australian waters
Michael S.'s confused and self-contradictory contribution seems to propose that the MUA adopt a form of unconditional internationalism which may have been appropriate in Europe in the early 20th Century:
"... The MUA seems intent on depriving its foreign comrades of work. ..."
... but would be suicidal for the MUA to adopt in the race-to-the-bottom globalised world economy of 2014. Michael S. continues:
Also these foreign workers don't necessarily qualify for residence in Australia based on their temporary work in Australian waters; so they don't necessarily contribute to the permanent glut caused by mass migration of wealthy opportunists into Australia.
What point Michael S. is trying to make here escapes me. Australian seamen should hang their hopes on foreign crews, who have taken their jobs, "not necessarily" being given permanent residence in Australia?
The post continues on a confusing meander. Michael then complains that "the MUA benefits from imposing the requirement to break up [foreign] crews when they enter Australian waters and imposing its own construction crew on the vessels' management." Michael objects to how this requirement "exposes foreign contractors to unpredictable cost and schedule risk in Australia."
Michael claims that "The offshore industry generally has high safety standards." Then, contrary to that claim, he states, "Displacing foreign crews with Australian crews does not necessarily improve safety." ?
Michael then wanders off on a tangent into the debate about global poverty, refugees and the boat people. Then he asks rhetorically:
Does this petition misleadingly depict MUA members as having their human rights violated as if they are "starving refugees"?
No, Michael, the petition doesn't attempt to liken MUA members to starving refugees. Should we wait until the working conditions of Australian workers, including the waterfront workforce and seamen, have been reduced to Third World conditions (as is happening in the United States) before we deem them worthy of support?
Michael then argues:
The real issue here is not the crew on foreign contractor vessels that temporarily enter Australia; it is the mass migration of relatively wealthy opportunists who have a net negative impact on Australia's economy ...
Why can't you see that these two issues are, in fact, part and parcel of the ruling elite's attempt to destroy the living standards of all Australians who now enjoy decent living standards, whether they are middle class professionals or workers, such as members of the MUA?
Michael continues:
Foreign contractor vessels should arguably be allowed to choose their own crews. Imagine if all foreign contractors boycotted Australia because of this MUA restriction. Necessity would then defend foreign contractor rights to make their own hiring decisions without the interference of the MUA. Without these foreign construction vessels Australia's offshore industry would be severely disabled. Many believe that it is currently being disabled by the MUA.
Foreign shipping companies would (arguably(?)) be justified in boycotting Australia if the MUA were not to allow shipping bosses to choose the cheapest and most servile crews to work in Australian waters?
Claims Ukraine article "biased and incorrect"
Subject was: "Biased and Incorrect".
This article is biased and incorrect. The main picture used for this article is cropped and actually contains a third person which is wearing a hooded sweater that says "I am Russian" in Russian ...
Editorial comment: Perhaps you could show us where the original uncropped image is? I am not aware of any evidence of pro-Russians or Russian government agents working alongside Nazis, like those shown in the above picture, against the government of then President Viktor Yanukovych. If there were any so openly pro-Russian anti-government protesters, as you claim, then surely there would be abundant film and photographic evidence? - Ed
Why settle Syrians and Iraqis?