I’m still pissed about the election – I think I will be for the next 3 or so years.

I was thinking back to the last election. Shortly afterward John Button made an eloquent contribution to Quarterly Essays. It was enough to make you want to join the ALP but it was about a crisis that the ALP was under going. Why is it that 3 years later there is still a crisis?

Frankly I think the whole party needs to dissolve and start all over again.

As a Greens supporter (and proud) it is very easy to wipe your hands of the whole thing. Hey, I didn’t vote for either of them. However, in the end all the hopes of the Greens rest with the ALP. Let’s face it, the ALP suck but I’d rather them any day over the rodent.

Ok, so the people voted for that little cunt faced weasel. That I can accept and of course everyone expected it (even if I was holding out hope).

What really adds salt to the wound is that Labor and the Democrats as well as the Liberals gave their preferences to Family First as opposed to the Greens. Not only is this just disgusting but I think largely a betrayal of those who voted for Labor and the Dems who, I think it is a safe bet, would rather the Greens hold the balance of power other than the far-right, right to life, homophobic, lesbian burning, racist dogs that will destroy secularism in this country, Family First.

I will support the system that allows someone with a vote of 1.9% can get a Senate seat. It is important for minor parties to be able to get representation in the Senate. However Labor and the Dems can just got fuck themselves and wallow in the hell of a country they have now created. This is a betrayal of the highest order and they will now suffer the consequences.

I had it all planned. Today my post was going to say: “Ding, dong the witch is dead.”

Unfortunately the house didn’t land on the wicked witch of the East. It landed on Mark Latham, or perhaps the decency of the Australian people.

The lies have proved too believable and now we have a situation where the Libs may even have control of the Senate. No major party has had control of the Senate for many years. This means that it will effectively act as a rubber stamp and could vote itself out of existence as little Johnny has always wanted to do. If he does this, it is the death of the Greens.

I know a lot of people will say “that’s it, I’m moving to New Zealand”. I don’t blame them but I guess I love Australia so much I can’t leave it. It’s horrible when you don’t feel welcome in your own home.

On one final note. I have an increasing anxiety with regard to our relationship to the environment. I am genuinely scared about what is becoming of it and despite the rhetoric the ecological condition of this country will diminish at a far greater rate under the ecologically irresponsible and economically rational government of Howard.

A note on Audience

The internet is a wonderful and very international/multinational thing. Part of it’s emancipating power is in the alibility to share stories across the globe and be reassured that battles fought at home are also being fought elsewhere and tactics and experiences can be shared as well as a whole series of seemingly quite small campaigns that quite easily gain international support.

On countless occasions I have signed petitions to show my support for hotel workers in Canada or farmers in Mexico. Indeed what is dubbed the ‘anti-globalisation’ movement by the rightwing media is of course the most globalised of all movements.

So writing a blog is an interesting thing. Anyone with internet access can view my blog. Extremely few people read it (at least relatively few) as my ‘giger counter’ would indicate. I also know that 90% of the people that read it know me personally.

My ideal would be for a wide range of complete strangers from around the would commenting on my ideas, challenge me and help me develop my ideas. A few people do this (although fewer than I’d like) and I know them all. Others read it but feel they have no place to comment as they don’t know enough (or so I’ve been told) – these people should just get over it and comment, if for no reason other than to test their own ideas.

Because I’m aware that I know the vast majority of people that read this blog my writing largely reflects this. So I can write things like ‘Howard MUST go’ 20 times and assume that everyone knows what I’m talking about. I often wonder if it is wrong of me to assume that everyone either knows that I am Australian and knows what is going on in Australia. Does this mean that I therefore limit my audience?

However if you click on the “next blog” button at the top of this page as I often do just to have a look around, the chances are you’ll come to an American blog which assumes that you know it is an American blog.

I guess my point is that it is always worthwhile reflecting on who you are writing to and who you want to be writing to, that Americans largely assume that the world is American and that what I am writing is stuff that I want made public. All things are distorted by the audience so the truth cannot objective.

Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go
Howard MUST go

Sorry to be repetitive – but I feel this is an important point.

I have a theme song: AC/DC’s Big Balls.

Some balls are held for charity and some for fancy dress,
but when they’re held for pleasure they’re the balls that I like best.
My balls are always bounce to the left and to the right,
it’s my belief that my big balls should be held every night.

Oh we’ve got big balls,
we’ve got big balls,
we’ve got big balls,
dirty great balls

he’s got big balls,
she’s got big balls,
BUT WE’VE GOT THE BIGGEST BALLS OF THEM ALL!!

Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system – all this politics and thesis writing – you’ve just got to let it all hang out every now and then.

What an interesting development Labor’s old-growth forest gamble is.

Today the Labor opposition promised that if it got into power it would end logging in the “overwhelming Majority” of Tasmania’s old-growth forests. This should be applauded as there is simply no other alternative but to stop this sort of forestry.

Not surprisingly the Tasmanian CFMEU is a little pissed off, but they couldn’t have honestly thought that this would go on for ever – there is only so much old growth forest in Tasmania and they were fast running out of trees to cut down.

So the old lie that the environment can only come at the cost of jobs is continued t by the Tasmanian Forestry industry and disappointingly (if not understandably) the CFMEU is helping to perpetuate this lie and effectively siding with the bosses. Yes, this is a little harsh and I reiterate that their concerns are quite understandable but the reality is that they should have seen this coming and started planning 20 years ago.

It hasn’t actually come yet though…

What an interesting development Labor’s old-growth forest gamble is.

Today the Labor opposition promised that if it got into power it would end logging in the “overwhelming Majority” of Tasmania’s old-growth forests. This should be applauded as there is simply no other alternative but to stop this sort of forestry.

Not surprisingly the Tasmanian CFMEU is a little pissed off, but they couldn’t have honestly thought that this would go on for ever – there is only so much old growth forest in Tasmania and they were fast running out of trees to cut down.

So the old lie that the environment can only come at the cost of jobs is continued t by the Tasmanian Forestry industry and disappointingly (if not understandably) the CFMEU is helping to perpetuate this lie and effectively siding with the bosses. Yes, this is a little harsh and I reiterate that their concerns are quite understandable but the reality is that they should have seen this coming and started planning 20 years ago.

It hasn’t actually come yet though…

What an interesting development Labor’s old-growth forest gamble is.

Today the Labor opposition promised that if it got into power it would end logging in the “overwhelming Majority” of Tasmania’s old-growth forests. This should be applauded as there is simply no other alternative but to stop this sort of forestry.

Not surprisingly the Tasmanian CFMEU is a little pissed off, but they couldn’t have honestly thought that this would go on for ever – there is only so much old growth forest in Tasmania and they were fast running out of trees to cut down.

So the old lie that the environment can only come at the cost of jobs is continued t by the Tasmanian Forestry industry and disappointingly (if not understandably) the CFMEU is helping to perpetuate this lie and effectively siding with the bosses. Yes, this is a little harsh and I reiterate that their concerns are quite understandable but the reality is that they should have seen this coming and started planning 20 years ago.

It hasn’t actually come yet though…

What an interesting development Labor’s old-growth forest gamble is.

Today the Labor opposition promised that if it got into power it would end logging in the “overwhelming Majority” of Tasmania’s old-growth forests. This should be applauded as there is simply no other alternative but to stop this sort of forestry.

Not surprisingly the Tasmanian CFMEU is a little pissed off, but they couldn’t have honestly thought that this would go on for ever – there is only so much old growth forest in Tasmania and they were fast running out of trees to cut down.

So the old lie that the environment can only come at the cost of jobs is continued t by the Tasmanian Forestry industry and disappointingly (if not understandably) the CFMEU is helping to perpetuate this lie and effectively siding with the bosses. Yes, this is a little harsh and I reiterate that their concerns are quite understandable but the reality is that they should have seen this coming and started planning 20 years ago.

It hasn’t actually come yet though…