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American Lies Ruining Lives

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In: corruption, democracy, economics, featured, Government, latest post, media, politics, power

We live in a time of technological wonders. Technology, however, is not something just of itself, rather it comes loaded with revenue making deals for the vehicles that promote it. Think about the great choice of digital entertainment now available through all these streaming services. In the old days, we only had free to air TV offering limited content via broadcasting networks. Televised ads paid for these networks and programmes. Cable TV changed that and consumers paid a subscription fee and watched content ad free. Now, we get to pay those subscription fees and watch ads as well – how great is that! This is the progress running through Big Tech operations these days. The bean counters and CEOs are demanding ever greater ROIs to boost the share price. We were all promised better futures from these technological advances but instead we are saddled with higher fees and charges making our lives unaffordable. In reality, we have less now and are asked to pay more. American lies ruining lives, as ruthless business models exploit the citizenry.Continue Reading

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Trump Illegally Collected Some $170 Billion In Tariffs

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In: democracy, economics, featured, Government, latest post, politics, power

The US Supreme Court has struck down the Trump IEEMA tariffs on the grounds of unconstitutionality. SCOTUS has ruled that only Congress has the authority to set these types of tariffs. President Trump illegally collected some $170 billion in tariffs over the period in question. This money will have to be repaid and that creates a whole host of new challenges. This dysfunctional government continues to go from bad to worse. In reality, tariffs act as a consumption tax, as prices rise to cover the added impost of the tariff. The American people have been taxed by the Trump regime via these illegal and unconstitutional tariffs. My guess is that ordinary folk will not see a dime from this crooked administration.Continue Reading

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A World Chock Full Of Corporate Concentration

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In: economics, featured, Government, latest post, politics, power, social media

For many decades, America has been the cultural Capitol of the world. The super power led the way via popular culture – movies, music and celebrities pumped out an influential message across the globe. Corporations quickly cashed in and expanded the merchandising opportunities. Now, we live in a world chock full of corporate concentration. Just 5 companies control more than 90% of the major media platforms in the United States. That means that a few individuals are holding the reins of power when it comes to what we watch on screens. Most folk spend more than 10 hours per day watching screens.Continue Reading

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3 Important Reasons Why Reading Can Save Your Brain Health

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In: economics, featured, health, media, mind, power, Reading, social media, truth, Writing

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

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Americanisation

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In: corruption, crime, democracy, economics, featured, Government, health, history, identity, latest post, media, mind, movies, oral fetish, politics, power, social media, sport

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

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Why Are We Getting Poorer?

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In: corruption, democracy, economics, featured, Government, latest post, politics, power

Why is everything so expensive now? What price life? Why are we getting poorer? First and foremost, the entire economy is set up to greatly favour owners over all other parts. Investors are owners, of course, and the company executives operate on their behalf. Shareholders are king and everyone else runs a poor second. Thus, profitability is always the prime consideration and profits have to constantly increase to satisfy the shareholders. Plus, executives manipulate the stock price through buybacks to enrich themselves wildly. This is where we get all the billionaires from. Elon Musk is a prominent illustration of this, the richest man in the world.Continue Reading

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Massively Overvalued Tech Stocks

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In: economics, featured, latest post, power

You know, the only thing keeping the US economy going is its big bet on AI. The massively overvalued tech stocks, the 7 tech company stocks at the top of the Nasdaq, are the only thing flying the flag right now. Doubts, however, are more than creeping in, they are marching in, in the minds of many experts. The crazy Trump tariffs are viewed by every sane economist as unsustainable and downright dangerous. Now, circular financing tricks exhibited by Nvidia and OpenAI are giving rise to bad memories from the late 1990s. Bursting bubbles are on the tip of every tongue in the investor milieu. Warren Buffet has cashed up to the tune of $300 billion in prep for some really bad times.Continue Reading

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The Productivity Narrative Is A Scam

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In: economics, featured, Government, latest post, politics, power

Have you ever thought that you might be being played like a guitar or a puppet on a string? Australia has been on an economic hold for the past few years in response to the high inflation post pandemic. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) steeply raised interest rates to dampen the economy and repeatedly told the community to pull its head in. Understandably, like good citizens we obeyed and economic  growth became sluggish and non-existent. Now, things are better, apparently, with inflation back in their band of acceptability at 2-3%. So, growth is back on the agenda and the conversation turns to productivity and the national figures. The productivity narrative is a scam.Continue Reading

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crop person showing mobile phone in park

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In: consciousness, democracy, economics, featured, Government, history, latest post, media, mind, politics, truth, wellbeing

Maybe you just don’t have the time or the inclination. Everything is available as a video or podcast anyway, you reason. Are you too dumb to read? Or just too lazy? Consuming information via videos also means, in the main, that you have no reference for the source material underpinning what is claimed by the speakers in the video. Most YouTube videos do not include this reference material. This is just another way we are all being dumbed down by the convenience of technology. It is one of the reasons why we are having to deal with Donald Trump because dumb Americans voted him back in despite the plethora of evidence against him.Continue Reading

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flag of america

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In: corruption, democracy, economics, featured, Government, history, identity, latest post, media, morality

In the wake of Trump 2.0 and the growing realisation that America is completely on the wrong track or, indeed, coming off the rails, do we need to de-Americanise Australia? Take a moment to consider how far down this Americanised route Australia has already travelled. In this Neoliberal Era, in which we live, it is big business running the show and Corporate Australia has imported most of their ideas and ways of doing things from the Yanks. Over decades, we have brought in American CEOs and many of our home grown business leaders have done their MBs at US higher learning institutions. Things like outsourcing jobs overseas to reduce labour costs and the rise of private equity investment are all American initiatives. Australian big business is very US orientated in the ways it goes about things.Continue Reading