The Dawn Patrol Report: The One Regime Change That Went Horribly wRONg

 Uncategorized  78 Responses »
Dec 302011
 

Weather here at Bradfield is still cloudy, wet, cold and gloomy.

If i am an American taxpayer, i will be really piss-off. For $1.2T, 4000 deaths and over 30,000 wounded, what did I get in my ROI?  From NYT:

How to Save Iraq From Civil War – IRAQ today stands on the brink of disaster. President Obama kept his campaign pledge to end the war here, but it has not ended the way anyone in Washington wanted. The prize, for which so many American soldiers believed they were fighting, was a functioning democratic and nonsectarian state. But Iraq is now moving in the opposite direction — toward a sectarian autocracy that carries with it the threat of devastating civil war. Since Iraq’s 2010 election, we have witnessed the subordination of the state to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s Dawa party, the erosion of judicial independence, the intimidation of opponents and the dismantling of independent institutions intended to promote clean elections and combat corruption. All of this happened during the Arab Spring, while other countries were ousting dictators in favor of democracy. Iraq had a chance to demonstrate, for the first time in the modern Middle East, that political power could peacefully pass between political rivals following proper elections. Instead, it has become a battleground of sects, in which identity politics have crippled democratic development. READ MORE:

Nothing much apparently. A broken country with no proper Army and Police to provide security to its citizens. A broken country with infra-structures that dont work. On average 250 people are still dying every month from terrorist related bombings at anytime, anyplace
and anywhere.

Many Iraqis are now lamenting that Saddam days were almost the good ole days where there was stability, the infra-structures were working and the buses ran on time. President Obama called the Iraq War a “dumb war” when he was still a Junior Senator, how right he was. Although, now he is the POTUS, he has to choose his words carefully. When he was asked few days ago about this, his answer was: “Only time will tell and history will judge”. It was a dumb answer he had to give.

The Iraq War was justified by the proponents based on:

1. Saddam Regime was a brutal dictatorship & it must be toppled and replaced with something better – wRONg. President Maliki has been described as a dictator worse than Saddam.
2. Saddam Regime had WMD – there was none. wRONg
3. Saddam Regime supported and accomodated AlKayda – wRONg.

John Howard must also be called to be accountable for his whole hearted support for the Iraq War.

Meanwhile, i know now why i am an atheist:

Scuffles have broken out between rival groups of Greek Orthodox and Armenian clerics in a turf war at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.Bemused tourists looked on as about 100 priests fought with brooms while cleaning the church in preparation for Orthodox
Christmas, on 7 January.Palestinian police armed with batons and shields broke up the clashes. Groups of priests have clashed before in the church, built on the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born. No one was arrested because all those involved were men of God””It was a trivial problem that… occurs every year,” Bethlehem police Lt-Col Khaled al-Tamimi told Reuters. READ MORE:

G’Day to ALL.

The Dawn Patrol Report: The forthcoming War with the #MSM for the Regime Change

 Media, Polling, Uncategorized  50 Responses »
Dec 292011
 

First, the weather here at Bradfield is WGAF. Fuming.

You can see it coming, a day before the latest Newspoll Quarterly Trend analysis came this editorial in the Daily Terror:

Everyone paying Gillard power bill – The Daily Telegraph December 28, 2011 12:00AM – DEMOCRACY can be a messy business, never more so than when decisions fall short of being clear-cut.That’s when compromises and trade-offs must be made.

Australia has been locked in an extended compromise since the too-close-to-call 2010 federal election, which was eventually decided Labor’s way when Greens and independents backed the return of Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s government. Few need reminding of the policy challenges that resulted. The widely-opposed carbon tax, clearly rejected by Gillard during the 2010 campaign, is now signed into legislation due to Greens bargaining.

The move cost Gillard considerable credibility and may yet play a significant role in the next federal election, officially due in 2013. But other costs are also involved.

Almost $15 billion in taxpayer funds have been spent by Labor on electorates and issues associated with the independents and Greens. This is an extraordinary amount, particularly considering the fact that our federal budget is struggling to maintain even a slender surplus. REAM MORE

And right on the cue, last night Ghost reported the latest quarter trend analysis:

GhostWhoVotes GhostWhoVotes – #Newspoll Oct-Dec Quarterly 2 Party Preferred: ALP 45 (+2) L/NP 55 (-2) #auspol

GhostWhoVotes GhostWhoVotes – #Newspoll Oct-Dec Quarterly Primary Votes: ALP 31 (+4) L/NP 46 (-2) GRN 12 (-1) #auspol

GhostWhoVotes GhostWhoVotes – #Newspoll Oct-Dec Quarterly Gillard: Approve 31 (+2) Disapprove 59 (-2) #auspol

GhostWhoVotes GhostWhoVotes – #Newspoll Oct-Dec Quarterly Abbott: Approve 34 (-4) Disapprove 56 (+4) #auspol

GhostWhoVotes GhostWhoVotes – #Newspoll Oct-Dec Quarterly Preferred PM: Gillard 39 (+2) Abbott 38 (-3) #auspol

In all categories, the trend is clear PM Gillard is making progress after a very difficult political year of 2011. Add to this the last of the year Morgan F2F poll of 1700 voters had 2PP of 50-50 based on last election preferences.

I am sure Ruddstoration is not far off and coming also. I am sure there are other similar  articles in The OO today. But I couldnt bother and I will leave that to the capable hand of fellow Dawn Patrollers like BK and others to report.

G’Day to ALL

The Dawn Patrol Report: The forthcoming Currency War.

 Uncategorized  60 Responses »
Dec 282011
 

First, the weather here at Bradfield is ok, sunny, light breeze but on the cool side. No whinging today.

One thing that is still holding up the US economy is its dollar USD. It is still the de facto world currency where people, business and trade still trust. It is also a curse as moneys poured into USA and allow USA to live beyond its means. The Europeans have had a dream that its EURO might provide some competition to USA. Alas, the EURO dream is now in ashes.

In unlikely that USD can be replaced as the world de facto currency in the near future, not via IMF, World Bank, China’s RMB, Japan’s Yen or EURO. So many countries are now starting to manage the USD currency risks by bi-lateral currency swap deals. How would the little Aussie Battler AUD survive, especially China, Japan and India are our biggest trading partner?

DECEMBER 27, 2011 – Tokyo and Beijing Agree on Currency Pact

BEIJING—A wide-ranging currency agreement between China and Japan is expected to give the Chinese yuan a more powerful role in international trade, but Beijing still must make substantial changes in how it manages its economy before the yuan becomes a currency powerhouse on the scale of the dollar or euro. Economic woes in Europe and U.S. have undermined market confidence in the dollar and euro, but investors looking for a safe place to store their money have few other currency options. China, among other nations, has objected to the primacy of the dollar in international trade, and has suggested other ways to run the international monetary system, including giving a bigger role to the International

Monetary Fund and a wider role for the yuan. Those discussions have largely been theoretical. But during a visit to China by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, which ended on Monday, China and Japan announced a series of deals that promote the use of the yuan in trade and investment between the world’s second- and third-largest economies, which would limit somewhat the use of the dollar in Asia, the world’s fastest growing region. Specifically, the two countries agreed to promote direct yuan-yen trade, rather than converting their currencies first to dollars, and also for Japan to hold yuan in its foreign-exchange reserves, which are now largely denominated in dollars. READ MORE

Aussie dollar flips head to tail, Gareth Hutchens, December 26, 2011 – THE Australian dollar had two stories to tell this year,

like the sides of a classic gold coin. In the first half of the year, it was a tale of dollar “strength”, when the Chinese-led mining boom put a rocket under commodity prices, lifting the currency to a post-float high in July.Its record US110.81¢ price tag forced a rethink on how the dollar fitted into the global economy.

Traders started to call it a “safe haven”, a harbour from wobbles on jittery sharemarkets, when previously it had been considered a ”barometer of risk”, the sort of currency investors would dump when they worried about global economic conditions. By midyear, some economists were predicting the dollar would jump past US115¢, even US120¢, if China’s economic growth continued apace and stability returned to Europe and the US, where the “debt ceiling” crisis was then at its pointy end.  Read more

Japan PM in Delhi, currency pact soon, HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, New Delhi, December 27, 2011

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda arrived in India on Tuesday for a two-day visit with a power-packed economic and business agenda including a multi-billion dollar bilateral currency swap pact. The deal aims at preventing adverse contagion effects during crises fuelled by speculative investment, a move likely to stem the rupee’s fall.

This is Noda’s first visit to India since he became the Japanese Prime Minister in September. Currency swaps involve an exchange of cash flows in two different currencies. By its special nature, these instruments are used for hedging risk arising out of volatility in the foreign exchange markets. The agreement would effectively mean that Japan will accept rupees and give dollars to India up to a stipulated limit, and similarly India will take yen and send dollars to Japan if speculators seek to thrash down the respective currencies.

The idea is to allow a country that finds itself with short-term liquidity problems to borrow from its partners’ foreign reserves to absorb heavy selling pressure on its currency. READ MORE

G’Day to ALL.

The Dawn Patrol Report: The forthcoming War with India

 Uncategorized  51 Responses »
Dec 272011
 

First, the weather here at Bradfield is really terrible. Cloudy, wet, cold and gloomy. Whatever happenend to the summer that we once knew.

There is only one topic today. It’s the cricket war at MCG. Forget about the forthcoming war with the Comrades in Beijing. We have a war here on our shore. The Indians are coming, the Indians are here. And they are taking our wickets and our women (men?). Who they think are, some superstars from the Bollywood extravaganza like:

The man they call the Tom Cruise of Bollywood touched down in Dubai Thursday and generated as much buzz as the real Cruise did on opening night.Appearing at a panel discussion at the Dubai International Film Festival in support of Don 2, the sequel to 2006’s wildly popular action film Don, Shah Rukh Khan elicited screams of “I love you” when he took the stage after a brief 3D preview of the film. – READ MORE

They even have this little guy called Sachin, who is better than our Don. I mean, he is better than our Don, how can it be? Our Don massacred the Poms and that was all that mattered.

I blame the Poms for all these and other ills in the world as well. The Poms tried to nobble the Chinese by selling the opiums from the subcontinent and became the biggest drug dealer in history. The failed, waged 3 wars and still failed.

So what did they do? They tried to nobble the Indians by introducing cricket to the subcontinent. They succeeded beyond their wildest imagination. In a subcontinent where they cant agree on anything and everything, not religions, not languages, not customs, they agree on cricket. They agree on on cricket as the new religion, the new unifying force between Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. When the cricket is on, everything stops.

So a new war is on the Indian Summer that we are not having:

Greg Chappell digs into India over DRS – MELBOURNE: Former Team India coach Greg Chappell on Monday backed Australian opener Ed Cowan’s call for having compulsory DRS in all international matches, saying it will reduce the pressure on umpires and reduce the howlers. “There is no question, DRS has to be implemented uniformly to help cut down on umpiring errors,” Chappell told Fox Sports. Chappell, whose two-year stint with the Indian team ended on an acrimonious note, said he could fully understand why Indian players were against the use of DRS. – READ MORE

G’day to all.

The Dawn Patrol On Boxing Day 2011

 International  21 Responses »
Dec 262011
 

Weather at Bradfield: Beautifully sunny, visibility excellent, light breeze

Environment: Quiet on the Western Front as Everyone is still alseep.

World Report:

IRAQ – The more they change, the more , they stay the same - Sectarian violence and political turmoil in Iraq escalated within days of the United States military’s withdrawal, but officials said in interviews that President Obama had no intention of sending troops back into the country, even if it devolved into civil war.

SINO-JAPAN: Despite unease, money still talks - The Chinese and Japanese governments on Sunday unveiled a broad, innovative package of financial agreements designed to tighten ties between the world’s second- and third-largest economies, moves that could elevate the yuan’s status as an international currency and solve foreign-exchange headaches for Japanese companies doing business in China.

NORTH KOREA: Everyone wants the kimchis but too afraid to ask - (Reuters) – North Korea appears to be making an orderly transition after the death of leader Kim Jong-il last week, but the risk of collapse is higher than before and regional powers need to start discussing that contingency with China, diplomats and analysts say.The problem is China refuses to contemplate any unravelling of North Korea which has nuclear ambitions and is its long-term ally. Beijing has rebuffed such overtures from the United States, Japan and South Korea.

“Secret talks with China to plan for contingencies have long been overdue,” said Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in a paper this week.

CRICKET: Batting for a nation – Sachin, Sachin, You’re IN, you’re IN for the ton of tons - In the alleyway games played around Delhi’s incessant traffic, on the overworn, dusty, park pitches, there is one man that every child playing cricket in India longs to be: Sachin.Not through his own pretension, but by sheer force of ubiquity, India’s No.4 batsman is known here now by only one name.

And as much as cricket is a team sport – and India wants desperately for its team to win – for many in this country the success or otherwise of India’s tour of Australia will be measured solely by the scores which run from the blade of one man. When, not if, is how Sachin Tendulkar’s impending 100th international century is discussed in India, as if Test hundreds were simply a matter of continuing to turn up.

Other than that, SNAFU – Situation Normal All Fucked Up.  PS: Where is BK? He should get his arse over here for his Dawn Patrol. G’day to all.

Paradise Found

 Society, Uncategorized  19 Responses »
Dec 252011
 

The Dawn Patrol Reporting For Duty

And so this is Xmas on the Western Front. At the least, that yellow thingy has decided to grace us on this Xmas morning.

Here at Bradfield, it’s a beautiful Xmas morning. Calm, very calm, no wind at all. Just few little breezes dancing about. The temperature is almost goldilocks like at 19C.

Paradise found.

Conroy says Fuck and the press Scream.

 Uncategorized  3 Responses »
Dec 132011
 

Has anyone told the media 1pm on a Tuesday is not Children’s TV time? When Ch 10 were running raunchy movies against The Mid-day Show did anyone notice the frontal nudity or people saying fuck or worse?

Yawn. Conroy was correct to be fucking angry at the fuckers fucking with definitions they don’t comprehend. Well done Senator Fuck em I say.

Australian Exceptionalism – Wall Poster

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Dec 092011
 
Australian Exceptionalism - Dec 2011

Here is a reworking of Possum Comitatus’s charts from his recent article “Australian Exceptionalism”. It is an A1 sized (!) poster with all the charts, focussing on showing exactly where Australia is placed compared to other OECD economies.

Original Possum article: http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2011/12/08/australian-exceptionalism/

PDF Poster:

Australian Exceptionalism – Dec 2011

 Posted by at 10:46 am
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