The Waiting Man

Sorry… I won’t stand for this.

If you’re so excited about acts of war, go back to Palestine & fight in it. Don’t bring your religious hatred here. And that goes for both sides. We had enough of this during the violent breakup of Yugoslavia when Croatian people were targeted here in Australia. Don’t start this shit here - go fight your holy war where it’s happening - then see how you like it

*Roger Waters

For my Australian reader...

The one-off Public Holiday of Mourning for Elizabeth II will also be a day of double demerit points for road & traffic offences... like the other Public Holiday periods that are Long Weekends, or longer. I must say I find myself astounded to be in agreement with Ben Fordham of radio station 2GB, but this really does stink of cynical cash-grabbing, rather than a road safety measure

And on a lighter note... an anti-vaccination protester (surely a redundant species by now?!?) thinks street lights are some sort of Government weapon - because they were pointing straight down at where the protesters were

So much to mock here... the fact that they're still banging on about loss of personal freedom, when they can do everything a vaccinated person can do now (except hopefully survive a bout of Covid19), the fact that good old, reliably fucking stupid ex-member of Parliament & all-round ignorant git Craig Kelly thinks that the words "awake, free and unvaxxed" are pronouns, the fact that getting vaccinated for Covid has ALWAYS BEEN VOLUNTARY, NOT MANDATORY, the presence of a YouTube 'celebrity' who calls himself the Aussie Cossack, freshly released from gaol after breaching a court order & publicly naming a paedophile at an anti-vaxx rally (Question... Why? You know what, it doesn't matter logic is not at home to these people), fiercely pro-Putin & lauded by the aforementioned fucking idiot Craig Kelly & obviously a bit deficient in the old mental arithmetic...

"First day back from jail, straight to the front lines, marching with thousands of like-minded patriots against this government bureaucracy,” he said in a video shared early Saturday.

“Today we are sending a very clear message. A message of defiance.”

Firstly - thousands?? I think not. Second - patriots?? Hardly. Thirdly - defiance of what? Of whom??

Most likely of reality, as far as I can tell...

Catching up on & clearing out the e-mail accounts from the last 2 weeks, this little gem cropped up in the inbox of the accout that I only keep for a couple of things, as it's become a spam-magnet with occasionally interesting results...

My name is Jeff Bezos, an American technology entrepreneur, investor,
and charity Donations. I'm the founder, CEO and president of
Amazon.com, Inc. I believe strongly in giving while living’ I had one
idea that never changed in my mind ? that you should use your wealth
to help people and i have decided to give $2.500,000.00 Two
Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars, to randomly selected
individuals worldwide. On receipt of this email, you should count
yourself as the lucky individual. Your email address was chosen online
while searching at random. Kindly get back to me at your earliest
convenience, so I know your email address is valid.

You can visit this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos

Do make sure you provide me with your complete information below, so
that I will forward it to my selected payout bank for disbursement.

Full Name:
Country:
City:
Age:
Occupation:
Sex:
Mobile/Tel:

Reply Back For More Information: jefferyprestonbe3@gmail.com

Best Regards,
Mr Jeffrey Preston Bezos Billionaire
CEO of Amazon

I do like that his job description includes the title 'Billionaire'... & that he uses a gmail address

It does make me wonder how many people would be gullible enough to fall for this. Once upon a time I wouldn't have thought very many - but with what I've seen in the last few years... I have no doubt there'll be more than enough

Oh my god, you're a fucking idiot

If you believe this fucking idiot... you're an even bigger fucking idiot

So... Donald Trump thinks Putin would never have invaded Ukraine while he was President & is only doing so now because of (yaaaawn) "a rigged election"

And Fucker Tucker Carlson wants to know why we've been "trained to hate Putin by the Democrats"

"“Has he shipped every middle-class job in my town to Russia? Did he manufacture a worldwide pandemic that wrecked my business and kept me indoors for two years? Is he teaching my children to embrace racial discrimination? Is he making fentanyl? Is he trying to snuff out Christianity? Does he eat dogs?

“These are fair questions, and the answer to all of them is no. Vladimir Putin didn’t do any of that. So why does permanent Washington hate him so much?”

Some questions for you Fucker... & some answers too

Remember Ronald Reagan & his anti-Communist fear-mongering in the 80s - when we all thought nuclear war was imminent - mostly because of Reagan's posturing? No? Do you remember what party Ronnie belonged to?? No??

Do you remember your Hero Trump's insistence that Covid19 was the "China Virus"? Is China a part of Russia?? Does Joe Biden oversee viral research in China, or anywhere else in the world for that matter?? Even if he does, the virus broke out in 2019... & who was President then? Do you remember??

Do you remember your Hero Trump's allegations that illegal immigrants were responsible for the worst violent crimes in the USA. Do you remember his racist comments about... well, just about any Asian, Latin American or African country you can think of. Do you remember him saying that white supremacists were "fine people"?? Who do you think was really teaching your children to embrace racial discrimination? And how is your assertion helped by mentioning the consumption of dogs. Who's eating dogs?!?!? Is that an anti-Asian racist comment you're making right there??

And Fentanyl?? Is there a secret laboratory under the White House, where Joe Biden is cooking up a batch even as we speak, so he can supply it to any back-yard drug manufacturer who needs it? What do you have against the legislation for the regulation of Fentanyl, making it harder to come by for those seeking a cheap thrill once the Ivermectin wears off?? Anyone might think you've got yourself a Breaking Bad-style motorhome somewhere in the back-country & can see your side-gig under threat...

Some days, I seriously think... I'm nearly 55. I've only got a few more useful years in me. Why do I get so worked up about the fucking idiots who are either running the world, or undermining the smart people trying to make a positive difference? Why do I care... it's not like I have any children I've condemned to existence in this morally vacuous suckhole of a society

... Just shut up & play your guitar!

Yes, my main guitar inspiration - the guy whose playing made me want to learn how to do that, is at it again with even wilder, more paranoid, Youtube-'verified' utter bullshit about Covid vaccines...

In a new interview on the Real Music Observer YouTube channel, Clapton peddled the theory of “mass formation hypnosis” – a phrase coined to suggest groups are being tricked into follow messages against their will – which has been widely discredited by scientists and medical experts.

“I started to realise there was really a memo, and a guy, Mattias Desmet [Belgian psychologist], talked about it,” Clapton began. “And it’s great. The theory of mass formation hypnosis. And I could see it then. Once I kind of started to look for it, I saw it everywhere. Then I remembered seeing little things on YouTube which were like subliminal advertising. It had been going on for a long time."

Sure Grandpa...let's get you back into bed now, then you can sing Layla for us before it's time for your nap...

The contrast between EC & my other guitarist-touchstone Robert Fripp, could not be more apparent...

To paraphrase Spike Milligan... I just thought you might like to know what a proper idiot looks like

Exhibit A:

A 'man' 'celebrates' Kyle Rittenhouse's Not Guilty verdict...

Exhibit B:

A 'man' 'protests' against Australian vaccine mandates, apparently believing that our Government's interest in keeping its citizens alive & healthy, is equivalent to King Edward the First's dealings in & with Scotland in the 13th Century. Also apparently believing that today's law-enforcement agencies use bows & arrows...

And, of course, any time Exhibit C turns up...:

'Rogue' MP & full-time Covid Misinformationist Craig Kelly 'speaks' at one of the above rallies... Apparently, refusing to be vaccinated is the way to "Protect our kids. That's our first priority"

Some days, I'm so proud to be a member of the human race...

Won't Someone Save Australia!!

Oh boy... so much to unpack here - this is a news story that has so much going on with it, I just don't know where to start. And just when I thought it couldn't be any more stupid, Craig Kelly turns up!!

So... a bunch of anti-vax New York Department of Education workers decided to march through New York, railing against the fact they have to be vaccinated in order to work. Along the way, they vandalised a Covid testing site, appropriated the famous pro-choice slogan for their own twisted notion, then... & I'd love to know who started it... decided that Australia needs 'saving' from the Draconian health measures that have helped keep our total deaths from Covid19 under 2000 since the pandemic started. Apparently our lockdowns equate to slavery, or imprisonment... or both... Possibly. Anyway the march ended up outside the Australian Consulate, where impassioned speeches were made

“What’s going on in Australia is not just going to be Australia. And when it shows up on our doorsteps, we’re gonna punch it right in the f***ing teeth,” one speaker said.

“We’re holding the line for Australia, we support Australia!” said another.

Australians, being Australian, of course, took all this in our own way:-

“Next thing they’ll be having ads: For just $1/ day you could support an Australian,” one person said.

“When Americans can say Melbourne properly, then they can be worried about what is happening there,” added another.

“Save Australia!!! We are being held captive here by universal healthcare, no guns, abundant sunshine and low Covid rates. Help!!!” The Guardian Australia’s Paul Karp said sarcastically on Twitter.

“Before Covid we had 30 years of uninterrupted economic growth – so obviously we’re worked hard. The dictators make us put 10% of our salary into super (401K) so we don’t retire in poverty. Where is the freedom?!?”

Of course, we're not without our own lunatic fringe, whose current bigmouth is ex-Liberal Party backbencher Craig Kelly, who was dumped for his outspoken bullshit about climate change, Covid hoaxism, 'alternative' treatments (thought it was a hoax Craig?) &, of course, anti lockdown & anti-vaccination. His contribution to this beautiful mess?

Thank you NEW YORK

I 💛Australia 🇦🇺

Shame on those who trash our Freedoms

Shame on those who abuse our Human Rights

Labor/Liberal they’re just the same

We need new leaders, new ideas, new approach

... with hashtags regarding the removal of various State Premiers & the Prime Minister - people who have access to the science & advice of international medical experts. Obviously our GoogleTube-educated, ex-furniture salesman thinks he's the man for the job...

Of course, some people with sense on Twitter pointed out some sobering truth...

As many pointed out, Australia might want to look elsewhere when it comes to advice about how to deal with Covid.

“New York has a population of 8 million and has had 55,000 deaths due to Covid,” one person said.

“Victoria has a population of 6.7 million and a Covid death toll of 877.”

Save the USA!!

I'm sure the very notion of fact-checking Tucker Carlson of Fox News (in)fame(y) is akin to King Canute trying to hold back the tide... but sometimes these right-wing, ignorant fuckers just get under my skin with their inflammatory mis/dis-information

Take his latest reported outburst for example...

Fox News host Tucker Carlson has unleashed over what he’s dubbed Australia’s Covid-19 “totalitarianism”, accusing state and federal governments of mindlessly embracing martial law, shooting rescue dogs and lockdown lunacy.

“In Australia, the government has implemented total lockdowns nationwide, and imposed martial law to enforce them,”

Okay, just stop there FTucker - there are NO nationwide lockdowns, they are NOT total & there isn't the slightest whiff of Martial Law on the Spring breeze. Unarmed soldiers have been brought in to help with quarantine enforcement, but only for those meant to be isolating because they HAVE COVID, not for the general population. The lockdowns that are in place vary from State to State & different areas have different levels of restrictions. The whole country is NOT locked down & cowering behind its doors as the armed forces patrol the suburban streets in tanks, armed with flame-throwers & lasers...

“What’s the justification for this? Here are the numbers: from mid-July to last week, the entire country of Australia — a population of 25 million — has averaged about 1.5 Covid deaths per day.

Whoa there FTucker - this is blatant manipulation of numbers. It's not about national deaths per capita, it's about community infection rates &, more importantly, where the deaths are happening: mostly the elderly &, worryingly, it's getting into the indigenous communities. My home State of New South Wales is averaging over 1000 new cases per day & losing about 10 people per week, give or take. NSW's population is about 6 million, so if you now want to apply FTucker's version of mathematics, it paints a grimmer picture...

“That has been enough to justify the end of Australia and totalitarianism. In one recent case, authorities executed rescue dogs — shot them to death — to prevent Australian dog lovers from travelling to adopt them. Leaving your home is not allowed, so they just killed the dogs. And the population put up with it. They were told they had to.”

I can hear the rising tone of voice & blood pressure in this quote but, bad grammar aside, it's still inaccurate. This was a one-off, isolated incident, with the emphasis on isolated - the town that killed the dogs is hundreds of kilometres from anywhere else &, under current travel restrictions, assumed no one could come for the dogs, so euthanised them... by bullet sure, but the population has NOT put up with it, nor were we told we "had to". There is a government enquiry underway into the incident & the public response has been universally angry. So much so, that the town's Council are not returning any calls right now...

And what is it about every right-wing fanatic's fascination with "Totalitarianism"?? Is this the new boogyman who's taken over from Communism as the greatest threat to humanity since, well since Fascism - I'm sure FTucker knows all about fanatical nationalism, persecution of social & ethnic minorities & propaganda as fact

Here FTucker: I looked it up for you... does it sound like someone you know & probably voted for a few times?

totalitarianism
/təʊˌtalɪˈtɛːrɪənɪz(ə)m,təˌtalɪˈtɛːrɪənɪz(ə)m/

noun

a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state.

All this, coming on top of Australia being called 'smug' about our previously enviable Covid situation, is a bit much... I mean, how much can a koala bear?!?

Never let it be said I won't criticise my own country...



This is the face... okay faces of wilful stupidity. Ignorant obstinacy. Misinformed belligerence - insert your own adjective & noun combination here...

Whose human rights are being 'attacked'? Easy - the vast majority doing the sensible thing & minimising their travel & contact with others, to deny the Delta variant's opportunity to spread. Whose job is under threat? Also easy - the medical & emergency service workers who have seen & know first-hand what this virus can do & will have to deal with the results of your stupidity when the case numbers go up again in a few days, thanks to this...

Who's being 'controlled' by 'communism'? Easy - the under-educated mass who blindly follow what they're told by people who have no qualifications in medicine, sociology, logistics & apparently political science, let alone history. A communist state would never allow such a protest to take place for starters...

Scenes like this do make me think we need a kind of purge though. But Stalin & Pol Pot had it wrong - instead of weeding out the educated & intelligentsia & executing them, I think we need to go the opposite way

Unmasked, Untested, Unvaxxed & Unafraid? Okay, you're also completely Unnecessary for the progress & betterment of society...

As of today, all of the Greater Sydney area & some outlying regions, are in lockdown, due to the Delta variant of the Plague spreading like... well, the Plague

It started about a week ago, with an airport driver infected by an aircrew he was, ironically, delivering into quarantine... he then went to a bunch of places in the eastern suburbs - an area notoriously reluctant to social-distance - & thanks to the Delta strain's higher contagion ability, it's spread to just about every part of town, with 2 locations in my northern beaches area listed as contagion sites... neither L-SP, nor myself have been to either of them. I had a Covid test a few days ago, when it looked like it was scaling up, just so I could reassure people I was 'clear' when I go into their houses for flooring measures etc... 2 days ago, masks indoors became mandatory, yesterday the eastern suburbs went into lockdown & today, the rest of the city has joined them

I'm not sure what it means for my work... Last year, it didn't affect my actual job, as flooring is linked to the building industry & so was considered 'essential'. It did lead to a 25% reduction in trade though, but at least I was getting paid regardless. This time, as a self-employed 'sole trader', if the clients dry up, so does my weekly invoice!!! The Federal government is no longer paying the 'JobKeeper' allowance, so FIIK (Buggered If I Know) where the money will come from...

You would think that we would have learned from the last lockdown that it doesn't automatically mean we're going to shit ourselves a whole lot more, but no...



Long-Suffering Partner took this photo today, in the aisle where the toilet paper (normally!!) is, alongside the disinfectant sprays & other cleaning products... The supermarket was full of the, by now, usual panic buyers with overloaded trolleys - mostly because of the 3 jumbo packs of bog roll in there - & boy, were the Boomers getting testy... obviously due to their sudden incontinence...

If I have to panic-buy anything in the coming days, it will probably be loaves of bread & jars of Vegemite, as that's all I'll be able to afford for my 3 square meals, when my work dials down...

... another stupid person with a gun, doing something stupid

Imagine if this had been in California, where a gun-happy judge has just overturned the state ban on owning 'assault' rifles - the kid would have been shot in the chest half a dozen times & the outcome would be very different

The very name - assault rifle is enough to make you question so many things, not the least being why an ordinary citizen feels the need to own an assault weapon. The excuse that it's for 'self-defence' goes right out the window by definition alone

And as for a guy who thinks it's okay to pull a gun on someone he 'believes' is tailing him, well...

Guns don't kill people. People kill people? Sure, but what do you think they kill them with??!!

I swear I don't go looking for trouble... Troubled people just seem to find me. I must have a giant neon sign above my head that only a certain kind of idiot can see

I've been contracting to a flooring company for just over 3 months now - visiting homes, offices, building sites etc... measuring & estimating, as well as noting any issues likely to affect installation. I don't have to sell anything & I don't even discuss prices for anything. It's been liberating, relatively stressless &, to be honest, a bit of a financial rollercoaster, but the general consensus is that I've seemed happier lately. The sales people I do all this for have been good to deal with on the whole, a couple are more demanding than others, but mostly I think they're just glad they don't have to go out & do what I do.... Which suits me - I don't want to do what they do!!

Yesterday & today, one of the salespeople landed resoundingly on my Shitlist. Yesterday it was just the usual things - a lack of communication, slight disorganisation & the assumption that he's the only person in the whole world I do these measures for, so I should be ready to drop everything, turn around & drive in the opposite direction just because he fucked something up. Today, that was compounded by arrogant, patronising messaging & communication &... then he thought he could threaten me with non-payment if I didn't do things just the way he likes them & invoked the Company Manager's name as some sort of backup to his bluster. What he didn't know, was that I was at the Head Office at the time & had just spoken to the Manager about the issues at hand & what was expected of me, which was of course, nothing like the demands that were made. Check mate motherf@#$er...

So I sent him a return text, outlining the actual situation & ended by telling him to never take that tone with me again

Not 5 minutes later, he did... via text, of course, I'd like to see him try it in person

How do they find me? Are there just more & more people out there these days, with such a blind sense of entitlement, than there used to be? Or is it that, as above, I have some sign above me which everyone can see except me, saying something like 'Available to be fucked with, any time...'

Millions March Against Mandatory Covid Vaccination... except it was hundreds... who all seem to think that the Covid vaccination is mandatory. It isn't - but why let the facts get in the way?

The main attraction for these millions hundreds of free-range, organic sheep - former "celebrity" chef & now full-time idiot 'Paleo Pete' Evans (note the links to his Instagram posts in the article have now been disabled...), decked out in a MAGA cap, who seems to have taken mathematics lessons from the guy who claimed to have had the largest inauguration crowd ever. I doubt you could get to multiple millions, even if you put the entire world's anti-vaccination/plandemic/Gates conspiracists in one location all at once... preferably an airtight & soundproof box

Now there's an idea...

Maybe you could get to a six-figure number - it depends on how many of those 74 million Trump voters fall into the above category... ideally from a great height

I know, statistically speaking, that the anti-mask, anti-vaccination, conspiracy theorising, lunatic fringe is a small sector of this wonderful melting pot of a society we endure live in, especially here in Australia where, as I've noted before , we've been fortunate to have been spared the ravages of Covid19 which have torn holes in various countries populations & economies

But that's no reason to carry on like the bastard sons of the Occupy movement, who were the bastard sons of the 'G' protesters, who are the bastard sons of the anti-nuclear & peace movements of the 70s & 80s. Since the Cold War ended, it's been hard to find a genuine issue that everyone agrees is ruining the planet, so the causes have become harder to justify, louder & more desperate, demonising some supposed, secret global cabal who, depending on your chosen theory, want to wipe out the working class, want to turn us into unthinking proles, want to sacrifice us to the lizard people, or just leave us behind when they all take off in some secret spaceship

Still, that's Australia for you... we're so desperate to be a part of the world, we'll jump on any bandwagon. Occupy Wall St? Okay, we'll occupy... Martin Place in Sydney... what do you mean you've never heard of it? Terrorist attack? Hey, the guy who took hostages at a Sydney café who had a history of mental illness & domestic violence said he wanted an ISIS flag, didn't he? Must be a terrorist attack, right?. Covid19's a hoax & the vaccine's a cover for (insert loony theory here) & lockdown's unconstitutional, so instead of storming government buildings with automatic weapons, we'll... march through a suburban shopping mall with 2nd-hand slogans we've copied from the USA

Yeah!! Mandatory vaccines for our judges (Pedophiles)sic!!!! No mate, you've go that wrong - all the Priests are paedophiles... & besides - why should the kiddy-fiddlers get the vaccine before I do??!

I can't wait for a bunch of pissed-up blokes in a Toyota Hilux to try 'storming' the Federal Parliament after the next local by-election...

As more details emerge of the sinister undertones of the DC riots last week, with photos of armed, masked, camo-clad dipshits carrying cable-tie restraints, recordings of people chanting "Hang Mike Pence", along with the other usual 3-word slogans (Stop The Steal', 'Count The Votes', or alternatively 'Stop the Count', '4 More Years'... 'USA! USA!' etc...) Why is it these slogans only have 3 words? I have my theory... what's yours?

Having seen Arnold Schwarzenegger - former Republican Governor of California - comparing the riot to Kristallnacht, one of the great leaps forward by the nascent Nazi Party & personally finding it a bit of a long bow to draw & just another case of celebrity bandwagon-jumping... it was interesting to see some more images & reports from the riots, that actually bear Arnold out quite a bit. Put simply - you've heard one right-wing, racist fuckwit, you've heard them all... The baseless, unfounded, racist, bigoted, anti-semitic bullshit remains the same, only the names change to suit the times

Interesting that these white supremacists claim that "Europeans are the children of god"... given that Christianity was born in a Middle-Eastern country & that Europe actually includes Muslim countries like Turkey, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo & even Kazakhstan. The irony that Kazakhstan's most famous exponent is actually an English Jew is not lost on me. I wonder if it's lost on Trump's supporters?!

Probably... as are a great many other things, I'd wager