17.08.19.  It shows just how deep we have sunk into the mire of nowhere-land when common sense is lauded rather than being an essential component of good governance. It fits the invented stupidity of “performance bonuses.” Yeah, extra money for doing your job. They don’t really have a non performance bonus—that would be arse out the door—unfair dismissal. Morrison did what what any half-wit would have done over the sinking Tuvalu lie and is now dubbed, “…in the shades of Donald Trump.” Next time my mechanic changes the oil in my twin turbo Morris Minor I’ll get him the order of Australia.
Scott Morrison has mirrored Donald Trump’s tough stand with G20 leaders in his negotiations with the Pacific Island Forum over climate change and coal — and emerged stronger as a result. Australia refused to accept a communique that might satisfy the emotional needs of some regional leaders but would jeopardise Australia’s economic and regional security interests. More

17.08.19.  Beijing’s communist zombie thugs are among us. They are nurtured within our universities and act upon the press of a send button on a mobile phone. Victorian police were dismayed by an event whereby only two officers were present. A crowd of an estimated 600 suddenly appeared—catching the coppers flat-footed—none of them had a phone, it would seem.
One solution to this in  future is to get the details of the clones of Xi Jinping and at the end of their studies deport them with a 25-year ban on return. They are a danger to Australia’s social harmony now and would be more so in the future. Notice to politicians—get off your lazy arses and do what you are paid to do—keep the citizens safe!
A pro-Hong Kong rally in Melbourne’s CBD has turned violent as hundreds of demonstrators clashed with more than 100 pro-China protesters. The protest began about 7:00pm outside the State Library with only two police officers on the scene. The crowd quickly swelled to an estimated 600 people before scuffles broke out and police formed a line separating the groups. An ABC Television crew was attacked by one man who pushed a speaker on them. More

17.08.19 The UN General Assembly adopted the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on 16 December 1966 and Australia Ratified. Article 19 states:1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.
3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
( a ) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
( b ) For the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health or morals.
Even with this, most Australians don’t realise that free speech in this country isn’t really a thing. It is not merely not protected – it’s far worse than that. If you read any of the vast array of laws that protect government secrets, disclosure in the public interest is discouraged, criminalised, punished, and deplored. The closest we have ever come to having any positive protection of free speech is a series of High Court decisions which say that our Constitution creates an “implied freedom” to communicate so we can be informed citizens. More

17.08.19 Divorce is almost always an ugly and painful experience. But for parents with children, there are additional heart-rending realities to confront. No loving parent wants to be absent for their kids to be there to provide advice, compassion, and comfort. Also hanging in the balance are hundreds of thousands of dollars of shelter and vehicles and toys. These stakes drive people to lie. Lies are at the messy heart of divorce, almost by definition and among those lies are those that practically guarantees child custody, optimal parenting time, money and maybe even the family dog. And you don’t need a shred of evidence to back it up. Throughout western culture there is an entrenched belief that the family law system defaults to take the side of women over men. This is because of historical issues of domestic abuse, infidelity and child neglect that have been somewhat characterised as male issues. This allegedly results in courts, even if the men are innocent of any criminal wrongdoing, siding with women in cases of property settlement and child custody. The Australian Family court is no different from others in the west as Julio Rivera explains: More

016.08.19.  A lot of money was made yesterday as panic wiped $55 billion off the books. The brokers get their fee when you win or lose. Too many players frighten too easily—like lemmings they follow each other over the cliff. Like a bouncing ball the market returns, often higher than the last time, and so it goes and always has. Judith Sloan should be heeded, more so than your sales broker, whom with urgency puts cheese into the ever ready trap. Acquaint yourself with the smell of gorgonzola cheese and remember it well!
It was a grim day on the Australian Securities Exchange yesterday, with $55 billion wiped off the value of shares. It was not so long ago that we were celebrating a peak in the market as signified by the All Ords index. More

16.08.19.  Well, Scott Morrison’s gift of $500 million plus of our money did not buy him an honorary chieftainship of Tuvalu after all. The relentless bullshit espoused by the foolish Tuvalu  Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga who thought he was on a good thing crying about his island sinking under a rising sea. It appears his audience of prospective suckers hadn’t told him the jig was up—Tuvalu’s land mass is increasing—meaning the sea levels are lowering or the island is raising—the latter is right. ScoMo is expected to return the crown of office shortly.
The hopes of the smaller Pacific nations to get full endorsement of their declaration for strong action on climate change have been dashed. Regional leaders, including Australia and New Zealand, have held 12-hour long talks, eventually reaching an agreement on a statement on climate change and a communique. More

16.08.19.  The strangest of things can and will happen in Donald Trump’s world. The US President has urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet personally with the protesters in Hong Kong, saying it would lead to an end to tensions that have seized the territory for weeks.
However, at the same time or there about this comes to light. The White House has appointed a Uygur-American academic to a top position on China policy in a move meant to put more pressure on China over mass detentions in the far western region of Xinjiang, analysts said. The appointment comes as Beijing faces intense international pressure over reports that up to one million Uygurs and other Muslims have been held in camps in Xinjiang, camps that Beijing says are vocational training centres. It also comes as China and the United States remain deadlocked in a trade war after more than a year of negotiations and tit-for-tat tariffs. That’s hard one to figure for any diplomat! More

16.08.19.  Good news for Australia as that silly old bag of nonsense will be based in Geneva. Gillian Triggs, a societal pest and bumbling fool has somehow scored a job at the UN and she should fit in nicely with the countless other drones and clones sucking deeply from the trough of plenty. If Triggs were to redeem herself as useful it would come by disbanding the entire UN, and only then! The Mocker at News Corp has her measure and he is far more polite in his appraisal of the meddling nuisance than this writer.
She is our lady with the lamp and may her light shineth ever so bright in exposing human rights abuses. Now that illumination will be amplified a hundredfold across the world. Naturally I speak of emeritus professor Gillian Triggs, former president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, and soon to be the United Nations Assistant High Commissioner for Protection as announced this week. More

16.08.19.  The absolute final outcome for George Pell could be far off but it could also be decided in six days at his next court appearance. Regardless of your opinion of Pell it remains sad that a man who became the third most powerful person in the Catholic Church is pictured in manacles—was he going to take off—rules are rules I suppose?
The George Pell Court of Appeal decision will be the most significant day for the Australian church in its troubled modern history. For months Pell has been held in his own legal purgatory in Melbourne Assessment Prison, a horrible halfway house for prisoners as corrections officers determine where to send them. It is unusual for Pell to have been kept at the MAP for months, with the normal stays measured in days. More