by cameron | Jul 20, 2009 | geopolitics
Most of the media coverage of the recent bombings in Jakarta seem to be skirting around the edges of… something.
It seems that the target of the Marriott bombing was a regular business meeting held there – but a regular business meeting involving which companies and organisations?
From combing the various reports, it appears that it was a meeting run by a US-based consulting company called CastleAsia "a Jakarta-based consultancy helping multinationals access local markets." Several mining-related companies were involved, including:
Considering the recent attacks on employees at the Freeport mine in Papua, which have been linked to the country’s own security forces, and Freeport’s history of paying huge amounts of money to members of the corrupt Indonesian military for "protection" and it’s shocking human rights record, perhaps the media and our governments might somehow start to connect these acts of violence with the actions of foreign-owned mining companies in Indonesia?
There are lots of suggestions that Jemaah Islamiyah (or a JI splinter group) is behind the bombings but, as far as I’m aware, they are yet to claim responsibility. On top of that, some analysts are suggesting that JI has been wiped out.
Who stands to benefit from the bombings?
Perhaps it *was* JI and perhaps it *is* a senseless bombing of innocent civilians by a group of crazed religious fundamentalists. However it might also be an easy escape goat, a diversion tactic, a neatly-packaged up scenario to stop most of us thinking further about the issue.
Who stands to benefit from the bombings?
The Marriott share price went down.
The Freeport share price went UP.
Who might want to cause trouble in Indonesia?
The guy who lost their recent Presidential election, Prabowo Subianto, a former General and son-in-law of former President Suharto? Let’s remember that Suharto, friend of Australia and the USA, was an incredibly corrupt and evil man. He was also a great friend of Freeport – as was his son-in-law, Prabowo.
Is there some connection between the election result and the recent violence? Have Freeport changed who they are paying protection money to and this is the payback?
by cameron | Jul 16, 2009 | Podcast
I am privileged today to have, as guests on the show, the director and subject of the film that won the Grand Jury Prize award in the U.S. documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival this year (which makes Ondi the first and only two time Grand Jury Prize winner in Sundance history!).
The film is called “We Live In Public”, “the story of the Internets revolutionary impact on human interaction as told through the eyes of internet pioneer and visionary Josh Harris. As far back as the early 90s, Harris predicted a future dominated by life online and created the companies that were direct predecessors to MySpace, Facebook and YouTube. The tale turns ugly when his underground NYC bunker housing dozens of permanent “citizens” and outfitted with hundreds of surveillance cameras is busted by FEMA as a millennial cult — Harris decides to take the experiment a step further and in doing so becomes a media casualty.”
We Live In Public (Official Site)
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Delicate Noise
“Filmezza” (mp3)
from “Filmezza”
(Lens Records)
Buy at iTunes Music Store
by cameron | Jul 13, 2009 | Christianity, Jesus mythology, Podcast
Tim Freke is the co-author (with his writing partner Peter Gandy) of many books about the Jesus myth – including THE JESUS MYSTERIES and THE LAUGHING JESUS. I chatted with him recently about one of their books “The Gospel of the Second Coming”, a marvelous book that manages to combine humour and insight – it explains the Jesus myth as a Gnostic parable. As Tim points out during our chat – nobody really thinks there was an historical “good Samaritan” or “prodigal son”. They are understood to be parables. Tim explains that the whole Jesus story is a series of parables wrapped up in another parable – the parable of Jesus himself.
Click on the above image to order your copy today from BookDepository (free shipping!).
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by cameron | Jul 1, 2009 | banksters, Podcast
My guests today help me explore some of the alternatives to the “Big Four” banks in Australia. Let’s say that you, like me, want to completely disassociate yourself from the Big Four – where do you turn? Are there alternatives in Australia?
Yes, say my guests:
Andrew Hadley, COO, Credit Union Australia
Tony Beck, Group Manager, Corporate Affairs, ME Bank (Members Equity)
They both belong to organisations that can provide all of the same services that you get from your bank – and they will do it with less fees and with much more customer service. Why? Both organisations are owned by their members instead of shareholders. In CUA’s case, they are owned by their customers. In ME’s case, they are owned by a group of superannuation firms which, in turn, are owned by their members.
So both organisations exist to provide good service – not solely for the sake of returning profits to shareholders. And, judging by their NPS scores, it makes a difference.
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Today’s music is by:
Rick Estrin & The Nightcats
“U B U” (mp3)
from “Twisted”
(Alligator Records)
Buy at Amazon
by cameron | Jun 26, 2009 | Podcast
In this, the latest show in my series trying to show that the Jesus story is probably a myth or hoax, my guest is a PhD student at the University of Helsinki in the field of biblical study. He chatted with me recently about the evidence to support the theory that there once was a man called Jesus about whom the stories we know of as the Christian bible were constructed around.
Interestingly, Francis doesn’t seem to believe the biblical stories and yet considers himself a Catholic.
If you want to hear my other shows about the historicity of Jesus, check out this page.
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Abigail Washburn & The Shanghai Restoration Project
“Sala” (mp3)
from “Afterquake”
(Undercover Culture Music)
Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Rhapsody
Buy at Napster
Stream from Rhapsody
Buy at Puretracks
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