Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of Federal Reserve, stated: "Regarding the Great Depression. You're right, we did it. We're very sorry."

The coup took place in 1911, sorry we have no say in any government

I think that's a tad pessimistic Steve - you could most definitely call me a cynic, but I still think Australians do hold the keys here, even if they are very easily manipulated.

Anyhow - following frommy last post, I'll offer a snapshot of the nextdecade.

The Liberals are going to remain in power for the foreseeable future. The next term, and I dare say the one after that too.
As stated in my previouspost, Labor is at present, ideologically crippled.

Whether or not Howard remains in power is anyone's guess, though I see no sign of the old battleaxe retiring - my punt is he'll fight the next election, serve the nextwhole term, and not give way until towards the end of the following one. Costello will sulk quietly for the foreseeable future.

Anyhow - conservatism is going toget evenmore extreme. The seeds have been sown now, butwe haven't really seen anythingmore thanthe seedlings.

Labor will languish following their defeat at the next federal election. Beazley will be gone. Forgood, if Labor knows what is wise. Following this, there will be leadership squabbling. Gillard and Shorten will be pushed as candidates, but neither have enoughsupport so Rudd will be seen as the happy medium.

Support for the liberals will besolidified in theircore constituencies, while the borderline voters willgrow dissatisfied.

The public will begin togrow restless in response to a widening rift in social services offered to the rich opposedto poor.
Inthis, Australia will follow the US model, and there will be a further decline in services suchas education and health.

Eventually labor willascend the throne, probably in two terms. The resources boom will have slowed somewhat, andwhile the present prosperous economic conditions will have been lengthened by the liberal attitude, they will come to an end, probablyin line with a globalrecession. Labor will take the helm, but it won't be amid a time of economic favour, andthey may not last the distance, though if they have made their ideological transformation they may be able to hold onto power if they've boosted core services for the lower income earners.

Peter, thank you so much for an excellent essay which comes like a ray of intellectual light.

Also you have revived so much hope in an oldie who was starting to believe that all the philosophical and historical studies in his retirement years, including Honours was a waste of time, considering using up his last few years in simply following AFL footy and international cricket.

Also congrats to the majority of our so far Posters who aclaim your point of view, as well as the suggestions that you take it much further, as Susan Prior has so thankfully indicated, possibly concerning phone calls regarding the topic.

As one whose main study has been international relations and historical philosophy, it is believed that Peter’s argument should now involve the United Nations, which has been deliberately been rendered negative by the US with the help of its present Angliphonic allies Britain and our Australia.

And yet indeed the US will still use the UN in such a way that it is American diplomacy that still calls the tune - as is happening today with Condoleeza Rice playing bandmaster or bandmistress, or whatever.

Don't care much for religion these days, Peter, but must say periods like this, turn one’s mind back to the simplicity of the Sermon on the Mount.

George C, WA - Bushbred

Thanks Carl, I assure you, when I write comments on religion, its always a jovial affair.

The problem we face can only be solved by laterally rethinking how we operate our country. Expecting change from within the current system is the same as thinking a heart transplant from a rock using a sky hook, will rejuvenate the patient, solving the problems. We have to use the current system to destroy it.

If you get control, you need the right changes for anything new to work. A political movement has to be established to instantly implement the policies that'll destroy the new parties power, giving it to the people. You need candidates, campaigning for specific portfolios. Putting before the people what they'll do to make their portfolio successful, in statuary declarations removing them if they fail to do the job. Receiving token renumeration with bonuses on actual results.

Introduce laws making beaurucrats responsible and accountable for their departments actions. Change the education system, removing youth unemployment by introducing 4 years of community work experience from 16 to 20. Filling hospitals, essential services, the bureaucracy, defence, with kids rotating through different jobs. Once they reach 20, they choose their career or study to undertake. We'd have a constant flow of people capable of most tasks in society and experienced in the real world. Crime, car accidents would reduce, no shortage of hospital staff, as everyone would've spent time in casualty, police, rescue services, becoming responsible useful citizens.

This would give older people jobs, teaching the young skills and knowledge they've learnt during their lives. Youth would have something to look forward to after early schooling.

Currently politicians support big business using our money and assets, we should only support small business and tax all religions as businesses.

Economic rationalism's designed to strangle competition, reducing the populace to slaves of corporate conglomerates hell bent on expansion and economic growth at any cost. Doesn't anyone wonder why we're working longer with less time for anything but corporate dictates in every aspect of our lives.

• Steve Madden ..."Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of Federal Reserve, stated ...'Regarding the Great Depression. You're right, we did it. We're very sorry'... The coup took place in 1911, sorry we have no say in any government"... Yeah, in the circumstances you may recall German Jew Mayer Amschel Bauer (born in 1743), who changed his name to Rothschild (symbolising hexagram rotes-schild). Significantly giving-a-birth to Zionism, towards-the-erection of the Zionist-Vatican upon the Haram-as-Sharif, on-the-national and-totalitarian-basis, bound by the treaty with the Nazi-Reich.

Well, he was quoted-to-say in 1790 ..."Give me control of a nation's money, and I care not who writes it's laws"... Accordingly his wish was granted by the almighty, as a result US Federal Reserve is neither federal nor has any reserve! Due to the fact that the Bank of the United States (introduced by Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury under Washington) was replaced by the Federal Reserve. So what is the federal reserve? A cartel of private banks owned by the elders-of-zion 20 founding families, which decides the interest rates and lend non-existent money.

Such a scheme-evolved-into present-day-banking and monetary-system. What is more commonly known as fractional-reserve deposit-expansion. The modern-day banking-system and its new form of "electronic-credit" has grown out-of-such earlier master-strokes and shows no-sign of stopping. The evil-of-not-being-able to-pay both debt-and-interest is deeply entrenched. What has now-grown-into a multi-tentacle monster, which is destroying our-economy, our-lives and our-country. We are racking-up vast-amounts of personal, corporate and public debt totaling vast trillions-of-dollars. What cannot-be ever-paid-back, under current-system. As long as the banks have the almighty privilege-to-create and issue-money, the people will continue-to-slave.

As a result of what started-as-precious metals (such as gold and silver) primary form-of-money in early days. Because of its weight and the danger-of-being-robbed, the goldsmiths were entrusted with the safekeeping. Who learned fast from the experience that although their notes-of-exchange were payable-on-demand, in practice not every-note-holder came in to ask for redemption at the same-time. So Jewellers always had a stock-of-metal on hand, while taking advantage of this fact, they wrote extra notes-to-borrowers as means-of-exchange while charging hefty interest.

Personally, I think Aaron Russo's new film says everything there is to say about the illusion of "Democracy," "From Freedom to Fascism":-

http://www.freedomtofascism.com/

In a nutshell, until we're free to sack the bankers, everything else is just froth. And here's a key quote from a recent lead letter in my local rag (from me):-

"At its heart the global system of “Fractional reserve banking” is an unsustainable fraud – a pyramid scheme. It’s only possible when the basic commodity, energy, is expanding. All our lives, we’ve been on the up-curve. Now we’re in a new place, the down-curve. In these circumstances, our current banking and money system will tear lives apart if it’s not checked by people power."

Link to full letter here:-

http://www.kimspages.org/beaudesertshirepeakoil.htm#leadletter