old people...

The death rate from Omicron in the elderly is staggering. And these are not “good deaths” whereby these elderly are surrounded by their loved ones.

How a society cares for and protects its most vulnerable – for example its frail aged, those experiencing violent relationships, prisoners and refugees – speaks to the heart of its government, both those elected and the policymakers of the public service who advise those elected.

As a nurse, mother and voter, I can no longer contain my rage at the lack of public acknowledgement of the personhoods of those who have died prematurely as a result of mismanagement of a known disease. These are iatrogenic deaths, death caused by healthcare treatment or the lack thereof.

dinos

CANBERRA: Federal Leader of the United Australia Party, Craig Kelly, announced today the party’s shadow finance team would deliver prosperity and a debt-free future for Australia.

Under a Kelly Government, leading Australian businessman and former Federal MP Clive Palmer will be appointed Treasurer while former Deloittes CEO and company advisor Domenic Martino will become Finance Minister.

“Clive Palmer, our national Senate Leader, and Domenic Martino who is the lead NSW Senate candidate for the United Australia Party, bring a wealth of real-world experience to deliver economic prosperity to Australia,” Mr Kelly said.

hairy

Thousands of aged-care residents likely went without a shower today. Reports from the COVID-raged sector continue to be devastating, with unprecedented staff absenteeism meaning residents are going without adequate meals and basic care, such as having wounds dressed or soiled incontinence pads changed.

bbc

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) describes itself as “the most trusted broadcaster in the world.” That's quite a confident assertion to make about oneself. At first glance, such a label may seem appropriate to some. The BBC is, at least objectively speaking, a pioneering institution that shaped the world of modern reporting from the early 20th century onwards. It represents a style that is both authentic and classic, embodied by that formal British accent that is a hallmark of its reporting. 

camilla

The Queen has said she wants Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, to be known as Queen Consort when Prince Charles becomes King.

churchill

I could be mistaken... It appears that Stan Grant is batting for the "empire"... Methinks Stan is reading the script upside down... Stan? History does not start in a week's time but it started a long way back... with the little Jesus bullshit... But I will let you say what you have to say (GUS):

As Putin draws closer to Xi, who among the leaders of the West will rise to their feet like Winston Churchill?

By Stan Grant

(Gus: I hope no-one is the West will try to act like Winston Churchill, because they will be dangerous by mistakenly misunderstanding the situation which is brewing, because of the West pig-headedness...)

sixfloor

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza is a museum located on the sixth floor of the Dallas County Administration Building (formerly the Texas School Book Depository) in downtown Dallas, Texas, overlooking Dealey Plaza at the intersection of Elm and Houston Streets.

fishy

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has apologised for calling Prime Minister Scott Morrison "a hypocrite and a liar" in a text message that was passed on to former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins.

suicide

In a recent press conference held on the occasion of a visit to Moscow by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about continued NATO expansion, and the potential consequences if Ukraine was to join the trans-Atlantic alliance.

peterson

The source for author Jordan Peterson’s recent claim that climate change cannot be modelled was a climate science denier who received money from a libertarian think tank funded by oil companies. 

The Canadian psychologist was widely criticised for spreading climate misinformation this week after telling the popular Joe Rogan podcast’s 11 million subscribers that climate models were full of errors that increase over time, and that climate is too complicated to model accurately. 

falsies...

Russia is planning to fabricate a pretext for an invasion of Ukraine, by falsely blaming Ukrainian military for an attack on Russian-backed separatists or Russia itself, US officials say.

exhausting

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has blasted the Liberal cabinet minister who leaked damaging text messages criticising Scott Morrison as “malicious”.

The messages between the so-far unidentified minister and former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian were revealed by Network Ten earlier this week.

They labelled Mr Morrison as “horrible, horrible person” who was “actively spreading lies”. The minister also described Mr Morrison as a “fraud” and a “complete psycho”.

On Friday, Mr Joyce said the messages should be ignored because of the leaker’s intention to deliberately damage the government.

mal

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says the government led by his successor Scott Morrison is in "plenty of trouble" just months out from the federal election.

assange

The anonymous crypto artist Pak is teaming up with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for a collaborative NFT project titled “Censored,” to be released on February 7.

The date has particular significance for Assange, as it is the deadline for his lawyers to ask the U.K. Supreme High Court to reconsider the extradition case that the U.S. government has filed again him.

The two-part sale at a yet-to-be-determined venue will include a single-edition NFT and a “dynamic” open-edition NFT, reports the Crypto Times.

horse

Ukraine invasion no longer ‘imminent’ – White House

The US is no longer using the word because it created an unintended message, says Jen Psaki

The US government is no longer using the word ‘imminent’ in its narrative around the alleged Russian ‘invasion’ of Ukraine, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters, on Wednesday, explaining that it was sending an unintended message.

“I used it once. I think others have used that once, and we stopped using it because I think it sent a message that we weren't intending to send, which was that we knew that President Putin had made a decision,” Psaki said at a press briefing.

“I would say the vast majority of times I've talked about it, I've said he could invade ‘at any time,’”she added.