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Here is an idea for Anthony Albanese to take up for the betterment of Australia. Ban companies that use tax havens. The PM could ensure that the Australian government does not do business with those multinational corporations who do not pay their fair share of tax via the nefarious means of profit shifting to tax havens. Microsoft does it. Meta does it. Amazon does it. Google (Alphabet) does it. News Corp does it. Apple does it. Pepsi too. Lots of them do it, as tax accountancy consultancy firms facilitate this behaviour.
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I was watching something about the Chinese cultural revolution the other day and you know what it reminded me of today? Trump’s culture wars in his second administration. The crazy decisions being made around tariffs, DEI, vaccinations, ICE, cancelling green energy projects, the national guard, stifling free speech, and not releasing the Epstein files are all driven by special interest groups. These are not in the economic interest of the country. The immense cost and wastage of many of these executive and illegal presidential actions being challenged in the courts aren’t doing the nation any favours. The destruction unleashed in the Chinese cultural revolution damaged so many lives and set that country back for decades.
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In a land chock full of guns hatred has become a currency. A young American man, from a Mormon family in Utah, who grew up around guns, I mean the family embraced a love of guns, used that weapon of choice to kill another man. This is an American story. Guns and hatred. The culture worships guns. Every movie and video game is packed with automatic weaponry. Why did Tyler Robinson kill Charlie Kirk? It’s pretty bloody obvious. The why was Kirk’s expressed and implicit hatred of non-white and different folk in America.
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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 My gripe is that despite this clear and present reality, we are still dependent upon outdated and fragile infrastructure. 50 years ago, as I was growing up, I heard about the plans to put the power lines underground.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.
AI digital technology is coming for your job. AI heresy a betrayal of humanity. Big Tech is being run by oligarchs hell bent on profitability at all costs. Ruthless American capitalism has no interest in you or your family. This is a betrayal of us all and not merely a fight between doomers and boomers. Read all about it, if you dare. Of course, you might not be smart enough? Your brain may have already begun to atrophy? Is AI thinking for you and making decisions for you in your life? Robert Sudha Hamilton has written The AI Heresy: A Betrayal of Humanity as a warning to us all. A clarion call to wake up before it is too late. Do you have the symptoms?
We live in interesting times, as the old Confucian adage goes. I write this in light of the inspiring speech delivered by Canadian PM Mark Carney at Davos. The Mark Carney middle power speech. His leadership at this time, provokes comparison with that of our own PM Anthony Albanese. Labor has come to power federally downunder on the back of being a small target, as political strategy. This continues to infect this government and its leadership, I find. The elephant in the room is, of course, President Donald J Trump. I wonder for how much longer will Albanese duck and weave in the face of this wrecking ball of the old international order?
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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 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 term ‘woke’ is bandied about in the media and by politicians on the right all too frequently. However, ask many of them to define the term and they struggle to answer that question. I asked AI, what ‘woke’ is? Thinking that some cool headed clarity may assist those who are unsure what to make of the current debate. Is ‘woke’ a good thing or a bad thing? I think it all depends upon where in the room you are standing. It seems, that those threatened by sharing a place at the table with those historically excluded want to make ‘woke’ a dirty word. Read what AI has to say on the matter and make up your own mind on the issue.
Does Australia really want to get closer to a nation, like America, that cannot stop its own citizens from the mass slaughter of each other? What kind of country arms its civilians with assault rifles and watches the slaughter of Innocent children without doing anything? A mass murder happens every week in the US. Australia should put America on probation as an ally. This is a country that voted for someone like Donald Trump to become president. Around 61% of voting age Americans cast a vote in the last federal election and 7 million less than half of them voted for Trump. That is an awful lot of really bad people.
The real estate business in Australia is a sacred cow. Home ownership is the great Australian dream. The residential property market is the most inflated sector in the nation at around 380% over the last few decades. The RBA does not include real estate prices in its inflation figures. The ABC’s Four Corners program exposed a few of the common practices within the industry, which are contravening consumer protection laws. Real estate in Australia: Sacred Cow enshrined shonky business practices. Collusion between agents representing buyers and sellers is one glaring example of this.
Afghanistan has been a nation in the news for all the wrong reasons. Understanding Afghanistan begins at the most basic level by learning about its people. Afghanistan is a diverse country with various ethnic groups, each with its unique culture, history, and traditions. The country has been shaped by centuries of migrations, invasions, and political changes, resulting in a mosaic of identities and communities. In this article, we will explore the different people of Afghanistan and their characteristics. What is the Afghan story?
Half of America must be so dumb it beggars belief. Otherwise how could they have elected Donald Trump to be president. The GOP: A political party of extremists and distasteful human beings. The Republican party sides with bigots, racists, misogynists, and far right terrorists – and that is on a good day. Cutting the US in half to leave all the red states on their own might be a workable idea but who would want that state on their doorstep. It would be like having Russia or North Korea on your border.
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.
Populism in US politics put Donald Trump in the White House. The buffoon turned out to be an incompetent and corrupt president who lasted just one term. The GOP MAGA politicians are right wing extremists who appear to be unfamiliar with the laws governing country. The US political system has been gamed by big business with members of congress and senators bought by vested interests. Populism has backed MAGA candidates as an antidote to this but they appear to be on the wrong side to achieve any real change.
The internet is here to stay and it is time to lock up trolls and online abusers. These cowardly bullies hide behind anonymity on social media and heap filthy abuse on women in particular. The legal framework around trolling is completely inadequate. The e safety commissioner is another toothless tiger in a streak of toothless tigers in Australia. The conservative governments have consistently delivered impotent human rights laws to Australians. It is time to recognise that these unsolicited comments in the online space should be treated in the same manner as libellous statements in the eyes of the law.
Many of us are doing it tough downunder. Stagnant wage growth over the last twenty years and now, rampant inflation is screwing the ordinary Australian. Is the Reserve Bank of Australia economically out of touch? Is Governor, Philip Lowe, who is instigating the fastest rise of interest rates on the cash rate ever seen in the nation’s history doing more harm than good? His warnings about the dangers of a wage-price-spiral are rooted in the experiences of the 1970s and not relevant to the causes of inflation in 2022-23. The RBA’s primary role is to protect the Australian currency and beating inflation is paramount to that function. If the governor, board, and bank’s economists do not properly grasp what is going on in today’s economy aren’t we flying blind?
