We got a pared back version of the regular weekly Roy Morgan result this week, since the pollster went public last Friday with the part of its regular survey that was conducted before Sussan Ley was deposed as Liberal leader last Friday. This leaves the polling done from Friday to Sunday as the first national indication of the state of play under Angus Taylor. With due regard to the fact that this leaves a sample of only 526, the results at least show the Coalition moving back ahead of One Nation, gaining three-and-a-half to 23.5% with One Nation down the same amount to 21.5%. Labor was up one-and-a-half to 32% with the Greens down half to 12.5%. Labor’s respondent-allocated two-party lead was back to 55-45 after a 58.5-41.5 blowout in Sussan Ley’s last poll.
Less encouraging for Angus Taylor is a poll of federal voting intention in Tasmania, conducted Monday to Thursday from a sample of 1000 by EMRS for Pulse Tasmania. It has Labor at 30%, compared with 36.6% at the May 2025 election; One Nation on 24%, compared with 6.0%; the Liberals on 18%, compared with 24.5%; and the Greens on 13%, compared with 11.1%. A two-party result has Labor leading the Liberals 60-40, compared with 63.3-36.7 at the election.
The accompanying report offers seat-level detail from meagre samples, showing a 50-50 two-party result between Labor and One Nation in Braddon, with One Nation on 34%, Labor on 31% and Liberal on 16%. One Nation are also found to be competitive in Bass (Labor 29%, One Nation 25% and Liberal 23%) and Lyons (Labor 32%, One Nation 29% and Liberal 16%). The numbers for Clark dubiously have independent, which includes incumbent Andrew Wilkie, at 25%, with Labor on 27%, the Greens 17%, One Nation 16% and Liberal 15%. The numbers in Franklin are Labor 34%, Liberal 21%, Greens 19% and One Nation 17%.
There was also a RedBridge Group poll this week for the Australia Institute, conducted as part of the progressive think tank’s campaigning on gas exports and royalty payments, which included voting intention numbers. These had Labor on 34%, One Nation on 28%, the Coalition on 17% and the Greens on 10%. The poll was conducted immediately before Sussan Ley was deposed, from February 6 to 12, from a sample of 2010.
The crazy train has left the station this morning:
https://x.com/patriottakes/status/2025391526293987449
https://x.com/RobertSkvarla/status/2025361134308446306
https://x.com/patriottakes/status/2025271240072581280
The US Secret Service said its agents had shot and killed an armed man who illegally entered the premises of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. “An armed man was shot & killed by U.S. Secret Service agents & @PBCountySheriff after unlawfully entering the secure perimetre at Mar-a-Lago early this morning,” agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a post on X. The intruder, identified as Austin Tucker Martin, 21, from North Carolina, was armed with a shotgun and a fuel can when he reportedly drove into the gates of Mar-a-Lago as another vehicle was leaving around 1:30am Sunday local time.
World News & Politics Patrol:
Mexico’s most-wanted drug leader killed in military operation as violent clashes erupt across country: https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/22/americas/mexico-kill-drug-mencho-latam-intl
Mexico News: Vehicles Torched Across Jalisco After Tapalpa Operation: https://www.filmogaz.com/162501
Canadian airlines have cancelled and diverted flights to after violent unrest in the popular resort city forced the temporary shutdown of its main airport: https://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/local-news/flights-in-and-out-of-mexico-affected-after-widespread-violence-11910660
Greenland prime minister says ‘no thanks’ to Trump’s hospital ship: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/greenland-prime-minister-says-no-thanks-trumps-hospital-ship-2026-02-22/
Ukraine hits Russian planes, ships in Crimea, artillery in major strikes on occupied territories: https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-hits-russian-planes-ships-and-artillery-in-major-strikes-on-occupied-territories/
Ukraine accuses Hungary, Slovakia of ‘blackmail’ over threats to cut electricity: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/22/ukraine-accuses-hungary-slovakia-of-blackmail-over-electricity.html
Queen Elizabeth said Andrew Mountbatten Windsor ‘deserved being punched by royal footman’: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/queen-elizabeth-said-andrew-mountbatten-33467635
Reform UK eyes VISA BANS for Pakistan and Afghanistan under plan to deport 600,000 illegal migrants: https://www.gbnews.com/politics/reform-uk-visa-bans-pakistan-afghanistan-deportations
Family of man, 21, shot dead by police at Mar-a-Lago express disbelief: ‘We are big Trump supporters, all of us’: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/mar-a-lago-man-shot-secret-service-b2925246.html
Reversing course, US will keep TSA PreCheck program operational: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-homeland-security-tsa-precheck-still-operational-reverses-earlier-2026-02-22/
New Mexico launches investigation of forced sterilization of Native American women: https://apnews.com/article/indigenous-native-american-women-sterilization-new-mexico-9d47dbafd09b61656b4251a776463c23
Good Morning! Here’s Your Daily News and Views Roundup
British submarine arrives for ‘extraordinary’ AUKUS visit. A British nuclear-powered submarine has arrived in Australia for an unprecedented month-long visit despite the well-chronicled problems plaguing the British navy’s ability to send its vessels to sea.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/british-submarine-arrives-for-extraordinary-aukus-visit-20260222-p5o4d8.html
Many Afghan Australians felt grateful to the Liberal party. That faith is shaken. Australia’s strength has never come from purity tests or cultural fear. It has come from beautiful human overlap.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/22/afghan-liberal-party-immigration-diversity-australian-values
Iranian diaspora says they face threats and intimidation in Australia
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-23/nsw-iranian-diaspora-fear-speaking-out-amid-regime-protests/106364660
Australian neo-Nazi group included women bashers, stalkers, drug dealers and accused paedophile.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/australian-neo-nazi-group-included-women-bashers-stalkers-drug-dealers-and-accused-paedophile-20260208-p5o0hj.html
Can One Nation make it in South Australia? Liberal party fears peak humiliation at state election
Labor under Peter Malinauskas seems set for a massive win in the 21 March poll, but all eyes are on how the rightwing vote will shake out. Tory Shepherd
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/22/south-australian-liberals-fear-peak-humiliation-at-state-election-even-on-traditionally-less-friendly-ground-for-one-nation
Pauline Hanson anti-Islam backlash amid tidal wave of AI misinformation. By Dan Jensen
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/one-nations-popularity-surges-amid-tidal-wave-of-disinformation,20702
The Liberal party believes Trump-style politics is the way to win back power. But it just won’t work in urban Australia. It appears the Liberals are living in an echo chamber. The young voters they need to find are not. Zoe Daniel
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/22/liberal-party-trump-style-politics-wont-work-in-australia
John Howard used nostalgia successfully as a political weapon. Angus Taylor will find it tougher
Sean Kelly
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/john-howard-used-nostalgia-successfully-as-a-political-weapon-angus-taylor-will-find-it-tougher-20260222-p5o4d4.html
Taylor and Hume’s ‘Tarzan and Jane’ 1950s revival. By Michael Galvin
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/taylor-and-humes-tarzan-and-jane-1950s-revival,20703
In a new essay, dissecting the future of the centre-right party, Keith Wolahan argues that the Liberals have lost more ground to Labor in multicultural and suburban seats than to teals and must reconnect with younger voters by articulating their values and policy priorities.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/distinguish-or-die-wolahan-urges-liberals-not-to-be-like-one-nation-20260222-p5o4dj.html
Coalition wants to make criminals of anyone helping ISIS brides return to Australia.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/we-are-not-burke-rejects-claims-government-repatriating-is-brides-20260222-p5o4dv.html
Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg has called for a sharp focus on religious extremism when the royal commission on antisemitism starts on Tuesday, as Opposition Leader Angus Taylor seeks to shift the spotlight back to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s handling of the Bondi massacre.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/a-culture-of-tolerance-frydenberg-s-hope-for-bondi-royal-commission-20260220-p5o43i.html
Migrants already sign on to Australian values, so what exactly is Angus Taylor proposing?
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/migrants-already-sign-on-to-australian-values-so-what-exactly-is-angus-taylor-proposing-20260220-p5o421.html
Queensland’s Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie tells Labor to ‘cry me a river’ over social housing sales.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/queensland/bleijie-tells-labor-to-cry-me-a-river-over-social-housing-sales-20260222-p5o4fh.html
Queensland Tesla registrations in free-fall, as Musk embraces far-right.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/queensland-tesla-registrations-in-free-fall-as-musk-embraces-far-right-20250916-p5mvey.html
Tony Burke considers denying visa to Israeli journalist who called for 100,000 casualties in Gaza
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/tony-burke-considers-denying-visa-to-israeli-journalist-who-called-for-100-000-casualties-in-gaza-20260221-p5o49k.html
Tony Burke says Australia has few options to block return of 34 women and children from Syrian camp
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/22/tony-burke-says-australia-has-few-options-to-block-return-of-34-women-and-children-from-syrian-camp-ntwnfb
Minister reveals process has started to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir under new hate laws
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-22/minister-reveals-process-has-started-to-ban-hizb-ut-tahrir/106373384
Kurdish official casts doubt on how quickly IS-linked Australians could try to return home again
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-23/kurdish-official-puts-doubt-on-isis-families-return-to-australia/106374728
Albanese changes tune on immigration and ‘ISIS brides’ as One Nation effect hits. Patricia Karvelas
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-23/one-nation-coalition-labor-isis-brides/106369478
‘I did this to help and now I’m the one who’s going to need help’: NDIS call handlers describe pressure cooker workplace under control of Serco
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/22/ndis-call-centre-workers-serco-ndia
Shoppers should ‘vote with their feet’ when companies are ‘taking the P’, RBA deputy says
Andrew Hauser says inflationary pressures not driven by one single sector, but he understands frustration at ‘particular corporate strategies’ with price hikes and shrinkflation.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/23/shoppers-should-vote-with-their-feet-when-companies-are-taking-the-p-rba-deputy-says
One week into the Coles-ACCC court battle, business editor Jonathan Barrett tells Reged Ahmad what we’ve learned about how discounts are set and whether the outcome could bring prices down
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2026/feb/22/coles-in-court-the-high-stakes-battle-over-the-price-of-your-groceries-full-story-podcast
How GPs plan to end Medicare politics and change bulk billing for good.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/how-gps-plan-to-end-medicare-politics-and-change-bulk-billing-for-good-20260219-p5o3px.html
A key government commitment to protect children from sexual predators will not be “fully functional” for at least three years. Federal, state and territory governments agreed to connect to a pilot of the real-time police check database by the end of 2026.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-23/working-with-children-check-parents-sick/106370632
Former Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner Greg Mullins has blasted the state government’s record on natural disaster protections, saying the decision to develop in the flood-prone Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley is “lunacy” and putting housing approvals ahead of people’s lives.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/lives-at-risk-former-emergency-service-leaders-blast-government-over-development-lunacy-in-sydney-s-west-20260219-p5o3q8.html
Scientists mapped Sydney’s radiation. One busy suburb stands out.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/scientists-mapped-sydney-s-radiation-one-busy-suburb-stands-out-20260128-p5nxm8.html
Drug-resistant ‘gonorrhoea superbugs’ are spreading across Sydney.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/drug-resistant-gonorrhoea-superbugs-are-spreading-across-sydney-20260217-p5o2vw.html
SA Labor mulls One Nation’s rise as Liberals fight for campaign oxygen
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-22/peter-malinauskas-aged-care-comments-analysis/106365716
Four years after an election defining promise, practitioners say the SA health system is still struggling
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-23/sa-health-system-continues-to-struggle/106363666
Reducing inequality means taxing capital more — including inheritances. More broadly, capital and wealth are not taxed enough, and labour is taxed too much, especially now as we enter the new era of AI that replaces labour. Alan Kohler
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-23/reducing-inequality-means-taxing-capital-more/106369480
Bad news on Australia’s economy at last — thank goodness!. By Alan Austin
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/bad-news-on-australias-economy-at-last—thank-goodness,20715
Energy watchdog to force retailers to offer struggling customers help in overhaul
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-23/australian-energy-regulator-flags-hardship-overhaul/106354338
Middle-income Australians shut out of new home market. Shane Wright
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/middle-income-australians-shut-out-of-new-home-market-20260220-p5o42g.html
Albanese government bears inflation pressure while premiers spend big, poll well
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-22/albanese-government-premiers-peter-malinauskas-david-crisafulli/106349260
Marshall Islands launches first universal basic income scheme to stop outward migration
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-23/marshall-islands-launches-first-ever-ubi-scheme/106363230
Why Trump’s tariff defeat has sparked fears of an interest rate spike. US Bond rates. Shane Wright
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/why-trump-s-tariff-defeat-has-sparked-fears-of-an-interest-rate-spike-20260221-p5o49f.html
Australia will ‘examine all options’ to avoid new 15% tariffs announced by Donald Trump
The trade minister, Don Farrell, says Australia has ‘consistently advocated’ against the ‘unjustified tariffs’, after the US president announced new levies
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/22/australia-will-examine-all-options-to-avoid-new-15-tariffs-announced-by-donald-trump
Global leaders are dreaming of a US-free world order. Do they stand a chance? In the world being ushered in by Trump, power will prevail over cooperation. We will come to rue having taken this path.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/feb/22/world-order-trump
US tariff policy ‘hasn’t changed’ despite supreme court ruling, trade chief says. Jamieson Greer also said US won’t pull out of deals with UK, EU and others after court declared Trump tariffs illegal. “The policy hasn’t changed. The legal tools that implement that may change but the policy hasn’t changed,” he said.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/22/trump-tariff-policy-ruling
Trump’s in a presidential pickle as the Supreme Court finds a spine. Maureen Dowd
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-s-in-a-presidential-pickle-as-the-supreme-court-finds-a-spine-20260222-p5o4d6.html
Trump’s trade war risks undermining his hopes of hefty US interest rate cuts. Upping tariffs may have lifted the president’s mood but it is a headache for the Federal Reserve and its next chair.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/feb/22/trump-trade-war-risks-undermining-his-hopes-of-hefty-us-interest-rate-cuts-tariffs
Secret Service fatally shoot armed man who breached Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Authorities say agents confronted a white male in his early 20s carrying shotgun and gasoline can early Sunday.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/22/mar-a-lago-armed-man-shot-killed
Trump warns Netflix of ‘consequences’ unless it pulls top Democrat from board. US president calls for removal of Susan Rice as streaming platform pursues takeover of Warner Bros Discovery
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/22/trump-warns-netflix-of-consequences-unless-it-pulls-top-democrat-susan-rice-from-board
‘Don’t go to the US – not with Trump in charge’: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks. Karen Newton was in America on the trip of a lifetime when she was shackled, transported and held for weeks on end.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/21/karen-newton-valid-visa-detained-ice
Worst of the worst? Most US immigrants targeted for deportation in 2025 had no criminal charges, documents reveal.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/22/us-immigration-trump-administration
How daily routines in Minneapolis and St Paul have changed amid 3,000 federal immigration agents – in pictures. Many people have been sheltering at home. Protests have become part of the daily rhythm.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/feb/22/minneapolis-st-paul-daily-routines-immigration
Mike Huckabee’s Israel land remarks condemned as ‘dangerous and inflammatory’. Arab and Islamic governments issue statement denouncing comments made on Tucker Carlson podcast.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/22/mike-huckabee-israel-comments-condemned-arab-muslim-countries
How can unis balance academic freedom with the need to protect against antisemitism?
https://theconversation.com/how-can-unis-balance-academic-freedom-with-the-need-to-protect-against-antisemitism-275212
Arab and Muslim nations condemn Mike Huckabee’s suggestion Israel could claim biblical right to territory
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-23/arab-muslim-nations-condemn-us-ambassador-comments/106374092
The next Mamdani? Progressive Nithya Raman shakes up LA mayor’s race.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/22/nithya-raman-los-angeles-mayoral-race
Nigel Farage accused of ‘Maga stunts’ for saying he was denied access to Chagos Islands
Reform UK leader flew to the Maldives for a day despite not having permit to visit nearby archipelago
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/22/nigel-farage-accused-of-maga-stunts-chagos
The Epstein scandal has battered Britain’s political establishment. Can the radical-right Reform party benefit?
https://theconversation.com/the-epstein-scandal-has-battered-britains-political-establishment-can-the-radical-right-reform-party-benefit-276515
Trump says he’s sending hospital ship to Greenland; Denmark says no thank you
https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-says-hes-sending-hospital-ship-to-greenland/
Pentagon aggressively lobbies EU against Buy European weapons push
In previously unreported remarks, the U.S. administration warned Brussels that it will retaliate if Europeans “strong-arm American companies out of the market.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/washington-lobbies-eu-against-buy-european-push-for-weapons-donald-trump/
France to summon US ambassador over comments on far-right activist’s death. Official US social media accounts posted about rise of ‘violent radical leftism’ after killing of Quentin Deranque
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/22/france-summons-us-ambassador-charles-kushner-comments-quentin-deranque
Germany joins growing ranks of countries considering social media bans.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/germany-joins-growing-ranks-of-countries-considering-social-media-bans-20260222-p5o4e9.html
EU loses patience following Trump’s latest tariff threat. European Commission demands “full clarity” on Washington’s plans, as a top EU trade lawmaker calls to delay a key vote on EU-U.S. trade deal.
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-parliament-delay-trade-vote-donald-trump-tariffs/
‘A patriotic act’: the Ukrainians having babies and raising children in wartime. Birthrates have fallen since Russia’s invasion but some have held on to hope and are bringing up children despite risks.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/22/ukraine-war-russia-birthrates-families-parents-children
Russia fires scores of missiles at Ukraine as Hungary threatens to block EU sanctions. ‘Moscow continues to invest in strikes more than diplomacy,’ says Zelenskyy, as logistics and energy facilities targeted.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/22/russia-missiles-ukraine-hungary-block-eu-sanctions
Analysis: The splinternet: how online shutdowns are getting cheaper and easier to impose. Iran has shown how plausible blackouts now are, with far-reaching consequences for the internet as we know it
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/21/splinternet-online-shutdowns-are-getting-cheaper-and-easier-to-impose-iran-blackout
AI is changing the world. What if we don’t like what it builds?
https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/if-ai-can-automate-our-work-what-s-the-point-of-having-a-job-20260219-p5o3ot.html
Readers reply: what would be the most socially useful way to spend a billion dollars?
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/feb/22/readers-reply-what-would-be-the-most-socially-useful-way-to-spend-a-billion-dollars
‘Humid and unstable airmass’ to bring rain, flooding and thunderstorms across Australia’s east coast
Life-threatening flash flooding warned for central Queensland and NT as long-awaited rain brings landslide threat to bushfire-affected Victoria.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/22/humid-and-unstable-airmass-to-bring-rain-flooding-and-thunderstorms-across-australias-east-coast
Oops looks like William has open new thread
“Worst case scenario: 94-6=88 seats (uh-oh, did I just summon Nadia?). Federal Labor can live with that.”
You can be sure that if Labor lost six federal seats in Victoria they’d lose enough seats to lose government nationwide.
Player1 writes:
This is presumably in reference to a theory I put forward here years ago, soon after MH370 disappeared.
I had suggested that the publicly available evidence did not contradict the possibility that MH370 had either landed on, or come to grief en route and nearby to the US military base of Diego Garcia.
This was immediately pooh-pooh’ed by several here (presumably including P1, but I genuinely don’t recall) as a “conspiracy theory”.
My main reasons for this were (obviously) that MH370 was conclusively reported as exiting Malaysian airspace in a southerly direction into the Indian Ocean, and that the Americans swore blind they had not seen anything on whatever “screens” they use to detect threats to the Diego Garcia base… which made me instantly suspicious. The latter claim seemed extremely odd to me, given the absolute isolation of the base – it is literally in the middle of nowhere – and its critical strategic importance to US national security. I suggested that such a critical, but isolated base would have surveillance in depth, especially from satellites parked in geostationary orbits (allowing them to scan an entire hemisphere of the planet, not just an ocean). Such surveillance should be able to detect the heat signature of a seagull farting at a thousand kilometres from Diego Garcia. Detecting a two-hundred tonne jet – which could be an enemy bomber – would therefore be a trivial exercise. Yet the Yanks reported no sightings over the entire Indian Ocean that night.
I thought it was interesting that critics of my theory – who themselves had no evidence for their position – were so quick to add the word “conspiracy” to “theory” as a way of mocking my idea that had at least some evidence going for it (there were also credible sightings of a large jetliner flying south, far away from normal flight lanes by multiple witnesses in the Maldives, mysterious explosions detected by hydrophones located in Esperance and Albany, WA, triangulating to a narrow corridor that included Diego Garcia) I wasn’t too serious about it myself, to tell the truth, but I was curious as to how far critics would go in insisting that anything other than the “official” story – that MH370 had somehow crashed into the sea south-west of Western Australia, and would inevitably be found soon – was a “conspiracy theory”.
A theory should predict events. So I predicted that if its disappearance had anything to do with US National Security and Diego Garcia either the aircraft or its final impact location would never be found. So far this prediction is accurate, although reportedly bits of the plane have washed up thousands of kilometres away from both Western Australua and Diego Garcia (although, to be fair, closer to Diego Garcia).
I became fascinated by the dynamics of how a “conspiracy theory” was either proposed, or derided, depending on which “tribe” the proposer or derider belonged to. To anyone who hasn’t realised it yet, yes, we DO have tribes here on PB.
For example, anyone who proposes that “9/11” was an inside job, perpetrated by the Saudis is mocked outright, despite most of the terrorists involved being Saudi, including their leader, bin Laden. Kennedy Assassination theorists are less ridiculed, but still are generally assigned to the loonie bin under pressure for the critic to call heads or tails.
In recent times, the death of Jeffery Epstein is questioned: suicide or murder? As time goes by, and more evidence is examined, the label “conspiracy theorist” is less and less applied to members of the “murder” camp.
Lastly, there is the “Q-Anon Conspiracy”. I was utterly convinced there was no truth to it whatsoever. I was guilty of a lack imagination there, and, being a Trump loather, was pretty sure this was some kind of “black op” to discredit Democrats (including the Clintons), “Hollywood Elites” and other assorted mega-rich liberals.
But as the Epstein files continue to produce nuggets of information, ekeing those nuggets out as redactions are busted, it’s becoming pretty clear that there was a large, well-organised sex trafficking operation going on, including pedophilia (both hetero and homo sexual), that may or may not have included the Clintons, but which definitely did include wealthy, liberal as well as ultra-conservative elites, operating not only above, but sometimes in collusion with the law. As to some of the more far-fetched Q-Anon allegations, like “adrenochrome extraction farms”, I don’t know. I don’t think so. I’d like to believe not. But, with evidence emerging that there may be young bodies buried on Epstein’s old New Mexico ranch, of forced abortions, and of planned involuntary fertilisation programs, all involving minors, I’m not sure what to believe anymore, especially taking into account the utter power, wealth, depravity, insanity and corruptability of the monsters involved.
As to MH370, so far critics over what started out as a bit of speculative fun about a missing airliner on my part, have been 100% wrong. Thankyou P1 for the back-handed apology. Coming from you, that’s a BIG effort. It seems my idle speculations and the predictions I made based on them have proved far more accurate, and at worst have not yet been disproved.
As someone once said, “It’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you.” Likewise, it’s not a conspiracy theory if there really is a conspiracy. Maybe “Q” was trying to tell us something. Not the public trials and executions of Democrats we were told to anticipate, or that Trump would be the righteous avenger (rather than a likely perpetrator), but the core story of gross evildoing and of immunity from its consequences may have had more than a grain of truth to it.
———-
PS. I am not a “Moon Landing Denier”.