Climate Emissions, Communism, Outcomes & Targets...or in other words Confusion

 So most countries are off to Glasgow, targets will be set & we assume most will sign on. We'll see how that shakes out. Some of the bigger emitters aren't going, no restrictions will apply to them until 2030 anyway & if they ignore them, good luck bringing them into line. 

Sideline problem is when the bigger emitters aren't so much 3rd World Countries, the biggest are 2nd world countries. China, Russia and strangely mostly Marxist led to some extent. 
They will be the big elephant in the room.

Countries where the State rules everything and individual rights are abolished will be the problem. In these nations they have enjoyed huge economic growth over past decades. But in the case of China, communist as it may well claim to be, it does not and never has distribute wealth to all its citizens. It has not ever re-distributed the means of production to everyone. Instead the state approves or disapproves a venture. Is there corruption? Imagine if starting a business here in Australia or WA required heavy consideration by the very small, extremely powerful & authoratarian ruling class before approval or rejection is made. 

Communism in China requires non stop economic growth. Non stop.
It did in Cuba too but it was a very small island nation with few natural resources, no hordes of low paid workers in thousands of manufacturing firms...from sweat shop to factory floor. It really couldn't rise out of 3rd world under Castro, not without support from Russia and others.

China is different, it has replaced a lot of manufacturing industries worldwide. Staff are not just cheap, they're plentiful and sadly disposable in every sense of the word.
Its a business model the west cannot compete with. It is in effect an nation of sweatshop labor unless you're at the top where the wealth is again centralised.

So its communist by name, but its worse than free market. You may not pack & move to start a small business. You have virtually no individual rights like a Westerner. If you want to ask for those rights in order to be free to flourish, chances up you will be jailed for subversion or you will recieve an express ticket to meet your maker.

Is it legal? That state rules everything, everything the state does is legal. Everything.
Is it immoral? Its not a country running any moral code beyond the state is all, nothing worthwhile exists outside the state. So, the state can do anything at all & technically in their current law & culture it can never be legitmately called unlawful or immoral.
The state is God.

China's economy like all communist regimes is a smouldering house of cards and big winds are approaching. Collapse is not only inevitable, its unavoidable. Only constant growth can delay the collapse. Right now, their economy is still dining out on artifically growth.

Do you think China, a communist country intent on redistribution of wealth, the means & ownership of production would again be #2 country for billionaires & yet no Chinese citizen is permitted to own land and rural poverty is extreme.
It the big end of town is totally controlled by the militarised end of town.

For growth to continue, they cannot afford to match the emissions progress of other countries. So they won't. 

Marxist countries, any of them are charactierised by full state control. Communism, Socialism, Marxism, Fascism, Nazis...all need supreme control wrested in the state, individual rights extinguished or near extinguished and dissent will be brutally crushed. That is the Marxist cat, the rest is just different stripes.

In the world economy our biggest threat is the artifical economies of far left governments. They will remain the biggest polluters and emitters. They will be exempted the longest if not always to keep the cards in a semblence of a house like structure.This will include movement. You cannot move communist countries to the right, towards proper individual rights and market economy so to keep things afloat you have to slowly move the west to the Communist model and break Agriculture, small business & slowly remove their rights, increase their burden.

Think we're seeing that?
Look at who the financial imposts & technical changes are being imposed on now and on whom the most. Those in western economies that are at primary end, that are small businesses, that are below the big end of town.
If you're not with a very large SME or bigger & even then somewhat up the food chain, good luck keeping your job if it can't be exported to a country who can do your job for a fraction of the cost, have no emissions taxes or costs and few rules to go by.

Ironically people forget Animal Farm. Its a predictive text. Communism ( or its different striped cats from the same litter) will replace a monarchy or republic only to create a deeply corrupt State that will control everything and if you're in their small murderous ruling class or approved by them you will be a billionaire. It will be an artificial economic boom requiring state brutalism to keep it running and artifical growth to sustain it.

If China ever has another revolution it will be a zombie apocalypse. It needs to avoid that & their problem is, their train wreck has just left the station, the inevitable is coming, they need to interfere to keep the artificial economy going as long as possible/.

Houston, We Have Problem. Our Economy and Emissions

 Yes we have to clean up our act, yes we have to be better when it comes to emissions but we also need economic growth. That is just one problem.

Coal equates to a lot of bread & butter.

From the Singleton Argus Feb 5th 2019...

The robust performance of the sector has delivered tangible benefits for all Australians including across the coal regions of Queensland and NSW. The benefits include over 150,000 direct and related jobs and rising tax and royalty collections.

Coal royalties provide $5.5 billion directly to those two State governments while overall tax collections and the flow on economic activity has helped improve the Commonwealth budget position.  - (i) 

Now this has another problem within a problem. If coal stops tomorrow we know what will likely replace it for generating residential & light industry energy power, potentially some heavy industry power. Technology is likely to be the thing that catches up & makes coal unprofitable and unable to compete when we try to avoid brown outs & blackouts. 

But thats not the problem, the problem is lost economic strength in our Nation's books.
Yes as for the export earning part that's deleted, the $5 billion in royalties & the forward nudging it provides the federal budget plus the nearly 50,000 direct jobs and the 100,000+ indirect jobs, yes it will be a lot of pain. It will create an economic void and if we shut down tomorrow, we have competitors to replace us. The emissions will not halt, they will be transferred to another countries ledger.

Then there's another problem. In this calender year of 2021 the price of many fertilisers for broad acre cropping has doubled. Since seeding alone Urea has doubled & there is already stern warnings that over seas suppliers including Russia & China are sending messages that fertilisers usually ear marked for export are to be largely held back for their own crops. Now unless those countries have suddenly increased their plantings to equal most of the Australia crop it's possible this is just market squeezing.

In any case, next year will be a very tough year for fertiliser. It will be a tough year for those of you who rely on export dollars & the tax generated for Australia. If coal & iron ore as well as grain take a hit all at the same time its a economic disaster heading our way.

Which prompts the question of an additional problem. Consumption. Why is this not driven down? Well if it is it's a bad hit to growth. We sadly need strong growth in our economy. Having said that, most emissions come from products that consumers eventually buy. Its better to buy as many timber products instead of plastics or chemical based products. Wooden furniture locks up carbon, plastic furniture doesn't. We can harvest timber & replant. Its actually harvesting carbon & long as it doesn't end up in a fire place the carbon is stored. Plastics...really not good especially as many have obsolescence engineered into the plastic product to make it reliably replacable. Add in, the air flight travel for recreational purposes. Jets burn a lot of fuel, make a lot of emissions. That will have to plummet to near on to pre 1955 rates but perhaps only essential travel only.

(Above) And no, that's not flights in a year, or month or a week or a day. That is a snapshot in time, that's most of the recordable flights at a solitary point in time (Sunday night Australian time).
It doesn't include all the military flights with no trackers & the many others that are below a set height, speed & direction so the tracking is off.
Do you think they're all essential travellers only? Potentially a lot of non essential emissions there that could be prevented.

International freight, well it's going to make exporting & importing a raw products a logistical gridlock or perhaps a practical minefield. 

Not long ago the Guardian quoted "The UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) released a report in 2007 saying a 10% reduction in fuel burning was possible on existing ships and 30-40% possible for new ships but the technology is largely unused, as the regulations are largely voluntary."

And then add onto that..." in one year, a single large container ship can emit cancer and asthma-causing pollutants equivalent to that of 50 million cars. The low grade bunker fuel used by the worlds 90,000 cargo ships contains up to 2,000 times the amount of sulfur compared to diesel fuel used in automobiles. The recent boom in the global trade of manufactured goods has also resulted in a new breed of super sized container ship which consume fuel not by the gallons, but by tons per hour, and shipping now accounts for 90% of global trade by volume.

So are you really needing those imported products or should you be buying them now before they get banned. Now bulk carriers that carrier for example Iron Ore. A panamax is a ship designed to travel through the Panama Canal. Most ship engines have been designed for top speeds ranging between 20 and 25 knots per hour, which is between 23 and 28 miles per hour. A Panamax container ship can consume 63,000 gallons of marine fuel per day at that speed. They are considered big alright & when you get on one you will feel like an ant. 
However they are far from being the biggest cargo or bulk carriers these days. Many dwarf them. 
They'll have to be wound back won't they?

It is funny people are talking about the distance of food production to consumer or food miles. It's a trendy thing, but how will you go if all your food must be grown within a 100 mile radius? 

Then there's another elephant in the room. What is the optimum level of CO2 in the air and which are the worst chemical emissions that are really worth our greatest fear & attention?
Which is the worst using the definition below?

By 

Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Updated January 09, 2020
A greenhouse gas is any gas that traps heat in the Earth's atmosphere rather than releasing the energy to space. If too much heat is conserved, the Earth's surface heats up, glaciers melt, and global warming occurs. But greenhouse gases aren't categorically bad, because they act as an insulating blanket keeping the planet a comfortable temperature for life.  

Well surprisingly its water vapour that beat out Carbon Dioxide. - (ii) 
And then it gets confusing, because many people argue that this order is wrong, some are worse than others regardless of volumes. Confused? You're not alone if you're thinking thats the plan all along.

I think recreational travel might have to end sometime soon if they're serious about "Climate Change" I think consumption of imported foreign goods will have to reduce to ships are only bring a full load of cargo in & leaving here with a full cargo out.

Problems of Climate Change/Zero Emissions Never Discussed

1) Export Losses we cop & others overseas pick it up. Who pays the $5B gap in 2 states & where do 50,000 jobs go?

2) Renewables are pretty good & ever improving, but the gear required is not renewable. It creates waste. Point in case the turbine blades being buried.

3) Air Travel, Much of it recreational. Does it have a future & will plane travel be restricted to very essential travel only? Cos y'know we should perhaps reduce it cos y'know "what's the cost of doing nothing"?

4) Sea Freight - It is massive and if you're buying rubbish off eBay out of China...you're adding to the waste.

5) Food Miles. With the likes of fertiliser doubling in the same calender year, will consumers foot the bill?

6) Or in short...why is consumption never mentioned, why are we not being urged to live in a more frugal, more environmentally friendly way like out parents & gran parents.

7) Renewables are good but many of things made to produce RE energy are not recycable so is that part costed & deducted from a "cheaper" equation?

8) The urgent need to promote local wood, paper, careboard & glass products over anything plastic that isn't durable, doesn't become waste quickly and doesn't lock up carbon. Emissions are one thing & the only rock star followed sadly.

9) The worst Greenhouse Gas is water vapour. What is the go there? Apart from silence...

Right now Federal Nationals are being mocked for gently applying the handbrake and asking questions. Don't think for a moment if this were a Labor Government, despite them currently being more a Greens leaning in this they would be having or had the same split & questioning except most will be behind closed doors. Amongst Labor's record there's good & bad and it does include do support/don't support coal industry shape shifting. which helped further solidify Anthony Albanese's nick name "Each Way Albo" and yes same applied to Bill Shorten.

- (i) Coal is our largest export and it remains the dominant fuel in our energy mix says Coal Council of Australia. | The Singleton Argus | Singleton, NSW

- (ii) Worst Greenhouse Gases in the Atmosphere (thoughtco.com)

Young Nationals Motion At Nationals State Conference

This motion was rolled out by the Young Nationals at the 2021 Nationals WA State Conference in Northam and yes it raises some questions that I'm sure will be answered in the next few days or weeks. Some social media posts report it as being passed unanimously, some suggest otherwise. It matters not beyond... it 'll unfold whether it was or not & how it was worded soon enough.

At first glance I think it's a little cart before the horse to begin with but in any case it raises other concerns. I should say up front I didn't attend the 2021 WA Nationals State Conference so I didn't hear debate on this item, nor do I know if the motion was amended at all before or during debate.

What it does say in this original motion is "incentives & disincentives" which is kind of wise to leave wriggle room for what will follow in the way of legislation, fines, penalties, taxes, possible legal proceedings against companies or individuals...and possible rebates & subsidies. It's an awful lot of "dunno what" in the words "incentives & disincentives". At some point a list of acceptable & unacceptable line items will have to be drawn up as battle lines, political lines in the sand I guess. Perhaps that's the purpose of this.

So I'll put that in the wait-n-see drawer & see what unfolds positively & negatively when those actual details finally arrive. It's the 10th of October as I type so we'll see what transpires and when.

The other thing is on Social Media, the Young Nationals are promoting this motion they helped put together but they refer to it as Zero Emissions whereas the motion reads "negative emissions by 2050"

I'm unsure if this was amended to read "zero emissions" before being passed or if there's a mistake somewhere. I think however, those 2 things are definitely two different things by a huge magnitude I cannot even calculate.

So I'll wait eagerly to learn which it is as that makes a profound difference to regional small businesses that aren't that small any more. The defined wealth creators of an economy always include agriculture & mining. We'll see how that goes. 

If you switch your coffee shop in Subiaco or Claremont over to recyclable paper cups you can feel warm & fuzzy but it's a different story for a grain producer who needs torque more than horsepower to pull an air seeder that weighs a lot more than 10 tonne. Remain calm, remain positive & remain patient.

Details will come. Whether the Young Nationals have these details or not I don't know but within minutes of posting a shorter version of this on Social Media I got a message tackling me. What I said was, there needs to be proper costings on this, there also needs to be clarity around whether or not net zero or negative emissions is even possible without closing the economy down & turning Australia into a hippy commune. What will it cost to get to that level of emissions & what goes under the bus, who pays for the changes to keep people in business. It is a lot of devil in the missing detail.

So the message I got was critical of me. For that I honestly don't care. It was saying (deleting the personal comment & I'll put them in red me in black so you can follow the exchange easier)...

 "...it's more expensive to do nothing"

"Well that may well be the case, however that will be reflected in the costings which will include costs of modifying processing, manufacturing, production & specifying who pays these as yet unknown costs & what the net bottom line profit might be percentage wise, when will that arrive & who pays throughout the transition phases to full net profit"

"Its not all about profit you know, we need to stop the greed and hit the repair button. Businesses can survive once they adapt"

"Greed is not in play here. if this works out to being a cost of say (just a ramdom guess) $10-15,000 per man woman & child in Australia is that cheap for businesses to make the changes?"

"I don't know what the cost will be but if its that or even more, its still cheap. Its immoral, unethical and totally wrong not to step up & pay it"

"Look I'll set aside the moral claim for now but if I were to agree with you, then we look at the total cost across the country & then charge every man woman & child $10-15,000 out of their bank account to pay for it, I mean over a set time, not in one hit, then we have have a deal?"

"No businesses & greedy corporations should pay and a small part passed onto consumers in some ways perhaps"

"So its wrong to not make these changes that may cost a fortune but only corporations, small business that employ people should pay?
Wow and you wonder why people in business think this is more than unfair, its sheer socialist madness. In other words you want everyone else to change & everyone else to pay for these changes & if they don't do that whilst leaving you totally uneffected it's "immoral, unethical & totally wrong?
Can I be very fair and ask what area your small business is in or what sector is your employer in, private or government"

Well I'm not repeating the final reply, it was a bit rude and derogatory.
Final take home I got from them -> All business and corporations must pay all the costs of transition, no one else is to be affected and there are absolutely no costings on the transitions at all

Got it.

Speaking to a mining exec, he said the problem is not getting electrical vehicles into the mining industry, there's the problem of getting equipment to produce big torque on demand for a full shift AND then paying for the offsets incurred in the manufacture of that product if it could be made. He said the sums don't add up with the current technology of moving say 100-300 tonne of ore in one load

He said its a moving feast of poison & they're trying to go flat out & make hay while the sun shines.

So yeah I'll wait & see. I won't pronounce any view on this motion. As with all State Conferences a matter is raised & passed. From there it goes into the ether never to be seen nor heard again or it gets modified, reversed.

Again, I think the devil is in the lack of detail nor the understanding of the horsepower & torque used in Ag & mining...and transport because your latte coffee beans are not Bluetoothed in across the nation.

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LATE EDIT - Just advised that the Motion was amended to read "That this State Convention of The Nationals WA supports the adoption of a net zero carbon emissions target by 2050 with clear support for sectors that need assistance to transition."
Whilst that is a quantum leap forward from the absurdly worded original motion, its timing is still bizarre & the implications still unknown. We don't actually know how much "clear support" is needed, how much it will cost and who funds it because we don't actually know what is required to achieve Zero Emissions in all the combined Australian industries.

Should add to achieve "negative emissions" I don't know what is required but it's obvious it would be a lot more than "zero emissions" because that is actually removing CO2 from the air. I am not sure what the original motioners were thinking there but so far the world experience is become like Bhutan if you want good reliable "negative emissions".

Yes, technology will evolve. But apart from looking at this motion as puffy motherhood statement I'd be a little hesitant to sign up to a target that we aren't sure how to reach or at what cost is involved or whultimately pays.

Got an idea who will pay, probably largely not consumers.
I'm not anti Zero Emissions by any date. I'm actually not anti Negative Emissions by any date, but for me to get behind it & support it, how does it affect which industries, whats it cost & who pays?

With the NFF looking at this I would hope & expect Nats liased with them (?)
Colour me a bit shocked. Bit early to commit without so much prior working knowledge.

Hard Left Moronic Decay - Raising Criminal Responsibility.

 Yup, I can hardly believe my ears. The WA Labor Party has decided at its State Conference to (according to media reports) to raise the age of Crimiminal Responsibility to 14 years of age.

Now I think this is from the Hard Left & it is totally moronic decay. Here's why.

This came up with another group I was involved in & they were going to push for a change in the legislation to raise it to 14.

THEY DIDN'T READ THAT SECTION OF THE ACT OR THEY READ ONLY A PART OF IT OR THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY WERE READING. OR THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT THEIR INTENDED CHANGE WOULD BRING.

IT'S THE CRIMINAL CODE ACT COMPILATION ACT 1913

If you want to read it for yourself go to this link & scroll down to Section 29
Click here 

WALW - Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913 - Home Page (legislation.wa.gov.au)

But if not, here it is 

29. Immature age A person under the age of 10 years is not criminally responsible for any act or omission. 

A person under the age of 14 years is not criminally responsible for an act or omission, unless it is proved that at the time of doing the act or making the omission he had capacity to know that he ought not to do the act or make the omission. [Section 29 amended: No. 74 of 1985 s. 4; No. 49 of 1988 s. 44.] 

Now what that means is Children under 10 have no Criminal Responsibility no matter what.
What the second paragraph means all other Children between that age and 14 years of age are not crimiminally responsible unless the police can prove they commited the act or omission whilst they had the capacity to know they should not.

In other words WA Labor is not raisiing the age of Criminal Responsibilty, they are removing the ability of the Police being able to prove the child knew what they doing & therefore duly culpable and deserving of criminal responsibility.

Why is this moronic madness?
Drug dealers will recruit under 14 year olds. They can sell drugs under the new changes & get off Scott Free. They may also be more likely to carry a knife or other weapon, they can get off Scott Free.

The Wilful & Deliberate act of assault, murder, rape, burglary, arson, car theft, graffiti, all consequence free.
If you're a teacher in a rough school with some troubled kids...I'd suggest if this is passed, consider only teaching pre-school, lower primary school or classes of over 14 year olds. If you have one wayward, troubled, angry & potentially violent student...they can come for you & get off Scott Free.

A wise educator told me "If a kid doesn't get it by 9 they maybe won't get it by 19" and if the 10-14 year olds are recruited to sell drugs or break a window or they decide to do serious criminal damage, assault, rape then their life pathway is set. They will be career criminals & some career monsters for life.

Its an utterly moronic idea. I hope they decide to genuinely not have it on their agenda ever even though it is passed at State Conference

WHAT THE DAMN HELL ARE THEY THINKING?

IS THIS MERELY A DISTRACTION THEN THEY TRULY ARE UTTERLY & WILFULLY MORONIC FOOLS 

God help us all.

Look Carefully - Sharpen Your Periferal Vision To Avoid Serious & False Reputational Damage

I get involved with a few organisations big & small. Either as a member/shareholder or asked to help advise on getting their governance, compliance or help get their efficiencies up to speed.

One group had problems with governance & compliance.. A standing committee that really was running the show & wasn't reporting to its board. 
It was a mess, the tail was wagging the dog & regular 4-6 hour meetings. Huge legal exposure & high on inefficiencies.

Enter Muggins me. I emailed the committee, I figured it would be better they got it togther discretely, no public mess, no one getting thrown under the bus. After all bad habits had formed over a long time, other people inherited these habits, added to them through inexperience & expediency...and yeah some Machivellean influeneces too

By the meeting minutes the committee decided to invite me to their meeting to set things out. TWICE. Between the two committee decisions was an AGM, there was no Action Statement so second time they decided they must have forgot their previous decision and repeated their decision. Decided but never enacted.

Instead months lare I was asked in passing if the CEO & I had set a date to attend. I had no idea what was being asked. It meant things were worse than I'd previously thought. I ended up attending, some of the members were very happy, impressed & filled with hope but certainly not all it seems.

Privately I was told that some were indignant that some upstart was interfering. 

Then for me came the real ground zero event. One lady on the committee told another that I was very aggressive & that there was no way she could ever work with me at all.

I was shocked when I was told months later. I approached her privately, politely during a break at a meeting. I explained that I didn't know what I've done to make her feel uncomfortable & apologised completely and unreservedly. I then assured her I was committed to ensuring she felt comfortable and ok. She accepted that thankfully.

Having never spoken to her I can only assume she'd felt the critical email to the standing committee was out of order.

I was able to continue to avoid her completely after that. All was good. The friend that had tipped me off secretly agreed to always be present if the aggreived lady was nearby. We thought all was ok, but no point taking any risk. All was good, because as it happened I was able to stay well away.

Fast forward to 6 or so months later and at an event of the organisation & amomgst a number of people that lady said to me  "We're all going out to dinner tonight, 10 of us so far. Would you care to join us?"

She was polite, genuine & very pleasant. Got to say I was seriously happy as all appeared repaired.
It was a relief & I thought good on her. 
I said I'd love to but that it was a family night & the wife and I were booked in for dinner elsewhere and thanked her. All good.

Privately told my lady friend it appeared resolved but asked if the arrangement could stand, could she still rush over if she approaches me, that I wished to avoid her at all costs just in case. She said no problem. We thought it wasn't necessary but it was still wise.

Next day my lady friend was speaking to the aggrieved lady & asked in general chat "so it's all resolved & good with you guys..." 

Then the shock came. The lady emotionally, publicly & loudly said "No it most certainly is not..." and said "It never ever will be"
She alleged that I had rung her repeatedly at 4am & had abused her.
My friend was gob smacked. Others were present and heard it.
This is completely untrue, never rung her let alone 4am, let alone abused her ever.

Now the next day out of the blue, the lady approached my friend and quietly & emotionally said she should never have said any of those things. My lady friend told me & said do nothing, avoid her like the plague to stay safe. 

Which I have done completely. I avoid her, never ever name her & talk about her except to the lady friend.
I discussed it off the record with the CEO so he was aware. Turns out he was there during her outburst.

After watching a Jordan Petersen video on the clinical studies, the data on men & women and how their anti social behaviour or aggressivness presents differently, well it resonated. Women generally aren't physically aggressive or physically threatening. Those that aren't physically abusive tend to use gossip, lies, innuendo & reputational destruction.

I spoke to a Clinical Psycologist friend & she confirmed it and she doesn't follow Jordan Peterson at all. 

She said follow the data with people, facts (facts not feelings), calmly stand your ground based on the facts (not feelings) but if serious reputational destruction is looking likely yes, don't hesitate, get the hell away from them. If they are emotional, irrational and vicious, time to run. They aren't necessarily evil people, it is just how their aggressive anti social behaviour presents itself when they cannot deal rationally with others. I said what about clearing my name. She said unless you're prepared to go through a complaint process in the organisation or a legal civil case drop it, walk away.

So yes, I left the organisation behind. An organisation I actually believed could do very good things for others & that there's still a bunch of really great like minded minded people there.

Life went on before I was born, it will go one perfectly after I'm dead. The cemetary is full of people who thought the world could not survive without them. The organisation can chose its own pathways.
Its their business now, not mine. My business is doing other things elsewhere now.

Be aware, whether you're a man or a woman, heighten & sharpen your periferal vision, stick to facts not feelings and avoid those irrational people who may be keen to do you mischeif. Especially if they use the anti social tactic of gossip lies & reputational damage.  Stay Safe.

As it turns out there is a bit of a positive. I have gone into full "life recalibration mode" and now pulled away from a number of organisations. Including ones I feel 100% safe & welcome in. It's time to recalibrate.

Funny how such a negative & what could have been a potentially destructive life wrecking incident can actually help prioritise life's pathways. Still not happy, it was still a vile & annoying dog act, but that's life and I've moved on. I will always avoid being anywhere the person, I will never even speak her name. Staying the hell away.

So my advice, review your life goals & direction regularly & thoroughly. Avoid damaging people at every opportunity. If you see a person falsely attacking another, behind their back or in front of them calmly ask them to stop. Then stay right away from them, lest they go after you..

So with that in mind, go to this video & start at 2:20 & watch onwards. Stay aware & protect yourself so you don't have to defend yourself. As is explained in the Karate Kid, best way not to get hit is not to be there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHEDF4l43SY


LATE EDIT - Ummm oops, this post came up in conversation with a friend "Hey didn't you also have a colleague complain to a mate of yours about you that was dodgey"

And yes, that is true. Its probably the only other effort of lies, gossip & reputational damage I've copped that I know of. This particular lady apparently said I was a bit a bastard because I had refused to put her on a mailing list to do with the let's say "club" I was secretary of.
My friend was pretty shocked & rang me within minutes of it being said, as he drove off.

I told my mate ignore it, that I thought it was pretty funny. That I hadn't refused her access to anything, she'd never actually asked, not by phone, email, text, smoke signal, United Nations Resolution nothing. As she was a member of another related & nearby "club" and not ours I would have been ok with it but I'd have to ask our members if it was ok.

She never asked, she was never denied, she was "lies gossip & reputational damage"

She did not know that the guy she spilled this to was a mate of 30 something years, I attended his wedding & his recent 30th wedding anniversary bash.
So he knew me pretty well. Hence he was so greatly shocked. He also knew it was BS, he also said he was aware of her doing this before to both men & women who called out things.

He offered to turn around & confront her. I said no, ignore it. People who know me will ignore it or ring like you did. People who know her will think here she goes again. People who don't know will catch up at some point. I don't think she displays corporate psycopathy or sociopath traits. I think she has incredibly lofty aspirations of being the most sort after sage in the room but has trouble finishing tasks but adept at coming in when others have nearly finished tasks to try & take over. I was told of this when I first heard of her & since then have never been formally introduced to her because I avoided her. Didn't think she was a troublesome threat, just didn't want to be linked to her in any way. So have spoken to her once, try to avoid speaking about her. 

So its almost like a stranger was trying to lie to damage my standing with a very close & well known mate.

I mean, that is pretty damn funny. I'll have to flick the link to this particular blog to that old mate. 
Always a good day when you can make someone laugh & he will cackle or chortle :-) 

What Is Conversion Therapy AND Should It Be Banned?

Conversion Therapy is a bizarre coupling of opposing words.
A conversion is something a person does to and for themselves.
A therapy is something others do to you, such as a medical procedure or process.
It is supposedly a form of treatement that is supposed to change a person from non Hetrosexual to Hetrosexual.

On one hand I'm told Conversion Therapy includes torture, electrocution, chemical intervention, coercion, elevated application of abusive guilt & shaming language.  When I asked who exactly decides they want torture, electrocution, chemical intervention & elevated verbal abuse to change their sexual preference I'm then told in practice its something else. More subtle and evil.
Yes, established as evil and then different definition. THIS is the old bait & switch...

So which is it? Torture, electrocution, chemical & verbal abuse or something else and why would someone decide they need those unethical & illegal acts to achieve a particular goal they want?

Do I oppose these evil acts that are already illegal? Yes
Do I think that it's so bad it must be made illegal under an additional Act of Parliament? Well Yes & No.
I haven't found where it exists and if it is the evil of torture etc its already illegal.

Where some of the juridictions are going foul is in the drafting of legislation that will effectively make it a criminal offence for a parent to even speak to their child about their "gender identity" or their sexual preference UNLESS it is affirming the child's thoughts.

Just let that sink in, you cannot do or say anything about your child's orientation or identity no matter what it is or if it goes against your values as an adult parent. You must affirm the child's view or be charged & potentially recieve a criminal record. It even in some jurisdictions has the potential to see the child of any age removed from the parent's care.

Again...just let that sink in. The State will determine the things you say whilst parenting & prosecute you if you breach.

Its also travelling down another dangerous path and I suspect it's really the main intent. It will outlaw religious faiths in their own places of worship commenting on same sex matters or quoting their own holy texts relating to that issue. 

Again...just let that sink in. The State will be banning parts of the Torah, The Bible, The Quran, The Hadiths, The Vinaya etc... closed upon fear of criminal prosecution.

So where has "Conversion Therapy" actually happened?
We're still trying to find out.

The Albany Pride group protested about the evening held at the Albany Baptist Church which they said was promoting Conversion Therapy. They enlisted & got the support of local Labor MP Rebecca Stephens MLA who said she opposed it completely. Seems fair, dig deeper its odd.

As it turns out, the evening was 2 guest speaker talking about their journey from a life in the LBGTQI+ world to a life as practising Christians away from LBGTQI+ practices & life.
They did not undergo torture, electrocution, chemical intervention or guilt/shaming verbal abuse or any kind of conversion therapy. They were not forced into any intervention or "therapy"

What they sought & got was pastoral care & support. Which they said they were grateful for & was completely 100% no pressure and solely from their seeking.

Not long after the Australian Christian Lobby was denied access to a venue in Perth & Albany. Again they were accused of promoting Conversion Therapy & yet, again it is totally untrue.

Here's the thing, I don't care if your gay or straight or indentify as LBGTQI or any of the plus letters. Your choice. I may or may not agree, but each to their own.

If you are a devout Jew, Christian, Muslim, Buddist or anything else follower...
Your choice. I may or may not agree, but each to their own.

It is odd that religious faiths are being restricted in their freedom of faith, worship & speech is being penalised for torture & abuse they are not committing at all. They will be state regulated by what they can say from their respective pulpits or the like in their own places of worship. That parents will be breaking the law by guiding their children, (y'know parenting their own children) until the child is an adult and legally allowed to make their own decisions. 

It is already not possible for any parent to allow illegal acts like torture, electrocution or chemical treatment to their kids. It is not allowed, it is abuse.

The Summary...

UNDER THE ACTIVIST DEFINITIONS, THERE IS NO CONVERSION THERAPY IN AUSTRALIA. NONE, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIND IT.

WE CANNOT FIND ANY RELIGIOUS GROUPS ANYWHERE IN AUSTRALIA WHERE ANYONE WILLINGLY OR AGAINST THEIR WILL UNDERGOES CONVERSION THERAPY. IF YOU KNOW OF ANY, DO NOT WAIT FOR LEGISLATION TO ACT.

ACT NOW!

Question - So what do you do if you do find someone who is in Conversion Therapy or a person/s conducting Conversion Therapy?

Answer - CALL THE POLICE AND CALL STRAIGHT AWAY because any "therapy" that includes torture, electrocution, chemical intervention, coercion, elevated abusive guilt & shaming language isn't therapy.  IT IS ABUSE, IT IS ILLEGAL ALREADY. CALL THE POLICE.

Question - What if someone wants to introduce legislation to ban Conversion Therapy?

Answer - Walk past them, ignore them, vote against it because there is no reason to pass an Act on abusive treatement that is already illegal under the criminal code. My guess is the legislation will include provisions to halt religious groups delivering parts of their faith that cover Homosexuality. The plan is likely to commit over reach by the State & dominate the freedom to worship and dictate what can & cannot be in sermons or religious teachings.

And do remember to go easy on anyone pushing for legislation to outlaw Conversion Therapy. 

There will be people who have been duped, well meaning, kind & generous people who thinks its happening and that the abuse isn't already outlawed.

The WA Liberal Party Beginning in Reboot Mode?

 Reflecting on WA Journalist Gary Adshead's report on the turmoil within the WA Liberal Party (*Link below) there's some things within apparent & some things that aren't. Gary has yet again laid open the cracked egg & nothing is left unseen.

Firstly, the WALiberals knew they had a problem, they installed some respected people to engage in a review & no punches were held. The very damning WhatsApp exchanges from the so called group called "The Clan" weren't very central initially because they hadn't been established as authentic. Once they were the review committee did not hold back.

What followed was a signed letter from past & some still present lumminaries of WA Liberal life.

Some might have been viewing this as the beginning of the end of the WA Liberal Party.

I am not one of those people. Thankfully I think quite the opposite.

If viewed in broad terms the review committee results could be applied generally to every political party in this country & most likely overseas as well. A mix of top down management, or rather top down control. The lack of proper checks & balances are now out in the sunlight. This is what happens or at least is accelerated unchecked when the shadowy practices of behind the Speaker's Chair and all the other dark knifery from a Parliamentary wing of a party drifts into the Organisational side of the party.
If you have the ability, show me the political party in this country where the line between Parliamentary players & the Organisation has genuine and proper arm's length distance. When they morph its process, the integrity & the lay members who suffer.

Find me the party that does not have this issue to some extent...I'll wait.

On the vulgar level of pure politics, this presents a double stacked problem for the WA Labor Party. Firstly a rebuild in the Liberals as the tide turns on WA Labor is a serious threat to political control of both houses of Parliament. Not immediate, but looming & slowly building. The other is it holds up a stark mirror through a magnifying glass at the workings of the very factional & very cut throat  WALabor Party.
You can expect greater sledges & slurs in Parliament from the Government towards the Liberal Party over the report to try & demoralise the opposing troops. However, the contagian has been identified, all is laid bare in the sunlight of the very public square & the recovery vaccine is rolling out.

That vaccine is good corporate governance, accountibility, transperancy which will eventually result in the longer term to the rise of people with Statesmanship traits, not Machiavellian.

There are really one a two problems the WA Liberals face going forwards.

1) Patience & persistence. These fixes will be slow but they will be big. Their lay members can take heart. I expect due to the size & nature of the pendulum swing the wrong way the reboot will be slow but unstoppable. The repair that results will give rise to a new successful era in the party. But it'll be slow, glacier slow in the beginning

2) Some of the members of "the clan" are actually some of their most effective parliamentary performers. I don't mean fairly good bit players in Parliament, I mean serious participants punching vastly above their weight. Collier & Goiran are high level legislators & political brawlers that each out performer many token red bench warmers on the Government side. They are methodical weapons. Whilst there is the signed letter calling for some to consider their positions, for now that's not resign from the party. Think it might be better if some get on board & stick to solely to their electorate & parliamentary duties. Stick in their own lane. If all members of the clan can do that, perform greatly on their own ground and not be tempted to slide into over reach the party will reach good and lasting reform & recalibration of their party much earlier, much easier.

They need everyone to get on board the bus with little or none going under the bus.

Where the WA Liberals will be exactly in one, two or six years I can't say or comfortably predict except I expect it will be far better off than it is now. I expect this letter signed by well known WA Liberal lumminaries to go down as a milestone moment in their earth moving shift to success.

If you're a member of the WA Liberal Party, seize the moment to rip Victory out of the mouth of defeat.
If you're a political disinterested member of WA Society, take heart. WA needs tension between 2 or more sides in Parliament and a new & improved WA Liberals 2.0 will benefit everyone in WA.

Those that fear the Reboot are the Machiavellian types of all party stripes. Both Liberal knife bearers and Labor. I think if the Liberal blade carriers still have enough conservative reserves in their DNA they will get on board the bus & rebuild for the sake of their party & the for the sake of WA. Those that should fear this recovery most are the players in the WA Labor Party machine. Not for losing government, although that will happen at some point, the pendulum always swings. It's the structure of WA Labor that will also be in the sunlight as the WA Liberals reboot. Labor has rules on its MPs, you cannot stay in the party if you cross the floor, you must do as the Party Room says. Lay memebrs are loyal, hard working and largely duped for their lay members do not control the party. Their power brokers & union leaders jostle for position and some openly rejoice in the internal fight.
Those of poor memory only need to look back at a WA State Conference of the WA Labor Party to recall how well over half the room walked out of the room as Mark McGowan started his address to their gathering.

Yes, I think that although it may not feel this way now, this point in political history will be a watershed moment, a pivotal turning point for the WA Liberals even if it doesn't feel like it. WA Labor will know that & as they have so many players wilfully infected with the anti-Statesmanship contagian they are probably more nervous than "The Clan".

I expect the clan if they're wise will disband and either get on the bus or stay at the stop because for now the Liberal bus is moving forward.

The report into WA Liberals rot is extensive and thorough. I think its a good thing for everyone in WA.


* Liberal review authors call for reform after ‘The Clan’ WhatsApp messages declared valid (watoday.com.au)