Utopia, you are standing in it!

In 1973 due to the Yom Kippur War involving Israel, Egypt and Syria the world found itself caught in the midst of a global energy crisis as the Arab states employed OPEC to impose an oil embargo. The result in the United States was long lines at gas stations, odd and even numbered license plates recognized to allow the purchase of gas, and a retraction of the American economy as oil prices spiraled and along with it the price of gasoline. The US was tied to Saudi Arabia importing between 25-40% of its oil needs. This situation reemerged in 1979 when the Shah of Iran, an American ally was overthrown by Islamists producing another oil crunch. The history of these events and their impact on the world economy were delineated by Daniel Yergin in his Pulitzer Prize winning history of oil, THE PRIZE: THE EPIC QUEST FOR OIL, MONEY, AND…

Anti-Hunt diversionists in Great Britain were the subjects of a surprise. According to KentOnline, their vehicle was hoisted off the ground after attempting to disrupt bird hunters. The animal rights hoodlums with the group South Coast Hunt Saboteurs believed the hunt was illegal, but James Attwood, the property owner where hunt took place, denied any such insinuation.

Attwood stated that that not only was the hunt legal but he told the thugs to leave twice in which even tried to instigate a fight with him. He said the Land Rover they used was being driven aggressively and, consequently, Attwood’s employees utilized a crane to lift the thug’s vehicle off the ground to prevent any potential harm.

This is the lack of regard so-called animal rights criminals have, not only for private property rights, but for the lives of others. One of the thugs with South Coast Hunt Saboteurs even…

Americans largely support and benefit from a political/legal environment conducive to individual freedom and active entrepreneurship. However, within that broad consensus, views vary over how large and prescriptive the role of government and mandatory bodies should be. Should only doctors, lawyers, plumbers and hairdressers licensed by the state be allowed to provide their services? Few things capture this difference more clearly and dramatically than whether cab drivers must be employees of the cab company or can work as little or as much as they chose as independent contractors– company employees or gig workers (uber drivers).

Licensed professionals, like union members, can help promote and certify a minimum standard of training and confidence. But historically they have also sheltered their members from competition. Unions provide a number of services to their members, but their overriding purpose is to confront employers with a united front from workers on wages and working conditions…

Joel Fitzgibbon: Labor’s lonely voice for industry and workers’ jobs.

Australia’s Labor Party was started in 1891 by QLD sheepshearers on strike, fighting for better wages and conditions; over a Century it became the party of ideas. Nowadays, it is unrecognizable, on either score.

A hard-green left intelligentsia hijacked the party, long ago; pushing nonsensical CO2 emissions and renewable energy targets, and an anti-mining agenda that have cost it dearly. Not least the unloseable Federal election in May 2019, when it was shellacked in the regions which depend upon reliable and affordable energy, such as mining and mineral processing.

The modern ALP treats its former base with derision and contempt. Characters like shadow energy spokesman, Mark Butler, function in a parallel universe; his perverse obsession with wind and solar and carbon dioxide gas emissions has helped drive a wedge between those ALP MPs safely ensconced in inner-city seats, plagued with…