Monday, July 31, 2017

Shooting at Central Station florist a reminder of the fragility of life

Sydney is a very big, chaotic city. So terrible things happen here pretty often. And these occasionally occur in places we all know pretty well.

Take that police shooting recently in Central Station. Apparently some young bloke afflicted by mental illness attacked a florist with scissors. He was fatally shot by police.

Obviously I have no detailed knowledge of the incident. But it sounds like it could well have been a case of "suicide by cop".

Well, whatever precipitated the original attack the outcome is very sad ...

In any case, when I initially learned about it I realized the location of this tragic event was somewhere I'd walked past hundreds, if not thousands, of times. It was even included in a photo I took a few months ago. You can see it in the bottom left hand corner.


Looking at that scene you think: How could anyone have predicted that such a bizarre act of ultimately fatal violence would occur right there?

Needless to say, there's no way anyone could ...

So often these things happen completely out of the blue. You cannot prepare for them. So I suppose you've just gotta keep getting on with the gig!

That's definitely what the florist himself has done. He seems like an exceptionally resilient old bloke.

I think you can even see him at work in this very quick video I took of the scene yesterday. By then everything appeared to be completely back to normal -- just like in the photo above.

Friday, July 28, 2017

Australian dual citizenship fiasco seems doubly absurd in this age of identity politics

The issue of dual citizenship is proving to be a massive problem for Aussie politicians. Looks like it's gonna derail a few more than just Ludlam and Waters.

Pretty ironic that this is happening given that our political establishment is overwhelmingly PC when it comes to other ways of defining one's identity. They now believe that gender is not a result of biological sex, for example. They reckon it's all down to personal conviction. So why doesn't this also apply to citizenship?

Hell, why not just say "I never felt like a Kiwi, so therefore I never was -- despite what those records show"?

Looks like Malcolm Roberts (of all people!) is the one who has come closest to this line of argument if comments from his spokesman are any guide. But as far as I know none of the other pollies who've come a cropper due to their dual citizenship seem to have seriously used this excuse. This is surprising, particularly when it comes to the Greens. Pretty much their whole policy platform is driven by their narcissistic emotions, after all. 

But then those policies are never really meant to apply to them -- or they're insulated from their negative effects if they do. For example, countless Aussies are struggling with rising power bills because of the "catastrophic global warming" scam. Yet the myth's most zealous promoters -- Greens pollies -- are so well off they're not affected. And take Larissa Waters's view on gender. She endorsed the sinister "No Gender December" campaign. Yet she dresses her own daughter in pink.

So, the fact that they accept the validity of the traditional, legal way of defining citizenship without challenge is significant IMO. If Waters or Ludlam had tried the "feels" defence it would still have been silly as, of course. But at least it would have been consistent -- and therefore kinda principled.

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Proposed junkie memorial in Richmond is typical of the Left

As surely as night follows day green lefties keep coming up with daft ideas and suggestions to "make the world a better, kinder place". The latest of these is a proposal for a monument to the many junkies who died at the end of a needle in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond.

Not surprisingly, some locals are more than a tad shat off with this. They make the valid criticism that it glorifies something truly vile and destructive. Much better to memorialize those who achieved good and admirable things in their lives.

I couldn't agree more. Obviously it's tragic that these people died so young and in such a sordid way. So apt that the term "wasted" is slang for severe intoxication by drugs or alcohol. Death by overdose is such a terrible waste of the gift of life!

Also, it's too simplistic to say it was all their own fault. But heartless as it may seem, it's wrong to attempt to dignify their deaths somehow. If you build memorials to people like this you put them on a par with soldiers who died fighting for a noble cause, and similarly brave and selfless individuals.

They weren't fighting a war. They weren't doing anything good for others. Death by heroin doesn't make you a hero, that's for sure!

Unfair to say they were all scumbags, of course. But surely some were. And even if some did good or even great things in their short lives, they still lost their way and blew it big time.

So it's crazy to make the manner of their passing appear to be some kind of admirable achievement. Yet that's exactly what those who've made this proposal are intending. And it's sooo leftist. They really do have everything completely arse about.

In their tiny minds, achievement is oppression of others. And the law is just a means by which the powerful lord it over the powerless. That's why they so often side with criminals.

They detest the idea of a functional, harmonious society, and are always trying to screw things up for the sane, adult majority. This is just another pathetic attempt at this.

They say that they don't want people to die by overdose. But I'm not so sure. I think they quietly wish for more lives to be wasted in this way because that would confirm their cynical, often nihilistic, worldview.

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Martin Place still has homeless community at eastern end

If you've been in Martin Place recently you may well have seen a makeshift homeless camp. It's at the eastern end, just near Macquarie St.

Interesting that it's still there, because late last month there were reports that it had been closed down.

Well, they must have moved back into place. (I took the photos below on the 13th of July.)

Not sure how long it will stay ... In any case it's quite a little community they've got there. Obviously they're getting help from various charities. Still, it's interesting how people manage to organize themselves even when destitute.

There's a soup kitchen ...


... and an op shop.


Graffiti on a nearby wall includes Maslow's hierarchy of needs.


There are also several tents. Gotta pity the poor bastards sleeping in these given how bitterly cold it is, and has been for weeks. Dread to think what it must be like for people on the streets who don't have this kind of shelter.


Not sure what the NSW Government plans to do about all this. But there's a makeshift FACS office there opposite the tents. So it seems they're trying to help the homeless there find roofs over their heads.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Carnival Spirit in Sydney provokes thoughts on climate change alarmism

Every now and then a massive cruise ship docks in Circular Quay. It's quite a sight when one does. As well as its jaw-dropping size, you are awe-struck by how the crew managed to maneuver the marine behemoth into such a tight space without incident.

A recent arrival of this kind was Carnival Spirit. Got these shots a coupla days ago.


The photo below gives you a sense of just how ginormous it is. Check out the worker in the hardhat below. Then look at the same section of the bow in the shot above.


If you see it from the Rocks side, near the beginning of the Coathanger, you get a better sense of its length and height.


The Carnival ships have a characteristic smokestack funnel with wing-like protrusions to push the exhaust fumes out and away from the boat. From this angle the sleek and striking feature looked like it could almost be part of the Sydney Opera House!


On the subject of exhaust fumes: the carbon footprint of this ship alone must be humongous! Luxury cruise power needs are so jaw-droppingly high that Carnival Corp (with a hundred ships) has actually saved billions of dollars in recent years by becoming more fuel efficient.

Laudable, of course. But if they can save that much money by being smart, it gives you an idea about how much diesel they must still be using to keep their fleet moving across the seas. And this is just one company!

Pondering this situation I couldn't help but wonder how many of the ship's passengers are climate change believers themselves. Obviously not all -- but I suspect there are quite a few. You have to be pretty cashed up to go on one of these cruises, after all. As recreation activities go, it's way more pricey than getting your "backside trackside", let's face it. And it does seem that highly paid professionals are more likely to believe in catastrophic global warming than the rest of the population.

Which begs the question: How on earth do these people think that anything at all can be done to diminish this so-called existential threat to humanity when they themselves can't do their bit and refrain from enjoying these carbon spewing cruises?

They're not thinking too hard, obviously. Like so much of this deep green PC madness, their prescriptions are entirely symbolic. 

Friday, July 7, 2017

Gillard questions Trump's sanity. But the bullies at CNN are crazier by far!

When I heard that Julia Gillard was to take over as chair of Beyond Blue I shook my head in disbelief. Surely, the issue of mental health should be beyond politics. So why have such a polarizing figure at the helm?

I understand that the same argument could be (and no doubt was) leveled at the bloke she's replaced, Jeff Kennett. But he had a lower profile to start with and had left the front lines of politics when he accepted the gig. Also, he does seem to have done a good job of raising awareness of mental health issues without being ideological about it.

But Gillard's problem is not just the general political baggage she carries from her reign as PM (which even the most generous observer would have to accept was a monumental train wreck). There's also her deep and enduring association with a particularly toxic brand of victim feminism. This is significant because some aspects of mental health in Australia have a strong gender component to them -- and it certainly does not conform to the PC line that women always suffer the most.

For example, far more men commit suicide than women. You've gotta wonder how someone who pretty much built her career on casting her entire gender (and by extension, herself) as victims deserving special consideration will treat a serious issue deeply affecting those 'orrible, misogynist males.

So I knew Gillard in her new role was gonna have people shaking their heads in dismay. Didn't expect it to be so soon, though ...
That softball Lateline interview she had with obvious admirer David Lipson was excruciating. Put her foot in it in several ways. But her most asinine comments included an opportunistic, amateur diagnosis of President Trump. And this came immediately after she said making such a call was bad form:

"I would worry that a charge of being mentally ill ended up being thrown around as an insult," Ms Gillard said.

"I know that some people in the US, some commentators are not proffering that analysis by way of insult, they're actually saying it because they are genuinely concerned.

"From the outside I think it is very difficult to judge someone else's mental health … so I think there's some need for caution here.

"But I do think if President Trump continues with some of the tweeting etc that we've seen, that this will be in the dialogue."

Gawd. What a slimy way to sledge someone!

Of course it reflects very poorly on Gillard that she would shamelessly exploit her position as head of a major non-profit organization to take this cheap shot at a hate figure. Still, she wouldn't have had the opportunity to do so had her fanboy Lipson not raised the subject. That in itself was pretty disgraceful. He should have been more professional and stuck to the issue at hand -- Beyond Blue. But he couldn't resist giving a fellow traveller an opportunity for a free kick. He was clearly trying to reinforce the PC narrative that Trump is deranged and dangerous, and Gillard happily obliged as expected.

Note also the revolting sanctimony in Julia's amateur diagnosis of Trump. She deftly threw in the lie that many saying he's nuts aren't doing it out of hate. Oh no, it's because they're "genuinely concerned". FFS! What a load o' bollocks. They hate the guy's guts, and along with all their other vicious assaults they're desperately trying to gaslight him.

This is such a fave tactic of the Left. If someone stands up to them they invariably try to shut him up. If they can't do that they often cast him as crazy -- even trying to get him committed if they can. It's what the Soviet Union did to countless brave, sane individuals who didn't get with the communist program, remember. And it's what butthurt liberals are trying to do with Trump and by extension his supporters. Gillard was just echoing that line.
If anyone has been acting crazily it's the Democrats and their shameless supporters in the mainstream media -- CNN in particular. They are in complete denial about why Trump won. As well as beating up the massive Trump-Russia lie, they're doing all they can to incite violence against him and his fellow Republicans.

This has actually borne fruit for them. That lefty loon who shot up that baseball game, seriously wounding Steve Scalise, was clearly motivated in major part by the MSM narrative about Trump being a massive menace who must be stopped!

CNN and other fake news outlets are not even trying to be fair and objective to Trump. They are waging all out war on him. So he has every right to hit back, and hard. It would be insane not to!

Speaking of psychology: CNN in particular is so chockas with vile bullies, it looks like being a sociopathic narcissist is some kinda prerequisite for employment there. As well as showing their disdain for voters in those Project Veritas tapes, high profile employees of this massive corporation have literally been threatening some lone dude because he made a GIF that mocked them. (Thankfully that has backfired massively, as illustrated above!) It was Trump's sharing of this meme that prompted Gillard's nasty little sledge, remember.