We need to talk about ideas, good ones and bad ones.

We need to learn stuff about the world.

We need an honest, intelligent, thought provoking, and entertaining

review of what the hell happened on this planet in the last seven days.

We need to sit back and listen to the Iron Fist and the Velvet Glove.

Hello, dear listener.

Welcome back.

Iron Fist, Velvet Glove podcast.

After a two week break, we are back.

I'm Trevor, uh, AKA, the Iron Fist over there in regional Queensland.

Scott, the Velvet Glove.

How are you, Scott?

Great.

Thanks Trevor.

Good day, Joe.

Good day, Trevor.

Good day listeners.

I hope everyone's doing well

and we've got Joe, the tech guy back as usual.

Evening Al. Yes.

If you're in the chat room, say hello.

Nobody there yet.

But, um, what we're gonna talk about, got a few things to catch up on.

We'll do a bit of, um, Australian news, um, and uneasy, well, an

alliance between the Australian Christian lobby and the greens.

What

it's got obviously hasn't read the notes.

No, I haven't read the notes.

And, um, uh, a few local things.

Um, and then Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded, um, not to

Trump, but they managed to find somebody possibly even worse.

So we'll talk about that.

And, um, ah, a bunch of other topics.

Maybe a bit of, um, religion bashing in this episode more so

than some, uh, more recent ones.

Get back to our roots of good old religion bashing at some point.

Um, and of course, what's going on with Israel, his plans.

Um.

Sort of Gaza, Israel, Palestine related issues.

So yeah, that's the general one.

So, um, uh, I don't have actually any, um, sort of boomer stories of my encounters.

I haven't had anything of particularly topical at this point,

so you miss out on that this week.

But, uh, it's all we've good.

Unless you guys had a boomer encounter that you wanna relate or

No.

No.

No.

Okay.

Alright.

Um, let's see.

So Scott, I say that this is a sign, this is hope for you to mend.

Bridges with the greens because if the Australian, Christian,

Australian, Christian lobby can do it, then surely you can, Scott.

No, it's, it's a marriage of convenience over the, um, shutting down late

night pokies in New South Wales.

Yes, I can understand where they're coming from and that sort of stuff because I

would love to see the number of pokies in this country dramatically reduced.

Mm-hmm.

Because, you know, we've got less than, I forget what it is, I did

the numbers once, but we've got 10 times as many poker machines in this

country as they do even in Vegas.

Yep.

Is just ridiculous than the number of pokies that we've got.

So, you know, my hat's off to both of them, but

the NEM enemy is not necessarily my friend, you know?

Well,

yeah.

So the New South Wales Greens have announced a build a force,

the closure of all poker machine venues from 2:00 AM to 10:00 AM.

That seems a reasonable law, although some people would argue it's a bit of a

nanny state sort of thing to do, I guess.

Yeah.

Let the market decide.

Mm-hmm.

But you know, when you are pedaling a product that's got highly

addictive qualities to it and the consequences are horrendous for people

don't have, they don't highly addictive qualities, it's

designed to be highly addictive.

Yes, yes.

By the very nature and over time, you're guaranteed to lose.

Mm-hmm.

Like this.

So playing long enough and you'll lose, and you'll lose not only your money,

but your family's money and you'll cause enormous damage to yourself and

your wider family and the community that then has to support you and

your Oh, just it's horrendous stuff.

I find it quite depressing.

I've mentioned this a few times, but if you go into a club or

something like that and, um.

You wander through the pokey hall.

It, it is so depressing.

So.

Mm-hmm.

You see it all the time.

Like the pubs and everything that used to have live music, they

don't have live music anymore.

They've got poker machines because they make more money out of it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So the, uh, the ACL wrote to the greens with congratulations and an offer to

support the bill however it could.

So, um, so they said that, um, what did they say here?

The greens in the Australian Christian lobby don't often

see eye to eye on things.

In fact, until now, we've pretty much been polar opposites of any debate.

Um, but there you go.

In this polarized society, um, it's brought these people together

desperately worried that somebody might be having more fun than they're ah,

well, and they're joyless bastards.

Why are they against, why would the ACL be against gambling?

'cause gambling is a sin.

Right?

Okay.

They sound active on horse racing and sports betting and other things.

I,

I think they're maybe not active, but if somebody was to put up a bell banning it,

yeah.

They'd

probably be in for it.

Mm-hmm.

Is this a biblical thing where the sort of, I

don't know.

I think it's part of the, I think it's more of the, more of

the, um, product, Puritan artwork.

Mm-hmm.

The um, the Catholics and everything like that.

They never have an, have an issue with gambling, you know?

Right.

They often have, you know, they, they, you know, they, uh, when at

the school I was working at, they had all sorts of, you know, you buy a

ticket to support something or other, and it was just one of those things.

It's just, um, God knows.

But anyway,

even to raffle tickets in that sense.

Yeah.

But yeah.

But, um, um, yeah, it's sort of.

Okay.

Just one of those moral issues mm-hmm.

That, uh, conservative Christians have taken a stand on.

Mm-hmm.

John's in the chat room.

Uh, Andrew is as well, Andrew says, looks like you're going to clash with

me listening to Donald speaking in the Knesset and Trump's arrived in Israel

and talk to the Israeli parliament.

He's gotta go over there and make sure his weapons have arrived.

Mm, well, I think he's scoping out his hotels.

Um, yeah.

Reserving spots.

I would say

his, his primary real estate in Gaza Strip.

Mm. That's what I think he'd be up to.

So, um, so yeah.

Um, have you guys been listening to many podcasts at all?

I listen to shit loads of podcasts.

You ever listened to Bogan Intelligentsia Scott?

No,

that's not a bad one.

He's an Aussie guy who's interviewing people and, um, commend that one.

He listen to the, um, punters politics.

I've seen bits and pieces of his, so he is not bad as well.

It's not bad.

All right, I'll have a look for this one now.

Uh, friend of the show, Kim Lackey was on Bogan intelligentsia running through

the usual topics of Orcas and Australia's position in Asia and all the rest of it.

And just, uh, like we do so often bemoaning that we're not taking a

sensible approach to our relationships with, uh, the US and Asia.

And, um, and really, you know, both of them are sort of there going,

how and why is this the way it is?

Why, why is it that our leaders, um, think the way they do?

Like, and I think, um, if you look at somebody like Anthony Albanese, if he

was not Prime Minister of Australia and he was just Anthony Albanese

suburban dad working in accountants office, he'd be the type of guy.

Who would be at a Palestinian protest, I think like a pro-Palestinian protest.

And he'd be, be bemoaning what Israel is doing to the Flotilla.

And, and he'd be, he'd be against Orus and he'd be against, you know, his views

would be so much different, I reckon, based on the young Albanese than,

mm-hmm.

Than the Prime Minister Albanese.

Oh.

Compared to the young Al Albanese they're to and cheese.

Yeah.

You know, he's a very different man.

So it's really not a question of how do you convince these people

of what is the right approach?

'cause I'm sure guys like Paul Keating, Bob Carr, other people have been

in his ear saying, you're getting foreign policy completely wrong.

And I think something happens where the system grabs hold

of people and converts them.

Willingly or unwillingly,

he, he realizes where his next, um, uh, electoral campaign

is coming from, doesn't he?

Yeah.

It's, or more importantly, he realizes where the next anti him electoral campaign

might come from if he crosses the line.

Yes.

So it's the factions, it's the preselection deals and battles.

Mm-hmm.

It's the lobbyists who get their tentacles into them.

It's the NewsCorp sort of barrage of propaganda against him.

It's the kind of advisors end up in parliament.

And I reckon also just the lack of time that these guys

have to think about things.

They'd be so distracted with the bombarded by a myriad of topics every

day, just a time to sit and think.

And so I. The kind of explanation is the system of powerful interest

varied as they are, play on guys like Albanese and convert them.

So it's not so much the, the argument, I reckon it's just the system that

molds people into the way the system wants 'em to be behaving, I feel.

Yeah.

I mean, a lot of it would be helped by reducing the sway

that money has on politics.

Yes.

Yeah.

And, and the, the continual al you know, election cycle.

Mm-hmm.

It's just the other thing of it, like, you know, I've banged on about it before,

but you know, if you're really wanting to.

Run a country efficiently,

you'd want at least a five year

term, the Chinese Communist Party system.

It's a really good system for doing long-term planning on stuff.

Well, I've, I've said, you know, make me dictator for life.

I'll sort it out.

Yeah,

yeah.

It's one of those things, you've gotta be sure that you've got a benevolent

dictator before you can actually say that system's the best one.

Mm-hmm.

You know, I, I think that, um, we've gotta at least look at four year terms in this

country, or possibly even five year terms.

Like, I, I think there's a pretty good argument for us to actually say,

well, we're following the British government's, we're following the

British ar, the British Pol uh, political system, which is five year terms.

So we're gonna do that over here.

Yes.

It's one of those things.

I don't have a problem with a five year term.

And also there is also a, um, circuit breaker too that

should, um, anything go too far.

You've also got the Governor General that can go in and say, you've got

actually go face the people again.

You know, which is just one of those things.

If in

what?

Circum Circum.

It's dismissal.

The dismissal.

You know, it's just one of those things I think it should be used in more.

Hang on.

You are saying the Governor General

should be able to

Yeah, absolutely.

Should.

Yeah.

Or the president is, should be able to,

aren't we talking about it?

Only if suppliers,

yeah, that's, that's what it was used for.

But if you've got something that comes up to you, then you can always knock it back.

The legislation can be knocked back and then after that you've got a

bitch fight between the parliament and, and the, and the palace.

As to which, as to whether or not you want that as person, as Governor General.

Mm-hmm.

It's just one of those things.

I think that, um, once we become a republic, we should have a. An

elected president that could still have those powers because those

reserve powers are actually quite useful in an extreme circumstance.

How to do to, to, to unilaterally call an election or, or basically

just the formality of calling it when supply can't be.

I just think that saying

he, Scott, are you in favor of what, what Kerr did?

No, not not of those, not of those exact circumstances.

'cause I think Kerr was acting out of his, Kerr was acting on his own, uh,

ego, I think more than anything else.

But if you have a rogue government that is out there doing something that is

completely wrong, then I think the head of state should have the opportunity

to actually call the prime minister in, sit him down and say, you've

gotta actually back away from this.

Or, I'm gonna dissolve Parliament.

What,

what?

Gimme an example of a situation where this independent person.

She should be able to force the election.

Alright, we'll see you guys are, you guys are against my

position on, uh, I'm on, um,

what's the word I'm looking for?

Prescription.

If you had a government that came into office and one of thumping great

majority in one term and said, by the way, we're going introduce conscription

and everyone, every man and every man and woman aged 18 will have to

front up for it, then that would be something that would be so against

what the, um, public actually wants.

That you could actually see the numbers and everything turn rather

quickly against the government.

So the pri the president should then call the prime Minister in and say, I

think you should back away from this.

Otherwise, I'm gonna dissolve Parliament Scott.

No, but if, if I thought you were after a democracy, I believe it's a

democracy.

It's a democracy because you're, you're actually sending them back to the public.

Yeah.

If they win, then the, then the president backand and says, okay, fair enough.

I'll step away.

So that's only a democracy.

If, if it's a, a pre announced pol policy.

So a, a government is then restricted to pre announced policies?

No, just

anything that is particularly

unpopular.

Particularly unpopular then

as determined by opinion polls.

Yeah.

Wow.

No, I just think to way if you, if you look at the, if

you look at the opinion bowls,

which are never manipulated, people, you know, are getting a, a, a full

and frank account of what's going on and they couldn't possibly be

manipulated into thinking, okay, Trevor,

so you're saying that everyone is gonna be in line, people know better than the

people and therefore democracy is wrong.

So you're saying you're against

democracy?

Well, well, for example, I would hate the idea of pre conscription.

Yeah,

I know.

And, and if, for example, a, it was never on the cards in

any lead up to an election.

In either side, you know, the week after an election said, right.

Guess what?

Surprise, surprise, inscriptions gonna happen next week.

I'd be furious and relatable, but I would not want a governor

general or president to be going.

Well, that's not what you guys said.

And we're all gonna have an election again.

Like I would just have to suck it up for five years until the next election.

So I

didn't see it's that bad.

I mean, like, you know, okay.

You know, Whitlam and Kerr was a different thing.

Kerr was acting on his own ego more than, more than anything else.

Well,

so that was maybe he had the interest.

How do you know read his mind?

Well, because

you need, you didn't know his mind, but, um, I think that that whole position was

engineered by Fraser and everything else.

You know, they engine, they engineered the position they got them into,

they got them, they got them over a barrel, and so they were basically

gunning for the Governor General to exercise the reserve powers.

Mm-hmm.

Now, Whitlam lost that election.

Mm-hmm.

If Whitlam was as popular as Whitlam believes, Whitlam should have

won that election in a thumping majority, and he should have

booted out, uh, what's his name?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Well, hey, by the way, that's coming up as the 50th anniversary.

Yeah, I know.

Of the dismissal.

So there'll be all sorts of, um, reflections on that time.

The John UE blog is gonna do a series of articles and even

a little podcast reflecting.

Oh really?

Yes.

And John UE himself was a senior advisor for Goff Whitlam at the time.

So

yeah, I Now that chuckles is king, maybe we can have his input.

Yes.

So, um, well that's, I don't think you're gonna hear anything from Charles in Yeah,

that's an interesting, uh, I wouldn't have picked, I was thinking that Scott, or,

so it's just one of those things, you know, the only objection

that I had was that, um,

it seemed to be timed and everything else to benefit Fraser more than anyone else.

It just, it didn't actually.

Like you would want.

The way I would want it exercised is if someone exercises it, you

have a new election, both houses, bing, bang, bong, it's over.

I think it was deliberately done the way it was done to benefit

Fraser and the coalition more than it was to benefit the Labor Party.

And the Labor Party were dismissed and they lost the election.

Mm-hmm.

Um, it's just one of those things now, apparently, you know, if you look back

on it and all that sort of stuff, you know, everything I've sort of read on it

says that, um, Whitlam never got over it.

And he was a bitter old man Right.

Until he died.

And he said that, um, his election campaign was based on, you have

got to correct a gigantic wrong.

That was done, it was done to me.

Mm-hmm.

And Fraser came out with different ideas and that sort of stuff.

So Fraser looked like the intelligent bloke, whereas written them

looked like a ranting raving fool.

Mm.

Anyway.

Mm.

John in the chat room, uh, you're coming around to my way of thinking about polls.

Maybe I am John.

So, um, yeah.

Okay.

Alright.

Well, um, uh, yeah, anyway, Bogan, intelligentsia, check that one out.

Recent episode Cam Lackey.

But of course guys, um, you know, that's my theory on power

influencing people like Albanese.

I could be wrong, believe it or not.

I have been wrong on some topics.

No more.

So

you also accepted that before in the past, which is

no more so than when it comes to Korean soldiers in Ukraine.

Remember we were talking and we're thinking,

yeah, no, you

said it was bullshit Right.

From Word go.

Whereas I had an open mind, you know?

Yeah.

And, um, I remember thinking, how will we ever prove this?

Like, I thought it was gonna be one of these topics that

it was gonna be hard to prove.

But then basically Putin and, um, pong Gang, the North Korean leader or

whatever is Ill John, whatever it is.

Mm-hmm.

You know, came out in writing and said, you know, yep.

It was all done.

And just for the record, here's further proof.

This is, um, the dear leader, um, congratulating the

soldiers who did fight there.

Um, and they're basically in arms crying, uh, over the whole thing.

So just, just for a bit of fun, there's not much audio with this

all getting a medal

song, music

clutching.

So there we go.

Mm. If there was any doubt.

Doo what's his name?

A beer.

Yes, I do.

Yes, John.

He's in the chat.

So how, well there's worst things to be wrong about, I

guess, but, uh, it does happen.

North Korean soldiers.

Um.

Yeah.

But did they, did they have any casualties over there?

Did they lose a couple?

Yes.

Yeah.

How many did they lose?

Well, uh, they lost an awful lot because they were told not to surrender.

Right.

Okay.

So there were stories of them basically blowing themselves

up with hand grenades if they

see, I don't know if that part of the story is correct or not.

Well, I

mean, you usually, you count on sort of a one third of your casualties

are dead and the rest are injured.

And the fact that there were so few that were captured suggests that there was a

reason why they weren't captured well,

I think also, uh, they were in the Kirs region.

Yeah.

And is that the Russian region that Ukraine the Ukrainian into?

So, yeah.

Um, uh, so yeah, maybe that's.

One of the reasons.

But, um, anyway, enough about North Korean soldiers.

Uh, where were we?

Um, yeah,

we've been talking about some people who we no longer agree

with on issues and, uh mm-hmm.

And I find this in, with, with them and with other, uh, boomers I come

across and stuff is, well, I came across this quote that I reckon

says a lot, apparently by HL Kin.

You guys ever heard of him before?

Yes.

No.

Hmm.

I hadn't heard of him.

But this quote is, for every complex problem there is an answer

that is clear, simple, and wrong.

Mm-hmm.

And apparently that wasn't the quote, the actual quote was, explanations exist.

They have existed for all time.

There is always a well-known solution to every human problem.

Neat, plausible, and wrong.

So, um, I just find with the people that I disagree with.

But, um, it's really hard to talk about nuance, interplay of different

factors that weigh in on something.

These people want just neat, simple answers to things

and a lot of things aren't that simple, hence religion.

Yes.

It's a lot easier to accept that God did that mm-hmm.

Than it was a random event over which I can have absolutely no control.

Mm-hmm.

Whereas at least if there's a God I can pray to them and either

they're an asshole and ignore me.

Mm. Or they're a nice God.

Mm-hmm.

And, um, heed my prayers.

Mm-hmm.

So yes, John tr in the chat room did try to get that beer.

Sorry John, it was afterwards that I actually got to that.

So, um, yeah.

Look, I also think there's increasingly people on the spectrum and I think

I was reading where people who are on the spectrum are more inclined

to want definitive black and white answers to things and a binary

approach to some of these answers.

So, um.

A struggle with this is the problem with with scientists.

Mm.

Um, because scientists, if you ever listen to them, will go, oh,

that's outside my area of expertise.

I don't know.

Mm. Or the best evidence points to this.

Or we think it might be this, but we are really not sure.

We're still waiting on on more evidence.

Mm. Whereas the people who just ignore the science go, oh, we absolutely

know that vaccines cause autism.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

And they sound so sure and they're so positive about it.

Yes.

That people who don't understand just go, oh, well that person

knows and that person isn't sure

quite RF Gate Jr. He sounds like he knows what he's talking about, but he doesn't.

Yes.

It's just this desire for neat, plausible answers that are just wrong.

Mm-hmm.

He's simple and wrong.

So that was, um, Henry, uh, Louis Lincoln, um, 1880 to 1956.

20th century journalist, satirists, social critic, cynic, free thinker.

No one is the sage of Baltimore.

Um, one of the more influential American writers.

You'd heard of him before, Joe.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Quite a lot of his quotes I've seen circulating.

Mm. Here's one.

So there's a guy who died in 1956, and he wrote in his piece in Defense of Women,

this was 1918, he wrote This Civilization in fact rose more and more morland and

hysterical, especially under democracy.

It tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes.

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed and

hence glamorous, to be led to safety by menacing it with an endless series of

hob, goblins, most of them imaginary.

That's very prescient.

Mm-hmm.

Like a hundred years ago.

And, uh.

It could have been written today.

That one, except maybe we don't use the word hob gobles, but, um, brown people.

Um, yeah, yeah.

Insert there.

Um, here's another one.

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want

and deserve to get it good and hard.

Uh, the public demands certainties, but there are no certainties.

And, um, and this one, how does so much false news get into the American

newspapers, even the good ones?

Is it because journalists as a class are habitual liars?

Prefer what is not true to what is true?

I don't think it is.

Rather is because journalists are in the main, extremely stupid,

sentimental and incredulous fellows.

'cause nothing is easier than to fool them because the majority of them lack

the sharp intelligence that the proper discharge of their duties demands.

I give you as Exhibit A of that dear listener, the current A, b, C, like I just

find the caliber of journalists there, juvenile and pathetic, and just summoning

all the regular mainstream tropes out of

American Playbook.

Like, it just, it's a very shallow organization.

Even someone like everyone seems to have liked, um, who

was that political reporter?

Laura Tingle.

She, she didn't really get into stuff much.

She seemed an honest person, but not particularly incisive in No.

You've her thinking

you've no longer got Kerry O'Brien there.

Yes.

No, he was a bloody good.

Um.

Interviewer.

Yeah.

And he never gave anyone any quarter.

And I remember, and, you know, say what you like about John Howard, at least

he had the guts to front up and talk to Kerry O'Brien at least once a week.

Probably felt he had

to in those days.

Yeah.

Well he probably did feel he had to Yeah.

Because there was no Sky News or anything else.

Mm-hmm.

And, um, he actually had the guts to go and face him, although

Kerry O'Brien tore him a new one virtually every time they talked.

Mm-hmm.

It's just that he didn't, didn't stare away, didn't run away from it.

He actually faced him.

Mm-hmm.

And he, you know, held his own.

But, um, I, I think that O'Brien got the better of him a couple of times.

Mm-hmm.

And it's just one of those things we've no longer got.

I don't know whether they're all feeling nervous because the government

got involved and demanded that certain people get sacked and everything else.

I couldn't tell you.

It's just that, um.

We seem to have lost something from our national broadcaster.

Our national broadcaster used to be fearless.

Now it is fearful and I don't know how you're gonna fix that.

Mm-hmm.

Cab de Murdoch.

But yeah, Murdoch is gonna die before too long one would hope.

Um, yeah.

Unfortunately his son is just as big arick, if not worse.

Um, yes.

Lachlan, um,

yeah,

he's a real Nazi and apparently it's, he's, he won a court case

to get controlled, didn't he?

No, he lost that court case.

Uh, they've done a deal.

They've done a deal.

Bought out the other family members.

Yeah.

So, yes.

So done a deal.

I think they're getting billion was taking over basically.

Yes.

Yeah.

Yep.

Um, so we're gonna talk a little bit about, uh, the Nobel Peace Prize.

But, um, whenever I discussed the Nobel Peace Prize with people, which

I seem to do quite often, um, you guys familiar with how the Nobel Peace Prize?

Oh, absolutely.

He, varias

did a really good documentary about two weeks ago on him.

Who did?

Feras is a YouTube channel.

Okay.

Uh, Canadian, Australian science journalist.

Went to University of Sydney, did a physics degree.

You wanna tell a story, Jo?

The Nobel Peace Prize.

Nobel Prize.

Basically his dad.

So, Swedish.

Swedish.

Norwegian.

Norwegian.

Norwegian.

I think.

Um, his dad ran arms factories in Russia for the Czar and lost his money.

But basically, Alfred.

Studied, uh, and fix the problem of how do you get, um, nitroglycerin more stable.

Mm-hmm.

So invented dynamite.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, and then that still would sweat and explode and then

invented gelignite, I think.

Mm-hmm.

Which was a much more stable form.

Anyway, um, his aim was to, uh, assist in quarrying and lots of things

that were happening at the time, but eventually got into arms manufacturing.

Mm-hmm.

And I think when he was in his forties or fifties, somebody had screwed

up, his brother had died and the obituary came out and it was for him.

And it was basically the purveyor of death has died.

Yes.

And

went, oh shit.

This is a really bad legacy.

I'm leaving.

Mm.

And so bequeathed a larger grant for, uh, Nobel prizes.

Mm. Basically to.

Um, why was name raised his gu

Yes.

Read his own obituary and thought, uh, that wasn't very good.

Mm-hmm.

And, um, being called the merchant of death, um, for his invention of dynamite.

And, um, and in it, it had said he had found ways to kill more

people faster than ever before.

So, um, but, but he'd

also saved so many lives in mining and quarrying.

There you go.

Hmm.

So in his final will, he dedicated most of his fortune to creating the Nobel Prizes.

So that's how they came about.

Hmm.

So odds we know, uh, Donald Trump was very, very keen on

winning a Nobel Peace Prize.

Um, he didn't get it this year, so he was awarded to Venezuela's opposition leader.

Mm-hmm.

Maria Corina.

Machado, an obscure person you may think, but one who has

been discussed on this podcast.

Several occasions.

Those listeners who are, um, avid listeners, I have a little bit of pride in

that, that we, we've got such an obscure person as being discussed a few times.

So she was chosen from a secret list of 338 candidates and, um, and

they quoted, uh, the Nobel Priest Prize for 2025 goes to a brave and

committed champion of peace to a woman who keeps the flame of democracy

earning amidst a growing darkness.

She's receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work, promoting

democratic rights for the people of Venezuela, and for a struggle to

achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.

Here's my first issue with this.

Even if all that was true, that, you know, she's a tireless

worker promoting democracy, isn't that different to peace like.

Yes.

Should a peace prize be for promoting peace, not necessarily democracy?

Oh, maybe their argument is that democracies are more naturally peaceful.

Yes, but surely you could find something more directly related to

fostering peace than somebody, even if all that was true, which it's not.

Um, uh, it's just a very tenuous connection to, to peace, because

there's plenty of, there's plenty of democracies around the world that

are not particularly peaceful Exhibit A, the United States of America.

Uh, what have people said?

Well, Barack Obama says, congratulations to the new Nobel Peace

Prize Laureate, blah, blah, blah.

For her courageous struggle to bring democracy to Venezuela should

inspire, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Um, she of course dedicated her Nobel Prize to Donald Trump.

Mm-hmm.

That tells you something.

Her nomination was openly supported by Marco Rubio and some of the

most hawkish Republican senators.

Um, probably a sign that you're not dealing with a genuine peace lover.

Um, now back from episode 440 dealing with, um, Venezuela, there was a

leaked, um, recording in which, uh, the Venezuelan coup plotter Maria

Carina Machado basically admits, um, that the US government told her

it wants her, uh, to collaborate to overthrow, uh, president Maduro.

And she, uh, was calling for sanctions on her own country.

She was calling on Argentina and Israel to work, uh, in the United Nations to

intervene to get, um, sort of action taken against Venezuela, but this woman

actively calling for sanctions on her own country and um, uh, and, and actively

working towards, uh, regime change.

So, um, hardly what you'd call a peace maker.

So, um, anyway, uh, that was her, that was, uh, another example of a

failure of an institution, by the way.

There was a betting scandal, so, um, apparently the odds on her.

Um, changed dramatically, and some people won a lot of money betting

on her as winning the Nobel Prize.

So bit of a scam there for, um, the Nobel Prize Committee.

So anyway, Machado wins the Nobel Peace Prize, even if in the best possible light,

hardly a good candidate, and in probably the accurate light, a terrible candidate.

So, in my humble opinion, but I've been wrong before, uh, I referenced the North

Korean soldiers, uh, for a bit of fun.

Um, did I put this one in, um, about Trump?

He's been negotiating to bring down drug prices.

I hope this is in the list here.

Let me just see if it's there.

Yes, it is.

Yeah, he's

been killing them.

Wow.

Wow.

You know, if a, if a drug, a medicine, let's say it cost $50, Scott.

And you

reduced its price by a hundred percent.

What would it cost?

It was $0.

What if you reduced its price by 200% or 300%?

Well, then they'd have to pay you for taking the drug.

Apparently he's done this.

Here's, uh, here's his spokesman talking about it.

President is definitely committed to fixing and

improving our healthcare system.

You saw it again last week when he had one of the largest pharmaceutical companies

in the world coming into the Oval Office and promising to lower drug prices by

200, 300, 100% in many cases for various types of drugs for American patients.

That is a huge fix to a broken system that has been ripping

off the American people for far.

Yeah.

Have you heard, um, how he's fixing the drug prices?

He's gonna charge the rest of the world twice as much as

they're currently being charged.

Well, I'm, I'm just sort of lost at the 300% reduction and, and, and how it went.

300, 200, 100 or 200?

300. 100. Yeah.

200, 300. It went in an odd direction.

And some poor reporters had she, she wasn't employed clear

thinking.

She was clear.

She was clearly employed because she's a blonde woman.

You

know, she wants, you know, Donald Trump wants her to be the face

of the, um, ad administration.

Mm-hmm.

So he wanted to have a young blonde woman up there.

And that's just one of those things.

I just think that it's a disgusting thing that he's done.

'cause he is got someone who's clearly out of her depth in

a job that she can't do well

if her job is just to, to talk repeat bullshit.

To save him having to do it.

Mm-hmm.

And just to repeat the same bullshit he would say if he was there.

You would have to argue that she's doing an excellent job.

Well, I suppose so.

If you, if you actually, if that's what she was employed to do,

I would imagine that he's enormously happy with her performance.

He'd be absolutely, he would be absolutely ecstatic with her performance.

There we go.

Job done.

So

yeah,

before we get to the next topic, just in the chat room, Andrew says,

uh, back to the North Korean troops, there were also the stories of how

the, um, troops fighting ability, ability was apparently compromised by

them being introduced to unrestricted internet and hardcore adult content.

Or

maybe just Trump's press secretary.

Yes.

Maybe that too.

Okay.

That was Caroline Levitt.

Um, prayers in Parliament in Texas.

I mean, we've spoken about prayers in parliament here in Australia

trying to, trying to stop, um.

Them actually happening, you know, maybe having a moment

silence or something like that.

But, um, no,

no, no, no.

Anything less than a Christian prayer in Parliament is bigotry against Christians.

Indeed.

It's discrimination.

'cause this is the Judeo-Christian nation apparently.

Yes, exactly.

Yes.

Do we really need anything?

No.

No.

I don't think we need anything at all.

We, we, we, you know, we don't even need a moment silent to contemplate

what we're gonna be doing.

That's

right.

Just get on with business,

everyone here.

Exactly.

Good.

Let's get started.

Item one.

So,

so, um, we've all worked in business.

Hmm.

How many business meetings have you had where we've had to start with a

prayer, with a moment, silence or prayer?

Well, if you're in government, there would be a, a quick, um, welcome to Country.

Welcome to country.

Uh, or, you know, a acknowledgement of, uh, uh, of the traditional owners mm-hmm.

Performing a similar function.

Hmm.

Anyway, in Texas, um, they were saying the prayer and people in the

gallery, some of them didn't stand up.

And so the Texas, uh, governor basically said, if people don't stand for the

prayer, they'll be kicked out next time.

That's where they're heading.

It's part of the Christian fascist journey.

How long before you think it's gonna become the Republic of Gilead?

It's there already.

People just don't realize it.

It's, it's there already.

It's, it's a bit like, um, we'll talk about it later, but, uh.

You know, I've been talking about the Second American civil war.

Yeah.

And this whole, well, it started like historians.

Mm-hmm.

When they look back and say, well, when could we say it started?

And they'll go, uh, when the Trump started getting, um, national Guard

from Texas and sending them to Illinois against the wishes of the, uh, governor

that's there, there's an interesting hypothesis about this.

He's doing this deliberately.

He could, he keeps talking about the insurrection act.

Mm-hmm.

He's sending the troops in because he hopes that they will be attacked.

Mm-hmm.

Because then he can declare insurrection.

Mm.

And then he cracked down.

You see, he doesn't understand how to run a proper color revolution.

'cause you've gotta pay some other people to do that as well.

So you've got paid people on both sides.

Uhhuh.

Uh, so yeah, you bring in the troops, um.

You've paid them, you bring

in, well, that's what happened on January the sixth, you know?

Yes, yes.

You bring in other people to fight against them boys,

peaceful people who wanted to tour through the set the, um, Congress.

Yes.

And there were FBI informants amongst them that started all the violence.

Yes.

Yeah.

So this is how you do a color revolution.

He just, he's, he just hasn't read that part of it yet, but he'll get there.

But, you know, when they talk about it, when did it start?

Uh, I reckon they'll say.

Okay.

Have you seen the protesters in Portland?

Yes.

Um, lying down?

Um, some in the nude and some in costumes and other things.

Oh, the ones

in costumes.

Because basically they said it is.

So blurred that the ice are deliberately pushing it.

Yes.

And saying, oh, no, no, we were attacked.

So they've taken to dressing up in ridiculous costumes.

Yes.

So it's obvious that they're just taking the piss and they

are not in any way violent

plus Scott, plus Joe if you happen to be Latino or look Latino.

Well, that's true.

That is not if, if, if you

are wearing a costume, a frog costume.

Yes, that's right.

They really have a hard time going, oh, brown person.

Likely, um, likely illegal immigrant will just round 'em up.

So, um, yeah, if you're wearing a, that sort of costume

helps you, uh, stay away from the attention of the ice agents as well.

So, Hmm.

Um, yes, but we've digressed, uh, rare earths China and rare Earths,

so Donald Trump went out a truth.

Which I get to see 'cause I follow the, uh, a Twitter feed

that just reproduces his truths.

Oh, good God.

And he says, it has just been learned that China has taken an extraordinarily

aggressive position on trade in sending an extremely hostile letter, letter

to the world stating that they were going to effective first November,

2025, imposed large scale export controls on virtually every product they

make and some not even made by them.

This affects all countries without exception and was obviously a

plan devised by them years ago.

It is absolutely unheard of in international trade and a moral

disgrace in dealing with other nations.

That's paragraph one.

So.

You know, to suddenly change your trade deals.

That's not him.

What's far

too coherent to be Donald Trump?

Yeah, true.

Um, yep.

So he says, based on the fact that China has taken this unprecedented position and

speaking only for the USA and not other nations and was similarly threatened

starting 1st of November, 2025 or sooner, depending on any further actions

or changes taken by China, the United States of America will impose tariffs

of 100% on China over and above any tariff that they are currently paying.

Also, on November 1st, we will impose export controls on any

and all critical software.

You might remember this happened a few months ago and like there

was a tit for tat, um, exchange, uh, well sort of a tariff.

The US put it up 50.

So the Chinese matched and the US put up another 25, and the Chinese matched, and,

and the Chinese said, once this gets to a hundred, we're not going any further.

Mm-hmm.

Because at that point, nobody's gonna be buying anything, and it's just a

waste of our time responding to this.

Mm-hmm.

So once we get to a hundred percent, um, you won't be hearing from us.

Not because we want, we've given in, it's because we can't be bothered, which

was a, a great response by the Chinese.

So, um, Trump finishes off, it's impossible to believe that China

would've taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is history.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

So, um, so that's in recent times.

I mean, just the, you know, this is so typical, isn't it, of the, um, the failure

to recognize, you know, the hypocrisy of it, the shame, the shameless hypocrisy.

Complaining about sudden changes to trade deals when it's obviously done in

retaliation to the shit you've been doing.

Yeah.

And um, anyway, so there's a guy called, uh, nor Bertran on Twitter.

He's very, very good.

Seems a French guy living in China.

And, um, he says, um, here's a question I know many are wondering about.

Why did China wait until now to use rare Earths as leverage against the us?

And he says, a big part is helium.

So until 2022, China imported 95% of its helium.

And most of that was controlled by the us.

So the us um, of the world's 10 largest helium producers,

four were American companies.

And the remaining six all used American technology and helium isn't just for

party balloon gas, it's got plenty of industrial applications for things such

as quantum computing, rocket technology, MRI machines and as a coolant for

chip lithography equipment, et cetera.

So with Helium, the US had a strong card to play if China ever

played the rare Earth's card.

That was in 2022.

So over the past few years, there were gigantic efforts in China

to break the helium shackles with seven helium extraction

facilities going into production.

And, uh, China switching imports from the US to friendly countries

like Russia and their research system went into overdrive to find solution

for the helium dependency issues.

They awarded a prize to somebody in 2024.

For outstanding sites and technology achievement enterprise, it was a new

helium extraction technology project.

Anyway, all of these efforts,

so, uh, back in 20 22, 90 5% China imported helium.

Two years later, um, China had cut its helium dependency

on the US to less than 5%.

Hmm.

Wow.

So,

um, helium shackles broken and um, and that's just an example of how other

countries almost never retaliate against the US because they're stuck in some way.

They've got a soft spot where the US can really screw 'em, but the Chinese just

work hard at overcoming any vulnerability that they have to these things.

And, um.

Gotta tip your hat to them like well done for organizing their society to do that.

And then they can just say to the us, okay, now we're gonna

screw you on rare earth 'cause we're no longer dependent on you.

Mm-hmm.

Very interesting.

Well,

I mean, maybe if we wet ourselves from our addiction to oil, we wouldn't

have to put up with, um, the Gulf States being quite as arrogant.

Yes.

Maybe.

Maybe.

So.

Um, now if you thought that was interesting, um, I, the other

topic is China and Iron ore.

So there's a battle between Australia's mining giants and

China over the pricing of Iron ore.

And just a week ago, China banned dollar denominated trade of Iron ore

from Australia's mining giants, BHP.

Have you guys heard that?

I did hear that, that they had banned the trade of it and all that sort of stuff.

I gathered that it, um, I didn't know that they had done it only in

US dollars or anything like that.

Yes.

It says that you can still re B trade is still allowed.

Yes.

So I think that means that you've got, actually set your price in re B.

Yep.

And then you'd be able to export it to the United States, to the prc.

Yes.

As we don't understand why you can't actually say, okay,

that's no worries at all.

We'll export in Australian dollars.

Well, they'd probably be up for that.

It's just they don't want us dollar, I don't,

I don't blame them.

You know, it's one of those things, if they can, if they, you know, it's,

as much as it pains me to say it, I think the United States has

overplayed their hand for too long.

So now it's time for the rest of the world to turn around and

raise the middle finger to them.

Mm. So anyway, um.

Uh, 5% of Australia's GDP depends on Iron ore exports to China.

Mm-hmm.

We export 85% of all of our Iron to China.

Um,

yeah.

But you see, moaning is important.

We can't possibly do anything else other than nick shit out

of the ground and sell it.

Yeah.

Cheap to other countries.

So the story that I just told with Helium, the same thing is happening with Iron

Ora in the sense that China looks at that and goes, Hmm, not happy with this.

We're getting totally screwed by these Australian companies.

We're paying way too much for this.

Hang on.

BHP isn't an Australian company.

Yes it is.

That isn't Oh, what, who?

Well, it's traded in

London.

Uh, yeah, but it's also

traded in Australia too.

It's, it's like domiciled in Australia though.

Is it?

I thought it a, it is domiciled in Melbourne.

Yeah, they tried to shift it.

Okay.

But, um, uh, they haven't been able to, so, uh, as far as I'm

aware, that's why they pay so much tax 'cause they can't right.

Gift it.

So, um, um, yeah, so, so China's complaining that despite being

such a big buyer, they've been getting screwed over on the pricing.

So apparently in 2024 to extract a ton of Iron ore costs $10,

yet it was selling for 130.

So, um, obscene profits for BHP that the Chinese were aware of and didn't like it,

so they're doing three things about it.

Um, they've established a, it used to be all these different entities would

be negotiating with the BHP separately.

Now they've got the China Minerals Resources group, a state entity,

which is negotiating the Iron ore prices with the mining giants.

So all with one voice.

Mm. And, uh, developing the world's largest mining project

called Dale in Guinea to provide an alternative to Iron ore.

And again, we've said banning dollar, denominated Iron ore.

So they're working on, um, large Iron ore mine somewhere else to break their

dependency on Australia in the same way that they did Helium West Africa.

Yeah.

There we go.

So, so there we go.

Watch out Australia as China.

China sees things like over dependency in a particular area and

works really, really hard to make sure they're not vulnerable smart.

Um, meanwhile, um, the Dutch government has stolen a Chinese company.

So a leading Chinese semiconductor company, Nexia, um, the Dutch obviously

acting in coordination with Washington.

So, um, yeah, semiconductor company, they've suspended the Chinese CEO

From his position, they've appointed a non-Chinese director of the board on

the board with decisive voting rights, andd the company shares by placing

them under management by a third party trustee, all under the goods availability

act in, um, Netherlands, which is a emergency wartime legislation designed

for things like the requisition of bread or fuel during a foreign invasion.

So, um, so yeah, the Dutch simply acquired a Chinese company

and said, thank you very much.

Have all that.

Do you guys hear any of that in the news?

No, I haven't heard that before.

Mm. Uh, what else have I got here?

Um,

um,

scroll past that one.

Are we ready to talk about Israel?

Uh, did you guys look at the 20 point plan at all?

No, I,

I switched off, but, um, apparently the last of the Israeli

hostages have just been released.

Mm-hmm.

Um, I imagine Netanyahu will be ping them before the camera saying, look at them.

They're, they're half starved and everything else.

Um,

well, I did see, um, Berger.

Was in trouble for posting photos of starving Palestinians that

turned out to be a hostage.

Mm-hmm.

Oh really?

Yeah.

Okay.

Because Sky News were making hay about it.

Mm-hmm.

It's her and the other Flotilla, um, sort of people.

Mm-hmm.

Got some pretty harsh treatment in the hands of the Israelis.

Um, yeah.

They alleged that the Israelis beat them up, didn't they?

Yes.

And, uh, dragged 'em by the hair across cells and didn't give them food or

water and, um, normal sorts of things that, uh, done in civilized, um,

prisons and, um, you know, if somebody was a diabetic, you know, didn't

provide insulin and stuff like that.

So, um, they had an uncomfortable week after the flotilla was, um,

intercepted, rounded up, intercepted.

Illegally in international auditors, but um, and she got some

pretty harsh treatment as well.

So that was, uh, Paul Greta Thunberg.

Um, uh, actually just on Greta Thunberg, do you guys ever listen to the podcast?

Sizzle Town?

No.

Uh, it's Tony Martin.

Uh, it was from Martin Malloy.

Um, funny comedian type guy.

Uh, it's a bit of an acquired taste podcast, but, uh, sizzle Town and

it's, it's, um, a podcast, but supposed to be like a late night call

in talk back show where he's the host and these people, fake people call

in, talk about all sorts of topics.

And one of the regular calls, which is obviously fake 'cause he does all

the voices as well, is, uh, there's an old guy who's got a solution for, um,

for the for, for generating energy.

Which is to harness the power of ranting old men.

And, um, and, uh, he, he, you know, this joke that he sort of connected his wires

to his brain from his brain to his kettle.

And if, if, um, if, um, Tony Martin just says the appropriate words, he

will, um, he'll generate enough rage within him so that he'll be able

to boil the water in his kettle.

It's a stupid concept.

I know.

It was funny.

Anyway, you know, he's saying things like, uh, renewables mm-hmm.

Solar farms, uh, wind turbines.

And, uh, and this guy's going, oh, yes.

Like, I'm getting angry now.

And, and, and then, and I, he's nearly there.

I, I've nearly got the water boiling.

And then as the last one, uh, Tony Martin says, Greta Thunberg.

And he goes, oh.

And it's enough to achieve the energy buildup of an angry, an angry

old man and, and boil a kettle.

I found news watcher.

What's that?

Your average Sky News watcher?

Yeah.

Yeah,

that was it.

So it was, it was good fun.

I liked it.

I've digressed.

Um, yeah, she got special, uh, attention there.

You know, the 20 point peace plan

look, number one, Israel just has a habit of just, um, breaking deals.

Breaking rules, yeah.

Anyway, so they'll get what they want and then they'll, they'll break the deal

because they'll say, oh, the Palestinians have done abided by the peace plan.

Um, there was some people with guns shooting at our people, so all bets are

off and we're back to shooting each other.

Like it just something like that'll happen.

So, but item nine of the Peace Plan Gaza will be governed under the

temporary transitional governance.

Of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee responsible for delivering the

day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people of Gaza.

This committee will be made up of qualified Palestinians and international

experts with oversight and supervision by a new international transition body,

the quote, board of Peace, which will be headed and shared by President Donald J.

Trump with other members and heads of states to be announced, including

former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

This body will set the framework and handle the funding for

the redevelopment of Gaza.

Until such times the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform

program as outlined in various proposals, including President Trump's

peace plan in 2020 and the Saudi French proposal, and can securely and

effectively take back control of Gaza.

This body will call on best international standards to create modern and efficient

governance that serves the people of Gaza and is conducive to attracting investment.

So essentially a colonial power will be in charge of Palestine and And that's,

we'll be in charge of the Garza Strip.

Yes.

And of all people, Tony Blair.

Mm. What a great track record he's got in the Middle East.

I know he fucked up Iraq.

So how, how is it the people who fuck up all the time get these gigs?

God knows.

' cause he is got friends in

high

places.

He's a Catholic.

These people don't pay for the price of Of

fucking up.

Yeah.

Yes.

Some of the comments on Twitter.

If you had to pick one man in the world who does not have a great reputation

for bringing peace in the Middle East, it would have to be Tony Blair.

Mm-hmm.

Why is the former Labor PM part of Trump's Palestinian peace deal?

My, uh, hero Gianni Rafkas war criminals are proposing a

war criminal as head of Gaza.

It would be precious comedy if it were not so tragic.

Um,

do you know that Anthony Albanese supports Tony Blair in this position?

That doesn't surprise me.

Isn't he also a papist?

Yeah, but I don't think you can actually say it's entirely the

fact that they're both Catholics.

It's just one of those things I think, well, it's, I think that our Anthony

Albanese is turned on by the fact that he's a former labor Prime minister.

I was gonna say

Catholic Labor Old Boys Club, isn't it?

Well, I think Tony Blair's looking so bloody old.

It's about time he steps down there to everything, isn't it?

This is a, this is a quote of uh, Anthony Albanese.

Tony Blair is someone who's always played a constructive role.

He's someone who does look for solutions.

Albanese told reporters, he's someone who has been involved in the Middle

East issues for some period of time, and I'm sure that he will always

play a constructive role because that's the nature of Tony Blair.

Honestly, what,

honestly,

what sort of dystopian world do we fall into?

I go back to my earlier comment, like an albanese, if he was not Prime Minister,

would not be thinking or saying that.

No, surely the system gets to these people and turns them into this.

Honestly, for goodness sake words fail me on that one.

Um, yeah,

so just a colonial, uh, enterprise.

It's what's gonna go on there.

That was just one of the items in the peace plan.

Um, um, Israel will get what they want and then they'll

just renege on the plan anyway.

Um, we on this podcast over the last almost 10 years, have

often referred to Chris Hedges.

American, um, reporter was with, um, New York Times.

New York Times was foreign con, foreign correspondence for a number of.

Us, um, papers spent enormous amount of time in the Middle East.

Um, he's a Christian, but he's one of the one of the few Christians

you'd ever want to spend time with.

In that sense, a decent man in the sort of Jimmy Carter style of

decent man despite being Christian.

Anyway, um, he was going to be giving an address at the

National Press Club of Australia.

Did you hear about this?

No.

And, um, they canceled him and it was all set, and they just said, sorry,

we've decided to change our mind.

Like, um, he was at the press club and was gonna talk about, um,

you know, the, the murder of, of the press in the Gaza conflict.

Like what could be more, uh, important, topical, relevant.

To address to the National Press Club than that from a very, very distinguished

journalist who spent a lot of time in that area and they canceled him.

And um, and they put out some merely, uh, words about, you know, oh, we,

we withdrew our tentative application to him, or something like that.

But, um, people were wondering, um, why did this happen?

And one answer might be that the Press Club has sponsors, and those sponsors

are people like Raytheon fails, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, like

our National Press Club is sponsored by, um, these War Well, this military

industrial complex companies, and.

It's a fair bet that they put pressure on him and said, um,

don't want him, and they've caved.

There we go.

Yeah.

What are we up to?

8 35. We've done an hour.

It's a depressing note to finish on our national place Club

with the most relevant speaker.

Highly qualified, canceled, and um, probably because of muddied interests.

Ah,

never

happened.

Yeah.

Well, gentlemen, are you around next week?

Yeah, I'm around next week.

Yeah, I think so.

Very good.

I reckon we'll be back next week, dear listener.

I don't think it'll be two weeks.

I reckon it'll be a week.

So we'll see.

We'll see.

Stay tuned.

Talk to you then.

Bye for now.

And

it's a good night from me, and it's a good night from him.

Good night.