DOUBLE STANDARDS ON SPORT WITH SOUTH AFRICA

The latest outbreak of pseudo-moralising concerning South Africa reveals the extent of the sickness throughout the Western world. The blood of the massacred students was still warm in the streets when Western politicians, perhaps taking their cue from Dr. Henry Kissinger, were urging that there should be no breaking of relations with Communist China.

Following another of his weeping spectaculars, Prime Minister Hawke urged that it should be business as usual with China. Fabian Gough Whitlam has also joined the chorus proclaiming that it would be folly to isolate China. Several have advanced the sophisticated argument that without in any way endorsing the killing of the students, the reality was that the students themselves had contributed to a growing national crisis by making impossible demands, with the end result being national anarchy in which all the Chinese people would suffer. Faced with such a threat, it is the duty of the government to prevent such a breakdown.

The "common good" demands that on occasions the State is forced to act as the Chinese government did. Why, then, is this type of argument not applied to South Africa? No sooner had it been announced that 16 England cricketers were going to play cricket in South Africa, this followed by the news that Australian and other rugby players might visit South Africa, than the Hawkes, Whitlams and their spiritual bedfellows around the world were venting their anti-South African feelings, with some suggesting even tougher sanctions against South Africa.

Just as sickening as the hypocrisy of the politicians has been the attitude of some sporting administrators. The truth is that the plight of sport generally today is a reflection of what took place during the decline of the Roman Civilisation. Sport degenerated into contests between paid gladiators. Cricket joined the commercialisation of sport when billionaire Kerry Packer told leading cricketers that they should privatise themselves and sign up with him. Back in 1976-77 Packer persuaded the England captain of the time, Mr. Tony Greig, to start secretly recruiting players while a Test Match was in progress between England and Australia.

Packer persuaded Greig to put his own financial interests ahead of the cricketing interests of his own country. Former Australian cricket captain Ian Chappell put the matter frankly when he signed up with Packer, stating that he could now "try to earn a living from cricket - which is our god-damned right". That spirit has tended to seep right through cricket, with the inevitable result that with money elevated to the position of the greatest importance, loyalty to native countries was weakened. It is interesting to note that having changed the whole character of cricket - primarily for money as he frankly admitted - Packer has moved on to polo in England.

Cricket is now big money with West Indians, who have played a major role along with India in keeping South Africa out of international cricket. Believing that they need the West Indians and other non-European teams for the purpose of "making cricket pay", the British cricketing authorities recently snubbed the South Africans when they sought once again to put their case before the International Cricket Conference. The South Africans have in effect responded by saying that if money is to be the major factor in deciding who we can play cricket with, then we will also play that game. The England cricketers who have signed to play in South Africa have every right to do so. But the wail is going up that if cricketers and rugby players play in South Africa, this could jeopardise the coming Commonwealth Games in New Zealand. And, good gracious, it could lead to Melbourne losing the bid for the next Olympic Games. And all of this sickening nonsense is dominated by money. The talk about "moral principles" is sickening double-talk.

BRIEF COMMENTS

While the anti-Queensland moralists can spare a moment from their pet hate, they might consider the recent statement by a Minister of the Crown in the West Australian Labor Government, Dr. Carmen Lawrence, who says, "I think (Parliament is) not only personally degrading but a waste of time." Dr. Lawrence is right when she says, "few ideas actually flow through parliament". This is because parliament has been subverted as a free, deliberate assembly, where Members actually make policy decisions. Dr. Lawrence's own Labor Party has played a major role in subverting parliament to the point where she considers it a waste of time. Dr. Lawrence is Minister for Education! We are not aware of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen ever saying that he found parliament personally degrading.

During the ongoing controversy concerning the anti-Christian film, produced by a Jew, very few critics have ignored how the film presents the Crucifixion in a completely new light. Scorsese presents Judas as a quite different character to the Judas of The New Testament. The trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin in which the high priest Caiaphas played the leading role, is eliminated, thus making the Romans solely responsible for the crucifixion.

In the latest issue of Salvation Army's weekly newspaper, The War Cry, the Commissioners of the Army warn that the New Age movement is anti-Christian. They said that Christians had to recognise an increasing infiltration of anti-Christian concepts in society. Much of the New Age thought that is being adopted in the Western world has its basis in Eastern religions, humanism, occultism, astrology and theosophy. It endeavours to confirm that there are many 'faiths' and opposes the concept of the sovereignty of God. The breakdown of traditional Christianity can be attributed to the failure of the Christian Church to relate the eternal verities to what is happening in the material world.

A statement by Westpac Banking Corp. tends to confirm the view we have consistently expressed about the economy: The controllers of High Finance seek to avoid drastic depression conditions similar to those of the Thirties. The programme is one of the "slow squeeze", steadily conditioning people to accept lower standards of living. Westpac tips a sharp "slowing" of the economy over the next twelve months. The planners hope that this slowing down will enable them to further "re-structure" Australian industry. Generally overlooked in this re-structuring programme, including the amalgamation of the Trade Unions, is Mr. Bill Kelty of the A.C.T.U. His task is to persuade trade unionists that what is happening is "inevitable", and based upon "economic realities".

The Annual Convention of the N.S.W. Liberal Party has called on the Federal Party to "get with it" with respect to Green Policies. We have mentioned recently in these pages that Mr. Peacock and some of his colleagues are taking a low-key approach to environmental issues. Could it be that they suspect that there is something phony about such hysteria as surrounds the Greenhouse Effect and the Ozone Layer? One delegate asserted that the next election would be won or lost on environmental issues. He could be right: certainly the preferences of the minor political groupings should be decisive. However, there are dangers in Greenhouse Hysteria; and some politicians and political advisers warn that too much emphasis on Green policies carries the danger of seeming insufficiently concerned with economic policies. We expect the economy to further deteriorate into 1990. Also, it is possible that the Green Hysteria could lose some steam as more thoughtful people become aware of the Green Hoax.

GREEN HOAX
Environmentalists "CRY WOLF" ... Scientists are divided ... The Green Movement Hijacked. "The scenario of a green-house warming globe is not a proven fact. We do know that climate has been changing in recent decades. However, such change may be completely natural and not due to man's impact at all." - Dr. Edward Bryant, Senior Lecturer, Department of Geography, University of Wollongong.
David Thompson, N.S.W. Director of the Australian League of Rights, has assembled a mass of evidence (mostly suppressed by the mass media) from impeccable scientists, that we are confronted with a massive Green Hoax. Now available from League bookshops - Green Hoax. $6.00 posted. Six copies $25.00 posted.

DEPRESSION RECALLED

This letter, published by several newspapers around Australia, from "A.A. Pinwill", Gayndah, Qld.
"It is little wonder that senior citizens who experienced the tragedy of the Depression of the 30s are disgusted by the nonsensical statements from the mouth of the notorious 'world's best Treasurer' - Mr. Keating. "Perhaps he was not born at that time, but has he never heard of the 1937 Royal Commission on Australia's monetary and banking system, especially set up to research financial avenues to prevent another such destructive Depression. "After two years' exhaustive enquiry the answer was found, our COMMONWEALTH BANK!
"In case Mr. Keating's history teacher overlooked the importance of making him fully aware of the significance of this Australian financial history, here is a paragraph from the Chairman, Sir Justice Napier's final summary:-
'The COMMONWEALTH BANK can make money available to Governments or to others on such terms as it chooses, even by way of a loan without interest, or even without requiring either interest or repayment of principal.' "That statement clearly proves that with Australia's vast assets and potential, our outrageous overseas debt is deliberately and unnecessarily created by those who claim to be governing Australia for the benefit of Australians.
What responsible businessman would permit someone outside his business to control his finances? "This is precisely the situation in Australia today when the control of interest rates has been surrendered to 'market forces' - bookkeepers in the banking industry who never face electors but use them continuously as puppets, to provide the huge profits they incessantly boast about. "Why must we tolerate this dictatorship from our so-called leaders and their financial advisers? Money was made by man to be man's servant, not his vicious master, as Messrs. Hawke and Keating would have us believe. THE ROYAL COMMISSION CLEARLY PROVED THIS."

HOW NOT TO - From The Australian, August 3rd: "The following is taken from an instruction booklet on how to write letters, published by the Services Branch of the Department of Transport and Communications: 'Draft document should be proof-read to check accuracy of typing, grammer, spelling.' "It would appear the producer of the booklet failed to take notice of his or her own instructions." (G.R. Nichols, Hazelwood Park, S.A.)

FROM "CANADIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE"