These are the issues that count to voters snouts in the trough and value for money from our paid politicians. (ODT)
via Christian Porter appoints ex-staffer William Frost to $250k AAT role
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They are back to bury Abbott for good first the boats now Climate.(ODT)
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Trump is proud of rendering a woman stateless. Being stateless will place the woman in permanent detention without a trial. When in fact if she commited a crime she should have her day in court. (ODT)
But Ms Muthana’s lawyer Hassan Shibly, who also works for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Ms Muthana was born in the US and had a valid passport before she joined IS in 2014.
The Coalition government has appointed several former Liberal MPs to lucrative jobs at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on the final parliamentary sitting day before the budget.
Attorney-General Christian Porter announced the appointments on Thursday afternoon, including a seven-year part-time role for former Senate president Stephen Parry, who quit politics in 2017 due to his dual citizenship.
via Christian Porter appoints slew of former Liberal MPs to lucrative jobs on public tribunal
When it was revealed last year that taxpayers had shelled out more than $825 million on lawyers in 2016-17, Attorney-General Christian Porter said he was “taking a particular interest in the expenditure of funds on legal services, applying very close scrutiny to each and every application that comes before me for approval.”
That being the case, one wonders how he can justify approving over $288,000 in legal costs (so far) for Michaelia Cash when all she has done is provide the police with a copy of Hansard and then turn up for one day in court to say “refer to what I said in Hansard”.
Cash is not facing any charges, she was merely a witness who had nothing to say. So why does she need a defence team?
via The staggering cost of defending incompetence – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Australia racked up more than $1 million in legal costs in the past seven months over the medical transfers of refugees and asylum seekers from Nauru and Manus Island, a senior home affairs official has said.
The official also confirmed that in 34 cases, sick refugees and asylum seekers were only transferred to Australia following a Federal Court order, and in 17 other cases detainees were only transferred once a court case had commenced.
via Australia Has Spent More Than $1 Million On Sick Refugee Medical Transfer Battles
Coal in TRANSITION (ODT)
Glencore will instead focus on metals such as cobalt, nickel, vanadium and zinc, which are all key components of batteries as it targeted lower carbon industries as its customers.
“We aim to prioritise capital investment to grow production of commodities essential to the energy and mobility transition and to limit our coal production capacity broadly to current levels,” the company said as part of its results announcement.
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via Glencore to limit coal production, acquisitions over climate change activism
Donald Trump’s presidency has birthed a strong Left-wing movement, including some key female political influencers, writes Dr Lee Duffield.
MOST ELECTORS REJECTED Donald Trump by 2.8 million votes before losing to him through the electoral college system and there’s now a push to mobilise that majority against him.
Trump’s surprise 2016 victory stirred up a new Left-wing movement alongside or within the opposition Democratic Party. The time was right for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 29, to win a seat in Congress last year, with Trump’s Republican Party becoming unpopular especially with young voters and minorities.
Dark Money is the scourge of American Democracy, Controlling the narratives and creating Chaos will be the American Nightmare. (ODT)
Researchers and others interviewed for this story say they cannot conclusively point to the actors behind the coordinated activity. It’s unclear if they are rogue hackers, political activists or, as some contend, foreign state actors such as Russia, since it bears the hallmarks of past foreign attacks. One of the objectives of the activity, they say, is to divide the left by making the Democratic presidential primary as chaotic and toxic as possible.
Research by the pro-democracy tech firm Guardians.ai found that Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as well as former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas)—who has not formally announced his candidacy for president—appear to be the top targets.
All of this to impress Florida? (ODT)
Trump’s bid for regime change in Venezuela is starting to look like a fatal overreach. With the South American country’s military remaining firmly loyal to President Maduro, embarrassing questions loom over US’ dubious game plan
It is not just Washington’s reputation that will take yet another grievous hit. So too will those European states which have shamefully rowed in behind the tawdry attempt at destabilizing a sovereign nation.
US President Donald Trump was asked by reporters at the weekend if he had a “plan B” for Venezuela if President Nicolas Maduro does not stand down soon, as Washington is demanding. With his typical bluster, Trump said he had several backup options.
But, despite his bravado, it looks like Trump’s bet on effecting regime change in Venezuela is a losing venture. The US seems to be increasingly desperate to salvage its plan to topple the government in Caracas.
via Trump’s Venezuela gamble is turning out to be a beaten docket — RT Op-ed
This Government has spent almost a Billion dollars on lawyers defending itself. $288,000 on Michaela Cash who hasn’t been charged and is only a witness why would that be? So much to hide it seems (ODT)
Andrew Bolt’s Blog,21/2/19; Fat Cats Budgeting; Will we see a Victorian Bolt helping to sink the country? Madness and lack of integrity by those who would be kings;
Richard Painter, who served as George W Bush’s ethics lawyer between 2005 and 2007, told cable network Msnbc Mr Trump’s national emergency declaration over illegal immigration was “clearly illegal” and the product of the president’s state of mind.
“The president is not well at all mentally. I think he’s an extreme narcissist. He has been denied what he wants, his wall, and he is having a hissy fit,” said Mr Painter.
Just as in 2016, the actual economic conditions of the American people will be the defining issue for 2020. Ignoring it, or giving Trump a pass on the economy, will permit him to make the campaign about everything and anything else.
The corporate news media is doing it all over again — still equating aggregate national unemployment data and a robust stock market with a strong economy. And they have developed the face saving construct that Trump won only because the Russians stole the election, not because the media missed the slow motion collapse of capitalism that Trump exploited by convincing just enough people he had a magical time machine that could transport us all back to those halcyon days when the middle class was expanding.
For these get-Trump newshounds it’s always Mueller-time.
Their master script is that POTUS is the Don of a Russian/American organized crime family that stole the American election.
That could all be true, yet if Mueller comes up short of actually taking Trump out, the media’s fixation on the intrigue will only inoculate Trump.
Can’t you hear it now . . . ‘I told you-NO COLLUSION.’
Just as in 2016, the actual economic conditions of the American people will be the defining issue for 2020. Ignoring it, or giving Trump a pass on the economy, will permit him to make the campaign about everything and anything else.
It also has no chance of becoming law, not while Republicans control the Senate and climate change denier Donald Trump resides in the White House.
Peter Dutton’s Mouth peice when things get too hot defending Murdoch Media. Dutton made reference to ASIO advice on 2GB and the ABC and said he had evidence which he wouldn’t show unless push came to shove.We can be certain that evidence won’t be forthcoming. (ODT)
The home affairs department secretary, Michael Pezzullo, defended the Australian by noting that although the headline had characterised it as “Asio advice” the body of the article described it as a “briefing from the department of home affairs, based on advice from Asio and Australian Border Force”.
“If you read down the column it was transparently apparent it was from the department and drew on, in part, advice from Asio.”
How many times were we told by this government there was no mistake made on our part it was all Thailand’s fault? We also heard the ALP ignored ASIO’s advice on the Medivac Bill from Peter Dutton on 2GB which ASIO has know declared a lie. The current LNP will do anything to hide Homelands and Peter Duttons incompetance. The worst Health Minister has transitioned to being the worst Immigration/Homeland Minister .(ODT)
The Australian Border Force has admitted “human error” by its officers resulted in police being unaware that footballer Hakeem al-Araibi was a refugee before he was issued with a red notice and detained in Bangkok for more than two months.
ABF commissioner Michael Outram said an officer failed to send a “true match notification advice” to the Australian Federal Police and the Department of Home Affairs, which would have alerted them to the fact that he was on a protection visa in Australia.
That fact, once revealed to the AFP the day after Mr al-Araibi was arrested in Thailand, prompted Interpol to cancel the “red notice” issued at the request of Bahrain. Had it been known to the AFP beforehand, the AFP-based Interpol team would not have issued the notice.
via ‘Human error’: Border Force admits it forgot to send crucial email in Hakeem al-Araibi case
A certain literature – and to that, a good deal of ghastly celluloid – has been produced on the subject. All are, in essence, in violation of the United Nations Refugee Convention. No mention on the right to asylum is ever made; nor to the right not to be prejudiced against as an asylum seeker in terms of means of arrival. And that’s merely the start. In gazing at these amateurish compilations of self-entitled guff, one is left with the conclusion that no one involved in this process has ever consulted a human rights manual, let alone familiarised themselves with the hideous post-Second World War period. There was a time when the term Displaced Person was not entirely revolting.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the hardened advertising man of the government, has retreated into something he knows best: the shallow, bucket swilling call of the advert. This is interesting in a way: the same man condemned his opponents for doing something similar when they got on the anti-refugee video show. When Labor, then in government, introduced material to justify its “PNG solution” in July 2013, Morrison claimed that the party was “ramraiding the taxpayer’s ATM”. The then coalition opposition snortingly dismissed the effort by Labor as “propaganda”.
Shortened memories prevail. A two-minute video message is now ambling its way through 10 countries, though it will have to be translated, however accurately, on its crooked journey. “Make no mistake, if you attempt to come to Australia illegally by boat, you will not succeed.” Spare your pennies, insists Morrison. “So do not waste your money or risk your life, or anyone else’s life, for nothing.” Such is the awareness of a person who has never had to consider the throbbing, genuine feeling human rights conjures up in the breast of the oppressed.
via Death by Video: Morrison Combats Refugees by Film – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Lies, Lies,Lies, The LNP and Murdoch Media sprung by ASIO
Andrew Bolt’s Blog,19/2/19;GetUp beats the LNP; Finance Minister and his Finance;
Question to edicated and semi-Educated Americans still believe this bunk? The “we” is bad and the “me” is good? (ODT)
The President faces an uphill battle – his poll numbers are some of the worst in history and he faced a drubbing in November’s midterm election. One way to boost Trump’s prospects is to shift the focus from his turbulent tenure to his eventual opponent and his frightful portrayal of that alternative.
via Trump begins Democrat insults by brandishing the ‘S’ word – socialism
Israel’s 300 Congolese asylum seekers have been living in the country for well over a decade. Now the Israeli government is trying to deport them back to their home country, considered one of the most dangerous in the world.
No surprise it’s Israel they have a history and knowledge of transportation (ODT)
via Israel wants to deport 300 refugees to one of the world’s most dangerous countries | +972 Magazine
How tight are Murdoch’s strings on Trump? (ODT)
After Abbott turned his back on the Pacific by defunding the ABC and The Australian network in the region. By removing the funding from DFAT to the tune of approx $250 mill and andreducing the ABC’s budget by some 30% since the 1980s. Abbott had promised “No Cut”. Now the current PM is trying to retrieve what has been determined an election error during this term without restoring the damage done to the ABC andRadio Australia (ODT)
To counter China’s growing influence in the South Pacific, Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he wants to step up his country’s engagement in the region.
via Australia courts Vanuatu to tackle China’s influence | Vanuatu News | Al Jazeera
When the opposite is reality and their promise a Fake. Dutton kicked this farce off with lying about ASIO advice (ODT)
Hundreds of foreigners who had their visas cancelled after committing serious crimes are being spared deportation by national security officials, with the government facing questions over how a drug trafficker was allowed to remain in Australia despite spending nearly a decade in prison and offshore detention.
Amid a heated political clash between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten over border integrity, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age can reveal criminals are using an opaque process to have their mandatory visa cancellations overturned by Department of Home Affairs officials, the minister or assistant minister.
via Hundreds of foreign criminals are being handed back their cancelled visas
Neither Murdoch Media nor the Government made any effort to correct the misrepresentation put out. Fake News Sure was (ODT)
via ‘Seriously damaging’: ASIO says advice on border security was misrepresented
The world can be divided into those who build walls and those who build bridges. There is no doubt which side Trump is on.
The calibre of this POTUS is Self-Focus (ODT)
“They gave it to Obama. He didn’t even know what he got it for. He was there for about 15 seconds and he got the Nobel Prize. He said, ‘Oh, what did I get it for?'” Trump grumbled on Friday.
“With me, I probably will never get it.”
The White House declined further comment on Trump’s claim that Abe had nominated him, and a spokesman for the Japanese embassy said he had no information about such a letter.
Key points:
- Dr Stephanie Cacioppo puts loneliness in the same category as thirst — a signal that can be dealt with through our actions
- She says her goal is not to stop loneliness but to regulate the way it affects the mind and body
- A medical ethicist says a pill to treat loneliness is intrinsically wrong-headed and unethical
Just as we reach for a drink when we are thirsty or dehydrated, we might be able to take a pill to deal with the consequences of feeling lonely in the future.
“Like thirst, loneliness is a biological signal that has evolved to protect our survival,” she says.
The words of Marie Sallnäs of Stockholm University remain relevant in describing the entire basis of private sector providers when it comes to dealing with refugee arrivals: “cowboys who are only there because they want to make heaps of money.”
Australia storms ahead in these stakes. Its officials pay the very people smugglers they condemn to take their trafficked goods elsewhere;
The “can-do” country of innovative cruelty has been adding a host of ideas to the mix on how best to tackle those incorrigibles arriving by sea. To that end, contracts have been awarded to various outfits with a good patina of near as to be criminality. The contractor Paladin is the most recent upstart in this venture, having received, through a closed-tender process, a range of contracts worth $A423 million for 22 months of work. It had been receiving $A17 million a month to provide security at three refugee centres located on Manus Island.
The company itself has a curious Australian address: 134 Nepean Esplanade, an inconspicuous beach shack on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. It had only registered in Australia a month before winning a $A89 million contract to provide security services. Importantly, Paladin is interested in the grand squeeze, ensuring that the cost for each detainee, minus the actual comfort they receive, exceeds a daily rate twice that for a five-star hotel suite with Sydney Harbour views. In that sense, the Australian tax payer and detainee are given a right royal rogering.
The Minister for Home Affairs begs to differ. Nothing to see here, Dutton suggests; move on. As Bernard Keane, writing for Crikey, explains, there is much to see and more besides, so much so that a Royal Commission into the affairs of the Home Department might be necessary. And that would just be the start.
via Refugees as Business: The Paladin Group Contract – » The Australian Independent Media Network
One of 66% of people that have managed to close the gap the 66% rarelytalked about. They hear “you can’t be Indigenous” from Australia (ODT)
I8 year loss language is being renegotiated to claim a 2019 WIN. After a loss on a wall language is being renegotiated to claim a 2019 WIN. The Art of the deal is changing the Language. POTUS no longer needs an Administration just a mega-media giant. News Corp and Sinclair have provided that.(ODT)
via After 18 Years of War, Taliban Has the Upper Hand in Afghanistan Peace Talks
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