A Sudanese migrant with a criminal record who “self-identifies” as an Aboriginal man was granted the right to stay in Australia.
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If the governing Conservative Party wins the national election on July 4, all 18-year-olds in Britain will be required to perform a year of mandatory military or civilian national service, the party announced Sunday.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to reintroduce a form of national service for the first time in over 60 years, aiming to revitalise his election campaign after a sluggish start. Historically, the UK implemented military conscription during World War II and maintained 18 months of mandatory military service for men from 1947 to 1960. Since then, the country has relied on an all-volunteer military force, which has gradually decreased in size.
Under the new proposal, a small fraction of 18-year-olds—approximately 30,000 out of an estimated 700,000—would spend 12 months in the military, serving in roles such as logistics or cyber defence. The majority would engage in monthly volunteer work with charities, community groups, hospitals, police, or fire services.
Sunak emphasized that the program would foster “a shared sense of purpose among our young people and a renewed sense of pride in our country.” However, the exact mechanism for enforcing this compulsory service remains unclear. Home Secretary James Cleverly assured that no one would be compelled to join the military.
Cleverly clarified that the primary objective of the new plan is to create “a society where people mix with others from different communities, backgrounds, religions, and income levels.” The Conservatives estimate the national service plan will cost £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) annually, funded in part by reallocating £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, established in 2022 to revitalize deprived communities.
The Labour Party criticized the proposal as a “desperate £2.5 billion unfunded commitment” from a party “bankrupt of ideas.” Former Labour Home Secretary Alan Johnson derided the plan as “compulsory volunteering” and predicted it would never be implemented.
UK elections are required every five years, with the prime minister having discretion over the exact timing within that period. Sunak, 44, surprised many, including his own party members, by announcing the election date as July 4. The Conservatives, in power for 14 years, are lagging behind the opposition Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, in opinion polls and are struggling against a widespread desire for change.
Sunak’s election announcement, made outside 10 Downing Street, was marred by heavy rain and protesters playing a Labour campaign song. One of his initial campaign stops was at the Belfast shipyard where the Titanic was built—an irony eagerly highlighted by critics.
Voters will elect lawmakers to all 650 seats in the House of Commons. The leader of the party securing a majority, either alone or in coalition, will become prime minister.
Bureaucracy gone mad!
Ray Payne OAM – 28/O5/24
Australia is charging headlong into the financial quagmire of climate zealotry, now targeting our farmers with yet another layer of bureaucratic oversight and wasteful spending. In a recent announcement, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen unveiled a whopping $63.8 million investment to supposedly lower emissions from the farming sector under the Agriculture and Land Sector plan. This is on top of a half-billion-dollar injection into the Future Drought Fund, all aimed at dressing up our agricultural sector in the latest green credentials.
At the Sustainable Agriculture Summit in Toowoomba, Bowen waxed lyrical about the necessity of “accurate standardised emissions reporting” to meet the Paris Agreement targets. This initiative includes educating farmers on emissions accounting—an elaborate process involving the use of standardised methods to quantify greenhouse gases, supposedly helping farmers to identify areas for reduction and ensure transparency.
But let’s call a spade a spade: This is a colossal waste of taxpayer money. The idea of spending millions to measure and manage cow farts and sheep burps is nothing short of absurd. Chris Bowen’s grand plan reeks of the same out-of-touch elitism that often characterizes urban environmental policy, disconnected from the gritty realities of rural farming life.
Bowen asserts that this initiative will “unlock new opportunities” for farmers. However, the reality is that most of these so-called opportunities are little more than regulatory hoops through which farmers must jump. Instead of focusing on productivity and innovation, our farmers are now being conscripted into the climate crusade, burdened with new layers of compliance and reporting that do little to improve their bottom lines.
The minister’s vision of a decarbonised agricultural sector is not just impractical; it is harmful. Farmers already face myriad challenges, from fluctuating commodity prices to the ever-present threat of droughts. Adding the task of greenhouse gas accounting is a distraction they can ill afford. This initiative diverts time, energy, and resources away from actual farming, pushing them into the labyrinth of government red tape.
The breakdown of the funding further highlights the waste. Over $28.7 million will be funnelled into improving greenhouse gas accounting from the national level down to individual farms. This is a boon for bureaucrats and consultants but offers scant tangible benefits to farmers. The lion’s share—$30.8 million—will supposedly accelerate on-ground action to reduce emissions, yet these actions often translate into more invasive oversight and restrictions on farming practices.
Moreover, a paltry $4.4 million is earmarked for long-term research through the Zero Net Emissions Agriculture Cooperative Research Centre. While research is crucial, this token amount is unlikely to yield significant breakthroughs, serving more as a box-ticking exercise to appease climate activists than a genuine attempt at innovation.
Minister for Agriculture Murray Watt claims that reducing emissions will benefit farmers, who are on the frontline of climate change. Yet, this paternalistic approach overlooks the resilience and ingenuity that farmers have demonstrated for generations. They do not need government mandates to tell them how to run their businesses. What they need are practical support and freedom from excessive regulation.
The agricultural sector’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, primarily methane from livestock, is well-documented. However, the solution is not to burden farmers with emissions reporting but to support sustainable practices that naturally evolve from the industry’s needs and innovations. Government interventions often create more problems than they solve, stifling the very creativity and adaptability that are the hallmarks of successful farming.
In conclusion, Chris Bowen’s plan is emblematic of the misguided priorities that plague current environmental policies. Rather than throwing millions at fanciful schemes to measure and manage livestock emissions, we should focus on empowering farmers to do what they do best: produce food efficiently and sustainably. This latest initiative is not a step towards sustainability; it is a stumble into bureaucratic excess and misallocated resources. Australia deserves better, and so do our farmers.
Pushkin House in London, in collaboration with the University of London, recently invited Israeli author Dina Rubina (above) to a literary discussion on Zoom about her books. Then she received the email below from the meeting’s moderator, Nataliya Rulyova, who demanded she state where she stands “on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” because other invited participants need to “understand your position on this issue before responding”. That note and Ms Rubina’s blistering response are reproduced below.
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From: Nataliya Rulyova
Hello, Dina!
The Pushkin House announced our upcoming conference on social media and immediately received critical messages regarding your position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They wanted to understand your position on this issue before responding. Could you formulate your position and send it to me as soon as possible?
— Natasha
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Then followed Ms Rubina’s response…….
From: Dina Rubina
To: Nataliya Rulyova
Dear Natalia!
You’ve written beautifully about my novels, and I’m so sorry for the time you’ve wasted, because apparently, we have to cancel our meeting.
The universities of Warsaw and Torun have just canceled lectures by the wonderful Russian-speaking Israeli writer Yakov Shechter on the life of Galicia’s Jews in the 17th and 19th centuries “to avoid making the situation worse.” I suspected that this would affect me too, since academia is now the main breeding ground for the most disgusting and virulent anti-Semitism, disguised as so-called “criticism of Israel.” I was expecting something like this, and I even decided to write you an email about it… but I put it aside. It’s time for me to publish it.
This is what I want to say to all those who expect from me a quick and obsequious report on my position regarding my beloved country, which currently lives (and always has) surrounded by ferocious enemies who seek to destroy it . My country which is waging a just war today against a rabid, ruthless, deceptive and cunning enemy. The last time I apologized was in elementary school, in the principal’s office, I was 9 years old. Since then, I have been doing what I think is right, listening only to my conscience and expressing exclusively my understanding of the world order and human laws of justice.
Natalia, thank you for your efforts, and I personally ask you to send my answer to all those who are wondering.
On October 7, Saturday, the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, the ruthless, well-trained, well-prepared and well-equipped Hamas terrorist regime of Iran, Hamas, which rules in the Gaza enclave (which Israel left around twenty years ago), attacked dozens of peaceful kibbutzim and bombarded my country with tens of thousands of rockets. Hamas has committed atrocities that even the Bible cannot describe, atrocities that rival the crimes of Sodom and Gomorrah. Atrocities filmed by the way, by GoPro cameras, the murderers having taken the horror to the point of sending the images to their families or on social networks in real time.
For hours, thousands of happy, blood-drunk beasts raped women, children and men, shooting their victims in the crotch and heads, cutting off the women’s breasts and playing football with them, cutting off the babies from the wombs of pregnant women and immediately decapitating them, tying up and burning the small children. There were so many charred bodies that, for many weeks, forensic pathologists could not cope with the enormous workload of identifying individuals.
A friend of mine, who worked in the emergency room of a New York hospital for 20 years, then in Israel for 15 years, was one of the first to arrive in the kibbutzim, as part of a team of rescuers and of doctors. She still hasn’t been able to sleep since.
While she is an emergency specialist, accustomed to dissected bodies and corpses, she fainted when she saw the macabre sight and vomited all the way back in the car. Among the Hamas militants, Palestinian civilians rushed in, participating in pogroms of unprecedented scale, pillaging, killing, dragging everything they could get their hands on. Among these “Palestinian civilians” were 450 members of this highly regarded organization UNRWA (United Nations Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East).
Judging by the utter joy of the population (also captured by thousands of mobile cameras), Hamas is supported by almost the entire population of Gaza. But the essential is there for us: More than two hundred Israelis, including women, children, the elderly and foreign workers, were dragged into the beast’s den. A hundred of them are still rotting and dying in Hamas dungeons.
It goes without saying that these victims, who continue to be mocked, are of little concern to the “academic community”. But that’s not what I’m talking about right now. I am not writing this so that anyone will sympathize with the tragedy of my people.
During all these years, while the international community has literally poured hundreds of millions of dollars into this piece of land (the Gaza Strip) — UNRWA’s annual budget alone is equivalent to a billion dollars! — During all these years, Hamas used this money to build an empire with a complex system of underground tunnels, stockpile weapons, teach schoolchildren from primary school to disassemble and assemble Kalashnikov assault rifles, print textbooks in which hatred of Israel is indescribable, in which even math problems look like this calling for the murder of Jews with every word:
There were ten Jews, the shahid killed four, how many are left?
And now, when finally shocked by the monstrous crime of these bastards, Israel is waging a war of annihilation against the Hamas terrorists who so carefully prepared this war, who placed thousands of shells in all the hospitals, the schools, kindergartens…
The academic community, which was not concerned about the massacres in Syria, nor the massacre in Somalia, nor the mistreatment inflicted on the Uighurs, nor the millions of Kurds persecuted by the Turkish regime for decades, this very worried community, which wears “arafatkas” [keffiyehs], the trademark of murderers, around their necks at rallies under the slogan “Liberate Palestine from the river to the sea”, which means the total destruction of Israel (and Israelis). “Academics”, as polls show, have no idea where this river is, what it is called, where certain borders are located.
And it is this same public which asks me “to express a position clear on the issue”. Are you really serious!
As you know, I have been a professional writer for over 50 years. My novels have been translated into 40 languages, including Albanian, Turkish, Chinese, Esperanto, and many more.
Now, with great pleasure, without choosing my expressions too much, I sincerely and with all the strength of my soul send to all the brainless “intellectuals” who are interested in my position to go fuck themselves.
— Dina Rubina
Editor’s note: In translation, Ms Rubina’s surname can be found online as both “Roubina” and “Rubina”. QoL has opted for the latter spelling
Regards,
Anthony Tudehope
In a significant development, the Australian Government has unveiled plans to construct approximately 500 new homes in Townsville. This initiative, led by Defence Housing Australia (DHA), aims to provide housing for Defence Force personnel and their families, as well as to bolster the local housing market. The announcement was made by Matt Thistlethwaite, Assistant Minister for Defence.
“This project represents a substantial investment in the Townsville community,” stated Thistlethwaite. “Defence Housing Australia has gone out to the market to construct about 500 new properties here in Townsville. This initiative not only supports our Defence personnel and their families but also addresses the local housing demand, benefiting the broader community.”
The construction of these 500 homes is scheduled to take place over the next five years. One of the key sites for this development is Aitkenvale, where 140 homes will be built near Ross River. “Plans for Aitkenvale are about to be announced, with the tender process beginning in the coming months. Half of these homes will be allocated for Defence housing, while the other half will be available to the local community,” Thistlethwaite explained.
The project opens significant opportunities for local businesses and investors. DHA has issued an expression of interest for the construction of these homes, which includes both Greenfield developments and existing properties. “There’s a big opportunity for investors and local businesses to either construct new homes or provide them from the existing housing stock,” Thistlethwaite noted.
With Townsville currently experiencing a 1% vacancy rate in properties, this initiative aims to alleviate housing pressures. “Defence Housing Australia is constructing additional properties to ensure we meet the increasing demand as more troops move to the area over the next five years,” said Thistlethwaite. He also highlighted that Defence currently manages around 1250 properties in Townsville, with about 100 currently vacant, providing some immediate capacity before new constructions are completed.
Townsville has long been recognized as a crucial garrison town, and its strategic importance has only increased with the announcement of the National Defence Strategy, which will see additional troops rotating into the area. “This isn’t an immediate influx, but a gradual increase over the next four to five years, giving us time to plan and build the necessary infrastructure,” Thistlethwaite assured.
Addressing concerns about the impact on current residents, particularly in areas like Aitkenvale, Thistlethwaite clarified, “In Aitkenvale, many of the properties are in a state of disrepair and uninhabitable due to natural disasters and lack of upgrades. Current residents will have been notified, and new, modern homes will be constructed to replace these old ones.”
For families relocating to Townsville, Thistlethwaite’s message is one of reassurance. “No one is being forced to relocate. This is part of the normal posting process of the Australian Defence Force. We are ensuring that there will be adequate, high-quality housing available for those who choose to move here, allowing them to enjoy rewarding careers in this vibrant community.”
This extensive housing project underscores the government’s commitment to supporting its Defence personnel while simultaneously addressing local housing challenges, promising a brighter future for Townsville’s residents.
The Australian Army is inviting experts from the defense industry and universities to come up with new ideas to help soldiers operate better in coastal areas for Army Innovation Day 2024 (AID24). This event, held every year, is a partnership between the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator and the Australian Army, aimed at creating advanced technologies to tackle the Army’s toughest challenges.
AID24 will take place during the Chief of Army Symposium at the Land Forces 2024 International Land Defence Exposition in Melbourne on September 11-12, 2024. Major General Richard Vagg, Head of Land Capability, explained that this year’s theme, “Optimising the Soldier for Littoral Operations,” is about quickly providing new tools and technologies to soldiers to enhance their capabilities.
“The Australian Army needs to be strong and flexible, able to prevent threats and play a crucial role in the Indo-Pacific region,” said MAJGEN Vagg. “Our soldiers are our greatest asset, and making them more effective is our top priority.”
This year’s focus is on using innovative technologies to boost soldiers’ stamina, effectiveness, and safety in coastal and complex environments. “We aim to get these new capabilities to our soldiers as quickly as possible,” MAJGEN Vagg added.
ED: This article came into my inbox over the weekend, I know who sent it but don’t know who the author is.
When the history of the decline and fall of the great nation that was Australia is written, how will scholars trace its downward spiral?
Will they tag that point at which a vast percentage of the workforce became so lazy and ill-disciplined that it could no longer entertain the thought of travelling to the workplace and demanded to work from home.
Get up, shower, get dressed and walk to the bus stop? You must be joking.
Employers, led by governments, buckled to their demands and what was a Covid-convenience became regarded as an absolute right.
Lifestyle, the historians will note, became the worker’s mantra which superseded diligence and dedication with heavy penalties imposed on those bosses who dared contact an employee one minute after their official clock-off time.
“More money, less work” they chanted as they logged off and stretched back on the couch.
“More money, less work” said the unions and the government said “No worries, comrades” as productivity slipped lower and then lower again.
Maybe they will chart it as beginning at that time when people became so lazy that they could no longer be bothered to prepare meals and instead headed for the nearest takeaway outlet and then, tiring of the effort involved in so doing, picked up their phones and had their calorie laden meals delivered to their doors.
More food, less effort they sighed sinking once more onto the couch and the nation got fatter and fatter and fatter.
Perhaps the historians will chart this decline from the moment that a prime minister embraced lying as a virtue and the masses, in exchange for a handful of government largesse, nodded dumbly and pocketed the proffered coins.
Others might wonder if the moral rot took hold when governments failed to act against the murderous, hateful outpourings from some Muslim clerics, fearful that if it did, it might cost it votes in those electorates with a high proportion of Muslims.
Most people, either ignorant or too self-obsessed to care shrugged at these outrages and went back to moaning about the price of petrol and groceries.
Holocaust? That’s history, mate. Nothing to do with me.
It was when mobs roamed the streets, others might suggest, assaulting and robbing the innocent while the system supposed to deliver justice and protect them smiled and said: “They’re juveniles. They know not what they do. Release them” that the once great society began to crumble.
It was the concept of two Australia’s, other historians might argue, that divided and weakened the nation’s underpinnings for a nation divided cannot but fall.
As they trawl through the archives, they will find that the country became split between the Indigenous and the non-Indigenous, the former demanding special treatment and the latter sensing this went against the principles of democracy.
These historians will pore over the results of the Voice referendum and wonder why, when the people had made their wishes clear, the demands for two classes of Australians to exist continued and with them demands for money and land. The governments folded and gave away more money and signed away vast tracts of the country and the people’s discontent smouldered and their resentment grew.
Scholars might also note that the nation began its decline at the same time that the churches began to empty and the sports stadiums filled as sport became the new religion.
Grateful for this distraction from the reality of economic decline, politicians built bigger and better stadiums and states outbid each other for the right to hold games, premiers and prime ministers sitting in the grandstands like latter day emperors as the gladiators took to the field and the crowd roared as the country grew poorer and poorer.
Scholars wondering why, as the wheels of industry began to slow, the government did nothing to avert the looming crisis may find the answer in the cries of the people who demanded more handouts and more subsidies.
So the government gave them more money and they smiled and settled once more back on the couch. “More money, less work” they sighed.
The scholars will also find images of the giant windmills that began to cover the landscape as power stations closed and the country’s leaders held hands and cried “net zero, net zero” and as they did the lights went out for the last time and darkness enveloped the land and the great country that was once Australia was no more.
Ship’s company of HMAS Anzac (III) said a fond farewell to the Anzac-class frigate in a decommissioning ceremony at HMAS Stirling in Perth on 18 May 2024. The ceremony concluded the Royal Australian Navy ship’s 28 years of distinguished service. HMAS Anzac is being decommissioned to make way for the new and evolved fleet. The decommissioning event included speeches and a cake- cutting ceremony.
After a recent summit, China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin issued a brief statement: “There can be no winners in a nuclear war, and it should never be fought.” This message, though universally accepted, seems hypocritical given their past threats of nuclear aggression against neighbouring countries.
The timing and brevity of this statement are notable, as global tensions are at a peak with conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Putin feels he is winning in Ukraine, while Xi believes China’s military dominance in the South China Sea makes a Taiwan takeover feasible. Both fear U.S. and NATO intervention, which could lead to nuclear threats.
Their warnings echo in a world where North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan frequently make threats. Iran recently attacked Israel with a massive missile strike and claims to be near developing nuclear weapons, regularly threatening to destroy Israel.
Many dismiss these threats as mere bluster. However, the horrific violence seen on October 7 against Israeli civilians reminds us of humanity’s capacity for brutality. Modern weapons of mass destruction—nuclear, chemical, biological, and AI-driven—make these threats more dangerous.
Despite these risks, global reactions remain indifferent, assuming these leaders wouldn’t initiate catastrophic conflicts. Yet, there are as many autocratic nuclear powers as democratic ones. Only Israel has an effective missile defence system. As Western conventional power declines, reliance on nuclear deterrence grows, despite inadequate homeland defences.
We need to remain aware that the unthinkable can happen. We must take threats seriously and focus on strengthening defences, securing borders, ensuring military competence, controlling spending, and rebuilding our forces. Otherwise, we risk being unprepared for the catastrophic, believing we are immune until it’s too late.