We're on the Eve of Destruction

[old man emu]

When Barry McGuire sang the following words in 1965, its message was somewhat prophetic. I fear that the prophecy is closer now to becoming a reality. 

 

The Eastern world, it is explodin'
Violence flarin', bullets loadin'
You're old enough to kill but not for votin'
You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'?
And even the Jordan river has bodies floatin'

But you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
How you don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction

 

More and more, the portent of the collapse of the economy and political stability in the United States is becoming more likely. Continuing conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe seem to be ready to worsen, drawing in many nations. In Asia, China and North Korea are making a racket rattling their sabres. Even South Korea is subject to civil unrest. We don't hear much of what goes on in South America or Africa, but there are many hints that the Dove of Peace is heading for the cooking pot.

 

What about Australia? I've said before that I consider Australia to be a Third World Country wearing the emperor's clothing of a First World one. A Third World country is economically poor and non-industrialized. In political discourse, the term Third World was often associated with being underdeveloped. My idea of a Third World country is one that was exploited by a colonial power; was developed in order to provide the colonial power with raw materials, and, once freed from colonial shackles, lacks the secondary (industrial) capacity to utilise the raw materials it was able to produce. 

 

Australia appears economically strong, but that strength still derives from using raw materials for trade with countries having the industrial base. If countries stop trading with Australia, even for niche products (Western Australian lobsters) the economy is quickly affected. Australia is enmeshed in the global economy. If any leading economy stumbles Australia is likely to fall on its face. Reports today indicate that our GDP has not grown at the expected rate. The many wars have reduced the amount of shipping available to move our raw materials to old and new markets. Worst of all, we do not have a secure oil-based energy system. 96% of energy imports were refined petroleum products and crude oil. We have three weeks' supply stored somewhere in the USA. How would we fare if the USA goes into financial and industrial meltdown?

 

What do we do if China and the USA get into a gunfight, probably because North Korea does something stupid. At the moment we have a foot in both camps, and my thought is that it is more realistic for Australia to go with the Chinese if we can't stay neutral. I have no faith in the idea that the USA would do anything more under the banner of the old ANZUS treaty than protect its military bases in Australia. 

 

Throw post-COVID, environmental changes and the cost-of-living crisis into the mix and I don't know 

How you don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction.

[nomadpete]

Settle down OME.

 

No need to get all depressed by the negative possibilities.

 

Sure, we MIGHT be vulnerable. But the real liklihood of doomday in our lifetime is rather low.

 

Remember .......

 

Grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change.

 

The courage to change the things I must change.

 

And the wisdom to know the difference.

 

Most of your fears listed are 'things I cannot change'.

[nomadpete]

Besides all that, we've been 'on the eve of destruction' for at least 60 years since the song, ... or more.

 

So far, so good.

[pmccarthy]

Besides which, we are a western democracy and a million miles from what the Chinese would have us be. Despite what the current traitors in our parliament are doing.

[Jerry_Atrick]

I can't say I agree with everything the Ausdie or state parliaments do, but what have they done that deserves the traitor moniker?

[facthunter]

Australia's Population is that of a Chinese town. and THEY have their OWN problems and a more rational Government  than MOST do. Huffing and puffing like Morrisson and Dutton do is useless POSTURING for domestic consumption.  PATHETIC>  Nev

[old man emu]

4 hours ago, nomadpete said:

Settle down OME.

I knew you would say that.

 

I'm passed being depressed. I just feel that forewarned is forearmed. I really hope that my prediction is wrong, but when I see that the Common Person has no control over the actions of governments, and even less over those of the anonymous corporate bosses, I don't see a well-lit path to nirvana for my kids and grandkids.

 

[willedoo]

7 minutes ago, old man emu said:

I really hope that my prediction is wrong, but when I see that the Common Person has no control over the actions of governments, and even less over those of the anonymous corporate bosses, I don't see a well-lit path to nirvana for my kids and grandkids.

I see the increasing power of local government as a problem. I don't know how councils are in other states but Queensland local government authorities have considerably more autonomy than those in other states. As a consequence they've become almost a law under their own. Bylaws and restrictions on local residents are increasing all the time and some councils like those in my region have set ridiculous fee structures for any sort of building or renovation work. The amount of money they are asking now is akin to paying bribes to the mafia. Councils here now have full time staff who's sole job is to surveil residents via satellite images so they can bust them for daring to put up a chook house on a rural block and bleed as much money in compliance and application fees as they can. It's not only the average bloke that's affected, but it's having a big effect on builders with increasing fees and red tape.

 

Just as an example, friends of mine live on a rural block of about 40 acres quite a way out of town. They recently got caught by the council as over some time they'd put up a small shed and built a small deck of a few square metres off an existing shed. Councils here no longer do building inspections; that now all has to be certified by private engineers. All up, without any extra building work needed, just in council fees and engineers fees, it cost them over $20,000. The application fee for the small, roofless deck of a few square metres was over $800. They also had a couple of shipping containers that contain water tanks for some fish breeding they do. Council made them hire an engineer to certify the shipping containers. I can understand it in town, but going after all the rural residents like that is a bit Big Brother for my liking.

 

The friends mentioned above also built a second dwelling last year, all legal and put through council. Their son and family now live in the original house and they are in the second dwelling. Town planning allows for a granny flat with restrictions on size and distance away from the main house. They didn't want to live in a pokey little granny flat close to their son and family, so they approached the council and were told they could apply for a relaxation of town planning rules. So in other words, they paid council a lot of money so they could do what the town plan says you can't do, and now have a three bedroom house to live in. It's just legalised bribery. If you think I'm exaggerating, just talk to any builders in this district. Most builders will tell you straight out that dealing with the council is like dealing with a bunch of crooks. Councils are certainly contributing to the housing shortage. They don't care about housing availability or affordability, just how much money they can skim off people.

 

Technically they come under the control of the state government via the local government act, but the state over time has given them too much autonomy.  We've just had a change of state government, so it will be interesting to see if the new government will do anything about the councils. I'm not holding my breath. In other states the state government has more control over councils so there's more consistency between regulations of different councils. Here they just make up their own rules and screw over the residents and ratepayers as well as the building industry as they see fit. Local government is the weak link in our three tiers of government in this country. They're very counter-productive.

[ClintonB]

I just read a book called "Outrider" by Mark Wales over the weekend, scary stuff. Australia at war with China, Victoria a Chinese state and all of the Pilbarra with a no man's land on a big diagola between the 2. SA turned into a giant shipyard turning out warships with the citizens used as slave labour. (This won't ruin the plot, laid out in preface) if you want to read it.

Kinda like a modern day horror story because it's more likely to happen than the bogey man getting you with his chainsaw in a corn field.

 

[nomadpete]

Thanks for the warning, Clinton.

 

There is no end to the doomsday possibilities .

 

I rather miss watching 'Doomsday Preppers' on TV. Maybe it wasn't the producer's intention, but I found it entertaining. Sadly, too many people are focussing on their favorite doom risk - when in reality one of the other ones might play out.

 

My answer is to try to be aware of world events and prepared to change lifestyle quickly if needed. The key to happy life is resilience and adaptablity.

[old man emu]

8 hours ago, ClintonB said:

I just read a book called "Outrider" by Mark Wales over the weekend, scary stuff.

Just another example of how the American concentration on dystopia. Dystopias are often characterized by fear or distress, tyrannical governments, environmental disaster, or other characteristics associated with a cataclysmic decline in society. When was the last time Hollywood produced a movie or TV series that showed any form of happiness? Is it any wonder that our young people are suffering from depression or reacting with others by bullying? Maybe if there is a collapse of the USA, we might eventually move from dystopia to utopia.

[facthunter]

NONE of US are getting out of this alive anyhow. Man's inhumanity to Man is limitless.. Some Ratbag revs them up and away we  go.. People easily act against their OWN interests, threatening our survival. Now because of the sheer size of the Population we are interdependent with the delicate balance of order more necessary than it was ever before. China can't afford a WAR. It relies on trade and ORDER as do many of us.  Trump and Putin are $#!t for brains bullies and despots who no one should TRUST to do anything for them.  Nev

[onetrack]

There's a reason why America is the Land of the Preppers - idiots who believe firmly in an Apocalypse that threatens human life on Earth. The bottom line is, nothing this planet has thrown at us in the last umpteen millenia has done anything to reduce the numbers of humans in the long term. There were short-term reductions in population, but we're the equivalent of the rats and cockroaches on this Earth.

 

It's sad seeing the stupid lengths that idiotic preppers go to, to "survive the coming Apocalypse", when nothing like they envisage is going to happen.

 

Here's a local explorers video, where he explores an underground survival bunker installed near Salmon Gums in W.A. It was built in the early 1980's by a South African fool, so Americans aren't alone in their prepper idiocy.

Incredibly, he apparently built an identical setup in South Africa, no doubt in a remote region. At Salmon Gums, he also built a 10 bedroom house, which is now abandoned. The waste of millions of dollars is incredible - all for a non-event.

 

 

 

 

[old man emu]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

China can't afford a WAR. It relies on trade and ORDER as do many of us. 

The Chinese must be laughing their heads off behind closed doors about how their sabre rattling and jeering is stirring up the Yanks. Of course the Chinese won't rely on military action. Why should they? Although they have a huge population, they don't need more land. What they want are raw materials and markets for what is produced from those raw materials. This week the ammunition in the Sino-US trade war is computer chips.