Make $100,000 from selling your labor. 2024-25 FY: $20,788 (not including deductions)
Make $100,000 from selling your appreciating assets: $5,788.00
Gotta love that capital gains discount...
MisterFrog
joined 2 years ago
This is David McBride the Australian Army Lawyer turned whistleblower, not the US politician.
Turns out I somewhat conflated his whistleblowing on Australian war crimes, which landed him in jail, with the US influencing him being tried for whistleblowing.
War crimes that were committed, because we were in Afghanistan at the behest of the US (and Iraq, Vietnam and Korea before that).
So that's my bad, because I did hear of the US loving to send Australians on missions for the express purpose that the SAS wouldn't follow proper rules of engagement, though I can't find the place where I heard this after trying to find it again.
As for AUKUS subs deal:
This is a straight up tribute to the USA. 300 BILLION dollars. For what? A couple of submarines. What in the hell do we need nuclear subs for? Answer, we don't. Just use conventional subs. It's a subsidy for the US military-industrial complex.
Pine Gap is a "shared" spy base the same way you hand your little sibling a controller that's not plugged in so they can play the video game "together". We are the junior partner there.
The fact is that the US has massive sway over Australia with the implicit agreement that we allow US military presence in exchange for "protection", massive economic influence through investment (such is capitalism, and the US is top-dog there), making very little military equipment ourselves and just buying it off the US (and others, sure, but in large part, the US), and "allegedly" meddling in our affairs by engineering the Whitlam sacking, see: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alleged_CIA_involvement_in_the_Whitlam_dismissal
We bend over backwards to keep the Americans on side. Even after police straight up shot an Australian reporter with a rubber bullet, on purpose, for no reason, the PM still had to be restrained in his response instead of calling out the United States more directly.
We follow them into a bunch of wars, we are dependent on their tech services, we are massively influenced by their media.
Australia is under the thumb of the US, but so are many other countries.
In summary: as a middle power, I would love for us to stay somewhat more neutral to the superpowers. Let's be close friends with like-minded middle powers (Canada, NZ, the EU), and polite to the likes of the US and China.
Being close allies with the US feels like a massive liability.
Pine gap, useless $300 bn tribute subs, not updating travel advice for the USA, David McBride. This is but a short list.
Because of when I grew up, my mind simply doesn't register this as an ableist slur, even though intellectually I know it is. It's like the greens don't know that trying to smear their defector doesn't actually make them look good.
I tire of how bad at politics the greens are. Since they're the furthest left party with any seats currently, it would be nice if they knew how to play the game better.
If they took her defection in stride, simply pointing out that she must not really have the same values, could have come across a lot better.
It's not unheard of to call a by-election over something like this. That's what they ought to do in my opinion. That and review training procedures
Funnily enough, this would be a valid vote, under the rules. As long as it's abundantly obvious what the intended order is
This will go down well...
They ought to join their union, though I wonder if NTEU will backup their words with strikes in solidarity if these changes aren't reversed:
https://www.nteu.au/News_Articles/National/NTEU_Statement_on_Israel_and_Palestine.aspx
Any educator who doesn't leave over this is unworthy of being an educator
It's been enshittified by capitalism
I think this is unfair, because as you say, we live under capitalism. What do you expect educators to do, be unemployed? Under capitalism, this is not a very enticing prospect.
Staff themselves ought not to be blamed on the decisions of admin.
It's not like they get a vote (though, in my opinion, they should get to vote on top administrative positions, as should every workplace)
It's so transparent it's almost laughable.
What gets me about the Nationals, is they barely advocate for the region's interests at all.
Climate change has, and is going to keep increasing the frequency and severity of droughts.
If I recall correctly, droughts in this country are strongly correlated with an increased rate of suicides of farmers, for fairly obvious reasons.
The Nationals ought to be on the "hey, how about we mitigate climate change" bandwagon.
But they're so captured by Gina Rhinehart and other moneyed interests and apparently the voters in rural areas don't care.
I don't get it, honestly.
As much as I hate the Liberals, if it effectively shifts the Overton Window left, I'll call the Liberals working with Labor in the senate a win
Private providers in a public system is ridiculous in my opinion. Here's an idea, hire them directly instead of paying for a profit margin. :O (this opinion extends to Medicare providers, also)
What I recall being ridiculous was the wait on Centrelink applications. (It's been a number of years since being off Centrelink so don't haven't paid attention recently)
Waiting 3 months was an option for me, but Christ, I can't imagine how shit that must be who need immediate stability.
I also very much hope Labor update payment rates. Where are you gonna find a place anywhere near services and public transport to rent cheaply enough in order to actually get by?
If only we heavily invested in public housing, I'd wager we'd either end up saving a bunch of money not going to private landlords, or otherwise massively increase the amount in the pockets of people on Centrelink, because it wouldn't be going to landlords...
Alas.