Author: peterimrich

Claims sailors are enduring scorching conditions to repair ‘stranded’ HMAS Adelaide as COVID cases onboard rise – ABC News

A large warship with a helicopter on its deck just off land in the ocean

So this is the quality of our navy hardware. We will be waiting until 2040 for subs, which by then will be obsolete, to replace it. Is this  Dutton’s rapid transportation ship for his 121 tanks.

The truth is that Dutton has to be vying for the Grand Slam. of the worst Health, Immigration, Homeland, and now Defence Minister we ever had. He was the central figure in Boomgate which publicly shamed us and made us look the fools we currently are. Abbott PM actually defended Dutton who showed the world his attitude to our Pacific neighbours and the LNP’s attitude to our region. Australia has become a pariah among the world’s nations. Nations run by clowns like Trump and Johnson who Morrison are seen as circuses and as a consequence less respected. Johnson apologized to the British today and then in Simon says fashion so did Morrison to us at the NPC. Dumb and Dumber they are leaders they’re not.

Exhausted naval technicians claim they’re battling temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius as they work around the clock to repair a power failure that’s crippled Australia’s largest warship, HMAS Adelaide, in the Pacific.

Source: Claims sailors are enduring scorching conditions to repair ‘stranded’ HMAS Adelaide as COVID cases onboard rise – ABC News

Oil Is Killing the Planet — And Driving Inflation

Today’s inflation isn’t just caused by a post-pandemic rebound in fuel prices, but a long-term exhaustion of oil production. We need to end our dependency on fossil fuels without it becoming the pretext for another wave of austerity.

Source: Oil Is Killing the Planet — And Driving Inflation

Islamophobia and the Capitol Insurrection: How the FBI Ignored White Radicals While Spying 24/7 on Muslim Americans

Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson excused one of the leaders of the extremist Oath Keepers organization implicated in the January 6th insurrection by describing him as “a devout Christian.” It’s safe to surmise that he wouldn’t have offered a similar defense for a Muslim American. Since September 11th, and even before that ominous date, they have suffered bitterly from discrimination and hate crimes in this country, while their religion has been demonized. During the first year of the Trump administration, about half of Muslim Americans polled said that they had personally experienced some type of discrimination. No matter that this group resides comfortably in the American mainstream, it remains under intensive, often unconstitutional, surveillance. In contrast, during the past two decades, the Department of Justice for the most part gave a pass to violent white supremacists. No matter that they generated more terrorist attacks on U.S. soil than any other group. The benign insouciance of the white American elite toward such dangerous fanatics also allowed them to organize freely for the January 6th assault on the Capitol and the potential violent overthrow of the government.

Source: Islamophobia and the Capitol Insurrection: How the FBI Ignored White Radicals While Spying 24/7 on Muslim Americans

Media outlets should cover Trump as the threat to the American republic that he is | Media Matters for America

screen grab

 

Outlets like the New York Times, Washington Post, and the AP are failing in a basic civic obligation after Trump pushed January 6 pardons, called for more demonstrations, and said Pence should have “overturned the election”

Source: Media outlets should cover Trump as the threat to the American republic that he is | Media Matters for America

At Texas Rally, Trump All but Promised a Racially Charged Civil War If He’s Indicted | The Smirking Chimp

Trump’s chief weapons are fear and intimidation. To save American democracy, the people tasked with getting to the bottom of a former president’s high crimes and misdemeanors — on Capitol Hill and in those key courthouses — must be ready for the violence that Trump is inciting, and must summon the courage to finish their job. My fear is that Trump’s speech in Conroe will live in infamy — but the only reason it happened at all is because we have not held Trump to account for attempting to wreck American democracy on Jan. 6 … not yet. Now, Trump has told us in no uncertain terms how he plans to break the nation this time. We can act forcefully to stop his new insurrection and punish his past crimes — or we can sit back and let the comet of autocracy strike.

Source: At Texas Rally, Trump All but Promised a Racially Charged Civil War If He’s Indicted | The Smirking Chimp

Old Dog Thought- News Corp, 2GB, and Clive Palmer are all undeclared political donations

AEC, political donations

Fighting Fake News with REAL; 1/2/22; Political Donations

Coalition defends slump in latest Newspoll

newspoll scott morrison

When the world judged Australia the best economy and Wayne Swan as the best treasurer the L-NP bellowed they were could do better. Now when world comparison shows an 8-year slide Barnaby Joyce makes out they are better managers. Barnaby Joyce who showed us he can’t manage his own personal life without lying let alone the nation’s is running point guard for Morrison who has a history of being sacked for bad management and inability to deliver. It’s time for his third sacking.

The opposition is ahead 56-44 on a two-party-preferred basis – the Coalition’s worst polling performance since September 2018 – according to the latest Newspoll survey conducted for The Australian newspaper. As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, Labor has increased its lead since the last poll on December 6 when it was ahead 53-47. Labor’s primary vote is up three points to 41 per cent while the Coalition has dropped two points to 34 per cent. For the first time, more voters surveyed thought Labor was better placed to steer Australia out of the COVID-19 pandemic (33 per cent) compared with the coalition (32 per cent). Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said the pandemic made things tough but economic growth and a low unemployment rate were signs of good economic management.

Source: Coalition defends slump in latest Newspoll

As Scott Morrison says, “We’ve got our principles and if you don’t like them, we’ve got plenty of others!” – » The Australian Independent Media Network

It’s like I said when Domicide Perrotet was opening up the state and allowing larger gatherings: I’m not sure that “THANKS TO US YOU CAN NOW GO TO YOUR GRANNY’S FUNERAL!” is quite the vote-winning slogan that he thought it was. Still the election’s a long way off – or maybe not – and nobody’s actually cast their votes yet so anything could happen. War with China seems to be off the table and even Russia seems to be failing to invade with the speed that Petey “The General” Dutton would like, so maybe they’ll have to resort to a terror raid where they arrest the entire front bench of the Labor Party for reasons that they don’t have to divulge thanks to our anti-terror laws.

Source: As Scott Morrison says, “We’ve got our principles and if you don’t like them, we’ve got plenty of others!” – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Booster rollout questioned as COVID aged care outbreaks surge

Aged care COVID-19

Aged-care residents are being forced to isolate in their rooms without visits from family members for “weeks on end” as COVID-19 rips through the sector. Government figures show more than 1100 aged-care homes are now battling active outbreaks, with 222 elderly residents dying of COVID-19 in the week to January 27. All the while homes are having to get by with fewer workers.

Source: Booster rollout questioned as COVID aged care outbreaks surge

The best a man can get – » The Australian Independent Media Network

When the Prime Minister chooses his Ministry, he has many things to consider – reward for support, factions, states, urban/country, diversity, longevity of service. Merit doesn’t get a look in. Or perhaps this bunch are the best the Coalition has?

Source: The best a man can get – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Lies, lies, lies – and the lying liars who tell them – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Politicians, predominantly on the right, have repeatedly been caught lying in direct contravention of video evidence. The falsifications aren’t minor. In Canberra at the moment there is an almost total lack of accountability. Any effort to confront Prime Minister Scott Morrison or his cabinet with their lies, corruption and ineptitude is met with deflection to a disingenuous list of “achievements” or more lies. Without effective supervision and repercussions, the threat this poses to our democracy will only become more dire.

Source: Lies, lies, lies – and the lying liars who tell them – » The Australian Independent Media Network

News Corp’s shoddy ‘journalism’ again dominates Press Council complaints

Murdoch an American, owns 66% of the print media in this country and is the unofficial PR arm of the LNP government so what can we expect. The APC is after all like the ABC are a watered down version of our critical voice. Morrison’s promised an ICAC if and whenever it comes will be another watered down version of what our voice could be. But let’s be fair the defamation laws will be changed and called “strengthened” and MP’s will be allowed taxpayer money to sue us.

Australia’s media watchdog found more than two-thirds of all complaints upheld for violations of the media code of ethics in 2021 were against News Corp, Alan Austin reports. AUSTRALIANS WILL BE SAFER, healthier, happier and much better informed when Rupert Murdoch’s malevolent media empire eventually disappears.

Source: News Corp’s shoddy ‘journalism’ again dominates Press Council complaints

Fact-based journalists under fire

Imagine It’s what News Corp claims to do and all it’s “journalists” “informed commentators” like Andrew Bolt claim to do when calling journalist’s like Maria Ressa “hacks” and award chasers. They tell Australians they are delivering a rational analysis of the facts.

As misuse of communication technology rises, fact-based journalism to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda is under even more attack, writes Lee Duffield.

PUBLIC ADDRESSES late in 2021 by Maria Ressa – the Philippines journalist accepting the Nobel Peace Prize – and by Wanning Sun, a Sydney China scholar, displayed opposite experiences and understanding of the abrogation of media rights. Maria Ressa is self-consciously the journalists’ journalist as she declared at Oslo, on 10 December: “I stand before you, a representative of every journalist around the world who is forced to sacrifice so much to hold the line, to stay true to our values and mission: to bring you the truth and hold power to account.”

Source: Fact-based journalists under fire

In Parable for Occupation, Autopsy Shows Israeli Troops mistreated American on West Bank, leading to his Death

In Parable for Occupation, Autopsy Shows Israeli Troops mistreated American on West Bank, leading to his Death

Why is this only Fringe News?

Last week was another in a long line of public relations disasters for the Israeli state, as its unacceptable military occupation of millions of stateless Palestinians continues. It isn’t just that the Palestinians are deprived by Israel of basic human rights. Israeli policy is to strip from them in piecemeal fashion their land, property, dignity and identity.

Source: In Parable for Occupation, Autopsy Shows Israeli Troops mistreated American on West Bank, leading to his Death

Trump Declares Support for January 6 Insurrectionists – Mother Jones

Hucksters and showmen throughout history sold black as white and white as black and that’s all they had for sale. America was the land of hucksters whose slogan was “Buyer Beware. “Pea Knuckle” and “Three Card Monty” players set up their tables on the street and Ponzi officiandos in the boiler rooms of Wall St. All had one thing in common. However they’d run if on the street and saw cops coming or hire the best lawyers in the country if they had  blue ribbon seats. Donald Trump was never self-made he was trained from birth to be a blue-ribbon con man never delivering what he promised. The promise today that he’s what the American Constitution intended a real President to be. Somebody who would dare try and and auction his wife’s hat for $250,000 and call it an investment.

During a speech at a rally in Texas on Saturday, Donald Trump further escalated his efforts to whitewash the horrific assault on the US Capitol that took place just over a year ago. As he floated another run for president in 2024, Trump suggested to a crowd of supporters that the more than 700 people charged so far in connection with the siege of Congress on January 6, 2021, are being wrongly penalized and could be pardoned by him for their crimes. “If I run and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly,” Trump said. “We will treat them fairly. And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons. Because they are being treated so unfairly.”

Source: Trump Declares Support for January 6 Insurrectionists – Mother Jones

Trump pardon promise for Capitol rioters ‘stuff of dictators’ – Nixon aide | Donald Trump | The Guardian

 Donald speaks to a crowd a rally at the Montgomery county fairgrounds on Saturday, in Conroe, Texas.

Trump is doing what America and American governments have done since WW2 dictate the the human shape of the world. He demanding to be America’s first Dictator and has called for an army be it national or private to anoint him as such.

America tried tell Vietnam, Nicaragua, Afghanistan who should govern them and lost but by and large were successful in El Salvador , Honduras, Panama, Chile throughout the Americas along with so many other countries around the world. All in open defiance of any UN resolutions about interference. They have defended Israel and other client states for doing the same. It was just business but war became peace and any fight for a peoples Democracy war and the American mainstream media were onside. Now a Despot, the mirror image of what they wanted, and allowed in so many other countries, has been provided with the same opportunity that successive American governments offered others and Murdoch and other corporate media giants are helping.

John Dean, 83, was White House counsel from 1970 to 1973 before being disbarred and detained as a result of the Watergate scandal, which led to Nixon’s resignation in 1974. Dean responded to Trump on Twitter. “This is beyond being a demagogue to the stuff of dictators,” he wrote. “He is defying the rule of law. Failure to confront a tyrant only encourages bad behaviour. If thinking Americans don’t understand what Trump is doing and what the criminal justice system must do we are all in big trouble!”

Source: Trump pardon promise for Capitol rioters ‘stuff of dictators’ – Nixon aide | Donald Trump | The Guardian

Trump Desperate To See Riots In DC, Atlanta, And NYC | Crooks and Liars

Trump Dangles Pardons For All Jan 6 Insurrectionists If He's Reelected

Donald Trump, retired former blogger and twice impeached loser, had a rally of some sort in Texas on Saturday night. It was filled with the usual “lock her up” chants, conspiracy theories, lies, and right wing hysteria. One section really stood out to me, though. After ranting about investigations into him and his businesses, he actually encouraged his followers and cult members to riot and protest.

Source: Trump Desperate To See Riots In DC, Atlanta, And NYC | Crooks and Liars

Old Dog Thought- Morrison ain’t Barty but he is ASH!

newspoll scott morrison

Fighting Fake News with REAL 31/1/22 Newspoll!

Australia: a failing state in a hurry to fail – » The Australian Independent Media Network

We once had a time when Politics was “hot” and we were eager informed and engaged. Then along came the Howard LNP who have sold work, the ” public service”, and gave them to the free market. Morrison has done everything to turned politics into a state of ” media cool” or “don’t worry be happy”. Hi Viz photo shoots, “on the water matters” the “cone of silence” better known as the Canberra bubble all real attempts to dampen our engagement in politics. But he’s done the opposite and once again politics has become “hot” When Morrison says he “keeps us safe” we experience and feel the opposite. The problem with all of this is his media illusion is in tatters and we can all see the machinery behind it and it’s not working. Scott Morrison has done that alone in one term of being PM and that’s his miracle.

To be precise, what we have today is a government that is at war with its citizens by other means. It’s a very real struggle. We cannot rely on traditional allies like the Fourth Estate. So, prepare yourself and the best preparation is knowledge. Ask questions and demand answers. It’s a life and death struggle for a form of democracy that truly represents us.

Source: Australia: a failing state in a hurry to fail – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Political platitudes like ‘we’re in a good place’ won’t fill the cracks in Australia’s economy ahead of the election | Satyajit Das | The Guardian

People walk through the Brisbane CBD

All sides of politics, wary of becoming wedged into electorally damaging positions, avoid confronting these challenges. Emollient slogans – ‘we are in good place’ or ‘push through’ – cannot address these problems. These issues vital to Australia’s future may not even make it onto the election policy agenda.

Source: Political platitudes like ‘we’re in a good place’ won’t fill the cracks in Australia’s economy ahead of the election | Satyajit Das | The Guardian

The Critics Were Right: “Critical Race Theory” Panic Is Just a Cover for Silencing Educators | The Smirking Chimp

The LNP lacks originality and plays Simon Says with Republican America. Tudge and now Robert simply the L-NP lacks any imagination when it comes to policies.

He’s calling on right-wing parents to report teachers for any lessons they deem “divisive.” As these previous reports show, that’s an expansive ask, as many parents clearly think it’s “divisive” to admit segregation happened, slavery was real, or the Holocaust was horrific. Youngkin’s intent is quite clearly to scare teachers into simply not teaching history, at least not in any way that’s truthful or remotely educational. Or to scare teachers into not teaching literature that humanizes people of color or LGBTQ people, or men who like poetry for that matter. As usual, despite their denials, Republicans really are behaving like the deplorables their critics say they are.

Source: The Critics Were Right: “Critical Race Theory” Panic Is Just a Cover for Silencing Educators | The Smirking Chimp

Morrison’s Coup De Grâce – » The Australian Independent Media Network

No wonder Morrison’s running scared. But pumping social media with Clive$’ lies about Labor’s failings is unlikely to cut it when your record reeks of corruption, ineptitude, dud deals and untrustworthiness. The worst PM of the century can’t even show some grace under friendly fire at a reception for Australian of the Year, a miserable morning tea, brightened only by a bevy of nominees for awards, any one of which is likely to show up his own inadequacies as a man and as a leader. To pick a fight with Grace Tame, moreover, and to go on radio, later, to belittle her, may cost Morrison any last skerrick of credibility. His pot-shot at Grace Tame, Australian of the Year 2021 is by extension an attack on all women and every woman’s right to expect a government that offers equality, justice and safety for all Australians, instead of a racket run to benefit a privileged few. Given his lies, his stunts, his broken promises, his empty promises, his protection of incompetent ministers and worse, together with his government’s catastrophic mishandling of the pandemic, his pot-shot at Ms Tame maybe his coup de grace.

Source: Morrison’s Coup De Grâce – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Another Sign Big Three Automakers are dumping Big Oil: GM to invest $7 Billion in Michigan Electric Vehicle, Battery Plants

Well Scott Morrison why are you trying to prevent this technology getting here? We have all the resources to be the world’s premium battery producer and accelerating the transition to global planet cleaner energy.

Stanford Professor Tony Seba foresees a double whammy for the petroleum industry, which he thinks will be dead by 2030, as Rick Kowalchuk at Energi Media reports. One is the rise of electric vehicles, which can use free sunlight and wind as their energy source, not dirty oil. The other is the likelihood that self-driving vehicles will replace ownership of passenger cars, offering “transportation as a service.” If tens of millions of drivers forego car ownership, and when they do order a car to get somewhere use an electric autonomous vehicle, petroleum is doomed. It can’t happen too soon to save the earth.

Source: Another Sign Big Three Automakers are dumping Big Oil: GM to invest $7 Billion in Michigan Electric Vehicle, Battery Plants

The new hasbara campaign Israel doesn’t want you to know about

Young Jews from around the world celebrate 10 years of the Birthright program at an event held at the International Conference Center in Jerusalem, May 12, 2010. (Dudi Vaknin/FLASH90)

This isn’t in any way new!

The Israeli cabinet approved on Sunday a project that could inject up to NIS 100 million [$30 million] toward covertly funding government propaganda in the United States and other Western countries. Led by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, the initiative is expected to revive a failed plan entrusted until recently to the now-defunct Strategic Affairs Ministry, which closed in 2021. The plan is to transfer money indirectly to foreign organizations that will spread Israeli propaganda in the countries in which they operate, all while hiding the fact that they are backed by the Israeli government.

Source: The new hasbara campaign Israel doesn’t want you to know about

We Uncovered How Many Georgians Were Disenfranchised by GOP Voting Restrictions. It’s Staggering. – Mother Jones

If that same rejection rate were extrapolated to the 2020 race, more than 38,000 votes would not have been cast in a presidential contest decided by just over 11,000 votes.

Source: We Uncovered How Many Georgians Were Disenfranchised by GOP Voting Restrictions. It’s Staggering. – Mother Jones

The Tories Hate You

Banning protest, suppressing voters, and now diluting the Human Rights Act: the only right Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party cares about is its right to screw over British workers.

Source: The Tories Hate You

Old Dog Thought- The Illusion is so tattered we can see the machinery behind the scenes

Fighting Fake News with REAL 30/1/22; Morrison’s lack of integrity; Andrew Bolt hasn’t moved;

For ‘lack of integrity’ the Morrison government scores an A+ – » The Australian Independent Media Network

My thought for the day Just because we are governed by clowns doesn’t mean it is a laughing matter. The first duty of any government, if they don’t already have it, is the acquisition of integrity. PS: When actions speak louder than words. Congratulations, Grace Tame. ( John Lord )

Source: For ‘lack of integrity’ the Morrison government scores an A+ – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Taking it on the chin | The Monthly

Image of Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck speaking during Senate estimates on June 2, 2021. Image © Lukas Coch / AAP Images

History tells us Morrison was sacked but never admitted to deserving it. His errors never publicly disclosed. His term of office has been one of either “on the water matters” or outright denial of the obvious. It was amplified in his photos with Grace that the obvious to us all simply wasn’t happening. He applies the same to the outrageous behaviors of his ministers and acts in the worst of feudal of ways relying heavily on the media to protect him and move on.

It is, of course, not Colbeck who is facing severe hardship here, but those currently suffering in the aged-care system for which he is responsible. The statistics have been growing worse for days, but the latest figures are damning: it’s believed Omicron has spread to more than 700 aged-care homes, with more than half of all facilities in NSW now battling outbreaks and staff struggling to cope. One woman has thrown the situation into stark relief, telling SBS News that her father died of COVID-19 alone in his locked-down aged-care home, while waiting for an overdue booster shot, on the day after Colbeck had attended the cricket. Speaking to Breen today, Morrison said that he “understood” the criticism of Colbeck, even as he attempted to paint it as unwarranted. But it’s clear that the PM does not understand it. The fury over Colbeck’s decision to prioritise the cricket over the Senate committee, and to ignore an inquiry that is seeking to prevent mistakes from being made again, speaks to a larger anger over the government’s handling of the pandemic, and especially its bungling of aged care, with Colbeck remaining in his role despite misstep after misstep, death after death. People don’t want the government to take this criticism “on the chin”. They just want them to take it seriously.


 

Source: Taking it on the chin | The Monthly

Toxic Tame shows grace is no longer a virtue | Herald Sun

“Toxic Femininity?” Guess whose back the standard-bearer of “toxic disgusting masculinity. The self-proclaimed role model for males. An ageist adult who claims to lead the way on manners and how we should present ourselves in public, the troll, Andrew Bolt.

Andrew Bolt who’d prefer to live in the Netherlands a nation far more socialist than Australia. A nation with a more shameful history of the genocidal treatment of Jews. Yes, even though born Australian tells us how he’d prefer to live in a country that today represents everything he hates. Yet he insists we should respect the worst of our history on Australia Day.

Bolt the braggart male with the swinging dick once crowed he worked as a ” belly dancer’s minder”. It turned out she was his ex- fiancee who was supporting him when he was unemployed. A fact, he kept hidden from his wife and family. Bolt even tried to excuse his silence by actually claiming he was  Sir Galahad and was “protecting them”?

When challenged by the lady, his latter-day bride-to-be about the “truth” of their relationship that little prick who was doing a Walter Mitty to grandiose himself in the eyes of his readers called her the liar. When challenged with court action big man Andrew Bolt folded like a cheap suit. He was forced to admit he was the ill-mannered, lout, cad, dirtbag and was everything she said he was. In fact a low-life, toxic male.

History will be forget Andrew Bolt very quickly but not Grace Tame. Her photo with Scott Morrison is the historic kill-shot that will be remembered in years to come. The shot that will be talked about in the classrooms of the future long after the suit-wearing tent preacher behind the desk at Murdoch’s Sky News, Andrew Bolt is replaced and forgotten.

Australian of  the Year Dylan Alcott also had a lot to criticize  Morrison’s L-NP for stood shoulder to shoulder with Grace on so many issues but Andrew Bolt ignores him. Is it because he’s a real man?

I never expected class from Grace Tame. She was too young and thoughtless to handle being Australian of the Year. No, the real problem with her pathetic rudeness to Scott Morrison is that it was cheered by so many people – especially women. Time we talked about toxic femininity.

We hear so much about “toxic masculinity”. After Grace Tame’s tantrum on Tuesday, dare we finally ask if there’s also a “toxic femininity”?

I’ve seen toddlers with better manners than Tame showed Prime Minister Scott Morrison at an event to mark the end of her term as Australian of the Year.

She glowered at him. She pulled faces. She returned his politeness – and that of wife Jenny – with a contempt meant to be seen from the moon.

Pathetic, yet many people actually praised her rudeness.

Source: Toxic Tame shows grace is no longer a virtue | Herald Sun

Prime minister, as a refugee I have done everything Australia has asked. Nine years on, why am I still in detention? | Mehdi | The Guardian

Mehdi Ali from Iran who has been in detention in Australia for nine years

Morrison  the PM of “on the water matters” even denies what it is he said these days.

“I didn’t make the statement that every single person was who was in that place was not a refugee. I said that was, to my understanding, the case with some people who were there. There are a number of people who were at that facility who have not been found to be owed protection. … I’m aware of one particular individual who has been the comment of this focus of a lot of attention, who is on such a pathway, and I would be encouraging them to take up that permanent option that is available to them in the United States. We provided it, we secured it, we got it in place. And so if they wished they could go to the United States along that pathway. And that’s what we are encouraging them to do.”

This is Mehdi’s response:

Source: Prime minister, as a refugee I have done everything Australia has asked. Nine years on, why am I still in detention? | Mehdi | The Guardian

A Poor Knock: Colbeck carousing at the cricket amid aged care crisis just tip of incompetence iceberg – Michael West Media

Aged Care, Richard Colbeck

Failure to protect Federal aged care residents has left 389 elderly Australians dead this year alone, and 40% of private nursing homes locked down. Dr Sarah Russell reports on the government’s devastating failure as the Covid aged care crisis grips. Demanding accountability from the Minister for Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck, is being “a knocker”. So says our King of Spin, Scott Morrison. Given the media’s new obsession with appearances – and whether people smile for the camera – it was not a good look for Colbeck to be enjoying an outing at the cricket on the same day he declined to appear before the Covid-19 committee. In a letter to chair Katy Gallagher, Colbeck claimed he could not justify “diverting the time and resources” of his office given the pandemic was at a “critical point”. That the aged care system is at a “critical point” was an understatement. On the day Colbeck was out and about at the cricket (14 January), thousands of older people were in lockdown. Some 1,107 of the 2,704 federally operated private aged care homes (40 per cent) were locked down. The residential aged care system was in crisis.

Source: A Poor Knock: Colbeck carousing at the cricket amid aged care crisis just tip of incompetence iceberg – Michael West Media

Richard Colbeck should have been sacked over this 2021 scandal – » The Australian Independent Media Network

“Colbeck declined to attend the Senate Covid-19 committee on 14 January. He cited the need not to divert health department officials from their “urgent and critical” work but it was revealed this week he attended three days of the Hobart Test from Friday 14 January to Sunday 16 January.”

Source: Richard Colbeck should have been sacked over this 2021 scandal – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Rapid antigen test shortage makes Aussies instant millionaires | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site

Ms Campbell’s company has sponsored a Chinese RAT.

Australia’s insatiable demand for rapid antigen tests is turning importers into instant millionaires, with one company that operates out of a two-bedroom apartment in Elizabeth Bay securing a $26 million contract with the Department of Health. CEO and founder Austyn Campbell, 38, who set up the company Motion One less than a year ago, inked the massive deal with the Morrison Government to supply $26,290,000.00 in “medical supplies” this month.

Source: Rapid antigen test shortage makes Aussies instant millionaires | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site

Should Australia’s major sports stars really be defined by fossil fuel companies trying to look good? | Kieran Pender | The Guardian

Gina Rinehart watches the 2019 Australian Short Course Swimming Championships

Oligarchs invest to create a very unreal illusion of themselves.

Gina Rinehart, a global warming denier and the wealthiest person in Australia, cannot protect the sports she sponsors from the impact of the climate crisis. But should they be protecting Rinehart’s reputation from the condemnation that is increasingly directed at those who stand in the way of climate action?

Source: Should Australia’s major sports stars really be defined by fossil fuel companies trying to look good? | Kieran Pender | The Guardian

Rising rents across regional NSW fuels homelessness and worker shortages – ABC News

Man in car driver's seat of van.

Josh Frydenberg brags about the employment figures he’s achieved for Australia. What he calls employment however is for is for an increasing number of people barely survival.

When Garry Wallis clocks off from work as a carer he doesn’t drive home. He parks in a suburban car park in Wollongong in the NSW Illawarra region where he sets up for the night. “I am nearly 60 and I have prostate problems, so a toilet is really important for me,” he says. “The toilet near here gets locked at 7 o’clock at night and doesn’t open again until seven [in the morning] so you sort of have to hold it until then.” It’s the small things that get to him since he started sleeping rough, like not being able to do his washing or use a bathroom overnight. man in front of van Garry Wallis says the pay from his work as a carer isn’t enough to afford a home in Wollongong.(ABC Illawarra: Tim Fernandez) But the $500 a week he earns as a full-time carer isn’t enough to cover the rapidly rising cost of renting a home. “At the moment I’m homeless because I only get the carer’s allowance,” he says. “It is not enough to rent and eat at the same time.”

Source: Rising rents across regional NSW fuels homelessness and worker shortages – ABC News

Getting Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche Talking

When locked at home in a Covid huddle sick of streaming looking for News, watching tennis or waiting for Survivor to begin it’s sometimes interesting to see what these two men may have thought of each other.

Karl Marx believed in the self-emancipation of the working class, while Friedrich Nietzsche had nothing but disdain for the masses. But a provocative new book claims the two thinkers can be read together to develop a socialism for today.

Source: Getting Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche Talking

Old Dog Thought- How will the L-NP attack the Olympic Spirit while it’s the media’s opportunity to cash in

Fighting Fake News with REAL 29/1/22; ABC, Tax, Capitalism, Grace, Masturbation, Morrison, Corruption,

Australia hits new low on Transparency International Corruption Index – Michael West Media

While Josh Frydenberg is out there telling us the “fundamentals are good” the reality is the very opposite and we have been on a major slide since 2014.

The decline of political and corporate standards in Australia over recent years is not just in the imagination of some critics. Transparency International released its annual corruption report yesterday which gives Australia the lowest score and global ranking since the series began in 1995.

Source: Australia hits new low on Transparency International Corruption Index – Michael West Media

Technology isn’t ruining lives, that’s the Government’s job

So, if technology is not a problem, why are so many people feeling lost? On the material side, we could argue that we have never had it better. Especially if you compare this with our grandparents and the generations before them. In my opinion, the problem is emotional and not physical. Physically, we are better off but mentally, we seem to have problems with the way society functions. The complexity of our lives and our world is simply too big to fathom for most people in the Western world. I think the rest of the world is still too busy with the “physical” side. The mental problem – at least at this level – is mainly a Western problem. This lack of mental strength is also very clear in our leadership — they also don’t seem to be able to lead the people in a better direction. Instead, they are constantly reverting to political polarisation and populism. This adds to the confusion and anxiousness, people feel lost and become easy targets for fake news, conspiracies and so on.

Source: Technology isn’t ruining lives, that’s the Government’s job

Grace (Un)Tame(d) Provokes Conservative Outrage – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Conclusion: Nous Sommes Grace Tame The lesson from this is that activism need not be bricks through windows, or even fiery rhetoric. Through her simple facial expressions and the fire in her eyes, Grace Tame has conveyed the outrage of the considerable segment of the population that has, to put it mildly, an unfavourable opinion of The Lodge Occupant. As much as her critics like to complain about her ‘lack of civility’, it is precisely that lack of civility, the idea of not being ‘the good little girl’ that makes her statement so powerful.

Source: Grace (Un)Tame(d) Provokes Conservative Outrage – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Peter van Onselen’s misogyny should be taken off air

Grace Tame’s refusal to appease Morrison with a smile has set off a typical reaction from privileged, middle-aged men, including Peter van Onselen whose smug arrogance and sexism should no longer be tolerated by Channel 10.

Source: Peter van Onselen’s misogyny should be taken off air

New Hampshire Republicans Churn Out Voter Suppression Bills

Mitchell Leet, of Chesterfield, N.H., fills out his ballot as a long line of people wait to submit their ballots at the polling station at Chesterfield Elementary School's gymnasium during the 2020 Election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)

After 400 plus years America has a new experiment and promise

Fueled by Trump’s allegations of election fraud, New Hampshire Republicans introduced more than two dozen bills that would chip away at voting rights. They could spell trouble for Democrats in the midterms.

Source: New Hampshire Republicans Churn Out Voter Suppression Bills

Neil Young To Spotify: It’s Me Or Joe Rogan. Spotify Chose Rogan | IFLScience

Neil Young to Spotify: Remove music over Rogan vaccine misinformation

Spotify is removing Neil Young’s music after he left the music streaming service with a stark choice: it’s me or Joe Rogan. Spotify chose Rogan. In a now-deleted letter on his website, the 76-year-old artist accused Spotify of spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines through its most popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Young, who has a long history of political activism, accused Spotify of profiting from misinformation about COVID-19 and asked that they either remove his entire music catalog or Rogan’s podcast series.

Source: Neil Young To Spotify: It’s Me Or Joe Rogan. Spotify Chose Rogan | IFLScience

WHO backs Neil Young’s Spotify boycott over Joe Rogan’s COVID-19 vaccine ‘misinformation’ – ABC News

Headshot of Neil Young looking at the camera wearing a straw broad-brimmed hat and checked shirt

Individuals no matter how wealthy or expert struggle to get their message across against corporate giants even if they are part of the elite and wealthy class. Media giants are there to maintain the illusion that a Capitalist Democracy is the best of all possible worlds. Just as media in a totalitarian State is. Simply put both are propaganda models with fringes tolerated in differing degrees.

The Joe Rogan Experience is the top-rated podcast on Spotify, which holds exclusive rights to the program.Rogan, 54, has stirred controversy with his views on the pandemic, government mandates and vaccines to control the spread of COVID-19.Earlier this month, 270 scientists and medical professionals signed a letter urging Spotify to take action against Rogan, accusing him of spreading falsehoods on the podcast.

Source: WHO backs Neil Young’s Spotify boycott over Joe Rogan’s COVID-19 vaccine ‘misinformation’ – ABC News

Hippies for censorship – spiked

Hippies for censorship

Brendan O’neil is little more than a Conservative, camp follower desperate for crumbs and attention spinning his misinformed message. He’s little more than a UK Andrew Bolt or a writer for the Spectator praising Spotify and singing” all’s well with the world” in this free market paradise of ideas. You will find you can find O’neil as a guest on all Murdoch’s globally corporate Goebellian propaganda media.

Hippies are the most disappointing subculture, aren’t they? They always let you down. They cut their hair, become therapists or corporate sustainability advisers, and before you know it these people who wanged on about Woodstock for 50 years are being paid a fortune by The Man to badger me and you. Just look at Neil Young. The one-time cocaine-stained hero of LA’s alternative scene, singer of angry songs about Vietnam and the Kent State massacre, participant with Crosby, Stills and Nash in the Freedom of Speech Tour of 2006, is now basically pleading with a huge corporation to silence people he doesn’t like. From protest singer to agitator for capitalist censorship? What a fall.

Source: Hippies for censorship – spiked

“No Rights which the White Man was Bound to Respect” What SCOTUS once Ruled about a Black Woman, as Biden prepares to Nominate One

Chief Justice Roger Taney said that members of the “Negro race” were not U.S. citizens and that they had no federal rights at all that white men were bound to respect, including the right to sue in federal court. He actually spoke of whites as the “citizen race” to the exclusion of “Negroes” and “Indians,” who were not eligible (unlike white immigrants from Europe) for naturalization. So President Biden’s nominee will be joining a court that once upon a time denied that Harriet Robinson Scott was or could be a citizen or had any human or civil rights at all. Harriet lived to see the Emancipation Proclamation and the Fourteenth Amendment, which bestowed citizenship on everyone born in the US. Only people who privately still believe in the exclusive privileges of the white “citizen race” will complain about having an African-American woman on the Supreme Court, in an epochal slap in the face to moral monsters like Chief Justice Taney.

Source: “No Rights which the White Man was Bound to Respect” What SCOTUS once Ruled about a Black Woman, as Biden prepares to Nominate One

Trump’s finance report shows he has a lot less cash than he claimed in his final year in office | Salon.com

Donald Trump and Melania Trump step out of Marine One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on January 20, 2021.  (ALEX EDELMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The huckster who claimed to be someone else

Forbes has reviewed campaign finance disclosures from former President Donald Trump and discovered that he apparently had far less cash in his final year of office than he claimed.

Source: Trump’s finance report shows he has a lot less cash than he claimed in his final year in office | Salon.com

Old Dog Thought- Transparency International. The L-NP failed us internationally and has had us downgraded. They heard Morrison doesn’t lie

Fighting Fake News with REAL; 28/1/22; Australia’s Decline, RAT, Neil Young;

Federal election 2022: Australians will pay the price of politics for politics’ sake

Some say the pandemic sideswiped the Morrison government.

And it’s not as though the government was bristling with policy ideas that have had to be shelved. It did miss out on producing a budget surplus, but when the same thing happened to the Rudd government because of the global financial crisis, this was proffered by the Coalition as proof that Labor was unfit to hold office.

Unsurprisingly, the Coalition does not now make the same claim about itself.  Our national politics now seems so small.  Under Morrison, our national government has defined itself as chiefly a political operation. It’s designed to manage issues as they arise and otherwise do as little as possible. It’s a caravan that rumbles from election to election, waving problems away with slogans until it’s forced to take action.

Meanwhile, it throws small lumps of ideological red meat to its party base and media friends with such things as its constant undermining of universities, the ABC and industry super funds.

Source: Federal election 2022: Australians will pay the price of politics for politics’ sake