The Daily Blog Open Mic Friday 24th July 2015

1. ‘MI5 warned Thatcher about Westminster pedophiles, no action taken’

   http://www.rt.com/uk/310549-spy-chief-abuse-allegations/

   …”Newly discovered files show former spy chief Sir Anthony Duff had written to Cabinet Secretary Sir Robert Armstrong in 1986 to warn him of claims made about the behavior of one MP.

   The new documents were analyzed by the head of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), Peter Wanless and Richard Whittam QC.

   Other politicians whose names were mentioned in the review of new material include former Cabinet minister Leon Brittan, Thatcher’s aide Peter Morrison, ex-diplomat Sir Peter Hayman and former minister William van Straubenzee.

   Wanless and Whittam said the documents showed that threats to children were not taken seriously….

   An NSPCC spokesman said: “This is a clear illustration, as the original review revealed, of the misplaced priorities of those operating at [the] highest levels of government, where people simply weren’t thinking about crimes against children and the consequences of those crimes in the way that we would expect them to. It reiterates the need for an inquiry that will explore this in depth.”

2. Australian farmers go activist to oppose Chinese coal mining company:

   ‘Liverpool Plains farmers threaten legal action to stop Shenhua Watermark mine’s ‘agricultural genocide’

   http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-13/liverpool-plains-farmers-vow-legal-action-to-stop-shenhua-mine/6616940

   “Farmers on the Liverpool Plains in northern New South Wales are vowing to launch legal action and resort to civil disobedience if they have to, to stop a Chinese coal mining company being granted a mining licence….

   Farmer and Caroona Coal Action Group head Tim Duddy said the project was “agricultural genocide”.

   “We are not talking about a coexistence model, we are talking about mining coming and farming going and it’s as simple as that,” he said.

   Mr Duddy and a group of other Liverpool Plains farmers have met to discuss how they will proceed.

   “We’re looking at our legal options, we’re looking at our other options, certainly the community is prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure a mine does not occur here,” Mr Duddy said.

   Farmer Andrew Pursehouse, who owns more than 4,000 hectares of prime agricultural land on the Liverpool Plains, said the group would resort to civil disobedience if it had to.

   “”We’ve got to act like French farmers and stop this, this is just not right.”

   http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/chinese-mine-giant-snaps-up-43-nsw-farms/story-e6frg6nf-1226082387428

   • @ Chooky –

     Thanks for this.

     Pity more Kiwis don’t have the same fighting spirit and self respect, to protect themselves and defend their country from obscene rape and pillage by local and foreign corporate rogues!

     Go Aussie farmers. Go the French.

3. Anyone who would like to financially support the rebuilding of Kobane, the Kurdish city in northern Syria can do so here

   http://revolution-news.com/the-kurds-are-crowdfunding-a-revolution/

   Arguably the most significant social movement in a violent civil war setting since the Spanish Civil War. Worth finding out more about at the very least.

4. The latest on Serco’s tenure of Mt Eden Remand Prison is that Corrections have invoked what is referred to as a ‘step in clause’ in the management contract and will ‘step in’ to manage the prison using Serco’s staff,

   Don’t know if the decision from the 9th floor of the Beehive is the precursor to the total loss of the management contract but here’s hoping…

5. Who(m) ever [who fukn e…eva] invented ‘AUTOCORRECT’ should be shot at dawm!!!!!
   (and I don’t give a fuck if the squad has been trained by Stephanie Rodgers trying to focus through a set of 1990 magnifying glasses, or Will Rodgers – they pretty much the same).

   Autocorrect be gone! – You are NEVER what I mean

6. and sorry to do this all Ye foreskins of the Daily Blog:
   http://thestandard.org.nz/admitting-failure-on-private-prisons/
   ….. it’s just that I gave up commenting there (though I do read it daily) because of its precious outlook, moderation imposed by those that post, and the “Oim relexed” attitude to the obvious trolls.
   THe first few comments on that thread tho’ are entirely relevant.
   AB comments about “performance measures are usually a crock” – indeed they are. They’re an inherent part of any neo-liberal agenda. ANd those following.
   After 30 years of it, how much longer is it going to take to realise ‘de-corporatisation’ of the Public Service is probably the biggest priority that should be on any new government’s agenda. I’m hoping it’ll be soon because I’m running out of life, but I do hope my offspring won’t have to suffer the inevitability of a violent revolution.
   I suspect the Natzis are at least beginning to realise – the cowardly PM in partic. (I refer to JFK’s latest at the Natzi Party Conf-Rinse).
   Apparently (as an aside) we’re a Mole Tee Kulchrill Sis-oi-ty – wodeva the fuk that is. I suspect that’s designed to excuse his support of the incompetent Semmy (who btw jiss heppins tubby one of those Oilinda fellas).

7. Here is the scale of the housing crisis….anyone who denies this is ignorant or disingenuous…this applies to Australia …..and New Zealand

   http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/wall-of-chinese-capital-buying-up-australian-properties-20150628-ghztdf.html#ixzz3gVPV2Oew

   ….”That’s roughly $32 billion,” says Tee. “The Canadian government said: ‘We don’t want your money anymore’ and that capital is now hitting the Sydney market.”
   “There is a mountain of liquidity. China is bursting with flight capital. They can’t go to the US, they can’t get it into Singapore anymore, or Hong Kong.”
   Tee’s comments come at a time of increasing concern that a generation of young Australians have been locked out of the property markets of Melbourne and Sydney due to spiralling house prices….

   Tee says recent figures in the media which put Chinese investment in the Sydney property market at 25 per cent of total sales were too low. He says it might be twice this level but it is hard to tell because of the lack of transparency on ownership.
   Most Chinese purchases hide behind trustees and proxies. Third parties such as friends and relatives were often used.
   “Chinese students are being paid 2 per cent of the purchase price of the property to purchase property on behalf of relatives,” says Tee.

   Another person au fait with Chinese property transactions in Australia told Fairfax Media it was simple for Chinese investors to get around the foreign capital restrictions.
   “The money never really moves. In a simple example, Kunlun is a forex trading and money exchange company. It has bank accounts in many countries with significant cash balances. So if someone wants $40 million in Australia they put the money in a Kunlun China account and Kunlun transfers the money from their Australian accounts to the person’s friend’s Australian account.
   “Kunlun is just one example – any large trading multinational will hold large reserves of cash in each country so they can effect a transfer with an internal paper transaction. No banks or government scrutiny involved. And given that they don’t do effective reporting in this country, who will ever trace it?…”Kunlun is just one example – any large trading multinational will hold large reserves of cash in each country so they can effect a transfer with an internal paper transaction. No banks or government scrutiny involved. And given that they don’t do effective reporting in this country, who will ever trace it?
   “The current situation is that one of the best assets a local Chinese can have is a permanent Australian residence. They will have ‘friends’ lining up to ‘loan’ them money to buy properties in Australia.
   All the government needs to do is follow the cash.”
   Sadly, for a generation of young homebuyers it seems the government is not interested in following the cash. Otherwise our politicians, of both major parties, would have introduced the second tranche of AML legislation by now and real estate agents would have to prove that their clients’ funds were legitimate.

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