Dan Andrews, Pt 1: Zoe Buhler

This is a serial posting exploring the dark-side of Covid restrictions in Victoria, Australia. Feel free Dan (i mean normal Dan, not CCP Dan, but CCP Dan, yes, welcome), or anyone, jump in ...

On September 3, (cue Dan throat clearing) a pregnant mother, Zoe Buhler, was arrested in her home in Ballarat, Victoria, in front of her partner and two children. She was handcuffed and taken off by the police, still in her pajamas. All electronic devices in the house were seized - regardless of who owned them. Below is an edited transcript of the arrest (video here - timestamp 1:03):

Police: Right - now you’re under arrest with relation to Incitement. (timestamp 1:03)
Zoe Buhler: Incitement?
P: Never... You’re not obliged to say or do anything but anything you say or do may be given in evidence.
ZB: Excuse me, incitement for what? What, what on earth?
(Big police officer moves into handcuff her)
Buhler’s Boyfriend: (takes phone continues filming): Yeah what’s this about?
P: Yeah just calm down and let me finish. It’s in relation to a Facebook post in relation to a lockdown protest put on for Saturday.
ZB: Yeah and i wasn’t breaking any laws by doing that.
P: You are actually. You are breaking the law - that’s why i am arresting you - in relation to Incitement.
BF: How can you arrest her? That’s…
ZB: In front of my two children
BF: Can’t you just say to her ‘Take the post down’? C’mon!
ZB: I’m happy to delete the post, this is ridiculous.
P: You’re not obliged (inaudible) cautioned you on your rights do you understand? You’re not obliged to say anything but …
ZB: Yeah that’s fine but..
P: Anything you do say or do may be given in evidence. Do you understand that?
ZB: Yeah that’s fine, but my two kids are here and i have an ultrasound in an hour. Like i’m happy to delete the post.
P: You also have the right to communicate with a legal practitioner. Do you understand those rights?
ZB: Yeah this is ridiculous
BF: Yeah this is a bit unfair, c’mon mate. How ‘bout she won’t do the event. It’s not like it’s already happened. She made a post - so that’s an offence?
P: Well she already committed the offence.
BF: So that’s an offence?
P: So, i’m not gonna argue. Now - search warrant - that entitles us, and we are required to seize any computers, any mobile devices you have…
ZB: What on earth?
BF: Yeah could i just get your badge for a second there mate?
ZB: (crying - inaudible)
P: (getting angry) Just let me finish! Any mobile you’ve got, ok, so what we want is any mobile you've got (big police officer is collecting phones)
ZB: That’s actually my sister’s phone
P: Well it doesn’t matter. Any device in this house we’re taking.
BF: Ahrr, you’re not taking my phone (police come to take his phone)
It’s my phone, it’s got nothing to do with her! (takes phone - recording finishes)

She has since been released from jail on bail pending her trial. She faces a big fine or up to 2 years jail. Following her arrest, there was an outpouring of abuse online, directed not at the police but at the woman, and another woman who was later arrested for protesting her arrest. “Stupid women!”, “Jail her!”, “Tin-foil hat conspiracy theorists!” were typical comments.

The next day the police smashed in the door of another person-of-interest, James Bartolo, and arrested him for the same ‘crime’. (The ‘progressive’ media described them as “conspiracy theorists”, without providing details - which made it ok apparently.)

So what is the crime of ‘Incitement’ exactly? Here’s the (edited) post she made (since taken down):

PEACEFUL PROTEST!!!
All social distancing measures are to be followed so we don’t get arrested please. Please wear a mask. Sep 5 is Freedom Day. END LOCKDOWNS. STAND FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. WE LIVE IN A *FREE* COUNTRY. (included protest time/location)
(It did go ahead - participants were arrested, handcuffed, and/or fined.)

Bloody Hell! So Posting about a peaceful protest is a crime. That’s Thought Police stuff, complete with Chilling Effect. How did we lurch into this ‘new normal’ so suddenly? Where is this going?

The above arrest was made possible by the introduction of a new legal regime in Victoria. Having already declared a State of Emergency in March, Andrews then availed himself of the tool-set of powers entailed in that. Chief among these is the power to unilaterally declare a State of Disaster. Andrews did this on Aug 2. This declaration automatically invests him with dictatorial-like powers. That’s not hyperbole. According to the Parliament of Victoria website:

"Authorities have been empowered to impose restrictions ...that suspend constitutional norms (and) prevail over anything to the contrary in any state law.

Invoking these powers sets aside the normal workings of legislative and executive powers and concentrates broad regulation-making powers in an official within the executive government. ( i.e State Premier, Daniel Andrews)

Once these special powers are triggered, the executive government is typically authorised to make regulations with respect to anything deemed necessary."

In other words, Absolute Power. Because the powers are so extreme, they are limited to one month. However, on Aug 24, Andrews said he needed to extend for a year. With the help of The Greens and an anti-censorship rep(!), they got 6 months.

It’s only the second time in history that a State of Disaster has been declared in Victoria. (The first time was a few months ago, by the same trigger-happy premier, during the bushfire season (which resulted in 3 deaths in Vic).

On the same day the Covid State of Disaster was declared (Aug 2), Stage 4 Lockdown Restrictions were announced. (God help us if it’s like typhoons and there’s a Stage 5!):

A curfew will be in place from 8pm this evening (and) from 8pm to 5am every evening.
Outside these hours, you are only allowed to leave your house for 1 of the following four reasons:
Exercise once a day for up to 1 hour within a 5km radius of your home. Gatherings limited to 2.
Purchase food and necessary supplies. 1 person per household.
Health care.
Work. Study must be done remotely.

Police patrol the streets and have fined Victorians “more than $2.9 million for breaking curfew over the past month.”
The fine for breaching Stay at Home orders is $1652 on the spot, up to $10,000.
You can report breaches of the Chief Health Officer’s directives, by calling the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 (ominous number - has got 13 and 444 sounds like death death death in Chinese) or submitting an online report.

As we saw, protesting these restrictions is banned. As is discussing plans for protesting them. These decrees are backed by aggressive enforcement.

Police commissioner Shane Patton said, “On at least four occasions in the last week, we've had to smash the windows of cars and pull people out because...they weren't adhering to the Chief Health Officer's guidelines, they weren't providing their name and address."

Daniel Andrews said: “This is not going to be a pleasant experience... but I have a message: this is not about punishment but protection.”

WTF! Smashing car windows and dragging people out to show ID’s!!! And that’s for our protection!? In Taiwan, which heroically overcame the White Terror fascism, the police can’t randomly stop people and demand ID on the street, let alone smash their car windows in - it would be utterly bizarre. In Victoria, it’s the 'new normal'.

But hang on, maybe these totalitarian laws are necessary? Covid is an ‘unprecedented’ situation that calls for an ‘unprecedented’ response, right?

That sounds ok - but historically, the introduction of a police-state is always couched in terms of a scare-campaign justification. So we need to be wary of that.

Covid didn’t impact Australia in the exponential graph way until mid March. It was lucky to that extent - governments were able to watch the tsunami roll around the world and fortify the barricades. Given that benefit of fore-knowledge, Australia did a pretty good jobof fingering the dyke. By May-June, the last few dribs and drabs were being proudly mopped up.

Dan was in 7th-heaven - on TV every day, literally every day (another Dan World Record?). Giving Fidel Castro-length press conferences telling everyone what to do.
With no opposition voices because it was ‘not the right time to talk about that’.

Andrews was basking in an approval-rating surge to 75%. That’s crazy-high in politics. Everyone got a bump but Dan was the most popular of all the premiers - and 7 points clear of the PM, Scott Morrison on 68%.

“We’re all in this together!” Dan kept saying, while urging everyone to 'listen to the experts.' And at every press conference he was flanked by his faithful Chief Medical Officer, Brett Sutton, who likewise crowed: “We've got some of the brightest minds in the world in our health services, laboratories, research sector and emergency management sector. I'm confident we're well placed to meet the challenges ahead, whatever they might be."

They say in politics ‘Never waste a good crisis’ - Dan Andrews was not wasting so much as one airborne droplet of it. On the PR front, at least, things couldn’t have been going better. Until they weren’t....

‘Enter’ the infamous case of the Security Guard bonking an infected patient at the quarantine hotel he/they was/were guarding. How much of that story is true is not clear, but it did escape from hotel quarantine through someone. A less exciting reportsays it was a hotel staff, possibly a cleaner. The same report says “several guards at the Rydges on Swanston were sacked for harassing female hotel staff.”
The net result was a ‘2nd Wave’ where cases went from zero to over 530+ per day by July 27.

The initial reaction, which i also had, was blame the idiot security guards for being Aussie dickhead male types - which some of them were - but whether it escaped through a security guard or a hotel cleaner - these are minimum wage workers. It’s not good enough to say to a minimum wage worker ‘Well i told you clearly several times to prevent Covid re-entering Australia and causing a health crisis and an economic meltdown with CALAMITOUS SOCIAL IMPACTS!!! That’s not the job of the person getting 18 bucks an hour. That’s the bosses job - to manage the response.
Following increased questioning, Dan Andrews announced an investigation and appointed former Children's Court of Victoria judge, Jennifer Coate to head it.
For several weeks thereafter, Andrews refused to answer questions ‘because the matter was under investigation’. This is a known ‘Yes Minister’ stunt. It usually works - an excuse to deflect until hopefully it’s out of the news cycle. Unfortunately for Dan, the head of the enquiry, announced, “unprompted, that there was no legal reason to suppress public discussion of matters before her investigation.”
“Coate’s comments blew away any last vestige of political cover for Andrews and his ministers to bat away questions about the quarantine failures that have led to most (if not all) of Melbourne’s deadly COVID-19 second wave.”

From that point on, it started to get sticky for our man Dan.

Two things stick out for me as battlefronts: Freedom of Speech, Right to Privacy.

What percentage of the population do you need to get herd immunity to that? To then institute an Orwellian model of governance? From which there's almost no coming back.

70%? Then lockdown the rest? That's doable - we know that coz it's doneable. (Russia, China)

70% popularity rating in a democracy is insanely good - if you can get that level of public support (even as you open a portal to dictatorship), you're all set. That’s what our man Dan Andrews has been persistently posting. Much to my 'horror'. (Was that Kurtz's final realization? The 70% equation?)

I'm sure Andrews won't go on to become Australia's Xi Jinping, but he's laying down a trail to that place, a 'precedent' for 'unprecedented times'.

So why is he so popular? Part of the trouble is that it's a buy-now-pay-later scheme in Australia. All businesses are getting paid to be closed or to make up the gap.

That's nice. Until we have to pay it back - with two of Australia's top three main earners (both non-essentials for the customers) - foreign students and tourism - smashed for the foreseeable future.

Right now, economic hardship is still an abstract concept in Australia - but it will be measured in human misery down the track. To those foisting this regime onto society: if you wanted to start a class war - you're going exactly the right way about it.

"So why is he so popular? Part of the trouble is that it's a buy-now-pay-later scheme in Australia. All businesses are getting paid to be closed or to make up the gap.

That's nice. Until we have to pay it back - with two of Australia's top three main earners (both non-essentials for the customers) - foreign students and tourism - smashed for the foreseeable future. "

This is going on in the US as well. Trump, in the same wisdom that led him to multiple bankruptcies before somehow becoming president in spite of losing the popular vote, has put a furlough on federal social security income tax, which equals something like 8.5% of income. So everyone is going to see their net income go up by 8.5% until the end of the year, at which time is all has to be paid back in addition to normal taxes, which means our net income will eventually be reduced by 8.5% or, put another way, that just our SS tax will be a whopping 17% after the election in November.

It's the most insane, manipulative, irresponsible, idiotic move imaginable. And yet, a significant percentage of Americans are just stupid enough, because the shitty US education system never bothered to teach them basic math let alone critical thinking, to be swayed by this horseshit.

I think we're reaching a point in history where technology is winning, meaning that the rich and powerful can use technology to manipulate the poor, weak, and stupid like never before. A democracy, especially now, needs not only an informed public, but a public capable of analyzing that information. What we're seeing is the information being manipulated beyond the ability of the public to critically evaluate it. As a result, democracy is indeed disintegrating, or, more precisely, being dismantled or perhaps made impotent.

I think we're reaching a point in history where technology is winning, meaning that the rich and powerful can use technology to manipulate the poor, weak, and stupid like never before. A democracy, especially now, needs not only an informed public, but a public capable of analyzing that information. What we're seeing is the information being manipulated beyond the ability of the public to critically evaluate it. As a result, democracy is indeed disintegrating, or, more precisely, being dismantled or perhaps made impotent.

Man, later, like a thousand years maybe, in some cyber-revolutionary period, that quote will be plucked from the data cloud to explain what happened in 2020.

Apart from not being able to duck questions, witness testimony emerged from the investigation. Michael Tait, a nurse with 20 years experience, who was working at two of the quarantine hotels said:

"We didn't have medium gloves until day four. We did not get N95 masks until day eight. We never got hoods, face shields or shoe coverings even though we were told we would.”

He described the Department of Health and Human Services policies as "shambolic" - rules changed "every day, if not every hour".

As for the security guards, they "didn't understand the importance or even the use of PPE" leaving used masks and gloves on the ground, whilst mingling with guests without masks. "I saw security guards with their masks down underneath their chin, eating their lunch with gloves on."

The state of the hotels was also a disgrace. Reports/photos of rooms not being cleaned between patients, let alone ‘deep cleaned’, while evidence from an enquiry into a suicide said, “Safer Care Victoria found the detainee received a welfare check (that’s a medical check-up - not a cheque check) five days into his detention. It was the only welfare check made during the nine days before his death.”
The whole program from top to bottom was a mind-boggling shemozzle.
The only surprise is that the virus didn’t escape sooner.

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Security guards on guard at a Melbourne quarantine hotel. Kinda like this one - reminds me of Taiwan in the old days after lunchtime.

[image]
Stains on sheets at a Melbourne quarantine hotel. Hope it wasn't from the suicide guy.

I don't understand this at all, but then I've never been to Australia. It just flies in the face of every image I had of Australia. I'm experiencing cognitive dissonance.

I'm just getting around to this thread. I'm speechless. The NYT article has been taken down but the YouTube video is still up. Incredible. I'm not sure how to react. I thought Australia was sort of a, call me an idiot, freedom loving sort of place?

I thought Australia was sort of a, call me an idiot, freedom loving sort of place?

The trouble with living overseas for a long time is that it gives you perspective on your home country.

For all America's bumbling dysfunction, at least it's dynamic - maybe that tracks back to you guys having had a democratic revolution. Like France, Spain, even Taiwan - the rare example of a peaceful one.

Australia's still got the Queen of England as the official head of state

The Investigation has cleared up at least one unsolved mystery: Who’s brainwave was it to use a lot of taxpayer money to keep Victoria (and Australia) Covid-Safe by paying private security guard firms big bucks - who in turn pay minimum wage to muscley guys who didn’t have and weren’t given any medical training - and like picking up chicks at the pubs they usually work at - to man the Covid-Frontline?

Turns out it was nobody. Phew! That was a close one for the Andrews’ Government. The security firms just materialized out of thin air and started doing it!

This new report clarifies it finally:

“(Vic Job’s Minister, Martin Pakula’s) evidence that they did not know who made the decision comes after seven senior Victorian government officials also told the inquiry they did not know who decided to use the private security guards linked to the virus escaping quarantine.”

All of the above could have been avoided, as it was in other states, if Dan Andrews hadn’t been too up himself to accept help from the Australian Defence Force.

Once the chief investigator said, ‘Yeah-no - go ahead mate - you’re free to comment - it’s an investigation not a court case': Andrews offered this:
“I think it is fundamentally incorrect to assert that there was hundreds of ADF staff on offer and somehow someone said no. That‘s not, in my judgment, accurate.”

Technically, he was right there - it’s wasn’t hundreds, it was a thousand. He also swore:

“It has been consistently put to me, that me or others, have consistently said no to help. (truth) That‘s simply wrong. (lie) That is simply wrong. (lie) And the notion that that has occurred – that’s just not right.” (lie)

Meanwhile, a truckload of facts, a convoy of constructions-site trucks, were backing up to the enquiry, making loud reverse beeping noises, hydraulics whirring, as they dumped cold hard evidence.

Initially it was ‘he said/several high ranking ADF staff said’ but the evidence expanded to correspondence; a whopping 140 pages of people begging him to accept ADF help, including an email trail with the PM. The email “detail(s) the pressure Mr Morrison placed on the Premier to accept support from the Australian Defence Force” (and Dan’s refusal to accept it).

Geez Dan, how on earth did you ever think you were gonna get away with that crap? Is that the same narcissism coursing through your character that also emboldened you to declare dictatorial powers for yourself?

But what's fanning the flames of that narcissistic bushfire? Who's the weather in this, the 40+C - the big northerly - feeding in the flattery - governing the direction?

As Health Minister, Jenny Mikakos's department, DHHS, was designated "control agency" (designated by who?) for the hotel quarantine program. She responded at the Investigation:

"The terminology has a particular meaning under our emergency management framework and unfortunately it's been bandied about quite a lot and I think it is highly misunderstood as a term. It doesn't mean that DHHS had control as such. I think the best way to understand it is a coordination role."

She will end up being the sacrificial lamb - but it will be just that. This is one of those movies where it goes all the way to the top.

Edit: The next day after posting the above, Jenny Mikakos did resign. Yes, she was an overpaid incompetent 'expert', but it will be a travesty of justice if she's made the overall patsy for the hotel quarantine debacle.

As Joni Mitchell put it: Funny how it always seems to go…

When something looked, “just not right” about the Proximal Origins paper, a scratch below the surface re Lipkin et al led to decades deep tendrils of CCP entanglement. So how about Victoria’s erstwhile Premier, Daniel Andrews?

Let’s google Daniel Andrews China - just see… Oh…

Daniel Andrews hits back on China deals…
Daniel Andrews Belt and Road rejected by …
Belt and Road Victoria China deal wasn’t seen by DFAT...

To put it politely, the first thing that jumps out at you is Dan’s raging boner for BRI (Belt and Road Initiative).

In 2018 Andrews announced he had signed the following contract with the CCP re BRI.
Here’s the title ‘writ large’:

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
BETWEEN
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF VICTORIA
OF AUSTRALIA
AND THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND REFORM COMMISSION OF
THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA
COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF
THE SILK ROAD ECONOMIC BELT AND THE 21ST CENTURY MARITIME SILK ROAD INITIATIVE
(their uppercase, my bold)

The document waffles on for three pages. The opposition claimed that it’s big on generalizations but there are no details of what the fuck the deal actually involves.

But that’s not correct. The details are there. In fact they’re emphasised to the hilt.

The main points:

Cooperation (the word features 23 times in a three-page document - that’s over 7 a page - at least one per paragraph. Plus synonyms galore. So if you sign this contract, whatever you may want to quibble about later, don’t say you didn’t know you were meant to cooperate with the CCP.)

Working within the Framework (built by the CCP)

Mutual Benefits (so remember, this is not just us scratching your back)

Policy Development (now we’re getting to the pointy end)

Extensive Consultation (especially with policy development)

Common Future (in which we will) jointly combat global challenges. (Geez - so prophetic!)

Respect and Mutual Trust - provide each other with support (so don't 'hurt our feelings')

All the points are versions of each other - cooperation in the new era - so don't be criticizing us. Some praise would be nice. We provide the billions - all you gotta do is play along. If you break that compact of cooperation within the framework of policy development and a common future, then i’m sorry, you’ll be punished with the Economic Belt and lockdown until your thoughts are realigned with the 21st Century new era.

It concludes:
This MOU will remain in effect for five years and will be
automatically extended for subsequent five year periods and so forth.

Here's a sample. It goes on exactly like this for three pages:

"Based on the aspiration of promoting the silk road spirit centering on peace, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefits and aspiration to further enrich such spirit in keeping with the new era; welcoming and supporting China’s initiative to jointly promote the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21St Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative (hereinafter referred to as the Belt and Road Initiative); willing to enhance practical cooperation within the framework of jointly building the Belt and Road, the Parties decide to work together to explore and form synergy in cooperation, enhance policy coordination, and further promote friendly cooperation."

I'm going to have to sit down at some point and commit to reading through this thread in detail. All I know about COVID is what I read. We're almost completely untouched by it here in rural northern Japan. I have to wear a mask at work, and that's it. We worked from home for a couple months last spring, but otherwise it's life as usual. The only thing we can't do is travel without quarantining for two weeks before we return. So, for example, if we want to leave Aomori Prefecture to go to Taiwan, we'd have to spend two weeks in quarantine in Tokyo on return before continuing on to Aomori. But once we're here, it's easy breezy.

I have been backing up this forum. Things are happening too fast to take in all at once. I'd like to make sure we can come back two, five, ten years down the road and see what happened.

We're almost completely untouched by it here in rural northern Japan. I have to wear a mask at work, and that's it. We worked from home for a couple months last spring, but otherwise it's life as usual. The only thing we can't do is travel without quarantining for two weeks before we return. So, for example, if we want to leave Aomori Prefecture to go to Taiwan, we'd have to spend two weeks in quarantine in Tokyo on return before continuing on to Aomori. But once we're here, it's easy breezy.

Same here - then there's all the creepy surveillance shit that's being justified in the name of Covid throughout the world. That then takes on a life of its own. It becomes the event. When was the last time you read an article that examined the origin of the virus? For me it's several months - and i'm scanning the news for it. If we have to accept the 'new normal' - let's at least know why.

I have been backing up this forum. Things are happening too fast to take in all at once. I'd like to make sure we can come back two, five, ten years down the road and see what happened.

Great. Formosahut is a good place for us to file referenced bits of info while they're fresh off the tree. Later we can see how things transpired from there. I like doing that with the Weather Diary already. The Miramar-wiki has come in handy too.

The following is from Andrews’ travel expense account (my bold). Politicians use long sentences so it’s broken down for clarity purposes:

Purpose of travel

From 25 to 29 April 2019, I travelled to China to visit Beijing and Nanjing. The purpose of this travel was to represent Victoria as the only Australian sub-national leader at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing,...
(only Australian leader who marched boldly into the CCP’s den? What does that tell you right there?)

...and to launch the 40th anniversary celebrations with our sister-state Jiangsu.
(hmm, what’s up with all this sister-state stuff? let’s have a look at that later...)

My travel aligns with Victorian Government priorities to cement Victoria’s reputation as China’s gateway to Australia,...
(Yeah-no - just before we pour the China gateway cement Dan, can we go through the details of this gateway deal you’ve single-handedly, literally, signed Australia up to?)

...and demonstrates our commitment to strengthening the mutually beneficial relationship with our largest trading partner.
(So, to be clear, showing support for humans having their rights trampled (e.g. Hong Kong-Xinjiang-Tibet) by a totalitarian regime that read 1984 and thought it was a ‘how to’ manual - would be mutually beneficial going forward - or not so much?)

This was also my first official visit to China since (last year) signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to cooperate on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI),...
(heroically visited, we should add, against a Cat-5 head-wind of warnings to: Don’t do that.)

...providing opportunities to discuss… (great politico-speak for ‘negotiating shady deals’)

...how this can be leveraged to the greatest benefit to Victoria.
(‘leverage’ - that’s an interesting choice of word - wonder if the CCP is thinking how Dan Andrews can be leveraged for the greatest benefit to the CCP?)

Great picture from Lisa Tucker - good composition
[image]

Same here - then there's all the creepy surveillance shit that's being justified in the name of Covid throughout the world. That then takes on a life of its own. It becomes the event. When was the last time you read an article that examined the origin of the virus? For me it's several months - and i'm scanning the news for it. If we have to accept the 'new normal' - let's at least know why.

Good point. This is reminiscent, in some ways, of the claims of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq leading up to the first Iraq war. They were debunked then, even before the war as I recall, and nothing came of it. The main justification for the war was a lie, and look what that has led to. Lives are still being lost, what, nearly 30 years later? And nobody, ever, was prosecuted for the lie. What's worse is that the world doesn't remember, figuratively speaking, and it doesn't care. The same is going to happen here.

Benefits of travel to the State of Victoria

This Official visit, my fifth in five years, built on the significant relationship the Victorian Government has developed with China ...
(= developed with CCP)

...compounded through annual visits and cooperation across a range of sectors.
(compounded? Was that a Freudian slip? Don’t we usually use that like ‘he compounded his original error by making more to cover it up’?)

Victoria’s invitation to attend the second BRF, having attended the first in 2017, was confirmation of our reputation as the state leading Australian engagement in China.
(Is going out on a limb to do dark deals with a cyber-surveillance superpower one of those things you wanna be trumpeting you’re No. 1 at?)

Benefits of the trip to Victoria include:
positioning Victoria for future BRI opportunities, particularly under the BRI MoU, (full nose-trough mode) and promoting our strengths and capabilities to key Chinese Government officials. (Key CCP dudes - all men.)
promoting Victoria as a trusted (suck-hole) partner for trade and investment, and for cooperation in priority areas, including infrastructure...

(Now we’re getting warm! Dan Andrews - Mr 70% - rode to fame as the ‘big infrastructure guy’. The man who ‘gets things done’. The mystery always was: Where the heck you getting all that money from?)

...further strengthening Victoria’s relationship with Jiangsu by launching the 40th anniversary celebrations of our sister-state relationship and meeting with senior Jiangsu Government leadership

(Hell! Sounds like this is veering a bit GoT-style incestuous. Victoria has two Sister States in China now - Dan announced a new sister in 2015 , so why not form a Big Brother State relationship as well? )

Every good crime story needs ‘motivation’. Why did he/she do it?

The thing about motivation is: the person being motivated doesn’t feel it like it’s some dastardly thing. He/she wakes up - has their favourite breakfast, feels great.

If you’re waiting for them to keel over in shame forget about it.

They’re justified on a ‘higher level of truth’ that you wouldn’t understand. That inner-knowledge provides immunity to your ‘external noise’.

In Dan Andrews case the motivation was just the normal one - power (which can then be used to make the world a better place etc - if i’m not too busy - (which I was)).

The road to that power - in Andrews's case, is a road. It’s a BOT Transurban Tollway in fact. Otherwise known as ‘big infrastructure’ and 'getting things done'.

On Nov 24, 2018, Dan Andrews rode this bandwagon to a comfortable re-election victory. Four more years. Fair enough. Melbourne’s infrastructure was/is an international fucking disgrace. It still doesn't have a train from the airport. (kid you not). Susanne from Dulan used to say - 'I always judge a city by its transport from the airport to the city.' I think she'd like some things about Melbourne but she'd smell a governmental rat with that straight off the bat.

The Victorian government gouged on the torrent of money pouring in from immigrants (p29-31) and foreign students (2nd ref) for decades to drive the economy - but then blew that money on pay-rises to ‘the experts’, while churning out cyber-loads of self-justifying literature to entrench their fiefdom existences.

The building of infrastructure to cope with this population explosion that boomed the economy and got me elected? (remembering Labor Party has been in power for 17 of the last 21 years) Yeah-no - fuck that - why build a modern railway system which won’t even be completed in my term? Why let some other bastard get the glory?

Andrews at least had the brains to know that the public was crying out for a big picture guy. Just spend the fucking money and build a normal transport system for a city of 5 million people already!

Since his election, Andrews has embarked on, in his own words, “the biggest infrastructure agenda the nation's ever seen” Spending on infrastructure “has tripled since Labor came to power in 2014". Photos of Andrews wearing hardhats have quadrupled.

The result: record popularity.

Popularity = equals power.

According to ex-Pm Malcolm Turnbull, (a rare political outsider - cut down by his own party - now back in private life), that simple equation "power for power's sake", is motivation enough for "most politicians".

The next question is: What is Andrews prepared to do to get it - and hold onto it?

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So the motivation is a narcissistic need for power - the question is:

What is Andrews prepared to do to get his fix of that drug...?

To understand that, we need to look at the players invited to sit at Andrews' high stakes table - what do they want? What motivates them?

The player with the best hand, way better/bigger than Dan’s, is Transurban.

When you’re thinking about what’s a scary now-future greedy big-data control company look like? - think Transurban. It makes and runs tollways - with all the data-gathering tech that entails - name, address, car, facial recognition, gps tracking… you name it. Australia is the world record holder for most expensive/profitable tollways - and growing. Transurban operates 17 tollroads. "Of the 99 kilometres of toll roads in Sydney, 95 kilometres are either majority or half-owned by Transurban."

According to:

Transurban Privacy Policy:

We collect your personal information in the following ways:
You give it to us. (Transurban’s bold) ...(T)his might happen when you’re setting up an account… (or)...when you use our roads.
(I love the way they use 'may' and 'might' all the time!)

This may include photographs (which we may use for facial recognition where you have consented to this use).
(which you did - see above)

...(and) ...information about your location while using one of our websites or apps.
(gps tracking - in addition to being recorded every time we beep you)

We may disclose your personal information: ….
(...then lists 35 sets of entities and/or umbrella situations where Transurban can share your data - who, no doubt, according to their privacy policies can pass it on and so on. One of these sets is:)

...to our consultants, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, service providers, professional advisers and agents .. engineers and surveyors. (my bold - keep that one in the memory bank - why do they need to disclose your personal info to those guys?)

Then there’s a whole new category titled:

12. When do we disclose information overseas?

We may disclose personal information to contractors outside of Australia and may use off-shore servers for the purposes of data storage. We have engaged contractors in the Philippines, the United States, Portugal, France, India, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and certain other countries. (my bold)

(Certain other countries - i wonder which certain one in particular they don't want to say out loud? But don’t worry because:)

We will take commercially reasonable steps to ensure that any overseas recipient does not breach the Australian Privacy Principles (other than Australian Privacy Principle 1) in relation to the personal information.
(Hmm, so what's this Australian Privacy Principle 1? The one they don’t abide by? Oh. At least it was easy to find - it is ‘Principle 1’. According to the Australian Government website:)

“The object of this principle is to ensure .... entities manage personal information in an open and transparent way.”

Hahaha! Sometimes research into dodgy stuff has genuinely funny moments. If you don’t abide by Principle 1, then who the fuck’s gonna know whether you abide by the rest of them…?

So how the hell did Transurban get the deal in the first place and who are these 'overseas recipients'...?

The other thing about Transurban is that it’s proactive. It doesn’t sit back waiting for governments to come up with projects it can bid on; it pitches fancy big-bucks ‘shovel-ready’ tollways at them that they didn’t even know they needed.

The West Gate tunnel was a classic example. Here’s how it went down:

1. Andrews ran for Premier in 2014 promising to cancel the $5.3 billion BOT East-West Link contract that was dodgily signed by the incumbent government just before the election. According to this article, Andrews argued it was a “waste of money and didn’t stack up” and said the contract would be "ripped up at no cost because it was not worth the paper it was written on.” Instead he promoted a shovel-ready Western Distributor project at a modest $500 mil that he said could do the job more efficiently.

2. After he won the election largely on that issue, he did indeed tear up the contract with East West Connect consortium, comprising Australia’s Lend Lease, French company Bouygues, Spain's Acciona Infrastructure and Lend Lease's financing arm Capella Capital. But instead of it costing zero taxpayers dollars, Andrews paid the consortium $1.1 billion - not to build the road.
On Dec 12, 2017, he announced a secret new BOT project out of nowhere - the West Gate Tunnel - at 5.5 billion (later increased to 6.7 billion - including a clause guaranteeing a massive payout to Transurban if the increase was blocked by parliament).

Bear in mind, none of these shady BOT toll-road deals have anything to do with building a half-decent public transport system to reduce carbon emissions.

This The Age article asks?

"How did we get here?
We have an inkling with the West Gate Tunnel: it began life as a secret deal between Transurban and Labor. In 2015, two months after Mr Andrews won office, two former Labor advisers began work with Transurban. One was Treasurer Tim Pallas' chief of staff; the other headed John Brumby's (former Labor Premier’s) media unit.

Ever since, it's been full steam ahead on a project the government's figures show will be in gridlock ... a decade after opening." (my bold)

The next question is: Having blown off the European and Australian companies, who owns the companies that Andrews blew them off for?

My first instinct was to search who owns Transurban. I bet China is in there somewhere…

Turns out, no. Aussie owned. New on the block but one of Australia’s most successful homegrown companies. Unsurprisingly. Their share price has doubled since Andrews got in - even with Covid. Not many companies have done that - some have - big tech - goods suppliers - but not many in Australia anyway.

Transurban CEO Scott Charlton (@ 7 million a year), lamented a drop in traffic due to Covid lockdowns, but remains bullish going forward, pointing out:

"Public transport for a while might not be considered the best option … keep(ing) Transurban in a good position long term.”

(Great. So now Covid is being used to justify not investing in public transport. Guess CO2 emmissions and the environment will just have to wait - but wait - it can't wait...)

In another interview he extols a future of driverless cars as drivers of their economic vehicle. He's probably right.

For Transurban re the Covid K-curve? Considering they built and own the on-ramp for the up branch, we can assume the future looks bright.

So how about the construction companies that get the mega-contracts? Did Andrews unplug the Euro-Australian conglomerate so he could plug in the CCP?

Then read:
“The premier introduced tough new state laws last year to require 90 per cent of "local content" ” on all infrastructure projects

Hell! I didn’t expect that. Maybe Andrews is not the villain i was making out! On the contrary. Fuck. I gotta start recanting...

So i check the building company(ies)... : CPB (owned by CIMIC - which used to be Australian but it's not now coz it is owned by Hochtief (Germany)- which is owned by ACS group a Spanish construction giant).

Their partner in the project is John Holland.

John Holland is a famous Australian name. Started the company in 1949, built it into a major international player. That’s good going for one lifetime.

Coincidentally, one of his biggest breaks was winning the contract to build the West Gate Bridge in 1968. The West Gate tunnel, 50 years later, will be the company’s second crossing.

An Aside: The West Gate Bridge did famously collapse 50 years ago during construction. When it came to joining up the bridge in the middle, the engineers realized one side was 11 cm higher than the other. They thought the high side could be forced down by placing “10 massive concrete blocks” on it with a combined weight of 80 tonnes.

“The process caused a buckle in the bridge, which engineers tried to fix by removing a number of bolts.”

Around midday, worker Pat Preston “ heard what he thought was the crackling of gunfire, but was actually the sound of bolts pinging from the frame of the bridge.”

35 workers were killed in the ensuing, thunderous collapse.

Hopefully safety measures have been put in place since then. Didn’t seem to affect business too much because a decade later they won the new Parliament House gig. That hasn't fallen down yet.

As for the China connection ‘conspiracy theory?’ So far, on the face of it, the whole project looks Aussie through-and-through! (With some Spanish in there)

Good thing we know that things in the global corporate-politico-science world are often not what they seem. ..

(with Chinese characteristics)

First a quick recap:

Dan Andrews gets elected vowing to cancel the contract of an Australian-Euro conglomerate for zero dollars.

He cancels but pays out over a billion

He announces a contract with a rival consortium including Transurban, Lendlease (owned by a Spanish company ACCIONA) ……. and...

John Holland - the Aussie brand. Right?

According to John Holland’s website, on the History tab, in 1991 John sold the company to Janet (Holmes à Court)'s Heytesbury, who then sold it to Leighton Holdings 9 years later. (2000)

Then, in 2015:

A Bright New Future[/i]

In April 2015, John Holland was purchased by China Communications Construction Company International Holding Limited (CCCI). CCCI is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC), the largest listed company in the international infrastructure and engineering sector.

Hmm. The largest - in the history of earth. That’s pretty large.

The $6.5 billion dollar question is:

Who is China Communications Construction Company controlled by?

Disclaimer: You don’t get $6.5 bil if you guess right

Ans: The Chinese Communist Party.

CCCC is a majority-state-owned behemoth. Not surprisingly, it’s the largest Belt and Road Initiative constructor in the world.
With a long rap-sheet of corruption charges to prove it. For example:

In 2009, China Communications Construction Co, one of the most active companies in BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) projects, was debarred by the WB (World Bank) for eight years for alleged fraudulent bidding on a highway contract in the Philippines.

This Bloomberg article details other corrupt dealings, including a 2013 U.S. asset-forfeiture case, where “CCCC allegedly paid US$19 million to a son of the president of Equatorial Guinea to win a highway contract.” (shades of Hunter Biden?)

As the John Holland website writer points out:

This is an exciting time for the business, with new opportunities to be explored. John Holland and CCCI (owned by CCCC) have a shared vision for the future. (my brackets, bold)

What is that shared vision for the future exactly?

At most such companies, the Communist Party occupies a central place in the leadership structure, and it’s no different at CCCC.

In fact:

(Chairman of CCCC) Liu Qitao, is party chief as well as head decision-maker. In one speech published on a government website, he speaks of turning CCCC into a reliable executor of the party’s vision.

Cool. Therefore, according to the boss, John Holland, is, or is being ‘turned-into’, a reliable executor of the party’s vision - in Australia.

This is Back-door Belt and Road Initiative. And all that entails ...

Hi! My name is Dan Andrews. I'll be your compromised narcissist this evening to usher in our vision of the new era. Please remain seated during the performance.

So what is the CCP’s ‘vision’? What’s this product that state-owned companies such as John Holland are selling us? (that Dan Andrews is “mega-money” buying on our behalf?)

Essentially it's: A System of Government.

A Totalitarian System.

It’s not communism - or socialism (that’d be more your Scandinavian countries).

China’s silk road to re-assuming its rightful mantle (see Tang Dynasty) as international Middle Kingdom, re-opened when Deng Xiao-ping ditched socialism for the capitalist road (with Totalitarian characteristics).
By way of explaining this switch-er-rooney, Deng quoted the Chinese proverb:

It doesn’t matter if the cat is black or white - if it catches mice it’s a good cat.

It was not a hard sell in the end, given Mao’s trail of death and destruction - the public was ripe for a new path. The hard yards were surviving to that point where he could decree it.

He did this by pulling off a 50-year long chess game (you lose if you die). In 1975, three years before Deng assumed control of the party, ACDC reckoned it’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n roll. For sure it is, but check out this dude’s political journey:

Core Long Marcher
Leader of the Revolution
Survivor of Mao’s mad Kingness
Architect of Superpowerdom

In Rock ‘n Roll/Rugby League equivalency, that’s Hall of Fame ‘Immortal’ status. If you're in the Narrative business, which he was, Immortal is what you’re aiming for. With hindsight we can safely say, Deng Xiaoping, take a bow.

But here’s the catch: for all his Opening up to the World, the one thing Deng didn’t let go of was Totalitarianism. On the contrary. He tightened it, refined it, vowed to “consolidate its organization”. He was no Gorbachov.

A recurring theme throughout Deng’s life is picking up the pieces of near, but not quite, total destruction. His resuscitation of Totalitarianism as an enduring, effective system, when it looked, with the fall of the Soviet Empire, to be going the way of the dinosaurs, was his crowning achievement.

Forty years later, this system of government, amplified by the internet and Covid, is having a perfect storm moment.

Totalitarianism is Totally normal. That was the only system we had for national governments until the Greeks let democracy out of the bag (later tried to put it back in).

Democracy is the DNA error in the system that got out of the bag.

China has never had it as a national system of government. Their rulers have seen it, but don't want it. As you wouldn't if you are the the dictator. The 'Chinese characteristics' is the Confucius influence - the concept of benevolent totalitarianism.

I'm not a history expert but so far as i know, no democratic state has ever voted to become a totalitarian state, and no totalitarian state has voted to become a democratic one. Like any thought matrix worth it's salt, there's a built-in self-preservation mechanism.

Actors from both systems (there are only two, right? democracy and totalitarianism?) will tell you they're doing it for the 'common-good'. Presumably one's wrong.

The grey area, of course, is how do you define the 'common good'?

Deng Xiaoping embraced Marxism as a teenager whilst a student in France from 1920-25. He was 16 when he arrived.
During a stopover in Shanghai on his voyage to France, Deng "saw white people treating Chinese, in their own country, as if they were slaves".

To get by as a student, like foreign students today, Deng worked as a kitchen hand, a fireman on a locomotive, and a factory worker (Renault, steel and rubber factories). If that’s your daily life experience, you’re not out fine dining in gay Paree - you’re encountering racism and social injustice on the factory floor. A lot of other people around you, your friends, are in the same boat.

Deng joined the communist party as a result. He met the charismatic Chou Enlai, who fostered Deng’s evident abilities. (This bond would later save Deng's life.) For this he was hounded by French authorities. He fled France the day before his house was raided.

When his daughter, Deng Rong (邓榕), was later asked why he’d closed himself off to the French philosophies of equality and democracy, she said it wasn’t him doing the closing off: "What he came in contact with was not democratic."

It’s a different perspective. One where you’re disrespected and exploited - partly because of your skin color. That’s the kind of stuff that sticks in your craw - hardens your beliefs.

To understand the nature of The Party Vision, we need to acknowledge this bitterness. It’s a real thing - borne of real injustice.

Other leaders of the CCP were also motivated by the “century of humiliation” (1840s-1940s) that began with the opium wars and involved foreign rulers on Chinese soil.

That period included The Treaty of Versailles in 1919, in which German controlled Shandong was handed over to the Japanese, without Chinese consultation. This indignation ignited the May 4 Movement in Tiananmen Square led by student activists, (sounds familiar to 1989 Tiananmen Square, right?) opposed to the Chinese government’s pissweak response to this international insult. That movement, with its collaboration of student and worker organizations, set the communist revolution’s wheels in motion.

Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao were young intellectuals and inspirational leaders of the May 4 Movement. In 921, they became founders of the Chinese Communist Party.

Jeffrrey Wasserstrom writes: “Much like the date and phrase “Mai 68” in the French political imagination, in China, “Wu-si” (4-5) conjures up the idea of an entire generation, and a special one.” (my bold)

This concept of the ‘special generation’ is very similar to Xi Jinping Thought. He loves saying: “Never before have the Chinese people been so close to realizing their dreams.”

The dates are uncanny - a statistical quirk of history i presume - but let's put it in just for fun:

May 4, 1919: birthday of the vision of the special generation

Fast forward to 2019: Covid, the advent of the New Normal, China as a totalitarian superpower under Xi

May 4 activist/CCP founder Chen wrote back in 1919 that China must embrace “Mr. Science” and “Mr. Democracy.”

100 years later you could say they got it half-right.

A lot has been written about Xi Jinping Thought - how it’s enshrinement in the constitution elevated him to the level of Mao and Deng. Once ensconced, Xi then recalled the banished Confucius to the pantheon. He has taken something from all these legends but makes the compound his own.

Xi’s Thought produced the following functional results:

Bolster the United Front Work Department
Implement the Belt and Road Initiative
Bolster military and technological capabilities
Tame and Dominate the internet

Xi has delivered all of the above in spades. The fourth one i wouldn’t have thought possible, but he’s done it.

You’ve then gotta ask, what’s he up to with that?

The answer is not complicated:

Reinforce Totalitarianism as a viable ‘System of Government’ - for the world - in the “new era”.

This is where Xi levitates himself above his predecessors to a whole new pantheon. China, for all its faults, was not imperialistic. Not by European and American standards. One of its founding principles was to oppose hegemony. Take this quote from Deng Xiaoping made at a UN speech in 1974.

“A superpower is an imperialist country which everywhere subjects other countries to its aggression, interference, control, subversion or plunder and strives for world hegemony. China is not a superpower, nor will she ever seek to be one."

And here’s the kicker:

“If one day China should change her color and turn into a superpower, if she too should play the tyrant in the world, and everywhere subject others to her bullying, aggression and exploitation, the people of the world should identify her as social-imperialist, expose it, oppose it and work together with the Chinese people to overthrow it.” (my bold)

Xi, rightly or wrongly, has released China from those localized constraints. I’d argue it was inevitable, despite what Deng vowed. You’re not gonna become the world’s factory, an economic giant, then not want to wield that clout to influence the world you operate in. Especially if it has been/is trying to influence you. Especially if the Internet x Covid is accelerating globalization at breakneck speed.

By scrapping the term limit system, Xi sees himself as the chosen one to deliver the New Era of Totalitarianism with Chinese Characteristics.

The 'princeling' son of revolutionary hero, Xi Zhongxun (Propaganda Minister), he is driven by historic injustice and a vision of international control. He believes it is for the common good.
He commands a vast army of global influencers (United Front Work Dept) taking advantage of open societies to “mix sand”.

This 'Silent Invasion' (Clive Hamilton), like the Data War, is 'the War you didn't quite realize you were in'. But its raging just beneath the surface. It involves scientists, politicians, media, academic think-tanks, business people, societal organizations. All the experts.

Many of those experts currently yelling at us to 'Listen to the Experts', are willing instruments of this Thought invasion.

These Experts (some/a lot) are corrupted soldiers of the CCP.

The scale of it is staggering - think Manchurian Candidate multiplied by a million. Having gathered force over decades - the influencers are activating now. Covid, whatever its origins, is the rocket-boost for this Great Leap Forward into the New Era.

It is Xi Jinping Thought/the Party Vision playing out in real time before our eyes.

Dan Andrews is a living case study of how this works.

I do want to finish this thread at some stage - with respect to Andrews' working relationship with the United Front Work Department - but got waylaid on other topics. In the meantime, some breaking news (no pun intended):

Dan Andrews: Early this morning, I was admitted to hospital after slipping and falling on wet and slippery stairs. A CT scan has revealed several broken ribs and vertebrae damage, and subsequent medical advice has recommended I remain in intensive care for the next few days.

ABC: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has been transferred to The Alfred trauma centre as a precaution after slipping on wet stairs while on holiday on the Mornington Peninsula for the long weekend.

ABC: The fall happened as he was preparing for work in the morning.

Deputy Premier James Merlino: As you all know, he took a fall this morning as he was preparing for work.

Of course we don't wish any physical suffering on Dan Andrews - or anyone. Reports say his injuries are "painful" - they can only be relieved by strong drugs.

John Cunningham (orthopaedic surgeon): "Unlike a broken ankle, which you can put in plaster and rest it by using crutches — you can never really rest your spine or your ribs."

Dr Gillespie (president of the Australian Orthopaedic Association): "If you're doped to the gills on strong painkillers, that's something less than your sparkling best."

There's no full recovery from that unfortunately - i hope he recovers as well as possible. The point of researching public figures is just to shine a light - i'm not into the punishment thing. I'd like them to stop their behaviour - that's enough.

In that spirit, and given Andrews' record of spinning the facts, I'm curious about the typically opaque details of the incident:

- 'Early this morning i had a fall' - 'while preparing for work'

My question would be 'How early?' Like 2am drunk early?

Does 'preparing for work' include a few whiskeys while putting the finishing touches of pathos on your next 'We're all Victorians' speech?

If it was a football star who'd had 'a fall on slippery stairs early in the morning', the media would be all over it like a rash.

Dan Andrews: For now, we'd like to ask that our family's privacy is respected.

In Oct, Andrews tweeted a pic of his favourite tipple. It's named 'Starward':

[image]

I'm curious about the typically opaque details of the incident:

- 'Early this morning i had a fall' - 'while preparing for work'

My question would be 'How early?' Like 2am drunk early?

If it was a football star who'd had 'a fall on slippery stairs early in the morning', the media would be all over it like a rash.

Dan Andrews: For now, we'd like to ask that our family's privacy is respected.

The above was posted several months ago (a world scoop?) - finally some basic questions are being asked by the opposition party, including:

What time did the incident occur?
Who was at the house at the time of the incident?
Who owns the property where the incident occurred?
What time was the ambulance called?
Who called the ambulance?
Which station was the ambulance dispatched from?
Who made the decision to take the Premier to Peninsula Private?
Did the police attend?

Sounds like they know something. Judging by the line of questioning it's hinting at a drunken altercation at a possibly famous person's house (not the one he was staying at?) early in the morning. The ambulance was then directed to take him to a particular hospital.

The ABC, which has disgraced itself (at taxpayer expense) over Covid and running propaganda for Andrews for years, went into bat for Dan.

ABC Radio presenter Raf Epstein: He should answer (questions) to disprove .. what exactly? Where’s the evidence to support the need for any of these qstns?

This is typical Covid expert-type bs. You get evidence by asking questions. If you're not allowed to ask questions - then how do you investigate a cover-up?

The questioner has been accused of "gutter politics" but Andrews has so far refused to answer.

The ambulance service released a statement:

Ambulance Victoria received a triple zero call for an ambulance at 6.36am on Tuesday 9 March 2021 for a patient who had fallen on steps at a house in Sorrento.

Based on information provided during the call, the case did not require an immediate lights and sirens (life-threatening emergency response) and the call underwent secondary triage.

This triage determined that the case was appropriate for ambulance response, and an ambulance was dispatched from the nearest ambulance branch in Sorrento under normal road conditions at 6.47am. The ambulance arrived at 7.01am.

This was considered 'proof' by members of Andrews' party who went on another 'conspiracy theorist' rampage.

Treasure Pallas: I don’t think Dan Andrews drove the sub that took Harold Holt to China, he didn’t recognise a fake moon landing … This is nonsense. We know it’s nonsense. It’s QAnon craziness peddled around the community to create an atmosphere of uncertainty.

Mr Pakula: Trade Minister: It’s the sort of thing you expect to see from a QAnon, Trumpy, wing-nut.

What's up with the name-calling? She asked some questions. Smells like another case where the over-the-top insults indicate some insecurity.

The ambulance statement is designed to clear Andrews but leaves a lot of questions unanswered. The incident could have happened at 2am then he sat it out till 6.30 knowing how it would look.

What time did the accident happen? Where? How?
Which house exactly? Who else was there? Was there alcohol involved?

Yes, the guy was injured - i'm sorry about that - but his past record of shady deals with the CCP and the opaque nature of the original statement makes me curious.

Ok, Dan finally came out with a glossily produced video to denounce the "vile rumours" regarding 'the fall' and announce his re-ascendancy to his Vic fiefdom - fine - i take your word for it. Why didn't you say that in the beginning? It's not like you're a trustworthy guy.

Whatever, glad it's cleared up - we can move onto other questions - like this:

According to Vic Gov's official statistics there have been 20 997 Covid cases in Vic and 820 deaths - out of a total of 935 deaths nationwide.

That's 1 death per 25.6 infections in Victoria! That's insanely high compared to other places. Neighbouring NSW is 1 death per 128.4 infections.

The Vic stat - a government stat - suggests one of the following:

(a) Dan Andrews, 6 years in power, has instituted/overseen a sub-standard health system compared to other states.

(b) His government has exaggerated the deaths due to Covid.

Or is there some other 'higher-truth' reason for the anomaly that we're not allowed to know about?

Dan Andrews's Victorian government has earned a reputation as one of the most violent and repressive regimes in the worldwide War on Freedom. This is shocking ... but not surprising. We've seen that Andrews is a huge fan of the CCP's system of government so of course he would use Covid as a justification for eradicating freedom.

There are now daily protests in Melbourne against Andrews's strict No-Jab-No-Job edict and the permanent police-state he has introduced. Police response led by Shane Patton has been brutal.

The video depicts an unarmed protester peacefully making his point when he is approached from behind by a large police officer and body-slammed into the concrete floor - cracking his head open.

Try that in a proper free country like Taiwan - there would be public outrage. The officer would be sacked, the police chief would be lucky to keep his job. In Victoria it's ... normal. Backed by the media baying for even more blood.

video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1440715488821055489

News: Riot police have pelted rubber bullets at protesters during a bloody, chaotic brawl that saw hundreds of people storm the CFMEU headquarters protesting mandatory vaccinations for construction workers.

CFMEU is the union. It's endorsing No-jab-no-job. If your union won't stand up for your basic rights then what's the point of them?

Several people were arrested during the violent demonstration where union officials were forced inside the building while angry protesters smashed up and graffitied property.

It’s believed the violent protest was infiltrated by right-wing extremists and anti-vaccination activists, with police now working to identify and fine those involved.

Rubbish - not the identify and fine - for sure they'll do that - but the right-wing extremist/anti-vaxxers infiltration. They are protesting coz it's an abuse of fundamental freedom to force people to get vaxxed. Does that mean you're a right wing extremist coz you question that?

https://twitter.com/i/status/1439772952430407680

The only extremism is that which has infiltrated the Victorian parliamentary system which has become world leader in the War on Freedom. Premier Dan Andrews released his Road-map to a Covid Normal relaxation of restrictions - but many restrictions will last until 90% are fully vaccinated(!)

It appears to include permanent bans for unvaxxed for most activities.

ABC: More than 2000 protesters shouting anti-vaccination messages have marched through Melbourne's CBD, as the construction industry reels from a snap two-week shutdown imposed overnight.

Patton, Police Commissioner: Any police force would have been challenged by the spontaneity and the sheer mass of numbers we saw from this group, and the tactics they employed throughout the day.

Crowds like this, they're for cowards. Cowards who seek to hide their identity and conduct other activities, to do other things that if they were by themselves they wouldn't have the courage to do.

One thing they're not is cowards. Going out to protest against the War on Freedom - knowing they face a high chance of being gassed, tasered, rubber-bulleted, maced, cyber-tracked, arrested, fined, jailed. That's outstandingly brave.

Patton: These crowd control equipment munitions were necessary and they are necessary, because we can't allow this kind of conduct to go on.

Commissioner Patton said 62 arrests had been made so far, with the majority of those arrested fined for breaching CHO (Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton's)directions.

Premier Daniel Andrews: There is no excuse for the terrible behaviour we have seen in our city over the last two days. Acts of violence and disruption won't result in one less case of COVID — in fact it only helps the virus to spread.

Channel 7 Reporter: I’ve been grabbed around the neck today, I’ve had urine tipped on me, and now I’ve had a can of energy drink thrown on me.

I wonder why?

https://twitter.com/i/status/1440194156643557383
[image]

News: Anti-lockdown advocate .. accused of inciting violent protests in Melbourne has secured a legal win.

Monica Smit had “onerous” conditions scrapped after spending 22 days in custody.

Smit is charged with two counts of incitement in relation to protests held in Melbourne on August 11 and August 21, during the state’s sixth lockdown.

She was originally granted bail on September 1 after she was arrested but refused to sign a bail undertaking because of strict conditions including a curfew (7pm-6am) and the removal of some material from social media.

The whole incitement charge is something trumped up 'due to Covid'. Victoria is being over-run by extremists - they're not the protesters - they're in government. Smit was jailed for peacefully standing up to that.

[image]

Victoria .. is set to surpass a world record nobody wants to claim — for being the most locked-down city in the world.

If lockdown ends as planned on October 26, Melbourne will have been stuck at home for 267 days, nearly nine months out of a period of 18 months.

That’s far in front of Argentinian capital Buenos Aires, which was stuck in lockdown for 257.

Not sure about it being a record 'nobody wants' - Dan Andrews wants it - you can see from the way he does these Fidel Castro-length press conferences every day that he relishes it.

This is a 74 year old lady. Thrown to the ground then doubled maced in Dan Andrews' Victoria.

More protests today.

video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1439409331754049538

[image]

Meanwhile when asked about Melbourne taking the record for most locked down place on earth, Andrews replied: It makes you very, very proud.

Andrews: I’m not here to apologise for that (vaccine apartheid) because vaccination is how we open the place up. The vaccinated economy and vaccination mandates (apartheid) that you can’t go to the pub or whatever, if you aren’t vaccinated, I’m not apologising for that either because it’s incredibly important.

...to Dan's mad-plan of turning Melbourne into the world-record holders in The War on Freedom. Even in China they haven't locked a single population down for as long as Dan has. In the history of Covid - no one can take that away from you.

No-one, through their refusal to get vaccinated, should be making it harder for a heart attack patient or stroke patient (especially if due to the jab), or motor vehicle accident patient, or farming accident patient or industrial accident patient to get a bed because it’s filled with a preventable Covid case.

This is the Andrews strategy - in your other world-record - most consecutive/longest press conferences - don't say a word - not a word - about the origin of Covid - or place any blame whatsoever on the people/institutions that caused it. Bury that shit.

Blame everything on the unvaxxed(/lockdown-forever-hesitant). Not because they're unvaxxed - that doesn't matter - but coz they express dissent.

Unleash police brutality on them - take away their right to earn money - whip the public up to vilify them.

Then have the audacity to say you're returning Victoria to freedom! This is the New Dan Andrews Freedom where everyone is free to do exactly what he orders. The rest are rounded-up, punished.

That's extremist, dangerous, world-record behaviour.

Other countries are not doing this.

Sajid Javid, UK Health Minister: We’ve looked at it properly and .. I’m pleased to say that we will not be going ahead with plans for vaccine passports. I’ve never liked the idea of saying to people you must show your papers or something to do what is just an everyday activity.

Taiwan is not doing it. But you'd rather

It's unscientific. The unvaxxed are not hurting anyone. It serves no purpose except to remove basic freedoms and indulge a sick human desire for bastardry.

Unleash police brutality on them - take away their right to earn money - whip the public up to vilify them.

Then have the audacity to say you're returning Victoria to freedom! This is the New Dan Andrews Freedom where everyone is free to do exactly what he orders. The rest are rounded-up, punished.

Yeah, this is the definition of doublespeak.

Andrews: We will retain the vaccinated economy, all those requirements, although settings, where you only get in if you are double vaccinated, and you can tap and verify that for everybody.

In fact, we will add to the vaccinated economy by asking and mandating that all non-essential retail will have to be vaccinated as well, both to go in, and also to work on those settings.

Some masks in some settings, principally indoors, where there is a greater risk, and the economy being open to you only if you have had two shots, only if you are fully vaccinated.

They are two rules that be enduring. They are the two rules that will be with us right throughout 2022.

Another World Record for Dan. No other country on the planet is doing this. He's forced the population of Victoria into 90% double-vaxxed through no-jab-no-job - surely another world record - but he's still not happy. Now let's really grind those who dare to resist into the ground.

When i started this thread i knew Dan Andrews was a corrupt, egotistical, megalomaniac - but i didn't realize he would become the most Animal Farm leader in the world. In fact i'd dropped off reporting on him coz there were bigger fish to fry - now he demands attention again.

Such a pity. Melbourne used to be a cool place - now it's forever stained as the place that responded to Covid with peak fascism in The War on Freedom. Like the psychology experiment where subjects were asked to give someone an electric shock if they got the wrong answer - Andrews/Melbournians keep hitting the buzzer even after the person is apparently dead.

This extremist response is related to science - but not virology. It's related to the science of bastardry. The ugly human desire to vilify a minority.

Yes, Dan Andrews has masterfully manufactured/whipped up this dark human urge, but Melbournians/Victorians will have to wear the badge of shame as well. There has been some resistance, but the guy has consistently polled in the 80's for popularity. That's crazy high. When you look through a normal forum on compulsory vaccination you'll see a mix of responses - if anything trending towards those opposing it. But in Victoria the forums are dominated by vicious vitriol directed at anyone questioning the ethics of Andrews's approach. Pure Animal Farm.

Over the last several weeks, protests have been exponentially building. Now Dan Andrews has claimed yet another world-record - as the object of the biggest protests ever seen in Melbourne.

If you read the media - all mass media - Murdoch or otherwise - you'd think there were a few thousand Q-anon/far right wingers - it's nothing like that. Estimates range somewhere between 200 000 to 500 000. It's a wide cross-section of people that are sick of being lied to/locked-down/vaxxed/vilified/stripped of their freedoms.

Perhaps the issue that most fanned the flames is Andrews' attempt to push his Pandemic Bill through parliament. The bill effectively gives him the power to unilaterally call a state of emergency whenever he wants - which in turn allows him to make up whatever laws he wants - and fine/jail anyone opposing them. It's a bill that turns a democratic state into a totalitarian one.

With so many people now questioning the integrity of the establishment - we're reaching a level that can shake the foundations of society.

We've become an expertocracy - where the the experts think nothing about lying to protect their empire. That seems fine to them, but when enough people lose faith in the experts, the whole artifice starts to crumble.

To the authorities: you brought this on yourself - either resign/change your tune very very quickly - or watch your world come crashing down.

Coz the protests aren't going away - no matter how long the media censors reporting on them - in fact it only fuels them - backs the media further down their dead-end street towards irrelevance.

The thing some people don't understand about protests - they start with a kind of anger - even helplessness - then a determination to do something - but once people begin gathering together they also become fun events. There's a sheer joy when you see different, but like-minded people standing up against tyranny. There's euphoria. There's renewed energy. You realize there's hope.

That's a hard genie to put back in the bottle.

Coz the protests aren't going away - no matter how long the media censors reporting on them - in fact it only fuels them - backs the media further down their dead-end street towards irrelevance.

I see what you mean about the censorship. If you didn't know any better and looked at the abc.net.au coronavirus page, you'd think there were no protests in Australia.

Here's a question. I've seen references here and there about antifa groups protesting in favor of stricter covid lockdowns and vaccine mandates.

So you have one group protesting against facism and totalitarianism as it's unfolding with regards to covid, and the media inaccurately labels them far right. Then you have a group supposedly against facism, even named as such, protesting for more facism!

Our world would make Orwell blush!

Here's a question. I've seen references here and there about antifa groups protesting in favor of stricter covid lockdowns and vaccine mandates.

So you have one group protesting against fascism and totalitarianism as it's unfolding with regards to covid, and the media inaccurately labels them far right. Then you have a group supposedly against fascism, even named as such, protesting for more facism!

Our world would make Orwell blush!

Good point. I dare say Orwell would struggle to find a publisher in today's world - too subversive - too conspiracy-theorist.

The term far-right wing gets bandied about a lot - i assume it's being used as a strawman. What does it even mean? What does far-left wing mean?

Ever since Deng Xiao-ping, the CCP has embraced capitalism - along with totalitarianism. Is it far right wing or far left wing? How do you tell the difference?

I'm hopeful what is happening is that people are abandoning the whole established political structure. We have to get away from that cheering-for-your-football-team mentality when it comes to politics. It's fine for sport - I'm far-North Melbourne Kangaroos - i know people who are extremists - but it's not a good model for society as a whole.

Instead, we look at the information - we decide what's true and what's not. Then act accordingly.

News: The red shirts scandal centred on Labor’s misuse of $388,000 in taxpayer funds during the 2014 election campaign.

It was initially investigated by the Ombudsman in 2018, but did not progress to any criminal charges or referral to the state’s anti-corruption watchdog.

Andrews's specialty - the investigation that functions as a cover-up mechanism. Labor repaid the money, an admission of guilt, but no-one was held responsible.

Former Labor MP Adem Somyurek, who was scapegoated for a branch-stacking scam, has gone rogue. He today introduced a motion to reopen the Red Shirts investigation - volunteering his involvement, spilling on others in what he calls the biggest political scandal in Victorian history.

The Reason Party's Fiona Pattern argued he was a disgruntled ex-employee so should be dismissed - but then again - that type is your only possible source - you're not gonna get happy, high-paid fully-gruntled employees blowing the lid. According to the Reason Party's reasoning, you'd never uncover any corruption ever. Maybe that's how Fiona likes it.

Sensationally, one Labor MP Kaushaliya Vaghela, crossed the floor to vote in favour of the motion to investigate. Crossing the floor very occasionally happens in the Liberal Party but never with Labor. I didn't know it was even legal. She'll have to resign i guess. But good on. At least there's one person left in Labor with integrity.

Somyurek: We were desperate to win. He (Daniel Andrews) did something well beyond what he should’ve – he crossed the line, he designed this system. He told me personally that you’ve got to take part in this process whether you want to win or not.

David Davis, Lib: This red shirts matter goes very deep; it goes right to the centre of the Andrews Labor government. The truth of the matter is Daniel Andrews and many others in this government should be in jail.

I say this investigation is appropriate and I say Somyurek’s point here that it should be broadened to a number of other matters is correct, too.

Liberal Democrats MP Tim Quilty: Mr Somyurek is not an uninterested party; I have no doubt this motion is intended as a way to get back at former colleagues for their role in his expulsion. They fought dirty to oust him and he’s fighting dirty to get them back. All the more reason for this investigation.

AFL is Aussie football from the southern/western states. It's a big deal. The management power base is Victoria. It's no coincidence they've jumped on the War on Freedom tone set by Andrews.

First they happily embraced the Fully-Vaxxed mandate radicalism set by Andrews. Including the cover-up of any athletes experiencing vax-injuries - as we mentioned last year's MVP is currently out with heart issues. A couple of rogue commentators asked questions - they were shut down.

Now they've launched a general crackdown on dissent. Sport is great for metaphors - this is in that category:

On the weekend a dubious free-kick was paid at a crucial moment - in fact the recipient was staging. Two opposition players watched the replay on the big-screen - they reacted (to the screen) with mild (non-taboo) hand-gestures that showed natural disbelief - as would anyone who saw it.

For that, they were penalized 50 m, making a goal a certainty.

There was some alarm among the fans - being able to show some mild dissent has always been a part of the game - some to n thro chatter between umpire and player. It's also been known that you can't go overboard or be abusive - that was already a rule. But this goes much further

AFL: (W)e've been really clear on this. We have unanimous support from all the clubs, all the leaders of clubs.

Not from the fans - but who cares what they think?.

There's no acceptable level of dissent towards umpires. If players show demonstrable dissent, then they're risking a free kick or 50m penalty. .. I get that players may think what's the level of dissent we're able to produce? And the answer to that is none.

(Y)ou can't show dissent. It's been accepted in the game for far too long. Ultimately, we've let this go over a period of time, and we just have to get onto it.

Been accepted in the game for far too long - forever in fact - until now - until we got onto it. Maybe i'm reading too much into this, but the above arguments could've come straight out of Andrews's or McGowan's mouths with their CCP-inspired Covid-safe crackdowns on dissent.

It shows how this elitist controlling mentality spreads insidiously through the culture, at least. As leaders they cannot resist the power-grab window Covid opened up. Normalization of the New Normal. The Great Reining-in.

First they happily embraced the Fully-Vaxxed mandate radicalism set by Andrews. Including the cover-up of any athletes experiencing vax-injuries - as we mentioned last year's MVP is currently out with heart issues. A couple of rogue commentators asked questions - they were shut down.

Now they've launched a general crackdown on dissent.
Been accepted in the game for far too long - forever in fact - until now - until we got onto it. Maybe i'm reading too much into this, but the above arguments could've come straight out of Andrews's or McGowan's mouths with their CCP-inspired Covid-safe crackdowns on dissent.

It shows how this elitist controlling mentality spreads insidiously through the culture, at least. As leaders they cannot resist the power-grab window Covid opened up. Normalization of the New Normal. The Great Reining-in.

That's an interesting observation. I'm going to start watching for this sort of intolerance increasing in other domains.

Dissent has also been standard in American sports for my whole life, being very common during the civil rights movement of the 60's and 70's and never really fading until taking the knee became a thing. We see it often in medal ceremonies at the Olympics, but aren't they less tolerant of dissent now?

Education is far less tolerant of any dissent than it has ever been in my lifetime. Science, less tolerant. You may be on to something!

AFL: FREMANTLE forward Michael Frederick has been suspended by the club after he consumed alcohol following the Dockers' win over Brisbane on Sunday.

Frederick booted a career-best three goals in the win over the Lions, but 'fell short of team standards' after drinking alcohol on a six-day break ahead of this week's clash against Hawthorn.

The leadership group imposed a one-match ban, making the 22-year-old unavailable for both AFL and WAFL.

Peter Bell, GM Freemantle FC: Michael is remorseful and makes no excuses for his actions.

Sounds eerily similar to a totalitarian-state forced-confession.

The club is proud of the culture it has built in recent years and that is mainly due to the strong commitment to the trademark that the players and staff adhere to every day.

The club will continue to support Michael so he is equipped to make better decisions in the future.

That could be a line from Dan's The Refuser. As could this:

Michael is an outstanding young man who has made an error, but we are really confident that he will learn from this experience. We look forward to a demonstration of his commitment to our trademark moving forwards.

The guy had a drink after a great game. So what? Would i want my stars going out on all-night benders? No way. But there's no suggestion that's what happened. It's the same as the Dissent rule - it's a bracket creep thing - with the end-game being total-control.

Here's a pic of the famous stairs involved in The Fall. They're smaller than i thought - i'd assumed he'd bounced down a flight of stairs given he suffered serious spinal injuries, six broken ribs, and collapsed lungs in the March 2021 fall and his wife feared he would die.

Andrews: I've got a briefcase in one hand, I've got an overnight bag in the other and I walked out the front door.

The door slams behind me, I take two steps on the porch… and as I put my left foot on the step - it just slid straight off it. It's like it is in slow motion. I thought 'I am in trouble here'.

I got airborne, bang, and then the leading edge of the porch hit me square across my shoulder blades. I could hear it, and it was not a pleasant sound.

Not sure that being laden-down with bags and getting airborne is physically possible - not to say you couldn't slip & fall, even on those tiny steps, but it's something we usually manage to navigate every day without mishap . If it was an accident, it was a freak one.

Andrews: Can anyone tell me what the point of the story is? Anyone? Are you going to interview the stairs? People can go as low as they want. I'm not going there with them.

The point is: you have a long, documented history of information manipulation, so it's normal that people are suspicious. Maybe you are telling the truth - but it's a cry-wolf situation - you can't blame people for doubting you. Especially when those stairs were so small.

[image]

suffered serious spinal injuries, six broken ribs, and collapsed lungs

No way six broken ribs can happen there. I don't even know the story.

It was a very similar result to the federal election - both major parties lost support, but LNP lost even more than Andrews' ALP.

It's clear that the media is heavily invested in the 2-party system and does its best to prop it up by never reporting on any of the independents, even though they won 40% of the primary vote. We're talking about the lowest primary vote for the major parties in history but never a word in the media about that - i guess to reduce vaccine hesitancy or some such crap.

Andrews' delivered a few more entrants into his 'World's most risible man' highlights reel along the way - the best of which came in the debate - talking about his draconian, CCP-style response to Covid in which Andrews set a global-record for longest lockdowns whilst having people arrested in their homes for opposing his radical crackdown on freedom. Paraphrasing:

During Covid, I was prepared to make the tough, unpopular decisions to keep all the citzens of this great state safe. Leadership is a not about doing what is popular, it's about doing what's right.

For a start, lockdowns were wildly popular in Victoria (and other states). Having whipped people up into a state of constant fear and vilified (a) anyone suggesting Covid was caused by the experts & (b) the vaccine/lose-all-my-freedoms hesitant, Andrews succeeded in creating a Danimal Farm mentality. Under this mass-formation psychosis, the more jackboot the premiers became, the more popular they became - a fact that was lost on none on them - it spurred Andrews onto setting the above mentioned lockdown records. At the height of it, Andrews popularity was in the 80% range - that's by far the most popular he's ever been - it's an insane level for one person in a democracy - naturally that is going to go to your head and drive you to become even more fascist-like. We've mentioned this before, but a key point that both Orwell & Huxley made is the 'mob-mentality' that serves as driver for totalitarian regimes. That 80% is the key number - once you've got that then you simply round up the rest - ban/jail them.

Entrant 2 comes from Andrews victory speech:

Andrews: This (Covid) was a one-in-100 year event and because of the tough decisions that we made, and … the fact that Victorians stuck together … we went out and got vaccinated. Because vaccines work.
As a community we were not, as some would say, divided. We were instead united in our faith in THE science.

Firstly, Covid was a lab-leak event caused, then covered-up by THE Science.

Secondly, the vaccines didn't work - let's not forget that AZ was the only vax administered in the initial roll-out - it's now banned coz it doesn't work & the adverse-effects were too dangerous. The others supposedly worked for a few months - none of them work against Omicron. The only thing that ended the pandemic was the milder strain of Omicron.

Thirdly, we're not united - we're divided - like never before. Andrews, quite deliberately, achieved this state by whipping up hatred for anyone questioning the experts re the origin of Covid, the War on Freedom, & the vax-hesitant.

Fourthly, Faith in THE Science, which he trumpets as his big achievement, has been the most dangerous sociological development i've witnessed in my lifetime. Science is not supposed to be a religion - science is not a matter of Faith! It's no coincidence that the cultural stranglehold held by THE Church has now been replaced by THE Science. It's used brazenly to spread lies & vilify/ban anyone questioning it - when questioning is meant to be a core pillar of scientific endeavor.

At the end of the day Andrews probably won the election by promising to spend his way out of Covid like a drunken sailor - which means even more Belt & Road projects for Victoria sponsored by the CCP - which means even more entanglement with the CCP. It's no coincidence that Andrews Covid power-grab/crackdown on freedom is straight out of the CCP's playbook.

A lot going on in this post. It would make a good summary of the larger picture internationally of the covid mess.

It was a very similar result to the federal election - both major parties lost support, but LNP lost even more than Andrews' ALP.

It's clear that the media is heavily invested in the 2-party system and does its best to prop it up by never reporting on any of the independents, even though they won 40% of the primary vote. We're talking about the lowest primary vote for the major parties in history but never a word in the media about that - i guess to reduce vaccine hesitancy or some such crap.

Independents got 40%? That's astounding. It's way ahead of what's happening in the US, but then so many people in the US have just given up entirely.

Andrews' delivered a few more entrants into his 'World's most risible man' highlights reel along the way - the best of which came in the debate - talking about his draconian, CCP-style response to Covid in which Andrews set a global-record for longest lockdowns whilst having people arrested in their homes for opposing his radical crackdown on freedom. Paraphrasing:

During Covid, I was prepared to make the tough, unpopular decisions to keep all the citzens of this great state safe. Leadership is a not about doing what is popular, it's about doing what's right.

This is a bit off-topic, but with regards to the fake two-party system (which is really one corporate party), Biden recently struck down a rail strike.

This exemplifies the extent to which there is only one party in the US, the Corporate Party.

Shortly following Biden's statement, outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced her chamber will move this week to take up legislation requiring rail workers to accept the tentative deal and denying them their right to strike. Without a contract deal or congressional action, a strike could begin early next month.

All they wanted was sick days. Sick days.

For a start, lockdowns were wildly popular in Victoria (and other states). Having whipped people up into a state of constant fear and vilified (a) anyone suggesting Covid was caused by the experts & (b) the vaccine/lose-all-my-freedoms hesitant, Andrews succeeded in creating a Danimal Farm mentality. Under this mass-formation psychosis, the more jackboot the premiers became, the more popular they became - a fact that was lost on none on them - it spurred Andrews onto setting the above mentioned lockdown records. At the height of it, Andrews popularity was in the 80% range - that's by far the most popular he's ever been - it's an insane level for one person in a democracy - naturally that is going to go to your head and drive you to become even more fascist-like. We've mentioned this before, but a key point that both Orwell & Huxley made is the 'mob-mentality' that serves as driver for totalitarian regimes. That 80% is the key number - once you've got that then you simply round up the rest - ban/jail them.

That's right. Go against the grain at your own peril.

Entrant 2 comes from Andrews victory speech:

Andrews: This (Covid) was a one-in-100 year event and because of the tough decisions that we made, and … the fact that Victorians stuck together … we went out and got vaccinated. Because vaccines work.
As a community we were not, as some would say, divided. We were instead united in our faith in THE science.

Firstly, Covid was a lab-leak event caused, then covered-up by THE Science.

Secondly, the vaccines didn't work - let's not forget that AZ was the only vax administered in the initial roll-out - it's now banned coz it doesn't work & the adverse-effects were too dangerous. The others supposedly worked for a few months - none of them work against Omicron. The only thing that ended the pandemic was the milder strain of Omicron.

Funny, I got the J&J initially, then a booster, free from the US Govt. Then they quit giving it because they decided it wasn't safe enough. Now, if I want a booster, I'd have to get the other type. No thanks. I'm not anti-vax, I'm just careful. I am around covid positive people all day, every day in enclosed spaces. I was sitting with a kid just last week within 16 inches of his face as he coughed all over me as I showed him shit on his computer. Then three days later he tested positive. This shit happens every week for me, literally. We've all been exposed to this virus. It's everywhere. So what. Get a vaccine when I've had kids literally spewing this shit in my face for the last year? Why? I've gotten the best vaccine possible already! Spit in my face!

Thirdly, we're not united - we're divided - like never before. Andrews, quite deliberately, achieved this state by whipping up hatred for anyone questioning the experts re the origin of Covid, the War on Freedom, & the vax-hesitant.

Divide and conquer. Oldest strategy in the book.

Fourthly, Faith in THE Science, which he trumpets as his big achievement, has been the most dangerous sociological development i've witnessed in my lifetime. Science is not supposed to be a religion - science is not a matter of Faith! It's no coincidence that the cultural stranglehold held by THE Church has now been replaced by THE Science. It's used brazenly to spread lies & vilify/ban anyone questioning it - when questioning is meant to be a core pillar of scientific endeavor.

That's right! The new religion. Just as we couldn't question the priests, we can now now question the scientists. Fuck them all.

Interesting, isn't it, that somehow humans managed to survive for hundreds of thousands of years without priests or scientists.

At the end of the day Andrews probably won the election by promising to spend his way out of Covid like a drunken sailor - which means even more Belt & Road projects for Victoria sponsored by the CCP - which means even more entanglement with the CCP. It's no coincidence that Andrews Covid power-grab/crackdown on freedom is straight out of the CCP's playbook.

That spending is also what's causing our current round of inflation. It must be nice to be able to print money.

A lot going on in this post. It would make a good summary of the larger picture internationally of the covid mess and also of the last hundred and fifty years.

With regards to the fake two-party system (which is really one corporate party), Biden recently struck down a rail strike.

This exemplifies the extent to which there is only one party in the US, the Corporate Party.

That's the key-point - the two-party system is a charade. They are both machines - it's machine politics - un-moored from what's true or not - the only concern is: Is it good for the machine?

Covid brought this into sharp relief. In the Victorian election both machines were united in their condemnation of the the various independents that opposed lockdowns & the general war on freedom - they were painted almost as terrorist organizations.

The main thing is to maintain the established order - an order in which they get to play 'swap's every few years - to the exclusion of all others. MSM, of course, loves this self-contained eco-system & does everything possible to protect it.

As for the US, i was horrified to find that independents barely exist. I tried searching for their poll numbers but couldn't find anything - the idea of an 'independent' in US politics seems to be someone who hasn't decided yet whether they will vote Dems or Republican.

If anyone still wanted proof that Victoria has become a police-state under Dan Andrews, then here it is.

Remember the case of the Vic police officer (Beau Barret) who approached a peaceful protester (Daniel Peterson-English) from behind as he chatted to other officers, then slammed his head into the concrete (causing brain damage)?

All charges have now been dismissed by a judge (Rob Stary). Didn't even get to trial before a jury!

9 News: A police officer who was filmed slamming a man to the ground at a Melbourne train station has had the criminal charges against him dropped.

Magistrate Stary: Mr Peterson-English's behaviour can only be described as threatening and abusive in which he taunted police continuously.

Threatening & abusive?! Ok, so what did he say? No mention - that's all hush-hush. If you look at the footage of him talking to police officers, there's nothing threatening or abusive in his body language - everything looks calm. Even if he was abusive (of which there's no evidence), that doesn't justify sneaking up behind him & slamming his head into the the concrete. He definitely wasn't exhibiting any signs of physically abusing anyone - totally non-violent protester. If police really felt compelled to arrest him, then do it in a humane way.

Magistrate Stary: It may be that the arrest was executed in a way that is not in strict accordance with the manual. But whether it could be said to be unlawful and whether it could be said to be done without any regard to the probable consequences and criminal intent, in my view a jury properly instructed could not convict Mr Barrett of those offences.

May be not in strict accordance with the manual? It's straight out sickening thuggery - caught on camera for all to see. There's no maybe about it. Barret lost control & showed zero regard to the consequences as he executed a cowardly attack on a un-armed, passive civilian.

The last part is the most revealing - a jury properly instructed could not convict Barret - this is Stary's main concern.

Key point is: don't let this case get anywhere-the-fuck-near a jury. Once normal people take a look at that video, there's no way that Barret gets off. So it's imperative to kill this case before that happens.

So chilling. This sends a green-light to the police to commit whatever kind of illegal brutality they like against Freedom protesters. To keep us (the lying elites) safe.

It's worth noting that Australia's public funded broadcaster, ABC, has censored any mention of this case despite its newsworthiness. Nothing when it happened - nothing re the above development. Censorship is a form of lying - why do i have to pay for that?

video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1440715488821055489

Yep, another green light for police violence against those who pay their salaries.

In that report, the police claimed the poor fella had been 'taunting' them. Well, taunt him the fuck back, but don't break his skull. How hard could it be for a big, burly, testosterone infused bully like that police bloke to simply arrest the guy?

The good news is that Australians will feel very much at home in the US! Well, bring a gun.

Dan Andrews is off to do the official kow-tow (literally 'knock-head' (on floor)) in China. Having signed Victorians/Australians up to Xi Jinping's Belt & Road in Oct 2019 (lot of suspicious maneuvering happened with China in Oct-Nov 2019), he's now off to see how much further he can make Australians dependent on a powerful totalitarian state.

When both sides of US politics are looking for ways to disentangle from China - Australia is running the other way. Shows you how deeply the CCP has its claws into Aussie politicians/media.

Vic Gov spokesperson: Since coming to government we've strengthened our ties with Victoria's largest trading partner (the CCP, a totalitarian regime). We don't always agree on everything, but we have a genuine relationship built upon strong social, cultural and economic bonds.

The thing is, i think they do agree on everything. Certainly never heard a word of reproach ever coming from Andrews's mouth.

We all know about the strong economic bonds - Australia would collapse overnight if there was a war with Taiwan due to economic dependence - but why do we have strong social & cultural ties with a fascist regime?

At least that explains Andrews' world-record draconian Covid restrictions on all basic freedoms - straight out of the CCP's cultural playbook.

Further details have come out about Andrews's trip to China - the most important being that there are no details. Typical Andrews-China style, it's all hush-hush. Classic no evidence is evidence (of nefarious deeds)

Weirdly, he is going alone - supposedly to discuss trade & the return of Chinese students to Melbourne - but both the trade & education ministers have been excluded from the trip. As have all journalists.

Andrews flew out this morning having only announced that he was going to China on Sunday (two days ago). This will be his seventh trip to China.

As to which CCP officials he is meeting in China - that's all a secret.

The most disturbing part is that hardly anyone cares. The Premier of an Australian state, who signed a BRI contract with China just before Covid, is off on a secret trip to meet officials of a fascist regime. The plan is to beg China to resume their money-pipeline for Victoria's non-essential products - in return for what? Something. CCP doesn't give away money for nothing.

Given the BRI signing & the fact that the major infrastructure project in Melbourne (the Yarra river tunnel) was handed to a China-state-company, you'd imagine that it's more of the same.

The thing about the CCP, it's never just about the money - it's about the influence. The more they worm their way into a foreign economy, the more they control it. When it comes time to invade Taiwan, then they know that that influence is there, ready to be called in.

At a time when Australia is already absurdly dependent on a totalitarian regime - when we must start disentangling - we have guys like Dan Andrews selling us even further into vassal-state territory.

This is just bizarre. And nobody is demanding accountability?

The thing about the CCP, it's never just about the money - it's about the influence. The more they worm their way into a foreign economy, the more they control it. When it comes time to invade Taiwan, then they know that that influence is there, ready to be called in.

Yep, they can play the long game seeing as they don't have to worry about elections. They make inroads on a few key people, and they can parlay that into a much larger influence. Maybe they have something on him? Caught with a live boy or dead girl? Or perhaps they're just greasing his palms more than he can resist, or maybe a bit of both.

At a time when Australia is already absurdly dependent on a totalitarian regime - when we must start disentangling - we have guys like Dan Andrews selling us even further into vassal-state territory.

I don't think he's interested in Australia. What's he hiding? Why all the secrecy?

Yep, they can play the long game seeing as they don't have to worry about elections. They make inroads on a few key people, and they can parlay that into a much larger influence. Maybe they have something on him? Caught with a live boy or dead girl? Or perhaps they're just greasing his palms more than he can resist, or maybe a bit of both.

I don't think he's interested in Australia. What's he hiding? Why all the secrecy?

United Front Work Dept's operations in Aus go back several decades. It has been chronically overlooked as a malevolent force despite its widespread infiltration of Australian society - which i guess explains why it's chronically overlooked.

Xi Jinping doesn't underestimate its value though - he calls it: an important magic weapon for realising the China Dream of the Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation.

In fact it's classic Sun Tzu warfare - know your enemy as well as you know yourself - the ideal result being to bring your enemy to its knees without needing to fire a shot. With operatives embedded in every facet of Australian society, the CCP knows/influences Australia to a frightening degree. Meanwhile the Aussie experts know jackshit about China - they literally installed Chinese spyware in every government office - the excuse was 'well, it was way cheaper - & we didn't know Chinese companies are bound by Chinese law to allow the government access to all their data!'

Horrifyingly, that defense (either corrupt or stupid) is accepted, time after time. No-one ever gets investigated, much less fired or imprisoned.

In Daniel Andrews's case, the UFWD ties run deep. (note: i was about to delve into this a couple of years ago but got waylaid by some bigger Covid Conspirator fish - still want to get back to it one day, but here's the basic info).

The Australian: A staffer in Daniel Andrews’s office has been linked to China’s United Front organisation, which co-ordinates Beijing’s overseas influence operations, amid growing criticism of the Victoria Premier’s decision to sign up to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Mr Andrews’s adviser Marty Mei was named a “special consultant” to the Shenzhen Association of Australia, which is part of a network of organisations in Australia that is guided by the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department.

The association was opened in November 2016 by a senior Communist Party official, Ma Yongzhi, who is vice-minister of the United Front Work Department of Shenzhen.

Mr Mei, a former multicultural adviser and now media adviser to the Premier, has travelled several times with Mr Andrews to China and claimed at last year’s World Chinese Economic Summit in Malaysia to have “played a key role in the development of Victoria’s New China Strategy”.

So, a top UFWD operative inside the Premier's office - literally advising him on China relations!

But still, nobody cares. That's the real beauty of the UFWD's work. It all happens quietly, just below the surface (not too far below) as it spreads its insidious influence. The more influence it spreads, the less people there are to raise objections against it.

One person who has long raised the alarm is Prof Clive Hamilton - a guy i had some communication with re Pangolin Paper author Ian Lipkin's involvement with the CCP.

Hamilton: It is extremely revealing that a senior Communist Party official arrived in Melbourne to oversee the inauguration of this United Front group

There was no attempt to conceal the direct link between the Shenzhen Association of Australia and the party’s United Front network. With the signing of the Belt and Road MOU, Victoria has succumbed to Beijing’s divide and rule tactics.

So hiding in plain-sight. Confident it has enough power/influence to combat any efforts to expose its operatives. Which it does have. Evidenced by our Premier going off to China on an opaque mission to further entangle Victoria/Australia with the CCP.

In fact, the UFWD's links to the Victorian Labor party pre-date even Andrews. Ex-premiers are on this or that China-Victoria Friendship societies & have long functioned as CCP-cheerleaders. John Brumby, for example, was actually Director of Huawei in Australia, whilst also serving as President of Australia – China Business Council!

As such, it has transcended individuals to established Org levels. As we discovered with your investigation of the GODS, once a thought-system gets its tendrils into a powerful Org, it's almost impossible to get it out.

Maybe they have something on him? Caught with a live boy or dead girl? Or perhaps they're just greasing his palms more than he can resist, or maybe a bit of both.

I don't think he's interested in Australia. What's he hiding? Why all the secrecy?

Worryingly, there's a long history of Aussie politicians cosying-up with the CCP, so although i wouldn't discount a honey-trap with Andrews as part of the mix (due to the extremist nature of his cosying), i'd guess it to be mainly a combination of ideology, money & old-fashioned flattery.

The ideology stems from the rise of economic rationalism in Australia in the late 80s. Under the direction of Paul Keating (treasurer then PM), economic rationalism became the sovereign thinking on ... everything. Under Keating's predecessor, Bob Hawke, Australia was poised to become a leader in reducing reliance on fossil fuels but Keating's thinking was (i'm paraphrasing):

Why on earth would be do that? We've got a lot of fossil fuel resources & our main industry (mining) is fossil fuel intensive - why do we need to be ahead of the curve on this issue? We'd only be negating our economic strength? It doesn't make economic sense.

As a result all Hawke's plans were shutdown - along with the sliding-doors moment where Australia could have gotten out ahead of the world by becoming a hub of renewable energy tech (a space now dominated by China, ironically). It also shut-down thoughts about developing any new industries, such as computers/computer chips (taken up by Taiwan) coz why would you spend all that money on R&D, infrastructure when you can just keep digging up minerals & oil?

This is the fatal flaw of economic rationalism - it's too myopic - it's only short to medium term. Its adherents are also utterly convinced that it is right - on everything - coz it's rational - which is very dangerous.

The same thinking was used when Australia outsourced its economy to China. Why spend money on manufacturing anything in Australia when we can get it all done in China at a cheaper price?

Initially, it seemed like great idea, to politicians & corporations (the public has always been against itbut it happened mostly out of sight) - Wow, look at all that extra money we're raking in! Any questions about the ethics of handing over our economic independence to a totalitarian regime were swept under the carpet. Ethics was considered an outdated concept that some old philosophers talked about (now outright new-normal banned in Australia - philosophy degrees were made prohibitively expensive - with zero jobs for graduates) - everything was made secondary to economic rationalism. Besides, what's best for the economy is best for everyone - that's all the ethics we need to think about.

Over time, this thinking became institutionalized, in both parties - multiplied by an active, long-term strategy by the CCP to slowly gain economic control over countries such as Australia. It was a perfect storm. Leaving us where we are today - hopelessly dependent on China - with no easy road back. Here again, economic rationalism will tell you there's nothing you can do about it. The disruption to the economy that will result from trying to wean ourselves off China is too great - better to just accept it & carry on. The fact that the fat-cats in Australia all keep getting fatter from this thinking only further entrenches it. It's kinda like what Dan says about the money-printing - the only solution they can come up with to the problems caused by money-printing is to : print more money.

Hence the conga-line of suck-holes from Australia heading off to kow-tow to the CCP ...

As studies emerge about how damaging/counter-productive lockdowns were - confirming common-sense concerns - Andrews has announced a Covid-tax to pay for his world-record draconianism. It entails a tax on those with a second house - which sounds ok on the surface, but the first thing landlords will do is pass it straight onto renters. In effect, it's a tax on the poor.

Cath Evans, Property Council of Australia: Lowering the tax threshold will of course cause increased stress and pressure for those land holders to maintain those properties, and it does become a risk that those costs get passed onto renters, and of course adding to what is already a significant challenge in our rental market here.

Meanwhile, corporate Australia made RECORD PROFITS ... due to Covid. Why don't they fucking well pay?

As studies emerge about how damaging/counter-productive lockdowns were - confirming common-sense concerns - Andrews has announced a Covid-tax to pay for his world-record draconianism. It entails a tax on those with a second house - which sounds ok on the surface, but the first thing landlords will do is pass it straight onto renters. In effect, it's a tax on the poor.

And keep in mind that the GODS where never locked down. They flitted about as they wished.

It's too bad most people won't read this article or have any serious discussion about the long lasting negative effects of the covid response.

Previously anticipated negative effects now borne out in the scientific literature include “a rise in non-Covid excess mortality, mental health deterioration, child abuse and domestic violence, widening global inequality, food insecurity, lost educational opportunities, unhealthy lifestyle behaviours, social polarisation, soaring debt, democratic backsliding and declining human rights”.

“Excess non-Covid mortality is predicted to remain elevated in the years ahead for many conditions, including anticipated increases in cardiovascular disease and cancer,” the paper said.

It's just unbelievable that there's not an international, daily debate about this. Oh, wait, debate has never been part of the covid movie, has it.

It's just unbelievable that there's not an international, daily debate about this. Oh, wait, debate has never been part of the covid movie, has it.

No, we jumped straight from: now's not the right time to talk about it ... to: we've all moved on.

Re the rent situation in Australia:

News: The ANZ CoreLogic Housing Affordability report found that the median income household would need to spend 30.8 per cent of its income on rent nationally, and for lower income levels an “unmanageable” 51.6 per cent would be required.

Andrews's plan to pay for his disastrous Covid measures is to pile more pain on the above. Well, at least he got his little-Hitler rocks off ...

This is the economic crash coming home to roost, but again, as Dan noted with lockdowns, it won't be the GODS who have to endure it - in fact they will keep getting richer.

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