This is the man Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison consults concerning the way forward in the current global pandemic

CNN Politics, 4 August 2020:

Washington (CNN) Jonathan Swan, a reporter for Axios, has revealed the magic words that expose President Donald Trump's lies for what they are. 

 Who? 
What? 
How? 
No. 

In an interview that aired Monday night on "Axios on HBO," Swan demolished some of Trump's most dishonest talking points with a powerful tactic that has rarely been used by the people Trump has allowed to interview him: 

Basic follow-up questions. 

Many of Trump's interviewers are right-wing sycophants who have no interest in challenging him. But Trump has defeated even his other interviewers by employing a strategy we can call the hit-and-run -- saying dishonest stuff, then darting ahead to other dishonest stuff before the interviewer reacts. 

Swan -- like Fox News' Chris Wallace, to a slightly lesser extent, in an interview that aired July 19 -- came armed with facts and prepared to use them, even if he had to interrupt Trump like Trump interrupts others. 

And Trump wasn't ready to respond. 

Take their exchange about coronavirus testing. Trump uttered a version of his now-familiar refrain about how testing is overrated -- attributing this nonsense to unnamed "those that say." Swan pressed for details. 

Trump: "You know, there are those that say you can test too much, you do know that." 
Swan: "Who says that?" 
Trump: "Oh, just read the manuals. Read the books." 
Swan: "Manuals? What manuals?" 
Trump: "Read the books. Read the books." 
Swan: "What books?" 

 Trump moved on without offering a direct answer. While Swan couldn't get the President to concede that he is making up these "manuals" and "books," he exposed him nonetheless. 

Swan had similar success when Trump returned to his laughably inaccurate claim that the virus is "under control," which he has now been making for more than six months. 

Trump: "Right now, I think it's under control. I'll tell you what --" 
Swan: "How? 1,000 Americans are dying a day." 
Trump: "They are dying. That's true. And you have -- it is what it is. But that doesn't mean we aren't doing everything we can. It's under control as much as you can control it." 

Again, Trump didn't explicitly surrender. But Swan's basic follow-up -- a "how?" and a single key statistic -- forced Trump into a de facto surrender ("It's under control as much as you can control it") and another revealing remark, "It is what it is." 

Other false claims 

Trump made at least 17 additional false claims in the 35-minute interview. (We're still reviewing the transcript, so the final total might be higher.).....

Read the full article here.

The interview Trump participated in over the bodies of 4.7 million COVID-19 infected Americans and almost 157,000 dead:

Memes of the Week

@raywilton4

@AndrewPStreet

Scott Morrison decides to cancel Australian Parliament sittings until 4 August 2020

In November 2017 then Australian Prime Minister & Liberal MP for Wentworth Malcolm Bligh Turnbull cancelled House of Representatives sittings for thirteen days after his government lost its majority in the lower house.

Right from the start the politician who knifed him in the back to get his job decided to go further.

Image found on Twitter

Current Australian Prime Minister & Liberal MP for Cook Scott John Morrison (left) began and continues his prime ministership in almost constant electioneering rather than governing the country and, now goes even further by suspending the entire Australian Parliament at every opportunity.

The latest cancellation was announced on 18 July 2020.

From 24 August 2018 when he took office to 31 December that year federal parliament sat for 33 out of 129 days (including budget estimates sittings), in 2019 in sat for 61 out of 365 days (including budget estimates sittings) and to date in 2020 the Australian Parliament has sat for 28 out of 205 days and will not return to Canberra until 4 August 2020.

The reason given by Morrison for the low number of sitting days in 2020 is the risk of COVID-19 infection for members of parliament and staff.

He remains firm in protecting himself from infection at the same time that he is constantly urging others to return to school, return to the workplace, open up their businesses and states to keep their borders open.

The double standard he displays has been noticed and now added to the forty-two derogatory nicknames he has already accquired on social media is added another one - #JobShirker.

The fact that Morrison enjoys frequent unannounced holidays only reinforces the new choice in nicknames.

Cartoon of the Week

@cathywilcox1

Patience with Australian Prime Minister Morrison and Treasurer Frydenberg’s ducking and weaving on JobKeeper support beyond September is "wearing mighty thin"

The Monthly, 8 July 2020:

Amid mounting criticism on social media that he’d again gone AWOL during a crisis, Prime Minister Scott Morrison showed his face this afternoon at a well-timed Canberra press conference, in which he killed two birds with one stone. 

As Morrison expressed his manifest sympathy for Victorians returning to lockdown, he also knocked out the broadcast of an unwelcome National Press Club speech by ABC managing director David Anderson. The PM had little to announce – an extra 6105 home-care packages for the elderly at a cost of $326 million – but he was flanked by Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck, who mouthed all of 180 words (including “Thanks, PM”) and received no questions. The press gallery was mostly interested in the implications of Victoria’s second wave for the federal government’s recovery plans. Morrison suggested there would not be an extension of the JobKeeper program on a geographic basis – just for Victorians, say – making the point that the government would extend support for businesses or industries in need beyond September, and saying, “this is about tailoring a national program to provide support where the support is needed”. The PM also refused to be drawn on reports [$] that the personal income tax cuts slated for 2022–23 might be brought forward to stimulate the economy, saying, “That’s a matter that the treasurer and I will address in the context of the budget, not today”..... 

Millions of Australians are doing it tough. Some are surviving without any income at all, while 2.4 million people have raided [$] their super early, in withdrawals totalling $27 billion. And, with the federal budget heading for a deficit next financial year (which Westpac estimates at $240 billion), it is hard to see how the top economic priority right now is bringing forward income tax cuts that will favour the wealthy. Victoria’s return to lockdown highlights the uncertainty of the situation confronting the federal government as it prepares the July 23 economic statement. But as shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers said at a doorstop interview today, “If the banks can provide some certainty with this announcement, the Morrison Government can too – by releasing their secret report into the JobKeeper payments … We need the government to come clean.” Chalmers expressed support for the idea of bringing income tax cuts forward, saying that the Opposition would “engage with that constructively and responsibly”, adding, “Labor has been calling for that to be considered for some time. The working families of middle Australia need help now, not later.” 

It would be an understatement to say that patience with the PM and treasurer’s ducking and weaving on support beyond September is wearing mighty thin.

A little snatch of catchup

A few things of interest.....

Clarence Valley, NSW

* Much like the saplings in her hand, Hayley Talbot is hoping her idea to help local bushfire-affected areas will sprout and grow tall.

Ms Talbot, through her business Blanc Space, and project partner ex-professional surfer Daniel Ross have created the Caring for the Clarence project, in which 5000 trees will be planted to help rebuild the local koala population ravaged by bushfires.

Partnering with the NSW Government’s Save Our Species program to fund the initiative, Ms Talbot said she wanted to contribute to the area in a tangible way.

“I wanted to do something that has some longevity, that would help us as a community and help our homeland heal,” she said.

While the effort to plant 5000 trees on private properties around the Mororo and Woombah area may seem like a mammoth task for a group reduced in numbers by COVID-19 restrictions, Ms Talbot said they worked at it one tree at a time.

“I really feel like it’s been a great example of what any community member can do if they’re passionate and energetic,” she said.

Guided by conservation scientists and using trees of local provenance, the program used data from Google Earth combined with information on koala sightings to plant areas of use to sustain the population.

“From there it was about engaging with local property owners because every tree we’ve planted has been on private land,” Ms Talbot said….. [The Daily Telegraph, 1 July 2020]

* Clarence Valley local government area now eligible for federal government drought support administered by St. Vincent de Paul until end of 2020. [Queensland Country Life, 2 July 2020]

One of the largest capital works programs ever seen in the Clarence has passed through council, and is set to provide a $70.6 million investment in local roads and infrastructure during this financial year.

At Clarence Valley Council’s June 23 meeting councillors voted to adopt the 2020-21 budget, paving the way for a significant economic boost to the region.

“A significant capital works program totalling $70.6 million has been agreed for the 2020/21 financial year,” Clarence Valley Council’s general manager Ashley Lindsay said.

“The key features are $22 million to road and bridge infrastructure projects and approximately $32 million allocated to open spaces, community facility and building projects.” Mr Lindsay said an additional $5.2 million will be generated from the final year of a three-year special rate variation which commenced 2018/2019.

“The majority of these funds will be spent on roads and infrastructure asset renewals.

“This is the final year of council’s four-year financial improvement plan adopted in June 2017, which lays the foundations for the long-term financial well being of the organisation, and the services, facilities and infrastructure it provides for the community,” he said…. [The Daily Telegraph, 3 July 2020]

COVID-19 Pandemic

* 44% of all those in residential aged care who caught COVID-19 and 9% of older people receiving care services in the home died as a result of this viral infection [Australian Dept. of Health, 5 July 2020]

* COVID-19 growth rate graph 

[ABC News, 9 July 2020]

Liberal Party Politics

* Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, the man who revived Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “economic girly man’’ insult in the Australian political lexicon and privately called Scott Morrison “narcissistic” is set to quit politics sparking a cabinet reshuffle.

Australia’s longest serving Finance Minister has denied growing speculation he will quit politics for months, but has responded with notable silence to three reports in the last month that he plans to resign.

But his departure also is set to remind voters of the ongoing leadership fallout within the Coalition over the ascension of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his increasing popularity, dominance and control of the government in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last month, there was even speculation that he might return to Europe in a diplomatic posting for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

But the Belgian-born Liberal senator told friends he is more attracted to making some money in the corporate sector. [News.com.au, 3 July 2020]

* By the end of this year we will be half-way through this current term of government.

Having decided not to recontest the next election, I can confirm that I have advised the Prime Minister that the end of this year would be an appropriate time for an orderly transition in my portfolio. [Australian Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, Statement, 4 July 2020]

* THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: It's only taken PM Scott Morrison a little over 23 months to quietly push Dutton-supporter Mathias Cormann out of the Australian Parliament. Who is next? [@no_filter-Yamba, 5 July 2020]

* The NSW Liberal Party has appointed a former ICAC executive to investigate claims the minutes of the local branch of Prime Minister’s right-hand man Alex Hawke were doctored to secure his power base.

In the most significant development since the scandal was first revealed by News Corp almost two years ago, the party office has confirmed in an email sent to affected branch members on Friday that it has enlisted the former head of the corruption watchdog’s investigations unit, Michael Symons, to head up the internal inquiry.

Liberal MP Alex Hawke. Picture: Kym Smith

The party head office has been in internal turmoil since being made aware of allegations that Mr Hawke’s factionally-aligned heads of the Baulkham Hills branch in his electorate of Mitchell changed the minutes to block the memberships of 10 new conservative members.

Had the new members been recorded accurately at the meeting — held in a western Sydney funeral home — Mr Hawke’s Centre Right faction would have lost control of the branch, potentially putting his preselection in jeopardy.

Control of branches is critical in influencing Federal, State and local government preselections. At a State level, the Baulkham Hills branch is critical for NSW Police Minister David Elliott. [The Daily Telegraph, 5 July 2020]

Eden-Monaro Federal By-election

* At 7:30pm on Saturday 4 July 2020, when First Preference vote counting ceased for the night in the NSW Eden-Monaro federal electorate, it was apparent that an est. 62,22% of voters were not having a bar of Scott Morrison & his hard right Lib-Nats government. [Australian Electoral Commission, 4 July 2020]

At the same time in bushfire ravaged little Cobargo at least 59.68% of local voters refused to give the Morrison Government candidate their First Preference vote.

Even after they appear to have been not so subtly threatened:

the residents of Cobargo – the centre of a tragedy in January – swung to the Liberals on Saturday night. Perhaps this is a bushfire effect in the sense locals accepted the government’s core message during the campaign: the fire clean up will move much faster if you send Fiona Kotvojs to Canberra, rather than a member of the opposition. [The Guardian, 5 July 2020]

* By early Sunday evening 61.71% of all voters in Eden-Monaro who cast a formal vote had refused to give the Morrison Government’s candidate their First Preference vote. So the inevitable happened…..

I'm pleased and honoured to be elected the next Member for Eden-Monaro.

To the people of Eden-Monaro – thank you.

I won't let you down. pic.twitter.com/tTpIZguggB

— Kristy McBain (@KristyMcBain) July 5, 2020

Research economist discovers ‘Scotty From Marketing’ Morrison’s economic playbook

So, a short recession’s not enough. You want to create a prolonged depression, right?

Perhaps you run businesses that specialise in disaster capitalism. Maybe you want to suckle at the teat of a dying fossil fuel industry for a little longer. It could be that you miss the social division and inequality of the Victorian era. Maybe you’re just a jerk.

Whatever your motivations, this guide will take you through the basic steps of pushing an already struggling economy into a full-blown crisis…

Read the full article here. [The New Daily, 5 July 2020]

About endangered flying foxes

“Their supermarket has been destroyed...and there isn’t another one within flying distance”. The Grey-Headed Flying Fox is being threatened with extinction by the effects of climate change, their future looks grim.
📸 #AnnetteRuzickaPhotography pic.twitter.com/zDGac9XrQJ

— ACF (@AusConservation) July 5, 2020

Protecting the Orange Roughy

Fishers For Conservation

The orange roughy fishery, which some have dubbed the "posterchild of fishery mismanagement", has been the subject of debate since the 1990s when stocks collapsed after just 20 years of commercial fishing.

It's a fish that can live for more than 140 years and can't breed until around 30 — and conservationists say its unusual biology should make it off-limits to commercial fishing.

But industry groups say they've learnt from past mistakes and can harvest orange roughy sustainably.

Now, acting on behalf of an Australian trawl-fishing interest group, US-based consultancy MRAG Americas Inc has recommended the fishery be given sustainability status.

The consultancy handed down its recommendation last week to MSC, an international non-government organisation that certifies the sustainability of fisheries based on the sustainability of the exploited fish stocks, maintenance of the fishery ecosystem, and responsible management.

Objections were raised by the Australian Marine Conservation Society and conservation group WWF but were dismissed on a technicality, according to AMCS spokesperson Adrian Meder.

Mr Meder said the report contains a number of flaws that show a lack of understanding of the biology of the species and fishery.

"It's the shonkiest piece of greenwashing I think I've seen in my entire career. It gets the basics wrong on so many levels," Mr Meder said…..

Orange roughy facts

• Researchers have caught orange roughy up to 149 years of age, making them one of the longest-lived fish species. It's estimated that individuals may live up to 200 years.
• They don't reach sexual maturity until around 30 years of age and by fish standards, don't produce a lot of offspring.
• Orange roughy live between 700 metres and 1500 metres deep. They roam across seabeds but congregate on underwater shelves and seamounts to breed, meaning they can be easily caught in large numbers.
• The fish are caught by bottom trawling, usually across seamounts.
• They live in cold water, and in Australia are mostly found off Tasmania, Victoria and the Great Australian Bight.
• Commercial fishing for orange roughy began in earnest in the 1970s, with the biggest extractions taking place in New Zealand waters followed by Australia.
• They're also found in the waters of Namibia, Chile, in the Atlantic and south Indian Ocean, however stock data is limited in many of these places.
• The flesh is pearly white and delicate. [ABC News, 5 July 2020]

Just for the nostalgia

https://youtu.be/i8rVI7AMKiY

Year 1987

George Harrison: Voice & Guitar

Eric Clapton: Guitar (a Les Paul)

Jeff Lyne: Guitar

Phil Collins: Drums

Ringo Starr: Drums

Ray Cooper: Percussion

Mark King: Bass

Elton John: Piano

Jool Holland: Piano

Pauline Hanson, One Nation’s Racist-In-Chief

Pauline Hanson labelled residents in the nine public housing estate towers "drug addicts" and "alcoholics" who can't speak English, in an interview this morning on Channel Nine's Today Show.

After widespread backlash across the morning, Channel Nine released a statement to announce that Hanson won't be joining the Today Show in the future…..

[SBS News, 6 July 2020]

Rex Regional Express Airine

The more than a little petty and spiteful, Messrs. Lim Kim Hai, John Sharp, Lee Thian Soo, Neville Howell, Chris Hine, James Davis and Ronald Bartsch remain firm in their refusal to continue to fly Rex Express small passenger jets into Grafton Airport in the Clarence Valley.

Leaving the valley without an airline service.

IMAGE: Rex Regional Express revised air routes

Australian Prime Minister and Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison uses the old excuse that 'Jen & the girls deserve a break' to bolt out the backdoor once again

* It appears that 'Scotty From Marketing' has been away on holidays for most of the last six days and intends to keep holidaying for another six to seven days.

IMAGE: Found on Twitter

* "As you know, it is a school holidays and Jenny and the girls will be taking some time on the outskirts of Sydney....We have technology where I can be with them and continue to take briefings, calls and meetings in dealing with the situation whether it be Victoria or the other situations in the country. "As a dad, I will take some time but at the same time I can assure you we will remain absolutely focused on the things we need to focus on next week."  [9 News, 10 July 2020]

Morrison holidaying in a crisis *again* proves he doesn't regard it as a serious job. He's there for the power, not the service.

That he's not getting chased with cameras says a similar thing about our political press.

— Richard Chirgwin (@R_Chirgwin) July 10, 2020

Scott Morrison was ALREADY on holiday with the family and Twitter busted him AGAIN. Not that you heard anything from the MSM. Now he has been busted, he says he won’t be with them full time in wish washy words. I call BS. #auspol

— 🐨🦇🎀💧Angry Granny (@AngryGranny1) July 10, 2020

Donald Trump's manipulation of social media reaches dangerous heights

pic.twitter.com/vnRpk0zl5y

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020

There was no CNN footage showing an African-American child running away from a 'white' child as purportedly shown in this Donald Trump tweet. 

From start to finish the video in this particular tweet has first been manipulated to distort and then later truncated without the original crediting source.

Twitter labelled this "Manipulated media" with the explanation:
- In September 2019, CNN reported on a viral video about a friendship between two toddlers
- On Thursday, the president shared a version of the video which many journalists confirmed was edited and doctored with a fake CNN chryon.

A parent of one of the then toddlers seen in the Trump-manipulated home video has since forced Twitter and Facebook to completely remove this video.

As Australian Prime Minister and Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison almost slavishly follows Trump's election campaign playbook, Australian voters can expect similar Goebbels-like manipulation of images and videos over the next 14 to 27 months, as the milestone for the last possible date for the next federal general election of the House of Represenatives & half of the Senate arrives.

Tweet of the Week

Speaker Tony Smith shows he's got no time for parlour games during #qt, on the final parliamentary session for the fortnight @abcnews #auspol pic.twitter.com/K2lU8IvcX9

— ABC Politics (@politicsabc) June 18, 2020

No two ways about it - 'Scotty From Marketing' Morrison has political egg on his face

In mid-April 2020 Australian Prime Minister & Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne decided that the middle of a global pandemic and, with a domestic economy in freefall, was a good time to antagonise our biggest trading partner.

Their weapon of choice was China's initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility that the SARS-CoV-2 virus had escaped from a research facility in or near Wuhan.

It didn't go unnoticed that this foray into conspiracy theories marched side by side with media statements and outlandish ant-China comments being tweeted by a hypocritical* US President Donald J. Trump, whom Morrision professes to admire and with whom he consults during this pandemic.

Morrison's actions in particular raise the suspicion that he wanted to be seen as a 'world leader' that month because emerging domestic economic news was not encouraging and he saw the need for a political diversion.

Why else would he eschew normal diplomatic channels? Channels which would have allowed him to privately discuss his concerns directly with the Chinese Government.

Well, he certainly got that diversion.

It came in the form of an effective loss of Australia's barley export market in China due to the imposition of 80.5 per cent anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties and limitations on beef exports impacting 35 per cent of the beef trade with China.

But hey! The World Health Assembly issued a resolution eventually signed by 136 co-sponsors out of a total 194 WHO member countries.

Unike the Morrison-Dutton-Payne rhetoric, this measured document carefully refrains from targeting China and focusses on World Health Organisation (WHO) responses to the pandemic and the effectiveness of International Health Regulations. 

Resolution co-sponsors included both Australia and China. However, after all Trump's yelling and finger pointing, the resolution did not include the United States as a co-sponsor.

This left Scott Morrison with egg on his face. 

Particularly as three days ahead of the 73rd World Health Assembly Conference and four days before the announcement of that high barley tariff, the Australian public learned that China had increased its imports of barley from the United States and sourced additional beef from Russia. 

It doesn't matter how much Trump blusters about China's initial response to COVID-19 now - it's all for show, always was. The grain deal is done and the U.S. is moving in on our major market.

It would appear that out of the three principal buffoons leading Western democracies - Donald John Trump, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson and Scott John Morrison - it is Morrison who is the most foolish when it comes to international relations and the most easily tricked by other buffoons.

Note

* On or about 11 January 2020 China announced the first confirmed death from the novel coronna virus. By 24 January Donald Trump on behalf of the American people was publicly congratulating the Chinese Government on its public health response: