Combat Zones

Well then, we depart in every sense and hover in the reaches. We destroy talent. We march through the reaches. We come crawling through the lattice. He woke and put himself back to sleep. The messaging was so confusing he had no idea who to believe. These, then, needed to lift above the fray. All was quiet and then in awe. The purpose was not clear. The turn of history was almost complete. They destroyed themselves. Whatever hope there had been had vanished down a plughole. Not to preserve, or save, an old system; but to avoid the suffering that must inevitably come.

And still the public acted like sleep walkers. 

Their strength was in their ability to disappear. Sometimes. 

He could rationalise anything. 

The melancholy business of resuming, or assuming, the house, was being aided by a neat trick, a ghost buster in the front room. 

The victim of failed Psyop programs, he himself reared into powerful view or vanished in a whisper; he sought the help of the non-human world or left them gasping as the lattice folded and folded and folded out until it consumed the world, and all became a conquered place.

There was the establishment of old tracks. The clearing of debris. The rejuvenation of the soldiers. The combat weary who sneered at his little fears and phobias; and then he reached out and muttered quietly, "You know we're not human?"

The greatest story ever told.

HEADLINES

Two new reports have underscored the fragility of Australia’s economic recovery as the federal government prepares to wind back major stimulus programs.

With less than a month to go until the Morrison government withdraws its JobKeeper wage subsidies, new research from ME Bank has offered a fresh insight into the potential effect of the program’s withdrawal.

The biannual Household Financial Comfort Report has been running since October 2011 and asks 1500 Australian households to estimate their financial comfort, expectations, and confidence across 11 measures.

In positive news, the latest edition found that Australian households as a whole have never been so confident in their financial situation, with the overall index rising 2 per cent and reaching a record high of 5.89 out of 10 over the six months to December.

But buried in the detail were signs of economic fragility.

ME’s report found that one in five households have less than $1000 in savings, a finding that undermines the federal government’s argument that cashed-up consumers have the means to drive the economic recovery.

Of those households with minimal savings, only 3 per cent said they could maintain their current lifestyle for more than six months if they lost their incomes, and only 4 per cent said they could maintain their current lifestyle when JobKeeper is withdrawn at the end of March.

In December, the program still supported the wages of some 1.5 million individuals.

“This is a telling sign of what may come as the government tapers off and ends income and job support measures during the first few months of this year,” said Jeff Oughton, ME Bank’s consulting economist.

Past research by illion and AlphaBeta suggests the hit to low-income households will likely spill over into other parts of the economy, as well.

Latest Auckland lockdown 'is ridiculous'

28/02/2021|2min

SKy News host Paul Murray says he "can't believe" the people of Auckland are now in their third lockdown, based off just one case of coronavirus. The New Zealand city of Auckland has entered a week-long lockdown after a new coronavirus case was discovered. The latest confirmed infection was a 21-year-old male who is related to a student from the school at the centre of the Auckland cluster. "It's ridiculous," Mr Murray said. "There's a vaccine that's being rolled out all around the world, including in New Zealand". "The idea that a single case results in one-and-a-half million people not being able to leave their homes again (and) all the rest of it".

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COVID-19 vaccine error highlights risks but Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the system will improve

A “serious error” that saw two Queensland aged care residents injected with the wrong dose of the COVID-19 vaccine has raised questions about the rollout.

The federal government has established a “myth busting unit” to address what health minister Greg Hunt has called “plainly ridiculous” misinformation surrounding the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine in Australia, amid increasing concerns about the spread of false information and conspiracy theories during the pandemic.

Announcing the arrival of the first 300,00 doses of the new AstraZeneca vaccine to Australia on Sunday, Hunt revealed the departments of Home Affairs and Health had “quietly” established the unit last year amid concerns about misinformation.

“Some of these anti-vaxxers are peddling, frankly, false and clearly irresponsible views. Whether it is about 5G and Bill Gates and mind control – ludicrous, ludicrous things,” he said.