The Blather

GOOD NEWS! I have survived another year. The smiling dial that marks me out has not changed one smidgin in yonks. I'm ageless, that's what I am. I'm still the same bloke I was way back when ; still my dear old mother's son, the crème de la crème of the Highett Rileys in the prime of his wonderful life. How can this be, you may ask. Surely one day he must be touched by cruel time? My resilience from the toll life levies rests on a little-known feature of my existence: I'm the second son of God. (Duration: 2:45 — 3.0MB) mp3 Music: Hopeful Ambience -- Richard Culver September 9th, 2013 (FreeSound)

Studs Terkel's great book of radio interviews -- Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do  -- has been around for 40 years. Its  impact has been huge because it re-invented oral history by celebrating everyday labour and elevating everyone's working life to a shared collective experience we all must, in our own way, negotiate. Inspired so many years ago by Terkel, The Blather -- instead of pursuing  celebrity chit chat (not that the big whigs would talk to us) -- will occasionally share interviews with folk talking about their lives or their workaday week. 'Vox Pop' refers to the  Latin proverb, Vox populi, vox Dei which translates as "The voice of the people [is] the voice of God". Since no one else listens to us peeps nowadays, maybe The Blather should. The first Blather VOX POP is a chat with Kyle, a geriatric nurse. (Duration: 11:41 — 12.6 MB) mp3

It is a tragic irony of Australian existence that a country -- a continent -- the size of Europe can be so much the same shore to shining shore. Among its 23 million peoples there is seemingly very little difference one person from the other. We speak the same language  deploying the same accents. Follow the same sports. Watch the same TV channels. We are Rupert Murdoch’s play things. Hell! he’s one of ours. Local boy makes good. The most monopolized media networks in the western world make sure that the political debate doesn't drift too far to the left.. We may have a national broadcaster -- modeled on the BBC -- but that too is very much under threat today. In this mix is the long standing national expectation that this is indeed ‘the lucky country’. Aside from a comparatively buoyant economy sustained by the boom in mining and mineral prices, we have not known civil war, famine, political cataclysm, invasion or relentlessly bad cricket scores. mp3

In a standard working day of eight hours, it may take me four hours to produce the equivalent of my wages. If the time needed to cover my wage packet is reduced from four to two hours, then the bit what's left increases from four to six hours. It is the bit what's left that makes free enterprise what it is today — exceedingly profitable... mp3

Alan Broughton is a biological agriculture researcher and organic farming teacher based in Eastern Victoria. He has had extensive experience in farm management and setup both here  in Australia and  overseas.I had a chance to discuss with him some  of the assumptions  being made about   livestock as climate change drivers  and how a new approach to grazing animals can impact on the sustainable ecology of agriculture.  (Duration:29.01  — 31.1MB) If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element Listen now to other episodes of  The Blather in pop up playerDon't miss an episode: Subscribe to The Blather Further Reading Ruminants and methane: Not the fault of the animals by Alan Broughton

Jim McIlroy (pictured right) is a long time socialist activist who I have known for 45 years. In my audio work I also contribute to the Socialist Voices podcast produced by  Scottish Socialist Party and this interview was designed for that outlet. In the interview -- not that you'll hear me --  I shepherd Jim to explain the politics of the Australian Socialist Alliance. What you will hear -- in the background -- is my neighborhood: especially the cackle of rainbow lorikeets. (Duration:15.31  — 26.1MB) If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element Listen now to other episodes of  The Blather in pop up playerDon't miss an episode: Subscribe to The Blather

I reckon I'm pretty much reconciled. Yep. I'm much more reconciled than I was last week. Reconciliation is all the go. I'm reconciled. You're reconciled. We are all reconciled. Oh, it's just lovely. Brings a tear to my eye it does. You wouldn't by chance be Aboriginal would you? Not even the teeniest? Because if you were I could reconcile with you and you could reconcile with me and it would be like the real thing. (Duration: 1:26 — 1.4MB) If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element Listen now to other episodes of  The Blather in pop up playerDont miss an episode: Subscribe to The Blather

About 2000 people gathered at Roma St Forum in Brisbane for the Peoples' March against the G20 Summit on November 15. Aboriginal activists kicked off  the speeches and a march, surrounding by heavy police presence, followed. Multiple issues were  raised at the protest, including Aboriginal deaths in police custody, demand for action on climate change, support for renewable energy, and highlighting the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico, while the Mexican president is in town. Protesters also opposed the corporate agenda the G20 meeting was pushing. The Blather was there... (Duration: 8:18 — 8.0MB) If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element Listen now to other episodes of  The Blather in pop up playerDont miss an episode: Subscribe to The Blather

They all take care of me: the church, the state, the doctors and judges. For nine months they all wish me the best. I am something precious and they protect me. As an unborn I am supposed to grow and flourish. Ignorant as to my gender, my language and my race -- with meals on tap and free bed and board -- I can have a good time without worrying about what tomorrow brings. You see, we unborn get it good even if we don't know who we are. Come to think of it -- and thinking is something I'm not usually noted for -- for all I know I could be an orangutan or some other life form as my zoological attributes are presently unapparent to me. Such ready scholarship is not my forte and besides I am yet to learn to read or speak and have no idea what my kind looks like. But let's assume I possess 23 chromosomes and may pass my born days as human. Give me nine months to get my X's and XY's together and I'll be dilated to meet you. If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element Listen now to other episodes of The Blather

Download each program to play on your desktop or portable mp3 playerCopy & paste The Blather feed into your reader. live bookmark or podcatcher(eg: Juice. ITunes, etc)Or subscribe via emailNot sure? Are you in in two minds as to whether you'll subscribe to Ratbag Radio? You're asking yourself perhaps,"Can this stuff damage my ears, addle my brain, or expose me to sounds I really don't want inside my head?" You're thinking,"Ratbaggery --can I risk it?" Sure you can. Sample the wares. Check out The Blather by listening to this promo. It won't tell you a darn thing worth knowing but it sure has all the attitude you could ask for. So come on: stick it in your ear! It will take less than a minute to play. * 51 secs 64kbps 401KB 24kHz A Note regarding iTunes iTunes still has The Blather listed  so that's what you need to search for in the iTunes Store to locate The Blather in the iTunes podcast catalogue. Alternatively... Open iTunes on your computerUnder the “Advanced” menu, select “Subscribe to Podcast…”In the window that opens, paste this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/RatbagRadioBlogClick the “OK”button Listen now to other episodes of  The Blather in pop up player

I admit to it. It was some time ago when I first realised that despite the pressure of my friends and family it was time for me to come to some resolution, if only at first for my own peace of mind. Once I had got that right in my head, all the rest seemed to follow. I knew straightaway what I wanted to be by recognising what I had become -- perhaps slowly at first and then with greater clarity. But that was the easy part because you can never be one just by yourself. Saying you are in itself won't change things at all. You have to do it. You have to act it out publicly; otherwise you let yourself down and the expectations you have of yourself. Simply changing your label isn't enough. So it's more than coming out. You can't do it alone and certainly not in private. And after all these years I am still a practising Socialist. Outwardly I look the same, but when I'm on a roll I'm at it hammer and sickle. It's true that we tend to be shunned in polite society. I admit that. There are some that pretend we aren't there, that we somehow don't exist just so that their sleep won't be disturbed. Ours, unfortunately, is the politics that is not supposed to speak its name. My parents initially thought it was just a phase I was going through. “Don't worry, Alice”, my father would tell my mother, “he'll grow out of it. He'll meet a nice girl and settle down.” But I never did grow out of it. Once I got used to it, it became addictive and seemed to fit me like a glove. I couldn't get enough of it. All my social frustrations and desires could be channeled into this ready-made outlet I grew to love. Despite the phobia you may share about us, maybe sometimes you have wondered: what does Dave Riley do with the nice folk he marches with? I'm sure it has crossed your mind on occasion. In reply, I can say that some of my best friends are Socialists, and I've always found them to be a great bunch of people. We have our moments of high passion each time a festival of the oppressed comes our way and we really get to come into our own. Other times it's simply a case of keeping your finger on the social pulse. We are, you see, as much social as socialist and will always respond if we think we can lend a hand. When passions are inflamed, we Socialists can be very empathetic. To you this must seem like a very serious business. Partying the way we do it -- so energetically and with such relentlessness -- may seem no way to party at all. But that's the way we like it. When you come out like we do(and come on so strong too) you don't want grass to grow under your feet. I am often asked if I was born this way. Much as you may think I am different, unusual or queer, I am basically just like anyone else. The world made me what I am today, and it is the world that stops me wanting to change. I'd rather change it than me. That's what I get off on, if you really want to know. Despite your impressions, Socialiism lasts longer than sex. embed_flv("240", "20", "https%3A%2F%2Fratbagmedia.wikispaces.com%2Fspace%2Fshowimage%2FBlather20080318.mp3?file_extension=mp3", false, false, "/s/mediaplayer.swf"); . Original audio source

Things wax and wane in this world. And as fate would have it we are now being piloted through terrestrial political space by their nibs, Rudd, Swan, Gillard and sundry endorsed others who have taken upon themselves the task of captaining the good ship of state. ...and all who sail in her. Such as me. I cannot help myself but a quickening and a yearning is upon me and I'm unable to resist the urge to partake of my Ratbag persona and once again give in to a mordant obsession with our collective political lot. Is this a good thing, do you think? Is it healthy to partake of my sarcastic urges and pretend, once again, than Mrs Riley's son is a satirist? As it is writ:"Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own." So true. So true. Satirists are always right. It is the attitude that must to be fueled by brazen arrogance. And I am 'always right' when I'm in that mode -- that is , when i want to be. But other times when it's just me being me I'll be ever so humble. True dinks! And I'll be wrong! Definitely. I'm sure I will. It's guaranteed. [Thinks:So long as I don't get the two attitudes mixed up]. Given these hastily conceived provisos, we can now announce that The Blather is back in business . (Although, I warn you that you'll have to bare with me as I find my voice which is around here somewhere...) Blather March 17th, 2008 embed_flv("240", "20", "http%3A%2F%2Fratbagmedia.wikispaces.com%2Fspace%2Fshowimage%2FBlather20080317.mp3?file_extension=mp3", false, false, "/s/mediaplayer.swf"); .Original audio scource

Listen:Mp3 PROGRAM NOTES: length -- 30 mins/27Mb CREDITS: The Rolling Stones, John Stewart and TDS, Scooter,Whoopie Cushion, Laughing Kids, Kevin Neland, Some Other Actor, Spike Milligan, HarrySecomb, Peter Sellars, Pink Floyd, Dave Riley, Audio from indyfilm"Join the Resistance: Fall in Love" read by Amy Ray from Indigo Girls . PLUS Dickie RichardsScooter Webpage: http://acksisofevil.org/ Dickie Richards: http://www.talkwarrior.com

PROGRAM NOTES: The new anti-terrorist legislation is due to wash over the great southern land and flush out the nasties. Will you be among them? Will the blather? Arab Hip Hop. My Land by Dam: http://www.dam3rap.com. Check them out and the wide world of Arab hip hop through the Dam rap portal. And finally, The Internationale rendered into sweetness by the New World Order Kazoo Orchestra. program: 15.03 mins/ 13.79MB Check out the blather's new theme. (Is it too loud for you? Is it blather-y enough?) the blather will also be broadcast over Ratbag Radio, Monday and Tuesday nights from 11pm on repeat cycle, every 15 minutes (or thereabouts) until 10 am the following morning --RRT -- Ratbag Radio Time. Contact the blather with suggestions, feedback, audio and other stuff Listen: MP3

The new industrial legislation that has been introduced by the federal government is massively unpopular with the vast majority of Australians. This legislation is a major attempt to destroy collective organizing on the job. In this edition of the blather, Sue Bolton, the trade union co-ordinator for the Australian Socialist Alliance, discusses the political context of these changes and explores the potential for a united fight back. Program NotesSocialist Alliance is an anti-capitalist party which was formed in 2001.Since then the Alliance has grown in size and strength, establishing branches nationally. Union Fightback is a loose network of trade unionists which was formed out the June 2005 National Fightback Conference.Petitions to the ACTU can be downloaded here.31:05 mins / 64 kbps / 14.2 Mb Listen: Mp3 download (right click to download to disk) Listen: Mp3 streaming