Towards a better way of life – Page 2

Crime does pay

Criminals and wrongdoers will be somewhat chagrined (polite version of pissed off).

Why? – because they are not the ones getting the money – the Government does.

What’s more, we the public pay without a squeal!

Every third year on 1 July, there is a blanket increase of the value(?) of a penalty point, called indexation, which means of course, that the Government gets more money, so crime pays.

Fines are standardised by the allocation of penalty points e.g. not controlling your dog in a public place costs 5 penalty points.

One penalty point is now A$161, up from A$154 (4.2%); CPI is only 3.8% over the same period.

Dear me, inflation is terrible, yet Government continues to find ways to maintain the flow of money paid by us all. Without lifting a finger or risking public debate in Parliament. Such a cunning trick to ensure its revenues are maintained.

Like Justice, these increases are blind – they do not take into account whether there has been an increase or decrease in offending or whether the penalties deter or eliminate crime.

In fact, it appears that the number of offences detected on camera for every 1,000 vehicles has reduced. “This is a promising sign of changing driver behaviour.”

Yet the penalty amounts increase!

The state government forecast its Camera Detected Offence Program (CDOP) would bring in $465.8 million in revenue in 2023 financial year — up nearly 70 per cent on the $274.5 million collected in 2021-22.

Yet the then minister stated “Research tells us that CDOP was associated with a reduction of 897 casualty crashes in 2020 and 1191 casualty crashes in 2021,”

From next financial year, the government forecasts CDOP revenue of $503.5 million – the equivalent of $1.37 million per day!!

What started me of on this theme was recently the penalty for allowing one’s dog to walk unleashed in a public place increased from $322 to $806!

Why ?

I really don’t want to get started on how governments control its citizens by making them criminals or government ingenuity on extracting money.

To me it’s simple: if you don’t control your dog adequately, you will be warned. If it happens again your dog will be destroyed.

If you drive without a seat belt, in excess of speed limits, using a phone, or go through traffic lights, you will be warned. Next time your licence is cancelled. Third time – you go to gaol.

Offences will dry up quick time. But so will revenue…

Is that likely to happen? Yeah, right!

Why Do People Avoid Thinking About Serious Stuff?

… look away now if you’re not up for it

Not everyone does a lot of contemplation … when asked to elaborate … they are forced to parrot whatever echo chamber to which they subscribe. I blame the schools, all of them.

We are a culture of people who would rather be distracted than confront real issues, and we shy away from acknowledging problems because if we actually notice them we’d have to work to fix them.

My dream is that we find a way to incorporate critical thinking into the education system. Not only would we encounter people capable of having an intelligent conversation, we’d be more likely to hold politicians, business people, and everyone else accountable for their decisions and what they advocate. Imagine a return to fact-based decision making!

If the success of religions since the dawn of civilizations taught us anything, it is that most people are terrible at thinking independently and would much rather be told what to believe, think and do.

Most people don’t talk about deep stuff because they are shallow. They are shallow because they were never challenged properly as children to develop their critical thinking faculties. Children are constantly told to shut up and listen or else. Hence followers are manufactured in the home.

It’s a cycle that won’t be broken until someone brings forth a functioning model that provides working methods for existing damaged people to inadvertently not damage their children.

Once you’re raised to follow, you can’t listen to the truth because it forces you to violate your dependency on others which is now hardwired into your brain for survival. Hence the prevalence of dominance hierarchies.

These are responses on Reddit to the title question, not my words, although they resonate with me

How red is my neck?

The Altemeyer RWA scale measures right wing authoritarianism. I was curious so did the test. Now write down what you think I scored.

(22 is minimum and 198 is max).

I will tell you my score at the end of the blog.

Is compromise good or bad?

In a long ago industrial relations training session I was mildly scorned as I maintained compromise should be the realistic and most pragmatic outcome. Society in South Africa at the time generally endured an authoritarian regime and was engaged in a national power struggle .

Compromise seems to have an undesirable reputation and various negative meanings and circumstances attach to it. But in the context of bargaining I still firmly believe it is a better solution than total victory, unless the relationship is broken beyond repair.

That is because each party gets something, admittedly not what was desired but enough. If one can widen scope from total victory to partial victory then a solution is possible.

Of course, the degree of antagonism means that compromise solutions are difficult.

But that is what must prevail in Ukraine and Gaza as the degree of antagonism is reduced by the grief and loss felt by both warring countries. Sadly the latter seems to be spiralling out of control as fringe participants step up their antagonisms.

Both these regions existed for centuries in relative harmonies before borders became so darkly drawn on maps.

My RWA score was 33! Even I was surprised!

You can’t say that!

At a friend’s baby’s first birthday (can you believe it?) last week, I saw an Irish friend, who recently returned from a visit to the Emerald Isle. I puffed out my cheeks and chirped that it seemed he had brought some potatoes back with him. He laughed and said he had put away a few while he was there.

Another friend sitting next to me was aghast and berated me for making such a remark about someone’s appearance. I protested that he was a friend and wouldn’t take offence, to which he laughingly agreed.

Earlier in the month, I had been castigated by one of my daughters for calling a nephew chubby.

Should we not say what we think ? And why do others feel they need to spring to defend, calling out possible offence?

Much of the current erosion of western values has arisen from the failure to speak out for fear of treading on some sensitivity or other and causing offence.

So when a few people promote the right of people to choose their own gender and pronoun and demand that the rest of society follow suit, much of society followed suit, without demur.
When a few students muzzled the Oxford Union, professors obliged.
When mobs toppled or defaced statues of historical figures, little action was taken.
When immigrants heckled soldiers’ funerals, little was done.
When immigrant priests urged defiance and eradication of Jews and supported jihad, governments demurred….
When foreigners started flooding borders and consuming benefits funded by citizens’ taxes, governments tip toed and hesitated.

Yet, I shouldn’t tell someone he is looking fat!

Resentment festers and if unresolved can erupt. The recent violence n the UK seems to me a clear demonstration of resentment. It is going to take a lot of undoing, because the damage is a cultural wound and those cannot be fixed by decree. Once you have let people in the gate, it is very difficult to get them out and the process involves bloody mauling.

So defy sensitivity and correctness and speak out or you will forever have to hold your tongue.

It is not just a right, it is a duty.

How do I feel?

What I believe is greatly influenced about what I feel. Thoughts and words express our perceptions which are greatly influenced by our emotions.

I suffer from bouts of insomnia for as long as 10 minutes and occasionally wake up too soon to get up in winter.

These are some of the thoughts that exuded from my foggy brain this morning:

How do we address the erosion of western values by the woke generation, some of whom are our own kith and kin?
How did I learn to feel and think the way I do?
What was the world like when I learned to think and articulate what I believe in?
What do I believe in?

It gets quite difficult and foggy, very quickly

Coincidentally, someone posted this on Facebook recently:

I am God … I think therefore I am.. I am a biological thinking intelligent machine… I can create my own reality.

I believe we are mostly good, but that experiences mould us:

There are some bad and weak people who choose to follow their own ways, despite knowing better ways.
We are easily distracted and tempted; self-discipline is difficult, but rewarding.
We are also easily misled and pride rules our redemption.
We forget that emotion guides every choice and harnesses intellect, so that it becomes imperfect..

I started life in Africa, as everything did apparently. That history was a great place to learn values and witness injustices.

Discrimination based on race, gender, ability and history is wrong.
We have a duty to stand by our family and friends.
We pay the State to serve us and we must also serve the State in times of need. But we cannot blindly follow the State.

Hmm! That should be enough for you to chew on.

I do not doubt that there will be little response to these humdrum words – that usually only comes after blogs about birds and flowers and such like.

Which way are you going, Billy?

Life is suffering

Love is the desire to see unnecessary suffering ameliorated

Truth is the handmaiden of love

Dialogue is the pathway to truth

Humility is recognition of personal insufficiency and the willingness to learn

To learn is to die voluntarily and be born again, in great ways and small

So speech must be untrammeled

So that dialogue can take place

So that we can all humbly learn

So that truth can serve love

So that suffering can be ameliorated

So that we can all stumble forward to the Kingdom of God

“Don’t underestimate the power of vision and direction. These are irresistible forces, able to transform what might appear to be unconquerable obstacles into traversable pathways and expanding opportunities.”

Jordan Peterson: 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (I think)

I often struggle with direction and the meaning of life; what Peterson says resonates.

…. and now for something completely different..

The Midnight Cowboy

What happened below is one of those stories that you couldn’t make up.

It was case that came before me when I was a Senior Magistrate, presiding in Salisbury Magistrates Court

The accused was charged with failing to obey a Police officer’s instructions and assault. He pleaded not guilty.

At about midnight on the night in question, a Detective Superintendent was driving home after a Police Officers’ Regimental Dinner. Formal dress was required so he was attired in his No 1 mess uniform – navy blue in colour with sword, spurs, medals, brass buttons and lots of braid. A glorious sight!

He observed a vehicle drive through a red traffic light without stopping. As a Police officer, he felt obliged to give chase.

He caught up to the offender and forced him to pull over, got out of his car and approached the other car.

He remonstrated with the driver who responded tersely with a coarse suggestion that he should go away and then roared off again.

Under cross examination, the Superintendent denied the suggestion that the accused could have mistaken him for the Midnight Cowboy returning from a Fancy Dress Ball.

(At this stage, I had to pretend that I had dropped my pen, to hide my laughter!)

The zealous policeman, now incensed, called in the registration number and got an address. He arrived there about half an hour later.

The fugitive came out, there was an altercation, and he biffed the policeman, whose spurs caught in the grass and he fell over. It was produced as an exhibit!

The Superintendent retired in high dudgeon and then called out the riot squad, who deployed in full force with rifles and spotlights to arrest the offender.

There was not a helicopter as later depicted in a Sunday paper cartoon.…

I had a great deal of difficulty remaining impassive and dropped my pen 3 times, I had to … I couldn’t stop laughing!

During an adjournment, I suggested to the Prosecutor that he withdraw the case and he said he wanted to, but the complainant insisted.

Eventually, I found the man not guilty of disobeying a policeman, as he may not have appreciated the glorious uniform contained a policeman.

But I had to find him guilty of assault, but gave him a paltry fine, which enraged the pompous policeman.

It really wasn’t so funny. The man’s hubris had besmirched the reputation of the Police force; he had deployed great force to deal with a petty infraction; such abuse of authority was astounding.

I wish I had kept a copy of the cartoon in the Sunday Tribune!

Roolz are trapz

There are two types of rules: laws and regulations. Apparently, regulations are made to give clarity and certainty about the intentions expressed in policy or laws.

They do so by restricting and binding and diminishing freedoms. The more regulations there are, the less freedom there is, and the greater the risk of breaking the regulations. This gives legitimate causes for disputes.

Regulations are actually the tools of those that aim to reduce the power of the policy makers and the subjects of rules. They are the weapons of the trade unionist and the bureaucrat, used to consolidate and entrench their own function.

Policymakers are elected, like ministers, members of parliament, directors and board members. They do not make regulations. They delegate these functions to bureaucrats, who are not elected.

This is the likely source for one of the major failings of democracy.

By avoiding making regulations, policymakers abrogate any responsibility for how policies are implemeted, whether they succeed or fail, facilitate or oppress.

Politicians delegate their decision-making powers, instead of educating functionaries on the full purpose of policy and allowing precedent to serve as example.

Bureaucrats then lay out specific regulations describing specific behaviours required by the law makers and procedures to be followed to demonstrate this.

Procedures are the great scimitar of the bureaucrat.

In order to ensure greater certainty more rules and procedures are devised, requiring more bureaucrats to administer and interpret compliance.

Failure to comply with required procedure becomes a substantive offence attracting penalties: refusal or denial of a claim made under the policy. This is where the plethora of claims fail: improper procedure.

Actually, nothing to do with the intention of the policy !

Hence the existence of Administrative Tribunals, designed to deal with appeals against bureaucratic acts. The waiting period for an appeal is apparently only 46 weeks: easily long enough for memory loss.

The moral of this story: do not make rules, just make policies which are easy to understand and act upon. Let common sense rule.

Transform bureaucracy to save democracy!

We may need a Trump card to Musk it!

It does not seem impossible to imagine AI replacing most bureaucrats in the near future: imagine instantaneous decision making , information and assistance!!

Shine a light on it

This is not a religious rant.

The Devil loves the dark. He shies away from the light.

I was having a devil of a time understanding why I felt that capitalism was a failed system.

My concern was prompted by the perpetual focus on how rich the super rich are. The worth of Elon Musk, Bill Gates etc is staggering! According to Wikipedia they are surpassed by Bernard Arnaut who is worth $233 billion!! (understandable as he produces the world’s best champagne, brandy and luxury goods – Louis Vuitton – he sells to rich folk).

Then I shone a little light on their worth: LVMH has 213,000 employees, representing 190 different nationalities; Musk companies employ over 110,000 people.

That’s how capitalism works: clever people employ many people who in turn fund society and of course they all pay taxes so we can have a government to run our countries. In 2023, LVMH paid a tax rate of 26% on revenue of €86 billion.

That looks like capitalism works very well for society!!

Since the adoption of capitalism the world has improved dramatically:

Life expectancy has more than doubled since 1900;
the almost universal illiteracy of 200 years ago has practically disappeared;
only 10% of the world live in extreme poverty, compared to 80% of the world 2 00 years ago.

There certainly seems to be enough money provided by the Capitalist economies and even the former communist and totalitarian economies like China and Russia who have ample funds to spend on military hardware and war!

So we must shine our light elsewhere.

The US federal government debt now stands at 33 trillion dollars*

Almost every single Western economy shows a similar pattern!!

Throughout democratic capitalist economies, politicians are confronted by rising expectations of the voters, rising costs of government and declining productivity.

… authoritarian capitalist economies such as those of Russia and China are not constrained by the economic realities that confront Western democracies.

If free market capitalist economies are to survive we have to either substantially increase rates of taxation to pay for rearmament or reduce the welfare benefits that citizens now see as their right.

https://www.spectator.com.au/2024/06/are-we-doomed Tony Letford

Put that in your pipe and smoke it! Our governments are just shelling out money to stay in power – how long is that going to work?

So my faith in capitalism is restored. I have no faith in politicians, yet they are what we have, so we must get them to work properly.

Intermittent feasting

It is a sad thing that we always try to fool ourselves. Long ago, I accepted that I was hopelessly self-indulgent and because I loved eating and drinking, there would be some corporeal consequences.

Daily exercise was my penance and thus I felt that I prevented indulgences from becoming overwhelming. I knew my form as overweight; what a tailor called rather inelegantly, portly short. (My ego inserted ‘slightly’ to mollify my dignity).

I had long ago accepted that I was not as trim as I was when I played rugby (not quite 50 years ago), but that the next step, overweight, was acceptable. I mean Shakespeare’s Falstaff was a knight at arms, even though somewhat portly!

However, I was recently labelled as obese!!

I was also told the risks that my obesity fostered: diabetes, higher blood pressure, dementia, high cholesterol; but to be honest, I think it was my vanity that was most bruised. I can not allow myself to be obese!

It was my chiropractor who labelled me – a good man (he talks rugby between slaps and stretches).

I had gone to him for various aches and pains and the obvious conclusion we drew, was that they too may well diminish if my poor skeleton was not dragging around almost 20kg of unnecessary weight.

He suggested that losing weight was a mental challenge. Diets were about changing what was eaten; changing when I ate, may outfox my procrastinations and lapses when confronted by Black Forest Cake or Sherry Trifle.

So now I may eat them between 10h00 and 18h00, admittedly with some moderation …. but I am a reasonable man.

In this way, I protect my vanity by reducing my obesity and virtuously discipline my habits and lose wight which will make me healthy.

It’s what I call a win, win, win solution!

(I might live forever! That might be taking things a step too far. Nobody would tolerate me at 90!!)

I promise to keep you informed on progress … or otherwise! Scout’s Honour.

Starting weight, fully dressed was (?) 105kg.

It is just … sad!

Australia has the largest size homes in the world. Round here in our middle class estate, 20 year old houses average A$1,000,000

Average homesize has more than doubled despite family size declining by 28% in the past 60 years. Plus we send the old fogies off to live in aged care homes, so they are no bother.

Not only that, storage facilities are booming and are a serious investment option!

What does that say?

It says to me that we are rabbits in the headlights of marketers. Our lives are continuously cascaded with marketing messages and information.

We are driven to buy the bargain, its so cheap. We each have 50 shirts, 10 pairs of shoes, 50 dresses and a million knick knacks. Our televisions grow in size by the year. We have speakers in every room and 12 different appliances in the kitchen. We have so many types of insurance we need a broker

Our houses are so cluttered we buy sheds and park the cars in the road. We hire storage space to accommodate our possessions.

Why? We don’t need most of the stuff we have…

I am reminded of the riots in London in 2011 which was sparked by police shooting an armed suspect. It led to wide spread looting. My thoughts at the time (just after the 2008 recession) were that despair and futility and lack of money coupled with incessant marketing messages could lead me to do some looting too.

That’s when I began to dislike marketing.

It’s sad because we won’t be able to stop it without a cataclysmic event or events which could lead to radical recalibration of our values and drives.

Covid was clearly not sufficient.

A world war would do it – and that is not too remote an event….

Understanding

We respond to our perception of others’ actions, despite not knowing their motivation, intention or the accuracy of execution of their intended action or how our response will be understood.

We perceive monsters which are just mistakes or gifts which are poison to the touch. Our interpretation of the world that others live in is based on surmise and is skewed by our own attitude and experience.

We should not assume intention or motive without question. Such question needs fine crafting to avoid accusation.

Yet pain and misery make some lash out and hurt regardlessly, maybe somehow to ease their pain. They make relationships hostage to their wellbeing without regard for the damage, to salve their wounds, which are often imagined, nevertheless painful.

Happily conversations between familiars are usually open and easy, not requiring deep scrutiny as to meaning and motive.

How do we deal with suspicious, unhappy, antagonistic or rude acquaintances who are in our social circle?

I asked Dr Google:

No one can hurt you without your consent. It is not what happens to us that hurts us. It is our response that hurts us.

Ships don’t sink because of the water around them; ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down.

Just keep it superficial, keep your interactions brief, keep it positive…and move along quickly.

Don’t try to fix them, don’t give them ammunition, and move on.

It takes a great degree of self-control not to respond to accusation or insult from an unhappy person. Somehow find a way to deflect, duck or ignore the lashing out, which is a way of making you feel the pain being suffered. Not easy and often a lack of response acts as a spur.

Some people need to be persuaded that there are better views of themselves and the world.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy helps one to take a different view of history which enable more positive feelings.

The trick is to persuade the person that there is help. Pride is a terrible thing and is a defence against being laughed at or pitied, which are almost the worst social experiences.