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We need to talk about ideas, good ones and bad ones.
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We need to learn stuff about the world. We need an honest,
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intelligent, thought provoking and entertaining review of what
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the hell happened on this planet in the last seven days. We need
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to sit back and listen to the Iron Fist and the velvet glove.
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Welcome back to this episode
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454 Iron Fist, Velvet Glove Podcast. And I'm looking at the
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screen and I'm saying, Scott is back. Scott, welcome back. How
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are you? Not too bad things, Trevor Yourself. How good. A
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little bit frustrated with MailChimp, but we'll get into
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that in a moment. And Joe Jo online, ask how you are. Good to
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see you, Joe. Dave. Neil. Yes. So. So, yes, the listener on the
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agenda, we're going to talk about how MailChimp just banned
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me from using their service,
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simple email service that they provide. And then yeah,
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mandatory life detention for kids in Queensland and stuff
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going on around the world. Further questioning of democracy.
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A little joking piece about
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why you guys are so anti dictators and whatever people
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want to talk about. Scott Whatever you want to talk about,
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we could talk about that.
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First thing I'll just get off my chest because it's
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the headline item is Dear Listener. I've invited people
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over time because the show notes have it to join an email list
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and basically 40 people took up that offer. And the idea of the
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email list was that three times a week anyone who signed up
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would get an email automatically generated through this program
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that I use the listener every morning and I'm reading news
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articles in my RSS feed reader. If I see an article that's going
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to be interesting and I think maybe I could use it in a
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podcast, not necessarily because I agree with it, maybe I'd
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disagree with it. Like it just just because it's of interest.
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I'll put a little star on it in the RSS feed reader and three
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times a week via a program, email gets sent out to people
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saying, Here's the articles that Trevor has starred in the last
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few days. Here's the links. You know, have a look at them if
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you're interested. So there's no commentary by me. It's just
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purely passing on the links. And and yeah, two days ago on
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Saturday, I got an email from MailChimp, which is the service
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I was using because it's free
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saying that I had an automatic abuse prevention system.
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Omnivore That's omnivore. Omnivore is something that eats
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meat and it's base meat. Meat and vegetables. Yes. Yeah.
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Reviewed your account with the username of his Velvet Glove
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podcast. He detected content or actions which conflict with
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section 18 of our standard terms of service and our acceptable
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use policy. And I was looking through the content that I had
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sent, and everything was very innocuous, like housing policy,
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Reserve Bank inflation, blah, blah, blah. But there was one
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article which was begging Israel and basically tearing into
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Israel. This was an article from the John Menadue blog, and I
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think that was the article that ran afoul of the of the rules
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that they have. And I looked at section 18 of the policy and it
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said hateful content. This means any statement, image, photograph,
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advertisement or other content that in our sole judgment could
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be reasonably perceived to harm or threaten, promote the
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harassment of, promote the intimidation of promote the
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abuse of or promote discrimination against others by
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saying solely on race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual
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orientation, gender, gender identity. So, um, you know, even
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anti-Semitic. Again, I don't know if you provide material
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that is critical of a nation, Israel
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arguably, um,
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it could be perceived to threaten, um,
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based on that or promote the intimidation of, promote the
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abuse of, promote the discrimination against others
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based solely on that. Um, harm, threaten, promote, I don't know,
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but it's very frustrating. There have been allegations of some
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people harassed in the street, some Jewish. Yeah. That's true.
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I don't know. Yeah. But providing a John Menadue blog
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article. Mhm. By Guy where he rightfully outlines some of the
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atrocious behaviour of the state of Israel against Palestinians.
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And boom, it kicked off MailChimp. course I appealed and
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said, Well, what's wrong? Tell me. No response. So, um. So yeah,
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if you're on the email list, stand by as I try and figure out
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some other system to let. Those news articles are mostly getting
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archived onto the Discord server. Yes, except for at the end of
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the month when I run out of tokens. Wrong post. Too many
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links. And what happens? Enjoy. It just stops working till a new
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month ticks over and suddenly it has enough tokens. Right. So. So
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I think we do lose a number of articles at the end of each
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month. Okay. The people who are currently on the list expect an
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email from me inviting you to a different service. But, um, and
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anybody else who wants to be on the list will have to email me,
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direct, get to this one. It doesn't have an easy signup
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anyway. I thought that was interesting that you just can't
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provide content now that's critical of Israel. It's
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annoying. Yes. I'm assuming it's a bit like when we got warned by
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either Facebook or YouTube because of that land and hard
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bottom skit. Yeah, we're going to strike because of a comedy
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piece by Lane and Hard Bottom where he was in a joking sense
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suggesting that Jewish space lasers would be living on on
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Shai for fun for some reason, which I like, which I forget.
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And I know he had threatened to he had threatened to put her a
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suspender above the shark tank, didn't he? That. Yes. And but it
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used the word Jewish space lasers, which if you're
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listening, dear YouTube Santa was all in jest, nothing serious.
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It was all to do with sort of a James Bond spoof type stuff. It
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was a. Yes. It has no intelligence. It doesn't
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understand sarcasm or humor is in. But when you appeal these
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things, I don't think anybody listens. No, I just it just goes
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to the bot again. So and so. Yeah. Alright. That was the
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story then. So maybe at the end of the podcast or the audio
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podcast, I think I'll read out what the article was saying.
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It's a lengthy, a little slightly lengthy one, but it
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ties into Israel for all its atrocious behaviour. So I'll
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distribute it that way.
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Scott, sorry to interrupt you. You were wanting
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to talk about and I was just doing a little bit of a rant
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about Biden, that's all, because he certainly made a song and
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dance about he wasn't going to
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pardon. Is it Hunter Biden or is it? Yes. Yeah. Hunter Biden. He
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said that they weren't going to that he wasn't going to pardon
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Hunter, but he made that big song and dance about it during
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the election and that type of thing. Although he wasn't
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running, he has done exactly what Trump said he would do. You
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know, what did he do? Well, he actually pardoned he actually
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pardoned Hunter Biden for his tax and firearms felonies, I
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believe. Yes, it did. This happened. Did I Did it. Yeah.
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Yeah, right. A politician lied to China. Okay. Yeah. Very
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flagrantly abused the system for the benefit of his family. Now,
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Trump has set a precedent, but even so. Yes. Yes. Well, he'd be
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better than that. Yes, that is what the Biden would be. Yes,
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Right. Well, I actually thought he was.
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Doesn't surprise me in the least. It's one of those things, I
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think to myself that now the Israelis, he's got nothing to
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lose or anything else. Like, you know, he's a lame duck. Yeah. He
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might as well go on and do it. I would have thought that is just
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dumb and disappointing and you know what? He's going to rock up
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to the inauguration and other ceremonies over the next few
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years while he's still capable of it all. And nobody's going to
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give him a hard time over it. None. So why not? He'll do
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interviews and things. Nobody will say, You totally breached
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your moral code. They might just get away with it anyway. So it's
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exactly that he will do interviews. Well, I don't think
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he will either. But even if he did, it's not going to you know,
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he wouldn't be challenged. No, it's one of those things. I just
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don't think that.
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Anyway. I just think it's wrong. Actually, more than anything, we
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used to have negotiations resigning over a bottle of wine.
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Yeah. Over a teddy bear. Hmm. And a TV listener. Back in the
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1780s, something when there was different sort of customs duties
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payable on bringing stuff into the country. We had a minister
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who failed to declare his Paddington Bear in his luggage.
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Then he brought into Australia, which was dutiable, and he
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resigned. And we had another minister who failed to declare
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he declared a television, but he didn't declare that it was a TV.
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And that was under, I think maybe Blackmore it was exempt or
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the cover up was a higher right. And so there was a big I think
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he resigned as well. So we had people resigning as ministers
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because of maintaining a standard in appearance and being
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beyond reproach. I think it was either it was either Hawke or
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Fraser's government that that happened. And so I think it was
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Hawke's game with the Paddington Bear with that Labor secretary
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going Mitch something. Anyway, yeah, it was a long time ago. No,
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no, it was very long because it was a different world, wasn't it.
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It was 40 odd years ago, you know that Hawke was elected in
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83 wasn't it. It was 41 years ago that he was elected.
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Something like that. We're getting old. Well, I'm certainly
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getting very old. Yeah. Mm
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hmm. Um, one thing I came across well, actually, I
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came across this via a barber. I needed a haircut down here on
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the Gold Coast and walked into a classic old school barber shop,
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sporting, sporting memorabilia on the wall for you and I think
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for the weekend. For the weekend. You're not aware of that? No. In
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the olden days, it was one of the few places you could buy
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condoms was at the barber shop. And they'd say something for the
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weekend, sir, and offer you a packet of condoms. Is that right?
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Yeah. I didn't know that. No, he didn't. He did not offer me that.
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But anyway, you know, beyond it, $19 gentleman's haircut was and
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anyway, the guy before me was an old codger. Not like myself. And
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I were ranting about the world and the price of Islam, whatnot.
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I was thinking, Man, I could never be a barber because you
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would just be inundated with boomers complaining about the
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world.
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This guy had a good manner about him, but he didn't mention
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about these days.
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Well, juvenile crime, huh? Yeah. But he did say, you
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know, I've heard that this Chris Christopher Lee guy is bringing
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in mandatory life sentences for kids. Hmm. And he said, I don't
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see how that's make sense. That's not justice. That can't
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be right. Doesn't not. Doesn't make sense. So, um, children as
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young as ten will be subject to the same maximum sentence as
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adults for 13 offences, including unlawful use of motor
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vehicle and entering a premise and committing an indictable
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offence. Under the legislation, children can be sentenced to
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life behind bars for five offences, including manslaughter,
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grievous bodily harm in a form of robbery and burglary. If
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convicted of murder, they must be sentenced to life with a
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minimum of 20 year non-parole period. We're talking about
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children in grade four. Yes. So ten year olds? Yes. That is the
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law that the LNP is trying to introduce. The vast majority of
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children who do these serious offences at that age have foetal
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alcohol syndrome and no doubt all sorts of crazy things going
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on. Absolutely. It's insane. And even a barber in his later ages
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inundated with boomers, could stop for a minute and say,
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That's not right.
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My God. Yes, it was sorry. It was also commented that because
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he's promised to pass these laws by Christmas, they're being
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rammed through parliament. There isn't time to debate them.
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There's no
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real
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checking of what's what's actually in the law. It's just
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being pushed through. We have to vote on this. We have to get
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this through. The legislation will be debated in December
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after an eight day inquiry by a parliamentary committee. Eight
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days. It's only getting. It's insane.
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Griffith University criminologist William Wood
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pointed to research that incarcerating youth in prison
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has little positive impact in reducing crime. It won't reduce
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crime. It does teach them how to be better criminals, though. Yes,
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prison makes kids tougher. And he says at least half of
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Queensland's youth offenders have a history of trauma and no
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amount of punishment was going to scare those kids straight.
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Those kids at ten are not going going, Gosh, I'm up for a
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potential mandatory life sentence here. Will I do what
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I'm currently contemplating because I'm evaluating the
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consequences of my action? Oh, they don't. Because is it the
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frontal cortex or whatever it is that's not formed at that age?
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That's why they were talking about pushing the drinking age
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up, because kids don't think through the consequences of
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their actions. Yeah. Oh, and it says here that it also removes
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the long standing principles that detention should be, should
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only be ordered as a last resort in the principle that a
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non-custodial order is better than detention for promoting a
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child's reintegration into the community. So even on just
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various other offences. Hmm. That sort of principle that it's
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probably best to keep people out of jail if possible. These jails
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are the last resort. That principle is wiped out and
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judges are not allowed, will not be allowed to rely on it. Just a
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bunch of pricks. Yeah. And the throwing out the whole
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independence of the judiciary by actually doing this, you know?
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Well, it's up to the legislature to provide legislative
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guidelines about what the community wants. Say, this is
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what just say is mandatory. And we want judges to
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abide by certain guidelines. But eh, making things mandatory just
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removes all the discretion potentially the judges can have
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that says, you know what, in this case, because of these
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unusual circumstances, I should we exercise a discretion to be a
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bit more lenient for whatever reason. Mm. But also, should we
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be doing what the public wants or should we be doing what the
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evidence says is best. Hmm. Well, and does the public even want
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this? Well, I don't think you know. But they were given a
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mandate. Yes. Isn't that always the argument? We were given a
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mandate to do this. Yeah. Not. Not. People were pissed off with
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labor. Yeah. You know, people wanted this. They voted for us
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because they wanted this. Yeah.
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Yep. That's where we're at. Hmm. Crazy, crazy shit. Well, you
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know, it's just
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I was the a Christopher Lee was not all he was claiming to be,
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but he has started to unmask himself a hell of a lot earlier
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than I actually thought. Mm. You know, and now I'm. I was called
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up yesterday by a
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politics
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survey and that type of thing. And this woman was asked me all
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these sorts of questions and all that type of thing. And she said,
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How do you think the LNP government is going? And so on?
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And I haven't been in long enough to stuff things up yet.
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Seriously, they ask that. Mm. Yeah. And I said you know, then
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they said you know, what are your hopes for the future with
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your new member. I said well I hope that he actually remains
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the genuinely decent bloke that I met and he actually manages to
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keep away from the Christian nutters on his side of the
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parliament. You know, it's one of those things now I actually
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said to him, I said, Now you and I both know that this is a very
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nuanced problem, youth crime and the you cannot just throw up a
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simple slogan and say that adult crime equals adult time. Hmm.
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Anyway, it's so simple, so sadistic. Yeah. You know,
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actually, they're going to stop and being recidivists because
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they're going to appoint prison chaplains for them. Yeah. And
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Jesus will help. I think they're also talking about more school
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chaplains as well as as part of the solution to this harassment,
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because they are in some quarters saying, oh, but there
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would be plenty of people out there who somehow think that
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this is the way to do it, who's hardline approach. So exactly.
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And they honestly do not. And they obviously think that you've
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just got to throw away the key and that sort of stuff and
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that's not going to work. Hmm. It is a very nuanced problem
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that is going to take a long time for UFC to actually nut out
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what causes it. And then after that you have to work out some
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solutions and that's where it's going to take a hell of a long
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time. Yeah. You know, and just to say that you can lock them up
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and throw away the key, that is ridiculous. This is too many
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people out there with knee jerk opinions. I'll give you another
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example in their body corporate here, there's a little work
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that's going to be done in this building in the surround. So
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there's a bunch of sort of special levies in the pipeline
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over the next few years because of substantial stuff that has to
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be done that hasn't been done. And, you know, there are people
Track 1 00:21:03
in this building who go, well, I was in the body corporate, you
Track 1 00:21:06
know, X number of years ago, and we were really good because we
Track 1 00:21:10
didn't spend any money. And the sinking fund was really full and
Track 1 00:21:14
we knew how to run a body corporate and you go, you bloody
Track 1 00:21:18
idiots. It's because you did nothing back then that all this
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stuff is racking up now. So you weren't good. It's just common
Track 1 00:21:27
sense. These guys pound foolish. Yeah, I think that is pennywise,
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pound foolish. These are the stupid people you've got to deal
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with at different times, saying, Well, there are a number of
Track 1 00:21:41
dickheads out there. Travel. Yeah, don't even let me be a
Track 1 00:21:45
politician because I just could help but keep my full and frank
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opinion to them when necessary. You may be a dictator, but not a
Track 1 00:21:53
politician. Yeah, Wasn't it Tom Hawk? You got into some. Some
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guy accosted in the night in a shopping center. We call him a
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silly old bugger. That's it. And he cop apes over that? Yeah. So
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it was over the 75th, I think through the 65th anniversary of
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the Gallipoli landings and all that sort of stuff. And I
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remember there was a, there was a cartoon in the paper and it
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said, you know, Prime Minister Hawke was off seeing them off
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and he says, Yeah, goodbye you silly old buggers. Oh if not
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well now. Well this other event was he was in a shopping centre
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and some going Yeah. No I was in a shopping centre. Yeah I know.
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And it said to that particular guy you're silly, listen to him.
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And then basically dismissed him and said silly old bugger and
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then muttered to the press. So yeah, yeah that would be me. He
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got the ABC not to actually repeat that and I think to
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states and everything like that, they didn't actually run that on
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the television news, but the rest of the rest of the country
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said no, we got to actually say it. So they actually had it.
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Yeah.
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Anyway, um, the I think this is the bit to to advocate
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they know what's going on. They had an article headed Courier
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Mail author to pivot from fictional stories about youth
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crime to LNP's economic recovery. And the article is a Brisbane
Track 1 00:23:22
based author has today spoken to The Advocate about the exciting
Track 1 00:23:25
new challenge ahead of him, fresh off the back of a big 12
Track 1 00:23:28
months, creating a fictional universe where youth crime is
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rampant in the dystopian state of Queensland. Courier Mail
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author Headington Adderly says he is excited for his next
Track 1 00:23:39
project. The Liberal National Party resurrection of
Track 1 00:23:42
Queensland's faltering economy. Yes, it's an ambitious project
Track 1 00:23:46
but something I'm really looking forward to taking my creative
Track 1 00:23:48
license to. Incidentally, his goal from his gorgeous Ascot
Track 1 00:23:52
home.
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Uh, it goes on here. This follows Emily's most recent work
Track 1 00:24:00
where he managed to take record low youth crime statistics in
Track 1 00:24:03
Queensland and use them as the genesis of a series of short
Track 1 00:24:07
stories about an epidemic of young criminals terrorising the
Track 1 00:24:10
states. Oh, writing little stories about cherry picked
Track 1 00:24:14
incidents committed by juvenile offenders is much more colourful,
Track 1 00:24:17
he laughed. And I think the public really liked it. So now
Track 1 00:24:20
it's time to craft a story about the transition to a new utopia
Track 1 00:24:25
led by an incredible government that rescue the economy from the
Track 1 00:24:28
very brink. It could be my most ambitious work yet, and I can
Track 1 00:24:33
assure you, Dear Leader, that is exactly what is happening in The
Track 1 00:24:37
Courier-Mail now, where it's all positive stories about the
Track 1 00:24:42
magnificent David Crisafulli. Articles calling him the Goliath
Track 1 00:24:48
killer or something like that. And and just on and on.
Track 1 00:24:53
So. And just things like you'll see an article which talked
Track 1 00:24:59
about the LNP's 50% fare policy. This is public transport fares
Track 1 00:25:07
which was a policy introduced by Labor. But if you read the media
Track 1 00:25:15
it says
Track 1 00:25:17
Westcott going there, it just disappeared because of the
Track 1 00:25:22
connection, right? If you read the paper, it's now the LNP's 50
Track 1 00:25:26
cent fare policy. So the.
Track 1 00:25:31
Just the, the the propaganda narrative has just started. So,
Track 1 00:25:36
um, although I did see one fair was going back to what it was
Track 1 00:25:39
before motivation was the air train. I don't know. It was
Track 1 00:25:43
behind a paywall, so I couldn't see. Right. He tried and never
Track 1 00:25:47
made it to the 50 cent level, but it might have had some
Track 1 00:25:49
discount that yeah, maybe it'd been removed. Yeah.
Track 1 00:25:54
Yeah. So that's that. Um. Right. Um, we mentioned the
Track 1 00:26:01
other week about the arrest warrants by the ICC for
Track 1 00:26:06
Netanyahu and the defense minister, various countries that
Track 1 00:26:11
said, yep, if he comes into our territory will arrest him and
Track 1 00:26:15
various others said no, we won't hold.
Track 1 00:26:21
France has said that they've reversed their decision and they
Track 1 00:26:27
will not be arresting Netanyahu. Um, in America said invade the
Track 1 00:26:33
Hague bill. Right. Well, France originally said they were going
Track 1 00:26:39
to arrest Netanyahu and then they backpedal and said, Now we
Track 1 00:26:42
won't. Right. Claiming that because Israel is not a party to
Track 1 00:26:49
the ICC, then they immune from it.
Track 1 00:26:55
I don't think that's how it works. France. Well, no. So the
Track 1 00:26:59
ICC claims it's got jurisdiction because it's claiming the crimes
Track 1 00:27:04
were committed in Gaza, which is laying control by the
Track 1 00:27:10
Palestinians. And the Palestinians are members of the
Track 1 00:27:13
ICC and therefore, they say they have jurisdiction. So. Okay. So
Track 1 00:27:19
Palestine, along with the American sorry, Israel, along
Track 1 00:27:23
with the Americans and and along with Russia and Ukraine, never
Track 1 00:27:31
actually signed up to the ICC as members as member states. That,
Track 1 00:27:36
of course, didn't stop France from saying, of course, they
Track 1 00:27:40
would arrest Putin if he showed up in France. Well, and the
Track 1 00:27:45
point of the ICC was that any country, whether they'd signed
Track 1 00:27:49
up or not, oh, well, you've got to have jurisdiction, I guess,
Track 1 00:27:55
in some fashion. And I mean, Israel has set the precedent
Track 1 00:28:02
with the kidnapping of all those former Nazis,
Track 1 00:28:07
the kidnapping and the assassination back in the
Track 1 00:28:09
sixties and seventies. Right. So I think they've set the
Track 1 00:28:14
precedent that an armed force can come into Israel, snatched
Track 1 00:28:19
Netanyahu. That would be if you were maintaining sort of
Track 1 00:28:23
consistent stance. Yes. Yes. People don't like to do that.
Track 1 00:28:26
But it's just so hypocritical of France to say, oh, you know,
Track 1 00:28:31
Netanyahu's immune because Israel didn't sign up. Meanwhile,
Track 1 00:28:35
sure, we'll arrest Putin. Even though Russia never signed up.
Track 1 00:28:39
The hypocrisy of these poly people is
Track 1 00:28:42
astounding.
Track 1 00:28:44
Yeah. So
Track 1 00:28:49
Winston Churchill once said the best argument against democracy
Track 1 00:28:53
is a five minute talk with the average voter. Apparently.
Track 1 00:28:58
I've been a bit down on democracy lately. Yes, I've
Track 1 00:29:01
noticed that. I'm starting to wonder whether a dictatorship
Track 1 00:29:04
might be the way to go. I know it's not a good idea, but I'll
Track 1 00:29:07
have a look at the data ship night. Have a look at this,
Track 1 00:29:10
Scott, and see if this changes your mind about a dictatorship.
Track 1 00:29:15
Are you guys so anti dictators? Imagine if America was a
Track 1 00:29:20
dictatorship. Can you guys. He would let 1% of the people have
Track 1 00:29:24
all the nation's wealth. You got to help your rich friends get
Track 1 00:29:28
richer by cutting their taxes and bailing them out when they
Track 1 00:29:32
gamble and lose. You could ignore the needs of the poor for
Track 1 00:29:37
health care and education. Your media would appear free, but
Track 1 00:29:40
would secretly be controlled by one person and his family. You
Track 1 00:29:45
could wiretap phones. You could torture a foreign prisoners. You
Track 1 00:29:49
could have rigged elections. You could lie about why you go to
Track 1 00:29:53
war. You could fill your prisons with one particular racial group,
Track 1 00:29:58
and no one would complain. You could use the media to scare the
Track 1 00:30:02
people into supporting policies that are against their interests.
Track 1 00:30:07
I know this is hard for you Americans to imagine, but it's
Track 1 00:30:13
been a while since I've seen that. Yeah, There we go.
Track 1 00:30:19
Yeah. The advantages
Track 1 00:30:26
makes a good point. Well, he does, because that is actually
Track 1 00:30:30
showing up. The failure of democracy right now. Yes, but at
Track 1 00:30:34
least he could theoretically have someone come in and change
Track 1 00:30:37
all that. Whereas under a dictatorship, you can't a
Track 1 00:30:42
benevolent dictator could. You know, a benevolent dictator
Track 1 00:30:45
could, but you can't actually get away with that because
Track 1 00:30:47
benevolent dictators very few and far between. Mm hmm. Yeah.
Track 1 00:30:56
Community blog. It was like a letter to the I think it was a
Track 1 00:30:59
letter to the editor, the letters column. I think John
Track 1 00:31:03
made you blog. This guy, what's his name? Liz McDonald. Wrote
Track 1 00:31:08
something I thought was a really good summary or well, well
Track 1 00:31:14
phrased. Let me read this to you, Dear List now from Liz McDonald.
Track 1 00:31:20
The lesson that should have been learned from all this war
Track 1 00:31:23
mongering is that democracy flowers from within and cannot
Track 1 00:31:28
be imposed externally by force or arms. Another and more
Track 1 00:31:33
profound lesson is that democracy, as promoted by the
Track 1 00:31:36
West, is only one form of political organization, and the
Track 1 00:31:41
one that the West promotes reflects the values and history
Track 1 00:31:44
of those countries. Others have different histories and
Track 1 00:31:47
traditions, and these have dictated other forms of
Track 1 00:31:51
political organization, some of which have far outstripped the
Track 1 00:31:55
West in recent times in providing vast improvements in
Track 1 00:31:59
the living standards of the bulk of their people. The belief in
Track 1 00:32:02
the West that our system is better than all the others.
Track 1 00:32:06
Makes the arrogant assumption that the values of other
Track 1 00:32:09
cultures and the systems they have built to reflect those
Track 1 00:32:12
values are in some way inferior to ours. That is not only
Track 1 00:32:17
arrogant but profoundly mistaken, and is preventing the West from
Track 1 00:32:21
understanding the new multipolar world that is emerging. I
Track 1 00:32:27
thought that was well-put. It sounds awfully like the French
Track 1 00:32:34
thinkers, the all belief systems are equal and you can't
Track 1 00:32:39
criticize one.
Track 1 00:32:41
No, it's not saying you can't, but it's saying that different
Track 1 00:32:46
cultures might. We shouldn't assume it's really saying just
Track 1 00:32:51
because it's different to what we're used to doesn't mean that
Track 1 00:32:55
it's bad.
Track 1 00:32:58
That's what it's just because it's different and it's suited
Track 1 00:33:01
to the culture of a different people and doesn't mean it's bad.
Track 1 00:33:05
So but I mean, you look at the Islamic fundamentalists in
Track 1 00:33:09
Afghanistan, do you think for the majority of their population,
Track 1 00:33:13
whether they want it or not? And I'm guessing that at least half
Track 1 00:33:16
of them don't. Do you think that's better than what they had
Track 1 00:33:21
back in the sixties?
Track 1 00:33:24
I have no idea. On the ground, I suspect probably not. Sorry.
Track 1 00:33:29
What's the question? Is whether I think the system now in
Track 1 00:33:31
Afghanistan is better than what they had in the sixties. Yeah,
Track 1 00:33:35
I have no one side. I have no idea. On the average life of a
Track 1 00:33:39
farmer in Afghanistan compared to the sixties I. Okay. But for
Track 1 00:33:45
the average woman in Afghanistan, sorry, I suspect it's very, very
Track 1 00:33:50
different and very, very much worse. Worse now. Hmm. Well,
Track 1 00:33:59
yeah, but
Track 1 00:34:03
this. This brief thing is saying it by imposing. I agree. I
Track 1 00:34:09
cannot impose democracy system on people. It has to flow from
Track 1 00:34:14
within. Yeah, absolutely. We should. We should have been
Track 1 00:34:17
concerned more about hearts and minds. Hmm. In rather an
Track 1 00:34:21
imposing a Western style democracy on people. It's a case
Track 1 00:34:26
of making them want it. Yeah, but you could look at, you know,
Track 1 00:34:29
again, China, for example, and what it has achieved in lifting
Track 1 00:34:34
so many people out of poverty that you have to say, well, if
Track 1 00:34:39
you're looking at the living standards and life of people,
Track 1 00:34:44
then that's one way you'd say, well, you know, most people are
Track 1 00:34:46
happier than they were in the sixties and seventies, for
Track 1 00:34:50
example. Certainly, yeah. Yeah. So it doesn't mean that you
Track 1 00:34:53
can't criticize other cultures, but I think you saying two
Track 1 00:34:57
things is just because it's different. It's not a Western
Track 1 00:35:02
style democracy. We shouldn't be so arrogant to say it's not as
Track 1 00:35:07
good as ours. And secondly,
Track 1 00:35:11
this has to come from within. Change has to come from within
Track 1 00:35:15
and I think can't be imposed externally. If the last time
Track 1 00:35:19
they tried that, they were gunned down in the streets.
Track 1 00:35:23
Scott, How many bullshit stories have you heard over the years
Track 1 00:35:27
about various events? Tell me what you believe that Tiananmen
Track 1 00:35:32
Square was bullshit. How how many people died in Tiananmen
Track 1 00:35:36
Square? I don't know. A thousand? I don't know to. I couldn't tell
Track 1 00:35:42
you how many. How many other bigger atrocities have been
Track 1 00:35:47
committed by every other country on the planet. Yeah, I know
Track 1 00:35:51
that's on. But, you know, it's one of those things you're
Track 1 00:35:54
talking about it flowering from within. The last time they tried,
Track 1 00:35:57
they were gunned down in the streets. Scott It's it's not the
Track 1 00:36:03
story that you think it is. Tiananmen Square I think so. So
Track 1 00:36:08
they weren't actually killed in Tiananmen Square. It was in
Track 1 00:36:11
surrounding streets. But but even if you took all of that as
Track 1 00:36:14
gospel and you weighed up. What happened there with what has
Track 1 00:36:21
happened in other countries, like no country is perfect to
Track 1 00:36:25
just say, Oh, fucking forget about the millions of people
Track 1 00:36:29
dragged out of poverty and the enormous changes in the country
Track 1 00:36:33
because of 2000 people killed in a demonstration when thousands
Track 1 00:36:39
are killed in every Western country every few years and
Track 1 00:36:43
various things. It's just really unfair. I think that the Western
Track 1 00:36:47
countries are probably involved in atrocities against our
Track 1 00:36:50
countries, not necessarily against their own people. I mean,
Track 1 00:36:53
America, the lack of health care kills millions, but yes, it does.
Track 1 00:36:58
Killing dissidents in their own countries all over the place one
Track 1 00:37:03
way or in one way or another. So why is that happening? Well, is
Track 1 00:37:10
it so it's not happening in any Western countries? Well, I'm not
Track 1 00:37:15
aware of it. Right. People are not getting locked up. Yeah.
Track 1 00:37:20
You've got some people that are being locked up for sure. They
Track 1 00:37:23
are being imprisoned here in Australia and that is wrong. And
Track 1 00:37:27
then the fact that they're killing foreigners and not their
Track 1 00:37:29
own people then is just okay. I mean, I just don't think that's
Track 1 00:37:32
I don't think that's the same thing is what, what you, what
Track 1 00:37:35
you're trying to do is you're trying to get a, an equivalent
Track 1 00:37:39
argument there against the West compared to China. And I just
Track 1 00:37:43
think to myself the two completely different things.
Track 1 00:37:46
Yeah. So, like, I guess what I'm trying to say is
Track 1 00:37:53
that if you hang your hat on, if Tiananmen Square didn't happen,
Track 1 00:37:57
what would your view of China be? Well, my view of China would be
Track 1 00:38:01
okay. You know, it's it's it's a it's a country that has moved,
Track 1 00:38:06
you know, it has done incredibly well, dragging out hundreds of
Track 1 00:38:09
millions of people out of poverty. There is no doubt that
Track 1 00:38:13
they have achieved a hell of a lot. They have got themselves on
Track 1 00:38:17
the road to being self-sustaining and everything
Track 1 00:38:20
else. They have done all that and they should be applauded for
Track 1 00:38:24
that. However, they are also involved in some questionable
Track 1 00:38:29
actions in the South China Sea. They are involved in invading
Track 1 00:38:33
Tibet. They I don't know what's happening with the wages, but
Track 1 00:38:37
something is happening out there. It's one of those things they
Track 1 00:38:45
are expecting perfection from them that you don't expect from
Track 1 00:38:48
other countries. No, I'm expecting perfection from all of
Track 1 00:38:51
them. Right. Did it. But you seem to hold them to a higher
Track 1 00:38:56
account or. I don't think I'm more critical and more critical
Track 1 00:39:01
of them for sure, because, you know, they they shot their own
Track 1 00:39:06
students in Tiananmen Square. Mhm. You know, it was a very
Track 1 00:39:12
brutal crackdown which was completely unnecessary because
Track 1 00:39:17
all they're wanting was was democracy and they were shot for
Track 1 00:39:21
it and they used their own army against their own people, which
Track 1 00:39:27
is
Track 1 00:39:29
not a very nice thing to do. Mhm.
Track 1 00:39:33
All right. I'm going to do a Tiananmen Square episode. I can
Track 1 00:39:36
tell you that if you want to, that's no problem at all. And
Track 1 00:39:38
you're probably going to you probably get a piss over
Track 1 00:39:40
everything I've just said, which is fine. You know, I, I just
Track 1 00:39:44
think of all of the, uh, uh,
Track 1 00:39:51
yeah.
Track 1 00:39:53
The civil rights movement, the number of black people lynched.
Track 1 00:39:57
Mhm. Yeah. That was banned by the government. Or was it. Well,
Track 1 00:40:02
it was, but yeah, the police were certainly involved in some
Track 1 00:40:07
of that shit, but not in any sport prosecuted by the FBI and
Track 1 00:40:10
police. Just shooting people unnecessarily every day of the
Track 1 00:40:16
week. Mm hmm. It seems. Yes. American police are definitely
Track 1 00:40:21
trigger happy compared to other nations. Absolutely. There.
Track 1 00:40:26
Having said that, they are also afraid for their lives because
Track 1 00:40:30
there's a higher number of weapons in America. Oh, alright.
Track 1 00:40:35
If if we'll do a Tiananmen Square episode at some stage
Track 1 00:40:39
soonish,
Track 1 00:40:42
anybody in the chat can say anything. No difference. No. No.
Track 1 00:40:46
Stiffened silent in their who. Um.
Track 1 00:40:50
Well. So we got a census question on religion.
Track 1 00:40:55
So the guy in charge of the census being questioned by some
Track 1 00:40:59
senators and some Senate committee hearing, I think it
Track 1 00:41:03
was it will be announced in the new year. The format of the
Track 1 00:41:08
religion question in the census. And it was made pretty clear
Track 1 00:41:14
that it's up to the government to decide what the topics are in
Track 1 00:41:19
a census. But once they've decided that, then it's up to
Track 1 00:41:25
the professionals within the department to decide the format
Track 1 00:41:29
of the question. And that was the Christians were lobbying
Track 1 00:41:32
hard that the question be kept the same because otherwise how
Track 1 00:41:36
could you compare one year to another? Is.
Track 1 00:41:42
So by that logic, we should never change any of the
Track 1 00:41:44
questions in the census.
Track 1 00:41:47
Indeed. Could there pack a lunatic something? Yeah. Um, so
Track 1 00:41:53
that's, uh. So that's the story there. Um. Uh, I think it's only
Track 1 00:41:59
a small one, but, um, so another thing where
Track 1 00:42:04
apparently, if they want to do work,
Track 1 00:42:07
if warm, if the war memorial officials want to
Track 1 00:42:11
engage a contractor to do some work at the War Memorial. Mhm.
Track 1 00:42:15
There's a $1 million limit. If you go over that limit, you need
Track 1 00:42:20
ministerial sign off or whatever the work is in. During this
Track 1 00:42:26
Senate Estimates Committee hearing, they were referring to
Track 1 00:42:29
a particular contract and guess what? The value amount of the
Track 1 00:42:33
contract was
Track 1 00:42:35
$999,000.
Track 1 00:42:39
$999,999.99. I'm not sure about that.
Track 1 00:42:48
Yeah.
Track 1 00:42:50
And then there was a second contract. Was it idea? Yes. They
Track 1 00:42:56
would split it. Yeah, exactly. That's that's the usual game,
Track 1 00:42:59
isn't it.
Track 1 00:43:00
Yeah. Uh, a ruling the other day. Priests are not
Track 1 00:43:05
employees. Yeah, that's a horrible, horrible decision. Mhm.
Track 1 00:43:11
To which I think. Fuck them for that. For that particular
Track 1 00:43:15
decision, the High Court found that a priest could not be
Track 1 00:43:19
legally considered an employee, which is bullshit. Absolutely.
Track 1 00:43:24
It's bullshit. Yeah, obviously it was a case of sexual assault
Track 1 00:43:28
claim and child sexual assault. The man was five years old at
Track 1 00:43:35
the time of the abuse in 1971. Um, other common law
Track 1 00:43:41
jurisdictions, including Britain, Canada and Ireland, have
Track 1 00:43:43
developed the principle of vicarious liability to apply to
Track 1 00:43:46
religious orders, basically. Hang on, hang on, hang on. If
Track 1 00:43:51
this was a if this was a bus company, forget that it's a
Track 1 00:43:53
church. If this was a bus company and one of the bus
Track 1 00:43:57
drivers was raping children and the company knew about it and
Track 1 00:44:01
moved them onto a different bus line every time they got caught.
Track 1 00:44:04
Hmm. Could we not say that the bus company would be found
Track 1 00:44:07
liable and would be sued into oblivion? Why the fuck is the
Track 1 00:44:12
church still standing? I don't know.
Track 1 00:44:16
Why have. Why have we not sold off all its assets to compensate
Track 1 00:44:20
the survivors and just wound up the churches? Various. Mhm. Well,
Track 1 00:44:26
we did have the problem of the Ellis defense previously and
Track 1 00:44:29
that was that the Catholic Church does not exist in a legal
Track 1 00:44:32
sense because it's property assets are held inside a special
Track 1 00:44:35
trust structure that is immune to lawsuits. So the Victorian
Track 1 00:44:41
State Government introduced legislation to get around that
Track 1 00:44:44
and now they will introduce legislation to get around this
Track 1 00:44:49
employee problem. French Revolution had it right. He's
Track 1 00:44:56
done on this. I have to talk to you about this offer. Hmm.
Track 1 00:45:01
Really? Now, I just don't know. No, it's not dangerous. Okay?
Track 1 00:45:05
The French Revolution, they actually did actually lop off
Track 1 00:45:07
the heads of a number of the clergy. But I don't understand
Track 1 00:45:12
how you can start from there and end up with Notre Dame and
Track 1 00:45:14
everything being owned by the French state. That was later on.
Track 1 00:45:19
Yeah, I know it was later on. But how did that happen? Because
Track 1 00:45:22
because the basically the French government said, we are buying
Track 1 00:45:25
all of your churches. And they did give them they did give them
Track 1 00:45:28
a payment, I believe. But they said these are national
Track 1 00:45:33
monuments. And they belong to the French people. The French
Track 1 00:45:37
people contributed to them. The French people own them, and we
Track 1 00:45:41
will lease them back to you at a nominal fee. But it means that
Track 1 00:45:44
the French government are legally and financially
Track 1 00:45:47
responsible for national monuments. So the charge the
Track 1 00:45:51
church can't make a decision about a thousand year old
Track 1 00:45:56
cathedral because it's deemed critical to the fabric of France.
Track 1 00:46:01
Hmm. So I'd like a mandatory resumption, basically. Hmm.
Track 1 00:46:07
So in the same way that they grab your files. 05i think
Track 1 00:46:13
so. In the same way that a government could just take your
Track 1 00:46:15
house in order to put in a new roadway, something that they
Track 1 00:46:20
could just take your church and decide to keep it for other
Track 1 00:46:23
reasons. But but my argument has been a lot of the land that the
Track 1 00:46:28
churches hold inside Australia was given to them for free by
Track 1 00:46:33
the government on the grounds that they were a moral force for
Track 1 00:46:37
good. Hmm. And I think that they've proved that they are a
Track 1 00:46:41
force for good and we should be taking that land back from the
Track 1 00:46:44
absolute. This is very valuable land in the middle of big cities
Track 1 00:46:47
that was given to them 150 200 years ago. And I think the
Track 1 00:46:53
people should be taking it back. It's not going to happen in our
Track 1 00:46:58
lifetime. No. And I am. Yeah. Um, what are the topics you want to
Track 1 00:47:05
talk about? I got. It's just the usual complaints I've got here.
Track 1 00:47:08
I'm sort of finding myself repeating myself, so I'm happy
Track 1 00:47:11
to talk about anything.
Track 1 00:47:13
Um, Scott, I haven't looked at in detail this housing
Track 1 00:47:20
scheme where the government is somehow going to be part owners
Track 1 00:47:23
of houses with people. Yeah, I've got to look into it too.
Track 1 00:47:27
It's state or federal. The Federal. ALBANESE The Federal
Track 1 00:47:32
Government's going to take a position in the House that you
Track 1 00:47:36
go in there, you buy a house and the Government owns 30% of it or
Track 1 00:47:39
something like that. Yeah, I don't believe the Government is
Track 1 00:47:43
on the hook for 30% of the rates. I still believe that has to be
Track 1 00:47:46
100% borne by the main owner. Now that is all I know of it. I
Track 1 00:47:52
couldn't tell you about it other than that it's just a that good
Track 1 00:47:58
pass didn't get passed. Yeah. So there's about like 30 different
Track 1 00:48:01
bills just got rammed through Parliament. Exactly. The Greens
Track 1 00:48:07
finally got out of the way of a few of them and you know, they,
Track 1 00:48:12
they realised that they had one hell of a load on housing and
Track 1 00:48:15
all that sort of stuff. So they took the win and moved on and
Track 1 00:48:19
allowed it to go through. Mhm. Whether or not it's a good thing
Track 1 00:48:24
it's another story and I don't know whether or not it's
Track 1 00:48:26
actually a good thing. It's just I suppose the biggest concern I
Track 1 00:48:32
have is is this going to drive up the price of housing. Mhm.
Track 1 00:48:36
Because it's going to be easier for people to purchase and that
Track 1 00:48:38
sort of stuff. So they're going to just take out the whole
Track 1 00:48:42
building. ALBANESE was saying people want with just like a 2%
Track 1 00:48:46
deposit in my house. Um but it's the state of the world where
Track 1 00:48:52
someone like myself is reading lots and lots of stuff every day,
Track 1 00:48:58
you know, yet to come across an article that properly explains
Track 1 00:49:03
how the system is going to work in terms of the contribution and
Track 1 00:49:06
what you get out of it. So so James is saying there's only
Track 1 00:49:10
10,000 places, right? It's just the same as the government being
Track 1 00:49:14
the bank of mum and dad, basically. Yes. Yeah. But every
Track 1 00:49:19
mum, unless the mum and dad's in every bank of mum and dad has
Track 1 00:49:22
some deal under it. Yeah. Absolutely. Well usually the
Track 1 00:49:26
bank of Mum and Dad is he's the money and good luck to you. I
Track 1 00:49:30
hope you don't separate and have a divorce. Oh no. Mine was very
Track 1 00:49:35
much I had to sign a uh,
Track 1 00:49:41
whatever you call it, like a loan agreement or a loan
Track 1 00:49:44
agreement. That said, my parents had a second claim on their
Track 1 00:49:47
house after their mortgage. They again, lots of people don't, but
Track 1 00:49:50
some do. So there's all different variations of how that
Track 1 00:49:52
could happen. And I have yet to sort of see I can see this
Track 1 00:49:57
explanation of how this scheme works and how it would all pan
Track 1 00:50:03
out. So, yeah, I'm in the same boat. I haven't seen anything
Track 1 00:50:06
that actually explains what it's going to happen. Only the you
Track 1 00:50:10
know, the the government is patting themselves on the back
Track 1 00:50:12
saying we've got 10,000 new owners and that's the stuff
Track 1 00:50:15
coming into the market. Yeah. Unless you're going to build
Track 1 00:50:17
10,000 houses to fit those owners, all you're doing is
Track 1 00:50:20
forcing prices up. Exactly. Which is one of the problems
Track 1 00:50:24
that I've got.
Track 1 00:50:27
There my niece is looking at buying a property and everything
Track 1 00:50:29
like that right now. And I happened to mention to her that
Track 1 00:50:33
this scheme had just come into place and everything else. And
Track 1 00:50:36
she says, Is it for existing homes or is it for building
Track 1 00:50:39
homes? And I said, I don't know. Mhm. Now one would hope that's
Track 1 00:50:44
only for building homes but we'll have to wait and see. Mhm.
Track 1 00:50:48
I suspect it is only for building new homes but I'm not
Track 1 00:50:53
sure. Yeah. Um, what else can I ask. Anything else that you
Track 1 00:50:58
wanna
Track 1 00:50:59
see. The social media. So I was asked questions by a
Track 1 00:51:03
German acquaintance about the social media ban because
Track 1 00:51:07
obviously it hit world headlines. Uh, so I've been looking at that
Track 1 00:51:13
basically the law as it's passed is very light on detail. It just
Track 1 00:51:20
says these all social media companies, they must check. So
Track 1 00:51:23
you're over 16, but you can't use government I.D. to check
Track 1 00:51:28
that a person is over 16 unless you're for some alternate method.
Track 1 00:51:33
And any information you gather to check that the person is over
Track 1 00:51:37
16 must be destroyed as soon as you prove that they're over 61.
Track 1 00:51:42
61. Well, what are they going to do? Well, apparently there's a
Track 1 00:51:46
government trial that the government has funded a trial
Track 1 00:51:49
for age verification schemes, which was to look at porn and
Track 1 00:51:54
social media. So to prove you're over 18 for a porn and over 16
Track 1 00:51:58
for social media, you know, and they're looking at technologies
Track 1 00:52:03
that they're looking at.
Track 1 00:52:05
Social impact. And they're also looking at privacy concerns with
Track 1 00:52:10
various representatives. And when that reports back and then
Track 1 00:52:14
they'll look at how they're going to implement this. it's
Track 1 00:52:18
putting the cart before the horse, before they even know how
Track 1 00:52:22
they're going to do it. What did your foreign friend think of
Track 1 00:52:26
this initiative, Joe? He said he was ambivalent. He doesn't see a
Track 1 00:52:33
problem with or certainly he's
Track 1 00:52:37
open to the idea of banning children on social media. Right.
Track 1 00:52:42
But wanted to know more details and was still to make up his
Track 1 00:52:45
mind whether this was a good thing or not. Did you run the
Track 1 00:52:48
argument past him that perhaps educating about how to operate
Track 1 00:52:53
safely on social media was a better mode of going then? I
Track 1 00:52:56
don't know that we got as far as that because it was in the weeds
Track 1 00:53:00
of how this was going to be implemented rather than whether
Track 1 00:53:03
this was a good idea. MM hmm. All right. Um, any thoughts on
Track 1 00:53:10
anything else?
Track 1 00:53:11
Well, winding up and just going through the notes.
Track 1 00:53:15
Glen Paul, Glencore paid $4.7 billion in tax from about $42
Track 1 00:53:21
billion in revenue. I don't know what the expenses are of mining
Track 1 00:53:28
operations and everything else. Mm hmm. 4.7 billion in tax could
Track 1 00:53:34
be quite reasonable because you'd have to if you're talking
Track 1 00:53:37
about a 30% tax rate or whatever it is. Corporate tax rates
Track 1 00:53:42
around about 30%, so you'd end up with a profit there of around
Track 1 00:53:47
about 12 million, $12 billion. I don't know whether it costs $30
Track 1 00:53:52
billion to run a mining company. It remains surprise it's holding
Track 1 00:53:56
company, paid no tax on 12 billion. I know that that it's
Track 1 00:54:00
holding companies. Probably the only reason that they probably
Track 1 00:54:02
didn't pay any income tax is because of the it's already
Track 1 00:54:07
taxed the intercompany dividend the country what it's called in
Track 1 00:54:10
section something rather than that. Now you the holding
Track 1 00:54:14
company owns all those little companies that do all that sort
Track 1 00:54:17
of. They make all their money and they distribute it back up
Track 1 00:54:21
to the holding company because they've already paid income tax
Track 1 00:54:24
on it. They don't actually have to pay income tax on that. Mhm.
Track 1 00:54:27
Which is probably what they what they're talking about there. You
Track 1 00:54:30
know on 12 points, $2 billion worth of income which is
Track 1 00:54:35
probably all dividends from wholly owned subsidiaries which
Track 1 00:54:40
is eliminated on the income tax. I had that note in there just
Track 1 00:54:43
because again the Courier Mail had an article where they were
Track 1 00:54:47
praising Glencore and how can we help Glencore open more mines
Track 1 00:54:52
and employ more people And isn't it a wonderful company? Yeah, I
Track 1 00:54:56
know. And that was one of the things that really gave me the
Track 1 00:54:58
shits on Sunday when this lady rang me up and that sort of
Track 1 00:55:01
stuff. You know, I do feel sorry for people that ring up and ask
Track 1 00:55:04
me for my opinion because I do give it to them, you know. And
Track 1 00:55:07
they actually said that she actually asked me about the
Track 1 00:55:11
LNP's campaign and that sort of stuff. And then they got on to
Track 1 00:55:16
the Minerals Council when they said that. Is it fair that they
Track 1 00:55:20
have the highest coal royalties in the whole planet? Yeah. And I
Track 1 00:55:23
said yes, because the coal price is historically high. That is
Track 1 00:55:28
why they're paying historically high royalties. I said, that is
Track 1 00:55:32
why. And can we stopped pretending that royalties were
Track 1 00:55:35
tax? Exactly. They're not a tax. No. And people lie. I mean, the
Track 1 00:55:41
Minerals Council lie and call it a tax. It is a tax. It's them
Track 1 00:55:45
purchasing the minerals from the state of Queensland. Exactly. I
Track 1 00:55:50
know. I think Crisafulli has, as agreed he's not changing that in
Track 1 00:55:56
his at least in his first term. Okay. Well, he's not he doesn't
Track 1 00:56:00
get a second, but is. Look, I think we just got to see how
Track 1 00:56:04
badly they're going to fuck it up because they are going to
Track 1 00:56:07
fuck something up. But talking of tax, did anyone see Rupert
Track 1 00:56:11
Grint? He's Rupert Grint. Um, have you watched any of the
Track 1 00:56:16
Harry Potter films? Yes. Yeah. Okay. So. Ron Weasley. Oh, yeah,
Track 1 00:56:21
kid. Yeah. Yeah. So the actor who played him has not been, um,
Track 1 00:56:29
tax writing found or found culpable in a court. He
Track 1 00:56:34
basically had an argument with the Inland Revenue who said, You
Track 1 00:56:39
owe us tax on this money you've earned? And he said, No, no, no,
Track 1 00:56:44
it's.
Track 1 00:56:48
Capital gains. So it's taxed at 10% rather than earned income,
Track 1 00:56:52
which is taxed at 50%. 52%. Mm hmm. And the court found that,
Track 1 00:56:57
no, it was actually earned income. It was probably
Track 1 00:57:00
residuals from his film. And so he's I think, having to pay back
Track 1 00:57:05
four or £5 million. I can't remember the number exactly, but
Track 1 00:57:08
it's certainly in the millions. But to me, the shock was that if
Track 1 00:57:13
if he'd got away with claiming it was capital gains, he only
Track 1 00:57:16
paid 10% on it. Yeah. Yeah. Well we just here have the right
Track 1 00:57:23
don't we. So we just having, we're having the profit on that.
Track 1 00:57:29
That's all we're doing which is the capital gain. You know, the
Track 1 00:57:33
capital gain is basically you've got a gross capital gain and net
Track 1 00:57:37
capital gain. Know back in the old days when you had to
Track 1 00:57:40
calculate the net capital gain, you would actually calculate
Track 1 00:57:43
what the inflated property price was. Then you would pay tax on
Track 1 00:57:50
the profit that you sold it less, the inflated capital gain. Then
Track 1 00:57:56
that was how you calculated that. Now what you do is you take the
Track 1 00:58:00
profit from when you sell it compared to when you bought it
Track 1 00:58:03
and you cut that and to that becomes a net capital gain. Yeah.
Track 1 00:58:07
So you buy a house? Well, for 600,000. Mm hmm. You send 12
Track 1 00:58:13
months later, you sell it for 800,000. Yeah, well, I do it
Track 1 00:58:18
flip. Yeah, 200,000. You got to actually hold it for more than
Track 1 00:58:21
12 months to actually qualify for it. Okay, Let's say 18
Track 1 00:58:26
months in one day or whatever. You've made $200,000. And as a
Track 1 00:58:30
capital gain, you only pay tax only to tax on the 100,000. Oh,
Track 1 00:58:36
makes no sense. It works on long term loans, on short term
Track 1 00:58:40
between a year and whatever. Let's let's say you've got a
Track 1 00:58:44
nominal 10% inflation per year per annum. Mm. As long as you
Track 1 00:58:50
hold it between one and five years you made a profit on the
Track 1 00:58:52
tax
Track 1 00:58:56
paying. What are you saying. I'm saying in five years it would
Track 1 00:59:00
have gone up 50%. What would have. So you buy a property that
Track 1 00:59:05
goes up some percent per annum? Yes. You guys have 10% per annum.
Track 1 00:59:09
Yeah. Okay. If you sell it within five years. Mm. You've
Track 1 00:59:13
made 50% on the house profit. Right. Yeah. Mm hmm. So
Track 1 00:59:19
basically you lose even more. Yeah. Because the ten per st is
Track 1 00:59:22
cumulative saying it's like 110 and then you're making 10% on
Track 1 00:59:30
the 110 and then 10% on the 121. The other saying be even more.
Track 1 00:59:34
Yeah. Mm. But it makes no sense that somebody's income, whether
Track 1 00:59:39
it's that it's capital gain, is somehow taxed less. It doesn't
Track 1 00:59:44
make any sense. I agree with you. It's, it's one of those things I
Track 1 00:59:47
just don't understand why the hell we had to do away with
Track 1 00:59:49
indexation. Yeah. And it also seems that it's paid annually,
Track 1 00:59:54
so there's an assumed capital gain. So it's the current value
Track 1 00:59:59
of the the the asset rather than when you sell it. So you pay
Track 1 01:00:04
your capital gains each year in the UK, say here you only pay it
Track 1 01:00:09
when trigger it, you sell it. Yeah. James says in the chat
Track 1 01:00:14
room, you're assuming it's not your primary residence. That is
Track 1 01:00:16
correct. Of course. Exemption for principal place of residence.
Track 1 01:00:22
Right. Okay. It's good around a few things on the audio version
Track 1 01:00:26
of this. People will hear me read out the article that I
Track 1 01:00:29
think I got banned from MailChimp for.
Track 1 01:00:33
And um, yeah, and as I say, most of the articles end up in the
Track 1 01:00:38
news items on Discord. Yes. So that's another place to see them.
Track 1 01:00:43
Look, in the show notes, if you're interested in becoming
Track 1 01:00:46
part of that defunct email list as it gets resurrected into
Track 1 01:00:49
something else. Mm hmm. Right. Thanks for the chat room for
Track 1 01:00:54
paying attention. We'll be back next week. Talk to you then. Bye
Track 1 01:00:57
for now. And it's a good night for me. And it's good enough,
Track 1 01:01:00
remember? You're not.
Track 2 01:01:02
Okay, So this is the article in the John Menadue blog
Track 2 01:01:06
written by Richard Hill on the 29th of November 2024, which is,
Track 2 01:01:12
I think what got me banned from MailChimp. So putting a link to
Track 2 01:01:17
this article was enough for its system to boot me out. So here
Track 2 01:01:21
we go. The pre-meditated bloodletting in Gaza, the West
Track 2 01:01:26
Bank, Lebanon and many other largely forgotten parts of the
Track 2 01:01:30
world speaks hauntingly of the normalization of death and
Track 2 01:01:34
destruction, largely for cruel, self-serving and illusory
Track 2 01:01:39
reasons. What is occurring in Northern Gaza right now is the
Track 2 01:01:43
most brazen and egregious example of a form of callousness
Track 2 01:01:48
that knows no bounds. It is guided by the delusionary belief
Track 2 01:01:53
that something called national security can be achieved when
Track 2 01:01:57
the polar opposite is the case. The so-called war against Hamas
Track 2 01:02:03
is, in fact the asymmetric and systematic eradication of
Track 2 01:02:09
expendable UN people, so that the select few can live in an
Track 2 01:02:14
illusory haven of peace. The Slaughter without Shame. As
Track 2 01:02:20
Haaretz journalist Gideon Levy observes, is legitimated by the
Track 2 01:02:25
flawed proposition that the demon other can be neutralized
Track 2 01:02:30
and that the most moral army in the world is fighting a
Track 2 01:02:34
righteous war when the reality is murderous, indiscriminate
Track 2 01:02:40
killing. The contrived self appraisal of moral superiority
Track 2 01:02:45
on the part of the Israeli state, supported by its propagandized
Track 2 01:02:50
population, amounts to what criminologists refer to as a
Track 2 01:02:54
technique of moral neutralisation, the aim of which
Track 2 01:02:59
is to explain away culpability. This form of virtue signaling is
Track 2 01:03:05
the culmination of the Zionist state's global marketing
Track 2 01:03:09
campaign, predicated upon the idea that it is a victim state
Track 2 01:03:13
in a war of existential survival. And yet, as Stephen Cohen
Track 2 01:03:18
pointed out long ago, Israel is quintessentially a state in and
Track 2 01:03:24
of denial, denial of its own role in ethnic cleansing and
Track 2 01:03:29
racialized cruelty and denial of the historical circumstances
Track 2 01:03:34
that have produced one of the most violent nations on earth.
Track 2 01:03:38
Norman Finkelstein describes Israel as the lunatic state.
Track 2 01:03:43
More accurately, perhaps it is sole sick a nation characterized
Track 2 01:03:48
by moral pathology that privileges its own exceptional
Track 2 01:03:53
needs above all others. Dear listener, I reckon that
Track 2 01:03:57
paragraph enough was probably what got me banned anyway.
Track 2 01:04:01
There's more to this article. I'll go on. The Zionists, the
Track 2 01:04:06
Zionist states assertion of moral superiority rests on a
Track 2 01:04:10
racialised retelling of history to serve a deeply chauvinistic
Track 2 01:04:15
narrative. Bibi Netanyahu's infamous interview with the
Track 2 01:04:20
Trump light intellectual Jordan Peterson reveals the full
Track 2 01:04:25
spectrum of the self-delusion He claims that the lands now
Track 2 01:04:30
occupied by Israel in 1948 were prior occupation, barren and
Track 2 01:04:36
undeveloped. Assertion starkly at odds with historical reality
Track 2 01:04:42
and deeply insulting. This sort of settler colonial trope is
Track 2 01:04:47
part of the familiar rhetoric of conquerors. Israel's objective,
Track 2 01:04:52
then around circa 1948 and now is to legitimize the
Track 2 01:04:58
establishment of a greater Israel to the north, east and
Track 2 01:05:03
west. It has pummeled, assailed and forcibly remove populations
Track 2 01:05:08
to make way for air conditioned condos, hypermarkets and big
Track 2 01:05:13
tech industries. The West Bank is already awash with such.
Track 2 01:05:18
Meanwhile, the ethnic cleansing continues apace. Care of
Track 2 01:05:22
settlers a.k.a violent occupies
Track 2 01:05:29
a licence to finish the job of this brutal takeover has been
Track 2 01:05:33
granted by the US President. All that remains is to ensure enough
Track 2 01:05:37
weaponry to achieve this end for the Palestinian people. Those
Track 2 01:05:42
who suffered the grotesque realities of genocide, their
Track 2 01:05:46
rights, their dignity, their sense of humanity has been
Track 2 01:05:50
vanquished for the supposedly noble aim of peace and property.
Track 2 01:05:57
But there is nothing noble, decent or just about the
Track 2 01:06:01
slaughter of innocents. We witness all this against the
Track 2 01:06:06
benchmarks of history we've always known, have we not? Of
Track 2 01:06:10
the doublespeak of nations who view themselves as the arbiters
Track 2 01:06:14
of decency. But who. Moment less deploy the weapons and cynical
Track 2 01:06:21
rationalizations. Oh, but who nonetheless deploy the weapons
Track 2 01:06:26
and cynical rationalization of mass murder? Why should we be
Track 2 01:06:31
surprised? These are the same nations that have now had covert
Track 2 01:06:35
operations toppled, democratically elected
Track 2 01:06:38
governments, funded death squads, and illegally invaded sovereign
Track 2 01:06:43
states. When these same nations seek the moral high ground or
Track 2 01:06:48
call for adherence to human rights, justice, whatever, we
Track 2 01:06:53
will remember Gaza in the role they played in its destruction,
Track 2 01:06:57
just as we remember Chile, Iraq, Vietnam, etc., we will look back
Track 2 01:07:03
to and compare the current round of slaughter with past
Track 2 01:07:07
atrocities which today's instigators so readily condemn.
Track 2 01:07:13
I spent much of September visiting various villages, towns
Track 2 01:07:15
and cities across Poland. I gazed at the ghoulish physical
Track 2 01:07:20
reminders of largely vanquished people Polish Jews. Some
Track 2 01:07:26
buildings remain, but the residents have long gone. They
Track 2 01:07:29
were murdered and later expelled. The Jewish Museum in Krakow
Track 2 01:07:34
bears testimony to the countless forgotten and abandoned remnants
Track 2 01:07:38
of a disappeared people that the Polish nation has long struggled
Track 2 01:07:42
to come to terms with. The ruins of synagogues, cemeteries,
Track 2 01:07:46
houses now occupied by others, the death factories, now museums
Track 2 01:07:51
and the killing fields deep in forests are reminders of a past
Track 2 01:07:55
many would prefer to forget. But there is no forgetting.
Track 2 01:07:59
Landscapes speak. Memories resonate through stories and
Track 2 01:08:04
rituals. The UN people of Gaza may one day be wholly erased,
Track 2 01:08:10
swept from their open prisons, but there is no erasing memory.
Track 2 01:08:14
The state of Israel is literally built on the ruins of a former
Track 2 01:08:19
society. New country, new condos, manicured lawns, fountains,
Track 2 01:08:25
supermarkets and the rest will never erase the memory of what
Track 2 01:08:28
has been lost and how this was enacted. There will be a
Track 2 01:08:32
reckoning. It's already begun. Well, The Guardian is not
Track 2 01:08:38
powerful commentary that pulls no punches and
Track 2 01:08:45
can't spread that via MailChimp system because you will be
Track 2 01:08:50
deplatformed anyway. Talk to you next week.