Tortured by the State
Well, he’s moving through the flames of anarchy
He’s moving through the winds of tyranny
And the sweet, sweet tears of liberty
Yeah, moving round the world
He’s moving through your body like a prehistoric bird
He’s moving round the world
Nick Cave Wild God
After one of the darkest periods in human history, after the greatest medical scandal, after the greatest crime, they coalesced, in a kind of way, as if on an ocean floor.
He, too, Dear Old Alex, well cut the dear, had been through his own winter of the soul, so to speak, where he sat in front of the fire and drank and smoke too much, and rediscovered a love of whisky, and grew more forlorn by the day, tormented by images of bullets passing through his brain, of the acrid smell after an explosion, an instant where everything went still, where everything was destroyed.
That smell of gunpowder or dynamite or whatever it was, the crackling in the air after a flash of lightning, destruction. As if preparing for his own death.
All the "live long and prosper" and "blessed art thou" messages that he received when on track disappeared, and even the book, Crossing Over, on the journey to the other side, somehow appeared as if by chance, dug up off a second hand bin somewhere, magical.
It took days, well weeks, to climb back out of that pit. Meanwhile, the country itself showed no signs of digging itself out of the pit which the politicians had led it into. There was no awareness because people simply didn't want to know, or probably more rightly didn't trust any of the sources of information anymore, and so ignored them, went about their lives.
And the kids who played everywhere around him, many or at least a percentage of them would still be alive in 2100, when the world would be a different place.
Many, arguably most of the problems the citizenry faced were pushed onto them by their own government. And in this time, this government, this self obsessed demonstrably hopeless and dysfunctional system, led them all step by step into an abyss. There was no turning back. That's how it seemed, that's how it felt.
NEWS
ABC
Tehran summons Australian ambassador over 'norm-breaking' Instagram post, Iranian media reports
By Andrew Thorpe, with wires
5h ago5 hours ago
In short:
Australia's ambassador to Iran has been summoned to the foreign ministry office in Tehran over an Instagram post supporting Wear It Purple Day.
The post, which is intended to support LGBT inclusion and visibility, remains live on the Australian embassy's official account.
Homosexual activity is illegal in Iran, which is governed by Islamic clerical authorities, and gay sex can be punished by the death penalty.
SPECTATOR
Dutton cleanses NSW Liberal’s temple just in time
The uniting principle of the Liberal Party’s broad church has been opposition to socialism.
But in NSW recently, the Liberals missed the deadline for confirming local government candidates. This led Mr Dutton to appoint party elder Brian Loughnane to suggest a way forward. The result is that, from September 12 until after the federal election, a federal takeover of the NSW Liberals will occur.
And it may well have happened just in time.
Like the synagogue that Jesus cleared of the merchants and money-changers, the broad church in NSW has become a ‘den’ of incompetence. The broad church is not necessarily a bad thing, but it has fallen into disrepute in NSW in recent times.
Within the broad church, the battle of ideas has been the feature that distinguishes Australian conservatives from the groupthink of Labor. But lately, the battle for the NSW Liberals has been less about ideas and more about moving too far to the left.
And it’s not just in NSW. With Gerard Rennick becoming the fourth federal member to quit the Coalition since the 2022 election, the broad church appears to be experiencing a schism that won’t help rid Australia of the worst government in Australian history.