Cheney’s Oz Visit - International Imperialism

A number of issues requiring immediate attention present themselves, the failed stewardship of the South Pacific would no doubt be high on the list of reproaches. The inability of the Howard government to deal with South Pacific Island nations has caused considerable consternation in Washington, especially in view of the fact that these nations have made approaches to China and other Asian nations. Surely the yanks should have realised that a despicable xenophobic, racist runt would be unable to deal with the real men of the South Pacific Islands!

We recall Howard shitting his pants when the Indonesian President unexpectedly appeared during one of Howard’s early morning walks! Howard has always been the laughing stock of the region. Not content to remain in the background, the Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, attempted to incite a civilian insurrection against the Fijian military coup. The Foreign Minister was willing to jeopardise the safety of Fijian civilians while he remained secure in Australia! Downer’s cowardly and stupid action in a time of crisis confirms his place on the front bench of the Howard government. History will not be kind to these two cowards.

However, it is China, uranium and America’s strategic interests, Pine Gap and new military bases, that are of primary concern to the American psychopath. We didn’t like that Chinese missile strike in space, did we? Australia can look forward to more interference in local matters from the U.S. as it upgrades/scales its Australian operations to make us a better target in a future military exchange with our ally China. Fast-tracking infrastructure for uranium extraction and export is also an obvious priority. So why the idiotic platitudes and pretence regarding the visit – who the hell are you trying to kid? A political party in Oz could win an election on the platform of jailing Howard for war crimes and his treasonous subversion of traditional Australian values. The visit is not what it pretends to be! [Take it up to them Kevin, you Dudd!]

It seems that we need to remind the powers we are not who or what THEY think we are; perhaps a special, warm, TRADITIONAL Aussie welcome for the most hated man in the world, one that would be truly memorable!

You should know, Dick, highly skilled, specialised and efficient, just ask your boys who have fought with us. We are not your colony, deputy nor should we ever be taken for granted:

“Well I'd rather die like Donahue
That bush-ranger so brave
Than be taken by the government
And forced to walk in chains
Well I'd rather fight with all my might
While I have eyes to see
Well I'd rather die ten thousand times
Than hang from a gallows tree.”

Come on down, Dicky boy, it’s only a piece of real estate!

Following from the new "heat ray" device developed by the U.S. to use against people it doesn't like -- an aussie hobbyist has developed a portable high frequency pulse device that effects the calibration of heart pace-makers. "This device is capable of accelerating or decelerating a heart pacemaker", said the inventor.

"The technology utilised in the production of the device is well known and accessible to anyone", the inventor added.

Hmmmm!

Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Pharmaceutical companies and Iraq war contractors, both heavy Republican contributors, are among the companies scrambling to hire lobbyists with Democratic ties as they prepare for congressional investigative hearings next week.

Pfizer Inc., the world's biggest drugmaker, has hired the Glover Park Group, whose partners include Joe Lockhart, a former spokesman for President Bill Clinton, and Howard Wolfson, a spokesman for Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Roche Holding AG picked as its lobbyist William Clyburn, cousin of the House's third-ranking Democrat, Jim Clyburn of South Carolina.

The increased hiring coincides with the Democratic congressional sweep that has sent shudders through corporate boardrooms.

``No general counsel or CEO wants to have to explain to his board why the company's name is appearing on the front page of a news article in a scandal,'' said Nick Allard, a partner in the law and lobbying firm of Patton Boggs LLP, which just landed military contractor Halliburton Co. as a client. ``Firms and industry groups that have not yet been represented are talking to firms all over town.''

Representative Henry Waxman, 67, the California Democrat who heads the House Oversight and Government Reform committee, plans to hold hearings beginning Feb. 6 on Iraq contractors. The committee has asked executives from Halliburton to testify.

``We're the main committee in the House of Representatives to look at matters that deserve scrutiny,'' Waxman said in an interview today. ``Nothing deserves scrutiny more than whether taxpayers' dollars are being used appropriately.''

The Cheney Connection

Halliburton, a Houston-based oilfield services company once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, gave 92 percent of its political-action committee contributions to Republicans for the 2006 campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington research group.

The company's new firm, Patton Boggs, counts Democratic lobbyist Thomas Boggs among its name partners. KBR Inc., a Halliburton unit, hired the law and lobbying firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, whose partners include Democratic former House Speaker Thomas Foley.

``Halliburton retains firms with deep experience in the industry, on Capitol Hill and in the administration to help us navigate the policy arena,'' Melissa Norcross, a spokeswoman for Halliburton and KBR, said in an e-mailed comment.

Particularly Valuable

Lobbyists with Washington experience are considered particularly valuable when chief executive officers face nationally televised hearings. Waxman presided over one of the most famous on April 14, 1994, when seven tobacco- industry CEOs testified that they didn't add nicotine to their cigarettes.

Public hearings raise the stakes for corporations, said Mark Paoletta, a lawyer who helped run investigations for the House Energy and Commerce Committee when Republicans were in control. ``The company has a much larger risk with respect to its reputation'' than in civil litigation that can be resolved away from the public glare, he said.

Some Republican lobbyists are also benefiting from the increased congressional attention. Paoletta and another Energy and Commerce lawyer, Andrew Snowdon, just joined the Washington office of lobbying and law firm Dickstein Shapiro LLP.

Republican Firm

Mark Corallo and Barbara Comstock, two former Justice Department officials who have formed their own lobbying firm in Alexandria, Virginia, are talking to representatives of oil and drug companies. One of their current clients, Blackwater USA of Moyock, North Carolina, is scheduled to testify next week before Waxman's committee, Corallo said. The panel is probing possible waste and fraud in Iraq war contracts.

``When we realized that the political winds were blowing the other way, we understood there would be a market,'' said Corallo. Industries that ``escaped oversight'' for more than a decade ``are going to find themselves in the congressional crosshairs,'' he said.

The pharmaceutical industry, which the Center for Responsive Politics says gave 68 percent of its 2006 campaign gifts to Republicans, may be the biggest target for investigators. The House voted Jan. 12 to require the Medicare program, which provides health care for the elderly and disabled, to negotiate prices with drug companies; five congressional committees plan hearings into industry practices, including the generic-drug approval process and drug safety.

Number of Assignments

Paul Fitzhenry, a spokesman for New York-based Pfizer, and Glover Park partner Joel Johnson, a former Clinton administration and Senate Democratic staff member, said the group has handled a number of assignments for the drugmaker for about two years.

This year marks the first time Glover Park has registered as the company's lobbyists, congressional filings show. Johnson said the firm registered `` when it became evident that the inside role was to require outside contacts'' on legislative matters. Lockhart and Wolfson, the Glover Park partners, aren't listed on congressional forms as the firm's lobbyists for Pfizer.

William Clyburn didn't return phone calls seeking comment. Roche, based in Basel, Switzerland, had no immediate comment when asked about the investigations.

Thousand Oaks, California-based Amgen Inc., the world's largest biotechnology company, hired two firms in the last two months, congressional filings show. ``It certainly is a different political landscape,'' Amgen spokeswoman Kelley Davenport said.

Duberstein Group

Amgen's new lobbyists include the Duberstein Group, led by Kenneth Duberstein, former chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan, and Michael Berman, a veteran Democratic political operative. The company also hired Lent, Scrivner & Roth LLC, whose partners include former Republican Representative Norman Lent of New York and Alan Roth, staff director of the House Energy and Commerce Committee when it was previously under Democratic control.

Another Washington law firm, Venable LLP, brought in Raymond Shepherd III, a Republican who is former chief counsel to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs investigations subcommittee, to run its new congressional-investigation group. Birch Bayh, a former Democratic senator from Indiana, is a partner at the firm.

Venable's new clients include London-based drugmaker AstraZeneca PLC, maker of Crestor, the fastest-growing cholesterol medicine.

``In the era of instant news, even the threat of a congressional investigation can impact a company's brand, reputation, and, just as importantly, its bottom line,'' said Gloria Dittus, head of Dittus Communications, a Washington-based public-affairs firm.

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