No Illusions Podcast #34 – The Decade’s Biggest Scam
Posted on 31. Aug, 2011 by Cameron in Australian politics, Podcast, US politics
On today’s podcast, I look at why conservative white males are ignorant, how Wall Street scammed America, why capitalism is doomed, and why religion in Australia is in decline.
Links:
Conservative White Male Effect on Climate Change Measured
How Wall Street Aristocracy Got $1.2 Trillion in Loans from Fed
Smokers and the obese cheaper to care for, study shows.
Religion becoming extinct in NZ & Australia
Is the SEC Covering Up Wall Street Crimes?
The American Christian Pastor Who Wants To Start An Atheist Register
Photo by mel!nka.
Music by D-funk (featuring Snoop Dogg).
Subscribe on iTunes.
Find me on the interwebs at:
No Illusions Notes – 16/06/2011
Posted on 16. Jun, 2011 by Cameron in geopolitics
In the news today…
- WikiLeaks Haiti: The Earthquake Cables – The Nation has some background (via Wikileaks) on what was happening in Haiti after the earthquake. Remember all those troops that the USA sent in with the excuse of “security”? Well it turns out the US troops weren’t there at the request of President Préval or the Haitian government. They might have been sent to protect the assets of US manufacturers with operations in Haiti. Or, just as likely, they were there to prevent a revolution against the US-backed puppet government of President Préval. As I discussed in NIP05, the US has a long history of over-throwing Haitian Presidents who don’t tow the US line, such as democratically-elected Jean-Baptiste Aristide who was ousted in a US-backed coup in 2004. Interesting quote: “But other countries carried out rescue and medical relief efforts without the presence of military troops. For example, in the six months after the quake, the Henry Reeve Medical Brigade, a 1,500 member contingent of doctors who graduated from Cuba’s medical school, treated 70,300 patients, and performed more 2,500 operations, all without deploying soldiers or bringing in weapons, according to a Henry Reeve Brigade report in June 2010.”
- Bitcoin – A Scam? Or Brilliant? – An interesting analysis from various people (some pro-, some con-) about Bitcoin. Worth reading if confusing. Still trying to get my head around Bitcoin. Had to stop running the app yesterday as it was totally taking over my CPU. (HT @willozap)
NO ILLUSIONS 28 – Virginia Balmain, UNAA
Posted on 15. Jun, 2011 by Cameron in Australian politics, geopolitics, Podcast
My guest today is Virginia Balmain who is the President of the United Nations Association of Australia (QLD) and the Vice-President of the UNAA in Australia. We chat about Australia’s role in the UN, our obligations as a Member Nation, and some of the contentious issues surrounding the UN – the veto power of the permanent members of the Security Council, the rise of the “Islamic Bloc”, how it is funded and whether or not it is a “toothless tiger”.
No Illusions 24 – Bin Laden Dead
Posted on 05. May, 2011 by Cameron in geopolitics, Podcast, US politics
I have plenty of concerns about the Bin Laden assassination this week, both in terms of what actually happened and how it is being reported. How could the US President make so many mistakes in his explanation of events? Is it legal to assassinate someone who hasn’t had a trial to determine guilt? Does questioning a government’s version of events automatically make you a crazy conspiracy theorist?
These are some of the questions I explore in today’s show. Would love to know your thoughts.
T-shirt image from $6 Shirts.