Pride goes before a fall
No one who becomes a leader of a country is expected to know everything. What they are expected to know is when they are out of their depth and need help from experts.
In the UK, the leading universities – with regard to both the standard they offer and their longevity – are Oxford and Cambridge.
London University comprises a multitude of Colleges, each of which has its own particular speciality areas, and includes a number of hospital-based medical colleges. The constituent Colleges offer a London University degree, and when I graduated with a B.Sc. (Special) Mathematics in 1957, as well as an MRCS, it was following study at the Imperial College of Science and Technology (IC).
IC’s name was derived from the fact that it was the result of an amalgamation of the Royal College of Science (RCS), which covered the natural sciences – botany, zoology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, etc – the Royal School of Mines (RSM) – offering geology, mineralogy, metallurgy, etc – and the City and Guild College (C&G) – for studies in all branches of engineering.
It offered no arts faculties, which were amply provided for by other Colleges of London University. It was also a hotbed of scientific research, recognised world-wide.
In 2007, the College detached itself from London University, having by then added medicine to its offerings, and is now the third ranked university in the UK, as well as having an extremely high international standing.
That is the College which offered definitive advice on dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic which our Prime Minister is ignoring.
This excerpt from a biography is illuminating:
Morrison grew up in a devout Christian family in the beachside eastern suburbs of Sydney. His father was a police commissioner and independent politician who served 16 years on the local council as well as a tenure as the mayor of Waverly. Morrison’s political career began at age 9 distributing “how-to-vote” cards in support of his father. During his childhood Morrison also acted in television commercials. He attended the prestigious Sydney Boys High before matriculating at the University of New South Wales, where he studied economics and geography.
Recently, quite a few exposés of Morrison’s career have made it clear that his obvious levels of enthusiasm have not necessarily been matched by his level of success in the performance of his duties.
He has studied no sciences in depth – economics is often included among the arts since it has closer ties to philosophy than to physics, and regular use of graphs and statistical analysis is its most significant link to mathematics – and his religious background would seem to allow acceptance through belief of the unprovable, rather than certainty through evidential proof.
When my own children were in their teens and my marriage was breaking up, I spent 3 years working as an insurance representative with AMP, when it was still a Mutual Provident Society.
I was reluctant at that time to be both working and living with teenagers but needed to be back in the full-time workforce.
Annual conferences, teaching us to be better at creating business, taught me to recognise the hallmarks of a salesman, and when I resigned from AMP to go back to teaching, I was able to relax into encouraging others to enjoy increasing their knowledge in a subject I loved, rather than trying to persuade them to persuade themselves that they wanted what I had to offer and were willing to pay for it.
Scott Morrison is a salesman who is totally out of his depth, because he has no idea what his message should be.
He is no doubt relieved that this dreadful pandemic has come along, because he was running out of arguments against accepting that the climate emergency is for real.
We are now getting dictatorship by instalments. The very ad hoc way in which decisions are being made on the run makes it very clear that the whole approach has not received careful analysis but is being thrown together with minimal certainty that they will work.
In other words, it is reactive not proactive,
A typical anecdote of the consequences: in NSW, a couple, who live together, were travelling together in their car and were being fined by police for not self-distancing!
The fact that much of the decision-making centres around business, makes it crystal clear that people are a problem for Scotty from Marketing and Horizon Church. He is more familiar with preaching to the converted and we are an unruly bunch of heathens.
The other reason behind the regular press sessions announcing new or revised regulations – apart from the obvious narcissistic aspect of his nature – is that it prevents other issues of concern from sneaking through.
Why isn’t Christmas Island still being used for quarantine, apart from possibly the lack of seriously important medical facilities? Well – maybe the fact that the Biloela family are still sequestered there – out of sight is out of mind, so why draw attention to them? – and, most importantly, the incredible damage being done to two innocent little girls should not be allowed to distract from the main game of convincing Australia how well Scomo, in consort with Dutton, is managing a major crisis – or not!
The other issue needing to be kept out of discussion is, of course, global warming.
Temporarily, emissions are not increasing, but they will, once China, initially, and the rest of the developed and developing world, eventually, get over the virus and get the wheels of industry turning once more.
It is being ignored that we have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to not only address the current global pandemic, but take a deep dive into thinking how to create a more caring, cohesive, less combative society once the urgency associated with this specific crisis is past.
While we do this, in isolation or in sharing ideas through the internet, please remember – only go out if it is really essential, practice keeping your distance while you are out, no hugging or kissing when you see a long-lost friend, wash your hands thoroughly and regularly, if you feel unwell, contact your doctor for advice, stay safe and sane and, if you cannot go out to work, use your time in as valuable a way as possible!
Best wishes till we come out at the other side!
I end as always – this is my 2020 New Year Resolution:
“I will do everything in my power to enable Australia to be restored to responsible government.”
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11 comments
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Kerri -
whoknows -
Josephus -
Ray Tinkler -
Phil Pryor -
RosemaryJ36 -
New England Cocky -
John Boyd -
RomeoCharlie29 -
Kangaroo Jack -
Ray Tinkler
Return to home pageIf you watch Scottyfrommarketing closely during the pressers his attitude changes vastly once a question that gives him the opportunity to waffle on in an area he feels comfortable with. Back comes the smirk and off he goes like a two bob watch.
Drowning on about trivial s%&t that leaves most Australians tuning out. This combined with his already factually and pragmatically conflicted decisions leaves all of us weeping that we don’t have Jacinda Ardern as our PM.
And you are so right Rosemary. I have been asking hubby (I am in isolation due to health risks) for weeks, why are people not being sent to Christmas Island?? It seemed so important for the first tranche of evacuees.
Oh that’s right eyes.
Round eyed evacuees, regardless of citizenship are free to disembark at any port. In ignorance of the medical storm.
“I will do everything in my power to enable Australia to be restored to responsible government.”
I am with you there, in theory, but in practice how do we achieve this?
The c 1820 writings of the French technocratic socialist Saint- Simon appeal: get rid of the ignorant but wealthy ruling classes and instead appoint experts in the sciences and technologies to make the decisions.
What a disaster this lot are. Mediocrity rules, and causes untold mischief. If the PM had any sense, decency and generosity he would have appointed a Cabinet based on intelligence and knowledge irrespective of party provenance. Instead in the second catastrophe of his do nothing governance Scomo et al lecture us like naughty children, because they are underwhelming party apparachiks descended from none too intelligent parents.
By the way, why does the ABC keep repeating that Boris the blond bumbler is the first pollie to catch the dreaded lurg? Wasn’t Dr Angela Merkel diagnosed before he was? but then, she is only a trained chemist with a PhD.
“No one who becomes a leader of a country is expected to know everything.” Unfortunately for us Rosemary, this is not how Morrison either thinks, nor sees himself. He, in his own mind is infallible, and explains his reactions when anyone else differs with his pronouncements and worse, questions them or asks for a clarification or explanation. Hence his reaction and replies to the reporter who queried the 5 for weddings and the 10 for funerals.
It’s also why his personality fits so well into his chosen religion and vice versa, how it fits with his. Anything his religion, or mentor teaches is true, is an absolute and makes anything he does, right in all circumstances, which then rotates full circle to anything he does and can think is right, therefore must be, because he would only think and do that way if it was.
Incorporated into that other facet of his character, the salesman, is opportunism. Never let one go by to advance or gain an advantage. We have the proof of that beyond any doubt.
A large and odious bag of shit as is sold by Bunnings is now our P M, the Preposterous Misfit, and we are to grovel in shame as this deluded superstitious political perverted peanut faces the world on our behalf, ashamed as we are at a complete effing idiot in public pretending to be expert on any known topic. A failed liar in advertising is a failure in general, despicable and repulsive. GET OUT!!
who knows: By sharing in the task of encouraging people to help others see how bad our government – and our political system – is!
Clearly we cannnot currently be out on the streets protesting – more’s the pity – but we have a breathing space – and the Internet – to share ideas and plan.
When all this is over, the world will be a different place.
Masses of people will need help to get back on their feet, as will small businesses.
But we need to be ready to demand that this be done humanely, not through relying on wealthy corporations to buy everyone out and create even bigger monopolies.
We need a totally new Constitution – not one designed to sort out what are the responsibilities of the Commonwealth and the States/Territories respectively, but one which properly recognises the status of our First Nations, that puts religion back in its box but incorporates a Bill of Rights.
Over-ambitious?
Yes.
Necessary?
Most definitely.
Look at how the country is being ‘governed’ at present, with elected government on leave and a politically appointed kitchen cabinet. And no proper controls on where or how our money is being spent in reactive decision-making.
We have no means under the existing Constitution to prevent this.
We need governments which are supported by experts in the Public Service not by political hacks as advisers.
Take advantage of the current interregnum, invite the best and brightest to throw their ideas up for discussion and let us work to recreate an Australia we can be proud of.
And, as a first step, let all the refugees become Australian! They are suffering more than most through all this!
RosemaryJ36, you are applying educated commonsense logic to a problem that is has a congenital origin of illogicality. The present offering of so-called “Christian politicians” infesting Australian government could never reasonably be described as “practising Christians”. Rather, they are more accurately described as self-serving carpet baggers out to grow their own pecuniary interests.
@Kerri: Now, now Kerri, the COVID-19 victims came to Australia by cruise liner, not a leaky boat, and they have fat wallets to distribute among the tourist shops, not requests for political sanctuary. Besides, I understand there is a national movement to “encourage” Benito Duddo to be exported to Manus for the quarantine period ….. and who in their healthy mind would want to associate with potato?
@Josephus: “If the PM had any sense, decency and generosity …” that is the problem,; he doesn’t!!
Rather he sees himself as the Messiah Come Again, not to lead a rebellion against the authoritarian despotism of Rome (now USA United States of Apartheid) but rather the New Age Moses who will lead Australia into the economic disaster that is parasitic capitalism by gifting our natural resources to foreign owned multinational corporations to process overseas and manufacture into goods and technologies that are sold back to us, leaving overseas the profits and life style benefits of wealth so that Australian peasants may then travel at great expense to those foreign locations to see how others have benefited from our natural wealth.
The Liarbral Nazional$ COALition misgovernment is dedicated to ensuring that Australia becomes the worst third world export economy in the OECD so that their few members can grow fat on the kick-backs, corruption and croneyism common to emerging third world economies struggling to benefit the working poor.
@Ray Tinkler: “[H]is chosen religion” has nothing to do with the Biblical teachings of Christianity but it does prop up his fragile easily wounded ego until he is asked a difficult question, then the sewer rat cunning cuts in …..
It puzzles me that mainline Christian churches, say the Uniting Church which I think comes closest to reflecting the teachings of Jesus, (assuming he actually existed), don’t call out these sorts of psuedo-Christians for the hypocrites that they are.
I have said it before and I say it again. There is no place for religion in politics. Religions impose so many demands on their adherents that prevent them from doing what is ultimately in the best interests of the whole of (Thatcher’s non-existent) society. We need look no further than the debacle that is funding for non-government schools, or the deferred Religious freedom (?) legislation.
Kerri, a neat post, but you have misspelt SHIT.
Warm regards
Jack
Replying to New England Cocky.
Actually I don’t think I made any reference to his religion as having any basis in Christianity. He might like to say it has but if we apply the reputed statement of it’s claimed founder “Ye shall know them by their fruits” and a rotten old bag of apples his religion is. I fully agree with your summation of his character.