I recall when my Dad couldn't get a job in Sydney for many years and we lived in a tent that local protestants set fire to from time to time, with Mum my brothers and myself inside..because dad was Irish Catholic Refo Bog Rubbish. Still, Dad never took to drink or violence, never swore or hurt anyone, he just tried harder....I feel some compassion for those Iraqi refo men on Manus Island...but Australia doesn't change very much at all, at all. We are best at Fear and Exclusion and Cruelty rather than other human qualities. Dad was just damn lucky he was just a tyke, a celt, a fenian, not a kyke, nor a nigger, nor a spag, a wog, nor a chink, nor a nip, nor an eastern european rag picker, and very fortunate indeed that he wasn't brown, yellow, an abo, or a woman... Don't go singing "We are One but We are Many" Not yet by half.

Tests in Germany note that the Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, is adulterated fake honey. Professor Von Firkendork made the announcement whilst following up reports that Scromo was, in Australian slang, the needle in the strawberry of Australian industry.

I could shit a better Australian Prime Minister than Scott Morrison.

I used to think that Bill Shorten was kind of a shoe-in to be the next Australian Prime Minister as long as no one saw him, or heard him. But, he was on TV today for a minute and actually said a few good things. I'd prefer Penny Wong for PM because she is a very good bureaucrat rather than a populist politician, per se, but Bill would be ok. The great thing is, in the 2019 election is that Labor will most likely win. The comforting thing is that if they lose, they will dump Bill Shorten...so it's a kind of win-win thing.

Young years teach us how to be happy, middle years teach us how to be upset, old years remind us how to be happy. It's always pretty well been like this. I really don't have any problems with this natural arrangement.

Novichok, spies, Korea etc

We'll never know the chicanery between the powers, we'll only know a few tales here and there. Nothing of substance.
When one considers the lot of a double-agent, well, one can understand that this isnt an ideal career in the long term, and you won't ever know who comes to get you, but someone will.
I recall a news piece about a British spy who was found dead in a suitcase in a bath and the official response was that there were no suspicious circumstances at all.
As for korea, well, it seems less on the brink of mad war with itself than it has for some years, so that's a good thing.
I expect the US Navy with its nukes etc is still tripping around the coast off Korea and China much to the chagrin of those countries and the Americans I guess will keep doing that out of habit. It is an expensive habit...and something could go wrong, of course, but we won't know.
Wishing people find reason in peace. If you can't destroy someone, perhaps peace is better and cheaper than war overall.

Grumpy kids. "Why isn't my life perfect, Dad?" "Well, my darling, that's simply because you aren't perfect. Get used to that. I've had to."