Trump

The Apprentice, Trump’s Celebrity Presidency, and the Road to American Fascism | The Smirking Chimp

Ratings and Revenge the driving force that resulted in a Presidency but not a President

The parallels between Trump’s celebrity presidency and the patterning of fascist propaganda are plain to see: the relentless repetition and disinformation, the scapegoating of the Other, the strongman identity and victimhood, and the equating of his executive leadership with the greatness of the nation. Those are in addition to his arbitrary application of law, disdain for rules and bureaucracy, and substituting of mass entertainment for political power. Trump was not driven by allegiance to a coherent ideology like some of those in his administration. But his grandiosity, love for chaos, and penchant for tabloid-inspired emotion over fact, recalled history’s greatest autocrats—many of whom were also charismatic showmen guided by profits, image, power, and the old P. T. Barnum adage that “The bigger the humbug, the better people will like it.”

Source: The Apprentice, Trump’s Celebrity Presidency, and the Road to American Fascism | The Smirking Chimp

Uncategorized

Old Dog Thought- Libs on Life Support, Gazans Netanyahu and Israel

Fighting Fake News with REAL, 11/12/22, News Corp. Libs on Life Support, People from Gaza, Israel Unwelcome, The New Or Old Israeli State?

LNP

No surprise Libs are on life support after malignant Morrison years

For many Liberal Party members, guilt by association with the Morrison years will forever remain a dead weight they must lug around with them for the remainder of their political careers, writes Belinda Jones.

Source: No surprise Libs are on life support after malignant Morrison years

Informed Opinion

Letter to the editor from Morrie Moneyweather Jnr – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Anyways I was writing to tell yous that Dad passed away on May 21 this year but I have been waiten for the right moment. Anyways it looks as though the moment has passed so the shock will be won’t be as much of a jaw dropping moment to yous as it might have been. You know what he was like about getting it “alright.”

Just what he wanted me to tell all you left wing latte sipping loonies of the proletariat. You vodka drinking Bolsheviks who can’t afford a decent bottle of Merlot without any intelligence, like a lot of things, is, beyond me.

You know Barnaby was right about you lot just a lot of commies .The thing is, you commies don’t understand the fundamentals of conversation. The free market and capitalism. Conservatives (LNP) believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty and traditional values.

Sorry I got carried away in the moment. I’d ask for forgiveness if I knew how to spell it.

Source: Letter to the editor from Morrie Moneyweather Jnr – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Women

Nothing agitates the ‘Anglosphere’ more than young women in power – Pearls and Irritations

Finish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

There is nothing which agitates much of the ‘Anglosphere’ media more than a young attractive woman in power. The latest example of the phenomenon is the treatment of 37-year-old Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

Source: Nothing agitates the ‘Anglosphere’ more than young women in power – Pearls and Irritations

Murdoch Media

Janet Albrechtsen’s anti-women bile lets predatory men off the hook | The Shot

She also admits her favourite news access point is listening daily to the ABC

It was Madeleine Albright who said “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women”. It’s not a view to which I uncritically subscribe. There are many women whose awfulness warrants opprobrium irrespective of their gender – witness the Coalition front bench – but there is a certain type of woman who takes her woman-bashing cause so seriously, for whom each tiny increment of female advancement seems both a personal affront and threat to civilisation, that her special place in hell surely awaits.

I give you The Australian’s Janet Albrechtsen.

Source: Janet Albrechtsen’s anti-women bile lets predatory men off the hook | The Shot

Informed Comment

Dark satanic troll factory foreman bemoans falling market share for dark satanic troll content.

“Among people with a tertiary education, Labor’s vote lead over the Coalition was 35-26 per cent. Yet the Coalition’s situation is worse since 18 per cent voted Greens, which means the combined Labor-Greens tertiary vote was 53 per cent. The Liberals are being beaten in the cohort that heavily represents decision-makers and opinion shapers.”

It’s probably worth mentioning that the same cohort also used to heavily represent subscribers to The Australian, but that was before Lord Rupert refashioned it as a fanzine for white nationalist authoritarianism, climate change denial and shitposting-as-a-service.

Of course, as the senior political editor of a newspaper that, more than any other, was responsible for driving our national conversation into the howling wastelands of super-maximum derpitude, Paul Kelly probably didn’t think of that, or care to mention it.

Source: Dark satanic troll factory foreman bemoans falling market share for dark satanic troll content.

Informed Comment, Informed Opinion

Gabor Maté: Who’s Crazy, You or Your Nation?

Gabor Maté.

Is he repeating what Franz Fanon said?

https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/scheer-intelligence/whos-crazy-you-or-your-nation

Corporate Crime, Corporate Greed, corporate impunity, Corporate Welfare

How To Kill and Get Away With It | The Smirking Chimp

When the senior executives of California’s private for-profit power utility PG&E made the very intentional decision to move cash into their own pockets through bonuses and dividends instead of making their power lines resilient enough to withstand severe winds, they also made the decision to let people die.

Source: How To Kill and Get Away With It | The Smirking Chimp

Informed Comment

How Purple Is Georgia?

Raphael Warnock’s victory gives Democrats an outright Senate majority.

Reality TV

A white lens sees Harry and Meghan as villains – through a Black one, they’ve done Britain a favour | Nels Abbey | The Guardian

Undated handout photo issued by Netflix of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released for a new documentary called "Harry and Meghan

The Netflix series has caused establishment outrage. But I think it gives us a chance to have a long needed discussion about racism

Source: A white lens sees Harry and Meghan as villains – through a Black one, they’ve done Britain a favour | Nels Abbey | The Guardian

Fox News

Right-wing media echo Russian state TV in attacks on Brittney Griner | Media Matters for America

Moscow Carlson Speaks the way Tokyo Rose and Axis Sally once did.

Russian state TV and right-wing media are pushing the same line of attack on WNBA player Brittney Griner almost verbatim in the wake of her release from Russian prison as part of a negotiated prisoner exchange, arguing she was prioritized over another American prisoner in Russia because the other is a straight white man.

Source: Right-wing media echo Russian state TV in attacks on Brittney Griner | Media Matters for America

Israel

Xi announces “New Era” in China-Saudi Relationship with bn. in Deals, as Arabs Seek to Offset Dependence on Washington

So now it’s Israel, the Saudis, China, and Trump screaming at the Israeli government

Al Jazeera reports that Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz on Thursday signed an agreement with visiting Chinese Premier Xi Jinping at the Yamama Palace regarding a “comprehensive strategic partnership” between the two countries. Xi announced that his visit to the kingdom would inaugurate a “new era” in the relationship of China to the Arab world, the countries of the Gulf, and Saudi Arabia itself.

Source: Xi announces “New Era” in China-Saudi Relationship with bn. in Deals, as Arabs Seek to Offset Dependence on Washington

Israel

Why the ‘second Nakba’ government wants to remake the Israeli state

Jewish men carry Torah scrolls as they dance during Simchat Torah celebrations at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Old City, September 28, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

It is difficult to know where these struggles against the new government will lead, and whether they will connect to the struggle against annexation, apartheid, and another mass expulsion of Palestinians. But one cannot deny that we have arrived at a moment in which all the contradictions inherent to Zionism from its earliest days have become clearer and more consequential than ever.

Source: Why the ‘second Nakba’ government wants to remake the Israeli state

Fight against Fake News, Fighting Fake News

Old Dog Thought- When the System of Justice is an Oxymoron

Prosecutor alleges police ‘aligned with defence’ in Bruce Lehrmann case and claims ‘inappropriate interference’

Fighting Fake News with REAL, 10/12/22, The Shovel, Humour, War, China, Tucker Carlson Putin’s Bitch, Rape and Masturbation, Male Justice,

Capitalism

How Capitalism Worms Its Way Into Every Aspect of Our Lives

“The official economy within a capitalist society depends on a background of social relations, social practices, and institutions that are regarded as noneconomic.”

In other words, we live in a society where Elon Musk gets to decide that he’s firing a car into space for fun and that’s how our social wealth is being used.

Nancy Fraser:   whereas there might be many other things that we would prefer to do with that wealth. We might even prefer to produce less wealth and to live more simply, companionably, socially, and easily in a more relaxed way. We could have a much freer and more democratic life. But that’s not compatible with capitalism.

Source: How Capitalism Worms Its Way Into Every Aspect of Our Lives

LNP Government

Rape, masturbation and lewd acts all part of Parliament House under Morrison: FLASHBACK 2021

When the Christian Right dominated the Government and SCOMO danced like Rumpelstiltskin in front of our cameras other things were going on.

Following the disappointing conclusion to the Bruce Lehrmann trial, it’s important to remember the toxic culture developed by the Morrison Government within the walls of Parliament House.

In this article from 2021, Dr Jennifer Wilson examined the breeding ground of assault and harassment that led to the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins and possibly others.

Source: Rape, masturbation and lewd acts all part of Parliament House under Morrison: FLASHBACK 2021

LNP Government

Top officials shut down robodebt criticism – Michael West

A senior public servant told a Social Services official to tone down language indicating the robodebt welfare management scheme wouldn’t be lawful before it was introduced.

Andrew Whitecross, from the Social Services department, told the royal commission investigating the scheme it “couldn’t be clearer” calculating welfare debts based on an average income would require laws to be changed in 2015.

The scheme, which went from 2015 until 2020, wrongly recovered more than $750 million from 381,000 people, with a number of victims committing suicide while being pursued for false debts.

Mr Whitecross strongly advised against using income averaging in 2015 and said he was surprised to learn the scheme was implemented the following year.

He told the commission he’d had a meeting with Social Services’ Cath Halbert and Human Services’ Mark Withnell in 2015 where he outlined income averaging wouldn’t be legal. He said Mr Withnell was frustrated with the feedback because it could mean a promised $1.2 billion saving wasn’t achieved.

Of the saving, Mr Whitecross later added: “It was a sense … this was a number that had come out of a methodology, but the number itself was a goal of the process”.

The commission heard he was told by Ms Halbert that DHS deputy secretary Malisa Golightly “didn’t want us to go in so hard” with feedback income averaging was illegal.

Asked by senior counsel assisting the commission Justin Greggery if he had pushed back, Mr Whitecross said he had but she had continued to ask him to change the language.

Source: Top officials shut down robodebt criticism – Michael West

LNP Government

Challenging the “Uyghur genocide narrative” – Pearls and Irritations

Xinjiang Re-education Camp.

It was alleged, that up to a million Uyghurs were incarcerated in camps but this proved to be no more than an extrapolation of numbers by a researcher and amplified in a UN meeting; never by the UN. In order to justify this outrageous claim, it was necessary to find prisons to incarcerate a million people, which, over time, grew into many more.

An Australian think tank (ASPI) entered the fray and identified “camps” across the region. Except that they didn’t. A region so large needs boarding schools and residential factories. The same region, because of a destabilised and radicalised minority, some with terrorist tendencies, also needs security. So, everything with a gate, fence, security presence and dormitories when viewed from satellites, was identified and analysed, by a young man at ASPI, who has never set foot in China, as being “a camp”; 380 of them! In the list, to give him credit, there are some prisons. But in a region with 25 million people and a terrorist problem, that’s hardly a surprise.

Source: Challenging the “Uyghur genocide narrative” – Pearls and Irritations

Informed Comment

How Can We Protect Our Democracy When the Media Doesn’t Let Us Know How It’s Being Threatened? | The Smirking Chimp

Which is why the Electoral Reform Act – now before Congress – is so important.

It would require state legislatures to appoint presidential electors exactly as they’ve been appointed before. So if a state’s laws require that electors certify the person who has won the popular vote, a legislature can’t use the “failed” election loophole to appoint electors for anyone else.

Other provisions require that governors certify the correct electors by a hard deadline before Congress counts them, and allow an aggrieved candidate to trigger expedited judicial review.

Where is the Electoral Reform Act at this point?

Ten Republican senators tentatively support it but Trumpsters are pressuring them to withdraw their support.

With so little time remaining in the lame-duck session, the measure may be attached to the end-of-year spending bill.

But how many close calls like this can a system of self-government endure?

And if the media doesn’t adequately report on issues like this, how can a free people govern themselves to begin with?

Source: How Can We Protect Our Democracy When the Media Doesn’t Let Us Know How It’s Being Threatened? | The Smirking Chimp

WAR

Reform, say vets who know the horrors of war, yet most politicians say status quo

War powers reform

Gross National Happiness vs Gross National Product,

The senate hearing on War Powers Reform starts today. Of the over 100 submissions made to the government’s “Inquiry into international armed conflict decision making”, the most compelling come from Australian veterans themselves. Zacharias Szumer reports.

Source: Reform, say vets who know the horrors of war, yet most politicians say status quo

Australian Government

The US Imperium Garrisons Australia – » The Australian Independent Media Network

The alliance has also seen Australia committed to “several needless and costly wars and is likely to do so again in the future, with especially grave consequences in the context of the great power rivalry between the US and China.” Unfortunately for the industrious Scappatura and those honourable souls determined to force a revision of the relationship, the sleepwalkers are in charge. And when that happens, wars are rarely far away.

Source: The US Imperium Garrisons Australia – » The Australian Independent Media Network

America's Shame

Congress Has No Business Shoveling Another $847 Billion Into the Military Industrial Complex

The Pentagon just failed its fifth audit in as many years. After 20 years of war, there are better ways to spend tax dollars than on an agency that can’t even account for half of its assets.

Source: Congress Has No Business Shoveling Another $847 Billion Into the Military Industrial Complex

Russia

Griner release is cause for relief but Viktor Bout transfer tough to stomach | Joe Biden | The Guardian

Joe Biden with Cherelle Griner, Brittney Griner’s wife, in the Oval Office on Thursday.

Last month, the Russian parliament mounted an unusual art exhibition with subjects ranging from the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin to a sentimental image of a kitten. They had been produced in prison by Viktor Bout, serving 25 years in America.

Brittney Griner in court in Khimki in August. The deal procured the release of the most prominent American detained abroad. Brittney Griner freed from Russian prison in exchange for Viktor Bout Read more History has shown that a sideline as an amateur artist is not much guarantee of moral integrity. Bout, known as “the merchant of death”, was the world’s most notorious arms dealer, selling weapons to rogue states, rebel groups and murderous warlords in Africa, Asia and South America.

That, for many, was what made his release on Thursday in a prisoner swap for US basketball star Brittney Griner difficult to stomach. Joe Biden has done a deal with the devil. But he may also have saved a woman’s life. As the president found in Afghanistan, the big decisions are seldom morally clearcut.

Source: Griner release is cause for relief but Viktor Bout transfer tough to stomach | Joe Biden | The Guardian

Uncategorized

Putin’s Puppet Throws A Fit Over Zelensky Being Named Time’s Person Of The Year | Crooks and Liars

Putin's Puppet Throws A Fit Over Zelensky Being Named Time's Person Of The Year

Japan had Tokyo Rose Russia has Moscow’s Tucker for supper

Tokyo Rose (alternative spelling Tokio Rose) was a name given by Allied troops in the South Pacific during World War II to all female English-speaking radio broadcasters of Japanese propaganda.[1]

 Her German counterpart was Axis Sally, played by an American woman who was born in Portland in 1900.

‘ Axis Sally’ Is Found Guilty; Sentence on Treason Delayed; Jury, Deliberating More Than 17 Hours, Convicts Her for Participating in Nazi Broadcast to Discourage 1944 Invasion LEAVING COURT AFTER TREASON CONVICTION AXIS SALLY’ FOUND GUILTY OF TREASON

There are few things more grotesque than watching Tucker Carlson rail against Ukraine’s effort to defend itself against the Russian invasion, repeating almost verbatim what you hear on KremlinTV. In most countries, Carlson’s naked propaganda on behalf of Russia would be banned from the airwaves. “Zelensky is far closer to Lenin than to George Washington. He is a dictator…A dangerous authoritarian who has $100 billion in U.S. tax dollars to erect a one-party police state in Ukraine,” spewed Russian puppet Tucker Carlson.

Source: Putin’s Puppet Throws A Fit Over Zelensky Being Named Time’s Person Of The Year | Crooks and Liars

Putin

Putin warns threat of nuclear war rising, Russia has best weapons

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the threat of nuclear war is increasing as he boasted his country has the world’s most advanced nuclear weapons.

In his latest chilling comments, Mr Putin added that Russia would strike back if hit.

Source: Putin warns threat of nuclear war rising, Russia has best weapons

Trump

Donald Trump Is Out of Power — and Out of Luck

Former US President Donald Trump departs after speaking at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on November 15, 2022. - Donald Trump pulled the trigger on a third White House run on November 15, setting the stage for a bruising Republican nomination battle after a poor midterm election showing by his hand-picked candidates weakened his grip on the party. Trump filed his official candidacy papers with the US election authority moments before he was due to publicly announce his candidacy. (Photo by ALON SKUY / AFP) (Photo by ALON SKUY/AFP via Getty Images)

If politics were football, Donald Trump would be a JAG.

NFL fans know what that means: Trump is “Just a Guy.”

In professional football slang, being a JAG means that a player is average, nothing special. A JAG lacks game-changing talent and unique status. A JAG is not a star. If a JAG makes too many demands, he’ll be kicked off the team and thrown out on the street.

Trump is finally finding out that being a former president is not the same thing as being president. Both in the courts and in politics, it turns out that being a former president is a lot like being a JAG.

The ex-president is finally fair game for an entire legion of lawyers.

Source: Donald Trump Is Out of Power — and Out of Luck

Fight against Fake News, Fighting Fake News

Old Dog Thought- begging permission, when, were and what to protest is every citizen’s right

May be a cartoon of 1 person and text

Fighting Fake News with REAL 9/12/22, Every Picture Tells a Story, Democrats beat Trump’s Pick, LNP dying breed, Murdoch’s Deposed,

ALP Government,

Whitlam strengthened the public service. Can Albanese do the same? – Pearls and Irritations

Third Whitlam Ministry at Parliament House, Canberra, in 1974.

The Whitlam government fostered a great strengthening of the public service and its policy capacity. Sadly, much of that has been lost with the excessive political controls of more recent governments. Can the Albanese Government reverse some of the decline?

Source: Whitlam strengthened the public service. Can Albanese do the same? – Pearls and Irritations

LNP

A Dying Breed: Young Voters and the LNP – » The Australian Independent Media Network

This actually amuses me to no end: serves you right, you bastards. You were so determined to serve the wealthy that you could not see the forest for the trees. You were so obsessed with growing their (and your own) investment property portfolios that you could not see (or simply did not care) that you were creating what is now known as Generation Rent. It is no wonder these people will not vote for you: you utterly screwed them out of the so-called Australian Dream of owning your own home. Your policies around negative gearing, tax cuts for the wealthy, superannuation concessions and so on – these tongue-baths to the rich have created a generation (and beyond) of serfs with iPhones. That, Spud, is why they will not vote for you!

Source: A Dying Breed: Young Voters and the LNP – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Informed Comment, Informed Opinion

Dirty little secrets exposed in Higgins’ case against Lehrmann

The abandonment of the Bruce Lehrmann trial, the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins, is a devastating blow for all women who dare to speak out. Managing editor Michelle Pini reports.

Source: Dirty little secrets exposed in Higgins’ case against Lehrmann

Informed Opinion

It’s a trap: mooted gas cap plays into the hands of the cartel, locks in high energy prices – Michael West

National Cabinet is to consider capping the gas price at $12 when National Cabinet meets Friday. At that high price, the government is gifting super profits to the gas cartel at the expense of Australian customers and industry. A price of $7, new research shows, still leaves solid profits for gas producers. Is $12 the gas cartel number? Rex Patrick writes.

Source: It’s a trap: mooted gas cap plays into the hands of the cartel, locks in high energy prices – Michael West

Prisons

Should We Abolish Prisons?

When even greater injustice is being done to Australia’s Firtst Nations Peoples and their children shouldn’t  we ask ourselves the same question

Mass incarceration continues to be a devastating blight on the United States, with particularly destructive impacts on the poor and people of color. Yet people across the political spectrum are increasingly aware of the gross injustice of the US prison system and are taking action to change it.

Source: Should We Abolish Prisons?

Industrial Military complex, Military- Industrial Complex

Defense Bill Heralds Bonanza for U.S. War Industry

The B-21 Raider is unveiled during a ceremony at Northrop Grumman's Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, December 2, 2022. The high-tech stealth bomber can carry nuclear and conventional weapons and is designed to be able to fly without a crew on board and is on track to cost nearly $700 million per plane.

The Biden White House has shown no sign of pumping the brakes on Ukraine spending and arms transfers. Biden also has made clear he intends to push ahead with the aggressive U.S. military buildup in preparation for future conflict with China, a position with widespread backing across the aisle. With a divided Congress, the 2024 elections looming, and the Trump question hovering over it all, a lot of the Democrats’ legislative agenda will be tough to implement after the new year. But the short and long-term future looks bright for the Russia and China hawks, the defense industry, and its Democratic and Republican patrons on Capitol Hill. On these matters, bipartisanship remains alive and well. The House could vote on the NDAA as soon as this week, and the Senate is expected to swiftly follow suit to get the bill to Biden’s desk.

Source: Defense Bill Heralds Bonanza for U.S. War Industry

Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch forced to give evidence under oath in the US. Will they perjure themselves? We all know the answer!Kangaroo Court of Australia

Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch, who are both well-known international criminals who have committed crimes such as tax evasion and phone bugging, have been forced to give evidence under oath in the US.

Source: Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch forced to give evidence under oath in the US. Will they perjure themselves? We all know the answer!Kangaroo Court of Australia

Fox News

Fox News Bi*chfest After Warnock Wins: ‘I’m Pissed Tonight!’ | Crooks and Liars

Fox News Bi*chfest After Warnock Wins: 'I'm Pissed Tonight!'

Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Mollie Hemingway, and Kellyanne Conway melted down after the Georgia runoff was called for Senator Warnock.

It was a massive whinefest, blaming everybody for the loss except Donald Trump.

Source: Fox News Bi*chfest After Warnock Wins: ‘I’m Pissed Tonight!’ | Crooks and Liars

Fox News

Fox News neglected to cover the Trump Organization’s multiple convictions for tax fraud | Media Matters for America

trump taxes

An analysis by Media Matters found that Fox News has dedicated only 9 minutes of total coverage to breaking news that two corporate entities of the Trump Organization were found guilty on all counts in a tax fraud case in New York. By contrast, Fox’s cable news competitors granted the guilty verdicts against former President Donald Trump’s private business empire far more attention, with MSNBC offering roughly 1 hour and 23 minutes of coverage, and CNN devoting 40 minutes.

Source: Fox News neglected to cover the Trump Organization’s multiple convictions for tax fraud | Media Matters for America

Israel

Al Jazeera Sues Israeli Forces in Intl Criminal Court

Following an investigation that Al Jazeera said uncovered new evidence regarding the fatal shooting of Palestinian-America journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May, the international news network said Tuesday that it has filed a lawsuit against Israeli military forces at the International Criminal Court.

Source: Al Jazeera Sues Israeli Forces in Intl Criminal Court

Israel

U.S. State Department Slams Al Jazeera for taking Israeli Assassination of Abu Akleh to Int’l Criminal Court, though US asked Court to Investigate Russia

American citizens are dammed when it comes to the nation’s political interests

The Qatar-based satellite news channel Al Jazeera has referred the case of one of its slain reporters, Shireen Abu Akleh –an American citizen — to the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Ms. Abu Akleh, who had reported from Israel and Palestine for over twenty years for Al Jazeera, was shot in the head just under her helmet on May 11 last spring by an Israeli sniper even though she was wearing a vest clearly marked “Press” and had identified herself to the nearby Israeli army unit.

Source: U.S. State Department Slams Al Jazeera for taking Israeli Assassination of Abu Akleh to Int’l Criminal Court, though US asked Court to Investigate Russia

Fight against Fake News, Fighting Fake News

Old Dog Thought- Is Peace the priority?

Fighting Fake News with REAL, 8/12/22, Hillsong, Nuclear Subs and Defence,Trump Tower, Morrison’s Playbook,

NBN

NBN Co’s $31 billion write-off caused by Coalition catastrophe

Abbott’s plan was always to sucker punch Turnbull

NBN Co has had to write off tens of billions of dollars in an effort to lower prices and become more financially sustainable. Paul Budde reports.

THE PREVIOUS Coalition Government under then Minister for Communication, Malcolm Turnbull, promised a cheaper, good-quality NBN that would be delivered faster. However, since it became clear that his Government was unable to deliver on this promise, I knew that eventually, something had to give.

Source: NBN Co’s $31 billion write-off caused by Coalition catastrophe

Informed Comment

Please don’t ask the LNP about their future until they come out of denialism first – » The Australian Independent Media Network

My thought for the day

Presenting facts to people who have reasoned by their feelings that they are right is futile. (John Lord)

Source: Please don’t ask the LNP about their future until they come out of denialism first – » The Australian Independent Media Network

LNP Government

Vast executive salaries: undemocratic, unethical and unproductive

Neoliberal policies have resulted in an imbalance in Australia’s wage system with a disproportional increase in senior management financial rewards, writes Dr Klaas Woldring.

Source: Vast executive salaries: undemocratic, unethical and unproductive

Scott Morrison

Morrison’s secrecy appeal before hearing – Michael West

Playing his Trump Cards and instructing Lawyers.

“Reveal all the Government Secrets or leave me alone” says Morrison. Meanwhile, his LNP case against whistleblower Bernard Collaery went full steam ahead with LNP secrets fully intact and maintained.  Not so  Scott however, he demands special treatment? Now that’s his Christian spirit showing he’s an exceptional man.

Scott Morrison is calling for a stack of secret cabinet documents to be made public before he gives evidence at the robodebt royal commission.

Source: Morrison’s secrecy appeal before hearing – Michael West

Scott Morrison, Uncategorized

Morrison’s Media Blame is from the Trump playbook

Morrison’s media blame | Media Watch | Scott Morrison criticises the media for not questioning him over his secret ministerial appointments. | By Media Watch(opens in a new tab)

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=637038064825028

ALP Government,

US talks to underpin nuclear sub decision – Michael West

Our bestie America is “prepared” to sacrifice and sell us their used and no longer wanted nuclear subs at “their price” and build new ones for themselves. In the meantime, they are also for a price prepared to man, maintain and train us here in our newly built by them specialist American ports. Ports, built to purpose, by them, for a price,why? Because most other Pacific nations don’t want a bar of endangering themselves with that sort of deal. The Americans know they’re not wanted anywhere else at any price and so we are now the safest option. Meanwhile, we the people are being promised very loudly that these aren’t really fully purposed nuclear subs or facilities. Now that sounds a fair dinkum deal to be believed, doesn’t it?

There has been speculation that Washington is prepared to sell Australia its own submarines to plug any gaps in the meantime in light of China’s increased aggression and the fact that the first nuclear sub is not set to arrive for at least 15 years.

Source: US talks to underpin nuclear sub decision – Michael West

Informed Comment

The REAL Significance of Today’s Runoff in Georgia | The Smirking Chimp

Friends, If Raphael Warnock wins today’s senate runoff in Georgia, as appears likely, Senate Democrats will gain a 51-49 majority — providing them some insurance in the event that Arizona voters boot out Kyrsten Sinema in 2024, while at the same time reducing the power of West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin to control the Democrat’s agenda.

Source: The REAL Significance of Today’s Runoff in Georgia | The Smirking Chimp

Trump

Trump Organization found guilty of tax fraud by New York jury

Pedestrians pass by Trump Tower, where the headquarters of the Trump Organization are located, on January 4, 2022, New York City, USA.

Donald Trump’s real estate company was convicted on Tuesday of carrying out a 15-year-long criminal scheme to defraud tax authorities, adding to the legal woes facing the former U.S. president as he campaigns for the office again in 2024.

Source: Trump Organization found guilty of tax fraud by New York jury

Trump

Tax fraud verdict again exposes illusion of Trump the master businessman | US news | The Guardian

Donald Trump in New York in August.

In the attrition of legal trench warfare, these cases may be gradually wearing down Trump’s political resilience, especially combined with three successive elections that suggest he more of a loser than a winner.

His winning argument in 2016 was that, having cultivated the image of a successful businessman on his reality TV show The Apprentice, he could now bring the same acumen to governing the country. And in a sense, he did: with fraud, deceit and contempt for the rule of law.

Source: Tax fraud verdict again exposes illusion of Trump the master businessman | US news | The Guardian

Fight against Fake News, Fighting Fake News

Old Dog Thought- Australian Rights Obliterated

Fighting Fake News with REAL 7/12/22, Right to Protest, Aus Democracy, Perrottet, Robert Reich’s Xmas, Linda Reynolds,