Peter Dutton

Robodebt – Morrison’s latest disaster – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Peter Dutton the twisted man with a twisted tale

In August 2022 Peter Dutton was interviewed in Adelaide. In a wide ranging interview he stated, many times, that if a Royal Commission was set up to look into Robodebt, then Bill Shorten should be the first minister to appear.

Asked several times about Scott Morrison’s responsibility for the scheme he repeated his charge that Shorten, alongside Tanya Plibersek, had designed the scheme.

Clear differences have since been identified between the two iterations. In an AAP Factcheck, it was found that Labor’s scheme required the input of actual human staff in determining whether there was indeed a debt, and another crucial difference was the burden of proof was moved from the government to the welfare recipient.

Scale was another. When the system was automated, the number of referrals and debts raised rose from 20,000 a year, to 20,000 a week.

Source: Robodebt – Morrison’s latest disaster – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Informed Comment

Robodebt crimes: Who should pay and how?

Even when we consider Robodebt as dispassionate onlookers – that is, people who did not have a loved one take their own life, or otherwise have their lives irreparably marred by this vicious campaign – it is not possible to see it as anything but a crime against humanity.

Source: Robodebt crimes: Who should pay and how?

Uncategorized

Titanic Pay for Corporate CEOs Leaves Workers Drowning | The Smirking Chimp

America has 350M people Australia 25M. Yet we pay our Public Service heads X4 times that of America. In what world does that even begin to make any sense?

Pay rates for top executives within the federal government reflect that aversion. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has, for instance, over 80,000 employees, and the work these employees do can literally make the difference between life and death for millions of people the world over. Yet the top executive at HHS, Xavier Becerra, last year took home less than $250,000 in compensation.

Within Corporate America’s top executive suites, by contrast, $250,000 wouldn’t even rate as a decent paycheck for a mere week’s worth of labor. Last year’s highest-paid U.S. CEOs pocketed over $250,000 per day.

Source: Titanic Pay for Corporate CEOs Leaves Workers Drowning | The Smirking Chimp

Australian Economy

CEOs at Australia’s biggest companies earn 55 times more than typical worker, report finds | Business | The Guardian

An ASX stock exchange screen behind Sydney at sunset, New South Wales, Australia, Australasia

They get paid according to how much they can reduce labor costs and rake in government subsidies. They employ lobbyists who were once MPs as outside contractors. Is it any wonder they take advice from consultants like PwC, who employ them? American Public Service heads and execs have 80,000 staff and in some cases only earn $250K. How did this systemic corruption of the workplace come about?

Chief executives at Australia’s biggest companies are earning 55 times more than a typical worker, according to the country’s biggest governance adviser.

Source: CEOs at Australia’s biggest companies earn 55 times more than typical worker, report finds | Business | The Guardian

ALP Government,

The Albanese Government’s craven desire to bolster the alliance with Washington – Pearls and Irritations

L-R) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, New Zealand's Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol pose for a family picture ahead of the North Atlantic Council meeting with Sweden, Indo-Pacific Partners, and the EU at the NATO ?summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, 12 July 2023. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit takes place in Vilnius on 11 and 12 July 2023 with the alliance's leaders expected to adopt new defenfe plans. Image: AAP/EPA/YONHAP SOUTH KOREA OUT

When will Australians realise, as Paul Keating has been unerringly consistent in arguing, that they are part of the cosmopolitanism and complexity of Asia, and not a Western imagined community presided over by a fast declining America?

Source: The Albanese Government’s craven desire to bolster the alliance with Washington – Pearls and Irritations

China

Why Are There No Slums in China? – scheerpost.com

Why don’t you see this news about China in our mainstream media?

 Why Are There No Slums in China? Walking through China’s cities, you will quickly notice the absence of large slums or pervasive homelessness common to the rest of the world.

Source: Why Are There No Slums in China? – scheerpost.com

America

Caitlin Johnstone: Biden Lies About ‘Not Surrounding’ China

The single dumbest thing the U.S. empire asks us to believe nowadays is that surrounding its two biggest foes with war machinery is a defensive action, rather than an act of extreme aggression.

Source: Caitlin Johnstone: Biden Lies About ‘Not Surrounding’ China

Fight against Fake News, Fighting Fake News

AOld Dog Thought- A Truly independent ABC is a media system worth fighting for

May be an illustration of 2 people and text

Fighting Fake News with REAL, 13/7/23, The undeliverable Subs, A Rogues Gallery, Socialise Social Media,

Informed Comment

Michael West Media – investigative journalists – always independent| Incentivisation

Want to fix productivity? Kill KPIs – they reward executives for cutting costs and delivering poor customer experience

Something has gone horribly wrong in how customers are treated. We all know it. Peter Mills traces the problem back to how executives and business leaders are incentivised.

Source: Michael West Media – investigative journalists – always independent

Peter Dutton

Peter Dutton’s puppet is National Anti-Corruption Commission Deputy Commissioner Jaala Hinchcliffe. Has the NACC already been corrupted?Kangaroo Court of Australia

Peter Dutton and Jaala Hinchcliffe

Peter Dutton covered up a lot of corruption in the previous government and one of his puppet’s he used to do the dirty work was Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI) Commissioner Jaala Hinchcliffe.

After Jaala Hinchcliffe was appointed Commissioner of the ACLEI in 2020 she ended “16 corruption investigations, 13 of which were into Home Affairs”. And who was Minister for Home Affairs? Yep, Peter Dutton.

Source: Peter Dutton’s puppet is National Anti-Corruption Commission Deputy Commissioner Jaala Hinchcliffe. Has the NACC already been corrupted?Kangaroo Court of Australia

Scott Morrison

Good news on nukes: US can’t sell Australia nuclear subs – Pearls and Irritations

nuclear-powered attack submarine PCU Virginia (SSN 774)

Morrison didn’t only scam the French he scammed Australia and left us to cover it up. Now that’s what I call a STING

The chief of US Naval operations Admiral Michael Gilday was recently reported from Washington as saying the US shipyards are only producing subs at a rate of about 1.2 a year. He says a minimum of two a year is needed to fill the Navy’s own requirements. Until then, he said, “We’re not going to be in a position to sell any to the Australians”. A senior Biden advisor, Kurt Campbell added there was also “a troublingly large number of submarines in drydock that needed to be back into the water quickly”.

Source: Good news on nukes: US can’t sell Australia nuclear subs – Pearls and Irritations

Media

The Case For Social Media Socialism | Crooks and Liars

The Case For Social Media Socialism

We’ve proven the market is there, and that it needs to be monopolistic to succeed, and that if we leave it to the marketplace it will become so enshittened as to become a net negative instead of a net good. It all points to the core premise of social media—subscription-based multicasting—as something the government needs to regulate as a core economic and social good. The billionaires all had their chance, and they turned it all to shit so that they could buy slightly bigger yachts. Screw ’em.

Source: The Case For Social Media Socialism | Crooks and Liars

poverty, Poverty Industry

How to Eradicate Poverty

It will be difficult for the Chinese path to socialist modernisation to be seen as a model to be adopted by other countries unless these countries also ground their programmes on a socialist footing. Poverty was not eradicated by cash transfer schemes or by rural medical programmes alone, though these are valuable policy options: it was eradicated by a socialist commitment to ideas such as dignity and realize them in the world.

Source: How to Eradicate Poverty

Israel

An Israeli activist was thrown in jail for a week — over a hat

Police arrest Gil Hammerschlag at a protest in Sheikh Jarrah, occupied East Jerusalem, April 2, 2023. (Shai Kendler/Megaphone News)

“I do not sign restrictive conditions of release,” Hammerschlag told +972 upon his release. “I was wearing a hat with a photo of 47-year-old Atef Hanaysha, who was shot in the head during a demonstration in Beit Dajan. If there is anything to be ashamed of, it is the Israeli army and Israel itself.”

Source: An Israeli activist was thrown in jail for a week — over a hat

Israel

Palestinians are in Israel’s crosshairs because they are not Jews | The Electronic Intifada

People praying at the Western Wall

“God promised us this land” Doesn’t cut it

If Israel were stripped of its endlessly elaborate narrative, all that would be left would be the violent replacement of a native population with an imported Jewish “tribe.”

Source: Palestinians are in Israel’s crosshairs because they are not Jews | The Electronic Intifada

Informed Comment

Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community | Common Dreams|Cutting Labor Costs

robotic coffee machine

Worker pay, already failing to keep pace with cost-of-living increases, is at risk of being further suppressed as artificial intelligence and other technologies threaten to automate 27% of existing jobs in wealthy countries.

Source: Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community | Common Dreams

Science

Who Needs Chinese Scientists? America Does – CounterPunch.org

Image of scientist in a lab.

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot or should I say in the head

Let’s remember that no one appreciates academic freedom more than visitors from China and other countries under authoritarian rule. When that freedom is violated by harassment and suspicion, word gets back to China very quickly, and the rewards for returning to China, in money and prestige, become tantalizing.

Source: Who Needs Chinese Scientists? America Does – CounterPunch.org

Informed Comment

Informed Comment – Robert Reich, Patriotism,
Trump

Trump “Muslim Ban” Returns for 2024 Presidential Election

Trump is bringing back 2016 in 2024 and recycling that fence that Mexico didn’t pay for.

In his 2024 run, Donald Trump is tripling down on his “Muslim ban” — and making Islamophobia explicit.

Source: Trump “Muslim Ban” Returns for 2024 Presidential Election

Fight against Fake News, Fighting Fake News

Old Dog Thought- The great scam worked there are a record number of houses on the market. Give with one hand take back more with the other

May be an image of 1 person and text that says 'We're seeing a transfer of wealth from working people to the big banks and supermarkets. It's greed-price spiral" Sally McManus ACTU Secretary Australian Unions Wérefor workers'

Fighting Fake News with REAL 12/7/23, Did you Know? Truth in Humor, Since when is Advance so Backwards?

secrecy, secrets

‘Not sustainable’ for robodebt sealed chapter to be secret forever, Bill Shorten says | Royal commission into robodebt | The Guardian

Australian Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten

‘Not sustainable’ for robodebt sealed chapter to be secret forever, Bill Shorten says Australians who received unlawful debt notices want the people who made ‘callous decisions’ to face consequences, government services minister says Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Paul Karp Chief political correspondent @Paul_Karp Mon 10 Jul 2023 18.34 AEST Last modified on Mon 10 Jul 2023 19.31 AEST Bill Shorten has said it is “not sustainable” for the robodebt royal commission sealed chapter to remain secret forever, as the Greens push for its release within 12 months.

Source: ‘Not sustainable’ for robodebt sealed chapter to be secret forever, Bill Shorten says | Royal commission into robodebt | The Guardian

Informed Comment

Robodebt and Robododger: PwC’s consulting operation revealed – Michael West

PwC Singapore

The double standard is glaring, further illuminated by the findings of the Robodebt Royal Commission. While the AFP dithered for years investigating the blue-chippers from PwC for selling state secrets to foreign corporations, it was as quick as a rat up a drainpipe when it came to sending out letters to Centrelink clients threatening them with prison sentences unless they paid their Robodebts. Michael West reports.

Source: Robodebt and Robododger: PwC’s consulting operation revealed – Michael West

Elites

“Those Against Equality – The Fiberal Party of Australia – Lies & Misdemeanours | Facebook

How elite is the No campaign? Let's count the ways

“Those hostile to an Indigenous Voice to Parliament — such as Warren Mundine, Peter Dutton and extreme-right activist group Advance — insist that it is “elites” who are pushing the Voice. But it doesn’t take much checking to see that it’s the No campaign with the strongest claim to the title of elite — financial and political.

Australia’s super-rich are perfectly entitled to spend their doubtless hard-earned cash backing the No campaign, and engaging in any other political activity they feel like. And they’re not the ones proclaiming the “elite” nature of Yes advocates. But Advance’s pretence that it’s bankrolled by “grassroots donations” and its opponents are out-of-touch elites — including attacks on “corporate elites” funding the Yes campaign — sits rather poorly with the reality of its donors.

Source: “Those… – The Fiberal Party of Australia – Lies & Misdemeanours | Facebook

Uncategorized

Australia just gives it away. It’s your money Bruce & Shiela
Media

Chris Hedges: Journalists Abandoned Julian Assange and Slit Their Own Throats – scheerpost.com

 Chris Hedges: Journalists Abandoned Julian Assange and Slit Their Own Throats The failure by journalists to mount a campaign to free Julian Assange, or expose the vicious smear campaign against him, is one more catastrophic and self-defeating blunder by the news media.

Source: Chris Hedges: Journalists Abandoned Julian Assange and Slit Their Own Throats – scheerpost.com

Asylum Seekers

Probe Suggests Greek Coast Guard Caused Deadly Migrant Shipwreck—and Tried to Cover It Up

Body bags pictured on a Greek coast guard vessel after migrant shipwreck

Was this the result of Howard, Abbott, and Morrison’s inspiration in telling the EU how to illegally treat asylum seekers? We saw Howard promoting the “children overboard” scam. Abbott the “illegal entry” of internationally legal asylum seekers and Morrison telling the world no person by coming here by boat will ever be allowed to settle. The LNP created Fortress Australia and Abbott and Morrison took it to the world.

The incident “demonstrates once again the inhumane and lethal nature of the European border regime,” said a research agency involved with the investigation.

Source: Probe Suggests Greek Coast Guard Caused Deadly Migrant Shipwreck—and Tried to Cover It Up

NATO

An Accident Waiting to Happen: NATO Looks to Asia – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Tony Abbott was eager to have us become part of NATO

Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating, whose waspish ire has also been trained on the NATO Secretary-General. In his latest statement, Stoltenberg was condemned as “the supreme fool” of “the international stage”. “Stoltenberg by instinct and policy, is simply an accident on its way to happen.” In thinking that “China should be superintended by the West and strategically circumscribed,” the NATO official had overlooked the obvious point that the country “represents twenty percent of humanity and now possesses the largest economy in the world … and has no record for attacking other states, unlike the United States, whose bidding Stoltenberg is happy to do.”

Source: An Accident Waiting to Happen: NATO Looks to Asia – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Climate Change

To Stop Global Heating, Cut Military Spending

Economic plunder of the planet by the Industrial-Military Complex

ALP just did a $1B manufacturing deal with Germany and are proud of it. WTF, isn’t arms dealing the equivalent of fossil fuel export just like gas and coal?

Most of us understand the need to cut carbon emissions. But a huge share of our tax dollars are funding the most carbon-intensive institution on the planet.

Source: To Stop Global Heating, Cut Military Spending

Informed Comment, Informed Opinion

Why aren’t Americans happier about the economy? | Robert Reich | The Guardian

construction workers prepare steel for a crane at the site of JPMorgan Chase‘s new 1,388-foot headquarters at 270 Park Avenue in Midtown East on May 18, 2023 in New York City.

Post Covid and Trump America is on the up again economically. Yet the feeling of well-being isn’t. Australia is also on the way up with the ALP in charge. However, we have a feeling of well-being generated by the fact the LNP is no longer the government. While the ALP seems a united team nationally the political fringes Greens, Independents, and One Nation still hold a measure of sway.

However, in America, there’s a serious division between the States which is reflected in the Democratic Party nationally. Biden seems to have to struggle to get things done. Meanwhile, SCOTUS makes America seem a Fascist Dictatorship rather than the great Democratic experiment with its recent rulings.

In other words, the economy is getting better overall – but overall has become a less useful gauge of wellbeing as the rich get richer, the poor grow poorer, and the working middle is under worsening siege.

Source: Why aren’t Americans happier about the economy? | Robert Reich | The Guardian

America

American China-Bashing Is Dripping With Contradictions | The Smirking Chimp

Before Trump and MAGA America was Great there was only cooperation and accommodation between America and China, the world’s largest economies. But along came  Trump who turned domestic politics on its head. He promoted Russia and Nth Korea while transforming China, Mexico, and Latin America into the enemy. With the help of Murdoch Media, the transformation was relatively quick as he needed blue-collar America to back him.

Will Americans see through the contradictions of China-bashing to prevent war, seek mutual accommodation, and thereby rebuild a new version of the joint prosperity that existed before Trump and Biden?

Source: American China-Bashing Is Dripping With Contradictions | The Smirking Chimp

Fight against Fake News, Fighting Fake News

Old Dog Thought-Fine Cotton was just a failed scam. The LNP a nightmare we’ll continue to feel this century to come

Fighting Fake News with Real, 11/7/23, Murdoch runs at a loss in the UK?, The LNP Gang, Climate Records,

Truth in Humor

Silence of the damned – » The Australian Independent Media Network

When the Liberals run out of money they come after the poor

Source: Silence of the damned – » The Australian Independent Media Network

LIES

It’s legal to tell lies in the Voice campaign. Here’s how to spot them

Several media outlets including RMIT ABC Fact Check, and AAP Fact Check and AFP Fact Check are publishing articles fact-checking claims about the Voice.

But why is it legal for politicians and other campaigners to lie to you?

Telling lies is legal

Source: It’s legal to tell lies in the Voice campaign. Here’s how to spot them

Climate Change

Why are so Many Climate Records breaking all at Once?

So what’s going on with the climate, and why are we seeing all these records tumbling at once?

Source: Why are so Many Climate Records breaking all at Once?

Informed Comment

Oil Should Stay in the Ground—And Get Out of Politics | The Smirking Chimp

That’s why Big Oil is fighting back. Much of the “anti-woke” rhetoric you hear from right-wing politicians and media is funded by fossil fuel interests.

Source: Oil Should Stay in the Ground—And Get Out of Politics | The Smirking Chimp

Israel, Israel-Body Count

The Israeli Far Right’s Alliance with PM Netanyahu is Leading the Mideast into Madness

Once again, the extreme religious right in Israel demonstrates its never-ending racism, violence and inhumanity towards the Palestinian people. Once again, the current Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu demonstrates that it is the direct political expression of the madness of religious extremism, which considers settlement expansion in East Jerusalem and the West Bank an existential issue, and promotes criminal practices, the essence of which is the expulsion of Palestinians from their cities and towns and depriving them of their basic rights as a policy that serves Greater Israel.

Source: The Israeli Far Right’s Alliance with PM Netanyahu is Leading the Mideast into Madness

Israel

10 Questions We Must Ask About Continued US Support for Israeli Apartheid | The Smirking Chimp

In the wake of the largest Israeli military assault in the occupied West Bank in nearly 20 years, escalating a horrific year of violence against Palestinians, it’s time to ask what is the end game for Israel’s most extremist far right government, and its most important patron, the United States.

Source: 10 Questions We Must Ask About Continued US Support for Israeli Apartheid | The Smirking Chimp

Murdoch Media

Rupert Murdoch to keep TalkTV open despite low viewing figures

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has invested heavily in the upstart channel.

Murdoch continues to run his politically biased and opinionated “Talk TV” despite seemingly financial loss. What’s the Scam?

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has insisted he will not shut down TalkTV despite questions over the fledgling news channel’s future as it struggles to revive ailing viewer numbers.

Source: Rupert Murdoch to keep TalkTV open despite low viewing figures

Murdoch Media

Tucker Tanking On Twitter | Crooks and Liars

Tucker Tanking On Twitter

Yesterday’s Flavor lost

Probably not surprising that Tucker’s rants on Twitter aren’t exactly setting the world on fire. Fox News viewers skew heavily to the one-foot-in-the-grave demographic and probably aren’t that jacked to jump on Twitter for their Tucker fix.

Source: Tucker Tanking On Twitter | Crooks and Liars

Trump

The saga of Donald Trump Jr down under

Australia’s security agencies must watch closely the speech and actions of Don Jr and expel him at the earliest opportunity, as Alan Austin reports.

Source: The saga of Donald Trump Jr down under

Fight against Fake News, Fighting Fake News

Old Dog Thought- How is it mainstream Editors aren’t making things clear. Morrison did it!!

Fighting Fake News with REAL, 10/7/23, Morrison does it again, Again and Again, What hose?

ALP Government,

‘No contrition’: Albanese slams Morrison’s Robodebt response

What sort of headline is this? Are mainstream media trying to blame Albo?

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has accused his predecessor Scott Morrison of showing “no contrition whatsoever” after the former PM was named in a scathing Robodebt report.

Source: ‘No contrition’: Albanese slams Morrison’s Robodebt response

LNP Corruption

Claims govt milked political advantage from Robodebt – Michael West

“We were just doing the job you voted us to do” Isn’t this the politicized excuse of all corrupt governments?

Opposition leader Peter Dutton claims the Robodebt royal commission was politicised from the very beginning and apologised to people impacted by the illegal debt collection scheme.

Source: Claims govt milked political advantage from Robodebt – Michael West

Truth in Humor

Gee, Mr Morrison, We’re Not All Goldfish! – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Morrison also added that he didn’t hold a hose, telling us: “The proposal was initiated within the public service and was not a government-initiated measure by ministers. It was initiated by departments before I became the minister for social services.” See, nothing to do with him; he was just standing there waiting for a photo…

Source: Gee, Mr Morrison, We’re Not All Goldfish! – » The Australian Independent Media Network

LNP Corruption

Morrison, Porter, Tudge: The Robodebt rogues gallery

Media outlets such as A Current Affair were more than happy to provide platforms for the demonising effort. “We will find you,” he told the program, “we will track you down, and you will have to repay those debts, and you may end up in prison”.

Source: Morrison, Porter, Tudge: The Robodebt rogues gallery

Climate Change

Did Planet Earth Just Have its Hottest-Ever Week? – Mother Jones

The average global temperature hit an unofficial high Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, Thursday was even steamier.

Earth’s average temperature hit an unofficial record high on Tuesday, according to the University of Maine’s climate data website Climate Reanalyzer: 62.9 degrees Fahrenheit (17.18 degrees Celsius). It wasn’t a fluke. The temperature hit the same reading on Wednesday.

Then on Thursday, the average surpassed the brand new record, hitting 63 degrees Fahrenheit.

Source: Did Planet Earth Just Have its Hottest-Ever Week? – Mother Jones

Uncategorized

Average Earth Temperature this week was Highest in at least 120,000 Years, When Modern Homo Sapiens was a Young Species

The earth is getting especially hot this year, as record after record falls. Seth Borenstein at AP reports that three times this past week, the average temperature of the earth topped anything ever recorded. Thursday’s average 62.9 °F. (17.18 °C.) broke the record yet again.

Source: Average Earth Temperature this week was Highest in at least 120,000 Years, When Modern Homo Sapiens was a Young Species

Israel

Israeli Protests Reignite As Netanyahu Pushes New Justice Bill | HuffPost Latest News

Israelis against their Government

TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israel’s business hub Tel Aviv saw the biggest anti-government protest in weeks on Saturday against a renewed push by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition to overhaul the justice system.

Source: Israeli Protests Reignite As Netanyahu Pushes New Justice Bill | HuffPost Latest News

Israel, Israel Crimes

Israel’s attack on Jenin Created 4,000 New Refugees; Palestinians have been endlessly Displaced since 1948

The Israeli army’s recent attack on Jenin refugee camp resulted in 13 deaths (12 Palestinians, including four children, and one Israeli soldier killed by suspected friendly fire). An additional 143 Palestinians were injured, with 20 in critical condition, and up to 4,000 displaced. While this mass displacement has received less media attention than other aspects of the Israeli operation, it is central to understanding the region’s politics. Forced migration has always been core to the dynamics of modern Palestine and Israel. Most Palestinians are refugees, and Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is organised around control of movement. While often framed as a fight over religion and ideology, this is ultimately a struggle around demographics, displacement and mobility.

Source: Israel’s attack on Jenin Created 4,000 New Refugees; Palestinians have been endlessly Displaced since 1948

Fight against Fake News, Fighting Fake News

Old Dog Thought- We were only doing the job you employed us to do!

Fighting Fake News with REAL, 9/7/23, Dutton’s Innocent Men, Robodebt, LNP hints no MP is guilty, Royal Commission weaponised,