19 January 2007

Stanhope cool with cluster bombs, as long as he agrees with the war

| johnboy
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The Canberra Times has an interesting story on Jon Stanhope’s contortions to get off the hook about the ACT Government’s superannuation investment strategy.

It’s the standard sort of duck and cover, order a review and hope everyone’s forgotten about the issue by the time a report comes back (which can be released during the running of the Melbourne Cup).

The thing that really interested me was this one:

“While he found cluster bombs “abhorrent”, he defended Raytheon as a “highly respected ACT company” that had received direct support from his Government. “It’s a valued member of the Canberra community, it’s a growth company employing a significant number of Canberrans, returning through its employment and activities in the territory enormous returns.” He argued the use of Raytheon’s munitions, manufactured by its parent company in the US, raised questions “not necessarily about the company, but the legitimacy of the activity in which its product are used”, such as the war in Iraq.”

I’ve long held the opinion that Mr. Stanhope was a talented moral gymnast, but this is 10/10 stuff!

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Well let’s hope your investments don’t bomb too.

I was counting on my super to make me as much money as possible. As cluster bombs make me more money that investing in the International Worthy Causes Institute, I say ‘bombs away, hippies’

Guns don’t kill people, people with moustaches kill people.

In the Public Sector Super the “sustainable” portfolio is performing on par with the “growth” portfolio. Both incidentally are mostly Australian shares.
So claims that they have to go for the best investment don’t wash.
But really, who are the people on the Board for their super fund? These arethe invisible people these questions should be getting directed too.
And why isn’t the CT asking the same questions of the PSS? Or is Stanhope the only target in town?

I personally think investing in Raytheon is a good strategy: the weapons industry is worth a motza and the returns to shareholders are very high. Got to be better than investing in “Save the Children” or “Greenpeace”!

By the way, Raytheon don’t only manufacture cluster bombs – they also have a lovely line of missiles too! 🙂

This is just gold. Socialists usually end up coming unstuck over hypocrisy like this.

More broadly, this is another fine example of why governments should never be involved in these sorts of things – just get out and hand these things over for private markets to deal with.

As soon as governments are involved in things like this its natural that clowns will come out of the woodwork shrieking hysterically about ‘ethical investment’ and all sorts of horseshit.

Have to say that the CT cartoon on this today was a crack-up:
http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/opinion.asp?class=your%20say&subclass=general&story_id=549182&category=opinion%20cartoon
“Cluster bombs don’t kill Iraqis, the US kills Iraqis.”
Sounds like the line that the NRA spins in the US against gun control…

LMFAO – They ought paint them like PokéBallsâ„¢

Cluster bombs are cool – especially the ones with the brightly coloured time-delay fused bomblets that attract little kids.

Sorry guys. I was reflecting on Stanhope’s postion on a company that makes cluster bombs, via the well worn aphorism ‘Guns don’t kill people, people kill people” rather than estimating the relative Iraqi kill count of individual nations.

As the UN’s outgoing Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs,Jan Egeland, calling them “medieval weapons unfit for civilized nations” I am surprised at Mr Stanhopes capacity to support a company that makes cluster bombs for anyone, at any time.

So – like mines, nerve gas and torture; clusterbombs are something no civilised country should be having anything to do with.

This position doesn’t apply if the company that makes these devices employs Canberrans however.*

*The Stanhope qualification

🙂

Thumper, the list of Iraqis killed by Americans is more classified than the colour of Uncle Georges underwear.

That said, when the regulation of ammunition to soldiers is unregulated there will never be any accountability or accuracy in the figures reported.

The BBC have reported that it is estimated that 500 iraqis die A DAY since the 2003 occupation started.

Also hard to verify is Mr Bush’s recognition of only 30,000 deaths, given that the entire population of iraq has decreased by 2.5% and their own internal requirement for at least 50,000 burials of civilians (at time of reporting).

Cluster bombing is a component of the problem, however with the current drivers of foreign policy being the ones holding the most credentials for being fuc wits when on overseas deployments…

This is the sort of deflection technique often employed by pre-schoolers:
Parent catches kid being naughty.
Kid points out another being even naughtier.
Parent (if not experienced in the ways of pre-schoolers) is distracted by naughtier kid and forgets to reprimand first naughty kid.

and not so smart bombs (suicide bombers)

Usually not with cluster bombs, though, surely?

Spot on Thumper!!

Cluster bombs don’t kill Iraqis, the US kills Iraqis. An interesting position from our moral guardian, considering the UN was pretty narky about the use of clusterbombs in ANY circumstance.

One can only wonder if this company also supplied them to Israel for their attacks on Hezzbollah/Lebanon.

darkladywolf10:48 am 19 Jan 07

Great. Now I have this mental image of Jon in a leotard. And here I thought my day couldn’t get any worse.

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