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Permalink Reply by Dr Caroline Wright on August 12, 2012 at 6:36pm

Hi Bob ... I thought that you had gone on holidays or got lost in the Men's Shed.

Re your new discussion topic ... I find it very disturbing that the Syrian situation has gone on for so long with no international interference particularly from the UN (which is not surprising given the countries represented on their Security Council). I do feel for the civilians caught up in this situation.

The Middle East is such a mess I often wonder where the conflict will end down the track. Will it end in an all out War with all those countries involved. If so I do hope that Australia does not become involved because these countries need to sort this out for themselves because it has been happening there for hundreds of years but appears to be escalating.

Fond regards

Caroline 

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Permalink Reply by Bob Stewart on August 12, 2012 at 7:25pm

Caroline, having  spent two years in the region 73-74 and last year when Hilary Clinton blocked $5B in aid to Kabul I have become quite cynical of politicians patting themselves for bearing gifts. I have witnessed the theatrics in the 22 years abroad to the sense of shame that that I have felt at our politicians being made fools of being so eager to give money away without accountability.

Dr Caroline Wright said:  

Hi Bob ... I thought that you had gone on holidays or got lost in the Men's Shed.

Re your new discussion topic ... I find it very disturbing that the Syrian situation has gone on for so long with no international interference particularly from the UN (which is not surprising given the countries represented on their Security Council). I do feel for the civilians caught up in this situation.

The Middle East is such a mess I often wonder where the conflict will end down the track. Will it end in an all out War with all those countries involved. If so I do hope that Australia does not become involved because these countries need to sort this out for themselves because it has been happening there for hundreds of years but appears to be escalating.

Fond regards

Caroline 

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Permalink Reply by Dr Caroline Wright on August 12, 2012 at 8:34pm

Bob do you mean the Governments accountability to us the tax payer or those receiving aid being accountable to our Government re how the money is spent?

It is my belief that aid should be in the form that can be immediately used by the people who need it, for example, food, drinking water, seeds for planting, water purification systems, tents for shelter etc. In this case sometimes air drops are the only way for aid to reach the people in need and thus bypass the thieving power holders.  Certainly not cash handout to Governments.

It is great to be corresponding with you again. I sort of miss you when you are not about. Do not and I repeat do not believe Beverley when she says that I am fickle and only miss Robert and his blog (which is true the fickle bit is untrue).

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Permalink Reply by Bob Stewart on August 13, 2012 at 2:08am

It is both Caroline and a bit more. How often since WW2 have we been bombarded with starving weak and boggleyed children in the arms of an equally boggleyed and obviously starving mother or elder sibling?

The photos are everywhere relating to Africa more so with the UN agencies set up to take money. So why then are we expected to keep repeating the exercise year after year? The U.N. has become incestuous. If indeed the shiploads of food aid from Britain, Australia or "the Ugly Americans" ( but nothing from Russia or China) had been accompanied by by volunteers to not only deliver it to the cooking pots but to stay and set up small farm co-operatives to teach and demonstrate under the protection of the UN some 40 or 50 years ago,, we would not be repeating the situation over and over again.

In early 70's the SA  Government set up a demonstration farm at Al Marj, about 80 Ks on the coastal road east of Benghazi. I dont think it is operating now but this is the grain belt of Cyrene that fed the Roman Empire for over 300 years.  I was assigned by the ag machinery manufacturer John Shearer as part of a 3 man team to set up an assembly line for hundreds of 3 p-l ag.machines as thousands of parts,nut,bolts etc that had been shipped from Adelaide in crates unloaded by ship crane to lighters alongside ship in the area cleared of mines  wrecks and unexploded bombs and then loaded to the dock by a mobile crane. When I visited the dock to try some order to the loading of trucks for the trip to l Marj there was so much damage to the crates and contents strewn around that it seemed more efficient to use a shovel.

But I digress...''

Doctors without frontiers .... we never see them shaking hands with a politician or having their work and circumstance plastered by the media. Are we so immature that we need to feel so good about ourselves that we fail to see we are regarded as the little boy with the big mouth and plenty of pocket money to give away?

Dr Caroline Wright said:

Bob do you mean the Governments accountability to us the tax payer or those receiving aid being accountable to our Government re how the money is spent?

It is my belief that aid should be in the form that can be immediately used by the people who need it, for example, food, drinking water, seeds for planting, water purification systems, tents for shelter etc. In this case sometimes air drops are the only way for aid to reach the people in need and thus bypass the thieving power holders.  Certainly not cash handout to Governments.

It is great to be corresponding with you again. I sort of miss you when you are not about. Do not and I repeat do not believe Beverley when she says that I am fickle and only miss Robert and his blog (which is true the fickle bit is untrue).

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Permalink Reply by Dr Caroline Wright on August 13, 2012 at 11:13am

You are absolutely so right Bob. Farming equipment and crop production, assistance with establishing water supplies and Doctors Without Borders to train health workers and deliver heath care is the way to go with areas where famine is a problem.

I do have problems with financial handouts to war torn countries because we do not know how and where the money is being spent and it does nothing to bring the war to an end. We need 'feet on the ground' to assist the political leaders in bring the war to a peaceful conclusion and then we can assist in the rebuilding of of non-warring communities.

The whole middle east situation makes me angry and sad at the same time. I do not like feeling sad on Mondays as it makes me wonder what the rest of the week will be like.

Fond regards

Caroline.

 

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Permalink Reply by vivienne skeen on August 13, 2012 at 8:53pm

With the amount of money the UN have received over the years they could have rebuilt the African Naiions 100 times over. You may as well flush the cash down the loo than give it to the UN. Instead of fixing situations the UN along with NATO and the rogue US governments they create the trouble.

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Cox on August 15, 2012 at 4:16am

Vivienne the US has rogue financial manipularors but the USA as a country have been played as suckers ever since WW2 by the Europeans.

It was Europe and their earlier Empires that are much of the root cause of issues in the Middle East,The Italians,Germans,French,British,Dutch and Belgians all were responsible for the situations in  the Middle East Africa and the Far East.

Islam has piggybacked of the Discontent of Local people in all those areas but especially Africa and the Middle East.

The United Nations and the League of Nations before it are manipulated European Inventions,America may have been the chosen home of the UN but when you think about it in every way it has cost America dearly.

Once again Europe pulls the strings and everyone else pays the cost,America we must remember was seen as a threat by many in Europe longing for days past of Glorious Empires.

Think about it Vietnam a French and British to a lessor extent problem that was passed on to the USA at enormous cost.

Exactly the same for the Middle East,Europe created many of the problems there but America inherited the cost and the anger publically has been focused on them,Yet it was Europe that caused many of the issues over there in the first place.

Do not underestimate the Arab World though for they have targetted Europe for conquest by Demographic means and are suceeding,Memories are strong and they remember who betrayed and used them and have targetted them for the first conquest in a War few from the West understand yet.

We will look apon the Browns,Hanson Youngs,Rudds,Gillards etc in the future with Historical hindsight for the Treachery they displayed against Australia in opening the first shots of a War against Australia by Demographic means.

 

The UN in the General Assembly is dominated numerically by Islamic Nations,They have the numbers and their edicts such as Agenda 21,Global Warming etc are an attack on Traditional Western Nations,Fools or those with selfish agendas have come up with the ideas but Islam has used such for it's advantage.

Places such as China,Southern American and South Asian and Sub Continent countries are simply taking Advantage of UN edicts for their own Agendas.It is interesting when looking at South American countries where a number of them fully ban Muslims from entering let alone living in their Countries,Yet we never hear about that do we.

Note how all of those Countries in those areas pay mere lip service to UN Edicts wheras in the West Countries and People suffer on the way to becoming members of the Third World.

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