
words matter
It only took them 81 years, but in Australia, the federal Liberal Party finally found a female leader. Of course, they only make these calls on merit and getting pantsed at the last federal election had nothing to do with it. I find in Australia, the Anglo-settler psyche only turns to women as a last resort and there are numerous examples of this over the recent journey. This is all about power and traditional blokes believe that they are best served by one of them holding the reins, so to speak. Peter Dutton made a meal of it but just about every recent Liberal leader has been turfed out of office by their own electorate in recent years.
Culture Fresh PoliticsDean Cox presents yet another Sydney Swans side unprepared to play AFL football. The team that fronted up against Essendon were uncompetitive and disorganised. Very soon they were 8 goals down and 3 of them were due to ill discipline and 50m penalties, which resulted […]
FreshWilli Rioli is in trouble for carrying things too far in the internecine trench warfare that goes on during AFL matches. The AFL is the home of the cheap shot. Unsportsmanlike behaviour is rife in games with players illegally slapping and bumping usually from behind. This stuff must come from the coaches and is part of some sort of psychological warfare to gain an edge on the day over their opponents. The unexpected hit from behind and trash talk are marring our great game. It is not a good look; and in Willi Rioli’s case things have gotten out of hand.
Crime Culture Defence Fresh SportIt only took them 81 years, but in Australia, the federal Liberal Party finally found a female leader. Of course, they only make these calls on merit and getting pantsed at the last federal election had nothing to do with it. I find in Australia, the Anglo-settler psyche only turns to women as a last resort and there are numerous examples of this over the recent journey. This is all about power and traditional blokes believe that they are best served by one of them holding the reins, so to speak. Peter Dutton made a meal of it but just about every recent Liberal leader has been turfed out of office by their own electorate in recent years.
It only took them 81 years, but in Australia, the federal Liberal Party finally found a female leader. Of course, they only make these calls on merit and getting pantsed at the last federal election had nothing to do with it. I find in Australia, the Anglo-settler psyche only turns to women as a last resort and there are numerous examples of this over the recent journey. This is all about power and traditional blokes believe that they are best served by one of them holding the reins, so to speak. Peter Dutton made a meal of it but just about every recent Liberal leader has been turfed out of office by their own electorate in recent years.
Culture Fresh PoliticsIt only took them 81 years, but in Australia, the federal Liberal Party finally found a female leader. Of course, they only make these calls on merit and getting pantsed at the last federal election had nothing to do with it. I find in Australia, the Anglo-settler psyche only turns to women as a last resort and there are numerous examples of this over the recent journey. This is all about power and traditional blokes believe that they are best served by one of them holding the reins, so to speak. Peter Dutton made a meal of it but just about every recent Liberal leader has been turfed out of office by their own electorate in recent years.
Culture Fresh PoliticsIt only took them 81 years, but in Australia, the federal Liberal Party finally found a female leader. Of course, they only make these calls on merit and getting pantsed at the last federal election had nothing to do with it. I find in Australia, the Anglo-settler psyche only turns to women as a last resort and there are numerous examples of this over the recent journey. This is all about power and traditional blokes believe that they are best served by one of them holding the reins, so to speak. Peter Dutton made a meal of it but just about every recent Liberal leader has been turfed out of office by their own electorate in recent years.
Culture Fresh PoliticsDean Cox presents yet another Sydney Swans side unprepared to play AFL football. The team that fronted up against Essendon were uncompetitive and disorganised. Very soon they were 8 goals down and 3 of them were due to ill discipline and 50m penalties, which resulted […]
FreshWilli Rioli is in trouble for carrying things too far in the internecine trench warfare that goes on during AFL matches. The AFL is the home of the cheap shot. Unsportsmanlike behaviour is rife in games with players illegally slapping and bumping usually from behind. This stuff must come from the coaches and is part of some sort of psychological warfare to gain an edge on the day over their opponents. The unexpected hit from behind and trash talk are marring our great game. It is not a good look; and in Willi Rioli’s case things have gotten out of hand.
Crime Culture Defence Fresh SportThe Liberal Party of Australia have won no metropolitan seats in Adelaide and almost none in Sydney and Melbourne. Where does the greater part of the Oz population reside? In the cities, of course. Modern Australia no longer represented by Libs. This once popular political party is no longer representative of the modern Australia and Australians. Peter Dutton led the Libs further Right and has taken them into the smaller territory of that extremist category within the political sphere. It features a male dominated, Anglo-settler white is right, ethos which regularly attacks multiculturalism, refugees, LGBTQI folk, renewables and climate change, and ‘woke’ – which is really an attack on smart women and diversity. Inspired by Trump in the US, the Libs want to turn the clock back to an Australia where patriarchy and white men rule the roost and others know their place at the back of the queue.
Economics Fresh PoliticsDonald Trump is a bully. The bully America elected as President. A whole lot of fearful Americans want Trump to play the strongman. The Republican party has demonised scapegoats so that Trump can bully them. Illegal immigrants, who are most often desperate vulnerable people, have been painted as violent criminals. This political pantomime with ICE agents rounding up dark skinned women, children and men will cost lives. Ethnic cleansing is the pursuit of fascist regimes. The richest country in the world is savagely stripping away social services for poor people. Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, is attacking the poorest people in America and globally. He is denigrating them and the civil servants who work with them. Demonising prior to purging.
The recent popularity of right wing media in Australia and the United States has seen the emergence of new platforms and networks. Unfortunately, these are not being staffed and fronted by actual journalists in the main. Op/eds have become the product of choice in the media over the last couple of decades. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp publications and shows have led the way in this populist approach to current affairs and the news. Sky News Australia and Fox News are chock full of former right wing political hacks and staffers. Objectivity has become an arcane idea laughed about at editorial and production meetings in search of eyeballs and ratings. Therefore, you cannot trust the right wing media.
American’s voted in Donald Trump as their president for the second time. What did someone famous once say about ‘once can be forgiven as a mistake but twice is no excuse’, or words to that effect anyway. Yes, Trump only won by 1.4 points but considering he was a convicted felon and well known conman it was a travesty. Americans have only themselves to blame on this score. Therefore, Trump’s America is the enemy. The enemy of those who believe in law and order. The enemy of those who value democracy. The enemy of those who oppose white supremacists, sexual offenders, and blowhard bullies.
Paul 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.
It only took them 81 years, but in Australia, the federal Liberal Party finally found a female leader. Of course, they only make these calls on merit and getting pantsed at the last federal election had nothing to do with it. I find in Australia, the Anglo-settler psyche only turns to women as a last resort and there are numerous examples of this over the recent journey. This is all about power and traditional blokes believe that they are best served by one of them holding the reins, so to speak. Peter Dutton made a meal of it but just about every recent Liberal leader has been turfed out of office by their own electorate in recent years.
Dean Cox presents yet another Sydney Swans side unprepared to play AFL football. The team that fronted up against Essendon were uncompetitive and disorganised. Very soon they were 8 goals down and 3 of them were due to ill discipline and 50m penalties, which resulted […]
Willi Rioli is in trouble for carrying things too far in the internecine trench warfare that goes on during AFL matches. The AFL is the home of the cheap shot. Unsportsmanlike behaviour is rife in games with players illegally slapping and bumping usually from behind. This stuff must come from the coaches and is part of some sort of psychological warfare to gain an edge on the day over their opponents. The unexpected hit from behind and trash talk are marring our great game. It is not a good look; and in Willi Rioli’s case things have gotten out of hand.
The Liberal Party of Australia have won no metropolitan seats in Adelaide and almost none in Sydney and Melbourne. Where does the greater part of the Oz population reside? In the cities, of course. Modern Australia no longer represented by Libs. This once popular political party is no longer representative of the modern Australia and Australians. Peter Dutton led the Libs further Right and has taken them into the smaller territory of that extremist category within the political sphere. It features a male dominated, Anglo-settler white is right, ethos which regularly attacks multiculturalism, refugees, LGBTQI folk, renewables and climate change, and ‘woke’ – which is really an attack on smart women and diversity. Inspired by Trump in the US, the Libs want to turn the clock back to an Australia where patriarchy and white men rule the roost and others know their place at the back of the queue.
Unless you are dumb and disengaged you would be worried about where the world is heading. The US is in the hands of a madman who fluctuates between acts of stupidity and evil. Global trade is being threatened and thus the interconnectedness of humanity is going backwards. What can you do about such matters? Boycott Trump and don’t buy American. Send a message through your actions as a member of the global community. The one thing that clearly impacts men and regimes like Trump’s is financial pressure. You are not alone in your rejection of these economic policies and concerns about what a trade war will do to the world.
Leadership on the national stage is no easy thing. In a largely two party political system it is not a dualist situation like that between good and evil. More is the pity, in the opinion of some. No, rather there are similarities and mutual understandings in Australia between the Labor and Liberal Parties. Timid or terrible: Australia’s choice is the description given to the current selection of leadership candidates on display. The former is, oh so careful, not to create a political rod for his own back by any moves too willing to be offensive to anyone. The latter refers to the opposition candidate’s proclivity for alarmist rhetoric about everything under the sun. He is quick to condemn those falling outside of the propertied white male category.
There is a bloke named Daniel Hoyne and he is from Champion Data, which is a mob responsible for a lot of interesting AFL stats. In the current AFL media echo chamber, it is this chap who provides all the talking heads you hear and see with the basis of their insightful analysis. Those blowhard footy experts on Fox, Nine and Seven, with the pedigree of being ex-players, that many of us slavishly listen to. Hoyne and his fellow champions of AFL data are providing the real gold for footy analysis. The David Kings’ and others may talk loudly and stridently on topic but the actual data is identified by Mister Hoyne.
Most people know that far right politics are nasty, when you get down to it. Populist moaning and blaming others when given power turns into fascism and authoritarianism. We are seeing it in America, where the Trump regime is flouting the law and stripping people of their basic human rights. The Right is on the nose, at the moment, as folk realise the damage being done to the economy and international goodwill. Losing trust in your public institutions, when corrupt billionaires goi after your Social Security, Education and Food Safety, to name just a few, spells the end of government for all the people.
The LNP Coalition are never shy in making big statements about emotive topics like defence and law and order. Security is supposedly their thing. Expensive Coalition promises lite on detail. “$21 billion on defence”, as if just saying a big price tag will make Australia safer. Unfortunately, for us, it is a tiny bit more complex than that in the real world. Mere words and brash statements without proper costings are par for the course with the Coalition. This mob are going to build a bunch of nuclear reactors, despite there being no experience locally and no interest from those in the private sector who make their living from such investments.
Peter Dutton is that boy who keeps crying ‘wolf!’ The alarmist leader of the opposition has been busy warning about Russian planes possibly landing in Indonesia. Penny Wong, the Foreign Minister, tells us that ‘Temu Trump’ just made up stuff purporting to come from the Indonesian President. The ex-cop from Queensland wants Aussie citizens to be worried and alarmed, so that he can beat his chest. Apparently, a teenager from his home state went on the Internet to look up how to blow Pete up, according to the Queensland Police. Not sure if this has been independently verified or old mates in the force are helping spread the alarmist message? Peter Dutton is an alarming politician.