I knew it, it was all a CIA plot!
Really scraping the bottom of the barrel now John.
I was trying to remember an anti-communist story you ever wrote when you were writing for the Daily Mirror in the UK. Oh that's right there never was one.

Classic Pilger.

>>Across the political and media elite in Australia, a silence has descended on the memory of the great, reforming prime minister Gough Whitlam, who has died.<<

Some silence! Who does he think he is kidding?

I haven't done an exact count, but I reckon that there have been more articles on Whitlam this week - and I'm sure this weekend's papers will have another batch - than on any Australian in living memory.

I used to read Pilger's early works - at least four of his books are on my shelves. But in the last twenty or so years, he has become entirely irrelevant, except to himself.

Pericles you would not recognise the truth if it smacked you in the face.

Whether or not you agree with Pilger's view of how our society should be organised is irrelevant. Pilger speaks the unpalatable truth. We are not free country. We are owned by US and British oligarchs. As George Carlin said ,we have owners that grant us temporary privileges that can be withdrawn at their whim.

http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/no-marine-inundation-for-darwin-under-new-us-agreement/story-fnk0b1zt-1226952994848

THE United States will be able to build permanent military facilities on Australian soil and expand to locations across the country under a deal struck between Tony Abbott and Barack Obama.
The deal – which initially covers up to 2500 US forces rotating through Darwin but can be expanded – will allow the US to bring warships, planes and troops to Australia.
New bases can be set up across the country and the number of troops increased without limit over 25 years under the deal, senior US officials confirmed.

In addition to the above quote, consider the use by US naval ships of the Stirling Naval Base in Perth, Pine Gap in Alice Springs, Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt (North West Cape) in WA, the flying of US Global Hawk spy drones from Royal Australian Air Force's Base Edinburgh in SA between 2001 and 2008 and the possible use of Australia's Cocos Keeling Islands as a new base for those Global Hawk drones.
Pilger writes of an uncomfortable truth. We are an occupied nation. Gough tried to stop it, but since he was ousted, no one has lifted a finger to slow this occupation down.

Thanks for the link halduell. It looks very ominous for war with China and Russia. These lunatic oligarchs that want to own the entire planet have learnt nothing.

The Western economies are on the brink of collapse. Obama like George Bush plays golf all day. Abbott is just another Central banker puppet. Maggie Abbott used to work for a Rothschild Merchant Bank. Joe Hockey's wife is also an ex-banker. Malcolm Turnbull was head of Goldman Sachs Australia. The present Premier of NSW Mike Baird is also an ex-banker.

With the collapse of our economies they always take us to war. This one will be very short but the fall out with last for decades.

I've always loved a good conspiracy theory.
I mean, there's always someone very competent at the helm and in complete charge; and who knows exactly what must be done in order to get a particular outcome!
Which in this case, seems to have very cleverly manipulated around 6-7 million or so, voters, even former staunch laborites, into voting in a landslide, for (where's your trousers) Malcolm Fraser!
John Pilger if nothing, is at least consistent, and as usual for him, full of it!
Rhrosty.

Ah! I do enjoy a good Pilgerism, but this last one was a bit much, I nearly spilled my Mannochmore Loch Dhu , laughing.

John Pilger wriets:

"Across the political and media elite in Australia, a silence has descended on the memory of the great, reforming prime minister Gough Whitlam, who has died."

And in the first sentence is completely wrong. How he expects anyone to take his conspiracy theory seriously after that is beyond me. But then I do note that Arjay has turned up.

I continue to be fascinated by people who, because they don't like some fact about politics, and which they are unable to change, go on as if it doesn't exist.

There are two simple points in the Constitution that are relevant here:

1. The senate has the power to refuse supply (Section 53).

2. The Prime Minister holds office during the pleasure of the Governor-General (Section 64).

Persons who cannot understand these simple provisions should report to the nearest public school and ask to repeat grades 1 to 6.

Comments such as "the power of the upper house in the UK to refuse supply was removed a century ago" simply aren't relevant. Those interested in political history may remember that it was a major battle. Here it would require a referendum, which can only be approved by the people, and the people have repeatedly demonstrated that they are not going to amend the Constitution.

The practical benefits of the current arrangements, where a deadlock between the Houses can be broken by the Governor-General (whose only power in practice is to refer the question to the people in an election, since the replacement Prime Minister can't govern) compares very favourably with the United States, where we have seen that there is no mechanism for breaking deadlocks between the President and Congress.

The fact that the Prime Minister holds office during the pleasure of Her Majesty's representative is one reason I am an enthusiastic monarchist.

It astounds me that so many think we live in a democracy. Read John Perkins Confessions of an Economic Hitman. He was employed by our oligarchs to bribe and con leaders of many countries to fall for their debt. They then would sell off their resources for a song to cover that debt. If all else failed assassination was the answer.

Our democracy is just a front to keep us all etherised and good debt slaves. Central Bankers run this planet. They create from nothing all the money for our Govts to function. It is created as debt. We are at a stage now whereby expoentially more debt must be created in future years to pay for present and past debt.

World debt is now 5 times the GDP of the planet. Even more scary is the gambling derivative market of 20 times the GDP of the planet.

Even James Rickards who wrote The Death of Money sees a depression coming far worse than the 1929 one. So stop believing MSM and our pollies

What is the main difference between Australians and Americans?

Both are brain-dead but Americans control most of the world while Australians control nothing, count for nothing, have no real power or influence in the world, and are servile to most every other nation on Earth (excluding FIJI).

Whitlam and Pilger, two exceptional Australians, one of a tiny handful!

"Whitlam and Pilger, two exceptional Australians, one of a tiny handful!"

Very, very true, Whitlam for all the good reasons and Pilger for the diametrical opposites.

"The deal – which initially covers up to 2500 US forces rotating through Darwin but can be expanded – will allow the US to bring warships, planes and troops to Australia. New bases can be set up across the country and the number of troops increased without limit over 25 years under the deal, senior US officials confirmed."

Thanks go to Halduell for enlightening us Australia citizens about the takeover of Australia by the Yanks. I don't recall being asked about this, whether I approved. Were you asked?

With Phoney at the helm, where will Australia lurch next I wonder? Perhaps he gets his orders from the White House each day. Australia might be sold to G.M. or Boeing in the near future. We might all be wearing coolie hats by year's end!

At least Gough Whitlam never considered selling Australia short. He wanted the best for us and our country.

Our current leader and his minions are the most mediocre bunch of carpetbaggers, opportunists, wastrels and scoundrels ever massed together in Canberra.

May the oceans of the world rise up and drown us all!