Monday Mural

Sami and others participate in Monday Mural. 

Phyllis went to an optometrist in Clarendon Street, South Melbourne for an eye test. Eye tests are free for me, but he had to pay $100.

The way overseas students are constantly slugged financially by the Australian government is in my opinion, a disgrace. Yes, they should pay their way, but they are contributing far more than just paying their way.

As Phyllis and Kesav returned, they came across this mural and took photos for me. On the far left, above the monkey's head it says, "Happiness is a quiet revolution". 

Nice, but at times a revolution cannot be quiet. Good luck to young people of the Indian Cockroach Janta Party, with their protests against government corruption. The party and protests has already seen one government minister resign in disgrace.   

The kiddies are upset and behaving badly

There is some kind of arms exhibition in Melbourne this week. Ok, I looked here. We were not told of this in advance, though the planning would have begun at least two years ago, which is the timeline of booking the Exhibition Centre. Weapons of war, including tanks, were brought in with the cover of darkness.

The kiddies against war and the killings were somewhat upset and protested as the event opened yesterday. Hey, even old gay men can be against war and killings. I thoroughly approve of their protests, trying to block entrances for attendees, making lots of noise, moving around the large venue, splitting up into groups and reassembling. Screaming the words 'child killers' at visitors to the exhibition is fine with me. That's what weapons do.

Things became tense between the protestors and the police. Tram routes were shut down, a major road or two was closed down as the crowd of protestors grew. The kiddies got a bit antsy as the police pushed them back and began throwing things. Among the rotten tomatoes, some quite more heavy things were thrown. That is bad form, kiddies. The cops are doing their job as ordered. 

The police responded with force. Tear gas, rubber bullets and what I had to Google, flashbangs.  What on earth are they? It is a classic case of naming something quite serious into something sounding more mild. You may have heard of them as stun grenades, with a big flash of light that upsets your vision and a loud bang that upsets the fluid in your ears and, consequently your hearing and balance. The effect is temporary in theory. I wonder. But the protestors went well beyond the pale too.

I am sure our very respected Bushmasters, of which we have sent many to Ukraine, were featured. They are fighting off Putin's invasion. While I hate war and killings, countries need weapons to defend themselves. But if there were fewer arms and less war technology, might we not be a bit better off? I dunno. I think a phrase has already been invented, the arms race. 

Protests will continue tomorrow and probably the next day.