The Gov here (before Howard) protected the small companies and helped them grow. Then it all got complicated… *sigh*

The ACCC here tries to keep the big bastards honest, but really, there is only so much they can do. They often slap Telstra with million dollar fines, and Telstra just pays it and laughs, while sill making huge profits. Same with the banks.

I don’t know how it can be fixed any more. It’s so endemic.

Small business are eliminated all the time, while corporations get subsidies and court protection.

Not just foreclosed, dying. Even with Insurance! I read those stories with horror. Like poor Nataline Sarkisyan recently. After watching Moore’s Sicko… it was eye opening.

Howard tried to destroy heathcare here, and partially succeeded. But it’s not too bad here.

I hear about the healthcare insurance being the reason why people stay in jobs they would normally leave from my friends there. It’s just a form blackmail to me really. The Capitalists there are simply blackmailing people with their own health. I guess we know where all the Mafia went! 🙂

Cheers.

If, by some miracle, we get reasonably universal health care coverage in the US, stand by for a huge shift in people, because there are a lot of people in both government and industry who only stay for the health insurance. That is, in too many cases, the “whip” used to keep people in line.

“…who used to be is nemesis…” should be “…who used to be his nemesis…”

“it was obvious to anyone save…” should be “It was obvious to anyone sane…”

You know… I have been chatting with old buddies and colleague’s over the years… you know the type: “what happened?” “where did it go wrong?” “What changed?” etc.. The conclusion we eventually came to was that first, it all became just a political tool, and second, the agents and other staff just became wage slaves. You know… family to feed, mortgage, etc. And were more afraid of loosing their income than they were about doing the right job. (I know that’s not completely accurate, and doesn’t apply to everyone. Some were just lazy, some crooked, some ignorant, and some just stupid. And a few did try to do the right thing.) There was always the thought at the back of one’s mind: “The Gov has all the power. If I don’t toe the line, they can make my life hell, or worse.”

I know. The Gov certainly has made me (and others) pay for trying to actually do the right thing. We had a thing called Honor. Not much of that around these days. It’s all about personal survival now.

Cheers. 🙂

When I was working intel in the 80’s, I learned a lot about the CIA funding and training groups like al Qaeda (and we were involved in a couple joint black-ops). And all the Panama & Central America stuff. I always just shook my head. it was obvious to anyone save it was a bad idea. Even helping Saddam rise to power in Iraq. The only reason Bushmoron/Darth Cheney invaded was because Saddam threatened to cut off oil supply to the USA and trade in Euro’s. Saddam was a bastard, but I worked Mid-East for a while (SA, UAE mainly) and in what is strange to a westerner, is that it usually takes a bastard to keep control there. Not saying Saddam was what they wanted or deserved… It’s all so complicated out there! Nothing in the Mid East is what it seems! Loyalties on the surface are not always the same as the ones deep inside the people there. Ehhh… It’s all way to complex to describe here unfortunately.

I really believe that almost all the problems the USA has now is because of the meddling (and usually incompetently) in external affairs. It’s not that the USA meddled, every nation does in some way, but the way it was done and the serious lack of real investigation of the consequences. When I worked with them, and my team brought up a concern, we were usually told it wasn’t important or not a problem at this time, or we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, or it will be taken care of, etc. WTF does that mean? *shaking head* There were some good people though too. Now and then, I’d find an anonymous, typed, note after a meeting with a few answers, or at least hints, to unanswered questions. And a couple times, what question to ask at the next meeting! 🙂

It was the incredible arrogance that was the last straw for me. I got out when the superiors I respected decided to resign or retire and *suggested* I should consider my position and options. 🙂

My friend in Chicago (and others) say they read the Aus news sites to find out what’s going on in the USA. LOL Mind you… our media are not perfect either! Murdock owns some of them here too. 🙂 But our media watchdogs have more teeth than yours, and Aussies trust nothing in the press. LOL

Thanks for the discussion. 🙂 I’m enjoying it! I think I would have enjoyed working with you many years ago… way back when… LOL Yeah… times were different.

Cheers. 🙂

I read the ABC [Australian Broadcasting] website among the many foreign sources, because the American media frankly sucks. I loved that Chasers bit. The whole security routine for our pompous twit of a President is beyond absurd. Face it, who would attack him, with Dick Cheney poised to take over?

Until we get some sanity back in our government, it would be an excellent policy for your people to maintain some distance. Your new Prime Minister seems to have his priorities straight, but I admit that my favorite part of your election was the fact that along with his party losing, Howard lost his seat in parliament – I never claimed to be a Christian. 😈

After having a desk in Canberra for a few years, I left. I couldn’t bear it… all the stupid political games, and all the petty ego’s. It seems that you have similar feelings about the CIA as I do about ASIO. Isn’t it horrifying to think these are supposed to be our guardians from the threat of International Terrorism! *shaking head* What a joke! Just take the recent APEC Summit in Sydney (or… ‘the OPEC meeting in Austria’ as Bushmoron called it. You think his mind is on oil much?) LOL

All the press releases were: “The arrival in Sydney by U.S President George Bush has has seen the tightest security in Australia’s history.”

And what happened? An ABC (Aus not US) comedy crew with fake ID (that even stated on the ID that it was fake) dressed as Arabs, with one pretending to look like Osama, went through TWO security check points and got to within 12m of the Hotel GWB was staying at! They only got caught because they decided to get out and executed an illegal U-turn and were stopped by an ordinary cop! And ASIO got a huge budget increase for the APEC security! I guess their are still as incompetent as they were 30 years ago. Actually… I suppose that’s beyond incompetent.

And the amazing thing is that most of the sheeple here (yes, we have them too!) were outraged that the Chasers crew dared even try a stunt like that! How dare they! The very fact they succeeded seemed to be much to subtle for many people to grasp! Makes you want to smack yourself on the head with a bat. *sigh* Makes me wonder why I went through all the pain I did 30 years ago. I look at people today sometimes, and think they are not worth it.

Well, at least we well-and-truly kicked Howard and his bunch of incompetent bullies out! I guess some sanity seems to have prevailed for a change. 🙂 We can but hope! LOL

I think I’ll go check out your other posts here. I don’t want to monopolize one thread! 😉

I hope you and your family are all doing well.

Cheers!

Many people today think Osama created terrorism and forget the various European, Palestinian, and Japanese whackos we dealt with in the 1960s to 1980s, so a bombing in Australia didn’t surprise me, although I was surprised when I didn’t see any progress on the case, because your crew had a good hold on the Asian scene with more proficient linguists than we had. Americans don’t do well with Asian languages, for whatever reason.

In a way I would be encouraged if I thought the CIA was capable of pulling off something and keeping a secret, but they tended to bungle it every time. They wouldn’t last very long in a life of crime.