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Angry

In stage 4 restrictions and lockdown in Victoria Australia, I find myself watching my boys playing outside whilst I am trying to concentrate in the study. We are lucky. We are safe. We are able to isolate. We can and do continue. Mostly, the boys are happy whether playing power rangers or knights or some such outside or indoors when the weather is bad playing with hand-me-down power Thomas trainsets, watching Japanese and English TV. 

I, however, find myself angry. Frustrated. Angry. Angry with China and the CCP. Angry with the authorities. Angry with the WHO. Mostly, angry with China and the CCP. 

I do not know whether it was an intentional bioweapon. I guess we might never really know.  My gut tends to say it might have been one in development. THat negligence and the usual lax Chinese QC led to the inadvertant release. The pandemic. However, the more I consider the events and how they have unfolded the more I am of the personal view that China quickly sought to capitalise on the situation. I recall seeing things unfold through video caputured and released agaisnt the wishes of the CCP, in Wuhan. I had never seen anything like that in my life. Something significant was happening. 

I do not know the reason for the delays - trying to contain it, breakdown in local vs national party lines and concerns by bureaucrats worried about their own self preservation and being sent to a Chinese camp.  

I strongly suspect that once the CCP realised the implications of what was unfolding they consciously determined to lock down Hubei as a “sacrificial lamb” and to eport the virus. 

I believe that China understood the potential implications to its economy and that it would be best served if the rest of the world “had it also” and that it did not need to go it alone. Did their mind consider that they would benefit from being the major suppliers of PPE? I suspect so. If Medication? Again I suspect so. I also consider that they understood that it would impact their economy more broadly but wagered that it would likewise hit other countries had as well and - well better to all be cratering than be the only country to be. 

I think that the CCP considered the possiblity that western democracies would have a harder time dealing with the virus, being less able to lock down and deal with their population on mass. They are being proved right. They sought to capitalise on this. 

Albeit, that the initial outbreak in Wuhan was, to my thinking, most likely negligence, the subsequent actions of China sought to weaponise it. It turned the negligent break into a massive global panemic and bio-weapon. It has changed the world, it has changed my boy’s world! I am Angry. 

People tell me to separate the CCP and China. I find this hard to do. I constantly come to mind analogies of the supposed separation of Nazi and German people, which history and documents show ws in fact impossible to separate. The Nazi and the German people where to large measure the same. Yes there were exceptions. They were thatexceptions.  The Bauer prosecutions proved that the defence of following orders was a decoy and to call it for what it was - bull shit. 

I believe that the same applies to the majority of Chinese. They are reaping the economic benefit of the party and are and have been happy to go along with their genocidal ways.  They don’t give a shit about the rest of the world, the planet or non-Chinese. It is the Chinese way or the highway.  I see it here with the way they conduct themselves in Australia - little care for the Rule of Law or Australian law or norms and customs. Yes, there are exceptions. Again, they are exceptional. 

Ye I feel for the mass of Chinese that have little or no choice, are not the millionaires. BUT I fe4el far less for them than I do for the world and the horror they have unleashed on us. On my boys. On children world wide. The world has changed. 

One might say I am biased, so be it. I believe the time is, or is near, for needing to take sides. I pray that the Chinese population rises up and seeks to over throw the CCP, that China is in flames with revolution. I fear it will not be rather, I see them going forward to die for the fatherland and their belief that the control of the world is for the collective benefit. THat the Han are superior, that CHina deserves to lead. That blood will be spilled. I am angry. 

I am angry at all our leaders for playing politics for electioneering rather than doing the right thing. For not taking a hard enough line. For not pivotting quickly enough. For not calling out CHina for what it is. For not taking action quickly enough - if a non-expert like I could see what was happening, why didn’t our collective leadership - Europe, Australia, USA? I am angry.

I am sad. I pray for my children’s future. 

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#Lockdown #VIC

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2020

Been a while since I have written- a blog at least or a diary. I was early on blogging having written on a now defunct site in the early 2000s. But with all going on in 2020 and mostly for my own sanity have decided to try my keyboard at it again. As in the history above I don’t expect anyone to actually be reading what I put down here. If you do good luck and be safe and sane (ok just safe).

I strongly believe that Neil Howe has captured the current global narrative (fuck I hate that word) in his 4th Turning and suspect that we are at the very start of a decade of change and turmoil. Change that none of us (or very few) are actually ready for; less know what the changes will be. I do believe that the world as we knew it has changed. SIgnificantly. Here now in 2020 we are all still in the somewhat honeymoon period. The period where things are changing we still can blame Covid and the changes and look through rose coloured glasses and hope and believe that the future will not be bleak or that it will return to what was normal before. 

As I sit here in Victoria and on the verge of going into Stage 4, I find myself considering a strategy consultant advising myself and other small businesses last year and earlier this year. When I and some saw things happening in Wuhan and CHina I cautioned that we should be careful as had never ever seen something like this before and we should prepare. I was poo poo’d. OK. Move forward to May and was told I need to step up as with others and look to expand aggessively that it is over and the time is now not to fall behind. I was insensed. I was and constinue to be stongly of the view that it was incumbent upon businesses to be conservative and prudent. Retaining cash and looking to support existing business and clients and staff as best we might. That one could not determine the future week by week let alone month by month or half year or year ahead.  I feel for all that followed her advice squandering resources that will be needed now during lockdown and following it. It stressed to me personally that even so professed experts do not have a crystal ball and “gurus” are great when there is a bull market. Now is the time for taking it slow being careful. 

That said, I do believe that fortunes will be made and lost this decade. THis is not the same as going out and pumping your micro business and using ones limited cash resources. It is carefully considering potential avenues. Saving resources and if need pivoting or changing altogether. Now is the time to consider to watch to keep eyes and ears open. To think, to ponder. 

There is soo much data too much information. Most of it is misinformation - fake? who knows what is or isn’t. I do know that the overload is turning most way from trying to inform themselves. Reading is limited. Viral videos the norm. Makes me think of the anarchists and the coffee houses in London (which incientally gave rise tot he propaganda what tea is British). Resulting more people being uninformed or misinformed than arguably at any other time in history. Ignorance is at pandemic proportions. Conspiracy theories rule. Sadly Ponzi schemes will follow, and subsequently unwind. 

I do believe that the world map will look markedly different for my children (2 1/2 and 5) when they grow up. I believe that the next several years (and likely decade)will strongly inform their generation. Some good. Some bad. But it is what it is. We all make the best. 

What the map will look like I have no idea.  I hope it has democracy, I fear it will have more totalitarianism.  I fear they will live in a world which looks more like 1984 BigBrother than we feared. I fear for my children.

Yes I have grave concerns about the individual and issues such as increasing deprivation of liberty, covid apps, lockdowns etc. However; I believe that so long as people are aware these are of lesser concern than the social media titans - the Google, Tiktok FaceBook and others that we have enmasse handed over our lives and data to. The Amazon and Alibaba’s of this world. These are the real threat. We fight facemasks when there is a real need and hand over our lives in return, both figuratively (to the FANGS)and literally to the virus. Few think!

I suspect that the current financial system will need to implode or close - where how what happens I do not know. I do believe the levels of debt and negative interest rates are absurd. Will it be gold or some other exit? I do not know - if I did I would be a rich man. I do suspect that Erik Townshend is correct in thinking it will be an Orwellian digitial currency of some sort. Not BTC. I increasingly believe that BTC might have been an experiment by a [US] govt organisation or quasi-governmental. or at the very least they have been a major holder since at least the takedown of Silk Road. Am I right - who knows. 

There will be increasing unrest and revolutionary activity around the globe. For eg, the BLM protests have little to do with Floyd and more to do with the increasing sense people are feeling that the system is broken and cannot be fixed. In the US the black pop is amongst the most economically disadvantaged - I am not going into reasons or why. 

For a long time I have seen analogies between prior to WW1 (incidentally I often refer to WW1 and WW2 as being part and parcel of the same conflict - much as one refers to the 30 year war. Many might argue against this) and increasingly I see analogies to the pre-French revolution and similar. People feeling disenfranchised, the haves in their own disconnect getting wealthier at expense of the working class. This will get worse until it breaks.

As I am fond of saying of late - wait until the protestors realize what they are, in fact, protesting - then the fun will really begin. 

Thus it is not only the economics that is due to change it is politics as well. Wil Democracy survive? I don’t know. Those that know me, know that for a decade or more I have been of the view that sometime in the future people will look back and say: Democracy was a nice experiment. Pity it didn’t work. I dont think human nature and democracy work well together. Sadly the ructions seem to be proving me - sadly! Very sadly!  

I just didn’t think it would happen in my lifetime!!

Now I realise (and yes I am switching between UK and US english and often misusing caps). how presumptious of me that was. THings change and not have major change in my life was probably the abnormal rather than the normal. Oh what a wonderful life I have lived. 

I am a dreamer, unfortunately of late (and prior to Covid) my dreams have often been nightmares. People think of me as a dr doom. Unfortunately, that is, I believe, incorrect. Rather, I do not believe we can benefit or deal with the future - which is happening now - without trying to understand it and prepare and deal with it, with understanding. Not jumping in and drowning. Unfortunately, few wish to think. Now more so than ever. Those that do will do well. Many will sink. 

As history tells, it is in the interests of the few to keep the masses uninformed or misinformed. This remains. Our schools have failed abysmally and society is reaping what it has (not) sowed. As Whitney sang - the children are our future. Well if we had focused on history, reading, science, biology, geography and maths above shit like “psychological preparedness” and “pc” bull shit we might have had a better informed youth that might be better placed to understand the issues. They might even have bought into the political process and helped change the system. We will have revolutions and beware of the outcomes. Trump will look sane. 

Enough for today me thinks 

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Lunching with the Honorable Lapologang Carsar Lekoa High Commissioner of Botswana to Australia and the honorary Consul of Botswana Heddie Goldberg (at International Chamber House, Melbourne)

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When you 10 months odd and mom makes you mini sushi rolls for lunch #mylegend #myblood

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Shabbat dinner

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#supportagoodcause #supportmyride #donate

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In the land of the one-eyed ... (On the mend) let's hope not contagious

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So Robin Williams died and I keep thinking – who is going to get his bike collection

So Robin Williams died and I keep thinking – who is going to get his bike collection

I wonder if Lance will get the bikes? Will they fit him? Will they fit whoever gets them? Now I know you are thinking, what a materialistic prat, a greatly admired person passes away and all he can think of is the bike collection. As a longstanding sufferer of the dog that has no name, I know too well that it takes a trigger to set the motions of depression into full swing. Some have referred to it being akin to jumping off a cliff (unfortunately, sometimes an all too real compassion).

 The media is awash with talk of Robin’s depression, his battles with substance abuse, and more recently public disclosure of the early stages of Parkinson’s, any one or a combination of which might have served as the trigger.  You see, one thing that non-depressives battle to grasp is the often immaterial nature of a trigger event.  It really might, in the rational scheme of things, seem quite trivial to the average person. To the depressive it is the push off the metaphorical cliff.

 So what does this have to do with Robin’s sad passing and his bike collection you may ask. Well, it crossed my mind that at one stage Robin and Lance Armstrong were, as I understood from media accounts, good friends   (I don’t profess to be an expert on either Robin Williams or Lance, nor of their relationship at the time of Robin’s death).  If my memory serves me, Robin credited Lance with getting him onto a bike and bicycles with (ironically) saving his life, saving him from substance abuse.

 So I began to wonder whether Lance’s fall from grace and the USADA’s witch-hunt has indirectly resulted in the death of, or contributed to, Robin’s death.  His saviours in the past –Lance and the bike – not carrying the same hallow; Lance’s fall, the fall of a good friend being a trigger. Could The USADA investigation and outcome have been the trigger, and one or more of the other publically discussed issues (the early onset stages of Parkinson, financial etc.) been the tipping point. I guess no one will really know.

I wonder who will get Robin’s bike collection. 

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Study time (Taken with Instagram)

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Baby ought to know

Greek tragedy peach rhapsody whoopsie did a daisy and spud felt crazy sputnik cycle nylon mile high-club someone's sorting a mothers naughty and baby ought to know.

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I cry

Spent the day fighting demons, angry voices in the ether. All the bashing and banging in the world of the soul couldn't prevent the shrill and pitch of self loathing. The black spot I call my home; the hell hole I call my mind. Procrastinating my highway to personal Armageddon the nihilistic point, period. The end of reality. The dull ache of powdery dreams and capsule realities, a purple patch of haze rather than the crystal clear days. Procrastination feeds on itself . No idea why, the wolf springs. No when, while the soul sleeps the wicked weeps and the night falls on the Spring. In the darkness Summer dies whilst dog howls, the darkest coat. I cry.