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Monday, 26th January 1998
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Australia Day - is it a scam?
I had to pinch myself yesterday when asking whether Australia day is just a scam.
According to AUSTRADE, this is how much of Australian enterprise in the categories named below currently belongs to foreign interests:
| Category | % | Category | % | Category | % | Category | % |
| Motor Vehicles | 100 | Pharmaceuticals | 100 | Electrical | 98 | Chemicals | 98 |
| Mining | 97 | Processed Food | 95 | Oil/Gas | 92 | Building Materials | 88 |
| *Banking | 86 | Confectionary and Beverages | 84 | *Insurance | 82 | Hotel Industry | 75 |
Just what do we own in this country - and how did we land up losing what we no longer own?
Are we no more than "Maquiladoras"? Factories set up in Latin America by US companies to produce goods for the US market, or are we no more than servants in our own land to the multinationals who now own everything of value here?
Bob McMullan, Minister for trade said this about the FSIA in 1995, "The financial services agreement will directly benefit Australian banks, insurance companies and securities traders."
What about Australians Bob - where did we benefit? With all four major Australian banks now controlled by foreigners what do we expect next? Our "Australian" currency to be replaced by a global currency like the US dollar?
With multinationals pulling all the strings and the so-called "level playing field" (MAI) will the banks simply stop funding Australian enterprises where they compete with those of foreign interests in this country?
The Australian banks do not serve the Australian people any more. The recent sale of the Commonwealth Bank saw the Trojan Horse of Australian politics serve a major coup to the forces of greed across the Pacific ocean.
For Phillip Ruddock to claim that MAI will be debated in the Australian Parliament before it is signed simply underscores the treacherous manner in which the sovereign rights of every man, woman and child in this country have been held to ransom. A major issue which usurps our constitution will not be debated by the people - it will be packaged and, if not for Pauline Hanson's press conference last week, have been slipped through in the quiet of night.
Issues like MAI and the, already signed, FSIA should be the subject of a CIR (Citizen Instituted Referendum) before we even go and debate the issue in secret with men and women who have absolutely no interest or concern in the welfare of the Australian citizen.
Yet the media would have us believe that we should be proud to be "Australian" on Australia day - I don't know what "Australian" is any more.
Is it:
Whatever happened to the "Australian" fair go?
On this issue, whether you like it or not, a powerful criteria for success and recognition in Australia today is to have a sprinkling of Aboriginal blood and to achieve recognition in a field of endeavour.
I, like many Australians, take my hat off to Kathy Freeman, for example, for her prowess in running. She is one of hundreds of Australians who have excelled in sport in this country. However, I cannot think of any other reason than her Aboriginality that has resulted in her being selected as Australian of the Year over others, like Barry Marshall, this year.
Kathy herself summed it up so neatly when getting the award saying, "This is the sixth occasion that our country has had an Aboriginal Australian of the year....." (Since 1964)
The decision to choose Kathy ahead of others, to me, is a blatant example of political correctness gone mad.
The imbalance in the selection process is best summed up by the manner in which Perth doctor Barry Marshall was totally overlooked. This historic email by the great doctor on Tue, 26 Mar 1996 05:13:53 GMT on "bicarbonate and duodenogastric reflux":
"Does bile come back into the stomach in ulcer patients, perhaps causing gas production? Good question! Yes it happens and lots of people have thought that bile reflux was the damaging factor which caused gastric ulcers. Bile reflux (HCO3) can probably cause CO2 gas. HP also destroys urea to release CO2. Finally, (I think it might be important) HP causes a very thick and firm mucosa (stomach lining) from inflammation. This cant relax as easily as normal so that increased internal CO2 production soon causes increased sensation of pressure due to decreased compliance. None of this is proven however. Anyway, I believe that the so called "stress" and "aerophagia" mentioned in text books is largely a myth."
Barry Marshall, now a clinical associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Virginia, won a major Clinical Research award for his discovery that peptic ulcers are caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori.
How did Marshall prove his theory? He deliberately swallowed a mixture which he knew would give him a severe peptic ulcer, and then applied the treatment he believed would cure his condition after it took hold.
He did this after no-one believed him or his theory. The result? Millions of peptic ulcer sufferers need suffer no more - but more ironic he lands up in the US because no one would support his research in Australia.
Can you imagine the outcry if Marshall had been Aboriginal and been overlooked as Australian of the year? Yet in this age of political correctness the courage and convictions of great Australians such as Marshall do not measure up.
Just how could Marshall's bravery and impact on medicine and the good of the human population be overshadowed by a young woman who runs extremely fast?
As I said before this grab-bag of concerns, amongst others, makes me wonder about the value of "Australia day".
Suharto and Sons (Indonesia) Incorporated.
Extract from the Washington Post:
"Since seizing power in the mid-1960s, Indonesian President Suharto has translated his absolute political power into a massive family fortune. The Suharto family is worth an estimated $16 billion according to Forbes magazine, and $35 billion according to one estimate attributed to the CIA. Suharto's desire to protect this empire while the economy melts down has dismayed international investors and confounded officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who see economic reform and the end of so-called "crony capitalism" as essential to Indonesia's recovery.
"The Suharto family wealth figured prominently in the conditions set by the IMF in its $43 billion bailout of the Indonesian economy. That agreement, which has so far failed to end investors' scepticism, included cutting off subsidies to a car company owned by one of his sons, dissolution of the clove monopoly owned by that son and cancellation of two power plant projects in which another son has a stake.
"Suharto watchers are sceptical. One of the power plant projects had been publicly cancelled last fall and then quietly resurrected a few months later. A Western economist with a regional brokerage told one wire service that Suharto may try to pacify international interests by agreeing to new terms -- but will then proceed at his own pace. He has already shocked the stock market -- causing the rupiah to drop to a record low of 16,500 per U.S. dollar (compared with 2,400 last year) by indicating that he will appoint technology minister B.J. Habibie as his running mate in March. This, after agreeing with the IMF, to scrap Habibie's $2 billion passenger jet project."
Hypocrites, bloody hypocrites!
So Queensland State Premier Rob Borbidge can follow his master Prime Minister John Howard in asserting that Aborigines are favoured and that the "pendulum needs to swing back" without being branded a racist by the News Limited media.
This was the statement that created the furore and landed Ms Hanson with the "racist" tag.
Today Borbidge has gone one step further by remarking that native title claims could be made over thousands of housing commission homes in the Charleville, Roma, Gladstone, Mt Morgan, Cloncurry, Rockhampton and Mt Isa areas.
The 2300 housing commission homes fall into areas currently under native title claim. Over 1,000 of these homes fall into the Rockhampton area alone. If the Aboriginal claimants are successful you will have the absolutely crazy scenario where they will be in a position to rent out the homes built for the poor in the area - keeping all rental money for themselves!
A new Aboriginal Australian flag?
As the "constitutional convention" approaches we have a new group called "Ausflag", headed by ex-Liberal premier Nick Greiner, pushing for a new Australian flag.
The 100 or so finalists for the "new flag" to replace the current Australian flag all appear to have been designed by Aborigines with Aboriginal symbols and colours dominating the examples displayed in today's Courier Mail.
Making the
news" -
Subject: Irresponsible Bank Manager fails to exercise common duty of care
Ian Wilkins is my name and this is my experience with the National Australia Bank.
I had been a customer with the National Bank for some 25 years and paid out my mortgage early but left the documentation in place for maybe future borrowings.
My Brother offered me an opportunity to invest some money for a short time with a good return, he explained he would arrange the mortgage details for me and all my wife and I had to do was to sign the document. he was with the National as well but at a different branch.
One would say you should be able to trust a member of the family and a Bank Manager , most definitely that is not the case on both counts.
It all seemed so simple , go to the Bank ,sign the document and the deal was done, it was that simple except the bastards lied to us. what we actually signed was a guarantee for my brothers business which was with all of his assets covered by a debenture and my brother was very definitely flat broke.
The things we found out later when we received a bill for about $750,000.00 and as time went by were as follows.
(1) It was not explained to us by the bank manager that it was a guarantee,(it was my fault for trusting people I should have been able to ), the split second we signed the document and before the ink was dry we had lost 25 years of work and every thing we owned, I was also made Bankrupt as a result.
(2) A clause had been inserted in the document as a warning to seek independent legal advise as to the honesty of the customer , (meaning my brother), this should have been shown to us and upon legal advise we should have signed same. It was not shown to us or was it explained we should seek legal advise.
(3)The Bank manager failed to show his duty of care to a customer of long standing and one who was always in the black as apposed to one who owed the bank hundreds of thousands of dollars.
(4) We later discovered and was told by one "Tony Forrest" NAB manager that the Manager Mike Berman had extended my brothers overdraught by $200,000.00 in excess of his asset base without required permission, it is no wonder he needed some more collateral into the account with the least possible fuss.
(5) The manager invested $10,000.00 in the scheme which turned out to be a scam anyway, (had we been advised as one would expect the most we would have lost was $110,000.00, we could have handled that.) the Bank manager was promised a return of 100%, in fact he was the only one to get his money back, my brother paid Mike Berman $11,000.00 so he made $1000,00.
(6) The manager, on the same day loaned a further $50,000.00 to my brother against a property title which was covered by a debenture by the owners of the house, you could he had a very special relationship with the manager .
(7)It certainly to pays not to trust any Bank Manager at any time especially those who work for the National Australia Bank.
(8) And of the scam,(Prime Bank Instrument Fraud) the perpetrators of the crime are either dead, in court or in jail, including the crooks from America.
A brief story about an investment that went horrible wrong,
regards Ian Wilkins.
p.s. documents exist to support every allegation.
To the editor,
Dear Sir,
The Constitutional Convention hasn't begun and already our candidates are debating the merits of a president elected by the people versus one chosen by two-thirds of Parliament or by an elected group of people.
Thank goodness we can rely on the sane views of Ted Mack and Bruce Ruxton (both committed adherents of Citizens' Initiated Referenda, CIR) to speak for the ordinary citizen. Although on opposite sides of the debate regarding the republic, each have the wishes of the people at heart. Did you know it is national policy of the RSL that they support the introduction of CIR?
Pat Sturge
Subject: Comments on Australian News of the Day
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
"The shining hope for a revolution in 'human consciousness' lies in the actions of everyday people"- Copernicus
The responsibility of the state of the nation lays firmly with you and me!
To exercise the true gift of democracy takes more than just turning up to vote every 4 years.
There is no cavalry waiting over the hill to save us all, and degeneration is the natural order of things.
The way of the future is for us all is to realise that we humans are all royalty and everyone is really a King/Queen!.
God bless them all for they know not what they do!
Independent Candidate for the Federal Seat of Blair?
mm!
Barry A Sampson Searle
Subject: Re: MAI and FSIA
Cheers Scott. Dunno about the rest of Oz, but the denizens of Carnarvon are more aware now than they were last year.
The post from Barry Searle, where he states the following: "This new independent citizenship initiative represents the only REAL third choice in Australian politics. It is defined by four key themes: reciprocal responsibility; catalytic government; civic culture; and civil society."; strikes a chord with me.
What is missing is the power to create a local money supply. The most important theme of all as, without that power, all the others count for nothing! And on that subject, the following website deserves a link. Ken Bohnsack has done the yakka:
Omega
Subject: re Australia Day
With Australia day upon us once more, it may be a good idea to just stop and think about what is happening all over our country today. Somewhere, a politically correct addition is being made to the ranks of those invested as "Australian of the year". A bunch of people, (the majority of whom can't speak, read or write English), will be given a tacky piece of paper that states they are Australian citizens
Where are the flag raisings, the street parades honouring our nation and our way of life, the marching bands, the streamers, the fireworks, the crowds singing Advance Australia Fair, the gatherings of citizens displaying national pride.
The biggest crowds on Australia day seem to be those people covered in war paint and feathers carrying boomerangs made in Taiwan and dressed in $200 Calvin Klien jeans protesting the invasion of their country. The rest of us? well, we're all at home doing the washing, yelling at the kids, or getting drunk in front of the Television.
Australia has everything that every other country on Earth lacks, except national pride. Pity really, but, she'll be right mate.
Jason
Subject: What a week !
Dear Sir,
What a big week for Australia !
Firstly the devastating news that Lord Jim Soorley won't be entering Federal Politics to run against Pauline Hanson. The priest appears to have nothing going for him other than his over-worked mouth.
Shattering news that residents of Highgate Hill are to be denied the opportunity to have Cheryl Kernot as a neighbour. Looking on the brighter side, that community's morality is no longer in danger of falling, following her decision to rent elsewhere.
While on the subject of the "Sleazy Labor Candidate for Dixon", it seems that Lady Cheryl is a master at dishing out criticism, but is seriously flawed when it comes to copping it. Righteous indignation springs to mind.
In other news, athlete Kathy Freeman who is best remembered for her un-Australian act of wrapping herself in a non-Australian flag after winning a race in which she was competing for Australia, was rewarded as the "Australian of the Year". Freeman was granted the award because she was the first aboriginal to win some medals for athletics. Meanwhile another young Australian girl, who was the FIRST HUMAN BEING EVER, regardless of skin colour, to swim from Cuba to the USA, seemingly wasn't worth the title.
Finally, "The Sorry Book" has commenced it's long journey around Australia. By signing this book, Australians will be offering their personal apology for the atrocities that they have committed against Aboriginals. As I have never committed an atrocity against any Aboriginal I won't be signing the book. However, every cloud has a silver lining. Future Australian Governments, in "The Sorry Book" will have a complete listing of guilt ridden people that will primed and ready for the plucking.
Allan W. Doak
Subject: National Sorry Day?
I'm getting sick and tired of these gullible morons who insist on bursting into tears over the "stolen generations" political progaganda.
It's the same bunch of do-gooders, social workers and church leaders who caused this problem in the first place, with their social engineering policies of the day.
If they want to fall over themselves to say sorry, that's fair enough, the social engineers are the ones who should be apologising.
The only mistake other people made was listening to these do-gooders. We shouldn't be making that mistake again now.
The trouble is, they continue to push their trendy new modern day social engineering policies, proving that they have learnt nothing.
This "stolen generations" propaganda is similar to the "black deaths in custody" inquisition. (Where it was found white deaths in custody occurred at the same rate) What proportion of white children were taken from parents who didn't look after them? And who is going to say sorry to them?
Now the politically correct have decreed that abused or maltreated children can only be taken from non Aboriginal parents.
The irony is that it is this same bunch of teary morons who are also trying to make us feel guilty about the current high rate of Aboriginal infant mortality.
Do you think they will ever make a connection?
Gweilo
Another beautiful day in paradise.
Have a good one.
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