The legacy of corruption still threatens the Obama dream

Corruption has always fascinated me, but then I grew up in Sydney with its unapologetic culture of corruption. My current community didn’t escape either, and research I’ve just been doing on some local figures is proving incredibly far-reaching.

I was chasing up the story on a guy I only ever knew through other people here, an exile mob lawyer Harry Wainwright. I still don’t know just where Harry was in the entourage of ‘Old blue eyes’ before the IRS swooped. I do know that he was responsible for an unannounced Sinatra after a tantrum on a Sydney tour.

These were the Vietnam War days and Harry was associated with the development of Sydney as an R&R centre for US troops. That involved the supply of drugs, sex, entertainment and all the other underworld treats.

Australia was also ripe to provide other services to our American friends, like a lush garden for marijuana supply and an ideal funnel for transacting the opiate trade from the ‘Golden Triangle’. Aussie authorities were more than happy to accommodate these services.

Harry was just one of the shadowy figures in this representing US interests. The Nugan Hand Bank has long been believed to be an enterprise of the CIA, co-sponsors of the Golden Triangle activities. Nugan Hand were the bag men, the money launderers.

Even back then there was talk about the connection to Air America, the CIA air arm in South East Asia. I am not given to simply swallowing conspiracy theories and have waited many years for the suppressed evidence to break. I know that sounds CT, but we are seeing and ignoring constant revelations.

The Obama factor

Maybe that should be the Bush/Cheney/Halliburton et al factor. Australia has already found that the cabal, whatever the current makeup, will destroy a government if need be. Obama’s problem is most of his team have never been on the pad, unlike many in Congress. There is a high level of admittedly pragmatic idealism.

To the power hungry freaks who have bought the world to this current situation there is no acceptable qualification for idealism. Wanting a fair and equitable society is way beyond simple idealism, but the greedy bastards will not simply surrender.

None of our cherished policy aspirations are worth squat unless this new dream becomes a solid reality.

Volunteering to build a new world

“When I go home tonight and I look into the mirror, I’m not going to regret what I see,” Bush to his Texas home crowd NYT

If George W needed to make that statement I expect he really does have some issues to deal with. I doubt many believe Obama was out of line drawing a firm line under the Bush years. In fact he was really drawing the line under the results of 30 years of dubious policy.

I have asserted before that the socio/economic rot began under Reagan, George W merely took the policy direction to its logical conclusion – at least as far as that was acceptable. Enough of the past – it’s time to use the bounce to create a more just, more equitable planet. Time to really get down to work.

One of the most encouraging aspects of Obama is his example of volunteerism. Now when it is about ME it must become; ‘what can I do for MY world?’ Sometimes that will mean getting stuck in without any expectation of material reward. The rewards will come in many other ways.

Papua Merdeka - Free West Papua

The jailing five Australians “for illegally entering Indonesia's Papua province” shines an unwanted spotlight on this forgotten corner of the world.

The group were accused of entering Indonesia illegally, after they travelled to Papua on a small plane from Horn Island, off the tip of Queensland's Cape York on September 12. The Australians have described it as a sightseeing flight and mistakenly believed they could get visas on arrival in Papua. SMH

Granted independence by the Dutch an elected Papuan council took office on 5 April 1961. The Council decided on the name of West Papua, a national emblem, a flag called the Morning Star or Bintang Kejora.

However, Indonesia threatened with an invasion, and with the help of the Soviet Union, the compliance of Australia, the US and the Netherlands, took control of the territory in May 1963. So much for the will of the people and the defence of their sovereignty.

Indonesians live in fear of West Papua freedom building the same sort of Australian and international support as their former colony of Timor Leste (East Timor). It seems the Australia government share that concern. I think it is time we made those concerns real by showing support and spreading the story.

The Free Papua Movement (Indonesian: Organisasi Papua Merdeka, abbreviated OPM) is a separatist organization established in 1965 which seeks independence for Western New Guinea from Indonesia. Some links for further details:

For a Free and Independent West Papua

Free West Papua Organisations and Offices

Unbelievable diversity

The people of New Guinea, Melanesians, are racially and culturally separated from the Indonesian archipelago by some 40,000 years. A racial classification is thought to be inaccurate because it ignores the broad cultural, linguistic, social and genetic diversity in the area. Some argue that there is no one "Melanesian culture" or way of life.

New Guinea is perhaps the most linguistically diverse region in the world. Besides the Austronesian languages, there are some 800 languages divided into perhaps sixty small language families, with unclear relationships to each other or to anything else, plus a large number of language isolates.

That is just the people, with about 786,000 km² of tropical land, less than one-half of one percent (0.5%) of the earth's surface, New Guinea has an immense ecological value in terms of biodiversity, with between 5 to 10% of the total species on the planet.

There are probably well over 200,000 species of insect, between 11,000 to 20,000 plant species; over 650 resident bird species, over 400 amphibians; 455 butterfly species, 284 species and six orders of mammals. The island's frogs are one of the most poorly known vertebrate groups, currently totalling 282 species, but this number is expected to double or even triple when all species have been documented.

Then of course there is gold, copper ore, crude oil, natural gas, timber, fish, oil palm, tea, rubber, logs; all of those choice goodies which ensure we wealthy nations will continue to support the subjugation of the Melanesians on economic grounds.

Time to rattle the cage

Given the outcome Timor Leste (East Timor) who achieved a bloody independence in 2000, the Indonesian have every reason to fear a gathering of support for Papua Merdeka. On the other hand Papuans have every right to stand alone, and not be subject to the brutal rule of Indonesia.

Journalists are banned from entering West Papua and tourists severely discouraged; a tight lid is kept in a largely successful attempt to prevent the true story of the province leaking out. This control is apparently supported by Australian and neighbouring PNG governments. The stories that do emerge are from radical sources and quickly buries.

The potential this time is to highlight the fate of five naive travelers who assumed it was fine to stop in Wet Papua on a small aircraft jaunt. That news story was quickly buried, but is potentially the catalyst for wider awareness of Indonesia’s atrocities in the province.

I do ask each of you to take a bit of time to look further into this situation, then act in the way you see most effective. To me simply spreading the word, telling and increasing circle of people, is a good start.

Not Black and white

In the lead up to the November election it was made clear, even by McCain’s campaign, that a Republican loss would devastate the party. The loss of a majority in the Senate has increased the electoral destruction with a number of incumbents willing to serve without the perks of power.

McCain failed to develop any continuing direction for the party, preferring his shoot from the hip approach. Now many remaining Republicans insist the party must cleanse itself, must champion a strong Christian America with an open economy and closed borders. Voters would flock to a party of such uncompromising principle, they argue. G&M

As it stands the party is now shunned by every part of the electorate that is growing - the young, Latinos, blacks, city dwellers, people in the New South. They obviously have no idea of what America wants:

“But we've tried moderation, say the talk-show hosts and the preachers and the guys at the institutes. We've kowtowed to the ethnics, and toned down on abortion, and supported deficits. Look where it got us.” G&M

One of the candidates for RNC leadership, Tennessee party chair Chip Saltsman, circulated a CD to committee members that contained "Barack the Magic Negro," a parody of a Peter, Paul and Mary song that only those with longer teeth even remember. I suspect if they continue down that path they might experience first hand the hardships of being an identifiable and unwanted minority.

Opposition within

It often happens that a formerly strong leadership collapses in the face of change. The danger is that regardless of how good the replacement they require a vocal opposition. All too often that opposition can only come from within, treading a fine line between support and attack.

According to key members of the Obama team there will be ample opportunity for voices beyond the lobbyists to be heard. That’s fine for the president, but he can’t really speak for those in congress. Perhaps the first push from supporters should be to convince their own reps and senators to forego lobbyist offering in favour of constituent preferences.

The hardest part is balance, there are so many issues we all want dealt with, and each one seems urgent. New governments rarely have the privilege of solving issues quickly and the focus will be very much on domestic economics, thanks to the Bush regime. Certainly moves will be signaled quickly, like closing Guantanamo Bay, but the reality is much more drawn out.

Since I was a neophyte political activist in my teens I’ve detested the concept of gradualism, but it is a sad reality of public affairs. It does not suggest we shouldn’t be

The lazy mans C-Span

Thanks to D.K. (the lazy man’s C-Span) - Medal of Freedom, or THE STING ... you decide – I didn’t need to resort to the TV. A great description of a ceremony which would have made me puke.

(Image - I thought they said moth...)

There has always been mumblings downunder about the unhealthy relationship between Bush and Howard. In fact we are now wondering if Bush isn’t taking this further with Howard – to a penchant for necrophilia.

We do know this was the expected abusive relationship, though outwardly to the world rather than to each other. My take is that the freedoms this mob really refer to are freedom to:

• Abuse the rights and freedoms of their own citizens
• To put the interests of their own chosen ‘friends’ ahead of everyone else
• To abuse the rights and freedoms of numerous foreign populations
• To attempt the theft of natural wealth for their own benefit
• To excite acts of terrorism to justify the above

History will paint the past decade or so as the most politically corrupt in modern history, the spread of Stalinism throughout the west. But there have been bright points too, as the world tried to shake of this horror. My nominations for MoF would be:

• The ill-fated but determined Romano Prodi of Italy, who at least modified the Berlusconi part in the horror
• The Prime Minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Sure he looks as ineffectual as Mr Bean, but is ever-present in finding real International solutions
• The hardest – Nicholas Sarkosy of France. I was determined to dislike this alleged right wing leader, but find my admiration growing daily.

Religions or belief systems?

It would be a strange world indeed if ideas of religion did not occasionally tease even the most cynical mind. I was prompted here by a couple of things; first a recent blog Perhaps I’ll Give Buddhism a Try , second was a book passed on to me, because I am a prodigious reader, What the Great Religions Believe – Joseph Gaer; which I find out is now a rare book.

On reading the volume I’m impressed with Gaer’s integrity – rarely is he able to tell readers what the great religions think, but the book remains a fascinating source of discovery and reminder. The reality is that acceptance of a religious system requires a massive suspension of disbelief; but equally most systems contain an essence of desirable instruction.

For me the major reminder was a vague interest in Zoroastorism, arguably the oldest written religious code and forerunner to much of the Judaic/Christian/Islamic teachings. Pre-dating Zarathustra were the Magi, but Zoroastorism is considered the oldest written religious code.

I’ve read arguments that Zarathustra was opposed to locking his code into written text, but obviously I’ve never found the source of such claims as these texts were not recorded for several centuries after his death. Like Christian texts these refer retrospectively to events for religio/political reasons, without support.

Nothing new under the sun

Zarathustra posited a dual, as opposed to one god concept. In fact those religions following accepted the same good (Ahura Mazda) Vs evil (Angra Manyu) godheads, downplaying the evil, though not as dual gods. I guess that is simply a matter of degrees; personally I take a Jungian view of god, but would essentially credit the converse with an equal authority.

Again personally, I’m inclined to the idea that a personification of god or gods is a nonsense. It is not the personification, but the moral code that is central to societies well being. In this the Humata, Hukhta, Huvarshta of Zoroastorism seems to ring true as a basic code of conduct through the various regions, albeit conduct rarely met: Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds.

The whole religion argument distracts, or worse fortifies, a tendency to justify unacceptable behaviour. I’m not religious, but only because I reject the distractions and negatives of structured religions.

Stripped of excuses we should only be weighing up the real value of our actions. If we choose as individuals to adopt the negative then so be it, and must also choose to accept the personal consequences of our actions. Negativism strips what might be called our souls, it strips our lives regardless.

All of the major religions embody elements of essential goodness, even when the practice drifts away from core beliefs. The trouble is structures assume an element of power, regardless of basic belief; the human element if you like.

I failed within the church because I could not condone the negative and destructive aspects, like the power motive. There is something about the ancient Humata, Hukhta, Huvarshta of Zarathustra that still speaks volumes. Perhaps it s time to return to those basics.

Strange notions of democracy

It was once said that communism might be a great system, if anyone actually tried it; the same can be said for democracy. Given the plethora of practical examples few democracies adopt anything close to the ideal. Recent news, particularly from North America, has highlighted one major shortcoming – senates.

A few years back I was commissioned to prepare a briefing paper arguing for the abolition of one of Australia’s Two things struck me from that exercise; (1) you can present an equally compelling argue for both abolition and retention of upper houses (senates), (2) upper houses (senates) were never predicated on democracy, rather they were designed to keep the rabble in check.

- The Australian Senate

- Canada’s Senate

- US Senate

From that tradition, the British administrators paying lip service to democratic principles in Australia, the upper house was to ensure protection for the colonial masters. The Australian Senate was an extension of that concept, intended to ensure each colony had an equal voice in the federation to protect their interests.

Constitutionally, like the US, senators should be answerable to their relevant state legislatures. As the ‘states house’ there could be some justification for the undemocratic makeup of the Senate. For example the half million Tasmanians have the same 12 member allocation as the more populous states.

That argument does not translate to a senate which has morphed into a full on party house. Aussie Senators now represent their sponsoring parties rather than their state, and are chosen by their party and presented to the voters as a fait accompli. As one former Prime Minister put it, none to subtly; “unrepresentative swill.”

Canada

It was the Canadians started my mind on this track. A number of recent commentators from that delightful country have been foaming over the Liberal Party appointment of their new party leader, Michael Ignatieff, as undemocratic. No foaming over PM Harper recently appointing 18 senators; a real breach of democratic principles by any standards.

Still, Canada’s Senate has never pretended to be a democratic forum. Apart from being appointed the representation is massively uneven across the country. The relatively tiny eastern provinces each outnumber the larger western provinces in the Senate, essentially because they were there first.

PM Harper made these appointments to save his political ass, despite being a noisy advocate of Senate reform while in opposition. Of course, breaches of democracy can always be justified:

“… it's a chicken-or-the-egg kind of problem. You can't change the rules for Parliament's upper chamber until you control it. And you can't control it unless you appoint senators.”

Quite frankly, Mr Harper would have scored more points by putting the argument for Senate reform to the people, leading to a referendum. The fact that politicians have control over rewriting the constitution, feathering their own nests, without recourse to the people is obscene.

USA

Currently regarded the house of millionaires, the US Senate is quickly heading to billions… Obviously a seat in the Senate costs dearly, and usually in money terms. I guess that is consistent with the haves protecting their stash against the rest of us. If money is the only path to the Senate then we have an immediate issue with democracy.

But again, appointments become a secondary problem. Well, in the US each state has its own rules for what has become another party house. The lucky ones, or those able to escape scrutiny, can ensure the big money entry into the Senate. It’s doubtful, without scrutiny, an appointment would be made for any regard for those represented.

The US delivers many challenges to ideas of true democracy, and partly because of the massive state by state disparities in regulations. Surely an even and fair system holds the same rules across any one jurisdiction. In this sense I mean state voters might have their own consistent state rules, but federal voters should have the same, across the federation.

Compare current US electoral laws with major sports. If teams in the NFL or any other of those acronyms had to remember different rules when they played in other states the teams and the fans would soon start to lose interest in the complexity. Federal voters should be confident that every other American voter has exactly the same value. They don’t!

Dream on

In many ways, as flawed as it is, I still see Australia as the leading model of democracy. Still, I don’t accept that it begins to approach an acceptable level of true democracy. Canada has the best electoral laws I’ve experienced (the Senate is not elected) but is still a mess of special interests. The US I’m told has some perfect examples of true democracy – at the bottom of the pyramid, the concept fades as real power takes its grip.

While money, power and self interest hold sway we can’t have any great expectation of our political masters willingly adopting democratic concepts. More so when most voters really don’t care. I guess they’ll just keep screwing us and using the word democracy to justify themselves.

What am I doing here? A meme

I love the blogosphere, an anarchic wherein we have no real idea who is watching, or why. Then out of the mix come the most frightening changes, like the tag from No Blood for Hubris. It’s scary enough to be challenged by a Humorless lipstick feminist. Clintonista, doubly so when the challenge is to list – chronologically, my work history.

Having been involved in politics, one way and another, most f my life I just know there are things you never make public. On the other hand, I’ll never achieve a White House job so what the hell! So here we have, following the lead of my sponsor, two annotated lists – paid and unpaid endeavours.

Paid (often a laughable assertion…)

Newspaper boy (I was a boy)

Golf caddy and tennis ball boy (still a boy and never did develop anything more than a pecuniary interest in the sports)

Floor sweeper/packer in softgoods warehouse (they didn’t have software back then, this stuff was like furnishings and manchester)

Cashier, lay-by clerk, curtain hanger, blind fitter (the retail side of the former job)

Into the motor trade (the great leap into bloke stuff!):

- Counter clerk and storeman handling auto tools

- Dispatch manager – auto parts

Office cleaner (in and around other things)

Cutting loose (following the lure of the swinging 60s. All self employment efforts of varying success, often overlapping)

Established temp agency for band personnel (great idea if you can handle 1000 or so drummers on the books)

Rock band management and promotion

Concert light show operator

Venue promotion and management (proudest achievement was not rebooking The Brothers Gibb – later to become The Bee Gees)

Occasional rock media writer

Heading South (Relocated to Tasmania, to help maintain a static population of fewer than half a million people)

The motor trade (delivering spare parts)

Office cleaning (learning the joys of Tasmania’s heritage buildings)

Timber (lumber) sales

State marketing and sales rep – lumber and plywood (including saving Tasmanian forests by importing North American lumber)

Manager of project to rescue precious Tassie woods (from being bulldozed and burned)

Local reporter for regional newspaper (first foray into paid journalism)

State manager, industrial equipment sales

Sales and marketing – specialized construction and furniture products

Sales and marketing – Industrial safety equipment

Freelance writer (producing feature articles for a national market)

Established media consultancy – KISSMEDIA (as in keep it simple…)

Projects varied and included copy provision, contract reporting, advertorial (including real estate and aged care), small scale publishing, contract typesetting, editing and proofing, providing summaries of new legislation from various states and anything else available.

Manager of café in Sydney’s bohemian district (survived famed dykes on bikes)

Barrista, dishwasher (best place to manage an eatery), cleaner (someone had to do it)

Still freelance, mainly issues research, not for profit project development and media design.

Extra- curricular - More problematic, less linear than the paid mess of pottage so I’ll try with categories:

Politics:

Formerly began political activity at age 15 as a campaign foot-soldier.

Active in the Australian Liberal Party, holding various branch and state positions, until their serious drift to the right

Was founding member and office holder of Tasmanian branch of Australian Democrats and federal candidate.

Campaign manage five times, including one in Canada (Canadian Liberal Party)

Involved in policy research and development, prep of wide range of print media, including newsletters and media statements

Tend now to support individual candidates rather than party structures, and focus on issues identification and relevant policy statements.

Community

All things pass, including involvement in community/social groups and the specific beliefs/interest that spurs the involvement. Perhaps the only consistent activities have revolved around writing and politics. Specifics:

Marrickville Boys Club – team leader, gym instructor, management committee member.

Rotaract, branch and district newsletter publisher.

Jobless Youth project – management committee

Anglican Church – various roles from verger to lay preacher with responsibility for a parish for a time

Circular Head Arts Festival – committee member

Australian-Italian social club director, barman, barrista

Inaugural committee of Launceston Festivale

Director – Newtown (Sydney) Traders Union (on Australia’s last great ‘High Street’ this was an alternative to the Chamber of Commerce

Port Macquarie Band - fund raiser

Port Macquarie Neighbourhood Centre – media prep

Ok, there are bits missing all over the place; life gets too complex for lists. But there is my attempt. For more entertaining versions try:

And Now for Something Completely Different: Department of Been There Done That

the rev. paperboy Been there, done that

Meanwhile, from curiosity spurred by a permaculture connection, I’m tagging Austin Permie

The shrinking newspaper industry – the dark ages

There is, to some of us, something sensual about the feel and smell of a fresh newspaper; the printery can be every bit as evocative as the bakery. Even transferred to the web a quality newspaper can still be evocative, but shifting with technology isn’t stemming a flowing tide and demise of quality journalism.

While media groups are searching for the silver bullet, the Knut to stem a determined flow, they invariably choose the wrong approach. Cost cutting, cosmetic make-overs, telemarketing and discounting are not cutting the mustard.

Increasingly former competitors are now pooling stories, increasingly local papers are buying in outside news to keep the dwindling ads apart. This is where the relevance content begins – content must be relevant to readers to hold interest. Sounds DOH!, but newspaper accountants don’t understand the concept.

My first editors/chief of staff’s insisted on two things – local names, and pics local of locals. Okay, that was regional, but even the metros and nationals need a nod to broad local to hold reader interest. That is why we are assured there was one of our nationals on board a plane wreck in Bulgaria.

I regularly take one of two hard copy newspapers, the Sydney Morning Herald or the Australian; both broadsheets and only one owned by Murdoch. I guess they represent the serious right and soft left Aussie print. I only ever take Saturday papers because I can find all the news I need online; it’s the analysis I’m looking for.

I’m not concerned with pop culture, yet I’m with those who are. As newspapers seek to reduce costs they are making an unforgivable mistake: The shades of opinion are being buried, the relevance to individual readers is being rejected. Regardless of core interests, readers are still looking for either affirmation of information. ‘Newspaper lite’ doesn’t meet reader expectation or needs.

Now I don’t deny my concern with the shrinking news media holds an extra dimension for a professional writer. As much as I love the tech revolution, everyone is a writer and skill or discipline become lost in the quest for the dollar. No tears for we old journos, but lots of tears for quality reporting and commentary.

Fortunately history teaches us that ‘everything old is new again’; all this will pass and the desire for the broad spread of news will return. For now though it does feel like the dark ages of real reporting, as my old editors would have it.

Staring down tough economic times, getting with the strengths

When the going gets tough it is probably time to play the strengths, or so Prime Minister Rudd seems to believe. The ‘service economy’ approach was a key factor of neo-liberal economics, with participating economies dumping manufacturing and agriculture in favour of intangibles.

The downside of this approach has been the lack of originality in favour of a follow the leader approach. At best it simply changed international competition from tangible to non-tangible products. At worst the ‘Simon says’ approach led economies lemming-like to global financial disaster.

= Disaster training and research
= Housing former Guantanamo Bay inmates
= Contracting military training

Recognizing competitive advantages and breaking from the pack should be a core marketing perquisite, though it rarely is. Rudd is adopting the approach and has already signaled the first two initiatives on the list. The third I propose as a logical extension of playing Australia’s strengths.

Disaster training and research

“Australia's neighbours in the Asia-Pacific region face an era of "mega-disasters" affecting hundreds of thousands of people as urbanisation, climate change and food shortages amplify the impact of natural catastrophes such as earthquakes and cyclones in coming years…” Disasters warning for Asia-Pacific

Maybe it is the harsh environment in Australia, but the country’s emergency response ability is almost legendary, and largely based on the enthusiasm of volunteers. There is a major market for these skills, right on our doorstep. We are generally first in, in this region, but getting in first as a service provider is a brilliant concept.

Housing former Guantanamo Bay inmates

"Australia, along with a number of other countries, has been approached to consider resettling detainees from Guantanamo Bay," the Prime Minister's spokesman said. Kevin Rudd may take Gitmo inmates

Okay, it sounds like buying trouble, but that is assuming a lot without seeing the detail. "Any determination for an individual to come to Australia would be made on a case-by-case basis. All persons accepted to come to Australia would have to meet Australia's strict legal requirements and go through the normal and extremely rigorous assessment processes."

Is the aim to allow residency to rebuild lives or just stick them in local prisons? About 60 detainees have been cleared for release by US authorities but are unable to return to their homelands because they fear retribution. I’ve already reflected on Australia’s ability to absorb a diversity of cultures (The compleat hedonist or Xmas was a cracker ) and can actually see this plan working – with the US footing the bill of course.

Contracting military training

"… you get better soldiers if you spend more time on education and less on training," he says. "Training is characterised by what to think. Education is characterised by how to think." Brigadier General John Caligari – Australian Army

I had problems with this as a non-militarist, but the realist part of me won out. The relatively small size of the Australian standing military is more than offset by the notable efficiency of our troops. Partly that is due to the training regime and partly the underlying national character.

To my way of thinking Rudd should be on the phone to Obama the day after inauguration, selling the new president on an Aussie based training regime for the US military. The US will always want to be front line, but events are showing us they could perform a hell of a lot better.

Australia offers an incredible range of training terrain and environments as well as a proven approach. I suspect we lose more diggers when our SAS are unengaged than on any battlefield; but SAS are the small but vital aggressive portion of our military, and being idle does not suit them well.

The bottom line is that there are things Aussies do remarkably well, and these should be our international marketing focus. Each of these three concepts actually offers the prospect of greater peace and security on a troubled planet as well an economic boost in troubled times.

Dishonesty is still the hallmark of neo-conservatives

Most assuredly one would not seek out commentary from the economic right, the likes of Human Events.com (Headquarters of the Conservative Underground…), still these commentators tend to popup from time to time. Unfortunately the only thing they add to economic debate is transparent dishonesty.

“Only a couple of weeks ago, Canada’s Conservative government was headed for defeat because of its steadfast opposition to rewarding epic failures with cash prizes -- more commonly known as “bailouts”.

“Harper’s opposition to bailouts has been the message all along, until this recent wavering. Canadian banks were made to do without -- and rightfully so.” Rachel Marsden

First up, what the Harper government did offer, as did Aussie PM Rudd, were lending insurance backstops. "Our actions will help Canadian financial institutions secure access to longer-term funds so that they can continue lending to consumers, homebuyers and businesses in Canada," says Canada’s finance minister.

The BIG LIE from commentators of the ilk of Ms Marsden is that the leaders they tend to support, Bush, Harper and the former Aussie PM Howard, have proven consistent supporters pf corporate welfare; while happily leaving the rest of the community out to dry.

In the lead up to his PM bid Stephen Harper vowed that a Conservative government would "get out of the grants and subsidies game." But once he became Prime Minister, he started handing out money - to Pratt & Whitney, Alcan, Bombardier, Research in Motion, Hyundai, General Motors, Ford and Magna. and other industrial giants.

In 2007 his government provided a $900-million aid package for Canada's aerospace industry, with most of the money going to businesses in the politically key province of Quebec. Like the bush subsidies these were part of the cost of corporate electoral support – a cost worn by everyone.

Oddly I’m at one with Ms Marsden’s central premise, the inappropriateness of the auto bailout, particularly in the absence of any real recovery plan. What I object to is the tendency to target blame away from all the pointer arrows. The reality is that our societies, our economies, will always have a socialist element. What matters after that is the social balance.

Hold the line, Sol is here

Sol Trujillo was appointed Telstra's CEO on July 1, 2005 after stints like President, chairman and CEO of U S WEST Communications, Inc. Telstra was the publicly owned phone company in Australia, until it was sold off by John Howard as another asset plunder.

Telstra and its previous incarnations, including the Post Master General’s Department, have owned the copper wire infrastructure in Australia, so have always had a massive competitive advantage.

As we try to develop a 21^st century broadband network in Australia Telstra and Trujillo are still trying to leverage that advantage; particularly the cost savings of a central fibre-optic network which relies on “last mile copper connection” to deliver internet services to homes and businesses.

“Telstra's exclusion from the competitive process established by the Federal Government to build a national broadband network is another example of how Sol Trujillo and his team have consistently misread two governments.” SMH

Sol has consistently tried to stare down governments and parliament on a range of communications issues; he has consistently lost. But hang on, now his supporters are accusing anyone who critisises him of xenophobia. You see, poor Sol is a bloody American.

Personally I don’t give a damn where he comes from, I’m only concerned about his performance. In fact I doubt any of my regular readers would accuse me of any particular anti-American sentiments. But when we face a barrier like this to a broadband network:

“Telstra is not contemplating legally challenging its exclusion yet, but if and when a broadband roll-out by one of the three other groups bidding for the job gets the nod, it will probably go to court.
… Telstra can argue that its existing copper network should not be piggybacked by the new fibre (as all projects will), and that it should not be prevented from building an alternative network.”

Along with many others I objected to the sale of Telstra, and more particularly of the infrastructure. The privatized unit has not served us well and obviously intends to continue with that record of performance.

I’d just like to say I don’t look at nationalities when I critisise performance; I don’t care about antecedents when I say “ah sol…” Enough of the bullshit, let’s have some sensible resolution to the development of communication needs.

Bush Prepares Crisis Briefings to Aid Obama

Bush Prepares Crisis Briefings to Aid Obama

We know “a catastrophic attack could occur with little or no notice”, but can Obama duck flying shoes as nimbly as Dublya?

Ok, so George sort of screwed things up a bit, generated a few enemies. But if he’d just get off the stage now the world might start to return to normal insanity.

I wonder in Vlad Putin can slam a shoes as well as Nikita did?

Treat the children well

Australia, Canada and Ireland have been lashed in a UNICEF report, The Child Care Transition. Using 10 benchmarks, including the amount of GDP spent on early childhood services, the availability of paid parental leave and the subsidies provided for childcare and education, the report ranks Mexico, Slovenia and Portugal higher than the three welfare economies.

Britain didn’t fare well either, but is so far the only country making a song and dance: British Children's Minister, Beverley Hughes, has written an official letter of complaint to UNICEF describing the report as poor with many inaccuracies, saying it has misrepresented the British position and querying whether it has also misrepresented the situation of some of the other 24 countries covered.

Canada’s leaders are too busy playing politics to notice and Australia’s leadership can conveniently blame a decade of John Howard. Australia meets just two benchmarks, accreditation for early learning staff and the provision of subsidised childcare services for at least 25 per cent of children under three.

Oh, and the USA just pipped Australia on the list. The report can be downloaded here: UNICEF

Reflection

Having experienced my early years in a society still scarred by the terrors of war I couldn’t help but reflect how far mores have shifted over half a century. I still regard myself fortunate that my first ten years were spent within commuting distance of Sydney yet in splendid isolation on the banks of the Port Hacking River.

The hamlet of my childhood probably numbered fewer than fifty souls to start with, rising to several hundred in the end. The community was stretched along several miles of road with a glorious, sandy river on one side and an untouched portion of national park on the other.

Our shack was hardly spacious, but seemed to accommodate seven of us with little real trouble. The fact is, at least me and my brothers were more drawn to the outdoors attractions, swimming, fishing, exploring, climbing rocks and trees, all that boy stuff. If pater familias was on the violent side we were in pig heaven outside.

A one room primary school was another delight. By the time I reached grade 3 an infants teacher was added, but I missed the plastercine and building blocks, instead absorbing an early introduction to the full primary school scope. I can still recall the sense of wonder and excitement during that accelerated learning time.

It was a wondrous period in my life, though as the picture shows on inspection, not short on domestic violence. I find that horrifying now, but it was simply the way it was back then. I have alluded to the horrors of war and recall the often whispered justifications. UNICEF certainly would not have been amused.

The picture, on close inspection [a sorta bigger image], shows the ravages of domestic violence. Not on me I should add. I’m the cheeky coot holding the flag at the local boys club (third from the right) , from which my father had banned me because he believed it was a communist plot. Fortunately others in the community were encouraging and I don’t recall any fallout from my entry into the world of gymnastics.

It wasn’t until we moved from that hamlet to the inner city I realised, or was made to realise, I had been living in a world of poverty. We had no power to out home, no running water and our bath in the yard was filled from pots and buckets from a wood stove. Even worse was my clothes suddenly had buttons, my shoes laces.

I guess the point is, everything is relative. In those early years, brutal at times, I enjoyed privileges few others can even contemplate. The gymnastics stayed with me for many years, but also a love of poetry and literature absorbed from that one teacher trying to infuse education into a full primary age range in one hit. I expect he overshot the mark and I than him still.

When I did move to a big city school my deficits weren’t education, they were dirty fingernails, untidy dressing and not having a handkerchief. Unlike the city kids I could swim before I could walk and would still prefer to walk rather than ride.

My childhood would no doubt be regarded as underprivileged by some, including UNICEF. Somehow I think the problem is more related to artificial social standards than a real recognition of issues of childhood development.

A week is a long time in politics

Canada's Liberal Party has a new leader following the last week’s abortive coalition attempt by Stephan Dion. Michael Ignatieff has been anointed, following the withdrawal of his main opponent Bob Rae. The party is now furiously searching for a mechanism to legitamise the arrangement.

This time last week the minority Harper government was facing down a non-confidence challenge in parliament and replacement by a coalition of opposition parties. The weak link was the patchy performance of Dion, undermining any real confidence in the effort.

According to reports Ignatieff is not in favour of the coalition concept, though there has been no reference to his possible stand on a non-confidence vote when parliament resumes in late January. Despite convincing the Governor General to prorogue parliament before an early vote could be taken Harper the underlying issues are still to be addressed.

Stimulus

Last week’s crisis began when the Harper government elected to attack the opposition parties, rather than the looming economic crisis, in budget proposals it was putting forward. One of the trigger issues was a move to cut the public funding of election campaigns. Cute, and potentially crippling to other parties, but a sad commentary on the need to circumvent electoral corruption.

But wider than that was the lack of any real stimulus, with proposals that sought dubious spending cuts instead. Now, given seven weeks to come up with an acceptable plan Harper is under pressure to come up with some direction – and failing.

First of all, I think the move by the Bank of Canada [cutting rates] is very significant, and the monetary policy stimulus, the economic stimulus they'll get out of today's announcement, is significant.”

"But no, our assessment is we're going to need additional fiscal policy action....” Harper Dec 9 2008

It is hard to imagine the author of that statement holding a degree in economics, a ‘do nothing’ approach is hardly what the country needs right now. Still, he welcomed the elevation of Ignatieff to Liberal leadership, offering that he will meet with him and put forward economic stimulus proposals for the government to consider.

Diane Francis of the Financial Post had no problem coming up with a few key economic directions. Current Liberal finance critic Scott Brison cited Statistics Canada's report that almost 71,000 Canadians lost jobs in November, the largest single-month drop in 26 years. He might also consider the relatively low wage structures of remaining jobs.

Fresh elections?

Unless Harper seriously turns his mind to matters economic his government will still face the wrath of parliament early in the new year. Coalition or not, if Harper is dumped a fresh election will follow, probably in early spring. This gives Ignatieff’s team a double job over the break.

First is to formulate a strong economic statement, behind the scenes, ready to deliver when the crunch comes. One reason I would be opposed to feeding a program to Harper is the tendency want to piss in the corner and skew any effective plan out of recognition. When Ignatieff moves it must be with a strong base.

The second thing I would do, given that most of the developed world are going to have a miserable Xmas, is to keep reminding the country of just where Harper’s government has put them. To be sure, it is a global problem, but Harper has shown no great gift for resolving Canada’s stresses.

A week is a long time in politics, seven weeks is an eternity! The Liberals have an enviable economic record and now need to use every moment of this time to position themselves for government.

Politicians, Moody’s – Standard & Poors

“These errors make us look either incompetent at credit analysis or like we sold our soul to the devil for revenue, or a little bit of both.” A Moody’s managing director [Debt Watchdogs: Tamed or Caught Napping?]

There is no real reason most of us would ever know of the existence of the various international credit rating organisations like Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poors or Fitch Ratings. They deal with big money, in $billions, but they impact on our lives just the same.

Where they serve us little guys is by keeping a reign on the big guys, or that’s the theory until the reality began to unravel. Now these agencies stand accused of being substantially responsible for the subprime collapse.

The way it worked was that subprime mortgages were bundled up with other forms of debt into what are elegantly known as CDOs (collateralised debt obligations), each worth maybe hundreds of millions of dollars and paying an attractive rate of interest.

New South Wales

Back in September the Premier of NSW resigned, as did his treasurer Michael Costa. Both had been involved in a drawn out effort to sell off public assets, so desperate that towards the end they were using threats of credit downgrades by these ratings agencies.

There are now doubts that those threats held any substance, but veracity rarely matters when really big sticks are waved around. Regardless, there was no great enthusiasm for selling off our energy infrastructure, just as there is no enthusiasm outside the government to now sell other assets.

Like the ratings company executives our politicians must be seen as being vulnerable to greed. So what is to be achieved by selling assets? From past experience, at the very least well paid consultancies, if not even more valuable appointments.

So where does NSW stand on credit?

NSW has a debt-to-revenue ratio of less than 40 per cent. In comparison, the Germany state of Baden-Wurttemberg, also rated AAA, has a ratio higher than 150 per cent. The state’s finance are in a much better position than, for example, some Canadian provinces or many European regional governments.

Our real problems must sheet back to poor administration and a weak opposition, they all seem like second rate amateurs. Prior to last financial year, NSW households had long enjoyed the highest level of disposable income in the country, with the exception of the ACT. Someone recently suggested that the federal government appoint an administrator for this sick state, and I agree whole-heartedly.

Peace and Goodwill? Not in our parliaments

A government has opted to run and hide over the Christmas season, rather than face a hostile parliament. An opposition ends the year in disarray, its leadership failing to hold the respect of its own or of the government. A parliament seemingly peopled by members prone to verbal, physical and sexual abuse – across party lines.

Three parliaments in two countries, ensuring goodwill is not part of the Christmas spirit:

Canada

With barely a 38% of the national vote PM Harper chose to bulldoze his way through a hostile parliament this week. Challenged with a potential loss of power, via a non-confidence vote of parliament, Harper sought the option of proroguing parliament until early next year.

With due respect to the Canadian Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, who approved the move, I personally find the precedent disturbing. The first point I take issue with is usurping of the will of the parliament by this dubious manoeuvre. The second point is that in the cloudy arena a Westminster tradition the Canadian decision creates a worrying precedent across Commonwealth parliamentary systems. Peace, order and good government

Fortunately constitutional crisis across the Commonwealth are few and far between, which makes their mode of resolution particularly vital well beyond the jurisdiction where the decision is made.

To my mind, in a parliamentary democracy, the will of the majority of elected members is paramount. Harper should have been required face the house and let the votes fall as they will. Instead there will now be seven weeks of speculation, intrigue and jockeying, wasting valuable time and energy needed to address growing economic concerns.

Australia – federal

The Aussie federal opposition is now under the control of would be strong many, Malcolm Turnbull. This former merchant banker might be well versed in running a business enterprise, but seems inadequate to the task of managing a political party, or two for that matter.

The federal opposition is a coalition of Liberals and Nationals, conservative in nature. Turnbull is a relative new comer to parliament, and shows it in his disregard for the powerful emotional and intellectual forces of the place. He managed to visit an number of major gaffes in the dying days of the current sitting.

It is summertime here, just entering the holiday season, and the Rudd government had no need to prorogue parliament like their Canadian counterparts. But the final days of sitting did require cleaning up the legislative leftovers. Turnbulls first gaffe was to force shadow colleagues to change stance on some key bills. Having achieved that step he assumed his parliamentary colleagues would simply follow suit, instead he managed to split his team three ways.

His second gaffe was in response to a Rudd government statement on security. Turnbull told parliament : Turnbull said Australia had to "work energetically through our international partnerships with our major allies - the US, Japan, China, Indonesia, India - and of course our kindred allies, our historically closest allies, such as New Zealand, the UK and Canada."

The leader of the country’s opposition, it seems, simply doesn’t understand the language of international protocol. "China is a long-term friend of Australia; the US, by contrast, has been, for more than half a century, an ally of Australia. That's a term which has a specific definition as a military alliance containing reciprocal defence obligations.”

Australia – NSW

The lower house of the NSW state parliament is not called the bear pit for nothing, in fact both houses rank among the most robust, if crude, parliamentary performers on the planet. They ended the year in fitting style when yet another prominent member was punished for untoward behaviour.

National Party MP Andrew Fraser was sacked as an opposition spokesman after ‘shoving’ a female colleague during an incident on the floor of the house. He also faces further sanctions for yelling at the Government's leader of the house, John Aquilina during the incident. Fraser is just one in a long list of MPs, government and opposition, who have failed basic decency criteria this year.

More worrying is that through all this the government managed to slip two reprehensible measures through in the dying days of parliament, both self serving to this poor excuse for government. The first was a sop to two members of the upper house, both with the rump Shooters Party.

Under an amendment to the Domestic Violence Act, successfully introduced by the NSW Shooters party on Thursday, men who have previously been the subject of apprehended violence orders that have expired will be able to have the orders revoked so they can regain gun licences. Good one NSW!

The second odious measure allows NSW Lotteries products including Saturday Lotto, Powerball and Oz Lotto and other gambling games to be sold 24/7 by phone or internet. NSW already has one of the worlds highest gambling rates, with tougher economic times surely less rather than more temptation is needed.

Canada’s Constitutional Conundrum

PM Harper as bound to overstep the mark sooner or later. Despite his training as an economist Harper has shown a greater regard for the practice of political thuggery, ignoring global crisis to create his own.

The crisis he has created has plunged the country in relatively uncharted waters, but only relatively. The splintered, albeit majority, opposition have worn Harper’s bulldozer tactics long enough. This week they released an open letter to the Governor General, Michaelle Jean:

Today we respectfully inform the Governor General that, as soon as the appropriate opportunity arises, she should call on the Leader of the Official Opposition to form a new government, supported as set out in the accompanying accords by all three of our parties.
from Dion [Lib] to the Governor General | from Layton [NDP] to the Governor General

Constitutional crisis?
Britain's constitution is part written in statutes and partly maintained through custom and convention. Commonwealth countries generally do have written constitutions, though provisions related to the powers of the monarchy, and by extension the governor’s general, are hazy at best.

The Canadian crisis is not the first instance in a commonwealth country; the most striking former example being in Australia in 1975. In that case the GG fearing being sacked by the PM, Gough Whitlam, jumped first and dismissed the Whitlam government.

Sure there were questions of constitutional propriety of installing the opposition as government. A fresh election, confirming public support for a change of government, soon smothered further enquiry. While questions are arise on these hazy extra-constitutional questions the issues are rarely addressed beyond ‘expert’ chatter.

The vexing questions giving rise to the constitutional crisis claims include: Can the GG sack a serving prime minister and government? Conversely can a PM sack a GG? If the first can the GG appoint a new PM from the existing house or must the house go to election?

Canada, like Australia, is essentially a parliamentary democracy the individual elected members should have precedence over political parties. Convention holds that where there is no majority party after an election the party with the most reps should be asked to form a minority government.

That is the current Canadian situation, with the added dynamic that the current government apparently cannot ensure the confidence and support of a majority of MPs. As with the Australian situation in 1975 that situation can become untenable if supply bills are blocked by a hostile parliament. Those bills allocate the money to run government.

We know from that episode that a GG can sack a PM, what we don’t know is how that action would stand up to the scrutiny of the courts. No one has yet tested it. We know the Aussie GG of the time acted to avoid the PM sack. Again, we have no idea how this would stand the test of a court challenge.

To my mind, the important factor is the will of an elected parliament; that means the individual members. Once voters have elected their representatives those office holders hold a delegated authority.

That does not mean they are bound to the shifting whims of an electorate, they have been given authority to act as they believe is best for the electorate. To do otherwise would require endless consultation with voters, most who have no way of being privy to the intricacies the parliamentary situation.

We have been conned into believing we are voting for a presidential type leader. That is untenable under a Westminster style system. The rigid dominance of the party structure already dilutes democratic principles enough without handing all power to one person.

News media in permanent decline?

“The publishing sector has continued to be squeezed as readers and advertisers increasingly migrate to the Internet.” E&P

I grew up, one way and another, in the print media sector. I was also an early adopter of the transition to print media electronics, hardly a good move twenty years ago. I’d moved from stringer for one regional newspaper to advertorial writer for another.

The first, the smaller of the two actually initiated the prototype electronic newspaper production which included remote transmission of stories by ‘acoustic coupler’ like the one picture except with a keyboard. Like my first modem these were a lightning fast 2400 bits (baud rate).

For the bigger paper I’d write at home on my trusty Mac LCII, then take floppies to the newsroom after hours and copy and paste onto one of the papers dumb terminals. When I suggested uploading from home of a night the supplement editor suggested I was talking fanciful science fiction and wouldn’t consider it.

Eventually I went to the IT manager and organised a trial, which was obviously successful, but the editor never really accepted that I didn’t just sneak in of a night – clear proof was still too far out there to be acceptable. The media have remained reluctant or incredulous towards the potential of electronic delivery.

The media squeeze

That is perhaps a long illustration of how the media have consistently missed the boat on technology developments. Between a steady diminution of the value of news as news and not entertainment, television he undermined the raison d'etre of newspapers and print news.

The internet is a great delivery medium, but the promise hasn’t been realised. Sure it is de rigueur to have an online version of a newspaper, but that seems more about ‘me tooism’ then developing effective strategies. There have been no effective approach to generating a dedicated internet delivery, at least by the major media.

Now with a major economic crisis and reduced advertising revenues it might be too late for some, electronic or print. While allied communications sectors have created and driven new approaches the once dominant print sector has remained stuck in the past, an easy prey for the alternatives.

For a news junkie the developments, or lack of them, are being monitored with a real sense of dread. The death of the newspaper probably began when accountants and financiers began to take over the industry. Advertising was a license to print money, but they ignored the basic reason news media existed, the reason people subjected themselves to advertising.

With money people running the show the problems are being further compounded by the apparent disregard for readers. Certainly newspapers need to make achieve ROI, however papers aren’t going to sell because they feature ads and gossip, their core business should be delivering news.

In Holiday Season, Some Papers Show Contempt For Readers
Leafing through the season's (slightly) thicker newspapers sends a clear message to readers: You don't matter enough to get "premium positions."

Sadly the newspaper genre seems to be in terminal decline, even sadder so is news delivery. The much heralded citizen journalism is not a bad thing, as part of a proper mix. The problem is that is could become, by default, the new media. It is cheap, enthusiastic, but lacks the industry training and discipline, particularly in style, objectivity and dare I say ethics.

Computers and the internet have the capacity to make everyone designers and writers, as a consequence we are simply seeing more bad design and writing than ever before. Having the capacity does not guarantee ability, as the barely surviving print media are already showing.

No confidence in a power hungry Harper

Canada's Conservative Party, ignoring the economic crisis, have opted for a high stakes gamble to force a fresh election and Conservative majority. Canada’s Prime Minister is known as a man who gets up in the morning with a determination to destroy his political opponents.

Harper's ridiculous act of political brinksmanship has taken an economic crisis and made it into a political crisis. it has encouraged an unprecedented coalition of Liberals and New Democrats. A coalition prepared to take over the reigns of government.

Instead of reaching out, as leader of a minority government and as president-elect Barack Obama is doing by talking to moderate Republicans, he smacked his opponents in the chops.

Instead of heeding the advice of economists everywhere that the economy needs stimulus, he got his Minister of Finance to present a budget that offered cutbacks and tiny surpluses that absolutely no one believes will be realized.

Instead of supporting the fight against political corruption and vote buying they plan to eliminate a $1.95-per-vote annual tax subsidy for political parties. The plan would all but cripple the opposition, while saving the treasury a paltry $30-million.

Faced with Harper’s folly the opposition parties have cobbled several variations of a motion to go to parliament next week. These range from a call to turn the focus back to the economy through to a full on non-confidence motion which:

• denounces the Conservatives' handling of the economy
• expresses that the House has lost confidence in the Conservative government
• expresses that in the opinion of the House, an alternative government can be formed from existing Members of the Parliament

So what would this Liberal led coalition offer in its economic package? According to the party’s finance spokesman Scott Brison measures to be considered would include:

• an increase and an acceleration of infrastructure measures, with a particular focus on green infrastructure
• an increase in support for Research and Development measures that can take place in the short-term
• working with provinces to improve programs for Canadian workers to train and retrain as part of life-long learning to help them cope with current and future economic realities
• working with manufacturing, forestry and auto sector leaders to develop measures that help strengthen their position during this crisis.

With regards to the auto sector, we would not continue to be a bystander in these important ongoing negotiations in the U.S., seeking to be a more active stakeholder given that Canada represent 14 per cent of the auto industry in North America.

We would also convene an immediate First Ministers conference to partner with provinces to ensure the stimulus comes into effect quickly and makes an impact now in the downturn, but also contributes to greater productivity and prosperity in the future as the global economy recovers.

Curiously, according to recent polling, the majority of Canadians believe the Conservatives are best suited to delivering on the economy. In the face clear evidence that Harper is more concerned about politics than he is about the country’s wellbeing that sentiment might be at risk.

But to give the country confidence in a potential coalition the Liberals must show some real spine and resolve their leadership issues. Even if it goes back to the wider membership in due course the federal caucus and party executive need to bite the bullet in the short term and install workable leadership.

One major display of a country first attitude would surely involve putting ego aside for the sake of wider interests. Any potential coalition must be predicated on the public interest over petty politics.