Wall Street Bail out is a fraud on the ordinary people.

The "Wall Street Bail Out" being proposed by the head of the US Treasury is a fraud on the people - in my opinion.

For the life of me I cannot see the point - let alone the moral justification of this vast expenditure.

Firstly, people who ought to know say that the US$700 Billion "rescue plan" will go nowhere towards covering the funds which have been lost. So, the US$700 billion will be gratefully received by the bankers, who will use it to comfort themselves, as they cry about how much more they have lost. Then they will ask for more, to cover their real losses.

But losses is the correct term. These people are NOT INVESTORS, they are SPECULATORS, or put more prosaically, GAMBLERS.

Therefore, I ask, why bail them out? - with taxpayers money?

When they won big - and trust me, they did, over the last 30 years - did they offer to give that money away to anyone else? I don't think so. Certainly not to the taxpayers, or the Government. These people led the way in covering their profits inside tax havens, and by accounting ruses. They invented the phrase: "Paying taxes is optional" - and by and large, it has never been an attractive option to the mega-wealthy.

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In biological terms, I am an evolutionist, and to me it seems that these people are like dinosaurs, objecting to a cloud of dust blocking out the sun - because it will lead to their extinction. However, they have ignored the fact that the huge comet, or asteroid, has already hit the earth. The process has already started.

The analogy breaks down, however, because these people brought this disaster upon themselves, unlike the dinosaurs, who did not ask for the asteroid or comet to hit the earth.

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I am not the only "crazy" arguing against the "bail-out" of the Bankers. (source: Mike Adams - of the suspiciously named "Truth Publishing")

• "The key tipping point here will be when foreign banks stop buying U.S. debt or, just as dangerously, when foreign banks start SELLING OFF U.S. debt.
• "Either one will trigger a landslide rush to dump U.S. debt, flooding the market with useless paper that no one wants to buy.
• "Germany, China and many other countries are already calling for an end to the American Empire. And sadly, China actually has a way to accomplish that end. All they have to do, right now, is start a fire sale of U.S. debt, and the American empire crumbles within days."

DJW Comment: The only thing which may save the Americans is the fact that China needs the Americans to keep buying the cheap consumer goods which China is producing.

Lehman Brothers goes bust after WSC Elections.

The news of the Wingecarribee Shire Council election results spread fast. The "Old Guard" have failed to be re-elected. The first reaction to this news was seen on Wall Street, the financial sector of New York.

Over there, the news that one of their favourite clients, the Wingecarribee Shire Council "Old Guard" had been thrown out of office sent brokers from Lehman Brothers into a spin.

Is this the world-wide repercussion from
former Councillor Murray's electoral defeat?

(a satirical view)

Lehman Brothers is apparently the 4th largest investment house ("bank") in the world. It is regarded as an "Institution" in the world of finance - and nobody seems to really know how costly their collapse will be for others. The world of finance literally does not know how much money is tied up, and where. It is a catastrophe too large for the US Government to rescue them from, unlike the previous bail-out of Bear Stearns.

But the directors of Lehman Brothers have sought the protection of Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy laws.

We in the Wingecarribee Shire know that thanks to some ill-advised investments, we the people stand to lose money.

We already knew that we were going to lose those Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs). Now we will probably lose the entire tranch of funds invested with Lehman Brothers - some $57 million.

It makes the loss of $2.55 million on the first "deal" with Lehman Brothers whereby they bought back our $3 million investment in one group of their CDOs for $450, 000 seem trivial in comparison.

Who is responsible? In truth it must surely be all the Councillors of the former Council, and the General Manager.

Lets hope the new bunch do a better job. They could hardly do worse.

Iemma's mad "Power sell off" dream is a fraud.

Iemma's mad "Power Sell-off" dream is a fraud.
Tough words - but truthful.
Morris Iemma has proposed the sale and lease of the NSW Power generation and supply system. Supposedly this will bring about "windfall profits" to the State, which will use that money to provide "gifts" to the people, such as a new rail and road infrastructure. (I am old enough to recall how long the Eastern Suburbs railway was promised - before it was delivered. So, I will not be holding my breath. Anyway, the Government has not "built" new road networks in recent times, but has got the private sector to build them - so will this money actually be used to do what the Government promises? Or will we just end up with more toll roads anyway?) The whole scheme is a confidence trick on the public.

You can read the Sydney Morning Herald report here.

Hang on a minute.
What exactly is he selling, and why?

An obsolete coal-fired power generation system - at the same time as the Bali conference is taking place. And what is Bali telling us? The dangers of coal-fired power stations (amongst other things).

Surely we ought be planning to convert our old technologies to new "climate-friendly" technologies, like wind, solar and wave power.

When these issues have been raised, we have been told that they are unproven, or else too expensive.

So, what is happening? The Government is going to "party" while it can. Sell the gear. And leave us with what, exactly? Obsolete technology. We will end up with something approaching the disastrous state of East Germany's power system, at the time of the collapse of that decrepit State. And then we will be in the hands of the private sector, to build new, efficient power stations - if we can afford to pay the exorbitant prices they will want to charge us.

It is a hand over of sovereignty to the Private Sector, dressed up as a "bonus" to the community. It is a fraud on the public of NSW.

This is equivalent to the way the Government is allowing the destruction of our water harvesting system (the "Catchment") by coal mining companies, leaving the people to buy water from a French-led consortium, running the inefficient De-Sal scheme. Again a hand-over of our sovereignty (as well as being an environmentally disastrous policy).

Surely if there is money to be made, the Government ought be using that money to build new electricity generation equipment which is "green", or at least less environmentally damaging than what we have at present. I understand that gas-fired power stations are considerably less damaging than coal-fired power stations. And what about solar, or wind, or wave power?

The whole scheme is a nonsense - but the Media are getting in on the deal, planning how best to spend the money - without asking the real questions. What will we be left with?

Wake up, Australia (or the people of NSW anyway).

Government funded the late Kerry Packer.

Thanks again to Crikey.com.au for this revelation of the abuse of power by the Liberal and National Party coalition which we ironically call a "Government".

The Auditor-General's report on the abuses of the Regional Partnerships Scheme is very revealing (if only you have the energy to wade through the 3 volumes of abuses of procedure):

• Buried in Volume 3 of the 1000+ page report are details of some of the companies that received public money in the form of Regional Partnerships funding.

• One of the least - on the face of it - deserving recipients was applicant RP00908, Teys Bros, operators of network of abattoirs and a feedlot. While the Teys Bros group has an annual turnover in excess of $A1 billion, their Rockhampton plant had been closed since 2002 after extended industrial disputation rendered it unprofitable. In March 2004, the Rockhampton business sought $A660,000 of regional partnerships (including GST) to upgrade and reopen the meatworks.

• The ANAO report indicates that at the time the Teys Bros' Rocky meatworks was cap in hand seeking public funding, it was a company ultimately controlled by Consolidated Press International Holdings Pty Ltd, a company at the time controlled by Mr Kerry Packer (RIP).

That's right two thirds of a million dollars granted to Kerry packer, who was Australia's richest man.

It gets worse. The funds were not recommended by the Department, as the plan did not meet the criteria. When funds were aproved there were conditions attached (an external review was required). But when the Parliamentary Secretary advised the Packer company of the grant, she forgot/omitted/did not bother (take your pick of verbs) to include this condition in the terms of the approval.

An existing company with a financial interest objected to the grant (as it was outside the criteria to award a grant when it would disadvantage an existing business). That letter was ignored.

The litany of abuses of correct procedures just goes on and on and on.

In normal circumstances, criminal charged might be considered warranted.

Let us hope that the people of Australia cast their own verdict next Saturday.