Nexus - 0109 - New Times Magazine-pages

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The Heavenly Lake Token Liberties The next day we travelled for hours in scorching heat along the road to the Heavenly Lake, a road so dusty that for most of the time we had to wear cotton gauze masks. These are acommon sight in China; people can be seen wearing them when sweeping the streets or bicycling to work in the moming. At last our bus reached the foot of the snow-capped mountains we had seen from the Old Silk Road. We wound our way up through pine trees and freshly fallen snow and looked down from the peak of the ridge on Tian-chi - the Heavenly Lake. Ringed by snow peaks and Alpine forest the huge crater Jake'is fed by glaciers flowing down from the surrounding peaks. _ When we arrived a young man on horseback approached and offered us a place to stay. He took us to a cluster of empty canvas yurts, inside which were mattresses on a wooden duckboard floor laid out like sheets of fence palings. For half the cost we opted to stay in the family yurt, your authentic nomad model made from felt folded over a collapsible trellis framework. We were greeted by a smiling Kazakh matriarch, inside there were horsehair ropes and felt rugs embroidered with tribal motifs. Historically, the Kazakhs have always been nomadic horsemen. During the enforced collectivisation of the ‘Great Leap Forward’, large numbers moved their herds across the border into Soviet Kazakhstan. Ironically, the power of the Khans was finally broken when they were driven from that region over a century ago. The cavalry which pursued them with such great slaughter after the fall of their capital Merv were Cossacks - distant relatives from a time when the Kha- nates extended their empire as far as Eastern Europe. The Hussars are another branch of the Kazakh tradition of horse- men. We stayed there at night with the matriarch, an infant and a young boy. An older boy - who spent most of the day on horseback taking tourists along the riding trails - and two other Kazakh couples whocomprised the rest of the extended family unit slept in another yurt. We could not bring ourselves to eat the greasy meat stew they so generously offered us, although we sampled some of the dough dumplings, or mo-mos, that are also common in Tibet. Instead, we made our way to the local providores where we purchased an excellent bottle of Xingian red wine, Hong Putau. We walked back down the muddy path to the comfort of our warn yurt. The forested ridgeline dimly silhouetted against the ink-black sky, snow was lightly falling. Peter Krygsman NEXUS SUBSCRIBERS! Have you moved since you subscribed? PLEASE notify us promptly If you change your address. If your subscription Is due, you'll be notified on the wrapper of your last paid issue and by enclosed letter. NEXUS New Times Nine - 1989 A number of subtle changes in the law have taken place during the last year. Hot on the heels of the Tax File Number legislation which installed a defacto ID system in Australia, these changes, when lumped together, impose a devastating array of impositions on the ‘civil liberties’ of all Australians. Mostrecent is the Supreme Court ruling which was handed down against the Australian Federation of Air Pilots in November; their interpretation of the law means that a precedent has been set whereby the right to strike has effectively been rendered illegal under common law. The Supreme Court ruled that the airlines could sue pilots for damages because of the pilots’ work ban outside the hours of 9am and 5pm over six days. Now even the most insignificant industrial work ban is an invitation for employers to sue employees for losses to income caused during action, PM Whitlam attempted to ban such common law actions in 1973 but was blocked by a hostile Senate. Prior to the court ruling, Labor PM Hawke called out the armed forces to keep the planes in the air under essential services legislation - an action deemed unnecessary in Australia since the coal miners’ strikes of half a century ago. Early in 1989 there bas a widespread series of debates as to whether it would be a wise move to decriminalise marijuana. Many legal bodies, judges, politicians and police had come to the conclusion that marijuana’s prohibition was detrimental to society - far more so than if it were decriminalisec for personal use. This discussion was largely swamped by the ensuing debate on whether or not heroin should be decrimimalised. Many involved groups and individuals debated the pros and cons for some months - while the Federal Government was very quietly arranging to sign a UN Treaty making it illegal to decriminalise these drugs and making it mandatory for Australian lawmakers to increase the penalties against their use. As yet this US-sponsored treaty has only been signed by a handful of US allies, but it is nonetheless currently binding. This draconian treaty means that big-wig criminals will continue to extort vast sums of much-needed cash from Australians (and Aus- tralia) with the aid of the Federal Government. In the case of heroin, most of this money will leave our shores. Simultaneously, a serious precedent was set with the implemen- tation of a law making it possible to strip suspected drug traffickers of their assets. It is now possible for government bodies to take out common law actions againstsuspected traffickers; common law does not require proof beyond a shadow of a doubt before conviction. A precedent has been set which allows the legal system and government to presume the guilt of any accused. It’s fascinating how hardly anyone seems to know or care that these things are occurring. It seems that drug abusers are now the scapegoats who are used to deprive everyone of their freedoms; a few years ago the bogey men were the terrorists. Before that, the Communists. Of course, now that the Soviet Empire is collapsing, the world is splitting up into Eurasia, Eastasia and Oceania; there can still be an imaginary ‘external threat’ along with any internal ones. In any truly democratic state all these changes would be illegal except under martial law emergencies. If we were a State of the US, at least we'd have areal Constitution. Ours actually makes it illegal for us to have any alliance with any foreign power - but as no-one defends it, our governors can ignore it. Register to votenow - and vote for individuals and parties that will do something about restraining the Orwellians out there, as well as healing the planet! It’s one of the few rights still left you. Don't blink! NEXUS SUBSCRIBERS! a