Fickle people

We humans are a tribal species. Wanting to share our lives with others of our ilk, we like to band together, all-for-one and one-for-all. No doubt evolution has taught us that such an instinct conferred an advantage over the loners. But this tendency certainly thwarts rational analysis in the modern world.

A recent video by Ami Horowitz highlights just this point. Bernie Sanders supporters are given some of the elements of the recently passed US Tax reforms but they are told these are Bernie Sanders' alternative plan. A real gotcha! Well worth he few minutes.

But lets not get too cocky, I am sure republicans too behave this way. We tend to forgive the trespasses of those in our team while we call out those who trespass against us.

So this type "changing hats" exercise is often quite worthwhile.

Belated New Year's greetings!

A belated "Happy New Year" to all readers! I have been away from my desk, for my annual 'switch-off'. That short interlude each year of concentrated RnR.

I think I noted this last year,  but it still remains true, switching off electronic media for a while is quite therapeutic. Our electronic media compete for our attention with an incessant and increasingly strident stream of exclamations. Turning from one to another till we are spinning like a top. No wonder we need a wind down, at least once a year.

This year I was assisted in my 'unwinding' by an electronic storm in late December that managed to upset the delicate balance in my 'information' network. As a result my cable TV decided to select which stations I could watch. All free-to-air were gone and some of the cable TV stations too. And more importantly so was broadband. Mmm.

Living without broadband even for a day is a challenge but when I confronted my supplier I was told

"The first available service is on the 15th January, Merry Christmas!  Would you like fries with that?"

But I feel my blood rising so I shall ''switch".

Yes, it was nice to relax away from the daily babble. My wife and I only venture a couple of days
up the coast, but we have been and still are in the January lull.

Unfortunately the world around us continues at its merry pace, freezing weather in the US, an air plane disaster her, an uprising there. The usual stuff.

If only the world could take a break every once in a while.

Alas, welcome to 2018.

China's all seeing eyes

Given recent Aussie predilections about China's attempts at political influence this short BBC video exposing China's all-seeing surveillance of its own citizens is worth a look.

It is hard not to feel uncomfortable with such a powerful tool for monitoring citizens. In the service of a benevolent state no doubt it can provide significant benefits, especially for crime prevention. However not all states are benevolent, and China's stance particularly towards its dissidents has been far from benevolent.  With such tools the modern autocratic state can have unprecedented control of its citizens. A nightmarish scenario.

Trump is the first president fighting the culture wars

Admittedly this article was penned some months ago, but the grapevine is sometimes a bit slow. Nevertheless Evan Sayet's - exposure of the Left's no-holds-barred culture war published by Townhall in the article titled "He Fights" is the best defense of Trump's 'coarseness' I have come across!
Sayet sees "Donald Trump (as) America’s first wartime president in the Culture War"  and since wars are won by leaders with sometimes unsavory personal attributes he forgives Trump his shortcomings in the interest of victory. With more than just a few home truths it is a must read!

Capital Brouhaha

With the simple pronouncement that the US recognizes Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel, Trump has invited world opprobrium, again!

No doubt this simple act is controversial, given the history and the passions on both sides. It is likely that there will be some immediate consequences. Hopefully minimal violence.

Yes Trump had been warned by all the doves in his administration, by the media, by the international community and indeed the Arab allies, that this act flies in the face of previous policy by US presidents. So it is indeed a brave step. Trump is however doing no more and no less than he said he would do. I guess it makes no difference that you are keeping your promises if it is contrary to what others want. (We have seen this in Aussie politics vis-a-vis the SSM plebiscite, Turnbull received widespread criticism for pursuing the people's vote option despite the mandate given at last election.)

The pronouncement is relatively fresh so there will, no doubt, be a lot written about this in the coming weeks. Yet some commentary seems extreme. Consider the claim, reported coming from Macron of France, that this is 'contrary to international law'. Israel declared Jerusalem as its capital in 1948. Under the UN partition plan Jerusalem was to be the capital of both the Jewish and Arab states. (It was at the time to be administered by the UN.) Was the UN's recognition against International Law? If not then how could the US's recognition of this be against International Law? Recognition of Jerusalem does not preclude it, or part of it, being the capital of a future Palestinian state, along the lines proposed in the UN Partition plan.

Of course a lot of water has gone under the bridge since that time. Especially with the Oslo peace accords in which a decision on Jerusalem was deferred till late in the negotiations. However peace 'negotiations' have  also been stalled for a long time.

By this simple act Trump is signalling that he will not be held hostage to Palestinian threats, and that their negotiating position will only deteriorate if they persist.  Who knows, it may even encourage them to return to real peace negotiations rather than constantly threatening to walk away virtual ones.

From the world reaction one would think that the US was the first country to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Not so in April this year Russia formally recognised West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and became the first country in the world to recognize any part of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

You hadn't heard about that? Neither had I till today. The world press it seems targets its political indignation towards the West and towards the US and certainly towards Trump.

Who will be next I wonder?