Cleaves NEWSWIRE [Cleaves Newswire has been decommissioned but will remain online as a resource and to preserve backlinks; new site here.] Independent Open Publishing
 
"Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them" -- Joseph Heller
» Gallery

Search

search comments
advanced search
printable version
PDF version

Sowing the wind
by nano Tuesday, May 20 2008, 11:04pm
international / environment / opinion/analysis

Over twenty years ago (take note Al) an Australian commercial channel aired a program on the impending destructive effects of pollution on the climate and the environment. It was a measured, rational, non-sensationalist but heavily supported with scientific data presentation. It detailed the effects of global warming on major ocean currents and the dire consequences for North-Western Europe; it highlighted the potential wholesale destruction of sensitive coral reefs and the maritime ecology. It referred to biological indicators, stressed amphibians, frogs and the disturbed migration pattern of birds. All evident at the time – 20 years ago! But the most alarming indicator was accelerated glacial melting/receding -- high mountain glaciers feed the world’s largest food producing river systems!

wheatglobe.jpg

Twenty years later all of the forecasts and more have come to pass! In hindsight the program was impressively accurate though, in typical scientific fashion, understated.

Why did the world fail to listen and ACT on the very clear evidence presented at the time? How is it humanity failed itself and the planet? The answer is simple yet speaks clearly of the malevolent forces that continue to rule today.

The Corporate juggernauts of the world, particularly the oil and petro-chemical companies, embarked on a concerted propaganda and disinformation campaign to discredited or otherwise refute and neutralise the case for immediate remedial action. This they did for the sake of short-term profit, make no mistake, these reprehensible and criminal mass murderers were/are willing to jeopardise the future of a sustainable world for selfish, short-term gain! I need not labour the point; it is clear and irrefutable!

George Bush and other conservative leaders favoured and in some cases legislated to assist the criminal, polluting companies that contrived to purchase disreputable ‘scientists’ to write reports countering the warnings of the reputable and SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE scientific community.

Another revealing event took place approximately 15 years ago. The major banks and financial institutions of the West decided (together) that the most efficient and economical method of profiteering and managing the people was to implement a credit based economy -- I was fortunate to overhear a banking executive reporting to his religious seniors on that decision.

Today’s Sub-Prime mortgage ‘melt-down’ and the CREDIT CRISIS is NO ACCIDENT; it is not even the result of incompetence, instead it was a DELIBERATE STRATEGY by Bankers to enslave the public with debt while allowing banking interests to continue to profit from DEBT! A clearly flawed plan from the outset; but life in boardrooms and the ivory towers of the world is far removed from our daily reality! Corporate CEOs and directors display little concern for anything other than the corporate bottom line – the least consideration is given to humane and/or socially responsible, environmental issues.

Today we enjoy the handiwork of these corporate criminals and their puppet governments. For those who imagine that positive action is occurring, think again. The new Australian Rudd government, elected on the promise that it would address the above issues, water, the environment and tackle the economic slavery model of unscrupulous bankers – HAS DONE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING but talk, prance and spin and we see that same pattern repeated around the globe by other national governments!

The world’s largest mining corporation, BHP Billiton continues to extract millions of litres of high quality drinking/irrigation water from Australia’s artesian basin – for filthy mining purposes -- FREE OF CHARGE, while farmers and the public are ruined by the economic and environmental forces that water shortages incur.

It is clear the destructive STATUS QUO remains INTACT; criminal proceedings are avoided by placing puppets in government – that simple -- that is how it functions! An extremely uncomplicated methodology utilised by organised crime for decades. The difference today is that the organised criminals are executives who function with impunity regardless of the degree of havoc their policies inflict on society and the world!

Remedial action was required yesterday, it may be too late to avert all major crises in the future; nevertheless, IT IS TIME TO DRAG THOSE RESPONSIBLE INTO THE STREETS AND HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE! Failing to act now will seal the fate of all humanity and that scenario I would not wish on anyone – it is nightmarish!

George Bush, his neo-cons, Tony Blair and John Howard are KNOWN war criminals – their immediate arrest would catalyse a movement in the right direction. Arresting all government lackeys and puppets would expose the criminal machinations of their Corporate Bosses; it’s never too late for justice or to set in motion forces that would reverse our course to certain destruction!


We are ONE or we are nothing!

Peace.

kyoto.jpg

COMMENTS

show latest comments first   show comment titles only

jump to comment 1 2

Oz response: CSIRO scientific community hatcheted by Rudd government
by AE Wednesday, May 21 2008, 12:31am

It didn't take long for Big Business and the Corporations to attack. A news release, 5pm AEST on ABC News Radio, confirmed an earlier report (see link) of planned attacks on Australia’s scientific community.

The Australian government has just put the knife into the Commonwealth Scientific body, the CSIRO. It proves the point but our sympathies go out to the families of the many sacked scientists and researches in Australia.

We are all familiar with the tactic the Corporations employ to intimidate the scientific community; however, few would now support the murderous activities of Big Business!

Clearly the powers are attacking those professionals who have the most credibility in the war against Corporate criminal enterprises. Well, it is not over by a long shot!

These tactics only strength forces targeting the destroyers of our environment and the planet.

You WILL be held to ACCOUNT!

Citrus, wine grape growers vow to fight Budget [CSIRO] cuts
by Samantha Donovan via rialator - ABC News Wednesday, May 21 2008, 10:23pm

Citrus growers in Victoria's north-west are vowing to fight federal Budget cuts that will close their local CSIRO research facility.

The Budget cut CSIRO's funding by $63 million over the next four years and the organisation says the shortfall is forcing it to close its horticultural research site at Merbein in Victoria and its meat research facility at Rockhampton in Queensland.

About 30 staff will lose their jobs in Victoria's far north-west, although the CSIRO says it hopes many of them can move to jobs with the organisation in Adelaide and Canberra.

Researchers at the Merbein facility focus on wine and table grapes, dried fruit and the citrus industry.

Dr Everard Edwards, a research scientist and a deputy delegate of the CSIRO Staff Association, told The World Today the staff did not see the closure coming.

"I don't really see a lot of anger just yet," he said.

"There's a fair bit of upset and people are still probably in some state of shock, and it will affect different people in different ways, so some people will perhaps find it easy, reasonably easy to move elsewhere and other people of course will be unable to move elsewhere.

"The aim is that a significant portion of the work will continue at other sites and also projects that are ongoing at the moment, as far as I know, none of those will be curtailed.

"But clearly, not all members of staff are able to move to other sites, which would primarily be Adelaide and Canberra, even if they are offered it."

Dr Edwards says the CSIRO Staff Association strongly opposes the decision, but it is yet to decide if it will take any sort of action to try and reverse the move.

"They basically dispute that this site, or the others for that matter that have been closed as well, that there's a requirement to do that and clearly there's ongoing work here and there's externally funded work here," he said.

"And this is a site that's based in the centre of the Australian wine industry with in the region of 70 per cent of Australia's wine grapes being grown in the Riverland, Sunraysia and Riverina. And now the CSIRO won't have a presence in that area."

It is not just the wine industry that will be affected.

The president of Sunraysia Citrus Growers, Ann Mansell, is shocked by the decision, especially because the industry was not consulted.

"At this stage what we're trying to do is ensure that what we have, which is a very good research organisation within our local area, one that is funded not only through taxpayer dollars, but also through citrus levy funds that are raised on a national basis for citrus research, we are really hoping to keep that because the loss to this community of those 30 to 40 jobs would just be a real devastation to our community," she said.

"I think we're fairly convinced we need to go to Canberra and talk to the Honourable Kim Carr, the Senator that's the minister responsible for this area, and to try and work out what needs to be done to stop this decision taking place."

Ms Mansell says the local CSIRO research has given citrus growers a much-needed boost as they struggle with the Murray River water crisis.

"The citrus research that we've had not only from CSIRO but from obviously our state departments as well, has been incredibly supportive in helping us through what is a very challenging environment," she said.

"What we don't need is the Government to be pulling funding or for Government enterprises to be pulling funding from those sorts of critical research areas when in fact they can assist our industries to become even more efficient and more viable in the long term.

"And by having a decision like this taken so suddenly, without any consultation with the grower bodies in the areas, I think that's really robbing us of a very great resource."

The Minister for Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, did not respond to The World Today's request for an interview.

© 2008 ABC


 
<< back to stories
 

© 2005-2024 Cleaves Alternative News.
Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial re-use, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere.
Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Cleaves Alternative News.
Disclaimer | Privacy [ text size normal | << | >> ]