The Brown Note

In olden times the filthy rich were content with opening museums and remaining politely quiet. This last decade has seen the rise of the new sociopath-narcissist billionaire class, obsessed with attention and fame. Whilst they were simply trying to out do each other, that was one thing, now they are coming for political influence. No one embodies this more than desperado of cringe, Elon Me-Too Musk, who is seeking to influence politics, always for right-wing populism, despite having no more political intelligence than the lowest rent blog. His recent battle with the Brazillian courts has shown the time has come to hold these obscenely wealthy, attention seeking goons to account. Gina Rinehart too.

Opposition leader and devout right-wing populist, Peter Dutton, had his own Gazan children overboard moment, harking back to those honorable days of his lord and savior - no not Gina Rinhart - John Howard, when conservatives realised they could weaponise the race for political gain. Heroic independent Teal, Zali Steggall, magnificently shirt-fronted him in parliament, with accusation of being a little bit racist. Always believe someone, when they show you who they are...

Elon Me-Too Musk maybe the most desperate-for-attention man on planet Earth, next to Piers Morgan and Donald Trump ironically. An attention seeking ambulance chaser who tries to wed himself to any trending topic. When Donald Trump destroyed Biden in the debate, Elon's leg started twitching. When Trump got shot Elon went all in, on both a personal and a professional level, wedding his future inextricably to the then winning Donald. Two weeks later, Donald has lost.

As at 13-Aug-24 I'm calling the US election for Kamala Harris, and by virtue of that, the end of the Trump era. The greatest reversal of political fortune in modern history. I have an 8 year track record of calling elections correctly, including in 2 months out for Joe Biden last time (see below). Here are a hundred reasons why Trump has already lost and can't do anything about it.

https://youtu.be/HK-UFbbbS-8

A look at one of the dominant sports stories of the year and in particular the often pathetic and hypocritical response to it, from a wildly polarised public.

my piece from a few years back on trans women in sports

https://youtu.be/ADjMB9pYoi4

Taking our country back from immigrants is nothing new to the UK. There was the National Front protests in the 1970s, the Nazi sympathizers in the 1930's. The difference this time, is the internet. After the tragic murder of two children in Southport, was incorrectly linked to a Muslim immigrant, 30% of the internet traffic promoting the initial protests was from the UK, 40% was from the USA. We now have a highly combustible mix of motivated and organised extremists online, gullible Gammons and common garden racists, sovereign citizens and anti-vaxxers, and bad faith actors in the media and politics. Whilst it won't ultimately amount to much, it feels like America dipping its toe in the water for an attempt at impending civil war. And you can bet its coming Australia's way.

Oh well, I was, as I predicted at the start, a few hours late in getting this online but my thoughts anyway. THANK GOD Kamala dodged the biggest bullet she will face, choosing Josh Shapiro - who was favorite - as VP. She really hasn't put a foot wrong and I was terrified picking a pro-Netanyahu VP would fracture a newly healed Democrat party. Now, with such a well balanced ticket of Kamala/Walz really throwing into focus the freak-show that is Trump/Vance, I'm about to call this election done.

A belated hero's welcome to the most important and iconic journalist of the century, WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange. Finally free, after more than a decade of being de-facto tortured at the hands of the State, in order to destroy the threat of a good example.

It's either the luckiest or most genius move in political history, but replacing Joe Biden is a masterstroke on every level. It kills the relentless momentum Trump built up from the debate debacle and being shot, it focuses the biggest weapon the Republicans has against the Democrats, Biden's age, right back on their own candidate, and it re-energizes the Democrat vote. Trust me, Trump wishes he'd lost that debate. The question now is, having used up all their nine lives, will the Democrats make the right choice?

The Achilles heel of both the UK and Australian Labor parties is their slavish obsequence at the top, to the Israel lobby. No one should ever be excluded from Labor for upholding Labor values, let alone opposing genocide. Anthony Albanese has failed spectacularly to read the room here - telling the Muslim voters of Western Sydney to ignore whats happening in Gaza because he's giving them free TAFE. FFSK