The first in a new series of rants from Surely Not.
This series will look at news & current affairs, the world of politics and the media. Specifically, this series will cover all the bullshit behind the stories, and those who are peddling all the nonsense. Continue reading
The Trojan War is perhaps the most famous example of a majority suffering due to the actions of individuals. It’s said the catalyst for the ten year war and subsequent siege of Troy was Helen of Troy (previously known as Helen of Sparta) deciding to leave her husband, King Menelaus, for Paris, the slimy and sleazy king of Troy. This love triangle would end up costing countless lives and the actions of three would ultimately bring about the destruction of an entire city. Although in fairness to Helen, she was apparently under the influence the whole time thanks to the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, who was punishing Menelaus for not delivering the tribute he promised for hooking him up with his wife in the first place. Continue reading
In 2016 the sanctimony of so-called community leaders and self-appointed bastions of morality has become, as they would say, an epidemic. Our politicians have been in a frenzy as they try to turn New South Wales into a #nannystate, obviously because that’s what’s best for us. The attack on small business, night life and freedom has been relentless. The Axis of Abstinence has united strange bedfellows in a war against freedom and personal responsibility. This #teetotalitarian regime is led by an evangelical zealot with an image problem, we’re constantly being judged by a man who believes he’s on a mission from above. “Service that is purely self-serving” is his biggest vice for now… His right hand man is an equally devout police commissioner who they apparently call The Electrician. They’re backed up the health lobby and amateur statistician doctors who moonlight as policy experts. Their pawns are the public faces of a tragedy who may or may not have now been seduced by the ethically ambiguous, non for profit gravy train.
So regulating Sydney’s night life into oblivion is totally warranted, but the sex trade is all cool…. Ok #gigolomike
BREAKING: Pro-lockout elements of the Sydney mainstream media inadvertently throw their support behind businesses whose demise they have been tirelessly campaigning for! – surelynotnews 18/4/16 contact us to get some positive exposure for your business for FREE. No catches, no clauses, no bullshit – just a shout out for a friend in need.
Last weekend a Sydney Morning Herald State Politics Editor decided to publish an article about Surely Not. Or more specifically, she published a malicious and potentially ____ article about yours truly. You can read all about it here. I’ve always tried to make the best of a bad situation, and while this situation is now in more professional hands than mine, I did manage to work out a way to generate some good out of this. And while I’ve already given Ms Needham and her bizarre article more thought than it deserves, she did inadvertently contribute to a fantastic idea so what the hell, a little bit more for old times sake won’t hurt. Continue reading
How to tell if you believe in bullshit is one of many excellent articles and videos produced by Maddox, owner of The Best Page in the Universe. Maddox covers everything from inventions, people on the internet and their stupid crusades to movie reviews but one of the main features of his content are his virtuoso rants. Often these rants are dedicated to systematically debunking stupid things people say, do and believe. Whilst I was doing some general research into the statistics St Vincent’s uses to promote prohibition, Maddox’s rant about believing in bullshit came to mind. Specifically the part about scientific method and all the steps Dr Fulde et al seemed to have skipped when producing their initial report. Continue reading
This is the second part of a series investigating the true ownership of New South Wales.
“I’ve been up two and a half million” Jim says to Frank as he pleads his case for a loan. Frank asks “What you got on you?” to which Jim replies “Nothing”. Frank asks “What you put away?” “Nothing.” Frank’s heard enough. “ You get up two and a half million dollars, any asshole in the world knows what to do: you get a house with a 25 year roof, an indestructible Jap-economy shitbox, you put the rest into the system at three to five percent to pay your taxes and that’s your base, get me? That’s your fortress of fucking solitude. That puts you, for the rest of your life, at a level of fuck you. Somebody wants you to do something, fuck you. Boss pisses you off, fuck you! Own your house. Have a couple bucks in the bank. Don’t drink. That’s all I have to say to anybody on any social level. Did your grandfather take risks? I guarantee he did it from a position of fuck you. A wise man’s life is based around fuck you. The United States of America is based on fuck you. You have a navy? Greatest army in the history of mankind? Fuck you! Blow me. We’ll fuck it up ourselves.” Continue reading
Sydney Morning Herald State Political Editor Kirsty Needham gave me a call on Friday to discuss an upcoming article on yours truly. I’m across Ms Needham’s previous work, having enjoyed a lot of it but also noticing much of it was highly agenda driven, including one recent piece with the potential to mislead readers that I had no choice but to call out. Even with that experience at the back of my mind, given her position of State Politics Editor I was happy to have an adult conversation with her, in the hope that she would publish a piece befitting of her title. Continue reading
This writer was never previously one to get caught up in gossip and innuendo.When details of a juicy rumour or “scandal” involving a high profile celebrity, public figure, athlete, etc is going round I’m usually already yawning. Since the investigative pieces published by Surely Not started getting a bit more exposure than the small group of friends I’d force my rants upon, many an anonymous tip has been sent through . Continue reading
Earlier this year, Surely Not published our analysis of the statistics presented by Dr Gordian Fulde, Head of Emergency at St Vincent’s. This data had been frequently referred to and used to justify the controversial lockout laws. Predictably, we found the data had been grossly manipulated and misrepresented to support the doctors own pro-lockout agenda. Over the last couple of months a far more disturbing story has been unfolding at St Vincent’s which has been brought to a head today with the release of an interim report from NSW Health.
Alright people, the deadline for submissions regarding the review into the Liquor Amendment Act 2014 is upon us. They are due MONDAY. It is absolutely vital that anyone and everyone who wants to have the moronic lockout laws repealed or amended has their say. Continue reading
As someone who has spent their entire life stubbornly refusing to accept the responsibility of becoming a licensed vehicle driver, I more often than not get myself from A to B via foot. Despite now finding myself on the wrong side of 30, I have no intention of learning to drive any time soon. It’s not something that interests me, and for any journey too far to walk, we have Uber. Why would anyone bother with a car? What I enjoy most about my preferred method of transport is the opportunity to put on some music and get lost in my own thoughts. However, walking to and from work over the past few years I now often reflect on what has become of a once vibrant and exciting suburb. It’s a little depressing, and I often feel a sense of loss as I walk past a boarded up business on a deserted shop. However those thoughts are quickly brought into perspective when I consider the people who lost far more that I did – the business owners. The innocent bystanders who had a lifetime of hard work stolen from them. Continue reading
After the release of documents which highlighted the salary of Thomas Kelly Youth Foundation Director, Ralph Kelly, there was justified outrage across the board.
New South Wales has been around for a while, and it’s fair to say she’s had a pretty good run. However, despite being first part of the country to have British settlement over two hundred years ago, New South Wales is still lagging far behind all other Australian states and territories in the population stakes. On the upside, we have a lot of space. With the total land area just over 800,000 square kilometres, each citizen of New South Wales enjoys over 2000 square kilometres all to themselves. Driving is a luxurious treat.
The oldest profession in history is a topic that stimulates a lot of debate. Many have long held the view that the title goes to prostitution. An argument that seems logical, given the service provided is one that has been in hot demand since the beginning of time, has no competition worth considering and will probably never go obsolete. Quite the opposite in fact! Personally, I dispute this claim based on the fact that if these services were being paid for via currency, the client would have needed to acquire these funds through another method. Presumably gainful employment of some kind. But that’s a discussion for another time. Continue reading
Important information regarding the upcoming Keep Sydney Open rally
Date: Sunday 21st February.
Time: 12.30pm – 3pm
Where: Belmore Park, Central.
I’ll be updating this page with further information & but please join the facebook event to keep fully up to date! Please note all written content has been provided by representatives of Keep Sydney Open.
There are a number of things that grind my gears, and the gears of most other rational people. Political correctness gone mad, charity muggers and social justice ambulance chasers are up there. Two others that deserve a spot in the upper echelon of pet peeves would have to be conspiracy theories and reality television. Not the theories or programs themselves necessarily as they can be quite a lot of fun to mock. But more so the people that have an unhealthy obsession with them. I don’t get it. Real life frequently provides far more entertainment. Whether they someone who has been indoctrinated by youtube nutjobs or just someone who lives vicariously through whatever inane drivel is on the idiot box, they sure do get under the skin of this particular rant merchant. Which is why when researching this piece there were often times where I stopped and thought “Suuurely not”. But unlike the plethora of tin foil hat theories and reality nonsense out there, you couldn’t make this stuff up.
Continue reading
There was a sense of déjà vu as we nursed our New Years hangovers and started mentally preparing ourselves for the dreaded but inevitable return to the grind. It had been a relatively uneventful Christmas break for me in terms of activities, in terms of news and to top it off the boxing day test was the dullest we’d had in years. Personally I was frustrated that despite my passion for doing very little, I had wasted my time off. This was supposed to be like the Summer of George, damnit! Although now that I think about it, it was exactly like the Summer of George… Continue reading
surely not. 