Other government ministers who have contracted the coronavirus are Defence Minister Peter Dutton who tested positive in March last year and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce who tested positive in December. Friday was another record day of case numbers with more than 78,000 reported in Australia along with 17 deaths.
How do reformers maintain their strength and commitment over so many years? Continuous activism is exhausting. Burnout is a constant hazard. What’s the secret to their tenacity? I can think of three:
Meanwhile Murdoch Media is declaring none of this ever happened
The big picture This is all just the tip of the iceberg. What we know is this: Trump and allies plotted a coup. They were in frequent contact with the individuals who would ultimately attack Congress. At the very least, Trump and allies knew this attack would advance their aims while it was underway. Trump and allies also repeatedly resorted to pressuring the Department of Defense to involve itself in their seizure of power. Some at DoD may have supported this scheme; others resisted it. In the coming months, as we learn more information, it is crucial to tie these threads together, because, unfortunately, the Republican Party now has what they ran out of last January: time. They are using this time to restructure state elections and install Trump loyalists, thus laying the groundwork to make their next coup more successful.
Let’s be clear from the jump: The pretext for the January 6 attacks were the incessant lies that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. That talk came from not just former President Donald Trump but also his allies, including Fox News.
As he embarks on an election year, there is a question about whether Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s media communications strategy, which has served him well for a long time, is fit for the current political environment. The strategy is predicated on the proposition that Morrison is the government’s prime political asset, to be protected as necessary and exploited where possible. Doubtless this is a legacy of his “miracle” win in 2019.
Source: As COVID rips through Australia, is Scott Morrison’s media strategy starting to fail as well?
Greg Hunt not only showed his political corruption,his pretence but his ability to blame Victoria and the people he represents for decisions on national borders which are totally the responsibility of the Federal Government. Dumb and Dumber continue their double act in front of the media who they believe are largely on their side..
“Well, that is a matter for the Victorian government. They have provided him with an exemption to come to Australia, and so we then act in accordance with that decision,” he told reporters, clearly not knowing what he was talking about.
With the growth of the far-Right and illiberal forces that do not respect democracy across the Western world, it is now risky to leave our current constitutional arrangements as they stand. Only a directly elected head of state would keep a rogue prime minister in check and secure our democracy. The old maxim – if it ain’t broke don’t fix it – will never protect us from those who believe rules are meant to be broken.
The memo, sent on Thursday to state and local law enforcement, said that DHS had no indication of a specific and credible plot, but that the agency and the FBI had “identified new content online that could inspire violence, particularly by lone offenders, and could be directed against political and other government officials, including members of Congress, state and local officials, and high-profile members of political parties, including in locations outside of [Washington DC]”.
When the media declares situations like this are “normal” and declares it’s “news”. When Jan 6th is described as “resistence” and a progressive movement you know American Democracy is being redefined and all its weaknesses laid to bare.
The fortunate thing is that we don’t need to know precisely what the future holds. History, and the presence of 20 million assault rifles in America, provides us with enough data to know the outlines of what’s ahead if we continue to pretend that nightmares are for other countries, not ours.
Source: It’s January 6 and the Warning Lights Are Flashing Red
History does Repeat!
So many people feel it’s in their individual interests not to stop fascism that they’re failing to see that the long-term collective interest is in doing something to stop this — before it’s too late. Many historians and researchers see strong parallels between January 6 and Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, in which the Nazi leader and a couple of thousand followers tried to overthrow the Weimar Republic. Hitler failed, and much of the press treated the attempt like a joke. But it ended up being a galvanizing moment for Nazis to move forward and seize power through legal means. The same thing is playing out now, with Republicans rewriting state election laws and purging election officials who are disloyal to the fascist cause. It’s all with an eye towards making sure that, next time Trump wants to be declared the winner of an election he lost, there’s no one to stop him. Every day that plan isn’t thwarted, he gets closer to success. One year later, time is only running out.
Source: Trump’s coup failed — but January 6 was a success | Salon.com
While Trump backed down due to the fact the Media weren’t about to give him the attention he wanted Biden stepped up and demonstrated that he was a President yet again,
In his strongest attack on Trump since taking office, the Democrat leader also renewed warnings about the ongoing threat by superpowers China and Russia, who were “betting that democracy’s days are numbered”. “We must decide what kind of nation we are going to be,” Biden said. “Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm? Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people?” “We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation. The way forward is to recognise the truth and to live by it.”
Source: January 6 anniversary: Biden blames Trump’s ‘web of lies’ to blame for Capitol riots
Let’s turn to Australia. Let’s have a quick look at the fascism check-list for the Morrison Government.
Social media discourse has been indicating PM Morrison may attempt to postpone the 2022 Election using the pandemic as an excuse. Andrew P Street sets the record straight.
Source: No, Morrison can’t avoid going to an election (and other stories)
Related readings wherein he hasn’t been called a c***:
“if we judge Howard by his own standards as a reformer, there isn’t a great deal to show for his lengthy period in office“. John Winston Howard: The Biography. Wayne Errington and Peter van Onselen
John Howard. A study in policy consistency. M.L.Murry. A long read of 355 pages. But interesting.
Where ‘mutual obligation’ began: John Howard’s paradigm shift on welfare. The Guardian
In truth, Labor is the superior economic manager. Craig Emerson Economics
John Howard. A study in policy consistency. M.L.Murry. A long read of 355 pages. But interesting.
Where ‘mutual obligation’ began: John Howard’s paradigm shift on welfare. The Guardian
Source: Ode to a Rodent – » The Australian Independent Media Network
The drop in skilled workers arriving in Australia has hit the economy, and it began six years before the Pandemic. Alan Austin reports on the decline of innovation and the jobs crisis.
It’s a dang good thing we’re winning the cricket because the government has collapsed. Scott Morrison’s Team Australia has left the health system to fail; the virus is out of control, tracking and testing has crashed, and Liberal Party corporate mates Harvey Norman and Chemist Warehouse are profiteering. Michael West looks at the price of Scomo’s “personal responsibility”.
Source: They ‘let her rip’, and she ripped; government collapses in Australia – Michael West Media
Morrison decides he needs to allow free tests to those most likely to vote for the LNP only
“It’s clear that the costs of tests are dwarfed by the costs of inaction,” Labor leader Anthony Albanese said. Mr Morrison had previously argued against “undercutting” retailers by handing out free tests – an argument which former prime minister Kevin Rudd called “hogwash”.
Source: Morrison refuses to provide free rapid antigen tests for all Australians
The resource advantage of private schools is set to continue for the rest of the decade under the terms of the Commonwealth-State bilateral funding agreements. Private schools will be funded at over 100 per cent of their Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) while public schools will be funded at less than 91 per cent of their SRS in all states except the ACT. As a result, public schools will remain massively under-funded. It points to the need for a comprehensive overhaul of school funding.
Marise Payne has displayed her bias and chosen not to SHUT UP while declaring Julian’s fate rests in the hands of the UK and USA. It appears like Pontius Pilate she’s more than just washed her hands of Assange but has convicted him on behalf of the LNP,yes,but only a minority of Australians.
Why, in the middle of Assange’s High Court hearing, was Foreign Minister Marise Payne using her friends in the Murdoch media to portray Assange as un-Australian, snubbing her patriotic ‘’Aussie help’’?Assange’s father John Shipton commented: “I get no help from Marise Payne in any way whatsoever. Saying I have been snubbed 29 times by Julian is to defend her. It’s only to defend her. It’s nothing to do with Julian.”The family have continually asked for Payne and Morrison to actively engage with Australia’s UK and U.S. allies. They see extradition as an outrageous surrender of Australian sovereignty and they expect that Morrison and Payne should tell UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. President Joe Biden so.Shipton, who has travelled to 50 countries to garner support for Julian, said: “Everywhere I go, people ask where is the Australian Government in this? What is the substance of Australia in its relationship with the UK that it allows this show trial to go on without comment?”
Trump also made clear, however, that he will not cease inciting the insurrectionist movement—whose animating lie, that the 2020 election was “stolen” through fraud, continues to stir threats of far-right extremist violence. According to a report from the Department of Homeland Security shared on January 3 with various US law enforcement and intelligence agencies, “threat actors will try to exploit” the January 6 anniversary “to promote or possibly commit violence.” The DHS report cites extremist material circulating online, including flyers calling for renewed attacks on the seat of American government: “This was just the beginning,” one says, featuring an image of rioters inside the Capitol Building a year ago, doctored with blood splatter. “Reunion on Capitol Hill January 6 2022,” it further reads.
Source: Trump Continues to Incite the Violent Extremist Movement of January 6 – Mother Jones
“Initially enacted in the wake of the Civil War, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies from public office any individual who has taken an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and then engages in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or gives aid or comfort to those who have,” Free Speech for People explains. “By inciting a violent attack on Congress in an effort to prevent the certification of his own electoral defeat, Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and violated his oath of office.”
Source: Campaign Aims to Bar All Jan. 6 Insurrectionists—Including Trump—From Future Public Office
The polling shows that a substantial number of Republicans have turned against democracy and have fallen victim to Great Leader Syndrome as surely as North Koreans. Nothing could be more deadly to our Republic than to have one of the two major parties descend into reality-denying insanity and a “my leader right or wrong” mentality.
My thought for the day We would be a much better society if we took the risk of thinking for ourselves unhindered by the unadulterated crap served up by the government, the media and self-interest groups. PS: Contribute to my diary by making a comment. ( John Lord)
Scott Morrison and Dominic Perrottet have shown a reckless disregard for the wellbeing of Australians in their questionable COVID strategy, writes Geoff Dyer.
Source: Morrison and Perrottet turn their backs on Australia’s COVID crisis
This is what I mean when I say America has been Potterized: People at the top — top corporate executives and big investors — are doing better than ever. Everyone else is being squeezed.
Australians have reacted with fury and confusion after tennis star Novak Djokovic revealed he had received a travel exemption to play in the Australian Open. Djokovic has consistently declined to reveal his vaccination status, and as a result looked unlikely to be allowed to play in the tournament. However, the Serbian star revealed on Instagram on Tuesday that he had received a medical exemption. The Australian Open and the Victorian government confirmed the exemption on Tuesday night, stating a review had been carried out to confirm Djokovic had “a genuine medical condition that meets the criteria for an exemption”. The decision was met with fury by Australians on social media.
“Novak Djokovic is the greatest tennis player ever. Forget Laver, Agassi, Federer, Sampras, Nadal, McEnroe, Connors and Borg for Novak has won 20 Grand Slams and 87 titles and a billion dollars without us knowing he had a debilitating medical problem,” Australian rules football great Kevin Bartlett wrote.
Source: Novak Djokovic’s exemption to play the Australian Open sparks fury and confusion – ABC News
The decision to grant Novak Djokovic an exemption from Covid-19 vaccination requirements to play in the Australian Open in Melbourne has been labelled “appalling”, with some players expressing surprise at the late decision. On Tuesday night, the defending Australian Open champion posted on Instagram that he was coming to Melbourne to participate in the tennis tournament with an “exemption permission”. All Australian Open participants must either be fully vaccinated or apply for and secure a medical exemption in order to enter Victoria without undertaking the mandatory 14-day quarantine.
The fact that the entire Trump clan is being brought in for a reckoning adds more context to Trump’s predictable move to sue the attorney general to end her civil investigation a couple of weeks after this filing. James’ response to that was, “Neither Mr. Trump nor the Trump Organization gets to dictate if and where they will answer for their actions.”
Source: Morons Who Can’t Afford Good Attorneys: Trump Kids ‘Defy’ Subpoenas | Crooks and Liars
As much as we may critique the democratic system in the United States for not living up to its name, or the Democratic Party for not getting enough done, what we now face is dire. Trump himself may not precisely fit the “classic” definition of a fascist leader — we can quibble about that around the edges — but he’s close enough for many experts. More to the point, he is a nonstop liar, a conman and a sociopath. He doesn’t care about his own followers, only about himself. No such person should be in a leadership position at any level.
Source: Are we normalizing the “death of democracy” by talking about it so much? Definitely not | Salon.com
Many of the War Room clips uploaded by candidates effectively circumvent YouTube’s already weak ban of the podcast and contain apparent violations by spreading election misinformation. Now, right-wing candidates at the local and national levels are flocking to Bannon’s show to promote their 2022 campaigns and uploading the clips to their own YouTube channels. They often express their support for the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, a critical “litmus test” for Republican candidates to demonstrate their loyalty to the most extreme demands of Bannon’s hardcore right-wing audience. Many of the candidates Bannon throws his support behind and who appear on his show are linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory, which has also been banned on YouTube. Here are the GOP candidates using their War Room appearances to campaign for office on YouTube, totaling 191,173 views total:
There are few government agencies which have escaped the privatisation fetish of the Coalition. Callum Foote and Michael West report on the hypocrisy of the “personal responsibility” mantra amid concerns raised by Australian Tax Office insiders over the surging use of external consultants and lawyers.
Australians in regional areas with severe mental health problems will go without help, after “devastating” changes to the telehealth system, psychiatrists warn. Recent federal government reforms removed a 50% loading for some rural psychiatric services, meaning some types of consultations providers will no longer be able to bulk-bill. They will have to absorb the costs or pass them on to patients.
Source: Telehealth changes ‘devastating’ for psychiatry patients in regional areas | Health | The Guardian
No question that different treatment is being handed out by investigators had the rioters been Black ,Muslim or LGBTQis
“There is no question that the FBI and federal prosecutors have treated white supremacist and far-right violence far more leniently than Muslims they accuse of supporting terrorism.”
Is he describing Scott Morrison PM?
French author Édouard Louis is famous for his works portraying the daily humiliations of working-class life. In an interview, he explains how our rulers avoid responsibility for their decisions — while blaming the rest of us for how we cope with the consequences.
Source: Édouard Louis: Why Is Individual Responsibility Only for the Poor?
“Yeah, I absolutely do. I think we’re going to start to see a lot of movement now. There’s a lot of momentum going on both at the DA’s office, as well as the attorney general,” he said. “This case is not over simply because Cy Vance is now out of office. To the contrary, I believe things are going to start ramping up. I think they’ll start moving quickly. I do believe that in 2022, especially the early part, we’re going to see some indictments and some very exciting ones for those of us that want to see justice.”
Source: Michael Cohen Predicts NYC Trump Investigation Will Ramp Up | Crooks and Liars
Delay Delay Delay: The Fruit always falls close to the tree
But Ivanka and Donald Jr., who have both been heavily involved in the Trump Organization, aren’t handing over any documents without a fight. The two have filed already filed motions to end the subpoenas, ABC News reports.
“Donald Trump’s January 6 press event should be recognized for what it is: an opportunity for Trump to lie to downplay the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and set up his 2024 presidential campaign,” said Angelo Carusone, president of watchdog Media Matters for America, in a Monday statement. He stressed that “it is critical that news networks do the right thing—refuse to carry it live, so they do not uncritically promote the lies and disinformation that is generated from Trump’s speech in real time.” “Trump has a well-established pattern of lying every time he opens his mouth,” Carusone noted. “He has also had ample opportunities to weigh in on the insurrection—including when Fox hosts begged Trump to take action in real time to stop the riot. To give Trump a platform to spread lies and misinformation on this tragic anniversary would be to repeat the very mistakes that helped foment the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in the first place.”
Source: Media Watchdogs Warn Networks Against Uncritical Airing of ‘Big Lie’ Trump Event
Yet if we do not strengthen voting rights, and if Trump and his accomplices are not held criminally accountable, we are inviting another attempted coup. Next time, it could succeed. Your thoughts?
Source: The Week Ahead: The Start of Accountability for Trump’s Attempted Coup? | The Smirking Chimp
Morrison tries to run an equivalence argument when it comes to Independents, claiming their funding is the same, and bad people are found on both sides. Yet the LNP hides over 33% of the donations that come their way. Nor does he mention the $80M being spent by Palmer to simply get 5% of the vote and preference the LNP. Furthermore, nothing is said about any other indirect corporate donations like sponsoring meet and greet functions to collect money. “Transactional advertorials” aren’t news buy time space and propaganda provided by Murdoch, Peter Costello and Kerry Stokes designed to pollute and create a biased LNP atmosphere. While, we hear his constant complaints about the ABC whose charter is to hold all governments to account and test the veracity whether LNP or ALP of what’s being said for the benefit of all of us.
Easy money comes in the way of these indirect transactional deals. Cash flows from the top down in the form of vested interests and not from the bottom up and it’s patently clear it doesn’t flow in equal quantity to the ALP whether they are in government or not, and which is constantly battling with one arm tied behind its back. The LNP as a government has to pay and that’s reflected in their 200% increase in operational debt and the highest historical taxes demanded of us resulting in wages in hand not growing for over 25 years?
Mr Morrison said he was calling independents out when questioned over whether people could change their political stripes, such as former Liberal MP Craig Kelly quitting the party and joining Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party.
Of course, when I say the number of positive cases, I mean the number of positive cases that we know about. Just like the boats, if we make tests another “We don’t comment about On Water Matters”, then we can sweep them under the carpet and say from the thirty three PCR tests done yesterday there were only thirty positive cases. That’s well down on the thirty thousand we had on January 6th. As for the RATs, I can already hear Morrison standing up and saying, “It’s thanks to Can-do capitalism that we have these tests in the country, if it were left to state governments we wouldn’t have got them so quickly… No, I can’t give you the numbers of tests imported because that’s commercial in confidence… No, we don’t see any need to restrict prices, these businesses are having a go and if you have a go you deserve to make a profit, we’re not socialists like Labor who’d have you paying more in taxes, whereas we’re all about choice and you can choose not to buy the RAT… Thanks, but no more questions as I have to take an important call from a world leader in discount prices so if you need a new appliance, you can get ten percent off if you buy your RATs there.”
Yes, while Australians were cheering Scott Boland, he only stopped one test.,. The other Scott has managed to stop millions!
The federal government could procure the needed supplies and provide them to pharmacies for free who could then distribute them for a set dispensing fee that covers their fixed costs – no mark-up, no GST, limited supply per person.Other businesses could buy them in bulk for workplace testing for cost price from the government who would act as the wholesaler.That’s why we have a universal healthcare system.Use some of the Medical Future Fund that Costello is hatching if you really need some cash to pay for it.Or stop spending billions on war toys we will never use.Priorities.It’s not rocket science, troops.
Source: How to solve the RAT supply dilemma – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Frydenberg The Carpetbagger’s Pitch
Fairly typical of government’s successful pre-MYEFO marketing was: “The update will also forecast an associated uptick in wages growth of about 11 per cent between now and 2024-25, which is up from the 9 per cent forecast in the May budget, and worth about $10,000 to those currently earning $90,000 a year.” Sounds good, doesn’t it? But it’s the old trick of adding up a number of years and ignoring inflation and taxation, never mind interaction with the transfer system. The document itself forecast “wages growth to outstrip inflation over the four-year forward estimates”. But that was only for pre-tax wages. After-tax is still going backwards over that period.
Source: Michael Pascoe: No, there is no wages growth over the next four years
The scariest thing about Don’t Look Up is that as absurd as it is, it barely exaggerates. Much of our political elite are just as greedy and foolish, our media just as vapid, and our response to impending disaster exactly as mind-bogglingly irrational as in the movie.
Source: Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up Captures the Stupidity of Our Political Era
As the one-year anniversary of Jan. 6 approaches this week, news outlets are out with a spate of new polls showing how the siege of the Capitol has affected American politics.
Source: POLITICO Playbook: 4 startling polls you should read about Jan. 6 – POLITICO
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston is not giving up on exposing how Donald Trump and his family fleeced America while he was in the White House. To that end, the bestselling author is back with a meticulously researched new book, “The Big Cheat: How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family.”
Source: Donald Trump and his family fleeced America: Why aren’t they being held accountable? | Salon.com
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