Category: Uncategorized

A report claims koalas are ‘functionally extinct’ – but what does that mean?

 

Today the Australian Koala Foundation announced they believe “there are no more than 80,000 koalas in Australia”, making the species “functionally extinct”.

The term “functionally extinct” can describe a few perilous situations. In one case, it can refer to a species whose population has declined to the point where it can no longer play a significant role in their ecosystem. For example, it has been used to describe dingoes in places where they have become so reduced they have a negligible influence on the species they prey on.

via A report claims koalas are ‘functionally extinct’ – but what does that mean?

https://theconversation.com/we-must-rip-up-our-environmental-laws-to-address-the-extinction-crisis-116746

For 30 years I worked for News Corp papers. Now all I see is shameful bias | Tony Koch | Opinion | The Guardian

An employee enters the News Corp Australia office in Sydney

No editor I worked for would publish the rubbish they now produce

via For 30 years I worked for News Corp papers. Now all I see is shameful bias | Tony Koch | Opinion | The Guardian

‘Craziness has been dialled up’: News Corp journalist unloads on his own paper | Media | The Guardian

Rick Morton

Rick Morton says journalists at the Australian are increasingly uncomfortable about its political stance and there is ‘guerrilla warfare’ in the newsroom

via ‘Craziness has been dialled up’: News Corp journalist unloads on his own paper | Media | The Guardian

Ask a policy expert: How much do we pay for our politicians? | Australia news | The Guardian

Amethyst DeWilde in Adelaide

There are examples of politicians voluntarily reducing their pay in recognition of the equality gap between politicians and the people they represent. The Brisbane Greens councillor Jonathan Sri donates half his annual salary of $157,782 to charities. Another housing activist turned politician is the Barcelona mayor, Ada Colau, who cut salaries and benefits for officials in Barcelona on her election, and slashed her own salary from €140,000 to €28,600. In Australia, no major political party is now advocating for a reduction in the base pay for federal members and senators.

via Ask a policy expert: How much do we pay for our politicians? | Australia news | The Guardian

Sally McManus will be on every board: Morrison

Australia’s Industrial relations has been unique in the world and has lagged behind most EU countries. Germany has been progressive since WW2 as has the rest of Europe yet Australia resists any change. Sally McManus should be on all boards and that would mean real progress. (ODT)

An ACTU spokesman said “Sally is not going to be on every board in the country – that’s impossible and ridiculous”.

“Scott Morrison is running a scare campaign because he is desperate.”

Sally McManus will be on every board: Morrison

Fact Check: Will $77 billion worth of Coalition tax cuts go to people earning more than $180,000? – Australia Votes – Federal Election 2019 – Politics – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

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via Fact Check: Will $77 billion worth of Coalition tax cuts go to people earning more than $180,000? – Australia Votes – Federal Election 2019 – Politics – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Old Dog Thoughts -Israel’s Colonisation the 3-way Plan

Israel Gets all the Goodies, Palestinians Screwed: First-ever Reveal of ‘Deal of the Century’ Details

Andrew Bolt’s Blog 9/5/19; America and Israel plan for WAR ; 1)To prevent any Pan Arabic Union of armed state resistence. 2)To control oil and its wealth creation for that purpose 3) Israel’s politicians are pursuing their expansionist colonisation of Palestinian territories as if John Bolton’s plan was in order.4)The Bolton Plan rid the ME of any Palestinian State.

Pompeo in Baghdad to Pressure Iraq to join Press against Iran; Iraq declines

 

https://www.juancole.com/images/2019/05/pompeo-in-baghdad-to-pressure-ir-750x422.jpg

It’s crime to interfere with the sovereignty of America but not America interfering with other nations. (ODT)

Pompeo in Baghdad to Pressure Iraq to join Press against Iran; Iraq declines

‘They’ll be paying’: Trump blasts China as US prepares to raise trade tariffs | US news | The Guardian

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Trump shoots himself in the foot declaring Chia will pay and wiping $1.2 trillion off the stock market. He also said higher tariffs don’t effectct Americans because China pays them? Since when and in what world do buyers no pay customs duties and taxes?  (ODT)

via ‘They’ll be paying’: Trump blasts China as US prepares to raise trade tariffs | US news | The Guardian

House Democrats vote to hold attorney general Barr in contempt of Congress | US news | The Guardian

William Barr speaks at a news conference on 18 April 2019.

Democrats have voiced frustration with Barr’s handling of the report, suggesting the attorney general’s actions were designed to protect the president.

Barr has on multiple occasions characterized the report in ways that appeared to absolve Trump of wrongdoing, even though a redacted version of the Mueller report released on 18 April showed nearly a dozen instances in which the president or his campaign sought to obstruct justice.

via House Democrats vote to hold attorney general Barr in contempt of Congress | US news | The Guardian

It ‘Was Sport’ to Dodge Taxes, Admits Trump, After NYT Details Epic Business Failures

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So Trump admits NYT isn’t just Fake News but he was and was for a decade as far as the IRS is concerned (ODT)

“As these records make clear, Trump was perhaps the worst businessman in the world. His entire campaign was a lie.”

via It ‘Was Sport’ to Dodge Taxes, Admits Trump, After NYT Details Epic Business Failures

Daily Telegraph Says It ‘Got It Wrong’ With Yesterday’s Article And Will Publish A Full Page Cartoon Of Bill Shorten’s Mum As A Nazi Tomorrow – The Shovel

via Daily Telegraph Says It ‘Got It Wrong’ With Yesterday’s Article And Will Publish A Full Page Cartoon Of Bill Shorten’s Mum As A Nazi Tomorrow – The Shovel

Bill Shorten’s Terrible Lies! – » The Australian Independent Media Network

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: “We all born in the gutter, but Rupert Murdoch has made billions by telling us to look at the ones from Fox studios and then go back to the gutter and read my newspapers!”

via Bill Shorten’s Terrible Lies! – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Unions do hurt profits, but not productivity, and they remain a bulwark against a widening wealth gap

via Unions do hurt profits, but not productivity, and they remain a bulwark against a widening wealth gap

Interest rate cuts would hit bank profits and leave many savers earning nothing or worse – Business – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

generic picture of Australian bank notes

Let’s face it fi they can’t get it one way Capitalism will get your money another. If you were from a lucky generation you will need to redistribute to the unlucky. If you ar single dependant od savings your money will be channeled to riskier places. The controllers of the gateways of cash and debt isn’t choice but herding. The only real politics is among those at the top because it’s a fight not for change but simply adjustment to the system. ()DT)

Millions of Australians who have stashed money at their local bank branch could soon be earning next to nothing, if the Reserve Bank cuts interest rates as expected.

via Interest rate cuts would hit bank profits and leave many savers earning nothing or worse – Business – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

How will you fill in your time? – » The Australian Independent Media Network

We have seen three leaders’ debates now (well a couple of us have), and the overarching takeout is that this election is all about Bill Shorten and Labor policies.

After six years in government, Scott Morrison has nothing to say about why we should vote for his party other than we will get him as PM as opposed to Bill Shorten.

Even the journalists are over it. Patricia Karvelas said she feels like Bart Simpson writing lines over and over – “if you vote for Labor, you get Bill Shorten, if you vote Coalition, you get me.”

via How will you fill in your time? – » The Australian Independent Media Network

A star rating for companies and what it would mean – » The Australian Independent Media Network

 

In a world that puts profit first, the idea of a social licence to operate seems to be disappearing.Shareholders are removed from the reputational damage that once kept business owners more accountable for acting responsibly. It’s all about the cheque.Worker exploitation, environmental vandalism, tax avoidance and market manipulation are goals rather than anathema.

via A star rating for companies and what it would mean – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Old Dog Thoughts-Some people need to

Image may contain: one or more people

Andrew Bolt’s Blog,9/5/19; The New Normal missed by Bolt; Whacko Trump showing his power; The Greens, South Sudanese ; Violence of the Greens,

FBI Director: No Evidence Trump Was Being ‘Spied On’ | Crooks and Liars

via FBI Director: No Evidence Trump Was Being ‘Spied On’ | Crooks and Liars

Filed under:

Sarah Huckabee Sanders Says Trump May Try To Keep Robert Mueller From Testifying | HuffPost Australia

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested Tuesday that President Donald Trump may well try to block special counsel Robert Mueller from testifying before Congress.

via Sarah Huckabee Sanders Says Trump May Try To Keep Robert Mueller From Testifying | HuffPost Australia

Did Donald Trump’s Grip on the Justice Department Sabotage Robert Mueller’s Investigation?

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During testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, Barr was again by turns evasive and openly partisan as he defended Trump against the report’s evidence of obstruction and defended himself against accusations that he had misled Congress and the nation. After his testimony in the Republican-controlled Senate, Barr refused to appear before the Democratic-controlled House Judiciary Committee, setting up a potential battle over whether he is guilty of contempt of Congress.

Before the week was out, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had accused Barr of lying to Congress, an accusation that certainly endeared Barr to Trump.

via Did Donald Trump’s Grip on the Justice Department Sabotage Robert Mueller’s Investigation?

US to send B-52 bombers to Middle East as Iran tensions intensify – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

US B52 Stratofortress bomber

Sorry the word THREAT is being misused in this article (ODT)

via US to send B-52 bombers to Middle East as Iran tensions intensify – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Climate change costings that don’t count the cost of inaction are worthless | Greg Jericho | Business | The Guardian

A protester dressed as Prime Minister Scott Morrison holding coal takes part in a rally on climate inaction outside the office of Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Cronulla, Australia, 3 May 2019.

We must demand better of our political parties – and there is no excuse for the media either

via Climate change costings that don’t count the cost of inaction are worthless | Greg Jericho | Business | The Guardian

Five pillars of financial crime (part 2) – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Australia’s big four banks are among the most profitable in the world. In fact, the profits of the big four banks account for 2.4% of gross domestic product. Think about that: of every $100 produced in Australia, $2.40 goes to the shareholders of the big four banks.”

via Five pillars of financial crime (part 2) – » The Australian Independent Media Network

John Lord’s Election Diary No. 12: “Is there any more”? Cassidy asked – » The Australian Independent Media Network

I thought Shorten was brilliant on Q&A (ODT)

My thought for the day

“I think the PM last night set a world record for words per minute in his interview with Leigh Sales.” Lord

via John Lord’s Election Diary No. 12: “Is there any more”? Cassidy asked – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Fact check: Employment in Australia is worse than you think – Michael West

via Fact check: Employment in Australia is worse than you think – Michael West

Federal Election 2019: Scott Morrison is flying in the face of history with his fallacious claim

Former prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating reunite to endorse Bill Shorten's plan for the economy.

It is a blatant denial of history for Scott Morrison to allege that the Labor Party cannot manage the economy when he knows the design and structure of the modern Australian economy was put in place exclusively by the Labor Party.

The economy is Labor’s – Labor’s rejection of the closed economic model of an economy ring-fenced by tariffs with a managed exchange rate, a sclerotic financial market and centrally arbitrated wages bequeathed us in 1983.

via Federal Election 2019: Scott Morrison is flying in the face of history with his fallacious claim

MUNGO MACCALLUM: Leaders’ debates and ScoMo’s ghosts of elections past

LNP’s MOthers Day Launch Screw The Lunch Mum (ODT)

Rolling out John Howard in marginal electorates may not be the best tactic since he represents the “golden era” before this unsettled Coalition Government.

JOHN HOWARD has been exhumed as the great grey hope and is being paraded among the marginal electorates to enthuse the faithful and woo the undecided — assuming, that is, that they know who he is, or at least was.

Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard have been brought into to cameo roles in the Labor campaign, but those two can be counted in living memory. Little Johnny’s reign ended some 12 years ago when a great many younger voters – who have enrolled in record numbers – were not even in their teens and will see him, if they notice him at all, as a relic from a bygone era.

His legacy, divisive at the time, is now little more than a footnote in history: gun law reform (good), the GST (reluctantly accepted), the 2001 dog whistling and deceit at the Tampa election (bad) and the loss of his Government and his own seat in 2007 (depends where you stand).

via MUNGO MACCALLUM: Leaders’ debates and ScoMo’s ghosts of elections past

Fear, Deception and Gravitas – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Michaela Cash will probably take the 2019 election ‘blatantly stupid’ award from a long line of wannabes by trying to mimic Charlton Heston’s take my gun from my ‘cold dead hand’ speech with her comment.

“We are going to stand by our tradies and we are going to save their utes,” Ms Cash told reporters.

“We understand choice and that is what Bill Shorten is taking away from our tradies.”

A link to one of Heston’s ‘cold dead hand’ speeches is here. Is Cash, apart from not having a clue, lacking a certain gravitas?

What do you think?

via Fear, Deception and Gravitas – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Old Dog Thoughts- Hounded out of the country

Andrew Bolt’s Blog,8/5/19; United after 28 years; Abbott’s Truth; Yassmin and white Australia;

Calls To Increase Skills Funding, After Woman Fails To Hit PM With Egg From 10cm – The Shovel

via Calls To Increase Skills Funding, After Woman Fails To Hit PM With Egg From 10cm – The Shovel

Pauline Hanson Withdraws Support For Monarchy After Learning Meghan Markle Is In Labor – The Shovel

via Pauline Hanson Withdraws Support For Monarchy After Learning Meghan Markle Is In Labor – The Shovel

David Cay Johnston: ‘Long-Running Evidence’ Trump Committed Tax Fraud | Crooks and Liars

“They didn’t say it looked like it, they said he committed tax fraud,” Johnston reminded viewers.

via David Cay Johnston: ‘Long-Running Evidence’ Trump Committed Tax Fraud | Crooks and Liars

Michael Cohen begins jail sentence at minimum-security prison dubbed ‘Jewish heaven’ – Donald Trump’s America – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Cohen seen through a car surrounded by cameras.

via Michael Cohen begins jail sentence at minimum-security prison dubbed ‘Jewish heaven’ – Donald Trump’s America – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

‘An erosion of commitments’: Trade talks in trouble as US accuses China of backtracking

Donald Trump has decided to increase tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

What seems to be missing is blaggart Trump not only said he’d raise the 10% tariffs already in place but he’d add 25% on $ 200 bill goods more. This seems as much a backdown than anything else. But it is an action nevertheless he says is good for the economy. He also says it’s not a cost to Americans because the Chinese have to pay it?? The man certainly said the same about the wall didn’t he??. Americans don’t have to pay?? (ODT)

Donald Trump’s top trade advisors have accused China of reneging on promises made during recent negotiations and confirmed that the US will increase tariffs on US$200 billion ($286 billion) worth of goods this week.

When the US President tweeted about the tariff hike on Sunday, local time, many investors and analysts hoped it was a short-term negotiating tactic designed to extract a better deal from China.

via ‘An erosion of commitments’: Trade talks in trouble as US accuses China of backtracking

The Reality for the Middle Classes behind the supposedly “Surging” U.S. Economy

https://www.juancole.com/images/2019/05/the-reality-for-the-middle-class-750x422.jpg

via The Reality for the Middle Classes behind the supposedly “Surging” U.S. Economy

Gaza Palestinians and Israelis Wounded Past Year by the Numbers: 31,691 v. 250

https://www.juancole.com/images/2019/05/Screen-Shot-2019-05-07-at-1.56.05-AM.png

via Gaza Palestinians and Israelis Wounded Past Year by the Numbers: 31,691 v. 250

Why Yoram Hazony Book “Virtue of Nationalism” Gets It Wrong

via Why Yoram Hazony Book “Virtue of Nationalism” Gets It Wrong

Bill Shorten’s best answer on Q&A had one syllable and two letters

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Australia does not need a messiah, it needs a good politician.

Politics is, or should be, about building a better society. There is no greater vocation than trying to lead that and there are good and bad ideas, and people, in all parties. That is why the contest of ideas we are now in matters so much, and why it is a tragedy that so many have lost faith in politics to achieve anything meaningful.

Scott Morrison understands the importance of faith. He has also spent a lot of time thinking about trust in Australian politics and knows that the greatest weight he carries is his government’s breach of faith with the electorate.

After pledging in 2013 that the Coalition would put the “adults back in charge” it delivered as intemperate a bunch of toddlers that has ever been entrusted with the Treasury benches. All the Coalition had to do in its first term was to show that it was moderately competent and it could not manage even that.

via Bill Shorten’s best answer on Q&A had one syllable and two letters

Partner visas: Another Dutton scandal

At end June 2018, the Coalition Government had allowed a backlog of over 80,000 “Partner visa” applications to build up. These are overseas-born people who are married to or intend to marry Australian citizens or permanent residents.

via Partner visas: Another Dutton scandal

It’s Mother’s Day And The Liberals Are Launching Their Election Campaign… – » The Australian Independent Media Network

So fucking much for women (ODT)

Nup, really.

I’m not making it up.

Six days before the election, you launch your campaign. And on Mothers’ Day!

Still, I listened to Scott Morrison on 7:30. He didn’t answer the question about whether he’d have three ex-PMs at his launch preferring to tell Leigh Sales that he was more concerned with talking to the people… I’d take that as a no, personally.

Perhaps, Scott should have replied by suggesting that they couldn’t make it because it was Mother’s Day… although that may prompt someone to suggest so those mothers had to celebrate their special day elsewhere!

via It’s Mother’s Day And The Liberals Are Launching Their Election Campaign… – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Old Dog Thoughts- Polls Election 2019

The Untold Story of Trump’s ‘Booming’ Economy | The Smirking Chimp

American workers get 14 days vacation when most OECD countries get 28

Yeah, yeah, yeah, unemployment is low and the stock market is high. But skyrocketing stocks benefit only the top 10 percent of wealthy Americans who own 84 percent of stocks. And while more people are employed now than during the Great Recession, the vast majority of Americans haven’t had a real raise since 1979.It’s bad out there for American workers. Last month, their ranking dropped for the third year running in the World Happiness Report,

Forty percent of workers say they don’t have $400 for an unexpected expense. Twenty percent can’t pay all of their monthly bills. More than a quarter of adults skipped needed medical care last year because they couldn’t afford it. A quarter of adults have no retirement savings.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers predicted the corporate tax cut would put an extra $4,000 in every worker’s pocket. They swore that corporations would use some of their tax cut money to hand out raises and bonuses to workers. That never happened. Workers got a measly 6 percent of corporations’ tax savings. In the first quarter after the tax cut took effect, workers on average received a big fat extra $6.21 in their paychecks, for an annual total of a whopping $233. Corporations spent their tax breaks on stock buybacks, a record $1 trillion worth, raising stock prices, which put more money in the pockets of rich CEOs and shareholders.

That’s continuing this year. Workers are never going to see that $4,000.

No wonder they’re unhappy. The system is working against them.

via The Untold Story of Trump’s ‘Booming’ Economy | The Smirking Chimp

Wall Street set to ‘dive, dive, dive’ as Trump reignites trade war with China

Analysts say Wall Street has already priced in a trade deal being reached, so any threat to a deal being made will be received poorly by investors.

via Wall Street set to ‘dive, dive, dive’ as Trump reignites trade war with China

Conspiracy-Theorist-in-Chief Trump Tweetstorms the Far Right after Facebook Deplatformed Them

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The complaining Trump demands that Judge Nepolitano be sacked off Fox News (ODT

Donald Trump is a conspiracy theorist, but not a kooky or harmless one. He is a far-right conspiracy theorist who made up 10,000 fictions and actively supports the scariest and worst elements of the American Far Right, from Alex Jones of InfoWars to more obscure and even more poisonous nightshades of the internet.

via Conspiracy-Theorist-in-Chief Trump Tweetstorms the Far Right after Facebook Deplatformed Them

Trump Goes Totalitarian: Retweets Demand For Fox News To Pull Judge Napolitano Off The Air | Crooks and Liars

Silencing one’s critics is a staple of dictators, autocrats, and totalitarians. In totalitarian regimes, the ruler controls the media and the flow of information to the people.

via Trump Goes Totalitarian: Retweets Demand For Fox News To Pull Judge Napolitano Off The Air | Crooks and Liars

Donald Trump Says Robert Mueller ‘Should Not Testify’ Before Congress | HuffPost Australia

So if Mueller declared what Trump says he should be eager for Mueller to say it instead of having his AG interpret Muellers word sfor him and have him declare Mueller doesn’t know what it was he said? Why is Trump so desperate?

President Donald Trump on Sunday said special counsel Robert Mueller “should not testify” before Congress after signaling last week that he would not stand in the way of such a hearing.

The president accused congressional Democrats of looking for “a redo,” falsely claiming once again that Mueller’s report had exonerated him of all possible wrongdoing.

Although Mueller’s team of investigators did not find evidence proving Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia, the report outlined 10 instances of potential obstruction by the president and did not make a conclusion on that issue.

“Bob Mueller should not testify,” Trump tweeted. “No redos for the Dems!” 

Trump Says Robert Mueller ‘Should Not Testify’ Before Congress | HuffPost Australia

No, escalations do not begin with rockets on Israel | +972 Magazine

Palestinian walk through the wreckage of a building damaged by Israeli air strikes, Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, May 5, 2019. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

Israel might have the power to tell itself and the rest of the world a story of victimhood. In reality, it has been abusing two million besieged Gazans for over a decade.

via No, escalations do not begin with rockets on Israel | +972 Magazine

John Lord’s Election diary No 11: Wake-up, Australia we need to Change the Government – » The Australian Independent Media Network

via John Lord’s Election diary No 11: Wake-up, Australia we need to Change the Government – » The Australian Independent Media Network

NBN failure: When will we say ‘enough is enough’?

A young girl uses a personal computer

Australia is ranked behind New Zealand, China, Kazakhstan, and a host of other countries, when it comes to fixed broadband speed.

via NBN failure: When will we say ‘enough is enough’?