The latest fortnightly Essential Research poll has both parties up on the primary vote, the Coalition by two to 35% and Labor by one to 30%, with the Greens steady on 13%, One Nation up one to 8% and undecided down one to 5%. The pollster’s 2PP+ measure has Labor and the Coalition tied on 48%, with the balance undecided. Further results show a 69-31 split in favour of the government’s cap on international students, together with various other findings on the theme of education. Fifty-three per cent expressed support for the Future Made in Australia policy, following a question that said it would “provide funding for large-scale renewable energy projects that support the creation of local jobs”, with 18% opposed. The poll was conducted Tuesday to Saturday from a sample of 1132.
The weekly Roy Morgan poll has Labor leading 51-49 on two-party preferred, out from 50.5-49.5 last time, from primary votes of Labor 30% (down half), Coalition 36.5% (up half), Greens 14.5% (up one-and-a-half) and One Nation 6% (steady). Going off preference flows from the previous election rather than as allocated by poll respondents, Labor’s two-party lead is unchanged at 52-48. The poll was conducted Monday to Sunday from a sample of 1703.
Also, further results from the Resolve Strategic poll indicate remarkable pessimism on interest rates, which 40% expect to go up over the next year compared with only 15% for down and 34% for stay the same. Fifty-one per cent rated that the federal government and the Treasurer had “the greater responsibility for keeping inflation down” compared with 27% for the Reserve Bank and 22% for both equally. A question on gambling advertising found 51% support for banning gambling advertisements on television entirely, with 32% supporting the government’s policy of a cap on two ads per hour during live sports and none during children’s programming.
No joy for the Government there.
U-Turn on the cards??
Good government starts now ?
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
Shaun Carney declares that Chalmers has every right to comment on what the Reserve Bank is doing to the economy. He says that if any major national institution is ripe for reform, it’s the RBA, whose decisions affect the economic wellbeing of every Australian.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/chalmers-has-every-right-to-comment-on-what-the-reserve-bank-is-doing-to-the-economy-20240911-p5k9me.html
David Crowe and Paul Sakkal say that Labor will expand its plans to crack down on lies on social media by adding political content into misinformation laws before the federal election, setting up a dispute in parliament about whether the revised plan will curb free speech. The bill gives federal authorities the power to force tech giants to act on alerts about damaging falsehoods and stop them spreading before they cause serious harm, citing the lies spread about the Bondi Junction knife attack this year as proof of the need for tougher laws.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/political-lies-to-be-captured-in-labor-misinformation-regime-20240911-p5k9tt.html
In the same way John Howard realised One Nation would totally discredit mainstream conservatism – and therefore had to be electorally destroyed – modern Labor needs to go to war with the Greens, writes Peta Credlin. By declaring that the Greens are a deadly threat to our economic strength, national security and social cohesion – and so will always be put last – the Liberals would demonstrate conviction and courage. And also highlight Anthony Albanese’s weakness given that many Labor MPs only survive on Greens preferences. Dare Labor to put the Greens last and let’s see Albanese for who he really is”, she says.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/labor-has-appeased-the-greens-for-far-too-long/news-story/917b25d87293f2d01a5077a13ff9db91?amp
The former judge who presided over an inquiry into former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann’s prosecution gave a draft of his report to a journalist at The Australian before it was delivered to the ACT government, and she texted back that she “loved the section … on presumption of innocence”. Michaela Whitbourn refers to a cache of documents released by the ACT Supreme Court this week reveal the extent of the communications between Walter Sofronoff, KC, and Janet Albrechtsen, a columnist at the News Corp masthead.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/texts-to-high-profile-journalist-about-bruce-lehrmann-trial-revealed-20240911-p5k9t4.html
More on this from The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/sep/11/walter-sofronoff-janet-albrechtsen-emails-texts-lehrmann-trial-ntwnfb
Anti-war demonstrators have vowed to continue to protest at a Melbourne military expo after a day of violent clashes in which members of the group pelted police with horse poo, rocks, eggs, beer bottles, tomatoes, canned food and a mild acid. Police, who used foam bullets, stun grenades, tear gas and pepper spray to quell the at-times chaotic crowd outside the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre yesterday defended their use of force.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/police-chief-lashes-hypocritical-protesters-as-city-prepares-for-more-unrest-20240911-p5k9rl.html
“The protesters are deeply anti-war. That’s good; I suspect most of us are. They regard the arms industry as fuelling war and think that if these companies stop making weapons, peace will be the result. This is where I disagree”, writes Michael Shoebridge.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/melbournes-antiwar-mob-wants-peace-but-disarmament-wont-achieve-that/news-story/48216a92ddd09f6c7b0c6dcc18a64a5e?amp
The Department of Home Affairs is struggling to keep up with a massive rise in visa applications from Colombian asylum seekers. Abul Rizvi takes a look at the reasons why this is occurring.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/colombia-enters-top-five-asylum-source-nations,18969
ASIC faces questions about its investigation into ABC Bullion after internal WhatsApp messages exchanged between current and former employees critical of the company’s storage practices reports Kim Wingerei.
https://michaelwest.com.au/sizzling-whatsapp-texts-blow-the-lid-off-asic-investigation-into-abc-bullion/
Labor has scrubbed criminal penalties for seriously vilifying minority groups from its upcoming hate crimes bill, watering down its proposed laws just months after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vowed to introduce stronger measures to protect people from hate speech. Natassia Chrysanthos tells us that sources familiar with Labor’s promised hate speech bill said it had been significantly weakened in the final stages of drafting and was now starkly different from Albanese’s original pledge, which he made earlier this year following months of concern about inflamed antisemitism.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/labor-s-promised-hate-speech-bill-will-not-deal-with-hate-speech-20240910-p5k9dp.html
Not since Kevin Rudd proposed the ill-fated super profits tax in 2010 has an Australian government gone to war with the massive and powerful mining industry and its spiritual leader, BHP. Not only did Rudd’s Labor government lose that fight 14 years ago, it did so spectacularly, toppling the prime minister and ultimately the government, says Elizabeth Knight as the showdown over same job, same pay kicks off.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/tickets-on-sale-it-s-the-big-australian-vs-the-australian-government-20240911-p5k9n2.html
A terrace house is for sale in Sydney for $22m. The grotesquely unfair capital gains discount is partly to blame, argues Greg Jericho.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/article/2024/sep/12/sydney-terrace-house-22m-listing-average-house-prices
Embattled union boss Diana Asmar faces accusations she threatened to kill a key whistleblower and orchestrated the removal of a senior official as she fought attempts to investigate concerns about her management, including unauthorised spending. Nick McKenzie and Brode Carmody write that the allegations against the Health Workers Union secretary, who is separately fighting the industrial watchdog over claims she misused millions of dollars, is made in documents filed by the Health Services Union’s national branch in the Federal Court as part of its legal push to have the HWU placed in administration.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/hwu-chief-threatened-to-kill-whistleblower-over-expense-claims-20240911-p5k9rj.html
Australia’s jobs market is still too strong and fuelling inflation, the Reserve Bank’s chief economist, Sarah Hunter, says, but unemployment is expected to rise as a sharp economic slowdown forces bosses to pull back on hiring.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/jobs-boom-fuelling-inflation-rba-warns-20240911-p5k9lk
Older homeowners would get a one-off stamp duty reprieve on their final home purchase under a property industry pitch to free up tens of thousands of under-utilised family homes across Melbourne. Josh Gordon writes that in a submission to the state government’s Plan for Victoria review, the Property Council of Australia has argued home buyers older than 60 and wanting to downsize should be exempt from paying stamp duty under a last home buyer concession.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/last-home-buyer-concession-touted-to-free-up-under-used-family-homes-20240909-p5k90d.html
Councils have warned that their free children’s vaccination programs are at risk due to new state government charges for the use of a vital online record-keeping resource. According to Rachel Eddie, the Municipal Association of Victoria says councils provide 430,000 immunisations to Victorian children each year – covering 90 per cent of all vaccinations for school-aged kids, and 45 per cent of those for younger children and babies.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/councils-say-new-state-charges-put-kids-vaccine-program-at-risk-20240911-p5k9li.html
An incorrectly built studio, staff division and union warnings about safety are some of the issues plaguing the ABC over its ongoing relocation to Parramatta, reports Callum Jaspan.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/abc-s-move-out-west-splits-sydney-staff-amid-building-woes-20240910-p5k9bl.html
Stephen Bartholomeusz says that bleeding billions, the oil cartel is losing control of the market. He points to China’s faltering economy and the pace at which it is electrifying its transport sector with electric vehicles and LNG-fuelled trucks has caught the cartel by surprise.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/spiralling-the-oil-cartel-is-losing-control-of-the-market-20240911-p5k9lw.html
Facebook parent company Meta has admitted its millions of Australian users can’t opt out of having their data being used to train the company’s artificial intelligence models, even as users in the European Union are able to do so. David Swan tells us that since changing its privacy policy for Australian users in June, Facebook has been hoovering up nearly two decades’ worth of public Facebook posts, including text, photos and status updates, to train its language model, dubbed Llama.
https://www.smh.com.au/technology/meta-admits-australians-cannot-opt-out-of-predatory-ai-data-scrape-20240911-p5k9o0.html
German carmakers are sinking deeper into a crisis undermining the future of the country’s most important industry, with BMW warning that profits will get hit by a costly brake problem and Volkswagen scrapping job protections that workers have enjoyed for three decades.
https://www.afr.com/world/europe/bmw-recall-and-vw-job-threat-deepen-german-industry-crisis-20240911-p5k9v3
The SMH editorial tells us why Harris’ strong debate performance is good for Australia. It says that she is clearly no Biden. But in good news for the US and the world, we had a glimpse of the smart, credible, intellectual woman who has turned the presidential race into a real contest.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/why-harris-strong-debate-performance-is-good-for-australia-20240911-p5k9oq.html
Harris laid the bait, and Trump took it on a bad night for the former president, writes Farrah Tomazin.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/harris-laid-the-bait-and-trump-took-it-on-a-bad-night-for-the-former-president-20240911-p5k9rw.html
Greg Sheridan reckons Trump and Harris played out a “low quality draw”.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/us-politics/trump-harris-play-out-a-lowquality-draw/news-story/108fab76289d142d642b3ed5f3d8b21a?amp
The bar was low for him, but Donald Trump still didn’t manage to clear it, writes Moira Donegan saying that in his first debate with Kamala Harris, the ex-president was reduced to a rambling, incoherent, lie-filled litany of grievances.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/sep/10/trump-harris-debate
And Margaret Sullivan writes that ABC’s debate moderators did what they said was impossible: fact-checking Trump.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/11/abc-moderators-fact-checking-trump-harris-debate
Donald Trump’s campaign was in damage control mode yesterday amid widespread dismay among supporters over a presidential debate performance that saw Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, repeatedly goad him into going wildly off-message and missing apparent opportunities to tackle her on policy. Even with Trump insisting to have won the debate “by a lot”, Republicans were virtually unanimous that Trump had come off second best in a series of exchanges that saw the vice-president deliberately bait him on his weak points while he responded with visible anger.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/11/trump-harris-debate-republican-reaction
The AP has fact checked the debate with unsurprising results.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/what-false-claims-were-made-during-the-trump-and-harris-presidential-debate-20240911-p5k9qh.html
“Harris clearly beat Trump – not that you’d know it from the rightwing media. Shame on them”, exclaims Emma Brockes.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/11/kamala-harris-donald-trump-rightwing-media-fox-news-debate
Kamala sliced Trump like sashimi, when he wasn’t doing it himself, writes Bruce Wolpe.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/kamala-sliced-trump-like-sashimi-when-he-wasn-t-doing-it-himself-20240910-p5k9e2.html
Cartoon Corner
David Pope
David Rowe
Cathy Wilcox
Matt Golding
Glen Le Lievre
Maria Ercegovac
Mark Knight
Spooner
From the US
Thanks BK. Today’s Rowe is magnificent!
Almost 60 million people watched Tuesday night’s debate between Vice President Harris and former President Trump, surpassing the June presidential debate by 10 million viewers.
However, the total audience figure fell well short of the record 84 million that watched a 2016 clash between Trump and then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
ABC, which hosted Tuesday night’s debate from Philadelphia, hauled in a whopping 18 million viewers, including more than 6 million in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 age demographic, according to initial figures from Nielsen.
NBC’s simulcast of the debate came in second, raking in 9.7 million viewers, while Fox News took the top spot among cable news channels, hauling in 8.6 million, more than double CNN’s audience.
A number of other networks, including CBS, Fox Business and NewsNation, also simulcast the debate.
The Nielsen figures do not represent the tens of millions of Americans who watched the debate online via streaming on YouTube, Roku or other connected TV devices, or those who saw clips of the event’s top moments on social media.
Most people call the mild (acetic) acid “vinegar”.
Seriously harmful stuff, known to like olive oil and Dijon mustard. Beware!!!
Professor Patrick McGorry has pretty well summed up my view on the whole social media age limit debate. Per Amy on the TGA blog:
“Yes they should be concerned but the ban is misdirected & will invalidate young people. Target Musk & Zuckerberg instead. If the local park is unsafe with predators lurking, we don’t keep kids indoors. We clean up the park & make it safe to play in”
yabba says:
Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 7:51 am
Most people call the mild (acetic) acid “vinegar”.
Seriously harmful stuff, known to like olive oil and Dijon mustard. Beware!!!
_________
At 5%. But you well know what it can do at higher concentrations 😉
Thanks BK!
I see that Advance, Peta Credlin and Boerwar are on a unity ticket.
“The Conservative Political Action Network has announced former UK prime minister Liz Truss will be appearing at their October Cpac conference in Brisbane.”
How long will a lettuce last in Brisbane’s spring weather?
(Guardian blog)
Labor besties the health services union in Victoria have a minor issue with a boss allegedly threatening to kill a whistleblower on the union bosses allegedly corrupt behaviour.
It’s OK Craig Thomson former Alp is coming in to sort it out!
Wheels are falling off in Victoria.
SHHHH do not mention the Hamas supporters protest yesterday in Melbourne.
Next upswing in global growth is here interest rate cuts everywhere except Australia and Australias inflation cycle is out of whack as demand for our exports will kick adding to inflation.Rate cuts are a fantasy for Australia no wonder Aussies in the poll above think the next move is an increase.
Yeah spend more billions in WA Albo like last week driving up inflation in a WA local economy already heating.
Morning all. Thanks for the roundup BK. I thought Harris’ victory in the US POTUS debate was so clear that reporting it as such is a fairly good barometer for political bias. There was disagreement over whether it will change voting (due to polarisation of US politics), but the vast majority of US media outside Fox News called it a win to Harris. Nobody I heard/read called it a win for Trump, some said a draw.
Of Australian commentators so far I have only heard two call the US debate a “draw”. They were David Speers on ABC afternoon TV, and Greg Sheridan in the Murdoch press. I found that telling in what it says about Speers and Sheridan.
“Greg Sheridan reckons Trump and Harris played out a “low quality draw”. “
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/us-politics/trump-harris-play-out-a-lowquality-draw/news-story/108fab76289d142d642b3ed5f3d8b21a?amp
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also reprimanded the anti-war protesters.
“People have a right to protest peacefully,” Albanese said on Seven on morning.
“But you don’t say you’re opposed to defence equipment by throwing things at police. They’ve got a job to do, and our police officers should be respected at all times.”
What a tosser; young Albo would absolutely weep at what he has become.
And always respecting cops? I can think of a few times that would be questionable…
Pied piper says:
“Labor besties the health services union …”
Labor besties? Say wha’?
‘“Kathy Jackson is a revolutionary, and will be remembered as a lion of the union movement”, minister Christopher Pyne would later tell Parliament. …
‘Tony Abbott seized upon her revelations to announce a royal commission into union corruption in 2014.’
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/backgroundbriefing
Yabba
“ Most people call the mild (acetic) acid “vinegar”.
Seriously harmful stuff, known to like olive oil and Dijon mustard. Beware!!!”
ROTFL 🙂 I really disagree with throwing objects at the police and fully support the police for arresting those who do so. But describing vinegar as an “acid attack” is laughable. Human sweat is mildly acidic.
#weatheronPB
Nice cool-skin living.
Clouds gently crowd each other,
as bright warmth settles.
Socrates says:
Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 8:27 am
Yabba
“ Most people call the mild (acetic) acid “vinegar”.
Seriously harmful stuff, known to like olive oil and Dijon mustard. Beware!!!”
ROTFL I really disagree with throwing objects at the police and fully support the police for arresting those who do so. But describing vinegar as an “acid attack” is laughable. Human sweat is mildly acidic.
_________
We don’t know what it is. Could be orange juice or soda for all we know. But I do take umbrage at “low-grade” as a descriptor. Call it weak and/or dilute if the ionisation and/or concentration is to be characterised.
Lordbain: “I did not say the Greens have condemned todays protests”
Great we agree then. When should they, 48 hours, 5 days, one month or never?
From your comment above regarding Albanese’s condemnation, I see that you think never is the appropriate answer.
Greens are hypocrites. Violence against people of Gaza by is bad, violence against cops – totally appropriate.
Republican consultant Karl Rove from the Australian and better the delusional Greg Sheridan:
Wednesday’s debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was a train wreck for him, far worse than anything Team Trump could have imagined. Ms. Harris was often on offence, leaving Mr. Trump visibly rattled as she launched rocket after rocket at him. A New York Times analysis found she spent 46 per cent of her time on the attack while Mr. Trump devoted 29 per cent of his time to going after her. Debates aren’t won on defence.
Ms Harris pressed Mr Trump on the economy, the Ukraine war, foreign policy, healthcare, the Jan. 6 attack and especially abortion, leaving him flustered and often incoherent. In return, he criticised her on border security, climate change and the Israel-Hamas war.
Mr Trump had to know the vice president would try to get him to lose his cool. She did. She went after him on his multiple indictments. She called him “weak” and belittled him as a six-time bankrupt, spoiled inheritor of wealth. She said his former national security adviser thought him, in her words, “dangerous and unfit” for the Oval Office.
As is frequently the case with Mr Trump, he let his emotions get the better of him. He took the bait almost every time she put it on the hook, offering a pained smile as she did. Rather than dismissing her attacks and launching his strongest counterarguments against her, Mr Trump got furious. As her attacks continued, his voice rose. He gripped the podium more often and more firmly. He grimaced and shook his head, at times responding with wild and fanciful rhetoric. Short, deft replies and counterpunches would have been effective. He didn’t deliver them.
Mr Trump did a terrible job at his most important task — tying her to President Biden’s failed policies. He did an even worse job prosecuting the argument that she’s a far-left politician out of sync with America’s values. The Trump campaign’s mid-debate fact-check bulletins that flooded email inboxes were far more substantive and effective than his responses at the podium.
Some police reportedly had their pH testing kits and litmus paper on standby in the eventuality…
So you agree Leader you were wrong about condemning Hamas? Excellent, I am glad we can all agree that Hamas = bad
Also Spiers continues to be a joke…
Vice President Harris’s campaign posted most of Tuesday’s debate on the social platform X, referring to it as a new ad. “Our newest ad just dropped,” the campaign captioned its Wednesday video post.
After Harris’s closing statement in the debate hosted by ABC News, the video is cut off to omit Trump’s closing statement, and a photo of the vice president pops up featuring a voiceover in which she says “I approve this message.”
Much thanks BK!
I like the stamp duty proposal here in Victoria. We seem to be the only state who is actually doing effective things to bring up supply. Meanwhile the msm continues to report how the ppty market is not doing well here. Sheesh.
“We don’t know what it is.”
SBS reports that protest organisers say it was butyric acid. Sea Shepherd uses it in stink bombs.
The protestors in Melbourne are from all over the place.
And whilst some are genuine protestors. Others are merely chaos agents. Disgraceful conduct.
For the idiotic detractors on this blog
Melbourne town is doing very well. Just things my own family participated in.
100,000 attended at the MCG to watch an AFL elimination final.
Meanwhile Iron Maiden was playing at Rod Laver. And Tones and I at Margaret Court.
My youngest whose partner is in a band, had a gig at an inner city hotel.
And on the 19th September. Mercato centrale is opening in the city.
Only location outside of Italy to do so..
https://www.mercatocentrale.com.au/
My team Hawthorn got them to the G got Albo on the bandwagon.
Port will be feral on Friday will be a good game.
Hokball!
Do not ask as nobody knows what it means.
Jaeger says:
Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 8:50 am
“We don’t know what it is.”
SBS reports that protest organisers say it was butyric acid. Sea Shepherd uses it in stink bombs.
_______
Thanks! A weak acid that has dose dependant toxicity from mild skin irritant to severe deep burns, from nauseating odour causing unease to respiratory collapse.
This is probably closer to reality than the yesterday’s MSM choreographed Harris-Trump duet.
‘Caitlin Johnstone@caitoz
Trump: She’s a communist. She’s literally a Marxist.
Harris: Actually Goldman Sachs loves me.
Trump: I saw her eat a cat. It was on the TV.
Harris: Dick Cheney loves me too.
Trump: She won’t kill any Palestinians at all.
Harris: I’ll kill way more Palestinians than he’ll kill.
Trump: I will kill the most Palestinians. I’ll kill more Palestinians than anyone.
Harris: You couldn’t kill even one Palestinian. You are weak.
Trump: I am not weak I am strong. I am the strongest.
Harris: You’re a weak little girl and you’ll let China win.
Trump: She’s gonna start a nuclear war with Russia.
Harris: I will invade Russia myself and I will kill Putin with my bare hands. I am the strongest and you are the weakest.
Trump: It’s not true. It’s not true.
Harris: I will also do the most fracking and drill the most oil. Many Republicans have said I’m the strongest.
Trump: No. No. She’s weak on immigration.
Harris: I kick immigrants in the balls for fun.
*commercial break*’
If the protest was an anti war peaceful protest. Why did so many turn up with face coverings, goggles,and projectiles to throw at police. And worse still at the horses. Disgraceful
If I were those who attended genuinely as pacifists, I would not bother attending today.
The message has been utterly lost in the violence.
Any goodwill. Gone
Peter Dutton has called a snap meeting of his shadow cabinet, raising speculation the Coalition is close to a deal with the government on aged care reform. The meeting was called for 8.30am but neither the Coalition nor the government was commenting.
The two parties have been locked in negotiations for months about the need for part-pensioners and self-funded retirees to contribute more to their aged care costs, to keep the system sustainable. The Coalition would not divulge the subject of the meeting but a source played down the prospects of a final deal being done today. The Coalition and Labor have continued to talk about aged care this week
Thanks BK. I don’t think Labor will be taking advise from Peta Credlin any time soon. Let’s see Potatoe head put the Greens last in every seat before they challenge Albo to do so. Wasn’t it Liberals preferences that handed the Greens their foothold in the HOR in the first place in Melbourne on their HTV propaganda in 2010 ? An inconvenient truth Credlin wants us to forget. Oh and she white washes the Liberals being homeless without Nationals support. Go figure.
https://www.themandarin.com.au/254624-minns-taps-environment-department-to-lead-work-from-home-crackdown/
All about toll roads, gambling, development …
Sohar (9:08am) proving EXACTLY why the extreme left are so toxic (not to mention unbelievably smug as well); why swinging voters in Australia will have nothing to with The Greens Political Party – why their ‘demands on Labor’ just send them running back into the arms of the LNP and why right now – and since 2009 actually – actual progress is nigh on impossible to achieve – and when it does happen, never lasts more than a single electoral cycle.
VCT – Chris Minns is the best liberal premier we’ve had in NSW…….
Caitlin Johnstone is an unreconstructed Stalinist who has spent the last 2.5 years cheering on Russia’s actions in Ukraine. She is not someone to listen to on any topic.
UK Cartoons and other miscellany
Peter Brookes
Morten Morland
Rob Emmerson
Patrick Blower #TatarSteel
Ella Baron
Matt
Nick Anderson
Nick Venables
Banx
Alcarez
Jonsey
==========================================
Stolen from the internet
Trump, J.D Vance and RFK Jr should really stop talking about animals.
Up to nine commanders in the Australian Defence Force will have their medals stripped from them, as a result of a long-running investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan. Defence Minister Richard Marles sent letters to up to 14 officers on Wednesday advising them awards would be stripped from some of them, with it understood less than ten will have the action taken against them.
The move comes in the wake of recommendations from the Brereton Report, which found evidence of up to 39 alleged unlawful killings of civilians and prisoners of war by, or under instruction of, Australian Special Forces troops during the war in Afghanistan.
The inquiry recommended reviewing the awards given to those in command positions in the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) wing of the Special Forces.
“I have written to those whose awards were referred for consideration by the then Chief of Defence Force to advise I have concluded my consideration of their individual awards,” Mr Marles said in a statement. “My decisions on this matter are consistent with the findings and recommendations of the Brereton Report. In accordance with obligations owed to individuals involved, including under the Privacy Act, I am prohibited from disclosing the details and outcomes. “More than 26,000 people served in Afghanistan during this period. Whilst this decision may be difficult for a small number, it does not diminish the service and legacy of the majority of those who served or supported operations there.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-12/afghanistan-war-crimes-inquiry-ends-commanders-medals-stripped/104341114
Fess: “Thanks BK. Today’s Rowe is magnificent!”
——————————————————————————
And he’s produced the first really effective caricature of Kamala that I’ve seen from any cartoonist on the planet to date.
Seven years in jail for that nasty piece of work Clementine Ford. Nice one Albo! At least he’s doing something right.
““Yes they should be concerned but the ban is misdirected & will invalidate young people. Target Musk & Zuckerberg instead. If the local park is unsafe with predators lurking, we don’t keep kids indoors. We clean up the park & make it safe to play in””
The trouble with this statement is that the internet is not the local park and the Australian government has limited to zero real power over the social media companies. This is a wishful thinking analogy.
If a place in Australia is inherently dangerous, like a dump, we don’t just let kids wander in and play in it no matter how fascinating it is to them, and we at least have some power to regulate dumps. The dump is a better analogy than the local park.
why swinging voters in Australia will have nothing to with The Greens Political Party – why their ‘demands on Labor’ just send them running back into the arms of the LNP
________________
I have no sympathy with this view at all. It is all a giant sook. If Labor can’t differentiate itself from the Greens that’s their fault. The Labor could also win enough votes and seats that it doesn’t need to worry about the Greens.
I think the whole theory is a crock of shit too, and a massive whinge from sooks.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/police-chief-lashes-hypocritical-protesters-as-city-prepares-for-more-unrest-20240911-p5k9rl.html
Establishment ‘… Albo’, who’d have thunk, all about blowing up humanity, clearing land, climate disruption resources …, bring on the Versailles on Lake Bloody Griffins killin’ season!
Lordbain, Greens took several days to condemn Hamas. Decent people would take 5 nanoseconds to to realise it was a terrible act and condemned it straight away.
Not so the Greens, they vacillated and then found out they couldn’t remain silent so put out a statement when they realised their silence was damaging them.
The greens are doing same thing now. They will get their polling saying that the violence against cops was bad and then put out a statement of condemnation.
Pathetic, but at least the Greens mantra of same-same is correct this time. The Greens got both sides of parliament to condemn their silence over the cop violence.
Holden Hillbilly
Thanks for the news re removing decorations from Afghanistan senior officers who failed to stop war crimes.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-12/afghanistan-war-crimes-inquiry-ends-commanders-medals-stripped/104341114
TBH, I am struggling to understand why their names have been suppressed? A group of senior officers served there, some of whom have evidently been cleared, some not. It might seem reasonable to preserve the privacy of those who have lost their medals, but is it? Now the shadow of suspicion remains over all of them, including those who have been cleared.
Further, the awarding of medals for people’s service is quite public, and decorations are usually listed in people’s CVs and titles. Unless the senior officers concerned keep listing (falsely) medals that have been removed, then it will become obvious when they cease referring to them. How will this work?
After spending weeks warning Donald Trump that he needed to up his game in order to prevent a Kamala Harris victory in November, Republican pollster and former strategist Frank Luntz predicted that Tuesday night’s poor presidential debate did Trump in for good. “It was a pretty negative performance—pretty pessimistic, cynical, contemptuous,” Luntz said Wednesday on Piers Morgan Uncensored. “And I think that this will cost him, yes.” “I’m trying to decide if I want to go on record, and the answer is yes,” he added, “I think that he loses because of this debate performance.”
Following the debate, which saw Harris come out on top, according to polls, focus groups, and many network commentators, Trump lashed out at the moderators for fact-checking his many false claims.
Harris immediately challenged the former president to another encounter, but Trump told Fox News Wednesday morning that he would be “less inclined” to participate because, as he saw it, he did so well the first time.
Thats ok Leader, you admitted you were wrong and thats what counts 🙂
NSW CFMEU sent +$3 million out of the Union when they knew that they were going to be placed under administration. I wonder how much the other States and the Federal body got out?