Metaphorical Good vs Evil USA

Posted 2nd Nov 2019 to the Thinking Athiest Channel 

I watched the Documentary Hail Satan as you suggested on your show..
And I also watched the Loudest Voice about Roger Ailes and fox news..
And I noticed a pattern... The Satan is in the details :-)

Just change the labels around like a biblical satin convert would do and it all becomes clear
If you called the Christian Right of the USA True Satanists they would tick all the boxes.

And if you called Bernie Sanders the Second Coming that would fit the biblical narrative too
As he has all the best loved Christ like talking points and he was also born a jew.
Yet he is labeled a nasty socialist.

The Republican Parties literal plan is to terraform  our planet into a burning Hell as well as figuratively.
They literally seem to embrace the destruction of what theology calls creation in the most painful
Way possible.

Not to put to fine a point on it when the people of the middle east call the USA the great Satin
I didn’t think we would actually try and own that Title  !

Not Sure who Plays the Roll of the Prince of Darkness but we can certainly see his minions in high office.

 All the Best
Keep up your fight for humanity 

AMERICA and its moral compass

Posted 29th Dec 2019 to the New York Times Newspaper NY NY USA

I recall a few years back when they where looking for a new Pope I wrote a letter musing why they don't they at least try to pick one like they where a democracy.

My question now is what good is religious faith in politics? And what are the rules .
because it appears in the USA Christianity has lost it’s moral compass and no one seems to want to try and guide them back from moral toxicity when it comes to democracy.

And strangely they are scared of our the most Christ like Senator from Vermont

One might even feel like in the USA faith is just a cynical tax dodge with no real humanity at all.   

Christian descent In Trump’s America?  Their silence is howling !

The Wounds of Racism USA

Posted 3rd August 2019 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ.

Observing the right wing in the USA picking at the scabs of racism that the country has been try hard to heal seems as maddening as watching a pet chewing at stitches .
It is the seals I feel sorry for not the performing marine animals but the elite navy commandos,  when their terminally racist commander in chief publicly throws presidential weight against
the men who tried to stop one of their own who has clearly lost his mind with hate. If this is not a call for racial violence It is certainly a green light.

I worry that America’s Manifest Destiny is rearing its ugly head again, It must be said  It is a destiny based on stealing mostly against people who can’t fight back.
So if you have a nation that is a pyramid of torment and theft where will it end. It’s not just people of colour who suffer but woman, children, but white voters, the sick and clearly everyone in the future.
History shows racism is toxic and inhuman but it is good for business... In a billionaire gangster’s paradise... 

NZ Conservation Department Blues

Posted 19th July 2019 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ

Just some observations on the Department of Conservation concessions debate in Fridays Paper. 
I think the real problem is that of mandate.

It started when the Department of Conservation was turned into the department of homeland environment security
and away from recreation after the Cave Creek disaster. Since then there has been no real govt organization focusing on the
fundamental reason for our national parks exist in the first place and that vacuum has been a bit of an open wound.

I guess because tourist visitor numbers are cyclical and Kiwis are so horrendously overworked they now have very little time for
recreation anymore, it makes sense in a way to ignore the problem and just run out the clock, a perfect strategy for a cash stripped
demoralised department one would think?

It is also sad that the people of Te Anau have been waiting over a decade on the clock for a thumbs up for Cycle Trails in their national park
and have now had to look to the Snowdon Forest for recreation opportunities.

I must say I some how doubt that the visionaries who founded our national parks did so to lock off all the best scenic places from the 99 percent but
that is what the effect is in 2019.

Blackmailed Leaders Flagged

Posted 14th July 2019 to the Chicago Tribune Newspaper USA

Watching the politics playing out in Washington DC with a hand full of greedy individuals holding the future of a huge complicated Nation and unimaginable mass of Humanity in their hands,
one has to ask what our the safeguards against blackmail and if it happens who can stop it and if there are no watchdogs or whistle blowers the who can see it when it happens.
And if so how can it be distinguished from day to day donor activity without proper transparency ?

Several powerful key people in Washington are acting very irrational, is that normal or are they in fact under some sort of duress?
The Framers and Founders where worried about this but in the 21st century we seem to be more concerned about small change and minutia.

It is a feature of every human brain only handle a community of just over 100 person after that the mind shuts off so running a superpower involves a network of leaders that not only know how to organize for the greater good but also send out alerts when the net work is corrupted or subverted and that transcends national boundaries, cultures and faiths.

Currently this network is sending up a lot of warning flags! 

The end of the People's Car

Posted 12th July 2019 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ

Reading your story about the Mexicans love of the classic VW beetle and the end of the 1990s reboot version production I feel like an observation is in order.
Frankly I feel like the automotive industry has lost it’s marbles.
In the past there was a push to sell no nonsense peoples cars the Ford Model T, The Austin 7, the VW Beetle, the CV Citroen, cars that where cheep fixable rugged and could
drive across a ploughed field. Loaded with character and wonderfully cheep & simple. Perfect for the undeveloped world.

Can I buy a modern counterpart today? No, because they are not allowed to make them.  The waste of energy in building a disposable modern car is astounding  when we could make cars that
can last forever and take knocks unlike the shiny metal egg shells of today.

I see GM has shut down car plants in the USA to gear up for autonomous electric cars because Americans only want to buy Trucks??

Ironically Mexico has no shortage of drivers all they need is some kind of VW Beetle that can reach rugged remote destinations without falling apart.

Anthropocene Emergency Confusion

Posted 1st July 2019 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill Southland NZ

Looking around the discussions about the human overpopulation and just plain bad habits wrecking the planet
one has to question the education system for the gaps in simple understanding of words and effects.

When people want to declare a code red CLIMATE EMERGENCY for example it does not require a air raid siren and flashing lights
It is in fact a heads up to start factoring a big change into our society, so it is not just a call to action for those in power
but a wake up call to everyone who will be effected by something that will effect everyone everywhere in some form or other.
It is without doubt a responsible act to indicate the need to prepare.

Public Education I am sad to say teaches little about life skills and critical thinking and a lot about passing exams for entry the job market
leaving the internet to fill vast gaps in young minds.

Just a quick look on the internet reveals many people speaking with authority about politics and history parroting a load of folklore
and assumptions based on half learned observations and often, contempt.... Take the term socialism, how many people think it means
 a living hell as opposed to a word that literally means leave no one behind.  Maybe it’s not all the fault of educators but it is already
heading to become a code orange emergency of it’s own.     

Climate Emergency in Local Politics

Posted 14th of June to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill Southland NZ

The call for Environment Southland to declare a Climate Emergency and to join other regional environmental agencies has been building.
I guess this will test the metal of the region to see if we have the will to tackle the mother of all environmental problems instead of the usual small change stuff.
I just hope our will to survive has not become political as it has in certain other nameless countries across the seas.

Just remember step one in fixing a problem of any magnitude is to name it.  What the Media calls Climate Change and experts amongst there colleges call the Anthropcene Outbreak is here.
We humans caused it... We fix it... Together...

Obama Called Climate Emergency ish

Posted 11th June 2019 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ

I read Robert Guyton stating it is time to declare a climate emergency on a local level.

I happen to know a message asking president Obama to declare a climate emergency was sent just after the time
Obama finished off Bin Laden. A dramatic presidential announcement was not forth coming but he did make the effort to say
to a journalist that “Of course climate change is a problem”  instead of flinching from the idea.

I suppose in retrospect President Obama was not the man for the job as he did not have the backs of the right wing voters.
to declare a global state of Emergency a president would require the powers of a dictator  and Mr Obama was getting enough heat
of his own to walk into that kitchen.

So while we wait for a presidential super hero to save us all, us folks at the bottom of the power pyramid need to get cracking and change
the political narrative. 

Cunning Tax relief for the Taxpayer

Posted 7th June 2019 to the Dominion Post Newspaper Wellington NZ

Here is a thought about our tax system...

Citizens with money pay the most tax...  So if our large poor population had more money, they could pay more tax and take the Burdon off the middle and upper middle class.
So a living wage would give the government a larger and deeper pocket to dig into.

Also it should be clear to tax payers that their money goes to help everyone especially themselves if they are down on their luck as well as doing nice social projects.
Tax should not be used to fix the mess caused by sub living wage effects.

No harm has come out of giving people a living wage in places where it has been put into practice. It was a slippery slope to have let it happen in the first place and it is a sign of incompetence
As well as unfettered property speculation.

A PERFECTLY REASONABLE PRESIDENT

Posted 21st June 2019 to the Odentroll Blog

Something Missing?
Check the internet see if you can find any images of Bernie Sanders as President of the United States
Funny the most popular candidate for president in the last three years. Yet no images of even a dream to be found not even in fiction or art.

Especially as without cheating he would be in office today fixing and healing the Nation and its followers world wide. it seems a little odd.

Ironically The Current President has only made Bernie Sanders more electable so when he goes he will ironically make America great again. as a world inspiration based on reason and justice.

  

Mitch McConnell - Angel of Death ?

Posted 20th June 2019 to the Odentroll Blog Dispatch.

After US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell quipped to journalists that he should be considered the Angel of Death a satanic mass has been suggested to worship him outside the US Senate to appease him.

Technically The Satanic Temple as a registered religious organisation has the rite to Worship Senator McConnell and should be allowed to hold a ceremony as a religious freedom. Even if it is to the Prince of Darkness.

Our Rupert Murdoch Dream

Posted 30th May 2019 to the Washington Post Newspaper Washington DC USA

There has been a lot of flack thrown at the media of late about bending the truth,
especially the Murdoch Brand that has serviced Americas desire for self deception since the Reagan Years.

 I think we are looking at this in the wrong way, reality is easy to see and we don’t need a paper to tell us that
Human nature has a very dark side especially from the spoiled and often nasty offspring of the great and powerful.

The Murdoch Brand is in fact a public service it makes life for the rest of us more comfortable to be shielded from all that for many years now.
However the last couple of years it has been very taxing on the Rupert family’s skills to make the magnificent awfulness of the nation’s trust fund kids in politics
sit comfortably as they appear to torment our democracy for sport as if they are poking sticks in to our government like it is an ant hill.

Well it is funny how human history and human failings play out on an endless loop. But also uncomfortable.

Respecting the RATE PAYERS

Posted 29th of May 2019 to the Advocate South Newspaper Te Anau NZ

It was sure great that Southland District Councillor Ebel Cramer came to Manapouri to chat with the locals about council issues and changes we are concerned about now underway,
I think everyone was happy to have a chat to calm the waters instead of a formal procedural meeting. Ebel was a friendly face of the Council and I hope we see more of this idea if the new streamlined Council operation in the future.

Also the Idea of more transparency into unused community rates seemed to have hit the right note.

Hope our good friends in Environment Southland take a few notes on these fresh ideas too. 

NZ Wetland Experience - ES

Posted 26th May 2019 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

It seems kind of sad that the guys at Environment Southland are upset that the Manapouri – Te Anau Cycle Trail went too close to a wetland area out side the town of Manapouri.

I seem to recall environmentalist Sir Alan Mark saying it would be a good thing for the public to have access to some wetlands as a good public relations gesture.
The Trails Trust could easily construct access to the nearby legendary Kepler Mire (Lord of the Rings Location) something Professor Mark once mooted for scientific reasons.

I doubt the Trails Trust would want to have anything to do with that now, one would think Environment Southland would desire such a public gestures but alas not.

Perhaps ES might at least consider some PR at the Save Manapouri Rock at the Manapouri end of the Cycle Trail as that would be a perfect have a water fountain to celebrate our Pure Fiordland Water.

If they are not keen on us celebrating our geographic features they ARE big on water.

Just FYI the guy who gave the first donation to get the Fiordland Trails Trust underway was also the guy who helped Gaylord Nelson get the first Earth Day Started...

Something the Minister of Conservation might consider in the upgrade of the National Park Plan.

Maori on NZ Maps vs Google

Posted 23rd May 2019 to the Advocate South Newspaper Te Anau NZ 

The question of alternative names for features in the Fiordland National Park (23rd May) is tricky,  as a history buff I have said to the NZ Geographic Board a few years back that they need a special map series 

That has historic events and names included especially for lost Maori information.

Luckily in these days of Google the NZGB could now ask to have this fixed relatively easily and not just for Maori Folklore but more recent stories for Middle Earth which is also culturally important to many visitors doing pilgrimages to New Zealand as unlike the old paper maps the Internet has space for everyone!

However before the NZGB gets stuck into it they might want to work on an official Maori History Database with citations and references just to keep things seemly.
That would be nice we would not like to see politics great temptation to rear it’s ugly head.

United States of the World ?

Posted 22nd May 2019 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin Otago NZ

The ghost of the late engineer Osama Bin Laden will be feeling happy seeing his handiwork play out
Using the USA’s military weight and size to break it’s back.  He set up a chain of events that have morphed
into his design.

As we speak the USA has two massive new wars on the books all ready to launch into plus all the ones still burning since
The events September 11th 2001  which will strain the US Military to it’s limits.
And at the same time facing potential turmoil at home and from the planet itself...

Strangely there is only one US Presidential candidate running on a anti war ticket Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.
And she is not getting a lot of oxygen even from the liberals.

President Trump says he is “anti war” but he might be replaced soon and any replacement will come from a game of thrones cabinet.

Who would have thought that being a genius world leader would be so complicated!

Trump or Snap Election

Posted 22nd May 2019 to the Dominion Post Newspaper Wellington NZ

Things are looking very tricky for democracy in the United States at the moment with the breakdown of law in the higher levels of government. It is a dangerous game of chicken between the White House and Congress at play. 

There is only one tool in the box left to save the United States if congress fails. 

A snap election is the only peaceful hope. If that is held up by civil disobedience the complicated systems of this high tech civilisation will stop working. idiots with guns can not keep the systems going and 21st Century Americans are not capable of foraging for food and fuel like people of Venezuela.

There is another safety valve, many individual States are capable of self preservation if the federal system fails and just maybe the world could do without a mega super power if its too hard to keep it under control.
  
BTW Isn’t that is why FDR made the United Nations ? 

Invercargill, what makes a good city?

Posted 22nd May 2019 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill.

Talking about refurbishing Invercargill City... I did a check list about what makes a good city it seems well maintained and tidy buildings,
nice friendly street-scapes are important but their are a few other things you need like nice weather, Interesting shops, friendly people,
Recreational opportunities, education opportunities and first and foremost good job opportunities. I don’t know how city hall can tick all those boxes but
As long as Central Government is not helping cities much apart from the Auckland Mega City project so unless that changes it will be a hard road.

UNITED STATES OF EARTH (aka the real UN)

Posted 24th May 2019 to the Odentroll blog www Planet Earth.

Future Shock: What would be a stable government for the preservation of humanity and the natural world? If you dig around in old books there is one idea that american progressives might just relate to.

What if the US Federal Government with it's global money supply, language and military opened the doors to all nations to have seats equal to a US state and US states could be upgraded to small nation states.

It is clear as the Anthropocene changes sweep the planet all humans are going to need to pull together.

Competition and War amongst nations is toxic to life and a Central Justice and Research Government will be essential to maintaining our lives and our environment.

The current system of endless conflict, greed and humiliation based on primal emotions is well past it's use by date.

Today there is a wave of intelligent progressive brave young people and old campaigners read to fix the system and bring us all into a better future.

It would just be rude not to let them try...

Mercer MAGA-CARE & UBI

Posted 15 May 2019 to the Chicago Tribune Newspaper Chicago Ill USA

Republican think tanks are currently nutting out how to win back the voters with an eye on the progressive left.
One worry is that they will forge something dubbed MAGA-CARE after the alt right discovered that Andrew Yang has
what the have been looking for.

The simple premise is If anyone is technically allowed to run for president of the USA then the state should automatically provide you free Medicare as well as a Universal
Basic Income as a given.

This new deal should also be available in any country where there are US Embassies or for passport holders. And doubled in Countries the US is currently rebuilding.
Politically speaking  It is in fact so cunning that you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel. 

The Dream of Donald Trump NZ

Posted 12 May 2019 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ

It has been interesting to see Donald J Trump effecting Kiwis  He sure is an interesting guy the way he effects certain people.
He is the long awaited king of the day dream believers, the champion of the powerful wanabe oligarchs club,
he is the Pope of the self important and the patron saint of the near do well sons everywhere. He administers to the many people In abject as well as moral poverty, and to Fundamentalist Christians he is a gift from above.

Unfortunately for some reason his close friends are bitter and twisted gangster like tormentors of humanity,  luckily to protect the population from panicking from this toxic entourage
as the crimes & bodies mount up, our best comedians, Democrat Leaders and journalists weave a soft blanket of normality around him.

You can’t blame people for taking the road of least resistance as resistance is very hard, uncomfortable and dreaming is very undemanding, soft & fluffy .
Sometimes people just have to get through the darn day.

Dunedin NZ Harbour Development

Posted 15th May 2019 to the Otago Daily Times Newspaper Dunedin NZ

 I think it’s great that Dunedin wants to smarten up the water front something I have written in for decades 
But how is the threat of rising sea levels going to be factored in? Also the displacement of residents and jobs BTW What is Dunedin doing about low carbon technologies?
 I still think Dunedin’s heritage is its strong point and it is a great waste not to embrace all the creativity of the 19th Century that the City Builders left us.
As for the Harbour the best thing to do is try to turn it’s industrial shores back to nature even if it means having to recreate natures hand with technology.
If you need a Waterfront Hotel Recycle a Cruise Ship or two because if things go bad, they float!  Remember reusing and re purposing is the best way to slow damage to the environment.  

Posted 5th May 2019 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ

I read that Mr Aulis Allen is fearing catastrophe if we act on climate change civilisation is doomed which is a worry to young people and investors world wide.
Perhaps for some clarity your team might want to investigate The Green New Deal, The Sunrise Movement, Justice Democrats, Labour for a green new deal (UK)

Yes our wasteful shitty oil powered stupid greed economy has to fall, but it is rubbish anyway, especially it’s clear it’s coming to a dead end. However life is full of challenges and humans are a highly resourceful species especially the impetuous European Neanderthal Homosapien Hybrids.. Many are chomping at the bit to get stuck in and fix it.

This is the Issue of our time so throw out the old Rupert Murdoch Play Book and give us all some hope for a change .
Our NZ Green Party needs to reboot to the next level, Dolphin Huggers, old Hippies and culture shamers are not going to “cut it” in a world that is unkind to snowflakes.
It’s about Humanity now. We may have Neolithic minds Medieval Institutions and God Like Weapons but a good percentage don’t want to die on a hill made of money. 

Milford Sound NZ - Bottleneck

Posted 30th April 2019 to the Advocate South Newspaper Te Anau NZ

So this summer the traffic cues at the Homer Tunnel reached the limit of feasibility and the traffic volume on a un ventilated tunnel also reached it’s sensible limit.
I think the community need to know what is going to happen if the authorities decide they are pushing their luck too far.

The Idea of closing the tunnel to Motor Homes seems to be the first obvious step but will that even be enough.

I know it sound like madness to the Federated Mountain Club
but perhaps it is time to develop another Fiordland experience to take pressure off the Milford Sound Obsession ?

I guarantee there are many other places of equal beauty in the park that are under lockdown for ill defined emotional reasons.
This begs the age old question, are the needs of the many subservient to the needs of the few.

We are living in the Anthropocene era  for better or worse we can not turn back the clock literally or figuratively.
Humans Rule, ignoring that is just as pointless as trying to stop time itself.

USA at the balancing point 2019

Posted 27th April 2019 to the Dominion Post Wellington NZ

It seems we are at a time in history similar to the Lord of the flies plot
The Democratic Party of the USA Need to decide if they should blow the proverbial conch shell on Donald J Trump and the Republican Party needs to allow the process of the law clear their President from the charges laid against him If the Nation wants to maintain any hope of allowing him to remain a legitimate leader.

Party leaders on both sides are afraid now to do their job because the stakes are so high.
Yet to do nothing means a literal breakdown of law and order.

The Man Children are working themselves into a frenzy as we speak and our only hope is for an adult to step in before
They start clubbing each other with blunt instruments.

Nancy Pelosi, and Mitch McConnell, 18 months of anger and retribution can be an eternity.

Mitch has just told the press he is calling himself the grim reaper  So I don’t think he is a cause for hope.