Dear Jimmy,

While we cannot hope to influence internal Chinese politics, we should at least try to rescue as many Chinese and Hong-Kong freedom-lovers as we can, then settle them both in Australia and in New-Hong-Kong, to be built on the northern Philippine shore. Also do the little bit we can in supporting the defense of Taiwan and Japan.

It is my understanding that while we have plenty of food and more than sufficient raw energy resources, especially gas, we do not have the refineries to turn significant enough amounts into diesel and petrol that are needed at least to drive supply-trucks from the fields to the cities, nor do we have enough horses and carts for that purpose as we may have had in the 1940's.

Both storage tanks and refineries can be bombed, so we need to build many smaller, distributed, places of fuel-storage around the country, then fill them up as a matter of urgency.

Yuyutsu,

If we run out of fossil fuels to drive all of our machines we can revert to good old fashioned slavery.

There are lots of people on The Forum OLO (with the exception of yours truly) who would make great slaves. All brawn no brains. You don't have to look too far to figure out whom I'm referring to.

At our current rate of consumption we should run out of fossil fuels in about 2000 years. I can understand the urgency.

Dear Mr Opinion,

I am a citizen of Australia, and I know that many people tend to cluster in ethnic enclaves. I think being an Australian is more than a name on a piece of paper. However, being an Australian does not mean looking like Crocodile Dundee. One can have any appearance and still be an Australian.

I was born in the United States and am of Russian Jewish ancestry. My wife was born in Australia, and her parents are from Norway. We live in Prins Willem Alexander village. It was set up by the Dutch Australian community, and about 60% of the people here are from the Netherlands. I am a 94 year old English speaking, blue eyed, blond (hair now white) atheist.

I think it is great to have knowledge of other languages and cultures, but I really am pretty well confined to English. I grew up in the United States where my parents who knew many languages subscribed to the melting pot ideology of the time and spoke nothing but English. I am reading Lord Byron’s poem “Don Juan” and am enjoying it.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/21700/21700-h/21700-h.htm is its url.

I took courses in Chinese history at the University of Queensland. The Chinese, like the Jews, have a great respect for history. When a Chinese dynasty has been overthrown scholars of the old dynasty got together with scholars of the new dynasty to write a history of the old dynasty. I understand that communist scholars got together with Kuomintang scholars and continued this tradition. Chinese history is accurate back to 841 BCE because of this tradition.

I am passionate about the environment, peace, democracy and about the separation of religion and state. I feel it is necessary to have such a separation for a country to be a democracy.

I think you are selling yourself short and would be an excellent slave.

Mr O, you are arguably the weakest here with your defeatist attitude.

I vote you first to serve as a Chinese slave, assuming you are still fit.

If not, adios to you if the CCP takes over given your racism towards Chinese.

I will miss your humour, although you remind of the Lion in Wizard of Oz.