Trump just claimed that the United States had done “a lot” for Ukraine, but that Ukraine has done “nothing” for the US. This is unjust in the highest degree. And not just untrue in the normal sense—it is a big lie, designed to bring about horror and chaos
https://t.co/grOKN32zVm
I don’t want to "download the app" to pay for parking. I don’t want to "create an account" to see a menu. I don’t want to "provide feedback" on a 30-second interaction. I just want to exist in the physical world without a digital leash.
Pauline Hanson says political correctness is ruining Australia because people can’t “say what they really think.”
Funny thing is, she just spent an hour at the National Press Club saying exactly what she thinks about migrants, Muslims, Indigenous programs, climate policy, workers, childcare, universities and the media.
Nobody stopped her.
The real irony? The one thing many Australians won’t say publicly is that Pauline Hanson is wrong. Not because it’s banned, but because every criticism becomes another claim of victimhood and another fundraising opportunity.
Free speech isn’t being silenced. Hanson is living proof of that.
She’s been saying controversial things for nearly 30 years, gets endless media coverage, sits in Parliament, and commands national headlines whenever she speaks.
The question isn’t whether she can speak.
The question is whether her ideas stand up when they’re examined.
And that’s what seems to upset her most.
Rachel Withers from Crikey and a glossary “to help you navigate the hysterical language being thrown at Labor’s tax reforms”
“Claim: New taxes.
Reality: A reduction in tax breaks that favour passive income over wages.
The claim is untrue and is being parroted by the coalition, the media and Tim Wilson’s latest data harvesting project.
There is no new tax. CGT already exists. Tax on gains will be less generously discounted and tied to inflation as it was before John Howard.
Claim: Tax grab.
Reality: Government has the right to raise revenue to pay for spending - and this isn’t a lot in the scheme of things.
The insinuation that the government raising revenue — removing tax breaks that overwhelmingly benefit the rich — is a “draconian” “attack” on personal finances is ridiculous, playing into “taxation is theft”-style thinking. Nevermind that those currently negatively gearing can continue to do so under grandfathering rules, and that CGT and trust changes only apply from 2027 and 2028. The phase-out couldn’t be more gentle.
Claim: Broken promises.
Reality: Labor has taken action that media outlets expressly demanded it rule out.
You won’t find “maintain CGT and negative gearing” among Labor’s 2025 election commitments. These were changes certain journalists demanded Anthony Albanese “rule out” on the campaign trail, based on suspicions that Labor might return to these increasingly unjustifiable tax breaks.
Claim: Death tax.
Reality: Changes to trusts will hit a tiny minority of wealthy beneficiaries of wealthy estates.
It’s a scare campaign. No tax will be taken when assets are passed on - and that 30% won’t apply to fixed trusts, just discretionary ones.
Claim: Assault on aspiration.
Reality: Our housing market is already killing aspiration, with tax breaks advantaging those with the capital who are making things worse.
Removing tax breaks that benefit those with the most is a step towards restoring aspiration for everyone else.
Claim: Anthony Albanese owns 47% of our business.
Reality: Entrepreneurs may pay a bigger tax bill if they sell their start-up for a huge profit… as they should.
The 47% memes once again imply that people who make big profits on investments should get special tax discounts, unavailable to everyone else.
This is the area in which the government has seen the most unexpected backlash, and one in which it’s now consulting on how to prevent unintended consequences. But is there a good reason that founders selling for huge profits shouldn’t pay the marginal tax rate that workers pay? The government, of course, already taxed gains from selling start-ups, albeit less generously — and that didn’t put people off starting them.
(Rachel Withers - Crikey)
This sounds nice, but it's a great way to undermine the welfare state.
The strongest welfare states in the world (the Nordics) tax everyone, including nurses. And they give everyone universal healthcare, childcare, pensions, education in return.
When the middle class has skin in the game, they defend the system. When welfare is 'just for the poor', it becomes a poor program: stigmatized, underfunded, easy to gut.
That's why billionaires keep pushing this idea. The real scandal isn't that this nurse pays $12k.
It's that Jeff Bezos pays $0.
.@EmmanuelMacron:
„Ich meine, man darf, man darf die Argumente nicht kaufen, die ich überall höre. Der ukrainische Präsident wurde in freien Wahlen in der Ukraine gewählt. Er war übrigens überhaupt nicht der Favorit, ich erinnere mich daran, als wäre es gestern gewesen. Und er ist also ein Präsident, der aus einem freien System gewählt wurde.
Das ist nicht der Fall bei Wladimir Putin,
der seine Gegner tötet und seine Wahlen seit langem manipuliert.
Das ist leider in zu vielen Ländern der Welt nicht der Fall.
Präsident Selenskyj musste dann, weil bei ihm Krieg herrschte, das Kriegsrecht verhängen. Glauben Sie, dass er Präsidentschaftswahlen oder Parlamentswahlen organisieren kann in einem Land,
aus dem mehrere Millionen Ukrainerinnen und Ukrainer um ihrer Sicherheit willen geflohen sind?
In einem Land, in dem er mehrere Millionen andere mobilisiert hat,
die an der Front stehen? Wo es täglich 1.000 Tote und Verletzte gibt und wo ein ganzer Streifen seines Territoriums von Russland erobert ist?
Wovon reden wir hier eigentlich?
Glauben Sie, dass wir uns in der gleichen Situation den Spaß erlauben würden, Wahlen abzuhalten?
Er kann keine Wahlen abhalten.
Wenn wir also freie Wahlen in der Ukraine wollen, nun, dann braucht es einen dauerhaften Frieden in der Ukraine, das ist die Voraussetzung.
Alle, die es vorher tun, manipulieren.
Und was ist das Projekt von einigen? Ich weiß es ganz genau: ein Waffenstillstand, der nicht respektiert wird,
und dann schnell, schnell Wahlen, um sie zu manipulieren.
Das ist keine gute Idee.
Also ja, Präsident Selenskyj ist legitim, und wir wünschen uns langfristig mehr Demokratie in der Ukraine durch einen dauerhaften Frieden.
Und Präsident Selenskyj will die Demokratie in der Ukraine auch,
da er ja deren Frucht ist. Wenn das System manipuliert gewesen wäre, wäre er selbst nie zum Präsidenten gewählt worden.“ 👌
If the rumours on negative gearing & capital gains tax changes are correct, you can still invest in residential real estate...
... it is just that other tax payers will not be subsidising your costs & if prices rise, you pay a bit of tax on the windfall price increases.
There is NO reason any of us should have to thrive in a fast-paced environment or work well under pressure. Most of our daily work is not an emergency, and our culture of fake urgency and immediacy, just to make more profit for the C-suite, is burning people out.
It's utterly ridiculous that we have all these supposed billionaire geniuses running around, and their greatest innovation of our lifetime has been stealing our personal data to sell us targeted ads.
I don’t want a city on Mars. I don’t want AI in every app. I don’t want data centres in space. I don’t want humanoids or flying cars. I want clean water. I want a stable climate. I want bees to survive. And a habitable planet.
REPORTER: You mentioned that, staying on as Fed governor, you intend to keep a low profile. Could you give us a little more detail on what that looks like?
JEROME POWELL: *ducks down*
🔥WATCH: “There’s nothing ‘REALISTIC’ about this. WHERE IS THIS GOING? Wish fulfillment is not a strategy.”
@RepAdamSmith (D) takes apart Trump & Hegseth’s deadly, misguided actions that have diminished 🇺🇸 and thrown 🌎 into chaos
Holy shit, this is BRILLIANT: This dude breaks down why everyone thinks the whole WHCD event was fake... everything about trump is FAKE.
Best video you'll see today.