Hi Chris,

"I am 100% liberal democratic....." without putting it into words, that's what the average voter, sees for Australia. Both major parties cater to that desire. Radical change will not take place unless extreme social and economic conditions exist, allowing extremists to propagate their agenda. Russia 1917, Germany 1933, China 1949, a preexisting failure of the state will bring on radical change. The closest Australia came to that condition was during the 1930's, but it never reached the critical tipping point. At the time extremism enjoyed its highest level of support within the community, maybe as much as 20%. The other problem with extremism is its not a homogeneous block, Germany 1930, the main forces of extremism were the communists, the fascists and forget the anarchists. At one point the communists were the likely successors, but with better organisation and leadership the fascists under Hitler were able to win out.

Paul, I am hopeful that Australia never sees the extreme conditions necessary for a radical force to emerge.

I am thankful that Aust's liberal democracy today is light years from being as divisive as the US.

But circumstances can change quickly so nothing can be taken for granted.

Yes Chris the Hoi Poloi rise to the top no matter what the politics.
I was in the Moscow hotel restaurant in 1967, the one on Red Square,
where I could see the people arriving.
Big black Zis cars complete with chauffeurs jumping out and opening doors.
The women were wearing long dresses and weighed down with jewelry.
They spoke Russian quite loudly as passed me. They did not dine in
the main dining area but somewhere further inside.
I asked the waiter who they were, but he just shrugged and said government.

.

Dear david f.,

.

You ask :

« … what root causes of war would you eliminate? »

You will recall that I stated in my previous post :

« There is far too much hate, violence and fanatism in the world for peace-loving peoples and nations to be able to disarm safely and hope to live in security … We need to correctly identify and analyse the root causes of the hate, violence and fanatism that threaten our families, friends and freedoms. We need to gain a proper understanding of the root causes and treat them appropriately »

The root causes I was referring to were those that foster hate, violence and fanatism.

The three elements are prevalent throughout the world today in pandemic proportions. The root causes are diverse and various, depending on the historical context, perceived injustices, ideologies, cultural differences, etc.

The pattern of root causes of war is likewise more or less perceptible, more or less complex, and more or less difficult to prevent, mitigate and control.

Limiting conflict is an art that few people possess. On the national level, it passes by preventive diplomacy, fostering relationships based on cooperation rather than competition, deploying peacekeeping forces where necessary to prevent escalation, and entering into collective defence arrangements with other nations for greater security.

In addition, the countries that possess nuclear weapons, of course, dispose of what may be considered a fairly powerful argument of "mass dissuasion".

.

Dear Saltpetre,

.

On the question of inequality, according to the Inequality in Australia 2018 survey, Australia’s level of income is more unequal than the OECD average but more equal than other major English-speaking countries including the United States and the United Kingdom.

The Poverty in Australia 2020 report found that 3.24 million people in Australia (13.6% of the population) live below the poverty line – more than one in eight adults and one in six children. The poverty line (measured as 50% of median income) is $A457 per week for a single adult.

.

ALTRAV,

Do you read what you post?

You accused me of being patronising and insulting on
Shadow Minister's discussion about the Queen's letters
regarding the Gough Whitlam dismissal when all I did
was quote from the BBC - trying to give an English
perspective to the discussion.

And you used words like -
1) sick maggot, capricious maggot,
2) so called professor (about a historian you've never met).
3) Calling her a petulant prostitute

And even worse language in other discussions which is your
style of posting.

And when I pulled you up on
your language - you of course saw nothing wrong.
None of it was your fault. You found my style of
posting "insulting to all".

Yet here you go again.

Let me lift a mirror to yourself once again. This time you
personality shines through loud and clear for all to see.
You wrote to David F., whose of Russian Jewish ancestry
in the following way:

You wrote:

" ...elite Jews - in the guise of the illuminati?
They are dangerous and have been responsible for millions
of deaths throughout history and they
have the gall the disgusting arrogance to force laws that
make it illegal to suggest the holocaust didn't happen.
Who the hell do these freaks think they are?
I am saying it again WATCH OUT these bastards are mental
retards and they are the most dangerous race/cult on earth".

Shame on you - and if I was the moderator I would have you
banned from this forum for life.

Altrav,

You write some appalling rubbish. Do you believe every dumb-arse conspiracy theory that ever blows your way ? What you write about Jewish people is contemptible.

Although I suspect you won't, you could learn something from this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_Nobel_laureates

Joe