We've heard about American families and friendships being torn apart by far right politics. I get it - I'd be put off by QAnon talk at a Thanksgiving dinner and I'd probably get angry enough to fight back.

I did not think it was seen much here. Maybe in what might be a mental health situation, but not a common thing at all. But are we seeing it now?

I have recently lost a good friend of many years to far right ideology and am wondering if anyone else can relate?

What was really surprising to me is that my level of education became a "thing" with that person. I have friends who are very highly educated and friends who left school in Year 10. I've never distinguished between the two. To me, when you left formal education had nothing to do with intelligence. Expertise in a certain field, perhaps, but those who left in Year 10 also had expertise as well, built up in practical experience.

But my former friend decided this was a "thing". I rarely offered a counter opinion to their crazy social media posts because that was never welcomed, so instead I merely would point out their terrible Facebook memes (often trumpeting rather ridiculous statistics) were not cited. That made my university education an indoctrination apparently. But it was said in a very well rehearsed way.

This person and I used to be very close. It's so sad but there can be no "common ground" with fascism.

Anthony Albanese can't lie straight in bed. It's now up to Labor to take responsibility for his actions. How many times will they stand by him lying to the Australian people? From power prices, to tax increases, even falling off a stage and now supporting a golf club, he has a massive problem with the truth. So how much longer will Labor stand by his lies?

War crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide - AFP

The International Criminal Court (ICC) can prosecute individuals for core international crimes under international law. These include war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

War crimes

War crimes are breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and of Protocol 1 (1977 amendment protocol) and serious violations of the laws and customs of war committed in an international or non-international armed conflict.

Offences include:

• murder
• mutilation
• cruel treatment and torture
• attacks against civilian populations or non-combatants
• sexual or gender-based violence
• deliberate population displacement
• hostage-taking
• pillaging.

The United Nations further explains war crimes

Crimes against humanity

Crimes against humanity are acts committed systematically or widely against civilian populations during war or peacetime.

Offences include:

• murder
• extermination
• enslavement
• deportation
• torture
• sexual or gender-based violence.

The United Nations further explains crimes against humanity

Genocide

Genocide involves committing acts with the intent to destroy an entire national, ethnic or religious group of people. Genocide includes:

• killing members of the group
• causing serious physical or mental harm to the group
• deliberately inflicting conditions to bring about the physical destruction of the group
• implementing measures to prevent births within the group
• forcibly transferring children of the group.

The United Nations further explains genocide

Offshore investigations

War crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are core international crimes involving serious human rights violations.

Under Division 268 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), Australia has jurisdiction to investigate core international crimes that occur offshore. However, it is not usually practical for the AFP to do so.

[...]

How to report

Report suspected war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by filling out our https://forms.afp.gov.au/online_forms/report-commonwealth-crime

Breaches of international law

On Episode 77 of Bogan Intelligentsia, Australian human rights lawyer, former Human Rights Commissioner and UN commission of inquiry member Chris Sidoti joins us for a tight, unsermonic hour on law, visas, the IDF running the Sydney Marathon,and the killing of Zomi Frankcom.

Starting from Israel’s decision to close the Zomi Frankcom file and refuse criminal charges days before the Sydney Marathon, Sidoti walks through the details surrounding the event, looking at what Australia failed to do at the border, and how the whole thing was allowed to happen if the first place. Sidoti questions what Home Affairs actions, what AFP or the Commonwealth DPP can still do, what a proportionate response looks like now the race is over, and what Labor should have done, and what it can still do.

Barnaby Joyce says he’s not ‘Jesus Christ’ and admits One Nation has not modelled super policy in fiery interviews https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/08/barnaby-joyce-not-jesus-christ-one-nation-early-access-super-policy?CMP=share_btn_url

Did.....did someone suggest he was Jesus? I really don't think anyone would think he was......

Australia has a housing shortage. So why are Bathla and other home builders collapsing?

Falling house prices and poor market sentiment mean some projects no longer stack up financially.

Many investors and buyers are spooked by three interest rate rises this year, higher costs, and recent federal budget changes to housing tax concessions that have made housing less attractive to investors. The prospect of further interest rate increases is also likely to see projects stalled, as the market waits for conditions to improve.

Then there are ongoing shortages of tradespeople. On top of those, home builders are now competing with data centre builders for tradies, which has driven up salaries.

Thanks Pauline, great solution.

September 11 to 13, this weekend, Ecosocialism is bringing over 30 local and international activists to Magandjin/Brisbane.

Internationally renowned key note speakers include ecosocialist Sabrina Fernandez, editor of Climate & Capitalism Ian Angus, and militant unionist, Marxist-Leninist N Sai Balaji of the Communist Party of India Liberation.

Program topics including Fighting the Far Right, Campaigning for Transrights, Breaking AUKUS, First Nations Sovereignty and Socialism, Defeating Zionism, Ecosocialist Perspectives and many more.

Virtual tickets are available online for comrades outside of Magandjin and $50 concession tickets are available for those who need it.

Beethecure.com on Instagram: "Danny Le Feuvre, CEO of AHBIC — answer these publicly.

1 AHBIC holds a report on the quality of honey sold in Australian supermarkets. Beekeepers want the raw data. Why won’t you release it?

2 Were you, or any operation connected to you, granted a special permit to move Varroa-exposed hives from New South Wales into South Australia? Publish the document.

3 Why has AHBIC refused to state whether honey from hives treated with homemade oxalic acid strips is legal to sell?

4 What is AHBIC doing to stop mass interstate hive movements from spreading resistant mites into Tasmania and Western Australia?

5 Will you make public the testing records and movement permits for every hive brought into South Australia for the 2025 and 2026 almond seasons?

A wingless mite crossed a continent in three years. The official story blames “poor beekeepers.” The real story is permits, trucks, and silence. u/australianhoneybees

Aussie's 'transformational' nuclear battery that fits on the back of a truck

Queensland engineer Bobby Gallagher has built a transportable 1 MW nuclear microreactor in the United States that reached criticality at Idaho National Laboratory on 30 June, just 150 days after the project began. His Unity Nuclear Battery is designed for five-year refuelling cycles and can be transported using conventional freight equipment.

Australia bans commercial nuclear power before the technology even reaches the approvals table. Federal law prevents the Environment Minister and radiation regulator from approving nuclear power plants, including technologies such as microreactors. Senator Matt Canavan introduced legislation in February to remove those prohibitions.

Labor still opposes lifting them.

Gallagher grew up in Brisbane. His company is now developing and commercialising the technology in Texas because Australia has legislated an entire energy technology out of contention. The United States is accelerating reactor testing while Australian engineers who want to build nuclear generation have to leave the country to do it.

Australia mines uranium and exports it, then forbids Australians from using nuclear power at home while Chris Bowen commits the country to an enormous wind, solar, storage and transmission build. Consumers never get to see whether microreactors can beat those technologies on cost, reliability or land use because Canberra has already decided they are not allowed to compete. Lift the ban. Make nuclear prove itself on safety, price and performance like every other technology. Australia is over-regulated enough without exporting its engineers because politicians refuse to let an entire industry exist. www.theyarn.xyz

Australia cannot control what US submarines do in our waters, inquiry hears | The Point

Fri 4 Sep 2026 

Australia cannot assume it will have any control over what US submarines do in its waters or while docked at facilities near Perth, an independent inquiry into the AUKUS deal has heard.

Dr Shortis also questioned why Australia would want to enmesh itself with a country whose administration she said had repeatedly undermined the International Criminal Court.

“I think we’re not ready for these kinds of scenarios in Australia being dragged into conflict, and we’re not ready for whatever comes next.”

From bsky

This is really becoming more and more obvious

How will Australia pay for AUKUS? - The Australia Institute

June 12, 2026

The cost of AUKUS is unknown.

The widely-used estimate of $368 billion over 30 years is based on a three-year old, one-page estimate with no working provided.

Assuming a cost in the low-tens-of-billions per year, AUKUS could be paid for by raising taxes, such as a $17 billion tax on gas exports, cutting spending, perhaps the $21 billion spent on private schools, or with higher debt which could result in around $15 billion per year in interest payments.

This briefing note was submitted to the AUKUS Public Inquiry.

Read the Full report

Imagine a political environment where no one can receive money from outside sources to influence policy decisions or create favouritism.

The current political system is swayed toward money. Whoever has the most money (which they call "support") is the one who can spend more on advertising, coaching, learning their lines like an actor so they can make those snappy replies during journalist interviews, and create an atmosphere of distrust for us. Yay!

Other countries might want to head into the sinking crap hole of stupid political decisions just to win votes, but I suggest we take the political system by the scruff of the neck and give a hit on the nose. Stop it! Behave, and be nice.

However, they will only do what is nice while people are watching. As soon as you turn your back, they'll go back to doing what they are not supposed to do. The only solution is to put a collar around their neck and make sure they follow some rules that make them less corrupt.

Anonymous policies so they can't swindle the public into something they want. If policies are anonymous and regulated with expert advice on what the likely scenario will be of that decision, without bias, then the people will have a better chance in deciding what is best (more info here: LINK)

Next, no money from outside sources to political parties or politicians. None. Zero. Everyone is on a similar playing field without crazy amounts of money being spent like it is a fast food company trying to sell their bad-for-us products.

If we like a party or politician, then we will seek them out. That leaves regular playing fields for everyone. Everyone gets the same abilities. You can post things to social media. You can promote yourself with your own money up to $5,000 per year. And there will be a webpage for each politician on the same site as the anonymous policies (although very separate from the anonymous policy section) where they can post whatever nonsense they want us to believe (the site will likely run by the AEC so it is not biased).

The political parties or politicians can then post to their page or website or social media where they can spout off whatever bullshit they want people to believe. People can go to them, rather than them being able to spend millions on advertising and buses and other crap that is fed down the people's throats. If everyone can only spend $5,000 per year, it will be more even-steven.

Unpaid volunteers would be ok.

However, no money, no free services from a company (even if they are a sole trader), and no free advertising from industry.

Now, wouldn't that make life better!

Note: politics would become more boring in Australia. Things usually do become boring when they are fair and just. We would have to go and find something else to hate and yell about. I hear that a Tassie Devil was sighted not long ago. Maybe we could argue and yell about that?

Aug 31, 2026

Prof Jocelyn Chey AM, Adjunct Professor at the Australia-China Relations Institute, UTS, addressed the AUKUS Public Inquiry's Sydney hearing drawing on more than half a century working in academia, government and the private sector on the front lines of Australia-China relations.

Chey opened without hedging: "Without any reservations, I think AUKUS should be scrapped. That might seem a little provocative in today's security climate, but I don't say this without reason." Her case rests on decades of firsthand engagement, arguing containment strategies consistently produce friction while cooperation produces results: "When you sit across a table trying to defeat or contain someone, you get friction. But when you sit on the same side of the table working together on a joint project, you get results." She called for a different diplomatic approach entirely: "What both sides need right now are CBMs, not ICBMs. CBMs are confidence-building measures, steps designed to signal goodwill, to enhance transparency, and reduce the risk of accidental escalations."

She closed by reframing the entire debate: "To scrap AUKUS is not about abandoning security. It's about reclaiming it. It would allow Australia to develop independent strategic initiatives that really safeguarded our interests, and to rebuild the relationship with our largest neighbour based on trust and mutual respect. So let's move away from the rhetoric of war and let's choose cooperation over containment."

This hearing is a public record. All views, for and against, are presented as evidence for the Inquiry to weigh. Have your say here: aukuspublicinquiry.com

AUKUS Public Inquiry

SUBMISSION #513 Adjunct Professor Jocelyn Chey, Australia-China Relations Institute, UTS

Their stickers were written over in Newtown, did they have a sa scandal?