'John Tognolini has been a rare voice and witness for justice in Australia, chronicling the struggles of Indigenous Australians and veterans and the deceptions of power from behind the facades of a society that prefers not to know. I salute him.'
John Pilger
John/Togs Tognolini
March for Humanity August 3 2025. On the Sydney Harbour Bridge with 300,000 other people protesting against Israel's Genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.
This week on Scam of the
Week, we look at the big distractions and the big deals, Iran as the next war
drumbeat, Pauline Hanson climbing in the polls, the Coalition leadership soap
opera around Susan Ley, and the looming Rio, Glencore mega merger and the tax
game that follows.  Support
independent journalism, become a patron, and read the investigations on the
Michael West Media website. Support us ❤️ patreon.com/thewestreport Our Journalism 📰 michaelwest.com.au Merch 👕https://lonelykidsclub.com/collection...
The Party Line on Hanson’s
Invasion day antics and the Minneapolis uprising against ICE Bullshit has been
confirmed as an essential part of the pod by popular acclaim, and so this ep
begins with a healthy serving. So we start by exploring Omar’s first experience
of Jordan’s fame, the quality of flooring in the office, and other essential
issues facing the nation. The headlines take another look at US imperialism in
relation to both Venezuela and Iran, before looking at the unholy alliance of
Coles and The Australian, and the impending collapse of the Nationals. The
first of our main segments looks at the massive Invasion day demos around the
country, the much smaller fascist mobilisations, and the literal bomb thrown at
the Invasion day protest in Perth. We then look at the inspirational resistance
to ICE in Minneapolis, where 3000 thugs have confronted tens of thousands of
students, workers and activists standing against the violent deportations of
migrants. The general strike on January 23 was a clear turning point, leading
businesses to complain about the disruption and Trump to lead (a partial but
much welcomed) RETREAT! As of now the struggle remains ongoing and we send our
full solidarity to the people of Minneapolis. Huge thanks to our tireless
editors Charlie Wardrop and Persephone Waxman, and special guest editor Auley
Ryan. While we will always release our content for free, please support us on
https:// / thepartyline
if you can.
***************** This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm
(Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape
dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come
out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist
point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The
Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle. If you
like what you hear, please rate, subscribe and share with your friends,
colleagues and comrades. If you are in a position to support us financially, then sign up at / thepartyline
. If you find yourself
agreeing with us more often than not, please join your local branch of the
Socialist Party at https://socialists.org.au
. (The views and opinions
expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the
Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) This pod was produced on stolen land
and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight
against racism and capitalism.
The ownership of TikTok has
officially transferred hands, and the censorship has already begun. Don’t take
our word for it, the new CEO has literally said it out loud in an unearthed
video from last March. Taylor Lorenz of User Mag joined Francesca to talk about
TikTok banning pro Palestinian content and the continued deterioration of free
speech on the internet. Adam Presser, the new CEO of TikTok, recently spoke at
the World Jewish Congress about banning any accounts accused of antisemitism.
Of course, the antisemitism he is referring to is any criticism of Zionism or
Israel. You can’t even use the word Zionist on TikTok anymore, unless you are
saying you are a Zionist. TikTok also unveiled that they will be surveilling
users, tracking things like race or immigration status. Surely they have no
nefarious plans for that information! Let’s not forget how we got here. All of
this stems back to President Biden and his efforts to ban TikTok. The reason
why he and many Democrats were so desperate to get rid of the app was because
of how huge it was for spreading the truth about what is happening in Gaza.
Liberal Zionist Democrats paved the way for what we are seeing now, which is
MAGA aligned billionaires buying TikTok to use it as a weapon for fascism and
censorship. See Francesca LIVE Saturday February 14th at 9:30pm Pasadena for
New World Disorder: https://www.showclix.com/event/new-wo...
Trump recently unveiled
his “Board of Peace” and its plans for taking over/rebuilding Gaza, and it
is just as awful as you would expect. It’s no secret that Trump has hated the
UN for some time now, and this newly minted Board of Peace seems to be, in
part, a play to undermine the international body. All your favorite war
criminals have been invited to join the group, including Vladimir Putin and
Benjamin Netanyahu. You know, guys you immediately think of when it comes to
peace! More importantly, there is the board’s plans for rebuilding Gaza. While
the Palestinians in Gaza are still suffering under the genocidal conditions
inflicted on them by Israel, Jared Kushner is presenting his “Master Plan” for
the region at Davos. In Kushner’s pitch, he said, “I know it's a little risky
to be investing in a place like this, but we need you to come take faith,
invest in the people.” Oh really, why is it risky, Jared? Is it because Israel
has spent over 2 years completely destroying Gaza and you're building on BONES?
See Francesca LIVE Saturday February 14th at 9:30pm Pasadena for New World
Disorder: https://www.showclix.com/event/new-wo...
Francesca to talk about the
fallout over ICE shooting and killing VA ICU nurse Alex Pretti, and how Trump
is publicly responding. In the aftermath of this most recent public execution
by ICE, the regime has really been struggling to find a narrative to absolve
themselves. Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem played the “domestic terrorist” and
“assassin” card, which quickly fell apart when we all saw the videos that
unequivocally disproved this lie. Even Donald Trump is breaking rank with the
ghouls in his cabinet like Miller. When asked by the press whether or not Trump
agreed with Stephen Miller’s assessment that Pretti was, “an assassin” who
tried to murder federal agents, Trump said no. Eventually, Trump added a caveat
saying, “You can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns.” Interesting, so
does this mean that the snake flag, “don’t tread on me” bros are going to
finally break with Trump for wanting to take away their right to carry? See
Francesca LIVE Saturday, February 14th at 9:30pm Pasadena for New World
Disorder: https://www.showclix.com/event/new-wo...
This week, Antony Loewenstein speaks with
Randa Abdel-Fattah; Palestinian Australian writer, academic, former lawyer, and
author most recently of “Discipline”. They reflect on knowing each other for
over two decades, before turning to Randa’s visits to Palestine in 2000 and
2010 with her father, including returning to his village Burqa, and what
dispossession looks like when it fractures people from land, memory, and
ancestry. The conversation moves to the present: how Randa thinks about “after
Zionism,” why she rejects future-tense ideas of “coexistence,” and what it
means to practise solidarity now, including with anti-Zionist Jewish
communities. They discuss how Palestinians process ongoing violence in Gaza and
the West Bank, the psychological toll of constant exposure, and why refusing to
“switch off” has become a discipline in itself. Antony and Randa also examine
Australia’s media and cultural institutions including the silencing of
pro-Palestinian voices, the use of “risk management” as censorship, and what
the Adelaide Writers’ Week controversy revealed about power, narrative control,
and whose speech is treated as dangerous. The episode closes with a wider
discussion about the rise of the far right in Australia, the positioning of
far-right parties as “pro-Israel,” and why Randa believes building independent
institutions and alternative platforms is no longer optional.
In this episode, we look at the many
red flags surrounding Labor’s new hate speech laws as well as the mainstream
media’s strikingly uniform response to them. Jan provides an update on the
finalised sale of TikTok, while Antoinette breaks down Australia Day polls and
offers a toolkit for spotting agendas in the opaque polling world. There’s also
a shout out to the women - Paris Hilton and Ashley St Clair - who are taking on
pornographic deepfakes made by X’s Grok.
CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro and rundown 4:21
Australia Day polls, no clarity 10:01 How
poll wording and timing rigs answers 13:35
Lattouf’s poll toolkit 17:35 TikTok
sale to US billionaires 19:20 Who
controls the algorithm? 21:30
Hillary Clinton on narrative control and Israel 24:40 TikTok
CEO admits Zionism criticism suppression 28:06
Australia’s new hate speech laws 31:45
Government interview meltdown 37:55
Editorial silence on hate laws overreach 40:33
Guardian covers dogs, not laws 47:15 Why
Israel’s PM gets a visa 49:06
Explicit deepfakes on X’s Grok 53:20 Musk’s
baby mumma sues xAI 54:40
Beckham family feud 57:20 Jan’s
Beckham timing conspiracy theory
SUPPORT US at Ette Media by becoming a subscriber at Ette Media
Jared Kushner revealed America's disgusting “master plan” for Gaza at
the World Economic Forum in Davos, we discuss the plan to build over the bodies
with Mehdi Hasan of ZETEO plus the rest of the news of the week including the
latest from Minneapolis. Then, we'll interview Taylor Lorenz about her coverage
of “online safety" and how Congress is trying to pushing through extreme
censorship and surveillance under the pretense of protecting children.
Featuring: Taylor Lorenz, / taylorlorenz https://substack.com/@taylorlorenz
Antoinette Lattouf’s story stands out among the many journalists who
were targeted, attacked, and punished for criticizing Israel; that’s because,
in her case, some justice was actually served. In 2023, Lattouf was fired from
her job presenting ABC Sydney, a magazine-style radio program, after sharing a
Human Rights Watch report on social media, which detailed Israel’s use of
starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinians. Her unlawful firing shed
light on Australia’s “enormously influential” pro-Israel lobby, as she put it,
and the control it has over the country’s media. ABC was forced to pay nearly
$145,000 in damages to Lattouf for unlawful termination, a victory she plans to
capitalize on. Watch the full interview above to hear the claims ABC’s former
managing director made about Lattouf’s social media post, why she feels her
victory was “hollow,” and how prominent anti-Palestinian sentiment is in
Australia’s biggest news organizations.
This interview was published on
zeteo.com more than a week ago.
If you would like early access to exclusive
content like this, then head over to our Substack and become a paid subscriber
today. Your support matters!
Owen Jones, ‘Imagine one extended family was violently killed in Britain
which has a population of around 69 million people. The grandfathers killed,
the grandmothers killed, the fathers, the mothers, the uncles, the aunts, the teenagers,
the toddlers, the newborn babies, all killed. One extended family gone,
murdered in Britain. If that one extended family was killed in Britain, it
would be regarded as one of the great crimes of the postwar era. This horror would
be splashed on every front page.
It would lead every news bulletin. We would have indepth portraits of
every victim. We would see the smiling faces of the photos of children and
babies killed in this horror. Politicians would do grief stricken speeches.
Social media would abound with ordinary citizens sharing their disgust, their
horror. It would go down in the history books, a crime remembered with shock
for generations. Gaza had a pre- genocide population of around 2.2 million,
much smaller than Britain's 69 million people. According to a new study from Al Jazeera, Israel has wiped out more than 2,700 Palestinian extended families in
Gaza since the genocide began in October 2023.The youngest victim killed in
Gaza by the Israeli state, a one-year-old baby. The oldest victim, a
101year-old man.
Each family, their own memories, their own histories, their own
traditions, their own secrets, their ups, their downs, their celebrations,
their tragedies. All of these families gone, erased from the earth as though
they didn't exist in the first place. All those precious shared moments that
they had, a child's first word, family celebrations, days out of the beach, all
of these families wiped from Gaza civil registry, all of their memories wiped along
with them as if they never happened. If anywhere else on Earth, especially in a
territory with just over 2 million people, 2,700 plus extended families had
been violently exterminated in the space of 2 years. There would be no debate
or discussion or controversy about whether that this constituted genocide. It
would be deemed outrageous to even deny it. It is our responsibility,not least
in countries which helped arm and facilitate this genocide, to remember all the
details of what our countries helped do to the people of Gaza.
While the broligarchs continue their mad dash
towards wealth consolidation, militarism, and fascism, why is the so-called
opposition party still trying to cozy up to the tech billionaires? Are the
Democrats incapable of seeing the writing on the wall? Gil Duran of The Nerd
Reich joined Francesca to talk about how the Democrats are cashing in on the
power grab by Big Tech. Remember when all these companies pretended to be
bleeding heart liberals, and had pledged to reduce their carbon emission and
fight climate change, or added a “Black Stories” playlist to their
billion-dollar streaming homepage? Well all that is out the window thanks to
their new obsession: AI. They are also done with trying to not appear outwardly
fascist, anti-worker, and anti-planet. They have aligned themselves with the
Trump regime, and ghouls like Peter Thiel have openly stated that they want
democracy to go away. So where are the Democrats in all this? They are supposed
to be the opposition party in the U.S… so why aren’t they doing any opposing?
It’s because of money. They turn a blind eye to the obvious takeover that
Silicon Valley is having over our government, so that they too can get the bag
from our tech overlords. What time is it? Time to primarily.
After a run of heavy stories on corruption, defence
spending and corporate tax, we looked at the Sydney shark scare. Four attacks,
one long weekend, and suddenly it’s national panic.
This episode slows things down. We look at the data,
ocean conditions and history, and how quickly a cluster of events becomes a
“crisis” once the media machine gets hold of it. It’s a story about risk,
perception and how fear gets framed.
These pieces matter too. Media literacy and context
are a big part of what we do.
And it only happens because of you. Your support lets
us cover the big investigations and the quieter stories that cut through the
noise.
Grok. It’s like Uber for your brain. And Grok is
growing bigger and bigger, despite breaking laws and being criminally cringe.
If you haven’t been on Elon’s platform recently you’re missing the millions of
people asking Grok instead of using their brains. And now Grok is digitally
undressing young girls with zero accountability. Francesca looks at how the
late bloomer to AI, Elon Musk, has gone full throttle into his new venture xAI
which includes Grok. He’s even creating a host of AI companions that are definitely
making the whole “male loneliness epidemic” much much worse. xAI has also
violated federal laws like The Clean Air Act, as it poisons the people of
Memphis with its datacenter that is literally named Colossus. Only to be
outdone by the new Colossus 2, which is the world’s first gigawatt datacenter.
That’s a small country’s worth of energy. All so you can power a girlfriend who
you can’t touch. And now predictably, xAI is working with the Pentagon. Pete
Hegseth just announced that the DoD is working with Grok for their internal
communications, but with the way AI companies have been collaborating with
militaries in Israel, it’s only a matter of time before it's used on civilians.
So the question becomes: are you ready to stop using the job-killing,
water-guzzling, thief of creativity and thought known as AI? I will if you
will.
Trump is back to
threatening to invade Greenland… Again. This time, it is even more deranged and
stupid. But is there an actual reason behind his insane desire to steal the
country? Gil Duran of The Nerd Reich joined Francesca to talk about network
states and how Greenland fits into this dystopian vision from the broligarchy.
As the climate emergency continues to melt the polar ice caps at an alarming
rate, Greenland has become a prime target for the U.S. under Trump. In 2018,
billionaire Ron Lauder told Trump he should buy Greenland because of its
natural resources, like rare earth minerals. Now Trump wants to use the power
of the American empire to act as a conquering dictator, stealing other
countries’ resources. Sounds an awful lot like Putin invading Ukraine, or
China’s desire to invade Taiwan… Then you have the tech billionaires like Peter
Thiel who want to use Greenland to create “freedom cities” or network states.
He’s invested in a company called Praxis, run by yet another kooky Silicon
Valley weirdo Dryden Brown. Watch a longer video about Praxis here: • Is Trump Going To Allow Private Cities To ... .
These freedom cities essentially function as corporate city states, where the
company that owns them gets to create their own government, tax free of course.
This is the techno-monarchist philosophy that freaks like Curtis Yarvin love.
Owen Jones 'So, Canada is preparing to
be invaded by the United States of America. If you've just woken up from a
10-year coma, all I can say is I am so sorry, but you've got a lot to catch up
on. Now, this comes up after the far right American President Donald Trump has
made it repeatedly clear that he wishes to annex Canada. His former chief strategist
Steve Bannon is himself driving talk about the US seizing Canadian territory.
We'll come on to that. It comes amidst the crisis over Greenland which Trump is
absolutely determined to invade and annex. We'lltalk a bit about that as well.
But there's an absolutely fascinating and historic speech by Canadian Prime Minister
Mark Carney which admits the end of American hegmony. But it goes further. We
should treat this speech as a confession. A western leader has finally admitted
how the world is run in whose interests and about the lie the huge lies which underpin
this order saying the sorts of things we've been saying for years.'
Stephanie Tran has written a
detailed article on Palantir after the Cybersecurity company Palantir has
received a high-level Australian government security assessment despite
concerns about its surveillance and complicity in the Gaza genocide in Michael
West Media.“We kill enemies”: Spy firm Palantir secures top Australian security clearance
John/Togs Tognolini
'The Philosopher in the
Valley’ is the latest book from journalist and author Michael Steinberger, and
it explores Palantir and its equally controversial and perplexing CEO, Alex
Karp. Steinberger had unprecedented access to the people behind what he describes
as “the most interesting company in the world” that is making warfare “in vogue
in tech circles.” Today, Palantir’s surveillance and data software is used by
intelligence agencies, militaries, and corporations, which leads it to be used
in areas from finance to immigration and counterterrorism. Watch the full
discussion above to hear how Karp’s U-turn from the democrats towards MAGA is
cause for concern not only for people in the US, but across the globe. •This
interview was published almost a week ago on zeteo.com. If you would like EARLY
access to exclusive content like this then do consider becoming a paid
subscriber. It costs less than a monthly cup of coffee and goes a long way in
supporting our mission of bringing fearless, independent journalism to YOU, our
subscribers. ••You can buy a copy of Steinberger’s book, 'The Philosopher in the
Valley here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-phil...
Owen Jones ‘So,
Donald Trump has utterly humiliate himself. But that doesn't detract from the
fundamentals. The West is over as we've understood it, as is the lynch pin of
the West since World War II, which is American hegemony, and European elites are
in a total mess. Now, yesterday,Trump did a long rambling, and if I'm honest,
just boring speech at the World's Economic Forum in Davos. I'm not saying that
simply to make pot shots at this far right authoritarian demagogue.
Sometimes Trump
can be kind of funny. I hate admitting it but it is what it is. It's always
been my view that Donald Trump should have been a drag queen rather than a far right
aspiring dictator. He's extremely camp and sometimes just kind of hilarious as
a result without detracting from the seriousness of the threat he poses. Now this
particular speech I'm afraid to say was not an example of this. It was just a
meandering, tedious stream of consciousness. Anyway, here was a salient part.’
‘We never asked
for anything and we never got anything. We probably won't get anything unless I
decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be frankly
unstoppable. But I won't do that. Okay, now everyone's saying, "Oh,
good."
That's probably
the biggest statement I made because people thought I would use force. I don't
have to use force. I don't want to use force. I won't use force…..’ Donald
Trump
Are you subsidising Israel and the IDF? Australian
charities are meant to relieve suffering, not cause it. A growing list of
Australian registered charities has been identified by Michael West Media which
funnels money to entities in Israel linked to the IDF and illegal West Bank
settlements. They enjoy tax concessions in Australia, including in some cases
Public Benevolent Institution status.  We
look at how the media covers the Israel lobby, the power of the lobby over
mainstream media, and the rushed introduction of the Hate Speech laws. #auspol#israel#freespeech
The Australian Parliament
has adopted a potentially nation-altering hate crimes bill that allows an
intelligence agency and the government to collaborate in virtual secrecy to
list "hate groups" whose members and supporters could be then imprisoned,
according to the text of the law and to senators who voted against it in a
late-night session on Tuesday. The law could allow peaceful organizations
protesting against Israel to be listed without due process as hate groups in a
hidden process between the Australian Intelligence Security Organisation
(ASIO), which is the national domestic intelligence agency similar to the
F.B.I., the attorney general and the home affairs minister. Asked by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) four times whether a group accusing
Israel of genocide could be designated a "hate group," federal
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland ultimately said she would rely on the advice
of ASIO & the police in such a case. GUESTS: Sen. David Shoebridge and
Nasser Mashni. INTERVIEWERS: Cathy Vogan and Joe Lauria
Episode 18 -
The party line on Invasion day, deaths in custody, and creeping fascism Omar
made his glorious return this week, though quickly made it clear he hadn’t
bothered listening to the last ep. (Probably for the best, he was easily
replaced.) This ep is an Invasion day special, and looks at the past present
and future of Aboriginal oppression and resistance in Australia. To help us go
through it all, we invited Indigenous socialist Oskar Martin on to the pod (and
we thought he was pretty excellent). We begin discussing the roots of
Indigenous oppression, including the frontier wars, the massacres, and why
stealing the land was so important to the early Australian capitalists. We then
look at the sordid history of stolen generations and the genocidal intentions
behind the plans to disrupt and dislocate Aboriginal people from their lands,
communities and cultures. Finally, we look at the incredible resistance of
Aboriginal people backed up by socialists and trade unionists, a proud history
that is often glossed over by liberals today. To wrap things up we take a brief
look at the appalling new hate speech laws passed by Parliament this week, and
their chilling implications for freedom of speech and assembly, and the right
to criticise Israel. Content Headlines: After Renee Good’s Killing, Some
Conservatives Scorn Liberal Women ICE Prosecutor Who Runs Racist X Account
Returns to Dallas Immigration Court The exchange of messages between Norway's
prime minister and President Trump “Considering your Country decided not to
give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel
an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant,
but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of
America…… Thank you! President DJT” Trump's Gaza Board of Peace Aims to Rival
UN, Charter Shows Albanese to consider Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ invitation
Wanted to give you guys a snapshot of what the main departments of the US
empire have been posting about in the last few days: War Dept video: Hegseth
working out with Japanese Defence minister Health Dept video: Drink whole milk
Ed Dept video: Weird cult of personality thing, anti-trans, pro-states' rights
messages State Dept image: Tariffs helped us stop 8 wars FBI Director: Raiding
and arresting journalists for WaPo Dept of Labor: 250 Years of One White Nation
Under God DHS tweet: We'll have our home again DHS image: One of ours, all of
yours Huge thanks to our tireless editors Charlie Wardrop and Persephone Waxman.
While we will always release our content for free, please support us on / thepartyline
With an
internet block out, state media tightly controlled, foreign actors bragging
about online interference, and exiled figures presenting themselves as the
solution, protestors and their plight largely disappear from the story - by
design. Thousands of Iranian protestors have been brutally killed - yet in the
war over the narrative, their plight is not often being centred. Meanwhile,
Trump’s press secretary snaps at another reporter - this time to dodge a basic
question about the shooting of an unarmed mother by an ICE agent. There’s also
a shout out to some responsible reporting on neo-Nazi material and a peak at
the growing influence of InDaily SA, the newspaper muscling in on Murdoch's
territory. 0:00
Lattouf health update 2:20 New year
news chaos 4:30
What’s ahead 8:00
Iran protests primer 9:45 Internet
blackout and reporting gaps 12:15
Diaspora anger over coverage 16:29 Mossad
admits meddling 21:03
Protest hashtags boosted from Israel 22:25 Why
death tolls stay murky 26:02 The
Reza Pahlavi saviour script 29:55
Putting Iranian civilians back at the center 31:15
Trump’s Karoline Leavitt vs a journalist 37:50 When
satire barely exaggerates reality 39:38 Randa
Abdel-Fattah and a very cheeky headline 45:32 News
Corp Adelaide narrative challenged by InDaily 52:40
Neo-Nazi flyer: reporting that it’s dangerous
Owen Jones 'Donald Trump has declared
war on the rest of the West. He's planning a military invasion of Greenland,
and he really is, and thus annexing 2 million square kilometers of territory
belonging to Denmark, a fellow NATO member, and thus a military ally. He's
declared economic war on his allies, announcingtariffs on the likes of Denmark
itself, Germany, France, and indeed the UK over his plans to invade Greenland.
And with the UK, he has completely humiliated the prime minister Starmer whose
strategy of disappearing up the backside of Donald Trump has achieved zilch...'
Everything you've been told
about Trump is a lie.'....And Trump is a neoliberal extremist.
How can you blame Nicholas Maduro for all the ills of American society? If you
want to solve the opioid crisis, take power away from the pharmaceutical
companies. Invest in health. invest in education. Make your society work in a
much more human way.Trump's doing the opposite. He's ravaging American society,
blaming it all on immigrants and blaming it all on official enemies like Maduro
who won't give their oil at the price they want.Blame the pharmaceutical
companies.Blame the lack of investment in healthcare. Blame the billionaires
that are hoarding the wealth and got substantially richer under co.
The law of the jungle is
reigning supreme and it's been like that for a long time. But Trump is making
it very hard for liberal imperialists because America has been an empire and
been a brutal empire for 100 years, but it's always done it under the cloak of liberal
ideology. It's used words like rules-based order or international law.
Trump doesn't truck with
any of this stuff now. He just says what they're doing openly and he celebrates
it. Even on the case of Venezuela, he said, "We want to go in for the oil.
We're taking billions and billions of dollars worth of oil and it'll be
hundreds of billions of dollar. It'll be trillions of dollars. That's a lot of
oil. It's on its way to the United States right now....'
#auspol Prohibition does not
work, neither will these laws work. We unpack what the Hate Speech Bill is
trying to do, why “adjacent terms” could become a compliance nightmare, and why
vague definitions can hand enormous power to the executive to decide who counts
as a hate group, and who gets targeted next. David Shoebridge on the hate group
plotting: https://x.com/DavidShoebridge/status/...
At Drop Site, our mission is to bring you
journalism directly from the ground, handing the mic and the notebook to those
who are living through what we are reporting. Covering the uprising and its
suppression in Iran has presented a unique challenge. The clear involvement of
outside forces, backed by the U.S. and Israel, make distinguishing authentic
domestic grievances from foreign-backed, regime-change efforts difficult.
The
U.S. is openly soliciting intel on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and offering
“rewards and relocation.” Meanwhile, the Iranian government enforced a lengthy
and near-complete internet blackout just as the protests reached their zenith
at the end of last week. Flights to and from Iran were canceled en masse last
week, as the country prepared for another round of U.S. airstrikes. Those
attacks may still be in the offing, but have yet to materialize. Now, flights
have resumed, and one protestor, who had spent the last month in Iran, agreed
to sit down for an interview on the condition that we protect her identity.
We
reviewed travel documents and verified other elements of her account where we
could, including with footage she and her friends took at the marches. Much of
the footage, some of which is included in the interview, shows overturned
dumpsters and tires set aflame.
The Financial Times reported that witnesses to
the uprising observed groups of black-clad, well-organized men going from
dumpster to dumpster, setting them on fire, while the woman we interviewed did
not see that directly. Videos of the uprising, as well as testimony reported by
FT, show “armed agitators” firing into crowds and at security services. Her
account does not claim to be comprehensive; no single account could be. She is
not part of a professional activist network, but she was visiting Iran in order
to spend time with family.
The interview is unique in Western coverage: it
presents a first-hand perspective of a person directly involved with the
protests—from someone who is opposed to the government there, but is also not a
supporter of the U.S. or Israel, who have played a role in the unrest and have
made no secret of their designs toward Iran.
The New York Times has reported
that “a ragtag network of activists, developers and engineers pierced Iran’s digital
barricades” and with the help of the National Endowment for Democracy, a
CIA-adjacent American funding mechanism, managed to build a transnational
network that smuggled some 50,000 Starlink devices into Iran, which is about
$40,000,000 of hardware for that “ragtag” band.
In our interview, the woman
recounts a massive march in Tehran of nearly unprecedented size on Thursday,
January 8, which she saw meet very little security service resistance.
Elsewhere in the city, reports suggest it did turn violent. That march was
followed by another on Friday, at which her friends saw people fall from
gunfire but she did not. On Saturday, the government sent text messages to the
public warning that another demonstration would be met with force. “Saturday
was – I don’t think I’ll ever forget Saturday,” she told me.
After the
massacre, the city went quiet. Since then, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei has said that “several thousand” people were killed in the protests.
The death toll includes demonstrators, some armed and, Khamenei argued, trained
by foreign adversaries, as well as personnel from Iran’s security services.
Owen Jones tears apart those who have hypocritically
attacked him for not supporting the Opposition Movement in Iran, which he has
and does, while opposing Israel’s continued Genocide in Gaza.
Whistle
Blower & retired Green Beret Anthony Aguilar watches for the first time and
reacts to the ICE Agent who murdered Renee Good's bodycam video, exposing how
Israeli oppression tactics are being imported to the U.S.
00:00 Trump explaining
why deadly force justified against Renee Good 05:10 ICE
should do a serious investigation and release all the video 09:45 PTSD
& it’s relationship to the ICE agent who killed Renee Good 16:30 People
who are defending the ICE agent are bringing up irrelevant stuff 20:15 ICE
Agent’s footage of killing of Renee Good 23:15 ICE is
using IDF’s tactics - imperialism turned inward 29:45 This
is the death penalty, he murdered her 35:00
Anthony’s plan to go to congress and get them to do their job Anthony Aguilar
is a retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel & Special Forces officer
(Green Beret) who served for 25 years in places like Iraq, Afghanistan,
Tajikistan, Jordan & the Philippines. He is also a whistle blower who
exposed crimes he witnessed as a security contractor working with the Gaza
Humanitarian Foundation.
The
Albanese government is trying to ram through a new set of vilification laws,
bundled into an “omnibus” bill alongside gun reforms, and it’s already
exploding before Parliament resumes. Labor calls it the Combating Antisemitism,
Hate and Extremism Bill 2026, but that title alone tells you what’s going on,
one form of racism gets special priority, right there at the top. The Liberals
and Greens are both refusing to support it, and for good reason. The Bill
lowers the legal threshold from speech that incites violence to speech that
merely “promotes hate”, and hands huge power to a highly subjective “reasonable
person” test. Not a law anchored in harm, but a law anchored in vibes.
00:00 Hate speech laws,
the “biggest hate crime” carve out 01:41
Adelaide Writers Festival meltdown, Murdoch spin cycle 08:38 The
Omnibus Crash, “Combating Antisemitism” bill breakdown 20:54 Wrap
up, final hit + call to action
Episode 17 - The party
line on ICE, Adelaide Writers Week and Hate Speech This week the gang voted
Omar off the Island. Producers had a surprise up their sleeves, with Josh Lees
as a special guest. We discussed the violent killing of Renee Nicole Good by
ICE agents, and the full throated support for the murderer from JD Vance, Trump
and the US regime. We then discussed the fallout from the removal of Dr Randa
Abdel-Fattah from Adelaide Writers’ Week, and the solidarity she received from
180+ other guests and writers. The ruling class offensive against the Palestine
movement continues, with the Royal Commission announced, plus the introduction
of hate speech laws that give the Attorney General the powers to prohibit
organisations, and punishment of 15 years for people who support them.
Sacked for Israeli flag:
How Sydney Uni handled pro-Palestine encampment The march to the Bondi massacre
began at Sydney Town Hall: https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and...
Pauline Hanson and Barnaby
Joyce use Gina Rinehart’s private jet to visit flooded parts of Queensland |
One Nation | The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/australia...
Huge thanks to our
tireless editors Charlie Wardrop and Persephone Waxman. While we will always
release our content for free, please support us on / thepartyline
All my views expressed here are my own. I’m 66. Before I became a teacher in 2000. I worked in a variety of blue collar jobs since 1975 as a labourer including working for two years in General Motors Holden’s Melbourne car plants at Fisherman’s Bend and Dandenong. I've also been a scaffolder, rigger, dogman, railway fettler (track worker) on Sydney's railways, (including the Sydney Harbour Bridge) and a ship's painter and docker at Sydney's Cockatoo Island Dockyard. I've been a life long Unionist and Socialist since I was 16. I have become a founding member of NSW Socialists, the welcomed national expansion of the Victorian Socialist project. I'm a proud and active member of the New South Wales Teachers Federation Union/Australian Education Union. I'm a historian, geographer, teacher, writer, actor, musician & poet. I’ve decided to reactivate my blog named after the house built by my Swiss/Italian grandfather/nonno Antonio Tognolini from Tirano, Sondria, Lombardia, Italy. He came to Australia as a passenger on the ‘Northumberland’ when it docked in Naarm/Melbourne in1874. Antonio built it with my Uncle Henry Phillips and it was called Togs’s Place, they finished building it in 1906, in Yandoit, Central Victoria, in Dja Dja Wurrung Country. It served as Cobb & Co way-station, which was immediately adjacent to the main coach route from Yandoit to Castlemaine. It delivered mail to the mainly American Gold Miners of American Gully. It’s where my father Vic was born in 1910, the youngest of 16 children between Antonio and my grandmother Annie Phillips. Annie was single mother with her one son Henry Phillips, when her and Antonio got together. Annie was the granddaughter of an English Convict from Hampshire,Thomas Batt who landed in Hobart/Nipaluna in 1830 and Irish Woman Mary McCarthy, from Cork,who arrived in the 1830’s to Hobart. Her mother was Catherine Batt who married an English Convict from Norfolk William Phillips. William was sent to Port Arthur for hard labour and flogged there with the cat and nine tails whip fifty times, after attempting to escape from Wedge Bay. I've produced four radio documentaries for the ABC's Radio National/RN: Bush Fires, Ups and Downs of Scaffolding, The Last Ship Built in the Dockyard, the HMAS Success built in Sydney’s Cockatoo Island Dockyard, the navy gave a me a sea ride on it from Hobart to Sydney. Underground about Lithgow Mine Rescue in New South Wales's Western Coal fields. I've made the films The Occupation of Cockatoo Island Dockyard 1989. As well as my film The Deregistration of the Builders Labourers Federation-the Victorian Story 1986-1992. They were both disputes I was directly involved in and these films are on YouTube. I've also been involved in community radio since 1987 and worked as a journalist for the ABC Radio’s Triple J. I have a First Division, Second Class Honours Degree in Communications from the University of Technology, Sydney where I also majored in Journalism and Social and Political Theory and a Diploma of Secondary Education from the University of Western Sydney. I've also been a Marker for the NSW Higher School Certificate’s Ancient History Examination, three times. I've been a high school teacher for over twenty-five years and retired after my last day of teaching on July 4th 2025.. I completed the TAFE Certificate in Fire Fighting Operations and was a volunteer bush fire fighter for seventeen years and retired from this after I joined the Zipper Club when I had a mechanical heart valve inserted in 2011. I'm originally from Naarm/Melbourne’s Brunswick, Wurundjeri Country and lived in Sydney on Gadigal and Darug Lands and the Central Coast on Darkinjung Country at Long Jetty & Umina Beach before moving back to Sydney, and then to the Blue Mountain’s town of Katoomba on Darug and Gundungurra Lands in 1992 and was there for sixteen years before moving to Wellington Wiradjuri Country in Central West, New South Wales near Dubbo in 2008. The Mountain City Murders, my first book was published by Adelaide’s Ginninderra Press in 2010. My autobiographical account of heart disease Singing Johnny Cash in Cardiac Ward, A Personal Story of Heart Disease and Music was published in 2013. My first historical novel Brothers Part One: Gallipoli 1915 was published in 2014. I'm updating this book and my 2015 book A History Man’s Past & Other People’s Stories: A Shared Memoir. Part One: Other People’s Wars is a shared history in many ways. It’s where part of my story reflects the people I’ve interviewed with my media work over thirty five years. My interview with retired Australian SAS Warrant Officer Dr Brian Day, who served with the US Special Forces in Vietnam and Cambodia. He was also a founding member of the Australian Vietnam Veterans Association. I interviewed him in 1992 on Anzac, Racism, and the Madness of the Vietnam War. My interview with Stan Goff, a retired US Army Special Forces Master Sergeant and Vietnam Veteran who served in the US Army up until Haiti in 1996. He became involved in Military Families Against War that was formed when George W.Bush invaded Iraq in 2003. My question to Veteran Journalist, Writer and Filmmaker John Pilger, at a public meeting in Katoomba's Gearins Hotel, in the Blue Mountains about history being memory in 2008. My question to Activist, Academic, Writer and Linguist Noam Chomsky, and coverage of his Sydney Press Conference, when he visited Australia in 1995, campaigning for an independent East Timor, then under the murderous Indonesian Occupation. A shared history in another way too, I argue here that Australia’s Frontier Wars against our Indigenous Peoples should be recognised in the Australian War Memorial. I also argued against former prime minister Tony Abbott’s $90 million dollar John Monash Centre at Villers-Bretonneux, France and highlight the $400 million spent on the Centenary of Australia’s involvement in World War One as a major act of hypocrisy, when one in ten of our nation’s homeless are War Veterans. I'm updating this book in light of the AUKUS Alliance and Nuclear Submarine purchase. Prime minister Anthony Albanese has signed away Australian Sovereignty to be part of the United States containment of China. This book is an attempt to answer that big question, why has Australia been at War so much in so many places normally as junior partner to Britain or the United States? I'm currently completing the Brothers historical novel series with the following three parts concentrating on the Western Front in France and Belgium from 1916 to 1918. In late April 2016, I moved back to Katoomba and I'm on the New South Wales Teachers Federation’s State Council for the Blue Mountains and secretary of the Blue Mountains Teachers Association. In 2018 I endured a stroke that nearly killed me. After recovering I decided to take a break from writing for five and half years. On May 11th 2023, I was awarded Life Membership of the Mighty NSW Teachers Federation by then NSWTF Senior President Angelo Gavrielatos.
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