The leaders of Australia's two main parties are Anthony Albanese (ALP) and Scott Morrison (LNP)

Dumbo

On the first day of the campaign Albanese was asked what the unemployment rate was - he didn't know. He took a guess:

The unemployment rate now is ... ahr ... i think it's ...Uhmmm... 5 ... point ahrr .... 4? (it's 4%)

His damage-control was:

I made a mistake. I am human. But when I make a mistake, I’ll 'fess up to it and I will set about correcting that mistake. I won’t blame someone else, I’ll accept responsibility. That’s what leaders do.

'Fessed up? It's not a confession if people saw you doing it on live TV. What's the alternative? You gonna double-down, insist that the unemployment rate really is 5.4%? Blame it on disinformation?

I knew the guy was a drip - in a long line of party hack drips that the ALP machine drips out - but was surprised he was so stupid as to not know the unemployment rate on the opening day of an election campaign. How is that even possible?

Mainly it's sad. I supported the ALP in a past life - my first legal vote was for Bob Hawke. He was great. I thought it would be more like that - didn't realize that he would be Australia's last great leader.

Scott Morrison

aka Scotty from Sales, ScoMo

Here's what his deputy Prime Minister had to say about him in a leaked text:

Barnaby Joyce: I and Scott, he is Scott until I have to recognise his office, don’t get along. He is a hypocrite and a liar from my observations and that is over a long time. I have never trusted him and I dislike how he earnestly rearranges the truth to a lie.

That's a character assessment from ScoMo's Deputy - over a long period of time. Imagine what his enemies think ...

There are questions as to how it was leaked - it was a private text. Somehow that never became an issue - internet privacy. Leaking is a game-playing activity - a dark, but well-known art in politics. These people see themselves in the role of PR manipulators - it's what they do. None of this is real. It's a manipulated concept presentation ceremony.

These are the two choices in Australia. It's no choice at all.

Other things important to me as a citizen that have gotten zero air-time from Dumbo or ScoMo:

1. Investigation into WTF happened/is happening with Covid. It changed the world - why is there zero interest from either of the main parties as to why it happened? Several Aussies are key players - Holmes, Lin-fa Wang, Dominic Dwyer to name 3 of the biggest.

2. The War on Freedom. There are serious ethical questions relating to the coup on generally accepted human Freedoms. Saying it's Due to Covid without any interest in solving Covid was due to is not good enough.

3. Free Julian Assange, a rare Australian hero, persecuted for revealing the truth about Iraq War Ain't nobody mentioned his name.

4. Funny Monetary Policy. How did a fringe theory become mainstream economic policy overnight? Where's that heading? Shouldn't we discuss it?

Covid is the biggest story of the millennium, with it's humanity shaping consequences. Looks a lot like it was the experts fucked up - then lied to cover it up. Weirdly, it's not an election issue. It's part of the cover-up. It's understandable - politicians consider themselves experts/influencers - they don't want to undermine that faith upon which the whole system is based. So they happily lie to protect it.

I get it, but it's frightening for normal people.

-

So Dumbo (Albo) won.

He started out well saying he will recognize the Uluhru Statement from the Heart - which was ignored by Turnbull/Morrison. It's central tenet is a constitutional voice in parliament for indigenous voices. Sensible, not scary, overdue. It will still require a referendum.

But i worry about China. If the Global Times is praising you then that's a concern.

Global Times: Mr Albanese provides a turning point for the China-Australia relationship which is currently at low ebb. Morrison, in particular, put his tough stance against China at the forefront of his election campaign.

However, Saturday’s results once again showed that Australians care more about their government’s commitments and actions on issues related to people’s wellbeing, such as climate change, soaring prices and wage, than the unwarranted China threat.

(The Quad meeting) is the first test of the political wisdom of the new Australian government.

Especially on whether it could get rid of the shadow of previous Scott Morrison’s anti-China strategy that deeply hurt his own economy and trade.

For his part, Albo, who criticized the previous government's call for an independent investigation into Covid as being "undiplomatic", has said that he will seek to restore Aus good relationship with China and have China's trade sanctions on Aus lifted.

For me, that's a big mistake. The only answer for China is de-coupling. We've gone this far, it's time to press forward. We cannot be in a position where we're at the mercy of the CCP economically. It's one of those 'no-brainer' things, like phasing out fossil fuel (which Albo seems committed to).

But unfortunately money is the beginning, the middle, and the end of Aus's strategic thinking - so if China supplies that pipeline, politicians will queue up to guzzle it in. If Taiwan is the price for that - who cares?

Kristina Keneally is an ALP pol who was making a switch from the Senate to House of Reps. She was a senior party figure, former Minister. Despite ALP winning the election, she lost her seat. As mentioned, there was a swing against both major parties. The ALP's primary vote (31.9%) is the lowest on record for a winning government - even less than their losing result from the last election (down 1.4% - LNP down 6%), but Keneally's loss to an independent was still a shock.

Keneally: The most important factor was COVID and its impacts ... Fowler had the harshest and longest lockdowns in the state, supported by both Liberal and Labor, and there was an understandable sense of anger at both major parties, with people reacting with “a pox on both your houses”.

Those harsh lockdowns engendered an understandable sense of parochialism that the community had been left behind by both major political parties. And I genuinely believe that whether the Labor Party ran me or anyone else in Fowler, they would have encountered the same set of challenges.

The anger about lockdowns and vaccine mandates seemed out of kilter to what I’d seen in the rest of the country. .. And I had one or two nasty encounters, during pre-polling, where I started to think this is not going the way we expected it. But I kept getting reassurance that everything was fine.

Keneally is a veteran politician, known to be smart. Her perspective has credibility. The crazy thing is that the above issues were not raised once during the entire campaign by either major party or any journalist.

How can "the most important factor" be blanked out as an election issue? Sounds impossible, but it happened. Must be one of those "common-good" deals that the higher-ups work out in advance.

After the election was safely over, however, it's been raised a few times. Always as a reason for ALP victory. Dan Andrews (state - this was a fed election), the most risible man on earth, crowed it was a rousing endorsement of his world-record authoritarian response to Covid re lockdowns/vaccine enforcement.

That's rubbish of course. If it was such a vote-winner, why was it never once raised as an election issue? Keneally's take is much closer to the truth. Without the media's complicity, we would have seen an even more dramatic drop-off in support for either major party.

High on the Albanese's agenda in his honeymoon period is to 'repair the relationship with China' (!)

Decoupling from China is the only way to prepare for a possible war. How's it gonna play out if Aus is dependent on China for its daily consumer goods, as well as its export dollars - when all that's switched off? What's the plan?

Unless you have no intention of going to war.

AFR: Mr Albanese said the hour-long discussion between Defence Minister Richard Marles and his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore was to be welcomed, but the government was not getting carried away.

I wonder what happy events the Defence Ministers discussed to produce this detente? Did China promise to free HK, Tibet, not invade Taiwan?

Albo: It is always a good thing that people have dialogue and have discussion. And it’s been something that’s been missing in the last few years, but there needs to be concrete steps taking forward.

Missing because: Aus asked politely, once, for an independent investigation into Covid. Whereupon China slapped bans on all exports - except for iron ore and coal - which they feverishly stocked-piled.

Albo: It is China that has changed the nature of the relationship. They are our major trading partner. So, it is important for Australia’s economy and for jobs here that we have a relationship going forward.

Plain English: money

But China needs to remove the sanctions that they have put in place. There’s no reason for them to be there.

Actually they don't. They've proved that. But Aus hasn't proved it couldn't survive five minutes without China's produce. For all the sanctions China put on, Aus didn't sanction any Chinese products.

After the Defense Ministers' meeting, a China spokesperson said:

We hope the Australian side will work with China in the spirit of mutual respect and seek common ground while shelving differences to promote sound and steady development of the China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership.
A sound and stable China-Australia relation suits the fundamental interests and common aspirations of people of both countries.

Unless you count Freedom as a fundamental interest/aspiration. Unfortunately the Aus govt doesn't.

9 News: Foreign Minister Penny Wong has met with her China counterpart Wang Yi in a crucial development in the tattered relationship between the two countries.

She said they both "spoke frankly" about the differences in priorities and concerns for their countries, and agreed it was crucial for the relationship to be stabilised.

Why is it crucial for a relationship with a human-rights-oppressing totalitarian regime to be stabilized?

Penny Wong: I welcome our discussion on issues of concern between our two countries, as well as the prosperity, security and stability of the region. We spoke frankly and listened carefully to each other's priorities and concerns.

Aus's concerns being money - China's being zero-criticism re their control over HK, Tibet, Xinjiang, and their desire to invade Taiwan.

I raised Australia's concerns about a range of bilateral, regional, trade and consular issues.

But not a word about human rights abuses.

Australia and China have gained much through the strength of our economic and people-to-people ties but it is in both our countries' interests for the relationship to be stabilised.

People-to-people ties - aka United Front Work Dept.

The Australian Government will always seek to resolve issues calmly and consistently under our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and in accordance with our national interests.

This is so myopic - not dissimilar to Australia's attitude to fossil fuels. In the 80's, Australia under Bob Hawke, was a world-leader in tackling fossil fuels & developing renewable energy, but after him, a succession of ALP & LNP governments championing economic rationalism, put all that into reverse. Their rationale: Why on earth would we be getting ahead of the pack when we've got all this fossil fuel to sell? It makes no (economic) sense.

It's the same with China. Why on earth would we take a stand on human rights/democratic freedoms when there's all this money to be made by simply keeping our mouths shut?

Either our leaders are so stupid that they genuinely don't realize that there is a bigger issue at hand than short term money, namely Totalitarianism Vs Freedom - or - due to Covid, they realize they have far more in common with the CCP in terms of centralizing power than they do with the messier principles of democracy. I've gotta assume it's the second one.

Why is it crucial for a relationship with a human-rights-oppressing totalitarian regime to be stabilized?

This is the question no government is asking. If it's some poor island that is enslaving people, the West can invade and liberate it in a heartbeat, and its oil reserves. Human rights is used as leverage by the west to gain this access or that when it's convenient. Shit, they don't even care about human rights in their own countries, really. Not really. To a greater extent than China? Yes, but is that saying much?

There are no individual human rights in the world. It's a farce. Clearly. The largest country in the world by population imprisons and enslaves people based on race or political leanings or any number of ill defined metrics, and the world is fine with that. As long as the products keep flowing. Those of us in supposedly free countries should be very worried about our safety. Our governments could sell us out or go fascist very quickly. It's all business. In fact, it's like a stupid movie line. "Nothing personal. It's just business."

The only reason we have the freedom we do is because we have surplus. Surplus. Surplus which has been made possible through technological advancements. As long as technology and industry can keep supplying surplus, rulers can keep allowing us to believe we're free. When the surplus dries up for any reason, watch out. See how much freedom you have then. Because the powerful, ultimately, take control and own everything. They can take your money, your house, your time.

But not a word about human rights abuses.

Of course not. Where's the pay off? They don't give a shit about Uyghurs at all, at all.

People-to-people ties - aka United Front Work Dept.

Yep, let's work together to milk our humans for as much productivity as possible and pay them as little as possible; in other words, make each other as rich as possible and fuck the little people.

Either our leaders are so stupid that they genuinely don't realize that there is a bigger issue at hand than short term money, namely Totalitarianism Vs Freedom - or - due to Covid, they realize they have far more in common with the CCP in terms of centralizing power than they do with the messier principles of democracy. I've gotta assume it's the second one.

I think it's a mixture of both. Maybe they allow themselves to be stupid because they see what's at stake. So, yes, it's the second one.

The only reason we have the freedom we do is because we have surplus. Surplus. Surplus which has been made possible through technological advancements. As long as technology and industry can keep supplying surplus, rulers can keep allowing us to believe we're free. When the surplus dries up for any reason, watch out. See how much freedom you have then. Because the powerful, ultimately, take control and own everything. They can take your money, your house, your time.

That's interesting. The surplus thing. You can see it shriveling before your eyes already. Shortages in select commodities is becoming normalized. Now it's due to the Ukraine War supposedly, but that's rubbish - it's all due to Covid - and people playing with the levers.

The doling out phase, as you say, is another crisis that will be used as an excuse to further centralize power, eradicate personal freedoms. Which is the CCP model - that so many power elites find attractive. If only we could just get everyone to do what we bloody well want.

I assume there will be unrest - but that will be a hard road to hoe - met with the full-force of a super-sized bio-state - and quite possibly majority public support due to propaganda as well as Orwellian mob reasons.

While US politicians discuss high-ranking, bipartisan trips to Taiwan, Australia, under Albanese/Wong continues it's policy of appeasement towards China in order to get the money back on line.

In a softball interview on ABC, itself a staunch China supporter, Albo was asked: Do you have a responsibility to the Australian people to lay out the risks that this could end in war?

Albo: We have a responsibility to put out the facts without raising fear that mightn’t eventuate.
We need to have a sober response to the circumstances that we face. That’s what my government is committed to doing.

Classic non-answer. The kind the CCP loves. If you can't say anything nice - don't say anything at all.

The question, yes you can say it's a fair question, in fact Australians have no idea what a war with China would entail, as we've discussed, but it's typical ABC talking-down conflict with China agenda. They don't want to have an open-discussion about it - they want it to go away. They're not above using their immense power to make it go away. Anyway, it's a moot point - wasn't answered - or pressed by the interviewer.

Secondly, what's 'that this'?

It's not made clear in the interview. Do they mean other countries' politicians criticizing China's human rights violations? Certainly no-one from the Aus govt has said 'boo' towards China. It's all been about begging China to take our non-essential products again. (No ban on iron-ore from China - which tells you everything)

Sarah Ferguson, ABC: How would Australia respond to the inevitable US pressure that would come to send troops, air or naval forces to defend Taiwan.

(How would Australia respond to a Totalitarian Globalist Regime gobbling up/vocationally training a Free Country?)

Albo: We don’t deal with hypotheticals for a start. It is important that we do that. That’s not in the interest of peace and security in the region.

We don't deal in hypotheticals?! How on earth do you plan/manage your defence forces (or any arm of govt) if you don't deal in hypotheticals? (At least it explains the govt response to the floods.)

Is that really the govt's policy? One day we wake up Wow! There's a war with China! Who knew that hypothetical might happen? Guess we ought to start thinking about how we're gonna react!

Man, this guy is dumb. Or corrupted. (Not saying the other side is any better - they're not - better on Taiwan though) This is why Taiwan cannot count on support from Aus in the next 3 years.

Unless we start making preparations now (as China is - they don't have a problem in dealing in hypotheticals), pare back the absurd reliance on essential Chinese goods, we simply will not be able to afford to go to war with China. So sorry to my Taiwanese friends.

Instead there will be some tepid UN statement, post invasion saying: We condemn violence and we ask that the two countries solve their differences by peaceful means. PS Can you please take our meaningless products again?

It was recently disclosed that Sco-Mo had himself sworn into five ministerial portfolios - due to Covid.
But the thing is, he did it in secret. Not only from the public, but even the ministers in some cases.

ScoMo:I think there was a great risk that in the midst of that crisis those powers could be misinterpreted and misunderstood, which would have caused unnecessary angst in the middle of a pandemic. I did what I thought was necessary in the national interests to ensure the government continued to perform well.

This is where we get to the crux of Covid. Higher-ups gobbling-up power - justifying that to themselves with their secret higher-truth. We can't tell you the real truth coz you can't handle it - you'd only misinterpret it. So here's this alternative non-truth reality BS.

I'm done with all this secret security crap. It's a well-known recipe for corruption. It's out of control.

Fascism sounds inflammatory, it is, so let's get the definition up front from Google Merriam Webster: a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.

We can safely say the totalitarian CCP-refime qualifies. It's qualified for a helluva long time, it qualifies now, as much as ever, your normal trajectory.

Yet in Australia - speaking out against fascism has become a state-banned topic. Highly controversial. It's called/been prosecuted as Incitement - i kid you not.

Speaking in favour of Fascism is fine though ...

Just ask Aussie Oligarch, Gerry Harvey, founder of Harvey Norman Corporate Empire - selling: home-everythings - the dominant player ...

Nice work if you can get it.

Gerry Norman: If you want to get something done, the best system is the Chinese one. You just do it. You’ve got a government that’s in total control and they don’t give a fuck what the people say.

Full disclosure (never to be disclosed): Harvey Norman is 50+% stocked courtesy of the CCP's make-em vassal-state-dependent long march.

We have a situation now with our politics that we’ve never seen before. Going forward, whoever forms government somewhere down the path, the major parties may be having only 30 per cent of the vote.

Oh, wonder why that would be...?

When you’ve got a government that sees Labor in with full control or Liberal in with full control, you can get things done.

It's all about having full-control. Any idiot can see - look at me - I'm an Aussie-MOU!

When you’ve got a coalition of two, three, four or five or more independents, the process is slowed extraordinarily. They never get stuff done.

It’s a recipe for disaster, in many ways, but the way we’re heading with democracy I don’t think that’s going to change.

Here's another recipe for disaster: Aussie-oligarchs doing big-money deals with Fascist regimes ...

If I had to predict the future (which you do if you're an MOU), I think there’ll be a lot more of these coalitions. I can see some advantage in that, but then if you want to build a road or a bridge or make something, it never gets done, it’s stopped dead.

No, it isn't.

Everyone wants a say and you’ve got big minority groups with a very loud voice and not a lot of numbers behind them.

Loud voice? Man, you've got the loudest voice going around in Australia. You're using that to say:

(T)he best system is the Chinese (CCP/Fascist-) one .. (T)hey don’t give a fuck what the people say.

This fascist penis-envy has become normalized-speech by the power-elites in Australia. It's so frightening...

But still gets blown off ...

In a new sign the severely strained relationship between Australia and China is getting back on track, Albanese said he had a "very positive" chat with Premier Li Keqiang, the second most powerful man in the country.
The pair spoke for two minutes through interpreters after arriving at the gala dinner in Phnom Penh, in what is the most significant meeting between Australia and China for three years.

This subsets with Dan's Questionable Headlines thread - but Australia is prostrating itself before a human rights abusing totalitarian regime - on the world stage - this somehow, this two minutes through interpreters is trumpeted as a diplomatic victory? That's one minute each - minus half of that for the interpreters, so 30 seconds.

A few days ago MSM was saying Albo was meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the G20 or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum

Albo: I think there is a great deal of goodwill here, certainly from Australia. I have no reason to think there's not goodwill on the Chinese side as well.

Probably should've. Xi predictably blew him off.

Xi Jinping is keeping Anthony Albanese guessing about whether he will grant him a rare meeting next week, notably omitting the prime minister from a list of leaders he will meet during two high-powered Asian summits.

As you would if you're Xi - we don't need to meet the grovelling grubs - they're already where we want them.

For the record, he is meeting with US, Argentina, France, & African Union - which gives you an idea of how Xi sees Africa - one country.

Anyway, typical Xi-style, he is still dangling the possibility that he may deign to meet with other leaders upon request.

Meanwhile Albo was defiantly upbeat, hailing his 2 minutes with a translator with Li Kechiang as a big success:

I think it's a good thing that happened. I've said repeatedly about the relationship with China, that we should cooperate where we can, and that dialogue is always a good thing. And last night's dialogue was very positive.

Edit: After keeping Albo on the hook, Xi finally granted him a meeting. Whereas Biden brought up Taiwan, HK, Xinjiang, Tibet, and coercive economic practices used by China, Albo said 'There are no preconditions' in his talks. Albo has made it clear he is not gonna say boo re any of Xi's human rights abuses - it's all about begging China to take our wine and beef - & other non-essential products. (note: they never banned iron-ore)

Thinking about Dan's comment on a different thread about the nice linen, i did some research ...

This is Xi's Headquarters hotel at the G20 where Albo will do the Bendo - without any pre-conditions - on the world-stage.

Mulia Website:

THE COMFORT
Designed for both style and comfort, our luxurious Mulia Signature rooms feature a custom-made bed with 400-thread-count linens, a chic marble bathroom with a separate bathtub, shower and high-tech toilet, and several entertainment options …

Great view from the bed!

Meanwhile Albo has remained tight-lipped about mentioning human-rights atrocities, or the C-word, or the T-word, as he puckers up.

It's easy to see how easily and to what extent power corrupt.

Damn. Never having to scrub a bathtub, clean a toilet, wash dishes. The comfort of kings.

Socialist my ass.

How low can Albo go? After the humiliation of begging a fascist regime for a meeting, in which to beg them to take our non-essential products again, Albo immediately does the CCP's bidding by echoing China's call to ban Taiwan from joining a Pacific cooperation forum.

ABC: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has suggested Australia is very unlikely to support Taiwan's push to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in a move which is likely to deeply disappoint Taipei.

The previous govt in Australia had indicated it would support Taiwan's push to join, as do other member states, including Japan.

Speaking at the APEC meeting in Bangkok, Mr Albanese said the agreement was only for "recognised" nation-states, rather than economies.

"The CPTPP is a relationship between nation-states which are recognised," he said.

That's a straight out lie. The CPTPP's own charter says: (An)y State or separate customs territory may accede to this Agreement.

Clearly that includes Taiwan. So what have we got here:

The head of Australia, lying to suppress a democratic country (Taiwan) - at the behest of a fascist regime.

Typical ABC drags out an expert to whitewash this gross immorality away:

Benjamin Herscovitch, Australian National University: There's the risk that his comments will look like a concession to the Chinese government. China doesn't want Taiwan in the CPTPP, and the prime minister's comments will probably be chalked up as a win in Beijing. But there's nothing to suggest that the prime minister made these comments at President Xi's behest.

Nothing to suggest - are you serious? Everything suggests Albo walked straight out of his meeting with Xi with a strictly-worded script prepared by the CCP, from which Albo proceeded to unquestionably perform. Then the experts, platformed by the ABC, pile-in to excuse/bolster the lie.

Once again we see the insipid reach of the CCP throughout the ranks of power influencers in Australia - especially in academia. All of whom are paid by the public.

Pretty sure that Albo is the most lily-livered PM Australia has had re the CCP since Paul Keating - that's a very high-bar. You could then feasibly argue he is the most lily-livered politician on the planet. With all the woke talk we hear now about supporting this and that social cause (most of which i'm fine with), we've then got our PM supporting global fascism! How does that all fit together?

Statement by a Transport for NSW Spokesperson

Transport for NSW appreciates the acquisition process is difficult for property owners. Transport for NSW respects the rights for property owners to challenge these offers through the court process. It is inappropriate to comment any further as the matter remains before the court.

This is like it's come straight out of Dan's book.

(a) Most people can't afford to go to court - the govt can though - so straight-off you're David v Goliath

(b) there's an excellent chance even if you do, you'll be drained dry, still be ruled against by public funded judges looking to maintain the order they rule over

(c) classic use of: It is inappropriate to comment any further as the matter remains before the court - meaning: we'll bury you in the legal industry whilst using that as an excuse to never talk about it publicly/transparently - it's a win-win

With all the woke talk we hear now about supporting this and that social cause (most of which i'm fine with), we've then got our PM supporting global fascism! How does that all fit together?

You've nailed the crux of the problem with the current political dynamics. Very weird shit is happening and I don't know what to make of it. Right has become left and left right. Libertarianism used to be a freedom-loving concept, now it's a right-wing fascist dog whistle while at the same time socialism used to be a leftist economic philosophy that is now becoming fascist itself, fascism being, historically, the domain of the right! It's as though all leanings are moving towards fascism, albeit under different names and with different clothing.

Where is the commonsense dialogue promoting health, wealth, safety, welfare, and freedom of thought, religion, movement, and everything else that doesn't harm others for all?

I mean, isn't it simple? Don't hurt other people, be good, have a good life, have fun... guess that's too much to ask.

I'm pretty sure this used to be a punchline to a joke, but it's now happened for real.

News: Almost 1000 (Chinese-made) cameras and other recording devices were found to have been installed across 250 different Australian government building sites.

A number of those are in defence and military associated spaces.

Opposition’s spokesman for cyber security James Paterson said the Hikvision and Dahua cameras (are) both companies (which) are part-owned by the Chinese Communist Party.

The companies were complicit in the ongoing persecution of Uyghurs, being the provider of facial recognition technology.

Further, the companies are subject to the Chinese National Intelligence Law which requires them to hand over data if requested by Chinese intelligence agencies.

Man, the level of stupidity within the the Aussie government & it's deep-state bureaucracies is frightening. That's if it is just stupidity. Corruption is probably more likely.

Paterson: There has been a number of vulnerabilities identified in these products in the past where remote users could gain full control of them, switch on the cameras or switch on the audio, for example

Great. These are the (highly-paid) geniuses that are in charge of Australia's defense - installing Chinese spy-tech in their own buildings!!!

Don't forget that the public is paying for these morons as well as all the CCCP-controlled devices they installed.

Richard Marles, Deputy Prime Minister/Defence Minister: We’re doing an assessment within defence into where those cameras exist. We are acting. We do need to be thinking about our defence estate, so we’re going through the process in a sober, calm way. We’ve got to do the assessment (first). I don’t think we should overreact, but we should deal with it.

You fuckwit. You're going through the process in a sober, calm way? Was that the same sober, calm process that decided to install Chinese spy-tech inside our most sensitive military sites in the first place?

So to recap our fearless leaders, we have got a PM & Foreign Minister cravenly kow-towing to a fascist regime & a Deputy PM/Defense Minister who's busily installing the same regime's surveillance devices throughout all government facilities.

I remember back in the day when spies would have to cunningly infiltrate an organization then snap photos of a few secret docs with the pen-camera. Now you simply make them an economically dependent vassal-state then tell them to install whatever surveillance devices you want.

By any sensible-measure these officials must be fired & ordered to give back all the public-money they took whilst committing this breath-taking blunder. Then an outside investigation to determine whether it really was just mind-boggling stupidity, or was it corruption/treason?

Of course, it will never happen. They will all carry on with their snouts in the public-purse and continue making their corrupt deals. With no accountability.

This is another reason why we need way more transparency within State-Security orgs. I'm not convinced that they serve any useful function, but under cover of non-accountability, they are actually acting against the public's interest in favour of totalitarian regimes - the very regimes they're meant to be protecting us against.

Why? Because ideologically they're all on the same page - centralizing power & revenue control from a base of secret opaqueness - to benefit themselves.

This story, which is getting minimal coverage in the media, keeps getting more ridiculous.

News: Officials from the Department of Finance confirmed the security gear made by Hikvision and Dahua were installed in the offices of 88 parliamentarians.

Sixty-five of those MPs had the CCTV systems installed, while up to 88 parliamentarians had both security cameras and intercom systems installed.

Last week, it was revealed 1000 cameras and other recording devices were found to have been installed across 250 different Australian government building sites.

The audit found the gear was located in almost every department, including foreign affairs and attorney-general.

The old two possibilities:

1. Our state-security experts are total dumb-fucks - beyond belief stupid. You could literally grab any person off the street & ask if they think it's a good idea to install Chinese spyware in every government nook & cranny office throughout Australia, they would say 'no, don't do that'. Yet somehow our highly paid experts, whose job it is to protect Australia against spying, have gone & done exactly that.

2. Our state-security experts have been corrupted. I really can't fathom how anyone could be so stupid so i deduce it must be corruption. That means the CCP has infiltrated Australia's state-security org at the highest, decision-making levels. Not that surprising seeing how they've infiltrated every other sector from Academia to political parties to mega-corps to media.

Either way, it's all paid for by the poor old taxpayer.

Solution: Investigate/reform/(largely)defund secret security orgs. We don't need them. They're operating without accountability & acting directly against the interests of normal Australians (who pay their wages!)

Unfortunately, that won't happen under the current govt structure, due to the unaccountable nature of security orgs.

Which means the first step towards a solution is to breakdown the duopoly gravy train system of govt that functions to protect such stupidity/corruption. That is happening slowly - i hope it can go a lot faster.

This is all very bizarre. It's stranger than fiction.

Either way, it's all paid for by the poor old taxpayer.

And that's the rub, isn't it. I've been thinking more about that angle recently, how we're literally paying and hence enabling those in power to commit offenses that harm us.

Why? Because ideologically they're all on the same page - centralizing power & revenue control from a base of secret opaqueness - to benefit themselves.

Bingo. I've recently been pondering human energy. That's all we are, after all, energy. And we use our energy in many different ways. Raising children. Creating art. Working in a factory. Farming. Building a house. Worrying. Shitting. Making mead.

Love is a form of energy, and IMO is the basis for all human energy. One could argue that fear is the real basis, but I would say it's love. Fear, and all other negative energies, are the product of love. Consider that you get angriest at those you love the most, and you fear for them the most as well. If a stranger almost gets hit by a car, you probably won't get angry at them, but if someone you love does, you very well may.

Power and revenue, the basis of my response, how does that figure?

Let's get back to our individual energy. We work. We struggle. And what do we have to show for it? Maybe property, but more likely money. Money is the socially agreed upon, acceptable, transformable unit of energy. That's what it is. If I grow an ear of corn, my energy, along with that of the sun, etc., is transferred into that corn. I sell that corn and get a unit of currency. That currency represents energy.

But here's where it gets tricky. First, governments can simply print the currency. Are they creating energy? Of course not. By printing currency, they are stealing your energy. Energy is limited, that's why it has value. Currency only has value to the extent that it reflects the limited energy it symbolizes. When governments print currency without the backup of energy, they're stealing by devaluing the representational value of that currency.

But there's another form of theft of our energy, and that's anything we give money to that doesn't provide our community (not necessarily us as individuals) with equivalent benefits on an energy basis. Government is a prime example of this as are religions.

This is why I quit giving money to charity. I simply don't trust that the energy my money represents will be translated into the equivalent amount of help to the targeted need via those charities. I don't trust them, as I don't trust governments or pretty much anybody else asking for money. If I want to help someone, I'll use my own energy directly if possible.

Let's get back to our individual energy. We work. We struggle. And what do we have to show for it? Maybe property, but more likely money. Money is the socially agreed upon, acceptable, transformable unit of energy. That's what it is. If I grow an ear of corn, my energy, along with that of the sun, etc., is transferred into that corn. I sell that corn and get a unit of currency. That currency represents energy.

But here's where it gets tricky. First, governments can simply print the currency. Are they creating energy? Of course not. By printing currency, they are stealing your energy. Energy is limited, that's why it has value. Currency only has value to the extent that it reflects the limited energy it symbolizes. When governments print currency without the backup of energy, they're stealing by devaluing the representational value of that currency.

That all makes intuitive (& normal) sense. I enjoy getting to the fundamental nature of things & energy is very much in that category.

Before there was money, there was usefulness. You produce your corn (useful for sustenance) by expending energy, then barter it for something else that is useful, let's say a chair, that another person has expended energy to produce.

At some stage, money came to represent the usefulness-value of expended energy. But as you point out, that system has been corrupted. I often wonder, for example, what use to me are all these Secret Security Orgs? They suck up my energy-money, but how do they actually benefit me? They didn't pick up the bleeding obvious that was the origin of Covid - well they almost certainly did but chose to spread disinfo instead - so as an end user of their product, that i am forced to accept via lockdowns, mandates, disinfo - I am the poorer for it. I am not receiving a fair exchange for my energy.

Security Orgs (& many other mega-orgs) have developed into a false-economy - that none-the-less have a big impact on my life.

Same with money printing - there's no useful-energy behind it as you point out - it's a corruption of the fundamental principle. The other thing about the money-printing is that it all, quite quickly, found its way into the pockets of mega-Orgs. I assume it's the same for most countries, but in Australia, all big-corporation recorded world-record profits during Covid. A large part of the inflation we're seeing now appears to be these same orgs putting up their prices to maintain this level of record profit-taking.

Love is a form of energy, and IMO is the basis for all human energy. One could argue that fear is the real basis, but I would say it's love. Fear, and all other negative energies, are the product of love.

That's a big statement - which has been kicking round in my head since i read it. You're onto something fundamental here. It gives the phrase Labor of Love added meaning. If you love doing something you have way more energy than you do for stuff you don't like doing - we all know that feeling.

So is our product the result of energy/love expended to produce it?

Seems like it.

Teaching is a good example - you do put positive (love) energy into it - to engaging with your students. It motivates you as well as increases the quality of the product. Then the beauty of it is that that energy loops back from the engaged students to keep you going for next time (if you're doing it right) - it sets a standard.

Craft markets are another good example - the crafter has put love-energy into their crafting - you can see it as a physical product on display.

Cooking - they say the secret ingredient is love.

Computer programming - everything - if the maker has gotta love for their work, it's gonna be a better product. Never saw a gardening show where the presenter was morose about gardening - they love it - that comes across - it's the whole point.

So if humans can work that out - then that's another reason for positivity re the blockage in logical discussion. It's not that it can't be done, it's a natural inclination even, but that simple energy-love equation has been hijacked, corrupted.

Plato had this idea of Unforgetting - that might be the magic key to understanding in this case as well.

Love is the original base of energy, but that simple truth became forgotten . It was always there though - still is - can still be tapped into ...

Love is a form of energy, and IMO is the basis for all human energy. One could argue that fear is the real basis, but I would say it's love. Fear, and all other negative energies, are the product of love.

That's a big statement - which has been kicking round in my head since i read it. You're onto something fundamental here. It gives the phrase Labor of Love added meaning. If you love doing something you have way more energy than you do for stuff you don't like doing - we all know that feeling.

Well, full disclosure, I was pretty drunk when I wrote that, but I'll stand by it, and in fact your commentary on it does it justice. Love is a horrible word in English, so loaded, but you've defined it somewhat. You're referring to what modern psychology models, or at least one of my favorite models, would define as the state of cognitive flow which was developed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (see Ted talk).

Are we, in this brave new world of ours, experiencing flow less? I'm not sure. I'd say that compared to, say, 300 years ago, almost certainly so. But what about the last 50 years? My sense is that the industrial revolution has greatly diminished the frequency of flow, but maybe not.

Regardless, love, if defined at least in part by that which results in us experiencing cognitive flow, is indeed the basis or at least a very high level of energy. The best art, the best engineering, discoveries, breakthroughs, communities, relationships, they all align with this theory of flow.

So is our product the result of energy/love expended to produce it?

Seems like it.

Yes, I think so.

Teaching is a good example - you do put positive (love) energy into it - to engaging with your students. It motivates you as well as increases the quality of the product. Then the beauty of it is that that energy loops back from the engaged students to keep you going for next time (if you're doing it right) - it sets a standard.

As much as I want to retire, I really value my current situation in which I'm working with kids between the ages of 11-13. It's a phenomenal age. Amazing, really. I just don't have the energy to keep up. But it's really a privilege to be part of their lives, to be able to witness that emergence of personalities and awareness. That is, when I'm not internally cussing my fate! It takes a LOT of energy to be a teacher for all those little balls of extreme energy and at the same time put up with the bullshit that is the administrative framework under which we live and that will ultimately stifle their instincts.

Plato had this idea of Unforgetting - that might be the magic key to understanding in this case as well.

That's a timely comment. I just recently started pondering about the early cave painters, the first. There must have been a first, or early emerging set of cave painters. Can you imagine that first person, or that early emergence of the realization of the ability to symbolize something by drawing? That was a huge leap. I mean, going from a complete in the moment being, simply reacting to stimuli, going from that to becoming aware of this animal you eat, aware and remembering it to the point where you can draw it on a wall with charcoal or blood? That's amazing.

And to think that newborns go through this, we all went through this individually. But at some point, our species made the leap to do this. Anyway...

Love is the original base of energy, but that simple truth became forgotten . It was always there though - still is - can still be tapped into ...

Yeah, I think that's it. That thing we do when we're totally immersed. It might actually be making love, but it could also be painting, building a bird house, making paper, gardening, or just watching the sunset. To play the devil's advocate, a biologist would probably say that's all bullshit. We're all driven by the survival instinct and all this love bullshit is just a chemical process in our brains that insures our survival. But I would disagree. I think there's more to it than that.

To play the devil's advocate, a biologist would probably say that's all bullshit. We're all driven by the survival instinct and all this love bullshit is just a chemical process in our brains that insures our survival. But I would disagree. I think there's more to it than that.

To elaborate, a biologist would argue that the single cells came first and this all evolved into what we are now, so any notion of love or a top-down driver for survival is backward, that it's all a result of some grand hormonal, chemical scheme devised by our biology to keep us reproducing and safe.

I argue that although part of that model may be true, there is some driving energy behind it all that is top down, or, better put, an emanation, from inside reaching out. Ultimately, it's a chicken or egg question, but I think there is an energy we tap into when we are in creative mode, and that energy reaches beyond our bodies, and my explanation for that is that our bodies do not define the entirety of what we are. Ultimately, dare I say, we don't exist as individuals. We're an illusion. This is why when people are in a state of flow, they cease to exist. It's because that illusion falls. It's not that they cease to exist, it's that they realize that they're part of everything else. It's the illusion that ceases.

To get back to the cave painting, the painter went from being one with their environment, being mostly unaware of self, to objectifying prey and hence self. The reality is, that painter never did exist as an independent being. It never could. Nor could we. Yet we perceive ourselves as being somebody that somehow landed on this earth and is somehow subjected to what it throws at us. But it fact we're a product of it that perceives.

Love, or flow, IMO, is that energy that is somehow connected to that primal, per-aware, what, leap? Spark? Movement? Shift? Vacillation? Frequency?

And, yes, that energy somehow finds its way into money so we can eat, and the downfall, the separation, the illusion, the fear, it drives what we call modern life. Damn.

There are a lot of great points in these posts - i'll comment only a couple (gotta get shit done before a forecast big rain comes!)

A biologist would argue that the single cells came first and this all evolved into what we are now, so any notion of love or a top-down driver for survival is backward, that it's all a result of some grand hormonal, chemical scheme devised by our biology to keep us reproducing and safe.

I argue that although part of that model may be true, there is some driving energy behind it all that is top down, or, better put, an emanation, from inside reaching out.

I agree. DNA is a huge part of our existence - the key part. As the story goes (& it's really only a story), there was a big bang (no-one talks much about pre-big-bang, curiously), then as a result of these hurtling elements, the earth somehow formed, which, by chance, created conditions (water, atmosphere) for the first biological life to form. The thing is, after all these incredible alignments, it's still not good enough to simply create biological life - you need to create life that wants to exist/extend. Which is where DNA comes in. Without DNA you could go to all that trouble of creating the first cell, but if that cell takes a look around, says 'yeah, no, there's nothing about this that makes me wanna continue on' - you ain't got jack-shit.

Entwined/coded into this DNA desire to extend, is love (as i think you're proposing). If you look at baby-anythings, they are filled with wonder, the sheer exuberance of life. It's a cuteness that we can all relate to - this is a form of pure love-energy.

For example, i brought three new pullets in recently (already 4 mths old, so not babies - about the same as your students in human-years). Been observing their Plato's Cave life-stages from: inside the shed (over two weeks), to venturing out to the fully-enclosed outdoor recreational area (another two weeks), to finally daring to explore the outside world - with its expanded wonders but also dangers. (the doors were open from 9.30 to 5.30)

But even that world, which is the entire universe in their minds, its only a microcosm of a greater outside world - that none-the-less impacts their existence - though they're not aware of it. Same thing happens with us. It's a layered thing.

At each stage i can see the happiness of discovery (esp stage 2, outside) - running around in circles play-chasing each other with this giddy delirium of joy. This is the love-energy that exists innately in us all.

The reality is, that painter never did exist as an independent being. It never could. Nor could we. Yet we perceive ourselves as being somebody that somehow landed on this earth and is somehow subjected to what it throws at us. But it fact we're a product of it that perceives.

Yes, that's an ancient philosophical concept - our reality is a version of individual experience in a sum of the parts deal - they're fundamentally entangled as a dynamic.

Love, or flow, IMO, is that energy that is somehow connected to that primal, per-aware (pre-aware?), what, leap? Spark? Movement? Shift? Vacillation? Frequency?

And, yes, that energy somehow finds its way into money so we can eat, and the downfall, the separation, the illusion, the fear, it drives what we call modern life. Damn.

I always thought the biblical story of creation was a pretty good one, metaphorically speaking. The idea of the void (pre-existence), a state of grace (pure love), then The Fall - to a state where we're not sure if we're running away or chasing something - but imbued with this desire to unforget - reconnect to love/to be loved, occasionally succeeding.

The Australian government, which presided over the most draconian Covid restrictions in the known universe, is now refusing to hold an inquiry into an alarming 15% rise in excess deaths. 15%!!! (For the record, the current govt is Albo's ALP & they were able to block an inquiry with support from the Greens.)

That's 25 000 more deaths than normal! That's up there with WW2 soldier casualties(27k).

How can you block an inquiry into that if you have a skerrick of decency?

Clearly, they don't want to know. Or rather they know already, but don't want the public to know.

It's sunken-costs syndrome on steroids - We've invested so much into lockdowns, vaccines, PR telling people we're keeping them safe, vilification of anyone questioning this - last thing on earth we need is an inquiry telling us that all that was a terrible, costly mistake.

This is incontrovertible evidence that THE Experts don't give a shit about people when it all boils down. Only things they're interested in are making money, wielding power, & covering their arses.

Apart from Covid (which, supposedly, accounts for 5-6%, though there's so much obfuscation over whether people died from or with Covid that it's hard to know for sure), the two biggest suspects for causing the deaths are lockdowns & vaccines. They are the only new inputs in the time-frame.

Lockdowns, pumped with round-the-clock fear factoring, prevented people from going to see a doctor, thus causing illnesses to not be diagnosed.

Vaccines - again - shrouded in disinformation from THE Experts about the true number of deaths - so it's hard to know - unless there's an open inquiry! In the current climate, you could drop dead inside the clinic after receiving your shot, you'd still be classified as non-vax related. Apart from directly causing illness, it appears possible that vaccines accentuate certain existing illnesses - this would help explain the alarming surge in death.

Currently, we don't know the exact reasons, but we can safely deduce from the fact that Gov/Health Experts are refusing to investigate that the reasons are related to their enforcement of their draconian Covid response. Otherwise, why not investigate? What are you so afraid of people finding out?

Other point is that it cost a massive amount of money to make these idiot mistakes - even as they were being made - hence the Modern-Money-Printing mania. Went from fringe theory to full-production - to pay for it all. That shit is coming home to roost as we speak.

Unfortunately, there's still a mass-formation-psychosis working to protect the culprits. Remember, politicians such as Dan Andrews, who committed the most egregious abuses, were insanely popular whilst doing it ... 80+% approval. Now those people feel like they've dropped a log in their pants but still get angry if anyone mentions the smell. What they really want to do is move on. So, tragically, that limits the public pressure to get an open investigation happening. Public pressure is the only kind that works - corrupt Orgs never investigate themselves.

This is pretty astonishing. This stuck out for me:

...deaths from diabetes were up by a staggering 19 per cent

The can only, in my mind anyway, be explained by people not getting timely, preventative care, presumably due to lockdowns.

Clearly, they don't want to know. It's the sunken-costs syndrome - We've invested so much into lockdowns, vaccines, PR telling people we're keeping them safe, vilification of anyone questioning this - last thing on earth we need is an inquiry telling us that all that was a terrible mistake.

It's a pretty big fuck up, that's for sure. Nobody wants to be held responsible for that if they can help it.

Here's an article on US excess deaths in 2022

US has suffered more than 1m excess deaths during pandemic, CDC finds

It does recognize that part of these excess deaths may have been due to lockdowns and other covid measures:

The deaths are mainly attributable to Covid-19, as well as conditions that may have resulted from delayed medical care and overwhelmed health systems.

But then it goes on to quote an Expert:

“Whenever we hear that another 100,000 people died of Covid, there’s a reliable chorus of naysayers who claim that these deaths would’ve happened anyway,” Faust said. “Excess deaths cuts through that, because it’s about reporting whether the total number of deaths is out of the ordinary.”

“All-cause excess mortality is one of the most reliable and unbiased ways to look at the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School.

This statement, on the surface, would be read by most as to blame covid entirely for the excess deaths.

The Guardian, to its credit, does point out the obvious repeatedly in the article:

These figures can reveal the truer toll of Covid – including deaths directly from infection as well as deaths from the circumstances of the crisis.

Many Americans delayed seeking care during the pandemic, and others may have seen the quality of their care decrease as health systems were overburdened by Covid.

Still, this article was not an exploration into to what extent covid responses caused death.

OHID analysis shows that, in England, for the week ending 28 October, the leading causes of death contributing to the excess were deaths involving cardiovascular diseases; the highest levels of excess mortality were for deaths involving heart failure (21% higher than expected), and ischaemic heart diseases (17% higher than expected). Deaths involving acute respiratory infections were 16% higher than expected. Deaths involving cancer, Parkinson’s disease, other respiratory diseases, and dementia and Alzheimer’s were lower than expected. You can view OHID’s excess mortality tool here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/excess-mortality-in-england-and-english-regions.

OHID estimates show that for deaths registered in England during the whole of 2022, deaths involving four conditions were all over 10% higher than expected: heart failure (15% higher), cirrhosis and other liver diseases (14%), diabetes (12%) and ischaemic heart diseases (11%).

I don't think it's a coincidence that a known adverse reaction to The JAB is heart-related problems ... & heart related deaths went through the roof in 2022.

OHID estimates show that for deaths registered in England during the whole of 2022, deaths involving four conditions were all over 10% higher than expected: heart failure (15% higher), cirrhosis and other liver diseases (14%), diabetes (12%) and ischaemic heart diseases (11%). [/i]

I don't think it's a coincidence that a known adverse reaction to The JAB is heart-related problems ... & heart related deaths went through the roof in 2022.

Yeah, and in addition to that look at the increase in cirrhosis and liver diseases. Good Lord. That's a direct result of being shut in for so long. People drank themselves to death.

Diabetes increase is due to not getting proper medical care also due to being shut in.

What a disaster.

Golden rule: If CCP is praising you - you're suss

We saw it during Covid with praise lavished on the The Scientists, now it's Albo's turn in the limelight ...

China Daily (CCP-image-vassal), reported that Australia's relationship to Beijing “deteriorated” when then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison "fell under Washington’s anti-China spell” during Trump’s last presidency. For the record - the most egregious thing Sco-mo said was: there should be an independent investigation into the origin of Covid.
That's it. They regretted saying it almost immediately & never mentioned it again, but the punishment (trade sanctions) was already decreed. Aus was hit with a blast of trade sanctions (except iron-ore, which CCP was still stockpiling at the time).

Sco-mo then lost power, replaced by known CCP-appeaser, Anthony Albanese.

China Daily editorial: But Canberra has woken up to the significance of those ties under the Albanese government and set out repairing them.

The strategic autonomy displayed has proved that those ties are in both parties’ interests. It is also evident that economic ties with China and the US do not have to be mutually exclusive.

China Daily concluded that Australia's journey of enlightenment might offer some useful reference for those struggling to strike such a balance.