Random Monday

I hope you had a great weekend? It's a shame they go so fast! I would prefer it if the working week was 3 days and we had 4 day weekends! I mean seriously why are we still sticking to such an antiquated work conditions and no one questions why, we just blindly accept. I think I will write an essay about reducing the working week to something a bit more human! I have attached a copy of an artwork that features in my novel "Collateral Damage- Illustrations and Essays" you can buy a copy here what do you think, should I turn this into a t-shirt? Cheers Redi 25

Random Monday

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I did. So how are you going with my new competition. 'Who's Boobs' have you had a chance to guess who owns the boobs. here are some hints; 1. She is an actor 2. She likes to go commando 3. She was a Disney Princess I hope that's enough clues for you. So check out them boobs and have a go at guessing. Now on a more random note what is it with leaders pushing their own agendas, it annoys me so much, you are elected to represent the people not yourself! here is an excerpt from my book Collateral Damage Illustrations and essays about the state of the world in the new millennium. Follow The Leaders? What is it with politics that seems to bring out all the schemers, those manipulative horrible people that most would scorn in the everyday world, yet when it comes to politics it seems that those very traits which are abhorrent to everyday people are the very things which are held in high regard in politics. It seems that wheeling and dealing, underhanded deals, contra deals and exploitation are the backbone of politics. When someone is caught stealing in their workplace they face instant dismal, when someone is not doing their job properly they face dismal.  Yet when a politician is hired to do his job and doesn’t do it properly he is patted on the back and if it’s really bad he is just moved to a different portfolio. Since when do we reward incompetence, not in the world I live and work in? Yet it seems that it is OK in politics. I use the prime example of the Australian Wheat Board. Now here we have the ultimate in hypocrisy, the Australian Wheat board was paying kick backs to the Saddam Hussein regime. The very regime that they despised so much, the very regime that they wanted out of Iraq. Now when the foreign Minister was alerted to this fact, on several and I mean several occasions, he comes out and says he doesn’t look at all the memos. Hang on a minute, isn’t that your fucking job? So why are you still in your job, you as an elected representative of the people and you don’t read all your memos, then you don’t do your job. I’m sorry but I think that you owe it to the very people who elected you to resign, I mean after all if you can’t read all your memo’s your not doing your job so step aside and let some one who maybe sees representing the people as an honour and will read all the memos. This is the major problem with all elected leaders, once in power after being elected they very rarely represent the very people who put them in power, instead they seem to push their own agendas.  It is an insult to the democratic process when elected leaders can take it upon themselves to do as they please. I mean in all honesty did Americans really truly want to go to war. I do believe it was there president who decided. Clearly something needs to be done. In the case of the war in Iraq, everything that the American Government said to justify a war was a lie. Why do we have to put up with liars?  Why do we?  I had an idea that in this day and age of mobile phones and Internet that the governments must run a poll on every policy that they plan to implement? Don’t tell me about the cost, as that is just an excuse. One number equals one vote. Using the database that they already have, they can then tally up the votes (they seem to be able to do it on American Idol). Then and only then can the policy be implemented?  This way every government is then truly representing the people. That way they don’t get 4 years of being able to do as they please. Bring on full accountability, maybe then we might see less wars being waged and governments truly representing the people. Apologies for the politics on a Monday but it seems that more and more governments can do whatever the FUCK they like, right now we have a media blackout on asylum seekers in OZ, how fucked up is that! Cheers Redi 25

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

"Remember, remember the 5th of November, the gunpowder plot and treason, I see no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot" This is the famous rhyme that this day is best remembered for, To me this day should be an international holiday in every country of the world, for it serves as a reminder that true power does not rest with the government or the politicians but with we the people! Yes it is the people of every nation on our beautiful blue planet who hold the power and a day like today should remind the governments to be very careful, least we the people decide we have had enough!  I am including an excerpt from my book "Collateral Damage" for your reading pleasure, it seems fitting on a day like today; gov·ern·ment [guhv-ern-muhnt, ‐er-muhnt] noun 1.the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states; direction of the affairs of a state, community, etc.; political administration: Government is necessary to the existence of civilised society. 2. the form or system of rule by which a state, community, etc., is governed: monarchical government; episcopal government. 3. the governing body of persons in a state, community, etc.; administration. 4. a branch or service of the supreme authority of a state or nation, taken as representing the whole: a dam built by the government. 5. (in some parliamentary systems, as that of the United Kingdom) a. the particular group of persons forming the cabinet at any given time: The Prime Minister has formed a new government. b. the parliament along with the cabinet: The government has fallen. The meaning taken from the Dictionary.com The word government is taken from the Latin word gubernare, meaning "to govern" or "to manage". Now our governments are elected by us to manage us yet it seems that more and more governments are treating us with absolute contempt. It seems that once elected they don't have any accountability to us. Nowhere is this more apparent then in the financial management of our countries, which includes all the taxes that you and I pay. The last part of the decade has seen an amazing turn of events. Governments have been or are going bankrupt, Iceland, Greece, Spain and Italy to name a few. So how the fuck did that happen. All your income taxes your goods and services taxes, value added taxes and all the other taxes you pay all that money and what. What the hell did the government do with it all? As I look around a see schools struggling, hospitals choked, roads are a joke so where is all this money going? If your government is like mine and I suspect it is there is no accountability at all. This is my single biggest concern! I am required by law to declare my income, pay all my taxes, rates and GST/VAT. I have to basically tell the government about every single cent that I earn and every single cent I spend. I have to do this every year and if I don't I will face major fines. Well how about the government stops this hypocrisy and tells me exactly where my and every other tax payers money goes. No I don't mean a budget they are really just speculative government spin. I mean an annual financial report! I mean a report that tells me where the government is spending my hard working tax paying dollars on. I believe that I and every other citizen has a right to know. I think it is only fair after all, we have to do it every year for the government. Is the government scared to show the people where it spends all our money, we know about your big government functions, your luxury cars, your overseas meetings (think holidays). It would be a real eye opener for every citizen. So why don't they tell us where all this money goes. I always believe that the role of the government is to serve and protect the people that's it. Look after our schools, hospitals and roads and stop wasting our tax money on dodgy investments, dodgy wars, dodgy deals with other governments and big business and start looking after the people you are actually elected to SERVE! I am sure that the people in Argentina, Iceland, Greece, Spain and Italy would never have been in the situations they are in now if they actually knew how much money the government makes and how much it actually spent and more importantly what it spent that money on! We need transparency from all governments at all levels. It should be law. Transparency is a must especially in the new millennium, as we have seen and are seeing, so many countries are at crisis levels with debt and this could have been avoided if they had declared what their revenue was (remember that the bulk of it is collected from you and I) and what they then spent that money on!  An annual financial report is that too much to ask for from our governments.  I honestly believe that government accountability for our tax money should be a right of every tax paying citizen in every country in the world.  We need to hold our leaders to account for every decision they make, every law they pass and so too for every cent they spend after all it's our money the government is spending and as such I should have every right to know exactly where that money is going! Tell us tell the people your people, give us the transparency that we deserve after all you are elected by us to SERVE US! That my friends is just one of the myriad of ways that governments hold us in contempt, let's make this Guy Fawkes day an international holiday! Cheers Redi 25

My Monday Rant

Well I hope you all had a great weekend, mine was good, lots of Tomb Raider Anniversary, some shopping, watching the All Blacks beat the Wallabies again!
But in some disturbing news out of OZ they are now banning bikie's yes, that's right to hell with innocent till proven guilty, new laws passed in Queensland mean that you can be arrested. If you ride in a group, if you wear the same colours. I mean does that mean, all sporting teams who were the same colours can now be arrested and held in prison!

OZ is slowly going to hell, thanks to do-gooder bitches in parliament. Seriously if the police actually did their fucking job and arrest the criminals not everyone else who just happens to belong to that bikie group, this is some seriously fucked up shit, so who's next? Let's arrest all the italians because they might be Mafia, that's how fuckinh absurd this is
you can read more about it here;
http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/queenslands-anti-bikies-laws-were-all-criminals-now/

I actually wrote a chapter on this in my book Collateral Damage you can read the chapter here;

I touched on a topic earlier on in the book, that “the one thing that all people will succumb to is fear and intimidation”, yes fear and intimidation work. They help keep people like sheep, scared, on edge, uneasy and much easier to govern”.

Now more than ever we have a situation in which governments around the world are slowly eroding the freedoms of the people. Freedoms that were hard fought and won by us, by everyday people laying down their lives so we could all enjoy the freedoms that we have taken for granted for so long.

The war on terror gave governments around the world the excuse to enact laws that are slowly taking away our freedoms. By handing police more powers than ever before. You can now be arrested on suspicion, that’s right suspicion, you don’t even have to commit a crime these days, so much for innocent till proven guilty (the very foundation of our legal system).
Then there are the laws designed for our own protection, the ones that prohibit free speech, and the laws that take away free choice. It almost seems as if governments see us the people as idiots. The old system mind you worked just fine, you of course can’t legislate against idiots, but this doesn't seem to stop the government.

The proliferation of CCTV cameras all over the place starts to look more and more like big brother is watching and yes they are, the police really are the foot soldiers of the governments, their job is no longer to serve the community but it is to collect revenue and act as the military arm of the government hell-bent on keeping us subdued and fearful.

Free choice is now under attack, for example you only have to look at your own government to realise that in the last twenty years more laws have been passed then at any other time in the history of government.

Then there is the constant bombardment of Public Service Announcements (read propaganda?). It seems that almost every day the government is invading the air waves and television with its Public Service Announcements. I have compiled a list of the most recent government announcements in Australia alone;

Public Service Announcements;

Child Care Rebate
help with the cost of child care.

Clean Energy Future
Helping to build our clean energy future.

Clean Technology Programs
Helping to reduce emissions and invest in clean energy.

Defence Jobs
Find out more about life in the Australian Defence Force

Defence Reserves and Employer Support
Learn about the service in the Australian Defence Force Reserves

Digital Switchover
Between 2010 and 2013, analogue free-to-air TV signals are being switched off and replaced with digital only signals.

Donate Life
Becoming an organ or tissue donor,

Health Heroes
Jobs in health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school leavers.

Household Assistance Package
Helping millions of Australians with ongoing assistance and tax cuts.

Improve Your Qualifications, Secure Your Future
Help to improve your qualifications.

National Broadband Network
Learn more about how it benefit education, health and business.

National Drugs Campaign
Helping raise awareness about the harms of illicit drug use.

National Tobacco Campaign
Promoting quit attempts amongst smokers.

Paid Parental Leave
Support for working parents to spend more time at home with their new baby; and for employers to retain valuable and skilled staff.

Personal Property Securities Register
Protect your interests - by registering your security interests in assets and check if there is a claim to goods you are buying.

Repair Replace Refund
You have the right to ask for a repair, replacement or refund if goods or services you buy have problems. If it's not right, use your rights!

Swap It, Don't Stop It
Consider nutrition and physical activity swaps you can make to benefit your health. You can lose your belly without losing the things you love.

Cybersmart
Keep safe and smart online. Resources and practical advice to help young kids, kids, teens and parents safely enjoy the online world.

Know before you go
If you're a traveller expecting to pass through an Australian international airport or seaport, be careful about what you purchase and try to bring into Australia.

MySchool
MySchool presents data on individual public hospitals and some private hospitals throughout Australia.

MyHospitals
MyHospitals presents data on individual public hospitals and some private hospitals throughout Australia.

Pregnancy, Birth and Baby Helpline
Free, confidential information, support and counselling 24 hours a day for women, partners and families.

Smart Traveller
Register and receive up to date travel warnings

Drink and Drive
The law and penalties for drinking and driving

You will notice how all these Government Public Service Announcements seem to permeate every aspect of life, from eating to smoking, drinking, childcare, travelling, surfing the net, pregnancy, etc.

I’ll tell you what, I’d rather take my chances and live free, governments don’t worry about me I’ll be fine but please let me just live my life and stop thinking that I am someone in need of your protection! I am quite capable of making my own decisions and with that will cop the consequences of any stupid decisions I make but rest assured they will be my decisions and my choice and my freedom to make them.

It is this intrusion into every aspect of our lives that scares me. Governments have used the terrorist fear to enact changes that they would like us to believe is for our own protection, like they are somehow looking after us, but can we really trust the government? A wise man once said that it is not the people that should fear the government but the government that should fear the people.

We should be fearful, as we are handing over hard won freedom and choice and with that ultimately power to the government. This slow erosion of our freedom with every new law, hands the government greater and greater power that, rest assured they will not give up very easily!

Sorry it's alot to take in on a Monday, but I am starting think I will need to find a new country to live in! So if you have any suggestions, let me know.
Cheers
Redi