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Github soll ihren "KI"-Copiloten den Code mutieren ... "IndyWatch Feed National"
Github soll ihren "KI"-Copiloten den Code mutieren lassen, damit er nicht mehr wie eine direkte Kopie aussieht und automatisiert sofort als Copyright-Verletzung erkannt wird.
Einmal crook, immer crook.
Fed winning versus inflation (time to pause) "IndyWatch Feed Economics.au"
Australian whistleblower protection to take historic next step "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
Updated Protecting Australias Whistleblowers: Federal Roadmap report
Transparency International Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre and Griffith Universitys Centre for Governance and Public Policy are calling on all parties to ensure new federal whistleblower protection reforms pass the Senate as it resumes sitting today.
The three groups are also releasing the latest update to their joint report, Protecting Australias Whistleblowers: The Federal Roadmap, marking progress so far in these overdue reforms.
Clancy Moore, CEO of Transparency International Australia said:
The Public Interest Disclosure Amendment (Review) Bill 2022 makes important technical improvements to our federal public sector whistleblowing regime, in time for commencement of the historic National Anti-Corruption Commission in just a few weeks time.
...Consumer sentiment dead; recession risk rises "IndyWatch Feed Economics.au"
Ben Roberts-Smith's alleged war crimes: 'Higher-ups' off the hook "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
It appears no action is being taken against more senior officers who had the responsibility of command over Ben Roberts-Smith during his alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, writes Belinda Jones.
ON MONDAY, 5 June 2023, the complete 736-page judgement by Justice Anthony Besanko in the Ben Roberts-Smith civil defamation trial was published.
In his damning judgement, Justice Besanko said:
'I do not accept the applicant (Ben Roberts-Smith)and Persons 5, 29, 35 and 38 as honest and reliable witnesses.'
Besanko, in dismissing the civil defamation case instigated by Roberts-Smith, found 'on the balance of probabilities' that journalists Nick McKenzie, Chris Masters and David Wroe had proved the allegations they published against the former SAS soldier, which included complicity in the murder of six civilians.
It's important to note this is not a criminal finding of guilt but a determination on the civil standard of the balance of probabilities.
This...
ASEANs Cross-Border Digital Payment System Explained "IndyWatch Feed Economics.au"
Greater financial integration is good for consumers and travelers, but it won't end Southeast Asia's dependence on the U.S. dollar.
More departmental interference? "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
On Friday, Newsroom had a very disturbing report of Department of Internal Affairs officials attempting to subvert the democratic process by interfering with the work of the select committee on the Three Waters legislation. The story effectively highlighted concerns raised by the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties during the recent review of Standing Orders about select committees' dependence on departmental officials for analysis of submissions and advice. Those officials work for Ministers, not Parliament, and are also usually the people who have developed the policy. They are thus inherently conflicted in their role, and in a position to tilt the advice to support their own (or the Ministers') position. The Department of Internal Affairs seems to have gone a lot further than that, into actively subverting the decisions of the committee, which is why it was noticed. But there's a lot officials can do below that threshold and probably get away with.
And sadly, I have an example. The Health Committee has just reported back on the Therapeutic products Bill. Like many recent government bills, it includes a secrecy clause, so I sent in the usual submission opposing it and trying to have it amended to protect the public's rights under the OIA. The secrecy clause is particularly wide-ranging and odious, covering all information that an "information holder" - meaning the regulatory body and others - obtains while performing their functions or exercising their powers under the Act, and applying criminal penalties for disclosure, effectively reinstating the Official Secrets Act for this information. Meanwhile, the list of functions of the regulator shows how extreme this is: among the things to be decalred state secrets is whether a licence has been issued, whether a a particular product is unsafe and what (if any) action has been taken, whether a product makes false claims of health benefits, and whether guidance was issued to help suppliers avoid making such claims. The regulator also has a function of providing advice to the Minister of Health and the chief executive on " the adequacy and performance of, and funding for, the regulatory system"; that advice too will be a state secret. So if for example they advice that the system is too weak or that funding is inadequate, it will be a criminal offence for it to be dis...
The Easy Days of Lazy Growth are Behind Us "IndyWatch Feed Economics.au"
During my entire life (which commenced in 1959), I have only ever known economic growth.
Since the early 1960s, world economic growth has averaged 3.8% per annum.
Only two years out of 60-odd years have been negativeGFC and COVID.
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Source: World Bank |
Those fortunate enough to be living in the developed world have enjoyed the lions share of the worlds economic bounty.
A trend spanning more than six decades pretty much becomes our accepted norm.
Individuals, businesses and governments make plans, policies and promises based on the trend continuingindefinitely.
What has been will continue to be so.
Society has built certain expectations regarding employment opportunities, property values, retirement outcomes, education standards, security and the provision of healthcare and welfare.
Meeting those expectations (and in some cases, entitled demands) is entirely dependent upon the long-established growth trend resuming its annual 4% trajectory.
On the surface, 4% per annum seems like a reasonable number.
However, on a compound basis (using the Rule of 72) meeting that number would require the world economy to double in size every 18 years.
The math on this is daunting.
Global GDP is currently around US$100 trillion.
If trend growth was to resume, then in 2041, global GDP would be US$200 trillion. In 2059, US$400 trillion. In 2077, US$800 trillion. In 2095, US$1,600 trillion.
With population numbers having peaked in the developed and much of the developing world, where do the next big wave of credit-hungry borrowers and consumers come from?
The need for an ever-expanding base but fewer con...
Permanent Ruin "IndyWatch Feed Economics.au"
How serious this challenge is remains to be seen. But judging from the efforts to discredit him, the elite is taking no chances.
First, we set the stage. Heres the Committee for the Responsible Federal Budget: The Deficit Was US$2.1 Trillion Over Past Year:
up 50% from the US$1.4 trillion deficit in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 and more than twice as large as the deficit prior to the beginning of the pandemic.
The 12-month rolling deficit is also US$170 billion higher than it was last month, thanks to a US$236 billion deficit in May of 2023, compared to US$66 billion last May. Compared to a year ago, total nominal spending is up 11% to US$6.6 trillion, and revenue is down 6% to US$4.5 trillion.
As a share of the economy, deficits havetotalled 8.1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the past year, over three times the historical average of 2.5% and three percentage points higher than 2019.
At least half of that deficit comes from something that does Americans no apparent good the US empire. RFK Jr proposes to trim it back.
He is nuts says HotAir. Hes an eccentric says Slate. Lunacy says The Daily Beast. Wacky conspiracy theories says Cleveland Magazine.
Heres Robert Reich, a former Secretary of Labor who is reliably wrong about everything:
Were it not for his illustrious name, Robert F Kennedy Jr would be just another crackpot in the growing number of bottom-feeding right-wing fringe politicians seeking high office.
Even his own family says Kennedy is tragically wrong according to Politico.
We have no doubt that RFK Jr is wrong about a lot of things, but we also doubt that he is wrong about everythingand perhaps not about the most obvious threat the US faces. And since we have a soft spot for diehards, lost causes, and underdogswe will look closer.
Inflation wrote Hemingway, is the first panacea of a mismanaged government. War is the second. Both bring a temporary prosperity. Both bring a more permanent ruin.
Were not sure Hemingway had them in the right order. Sometimes war leads to inflation. Sometimes it is the other way around. But the two tend to go together, like rats and plague, until a country is laid low.
Not that we are making a prediction. Were just adding two plus two. And the expense of maintaining a far-flung empirealong with the delusional claptrap that accompanies a degenerate empire (sanctions, wars, trade barriers, prohibitions, tariffs) may be more than we can afford.
When attacked in a real war, a nations people rally to buy war bonds to support their boys in uniform. But few p...
Prisons no place for young children "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
Australia's juvenile detention system is failing our troubled youths and reform is urgently needed to rehabilitate those in need, writes Gerry Georgatos.
THERE ARE 17 childrens prisons littered throughout the Australian continent. Nearly 70% of children incarcerated serve gaol time as adults. There are two childrens gaols in the Northern Territory one in Alice Springs, the other is Don Dale in Darwin.
Don Dale became notoriously infamous when the nation was shown CCTV footage of guards punching children, throwing them across concrete rooms and smashing into them. It led to a Royal Commission but there was no culmination to effective changes that could turn around lives.
Don Dale is not alone. The only child prison in Western Australia remains the longest ongoing riots-ridden crisis, not just of all Australias 17 childrens gaols but of all child prisons in the world. It has been a decade and a half of rooftop riots, recurring takeovers of the prison by protesting children and showdowns between the children and the guards.
There is no other comparison between the crisis that is Banksia Hill to any other child prison in the world.
Childrens prisons throughout Australia, from...
Declassified Australia talk on Israeli mass surveillance "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
My recent conversation at the Addi Road Writers Festival in Sydney, Australia about my new book, The Palestine Laboratory, with my Declassified Australia friend, co-founder and co-editor, Peter Cronau.
We discussed surveillance capitalism and Israels leading role in its global proliferation (including in Australia via the Israeli company Cellebrite, a fact explained in a book extract that we published recently at Declassified Australia.)
The post Declassified Australia talk on Israeli mass surveillance appeared first on Antony Loewenstein.
War on opinion a danger to free thought "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
Opinion pages and comment sections are slowly being devalued, edging society closer to a one-party state of mind, writes Dean Frenkel.
FOR MANY DECADES, reputable newspapers have published an opinion page with every edition. Two designated spaces of prime real estate featuring prime ministers, academics, journalists, industrialists and anyone who could write well enough to displace many submitters who competed for the two spots in every edition.
Opinion is under serious attack. Until recently, matters of opinion were commonly valued and sought after. Now they are diminished. The unwritten book of contemporary values is seriously downgrading opinion as a lesser piece of communication, a put-down.
Opinion is rapidly becoming invisible and at this rate of decline, the opinion page may eventually disappear from our newspapers. It is already being restricted to a select few. Opinion has lost its gravitas, it is the new word-pariah. How did it fall out of favour so rapidly?
Part of this attack is a response to the appalling Donald Trump. Trump woke members of the populace to how the system marginalised them. He duped them, stoked their anger and won their passionate support, in the process turning democracy into a loud and dangerous circus. In response, the establishment was emboldened to embrace the other extreme.
Indeed, the war on opinion is being waged by socio-political extremists who identify as progressives and conservatives. Opinion has become a battle for control of the agenda.
The war on opinion is leaving a battlefield of victims. First is the age-old field of wisdom; Socrates would be turning in his grave. Wisdom is a deeper knowing that attains conceptual resonance without necessarily requiring societal processes to back it up. It is higher-level thinking that mindfully delivers uncommon sense with a combination of foresight and hindsight.
Another set of victims has felt coerced to withdraw from participating in debates on incendiary subjects due to reflexive accusations of being phobic, racist or insensitive. There is only room for one side and no room for nuance when agendas rule the news.
On the other hand, the opinion pages have rarely featured Indigenous voices and look what...
In which the bromancer prescribes great Heinlein books, ancient Troy discovers Brexit's a thing, and there's the usual groaning from the deep ... "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
The pond regrets to advise that its reptile studies might be erratic in the next few weeks, but today at least the pond can play with a full hand, if not a full deck.
The pond was delighted to be advised of Tony Abbott and John Howard join Jordan Peterson-led group looking at meaning of life.
Sweeping aside thoughts of Monty Python, the pond reckons it can match that, or perhaps trump it, because the bromancer is on a winning streak these days ...
..Heinleins shift to the right took place over a decade, from 1948 to 1957. In the early 1950s, the Heinleins travelled around the world. The writer was already a Malthusian and a eugenicist, but the trip greatly exacerbated his demographic despair and xenophobia. The real problem of the Far East is not that so many of them are communists, but simply that there are so many of them, he wrote in a 1954 travel book (posthumously published in 1992). Even space travel, Heinlein concluded, wouldnt be able to open enough room to get rid of them. Heinlein treated overpopulation as a personal affront.
Heinlein had caught a bad case of the Cold War jitters in the late 1940s. He accused liberal Democratic friends, notably the director Fritz Lang, of being Stalinist stooges. With Heinlein's great talent for extrapolation, every East-West standoff seemed like the end of the world. I do not think we have better than an even chance of living, as a nation, through the next five years, he wrote an editor in 1957. The USSR's Sputnik launch in 1957 and Eisenhowers moves towar...
Very little of what has been built in in the NSW North Rivers coastal zone appears to have a long habitable lifespan - so it's buyer beware "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
What is fascinating about this development application set out in the following article is that the Byron Bay local government area coastal zone generally, including Clifford Street, Suffolk Park, is expected to be impacted by ongoing storm surges, tidal incursion and then permanent sea level inundation beginning sometime between 2027 to 2030 roughly four to seven years from now. With 9-15 Clifford Street being one of the last addresses to be affected in that street.
Most of the sea level rise s...
Crude oil plunges...lowest since March 2020! "IndyWatch Feed Economics.au"
Can the IPEF Protect Corporate Supply Chains? "IndyWatch Feed Economics.au"
An IPEF agreement notwithstanding, companies in the Indo-Pacific will still be at risk of disruptions to their supply networks.
Voir Dire, Part 5: How Many Lies Can the AFP Tell, Using Only Consonants? "IndyWatch Feed National"
A yacht in Freemantle, WA, Photo: AFP
by Mary W Maxwell, LLB
Dear Gumshoe Readers, When the AFP arrested Russell Pridgeon and Patrick ODea and Mrs Cling Peaches on 17 October 2018, the number of officers in tow was 20, plus an equal number of media people. I assume the journos (not including, say, Dee McLachlan) were given the script before the arrest.
I mean, why not? Are there any rules about that sort of thing? More importantly, are there any rules about whether the media can state false facts? And if they were given those false facts by the AFP (Australian Federal Police, sort of like FBI), is the AFP accountable? What if the lies did real harm?
I gather from the 2023 book by Russell Pridgeon, that he was told he couldnt speak out in his own defense (such as by saying Hey, Pants on Fire, Everybody). I d...
Family history research worksheets "IndyWatch Feed National"
Family history charts and worksheets can help you plan and organise your research process, and record and visualise the information you uncover about your ancestors. They can be used instead of, or alongside, genealogy software or websites to document your research. Charts and worksheets are particularly useful to use as a working copy, where you
Misleading Parliament Used To Be A Serious Offence!! "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
Now, Katie Gallagher is accused of misleading Parliament. Of course, this is not a hanging offence! I remember hearing that a number of times over the past few years. So and so has been accused of something thats technically against the rules, but lets be fair, its not a hanging offence I was always tempted
The post Misleading Parliament Used To Be A Serious Offence!! appeared first on The AIM Network.
Judge orders the Crown Prosecution Service to come clean about the destruction of key documents on Julian Assange "IndyWatch Feed Enviro.au"
WIKILEAKS After years of running up against a brick wall, the first crack has appeared with the latest ruling on our FOIA case issued by Judge OConnor. In addition to the ruling, British Labour MP John McDonnell has just obtained new information from the Crown Prosecution Service. McDonnell is calling for an independent inquiry into the CPSs role in the Assange case.
DI STEFANIA MAURIZI, 31 MAGGIO 2023, https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/in-edicola/articoli/2023/06/01/judge-orders-the-crown-prosecution-service-to-come-clean-about-the-destruction-of-key-documents-on-julian-assange/7179642/
For the last six years, they have rejected all of our attempts to shed light on the destruction of key documents in the Julian Assange case, even though the emails were deleted when the high-profile, controversial case was still ongoing.
But now the British authorities at the Crown Prosecution Service have to come clean: they must declare whether they hold any information as to when, how and why that documentation was deleted, and if they do hold it, they must either release it to us or clarify the grounds for their refusal.
This order was just issued by the London First-tier Tribunal, chaired by Judge OConnor, in response to our litigation based on the UK Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), in which we are represented by top-notch FOIA specialist Estelle Dehon, of Cornerstone Barristers in London.
READ THE RULING ISSUED BY JUDGE OCONNOR
The Crown Prosecution Service must comply with this judicial order by June 23, and any failure on their part to do so could lead to contempt proceedings.
Ever since 2017, when we first discovered that documents had been destroyed, we have consistently run up against a brick wall: the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has always maintained that deletion of those documents was in conformity with their standard operating procedure. A previous ruling issued in 2017 by the London First-tier Tribunal chaired by a different judge, Andrew Bartlett averred that there was nothing untoward about their deletion, and the British body instituted to uphold information rights, the Information Commissioner (ICO), has always...
War propaganda machine silencing voices of truth. "IndyWatch Feed Enviro.au"
Independent Australia, By William Briggs | 12 June 2023
The mainstream media continues to beat the drums of war while voices of truth and reason are being silenced, writes Dr William Briggs.
JOHN PILGER, in highlighting the manipulation of our media, called on people to speak up.
The drive to war and the demonisation of China have seen many people speak up and speak out. That same manipulated media has muffled those voices and pushed dissent to the margins. Journals and websites like this one are increasingly becoming almost samizdat publications. The mainstream media has played an important role, not only in silencing dissident voices but in convincing the public that there is little effective opposition.
A glance at the anti-AUKUS website shows that over 1,000 individuals and more than 200 organisations have thus far lent their support for a rational and sane response to the rising threat of war with China and obscene military spending.
There are many important voices among the signatories but their voices are not regularly heard in our media. Their words do not appear in the major daily newspapers, regardless of how well-credentialed they might be. Our former Prime Minister, Paul Keating, has effectively been relegated to the sidelines for voicing a position&...
Americas Nuclear Rules Still Allow Another Hiroshima "IndyWatch Feed Enviro.au"
The bombs could not discriminate between combatants and the innocent. As many as one in seven of those killed in Hiroshima were not Japanese but Korean, amounting to roughly 20,000 people, many of whom were forcibly transported from their homes and interred in labor camps. The bombs killed Javanese, Dutch, British, Australian, American, and other prisoners of war. The U.S. survey estimated that over 90 percent of the 200 doctors and 1,800 nurses in Hiroshima were dead or injured, as well as half the personnel and patients at the teaching hospital at Nagasaki. One of the few numbers we know with precision is that, at minimum, the United States killed 4,412 schoolchildren in Hiroshima (a figure we know because teachers kept precise data on their students who were assigned to work crews around the city).
Foreign Policy, JUNE 10, 2023,
On May 18, U.S. President Joe Biden traveled to Hiroshima, Japan, planning to meet with G-7 leadersas well as survivors of the nuclear bombsto discuss, among other things, reducing the risk of nuclear war. He followed in the footsteps of former U.S. President Barack Obama, who visited Hiroshima in his final year as president. In a short speech, Obama mourned the deadbut he did not express regret and, his advisors insisted, he did not apologize. Instead, Obama looked forward to a future that would come to see Hiroshima and Nagasaki as the start of our own moral awakening.
Biden and his administration have proven to be uncommonly committed to atoning for past domestic acts of violence and racism that still weaken the moral foundations of the United States. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has announced a major investigation into ethnic cleansing in federal boarding schools for Native Americans, and the president has ...
China and Russia building most nuclear power plants, the main goal is to market them to developing countries "IndyWatch Feed Enviro.au"
Exports used as diplomatic card while Western nations fall behind
NAOYUKI TOYAMA, Nikkei staff writerJune 11, 2023
TOKYO Russia and China are building up an outsized presence in the field of nuclear power, with the countries accounting for nearly 70% of reactors under construction or in planning worldwide.
Notably, 33 of the reactors are being constructed or planned outside each respective country. Russia has the largest number of overseas reactors with 19, and despite growing opposition from Europe and the U.S. following its invasion of Ukraine, it maintains a strong global influence in nuclear power.
In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin participated remotely in a ceremony to mark the arrival of the first fuel at the under-construction Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey
Russias nuclear power diplomacy is extending to other countries as well. In May, Rosatom began full-scale construction on Unit 3 of the Dabaa nuclear plant in Egypt, the countrys first.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Rosatom officials this month to discuss the companys plans to build a new nuclear power plant in the countrys south. Hungary opposes sanctions the European Union has imposed on Rosatom.
Many developing countries take a positive view of Russia, Kacper Szulecki of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs told British scientific journal Nature Energy. Russias acceptance of spent nuclear fuel is also attractive to emerging countries.
Meanwhile, China is deepening its engagement with Pakistan..
China also plans to build a nuclear plant in Argentina
The U.S., Japan and Europe are hoping to catch up using small modular reactors (SMRs), considered fourth-generation technology..
Another issue is nuclear fuel. Uranium enrichment has become the weak link for Western nations. Enrichment facilities are limited, and Russia is the global leader for tha...
Anxiety and disagreement in South Korea about Fukushima radioactive wastewater "IndyWatch Feed Enviro.au"
[Lee Kyong-hee] Fallout from Fukushima radioactive wastewater, By Korea Herald, Jun 8, 2023
.. quoting a diplomatic source, the reports say that President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to make all-out efforts to remove public concerns in Korea about the wastewater discharge when he met Japanese lawmakers in March during his visit to Tokyo for a summit with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Many Koreans were caught off guard, and this administrations purported stance is further proof that their president is bent on fence-mending with an unrepentant government at whatever cost.
Yoon has neither confirmed nor denied the reports. Transparency is not a priority of his administration, though his search for avenues of rapprochement with Japan is clear.
As Yoon remains tight-lipped, we can only guess his views about the rationality of the discharge and whether he grasps the potential risks. Hence a confrontation with the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is underway, each side blaming the other for spreading malicious rumors lacking scientific basis.
Amid the accusations, the science community also has misgivings. Seo Kyun-ryeol, a professor emeritus at Seoul National Universitys Department of Nuclear Engineering, is an outspoken critic. He is among several scientists who question the contaminated water filtration process and cautions that sea currents will ultimately bring some of discharged wastewater to Koreas shores.
.public mistrust is understandable, given TEPCOs history; a Japanese government investigation report in 2012 said TEPCO had failed to meet initial safety requirements.
. Seo says, There is no guarantee that all of the systems many filters for different isotopes will work perfectly all of the time, given the condition and quantity of the water, let alone the period of time required.
The SNU professor highlights the potential hazards associated with cesium, strontium and plutonium, which were released from the reactors due to the disaster. These substances not only enter the bloodstream but also penetrate the muscles, bones and brain, leading to the development of solid cancers and tumors, he said.
Seo has raised concerns that marine life and ocean currents can carry harmful radioactive isotopes across the Pacific. He warns of the potential risks to en...
Whether Morrison knew or not, he is an abject moral failure and should resign: FLASHBACK 2021 "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
Ignorance of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison over the alleged assault of Brittany Higgins was a moral failure that should have terminated his political career.
In this article from 2021, Dr Jennifer Wilson analysed how select staff of the Prime Minister's Office were quick to look the other way after assault claims were made.
*CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses rape
AT THE TIME of writing, Prime Minister Scott Morrison continues to insist that until last week, he had no knowledge of the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins then Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynolds media advisor in March 2019 by a senior colleague, also on Reynolds staff.
In an otherwise critical piece in The Guardian on Saturday (20 February 2021), journalist Katharine Murphy made this observation:
'Morrison insists that he, personally, didnt know. The Prime Ministers denial is unqualified, and it could be right, given bosses in politics dont always know everything for a bunch of different reasons.'
But in this instance, we are talking about an al...
Novak Djokovic: Always More than Tennis "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
The victory of Novak Djokovic in the latest French Open had the usual mixed reception in Australia. While Australians pretend to like radicals, larrikins and the occasional deviant, the contrary is true. Tight buttoned, properly behaved and conformist to the point of invisibility, the boringly predictable are always preferred. You can rely on them. Even
The post Novak Djokovic: Always More than Tennis appeared first on The AIM Network.
They should know better "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
At a time where the government admits a considerable number of Australians are feeling cost of living pressures and the Reserve Bank seems intent on a policy of the beatings will continue until morale improves, what is the media talking about? Cost of living pressures nope; the creation of more affordable and social housing
The post They should know better appeared first on The AIM Network.
Naked corruption "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
Last week Transport Minister Michael Wood was stood down after failing to properly declare a conflict of interest. He owned shares in Auckland Airport, a company he was responsible for regulating while Minister, and while the amount of money involved was small compared to his $296,007 ministerial salary (but large from a normal person's perspective), it simply wasn't acceptable. Meanwhile, Stuff has reminded us about a much larger conflict of interest: Chris Luxon's seven houses:
Five of Christopher Luxons seven properties can have more townhouses or apartments built next door under the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) a law which was passed with bipartisan support, but which National has now said it will repeal if elected in October....which means they can be expected to rise by a similar amount if the policy is reversed. And yet, Luxon is not considered to have a conflict of interest, despite directly advocating for a policy which would personally enrich him by millions of dollars.That includes his five-bedroom Remuera home, which shifts from being zoned for standalone homes up to two storeys with landscaped gardens, to allowing three homes of up to three storeys under the MDRS.
While individual landowners could benefit in the short-term from the ability to subdivide a property into more homes under the MDRS, a shift away from higher density is forecast to lead to higher prices in the long-term.
Luxons property portfolio has fallen an estimated $6.7 million in value during the current downturn, according to CoreLogic data.
This is simply corrupt. There is no other name for it. And if rich politicians can't stop themselves from behaving corruptly, then voters need to stop them from doing it, by simply not electing them in the first place.
Cleaning politics: hopes and fears "IndyWatch Feed Economics.au"
The elected Whitlam Government was sacked by Governor-General John Kerr in 1975 for trying to govern and spend money without the approval of the Parliament after Malcolm Frasers Liberal Party blocked Supply in the Senate.
In short, spending money by a Government without parliamentary approval is a a constitutional No-No.
Yet, last week the Australian National Audit Office reported that the Department of Health in the Morrison Government did precisely that. But that was four years and two elections after the event.
It said, Following risk assessments from the Australian Government Solicitor which determined that there was no legislation that could reasonably be relied on to authorise expenditure on the whole of some grant proposals, Health advised the minister that it would proceed to execute grants despite there being no legislative authority to do so in some cases.
In the lead up to the 2019 election the Morrison Government splashed money around marginal electorates to help it get re-elected. The money was not approved by Parliament and the health grants were not backed by any rational cost-benefit analysis.
The health grants join the sports rorts; carparks; roads to nowhere; a rural and regional grants in a massive, corrupt campaign to use public money in an attempt to retain power. And it has taken four years and two elections to find out about this lawless conduct.
With the change of Government, Australia is now at a pivotal point. Does the Australian Government and Parliament clean this corrupt mess up and put in place institutional mechanisms to prevent its recurrence, or does the sorry historical pattern continue?
The Keating Governments flagrant abuse of Government advertising for party political purposes was turned into an artform by the Howard Government. The Keating Governments small-scale barely legal sport rorts were escalated by successive governments to multiple schemes across all corners of society for ministers to buy votes.
Misuse of infrastructure became rife. The tenacles of corporate influence to line private pockets at public expense reached ever further as the Public Service withered.
Corporate donations became more secretive. Easily evaded caps and glacial reporting times have licenced influence pe...
Australian Dollar and Bitcoin "IndyWatch Feed Economics.au"
1.00 AUD = 0.00003 BTC
0.00010 BTC = 3.85 AUD
Converter
Climate Change: Not credible "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
Agricultural emissions make up 50% of Aotearoa's total emissions. But unlike every other form of emissions, they're not priced, and there's no policy for reducing them. Farmers have enjoyed a free ride now for nearly twenty years, with governments chickening out, and delaying action, then chickening out and delaying again. Most recently, Labour grovelled to the sacred cow in 2019, kicking the gan down the road and giving farmers another six years of free pollution, supposedly to let them develop their own pricing scheme. That policy has now failed, and agriculture will now enter the ETS at the producer level in 2025 (a policy far more effective than anything farmers have come up with). But today, National announced its agricultural emissions policy: hitting the snooze button for another five years:
National has released its agricultural emission plan, promising to extend the Governments deadline for pricing on-farm emissions to 2030 deadline.This simply isn't credible. Farmers have had a twenty year free ride already. They've had five yers to develop a pricing system, and failed. Only a fool would think another five years will produce a better result. The problem was always farmer intransigence and farmer denial, their fundamental unwillingness to be part of the solution rather than a problem. But when we're talking about 50% of our total emissions, and when farmers emit the most harmful gase sin our inventory, we actually need to do something. And we have a solution: cut cow numbers back to what they were in 1990, using the NAIT database for policing. But farmers just don't want to talk about it.The partys agricultural spokesperson, Todd McClay, said National wanted to recognise on-farm sequestration and create an independent board to implement a pricing system for agricultural emissions, by 2030 at the latest, keeping the sector out of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
Under the Labour Governments plan, an agricultural emissions pricing system was to be agreed upon by 2025, or such emissions would be priced under the ETS.
National is pandering to these environmental vandals. And by doing so, it is sending a clear message to urban Aotearoa: it will let us burn and drown, it will let our cities flood and be washed away, and it will do nothing to stop this...
Looking after our elders every day "IndyWatch Feed National"
Ahead of Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15, The Fred Hollows Foundation is calling for more community safeguards to protect older people with vision impairment from neglect and mistreatment.
Around one in six people aged 60 years or older have experienced some form of abuse over the past year, according to the World Health Organiaztion (WHO).
The rates of abuse of older people are even higher in institutions, including nursing homes and long-term care facilities, where two in three staff report that they have committed abuse in the past year.
The Foundations Senior Adviser for Healthy Ageing, Dr Vnia de la Fuente-Nez, said elder abuse was one of the most hidden forms of abuse in society and older people with sight issues were most at risk of being harmed.
Open Arms staffing levels "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
Awaiting classification.
THE SMEKALKA VIDEO "IndyWatch Feed National"
War propaganda machine silencing voices of truth "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
The mainstream media continues to beat the drums of war while voices of truth and reason are being silenced, writes Dr William Briggs.
*Also listen to the "https://open.spotify.com/episode/5HiXmLsNpctftCGBJMPlrQ" target= "_blank">HERE.
JOHN PILGER, in highlighting the manipulation of our media, called on people to speak up.
The drive to war and the demonisation of China have seen many people speak up and speak out. That same manipulated media has muffled those voices and pushed dissent to the margins. Journals and websites like this one are increasingly becoming almost samizdat publications. The mainstream media has played an important role, not only in silencing dissident voices but in convincing the public that there is little effective opposition.
A glance at the anti-AUKUS website shows that over 1,000 individuals and more than 200 organisations have thus far lent their support for a rational and sane response to the rising threat of war with China and obscene military spending.
There are many important voices among the signatories but their voices are not regularly heard in our media. Their words do not appear in the major daily newspapers, regardless of how well-credentialed they might be. Our former Prime Minister, Paul Keating, has effectively been relegated to the sidelines for voicing a position that does not fit with the official line.
And, while the collective wisdom of so many is ignored, the war-mongers of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (...
A plan for fairness "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
Aotearoa has a poverty problem: far too many people with not enough. And we have a fairness problem, with research from IRD showing that the rich aren't paying half the tax rate of normal people. The solution to these two problems is obvious and complementary, but unthinkable under the NeoLiberal orthodoxy inflicted on us by Roger Douglas and Ruth Richardson and enthusiastically continued by the political duopoly. But yesterday, the Greens came out and said it: we should tax the rich more so we can end poverty.
Their actual proposal to do so seems well-constructed: a wealth tax which kicks in after $2 million of (net) assets for individuals, or $4 million for couples. That's high enough that its not just "person who owns their own home", even in Auckland - its basicly people with large property portfolios, or enough money that they don't need to work for the rest of their lives. Normal people with jobs who rent or pay a mortgage simply won't be affected. Neither will normally successful people, who own their own homes and have a bit stashed away for their retirement. Even if you think about the kiwi dream - house, bach, boat, BMW, and enough to comfortably not work if you don't want to - its just flirting with the couples threshold. At which stage most normal kiwis would say "fair enough" to paying a bit extra.
In short, the vast majority of us will never, ever, have to worry about this, even people who have done well for themselves. We're not talking about normal levels of wealth here. We're talking excessive wealth, people who have gone beyond what is needed for comfort, into hoarding. In numbers, we're talking about 0.7% of the population, about 35,000 people. The fact that John Key hates the idea shows it is perfectly targeted: he's one of the rich pricks who isn't paying their fair share.
Meanwhile, the flip-side of taxing the rich is to adjust thresholds and tax rates to lower taxes on the rest of us. Those on high salaries will face higher marginal rates - 45% from $180,000, which hits MPs and Ministers nicely - but normal people, even well-paid normal people, will pay less. And again, that seems fair enough. A progressive tax system means those who can afford to pay more, and those who can't pay less, but NeoLiberalism means we've lost sight of this principle, in favour of just giving the rich a free ride in the...
Kings Birthday, but is there a King of Australia? "IndyWatch Feed National"
On the 12 of June most of Australia, except for Queensland and Western Australia celebrates the UKs monarchs birthday.
Before, it was known for most peoples lives as the Queens birthday, where there was also a Queen of Australia which the legal system works under.
Was this figure put in lawfully into the colonys legislature?
Short answer, no.
So now the motherland has a new monarch, but does that make him automatically a King of the colony?
Of course not, as always there is a procedure that must be adhered to.
So lets see if the rascals and outlaws in the colony have done their paperwork correctly?
Does Australias Constitution allow for the creation of a King of Australia?
Remembering that the Constitution is Australias fundamental legal document, describing how the people in government must act, including their oath for appointments.
Is there an enumerated head of power within the Constitution to create a title for the King of Australia?
Lets not buy into a conspiracy theories, and go straight to the government, after all isnt their word final?
A FOI (Freedom of Information) request was sent to the Australian Government to provide the necessary paperwork.
On the 20th of October 2020 a response was given.
See document FOI22/234; CM22/43725, below:
Source:
...
Novak Djokovic Wins French Open, Sets Record for Most Grand Slam Wins Despite Being Banned by US and Australian Officials for Refusing COVID Vax And Bill Gates Was in the Crowd "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
Tennis great Novak Djokovic swept Casper Ruud in straight sets to win the 2023 French Open on Sunday. With this Grand Slam win Djokovic smashed the all-time record with his 23rd Grand Slam title. Djokovic set the all-time record despite being blocked from playing in recent US and Australian Opens fo
Australia minimum wage decision 2023 some relief for lowest paid but real cuts for others "IndyWatch Feed Economics.au"
On June 2, 2023 Australias minimum wage setting authority the Fair Work Commission (FWC) issued their decision in the Annual Wage Review 2022-23 which provides for wage increases for the lowest-paid workers around 0.7 per cent of employees (around 820 thousand) in Australia. In turn, around 20.5 per cent of all
Civil War-I Will Rule The Universe "IndyWatch Feed National"
Pastor Brian Houston, the self-proclaimed greatest pastor on earth meets his Waterloo at court in Sydney, Australia.
Why was Waterloo so significant?
Waterloo ended the wars that had convulsed Europe since the French Revolution (1789-99). It also ended Frances attempts, whether under Louis XIV or Napoleon, to dominate the continent. Waterloo inaugurated a general European peace that, apart from the brief interruption of the Crimean War (1854-56), lasted until 1914. National Army Museum UK
US radio KPFK on The Palestine Laboratory "IndyWatch Feed National"
My interview on US radio station KPFKs program, Middle East in Focus, on my new book, The Palestine Laboratory, including a discussion about how the US and Israel relationship has contributed to backing the worst regimes in the world since the 1970s:
The post US radio KPFK on The Palestine Laboratory appeared first on Antony Loewenstein.
Tulsi Gabbard on Biden and his phoney Trump indictments "IndyWatch Feed National"
Trump indictment undermines democracy because if a law is going to be enforced, it should be enforced equally and fairly across the board. The selective use of govt institutions and law enforcement to go after political or personal opponents, undermines the very essence of the pic.twitter.com/Hw3w36Zfq8 Tulsi Gabbard ...
Why is there a global revolt against United States economic domination? "IndyWatch Feed National"
Contributed by Joe Montero
The number of international agreements aimed at abandoning the US dollar in trade has been growing lately. This movement has been pushed along by Washingtons aggressive foreign policy. Buts its roots lie in a history of colonialism and neocolonialism, and the attempts of subjugated nations to break free.
We are witnessing today, a monumental shift from a global economy dominated by the United States towards one it no longer dominates, and the associated decline in Washingtons capacity to impose its political will on the world.
Paradoxically, it is this decline that is driving Washingtons use of trade sanctions and the weaponizing of the dollar like never before, as stools to both export domestic economic problems to other nations and achieve its own political ends. These actions are further undermining both and pushing dozens of countries to look elsewhere.
A legacy of revealed military weakness is another factor. From Korea, through to Vietnam, Iraq , Afghanistan, and Syria, they have all brought about defeat. Now the proxy war in Ukraine shows signs it is heading in the same direction. The military posture against China of recent years threatens a war that the United States cant win.
The difference toady is that all of this is combining and has become entrenched enough to create an opportunity for nations to assert greater independence.
Here are a few salient facts.
The United States accounts for around 20 percent of global economic output. At the same time, it has possession of more than half of the worlds currency reserves, and the bulk of international transactions are carried out with the US dollar. The discrepancy between the share of output and control over the global financial system reveals the extent of dependency on financial transactions as the engine of the economy.
It also reveals a parasitic aspect. This is because financial transactions in excess to the needs of economic output, means that money is invested and then drawn out again in a bigger volume and leaving little behind, except a web of debt and dependency.
In which the bromancer does a dance with law-breaking authoritarianism, while the Caterist and the Major carry on with their decades long denialist planning ... "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
The pond recently noted a deepening slide towards authoritarianism and an inclination to lawlessness in the reptiles, with the bromancer leading the charge, and then came this ...
It was briefly centre stage on the rotating carousel reptile fickle finger of fame, but had entirely disappeared from the digital front page by today.
But that's no reason to let it hide in the back pages darkness ... it's something to celebrate ...
Economy secure despite global turmoil, so time for a bold initiative "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
Australias national accounts for March show the economy is soundly managed and set for the next phase, as Alan Austin reports.
THESE ARE DIFFICULT TIMES for treasurers and finance ministers worldwide. Fortunately for Australians, the Albanese Government is proving to be up to the challenge.
Australia's economy grew by 0.23% in the March quarter, registering an annual GDP growth of 2.27%. Thats according to the national accounts released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last week.
Private investment rose 1.4%, but housing investment fell by 2.0%. The household saving ratio fell to 3.7%, the lowest since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. Productivity slumped again to just 97.8 index points, back where we were in December 2019, pre-pandemic.
These are the weakest outcomes since the COVID lockdowns. Local contributing factors include low disposable income following years of wage suppression, rising interest payments on mortgages, bracket creep lifting effective tax rates on families and a lethargic corporate sector. External factors are also detrimental.
The war in Ukraine has worsened inflation worldwide, through increased prices of fuel and other products. The U.S. economy is yet to recover from the disastrous decisions on trade, tariffs and taxation during the Trump years. The British are still adjusting to life post-Brexit.
The meanest of the mean girls goes feral. "IndyWatch Feed National"
The Australian Newspapers Liam Mendes tried to get the mean girl Minister Katy Gallagher to answer a crucial question about Higgins. She demonstrates what a piece of work she really is. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher was defiant and all but silent as she flew into a Canberra firestorm over her...
Monday Message Board "IndyWatch Feed Economics.au"
Another Message Board
Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please.
Ive moved my irregular email news from Mailchimp to Substack. You can read it here. You can also follow me on Mastodon here
Im also trying out Substack as a blogging platform. For the moment, Ill post both at this blog and on Substack.
Breaking out of comfort zones "IndyWatch Feed Economics.au"
Maclean Pump Station: grafitti vandal failed in his/her aim "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Clarence Valley Independent, 7 June 2023:
Artist Austin NITSUA with the new mural of Yaegl elder Uncle Ron Herron on the River Street pump station in Maclean. Image: Rodney Stevens
When artist Austin NITSUA got word that his stunning portrait of Yaegl elder Uncle Ron Herron that he painted on a River Street Maclean pump station had been graffitied with light coloured paint in August last year he was gutted.
The street artist and mural creator, who has painted his distinctive illustrations all over Australia, from Byron Bay to giant examples of silo art in South Australia, said he was ready to repaint the mural the week after it was defaced, but the development application process through council delayed progress.
...
The Problem of Peaceful Societies for the Belief in the Necessity of War "IndyWatch Feed National"
By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, June 11, 2023
For any given war, one can examine the months or years or decades during which one or both sides worked diligently to make it happen, and both sides conspicuously failed to develop peaceful alternatives. Even in the moment of greatest violence, one can consider the unarmed-resistance alternatives that are carefully kept out of consideration.
But even if you can explain away all justification for every side of every particular war yes, even that one, there remains the false claim that war is somehow simply part of humanity. If ants were to stop waging wars, nobody would bat an eye, but such a feat is deemed simply beyond the intelligence of homo sapiens.
There is a problem for this nonsense. It is the problem of peaceful human societies. We know that many, if not most, hunter-gatherer groups of humans engaged for the vast bulk of human existence in nothing resembling low-tech war. Even in recent millennia, much of Australia, the Arctic, Northeast Mexico, the Great Basin of North America, and even Europe before the rise of patriarchic warrior cultures, did largely or entirely without war. Recent examples abound. In 1614 Japan cut itself off from the West and from major warfare until 1853 when the U.S. Navy forced its way in. During such periods of peace, culture flourishes. The colony of Pennsylvania for a time chose to respect the native peoples, at least in comparison with other colonies, and it knew peace and prospered. The notion held by celebrity astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson that because 17th century Europe invested in science by investing in warfare therefore only through militarism can any culture advance, and therefore conveniently enough astrophysicists are 100% justified in working for the Pentagon, is a view based on an absurd level of blinkered prejudice that few liberals would accept if duplicated in explicitly racist or sexist terms.
But simply to assert, or even indisputably prove, that various societies have liv...
Exploring the ShamanismAlien Abduction Connection Part 2 "IndyWatch Feed Allstate"
A comparison of the two types of experiences shamanic and alien abdu...
Aliens: Extra-Terrestrial or Trans-Dimensional? "IndyWatch Feed Allstate"
Are aliens extra-terrestrial? Ufologists, contactees and abductees presume that they are. This presumption is based on the theory that alien-astronauts visited the Earth in ancient times to establish off-world colonies and engineer the process of human evolution. Since the aliens supposedly come from worlds other than our own, or so the theory goes, it follows t...
The New Silk Roads: The Quiet Revolution "IndyWatch Feed Allstate"
The late Australian geopolitical analyst James ONeill wrote this article for New Dawn 155, published in 2016. As you will read, James accurately analysed and foretold the events that are unfolding today.
In 1904 Sir Halford Mackinder gave a lecture to the Royal Geographical Society in London in which he set out a blueprint for change in the worlds geopolitical footprint. The centrepiece of Mackinders vision was the great land mass he called Euro-Asia, now better known as Euras...
The Twisted History of the Swastika "IndyWatch Feed Allstate"
If you were asked to come up with a symbol for evil, very likely you would think of the swastika. The quintessential emblem of the Third Reich, it still evokes hatred and fear seventy years after the collapse of the Nazi regime.
And yet not so long ago it was a symbol of blessings and good fortune. Even its name is derived from Sanskrit roots meaning it is good. (Other names given to it include the cross patte, the gammadion, the hakenkreuz or hooked cross, and the fylfot.) Today, in a somewh...
World Economic Forum Food Innovation Hubs for Global Mission to Control Food "IndyWatch Feed National"
Introduction by DM
Whilst the global elite wine and dine, they scuttle all over the globe demanding that farms be seized, cattle be exterminated and farm food production is bad for you. The WEF and Gates want to own the food supply i.e ., we need to innovate so we can starve people ethically in case they cook from climate change.
It always sounds like they are helping the disadvantaged: (WEF source)
...The answer to the WEFs final solution, The Great Awakening p3, let the system destroy itself before it gets us "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
One of the best videos ever published on Cairns News. Length approx 1 hour 42 mins
Link "IndyWatch Feed Economics.au"
396. Landing at Sydney Airport (video) "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
<p><p><p><p style="padding-left: 60px; padding-right: 60px;"><em>I took this video of the approach to landing in Sydney in May, and it worked out so beautifully that I thought it was worth sharing.</em></p> <p>It was late afternoon, and the soft evening light is fantastic. As the video starts, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House are in the centre of the frame, with the central city on the right. The view is absolutely stunning, including dramatic clouds and some rain in the distance, though the foreground is sunny. We pass islands and yachts on the harbour, a bridge, houses, roads, a very pointy church spire, train lines, commercial buildings, shipping containers, and a canal before reaching the airport. Unfortunately, the video doesnt catch the message painted on almost the last roof before we reached the airport fence, saying Welcome to Perth!</p> <p>From about the 1:50 mark, you can see the shadow of the plane sliding across buildings in the distance, and it gives you a great impression of how low in the sky the sun was. The shadow gets bigger and bigger and closer and closer until it meets the plane at touchdown.</p> <div class="arve wp-block-nextgenthemes-arve" id= "arve-youtube-lziuotvfrxe6485e82e87eef726236888"><span class= "arve-inner"><br> <span class="arve-embed arve-embed--has-aspect-ratio"><br> <br> <br></span></span> <p><br> &&&&&&
Im strongly reminded of Paul Kellys great song, Sydney from a 727.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><em>Now the red roofs are catching the first rays of the morning sun</em><br> <em>My eyes are full of sand from my midnight run</em><br> <em>And the captain says...</em></p></p></p></p>
POEM: Fossil fools "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
This poem is an *IA Writing Competition (fiction category) entry.
Half a century ago it was called global warming
yet all the ifs, buts and maybes disguised the dire warning so life
carried on, but the scientists persisted
their language grew stronger as they all insisted the icebergs were
melting, the planet was heating
more droughts, floods and bushfires called for more than just
meetings
the schoolkids knew that
their future looked bleak they refused to be silent
were determined to speak
urgent action was needed, it had to be fast
this addiction to coal could no longer last
but the fossil fuel barons of gas and of coal
had the ears of the pollies had captured their soul
(which just showed their stupidity
cos theyve kicked an own goal!)
and not only them, our governments too
were wooed by the money
when really they knew
the world had moved on
that coal and gas mining
belonged in the past
it was time they were gone
but Abbott and Dutton, and Marketing Scott
were unable to change and untie the knot
dinosaurs all, they are decades behind
still bound to an industry that will shortly find
that pollution and poison, and corruption and greed
just wounds Mother Earth
only see how she bleeds
but the election last year raised the stakes for
more action
more colours in parliament independent of factions
means its Greens to the rescue
along with Independents and Teals
and our futures relying on the execution of deals
that will help heal our planet, that place we call home
to avoid a disaster like the burning of Rome
but its seconds to midnight, is there enough
time
to halt further destruction
halt more government crime
so, Tanya and Albo
please listen and act
in the interests of people
or next time youre sacked!
* Full IA Writing Competition details HERE.
...
POEM: The pragmatic romancer meets the grinning taboo "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
This poem is an *IA Writing Competition (fiction category) entry.
Im dirty on words that lie as theyre spoke
They make subtle feelings an elaborate joke.
(I think its a farce ... hope itll pass),
But can we converse
Without a curse or being terse
A fireside chat that perhaps is in verse?
Im on the quest of a good idea;
Shadowed by the unknown fear
That paces with stumble and stride,
And manifests wherever I hide my pride.
Yet the quest earns a passion
And a prize that comes crashin every time it glides within
reach.
Id sooner eat a peach
Than waste my time in reason and rhyme
Then see it accused of some Freudian crime.
I been here an there an seen my share
Of whacky human schemes;
But I got a dream (thats yet to be seen)
And a way to find the means.
Were youngsters yet, an we cant be impatient
To rip a hole in the can;
Our ears are still wet of what is latent
In the space between a woman an man.
So... such vague ideal may seem unreal
To one locked in carnal dreams...
But Im bettin that you know whats true
Like, things
just aint what they seems.
You an me, if Im guessin right,
Have a muddlesome beast of a brain.
Our lifes a struggle ... some call it a plight
We know the meaning of pain.
(Now dont make derision, its not your decision
To be a judge of my condition.
For me its all a part of a bigger, better Plan.
Where living is seen as a Work of Art
So we do it as best as we can).
Still, I implore, dont get lost in my poetic bent
Theres more to be said for altruistic intent...
And, if you are so inclined you might consider this
existential;
But let me remind that labels are blind
When they hide untried potential.
They devise and divide
on a variety of bases;
Giving rise to creeds and
races
&nbs...
Leaked Video Shows D.C. Cops Were Rioters And Instigators At J-6 Protest "IndyWatch Feed National"
U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) has sent a letter to law enforcement agencies demanding answers on undercover police activity on January 6. The congressman cited an authenticated GoPro video that shows at least one undercover officer urging protesters to climb barriers and enter the Capitol building.
In an interview with Just The News, Loudermilk confirmed the authenticity of a GoPro video released this past March in which at least one undercover D.C. Metropolitan Police officer can be seen instigating illegal activity. We know that it is one of their officers and at one point he is encouraging, and it appears hes encouraging, hes definitely helping people climb the scaffolding, and hes telling them go, go, go, Loudermilk told the Just the News.
Why is an officer encouraging people to climb the scaffolding and go into the Capitol? And secondly, why did the MPD Metropolitan Police support department decide to put undercover officers in the crowd? Was there intelligence that they had that was or was not passed on to the Capitol Police and what did the Capitol police do with that evidence, if they got it? he added.
The shocking footage shows a plainclothes MPD officer climbing construction scaffolding while encouraging other protesters to do the same. He also yelled go, go, go and keep moving as protesters stood on a ledge outside the Capitol pavilion, urging them to move forward towards the building.
The footage was obtained after January 6 defendant William Pope of Topeka, Kansas filed a motion on February 21. While my descriptions of the undercover MPD officers are accurate, the media and the public should not have to rely on my descriptions alone, Pope wrote.
It is in the interests of justice that this exhibit in support of my motion be seen by all.
BREAKING
Undercover @DCPoliceDept Officer body camera from Jan 6 shows:
DC Metro performed illegal acts:
-Crossed restricted lines
-Encouraged crowd to go into Capitol grounds, climb scaffolding
-Solicited help to climb scaffolding
-Joined crowd in cheers to rush Capitol pic.twitter.com/Kxhr7x0THuNOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) March 25, 2023
...
Whistleblowers crucial in exposing truth in Roberts-Smith trial "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
Whistleblowers understand networks. Whistleblowers are scapegoated by them. When whistleblowers prevail, it is often because one network takes on another. The case of Ben Roberts-Smith is such a case.
Truth is the bystander.
War legitimises murder. When I first read my grandfathers diary from the Western Front in World War I, I read of an implied legitimacy to kill or be killed. They were not war criminals, but they still engaged in murder. The real criminals were those who had authorised the war.
The orchestrators of war rarely fire a shot; and more rarely are they prosecuted for their crimes. Take for example the case of Henry Kissinger who recently celebrated his 100th birthday. Kissinger is widely regarded as a war criminal. He advised Nixon to bomb Cambodia, leading to the dissolution of that country and to the rise of the Khmer Rouge. Kissinger was responsible for more civilian deaths in Cambodia than previously known, according to an archive of U.S. military documents and interviews with Cambodian survivors.
Kissinger bears significant responsibility for the attacks in Cambodia that killed as many as 150,000 civilians. Kissingers crimes did not stop there. He derailed the Vietnamese peace talks in 1972 to help Nixon get re-elected, only to accept the Nobel Peace Prize for himself in 1973.
He played a significant role in the coup against Salvador Allende in 1973, he underwrote the genocide of the Kurds, he interfered in Angola. He was a master war criminal who was never prosecuted. In 1974, journalist Ted Koppel described Kissinger as the most admired man in America. Journalists could not see through...
Watch: Kylie on being adopted by queer community "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Kylie Minogue has talked to Entertainment Tonight Canada about being adopted and protected by the queer community throughout her career. Scroll down for vid. Kylie said she first noticed her special connection with the LGBTQ+ community in the early nineties. Im the least Kylie in the room I mean I was kind of adopted when ...
The post Watch: Kylie on being adopted by queer community appeared first on QNews.
Free state NREXIT movement revived in northern rivers region of NSW "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
By TONY MOBILIFONITIS The northern rivers free state movement held its second meeting very much under the radar of the mainstream media at the town of Eureka, near Byron Bay on June 3rd. There were also threats of disruption by people who apparently love centralised government control. The proposal for a free state covering much []
ASSANGE JUDGE IS 40-YEAR GOOD FRIEND OF MINISTER WHO ORCHESTRATED HIS ARREST "IndyWatch Feed Enviro.au"
Julian Assanges fate lies in the hands of an appeal judge who is a close friend of Sir Alan Duncan the former foreign minister who called Assange a miserable little worm in parliament.
MATT KENNARD AND MARK CURTIS, 2 DECEMBER 2021, Declassified UK
Lord Chief Justice Ian Burnett, the judge that will soon decide Julian Assanges fate, is a close personal friend of Sir Alan Duncan, who as foreign minister arranged Assanges eviction from the Ecuadorian embassy.
The two have known each other since their student days at Oxford in the 1970s, when Duncan called Burnett the Judge. Burnett and his wife attended Duncans birthday dinner at a members-only London club in 2017, when Burnett was a judge at the court of appeal.
Now the most powerful judge in England and Wales, Burnett will soon rule on Assanges extradition case. The founder of WikiLeaks faces life imprisonment in the US. .
Duncan served as foreign minister for Europe and the Americas from 2016-19. He was the key official in the UK government campaign to force Assange from the embassy.
As minister, Duncan did not hide his opposition to Julian Assange, calling him a miserable little worm in parliament in March 2018.
In his diaries, Duncan refers to the supposed human rights of Julian Assange. He admits to arranging a Daily Mail hit piece on Assange that was published the day after the journalists arrest in April 2019.
Duncan watched UK police pulling the WikiLeaks publisher from the Ecuadorian embassy via a live-feed in the Operations Room at the top of the Foreign Office.
He later ...
Ukraine rebuffs Vatican peace attempt "IndyWatch Feed Enviro.au"
https://www.rt.com/russia/577589-ukraine-vatican-peace-meeting/ 9 June 23
An envoy of Pope Francis visited Kiev in search of ways to end the conflict
The only end to the conflict that Kiev considers acceptable is the Ukrainian peace formula, President Vladimir Zelensky told the Holy See envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi in a meeting on Tuesday.
Ukraine welcomes the willingness of other states and partners to find ways to achieve peace, but since the war is on our territory, the formula for achieving peace can only be Ukrainian, Zelensky said after meeting the papal emissary in Kiev.
Zelensky added that he discussed the situation in Ukraine and the humanitarian cooperation with the Vatican within the framework of the Ukrainian peace formula, and urged the Holy See to join the efforts to pressure Russia.
Zuppi arrived in Ukraine on Monday, in what the Vatican called a search for paths to a just and lasting peace. In addition to Zelensky, he met with other Ukrainian officials, including parliamentary commissioner for human rights Dmitry Lubinets.
The results of these talks, like those with religious representatives as well as the direct experience of the atrocious suffering of the Ukrainian people as a result of the ongoing war, will be brought to the Holy Fathers attention, the press office of the Holy See said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
This is the second time in two months that Zelensky has declined an offer by Pope Francis to mediate in the conflict with Russia. After his meeting with the pontiff at the Vatican last month, the Ukrainian president told Italian media outlets that Kiev was only interested in its own vision of peace.
It was an honor for me to meet His Holiness, but he knows my position: the war is in Ukraine and the [peace] plan must be Ukrainian, Zelensky told talk show host Bruno Vespa.
The peace formula in question is a list of Zelenskys demands first revealed
The peace formula in question is a list of Zelenskys demands first revealed in November 2022, ranging from...
Ukrainian dam is destroyed; nuclear plant lives in a grace period "IndyWatch Feed Enviro.au"
Bulletin, By Franois Diaz-Maurin | June 6, 2023
In the early hours of Tuesday, June 6, video footage circulated of a destroyed dam in southern Ukraine with large swaths of water flowing through. The Kakhovka damlocated about 70 kilometers upstream of the city of Khersonis a critical piece of infrastructure, hosting a hydroelectric power plant and managing a reservoir that supplies water for drinking, irrigation, and cooling of the upstream six-reactor Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plantEuropes largest.
It was unclear on Tuesday what or who caused the breach in the dam, which is under Russian control, although it was hard not to blame Russia given the timing of the attack, which happened one day after Ukraine reportedly launched its long-awaited spring counteroffensive. Both countries denied responsibility and have blamed each other throughout the day. Ukraine said Russia was responsible for the explosion of an engine room of the hydroelectric plant, in part to prevent Ukrainian troops from crossing the Dnipro River downstream, while Russia said Ukrainian forces conducted a sabotage attack. Russias defense minister Sergei Shoigu made the acrobatic suggestion that because Ukraine wanted to transfer some military units and equipment from Kherson to other parts of the front to help with its counteroffensive, making the river wider downstream would make it easier to defend Kherson with fewer forces.
A third scenario being advanced on Tuesday was that the dam might have suffered from a structural failure after the water level of the Kakhovka reservoir had reached a 30-year high, leading it to be at beyond-design storage capacity since May. No evidence of any of those scenarios had emerged on Tuesday night
The destruction of the dam caused immediate life-threatening flooding and evacuation of thousands of people living downstream of the dam along the Ukrainian-controlled right bank of the Dnipro River. Early satellite imagery ...
Opera in Geelong "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
160 YEARS AGO IN GEELONG
(From the pages of the Geelong Chronicle)
In February 1863, Mr W. Stoneham, a Geelong musician and bandmaster, announced that he had much pleasure in giving a grand operatic entertainment at the Theatre Royal, Malop Street, Geelong.
He was assisted by Miss Octavia Hamilton, Mr Farquharson and members of the chorus of Lysters Opera Company, Melbourne. Mr Megson was the solo violinist and musical director; Mr Stockmeyer, the pianist.
The program included arias from Meyerbeers, Les Huguenots, and Wallaces, Maritana.
Songs from Donizettis, LElixir dAmore (The Elixir of Love) and Lucrezia Borgia were performed. A duet from Verdis, Il Trovatore (The Troubador) rounded out the nights entertainment.
Most of the operas had been composed in the 1830s and 1840s but were still popular with audiences. Verdis opera was the most recent, having been composed in 1852.
Mr Stoneham was to see that the private boxes at the theatre were made suitable for the reception of ladies. (By reducing the number of chairs in the private boxes, room could be made for fashionable ladies in large, hooped skirts.) Seats in the private boxes were priced at 5 shillings; stalls 2 shillings; and the pit 1 shilling. The advertisement ended with a sentence we are familiar with today: Smoking will be strictly prohibited in any part of the House.
There was to be another concert at the Theatre Royal on the following night but there had been a mix up about renting the theatre and Miss Hamilton and Mr Farquharson performed instead at the Temperance Hall, Little Malop Street.
Reviews were glowing: Miss Hamilton seems to improve in voice and artistic skill every time we hear her. Of Mr Farquharson, there was an additional depth and sonorousness to his glorious voice and he has developed a greater flexibility.
Then, as today, opera is a very expensive form of theatre to perform. After the move to the smaller venue, Mr Stoneham was unable to make a profit on his venture. Despite his singers
good reviews, the impresario was left the poorer for his efforts.
This article was provided by the Geelong Historical Society. For enquiries, email admin@geelonghistoricalsociety.org.au or write C/- P.O. Box 7129, Geelong West, 3218.
The post Opera in Geelong appeared first on Ocean Grove Voice.
Minor leak at nuclear submarine dock "IndyWatch Feed Enviro.au"
At a glance
Jonathan Morris, BBC News, 8 June 2023 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjejyq3e499o
HMS Valiant, a nuclear-powered attack submarine that was decommissioned in 1994, is set to be the first submarine in Devonport to undergo dismantling.
An MoD spokesperson said: Work is planned at 3 Basin at HMNB Devonport to address minor seawater leakage from the basin and weathered stone edgings.
The leak does not present an environmental risk and both the basin and entrance gate remain structurally sound.
The MoD was criticised in 2019 over its failure to dispose of obsolete nuclear submarines.
It said it would dispose of them as soon as practically possible.
There are 20 decommissioned submarines in storage at Devonport and Rosyth.
The estimated cost of fully disposing of a submarine is 96m, the National Audit Office has said.
Link Roundup: June 2023 "IndyWatch Feed National"
I guess its just one of those months where I didnt save links for this roundup. Nonetheless, I will plug the Ace Journal Clubs discussion about why low sexual desire is considered a mental disorder. And I have a single link:
Why Do You Always Kill Gods in JRPGs? | Moon Channel (video, 1:31 hours) The short answer is that the evil god is capitalism. This is a great video essay about the history of Japan, and how its interpreted through the metaphors of Japanese mythology. Through this lens, Japanese history is a sequence of false gods, each rising and fallingfrom the Shogunate to Christianity to state Shinto, and now capitalism. The game isnt mentioned in the video, but it finally makes sense to me why Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is about a bunch of old immortals feeding on the life force of a populace doomed to die youngalthough I suppose that same story could have been written from an American perspective as well.
Australian Dollar and Bitcoin "IndyWatch Feed National"
1.00 AUD = 0.00003 BTC
0.00010 BTC = 3.85 AUD
Converter
Divide, Loot, Pillage, Plunder and Tucker on Ukraine Dam "IndyWatch Feed National"
Tucker on the Dam
Episode One Tucker Carlson. An astonishing 113 Million Views. A demonstration that the MSM is being flushed(or rather the dam wall of the MSM has been blown wide open).
Ep. 1 pic.twitter.com/O7CdPjF830
Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 6, 2023
...
Free Hamid: refugees transferred from Nauru are being freed, except Hamid "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
For the last several months, the Labor government has been quietly transferring the remaining refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru to Australia; from 72 in December, there are just 13 refugees left on Nauru. More are expected to be transferred on Saturday (10 June).
Although Labor is spending $420 million with the notorious US detention company MTC, for garrison services until September 2025, it is expected that all refugees and asylum seekers will be off Nauru by the end of June.
Refugees recently brought to Australia are being released from hotel detention within a week or two. But Hamid, an Iranian refugee brought from Nauru to Australia four months ago, in February 2023, is still being held in detention. Hamid was held first in the Meriton Hotel, Brisbane, then, on 7 June he was transferred to BITA, the Brisbane detention centre.
Like others brought from Nauru, he was promised that he would be released from detention in Australia, and was even asked whether he wanted to be released on a bridging visa or on a community detention order.
Until 7 June, Hamid had been held in an individual room, in the Meriton Hotel, 24 hours a day. All meals were eaten in his room, and was sometimes taken to the Brisbane detention centre (BITA) for just one hours exercise a day.
There are around seven other refugees in the Meriton, who expect to be released in the next week or so.
On 7 June, Hamid was moved to BITA. Despite many representations to Labor Ministers, Andrew Giles and Clare ONeil, no explanation has been given for Hamids prolonged detention.
Its time to end the torture. Hamid had been on Nauru for almost nine years before he was brought to Australia. Since 2019, he has been cruelly separated from his two adult children when Peter Dutton refused to transfer Hamid to Australia with his children, under the Medevac laws.
The prolonged separation has devastated Hamid. His son was released from hotel detention in Victoria in 2022. His daughter is now in the US after being accepted in 2020.
Labor has no more excuses. Its way beyond time that Hamid was freed from detention and reunited with his son, said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.
A Free Hamid rally has been called at the BITA detention Centre (100 Sugarmill Road, Pinkenba), 4pm, Sunday 11 June. Hamids son, Arman, will speak at the rally.
For more information contact: Mark Gillespie 0439 561 196, Lisa Bridle 0411 723 071, Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713
The post Free Hamid: refugees transferred from Nauru are being freed, except Hamid appeared first on Refugee Action Coalition.
Heres a list of cafes in the Geelong region open on the Kings Birthday public holiday to get your daily caffeine fix "IndyWatch Feed Allstate"
A good coffee is more than just a necessary morning routine its an art. An art that has evolved over time to become one of mans most beloved rituals, and there are some damn fine coffee shops around the region renowned for producing some of the best coffee in the world. A good morning coffee is an experience that really shouldnt be interrupted, whether its a public holiday or not.
Heres a list of some of the best places where you can get your fix on the Kings Birthday public holiday on Monday this week.
Alongside the dense, chewy hoops (bagels) at Brother Lawrence, the cafe also boasts a quaint but vibrant breakfast and lunch menu inspired by fresh and local produce while youll also find a cabinet stocked with focaccias, freshly squeezed juices, sparkling drinks, hot drinks, assorted tea from Love Tea and coffee by Ona, brewed and served to perfection. Plus there are hot cross bagels.
Open from 9am-2pm.
Where: 11 Rutland Street, Newtown.
Whether youre keen to hit the walking track or just stock up on some sweets, Sweet Adeline Cafe is the pop-up you need to swing by.
Theyll be open from 8am.
Where: 1/560 Latrobe Blvd, Newtown
This gem is all about delivering the sweet, sweet overseas culinary classics, headlined by a range of authentic tasty bite-sized Greek doughnuts (aka loukoumades aka pieces of heaven). For the public holiday, theyll be open from 11am to 10pm.
Where: 4/1-3 Belle Vue Ave, Highton
Renowned for its great quality coffee, simple but quality-driven food, and an ethos of friendly, light-hearted service driven by a want to please, this little gem is also open.
Where: 2/85 The Terrace, Ocean Grove
Located at the river end of Pako, Winters has become a mainstay in the Geelong brekky scene. Their menu comes equipped with a local, seasonal focus meaning youre always going to get the best locally sourced ingredients Geelong has to offer.
Theyll be open from 9am-2pm.
Where: 330 Pakington St, Newtown.
You know when you find yourself in a bit of a hurry, dont want to spend a heap of money, but want some good tasty food and smooth hot coffee, where do you go? The Geelong West Social Club, thats where especially with their delicious array of bagels.
The G.W.S.C team are open 8am-1pm.
Where: 1b Yuille Street, Geelong West
Tucked away on Geelongs Waterfront, Brown Deli is the new pint-sized cafe to draw in the locals with its Korean-inspired bagels, toasties, coffees and good vibes throughout the week...
Porn star Jenna Jameson marries influencer Jessi Lawless "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Jenna Jameson, known as the Queen of Porn and reputedly the most famous adult entertainer in the world, has married social media influencer Jessi Lawless. Jenna Jameson told PEOPLE that she and Jessi Lawless married in an intimate Las Vegas ceremony at Little Church of the West on May 23. The adult superstar said her ...
The post Porn star Jenna Jameson marries influencer Jessi Lawless appeared first on QNews.
Alexis Wrights Praiseworthy "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Alexis Wright, Praiseworthy (Giramondo 2023) This post continues my experiment of taking page 76 because it happens to be my age and writing whatever comes to mind. Page 76 of Praiseworthy is almost exactly a tenth of the Continue reading
Documents Removed How to plea in court "IndyWatch Feed Allstate"
Winter boaters and fishers urged not to cast aside water safety warnings "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Life Saving Victoria (LSV) has issued an urgent reminder warning boaters and fishers, including those from Melton and Moorabool, of their risk of drowning during the month of June, as one in five fatal drownings during this month in the past 20 years involved people fishing or boating.
Victorians drowning risk increases further on the Kings Birthday long weekend, with Victorians 68 per cent more likely to drown on a public holiday than any other day of the year.
LSV research and evaluation manager Dr Hannah Calverley said the colder weather should not stop water safety being front of mind for those spending time in, on or around water this winter.
With Melbourne winter getting underway, your risk of death by drowning may be the last thing on your mind, especially if you are fishing or boating and dont plan on entering the water, however, you can never relax when it comes to water safety, she said.
Unintentional entry was a factor in 41 per cent of fatal drownings in the past decade and concerningly, in about four in five boating related drowning deaths during this time, the victims were not wearing a lifejacket, or their lifejacket was ill-fitting or incorrect for the activity or conditions.
This is why lifejackets are a non-negotiable piece of safety equipment for anyone boating or fishing, to buy you time to survive should you end up in the water. You wouldnt hesitate to put on your seatbelt when getting in the car and you should think of wearing your lifejacket while on the boat equally as important.
Safe Transport Victoria manager recreational boating safety Gareth Johnson reminded boaters and fishers to know the three and stay safe out on the water this winter.
Suddenly entering cold water can be life threatening, with the risk of boaters experiencing cold shock and hypothermia, he said.
Know the three: Remember to always wear a lifejacket, carry two waterproof communication devices and know the weather before and during your trip.
Since July 1 2022, 52 people have drowned in Victorian waters. This is eleven more than the ten-year average and of the 52 fatal drowning incidents, 66 per cent occurred in inland or coastal waterways, and 34 per cent were around the home or within other bodies of water.
The post Winter boaters and fishers urged not to cast aside water safety warnings appeared first on Ocean Grove Voice.
Betty Who headlines White House Pride "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
US President Joe Biden hosted the largest-ever White House PRIDE celebrations earlier today Australian time with Aussie singer Betty Who as the star performer. Scroll down for vid. Were gathered here today to honour the extraordinary courage and contribution of the LGBTQ community. To celebrate their legacy and their progress. We welcome to the largest-ever ...
The post Betty Who headlines White House Pride appeared first on QNews.
Ameliorative effect of ethanolic Echinacea purpurea against hyperthyroidism-induced oxidative stress. "IndyWatch Feed National"
PMID: Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Dec 22 ;24(1). Epub 2022 Dec 22. PMID: 36613632 Abstract Title: Ameliorative Effect of Ethanolicagainst Hyperthyroidism-Induced Oxidative Stress via AMRK and PPAR Signal Pathway Using Transcriptomics and Network Pharmacology Analysis. Abstract: (L.) Moench (EP) is a well-known botanical supplement with antioxidant characteristics. However, the effects of EP on oxidative stress induced by hyperthyroidism have not yet been studied. This study was designed to evaluate the antioxidative effect of ethanolic(EEP) on hyperthyroidism-induced oxidative stress mice using an integrated strategy combining transcriptomics with network pharmacology analysis. Firstly, a hyperthyroidism mice model was induced via thyroxine (160 mg/kg) and EEP (1, 2, or 4 g/kg) once daily for 2 weeks. Body weight, thyroid-stimulating hormones, and oxidative stress markers were tested. Secondly, EEP regulating the potential genes at transcript level were analyzed. Thirdly, a network pharmacology based on the constituents of EEP identified using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS analysis was adopted. Finally, a joint analysis was performed to identify the key pathway. The results showed that EEP significantly changed the thyroid-stimulating hormones and oxidative stress markers. Meanwhile, RT-qPCR and Western Blotting demonstrated that the mechanism of the antioxidant effect of EEP reversed the mRNA expression of EHHADH, HMGCR and SLC27A2 and the protein expression of FABP and HMGCR in AMPK and PPAR signaling pathways. This study integrates transcriptomics with network pharmacology to reveal the mechanism of ameliorative effect of EEP on hyperthyroidism-induced oxidative stress.
The Voice "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
The Voice to Parliament, its a great idea, but its around the wrong way.
The Voice is just the beginning of a momentous shift in
consciousness for us recent arrivals. Before we arrived there were
said to be about 1 million blackfellas. They were unanimous in
there support for a zero immigration policy. A tiny number of
Europeans arrived with a policy of mass immigration, among other
things. The interlopers, set up a brutal military
dictatorship, upon arrival. Facing ferocious opposition
from the locals, the regime was reluctant to create anything
resembling a democracy until the numbers were heavily in their
favour. So they clinically and diligently set about changing the
balance of power, using the simple and effective method of
genocide. Combined with a massive project of what we now call
branch stacking. Importing vast numbers of pro-immigration
immigrants.
Having decimated the original inhabitants and replaced them with
millions of their own supporters, the interlopers felt the time was
ripe to start a democracy of sorts. But just to make sure, they
prohibited the opposition from voting. So, obviously a democracy
founded on genocide is not a democracy by any stretch of the
imagination.
Every law passed in Federal parliament since its inception in 1901 is invalid, not worth the paper it is printed on, a load of hogwash, a sham,
an insult to the very notion of democracy!
The only way to redress this gross injustice is to allow the last
remaining remnants of those nations that were decimated to look
after their country they way they see fit.
So yes, lets have a voice t...
Lexus SUV shines ever brightly "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
More than 20 years ago Toyota lit up the automotive world with the introduction of the Prius petrol / electric hybrid car. The sedans asymmetric hybrid fuel saving system became the mainstay of the automobile makers electric vehicles, even becoming the power plant of choice for taxis around the world.
Needless to say, this did not go un-noticed with Toyotas luxe auto partner Lexus plugging in to the development for its range of saloons and SUVs. Latest model to take the petrol / electric path is the fifth (fourth in Australia) generation RX SUV.
The hybrid makes up eight of the 14 variants on offer Down Under and comes in front- or all-wheel drive. Prices start at $87,500, plus on-road costs, for the RX350h Luxury FWD and top out at $126,000 for the RX500h F Sport Performance AWD.
The Luxury grade as standard has bi-LED headlamps, daytime running lamps, front and rear fog lamps, heated and drivers side auto-dimming exterior mirrors, rear privacy glass, roof rails and 19-inch alloy wheels with a five-spoke design combining a bright machined finish and dark grey metallic surface treatment. Despite being well equipped for the price, there is a choice of two enhancement packs to add further to the ownership experience.
For example, the test vehicle, an RX 350h Luxury AWD, was fitted with Enhancement Package 1, which consists of Panoramic roof with slide, leather-accented upholstery, drivers seat memory, easy access entry (seat and steering wheel), heated and ventilated front seats, high-grade instrument cluster and head-up displays, touch sensor-type steering wheel controls, smart key card and wireless smartphone charger. This would set back the buyer an extra $5500.
The Lexus five-years unlimited kilometre warranty applies to all RX models. Capped price servicing has been extended from three to five years and is set at $695 for each scheduled service, with intervals set at 12 months or 15,000 km. All RXs come with a three-year subscription to Lexus Encore owner benefits program.
STYLING
The trademark Lexus spindle grille continues to evolve into a more laid-back look with removal of the chrome frame, allowing the edges of the diamond grille to integrate with the vehicles body. However, with a more vertical orientation and wide air intakes flanking, the front end retains the robust theme of the original spindle
Headlight cues come from the seamlessly integrated look of NX and LX SUV siblings, featuring Lexuss signature L-shaped daytime running lights. and a three-projector high / low-beam lamp with adaptive high-beam technology, while fog and cornering lamps are nicely integrated into the lower side air intakes.
At the rear, the new LED tail-light signature of the Lexus SUV line-up is defined by a full-width LED light along the tailgate, flanked by L-shaped tail lights. L-E-X-U-S lettering, no longer the L badge, runs across the tailgate in keeping with the current...
'Vanished' Tax Board boss was executive at pre-PWC firm "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
<p><a href= "https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/vanished-tax-board-boss-was-executive-at-pre-pwc-firm,17601?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=IA_Feed" title= "View Information: 'Vanished' Tax Board boss was executive at pre-PWC firm"> <img alt="'Vanished' Tax Board boss was executive at pre-PWC firm" src= "https://independentaustralia.net/_lib/slir/w1000/i/article/img/article-17601-hero.jpg" style="width: 100%; margin: 20px 0;"></a></p> <p class="lead"><em>A former chair of the Tax Practitioners Board, who worked at a firm that became PwC, has left the role and thus raising serious questions, reports <a href= "http://independentaustralia.net/profile-on/anthony-klan,1069">Anthony Klan</a>.</em></p> <p>THE LONG-TIME chair of the <a href= "https://www.tpb.gov.au/home">Tax Practitioners Board</a> (TPG), who departed immediately before explosive Senate hearings into the PwC tax scandal two weeks ago, spent almost a decade working for the same Big Four bookkeeping giant as disgraced tax practitioner <a href= "https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/pwc-leaks-scandal-widens-20230215-p5ckvv"> Peter Collins</a>.</p> <p><em>The Klaxon</em> can reveal <a href= "https://www.afr.com/politics/ian-klug-tapped-to-lead-tax-practitioners-board-20190219-h1bfzd"> Ian Klug</a>, who as TPB chair oversaw the three-year investigation into former PwC tax partner Collins, spent nine years working for Coopers & Lybrand, now PwC, but failed to disclose the ties.</p> <p>Klugs past as a senior tax specialist with Coopers & Lybrand does not appear in Klugs bio in the Tax Boards <a href= "https://www.tpb.gov.au/previous-annual-reports">annual reports</a>; did not appear in his <a href= "https://web.archive.org/web/20230203072125/https:/www.tpb.gov.au/our-board-and-ceo">bio on the Tax Boards website</a>; and does not appear on his extensive <a href= "https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-klug-am-32002419/?originalSubdomain=au">LinkedIn resume</a>.</p> <p>Klug also did not disclose it to the Senate Economics Committee, after ALP Senator <a href= "https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=140651"> Deborah ONeill</a> asked about Tax Practitioner Board links in February.</p> <p>Thats despite Klug having worked for just two accountancy firms for his entire accounting career Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) and Pitcher Partners.
In January Klug announced former PwC tax partner Peter Collins had been banned for two years for leaking confidential Federal Government plans to combat multinational tax evasion.
Treasury had engaged Collins starting in 2014 to assist in drafting new laws, but despite confidentiality agreements Collins shared the secret information widely within PwC, which then sol...
Pastor Bronwyn Bonnell known as Bron, ACC Regional Leader and Co-Pastor of ACC church The Chapel in Tamworth, NSW, Australia likes rolling in bed with Pastor Stephen Lott known as Lottie head pastor of Lifehouse Church Coffs Harbour and friend of Pastor Brian Houston of Hillsong. "IndyWatch Feed Allstate"
Balance of power by Sierra Dunton "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
First published in the Bass Coast Post*
THE renewable energy transition is gathering pace across Australia. Homeowners are lapping up opportunities for solar and/or battery installations, with plenty of financing options, timely government incentives, and reduced energy bills for years to come.
For renters, low-income earners, people living in flats or other dwellings unsuitable for rooftop solar, the outlook is less promising, with energy bills expected to spike over the next few years. While most power companies offer green energy, its often at a premium price, further excluding low-income earners from accessing renewable energy.
What if there was a way to share your excess solar with friends, family and people in your community who are doing it tough? Or at the very least, a way to ensure some of what you pay for electricity is redirected back into your community?
Based in Bass Coast, the Mycelia Energy Collective is a profit-for-purpose social enterprise and registered charity with community energy and equity at its core.
Mycelia was recently selected by WWF Australia for its ambitious Innovate to Regenerate Program rolling out across Australia. The Program aims to support community-led solutions that encourage impact investment in priority areas such as food, biodiversity and climate, and to establish a powerful network equipped to regenerate Australia through linked projects.
Mycelia is proud to be launching this project across Bass Coast and South Gippsland, where there is a history of environmental stewardship and passionate people and organisations taking the lead on climate change.
We are seeking a combination of 100 households and businesses to participate in the pilot phase. By joining up, youll help shape and test the model for further rollout across the state, and potentially communities across Australia.
The collective offers 100% certified renewable energy at no extra cost, so nobody is left behind. Members include people with solar panels, some with solar and batteries, and some with neither.
We will use energy matching technology provided through our partnership with The Peoples Grid to share energy among members. A pay-it-forward option is also being developed so members can donate their feed-in-tariff to a friend, family member or anyone in the collective being affected by high energy prices. Essentially, th...
In which the decline and fall of the lizard Oz into sublime irrelevance continues apace ... "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
The pond spent yesterday moaning about what a void the lizard Oz had become - no fall of Boris, no charging of the mango Mussolini - and the temptation is to keep on with the moaning ...
The triptych of terror on Friday was an insight into where the reptile hive mind had landed ...
Now they've got "staff writers" on the case? And indeed they had ...
If you're going to do a hatchet job, send in Anon ...
It will be noted that Polonius was part of the triptych, and amazingly that's when he shot his ABC bolt, doing his furry impression of a dog, because his offering for the pond's Sunday meditation was surprisingly muted ...
There wasn't a mention of the lack of conservatives on the ABC, nor even a note that the ABC had yet to give him a show ... instead ancient ALP history was all the go ...
Geoengineering Watch Global Alert News, June 10, 2023, #409 "IndyWatch Feed National"
Dane Wigington GeoengineeringWatch.org The completely unprecedented Canadian wildfire incinerations are creating and feeding a massive solar radiation management "smoke apocalypse" that has covered the majority of the North American continent. Does this scenario serve primary stated objectives of climate engineering operations? The short answer is yes. On the other side of the world record shattering heat is fueling
Friends of Dorothy: Judy Garland, PRIDE icon "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Judy Garland, the PRIDE icon once called the The Elvis of Homosexuals, died on June 22, 1969. Gay mythology long connected her funeral with the Stonewall riots and therefore the birth of the Pride movement. Queer historians, however, dismiss the connection. One explained the rioters were not the type to moon over Judy Garland records ...
The post Friends of Dorothy: Judy Garland, PRIDE icon appeared first on QNews.
Leeton Memories concludes "IndyWatch Feed Allstate"
The final instalment in Red Earth Ecology's Leeton Memories project brings together two prominent local women
Cynthia Arel has interpreted the recollections of Julie Maytom in a window display that captures elements from her childhood in Stanbridge and Parkview, as well as her passion for Fivebough Wetlands."My interests now include designing for theatre so I'm treating the display as a small set," said Mrs Arel.
"A lot of what I've included are scenes from nature and the social aspects that unite people.
"I made notes and focused on her early childhood, particularly the red dirt and when she talked about Parkview, like climbing trees in the scrubby setting prior to the School being built."
Viewers will be able to listen to Julie's memories via audio-streaming linked in the QR code shown in the window of the Leeton Community Op Shop.
"I thought I'd be working on it earlier this year, but I'm glad this exhibition came after a history unit that I recently completed.
"Memory is not exactly how it happened, so I'm layering old and new. I find it interesting to think how memory works, the way things that mightn't have been a great experience become lessons of resilience over time.
"Originally my intention was to use chronological layers, but that's not how memory works. Every time you revisit that memory, it changes a bit."
The interview with Julie was conducted by Kathy Tenison of Storymaster Audio and collected details from throughout her life, including the Carlton Cafe that was next door to the current display and significant as the location where she met Paul Maytom.
The Leeton Memories project was developed by Red Earth Ecology as a way of bringing colour to windows on the main street and to prompt discussion of change.
"We're stoked that Cynthia joined in and are very grateful to the team at the Op Shop for the chance to use their location and its visibility within town," said Jason Richardson.
"This project has been a wonderful way to get to know people, as well...
How the Canberra Bubble has protected Chief Robodebt fraudster Kathryn Campbell and kept her on $900,000 a year "IndyWatch Feed National"
Chief Robodebt fraudster Kathryn Campbells appointment to her $900,000 plus a year job advising on the AUKUS submarine deal come under scrutiny in parliament Senate Estimates hearing last week and it shows []
Are you listening to The Voice and what its really saying? (Part two) "IndyWatch Feed Politics.au"
Continued from Part 1 Peter Duttons motives for supporting the No vote are questionable. I devoted most of part one to the character of the man who will lead the No vote. I did so because it is essential to question the motives of those who lead Conservative parties. I have concluded that (as part one
The post Are you listening to The Voice and what its really saying? (Part two) appeared first on The AIM Network.
Understanding Presidential Records and the National Archives "IndyWatch Feed National"
In the coming days and weeks, Americans will likely spend a lot of time discussing and arguing over former President Donald Trumps indictment. Ideally, these should be fact-based conversations. However, it is much more likely that the opinions of a lot of people will be tainted by misinformation and propaganda.
As a service to our readers, WhoWhatWhy will periodically make available primary sources that will help Americans better understand what is happening.
Yesterday, for example, we published the text of the indictment, which every American should read prior to forming an opinion about what Trump may have done or not done and whether those actions likely constituted a crime.
Today, we want to take a closer look at the Presidential Records Act, recent guidance about it that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) published, and the answers to some frequently asked questions that might come up as people discuss the indictment.
The Presidential Records Act (PRA) requires presidents and vice presidents to turn the records they created while in office over to NARA when their term ends.
The law unambiguously states that the US retains complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records.
In addition, the president is expected to turn these records over right away. There is no provision in the law that allows them to sort through them first. Obviously, presidents take a lot of stuff from the White House when they move out. Therefore, it is possible that they discover presidential records among their things at some point in the future.
When that happens, they are expected to quickly notify NARA and turn those records over.
However, it is important to note that there is a difference between presidential records and personal records. The former must be turned over, but the president can hold onto the latter.
Personal records are defined as documentary materials of a purely private or nonpublic character which do not relate to or have an effect upon the carrying out of the constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President. T...
Angkor Wat "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Our tour guide, Rocky, shared today his fascinating life story. He grew up as an orphan, having lost most of his family due to the Cambodian genocide. As a child, he spent some time in a temple, living as monk from the age of eight to ten. After that, he stayed with nuns until he turned seventeen. Read the rest Angkor Wat
New study shows astronaut brains at risk from space travel "IndyWatch Feed National"
Space has a more profound impact on the human body than we realised, and astronauts on regular flight schedules may be exposing themselves to brain damage. A study published in the journal Scientific Reports examined before and after brain scans of 30 astronauts. The well-known problem of bodily fluids pooling in different body parts under zero gravity extends to the brain. But the University of Florida study, led by Professor Rachael Seidler, also found these changes don't always return to normal before an astronaut once again gets boosted back into a zero-gravity environment. Australian space health researcher Dr Vienna Tran says the human body has evolved for life on Earth, and that means we still have a long way to go when understanding the implications of life in space.
Songlines imagery of the Gumbaynggirr, Yaegl and Bundjalung nations installed along the Pacific Highway from Woolgoolga to Ballina "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
https://youtu.be/cvLEgG2jOj4
The Echo, 9 June 2023:
Aboriginal artworks have been installed at nine overpass bridges spanning four lanes on the new Pacific Motorway between Woolgoolga and Ballina on the north coast of New South Wales.
The new artworks along the Woolgoolga to Ballina Aboriginal Art Trail depict the creation stories and ancient travel routes (Songlines) of the Aboriginal nations of the region.
The Woolgoolga to Ballina Aboriginal Art Trail is part of the Pacific Highway upgrade project which also included upgrading nine interchanges, more than 170 bridges and more than 350 other connecting roads.
Federal Member for Richmond Justine Elliot says the artworks tell the Songlines of the Gumbaynggirr, Yaegl and Bundjalung nations, reflecting their physical and spiritual belonging, and connection to Country. The artworks are in place on nine highway overpasses, along a 155-kilometre section of highway between Woolgoolga and Ballina.
The artists were selected...
INTERVIEW: Basil Valentine & Blake Lovewell UBI Madness + Globalist War on Meat "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
<p><p><p><p><p><img alt="" class= "attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="150" src= "https://21stcenturywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/BASIL-BLAKE-5623-150x150.jpg" width="150"></p> <p>In this episode of the <a href= "https://tntradio.live/shows/patrick-henningsen-show/"><span class= "s1"><b>Patrick Henningsen Show</b></span></a> on TNT Radio which aired on June 6, 2023, Patrick talks with our roving correspondent for culture & sport, Basil Valentine, and 21WIRE writer and commentator Blake Lovewell, about the problems with the UKs new Universal Basic Income (UBI) pilot scheme, and also the Dutch farmers revolt and why the Gates and the globalist cabal are waging war on meat consumption and nutrition. They also look at the counter-arguments against drug legalisation. Later in the segment, they also interrogate the latest obvious Ukrainian false flag attack against the Kakhovka dam and what the implications of this act of sabotage are. All this and more. <em>Listen:</em></p> <p><span class="mce_SELRES_start" style= "display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;"> </span></p> <p><strong><em>More from Basil:<br> <a href= "https://twitter.com/says_basil">Twitter</a><br></em></strong> <em><strong>More from Blake:</strong></em><br> <em><strong><a href= "https://21stcenturywire.com/category/blake-lovewell/" rel= "nofollow noopener" target= "_blank">21stcenturywire.com</a></strong></em></p> <p><strong><img alt="" class="emoji" draggable="false" src= "https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/svg/25b6.svg"> TUNE-IN LIVE to TNT RADIO for the Patrick Henningsen Show every MON-FRI at 12PM-2PM (NEW YORK) | 5PM-7PM (LONDON) | 2AM-4AM (BRISBANE):<br></strong> <a href= "https://tntradio.live/"><strong>https://tntradio.live</strong></a></p> <p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">READ MORE GREAT RESET NEWS AT:</span> <a href= "https://21stcenturywire.com/tag/great-reset/">21st CENTURY WIRE GREAT RESET FILES</a></strong></p> <p><strong><span style="color: #000080;">ALSO JOIN OUR</span> <a href="https://t.me/My21wire">TELEGRAM CHANNEL</a></strong></p> <p><strong><em>SUPPORT OUR INDEPENDENT MEDIA PLATFORM <a href="https://21wire.tv/membership/plans/">BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV</a><br></em></strong></p> <div class= "ad-480x320 adsanity-480x320 alignnone adsanity-alignnone" id= "ad-157532">...</di...
INTERVIEW: Freddie Ponton The Truth About Frances Insane Climate Cull "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
France must reduce its number of cows to meet its climate change commitments and the EU 2030 Net Zero carbon targets.
In this episode of the Patrick Henningsen Show on TNT Radio which aired on June 7, 2023, Patrick talks with independent French researcher and journalist Freddie Ponton, about a new report recently published by Frances Court des Comptes (Court of Auditors) indicating that France must cull its number of cows to meet its climate change commitments and EU 2030 Climate Target Plan. Freddie exposes the strange timing pertaining to the release of this report which coincides with French Prime Minister lisabeth Borne release of the new government plan of action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Frances farming industry. Freddie goes on to talk about French company InnovaFeed and its largest active insect production site in the world whose aim is to provide the market with huge demand for alternative protein-based ingredients. Freddie ends the interview by touching upon the latest Intelligence report regarding the Nord Stream sabotage and explains why the narrative presented by The Post and the CIA intel documents is a clumsy attempt to mislead the public. All this and more. Listen:
More from Freddie:
Twitter
TUNE-IN
LIVE to TNT RADIO for the Patrick Henningsen Show every MON-FRI at
12PM-2PM (NEW YORK) | 5PM-7PM (LONDON) | 2AM-4AM
(BRISBANE):
https://tntradio.live
READ MORE CLIMATE NEWS AT: 21st CENTURY WIRE CLIMATE FILES
ALSO JOIN OUR...
Townsville vs Cairns for a junior doctor - convince me where to live. "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Pretty much as the title says, junior doc keen on critical care medicine and wanting to experience what NQ has to offer.
Convince me why I should pick Townsville over Cairns from either/both a hospital and living perspective :)
Cairns Vs Townsville for a junior doctor - convince me where to live. "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Pretty much as the title says, junior doc keen on critical care medicine and wanting to experience what NQ has to offer.
Convince me why I should pick Cairns over Townsville from either/both a hospital and living perspective :)
Community Friends founder, Mark McDonnell, recognised in Kings first Birthday Honours. "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Today, founder of West Ends Community Friends, Mark McDonnell, was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in the 2023 Kings Birthday Honours, for service to the community through charitable initiatives. []
The post Community Friends founder, Mark McDonnell, recognised in Kings first Birthday Honours. first appeared on Westender.
Interview 1807 - Exploding the Malthusian, Anti-Human One Health Myth on CHD TV "IndyWatch Feed Allstate"
via ChildrensHealthDefense.org: Where did the global biosecurity
agenda come from? Where is it going, what was it intended to do?
Was it hijacked, or was it always nefarious? How then do the IHR
Amendments and Pandemic Treaty fit into this, and who were the
funders? Dr. Meryl Nass and James Corbett continue their discussion
in the 7th installment of their series on the WHO + One Health to
answer these questions and more, with former WHO expert Dr. David
Bell. Tune in!
What fortune! "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Local observations of Gang-gang Cockatoos Callocephalon fimbriatum are few and far between for me.
These beautiful birds are regular migrants to the Newstead district in small numbers.
Attracted by the winter fruits of Hawthorn they are easily overlooked on account of their quiet nature and subtle plumage if you dont count the spectacular scarlet helmet of the adult male.
The Yandoit area is a local hotspot. Close to their summer home at higher altitudes along the Great Divide, they arrive in late autumn and depart by August most years. Ive only ever seen small flocks, typically an adult pair with a recently fledged immature. In the last decade their numbers have plummeted and the species has recently been listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act. Wildfires along the east coast have been a major factor in the perilous decline.
This pair was spotted by one of my staff earlier today. Sadly there was no third bird, suggesting a failed summer breeding effort. While the male is often considered the most striking, the female is, in my view, the star of the show.
...2023 Spanish Film Festival "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
The 2023 Spanish Film Festival opens in Brisbane on Wednesday 14 June with a line-up of 32 Spanish language films made up of around 20 features from Spain and 12 []
The post 2023 Spanish Film Festival first appeared on Westender.
User reviews useless compared to tech reviews, eg. Western Digital SN350 "IndyWatch Feed National"
MANY people base their purchase decision on consumers opinions, where in reality there is zero way of knowing whether or not they are fake.
The mainstream media jumps on this as well, using this as a huge promotional point, in their click bait advertising model.
One of the worst places an electronics consumer could go for advice is to a mainstream media news site, for example Rupert Murdochs news empire from some tech flog using a pseudonym, trying to convince you that Apples newest features are worthy of your attention or most importantly your hard earned dollars, in these times of government created austerity.
Even a websites so called reviews on a particular piece of electronics equipment would not be the best place for reference.
They could be false, they could be bots or even the company's webmaster faking reviews on the orders of the CEO.
In this instance the under the spotlight is a SSD (Sold State Drive) from WD (Western Digital), in particular the SN350 model range.
From the reviews of a tech warehouse one would be of the belief that this is a great product to purchase.
Recommendations for cheaper shopping "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Hey all, with this cost of living crisis going on, and coleworth price gouging everything, I'd love to try some alternative stores, but I'm not really sure where to look. I just wanted to ask here about what alternatives people shop at to save money. Thanks in advanced!!
Sending Australian F18 Fighter planes to Ukraine ensures our continent becomes an immediate target for Russia in WW3 soon to start "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Idiot Albanese will do exactly what the demented US President Joe Biden instructs
Donald Trump Jnr and Nigel Farage to tour Australia in July "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
NIGEL FARAGE AND SENATOR ALEX ANTIC TO JOIN DONALD TRUMP JR. AUSTRALIAN SPEAKING TOUR British politician, Nigel Farage and Liberal Senator, Alex Antic have today announced they will be joining Donald Trump Jr. on stage during his Australian speaking tour this July. With this dynamic trio, involving two of the most controversial disruptors in global []
A Matter of Interest: The RBA, Inflation and Corporate Profits "IndyWatch Feed National"
He is one of the least empathetic of beings, a cold fish, bothered and irritated. Captured by the cradle of numbers (he is an economist); obsessed by the spreadsheet of projections that may never result, there is not much to recommend the chief of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Philip Lowe. Come to think of it, there is not much to recommend any of them, these high priests and priestesses, all of the same, pontificating cathedral.
What stands out regarding Lowe is his almost heroic lack of tact. He will forever be saddled with those remarks that encouraged many Australians to rush to the banks to take out loans. When asked at the National Press Club in February 2021 about his pledge not to raise the cash rate for at least three years, Lowe was defiant: I havent pledged anything; 2024 was merely a best guess.
The banks own internal review, published in 2022, noted that the RBA board had indicated in late 2020 and much of 2021 that the first interest rate increase was not expected for at least three years, and then not until 2024 or later.
The confident assertion by Lowe and fellow board members proved to be a spectacular howler. Given the outlook was highly uncertain, the board could have given more consideration to potential upside scenarios, including scenarios that could warrant raising the case rate earlier than anticipated.
Of late, Lowe has done himself few favours. The RBA has presided over twelve increases in the cash rate; the current benchmark interest rate lies at 4.1%, with promises of further hikes. It is the highest level since April 2012.
In his cold fish style, Lowe has openly suggested that people could cut back on spending, or in some cases, find additional hours of work, that would put them back into a positive cash flow position. While social media is not exactly the ideal barometer at the best of times, a collection of remarks is worth noting. Regardless of if you are left leaning, centre or right, everyone has a reason to hate this guy, states a certain Chazwazza. Andrew Hughes (if that be his name) suggests that economists brush up on their EQ courses in what they teach. Because people are those numbers.
In short, the Reserve Bank, and other central banks vested with such powers, are often there to make lives miserable on the pretext of improving them. The error never lay with the public: they were told to shut up and shut shop for months, avoiding family, friends and life. All that time, government stimulus for the fortunate found their way into ban...
AUKUS coming to dinner "IndyWatch Feed Enviro.au"
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href= "https://antinuclear.files.wordpress.com/2023/06/pyne.cosmos2.jpg"><img alt="" class="wp-image-116763" src= "https://antinuclear.files.wordpress.com/2023/06/pyne.cosmos2.jpg?w=800"></a></figure> <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>AUKUS dinner guests at the Cosmos Club, Washington: US Secretary for Navy, Carlos Del Toro; Republican Congressman Rob Wittman; Labor MP Meryl Swanson; Australian ambassador, Kevin Rudd; Liberal senator James Paterson; ex-Minister for Defence, lobbyist Christopher Pyne. (Photo: Pyne & Partners)
by <a href= "https://michaelwest.com.au/author/kellie-trantor/">Kellie Tranter</a> | Jun 10, 2023</em></strong> <a href= "https://michaelwest.com.au/aukus-coming-to-dinner/" rel= "noreferrer noopener" target= "_blank">https://michaelwest.com.au/aukus-coming-to-dinner/</a></p> <p><strong>Declassified Australia reveals the feast for lobbyists, US defence contractors and hangers-on which is the AUKUS $370bn submarines deal, Kelly Tranter reports.</strong></p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><a href= "https://antinuclear.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/revolving-door1.gif"> ...</a></figure>
Are We Back to Nuclear Brinkmanship for Good? "IndyWatch Feed Enviro.au"
By Michael Hirsh, a columnist for Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/06/09/nuclear-brinksmanship-arms-control-jake-sullivan-putin-china-russia/
Sixty years ago this week, U.S. President John F. Kennedy gave a speech at American University that transformed the nature of the Cold War, turning the insanity of nuclear brinkmanship into the relative safety of negotiation. Coming just eight months after the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world harrowingly close to armageddon, Kennedy noted the ironic but accurate fact that the two strongest powers [on earth] are the two in the most danger of devastation.
That, he said, had to stopnot to achieve some infinite concept of universal peace and goodwill but rather to secure a more practical, more attainable peace.
In an act of political courage for the time, Kennedy then delivered a unilateral concession to Moscow, saying the United States does not propose to conduct nuclear tests in the atmosphere so long as other states do not do so.
Astonishingly, given the hostility between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Soviet government broadcast Kennedys June 10, 1963, address in its entirety, and it was published by the Soviet newspapers Izvestia and Pravda. On July 25, 1963, after only 12 days of negotiations, a nuclear test ban treaty was signed.
Where is the political courage of yesteryear?
In a speech at the Arms Control Associations annual conference on June 2, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan took a very different tack. Sullivan signaledthough he likely didnt intend tothat there is little hope for restraining the threat of nuclear war in the foreseeable future. Sullivan conceded that there was no meaningful U.S. communication with either Russia or China, that Washington was engaging in tit-for-tat reprisals against Moscow by suspending day-to-day missile operations notification, and that the United States would continue to push for military dominance over both Russia and China for de...
Patrick Lawrence: Neo-Nazis in Ukraine? No, Yes, NoYes "IndyWatch Feed Enviro.au"
Stepan Bandera torchlight parade in Kiev, Jan. 1, 2020. (A1/Wikimedia Commons)
As is well-known and documented, the neoNazis who infest the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the AFU among many other national institutions have made idols of such figures as Stepan Bandera, the freakishly murderous nationalist who allied with the Nazi regime during the war.
A New York Times reporters job this week is to persuade us that all those Ukrainian soldiers wearing Nazi insignia and marching through Kiev in Klan-like torch parades are not what you think.
June 7, 2023, By Patrick Lawrence, Original to ScheerPost
I tell you, serving as a New York Times correspondent these days cannot be easy.
You have to convey utter nonsense to your readers while maintaining a straight face and a serious demeanor.
You have to suggest the Russians may have exploded a drone over the Kremlin, that they may have blown up their own gas pipeline, that their president is an out-of-touch psychotic, that their soldiers in Ukraine are drunkards using faulty equipment, that they attack with human hordes (Orientalism, anyone?) and on and on all the while affecting the gravitas once associated with the traditional Timesman. You try it sometime.
.. now we have the case of Thomas GibbonsNeff, a square-jawed former Marine covering the Ukraine war for the Times strictly to the extent the Kyiv regime permits him to do so, as he explains with admirable honesty. This guy is serious times 10, he and his newspaper want us to know.
Toms job this week is to persuade us that all those Ukrainian soldiers wearing Nazi insignia, idolizing Jew-murdering, Russophobic collaborators with the Third Reich, gathering ritually in Nazi-inspired cabals, marching through Kyiv in Klan-like torch parades are not what you think.
Nah, our Tom tells us. They look like neoNazis, they act like neoNazis, they dress like neoNazis, they profess Fascist and neoNazi ideologies, they wage this war with the Wehrmachts visceral hatred of Russians O.K., but whyever would you think they are neoNazis?
They are just regular guys. They wear the Wolfsangel, the ...
Kievs Long Term Plans To Blow Up The Kakhovka Dam "IndyWatch Feed Enviro.au"
June 6, 2023 by Ral Ilargi Meijer https://www.theautomaticearth.com/2023/06/kievs-long-term-plans-to-blow-up-the-kakhovka-dam/
I had some discussion with Andrew about this article, since the December 2022 WaPo article he refers to was not the first time Kievs plans to blow up the dam were mentioned. There was this, for instance, 2 months earlier. Then again, Andrew is right in saying that the WaPo piece is the first where people other than Zelensky mention it. And we agree that now blaming the attack on Russia is really out of left field. Those darn Russkies keep on aiming for their own feet. And thats the only thing(s) they can hit.
Andrew Korybko:
The partial
destruction of the Kakhovka Dam on early Tuesday morning
saw Kiev and Moscow exchange accusations about whos to blame, but
a report from
the Washington Post (WaPo) in late December extends credence to the
"https://web.archive.org/web/20221229064018/https:/www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/29/ukraine-offensive-kharkiv-kherson-donetsk/">Inside
the Ukrainian counteroffensive that shocked Putin and reshaped the
war, its journalists quoted former commander of
Novembers Kherson
Counteroffensive Major General Andrey Kovalchuk who
shockingly admitted to planning this war crime:
Kovalchuk considered flooding the river. The Ukrainians, he said, even conducted a test strike with a HIMARS launcher on one of the floodgates at the Nova Kakhovka dam, making three holes in the metal to see if the Dniepers water could be raised enough to stymie Russian crossings but not flood nearby villages. The test was a success, Kovalchuk said, but the step remained a last resort. He held off.
His remark about how the step remained a last resort is pertinent to recall at present considering that the first phase of Kievs NATO...
France fully nationalises debt-laden nuclear power group EDF, after its record loss last year "IndyWatch Feed Enviro.au"
EDF quits Paris stock exchange after full nationalisation.
French nuclear
power group EDF (EDF.PA) returns to full state ownership on
Thursday with
its de-listing from the Paris stock exchange after it suffered a
record
loss last year and saw nuclear output fall to a 34-year low.
The government launched a buyout for the 16% stake it did not
already own in EDF in late
2022, stumping up around 10 billion euros ($10.9 billion) to take
full
control of the debt-laden operator of Europes largest fleet of
nuclear
power plants.
Reuters 8th June 2023
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/french-utility-giant-edfs-history-2022-07-08
British cardiologist calls for mRNA vaccines to be suspended due to heart risks "IndyWatch Feed National"
A British cardiologist has called for Covid vaccines to be suspended in Australia due to heart risks, accusing the TGA of a "cover-up". A controversial British cardiologist has called for the Pfizer and Moderna Covid shots to be suspended in Australia until the risk of heart complications is better understood, saying prior vaccines "have been pulled for much less". Dr Aseem Malhotra, who has emerged as one of the most high-profile figures in the anti-vaccine movement and is currently in Australia on a speaking tour, said it was a "no-brainer" and accused the medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), of ignoring the clear safety signal from its own reporting system once the rollout was well under way. "People can be forgiving if new information comes in, we know people make mistakes but once you get that information back, them not acting on it ... the problem is the cover-up is worse than the crime," he said.
Gordon Lightfoot was a great songwriter "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Here in Australia, most of the music that gets on to the radio comes from the English speaking world, and most of that is from Britain and the United States. Strangely, its rare to hear music from Canada, even though many great acts have come from there.
The title of Canadas greatest musical export would be hotly contested, but Gordon Lightfoot is a strong contender. He was one of the finest songwriters of the modern era, a man blessed with an extraordinary gift for creating songs, and the vocal and guitar skills to deliver those songs in ways that transcended place and time.
Bob Dylan, no slouch as a songwriter, said that when he heard a Lightfoot s0ng, he wished it would go on forever. Gordon wrote songs about trains and shipwrecks, rivers and highways, lovers and loneliness. Those sangs had the power of truth in them, often drawn from Gordons life and loves.
Many big names covered Gordon Lightfoot songs, and he had gold and platinum records and was a popular touring artist. Gordon died in May. He was 84.
Big Build burnout? "IndyWatch Feed Allstate"
While we all want a better transport system, disruption fatigue is becoming a real factor for passengers, particularly on the train network. On some lines, there have now been major disruptions every year since 2016. Not all of these are in the name of better rail services. This winter a two week shutdown of lines Continue reading Big Build burnout?
Morrison gave $4M to now-disgraced Esther Foundation "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
In March 2019, just before a federal election, former Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a $4m grant for WAs Esther Foundation. The organisation later closed up shop after allegations of exorcisms and gay conversion. Additionally, the Australian Government solicitor advised the grant would likely be Esther Foundation ...
The post Morrison gave $4M to now-disgraced Esther Foundation appeared first on QNews.
The Reality of the Role of a Criminal Defence Lawyer "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
There is a famous HL Menken quote which states the trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of ones time defending scoundrels its a sentiment that criminal defence lawyers may take to heart. All criminal lawyers...
The post The Reality of the Role of a Criminal Defence Lawyer appeared first on Sydney Criminal Lawyers.
Victoria Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton latest resignation from the deadly Covid gang "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Ex-WHO chairwoman and current chairman of the Gates and big pharma-funded CEPI, Jane Halton. She sat on former PM Scott Morrisons National COVID-19 Coordination Committee. She just happens to be Professor Brett Suttons sister-in-law Victorias Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton is resigning from his position after four years in the role that saw him become []
Public Service Announcement from Kari Lake "IndyWatch Feed National"
KARI LAKE: "If you want to get to President Trump, you're going to have to go through me, and 75 million Americans just like me. And most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA. That's not a threat, that's a public service announcement" pic.twitter.com/rSVwEaK2rX Jack Poso (@JackPosobiec)...
Creamy goodness for chilly days "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Winter is a season that calls for nourishing dishes that warm us from the inside out.
Creamy mushroom soup is a classic comfort food that warms both the body and the soul. With its rich and earthy flavours, this recipe will take you on a culinary journey that celebrates the delightful taste of mushrooms.
So, lets gather our ingredients, roll up our sleeves, and prepare to savour the creamy goodness of homemade mushroom soup.
Ingredients:
1 pound (450g) fresh mushrooms (cremini, button, or a mix), sliced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tablespoons butter
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley or chives (optional, for garnish)
Instructions:
In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic, and saut until they become soft and fragrant.
Add the sliced mushrooms to the pot, stirring occasionally, and cook for about 8-10 minutes or until the mushrooms release their moisture and turn golden brown.
Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and stir well to coat them evenly. Cook for an additional minute to cook off the raw flour taste.
Slowly pour in the vegetable or chicken broth, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, allowing the flavours to meld together.
Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, carefully puree the soup until smooth and creamy. Be cautious with the hot liquid to avoid any accidents.
Return the soup to the pot and stir in the heavy cream and dried thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer the soup for an additional 5 minutes to allow the flavours to blend.
Once the soup reaches your desired consistency, remove it from the heat.
Ladle the creamy mushroom soup into bowls and garnish with a sprinkle of fresh parsley or chives for a touch of freshness.
Serve the soup hot with crusty bread or croutons on the side for a delightful textural contrast.
The post Creamy goodness for chilly days appeared first on Ocean Grove Voice.
What started two earthquakes on eastern Australian seaboard? "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Tunnel under HMAS Watson, Watsons Bay NSW From ABC and Cairns News Two east coast communities 2,000 kilometres apart woke to unusually similar news on Thursday morning. Two separate earthquakes had occurred within hours of each other. A magnitude-4.2 earthquake had struck 100 kilometres off the coast of Cairns and was felt by residents in []
Peet's Bridge - upgrades? "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
I like Goldsbrough mostly cos Im 30 with the bitterness of a 70 year old... But I have the unfortunate inconvenience of needing to reliably get to work in the wet season
Is Peet's Bridge still an unmitigated wet season disaster, or has it been upgraded over the years? If the former, are there any plans to upgrade it in the future? (Or at least give residents dingy tie-up points?)
Trading Children The Open Market in Australia and the Global Black Market "IndyWatch Feed National"
by Dee McLachlan
We have all heard and read about the reports on child trafficking across the globe. They range from children without birth certificates being trafficked across borders; to organ harvesting, adrenochrome, and child sacrifice. And at the end of the article, I include below Clayton Morriss (Redacted) video about Mel Gibsons new documentary series exposing Hollywood. Thats the B...
Hate Crime Inquiry examines Wendy Waine murder "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
The NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes yesterday heard evidence about the 1985 murder of Sydney trans woman Wendy Waine. Popular drag performer Wendy Waine appeared regularly at Petes Beat on Oxford Street. She also did occasional guest appearances at the world-famous Les Girls. Counsel assisting the inquiry Kathleen Heath described Wendy ...
The post Hate Crime Inquiry examines Wendy Waine murder appeared first on QNews.
Merriman raises money for prostate cancer "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
A Torquay man will tackle 22 kilometres to raise money for prostate cancer research and has already passed his goal.
Brendan Merrimans campaign is part of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australias (PCFA) Perfect Match for Mens Health Week, running from June 12 to 18.
Mr Merriman said he had raised close to $1230, more than double his original $500.
Ive done my 22km in very short sprints because Ive got a broken foot, he said.
Im just doing a walk when I can and Ive been at it for a couple of weeks now, so I think Ive done close to 34km now.
Mr Merriman said he was inspired to raise money for PCFA after losing friends and family to prostate cancer.
A number of my mates and associates in the last couple of years have either been diagnosed with or died from prostate cancer and one sadly suicided, he said.
Three of us went to get ourselves checked within days of each other. One of them has since died of prostate cancer, and the other one had his prostate removed.
One Australian man is diagnosed with prostate cancer every 22 minutes, while 170 men are diagnosed yearly in Torquay and the wider Geelong region.
Mr Merriman said it was important to help raise awareness of the disease and remove the misconceptions surrounding how the cancer is identified, which is through a blood test.
They dont actually do a physical examination anymore until your bloods are too high, he said.
To help the foundation either publicise and get more information out there to people or do research so we can help reduce the number of men that get prostate cancer, itll be a good thing.
Help is available through Lifelines 24-hour crisis support service on 13 11 14.
The post Merriman raises money for prostate cancer appeared first on Ocean Grove Voice.
More metabolic syndrome epidemic news "IndyWatch Feed Allstate"
After seven months of nutrition investigation, Im utterly convinced that this is the truth. No conspiracies here, its occurring in broad daylight right in front of our faces.
Amazingly, he makes a terrible mistake when he mentions the removal of fiber from processed food. Nobody needs fiber. It has zero nutrional value. Its removal has absolutely nothing to do with the metabolic syndrome epidemic.
004 Shapeshifter ChatGPT and Jobs. Australian UnderEmployment skyrockets? Curiosity and Resilience while adapting to AI "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Lets explore Shapeshifting. That very human talent to change and adapt with curiosity and exploration. How will we adapt to artificial intelligence, especially in a job market that suddenly looks VERY different? GPTs on GPTS the report from OpenAI, OpenLabs Research and the University of Pennsylvania gives very interesting insight into the jobs that will impacted hundreds of them from 19% exposure to 100%. Tax assessors dont do too well. 100% replacement and 50% faster. But sometimes, were not interested in exploring or being curious or learning. We just want to get by.
Ive got some bad news for those of you who just want to chill. This is not the time to do that. Were giving birth to AI at the moment. The world is pushing and straining, and its going to come whether we want it or not. Do we get caught in a rut? Thats not my job. Thats not how this job should be. This isnt what I planned for. I dont understand this person. Why do I have to be the one to find common ground? Why do I have to work with AI?
I have a long and boring list of jobs that are impacted by AI/ChatGPT and how to pivot and adapt. Skip that part.
We look at Underemployment in Australia due to AI: a single person jobsharing with AI and 9 other people wont be enough hours. Roy Morgan report on underemployment (currently at 17.1%) is more comprehensive than ABS unemployment (3.4%). Those numbers are about to skyrocket. I hope this episode has given you some thoughts about how to copilot with AI, how to move through this next phase with curiosity and wonderment rather than fear and trepidation, understanding that maybe your job will never be the same again. But thats okay, because theres a new approach, a new way of doing things thatll be interesting and keep you engaged.
Resources below as well as my AI Is My CoPilot course (in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra and Virtual) please go to the Australian Institute of Management website if interested: please dont do my course unless it suits but please please please, do SOME education on AI. This thing is moving FAST.
How Do The Best Criminal Lawyers Treat Their Clients? "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
If you find yourself on the wrong side of the law, you may look to engage the services of a criminal defence lawyer but how can you be confident you are getting the best possible service from someone you...
The post How Do The Best Criminal Lawyers Treat Their Clients? appeared first on Sydney Criminal Lawyers.
Texas Bans Drag Queen Story Time, Unleashes Winnie The Pooh To Fight School Shooters "IndyWatch Feed National"
Thank God for lawmakers in Texas. Not only have they stepped in to save little children from the clutches of evil drag queens, but theyre almost certainly going to turn their attention to new legislation to save kiddies from school shooters. Soon. Ish. Probably.
During the most recent session of Texas parliament, which ended last week, Republican politicians found time to pass a literal suite of new bills targetting LGBTQ Texans, including ending public funding for libraries that host drag queen story times. Because, you know, its anyones guess how many Texan children have died during a bawdy reading of Spot The Dog.
Unfortunately, the Texas legislature ran out of time this parliamentary session to pass any new gun safety laws turns out its a complicated business not infringing on the second amendment rights of well-armed militias. And given Texas Parliament only meets once every two years, January 2025 will be the earliest Texans can expect any new legislation to try and curb the ever-growing violence in Texas streets and shopping malls.
On the good news front, at least some Texan parents can feel a little more confident about getting their little ones home from school after families in the Dallas area last week received free copies of Stay Safe: Run, Hide, Fight, an exciting new childrens book that helps teach kids the best way to survive a mass school shooting.
If there is danger, let Winnie-the-Pooh and his crew show you what to do! promises the book.
If there is danger and it is safe to get away we should RUN like Rabbit instead of stay.
Help friends that need it, but we cant quit until we are safe with a teacher or the police.
If danger is near, do not fear.
HIDE like Pooh does until the police appear.
Doors should be locked, the passage blocked and lights turned
off.
We should all hide without making a sound in a place where we
cannot be found.
If we have a cell phone it should be in silent zone.
Higgins, Wilkinson, Lehrmann: Heroes or Victims? "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
In years to come, the criminal prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann over ultimately unproven allegations of sexual assault in Parliament House is likely to become a case study for students of law, and may even inform the way in which such...
The post Higgins, Wilkinson, Lehrmann: Heroes or Victims? appeared first on Sydney Criminal Lawyers.
Hans awarded Adelaide Cabaret Festival Icon Award "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
Hans, aka beloved South Australian entertainer, Matt Gilbertson, was awarded the Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2023 Icon Award at Adelaides Festival Theatre last night. Matt Gilbertson The award-winning performer remains an enduring crowd favourite at Adelaide Cabaret Festival. He has performed his own sold-out shows at the festival throughout the years. In 2021, he played the ...
The post Hans awarded Adelaide Cabaret Festival Icon Award appeared first on QNews.
Finals action delivers the goods "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
It was a great day for finals and the play was just as good with three sections playing semi-finals and five in preliminary finals.
Section 1 saw Geelong Lawn face Highton in the first-semi and the result was tied at two sets and 16 games with two sets left to play before Georgie Parker and Jill Pavia won the fifth set 6-4, then Bridget Laird won her third set for the day when she teamed with Ida Durran to win the sixth 6-0, giving Lawn the win four sets to two.
The second-semi saw club rivals Surfcoast Torquay and Bellbrae play off in a tough battle of long rallies and intelligent tennis.
After splitting the first two sets, Torquay took the lead winning the next two and stayed in front when Simone Hobbs won her third set with Liz Scott 6-1, with the final result putting Torquay into next weeks grand final.
Surfcoasts good form continued in Section 5 when Jan Juc upset Drysdale in the first-semi by four games. The sets alternated through the day, but Gayle Roche helped her team over the line winning her three sets.
In the second-semi, counterparts Surfcoast Torquay set up an all Surf Coast grand final with a win over Ocean Grove. The teams split the first two
sets, but Torquay pushed ahead winning two tie-breaks, then with Loretta Fisher winning her third set with Clare Green, the result was beyond doubt, and the win ultimately sealed, four sets to two.
Section 8 was the final set of semi-finals, where both matches were decisive. Anglesea faced an uphill battle against Point Lonsdale before the match started with only three players, eventually going down six sets to love, while St Marys experience and skill was too much for Wandana Heights, getting up five sets to one.
Moolap moved into the grand final with a win against St Marys in Section 7, four sets to two. The teams were locked at two sets all before Moolap sealed the win taking the final two sets.
In Section 3 Moolap didnt fair as well when it went down to Surfcoast Torquay four sets to two. After splitting the first two sets, Torquay pulled ahead winning two close ones 7-5 and 7-6, proving to be the difference.
Ocean Grove started well against Clifton Springs winning the first two sets in Section 4, and with Beni Turkson winning her two remaining sets, stayed in front, booking a place against Aireys Inlet next week.
Clifton Springs had better success in Section 6, coming from behind to topple Drysdale by seven games. Drysdale was ahead three sets to one and by two games leading into the final two sets, but Carol Spivey and Jan Whitmore blasted a 6-0 win while on the other court Vicky and Sarah Winship followed suit winning 6-3, keeping the Springs chances of a premiership alive.
The closest match of the day was in Section 2 when Point Lonsdale hosted Winchelsea. The teams split the first two sets with Winchelsea ahead by two games, then split the middle sets with teams tied on games with two se.......
How Australia learned to stop worrying and love nuclear "IndyWatch Feed Alllocal"
It may not yet have dawned on Australia, but the rest of the world is waking up to the threat of net zero policies. At our recent editorial meeting in Melbourne, I was shocked to discover just how far behind Australia is on this awakening.
Almost all media coverage in Europe and the US is already highly critical of net zero. Even the politicians have woken up.
In Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a halt on new green legislation coming out of the EU.
Germany successfully torpedoed the EUs attempt to ban combustion engine cars.
In the UK, some councils are refusing to cooperate with the governments demands to impose net zero policies.
Net zero is so unpopular in the UK that politicians are using it as a punching bag for all sorts of barely related shortcomings. For example, one minister is blaming her inability to carry out Brexit reforms on the constraints imposed by the emissions commitment.
Companies worldwide are also turning their backs on net zero at an increasing pace. Seven insurance companies have quit the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance a part of the powerful group called the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero which pressures financial industries into adopting net zero policies.
Even the only remaining cheerleaders for net zero journalists are having second thoughts. The Financial Times covered the staggering cost of a green hydrogen economy.
Financial markets cottoned on to this shift first. Green energy stocks plunged in 2022 and clean energy tech companies favourite bank in California went bust in 2023
Just when an energy crisis was supposed to prove renewable energys credentials and capabilities, the world concluded the precise opposite. It turned to coal instead.
While Australia still grapples with the impossible implications of net zero, the rest of the world is already moving on to pondering solutions instead. And, as slowly as humanly possible, theyre reaching the painlessly obvious solution: nuclear power.
In October 2021, the UKs Independent Review of Net Zero report commissioned by the government concluded that nuclear power is a no-regrets option for the UK.
In April 2022, the UK government outlined its plans for nuclear power. These include building eight new reactors plus smaller modular reactors, set to provide 25% of the UKs electricity demand by 2050.
In Japan, utility companies are applying for 27 reactor restarts, with 17 passing safety checks and 10 resuming operations.
In South Koreas March 2022 presidential elections, a pro-nuclear candidate defeated an anti-nuclear incumbent who planned to phase out nuclear power.
The countrys 26 reactors produce about a quarter of its electricity, but the new president wants to increase this to at least a third. Plans include extending the life of existing reactors and building new ones.
Macron committed to building...
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