This morning I opened my usual news sites and two articles stood out. The articles were about two kinds of “refugees”.
One of the stinking greedy rich kind and one of the poor refugee dying in a boat accident kind.
Here are two tales on both ends of the wealth spectrum:
“Sir” Richard Branson leaves Britain for tax reasons. He sold his Mansion for a sweetheart price to his two children who happen to be part if the inner royal circle. No doubt to spend the coming economic collapse in the pampered luxury of his paradise Island while tens of thousands are dying trying to get to Europe from Northern Africa where as a result of amongst others Richard Branson’s Banking machinations the Collapse is already in full swing.
What strikes me as the most cruel in all of this is that While Richard Branson get’s to enjoy paradise on earth without having to pay taxes or face the consequences of his pathological behavior and is free to roam the planet in his usual polluting high cost of living manner the refugees who have absolutely no choice but to move lest they be killed or die of starvation face increased patrolling to stop them from going to a place where they hop to be able to make a very, very modest living to support them and their families.
Aotearoa: A Wider Perspective 
I read Sir Richard Branson’s biography. I quite like the guy. He started with nothing and built himself into the billionaire he is today through hard work and many risk taking ventures. I can’t blame him for leaving the UK. With 50% of income being confiscated from the wealthiest earners, who wouldn’t want to leave? I don’t understand how he has done anything wrong by producing wealth, by employing thousands of people and providing many services through his multiple companies. If he wants to retire on a desert island and leave his mansion to his kids, so be it. He shouldn’t be ridiculed for it. He earned his money, let him keep it. As for the immigrants, that is sad. What a shame the African countries can’t get their acts together. I guess they’re not much better than the western governments in that respect. Everyone is fleeing from one country to another, trying to escape the wrath of overbearing government and regulations. Nobody truly questions what is the cause. I suggest reading Atlas Shrugged.
Judging from the photo accompanying your comment I deduct you have barely lived let alone have had any experience in the real world. The way you write and your opinions reflect that of a young white middle class prat who has never had the occasion to be overwhelmed by poverty, disaster, real terror and oppression. Your suggestion to read that fine neo-liberal flagship from Ayn Rand suggests to me that neither you have had to appeal to the compassion of strangers and probably still feel that you will never have to because you will make all the right choices and you are totally in control of your own future just as most white middleclass young prats.
You are a lucky young man. I suggest you keep it that way and read my page on how to martyr yourself on this blog.
For those of you actually willing to use their braincells to learn about the realities of life here is a nice edition of Max Keiser on Richard Branson and why he is just another rich dick white prat grown old while looting his fellow men.
Ah yes, thank you for making that assumption. You’ve proved a countless number of things to me. Shall we start from the top? Yes I am very young; 25 years old to be exact, though I’ll be 26 next month! So I’m a middle class prat eh? Nice assumption, but totally wrong. To be honest, I’m from a poor working class family in Britain. As a teenager I met my sweetheart. She is American, and I left school at 16 to begin working full time as a cleaner, which was the only job I could find. I earned and saved up as much money each day as I could to move to the United States to be with her. Since then I have moved up, from job to job, and have even started my own company!
Richard Branson is one of my biggest inspirations. His tireless efforts to create profitable companies and good jobs for people should be a testament to his character. It’s people like you who make the world harder than it needs to be. You say you feel bad for the people who died on that boat, and yet you know very little about Richard Branson’s real character. He is one of the men in the world who are striving to create new technologies and help those in need. When a Virgin train crashed in Britain several years ago, he was staying on his island. As soon as he heard about the accident he took the first flight back to Britain to assess the damage and help out in any way he could. To his credit he had bought the safest trains on the market, and many who would other wise have been killed were only injured.
I suppose since you despise Ayn Rand also, that you’re one of the looters who would rather the government run everything? If the railway had still been government owned, dozens of people would have been killed in that crash.
It is governments who make this world a harder place to live in. People like Richard Branson make it a better place, a safer place, and a more technologically advanced place; hence providing us with technologies to aid ourselves in.
So think what you will about me personally. I’ve already proved that you’re dead wrong. If you notice, I was quite pleasant in my first comment, I didn’t call you names or try to call you an idiot. You’ve already called me a what was it? ‘Middle Class young prat’. What a silly thing to call someone.
Oh, dear you did not read my martyrs page. Comes with your age and dare I say it your arrogant white young male cockiness I fear.
That sounds like code for ‘I don’t know how to respond to your comment’. You’ve mentioned my age and my race again as if I’ve done something to harm you. Do you hate the whole world? Does it owe you something? Martyrs page huh? Sounds spooky.
No, it means you have not read the rules I set for this blog and my motivation for doing so.
But that often happens when young arrogant bucks like you go in head first.
The next comment will be banned as you will be from now on.
As they say: My house, my rules!