COAG, Health Reform, the Henry Tax Review and why this is not really about health.

It's really about money and power, of course.

The trick is in the two promises sitting side by side, to wit, that:

1. The Feds will kick in 2/3^rd of the cost of Hospitals and some Health related activities, and
   
2. The States will give up 1/3^rd of GST revenue in return.
   

The problem is one of these numbers is going up and the other is not. Say you're a Premier. Say you get $10 a year from GST to run the State, which really means Hospitals, Schools and Cops. So now the feds are saying that for Health they will take about $3 of that, and you will put in about $2, which leaves you with $5 for Schools and Cops.

But the cost of Health is rising by about 3% per annum, while tax revenue will remain steady or fall, or will do something we don't yet know about (Henry Tax Review comment coming below). So in a few years' time the PM rocks up and says that Health is now going to cost $5, which means you're going to have to put in about $2.50. Where's the extra 50c to come from? It's got to come out of Schools or Cops. Now as Premier you are in a very pretty position. You can go to the electorate saying you won't put in more money for Hospitals, or you can go to the electorate saying you're going to cut funding to Schools and Cops. Your choice. But oh wait, there's a third option, that is, you can give Schools or Cops to the Feds! That this would happen if the Rudd model went through is an absolute certainty.

Make no mistake, this is what this debate is about. Lurking behind it like a pale kid who's just spewed behind the couch and is hoping no one will smell the vapours rising, is the Henry Tax Review.

We paid our most trusted employees, ie Kevin Rudd and Cabinet, to conduct a review of the Australian Taxation system with an eye to the long term. They then spent our money hiring some very smart people to do this review. The review has come back and now our employees are refusing to show it to us. Instead, they have come back asking us to entirely reorganise the whole shop. Why? Because they say we have to. Where's the Report? Someplace, they say. They'll show it to us later. Don't worry, they say.

Were these people actually employees they would be sacked, and quite possibly we would bring in the police to try to get access to the report we paid them to produce and which they now refuse to give us.

But like most reports we already know the gist of what it's going to say. That is, that the ageing population is going to mean rising costs and stable or falling tax revenues. This will happen across the spectrum of spending, but most acutely in Health. Most of the rising costs in health are about old people living longer. And these people are the baby boomers, a generation that has never been shy about funding its own lifestyles at the cost of other generations, and that still holds the key to political power.

We have to keep in mind the Normal Moronic Notion at the base of our votes. That is, that people would most like to pay less tax and also have better Hospitals and Schools and more Cops. These contradictory wishes segue nicely in our Federation in that the Feds raise income tax (which we want low), while the States provide Hospitals, Schools, and Cops (which we want lots of, and which cost heaps). The introduction of the GST was a neat way of side-stepping this issue when it was dedicated in its entirety to the States. It was in effect a way of raising taxes without seeming to do so, and at the same time chucking more money at Hospitals, Schools and Cops.

If the Feds now want to take control of Health they have a simple way of raising the money to do so at hand, ie raise income taxes. But as that would contradict the first tenet of our Normal Moronic Notion it just can't be done. Option 2 is therefore raid the GST money. But once the States allow the Feds to play the number trick they will be doomed to the inevitable and electorally unacceptable policy positions mentioned above which contradict the second tenet of the Normal Moronic Notion.

As an aside, if this were actually about Health Reform and not about a grab for power the Feds would agree to a pool funding model as suggested by Brumby, one that would protect the real money numbers and prevent the Feds from capturing the States in this policy pincer.

Who will win?
Obviously not us, whatever happens. But in a political sense the States can win this. Firstly, they have the original agreement on the GST, which means if they can force nothing to happen they will win. Secondly, Rudd's threat to take it to a referendum is just stupid. It won't win. The States would simply run against it by showing the people the number trick the Feds are trying to pull. If the States get traction on that we have a situation where a Fed Labor gov't is going against all Labor States and at the same time trying to win a Federal election as a Labor gov't. This would be a disaster for Labor. In the minds of the electorate it would mean that if the Feds are right, then State Labor is bad, and if the States are right, then Fed Labor is bad. Either way, it transforms into 'Labor is bad'. This is why Abbott has been smilingly quiet lately. He's giggling so hard his bike must be wobbling.

At COAG everyone knows this, and it is merely a matter of who blinks first. But overall the States have both the whip hand, and the absolute need to prevent falling into the trap the Feds have set. In the end we will probably get some new bank account. It will be called a 'pool' or something, and they will then fight over control of it.

Lastly, they seem to have forgotten that it is eminently possibly for a State to individually cede power to the Commonwealth, as VIC did with its industrial relations powers under Kennett. If South Australia loves this new model so much why not just independently cede the powers? Or do so in partnership with Queensland? The Commonwealth has not shown that cost savings are to be found in economies of scale that necessarily require all the States to cede at once. So why aren't they ceding these powers individually? Perhaps these States believe they would be relatively better off if they could access money raised in VIC/NSW? No, they can already do that. The real reason is they understand the political implications.

NCC and the Hard Problem

Here are two claims:

1. That while neuroscientists are getting closer to finding the neural correlates for consciousness (NCC) this will not solve the Hard Problem (s). But:
   
2. That is the fault of the Hard Problem, not the neuroscientists.

And briefly:

3. A way forward.

What are the NCCs?

No one really knows, but they are getting close, for example:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527520.400-firing-on-all-neurons-where-consciousness-comes-from.html?page=1

(And a BIG THANKYOU to David Pearce for bringing the link to my attention!!)

Whether this particular work finds NCCs or not, the fact is that many people are working on it and sooner rather than later they will find them.

What is the Hard Problem?

Essentially it is the statement that even when the NCCs are found, this event in itself will not be able to solve such problems as why or how is it that these physical or electric entities seem to transform themselves into the apparently individually unified consciousnesses we all experience.

So,

1. The discovery of NCCs will not solve the Hard Problem:

I have no idea how the engine in my car works, but I know that it does. In theory, someone could explain to me all the different parts of the engine and how they interact to make the car brrmm. But no matter how intricate my knowledge of my car and its constitutive parts becomes, it will get me nowhere near being able to describe what it is like to drive at 150km /h along a dirt track behind Mt. Macedon. No matter how detailed the description of the constitutive parts of my car, the description will not define 'car' in its broadest experiential sense. I am not going to get into a solipsistic Cartesian argument about who is driving the driver of the car, because I don't need to for the point to stand. Whatever the descriptions of the physical workings of my brain, those descriptions will not in themselves describe, let alone define, what it is to have (or do) consciousness.

But this is not at all meant to belittle the search for NCCs. It is important that we find out. It is perhaps the most we can ever do.

2. It's the Hard Problem's fault anyway.

The Hard Problem and its related mysteries are like a retreating mist. Once an answer is found to a question, the Hard Problem ideologues will always be able to draw back further and merely say the answer does not resolve some deeper issue about what it is like to be the consciousness looking at the answer. This is akin to religion's retreat before science. Whereas hundreds of years ago the religious consensus may have been that there really is a physical heaven with angels actually located in the sky, or that a really existent God physically shook the earth to make earthquakes, as science advances so religion retreats into more and more esoteric explanations of what religion itself stands for. Now, I have even heard it posited by the religious that religious entities are themselves constituent of 'those things that can not be answered'. This is beautiful in its impermeability. That is, whatever science discovers, God is that thing that exists further than science's reach. This position would set religion up forever, since there will always be something beyond what science knows. The problem is it fails the falsifiability criteria, the greatness is that it does so deliberately, it indeed defines itself and will go on defining itself as that which does not contain falsifiability. But it still has a popular pull, in that even if we now know that earthquakes are caused by shifting tectonic plates, the religious can simply claim God makes the plates move. Once science established that the interaction of gravity and the earth's core make tectonic plates move, the religious can simply say that God makes the gravity etc, this can go on forever.

The Hard Problem does the same thing. Firstly, in clumsy hands, it can always descend in to the recursive Cartesian spiral alluded to above. That is, what's inside the head of whatever it is inside the head of .....on and on and on. But that is a little simple these days. Secondly, it can do the same thing in disguise. That is, whatever 'explanation' 'science' attempts at defining or describing consciousness it can merely remove itself from the scene, ducking into another room with a plaintive 'But now where am I?' or, 'But what is the meaning of love?'

This is because the tautology of scientific explanations does not fit into realms which define themselves essentially as being non-tautological. We will never come to a conclusion that consciousness = x in the same way as we might say 1 + 1 = 2 (which is a tautological truth). And we will never come to that conclusion because for some consciousness (as religion mentioned above) will always be defined as 'whatever it is that is not reducible to '= x'.

But this is not the fault of the neuroscientists. As Dennett has said regarding magic, people tend to think there is real magic and then there is trickery. And when you explain to someone the mechanics behind a piece of 'magic', they often simply say that right, now you have explained a piece of trickery and you are no closer to showing the mechanics of 'real' magic. Of course, the rub is there is no such thing as 'real magic', only well delivered trickery. The more you explain, the more the required definition recedes.

In the same way, no matter how detailed the description of NCCs, for many they will never be able to 'explain' consciousness because consciousness (like magic) is always defined as that which eludes explanation.

3. The way forward.

Just as in the car example, perhaps we are expecting too much from the mechanics. If I were to seek to more effectively define my car in its wider social or experiential sense I would immediately need to look not at the engine but at the environment in which the car operates. I drive it mostly on roads. It is a social signifier of my family-style life. It is a pretty smooth ride. For most people, in most situations, the 'definition' of their car has nothing to do with the engine or its parts. The 'car' is embedded in a much more complex series of social nuances. And essentially these definitions have virtually nothing to do with what kind of spark plugs are in the car. I would argue that in nearly every case (except when the car breaks down) the most effective and widely used definition for car is not going to be found in the car's parts themselves, but in this wider net of images and considerations about the car.

The problem is some Hard Problem ideologues wish to still locate the Hard Problem in the singularity of an individual's conscious experience (the car itself), while at the same time denying the neuroscientists (mechanics) the ability to define within those parameters. If you restrict the derivation of meaningful statements about consciousness to the individual experience of that consciousness, it is like you are requiring the mechanic to define car somewhere in the engine while at the same time denying that the meaning of car will be located in the engine. You are asking the mechanic to tell you how the spark plugs made it possible for you pull chicks on Lygon St. The mechanic will probably come up with a whole series of causal relations between the kind of spark plugs and the engine and the style of car, but he will never explain the leap between the car and the friendly smile by recourse to the engine alone.

Perhaps we would find more viable explanations for consciousness by decoupling the idea of consciousness from the individual experience of consciousness.

For more information:

For Dennett see:

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_dennett_on_our_consciousness.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOxqM21qBzw

This guy does a lot of interesting stuff at Monash:

http://arts.monash.edu.au/philosophy/staff/jhohwy.php

Ethical circles get tighter

I am going to make three claims:

1. That although people commonly ascribe universality to statements of ethical values in practice there is none, and that the border between those to whom we ascribe ethical value and those to whom we do not is commonly drawn along geographic, economic and racial boundaries, often working in parallel.
   
2. That this boundary is central to modern Western capitalism's ability to exist, and that the evolution into modern capitalism has really been a shifting of ethical boundaries, rather than the elimination of them.
   
3. That ongoing changes in technology have increased the diffusion of ideas and the movement of people between the geographic boundaries and that modern capitalism's response has been to tighten the circle inside which humans who have ethical value are allowed to exist, thus decreasing the area in which ethically valued humans can exist rather than increasing it.
   

1. There is an ethical boundary.
   

   I imagine there's a new factory opening in my suburb. The owners plan to make it succeed by producing shoes at a much lower cost than their competitors. They say they are going to do this by employing child labour. The plan is to ship in thousands of Indonesian children and house them in long prefabricated huts. The children will work six days a week, ten hours a day. They will be paid next to nothing, and what they are paid they will spend on basic needs provided by the company store. In order to prevent any organising by the children the owners will also be importing certain security personnel who will be engaged in bashing and killing anyone who tries to organise the kids.
   

   For some reason the idea of this happening in my suburb is repugnant, but the knowledge that it is indeed happening in huge areas of the earth and affecting hundreds of millions of people does not in any way prevent masses of people in the West from buying Nike, or virtually any other brand of clothing made in Asia you can name. Why? Because for some reason the idea that it is happening in another country, out of sight, over the pond, abrogates the ethical value these children would have were they working in my country.
   

   The borders between the countries simply eradicate the need to respect people's ethical value as humans. Now, people might feel uncomfortable about this, they might claim some mitigating factor, or claim that they are in fact concerned about the children's rights, but in practice they are not. There is absolutely no serious political movement in the West with broad popular support dedicated to eradicating this exploitation. It is thus condoned by our actions in continuing to engage it, via buying the products, and by our inaction via our not doing anything to stop it. This is an example of an ethical border primarily drawn on national lines, but race and economic class are still clearly operating.
   

   I imagine that the government has decided that in order to prevent any further increase in inflation they will be taking over the bank accounts of everyone who earns over 100,000 per annum and then issuing to them on a monthly basis enough money to feed their family and pay the mortgage/rent. The rest will be kept in the bank accounts to prevent these people from flooding the economy with their excess cash and thus risking inflation. Again, this would be repugnant were it to happen to people I know, but when the government takes over the bank accounts of aborigines and does exactly the same thing there is no massive electoral backlash. The plain fact is that because the aborigines are poor, and, well, aborigines, the ethical consideration that would be given in the case of the government planning to take over my accounts simply does not apply with the aborigines. They are in this instance outside the border of ethical consideration. That's why the government lifted the Racial Discrimination Act in order to implement their plans. Again, while this ethical border is based on race; economic and geographical borders are still in play.
   

   
   

   I am sure you could think of many more instances where it would appear that our concern for ethical universality is contradicted by actions. But my point is that it is not a contradiction at all once you realise that these ethical boundaries exist, and are used essentially as a part of the society in which we live. The idea that the ethical considerations are universal is simply false, and once you understand that, it ceases to be contradictory.
   

   
   

   An aside: Another example of how the sense of contradiction can fall away by understanding the context in which the action takes place is with politicians lying. At first when a politician makes two apparently contradicting statement like say, 'We want to decrease greenhouse gasses' and 'We are happy to continue brown coal processing in the LaTrobe Valley / logging in Tasmania' it can give one a certain irksome cognitive dissonance. But once you understand that what the politician is actually doing is trying to stay in power, and will say anything to any electorate to do so, then it is no longer a contradiction to make those two statements at the same time as they both serve the purpose of trying to get out a message that will get votes.
   

   
   

   
   

2. That Western capitalism needs the ethical boundaries to exist, and that its history is one of changing boundaries.
   

   
   

   It is not that the developing world is poor and oppressed and we are rich; it is that the developing world is poor and oppressed because we are rich. The two facts are causally related; it is not just chance.
   

   
   

   One way of looking at the development of the Western world is think of it as a continually increasing circle within which people have ethical value. You could trace the growth of this circle in tandem with the extension of the franchise. If we go back to the birth of the industrial revolution, to say the dark days of England, we can see a picture where the owners of the means of production felt they had no ethical responsibility at all regarding the people who worked in the factories. Now this could be a very complicated historical argument and I'm not going to go there right now, this is just an illustration, you'll get the gist.
   

   At the time, the ethical circle was very tight. That is, the only people with much ethical value were propertied English men. Over time, through a long series of struggles, that circle is widened. Men without property get the vote, new governments are elected, mitigating legislation is enacted and enforced, women get the vote, onwards and onwards more and more people get inside the circle of ethical concern. You could use this perspective equally well in Australian or US history. As capitalism develops the ethical circle grows until nearly everyone within the polity is accorded a certain set of rights, becomes ethically valuable.
   

   
   

   But what is equally important is that this circle necessarily does not include everyone who is touched by capitalism. It is essential that concurrent with the expansion of this circle there is yet another, wider circle outside this circle that contains people who are co-opted into capitalism's growth and are not only not given ethical consideration, but are necessarily and deliberately deprived of ethical value as the system grows. For the inner circle of ethically valuable people create and are created by, the wider expanding circle of people who are continually dragged into capitalism and exploited so that the inner circle may continue to grow. You can see this through the abovementioned prism in the growth of the British Empire. Living standards and the ethical value of humans increases at home because of and at the expense of the subjugated people who are drawn into the capitalist system and have no ethical value because of this. From India to China to Africa, the spread of capitalism is one whereby other forms of living are dismantled (along with their own internal ethical circles of value) and the humans, emotionally, geographically, racially and economically are drawn into capitalism's influence as production workers, servants, whatever.
   

   The very reason I can buy clothes that are so cheap is that the people who make them are poor and have no rights.
   

   So while it is undoubtedly true that capitalism has been, overall, a good thing for the living standards of the ruling West, it is not true to say that therefore capitalism raises living standards. In fact, it is only because we have been able to dislocate and oppress people in other countries that we are able to enjoy a high standard of living in our own.
   

   The national border is central to this. It allows for people, say in Vietnam, who are intricately linked with the economy of my country, to be yet disenfranchised from having any say about how that economic system works. The factory workers of China are ultimately employed by the consumers of the US, their lives are dependent upon political and economic decisions made by the representatives of the voters of the US, yet no one would seriously entertain the idea of allowing these factory workers to vote in US elections. As capital and supply chains move across borders they progressively disenfranchise more and more people from being able to have any power over the system in which they live and work; and it does this necessarily. Sure, the circle of people who have ethical value increases, but so does the circle of people who don't.
   

   (And yes I am aware that in recent years the Chinese have actually been lending money to the US so US people can keep buying stuff to keep Chinese people employed. But again, I'm trying to NOT write a whole bloody book here.)
   

   
   

3. Modern technology has made this impossible to continue, and our response has been to tighten the circle.
   

   
   

   Only a few years ago if you were born in Australia you were assumed to be Australian. No longer. Now thousands of people are born here each year who do not have an automatic expectation of a right to vote, or to access any of the privileges full citizens expect. The children of international students, for example, are not citizens. Likewise the children of people here on sponsored working visas. In fact, the whole visa system that has grown up over the last two decades can be seen as a harking back to a situation where there are people resident in the country who are citizens and have all the rights along with that, and people who are resident in the country but do not. I am reminded even as far back as Roman and Greek society, where it was natural that there be citizens, non-citizens, and slaves. This situation is not unique to Australia. Most nations of the Western world now have large resident populations of people who may themselves expect to live their entire lives in the country (whatever the government says) and not be enfranchised, and the same will be visited upon their children. How come suddenly there are hundreds of thousands of people living in Australia who do not have the rights of full citizens? When did this invention of the differentiation between the rights of a 'full' citizen and some other type of being-in-the-country-but-not-having-rights happen? It happened when people from the developing world started coming to Australia in greater numbers after the opening up of South East Asia and the Sub-continent to capitalist expansion. Cheap airfares, complex communication webs make this possible. Of course we have always imported people upon whom we did not visit the rights of full citizenship, but in recent years the number of people in this situation as increased dramatically.
   

   Put simply, as the space to exploit has expanded to almost encompass the entire world and the borders have started spilling over, we have pulled the circle of ethical value in, and drawn it around the idea of being a 'citizen'.
   

   And wherever it is occurring, whether they be fruit pickers in Mildura, or taxi-driving international students in Melbourne, or refugees in Bankstown, the visa laws are specifically written to restrict these people's ability to engage, to get into the circle. The rules are all about where and when and how much work they can do, which community services they can or cannot access, and obviously they can't vote. They are here, and yet economically and politically they are not here. Of course many of these people may become citizens eventually, but my point is about the very act of drawing this circle of ethical concern in, and I think it is clear that there is a large and growing number of people who won't become citizens anyway.
   

   I can only see this situation expanding in the future, as the inner circle of ethically valuable humans increases it will need ever more humans for the outer circle of exploited people who ultimately support the lifestyles of the inner circle people. Once the geographic limitations of the earth are reached, that outer circle will be increasingly defined by race and economic status. We are already seeing a continuing dismantling of the rights of economically disadvantaged people even in the inner circle countries of the West. The growth in the number of resident non-citizens is largely race and class based (as well as obviously deriving from a geographic difference to begin with). The result is that while the number of Australians who are in the inner circle increases, the number of people living in Australia who are in the outer circle also increases, both in raw number and as a proportion of the society from here on.
   

   It starkly challenges our conception of ethical universality even when we admit that this universality has recently often been nation-based, and the creation of different resident classes is a symptom of this challenge. In a sense, it merely brings home the ethical dissonance that was previously less apparent because the borders between the inner circle and the outer circle were more opaque, the exploited people more distant.
   

How will it end? I've got no idea. But I am certain that in order to keep this expansion of the Western lifestyle we need more and more human and natural resources to exploit, and they are running out.

Uncle Frank’s War Diary and some letters from Molly.

Frank and Molly at the zoo,

Easter Monday, 1941

A LETTER FROM MOLLY TO FRANK

The letter is in really bad condition. It is written in cursive in fountain pen. It is dated in the top right hand corner: Monday 6.11.44

My Darling Husband Frank,

Congratulations and very best of good wishes for our 2^nd Anniversary, and do hope it wont be long before you are home again and continue on those 6 very happy months which were the happiest days of my life, and thanks ever so much for them Frank Dear, and it's only you who can make me so happy. I hope and pray to God that [indecipherable] send you back safe and well and a speedy return. And I do love you so much. And I could never tell you in writing just how much I do love you. I hope you get this parcel for the 21^st and enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed packing it. I only wish it was something bigger and better. I'll close now and God Bless you and once again I wish you the very best of good wishes and good health. Lots of Love and Kisses. From your ever loving wife Molly xxx

Uncle Frank's War Diary.

This is a true transcription of the War Diary of my great uncle Frank James Alder, VX92353.
He served with the 2/3^rd Battalion of the AIF from 1943 to 1946.
The diary covers the time 21^st December 1944 to 27^th November 1945.

Historical Background:

The 2/3^rd Bn was part of the 6^th Division, AIF. In 1944 they were sent to Northern New Guinea to take over the Aitape area from the outgoing US forces. The US Army had repelled at least one major attack by the Japanese in the area. On arrival the 6^th Division went on the offensive and pushed to Wewak. The campaign is officially called the Aitape-Wewak campaign, and it was the last of the 2/3^rd Bn in the War.

The controversy around this campaign is mostly about whether it was necessary at all, in that the Japanese in the area had already been largely defeated and posed no strategic risk to the overall objective of defeating Japan. The decision to send the 6^th Division back into battle so late in the War was vexed. On the one hand, much of this Division, the most experienced in the AIF, had just spent the last two whole years sitting on the Atherton Tablelands in QLD. When first brought back from the Middle East, the positioning of the division there made sense as it was the most effective and experienced fighting force in the AIF and if Australia were attacked by the Japanese the 6^th Division would form the main defence force for the continent. Parts of the Division (including the 2/3^rd Bn) had served in New Guinea through the Kokoda and Beachheads campaigns. But many of the men who had not successfully transferred out of the Division had seen no fighting for two years, particularly those who joined upon the Division's return from the Middle East. Doubtless some were keen to get back in the fight before the War ended.

On the other hand the 6^th Division had already fought in North Africa, culminating in the defeat of the Italians at Bardia. Then it had been sent to Greece, where it fought the Germans. Some of the Division had then fought on Crete, while some of the Division (including the 2/3^rd Bn) had fought in Syria against the French. And again, parts of the Division had already seen some very vicious fighting in New Guinea. As the 6^th was the first AIF Division raised in 1939, many of its men had already been serving continuously for five years, a length of time rarely surpassed in Allied armies. A widely held belief was that the deployment of the men of the 6^th Division in a campaign of questionable strategic worth at a time when the end of the war was in sight, was an unnecessary and cruel burden to put on those who had already given so much. The 2/3^rd Bn could rightly claim to be firmly in this second category of men, having already fought the Italians, Germans, French, and Japanese. The 2/3^rd was one of only two battalions in the AIF to fight all Australia's enemies in WW2 (the other was the 2/5^th) and I believe only one other battalion in the whole Allied forces also saw action against all enemies.

The campaign itself was a difficult but steady advance in two prongs along the coast. The Japanese fought delaying actions all the way. This resulted in an ongoing series of nasty engagements, none of them really set piece battles, but ugly and vicious nonetheless. It was a campaign of patrols and manoeuvring through thick jungle. The fighting itself, which you will see Frank experienced, was close and confused and terrifying. Perhaps because of the relatively small scale of the engagements the fighting became extremely personal, local, and ruthless. Nearly all the fighting took place at close range. It was a fight of bayonets and grenades, and for most of the time neither side took prisoners.

The Diary is no record of great fighting deeds. Frank was awarded no special citations. He was 24 years old when he landed in New Guinea. He liked cartoons and movies. He was deeply in love with Molly, his wife, forever. He was also seriously Catholic. He had been the gardener at the convent in Oakleigh, and then worked as a chill attendant (?) for the Dept of Munitions before leaving to join the AIF in May, 1943. In total he was in the Army for 590 days, on 345 of them he was overseas.

The diary is in a small, square ruled notebook, more like a paybook, but with the word 'Notes' written in cursive relief on the front. The cover was originally purply-brown but has largely worn away on the front. I have not fixed spelling or grammar mistakes, nor annotated historical inaccuracies.

The inside cover has: VX92353 PTE Alder F. J. HQ Coy, 2/3 A.I.B.N. A.I.F
(he is soon to transfer into a line company)

The diary is printed in capitals using fountain pen and then, after July 1944 in pencil.
The back pages of the diary contain a record of outward mail to his wife, Molly, and a page of friends and family addresses.

The Diary:

Embarked at Cairns 21 Dec 1944 for Service in New Guinea.

Ship "Bontekoe". Dutch.
Disembarked at Aitape. N.G. 17-12-44.
Queit trip. Xmas day at sea. Beer issue ½ bottle per man. Rec 9 letters N.Y.Eve. Attended 'Sing-sing' N. Years Day at "ANGAU" village. Interesting. Left Aitape on advance party 20^th Jan for "Idakabul" on Danmap river to relieve 2/8 BN – 19 Bde. Washed out at jnc 20-1-45 at commando camp. On 27^th big flood down Danmar. Damage serious. 7 lives lost. I lost 12/6- . Saw first Jap P.O.W. (2) approx 24 Jan. Bn moved up Jan 25 – 29. First patrol Jan 28^th. Uneventable. Crossed to A Coy Jan 12^th from HQ Coy. Weather wet. Dropping ground at Marlin. 3 changes of commd first fortnight. Capt Gibbons O.C., Lt Boyer 2 i/c.

FEBRUARY
Everything in full swing. Patrols every day. I average one about every six days. Casualties light. Lt Pope died in hospital after operation for head wound. Ratio 1 Australian killed for approx 12 Japs. Hills very steep and mud everywhere. Just about had it several times. Nobby killed accidently. Tucker very good.

MARCH
6^th March, Coy relieved by B Coy, 2/3 AMGB down on coast at Annum River on 6^th March. 2/2Bn in font, 2/1 Bn rear. Surf not suitable. Very rough. And heavy. Big dumpers. Rain very heavy. Papers and parcels arrive. Returned to AITAPE on 14 March with Lt. Boyer to rear details. Received by post first comic from Molly March 16^th. Second March 28^th. Easter 30 M. – 1^st April. Good Friday 30 March. Boys going well up front. Malaria prominent. To AITAPE by jeep.

APRIL
Had a good rest at AITAPE. Plenty of pictures. Saw "Laura", "Mrs Partinction", "Going my way", "The Princess and the Pirate". Bob Hope technicolour, and other shows. Left AITAPE per barge (Australian) for BN at DAGUA on 20 Apr. Arrived 21^st. Trip weary. Dist approx 60 miles. Left barge at BUT. Saw first Jap plane. RAAF working on it. Dozens Jap wrecked planes on DAGUA airstrip. 96 bombers and 120 fighters at BUT and DAGUA strips.
Wonganarra Mission captured behind Dagua early in month. Biggest stoush up till then. Cas 2k, 2w (1 off. K.). Very lucky. Japs approx 27 k. Missed Jap general. Light cas due to work of "Boongs".
Rec telegram at DAGUA from Molly. News father in law RIP passing on. Went to Mass 22 Apr Sun same day. Rec 3 bottles beer at KARAWOP. Arrived at BOIKEN 27 April. First Jap mines and morters between KARAWOP and BOIKEN. Tanks came into action for first time this side of KARAWOP. Results excellent against bunkers etc.
Changed to C Coy 22^nd April with Capt Boyer. 19^th Bde passed through at HIAWIAN river. This side BOIKEN mortared by Japs three times. At BOIKEN. No damage or cas. Weather generally fine. Malaria and Typhus very bad. BOIKEN was formerly plantation and R.C. Mission. Padre Glover RC 2/1 BN used to minister to natives at BOIKEN. Church and school wrecked. Nuns taken P.O.W. by Japs is the report. Recovered later at Hollandia I believe. Fr Glover celebrated Mass at BOIKEN on Sunday April 29 in portion of the Mission cemetery. Good attend!

MAY
On Sunday 29 April left BOIKEN in company 2 plns + Coy HQ of C Coy for a recce patrol of hills behind BOIKEN. Back on Monday afternoon was planned. Ran into Japs Mon AM and fight lasted 3 days. Cas 5 K 9 W. Japs 26 K. Hetric time. Water scarce. No shave for 5 days or wash either. Ran out of ammo Wed AM. Pioneers arrived with same just in time. Full Company plus 1 Pln "D" Coy relieved by "A" Coy on Friday 4^th. On Tues night Japs attacked and harassed all night. No Cas. Nerve-wracking mainly. Grenades and S.A. fire mainly used. This was the first time to our knowledge that flamethrowers were used by AIF. Results excellent. On return to coast camped by beach ½ way BOIKEN and HIAHIAN river. Fishing first class. Several feed of same made welcome change of diet. 1 meal of shark very good. Pictures at BOIKEN "B" Coy! 9 DIV landed Tarakan early in May. V-E Day May 8 Germany beaten! Spell very welcome. Local patrols only. Thur May 24 – 2 day patrol to TEWE village via POROM. Police boys object contact natives and bring them into ANGAU. Natives shot through with Japs. Heard BN got onto them later in June while I was in hospital. We returned with four natives only. Japs 2 K on way home! Spent bad night at TEWE. Shivers etc. Only made camp through boong carrying gear for me and Lt. Broadfoot my rifle. Sat May 26^th felt trifle better but went out to 2/1 FLD AMB on Sun 27 with Malaria. Thence to DAGUA to 13/14 FLD AMB where caught plane to 2/11 AGH, AITAPE. First ride in plane. Enjoyed it as well as able to. Better looking down on hills than climbing them. Pretty scenes from above. In hospital at AITAPE for fortnight. Nurses wonderful and great company.

JUNE
Went Commie before leaving hospital. Good examination by DR before leaving. Left AITAPE per Yank barge for BN on Sat 9 June. BN at BORAM. "B" Coy killed 57 Japs. Lt Doug Adams sev. W. And Pte Nicholl "C" Coy killed. Quiet trip up in barge. Landed at Cape BORAM. BN moved down to CAPE PUSS 2 days before hand. Followed on. Greeted by issue of 6 bottles of beer. Missed "The Great Waltz" at both AITAPE and BN. Saw "The keys of the Kingdom" at both places. Saw results of damage to WEWAK by RAAF and AIF for first time returning to BN. Rec approx 30 reos toward end of month. Mid year hamper A.C.F. distributed end of June. Japan being belted about by USAF and us and British battle and Task Forces. 7 DIV lands at BALIKPAPAN late June or early July. BN resting. One or two scares down at 2/1 BN and at Engrs. Capt Boyer left for India, British Army.

JULY
BN resting early July. Camped WEWAK side CAP PUSS ½ way CAPE WDM. Parcel and papers in. Molly sent book of Felix the Cat. Rec on July 15^th tin of sweets and a yo-yo on 19^th. Same had followed me to 2/11 AGH and back. Left coast on 28^th advance party to relieve 19^th Bde and in 14 days 2/2 Bn. Transport per truck as far as WAIRU Mission where Pte Kenna 2/4^th won VC. Route then over hills to Mount Shibarangui. Arrived 2pm echured completely after 6 or 7 weeks of spine bashing. 29^th proceeded to the "Blot". Wonderful view 30 mls with naked eye towards SEPIK RVR. Mt. SHIB 1,640 ft. BLOT 1,620 ft. Weather generally fine. Engineers reached top of MT SHIB, working on big road.

AUGUST
2^nd Moved over to HAMBAUIZ. To "D" Coy. 2/2 Bn copping it 2,000 yds ahead on BAMAHEITA RIDGE. Food dropping by plane did store. Tucker ok. Casualties coming back to adv fld amb at HAMBRAUIZ. Arty party attachment overseas radio news at 7am and 6pm. Russia entered war against Japan on 8^th. 1^st atomic bomb 10^th, 2^nd 13^th. Jap surrender offer 10^th Fri. Molly's birthday 14^th. Wrote letter special on 26^th (?). VJ Day 15^th. Great news. Every happy with visions of being home for the cup and Xmas. Moved down to coast to R details on 28^th. Lt Broadfoot left for Aussie under 5 yr plan. Also Maj Williams and 50 Ors. On 31^st Jack Clarke Len Cass Tom Capel, about 20 HQ Coy chaps. Rejoined HQ Coy. 3^rd Sept with 5 Pln pioneers. Wrote to Oak on 2^nd accepting offer to claim. Wrote 11 pager to Molly on 8^th. Work in building camp, not too bad. Weather fine, also surf. Plenty of rumours flying about hard to believe what is right or wrong. YM built by boongs. Bn came down from hills toward end of month (Sept)

SEPT
Above wrong Sept starts on line 6 from top of page [this would be with 'Wrote to Oak . . .]. Sept very quiet. Pictures twice a week.

October
Things as usual. Rumours plentiful. Tucker very bad for a couple of weeks. Letters to the paper and Mr. Forde worked wonders. Boys very discontented generally. Food and lack of shipping main cause. Caulfied Cup won by St. Fairy 20^th Oct. DIV parade at WEWAK on Fri 26^th. Tom told us Army trying to get us home for Xmas: But shipping very scarce. Rec Pacific Star and the 1939 – 45 Star. 2 days leave credited for VJ Day. Lt General Robinson accepted Lt Gen Adachi surrender at WEWAK strip. Big parade. Japs coming in ok. Total on Muschu Island 12,000 odd. Dying at rate of 200 per week. Beri beri and malnutrition main cause. Demob started Oct 1^st. Points system.

NOVEMBER
Rumours and rumours of rumours. Things not too bright for Xmas. Point list out. All under 135 going to 8^th Bde in exchange 180 and over. 135 to 179 being used to relieve high pointers at various places. 56 to LAE and MORESBY on the 28^th Oct. On 3^rd Nov 260 to the 8^th Bde. Rec 460 in exchange. On the 10^th Nov only approx 100 old chaps 2/3^rd Bn left in unit. 3^rd Nov back T Star (2/-) at 20 / 1. Cup day on Tues 6^th Nov. Backed winner Rain Bird 12/1 (5 / x) saw Cup film on Sat 10^th. Rec special from Molly for 13^th on 12^th. OK too. Claim came through on 12^th Nov. Saw demob officer on 13^th. Med exam on same day. Everything ok. Wrote to Molly and Oakleigh. Hope to be home soon, Xmas. Wrote special for 21^st to Molly on the 14^th. Rec same on 18^th very nice and welcomed. Rec ACP issue on 18^th. Very happy on 11^th on a/c of dream. Just about given up hope of seeing Melbourne for Xmas, when on the 24^th after coming back from the pcts and just nearly asleep when informed to report to demob. Told going home next day at 7am aboard HMAS Shropshire or Bataan. Much rushing about packing etc. and wrote to Molly and home to bed approx 12.30 AM. Up at 4.15 breakfast at B Coy 5 AM, down at beachhead at 6.45 AM. Boarded Shropshire approx 8.30 AM. Left WEWAK 10am. Last saw N.G. around 6.30 PM, near LAE. Roast pork for dinner, very nice. Wonderful lot of chaps aboard. 590 AIF. 806 men and 200 officers in crew. Pcts Sun night 25^th "Dead Men Tell No Tales". Having great time everyone happy. Had first ice cream in 16 months on 27^th. 3 helpings. Meals first class, at 6.30 AM, 1 PM and 7 PM with tea at 4 PM, cuppa and bread. 100 cigs issued 27^th. Fired Bofor gun A-A 6 rds. Nice gun. Band recital ship's band at 11.30 AM to 12.30 PM. Crossed Coral Sea 27^th. Hope to be in Sydney Friday AM. Talk by Maj Cozier on Japanese plays, ways, life and beliefs – very interesting. Opposite Townsville approx 4 AM on 28 Nov. Trip ok and not too hard to take music every day before lunch. Opposite Brisbane 10 AM 29^th. First sight of good old Aussie at the same time. Welcome sight. Saw H.S Manunda 10.30 am. Also 6 dolphins and 3 porpoises_

A LETTER FROM MOLLY TO FRANK
The letter is written in cursive fountain pen on lined paper. It is dated in the top right hand corner: 17/12/43
3 P.M.
My Darling Husband Frank,
I only hope I'm in time to send this for you to get it by Friday, although I'm doubtful as it's only a week off. I'm also sending cake at same time today and didn't bother to put a letter in that too, so I hope you get both together. I really didn't think I'd be sending you one and that's why I'm late in sending it as when I went to [Manton's] and Myers they have stopped making them and so Alice and I went to home made cake shop near their place and to my disappointment they were only closed 1 day out of 7 and that is Monday. I got this cake out at Richmond after waiting a few days for Adam's to get theirs in, so I thought this one was better than none at all, although it isn't iced and it's a bit small for the tin but managed to fill it up and I only hope the tins are not spoilt by being too crushed up. I only hope you get as much fun opening it and eating them as I've had in packing them as it's been a pleasure and I would like to see your face at the 2 tins. I did intend to do this last night and another reason why I didn't mind having day off. If I'm not too late, a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year and I only wish I was there too. Lots of Love and Kisses from your ever loving wife Molly. xxxxxxxxxx

Channel Country Poem VIII

At night, with the airfeel thick, he lifts her arm

so she can feel him seeing

the salty blue lightning of her veins trickling

slowly beneath her skin.

This is a place of carpet-smell, of insects at windows,

of her dark ignoring eyes and his funny snuffling face.

In the channels, yabbies sift through soft mud

beneath massive grey clouds creased with black, coming over

immensely.

There is a mosquito hunting us in this room.

We hide beneath loose striped sheets, even in sleep

our heavy limbs angle to knots.

To be an adult is to realise you are never alone, though

always deeply lonely.

He is afraid the dogs he buried in the backyard

will some day come back barking.

She is watching for any sign of wakeness

and for the uncoupling of heat and air she knows

will cool the morning.

Existence Dancing in the Formless Void

God it was funny watching her learn to dance

with that thing on her head – that black hat

throwing galaxies and that cup in her hand

spilling bits of being-aware

all over the place.

She never fell though

everyone said she would, she got over

the speed of her light feet and the need to understand.

Instead she just danced

and smiled that way at you

when you know it's important but you don't know what it means for sure,

but you're hopeful.

A Victimless Crime

• Look you see it just up there past the bakery? That blue sign. That's where he's going to come out of.
  
• 
  
• Well can you see it?
  
• Yep.
  
• C'mon I said don't be scared this is a victimless crime.
  
• I just don't want anything to happen.
  
• He's a genius you know. We're lucky to know him.
  
• 
  
• Look, do you want me to drive?
  
• No no it's ok can you just let me go?
  
• Not yet, don't worry mate this is all going to go off no problems. Just sit tight.
  
• 
  
• Shouldn't be long.
  
• What do you want me to do when he comes out?
  
• Just drive around the corner is all. It won't take more than a minute and you can go back to whatever it was you were doing. Christ it's hot today is the air-conditioning on?
  
• It doesn't work unless we're actually driving.
  
• You know what he said to me one day? God it was hot then too we were waiting and you'll like this you've got to just love this we're waiting in line in the morning outside in the yard right you ever been in prison?
  
• Only once.
  
• Really?
  
• Drunk in a public place they locked me up for a few hours.
  
• Right. And this guy next to us says he's going to count to twenty in his head an' if the boss screw hasn't come out by then he's gunna say something.
  
• 
  
• And so we all wait and after a bit he says like 'Right I've counted that's it.' And you know what Beano says?
  
• No.
  
• He says 'You missed sixteen.'
  
• 
  
• Get it?
  
• 
  
• You get it, the guy? Like he was reading his mind. And the guy looks confused for a second and you know what Beano says?
  
• No.
  
• He says, like just confident and all you know, he says 'You'd better start again.' Ha. And the guy, get this, the guy does start again and I'm looking at his face and you can just see he's making sure, bloody sure, that he's counting every number. Fucking hilarious.
  
• Do you want to take the car?
  
• No no not at all.
  
• 
  
• It's a whatyoucallit a money transferring place business. They move money around the world for trading and stuff. You wouldn't know it on a street like this would you? Just a little glass door, an office.
  
• Suppose the rent's cheaper than in the city.
  
• Yeah and he lives nearby. Not far anyway. Don't feel like a victim or anything right this is nothing against you you know you just happened to be here. We have absolutely nothing against you, personally.
  
• You have that gun.
  
• Yeah but look, this is all going to just happen nice and easy and then you can go back to your life. In a way you're lucky you know. You're not going to get hurt but here you are, plucked out of life and you get to be involved in this amazing thing. You're gunna be famous when they hear about this. All the media and the cops and everything. You'll be able to tell your grandkids you met Beano and Jimmy. Fuck I'm doing you a favour.
  
• How long does he need to be in there for?
  
• Not long. What's your name?
  
• Ken.
  
• I'm Jimmy, Ken. Nice to meet you. I won't ask you to shake hands given the situation but I'm sending you good brain waves Ken. You feel those waves Ken you'll know this is all cool as cucumber.
  
• Right.
  
• 
  
• 
  
• So what's he doing then?
  
• Right now?
  
• Yeah right now.
  
• Well right now he's probably playing the tapes. Not really tapes but a little thingy in a Dictaphone thing you know?
  
• What tapes?
  
• Now Ken, there are things you want to know and things you don't want to know, you know?
  
• OK.
  
• 
  
• 
  
• You really want to know?
  
• While we're waiting.
  
• OK then so listen it's really cool and I can tell you're a good bloke so I'll tell you what's happening because I guess anyway you're going to find out when the cops come after you. And that's another thing while I remember it I have to tell you Ken that once you drop us off you can go straight to the cops ok? Don't think we'll hold anything against you ok? You've just got to do what you think is the right thing and we don't want you personally to get into any trouble so you just go off to the police straight away ok? The cop shop is just up the road right, just back up there and turn left. You drive there ok? You drive there and tell them what's happened.
  
• 
  
• OK?
  
• OK.
  
• Alright. So you still want to know what's happening?
  
• Yes. I guess so.
  
• It's so cool. This guy up there in that office right, like I told you it's a money transfer place or something right. So he lives about say five blocks down there and Beano found out because, well, actually that's not part of it. The guy is not a victim either really it's completely random. It's not about him at all. Beano found the company out of the yellow pages and then found the guy's address somehow. But anyhow the point is this we bugged his house right. I waited in the car that time too. Beano just went right in and put this little recorder thing in the roof, climbed up through the manhole in the ceiling when they were out.
  
• 
  
• And this recorder thing it's voice activated right and it can stay on for like weeks. It's really expensive let me tell you but you can buy them from like most technical kind of shops. So we left it there you follow?
  
• I think so.
  
• And what do you think we picked up when we went back to get the recorder and took it back to the flat and listened to it?
  
• Dunno.
  
• C'mon think about it. We just picked up a whole lot of like normal family shit. You ever have a normal family because let me tell you they are not the same as a normal-normal family like most of the people I know had. Anyway he has a wife and a daughter and the wife works in the city doing some kind of insurance shit, which is funny, which is going to be funny anyway, later. And the daughter you know she's in primary school up at North Brunswick you know it, just up on the corner there.
  
• Yeah I know it.
  
• She's in like grade five or something. Beautiful girl from the sound of her voice but I've never seen her.
  
• Is that him?
  
• Huh? No that's not him that person came out of the next shop down. I hope.
  
• 
  
• And so anyway Beano, the fucking genius man did I tell you he's a fucking genius for this? He gets all that recording shit and puts it on his computer and splices it up so it's got things on it like when the girl says like 'Daddy!!' or like 'Help!!' or something over some shit like she's lost her doll or she's fallen over or something right. And he's got the wifey saying things like 'This is serious' or whatever over the telephone bill or something. So you can see where this is going right?
  
• I think so.
  
• So Beano has these spliced sentences kind of thing and right now he's gone up there to that office and sat the guy down and told him that we have kidnapped his daughter and his wife and he's got to transfer some money or else right? Plays him the tape as proof.
  
• Jesus.
  
• But that's the thing Ken, we haven't got his wife or daughter at all, the girl's at school and the wifey's at work and all as normal you know? There is no victim here really.
  
• The guy can't be too happy.
  
• You know what these fuckers do for a living Ken? You know how much money they have?
  
• No but still.
  
• You've got a lot to learn boyo.
  
• So then what, I mean what will happen next?
  
• Well so now the guy's going to transfer a shitload of money into bank accounts we set up in places I don't think I should tell you the right location of but anyway and this is the hard bit, in a way.
  
• What?
  
• Well these people aren't like banks and that right they can transfer money straight away you see, that's why it only works with this kind of money transfer business. This is not retail Ken this is fucking wholesale money man. They clear hundreds of millions of dollars around the world every day, this guy, apparently, can move it like now, there's no waiting you know?
  
• Hmm.
  
• But there is a small gap of time, like a few minutes. So we've got guys waiting at the other end and when the money is transferred through which shit I'll tell you one accounts is in Japan can you guess why Japan?
  
• A long way away?
  
• Yes but on the same time-zone. Huh? You never thought of that did you? So once the money is transferred we got four guys waiting outside four banks in Japan and Beano will give them a text and then they go and withdraw the money.
  
• How much money are we talking about here?
  
• That depends. More than a couple of mill.
  
• How can they carry that much cash?
  
• This is Japan we're talking about Ken. Each will take out a few mill and we're off.
  
• You got to trust those guys.
  
• That's the hard bit Ken I'll admit that I've never met them. And the coordination of it all, that's the hard bit also. But we'll also be transferring money to an account in the Bahamas, which over there the banks stay open longer so it will be only just on closing time when the money's transferred in. Same deal but only one guy will go in and withdraw the money in US dollars and fly out that night to a destination I really can not tell you. Kind of our own insurance you know as the Japan guys don't know about the Bahama guy and vice versa. So you see, victimless.
  
• Still a lot of fear.
  
• Fear yes I'll admit that we are giving this guy some fear but think about it, when he realises that actually his daughter is fine and happy and playing on the monkey bars or whatever how do you think he's going to feel?
  
• Relieved.
  
• You can fucking bet on it man he is going to realise how much he loves his family like big time. Really big time he's going to go into all that love again and honestly, like, I'll tell you when we were listening to the tapes, there was not an overabundance of love in that family like right now Ken, but after this, shit, there's going to be big love. So we're doing him a favour in a way too. And shit the money's bound to be insured so he's not going to lose anything anyway. No victims at all. Fucking genius.
  
• How long is it going to take to transfer the money? I mean how long until he comes out?
  
• Shouldn't be long.
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• Look. That's him.
  
• What's he waving at us for?
  
• I dunno we better go take a look.
  
• You want me to come?
  
• Ken I think it would be better, just stay calm and walk with me.
  
• Fuck Jimmy I don't know.
  
• Ken just do this for me it will all be over soon. Lock the car.
  
  

  
  

• Beano?
  
• Jimmy who's this?
  
• It's Ken is everything ok?
  

Beano: Close the door.

Jimmy: Where's the receptionist girl?

Beano: They're in here, quick come through. Lock the front door.

Jimmy: Holy Fuck Beano what happened?

Beano: It was an accident I fucking swear man I was just holding it and he was doing the computer thing and the girl was standing right over there, right next to him and I'm holding it like this and then fucking bang bang it goes off.

Jimmy: Twice? It goes off twice?

Beano: No man fucking four times at least it just goes off I swear I hardly touched the trigger at all.

Jimmy: He's a fucking mess. She looks ok.

Beano: But they're neither of them moving.

Jimmy: Ken I'm really sorry about this this is not what was meant to happen you know.

Ken:

Beano: I swear it was an accident.

Ken:

Jimmy: Look at the computer did he transfer the money or what?

Beano: I think so, I mean I can't tell it says it's thinking.

Jimmy: Thinking?

Beano: Yeah it just says transferring and there's this little bar that's sort of growing across the screen I guess it must be doing it now but it's been doing it for about three minutes.

Jimmy: And what you've just been watching it?

Beano: Well it's moving really slowly see?

Jimmy: Did it go for both accounts?

Beano: I don't fucking know. I think so. I mean he was playing with the computer for a while before it happened.

Jimmy: Shit.

Ken:

Beano: Look it's stopped moving. But it hasn't finished it's only about three quarters through.

Jimmy: What if it's crashed?

Beano: Maybe I should call the boys and they can go in and just see if the money's there?

Jimmy: Up to you.

Beano: We'll just give it another minute.

Ken:

Jimmy:

Beano:

Ken:

Beano: It's moving again. I think it's done it.

Jimmy: Thank fuck for that. What about these two?

Beano: We can't do anything about it now. Maybe Ken can you stay here, call an ambulance or something?

Ken: Whatever you say.

Beano: Yeah that's a good idea can we take your car still?

Ken: Absolutely.

Jimmy: Great. Give us the keys then we'll leave it round the corner in Blythe Street you know Blythe Street?

Ken: Yep.

Beano: OK let's go.

Jimmy:

Beano: Jimmy?

Ken:

Beano: Jimmy?

Jimmy: No it's useless. We can't do this Beano.

Beano: What? What do you mean? Let's go.

Jimmy: We can't do this now.

Beano: Holy fuck Jimmy what do you mean? We've got to get out of here right now.

Ken:

Jimmy: Ken I think you understand.

Ken: Take the car Jimmy I swear just take the car.

Jimmy: It's not about you Ken. This is a whole different league we're in now.

Beano: Fuck sake Jimmy.

Jimmy: Beano you know I'm right. It's your fault you shot those people.

Beano: I already told you that was a mistake.

Ken: I'll tell them it was a mistake I swear I'll tell them that Jimmy.

Jimmy: It's not your fault Ken, I'm not saying that, I'm not putting any blame on you personally at all, you understand.

Beano: What?

Jimmy: We can't just leave him here like this.