“tho I’d rather be asleep”

So would I, but chronic insomnia, can’t be cured only treated which I don’t like. Sleeping at odd times I do, lucky I can pick my working hours.

One of those things we put up with, like politicians.

Hey Zatara, I listened to a bit of the Cover 3 podcast on the Rashada lawsuit.
I remember when Bryce Young was the first one to break a mill on NIL deals.
This lawsuit over $US13mill+ for a guy who’s now the backup for Georgia.
I wonder what Arch Manning is getting all up.

There are two rules that one must adhere to when you are the UK PM.
1) You must be subservient to the US security state.
2) You must never change the existing tax regime regarding assets.

Everything else, knock yourself out.

What Cats and Kittehs have known since day one.

PM’s lack of moral fibre is now beyond dispute

Peta Credlin

It’s no longer premature to say it: Anthony Albanese is simply out of his depth as our Prime Minister. 

In terms of judgment, character, leadership and the intellectual heft required to grapple with the complex challenges of these times, Australians are waking up to the sad reality that this emperor has no clothes. 

At one time his support for the voice might have been put down to an excess of goodwill; his support for re-regulating the workplace the result of union paymasters calling in their debts; his energy follies, in part, the result of his faction’s long war with the Greens; his inertia on national security exposed by his own admission as opposition leader that he would never have the fortitude to turn back boats, hence his preference for open borders and Big Australia. 

But taken cumulatively with his refusal this week to state a position on the International Criminal Court’s moral equivalence between the actions of liberal democratic Israel in self-defence and the atrocities of the designated terrorist group Hamas, it shows a damning deficiency of judgment and character. I might have disagreed with his predecessors from time to time, but this is the first time I’ve genuinely become embarrassed that our national leader is just not up to the job.

When the ICC’s chief prosecutor recommended issuing war crimes arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister and Defence Minister, even Joe Biden was quick off the mark, saying this was “outrageous” and there could never, ever be any even-handedness between a country responding to a great atrocity and the terror group pledged to repeating it. 

The best our Prime Minister could offer was the lame justification that he never commented on cases before courts, even though he did just that shortly afterwards with a view on the ongoing legal woes of Julian Assange. It’s a telling commentary on our Prime Minister’s fitness for office that he felt more solidarity with a low-life who’s largely the author of his own misfortune than leaders of a fellow democracy unfairly arraigned.

Our Prime Minister must really think that Israel and Hamas are as bad as each other, or he’s too worried about the Muslim vote in key Labor seats to express a view. But regardless of his underlying motivation, it shows a lack of moral judgment that ultimately goes to character. How could the leader of a democracy not appreciate the moral difference between a polity such as his own and a terrorist group; or, if he did appreciate it, subordinate it to crass electoral calculation? Especially a Prime Minister who claims to model himself on Labor’s greatest leader, Bob Hawke, who famously declared “if the bell tolls for Israel … it will toll for all mankind”. 

For Hawke, unlike the current generation of Labor leaders, the mistakes liberal democratic govern­ments sometimes make never obscured the fundamental distinction between democracies and dictatorships. 

The Prime Minister and his colleagues have basically been sitting on the fence ever since Hamas broke the ceasefire on October 7 last year by butchering 1200 innocent Israelis and seizing more than 200 hostages. Notwithstanding the disgrace that echoed around the world, of protesters before the Sydney Opera House bellowing “F..k the Jews”, government ministers have not once condemned the now rampant anti-Semitism without bracketing it with an all-but-non-existent Islamophobia. 

They’ve never clearly condemned the now routine protests disrupting our big cities or the intimidatory encampments disfiguring our universities. Led by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, the government has broken almost eight decades of bipartisanship by voting in favour of Palestinian UN membership in what looks like reward for terrorism. And to show just how weak and perfidious Albanese is, just days before Australia voted to walk away from supporting Israel he fronted the Central Synagogue in Sydney in a staged photo opportunity with a community desperately wanting a show of support from their leader. Instead of being upfront with them about what his officials were negotiating in New York, the Prime Minister used these Jewish leaders for propaganda purposes; a media stunt intended to portray solidarity and counterbalance what he knew was to come out of the UN.

The contrast between Biden’s moral clarity and Albanese’s “no comment” is stark. Labor spinners have put this down to the fact the US does not recognise the ICC’s jurisdiction while we do. But this actually gives us a responsibility that the US doesn’t have, to arrest Bibi Netanyahu if he were to come here. This makes the Prime Minister’s handwashing of the issue even more of a cop-out; or perhaps another case where he just doesn’t do detail.

On top of everything else, this latest piece of moral myopia suggests that our 31st Prime Minister has hardly grown out of the Trotskyism he espoused as an undergraduate. He’s got older and luckier but hardly more mature or wiser. And this latest and most egregious dereliction of leadership crystallises every one of his previous failures into the damning judgment that he’s just not up to it.

Eventually, almost every prime minister loses the benefit of the doubt and is judged no longer worthy of office. The time comes when an incumbent, however worthy, can do almost no right and a challenger, however flawed, almost no wrong. For an illustration, look at John Howard and Kevin Rudd in 2007. That this is coming so early in Albanese’s term, and with almost no fanning from internal rivals, reveals the paltriness of his credentials for office.

True, post budget, his net approval rating has limped out of negative territory and he’s still Newspoll’s preferred prime minister. But no budget in a quarter century has rated as badly for the economy or has left voters as underwhelmed.

Even comparatively small things now seem to confirm the larger inadequacy. Like his decision to evict his tenant from his Sydney investment property in the middle of housing crisis that he has directly fuelled with record high migration. Or the big things, like his repeated failures to man up to Beijing over dangerous conduct by Chinese military towards our own. Like his inability to act against ministers who manifestly are also out of their depth or mismanaging their responsibilities.

Albanese only scraped into office in the first place, almost without declared policies and with a record low Labor primary vote, on the back of the electorate’s disdain for Scott Morrison. The record number of independents now in the parliament testifies to voters’ disenchantment with politics as usual from both sides. Still, the tendency to give first-term incumbents the benefit of the doubt makes a teal-Greens-backed minority government the most likely option from an election that could well happen this year. Almost certainly that would only reinforce the tribal leftism of this beyond mediocre Prime Minister. 

This is where there is a real opportunity for Peter Dutton. Forget the commentators who think slick delivery and clever lines are what will win over voters. Right now, given the worries people face and their fears about the future, an opponent with moral clarity and trustworthiness is the biggest contrast with Albanese, and the greatest risk to Labor. Howard was mocked for being dependable; Dutton wants to wear that as a badge of honour.

Vegans, still turning everything they touch to shit (the Hun):

A vegan dog food manufacturer is being sued over claims it produced a toxic batch of biscuits which killed seven dogs and caused illness to more than 60 others.

Veganpet dry dog food was recalled in October 2020 after it was linked to an outbreak of megaesophagus, an incurable condition which causes lifelong eating difficulties or death.

And:

According to court documents, expert testing found toxic levels of fumonisin B1 and fumonisin B2 linked to a contaminated corn-derived ingredient.

And:

The toxic batch of dry biscuits was manufactured in June 2020 in a volume of 22,155kg at a facility in Western Australia.

Veganpet, based in the Gippsland town of Nar Nar Goon, was made aware of associated pet illnesses four months later following correspondence from The Pet Food Industry Association of Australia (PFIAA).

Dear vegans. Stop projecting your stupid meat-free fantasies onto omnivores.

Nigel puts the boot in.

Nigel Farage erupts at ‘most farcical General Election launch in history’ (22 May)

Nigel Farage blasted Rishi Sunak’s general election announcement as the “most farcical in history”.

The Prime Minister confirmed he will go to the country on July 4 in an address outside 10 Downing Street.

Mr Sunak spoke at a lectern without an umbrella as Westminster was hit by heavy downpours on Wednesday afternoon.

He also had to contend with New Labour anthem Things Can Only Get Better blaring out as he spoke.

Mr Farage wrote on X: “Rishi Sunak and his speech notes are both soaking wet outside No 10. This is the most farcical general election launch in history.”

In a video, the honorary president of Reform UK added: “Look at it, the lack of professionalism is unbelievable. To stand there getting soaked in the rain, to read from the notes like a robot without passion, without belief, without vim, without vigour.

“But it sums up 14 years of Conservatism, why they are going to get wiped in this election.

“But what he has done, he’s chosen suicide over total obliteration because as the months go by it will get worse and worse and worse. No planes will go to Rwanda whatsoever.

“I’ve got to tell you I don’t like the look of a Labour government one little bit but this lot, having betrayed Brexit, having betrayed everything I gave them in 2019, deserve everything that is coming to them.”

Sunak can’t even manage an election announcement without looking like an idiot.

Ireland, Spain and Norway considering recognition of Atlantis.

ALP reconsidering its recognition of Albo, with a leading powerbroker saying “able was I ere I saw Albo”.

Hamas apologists are all over twitter explaining it away. The translations are wrong, they are soldiers blah blah blah.
The same ones crying over the treatment of terrorists by American troops.
These pyjama clad teenage girls were conscripts in non combatant roles who were never issued a weapon.
I think they were blurring an already raped Naama.
And remember, it’s three minutes of an ordeal that lasted a lot longer than that.

This comment was rejected by Herald Sun under article that mentioned ransacking by protesters at Melbourne Uni. I guess we can suggest arrest.

“Ransacking seems like theft to me. Surely grounds for arrest”.

Mr Dover, it is of course up to you to approve or otherwise for posting, the text wall below (source: Citizens Party email). It concerns Dan Duggan and his appalling treatment. This subject has been mentioned a few times at the CL site, as many will be aware.

Support Dan Duggan—demand Mark Dreyfus uphold Australian law and sovereignty
Australian citizen and former US Navy “Top Gun” pilot Dan Duggan faces an extradition hearing in Sydney this Friday, but only because Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has hitherto refused to uphold Australian law.

Duggan, who has spent 18 months in solitary confinement in Lithgow Correctional Centre away from his wife Saffrine and six children, should not have spent one day in prison because the Attorney-General should never have approved his arrest on the request of the United States.

The reason why is that Duggan’s case does not meet the most important condition of Australia’s extradition treaty with the United States.

That condition is “dual criminality”—the crime for which an extradition is approved must be a crime in both countries—but the alleged crimes for which the US Department of Justice has indicted Dan Duggan are not crimes in Australia, period.

The DoJ is accusing Duggan of passing on US military secrets by training Chinese military pilots in South Africa in 2012—which he denies, saying he (and the dozens of other top gun trainers who haven’t been arrested) only trained civilians—but the specific charges in the indictment are breaches of the US Arms Export Control Act, which are not breaches of any Australian law.

Corrupt subservience to America

The fact that, knowing this, AG Dreyfus approved Duggan’s arrest in October 2022, shows that Duggan’s is yet another case where the Australian government is choosing to put its strategic and frankly pathetic subservience to the USA ahead of the law and the welfare of an Australian citizen.

In the case of Julian Assange, Australian governments have not objected to the Americans seeking to apply US law extraterritorially against an Australian citizen who does not live under US jurisdiction and wasn’t even present in the United States when the alleged crime was committed (although, belatedly, because Australian public opinion has swung behind Assange, the Albanese government has advocated for his release, whilst still not objecting to the principle of extraterritoriality).

In the case of war crimes coverup whistleblower David McBride, Mark Dreyfus’s refusal to use his power to end the prosecution on public interest grounds led to the November court hearing in which the judge took away McBride’s defence on national security grounds, to protect information related to Australia’s dealings with the United States.

No confidence in rule of law

Given that Dreyfus did not block the US extradition request on the basis of it not meeting the black-and-white requirement of dual criminality from the get-go, the Australian public can have no confidence in the legal process to which Dan Duggan is being subjected, which appears to be riddled with corruption and dirty tricks to rig the outcome the Americans are demanding.

Examples include:

Duggan’s arrest despite no dual criminality;
Duggan’s treatment in prison, including his solitary confinement, being shackled and dressed in an orange jumpsuit when moved, and not being allowed to use a computer to work on his defence, not even one not connected to the internet, despite being on remand and the only prisoner at Lithgow Correctional Centre not convicted of a crime;
The AG’s office officially not commenting on the case, but discreetly backgrounding journalists to read the US indictment so the reporting of the case is coloured by the US allegations as if they are true;
A court ruling for the Americans to freeze the sale of his wife’s farming property as “proceeds of crime” to stop it funding his defence—despite the property being worth many times more than the $180,000 Duggan earned in total from the South African flight school work for which he’s been indicted; and
The hostility of the magistrate handling his case, who upheld the US freezing his wife’s asset so it can’t be used to fund his defence, and ruled against Duggan receiving legal aid, saying [paraphrase] “he’s a smart guy, he can defend himself” (consequently, Duggan’s core legal team is working pro bono for now, against the full legal might of the USA).
Why Dan Duggan?

After 18 months of such treatment, and facing his final hearing which may see him extradited to the USA and jailed for more than 60 years, Dan Duggan has finally revealed information that explains the mystery of why, given the number of former military pilots who worked at the same South African training school as Duggan, only he has been arrested and treated this way.

The information Duggan has just revealed in a letter he hand-wrote from prison is that after he worked at the South African school, but before he started his airline industry consultancy business in China, Australia’s spy agency ASIO and the US Navy Central Intelligence Service contacted him to ask him to spy for them in China.

According to Duggan, the spy agencies indicated no problem with what he did in South Africa, but were keen on him to start his business in China.

Duggan was taken aback, but as a patriotic military-trained person, he agreed to cooperate, except he didn’t do any spying, and the relationship broke down when US actions caused Duggan to come under suspicion in China, resulting in him being blocked from leaving China for seven years.

After the relationship broke down, the US DoJ indicted him in 2017, which wasn’t acted on until 2022, when he was finally back in Australia.

Australian Citizens Party Research Director Robert Barwick broke the news of this stunning revelation in a 16 May 2024 YouTube interview with Daniel Dumbrill: Breaking Info: The US Punishes Their Unwilling Australian Asset & His Family, New Dan Duggan Details:
https://youtu.be/FagDmN3IHBg

Robert Barwick [Citizens Party] questioned whether the entire action against Dan Duggan is some kind of payback by the intelligence agencies, and called on Australians to support Duggan and his family:
by demanding that AG Mark Dreyfus uphold Australian law; and
by supporting the family’s legal fighting fund.

Labor Politicians have solved the power disaster by deferring Eraring’s closure until after the next election.

Never thought I’d say anything good about Nova “TimTam” Peris ever, but there you go. Pretty much smarter than any Liar politician and the majority of SFL’S.

We Burned 6 Electric Vehicles!

Queer Theory Is the Doctrine of a Sex-Based Cult

New Discourses

U.S. Air Force analyst confirms no data exists to support DEI policies and say they cheat the system

Roger, you piece on von Mises and people not looking at facts reminded me of a fatal accident I arrived at shortly after. Police not in attendance yet. Others had already taken control of the scene and I was most impressed with the people involved. Just the other day I saw a bit on facebook, how it came up in my search but it did, of the feral locals giving their account of which none were present yet somehow managed to know exactly what happened when all of them were wrong. They assumed one of the drivers who was known to be a pisspot on occasions was to blame and the other other a pillar of society who in fact was on the wrong side of the road rendering his chidren orphans. People invent things to be in the know or prejudge based on hearsay. Today we only have to look at the successive government’s we’ve had to be aware of the absolute crap spouted about all snd sundry. The waiter’s bastard being the worst. People are too willing to believe what thy want hear.

You really can’t make this stuff up.

Pentagon Says None of Food Aid Moved Through Gaza Pier Has Made It to Palestinians (22 May)

I wonder: was that a bug or a feature?

Anthony Albanese will unveil a new $550m strategy aimed at turning Australia into a ‘world-leading battery manufacturer’ as the next plank of his Made in Australia agenda.

Does Labor ever pick winners? (do the Libs?)

All the good ideas, NBN, NDIS climate stuff, all seem to be poor investments that you wouldn’t do yourself

Another factor was that by law Irish Catholic farms had to be inherited equally between all male offspring which is why farms got smaller and smaller and potatoes became the only viable option.
That’s interesting, Rosie.
The rest is rubbish.
The “Potato Famine” is a bollocks half-truth which has become like an “Albo the Houso” origin story for a lot of cod Irish mugs who can’t see the hazards, then and now, of mammon economics and monoculture agronomics.

“The “Potato Famine” is a bollocks half-truth”
That might be your personal opinion Walli but decent, independent and objective historians like Cecil Woodham-Smith present well documented evidence to the contrary.

If the majority of a country’s population are subsistence farmers on tiny acreage and crops fail, whether because of drought, flood, disease or war then widespread famine is the result even if your skin happens to be white.
If you think the death and emmigration figures are fake perhaps you could provide some sources.
By the by Woodham-Smith mentioned Ireland’s bigger landlords continued to export grain during the famine. She also mentioned that when the English government did intervene to sent corn to Ireland their commitment to laissez-faire meant that the price of what corn landed went up so even those who had been given work building canals etc couldn’t afford it.

Codswallop Wally
German tenant farmers suffered similar fate and migrated in large numbers to the US like the Irish.
If you read the accounts of the weather in the potato crop failure years, it tells the story of perfect conditions for a spore pathogen to devastate the crop.
Grain grown was sold for cash to pay rent on land that was suitable for cultivation. The average Catholic tenant didn’t have much arable land as it was distributed under force to the Protestant ascendancy who farmed the rich country in the East.
Even these farmers found the climatic conditions very difficult and asked for assistance in loan and rent relief.