Tony Cartledge
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decentral21.bsky.social
Tony Cartledge
@decentral21.bsky.social
Writer interested in social equality and new forms of leadership, determined by Taoist principles. Social Idealist/Metaphysical Idealist. Decency + Consciousness are primary. Queenslander, on Taribelang Bunda, Gooreng Gooreng, Gurang, and Bailail country
Pinned
The best captain doesn't rush in front
The fiercest fighter doesn't bluster
The big winner isn't competing
The best boss takes a low footing
This is the power of noncompetition
This is the right use of ability

Tao Te Ching 68
trans. Ursula Le Guin
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
"Nobody can stop us."
This is what makes me uneasy about the future of our country. The fear that he may he right.
January 4, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
Cartoon by Nick Anderson
January 4, 2026 at 8:00 PM
The #ABC Washington correspondent called Trump's move 'bold' rather than 'illegal.' Like Hitler's 'bold' foreign policies or Jack the Ripper's 'bold' home surgery therapy. #Venezuela #Media #Auspol
Apparently Trump's move into Venezuela was 'bold'. Like Al Capone's 'bold' accounting moves. And Elon Musk's 'bold' government admin. 🤨
January 4, 2026 at 7:32 PM
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
Murder, kidnapping, theft, greed and arrogance - Trump’s war on Venezuela is all of this. The US is a brutal and dangerous ‘ally’ that Australia, and the rest of the world, needs to protect itself from
January 3, 2026 at 11:39 AM
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
One of the many reasons we need an accelerated transition to renewable energy:

You don't have wars for oil if you are not dependent on oil.
January 3, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Apparently Trump's move into Venezuela was 'bold'. Like Al Capone's 'bold' accounting moves. And Elon Musk's 'bold' government admin. 🤨
January 4, 2026 at 10:16 AM
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
I've worked in & around news media for very close to my entire adult life. I've spoken up, protested for & voted in support of our ABC.

It gives me zero joy to say that legacy media in Australia is over.

Time to move on.

Start here #auspol > truenorthnews.substack.com
January 4, 2026 at 5:09 AM
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
Right now it feels like this madness is not going to end and in fact it’s going to get a whole lot worse.

We can never give up working for decency, integrity and a safe future for our kids and grandkids.

And we can never forget the enablers. #auspol
January 4, 2026 at 3:32 AM
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
Great survey of world reaction.

China, Brazil and South Africa are the most pointed and principled. Russia is firmer than the snippet I saw earlier suggested.

France is unsurprisingly the strongest European reaction. Starmer and Von der Leyen competing for title of best-behaved lapdog.
January 3, 2026 at 4:19 PM
After the influencers write their letter it will be the reality show celebrities, then the TV vets. #Auspol
Surely its the influencers next. After all, that's their job. 😏
January 4, 2026 at 2:17 AM
🅦🅞🅡🅓🄸🄿🄻🅈 #1110
🌟 Length Score: 100%
🚀 Letter Score: 62
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🎬 Today's starter: 🄻🄰🄲
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Play the Guardian's new daily word game, and share your score with your friends. You have five goes to get the longest word including today's starter word.
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January 4, 2026 at 12:45 AM
Someone explain this to Albanese, please. #Auspol
Their messaging is so fucking incoherent. Maduro was an illegitimate leader who lost in 2024, which is why we're replacing him with his VP instead of the person who won in 2024. We did this to stop fentanyl, which is why he's indicted for cocaine.

We're also occupying Venezuela via Zoom call.
January 4, 2026 at 12:41 AM
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
“In today’s fun reenactment of World War II, the part of Adolf Hitler will be played by Donald Trump, Venezuela will play the Sudetenland, while the role of Neville Chamberlain will be played by every other fucking leader in the world.”
January 4, 2026 at 12:21 AM
With 60 Aussie sports stars now joining the chorus for a royal commission at least one prominent sports spokesman is advocating common sense. Thank god. #Auspol #Bondiattack #RoyalCommission
January 3, 2026 at 11:59 PM
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
Statement on US aggression in Venezuela
January 3, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
With champagne comedy like this from Tony Martin, I say bring back "The Late Show". 😂 #FIFAPeacePrize #USA #Venezuela
January 3, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
He's mad she won the Nobel Peace Prize and he didn't. That's it. That's what it's all about. Best part is she idiotically and sycophantically dedicated her prize to him and he still won't back her and prefers to publicly denigrate on a day like today.
Trump on María Corina Machado: "I think it'd be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn't have the support or the respect within the country. She's a very nice woman but she doesn't have the respect."
January 3, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Reaching 1k followers must be some kind of milestone. This never would have happened on Faceblecch or Xcrement. I'm so glad to have found my tribe on #BlueSky. This is what the internet was meant to be.
January 3, 2026 at 9:02 PM
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
Using this logic, any country could invade Israel, capture Netanyahu, and bring him to the Hague to face his indictments by the International Criminal Court.
January 3, 2026 at 8:49 PM
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
Exactly
What if none of these things is a distraction from the other things and instead they're all just horrible things
January 3, 2026 at 8:49 PM
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
Starmer won't be drawn on whether US strikes on Venezuela broke international law share.google/MPOSzq9JClGz... #Auspol #Venezuela
Starmer won't be drawn on whether US strikes on Venezuela broke international law
The PM told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg that he won't "shy away from this" but added we "haven't got the full picture at the moment".
share.google
January 3, 2026 at 8:44 PM
Has Trump done a deal with the regime?

“When an arrest is this easy, chances are that a Judas played a role,” observed Venezuela expert Javier Corrales on X this morning" #Venezuela

lucid.substack.com/p/let-venezu...
Let Venezuela Make America Great Again!
Regime change abroad to boost power at home
lucid.substack.com
January 3, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
PM Starmer: UK has long supported a transition of power in Venezuela. We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate President and we shed no tears about the end of his regime. I reiterated my support for international law this morning. UK government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts
January 3, 2026 at 8:18 PM
My prediction is that, thanks to Rubio's statement that this was a law enforcement raid, Albo and other leaders can safely say that this was not an invasion but a 'special military operation' to bring Maduro to justice on a New York indictment. #Auspol
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Live: Trump says US 'will run' Venezuela after Maduro 'captured' in daring raid
The US has "captured" Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife during an early-morning raid, which saw US military strike targets within the capital Caracas and in several other states. Follow...
www.abc.net.au
January 3, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Reposted by Tony Cartledge
Trump on why he pardoned notorious drug trafficker Juan Hernandez: “It was a Biden set up. Take any country you want. If someone sells drugs in that country, that doesn’t mean you arrest the president and put him in jail for the rest of his life.”
January 3, 2026 at 8:04 PM