The Brown Note

From Roald Dahl To Ian Fleming - Never Change An Artists Work

No doubt sniffing future profits, and fearful of the online mob spoiling that party, the estates and publishers of Dahl's and Fleming's works are releasing new versions of their books, changing words. Never change an artists work. For a start it's missing a great opportunity to learn and teach - how and why history has changed, how to deal with being offended - it's also deleting a snap shot of the past. But worst of all is the precedent it sets, what's next, and who decides? A painting too explicit? A film too upsetting? Just change it. What about re-releasing NWA albums with sexist language removed? Never do this.

The 15-Minute City Is Coming For YOU!

Move over COVID, conspiracy town has a new sheriff - and it's an a doozy. If you've spent your life (like I have) in horrendously developed major cities, the idea of having everything you need 15 minutes from your home, would seem like the sanest and most wanted and most human development plan ever, apparently its basically Stalin.

El Salvador’s New Mega Prison - A Crime Against Humanity

Never trust any phrases less in politics than "Tough on Crime" or a "A war on crime", it's just right-wing populist short hand for "We aren't going to address any of the reasons for crime, just lock more people up, even harder, which has never in the history of humanity worked". With El Salvador now going down this route with the America's largest ever prison camp - with a massive emphasis on just how sadistically they will treat the prisoners - the residents of San Salvador's worst gang neighborhoods now have the enviable life of, not being able to escape joining a gang and then being put into an even worse prison for the rest of their horrible lives after.

Fox News Should Be Jailed

The 1.6 BILLION dollar Dominion Voting Systems defamation case against Fox News has revealed something we all knew was happening - Fox News doesn't even believe the crap it spouts. Whilst it's most toxic mainstays like #TuckerCarlson and #SeanHannity were spruiking mass voter fraud to a violently wound up audience who would end up trying to overthrow the government, they were mocking those same claims in private. This isn't freedom of speech - this should be treason.

COVID: Well Done World

Well done to the world for their response to COVID - it needs saying - where for once right wing populism was ignored for a global belief in science (if only we could've done the same for climate change). Now the cookers, conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers and charlatan politicians are claiming they were right about everything, when all they've done is spout a load of rubbish 3 years ago, dropped 90% of it and still claimed to be right about everything cos they waited 3 years. Mistakes will always be made on unprecedented global events - but we were never wrong in listening to who we did.

Lidia Thorpe, You Are Wrong About The Voice

I'm no fan of either Anthony Albanese's wildly dangerous The Voice referendum on Indigenous recognition or voting on my fellow citizens rights, but it's happening and to lose the vote by a fraction because of something you've done Lidia, will be so damaging to indigenous Australians, the prime minister and maybe even Australia itself.

Ukraine: USA Vs Russia

With US President, Joe Biden, on the ground in Ukraine, any pretense this anything other than a war between the USA, the EU and Russia is laughable - not when the USA pumped more arms into the country in three months than the entire annual defense budget of Russia. And with China now hovering around helping Russia, a year in and this conflict is more globally dangerous than ever, with Ukrainians still its biggest victims.

Ukraine: German Tanks Cost Ukrainian Lives

Despite initially holding out, either honorably or because of fuel price terror, Germany has got back with the program and is sending tanks to the Russian war in Ukraine - make no bones about it, each German tank equates to Ukrainian civilian deaths.

Anthony Albanese: You’re The Voice, Try And Understand It

With Australians again being asked to again vote on OTHER Australians rights, if prime minister Anthony Albanese can't explain The Voice to the public in one sentence, he's giving a hugely dangerous and damaging free kick to the populist right.

From Ronaldo To Beyoncé: Absolute Wealth Corrupts Absolutely

Even a homeless person isn't as desperate for the next dollar as the super rich. With one of the greatest players of all time, Christiano Ronaldo, prepared to trash his legacy, right at the end, by becoming a performing clown in Saudi Arabia and probably the most prominent music act of the century, Beyoncé, happy to do the same - for basically the same people who got a very bad meal in The Menu - in Dubai, the integrity of the mega-wealthy has never been so cheaply for sale. Nor has their holistic commitment to human rights been more transparently exposed surface level noise.