Ben's Bazaar

How have you spent the Easter break? I've spent it at the Conquest gaming convention, where four hundred nerds took over every room of the Coburg City Hall for a convention that's been running since the 1980s. Not that I did any gaming myself, as I safely esconced at the RPG Review Cooperative table with various games that members have put up for sale, which includes a majority of which is fundraising for the Isla Bell Charitable Fund. This particular run, "Gamers for Isla" is now coming to a close after an eight-week fundraising campaign which raised approximately $15000, with a bit in various pledges to come in. I must thank Andrew, Charmaine, Penny, Liz, Karl, Michael, Edward, Rade, and Tim for helping transport goods, staffing the stall, and generally providing awesome company over the three days.

A real highlight of the convention was the visits from Isla Bell's family to our group. This included her uncle, Kieran, who provided an opening speech at Conquest about who Isla was, what happened to her, and the importance of the Fund. Also present on that day was his partner who has a mutual interest in immersive technologies as a teaching tool. The following day, there was a visit from Isla's mother, Justine, and her partner, and then on the third day, a visit from her uncle, Christopher. Justine made a rather delightful Facebook reel about our fundraising efforts, and Christopher and I had a long conversation about an old mutual friend (sadly departed), Simon Millar. Michael O'Brien of the gaming company, Chaosium, donated the special-edition folio set of their most famous roleplaying game, "Call of Cthulhu", to further raise money for the Fund.

In this context, it is necessary to make a few comments about Easter. The Biblical literalism, bound too strongly and ludicrously by religious fundamentalists, is too easy to mock. The notion of "zombie Jesus" brings laughter, and even deeper, the argument that "Jesus the Lich" is even more accurate (gamers understand that one). My irreverent side derives pleasure from this as well. But what is overlooked by both the fundamentalists and the new atheists and their ilk is a metaphorical reading; that for any person of great spirit, not even the end of their life is the end of their story. Certainly, it is a critical juncture in their wider narrative, not just the closing of a chapter, but the ending of a book. But the narrative and themes of the character can continue. And this is what groups like the Isla Bell Fund charity represent: a tribute that continues a story that deserves and needs to be told. So, for all of you (myself included), go and produce great art, seek and advocate for justice and liberty, and unearth the facts of our shared existence.

So this is a political entry. Starting on the global level, the announcement of radical changes in import tariffs by the United States of America has exposed the instability in global markets and the amount of fictitious capital but is founded on the bizarre calculation from debt. As one commentator put it: "The notion that taxing Lesotho gemstones is necessary for the U.S. to add steel jobs in Ohio is so absurd that I briefly lost consciousness in the middle of writing this sentence". Now, the administration has paused the imposition as global markets tumbled (except China, which has stood up and probably has the edge when it comes to economic resilience). The announcement of the pause seems to have been subject to insider-training.

The international effect of the US administration is influential in the current Australian political climate, with LNP leaders openly aligning themselves to the Trump administration. Policy-wise, they've followed the same playbook as their US counterparts: disastrous economic policies, wrecking public health, stripping the public service, "reforming" labour laws, and, as always, in the pocket of the wealthiest elite of the minerals and energy sector. Even their slogan, "Back on Track" means the track of Abbott, Morrison, and, the worst of them all, Dutton. High inflation, reduced real wages, higher taxes, and higher budget deficits. Weakening public health, education, and, as always, welfare. This 'is The Track' they want us to get back on, with the extra pain of Trump's chaos.

The LNP policies are so terrible they have to abandon them in days after announcing them. With an utter lack of economic literacy and an astounding inability to read the room, they are persisting with their plans for nuclear energy. Their campaign is a mess, with candidates being questioned and even stood down for extremist positions. They are led by a potato. Which we know in the Australian vernacular means a person of remarkable incompetence, the personality of a dullard, and is possibly poisonous. After leading in polls for months as a carping opposition, when actually put on the national stage and asked why they are a viable alternative, they have managed how unready they are. They are definitely not worth the risk; hence their sudden collapse in the polls.

Finally, on a personal note, a number of us met at the Union bar in Fitzroy this week for a small celebration of Tristan Ewins' life, who I wrote about recently. Led by Sarah H., the gathering was mainly made up of comrades from his Young Labor days (I was a bit of an outlier in this regard). All had stories to share (they far more than me), along with loving recognition of his personality traits, his conciliatory and balanced assessment from facts, his equally steadfast and passionate commitment to the underprivileged and working people, and the seriousness he took the public policy. The world is a lessened place by his absence, but we have his writing. I am quite prepared to go out on a limb and suggest that Tristan's writings be read and referred to for some time because he was always thinking about practical implementations and the long-run effects of policy, seriously and long-sighted.