The US Fails Once Again on Different Fronts in Rhetoric and Hippocracy

President Obama got great reviews on how he recently 'handled' the Chinese town-hall meetings and how he explained to the Chinese the power of open criticism, and the benefits of individual freedoms in a place known for limiting them.

This from the government who refuses to hold legal reviews in open courts for the prisoners of war at Guantanamo Bay.

And rather than take leadership at the most important issue facing the world today - the state of the environment - he chose to attend the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference only if 'there was a chance of success for the collective goals.' The Climate Change Conferences in the past under George W. Bush have been nothing but a farce, especially because the United States refused to compromise on almost every issue and buried them in rhetoric. You cannot deal an issue of this size by sending in an army of consultants who are in the end only influenced by the Corporations. The Copenhagen Conference is falling on its knees before it starts due to failed leadership.

Change is far from happening when it comes to American politics.

Bundanoon, Australia Bans Bottled Water

A small community of about 400 people two hours away from Sydney, has banned bottled water, in favour of tap water, in an action to take back community resources from bottled water companies who have been taking local water, bottling them, and selling them back to the community at prices above the price of petrol!

With two dissenting votes against the ban, one of the main reasons given by its supporters was, "the voluntary ban has been triggered by concerns about the carbon footprint associated with bottling and transporting the water."

"Free water fountains will be installed in the NSW village, southwest of Sydney, to replace the bottled H2O."

Not bad at all.

Dole: How a Multinational Lost Against Grassroots in Sweden

'Bananas!', the new documentary film by Swedish director Frederik Gertten, details workers conditions at the Dole plantation in Nicaragua, and a lawyer's efforts to sue the company on behalf of twelve workers. The workers have been subject to poisonous chemicals used at the plantation, even though the chemicals were banned in the USA for import and the production head at the plantation stopped the production due to health concerns at the plantation. These chemicals, have, among others, known to cause insterility, kidney failure, cancer, and even the female workers who washed the clothes of the plantation workers themselves got sick.

So in comes the multinational company, Dole, and sends its hordes of lawyers to stop the film from being shown (link in German). Dole threathened the event organiser in Los Angeles that they would be taken out of the competition of the film festival if they screened 'Bananas!'.

Dole's shenanigans however and fortunately, did not go unnoticed in Sweden. A grassroots movement erupted with protests and the politicians stood up with the grassroots to support the director in case of further legal action by the company. A chain in Hamburg, Germany, also got into the act to take out the Dole fruit salad out of its products.

After getting a whiff of the negative publicity, Dole rescinded, to respect 'free speech.' Hmmm. Multinationals are starting to realize that old strong-arm methods to silence critics are not really successful these days.

As for 'Bananas!', the film has received accolades for its documentary strength.

Republican Insanity in the US: Vote Against Rape Victims

This week in the USA, the Republicans once again showed their true colours that they are nothing but a masquerading front for their corporate masters. The new Democratic Senator Al Franken from Minnesota introduced an amendment on the Senate floor to protect rape victim Jamie Lee Jones, who was gang raped by the employees of KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, in Iraq, when she signed up to work in Iraq.

Jamie Lee Jones was then, through her contract with KBR, forbidden to sue KBR in the courts and is being forced to enter into arbitration because her contract says that she cannot sue in the courts. Now, let us be clear. A contract at KBR stipulates that you cannot sue the company, if you are raped or sexually abused, while at work!!! Jamie Lee was raped, forced into a CONTAINER AND LOCKED by her supervisors when she reported the rape and was not allowed to see a lawyer or phone her family.

Once Senator Franken introduced the bill, the Republican senators stepped in one by one to vote against the amendment to be able to take an employer to court. This is just insanity beyond belief!!!! These are the 'faith based, family value Republicans', who in the last few months have been caught in one sex scandal after another.

Fortunately, Jon Stewart from the Daily Show made a mockery of these idiots who voted against this amendment. There is now also a website with the photos of these 'faith based, family values Republicans' called, 'Republicans for Rape.' These Senators deserve this labeling who have no shame left.

Germany's New Coalition Tricking the German Psyche

The German federal election results was about four weeks ago where the Conservatives (CDU and its sister party in Bayern CSU) agreed on a coalition government with the center-right Liberals (FDP).

The FDP promised the electorate, among other things, lower taxes even in the face of record deficits, and stronger citizen rights based on overzealous goals of the interior ministry (CDU personnel) to control the police and the military.

So, what is it the FIRST thing the new coalition proposes? Increased retirement benefits for the long-term unemployed (also known now as the infamous Hartz-IV reciepients)!!!! At first look, this looks like a complete joke based the Conservatives' and Liberals' agenda before the election.

But the FDP has slowly started to find out that the CDU government is watering down every proposal the FDP has put forward, partly due to record deficits but mostly to exert its power and protect its future cabinet posts.

The German public which has expected that this new coalition will destroy all social protections in the future, were treated to a 'feel good first agreement', i.e. increase unemployment benefits. Why? Because the coalition wants to push the other topics off the agenda, since they are impossible to agree upon and at the same time start off with a 'feel good' PR campaign to calm down the public and also further weaken the the Socialist party (SPD) which is now part of the opposition.

The future plans of this coalition? Water down the protections of the employed with easier hiring and firing, strong interior ministry and more tax cuts for the wealthy. No one has really learned anything from the disastrous tax-cut policies from America, implemented with perfection under the Bush administration.

But a PR campaign to start off - now there is a new trick!!!!

Germany Moves to the Right

Angela Merkel's conservative CDU/CSU coalition will form a new government with the center-right liberals (FDP), based on today's federal election results in Germany.

The CDU/CSU, won approx. 34% of the vote (-1.3% compared to previous election), but the center-right liberals (FDP) made up the gap and won approx. 14.6% (+4.8%). Even though these two results will not form a 50.1% majority, this combination of CDU/CSU and FDP will put them over the top based on the complex 'overflow' voting system in Germany, and send the government into a right-right coalition for the next legislative period.

The socialists (SPD) failed miserably compared to the previous elections (23%, -11.2%), and will have to be on the unaccustomed side of an opposition party from now on.

Together with the Left Party (12%, +3.2%) who has slowly been taking over the SPD votes, and the Greens (10.7%, +2.5%) who did not inspire any new voters, the opposition fraction together will have approx. 46% in the federal government.

German Federal Elections: Will 2009 Trip Up The 'Old Establishment'?

This Sunday, the voters in Germany will decide on the next government. After months of unsubstantiated campaigning by almost all parties, except for the vehement tax cuts proposed by the pro-business liberals (FDP), this year may be the beginning of the end for the old party establishments, namely the conservatives (CDU/CSU) and the socialists (SPD).

Based on promises that the one party will not work with the other in a coalition government, it might be the year where the parties in the opposition actually become stronger for the future. Why? Let us talk about the predictions first:

Conservatives (CDU/CSU): 32%
Socialists (SPD): 27%
The Left (Linke): 13%
Bündnis 90/Grüne (Greens): 13%
Pro-business Liberals (FDP): 12%
Others: 4%

CDU/CSU had hoped to form a coalition with the FDP, but both parties have fallen off in the polls and will not achieve the 50% needed for a majority government.

SPD has attacked the Merkel government (CDU/CSU) during campaigning, although they currently are in a coalition with them. FDP has despised the CDU/SPD coalition.

The Greens will not work with a CDU/FDP combination to form a majority.

SPD refuses a coalition with the Left, even though they need another party, along with the Greens to form a majority, and are pushing for a coalition with the FDP which the FDP has refused.


Based on these refusals and denials, it might be possible that the current grand coalition will continue with the CDU and the SPD, but with a very strong opposition than never before. The Left is slowly eating away votes of the SPD sympathisers (see earlier articles in archives on the demise of the SPD) and the FDP is getting stronger based on voter discontent. Or the SPD may be able to coax the FDP to be in a coalition government with the Greens, but with an opposition from the CDU and the Left it will be disastrous to run a government with the big parties in opposition.

The only coalition that would guarantee stability is the current CDU/SPD coalition but no one wants this to continue.

No matter what, I say: VOTE!!!!

José Manuel Barroso is Re-elected

"Idiot", "Irritating", "Calls too many times", "Idea Deficient", "Opportunist", etc. - these are the words used to describe Manuel Barroso, who has been elected a second time today as the EU commission president. And the people who use these words to describe him, are in part, the same politicians who put him there. Some, like Martin Schmidt from the social democratic party (SPD) in Germany have not been shy with their feelings and openly called him a 'dope.' (See earlier article in May 2009 archives here.)

Why? Because he is the least dangerous one to intervene in national decisions. This is the way the EU commission president is elected, so that he stays out of the way and is ineffective. Not long ago, before Barosso was put into power, the conservatives defeated a proposal to put Guy Verhofstadt, the former prime minister of Belgium and one of the most intelligent and unwavering politician of all times, into power, because they knew that he would be making too many proposals that would put some politicians in a bind and embarassing situations.

Manuel Barroso has therefore been elected by the conservative groups in the EU parliament by 382 votes. 219 members voted against him (the socialist delegations, the greens and the left) and 117 members withheld their vote. It looks like on paper that Barosso won by a wide margin, but with the abstentions, it was by 46 votes.

So congratulations, Mr. Puppet.