The main function of the H-1B visa program is not to hire “the best and the brightest,” but rather to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad.
The cheaper the labor they hire, the more money the billionaires make.
Australia’s Ambassador to the US billed Aussie taxpayers $24,000 in a single day for formal dinners, breakfasts, morning teas and a reception at his Washington DC digs.
Pope Francis Should Go To Gaza!, by Philip Giraldi – The Unz Review
The death of former President Jimmy Carter started me thinking about how long it’s been since the United States has been led by a head of state who was also a thoroughly decent human being. To be sure, while in office Carter made many mistakes in terms of both foreign and national security policy, but much can be attributed to his inexperience and his unfortunate reliance on hardliners in his cabinet, most particularly Russophobe Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was his National Security Adviser. The neocons were also beginning to make their presence felt while scheming and conspiring under the protection of Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson, the so-called Senator from Boeing. After failing to get reelected in 1980, Carter dedicated much of his life to helping people worldwide through a foundation that he established and he was renowned for speaking his mind when he observed a human rights problem that might be addressed.
I personally had my five minutes face-to-face with Jimmy Carter while he was still president and he, to my mind, demonstrated to me what kind of man he truly was. I was part of the CIA station in a European country and one of my first jobs was to set up a huge funding operation, referred to as a covert action, to subvert and overthrow a government in another part of the world that the Agency and US State Department did not approve of. My role was to convince one of the political parties in the country where I was based to exploit its friendly relations with another country next door to the target to secretly establish a clandestine base for a guerrilla movement that would be engaged in subverting its neighbor. It would create a double-cutout that would serve as a conduit to fund and arm the rebels using two foreign political parties, concealing the US role in the intended regime change as was appropriate for a “covert action.”
After many quiet meetings with the local politicians to include considerable bribery and pledges of secrecy an arrangement was made, but one week later a senior CIA officer flew in from Washington and came by the Embassy to tell me and the Chief of Station that that deal was off. He provided no reasons for the change of heart, but we were disappointed as it had been a lot of work and was apparently successful from the perspective of what the policy makers had asked us to do. The European partner political party central to the plan, and expecting to profit greatly from it, was informed of the decision and expressed its anger in no uncertain terms by breaking off contact with me and the Station.
As it happened, President Jimmy Carter made a visit to the same European capital city two months later and stopped by the US Embassy. To my astonishment, he asked to see me privately in the Ambassador’s office and both apologized and explained that the change in plans had been caused by the realization that the US would be arming and paying for insurgents who would no doubt kill significant numbers of civilians. He explained that that was a price too high to pay and the sordid arrangement might even be leaked to the media with an election coming up. I thanked him for the background information and we parted. I had the impression from his language and demeanor that he, rather than some power mad bureaucrat at CIA or State, had personally made the decision to abort the operation at least partly due to his own moral reservations.
Thinking about my encounter with Jimmy Carter in the context of his death, indeed more about his life and his fundamental decency, I considered what it might be like if we Americans again had someone like him in government. As many readers will be aware, Carter was particularly outspoken about what was being done to the Palestinians by Israel. He was roasted and called an antisemite by America’s Israel Lobby after he displayed the temerity to defend the Palestinians and criticize Israeli behavior in his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which was published in 2006. Few in the Democratic Party were brave enough to stand up for him and the politicians that followed him received the message that calling out Israel would not be tolerated, so they generally shut themselves off from any sympathy for the victims of Israeli aggression, saying rhythmically and over-and-over again like a satanic chorus that “Israel has a right to defend itself!”
The death of Carter triggered another possible initiative to be considered as reflected in an email I had received from a friend in the peace movement the day before. My friend was complaining about the lack of any condemnation from world leaders for what is occurring in Palestine and she asked herself what would happen if someone like Pope Francis were to travel to Gaza in a peacekeeping role. Surely even monsters like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would have to pay attention to the possible impact of such a proposal and would have to let the Pope visit with the remaining Catholic community in Gaza to help ease their suffering. The Vatican has, in fact, already put out feelers in that direction. On December 22nd it convinced Israeli authorities to allow Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the leader of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, to enter Gaza and celebrate a pre-Christmas Mass with surviving members of the territory’s small Christian community. A more aggressive move involving the Pope himself might even lead to a ceasefire and something like a peace arrangement that would enable the two communities to work out some formula to live side by side even though it is difficult to imagine such an outcome given the hardline of the Israeli government and its clear intention to proceed with the elimination of the Palestinians.
Organized Christianity, apparently terrified of being labeled antisemitic by the usual strident voices in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), has been largely silent and ineffective when confronted by the systematic Israeli destruction of the Christian faith in the land where it was born. Indeed, America’s largely Bible belt Christian Zionists generally applaud Israeli suppression of what it agrees to call “terrorists.” Pope Francis has in fact bravely spoken out about Gaza and has been as a consequence attacked by the Israeli government and the usual suspects in Europe and the US. Nevertheless, there is no official Catholic church pronouncement on Israel/Palestine as far as I have been able to determine except for calls for peace and a ceasefire, though there are a few activists who have been demanding that a more definitive position be developed. Some American Catholics have even been demonstrating and holding signs in front of churches and diocesan offices urging Pope Francis to go to Gaza. Can individual Catholics persuade their parish priests to take a stronger line and pressure bishops and the church hierarchy to “do something?” I am convinced that this is a movement that is just waiting to happen and that once it starts it will capture the public imagination because it attacks a genocidal horror and is manifestly the right thing to do. Certainly, those who believe that life and also freedom of worship are gifts from God have seen enough posters of dead babies and desecrated churches and hospitals to begin to demand that the Church must harness its moral authority to the cause of peace and make it happen.
Some are arguing against a Papal trip to Gaza based on the security issue, that Netanyahu is quite willing and capable of having the Pope killed and setting up a “false flag” scenario blaming it on the Palestinians, a line which will be eagerly picked up and “verified” by the corrupted governments and Zionist controlled media in Washington and London just for starters. Pope Francis is quite old and in poor health, so he might well regard such an Apostolic trip on a peace mission as a final high point that would actually accomplish something of real value during his time on the Throne of Saint Peter. It would certainly be a historic gesture that could well turn the horrors taking place in the Middle East in a new direction. I am sure that Jimmy Carter, if he were still with us, would approve.
Never forget the Liberal Party kissed the ring of Albert Bourla
The Age
‘Hard to justify’: Albanese lashes Coalition’s handling of 2022 Djokovic detention
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has lashed the Coalition for its handling of tennis star Novak Djokovic’s immigration detention during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, after the athlete spoke of the “trauma” he feels when returning to Australia.
… “I found it astonishing that in the lead-up to Christmas, Novak Djokovic was denied by the then-federal government the opportunity to see his Orthodox priest,” Albanese said on Monday in Queensland. “That was something that I think was hard to justify”.
… Djokovic, who was the world’s No. 1 men’s tennis player at the time, travelled to Australia under a medical exemption because he had recently had COVID-19. He was unvaccinated but denied being against vaccines, saying instead he supported personal choice.
The government cancelled his visa nonetheless, arguing that his stance could cause civil unrest.
… The dean of the Melbourne Serbian Orthodox Church, Father Milorad Locard, said the government’s decision to cut Djokovic off from religious services at Christmas would have added to the tennis star’s trauma.
“I was the priest who was supposed to ask the authorities to visit him to pay him a pastoral visit and I was denied,” he told this masthead.
“At the time, I obviously could not quite comprehend why a pastoral visit would be denied to a man who is not criminal, he’s famous tennis player.
“That was actually the first time I was denied a pastoral visit to anybody, and I’ve been in Australia since 1976.”
… Hawke, who was contacted for comment, argued at the time that Djokovic’s presence in Australia could undermine vaccine rules.
“I consider that Mr Djokovic’s ongoing presence in Australia may lead to an increase in anti-vaccination sentiment generated in the Australian community, potentially leading to an increase in civil unrest of the kind previously experienced in Australia with rallies and protests which may themselves be a source of community transmission,” he said.
I’ve been saying the censorship of online Palestine activism is a product of Israeli interference and now we have the receipts
As I reveal here, one of the top pro-censorship orgs in DC secretly collaborated with Israeli officials to censor pro-Palestine social media accounts
Quote
The Grayzone
@TheGrayzoneNews
·
Leaked emails expose “collaborative effort” between the Israeli govt and censorship-obsessed Center for Countering Digital Hate
The Latest
Los Angeles Remains Aflame, But At Least It Has a Gay Choir
If your city was engulfed with flames, would you rather have water or a transgender cafe?
Unfortunately, Los Angeles residents only seem to possess the latter. A deep dive into LA County’s budget reveals that Mayor Karen Bass allocated tens of thousands of FY 2024-25 dollars to a “Midnight Stroll Transgender Cafe,” a “Gay Men’s Chorus,” and other homosexual pride programs while cutting nearly $18 million from the fire department and failing to ensure the city’s hydrants were properly functioning.
The budget also granted $170,000 for “Social Justice Art-Worker Investments,” $13,000 for “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Heritage Month Programs,” and nearly $10,000 for the “One Institute the International Gay and Lesbian Archives.”
The beginning of the California fires was out of any political actor’s control, but the state’s ineffective response is the result of unserious people occupying consequential public offices. If “wokeness” is a leader’s top priority, they will be highly unlikely to respond well to a real-world crisis. Californians are learning that the hard way. Read more.
COST OF LIVING IN AUSTRALIA – (41 YEAR OLD FATHER)
Just an observation on the changes in cost of living
I should add that I am very much grateful for the life we do have in Aus and also understand we are in no way close to some who are really struggling and doing very tough.
Bringing some awareness to the topic. Wishing everyone well.
Champion jockey and gangland lawyer charged over botched alleged luxury goods burglary
Champion jockey Danny Nikolic and disgraced underworld lawyer Patrick Lennon have been arrested and charged with theft offences after allegedly becoming trapped inside a Carlton home while trying to steal a swag of luxury handbags and jewellery.
Police were called to the three-storey townhouse of a wealthy Melbourne businessman in the early hours of Thursday morning following a neighbour’s report of a break-in.
Both men were arrested at the scene after they allegedly filled bags with luxury goods and then found themselves trapped inside the house by deadlocked doors.…
Just checking in, hoping anyone who may look in here is well…while feeling just a little weary of the “awake” talk of demons and go-nowhere-fear and all pop music being evil etc etc… Trying to find and focus on the good bits – the joy – and reminiscing about a very innocent, happy experience of the ‘70s and its music:
The Seventies – “daggy” music, “politically incorrect” jokes, ponchos, muscle cars, flavoured milk in glass bottles delivered by a friendly human being – I miss you.
At least 21 Palestinian children and 25 women are among 87 people killed in Gaza since the announcement of a ceasefire deal expected to start on Sunday as Israel’s relentless air attacks intensify.
The revelations come as this masthead reveals Virgin had hired young and inexperienced crew members after sacking thousands of experienced workers.
I had one return flight with VA last year, and the return leg was cancelled. Thankfully my application for financial compensation was approved. I would be furious reading this stuff otherwise.
‘Celebrate what?’: Melbourne protests won’t stop for Gaza ceasefire
Pro-Palestinian protesters have vowed to continue the rallies in Melbourne’s CBD, hours before a phased ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was set to come into effect, prompting renewed calls from the state government and business lobby for the weekly marches to end.
After 15 months of rallies, hundreds of people again gathered at the State Library on Sunday wearing keffiyeh scarves and using watermelon imagery as a symbol of Palestinian resistance, calling for boycotts, sanctions and liberation. …
The Israeli military says it is continuing to attack inside the Gaza Strip after a ceasefire deal, which was supposed to begin at 5.30pm AEDT, was delayed.
The “state government and business lobby” need to get their hand off it.
Haaretz | Israel News
Ben-Gvir and His Far-right Party Resign From Netanyahu Gov’t Over ‘Reckless’ Cease-fire Deal
National Security Minister Ben-Gvir says his party has officially left the governing coalition. He previously said ‘If the war against Hamas resumes with full force,’ his party with return to the government
And
Haaretz | Israel News
Analysis | Trump’s Mideast Envoy Forced Netanyahu to Accept a Gaza Plan He Repeatedly Rejected
George Christensen gives his take on Inauguration Day.
Includes this:
The Day Everything Changed
Nation First breaks down Trump’s inauguration and first day.
…Now, I want you to think about what he said next. “I will reinstate any service members who were unjustly expelled from the military for objecting to the COVID vaccine mandate with full back pay.” That’s justice. For too long, people who stood their ground during the pandemic were demonised, cast out, and forgotten. Trump’s words are a promise to right those wrongs, and his actions prove he means it.
Think about what that means. For the first time in years, there’s real hope for justice. Justice for those who lost loved ones to vaccine injuries. Justice for those who were silenced, shamed, and forced out of jobs for refusing to comply. Justice for the lies we were all fed. Trump didn’t have to name Big Pharma in his speech—his appointments speak for themselves.
Look at the team he’s assembled: Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a fierce critic of Big Pharma, now Health Secretary. Dr Jay Bhattacharya, a truth-teller during the pandemic, running the NIH. And Dr Dave Weldon, a man who has fought for vaccine accountability, heading the CDC. This team is a declaration of war against the Big Pharma lies and pandemic overreach that have scarred us all.…
Scott Morrison
@ScoMo30
HNY 2025 from Mar-a-Lago
https://x.com/ScoMo30/status/1874317282933108747
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So not the usual EV fire/explosion then, Elon.
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⚡️ German MOVED his family from GERMANY to RUSSIA / HIS WORDS will be remembered for a long time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-czd4RtH1g
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Bernie gets it
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Get rid of him
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Via The Unz Review
Pope Francis Should Go To Gaza!, by Philip Giraldi – The Unz Review
The death of former President Jimmy Carter started me thinking about how long it’s been since the United States has been led by a head of state who was also a thoroughly decent human being. To be sure, while in office Carter made many mistakes in terms of both foreign and national security policy, but much can be attributed to his inexperience and his unfortunate reliance on hardliners in his cabinet, most particularly Russophobe Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was his National Security Adviser. The neocons were also beginning to make their presence felt while scheming and conspiring under the protection of Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson, the so-called Senator from Boeing. After failing to get reelected in 1980, Carter dedicated much of his life to helping people worldwide through a foundation that he established and he was renowned for speaking his mind when he observed a human rights problem that might be addressed.
I personally had my five minutes face-to-face with Jimmy Carter while he was still president and he, to my mind, demonstrated to me what kind of man he truly was. I was part of the CIA station in a European country and one of my first jobs was to set up a huge funding operation, referred to as a covert action, to subvert and overthrow a government in another part of the world that the Agency and US State Department did not approve of. My role was to convince one of the political parties in the country where I was based to exploit its friendly relations with another country next door to the target to secretly establish a clandestine base for a guerrilla movement that would be engaged in subverting its neighbor. It would create a double-cutout that would serve as a conduit to fund and arm the rebels using two foreign political parties, concealing the US role in the intended regime change as was appropriate for a “covert action.”
After many quiet meetings with the local politicians to include considerable bribery and pledges of secrecy an arrangement was made, but one week later a senior CIA officer flew in from Washington and came by the Embassy to tell me and the Chief of Station that that deal was off. He provided no reasons for the change of heart, but we were disappointed as it had been a lot of work and was apparently successful from the perspective of what the policy makers had asked us to do. The European partner political party central to the plan, and expecting to profit greatly from it, was informed of the decision and expressed its anger in no uncertain terms by breaking off contact with me and the Station.
As it happened, President Jimmy Carter made a visit to the same European capital city two months later and stopped by the US Embassy. To my astonishment, he asked to see me privately in the Ambassador’s office and both apologized and explained that the change in plans had been caused by the realization that the US would be arming and paying for insurgents who would no doubt kill significant numbers of civilians. He explained that that was a price too high to pay and the sordid arrangement might even be leaked to the media with an election coming up. I thanked him for the background information and we parted. I had the impression from his language and demeanor that he, rather than some power mad bureaucrat at CIA or State, had personally made the decision to abort the operation at least partly due to his own moral reservations.
Thinking about my encounter with Jimmy Carter in the context of his death, indeed more about his life and his fundamental decency, I considered what it might be like if we Americans again had someone like him in government. As many readers will be aware, Carter was particularly outspoken about what was being done to the Palestinians by Israel. He was roasted and called an antisemite by America’s Israel Lobby after he displayed the temerity to defend the Palestinians and criticize Israeli behavior in his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which was published in 2006. Few in the Democratic Party were brave enough to stand up for him and the politicians that followed him received the message that calling out Israel would not be tolerated, so they generally shut themselves off from any sympathy for the victims of Israeli aggression, saying rhythmically and over-and-over again like a satanic chorus that “Israel has a right to defend itself!”
The death of Carter triggered another possible initiative to be considered as reflected in an email I had received from a friend in the peace movement the day before. My friend was complaining about the lack of any condemnation from world leaders for what is occurring in Palestine and she asked herself what would happen if someone like Pope Francis were to travel to Gaza in a peacekeeping role. Surely even monsters like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would have to pay attention to the possible impact of such a proposal and would have to let the Pope visit with the remaining Catholic community in Gaza to help ease their suffering. The Vatican has, in fact, already put out feelers in that direction. On December 22nd it convinced Israeli authorities to allow Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the leader of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, to enter Gaza and celebrate a pre-Christmas Mass with surviving members of the territory’s small Christian community. A more aggressive move involving the Pope himself might even lead to a ceasefire and something like a peace arrangement that would enable the two communities to work out some formula to live side by side even though it is difficult to imagine such an outcome given the hardline of the Israeli government and its clear intention to proceed with the elimination of the Palestinians.
Organized Christianity, apparently terrified of being labeled antisemitic by the usual strident voices in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), has been largely silent and ineffective when confronted by the systematic Israeli destruction of the Christian faith in the land where it was born. Indeed, America’s largely Bible belt Christian Zionists generally applaud Israeli suppression of what it agrees to call “terrorists.” Pope Francis has in fact bravely spoken out about Gaza and has been as a consequence attacked by the Israeli government and the usual suspects in Europe and the US. Nevertheless, there is no official Catholic church pronouncement on Israel/Palestine as far as I have been able to determine except for calls for peace and a ceasefire, though there are a few activists who have been demanding that a more definitive position be developed. Some American Catholics have even been demonstrating and holding signs in front of churches and diocesan offices urging Pope Francis to go to Gaza. Can individual Catholics persuade their parish priests to take a stronger line and pressure bishops and the church hierarchy to “do something?” I am convinced that this is a movement that is just waiting to happen and that once it starts it will capture the public imagination because it attacks a genocidal horror and is manifestly the right thing to do. Certainly, those who believe that life and also freedom of worship are gifts from God have seen enough posters of dead babies and desecrated churches and hospitals to begin to demand that the Church must harness its moral authority to the cause of peace and make it happen.
Some are arguing against a Papal trip to Gaza based on the security issue, that Netanyahu is quite willing and capable of having the Pope killed and setting up a “false flag” scenario blaming it on the Palestinians, a line which will be eagerly picked up and “verified” by the corrupted governments and Zionist controlled media in Washington and London just for starters. Pope Francis is quite old and in poor health, so he might well regard such an Apostolic trip on a peace mission as a final high point that would actually accomplish something of real value during his time on the Throne of Saint Peter. It would certainly be a historic gesture that could well turn the horrors taking place in the Middle East in a new direction. I am sure that Jimmy Carter, if he were still with us, would approve.
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Powerline’s The week in Pictures: The longest 17 Days Edition
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Based Bernie
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Trump DRAGGED By His OWN Supporters Over H-1B Visa Support!
The Jimmy Dore Show
1.47M subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJgEY_AXTC8
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Nicholas J. Fuentes
@NickJFuentes
Trump needs to pardon every single January 6th protester. All of them.
And I don’t want to hear about “violent offenders” when police were the ones murdering the protesters.
1:43 PM · Jan 6, 2025 · 124.9K Views
https://x.com/NickJFuentes/status/1876112223753621994
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Never forget the Liberal Party kissed the ring of Albert Bourla
The Age
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Max Blumenthal
@MaxBlumenthal
I’ve been saying the censorship of online Palestine activism is a product of Israeli interference and now we have the receipts
As I reveal here, one of the top pro-censorship orgs in DC secretly collaborated with Israeli officials to censor pro-Palestine social media accounts
Quote
https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1876454881437102208
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Watching some Nick Fuentes while he’s still slacking on his Xmas break
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Jean-Marie Le Pen, brown bread.
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PJW
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The Truth About The Wildfires
Paul Joseph Watson
2.02M subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHh-_3FshO4
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Californication will leave your city in ruins
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Via a Tucker email
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More on Lost Angeles
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Genocide James 🇮🇱
***
Now he’s crying because he had to evacuate his Pacific Palisades mansion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRoGpWDMV6k
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Powerline’s The Week in Pictures: Gulf of America Edition
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Burn, Hollywood, Burn – Razör Rants
The Rageaholic
388K subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY3sBJbuVus
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Hollywood holocaust is a hoax
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This was reposted by Elon
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How Does the H-1B Visa System Work?
American Renaissance
https://rumble.com/v68053j-how-does-the-h-1b-visa-system-work.html
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Based Bernie
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The Most Revolting Thing Ever
Paul Joseph Watson
2.02M subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkB-6JknP8g
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There’s no such thing as a stable jockey
The Age
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Just checking in, hoping anyone who may look in here is well…while feeling just a little weary of the “awake” talk of demons and go-nowhere-fear and all pop music being evil etc etc… Trying to find and focus on the good bits – the joy – and reminiscing about a very innocent, happy experience of the ‘70s and its music:
I get a little sentimental
The Seventies – “daggy” music, “politically incorrect” jokes, ponchos, muscle cars, flavoured milk in glass bottles delivered by a friendly human being – I miss you.
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The agenda of Trump’s controllers for his 2nd term is takeover of the West Bank, including the cleansing of Christians, and the war with Iran.
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Al Jizz
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***
I had one return flight with VA last year, and the return leg was cancelled. Thankfully my application for financial compensation was approved. I would be furious reading this stuff otherwise.
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Good onya, Max.
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Powerline’s The Week in Pictures: Two Days to Go edition.
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Yep, all celebrities are owned.
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The Age
Also at The Age
The “state government and business lobby” need to get their hand off it.
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A couple of headlines from Haaretz
And
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The Age
lol
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The Age
But will Peter Dutton go on national TV and perform oral sex on a donkey for Israel?
https://x.com/HotSpotHotSpot/status/1800902218385854774
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Tears, hugs greet 90 Palestinian women and children freed from Israeli prisons
Al Jazeera English
15.1M subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdWdLYFeJEI
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The Inauguration of Donald Trump
Nicholas J. Fuentes
https://rumble.com/v6bej9m-the-inauguration-of-donald-trump.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp
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Trump speech starts off surprisingly based.
Goes downhill with predictable “blacks and hispanics” shtick.
Hey Trump, blacks didn’t vote for you, WHITES did.
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Trump reinstating servicemen with full back pay who refused the Covid Vax.
Noice.
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Oh FFS.
There’s a rabbi speaking now.
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I’ve had to switch that off.
What a stain on the inauguration that rabbi going on about Israel.
No no no no no. NO!
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George Christensen gives his take on Inauguration Day.
Includes this:
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