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It is so important that the war in Syria comes to a close asap. What is the difference now with Trump's approach as opposed to the one prevailing hitherto?

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ABC’s Lateline last night ran a examining the economic impacts of mass immigration. The segment featured three guests:

  • ANU professor, Bob Gregory, a pro-immigration economist who has
    that the past 12-year’s mass immigration has provided a bigger (and
    more permanent) economic boost to Australia than the mining boom.
  • CBA senior economist, Gareth Aird, who has that Australia’s mass immigration settings are lowering the living standards of the resident population.
  • Deloitte Access Economics’ Chris Richardson, a pro-immigration economist who has for Australia to lift its already turbo-charged immigration intake.

The segment covered a range of topics, including:

  • Whether immigration is boosting living standards on a per head basis.
  • Whether immigration can prevent Australia’s population from ageing.
  • Deleterious impacts on infrastructure, traffic congestion and housing affordability.

As expected, CBA’s Gareth Aird makes the most sense, noting that the
ordinary citizen is not benefiting from mass immigration and their
‘lived experience’ has deteriorated through sluggish income growth,
deteriorating traffic congestion, and worsening housing affordability.
Aird also calls for governments to take account of these issues, as well
as productivity, when it sets the overall migrant intake, rather than
just focusing on headline GDP growth.

Importantly, Aird also challenges the claim made by Chris Richardson that Australia can “substantially offset” an ageing population by “getting migrants”, noting that this is a temporary fix since immigrants also grow old, and equates to “kicking the can down the road”.

One big positive from the segments is that even pro-immigration
Gregory and Richardson admit that immigration does have negative effects
(which are often ignored) and that “bigger is not better” for
living standards. While vigorously opposing halting immigration
entirely, as advocated by Pauline Hanson, Gregory even acknowledges that
immigration should probably be “adjusted down”.

You know you are winning the debate when pro-mass immigration
economists like Gregory and Richardson will no longer defend current
immigration levels (see below chart).

It’s now only a matter of time before politicians capitulate and cut
the immigration intake to more sensible and sustainable levels.



Kangaroo Killing Results in First Jail Sentence for Cruelty to Animals in Western Australia

Posted on by PETA Australia

Two men have been charged and one sentenced to 11 months in prison after police discovered video footage of the vicious killing of a kangaroo.


After an unrelated raid on a home near Bunbury, Western Australia, police discovered the footage on a seized computer.
In the video, Craig Jamie House and Vance Geoffrey Jarvis corner the kangaroo in a dam, throw rocks at the animal, and then strong>bash the kangaroo with crowbars before dragging the lifeless body out of the water.
House also ordered his dog to help corner the kangaroo.
Both men pleaded guilty to the ill-treatment of an animal. House – who was found to be the instigator – was given an immediate jail sentence of 11
months, while Jarvis was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.
This kind of punishment is almost unheard of in Western Australia, and RSPCA WA CEO David van Ooran said it was the first known jail sentence imposed in the region for cruelty to animals.
“This is a very strong penalty and a very appropriate penalty”, he added. “[I]t was clearly a horrific and sickening act against a defenceless animal …. It’s excellent to see that the magistrate in this case has awarded a prison term.”
House claimed he killed the kangaroo in
order to eat the animal. As his gun licence was confiscated two years earlier, he used the crowbar instead.
“I tried to put out the ‘roo in the most humanely way I could”, he said.
Magistrate Evan Shackleton dismissed this claim, saying, “For a number of minutes, you were not behaving humanely to that kangaroo”. He added, “In my view, you were having fun tormenting that kangaroo”.

This case comes just weeks after another ground-breaking Australian cruelty case, in which Sydney store Nicholas Seafood Traders received New South
Wales’ .
As in the previous case, this conviction was also achieved using video evidence: a YouTube video showed that a staff member hacked the tail off a lobster and then put the animal through a band saw while still alive.

Remember when Andrew MacLeod was the CEO of the Committee for Melbourne and he used to get a lot of media for his pro- population growth message? Haven't heard much from them for a while until the last few days when they instigated the changes to the "walk" signs at the traffic lights for pedestrians so that the walking person symbol was in a skirt to denote that women could also cross on the green light! When I heard this I felt reassured that this harmless exercise could keep the Committee for Melbourne busy. However I just checked their website and their vision for Melbourne remains large- scale. "Global city of choice for people and organisations, due to its distinct blend of prosperity, opportunity and liveability"

It is public housing in another guise. The caravaners often own their own homes but no land as i understand it. "Replacement" land would need to come with at least the basic services of sewerage and water. Of course governments won't buy it - the idea or the land- any more than they would buy land for a renter tossed out when a house is sold,but perhaps the idea should be put to them since they are stacking the dice against the renters through mass immigration. It would be an extremely costly harm minimisation scheme. Agree re the limits to land but new suburbs are being built to accommodate population growth and there seems to no end in sight. Perhaps if they were obliged to consider making room for displaced people the State Government might send a message to the Federal government to tone down the immigration numbers. Oh well, one can live in hope.......

Re "Governments need to compensate displaced people", what you describe sounds like public housing for the displaced. We certainly need more public housing in this country. From something government provided across the community, situated fairly close to industries, the remaining public housing is mostly for the severely disadvantaged - and stigmatised by this. Public housing is now synonymous with ghettos, but that is not what it used to be. It was with the privatisation of the land-development and housing industry (beginning under Menzies) that public housing became a marginalised sector. I have heard of people driven to suicide by the loss of a home. Just moving house is recognised as a major stressor. How do old people cope? The government should take the costs of providing public counselling and support for those brutally displaced by the growth lobby in Australia. And so many more are displaced in their own society by the lack of housing, its unaffordability, as well as those whose houses have been taken from them. There is one problem, though, where would governments find the land for more public housing? We cannot keep densifying or clearing land - because that is the cause of the problem.

This has been caused by high immigration and allowing foreign nationals to buy land in Australia. The result is devastating for this particular group of people. In order to compensate them, and for them to continue to be independent and avoid further social dislocation and mental illness, the only solution I can think of is for the government to buy land and rent it to these people and others like them. Governments caused it. Governments should pick up the pieces, otherwise the plight of these people is seen as no more than collateral damage and then forgotten.

Another begging and bragging letter from GetUp.

The bastards want even more unjustified profile as they con the simple-minded that they actually represent them.

"Work to cultivate and boost GetUp's profile in mainstream media outlets and ensure GetUp is a powerful and respected commentator on Australian politics. Tell the stories of GetUp's campaign victories in the media to drown out the criticisms from politcians. Build a world class communications team to lead this work."

They've posted a photograph that presumably portrays one of their hirelings on a Q&A panel. It is obvious that Soros has infiltrated the ABC and that would account for its promotion of the growth lobby corporates, open-borders, refugees and identity politics ad-nauseum to the exclusion of any wider subject. GetUp is obviously a major inhibitor of Australian democracy, having infiltrated the Greens and the Labor Party. We should not trust it with our personal information or with public power.

Bit of a Freudian slip today from RBA chief Phil Lowe in parliament: There is not a single story across the country. In parts of the country that have been adjusting to the downswing in mining investment or where there have been big increases in supply of apartments, housing prices have declined. In other parts, where the economy has been stronger and the supply-side has had trouble keeping up with strong population growth, housing prices are still rising quickly. In most areas, growth in rents is low. And recently we have seen a pick-up in growth in credit to investors, which needs to be watched carefully. RBA chief blames house prices on "strong population growth" - MacroBusiness

In 2017, elections are to be held in Western Europe. They are scheduled for Wednesday 15 March, barely 12 days away, in the Netherlands, 23 April in France. Later on this years they are scheduled for 11 September Norway on and 24 September in Germany.

As with the United States' Presidential election of 8 November 2016, the critical choice to be faced in these elections in Western Europe is not between 'left' and 'right', but between those who stand for the interests of globalist corporations and those who stand for the sovereignty of their own people.

Two-and-a-half years ago, on Monday 31 August 2015 German Chancellor Angela Merkel suddenly announced that anyone claiming to be a Syrian refugee, who reached Germany's borders, would be automatically granted asylum. As a result of Merkel's actions, the complicity of other European governments, particularly those of France and Sweden, and a massive people-smuggling racket paid for by George Soros, well over million 'refugees' from North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia suddenly flooded into Germany alone. Hundreds of thousands more flooded into other European countries including France and Sweden.

Surprisingly, in spite of the outrage felt by many Germans at Merkel's actions, opinion polls indicate that Angela Merkel could still win the next Federal election on 24 September. In part, this certainly due to the fact that the opposition to Angela Merkel is split between the Social Democrats and the anti-globalist 'far right' Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party.

The continued acceptance of Merkel by many Germans is also due to an ongoing guilt that many of them feel as a result of the legacy of Nazi Germany.

In truth, the Germans themselves suffered even more, at the hands of the Nazis and from the war started by the Nazis, than did the people of most other European countries.

In the early 1930s, the leaders of German Communist and Social Democratic parties fought each other harder than they fought the Nazis and then surrendered to Hitler and his army of paid thugs without a fight.

Even in the election of March 1933 following the Reichstag Fire of January, which was blamed on Dutch Communist Marianus van der Lubbe, the Nazis won only 43.9% of the popular vote. In the elections of July 1932 prior to that rigged election, Hitler only won 37% of the popular vote.

So the German people as a whole can be no more held responsible for the crimes of Hitler, than can the British, Polish or Russian people.

In 2017, vested interests similar to those who paid for Hitler to destroy democracy in the early 1930's are similarly paying for the dregs of the Arab world to flood in and destroy European democracy, particularly German democracy.

On this occasion, guilt, unjustly felt by many Germans for the crimes of Hitler is causing many many of them to not stand up to Merkel and others, who are claiming the 'pro-refugee' high moral ground.

Should Geert Wilders be elected Prime Minister of the Netherlands on 15 March and Marine Le Pen be elected President of France in April, many Germans may break out of the guilt the globalists have unjustly shackled them with and the fortunes of the anti-globalist AfD could well be lifted sufficiently to allow them to defeat Merkel at the election of 24 September.

Hi Peter, I also am not too inclined towards Americana, but Trump's policies all come under candobetter.net's purview which is reform in democracy, environment, population, land use planning and energy policy - and the media (which we should include one day in our mission statement at the bottom of the page.) Trump is likely to affect all of these things in new ways. So I don't think we are straying from our subjects here. And it is very important to balance the nonsense driveled by the mainstream media about Trump. In fact this all brings home how rare any real alternative in the media, even on the internet, is. Thank you for your comment.

Just flicked over your trump item. I do not follow Americana or have any real interest, however a recent new member informed me he had won 10 big ones on tradbroke type betting for picking result from interpretation just as you outlined on gatherings. I asked him how he predicted same and his reply was as yours. So there you go - some more useless info! P

It's incredible the number of people who "hate" Donald Trump! Yes, he's wealthy, outspoken, in-your-face and a celebrity for his developments and on a show "The Apprentice" on TV. However, he's a leader who's actually implementing his pre-election promises, and instead of lamenting terror, he's taken the audacious step of banning immigration from failed nations, based on Islam! Nothing riles people so much than a real politicians, with real leadership and not bowing to PC. It will be interesting so see how his policies pan out, and if the US negotiates peace in Syria, and stops the corrupt intervention in foreign affairs. He's refreshing, and there's been no real leader since JFK, not tied to the banks and Wall Street. He appears to be controlling immigration, and booting out illegal aliens! For too long the USA has had an open door policy to the world, the Great Immigration dream, but with increasing poverty, unemployment, overpopulation, social division and conflicts, it's time to close the doors somewhat!

Keane is taking the Politically Correct view, which is perhaps the standard the crikey requires. They are more interested in appealing to their target market than disseminating useful and correct information. I don't think building more houses will help. Subdivision and allowing development in existing residential areas increases, not decreases the price of land. The more relaxed the restrictions are with regards to what can be built on the 1/4 acre blocks, the HIGHER the price of housing and land. Ironically, increasing supply increases price, as it increases the profit an investor can make through subdivision. The more "boutique" apartments or townhouses that can go up, the more profit from the initial land purchase, and consequently, the more the investor can pay for that land, and still turn a profit. It may sound counter intuitive, but if restrictions were tightened, that is, you couldn't build duplexes or townhouses in what were lots with free standing homes, the investors wouldn't be able to profit from subdivision, and they certainty wouldn't be willing to pay so much. This would depress prices a little, but you'd have to lower the demand side otherwise you will have a real shortage (instead of the fake shortage we have now). So nimbys who stop development aren't raising prices, they are helping put a lid on them!

John Burke writes: Re. “” (Wednesday)

In ignoring Dick Smith’s overall approach to the population issue, Bernard
Keane does no one a favour.

Sure migrants have built this country, sure we are all migrants or their
close descendants, sure One Nation is a redneck abomination and sure more houses
could be built if there were the will. Having said all that, it’s disappointing
to see Keane lining up with the growth-without-limit merchants; those people
whose well funded  lobbyists haunt the corridors of our parliaments: the
rent seekers, the unthinking and the greedy.

As Dick has said often enough, we cannot have infinite growth in a finite
world, or in Australia in this case. Our recent rates of population growth will
see us with about 100 million people in another 100 years and with 200 million
50 years later and onwards exponentially. Now as we have grown from the
Aboriginal population to almost 25 million over some 220 years we have wreaked
huge environmental damage on our country. Think the Murray-Darling, think a huge
mammal extinction rate and so on. Think of the devastation should we pursue
growth at our current rates!

Plenty of European countries, as well as others like Japan, seem to manage
well economically with zero or negative population growth, with wealth per
capita being the relevant measure rather than GDP. As for Bernard blaming
nimbyism for traffic and such issues, that’s just silly. If you don’t look after
your own backyard then who will? The countless planning mistakes that continue
to be made in the face of community opposition are testament to the necessity
for ongoing nimby activity.

The interesting thing is that we don’t seem to be allowed to discuss the
future of our population. Keane doesn’t want to, our political and business
leaders don’t want to, out major environmental groups refuse to and so it’s left
to a few people like Dick Smith to carry that flag. If we were to agree that
population growth should stop one day then it behoves us to talk about by what
process that will occur. Shall we, being rational beings, manage our own destiny
or shall we let the rent seekers keep pushing until Australia is on its knees,
environmentally, socially and economically. As David Attenborough has said,
“There seems to be some bizarre taboo around the subject”.

Dick Smith cares about Australia and its future. He needs support and
understanding rather than the sort of facile rebuttal dished out by Bernard
Keane. 

Why are so many people - globally - so disengaged with their job? We’re all working harder and longer yet many people are doing work they feel is meaningless. So we ask what wrong with employment? In the video linked to below, Host Ross Ashcroft is joined by writer and commentator Elaine Glaser and author of Bullsh*t Jobs and anthropologist David Graeber. It's quite a good review of the subject lasting about 20 minutes.

RUSSIAN BANK DOCS SHOW HOW PUTIN LAUNDERED MONEY TO HILLARY & PODESTA WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress may want to examine concrete evidence showing Russian President Vladimir Putin paying Hillary Clinton and John Podesta for a long time before the mainstream media goes even more overboard trying to fabricate a tie between Putin and President Donald Trump. The money trail hunt begins with a document Infowars has obtained from the Russian Central Bank “Registry of Significant Control,” known generally as the “RSC Registry.” This document traces the ownership of Metcombank, a relatively small Russian-domiciled bank located in the Russian Ural Mountains, to ownership by Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian billionaire with close ties to Putin. As we shall see this document provides evidence of the circuitous path the Russian government has been using since Hillary Clinton was secretary of state to make large financial payments to John Podesta and to the Clinton Foundation. See documentation and read more of this article at

Australia currently spends $5.03 billion dollars on foreign aid – that's 0.32% of our gross national income, or 32 cents in every $100. But, recent plans have been set out to drastically lower our aid spending. A news report highlighting the fall in Australia’s foreign aid spending quoted World Vision Australia Chief Advocate Tim Costello as saying aid was at its highest under Prime Minister Robert Menzies, at 0.5% of gross national income – at a time when per capita income was much lower. Per capita income in the Menzies era may have been much lower, but costs of living and housing have spiraled out of control since then. The highest aid to gross national income ratio under any Australian government was 0.48%. That ratio was seen under Prime Ministers Holt, McEwen and Gorton in 1967-68. Growth in per capita income has slowed lately, and household disposable income has fallen over the last several years. But Australia’s per capita income remains well above the average of OECD member countries, and of all high-income countries. Despite 25 years of much-applauded and celebrated economic-growth, where are the actual benefits? Australia’s gross public debt is on track to rise from $474bn as of last month to more than $600bn within the next three years — even including the government’s reform measures — which will amount to around $23,500 a person. Such calculations include swaths of the Australian population who will shoulder little of the debt repayment. The debt burden per capita and per Australian under 18 has exploded since the financial crisis from $2600 and $11,100, respectively, to $20,300 and $90,300. If the costs of "economic growth", fueled by population growth and housing, is costing more than the benefits, surely it's time for another more prosperous and beneficial economic model? Sponsoring children should be a Third World charity option, not here in Australia!

Amongst many other observations the point is made that the language and definitions around the political left and right need to be revised. This seems to be extremely important as what is referred to now as the "left' is as often as not identified strongly with ideologies that suit the right and don't suit the traditional heartland of the left. Nationalism is not necessarily a right wing notion. Free trade supported by the "left" often disadvantages workers. These contradictions impede rational and progressive discussion. It must be doubly disadvantageous to young people who have not experienced these terms in practise when they were more in tune with their original meaning.

I agree with you Edulcor, what's occurring in Melbourne is The Crime of the Century with apologies to Supertramp. I believe that Josh Gordon is playing the nice guy while, in fact, Fairfax Media is the bad guy and that spells trouble, BIG trouble for all Melburnians. While tending the Sustainable Population Australia tent at the Sustainable Living Festival last Sunday it was surprising the number of people who were switched on to our population problems and that was over and above those who understood that there is a problem, but then deny it. However, as you mention Edulcor, most Melburnians aka Simone's friend, are sitting in the middle of the road dazzled by the bright lights of the so-called Spirit of Progress that is grinding them into the dirt. Josh Gordon in his article acknowledges the problem and its effects, the cause, but then fails to call on his employer let alone State & Federal Governments to do anything. Why pen the piece if you aren't going to call them out? Not only are our State and Federal Governments complicit, but so is private enterprise who are driving the big population agenda for the own benefit! Governments can be held accountable at the ballot box, private enterprise, however, is far less accountable and the only way Joe Public can be of influence is to not buy their products and to divest of those companies in their share (superannuation) portfolios. And as we have seen with the coal industry this can take a long time. Attempting to influence relatives and friends of the problem of overpopulation can be taxing, taking people out of their comfort zone. High levels of tact and diplomacy are required when raising overpopulation and its effects.

This is so true: "Humanity is in desperate need of individuals and organizations to speak up for their right to live free from the threat of state violence. Instead we have a human rights industrial complex which speaks for the powerful and tells lies in order to justify their aggressions. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are at the top of this infamous list. They have a pattern and practice of giving cover for regime change schemes hatched by the United States, NATO partners and gulf monarchies like Saudi Arabia." Full article by Margaret Kimberley

Thanks for this comment Simone. Your friend sounds like one of many mid socio-economic and even lower socio-economic who seem to respond to authority in such a dog-like fashion that they question their own eyes rather than cast serious doubts on the ruling classes. How did so many people get so goddamned obedient? Is it the food? Is it the education system? Is it television? Is it because they just cannot see where it is all coming from?

We all experience and we constantly read of how the traffic in Melbourne is unbearable, yet we are told by our criminal government that it will get worse, although they have the power to stop it by reducing immigration. And the Age, whilst posing as some kind of left wing hold out, supports this nightmare growth all the way, despite apparently forthright articles which simply accept this outrage, as in the one cited below, which concludes, uselessly, "I don't mean to be unduly negative. Melbourne remains a cool place to live. But it is also just another big city that is rapidly getting bigger, more expensive, more troubled. Underpinning many of these problems are unsustainable rates of population growth. Unless we wake up to this, our problems will only continue to grow." Unless "we" wake up to this? We all bloody know it! And so do the politicians. And they want it to get worse. They should be put on trial for treason. That's the only thing we could do, in theory, to stop this - but they are untouchable! Why? How? "Melbourne is growing at an unsustainable pace. As it is, one-third of car trips happen on congested roads during the morning peak. The bad news is that it's only going to get worse. According to Infrastructure Victoria, in coming decades the city is going to become so clogged that the average speed during the morning peak will drop to just 31km/h. And that's even after factoring in billions of dollars worth of planned road and rail upgrades."

The images could be Melbourne (although our traditional detached houses are mostly single storey, far less uniform and far more attractive than those shown in Texas) But things must be bad in Melbourne as one of my utterly complacent accepting friends related what was obviously a horror she had just witnessed in Bentleigh which used to be a quiet rather ordinary middle ring suburb. In recent years home owners have been clubbing together and selling multiple adjoining properties to appeal to developers.(Don't worry about the neighbours as they'll never see them again). What my friend described was an enormous cavern covering a huge area and a gigantic crane. She said the area and been ruined. (A tower to rise from this mess?.) It must be bad as she's never expressed any concern over any of the development atrocities in Melbourne before.

The liberal think tank Center for American Progress (CAP), now fashioning itself as a powerful anti-Trump force, is funded by The home page of CAPAF simply reads “Resist,” and has a button to “Join the Resistance.” The home page of CAPAF simply reads “Resist,” and has a button to “Join the Resistance.” On the actual posted Thursday, it says, “RESIST HATE. RESIST CORRUPTION. RESIST INJUSTICE. FORGE PROGRESS.” [...] CAP itself, which shares staff with and heavily funds the action fund, is  by the  Open Society Foundation to the tune of over $1,000,000. It is also by Walmart, Bank of America and Google.

Amassing people in coffin-like apartments, forcing people to sell their homes, getting them out of the roads to make them flow better, massive property taxes! It's all about creating the cancer of human overpopulation, all for the sake of their Masters - property developers who will manipulate human resources for their own interests. So, cities will exist for their interests, and create big physical Ponzi pyramids, so that the money from all the hip-pockets and earnings will flow up the pyramid to the Apex - the privileged. It's the modern version of the Feudal system- of slave workers taking rents and produce all for the benefit of the land owners. It should be made into a horror movie! It's the extrapolation of what's already happening here in Australia.

Thanks so much for translating that. From the Human Rights Watch report on the massacre in Latakia, I learnt a little about what these women and children witnessed and suffered. I'm sure most people on the list would have seen the report. It gives a context to the words of the president. Also, people might go to the pages on Closer Look on Syria which present information and links regarding the massacre and abductions. There is also reference to possible links between the abductions and the Ghouta attack a couple of weeks later, e.g. Hard stuff to see and read, but it is wonderful to see the relief and warmth expressed in the videos you have passed on to us. Thank you again.

So, if there are not enough "human rights'' abuses, Amnesty International creates their own fake news? Billionaire George Soros partners with a lot of international organisations, including Amnesty International. Soros, who was convicted and fined for insider trading in 2002 regarding French bank Société Générale shares he bought in 1988, has built an empire out of obfuscating global criminal activity with the cause of “human rights.” All Amnesty and other organizations like it are doing is managing public perception selectively of global human rights abuses, fabricating and/or manipulating many cases specifically to suit the agenda of large corporate-financier interests.

If it were a muslim ban, David, then a lot more countries would have been banned. It was aimed at countries believed to be Middle Eastern sources of terrorism. Why Turkey and Saudi Arabia were left out is a mystery. However, I get your comment about big business loyalty to the US and discrimination against poor countires where there are also a lot of Muslims.

Apple, Google, Uber and Facebook pay little or no corporate tax in the USA. I wonder how much tax they pay in Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Syria, Iraq and Iran? David Z Hughes

Assad spoke with integrity, authority and rationality. He must have strong ideals and support to stand against global, destructive powers against him. Amnesty has learned from prisoners who were detained there and released and former guards about what they describe as a calculated programme of extermination taking place in one of President Bashar al-Assad’s military prisons – Saydnaya, in Damascus. This does not stand with the person of the interview, who wants peace in his country! Amnesty has collected witness testimony on the basis of which it believes that Saydnaya’s mass hangings are authorised by officials at the highest levels of the Syrian government. Together with the names of an “execution panel”, Amnesty has forwarded information about alleged perpetrators to the relevant international investigation bodies. He says terrorists are attacking the people– when they are attacking civilians, and killing civilians, and beheading people, and destroying properties, private and public, and destroying the infrastructure, everything in this country, let’s say, our constitutional duty and legal duty as government and as army and as state institutions is to defend the Syrian people. He's hardly the monster portrayed by his critics. The terrorists need to be quelled, and their support base.

I concur with your sentiments Sarah. As Geoffrey Taylor said in his piece, the MSM have it in for Trump and everybody and anybody who dares to air an opinion other than the elitist agenda put about mainly by Wall and War Streets. Like Geoff, I don't agree with many of Trump's policies, but he has spared us the spectre of Hilary the Warmonger and and the strong possibility of WW3. After listening to 10 minutes of Paul Barry's Media Watch on Monday evening re: fake news and alternative facts which was followed by Q&A with Tony Jones espousing the very same "Fake News"! Poor old Tone stuck in the 20th century and/or maybe somewhere infinitely worse, still believes that Bashar al-Assad is THE evil dictator running around slaughtering all and sundry in Syria. Maybe Tone should take a squizz into his own predilections and then check the facts. Even the Donald is awake up to this sought bull shit because fake news, alternative facts, propaganda, call what you like, but it's a load of Farmer Brown's finest whichever way you look at it!! The Australian mainstream media are as guilty of peddling this sought of bull shit as anybody else and it includes the ABC who should know better. Not only is it fake news, but the other side of the argument is never told, there is no balanced reporting let alone journalism. The story is the version which tows the Wall and War Street line ie is singing straight from the neoliberal song sheet. The trouble is that there is nobody, I repeat nobody, in the Australian Federal Government that has the balls to call the MSM out!

Jane Stillwater wrote:

But no matter if Trump loses and ends up in the tar pits of Vegas or if the Deep State loses and ends up buried in the swamps of Washington DC, hopefully democracy will be the ultimate winner.

Your article has completely ignored Donald Trump's titanic struggle, since early 2014, against nearly all the corporate newsmedia (and much of the supposed 'alternate' newsmedia including RT, PressTV and Global Research), the Republican Party establishment, the Democratic Party and massive electoral fraud.

You concede that "Trump, like Kennedy before him, also seems to be calling out the Deep State's right to rule America (and the world) with an iron hand", but then go on to say that Trump is no better than the Deep State and all those mentioned before who opposed his Presidential campaign.

Given Hillary Clinton's many corrupt business dealings, her stated intention to start a war with Iran and that she had already helped cause the deaths of many hundreds of thousands of people in the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Ukraine and Syria, the outbreak of World War 3 would have been inevitable had Donald Trump not won the election.

Whilst I also have concerns about Donald Trump, for example his unreasonable apparent hosility towards Iran, he has agreed to cooperate with Russia in Syria. This could well see the end of that terrible conflict which has lasted almost six years.

He has scrapped the appalling Trans-Pacific Partnership and acted to re-establish American sovereignty by enforcing laws against illegal immigration and protecting its industries against unfair foreign competition.

His victory has given encouragement to other anti-globalists around the world, including France's Marine Le Pen, who now stands a good chance of becoming France's next President.

If Donald Trump had done nothing other than prevent Clinton from becoming President, humanity owes to him an enormous debt of gratitude.

i agree sarah. i don't like trump so far, but i can easily see that the mainstream media is running an undermining and sabotaging campaign against him. sadly, many of my intelligent friends believe this tirade!

I find the media bias against Trump absolutely unbelievable! I have never heard a living national leader spoken about in such a doubt casting way.- not even Kim Jong il or Pol Pot or Robert Mugabe!!!! Today I heard on the ABC about his unpredictability. The criticisms are quite personal and undermining of respect. It is as though the media feel utterly safe in speaking this way. I also heard on Radio Melbourne (774) Marine le Pen being described as a strong possibility of wining the French election, as “populist” and as "far right riding on a wave of nationalism”. Gee, they have no idea what “right” is!

This comment, on a Sydney Morning Herald article, is too good to waste on the SMH readers, so I had to post it here: Said Feb 5 2017 at 5:22pm China is about as Communist as a Big Mac. They haven't abandoned authoritarianism, it's true. I have listed in China many years. I actually see an awful lot in common with the way the Chinese government media employs propaganda to concretise the Party's rule and demonise opponents, with the current US situation, where massive media propaganda is being deployed to demonise Trump and praise all things "liberal." It's pretty much the same MO: deflect all attention away from the "good" guy's bad-doings, and exaggerate and focus upon the "bad" guy's faults, including twisting all data to meet those ends. I'm very surprised so many liberals in the US, Australia and elsewhere cannot see this sham for what it is. They have fallen for the show, hook, line and sinker. I hate to say it, but at this time in history the Chinese general public are more sophisticated and critical of media manipulation than liberals in western countries. The Chinese would never fall for such an obvious propaganda act. Western liberals simply hear what they want to hear, and the rest is simply pushed aside. Ironically, many liberals in both the US and Great Britain have been arguing for a military's takeover of government, to usurp the democratic process, which they seem to despise because it grants people with other beliefs and opinions a voice. These are the same people who call Trump a fascist. Oh, the irony of it all! More, mostly nonsense, here: "

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has been stupidly, unfairly, and cynically criticised for her recent fact-finding and peace-making visit to Syria and meeting with Bashar al-Assad.

Here is a letter signed by Syrians and Syrian Americans thanking her for her efforts on behalf of peace.

We thank you, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, for your courageous trip to Syria

Jan 26, 2017
By Salah Zakkour, Press Release:

We, members of the Syrian American community, wholeheartedly support Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard’s courageous fact-finding trip to Syria in January. With this trip Rep. Gabbard demonstrated her strong commitment and determination to bringing about an end to all forms of support by the United States Government and its allies to the extremists and terrorists who have been destroying Syria and other countries of the Middle East during the past several years.
Rep. Gabbard’s trip to Syria was only a logical next step toward gathering the necessary first hand information in support of her similarly courageous bi-partisan bill, the Stop Arming Terrorists Act. We consider her trip a significant step toward ending the U.S. government’s illegal policy of forced regime change in other countries, including Syria, with the help of extremist and terrorist groups. We urge all other members of Congress to follow Rep. Gabbard’s steps in order to directly see for themselves what is really happening in Syria, instead of relying on dubious information and fake news that is being fabricated by all those who are bent on overthrowing the Syrian government. Those people are blatantly ignoring the wishes of the majority of the Syrian people and closing their eyes to the humanitarian catastrophe it has created.

As they have done so after every fact-finding trip to Syria by concerned citizens of a number of countries, including those from the U.S., Australia and Britain, the same pro-regime-change people in the U.S. are once again repeating the same worn out and baseless argument that such fact finding trips to Syria, especially the one made by a member of U.S. Congress, “legitimizes” Assad government. They further argue that Rep. Gabbard’s “Stop Arming Terrorists Act” will result in sacrificing the “moderate” opposition to Assad under the cover of fighting terrorism.

But neither of these arguments bears any relationship with reality.

As to the claim of “legitimization” of Assad government, it should be understood that the legitimacy of any government, Syrian government included, is derived from the support of its own citizens, not from a trip by a member of Congress of another country. Without taking sides about merits and demerits of the Assad government, we have to acknowledge that report after report by impartial observers has shown that the Assad government, and the Syrian Arab Army, has the support of the majority of Syrian people. These repeated reports were further confirmed by the last presidential election of June of 2014 in Syria, carried out in the presence of international observers, in which 73.4 percent of legitimate voters participated and 88 percent of them voted for President Assad. Moreover, the legitimacy of Assad government is officially recognized by the international community and the United Nations — a fact that nobody can deny. It is, therefore, upon the deniers of these facts to back up their claims to the contrary.

As to the claim of distinction between the so-called “moderate” opposition and the terrorist organizations, one does not have to look far to disprove it. First, it should be noted that these armed fighters are not the same people who were peacefully marching on the streets of Syria five years ago. In fact the peaceful opposition movement has been silenced and hijacked by the violent acts of extremist and terrorist groups like al-Nusra, Jebhat Fateh al-Sham, ISIS, al-Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood, and the like. The so-called “moderate” fighters have been fighting shoulder to shoulder in the past five years, and have refused to separate themselves from these terrorist groups, even when U.S. government asked them to for the sake of establishing a ceasefire. And their leaders have conceded that their members have joined these terrorist groups in droves and have turned the weapons they have received from the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Qatar, over to these terrorists. Even the U.S. government has conceded that a significant part of the arms delivered to these “moderate” groups has ended up in the hands of the terrorists. Moreover, the numerous testimonies of liberated citizens in Aleppo have clearly shown that the so-called “moderates” have been committing the same crimes against innocent people, as did the terrorists.

Such arguments are aimed at putting obstacles on the path of a peaceful, diplomatic resolution of the Syrian crisis. They are aimed at making a forced regime change in Syria a precondition for achieving a political resolution. And this can only be achieved through continued arming of terrorists in order to bring the Syrian government down before any negotiations can start.
It is in light of these facts that we consider Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s fact-finding trip and her Stop Arming Terrorists Act as a courageous move toward bringing a just peace to Syria. The Syrian people will be able to freely exercise their political and national rights only when these external terrorist attacks on their country have stopped.

We will be more than happy to do everything we can to help Congresswoman Gabbard in her courageous efforts to bring a just peace to Syria and the whole Middle East by putting an end to all forms of support for terrorists, especially by the United States and its allies.

Salah Zakkour

Co-signed by fellow Syrians and Syrian Americans: Rami Muamar • Micheile Muamar • Immanuel Kaplo • Hannah Youssef • Nabil Kaplo • Bairt Alkass • Malk Kouki • Ghazoah Hanna • Zane Alabdine Zakkour • Fahed Zakkour • Nahla Zakkour • Saleh Zakkour • Khaled Baram • Afif Ghalwanji • Nadeem Habbal • Simon Khoury • Shawqia Adboudan •Mamoun Alabbassi • Amen Tomeh • Rana Kouki • Mario Tomeh • Georgio Tomeh • Emanuel Wasouf • Tigram Hanonick • Lena Obied • Jamil Ibrahim • Talal Bitar • Mike Matook • Basal Rahal • Silva Barsoum

The Funeral for Julianne Bell will take place on Friday the 3rd Februrary at 2pm. BELL- A funeral service for Julianne Bell will be held at St. Michael’s Anglican Church.220 McPherson Street, Princes Hill on FRIDAY (Feb 3rd,2017) commencing at 2.00p.m. Private Cremation Public Transport 14 McIlwraith Street, North Carlton 3054 Getting There By Tram: From Swanston Street in the City, No.1 East Coburg or No.8 Moreland Alight at stop 117 (Richardson St). Melways Ref: Map 29 J12

Julianne Bell is an unsung hero, for her activism and vision for Melbourne. She's one of our city's planners who don't become well known from making people wealthy, with support from capital owners! Activists are just dismissed as trouble-makers, alternative and irrational objectors, just populists. Dismissed as NIMBYs. They go under the radar of the mainstream press, without glory that gets attached to great reformists. Activists like Julianne don't seek praise, fortune and fame. They do what they do for integrity, for what's needed against creeping disintegration of our living standards, our natural heritage and destructive forces that pass as "progress"! Julianne's passing is a sad loss for Melbourne, who - with others of Protector of Public Lands- fought against the powerful moguls that would destroy parklands, and greenery, in the name of GROWTH - the capitalist ideal. She will be missed, personally and by her team including SPA members - but unfortunately her legacy will not greatly recognised.

Thou shalt not mention "Immigration" when gnashing teeth about housing affordability. David Z Hughes

Mr Nicholson will also consider if charities delivering meals and other services to the homeless were a help or a hindrance. "Many well-meaning service providers are bringing all the elements of the home (things like mobile washing machines, showers etc) to the homeless – but not resolving the homelessness," Mr Nicholson said.

President Trump says he will reduce America's refugee intake from 110,000 to 50,000. As we are 15 times smaller than the USA, our annual refugee intake should be 3333. David Z Hughes

Trust in the World bank or any such neoliberal instrument is like walking on eggs, but I do take your point Viv. I'll contend that there is no such thing as free trade and that any rational person (there's still a couple left) would not enter into any such agreement. Then again, there's no such thing as "rational" when it comes to the COALition!!

What's free about FTT that means industries and jobs are sacrificed. That surely is a high cost. It's said to be a major blow to the Australian government, as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had been holding out hope that Mr Trump might not go ahead with his TPP election promise. Mr Trump said he was pursuing what he called “fair trade”, as opposed to purely free trade. He sensibly want to bring back manufacturing into his own country. Any companies that moved offshore and then tried to sell products back to America would be landed with a hefty tax! A 2016 analysis from the World Bank found highly developed countries such as Australia would gain little advantage from the pact as we were already fairly free of trade restrictions. The benefits would be for exporters, the big corporations and global enterprises. These heavy-weights seem always to have government backing and they in turn bend backwards to accommodate them - and ignore the higher unemployment and loss of industries. Australia has already lost so many industries, and governments wonder how to fix the unemployment problem? We are nation now of customer-service specialists.

In something called, "the Mexico City policy", which changes back and forth depending on whether US government is Republican or Democrat, Trump has, as promised, separated US Aid from funding abortions as part of family planning, except in circumstances like rape. This is probably to appease his Vice President, Mike Pence, an 'evangelical catholic', and without whom he might not have got support from christian fundamentalists in the Republican party. From Here are a few facts about the : It requires foreign non-governmental organizations to not provide or promote abortion services if they receive funds from the U.S. government. Specifically, the funds would come from the United States Agency for International Development, and abortion cannot be presented as a “method of family planning.” Promoting abortion services includes work such as counseling for women that includes language on abortions. The policy was named for Mexico City because it was announced at the United Nations International Conference on Population in that location. It was signed into law by former President Ronald Reagan and went into effect in 1985. The policy stayed in effect until 1993, when it was rescinded by former President Bill Clinton. Since then, it has been reinstated by every Republican president and rescinded by every Democratic president within their first few days in office. Obama rescinded it exactly eight years ago, on Jan. 23, 2009. Obama’s statement when he repealed the policy read, in part, “It is clear that the provisions of the Mexico City Policy are unnecessarily broad and unwarranted under current law, and for the past eight years, they have undermined efforts to promote safe and effective voluntary family planning in developing countries. For these reasons, it is right for us to rescind this policy and restore critical efforts to protect and empower women and promote global economic development.” The presidents previous to Obama who took actions on the policy signed them on Jan. 22 of their respective years, which is the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. Some noted in 2009 that Obama likely waited a day on purpose due to the anniversary, though Obama never confirmed or denied that. The order does provide exceptions in cases of rape, incest or life-threatening conditions. Critics of the policy refer to it as the “Global Gag Rule,” and the U.S. has been unsuccessfully sued over the policy by those who say it limits freedom of speech. The policy creates legal problems for organizations in certain countries, such as South Africa, where the groups are legally required to inform a woman seeking an abortion of her rights and refer her to a facility that would perform an abortion. Read more here:

Are their any Australian leaders who would act similarly if it were in the interests of the Australian people?

What about Gadaffi's gold? What was it, $53b? Where did that go? Got to be the biggest single recent financial mystery on the planet, and should fuel novels similar to King Solomon's mines. I'll race you to write one. You will probably win because I have so much else to write. And the Vatican, of course.

By the way, Henry VIII got a lot of cash from the new bourgeois traders who brought back the gold from the Americas when he sold off the monasteries in exchange for bourgeois cash in the 16th century. Henry VIII and Elizabeth I went into industry stimulation, importing skilled immigrants and big business. That tradition stood the Brtish royals (and their many cousins) in good stead as coal smelting technology was developed and mining towns evolved into corporate structures. Oliver Cromwell came from bourgeois stock who bought into british farms with their slave and gold money and he used a rump formed largely of his relatives to rig parliament to convict Charles I.

You can read about all these things (except Gaddafi and the Vatican) in my book, (cheapest at Lulu)

Not only "planning" has morphed into destruction of our city's natural heritage, but there are no meaningful environmental laws in Australia at all! It is said that climate change threatens to alter our entire environment as rainfall patterns change, temperatures rise and extremes become more common. Many species' habitats are shrinking. However, it's easy to use "climate change" as the overall umbrella of habitat and environmental destruction, when mostly it's caused directly by HUMANS! But human destruction of habitat is, at least in the short term, a much greater threat to species than climate change. In mid-December, scientists from the University of Queensland were part of a team that found, of all developed countries on Earth, Australia was performing worst in protecting its ecoregions (areas containing broadly similar habitat). Now all koala populations, bar a few in eastern Australia, are in decline. Some sharply so. So whether or not you find, as we do, the most recent estimate of 329,000 in Australia (36,000 koalas in NSW) to be optimistic one thing is clear: koala numbers are a fraction of what they once were and the species is slipping away. They are not "slipping away" naturally, but from industry greed! For housing, logging and mining. The Baird government recently passing its land-clearing legislation. Chainsaw Mike might be gone, but who will replace him? Urban development is eating into koala habitat up and down the coast. And following this habitat destruction, koalas are vulnerable to dog attacks and vehicle strike as they spend more time on the ground. "Urban development" is not a natural process either, but placing short-term profits from housing and population growth ABOVE Australia's long term interests, and deliberately sacrificing our iconic native animals in the process! If a flagship species like KOALAS can't be saved, which can be?

Good article Jane. Personally I think the most powerful thing we can do is pray AND take action i.e. activism. In my town in Northern Rivers NSW, Australia I am actively communicating with local councillors to get tiny house villages happening. It's an uphill battle but someone has to do it. Too many people sleeping in the street, in their car, vans, tents, in the bush, on friends' couches etc to be counted so out of sight out of mind. But homelessness is approaching a crisis point and the time to prepare for it is now, since building tiny house villages takes time finding land, income etc. Get local churches involved. There are always philanthropic business people willing to help, somewhere. Australia is famous for activism starting in Terania against logging many decades ago. Battles against Coal seam gas on every front. Everywhere you look there is something wrong. Pick your battle! Find friends to help you and go do it!!!!! And pray for guidance and protection every day while you take these actions. All blessings on you.

Hooray. Will there also be free vascetomies for men?

Comte purported that there were three phases of sociology - theological, metaphysical and positive - the last which we are currently in. Heisenberg, on the other hand, reckoned that was a load of old cobblers! Each to there own I s'pose.

It's as though this is just normal for Lucy and must be for Malcolm as well. She must have totally internalised the trickle- down mentality that if someone is getting really rich, then there will be a spin-off to the community. You'd have to at least tell yourself this lie wouldn't you?

If anyone is interested in seeing this 1970's film about St Francis, it will be showing at Factory 1/23 Peninsula Boulevard, Seaford (Party Hire Frankston), on Saturday Jan 21st at 8.00pm. Bring any drinks or snacks you wish. Plenty of opportunity for mingling and discussion afterwards if you wish.

About the film

The title is taken from a prayer St Francis dictated on his deathbed, the Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon.

Cast:
Graham Faulkner - St. Francis of Assisi
Judi Bowker - Clare
Leigh Lawson - Bernardo
Kenneth Cranham - Paolo

Lee Montague - Pietro Di Bernardone
Valentina Cortese - Pica Di Bernardone
Alec Guinness - Pope Innocent III

Featuring Zeffirelli's signature lush photography in Brother Sun, Sister Moon indicates that it was conceived and executed in much the same visual manner as his Academy Award-winning adaptation of Romeo and Juliet (1968). The film attempts to draw parallels between the work and philosophy of Saint Francis and the ideology that underpinned the worldwide counterculture movement of the 1960s and early '70s. The film is also known for the score composed by Riz Ortolani. (Wikipedia)

About St Francis:

He was a Lover. He was a lover of God and he was really and truly a lover of men. St. Francis did not love humanity but men, so he did not love Christianity but Christ. Say, if you think so, that he was a lunatic loving an imaginary person; but an imaginary person, not an imaginary idea. And for the modern reader the clue to the asceticism and all the rest can be found in the stories of lovers when they seemed to be rather like lunatics. Tell it as the tale of one of the Troubadours, and the wild things he would do for his lady, and the whole of the modern puzzle disappears. In such a romance there would be no contradiction between the poet gathering flowers in the sun and enduring a freezing vigil in the snow, between his praising all earthly and bodily beauty and then refusing to eat, and between his glorifying gold and purple and perversely going in rags, between his showing pathetically a hunger for a happy life and a thirst for a heroic death. All these riddles would be easily be resolved in the simplicity of any noble love; only this was so noble a love that nine out of ten men have hardly even heard of it. (Chesterson)

Matt

Yes, it is true that at the outset the relevance of what I discuss in the article to the overall theme of the site is not that apparent. But please allow me to attempt to link these together in the following. Let me start by saying I was rather dissapointed with Peter Garrett - who is described on his official site as "a long-time advocate and campaigner on a range of local and global issues." (). Now I believe this is true - but how did that play out when he became a member of parliament - and I may be wrong here - but he seemed to succumb to all the party politics (i.e party lines) necessary to keep his position in the government. This seems to be the fate of anyone who intends to bring change in our parliament - they either tow the current line - and keep the illusion of power and influence, or they reject it - and get pushed out. Thus it seems to me that people like Peter Garrett are more effective outside goverment (as critics) than inside - where they - one way or another - are neutered. So what is to be done? How can such a system ever change? Or are we doomed to continue until the system is no longer tenable and collapses or perhaps becomes a police state (before collapsing)? Well Christian teaching offers another path. That path is one suggested by C.S Lewis in his address in the recording in the article above. We know now the power of 'grass roots' change - that a mass of people acting individually - but in concert - can exert enormous influence. C.S Lewis touches on how Christian teaching can do this in the political arena. Lewis uses the anaology of a soldier who asks his superior officer why is it important that he focusses on such a minor issue as the cleaning of his gun, when there are greater concerns afoot. Why (the metaphorical soldier) asks shouldn't he be more concerned about what he can do for the United Nations? Lewis replies that the soldier is useless to the United Nations unless he has a clean gun (that works) and that the soldier can best serve these greater causes by focussing on the small, and seemingly insignificant, issue of his clean gun. This is the Christian teaching in the metaphor/analogy (whatever you want to call it): that we are most useful to the purpose of improving society if we first improve ourselves - if we can eradicate in ourselves corruption, deceit, selfishness etc - all the things we decry in our politicians - then we are like the soldier with a clean gun - better able to serve the greater cause (and at the very least have improved society by improving one person in it -ourselves). If enough people do this, (indeed - if everyone did this) then the changes will start to permeate throughout our society transforming it with us. Thus Christian teaching offers an alternative path to social change. I hope that helps establish some relevance to the themes you mention.

I recently read a biography about wives of former Prime Ministers. Some were more involved in public life than others, and Enid Lyons actually entered politics herself. However, they generally were concerned about human welfare issues, and charities, not politics. Those who were the most popular and participated in public affairs tended to support the vulnerable such as children and the needy. They were patrons of charities and fund-raising. Not our LUCY Turnbull! Her concerns are more about feeding profits to "poor" property developers, banks and big corporations - by funneling never-ending people into already overflowing Sydney. Surely there is a grasping and overwhelming conflict of interests? She's spreading profits to big developers based on our government's big immigration policies? This is in direct conflict to the welfare of the electorate, and future generations who'll inevitably find it impossible to own/rent even a unit! So much for Neo-liberalism and the death of what was the "Labor" movement of the past.

Instead of bombs and military hardware, the scarcity of natural resources can be used as a terror weapon. No need for bullets, bombs or heavy artillery, just turn off the water! It's Medieval warfare technique, used in past centuries. Enemies invaded territories, held hostages in castles, and then they waited until the people ran out of water and/or food - they then surrendered or fought to the end!

This is highly relevant for all of us, as the propaganda that concerns me, which I just saw on Australia’s SBS World News bulletin, came from the UK’s State Broadcaster the BBC. As it happened, I was just composing a letter to SBS, to complain about their totally one-sided presentation of current events in Syria, following last night’s ‘report’ about the fight in Wadi Barada. SBS version was basically the same as Al Jazeera, almost suggesting that the Syrian army and Hezbollah had bombed the Ain al Fijeh spring in order to put the citizens of Damascus under duress. As we know, Al Jazeera has done more than suggest that this is the case, talking about the ‘rebel defenders’ of Wadi Barada seeking to save ‘our people in Damascus’ from the water shortage, once the SAA stopped attacking them. But now I have to launch a different attack on SBS. Initially, in a very short report, it was stated that ‘the UN has managed to get a convoy of aid into East Aleppo to help 20,000 people in need... then there were photos of kids in the street etc, and drone footage of bombed out buildings, and mention of a million people in need. Needless to say almost, SBS barely mentioned the 80 – 100,000 people who were liberated from East Aleppo and given aid in the West, both food and medical when it happened, nor have there been any reports showing the situation in East Aleppo now and residents returning that gave a proper picture. In fact Aleppo has basically been ignored as of no further value. Later on in tonight’s bulletin however, came the problem BBC report, already broadcast in the UK. This was from Quentin Somerville, and featured David Nott’s work in Idlib hospitals operating on ‘civilians wounded by the Russian bombing of East Aleppo’. In particular there was a young girl who had some shrapnel ‘from military hardware’, removed, but who had multiple fractures and had to be taken ‘alone’ to a bigger hospital in Turkey. So there we have it. The only worthy ‘Syrians’ in the eyes of the West are those supporting the terrorists, whether in political or humanitarian terms. But SBS has a charter; to provide balance and a range of opinion, not favouring any particular perspective. It’s time to hold their feet to the fire... This is a short version of the report, focusing on Nott, who ‘cannot forget this girl’. I also struggle with injured children I cannot forget, such as those described to Vanessa by the Syrian Civil Defence, who had been blown to bits by an exploding gas bottle. I also struggle to forget the children of Ballata, whose drugged or lifeless bodies were used to make the Ghouta ‘snuff videos’. If Nott lay awake at night, it wasn’t because of the lies he has told to help HM government further their strategic agenda in Syria.

Beaumaris Conservation Society Inc. has received an anonymous tip-off message today that read as follows: "200 plus trees being removed from Beaumaris school site Monday morning 19th very early. Been kept secret to avoid protesters. Police are organised. “ No time is stated, but EPA noise regulations forbid chainsaw use before 7:00 am. The BCS Inc. President, Greg Mier, has said, “Please urgently spread the word as widely as possible, as disregarding this alert is just not an option. The consultation process is far, repeat, FAR from complete. Not a single metre has been offered by the VSBA for retention and replanting of fence line buffers, for a wildlife corridor or as an adequate buffer to Long Hollow Heathland. Agreement after agreement within the 'consultation process' has been dishonoured. Enough! Such a further faithless betrayal of trust must not be permitted, and we ask that all concerned in our community mobilise (as in October) to once again prevent unauthorised destruction and to hold the government to its word." Regards, Geoffrey Goode Webmaster Inc. Formerly Beaumaris Tree Preservation Society 1953-70

The birth rate it Western nations has dropped below replacement, and has been there few a couple of decades now. It's fluctuates a little, but when you exclude the increase in the birthrate which incoming migrants have contributed to, it seems we have reach a kind of stasis. That is, if it wasn't for the governments population policy, and the government importing people to do the jobs we wont do, that is, have three children each, then the problem is effectively solved. Solve the problem of governments interfering with peoples reproductive choices by importing population, and we are there. This is not just Australia, but much of Europe. Dick Smith is right to jump on Hansons policy. The problem isn't Australians having too many children, the problem is population interference. I think that people who choose to go 'childless' are virtue signalling more than anything, and they are the making the problem worse by promoting this non-solution. And it is a non-solution because you can choose to not have children, but you leave a niche for someone else to fill. And by God, the government will fill that niche because it has jobs to fill, apartments to fill and shopping centres which still have space for consumers.

Dick Smith says what most politicians have failed to declare (beside Pauline Hanson and I suspect her motivations are more racist than concern for the unemployed or the environment) ... ... and that is to call for a significant slow down on migration because our natural environment and our societal structures are struggling to cope already. Lucy hasn't bothered to ask people, who are already suffering the deprivation and despair of unemployment or being locked out of affordable, accessible housing. Such exclusion occurs despite their best efforts, work/life experiences and skills.

Readers might be interested in reading Tim Colebatch's article in the Saturday Age re: Victoria's transport infrastructure woes. The solution offered up, of course, is massive spending to bring the system up to scratch which, and again of course, is required, However, nothing is said about Melbourne's and Victoria's rampant net overseas migration and the damage it's doing!

December 12, 2016

As the hysteria about Russia’s alleged interference in the U.S. election grows, a key mystery is why U.S. intelligence would rely on “circumstantial evidence” when it has the capability for hard evidence, say U.S. intelligence veterans.

Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity

MEMORANDUM

Allegations of Hacking Election Are Baseless

A New York Times report on Monday alluding to “overwhelming circumstantial evidence” leading the CIA to believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin “deployed computer hackers with the goal of tipping the election to Donald J. Trump” is, sadly, evidence-free. This is no surprise, because harder evidence of a technical nature points to an inside leak, not hacking – by Russians or anyone else.

Article:

Chris

Thank you Leith in particular for publishing the NOM graph. Actually, I think that we are being far too conservative in our approach to population. We actually need a population decline, starting now, if we choose to survive for a few more decades. The NOM graph, rather dramatically, gives us some idea as to how we should go about this. I noticed that the OZ, rather cleverly, put the News article immediately behind the Dick Smith ad, thus making it difficult, almost impossible, to refer back and forth between the two. But well done Dick.

Thank you Leith, in particular for publishing the NOM graph. Actually, I think that we are being far too conservative in our approach to population. We actually need a population decline, starting now, if we choose to survive for a few more decades. The NOM graph, rather dramatically, gives us some idea as to how we should go about this.

My respect for Dick Smith grows each day. His statement as to the inevitability to stop growth, and asking her when that is supposed to happen is brilliant. This is good politics. Rather than just point out issues, his posed a question on how to deal with an unavoidable reality (given that there is no change). Dick Smith needs to press on this. The question can't be allowed to go unanswered, and this question would make a great meme to spread through social media. It forces the issue. When do you plan to do stop growth. You can't answer you won't, you can't answer its not a problem, you have to state when. At what point will it become acceptable to lower immigration.

Thank you for the truth, you are brave, an inspiration and a small beam of light in so much darkness.

On Rupert Murdoch's The Australian, republished from The Wall Street Journal where it was published at 12:00AM -5:00 Friday 16 Dec 2016 is the story . (I was able to view the article without having to subscribe to The Australian after having removed the window which advised me that the artcle was 'premium content', presumably for Oz subscribers only).

The article commences:

The US will strike ­Islamic State in Palmyra if Russian and Syrian regime forces fail to push back and retake the Syrian city, says the top US commander in charge of the coalition targeting the extremist group.

Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend claimed that he was concerned that "the extremist group" may have acquired weapons including including armoured vehicles and air defence systems. Could General Townsend possibly have not been aware that his commander-in-chief, the still serving President Barack Obama had announced that he was waiving the ban on the supply of sophisticated weaponry to the terrorist groups in Syria.

The article continued:

"If the Russians and the regime don't strike it, we will," Lieutenant General Townsend continued.

General Townsend apparently expects the Syrians, Russians, Iranians and Heezbollah, at his behest, to drop whatever else they are doing in Aleppo, Idlib, Homs and elsewhere in Syria, and rush to throw ISIS out of Aleppo. If they don't then US-led coalition will, itself intervene in Syria, supposedly to fight ISIS.

The United States' claimed war against ISIS and not the 'moderate' terrorists and Townsend's supposed concern for the Palmyra world heritage site is clearly Townsend's cover story for his plans for the coalition to directly intervene and finally complete its war for 'regime-change'. That war started out nearly six years ago by the coalition's terrorist proxies.

The war has, so far, by one estimate, cost the lives for 400,000 Syrians including 80,000 members of the Syrian armed forces. The military death toll alone far exceeds Australia's horrific death toll of the First World War. In that war 60,000 Australians, almost all of them military, died.

Buried at the end of the article are some of the real reasons why Palmyra fell to ISIS.

[President Bashar al-]Assad, in an interview yesterday with Russian state television network RT, accused the US of helping Islamic State retake Palmyra, reiterating his longstanding accusations that the US is backing rather than fighting Islamic State to undermine his regime.

He said Islamic State’s attack on Palmyra marked an attempt to undercut the Syrian government’s offensive to retake Aleppo.

To watch the video of the full interview with President Bashar al-Assad and read the full transcript, see by Sheila Newman, here on on .

As the above article shows, the United States and its allies, and not the Syrian government or rte Russians, allowed ISIS terrorists to cross the desert from Deir ez Zor in Syria and Raqq in Iraq to suddenly overwhelm the smaller garrison that was defending Palmyra and its historic ruins. That article was previously published as (12/12/16) by Davbid Macilwain on . See also from Russia Insider: (13/12/16). From the Russian news service see (12/12/16), (14/12/16).

White Helmets latest lies exposed as western-backed terrorists evacuated from Aleppo without incident

Below is a link to RT’s live coverage of the seamless removal of the last pro-western terrorists and their families from Aleppo, contrary to claims from the White Helmets and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, that the evacuation convoys were bring fired upon by “pro-Assad” militants. These false claims were registered at various media outlets, including the CBC, before the convoys actually left.

In this 3:54 minute news clip, it is clear that both the Red Cross and the Red Crescent support the evacuation. Lizzy Phelan, the RT correspondent, reports from right beside the highway being used as an evacuation route for the terrorists and their families.

Conclusion: we have been fed a steady diet of disinformation from western governments and mainstream media, not only about the utter rout of the terrorists in East Aleppo, but about the entire five and half years of western proxy war for attempted regime change in Syria.

It’s time now for Donald Trump, Teresa May, Francois Hollande, Justin Trudeau, and all the others leaders in NATO to call off their dogs of war in Syria and let the people of Syria determine their own future.

Hamza Al Khatib on Change.org, in 4 European Languages petitions

https://www.change.org/u/585969755


The guy speaks French, English, Spanish, and German! of course! he's a doctor!

I wonder what he'll do now after the liberation and unification of Aleppo. Is he going to play the role of the "last doctor" in Idlib or Reqqa?

Sadly people are buying his lies.

Mo

Mon nom est Hamza El Khatib, Je fais partie des derniers médecins restés à Alep pour soigner les 300 000 habitants à l’est de la ville.Tous les jours, les pires ...

"Coasian economics takes no heed of non-monetary values and therefore is unresponsive to social cost or individual equity" Economics is a model of human behaviour. If the model of human behaviour is incomplete, than the economic model must also be incomplete. Economic models tend to based on a 'Homo economicus' rather than 'Homo sapiens'. They are based on the hypothesis that human beings are rational wealth seeking agents, and that all interactions can be reduced to economic transactions. Therefore, if you understand the economics behind human activity, you understand how humans work. Some people have taken this to a logical extreme and as a result, books such as "The Logic of Life" have been written, which although interesting, are based on the idea that our brains are 'economic calculators' in all matters, not just purchasing goods, but in whether to continue smoking or give up, how to handle relationships, etc. While its true that we have an understanding of physical economics (ie, that there is scarcity and we should seek to exchange goods for other goods with at least the same quantum of utility), this isn't perfect, far from it. It's easily corrupted, fooled, broken, subverted, inverted, deformed, malformed and scrambled. We can only try to approximate the read world, but ideology, lack of knowledge, denial and bias stop us evaluating it properly and we make economically 'bad' decisions as a result. Look at all the financial crisis and bubbles that come through reasoned analysis. Wall St traders literally become addicted to money making, and the chemical stimulus results in a different rationality coming through. So I think its worse than simply not having non-monetary value not included in our accounting of the value of things, the minds which do that accounting can be flawed, and like a buggy computer program, good data goes in, rubbish comes out. That is to say, even if you DID account for all those externalities, a broken culture, broken education would still see bizarre behaviour. We couldn't "economically" manage things even if we did account for everything, so I think its better not to frame more abstract things such as environment, safety, social cohesion economically AT ALL but revert to more tried-and-true cultural and spiritual values.

How to feed an overpopulated nation of idiots

Contemplate the carbon footprint and energy input to food output of this!!!

How to feed people:

The second one basically reflects how cattle are still broadacre farmed in Australia.
Another few decades of unbridled immigration and we’ll be a suitably sized market to support, and require, the first scenario.
And we'll need Adani, etc., to feed the system’s energy losses.

Also interesting:

Thank you for your thoughtful article.

In fact there is a formal theory that causes our courts to assign right to the biggest profiteer, and the primacy of economic profit over environment and social rights is also enshrined in state parliamentary policy for interpreting laws. The formal theory is Coasian economics and pareto superiority. This was beautifully (or horribly, really) demonstrated in I quote from my coverage of that case, below:

Economic theory behind our predicament

It takes being caught up in the undignified, expensive and painful reality of turbo development for people to begin to grasp just how mad our laws are and how weak our democracy. You can spend a lot of time trying to argue sensibly, writing submissions and getting nowhere. Meanwhile some corporation is making a lot of money out of your misery.

The economic theory behind this goes back to the 18th century in Britain, the time of the Restoration, where a particularly predacious kind of land-tenure law replaced an earlier kind that gave people more rights. Although enclosures had happened since the time of the Normans, the 18th century was particularly fierce.

“In the eighteenth century, when the British economy entered an unparalleled era of expansion, Britain’s Parliament began operating according to Coasian principles and reorganized property rights en masse. In the nineteenth century, when most common-law doctrines reached their modern form, doctrines of equity (enforced through the Chancery Court) dominated the conveyance of land. These doctrines were designed to protect beneficial interests, not to maximize productivity. Efficiency became a dominant doctrine in the English legal system only after Parliamentary intervention.”(Source: Bogart, Daniel E. and Richardson, Gary, 2008, June. "Making Property Productive: Reorganizing Rights to Real and Equitable Estates in Britain, 1660 to 1830."NBER Working Paper No. W14107, p.7)

Coasian economic theory was originated by Ronald H. Coase in “The Problem of Social Cost”, Journal of Law and Economics, 3: 144, 1960. The theory assigns value arbitrarily, according to the highest dollar profit probability. It takes no heed of non-monetary values and therefore is unresponsive to social cost or individual equity. [Extracts from Sheila Newman: Demography, Territory, Law 2: Land Tenure and the Origins of Capitalism in Britain, Countershock Press.]

And that is the key:

Coasian economics takes no heed of non-monetary values and therefore is unresponsive to social cost or individual equity

This works out to mean that big business can almost always claim to be benefiting the community because of large financial through-puts, and that residential or small business objectors are NIMBYs, with much lesser financial sums at stake. This method of appraisal of a situation almost completely ignores every non-monetary interest affected and lesser monetary interests of small businesses. Residents cannot claim financial costs that might be incurred, for instance through loss of sunlight rendering solar panels useless or vegetable gardens unproductive.

The economic culture we operate in now, call it the free market, neo-liberalsm or the age of marketeers and entrepreneurs unfortunately knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Only those involved in the exchange negotiate the price, but the value is endowed by society for itself and for the future. Society in its turn is ignored when the market rules. One or a few people's freedom can result in vandalism and a loss to the many where nature is concerned (and it usually is in some way) . The winners from the current economic paradigm, even if they are merely skimming a bit from the top,can delude themselves that everyone could have what they have; that others just haven't got there yet. But it would indeed be a delusion as what is being exploited largely cannot be exploited twice.

This comes from infowars.com Ask President-elect Donald Trump to take a stand against the establishment's desperate move to label independent media as ‘fake news’. This is a red level emergency. Infowars, Breitbart, the Drudge Report and other independent sources are destroying the mainstream media narrative like never before, and the establishment is getting desperate. In an effort to try and censor the liberty movement and free speech, the mainstream media is now attempting to label legitimate news sources like Infowars as "fake news" to push towards a government-led shut down of Infowars.com. The Washington Post has even gone as far as to label sites like Infowars as "Russian propaganda fake news" web sites, exemplifying the last attempt of a dying media conglomerate to force out any and all dissenting voices. Even more concerning, the United States House of Representatives quietly passed legislation targeting 'Russian propaganda' websites. But the calls for censorship do not end with the United States. The European Union is demanding that Twitter, YouTube and Facebook censor “illegal hate speech” within 24 hours and content that includes so-called “fake news,” a term so broad that it includes perfectly legitimate news content. Microsoft, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have also announced that they will be ramping up efforts to remove "extremist" content from their websites by using a shared database of offenders. And perhaps most importantly, Twitter has recently gone on record stating the company will ban President-Elect Donald J. Trump's Twitter account if he were to violate the company's "hate speech" rules. We are calling on and asking President-Elect Donald J. Trump to take a stand against the establishment media's "fake news" attacks and to stop the impending censorship of independent media platforms like Infowars.com and others.

I just read on al-Mayadeen tv channel that the terrorists fled Old Aleppo today! Although this part could be 15%-20% of the original occupied part of east Aleppo, yet it's the most difficult to liberate because of its narrow wavy paths and ancient buildings, which is like a real maze. No tank nor armed vehicle can go over there. The only way to liberate it is by soldiers. To flee that part of the city is beyond good news! It's fantastic amazing news! I'm still afraid though that the terrorists could be already mined the whole area, to blow it up later, and show it as "the SAA destroyed the Old City". The terrorists were skilled in digging tunnels and filling them with explosives, and they used the ancient tunnels' net beneath the Old City that goes back to the Aramaic, Romans, and early Islamic periods. They could install mines and explosives in all of these areas, and with one click, booom.... They'll erase and wipe the Old City off the map and blame it on the Syrian and Russian armies. I hope nothing that bad took place, as - according to the news - the terrorists left their arms and weapons behind them before escaping to the southern part of occupied east Aleppo. Yet I'm just suspicious about the worst scenario that could happen. The dream is coming true. I hope this Christmas and New Year Eve going to come with unification and liberation of Aleppo city.. One city. Neither western nor eastern parts. No more random shelling on civilians. No more injured, paralyzed, and dead children and women with shrapnel and cooking-gas-metal containers mortars. I hope that nightmare to end soon over there, and then to end everywhere else in Syria.

Hello EEG members and supporters, The trial date for the EEG vs VicForests Supreme Court case has been changed. It will now be in Feb 2017. More info and updates coming soon, but we thought this brief update might save some of you turning up to the Court tomorrow (Monday). Jill (and the team).

Mark Twain said "History may not repeat, but it sure does rhyme". I remarked to a colleague at work some months back, much to his dismay, that human beings have been tribalist and in-group oriented throughout all of history, and that it is only wishful thinking and vanity which makes is think that we are the first generation which has somehow "overcome" this. History reverts to a mean, and this experiment will end. He lamented a week or two later, I think after Brexit, that I was indeed right. The world (at least just the West), is reverting to the norm. All we can chose is whether that return is peaceful and happens democratically, or violent. As the PC establishment is seeking to deny the democratic, political reversion, violence it is. Thats all there is to it. Even 'anti-racism' is one in-group seeking to destroy a perceived out-group. I realised during my Uni years that the most committed to tolerance where just as bad as the racists, and worse. There is no 'one world' pot of gold at the end of the multicultural rainbow society. Only competition for space, power, position and supremacy. The only real choice is which side you are going to take. This is why White people voted from Trump, and are turning to the far-right. All political power problems result in some resolution, and the problem is who is going to have power in the new world. Just wait until Europeans en-masse begin to realise the nature of whats been happening the last 50 years. I don't think there is a bottom to this.

I enjoyed it too. Just what is natures game anyway? Why is she refusing to bend over backwards to accommodate political ideologies we make up?

This is a very clever article but its witty title may be lost on those who do not read further. The title needs to give the reader a glimpse of what the article is about. "Talks have broken down" does not let the reader in at all and would be better as s subtitle!

The post by "Population Overload" closes with a mention that “Australian First would end the Immigration Department and end immigration. Surely that's want's needed - without beating around PC!” An objective reader would accept this to mean that Australia First would discontinue with the entire immigration programme. Population Overload hits the nail on the head , not only in the need to close down immigration, but also for rejection of PC, an outlook perhaps for the inherently timid who might be in fear of bone pointing. The reply post to Population Overload from Mark Allen re replacing dogmas etc is a case in point whereby the Australia First position of closing down the programme is misrepresented as just a “ promise to slow immigration". Further jargon about critical thinking, cliff edges, catching of flies, extremism, and voting for parties that understand compliments this misrepresentation. Objective research abounds that immigration is past use by date for Australia - Australia First is for ENDING THE IMMIGRATION PROGRAMME.

Yes, as if the forces against stopping growth were not bad enough, a constitution that allows one branch of government to create problems, which another branch then has to deal with makes it only that much harder.

Fancy the British not wanting to be overwhelmed by Pakistanis, and other foreign cultures? They must be evil and "racist" to be so insular and so patriotic. To be proud of your own country and culture is now "bigoted", or "racist"! The British have a fine and long history of beating off invasions, from the Vikings, the Scots/English borders, the Spanish, French, Roman Catholicism, and the Germans in the Battle of Britain. Why should they surrender now to open-borders in Europe? Are they meant to be Multicultural, and surrender their country to all the other cultures of the world, with mass immigration? Europe is in turmoil, and hardly an example of what other countries to follow!

Having three tiers of government in Australia is wasteful, and can be contradictory. It's a relic from our colonial past, of colonial administration. Why is there are Federal Environment Minister, and one other Enviornment minister and Department for each State, often duplication work and even contradictory - as in the above case. Why have an EBPC Act on Federal level, when a State premier can simply over-rule it and ignore it? The same goes for Immigration. The States have no control over population growth, and Opposition leader Guy Matthews recently said "we have no control over Immigration"! The rubber hits the road on State, and council levels, but they have no powers - or won't try to implement any! Australia should be run in its entirety on many important and significant issues, such as conservation and population growth. We are meant to be one country, but there's contradictory forces as the Federal government keeps their eye on the GDP, while States are overloaded with the flow of people - and the corresponding debts, shortages, overloaded infrastructure etc.

Good article, and the accompanying cartoon is excellent. The answer of course is no, because we live in 'market' culture, where the prevailing wisdom is everything can be explained economically. There were a rash of books to this effect in the last decade. Books like"Logic of Life and "Freakonomics were the result of economists, or people who fancied themselves as economists, thinking they have discovered that economics governs not just the market for goods and services, but everything. Everything, whether one chooses to smoke or not, choice of partners, absolutely everything was seen as being economic in nature. It was argued we are rational being attempting to maximise our gains, and this shapes absolutely everything. The thinking was sloppy though. It's based on the assumption that people have free will, make decisions based on reason and always strive to 'maximise gain'. Also, they tended towards post-hoc justifications. Actions which defy reason were found after the fact to have an 'economic rationale', after searching. Much in the same way that people have always found prophecies which have come true, only after an event has happened which people could potentially tie it in. People can't use 'economics' to predict future behaviour well. Hence why people are still shocked about things like Brexit, Trump and the rise of populism in Europe. Their model is broken. As a result, attempting to put a $ value on natural resources means using a broken model of viewing the world. It's based on assuming things which aren't true, assuming human behaviour and values which are by no means universal, and fudging our understanding of science and ecology to boot. It's a fraud, maintained only because the establishment permits no insight into the fraud.

If you read the writings and political tracts of great, ascending civilisations, a focus on economics and growth is absent. A push for growth and economic acquisition seems to be a signal of a declining civilisation. I think that our current mania on 'growth' is evidence of a broken culture. The culture which created the civilisation forgets the purpose for which it was built, and becomes a mercenary apparatus. It exists for its own sake. Those involved are no longer the reason for it being, and as a result the empire loses focus, the people lose their will to support and nourish it and it becomes a race to extract what you can from it. I would say this is where we are not. Whether Labor, Liberal, developer, or someone wanting maximum welfare, its all about liquidating and pulling apart what was built up for needs and goals at the BOTTOM of Maslows hierarchy of needs. Higher goals disappear and the culture is degraded. Think about how hard it is to find someone whos interest extend beyond their wealth and material acquisitions. Even entertainment is reduced to whether you have been able to obtain the series or not.

Paul Craig Roberts writes

Apparently the and the Green Party candidate want a vote recount that could remove "peace with Russia" Trump and install "nuclear war with Russia" Hillary:

Small excerpts from the article and visitor's comments follow. - Ed

 

...

Stein's online campaign has spread like wildfire, and has already raised well over the $2.2 million formally needed to file for a recount in the three key states ahead of deadlines on November 25, 28 and 30. Other costs associated with the recount, including attorney's fees and statewide recount observers are expected to run anywhere from $6-7 million. Accordingly, Stein's campaign is asking for at least $4.5 million, having already raised $3.7 million as of 2 pm EST.

That figure officially surpasses the $3.509 million the Green Party candidate raised during her presidential run. Stein received 1.39 million votes, or just over 1% of the popular vote, in the election held earlier this month.

...

Discussion

Justin Case

Soros has another useful idiot on the pay roll! Seeing as the machines were reported to be changing the vote from Trump to Clinton will they prosecute Killary for electoral fraud?

Rowena Millis

Absolutely, it's Clinton/Soros money Stein is using this money and being used as a decoy
It's the REAL powers behind Clinton - the globalists and US banksters/corporations that will NOT allow their pre-eminance be questioned. Soros is but one of them.

...

Ann Lambert · Davis County Community High School

You're a liar. Hillary made a deal with you to help her out. Go to hell bitch. You'd better never run for anything again. You want to get into bed with hillary, then you're a pariah just like her,

Stein, you're a Hillary shill. You never had a chance and you won't have a chance even IF you won a state or two, You had single-digit votes. Shut up and stop trying to help Hillary overthrow our democracy and the will of the people.

HOW MUCH DID HILLARY PAY YOU TO DO THIS? ABOUT $3.7 million, RIGHT?

Our noble rulers should get out more. It doesn't matter what the backpacker tax rate is - one percent or a million percent. The whole backpacker-casual employment industry is black, cash-in-hand. Once upon a time, Australian fruit was picked by poor Australian families on welfare. Then the clowns at Human Services decreed that your dole was cancelled if did seasonal work. Today there are 5-million on CentreLink. And not a single one can pick fruit? David Z Hughes

All Truism, Michael Bayliss's new band will be performing at an Animal Justice Party fundraiser on Sunday in Footscray, between 4pm and 7pm. The venue is the Reverence Hotel, 28 Napier Street, Footscray.

All Truism was formed through and around 2 common loves -the animal protection movement and music. They didn't waste any time in trying to help animals by making their first gig a fundraiser.  Playing an eclectic and vibrant range of  covers with unexpected twists and turns, All Truism invite you to join them in raising much needed funds for the AJP and the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds.

Skye Brown. 

Michael Bayliss 

Imagined Order

All Truism

FUNDRAISER SHOW

Doors: 4pm

Price:$25

Facebook: "https://www.facebook.com/events/1851311068433526/ 

The short answer is no!!! However, neoliberal philosophy dictates that a dollar value must be attached to everything and anything including humanity. It must also be remembered that each and every person who voted for the major parties including the Greens, voted for neoclassical rationalism. i.e. the majority of Australians although, I dare say, many of them unwittingly.

Of course if they don't want results to ecological surveys, they won't do them! They don't want to find that any "developments" on land would result in loss of habitat, or loss of threatened species. Of course the land is needed for ecological services, and biodiversity. Allowing land clearing, piece by piece, is an incremental silver bullet for loss of our intact natural heritage. Just piece by piece destruction. The problem in Australia is lack of communication across three tiers of government. We are one nation, but there is little communication between them! The rogue States can do what they want, and ignore Environmental protection policies at a national level. The Peninsula Link was not meant to promote urban sprawl, but this is exactly what's happening. Why is this rezoning of land needed? Why is Melbourne Water not protecting their land, and surrendering it? They won't produce an ecological report if it's contrary to their vested interests. Why isn't more land actually rezoned for conservation, not for industry or housing?

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