"THINGS THEY DO SEEM AWFUL COLD" - so therefore ...(you fill in the rest)

BOOMERS BASHED AGAIN – NOW BY YOUNG GEN

In a SMH article (27/6/19) on the Aged Care Royal Commission, writer Julie Power – can’t get past the second paragraph without running the usual type of cliché about the supposed self-indulgent Baby Boomers. She says they think they’ll “never get old” – but they’ll soon “flood” aged care. However, is it actually right that Boomers will require such high level care at the traditional plus 50 “aging” time of life. Is 70 the new 60 and can many people expect to live longer than 80 in good health ?

The lyric quoted above is from The Who’s “My Generation” 1960's hit song (by Peter Townsend)– where the line after that is constantly taken out of its context. So when that line goes “I hope I dei before get old” its really saying that the parents/elders of his (War Baby) generation were really nasty to him as a teenager – so he doesn’t want to become like them. Teenagers then were a minority - like older people also usually were. That all changed when the Baby Boomers hit their 20's in the 1970's and were the MAJORITY. 

Those same, now older Boomers are now suffering from a World they changed to emphasis the rights of young people. Now we need to campion older peoples rights - since we are now making THAT a majority of the population. It is a reasonable ambition to stay thinking quite young and maintaining strong mental and physical functioning ? The parents of the Boomers seem to have problems with the idea that the next generation would likely live as long as they have been doing. On the other hand, those parents of Boomers (born before WW) were living often decades longer than their own parents.

Politicians have been quick to point out that the 60 year Age Pension level was based on people usually not living long past that age. Boomer grandparents didn’t usually make it into their 70’s. Therefore, the Age Pension was raised to 65 - only decades ago and now it’s up to 67. 


The newly re-elected Coalition government had balked at raising the Age Pension to 70 – perhaps fearing that could lose it the 2019 Federal Election, using the excuse that up-skilling of the Boomer generation for further employment - was not yet being catered for in the obsessively youth-oriented Education system. 

We have documenting that brutal age discrimination against mature-age students for a number of years in our own journal – with specific examples. Not all countries are writing off its population’s contributions – once they became even just 50 years old. The Boomers aren’t so unfamiliar with deiing though, apart from often losing their grandparents in their 60’s – there was also the Vietnam war draft in Oz and the US.  Young guys, still in their teens – were sent to Asia against their will by a much hated Draft.  Many didn’t come back or where scarred for life  - including mentally. 

The younger generation can be more blasé about it – because they’re usually never had to face their mortality so personally. Boomers were the last generation from the 20^th Century that still felt another World war could happen once again – and they could end up in it. That could have been a Nuke one too. Boomers mostly already understand that they can dei – yet they’re now being unfairly branded by younger generations as being unaware of mortality. In fact, the Boomer fuelled huge anti-war movement that stopped not only the Vietnam War but another conventional World War happening.

This has now changed how politics operates in the world -especially since the rise of the internet.  People now want more say in how things are run now – but the commercial forces that profit from things not improving, are still hard for true democratic decision-making to counter Big Money. A 1960's movie with Peter Cook and other Brit satirists called "The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer" predicted how participatory democracy would finally rise one day. Sadly that wonderful movie seems impossible to buy these days. 

Like with the true history of the alternative culture in Australia - circa late 1960's and 1970's organisations like our are struggling to preserve and circulate shorter movies and docos we've made about it, Where's the funding and support for that ? NOTE: We hope readers will excuse our deliberately misspelling of the key word in this article - otherwise known as the Big Chille. Older people are understandably more sensitive about such words - as Boomers were when they faced losing their lives because of the then Coalition Govt wanting to go All The Way with the USA. 

We now ask younger generations to THINK about what they saying to their elders on "age care" issues - and remember, we still have most of the votes (just think Trump and Brexit). Baby Boomers still have the electoral power to help protect them from cruel ageist policies that are now circulating. Excluding older people from the workplace - is one major barrier to them that WILL CHANGE. 

RECENT "DOLE NEWS" REPORTS PULLED OFF GOOGLE SEARCH

We are puzzled by the sudden disappearance of this thread of Dole News from the various other posts made  by others, about its publisher - the Unemployed Peoples Embassy and its activities in the community. Luckily, earlier Reports on other Dole News blogspot addresses - can still be found, but not by simply googling "unemployedpeoplesembassy".  This now removes ALL Dole News editions from such a mainstream search. As usual the HRC awarded Dole News title - is never brought up by just googling it - though there is a curious notice there about "Dole News", saying something about it not being there. That at least shows a fairly new hand at work - to suggest this publication no longer exists.

Maybe we'll have to continue this long-time social justice publication, now mostly online - by using another thread with a slightly different address that is now more readily located online.  In any case, this thread could be found by us typing in its particular address into that more easily accessible thread of Dole News. Either way - the heavy hand of censorship seems at play - likely from Australia, which we obviously criticise the most. This particular thread address may be relegated to being our underground edition. Perhaps this country is emulating China policies of unrestrained Capitalism in more politically direct ways,

Certainly personal and social justice emails and websites seem no longer safe - given recent Mousy Govt legislation. In terms of our recent articles posted here - our article on the radical matriarchal takeover of major Govt designated institutions, may be the reason for this really major removal of easy public access to Dole News. On the other hand  - Google itself  seems to own blogger.com, so external interference related to out content, seems to be a likely culprit.  As history tells us - when the Govt cracks down on Freedom of Media political comment WATCH OUT. Already mainstream Media is increasingly trivialising  NEWS reports with Bleed to Leads formula and lack of local issues

LABOR LOST THE PLOT AND UNLOSABLE ELECTION: ASK US HOW !

Were the cheap "policies" - like Teach Kids Computer Coding and lately Make Half Cars Electric within a decade or so, not clues enough ? The ALP model of being a Mass Party where great ideas percolate up from its huge membership - is simply just a fantasy, like restoring mass Union memberships ? New "leader" Elbo (the Engineer) can only publicly urge more people to "join" the Party. Have YOU tried to "join" the ALP - its like trying to send the ABC some ideas by email, very bureaucratic. It seems you have to be a union member just to get to fill out their application form

We pointed out ages ago the folly of rolling out middle class benefit cuts before the election - like cutting back Negative Gearing and "retirement" superannuation rorts, used for their kids estate planning. A great use of taxpayers money huh, as political guru Johnny Coward actually spruiked during the election campaign. So what sort of lies did the Coalition and their backers use to fight these reasonable cutback's effecting only thousands of people  - why "exposing" a supposed ALP "plan" to reintroduce Def taxes. This sort of crap was all over WeChat and various internet sewer pipes. Certainly a lot of Australian Chinese were sucked in by this non-media propaganda.

On the other hand, the NSW Gladdy Govt shucked off its non-delivery of its really stupid rail'n'road privatised "infrastructure" to cream in its re-election. Better to delay and cost overrun really unsuitable rail projects - then bring them on after the election, with four years to the next election for people to "get used to them". A tram that destroys the long term main street shopping precincts and rare tree lined Café strips of Sydney city and Parramatta plus yet another gauge of rail for the driverless trams to takeover the heavy rail two storey carriage network - will be regretted fordecades to come.

Meanwhile, middle-class commuter transport of gold plated tollway express roads and more International Airports are rolled out - though Very Fast Rail land purchases are only promised by Elbo just a week before the 2019 Federal Election. We urged the ALP to make VFR their key promise - but they only whipped it out at the last moment when the fake Opinion "Polls" had convinced them they were going to win the election, big time. In other words, the ALP can no longer rely on its shrinking membership and the increasingly boutique (and feminised) Unions as a brain- trust.

 Its National Conferences should open up wider to innovative thinking in the community - such as from Universities and Think Tanks (and dare we say it community based organisations like ours), to refine its policy ideas. Certainly the Greens and Get-up are just as limited in their thinking as the Union movement. For instance, who was the genius in the ALP who thought a Welfare Inquiry, without flagging a decent dole and Austudy rise - was a good idea. Surely a wider Inquiry including Middle Class Welfare is needed.

Certainly the ALP Right is now pushing the idea of Wealth Creation (ie the growth mantra) over handouts to everybody - but surely there would be more support for cutting back on Capital Gains/investment house portfolio Gearing/super rorts, if people saw those savings going to welfare and job creation for the long term jobless. The ALP however has a least come up with some policy ideas that it can try and repackage - once the Mousy Govt gets really nasty with harder economics and gets kicked out. The Coalition still bluster about the Drudd Govt flawed but effective stimulus package spending. Any mass unemployment returning with a predicted Recession - will have Mousy Govt pushing the jobless off to Gilligan's Island or worse

Certainly the ALP needs to look at its supposed its Identity Socialism madness - where the likes of Tanny, ex ALP Deputy, was taking about "toxic men". Let's hope we won't see anymore the DV TV ad with the guy standing over wife - suddenly turning into a little boy. A lot that sick toxic Ad must be doing to the booming 13 pubescent male suicyid rate. Looks like the ALP has already kicked the Revenge Feminist 50%  leadership into the Senate loony bin - usually mainly a retirement home for ex union officials and other "representatives" of no-one in particular. Maybe we'll hear less rubbish about how ALL "survivors" must be believe, since If that's the case - the Courts will truly be operating a reverse Inquisition.

The recent Caitin case showed how a woman lied about being sexually assaulted by a Good Samaritan middle-age guy who came to her rescue to fix her car. CCTV footage exposed her lies. The guy had been put in jail, lost his wife and suffered greatly. He wants to sue her for One Million dollars. We know your pain mate -  false sexual claims are routinely made against human rights activists, such as Martin Luther King and some rather sub judice cases that will be fully reported some day.

"MIGRANT DAY" FOR 26 JANUARY OR MOVE "OZ DAY" TO 25 APRIL

We have been suggesting for some time that "Australia Day" move to 25 April - partly to keep some kind of Anzac March going from the Dawn Service and through the morning. Therefore the Citizenship ceremonies could happen after the usual lunch BBQ's (and 2 up?)

However, the immigration rate is so huge - that it not only currently overshadows even the biggest Invasion Day marches, but fans of the Diggers marching on a new "Australia Day" on 25 April - may wonder why so many boys died overseas early to mid last century.

Were the Germans really thinking of invading our country - when the Swedes did a much better job with IKEA stores? The Japanese only got as far as New Guinea and Timor after bringing in a work-till-you-drop Light Rail project through Asia for our Boys. Why do we now have the world's highest rate of immigration - without the Very Fast Rail infrastructure to decentralise our main cities ?

Then again the Japanese have NO immigration into their now very peaceful country - where they did very well economically from LOSING the War. In other words - what is "Australia Day" and "Anzac Day" about, in terms of our History and our Future plans? Why have we now got PERMANENT very high migration - mainly congesting Sydney and Melbourne. Anything to do with the greedy multi -- national high rise flat Developers - who fund our major political parties ?

Its up to us citizens to decide whether we finally grow up and become a Republic - where we can elect our OUR Head of State, and start to find ways to make our own decisions on where our country is going. Certainly our Compulsory Elections " democracy, isn't producing ANY politicians who think ahead - beyond the next time they FORCE you to vote for them.  

We're just saying this to try and get people to THINK about where this country is going. We need to demand a real say in decisions about our Future - or else we won't have much of a future, just a mess.

 Lots of fish dying in outback rivers, failure to recycle and not waste our precious water supplies and stupid transport "infrastructure" decisions (like inner city underground tollways, tramways destroying historic shopping precincts like George St and Devonshire St and in Parramatta soon, International airport in the middle of Sydney with no curfew) show that the political system and the Media - or no longer democratic and fit for use.

POLLIE PARTIES LOSE THE PLOT BY HIDING POLICIES

The Abbort/Turnbum/Mousey Coalition Govt got a big scare when it seemed to lose the unlosable Wentworth seat election of 20 October 2018. For the first time in its over one hundred year existence in Sydney’s affluent eastern suburbs – it initially seemed to go in a huge swing to an independent candidate - a female GP who was apparently fed up with being in SCC Mayor’s so-called “independent” team. The swing against the Govt seemed so severe that ABC TV called their loss almost within minutes of the first figures appearing.

The current OZ PM – SloMo, apparently coined the brilliant Tourism slogan “where the bloody hell are you”, in his former job in advertising (Tourism) . This seems to have failed to revive a “boom” in tourism to Australia. Similar propaganda genius by our latest rent-a-PM, had him rushing through head-spinningly stupid captain calls like moving the Aust embassy to Jerusalem – at the behest of their candidate who had just returned from being Ambassador

Despite being the only major candidate who actually lives in Wentworth electorate, Labor’s one called Tim,  could only pip the usual 10% that the Greens could manage. The Greens hippie looking guy at least had some kind of Policy to shout about – stopping an Indian run coal mine  setting up in Queensland. Tim only seemed to have exporting his Party's ex-boat people from Gilligan’s Island to NZ, to go on about. 
The next big election is for the State of NSW itself – where we caught up with the ALP leader Luke Foley on the day of the Wentworth rout by an Independent. Their very own lesbian, previous Newtown seat candidate was there too, lurking with him outside Redfern Town Hall – where some meeting was apparently occurring. Ever hopeful, I asked Luke about decentralisation.

To be precise – whether his NSW Labor Govt due within six month, would build an underground Very Fast Rail section from the City to Parramatta for a proper VFTrain to go to Canberra and then, say north to Gosford. Extended to Melbourne and Brisbane – this could allow the 24/7 Badgery’s Creek airport construction to be cancelled. Instead, a curfew free International airport could operate with VFR link from no curfew Canberra airport, as proposed by former premier Barry (Grange) O’Farrell. 

Presently ALP “policy” is for a very fast single storey driverless, almost seatless Parra Metro – to replace the Gladdy Govt fantasy of a Very Frequent Metro to Bankstown (ripping up present heavy rail track). This ALP favoured westie Metro, being entirely underground – is even more hare-brain an idea as the very-fast driverless BUS proposed for a CDB (residential) hi-rise remake of Liverpool (located near Badgerys Int Airport).

Naturally we didn’t get to say all of this – as he, the former candidate and some union-heavy looking guy, suddenly claimed they had to go to the meeting (except that they just moved away a little). They didn’t disagree with me that Australia was a backward country like the USA – with no real train network, while there are Very Fast Trains all over Europe, China and soon in Africa (plus in India - thanks to China).

THIS WAS WRITTEN ONLY ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE LUCKLESS LUKE WAS TIPPED OUT OF BEING LONGTIME ALP OPPOSITION LEADER BY A CLAIM FROM AN ABC TV REPORTER THAT HE'D TOUCHED HER ACTUAL BUM. HER CLAIMED OF A I WAS TOO PISSED TO REMEMBER, APOLOGY -  DIDN'T STOP HIM BEING THROWN UNDER A BUS. THE DEPUTY LEADER HAS NOW TAKEN OVER AND SWORN OFF BOOZE - WITH THE NEW DEPUTY, THE AFOREMENTIONED ALP EX-CANDIDATE FOR NEWTOWN MP.

Chillingly, the new ALP Opposition leader is mouthing the  radical Feminist mantra, that he Believes the ABC reporter's account - which she apparently only disclosed to the Media after a Gladdy Govt Minister, under Parliamentary privilege accused Foley of "harassment". Pressure mounted for Foley to quit politics sooner rather than later - though he quickly resigned his Opposition leader position, citing his need to sue the ABC for Defamation (denying the allegation the ABC Reporter said she didn't want to make publicly). Oddly, he had just come up with an actual Policy on rail (driverless Metro to south from Sydenham Station, instead of a Toll road M6). 

DOLE NEWS IS BACK IN 2018

NEW CONTENT IS COMING TO THIS PUBLICATION STARTED IN 1976

Our computer resources have now been restored - so it is now easier to get more content on-line here. It has been several years of fairly difficult times, which are not over yet - but things are starting to clear for our organisation. Several community initiatives have been developed over the last few years that we will be talking about.

The situation for the jobless (and disabled partners and collaborators) in Australia continues to change as Govt policies makes the dole less and less a "newstart" proposition (ie unliveably low an amount). The Age Pension is already going up to 67 for eligibility - with a 70 age increase previously threatened by the conservation Coalition federal Govt - (until the new "PM" Scotty decided he'd like to try and win the next Federal election in 2019). For the disabled, the NDIS has become, predictably very bureaucratic and counter to "choice" for disability aid plans.

So we have plenty to talk about - including the diabolical urban environment vandalism by the NSW Gladdy BAAAD Govt, such as turning Alfred Park into a playground for a 14 storey high-rise school. Then there's Sydney City Council "Mono Itch" sculpture $11m fantasy gateway to the George St tram debacle - defacing the heritage QVB, located right next to Sydney Town Hall.. Our website has a Save Our Sydney (SOS) section - but it is still only the paltry old one we now can't update, it seems, at www.unemployedembassy.magix.net - with Flash needed to read it properly.

Also the Email address given on that website is not accessible to us - so we will have to work on the feedback mode to use. Our postal address is in the Sydney YELLOW Directory - whose "website" for the Embassy we hope to figure out soon (ie this year). Meanwhile we are very busy with diabolical problems related to the Police State sort of "nation" we live in - as used against social activists.

Our content has always been like our Embassy projects - designed to keep the jobless and disabled engaged with the "society" (ie The Economy) which is marginalising us from not only enough income to live on - but also full humanity, such as casualised relationships. Coming articles here will look at the Ecology of Charities we have to interact with - for their traditional role of food access. plus also their newer wider "services " that are being Govt funded to do things TO us (not with us) This includes the new National Disability Insurance Scheme.

An interesting comment about the recent supposed cancelling of the increase of Age Pension
(AP) to 70, was supposedly because access of the Mature Aged to employment needed to be fixed before the AP could be raised beyond 67. This is something we've raised in relation to savage anti-mature aged male discrimination by educational institutions like TAFE, preventing Baby Boomers from updating their work skills.

Now there is the growing Revenge Feminist crusade against Middle Age White Males - recently called out by anti YouToo French Women on ABC TV's Foreign Correspondents program , as being a new reverse INQUISITION. Then there's the ABC itself needing serious reform - before its totally replaced by the SBS adverts- funding model (the ALDI of broadcasting). Lots to talk about indeed. Then there are EBooks and Podcasts too - once we can figure out how to make and market/launch them

VIETNAM CONSCRIPTION 50 YEARS ON: BUT ANTI WAR VOICES STILL STRUGGLE TO BE HEARD

“Everyone wants to put in their Two Cent’s worth” scowled Jeff Lee, organiser of the Anti-Conscription get-together and Concert night in October at the big hall at Addison Rd community centre in Annandale in Sydney.

The get-together was in the afternoon, supposedly for anti Vietnam war anti conscription activists to tell their stories – but instead only a high profile draft dodger, Michael Matherson talked (plus another whose emotional account I could barely follow).

This wasn’t helped by the fact that Jeff had put the featured speakers on the floor of the hall – while the microphones where only on the stage.

He had made out earlier that I could also join in, given I’d written some major anti-war poems at the time one long one that was published in the Wayside Chapels DELOS magazine in about 1970 (which I likely read out publically there). I was also showing the “organisers” an article in the Sydney Telegraph newspaper in 1971 – about how I’d made a film about the Sydney anti-war Moratorium.

Putting a knife in my front, Jeff dismissed my participation in the poorly attended (less than 20) get-together – with his Two Cents remark at the end, to the audience. Next there was the memorial Columns to launch at the entrance – after Jeff admitted he’d let the Agent Orange guy ramble on too long. The later Concert afterall, was advertised to be a fund-raiser for the victims of that deadly defoliant used in Nam to get rid of the trees so the “gooks” would be more easily killed. Some connected to the Agent Orange issue were clearly actually in favour of the Vietnam War - just against being poisoned for generation as Oz soldiers there, by Agent Orange.

I later asked Jeff if I could just read my shorter poem at the Concert – which his sub-organiser wanted to happen, but Jeff just groaned (very loudly and quite publicly). That powerful poem of mine, questioning religion was most likely read out at Wayside Chapel question time - nearly 50 years ago.

However, earlier he was suddenly interested in how I videoed the talk by Michael from my tripod in the audience – sadly without mic amplification being supplied, so it won’t be usable without volume increase in post-prod. I also videoed Aquarius organiser Mathew Dunstan, who had a great loud voice – with both of them approving my videoing afterwards (offering them a video copy). Mathew said some very interesting things about the then counterculture movement - that helped stop conscription.

Jeff had quickly approached me, offering to pay “expenses” for my video coverage – given I was the only person videoing those two key speakers. However later, after his big Groan against me asking to just read my short great anti Vietnam war poem at the Concert (that he didn’t bother to even look at) I just pissed off before the concert. Jeff had been publically nasty at me at a Politics in Pub years before, so I really couldn't believe his “expenses” offer for making videos - and getting copyright permission to cover songs at the Concert would be just too hard.

AtTAPGalleryevent days before the Concert – Jeff was hugely late and hadn’t replied to my email weeks before about how I had my Morayorium based  film to play. A woman had already complained to me there that Jeff had been very rude to her recently to which I replied that he spread it around. Given that he seemed only to have USA film DVDs to play when he did arrive, I took off before he could recognise me (I hoped) - and orobably give me a hard time again. 

At the Addisson St event days later, he kept introducing me to people as the guy who USED to produce (ie edit for UPE) Dole News plus other completely wrong claims, again ignoring the UPE – (that I was forced to keep correcting). Not much fun for me, but the female Co-ordinator of the Addison St complex just loves him it seems, as he “gets things going”.

What he really got going that will remain, perhaps, was her memorial Columns at the centre’s entrance – which was launched (before the Agent Orange Concert) with a full smoking-ceremony. However she had a mic and little amp to let the speakers compete with the passing traffic – so I videod some of that. The smoking ceremony Aboriginal guy told some women not to video him (just photograph).

There are mostly nonmilitary plaques, though the place is full of old Nissan huts – as it was originally an army base for receiving 1960’s conscripts. Luckily I got out of that long enough for Whitlam to just stop it. I'm not sure anti war activists will be featured much on tiny $70 plaques on the memorial Columns - since those who "served" are priority. Yet another War Memorial it seems