A New World Religion Backed by the United Nations

This article was subsequently published at Online Opinion 
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=12002


The world is going barking mad with religiosity! While many of us feel that we have known this for a long time, it has always been difficult to find substantial evidence that wasn't countered by arguments of religious vilification.

However, I’m not talking about Islamic suicide bombers, Protestants vs Catholics in Ireland, the abhorrent members of Westboro Baptist Church, ‘pro-life’ radicals bombing abortion clinics, or any of the other examples of minority groups being less than good examples of the faiths they follow.

Instead, I would like to open your eyes to a new pervasive religion that is steadily growing and insidiously lurking in your community. If successful it will have a terrifying impact on the existence of life as we know it.

Regardless of your political views, spiritual beliefs, faith or lack thereof, please bear with me for a moment while I tell you a short story. Even if it sounds a bit familiar, please persevere.

This story is set on a unique world; a smallish blue-green environment with abundant vegetation and teeming with wondrous life forms on land, air and water. In this world, there is a sentient humanoid species who believe that their world has an undefinable, immeasurable and yet omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent and benevolent energy force that interacts with all life forms.

This force gives them life, nourishes, teaches and provides them with all that is needed to live well and, as if they were its own children, they call this force "Mother".

They recognise that Mother is an indivisible community of diverse and interdependent beings with whom they share a common destiny and to whom they must relate in ways that benefit Mother.

However, their world is confronted by an evil that is attempting to dominate and exploit Mother and other beings. This evil is causing severe destruction, degradation and disruption of the life-sustaining communities, processes and balances of Mother which now threatens the wellbeing and existence of many beings.

They are conscious that this destruction is also harmful to their own inner wellbeing and is offensive to the many faiths, wisdom traditions and indigenous cultures for whom Mother is sacred. These clans are acutely conscious of the critical importance and urgency of taking decisive, collective action to prevent the evil enemy causing impacts on Mother that threaten the wellbeing and survival of all species.

Sound familiar? No, it isn't the plot from James Cameron's blockbuster, Avatar - but the resemblance is not a mere coincidence. While Avatar has been justifiably compared to the historical and current issues of our own world, it now seems that the lines between fantasy and reality have blurred even further.

Apart from a few tweaks for syntax, everything above in italics is a direct quote from the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, which was passed in Bolivia on 22 April 2010 at the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth and has since made its way to the plenary floor (here and here) of the United Nations.

'Mother Earth' has been transformed from a metaphoric and mythical euphemism into pseudo-scientific woo! You have not entered the Twilight Zone; you are not watching a CGI enhanced movie; this is reality and the world is about to enshrine the beliefs of a new-age religion (or a revival of ancient mysticism) into legal rights on par with those of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Now, before you retort with “it's all about protecting the environment” or label me a shill for capitalism and corporate world domination, let me correct you. For the record, I am a staunch environmentalist. I believe in, and promote the protection of landscapes, habitats and species. I readily acknowledge that human activity is essentially bad for this world and that we need to curb our greed and consumerism. You will hear no argument from me on those facts.

But, that is NOT the point of this rant. What I object to is the use of pantheistic and Gaia inspired language that, if adopted on an international level in a legal treaty, will have the effect of making "Mother Earth" the new deity of a green-religion forced onto all of Earth's citizens.

No, I am not being overly dramatic. Read the details for yourself so that you can fully comprehend the implications. It is littered with religious undertones and metaphors that have enormous legal repercussions on every human being:

"we must establish systems for governing human behavior that recognize the inalienable rights of Mother Earth and of all beings that are part of her" and

"the fundamental freedoms and rights of Mother Earth and of all beings should be protected by the rule of law, and that the corresponding duties of human beings to respect and defend these rights and freedoms should be enforced by law"

Such statements, when taken to their natural conclusion, imply that you and I cannot even dig a hole in the ground or kill a cockroach for fear of prosecution under some future law. Even cleaning your house might become illegal because of the bacterial colonies that you would destroy in the process!

This is not merely a feel-good unifying statement of our inarguable environmental responsibility as custodians of the Earth. It is a deliberately transformational credo that redefines our very existence and our relationship with all life on this planet.

All of this poppycock has stemmed from the rising groundswell of support for an environmental movement that has ceased to function as a sensible social and political force. It is now, undeniably, a zealous quasi-religious cult that wishes to impose a narrow-minded and anti-scientific view that all life is part of one universal ‘energy force’, which we are now obliged to pay homage to, for all that 'she' has done for us.

This is nothing short of irrational pandering to the fantasies of earth-worshipping, crystal-healing, indigo children. Human beings are now eagerly lining up to be the sacrificial lambs at the altar of Gaia.

This type of international politicking and pseudo law-making will do very little to improve our relationship with the environment or save many species from extinction, but it will make some people feel good as they run naked through the forest with blue birds on their shoulders and rabbits bounding at their feet singing some Disney inspired anthem. Except that the forest is likely to become a restricted area - after all, animals and plants will have a right to exist without any human interference.

This is not an isolated event to be ignored or passed off as the random act of a fringe third world nation. This has been decades in the planning and follows the inclusion of Rights for Nature into the Ecuadorian Constitution in 2008 and the United Nations' proclamation of April 22 as International Mother Earth Day, distinct from Earth Day on March 22 each year.

The UN's own website for Mother Earth Day states:

In 2009, at its Eighth Session, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues requested special rapporteurs to prepare a Study on the need to recognize and respect the rights of Mother Earth. At its Ninth Session, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues will discuss the findings of the study, as well as works toward establishing a Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth.

Please note that the United Nations did not act out of mere tokenism. This is a predetermined action to meet a predefined goal and it is sanctioned and supported by the member nations of the UN. Conspiracy theories aside, there is a real agenda in play and it is supported by:

Agenda 21: an initiative of the United Nations that seeks to create a world bound by the principles of sustainable development; and

Codex Alimentarius the UN global strategy to manipulate and control agriculture, food and supplements devised in 1963 and guided by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Health Organisation (WHO) with the support of 184 member nations.

All of this is pointing to a future where your current life and lifestyle is marked for demolition as unreasonable restrictions are inevitably placed on the energy you consume, the food you eat, the materials you buy and even the places you are allowed to visit.

The reality for the 7 billion human inhabitants of Earth is that something needs to change; to continue on a destructive path is certainly unsustainable. On that we can agree.

But the answer is not to anthropomorphise the environment, to give rise to a crass spirituality or empower the most weirdly radical movement of the modern era. Nor is it to throw the human race into an era of reliance upon heavily regulated food production by profit-driven corporations reminiscent of the science fiction classic, Soylent Green.

The answer lies in education and self-regulation of our own consumerism. We may not be doing enough in a timely manner, but we are making changes, slowly and surely.

Faith in our ability to succeed on that pathway is far more palatable than faith in Gaia and the religiosity that surely follows.

  

Rudd-Con DIY broadband plan

The Commonwealth Government has announced what is undeniably a bold and visionary project to replace our nation’s aging telecommunications system with a digitally robust optic fibre network. It is a scheme that is being touted as Australia’s largest ever infrastructure project, requiring major investment by both government and private enterprise to the tune of around $43 billion.

Let us not delude ourselves with the panacea of optical-fibre optimism just yet. While the broadband plan is a long-awaited and well-debated project many, including myself, will attest that despite it being a much-needed booster for the economy, the mere 25,000 jobs it will provide over eight years is of little consequence to the larger unemployment rates expected from the downturn.

Significantly, at the core of this plan are three fundamental truths that are being deliberately overlooked as well as one obscure potential outcome that conspires to further threaten privacy and civil liberties in Australia as well as our economic and national security.

Firstly we must recognise that Australia is becoming more reliant on high-speed telecommunications for government, business and households alike to transact, communicate, entertain and interact locally and globally. The speed with which we are expanding our desire for information technology and communications access will soon surpass our infrastructure’s capacity and capability to deliver.

There is no doubt that something needs to be done, and full credit to the current government for acknowledging what the previous one dusted under the carpet. However, a large proportion of critics have been citing the Government’s solution as being redundant even before the first cable is laid. Comments like “too little, too late” or “too old, too soon” are making headlines. It is hard to disagree.

Just like its copper predecessor, even optic fibre has a finite capability and lifespan. Only 10 years ago a common dial-up connection offered speeds of 14kbps to access the information super-highway, while today we expect 56kbps as a minimum and DSL speeds of between 512kbps and 1.5Mbps are seen as the standard for the contemporary mega-media highway. It is, therefore, easy to predict that by the time the final cable is connected in 9 years time, the highly acclaimed 100Mbps connections will be barely sufficient to appease our addiction to the terabyte-highway looming in our future.

Therein lays the second poorly calculated assumption; that it will only take 8 years to roll out high speed optic fibre into every household and office across this vast land and that it will come in on budget. The Snowy Mountains Scheme aside, the record of Australian governments to complete major infrastructure on time and on budget is almost non-existent.

One can only guess at the millions of kilometres of cable required for this initiative and the speed with which it must be laid and connected, let alone for a project of this size to be adequately funded through successive governments and a myriad of unknown economic and political hurdles.

I draw the analogy of a homeowner wishing to renovate. Unhappy with the proposals and quotes received from the experts, they instead choose the DIY method. We all know how easily that can end in tears, heartache, financial ruin and divorce. This leaves the house unfinished, sold at a bargain price to some entrepreneur who simply walks in, tidies up, puts on a coat of paint and resells for a major profit.

The proposed $43b budget is to be partly funded by a government cash injection of $4.7b with up to 49% owned by private enterprise. The issue of Government Bonds (aka debt) is anticipated to cover the shortfall of around $20 billion. At the end of the project, the taxpayers will encounter another telco sell-off that may put the T2 fiasco to shame. At this point, the new monopolistic National Broadband Network Corporation will want to start recouping its money back from subscribers and our reliance on this new corporate beast will render us unable to resist.

With currently 8 million internet subscribers (covering government, businesses and households) nationally, the cost of this project calculates to an average value of $5,375 per subscriber. Even over 20 years, that equals an extra $268 pa to your access fees. This figure doesn’t even consider the additional investment by private enterprise or any losses resulting from movement of revenue away from traditional telcos as subscribers ditch the pay-per-call model in favour of the free Voice over IP (VoIP) options associated with their new ISP packages. Telcos will simply become ISPs, leasing bandwidth and reselling it to consumers.

The final truth, as proven by historical precedence, is that the privatisation of critical infrastructure only serves to increase costs for consumers as the commercial enterprise has a natural desire to chase greater profits. One needs only to look at the existing PSTN to understand that the majority of us are paying higher monthly line rentals for old copper infrastructure that should have been well and truly paid off by our forefathers. And simply look towards the increased cost of banking along with the decreased level of service – we now pay the banks higher fees while we do more of our banking online or via ATMs. Public transport, bridges, highways, the list of privatisation pitfalls is endless.

It is my conclusion that the “Rudd-Con DIY broadband plan” will insufficiently meet the needs of a future technology hungry Australia; it will be unable to meet its objectives within the proposed timeframe and budget, resulting in a greater financial cost than what is being purported today; and finally that Australia’s entire media, information and entertainment distribution and access will be left at the hands of a privately-owned profit-driven telecommunications behemoth.

And therein lays the final conundrum of epic proportions; a nation whose every act of communication will be required to go through a government-sanctioned commercial monopoly. Every packet of data, each phone call, email, tweet, download, upload; all syphoned through a single privately owned optic fibre network.

At this point, Stephen Conroy and the ACMA won’t need to be fussed with ISPs implementing his ill-fated Internet filter; he may simply attach it to the responsibilities of the National Broadband Network Corporation along with allowing widespread eavesdropping for ASIO, ASIS, DSD, or the AFP. All this for the protection of our national security, of course.

Just think Echelon on a grander scale only much more efficient. While it may seem unlikely, it is not out of the realm of possibility. After all, who would have correctly predicted the government assaults on truth and our civil liberties in the last 8 years?

The Credit Crunch Explained

Another layman's explanation of the financial crisis has been forwarded to me by my good friend, Adam.

Please refer any further questions, anger, verbal abuse, vigilante justice, death threats and physical torment directly to your bank's senior management, as well as those rogue financial planners, parasitic mortgage brokers and investment con artists :-)


The Credit Crunch Explained

Heidi is the proprietor of a bar in Berlin. In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers, most of whom are unemployed alcoholics, to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans).

Word gets around and as a result increasing numbers of unemployed alcoholics flood into Heidi's bar.
Taking advantage of her customers' freedom from immediate payment constraints, Heidi increases her prices for wine and beer, the most popular drinks. Her sales volume increases massively.

A young and dynamic customer service consultant at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Heidi's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral.

At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert bankers transform these customer assets into DRINKBONDS, ALKBONDS and PUKEBONDS. These securities are then traded on markets worldwide. No one really understands what these abbreviations mean and how the securities are guaranteed. Nevertheless, as their prices continuously climb, the securities become top-selling items because (insert here the name of your financial advisor) recommended them as a good investment.

One day, although the prices are still climbing, a risk manager of the bank, (subsequently of course fired due to his negativity), decides that the time has come to demand payment of the debts incurred by the drinkers at Heidi's bar. But of course they cannot pay back the debts.

Heidi cannot fulfill her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy.

DRINKBOND and ALKBOND drop in price by 95 %. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80 %.

The suppliers of Heidi's bar, having granted her generous payment due dates, and having invested in the securities, are faced with a new situation. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor.

The bank is saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock consultations by leaders from the governing political parties.

The funds required for this purpose are obtained by a tax levied on the non-drinkers.

Nearly 1 billion starving worldwide

I've blogged, facebooked and tweeted about the impending global food crisis. Now here's further testimony.

Atheo News: Nearly 1 billion starving worldwide

Still don't think you will be affected?

Think again!

Economic Stimulus Package

(aka: an expensive theory to try to arouse a bunch a of knobs)

Just received via email from a friend:

This year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment. This is
a very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q and A
format:

Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

Q. Where will the government get this money?
A. From taxpayers.

Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
A. Only a smidgen.

Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a
High definition TV set or a new computer, thus stimulating the economy.

Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China?
A. Shut up.


You have to laugh to stay sane ;-)

The great food crisis - are you prepared?

No doubt you've heard various reports about the usefulness, toxicity and plausible conspiracies behind flouride, aspartame, genetically modified organisms (GMO) and many such things. Some of you may even be aware of the impending food crisis that is about to hit us. We have already seen it with the crisis in grains around the world, large scale price hikes in food costs, and mass populations of bees dying from unknown causes - a major concern for food production.

You may have already formed an opinion about these things and wish to stop reading here. Fine - I can understand. But don't! Your life may depend on it.

What I have seen, read and heard recently has me concerned. More than concerned - it has me mortified and angry. You should be too, because it will directly affect you and your family, yet there is NOTHING you can do to stop it.

That's right - there's nothing you can do to prevent it from happening.

I'm not here to plead for your action, to write letters to your government representatives, or to gather all your friends for a protest march. Believe me when I tell you, that nothing you do will prevent the coming food crisis - it is inevitable and you MUST prepare for it, or suffer its consequences.

The only advice I can offer is to buy some arable land big enough to grow your own fruit trees, vegetables and basic crops, perhaps even to run some livestock or a dam for fish if you enjoy meat - a couple of hectares should do it. Make sure you own the land outright, no peppercorn leases or mortgages, so that no-one can easily take it from you when the financial system crashes completely.

Build a modest house that isn't reliant on electricity, where you can live a sustainable life away from the rest of modern civilisation. If you can do this you may be one of the few billion people to survive. Sounds like it's a return to an arduous life of subsistence - it is. But the alternative is going to be tougher.

The future reality will see us rationed on highly regulated GMO and manufactured foods that are deliberately deficient of essential vitamins and minerals (and all supplements become illegal) to ensure a passive and compliant population.

Do your own research on real topics that are present in reputable news sources and from government agencies - it will verify what you read on all those conspiracy websites about food and population control. Search terms such as:

Agenda 21
codex alimentarius

And for the real life conspiracy behind it all watch the video below. The whole thing will be an eye opener for many, but the key points about food and population control begin at the 37 minute mark. If you don't have 2 hrs to devote for the whole thing, start there.



I will point out, that I disagree with some of the views presented in this movie, particularly relating to pantheism and gun control. Take some extrem views with the grain of salt they deserve, but certainly look at the facts presented.

Coming Soon - broadcasting live to your desktop

The Billion Dollar Messiah

An obscene amount of dollars was raised and spent to "elect" the leader of the world's most "free" country. And all during a time of massive financial crisis that is likely to lead to the downfall of the greatest empire since Rome.

It is simply beyond irony.

Difference Between the Obama and McCain Tax Plans

North American Patriot: The Real True Honest Fair and Balanced Difference Between the Obama and McCain Tax Plans

Its not so much the difference in tax policy that is astounding ... its the fact that they actually include people who earn more than $2,870,000 per annum.

Who actually earns that kind of money and doesn't have a full time tax accountant to reduce their liability to zero through dodgy tax minimisation and avoidance schemes??

LOL

The land of the free and the home of the brave ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnnOOo6tRs8

America's growing enemy

Keep an eye on Venezuela.

According to reports like this and this, Chavez is being too much like a Robin Hood for the US and international bank boys to just stand by and do nothing.

He has already taken back the oil & gas fields, now they plan to ramp up production and hit foreign companies with a 50% tax on excess oil profits.

He also plans to nationalise the cement industry as well as the Argentinian controlled steelmaker and even take measures to ensure that the people of Venezuela have enough food for the future - no way!

And in the back of his mind is still the plan to introduce a Tobin styled tax on financial transactions.

How will they stop him? Rumours of impropriety? Another coup? Acts of terrorism? Assasination? Here's a start.

But there is also the growing concern about who should be the local sherrif of this region of the world. Perhaps The South American Defense Council?

At least that might explain why Venezuela and Brazil are spending big on arms. (Does anyone know why Greece is at the top of the list of big spenders?)

But despite all this, Chavez does appear to have some interesting friends ...
Belarus
China
Iran

Maybe it is a case of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"?

And if that isn't enough to make you at least question the US stance on Venezuela, try reading the works of Eva Golinger, namely The Chavez Code and Bush vs Chavez - Washington's War on Venezuela or start by reading this review.

Of course, you are also welcome to ignore this and simply take the view that Venezuela deserves everything it gets for its socialist, anti-American, communist-loving, anti-semitic, Simpsons-hating philosphy.

The clock is ticking

Poodwaddle.com

APEC - Bush's right!

Being gay in a power-hungry world

As a country that thrives on wealth and power, and whose every breath is consumed by the who's who and the who's doing who, the USA is probably the only nation that could care less about who its top ranking homosexuals are.

But clearly, infamous queer mag "Out", believes that the punters are keen and curious and have published (outed?) the Top 50 for all to see.

Leading the dubiously formed list is one David Geffen, billionaire entertainment mogul who shares equal 50th ranking on the Forbes rich list with discount stock broker, Charles Schwab, just behind Steve Jobs of Apple fame. Geffen is the "G" in the Dreamworks SKG team, alongside Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Ellen DeGeneres may not make the Forbes Rich List, but she does outrank every other non-straight woman to make the Power 50 list at spot #3.

The list is overwhelmingly full of names from the fashion and entertainment industries. But there are also a number of names and tangible links to politics that suggest a very interesting road ahead for the coming Presidential election next year.

It brings an insightful perspective together about the roots and drivers of the historical gay rights campaign and also the contemporary same-sex marriage debate. The media is powerful and if a group can have significant sway over the media, it naturally flows that the same power is present in politics.

Some would argue that the "gay agenda" exists only in the minds of the homophobic zealots. As a gay man who understands the machinations of politics, I see every agenda as a real and credible threat to a healthy liberal democracy. Even one that seeks to serve my freedoms and self interests.

I'll wait and see, but Barack Hussein Obama might have a bit of an edge against Hilary Rodham Clinton, despite his name bearing an eerie resemblance to both Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein.

Teens uncover 55 year old lie!

Kiwi kids discover drug company lie!

International drugs conglomerate, GlaxoSmithKline, is facing court in New Zealand over misleading advertising, after two high school students discovered that Ribena, a blackcurrant drink it has been promoting for 55 years for its high Vitamin C content, contain very little of the essential nutrient.

The company has admitted to Australia's corporate watchdog, the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) that its marketing was misleading and its given an undertaking to explain the true nutritional makeup of Ribena on its packaging, its website and in future advertising.

And tomorrow the company's New Zealand subsidiary will be in court facing 15 similar charges brought by the ACCC's counterpart, the Commerce Commission, which carry a penalty of up to $3 million in fines.

According to another report in the Sydney Morning Herald it seems that the multinational got confused about the vitamin C content of blackcurrants (which is supposedly 4 times higher than oranges) and the vitamin content of its popular drink.

"Weight for weight, the 'four times' statement is factually correct but we accept that there is a potential for confusion among consumers and have taken the action to remove that claim."

In January, the Herald reported an analysis of popular children's snack foods and beverages by the independent consumer watchdog Choice, which found that Ribena consisted of little more than sugar and water. Its essential ingredient - blackcurrants - made up just 5 per cent of content, the study found, and was a processed product made from concentrate.

Fancy that ... a drug company lying to us! What is the world coming to? LOL!

If I were a rich man ...

According to recent global research, I'm an above-average wealthy person - considerably wealthy in fact, when you bring things into perspective.

The report by the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University proclaims that the richest 2% of adults in the world own more than half of global household wealth. This excludes business, organisational and government wealth.

Further statistics demonstrate how the richest 1% of adults accounted for 40% of household assets in the year 2000, and that the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total. In contrast, the bottom half of the world adult population owned a mere 1% share.

Whichever way you say it, there is no doubt that we have a massive skew in the distribution of assets and personal wealth across the globe. I'm going to keep the argument of lifestyle, quality of life, health and happiness out of this for moment, and make the assumption that each of these has a significant correlation to the relative income and assets of an individual. Money won't make you happy, but it certainly can take a few worries away from a starving family living in the dirt in a developing nation!

The report also found that just $2,200 of assets per adult placed a household in the top half of the world wealth distribution. To be among the richest 10% of adults in the world required just $61,000 in assets, and $500,000 qualified you for entry to the richest 1% along with 37 million others worldwide.



It was also noted that

many people in high-income countries have negative net worth and—somewhat paradoxically—are among the poorest people in the world in terms of household wealth

Facsinating reading - it really does put your own life into perspective!

The Gender pay gap - fact or fiction?

Every year the same questionable report gets trotted out by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and every year the media lap it up without so much as a blink!

human Resource magazine was one of publications to spew forth the recycled hyperbole Australians have heard year after year. In their article, Women behind in pay stakes, they claim that "There is a significant gap between male and female earnings, according to a recent Australian Bureau of statistics (ABS) report".

Fair call, one might say after skimming the superficial statistics. But sit and think and ask yourself the following questions before coming to a conclusion ...

• Is gender THE differentiating factor, or do elements like time in the field, capability to be a slave to the job, and career drivers play more of an important role?
• Why does the media only report the average earnings, knowing that women are more commonly employed in lower paid occupations (e.g. hospitality) while highly paid occupations (e.g. tradespeople in mining) are predominantly male? This in itself will skew the survey results!
• What factor does significant time away (e.g. maternity leave & child rearing) from a technical occupation, such as accounting, have on the remuneration afforded to women?
It seems that some voices are asking that employers pay equal remuneration on a gender basis regardless of all other factors! The fact that a woman may take 5 years away from her career seems to mean little to the lobbyists, who just want equal pay, end of story! Isn't it funny how we don't have cries from young people seeking pay that is on par to the nearly retired!

As a recruiter the arguments don't wash with me. I see men and women getting equal pay everyday in my job, however the issue is that the majority of CFOs tend to be male, while the majority of accounts support staff tend to be female. Notwithstanding that there are some exceptional cases of sexism, I believe that the majority of pay disparity is due to decisions made by the individual and very little to do with glass ceilings or gender disparity.

But then again .. I am, more than likely, a sexist male!

Tis the season to be spending

Only an accountant or financial institution would dare to commercialise Christmas to the extent that northeastern USA bank, PNC, has gone to over the past 21 years.

The favourite yuletide song, "Twelve Days of Christmas" is being used as a benchmark for inflation calculation. If you want to know how much it would cost to present your "true love" with all of the 12 gifts on the appropriate days, then head along to www.pncchristmaspriceindex.com for an unusual take on the cost of giving.

Merry Xmas and a Happy New year to all.

Iraq's missing billions

The question on everyone's lips over the last few months has been "can things get any worse in Iraq?". Apparently they just did.

A report via The Independent claims that at least one billion dollars (US$ value, I'm guessing, though the article doesn't stipulate the currency), but possibly double that amount, has gone missing from the nation's ministries.

The funds disappeared over an eight-month period in the previous financial year. Comparisons are being made about the fraud and the oil-for-food scandal during Saddam's leadership, which lost $1.8 billion dollars.

While the United Nations has felt the scathing pressure of world opinion for its lack of policing and accountability of the oil-for-food program, USA forces and diplomats were in a much better position to prevent this significant episode of theft, fraud and corruption. The fallout is expected to be severely damaging to the US.

According to the report, the money was siphoned away through a series of unscrupulous deals to purchase arms from Poland and Pakistan. The deals were peculiar because they were:

"awarded without bidding ... signed with a Baghdad-based company, and not directly with the foreign supplier ... the money was paid up front and ... paid at great speed out of the ministry's account."

Instead of receiving quality weaponry and machinery, Iraq was left with inferior equipment with some of it past its useful life, such as 28 year old soviet-built helicopters that the manufacturers claim should have been scrapped after 25 years.

No doubt these revelations will add to the woes of the Iraqi and US administrations and any hopes of an early pull-out by allied forces are all but dashed as Iraq is now clearly incapable of adequately training its military or providing the necessary infrastructure to protect itself from insurgency.

The USA is now here for the long haul, its feet stuck in a quagmire of corruption, mismanagement and insurgency that seems futile to try and stop. Nothing short of a miracle could stop the country travelling further down the path of chaos and soon the USA will be beyond its own capability to protect its own interests.


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Blogshares

I'm still working on my rebuttal to the tripe I exposed last week. All in good time.

Meanwhile, a bit of lightheartedness and a trip into capitalism, blog-style!

If you haven't heard about Blogshares, perhaps you should get acquainted. It is an interesting virtual marketplace designed to experience trading on weblogs instead of companies. It works using similar principles to a share market with share prices moving according to links between blogs. I.e. the more linkages, the more potential traffic, the more valuable a blog becomes.

In order to move the share price of your own blog upwards, there must be an increase in the number of blogs linking to your blog. It is all about networking with other bloggers and utilising systems like trackback, blog rolls, and even rss feeds to improve visibility. Yopu can also drive prices up or down through buying and selling, but that is boring.

Claim your blog (or get it listed) and have a go!

Meanwhile, here are a couple of interesting bloggers:

• The Martian Anthropologist


• The Bulldog Manifesto