Monday, July 5, 2010

Coup d'état of democracy

Globalisation has seen the emergence of commercial companies that transcend nationality. Globalisation is the construction of a global capitalist economy, geared to the interests of transnational corporations that substantially reduced the powers of government.

The freedom of movement by these multinationals, their economic holds and their long and bloody history of penalising governments that seek to maintain standards of social welfare, environmental regulation or tax regimes. Many of the measures which government have used in the past to develop coherent social, environment and industrial policies for their country appears to be no longer possible.

Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson says the removal of Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister was the catalyst to strike a deal on the mining tax. Redhand believes that the removal of Kevin Rudd was a lesson to all of us. Not just to politicians, but a simple blunt reminder to all of us as to who actually runs the country,controls the purse strings,controls government and directs policies making.

It is not our elected representatives; it is multinational companies, the BHP, Rio Tinto and Xtrata and their intestines residue subsidiaries of the world that are involved in the destruction of the planet for profit. The last thing they want to do is pay a tax on their greed.

The controlled main stream media would have us believe that it was the Government that made significant changes to its original proposal and secured a deal on Thursday night for a 30 per cent profits tax on coal and iron ore. By the following Monday, we are told it has been reduced from 40 per cent to 22.5 per cent which is nearly half of the original figure that was first announced.

We all understand that it is the multinationals who decided what they will pay, if anything at all. Unfortunately, private individuals do not have the same persuasive dexterity to set their tax brackets.

Rudd was under the illusion that if he pulled back from imposing the Emissions Trading Scheme on these multinational cronies he could therefore, in all rights impose the mining tax, but unfortunately, the multinationals had very different ideas. They would not and did not support the Emission Trading Scheme, they would not pay the additional tax and hey, while they were on a roll, with their control (ownership) of the media and subsequent opinion polls lets exorcise the removal of a Prime Minister and they did, purely because they could.

Ferguson told the Insiders program that the leadership change was the turning point.

"When you sack a prime minister the tone is bound to change," he said.
"People suddenly put their head down and said 'geez, this really is a really difficult challenge now, we've seen a prime minister go, and it’s our joint responsibility to solve these differences in the national interest'."

What is this counterfeited call of anguish, the national interest, who does Ferguson think he is hoodwinking. The only interest they are interested in is protecting are their own, for their own because in all honestly it’s not in the national interest for these major polluters to keep poisoning our air, water, killing our environment and thieving all our national resources. It is not in the national interest to remove an elected representative just because he rightly pointed out that these resources belong to all of us and therefore as a nation we have the rights to expect some returns. It just another form of a Coup d'état.

Ferguson says no-one involved in the negotiations expected Mr Rudd to lose his job as Prime Minister. Redhand would like to know who were involved in these negotiations and why was the Prime Minister’s position on the agenda?

Apparently, these negotiations are taking place within a Committee (named the Argus Committee) chaired by Ferguson and the former BHP Billiton chairman Don Argus. Redhand believes that this is the very same Committee the Bank of America – Merril Kynch established as the Australia Advisory Board that is also being led by the same man, Don Argus.

Argus, a figure in the Australian business community, was directed to work with the Bank of America country head Craig Drummond to "develop the strategic and tactical direction" of the bank's business in Australia.

The removal of a Prime Minister who threatens to lessen the profits of both the industry players and their banking interests that supports them was a very strategic and tactile response, and put very big feathers in their conceited caps.
Argus has also been the chairman of Brambles Ltd., chief executive of National Australia Bank Ltd. and was a member of the international advisory committee to the New York Stock Exchange board of directors.

Since Bank of America bought Merrill Lynch, the firm has been adding staff and building its presence in Australia. Mr. Drummond, who left Goldman Sachs JBWere last year before taking the helm at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, has publicly stated his goal for the firm to become one of the three biggest in Australia in the next five years.

So who are the other members of this Argus Committee? Does David Crawford, BHP director and chairman of Lend Lease Group and Foster's Group Ltd. sit on this Committee?; Ian Harper, director of business consultancy and forecasting agency Access Economics; and Megan Clark, chief executive of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization are they also members?.

Of course this is all pure speculation on Redhands behalf, but as a nation we have only have just been informed of the existence of this Argus Committee and the fact that they are to “think through the question of exploration in the future". There is no other information readily available as to how and who formed this Committee, their Terms of Reference or its membership. There is no information on the Department’s Website.

Ferguson said "I don't think anyone expected a Prime Minister to disappear," “it sent a message to all of us - you'd better start facing up to your responsibilities and sort this out”. Who send this message?

Redhand has only gained the understanding that these tactician maneuvering by these multinationals will stop at nothing to retain their profits. Whilst spinning the Australian people around (using their own media subsidiaries) by distracting them with the romantic gender issue of the first female Australia Prime Minister, they are sitting back rubbing their hands together, patting each other on their backs, glorifying themselves with their self importance and their proven powers of political, economic and social manipulations.

Australians do not live off the sheep’s back anymore we are the sheep. Bar Bar Bar

8 comments:

  1. Rudd was sacked by his own party because the australian people rightly judged him to be incompetent. Unfortunately his colelagues are equally capable.

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  2. where the hell is the montara report?obama is being hauled over the coals for the deep water drilling mess and yet the papers relating to deep water drilling risks are dated 2007,he didn,t take office until early 2009.bush and cheney again.rudd was sacked because the mining lobby was powerful enough to do it.if the tax was on dairy farmers its likely he would still be there.

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  3. I can't wait to hear the screams if someone decides to put a decent safety regime in place for oil and gas drilling.Maybe another PM will have to be sacrificed to placate these multinationals?

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  4. An interesting article in Portfolio.com,Natural Gas Pains.A lot of people would have seen the pictures of tap water being set on fire,and heard about polluted groundwater caused by a process called "fracking"-the hydraulic fracturing of rock to extract gas.This has gone off the scale over east lately,with farmers teaming up with enviromental groups to oppose these companies.The companies involved in this do not have to declare what chemicals they use or in what quantities,just as Coca-cola keeps their secret ingredient a secret.Portfolio says,"2 newly released documentary films-including Haynesville,about the economic and enviromental factors at play in northern Louisiana,and GasLand,a decidedly pro-enviromental film about the effects of fracking on groundwater.In GasLand Josh Fox is pushing the idea that hydraulic fracturing should again be placed under the Safe Drinking Water Act,from which it was exempted five years ago AS PART OF THEN-VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY'S Energy Policy Act of 2005........If the EPA vote that "frac"water is carcinogenic they have to put it back under the Safe Drinking Water Act.Everyone in the industry says when that happens it's over." With so many high profile accidents lately the idea that this process is the solution to Americas energy needs is now under question.I hope Ferguson is watching this as he seems to think that "gas at all costs" is part of Australia's energy solution.But when green groups in QUEENSLAND team up with farmers-well you would think some warning bells would be going off somewhere.

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  5. there should be plenty of warning bells going off over the uranium debate in the kimberley.in dry times huge amounts of radioactive dust get blown around by high winds.in times of heavy rainfall dams over flow and burst spilling radioactive sludge into rivers and streams.but to add to all this worry is a uranium extraction process called cyanide leaching.no need to explain that one,another tragic disaster in the making.when the uranium ore is out it requires vast amounts of sulfuric acid,amongst other things to process it.if you have ever seen a photo of the ranger mine in the n.t.,well those yellow hills are sulfur from which the acid is made.natural gas contains some sulfuric acid and coal a lot of sulfur.sounds quite devilish really,poor us!

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  6. Sign the petition at "Save our Marine Life"now so it can be delivered to Julia Gillard before she announces the election this weekend.

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  7. NYT piece on Transocean."Owner of Exploded Rig Exploits Offshore Status",July 7 2010."Transocean is the worlds largest offshore drilling company,but until its Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April,few Americans outside the energy business had heard of it.It is well known in other countries-for testing local laws and regulations."The article goes on to say several countries are or have been investigating it for all sorts of dodgy tax capers,safety concerns etc.But when I got to this bit I had to feel sorry for the Kimberley or Margaret River or any one else who has to deal with these gangsters."In Myanmar,formerly Burma,a Transocean rig was under contract to a Chinese government controlled oil company,Cnooc,as recently as this spring.Another apparent stakeholder in the drilling site,according to Cnooc,was a Singapore business.That business has been linked to two men identified by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2008 as major operatives and money launderers for the Myanmar government.At the time,American authorities described both men as long term heroin traffickers."There is no end to this type of news.Added to all we know about Nigeria and Equador and all else,there is just a mountain of high criminal enterprise going on here,and if any of it ever gets to court no one it seems is ever held to account!

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  8. Just finished watching Mel Gibsons latest offering,"Edge of Darkness".The thing that struck me was how this film seemed more like a documentary than fiction.After Bush and Cheney,movies like this,evil conspiracy at high levels-power people being above the law,seem to have a new credibility.This has all been bought into a much clearer focus with the"Montara disaster","The Gulf Gusher"and the ongoing disaster surrounding James Price Point.The head of B.P.called people without power"little people".I guess that is what we look like to them,pesky little infants ruled over by giants,our helpless and futile attempts to bring some justice to the evil world they are creating just laughed at.It was said years ago that world domination would be bought about by having the"right people"in all the right places,and by using terrorist plots-either real ones allowed to happen or set up by secret agencies,as reasons to spy on and imprison without trial,torture and victimise all peoples in order to create this system.Well i guess that part has so far succeeded.So what do the little people do?Wait for some man made or natural disaster to derail the monster?Sit back and watch it fold as they sew the seeds of their own destruction?Do we really stand a chance against these evil people with all the power?What odds on a decent world?Well all i can say is support the people in the frontline anyway you can!And just know that every little bit you do adds up with all the other little bits and if we keep on going we can have some good wins along the way!"Remember what old Jack would say on a cold and rainy night when the 800lbs gorilla wants to know,"Have you paid your dues?",tell him,"The cheque is in the mail".lol.

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