Author: peterimrich
Only Fox could claim an absurdity like this to be true (ODT)
Fox claims “a lot of those demonstrations will also include pro-Trump folks”
How Fox News is downplaying the anti-Trump UK protests during his state visit
and
Fox News White House correspondent: “A lot of those demonstrations” in London “will also include pro-Trump folks”
One of the reasons I write for Pravda.Report is its gracious editors frequently allow me to avoid the esoteric punditry and subdued tone that America’s corporate-controlled media often demand. In that media world, behind every political action or inaction there is supposedly a well thought out “strategy,” and any sense of urgency about the consequences of such actions or inactions is diluted.
I say this to stress that there is nothing esoteric about politics and law in America today, and nothing to justify the current complacency. Trump is a criminal and Barr is a Trump lackey and an unabashed liar, and the United States Congress is allowing both of them to destroy America’s democracy for future generations.
Impeachment is not an “option.” It is a necessity.
Those who doubt this, I close with Amash’s words: “America’s institutions depend on officials to uphold both the rules and spirit of [America’s] constitutional system even when to do so is personally inconvenient or yields a politically unfavorable outcome. [America’s] Constitution is brilliant and awesome; it deserves a government to match it.”
David R. Hoffman, Legal Editor of Pravda.Report
“But really it’s no surprise considering Angus Taylor has continually argued against climate action and is part of a government that has continually lied about what their emissions data actually shows, which is that emissions are rising and we’re not on track to meet our international climate commitments.”
Apparently this government has a mandate to operate in secret and will continue to do so. (ODT
Is this a false flag to distract from the ATO’s whistle blower? (ODT)
The actions are in connection to an April 2018 story that revealed internal government discussions about giving electronic intelligence agency the Australian Signals Directorate greater power to respond to threats on Australian soil.
AFP raid home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst over national security reporting
Another week, another couple of trade wars — one with India (“The Trump administration announced on Friday that it was stripping India of a special status that exempts billions of dollars of its products from American tariffs; The South Asian country could now move forward with its own tariffs”) and another with Mexico. Of the two, Trump’s muttonheaded decision to disrupt supply chains with our largest trading partner — Mexico — has rattled Wall Street and American companies either already doing business there or were on the precipice of moving their manufacturing from China to our southern “ally.”
Nonplussed Catherine Rampell sputters that “[Trump’s Mexico] decision is so mind-bogglingly stupid, it’s hard to keep track of all the reasons it’s dumb.” She manages to come up with 10 of them, however, from “Americans are paying these tariffs” to “It will also damage our ability to negotiate with China (and the E.U. and Japan) because it proves, once again, that Trump can’t be trusted to keep his word, including in the form of a signed international agreement [Nafta 1.1].”
Trump orchestrated the deaths of his mate Kims advisors and now he’s playing the same game Kim has played with the West all these years. The game of “you can’t trust me even when I do agree” It’s the same game he’s played with banks asking nations to finance him and up their risk not his in unsecured loans to the USA. He’s spending money on weaponising America both internationally and domestically and promoting insecurity of the planet.(ODT)
The Most Comprehensively Destructive President Ever | The Smirking Chimp
The new policy will most likely block candidates seeking to follow in the footsteps of Ms. Pressley, who is black, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who is of Puerto Rican descent, both of whom defeated veteran white male Democrats last year, Michael Capuano and Joseph Crowley.
The Democrats aren’t the progressive party they make out they are when they behave like Republicans (ODT)
Snap elections just weeks after Israelis went the polls are the result of a rivalry between Liberman and Netanyahu, but that’s just part of the story. The right is immersed in a crisis of identity, leadership, and politics.
via The right wing in Israel is in a deep crisis | +972 Magazine
Christensen spent 25 per cent of the year in the Philippines making woopee with his girlfriend at the taxpayer’s expense.
Turning to Craig Kelly, he:
” … has been described as a climate sceptic. He was appointed chair of the backbench Environment and Energy Committee, giving advice to Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg. He has previously written that convict arrivals to Australia in the 18th century found the weather warmer than in recent years and has invited climate sceptics from the Institute of Public Affairs to present to the government prior to the Paris Agreement. Kelly has criticised renewable energy, saying that it causes higher electricity bills. He has furthermore stated that this could kill people who are afraid to turn on their heaters.”
And, he:
“… stated on his Facebook page that he would vote with his electorate in the marriage survey. In the conscience votes which sought to amend the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017, Kelly voted for all the amendments, none of which passed.”
“In February 2019, after Cardinal George Pell‘s conviction for child sexual abuse, Kelly posted a series of Facebook posts labelling the trial a “grave miscarriage of justice”, and the media a “lynch mob”.”
“It places a photogenic, high profile, but controversial political figure up against an equally controversial Liberal figure, Peter Dutton, in a portfolio that is fraught with landmines and opportunities for the Labor Party to get some traction.”
“The reason is simple: for political parties, elections are make or break, determining their fate for the next three years; for the media, an election is just another story, admittedly a long-running and important story, but not an organisation-transforming event.” Conversation
I disagree I believe elections are a long runningmedia “investment” $80 million proved that and Murdoch media was a long term investor in the the conservatives and has been since Bob Hawke. It’s conservative leanings aren’t aimed at the general electorate but are focused on where the profit is and that’s not with the ALP. News Corp is less focused on news and far more on influence for money and PR. How much did they make this election? To say News Corp runs at a loss is merely to say they don’t pay tax. (ODT)
Enough ‘gotcha’ campaign coverage. Here are five ways the media can better cover elections
Political impact of the falsehoods
So an intriguing question arises. What may have been the election outcome if voters understood these economic realities?
The Coalition currently holds 77 seats in the House of Representatives — a majority of just three. A total of 38 Coalition seats are held by a margin of less than 10%.
If just 5% of all voters realised they were being lied to and switched sides, 15 seats would change from the Coalition to the reformist parties (all other things being equal). That would give Labor/Greens 84 and the Coalition 62.
If 9% of voters realised they were being duped and switched, 35 seats would change. That would give Labor/Greens 104 and the Coalition 43.
That is pretty much what their economic record deserves.
via How many seats will the Coalition win when the truth is actually told?
FAKE NEWS THE LNP HAVE IMPROVED THE ECONOMY. $80 Mill MEDIA CON (ODT)
That points to an exceptionally weak economy, susceptible to a growing list of potential international shocks; a message starkly at odds with that presented at the budget and the election.
Just two months ago, we were promised a decade of federal budget surpluses based upon a strong and recovering economy.
When a housing slump collides with rising unemploymentThat’s the problem with booms. They tend to unwind, occasionally in spectacular fashion, especially when they’ve been supercharged with debt.
Israel admitted launching hundreds of preemptive strikes on Syrian targets. Former IDF chief General Gadi Eisenhkot earlier said “(w)e struck thousands of targets (in Syria) without claiming responsibility or asking for credit.”
In response to two reported rockets from Syria striking illegally occupied Golan, falling harmlessly, Israeli warplanes terror-bombed Syrian targets pre-dawn Sunday.
Throughout the war, no evidence suggests Syrian forces ever targeted Israeli territory. Clearly they’d be nothing to gain and everything to lose.
Attacking Israel would escalate war Damascus is winning and wants ended. Clearly its forces had nothing to do with striking occupied Golan on June 1.
Most likely, US/Israeli supported terrorists were to blame for the incident, giving the Netanyahu regime a pretext for a terror-bombing attack even though it needs none to do whatever it pleases — with full US support and encouragement, with the UN and world community failing to hold it accountable.
When war is good for business and the US operates to create endless wars with commercial intent. (ODT)
via Israel Terror-Bombs Syria With Impunity – Stephen Lendman
Soundbytes won the last election in Australia because of short memories and Media (ODT)
5. Trump claims that U.S. economy is better than ever
Trump obviously realizes that many Americans, like himself, have short attention spans. Democrats are much better at nuance, but when so many Americans respond instinctively to soundbites — not nuance or intricate details — Democrats are fighting an uphill battle. Trump has repeatedly congratulated himself for the United States’ low unemployment rates of 2018 and 2019, but the devil is in the details: the country was recovering significantly from the Great Recession when Obama was still president — and not all Americans have been feeling the recovery. But when Trump stresses that “our economy is better than it has been in many decades” and tries to take credit for it, his base is going to buy into it — even if they’re still struggling.
“Bottom line: Trump likes (tariffs) and will always look for an excuse to levy them,” Guajardo tweeted. “No country should delude itself thinking they can appease him to avoid them.”
Guess Trump will turn to his new found friend Kim Jong Un for intelligence. Nigel Farage for advice, and Boris for help in a mad mad world. (ODT)
The issue might appear arcane. But Pompeo’s threat, which Donald Trump will reiterate during his state visit, beginning on Monday, sent a chill through the diplomatic, defence and security establishment. In an age of rapidly diminishing influence, Britain still prides itself on its intelligence gathering, counter-terrorism and counter-espionage capability, as well as agencies such as GCHQ and its new offshoot, the National Cyber Security Centre.
This capability is recognised and respected – and is a main reason why Washington maintains a close alliance. Britain brings something substantial to the top table – and that helps secure its place there. By publicly questioning this collaboration, Pompeo thrust a well-aimed dagger into the heart of the “special relationship”.
Guardian Today: the headlines, the analysis, the debate – sent direct to you
Read more
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA—In the hours following a violent rampage in Virginia in which a lone attacker killed 12 individuals and injured four others, citizens living in the only country where this kind of mass killing routinely occurs reportedly concluded Wednesday that there was no way to prevent the massacre from taking place. “This was a terrible tragedy, but sometimes these things just happen and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop them,” said Michigan resident Mark Butler, echoing sentiments expressed by tens of millions of individuals who reside in a nation where over half of the world’s deadliest mass shootings have occurred in the past 50 years and whose citizens are 20 times more likely to die of gun violence than those of other developed nations. “It’s a shame, but what can we do? There really wasn’t anything that was going to keep this individual from snapping and killing a lot of people if that’s what they really wanted.” At press time, residents of the only economically advanced nation in the world where roughly two mass shootings have occurred every month for the past eight years were referring to themselves and their situation as “helpless.”
via ‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens
The US gun industry is a $28 billion a year business.In comparison, the whole US film industry has only $42 billion in annual revenues.Most congressmen can be bought for a few thousand dollars, and the corrupt American political system allows them to be so bought. That is the difference between New Zealand and the US. New Zealand’s political system may have its problems, but most politicians who behaved there as they do in the US would go to jail for taking bribes. As Taito Phillip Field.
via Firearms are used to Murder 11,000 /yr in US; N. Zealand Banned Semi-Automatic Guns after 50 Killed
The decision to blacklist Airbnb had immediate impact. The University of Texas said no employee could use state funds to rent on Airbnb. Abbott similarly ordered that no public worker use Airbnb. Then, in April, Airbnb reversed the decision to remove its listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and in May was taken off the Texas comptroller’s list.
“The decision to stand up for human rights should have been applauded by state lawmakers,” said Meera Shah, a senior staff attorney at Palestine Legal, a group that defends the speech rights of Palestinian rights advocates. “Instead, they elected to punish the company and force its hand and force it to walk back that decision.”
Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie made an amazing admission in an interview on Sky but nobody (except The Australia Institute) seemed to notice.
“[Adani will] be employing 1500 through the construction phase and around about 100 ongoing.”
Just to emphasise, that’s 100 ongoing jobs – not 10,000, not 1500 – ONE HUNDRED.
There is no magic bullet that can reverse the damage done by decades of neoliberalism. But a comprehensive agenda along the lines sketched above absolutely can. Much will depend on whether reformers are as resolute in combating problems like excessive market power and inequality as the private sector is in creating them.
A comprehensive agenda must focus on education, research and the other true sources of wealth. It must protect the environment and fight climate change with the same vigilance as the Green New Dealers in the US and Extinction Rebellion in the United Kingdom. And it must provide public programmes to ensure that no citizen is denied the basic requisites of a decent life. These include economic security, access to work and a living wage, health care and adequate housing, a secure retirement, and a quality education for one’s children.
This is so damaging because it doesn’t just increase polarization by amplifying opinions on either side of an issue. It builds partisan barriers within the country where conservatives don’t even have a clue what critics of the president and Democrats are talking about. If Mueller’s report really did exonerate the president, it would be absurd for any Democrats — or, indeed, Amash — to be citing it as a basis for impeachment. In reality, this conclusion is entirely rational and arguably obligatory, even if Fox News doesn’t admit it.
This is a destructive path for a society to take, but it’s where right-wing media is taking us.
This motley gang of swindlers and liars can’t even coordinate a fresh batch of relatively simple fiction without crashing into each other — much like, when one adds Rudy Giuliani, a Three Stooges routine.
via A Tangle of Lies: Trump, Sanders and Giuliani | The Smirking Chimp
I will close by reiterating the central allegation of our indictments – that there were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election. That allegation deserves the attention of every American. Thank you
via Robert Mueller Statement Transcript: If we had Found Trump Innocent, We would Have Said So
How Trump treats ASYLUM SEEKERS
“This is insane. Not only can they not move, they can’t breathe, they can’t eat, they can’t do anything like this. Children have died and will continue to die if this is not stopped now.”
A not-yet released report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General, reported CNN on Friday, has found “dangerous overcrowding” and unsanitary conditions at an El Paso, Texas, Border Patrol processing facility following an unannounced inspection. (Photo: Department of Homeland Security/IG Office/via CNN)A federal immigrant detention facility in El Paso, Texas is so unsanitary and overcrowded that migrants held by the Trump administration were forced to wear “soiled clothing for days or weeks” at a time and stand on toilets to find breathing space in their cells.
A disgruntled US city employee “indiscriminately” opened fire at the municipal centre in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on Friday afternoon, killing 11 people and wounding at least six others before he was killed himself, the city’s police chief has said.
Mr Entsch once owned Olive Vale station, a large Cape York farm north-west of Cairns, and has been a vocal proponent of land clearing on farming properties in north Queensland. Land clearing can create sediment and nutrient run-off and is the main driver of serious water quality problems on the Great Barrier Reef.
Mr Entsch lobbied his government on behalf of a highly contentious proposal to clear 2000 hectares of forest at Kingvale Station on Cape York Peninsula.
The land drains into two rivers that run into the Great Barrier Reef 200 kilometres downstream. Government-commissioned experts have warned that soil erosion from the work is likely to damage the reef.
Mr Entsch told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that despite his new responsibilities he “totally supports” the Kingvale land-clearing proposal.
“It has absolutely nothing to do with my role [as reef envoy],” he said.
via Coalition’s reef advocate backs massive tree-clearing plan
Fast becoming one of the hated. Must be doing something good. (ODT)
A general outline would include the fact that a few men own half our wealth and a majority have nothing; that U.S. economic hegemony is based on killing people and the biosphere by weapons and debt; that our political system, the toy of financial criminals, is inaccessible to citizens.
This butcher’s list of engineered malignity should have crashed a polity so viciously corrupted but, since it hasn’t, the explanation must be in the nature of its victims. The appalling capability of Americans to live simultaneously as abject slaves and complicit criminals in our putrefying Empire is baldly clear in three stunning recent examples.
Even Fox points out “Spin”(ODT)
Fox News Reports: William Barr ‘Emphatically’ Lied To Congress | Crooks and Liars
Back to the future dirty power and profit fucks Atmosphere, Health, biodiversity the enviroment and the long term future of the planet left for the next generations. All for the sake of a few cents the rich can’t take with them anyway. (ODT
Trump Administration Hardens Its Attack on Climate Science – The New York Times
Morrison Lied about this emissions have only come down under Labor. they started rising again in 2013 (ODT)
via Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions up for four years in a row
olddogthoughts 
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