Wonko Regains His Voice!

Wonko apologizes for the break in transmission. He has been dealing with a family death which had to take priority.

But the voice is back. Wonko, the voice of sanity in an insane world.

All the world now knows Polar bear Knut found dead at Berlin Zoo. The world mourns for Knut. This animal captured the hearts of millions.

Unfortunately though, while the world mourns for one polar bear, twenty-two THOUSAND children are dying every single day but the world does not mourn for them. That's one DEAD little girl or boy every four seconds... and their DEATHS are PREVENTABLE. Why not spend the time it takes for 15 children to die looking at the UNICEF website and see what you can do?

On a lighter note, it appears that some councils in Australia run hard-rubbish collections. These are where people can put unwanted items on the nature-strip for collection by authorized collectors. Note the word 'authorized'! Trevor Flood discovered to his horror that some councils actually claim to own goods left on the nature-strip and he was arrested for taking away an unwanted vacuum cleaner! Fortunately the location in this case actually don't have this stupid and unreasonable by-law and he was freed.

Quite apart from the service that people such as Trevor do in re-using rather than recycling or even discarding rubbish, there is a bigger issue at stake. I won't tell you what it is, but you might like to take care the next time you park your car on the nature-strip!

And finally, for this time, there is a long-term concern of Wonko with respect to Australia. It is the foreign ownership of what used to be Australian resources. For years Wonko has been warning fellow Australians of the buy-out of primary industries. We have lost most of our manufacturing; we have lost much of our intellectual services (call centres, I.T. support & development) - even tourism is gradually falling into the hands of foreign ownership. But the biggest most dangerous risk was and still is - primary industries.

Finally someone is recognising the problem of our Foreign land buys go(ing) unchecked in Australia. As the article says (if you click the link) .... "NO ONE knows how much of Australia's farmland is owned by foreigners".

Is that really a problem?

There are three reasons why it is a significant problem.

1. The Australian economy cannot survive with no service industries, no manufacturing industries and no primary industries. Where do you think the money will come from?

2. With foreign ownership will come more automation and (where labour is required) foreign labour. Anything that can be done outside Australia will leave our shores. Where do we expect employment to exist?

3. Access to produce will be restricted. Because of the foreign ownership, the best quality produce will be exported at low cost - we will get what's left and then be forced to pay through the nose for it.

Think about it Australia!

This is the opinion of Wonko the Sane.

Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Global Warning and All That Jazz

Many people in the world are beginning to stress out about the number of earthquakes, volcanic activity and of course global warming. Counter balancing them are those who argue that there is no global warming and if there is then it is just a naturally cyclic event anyway, and definitely the number of earthquakes and eruptions is not unusual - just better reported.

Both sides of this argument have merit but I am not about to take sides.

My point is rather that we should be taking note of all of these events as a reminder that we are all residents of a living planet. It is not just a bunch of dirt that we can abuse to fulfill our own greedy materialistic desires. It is a fragile ecology that runs delicately and with its own rules.

The planet, in short, can not be taken for granted. Whether or not there are more earthquakes or volcanoes erupting is less important than recognizing that they are a normal and unavoidable part of a living planet that can shudder and shake without our help. Whether or not global warming is cyclic or not, as a general rule the human race pollutes the atmosphere and the earth with all manner of poisons and chemicals - all of which may hasten or hinder the normal operation of earths finely balanced ecosystem.

This is not a lump of rock to be used and abused, a resource to be exploited - it is our home and the only home we are likely to have in the foreseeable future. This is the great message of the Volcanoes, of the earthquakes, of the tsunamis. It is not some religious threat. It is simple fact.

Or to quote King Henry :

Never Spit On Your Own Doorstep