The Big Budget Bribe.2018

joe6pack Uncategorized

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The 2018 Federal Budget will be announced tomorrow ( or what little parts already haven’t been) but a desperate Government hoping to bribe the voters into re-electing them.

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By all reports they are going to spend big on infrastructure as well as any other items the think will be looked upon favourably as well as giving tax cuts and other sweeteners immediately to the lower classes while the more affluent will have to wait a few years.

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Morrison and Mal are indeed trying to be Santa Claus. The hypocrisy is astounding by them as well as the complicate media,

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What happened to the DEBT AND DEFICIENT disaster   we were warned about day in and day out when it was much lower than what it is now? What about the Sovereign Risk to Australia,? WE were all going to be ruined unless it was bought back under control.

 

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This is the biggest bribe in place since Costello’s last one, which was the last trick to save their tired old Government from losing. This coming budget is about saving Turnbull/Morrison and the rest of Coalscums jobs.It will be talked up as brilliant by their sprukers and lickspittles , Labor will pillared from post to paddock if they don’t immediately agree to pass all the measures in the budget and then get out of the way and let the rightful rulers get on with their agenda with out question.

 

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Will the Public fall for it, or are they more savvy than given credit for?

Time will tell.

3,079 thoughts on “The Big Budget Bribe.2018”

  2. A long & wonky read on Braddon. Kevin gives it the best possible analysis that you can do without much public polling to go on.

  4. Pull the other one and it plays Jingle Bells

    Robert Peston, ITV’s political editor, says he has also been told by a source that Julian Smith, the Conservative chief whip, ordered an MP to break a pair on Tuesday night. The government, of course, is claiming that the pair was broken as a result of an honest mistake.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2018/jul/19/may-will-have-to-revise-chequers-plan-in-face-of-tory-opposition-says-former-brexit-minister-politics-live#comments

    • Just not cricket, sir!

      This is what Andrew Bridgen, the Conservative MP, told the Daily Politics a few minutes ago when asked what he thought actually happened in the broken pair incident. (See 12.23pm.) He said:

      I think the fact that Brandon Lewis abstained on six votes and then just mysteriously voted on the vital two – I think it tells you all you need to know.

  7. Duckie
    If you ever get the chance, you need to see the play I saw in London,’This House.’ I doubt it will ever be shown in Australia. It shows just how low the Tories/Conservatives/Aussie Liberals will go.

    https://thishouseplay.com/

    I wish someone in Auz would put it on, but they would never get funding. It shows just how Tony Abbott learned his tricks.

  8. Good morning Dawn Patrollers. This has turned out to be a monster today!

    A very good contribution here from Waleed Aly on Trump and super-patriotism.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-there-s-no-doubt-we-re-watching-the-weirdest-of-presidencies-20180719-p4zscr.html
    It looks like Daryl Maguire is toast now as it is revealed that he accepted assisted travel from the same businessman who was allegedly pressured by Chinese intelligence agencies to cultivate Labor MPs.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/mp-daryl-maguire-accepted-china-travel-from-controversial-businessman-20180719-p4zsa1.html
    And right on cue a political staffer who was at the heart of Tony Abbott’s government has been hired as a lobbyist by Chinese telco Huawei, as the company tries to navigate security concerns over its involvement in Australia’s 5G mobile network.
    https://outline.com/xB9Mta
    Scandals involving candidates are threatening to influence the outcome in the crucial super Saturday byelection seats of Braddon and Longman a week out from polling day.
    https://outline.com/bx7PjU
    Norm Abjorensen returns to the big mistake that Bert Evatt made to destroy the Labor Party at the time in order to put Trump’s Helsinki performance into perspective.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-day-a-labor-politician-s-credibility-was-destroyed-20180719-p4zsgq.html
    The delightful Sarah Huckabee Sanders said discussions are under way to host the Russian president in Washington in autumn. This was immediately in the wake of Republican-led Senate effectively rebuked President Donald Trump for considering Russia’s request to question US officials
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-invited-putin-to-washington-for-summit-white-house-20180720-p4zsjh.html
    In quite a good rant Richo says sucking up to Putin is a big mistake.
    https://outline.com/m4pxpk
    According to Michael Koziol it’s Kill Bill and murder Malcolm as Labor and Liberal go for broke in the Super Saturday litmus test.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/kill-bill-and-murder-malcolm-labor-and-liberal-go-for-broke-in-election-litmus-test-20180719-p4zsdt.html
    The SMH editorial reminds us that the plight of the 1600-odd asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru has been a stain on Australia’s conscience for over a decade. Recent progress should not hide the reality that there is more work to do.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/clearing-asylum-seeker-camps-is-job-half-done-20180719-p4zsez.html
    David Crowe writes that the August 10 meeting to consider national energy policy is turning into a moment of truth for all sides of politics on climate change and energy. No single meeting or policy will ever settle the disputes over cuts to carbon emissions, but the stakes are incredibly high over the next few weeks. He even manages to weave in a “this is a test for Shorten”.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/neg-vote-will-be-reality-check-for-emissions-cuts-20180719-p4zsds.html
    Phil Coorey says that even if the NEG policy collapses, Labor is still likely to take the NEG to the next election as its own, but with a higher emissions reduction target than that proposed by the government.
    https://outline.com/Wa6Jru
    The National Farmers Federation has taken a veiled swipe at the Turnbull government’s signature energy plan, suggesting proposed emissions cuts in the electricity sector lack ambition and may have unfair consequences for agriculture.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/national-farmers-federation-says-electricity-best-place-to-make-emissions-cuts-20180719-p4zseu.html
    Katharine Murphy reports that a national energy guarantee with a more ambitious emissions reduction target of 45% by 2030 would lead to power prices falling over the life of the scheme in contrast to the Turnbull government’s proposal, according to new modelling.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jul/20/coalitions-national-energy-guarantee-predicted-to-drive-up-power-prices
    Today BlueScope Steel will sign the largest solar power purchasing deal ever by an industrial energy user in Australia to lock into cheap renewables generation.
    https://outline.com/nwyedb
    Richard Holden writes about our booming jobs numbers, but dig deeper and it’s not all rosy.
    https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-booming-jobs-numbers-but-dig-deeper-and-its-not-all-rosy-100159
    GetUp has accused the Liberal senator Eric Abetz of emailing its members with misinformation, after the senator sent out a mass email claiming the progressive activist group was endorsing a “crook and a white supremacist” in the Longman byelection. Oh Erica!
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jul/19/eric-abetz-accused-of-spamming-getup-members-over-longman-byelection
    Karen Maley writes that Commissioner Kenneth Hayne could be forgiven for feeling a certain weariness as he skims through the banking regulator’s earnest defence of one of a basic – and uncontested – principle of the banking system: that lenders have the right to enforce their security when borrowers can’t repay loans.
    https://outline.com/nqLWmu
    The legislation of marriage equality in Australia may only require “slight tweaking” to protect religious freedom, according to Father Frank Brennan, a member of the Ruddock review panel.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jul/20/religious-freedom-can-be-protected-with-tweaks-says-ruddock-review-member
    Lauren Southern has become the second controversial alt-right commentator to be slapped with a hefty police bill ahead of her controversial show in Melbourne. Organisers of the Canadian’s speaking tour are reportedly being charged almost $68,000 for a large police presence at the event, which authorities fear could draw violent protesters.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/far-right-mouthpiece-lauren-southern-hit-with-hefty-police-bill-20180719-p4zsis.html
    Harold Mitchell has had a week away at the same time as Trump did and he concludes that a week away has convinced me yet again that we are very lucky to be Australians in Australia.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/whatever-s-on-the-menu-trump-s-diplomacy-is-a-dog-s-breakfast-20180718-p4zs6i.html
    Michelle Grattan with a nice article that concludes that Rebekha Sharkie will see off Georgina Downer and then establish herself in the seat of Mayo.
    https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-disillusioned-voters-find-it-easy-to-embrace-a-crossbencher-like-rebekha-sharkie-100272
    Joanne McCarthy reports that both Turnbull and Shorten have called on the Pope to sack Philip Wilson,
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/turnbull-shorten-call-on-pope-to-sack-adelaide-archbishop-philip-wilson-20180719-p4zshg.html
    Police have identified via CCTV “several Russians” as suspects in the nerve agent attempted murder of ex-spy Sergei Skripal in March, according to a media report in the UK.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/british-police-believe-they-know-suspects-in-spy-novichok-poisoning-20180719-p4zsfz.html
    Australians could be slugged with renewal fees as part of federal government reforms to tackle the black economy.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/black-economy-crackdown-7-7m-abn-holders-face-fee-slug-20180719-p4zsfd.html
    Clancy Yeates tells us that court documents say a Westpac financial adviser with a long history of compliance problems was allowed to keep advising customers for years before being sacked and even received several consecutive “high achievement” ratings in performance reviews.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/sacked-westpac-adviser-received-high-achievement-ratings-20180719-p4zsg3.html
    Waleed Aly has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, writing off his recent comments about Sudanese gangs as a last-ditch votes grab before Super Saturday byelections next weekend. Aly didn’t hold back.
    https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/waleed-aly-obliterates-malcolm-turnbull-in-report-on-so-called-african-gangs-20180719-p4zsiw.html
    But meanwhile Dutton continues to stoke the fire!
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/dutton-says-victoria-is-in-a-fairyland-over-gang-violence-20180719-p4zsg0.html
    This week’s comments by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in which he made the laughable assertion that African crime gangs are terrorising Melbourne is another sign that he is only sitting in The Lodge at the behest of the troglodyte Peter Dutton faction of the Liberal Party argues Martin Hirst.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/racist-dogwhistling-proves-malcolm-turnbull-is-the-hollow-man-of-australian-politics,11710
    And Tudge has warned Australia is veering towards a “European separatist multicultural model”, flagging a rethink of immigration settings that could include new migrants being assessed against Australian values before being granted permanent residency.
    https://outline.com/crvfwA
    With an untrustworthy Government known for data breaches, a system of digital health records won’t be as private as you think writes JDr ennifer Wilson.
    https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/just-how-private-will-your-digital-health-records-be,11704
    A US-backed deal to bring ‘peace’ to the Middle East would just legitimise Israeli aggression – and oppress my people further
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/19/ultimate-deal-israel-palestine-peace-middle-east
    According to Martin Kettle Theresa May has survived, for now. But parliament is stalemated in a clash between referendums and representative democracy. It’s come down to a battle over who governs Britain.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/19/brexit-theresa-may-edward-heath-who-governs-eu-referendum
    Lee Duffield explores the economic ramifications of the looming Brexit on the EU and the possible effect it will have on Australia.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/the-economic-impact-of-uks-exit-on-australia,11702
    Here’s a class act from a Sky News presenter. He’ll be no great loss.
    https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/sky-and-fox-sports-presenter-quits-after-potty-mouthed-rant-at-charity-event-20180719-p4zshi.html
    Some chilling words for the head of the US Fed as the prospect of the US yield curve inverting – short-term interest rates rising above long-term rates – has ignited discussion about the potential for a US recession.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/with-two-words-us-fed-chair-has-put-the-world-on-alert-20180719-p4zse1.html
    Community anxiety about economic security and inequality is presenting an unprecedented challenge to Western democracies and the international rules-based order, Australia’s top bureaucrat Martin Parkinson has warned.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/politics/federal/this-challenge-is-different-top-bureaucrat-s-warning-to-london-audience-20180719-p4zsag.html
    Australia imports nearly US$12bn worth of goods “at risk” of being made using slavery each year, including more than $6bn in computer products and $4bn in garments from China, as well as fish, cocoa and even human organs from around the world, the latest Global Slavery Index reports.
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/20/australia-imports-12bn-worth-of-goods-at-risk-of-being-made-by-slaves-report
    Superannuation funds run by the Big Four banks were among the worst performers of the nation’s biggest funds last financial year.
    https://outline.com/ypBMhW
    ASIC has urged a crackdown on the under-regulated funeral insurance industry, calling for new legislative powers that would better protect consumers and penalise dodgy insurers.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/finance-news/2018/07/19/funeral-insurance-asic/
    The Berejiklian government’s planned sale of the majority of the WestConnex motorway will almost certainly be delayed after the competition regulator insisted on more time to assess a potential deal.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/westconnex-sale-hits-new-accc-hurdle-20180719-p4zsc4.html
    Fish oil is one of the country’s most popular supplements and is often highly regarded for its perceived heart health benefits. But mounting evidence is washing away this widely held belief – a finding sure to break the hearts of supplement aficionados nationwide. The latest study, by Cochrane review, found that omega-3 supplements had no effect on the risk of heart attack, stroke or death from cardiovascular disease.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/wellbeing/2018/07/19/fish-oil-no-benefit-heart-health/

    Cartoon Corner

    Some disturbing imagery from David Rowe.

    Peter Broelman goes after Craig Kelly.

    Glen Le Lievre with the persistence of Tony.

    Mark Knight gives the dog whistlers as serve.

    And he has some strife trying to opt out of MY Health.

    Paul Zanetti has some concerns over how My Health data might be used.

    Matt Golding.

    Some Fairfax cartoons in here.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/best-of-fairfax-cartoons-july-20-2018-20180719-h12vxy.html

  9. The Braddon and Longman by-elections are an excellent indication of the way things will go in the next election. The Liberal Party, being bereft of policies, will rely on dirty tactics involving the past records of Labor candidates and anyone likely to give Labor preferences and will keep on supporting liars and cheats. It’s all they have, apart from racist scare campaigns about immigrants and confected arrests of “suspected terrorists”.

    Abetz claiming some bloke was convicted of a crime 24-odd years ago and is therefore unfit to be a candidate is beyond ludicrous. The leader of the government’s No 1 ally, Hanson, was convicted of electoral fraud fifteen years ago, in 2003, and served part of a prison sentence before someone managed to find a judge stupid enough and/or corrupt enough to overturn that conviction.

    And then there’s Big Trev.

    Trev can’t excuse his lies as just an “honest mistake”, to quote Turnbull. He has made those claims all over everywhere, on websites relating to his employment in some pretty high-flying positions over many years.

    This was yesterday’s big news.
    Longman candidate’s false medal claims not a one-off
    https://outline.com/7NkrNr

    It’s not just the medals. Trev has been lying about his qualifications too. During his time in the RAAF he gained a qualification as an airframe fitter, in other words he gained the equivalent of a TAFE certificate qualifying him as a fitter and turner.

    Somehow that morphed into a uni degree as an Aeronautical Ground Engineer.What he has done here is taken the real degree title “Aeronautical Engineer” and stuck in the word “ground” in an attempt to give the impression he has much higher qualifications than just a trade certificate. Why didn’t anyone bother checking until now?

    Here’s Trev’s own Liberal Party campaign page showing that fake claim.
    https://www.lnp.org.au/trevor-ruthenberg/

    And if Turnbull had done a little digging himself, he might have questioned Big Trev’s “big” honesty, because it seems Ruthenberg may have also embellished his resumé in other ways.

    For instance, Trev claims to have been an “aeronautical ground engineer” for the RAAF. Yet Ruthenberg has no tertiary qualifications in engineering or anything else. His apprenticeship in the RAAF left him with a civilian trade qualification as a fitter and turner. According to IA’s enquiries – and we stand ready to be corrected – there is no such job as an “aeronautical ground engineer” in the RAAF. And, moreover, only commissioned officers ‒ not NCOs like Ruthenberg ‒ are entitled to call themselves “engineers” in the Australian Air Force. Is Corporal Ruthenberg trying to make voters believe he was as an officer

    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/trump-and-trevs-big-straight-award-winning–or-losing–lies,11708

    He also claims to have a postgraduate qualification in “asset management” or “maintenance management”, depending on what resume you are reading. (Once again Trev shows how careless he is with his fake claims about medals and qualifications, he can’t keep his lies straight.) To have any sort of postgraduate qualification you first have to have completed an undergraduate degree. Trev hasn’t.

    It’s too late to disendorseTrev now. Ballot papers have been printed, the Liberal Party has spent a fortune on their campaigns and in doing that funds for the next general election have been depleted. There’s one huge reason why the Libs have to stick with Big Trev – Turnbull. He has spent so much time in Longman, telling lies about hospital funding, trash-talking about Shorten and supporting his latest BFF, Trev, that any change now is going to make Turnbull look an absolute loser. I bet he’s wishing someone had checked Trev’s resume with more care before someone decided to run him as their candidate.

    As for the indie in Braddon – he is probably operating on a shoestring budget, getting campaigning done by his mates pitching in. He might be glad of some extra free publicity which is at least getting his name into the media. No party can disendorse him, so Abetz’s dirty trick of using him to paint Justine Keay as untrustworthy and unworthy to be in parliament by talking about very tenuous links to someone with an ancient conviction are just as likely to bite the Libs in the bum as lose preferences for Labor.

    • I like your optimism, Leone. In the car this morning we heard trumble doing his thing…….well poor Razz did……….Shorten, Shorten, Labor Labor, until I go back to the car and turned it off. Razz copes better with idiots than I do, so she is used to me muting or turning radio or tv off.

    • I have to admit I’m a born optimist.

      I avoid the sound of Fizza’s voice, if he appears on TV I change channels, or mute, or whatever. I have my blood pressure to think about.

    • all this misinformation IE lies, makes him a PERFECT Lieberal candidate a minister in waiting in fact/fiction

  10. Fish oil – the latest rubbish article trying to scare us out of using something that is beneficial.

    Here’s why I take fish oil. I don’t much like fish, especially the oily fish that are supposed to be higher in omega-3. I don’t eat farmed salmon for a stack of reasons, I don’t eat tuna because of the links to mercury contamination in that fish, the rest of the recommended varieties I just don’t care for, but I need my Omega-3 so I take a supplement. I take it for its benefits for my eyesight, with the approval of my ophthalmologist, and to reduce inflammation, a problem that is behind the health issues I will be dealing with for the rest of my life. I also take it to help fend off arthritis and to keep my bones healthy, a real issue for older women.

    Fish oil has many other benefits. As an antidote to the silly New Daily article, read this.
    https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-benefits-of-fish-oil#section14

    My advice – many vitamins and supplements are valuable for our health, especially as we age, because our bodies no longer keep up with demand, I suppose you could say. It’s not possible to munch your way through the mountains of good, healthy food needed to sustain healthy levels of crucial vitamins, minerals and other substances, so for many of us supplements are the way to go. Just make sure you discuss your thoughts with your GP and your medical specialists first, and maybe see a qualified nutritionist as well. You need to make sure you are taking what you need in carefully planned doses. Don’t just nip into the chemist or the supermarket and buy a bottle of whatever in the belief it will do you good.

  11. A “values test” for migrants is the latest racist dogwhistle from the rabble that calls itself the Australian government.

    That’s pretty rich coming from a government that has no values, apart from “do whatever it takes to stay in government”.

  12. The Conservatives have been forced to admit that their chief whip asked MPs to breach Commons voting conventions in knife-edge Brexit votes on Tuesday, as opposition parties demanded he quit and queried the accuracy of the prime minister’s account of events.

    Party sources conceded on Thursday night that Julian Smith had asked several Tory MPs to break pairing arrangements but most had refused to do so. The only one who did obey the instruction was paired to a Liberal Democrat MP who was on maternity leave.

    They admitted that Smith had wanted some MPs to break “short-term” pairing arrangements, where a Tory is asked to skip a vote because an opposition member is unable to attend for good reason, but had made an error in asking the party chairman, Brandon Lewis, to vote because he was paired with Jo Swinson – who only recently gave birth.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/19/tory-whip-julian-smith-urged-to-explain-pairing-breach-that-caused-serious-damage

    …

    Ah, parliament, with its magnificent conventions, where you are allowed to honk like a goose on fire while someone is speaking, can say “misspoke” but not “lied”, and can enjoy round-the-clock access to snuff from the House of Commons doorkeeper, but are not allowed to remain in bed when you have just had a baby. On paper, an MP can take maternity leave, regardless of whatever constitutional crisis is unfolding, thanks to “pairing”, where a counterpart will be found to cancel out your absence by not voting themselves. It is known as a “gentleman’s agreement”, which is a technical term, meaning: “It will be honoured until it actually matters, then it’s gloves off, suckers.” There should be a code for when you save your noblest, most altruistic behaviour for when it counts, and we could call that a lady’s agreement.

    On Tuesday, Brandon Lewis, Conservative party chairman, was paired with Jo Swinson, deputy leader of the Lib Dems, who has a three-week-old baby. The non-voting pact was remembered all the way through the day, until it came to two Brexit amendment votes at the end, when he voted with the government to save it from what might otherwise have been a general-election-triggering defeat. The whips have taken the blame. Fair enough: it was late, people get tired, it’s easy to make an “honest mistake”, if by that you mean: “I honestly and mistakenly thought nobody would notice, since she’s a Lib Dem anyway, and a woman to boot.”

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/18/the-cheating-of-jo-swinson-has-exposed-the-uk-parliaments-rotten-core

  14. Well that is me deciding to opt out. It’s about money making opportunities . The spivs will be lining up 10 deep.

    “…………………Kelsey has repeatedly characterised the scheme in very different terms. The government’s intention is “to harness the power of the modern information revolution to empower and enable clinicians to offer industry and entrepreneurs and innovators a new platform for delivery of new services”, he said in an interview last October.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/20/there-is-no-social-license-for-my-health-record-australians-should-reject-it

    And the government picked him after what he did in the UK !!!

    “Tim Kelsey, who led a remarkably similar initiative in England, care.data, which collapsed spectacularly for failing to bring along the public, destroyed institutional trust, and was subject to a series of damning independent reviews

    A former journalist, entrepreneur, and government adviser, Kelsey left England in September 2015 at the height of the care.data controversy..”

  15. Mumbles is at peak sarcasm here in this bit of his article

    • Onya Truffles, that will be a great boost for the Opt Out Option ‘vote’.

    • If you were wavering about opting out then that should convince you to do it right now.

      Also applies if you still cling to your private health insurance. Do you really want a bunch of Liberal Party donors having the power to look through your medical records and use your personal information to decide what level of cover you can or can’t have? Turnbull will be only too happy to allow it to happen.

  17. Ben Eltham says he can’t remember a public atmosphere more racist than now. Tghere’s something else too that woirries me. I can’t remember a time when there was so much blatant hatred of women as there is now.

    Here’s an example.

    Keep calm & slap a bitch’: The actual line a Sydney pub used in an ad
    https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/keep-calm-slap-a-bitch-the-actual-line-a-sydney-pub-used-in-an-ad/

    That was supposed to be “funny”, the usual sort of “but we were only joking” response to every nasty bit of comment for a certain type of male. Even worse was what followed it.

    No doubt whoever came up with that line is a great fan of Leyonhjelm, or was encouraged to be revolting by the sudden media attention given to him.

  18. Assange Will be Handed Over to UK ‘In Coming Days, According to my Sources’ – Head of RT, Margarita Simonyan

    his is ominous because Simonyan has incredibly good sources, i.e. high level people in Russia with access to good quality intel.

    She is also close to Assange.

    Her tweet reads:

    “My sources say that Assange will be handed over to UK authorities in the coming weeks or even days. I hope with all my heart that my sources are mistaken.”

    https://russia-insider.com/en/politics/assange-will-be-handed-over-uk-coming-days-according-my-sources-head-rt-margarita-simonyan

  19. I no sooner put that on social media and a person argue for not opting out change their mind. What did it was their fear Workcover type investigators will trawl through records looking for an out for insurers.

    Which is probably not a silly fear, when you think about it.

  20. This just makes me cry. Freed as slaves but still forced to work, what was/is the matter with humans? It is all about bloody money.

    (CNN)Months after a Texas school district broke ground on a new technical center, archaeologists there made a surprising discovery: the long-buried remains of 95 people.

    The first remains were discovered in February in Sugar Land, a suburb southwest of Houston. And now officials have learned who these people probably were — freed black people forced to work in convict labor camps.

    For over a century, these graves were underground and untouched. But the finding that they likely held the remains of slaves, which researchers announced Monday, highlights an era that’s largely forgotten in history — a time when slavery was illegal, but many blacks were essentially still enslaved.
    …
    The bodies were each buried in individual wooden caskets. Of those analyzed so far, all but one are men. Researchers say they could have been as young as 14 and as old as 70.

    They were probably buried between 1878 and 1910, Clark said.

    Despite the passage of time, researchers can tell that the workers were malnourished or sick and faced huge physical stress when they were alive.

    Clark said there’s lots of evidence that they were doing very heavy labor that, for some, began at a young age.

    “We can tell from the state of the bone and muscle attachment features that these were heavily built individuals. Some bones were misshapen by the sheer musculature and labor,” Clark told CNN.

    https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/18/us/bodies-found-construction-site-slavery-trnd/index.html?utm_term=image&utm_medium=social&utm_content=2018-07-18T23%3A44%3A01&utm_source=twCNN

  21. Chap who has spent the last fifty years (at least) prancing around in frocks, wigs, stockings, high heels and more makeup than a stage full of drag queens whines about “crazy teachers” making being transgender “a fashion”.

    • I loathed his characters. I did not find any of the Dame Edna and especially Les Patterson characters funny. I found it an offensive characterisations of Australians. I never met anyone like those and I cringe to think that is what we were portrayed as, on the international stage.

      Maybe I just don’t have the ‘right’ sense of humour.

    • If you don’t have the “right” sense of humour then neither do I. I’ve never liked any of the Humphries characters, I have always thought his work spiteful and nasty.

  22. Barnaby’s “Leave Me Alone, I Demand Privacy” national publicity tour continues, complete with floozy and bub in tow.

    • Watch the video and see the tender, caring father toss the baby at Ms Campion, after ignoring her attempts to take it from him.

      Barnaby had no reason to be flying to WA, especially not with his latest family in tow. He’s a backbencher now, maybe he has forgotten that. No doubt he will be claiming airfares, accommodation and lots of cabs and comcars for the trip, even though he can’t claim it as electorate business.

  24. Andrew Blot’s viewers increase from 24,000 to 31,000. Most of those would be captive audiences in Qantas lounges who are offered no other viewing but Sky, or oldies in nursing homes who are physically incapable of getting up to change the channel.

    Sky’s the limit when it comes to rocketing audience numbers
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/jul/20/skys-the-limit-when-it-comes-to-rocketing-audience-numbers

    Foxtel has been ramming ads for Blot’s grubby show into every possible advertising spot for at least the last week, just as well I record everything so I can skim through the ads.

  25. Yeah…. those numbers aren’t rocketing. Talking them up is just another tactic to try to get them to rocket. The boost came a few weeks ago, and they didn’t do anything for the numbers. Foxtel would probably be better off ditching everything except the sporting channels. That is, if they weren’t so intent on trying to force the political agenda.

  29. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Here we go! Federal investigators have an audio recording in which then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and his personal attorney Michael Cohen discussed in late 2016 making payments for the story of Playboy centrefold Karen McDougal, who allegedly had an extramarital affair with Trump, according to two people familiar with the tape.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/michael-cohen-recorded-trump-discussing-payments-to-playboy-model-20180721-p4zsrw.html
    Paul Kelly writes how Trump and Brexit represent existential crises tormenting great democracies. He gives us a lot to think about.
    https://outline.com/zaaXev
    The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has forensically picked apart Theresa May’s white paper after a meeting of the EU27, warning that the prime minister had failed to offer Brussels a firm basis for the negotiations.
    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/20/france-minister-nathalie-loiseau-brexit-concessions-theresa-may-commons
    Jonathan Freedland says the Brexit ideologues are destroying democracy.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/20/will-of-the-people-brexit-democracy-vote-leave
    Hamish McDonald sumps up Trump’s chaotic tour.
    https://outline.com/4rstPS
    Ross Gittins tells us that the jobs market is going not nearly as well as the Turnbull government would like us to believe, but not as bad as its critics claim.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/let-s-put-the-hype-aside-jobs-growth-shifts-from-extraordinary-to-ordinary-20180720-p4zsl6.html
    Paul Bongiorno examines Turnbull’s motives over hic comments on immigration and African gangs.
    https://outline.com/pprgyP
    Paula Matthewson says doesn’t need to be popular for Labor to win.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2018/07/20/bill-shorten-popularity-federal-election/
    At the end of a good article about Trump Laura Tingle suggests that world leaders should hold up a mirror to the US President that reflects on his weakness, rather than his strength, it may give him cause to change his behaviour.
    https://outline.com/z3N7rY
    Mark Ludlow reports that The Coalition will not hold a campaign launch for embattled Longman candidate Trevor Ruthenberg who has been unable to shake off an ongoing fiasco over the military medals he has received. At the same time, concerns are growing about a bigger swing against the Liberal’s Georgina Downer in Mayo in South Australia.
    https://outline.com/RSYuJs
    While the Future Frigate contract is used as a bargaining chip for the upcoming Mayo byelection, the jobs of workers on the project remain in limbo.
    https://outline.com/N52VTf
    Peter Hartcher has a long diatribe on the usefulness, power and danger of unions and manages to squeeze in a “test for Shorten”.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-leader-must-stand-up-to-militant-union-demands-20180720-p4zskd.html
    Crispin Hull says Trump is little more than Russia’s puppet.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-is-little-more-than-russia-s-puppet-20180719-p4zsco.html
    Following Donald Trump’s extraordinary capitulation to Russia, a Perth father whose three children were killed on MH17 becomes his clearest critic.
    https://outline.com/ud7FZq
    Karen Middleton says that though not exactly declaring coal is good for humanity as Tony Abbott once did, the environment and energy minister is making sure those colleagues know he’s not objecting to sprinkling a little coal dust among the turbines, at least until the wind blows it away for good.
    https://outline.com/tYYykb
    It’s not only Turnbull and Shorten asking the Pope to sack Philip Wilson.
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/20/australias-catholic-priests-urge-pope-to-sack-adelaide-archbishop-philip-wilson
    Patrick Parkinson’s long association with Christian lobby groups and the campaign against marriage equality has been questioned after his appointment as dean of the University of Queensland law school.
    https://outline.com/TEAcDB
    Jess Irvine looks at the health of the property market.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-leader-must-stand-up-to-militant-union-demands-20180720-p4zskd.html
    Simon Cowan says that the biggest threat facing Australia is Trump’s trade war.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/trade-war-remains-the-biggest-threat-to-australia-20180719-p4zsgv.html
    And right on cue Trump escalated economic global tensions yesterday, lashing out a range of targets that included the European Union, the Federal Reserve and China, indicating that he is prepared to raise tariffs on Chinese imports from $34bn to cover the entire $505bn of Chinese imports.
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jul/20/donald-trump-tariffs-all-chinese-imports-threat
    Meanwhile Eryk Bagshaw reports that the former chief economist of the World Bank has warned that Australia should accommodate China’s expansion and tone down its rhetoric or risk missing out on a decade-long economic windfall.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/get-on-board-with-china-or-miss-out-former-world-bank-vice-president-warns-20180720-p4zsmh.html
    David Crowe writes that families are set to wait longer to bring in husbands and wives from overseas as the Turnbull government presides over a growing queue for permanent migration, in another sign of its tougher line on population growth.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/visa-queues-swell-as-peter-dutton-s-migration-cuts-bite-20180720-p4zsp6.html
    Adele Ferguson reports that In an exquisite irony a law firm that holds itself up as the champion of workers’ rights, and is vocal in its criticism of underpayments at other companies, has underpaid hundreds of former and current part time workers, including university students, almost $1 million. It’s Maurice Blackburn.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/maurice-blackburn-s-1-million-pay-muck-up-short-changes-400-staff-20180720-p4zspi.html
    Alex McKinnon writes that the new ACTU president, Michele O’Neil, says her focus will be the globalised economy, but here the attention will be on how she and Sally McManus manage divisions within the union movement over Labor policy.
    https://outline.com/HzxdX2
    Peter van Onselen really goes to town on the “Orwellian” My Health system.
    https://outline.com/ehXspe
    And Julia Powles tells us that the Australian Digital Health Agency’s bullish approach to My Health Record shows it learned no lessons from the UK’s disastrous version
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/20/there-is-no-social-license-for-my-health-record-australians-should-reject-it
    Since the Government is reluctant to do anything about the problem of low wage growth, Philip Soos suggests ways in which it can be solved.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/its-time-to-say-goodbye-to-low-wage-growth,11709
    The bosses of the country’s biggest banks are expected to be hauled before the royal commission in November. Sarah Dunckert understands that Commonwealth Bank’s Matt Comyn, ANZ Bank’s Shayne Elliott, Westpac’s Brian Hartzer and National Australia Bank’s Andrew Thorburn will all face questioning at the commission.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/bank-bosses-face-royal-commission-grilling-20180720-p4zsoe.html
    The government’s plan to end automatic life insurance for young superannuation fund members and those with low balances will probably raise premiums for remaining members, the financial regulator says.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/life-insurance-premiums-likely-to-rise-under-government-reforms-apra-20180720-p4zsom.html
    AMP’s misrepresentations to the corporate regulator had no material impact on the company share price, says AMP as it defends five separate class actions.
    https://outline.com/yuLxdP
    Australians are visiting online piracy websites much less frequently, thanks to website-blocking measures enacted by Australian internet service providers (ISPs).
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/tech/2018/07/20/digital-piracy-decreasing/
    A new population policy that could keep new migrants in regional Australia is being developed by the government.
    https://outline.com/a3AT8d
    Nicole Hasham reports that the world’s climate change path means the Great Barrier Reef is headed for “collapse” according to a plan endorsed by state and federal governments that critics say turns a blind eye to Australia’s inadequate effort to cut carbon emissions.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/australian-governments-concede-great-barrier-reef-headed-for-collapse-20180720-p4zsof.html
    Protesters have clashed with riot and mounted police outside a Melbourne venue hosting far-right Canadian provocateur Lauren Southern.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/vic/2018/07/21/wild-scenes-at-far-right-melbourne-event/
    Here’s a definite candidate for “Arsehole of the Week”.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/need-to-see-you-at-the-gym-icac-hears-of-texts-calls-between-developer-and-councillors-20180720-p4zsq7.html
    This guy puts in a claim too, RSL National President Robert Dick resigned at the charity’s board meeting on Thursday, amid an investigation into the organisation’s governance and accountability issues.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/rsl-national-president-robert-dick-resigns-following-charity-probe-20180720-p4zsql.html

    Cartoon Corner

    David Rowe is fascinated by Trump.

    Mark David cruels Turnbull.

    Nice work from Peter Broelman.

    Paul Zanetti buckets Craig Kelly.

    Here’s a couple from Sean Leahy.


    From the US.

    Big Trev has inspired Jon Kudelka.

    Kudelka on the development of the potential “Australian values” test.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/cartoons/kudelka-cartoons/image-gallery/6c86336ba162daf8c34d42596589f6db
    Lots of Fairfax cartoons in this.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/best-of-fairfax-cartoons-july-21-2018-20180720-h12y9h.html

  30. Jacob Rees-Mogg’s business partner, a string of Brexit backers and the wife of a former senior minister to Vladimir Putin are among the Conservative donors who have paid more than £7m to socialise with Theresa May since the general election.

    Eighty-one party benefactors have paid a total of £7.4m to the Conservative party for access to the prime minister at dinners, lunches after PMQs and drinks receptions since July 2017, records show.

    Party insiders said the large amount raised over just nine months from a single revenue stream was evidence that the Tories were aiming to be “election ready” for the autumn.

    At least 10 of the donors, who joined the Leader’s Group for £50,000 a head, are supporters of a hard Brexit.

    Dominic Johnson, who attended two of the group’s events in 2017, is the co-founder of Somerset Capital Management, an investment firm set up with Rees-Mogg, who chairs the European Research Group of Tory Brexiter MPs.

    …

    The Conservatives had not updated details of donors who attended events since July 2017. Cameron pledged to release information about donors after an outcry over the Leader’s Group dinners and whether they were allowing the rich and powerful to buy access to the cabinet.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/20/revealed-tory-donors-who-paid-7m-to-socialise-with-theresa-may

  32. Lays into the IPA’s “charitable” status

    Australia’s richest person, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, has been revealed as a key funder of the rightwing thinktank the Institute of Public Affairs – a consistent promoter of climate science scepticism.

    Rinehart’s company, Hancock Prospecting, donated $2.3m to the IPA in 2016 and $2.2m in 2017, according to disclosures made to the New South Wales supreme court.

    …

    A spokesman who says “no comment” is not a spokesman

    IPA spokesman Evan Mulholland replied, “no comment”

    • He’s good. I wondered for a while whether the Daily Show would ever be as effective with Jon Stewart no longer there. I considered him irreplacable, The show probably still doesn’t have the maverick edge he brought to it, the feeling that it was game to take anyone on and beat them with persistence, logic and reason. But every now and then, when Noah engages with the wider world in a way that makes them take notice, I feel some of that old buzz.

  35. Ecuador to hand over Assange to UK ‘in coming weeks or days,’ own sources tell RT’s editor-in chief

    Ecuador is ready to hand over the WikiLeaks founder to the UK in “coming weeks or even days,” RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan said citing her own sources, as prospects of his eviction from the embassy are back in the media.

    “My sources tell [Julian] Assange will be handed over to Britain in the coming weeks or even days,” Simonyan wrote in a recent tweet which was reposted by WikiLeaks. “Like never before, I wish my sources were wrong,” she continued…

    Sir Alan Duncan, the Foreign Office minister, is said to be spearheading the diplomatic effort. Sources close to Assange said he himself was not aware of the talks but believed that America was putting “significant pressure” on Ecuador, including threatening to block a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if he continues to stay at the embassy.

    https://www.rt.com/news/433783-wikileaks-assange-ecuador-uk/

  36. Nelson Mandela’s legacy hijacked to help West sell liberal agenda

    Just how obscene, is reflected by the sight of former US President Barack Obama delivering the annual Nelson Mandela lecture in Johannesburg on July 17, the 100th anniversary of the giant of the anti-Apartheid revolution’s birth.

    This event has been held annually in South Africa since 2003, organized by the Nelson Mandela Foundation. According to the foundation’s website “global leaders have used the lecture to raise topical issues affecting South Africa, Africa and the rest of the world.” Instantly arriving on the back of these words, however, given Obama’s participation as the event’s star act this year, comes anger and a crippling sense of irony – cruel irony – as ‘Libya’ hovers into sharp relief.

    Not only was the former US president key in turning the North African country from a functioning state with a ‘high human development rank’, according to the UN, into a manifestation of hell on earth, but Libya’s murdered leader, Muammar Gaddafi, provided significant material aid to Mandela and the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa when at its most intense. This was way before it achieved the status of cause celebre in the West, when Washington and its allies were doing their utmost to lend legitimacy to the country’s brutal apartheid government and state institutions.

    Mandela, to his credit, never forgot Gaddafi’s support and solidarity, taking the opportunity of a public appearance alongside then US President Bill Clinton in 1998 to declare that in reference to Gaddafi’s Libya “moral authority dictates that we should not abandon those who helped us in the darkest hour.”

    https://www.rt.com/op-ed/433822-mandela-legacy-distorted-obama/

  37. Russia launches threats against Australia based on embarrassing mistake

    Moscow has launched an extraordinary threat to target Australian journalists based on its false belief the Australian Federal Police are investigating the Kremlin-backed news outfit Russia Today.

    In a statement issued on Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow “reserves the right to take retaliatory measures whenever the rights of Russian journalists are being infringed upon” and threatened “tit-for-tat” measures.

    She did not detail what kind of retaliation Moscow might undertake. But the threats appear to be based on an embarrassing misunderstanding by the Russian government and by Russia Today, better known as RT.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/russia-launches-threats-against-australia-based-on-embarrassing-mistake-20180720-p4zsob.html

  38. You have to admire the way journalists never fail to put an anti-Shorten spin on everything. They also carefully avoid mentioning anything that could be damaging to Turnbull.

    Here’s Mark Ludlow in the AFR article on the perils the Libs/LNP face in Longman and Mayo.

    Labor has been buoyed by events in Longman this week. Opposition leader Bill Shorten and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will attend Labor’s campaign launch at the Caboolture RSL on Sunday

    Did you catch that? Very weaselly use of words, intending to have us believe Shorten would have stayed away if Ruthenberg had not shot himself in the foot or if Labor looked like loosing.

    Given the devoted MSM tactic of failing to report anything Shorten says or does, for fear it will make their adored Turnbull look useless, or weak, or cowardly, or incompetent, it’s possible Ludlow didn’t know that Bill Shorten has been dividing most of his Super Saturday campaigning between Braddon and Longman. There was never any doubt about him attending Susan Longman’s campaign launch, he would be there whether Labor looked like winning or not, but that’s not the way Ludlow wants us to see things.

    The real story here, which Ludlow does his best to ignore, is the LNP deciding not to have a campaign launch for Ruthenberg, obviously because he has now become a huge embarrassment. They are stuck with him now, they have to grit their teeth and hang on to the bitter end. Turnbull has been saved from making a difficult decision – to turn up and be seen supporting a proven liar, or to stay away and be accused of cowardice. Did Ludlow mention that? Of course not.

    Ludlow seems a bit puzzled about the effect the FIFO ministers are having on voters in Longman and Mayo. By devoting half his piece to quotes of the prattlings of the odious and incompetent Craig Laundy, including a decent dose of “Boats!” and “Isn’t Shorten dreadful” Ludlow betrays his own, personal take on these campaigns – the government deserves to win, no matter what. He seems to believe voters should be won over by the attention of so many ministers and Liberal bigwigs like the ancient, shrivelled racist, Howard. Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe the more ministers and bigwigs turn up to campaign the more the voters are reminded of the disastrous decisions the lot of them have made.

    • Thank you for your insight, leone. Elections have in the main been a challenge for Labor. It probably gets worse each time. Labor has to find a way to overcome that problem. It’s disheartening that policies don’t matter or are not heard. We live in a climate of fake news, of racism, of violence, of a corrupt MSM. It’s all very depressing. What depresses me even more is that such a large percentage of Aussies follows the MSM/LNP line.

  41. The Libs just love by-elections

    The disgraced New South Wales MP Daryl Maguire will resign from the seat of Wagga Wagga following a corruption scandal, the state premier has announced.

    Gladys Berejiklian said on Saturday Maguire had told her he would resign next week, before the resumption of parliament on 7 August, prompting a byelection in Wagga Wagga.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jul/21/daryl-maguire-to-resign-from-new-south-wales-parliament

    • Someone has done some heavy duty arm-twisting. Maguire was adamant he would not resign until next year’s election, to save voters the expense of a by-election. Now he is resigning.

      Doesn’t matter anyway, he will be replaced by another rotten-to-the -core NSW Liberal.

  43. Who’d a thunk it !? Kia ora Mr Bond 🙂 .. Next Bond movie casting call for the three ‘baddies’ 1 Russkiy chap 1 Russkiy ladychap 1 Maori chap.

    Bond 25 Casting Call

    17th July 2018
    Descriptions of the leading roles are revealed as the casting net is thrown open for Bond 25

    Male Supporting Role
    Playing age: 35 – 55
    Maori.
    Advanced physical / fighting / stage combat skills required.
    Characteristics: Authoritative, cunning, ruthless & loyal.
    https://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/articles/bond-25-casting-call

    • Assuming you are successful (how could you not be) – will we all get a special free advance screening at The Pub, or at the very least free tickets?

  44. Ecuadorian president arrives in Britain as Julian Assange’s fate hangs in the balance

    Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno arrives in London today, with his administration seeking to force WikiLeaks editor and Australian citizen Julian Assange out of the Ecuadorian embassy there, where he sought and was granted political asylum in 2012.

    If Assange leaves the embassy he will be imprisoned by Britain for breaching bail and almost certainly face an application to extradite him to the United States to stand trial on manufactured charges of espionage…

    The immense danger Assange faces was underscored yesterday by comments made during a media conference held by UK Foreign Affairs Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who is in Britain at the same time as Moreno…

    Bishop exuded the utter contempt of successive Australian governments for the rights of an Australian citizen and journalist being persecuted by the US. She indifferently responded to Hunt’s threats, effectively washing her government’s hands of Assange’s fate. She told the media: “We understand there are still matters where Mr Assange is subject to British legal proceedings so therefore that would be a matter of British law enforcement authorities and agencies.”

    http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/07/21/assa-j21.html

  45. Your government screws up technology. Again.

    Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has ordered his department to stop paying social media influencers.

    The Daily Telegraph revealed on Friday the Health Department had spent more than $600,000 in taxpayer funds on the #girlsmakeyourmove social media campaign over the past 18 months.

    “At my request, the department is pausing and reviewing any use of influencers,” Mr Hunt said in a statement.

    “There would need to be a demonstrated benefit and demonstrated suitability of any individual going forward, for this to recommence.

    “This would need to include a thorough assessment and vetting process linked to improving the health of Australians.”

    Labor senator Murray Watt said he was pleased to see Mr Hunt’s decision.

    “I think that all taxpayers would think there are better ways to see taxpayer funds used than paying social media influencers hundreds of thousands of dollars to boost their Instagram likes,” he said.

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-21/stop-payment-to-influencers/10021134

  46. The MSM have not mentioned today’s marches protesting Australia’s refugee detention policy. There has not been a squeak as far as I can see, so once again we have to rely on overseas media to keep us informed about what happens in our own country.

    Thousands rally against Australia’s refugee detention policy
    Protesters across Australia demand the closure of detention centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island.
    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/07/thousands-rally-australia-refugee-detention-policy-180721085805198.html

    Many thanks to The Saturday Paper and ten daily for doing their bit to keep us informed about this.

    “Such deliberate and sustained cruelty to innocent human beings is fundamentally wrong.”
    https://tendaily.com.au/news/politics/a180718qfw/five-years-in-detention-for-manus-nauru-refugees-20180718

    Julian Burnside also made a contribution.
    What is happening on Nauru should shock the conscience of every Australian
    It is important that we all know the truth of what our government is doing to innocent people
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/19/what-is-happening-on-nauru-should-shock-the-conscience-of-every-australian

  48. (Extract)
    <blockquote)Three months ago, Britain joined America in a bombing campaign against Syria following claims that President Assad had used the nerve agent sarin in an attack on the Damascus suburb of Douma, a base of anti-government rebels.

    This week, however, the UN chemical weapons investigatory body reported there was no evidence that chemical weapons were used. Instead, its inspectors found chlorinated substances. Such chemicals are commonly used in household and industrial products.

    In April, Jeremy Corbyn told the Government that it should intervene only if there was definitive proof of the use of chemical weapons.

    His misgivings have now been proved justified and the Foreign Office must explain why it approved what seems to have been an illegal assault on Syria.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-5976583/PETER-OBORNE-Theresa-survivor-fear-increasingly-trapped-badly-bruised.html

  49. Good morning Dawn Patrollers. A rather sparse Sunday offering I’m afraid.

    Australia’s version of the sub-prime crisis that ushered in the global financial crisis could be looming, with a significant number of the 1.5 million households with interest-only loans likely to struggle with higher repayments, experts warn.
    https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/it-s-our-version-of-the-gfc-warning-on-looming-interest-only-crisis-20180720-p4zsrs.html
    Mortgage repayments will leap 63 per cent for 1 million Australians with interest-only loans – an average of $800 a month in extra repayments.
    https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/one-in-five-people-with-a-mortgage-wouldn-t-qualify-today-broker-warns-20180719-p4zscl.html
    What’s happening to the American economy isn’t just a problem for U.S. citizens, but also for the Turnbull Government and its big business cronies says Alan Austin.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/why-americas-faltering-economy-matters-to-australia,11711
    Jack Waterford looks at the current state of US politics.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/world/north-america/hairy-chests-and-glass-jaws-20180720-p4zsl4.html
    David Crowe ponders the question, “If we want few immigrants who should we turn away?”
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/is-the-door-too-open-or-too-closed-when-it-comes-to-population-20180720-p4zsmi.html
    Michaela Whitbourn explores how Aldi gets away with mimicking big brands and their products.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/attack-of-the-clones-how-aldi-gets-away-with-mimicking-big-brands-20180717-p4zs1g.html
    Trump has denied any wrongdoing a day after reports that his one-time attorney Michael Cohen had recorded them both discussing buying the rights to a story by a woman who said she had an affair with Trump.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-says-cohen-taping-him-totally-unheard-of-and-perhaps-illegal-20180722-p4zsvl.html
    Iran’s supreme leader has backed President Hassan Rouhani’s proposal that Iran may block Gulf oil exports if its own exports are stopped, raising the prospect of a global oil-supply crisis.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/2018/07/21/iran-threatens-gulf-blockade/
    Peter FitzSimons says Trump’s cave-in to Putin just gobsmacking and wonders why it took so long for Turnbull to call for Wilson’s sacking.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-s-cave-in-to-putin-just-gobsmacking-20180720-p4zspn.html
    Something smells here!
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/red-roos-disappointed-after-sudanese-basketball-tournament-cancelled-20180720-p4zsmb.html
    The SMH editorial says today’s Sunday-Herald revelations that the Future Fund is among the investors standing to gain from the systemic underpayment of chefs and culinary staff employed by the high-profile Rockpool Dining Group are troubling.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-future-fund-should-ask-the-hard-questions-20180721-p4zsv5.html
    Michael West warns us to be very careful with travel insurance.
    https://www.michaelwest.com.au/travel-insurance-beware-bogus-clauses-which-deny-your-claim/
    Ian Warden whimsically examines the times we can’t believe we have voted for a certain person.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/political-blushes-the-naive-ways-we-voted-20180719-p4zsdr.html
    Caitlin Fitzsimons explains how Australia is safer than it used to be but family violence persists.
    https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/australia-is-safer-than-it-used-to-be-but-family-violence-persists-20180720-p4zsqy.html

    Cartoon Corner

    Good work from Mark Knight.

    Zanetti with his weekly obligation to News Ltd.

    A classic from Matt Golding

    Glen Le Lievre and Nero Turnbull.

    Jon Kudelka and the banking royal commission.

    Nice!

    A paltry Fairfax collection here.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/best-of-fairfax-cartoons-july-22-2018-20180721-h12z8c.html

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