words matter
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America voted Donald Trump back into the White House. This tells us Trump supporters are on-board with sex trafficking and abuse. You cannot have your cake and not eat it, in this instance. Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump were best friends for 20 years. Rich men buying and selling young girls and women to flaunt their wealth and power is the cream of American elitism writ large. Americans worship money and elect billionaires to run the country. Everything is about money in this culture. Justice is determined by wealth and status. Power is bought by these very wealthy men.
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Changing the name to the Department of War from Defense will cost billions of dollars. The Donald Trump gimmicky regime is busy making marketing moves, whilst the US economy is in the toilet. Toxic masculinity poster child Pete Hegseth is playing with his blocks and toys on the carpet of the Oval Office. “Hey, Uncle Donald, can we rename it the Department of War? Can we, can we? That would be so cool!” Beating his chest and throwing his toy soldiers around in glee, Pete is very excited. Meanwhile, at the desk above him President Trump looks proudly around at the abundance of gold leaf and filigree on the fittings of the Oval Office.
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There I am sitting in my living room gazing out the front window. A warm feeling is generated by the return visit of mister and missus duck and their trailing ducklings. Watching the ducks go by, I notice that the brood is down to 5 when it had counted 7 a couple of days ago. I ponder stuff about the meaning of life. Suddenly, a flurry of activity as duck parents race after the next-door cat and the ducklings are now down to 4. Nature, hey? We view it through rose coloured glasses, when in actual fact, if you actually live in it – it is brutal.
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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 My gripe is that despite this clear and present reality, we are still dependent upon outdated and fragile infrastructure. 50 years ago, as I was growing up, I heard about the plans to put the power lines underground.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.
I am, by choice, petless in my life. That is, without a furry companion to share my domicile. For four weeks, however, this changed, when I was invited to house sit on holiday in WA. Thus, the title of this post – Doggie Dementia: My month of pet poop and piss in Perth. It was a family arrangement with a sibling, she and partner were off to Bali, whilst I would hold down the fort. Water a few sheltered pot plants, turn on the irrigation system, take out the trash, something about feeding worms, and look after Misty – the Shih tzu Maltese Terrier Cross.
A guy throws a bomb into a crowd of thousands of people. Luckily it does not go off, but if it had, it would have killed and maimed possibly hundreds of people. His lawyer successfully argues to have the bomb thrower’s name suppressed on the grounds of protecting his safety. WTF? What kind of country do we live in? Our justice system protects the anonymity of a wilful bomb thrower who wanted to hurt and kill Aboriginal people and managed to disperse a peaceful protest. White Australia worries about the safety of a bomb throwing terrorist. This is what is wrong with our justice system. Protecting perpetrators at the expense of our right to have these scumbags named and shamed. This happened in Perth on Invasion/Australia Day. There has been very little media coverage of this bomb throwing event in the right wing media, which dominates the Australian media landscape. Strange that, perhaps if it wasn’t at a brown skinned gathering it would have been given more attention by the Murdoch press.
Bruce Lehrmann goes to a strip club in Toowoomba in 2021, where he hooks up with a woman who later claims he raped her. He is now charged with allegedly raping this woman and the matter is before the courts in Queensland. Mister Lehrmann has been on our TV screens via Channel 7’s Spotlight, where he is portrayed as a victim of political and judicial skullduggery. Bruce Lehrmann was able to walk free after the Brittany Higgin’s rape trial collapsed due to juror misbehaviour and the decision was made not to have a retrial on the basis of the dangers to the mental health of the alleged victim Brittany Higgins. He was not cleared of the alleged charge of rape, however.
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I thought that it could be useful, in light of the apparent rise in the populist politics of grievance, to ask, so, what does it mean to be Australian? Anti-immigration is the flag waving vanguard theme of One Nation and the remnants of the Liberal party. Blame it on the immigrant appears number one on the political grievance charts downunder. Therefore, it provokes the question – what does it mean to be Australian? If it is not out-and-out racism, as those on the Right deny it to be, who, then, qualifies to be considered an acceptable Australian?
Culture Democracy Fresh Government Politics Power I thought that it could be useful, in light of the apparent rise in the populist politics of grievance, to ask, so, what does it mean to be Australian? Anti-immigration is the flag waving vanguard theme of One Nation and the remnants of the Liberal party. Blame it on the immigrant appears number one on the political grievance charts downunder. Therefore, it provokes the question – what does it mean to be Australian? If it is not out-and-out racism, as those on the Right deny it to be, who, then, qualifies to be considered an acceptable Australian?
Culture Democracy Fresh Government Politics Power
I thought that it could be useful, in light of the apparent rise in the populist politics of grievance, to ask, so, what does it mean to be Australian? Anti-immigration is the flag waving vanguard theme of One Nation and the remnants of the Liberal party. Blame it on the immigrant appears number one on the political grievance charts downunder. Therefore, it provokes the question – what does it mean to be Australian? If it is not out-and-out racism, as those on the Right deny it to be, who, then, qualifies to be considered an acceptable Australian?
Culture Democracy Fresh Government Politics Power
We have seen a spate of one-size-fits-all welfare payments and subsidies. You know, instead of governments helping the most needy they make stuff free for all. This is done for political purposes in attracting votes at elections. All this does is increase wealth inequality. Well off property owners should not be receiving government assistance in maintaining their lifestyles. This brings us to the Alan Kohler call for free childcare downunder. While I support the general idea, I question why wealthy Australians should qualify for these types of assistance. How about a carve out for those over a certain income and capital asset threshold? We need to reverse the widening wealth divide after decades of American style neoliberalism funnelling riches to a select few in Australia.
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Trump starts war with Iran in concert with Israel and vandalises the world economy. This irresponsible fool then passes the buck to America’s former allies, demanding they re-open the Strait of Hormuz. Nobody wants to follow the US into this mess of their own making. This is what you get when you elect a convicted felon and multiple bankrupt to the presidency. The stupidity of America is on full display. The greed and selfishness of Americans is up on the world stage for all to see. Listening to a lying, loud mouthed idiot is taking the United States and the world to the brink of collapse and destruction.
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We need an Inquiry into why LPG gas deals have been so financially bad for the nation as a whole. Why do the gas companies pay so little tax and royalties on the huge amounts of gas they export for enormous profits? When elected representatives are deaf to their constituents, you know something is wrong with our democracy. Polling has indicated that 75% of Australians support a 25% export tax on LPG gas. Yet, this federal Labor government has knocked back proposed legislation to make this happen.
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The radicalisation of the Republican Party in America under the aegis of Donald Trump continues to present disturbing new realities. Domestic Terrorism by the Right. Election officials are being threatened and now sent letters with white powder, which could be Fentanyl and other deadly substances. Domestic terrorism is a right wing phenomenon. Extremists on this side of the political spectrum are happy to threaten violence, brandish weapons, and do bad stuff. Trump has ushered in a new level of domestic terrorism into the United States. The ex-President who wouldn’t accept defeat has role modelled this kind of extreme behaviour for others to follow.
Money originated from blood money, wergild, how appropriate when you think about it. This was a payment that had to be made to the family of who was killed or hurt. The price of blood, usually, the monetary value determined of the injury done. Now, when you think about the bastards you have done business with and their morally repugnant behaviour it all makes sense somewhere (LOL).
My heart feels for the forgotten Australians. For those who missed the advantages of well heeled parents and private schools. For those who never quite managed to save up enough for a deposit on a home. For those who rent their residence in an ever shrinking market but now pay through the nose. My heart goes out to the third of Australians forgotten by governments and swept under the rug of their lost concerns. Are we returning to an age where money and property determined your rights in the world? Perhaps, we never really left that unfair realm.
Government budgets are not like household budgets. They do not work in the same way. Nations like Australia with a sovereign currency, like the Australian dollar, cannot run out of money. Therefore, all this tut tutting about government deficits and spending is misdirection. If you print your own currency you can always print more. Yes, there are other economic constraints like inflation, but worrying about going bankrupt is not one of them. Governments are better off running deficits than being in surplus. In a national economy the role of government is to spend to further the wealth and wellbeing of its citizenry when required. Understanding money is not the same for the state and its citizens.
Bruce Lehrmann goes to a strip club in Toowoomba in 2021, where he hooks up with a woman who later claims he raped her. He is now charged with allegedly raping this woman and the matter is before the courts in Queensland. Mister Lehrmann has been on our TV screens via Channel 7’s Spotlight, where he is portrayed as a victim of political and judicial skullduggery. Bruce Lehrmann was able to walk free after the Brittany Higgin’s rape trial collapsed due to juror misbehaviour and the decision was made not to have a retrial on the basis of the dangers to the mental health of the alleged victim Brittany Higgins. He was not cleared of the alleged charge of rape, however.
Renters don’t matter in Australia if the current situation is anything to go by. The available rental stock nationally has fallen to 1.1%. This is the lowest figure on record in the history of the nation. So, let’s talk about the rental crisis in Australia. Rents in the capital cities have been going up 12% year on year on average. Of course, for some their rent has gone up way beyond that in the 20% to 30% stratosphere. At the same time in Australia wages have not gone up anywhere near this. Indeed, for most wages have not risen at all. This means that poorer Australians are going backwards economically at a serious rate of knots.
Conservative politicians and their backers are inviting Australians to embrace their worst selves. Peter Dutton in his successful campaign to defeat the Indigenous Voice referendum has galvanised the downward envy gripping this nation. Too cheap and nasty to do the right thing and redress the constitutional wrongs which have defined this country the Australian people have let themselves down. Expediency always costs much more in the long run. The limited vision expounded by the No campaign and Dutton will come back to bite us on the bum make no mistake. Denying recognition and a say about the things that impact their own lives is a serious slap in the face for First Nations people.
Thank Adele Ferguson for shining the spotlight on this alleged blatant exploitation by a Sydney podiatrist of vulnerable Australians. ABC reveals podiatrist ripping off veterans and the evidence is stacks up. This illustrates the malfeasance by medical professionals occurring within the Medicare system and other government schemes. We know that billions of dollars are being rorted by some within the medical fraternity in a betrayal of the trust put in them by the Australian public. The 7.30 Report shows the complete lack of oversight present in so many government-funded schemes in Australia. The idea that all doctors are good guys and worthy women is being shown to be a costly fallacy for tax payers down under. Thank goodness for investigative journalism.
If you want to see the cultural and institutional racism at work in Australia check out the number of missing and murdered First Nations women on our state record books. Literally hundreds of Indigenous women whose cases have barely been investigated let alone solved by our police forces around the nation. Dark skinned girls in regional areas hardly rate a mention by our media when they mysteriously go missing. They are not blue eyed and blonde haired. They are not from Caucasian homes. These daughters of desperate mothers are consigned to the rubbish bins of history by police and their masters who really don’t care much.
First up I want to say that I am a big fan of Anthony Albanese and support his having a go at getting the Voice referendum over the line. It was brave and hopefully not stupid. Australian political leaders have a pretty poor track record when it comes to doing anything about Aboriginal recognition, reconciliation, and treaty. Bob Hawke squibbed it. Peter Dutton’s decision to oppose the Voice and turn it into a political battle destroyed any hope we had to constitutionally recognise First Nations people in Australia. Non-partisan politics does not exist in this nation when it comes to Indigenous Affairs.
