TRUE VALUE HIDDEN

by Jeremy Lee
As nation after nation is transfixed and mesmerised by the onslaught of national and international debt, few indeed are the economists with initiative enough to ask how, in a world marked by industrial innovation undreamed of in history, such debt can exist. Most are aware of the $330 billion Australian foreign debt. But the US runs up a similar amount annually! Japan's banking debts threaten to sink the country. Canada's debts have the country by the throat. Argentina has everyone crying. Russia is in third world status; and the Third World itself is, in essence, bankrupt.
Yet governments and international agencies proceed as though this was the norm, and that they have some magical formula for sufficient growth to surmount the debt mountain, which largely involves enough exports via a 'free-trade' system.
The fact that exports have been changed from a mutually-advantageous exchange of goods between nations into a war-marked series of trade battles in an effort to get ahead of the tide of debt is never acknowledged by those who shape the world's destiny on their computers.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has produced an interesting snapshot of the nation, which should be compared with the debt-figures we listed last week. The Sunday Herald Sun (27/1/02) described it thus:
"Australia has been valued at $2230.2 billion (i.e.$2.2 trillion - Ed.) in a statistical snapshot of the nation. "The Australian Bureau of Statistics also found we are working harder, volunteering more, marrying later, not going on strike as much, but we are committing more crime. "The country's worth, calculated in the annual review, was set at $2926.9 billion (i.e. $2.9 trillion -Ed.) before debts, a 25 percent increase on a decade ago. "That included land valued at $815.9 billion, mineral assets at $117 billion, and trees at $2.3 billion. "Farms were valued at $6.5 billion, livestock at $5.2 billion and the inventories held by public authorities at $3.6 billion. "Computer software was said to be worth $21.5 billion, a fivefold increase since figures began in 1992. "Our homes are worth $555.9 billion, while the buildings we work in, the bridges we drive across and the footpaths we walk on are valued at $679 billion. "Machinery and equipment is valued at $327.9 billion, but our entertainment, literary and artistic originals are valued at only $500 million.
"While Australia's total assets have climbed 25.7 percent in ten years, our total liabilities to the rest of the world have jumped 94.7 percent to $596.7 billion ....." (emphasis added)

It would only take a few extra steps to extend these figures into a fully-fledged national balance sheet, which would give us all a better picture of where Australia is heading. We would need to compare the figures for the appreciation and depreciation of our capital assets - how quickly our homes, machinery, roads and bridges, etc., are wearing out compared to the rate at which we are carrying out maintenance and repair and expanding. How much we are consuming, compared to what we are producing. We would need to have an accurate picture of our trading position - how much mineral, agricultural and productive wealth (including knowledge and research) is exported, compared to what we are importing. We would need, in fact, the extra details for a genuine "Australia Pty Ltd" Balance Sheet.

But the figures above tell us some things
Twenty million Australians in this island continent own assets worth an average $146,000 per head (man, woman and child, or $584,000 for the average family of four). They also owe the rest of the world an average $35,000 per head, or $140,000 for the average family of four. The value of our farming land, plus all the livestock in Australia is valued at about half the value of the computer software in the country! And our debts are increasing at almost four times the rate of our assets. If we work on a nice round figure of 5 percent interest, we are paying the 'rest-of-the-world' just under $30 billion annually in interest - about $1,500 for each man, woman and child.

What makes the whole thing illogical and meaningless is the fact that we try to measure this enormous abundance in currencies which only come into existence as interest-bearing debt. No nation or community is ever CREDITED with the real value of assets at its disposal. This is why the analysis by C.H. Douglas, known as Social Credit, made 80-odd years ago, is of such vital importance.
He pointed accurately to the accounting fallacy involved in the way we run our money systems, which deny humanity the sufficiency, joy and harmony the real world offers. He went on to describe the war, starvation, poverty and misery which would result if this was not corrected. And he concluded that the necessary correction was being withheld because of the enormous advantages and power it offered to those who controlled the money system.

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FAMILY FARM

NEW ZEALAND WAKING UP?

New Zealand prime minister Helen Clarke is doing a better job than some in an effort to resuscitate the New Zealand economy. Her government has started a "peoples' bank", which has been derided by the conventional orthodox. She is now moving to save what's left of New Zealand's farms. The Australian Financial Review (30/1/02) reported:
"The New Zealand Government has tightened controls on the sale of farms to foreigners, ordering that they be offered for sale to local buyers first. "The law, which comes into effect on Friday also tests whether a foreign sale of farmland will bring 'sustained and identifiable' benefits to New Zealand or to the local region before it can be approved. "The rule tightening comes 18 months after the Government instructed the Overseas Investment Commission to stop rubber-stamping foreign purchases of farm properties ...."

What a quaint, old-fashioned but excellent idea!
Meanwhile, the Howard government forms "Invest Australia" to attract more foreign money and takeovers.

REFUGEE AND WAR ON TERRORISM COST BLOWOUT

A SIGN OF HOPE

JAPAN CONTINUES TO SLIDE

Japan's unemployment figures are now up to 5.6 per cent - that's over 6 million workers - the highest since recording began in 1953, and almost triple the average 2 percent the country has averaged since then. 220 thousand people lost their jobs last month alone. "Echoing warnings by market economists, the Finance Minister, Mr. Masajuro Shiokawa, said there was little prospect of an early reversal in the unemployment trend. They will probably continue. Businesses have just started to restructure,' he said." (AFR, 30/1/02).

In another article by Florence Chong, she claimed any further deterioration in Japan would trigger a major currency crisis throughout South-East Asia.

CANADIAN SUPREME COURT ON REFUGEES

The recent decision by the Supreme Court of Canada on suspected terrorists and deportation to countries suspected of torture is interesting since it sets a trend ever deeper into the legal process. It might be called abdication of judicial responsibility. It might be called 'discretionism' as it gives more and more discretion to the bureaucracy to basically make whatever decision they may want, based on the facts as they find them.

The two cases to which reference is made, are the Tamil Tiger Manickavasagam Suresh, 46, of Sri Lanka, and Mansour Ahani, 27. The two cases produce different results for the immigrant. In either case, Ministerial discretion is strengthened and no clear stand is taken in principle which could give persons a clear indication of where they will stand with the authorities. A case-by-case basis discretion with no clear principles is an open invitation to bribery and corruption and entrusts faceless bureaucrats once again with enormous power of virtual life and death over immigrants. A cynic would say the price of admission just went up.

The Supreme Court of Canada also pronounced these words to clarify what refugees constitute a serious threat to national security. It would be "setting the bar too high" to require the government to show there is a direct threat to Canada, "rather, it may be grounded in distant events that indirectly have a real possibility of harming Canadian security. It may have made sense to suggest that terrorism in one country did not necessarily implicate other countries, but after the year 2001, that approach is no longer valid."

The implications of this decision are startling. It seems to give wide discretion and no guidance to future judges on principles of real danger to Canada. It seems to let judges assess such things as "real possibilities" - what are those? It seems to leave "harming Canadian security" undefined. Does this mean embarrassing or irritating our allies?

Finally, and most startlingly, does the last quoted portion not indicate that what courts regard as common sense ceases to be so on the single act of terrorism which clearly was conducted by people against another country than our own for reasons unique to that country? The court seems to have become so politically sensitive that it ceases to hold fast to any clear principles. Parliamentarians are politicians. When Judges act politically, where do we turn for principles? A moral vacuum which exists in Canada is bound to produce more political discretionary decisions, whose principles are vague or inscrutable. Vague laws create confusion, fear and oppression.

COLLINS CASE CONTINUES

from "Friends of Freedom" Newsletter, Canada
The case of Doug Collins is a classic example of bureaucratic power gone to the point of tyranny. This case in a nutshell involved a journalist who wrote about Hollywood's obsession with the fate of the Jews in the Second World War and the movie Schindler's List which Doug Collins accurately predicted would win Oscars. Today one sees about $40 billion US per year given to Israel for military hardware and when $14 million worth of weapons are purchased for the Palestinians you would think the sky had fallen. So Doug used to reason there was an inequity here to be observed and commented upon. The end result was a Human Rights Tribunal which concluded that although the law itself was constitutionally valid, the article did not offend the law as it stood read in a particular way.

The first judgment was all very sophist. It was merely the preliminary to the next complaint which referred to the one column for which he was acquitted and proceeded to allege two more to get a cumulative effect. This inquiry ended with a finding that the columns taken together do offend this vague law section 7(1)(b) of the Human Rights Act which reads: "Section 7, Discriminatory Publication 7(1) A person must not publish, issue or display or caused to be published, issued or displayed, any statement, publication, notice, sign, symbol, emblem or other representation that (b) is likely to expose a person or group or class of persons to hatred or contempt because of the race, religion, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation or age of that person or that group or class of that persons."

Then a constitutional challenge was taken to the courts. The Supreme Court said let the Tribunal decide the constitutional issue. The Court of Appeal agreed, and the Supreme Court of Canada agreed. So we went to the Tribunal. The Tribunal just found that the law under which they had the power to eliminate speech was constitutional. What a coincidence! This vague law gives the power to censor all newspapers and now the internet. To counter this view we argued in the book called "In Freedom's Cause" all the arguments we intended to use later.

Doug Collins case can proceed
The decision of Tom Patch has now come out. He finds even though Doug Collins has died the case is not moot (or merely academic) but it may proceed. This important aspect of the decision enables us to take the matter further. Secondly, the member decided that the law was constitutionally valid and ratified a fine on Doug Collins. Notice they don't send people to prison; it might awaken the masses.

In conclusion on the Collins case, we can now bring on our judicial review application to challenge the constitutional validity of the law itself as we had intended all along. Meanwhile Doug Christie has finally received a letter back from the Premier Gordon Campbell about the Human Rights Act, which had been the subject of pre-election promises. In this letter, Premier Campbell states that the matter has been referred to Attorney General Geoff Plant and there is a committee which is deciding what should happen to the Human Rights Commission and its enabling legislation.

Anti-Terrorism Legislation extended jurisdiction of Canadian Human Rights Commission
How does this affect the universal condition of our readers around the world? Keep in mind in a Human Rights context that truth is no defence. This means obviously a column based on fact has no defence if it offends some group protected by this law. Secondly, the new Canadian anti-terrorism legislation now has extended the jurisdiction of the Canadian Human Rights Act to include every website in the world. This was a live issue in the Zundel case because no law authorised it. Now in the name of fighting terrorism, the bureaucrats can regulate every website in the world even though truth is no defence and it may be located in the United States where their sites and views are not illegal. This is one interpretation that you can be sure your government-funded tax dollars will be applied against some poor impoverished citizen...

ANGLICAN COMMUNION NEWS SERVICE IN CALL FOR PRAYER

The following communication was issued by the Anglican News Service ACNS 2836 - MIDDLE EAST - January 22nd, 2002.

Urgent Call for Prayer
The People of Khan Younis & Rafah, Gaza
One week ago the Israeli military attacked and demolished 53 Palestinian homes in Rafah, in the south of Gaza on the Egyptian border. Tanks and military bulldozers invaded Rafah refugee camp at 2 am and proceeded to destroy these homes with no provocation. The area was quiet at the time, and people were in their homes during a particularly cold spell of winter weather. Rafah is on the Mediterranean Sea, and at the same time 24 motors were confiscated from local Palestinian fishing boats and access to the sea prohibited. This attack has left over 700 people homeless, including 400 children. These families have lost all their possessions in the demolitions, and to date have been prevented from returning to the ruins of their homes to obtain possessions in the rubble.
The International Red Cross and the UN (UNRWA) have responded by providing tents, clothes, blankets and food.

Rafah is the poorest district in Palestine, and home to 137,000 people, 68% of them refugees. Unemployment ranges between 60-70%. Since the beginning of the current conflict, 82 Rafans have lost their lives, and 1,160 have been injured. The latest attack brings the total of demolished homes to almost 250 homes, with an additional 120 that have been partially destroyed. This has resulted in thousands of homeless.

Mohammed Al Naka, Social Worker at Ahli Arab Hospital, spends much of his time caring for the needs of these victims. He says, "We are not asking for the moon, we are asking to live a normal life like people all over the world. We want a life of freedom, to walk our streets safely, to educate our children, to live side by side with our neighbours. We are not monsters or killers. We have a right to live and to raise our children in a safe environment, where we can protect and care for them as any other parent in the world."

The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem has responded! Ahli Arab Hospital is a profound illustration of the mission of the Church, and a visible expression of our concern for the community in our daily lives. Of the over one million residents of the Gaza Strip, about three thousand are Christian, yet Ahli Hospital is known and respected as a provider of the highest quality care for all the women, children and men of Gaza. The Diocese of Jerusalem is co-ordinating with Ahli Arab Hospital to provide every family with a food parcel worth $50. The children of Christ Church Episcopal School in Nazareth have begun, today, to raise funds to purchase a sweater for every child living in a tent in Rafah.

Please keep these children and their families in your prayers, as well as the staff of Ahli Arab Hospital, the children and staff of Christ Church Episcopal School in Nazareth, and the entire region.
You can send QUESTIONS or COMMENTS to acnslist@anglicancommunion.org

A REPORT STRAIGHT FROM HELL

by Betty Luks
It is time the John Howards and Alexander Downers of this world were told "enough is enough!" This time they need to take a stand on behalf of the Australian people and express their revulsion and horror at the reported Israeli killing of Palestinian boys and harvesting of their body parts for organ transplants. Have we become so brutalised and desensitised as human beings that we cannot feel for the Palestinian parents who have lost their children in such a way? Please write to your federal politician and Howard and Downer on this matter.

The following report was taken from David Irving's website
Israel Kills Palestinian Boys, Steals Organs for Transplants - Israelis 'harvest' organs from shot Palestinian children

AL-KHALIL (IRNA) - The Zionist state has tacitly admitted that doctors at the Israeli forensic institute at Abu Kabir had extracted the vital organs of three Palestinian teenage children killed by the Israeli Army nearly ten days ago. Zionist Minister of Health Nessim Dahhan said in response to a question by Arab member of the Zionist Parliament 'Knesset', Ahmed Teibi, on Tuesday that he couldn't deny that organs of Palestinian youths and children killed by the Israeli forces were taken out for transplants or scientific research. "I couldn't say for sure that something like that (taking out the organs) didn't happen." Teibi said he had received credible evidence proving that Israeli doctors at the forensic institute extracted such vital organs as the heart, kidneys, and liver from the bodies of Palestinian youths and children killed by the Israeli Army in Gaza and the West Bank. The Israeli authorities normally detain the bodies of martyred Palestinians for a few days without any explanation. The Israeli Army on December 30th killed three Palestinian boys, aged 14-15, near Khan Younis in unclear circumstances. The army issued conflicting reports on the killing, while Palestinian sources charged that Israeli troops murdered the three unarmed boys in cold blood. The bodies of the three boys were handed over to the Palestinians for burial on January 6th. However, shortly before burial, Palestinian medical authorities examined the bodies and found out that the main vital organs were missing from the bodies. The Israeli media have nearly completely ignored the affair.

ISRAELI RESERVISTS REFUSE TERRITORIES DUTY

MORE ON SA ELECTION

by Betty Luks
Family First Party: Disappointingly, the newly formed group known as the Family First Party, backed by a well-known Adelaide church-group, have come out with a number of mother-hood statements, all well-intentioned no doubt, but will hardly 'electrify' the political debate. The dark clouds, heralding the approaching storms which threaten us all, call for some real leadership. This group is not going to give it. Their objectives are listed below. They want to treat the symptoms, they are not looking at the underlying forces causing so many of the problems. Their approach is no different to the other parties.

What, in effect, they are saying is
"If only we had the power, what good we could do to you!" How will they do it? They say they will support policies that "... promote funding and support for organisations that assist and educate families..." For God's sake - why not reduce the burden of taxes and charges and let the people look after their own affairs? Why not fight for Citizen's Initiative and Referenda and let the people themselves control the politicians!

The website announces the FAMILY FIRST PARTY objective is to provide additional resources and finance for the following: Education; Health ; Senior Citizens; Housing; Youth Counselling Programs; Homeless; Drug Rehabilitation; Family Counselling. All done through government and its bureaucracies, of course, and under the present financial orthodoxy. Not one word about the terrible burden of debt the people bear. Not one word about the inherent evil of centralised power.

One Nation Party and CIR
The One Nation candidate for the Legislative Council has announced One Nation will take a tough stand on crime. They are dead right when they say people just don't trust politicians. "This lack of trust is well deserved especially from the past Labor and the current Liberal Governments. Both have lied outright to the South Australian public time and time again." But, it looks like they could be on the right track - they have publicly committed themselves: "It's time to invigorate the debate with a tough stand on crime and a serious push for Citizen Initiated Referenda (CIR). It's time for CIR to shove sense back into politics.
One Nation WILL strive to deliver, WHAT EVER IT COSTS, the opportunity to be the first state in Australia to have CIR. One Nation will make State Politicians accountable to the people of SA!"

They need to be kept to their word - whether they get into power or not!

Independent Member for Fisher Bob Such tells his electorate he left party (Liberal) politics in October 2000 and took his seat as an independent because of his concerns about policies, practices and priorities both in the Parliament and in Government itself. He was concerned about arrogant political behaviour which was not directed at serving the people and being honest, open and accountable. It seems he was particularly horrified to be told at a meeting of MPs on September 7th, 2000, "stick together and we will all share the spoils of office - the cars, the trips, the perks." He needs to promote CIR and he will get good support. Those in the seat of Fisher should write to him on the matter.

CSC SOUTH AUSTRALIA

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SYDNEY CSC