Private Iraqi Citizens Shoot Insurgents

Is the tide in Iraq finally turning?

Iraqi commando units attacked an insurgent training camp backed by US troops. The camp was seized after heavy fighting with over 80 insugents reported killed.

The Iraqi commando unit attacked the camp, 160km (100 miles) northwest of Baghdad, on Tuesday.

Will this make Iraq safer or will insurgents just regroup elsewhere? However, the really big news is that in Baghdad on Tuesday, witnesses said shopkeepers fought a gunbattle with insurgents, killing three.

The incident happened after the militants had apparently opened fire on passers-by.
Correspondents say the incident is the first time private citizens are known to have retaliated successfully against insurgents.

The fighting came as agreement appeared to be drawing closer on the formation of a new Iraqi government. The interesting issue is that the insurgents are now seen as being the "foreign fighters" who are destroying Iraqi's.

Asylum seekers can stay If they convert to Christianity

Detainees who find Christ may be allowed to stay
Extracts from a report by Mike Seccombe and Linda MorrisMarch 21, 2005

The pressure from Family First and many supporters of the Governments own supporters has caused a softening of policy.

Thirty of Australia's longest-term immigration detainees are having their cases reviewed and could be freed because they have converted to Christianity since arriving.

The Federal Government has made the move quietly as it searches for a face-saving way to soften its policy on failed asylum seekers who have been in custody for more than three years, and cannot be repatriated to their countries of origin.

It follows strong lobbying efforts by several Government backbenchers, churches and the powerful Family First party for the Government to relax its refugee policy for Christian converts.

There is strong evidence to show that muslim countries who take back people who have fled their regime will then persecute the former detainees. This is particularly true when the detainees have converted to Christianity.

The case was taken up by Family First, whose spokeswoman, Andrea Mason, described the action as "repugnant". The Government is keen to build bridges with Family First, which controls one vital vote in the Senate, where the Government has a majority of a single vote.

Previously, the Immigration Department has viewed conversions to Christianity with suspicion. But yesterday a spokesman for the Immigration Minister, Amanda Vanstone, confirmed the only reason for reconsidering the 30 cases was their new religion.

"All these people had exhausted the [assessment and appeals] process and failed. Once you have exhausted the process and failed, you're over. You've had your go and that's it," he said.
"To apply again onshore, the minister has to make a decision under section 48 of the act to lift the bar. That's what has happened in this case; the bar was lifted about two weeks ago."
Asked what had changed in the detainees' circumstances to warrant such reconsideration, he said: "Just that they brought new information that they've converted to Christianity and that they want their claim - that they may be persecuted if returned - to be examined."

He said all 30 were "all unauthorised boat arrivals", mostly from Iran and a few from Iraq, who had been in detention for more than three years. They include Peter Qasim, a Kashmiri whom India will not take back, and who is in his seventh year of detention.

Cabinet is considering whether to release about 120 inmates who have been detained for more than three years. These are asylum seekers whose claims have been rejected, but who cannot be returned to their home countries for a variety of reasons.

Sources yesterday suggested this could be done either by devising a new form of temporary visa, or by the more lenient use of ministerial discretion. The reconsideration of religious conversion claims appears to be a move in the latter direction.

In the case of Iranians, who make up the bulk of long-term detainees, religion becomes an issue because the theocratic government there makes renouncing Islam a crime.

The president of the Uniting Church, the Reverend Dean Drayton, has supported the applications of about 50 Iranian Christians, most of whom have converted while in detention.
In the past month, he said, the Government seemed to be "far more open to requests" for the applications to be reconsidered. "I don't think there has been a change of policy but the minister has the power to intervene and provide a reassessment of cases and I think the minister's been doing that."

The committee said the Government seemed intent on reducing the provisions of the United Nations Convention on Refugees, to which Australia is a signatory, to exclude religious persecution. Sending people back to countries like Iran will play them in great danger. In those countries apostates from Islam face the death penalty by law.

Cost of Success to the Australian Economy

Australia's current account deficit has grown to more than 7 per cent of the economy for the first time in half a century, as the nation racks up foreign debt to pay for consumers' hunger for imports.

All this means our dollar will fall in the coming months. But hey, so will the US dollar which faces many of the same pressures. The main difference being that the Australian Government has a huge surplus this time around. Unhappily for the US government they have a huge deficit.

The Australian trade deficit in the last three months of 2004 totalled an estimated 7.1 per cent of gross domestic product, far larger than that which prompted the warning by the then prime minister, Paul Keating, in 1986 of Australia becoming a "banana republic".

And if not for very favourable trade prices, the deficit would have been far higher than $15.2 billion.

The shortfall is one item in a trifecta of economic and political headaches for the Government.
This morning the Reserve Bank is expected to announce one the most controversial interest rate rises in at least a decade. If economists and commentators are right, official rates will rise by a quarter of a percentage point at 9.30am, pushing the standard mortgage rate to 7.3 per cent.

Two hours later, the Bureau of Statistics is expected to confirm the economy grew by just 2 per cent or less last year - about half its trend rate over the past decade - and might have barely grown at all in the quarter to December.

"In the modern period the Reserve Bank has never raised interest rates when growth has slowed this much," said Kieran Davies, an economist with ABN Amro. The Reserve Bank argues that rate rises are necessary to head off possible wage rises and inflation, which could flow from the tightening jobs market.

Yesterday's figures also showed foreign debt grew by $83.4 billion to $691 billion, or more than 2 times the level at March 1996.

The combination of a current account blow-out, rising foreign debt, higher rates and slower growth will damage the economic reputation of the Government, which came to power in 1996 after campaigning against Labor's foreign debt record and was returned in last year's election on a promise to keep interest rates low.

"Our economy is in a much stronger position than it was back in the days of Paul Keating," the Treasurer, Peter Costello, said yesterday. "But I don't underestimate the significance of these figures - we need to lift exports."

The shadow treasurer, Wayne Swan, said the current account deficit - the gap between what the nation exports and earns from overseas and what it imports and pays to foreigners - could prompt international lenders to raise the cost of lending to Australians, or stop lending altogether.

"It could have responded [with economic reform]; it chose instead to spend $66 billion on its own political prospects," he said.

The "income" deficit on interest and profits rose 10 per cent to $8.2 billion, while the trade deficit rose 3 per cent to $6.9 billion. Rising debt and global interest rates caused interest payments to foreigners to rise 22.2 per cent in the year, to more than $4000 for each Australian.

The Bureau of Statistics confirmed the current account deficit had not been higher since it spiked when wool prices collapsed after the Korean War. Its figures show the deficit hit 6.3 per cent of GDP in March 1990 and 6.2 per cent in June 1986.

In May 1986, Mr Keating said Australia needed to climb out of an "international hole" caused by a gaping trade deficit and foreign debt, which was growing by $12 billion a year. The dollar fell 10 per cent in following weeks.

Yesterday the dollar dropped about half a cent to US78.77 cents at 5pm but remained close to its highest level for 20 years.

To potect yourself from future interest rises or to refinance your mortgage please visit: http://www.home-loan-club.com.au

SA Great Analysis Paralysis

I refer to the Adelaide Advertiser 12/3/05 front page article about the opening Port bridges.

The article highlights a three year absence of SA Government business acumen. Mr Rann is lucky the last Liberal Government initiatives provided the SA economy momentum. Now past business generating initiatives are running out of steam, hampered by Labor's lack of understanding of business needs.

Where are the real signs of leverage of the Adelaide Darwin rail, International airport plus the Free Trade Agreement with USA? State Labor's growth department of mighty spin seems to be the focus of their initiative, but their state of business inactivity and anti business stamp duties are now slowing us down.

As a small expanding business, try to find someone in SA Government that cares, unless you fit the bill for the mighty spin machine. Possible avenues of help drown you in form filling and endless reports, tailored to analysis paralysis. It is time to trade mighty spin for genuine business initiatives!