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The ABC and its legacy media pack leader, News Corp, are unable to adjust to the new political landscape downunder. The Liberal Party has become an irrelevance to modern metropolitan Australians. However, the mainstream media are stuck in a 2 party adversarial model in their coverage of federal politics nationally. Thus, we have disproportionate amounts of attention being paid to a political movement that the bulk of the population have moved past. Aussie news stuck in adversarial 2 party politics model. The LNP Coalition was trounced at the last federal election because Australians were sick of far right toxic masculinity masquerading as democratically elected representation. The Tony Abbott/Sky News Australia led hard Right faction of the Libs were completely out of step with a younger and more dynamic Australia.
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If you wanted proof that the police services are more aligned with right wing white supremacist movements than other protest groups you only had to watch Neo-Nazis demonstrating outside the NSW Parliament. The NSW police service had no problem with this going ahead. You do not see many non-white faces among police anti-riot units when watching news coverage of protests around the genocide in Gaza. Bashing up brown skinned people and those passionate about defending the rights of innocent women and children in Gaza are, obviously, more in line with the priorities of Australian police. Masked men in black saluting in paramilitary fashion whilst protesting against Jews is more the cup of tea of the upper echelons of the NSW police, it seems.
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The Liberal Party of Australia is in a civil war between its moderate side, which seeks to regain relevance within a modern Australia, and the far right faction still in the grip of toxic masculinity. Peter Dutton fell at the last federal election, as leader, rejected by the Australian electorate on all fronts. He had run a campaign and his tenure as opposition leader aggressively, in the mode of former short term PM Tony Abbott. Abbott was still pulling the Liberal Party strings, along with his former chief of staff now over at Sky News Australia. Their conservative brand was Trumpist, via its extreme nature, which was always attacking and polarizing. Liberal Party in civil war for control, who will lead them going forward? Currently, Sussan Ley holds the mantle atop the Liberal Party of Australia.
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AI is coming for your job. As someone who has just been replaced by an automated program this is real, let me tell you. In light of this it is pertinent to remember that Australia punishes the unemployed economically. It is bipartisan policy of Australian governments to provide below the poverty line welfare payments to the unemployed. This has been going on for decades and is one of the reasons why we have a substantial number of older Australians living in poverty. These folk cannot afford to visit the dentist to get treatment because it is too expensive and dental is not included in Medicare. This in one of the wealthiest nations on earth.
I am, by choice, petless in my life. That is, without a furry companion to share my domicile. For four weeks, however, this changed, when I was invited to house sit on holiday in WA. Thus, the title of this post – Doggie Dementia: My month of pet poop and piss in Perth. It was a family arrangement with a sibling, she and partner were off to Bali, whilst I would hold down the fort. Water a few sheltered pot plants, turn on the irrigation system, take out the trash, something about feeding worms, and look after Misty – the Shih tzu Maltese Terrier Cross.
Now, they are calling Zohran Mamdani a communist! This heavily right wing controlled nation has no conception of what that actually even means. America is such a brain washed society. In the land where money talks louder than the cries of millions of people suffering; they elected a convicted felon to be their President. More than 7 million Americans marched in towns and cities across the country in the No King’s rallies. These were peaceful protests against the Trump regime and its inhuman behaviours and blatant corruption. Donald Trump sent out a social media post showing him defecating on the millions of peaceful protesters below him and his warplane. That is the class of the man America chose as its leader.
Do you know what has happened in our world? Everything has become about making profit. Look at the example of healthcare insurance. It would be logical to think that the care of the patient would be first and foremost in this sector. You would be wrong, since privatisation has come in via neoliberalism, shareholders have become the primary concern of those in the business of providing healthcare insurance. We are now putting the cart before the horse. CEOs and boards place profitability and returns for investors above all else. Patients do not get the timely care they need because it is all about spending less. These companies like United Healthcare are making $450 billion revenues annually. Neoliberalism puts consumers and workers at the bottom of their priority list and shareholders at the top – this is wrong. Healthcare should put patients first not shareholders.
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It is amazing how often fate treats hubristic behaviour in lives of the rich and famous. It is, as if, a certain point is reached or crossed by the individual and this releases the hounds of hell upon them. Isaac Heeney, the No#1 rated player in the AFL for much of the season and the poster boy for toothpaste smiles has come a cropper in the shady wee hours of Melbourne with a lap dancer. Isaac Heeney: The boy next door is no more. No, the nice lad we once knew has morphed into a dirtbag hero. Strippers or exotic dancers crying sexual assault rings in the ears of the greater public. Victoria police are investigating an alleged sex crime and Heeney is at the centre of it.
Crime Footy Fresh Media News Police Sport It is amazing how often fate treats hubristic behaviour in lives of the rich and famous. It is, as if, a certain point is reached or crossed by the individual and this releases the hounds of hell upon them. Isaac Heeney, the No#1 rated player in the AFL for much of the season and the poster boy for toothpaste smiles has come a cropper in the shady wee hours of Melbourne with a lap dancer. Isaac Heeney: The boy next door is no more. No, the nice lad we once knew has morphed into a dirtbag hero. Strippers or exotic dancers crying sexual assault rings in the ears of the greater public. Victoria police are investigating an alleged sex crime and Heeney is at the centre of it.
Crime Footy Fresh Media News Police Sport
It is amazing how often fate treats hubristic behaviour in lives of the rich and famous. It is, as if, a certain point is reached or crossed by the individual and this releases the hounds of hell upon them. Isaac Heeney, the No#1 rated player in the AFL for much of the season and the poster boy for toothpaste smiles has come a cropper in the shady wee hours of Melbourne with a lap dancer. Isaac Heeney: The boy next door is no more. No, the nice lad we once knew has morphed into a dirtbag hero. Strippers or exotic dancers crying sexual assault rings in the ears of the greater public. Victoria police are investigating an alleged sex crime and Heeney is at the centre of it.
Crime Footy Fresh Media News Police Sport
I am putting my hand up to confess that I am a longtime supporter of the Sydney Swans. What did Confucious say? ‘May you live during interesting times’ or words to that effect, perhaps. Regular readers may be aware of the many posts I have written about the fortunes of the red and white AFL side this year. In an ironic twist, I have been bemoaning the lack of on-field mongrel in this normally squeaky clean team. Hells bells, I did not wish to shake down the thunder from the sky. What I wanted was some more fight and desperation out on the footy field. What we have all got, it appears, is some God awful, alleged sexual assault.
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I hate to harp on a topic but… The Sydney Swans missing mongrel factor for finals remains a major concern. There I was chatting with a Brisbane Lion’s supporter whilst playing golf and this person was complimenting the Swans on a good season so far. I had to qualify the praise with a reality check because the Swans have struggled to beat top 4 teams this season. The Lions had monstered Sydney very recently in a contest at the Gabba. Things are getting real now, as the AFL finals are mere weeks away. Winning contest and applying physical pressure for 4 quarters are crucial elements if you want to win football finals.
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The Sydney Swans have taken on the old Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope strategy, it seems. Absorb the opposition’s punishment for most of the match and then come out all guns blazing at the death knock. In this edition, Bloods sacrifice to beat Saints. Unfortunately for Will Edwards and James Rowbottom it was their blood and bone sacrifices on the altar of victory. A terrible injury for the rookie defender Will Edwards has finished his brilliant season prematurely. Rowbottom will likely be back for the finals. The Swans needed this win to hold onto second spot on the AFL ladder and it did not come cheaply.
Footy Sport
Australia is moving toward a renewable energy future – it is happening and is underway. Yes, there are challenges ahead in this major transformation, which has been inspired by the world’s need to respond to global warming. No serious energy expert or scientist has suggested […]
The culture wars pits extreme reactionary conservatives against progressives. The war on woke is an example of this, where ordinary folk are encouraged to see efforts in favour of redressing the situation, where those among us traditionally excluded from a seat at the big table, as unnecessary. White supremacists are, of course, big fans of this and in some instances driving this ‘anti-woke’ narrative. Diversity inclusiveness is being pilloried as somehow unfair to the dominant white male cohort within our communities – this is ridiculous. The figures do not back this up in any way. The culture wars and demonising woke play to the politics of grievance.
The recent decision by the Queensland state government not to build another sporting stadium for the Olympics is a sign of maturity. Brisbane and Australia are in the midst of an acute housing crisis, with too few houses and apartments available for demand. It would be a gross display of economic irresponsibility to build a massively expensive stadium when there are not enough affordable accommodation options available for the people of Brisbane. The builders and the investment should be engaged and spent on social housing rather than infrastructure for sport. Enough with the elitist sporting indulgence when a city, a state, and a nation is not taking care of its ordinary citizens. Not building another stadium is a win for Queenslanders.
Let me share with you a little about my recent viewing experiences. I decided to trim my expenses in response to the cost of living crisis eating up my modest savings. I axed the streaming services previously subscribed to one by one. Then, after nearly 20 years of pay TV – I gave that the flick also. Suddenly, I was reduced to watching the footy on free to air. Channel 7 trumpets this FREE experience to the viewer but stuffs so many ads into a game my head started spinning. I entered the fake world of commercial free to air TV.
The failure of Donald J Trump to post a bond for the $466 million fraud fine judgement against him has confirmed what many have suspected for some time. Trump is a fake billionaire. He does not have access to this kind of money because his properties are already mortgaged to the hilt. The more concerning matter is the fact that the pretty useless American rules of standing for the highest office in the land have no provision for candidates in massive debt. How stupid is this! Apparently, you can become President of the United States owing huge amounts of money to all and sundry. You can owe hundreds of millions to foreign powers – no problem. The American system is a joke!
They say the pen is mightier than the sword, well, they used to anyway. In this case, Sampson was brought down by the ABC’s Four Corners. The Cranbrook Headmaster was undone by the revelations exposed by the national broadcaster’s flagship current affair program. Protecting paedophiles and a teacher bragging about looking up student’s dresses at a former school were, in the end, too much for the board of trustees. They had toughed out the many complaints by female teachers about their treatment by male staff and students at the exclusive private boy’s school in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Principal of privileged private school falls on sword in resignation at bad form exposed over decades.
It is hard not to reduce the salient difference between those on the Right to those on the Left, as an overt concern with selfishness vs inclusiveness. Republicans in America always back tax cuts for the rich and big business. The LNP Coalition in Australia follow a similar predilection, when it comes to things, as exemplified by the Stage 3 tax cuts. Those on the Right are fed a diet of the individual’s right to private wealth over most other considerations. They see that capitalism is about such things, and are highly suspicious of the welfare state. Their ideological stance is that everyone must make their own way in life with no handouts. However, they have no problem with receiving a leg up from their family if they come from a wealthy background. A level playing field is not high on their list of priorities.
Over 40, 000 AFL fans packed the SCG for the Sydney Swans vs Melbourne Demons opening round of the 2024 season. What were the main takeaways from this novel opening match. AFL ruckman Brodie Grundy was made for the Bloods and played with real heart and soul to get them over the line. He nullified Max Gawn as the game went on and put in a massive last quarter to turn the tide the Swans way. Grundy had 22 disposals, 15 contested, 9 clearances, 6 tackles, 4 marks and 31 hit outs. Sydney defeated Melbourne 12.14 to 9.10. The Demons had outscored the Swans in the third term to threaten their chances of victory.
Most people refrain from delving too deeply into history. Some, especially the young, are too busy making their own history or trying to anyway. However, our lives are built on assumptions and often these are the assumptions of others who have gone before us. Yuval Harari calls them myths, the myths that we live by. There are myths which give our lives meaning – the myths of money and of God. Many of us work the live long day in the pursuit of money. Some of us believe in a supernatural, invisible entity that lies at the centre of our universe. What if both of these things have no real tangible substance and are, rather, myths that we live by?
There have been a number of disturbing incidents recently, which highlight the demise of our national broadcaster’s once fearless presence. The ABC has lost its independent voice. These include ABC presenters parroting editorial positions from the Murdoch press. In several of these cases the facts at the heart of the matter were not only borrowed but wrong. In what universe do we want the ABC quoting the editorial right wing bias of The Australian when questioning interviewees. Michael Rowland was guilty of this when putting questions to the PM Anthony Albanese about health funds.
