Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

Sorry to leave this thread for so long Justin,  just coming out of New Year's thought detox, and catching up on what I've missed.  I'm still quite amazed at the spread of reaction to the detention centres, and hope it serves a lesson to treat those who try to prewarn of such things as more than crackpots.  

So the US is shedding 10% of it's military budget?  The first thing I'm wondering is what this means for the target of one-quarter driverless combat vehicles by 2025? Or whether the US Navy still needs a resupply base in Adelaide?  Or whether the further delay of the F-35 JSF fighter renders the lack of concurrency in some projects to ripple through the Australian defence industry (ie the Aussie subbies to the Brits and Yanks) ?  

We're in their hands now. 

In Sunday's New York Times, it was reported that previous drafts of the recently released National Intelligence Estimate, a report of 16 different Government intelligence agencies, describe:

..... actions by the United States Government that were determined to have stoked the jihad movement, like the indefinite detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. .....

This is not just unhelpful in our fight against terror, it is unnecessary. We don't need to imprison innocent people to win this war. For people who are guilty, we have the procedures in place to lock them up. That is who we are as a people. We do things right, and we do things fair.

...The world is watching what we do today in America. They will know what we do here today, and they will treat all of us accordingly in the future--our soldiers, our diplomats, our journalists, anybody who travels beyond these borders. I hope we remember this as we go forward. I sincerely hope we can protect what has been called the ``great writ''--a writ that has been in place in the Anglo-American legal system for over 700 years.

TOPIC: Homeland Security
September 27, 2006
Floor Statement on the Habeas Corpus Amendment
Complete Text

Hypocrisy: if it was listed on the stock exchange it would be in a bubble.

A Happy Christmas and all good things in 2012 to you too  Justin. I popped by to look for one of my old posts about Christmas,  to find you still floating around the ether!

Treating usas criminals is nothing new. My friends in Animal Liberation have probably over the years collectively done as much time as your average terrrorist in this country..

I was a bit more slippery,  While I've been sworn at, shot at, and threatened with writs over the years I've  managed to escape every time.

BTW The last member of my group that got arrested was a bit up in years. She reported back: "They kept calling me Mum, sat me on a chair,and kept offering me cups of tea- I don't think they knew what to do with me. Finally they let me go for  nothing".

They did charge her however and 15 months later, after great expense to you the taxpayer, she was found guilty, but no record recorded.

Her young son had always told her: "Mum don't you get arrested, I will be so embarrassed at school".

When if finally happened after he had left school and she rang him to tell him he replied:. " Ït's alrignt Mum, I'm a big boy now". Oh the male logic.

A humorous little anecdote to the above episode was that another of our colleagues, after crawling around in the dark for some hours to stop the shooters in the ACT culling the roos (they could not shoot knowing our group was crawling around in there) found herself without transport home in the early hours of the  morning. On coming across a police car as she walked down the road, now outside the Park, she saw her chauffeur mate under arrest in the back seat. So she asked if the cops could give her a lift back to town. They hesitated but being chivalrous, obviously believing they could not really leave a lone woman on a lonely road at 2am agreed. What they did not know was that stuffed down her bra were the bolt cutters she had used to cut the fence to get into the restricted area.

LIfe as an animal libber has had its lighter moments over the years.

The good Scot is doing well thank you. Dipping happily into his bottle of Glenfarclas that other good, and greatly missed Scot MBD gave him, having got him hooked on it  one memorable night.  He's been a convert ever since to the detriment of the bank balance I suspect, something he never bothers to consult I might add.

All the best, mate. Have one for me. And you can have mine too, never could stand the taste of the stuff.  

I couldn't help but think of you Jenny when I read this article (in disgust).

FBI Says Activists Who Investigate Factory Farms Can Be Prosecuted as Terrorists:

“It is deeply sobering to see one’s name in an FBI file proposing terror charges,” he said in an email. “It is even more sobering to realize the supposedly terroristic activities in question are merely exposing the horrific cruelty of factory farms, educating the public about what goes on behind those closed doors, and openly rescuing a few animals from one of those farms as an act of civil disobedience.”

Merry Xmas Jenny, let's hope Australia doesn't go the way of the US wise you could be treated as a terrorist - and that would be criminal.

Also, merry xmas to the crazy Scot, and all them creatures great and small - especially wombats.

 At least the Americans are consistent.

 The new detention laws there indicate that they have now cast even their own freedom away, at least for those not part of the one percent.

 Maybe just to prove to the rest of humanity, that it wasn't a problem, could be quite fun actually, so be enthusiastic for the new adventure, when the military turn up and cart you off to some Wackenhut in the desert..

The sad thing is Richard it's all been underpinned by the usual predictable crap. And the people follow.

Bush shat all over the US constitution, Obama just flushed it down the sewer. It's gone forever.

It now must be obvious to all that the US ruling elite have absolutely no respect for freedom, democracy or liberty.

It's all about business and only business (with heavy doses of predictable propaganda). 

And what better puppet, than a man of colour, to take the rap for signing off on a military dictatorship in the land of the shining light.

History will not be kind to Obama, as I suspect the white fellas who got him elected know only too well.

Anyway, it's official, The Democratic Republic of America is now a military oligarchy, where the puppet President can be advised to (legally) murder without trial American citizens anywhere in the world, in secret and with absolutely no accountability. Unbelievable? Not really.

He did just that recently (a good test of public opinion) and the people cheered, even the liberals.

And that's how it works in a fascist type military oligarchy. The business (cabals) and middle class embrace it, the trains run on time, the annoying people on the margins become scapegoats and victimised brutally (the masses cheer) until it ends in war or revolution.

One way or the other it will all end badly for humanity.

In the big scheme of things WW11 wasn't worth fighting.

Food for thoughts of our future:

The National Defense Authorization Act 2012 (NDAA) was recently approved by an overwhelming majority of the Senate. It will place domestic terror investigations and interrogations into the hands of the military and which would open the door for trial-free, indefinite detention of anyone, including American citizens, so long as the government calls them terrorists. This law is diametrically opposed to the rights provided by the Constitution and opens the door to an effective police state. Forbes (of all magazines) describes it as the “greatest threat to liberties Americans face”. Here’s an article from The New American describing the law.

In the midst of allegations of police brutality and police aggression at the OWS protests, the U.S. Senate approved a bill that is said to “explicitly create a police state”: the National Defense Authorization Act. The NDAA, passed by a vote of 93 to 7, virtually stated that all of the United States may be considered a battlefield, and therefore the American military is permitted to indefinitely detain any American perceived to be a threat.

And a little bit more grist for the mill:

Detainment Camps Going Live: FEMA Seeking Subcontractors to Provide “Temporary Camp Services” In All 50 States

Kellogg, Brown and Root Services (KBR) is seeking subscontractors on a national basis to provide temporary camp services and facilities as part of its current and future emergency services contracts for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and state/local government agencies. - The continental US will be broken up into five regions – Services will be required in each State within each region.

Phew! Thank you, Marilyn!

Meanwhile, I shall sign off for today, leaving y'alls to Richard's tender mercies in the wee small hours tomorrow. Now do beHAVE, everybody.

Oh dear, Marilyn, what have I done / not done this time? Think I might play it safe, and log off now before anything else is aimed at my head!

It may have gone unnoticed, but god only knows why this news has not been plastered all over the western press, but nevertheless it's news and good news:

George W Bush,Tony Blair found 'guilty' for 'crimes against peace'.

Our resident prick, who so adores those criminals and complied with their farce, must be seething he missed out on a gong: he so deserves one.

I suppose it would be only right and proper, all things being equal, that helicopters and marines journey those convicted criminals to the deep blue sea, where they can do some real good, as shark food - they soo deserve it.

I don't know about you but I feel disgusted by Julia's betrayal of Australia. She handed it over to the Yanks with nary a thought for the twenty-odd million people who live here. She was more interested in getting her photo taken with Obama in the hope that it might increase her poll numbers than being worried about Australia's future in the region or lack thereof.

The significance of her betrayal is profound. We will become outcasts in our region. We will be seen as one of imperial America's pawns, much like Britian is.

And it is likely that Australia will be punished by China, rightly so. After all, why should they enrich their enemy's friends?

But was there marching in the streets? Did people protest? Sorry, this is Australia, isn't it?

Is this recent military arrangement the usual paranoia about security and boogie men (intentionally directed at China by Obama), or are the Yanks just positioning themselves so that when they inevitably default on their now 15 trillion debt, they can manipulate events into a full blown security alert based on some contrived propaganda, thus dragging all their giggling, devoted poodles into the cynical game?

China knows damn well they are going to get stiffed, it's going to be the manner in which the Yanks go about it that will bring interesting times.

How many bombs has China dropped lately, how many bombs have the Yanks dropped lately?

How many Chinese banks have turned fraud into a business model and criminally fleeced pension funds, sold fraudulent financial products all over the globe robbing people of their savings and livelihoods, and then made these victims suffer the humiliation of having to reward the (government protected) criminals with bail outs - well done Obama and Bush, well done home of the brave and all that crap?

15 trillion in debt and still no agreement on how to cut back spending by a pathetic 120 billion a year. Stop dropping fucking bombs you morons, that will do it in a oner.

Interesting times indeed, and many distractions to come in our sick and twisted world of absolute greed and bloody stupidity.

The thing is a total dud.

The Stratfor assessment released the day after I published the peace pretty much summed up what I've said, from the other end

 [SMH 18/11/11]

US private sector intelligence group Stratfor said the US move toward greater use of Australian military facilities was the latest step in a program under way for a decade [my emphasis] and one which made a great deal of sense for Australia.

In an analysis released on Friday, Stratfor said it did not signal any shift in Washington's larger geopolitical, strategic or military intentions.

But the distance and dispersal that Australia offered US forces was not lost on Pentagon planners eyeing China's ability to deny the US access to closer areas 

What was that you were saying about Cassandra, Paul?  Nope, there's no self-satisfaction on watching contrived predestination.  

There's another part of this yarn, though, that after fiveish years of observing I'm keen to see play out in the next few weeks.  If the famous Joint Strike FIghter program collapses in the next few weeks a lot of jobs won't hit Adelaide.  Having a few beers with folk involved in some interesting jobs down at Port Adelaide, I'm hearing that local investors who've geared up and are being stretched by all the delays are beginning to feel stressed.  No doubt BAE, Raytheon,KBR and the other "Australian" defence companies that have been chasing the work since the turn of the century are feeling a pinch Down Under too.  As Trade Minister MacFarlane said when the Letters Of Intent were sent out in 2002:

"The letters signal the proponents’ confidence in Australian companies to successfully nail down significant contracts. They’ve been invited to bid for work worth up to US $400 million following two scoping studies by Lockheed Martin. This is an auspicious first step." 

Never mind the first step, it's always the last that's a doozy.  Anway, if the JSF falls over and no substitute is announced, methinks the Defence State might be up the Port River without a Warship Contract.  Our recently disgraced and departed Treasurer and Defence Industries Minister, Kevin Foley, once reported singing The Gambler in a karaoke bar, has gambled that the loss of our automotive industry would be remedied by defence contracts.  Sometimes I wonder if he factored this into the timing of his "demotion" After all, every savvy pollie has to "Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run... "   

PS  "Yes we can" is a catchphrase shared by both Obama and Bob the Builder. The difference between the two is that when Barak loses his job he'll still be "Mr President".  If Bob the Builder doesn't get a defence contract he'll just be "Bob", and nobody will, as we used to say, have two bob to rub together.

Nowhere was that more evident than on Wednesday in Canberra, Australia, where the President Obama and Prime Minister Julia Gillard marked the 60th anniversary of the ANZUS defense alliance and announced a major boost to military cooperation between the two long-time allies.

Does anyone remember what the NZ in ANZUS stands for? I've been searching my recall circuits and I just can't get it. It's on the tip of my tongue.

I too am disappointed at this news. I was hoping we would get a full on, no stuffing around, American base with warships, nuclear powered aircraft carriers, warplanes, missiles, stealth bombers, armed drones, troops, marines, the works ... just like Fairfax promised.

Instead we get just a few thousand marines and some more naval exercises and even that will take years to build up. Surely we can step up the pace a little here?

Methinks a young black boxer knew a little bit about captaining ships:

Poignant.

These days I don't listen to the greedy white fellas' black fella mouth piece, who promised no more secrecy, and all the other shit people wanted to hear. The pathetic puppet puts me off me turps these days. The Chosen One ain't no man of the people - he's a willing accomplice of the greedy bastards.

Military bases? I suppose we should be grateful and all look forward to the respect the US military has for others and their own. I'm sure our coloured girls will be feeling much safer now.

No doubt we will all be feeling safer now - I can hardly wait.

Look, it only confirms or overtises what we've known already for a long time. Richard I feel sorry for, because of all of us he developed the thesis most thoroughly, down to the "mechanics" of Halliburton Planet in a typical location (Adelaide).

Not fun being a correct Cassandra, methinks.

Particularly when the excuse-making of the politicians has been so flimsy this time around.

And no Mad Abbott about. Instead of doing what he boasts is his job, "opposing", he skulked offshore in a funk as a snub to Obama for not being cranky-religious and right wing enough.

What would the Yanks make of aussie manners and hospitality on that one, I wonder...

We have the myth of the young captain skillfully steering his ship between knife-edged icebergs. There are a couple of fundamental problems with this myth.

• These modern ships of state are damnably hard to steer. They take ages to gather momentum, and longer to change direction.
• There ain't no captain. Rather, there is an amorphous political cloud with bit-players pulling in different directions.
• He (or in our case she) ain't skilled. They get their job without any experience, much less professional qualifications in captaincy. By the time they get any real experience, they get corrupted with power, or we get bored and chuck them out.

So, as the quadrennial American circus is about to begin, has Obama done a reasonable job?

• He's finally leaving Iraq (unwillingly?), though they're expanding Afghanistan into Pakistan)
• He's killed Bin Laden (assassinated? murdered? committed a terrorist act on foreign soil?)
• Clinging to the mantle of the leader of the (free?) world. Except that since their explicit foreign policy is to look after number 1, only the sycophants pretend to trust them.
• Brought in Obamacare

Yeah well, at least we're getting rid of the icebergs.

Freedom for them - more prison for Palestinians.

I wonder if anyone told him we jail Indonesian children in maximum security prisons because our worthless trash keystone kops can't tell a 13 year old disabled child from an adult.

All the ra ra ra makes me vomit.