BB,

I do agree that at present the world is mightily unbalanced by the current stance of the US, however, the weakening of the US by the anti-US alliances, has led us back into a disturbing place, where the next ten years will, contrary to popular opinion, may in fact be the most violent of recorded history. The confusing jumble of alliances, cross-alliances and pacts, between almost powers at the present time, has not been seen since 1910-14. The only serious hope I see, in order to avoid a catastrophic period in the near future, is to discover a viable, cheap alternative to oil, capable of massive volume production.

Could the UN stop this, short answer NO.

What has happened to the UN? Simple really, the Russians first misused the UN to prevent UN interference (by veto) in the invasions of Hungary and Czechoslovakia. This led to its misuse by both sides in the years that followed. Finally, with the economic (not military as you point out, although Afghanistan?) collapse of the USSR in 1990-1, the veto was increasingly misused by America, as an unnecessary encumbrance on its power, although with the best of intentions, as the UN was increasingly incapable of making any commitment to act to prevent aggression, as it was originally intended to do (eg. Korea).

In fact, this is the final act from the peace & love generation, the final, unimagined effect of the anti-war protests. These protests prevented Australia making any attempt to interfere in the annexation of Timor by Indonesia, and also to prevent anybody attempting to interfere in the appalling situation in Burma/Myanmar, and even against the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. This is the period when the UN rendered itself irrelevant, the rest is just symptoms of the problem already in existence.

So it really is true, to declare peace IS to prepare for war?

To those who would scoff, please consider the fact that the dreaded word, ‘Conscription’ was used this week by several federal Parliamentarians.

Inshallah

2bob

bushbred

Re the wool buyers who worked with major wool brokers ringing up their company early each morning from the local town about prices before they went out buying. Of course they did - that was an essential part of their job. To buy anything without knowing the price is incompetence. And the farmers should have found out the prices before they sold.. That is plain and simple free market practice. Always the buyer tries to get the lowest price, the seller the highest. That happens every time you enter a shop. We are a free market society.

And what makes you think that they were Jewish? Wool buying is not a profession which is popular with Jewish people. Perhaps they had foreign accents. That would not have made them Jewish. I am sorry that farmers tales have made you anti Israel but I cannot see the connection between the two

You are asking rather foolish questions, Logic, or don't you know much about Australian bush history. This was also just after the end of WW2, with soldiers returning to their bush origins once again, with farms rundown as well as communications, even if their had been many private phones before the war. So the only way you could ring up was ride a horse ten or twelve miles into town.

And as regards whether the buyer was a Jew, just read my original post to find that the Jew woolbuyer in question had been a friend of the family before WW2, and had still kept buying in the district during the war. That was why we were so snocked that the returned soldier new farmer had it put over him like that.

Of course, we only had the neighbour's word for it. Also must say that our family had never been done in in a similar way. But must say even before WW2 there was common talk in the local pub, that when dealing with the Jew buyers you always needed your wits about you.

bushbred

When dealing with any buyer surely you would have to keep your wits about you. If the Jewish buyers working for bigger companies had better access to comunications than the farmers then surely the buyers who were not Jewish had the same advantage.

You have identified only one buyer as Jewish and then not with surety. You have also admitted that your family was not disadvantaged in this way. From here you go on to assume that all smart buyers were Jewish (based only on pub talk) and further assumed that all Jews are sharp at business (an old predjudice), and gone on from there to criticize Israel.

Wow! And the things some city people say about farmers.......