The Australian Labor party and the Jews

Antisemitism is ingrained in the Left generally. Even Karl Marx despised Jews

This week came the announcement in the Australian newspaper, after a bungle on the DFAT website was exposed, that ‘Foreign Minister Penny Wong has reversed the former government’s recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel instead of Tel Aviv

Antisemitism has plagued the modern Left for the last few decades. Part of the reason Jew-hatred is so entrenched within various Labour (and Greens) parties is that their fundamental leftist ideological beliefs blind them to the reality of their own ingrained prejudices, many of which were imbibed in the neo-Marxist halls of universities and in the sweaty basements of undergraduate political clubs.

In the modern socialist view of the world, one is either a dark-skinned indigenous victim of imperialist occupation or an illegitimate pale-skinned coloniser of land that doesn’t belong to you. The ultimate irony is that Jews – persecuted and murdered for over a thousand years by fair-skinned European anti-semites for their dark, swarthy looks and semitic features – have somehow washed up in the ‘white’ column in the modern era. Whereas any other ‘tribe’ with such a long and proud connection to and reverence for their own lands would be regarded as the rightful ‘indigenous First Nation’ of the Holy Lands, the perversity of the modern Left is to deny Jews their own heritage whilst promulgating the idea that another ‘tribe’ actually owns their land. And so it came to pass that Israel and the Jews are now viewed by the Left as illegitimate occupiers of their own birthright; a glorious birthright that extends back over three thousand years and is one of the cornerstones of Western civilisation.

Thus, ‘West Jerusalem’, never before disputed, is now declared by Labor’s mandarins to not be Jewish at all – or words to that effect – but instead the plaything of globalist outfits like the United Nations and the EU. Tel Aviv, a thriving, fun town for sure, but a modern one with no deep historical roots of note to the ancient Jewish kingdom, will suffice for the embassy gig as far as Wong and co. are concerned.

The reaction from around the world has been swift. The Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid tweeted, ‘We can only hope that the Australian government manages other matters more seriously and professionally,’ before adding, ‘Jerusalem is the eternal and united capital of Israel and nothing will ever change that.’

Perhaps Ms Wong, born in Malaysia, was confusing that nation’s overt antipathy to Israel with Australian priorities. Who knows? Whatever the case, the sheer arrogance of Labor’s Foreign Minister in presuming that she can unilaterally determine another nation’s capital city against their own wishes is breath-taking. Imagine the Chinese telling us that they didn’t recognise Canberra and were instead moving their embassy to Uluru.

This magazine and its editor have long warned Australian Jewry to beware of the fake hand of friendship offered by the Labor party. By accusing Mr Morrison of recognising Jerusalem (the insertion of ‘West’ was a typically cowardly piece of political nonsense from the Liberal party bedwetters) solely for the purpose of currying favour in electorates with a high Jewish vote shows again not only the arrogance but the condescension of Labor to Israelis and Jews, believing them to be a collective that can so easily be bought off. It is also worth pointing out that all those seats in fact went to the Teals, who themselves have a fairly questionable history when it comes to anti-semitic comments, so not exactly a credible analysis.

It was also Penny Wong who recently and disgracefully reversed the $10 million of Aussie taxpayer cuts to UNRWA; funds believed by some to be financing Palestinian pay-for-slay programs. (A cause originally championed by this magazine and successfully pursued by Dr David Adler and others in the Australian parliament.)

It was former prime minister Tony Abbott and then President Donald Trump, and most recently British PM Liz Truss, who showed their support for Israel by recognising Jerusalem as the eternal capital. Mr Trump is also responsible for bringing peace to parts of the Middle East in the form of the Abraham Accords.

Meanwhile, it was the British Labour party that was forced to turf out former leader (and good friend of Anthony Albanese) Jeremy Corbyn over allegations concerning anti-semitism.

By their works shall ye know them.

https://www.spectator.com.au/2022/10/labor-and-the-jews/ ?

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There was no basis for Covid passports and Covid vaccine mandates

The admission Dutch conservative member of the European Parliament, Rob Roos, dragged out of Pfizer representative Janine Small has thrown the vaccine passport and vaccine mandate narrative into disarray. It dismantled the lie that we should be taking – specifically – Covid vaccines to protect others.

Roos switched to English when asking his controversial question, which helped the answer turn viral on social media where it was viewed at least 20 million times in the days that followed.

‘…and I will speak in English so there are no misunderstandings. Was the Pfizer Covid vaccine tested on stopping the transmission of the virus before it entered the market? If not, please, say it clearly. If ‘yes’ are you willing to share the data with this committee? And I really want straight answer, ‘yes or no’ and I’m looking forward to it.’

‘No,’ was Small’s reply, followed by a little laugh – as if it were some kind of joke. ‘We had to really move at the speed of science.’ A comment that was shortly followed by the statement, ‘We had to do everything “at risk”.’

‘The speed of science… Honestly,’ said Rowan Dean, on The World According to Rowan Dean, which airs Tuesday-Thursday at 9pm on Sky News Australia.

He spoke with Rob Roos last night.

‘I was thrilled when you asked that question in English. You knew how important that question was. I remember, you started in Dutch and then went, “Hang on, I’m going to ask this question in English…!” Well done, and thank you so much. What led you to asking that particular question?’

‘Since the implementation of the Covid vaccines I’ve been searching for the answer to this question,’ replied Rob Roos. ‘I also asked it of AstraZeneca and Moderna because it’s important. Millions of people were placed outside society because of Covid passports. People lost their jobs and it was all based on that the vaccine would stop transmission, otherwise there would be no point in excluding unvaccinated people from society. If the vaccine doesn’t stop transmission, then vaccinated people spread the virus too. So, I found this to be an incredibly important question.’

‘Rob, you’re right, it is the single most important question because certainly here in Australia we had some of the worst lockdowns, we had this vicious persecution of unvaccinated people, we had our state premiers going on television and saying they wouldn’t be in the same room as the unvaccinated. It was this endless repetition of “this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated”. We had health authorities – health bureaucrats – telling the public that they were going to make life incredibly difficult for you if you weren’t vaccinated. This was persecution, I don’t know if it was the same in Europe, but it certainly happened here in Australia. You got that critical answer that they hadn’t even tested if it would stop transmission. Were you surprised by the answer? What’s it been like since you exposed this scandal?’

‘Well, I wasn’t that surprised,’ admitted Roos, ‘because the answer was as I suspected. We have all seen the daily practice during the Omicron variant but our governments keep telling the story – the fiction – that vaccination was necessary to protect others. But I was surprised about the honesty with which the Pfizer representative responded because the implications are massive. This means that there was no basis for Covid passports and Covid vaccine mandates.’

‘What has been the result in the European Parliament? It was the executive [from Pfizer] who turned up and spoke but it was the CEO who was invited. The CEO declined to come on to your interrogation and questioning… Maybe the executive wasn’t even aware of what dynamite she was exposing by giving the answer she gave?’ added Dean. ‘Are we going to see governments backing down and apologising for these vaccine passports? What’s been the response?’

‘There has been a massive response to the video. Worldwide people are angry because their governments lied to them. Austrians were denied access to their dying parents, for example. People all over the world – not only Europe. I also think a lot of people are now starting to see the government’s response for what it was. They have abused their power, maybe [they were] even tyrannical. They only cared about pushing vaccinations. There was no respect for people’s body autonomy and integrity. So, on the one hand, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, massively so. At the same time, I have been attacked by establishment media who claimed I spread “fake news”. But, when they attack me they don’t attack my actual argument, they attack a strawman. I am not claiming Pfizer lied, I am claiming our governments lied because they based their narrative on the idea that you do this for others and that vaccination stops transmission for which there was no evidence. And all fact-checkers have to admit that the government messaging was plain wrong and government policies undermined fundamental rights in an unprecedented way – a way which we thought would never be possible in a liberal democracy. But it was. And that’s shocking, because it tells us a lot about the state of our fundamental rights.’

‘You’ve used a phrase that I’ve been using a lot over the past few months, the abuse of power,’ replied Rowan Dean. ‘And, for me, that is what the absolute pivot of this is all about. I agree with you. We’ve seen a lot of people coming out and saying, “Oh… well, they never claimed that they had tested for transmission therefore there’s nothing in this story.” It’s complete rubbish. As you have put your finger on, the point is that our politicians led us to believe, in fact, they insisted at every level. Whether it was Anthony Fauci in the States or our own politicians here in Australia – at every level our health bureaucrats insisted that the vaccines prevented transmission and this was the rationale for mandatory vaccination which, in this country – and in other places – many people lost their jobs. Many people are still out of work. Many people had their lives turned upside down and destroyed because they insisted to us that it did stop transmission. This isn’t a problem with Pfizer, as you say, Rob, this is absolutely about the abuse of power by politicians who are either too stupid, or too lazy, or too corrupt to actually check out the facts and were prepared to abuse their power. What happens next?’

‘That’s a very good question. What should happen, in my opinion, is that politicians are held accountable. The people who were responsible for these policies should resign if they are still in office. This has been the most damaging violation of fundamental rights in decades. Its impact is lasting. Small businesses are still going bankrupt because of high inflation after they were already weakened by Covid lockdowns. Young people are still more often depressed and lost out on valuable life experience – our society suffers from an obesity epidemic – and this was not because of some force of nature, it was because politicians decided to enact these policies. Those who did should resign and this violation of fundamental human rights should never happen again.’

As Rowan Dean says, Rob Roos belongs in the history books for what he has done exposing the lies of our government officials during the pandemic years.

The fact-checkers can complain all they like that Pfizer never said or implied that their tests would prevent transmission. This is the excuse official fact-checkers use to call ‘fake news’ on Rob Roos. Are outfits such as Politifact so dense (or disingenuous?) that they don’t realise they are debating the wrong fact? Let’s have a ‘fact-check’ on the claims of politicians, such as President Joe Biden. As Rob Roos correctly states, it was the lies of government and the lies of health officials drafting policy, that matter. And they certainly lied.

https://spectator.com.au/2022/10/rob-roos-and-rowan-dean-on-the-abuse-of-rights/

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The writing crisis in Australian schools

A review of 10 million NAPLAN year 3-9 writing results and more than 350 persuasive writing samples by the government-funded Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) has found students’ writing declined significantly in every key skill area but spelling over seven years to 2018.

“We do have a serious decline, and it’s worse for our older students,” said the head of AERO, Jenny Donovan, who called for the core skill of writing to be given greater emphasis in the nation’s schools. “It’s a big drop and [writing] is a really basic expectation.”

Claire Wyatt-Smith, an Australian Catholic University professor who was a key contributor to the NSW Education Standards Authority’s review of writing in schools, said an emphasis on reading had taken the focus off writing in Australian schools.

“Writing is of at least equal need and greater urgency,” she said. “The teaching of writing is perhaps the biggest equity issue we face. We can use the word illiterate. They finish school and are unable to have the proficiency in writing they need for workplace engagement.”

The national findings echo those of a major review in NSW, which also found teachers lacked confidence in teaching writing, were not given the training and resources they needed, and spent too little classroom time focusing on it, particularly in high school.

Writing is key to success at school because students who struggle to express their thoughts clearly on the page cannot demonstrate their knowledge. Research has shown that writing ability in year 9 is a strong indicator of success in year 12, when many subjects require essays.

Donovan said clear written expression was also essential to life after school. “Everybody is going to need to write a job application,” she said. “They’ll have to question a traffic fine, or make a case for why their rental bond should be returned.”

AERO’s analysis found the decline was particularly noticeable among high-performing students.

In 2011, more than 20 per cent of year 9 students achieved five or six out of possible six marks in sentence structure, which meant they could write sentences that varied in length and complexity. By 2018, that proportion had fallen to just eight per cent.

Writing standards

Forty-five percent of students in Year 7 can score a 3 out of a possible 6, meaning they can correctly write most simple and compound sentences, and some complex sentences. In year 9, more than a third of students are still only able to write at the same basic level.

Only a quarter of year 9 students used apostrophes, commas and colons correctly most of the time. Most were at the level of a competent year 3 student as defined by curriculum documents, which meant they could use capital letters at the beginning of sentences and full stops at the end.

The many students who are below the standard assumed in the curriculum are likely to find lessons and assessments too hard. This is a particular problem in year 9, although students in years 5 and 7 are also achieving at a lower level than curriculum expectations.

“Students are a long way short of where the syllabus and curriculum anticipates they should be in their learning,” said Donovan.

“When teachers are using the syllabus or curriculum to guide them, rather than the knowledge of where their students are up to, they’ll miss the mark. They’ll be teaching at a point where the students are not ready for learning. “There’s no reason why a year 9 teacher will know what’s in a year 3 syllabus document. That’s a big gap to straddle.”

Donovan has made writing a priority for AERO, which was founded to help schools use effective teaching approaches, and has developed resources that teachers can use in their classroom. “The good news part is we also understand what to do about it,” she said.

NSW has also become the first jurisdiction to make writing a key focus of its new syllabuses.

https://www.smh.com.au/education/we-can-use-the-word-illiterate-the-writing-crisis-in-australian-schools-20221017-p5bqfb.html

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An idea for getting the unemployed to give something back

Four problems, which are related but which can be solved

Australia currently has – among many others – four problems, which are related but which can be solved. The four problems are a skills shortage, a failing education system, youth unemployment, and under-manning in the ADF.

In early September, a Jobs and Skills Summit was held in Canberra. To address skills shortages, Prime Minister Albanese pledged an extra $1 billion for 180,000 fee-free TAFE places in 2023 and $100m over four years for 10,000 new ‘energy apprentices’. Politicians see money – other people’s money – as the solution to every problem. However, money will not solve our skills shortages while the second problem – a failing education system – exists.

At June 30, 2020, 266,600 young Australians were undertaking apprenticeships. In 2019, 384,400 undergraduates commenced degree courses. However, just under half of apprentices fail to complete their apprenticeships, and around half who study teaching also fail to complete. With these failure rates, of Albanese’s 190,000 free TAFE places and energy apprenticeships only half will finish – yet another half a billion dollars down the drain.

The Jobs Summit was told that drop-outs occur, ‘in part because young people are not really prepared for the process’ – the process simply being education and training – and ‘lack of foundational skills’ among potential workers are a real barrier to employment. Worse, the Business Council of Australia’s CEO, Jennifer Westacott told the summit ‘they simply don’t have the basic skills of reading, writing, spelling, numeracy and digital’.

Self-evidently, our education system is a problem. According to the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), in 2018 20 per cent of Australian students had reading levels ‘too low to enable them to participate effectively and productively in life’, an eight per cent increase since 2003. By 2030, nearly 25 per cent of our students will fall into this dismal and abysmal category.

Australia’s unemployment rate is now 3.5 per cent, but our third problem is youth employment at 7.03 per cent. The number of unemployed in June 2022 was 494,000, of whom 77,000 are in the youth cohort (ages 15 – 24). In May 2022 there were 480,000 job vacancies – approximately one job for every person unemployed.

However, instead of having almost zero unemployment as one might expect, the jobs are not being filled. And, of the 77,000 unemployed youth, the majority are highly likely to be unemployable, destined never to escape the insidious cycle of welfare dependency.

The fourth problem is under-manning in the ADF and Australia’s Reserve Forces. Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, the new Chief of Navy, said that the RAN submarine force will have to expand from its current 850 sailors to about 2,500 to crew our new nuclear submarines, and thousands more will be needed to crew new surface ships. These highly-skilled jobs cannot be filled if half our tertiary students fail to complete their studies and training, and if 25 per cent of secondary school leavers are incapable of undertaking further study and training.

A potential answer to this problem is to have Australia’s unemployed youth – those on welfare – engage in military training for a year. A pilot program of 5,000 trainees (from the 77,000 unemployed youth cohort) across the six states would require around 500 staff for a year. These could come from Australia’s reserve forces, from retired regular ADF personnel, and from other appropriate retired personnel who would like to work. This program should not be a burden on the already undermanned – and overworked – ADF. Salary costs could be around $50 million for the year. Accommodation should be tented, to reduce costs and to allow easy establishment of training camps in specific locations. The establishment of inexpensive and temporary catering, shower, and latrine facilities are not beyond the capabilities of army engineers. Total costs of the training could be around $100 million a year. Small change for our hitherto shamelessly profligate governments.

The purpose of the training is change – change to lifestyles, outlook, thinking, and to the lack of basic skills of the young unemployed. Under current conditions they have no prospects of any meaningful employment, no prospects of a fulfilling life, and no prospects of contributing to Australia.

Twelve months of full-time military recruit training will qualify participants as fully-trained soldiers i.e. ready to and capable of joining a regular military unit. Note that this is not national service. Furthermore, those who do complete the training will not be compelled to serve in the ADF regular forces. Their commitment to full-time ADF service will end on the completion of their full-time recruit training of twelve months.

Any who are unwilling to commit to and complete the training period will not be compelled to do so. However, those who refuse to engage in this training will no longer receive any unemployment or other welfare benefits.

Apart from the military training, the program should comprise education in basic and higher skills in reading, writing, numeracy, and digital – those that are now lacking. Essential elements of the program should include discipline, physical fitness, sport, and adventure training. The experience should be enjoyable, educational, and productive for the majority, if not all who undertake the training. It must be a positive life-changing experience. At the end of the training, all participants should be job-ready, and ready to participate effectively and productively in life.

After the initial recruit training is completed, the program could be expanded for those who have demonstrated an interest and a commitment to include trade and vocational training in the widest possible range of traditional and new (digital) trades and skills. Leadership and management training – developing initiative and self-reliance – now being sold by vocational colleges at a high cost, can also be delivered to those demonstrating interest and commitment via promotion courses.

Instead of looking for reasons why this cannot be done, let’s make it happen. As Nike said – just do it!

Australia currently has – among many others – four problems, which are related but which can be solved. The four problems are a skills shortage, a failing education system, youth unemployment, and under-manning in the ADF.

In early September, a Jobs and Skills Summit was held in Canberra. To address skills shortages, Prime Minister Albanese pledged an extra $1 billion for 180,000 fee-free TAFE places in 2023 and $100m over four years for 10,000 new ‘energy apprentices’. Politicians see money – other people’s money – as the solution to every problem. However, money will not solve our skills shortages while the second problem – a failing education system – exists.

At June 30, 2020, 266,600 young Australians were undertaking apprenticeships. In 2019, 384,400 undergraduates commenced degree courses. However, just under half of apprentices fail to complete their apprenticeships, and around half who study teaching also fail to complete. With these failure rates, of Albanese’s 190,000 free TAFE places and energy apprenticeships only half will finish – yet another half a billion dollars down the drain.

The Jobs Summit was told that drop-outs occur, ‘in part because young people are not really prepared for the process’ – the process simply being education and training – and ‘lack of foundational skills’ among potential workers are a real barrier to employment. Worse, the Business Council of Australia’s CEO, Jennifer Westacott told the summit ‘they simply don’t have the basic skills of reading, writing, spelling, numeracy and digital’.

Self-evidently, our education system is a problem. According to the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), in 2018 20 per cent of Australian students had reading levels ‘too low to enable them to participate effectively and productively in life’, an eight per cent increase since 2003. By 2030, nearly 25 per cent of our students will fall into this dismal and abysmal category.

Australia’s unemployment rate is now 3.5 per cent, but our third problem is youth employment at 7.03 per cent. The number of unemployed in June 2022 was 494,000, of whom 77,000 are in the youth cohort (ages 15 – 24). In May 2022 there were 480,000 job vacancies – approximately one job for every person unemployed.

However, instead of having almost zero unemployment as one might expect, the jobs are not being filled. And, of the 77,000 unemployed youth, the majority are highly likely to be unemployable, destined never to escape the insidious cycle of welfare dependency.

The fourth problem is under-manning in the ADF and Australia’s Reserve Forces. Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, the new Chief of Navy, said that the RAN submarine force will have to expand from its current 850 sailors to about 2,500 to crew our new nuclear submarines, and thousands more will be needed to crew new surface ships. These highly-skilled jobs cannot be filled if half our tertiary students fail to complete their studies and training, and if 25 per cent of secondary school leavers are incapable of undertaking further study and training.

A potential answer to this problem is to have Australia’s unemployed youth – those on welfare – engage in military training for a year. A pilot program of 5,000 trainees (from the 77,000 unemployed youth cohort) across the six states would require around 500 staff for a year. These could come from Australia’s reserve forces, from retired regular ADF personnel, and from other appropriate retired personnel who would like to work. This program should not be a burden on the already undermanned – and overworked – ADF. Salary costs could be around $50 million for the year. Accommodation should be tented, to reduce costs and to allow easy establishment of training camps in specific locations. The establishment of inexpensive and temporary catering, shower, and latrine facilities are not beyond the capabilities of army engineers. Total costs of the training could be around $100 million a year. Small change for our hitherto shamelessly profligate governments.

The purpose of the training is change – change to lifestyles, outlook, thinking, and to the lack of basic skills of the young unemployed. Under current conditions they have no prospects of any meaningful employment, no prospects of a fulfilling life, and no prospects of contributing to Australia.

Twelve months of full-time military recruit training will qualify participants as fully-trained soldiers i.e. ready to and capable of joining a regular military unit. Note that this is not national service. Furthermore, those who do complete the training will not be compelled to serve in the ADF regular forces. Their commitment to full-time ADF service will end on the completion of their full-time recruit training of twelve months.

Any who are unwilling to commit to and complete the training period will not be compelled to do so. However, those who refuse to engage in this training will no longer receive any unemployment or other welfare benefits.

Apart from the military training, the program should comprise education in basic and higher skills in reading, writing, numeracy, and digital – those that are now lacking. Essential elements of the program should include discipline, physical fitness, sport, and adventure training. The experience should be enjoyable, educational, and productive for the majority, if not all who undertake the training. It must be a positive life-changing experience. At the end of the training, all participants should be job-ready, and ready to participate effectively and productively in life.

After the initial recruit training is completed, the program could be expanded for those who have demonstrated an interest and a commitment to include trade and vocational training in the widest possible range of traditional and new (digital) trades and skills. Leadership and management training – developing initiative and self-reliance – now being sold by vocational colleges at a high cost, can also be delivered to those demonstrating interest and commitment via promotion courses.

Instead of looking for reasons why this cannot be done, let’s make it happen. As Nike said – just do it!

https://spectator.com.au/2022/10/from-youth-unemployment-and-welfare-to-the-adf/

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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)

http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs

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