whew you really hit on so much of this curly cue question. you weren't kidding!! wow. despite its differences with the US, we apparently have a lot of similarities with AU ... the poor have less freedom- read access- than the rich (in the respects you mentioned) and what truly is freedom? as defined by western standards. surely the rat race isn't truly full of free individuals. loved reading your blog as always! and i agree:

How do we free ourselves? How do we free others? Now that could be the basis for another @ecotrain question of the week!