Source: The Basic Deal Between Corporate America and the GOP is Alive and Well | The Smirking Chimp
Category: Informed Comment
Think television, newspapers, public speeches, movies, sport, news, advertising, entertainment, radio and above all, politics. Think about what you see, read and hear. Now think about the word “exaggeration.”
We have the best firefighters in the world, the best law enforcement agencies, the best health experts. We have “the best” of so many and so much it’s a wonder we aren’t the best in the world. Whoops, I’m sorry, we are the best in the world.
“We have the best people in the world looking at these issues,” said Scott Morrison on ABC Insiders last Sunday. He was referring to the problem of obtaining vaccines.
For me, l must say that l find all the exaggeration rather appalling and unnecessary. It is lying dressed in the clothes of fools.
It’s kind of disheartening when the people who make our laws and have complete control of our commonwealth admit that their only goal is to get rid of the other side.
When The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age invited federal MPs to attend a one-hour Zoom demonstration of what an empathy training course entails, five agreed – and their responses demonstrate exactly why we must change, not only our government but our whole system of governance.
Source: “This isn’t an outcome-oriented workplace” – » The Australian Independent Media Network
We were never going to meet anything close to Morrison’s vaccine march and rollout, as he arrogantly pronounced. It was foot in mouth disease, a muppet show. The European supply issue was totally predictable from early last year even when Morrison placed his solo order on behalf of Australia and backed it up with the one and only domestic manufacture of the same product.
Now, the 2021 Australian Constitutional Values Survey by CQUniversity and Griffith University shows over 60% of Australians remain in favour of a First Nations Voice to parliament in some form.
Source: Most Australians support First Nations Voice to parliament: survey
The tawdry sex scandals plaguing the Morrison Government are drawing attention to its deeper and far more serious problems, writes managing editor Michelle Pini.Source: Sex, lies and iPhone pics: Scott Morrison’s imperfect storm
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Increased public debt also makes sense when it is used to finance new investment, including investment in education. Particularly at the low rates of interest likely to prevail for the foreseeable future, properly selected public investments will generate more than enough income to service and repay the associated debt, leading to an increase in the net wealth of the public sector.
In summary, public debt isn’t “money for nothing”, but we shouldn’t panic about it.
Source: Public debt isn’t ‘money for nothing’, but we shouldn’t panic about it
People around the world witnessing the fragility of American democracy “want to see whether our democracy is resilient, whether we can rise to the challenge here at home. That will be the foundation for our legitimacy in defending democracy around the world for years to come.” That resilience and legitimacy will depend in large part on whether Republicans or Democrats prevail on voting rights. Not since the years leading up to the Civil War has the clash between the nation’s two major parties so clearly defined the core challenge facing American democracy.
The Bigot Party | The Smirking Chimp
My thought for the day Do you shape the truth for the sake of a good impression? On the other hand, do you tell the truth even if it may tear down the view people may have of you? Alternatively, do you simply use the contrivance of omission and create another lie. I can only conclude that there is always a pain in truth, but there is no harm in it. (John Lord )
“It was as clear as mud, and it covered the ground, and the confusion made me brain go round” – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Could it be a wank that brings Scooter Morrison undone? Not the metaphorical kind of Scooter’s self-indulgent posturing or his constant, carefully crafted photo ops but rather a literal wank – a hairy-palmed Lib staffer interrogating the prisoner in a female MP’s office and depositing a pearl necklace on her furniture.
Dumpster fire of the vanities: A reality check for the born-to-rulers – » The Australian Independent Media Network
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new strategist has revealed that she realised she was racist after marrying her black husband. Genevieve Roth has claimed all white people are “rife with internalised racism and unconscious bias”. “Race is an issue in our marriage because as a white woman of privilege, I have racist tendencies written in at a cellular level,” she said. The comment echoes an observation made by Prince Harry, who said his own upbringing meant he had been ignorant about the widespread nature of racism until he met his wife.
Archewell strategist Genevieve Roth: why race is an issue in my marriage
A ‘tearful’ Scott Morrison took to the stage this morning to tell us how his daughters, his wife, and his mother are the centre of his life. Yeah, we know. That’s how he began his election campaign – “Aren’t they fantastic? How good is Mum? How good is Jenny?” So, aside from the fact that he has female relatives, why was Scotty upset?
Spare me your tears – » The Australian Independent Media Network
However, it does make one wonder how lax things must be at NewsCorp when a complaint like that is mentioned in the PM’s press conference. I mean, who told him? If the Liberals can keep a sexual assault so confidential that Scott Morrison never hears about it, how did he find out about this one? Surely not gossip because he never comments on that, so it must have been official. Still, criticising the culture at a Murdoch operation is a brave move. A very brave move. He’ll be gone within the week!
Prayer Groups And Prayer Rooms And Liberals On Their Knees! – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Well may Scott Morrison tear up as he relates how his daughters, wife and widowed mother drive his every decision. The facts are that every move of the Coalition government ensures women are poorer, more insecure at work and more vulnerable to violence on the job. The Industrial Relations bill pushed through last week is a final nail in the coffin for women. Alison Pennington reports.
Crocodile tears no mask for Coalition’s economic war on women – Michael West
The most dramatic change in American capitalism over the last half century has been the emergence of corporate behemoths like Amazon and the simultaneous shrinkage of organized labor. The resulting imbalance has spawned near-record inequalities of income and wealth, corruption of democracy by big money, and the abandonment of the working class.
Bessemer and the Power Shift | The Smirking Chimp
The retailer said it would pay dividends totalling $249m, of which Gerry Harvey is set to receive $78m due to his 31.4% shareholding in the company. Despite this, they declined to pay back the estimated $22 million they somehow collected for JobKeeper, a payment they should never have qualified to receive. But that’s all fine and dandy with the Treasurer apparently who won’t be asking for the money back from any of the companies who claimed the payment despite making higher profits. As Secretary of the ACTU Sally McManus pointed out, “They have no qualms about requesting and forcing people to pay back Centrelink payments – no problem with that whatsoever. Somehow we’re all supposed to sit back and say ‘oh well that’s OK, that’s just the rules that apply to big business in this country’.
How good is Gerry! – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Oil companies knew 50 years ago the huge damage they were doing. Their motive to ignore it is the same now as it was then
The planet cannot survive our remorseless pursuit of profit | Oil | The Guardian
Amid the GOP’s nationwide voter suppression onslaught that threatens to restrict ballot access for tens of millions of Americans, Senate Democrats’ introduction of the For the People Act on Wednesday was welcomed by progressives who also emphasized that passing the comprehensive plan to strengthen the country’s democracy through the Senate will require the upper chamber’s majority to scrap the anti-democratic 60-vote filibuster.
After Introduction of For the People Act, Senate Dems Told to ‘End the Filibuster and Pass’ It | Common Dreams News
Nicolle Flint seemed to be trying for a Julia Gillard moment yesterday when she attacked Anthony Albanese. “I say to the leader of the opposition: I will not be lectured by you. I will not be lectured by your side of politics about the treatment of women in this place.” Ms Flint, after saying that “the safety of women in this place should be above politics,” went on to get very political: “What I say to the Labor party today is that they may not have held the spray can to vandalise my office with sexist slurs and they may not have held the camera pointed at me by the stalker or called me evil in GetUp’s phone calls, but they did create the environment in which hate could flourish.” Oh come on, Nicolle.
Nicolle Flint’s “non-political” attack on Labor – » The Australian Independent Media Network
The Morrison Government’s handling of the Porter rape allegations has seen a seismic shift in the public mood and people have had enough, writes managing editor Michelle Pini.
Morrison Government turns its back on women, triggering its own demise
On Friday of last week, I informed my wife that Michael McCormack would be the guest on ABC Insiders the coming Sunday. “Speers will have him for breakfast,” she answered with a touch of humour. And so it was. A giggling Laura Tingle confirmed my wife’s answer after the interview while the two other panel members just managed to contain themselves. On the one hand, it was hilarious. On the other, it was a strategy that a man so unqualified for leadership was the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia.
What is it like being interviewed by David Speers? Ask the Deputy Prime Minister. – » The Australian Independent Media Network
A quarter century ago, I and other members of Bill Clinton’s cabinet urged him to reject the Republican’s proposal to end welfare. It was too punitive, we said, subjecting poor Americans to deep and abiding poverty. But Clinton’s political advisers warned that unless he went along, he jeopardized his reelection.
How Bidenomics Unites America | The Smirking Chimp
Lendlease’s tax scam rivals the biggest heists of the century – alongside Rupert Murdoch, Chevron and Macquarie Bank. Yet its effects are spreading from a mere rip on the ATO to the nurses and teachers fund Aware Super which just acquired a chunk of retirement village assets. If Lendlease can ‘double dip’ on tax deductions, then anybody can. It opens up the Tax Office to millions of amended assessments. Michael West reports.
Teachers and nurses fund Aware Super now exposed to Lendlease retirement village rorts as Tax Office dawdles – Michael West
The US has far less mobility and equality of opportunity today than almost the entire European Union
The ‘American Dream’ of upward mobility is broken. Look at the numbers | US news | The Guardian
Americans take credit; we never admit wrongdoing. Taking responsibility for oneself is what we preach to other people and other countries. The Navy’s recruiting slogan says it all: “A Global Force for Good.” That’s only true in a comic book right-wing world, or one in which other countries are as forgiving of our “mistakes” as we ourselves are. In fact, that is the unspoken demand we make of them.
Military might, market ideology and moral posturing: A toxic combination that has poisoned America | Salon.com
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
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
We Are All Living in Rupert Murdoch’s World
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
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
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
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
Anyone who cares to watch “Inside the Canberra Bubble” might also conclude that Porter’s long history of predatory behaviours, adultery, lying, manipulation and political treachery makes it reasonably straightforward that an inquiry is necessary.
Both must go, or Morrison will pay the price for eight years of scandals – » The Australian Independent Media Network
In 1963, when the newly sworn in Lyndon Baines Johnson was advised against using his limited political capital on the controversial issue of civil and voting rights for Black Americans, he responded: “Well, what the hell’s the presidency for?”
Biden’s no LBJ but he must protect voting rights. What else is the presidency for? | US voting rights | The Guardian
When discourse between fair-minded people turns to speculation as to who has been Australia’s most appalling Prime Minister there are four names that are consistently short-listed – $3 Bill McMahon, fellow goblin John Howard, the feral friar Tony Abbott and Scott Spinocchio Morrison.
Can the Libs come up with someone even worse than Morrison? History says they will – » The Australian Independent Media Network
“The main beneficiary of the Trump administration from a ratings point of view was MSNBC… and that’s because they were the loyal opposition,” Murdoch said of the rival cable network. “That’s what our job is now with the Biden administration, and you’ll see our ratings really improve from here.” That’s a load of hogwash. In February – you know, while Biden was president – MSNBC won the total day ratings. And while Fox had the most prime time viewers, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show beat both Tucker Carlson Tonight and Hannity.
Lachlan Murdoch’s Self-Delusion Keeps Fox News Alive | Crooks and Liars
Scott Morrison has a near obsession with control. But suddenly – in the course of only weeks – he has found himself presiding over a government in a shambles, where he is reacting rather than driving.
Grattan on Friday: Scott Morrison can’t get a circuit breaker while Porter remains
The left of politics is concerned with people who cannot help themselves. The right is concerned with those who can.
The week that will never go away – » The Australian Independent Media Network
The two million deaths that have resulted from the ruling elites mishandling of the global pandemic will be dwarfed by what is to follow. The global catastrophe that awaits us, already baked into the ecosystem from the failure to curb the use of fossil fuels and animal agriculture, presage new, deadlier pandemics, mass migrations of billions of desperate people, plummeting crop yields, mass starvation and systems collapse.
The Age of Social Murder | The Smirking Chimp
