words matter
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Charlie Kirk, it appears, was murdered, allegedly, by someone further to the Right, a Groyper. Unfortunately for Donald Trump, who longs to blame those on the Left – the nutjobs with the guns are predominantly on his side. A Groyper is a follower of Nick Fuentes, who is basically a Neo-Nazi in his professed views re-antisemitism and white supremacy. Charlie Kirk was murdered, allegedly, by someone further Right than himself. Trump has normalised racism, white supremacy, antisemitism, belittling women, and demonising Democrats in America.
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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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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 My gripe is that despite this clear and present reality, we are still dependent upon outdated and fragile infrastructure. 50 years ago, as I was growing up, I heard about the plans to put the power lines underground.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.
There are those that blog and those that don’t. I would posit that there are many more non-bloggers out there than the dedicated and diligent keyboard artists. Here are 5 top reasons to blog. Writing is for many an undiscovered joy and a challenging chore, when they are forced to record their thoughts on screen in print. Many owners of websites outsource all the boring bits to poorly paid writers, who are, often, located in the third world. Now, of course AI can do all that too. Communication via the written word is, somehow, seen as arcane and not worth the effort. Which means that we have a lot of bad writing and poorly constructed sentences adorning the pages of the world wide web. However, despite this, blogging is the new medium for the essay.
Since the 1980s the way big companies in the United States do business has poisoned the well for the rest of us. The sick American corporate culture ruthlessly focusses on shareholder returns in return for enriching the executive to obscene levels. Stock options and company stock buybacks have become key ingredients in the billionaire factory churning out the super wealthy. This manipulation of the fabric of how companies do business has come at the expense of other stake holders like employees, consumers and the nations where these corporations do business. Downsizing, outsourcing, and profit shifting are all means by which companies have increased profits, reduced costs and avoided paying their fair share of tax. At the same time, these actions have reduced community engagement and care in return for outlandish levels of wealth for a few at the expense of the many.
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PM Anthony Albanese was never going to stand up to the gas industry downunder. Weak leaders follow the power elite. They are content to see inequity and inequality flourish in this time of zombie neoliberalism. Nero fiddled whilst Rome burned or so the story goes. Governments do little these days but talk and let the markets run the show to the detriment of the working poor. We have a severe housing crisis and it is not getting any better. What is the government doing about it? Talking about it, but talk is cheap. They are not actually getting their hands dirty and getting into the game by building houses themselves. No, they are ineffectually encouraging private interests to do something about the housing crisis. The figures do not stack up in terms of meeting the challenge of new housing stock being built at the required rate.
Democracy Economics Fresh Government News Politics Power PM Anthony Albanese was never going to stand up to the gas industry downunder. Weak leaders follow the power elite. They are content to see inequity and inequality flourish in this time of zombie neoliberalism. Nero fiddled whilst Rome burned or so the story goes. Governments do little these days but talk and let the markets run the show to the detriment of the working poor. We have a severe housing crisis and it is not getting any better. What is the government doing about it? Talking about it, but talk is cheap. They are not actually getting their hands dirty and getting into the game by building houses themselves. No, they are ineffectually encouraging private interests to do something about the housing crisis. The figures do not stack up in terms of meeting the challenge of new housing stock being built at the required rate.
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PM Anthony Albanese was never going to stand up to the gas industry downunder. Weak leaders follow the power elite. They are content to see inequity and inequality flourish in this time of zombie neoliberalism. Nero fiddled whilst Rome burned or so the story goes. Governments do little these days but talk and let the markets run the show to the detriment of the working poor. We have a severe housing crisis and it is not getting any better. What is the government doing about it? Talking about it, but talk is cheap. They are not actually getting their hands dirty and getting into the game by building houses themselves. No, they are ineffectually encouraging private interests to do something about the housing crisis. The figures do not stack up in terms of meeting the challenge of new housing stock being built at the required rate.
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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?
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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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A phalanx of politicians announced the completion of the Robodebt Royal Commission and that the federal government would be accepting all its 50 something findings. This disgusting policy initiative by the previous Coalition government went after 500, 000 Australians accusing them of fraudulently taking social […]
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.
