Close the gap | James Fitzpatrick | TEDxPerth This is my nephew.

I've done my national duty today in voting in a secret ballot for the Australian Government...I voted for all Greens Party but not to make the country greener...it is too fucking green here in the Far North, it is just too fucking green, and far too fucking natural and the weather is really appalling most of the year...but I voted Greens because they have a policy of treating refugees as actual human beings...a real innovation in the Australian Psychology of Self. I don't think human beings are the brightest or best fruit on the tree of life at all... never have been and never will be... but at least we could treat each other, whilst we are here for a short time, as equals of some temporal worth and at least relative meaning. It is good for us.

BREXIT: The UK Conservative Party, from 'Born to Rule', to 'Born to Ridicule'.... a dick fight that went wrong.

1: In the run up to the elections in the UK last year, following the Scottish decision to remain in the UK (based on the fact that the UK was staying in the EU so it was smart for Scotland to thus stay in the UK), 

2: David Cameron said he would arrange for a UK referendum regarding staying in the EU, although he had no obligation to, but simply as there was grumbling about immigrants and the lowering standards of social infrastructure for the English...

3: It was a shoe-in...he would rise as a Man who kept his Word to the People, and most people would vote to remain in the EU...he knew Scotland and Northern Ireland would, for sure. He would thus Unite the Conservative Party and become more powerful in the UK and in the EU, and consolidate his Prime Ministership and make it Boris-proof. 

4: Boris Johnson was on side and was going along with it...

then 

5: Boris had an idea...this is the only opportunity I will ever get to be PM...if I lead the LEAVE campaign, have a good showing, and thus become a spokesman for a goodly minority of the UK who wanted to leave...thus making it necessary for Cameron to give me a more powerful post...perhaps Deputy PM...and then, from there, I would succeed Cameron one way or another, by hook or by crook...because he is a dickhead and I am not. 

6: He didn't think it was possible for the LEAVE folk to win...it was  all about his own political leverage in the Conservative Party and probably the only chance he would get in the next 5 years to claim a higher position basically because Cameron didn't like him, and saw him as a threat, and saw Boris as a dickhead.

7: So, Boris changed sides and led the LEAVE campaign...

and he won...when he didn't want to. Sure, he wanted a good showing of support for himself, but he never considered he could win and never wanted to...it was all about leverage.

8: And David Cameron, who put the wheels in motion for the referendum based upon it being good for him politically, and provided him with good consolidated power...and not because he had to....lost.

9: Pride goeth before the fall. Two Born to Rule Eton kids having a battle about who had the biggest dick and who was more important.

10: Meanwhile, the canny Jeremy Corbyn went along with the Labour Party policy of REMAIN...but approached his angry constituents thus: 'Well, I think it's a good idea to remain, 7 point out of 10, but, it is up to you.It's my job to advise you and it's your job to advise me without any fear mongering involved at all'...As Jeremy went about the place he noticed that most Labour Party supporters wanted to LEAVE...and he took notice, but forgot to mention this to David or Boris. Corbyn remains, basically untainted and even very well supported at the grass roots local level membership and supporters of the Labour Party, and just today sacked his Deputy and a few other folk he didn't like...to clear the air.

So the UK is leaving the EU...absolutely...unless the Government calls for an election in 3 months time to negate the referendum result...which they could do...meanwhile the EU is unhappy with this delay...if you want to go, and you want to go, then go. Who would lead the Conservative Party? David's gone already...would Boris the traitor to the Conservatives be the one to turn 180 degrees and lead the Conservatives based on the REMAIN agenda after leading the LEAVE to success? 

If the UK wanted to buy their way back in to the EU, say in 3-4 years time...they would need to apply, and a lot of the EU don't like them now, and it would only take one country to veto their re-admission... and they would have to accept the Euro as their currency. The EU is very serious about that aspect.

In the meantime, the Scots have approached the EU already saying they wish to stay in the EU and will launch a referendum to this affect, and the Irish are just astonished that the dick-fight between 2 Eton boys has led to a situation where they have their best shot at Independence ever...by keeping all of Ireland in the EU...either that or put up an international border, basically on the Falls Rd, Belfast, and require Irish families on either side go through formal  checks with passports every time young Liam wanted to go see Grandma... & If not 'one Ireland, all in the EU', then the 'border' between Northern Ireland and Eire would be the perfect conduit for EU refugees to go through into the UK...no passports, no controls...

If one part of Ireland is EU and the other isn't ...this is simply unworkable.

As for the sun never setting on the British Empire, I can imagine the citizens of the Falkland Islands, and those of Gibraltar will be wondering why the Spanishy type lower class folk are walking around their English homes with tape measures right now.

now, that's it for me...it is just astonishing. 

pip pip

John

Astonishing.

I find it so interesting that Trump is a contender at all; but I think this says a lot about the restive nature of the American population in the ongoing 2008 cyclical GFC. These big economic 'corrections' historically take at least 25 years to adjust...and the difference between the rhetoric of 'everything is getting better' doesn't gel so well with the reality...and Americans, by recent culture, are not particularly the patient people as they once were. An easy answer is, at least, an answer. Whilst his domestic policies are rhetoric and remarkable bluster, (mind you, building a wall along the border for Mexico is exactly how Israel has organised its set up with Palestinians...and not many in the world complain about that...it works...it is nasty...it maintains quite an evil status quo...and it works)but parts of his foreign policies do ring true. To have these matters even discussed...the relationship with Israel, a withdrawal from Asia, a de-funding of NATO etc...thus removing the enormous cost burden on middle Americans, one could imagine that, in simplicity, this would allow a lot more money to be available for the US economy...then how this would be distributed and used would be the big and worrying issue. The price of policing the world certainly is a lot of money and I don't believe the USA can actually afford to do this any more. He certainly has thought about and analysed the amount the US spends overseas and how that never gets back so much to them any more. He certainly has studied the effectiveness of the Chinese non-interventionist 'Walled World' model as a competitor for the flawed 'paralysis' of European 'Globalism'. I don't think he could possibly become the President of the USA...but it might happen. Whilst we can have very differing views on whether or not this would be good for 'the world' should his stated foreign policies be actually set in place...the only thing for Americans to really focus on...is to vote for something/someone that they believe would be good for Americans in America...the same as Australians vote for, usually, what they believe is good for Australians in Australia. It's the simplicity of the message that many find positive. It's the self-ism of the message...our country is ours..that rings true for many.

This land is your land, this land is my land.

I think the scarwiest things for Australians to come to terms with are: 1: That no one is interested in invading us, except new Zealand 2: That we've never made friends with anyone in Asia because they are Asians... 3: & that because of 2, no one actually needs us or wants to make trade deals with us 4: That our military contributions to the British/American Alliances over the last 50 years have been, as best described by the US General in charge in Iraq..."Australia's contribution has been less than even remotely symbolic" and yet we depend so much on being protected and dependent. That's the nature of the human beings that we are. That's Australia.

Gosh, it'd almost be worthwhile to be an American to be able to vote for Trump. Those tinpot countries like South Korea, Japan and Australia have, indeed, been sucking the USA dry in terms of Defence and manufactured enemies to suit their governments control of their peoples for decades now. Let them pay for their own defence...they are not our problem. There is no threat. Everyone knows that. Our economy is our problem, and those parasite bastards can look after themselves, and they can pay for it rather than being dependent on us. The USA can no longer afford parasites like Australia, South Korea and Japan. They have to grow up and pay their own way. I love it. It's realistic.It's true. It's actually honest.

I'd vote for him in a minute. He makes sense.

The Sydney Property Bubble 2016 March.....A song from John Prine for those of us and them who bought houses in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in the last 15 years on the advice of Financial Counsellors who said it wasn't just a Bubble at all, at all...and there was a perfect opportunity to REALLY Capitalise... 'Oh who the hell wants money, when there ain't none to be had it don't make the good times better it don't make the bad times bad and you find out who your friends are when you ain't got a dime we're just tryin to make the best of these hard times... we are broke but we been broke before and being broke don't scare us any more... mama's broke, and grandpa too but we're still here to sing for you... we are are goin to make it through for sure...