The Terrorists in Government.

Yes, what are we going to do? Australia will not make a living from keeping out boatpeople or ramping up fears. The scraping the top layer off our continent and selling it wasn’t exactly very taxing.

What are we going to do? A youth unemployment of 15% doesn’t auger well for keeping murderous attacks under control.

I sometimes wonder what people are doing in those gigantic city office buildings. I know we have one the highest densities of litigation lawyers and Big M. burger arched take away, but what about making things? You know actually producing stuff?

We could have been the world leaders in alternative energy with the world at our feet wanting solar panels, wind towers, etc. Even the Rockefellers are getting out of fossil fuel, But us…What have we done?

What are we going to do?

We could ease up on exercising our pyrotechnical bath-tub toys above and in far away sandy countries and save the $ 500.000.000 yearly.

We could also save even more doing away with the Government using ADF’s insane ‘stopping the boats’ policy. Billions in fact. Just imagine what that money could achieve?

The following from Andrew Kaldor; http://www.kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/node/386

Tony Abbott

“Australia now spends the same as the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) spends on its entire global refugee and displaced persons operations.

The UNHCR is responsible for helping and protecting some 50 million displaced persons around the world, including 11.6 million refugees. It expects to spend about $3.5 billion (US$3.3bn) in 2014. To cover 10,000 staff and all relief for the emergencies in Syria and Iraq, and Africa, as well as the protracted situations worldwide.

Tow back boats by Australian Navy

Compare that with the $3.3 billion Australia spent in 2013-14 on the detention and processing of boat arrivals. It has been the fastest growing Government programme over recent years, increasing from $118 million in 2010 at the average annual growth rate of a staggering 129 per cent.

Next year, the Department of Immigration’s budget is about $2.9 billion for that operation. But this number probably understates the total costs. It appears to ignore the extra aid to Papua New Guinea for signing the Manus Island deal, $420m over four years. It also ignores the costs of the AFP, ASIO, and State judicial system. Moreover, the value of current contracts issued by the Immigration Department, just for offshore detention for the 2014-15 fiscal year, has been estimated to be $2.7 billion [Source: data compiled by Nick Evershed, The Guardian, 25 August 2014].”

This money could have helped with our 15% youth unemployment. A terrible situation. Perhaps easing disillusionment and desperate ,perhaps even murderous situations arising.

Just imagine?

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/08/28/boats-may-have-stopped-what-cost-australia

The safer Chinese Umbrella

It is rather intriguing why we would feel so happy to have America’s defense force positioning itself inside Australia’s territory. It seems bizarre and frightening to have a nation’s armed forces, much better known for guns, warring and fighting than for peace, within our borders. I have yet to learn about China’s involvement in any wars around the globe. Where is the rationale that we should fear the East, while America’s drones are flying around bombing terrorist suspects at random?

I am surprised that no article has a yet appeared on the ABC’s Drum questioning the wisdom to do so. There almost seemed to be an air of jubilant acceptance about it. A nice strip on a Cocos Island has been eyed off for drones to be used. It was all taken in our stride. Could we not have stayed out of this alliance involving troops and drones on our soil? What will our neighbors think of us? They might well close the curtains even tighter.

I know that China is economically invading the world but we are not against that at all, in fact we love to sell them anything we can dig up. No probs. There seems to be an accepted belief that America will forever be the savior of the world, a kind of almost omnipotent force of good and benevolence. The evidence coming from the locals in Afghanistan is less lofty in their praise for America’s spreading of sweetness and goodness…

Surely, the best option is not to have any foreign troops on our soil. But…, if we must, would it not be more logical to invite the Chinese to grace our shores with their presence. Surely, with their proven record not to get involved so easily into the world’s trouble spots it would serve us much better. There would be less chance of us getting involved in useless fighting at the drop of a hat.

America has an obsession with safeguarding the world from itself, and at the same time ensuring that our soldiers continue risking their lives in areas too far for our own good. What threat has Iraq or Afghanistan ever posed to Australia?

We now are almost incapable of looking after the casualties of all that fighting. A report on our treatment on refugees could not be starker in how we failed even in providing the most basic care. Over five hundred children in detention. What have they done? We are lucky that no one has mentioned ‘The Hague’ yet. There is still time though.

The UNHCR has often mentioned our inhumane treatment of refugees and the indigenous. Last week Chris Bowen was trying to bumble his way through Emma Alberici questioning of our appalling and dreadful treatment of refugees. He was still defending it. Even Asio admitted that identity checks can be done in most cases within a few days. So, why detention for over a year?

The reason it seems: so that the message will go back to those refugee countries. “Think twice before coming here”. “We will detain you and treat you so badly that you’ll rue the day your leaky boat ever landed near Australia.

Australia has now achieved that dubious distinction. It is the last country of choice by refugees. Some distinction, isn’t it? We finally achieved it. How utterly devoid of humanity we have become.

No, I think we should invite our friendly China to consider landing to our North. I am sure they would in no time develop it into a very lively, friendly and prosperous part of our continent. With all that water about, the NT would soon be a food basket for the hundreds of millions surrounding us. That’s right; we could, with Chinese ingenuity become the bread basket of Asia.

Food instead of drones.