No uranium for India until they sign the non-poliferation pact.

I have generally thought that John Howard is the best PM we have had in my life time - back to and including Menzies. But I'm getting just a little tired of Howard's swings. There was no way in the world we would sell unranium to India because it didn't sign the pact. After the deal between the USA and India, our resolve would still hold. Now, it is becoming likely that he will allow the sale of uranium to India, and the pact will still not be signed by India. Shocking double standards!

Mr. Howard has probably been forgiven for his lie on the GST by now - the GST has worked well. But now, with his refusals to discipline errant Ministers under his own code of conduct, the AWB fiasco and his current teetering on the brink of selling uranium to India, not to mention the quite disappearance of assurances that no worker would be worse off under the new IR laws, perhaps it is time for him to stand aside. He is increasingly ignoring the need for accountablilty, consistency and honesty.

Iran has signed the non-proliferation pact. Who is enforcing this pact? who cares?

We need to work towards a balance of power between China and India. These two countries will become the major economic (and potentially the major military) forces in this century.

While we could always send ship loads of coal to India a far better solution would be nuclear powered electricity generation for the obvious reasons of greenhouse gas emmisions.

Why can't we find a way to process and package our uranium (on our shores) so that it is not viable to be used for any other purpose than the peaceful purposes intended.

The IR legislation now law,will benefit the workers of INDIA,at the expense of the workers of Australia,all because of the DICTATOR John Howard

Bruce,. thats a good suggestion regarding packaging uranium here, but its the nature of the beast that currently makes it impossible. What it's used for, determines its by-products and future effects.

We should have great ties with Asia, they should be as strong as they are with other countries. Those ties should be from an unmovable position on what we do with our countries, resources and how we live, just as Asian countries demand that of us.

The major flaw with any uranium debate, which is what this blokes trying to push, is uranium use results in very long term dangers. How will future generations cope with many contaminated sites, in every country and millions of tonnes of dangerous by-products. That continue to accumulate without proper safe storage facilities around the world.

What's with all this uranium schtick?

How about engaging with the content of the article, instead of zipping away into single-issue bigotry?

There are some key realities about our own future contained in this article, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with nuclear this or uranium that.

India and China are destined, inevitably, to play a significant role in the global economy in this century. The author puts a cogent - albeit one-sided story - together that suggests we take it all a bit more seriously than we do currently. Unfortunately, our government is so introverted that it cannot even get the basics of a state visit in order. They are clearly incapable of running international policy, and should be voted out of office at the first opportunity.

On the other hand, we could simply close our borders, stop trading with these horrid people whom we clearly cannot trust with our valuable minerals, and at the same time teach them a lesson by refusing to buy their stuff either.

And watch our economy and our living standards sink slowly in the West.

Whether we like it or not, we need to retain some sort of position in the world that involves working with our neighbours. All I can see right now is the narrow-minded view of a suburban lawyer, grappling with policies that are firmly rooted in an "us and them" mentality.

More fool us.

Information on our foreign policies and attitudes is not readily available to other than the more specialised, that is at an accurate level, even if the hype is all to obvious and can be discounted. My comments are thus uninformed given only perhaps to show how insular we are fearful of anyone differing from us.
So far as I can see your construction is correct, Australia is a little insular.
However insularity can be reversed by becoming a trading partner. Pragmatism!
Australia has an increasing current account debt (used to be a worry when labour was in power, now a mere bagatelle) and foreign ownership of commerce (and other areas) increases, with only some counter balancing overseas ownership of ours. Free trade with America seems to be at our expense despite grand prophecies.
Design the same pull on our being what Renouf called “The Frightened Country” as America currently has and with the Governments desire to hold on to power, India might have a chance. There is no morality in foreign relations.
As a primary producing nation with little industry and decreasing technical expertise Uranium and coal are obvious sale items. Hence perhaps the concentration of replies in this area. Neither is without a real down side. The case for coal depends on getting rid of GHG component, for uranium controlling use other for energy and disposal of long term waste. None of these problems has yet been solved yet in each case real pressure from those who see profit or see balancing our current account is meeting a prime minister whose actions are of the moment according to need, his. China presently offers better trade, the future will be the problem of others! We may gas ourselves, Nuclear willdo little for this, radiate, explode or succumb to the pressures of empires India? China? A consortium of South East Asia? America seems likely to fade as front runner her internal debts (protecting the free world!) and her need increasingly for imports should ensure that. Maybe Australia is backing the wrong nag in this long term race-which is what you say!

Asia will be an economic power, built on the backs of their slave labor, and lack of respect for human rights.

I believe militarily, the mighty west will never allow India or China to get to our level. That would be suicide. We don't want cultures with caste systems sharing all our western developed toys, it's bad enough the U.S wants to develop nuclear ties with India.

I believe that the cultures of Asia must change more into western cultures, where rights are protected, minorities aren't persecuted, and women aren't killed at birth in rural communities.

Frankly, I think that we should be sending troops in to these backward nations to force them to pay their people more, instead of paying them rice-bowl wages.

Why the middle classes in these countries don't care about their poor is disgusting, revealing much about the inherant every man for themselves culture they have.

And people think the west, with it's welfare systems, redistributing wealth to the poor, are the capatilists!

No, anybody who believes China will be a military power is kidding themselves. Only late last year, the Europeans & U.S met and agreed NOT to sell advanced weaponry, developed by the west in our free and open nations, to backward states like China.

Try inventing them yourselves....there is no ingenuity in that part of the world. That is why western culture is so much the preffered, and these nations can't get enough of it.

The superiority of western culture in every regard is undefeatable. They want western culture so much even the actors in Bollywood movies look as western as they can make them!

Since when do we believe the CHinese communist regime or any rogue state to be truthful keep their promises deals or pacts? Even our Howard Government is democratic (seemingly) and he cant keep his promise on anything.

Lets face it greed is their motto and this has blinded them to everything else inlcuding that Chinese regime wants to rule the world with Communism

Benjamin, interesting angle.

>>Asia will be an economic power, built on the backs of their slave labor, and lack of respect for human rights.<<

According to the mantra of twentieth century communism, the entire western economy was built in similar fashion. Only by consistent oppression of the working man did the capitalist barons build their fortunes etc. etc. Or something like that.

As a result of this exploitation, we in the West built a talented middle-class that created a society with individual economic expectations - at all levels - that are a world apart from those of their forbears.

This cycle is going to be repeated in China, and - when they finally rid themselves of the love of bureaucracy-for-its-own-sake - in India. Both countries have the capacity to produce legions of highly educated, potentially middle-class, professionals, who will shape their foreseeable future.

What will be really interesting, as you hint, will be the reaction of those countries who suddenly find themselves overtaken in the prosperity stakes.

Will they accept their new role for a few centuries, then find some means of resurgence when China and India subside into fat-and-lazy decadence, as both Europe and the US have already done?

Or will instead they take it upon themselves to "[send] troops in to these backward nations to force them to pay their people more", as Benjamin proposes?

Of course, the political and economic outcome of this kind of imperialist bullying will not necessarily be predictable, as most recently demonstrated in the less significant contexts of Afghanistan and Iraq.

But more importantly, it will mean the permanent abandonment of any form of moral high ground. Nobody particularly likes to be told what to do. To be told by a bunch of arrogant, well-fed countries that they should keep their peasants in poverty simply to satisfy another country's greed for more and more money, might not go down too well.

Nonetheless, given the relative military might of the US and the rest, they might be stupid enough to give it a try.

Hope I'm not around to see it, though.

Benjamin, do you really believe there is the remotest chance that the USA or other western nations would invade China or India, the 2 most populous nations in the world? And that the reason for such an invasion would be to relieve the oppression of the poor? And should such an invasion be contemplated for any reason, that these 2 nations would hesitate to use their nuclear weapons, or that any attempt to invade and occupy even if the conflict were limited to non-nuclear weapons would have the slightest hope of succeeding, given what we have witnessed in Iraq?

War is not the solution to the world's problems. Invasion of any peaceable nations would be a disaster for invader and vanquished. The best means of reducing threats to international security is to promote economic development and justice and reduce military posturing.

"Frankly, I think that we should be sending troops in to these backward nations to force them to pay their people more, instead of paying them rice-bowl wages."

Just like we did in Iraq, eh Benjamin?

Top idea mate.

"Only late last year, the Europeans & U.S met and agreed NOT to sell advanced weaponry, developed by the west in our free and open nations, to backward states..."

Jolly good thing too.

If Iraqi insurgents had gotten hold of advanced weapons, we could never have pacified the country by now. Fortunately their primitive AK47s, RPGs and IEDs were no match for our advanced weapons systems.

Should present trends continue though, within 5 years India and China will together be graduating more scientists and engineers than our Advanced World.

What we ought to be doing - to allow the heathen savages to keep revelling in their backward status - is to start bombing their universities.

We need to start doing it NOW.

Isn't that right, Benjamin?

Global heavyweights, such as microsoft in Malaysia, will rape the country and the government incentives until it is is only marginally more practical to be there, then they will ship out back somewhere else.

The whole way it works is whilst you have engineers etc coming out, they get paid crap and end up in a mass exodus as skilled migrants everywhere else.

This is life, they will become heaveyweights, but in Manufacturing and labour orientated activities.

We have little to worry about, we have set up a good shop and we will not be effected, because maximum efficiency means we all do what we do best as countries and therefore we will not be encroached on as a nation, and nations like India have too may internal hurdles that are neglected that will always come back to bite them. Few Asian countries have their own house in order, and the west will always call the shots, one way or another.

HI Realist,

The West will always call the shots?? It has been that way yes because we have the most money etc and our Governments are democratically elected.
And then there is China whose economic growth will outdo USA in the next decade. It already has the power to destroy the US on the open market.Communist regime is biding its time as we sell all the resources to it including uranium .
1.Communist regime is untrustworthy killing 80 million of its own people in peace times
2. The chinese media is a lying propoganda machine controlled by the communist regime to maintian its power at all costs
3.Lawyers have no right to practice the law without being persecuted
4.Lets not forget that it is not a democatic country , it is a brutal communist regime that 1.3. billion people did not elect into power
5.The communist reegime controls all Government bodies
6. who will be the independant body in China who checks the peaceful use of uranium?
7. How can you trust the communist regime with anything they say? They have lied about SARS, Bird Flu, organ harvesting, genocide of East Turkestan Muslims, Tibetans, Catholics and FAlun Gong
8. They have indicated they take back Hong Kong and Taiwan with force in the next few years
9. Whos next? Australia? with all our resources?? The world?? HIlter rose the same path to power ..

So who do you think will be controlling the shots in a few years??

Jana Banana,

How Hilter rose...

Is that Nicky and Paris Hilter? I think they rose more because their grandfather Conrad Hilter made a lot of money out of hotels and became notorious for marrying Zsa Zsa Gabor.

You have posted some very silly ideas, Jana.

Of course you can't trust the Chinese communist regime with anything they say. But neither can you trust the Bush or Howard regime with anything they say. So that's not a very convincing criticism.

Weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?

US tax cuts affordable?

Children overboard?

Bribes to Saddam never, ever imagined?

"They have indicated they take back Hong Kong... with force in the next few years."

Er, China reclaimed Hong Kong, peacefully, in 1997. That was nine years ago. The world has not ended yet.

HI Mike M,
yes you are right thankfully the world has not ended yet but if we dont start taking the steps now to stop the Chinese communist regime from moving forward to take over the world with communism then it definately will be a replay of history only worse.
Human nature being this way never see it coming until its here and then its often too late to stop and many peoples lives and nations are destroyed.
If you only had 2 countries to choose from in which to live China or USA which one would you pick??

Please read the history of the communist regime rise to power and what it has done up to today to maintain that power.

http://ninecommentaries.com/

Mr.Benjamin,

I have lived in Australia for 2 years. I am an Indian and i work for an IT company in India and i am not a slave and i feel i have more freedom in India than in Australia. I can live like a king with the salary i am getting in India(remember 1A$=34 rupees). If you think broken marraiges/many young people on drugs/casual relationships as a development, we don't want such a development. And Bollywood stars are just like you!!they practice your culture as is filthy rich people in India...

Dear Benjamin,

Let me take you a couple of centuries back, back to india which was invaded by the west and ruled by the british for 200 odd years, we got our independence by non violence and whe they ruled we were the jewel in the crown, India was called the golden bird at that time and was prime objective of invading nations, Columbus never set out to find america he set out to find india and you call that a land of savages non cultural people trying to ape the west? Get your facts clear i am a indian living in Australia for the last 10 years you are the first person to with such radical views. you think you could send in troops? to liberate chinese and insdians from their own people?? u think apart from US any other country could even field a big enough army to invade these countries? It is a fact and a truth the power is shifting again as civilzation takes the full circle and money is where people are.. and rest all too complicated for you i guess.

Regards to you

China's dark ages are here and are being revealed to the world now.

Independent REPORT INTO ALLEGATIONS OF ORGAN HARVESTING OF
FALUN GONG PRACTITIONERS IN CHINA
by David Matas and David Kilgour
July 6, 2006
Read the report: http://investigation.redirectme.net/

“Based on what we now know, we have come to the regrettable conclusion that the allegations are true. We believe that there has been and continues today to be large scale organ seizures from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners.” [Report excerpt]

The report was voluntarily prepared by Canadian Member of Parliament David Kilgour, (former director of Asia and Pacific division of Canadian Foreign Affairs Ministry) and renowned Canadian human rights lawyer, David Matas and backed by Members of Parliament from all parties. The report was released to the Canadian government July 6 after two months of research, with recommendations for diplomatic pressure and sanctions on China.

“I urge you to read this report and to make a contribution, in any way, to immediately investigate and stop these atrocities continuing in our world today.” Said John Xiao, CIPFG Spokesperson, Australia.

“This ‘living human trade’ is completely unacceptable in our country and to us, not only as Australians, but as human beings. At the absolute very least it warrants immediate investigation by the Australian government.” Said Mr Xiao.

The Australian CIPFG, established in April this year, has a growing membership of political, medical, legal and religious representatives, who do not practice Falun Gong, but who understand the urgency, as human beings, to investigate such atrocities.
For more information, Contact:
John Xiao, CIPFG Spokesperson, Australia, Mobile: 0425 885 768
Email: australia_cipfg@optusnet.com.au

my comment
So please dont talk about economics and democracy for Chinese people with the present rulers --- a brutal communist regime..

PLease see past the greed and remember history the Jewish Holocast Hitler's rise to power thru ecomonic reform., Olympic Games and then
marched on the world.

We all better start believing that truth compassion and forbearance will save the day.....

Posted by Jana Banana, Sunday, 9 July 2006 6:10:14 PM