lev.lafayette's blog

There are currently two unbelievably bad matters of corruption and mismanagement facing Australia that have been subject to a Royal Commission in the past week. The first was into the banking and finance sector, and various cover-ups and predatory activities. The Federal government, on no less than twenty-three occasions, blocked motions to have an investigation. When Commissioner Hayne handed down his report, the incumbent treasurer (my local member) tried to turn it into a photo opportunity.

Following a number of deaths due to tainted drugs at music festivals there have been arguments that pill testing should be available at such events. One prominent critic of the idea is former leader of the social democratic Australian Labor Party, Mark Latham.

I understand the contemporary fashion of blanking out a person's name when they say something truly stupid. In part, it is to show that the comedy should be directed at the comment, rather than the person. Likewise, it is a principle of charity - you want to give the person an opportunity to improve themselves, and who knows, maybe if they discover they are part of a meme that the world is laughing perhaps they will take the opportunity for self-reflection.

In the 1990s, Norway set up the equivalent of what would have been "the mining tax", the public accumulation of a wealth fund to capture resource-based superprofits.

On the night of the 2018 US mid-term elections there were many saying that the expected Democrat 'blue wave' over the Republicans did not eventuate. Nicholas Kristof at New York Times offered the advice "Don’t listen to Democrats who portray these midterms as an important triumph".

Like yet another flash in the pan, alt-right types have decided to call left-wingers NPCs, following on from the type of character in traditional roleplaying games and more commonly these days, computer roleplaying games. The meme is more directed to the latter, working on the assumption that left-wingers are reactive rather than proactive, have a limited range of stock responses, lack complex personality features, and so forth. There is a now a number of "NPC" memes available.

Unsurprisingly, this is a remarkably easy meme to turn on its head, which I have done.

When Malcolm Turnbull was dumped as Liberal Party leader and thus as Prime Minister, he took the opportunity to exact his revenge by resigning his seat.

As we know the billionaire inspired blood-letting by the terminally suicidal Liberal Party of Australia surprisingly produced Scott Morrison as Prime Minister. Usually after such an event there is a "honeymoon" period, according to most psephology.

Following last week's thoroughly unceremonious dumping of the more centrist Liberal Party prime minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, a popular meme has made a re-appearance. The meme states "In 1672, a mob of angry Dutch killed and ate their prime minister. Options.