President Trump Congratulates Record Breaking Astronaut (NHQ201704240002)

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America was made great via immigration. Millions of people joined this new world democratic experiment and became Americans. The country grew in leaps and bounds economically to become a superpower. The journey was not perfect and plenty of mistakes were made along the way. People died and were exploited in unfortunate incidents but the arc of progress was headed in the right direction. Migrants kept coming to find opportunity and often to escape hopelessness. Forces of good kept pushing for fairness and equal opportunity for all Americas no matter the colour of their skin or ethnic background. Pockets of racism and inequality remained but there was a general trend toward a better life for all. The American experiment: Democracy & surviving Trump.Continue Reading

Poverty (Armut), (1919) by Aloys

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I have been reading a detailed account of the slavery of Indigenous Indians in the Americas from the 15C onwards. They call it the ‘other slavery’ because most of us are more aware of the enslavement of Africans. The slave states in the southern states of the USA have been the focus of many books and movies. What happened to the native Indians, apart from their extermination via massacres, warfare, and disease, is less well known. The Spanish Empire was the first and most heavily involved colonial European power in the Americas and the Caribbean.Continue Reading

football stadium

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Losing the 2023 Grand Final by just 4 points in many way means that Brisbane were right in this contest. Collingwood were, however, never going to lose this match on the evidence of a couple of screenings of this great game. The game was won and lost on the back of defence, as most finals are. Brisbane’s back 6 just did not measure up to the extreme demands of the contest. Whereas the Magpies defence was enormous for 4 quarters and was the difference in the end. Why Brisbane lost the AFL Grand Final – it was their mediocre defence.Continue Reading

Badge - Vote Yes for Aborigines, Australia, 1967

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If you vote No in the Voice referendum you are voting with the team that brought you Robodebt. Robodebt cost lives and Australian tax payers more than $1.8 billion in a settled class action by plaintiffs. If you vote No you are voting with the team once led by the biggest liar in the history of Australian prime ministers, Scott Morrison. If you vote no you are aligning yourself with the racist community here in Australia. If dog whistling is one of your favourite sports, then, Peter Dutton is your man. Dutton has promised another referendum on the same issue if he is elected PM??? Warren Mundine has promised his push for treaty if you only vote No???? It sounds like these folks will say anything to dissuade you from voting Yes in this referendum about changing the constitution to recognise a Voice to Parliament for First Nations Australians.Continue Reading

Killers Of The Flower Moon movie

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Everybody is talking about Killers Of The Flower Moon because it is now a Hollywood movie. The book, written by David Grann, was published some 6 years ago in 2017. This is a great story and more importantly a true story. It tells us about the nature of human beings and how white people have treated those who have come before them. It is an American story involving native Americans and their displacement by European settlers. It is an American story, also, because it is about money and get rich quick schemes at any cost. It has something to say about how First Nations people were treated by white colonising powers in the creation of the New World.Continue Reading

Arnold Rasnick, Virginia-Pocahontas Coal Company

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If the PwC consultancy crisis has revealed one important thing it is the role of accountants as professional enablers for rip off merchants in the corporate world. Now, we are informed via an ABC investigation of labour hire fraud in the oil and gas industry in Australia. The shifty paperwork was completed by a local accountant in Perth, WA – one Blake Read.Continue Reading

engineer fitting prosthetic arm

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The ABC program 4 Corners has shone a light upon further mistreatment and exploitation of Australia’s disabled population. The lax and low standards inherent in many Australian initiatives seemingly invites in unscrupulous people and organisations to profit from the misery of others. The NDIS is the perfect example of this, with so many politicians patting themselves on the back for such a fine effort in this space. Meanwhile, the actual running of the ship is sloppy and full of loopholes large enough to drive double-decker buses through. Four Corners exposes NDIS flaws and failures costing disabled Australians and their families quality of life and much heartache.Continue Reading

person behind a cardboard box

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Some commentators have referred to the current clime as a post-truth world. Influential leaders like Putin and Trump have spent years casting gazillions of fake news aspersions and stories into the mix to undermine the credibility of any concepts of truth.  The importance of truth has, indeed, never been greater. In an age of convenience, many people are, it seems, happy to believe whatever fits in with their world view and political persuasion. The facts don’t matter when you have a swirling mass of contradictory stuff deflecting the importance of truth.Continue Reading

we white folk

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We white folk live in a cocoon of well-off whiteness. We wander our white streets in search for bargain based happiness. Our mainly white suburbs buzz with the sound of expensive cars making their way to and fro from homes to high streets. Shopping centres are palaces of well-appointed materialism, where we frequent for retail therapy. Lives are lived with the sole purpose of endowering ourselves and offspring with wealth and comfort. It is not a bad lot for the most part, indeed, we share the good life in pursuit of reasonable amounts of pleasure. Only 1 in 6 Aussies interact with an Indigenous Australian. What does that say about Australia? Some of us white folk are doing it tough right now, but doing it tough when you are Aboriginal is another league all together. Cost of living crisis – many First Nations folk can tell you what that is really like over generations.Continue Reading