The Brown Note

9/11 at 20: The End Of America‘s Forever War

It's been near 20 years since the most watched event in global history kick-started the century but could America's forever war finally be over? Since World War 2 the USA has either been in a cold war with Russia or troops on the ground in South East Asia or the Middle East, now all of that's gone and the stars are aligned. Biden seems strong enough to wear the abuse of pulling out of the last two decades devastating conflicts, there's no one left to fight and all the battles left are economic. With the most progressive side to an American government in history, no wars and a reshaped global order, Biden has a chance to be the best president since FDR.

Gaslightin‘ Gladys Berejiklian

The New South Wales state premier has taken several leaves out of the king of empty PR and spin - Prime Minister Scott Morrison's book and is dealing with her COVID failures by relentless gaslighting of the public. Daily announcements about new freedoms that have already been announced, constantly telling us things we've know for months as though they are brand new, making out it's public hesitancy and not the Liberal party supply chain failures that are stopping people getting vaccinated. Refusing to give us the accurate facts, figures and projections she has access to and continually tossing us crumbs to put a positive spin on our COVID woes. And having some of the world's worst and most pro-government news media, they are all to happy to help.

Abortion Texas Style

My position on the issue of abortion in the wake of the real world Handmaids Tale unfolding in Texas.

The Decline And Fall Of The Sydney Morning Herald

When I arrived in Sydney in 2004, the Sydney Morning Herald was everything a newspaper should be - especially in a country with the third highest concentration of print media in the world - next to China and Egypt, which are STATE OWNED. Well not anymore - the 2021 version, owned by Channel 9, with ex-Liberal party treasurer Peter Costello as its Chairman, is a bigger Liberal party propaganda machine than the Murdoch press itself. This morning alone I ran into three blue sky puff pieces, about the joys of swimming in Balmain, outdoor weddings and kayaking, designed to put a positive happy spin of the appalling mismanagement of COVID in NSW by Liberal state premier Gladys Berejiklian. For shame.

 

Rising House Prices Have Destroyed Our Way Of Life

In the UK and Australia they have. I've earned more money than my low paid dad my whole life, he has always owned his own house - once the birth right of any working class person - I'm not even close to affording a small flat. He turned his $40,000 investment into property years ago into a million dollars today, in the last 15 years alone I've turned half a million dollars in rent into nothing.

Is COVID A First World Problem? We Are Killing Ourselves With Chemicals

COVID has overwhelmingly affected the first world worst, developing nations least, by almost every metric. Total cases, cases per capita and deaths per capita, why? Why is the same true for food allergies, sperm counts and obesity? I have my theory - we are killing ourselves with chemicals.

 

*I meant to make a distinction with South-East Asian countries that are still first world but fit the same paradigm of the developing nations.

Afghanistan 2.0: A Kinder Gentler Machine Gun Taliban?

America's new Saigon. A round up of current events, how we got here, who's to blame and what will happen. Why the Taliban will probably be a different proposition this time around, how the global politics are very different now and how the major background players - China and Russia - will likely great the Taliban.

The War On Drugs Is Over

Though it has always been a failure of biblical proportions, the war on drugs is actually over - it ended with a whimper and no one even noticed. With nearly 100 billion packages sent globally each year, encrypted messaging services and crypto currency, the game changed completely for the first time since prohibition.

Lets Kick Sky News Off Of YouTube Forever

In some of the years most heartening, warm and fuzzy news, the cess pit that is Murdoch's Sky News at night has been kicked off of YouTube, for a week, for repeatedly lying about COVID. This is a big deal, they get up to 50 times the views on YouTube than their pitiful TV channel gets. With YouTube's 3 strikes rule - two more strikes in the next 90 days and they are gone. Permanently. Lets make it happen.

Disgusted By Anthony Albanese

Anthony Albanese your Labor party are a disgrace. You've been the weakest, stand for nothing opposition leader imaginable but have somehow reversed into a winning position through the mind-blowing incompetence, scandal and corruption of prime minister Scott Morrison. Along the way ditching all of the most important policies Labor should stand for - on franking credits, negative gearing and now tax breaks for the rich. Your Labor will not only do nothing to help the most unequal Australia in history, you will carry on hammering them with toxic Liberal policies. If you wont stand for anything at all just to get elected, what is the point of you? And what is the difference between you and Scott Morrison? Being a good guy is pretty useless when you act like a terrible one.