Chasing the sun in winter

Pictures from this year’s road trip north escaping Canberra’s winter. Although with a changing climate our winters are trending warmer each year now. Still, it’s one of the nicer things about living on a large Island continent with a relatively small population. When you are completely surrounded by ocean with a dry inland most people choose to live near the coast or are within a couple of hours drive of the coastline. Even considering that, you never have to venture far to find a secluded area of beach that you can call your own. I found a few of these this year in different places, and others where lots of people gathered to enjoy nature’s playground. Including a couple of kangaroos which made themselves at home in the front yard of a holiday guest house.

 

 

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The Propaganda Machine takes a hit!

While Fox News might have had some wind taken out of its sails, the toxic propaganda machine is still out there doing the work of America’s worst adversaries.
It’s not that the Murdoch empire pushes any sort of ideology, to them it’s only about money and power. If you happen destroy a country along the way, well dang, that is just the price of doing business. Imagine building up a business model that is only sustained by spreading lies and conspiracies in order to prosper. Like the current strategy of attacking minorities is hardly visionary, but it’s perfect burley for that captive audience when you are running on empty. This is one thing conservatives all around the world are exceptionally good at, creating diversions and they avoid facing reality for another day. This current war on woke, is a classic example of one such diversion. They label it as a leftist idea but it’s nothing to do with leftist ideology it’s just another minority voice looking to be heard just like them. Woke is just as annoying to the Left as it is to the Right. There is a difference with annoyances though, with the right it’s about keeping minorities in check, with the left it’s more about overreach which can be more harmful to a broader cause.   Because none of this requires any innovative policies, just incite anger with your fellow man and create phantom enemies. Liberals on the other hand are exceptionally poor at making counter arguments when faced with this sort of crazy day after day. However, if you follow current conservative ideology, this is about as dangerous as you can get because it is not based on any reality or truth. It can lead to wars based on lies or the answer to gun violence is more guns, or ignore intellectuals (the so called elites) because it’s the idiots with all the wisdom. Combine that with the other false narrative that the country’s institutions are corrupt except when they rule in their favour. Like the Fox News defamation case, it won’t make the slightest difference to their locked in audience who just choose to live in this make-believe information silo no matter what. None of these people can be turned around now, but perhaps finally Truth is coming for all of them and they will be forced to face it, like it or not.  It’s unfortunate that the rest of the world has to suffer along with those who continually ignored the facts.  It can come in the form of weather events or it might be another mass shooting without any action on gun control only a double down in some conservative states by making it easier for it to happen. A mindset which on one hand goes all out to protect the unborn only so they can be shot later as children. This is what a minority cult looks like, planning ways to maintain control by stacking the legal system or curtailing votes in a desperate bid to hold onto power. Never making the connection how one flawed ideology passes through to another. They have no interest in the welfare of their own country, fully prepared to destroy it both economically and socially. and then try to deflect the blame onto the other guy as the cause. These people are not the voice of America, they are a dangerous cult voice of some other much darker place.  “I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible: There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.” – Liz Cheney

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When the loudest voice comes from a minority

In the age of political correctness gone crazy, the influence with social media from a few high profile personalities tends to shape new standards in society behaviour regardless of whether this opinion is shared by the wider community or not. A feel good exercise with a few keystrokes berating someone else or highlighting an injustice without actually doing anything can be a worry. Especially if those actions provokes anger in other fringe groups. Then there is the media, plus a lot of corporate identities who jump on this bandwagon influencing advertising, TV series, opinion panels, or even reality TV. Along with Hollywood, who will go to great lengths to write minority characters into movie scripts as though they are ticking all the boxes in order to be politically correct. This in my view is just tokenism which can be far more offensive than being ignored, if the story line involves a minority then well and good. There is nothing wrong with highlighting minority causes, the downside of having it go too far attempting to brand mainstream as the outlier is not the way to highlight your cause nor is disinformation trying to advance a political cause. A growing concern in some European countries now, along with the would be autocrats who feed off this invoked anger to promote tribalism. This is how misinformation gets started, trying to incite anger with conspiracies or lies. Whether its around crime rates, gender identity or anything else you can be guaranteed none of it is based on fact. Technology also plays its part allowing these groups to gain a higher profile by connecting with each other and being able to live in a sham information bubble. So if I believe the earth is flat, then when I engage the internet for articles on that concept I am very unlikely to be presented with a counter argument or if I only watch a certain news service its the same deal. The bubble information scenario has also played a major part with inaction on climate change. In the 80’s both conservative and liberals were unified in purpose to what was a global problem that needed addressing. What happened between then & now was an avalanche of fabricated propaganda passed off as real science that only helped to create a political divide. Allowing almost four decades to slip by without any decisive action combined with a massive global increase in emissions that came at a price. The extreme weather events we now deal with continue to play out almost on a weekly basis somewhere around the globe is testament to what real science tried to warn us. Also likely to have catastrophic long term consequences, not only with infrastructure but with the whole global economy, along with mass population shifts and conflicts, taking some countries to the brink of bankruptcy. In the USA alone they have had yearly $157 billion dollar hits with weather events for the past five years. This is just one example of a minority opinion getting the loudest voice, as climate change action has always been the majority choice globally in every decade. Dealing with it now, just makes the pain worse as a gradual transition would have been far easier. Then if we include other things like the overturn of Roe v Wade or action on gun control, not to mention an attempt to overthrow a government based on a lie. These are all part of a long list of where minorities scream the loudest while the truth with the majority is a whisper in the wind. Just look at the vote on Brexit with Britain, another disastrous move that points to great economic hardship ahead for them mainly due to false information. People tend to vote on an easy answer to a complex problem without looking too much into the details. When misinformation is so readily available in the internet age, it puts the whole of society at risk because a lie can be weighted higher than the actual truth. It also shows up in the quality of candidates in the current political spectrum. Instead of the smartest & brightest stars rising to the top, misinformation also hampers those individuals as well. It’s as though in the internet age despite having access to all of human history’s knowledge library the larger fake library is right there alongside it. So instead of this making us smarter, it’s actually dumbing us down. Then if you translate those same blue-sky expectations across the full social spectrum, marriages keep dropping each decade along with birth rates in most countries. There are more single people now in ratio to population than any time in world history. There may be all sorts of answers to the reasons why, however there is not much future planning in what this means long term in economic modelling. Life has always presented a lot of uncomfortable moments throughout history, learning to deal with them with smart solutions rather than deny they exist is also part of evolution. Now I’m sure the trolls will point out this is hypocritical and not politically correct highlighting the misjudgement of others. Well this is the whole point of this post, the moment you let minorities rule then you are on that road to the cliff edge. Take the Taliban in Afghanistan, or the Religious extremists in Iran or even a dictator in Russia. This is what happens when your political philosophy doesn’t match up to facts or a belief that is proven. If you run on a lie, then the laws of probability means that lie has a limited life span, yet truth is forever. Just ask Alex Jones, Putin, Trump, Fox News,  the GOP  ( and now that a speaker has been finally chosen in the US congress expect constant chaos from the same small minority within the GOP to make sure gov doesn’t function. )  The same with Wall St profiteering on myths, the final outcome will always be the same and it will also be the exact opposite of the picture they painted.

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Road Trip North

As the opportunity came up for a road trip north again this winter into warmer weather I couldn’t pass it up. Considering all that has gone on over the past to two years globally, its nice to be able to travel freely once again while still being cautious at the same time. These are a small sample of pictures taken along the way at various locations. This has always been part of my retirement bucket list, I hope to keep doing it as long as I can.

      

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Trolls who attack this site only means more facts being posted.

Another decision passed down by the American Supreme Court (or as Jon Stewart describes it as the “Fox News of Justice”) that was against the wishes of around sixty five percent (70% in 2013 when misinformation was not the weapon of choice) of the entire population of the US shows how democracy has evolved in this new world order of the GOP. They are not concerned about one vote one value, they are only concerned about holding onto power at any cost. By enforcing minority values on an entire population is not much different than Islamic state rule or Taliban type tactics. This is a party that claim to be the moral gate keepers for the entire population so concerned about the life of the unborn no matter how it was conceived yet this same philosophy also means you are on your own after birth. Not to mention the social outcome for unwanted children and the welfare of the mother. When you operate with this sort of logic against the wishes of the majority there is no good outcome at the end. Not to mention other factors being revealed in the Jan 6th hearings with the same GOP. In any other civilised democracy Trump & his minions would already be behind bars but at the time of this post nothing but the outer circle are currently wearing the orange jumpsuits despite overwhelming evidence that multiple crimes have been committed.

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Gold Coast 2022

Just back from a recent trip to the Gold Coast playing in the Australian Open Bowls tournament. While we were blessed with perfect weather and great bowls clubs to visit I have to say it’s not my favourite destination of choice. Only because I prefer to wind down rather than a wind up when it comes to taking a break. To have so much high density living so close to a beach, looking through my eyes is graffiti on nature. Especially with those huge high rises, in my view that sort of development so close to the coast line is like throwing a tin of paint on a masterpiece work of art. In the meantime while away this web site also came under multiple attacks again since I put up a link to a video on the stupidity of embracing a gun culture in a modern highly populated society. This obviously upset quite a few people but they still don’t have the courage to make an argument identifying themselves. Instead they troll behind a VPN and try to kill a message they don’t agree with because their reality vaporises when it comes to arguing against truth.

     

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America’s gun problem

A month or so ago I posted an article on propaganda that was broad comment on the invasion of Ukraine plus how it is used world wide for political power. In the meantime we had a federal election in Australia and much to my surprise there was a change of government. So here was a rare victory for truth over misinformation as it was climate change policies or lack of them that turned this political tide. Now once again we have a tragic mass shooting in America and yes, those good ole boys from GOP or as we like to call them these days, “The American Taliban” still keep pumping out the same absurdities about a “good guy with a gun” and lets not forget the mental health card as legitimate arguments to do nothing about policy changes. Well it seems the good guys with a gun were there, plus more good guys with guns some 14mins later. Yet all that carnage still took place, but they keep looking for any answer except the obvious because that answer they can’t fathom. This is conservatism American style in the 21st century, everything they purport to believe in is the exact opposite to the truth. Which in turn poses a direct threat to everyone. This is what happens when you immerse yourself in a flawed culture without the ability to zoom out in changing circumstances and problem solve. The sad part is, these misguided people are always the minority in terms of the American population wishes overall, yet still determine policy. They suppress voting, stack courts, deny science, deny facts and determine anyone who disagrees with them the enemy not a fellow citizen. I once mentioned in a previous post on the gift good comedians have looking at something objectively and highlighting how firmly held fictional beliefs are easily dismantled with humour and truth. Jim Jefferies may be crude, rude & foreign which are all the ingredients to make American gun lovers angry. However he still has every argument covered on the insane logic they use for no change to gun laws. This skit is almost decade old now and was made before the Las Vegas mass shooting but still every bit as relevant today as it was then.  One final point to all the gun nuts out there, with those mythical fantasies on freedom and fear. You have no idea what real freedom is until you can go about your everyday business, send your kids to school and never have to think about others carrying a gun or be concerned. That’s a freedom that most western wealthy countries have that you will never ever know. Part one below, Part two here.

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Voting Wisely

While it might be too late to stop Climate change as it’s already here we still have the chance to prevent it from being catastrophic. The reason we are here in the first place comes down to one thing and one thing only, “Conservatism”. This is not just here but a drift from what was once a shared belief into something that became political. Now with it’s reluctance to accept science and data just because they think there is political mileage to be gained from it. Much like a Dr telling their patient to take up smoking.  So here we are, extreme weather events almost weekly now somewhere around the globe that we have to accept as being normal. Given we now have a National Election in progress here in Australia it’s time to be reminded on who took any action on emissions over the past 20-30 yrs and who undid those attempts. Voters need to be reminded how civilisation has evolved from living in caves to landing on the moon. It doesn’t come from faith or believing in the Sun God. It comes from acquired knowledge and using that knowledge to progress and deal with challenges. Be it disease control, resource management, global population impacts and everything else. Climate change is just another one of those challenges that we already have solutions for. Yet instead of being the number one priority on everyone’s list it becomes obscure to some sectors of the population due to that same wilful ignorance. Yet a recent representative global population survey shows over 64% want action on climate change. Break that down to affluent, well educated countries and it jumps up to to well over 75%. Which also makes you wonder how this minority opinion keeps dominating government action over the decades to the point of bringing down multiple leaders of government in Australia. All over one issue, Climate Change policy.

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The Power of Propaganda

The recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia attempting to rebuild an Empire or making Russia great again just highlights the dangers of any country electing or putting faith in would be autocrats. As they all come to power citing some beef with minorities as the fix it for all problems. Along with inciting hate rather than promoting well thought out political solutions. Putin’s war on Ukraine or as he likes to call it “Special Operations” is supposed to be getting rid of the Nazi’s yet he is killing women and children. This is how propaganda works, Hitler also used the same method only with today’s technology they can control the messaging for an entire country. So the general population of Russia will be totally oblivious to the reality of what their leader is doing and herein lies the power of the media in the hands of an autocrat. You only have to look at the many people talking to their relatives in Russia who try to explain they are being bombed out of existence and they just don’t believe them. Even a father doesn’t believe his own daughter. Trump people are no different, they choose to remain in this BS bubble that puts everyone else at risk by wanting to take the USA down the same political path as Russia.  All countries have a certain percentage of their population gullible to these types of political figures including Australia. However America seems to have a higher percentage than most due to it’s past history aligned in faith and those same sections of the population intolerant of minorities & opposing views. Trump came to power singing this song, wrapping himself in the flag with one hand on an upside down Bible. Not with a unifying message, but one that incites division.  This was exactly how Putin tried to boost Trump with his powerful propaganda effort only it worked beyond his wildest dreams. As Trump become full on doing Putin’s bidding trying his best to divide a global western alliance for the sake of me first. This is the perfect recipe for a country to fail and their real enemies to prosper. Unfortunately the cult like followers of this individual never take stock when faced with the realities of their choice. A criminal grifter, corrupt to the core yet when exposed they keep giving him a pass. Even characterising Trump as a Rambo like figure despite him dodging the draft. Compare that to the leader of Ukraine at the moment despite his perilous position, no bone spurs for him. Another trend with this cult was to promote more and more crazies rather than sensible rational thinking people as their elected representative. Not only is this delusional it puts their own country and the entire free world at risk.  It was just fortunate that enough Americans woke up the second time round instead believing the untrue or being wilfully blind. Because this is what reality looks like outside that comfort bubble of only listening to what you want to hear and see. Right now there is no choice of remaining in that bubble, unless of course you tune into Russian TV. The Truth may be confronting and ugly but it shows the danger of blind faith that discards facts and common sense that is dismissed as fake news. This war being raged in Ukraine is not only a battle for democracy, it’s a war on truth. The same battle that has been going on in America for the past decade. A war on truth designed to kill a democracy just like in Ukraine that large elements of the American  conservative movement are playing a part in.

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Summer Rain that won’t stop.

While the world is currently focused on a dictator causing havoc in Europe. Australia’s east coast and elsewhere are treading water with endless rainfall that just keeps coming. It’s ironic that in 2020 I posted the exact opposite where much of the east coast was burning with bushfires. Which in turn prompted me to begin posting about our government’s inaction over climate change. So here we are two years on and it’s the same story. Weather events on steroids keep happening year after year but for some people they keep talking it up as natural weather. The once in a 100 or 1000 year event, yet it’s funny how insurance companies don’t see it the same way.

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