How The Black Death Shaped Humanity
I have been reading some interesting stuff about how the Black Death shaped humanity. Plague has been with humankind at least 5, 000 years and has been one of our most efficient killers.
“Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, a zoonotic bacteria, usually found in small mammals and their fleas. It is transmitted between animals through fleas.”
(https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/plague#:~:text=Plague%20is%20an%20infectious%20disease,transmitted%20between%20animals%20through%20fleas.)
Yersinia pestis is the official name of this malevolent bacteria, which has a predilection for human victims. It manifests in bubonic and pneumonic ways to spread death and disease. It has been found in ancient DNA by scientists and looks to have originated on the steppes of Eurasia.
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Albanese Government Need To Lift Their Game
Let me make one thing clear at the outset of this post, the ALP federal government may be lukewarm in my opinion but the Opposition is no alternative. The Albanese government need to lift their game, as the timidity and treading water approach are beginning to smell of self-preservation. We do not want a government, which is more interested in not offending folk than getting anything progressive done. The Voice rejection was a very disappointing failure for Australia but it is no excuse for ducking the difficult issues facing the nation. Anthony Albanese needs to go watch some footage of former PM Paul Keating and find some backbone real fast.
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Is Anglo Racism The Worst Kind?
By this I mean the racism expressed by some members of the British ethnic identity toward those they define as ‘not truly of their kind’. The Anglo identity has colonised dominions including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, parts of southern Africa, and smaller territories here and there. So, when asking, Is Anglo racism the worst kind? I am including these nations and places in the examination of the evidence. The argument against this questionable assertion is that every ethnic identity displays at times in part what we now call racism toward those people it so defines as ‘other’ or ‘not like themselves’.
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The Doctrine Of Discovery
In 1493, God’s official head honcho on Earth, released a Papal decree, which was called The Doctrine of Discovery. This was the green light from the Pope that stealing, killing, and enslaving non-Christians was okey dokey. That explorers and settlers could do whatever they thought […]
Is Peter Dutton Trying To Be Australia’s Putin?
Dutton is back on the border issue blaming a weak PM for a boat load of refugees on our northern border. Is Peter Dutton trying to be Australia’s Putin? Making out that he is the strongman of the Oceana region; keeping us safe from a few desperate people in search of a better life. Immediately, he is finger pointing at the bad guys – the people smugglers. This is the ‘out’ for locking up these vulnerable human beings in offshore detention. Australians are punishing the bad guys and not just the refugees – although it is them who pay the price of their liberty for who knows how long.
Dumb Americans & Trump
If you talk to most Australians about America and Trump the general consensus is that America’s love affair with Donald Trump puts them in the ‘too stupid to believe’ category. Dumb Americans and Trump. Are they really believing the non-stop lies coming out of Trump’s mouth? This has most of us rolling our eyes in disbelief. Dysfunctional relationships are often like this – you know when a close friend falls for a complete arsehole and cannot see him or her for what they truly are. It happens and the destructive consequences of such hook ups may go on for some time. In this instance, with a fantasy creation like Trump ascending to the highest office in the world, the impact is felt far and wide.
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OMG Biden Is Too Old!!!
How old is too old to be the President of the United States? 81? 82? 83? 84? It seems in the land of the free you can never be too old to lead the world’s most powerful nation. The recent televised debate told us a different story, however. This contest of words, where no teleprompters were allowed, dropped Joe Biden in the deep end of a pool of shit. Up against the world’s greatest liar in Donald Trump – a man who spent 14 years on TV being trained to perform in this medium. OMG Biden is too old!!! The worldwide audience exclaimed in panic.
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Fiction Over Facts: Political Narrative’s Meat In The Sandwich
Sam Lebovic in his 2023 book State Of Silence revealed the prominent place of fictional novels in the development of espionage legislation at the turn of the 20C. In Britain, the emergence of the spy novel genre fed directly into the appetite of the public and legislators to lay the groundwork for the national security state. The United States followed suit via the creation of the Espionage Act in 1917, as concerns about German spies were inflamed around WW1. Protecting national interests from the dastardly deeds of foreign spies on American soil became an emerging key role for government. The FBI would rise up under Director Hoover and reach its early apogee during the WW2 Nazi spy ring arrests in the US. The ever increasing power of the national security state and its many agencies throughout the 20C would see more state secrets kept from the people. This has created the deep distrust and proliferation of conspiracy theories in America today. Much of this is fed via fiction presented on TV, at cinemas, in books, and increasingly on social media platforms. Quite simply the general public has far greater access to entertainment than it does to any real facts when it comes to issues pertaining to national security. Fiction over facts: Political narrative’s meat in the sandwich.
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Corrupt Supreme Court Betraying The Rule Of Law In America
I have always said beware of those that dress up in uniforms, as they hide their true human failings behind them. SCOTUS has again proven this truism. These partisan justices cloaked in their black robes are failing the most basic applications of the law. Corrupt Supreme Court betraying the rule of law in America, as they consider the Trump claim of presidential immunity over election interference in the 2020 race. The US system of administration, which puts these 9 men and women at the very top of the judicial tree is dependent upon their decisions as final arbiters.
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Conservative Media Always Being Negative About Renewables
Have you ever read a positive article about renewable energy published in the Murdoch newspapers or on their networks, like Sky News Australia or Fox News? No? Why is that I wonder? Why do they consistently belittle and denigrate all efforts to transition to this cost effective and potentially planet saving technology? How is the conservative media always being negative about renewables helping the nation and the world? Where is the balance in their reporting and editorial policy on energy matters? Unless you are a complete idiot you have to see that something is going on here. Something underhanded and definitely not in the interest of the country and its people. Greedy men more interested in their wealth than the nation being smart for the benefit of the many.
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Trump The Bible Salesman: The End Must Be Nie
Donald Trump is selling $60 bibles to the American public. If you wanted to witness the lowest point of this saga and American popular culture this is pretty close. This guy has no shame because he has a complete absence of integrity in the first place. Trump would sell his own mother if there was a buck in it. He cheats at golf, constantly, which defeats the whole purpose of playing the game. Trump the bible salesman: The end must be nie. The United States of America has become an international laughing stock.
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Hugh White Hoists Up AUKUS White Flag
Australia has a lousy record when it comes to submarines. It seems submarines bring out the worst in our defence force and our national security aspirations. Hugh White hoists up AUKUS white flag in recent essay. Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at ANU, Hugh White knows a thing or two about this topic and Australian national security capabilities. Younger Aussies may not remember our ongoing challenges with the Collins class submarines. They may not be au fait with our dalliance with the French in regard to supplying us with submarines pre-AUKUS. The Japanese were in the running there for a while too. Basically, submarines and Australia have a perpetually sinking relationship, it seems.
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Private Wealth Vs The Public Good
Life in Australia, a centrist Westminster democracy, and a mixed economy of both planned and free markets has always been a balance between private wealth and the public good. Today, however, we are seeing the uneven fruits of imbalance in the housing sector in particular. Ever since John Howard brought in the capital gains tax discount some 30 odd years ago – inflation in the residential property market has run riot. It has now reached an apogee of unaffordability for many Australians, most of them younger and losing the aspirational dream of home ownership in their lifetimes. Private wealth vs the public good – tough conversations need to be had to address the severe problems around this matter.
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Supreme Court Fails America & The Rule Of Law
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has failed to uphold the rule of law when it comes to the insurrectionist actions of Donald Trump. It is a pretty worrying situation when the highest court in the land plays politics over upholding the constitutional laws of the land. Supreme Court fails America and the rule of law. America has ended up with an activist conservative majority of justices, who are hellbent on protecting Donald Trump by hook or by crook. These 5 guys have been placed in positions of unassailable power, at great expense to those with vested interests, to ensure that Republican endorsed values and politics get the nod.
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The Financialization Of Essentials
During a cost of living crisis, which many in the world are now experiencing, it is easier to get in touch with the essentials necessary for living. Food, shelter, and energy are the essential ingredients for survival in our modern worlds. The financialization of essentials by capitalism is proving to be at cross purposes for those trying to survive in a cost of living crisis. What do I mean by this? The march toward a consumer society has meant that all these basic requirements of life are things you have to buy. Few of us go out and dig up or hunt for our food these days. Putting a roof over our head is an expensive purchase in the 21C. Plus, all of our devices and vehicles run on forms of energy which we have to buy. Neoliberalism promised to make things easier and cheaper for all in this regard but has manifestly failed to do so. We were told that if governments got out of the way and let private enterprise do what it’s best at we would all be much better off. Thirty years of this, ‘the market knows best’ ethos, has placed at least a third of working Australians in dire straits when it comes to affording the basics of life. Neoliberal economic policies have failed us in every essential market.
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