Having Fun with Foreigners. Recalling PARIS year 2000, 21 September, autumnal. I was wandering the streets of the 13th arrondissement dressed as a Parisian, black leather jacket, black t-shirt, black jeans, good black shoes, scowl. I was approached by a middle aged American couple... he asked: "Excusez moi, monsieur, do you know how to get to Le Metro from here, from, um ici?" Response: "Err, ah! Anglais! je ne comprend pas, monsieur. Your wife is very, how you say, attractif. Does she want my cock? Le coq sportif...Oui? Non? Et tu? Err. Come with me." "Oh, no, no, thank you, Monsieur." My name is John, or Jean Artur. I'm an Australian. I travel the world. I try to help.

reflections at 65.2 years: I was one of the fortunate people in the world to see the Great Barrier Reef of Australia when it was beautiful.

It is remarkable just how we are connected. the Australian house/property market will continue to fall, simply because its rise over the years has been based on dodgy Chinese money coming in. With President Xie's strong pogrom on corruption, in tune with the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement, the money is being redirected. It works like this: Black Money, Chinese corruption money exists in its trillions. The Government is not opposed to this on any moral ground, but rather on what is best for the future of China. So the Chinese Govt's idea is this: Rather than invest your millions in the Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns property markets, etc, where, because of the Free Trade Agreement, your funds, and where they come from, will be able to be seriously monitored on a daily basis... why not invest your corrupt funds in the One Belt, One Road project linking China with Asia, Africa, and Europe, where the Chinese Government is happier for you to invest, and your returns will be higher and your life, and the lives of your children, will be far less problematic? What's wrong with having a happier and more profitable life?

Collective names for bunches of plants: An Empire of Sunflowers. A Bonking of Passionfruit. A Lapel of Rosemary. A Flourish of Radishes. A Settling of Mint.

I think China is the only country on earth that has taken out its corrupt bank managers and CEOs and executed them. I think we are way behind China in doing what is good for our country. China is a very different society, for sure, but, when you look around at what western societies do, well, its hardly bad at all. China is a new form.. i wish China well.

i think that good government is expensive government, for sure. It has to be. it is expensive because of the good that it does, not because of the costs of the expensive suits people wear to represent us.

There are so many variables in any society, but I think that the most important things are providing good education and good health services for the people in the country, and provide well being. A government has to lift people from poverty to well being. That is the job of government. I remain amazed that most governments fail to do this. They have to do these things first, to be acknowledged as any kind of legitimate government. To not solve these problems because they are too hard, well, this is a failed and illegitimate government and one that should be removed by whatever means are available and as fast as possible, violently as necessary, and with great prejudice.

BREXIT: A few missiles fired into the London CBD would indicate that the Irish aren't all that happy about the way things are going regarding One Ireland and borders between the Irish. Just saying. That's the only thing the English ever, ever understand. 800 years...and they haven't evolved even a smidge over all that time. What else do you do with cretins like that? Do you wait another 800 years, expecting Human Reason? Having had every opportunity, still, the penny hasn't dropped for them.

I still find it amazing, in this 21st century, in Australia, that the quality of education for children is based upon the success or failure of the capitalist economy, year by year, rather than being based upon the importance of the children. I still find it amazing, after all the years of fighting for good health care, that it is based, year by year, on the basis of how well a company like BHP or Apple is doing. There is something very wrong with this. This is a failure of Government to be Government. This is a failure of being unwilling to tax the rich for the betterment of all. We should be able to chart the future of education and health for all. This is not a whim, but a social necessity. That we can't even do that in 2018 is dismally amazing to me.

You know, I am still amazed at the arrogance of the English. To even suggest a vote on Brexit, not for one minute believing that folk would choose Brexit...the Government of England simply disregarded the unity of Ireland, and what this means. 800 years, and they never saw it coming. They simply didn't consider the issue at all. This issue cannot be resolved until Ireland is one island. 800 years of no respect.

800 years of racism.

Cluey. I think Trump is quite Cluey regarding North Korea. North Korea is no real threat to even Japan, let alone the USA. It only really is a problem for South Korea, and the only solution will be worked out by the people of North and South Korea...the USA has no role there. by turning up and saying 'Yeah, its fixed' he has done more for eventual resolution than any other US regime. It is North and South 'Korea' when there can only be one Korea, so they have to work it out...and they will. Brexit: This was a response to the maniacal city-building, almost deification, of London as the only city of wealth that mattered. Whilst London thrived, the rest of the UK paid for that and didn't get anything...thus the knee-jerk 'lets get out of Europe'. Due to the remarkable dismissing of Irish Unity, per se, the UK didn't even think of the problem of a border between North and South Ireland. Didn't even think of it. problems dont go away until they are actually resolved. the only resolution is the removal of Northern Ireland from the UK and into the good one Ireland. I think the US funding-deification of its god-like cities of New York, San Francisco etc worked in the same way to promote Trump from the fringe to the Centre. If the USA can redress the different societies of its provinces and its power cities, then there can be some resolution over the decades. Australia: I'd expect the Labor Party to win the next Federal election.

Oh, I see Australia's Scott Morrison, PM, has told the President of Indonesia, that Scott will make up his mind about moving the Australian Embassy from Telaviv to Jerusalem, um, by Christmas. I'm sure Christmas is a very respected event in Indonesia...just like Ramadan is in Jerusalem. He is such an idiot.

I recall, when the referendum in the UK chose Brexit, the first thing I said was..."so, what happens to Ireland?" And this is still the main issue, really. The peace in Ireland was always a temporary thing, worked out by Blair et al, and was never designed to be tested. This is one of the problems with administrators like Blair...no forward thinking. Now, everything is a mess because of it. The English have to actually consider the abiding Irish...and the English just can't do that and remain what England-UK means to themselves. Blair's success may well be far more bloody troubles, delayed and intensified. Ireland needs to be one island, all free. They have the spirit and the gear to do that. Brexit isn't about Europe at all, it is about a continuing crime by the UK on the sovereignty of the Irish people and Irish land.

I see our Prime Minister is apologising to the Indonesian President for saying that Australia will move its embassy in Israel from TelAviv to Jerusalem, that it was just a silly promise to the Jews in the Wentworth electorate, and that he didn't mean it at all...meanwhile, Indonesia has cancelled the Free Trade Agreement with Australia based on the fact that Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison is a lying prick who can't be trusted. We already know that here.

Australia. Shhh...don't tell...don't make a noise...there's no one here but us. just the aborigines, and, gosh, aren't they a problem, and only the English, and aren't they a filthy scourge, and only the Irish, and aren't they a joy, and only the Italians, and aren't they problematic, and only the Greeks, and Jesus, no wonder he wept, and only the Iraqis, and how troublesome they are, and only the Jewish Somalians, and how black they are, and only the South East Asians, how Asian they are, and only the Indians, and why can't they speak English without all the head bobbing, and only the Chinese now, now that the more pleasant and less yellow Japs have gone home, and, really only the Americans now... controlling our country now...Sssh. Sssh. Only the Americans are our friends. Americans, like Donald trump. Great Southern Land. A Prisoners Island hidden in the summer for a million years. We imprison little children for many years in horrible places until they go mad, because we want to, because we like it. Australia. It will burn you blind. My country.

The whole reason Scott Morrison, the current bullying PM of Australia, is going on an election tour of Queensland, trying to show everyone how nice he is, full of promises, is that he will be calling an early election well soon of the expected date next year.

GRIEF and FEAR are fascinating activators of human behaviour. When I got my 2 deadly prognoses of heart disease and cancer, after working in palliative care for many decades, I just took off, refused all treatments at age 50, spent money, saw the world for years, fell in love, found a family, and did things I never ever would have done without this impetus. Then, I just didn't die... I'm still standing. I have great respect for grief and fear and, because of them, I still lead an unexpected and remarkably meaningful life...and I have yet to be irradiated or operated on, 15 years later.

Noting some silly people getting in trouble in UK for building a bonfire effigy of the Grenfell Tower and some in the USA getting in trouble for a bonfire of the Twin Towers...Silly people, yes, but nothing wrong with doing that. Social Grief has many manifestations and effigy burning is one of them, whether folk realise what they are doing or not...still better to burn something in a bonfire than to invade and destroy another country as has been the abiding grief-habits of both the USA and the UK for many decades now.

Grief is grief...no one likes it...and no one out evolves it.

Mutterings of the Aged: I like my job. I don't mind going to work. I just don't want to contribute to society anymore. I've experienced Australian society for a long time now, since 1953, and I certainly don't want to contribute to that any more than I have had to. Jesus, look at it! I didn't do that!"

I think the last decent human being who was US President was Jimmy Carter.

On the ever important matter of Car Shapes Through Time, they pretty well all come down to being roundish, squarish, or pointy-triangularish. Then these usual change about every 5 annual models to a variation and mixture of these 3 prime shapes. I've always liked squarish, boxy shaped cars, the Volvo as it always was and the Nissan Navara Ute, as it still a bit is. I was fascinated when Toyota brought out the very boxy squarish RUKUS and I came close to buying one. I liked the black Rukus as it was 6" longer than the white Rukus, and 9" longer than the beige one. It is fascinating, as time goes by, you see these remarkable designers trying to work out what to do with these 3 shapes. The cars from conservative epochs, like the current times, are usually a mix of the 3 so as not to offend anyone...and they pretty well all do look the same, reflecting the aspirations of the people who buy them.