Reflection Connection

Education. Four languages, keen on travel, little bit crafty and collector of retrovintage stuff.

[Kevin Bonham @kevinbonham]

This doesn't look good for Senator Whitten #S44 https://t.co/XlLdGu7scY

[Senator Tony Sheldon @TonySheldonNSW]

When they can be bothered to show up, One Nation’s voting record reveals that they’re on the side of billionaires, not battlers.

[Milton Dick @MiltonDickMP]

So many wonderful events are happening across our local community this weekend and next, and it’s always great to support them by donating hampers.

New delivery has just arrived!

If you have a local community event coming up, please get in touch with my office. 🎁

[Reflection Connection @leftboomer]

Stupid name to pick.

No point in trying to explain, justify after the event.

The use of sexist, misogynist language by anybody, for any purpose is a very bad idea.

When it is women, even "sweary" women, it is especially questionable.

[MFWitches @MFWitches]

A lot of people are saying on social media today that a public campaign against Premier Jacinta Allen using the phrase “Ditch the Witch” isn’t sexist because they’ve heard of MFW and know we proudly use the word witches.

Please.

They must not have heard about how we started, which was as the result of an extraordinarily sexist text message sent by Peter Dutton to a mate, and which he accidentally sent to a woman journo instead.

They must not understand history, in which all women who were in the slightest way outspoken or different or not perfectly aligned with patriarchal requirements were called witches and often viciously murdered for their so-called sins.

And they must not understand parody, in which we witches have re-claimed the word “witch” to mean all women who protest the outrageous misogyny so many men practice with barely any constraint.

Because we’re here to clearly say that yes: the campaign against Allen is deeply sexist, just as it was sexist when it was used to denigrate then-PM Julia Gillard (pic in comments), and when it’s been used to stir up hatred towards any women with power or influence or anything other than simply being perfectly pretty and perfectly unheard.

What’s more, the campaign couldn’t be anything BUT deeply problematic, funded as it has been by a consortium of what appears to be a deeply right-wing group of men who want nothing more than to oust Allen from her job, and promoted widely in #NewsCorpse publications in ways which further harm Allen and her government:
“‘[Allan] doesn’t answer questions. She’s not accountable to everything … It’s just how people are feeling. That’s what they’re resorting to’ Puleo said. ‘That’s not a political ad. It’s basically what the Victorian public feel’.”
https://t.co/GQ2N1VsQiN?

The campaign is despicable, and the billboards should be banned. Today. Anything else is unacceptable, and does nothing but show the endemic hatred for women among large sections of conservative men and politics in this country (and among many progressive men and groups too, but that’s another story).

For fuck sake, ban these billboards. They’re hate speech. And us calling ourselves witches as a way to parody that hate will never make the use of the word okay in other settings and formats.

That’s all.

_______

We won’t stop till advertisers stop funding filth. Go to https://t.co/gefVqPNei2 to learn how to contact advertisers. Or go directly to FOE lists for ongoing campaigns here: https://t.co/Es49qK4lMQ . Send all responses you get. From companies to [email protected].

Please also support our work to get rid of Vile Kyle: it’s a subscription to the future for the price of a coffee (or two) each month:
https://t.co/LES4fbVPKU

#ToYourBrooms

[Racing.com @Racing]

How good does Zaaki look in the show jumping ring 🤩

@jivil10 has the latest on the All Star Mile winners' efforts at the Melbourne International 3 Day Event, after a wonderful day at Werribee 🙌

@RV_OffTheTrack

[Al Mayadeen English @MayadeenEnglish]

The IRGC's Intelligence announced that last night's attack against "Israel", which came in retaliation for "Israel's" aggression against #Beirut's Southern Suburb, involved intense and rapid military, security, and cyber operations.

On Sunday night, June 7, #Iran launched several waves of Iranian missiles toward targets in the occupied territories as air raid sirens sounded across Haifa, al-Jalil, and the occupied Golan Heights, as well as dozens of other areas in the occupied north.

Shortly after the launches, the IRGC announced that the Ramat David Airbase, being the origin of Israeli attacks against #Lebanon, was targeted by its ballistic missiles. According to the IRGC, the strike was carried out in response to the extensive Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, as well as the killing and displacement of civilians in the regions of Tyre, Nabatieh, and other areas, including Beirut's Southern Suburb.

#OccupiedPalestine #IranWar #LebanonUnderAttack

[Al Jazeera Breaking News @AJENews]

Yemen’s Houthis have declared a ‘total ban’ on Israeli vessels wanting to pass through the Red Sea.

[Sherele Moody (Femicide Researcher) 🌈 @ShereleMoody]

Franco Puleo, who owns Gotham City brothel in South Melbourne, is among the people funding the $105,000 Ditch the Witch advertising campaign.
The campaign is using misogyny to get Jacinta Allan out of power in Victoria.
I've spoken to many SWers who say Puleo is as sexist as this campaign.
Billboards are being ferried across Melbourne with Allan as a witch.
I have it on authority the campaign has the support of the Liberal Party and Liveable Victoria - an organisation focused on planning and other state issues.
The Herald Sun ran a page on the campaign in its print edition and used the slogan in the copy in the same way it uses slogans for its own campaigns. Interestingly, the Herald Sun refused to name the organisation and people behind the campaign. Possibly because the editorial department is firmly focused on securing a Liberal Party win in the state.
The Ditch the Witch campaign reflects the Liberal-aligned Ditch the Witch campaign against Julia Gillard in 2011.

❤️SUPPORT MY WORK❤️
Please support The RED HEART Movement and Australian Femicide Watch by grabbing a RED HEART tee or providing a crowd-funded donation! 100% of money raised funds support for families of femicide, an apartment for domestic violence survivors and my work documenting the killing of Australian women and children. Links in bio or visit https://t.co/1TEEVN73X3

[UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 @UNESCO]

🌊 #WorldOceansDay highlights the role of ocean science in our shared future.

Through @UNESCO’s IOC, 153 countries work together to advance ocean knowledge, strengthen global observations and make biodiversity data openly accessible.

The ocean has no boundaries. Its future depends on our collective action.

https://t.co/LIb9oNsTsQ @IocUnesco

[Wazza from Melbourne @Melbourne_says]

The billboards, funded from the profits of women’s sex work, that featured Dan Andrews and Jacinta Allan was meant to be hurtful.

The Dan Andrews image was the giveaway.

Some people still carry a chip on their shoulders, but it’s good to see others calling it out. 👇🏼

[National Indigenous Times @nit_times]

The federal government's Good Food People program has reached an early milestone, with 21 local nutrition workers now employed in remote community stores across the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait.

https://t.co/qaxsqimHKk

[Al Jazeera Breaking News @AJENews]

BREAKING: Israel has launched airstrikes targeting Tehran, Tabriz, and Isfahan. The strikes directly defy a public appeal from US President Donald Trump for restraint, following an earlier wave of Iranian missiles fired in retaliation for Israeli attacks on southern Beirut.

[Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet @pmc_gov_au]

Congratulations to the recipients in The King’s Birthday 2026 Honours List. Celebrating Australians whose exceptional service andachievements inspire us.

[Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet @pmc_gov_au]

Women continue to be underrepresented in honours, often because they are nominated less frequently. Help change this by nominating a woman whose contribution deserves recognition.
Find out more and submit a nomination at https://t.co/LImyJMabYx

[Milton Dick @MiltonDickMP]

Vale Professor Richard Scolyer AO.
Today we lose a great Australian cancer pioneer. His hard work and dedication has saved thousands of lives from melanoma.

It was an incredible privilege to meet him, someone of great passion, enthusiasm and optimism. A true inspiration.

[Sonja Terpstra MP 🐓 @TerpsMLC]

We can disagree on policy, but reducing a woman to a sexist slur exposes deep insecurities in those funding it.

It’s toxic, it's tired & it has no place in our state.

PS: if you think young women will vote for anyone who uses it in the political advertising, you’re wrong.
3/3

[Al Mayadeen English @MayadeenEnglish]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have no choice but to accept whatever deal the US negotiates with Iran, US President Donald Trump said in an exclusive interview with the Financial Times, stressing that he “calls the shots.”

“He won’t have any choice,” Trump told the FT in a telephone interview, adding, “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He [Netanyahu] doesn’t call the shots.”

The FT said Trump spoke shortly after Iran launched a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israeli targets.

Trump said Iran’s strikes had not changed his desire to conclude US-Iran negotiations, saying, “It’s not going to have any impact on the deal."

“We’ll see how it ends up. But they [the missile strikes on Israel] were attacks that did not kick at all. It’s one of those things that’s been going for 3,000 years, or 47 years, depending on how you count.”

#Iran #IranWar #Trump #US #Lebanon

[Murat Dizdar @dizdarm]

Congratulations to our people for being recognised on the King's Honours list:
• Joanne Jarvis, PSM
• Kathy Powzun, PSM
• Elisabeth Pickering, OAM
• Francis Pikardt, OAM
• Brian Ralph, OAM
• Juley Clarke, OAM
• Bijinder Dugal, OAM
• Paul Lemmon,OAM https://t.co/mzLbT2VO6O

[Kevin Rudd @MrKRudd]

What a great human being. What a great Australian. My deepest condolences to Richard’s family.

https://t.co/WjNdO3UhBz

[Steve Dimopoulos MP @Steve_Dimo]

Still waiting for female leaders Jess Wilson and Pauline Hanson to say calling a woman a witch is not okay… ⏰ #jesswilson #paulinehanson