AFL Grand Final Preview with Tom of Melbourne!

Madame Tom R of (King) Adelaide

I am watching the cricket on Kayo. I am not interested in aussie rules. Apparently my team is playing- Sydney

I hope Geelong wins

l noticed three weeks in, and underwhelmy had already triggered repug noises to start eroding the tribal voice to clowntown. Now that Liz is gone and charlie’s in, (the highest profile greenist ever) the bandt-greenists are making anti-charlie repug noises too. None of which was what last election was about.`

Suspect that a CDC (of sorts) will remain for years to come. Certainly, there’s lots of kids who share that hope.

For adults (without dependents) who want to ‘piss it all up a wall’, then feel free. Provided of course, they’re not harming others, broadly defined.

Did you know that the U.S. has 4% of the world’s population but recorded 25% of global Covid deaths? And it now has 35% of all Monkeypox cases.

Did you know that Covid finished off 1.04 million Americans, the highest toll of any nation. It is the Exceptional Empire. The U.S. population clocks in at 330 million.

The U.S. is a public health fiasco.

Compare that to China’s 5200 Covid deaths out of a population of 1.4 billion. Further the average life span of Chinese citizens now exceeds that of American citizens.

Which country took this lethal virus seriously enough to protect its citizens? Hint, not the capitalist behemoth, with patients intubated from sea to shining sea?

Did you know that the USA Empire spends 3.5% of its GDP on “Defense” even though it hasn’t had to “defend” any of its territory since … Perhaps it isn’t about ‘Defense’ after all?

And then it causes Australia (possibly its most compliant Vassal) to spend something like $160 billion on submarines that are likely to be obsolete before reaching service.

Note that the USA and Australian Citizens are not consulted about such matters.

Ain’t “democracy” wonderful? Lol.

And I think you might also find that Russia spends a greater percentage of its GDP in the military

Good news from Parliament for once

Have you seen the way the Russian orthodox church runs the public relations campaign for Putin?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarch_Kirill_of_Moscow

And here’s the “objective” reality.

Ukraine is not an Elephant! (But who really knows what the future holds?)

Yet, the narrative being promoted is that Russia destroyed its own pipelines.

And that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was unprovoked.

Noam Chomsky repeated his argument that the only reason we hear the word “unprovoked” every time anyone mentions Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the mainstream news media is because it absolutely was provoked, and they know it.

In the mass media you’re not allowed to talk about the known US/NATO/Ukraine actions which experts have been warning for many years would lead us to where we’re at. You’re only allowed to say Putin attacked Ukraine completely unprovoked , in a vacuum, solely because he is evil and hates freedom. And you have to do it while saying the word “unprovoked” at every opportunity.

(Doesn’t excuse the Russian invasion. But gives it context.)

Re:

Only recently has this silently successful CIA operation been disclosed to the public.

That’s a “positive” for the USA. Almost impossible to keep things under wraps for too long. Much “history” still to be disclosed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26079957

Yeah, “provoked”, because
* Former Russian colonies didn’t want to return to being colonies
* The Ukraine parliament voted unanimously to oust Yanukovych after he tried to join the Russian trade zone in 2014, when parliament had already established a process for joining the EU
* Every former Warsaw Pact country now opposes Putin’s regime, and Ukraine prefered the company of that fraternity
“Provoked” is the refuge of apologists for the fascist Putin…and wife beaters
That’s the company you keep

1. Is Putin so stupid that he was “provoked” into a war he didn’t want?
2. Are you such a sycophant that you’re unable to explain exactly what the “provocation” is? All you do is provide a list of those you agree with. Not any rationale

1. All year, every visit to Ukraine by a leader has been unannounced. It is a little disingenuous of the article to suggest that a surprise visit is unusual.
2. Putin denied any plan to invade until he invaded. Since then the rhetoric has increased its provocation . There has never been any indication by Russia of a willingness to compromise.
3. If Zelensky was looking for a support not to surrender, it’s hardly unreasonable that he was provided with this.
4. Ukraine shows a willingness to continue to defend itself against an invasion. Is that a problem?

I had to visit the Doctor this week. For the first time the Doctor did not bulk bill. So i had to pay. The bill was for $73. I got a $40 rebate so i had to pay $33.

I think it could be a good idea that you have to pay something when you visit the Doctor. Apparently more Doctors are not bulk billing anymore.

lt is quite funny seeing the in-house kooyong calling gorby, kissinger, etc ‘sycophant’ while ignoring the nato chook shed took the 14 sleepwalk steps to russia/ crimea, and theRealdeal took the 15th step in 2013?/ 2014?/ mh17 remember. Then huffs’n puffs about theRonald in same blather. Newsflash, theRonald wasn’t even ‘running’ for 2016 when it started in crimea.`

For those who proceed on the childish belief that this “issue” began yesterday and not decades ago. So an article by Jeffrey SACHS.

“Since Russia views its vital security interests to be at stake in the current conflict, the war in Ukraine is rapidly escalating to a nuclear showdown. It’s urgent for both the US and Russia to exercise restraint before disaster hits.”

https://johnmenadue.com/the-great-game-in-ukraine-is-spinning-out-of-control/

Historically, it’s only the USA that has used nuclear weapons. Not once, but twice. There they stand alone.

Do we judge by (last resort) threats or by historical actions?

Was always against USA/NATO eastern expansion, particularly given any number of promises not to do just that. Was also against ‘arming’ a divided Ukraine because of long term consequences. Simplistic actions in a complex world.

(Yes Ukraine is/was a divided nation based in part on ‘religion’, ‘ethnicity’ and now particularly ‘language’ and its use and non-use in certain crucial areas of daily life.. Yes most of the population ‘looks’ to the west but there’s a significant group whose loyalties are to Russia. The NATO issue – Putin’s ‘redline’ has caused further divisions.)

Already the USA Republicans are making noises about NOT funding further military aid to Ukraine and they are likely to make significant gains in the coming mid-terms. Then there’s unrest in the EU (try Poland and Hungary) – with a cold winter coming. The chances of back-sliding on sanctions are increasing. (Might explain why the ‘pipelines’ were put out of action.)

So who is going to support (a partitioned) Ukraine in the longer term? When (or if) its “usefulness” exits centre stage? Does the USA remember who assisted them? They didn’t in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan? Who is going to rebuild Ukraine? etc, etc.

As I pointed out some time ago, sound moral decisions (rarely made by empires) should go beyond “intentions” and consider “outcomes” or “consequences”.

1. The events of 80 years ago, at the end of WW2 have little relevance to their use today
2. Got some evidence about NATO not expanding? Various US presidents have denied that. It’s expansion is specifically related to the anxiety of former Warsaw Pact countries/colonies.
3. Putin has shown brutality, arrogance and poor judgement throughout this war. But you were advocating the surrender if Ukraine when it started
4. It is just as plausible that Russia is losing its appetite for war

The “evidence” I’ve seen about a commitment to non expansion was an alleged comment by Helmut Kohl when Germany was reunified.
But this has been debunked by other leaders and US presidents.

You’ll find that Bush denied approving that and Baker said he went to far. That’s a reason that none of it was contained in the final protocol
Have you experienced negotiation, where a range of possibilities are explored? It is the final agreement that applies, not every point that arises during the negotiation.
Did you also notice that just a matter of months ago, Putin repeatedly denied that he would invade Ukraine?

And all the other world Leaders listed above additional to Bush? Did they go too far as well?

Hilarious. Again no links to support.

And those records in the various archives (as listed above)? They all got it wrong as well?

For those who might be interested in the USA’s war history since the end of the Cold War. (Guess what – their aggression has intensified as evidenced via the documented incidents.)

So you’re conceding that the promise was made? And it was recorded (now in written archives in the USA and Britain)?

Again there is a mountain of evidence re personal mala fides.

Or are you the world’s fastest reader?

(Again stressing the personal view that Putin should not have invaded BUT he was “provoked”.)

(Did you know that Putin just had his bi-weekly “heart attack” as reported in the MSM and that …. the Nord Pipelines were destroyed by Russia which preferred to blow them up and not simply turn off the taps.

Gees those Russians are stupid aren’t they?)

Love this timeline.

Back in April President Joe Biden told the press the idea that this is a proxy war between the U.S. and Russia was “not true” and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said “It’s not, this is clearly Ukraine’s fight” when asked if this is a proxy war.

The mainstream media were still framing this claim as merely an “accusation” by the Russian government and empire spinmeisters were regularly admonishing anyone who used that term on the grounds that it deprives Ukrainians of their “agency.”

Then May rolled around and all of a sudden we had The New Yorker unequivocally telling us that the U.S. is in “a full proxy war with Russia” and hawks like U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton saying things like,

“We’re not just at war to support the Ukrainians. We’re fundamentally at war, although somewhat through a proxy, with Russia, and it’s important that we win.”

And then in June we’ve got war hawks like Max Boot coming right out and saying that this is actually America’s war, and it is therefore important for the U.S. to drastically escalate it in order to hand the Russians “devastating losses.”

So, the previously unthinkable idea that the U.S. is at war with Russia has been gradually normalised, with the heat turned up so slowly that the frog doesn’t notice it’s being boiled alive. If that idea can be sufficiently normalised, public consent for greater escalations will likely be forthcoming, even if those escalations are extremely psychotic.

And so it goes. The USA is a peace loving Nation. But only 2 years of peace since the end of WW II – 1952 and 1974. Only 16 years in its existence have the guns been silent.

Can’t understand why these other Nations keep wanting to attack the American Empire. Or maybe, it’s the other way around.

In days of yore, vassals paid tributes in gold and silver. Now they contract to buy submarines and other weapons of war that fit seamlessly into the Empire’s war machine.

And yet it’s called maintaining our sovereignty. Oh how we laugh.