Month: September 2022
We can hope that history will judge them harshly.
By the standards now rightly being applied to Vladimir Putin, the American and Australian leaders who brought devastation to Iraq and Afghanistan, George W Bush, Tony Blair and John Howard should arguably appear in the dock, subject to the presumption of innocence. Justice also demands a reasonable effort be made to bring them before a court. That hasn’t happened and won’t until the public demand justice.
The federal government’s long-awaited integrity commission bill will now be scrutinised by a committee of MPs, after the opposition provided in-principle support for the new body.
Australia’s NT applies the 3 strike rule readily and makes the Indigenous people the most incarcerated First Nation peoples on the planet pp.
Data obtained by The Appeal show nearly 2,000 people in Mississippi and Louisiana are serving long—and sometimes life—sentences after they were labeled “habitual offenders.” But most are behind bars for small crimes like drug possession.
Source: ‘Habitual Offender’ Laws Imprison Thousands for Small Crimes — Sometimes for Life – scheerpost.com
A referendum to end discrimination against gay couples in marriage and adoption just won big in Cuba. That’s a victory for the core values underlying the socialist project.
Source: Cuba’s Gay Rights Vote Is a Victory for Socialist Values
Despite claims of being an ethical bank, the CBA has a trail of malpractice victims that paints a different picture, writes Dr Evan Jones.
I wouldn’t vote for her if I were on fire, but I’m in nauseated awe of what it must take for a woman to succeed among hard-right conservatives
The CEO of Iron Mountain Inc. told Wall Street analysts at a September 20 investor event that the high levels of inflation of the past several years had helped the company increase its margins — and that for that reason he had long been “doing my inflation dance praying for inflation.”
Source: Iron Mountain CEO Says He’s Been “Praying for Inflation”
In a further sign that all irony is dead, the Israeli Foreign Ministry rejected the annexation of four Ukrainian districts by Russia on Tuesday, saying that Israel “recognizes the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, and will not recognize the results of the referendums in its eastern districts.”
Right-wing media figures are toasting United Kingdom prime minister Liz Truss’ massive tax cuts geared toward the wealthy as a potential model for the U.S. if Republicans return to power.
At his Park Avenue condo building, Trump valued 12 unsold units at $49 million—but they were actually rent-controlled apartments that were unavailable for sale on the market, so their real value was closer to $750,000, according to Letitia James, the state’s AG. Trump figured the value of his Mar-a-Lago resort at around $739 million—perhaps a reasonable number for such a large piece of oceanfront property in Palm Beach if it could be sold as a residence and subdivided to build more homes. But, James alleges, Trump knew very well from the deeds he himself had signed that the property can’t ever be divided up into residential lots. It’s arguably worth about one-tenth of what he told bankers, according to James.
Source: “Grossly Inflated, Objectively False, and Therefore Fraudulent and Illegal” – Mother Jones
I was immediately taken aback when I read that the Opposition was negotiating “in good faith” with the Government for their support in introducing the National Anti Corruption Commission (NACC).
Good faith sounds more like bargaining for an exemption from the obvious. At first, I thought I was mistaken.
Source: Put niceties aside, Albo – » The Australian Independent Media Network
The day has finally arrived: an Australian government today made good on its commitment to legislate an integrity watchdog, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). But there is one major bone of contention … secrecy. Callum Foote reports on the spectre of a Secret National Anti-Corruption Commission (SNACC).
Transparency International’s global experience knows that too often great anti-corruption reforms get watered down over the years. We need to future proof Australia’s National Anti-Corruption Commission against any risk of being watered down by future governments by ensuring it is independent and its resourcing is shielded from politics
Source: Angst over corruption watchdog, first Queen’s death, now fear of Dutton deal – Michael West
Of course, this has nothing to do with his capacity to be an effective Prime Minister. I mean, we don’t elect governments because they’re composed of nice guys and gals. We elect them to have the ability to show foresight, communicate their vision and make the tough decisions when necessary.
So, all this stuff I’ve heard lately about Peter Dutton being such a great fellow just makes me think that he’s too nice to ever be a good leader.
By the way, in case you’re not aware, you should only try to cuddle a koala under strict supervision. In their natural state they can scratch and piss on you.
Source: Why Peter Dutton Is Such A Cuddly Koala… – » The Australian Independent Media Network
In this article from 2019, Ross Jones highlighted one of the more damning scandals tarnishing Dutton’s name.
Source: Dutton’s alleged corrupt link to drug kingpin: FLASHBACK 2019
Peter Dutton has given 2 greatly different versions of why he left the Queensland police force in 1999 which points to Dutton lying to the court in 2000 trying to get $250,000 compensation because he had “low confidence in driving”.
Australia’s oil and gas industry is seeking special treatment in its pitch to a federal government review into how the nation’s heaviest greenhouse gas emitters should be constrained.
Source: Oil, gas firms want own terms on emissions – Michael West
Any fines handed out to corporations were a slap on the wrist and not really regarded as fines but investments toward greater profit. As are Lawyers, Accountants Professional Lobbyists, Media and PR companies.
A strengthening of consumer protections to be introduced to Parliament on Wednesday will raise the maximum fines levied on companies engaging in anti-competitive behaviour from just $10 million, or 10 per cent of their revenue, to $50 million or 30 per cent.
The government will raise the base maximum penalty, unchanged for decades, to stop companies from simply absorbing fines as part of the cost of doing business.
Source: Big business facing steep fine increases amid crackdown
Just now, I searched online for the Three Great Humiliations of humanity. There were many references to the Century of Humiliation in China, but it turns out Sigmund Freud coined the term.
They are:
1 the discovery by Copernicus and Galileo that we are not the centre of the universe;
2 Darwin’s discovery that we are descended from apes;
3 Freud’s discovery that we are not in control of our minds.
The Fourth Great Humiliation of our species is upon us. We’re stuck on this beautiful blue gem in space and we’d better learn to live within its limits. If we do, we have a chance at peace, harmony and happiness. We also have a chance to reach a similarly livable planet in the galaxy in the distant future. If we don’t, our prospects are very grim indeed.
Source: Capitalism, the Fourth Great Humility, will consume us all
Peter Hartcher has a lot to answer for, writes Paul Keating in a response to the Nine columnist that did not make it to print.
I said, first, and most obviously, “China should continually reaffirm by word and by deed its commitment to repudiate the use or threat of force to settle disputes”. I went on to say, “the work of reassurance is never done, that the stronger China becomes the more it will need to reassure its neighbours and this will depend on deeds more than words”.
Second, “China will do a great deal to help build a continuing stable order in Asia if it quite unambiguously welcomes and supports a continued strong role for the United States in Asia”.
These were tough things to say to an audience of Chinese officials, but I said them in Beijing in 2013. And I repeated those words in my National Press Club address. But Hartcher made certain Sydney Morning Herald and Age readers would hear none of those critical references to the Chinese, because my utterances then, pull the rug from under Hartcher’s principal claim that I believe “Beijing is correct and everyone else should fall back in awe”.
With every wave of protest, the desire for freedom gets stronger, the voices get louder and success is within reach. Once again, Iranian women are at the forefront of demanding transformative change. With the strong support this time of men, political and ethnic minorities and other disenfranchised groups, they may be leading their country closer to a freer and more just society.The Conversation
Source: Iran on fire: Once again, women are on the vanguard of transformative change
and
Iranian Teachers’ Union charges Gov’t with Dishonoring Nation’s Girls, Recalling Theme of Constitutional Revolution of 1905-1911
“Fuck the voting, let’s get right to the violence,” the longtime Trump ally can be heard saying in footage obtained by CNN. “Shoot to kill. See an Antifa? Shoot to kill. Fuck ’em. Done with this bullshit.”
Source: Video Shows Roger Stone Day Before 2020 Election: ‘Shoot To Kill’ | Crooks and Liars
With the “Captain America” franchise, the army supported the Marvel movie, seeing it as “building resiliency” and considering the Captain America character to hold values of a modern U.S. soldier. (The same could be argued was done in Top Gun and the Navy). “Captain Marvel” was the Air Force public relations department’s dream. The film’s release coincided with an Air Force recruitment campaign, using feminism as a way to sugar coat “Captain Marvel’s” obvious militarism. The recruitment effort clearly worked with the Air Force seeing the highest number of female applicants to the Air Force Academy in five years.
With Marvel’s U.S. military propaganda in full swing, it seems the studio is now turning its focus to Israeli nationalism. Whether Sabra will don an Israeli-flag-inspired suit remains to be seen, but what is apparent is Marvel’s close relationship with Israel and the U.S. military is manufacturing a fantasy world dripping in real-world imperialism.
Source: Marvel Heads Revealed to Be Closely Connected to Israeli Intelligence – scheerpost.com
Change always has some fear and uncertainty attached to it. There is no way to determine ahead of time if the change will be successful and beneficial. However leaving the discussion to the ‘ideal’ time isn’t an option as there never will be an ‘ideal’ time. Soon after the 2020 bushfires, the pandemic arrived on our shores. While you could argue that a government should be able to address more than one issue at a time (another reason why Morrison’s concentration of power was concerning), as collective memory begins to fade it is harder to enact change. Former Prime Minister Howard understood this when enacting strict gun control measures soon after the Port Arthur murders in the early 1990s.
So maybe we should be having the discussion about becoming a republic now, in addition to the welcome discussion about climate change and emissions reduction. Rather than accept whatever happens, whether that be King Charles III and his heirs as our Head of State or constantly rebuilding parts of the country when they are destroyed by devastating flood, fire or cyclone, there is no better time than disruption to assess if the status quo is what we collectively want as a nation.
Source: Now is not the right time … – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Just a few short years ago, Attorney-General George Brandis assured us that people had a right to be bigots.
Source: So Now It’s Wrong To Be Racist, Eh? – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Labor will argue that an anti-corruption body that isn’t supported by the opposition risks charges of illegitimacy and abolition at the next change of government. Well and good — if the Coalition wants to go to the next election promising to abolish a federal ICAC, let them knock themselves out. Labor would do far better to be seen to negotiate with the teal independents and David Pocock, strengthening their case to voters at the next election to keep their seats. Tomorrow has become a significant test for Labor: once the legislation for a federal ICAC is unveiled, we can see whether Labor is serious about integrity, or has indeed been preparing a major party stitch-up.
Source: Federal ICAC: Dutton says government is making compromises
Mining giant Santos has been ordered to shut down a major drilling operation after it was found that local Tiwi Islanders had not been consulted. Dr Binoy Kampmark reports.
Source: Santos loses landmark legal battle against Indigenous rights
Dozens of people were arrested in Britain for taking part in peaceful protests against the new king. Two of them spoke to Jacobin about why they oppose the monarchy — and how the British state trampled on their dissent.
At the close of his foreword to the dossier, Abel Prieto writes, ‘we must turn the meaning of anti-colonial into an instinct’. Reflect on that for a moment: anti-colonialism is not just the ending of formal colonial rule, but a deeper process, one that must become ingrained at the instinctual level so that we can build the capacity to solve our basic needs (such as transcending hunger and illiteracy, for instance) and build our alertness to the need for cultures that emancipate us and do not bind us to the flashy world of unaffordable commodities.
Source: Without Culture, Freedom Is Impossible – scheerpost.com
Brothers of Italy’s victory represents several firsts. Italy will have its first woman prime minister. And both Italy and Western Europe will have their first far-right majority government since the fall of Mussolini and the end of the Second World War.
Source: What will its first far-right leader since WWII mean for Italy?
This right-wing rage, dressed up in the United States as Christian fascism, has already made huge gains in Hungary, Poland, Sweden, Italy, Bulgaria and France and may take power in the Czech Republic, where inflation and rising energy costs have seen the number of Czechs falling below the poverty line double.
By next spring, following a punishing winter of rolling blackouts and months when families struggle to pay for food and heat, what is left of our anemic western democracy could be largely extinguished.
Source: Chris Hedges: Fascism is Returning – Consortium News
Democratic socialist congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is under fire from the Democratic establishment for saying that support for Israel’s apartheid government is incompatible with progressive values. They’re livid that Tlaib is telling the truth.
Source: Rashida Tlaib Is Absolutely Right About Progressives and Israel
Ordinary Russians are receiving a wake-up call to the actual situation on the ground in Ukraine. Decision-makers at the upper echelons of Russian society may soon receive theirs as well.
Source: Russians flee the Draft as the Reality of War hits Home
He’s gonna use it as a get-out-of-jail-free card. It’s a way to extort America, turn around to say, if you put me in jail, if you go after me — he’ll even say his children — I will have my loyal supporters who you do not know who [have] copies of information … again this is my conjecture, that I would take those documents, I will release them to Iran, to China, to North Korea, to Russia.
Source: Why did he steal the documents? Maggie Haberman’s book may hold the answer | Salon.com
The Northern Territory police team involved in the shooting death of an Indigenous teenager weren’t authorised to carry out the arrest that led to the incident, a top-ranking officer says.
Under the influence of New Public Management, Australia’s public universities have increasingly engaged in ‘management by numbers’ for ’performance measurement’. The accompanying proliferation of metrics has been used to discipline academics, bolster the ranks of senior managers and build tens of billions of dollars in assets. One of the more prominent metrics to which universities now dedicate disproportionate time, energy and resources is global university rankings (GURs).
Source: Global university rankings: what function do they serve? – Pearls and Irritations
ClubsNSW is dragging a dying man through the courts, and media identity Friendly Jordies too, but its own house is hardly in order. Michael West reports.
Source: Pokies Thuggery: ClubsNSW lobbyists hammer critics, hide their own dirty laundry – Michael West
This submission proposes that China is not a military threat. It argues that the defence strategic review should be a multi-faceted review of our China policy, including diplomatic, cultural, and domestic affairs policies, and should aim for outcomes that will benefit the whole nation.
A genuine threat to Australia’s basic security interests would demand preparedness for war. Threats can be either military or non-military, but only a military threat will lead to war. Australia, like every other country, has problems and disputes with other countries, and economic difficulties and natural disasters that require humanitarian solutions. These non-military threats, even if defence forces are called in to help, should not be treated as military threats. I argue that there is no military threat from China.
Source: The Defence Strategic Review: China is not a military threat – Pearls and Irritations
Yesterday’s Italian election brought victory for Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Fratelli d’Italia — and record-low turnout. The opposition between technocrats and the far right is the symptom of a deeper decline.
Source: In Italy’s Deserted Democracy, Far-Right Giorgia Meloni Has Emerged Victorious
Likewise, more that 3/4s of Republican evangelicans want to declare the United States a “Christian” state, essentially repealing the First Amendment with its Establishment Cause. They want to control people’s bodies in the U.S., even if they have to do it undemocratically, just as the ayatollahs have the same goal in Iran. Iran has the Guardianship of the Jurisprudent. America’s Red States have the Guardianship of the Pastor and Priest. In neither case are we autonomous adults. We are wards of the state, reduced to being juveniles in custody.
Because of evangelical Republican rule of some US states, we already have elements of the Christian Republic of America, to mirror the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The dramatic decline of the once-great U.S. economy has important lessons for Australia and the world, as Alan Austin reports. AMERICANS SEEKING WISDOM about the state of their economy will gain little insight from mainstream economics writers. They are like detectives called to investigate an assault. They note boot prints in the garden, the broken living room window and the smell of gunpowder. But they fail to observe the three dead bodies. These are the cadavers:
Is Australia behind the times or leading the world in its fight back against an enormous leap to the Right that started with Howard and ended with Morrison this century.
NSW Labor has taken the lead ahead of an upcoming election, but a turbulent week and a long road ahead will dampen any celebration.
But the doctor’s lawyer, Stewart O’Connell, has questioned whether the incident would have happened if his client wasn’t a man of obvious Indian descent.
“This is a man who is an absolute pillar of the community, and yet he was treated with appalling disrespect,” O’Connell said.
Ponganamparambile said he couldn’t understand why police didn’t investigate further before posting his photo online.
He could have been contacted using his car’s license plate, which was clear on CCTV.
“There is a much easier way rather than inflicting this much trauma to me. This should be a last resort.”
As oil companies push to criminalize dissent, they’re also making the case that climate denialism is protected speech, not fraudulent advertising.
Source: Fossil Fuel Industry Wants Free Speech for Corporations but Not Citizens
It is vital to free ourselves from belief in the systems of white supremacy and imperialism that are inculcated in the educational system and are affirmed and amplified by the media and establishment opinion.
The recent death of Queen Elizabeth II puts the need for political and psychological liberation in high relief. We are encouraged to admire an anachronistic monarchy, and are exhorted to join in mourning an individual and a system that have caused great harm to Black and other oppressed people around the world.
olddogthoughts 
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