when words matter most
Let me share with you a little about my recent viewing experiences. I decided to trim my expenses in response to the cost of living crisis eating up my modest savings. I axed the streaming services previously subscribed to one by one. Then, after nearly 20 years of pay TV – I gave that the flick also. Suddenly, I was reduced to watching the footy on free to air. Channel 7 trumpets this FREE experience to the viewer but stuffs so many ads into a game my head started spinning. I entered the fake world of commercial free to air TV.
Culture Economics Fresh SportThe culture wars can be divided down the gender divide in Australia. It is white men versus the world of women. Kerry Stokes sits atop his pile and directs his media shock troops to beat up on the hopes of his female employees. Four Corners exposed the facts that Channel 7 champions misogyny and misery. Then, they buy their silence with NDAs. Who else is famous for NDAs? Oh yeah, the convicted celebrity rapist Harvey Weinstein. Perhaps, Harvey is a hero of the upper management at Seven West Media. I mean, let’s look at the evidence.
Culture Fresh PoliticsThe Commonwealth Bank (CBA) regularly makes billions of dollars profit every year. The share price of CBA is one of the highest for any bank in the world. $157.06 as of the 6th of December 2024. Despite this someone at the bank felt that it was a good move to charge many poorer Australians $3 every time that they withdrew cash from their own CBA bank accounts. This is the world we live in. The Commonwealth Bank fleecing Australians to extract even more profit out them during a cost of living crisis.
Economics Fresh PoliticsI have a confession to make. My football team, the one I support and have done so for the last 30 years, was cruelly smashed in the Grand Final. This, unfortunately, is a repeat performance, as it happened also in 2022. Getting to a GF is no mean feat in and of itself – it is a heck of an achievement. This, paradoxically, makes the experience of seeing your team get thrashed in the ultimate game even worse. Not to make a fist of it but to be wiped off the stage so utterly is a devastating feeling, even for the fan. A gloom descends over one’s life and you feel like wearing a black arm band following such a build up and such a comprehensive defeat.
Why do we have wars and the mass killings and destruction they engender? Men. Power hungry men who see violence as a means to an end. An end they desire, with their cabal in power. Why do we have wars? A current example of this is the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where Mr Putin’s trying to take control, by force, of a neighbouring country. There is no valid justification for killing people, whatever the political situation. Many of us shrug our shoulders and say, well, that is how the world has always been. Perhaps, but it is not good enough and we should never stop striving to progress beyond this reversion to violence and brute force.
Crime Culture Economics Fresh PoliticsWhy do we have wars and the mass killings and destruction they engender? Men. Power hungry men who see violence as a means to an end. An end they desire, with their cabal in power. Why do we have wars? A current example of this is the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where Mr Putin’s trying to take control, by force, of a neighbouring country. There is no valid justification for killing people, whatever the political situation. Many of us shrug our shoulders and say, well, that is how the world has always been. Perhaps, but it is not good enough and we should never stop striving to progress beyond this reversion to violence and brute force.
Crime Culture Economics Fresh PoliticsPaul Keating tells us that Australia is on its way to becoming the unofficial 51st state of America. The former PM is not being complimentary in his assessment of our current defence policies when saying this. No, Keating is issuing a warning about our docile behaviour in this space. The truth is that Australia does follow the Unites States in many ways when it comes to economic and political trends. Especially, the conservative side of politics are constantly looking to take our country down well-trodden American roads. Financialization and zombie neoliberalism is where the US finds itself with private equity investment firms gobbling up all areas of life and business in America.
The leaders of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) are calling for unemployment to rise. Yes, the RBA want more Aussies out of work so they can slay the dragon they call inflation. You may not have been aware that for the last 50 years the economists at the RBA have adjudged full employment as an unemployment rate of 4.5%. That equates to around 500, 000 ordinary Australians being out of work. These are the sacrificial bodies and souls, apparently, necessary for the economy to work without high inflation. I have an alternative suggestion. Australians: Is it time to eat the rich?
The Liberal Party under the leadership of Peter Dutton has moved further right into irrelevance in Australia. This is the party that has played politics over climate change for the last 15 years and bogged Australia into the slow lane on this existential crisis facing humanity. Now, the Liberal Party plays politics with Aboriginal Voice and reconciliation. It is a dreadful shame that our nation cannot move forward on something so important united on the political front. The Coalition parties, Nationals and Liberals, were never going to get on board this momentous recognition of our Indigenous brothers and sisters, as they represent the hard right racist minority within Australia.
The opioid crisis in America is a terrible indictment on American doctors. The fact that OxyContin was widely prescribed as a safe cure for pain despite being an opioid is testament to the stupidity and gullibility of American doctors. The training and experience of medical practitioners should have indemnified them with a healthy scepticism for claims made by the pharmaceutical companies in this instance. Opioids have been known to be highly addictive for many decades and there have been no exceptions to this over the period.
The Coalition had run a narrative about Australian dole bludgers and welfare cheats for decades. It was part of the right wing playbook of creating villains for the electorate to focus their frustrations and hate upon. The enemy is all those Aussies gaming the system and not doing their fair share. Robodebt was their policy initiative to clean up Dodge, as welfare cops on the beat clawing back billions for the budget. Robodebt abuse was built on Coalition lies to Australians. Scott Morrison was in such a hurry that he didn’t want to waste time on dotting the I’s and crossing the t’s when it came to the legality of the scheme. Kathryn Campbell, the public servant responsible in Human Services, would make the bullets for Sheriff Morrison to fire at the legion of welfare cheats downunder. A lot of paper shuffling went on between senior bureaucrats in the social security and human services departments. Pleasing the boss was paramount bin the minds of these highly paid functionaries.
Thirty years ago the average person didn’t worry about their digital footprint. They didn’t have a social media profile or a website in most cases. Individuals were footloose and fancy free without the ever present digital shadow hanging over them. Digging into your digital footprint can reveal how our cultural concerns are changing. Young people previously had lives which didn’t demand constant documenting via technological devices. Human beings had identities outside of the pixels and bytes forming shapes and images on screens. None of these things are possible today unless you are willing to swim against the current in 2023 and beyond. Kids are constantly checking their phones for updates re-their on-screen lives. Many cannot commit to things like watching a movie without reference to the small screen in their palm. Concentration levels have been diffused into a multiplicity of intermittent calls upon their flickering attention spans.
The murder of Carol Clay and Russel Hill in the Wonnangatta Valley are gun deaths. Greg Lynn is accused of the murders and will stand trail in the Victorian Supreme Court. Gun deaths in Australia: The murder of two campers in Victoria is worrying for a number of reasons. There are 2.6 million registered firearms in Australia. If licenced gun owners are travelling with their guns it makes for dangerous travelling. Disputes over camping sites may turn into life threatening situations, as, it seems, was the case in this instance.
Rupert Murdoch has been a scourge across this nation and around the globe. Publishing right wing broadsheets and tabloids to peddle influence in western Anglo democracies. Fox News has been his nadir in terms of journalistic standards and any pretence of objectivity in reporting the news. You would have to say that he has made his many fortunes out of giving stupid people what they think they want. The neoliberal shonky manipulation of the ordinary man and woman in the street. Appealing to their prejudices and their short shrift for anything beyond their ken. The anti-woke campaign is writ loud across the right wing playbook to rile up a response from the largely apathetic majority. News Corp publications and networks jump on this bandwagon day and night.
The Trump years were desperately unfunny despite the stupidity of the man and what often came out of his mouth as President of the United States. The laughable state of American politics is reaching new highs of absurdity with the most recent discovery of classified documents in Biden’s possession, from his time as Vice President during the Obama years. Firstly, Trump was under investigation by the DOJ for filching boxes of top secret classified documents when he left the White House. Who knew that Presidents weren’t allowed to souvenir such stuff upon their departure? Some folks steal stuff from their hotel rooms and slip it into their luggage prior to checking out.
Is Dominic Perrottet a Nazi? Even asking this question a few weeks ago would have seemed absurd of the NSW Premier, but who knew. I mean who in their right mind would dress up as a Nazi for their 21st birthday? The rites of passage for a callow youth? A serious young man like the Premier should have known better, indeed, would have known better. Is the obvious truth staring us in the face? Is the best place to hide in plain sight? I have written about the rising tide of fascism around the globe.
Trump has spawned the fantasist George Santos elected to congress in the US. Congressman elect George Santos of the New York district has lied about who is on his official CV. Santos claimed to have worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and this is a lie. George Santos put down on his resume that he received a degree from Baruch College and this is a bald faced untruth too. He put down stuff about running an animal rescue charity of which there is no record. Santos claimed to be Ukrainian and Jewish – both of which are further fabrications.
More information is being revealed about the dreadful police shooting in Wieambilla. It seems a case of Queensland police less than honest in their communication with the community re-Nathaniel Train. The ABC has reported that the younger Train brother was reported to QLD police for illegally crossing the state border from NSW and suspicious activity during the Covid lockdowns in 2021. A local resident witnessed Nathaniel Train dumping stuff into the river from his vehicle after attempting to cross the river during flooding. He reported this illegal crossing to police in QLD. These were loaded weapons, as they were found by locals later. Police were informed and collected the weapons.
The recent police shootings in Queensland has turned the spotlight on the role of religion in terrorism and acts of violence. The Train brothers at the centre of this mass murder were brought up by an evangelical father. The Trains made a YouTube video around the time of the police shootings telling the world that they had killed the demons and devils who had invaded their property (this video has been taken down by the police). This was a reference to the 2 young police officers who were murdered by the trio of armed Queenslanders. Thankfully, 2 more young police officers were able to survive this act of domestic terrorism.
I ask this in light of the police shootings in Queensland coverage. Are there any real journalists left in Australia to ask the important questions? Or, has Murdoch gutted the profession so completely we are left with tabloid news screaming, “Love triangle!” in their click […]
We live in a materialistic age and under the auspices of the capitalist system. Billionaires and oligarchs: Our relationship to them must be examined. Billionaires have been seen as the apotheosis of our economic societies. The general public in western democracies have looked upon these very wealthy people as winners and something to aspire to. In America, individuals like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have been held up as examples of real success. At the same time, America and Australia have become much less equitable nations in terms of the distribution of wealth amongst their populations. There are more billionaires but the percentage of shared wealth has become far more skewed in favour of rich elites.
Here in Australia and in America the energy companies are taking us all for a very expensive ride. Why do we unquestioningly accept being fleeced by big business? Gas and oil prices have gone through the roof and then some over the last 12 months. Yes, we have heard the excuses about the war in Ukraine but come on these companies are making record profits in the trillions and hundreds of billions of dollars. Inflation is at 7.2% in Australia, as of November 2022, and the Reserve Bank tips it to reach 8% by the end of the year. The cost of living for essential items like energy and food have gone up substantially. The RBA is rising interest rates to dampen demand within the economy.
It is sometimes difficult to know what to do to get your website working effectively for your business. Finding the right words for your website can be challenging. What to say and how to say it are perennial questions for small business owners and operators. Going down the path of organic SEO can open up a whole lot of questioning worms. Although ultimately it will save you a lot of money and deliver better results in terms of attracting business via your digital presence. It will also focus you on the key words and search terms your potential customers are using.
Creating SEO enhanced content for your website is like anything else in life, there are no instant answers. You can pay others to do it for you. There is no shame in employing experts to establish a body of work on and around your digital presence. However, do not think you can pay peanuts for this utilising ESL writers via low budget SEO companies. You get what you pay for in this life! Remember this truism, as we go further forward into this article. Ultimately, becoming a better creator of SEO enhanced content yourself will best serve your interests.
Why do we have wars and the mass killings and destruction they engender? Men. Power hungry men who see violence as a means to an end. An end they desire, with their cabal in power. Why do we have wars? A current example of this is the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where Mr Putin’s trying to take control, by force, of a neighbouring country. There is no valid justification for killing people, whatever the political situation. Many of us shrug our shoulders and say, well, that is how the world has always been. Perhaps, but it is not good enough and we should never stop striving to progress beyond this reversion to violence and brute force.
We have just seen Australia worst child sex abuser caught sentence to 27 years in prison for his offences. Ashley Paul Griffith. However, in 2009, a complaint was made by a mother about this guy and her young child in his care at the time. No action was taken and the cops spent very little time interviewing the child. Queensland police failed to act on worst paedophile ever. Another 2 complaints are in the police system relating to complaints made by parents against Griffith, which again led to no action being undertaken by police.
I have just had the fortnight from Hell. A week of agonising tooth ache followed by root canal and another week of painful recovery. What is it with human teeth not being up to the job? WTF cannot our teeth last the distance along with other functioning parts of our body? I am angry about my lousy teeth. And like all good humans I am looking for someone or something to blame. I have walked the straight and narrow, for a decade, when it comes to my oral hygiene. Done the right thing diet-wise, according to the experts. Still I suffer like a bastard left out in the cold.
Do you know what has happened in our world? Everything has become about making profit. Look at the example of healthcare insurance. It would be logical to think that the care of the patient would be first and foremost in this sector. You would be wrong, since privatisation has come in via neoliberalism, shareholders have become the primary concern of those in the business of providing healthcare insurance. We are now putting the cart before the horse. CEOs and boards place profitability and returns for investors above all else. Patients do not get the timely care they need because it is all about spending less. These companies like United Healthcare are making $450 billion revenues annually. Neoliberalism puts consumers and workers at the bottom of their priority list and shareholders at the top – this is wrong. Healthcare should put patients first not shareholders.
Only in America, the land of unchecked greed and guns, do you half expect these sort of things. Rapacious health fund CEO gunned down in New York city. The assassin had marked his bullets with the words ‘deny’, ‘defend’ and ‘depose’. These are the insurer’s mantra when refusing payouts to policy holders. Brian Thompson was the CEO of United Healthcare a company on target to make $450 billion revenue this financial year. This is America where healthcare is first and foremost about profitability for investors and executives. I suspect that this way of doing business has made the company plenty of enemies.
The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) regularly makes billions of dollars profit every year. The share price of CBA is one of the highest for any bank in the world. $157.06 as of the 6th of December 2024. Despite this someone at the bank felt that it was a good move to charge many poorer Australians $3 every time that they withdrew cash from their own CBA bank accounts. This is the world we live in. The Commonwealth Bank fleecing Australians to extract even more profit out them during a cost of living crisis.
The French Revolution was one of the bloodiest chapters in human history. The device of Dr Guillotine took so many heads that bigger baskets had to be made to gather up those dismembered and rolling free during the frenzy of executions. Did you know that […]
The recent political kerfuffle over politicians getting free upgrades on Qantas flights misses the point somewhat, I think. It is the corrupt and odious practices of Qantas management which should be called out rather than merely berating the politicians, in my view. Qantas upgrade palm greasing of politicians. Alan Joyce was one of, if not, the most ruthless CEOs in Australian corporate history. This chief executive of our defacto national carrier for more than a decade, instigated repeated purges of the Qantas workforce. These were undertaken whilst simultaneously currying favour with the political movers and shakers by making them and their families feel special in the air and within the infamous Qantas Chairman’s lounge. Old fashioned graft and palm greasing really.
was listening to an interesting presentation on Plantation Goods – these were the products made for the enslaved workers in the south. These included the textiles woven for the clothes worn by the cotton pickers, the tools used by the agricultural and mine workers, and the shoes and hats required by these enslaved folk. Much of this stuff was made by businesses in the north of America, thus linking the slave economy with the greater United States. The author of this book, Seth Rockman, recounts some fascinating and unexpected historical information he found detailed in letters between the merchants and slave holdings involved.
It is election day in the USA and the madness gripping this nation is on full display for all to see. Understanding America is no simple task for those looking on from afar and those living the dream – the American dream. Young folk globally […]