A few days ago, I made a video titled, Australian Living Standards Are Falling (GDP per capita Heading for Recession) (https://youtu.be/w98VQgaNLgE). Well, we’re officially in that recession now. This was the graph that I showed previously showing that in the third quarter of 2018, GDP per capita was falling. Market economists predicted that there would be a GDP growth of 0.4% in the fourth quarter (equivalent to a zero per cent per capita growth). They were wrong. The actual growth was 0.2%, which results in a per capita decline of 0.2%. Over 2018, GDP only grew 2.3%, which is well below the Reserve Bank’s forecast of 2.8% and even below the most pessimistic of the market forecasters. I don’t want to be too harsh on these forecasters. Their job is not just to predict things, but also to make sure that the public don’t go into panic mode. If professional market economists came out and said that the economy will be heading into recession next quarter, then that very action might just send the economy into recession next quarter by instilling panic. I get it. The Australian public, and therefore the economy, are fickle. The slightest murmurings of economic decline can result in economic decline. Consequently, we should take predictions with a grain of salt — at least, one’s made by market economists. Often predictions are there not to predict the future, but to influence it. Optimism is key in markets, and they know it. When negative sentiment starts to spread, people start to spend less, and the economy suffers because of it. It’s a negative feedback loop that will bring about the next economic downfall. FIND US ON FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/DailyRantAustralia/ SOURCES Australia's economy just entered recession on a per capita basis https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-06/gdp-q4-2018/10874592 #DailyRantAustralia #AustralianEconomy #gdpGrowthRate #CostOfLiving #Economy #EconomicCollapse #EconomicCollapse2019 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srb-Qw3m1iE

I’ve watched a lot of specials of the English mentalist and hypnotist, Derren Brown. He plays mind games on unsuspecting members of the public and convinces them of things untrue. According to Derren, he does not possess any supernatural power. His effects are achieved entirely through “magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection, and showmanship”. In one special, he actual convinces people to push a person off the edge of a building, killing them — at least, that’s what they are led to believe. Just yesterday, I was watching the start of a Joe Rogan Experience podcast where he interviews Derren Brown. Joe Rogan raised the fact that Derren is actually a really good artist and photographer. They showed his Instagram account, as you can see here, with a picture of Derren wearing a hat, and hiding part of his face behind an out-of-focus camera, staring at the viewer intently. In a couple of his pictures, he can be seen holding a palette and a paintbrush standing in front of a canvas with an exquisitely painted portrait of someone. In the painting you can see here, he has painted the “glorious stephenfryactually” — obviously referring to the English comedian and actor, Stephen Fry. But as I perused Derren’s Instagram, and continued listening to him on the Joe Rogan podcast, I started to wonder — is it all real? With all the experiences that I’ve had with Derren Brown with his stage shows and specials, he’s always been trying to convince the audience of something. Whether that be that the power of suggestion is a real phenomenon, or whether certain people are more suggestible than others. But it did make me wonder — is this just a big con? Can Derren really paint portraits, or is this just another one of his, “The power of suggestion can be used to fool an entire audience on the Internet. They actually believed that I was an artist!”. In his shows, he’s used hackers to break into people’s accounts and mobile phones. He’s lied and cheated to convince people of things untrue. It really wouldn’t surprise me if he’s also made up a fake art studio with an associated Instagram account and website, all in the name of a good old, mentalism lark. I know, I know, I know — sounds ridiculous, right? But just look at this Instagram picture. He’s staring at the audience, wearing a hat, carrying a camera — showing the audience that he is actually a photographer. In the picture of the painting, he’s standing in front of the canvas, holding a palette and a paintbrush. I mean, is that what an artist would do? Show themselves in front of their work, finishing up the final touches? Or his he just trying to game us into believing that he actually painted that picture? But then you might ask — why would Derren do such a th ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_77whI5zVU

Earlier this year, I showed you this Draft Master Plan for the island of Woppa off the Capricorn Coast of Central Queensland, which relegated the Western name of Great Keppel Island to a smaller font and placed it in brackets. The Queensland Government in their infinite wisdom decided to pave the way for the quick deletion of the Western name, which to be fair, they have done before with the renaming of the island of K’Gari, formally known as Fraser Island, in June of 2023. Of course, the potential renaming of Great Keppel upset many people who have grown up with this name. Actually, every single person on this continent, no matter what your heritage, has grown up with the name Great Keppel Island, because not one person was alive 250 years ago when it was named that way. One Nation Party’s chief of staff James Ashby, who I believe will be running for the seat of Keppel in Queensland’s state election in October, was a vocal opponent of the Great Keppel Island name change, and ran a petition collecting more than 12,000 signatures. Well, there’s a bit of good news. The Queensland Government have somewhat capitulated, albeit quietly – there was no announcement of this. A few weeks ago, this was still the plan, but then the Government released a new version of the document. Both versions are linked below. As you can see, the image of the whale is facing the opposite direction, but more interestingly, the name seems to have been reverted back to Great Keppel Island with Woppa in brackets, both of equal-sized font. I don’t know about you, but personally, I think this is fine. It keeps the name that we all grew up with, as well as giving a nod to the traditional inhabitants. Sure, it’s only a small thing, I’m not saying it’s the deal of the century, but it shows you that people power can influence the government. We have something similar for arguably Australia’s most famous natural landmark. According to the Government’s Parks Australia, in 1993, the rock was officially renamed Ayers Rock / Uluru. In 2002 these names were reversed and the rock took on the official name of Uluru / Ayers Rock, which it still has today, which means you can use either Uluru or Ayers Rock. Anyway, the point is, you can’t just expect to delete a name without somebody being upset – obviously. People online will tweet things like: “I really don’t understand why you’re creating such division over celebrating the rich history we have in this country. There was a name before and we’re reverting to that name, what’s the issue?”. Well the issue is very clear in my reckoning, and this is backed up in academia, people don’t like being forced to change. Here’s an article from Bond University Professor Peta Stapleton, a clinical Psychologist, titled: “Why we just can’t force people to like change”. In the article, she states: “At the core of it all is that we all have a fundamental human need for consistency and certainty.  In other words, we’re not hardwired for things around us to suddenly be different. People have an inherent desire for stability and predictability in their lives which can lead to apprehension and discomfort when it’s not the case. The challenge of adapting can be difficult as it involves navigating the tension between the comfort of the familiar and the potential benefits of embracing new circumstances. Or in this case, place names that people might have grown up with and associate with good times, family holidays or even an imprinted childhood association with the labels in their school atlas. It is essential to consider the diverse perspectives involved in these discussions and work towards solutions that respect the rights and histories of all – and ponder how we can embrace change, rather than reject it, as an opportunity for adaptation, growth and advancement.” So when Homer Simpson asks, “I really don’t understand, what’s the issue?”, well the issue is very clear. Forcing people to change something they’ve always known is a psychological recipe for disaster. With regards to Great Keppel Island, I think the best solution to acknowledge the wishes of everyone, is to use this most recent incarnation. That is, people who wish to refer to it as Great Keppel Island should be allowed, and those who wish to refer to it as Woppa, okay, that’s fine too. But if the Government want to try to sneakily delete names that have been around for the last 250 years, well they’re going to piss people off, and that’s backed up in psychological science. GREAT KEPPEL ISLAND (WOPPA) CONCEPT MASTER PLAN PROJECT https://www.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/infrastructure/projects-and-programs/great-keppel-wop-pa-island-master-plan-project 2023 WOPPA (GREAT KEPPEL ISLAND) DRAFT MASTER PLAN https://www.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0023/82526/woppa-great-keppel-island-draft-master-plan-2023.pdf AYERS ROCK OR ULURU? https://parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/about/ayers-rock-or-uluru/ MUSIC Allégro by Emmit Fenn ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWiCV5kLfUk

“Evidence shows Delta is more DEADLY than previous COVID variants”; “DEADLY Delta”; “Map reveals why Australia should FEAR the Delta strain”; “Try to combat the DEADLIEST Covid-19 wave since the pandemic began”; “Yes, viruses can evolve to become more DEADLY”; “DEADLY virus truth we must face”; I find it interesting that “In 2017, 1255 people in Australia died from the flu. Flu kills the very young and the very old, and is more fatal for those with chronic conditions”; Just for comparison, according to Google throughout the entire 18-month-long covid pandemic, 927 Australians have died. In 2017, 1255 died from flu. It’s also worth noting that according to Google, none of us have recovered. We all have long-covid. Anyway, don’t let numbers get in the way of a good story. The point is, covid is deadly! Deadly, deadly, deadly, fear, deadly! 1984 by George Orwell ▶ https://ebay.us/9kWRIM The Wall Street Journal published an article a couple of days ago titled, “Eradication of Covid Is a Dangerous and Expensive Fantasy. It seemed to work in New Zealand and Australia, but now ruinous, oppressive lockdowns are back”. In it, they state, “Much of the pathology underlying Covid policy arises from the fantasy that it is possible to eradicate the virus. Capitalizing on pandemic panic, governments and compliant media have used the lure of zero-Covid to induce obedience to harsh and arbitrary lockdown policies and associated violations of civil liberties”. Hear, hear! MUSIC Sloppy Clav by Godmode #covid19 #DeadlyVirus #Australia ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la-EN2HCvNE