A medical journal reports Russia’s Sputnik vaccine has an efficacy rate of over 91 per cent Felix Light says he found it easy to get vaccinated in Moscow The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is close to 100 per cent effective against the most severe illness from COVID-19, says epidemiologist
The rollout of Russia’s Sputnik vaccine was roundly criticised, now more than a billion doses have been ordered around the world – ABC News
The ABC can reveal Nick Warner started being paid as a consultant for the Prime Minister’s Department in January This is despite working for a private lobbying firm with close links to the Middle East Mr Warner is a former director-general of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service
Former intelligence boss Nick Warner joins lobbying firm while working as a consultant for Prime Minister’s Department – ABC News
AdRorts: Comrade Hunt deploys Communist propaganda tactics in government advertising – Michael West
“I suspect Orwell would see, as he did back in the 1930s, the rich and outrageous irony of governments using the resources of the people to manipulate them and to keep them acquiescent, passive and apathetic.” Shadow Minister for Public Accountability, Kelvin Thompson’s introductory remarks for the Government Advertising (Prohibiting use of taxpayers’ money on party political advertising) Bill 2005. Unfortunately the Thompson’s bill never got up. John Howard’s majority saw to that. It has now become widespread practice for Coalition ministers to spend public money advertising their political parties. Government ministers are using official ministerial announcements as a platform for Liberal Party and National Party advertising, drawing widespread condemnation for misuse of public money. The dubious practise reached a flashpoint this week after Health Minister Greg Hunt was caught branding an announcement for Pfizer vaccines with the LNP logo early. Hunt was questioned about the political party advertising by ABC presenter Michael Rowland and responded with personal insults, branding Rowland a “leftie”.
AdRorts: Comrade Hunt deploys Communist propaganda tactics in government advertising – Michael West
As election time rolls around – September and October are months most mentioned – it will be interesting to see whether Morrison and his ministers take their foot off the opening gear for the pork barrel sluice gate.
Scott Morrison will leave a legacy of corruption without consequence
Former secondhand car mart owner Paul Hyslop has built an ASX company selling antimicrobial products with claims they contain a unique virus-killing molecule. With COVID-19 ravaging the world, Mr Hyslop, founder and managing director of Zoono Group Ltd, has established a global presence for his products: Zoono Z-71 Microbe Shield and Zoono GermFree24 Hand Sanitiser.
Zoono Group’s COVID-19 killer claims raise questions
Widespread voter fraud is a fake problem, but some conservative donors say they’re getting scammed out of real money.
Election Denier Groups Accused of Profiting Without Results
Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is in its third day with the US Senate hearing example after example of the rioters saying the President directly summoned them to the Capitol on January 6.
Trump impeachment trial live updates: Rioters said President directly summoned them to the Capitol, US Senate hears – ABC News
Bernie and AOC Are Right: Joe Biden Should Declare Climate Change a National Emergency
For decades, presidents have used their power to declare emergencies to sideline badly needed regulations and entrench the national security state. Now a group of Congress members led by AOC is proposing that those powers be used for good: to force action to avoid a climate catastrophe.
Bernie and AOC Are Right: Joe Biden Should Declare Climate Change a National Emergency
In the real world we don’t allow juries to be rigged, defendants not to appear at trial, and laws to be blatantly ignored. But in Trumpworld anything goes. While America is moving on under President Joe Biden, Trump still has enough Stockholm senators in his pocket to escape justice. Again. When Trump declared that he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” and not lose any voters, we laughed at the absurdity of that notion. No one is laughing now.
Donald Trump impeachment trial is an immoral sham and criminal shame
COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate, but the havoc wrought by the virus—the deaths, economic devastation, and intergenerational trauma—has disproportionately affected Black, Latino, and Native American communities. The Trump administration’s feckless response didn’t help, yet even proactive steps have reinforced preexisting inequities: Stay-at-home orders protected people with the privilege to work remotely while frontline workers, disproportionately Black and Latino, took on greater risk of exposure. People of color have also experienced more unemployment and financial insecurity. As Mary Bassett, director of Harvard’s François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, explains, none of this is caused by the virus itself: “It’s because of the social consequences of race in our society, which has been reinforced by decades, centuries of bad practices and policies.”
The Pandemic Has Unmasked America’s Deepest Inequities – Mother Jones
A successful prosecution of the WikiLeaks founder could empower the government to go after journalists for publishing classified information.
Continued Push for Assange’s Extradition Is Bad News for Journalism
But by donating a new money stream to old media, the code may well end up making fake news and the opinion silos it feeds much worse. Media abandons balance in pursuit of Google’s billions Read More Social media platforms act as echo chambers (or the “oxygen of amplification” as Data & Society’s Whitney Phillips best describes it). But what are they echoing? It’s usually the words of leading political figures (from Donald Trump to Craig Kelly) mediated through hot takes from masthead opinionists or cable news commentators in the conservative media ecosystem that, through News Corp, dominates Australia.
No, the news media bargaining code won’t end fake news
Is the Covid-19 vaccine the Liberal Party’s vaccine or the Australian Government’s vaccine? It’s not their money but the Liberal Party has its logo plastered across advertisements for millions in Government grants. This #AdRort campaign is but the latest in a grotesque throng of rorts, such that this must surely be the most corrupt government in Australia’s history. Elizabeth Minter and Michael West report.
AdRorts: the latest corrupt practice in a prodigious body of Coalition dirty work – Michael West
Imagine half a million Australians, a record 501,876 to be precise, petition for a royal commission into your patron, rabid reactionary, Rupert Murdoch, billionaire media monopolist and monster powerbroker. Does our PM, whose Liberal Party is effectively a wholly-owned subsidiary of News Corp, act democratically? No. Head Office steps in. Sharri Markson and Richard Ferguson of Murdoch’s The Australian publish an article, Kevin Rudd’s Bangladeshi ‘bots’ in media royal commission petition, Thursday 11 February, quoting a “Nicholas Smith”, who claims to have paid an overseas freelancer to “sign” the petition “hundreds of times” in order to “demonstrate to you how easy it is to manipulate our own government’s website”. Smear tactics. Neither mud-slinger Markson, nor feckless Ferguson take the next responsible step: concede that even without this stunt, there are more names on Rudd’s e-petition that any other. Ever. And just who is this Smith and his podcast The Turncoat? The story is a fake. SBS notes that The Turncoat’s Facebook page is littered with posts that have been flagged as misinformation, baseless claims about the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, and others, expressing support for President Trump. Shades of Craig Kelly, MP for Hughes, who despite his dressing down from his PM, immediately returns to Facebook to promote more toxic nonsense about fake cures for Covid-19 and to sow doubt about vaccines. Former furniture rep Kelly appears regularly from his chair on Murdoch’s Sky News, beaming his dangerous disinformation around the country and -via the internet- around the globe – from whence it came. There’s a restless, recycling in Kelly’s quest. As Crikey’s David Hardaker observes, “the outrageous nonsense spouted by the renegade Liberal MP is mostly spun from generic alt-right conspiracies and ideas.”
A cancer on our democracy. – » The Australian Independent Media Network
A division of the Proud Boys in Albury has resorted to harassing social media commenters and elderly residents who they don’t agree with, writes
Australian Proud Boys on the hunt for social media commenters and the elderly
In Australia and internationally, climate lawmaking has been going on for more than a decade. The evidence is clear: well designed, binding climate laws do effectively tackle the climate crisis. Anything less may well turn out be an empty promise.
Mr Morrison, please don’t make empty promises: enshrine our climate targets in law
For decades, Republicans have been trained to put party above country. It shows in this impeachment trial.
Reality Check: 44 Republicans Just Indicated Evidence Might Not Matter | Crooks and Liars
If you are moderating a panel with Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch, who recently claimed that Fox was merely aiming for a “center-right” audience and whose father Rupert was among the first to receive the vaccine, ask it.
The one question every journalist interviewing a Fox employee needs to ask | Media Matters for America
Impeachment sends Republican senators scrambling: Trump makes the GOP squirm with a flailing defense | Salon.com
But there’s one silver lining: The Democrats who are arguing the case as the House managers so thoroughly smoked Trump’s defense that even Trump knows it.
Impeachment sends Republican senators scrambling: Trump makes the GOP squirm with a flailing defense | Salon.com
“Our policies don’t allow people to come back,” Segal stated.
‘When you’re removed, you’re removed’: Twitter chief says Trump ban is PERMANENT even if he’s re-elected — RT USA News
My thought for the day Science has made in my lifetime, the most staggering achievements and they are embraced, recognised and enjoyed by all sections of society. The only areas that I can think of where Science is questioned are in the religious fever of climate change, conservative politics and unconventional religious belief. ( John Lord )
Religion and politics can agree, but rarely do (part 1) – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Kevin Rudd has made blistering accusations that News Corp runs a “protection racket” for the government and acts to “radicalise” Australians, drawing links between founder Rupert Murdoch and the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6.
Kevin Rudd links Rupert Murdoch to Capitol insurrection
Five Micronesian leaders declared they were quitting the organisation, accusing other Pacific Island nations of treating them with neglect and contempt.
What does the splitting of the Pacific Islands Forum mean for Australia? – ABC News
The Packer directors are gone. Guy Jalland and Michael Johnston have left the Crown Resorts board in the wake of dramatic findings of the Bergin Report. Chair Helen Coonan and others will remain under pressure. After all, they are responsible, they are the directors, and Justice Bergin found Crown was not suitable to run a casino. So, what’s next, asks Charles Livingstone?
‘Not suitable’: where to now for James Packer and Crown’s other casinos? – Michael West
Whites still won’t Mask up: Impeach Trump for discouraging Hygiene in a pandemic and killing hundreds of thousands
One of Trump’s biggest crimes for which he is unlikely ever to be held responsible was just discouraging mask-wearing in the midst of a pandemic of a respiratory disease. He, of course, contracted the disease himself, as did most of his prominent staffers, mainly because they refused to socially distance or mask up. There is no reason why Bible-thumping Republicans should have rejected mask-wearing, but Trump made it a culture wars meme.
Whites still won’t Mask up: Impeach Trump for discouraging Hygiene in a pandemic and killing hundreds of thousands
“We cannot begin to address this threat and rebuild trust unless we send a clear message that future presidents cannot incite an insurrection at the end of their term and get away with it.”
‘The Senate Must Convict. America Is Watching’: Watchdogs Demand Trump Be Held to Account | Common Dreams News
I analyzed all of Trump’s tweets to find out what he was really saying
The tally was in, it was clear Donald Trump had lost – and he tweeted: “either a new election should take place or … results nullified.” It sounds familiar, but it wasn’t November 2020. It was February 2016. Trump was just months into his presidential campaign, and was already telling a story he would tell countless times over the following five years, hinting to the world at the character of the man the U.S. Senate will soon evaluate in the impeachment trial. Back then, Trump was seeking to nullify Ted Cruz’s victory. And he was accusing Iowa of bungling the primary vote counting.
I analyzed all of Trump’s tweets to find out what he was really saying
Democrats are making a huge mistake if they don’t call witnesses at Trump’s second impeachment trial
Democrats drop the ball on Trump’s second impeachment before the trial even begins | Salon.com
We need to be careful to not assume that these high-profile cases are exceptions. They are the tip of the iceberg. I hear racist, homophobic and other slurs around difference at my local golf club and in other places where people mix, on a regular basis. And so do you. We damn the different, no matter what the form. We don’t value diversity, only diversity that makes others more the same as us, in other words, assimilation. We want migrants to be Australians, as long as they cook their authentic national dishes. Sadly, we are not as civilised as we would like to think ourselves to be. I think we are getting better at calling out prejudice when we see it but we still need much more leadership from politicians and institutions such as those that support the events I’ve described above. The quip of the week goes to Deborah Devine who talked about her son Dan Levy, the star of Schitt’s Creek, who is gay. She had a message to Dan’s bullies at a school camp when he was a boy: “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” Dan was hosting the prestigious program, a measure of his enormous success.
Being Indifferent to Difference – » The Australian Independent Media Network
It might have made more sense to realise that PNG, precisely in being sovereign, is making its own arrangements. Security cadres in Canberra and Washington take issue with the fact that the natives are showing initiative. Shoebridge even comes close to accusing the country of being a harlot of international relations. “Promises of millions – even billions – of dollars for a remote province are attractive not just for the Moresby government but for provincial leaders who need to deliver funds to local supporters.” The sort of cash, in other words, Australia is simply not interested in supplying.
China, Papua New Guinea and Australia’s Backyard Blues – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Fair enough, but the increases in compulsory super contributions will come out of the same bucket as wages – so-called on-costs which employers use to pay wage cheques, workers compensation, payroll tax, employees pay-as-you-go tax, and employees super contributions, which is also known as the “super guarantee”.
That extra you’re about to get in super, most of it will come from you, but don’t expect the ads to tell you that
This week’s Senate trial is unlikely to convict Donald Trump of inciting sedition against the United States. At least 17 Republican senators are needed for conviction, but only five have signaled they’ll go along.
The Monstrous Predicament Trump Left Behind | The Smirking Chimp
Senate Republicans refuse to do the one thing that would put Trump in the rearview mirror, which is to convict him in the upcoming impeachment trial. Convicting Trump would bar him from ever running for office again. That’s as close to a clean slate as Republicans will ever get, even though they don’t deserve it. Taking away that ability from Trump de-fangs him. Without the threat of running for office, he can’t make good on his threat to start a third party — or won’t, as Trump doesn’t do anything that isn’t centered on himself and his ego. Without the ability to run for office, the playing field opens up for all those other Republicans with dreams of running for president in 2024. So why won’t they do it?
Republican Senators aren’t beholden to their base — they’ll acquit Trump because they agree with him | Salon.com
Views: 508 So now, as a result of Trump’s refusal to get an early grip on the virus, it’s been around long enough to mutate, and will make it that much harder to get control. CNN reports this morning.
Decline In Covid Cases Is More Of A Pause As UK Variant Begins To Spread | Crooks and Liars
“The defendant participated in a [student] election campaign on behalf of an organization at Birzeit University, as well as a book and stationery fair that was organized by the organization. He sold sandwiches, falafel, and coffee on behalf of the organization.”
In its war on Palestinian students, Israel deems book fairs and falafel sales a crime
Mays Abu Ghosh was revising for a college exam during August 2019 when Israeli soldiers broke into her home late at night. Accompanied by dogs, the troops told her father to wake up the family and gather everyone in one place. Then they entered Mays’ room and ordered her to switch on her mobile phone and computer. She refused to do so. After she disobeyed the order, Mays had to get dressed in the presence of some female soldiers. Her bedroom and that of her parents were then ransacked by the troops. Handcuffed, Mays was brought from her family’s home in Qalandiya refugee camp to the military checkpoint also in Qalandiya – an area separating occupied East Jerusalem from the remainder of the West Bank. From there she was transported to the Russian Compound, an Israeli detention center in Jerusalem. Mays was held in that center for more than a month, during which time she was repeatedly tortured.
The persecution of a Palestinian student | The Electronic Intifada
Global heating from CO2 breaks Himalayan Glacier, floods sweep away Scores, destroy Hydroelectric Plant
A huge chunk of the Nanda Devi glacier in the Himalayas broke off Sunday morning, melting and crashing down on villages around Joshimath in India’s Uttarakhand state, leaving nine dead and 140 unaccounted for. The turbulent grey deluge of water, ice and rocks slammed into two hydro-electric plants, destroying one and damaging another under construction. The flood caused the Alaknanda and Dhauli Ganga rivers to swell dangerously and forced the evacuation of villagers living along their banks. The glaciers are melting as a result of human beings burning gasoline, coal and natural gas and putting the heat-trapping gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Some 2,000 military and police are searching for survivors.
Global heating from CO2 breaks Himalayan Glacier, floods sweep away Scores, destroy Hydroelectric Plant
So let’s give anger its just due. Those of us who write political pieces do so because we are angry. Angry at the unfair deal life inflicts on so many, angry at the indifference to their plight that society and so many politicians exhibit, angry at their reluctance to address these needs, angry at their self-centred preoccupation with their own political needs and wants ahead of the needs of those who interests they are elected to represent.
Anger – » The Australian Independent Media Network
With a federal election due this year or early next, the misinformation from Australia’s mainstream media is ramping up. Alan Austin reports. COALITION PARTIES and the pro-Coalition media already spreading the falsehoods they hope will dupe enough voters. The upcoming election is already being influenced by these elements.
Mainstream media roll out pro-Coalition narrative for the election year
When Australia’s answer to Joe McCarthy starts attacking Chinese Australians, the CCP just sits back and smiles.
Eric Abetz’s war on Chinese Australians has Beijing rubbing its hands
First Nations politicians, academics and activists demand action from the club and its corporate backers following a report that found systemic racism at the Magpies.
Open Letter Calls For Eddie McGuire To Resign, Demands Action From Collingwood Sponsors | HuffPost Australia
Republicans are embracing a technicality to avoid finding Trump guilty.
Trump’s Impeachment Trial Matters, Even If He Dodges Conviction – Mother Jones
Any day now, Telstra will cuddle up to the federal government seeking to have legislation to force eBay to compensate the phone company for the $630 million it lost on Trading Post. That will be followed by Blockbuster and smaller rental outfits wanting Scott Morrison to go Netflix, Foxtel and Stan for what they did to the local video store. Foxtel – no stranger to getting money in dubious circumstances from this government – will want laws to force Netflix, Stan, iView and SBS On Demand to pay up for “stealing” Foxtel subscribers. (A holding operation pending the Murdoch myrmidons’ preferred course of having the ABC and SBS exterminated or at least sold off.) Old Rupert Murdoch himself is next in line to have the Prime Minister recover from Facebook the $710 million he lost on MySpace. (Anyone remember MySpace?) Four absurd cases – but they are actually less absurd than the government’s current legislation to force Google and Facebook to compensate select advertising media for the fact that Google and Facebook are better at selling ads than they are.
Pascoe: Murdoch and media giants unite to deceive in Google cash grab
The term “Orwellian” has long been a vacuous cliché, and now even allies of Trump are making use of it to deride their opponents. But George Orwell, a self-described democratic socialist, always belonged on the Left.
Keeping George Orwell on the Left
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