Update West Papua

There are many ways to eradicate a race of people.  One of them is to cut down all their trees.

One of the few remaining natural growth forests in the world. West Papua.

So Indonesia is doing exactly that.

WBC: Westpac Risk / Risk Management Plummets

Okay, I had to look them up, they are not the biggest bank in the world.  Wikipedia rank them as 48th, with US$642 billion in assets.  Westpac is one of the biggest four banks in Australia.

However, apparently their trading in currencies has been blighted.

A friend who rang me in distress gave me this story.

He went to his long standing bankers because he did not want to transact a large sum of his money over the net.

Went to the teller to exchange AUS250,000 into British Pounds, asking for a bank cheque.

The teller said it would be cheaper using a bank draft.  A$45.

The teller also said that with a bank cheque you cannot be sure if the British bank will accept it.

Then quoted the exchange rate.  It appeared substantially more expensive than my friend had obtained from another friend in treasury in another bank.  So he negotiated hard.

Eventually he paid a 5% spread on the wholesale currency exchange rate to the teller rate.  That is correct, a good A$12,500+.

My friend then asked the manager of the branch, who by then had joined the teller, wasn't she ashamed to be charging such costs for exchanging money......and she relied "no, the currency traders need a margin to cover their risk".

Other than proving there is an oligopoly in Australia, and the disgraceful charging regime, this story tells a few other pointers.

Westpac's currency traders are either completely hopeless;  or the new risk policy of requiring a 5% spread to trade currencies represents the policy of the bank for risk management purposes.  Covering past losses?  And that tells you a lot about the board, and the executives, and their risk strategy and their ultimate capacity to earn profits.

Second, and completely supporting this conclusion, for a teller to tell a customer that a British Bank may not accept a Westpac bank cheque, is tantamount to a red flag about the sustainability of its business.

I mean if other banks aren't accepting their bank cheques, then why would we?

Not sure if this is a BUY or a SELL story.

I told him to move his banking to another bank.  Better still, move overseas.

United Nations. Shame Shame Shame

Maybe Trump is correct.  The United Nations is a waste of time and money.

I should say, Trump is correct.

In January 2012 I wrote a blog entitled "When to intervene in a genocide".  In that I illustrated with absolute clarity; not my clarity - using the UN laws and regulations; that it is obligated, ie "must" intervene in a genocide.

Please read the blog, it is important.  However, key point is this:

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide came into effect on 12 January 1951 by vote of the UN General Assembly.  It has been adopted by the International Criminal Court. 

In Article II it defines genocide as:

Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or part a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a)    Killing a member of the group

(b)   Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group

(c)    Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part

(d)   Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group

(e)    Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

Further, the UN Security Council must, by law (Resolution 1674), take action to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.   


Think West Papua.  Details of genocides and other nefarious actions by or on behalf of the world countries against the Papuans is detailed in the above blog.

Now.....1.8 million Papuans (70% of the population) have signed a petition calling on the United Nation to conduct a free vote about independence for this nation, from Indonesia.  ABC covers this extensively in a very thoughtful article here.  

As they describe it, hand by hand this petition was passed around the nation.  In secret.  It is illegal under Indonesian law (of course!  Not so the marriage postal vote in Australia).  

Typically, it is reported, that Papuans who piss off Indonesia are disappeared.  It is difficult to imagine 1.8 million people disappearing, however I would not put it past the Indonesians to try**.

This petition was ultimately delivered to the UN in New York.  Hand delivered.

The UN denies ever receiving the petition.

Here goes a tautology....the UN denies ever receiving the petition.

Which is beside the point.  

By law, its own law, established by its own members, it must intervene in genocides.  

Whether the people are black or not.

Got it?  If it is Eastern Europe the UN is there.  Black people (with a stunningly ancient cultural heritage, oh and did I mention a land rich with natural resources?); forget it.

Shame on you United Nations.  Shame on you Freeport.  And shame on you Australia for standing by and doing nothing for your closest neighbour.

Shame Shame Shame

**Fifty years ago the Indonesians killed half a million of their own citizens; as shown in recently released US documentation.

UPDATE:  Australia is expected to be appointed by an uncontested vote to join the Human Rights Council of the United Nations.  According to the Guardian, it lobbied hard to be appointed on the following issues:

"Australia has campaigned globally for its position on the human rights council, arguing it will promote gender equality; good governance; freedom of expression; indigenous rights; and strong national human rights institutions."

I cannot think of a thing to say to that, Australia's dishonesty is so appalling.