Jan 2024 – sillysocksonfriday

Crying out loud

It’s getting to the point where I am no fun anymore

I am sorry

Sometimes it hurts so badly I must cry out loud

Suite: Judy Blue Eyes: Crosby Stills Nash & Young

Some time ago, I started collecting quotes and expressions of many different people which resonated with me.

I thought I would share some of them.

There is a lot of stuff to process, take it easy – if you try to swallow it in one lump, indigestion is certain!

The state of our world

“In the West, we have been withdrawing from our tradition-, religion- and even nation-centred cultures, partly to decrease the danger of group conflict. But we are increasingly falling prey to the desperation of meaninglessness, and that is no improvement at all.”
Jordan B. Peterson

For now, just think about how we seem to have the most cowardly, corporatist, incompetent and self-serving ruling elites of any of our lifetimes. And weep.

The core issue is that changing political mores have established the systematic promotion of the unqualified and sidelining of the competent.

James Allan, Spectator

The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.
William Butler Yeats

a country perhaps deserves what it tolerates.…

‘There must be no privilege of origin.’

Bob Hawke 30 November 1988

in the world of Woke, or the modern Maoism, the individual must bow to the will of the collective, as determined by the cultural elites. This is a complete perversion of democracy.

In this ‘brave new world’, the media are now our censors. The collective will crush you. Universities are intellectual gulags. Leftwing ideology is our persecutor and our inquisitor. Language has become our jailer, where say the wrong thing and you are branded ‘hateful’, and cast out.
Rowan Dean, Spectator

Welcome to country

It is a story presented to Australians as though we are being granted a privilege to be here despite all of us being equal citizens.

Why is there any special treatment based upon heritage (instead of need)? Why are the majority made to feel as if they are aliens in their homeland?
The re-write of Australia: straight out of the Marxist-Leninist handbook
Bryan Phillips

Aboriginal leader and activist university professor Marcia Langton, declared that if the Voice referendum failed there would be no more Welcomes to Country. (She) clearly sees Welcome to Country as a privilege to be bestowed upon grateful trespassers on her people’s land. She would, presumably, be appalled to know that a great many Australians now want to take her at her word, and be left alone.
Terry Barnes, SPECTATOR 20 January 2024

Identity Politics

‘the spiritual consolation provided by the dogmatic assertion of their collective identity’.

‘In effect, identity politics has come to serve as a substitute for religion – or at least for the feeling of self-righteousness that is so commonly confused with religion.’

‘the prevailing cultural-left orthodoxy is one where mind control and group think are enforced… Opinion thus becomes a function of racial or ethnic identity, of gender or sexual preference. Self-selected minority “spokespersons” enforce this conformity by ostracising those who stray from the party line – black people, for instance, who think white.’
Christopher Latsch, 1996

Whether climate alarmism, radical gender and sexuality theory, the evils of Western Civilisation, or society being guilty of white supremacism and misogyny – the battle lines are drawn and any who disagree are vilified, attacked, and in extreme cases cancelled.

Kevin Donnelly The Spectator Jan 2024 with quotes from Christopher Latsch written 28 years ago!

What we need to do

Most of this advice comes from Jordan Peterson who articulates clearly much of what I feel and believe.

Peterson is the man who said no.
Peterson upsets academia. Their determination to ‘shut him up’ has little to do with arguments about free speech and everything to do with the fragility of left-wing dogma.

(He) is not the sort of person you can throw a censorial spear at and hope he’ll stay on the ground, bleeding out in a puddle of self-pity. (What an accolade, in my eyes!)

‘Free speech is the mechanism by which we keep our society functioning,’

Peterson was someone tired of the wheel cycling human idiocy back on itself, caked in the muck of failed sadistic empires.

To him, (heckling students) are examples of history’s useless idiots cheering on the iron fist in the mistaken hope it will only smash their ideological opposition.

If there is one lesson to take from the aching bookshelves of humanity, it’s that we learn every lesson the hard way and then promptly forget those lessons.

If facts are hateful, science becomes shackled to political correctness …

A generation of academics have their thoughts held to ransom by an invisible framework of political offence.

As for Australia …Our system of liberty is based on … the goodwill of politicians.

Alexandra Marshall, Flat White January 2024

Quotes to think about

our obligation is to the action, and never to its fruits.

Do not be motivated by the fruit of your actions.

But do not become attached to non-action either.

Extract from Bhagavad Gita

Fear of consequences cannot be a justification for inaction. Duty toward the preservation of the moral order is far more important.

“You’re going to pay a price for every bloody thing you do and everything you don’t do. You don’t get to choose to not pay a price. You get to choose which poison you’re going to take. That’s it.”

“When you have something to say, silence is a lie.”

“If you are not willing to be a fool, you can’t become a master.”

“In order to be able to think, you have to risk being offensive.”

Jordan B. Peterson

One of my all time favourites

Nothing surprising here – I love food.

I thought it may be fun to list the foods I especially like. Anything is less depressing than forecasing our future or avoiding functions which start with a welcome to country.

Don’t worry I am not on Death Row and facing execution, so this is not a forced choice, its just an idle thought, an escape from melancholy stuff like world politics, climate change and woke mania.

This is easy: design a meal – you don’t buy it, pay for it, prepare it, cook it or do the washing up. And you can invite a guest or two, who must attend, (anyone alive or dead). You may dine anywhere you want.

It’s a fantasy – just do it!

My guests are my Dad and my Uncle Steve – he was a soldier so eats and drinks everything with relish and great joy. He was great fun.

We will dine on our patio at Bahr Palace in the Redlands Shire of Queensland

Let’s have a drink !

Waiter, may I have a Pimms Royal Cup

Cashew nuts and olives stuffed with anchovies and some asparagus in vinaigrette sauce are on the table.

It’s a hot day – perhaps a schooner of Stiegl Grapefruit Radler

Now for some hors douevres:

We’ll start with Figs with Bacon and Chili, Stuffed mushrooms, grilled sardines and Carrot, Onion and Spinach Bhajias with Mango Chutney.

A fish course is difficult, so I’ll have two – grilled sole on the bone followed by a dozen grilled peri peri tiger prawns.

Land of the Giants Sauvignon Blanc with the fish, thank you

Yes, please bring some bowls of warm water with lemon slices for cleaning fingers. Maybe we can get an unsuspecting guest to drink one…

Just as well we started early and have most of the day for this feast because I can’t pass fish by without some paella. It is a fish dish but has chorizo sausage too, which goes well with the calamari, mussels and prawns

Hmmm perhaps another bottle of the Land of the Giants...

Now for the first main course. Difficult to choose but I have narrowed it down to two:

Lamb Tikka Masala curry with leg chops so I can suck the marrow out of the bones, accompanied by pilau rice, grated coconut, Mrs Balls Peach Chutney, sliced bananas and tomato and onion sambal.

Nothing better than a schooner of ice cold Kingfisher beer to soothe the flames.

I hope you don’t mind but I selected a red for the main, main course and had it opened to breathe. I am largely ignorant as a gout avoidance measure, but I have heard good things about Pepperjack Shiraz and have enjoyed a glass or two.

The main main course is not fancy – Rosie’s oxtail stew, with baby potatoes, and some broccolini (an acquired taste)

We will have a little rest to let our tummies settle. Try a little dish of lemon sorbet to cleanse the plate.

Pudding is difficult, but I have limited the choice to three. Of course there’s the Irish option: we could try a little of all three.

My all time favourite, is maybe , creme brulee but I am also very taken by a good trifle with lots of sherry (no jelly). A recent competitor is malva pudding with cream.

A drop of Delheim Edelspatz Botrytis Riesling 2020 to go with the pud.

Honeysuckle and honey, apricots and peaches, lime lime lime, guava peels, orange peel and sticky marmalade, dried pineapple, sultanas, and all the baking spices.

Lusciously sweet, high acidity, full bodied, and with a loooong finish

Yeah – I thought it might appeal …

Finally some cheese and maybe a liqueur? I can recommend Drambuie or perhaps a Pere Magloire Calvados.

We have some Stilton and I can recommend a slice of a ripe pear with a bit of Roquefort. The brie goes well with a bit of quince paste or there is some Camembert or that lovely sheep’s cheese I had the other day…

Dear me! I am quite replete. I could almost smoke a cigar..

Perhaps a nap..?

Behind the door of 2024

It is a leap year.

Hopefully some brave leaders will propose love to others and generate some peace!

Good news!

Life expectancy has more than doubled since 1900
the world has become far more peaceful. In 2022, 3,5 in 100,000 people died in war, in the 20th Century, there was an average of 30 deaths per 100,000.
the annual global burned area has been declining for decades with 2022 being the lowest on record.
Deaths from famine and floods have declined almost 50 fold over the last century.
Less than 10 percent of the world lived in extreme poverty, compared to 80% in 1820.

Media coverage of conflict and other horrible incidents like crimes and natural disasters crowd out the good news that objective data shows.

Conflict

Our world is threatened by the increasing interaction of the Russia, China and Iran Axis (a term recalling the World War 2 Germany, Italy and Japan alliance).

Warfare so far has been less direct, being fought by local forces, backed and supplied by sponsor world powers.

Radical threats to global trade by Iranian backed Houthis in Yemen are likely to be the catalyst for a wider war.

Israel seems to be itching to take on Iran which is also supplying Hizbollah and Hamas.

My 2023 forecast commented on the impact of Covid in China. Only estimates are available as China stats are patently false. Apparently 1.87 million excess deaths, mostly aged people occurred after the lifting of Covid restriction in December 2022. How can we know the pain and anger of that muzzled population?

Certainly the Chinese economy is not doing well. One can only see increasing authoritarian and totalitarian conduct from the Xi regime I still say a Taiwan conflict is imminent.

Even more so, now the Western power bloc is distracted by the widening of the Gaza conflict. Just to add some further spice, that rabid dog in starving North Korea is throwing artillery shells around again and making threats.

The waning of Woke

There are increasing signs that the Western world is waking up to the widespread damage and threats to its civilisation by the Woke ideology. This resistance has been powerfully articulated in the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship Conference in London in October.

The loud rejection of Woke style virtue signalling and identity political appeasement tactics was graphically demonstrated in the Australia Voice referendum.

Politics

In Europe, there has been a strong political swing to the right, caused by the increasingly uncontrolled refugee invasions from Africa and the Middle East. It will be interesting to see if Labour gets elected in the UK.

In the US, there is strong support for Trump, probably a world leader in anti Woke policy, despite repugnance for his personality and behaviour. He will be elected if the indictments against him fail to stick. He will likely stamp down on illegal immigrants.

the US political system is more dysfunctional than any other advanced industrial democracy. In 2024, the problem will get much worse. The presidential election will deepen the country’s political division, testing American democracy to a degree the nation hasn’t experienced in 150 years and undermining US credibility internationally…. the only certainty is damage to America’s social fabric, political institutions, and international standing
GZERO Daily . Ian Bremmer

In Southern Africa, blatant government bullying extinguished any chance of democratic change in Zimbabwe. The South African political landscape is disintegrating as fast as the national infrastructure with power, water and sewerage systems continuing to fail. The ports and rail systems are barely functional. Xenophobia is rife as unemployment soars.

Generally speaking democracy is not doing well and the need for strong, capable leaders has never been more urgent.

Other stuff

Artificial Intelligence is apparently producing productivity miracles, all likely to be at the expense of human roles, so ethical dilemmas abound.

My local forecasts are:

Australia will continue its cricket supremacy and rugby inferiority.
Labor may well lose the next election.
The AUKUS submarine purchase is a non-starter: delivery decades away while the world is spinning faster don’t add up.
The greening of energy generation will slow down

The Western order is still mighty but the white ant-ing of woke ideologies has harmed it immensely. The cross border migrations from vastly different cultures which have not assimilated poses major existential issues for Europe and the US.

Less than 80 years since the last world war, another on two or three fronts is trembling on the brink.

Nothing like a world war to re-set values, priorities and expectations!

The Janus Perspective

As the god of transitions and dualities, Janus is portrayed with two faces—one facing the past, and one facing the future. He also holds a key in his right hand, which symbolizes his protection of doors, gates, thresholds, and other separations or openings between spatial boundaries.

That is where we are – in transition. At least I desperately hope so!

At last the Western world, which I identify with as the best civilisation in this age, has awoken to the threat within its walls.

The erosion of identity politics, uncontrolled borders and hordes of refugees from alien cultures, the surplus of elites, declining educational standards, scant academic rigour and the dearth of strong politicial leadership has hollowed western democracies.

In 376 AD, a large migration of Goths and other non-Roman people, fleeing from the Huns, entered the Empire. Roman forces were unable to exterminate, expel or subjugate them… The Roman elites were beset by squabbling and in-fighting and the Roman Empire disintegrated.

Western polities are in the throes of an identity crisis which has enfeebled them, allowing more primitive, authoritarian cultures to infiltrate our institutions and values. Internal attacks on history, convention, institutions have been endured to their detriment.

We’ve been redefining deviancy so as to exempt much conduct previously stigmatised
Senator DP Moynihan, c.1994, quoted by Tom Switzer, Weekend Australian 30 Dec 2023

The moral outrage displayed under the Black Lives Matter banner fuelled the looting, toppling of statues, burning of cars and widespread defiance and confrontation of police. The cause was the death in police custody of George Floyd, a drug using criminal.

Such was the righteousness of this outrage that Democrat Senators took a knee as did many sportspeople, virtue signalling their acceptance of guilt for somehow being the cause of the failure of a huge majority of black people to succeed in modern society.

A number of state governments began considering paying reparations for slavery 100’s of years ago, at the expense of current taxpayers.

This challenge to society occurred during the period that the #metoo phenomenon strengthened the cancel culture which had stifled freedom of speech in universities.

Over the last decade, the West has been inundated by floods of refugees from the Middle East and Africa. Many of these people have not been absorbed into society and are living informally in squalid conditions, contributing to huge welfare demands and a rise in violent crime.

The decades-long lenient immigration rules in the UK have resulted in a huge influx of Sout East Asians and Africans. Such is this impact that many churches in the UK have been transformed into mosques and Muslim radicals protest at military funerals. Curry and rice long surpassed fish and chips as the favourite food choice.

Decolonisation is a rallying cry of the progressive left, but it no longer means the freeing of former colonies, it means racialising and disparaging the historical legacy of Western civilization.
Frank Furedi, Weekend Australian 30 Dec 2023

2023 saw a swing to the right, with the election of right wing governments committed to crackdowns on migrants and stricter border controls. In Australia the rejection of the Voice referendum, knocked back a flimsy political virtue signal aimed at empowering Aboriginals by according them extra constitutional power.

There are clear indications that there is a strongly building conservative resistance against the ideology of multiculturalism and the rewriting of history from the viewpoint of non Europeans.

What a swing of the pendulum to the right will require is for the hitherto generally silent middle mass of the population to bestir itself and defy the attacks on freedom of speech and the the right to police public order.

It will require resolute, courageous leaders determined to hold a firm stance and withstand media pressure.

The incursion of identity politics into everyday business and social life must be resisted and diminished. The rights of parents to be informed and make decisions for their minor children must be unequivocally upheld.

It will entail the rolling back of recent liberties like illegal behaviour during demonstrations, the tolerance by governing bodies of bigotry and hate speech and increasing surveillance of society.

The hard edge of this civilizational conflict is in the proxy wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Ukraine stands against the invasion by personal direction of a ruthless, totalitarian dictator. Israel stands against those that attack its people and seek its annihilation. It is a bastion of Western democracy, surrounded by autocratic regimes probably directed by Iran.

Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China are autocratic regimes, superpowers that seek to subdue the influence of the Western world. They have a number of alliances and huge and extreme military arsenals. They operate clandestinely, funding cyber attacks and external terror groups while shaking their nuclear swords.

Israel opposes and counters Iran’s influence and confronts its proxies, Hamas, Hizbollah and the Houthis, with assistance from Western allies. Russia is assisted by Iran, China and South Korea in its war with Ukraine, who is backed by the West.

So the choice is coming closer and it is serious.

Who do you support?

The rewriters of history and seekers of reparations for slavery;

The defenders of invasions of their country and of the western constitutional democratic freedoms.