man standing on stage facing an american flag

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I spent some time listening to Rachel Maddow’s ULTRA podcast last week. This production was very well done and worth taking the time to engage with. The use of the original voices from the Library of Congress lent ULTRA some much needed gravitas, I think. This is aural entertainment on a grand scale and endowers this slice of American history with some creative buzz. The narrator has a great voice and Rachel Maddow takes the listener on a journey back in time firmly held in her vocal embrace. The podcast production tinkles with all the bells and whistles of a radio soap from yesteryear, which was the desired intention, I am sure.Continue Reading

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a kid protesting against the war in ukraine

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Many people have discovered Ukraine for the first time since the invasion by Russia at the beginning of this year 2022. In a perverted sense they could thank Mr Putin for the catalyst in making this so but this would not be entirely accurate. This is because the invasion of Ukraine really began in 2014 and this did not stop the World Cup being held in Russia in 2018. The world took little notice of the earlier incursions and annexations of Ukrainian territory, which obviously encouraged Mr Putin to go the whole hog, so to speak. This time, however, the USA freed from Trump and the European Union were galvanised to take action in the form of more far reaching sanctions and military aid to Ukraine. Still, Ukraine was for many a far flung place in the east of which little was known.Continue Reading

person about to catch four dices

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I have been approached by someone working for a digital marketing company to write an article about a sport of my choice. Yes, they will pay me reasonably generously according to the marketing representative. Further investigation revealed that it is part of a campaign funded by a gambling entity. What a surprise! Gambling and all things sport have become as close as close can be. Indeed, gambling companies are heavily invested in this symbiotic relationship. Gambling feasting on sports mad Australia. Sporting events have always been gambled upon by those who think they can afford to do so. In Ancient Roman times, the circus and gladiatorial arenas were fiercely bet on by punters seeking to back the winning chariot or fighter. Continue Reading

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red framed eyeglasses on newspapers

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The results of the recent federal election surprised an out of touch Australian media. The success of the Greens and the Teal tidal wave bowled over a largely conservative media in this country. The ABC has been cowed by 9 years of LNP governments and their threats to gut their organisation. Those who make up the members of the Australian media are largely conservative in their own views and professional behaviour. The Greens were pretty much ignored by the mainstream media in the lead up to this election. The Teal independents were challenged on their status by a media driven by conservative attitudes and strategies. Continue Reading

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man holding container with smoke

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There we were minding our own business and suddenly folks were hearing voices inside their heads. Why did god bother us? According to the stories you had blokes building bloody big boats and others threatening to murder their own kids, all in the name of some so-called divine source. Human beings had journeyed for billions of years from single cell entities to multicellular, then, to mammals to primates, but of course were not equipped to remember such deep time events. So we made up stories to populate our own shallow-time historical concerns with important people and a god to top it all off with. Continue Reading

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a man holding a tablet

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The Australian federal election has finally been called for May 21. Who will you vote for on May 21? Aussies are now gearing up to make a big decision. For some it will be a no brainer. For others it will be an unwanted hassle to go where they would rather not bother. The media will move into overdrive with reality TV like coverage of a personality competition at the top of their agenda. Elections soon become beauty contests and tests of personal charisma. The psychology of these races pit one candidate against another in a bid to become a nation’s leader. The disinterested voters generally choose the least offensive or the one who fits their type somewhere in the mist of imprinted archetypal strongmen or women.Continue Reading

batman car comic book hero

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Batman would have to be my favourite movie franchise. But Batman won’t save us from war. This collection of stories has progressively mined the darker trenches of the superhero soul. Batman, unlike most other superheroes, is decidedly human. He is not blessed with any supernatural powers only with extreme wealth. This is an iconic hero for our materialistic age. Batman is driven by pain, grief, and a rage for revenge. Criminality has brutally impacted upon his life at an early age.Continue Reading

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Volodymyr Zelensky

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Some people were surprised to find out that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was originally a comedienne/actor. In reality, however, all modern politicians are more actor than statesman. The actors on our political stage, our wearing their hi viz garb for every photo opportunity. The ubiquity of the media in theContinue Reading

Moscow Patriarch

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The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow preaches that the invasion of Ukraine is an attack against homosexuality and therefore divinely right. If you want yet another clear-cut example of godless behaviour by a religious leader here it is. Morally bankrupt Russian religious leader backs Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The stupidity of organised religion and the absence of anything but flawed and deluded human beings within them shines brightly out of this example captured by the media covering world events. Churches aligned with totalitarian regimes are despicable organisations and the individuals within them are equally liable for the heinous acts committed by despots like Putin. It reminds me of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome and Germany during Hitler’s reign in the 1930s and 1940s. Continue Reading

Putin

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Ordinary Russians must boot out Putin and take control of their country. This is the only real solution to the cataclysmic situation the world is faced with. All citizens of sovereign nations are responsible for the kind of governments they have. Allowing a totalitarian regime to prosper in Russia isContinue Reading