American Revolution
One of the strongest impressions I came away with after watching the opening episode of Ken Burn’s American Revolution was the parallels with where the Unites States finds itself now. Especially, in terms of the disinclination for Americans to want to pay their taxes and obey laws. You can observe right back at the very start, this desire to take stuff and expect to remain Scott free (a Scott is a tax). Smugglers and traders alike, in the colonies, did not want to pay any duties. Although, wars had been fought against the French and Indians, which involved British soldiers, the colonists did not want to contribute to the wages of these soldiers via taxes commensurate with the costs involved.Continue Reading
Dutton Was The Most Unpopular Lib Leader Ever
A survey was released recently, which indicated that Peter Dutton was the most unpopular Lib leader ever. The results of the last federal election told us that pretty darn clearly, anyway. Australia was forced to stick with Albo, after the insane energy policies put forward by the Coalition under the auspices of Dutton’s leadership. Nuclear power, which would take hundreds of billions of dollars and decades to ever come to fruition. Plus, it would never complement renewable energy by the very nature of the way it works. You cannot just switch on and off nuclear power stations when you need them – they don’t operate like that. This batshit crazy idea of Dutton’s sunk his and the LNP’s credibility when it cane to energy and the economy.Continue Reading
Albo The Zombie Neoliberal PM
Anthony Albanese and his Labor government have not addressed the housing crisis. Too afraid to offend anyone; they are hoping to shift the neoliberal economic levers to relieve the situation. Hoping to increase housing stock and have supply reduce the high price of demand. This is not working, however, as there are too many roadblocks in the way in Australia. Not enough tradies to build the needed homes and recalcitrant councils holding up planning and building approvals are just some of the intransigent problems. How many years are poor renters going to have to suffer exorbitant rents on homes? Meanwhile, the price of residential property in Australian cities continues to surge. Albo the zombie neoliberal PM.Continue Reading
3 Important Reasons Why Reading Can Save Your Brain Health
A lot of us are using machines to do stuff for us, these days. We have been encouraged to think that hacks are smart strategies in life. The truth is rather different, when it comes to neglecting your own brain in favour of technology. Use it or lose it! Our brain functions do not improve with neglect. Reading and writing are the two things that set us apart from all other animals on planet earth. Language is our innate superpower and if we outsource the processing of it to machines and AI, we will be the mentally poorer for it. Here are 3 important reasons why reading can save your brain health.Continue Reading
Americanisation
You know, I see quite a few of these YouTube videos where Americans compare stuff to what happens in Australia. It is not these that peak my interest, but rather that the global Americanisation is so ubiquitous. Everything about modern life is largely the same in the western world. Have a think about the computer age and where that originated. The internet and social media are American inventions. Smart phones are a big part of this and they too are a US innovation. Beyond this, to more prosaic trends and think about working out, bigger muscles and tattoos. These too, are American cultural shifts, which occurred over the last couple of decades.Continue Reading
Truth Social & Donald Trump
Authoritarians and their regimes like to spell shit out for their subjects. Some of you older folk may remember that the USSR had a news organisation/newspaper called Pravda. This was the official platform of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Pravda meant truth and many of us in the west used to roll our eyes at what passed for truth and facts over there. Now, we have Truth Social and Donald Trump in America. The parallels are pretty frightening in this post-truth world. The thing is that people are getting dumber and that naming something like this is enough for the unquestioning among us. Irony is a rare commodity in the United States in the 21C, perhaps more so than these rare earths the Donald goes on about so often.Continue Reading
Renewable Energy Is Cheaper
The right wing political parties are in denial of an indisputable fact that renewable energy is cheaper. The transformation of what powers our homes, businesses and lives is well underway. These old culture warriors in the pay of the declining fossil fuel industry are still dancing to an outdated tune, whilst the Australian electorate in the cities have moved on. Legacy media downunder is controlled by an American corporation, News Corp, and they have a vested interest in spruiking negative stuff about the transition to their dwindling viewers. The ABC has ‘no gumption’ and follows the news lead of its commercial rivals, far too often.Continue Reading
The American Minimum Hourly Rate Disgrace
The US federal minimum hourly rate of $7.25 has not changed since 2009. That is 16 years; and have a think about how much stuff has gone up in that period. In Australia, the equivalent wage rate is $24.95. Even, with the dollar exchange rate factored in it is more than double. What kind of ‘so-called’ democracy gets away with exploitative shit like this? This is why many American families need food stamps (SNAP) and other forms of welfare because they allow greedy f****** employers to take advantage of vulnerable people. It is such a f***** up country that they look up to a king sized grifter like Donald Trump. The American minimum hourly rate disgrace.Continue Reading
The Americanisation Of Australia
I read in an ABC news report about a doctor earning $600, 000 a year. University vice chancellors on $1.5 million per year. Dentists earning half a million, whilst many older Australians cannot afford to go to the dentist because of the high cost involved. This is the Australia we now live in. A country, in which 20 of the last 25 years have had LNP Coalition federal governments. Inequity and inequality are riding higher than ever before downunder. This has Americanised us via the concentration of corporate ownership via mergers and takeovers creating duopolies and oligopolies in nearly every sector. This failure of the ACCC and ASIC, under the government’s watch, has stripped away consumer buying power and worker’s rights. The competition watchdog has been asleep at the wheel or paid off by nefarious means and the revolving door. This is the Americanisation of Australia.Continue Reading
5 Reasons Why Toxic Masculinity Is A Real Problem?
Don’t get defensive about this statement or I will punch your head in. 5 reasons why toxic masculinity is a real problem? Seriously though folks, it is, because it doesn’t just occur on the personal level it impacts across the whole spectrum. Vladimir Putin displays toxic masculinity via his actions invading Ukraine as the leader of Russia. The behaviour of the Russian President can only be described as toxic masculinity. Taking what you want violently against the wishes of another, when you know full well it is not yours to take.Continue Reading