Boiling Water – 21st Century Fascism

Kirsdarke Friday night, Policy Analysis, Political Observation,

From this article here: https://www.the-reframe.com/boiling-water/

Imagine you have a friend. Let’s call him Rick Reasonable.

Now imagine you have an enemy. Let’s call your enemy Bart B. Oilingwater.

Bart is a real piece of crap. Whenever he sees you, he throws boiling water at you. Usually you dodge it, but every once in a while, he catches you with a bit. You have some bad scarring on one arm, and a few places on your face and neck. And you have to constantly be on the lookout for Bart, because if you let your guard down, it’s scalding water time!

Rick is a good friend. He thinks it is really bad that Bart throws boiling water on you. He tells you this all the time. He’s written some letters to the newspaper about how bad Bart is for throwing boiling water on you. Sometimes he’ll even go out with you to watch your back. He’s got a popular TV show, and he’s gone on the record a few times that Bart is in the wrong for always trying to hit you in the face with boiling water.

Then one day you turn on the TV at the end of the day, and you see Rick has Bart on as a guest. Rick is arguing with Bart about whether or not it is good to douse you with boiling water at every available opportunity. Rick is … parsing things a little more than you’d like.

He wants to know if the water has to be boiling, if it can’t just be very hot. Bart says, no, no, it really does have to be boiling. But does it have to be water, Rick asks. Could it be something a bit easier to dodge, like molasses or tar? Bart thinks about this, and decides he isn’t sure. He’ll have to get back to Rick on that one—but really, he prefers water.

Rick wants to know if there can’t be days Bart could promise to not throw boiling water at you. Bart doesn’t really want to set that sort of precedent.

Rick would like to know why it needs to be you every time. Bart is shocked that Rick would suggest such a thing. He insists he doesn’t have a throwing-boiling-water-on-you-specifically bone in his body. He just believes in throwing boiling water, and you happen to be the one that’s there every time. He’d like to know why, if you apparently hate being struck with boiling water, you insist on being in areas where you know he will be throwing it. He suggests that Rick is really the one singling him, Bart, out, by being so intolerant of his rich cultural heritage of throwing boiling water on people. He hints that Rick’s constant scolding makes Bart want to seek you out specifically now, to throw boiling water on you, for daring to suppose such a thing of him.

Rick appears to have conceded that Bart absolutely does have a right to walk the streets carrying as much boiling water as he wants, in the long-standing tradition of our country. Bart appreciates Rick’s stance on the matter, and compliments him on his willingness to find common ground.

At the end of the segment, he and Bart agree to disagree on whether or not it is good to attempt to douse you with boiling water every day. Bart still thinks it is very good—though he insists it is not directed at you, but only at spaces that you happen to inhabit. He wonders, again, why you choose to inhabit those spaces. Rick continues to insist that throwing at the space that you inhabit is tantamount to throwing it at you, and that it is quite rude indeed. They shake hands. Then there is a commercial for Pepsi.

The next day, you confront Rick about this and he shrugs. “Man, I hate that bastard Bart,” he says, “but you have to hear both sides.”

How are we feeling about Rick?

344 thoughts on “Boiling Water – 21st Century Fascism”

  3. My take on the recent protests in Indonesia http://www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...

    — Edward Aspinall (@edwardaspinall.bsky.social) 2025-09-02T05:18:46.597Z

    Surrogate pregnancies are increasingly popular in tech circles, and the practice is expected to explode globally in the coming decade. It’s also shockingly unregulated. This is a story about what happens when it goes horribly wrong.

    — WIRED (@wired.com) 2025-09-03T12:59:02.930Z

    If you hit a paywall for the Wired story, try this https://archive.is/9WvWU

    The High Court rejects a special leave application from Mr Roberts-Smith to challenge a Federal Court ruling against his bid to sue the Nine network over allegations about war crimes.

    — ABC News Bot (unofficial) (@abcnewsbot.bsky.social) 2025-09-04T05:38:30.883Z

    The US signals it will continue a military campaign in Latin America against "narco-terrorist organisations," as experts warn the next step could be to remove Venezuela's president from power.

    — ABC News Bot (unofficial) (@abcnewsbot.bsky.social) 2025-09-04T04:38:23.570Z

  4. From this post of the Lawyers, Guns and Money Log from yesterday, a particular post stuck with me.

    https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/09/common-ground

    I don’t know what he was going for. I’m not a leader. I’m not privy to everything going on. Maybe he thinks that he needs to be the reasonable one. Maybe I have the luxury of being a fiery online preacher because I am a nobody.

    If I had his platform, I might say this and that platform would probably be taken from me.

    Is the idea of America worth fighting for?

    MAGA looks at the past… at America at its very worst. It looks at all of the ways America has failed to live up to its idea and its dream and it elevates that failure and wraps itself in it like a mantle.

    Do we just accept the reality that the strong will always oppress the weak, the rich will always use the poor as cogs in their machines, the would-be aristocrats will always lord over the serfs, and the industrialists will always pave over the pastures and poison the air and water we breathe for profit and call it progress?

    Or do we want a land where a poor man can work and make a living? A land where an immigrant can come from nothing and build a new life here and send their kids to college? A land where children can breathe clean air, lie in the fields in the sunlight? Where work is treated with the same dignity as capital? Where there are no hungry? Where there are no sick? Where everyone is free to love, live, and experiment at chasing happiness? Where an old man who has put in thirty years at a job suddenly decides to give it up and paint because it makes him happy?

    I know what the reality of America is, but is the idea, the concept, the wish worth fighting for or not?

    Do we just give in and compromise over and over again until the dream and the idea die? Do we shrink and carry on the dream in secret? Or can we make that idea come to life? Can we make the dream a reality? Can we overcome our own petty hatreds and weaknesses as Americans and guarantee a life of freedom and justice and liberty for everyone?

    Troops are not deployed against a free people. Free people should not be forced to hide from agents of the State, the State that supposedly is composed of you and I.

    Ideas are important. Ideas can rally hearts. Ideas can rekindle passion. Shake away the dust of apathy accumulated over the years. “My people perish for lack of vision.”

    MAGA is not a vision. It’s brute force. It’s might makes right.

    That flag they’ve stolen… that’s a symbol of the vision. Not always a perfect one. But a symbol of the vision of liberty and justice, the city on the hill… so is that worth fighting for?

    Or will folks accept that visions and dreams and ideas aren’t going to change the world and compromise bipartisan-ly with the tyrants, the oppressors, the industrialists, and technocrats and other would-be Caesars eager to drain the life from humanity and the planet?

    I don’t even know.

    I’m just spewing emotions into the void.

    Carry on about your business.

  6. Tony Burke MP

    5&5: Back to 2004

    We’re back for another busy week of Parliament.

    Here’s the 5&5.

    BEST

    1. Diversity is our greatest strength
    2. Robodebt class action outcome
    3. You care, Labor cares, Medicare
    4. Improving the health of regional Australians
    5. A multicultural Australia

    WORST

    1. To not build a home
    2. Gotcha not
    3. If you’re going to chirp, chirp up
    4. Sink or swim
    5. Smoking jackets and slippers

    1. After the ugly rallies over the weekend, Member for Swan, Zaneta Mascarenhas reminded the House that diversity is our greatest strength. “I was born and bred in the Goldfields, and people may be surprised to find out how multicultural Kambalda was. We attracted skills not just from across Australia but from across the globe, and the truth is that, out there, people didn’t care about the colour of your skin…This multiculturalism is something that I see in Swan. We have Vietnamese bakeries in Bentley; Indian, Turkish, Lebanese and Somali businesses in Cannington; and Italian, Japanese, Bhutanese, Malaysian, Chinese and Nepalese restaurants in Victoria Park. We are the self-proclaimed restaurant capital of Western Australia. We have Christian, Catholic and Islamic colleges achieving excellence alongside each other.”

    2. On Thursday Michelle Rowland informed the House that the Albanese Government reached an historic settlement, resulting in $475 million in compensation for the victims of Robodebt. This is the largest class action settlement in Australian history. Michelle went on to say “Today’s settlement demonstrates this government’s commitment to addressing the harms caused to so many Australians by the former Liberal government through their disastrous and illegal Robodebt scheme. When the unfairness, the illegality and the cruelty of Robodebt became apparent, the approach of those opposite was to double down, to go on the attack against those who complained and to maintain the falsehood that in fact the system had not changed at all. But, when this government came to office, we established a royal commission which heard tragic stories of people being hounded by their own government to repay debts they did not even owe.”

    3. A a paediatrician, a former NBL player and a proud Victorian MP walk into the Chamber…It may sound like the start of a bad joke but on Tuesday, Member for Macarthur Dr Mike Freelander, Member for Leichhardt Matt Smith and Member for Macnamara, Josh Burns all explained how important Medicare is to them and their communities. They are absolutely worth a watch.

    4. Any music reference automatically gets you into the 5&5 email and on Tuesday Kristy McBain had a good one responding to a question from the new Member for Whitlam, Carol Berry about what we’re doing to improve the health of regional Australians. “We understand that regional development isn’t just about investing in roads and bridges, although they are incredibly important; it’s also about cheaper medicine, which, thanks to the Labor government, will come down to $25 on 1 January 2026. The last time they were this cheap was in 2004. In 2004, I was still at university and working in pharmacy. The No. 1 song on the Billboard charts was Usher’s song ‘Yeah!’, and we’ll take that as an agreement of this policy, and the word of the year was ‘blog’. This year’s word of the year is ‘delulu’, and those opposite are still delulu. This is a huge deal for people in regional Australia, because it will help improve lives.”

    5. On Thursday, Anne Aly answered a question from Chief Government Whip, Joanne Ryan on why multicultural Australia and social cohesion is so important. “When the immigration of Lebanese Australians was described as a mistake, that was wrong. When the African Australian community were unfairly stereotyped, that was wrong. When the Chinese Australian community were accused of being spies, that was wrong. And the scapegoating of Indian communities, designed to undermine their sense of safety and belonging, is wrong. Every member of this Labor government stands by the communities that they represent, and we will always call out attempts to divide us because it is by calling them out that we will strengthen our social cohesion.”

    1. On Wednesday Clare O’Neil reminded the House that during the almost decade that the Liberals and Nationals were in government, they barely delivered any new homes for Australians. “Our government is delivering 55,000 social and affordable homes in five years. The coalition, in nine long years, delivered 373 homes for the country. What an absolute disgrace. We are getting it done. In the member for Hasluck’s electorate, there are 537 new social and affordable homes; in the member for Fraser’s electorate, 795 new homes; in Jagajaga, 711 new homes; and, in Adelaide, 680 new homes. Do you know how many new homes the coalition delivered in all these electorates together? Absolutely zero. It is no wonder we have so many housing challenges, and we are getting on with the job of addressing the housing concerns that Australians so clearly have.”

    2. On Monday, the Manager of Opposition Business thought he had a ‘gotcha’ moment…he was very wrong. Chris Bowen was reminding the house of the time in 2021 when Keith Pitt had been elevated to cabinet under a deal between then Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce. Alex Hawke was quick on his feet to demand a point of order that Bowen refer to Keith with his ‘correct title’, Ambassador to the Holy See. The PM interjected, whilst looking across the aisle, “and he’s not the only one who’s approached us for a job” left many opposite looking sheepish.

    3. On Wednesday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers was sharing with the house the news that our economy is gathering pace and momentum. There were multiple members of the opposition who were interjecting with their disagreement. Jim had the perfect response, “I can hear them chirping away. They should chirp up and say that, when we came to office, real wages were falling, living standards were falling, per person incomes were falling, inflation was rising and interest rates were already going up, and we have been turning all of that around.”

    4. Chris Bowen drew attention to all the things that have been done by the Government to improve the cost of living in Fowler, and had in his hand an attempt by Dai Le to complain to the NSW Government, about charges at a local pool. Only problem was she’d forgotten that those charges were determined by Fairfield City Council, of which she continues to be Deputy Mayor. Take a look.

    5. On Thursday, Richard Marles gave the House an update on the important uplift that the Albanese Labor Government has made to defence spending. Richard reminded the House as to why it was so desperately needed, “That stands in such stark contrast to the lost decade that we saw from those opposite. When the Liberals were sitting around in their smoking jackets and slippers— working out what they were going to put in their press releases and what songs were going to accompany their announcements, the fact of the matter is that Australian defence industry suffered. Well, all of that has now changed because this government is not about talking; it is about doing. And, in the process, we are building Australian jobs and we are keeping Australians safe.”

    That’s all for this week. The House will be back in session at the start of October, while the Senate will be in Supplementary Budget Estimates.

    ‘til then,

    Tony

    PS. In honour of PBS medicines to soon be locked in at 2004 prices – here’s one for all the Coalition backbench members whispering under their breath every time their own Shadow Treasurer, Ted O’Brien takes to the microphone – from 2004 here’s The Black Eyed Peas with Shut Up.

    00Next5&5: Giving hope to the backbench Libs

    HomeAbout TonyContact

    logo.laborbanner.png

    Authorised by T. Burke, Australian Labor Party,  Shop 29, 1 Broadway Punchbowl, NSW 2196

  8. Interview with Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin on LBC.

    This is the kind of fire I want to see more of from the US Democrats.

  9. John Birmingham’s take on the Cronulla Race Riot re-enactment last week.

    https://aliensideboob.substack.com/p/the-primal-scream-of-a-barbarian

    For some people, they were already wrong. Apart from the flags the first real sense I had that this wasn’t some bunch of lentil-loving numpties was the look of genuine fear on the face of a Vietnamese-Australian man, a dad hurrying his two children up the mall away from the marchers, who were by this stage chanting hostile, aggressive, anti-immigration slogans mixed in with the occasional round of Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi. That chant has always carried a whiff of menace, but roaring out of 10,000 ugly, snarling faces, it sounded less like beery patriotism and more like the primal scream of a barbarian hive mind.

    I stood at the end of the mall with a couple of dozen mostly appalled spectators, many of them Asian Australians looking a little sick and fearful, watching this river of human sewage roll past. Maybe it’s because I accidentally found myself there and could eyeball them up close that I don’t share the Prime Minister’s confidence that many good people attended these marches and rallies across the country because of their, uhm, legitimate concerns about the policy settings of Australia’s migration program. Or, you know, whatever.

    Honestly, Albo, I didn’t see a lot of discourse about legitimate concerns or policy options. What I saw was a lot of emboldened bigots and ignorant fucking racists, veins throbbing, eyes wild, thrilled to be part of a crowd that hated all the same people they did.

    • TLBD

      Re Albo, this comment left at the article says it well.

      I really really would love to know whether it is because Albo has had a squirrel applied by a group/faction or simply as PJK might say he ‘has no ticker’.

       the Albanese government is governing like they have a one seat majority against a coherent and compelling opposition surging in popularity with an election due imminently, and not the reality of <checks notes> a crushing majority over an enfeebled, inarticulate clusterfuck of climate change denying racist incompetents with the next election more than 2 years away.

  12. The Murricans have been involved in nigh on 200 conflicts since WWII . So it is nice to see some honesty in advertising breaking out. And it’s Trump of all people.

    Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Friday authorizing the US Department of Defense to rebrand itself as the “department of war”,

  13. Ah the Rum Corp State. The consequences of this criminal behavior ? I’m guessing SFA. 😦 I wonder how many other places around Australia this sort of shit is happening. Poison the plebs ? No wuckers mate. Oh and thanks for the donations. 😦

    Environment watchdog buried report on lead in children’s blood to placate mining companies, emails show

    The New South Wales environment watchdog sat on a report for four years linking elevated levels of lead in children’s blood to current mining,…………….. show the scientist who produced the report into lead exposure in Broken Hill was at one point texting the Environment Protection Authority every two days asking when it would be published.

    when the agency did release the report, it told them the EPA would “quietly load it onto the LeadSmart website and not tell anyone”, and said they would ensure there was “no fanfare or media release” and that they were “not doing any finger-pointing at the mines…it told them the EPA would “quietly load it onto the LeadSmart website and not tell anyone”, and said they would ensure there was “no fanfare or media release” and that they were “not doing any finger-pointing at the mines”.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/sep/05/environment-watchdog-buried-report-on-lead-in-childrens-blood-to-placate-mining-companies-emails-show

  14. Nathan Bull, one of Thomas Sewell’s nazi mates that was also arrested for attacking Camp Sovereignty, has been publicly disowned by his family.

  16. An investigation has been launched after a mobile phone found hidden in the House of Commons was reportedly believed to have been planted there to play sex noises during prime minister’s questions.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/sep/05/angela-rayner-stamp-duty-labour-starmer-reform-nigel-farage-uk-politics-live-news-updates#top-of-blog

    Wouldn’t be noticed in the House of Reps here: just mistaken for some of the interruptions.

  19. ‘I’m glad we didn’t win’: The Plymouth Brethren pumped so much cash and on-the-ground support into the Liberal Party’s 2025 election campaign that some party officials feared the religious sect would hold significant sway over an incoming Peter Dutton govt http://www.theage.com.au/national/i-m... #auspol

    — Leroy (@leroylynch.bsky.social) 2025-09-05T23:34:58.937Z

    God, Christ, man, woman: The ‘divine order’ that defines life for Exclusive Brethren women. Women who have left the secretive church, and one still inside, have spoken out on their treatment. http://www.theage.com.au/national/god...

    — Leroy (@leroylynch.bsky.social) 2025-09-07T02:58:37.747Z

    Inside the Porepunkah property that put a local couple into the middle of a double murder probe http://www.theage.com.au/national/ins...

    — Leroy (@leroylynch.bsky.social) 2025-09-06T23:08:00.357Z

    As the National Socialist Network follows the script of a far-right playbook in an attempt to position itself as a political movement, there are moves to have it proscribed as a terrorist group.

    — ABC News Bot (unofficial) (@abcnewsbot.bsky.social) 2025-09-06T21:28:23.569Z

    Interesting piece on how Canada could be poised to open its market to Chinese EVs, in part because right-wing premiers are demanding the tariffs against them be removed so China won’t tariff Canadian canola exports.Also surprising how aggressive it is against Trump.

    — Paris Marx (@parismarx.com) 2025-09-06T12:26:43.108Z

    Hahhahaha perfect timing. "Hey everyone you're getting cold feet about ai capex, great news, we need more money than anyone has ever asked for. Also we aren't going to make as much from selling access to our actual models, just our error ridden search engine that drives people insane."

    — Ed Zitron (@edzitron.com) 2025-09-06T02:37:02.139Z

    Premium newsletter: A 8500 word analysis of how everybody is losing money on gen AI, with some startups spending 100%+ of their revenue on compute. Even GPU providers are struggling, with years-long time horizons to break even, if profit is even possible.www.wheresyoured.at/why-everybod…

    — Ed Zitron (@edzitron.com) 2025-09-05T16:56:00.861Z

  22. Keep digging

    The fallout from Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s comments suggesting the Labor party’s migration policies were attempts to garner votes from immigrants including those from India, continues.

    Barnaby Joyce appeared to defend Price on the Seven Network this morning, putting the comments down to a “mistake”.

    The Nationals MP said:

    You make mistakes in politics all the time, and the best thing to do is apologise, move on … Get onto another topic. It’s just the nature of politics. You’re not going to be perfect on every statement you ever make, you’re gonna make mistakes.

    I don’t think Jacinta has it in for Indians, by the way. I think that she’s trying to convey … migration is out of control. Why is it out of control? Not because of the people [but] because we just don’t have the resources. We don’t have the houses, the hospitals, the schools, the dams to absorb them.

    He said Price should apologise “if that solves the problem”.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/sep/08/australia-news-live-erin-patterson-mushroom-murders-trial-sentencing-blood-moon-pictures-shark-net-beach-ntwnfb#maincontent

    John Hanscombe in The Canberra Times

    If there were an Olympic sport where the winning team was the one that scored the most own goals, the Coalition would be draped in gold after its performance in the sitting fortnight just gone.

    From net zero to immigration, the gymnastic contortions were breathtaking, master classes in the fine art of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

  23. James Massola is scathing of Price (sorry that it’s paywalled)

    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/if-price-continues-to-follow-trump-s-playbook-she-ll-be-sorry-even-if-she-won-t-say-it-20250907-p5mt4m.html

    Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s attempt to blame the media for her comments about Indian migrants voting Labor is the latest and most laughable attempt by the Northern Territory senator to blame someone else for her own mistakes.

    It’s the third time this year that Price, who rails at the media for being obsessed with US President Donald Trump, has used Trumpian tactics to avoid taking responsibility.

    This is a massive headache for Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who was still in damage control mode on Sunday when obliged to say that Price’s comments were “wrong, they were not correct, they should not have taken place, and corrections have been made”.

    (…)

    Price has a binary view of Australia’s media landscape. Either you’re on her side or you’re her enemy. It’s not surprising, given an entire TV station tells her – night after night, after dark – how great she is.

    As if to prove the point, she is scheduled to appear on Sky to discuss the controversy with Peta Credlin, one of the big champion of conservative Victorian MP Moira Deeming.

    But Australia is not America. We have compulsory voting and a world-leading electoral commission. The political contest is settled in the centre, not on the fringes of the left or the right, nor in a televised Liberal Party branch meeting watched by 50,000 viewers.

    The contest of ideas must be won in the centre, and thankfully, Australians’ trust in an agreed set of facts has not declined to the extent that it has in the United States.

  24. Opinion | Melbourne University Press says it shut down Meanjin for "purely financial reasons". Perhaps the university could have used some of its $273 million surplus to safeguard the seminal journal, @catrionamp.bsky.social‬ writes.

    — Crikey (@crikey.com.au) 2025-09-08T02:42:00.383Z

    The 2025 National Defense Strategy proves once and for all that the GOP China Hawks were who we thought they were: Complete and Total Frauds

    — Secretary of Defense Rock (@sodrock.bsky.social) 2025-09-06T19:05:20.802Z

    Australian universities are in a governance crisis. VC pay blowouts, scandals, mission drift — these aren’t random, they’re structural.This new working paper with @marijataflaga.bsky.social & Keith Dowding digs into why the system is broken, and how to fix it.doi.org/10.25911/MWW…A thread:

    — Francis Markham (@francismarkham.bsky.social) 2025-09-07T02:58:33.488Z

    New blog post! Should we be advocating for High Speed Rail, or just high-er speed? the-iron-road.blogspot.com/2025/09/high…

    — Ben Lever (@benleverau.bsky.social) 2025-09-06T08:27:49.801Z

  28. The pot boiled long ago in Israel. I hope I come across some ‘made in Israel items in a shop so I can at least have the pleasure of boycotting the bastards.

    For the question in the title, that is easy. The never get held to account for their war crimes. The good news is that with the decline of their bodyguard, Murica, they will eventually get some just deserts. Speaking of which .The feckers backed and funded Hamas it in order to undermine Arafat’s PLO and to so avoid a settlement with the Palestinians. Guess whose ‘cunning plan that was ?. Karma’s a bitch eh Bibi. Now all we need is to see him in the Hague on trial.

    Israel used to lie about killing journalists; now it barely bothers to do so. What happened?
    Meron Rapoport

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/08/israel-journalists-kill-army-gaza

    For those unaware of $%&^%!!! Netanyahu’s cunning plan re Hamas.

    The not-so-secret history of Netanyahu’s support for Hamas

    From sabotaging Oslo to funneling Qatari cash into Gaza, Bibi has spent his career bolstering Hamas to help perpetuate the conflict.

    When Israeli historian and human rights activist Adam Raz set out to write “The Road to October 7: Benjamin Netanyahu, the Production of the Endless Conflict and Israel’s Moral Degradation,” he knew he was tackling a blind spot in Israeli public discourse. The vast majority of Israelis, Raz believes, fail to grasp the full extent of Netanyahu’s involvement in bolstering Hamas before the current war, and in perpetuating an unending state of conflict.

    https://www.972mag.com/netanyahu-hamas-october-7-adam-raz/

    Why Netanyahu Bolstered Hamas
    The Israeli prime minister followed a decades-old divide-and-rule strategy that fuels endless war.

    For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces

    The premier’s policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds that will take Israel years to heal from

  29. In an exciting development a whole population may be lining up for a crack at The Darwin Award. The comedy movie Idiocracy moving toward ‘documentary’ status.
    ———————————————————————–

    Florida’s anti-vaccine push leads dangerous shift for US public health

    Florida may soon become the first state to end all vaccine mandates, including those for schoolchildren, setting the stage for deadly infections to make a comeback.
    The move may embolden other states to follow suit, and also risks triggering a resurgence in childhood illnesses long kept at bay.

    https://www.newscientist.com/article/2495372-floridas-anti-vaccine-push-leads-dangerous-shift-for-us-public-health/

    • That’s right up there with Exodus and the tenth plague

      “At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.”

    • He’ll also be looking forward to joining his mates on Sky After Dark for another round of mutual admiration. Nothing gets them friskier than another $Bazillion pissed up against the wall buying weapons.

  33. Really interesting and detailed post from @kevinbonham.bsky.social explaining how Labor turned a 35% primary vote into 63% of seats in the House. It's mostly explained single-member electorates favouring major parties, and giving a winners' bonus to the winning major party, not preference flows.

    — Ben Raue (@benraue.com) 2025-09-09T22:30:27.309Z

    Driven mad by ideology, the power has gone to his head. Lord Pocketsquare Jarrod Bleijie set to kill the 700 megawatt Marmadua Energy Park in the Western Downs and the 1.32 gigawatt Middle Creek Energy Hub. #qldpol reneweconomy.com.au?p=235809

    — David Marler (@qldaah.bsky.social) 2025-09-09T21:58:03.017Z

    Norway's minority Labour Party government won a second term in power on Monday while the populist right achieved its best-ever result, official counts showed, in an election dominated by concerns over rising living costs and wars in Ukraine and Gaza.www.cbc.ca/news/world/n…

    — Leroy (@leroylynch.bsky.social) 2025-09-09T22:54:07.080Z

    Anti-government protests erupt into deadly violence, with Nepalese youth venting their frustration over a political system they accuse of corruption.

    — ABC News Bot (unofficial) (@abcnewsbot.bsky.social) 2025-09-09T21:58:25.749Z

    SMH: The right-leaning Centre for Independent Studies issued a statement expressing “regret” over the months-long fallout from former employee Emilie Dye’s sexual harassment complaint against Tom Switzer. archive.is/gRa7u #auslaw

    — Leroy (@leroylynch.bsky.social) 2025-09-09T09:16:53.598Z

  34. Scum. Not even a hint of shame. But then it is normal behavior, SOP, for the self decribed ‘Most moral army in the world.’ . However reports like this have been coming out from the start. But our ‘leaders’ in the West have said and done SFA in the face of the genocide and war crimes committed by the IDF and Netanyahu’s government.

    So the next time they wander about lecturing others about observing human rights, the rule of law and the ‘international rules based order’ they’ll do so as hypocrites with SFA to zero moral authority.

    The Gaza family torn apart by IDF snipers from Chicago and Munich

    Five-month investigation reveals how four members of one family were shot and killed in a single day and highlights a pattern in which Israeli troops target unarmed civilians

    Daniel Raab shows no hesitation as he watches footage of 19-year-old Salem Doghmosh crumpling to the ground beside his brother in a street in northern Gaza.

    “That was my first elimination,” he says. The video, shot by a drone, lasts just a few seconds. The Palestinian teenager appears to be unarmed when he is shot in the head.

    Raab, a former varsity basketball player from a Chicago suburb who became an Israeli sniper, concedes he knew that. He says he shot Salem simply because he tried to retrieve the body of his beloved older brother Mohammed.

    “It’s hard for me to understand why he [did that] and it also doesn’t really interest me,” Raab says in a video interview posted on X. “I mean, what was so important about that corpse?”

    “They’re thinking: ‘Oh I don’t think [I’ll get shot] because I’m wearing civilian clothes and I am not carrying a weapon and all that, but they were wrong,” said Raab, who majored in biology at the University of Illinois before joining the Israel Defense Forces. “That’s what you have snipers for.”

    After Salem was shot, his father, Montasser, 51, rushed to the site, and tried to collect his sons’ bodies for burial, but was also fatally injured by a sniper.

    The need for a dignified funeral for loved ones is a core human instinct, protected in law and explored in art for millennia. It is at the emotional heart of Homer’s Iliad, one of the earliest surviving works of literature.

    But on that day, Raab treated love and grief as cause to kill. “They just kept on coming to try and take these bodies,” he said

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/09/the-gaza-family-torn-apart-by-idf-snipers-from-chicago-and-munich

  40. Jacinta Nampijinpa Price axed from Liberal frontbench after failure to back Opposition Leader Sussan Ley http://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09... #auspol

    — Leroy (@leroylynch.bsky.social) 2025-09-10T08:34:32.271Z

    Belfast Telegraph: A man convicted of the attempted murder of a 14-year-old child is now part of a far-right group of vigilantes, who have been ‘patrolling’ Belfast's streets and claim to be protecting women and children from migrants archive.is/l61hf

    — Leroy (@leroylynch.bsky.social) 2025-09-10T08:32:53.040Z

    Canberra Liberals' move to exclude backbenchers from decision-making sets 'dangerous precedent', Elizabeth Lee says http://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09... #actpol

    — Leroy (@leroylynch.bsky.social) 2025-09-10T08:41:08.440Z

  42. Sources have confirmed to the ABC that Australian National University vice-chancellor Genevieve Bell has resigned from her position, after months of controversy due to sweeping staff cuts and allegations of poor governance. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09... #ausedu

    — Leroy (@leroylynch.bsky.social) 2025-09-11T00:43:16.358Z

    The vice-chancellor of the Australian National University (ANU) has tendered her resignation after a tumultuous two years at the institution, marked by redundancies, proposed course closures, and allegations of a toxic work culture.www.theguardian.com/australia-ne…

    — Caitlin Cassidy (@caitlinecassidy.bsky.social) 2025-09-11T01:11:28.034Z

    Victorian Liberal Party state secretary Stuart Smith resigns after text messages mocking the party's women's council http://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09... #springst #auspol

    — Leroy (@leroylynch.bsky.social) 2025-09-11T00:41:27.903Z

    There’s no strategic reason for Trump to keep RFK around. Even Trump knows the anti-vaccine stuff is not popular.But Trump will never fire a Kennedy. His narcissism won’t allow it. http://www.salon.com/2025/09/10/t...

    — Amanda Marcotte (@amandamarcotte.bsky.social) 2025-09-10T12:28:49.530Z

    • Thanks Duck ! I finally discover the correct name of the duck that hung out at the small dam and down the river on our old farm ! They were just ‘ducks’ to us kids and we assumed they were domesticated ducks that escaped from one of the neighbour’s places. Although Muscovy ducks were what were usually kept and theses are much nicer looking than a Muscovy.

      We raised a few ducklings I caught down by the river and ended up having a semi domesticated flock on the small dam near the house. They got a bit of extra food, we got eggs (The Muscovy were the ‘dinner ducks’), and a free water weed clearing team for the dam . The duck also got protection during the duck shooting season.

      I soooooooo much wanted to get one of those wing feathers but never did find a good one 😦

  47. Opposition frontbencher Angus Taylor backed Sussan Ley’s decision to sack outspoken Liberal Jacinta Nampijinpa Price this week.

    In his first public comments about the saga, Taylor said Price had a big future in Liberal Party politics, despite being demoted to the backbench over inflammatory comments about immigration.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/sep/12/anthony-albanese-pacific-islands-forum-woodside-north-west-shelf-decision-sussan-ley-labor-coalition-ntwnfb#top-of-blog

    A Liberal Party where Price has a big future is unelectable.

    Keep going, Well Done!

  50. The senator, the ex-PM and the lobby group: Price’s crusade to remake the Liberals The conservative politics of Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has deep roots. Her future is tied to a campaign group that attacks her Liberal colleagues. theage.com.au/politics/fed… #auspol

    — Leroy (@leroylynch.bsky.social) 2025-09-13T00:04:42.163Z

    The @6newsau.bsky.social polling account has reported seeing an ALP internal for Kiama that would have ALP winning easily. We'll find out soon enough.

    — Kevin Bonham (@kevinbonham.bsky.social) 2025-09-12T12:16:35.752Z

    Post reads:—-🚨 Kiama (NSW) voting intention🟥 Katelin McInerney (ALP): 39.6% (+5.2)🟦 Serena Copley (LIB): 27.1% (+15.1)🟩 Tonia Gray (GRN): 10.4% (-0.7)⬛️ OTH: 22.9%TPP:🟥 ALP: 59.4%🟦 LIB: 40.6%Internal ALP poll (obtained by @6NewsAU) | 1-5 Sep | n=1600 | MoE ±2% | +/- 2023

    — Kevin Bonham (@kevinbonham.bsky.social) 2025-09-12T12:16:48.408Z

    What Symbols Charlie Kirk’s Killer Scratched on Bullets Mean http://www.thedailybeast.com/what-symbols...

    — Leroy (@leroylynch.bsky.social) 2025-09-12T23:40:42.236Z

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