Pages

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Referendum on the cards




Referendum on the cards

Our future is on the line in regards to how we are perceived by our neighbors and depending on what side of the tracks you come from, the flag waving issue seems to dictate what our national image might be. On one side we have those who are proud of our Britishness, and the fact many brave souls fought and died for the right to display the union jack in the corner of our southern cross. On the other we have those who are not so impressed with what the red and white intertwined crosses represent and would love to see something else put in its place.

Is one side more Australian or British than the other? Is wanting a unique and exclusively Australian symbol, in lieu of "the jack", a display of un-Australian behavior or just the reverse?

Now, you can be as dogmatic as you like on your particular view because, in reality, thats what our soldiers fought for in the second world war. To keep flag waving Nazis and Imperialists out of our country was the priority, not to defend England's right to perch on our turf. If I remember rightly, the flavor of digger commentary in the RSL clubs, was no more pro-Pommy than it was any other European state. My father put his life on the line every day of the conflict as a British sailor before migrating here. As the son of a two bob Pom, I grew up in a country that discriminated equally against anyone who wasn't white with an Aussie drawl so don't come the raw prawn when it comes to talking about what's traditional Australian attitudes. We didn't respect the British flag anymore than we did the Italian, Greek, Polish, German, Japanese or American.

When young people stand on their soap boxes and drape themselves in our composite flag, chanting Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, they dishonor the men and women who would have fought for our country regardless of what was on their pole. Do you think they wouldn't have fought as bravely if a Koala bear or anything else was the image of their unity? No, my compatriots, if you want to honor the real free spirit of the digger, ask yourself these questions;

*1. Would you be just as proud to stand under a different flag if it represented over fifty percent of Australian voters and
*2. Would you like to live in a country that wouldn't give the people the right to select their own image?

When I look into my crystal ball, I see a country that prides itself on its multi-cultural heritage and had the gumption to secede from an old and flawed system. The trick was to ask the right questions in a referendum not limited to a simple choice that ensured the status quo continued to pull the wool over the majorities eyes. Yes, my fellow republicans, victory was gained by demanding all views be given an equal chance of success and when one united, viable option was put up against the old and outdated biases, common sense prevailed.



A Manifestation of Democracy


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy

Democracy [The term is derived from the Greek: δημοκρατία - (dēmokratía) "the power to the people]

Democracy has been called the last form of government, a yet to be achieved “nirvana” that hinges on equitable education, freedom of speech and the means to manifest the will of the people. We the people have been sold a watered down version so manipulated by self interested power brokers that it’s almost impossible to distinguish it from liberal totalitarianism or conservative dictatorship. The bi-polar nature of our current liberal democracy denies middle ground sensibilities, as it rubber bands between two extreme views. It fosters an environment suitable for manipulation by those that would play one side off against the other to achieve an elite monopoly of unelected power brokers who preside regardless of ballots.

Now, while there is an argument for the continuation of the system we have done so well under, it behoves us to consider future generations and the concept of true democracy. All our children can be educated to a level were they can self govern; as the mechanisms come on line. All our future citizens can have their say on a secure, democratically governed, national internet. We have it within our grasp to put in the foundation stones for the first real democracy in the world.

Monarchists, republicans and democrats alike, should surly agree, technological advances have put us in the unique position of envisioning a better system, by anybodies standards. If we can seize this moment to rise above personal prejudices, the up and coming debate on what type of republic we want to hand over to our offspring could be the “magnum opus” of a generation that took their planet to the edge of destruction.

Don’t let it be said, we fiddled while democracy burned.


Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Wielding worry

It never ceases to amaze me how good Christian people wield worry like a battle-axe, when it was a teaching of their Lord not to worry because, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life [b]?"

Some people go out of there way to bring their worry down upon you, like it is their Christian duty.

Now I know it's easier said than done to follow His teachings and they are no worse at this one than all the others like;

"Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men" and
"when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners." or
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal."

When we see the religious right on both sides of conflicts, worrying about protecting themselves, and their treasures from the other, then they are dishonoring the very concepts their faith is built on. When we see them hating their enemies, instead of loving them, then the hot coals of fire are firmly in place on their own heads. Until the "responsible" leaders of the great religions and nations start reminding themselves, and others, to follow the teachings of their great profit or Lord, then there is no chance of a promised peace.

If you agree with what I'm stating here and know of any "godly" people wielding the worry axe, remind them of the saying " why call me Lord and not do the things I say" or for the others just the good old adage " before you worry about the cinder in your brothers eye, take the log out of your own."


Monday, January 18, 2010


Look into my crystal ball



When we have a big problem with our thinking, quite often we are the last ones to notice it. When Adam had a bite of the apple, he probably couldn’t see anything wrong with it. When Saul/ Paul decided to gather a band of followers, kill and imprison Jesus’ followers, he probably thought he was being morally responsible. When Germany rallied to Hitler’s ravings, they were certain they were on the right track. So if we are making a huge error in thinking, how would we know?

Inevitably, when evaluating this phenomenon, the truism “only time will tell” becomes the mark of all judgements. So it is not a bad idea to use that measure to self analyse , take for instance if you were one of those indignant Aussies who were certain the dingo was innocent in the Adzharia Chamberlin case, time proved you wrong. If you thought Joh Bjelke-Petersen was just a nice guy who was good for Queensland, the Fitzgerald Inquiry eventually put paid to that myth. If you thought George Bush and John How-odd were justified in waging war over weapons of mass destruction, you are now put in your place.

If you are currently of the mindset that the war on drugs will solve the problem or warnings on the packets of cigarettes will stop kids from smoking or a tax on alcho-pops will reduce kiddie alcoholism, then time is currently doing a job on you. New ways of thinking are required here as with many other old and outdated errors of judgement and as the bible recommends, a transformation of renewing the mind is required. So get on it before you end up looking like a total jerk or worse, criminally responsible for duty of care issues and side with the ones who are prepared to recommend the hard decisions be made by those who are paid to make the hard decisions.

The only way the best outcomes will be realized with smoking and drinking issues is to put the ones profiteering from it out of business. The only way to fix the illegal drug trade is to take the profit out of it and the only way to stop our kids ending up in hospital from speed related accidents is to stop registering cars that can exceed the speed limit. Get with the program!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Breastplate of Narmer


Read the book here-> the-breastplate-of-narmer

Get with the program



When we have a big problem with our thinking, quite often we are the last ones to notice it. When Adam had a bite of the apple, he probably couldn’t see anything wrong with it. When Saul/ Paul decided to gather a band of followers, kill and imprison Jesus’ followers, he probably thought he was being morally responsible. When Germany rallied to Hitler’s ravings, they were certain they were on the right track. So if we are making a huge error in thinking, how would we know?

Inevitably, when evaluating this phenomenon, the truism “only time will tell” becomes the mark of all judgements. So it is not a bad idea to use that measure to self analyse , take for instance if you were one of those indignant Aussies who were certain the dingo was innocent in the Adzharia Chamberlin case, time proved you wrong. If you thought Joh Bjelke-Petersen was just a nice guy who was good for Queensland, the Fitzgerald Inquiry eventually put paid to that myth. If you thought George Bush and John How-odd were justified in waging war over weapons of mass destruction, you are now put in your place.

If you are currently of the mindset that the war on drugs will solve the problem or warnings on the packets of cigarettes will stop kids from smoking or a tax on alcho-pops will reduce kiddie alcoholism, then time is currently doing a job on you. New ways of thinking are required here as with many other old and outdated errors of judgement and as the bible recommends, a transformation of renewing the mind is required. So get on it before you end up looking like a total jerk or worse, criminally responsible for duty of care issues and side with the ones who are prepared to recommend the hard decisions be made by those who are paid to make the hard decisions.

The only way the best outcomes will be realized with smoking and drinking issues is to put the ones profiteering from it out of business. The only way to fix the illegal drug trade is to take the profit out of it and the only way to stop our kids ending up in hospital from speed related accidents is to stop registering cars that can exceed the speed limit. Get with the program!

A Global Warning


When things heat up, physical changes occur, ice turns to water and water turns to steam. When human relations heat up, talk turns to arguments and arguments turn to violence. These truisms may have more relevance to the fate of mankind than would be realized at first glance. Take for instance the two big issues on the world stage at the moment, global warming and the war against terrorism.

When dialogue and sanctions broke down with the war in Iraq, violence erupted and George Bush committed trillions of dollars to proving America was the toughest kid on the block. Imagine for one second if all that money and effort went towards the other big problem, maybe we would all have solar cells on our roofs by now and Copenhagen would be an irrelevance.

Last month Barack Obama and K. Rudd signed away trillions more of taxpayers dollars to the never ending story of war against people who would threaten your security, whilst totally failing to put a penny towards the other problem; which if left unattended could be the end of us all. But never the less, I don’t blame them, they are being pushed around by people who only care about their jobs in the industrial military complex and the filthy dirty planet stuffing industries.

So, in summary, if you don’t want, ice to turn to water, water to turn to steam, talk to turn to argument and arguments to turn to more war, make sure when you pay your taxes and vote for your puppet, commonsense prevails.