I thought that I should write one last time to you on the marking of your defeat and loss of office. A farewell letter to Scott Morrison on behalf of the nation and myself. I will not be sorry to see the last of your smug, self-satisfied face from my TV screen. Nearly 9 years of your white bread, misogynistic government has been damaging to my own life and Australia’s reputation. Your head in the sand stance on global warming has endangered lives and put back the nation a decade. You have decimated the once broad church of the Liberal Party and led its shift to the irrelevant hard right fringes of Australian political life.
Consumer Journey Analysis: Foxtel to Netflix
Out Of Touch Australian Media
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.
Why Did God Bother Us?
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.
Who Will You Vote For on May 21?
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.
The Actors On Our Political Stage
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 the Continue Reading
Human Beings Must Not Respect One Another
The very idea of a god is a vote of no confidence in ourselves. Human beings must not respect one another if we look to a non-human entity to divinely rule over us. History tells us that civilisation after civilisation have created the existence of supreme beings to sit in Continue Reading
Laissez Faire Capitalism & Western Democracy
After decades of neglect Australia and the US are finally spending some money in the Pacific. The announcement of the laying of an undersea cable to provide internet to island nations in the Pacific is a prime example of this. Why are they doing this now? In one word China. Continue Reading
The Right Side is Wrong
The terms right wing and left wing have become entrenched in today’s political narrative. Historically, the terms have come down to us from the time of the French Revolution in 1789. The aristocracy sat on the right-hand side of the presiding officer. The Third Estate deputies sat on the left-hand Continue Reading
Text is the Foundation of Search
Lots of people use the internet without understanding how it works. This is not unusual as most of us do not comprehend exactly how many things work. If I asked how electrical current passes from the mains to your device, the majority of folks would say it runs down the Continue Reading
The Social Contract During a Global Pandemic
The Covid global pandemic has resulted in more than 5 million deaths and counting. Vaccine hesitancy has delayed our scientific solution to managing the pandemic in many countries around the world. The social contract during a global pandemic is in sharp focus right now. This has highlighted the issues we, Continue Reading
Racism Underpins the West’s Attitude to China
It was heartening to see former Australian PM Paul Keating speak out sensibly about our relationship with China. Especially after the last couple of years of ridiculous chest beating by conservative politicians seeking to fan the flames of racism in a bid to win votes. The coalition under Scott Morrison Continue Reading
Real Hollywood Gun Death Hurts the Industry
The terrible tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins at the hands of a prop gun is a timely message to an unhealthy industry. There are too many guns seen on the screens showing Hollywood films. Writers and directors seem to have an obsession with creating stories featuring guns and gun Continue Reading
Not Another Epidemiologist on My Screen
The global pandemic has exhausted me, and I suspect I am not alone on this score. If I see another daily press conference featuring a Premier or PM I just might scream. If I was not so dead set against guns and violence, I might just do something desperate. Perhaps Continue Reading
Transplanted Democracy Uprooted in Afghanistan by the Taliban
Any gardener will tell you that if you prune back a plant it will regrow with added vigour. The Taliban in Afghanistan has come back powerfully after 20 years of pruning by the US and coalition forces. Remember that pre-invasion by the US the Taliban did not control all of Continue Reading
Will Covid Sars-2 Prove to Be Our Dinosaur Extinction Moment?
As I sit here heading into another Covid lockdown, this time from the Delta variant, I ponder about our future. Will Covid Sars-2 prove to be our dinosaur extinction moment? Will the Homo sapien’s story end here at the hands of a virus. Perhaps a virus engineered in a laboratory Continue Reading
Microbiome and Humans
Microbiome & Longevity: New Research Suggest Key Links ‘Microbiome’ – Micro meaning very small – Bio meaning life – Me meaning you or me. Remember this term because it is going to become better recognised as an important factor in human health and our longevity. Human microbiome is defined as Continue Reading
Consciousness: Free Will and Cellular Facts
We are all born into this life without our consent. Nobody asks us whether we would like to play the game of life in human form. Observing the unfocused gaze of a newborn babe one witnesses a magical tabula rasa moment. Consciousness is, it seems, at its earliest manifestation, the Continue Reading
Why We Abuse the Elderly
In Australia, we have just completed a Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. Some people were shocked at the findings, which emerged out of this enquiry. More than 10, 500 submissions and the testimony of 600 witnesses were considered during the two years it ran. Elderly Australians have Continue Reading
RIP Anthony Bourdain
by Robert Hamilton When I was asked to write something about the recent passing of celebrity chef and raconteur, Anthony Bourdain, I realised that he had been a part of my own culinary journey. His death by suicide, whilst shocking, does fit with the narrative contained within his first book. Continue Reading
Anxiety & Depression Influenced by The Microbiome
The human condition is not something many of us ponder until something goes wrong upstairs. Whether it be within our own psyche or that of a loved one mental illness can be a black hole of unknown dimensions adversely effecting lives. Things like anxiety and depression are often frightening due to their impact upon relatively unexplored realms. Our minds are vast repositories of memories, thoughts, feelings, and sensations (Florey, 2021). When things go wrong in our lives, we can slip into a scary world of dark shadows seemingly immune to the warmth of the sun. Beyond Blue reports that anxiety is the most common mental health issue in Australia, with one in four experiencing it at some point in their lives. Therefore, the idea that these frightening states can be influenced by the trillions of tiny creatures inhabiting our gut is immediately arresting and thought provoking.
Batman Won’t Save Us
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.
Diabetes & Alzheimer’s Affected By Gut Microbiome: New Research
By Robert Sudha Hamilton There are two seriously debilitating conditions looming large over the Australian population, as they approach later middle age. Diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease are becoming increasingly common within our western communities around the globe. Their impact upon quality of life are considerable and in Alzheimer’s case decidedly Continue Reading
Morally Bankrupt Russian Religious Leader Backs Putin’s Invasion
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.
President Joe Biden’s Gaffs Demand More Of Us
We live in a media dominated age where the outer appearance of things has never been so highly elevated in terms of societal importance. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech brought this into stark relief. Politicians have to be models of public relation presentations. It is not enough to have ideas and fire in the belly. Those judging and commentating on the performance of President Biden are most often drawn from the media. Biden’s gaffs and mispronunciations galls these media professionals. Americans, it seems, would rather have acting Presidents who don’t fluff their lines, like President Ronald Reagan. But President Joe Biden’s gaffs demand more of us.