The Audacity

 

The attempts to kill him had failed. Again.

The gangsters, and those strange liaisons between them and the authorities, driven partly by the daring grasp of power, but mostly by money, wound through his life once more. 

But here we were. In a survival kit. In survival mode. 

And the horizon was full. And the necessity to survive hung strong.

Beyond the borders of the village where the spirits had ordered him to take root, beyond those borders of swinging doors and empty rooms and abandoned dwellings, beyond that border of terror and enlightenment, beyond fear itself, lay not safety, not the comfort of the lords and the royals in their distant castles, but something even more remote, more terrifying, more all encompassing.

And so humanity, and all those who sheltered within her, all those entities which stood within that all encompassing notion, humanity, they took their time, they had been through cataclysms before, they had been through the death of entire species, their species, clinging in secret within their own DNA, passing through storms and into the liquid air; they had stared out at those caves.

And they had survived. 

Here, to tell a story of infinite wonder. The knives were sheaved. The soldiers stood to attention. The invisible realms which had dominated mankind since the very beginning of the species, bred, as they were, to be especially aware, their blood conducive to the ancient spirits; they were in flux in a terrible war.

The grey heron came to visit, beautiful, elegant, symbolic of renewal.

The vividly coloured crimson rosellas, unique Australian parrots, passed through that gathering place before returning to their nesting places. 

And the honey eaters too, they came to laugh; and enjoy the day. For that was all they had ever known.

While Old Alex, he walked amongst a defeated population. And could not understand the rationale of the Overlords, their Resident Evil. 

The society was collapsing on all fronts.

NEWS

“Albanese tax celebration attempt backfires as he is grilled as ‘out of touch’” and “Albanese government has ‘crashed confidence’ in Australia’s housing market” have dominated recent headlines, with critics hammering the government’s negative gearing and capital gains tax overhaul as a blatant broken election promise. Opposition figures branded the changes “toxic taxes” that impose billions in new burdens while “pulling up the ladder on hardworking Australians,” and One Nation’s Pauline Hanson declared, “Albanese lied to become elected, and Australians are paying for it … if you lie once, why won’t you lie again and again and again?” Property values have slid in major cities, first-homebuyer loans have plunged, and Coalition MPs accuse Labor of failing to build supply while investors flee, leaving confidence shattered and rents under fresh pressure despite Treasury’s modest forecasts. 

thenightly.com.au

“Anthony Albanese starting to pile up image problems” and “Melon-gate” have compounded the damage, as the Prime Minister’s appearance on a bawdy podcast—complete with hand gestures about Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s gift of crown melons and comments about Kylie Minogue—sparked weeks of outrage. Colleagues privately fretted over his stubborn refusal to fully apologise, with one cabinet member calling it “super awkward” and warning of long-term harm to Australia-Japan ties; commentators labelled his refusal to back down a “fatal flaw” that entrenches cynicism and makes him a drag on Labor’s vote. Even as he later conceded the podcast was “an error,” the episode dominated coverage and left “brand Albo” looking battered amid a string of gaffes. 

smh.com.au

In parliament, “Albanese is manipulating his rivals to wage war on One Nation” captured the mood as the government struck a flurry of deals—on gambling advertising reform, NDIS cuts removing hundreds of thousands from the scheme, and residual tax tweaks—with Coalition or Greens support, while its primary vote stubbornly lags pre-budget levels and sits neck-and-neck with One Nation in the polls. Critics from both left and right decried the gambling package as a “betrayal” that still allows self-policing and inducements, while the NDIS savings of tens of billions were portrayed as correcting Labor’s own design flaws only after years of opposition to similar measures. The parliamentary arithmetic has let Albanese legislate at will, yet the disconnect with public sentiment and rising populist pressure remains glaring. 

smh.com.au

Broader critiques paint a government under sustained strain: falling house prices that homeowners resent even as younger voters cheer affordability gains, warnings that investor flight could push rents far higher than the promised $2 a week, and accusations that Labor has been “asleep at the wheel” on trade tariffs and migration’s link to housing shortages. As Albanese marks longevity milestones, the cumulative weight of broken promises, personal missteps, and policy fallout has left the administration defending a record many opponents insist is failing to deliver the “real change” it claims.

News Summary courtesy of Grok xAI.