Othering, Tribalism, Terrorism, and Religion

Around the world, many countries have both a battle with equality for some racial groups and minorities and also a battle with crime-rates within and by those same groups. Should we consider crime rates the real sentinels of problems and a solution require focusing on factors behind crime rates? Or is the correct response to rising crime rates or crime rates within specific groups an adoption of being "tough on crime", thus increasing rates of incarceration and even deaths in custody for oppressed minorities and racial groups? This is an exploration of not adjusting the level of penalties and instead focusing on the core issues and inequalities behind crime-rates. It is clear that it is "damaged people" in general rather than specific racial groups that correlate with elevated crime rates, so why not use crime rates to identify who is facing inequality?

A quick internet search with the keywords 'lead crime' in the search bar will reveal many articles which all propose that lead pollution in the air caused a dramatic increase in violent crime. Any victim of violent crime in affected locations has a right to feel disturbed by this, but what about perpetrators of violent crime, and should society share the guilt?

There is no universally agreed definition of either race or racism, with no clear agreement on whether race is real or not, and there is more agreement on the reality of racism, there is less on exactly what constitutes racism. This is a look at both the concept of race, and what it means to be racist.

What if Russia and China both intended that the invasion of Ukraine would trigger global inflation and food shortages, and a potentially new financial crisis? That Putin sees himself in the image of Peter the Great and restoring the Russian empire is no secret, and is generally portrayed as evidence that Putin has completely lost the plot. But what if there is a bigger plan involving both Russia and China that starts with triggering a global financial crisis? A dangerous game by two desperate leaders needing to bring others with them as their own economies collapse.

Obama is currently a ‘lame duck’ president with a hostile senate, and approval rating that suggests a likely hood the next US president may well be a republican. In Australia when the less conservative party took a position to take steps to address climate change, it became a call to arms for conseratives opposed to […]

The labels ‘left’ and ‘right’ date back to French Revolution in 1789, but that history hardly conveys what the terms mean today. This post reviews that original concept and history, and looks further into how the concepts have evolved into todays positions of ‘left’ and ‘right’. This post starts discussion on how the concepts apply […]

The republicans in the senate have a clear motive for wanting a new supreme court judge appointed before the election, but with Donald Trump the motivation is not quite as clear. This page contemplates the possible motives of Donald Trump for his rush to appoint a new judge to the high court prior to the […]

The recent G20 wrapped up with a commitment to target economic growth level for the G20 of 2.1% by 2018. Global population grwoth is over 1.1% so this means the worlds richest countries will be getting richer by just over 1% avove population increase per annum by 2018.  Is there any suggestion that this addional […]

I have heard repeated media statements on how ISIS/ISIL managed to recruit young Sunni Muslims from around the world to join their cause.  It has been stated that society must reach out to the Muslim community to stop these young men being recruited from their midst. Certainly these recruits from around the world join the […]

The Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, announced a ‘bold’ decision to award an Australian knighthood to the husband to the Queen of England, Prince Philip. I will provide background for the world majority with zero exposure to Australia’s relationship to the British royal family, but Australia ceased awarding knighthoods in 1986 as part of a […]

On Monday September 15th, Malcolm Turnbull replaced Prime Minister Tony Abbott as the leader of the liberal party, ensuring Malcolm Turnbull would become the fifth prime minister (or head of government) of Australia within five years. This post looks at how this seemingly crazy frequency of change actually takes place, the underlying ‘crisis’ and implications […]

The relationship between fear and hate. There are three immediate responses to fear:  Fight, Flight and Freeze.  In the longer term these correspond to : ‘active hate’, avoidance or ‘passive hate’ with ‘freeze’ being an immediate response with no long term result. To hate is to either to wish to avoid the source of fear, […]

The Australian prime minister (Malcolm Turnbull) was interviewed on the ABC program ‘7:30’ answering questions on government policy regarding tax concessions for real estate investments.  The Prime Minister spoke of the need to retain a specific tax concession because reducing the concession would reduce demand, and to reduce demand would result in lower prices.  The […]

Last night, the Australian Government announced a new budget.  Many of the stated premises of the budget seemly clearly out of touch with the current reality.  Either the government is unaware of the current reality, or the government is not being completely open with the electorate.

I suggest there are two key points in common between the nomination of Donald Trump as the republican candidate, and the ‘Brexit’ vote in the United Kingdom: the failure of our economic system to deliver distribute of increased economic wealth a backlash against immigration Economics. The first point is that we have created a disconnect […]

Red or Blue?  What will the litmus indicate in the Australian election just one week in the aftermath of the stunning ‘Brexit’ outcome? It could be argued that the ‘Brexit’ result will play to whichever party best manages to leverage the angle presented to them. The players and positions. Liberals Position: Strong and Steady. This […]

The proposal that Asad used chemical weapons in order to kill Syrians depends on the following steps, from the almost certain through steps with less and less certainty it was chemical weapons that were really to blame for deaths in the recent attack chemical weapons were in fact launched by forces supporting Assad, and not […]

What are these competing ideologies, and why do they clash? This page is the exploration of the what and the why of the left and the right. I expect to keep revisiting and updating this topic, as it seems too deep to fully analysis in one attempt. In particular interest to me is the question: […]

This is an amazing diplomatic saga, that just could have an impact on the world political balance. Background. The Main Event. Round 1: Recalled Ambassadors. Round 2: Biden to Macron, “I was under the impression you had been told”. Round 3: Macron, “I don’t think, I know [Scott Morrison Lied]” . Round 4: Morrison: Denials […]

As the youtube video to the right demonstrates, I am certainly not the first person to see similarities between Trump and Voldemort. In my case, the focus is on how and why they attract followers, or “coup eaters”, the Trump equivalent to “death eaters”, and the consequences of a possible return. The Plot Of Trump […]

Just as it seems Pete Buttigieg may have won Iowa, I read that polls show many Americans believe the country is not ready for a gay president. There are even stories of a voter wishing to change their vote after learning that ‘Mayor Pete’ was gay. However, there has also been suggestions voters are also […]

My definition of tribalism: Part of the nature of humanity that leads us to support those from the group we identify with, over those from other groups. Most people watching an event at the Olympic games will support the contestant from their own country over those from other countries, even when they had not previously […]

Two groups who benefit from the exact same outcomes.  Whether by design or by accident, both thrive when their actions produce the exact same outcomes. How do we stop these groups working in harmony?

An Australian rugby player, Israel Folau, faces being disqualified from his high profile professional career over his social media posts expressing his religious beliefs.  The posts in question clearly qualify as hate speech, but it is unfair to judge Folau, as many have done, without a deeper understanding. Despite the posts, closer scrutiny reveals Israel […]

It feels like the world is in the grip of a wave of xenophobia, and we just seem so far from a solution.  From extremist Muslim terrorists through to the Donald Trump presidential campaign and the British ‘Brexit’ vote, the is a worldwide rise in at least the visibility of intolerance, if not intolerance itself. […]

Terrorism has evolved to thrive in the environment we have created.  Understanding that evolution is the first step in combating terrorism, the second is the change the environment we have created in which the terrorism thrives.