Blow the Truth

  Australians’ satisfaction with life as a whole is at its lowest level in 21 years, according to the latest Australian Unity Wellbeing Index survey , a collaboration between Deakin University and mutual company Australian Unity. Each year since 2001 we have surveyed a geographically representative sample of 2,000 Australians about how satisfied they are with their lives as a whole, along with their satisfaction with seven key life areas to compile an overall measure: the Personal Wellbeing Index. Our survey was conducted in May and June of 2022, by which time inflation was exceeding 6% and the Reserve Bank of Australia had delivered the first two of ten consecutive interest rate rises. There have now been 11 since May 2022. In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, we actually saw an improvement in satisfaction with life as a whole. The decline since likely reflects pressures like cost of living but also conforms with a longer-term trend since 2010. Measuring persona

Joe Biden At least 61 members of Congress submitted a letter to the US president expressing concern with his mental state. US President Joe Biden must pass a cognitive exam or abandon the 2024 presidential race, 61 Republican members of the House of Representatives demanded on Thursday in an open letter to the commander-in-chief.   “The United States’ national security relies on a cognitively sound Commander in Chief, and it is evident that you do not fit that bill,”  the letter stated, citing the concerns of the American public – 57% of voters don’t think Biden is  “mentally fit”  to lead the country, according to one recent poll – and the president’s own refusal to address those concerns in the first three years of his term.  Led by Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, a former White House doctor, the letter’s signatories urged Biden to  “submit to a clinically validated cognitive screening assessment and make those results available to the public”  or retire and  “allow a mentally fit leader t

  Drag Queen Story Time Protesters derailed a Monash City Council meeting on Wednesday, demanding the cancellation of a sold-out drag storytime event at Oakleigh Library in Melbourne’s southeast. This is just the latest in a string of drag performances for children throughout Victoria being cancelled or postponed in response to protest. The central message of these campaigns (accompanied by varying levels of vitriol) is the same: “let our kids be kids”, “protect our children” and “hands off our kids”, while simultaneously labelling performers and supporters of the events “paedophiles”. This is part of a global backlash. Similar protests and cancellations have happened in New Zealand , the United Kingdom and the United States . The argument in support of drag emphasises the impact on the performers at the centre of these events and queer community, arguing that the cancellation of these events is a form of discrimination and a contravention of human rights . But the debate

T-14 Armata Tank The T-14 Armata received a defensive upgrade specifically for the fight against Kiev’s troops, RIA Novosti reports Russia’s most advanced T-14 Armata main battle tanks have been deployed to fight Ukrainian troops, RIA Novosti news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a source. The news comes as Kiev is planning a decisive push against Moscow’s forces. The Russian forces have begun to use the newest Armata tanks to fire at Ukrainian positions,”  the source said, adding that the tanks  “haven’t participated in direct assault actions yet. According to the source, the T-14s were fitted with additional protection from anti-tank munitions. Tank crews have been training in one of Russia’s newly incorporated Donbass republics since 2022. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics voted to become part of Russia in September 2022. Both regions broke away from Ukraine in the wake of the 2014 coup in Kiev. In February, a video was posted on social media that purportedly showed a T

  Joe Biden US President Joe Biden has formally announced his 2024 re-election bid, a move that had been widely expected for months. The announcement comes despite opinion polls showing that most voters, including a majority of fellow Democrats, did not want the 80-year-old to seek a second term. In a video statement released on Tuesday, Biden touted his new campaign as a fight for democracy in the US. He said his pledge to fight “ for the soul of America ,” which was the core message of his 2020 run, remains valid. “ The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer ,” Biden said in the address. “ I know what I want the answer to be and I think you do too. This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for re-election .” The video comes exactly four years after the launch of Biden’s previous presidential campaign. Vice President Kamala Harris joins him on the ticket again. The announcement puts Biden on cou

  ANZACS Image by  Daniel Hadman  from  Pixabay In 1914, in the Western District of Victoria (Australia). Martin Barrington, the son of a wealthy British-born landowner, is persuaded by his best friend, stockman Dick Baker, to enlist to fight in the Great War. They are joined by Dick's sister Kate, who will become an army nurse. They become part of the 8th Battalion led by Lieutenant Armstrong and Sergeant McArthur. Other members of the platoon include Roly Collins, Bill Harris, Pat Cleary, and the Johansen brothers. By 1915 the platoon, having trained in Australia and Egypt, take part in the Allied invasion of Turkey at Gallipoli. Suffering heavy casualties, both of the Johansen brothers are killed and Barrington is badly wounded. He recuperates at a hospital on the Greek island of Lemnos and rekindles his romance with Kate. In August, the platoon take part in the bloody Battle at Lone Pine, and in the close-quarters fighting Baker is killed. In December, the platoon, of which onl

  Liddell coal-fired power station After more than five decades, the last operating units of the Liddell coal-fired power station will close this month. The station’s owner, AGL, is Australia’s largest carbon polluter . Liddell’s closure will reduce the company’s emissions by 17% . Liddell, in the New South Wales Hunter Valley, is Australia’s oldest coal station . It started operations in the early 1970s – about the same time the Datsun 180B was released, and before the Sydney Opera House officially opened! In the same way a Datsun 180B was a great car in its day, Liddell was the cheapest and most reliable electricity generation technology in the 1970s and 1980s (at least if you ignore the long-term costs of carbon). But like all coal-fired power stations in Australia, Liddell’s performance declined as it aged. It became unreliable and inefficient. One unit of the station closed last year, leaving three operating. Governments must act to make sure our electricity grid doesn

AUKUS Australia risks becoming Asian Ukraine as US’ proxy warrior against China’ – ex-Australian ambassador Photo screenshot rt.com On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to a former senior diplomat for over 3 decades for Australia, Ambassador Tony Kevin. He discusses Australia’s participation in the deepening AUKUS agreement as military and political tensions between the United States and China continue to grow, why the Australian public continues to see China as a bogeyman, how Australia’s military alliance with the US against China-their largest trading partner is against Australia’s own self-interest, Australia at risk of becoming and Asian Ukraine proxy war staging ground and much more. F OLLOW Going Underground  http://twitter.com/GUnderground_TV FOLLOW Afshin Rattansi  http://twitter.com/AfshinRattansi SUBSCRIBE on Telegram:  https://t.co/xDEHJ0c6WW LIKE on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GoingUndergroundTV/ Attribution: Image, Video and Transcript rt.com

  Australian Currency Image by  Squirrel_photos  from  Pixabay   Statement by Philip Lowe, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate target unchanged at 3.60 per cent and the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances unchanged at 3.50 per cent. This decision follows a cumulative increase in interest rates of 3½ percentage points since May last year. The Board recognises that monetary policy operates with a lag and that the full effect of this substantial increase in interest rates is yet to be felt. The Board took the decision to hold interest rates steady this month to provide additional time to assess the impact of the increase in interest rates to date and the economic outlook. Global inflation remains very high. In headline terms it is moderating, although services price inflation remains high in many economies. The outlook for the global economy remains subdued, with below-average growth expected this year and next. The r

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins Photo: YouTube Chris Hipkins complained he hadn’t had time to prepare a “preformulated” answer to the question? New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins found himself at a loss for words when asked by journalist Sean Plunket of The Platform how Wellington would  “define a woman”  during a press conference on Monday. The PM nervously admitted the question had  “come slightly out of left field”  for him, tossing up a few possibilities -  “biology, sex, gender”  - before committing to the latter. “People define themselves, people define their own genders,”  Hipkins answered.  Plunket reminded the bewildered PM that British Labour Party leader Keir Starmer had recently expressed the belief that  “99.9% of women don’t have penises”  and made what appeared to be a reference to British feminist Posie Parker’s rally in Auckland. Intended as a stop on her Let Women Speak tour, the event ended prematurely when Parker was doused in tomato juice and had to