Indonesia: how Australia’s biggest and closest neighbour uses our aid – Michael West

Kupang, Timor

Repairing the damage done

Government funding Overall, Australia’s foreign aid as a proportion of our Gross National Income is 0.2%, well below the OECD average of 0.32%. This ranks the Lucky Country 21 out of 29 donors.

The heaviest cuts were last decade under Coalition PM Tony Abbott.

There’s been some repair. In this year’s budget, taxpayers are giving slightly more aid to Indonesia – up from $307.3 million to $326.1 million, or about 6%.

Source: Indonesia: how Australia’s biggest and closest neighbour uses our aid – Michael West

“The Secrets of Hillsong”: The 8 major bombshells from FX’s new Hillsong Church docuseries | Salon.com

Carl Lentz from “The Secrets of Hillsong" (Photo courtesy of FX Networks)

The Organization and the Making of Scott Morrison’s Pentacostalist LNP

The four-part feature takes a closer look at Carl Lentz’s firing and the church’s history of financial abuse

“Whatever happens with Hillsong, whatever happens with Brian Houston, they have provided a template for churches all around the world, to charismatic Christians to exploit and to convert their personal careers and art into financial acquisition,” said journalist Lech Blaine. “That doesn’t end with Brian Houston.”

 

The documentary noted that at its peak, Hillsong boasted locations across 30 countries around the world and over 150,000 congregants. As of March 2023, only six out of 16 Hillsong U.S. locations remain.

 

The verdict for Houston’s court trial for the alleged concealment of child sex abuse is expected in June 2023. Additional charges are also expected in regard to Hillsong’s alleged financial malfeasance.

Source: “The Secrets of Hillsong”: The 8 major bombshells from FX’s new Hillsong Church docuseries | Salon.com

Peru coke bust raises fears Nazis have joined drug trade

A drug interdiction raid by Peruvian police has European authorities worried that neo-Nazis are looking to large-scale drug dealing as a means of financing their campaigns of hate.

Source: Peru coke bust raises fears Nazis have joined drug trade

Henry Kissinger, History’s Bloodiest Social Climber

Kissinger, it turns out, was responsible for even more misery and death in the U.S. bombing of Cambodia than was already known — which is truly saying something.

Source: Henry Kissinger, History’s Bloodiest Social Climber

Henry Kissinger Is a Disgusting War Criminal. And the Rot Goes Deeper Than Him.

It’s Henry Kissinger’s 100th birthday today. The fact that this monster is celebrated instead of in jail tells you that he’s part of a much bigger problem — and that problem is America’s global empire.

Source: Henry Kissinger Is a Disgusting War Criminal. And the Rot Goes Deeper Than Him.

Old Dog Thought- What really did happen Down Under?

Fighting Fake News with REAL, 28/5/23, Lehrmann Trial Inquiry, Modi Media Rush stories, Hillsong to be Docuseries released,

Why the Conservatives cannot win the next election and why Labor will go early – » The Australian Independent Media Network

If they do go early they’ll burn their greatest asset Peter Dutton

You are probably thinking, referring to the headline, that it is a stupid thing to say, and on the one hand, you might be right given the Government still has two years to serve. On the other, going early when your chances of winning are second to none is a good idea.

Source: Why the Conservatives cannot win the next election and why Labor will go early – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Stuart Robert gone but questions over ‘shady deals’ remain

Will Robert try to organize a  religious book deal?

Recent testimony by John Margerison, former business partner of Stuart Robert, lends weight to questions about Robert’s financial interests while in the Morrison Government, writes Belinda Jones.

Source: Stuart Robert gone but questions over ‘shady deals’ remain

Former prime minister Morrison pens religious book deal

Don’t Buy or Steal this book. Will Morrison even write it?

He was Australia’s first Pentecostal prime minister, declaring the coalition’s 2019 election win a miracle but went on to lose government at the 2022 poll.

HarperCollins Christian represents more than 2000 authors and the world’s largest Bible translations.

Source: Former prime minister Morrison pens religious book deal

New government unit to save millions on consultants – Michael West

The LNP rule “privatization and the free market makes things cheaper” has proven to be bullshit time and time again.

At a time when the relationship between the Australian public service and consultancy firms is under fierce scrutiny, a new unit is looking at keeping more work in-house.

Source: New government unit to save millions on consultants – Michael West

National Times – ‘I didn’t think there was enough evidence’ to… | Facebook

May be an image of 1 person and text that says '18974 18974 QucT CHRRE 2 POLA DS Scott Moller told the inquiry into the Bruce Lehrmann trial that he felt the Director of Public Prosecutions was deliberately collecting evidence against the police. Photo: Screenshot.'

When the Head of the investigation claims his team all suffered PTSD and due to the pressure put on them were medically incapable of doing their jobs. Yes, a whole “team” and even today some can’t return to work. Now does that sound feasible or a prepared statement? They were so distraught they gave all the prosecution evidence collected to the defense by mistake!!

Note not a word from DS Moller about the pressure put on Brittany Higgins by his team’s open disbelief in anything she had said happened. Here is an example case of Brittany Higgins being judged and blamed, making the police seem the victims of rape.

In an email to DS Moller in September 2021, Mr Drumgold voiced his concerns that the brief would “become relevant to a fact in issue, as well as credibility issues”. He asked him several questions about the creation of the brief and the circumstances of its delivery. He also requested statements from the police to support this.

DS Moller told the inquiry today that these statements were prepared but, to his knowledge, were never used. When asked why he believed they were requested, he said: “I felt like … the DPP was attempting to collect evidence against the police for use at a later time … to show criticism towards the police.

Source: National Times – ‘I didn’t think there was enough evidence’ to… | Facebook

Caitlin Johnstone: 60 Minutes Australia Churning Out War-with-China Propaganda

Peter Costello’s Ch9, Murdoch’s News Corp, and Kerry Stokes… That 80%+ Oh, yes a very wounded ABC

Australians are particularly vulnerable to propaganda because the country has the most concentrated media ownership in the Western world, dominated by Nine Entertainment and the Murdoch-owned News Corp.

Source: Caitlin Johnstone: 60 Minutes Australia Churning Out War-with-China Propaganda

Timeline: How Fox News promoted a hoax about homeless veterans to smear asylum seekers | Media Matters for America

Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Pete Hegseth holding up the front page of the fake New York Post story claiming homeless veterans were displaced from hotels for migrants

The Way Murdoch Rolls

Fox spent over an hour promoting an easily-debunked story that veterans were kicked out of New York hotels to make room for migrants. These lies were followed by death threats against hotel staff.

Source: Timeline: How Fox News promoted a hoax about homeless veterans to smear asylum seekers | Media Matters for America

“Politicizing the Weather:” Florida’s DeSantis doesn’t Understand that Carbon Emissions make Hurricanes more Intense, not More Frequent

DeSantis read Andrew Bolt ” Both believe man has no influence on nature. Leave well enough alone and stop interfering in my source of political donations.

DeSantis said, “I’ve always rejected the politicization of the weather.” He said that hurricanes are a fact of life in Florida and have not become more frequent.

Source: “Politicizing the Weather:” Florida’s DeSantis doesn’t Understand that Carbon Emissions make Hurricanes more Intense, not More Frequent

Modi visit: Albanese does The Boss’s bidding, no questions asked

Illustration: Simon Letch.

Rather than being critical of Modi this hack tuns on Albo. Imagine the kowtowing the LNP would have done had Dutton been PM.

At least Albanese answered questions. At his joint “press conference” with Modi in Sydney, no questions were permitted. Modi has not taken questions at media conferences for the past nine years. He simply does not submit to free media questioning in India. And even in Australia, he sets the ground rules.

Source: Modi visit: Albanese does The Boss’s bidding, no questions asked

The Grim Lesson India Offers the US | The Smirking Chimp

Modi has a history of bloodshed that nobody should be proud of

As a start, let’s look at two recent incidents, one in India and the other in the United States.

Too many upper-caste Indians and white Americans think of themselves as the only ones worthy of enjoying the spoils of the Earth. They want it all and are ready to get it by exploiting, not to say violating, non-upper-caste bodies in India and non-white ones in the U.S., along with cows and fetuses, using religion as a tool in both cases. The bodies of Dalits, Muslims, Christians, the people of occupied Kashmir, liberals, journalists, historians, climate and human rights activists, educators, Blacks, Indigenous people, women, LGBTQ people—all of them are fodder for the violent right-wing in both countries.

Source: The Grim Lesson India Offers the US | The Smirking Chimp

Opinion | Don’t Be Taken by Corporate Media Both-Siderism: The GOP Alone Manufactured This Debt Ceiling Disaster | Common Dreams

Kevin McCarthy

“Partisan standoff” is the way most of the media is now characterizing the fight.

Hello?

Enough with the “both sides” reporting on the debt ceiling.

Source: Opinion | Don’t Be Taken by Corporate Media Both-Siderism: The GOP Alone Manufactured This Debt Ceiling Disaster | Common Dreams

Corporate Media Continues to Blow It on Coverage of Debt Ceiling Hostage Situation

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, May 24, 2023.

It’s simple: “Republicans drove up the national debt by giving huge tax breaks to the rich and major corporations—now they’re trying to make the rest of us pay for it.”

As negotiators for the White House and congressional Republicans continue their will-they-or-won’t-they game with the global economy at risk, critics are calling out corporate media coverage of efforts to prevent a devastating U.S. default by raising the debt ceiling.

 

Source: Corporate Media Continues to Blow It on Coverage of Debt Ceiling Hostage Situation

Old Dog Thought- We could be worse off the LNP had no qualms about debt

Fighting Fake News with REAL 27/5/23, Class Structure/ Poverty, Morrison, American Debt Ceiling,

National Times – Paul Bongiorno: Racial hatred directed at Stan… | Facebook

Racial hatred directed at Stan Grant even more reason for the Voice to succeed.

Source: National Times – Paul Bongiorno: Racial hatred directed at Stan… | Facebook

‘Sayers what’: Ex-PWC CEO’s firm given $6.2 million in government contracts

The private company of the man who was CEO of PwC Australia during the entire tax leaks affair has received over $6.2 million in taxpayer funds in just the past two years.

Source: ‘Sayers what’: Ex-PWC CEO’s firm given $6.2 million in government contracts

How Big Oil is Manipulating the Way You Think About Climate Change – scheerpost.com

A logic professor explains how a persistent, subtle fallacy has infected public discussion of climate change.

In medieval times, gamekeepers trained dogs to the hunt by setting them on the trail of a dead rabbit they had dragged through the forest. Once the dogs were baying along the rabbit’s scent, the gamekeeper ran across the trail ahead of them, dragging a gunny sack of red herrings. Red herrings are smoked fish that have been aged to a ruddy, stinking ripeness. If any dog veered off to follow the stench of the red herrings, the gamekeeper beat him with a stick. Thus did dogs learn not to be lured into barking up the wrong tree.

This practice became the namesake of one of the best-known types of fallacies, the red herring fallacy. As a philosophy professor, this is how I explain the fallacy to my students: If the argument is not going your opponent’s way, a common strategy — though a fallacious and dishonorable one — is to divert attention from the real issue by raising an issue that is only tangentially related to the first.

Source: How Big Oil is Manipulating the Way You Think About Climate Change – scheerpost.com

The Market Won’t Save Us: How to Rapidly Reduce Deadly Fossil Fuel Use

( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – The burning of fossil fuels—oil, coal, natural gas—is responsible for nearly 90 percent of global carbon emissions. Despite almost-universal recognition of the need to reduce the use of those fossil fuels, the industrialized world is having the hardest time breaking its addiction. The economic rebound from the COVID-19 shutdowns generated the largest ever increase in global emissions from fossil fuels in 2021—around 2 billion tons. The increase in 2022 was considerably more modest—thanks to a surge in renewable energy investments—but it was an increase nonetheless. Meanwhile, subsidies for fossil fuel consumption rose to….

Source: The Market Won’t Save Us: How to Rapidly Reduce Deadly Fossil Fuel Use

Global Heating could make it too Hot for a Third of Humanity by 2080 – 2100

A lot of studies have focused on the economic cost of global heating, caused by humans burning fossil fuels. A new study in Nature Sustainability “Quantifying the human cost of global warming,” by Timothy M. Lenton et al. instead concentrates on what heating will mean for the lives of human beings.

Source: Global Heating could make it too Hot for a Third of Humanity by 2080 – 2100

More than 20,000 troops died in Bakhmut: Wagner boss

Wagner Bakhmut

Putin’s claim he won this battle seems denied by his mercenary contractor

The head of the Russian private army Wagner says his force has lost more than 20,000 fighters in the drawn-out battle for Bakhmut, the eastern Ukrainian city.

Source: More than 20,000 troops died in Bakhmut: Wagner boss

The war in Ukraine was provoked— and why that matters to achieve peace – Pearls and Irritations

KYIV, UKRAINE - AUGUST 22, 2020: Military equipment and weapons parade in honour of Independence Day

Recognising that the war was provoked helps us to understand how to stop it. It doesn’t justify Russia’s invasion. A far better approach for Russia might have been to step up diplomacy with Europe and with the non-Western world to explain and oppose U.S. militarism and unilateralism. In fact, the relentless U.S. push to expand NATO is widely opposed throughout the world, so Russian diplomacy rather than war would likely have been effective.

Source: The war in Ukraine was provoked— and why that matters to achieve peace – Pearls and Irritations

‘War crime’: Israel forcibly transfers Palestinian village | Israel-Palestine conflict | Al Jazeera

Ramallah, occupied West Bank – Years of violent attacks and restrictions by the Israeli army and settlers have forced the roughly 200 residents of Ein Samiya village out of their homes in what rights groups call a “war crime”. Among the villagers are 78 children whose school was singled out for demolition by Israeli authorities.

Source: ‘War crime’: Israel forcibly transfers Palestinian village | Israel-Palestine conflict | Al Jazeera

Oath Keepers Founder Stewart Rhodes Isn’t Sorry for January 6. A Judge Gave Him 18 Years. – Mother Jones

This guy feels he’s been a victim all his life and gets 18 years. Trump feels he’s been a king all his life and is still walking free despite inspiring Rhodes to fight like hell for him

“I’m a political prisoner,” Stewart Rhodes said at his sentencing. “And like President Trump, my only crime is opposing those who are destroying our country.”

Source: Oath Keepers Founder Stewart Rhodes Isn’t Sorry for January 6. A Judge Gave Him 18 Years. – Mother Jones

Old Dog Thought- When 85%+ of Aus media is funded by the top end of town

Fighting Fake News with REAL, 26/5/23, Cartoons, Tax, The Voice,

No, the Voice isn’t a ‘radical’ change to our Constitution

Some people have criticised the draft proposal for a First Nations Voice as a radical change to Australia’s Constitution.

Source: No, the Voice isn’t a ‘radical’ change to our Constitution

New coal mines and protests crushed: is Labor resigned to doom? – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Images from the climate emergency

When The ALP turned LNP

The workers that the labour parties nominally represent won a fairer life by the protests that the leaders are now banning. No wage labourer would have a 40 hour week, or a weekend, if the workers’ interventions had been forced to avoid “intentionally or recklessly” obstructing the “free passage of a public place.”

Source: New coal mines and protests crushed: is Labor resigned to doom? – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Stuart Robert’s fall from grace

The descriptive “fall from grace” presumes there was “a time of grace”. There never was.

History may struggle to define the most significant factor in the demise of Stuart Robert’s political career but the ultimate end can be calculated to the minute, thanks to John Margerison.

Source: Stuart Robert’s fall from grace

John Howard wrecked Aged Care for all Australians – » The Australian Independent Media Network

It started with John Howard

It was a curiously shallow and unsophisticated Bill, which did not even bother to hide its malicious intent. Each of the recommendations was ‘loaded’ against the elderly, and the Opposition of the time was ineffective in their efforts to mitigate the harm of the Bill, even if they had wanted to. It was led by Kim Beazley, and he was powerless at the best of times, let alone when he faced Howard’s massive majority.

Source: John Howard wrecked Aged Care for all Australians – » The Australian Independent Media Network

White Nationalists, Hindu Supremacists: the Pathologies of the World’s Two Largest Democracies

Albanese welcomes Hindu Nationalist to Australia

May be a doodle of text

Are you worried about the rising political power of violent white nationalists in America? Well, you’ve got plenty of company, including U.S. national security and counterterrorism officials. And we’re worried, too — worried enough, in fact, to feel that it’s time to take a look at the experience of India, where Hindu supremacist dogma has increasingly been enforced through violent means. While there are striking parallels between both countries, India appears to have ventured further down the road of far-right violence. Its experience could potentially offer Americans some valuable, if grim, lessons.

Source: White Nationalists, Hindu Supremacists: the Pathologies of the World’s Two Largest Democracies

“There Is No Safe Place in Gaza”: Palestinians Speak Out During Israeli Assault | The Smirking Chimp

On May 18, thousands of Palestinians in Gaza joined the “Palestine Flag March” to protest Israel’s “Flag March” happening the same day. On “Flag Day,” tens of thousands of ultraright-wing Israeli settlers, who illegally live on stolen land, attacked Palestinians and journalists, chanting “Death to Arabs” and “Your village will be burned.”

Source: “There Is No Safe Place in Gaza”: Palestinians Speak Out During Israeli Assault | The Smirking Chimp

Prigozhin Laments: ‘F*ck Knows How, But We’ve Militarized Ukraine!’ | Crooks and Liars

Prigozhin Laments: 'F*ck Knows How, But We’ve Militarized Ukraine!'

Fuck knows how but…

Yevgeny Prigozhin said Moscow’s plan to “demilitarize” Ukraine failed and that the invasion of its neighbour “turned Ukraine’s army into one of the most powerful in the world.”

Source: Prigozhin Laments: ‘F*ck Knows How, But We’ve Militarized Ukraine!’ | Crooks and Liars

Transcripts of Kissinger’s Calls Reveal His Culpability – The Intercept

WASHINGTON, D.C. - AUGUST 25: SIXTY MINUTES episode with Henry Kissinger (walking at left) and the President of the United States of America, Richard M. Nixon. Image. dated August 25, 1970. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)

History of Cambodia’s Killing Fields,

They expose Nixon’s policymaking, Kissinger’s key role, and how so many Cambodians came to be killed by U.S. aircraft.

Source: Transcripts of Kissinger’s Calls Reveal His Culpability – The Intercept

and

Henry Kissinger’s Bloody Legacy

https://shows.acast.com/f5b64019-68c3-57d4-b70b-043e63e5cbf6/646e8da30a0d440011f4a518

Can We Thwart Russia and Saudi Arabia’s Devious Plan to Fuck the 2024 Election on Trump’s Behalf? | The Smirking Chimp

Russia and Saudi Arabia — or, more specifically, Putin and MBS — are desperate for Donald Trump or another autocrat like him to take the White House in 2024. America’s largest fossil fuel company executives share their goal, as we saw in the run-up to the 2022 election when gas prices topped $5/gallon.

Source: Can We Thwart Russia and Saudi Arabia’s Devious Plan to Fuck the 2024 Election on Trump’s Behalf? | The Smirking Chimp

Old Dog Thought-White Anting our Government and Justice Systems

ACT Policing Detective Superintendent Scott Moller liked a social media post supportive of Bruce Lehrmann.

Fighting Fake News with REAL 25/5/23, PWC, Scamers like Morrison Scammed by Scammers, Victoria, Injustice System, Lehrmann

Fact Check: the Victorian Liberals say the state’s debt is larger than any other state and larger than NSW, Queensland and Tasmania combined. Is that correct?

Considering the States debt is less than 30% of its economy the term “disaster” as expressed by the Mainstream media and LNP is a total exaggeration and simply Abbott-like political scaremongering. An objective Fact Check shows the LNP and the media are more than just gilding the lily. Compared with other Nation States Victoria is carrying a very respectable debt level having managed Covid and being the most desired state to migrate to.

UK 95%, Brazil 93% USA 259% Japan 200% and under our Morrison LNP 132% https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-by-national-debt

Dan Andrews has actually achieved real progress in his 14 years. Much more than can be said of the federal  and NSW governments. They are both in opposition now because of their disastrous records of damage, corruption done and promises unfulfilled. (Old Dog)

Mr Davis’s claim is gilding the lily. So are similar claims from Mr Guy, Mr Bach and the Liberal Party organisation. It’s important to note that Victoria’s net debt in June 2022 was $99.98 billion. It is not yet the $165.9 billion it is projected to be in June 2026, despite Liberal Party claims it has already “blown out” to similar magnitudes and Mr Davis’s claim that it will reach that level by 2025. Nonetheless, Victoria’s June 2022 debt sits head and shoulders above any other state or territory in nominal terms. But adjusting for the size of each state economy, using a debt as a proportion of gross state product as a measure, Victoria and the Northern Territory are neck and neck, with other states still far behind. Victoria’s June 2022 debt is also larger than the combined total of NSW, Queensland and Tasmania in both nominal terms and as a share of gross state product. However, the gap is larger now than it is projected to be in June 2026. The debt in Victoria in June 2026 is projected to be larger than any other single state, including the NT, on both measures. But projections for four years in advance are far less reliable than actual and estimated figures for the most recent

Source: Fact Check: the Victorian Liberals say the state’s debt is larger than any other state and larger than NSW, Queensland and Tasmania combined. Is that correct?

Bruce Lehrmann case: NSW Police detective liked social media post in support of defendant

ACT Policing Detective Superintendent Scott Moller liked a social media post supportive of Bruce Lehrmann.

Jurors are held to a strict reign of control that prevents undue outside influence in court. However, not so police, when they can entertain their own personal opinions and beliefs when investigating a case.   As a consequence they fail to abide by the strict rules of objectivity in criminal investigation and collection of evidence.  This ACT Detective admits to serious bias when investigating the Brittany Higgins case. One that favored Morrison’s LNP

ACT Policing Detective Superintendent Scott Moller also admitted to an inquiry into the abandoned criminal trial he shouldn’t have liked a social media comment that was supportive of the man he had charged with Higgins’ sexual assault following the discontinuation of the case.

Source: Bruce Lehrmann case: NSW Police detective liked social media post in support of defendant

Broken justice system leaves victims neglected

From tasering the elderly to gross misconduct in a major sexual assault trial, this week has revealed massive flaws within our justice system, writes Dr Jennifer Wilson.

Source: Broken justice system leaves victims neglected

In A Break With Past Liberal Policy, Dutton Opposed To Apartheid! – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Yes, when Peter Dutton says that we don’t want a Canberra voice, I wonder if he realises that one of the voices from Canberra that most people don’t want to hear, is his!

Source: In A Break With Past Liberal Policy, Dutton Opposed To Apartheid! – » The Australian Independent Media Network

The Opposition – full of grumps and fantasists – » The Australian Independent Media Network

What was shocking was their willingness to re-visit those days, where the Communist word caused heartburn, and we stood behind LBJ. This time around it was Donald Trump providing us with a shield. Risky!

And we must remember Trump’s record of favouring white supremists. Was there a whiff of the White Australia Policy in our rush to condemn the Chinese? Is there a whiff of post-colonial racism in our demonisation of a document titled “Statement from the Heart”?

Source: The Opposition – full of grumps and fantasists – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Stuart Robert should face National Anti-Corruption watchdog, say experts

Stuart Robert insisted he did nothing wrong in his dealings with his consultant friend David Milo and others.

Former judges believe the new federal integrity watchdog should investigate former cabinet minister Stuart Robert after months of revelations about his help for consultants who sought lucrative deals with federal agencies.Political Reputation

Source: Stuart Robert should face National Anti-Corruption watchdog, say experts

Government gutted as PwC, Big 4 pick up $1.4b a year for giving advice – Michael West

PwC, the Big Four

The Centre for Public Integrity has published analysis of political donations and government contract work for Big 4 firms EY, KPMG, Deloitte and PwC. What’s the scam?

Source: Government gutted as PwC, Big 4 pick up $1.4b a year for giving advice – Michael West

Rogue Consultants: PwC, Tax Evasion and Getting Clients – » The Australian Independent Media Network

In Australia, it has also been particularly galling to see the prospect that sharing such confidential information – notably in terms of tax policies – will see no PwC employee or member of management spend time mournfully gazing from a prison cell. That prospect is what faces Richard Boyle, the Australian Taxation Office’s whistleblower who exposed the predatory conduct of its debt collecting practices with tigerish courage.

Source: Rogue Consultants: PwC, Tax Evasion and Getting Clients – » The Australian Independent Media Network

More than 40,000 modern slaves trapped in Australia – Michael West

Only 40K ?

Moe Turaga never expected to end up enslaved in a rural Australian town when he left Fiji as a teenage boy to earn a living for his family.

Source: More than 40,000 modern slaves trapped in Australia – Michael West

WSJ Worries Debt Limit Fight Could Jeopardize Military Contractors’ Profit – scheerpost.com

Murdoch in America is worried about the profits

The Wall Street Journal is very concerned about the effects of the debt limit fight…on military contractors. In an article (5/12/23) headlined “Debt-Ceiling Fight Weighs on Defense Industry,” the paper reported, “If the US defaults on its debt and is unable to pay all its bills this summer, the pain will fall squarely on the defense industry.”

Source: WSJ Worries Debt Limit Fight Could Jeopardize Military Contractors’ Profit – scheerpost.com

Nakba: Remembering Israel’s Massacre of Palestinians at Tantura

Palestines Lost Generations. A history untold

On this day in May 1948, up to 200 Palestinians were massacred by Israeli troops in the coastal village of Tantura, located 35 kilometres south of Haifa. It was one of the 64 Palestinian coastal villages on the road between Tel Aviv and Haifa, of which only two remain today, Furaydis and Jisr Al-Zarka. The rest were ethnically cleansed, as were hundreds of other villages, towns and cities elsewhere in occupied Palestine.

Source: Nakba: Remembering Israel’s Massacre of Palestinians at Tantura