Month: August 2021

Transplanted Democracy Uprooted in Afghanistan by the Taliban

by SpeakTruth

19 August 2021 3 yrs

Any gardener will tell you that if you prune back a plant it will regrow with added vigour. The Taliban in Afghanistan has come back powerfully after 20 years of pruning by the US and coalition forces. Remember that pre-invasion by the US the Taliban […]

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by SpeakTruth

2 August 2021 3 yrs

Will Covid Sars-2 Prove to Be Our Dinosaur Extinction Moment?

close up of british shorthair cat relaxing indoors

by SpeakTruth

30 September 2024 5 dys

Another Lazy Thinking Way Of Operating

There is no left or right, not really, not in political terms. There are many shades of thought and philosophies existing and interacting around the place at any one time in history. Grouping everything into a binary is just another lazy thinking way of operating. It is similar to focusing on one individual at the expense of acknowledging teams and organisations being responsible for actions, achievements and perceived failures. This all comes down to how we like to tell stories and the kind of stories we most like consuming. We, as human beings, shift the emphasis within episodic events to make them more coherent and linked to a central theme or character. We strip out the stuff we judge as tangential and beef up what we want to shine through.

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by SpeakTruth

20 September 2024 2 weeks

Greed Gave Us The GFC & We Have Been Paying Ever Since

The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) grew out of the wage suppressing impacts of neoliberalism and its response to the lack of domestic economic demand and growth this engendered within Western economies in the late Eighties and Nineties. Manufacturing jobs were moved offshore to cheaper labour […]

How The Black Death Shaped Humanity

I have been reading some interesting stuff about how the Black Death shaped humanity. Plague has been with humankind at least 5, 000 years and has been one of our most efficient killers.

“Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, a zoonotic bacteria, usually found in small mammals and their fleas. It is transmitted between animals through fleas.”

(https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/plague#:~:text=Plague%20is%20an%20infectious%20disease,transmitted%20between%20animals%20through%20fleas.)

Yersinia pestis is the official name of this malevolent bacteria, which has a predilection for human victims. It manifests in bubonic and pneumonic ways to spread death and disease. It has been found in ancient DNA by scientists and looks to have originated on the steppes of Eurasia.

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Midas Word Follow

SpeakTruth

Midas Word @midasword ·

19h

Donald Trump became the ‘social media President’. His posts on Twitter and later Truth Social became a direct conduit between President and the American people.

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Midas Word @midasword ·

30 Sep

It seems like folk are choosing fictions over facts, as stuff they believe in and acting accordingly so. Truth, as an adherence to factor, has gone missing of late

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Midas Word @midasword ·

21 Sep

Australia is a low tax paying country for multinational corporations, especially those mining LPG gas and selling our resource around the world. Indeed, half of them don’t even pay royalties on the gas they extract from Australia.

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Midas Word @midasword ·

20 Sep

Capitalism and its ‘so called’ free market is a phony story. The companies involved in today’s free market abhor competition and do everything possible to rig the game.

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Episode 12: The Politics of Grievance - Robert Sudha Hamilton's Podcast

America is the great democratic experiment. Although, this is getting on for some 250 years now. This nation is in the grip of the politics of grievance. Partisan politics in America is more about hating the other side than particularly loving the side you are voting for. Americans have been encouraged to focus their attention upon their grievances via decades of negative campaigning and attack ads. Demonizing ‘the other’ is the favoured political pastime in the 21C. Identity politics and social values are the main game these days. Economic issues are now seen through this ideological filter.Murdoch, Fox & Stirring Grievance In AmericaRupert Murdoch and his Fox News are merchants of toxic polarization. This network is spewing out lies and fake news 24/7. Every presentation is top heavy in anti-woke content and a right wing bias. Regular viewers are sucked into a spin cycle of libertarian anti-government GOP grievance stoking. Old white men upset at their changing worlds, where heaven forbid minorities are now getting a say. OMG the sky is going to fall in. In this partisan realm complaints about there being too many coloured faces on TV and LGBTQIA folk making too much noise are legion. Uppity women talking about sexual harassment and such like make their viewer’s blood boil – which is the whole idea for Fox. Getting their audience riled up keeps eyeballs on them and advertising rates going up for their revenue.Popularizing Poisonous Issues For Political GainThe politics of grievance is all about popularizing these causes for the benefit of candidates and the party. The party promoting these grievances doesn’t need positive policies. They just bang on about how the other side is to blame for the problem.

PM opens the door to softer ban for teens on social media 4 October 2024
Teens already on social media could be exempt from a ban under options being canvassed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Jake Evans
AFP releases images of seven people as Hezbollah flag investigation continues 4 October 2024
Federal police have released the images of seven men they say may be able to assist an investigation related to ceasefire rallies in Melbourne last weekend.
Sharks 'smash' sea urchins in discovery that could help in battle with invasive pest 4 October 2024
Researchers uncover unexpected findings after sharks munch far more voraciously on the spiky sea creatures left out "on a platter" for the invasive creature's known predators, lobsters.
Lillian Watkins
Iran supports ceasefire in Lebanon, on condition there is a simultaneous ceasefire in Gaza 4 October 2024
Iran supports a ceasefire in Lebanon "on the condition that it would be acceptable to the Lebanese people, acceptable to the resistance, and thirdly, it would be synchronised with a ceasefire in Gaza," the foreign minister says.
Former NBA star Montrezl Harrell targeted on social media 4 October 2024
The Adelaide 36ers basketball team has condemned anonymous racial base directed online at former NBA star Montrezl Harrell, who joined the team last month.
Briana Fiore
Teen passengers who killed Queensland Uber driver sentenced in court 4 October 2024
The best friend of a slain Uber driver has described the Queensland justice system as "broken" after learning the teenagers responsible for the killing could be released from jail in less than 10 years.
Liz Gwynn
Movie inspired woman to fake her own death in car accident and claim $700k insurance payout, court told 4 October 2024
Karen Salkilld pretended to have died in a car accident and claimed a large insurance payout in the name of her partner, who was not involved in the scam, a court hears.
David Weber
Man who cable-tied children's hands in Broome after finding them in his swimming pool found guilty of assault 4 October 2024
Matej Radelic is given a spent conviction and a fine after being convicted of two counts of aggravated common assault, after cable-tying the hands of three children in Broome.
Dunja Karagic and Mya Kordic
WA youth justice boss makes extraordinary bid to get coroner booted off Cleveland Dodd inquest 4 October 2024
One of WA's top youth justice bosses tells an inquest into the death of an Indigenous teenager she has been berated and bullied by coroner Phillip Urquart, and wants him to recuse himself from presiding over the inquest. WARNING: This story contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died.
Courtney Withers, Keane Bourke, and Grace Burmas
North Queensland man arrested and charged over death of flatmate 4 October 2024
A North Queensland man has been arrested for allegedly murdering his older housemate. The 64-year-old was found dead on Wednesday afternoon by paramedics doing a welfare check.
Liam O'Connell
Residents of this tropical paradise waiting for answers after major employer goes bust 4 October 2024
Cocos (Keeling) Island residents are told its local co-operative owes millions of dollars to creditors, putting jobs and supplies at risk.
Alistair Bates and Jessica Shackleton
WA Greens senator issues apology for 'distress' after bullying complaints 4 October 2024
Senator Dorinda Cox said a Nine newspapers report claiming 20 of her office staff had quit was "missing context".
Isobel Roe
Court documents reveal what happened before the hit-and-run crash that killed Charlie Stevens 4 October 2024
The driver who crashed into the South Australian police commissioner's youngest son Charlie Stevens did "not immediately break nor decelerate", but turned away "in an effort to avoid hitting him", court documents have revealed.
Briana Fiore
Tony Armstrong hangs up the boots at ABC News Breakfast 4 October 2024
Tony Armstrong makes his last appearance as a sports presenter on ABC News Breakfast, describing his time on the program as a "joyride".
'I could see him latched onto my leg': Fisher narrowly escapes croc attack on boat 4 October 2024
Fishing guide Sean Fiumara says he was on a boat with clients when a saltwater crocodile launched at him "out of nowhere" and latched onto his leg, "instantly pulling [him] into and under the water".
X Corp loses court challenge to avoid fine over child abuse notice 4 October 2024
X (formerly Twitter) has unsuccessfully challenged Australia's eSafety Commissioner's fine for allegedly failing to respond to questions about harmful content on its platform, particularly child sexual abuse material.
Collapse of high-profile construction company leaves debt and disruption for major projects 4 October 2024
The demise of Quasar Constructions has left an estimated $60 million debt and disrupted critical projects including the Western Sydney International Airport, with subcontractors calling on the federal government to protect the struggling construction industry.
Kelly Fuller
Melbourne man killed in alleged stabbing 'always looked out' for family 4 October 2024
A 61-year-old man has died on a front lawn in Melbourne's north-west, after allegedly being stabbed by his stepson.
'Our heads were spinning': Moses Leota recalls 'weird' moment James Fisher-Harris told him of decision to leave Panthers 4 October 2024
Penrith's bruising front-row duo have been inseparable in the club's three consecutive premierships, but Sunday's grand final will be the final time they play together.
LNP accepted $17,500 donation from party official being investigated over alleged assault 4 October 2024
Queensland's Liberal National Party has accepted a $17,500 donation from a party official alleged to have assaulted a young Indigenous woman and her husband.
Rory Callinan