Author: peterimrich

Israel

Israel most likely responsible for blast on Iranian container ship in Mediterranean – media — RT World News
Israel most likely responsible for blast on Iranian container ship in Mediterranean – media

A member of an Iranian investigation team has told a local news outlet that Tel Aviv was most likely behind the attack on a Europe-bound Iranian container ship in the Mediterranean Sea earlier this week. “Considering the geographical location and the way the ship was targeted, one of the strong possibilities is that this terrorist operation was carried out by the Zionist regime (Israel),” an unnamed investigator told the Nournews agency. Several containers on the deck of the Shahr-e Kord vessel were hit with high-explosive objects. The damage they suffered indicates that the Iranian ship could have been targeted by an aerial vehicle, the expert pointed out. The attack on a commercial vessel travelling through the Mediterranean to Europe took place on Wednesday. There were no casualties, and the crew swiftly extinguished the small fire in the hull it caused.

Israel most likely responsible for blast on Iranian container ship in Mediterranean – media — RT World News
LNP, LNP Economic Management, LNP Government

Let’s Stop Pretending Russia and China are Military Threats | The Smirking Chimp

The US will spend, if we want to be purists, $716 billion on the military. It’s actually a lot more because the National Security Agency is part of the military, and the CIA to all intents and purposes is military in nature and between them their secret budgets top more than the $50 billion that was leaked in a Congressional hearing eight years ago, and could be double that now since so much more US military activity is now handled by Special Forces acting under the direction of the CIA, but for sake of argument let’s just leave it at $716 billion. Russia’s military budget is $65 billion, and even if you tripled that to account for how much more expensive everything is in the US from soldiers’ pay to weapons systems would represent less than a third of what the US spends. China’s military budget $183 billion, and again, you could double that if you like to account for different costs and it would be less than half of the US military budget.

Let’s Stop Pretending Russia and China are Military Threats | The Smirking Chimp
LNP, LNP Economic Management

The Australian Government’s shameful exploitation of international students

Australia has exploited international students by reaping the benefits of their economic contribution before locking them out of the country during the pandemic, writes Hayden O’Connor.

The Australian Government’s shameful exploitation of international students
Fight against Fake News, Fighting Fake News

Old Dog Thought- Morrison can’t get the vaccines he promised Australia so he promises a billion for the Pacific.

Fighting Fake News with REAL; 14/3/21; Morrison takes the credit for Aged Care, ALP’s win in WA; New Politics; Womens emancipation; Vaccines; and Wage Theft;

Black Poverty, poverty, Poverty Industry

New Study in One of the ‘Most Miserable’ US Cities Shows the Amazing Effects of a Guaranteed Income | The Smirking Chimp

An ongoing study conducted in Stockton, California, examines how the lives of low-income Americans can improve if they are simply given money—a modest, but reliable source of income with no strings attached. The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) randomly chose 125 participants from poverty-stricken residential areas and gave them $500 per month to simply use for whatever they wanted over the last two years. A majority of the participants were women (69 percent) and people of color (53 percent). Preliminary results from the first year are tantalizing for anyone interested in solutions to address rising inequality in the United States, especially as they manifest along racial and gender lines. Within the first year, the study’s participants obtained jobs at twice the rate of the control group. At the beginning of the study, 28 percent of the participants had full-time employment, and after the first year, that number rose to 40 percent.

But read to see what happened later

New Study in One of the ‘Most Miserable’ US Cities Shows the Amazing Effects of a Guaranteed Income | The Smirking Chimp
Government by Media, Media

News Corp’s dirty laundry aired in blistering Senate probe
News Corp

News Corp’s dirty laundry has been aired in a day of extraordinary Senate hearings, with former employees accusing the media giant of spiking public interest journalism, a toxic workplace culture, and sexist reporting. More than 74-years of combined experience at News Corp was on display in emotional testimony before the Senate inquiry into media diversity on Friday, as former staff exposed how the Murdoch empire’s dominance warps public perception and perpetuates stereotypes.

News Corp’s dirty laundry aired in blistering Senate probe
Fox News

Fox News Liars Call Biden ‘Senile’ After Speech | Crooks and Liars
Fox News Liars Call Biden 'Senile' After Speech

Fox had to cover Biden’s first prime time address after b**tching for days about no presser. So they lined up “pundits” to pan the speech afterwards. Fox News has given up having anything to do with news.

Fox News Liars Call Biden ‘Senile’ After Speech | Crooks and Liars
Fox News

Blame the Murdochs for Tucker Carlson | Media Matters for America
Tucker Carlson with Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch

If you want to stop the Fox host, focus on the money behind him

Blame the Murdochs for Tucker Carlson | Media Matters for America

and

Fox hosts attack the stock market for going up after passage of COVID relief

03/12/21 5:02 PM EST

Fox News absurdly claims it is unconstitutional for Congress to protect the right to vote

03/12/21 3:33 PM EST

Fox’s meltdown over Biden’s speech shows that it has nothing left but propaganda

03/12/21 3:03 PM EST

Uncategorized

Israel has Detained 13,000 Palestinian Children since 2000 and just took 5 more

Since the year 2000, the Israeli military in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank has “detained, interrogated, prosecuted, and imprisoned approximately 13,000 Palestinian children,” according to Defense for Children International. Nowadays Israel typically prosecutes between 500 and 700 children annually in military courts. Even though they are civilians and children, they are essentially court-martialed. Wednesday, it added five more to the total.

Israel has Detained 13,000 Palestinian Children since 2000 and just took 5 more
Mental Health, Mental Illness

‘Dehumanising’ and ‘a nightmare’: why disability groups want NDIS independent assessments scrapped

A coalition of more than 20 disability organisations released a statement yesterday setting out significant concerns over the federal government’s plans to introduce independent assessments to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

‘Dehumanising’ and ‘a nightmare’: why disability groups want NDIS independent assessments scrapped
Informed Comment

The trouble with being privileged is that you cannot fathom what it is like for those who are not – » The Australian Independent Media Network

When Linda Reynolds and Christian Porter shed public tears, it was not for a young employee who had allegedly been raped in your workplace by another hand-picked employee, it was not for a friend from years ago who had tragically taken her own life. Oh no, those tears were solely about the possible political consequences for the Ministers involved.

The trouble with being privileged is that you cannot fathom what it is like for those who are not – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Uncategorized

Culture is but a reflection of the society our politicians create – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Did you know that “the gross domestic product of the worlds poorest 48 nations is less than the wealth of the worlds three richest people combined“? ( John Lord )

Culture is but a reflection of the society our politicians create – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Informed Comment, Uncategorized

JobSeeker Hypocrisy: ‘rule of law’ for Porter but not for those below poverty line – Michael West
JobKeeper payment

Eight people are competing for every available job yet the Morrison Governmentcontinues to blame people themselves for being unemployed, putting the Coalition in breach of a key international treaty for as long as it refuses to raise JobSeeker to the poverty line. A Senate Committee hands down its report into JobSeeker when Parliament resumes next week. A clear commitment to increase the rate by of $250 a fortnight is vital to put pressure on the Government to do the right thing, legally and morally. Emma Dawson reports.

JobSeeker Hypocrisy: ‘rule of law’ for Porter but not for those below poverty line – Michael West
LNP, LNP Economic Management

Are we really making progress? – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Andrew Liveris and the NT CM

Scott Morrison might have been a moderately successful salesman – he has certainly bamboozled his political peers into buying into his pseudo policies – but his realistic concern for people’s needs is absolutely non-existent and every policy he announces is doing more and more damage to our future.

Are we really making progress? – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Fight against Fake News, Fighting Fake News

Old Dog Thought- One thing can be said about Goebbels he had a Phd
News Corp

Fighting Fake News with REAL; 13/3/21; Bullshit left by a Bolter; News Corp’s Dirty Laundry; Rule of Law; Economy and Morrison’s management; China

Trump

The Prosecutors Cometh | The Smirking Chimp

Were I Trump’s Lawyer For The Day, I’d advise him to purchase a first-class ticket to Botswana or Brunei, neither of which has an extradition treaty with the United States. Because things are getting pretty ugly for him in New York.

The Prosecutors Cometh | The Smirking Chimp
Media, media distortion

How Democrats successfully silenced Republican opposition to Biden’s COVID relief bill | Salon.com
main article image

If you consumed exclusively right-wing media this week — which is normal in red state America — you’d get the impression that the Amerian Rescue Plan is a minor bill, and that the biggest problem facing this country is the onslaught of “woke” people that are stepping on the god-given right of every red-blooded white American to be shielded from criticism for saying racist and sexist things.

How Democrats successfully silenced Republican opposition to Biden’s COVID relief bill | Salon.com
Uncategorized

By 2030, 60% of New Cars in China will be Electric, and by 2040 all New Cars in the World will be: USB Bank; Will Mideast Oil States Survive?

60 percent of new cars sold in China in 2030 will be electric, according to Switzerland’s UBS bank. And by 2040 the only new cars on the market globally will be electric, the bank predicts. So report Daniel Ren and Pearl Liu for the South China Morning Post.

By 2030, 60% of New Cars in China will be Electric, and by 2040 all New Cars in the World will be: USB Bank; Will Mideast Oil States Survive?
Media

Is Britain’s TV news at risk of being dominated by those who shout loudest? | TV news | The Guardian
Andrew Neil
Murdoch’s revenge Americanizing UK Media

There has long been an alignment of interests between those who despise the EU and those who despise the BBC for its publicly funded journalism. This confluence has also been demonstrated by British newspaper owners and their editors; now two new television ventures are providing a fresh outlet.

Is Britain’s TV news at risk of being dominated by those who shout loudest? | TV news | The Guardian
Informed Comment

We Are All Living in Rupert Murdoch’s World

We Are All Living in Rupert Murdoch’s World
SAVE THE ABC

The right-wing media baron Rupert Murdoch turns 90 today. His news empire has been instrumental in reshaping the world in the image cast by conservative elites. The need to build a robust and democratic alternative media has never been more urgent.

We Are All Living in Rupert Murdoch’s World
Informed Comment

Mass Layoffs at the Huffington Post Signal Doom for Journalism

Mass Layoffs at the Huffington Post Signal Doom for Journalism

A massive round of layoffs at the Huffington Post confirms that the media industry stands at the edge of a precipice. The only way it can shield itself from the whims of sadistic media baron owners who care nothing for journalism is by looking beyond capitalist ownership.

Mass Layoffs at the Huffington Post Signal Doom for Journalism
Informed Comment

Hydrogen Hype: Angus Taylor’s last throw of the dice for brown coal – Michael West
Hydrogen green washing

Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s plan to turn brown coal into a hydrogen export market to save the La Trobe Valley, which he described as a “significant project”, defies financial credibility, writes Brian Toohey.

Hydrogen Hype: Angus Taylor’s last throw of the dice for brown coal – Michael West
Green Energy, Renewable Energy Change

Vital Signs: timing of Yallourn’s closure shows it’s high time for a carbon price

Vital Signs: timing of Yallourn’s closure shows it’s high time for a carbon price

Our energy transition is in disarray. It will only get worse without a price on carbon and an end to subsidies for all forms of energy. Failure to do so will merely sow the seeds for more transition problems in the years to come.

Vital Signs: timing of Yallourn’s closure shows it’s high time for a carbon price
Humour

Democracy Is Really Just Mob Rule And Why I’m Innocent Of Everything – » The Australian Independent Media Network

If you take the personalities out it and ask yourself the simple question: Who is more worthy of being listened to? A family who has been put there by Divine Right, or an actress from a television show. You realise that it doesn’t matter who’s telling the truth because the Queen and her family are our heads of state and we should never question anything they say even if it is a complete load of bollocks and we know they have a history of racism and historic support of the Nazis. Yes, we should support the Royal family whatever they do because otherwise, it’s just mob rule… Or as some like to call it, democracy.

Democracy Is Really Just Mob Rule And Why I’m Innocent Of Everything – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Women

Christian Porter allegation: Annette Kimmitt’s MinterEllision departure is not surprising
Minter Ellison chief executive Annette Kimmitt has agreed to leave over an email she sent to staff.

When I was sexually harassed as a young lawyer at a top-tier firm, even though the HR department upheld my complaint, the miserable person who departed the company a few months later was me, not my harasser. He still works there.

Christian Porter allegation: Annette Kimmitt’s MinterEllision departure is not surprising
Fight against Fake News, Fighting Fake News

Old Dog Thought- Captain Morrison salutes Rupert Murdoch on his 90th
Image

Fighting Fake News with REAL 12/3/21; Morrison out-smirks the Mona Lisa; While Murdoch has held a gun to Democracy’s head; The Media;

Informed Comment

Several countries suspend AstraZeneca jabs

Health authorities in Denmark, Iceland and Norway say they have temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine shots after reports of the formation of blood clots in some who have been vaccinated. The move comes after Austria stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca shots while investigating a death from coagulation disorders and an illness from a pulmonary embolism. Danish health authorities said the country’s decision to suspend the shots for two weeks came after a 60-year old woman in Denmark, who was given an AstraZeneca shot from the same batch that was used in Austria, formed a blood clot and died.

Several countries suspend AstraZeneca jabs
Uncategorized

Internet Celebrates Piers Morgan Canceling Himself | Crooks and Liars
Internet Celebrates Piers Morgan Canceling Himself

Piers could not take the rightful criticism of his well documented racism towards Meghan Markle by a Good Morning Britain cohost, Alex Beresford .

Internet Celebrates Piers Morgan Canceling Himself | Crooks and Liars
Uncategorized

Only Oprah had the empathy and interview skills to take on the damaging British media – and win | Salon.com
main article image

And I suspect the British media now recognizes what Americans already know and Morgan and the Windsors are learning the hard way. Defending the Queen and taking potshots at duchesses may sell papers, but if you’re going to take aim at Oprah, you best not miss. Otherwise, prepare to be si-lenced.

Only Oprah had the empathy and interview skills to take on the damaging British media – and win | Salon.com
Uncategorized

Former trade minister Andrew Robb advocating magic mushroom therapy

When his daily pile of antidepressant pills stopped working, former Liberal Party director and trade minister Andrew Robb began researching psychedelic therapy as an option to send his depression into remission. “In wanting to do it myself, take advantage of it, I have tried to explore what it actually does. And there’s no doubt that it is quite well agreed that it increases the activity in the brain,” Mr Robb told 7.30. The irony of a conservative advocating currently illegal “shroom” or ecstasy therapy is not lost on him. “I understand that because it had such a bad rap in the 60s, the misuse of these drugs for recreational purposes had a very bad effect,” he said. Mr Robb is advocating for “limited amounts [to be] available for the medical profession to use in a controlled medical situation to alleviate mental health diseases”.

Former trade minister Andrew Robb advocating magic mushroom therapy
Uncategorized

Michelle Pini interviewed by RTV Slovenia on Australia’s Google and Facebook code

Following an IA article analysing the real winners of the Morrison Government’s proposed News Media Bargaining Code, managing editor Michelle Pini was interviewed by RTV Slovenia’s Jaša Rajšek about the Code, the Facebook blockade and the Australian media landscape.

Michelle Pini interviewed by RTV Slovenia on Australia’s Google and Facebook code
LNP, LNP Government

Violence in Australia’s Parliament House: Runs Deeper Than Sexual Assaults – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Gaslighting for Morrison is Salesmanship

Over the years Australians have witnessed behaviours from the members of our government institutions that can be depicted as lacking. These days we have a word that is becoming increasingly common in our society, gaslighting; more specifically political gaslighting. Described by Medical News Today, “Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse where a person or group makes someone question their sanity, perception of reality, or memories. People experiencing gaslighting often feel confused, anxious, and unable to trust themselves.” The description provided by the Political Dictionary is, “Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation that seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or group”.

Violence in Australia’s Parliament House: Runs Deeper Than Sexual Assaults – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Peter Dutton

Audit office ‘considers’ probe of Dutton’s community safety grants
peter dutton audit

The Australian National Audit Office is considering an audit into the administration of the Safer Communities Fund overseen by the Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

Audit office ‘considers’ probe of Dutton’s community safety grants
Corporate control, Corporate Government, Corporate Politics

State Capture: top corporations identified as members of both Liberal and Labor parties – Michael West
Political donations, Liberal Party, Labor Party, AEC

Companies which benefit enormously from government policy are also members of both the major political parties. A surprising data investigation by Stephanie Tran shows Woodside, Wesfarmers, PwC and ASX are Platinum members of the Liberal and Labor parties, and membership fees are identical. In the first part of our State Capture series we reveal Platinum, Gold and Silver members of both parties and what access they get.

State Capture: top corporations identified as members of both Liberal and Labor parties – Michael West
LNP, LNP Government, LNP Tactics

Australia’s Rulers Are Clamping Down on the Right to Protest

As we face a mounting ecological crisis, combined with racism and violence against First Nations people and refugees, Australia’s state and federal governments are ramping up anti-protest laws and even harassing the media. We need an organized fightback.

Australia’s Rulers Are Clamping Down on the Right to Protest
Fight against Fake News, Fighting Fake News

Old Dog Thought- What use is an entertaining freak to news and information?
Piers Morgan outside his home in the London suburb of Kensington on Wednesday.

Fighting Fake News with REAL 11/3/21; Morrison’s Lead, Coal’s retreat; Media’s Freak Shows are claimed to be “interesting”

Scott Morrison

Law firm chief ‘asked to leave’ as embattled ministers told to pay own legal costs
Annette Kimmitt.

Ms Kimmitt’s position has been under siege since she sent an all-staff email last week that was critical of veteran partner Peter Bartlett for not following “consultation or approval processes” before he provided advice to Mr Porter about his response to the rape allegation.

Law firm chief ‘asked to leave’ as embattled ministers told to pay own legal costs
Democracy

Democracy Is Good, Actually

There are moments when even the most committed of democrats find themselves despairing of political democracy. But the system has proven again and again to be the last best hope of ordinary people in defending their pursuit of happiness against tyrants of all stripes — both public and private.

Democracy Is Good, Actually
Israel

Israeli ambassador seeks to exploit Black struggle in US | The Electronic Intifada
Seated man greets standing man

Last month, Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United States and United Nations, took a trip to the American South to learn about the civil rights movement. Ostensibly, he learned about Jim Crow discrimination and ongoing racism. Yet he understood so little that he rejected any comparison between American racism and segregation and Israel’s denial of equal rights to Palestinian citizens and military rule over Palestinians in the occupied territories.

Israeli ambassador seeks to exploit Black struggle in US | The Electronic Intifada
Iran

Kylie Moore-Gilbert speaks out on time in Iranian prison

Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert has revealed she was beaten and tranquillised by her Iranian captors, who used “psychological torture” while she waited for diplomats to secure her freedom.

Kylie Moore-Gilbert speaks out on time in Iranian prison
LNP, LNP Economic Management

Aged care giants extort government for funding hike, threaten campaign in marginal seats – Michael West
aged care royal commission

Australia’s biggest private and corporatised charities in aged care are threatening the government with a political campaign if they don’t get more money, on top of the $21 billion in government funding they get already. Throwing money at large providers has not worked, write Elizabeth Minter and Dr Sarah Russell, in a call for greater transparency and significant reform for the sector.

Aged care giants extort government for funding hike, threaten campaign in marginal seats – Michael West
America's Shame

The Decades-Long Struggle Over Big Corporations and Poverty Wages

The Senate Parliamentarian dealt a strong blow to the Fight for $15 movement by ruling that a federal minimum wage increase could be included in the stimulus bill. Senator Bernie Sanders is pushing back with an amendment to take tax deductions away from large, profitable corporations that do not pay at least $15 an hour. This is just the latest battle in a struggle over big business wage practices that goes back decades. There was a time when landing a job with a large corporation was, even for blue collar workers, a ticket to a comfortable life — good wages, generous benefits, and a secure retirement. Women and workers of color did not share fully in this bounty, but they generally did better at big firms than small ones.

The Decades-Long Struggle Over Big Corporations and Poverty Wages
Coal

Victoria’s Yallourn coal power plant to close early as clean shift slashes prices
EnergyAustralia’s Yallourn coal-fired power plant in the Latrobe Valley.

The decision comes as a flood of new renewable energy has been driving down daytime power prices and piling enormous pressure on Australia’s fleet of ageing coal-fired power plants, which are far more expensive to operate and, increasingly, struggling to compete.

Victoria’s Yallourn coal power plant to close early as clean shift slashes prices
Australia's Shame

Scott Morrison sent wrong signal to survivors of child abuse
Prime Minister Scott Morrison should be leading by example.

By declining to read the dossier himself, Morrison sent the wrong signal.

Scott Morrison sent wrong signal to survivors of child abuse
America's Shame

Conservative Group Promises Billionaire Bucks To Suppress Vote | Crooks and Liars
Conservative Group Promises Billionaire Bucks To Suppress Vote

Heritage Action plans a multi-million dollar investment in digital and broadcast ads and activism to suppress votes in key states.

Conservative Group Promises Billionaire Bucks To Suppress Vote | Crooks and Liars
Media

‘Pathetic’: Piers Morgan Walks Off Set After Trashing Meghan Markle | Crooks and Liars
'Pathetic': Piers Morgan Walks Off Set After Trashing Meghan Markle
Style over meaning when confronted. A production miss or hit? Moving to another Murdoch chanel to come

Snowflake Piers Morgan couldn’t handle being called out by his co-host for his treatment of Meghan Markle.

‘Pathetic’: Piers Morgan Walks Off Set After Trashing Meghan Markle | Crooks and Liars
LNP, LNP Government

It takes a spark – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Like a bushfire – all it takes is a spark that is given time to develop. The Abbotts and Jones’ of this world do need to worry as their control is slipping day by day. What do you think?

It takes a spark – » The Australian Independent Media Network
LNP, LNP Economic Management, LNP Government

Dob in a bludger – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Nobody in the coalition government is prepared to concede they are failing the unemployed. The party of “Jobs and Growth” has in reality been expanding “Unemployment and Recession” for years and no policy the government has implemented in Morrison’s $9B Social Security Safety Net seems capable of changing that path.

Dob in a bludger – » The Australian Independent Media Network