Recently a major US hedge fund, Amaranth Advisors, lost more than half its assets in a week, speculating on natural gas prices. The company proved correct the chief worry of such major financial institutions as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund: that financial reality is now but of control. And it is due to financial deregulation. Gabriel Kolko, author of most recently 'The Age of War', provides in-depth analysis of the current international economy.

Fiji prepares for Oz invasion by leaving blackhawk helicopters on its beaches. A kava intoxicated Commodore Frank Bullawayo has once again forgotten his coup deadline and Australia's Minister of Defence, Dr Brendan (studs) Nelson, faces hostile relatives over the latest cover-ups and military fiascos! Well done, ‘studs’, the record of Robert (suck harder) Hill will soon be under threat.

A recent study highlighting the rapid expansion of organised criminal activity in those areas where NATO and the U.S. have engaged in aggressive military intervention offers further evidence of the lasting negative social consequences of foreign occupation by neo-colonial powers. As corporate driven America attempts to assert its dominance over weaker nations, organised crime, quick to exploit traumatised societies, becomes the principal beneficiary in the 'war against terror' and the spread of ‘democracy, liberty’ and free market capitalism – what is good for capitalist America is even better for a crime boss!

A recent news report detailing the effects of Globalisation – western economic/military expansionism by any other name – and the explosion of organised criminal activity in the Balkans was aired today on ABC Radio Australia. The primary item of interest dealt with the negative impact that Western Europe, including the UK, is experiencing as a result of the activities of Albanian, Turkish, Bosnian, Bulgarian and Serbian criminal syndicates. According to the report NATO’s intervention and the subsequent elimination of traditional regulatory forces and authorities in the region has facilitated the “explosion”.

John Howard, lackey Prime Minister of Australia and member of the coalition of willing criminals, today stated that he is “horrified“ at the loss of life in Iraq. In view of the fact that Howard, Bush and Blair are DIRECTLY responsible for the illegal invasion and the hundreds of thousands of subsequent deaths in Iraq, we are horrified that these men have avoided prosecution to date!

Foreboding has hit the ranks of private equity firms; try as they might to unload vast amounts of funds (monetary value is inextricably linked to the movement of those funds) they have been unable to spend/invest at a rate that would sustain value let alone increase real profits! The ‘healthy figures’ reflecting increased acquisitions/investments are on paper only – it ‘looks good’ at the moment!

November 3 Malachi Ritscher burned himself to death on the side of the Kennedy Expressway near downtown Chicago protesting the Iraq war. Near Malachi's remains, police found a camcorder with videotape inside and a homemade sign that read "Thou Shalt Not Kill." Linked is an article from the French daily Le Monde. Search for coverage in the New York Times and Washington Post, then visit chicago.indymedia.org .

Nixon's campaign promise of ending the war was a hoax.. Every administration since the end of WWII has been subservient to the war machine, doing whatever it takes to feed that machine, either during the infinite wars or in between them.