With the release of his book, Oil Under Troubled Water, to coincide with Witness K’s closed court plea hearing this month, ACT lawyer, Bernard Collaery, has raised the stakes on who the real wrong-doers are in this unedifying story of how the Howard Government defied international law to spy on it’s cash-strapped neighbour to profit from oil in the Timor Sea. Callum Foote reports.
 Sweden Stock Photos And Images - 123RF 
We have been subjected to much nonsensical disinformation that Sweden has kept its economy open and is faring no worse in infections than countries with closed economies and without the economic consequences of closed-downed economies. The fact of the matter is that de facto Sweden’s economy is closed and is doing no better than anyone’s else’s, and its infection rate is still rising.

Sweden closed universities and high schools, banned gatherings of large groups, asked people to avoid non-essential travel, and advised those ill and over 70 to stay at home. Sweden did not require restaurants, bars, and gyms to close, but business is down by 70% as people have avoided the risk. That decline could be larger than in the US where restaurants are permitted to provide takeouts. In Sweden the hotel occupancy rate has dropped from 60% to 10%. 

Sweden’s economy is “open” only in words.

via In Effect Sweden’s Economy Is Also Closed, by Paul Craig Roberts - The Unz Review


 
 

Rightwing Media Spreading Epidemic of Misinformation

by Bill Berkowitz | April 29, 2020 - 5:39am | permalink

Over the past few weeks, right-wing media outlets have been fueling protests – albeit small – in several states against social distancing restrictions and the shutdown of businesses. Fox News and an assortment of other large and small conservative media outlets are encouraging and supporting these demonstrations. According to Media Matters for America’s Alex Walker, conservative radio talk show hosts in Virginia, Michigan, Utah, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Nevada have vigorously promoted protests.
Underpinning these demonstrations – many organized by well-funded conservative individuals and organizations – is the right-wing media’s unrelenting support for all things Donald Trump. Trump once boasted that he could shoot someone on the middle of Fifth Avenue and get away with it. Now, the question is whether Trump can maintain the unwavering loyalty of his base in the midst of his administration’s disastrous response to the coronavirus pandemic that has already killed more than 60,000 people.
» article continues...





 FAKE NEWS 

  Bolt's bullshit

SWEDEN HASN'T FAILED. WE MAY JUST BE DELAYING THE INEVITABLE

Holman W. Jenkins: "Adjusted for today’s US population..., 1957’s[flu]  killed the equivalent of 230,000 Americans...We haven’t stopped the equivalent deaths, only delayed them while we destroy our economy... Officials haven’t explained how to lift their unsustainable lockdowns while most of the public remains uninfected and there’s no vaccine."
1h ago 
Look at Bolt's banner Sweeden HASN'T FAILED!! "We MAY just be delaying the inevitable". Now that's the banner of uncertainty, and he wants us to charge in and switch to the herd immunity. A Model, remember how much he hates Models, and take us down the rabbit hole chasing it. 
The UK began with that advice switched but didn't act fast enough the result 20,000 dead and a virus out of control. They now definitely have herd immunity forced on themselves. 
The Americans believed god shielded them from the virus, and he was on their side. They too are now practising involuntary herd immunity as we speak with 33% of the world's cases and  60,000 dead in three weeks. Trump says it's a short term spike.
Bolt doesn't believe in models well these arent models Bolt these are failed actions and no flakey or tweeky adjustments need be made these are real and underquoted facts. Meanwhile, Andrew Bolt  puffed up by News Corp says "We just MIGHT be delaying the inevitable" by actually succeeding and progressing too slowly for him in waiting for a Vaccine and better KNOWLEDGE about a virus we know so little about, and he knows a lot.
In effect Sweden's economy is only open in Bolt's closed mind. The Real Economic Problem Is Not the Closedown...

I'M FRIGHTENED OF MY GOVERNMENT AND ITS CORONAVIRUS LAWS

COLUMN For the first time in my life, I am frightened of my government. The coronavirus panic has made it irrational and threatening. Until now, I accepted that my freedom has its limits. I can’t do things that risk harm to others — like speed on the roads. But I see the link between the risk and the laws. But not some of these coronavirus bans. 
19m ago 
Flee Andrew Bolt Flee to the land you love the Netherlands and feel free. Your government Andrew Bolt isn't "yours" it's "ours" and all Australians at the moment are happy with what's happening. In particular, in Victoria where Scotty failed to "bribe" the Independent schools. Heads and parents made it clear they don't want their children back in schools this term despite the struggle.

WE'RE BANNING WHAT DOESN'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE

More evidence that widespread bans are ineffective: "The World Health Organisation... said flatly the disease [in Wuhan] was not spread in casual interaction but in close family and institutional settings... The virologist leading an investigation of a severe outbreak in Germany... saw little evidence that shopping... posed a significant risk." 
1h ago
 So this is why Bolt is seen on the streets of Melbourne these days.  His suspicions are recommendations to challenge the risks involved. We don't suspect contagion we know it exists and the rate at which it spreads. The fact people have seen "little evidence" that it doesn't do what we know it does we should feel free and not take the side of caution. That sounds smart, doesn't it? There's little evidence that the virus is spread in "casual interaction" does that mean bars and clubs should be reopened? Bolt's an expert on "casual interaction"  he's the real gadabout town. He wears a mask at home but not anywhere else. I might remind Andrew Bolt we "are shopping", and Coles has the figures to prove it.

ANDREW FORREST CRAWLS FOR CHINA

Billionaire Andrew Forrest makes most of his money from China. Yesterday he performed a world-class crawl to China, trashing our call for an independent inquiry into how this Chinese virus started and praising the dictatorship's handling of it. He's even suggested the virus started in Australia. Now he and Karl Stefanovic just yuk it up.

Australia makes most of its money from China but is currently "sucking up" to Yellow Donny and is fast trying to prove its the 51st State of America. It's now doing it's best to support a new  Cold War, and Sinophobia is the new Islamophobia to help Trump recover from his criminally insane handling of the Coronavirus to date. Murdoch conspiracies are currently running like wild storms in the US, and the LNP are supporting the madness.
These idiots took us to war in Vietnam on the Domino Theory. Abbott wanted us in Ukraine to Stop the Russians, and we dutifully followed the US into Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria while being always kept in the dark as to what Trump was going to do at any one moment. So we supported the betrayal of the Kurds too. Bolt's been one of the loudest town criers down under. If any crawling has been done, it's by the LNP and News Corp. 
Apparently, we don't need the 10 million testing kits necessary to help "open up" Australia which Bolt's been screaming about for weeks. No real rhyme or reason to fight a contagion but better to unite with Fox/Trump and the US. Trump's been plugging "herd immunity" involuntarily for months they aren't practising it willingly as the proved option. It's because they failed to take up the necessary one. So 33% of the cases of the world demonstrates Bolt's right apparently, and we should follow suit because in the long term we will be better for it.  What have we got to lose but lives?
How Xenophobic of Bolt your a crawler if you're a friend of the Chinese. Dunn's right virus was discovered by the Chinese yes.  The Measles was discovered by Germans, and the Spanish flu was discovered in Kansas USA. Science isn't saying it knows where it started, but Bolt certainly is. Yes, it might have started here. However thanks to Dunn's efforts we are 10million testing kits better off. But Bolt prefers death than shake hands with a Chinaman.

WARMISTS LOOK AT THIS VIRUS CRISIS AND GET BAD IDEAS

COLUMN  This coronavirus crisis is giving global warmists, dangerous ideas. The UN head is now exploiting the virus, and  Greta Thunberg tweeted: "Listen to the science and the experts." Experts, no doubt, like Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, who has locked down his state and now writes about the "existential threat" of global warming.  
3h ago 
Bolt refuses to accept Climate Change to be a "global issue". Australians are no longer respected as they once were. But then Bolt also remans "unrespected" in the eyes of most Australians. He knows it but doesn't care as long as he has the backing and is funded by News Corp and the here the IPA. Andrew Bolt's the neighbour from hell the man who readily pushed women children out of the way on the Titanic to be first in line at the lifeboats. Yes, he is Australian and has given this country a bad name in the eyes of the world and deflated our pride. 
Below is the reason why





LOCK DOWN THE NURSING HOMES, DON'T LOCK UP THE COUNTRY

Why have we locked up the nation, not locked down the nursing homes?  : "Eesidents of assisted living facilities reportedly account for about half of all COVID-19 deaths in five European countries."  In Australia, 23 of our 90 dead were in nursing homes.   
3h ago