Friends in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA where talking with me about poetry, and about conversations in general.  they spoke of how much better conversations worked ‘in the round’ rather than in a square or rectangle.  This made me think of Ali Coby Eckermann’s poem Circles and Squares, which we have posted on at least one other occasion.  I looked for it on the web and this is what came up:

(From https://earthisnotround.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/circles-and-squares/)

The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.

If diversity is a source of wonder, its opposite – the ubiquitous condensation to some blandly amorphous and singulary generic modern culture that takes for granted an impoverished environment – is a source of dismay. There is, indeed, a fire burning over the earth, taking with it plants and animals, cultures, languages, ancient skills and visionary wisdom. Quelling this flame, and re-inventing the poetry of diversity is perhaps the most importent challenge of our times.
– Wade Davis

Here is a poem, that celebrates diversity, circles over squares, by ‘Ali Cobby Eckermann’, an Australian aboriginal, given to me by a dear friend who I had met somewhere in the mountains.

I was born Yankunytjatjara
My Mother is Yankunytjatjara
Her Mother was Yankunytjatjara
My Family is Yankunytjatjara

I have learnt many things from my Family Elders
I have grown to realize that my Life travels in Circles
My Aboriginal Culture has taught me that
Universal Life is Circular

When I was born I was not allowed to live with my Family
I grew up in the white man’s world

We lived in a Square house
We picked fruits and vegetables from neatly fenced Square plot
We kept animals in Square paddocks
We sat and ate at a Square table
We sat on Square chairs
I slept in a Square bed

I looked at myself in a Square mirror and did not know who I was

One day I met my Mother
I just knew that this meeting was part of our Healing Circle
Then I began to travel
I visited places that I had been before

But this time I sat down with Family

We gathered closely together by big Round camp fires
We ate bush tucker, feasting on Round ants and berries
We ate meat from animals that lived in Round burrows
We slept in Circles on beaches around our fires
We sat in the dirt, on Our land, that belongs to a big Round planet
We watched the Moon grow to a magnificent yellow Circle

That was Our Time

I have learnt two different ways now
I am thankful for this
That is part of my Life Circle
My heart is Round like a drum, ready to echo the music of my Family

But the Square within me still remains
The square hole stops me in my entirety

– Ali Cobby Eckermann

Today’s dispatch is Freedom .  Originally dispatched on 26 June 2015

Kamarad Bon aswè, mwen ta renmen pale sou libète ak jistis
(Google Translate Haitian Creole)

Not long ago two teenagers escaped from the Don Dale Juvenile Detention Centre in Darwin (The former Berrimah Gaol). Ninety seven percent of Juveniles in detention in the NT are Aboriginal, so it is fair to assume that the two teenagers in question are Aboriginal. The stereotype has become the reality. The youths’ subsequent stealing of a car and spectacular break in to the detention centre whilst performing “burnouts” before handing themselves in, received much publicity. That they may belong to the 3% non Indigenous population of Don Dale was not given any consideration whatsoever. Neither did it occur to me.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-02/police-capture-darwin-teenagers-doing-burnouts-detention-centre/6515346

https://newmatilda.com//2015/06/18/calls-aboriginal-juvenile-be-shot-target-practice-after-public-shaming-nt-police

So let’s examine the likely past and future life experiences of the joy riding escapees. As tiny babies they may have been traumatised as their abode was raided by police disguised as Ninjas in the middle of the night. They may have been removed by Welfare (how is that for a euphemism!) when their father was locked up and their mother was reported as not looking after them well enough. At school they might have been taught in a language not their own or been bullied and looked down on by other better off kids. They would have spend much of their childhood and teenage years being shadowed by the increasingly numerous constabulary. They might have got increasingly angry and frustrated and might have joined a gang of rock throwing windscreen busting youth in Alice Springs. They might have eventually got caught and sentenced to Juvenile Detention.

When they get out, they would follow the sage advice of our political leaders (such as “if you get a well paid job you could afford to buy your first home even at the prices inflated by overseas investors” and other such pearls of wisdom). Not bloody likely! The Alice Springs shop owner is not likely to offer the two teenagers a job (even if they asked for it, which they probably wouldn’t). The shop owner’s cousin’s windscreen became the target of a well aimed rock only a couple of weeks ago. There is a chance that the rock thrower is a cousin of the released teenagers. Sooner or later a member of the numerous constabulary will catch the youths doing something illegal. The magistrate will frown at the no longer Juvenile delinquents and lock them up for a long time. This cycle will repeat itself ad nauseam.

So why did the two teenagers give all of us who are not enamoured with those legally sanctioned bullies a Schadenfreude thrill? Have another look at the video on the ABC news report (link above). Why did they re-enter the facility in a stolen car by ramming the front roller doors? A weird sense of humour I have, I  think it’s hilarious. Mind you, I do spare a thought for the owners of the car, and hope they were insured.

So why did they do it? They had nothing to lose!

Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7hk-hI0JKw

So I checked out the NT Police Facebook site. It has more than 50,000 “likes”. Many self congratulatory “incidents” and opinion… “Police were present at the Football Match and Police Commissioner Plod praised the behaviour of the crowd” “Police apprehended half a dozen youths found loitering” followed by such intellectually stimulating comments from the peanut gallery as “I hope they don’t get bail”. The 34 gram dope raid at Yuendumu has been removed from the site, as have negative comments. No way of telling how many “dislikes” the site has engendered.

From the NT Police Facebook site:

“Police conducted a search of the vehicle and located a small quantity of cannabis and drug paraphernalia”.“A 22-year-old female passenger was issued a notice to appear for possess a dangerous drug (cannabis) and possess implement to administer.”

This was kindly translated (“for those who don’t speak cop”) in a comment as “She had some weed and a bong”

Regular readers of these Dispatches (i.e. those that don’t press ‘Shift/delete’) will be aware of my obsession with languages. On reading the above comment I realized that I haven’t used ‘Cop’ language in a Dispatch. I expect Google Translate to in due course add ‘Cop’ to its extensive list of languages.

A friend once regaled me with some instances of Cop-speak that he had gathered, like one might gather wildflowers:

A Policeman in court uttered “ Members rushed into the bedroom and shot the deceased who was alive at the time”

This friend shares my weird sense of humor and will undoubtedly savour the joyride. He will probably also spare a thought for the owners of the car.

To provide some illuminating examples of Cop-speak all I need do is quote Darwin’s Commander Murphy (plagiarized from the ABC News report):

“During the escape they caused significant damage inside the complex and we will allege they stole a motor vehicle after breaching the perimeter,” (They broke things whilst escaping, and then stole a car)

“This led to a police pursuit that involved a number of resources,” (They got chased by the cops).

“They basically drove around inside the complex closely monitored by police,” (The cops watched them do wheelies).

“They weren’t really listening to our request,” Commander Murphy said. “At every opportunity we gave them a clear dynamic command to surrender.” (We yelled at them to stop, but they took no notice)

Commander Murphy said the incident was resolved when a “surrender was successfully negotiated with the two youths”. (They gave up. It was all over).

I suspect that there is such as Murphy’s Law of Semantics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veiJLhXdwn8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdOykEJSXIg

Li pral enteresan yo tande kreyòl ayisyen lapolis-pale
Tout pi bon an

Frank

1941! A great year for Ford. Ever since, it’s been downhill. (Editor)

1941 Ford light truck with Boyes Anti tank Rifle. (a precursor to GPS)

You’d think the closing down of Ford’s Broadmeadows plant would be an opportunity for this slightly left of centre mouthpiece to have a go at the Federal Government. You’d expect a diatribe directed at some of the politicians who wiped their hands of sixty years of auto manufacturing and just walked away. Those same politicians who’ve never done a real job, and talked of ‘lifters and leaners’. Well then, we’ve got a surprise for you, we’re just not interested. And in fact ‘WE’, the editorial department would like to congratulate Joe Hockey in particular. Joe proved that you can rise through the ranks of student politics, stand for nothing, listen to your lobbyists and generally, kill manufacturing to get the top job in Washington. Joe would tell you that he’s worked bloody hard to attain this distinction, and we , (the taxpayers) should feel glad that we’ve given ‘Big Joe’ (as they call him in the states) the lifting he needed to get a sinecure for life.

The Flathead V8. Unsurpassed beauty!

Rather no manufacturing so that we know our place. And for planned economies, education, health and environment, we need more people like Joe. As evidenced by all the people sleeping rough in the streets of Melbourne, his hand is staying the tiller of destiny. A guidance to the eternal truth. Get rich, or kill yourself. The car industry required more federal funding. Every other country on earth does it. But we’re pure. And our economic rationalist pollies who’ve never filled out a BAS form know better. And besides, Real Estate is what makes this country great. The taxpayers should not fund failing private enterprise.

Pollies pretending to shop at the local supermarket.

But rent-seeking enterprises are different. That’s why we’re intrigued by the call from Coles for the police force to assist at the automatic checkouts. What a wonderful use of taxpayers money. Here’s a company that has shred its staff, caught dairy farmers in a death spiral, screwed its suppliers, and indulged in a duopoly for years and years. Some might say well learnt behaviour akin to that demonstrated by the major banks. And now with staff, both literally and metaphorically skeletonised, they’re asking the police force for assistance. Picture this, rather than; ‘product enquiry, on aisle seven‘. It’ll be ‘suspected shoplifter area twelve’, and the combined might of ‘Victoria’s finest‘ swooping on the kiddy trying to knock off a mars bar. It’s the thin end of the shopping wedge, if the thin blue line is required to keep the integrity of checkouts intact. There’s no sense of irony clearly by Coles directors, who we must assume get paid banking sized salaries. They’ve created the problem, eschewed the public and like public transport paramilitary who run stations.

Welcome the new checkout Gestapo!

New Checkout Control Officers trialling new uniforms

Three years ago after a sojourn in Yuendumu, Cecil and I remarked, “ Ya know mate, all this militarisation of life in the Alice, armed guards at the checkouts, police patrolling the streets, the incarceration. If we don’t watch it, this aboriginal stuff, (the stuff meted out to the non white locals) will become mainstream’. Well, it’s happened.. And we’re letting it happen. Because enough of us don’t give a stuff!

Banking sector CEO’s arrive at the Senate hearings.

Dear reader. Sometime we as the general public tend to get flummoxed by the intricacy of process and procedure in modern professional life. For instance, some of you I suspect, (though you are loathe to admit it), may have been “at sea’,when a learned art critic utilises in full measure ‘Art Speak’ to describe a particular work. Or in other instances hearing a member of the legal profession, perhaps an expert on contracts describe the legal machinations of a particular case. It’s very easy to baffled by the sludge of ‘legal speak, art speak’, ‘planning speak’ and in some cases ‘plain old english speak’. That’s why it’s so important to bear witness to the Senate banking enquiry.

Banking. Respectability and trust.

Over the past few days we’ve heard some very compelling justification from leaders in the banking sector. Quite a lot of the justification could be described as being defensive. That seems fair, because unbeknown to the highly regarded, principled senior executives of our major banks, some scallywags have been doing their directors a dis-service by indulging in unprofessional behaviour. The big bank executives are at pains to tell us that these miscreants are acting out of character with the upstanding principles of modern banking. They insist that the banks, left to their own devices without an enquiry are on top of the job. And they’re quite clear about it. They’re really sincere about doing something about the rogue executives on their payroll. And they’ve used nice banking words that ‘we’, the public can understand. Just a bit of corporate speak to soften the blow, as in ‘moving forward’, ‘outcomes’, and ‘best professional practice’.

Politicians pretending to be bankers.

However the problem is they’ve done nothing to ensure that those who’ve sent people to the wall, screwed them to death, lied, forged and stolen funds they were not entitled to, have received anything other than a slap on the wrist. Like ol Father Risdale, they’re misdemeanors which have been buried within the corporation. ‘Moved on’. Indeed some of the practices have been so criminal you’d wonder how any of that behaviour could be justified, and why aren’t those banks and the people who made these disgraceful acts not in jail? Well, we suppose it’s image. And the simple truth is that none of the heads of the banks’ can actually identify any of the singular cases of absolute bastardry and say, “ I’m sorry, this is egregiously bad behaviour, there must be something very wrong with the culture within our institutions’.

Instead, we get ‘Pell’s testimony’, ‘I see nothing, hear nothing and it’s quite a surprise’.

A good enquiry begins with a good cup of tea

We deserve better than this, but sadly suspect we wont. It’s comforting to know that the Financial Services Minister is on the case. No Royal Commission, no enquiry, but a Banking Tribunal. Perhaps with all the powers of a Clean Energy Commission, (or wait for it), a Marriage Plebiscite. But with a bit of nuance that’ll keep the ‘little people’ in their place. A bit like Vcat.

‘We’, the public know that the banks, with their army of highly paid corporate lawyers will destroy those foolish enough to go to tribunal.  Kelly O’Dwyer says a tribunal is a good alternative to the court system. “What we’re saying is that’s not always the best mechanism to deal with these complaints, they can be dealt with in a very timely manner, through the right mechanism where they can get their matter heard and examined independently and potentially have access to compensation.”

And you know what that means in plain speak. The banks are telling you the public, (and we agree with them), that as big corporations, big banks now run this country. YOU, the ‘little people’ can just go get fucked!

Mr Narev defines his position at the banking enquiry

Mr Narev, greets journalists for an interview at Cominsure headquarters.

Dear reader, after yesterdays startling revelations about the grilling encountered by Mr Narev (CEO Commonwealth Bank) at the banking enquiry it has been revealed he faces another grueling encounter. A spokesman for the enquiry remarked; ‘This time he’ll only get the comfy chair and the light lunch he ordered from Maxim’s may be delayed due to CCM’S, (cost cutting measures )by the catering staff’. Bristling with anticipation to this, the first of four big bank CEO’s under senate scrutiny Mr Narev is planning to be “ co operative” and helpful under questioning. ‘We’re going to dig deep’, a senate spokesman said, ‘and find out why he prefers St Tropez, for his Easter break rather than Santorini. We also we need to get to the bottom of why he was unable to get to Royal Ascot for the racing season. Such absenteeism is unheard of for a successful banker’.

We indeed hope that these and other deeply held secrets will be revealed under oath, and can only hope that more light will be thrown on the illuminating subject of banking in general. But, just in case you thought it was all over, (not the banking enquiry stupid!) we’ve got one more excerpt from “ Toys and Games from the Ming Era”. A most perfect companion to the most excellent documentary hosted by the second greatest Australian P.M Ever, John, (‘I alone invaded Iraq and will never be held to account’) Howard.

1 Clancy’s Caravan. Release date 1968.

Clancy’s Caravan, (a marketing phenomenon) was designed as a local counter to the incredibly successful imported Barbie and her stable mate Sindy. The ‘Clancy’s Caravan’ set outsold all competitors in the Christmas season of 1968-69 to, unbelievably BOYS!! The model consisted of Clancy’s Caravan, complete with bathroom, shower, kitchenette and dining settee and was the very latest in camping development for the burgeoning, (in its infancy) recreational and leisure sector. The toy package consisted of a one twentieth scale Clancy figurine, and matching clothing, with caravan, (as standard Coronet and annexe). Each kit came with an optional splash pool and banana lounges.

For the Clancy figurine, options included a swimwear set, underwear and options of either Jillaroo Clancy with stock-whip in riding gear, or just plain Clancy as SCEGGS school girl. The lifelike detail presented Clancy in uniform, summer and winter options, satchel and play lunch. The option was trialled with sportswear tennis racket, and hockey stick, but sales of the Clancy swimwear model outstripped production capacity at the Wendouree manufacturing plant. Excess capacity had to be shifted to the Leyland Victoria Park/ Zetland complex, who were then able to maintain production with minor variations for plastic mouldings and bushes for the popular morris 1100 and up tooled production for the soon to be released Morris Marina.

Clancy and the cast of the Children’s evergreen, Skippy

The Clancy doll was hugely popular and led a revolution in synthetic and plastic polymer production, with life like limbs and flexible latex joints, the model could adopt a variety of poses, and “as the advertising, proclaimed, “ bend it stretch it and she’ll still bounce back” . And, as a training model, several containers were trans-shipped to the australian army medical corps headquarters at Nui Dat in South Vietnam as ‘practise kewpies” for medical staff and nurses in the field. In a celebrated encounter during the Tet offensive an entire container was captured by the Viet Cong, who believed they were decoys and mined shipped them onto China, were they were re- badged and on sold to Nth Korea as the ‘Das Kapital Kewpie’ .

In December 1968 sales outshone all competitors in the figurine toy department, beating Gi Joe, Action man and Barbie in the fiercely competitive lifelike toy sales market. Clancy was set to break all records for the 1968 Boxing Day sale. Then something terrible happened. Prolonged exposure to the human skin by the active compound TGPS the lifelike material used to create the doll, (Tryco- Glyco poly Stimularine) caused extensive skin burns if rubbed over a prolonged period of time. . Consequently hospital emergency departments were overloaded with teenage boys presenting swollen hands and glands. The condition, known in medical terms as ‘Clancy’s Fancy’, had dire consequences for local under age cricket teams with district cricket being disastrously affected. . In some case the dolls actually exploded, doubtless due to the acetate polymer and it’s unstable properties.

The products were withdrawn and excess stock shipped to Vietnam, and rebadged as the ‘Suzy sweet and sour comfort doll’ as a palliative for children recovering from napalm burns. Over two hundred thousand were sold between 1968-69, and after the product was withdrawn, refunds were offered for Clancy’s in good condition, though very few came back. The standard game measured 400 mm x 320 mm, and came in a sturdy two tone box, with a superb illustration of Clancy and Skippy greeting players from the door of the caravan. The playing pieces consisted of all members of the Hammond family, the coronet regal caravan, annexe, banana lounge, and optional costumes. It retailed for $12. 95 in most toy stores, and of the two variants, the ‘Clancy Big Box’, offered a larger play set, and a bonus Emu and Dingo. Very few survive today, those that have survived are required, (for collectors) to be placed in a fire proof container, and the game pieces also manufactured with Tryco-Glyco Poly Stimularine, are required by law to be inspected by fire safety officers on a bi-annual basis. As a consequence only some three complete games survive. They are priceless.

Former clients of Cominsure hold an extraordinary meeting to endorse the Insurance Arms’ conduct.

To the Senate enquiry; “You’re kidding, do you think you run the country’?

Mr Narev, grand-master capitalist Emperor of mega-bank ‘Uncommon-wealth’ sat before the Senate enquiry onto the big banks today. After some questioning, and detailed compliments related to his tie, (‘very nice’) and shoes, (‘quite expensive’) he emerged from the first day and described the interrogation as; ‘Imagine being pelted to death with marshmellows?”. He evidenced no visible scarring, but we know he left the enquiry shaken, as some of the questions; “which exclusive and expensive restaurants do you usually indulge?” were just a little bit too invasive. Outside the Senate enquiry he promised to return the next day and tell the Senate of his plans for another European tour, and what he did with the last bonus, for being a cruel callous heartless bastard, and the fact, that he’s still troubled by having to pay some tax, (occasionally). In parting, he reminded us that the ‘banks are great, their investment brokers are wonderful, and people who get destroyed by dodgy brokers are just jealous’.

Whilst we’re in the region of whiffy behaviour, we have another installment on ‘Great Toys from yesteryear’, Toys of the Ming era, (1939-66), we hope it adds colour to the Banking enquiry.

Stinky Toys, an offshoot of Dinky toys, were the first ever mass produced plastic toys designed to stimulate the olfactory senses of young children. Enthusiastically endorsed by the Public Olfactory Nuance Group, (PONG). The group believed the development of scent to be as important as sight, touch and hearing in the development of young minds. The range included scent enhanced plastic moulded manufactured goods and buildings; Factories, Tanneries, Melting down works, Septic tanks, Piggeries and Night soil cart accessories.

Stinky Toys Advertising hoarding. C.1950.

Initial orders were encouraging, with eager parents responding to the call for more sensory and explorative toys.

After receiving outstandingly favourable reviews in “Modern Child”, “Breast-fed”, and “Nurture magazines”, the advanced orders accelerated from child minding centres, creches, and kindergartens, where it was felt that playing with such toys would be a boon for children from sensory deprived, (poor) backgrounds. Social scientists were keen to familiarise those ‘lower tier’ individuals with a familiarity of unpleasant odours so often associated with agricultural industries and some of the more primitive animal product extractive industries. It was felt that such exposure would ‘both familiarise and acclimatise them to a life of unspeakable drudgery up to their eyes in cow shit or embalmed in the noxious stench of the tannery works’, (official document)

CEO Commonwealth Bank arrives at the Senate enquiry through ” side entrance”

It was also argued that such “ scented toys” would be entirely beneficial for the the more ‘well-to-do’ modern parents and ‘devotees to the Dr Spock mantra of idealised self expression who desired a firmer, more grounded set of developmental experiences for their children before they were despatched to alternative schools’.( another official document)

The Stinky Toys design department, seeing the opportunities began to devise toys with an entirely new range of aromatic qualities, Soup works Stock-feeds, Dairy processors from the agricultural sector, and perfumes, antiseptic and formalin scented toys for the more, “ white collar’ orientated market. Then tragedy struck. Reports filtered in that entire shop window displays had been consumed by blowflies. And in one celebrated incident the store was ‘run through’ by a pack of stray dogs on remand from the pound. Tragically the toys were recalled when housewives, by then, (late 1950’s) conditioned to cleaning products complained about the odours, and were worried about younger children ingesting whole toys. Several asphyxiations occurring when younger children, ( toddlers) tried to consume whole toys in the mistake belief that they were actual foodstuffs

The toys were subsequently removed from sale and the operation closed.

Dear reader, after detailed analysis of the most recent presidential election debate between Hillary ‘Status Quo’ and Donald ‘Raving Looney’, we have decided that politics is a bit like Spock’s analysis of Aliens; “ It’s life Jim, but not as we know it”. Good thing then that the Turnbull government has committed itself to doing nothing. EVER! That’s a comforting thought, whilst allowing the market to do whatever it likes with healthcare, education, and ensuring that several generations down the line will never ever own a house. Never in the history of Australian society have so many of the likes of generation X, Y, and Z, yearned for their parents to die. So as an alternative let’s return to a more idealistic era, as we trawl once again into the toys that almost made it. An era when almost anything was possible, and governments, (most of the time) led for the good of society.

Attractive ‘Barrel of Junkies” label. c. 1973

Taking a cue from the war on drugs, announced by the Nixon administration in the early 70’s the federal government decided as part of its; ‘break the cycle initiative’ to encourage deep seated changes to the attitudes prevalent, post flower power era that drugs were O.K . The screening of the provocative, ‘No Roses for Michael’, and the anti cancer council’s first forays into the root use of teenage drug exposure led to a variety of initiatives designed to combat drug use at the ‘pointy end’, amongst teenagers. Then seen as having a predilection for Marlboro, Mcwhilliams Cream Sherry Coolabah and Brandivino which were believed to be  precursors for very hard drug use. The drugs strategy was simple, focus on the everyday items that the public don’t perceive as drugs and in so doing create an awareness. Once the awareness had been established, an informed programme of drug identification and dangers would be consolidated in education, print media, and on television and radio.

Wizz Fizz, singled out by concerned parents as a precursor to higher level drug use.

At first the initiative was a startling success. Sales of Kool Aid, and Cottees’ Lemon Crush soared as parents moved away from Tab, Fanta, and Tarax, for less sugary drinks. Sugar being singled out as a damaging precursor to drug addiction. Inadvertent victims of the growing awareness were sales slumps of Whizz Fizz, licorice cigars, Footy cards (the Scanlens gum) and Sherbert bombs. The adverts suggested that any thing delicately wrapped enclosing a white powdered substance was a precursor to high level drug use. Parents, frightened by the possibilities of such items being encouraged amongst children acted responsibly. By mid 1972, sales of the formatted booklet, ‘Don’t dig drugs Man’, were impressive. Designed as a counter to the enhanced stardom of T Rex, Bowie, and the glam era the booklets were tastefully designed by the government printer in Safari Yellow and Mission Brown, popular colours at the time.

Barrel of Monkeys.

Then, weeks after the launch of the drugs initiative, sales and interest began to fail. All the heightened warnings and dangers went unheeded. The population was at risk of being over exposed to the shock tactic. School hall lectures became filled with bored listless students falling asleep at the sound of appalling statistics, and rather than discourage, the reaction was one of collective disinterest which soon turned to a counter cultural allure. Nothing it seemed could be done to stop the scourge of drugs.

Minister for Industry, futures and fashion, plan to reintroduce ” Barrel” as growth initiative.

Then in October 1973, came a breakthrough. A games conference held adjacent the international drugs addiction forum held at the Melbourne Festival Hall, provided the catalyst. At that time visiting professor and world expert on drug addiction professor, Fillemup Withwead, came across the very popular ‘Barrel of Monkeys’. He watched fascinated as a convener encouraged a group of non drug taking school age children by engaging the complete set of 58 monkeys in a continuous chain. In an instant the idea was Born, ‘Barrel of Junkies’, became a hit, ‘Barrel of’ established the junkie, rather than as a cool, street life, alternative icon into a shambolic figure of fun. Drug use declined overnight, as ‘Barrel of’, held sway across living rooms across Australia. The game was simple, a plastic barrel and board, identical to “Monkeys” in which the junkies, were thrown out onto the street. The purpose to lift the junkies and throw them off the street and ‘into the can’. The street was a simple thoroughfare, with sections labelled School, Kindergarten, Fish and Chip Shop, Newsagent, Garage, Town Hall, Local Pool, Library, RSL and Pool Hall. The majority of the junkies were placed in the pool hall, and any that fell onto the street were deducted from the score. The ‘can’ being the open ended Barrel. The exterior of the barrel was an innovative departure from the standard barrel of monkeys, with spaced out junkies, and iconic exterior designs of flowers, swirls and the phrases, “far out’ ‘groovy’. ‘Space man’, and ‘Stoned’. The junkies came in several colours, ‘tangerine’, ‘groovatronic green’, and ‘deep space’ , and were clearly labelled toxic, as some children inspired by the concept had smoked them and suffered irretrievable lung damage. When released in the summer of 74. they came in a plain box with a parental warning, and in spite of complaints from the Australasian Family Association (AFA), Choice, the Christian Religious Education Excitement Party, (CREEP) Purity Unity Society, (PUS) the barrels were freely available in newsagents, toy stores and selected service stations.

Interest in the product declined in the late 80‘s with the onset of acid house, exctasy and ice, and the product was withdrawn from sale and on-sold to Kentucky fried as a giveaway for every purchase of the KFC Big Barrel. This ceased when a family in their eagerness to consume the KFC big Bucket, swallowed the contents of a barrel of junkies and suffered irreversible internal failure. The medical verdict pointed to the elongated curved hands and fingers of the junkies ripping into membrane walls and destroying arteries . ‘Fingerer sticckin Food’ (Pronounced as in ‘Hood”). KFC withdrew the product and a out of court settlement was made to the relatives of the deceased. At the time of writing only one complete set remains and is the property of the Minister for Innovation the Rt Hon Christopher Pyne, who may resurrect the product rebadged as a ‘Barrel full of Flunkies’ designed to assist with the emergence of a new strata of bureacrats to administer the ‘Ideas Boom’.

Quentin has written at length about the plebiscite on same sex marriage in Australia –here, here, here, here, and here.  North Carolina, through its majority Republican Legislature and Republican Governor Pat McCrory has passed a bill HB2 which in part legislates that people may only use the bathroom, restroom, change room of the gender designated on their birth certificate.  (More importantly the bill has provisions that restricts or in some cases removes the rights of many to protection against discrimination.)    Apparently there is concern about bathroom safety, and the possibility of corruption of youthful innocence.

Carol Petrie writes in the INDI week, a local Triangle newspaper, “.. to all those parents out there concerned about their children’s bathroom safety: when you try to take your little boy with you into the ladies’ room or your little girl into the men’s room, you are violating the law.  Yes, send that little man into the bathroom of his gender all alone.  Now, don’t you feel safe and happy with McCrory’s HB2?”

And now for our poem, by Sue Wong – F U HB2 (From INDI Week 28/9/16)

When the line is long and you’ve got to pee
Here’s a tip you can take from me
March on over to the door marked ‘Men”
And if guys give grief declare that when
You left home that morning at half past ten
You were late, in a rush, and yourself so beside
You forgot the document proving you’re bona fide
And NO, they can’t peek, though you’ve nothing to hide
Its such a chore to drop panties while hiking a dress
So to avoid stares, snide remarks and all that mess
You’ll excuse yourself and duck into a stall
Saying ‘if you don’t like it give McCrory a call

(Sporting and business boycotts of the State of North Carolina have so far cost in the order of $400 Million.)

Today’s dispatch is Goodonya .  Originally dispatched on 9 June 2015

Dzień dobry moi przyjaciele,

In the film ‘Bundera Boys’ the late actor Maurie Fields plays a guard. He has occassion to say “Good on ya” to two old Jewish prisoners. “Godonya? Godonya? What is Godonya?” “I think it’s in Poland” is the reply.  “godonya ! godonya ! vos iz godonya ? ikh trakhtn es iz in foyln !”

Yuendumu’s $7.6M Police Complex is nearing completion. ‘Making Communities Safer’ will soon come to fruition. We can’t wait for the grand opening! Godonya!

Before last Christmas there was a hunting party roaming the streets of Yuendumu. A pair of Policemen from Alice Springs were hunting for unregistered vehicles, unlicensed drivers and unworn seatbelts. Am told their sortie was quite successful and netted $9,000 in fines. At an average speed of 25Km per hour, un-registrable vehicles in Yuendumu are not quite sitting ducks, more like crawling ducks. I’m glad the community has been made safer by punishing the criminals that have persisted in imperilling our lives. Godonya!

Last week a group of women who were in “sorry camp” (bereaving the death of a Yuendumu man) witnessed some serious activity emanating from the new Police Complex across the road.

From around midnight to the next day, police were taking part in a hunting expedition. They were hunting for people with outstanding warrants. Am told they made a number of arrests.

In one instance eight members of the constabulary surrounded a residence and caught an alleged criminal, waking several children in the process. It was 5:30a.m. The alleged criminal was quite angry and told me that “someone” had informed the Police of his whereabouts. The possibility of a generation of children growing up hating the Police, and community conflict resulting from the suspicion that “someone” had dobbed “someone” in, and the resultant damage to the Social Fabric of Yuendumu, is a small price to pay for us being made safer by these night time raids. Godonya! Most of these warrants are for such heinous crimes as “failing to appear in court”. Calendars are not exactly ubiquitous in Yuendumu and awareness of dates not exactly Yuendumu Society’s forte! All the same the Law is the Law and has to be enforced. We all feel much safer now that those court skipping criminals are pursued. Godonya!

A few days ago four police vehicles with two sniffer dogs were roaming the streets of Yuendumu. They were hunting for drugs. On the NT Police Facebook page I learn that the search netted 34 gram of cannabis, $A420 cash and a bottle of Rum. A 24 year old man has been charged with supply of cannabis, possess tainted property and possession of alcohol in a restricted area. I’m glad the community has been made safer. Godonya! Yet another “¿Que?” moment. “…tainted property…?” What? Like Pilbara Iron Ore Deposits? Like Pastoral Leases?

Incidentally the dope detecting dog is called Wilson. Wilson is a common Yuendumu family name. It was a Wilson that a year ago put on his Facebook page “Have again been pulled over by the Police for DWB” (Driving Whilst Black)

We’ve been notified that at the next Sports Weekend there will be more police. I’m over the moon. Godonya! NT Police’s motto:  Keeping People Safe

 I’m prompted to repeat a Ghandi quote:

“ They do not know, that a subtle but effective system of terrorism, together with an organized display of force on the one hand, and the deprivation of all powers of retaliation or self-defence on the other, has emasculated the people and induced in them the habit of simulation.”

Must read Uncle Tom’s Cabin again. The habit of simulation indeed. I expect a plethora of Uncle Toms and Auntie Thomasinas at the grand opening of the Police Complex, especially if they hold a sausage sizzle.

They shall all declare how much safer they now feel, and how grateful they are that the Government saw fit to provide such generous funding. Ghandi furthermore said: “This awful habit has added to the ignorance and self deception of the administrators”

I’m old enough to have grown up with the stereotype of the unarmed Bobby that helps old ladies across the road. In my childhood town in Argentina two unarmed police on bicycles used to patrol at night. Every few minutes they would blow a whistle on opposite sides of the town, to let each other know all was well. They were whistleblowers. Not unlike the town criers of the previous century.

Half a century ago I remember reading a Time Magazine devoted to crime and policing. What stuck in my mind was that studies had clearly shown that there was a very strong correlation with increased rates of violence in society and the overt display of weapons and force by authorities.

What would Time Magazine back then have made of today’s black Ninja Police uniforms, and the Swiss Army Knife belts (complete with hand-cuffs, gun, taser, capsicum spray and nail clippers)? Am I wrong in thinking that members of the constabulary watch too much television?

I’m also old enough to remember watching policemen (there were very few policewomen back then) two finger typing on a loud typewriter at the local Police Station. Computers and silent  keyboards are now de rigueur. All the same the Attorney General of the Northern Territory has recently justified the introduction of ‘Paper-less Arrest’ powers. The NT’s latest Death in Custody was such a ‘paperless arrest’. The Attorney General asserted that relieving NT Police of the burden of paperwork would free them up to do more Police work. Godonya! No surprises if I told you the NT’s Attorney General is an ex-Policeman, and a tough one at that. Godonya!

Am I wrong in thinking that Terrorism, Violent Crime, Suicides, Drug use, Child abuse, domestic violence, high incarceration rates, dysfunction in society etc. are exacerbated and become self fulfilling prophesies by an inordinate obsessive focus by outsiders that think they know better and view all of this through an ethnocentric double standard lens ?

There are good news stories I could tell you about Yuendumu, but I fear that those that are complicit in the ethnocidal attack being visited upon remote Aboriginal communities may only perceive these as yet more that needs to be changed, if Aborigines are to move ahead into the glorious mainstream.

The previous dispatch quoted African American writer Toni Morrison “Black people have chosen, or been forced to seek, safety from the whiteman’s promise.”

In ‘Living for the City’  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSRyf5G2uI8 Stevie Wonder encapsulates this promise. The promise of assimilation.

Countering the negative stereotypes can be counterproductive. Such lies and ignorance shouldn’t be given oxygen.

Napoleon is alleged to have said this : “Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence”. He would have said it in French: “Ne jamais attribuer à la malice de ce qui est bien expliqué par l’incompétence”. In a Corsican accent.

I’m not so sure about that. It seems more like a compounding of malice and incompetence driven by ignorance that we are witnessing. And it is spreading, like weeds.

Dopóki znów się spotkamy

Frank

And this song dedicated to those understaffed underfunded hard working unsung heroes that work for Aboriginal Legal Aid Services:
…so deep in trouble the white folks couldn’t get him free…

Christmas Morning Blues – Victoria Spivey

I woke up christmas morning went out to get my morning’s mail
A letter sent from georgia the postmark said atlanta jail
In a mean old jailhouse ’cause he broke them georgia laws
My man’s so deep in trouble the white folks couldn’t get him free
He stole a hog the charge was murder in the first degree……

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_srzb98Uuc

Coalition MP’s only use COAL BBQ’s!

Dear reader, some significant things have been happening in South Australia. No It’s not the enlightenment of Corey Bernardii to same sex marriage. Nor  should we hasten to add is it the likelihood that Christopher Pyne might cross the floor of parliament on the vexed issue of School funding, but something much more fundamental. The way the state just blacked out!

Our new fleet of high tech subs will be manufactured in S.A.

Before the analysis, before the complete wrap up of what happened in S.A, the PM, was on the airwaves telling us that there are ‘dangers in being solely dependent upon renewables’. Then from left stage the chorus chimed in. Josh Frydenberg clamoured that “ this is what happens when you put all your eggs in one basket’. And the newly minted Resources Minister Mr Canavan, was hard at it convincing his party that doom and destruction await those who choose to go it alone on renewables. Then the colourful, some might say ‘populist’ Nick Xenephon got on board, and chirped, ‘there are dangers in veering away from other fossil fuels, gas and coal’.

Good to see the lobbyists are doing what they’re paid for. Diverting public funds away from sensible future planning into last centuries technologies. Makes the shareholders feel secure, and the public can shove it up their transformers. Since when should the public be enjoined to a sensible energy debate? Energy needs certainty! Only one thing certain in the massively privatised energy debate, it wont be the shareholders who’ll be paying. Thats some certainty. Certainty you can bank on.

Power lines do not work well when they go like this.

Turned out that the system went down because the power lines went down Wouldn’t have mattered what power was on line, the bloody thing wont work if the cord is broken. I found that out with the train set and the Scaletrix years ago. Doesn’t matter how good the transformer is if the power aint going in one end and out the other. That’s physics 101. But it didn’t stop the experts apportioning blame to an entire populace, because they’d committed the criminal act of ignoring the advice from very powerful vested interests. That’s the problem wit policy debate these days. It’s corporate policy. The message to the electorate is, corporatise, or be buggered.

Stealth Fighter 1941. The Brewster Buffalo

Good news though for South Australia and all taxpayers of Australia. Lockheed Martin have been awarded the contract to fit out the new (already obsoletes ) subs. They’re the good folk who’ve spent a trillion billion million dollars on giving us the F35 stealth fighter. Arguably the best war winning weapon since the Brewster Buffalo became our front line defence at Singapore. We don’t know much about armaments, but we believe Lockheed Martin is the front runner, in developing the new ‘rent seeker’ air to air missile. The missile can track any loose change, or element of public funding not yet diverted away from education and health and magnetically, through an ionisation pulse feed particle generator, divert those funds away from the public, directly into the Lockheed Martin coffers. As a spokesman for Lockheed Martin implied; ‘this is a huge boost for the defence industry, and once all funds are depleted from the vast bulk of society to keep them safe, they’ll need our weapons systems just to maintain law and order.

Stealth Fighter 2016. “same ol same ol”. But much much more expensive.

Hooray for South Australia. Hooray for Australia. Laissez faire capitalist globalism is all good. Ask Gina, she just you tubed it. God save the Minerals and Energy Council.