Author: manqindi

Post imperial wind drift. Swazi, British, Zimbabwe-Rhodesian, Irish, New Zealand citizen and resident, now in Queensland, Australia. 10th generation African of mainly European descent. Catholic upbringing, more free thinker now. BA and Law background. Altar boy, wages clerk, uncle, prefect, student, court clerk, prosecutor, magistrate, convoy escort, pensioner, HR Practitioner, husband, stepfather, father, bull terrier lover, telephone interviewer, Call Centre manager, HR manager, grandfather, author (amateur)

The Limbo Rock?

How low can you go?

What is passing through my mind is:

  • how far will a head of state be allowed to go before being stopped?
  • And how is the stopping done?

Recent history about the stopping of modern day dictators :

Mussolini was lynched by his own people after Italy was invaded and vanquished

Stalin died in office of natural causes (maybe accelerated ?)

Idi Amin was exiled after attempting to take over his armed forces which had mutinied after invading their neigbour Tanzania.

Hitler shot himself in the ruins of Berlin with invaders at the door

Pol Pot was ousted after invasion by neighbouring Vietnam. He died under house arrest serving life imprisonment.

Robert Mugabe was ousted by his own party at age 93, after ruling for 37 years. He was a fan of ethnic cleansing.

Ceaucescu (and his wife) were executed after an uprising against his rule.

Saddam Hussein was hanged after arrest by US invaders. He was a bad boy.

Muammar Gaddafi was killed, probably by his own bodyguard, in a counter revolution.

Bashar Al Assad was ousted by a counter revolution and fled to Russia

but….

Fidel Castro died in his bed after ‘retiring’

Mao Zedong died in office of natural causes

Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping, Al Kameini, Erdogan, Lukashenko (“Europe’s Last Dictator” ?) are still alive and in office…

It seems that killing millions of citizens is not sufficient motivation for ouster:

Mao killed 30 million of his own people, Hitler’s score was about 21 million including 6 million Jews, Stalin’s death toll was only 6 to 9 million, Pol Pot killed about 2.4 million, mostly intellectuals and skilled workers, which was about 40% of the population.

Of the mass murderers, only Pol Pot was ousted from power.

The others died in office.

How far will the current most prominent autocrat go?

Instead of arresting and prosecuting, will he start bumpimg off illegal migrants, Democrats and those that don’t agree with him…?

What’s next? The invasion of Greenland with obliteration of NATO forces placed there. …

Hmm! Australia is strategically located and has lots of natural resources including rare earth metals…

Heyy! What about Canada…. I’ve always said it should be one of our states!

Who is going to stop him?

The military is already doing his bidding. (There has been a purge of some command staff)

Congress hasn’t checked his acts of war like bombing Iran, sinking boats in the open sea, kidnapping the president of a foreign state, bombing Nigerians…

It seems that the answer to my questions at the beginning are:

  • Killing 40% of the population was the limit for Pol Pot
  • Removal from office and indictment

or ….. Revolution, which is extreme, but not far fetched. I recently saw a movie of a modern day civil war in the US …

… or maybe just keep digging into the Epstein files…?

Risk

Risk is another word like woke that has swindled the world.

Way back in the old days the concept of risk was devised by a marketing spin wizard. Brave heroes like Marco Polo, Columbus, Drake and Raleigh and no doubt Arab and Chinese explorers set out to find riches in undiscovered and thus unexploited parts of the world.

In those days explorers with better weaponry and technology easily prevailed over indigenous populations. In fact it was their duty to bring the True Faith to the heathens, whether they wanted it or not and morality be damned.

Nevertheless their endeavours were heavy with danger. History rarely records the unsuccessful endeavours of those who were shipwrecked or annihilated by the peoples they invaded…

Heroes and warriors attract people who are not so brave but who are clever. For a share of the explorers’ spoils they will ‘insure’ the expedition, so the loss of disaster can be ameliorated for those left at home.

So the fear of leaving families destitute if they failed was removed.

Soon insurers persuaded everyone that every risk of loss could be made less severe. Eventually, of course, it was found that every endeavour had risk and required insurance.

Governments were persuaded to legislate insurance against risk.

So the insurers started dictating how every endeavour should proceed and go about minimising risk.

Safety became a holy word that sanctified restrictions. Insurance is required and won’t be provided unless myriad steps are taken to eliminate risk.

Suddenly safety becomes very expensive causing explorers to abandon new endeavours because insurance is too expensive.

The insurers don’t care as just about every endeavour, every building, vehicle and person is now insured against risk…

So business development is stifled except for ideas with a very high profit margin that can afford all the insurances required

Now the construction of a new pedestrian walkway requires more traffic controllers than workers.

A corollary is the mindset that believes that once an endeavour is insured and premiums are paid, the correct signage is erected and appropriate safety training has been done, risk is eliminated ….

Eradicating the stranglehold that insurers have on capitalist societies will be more difficult than reversing the woke waves of the last half century!!

It is part of finding a form of beneficial government that does not include becoming a nanny to its subjects.

The Trump card

Of course it’s the Joker – but you better laugh or at least smile or it will be the Queen of Hearts: Off with his head!!

There is this surreal feeling that 2026 has plunged us all into a rabbit hole …

One can just see the Cheshire Cat grinning through all the unimagined twists and turns…

The Maduro kidnapping was such a smart operation which suggests significant planning – this is not a madcap spur of the moment whimsy.

Behind the blather there is a whole lot of strategic planning and intent. Maybe the Don’s job is to distract and misdirect? He’s pretty good at that!

We have become too civilised, too reticent, too socially delicate. The best is not equal, it will not be seen as fair by all. It is also fast and centralised and powerful.

Our lives have become clogged by the cholesterol of good living. Bureaucracy has slowed decision making and impoverished us.

We in the Western democratic world have become too soft, forgetting the hard road it took to get to where we are.

Confession time.

I must admit to an awkward admiration for a benevolent despot, a doer who has no hesitation.

It trashes all political norms and conventions of ‘civilised’ behaviour – but it is past time for a major re-set of our perspective of the real world!

Trumping maybe the way to go to save our way of life.

It may not follow conventions and has little finesse but it’s pointing in the right direction.

Heart surgery is not a delicate science: it is basic and brutal and the squeamish may not like it. Sometimes it is necessary.

It looks more and more like a world war may be on the cards. What happens to war survivors is they re-focus on looking after their own communities. Maybe that is what we need to save us..?

Sounds a bit like what I have heard about Fuentes…

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? Maybe…

He sticks in my throat, but may be the saviour of ‘our’ civilisation, i.e. the western democratic world.

Topsy turvy world

The words lebensraum and Anschluss probably have little significance for today’s world. They were clearly announced in Hitler’s book Mein Kampff.

In the 1930’s the militarisation of the Rhineland occupation of the Ruhr, occupation of Sudetenland, Bohemia and Moravia, annexation of Austria and invasion of Poland were justified by the desire to unite German speaking people, a need for resources, a desire to expand or gain back former land, and extreme nationalism.

They were unilateral incursions by superior military forces driven by ruthless politicians

90 years later, with MAGA we have seen:

  • the unilateral renaming of the Gulf of Mexico
  • Kristalnacht scenes of the apprehension, removal and incarceration of people within US cities by jackbooted troops;
  • the bombing of Iran
  • the obliteration of boats in international waters
  • the kidnapping of a Head of State and his wife and
  • the capture of an oil tanker under a Russian flag.
  • Threats of further action against Iran, Cuba, Colombia and Greenland have been made with impunity.

In fact, these acts have been owned with pride and self righteousness.

The two images that loom in my head are a schoolyard bully and Adolph Hitler.

These actions by the supposed leader of Western civilisation can only be seen as ‘legitimising‘ Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and lending justification to China’s invasion of Taiwan.

Guess who doesn’t give a toss?

Congress won’t check him; a few judges may rule his actions illegal in the dim and distant future…ho, hum!

Again Caligula comes to mind … initially welcomed, he reversed treason trials and brought back exiles but descended into despotism, executing rivals, squandering funds, and demanding worship, leading to his assassination by his own guards.

What next? Domestic acclaim and a stunned silence from allies and neighbours (cowed by threats of invasion?) could lead to increasingly brazen and rash acts.

Greenland to be the new 51st state, Canada to be the 52nd ….. why not Mexico as the 54th? Heyy!! Why not all of the Americas…??

Oh yeah, the other one who comes to mind is Kim Jong Un, and Vladimir of course

Winding down

The year is almost over – the year end doldrums have set in (in my case that happened about 4 January…)

Even Trump has lost his allure, which is not quite the right word as it omits the whimsical menace of his mind. With a bit of luck the Epstein files will show him clearly as the leering, bullying thug I believe him to be. But I no longer really care.

Imagine if clear evidence of paedophilia by him emerges – will Congress try impeachment again? Don’t bet on it.

I did not do a forecast for 2025 as I have not been very accurate in the past.

But here goes:

There is some hope that the Ukraine war will be resolved soon.

Trump moves could include divorcing NATO, invading Venezuela and annexing Greenland. I do not think he will support Taiwan or other countries China is bashing.

His tariffs are likely to continue. According to CBS News:

Economic growth has surged to its fastest pace in two years, inflation has risen less than feared and the stock market has climbed to fresh highs. 

So well done, Donald, despite rising unemployment and prices for the ordinary man in the street remaining high.

Just a random thought about powerful leaders…. Winston Churchill was one.

He too seemed to have bewitched parliament and had some very dubious views and habits….

Here in Australia, with a bit of luck, Albaaneasy and Wrong will continue to be boo’d in public. Realisation that Labor’s narrow focus on renewable energy is excessive will spread to the majority of the population.

In Europe, there are glimmers of stronger, conservative leaders emerging.

Maybe we will see more conversations about compulsory national service.

In Africa, colonial infrastructures continue to crumble and leaders continue to struggle to get fatter as the public purse is swindled. Economic overlords will continue to absorb natural resources.

The winding back of woke regimes will be difficult as practically a whole generation has been infected. Instilling backbone into the wider populace is difficult. Evasion of the issue is the predominant attribute of most.

It will be interesting to see the how far AI will be deployed in governments…

There lies an interesting conundrum: surely forms and applications could all be processed instantaneously by AI! No 2 year average processing times for immigration applications.

Mind you, I would give the administration of justice to AI: lie detectors, no more juries, no more lengthy trials …

Oh and the electoral process too – online voting, instant results; frequent referenda on important issues.

Sorry… getting sidetracked

May the Year of the Horse bring you joy and sufficiency.

Awake!

The Bondi Beach massacre gave rise to a number of raw thoughts.

  • Can indiscriminate massacre in a peaceful community be justified by the claim of retaliation for people killed in retaliatory attacks on soldiers within a community?
  • Will the hero, who may well be a Moslem, be safe in Australia?
  • How long before vigilantism rears its ugly head?
  • Surely this will see a swing to the right, with more following Barnaby Joyce’s direction?
  • Will the right to keep and bear arms become of political moment?
  • I thought Netanyahu’s accusation against the Australian government was spot-on!

“Your government did nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism in Australia. You did nothing to curb the cancer cells that were growing inside your country. You took no action. You let the disease spread and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today.”

On a slightly different theme, I was irritated to see the soberly dressed morning show talking heads at the murder scene. Somehow, vultures came to mind. Virtue signalling and looking for gobbets of human pathos are not really what journalists should do.

Not a word yet from Coalition or right wing pollies: too afraid to grasp the nettle.

This is their opportunity to show up the woke, weak Albaanese government for the weak and ineffective leaders they are!

I can almost hear their twittering: “you go first, no it should be you,…. but what shall we say…..”

AAaaarghhh!!

We need someone to speak clearly and simply:

  • no more refugees or immigrants from Palestine and Sudan, no more potential supporters of radical Islam
  • get tough on youth crime
  • stop the mad stampede into renewables
  • stop buying votes with rebates

Men are qualified for civil liberty, in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites. . . . Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters.  

The debilitating effect of false sympathy, created by a misguided education

Edmund Burke “A Letter to a Member of the National Assembly”

Lift up your hearts

This is an echo of my Catholic foundation, but in those days the words were in Latin: Sursum Corda

It is followed by the call to give thanks and praise.

Well in the western hemisphere whole countries pause and families gather to give thanks together. It is a fine tradition which the rest of us should follow with at least the respect and enthusiasm we give the banal Halloween, over-hyped Festive Season and chocolate coated Easter!

You may have noticed the absence of any rant or mumble in recent months – I have not been inspired or agitated enough to stir my stumps…

Perhaps there will be peace in Ukraine this Christmas. It will be an achievement of note, notwithstanding the apparent pandering to the acknowledged aggressor. That is cause for jubilation.

Israel and Gaza have slipped off the media interest scale, although still simmering. Let us give thanks and praise!

Good news is often not sensational, so it is downscaled by most media, sadly – it doesn’t sell as well as blood on the front page.

But here are some things we should be happy about:

  • AI is revolutionising medical diagnosis. …
  • Ocean cleanup projects are making waves. …
  • Mental health support is going mainstream. …
  • Renewable energy is breaking records. …
  • Gene therapy is curing ‘incurable’ diseases. …
  • Cities are becoming wildlife havens.
  •  Food waste is being tackled with smart solutions
  •  Global poverty continues its historic decline

Yeah! They do look good. Thank you

sorry … bit of a mumble space filler..

The book I am now reading…

The Reverse of the Medal by Patrick o’Brian

O’Brian is highly talented storyteller who uses sophisticated techniques to entertain but also inform on the themes, values, fashions, attitudes, humour, politics and sociology of the 19th Century Royal Navy.

The story is a continuation of the Aubrey and Maturin saga. It consists of 18 volumes, which should be started at the beginning.

This is my third or fourth reading – I look forward to many more.

Woe king

Sadly, that’s what I think of Charlie 3.

His younger brother is a hound, always has been, by repute. Probably undone by an unhealthy streak of aristocratic arrogance. Somehow extending the divine right of kings to include a suspension of decency.

It is a common tale of misfortune which resounds amongst the ranks of scions of families with inherited wealth. Too much money and regard for status seems to lead to the belief that rules of society and decency do not apply.

But he has not been accused of any particular crime. Years ago a claim was settled with the girl who claimed the prince had taken took advantage of her when she was a minor. Inappropriate, undesirable behaviour but no crime.

The media hullabaloo has ebbed and waned. There has been a recent resurgence of the same allegations and the girl has died.

So…. HRH the Charlie sees fit to cast his brother out; cancelling all the honours and privileges traditionally accorded to a child of a monarch.

This is a weak act of virtue signalling in keeping with the woke generation. That is a clear indication that the Palace has succumbed

Google says:

A king is symbolic of power, authority, and leadership, representing the nation’s identity, continuity, and the rule of law. He can also symbolize a connection to divinity or the ultimate source of justice…

Justice requires appropriate consideration of evidence and the opportunity to defend oneself at trial. There are no accusers – just noisemakers and a compliant puppet.

A Weak, Wan, Woke King.

No wonder there are no real leaders in the UK, with such a weak monarch.

His mother had more balls.

Ja nee

Lulu got swooped by a butcher bird the other day; it clipped her bum and she leapt away. Quite funny, until it had a go at me..!

Magpies and kiewiets/plovers also get huffy. Being strafed while cycling is not amusing.

My Auntie Bunty said it was very frightening when it was a German bomber doing the strafing, which happened to her in WW2. Obviously they missed, as she told us the story.

It’s going to be one of those days with bits and pieces.

Such a moment in time, when the world makes kiss kiss to that awful orange man. Peace in Gaza was inevitable, there was nothing left. The Donald’s timing enabled him to claim the glory, but he was really only the final straw.

Let him crack the hard nut of the Ukraine and I will echo his own nomination for the Nobel Peace prize

These are quotes from stuff I have been reading lately. Hope they titillate your fancies.

“Journalism largely consists in saying ‘Lord Jones is dead’ to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive.” –G.K. Chesterton

“There is in our future a TV or Internet populism, in which the emotional response of a selected group of citizens can be presented and accepted as the Voice of the People.”  Umberto Eco

All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia. 

George Orwell 

“The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” 

Margaret Thatcher

… the Internet will bring about Idiocracy

Trump ….”tribalist, kleptocratic, authoritarian cultural imperialist? “

”  He cares about getting rich, persecuting his enemies, and eliminating threats to his own power—just like his Middle Eastern counterparts do. “

Nick Catoggio

A hit dog will holler. 

“Anyone who calls us authoritarian is going to prison,” 

“If you can’t call fascists fascists, then the fascists have won.”

Democracy insists upon enfranchising the ignoramuses, who also get a vote on any number of other issues about which they know little or nothing. Two cheers for democracy and all that.

United States and China are firmly locked in a cold war struggle whose outcome will be the most important determinant of peace, prosperity, and quality of life in international politics over the next decade.

The second half of this decade is set to be a critical inflection point in this contest.

Stephen Weber, Cold War Statecraft for the 2020s

We would be better off if we did a little bit more work understanding what people actually think (and why) rather than inventing arguments that are designed to make us feel virtuous in comparison. 

Kevin D Williamson TMD 24 Oct ’25

He was talking up the Ideological Turing Test which he believes will help us all avoid unsubstantiated sentimental pronouncements about others’ arguments.

Hope that stimulates some thought, sorry it’s so serious…