RaymondPierreL3

Retired Australian who voted YES (He, Him) #Writing to become an #author of #Fiction. Among my interests are #Renewables #MartialArts #TaiJi #QiGong #PhilosophyOfMind #Spiritualism #Metaphysics and all ‘big’ questions (and #auspol, of course)   The banner reads #Democracy not Monarchy and the avatar is a Qigong practioner in front of the I-Ching symbols. I can also be read on:  https://raymondpierreleonard.wordpress.com/ A 'star' can mean ‘I see you’ or simply ‘thank you’. 

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Last Notes

2026-08-06 06:13:38 GMT

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@nprofile…rxg6
In my view, the root and main cause of recidivism, as with the initial criminal activity, is a social issue… mitigated by gainful employment opportunities, free education, reduced wealth inequity, adequate unemployment and support benefits (or better yet a UBI that one can live on). In other words a society where the financial system is geared to look after all of its members rather than favouring the rentier class and the independently rich. Emminently achievable given targeted legislative actions.
That being said, there will always be a small section of society with criminal intent no matter how comfortable the larger proportion, for which the solutions you suggest are most appropriate.

2026-07-30 04:47:03 GMT

Digitisation of our cultural heritage is not a rosy picture:
“Looking back over the long history of digitisation in museums, libraries and archives in the UK, it is clear that new economic models are needed to ensure the long-term availability of digital cultural heritage collections. Coming up with these models will require creativity and persuasive powers worthy of the collections they would protect.” (Source: https://www.miaridge.com/dh20206-presentation-a-never-ending-story-supporting-access-to-museum-and-library-collections-in-the-uk/ )
What holds for the UK holds also for Australia and elsewhere. Thanks for the access @nprofile…w3h4
#DigitalHumanities #DH2026

2026-05-02 07:21:58 GMT

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@nprofile…x9tq
I just don’t understand voters who do not see through the Fascist Frog. It’s not as if they don not have another example to look at in POTUS
#8647now #FarageCrypto #UKPol

2026-03-24 02:13:56 GMT

Well, what do you know… corporate #Grifters are at it again. #Greedflation is lining up to bat again.
“New analysis of the national accounts reveals that all of the increase in inflation in the latter half of 2025 was due to increased profits, rather than inflationary pressures from a tight labour market or rising labour costs (Source Greg Jericho & David Richardson — Tue 24 Mar 2026 10.00 The Guardian)
Read more:
https://thepoint.com.au/news/260324-profit-push-is-back-the-increase-in-inflation-is-due-to-profits
#AusPol #economics #Inflation #Employment #Wages

2026-02-28 09:51:55 GMT

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@nprofile…x9tq
what is it with Labor (Australia) and Labour (UK) and their vitriolic hatred of the Greens? Instead of lashing out at a party which welcomes the disaffected labor lefties, why don’t they come off their neoliberalist centre-right position and get back to the roots of Labor/Labour — traitors to the workers’ cause this bunch of revisionists.
#Labor #Labour #UK #Australia
#Greens

2026-02-19 07:12:00 GMT

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@nprofile…x9tq
Don’t know about the UK, but previous Australian govt policies (esp. the Job Ready Graduate program) does much to undo the successes of Arts faculties (where languages are taught) with massive cost increases for degrees. The program promotes STEMS subject by radically cutting funding for the Arts and massively increasing funding for STEM subjects esp engineering and medicine. This was a neoliberal policy that has so far not been curtailed by our current Labor govt.
By the by, the policy was/is a total failure. Students seek to study in the field they have an interest in and not the ‘cheapest’ degree structures. The resulting numbers have shown a very modest increase in STEMS and a decrease in non-STEMS enrolments.
Politicians (as well as business persons) should be kept out out of University boards and councils. Ministers ought to worry about education budgets and leave the running of a Universtity to those better educated to do so IMO. It’s academic, not corporate.
#TertiaryEducation

2026-02-15 09:08:57 GMT

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@nprofile…x9tq
Flawed mindset of neoliberal economic dogma which cannot countenance the idea of education being a social good that repays investments over time through taxes (is this what you mean by hypothecated taxes?).

2026-01-15 22:55:47 GMT

I want to talk about something that has been brought to the fore of my mind by something that Cory Doctorow has recently published ; happiness, optimism and hope. In particular optimism because it made me step back and consider his proposition in order to reassess my own understanding of a word I’ve often used in the past to describe one of the characteristics of my persona.
‘Optimism […] is a toxin to be avoided. Optimism is a subgenre of fatalism, the belief that things will get better no matter what we do. It’s just the obverse of pessimism. Both are ways of denying human agency. To be an optimist is to be a passenger of history, along for the ride, with no hope of changing course.’
It is the words ‘human agency’ which first spiked my interest of course. And all of a sudden an answer to a one question that has been on my mind for some time was delivered to me. The world is turning to shit because it has to in order to deliver a better world. In a world where I despair for want of a politically active electorate willing – because we all can – to sort the hay from the chaff on a routine basis and inured to propaganda, all I see around me are angry people, too busy to make ends meet (a relative as well as a subjective reconciliation of financial and social dues and rights) all the while gobbling up whatever mis/dis-information is force-fed onto them; nothing is going to change without some major upheavals. People are not going to wake up from the nightmare until they are scared out of their wits. Shocked awake and gasping for breath, heart thumping in the chest and all senses primed for fight or flight responses. Only then will people sit up and take note of what is happening. In other words, human agency being what it is, if a better world is to be built, the old one must writhe in pain and lash out in frustration as it burns itself out of existence. That is the explanation for what I see around the world today. It is both a sad and painful sight and a harbinger of better things to be, therein lies hope.
‘Hope […] That’s the stuff. Hope is the belief that if we change the world for the better, even by just a little, that we will ascend a new gradient towards a better future, and as we rise up to that curve, new terrain will be revealed to us that we couldn’t see from our lower vantage-point. It’s not necessary -- nor even possible – to see a course from here to the world you want to live in. You can get there is a stepwise fashion, one beneficial change at a time.’
Tying up loose ends… Upon reflection, it is not true that I am an optimist, or ever was one. What I can say now with some confidence is that I am full of hope, have always been. Thank you
@nprofile…ugpy
https://pluralistic.net/2026/15/how-the-light-gets-in/
#Pluralistic

2025-12-12 03:47:10 GMT

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@nprofile…4y9g
Of course, 100% it’s about money.

2025-12-08 10:26:57 GMT

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@nprofile…pxcf
Shame it’s paywalled

2025-11-27 22:21:55 GMT

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@nprofile…hzyj
You know, I’m thinking here that the idea of ‘testing’ new policies before enacting full legislation might not be a bad thing at all — Sen Andrew Leigh here in Australia is a champion of the idea. Kit flying is a weakening tactic when it fails, but announcing legislation allow ‘testing’ or ‘trialing’ proposed policies would be a win-win whatevere their outcomes.

2025-11-24 06:49:14 GMT

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@nprofile…5yhs
Just wondering, are you a big potato eateror do you have to share them out with your neighbours before they spoil? How many kg of potatoes do you go through each months anyway?
Just asking ‘cause I’m intrigued…

2025-11-20 07:26:16 GMT

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@nprofile…hzyj
Don’t forget that there is heaftly anount of funds being cross-invested in all things GenIA and datacentres. From the little I have read or know about (very little), this is what makes the #AIBubble so dangerous, non-bank loans, cross-investments within the AI Markets and the #AssetBubble that data centres represent when GenAI fails to deliver the golden eggs. So, I wouldn’t discount NVidea’s exposure.

2025-11-10 10:09:04 GMT

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@nprofile…hzyj
This is sad news indeed. It is a well known fact that aside from traveling to experience other cultures, learning a foreign language (at any age) is akin to eating brain food. As well as broadening the student’s mind, it also alters brain structures (neurological pathways) leading to some interesting benefits. Cutting languages is shortsighted and stupid IMO.

2025-11-07 09:31:07 GMT

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@nprofile…hzyj
Here is an interesting essay from David Roche talking about #Bubbles and their inevitable collapse.
https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/a-crash-is-coming/

2025-11-05 10:30:45 GMT

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@nprofile…hzyj
Profit taking?

2025-11-03 23:51:17 GMT

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@nprofile…hzyj
Although I’m talking about many decades ago, I once believed the lies about welfare fraud — it does occur, but it’s occurence is lost in the overwhelming numbers who do the right thing and deserve support. I believed it until I experienced what it was like to look for work and the mental stress it caused over a long period. I was lucky to escape the downward spiral — manly due to some exceptional people who came into my life. And while I refused to collect benefits (for some illogical idealism), most cannot because they have a family to support and have to pay for basic human needs (shelter, food, health, and a sense of purpose).
Bring on Universal Basic Income I say and do away with the hypocracy of bureaucratic benefit systems altogether. This is about the greater social good after all.
#UBI #UnemploymentBenefits #SocialSafetyNet

2025-10-12 23:05:37 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
I guess it’s hard to shake off Thacherism in the UK… still, doing the same thing over and over again expecting different outcomes is certifiable. Why can’t the electorate see that?

2025-09-08 05:57:19 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
The only carbon capture systems currently working are a continuation of fossil fuel extraction operations where it is pumped back into the well or stratum (though not all of it) to extract yet more fossil fuel. Every other carbon capture projects are abject failures and remain likely to stay that way.
Fossil Fuel extractive industries are not so stupid as to take carbon capture seriously given their raison d’etre is to make money, and not to invest in impossible and unprofitable schemes. Ah! Capitalism eh? Who’d have it?

2025-09-07 10:43:12 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
“Benefits’ is often used by the right to denigrade ‘social services’ in order to ‘sell them off’. But social services are the reason societies elect govts in the first place — to look after the commonwealth. Do away with public services and you really don’t need a govt, we’d all be looking after ourselves in our individual cave thank you. This seems to indicate that the ‘right’ are troglodites wishing to go back to pre-historical times.

2025-09-05 01:32:19 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
The #UK political scene looks all too much like #Australian politics a year ago or so, especially the splitting factionalism of the #LNP (Liberal-National Party) coalition, now set to remain in opposition for several terms IMO, and a #Labor party that has shifted to occupy centre-right political ground. Resulting in a disenfranchised Labor-left and member exodus to the Greens (in terms of voting preferences), while the Greens themselves still have a tough time breaking through the ‘cross-bench’ ceiling in the Senate to become a major force among the two-party duopoly. The good news is that the Australian electorate firmly rejected #Trumpism at the last election, thank goodness.
One of the downsides of Labor’s new term in office is that it has now latched on to a successful strategy for holding on to govt while only succeding in wasting their Lower House (super?) majority with a timid legislative agenda.
While progressives left and right of the political divide are clamering for change, Labor isn’t keen to rock that boat. The left is muzzled for now… The right, pushed out by Labor’s encroachment on their turf, with far less ground to cover aside from #racism #stupidity and #fascism, is all too ready to jump further right in order to appear relevant to a dwindling minority of the electorate.
They say that change is good, but nothing has really changed besides the goalposts. It may be that the UK will surprise and take a different route… time will tell.
#AusPol #UKPol

2025-09-04 06:20:24 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
There is only one logical solution to the troubles in public education (incl the #TertiarySector) and that is approprite and adequate funding from the govt. Largess in this sector (along with #health, #housing and #care — and #UBI if bold enough) may have an impact on the economy but can readily be controlled through #Tax reform. That is why we have govt in the first place. Otherwise it’s every person for themselves in the surrounding chaos (this would warm the cockles of Libertarians and SovereignCitizens everywhere)..
Good gracious, this is turning out to be a dark kind of day with me…

2025-09-04 05:56:25 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
The last para quoted, for me, accurately reflects the current situation, dare I say it, world wide… if it is too much to ask the patient to get up from their bed (let’s one repeats a famous miracle) and smite the fascists, yet again, into oblivion, then only another global war will bring about the rise of a fairer civilisation should enough of the world be left to allow it.
A less pessimistic solution would be for the progressive, left centre and right, to grow some and make a stand here and now.

2025-09-04 05:43:21 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
As I see it, there are two important elements to the likelyhood of civil war in the US. One is the fact that the US is awash with guns. And the second is the States’ right of secession backed up by their National Guard units.
Both of these elements will play a major part in any events brought about by the continued dismantling of the US Constitution and its Courts.

2025-09-04 05:28:56 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
It is unfortunate that when a society is hurting from the abuses of right wing policies, it looks to blame their circumstances on ‘Others’. It’s also a shame that the electorate is so easily manipulated to distort their discontent into fear and hatred for any “Other’ pointed to them by those seeking to remain in power.
WIth the shifting of the ‘norms’ and ‘acceptable’ political policies to the right generally, it is more important than ever for the real ‘left’ to be vocal about the state of domestic politics which is totally responsible for current economic ills.
#UKPol #ItsJustaShiftToTheRight
#InUnity #Antifa

2025-08-24 10:08:46 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
Else, bring everyone up to the same standard with appropriate funding of all education sectors to ensure free education up to first uni degree for all. Wouldn’t that be something? Investing in the next generation (which will — according to the data — put more back into the economy than they took out) ?

2025-08-24 09:35:08 GMT

#Amy at her best:
"I am going to hold your hand while I say this – and billionaires are not your friend and cannot be trusted to work for the collective good. In fact, it is a failure of regulation that has created billionaires in the first place. They shouldn’t exist. That they do is proof of market failure."
As govts get sucked into #TechBros ponzie schemes, I am hoping the adults in the room will somehow avert the coming bust.
Read more
https://news.thenewdaily.com.au/c/1H8IAou6Z2yfTVf7dfq948scg7Kf

2025-08-21 06:56:48 GMT

In this editorial, Gordon Carera outlines #Putin's character by tracing the history of the #Cheka. An 'temporary' organisation created by #Lenin to hunt and destroy the enemies of the revolution wherever found. It was in fact a terrorist organisation -- in Lenin's words. The Cheka was never disbanded, it was rebranded a number of times and the KGB was one of Chekism's reincarnations, as is the FSB. Putin is one of those Chekists.
"...beneath the Chekist façade, with all its talk of defending the motherland, lay a system that encouraged deceit, petty ambition, immorality and betrayal. Claims of patriotism and ideology were covers for power, ambition and corruption by KGB officers and their agents. ‘The Cheka touched everything, be it great or small,’ "
"Mitrokhin [...] understood the Chekist roots from which Putin had sprung and he understood what his rise meant. ‘The Cheka is still in good shape,’ Mitrokhin would say. The officers of the new organisations like the FSB and SVR, which grew out of the KGB, still called themselves Chekists, he noted, although they had become the vanguard of nationalism rather than communism. Now they were serving ‘the nouveaux riches, the bankers, capitalists and exploiters, waiting hand and foot on the mafiosi clan of oligarchs’."
Read more:
https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/putin-the-once-and-future-chekist/

2025-08-17 04:53:27 GMT

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@nprofile…q3us
#InUnity #JoinYourUnion

2025-08-01 00:03:28 GMT

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@nprofile…r5de
I still think that better driving schools (education trumps repressive measures) outcomes is the better way to go. Affordable Periodic compulsory driving tests/courses would help also.
That goes for motorbike and e-bikes (which should be registered) as well.
This is just my opinion, nothing to back it up. So, I’ll stop there before I make a fool of myself… lol

2025-07-31 00:42:25 GMT

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@nprofile…d9s4
A lot about #driving pisses me off as well, and all of those things involve other drivers. If it wasn’t for my love of ‘driving’ (or ‘riding’ for that matter), I’d stay in my cave and have the things I need home delivered.
I have in recent year endeavoured to be ‘zen-like’ behind the wheel. As soon as something occurs to upset me, I remind myself that most drivers are machine operators, not drivers, and that they haven’t been taught to ‘drive’ at all. Then, I ponder the fact that, whomever they are, these ‘machine operators’ are doing their level best at the job (I cannot know what is going on in their head, or all the circumstance that make them drive that way). That seems to keep me sane on the road and ‘defensive’ — as every driver/ride should be, and take some joy in driving even in frustrating circumstances. .

2025-07-24 00:16:27 GMT

Greg Jericho has dropped another piece in The Guardian, and makes a good point: ‘‘If you can’t admit Australia is a low-taxing nation, then you should not get entry into any roundtable discussion on the topic.”
As usual, his words are backed by facts and statistics, the same sets available to all punters in the economic debate, it’s just that most pundits choose to ignore them or simply cherry pick to suit their objectives. A couple of points on Jericho’s arguments, they stand by themselves with no nonsense added on. Here, there are none of the obfuscations used by dogmatic neoliberal economists with skin in the game.
Jericho reviews a new ACOSS report on the #Australian #Tax regime to conclude that we’re already a low-taxing (OECD) country as it is. Any talk from economists about a high taxing govt is a sure flag identifying the #RichAndFamous and #CorporateGrifters.
Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2025/jul/24/the-biggest-voices-need-to-admit-australia-is-a-low-taxing-nation-before-joining-the-economic-reform-conversation?
#Economics #AusPol #EconomicRoundtable25 #EconomicPolicyDebate

2025-07-22 07:41:49 GMT

I enjoy reading Richard #Murphy and his economic columns, a kind of English Greg Jericho if you will. An economist with his feet on the ground not afraid to tell it like it is. In this article, you’ll find a good explanation of #MMT (Modern Money Theory) grounded in factual economic activity, unlike the designed #neoliberal economic theory supporting runaway corporatism and accumulation of wealth at the top of the social pyramid.
“…bear with me as I address, for the umpteenth time, this false claim that tax funds the government and why it is wrong.
The reality is that the UK government (like other currency-issuing governments) creates money every time it spends. Tax does not fund spending; instead, tax is the necessary consequence of government spending and is required to prevent inflation resulting from excessive money supply. Tax comes after government spending…”
Unfortunately, for this elucidation to take root in the minds of average Joe and just about every economists out there, it will take an earth-shattering event (like the collapse of the global financial systems).
Here he is directing his explanation to the UK, but it is the same for any govt spending and tax collection systems in the world.

2025-07-11 12:08:36 GMT

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@nprofile…a0z2
I supposed that one can make decisions, it just takes the right mindset, and my problem lately is the mindset. Working on it… Thank you for taking the time out to chat Christina. It’s bed time here in Australia. Talk again soon?

2025-07-11 12:02:07 GMT

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@nprofile…a0z2
I admire your enthusiasm because it is a priori. I only get enthusiastic when I’ve written something that merits further work.

2025-07-11 11:49:39 GMT

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@nprofile…a0z2
Love the ‘it’s about choices’ line, very true… We are often our own worst antagonist.

2025-07-11 06:58:46 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
It’s conspirational of any economist to suggest there is a causative link between wage growth and inflation (the old and tired wage-inflation spiral) when the evidence clearly shows that corporate greed (increased profit margins) was the culprit all along.
#Greedflation

2025-07-05 09:04:55 GMT

Ah well, I knew we were fucked, but didn’t see it coming so soon. Looks like nothing will get done on Climate Action until our planet smacks us all in the face. I just hope it’s not fatal. Dog help us all.
https://www.icm.csic.es/en/news/major-reversal-ocean-circulation-detected-southern-ocean-key-climate-implications
#ClimateCrisis #SMOC #NewClimateResearch

2025-06-30 01:09:34 GMT

I’ve installed Trunks on my iPad as a way to get over the many ‘bugs’ now on the Mastodon App. I wonder what happened to the Masto App to make it so unreliable. ANyone knows if it was updated lately? Buggy update if it was then.
#MastodonApplication #iOS #iPad #BuggyCode #Mastodon

2025-06-19 01:41:57 GMT

I hate to flog an old horse, but given private enterprises’ hold on the national narrative and the lack of interest in economics by Jack&Jill, It has to be hammered home - I’m just doing my bit. #Productivity needs to be explained, yet again:
“productivity is the amount you produce with the hours and equipment you have. Work better with what you have or (usually) get better equipment to do your work faster, and productivity increases.
It is not about reducing the cost of producing things. Getting paid $10 less an hour to do the same amount of work does not increase productivity even if your employer is more profitable.
… productivity is often confused with profit and so business groups argue the key is lower company tax. They claim this will increase investment in things that increase productivity (such as new equipment or new buildings and structures).
The evidence, though, is pretty nonexistent.”
Another excellent #Explainer from #GregJericho in The Guardian. Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2025/jun/19/what-could-albanese-do-to-improve-productivity-here-is-a-short-non-exhaustive-list?
#AusPol

2025-05-31 03:46:57 GMT

ABCNews just now… about rising inflation due to #USTariffs. #DonaldTrump and his tariffs have little to do directly with rising prices in Australia.
#Australia produces enough #food to feed the country and export some as well. Don’t belive the hype. Eat #seasonal #crops.
Australian consumers just need to keep purchasing the lowest price for the quality they want regardless of US imports. In other words, Let The #Markets sort it out (a la the best of #neoliberal #economic thinking). If something becomes too expensive to bear, just don’t buy it.
Also, what we are beginning to see is Corporate and Large business #grifters using the ‘beat-up’ of #Tariffs (borne by US citizens and US businesses only) as an excuse to jack up their profits.
The ‘spreading’ of increased costs on US businesses (from paying tariffs on the goods they manufacture off-shore — a perfect own goal for the #TrumpAdministration) over all of their markets (again, to maintain and increase profits) deserves a consumer backlash worldwide. DON’T BUY US IMPORTED GOODS.
#BoycottUSProducts

2025-05-27 04:48:28 GMT

Spent way too much time here these last couple of days and getting nothing done.
#WorkToDo #Fediverse #SocialMedia

2025-05-10 23:47:05 GMT

“Just two days ago, JD #vance said the U.S. would stay out of this fight. But now, the #Trump team rushed in to claim credit for stopping the war. #Rubio called it a big win for peace and praised #Modi and #Sharif for choosing talks over bombs.
But here’s the truth: #India’s government later made it clear — the #ceasefire was arranged directly with Pakistan, not through the U.S. This flat-out contradicts Trump and Rubio’s claims. Once again, they lie about everything, even in a global crisis. And the shelling started again within hours. If this is Trump’s idea of “peace,” the world has every reason to worry.”
https://polinews.org/india-publicly-humiliates-trump-and-rubio-appears-to-deny-their-ceasefire-claims-in-front-of-the-world/

2025-05-09 10:41:28 GMT

Yikes… it will take some time to check out but if it does, #Orban has some interesting times ahead in his dealings with the #EU. For my money, I hope it is true. Either #Orban goes or #Hungary goes, one of these things needs to happen soon to put #Fico on notice.
“#Ukraine's SBU security agency says it has uncovered a spy network being run by Hungary. The security agency said on Friday, local time, the network was working to collect intelligence on Kyiv's defences. In a statement, the SBU said it had detained two suspected agents who, it said, were being run by Hungarian military intelligence.’
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-09/ukraine-discovers-hungarian-spy-network/105276430

2025-05-04 11:45:57 GMT

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@nprofile…mexe
There is something organic, visceral about hand written notes that cannot be replicated by a piece of software no matter how ingenious the coding and friendly the user interface.
Granted, the pen and paper annottions of thoughts extracted from a feverish imagination is not easily managed, categorised, indexed, and likely to lie dormant for ages, even forgotten about after but a short time.
But for me, there is no hesitation. When it comes to an idea that must be recorded lest it vanishes there is nothing like a piece of paper and some tool to write with.
I love you notes.
#Writing #WritingCommunity

2025-04-25 00:39:19 GMT

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@nprofile…d9s4
I remember years and years ago, Chiko rolls made the news after bits of rats were found in them… yuk, truly disgusting. Never ate one of those again, couldn’t get the rat out of my mind ;)

2025-04-24 00:47:43 GMT

The tag line was interesting and, like everyone else with #Win10 on older (still serviceable) equipment, I’m looking to milk my current setups for all its worth. Having read it, it seems it is easier to switch to a #Linux version (#LinuxMint for me) and get to know it like I know #MS. Must say that pissing off #TechBro software is a hoot.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/22/windows_10_ltsc/

2025-04-08 08:06:34 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
The Santana classics (too many to list here) still move me like no other. Not only does my body physically synchronise, the mind is flooded with happy memories as well.

2025-04-06 03:08:44 GMT

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, deputy leader of the Australian Greens and spokesperson for higher education spoke out against the latest #Dutton #LNP electioneering fluff (you cannot call brainfarts a policy) and managed to shame #Labor ‘s inaction on #SocialHousing for good measure:
“The facts are clear, we’ve seen the evidence: international students are not the cause of skyrocketing rents or unaffordable housing. That responsibility lies squarely with successive governments who have refused to build enough public housing and prioritised lining the pockets of wealthy property investors.”
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/apr/06/australia-election-2025-live-labor-albanese-battery-cost-of-living-coalition-dutton-education-nsw-qld-vic?

2025-03-28 00:22:31 GMT

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@nprofile…wuyc
Please CNN/AP bugger off, this is not your turf. BTW, Inflation (if you've not noticed) is not on the discussion table, it's effectively under control and shows all the signs of coming down further (thanks to good 'crazy lefties' financial management). Focus on what matters, grifting corporations, climate change deniers, racists (not to say fascists) and idiotic Trump-wanabes.
#AusPol

2025-03-27 09:13:09 GMT

The #UnitedStates did not listen to #Trump on the electoral trail and they are paying for it in spades. Hear what #Dutton says here:
“We will end the reckless $20bn rewiring the nation fund. We will stop the $10bn housing Australia future fund, which has not built a single additional home.
We will scrap Labor’s $16bn of production tax credits over the next decade for critical minerals and green hydrogen.
We will reverse Labor’s increase of 41,000 Canberra-based public servants – saving $7bn a year.”
and also here:
“We will accelerate new investment in gas projects by reinstating a $300m strategic basin plan and include gas in the capacity investment scheme.
We will invest $1bn in a critical gas infrastructure fund to increase gas pipeline and storage capacity.
We will put in place ‘use it or lose it’ stipulations for gas drilling companies – so offshore gas fields are not locked up for years.”
And BE WARNED Australia, put the #LNP first o #AusElection25 and it will come about and then some…. Think before you cast your vote!
#AusPol

2025-03-27 07:00:36 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
If you (in Britain) make enough noise, maybe your govt will get the message… maybe. I hope so for your collective sake’s.

2025-03-22 07:20:50 GMT

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@nprofile…ssav
Read between the lines.
Though Japan is planning to deploy long range missiles closer to Taiwan, it is ‘hosting’ security and economic dialogue with China (its obvious threat) and Korea (its estranged yet enduring anti-authoritarian partner). Something they have not done before off their own bat.
This is also occuring without US representation and China is, of course, obliging.
If you cannot see the diplomatic shift, then take a course… lol

2025-03-22 06:56:48 GMT

“America's position in the global hierarchy isn't guaranteed.
It can be lost with stunning rapidity when an economically illiterate con artist and a cadre of ideologues are drunk at the wheel.”
Source: https://www.theindex.media/the-new-world-order-is-here-and-america-isnt-part-of-it/
So the good ol’ US of A is getting the finger from every border, Canada, Mexico, Europe across the Atlantic and Japan/Korea across the Pacific. All that is required now to complete the isolation is for Australia and ASEAN to close ranks with Japan and there we have it, the end of Pax-Americana.

2025-03-20 07:07:41 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
#Forecasting (economics) is fraught with inaccuracies (as they must be in an irrational world) and yet, it is a vital task in setting #budgets, an ungrateful task. The problem lies not with the frail forecasts but with the decisions based on over optimistic outcomes and a desire to achieve, politically speaking, what few other govt have.
I relate it to #project management planning phases with spend lines and timings - very few (if any at all depending on the sector concerned) live up to their painstakingly put together Gantt charts.
And therein lies the lessons that govts seem clueless about.

2025-03-09 23:30:07 GMT

Here is a clip from #JoanWestenberg in The Index:
“The Internet was supposed to be the great equalizer. It was meant to be a force that shattered hierarchies and gave power to ordinary people. Instead, it enabled the wealth extraction and avarice of a cartel of overfed, over-pampered despots who enriched themselves in the name of innovation, bled the world to the point of near-total collapse, intellectualized their power fetish and now view public institutions as the final obstacles to be dismantled in their egotistical, delusional pursuit of More.”
I love her work. Not only isnher writing on point, it’s a pleasure to read her flowing critique of the American Oligarchy. While it is currently #USPol oriented the lessons are global in nature. Worth every minute spent reading her.
https://www.theindex.media/the-fascist-tech-bro-takeover-is-here-2/

2025-03-06 07:03:05 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
Portends of war?

2025-03-02 02:49:00 GMT

I take issue with most of what the #ABC pushes out these days. I can’t help it. Everytime I read a piece, hear a reportage, in every single instance I pick up a reluctance to pat the Labor govt on the back for the things they get right. It’s not exactly an all out offensive, but I get the feeling #OurABC is not impartial to this country’s political machinations and tend to put the #Opposition in a good light when compared to their somewhat dimmer look at #Labor.
Here is an example:
“Some households shouldered a huge amount of the burden of the national fight against inflation and their contribution can be counted in real dollars that were taken away from them by higher interest rates (monetary policy) and higher taxation (fiscal policy). To see the politicians taking "credit" for that financial impost would be infuriating.
There's also the matter of the significant deterioration in the real value of people's wages. By the time the Albanese government came to power in May 2022, the impact of high inflation meant our wages were already buying less than they could buy in 2014. The RBA says that problem could take years to fix.” Source https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-02/why-isnt-the-government-boasting-inflation-saul-eslake/104993774
“Higher taxation”, excuse me? Where did the reporter pull that one from? #Coalition talking point? #BlunderingAngus speaking notes? Cherry picking for the rotten fruit amongst a bountiful harvest?
As for wages, why is it that the fact these have started to move up for the first time in more than a decade? 15% increases in some well deserving cases. No, of course not. Let’s pick on the fact that purchasing power is still well below inflation…mmmmm, I wonder why that is. [sarc]
#GiveMeBackMyABC #Auspol

2025-03-01 09:33:19 GMT

“The world owes the Ukrainian president a favour for showing us the true face of the pair of American gangsters who are waging war on truth and democracy, says Simon Walters”
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-zelensky-vance-white-house-peace-b2706912.html
This reality tv shit show will haunt the US for decades
#SlavaUkraini

2025-02-28 00:28:01 GMT

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@nprofile…k7vf
Yay, congrats…

2025-02-27 21:36:01 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
Good gracious… you can’t let the US get anywhere near health systems, they’re so jealous of any passibly working systems they are compelled to destroy them completely (after stripping assets and bleeding State support dry) before scarping off. Why would the UK even consider the idea?

2025-02-25 02:41:02 GMT

Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist at The Australia Institute writes:
“The housing crisis and wealth inequality are two sides of the same coin.
“We know that wealth inequality is bad for social cohesion, democracy, and prosperity.
“We also know the pain that the housing crisis is causing. Both of these can be improved by cracking down on tax loopholes for the wealthy.”
This is not new news… we’ve known this for decades. Hell, both major parties have known this for many decades. Yet ‘nothing is being done’ about it. Take your pick as to why because they are all excuses to benefit the rich.
#housingcrisis #auspol

2025-02-22 08:32:17 GMT

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@nprofile…gtyw @nprofile…l6rh
Shame it’s on a platform I will not go to…

2025-02-19 07:28:34 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
Let’s be specific here… Let’s blame ‘grifters’ of all generations. I can’t see an ex-miner #boomer being responsible for this #neoliberaism quackery, nor an ex-factory boomer being responsible for #globalisation and #deregulation of markets. Those boomers responsible for the origins of the economic catastrophe we are living with had plenty of disposable income when the Chicago School of Economics produced their shit theories.
/end_of_rant

2025-02-16 02:08:38 GMT

It is worth noting that the #EuropeanUnion does have an EU Corps made up of troops from EU member countries currently active and growing in strength. It would be feasible to grow that Corps into a #EuropeanArmy which, over time, would make NATO a secondary security blanket and reduce US interference. (Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurocorps ). The #Guardian article fails to mention this - come on guys, do your homework.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/15/europe-will-not-take-part-in-us-russia-talks-ukraine-kellogg

2025-02-16 00:00:51 GMT

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@nprofile…60lz
It’s he end of something. Been feeling this coming in since before Covid epidemic hit us. Never been able to put my finger in it though. Is it an economic upheaval (death #capitalism), an global environmental catastrophe (#climate tipping point), WW3 (internal and external #conflicts by force of arms), a #technology revolution (The Spike), a new #globalorder, or a universal #spiritual (non religious) awakening? Or any combinations of the above.
Just please let it not be a #ZombieApocalypse i’m too old to wield a sword.

2025-02-08 09:08:23 GMT

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@nprofile…gtyw
A good recap… thanks for the link.

2025-01-10 03:01:51 GMT

I’ve made the decision to leave meta (facebook, messenge, etc) for good, deleting my accounts and information held by meta over this weekend. It’s called ‘letting go’ in the face of #enshitification Enough said.
#facebook #meta #Fediverse