Hammer, nail, head!! It is depressing to see how journalism standards have been trashed and forgotten in Australia. I think a perfect example came from James Masala. Just a week before voters gave Scott Morrison the Khyber, Fairfax's chief political reporter wrote a vomit-triggering puff piece on 'the lovely Jenn'. He actually opined that if only more voters could meet Jen, Scotty would have a "job for life". Imagine : if a top political journo had served up such a pile of steaming horse-shit to readers 30 years ago, he would have been laughed out of the National Press Club.
"Like the ABC? Like people who are supposed to be Jane Norman?"
Bravo Joel. One of the very people who is supposed to do the analysis complains that we don't have anyone in Australia doing the analysis. Why does she continue to draw a salary?
It is equally imbecelic to talk of "friendships" today in international politics but this country desperately needs associations, with China and our immediate neighbours, not with a country in the early stages of civil war or another that is in terminal decay.
It’s been a massive disillusionment to see how the Australian media has handled the situation in Gaza. They cannot be relied on to report anything accurately.
The ABC’s deliberate non-disclosure that ASPI is a lobby group and only ever seeking quotes from them uncritically to suit their ‘hostile to China’ narrative is wilful negligence. International politics for the ABC is whatever the Canberra bubble, Washington or London says.
For Norman et al it’s all a parlor game, wishing for a conflict they will be pontificate on from the sidelines.
ASPI is a Commonwealth Government created and funded GONGO. It pretends to be a lobby group when really it's just the ADF and military industrial corporations propaganizing you, ala USSR.
Personally, I have no faith in any great power, present or emerging to have our best interests at heart - unless those interest align with ours. And in that grouping I include: USA, Russia, China, India and Indonesia. We need an independent strategic defence policy based on an Echidna Defence Strategy. This very well may require an increase in defence spending
"The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is a defence and strategic policy think tank based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, founded by the Australian government, and funded by the Australian Department of Defence along with overseas governments, and defence and technology companies."
Why am I paying taxes to have a government GONGO pretending to be an independent think tank propagandize me that we need to increase spending on the military?
What is wrong with this country?
I heard the ASPI on the "news" on the radio the other day, claiming we need to increase defense spending. Albo came on and responded. This is Soviet level propaganda.
What have we become? It's sure not the country I grew up in, that's for sure.
And now today Marles patheticaly reading from similar notes from the same source. Whe will they get it, do they want to? Surely they realsie ASPI is on another planet, a Trumpian nightmare
What makes you think a war with China is "fictional"? Your article doesn't mention that Obama announced the U.S. "Pivot to Asia" (putting 40% of U.S. air and naval assets in the Indo-Pacific) on the floor of the Australian parliament.
Why is Wall Street going to relinquish its dominance over the world economy - and its ability to extract wealth through the USD as the world trading currency - without a fight.
In the 1990s Madeleine Albright told General Colin Powell, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “What’s the point of having this superb military you’re always talking about if we can’t use it?”
Not long after they bombed Belgrade.
Trillions of dollars are at stake. They are backing Trump's drive to dictatorship because there is mass opposition to the policies of austerity and war. Struggle will decide.
MUST READ
US demands Asian allies prepare for “imminent” war against China
ABC and that warmongering MR are tragedy of present times, no integrity, no accountability , no knowledge , no decency but that is Australia colony 2025 , just talk crap 💩 and look serious that will do ✅
I've been more focused on climate and clean energy issues and the journalism around that is likewise appallingly poor but yes, treating our biggest trade customer like an enemy is an industry - and Australian Navy ships patrolling the South China Seas alongside US ships isn't in any way provocative, the way Chinese ships anywhere near Australia are. Right, yeah. Not that there isn't a lot to be legitimately concerned about with China's growing influence, but avoiding any calling for more and better international agreements and support for strengthening rules of law and supporting the US style 'we are exceptional, above the law, our 'might' must not be constrained in any way' approach to get up the noses of a global economic powerhouse we depend on seems especially counterproductive.
Climate? Calling for the top level science based advice on climate to be treated as true is now deemed politically partisan by ABC journalists - just the pushing of some opinions and nothing to do with duties of care, accountability or trust. An example of letting the deniers off the hook was the attempted pre-election 'gotcha' by David Speers questioning Peter Dutton about whether he 'believes' in climate change - which was Speers handing Mr Dutton a get-out-of-actually-answering straight line... not "believe the science based expert advice", no, nor "believe in human causation", but simply believe in climate change. Like Speers was blissfully unaware of 'but the climate is always changing, ha, ha, ha' rhetoric of the climate science deniers he worked with closely at News for so many years. And accepting Duttons answers like it was an honest response, with only tokenistic push back. Oh, people thought he was saying he believed in HUMAN caused climate change? Ha, ha, HA, HA! Yes, the joke is on us.
Bravo, Bogan. The situation is dire. Exactly as you describe it. The weirdest thing is why the ABC persists and insists on the Great Dumb Down. There are some informed, smart people there. Yet we see far too little of them. I’m thinking about John Lyons and there are others… the Speersy Sky crowd clearly have producers to match. Dancing to steps choreographed by Justin Stevens? Or? So, so sad. An ethical vacuum as well as an intellectual one.
Insiders is the most woeful program on the ABC. Followed closely by Q and A. When are reporters just reporting what happens and when are they commentators with opinions? Depends?
Australia will not need to go to war. While we are still building our subs, figuratively, either China will annex us economically or India will conquer from within.
Hammer, nail, head!! It is depressing to see how journalism standards have been trashed and forgotten in Australia. I think a perfect example came from James Masala. Just a week before voters gave Scott Morrison the Khyber, Fairfax's chief political reporter wrote a vomit-triggering puff piece on 'the lovely Jenn'. He actually opined that if only more voters could meet Jen, Scotty would have a "job for life". Imagine : if a top political journo had served up such a pile of steaming horse-shit to readers 30 years ago, he would have been laughed out of the National Press Club.
"Like the ABC? Like people who are supposed to be Jane Norman?"
Bravo Joel. One of the very people who is supposed to do the analysis complains that we don't have anyone in Australia doing the analysis. Why does she continue to draw a salary?
It is equally imbecelic to talk of "friendships" today in international politics but this country desperately needs associations, with China and our immediate neighbours, not with a country in the early stages of civil war or another that is in terminal decay.
It’s been a massive disillusionment to see how the Australian media has handled the situation in Gaza. They cannot be relied on to report anything accurately.
Thank you Joel.
The ABC’s deliberate non-disclosure that ASPI is a lobby group and only ever seeking quotes from them uncritically to suit their ‘hostile to China’ narrative is wilful negligence. International politics for the ABC is whatever the Canberra bubble, Washington or London says.
For Norman et al it’s all a parlor game, wishing for a conflict they will be pontificate on from the sidelines.
ASPI is a Commonwealth Government created and funded GONGO. It pretends to be a lobby group when really it's just the ADF and military industrial corporations propaganizing you, ala USSR.
Personally, I have no faith in any great power, present or emerging to have our best interests at heart - unless those interest align with ours. And in that grouping I include: USA, Russia, China, India and Indonesia. We need an independent strategic defence policy based on an Echidna Defence Strategy. This very well may require an increase in defence spending
"The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is a defence and strategic policy think tank based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, founded by the Australian government, and funded by the Australian Department of Defence along with overseas governments, and defence and technology companies."
Why am I paying taxes to have a government GONGO pretending to be an independent think tank propagandize me that we need to increase spending on the military?
What is wrong with this country?
I heard the ASPI on the "news" on the radio the other day, claiming we need to increase defense spending. Albo came on and responded. This is Soviet level propaganda.
What have we become? It's sure not the country I grew up in, that's for sure.
And now today Marles patheticaly reading from similar notes from the same source. Whe will they get it, do they want to? Surely they realsie ASPI is on another planet, a Trumpian nightmare
Thanks Joel. I sometimes don't know what makes me so angry, but you've succeeded in putting it into words for me.
Nice piece we need sane calm heads , none of the dickheads foot the bill
What makes you think a war with China is "fictional"? Your article doesn't mention that Obama announced the U.S. "Pivot to Asia" (putting 40% of U.S. air and naval assets in the Indo-Pacific) on the floor of the Australian parliament.
Why is Wall Street going to relinquish its dominance over the world economy - and its ability to extract wealth through the USD as the world trading currency - without a fight.
In the 1990s Madeleine Albright told General Colin Powell, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “What’s the point of having this superb military you’re always talking about if we can’t use it?”
Not long after they bombed Belgrade.
Trillions of dollars are at stake. They are backing Trump's drive to dictatorship because there is mass opposition to the policies of austerity and war. Struggle will decide.
MUST READ
US demands Asian allies prepare for “imminent” war against China
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/06/04/tlrz-j04.html
ABC and that warmongering MR are tragedy of present times, no integrity, no accountability , no knowledge , no decency but that is Australia colony 2025 , just talk crap 💩 and look serious that will do ✅
I've been more focused on climate and clean energy issues and the journalism around that is likewise appallingly poor but yes, treating our biggest trade customer like an enemy is an industry - and Australian Navy ships patrolling the South China Seas alongside US ships isn't in any way provocative, the way Chinese ships anywhere near Australia are. Right, yeah. Not that there isn't a lot to be legitimately concerned about with China's growing influence, but avoiding any calling for more and better international agreements and support for strengthening rules of law and supporting the US style 'we are exceptional, above the law, our 'might' must not be constrained in any way' approach to get up the noses of a global economic powerhouse we depend on seems especially counterproductive.
Climate? Calling for the top level science based advice on climate to be treated as true is now deemed politically partisan by ABC journalists - just the pushing of some opinions and nothing to do with duties of care, accountability or trust. An example of letting the deniers off the hook was the attempted pre-election 'gotcha' by David Speers questioning Peter Dutton about whether he 'believes' in climate change - which was Speers handing Mr Dutton a get-out-of-actually-answering straight line... not "believe the science based expert advice", no, nor "believe in human causation", but simply believe in climate change. Like Speers was blissfully unaware of 'but the climate is always changing, ha, ha, ha' rhetoric of the climate science deniers he worked with closely at News for so many years. And accepting Duttons answers like it was an honest response, with only tokenistic push back. Oh, people thought he was saying he believed in HUMAN caused climate change? Ha, ha, HA, HA! Yes, the joke is on us.
Bravo, Bogan. The situation is dire. Exactly as you describe it. The weirdest thing is why the ABC persists and insists on the Great Dumb Down. There are some informed, smart people there. Yet we see far too little of them. I’m thinking about John Lyons and there are others… the Speersy Sky crowd clearly have producers to match. Dancing to steps choreographed by Justin Stevens? Or? So, so sad. An ethical vacuum as well as an intellectual one.
.
Insiders is the most woeful program on the ABC. Followed closely by Q and A. When are reporters just reporting what happens and when are they commentators with opinions? Depends?
Australia will not need to go to war. While we are still building our subs, figuratively, either China will annex us economically or India will conquer from within.