Wednesday 24th of April 2024
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Another Alexander Downer Fraud

When Australia announces that it will lease uranium to India, the deceptiveness and misleading nature of our Foreign Minister will again be revealed

Mr Downer appeared to be sticking to his principles last week when he issued a statement that Australia would not be selling uranium to India.  In attempting to repudiate a story in the Australian claiming that a nuclear transaction would take place regardless of whether India signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.  "Officials have told me that that's not correct" Mr Downer intoned.

In a way Downer was correct.  The supply of nuclear fuel India will not be a sale.  It will be a lease, and when the Indians have finished using the ore for peaceful purposes, the leftovers will be shipped back to Australia.  

Days after Mr Downer made the denial of a sale our Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaille appeared on national television to introduce the concept of uranium leasing.  Mr Vaille said that Australia had not yet been caled upon to make such arrangements.

Such abstract concepts would seem relatively meaningless were it not for the fact that they were made at a time when our Prime Minister was walking the halls of the White House. On Saturday Mr Howard met with Dick Cheney, the US Vice President who still receives two hundred thousand dollars a year from the company to which he gave a signifigant amount of privatised government jobs, including caring for the U.S. miltary wherever in the world they go.  On Sunday our PM planted trees with President Bush in a public demonstration of mutuality in what Bush called "The Liberty War" 

I'm going to risk the speculation that, by the end of this week, President Bush will make the request of Prime Minister Howard that Australia assists India in meeting its energy needs by allowing her to access our fourty per cent of known global uranium reserves.  Mr Bush will also ask Mr Howard, in the name of peace, to safeguard the nuclear waste from possible use in warfare by bringing it home to Australia

The Australian Greens have been the first to notice what's about to happen Senator Christine Milne has suggested today that the Government should tell the truth. 

[from The Age]

Greens senator Christine Milne said turning Australia into a dumping ground for spent nuclear fuel from India was unacceptable.

"If there is no safe disposal, there is no justification for mining in the first place," Senator Milne said in a statement.

She challenged the government to name where in Australia it intended to store any spent nuclear fuel from India, China, or elsewhere.

"(Mr) Howard and (Mr) Vaile should stop talking in code and admit that the motivation behind discussions with the US on the lease proposal is pure and simply to circumvent the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which prevents the export of uranium and nuclear technology to India,"
Senator Milne said.

"As such Australians should reject it."

Senator Milne went on to say that the Greens had campaigned for a
"cradle-to-grave" Australian responsibility for its uranium, adding
that "That is why, when there is no safe disposal for nuclear waste, it
is irresponsible to generate the product in the first place,"

"The world is already beset by terrorism. Nuclear waste on the high seas is a frightening prospect."

Senator
Milne also said that Australia should respect the existing policy of a
nuclear free Pacific adopted by countries within the region.

Coming back to Minister Downer's comments last week, would it be fair to suggest that, in his position as representative of foreign affairs, Alex might have had more than an inkling of the topics that his leader was intending to discuss in Washington?  In "telegraphing" the possibility of uranium leasing, Mr Vaille's words indicate that he at least knew what was going on.   Two possibilities exist.  The first is that Mr Downer has no idea of how his boss will be sorting out this important foreign policy issue.  The second is that Downer knows exactly what is going on and is yet again attempting to mislead the Australian public.

Note the carefullness of Downers words of "officials have told me..."  If this isn't the pre-creation of an escape clause I'll eat my (tin) hat.  If Mr D is called a liar all he has to do is, in the same manner as his treatment of the AWB fiasco, claim that he was incorrectly advised.  It astounds me that any Australian can still possess any shred of trust for the words of this man.

How would Mr Downer fare if interviewed duing a lie detector test.  In March of this year the head of Australian Polygraph Services and the boss of Australian company The Podcast Service issued a public invitation to Alex for a free lie detector test.

Poly the Pollie” was launched with the aim of
inviting Australian MPs to sit a policy-based lie detector test,
conducted by Steve Van Aperen,
Australian’s leading polygraph expert. Van Aperen is known throughout
Australia as an expert in the field of interviewing and detecting
deception. He has received extensive training from the world’s leading
international investigative authorities in how and why people deceive
and has been affectionately named the “Human Lie Detector”.

[from Poly The Pollie] 

Reilly said polythepollie.com on The Podcast Network would track responses from MPs and publish results.

“From time to time, we all suspect that politicians may not be
telling us the complete truth. In the past, we shrugged our shoulders
and accepted that lying was part of politics and that there was little
we could do about it. Well now we can,” he said.

“If I have a choice to vote for a politician who is prepared to
submit him or herself to a polygraph and one who is not, then I know
which one I will be voting for, and I think a lot of people will feel
the same way.

”Downer’s admission of knowledge about the Australian Wheat Board’s
dealings in Iraq is just one example. It’s time politicians were held
accountable for their actions.”

Long before the AWB inquiry there was a scare in the Australian media.  Korean missiles might strike Sydney.  A very quick response by those in the know showed the allegations to be baseless.  However, this hasn't seemed to faze their author, Mr Guess Who.

We've been grumbling for years now about lack of ministerial accountablility, to no avail.  How do we enforce our elected leaders to tell us the truth? 

Clueless or conspiratorial media

Our media, as always asleep at the wheel of the next, — including the ABC, will report on a gay footballer's problems at length but will leave the hot potato of "nukes in the desert" aside... The framing of the issue by the government is slowly grinding away, well underway — fertile ground already prepared by Bob Hawke (see cartoon " A dump of a place...") now working to making money from this 250,000 year long venture... A disgrace from all who are involved. Only the premier of WA has raised the issue publicly but not a peep on the box yet...

From the ABC site

Premier sounds warning over nuclear waste dump
Western Australian Premier Alan Carpenter says his fears have been confirmed that the Federal Government is trying to push a nuclear waste dump on the state.

Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile has called on people to have an open mind about "nuclear leasing", which would require Australia to take back nuclear waste from uranium exports.

The Federal Government has previously threatened to use its powers to override the state Government's ban on uranium mining.

Mr Carpenter says the Federal Government's intentions are becoming clearer and he says Western Australians should beware.

"Why would we want WA, with our lifestyle, with our environmental record, with our amazing economy, now to plunge itself into becoming a nuclear waste dump?" he said.

"Why would we want to do that? I don't want that to happen."

Mr Carpenter says the Federal Government has an ulterior motive in ramping up the issue.

"Wake up, wake up to what's happening. Our State Government stands between this state being a nuclear waste dump and, if you don't believe it, look at what's been going on, look at the discussion in the media, look at what your Liberal Party politicians are saying and think about it," he said.

read more at the ABC

Cluless? Nah, just milking the story

Given that the story will be 'breaking" in print media tomorrow, and with a hope that there will be more opinion follow-on than one mere Greens Senator's p.o.v. (facetious- moi?) I'm guessing that the mainstream media are holding over for a day.  However, Gus, perhaps it's already been thrown in the too-hard basket.

The too hard basket...

I'm afraid the nuke-trash bizo may have been thrown into the "don't rock the Johnnee-boat" basket... There might be a bit of "discussion" on page five, mostly promoting the cash coming in with the trash on beautifully designed bullet proof trains (Aussie engineering marvel built in China — diagrams in 3D), and then when the opposite opinions have been exhausted and diluted by slanted reporting, the government will move in with the legislation to do whatever — end of story... No protest in the streets by anyone...

Some journos (opinionatores) will get more of a brown nose as they scribe along with the "reasonable" idea of cash-for-trash in the main-stream media... The logistic will be described at length with experts from Halliburton and Toll showing there is "competition" after all... But the real deals would be made under the table, in lodges and sealed only with a handshake...

Yes, there is a heavy real nuz burn-out in the masses of Australosnooze... Too many difficult problems to investigate properly with no one listening and promises by government that it would be "safe". That should be good enough, shouldn't it?.. So let's revive something about Nicole pining for Tom and sell a few more trees... Yes, this ephemeral unconfirmed story can be milked endlessly... The rest can go to... wherever...

The war in Iraq and its tribulation doesn't make page six anymore, even if five bombs have blown up in Baghdad, killing many, including US soldiers... No, it's up to Susan Sarandon and a few mothers to show up the world, and junket Johnnee, that the "we can't cut and run" excuse not to end the war is a lot of crap, like the other excuses to go to war that came before...

A couple more US soldiers die in a chopper brought down by hostile fire.... No need to mention Israel shelling Gaza daily, with about 6 pieces of mortar per hour... more than 2000 rounds during April. And this fireworks does not include the small arms bullets.. How can we expect peace in conditions like this?

The Liberty Agenda

What the hell was Bush on about? What idiot thought that one up to make Bush look like he know's what he's doing?  It sounds like something Paul Rendon would do.

Attempting to come at this from a mindset similar to the great philosopher Le Carre, you could concieve of "The Liberty Agenda" as being a cabal of corporate and government saints on a crusade to spread harmony to mankind, for a price.  Halliburton, Exxon, The Bush Administration, the Blar and Howard teams all working in concert to improve the human condition.

Come to think of it, I wouldn't be suprised if some of these people manage to self-justify themselves to sleep at night by thinking along similar lines, either as validation or as a new globalised method of "counting sheep"

By the way, if there is such a thing as Team Liberty Agenda, expect Murdoch to be more than just the water-boy

R.I.P. C.I.A.?

From the new York Times
WITH GUS' ANNOTATIONS IN BIG LETTERS...

Fading fast
Langley, We Have a Problem

NO LANGLEY, ... WE HAVE A MORON

By Tim Weiner
Published: May 14, 2006
The men who dreamed up the Central Intelligence Agency 60 years ago had one idea in mind: to pull together all the information the United States could gather about the rest of the world, analyse it, and present it to the president.

NOW THE PRESIDENT IS THE BIGGEST IDIOT ONE CAN FIND....

They would produce strategic intelligence — the big picture of the intentions and abilities of America's enemies — to prevent the next Pearl Harbor.

SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE THE AUSTRALIANS ADVISED OF INCOMING "PEARL HARBOUR" BUT THE AMERICANS DID NOT WANT TO KNOW SO THEY COULD HAVE A SOLID REASON TO GO TO WAR

They founded a small, weak, unfocused organization, scattered around Washington in shoddy barracks and outbuildings. They set out to know the world.

WHAT A WAY TO "KNOW" THE WORLD!... FROM SHODDY BARRACKS!... SOME PEOPLE GO ON A CULTURE TOUR OF EUROPE, THE YANKS WENT ON SPYING ON EVERYBODY EVERY WHERE...

During the cold war, the C.I.A. built an empire of intelligence. But now it finds itself back where it began.

THE PRESIDENT BEING A MORON DOESN'T HELP, EVEN WITH THE BEST SPYING SERVICE AVAILABLE.

The question now at hand is whether the world's most famous intelligence service is ready for the wrecking ball.

THE PRESIDENT HAS GOOFED, HAS TOLD PORKIES, HAS DISTORTED THE INFORMATION FROM THE CIA, SO THE CIA HAS TO BE BLAMED FOR THE IDIOT PRESIDENT "INTELLIGENCE FAILURES".... YES?

The Pentagon always hated the idea of an independent civilian intelligence service. But the founders of the national security system after World War II thought it wise to have civilians, rather than the military, gathering and analyzing foreign intelligence to aid diplomats and soldiers, balancing the Pentagon's mandate to prepare for war.

RUMMY DUCKY IS LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO BANK WITH THE BIRD FLU FURPHY, AS WELL AS HAVING FOOLED MOST PEOPLE BY SPREADING MANY BIG LIES ABOUT SADDAM IN ORDER TO GO TO WAR... THE IDEA OF THE CIA "BALANCING THE PENTAGON'S MANDATE TO PREPARE FOR WAR" IS A JOKE... A BAD JOKE... ESPECIALLY WHEN THE CIA AND THE PENTAGON WHERE MANUFACTURING SOME OF THE LIES IN SMALL SECRET DEPARTMENTS, TO SUIT THE PRESIDENT-MORON WISHES TO GO TO WAR...

Now the battle begins over whether the C.I.A. will continue to be the central source of intelligence analysis. If the agency's analytic heart is transplanted, as some propose, the C.I.A. of old will cease to be. The mission for which it was created could be lost. Would it matter? It might matter enormously. These civilians are supposed to warn the White House of mortal threats from afar, and ripping apart their offices might make a hard job only harder.

TOO MANY BLOODY BITS OF INFORMATION TO ANALYSE TO REALLY KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT NOTHING... BUT THEN WHEN THE WHITE HOUSE DOES NOT WANT TO KNOW, WHAT'S THE POINT OF KNOWING ANYTHING?

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

read more at the NYT... Do your own translation between the lines...

From the horse's mouth

From the ABC

Aust has no plans to take back uranium waste: PM
Prime Minister John Howard says Australia has no plans to take back waste from uranium it exports.

Mr Howard says he has asked the United States to keep Australia fully informed about its plans to create a group of countries involved in processing uranium.

The plan will limit the number of countries processing nuclear fuel and includes a proposal for the supplier to take back the waste for disposal.

But Mr Howard says Australia would sell uranium which is not a nuclear fuel.

"I just think we should say ... this is a proposal that has been made in very general terms - it might happen, it might not happen and because we have a lot of uranium we want to be kept informed," he said.

--------------------------------

But Gus asks naively how can "Australia sell uranium which is not a nuclear fuel"? is the yellow cake (milled uranium oxide, U3O8) not uranium per say? Are the people who buy our yellow cake going to make nice decorations that glow in the dark with it?

Another master porkie from the BS king

This morning as Mark Vaile, the Minister for things, was quizzed about the "placements" of nuclear reactors in Australia for which the Australian public as not been consulted yet, I hear an answer from the PM Rattus glowus saying: "it will be done by commercial consideration.."

------------------

From the ABC

Prime Minister John Howard says he will push for communities to be given a vote on whether they want nuclear power plants in their area.

Mr Howard had earlier said commercial considerations would determine the locations of up to 25 nuclear power stations around Australia.

Last night Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile said binding local plebiscites should be held over nuclear power - a move backed this morning by Treasurer Peter Costello and Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews.

_____________
Gus: Commercial considerations?

NOWHERE in the world are nuclear power stations commercially viable... The cost of their electricity would be much higher than solar and wind generated power would nuclear power stations not be subsidised by governments — or belong to governments prepared to absorbed the cost of setting them up and pay the cost of "improving" them.

Even in the US, this great bastion of "private" enterprise, nuclear power stations are about to get a 50 billion dollars "loan" from the federal government — a "loan" that is more like a subsidy since the power station operators do not have to repay it...

And in the UK the government is forking our more than 100 billion dollars to clean up old nuke power stations...

Commercial considerations? The only commercial profiteers are the people who are going to get the gig and cream moneys from the Rattus government...

And 25 nuclear power stations? Nuts!

From start to finish nuclear energy IS expensive... and dirty.

Throw Johnnee out!

And read this line of blogs from the top... see the lies from Downer and co...

Throw Downer out!