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The last refuge of the incompetent is violence, to paraphrase a line attributed to Isaac Asimov. This truism is particularly apt for Donald J Trump and his regime in the United States. Busy stuffing up the world’s greatest economy, Trump and his cronies are now turning to violence to compensate. Venezuela is their first port of call, amid BS about attacking drug dealers, they are going after this nation’s oil. Venezuela has the world’s largest reserves of thick crude oil. The bully in the White House is picking on a weaker opponent, as bullies always do. You do not see Mister Trump taking on Vladimir Putin and Russia. This is despite the fact that Putin’s Russia is clearly the biggest villain in international terms. No, Trump and his kind pick on the weak, like undocumented immigrants in America.
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Let’s take a peek inside the Aussie racist bubble. This is where those wrapping themselves in the national flag and marching against immigration reside. The thinking goes that if we keep out all those brown skinned people, we will not see horrendous events like the Bondi Beach mass shooting. White folk from, predominantly, Anglo stock do not commit such vile acts, according to their script. Shutting the big bad world out will protect us from the atrocities. Yes, some of our business elite sell weapons to war torn countries and our superannuation funds invest for profit in such stuff the world over, but that is beside the point. Yes, our soldiers have fought in wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East but that is not our concern, either.
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I see reports that the alleged Bondi Beach gunmen were on ASIO’s radar. Well, further investigative reports tell us that they travelled to the Philippines in November and attended militia training there in the south. This would involve firearms training and learning strategies for shooting people, I would suggest. It seems that our security agencies are not all that we might hope, if the evidence is anything to go by. This in conjunction with gun laws that allowed an individual to have licenses for 6 firearms. What do you need to have this many guns for? It is time to stop treating gun owners with kid gloves and get real about the dangers these deadly weapons pose to the greater community.
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Day 3 of having no power due to a storm. No service: Profitability is the new power. Yes, this post is written under the duress of being cut off from electricity in my home and work. We live in a time, where being connected to the grid is more essential than ever before. Everything now runs on electricity. My gripe is that despite this clear and present reality, we are still dependent upon outdated and fragile infrastructure. 50 years ago, as I was growing up, I heard about the plans to put the power lines underground. Indeed, this has been achieved in many new suburbs. I do wonder why in this wonderful new world of privatised utilities how so many more established suburbs and towns have not been transformed in this subterranean fashion. Storms wreak havoc to power lines on poles.
The AFL has created a game that human bodies cannot actually cope with. How do we know this? Take a look at the number of soft tissue and knee injuries on the playing lists of AFL clubs. AFL a game unfit for human bodies. The evolution of the game has AFL players running at top speed, suddenly stopping, turning, twisting and being tackled. No bloody wonder that human joints and muscles cannot cope with the stress being applied to them under this kind of duress week in and week out. The physical conditioning experts employed by the clubs would know this but their well paid jobs encourage them to stay silent on this issue.
Do the dulcet tones of the human voice do it for you? Are you a lover of aural pleasure? The spoken word read well, whilst you drive to work? Listening for both intellectual and sensual gratification? Learning stuff and getting where you are going at the same time? All of these things are possible via audiobooks. For the very first time, sounds of fanfare ladies and gentlemen, my books are available as audiobooks. And they sound pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. Now, you can take the banality out of traffic jams by listening to what I have to say on the really important topics.
We are watching a once great democracy falter and begin its fall. Nobody has faith in the American government under President Donald Trump. The re-election of Trump was a very bad sign. The power is in the hands of the Big Tech billionaires and oligarchs. The market is in a blind fever over AI to the tune of trillions of dollars. Greed will destroy America. Here is a statistic for you, half of Nvidia’s employees are worth $25 million or more. The gold rush fever is upon those invested in the AI sector. Trump is recommending self-regulation for this runaway train of an industry. Humanity is crammed up at the back of these carriages and the edge of the cliff is nie.
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Psychologically those individuals who back strongman leaders often feel that they need the protection of bullies. Trump voters in America, the MAGA faithful fall into this category. Why do people back the loudest voice in the room? White supremacists and racists are, when you boil it down, fearful of those they perceive as different from themselves. They want the faces on their streets to comfortably resemble their own. Far right political parties like One Nation use social media to emphasise examples of crimes being committed by Australians with dark skin, as if these folk are the only ones doing such things. This misleading propaganda rallies their supporters around key elements of their anti-immigration platform.
Crime Culture Democracy Economics Fresh Government Media News Politics Power Psychologically those individuals who back strongman leaders often feel that they need the protection of bullies. Trump voters in America, the MAGA faithful fall into this category. Why do people back the loudest voice in the room? White supremacists and racists are, when you boil it down, fearful of those they perceive as different from themselves. They want the faces on their streets to comfortably resemble their own. Far right political parties like One Nation use social media to emphasise examples of crimes being committed by Australians with dark skin, as if these folk are the only ones doing such things. This misleading propaganda rallies their supporters around key elements of their anti-immigration platform.
Crime Culture Democracy Economics Fresh Government Media News Politics Power
Psychologically those individuals who back strongman leaders often feel that they need the protection of bullies. Trump voters in America, the MAGA faithful fall into this category. Why do people back the loudest voice in the room? White supremacists and racists are, when you boil it down, fearful of those they perceive as different from themselves. They want the faces on their streets to comfortably resemble their own. Far right political parties like One Nation use social media to emphasise examples of crimes being committed by Australians with dark skin, as if these folk are the only ones doing such things. This misleading propaganda rallies their supporters around key elements of their anti-immigration platform.
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OK, the Trump regime is now live streaming public executions by firing squad. It started with UFC staged fights on the White House lawn and has descended into further barbarism. Did you know that if you criticise ICE on social media and live in the United States, you can expect a visit from DHS to your home? This is fascism up and running in America. ICE continues to shoot and murder American citizens in cold blood around the country. This huge paramilitary force of heavily armed, masked henchmen is spreading fear wherever they go. I wonder for how much longer is the Australian government going to turn a blind eye to the abominable behaviour of its ally? When will Australia say to Trump’s America enough is enough? Will Australia stand up to Trump?
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We are watching a once great democracy falter and begin its fall. Nobody has faith in the American government under President Donald Trump. The re-election of Trump was a very bad sign. The power is in the hands of the Big Tech billionaires and oligarchs. The market is in a blind fever over AI to the tune of trillions of dollars. Greed will destroy America. Here is a statistic for you, half of Nvidia’s employees are worth $25 million or more. The gold rush fever is upon those invested in the AI sector. Trump is recommending self-regulation for this runaway train of an industry. Humanity is crammed up at the back of these carriages and the edge of the cliff is nie.
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A little bird told me, a cygnet perhaps, that the numbskull driving force behind the Sydney Swans Pullman 5 was none other than James Jordan. I wanted to know whose bright idea was it to engage strippers at a prominent Melbourne hotel in season, just a week prior to the AFL Finals. Especially, as your footy team was 2nd on the ladder and in with a real chance to win the 2026 premiership. Remember that the Swans defeated Brisbane by almost 10 goals in the Qualifying Final and that Brisbane went on to claim yet another flag this year. Sydney Swan James Jordon Pullman 5 instigator!
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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 […]
When America elected Donald Trump as president in 2016 it was, I think, akin to the country shitting its pants. The chaos that resulted from the Trump presidency was embarrassing for the world’s superpower. Trump was a loose cannon with diarrhoea putting institutions and people at risk minute by minute. No one could work with him and the sackings were matched by the quitting of staff and appointees. The dysfunction was everywhere to be seen and things stank to high heaven. 8 years later and it is like America shat its pants and is revelling in it now or the idea of returning to that parlous state anyway. The standards of decency have come down so far among the half of the country supporting a Trump 2.0 they must be enjoying the feel of the filth in their underdaks.
The Republican party, that GOP, has been bought by Trump and his MAGA forces. In less than 10 years, an American political institution has been brought to its knees by extremists. Donald Trump’s America took over the GOP. Whatever gravitas it may have possessed is long gone, along with respect and common sense. It is now a party with no soul and no appetite for decency or the rule of law. Donald Trump, the property developer and reality TV celebrity, has imbued the traditional party of the right with his own brand of lunacy and grievance politics. A cult has formed around the leader of this once great party, a cult made up of disgruntled, overweight, non-college educated Americans, in the main. Folk who feel like they missed out on the great American dream.
The 2 party preferred system in Australia locks the nation into this dualistic cage where important stuff doesn’t get done. Partisan politics prevents progress. That’s a lot of ‘P’s’ and it pisses me off! Currently, we have a Labor government in the thick of a housing and cost of living crisis. On the other side, we have Peter Dutton doing his best Tony Abbott impression as a wrecker in Opposition. Dutton has taken the Liberal party to the extreme edge of centre right by doing stuff like running a disinformation campaign during the Voice referendum debate – spreading fear and polarising the population. You get the distinct sense that Dutton looks to Donald Trump for ideas and inspiration.
I want to start this article by acknowledging the wonderful speech given by John Longmire at the Sydney Swan’s Club Championship dinner. That speech inspired me to write this piece. Sydney and the Black Swan Grand Final event. Hands up who knows what a black swan event is?
If 40% of the American voting age population actually support Donald Trump and intend to vote for him in the coming presidential election what criteria are they basing that on? Donald Trump, in his first administration, fired most of those individuals he chose to work closely with.
Heavy Victorian Bias In AFL Final’s Commentary