By Ad astra
What appalling scenes we’ve witnessed recently in Melbourne: its streets engulfed by protestors marching to who knows where, or why. Do they?
The Westgate Freeway, the major arterial to the Western suburbs, was blocked and traffic disrupted by marchers plodding to the other side. Then where? Who knows what their purpose was?
What precipitated all this? Lockdowns, bans on the unvaccinated working in some situations, no option to decline vaccination, no possibility of refusing the wearing of masks even when mandated, punitive moves against the construction industry, and who knows what else. Whatever the reason though, it was hijacked by extremists hellbent on causing mayhem. And in the process, sites sacred to so many people, notably the Shrine of Remembrance, were desecrated by the protestors, even to the extent of urinating on it.
The protesters are said to be angry because of a three-week prophylactic lockdown of the construction industry to limit the spread of COVID, but anti-vaccination advocates, right-wing extremists, fascists, and neo-Nazis hijacked the event. Union officials insisted that these people had nothing to do with the union movement, and that they were ‘blow-ins’ using the occasion to advance their right-wing agenda. Attacks on the CFMEU headquarters affirm this.
This is what Premier Dan Andrews actually said:
Due to continued concern about case numbers, transmission risk and reduced compliance, construction will shut down in metropolitan Melbourne and other Local Government Areas currently in lockdown for two weeks from 11.59pm, Monday 20 September.
Recently, we have seen multiple outbreaks linked to construction. Construction workers are a mobile workforce who may work across multiple sites and travel longer distances to work than other permitted workers. Concerns have also been raised, and remain, about the sector’s compliance with public health measures and directions.
Also concerning is the transmission risk and geographic spread of construction cases, which led to a number of important public health measures including preventing workers crossing the regional/metropolitan border – but more action is required to stop the spread.
The immediate shut down action is being taken to reduce movement, minimise transmission and allow for the entire industry to appropriately adapt to the Chief Health Officer Directions, including increasing vaccination rates.
Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?
But reasonableness was not on the disrupters’ agenda. Fomenting fear and loathing was. Need I say any more?
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What a completely unbalanced article. No comment about the police pushing over a 70 year old lady and then while she was helpless on the ground spraying pepper spray in her eyes. No comment about police firing rubber bullets into the protesters. Have you seen the photos. Did you actually speak to some of the people protesting. Your big on quoting dictator Dan, who hasn’t got a hope in hell of being re-elected. But nothing from the other side. I used to enjoy reading articles from AIM. Now it has just become another mouthpiece for the toxic government, sucked in by the toxic covid response, that could have been completely avoided. Ask me?
So trumpism arrives here. It is interesting to follow the attitudes voiced in The Australian. One notes there two ideologies in conflict, a duality some of its journalists note and analyse. On the one hand a liberalism that stresses careful balancing of rights and on the other a radical corporatism that puts profit and business as usual before protecting others. There is a small anti vax element too but mainly I find no support of the thugs in its columns. The paper also carries the primitive anti vax Palmer party adverts, which I see no none mentions, journo or reader. The man loves to waste his time and money on silly slogans.
If anything or anyone is unbalanced, I tend to lean towards those rioters.
It amuses me that some of the Murdoch media were calling out these thugs as far-right loonies, while supporting a federal government of far-right loonies.
Delicious irony.
Thomas, your “dictator Dan” comment followed up with “I used to enjoy reading articles from AIM” indicate to me that you don’t read many articles here.
Thomas Brookes re:
Is that right? Dan is losing? And yet there is the latest polling from Newspoll
Are you in the betting business? Specializing in ‘long-shots’? Good odds will be available!
And who says people don’t construct their own reality?
That amused me too, Mark. Dan’s poll numbers are on steroids, but there’s no way he’s going to win because Thomas predicted otherwise.
I think Thomas needs to sack his fortune teller.
Thanks for this, Ad Astra.
While I don’t agree with most of what Thomas Brookes is trying to put across, there certainly is footage of some disturbing behaviour on the part of some of the police. A guy called Real Rukshan shot quite a lot of footage around Melbourne last week. Rukshan is clearly biased in favour of the protesters, and it’s probably fair to wonder what footage he might have shot of the protesters that hasn’t been aired. But all that aside, some of the shots of police behaviour are very upsetting.
I think the situation is more complex than ‘goodies’ and ‘baddies’.
I was sent these links a couple of days ago.
https://twitter.com/DarkMoo55827763/status/1440600178617028614?s=19
https://mobile.twitter.com/matt_lawson09/status/1439409331754049538
And this is an article that appeared on the Crikey site.
Me thinks this is more about confected LNP and/or radical right libertarian PR or agitprop, as observed in the US and UK, using supposed grassroots street action that is then covered by legacy media aka the KochNetwork supported Tea Party movement….. cyclical PR loop useful when the PM and LNP are struggling on multiple fronts.
The messaging maybe more about reaching undecided voters, while trying to smear unions, workers, ‘Dictator Dan’ etc. vs. tradies, anti-vaxxers, climate science deniers etc.; not unlike Dutton in QLD on Sudanese gangs in Victoria and the profile offered by national media.
For example, one assumes the Shrine of Remembrance ‘visit’ was a confected attempt to link unions and workers with disrespect for ANZAC symbols or myths held closely by older voters nationally….. thanks to John Howard, and desperate need to hold onto outraged QLD and/or white male voters.
Josephus I was interested to hear one of George Galloway’s regular contributing journalists say that she had encountered numerous Trumpistas who believe that the Tangerine Twat was ‘sent by God to save America’.
I have read rather a lot about how ‘God’ looked after his first ‘chosen people’ between 1939 and 1945. Or, in fact, the almost 2000 years preceding. Put not your trust in fantasy friends…
Not only in the US, the UK but elsewhere including Canada.
The ‘movement’ is very wide-ranging. There’s a collapse of ‘trust’ broadly defined. There’s been an outbreak of the freedumb virus.
The moron covid deniers are stupidly shooting themselves in the foot. If everyone followed the science instead of so many believing the bullshit , brain-dead conspiracy theories we would be back to living a normal life by now. The idiots should take a look at America where the covid is rampant amongst the covid deniers… Of course there will be no convincing the idiots.. Their skulls are like one inch thick.
Kate, my apologies for your comment getting caught up in moderation.
The system does that at times if there are a few links in the comment. The system usually puts them in spam (because most spammers have lots of links in their comments) but it recognised you, hence it put your comment in moderation awaiting our tick of approval that you are one of the goodies.
I usually check such things regularly, but on this occasion I was engaged elsewhere. So I apologise not only for your comment getting caught in moderation, but for the delay in clearing it.
I take the blame for that, Kate. I’ve been on moderation duty but I was too busy yapping.
Kate Ahearne – lots of ‘issues’ involved in any protest and at any number of levels as discussed in tonight’s Media Watch. Real Rukshan, for example, can be firmly located on the ideological right – being a particular favorite of Fox’s Laura Ingraham. Laura is not noted for being fair and balanced as you would know and therefore tends to choose her ‘evidence’ accordingly. As does Rukshan.
Nevertheless, there’s probably little doubt certain police couldn’t handle the power they had. At least that’s my experience. Lots of individuals are like that.
The issue then becomes how that perceived illegitimate use of power is treated. While it might be anticipated that certain individuals will over-react to unknown provocations, knowing in advance the who, when, why etc is rather difficult if not impossible.
The real test therefore comes after the event. That is – the reaction from the Police Commissioner to perceived infringements in the first instance and then the Premier’s reaction to his reaction to the PC’s etc.
So we should wait. But not for too long
Was it a seventy older woman the police pushed over? Police are having trouble talking to her. Have contacted family. I saw a photo that showed a man with a wig lying next to him. I don’t know whether it was photoshopped or not.
@Thomas Brookes: It is simply a report of what Premier Dan said in his press release correctly identifying the cause of growing numbers of infection sites. The other incidents involving rioters are irrelevant to the article.
@ Mark: Now, now calm down. Thomas Brookes does not follow opinion polls so he is unlikely to understand that a 4.9% swing IN FAVOUR of Premier Dan means that the Liarbrals likely will be whacked out of Parliament.
@Andrew J Smith: Agreed. Every action by the Murdoch Media is designed to prop up the fortunes of Scummo at the forth-coming 2022 feral elections. This means more yellow journalism bad mouthing anything anybody else does, especially if it is NOT politically correct.
@Tony Annetta: The ”unfortunate” thing is that COVID cures stupid painfully ….. & permanently.
@Michael Taylor: What?? You do other things apart from editing AIMN?? Where do you find the time??
Michael and Roswell.
Please don’t worry about it. I just assumed I’d done something weird when I posted the comment. Anyhow, it’s great that you take the moderation so seriously. Goodness knows what might be going on otherwise.
Mark.
Yes, Rukshan is obviously invested in one side of the battle, and we have no way of knowing whether he just didn’t take footage of protesters behaving badly, or whether he withheld it. (I do realise that I’ve left myself wide open for someone to leap in and say, ‘Oh, but they weren’t behaving badly.’ To which I would reply that their being at the protest unvaccinated was ‘badly’ enough just to start with.) To what extent Rukshan’s coverage might amount to disinformation, we can’t know at this stage. As you say, we’ll have to wait.
I did read somewhere that the Commissioner is going to conduct some kind of enquiry. That was yesterday, I think, but I can’t remember where I saw it.
Kate, the ‘balance’ you expect wouldn’t exist without a Rukshan. I heard of him for the first time last night on Media Watch. MSM has a vast public reach and influence and any of their unbalanced story telling is a key source of misinformation. Can you see that? If I didn’t know the cityscape I could have thought I was watching civil unrest in Russia. Russia and China already have it down pat, the military and police have been blended into one organic fascist outfit that physically enforces mandates from above. There is no real public debate, the public are grist for the mill of a totalitarian regime. I hope more people see where this is going unless cooler heads prevail. The media are now the enemy of the people, usefull idiots to a regime that will toss them aside when the time is right.
Clearly, Thomas Brookes, is a member of the right-wing rabble who choose to go on and on causing chaos, dysfunction and mayhem because their insignificant lives have been disrupted, interrupted or inconvenienced by essential lockdown regulations in order to prevent the spread of a highly contagious airborne virus! Not surprising that this sad little right-wing extremist would support other right-wing fascists, neo-Nazis and Trump-supporting lunatics. In addition, Brookes shows an astonishing lack of insight, a woeful level of misinformation and short-sightedness if he believes that Daniel Andrews will not slam dunk that insignificant State opposition leader (what was his name again?) at the next Victorian State election! I don’t know what planet Brookes lives on or what type of misguided bogans he hangs around with but Daniel Andrews is widely regarded as the absolute best, highest achieving Premier in the country – and that includes people from OTHER States, especially NSW where we are saddled with the sad-eyed Ruby Princess, Gladys Berejiklian!
Like most vacuous, self-obsessed, right-wing supporters of Morrison’s regime – a corrupt regime that contains the worst, most non-achieving, racist and misogynistic sociopaths ever seen mismanaging our nation into oblivion – Brookes believes that HE is above the law; that HE shouldn’t be forced to wear a mask to protect others against a disease that is ravaging Europe and the USA and causing thousands of deaths; shrieking and complaining like schoolyard bullies that HE and other lawless rabble of the right-wing are made to wear masks and advised to STAY HOME for a short while to keep OTHERS safe from a dangerous and lethal pandemic! It is always the selfish, dummy-spitting members of the entitled extreme right-wing who behave like petulant two year olds, pouting, stomping their feet and name calling (referring to Daniel Andrews as “Dictator Dan”) – how puerile!
Seriously, it’s time that misinformed, self-serving members of the appalling right-wing grow up, man up and realise that worldwide Covid-19 cases have reached nearly 233 Million with more than 5 Million deaths! Look at the statistics and FFS wake up!
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
Hello Thomas
It seems to me you desire a mouthpiece yourself? You claim ……….’.Now ‘…(AIM & its readers) ….’it has just become another mouthpiece for the toxic government, sucked in by the toxic covid response, that could have been completely avoided. Ask me?’
I ask what could have been avoided in your opinion about what you label as ‘the toxic covid response’?
Thomas, old son, stop visiting that oracle. The one to go to is Delphi, at the feet of Mt Parnassus,
Co-ordinates 38°28′56″N 22°30′05″E.
Far, far more accurate!
Oh, Kathryn! Thy prick doth sting most sorely!
Hi, Joe, I hope I haven’t been using the word ‘balance’ in this particular context. Balance for the sake of balance is not what matters here. I’m not sure what you even mean by your use of the word in this situation. What is important is getting to the facts, and evaluating the facts as clear-headedly as possible. (I was tempted to use the word ‘balanced’ here instead of ‘clear-headed’, but the word has a number of different meanings, depending on context, and I didn’t want to confuse the issue.)
And, please, if you want me and a whole lot of others to take you seriously, a little less of stuff like, ‘Can you see that?’
This site prides itself on “citizen journalists” that provide a perspective not always available in the traditional media
Rusken carries out a similar role, it’s just with a different orientation.
Kate, for balance I read the msm official version of events then looked at alternate ways of viewing the situation. I found that the ultimatum to unionists to ‘get vaccinated or else lose their job’ triggered the unrest. The riot did not cause the employer to declare their ultimatum. The ultimatum came first.
I don’t know how so many people fail to research all sides of a situation. It can’t for lack of trying to fail.
Here is one for the faithful, Physicans Declaration Global Covid Summit Rome, Italy, September 2021
Michael Taylor
What an fascinating assortment of views this piece has evoked! In its own way it portrays the vast array of opinions that exist about this vexed issue.
Students of the intracies of political discourse will find the reaction to this piece instructional. If for no other reason, it has therefore been well worthwhile writing.
Ad astra, you beat me by two minutes.
I was about to thank all those who have supported you and this post after initial criticism from one person.
I am heartened by their support.
Joe thanks for the link to Physicans Declaration Global Covid Summit Rome, Italy, September 2021.
I note that the organising committee is populated by those who are on the medical fringes and they make no effort to hide their position.
Note also Trump’s views are cited by some with approval. Mask wearing is widely ridiculed. Ivermectin is recommended as a Covid-19 treatment etc etc.
Yes there’s a large number on the organising committee, from different countries and with different medical backgrounds but …
Not for me thanks.
It also reinforces the view that while science doesn’t give us Truth (with a capital T), it’s still the best way of knowing we currently have.
So I will continue to wear a mask when appropriate. Have no regrets about the AZ vaccination x 2 (no side effects either). Will social distance and follow advice from advisors who are more mainstream.
Keep thinking about all those deaths in the USA and around the world who might have survived if only …
The riot in Melbourne is proof that American Republican politicking is alive and well and being used in Australia. They will use any subject and platform to create division and chaos while stealthy pushing their right wing agenda. This is so reminiscent of the Trump and Republican attack on the Washington Capital building and democracy itself.
Thank you AdAstra. This adds to my concept of human evolution being a multifaceted and unequal process.
Katheryn refers to it as individual immaturity, but it strkes me as something more fundamental than that; as if there is a process of genetic modification towards greater human progress which bypasses many people during their intrauterine development.
Or maybe it is the initial combination of sperm and ovum during which genetic mutations are want to occur.
Not my field of expertise, but it does seem strange that so many folk lack the fundamental capacity to behave rationally.
Joe, I’m aware that I made a poor job of explaining myself on the matter of ‘balance’. We don’t LEGITIMATELY balance evidence in the way you suggest. We don’t, for instance ‘balance’ whatever the ABC has reported by just popping Real Rakshan on the other side of the scale. Bingo! Voila! Balanced!
For one thing, the ABC is obliged to strive for ‘balance’ in its coverage of news events. (You might argue that the ABC does not achieve balance, and you’d be right, because we’re all human, imperfect – we just don’t achieve our ideals. We all have bias, whether we’re aware of it or not. To me, it seems that it’s the striving that counts as far as the ABC is concerned in its coverage of events.)
Real Rakshan is not striving for any such thing, and he freely admits it. His position is clearly partisan, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, precisely because he freely admits it. If he was striving for ‘balance’, we’d have seen him post footage of demonstrators behaving badly. (There would be a problem, though, if he claimed to be independent, unaligned and ‘balanced’ in his reportage. We see so much of this in the media. Newscorp, for starters – pretending to be balanced when they’re no such thing. Very dangerous.)
‘Balance’ is one of those chameleon words that shifts its meaning in different contexts – actually, the English language is built on the fact that words take their meaning, at least in part, from the context they are used in. Sometimes the differences in meaning are subtle, and sometimes they are not. For instance, I’ve already used the word, ‘balance’, in several different ways here.
AIMN posted an article today by Mark Baker titled ‘The Trailblazer’ It’s a celebration of the life of Jan Mayman and her work to bring about change with regard to the appalling scandal of Aboriginal deaths in custody. Mayman was NOT ‘balanced’ in that she did not try to make excuses for the behaviour of the police in the cases she investigated and wrote about. She WAS ‘balanced’ in that she looked at the evidence and made a clear-headed assessment.
I’m not balanced either in the sense that I am sad and angry about the way those people who died in custody were treated. But I do hope I can be balanced in the way I consider the evidence.
My apologies for being so long-winded about this. I’ve been thinking about words all my life, and I’m still struggling.
Balance is important, particularly in our media, without it we allow what Hillary Clinton called the deplorables in our society a voice and influence disproportionate to their numbers.
In recent times the SKY warblers have taken a position on lockdowns (which they are against), the ABC (which they want to destroy), despite protestations by Murdoch, climate change which they dismiss as a Lefty theory and, quite surprisingly, for an Australian news outlet, Trump (who they support – even to the extent that they analyze Biden’s every move to try and prove that he is senile and unfit to lead).
For us to turn this around we must legislate for balance, integrity and fact checking in news reporting, while we fail to do this we give Murdoch a free hand to manipulate and spread conspiracy theories and misinformation.
Anybody who thinks Victoria is a “totalitarian regime” clearly has no bloody clue what they are talking about
Re:
While one might applaud the ‘sentiment’, there’s a whole host of problems associated. First, there’s a need to define some of the terms/concepts employed. Begin with balance. How many perspectives need to be explored before balance is achieved? Two? Or a dozen or more? Some issues aren’t black or white but multi-coloured …
Then, what constitutes news reporting? What is news? A birth? A death? What about a divorce? An assignation? Or an assassination? etc.
Then there’s the definition of reporting. Do photographs fall under the heading of reporting? If so then how many, and in what poses etc constitute balance.
Are editorials examples of reporting or are they to be regarded as opinion? And if so then where does one draw the line. And what the difference between same? Or effectively is there none? etc.
What about the free speech concept which (supposedly) underpins our democracy? Aren’t newspaper owners entitled to exercise free speech?
One could go on and on … and then some. And the Office of Parliamentary Counsel certainly would. Nightmares would be a certainity.
And seriously we haven’t even scratched the surface. What is integrity. etc
Who should make the judgements? Make the determinations? Do the …
Thus can’t see that very worthwhile sentiment being materialised anytime soon.
As for facts …. They are invariably in plague proportions. Even relevant ones. Lol.
All along, right wing msm and the government have worked covertly against a workable Covid strategy whilst projecting an appearance of concerned responsibility.
I’ve tried to work for months and months to understand the recklessness and lunacy but failed ,miserably. Some of it seems down to fear of antagonising sections of the electorate, some factors relate to rightist ideological and religious manias and more relates to a war on anything slowing down TNC looting and the processes of social engineering.
Just saw the latest Covid figures for Victoria – Cases up by 500 from Wednesday to Thursday!
@Calculus witherspoon: Agreed. The opportunity of the COVID pandemic was to destroy the savings and employment of middle class and working class people across the world.
Such a callous uncaring response to the initial outbreak added to the lack of haste in implementing sensible simple control measures like facemasks and now the porposed unmitigated release of COVID to wreak untraced havoc across the country leaves everything to be desired..
There can be little doubt that the Murdoch Media attack on Labor state governments is frustrated by their success at controlling COVID in spite of the ill-informed wishes of Scummo & Gladbags to spread the pandemic as widely as possible as quickly as they can.
I am a sceptical conspiracy theorist requiring confirming evidence before forming conclusions. However, a short series in AIMN recently indicated that such an approach would satisfy the aspirations of a small group of influential US bankers & their cronies who privarely support eugenics as a method for reducing world population.
Kate, words can be used as a weapon or a healing balm, as a top-down directive or as a conciliation. I used to have faith in what the ABC reported but I as they are not much different to Channels 7, 9 &10, I may as well listen to what the most elite-friendly msm muppets have to say, then consider the truth is likely to be the opposite. I watched reports of the trucking protests in their initial days and was told by msm that truckies were going to strike over wages and conditions. Turned out the protests were mainly about mandatory vaccination to cross State borders.
NEC, I agree, the covid confusion is seen as an opportunity by those who seek ever more control. They will not let this go until they have the power they want. They are happy to use any sleight of hands they can, eg from the CDC:
Defining a vaccine breakthrough infection:
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/health-departments/breakthrough-cases.html
“For the purpose of this surveillance, a vaccine breakthrough infection is defined as the detection . . ≥14 days”. So all the people who get a jab today are in effect deemed ‘unvaccinated’ until 2 weeks later. Any illness they get is not the result of vaccination according to the CDC definition. From this comes the msm concept of ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’.