Lies and Damned Lies – part 1

It has been almost a month since Barak Obama became the 44th President of the USA. There are already signs that this presidency is shaping up to be one of the worst in history. Within the first week Obama managed to upset the Vatican with the reversal of one of the Bush executive orders which means that the USA will now resume funding for abortions and forcing contraception on overseas (read third world) countries. This is one reason why Pope Benedict gave Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, a bit of a smack during her private audience at the Vatican.

The liberals within the USA seem to think that it is important to enter third world nations and demand that the women either use contraceptives or have abortions. The USA government is now set to resume the funding of abortions in these nations. However, what these liberals do not understand is that people in these countries see things in a very different light when it comes to having children. We most definitely should be alarmed at the way in which abortion is being carried out in India as an example. The use of ultrasound and tests to discover whether the unborn child is a girl or boy has meant that there is now a greater imbalance of boys over girls in that country, because girl foetuses are being aborted at a very fast rate. In China the one child policy has also led to similar problems, and in that country the enforcement of the one child policy has in fact led to the oppression of the population. Thus, by reversing the executive order Barak Obama is in fact endorsing this form of oppression in China. However, the real goal is not either China or India, but third world Muslim countries but in these countries the people are against these policies – and they are inappropriate for other reasons.

In some of the poorest countries in the world the women who are fecund are at risk of dying whilst giving birth. The risk is high because they do not have access to hospitals, or to highly skilled medical staff. It is the lack of proper facilities that is the major cause of maternal deaths in these countries – yet the liberals will tell us that what is needed is more abortions. Also, this form of funding only serves to give rise to other unseemly practices where contraceptives that western women refuse to use are dumped upon these 3rd world countries – this happened in the past when IUDs were dumped in India and there was an increase in women suffering harm from this form of contraception.

The kind of message that is being sent to these poorer nations is not a message of good will, rather it is a message of bad will – genocide via getting rid of the unborn. What these liberals are really saying is that these people do not deserve to have children, let alone exist. Therefore, it is better to eliminate the problem by eliminating the children, leading in the end to the genocide of a nation by stealth.

However, the reversal of this one executive order is just the beginning of the shambles that is the Obama Administration. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were given the task of drafting a bill that has been dubbed “porkulus” and with good reason. There is so much pork or earmarks in that bill, that it really makes Barak Obama into the biggest liar out when he states that there is no pork in the bill. The size of the spending in the bill is astounding. The bill is supposed to be a response to an economic crisis, yet once the details are examined there is little in the short term that will be achieved. In the long term the American people will find themselves saddled with an extremely high debt such that the GDP will in fact fall, not increase. The hasty manner in which this bill was passed means that few if anybody had the opportunity to examine all of the provisions within the document. On top of that the Obama administration promised there would be transparency and bi-partisanship, yet Reid and Pelosi excluded the Republicans from input in the first place, and instead of the Bill being posted to the internet for 5 days prior to its acceptance, there was absolutely no transparency, to the point that members of the House  of Representatives and the Senate had not bothered to read the document before voting. This kind of action is fiscal irresponsibility.

 

Geitner gets a C- from the financial markets

I am a graduate of Economics and Commerce at Melbourne University, which includes a major in economics. I have a very modest qualification and have not been following economics all that much since graduation – it really is quite a boring subject. However, since the middle of last year I suddenly find that I have to sit up and pay attention, because of the collapse of the financial markets all around the world.

It is outside of my almost non-existent expertise to give any form of in-depth analysis of the present crisis. I can barely understand all of the critical factors that has led to the crisis that occurred first in the USA and then sent shock waves around the world. A new word has been created – “toxic debt”. Getting around what this means is quite difficult. It is not as claimed by Barak Obama and his sleazy bunch of cohorts something that resulted from Bush policies. The fact is, the “toxic debt” has its roots in legislation created by the Carter Administration that led to the creation of Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac. As an outsider these are concepts that are not easy to grasp. I do not pretend at this stage to have been able to grasp all of the realities of the situation.

What I do know, however, is that as a result of policies that began with the Carter Administration, my superannuation fund has dropped by a whopping $40,000 and my husband suffered a greater wipeout from his funds because of the crash of the stock market. The nervousness within the stock-market which generated the largest crashes since the Great Depression is due to the collapse of several banking institutions because of bad debt practices and the creation of what is now called “toxic debt”. This situation could have been avoided if the Carter Administration as well as administrations that followed had behaved in a fiscally responsible manner.

Whilst it is true that the Bush Administration made mistakes, that it got tax policies wrong, that it sent out the wrong signals, it is wrong to blame everything that has happened solely on G.W. Bush. I certainly think that the Carter and Clinton Administrations must share responsibility for very poor policies. Over time, as I learn more, or at least refresh my own understanding of the subject I will try to explore some of the things that are now coming to light. In the mean time the world financial markets have not responded well to the latest from the Obama Administration in the form of the Geitner package that is supposed to help with what is called “toxic debt”.

In what is rapidly becoming known as Obama double speak, Geithner staed that the new bank bail-out package was vital as “critical parts of our financial system are damaged. Instead of catalyzing recovery the financial system is working against recovery, and thats the dangerous dynamic we need to change”

The new plan is allegedly aimed at restoring confidence in the damaged financial system and restarting bank lending. Despite the aims of this plan the financial market analysts are not convinced and they are in fact disappointed. As James Ellman of Seacliff Capital stated: investors wanted clarity, simplicity and resolution and what they got instead is convoluted, obsfucating and clouded. It is yet another poor start for the Obama Administration, which is struggling to get above and F for the first month in office report card.

The Williamson affair – why ex-communication does not apply

The SSPX bishop Richard Williamson was recently reinstated to the Catholic Church after an ex-communication applied by Pope John Paul II over disciplinary matters concerning the SSPX. This ex-communication was lifted by Pope Benedict in an effort to reconcile the SSPX to the main body of the Catholic Church. If Catholics do not totally understand what took place then how on earth are Protestants, Jews or other interested parties to understand what has taken place.

The issue that has arisen is related to personal remarks made by Williamson. The man is not infallible and what he has stated – I disagree with him totally – is a private opinion that is not related in any way to his role within the Church.

The Catholic Church does not ex-communicate people because of their stated political views, unless those views are diametrically opposed to the moral teachings of the Church. In this case the views expressed, of holocaust denial, even though very repugnant has nothing to do with the moral teachings of the Catholic Church. We need to see the issue of his reinstatement from that point of view.

However, the political views expressed by Richard Williamson about the 6 million Jews and the 2-3 million Catholics who also perished in the Hitler death chambers are very repugnant to the majority of Catholics, including Pope Benedict XVI, a German who was himself opposed to Hitler.

Richard Williamson, in an interview on Swedish TV denied the possibility that so many perished, despite the evidence to the contrary that exists at the concentration camps. It seems that he also denies the fact that so many Catholics and other Christians also died in these same camps. Since we are supposed to have free speech, he is entitled to express:

“I believe that the historical evidence is strongly against — is
hugely against — 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas
chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler,” Williamson said
recently in an interview with a Swedish television station, which also
appeared on various Web sites after its broadcast. “I believe there
were no gas chambers.”

but Williamson is not an historian, so what evidence has he seen to in fact deny what took place? His claim that there were no gas chambers shows that he has not read the records relating to the existence of the gas chambers, neither has he given any indication that he acknowledges the death of the disabled and weak in German society by gassing at hospitals prior to the outbreak of the second world war, and the travesty against the Jews that took place during that time. It would seem that he did not read the diary of Anne Frank and he dismissed other evidence provided by eyewitnesses to the experiments that took place.

However, the Vatican is taking steps against Williamson over his holocaust denial, and I do believe that these are the correct steps to take:

The Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, has said
Williamson will not be allowed to perform priestly functions if he does
not recant. He said the pope was unaware of the comments when he
rehabilitated Williamson and three other members of the Society of
Saint Pius X.

Pope Benedict himself has distanced himself from the views of Williamson. The young Josef Ratzinger was forced to join Hitler Youth, but he did not attend the sessions – he got away with the non-attendance. He displayed extraordinary courage through his own defiance. For Pope Benedict the comments are a searing reminder of the past travesty against Jews from Germany, Poland, Holland, and other European nations.

Do I believe that Williamson should be disciplined? Yes, I believe that the disciplinary measures that are being taken are appropriate. If he is to be ex-communicated again then it needs to be for church disciplinary reasons and not the political reasons behind the present uproar.

I have no doubt that Angela Merkel is a good woman. I have no doubt that she has a Christian background, but she has no understanding of the Catholic Church and her comments and demands are unhelpful. I fully support those who are upset about Williamson’s remarks.

Obama tries coercion to get his pork barrel through Congress

It is called an economic stimulus passage but from what I have been reading about what it contains it is nothing more than a payoff to those groups that supported the Obama campaign with a lot of nasty things thrown in for good measure. Since the Teflon President does not have economic credentials his package really needs to be given a good once over. It is nothing like the packages that were introduced during the Great Depression – when projects such as building the Hoover Dam were introduced. The package itself in the long term could be extremely harmful to the economy of the USA, as well as to the world economy.

Amongst the nasty proposals in the package is the unconstitutional conditions being applied to schools (including universities) that would make it impossible for any group of students to gather together for prayer and Bible study. This kind of condition has nothing to do with the separation of religion and the State – a concept that I agree with, but I disagree with the modern interpretation of that concept.

Another nasty was the signing of yet another executive order that will have dire consequences usually for white males in the construction industry. The executive order means that only contractors with unionized labour will be allowed to compete for the pork barrel projects. This is discrimination against those who do not want to join a union that uses coercive tactics in the first place. It will also have the effect of driving up costs associated with these projects. There is nothing wrong with belonging to a union but construction unions do have a certain unsavoury reputation. This new Teflon President is going at fast speed in doing everything that is bad for the USA.

Obama is now trying to use what I consider to be coercion tactics to get his pork-barrel through the Congress. If he succeeds with these tactics then things will be very grim in the USA. Obama warns that there could be a “catastrophe” if the package is not passed, but many think that if it is passed, without a lot of trimming then there will be something larger than a catastrophe, because this package is not going to stimulate the economy of the USA.

Splish Splash I’m taking a bath

You have to admit this is a very cute picture of a baby koala. The poor thing had been suffering from the heat. His mother had become disoriented and the baby was “abandoned”. The owner of the property gave him some water, and once he realized the source of the water he decided to hop into the tub.

Here are some other pictures of the same koala: