If Tony Abbott were PM

What would Tony Abbott do if this nation were so unfortunate as to have him elected as Prime Minister some time in the future? I can see your lips moving to mouth the words: “Who knows?” And our would-be PM, who by his own admission is a weathervane, would likely not know either, because even he would be unable to predict which way the political wind would be blowing so far ahead.

So let’s imagine what might happen in several of the key policy areas that are of contemporaneous importance. It is worthwhile doing as I am unaware of anyone in the MSM who has sketched even a rudimentary picture of life under PM Abbott. I have wondered why as all the polls suggest he will be PM after the next election. The MSM is naturally preoccupied with PM Gillard and her Government, but why not paint a picture of what the alternative might be like, what he has to offer? I suspect that one reason is that it is too difficult an exercise for the average journalist, but perhaps a more likely reason is that media proprietors don’t want that disturbing picture exhibited lest it drive away voters from the one the media has anointed as the next PM, one that will suit its commercial imperatives better than the present PM

Climate change
PM Abbott would be able to choose any position he wanted and to say this has always been his position as he has occupied every possible one from skepticism bordering on denial at one end of the spectrum to support for an ETS and a carbon tax at the other. Last week he claimed that he never supported an ETS, although he is on record as having done so several times, even at one time supporting a carbon tax. The media, instead of calling him a liar as they do PM Gillard every day and play her ‘no carbon tax’ clip to reinforce the liar message, is chary of doing this, contenting itself with a ‘he said, she said’ account and blushingly adding that he later ‘clarified’ what he meant, which was that he has opposed an ETS ‘since becoming leader’. As telling untruths and changing position according to the wind direction or his audience is no impediment to Abbott, he could and would say anything he liked, and have the compliant media swallow it whole.

So let’s postulate what he might do as PM. By then, accidents apart, the carbon plan will have been passed into law. As he has promised to repeal that law in Government, he would lose a lot of credibility, and run counter to his aggressive nature, if he did not try to do so. I imagine he would threaten the Greens, who have vowed to oppose any repeal motion, with the prospect of a double dissolution election during which he would attempt to wipe them out or at least seriously diminish their power, a task that would have the full support of News Limited media. He would also threaten Labor in the same way with an even bigger wipe out than at the election that brought him to power. There seems to be some uncertainty about when a DD election would be possible after the normal election of an Abbott Government, but Antony Green believes it would not be possible before the first half of 2015.  So Abbott could huff and puff as much as he liked but not be able to force matters before then, and could repeal the carbon tax legislation only if he got control of the Senate after the DD election. It’s all rather hypothetical and unlikely to happen.

And even if the unlikely occurred and Abbott had the numbers in both houses in early 2015, the legislation would have been in place for almost four years, by which time most of those affected would have adjusted to it and discovered that the sky had not fallen in, massive job losses had not occurred, industrial towns had not been reduced to ghost status, and few had been made worse off in any way. Moreover, the world would have moved closer to consensus on carbon pricing. At that time, business would not welcome another period of uncertainty that repealing the tax would occasion.

So Malcolm Turnbull’s suggestion that the Coalition’s Direct Action Plan would be easy to discontinue may never be tested, because it would never likely be introduced, lacking as it does support from even one trustworthy economist. And if it were by any chance, how would Abbott and Greg Hunt explain where they would find 29,000 hectares of marginal land to plant trees when only 27,000 hectares of arable land currently exists? How would they justify the high cost of increasing soil carbon? And most importantly how would they justify paying polluters taxpayer’s money in the hope they would reduce pollution, and how would they justify and implement the clawing back of increases in pensions and compensation payments?

In summary, PM Abbott would be stuck with what this parliament had legislated and would have to like it or lump it. All his overblown rhetoric would be seen as just hot air, opportunistically emitted in pursuit of his aim of overthrowing the elected Government.

The Mining Tax
This also will be passed by the current parliament. As the three largest mining companies have negotiated it with the Government, any protest by the now somewhat discredited Twiggy Forrest, or similar miners, will have little effect. As the tax will be operational, attempts to repeal it will be subject to the same restrictions that apply to the carbon tax. Again, despite his insistence that he will repeal these taxes, Abbott will get nowhere.

So two of his big election campaign ploys, repealing the two taxes, will be seen for what they are – hollow promises that he cannot keep.

The NBN
Accidents barred, by the end of 2013 when the next election is due, the NBN will have been rolling out for almost four years. As several regional towns will have begun to experience the benefits of very fast broadband download and upload speeds, faster than anything we have now or the Coalition is offering, the others will not want to be offered something inferior, not even Malcolm Turnbull’s less costly compromise. They will have realized what enormous benefits are available for small business, farming, education and health. The NBN is not just about sending emails and downloading movies, as Abbott seems to think; it is revolutionizing many professional and business endeavours. Any region or city that is still to get the NBN will not want anything with quality and potential poorer than other regions, no matter what Turnbull says.

Moreover, as Turnbull has pointed out, the cost of aborting the NBN will likely be considerable, especially after Telstra has decommissioned its copper network, and the contracts that the NBN Co. and the Government have entered into will be difficult and expensive to break. So Abbott will likely find himself frustrated in carrying out his threat to ‘demolish the NBN’. It will be too far advanced and too popular for him to destroy.

The regional asylum seeker plan
Today’s signing of the agreement with Malaysia for the so-called asylum seeker swap will put a spoke in the Abbott slogan ‘stop the boats’ as this move is likely to achieve just that. And now that alternative arrangements for processing those arriving after the announcement of the Malaysia plan have been announced – in Australia as the Manus Island option is not yet available – the negative impact of irregular boat arrivals will have been substantially reduced. Abbott will not get traction from his ‘we will stop the boats’ slogan if they have already stopped. So long as human rights and dignity have been addressed to the satisfaction of the UNHCR, and since opportunities for schooling, healthcare and jobs for returned asylum seekers have been agreed to, the sting of criticism from the Greens and Labor members supportive of asylum seekers will have been blunted.

The Coalition will hardly be likely to swing over to the Nauru solution if the Malaysian arrangement is working, as it would risk boat arrivals escalating. So Abbott will be frustrated yet again.

Health system reform
A major reform of Australia’s healthcare system is underway. Although the Liberal Premiers have made it more difficult to bring it to a conclusion, progress continues. In as far as it delegates much responsibility for management to local bodies, in a way similar to the Coalition policy, there will be little for the Coalition to gain by advocating its policy once the changes are bedded down. The cigarette package labeling legislation is in train, and as Abbott could not find a reason to oppose it now, it will not be an item of contention come the next election.

Overseas Cattle Trade
Although this issue provided fodder for Abbott when the crisis struck, as it is now been satisfactorily resolved, it will not be relevant at the next election.

Bringing the budget out of deficit
Since the Government has promised to bring in a surplus budget in 2012/13, if that is accomplished, the prospect of the Coalition bringing in a surplus budget will have lost its novelty. An Abbott Government would have to do better in validating its so-called savings, and have no $11 billion black holes. The $50 billion savings the Coalition claimed in its election budget proved to be fictional, but despite that they still quote that fabricated budget as if it was real, and the media lets them get away with it over and again.

Abbott and Joe Hockey claim they will make further savings by eliminating 20,000 public servants by not replacing those leaving through attrition. Apart from that being a slow process, the Coalition may find it can’t do without these people, and therefore the expected savings could be evanescent.

Stopping the waste
How the Coalition will do this is problematic. As by the time an Abbott Government could assume power, the Government programs that have been accused of waste, such as the HIP and the BER, will be complete or close to it. There may not be any waste left to stop. There never was much.

Paid Parental Leave Scheme
Since the Government scheme is already operative, what dividend would accrue to the Coalition by substituting its more generous but more costly scheme? There may be little credit to be gained, but considerable costs to wear. The scheme was to be funded by increasing company tax on the 1000 largest companies, many of whom are already running their own schemes. Then through an Abbottesque manipulation, the cost was to be offset by reduction in the company tax rate that according to Hockey would leave them square. It was somewhat of a smoke and mirrors illusion. Abbott is so likely to be short of the funds he needs for his generous scheme that he would be likely to postpone it.

The Murray Darling Plan
After an abortive start, this is moving towards resolution. What does Abbott plan to do different from that proposed by the committee that is investigating how to ensure water security, enough for farming and the environment, while securing the economies of regional communities? I have not heard any.

So we’ve covered climate change and the carbon and mining taxes, the NBN, asylum seekers, health reform, deficit budgeting, stopping waste, surplus budgeting, the PPL scheme and the Murray Darling plan. What other policies has Abbott put forward? Just about every utterance has been negative and obstructive, pulling things down and stopping things, with a side promise to do everything cheaper.

Where are his economic policies? He talks of taking up the recommendations of the Henry Review, on which the Government has already made a start, but so far that is just words without plans or costings.

Where are his plans for increasing the nation’s wealth and improving productivity? How does he plan to deal with the patchwork economy?

Does he have a population policy that allows for measured and balanced development, particularly in the regions?

Where is his foreign policy? Whatever it is he may have to do a repair job with China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia after the derogatory remarks he has made about these countries.

You may be able to think of other policy areas that an Abbott Government might implement; if so, please share them with us. Of one thing we can be certain, to date the Coalition has eschewed policy announcements, preferring to leave that until closer to the election. But if Abbott succeeds in precipitating an early election, where would that strategy of delay leave them? We have heard for years that the Coalition has a policy group beavering away producing policies; but so far the slate is blank.

In summary, the threats Abbott has made to repeal legislation he opposes and to demolish what has been started, will come to naught.  And all the hype that the Coalition has propagated about this incompetent bad government that can do nothing right will look as shallow and trumped up as it is unless and until we see the policies, plans and plausible budgets that would be central to an Abbott government. Even if a compliant pro-Coalition media might not demand them, the public eventually will. 

What do you think?

Rate This Post

Current rating: 0.5 / 5 | Rated 10 times

Catching up

25/07/2011Good choice, 20000 jobs now or a few thousand in the next forty years. Why are some jobs disposable to the Coalition and others must be kept at all costs, even if the industries they are in are becoming redundant.

Casablanca

25/07/2011Feral Skeleton Here is another nice picture of the PM, albeit a formal one. http://www.smh.com.au/national/prime-ministerial-power-sapped-by-balancing-act-20110724-1hvfr.html

Crowey

26/07/2011Just the thought of having that lying religious zealot as Prime Minister would be enough to send shivers through the majority of the population.

Lyn

26/07/2011Good Morning Ad Thankyou for a wonderful fabulistic, delectable, delicious article this morning. Ad Astra your work is admirably perfect and what a juicy subject to sink our teeth into. Did you see this morning on ABC 24 at 6.45am ,the Newspaper reader pointed out the misleading front page of the Australian today. Misreporting the Asylum seeker deal. I was also elated to see the reader pointed out the Australian says Labor and not the Government. I have been noticing that for a long time, they are also very hesitant to say Prime Minister frequently referring to the Gillard . Cheers :):):):):)

Lyn

26/07/2011 [b]TODAY’S LINKS[/b] [i]‘Gruesome, but necessary’, Ash, Ash’s Machiavellian Bloggery[/i] It is time we took a long hard look at ourselves and what it is we have done. What we have contributedto fan hate in a being to a point where they commit atrocities. We have contributed. There is no doubt. http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/gruesome-but-necessary/ [i]The great privacy debate, Mungo MacCallum, The Drum[/i] Well sorry, Ms Ridout: the climate is not going to hold off until your profits pick up. Like Abbott, you are treating the issue as a political one, not as an actual, physical change, Go back to Turnbull: respect the science. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2809530.html [i]Verbal Terrorism and the hate barrage, Barry Everingham, New Matilda[/i] Gillard, when Abbott starts frothing at the mouth, turns her back, of course, and ignores himleaving the cat calling to his followers — who will resort to anything he wants so as to secure a ministryin the event of him becoming Prime Minister. http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/media-2/verbal-terrorism-and-the-hate-barrage/ [i]The Questions Harto Won't Answer, Wendy Bacon, New Matilda[/i] The response to News Ltd CEO John Hartigan’s decision to carry out an editorial expenses audit of the Australian branch of News Corporation did not seem to take on board the sharing of resources that goes along with being an "integrated" global company. http://newmatilda.com/2011/07/25/questions-harto-wont-answer [i]Tim Lambert catches out The Australian, again, Dave Gaukroger, Pure Poison[/i] Do you think that The Australian printed this letter?Of course not.Instead they repeated the misrepresentation in an editorial http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/2011/07/25/tim-lambert-catches-out-the-australian-again/ [i]Phony Tony and His Pharmacy Fable, Climate Change Action[/i] For the sake of Australian retailers doing already doing it tough, Mr Abbott needs to stop spreading fear and uncertainty with his patently untrue claims which are damaging consumer confidence. http://climatechangeaction.org.au/phony-tony-abbott-and-his-pharmacy-fable-scare-campaign-facts/ [i]The rise of Norway’s hard right, Amber Jamieson, Crikey[/i] Europol has just set up a 50-person taskforce to study non-Islamic extremists and threats in Scandinavian countries. http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/07/25/the-rise-of-norways-hard-right/ [i]Turnbull and the ALP , David Havyatt, Anything Goes[/i] The fit would have appeared natural because Abbott's primary opponents in student politics of the 70s were real communists of various varieties. As such he was a natural ally of the former groupers who retained control of the ALP. (See note below). http://davidhavyatt.blogspot.com/2011/07/turnbull-and-alp.htm [i]Malcolm Turnbull and reframing the climate change debate, Mark Bahnisch, The Drum[/i] So, when the Clean Energy Future detail was released, everyone rushed to the online calculator to see if they'd be 'better off' or 'worse off'.It became all about short term gain and pain, and reinforced the narrative that Labor was ignoring cost of living http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2808208.html [i]Australian media take note: the BBC understands balance in climate change coverage, David Kingsley, The Conversation[/i] ensure viewers are able to distinguish well-established fact from opinion on scientific issues, and to communicate this distinction clearly to theaudience. In other words, to remember that the plural of anecdote is not data.Australian media, are you listening? http://theconversation.edu.au/australian-media-take-note-the-bbc-understands-balance-in-climate-change-coverage-2462 [i]10 million to drive fear and greed on carbon price, Crikey, Rooted[/i] the Say Yes Australia rallies that attracted in excess of 45,000 Australians, is a far more powerful indication of public sentiment thenthe desperate lies of multi-billion dollar industry cronies who are scared of finally paying for their pollution. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/rooted/2011/07/25/10-million-to-drive-fear-and-greed-on-carbon-price/ [i]Abbott seizes on leaked Gillard carbon plan, Financial Review[/i] http://www.afr.com/p/national/gillard_wanted_climate_deal_with_jFmqbnJpEL7Ph0BNFF8yiP [i]Australia, Malaysia sign refugee deal, Jeremy Thompson, ABC[/i] Ms Gillard says it is designed to send a message that asylum seekers should not risk their lives in the hope of having their claims processed in Australia."This is a ground-breaking agreement which is designed to smash the business model of people smugglers," she said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-25/malaysia-signs-refugee-deal/2809512?WT.mc_id=newsmail [i]People smuggler fishermen, Min, Café Whispers[/i] The main job of the patrol boats out of Cairns and indeed Darwin is not the interception of people smugglers, but illegal fishermen poaching in Australian waters. It is therefore unsurprising that the above illusion has been http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/people-smuggler-fishermen/ [i]In July 2011 Australia really began to drag its knuckles in the dust, Petering Time, North Coast Voices[/i] In response to a journalist who wrote of her dislike of the term Juliar, a foot soldier in Abbott's Army wrote this http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com/2011/07/in-july-2011-australia-really-began-to.html [i]Politics of NBN pricing: comparing potatoes and pomegranates, Stilgherrian, Crikey[/i] The question that media outlets need to ask themselves is whether they’re in the business of informing consumers about their choices,or wilfully creating stress and confusion as part of the ping-pong show of politics. Oh wait. http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/07/25/politics-of-nbn-pricing-comparing-potatoes-and-pomegranates/ [i]Dodgy but what the heck. The anti carbon tax TV ads. Peter Martin[/i] Until the election of the Rudd government the chamber was headed by former senior Coalition staffer Peter Hendy whorejoined the Coalition on leaving the chamber. http://www.petermartin.com.au/2011/07/dodgy-but-what-heck-anti-carbon-tax-tv.html

Ad astra reply

26/07/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

janice

26/07/2011Ad astra, If an election doesn't occur before 2013 when it is due, and IF Abbott is still LOTO and IF he wins that election, an Abbott Government will be a [b]do nothing government[/b] because he will be nicely ham-strung in the Senate. There will, of course, be an end to nation building/infrastructure projects so this country will have a period of utter stagnation. We will see a PM who spends more time doing personal [b]body building[/b] than attending to affairs of the state. Kirribilli House will once again be the PM's primary residence and the majority of the residents of this country will once again cringe and be reluctant to admit their nationality when travelling overseas. With a little bit of luck, this country will not suffer too much damage in the short time it will take for the currently blinkered voters to realise they were conned and actually [b]want[/b] the opportunity to return to a government which believes in stability, honesty, integrity and equality for all its citizens.

Feral Skeleton

26/07/2011Sickening exploitation of the Norway massacre by some other Christian Fundamentalist Conservative White Supremacists: Bolt blogs that multiculturalism caused the Oslo terrorism: http://t.co/azkOArN Commenter calls for race war. Glenn Beck Thinks Massacred Kids Are 'Like the Hitler Youth' http://t.co/xGCNmm1

Feral Skeleton

26/07/2011This is the (grainy) screenshot of the quite literate hate-crime-inciting 'Call to Race War Arms' comment on Bolt's blog: http://yfrog.com/h7plmcjj

Feral Skeleton

26/07/2011ASIO should set up a taskforce to monitor Non-Islamic extremists in this country as well. With the number of death threats that have been going around against a variety of people here lately I think it would be a wise move.

Michael

26/07/2011Tuesday's Bad Abbott. The return of 'Godwin Grech'? http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/bipartisan-talk-adds-smoke-in-carbon-war-20110725-1hx5b.html In this story from Lenore Taylor in the Sydney Morning Herald, Tiny Abbott is extensively quoted as he leaps on a tale about a "secret memo", supposedly written by Julia Gillard when Deputy Prime Minister, arguing for establishing a bipartisan approach to climate change that would much more resemble Coalition policy than Labor's. 'Unearthed' by the Australian Financial Review, the PM has denied such a memo ever existed, done so in public, and made it very clear that the AFR story has no veracity. Shouldabeen leaps, all the same, making derogatory statements questioning the PM's integrity. I seem to recall another Opposition Leader of recent times also grasping at 'unearthed' internal government documentation and having his fingers quite severely burnt by the facts unfolding in the matters surrounding Godwin Grech. Could Tiny be falling also for enthusiastic forging and invention on the part of a small cog of government administration playing in a bigger game of politics than he or she is capable of participating in? Any politician is wise to check the sources. Double check them. And then say or do nothing until a third party confirms them. High dudgeon one step from high office can just as easily lead to the aspirant falling on his face as being handed the keys.

Feral Skeleton

26/07/2011This is why Bolt has gone on the offensive so soon after the Norway attack. He wants his readers to keep what they know and what they believe firmly within his frame: http://www.thenation.com/article/162270/europes-homegrown-terrorists

Ad astra reply

26/07/2011Hi Lyn Thank you for your kind comments about this piece. I didn’t hear the news bulletin to which you refer. Do you have a link? Thank you too for another wonderful set of links, rich in information. Catching up You pose an interesting question – no doubt Tony Abbott would have a superficially plausible response. Casablanca I nice picture of Julia, but a rather pointless article by Phillip Coorey. Crowey Indeed! janice You are right – there are lots of ‘ifs’ about Abbott coming to power, and if he ever did we will see a non-reforming government that will drift along relying on middle class handouts, Howard style, to stay in office. FS Your links are all very interesting, and in some instances frightening reading. Michael Tiny Abbott will leap on any tidbit, real or imagined, true or untrue, to try to make a point. Wouldn’t it be interesting if he found himself caught up in a ‘Godwin Grech’ situation? He is sounding desperate as his favourite slogans pass their use by date.

nasking

26/07/2011Ad astra, thnx for the opportunity to focus on Tony Abbott, superhuman...who has rarely had an original idea that wasn't treated like a steaming pile of turd within his party. And the public. I'm sure that Tony would love to make a big impression on the public with madcap ideas such as ending all arts funding that wasn't related to promoting sports... or making Cardinal Pell the Governor-General... perhaps creating a scheme that sends all Aboriginal students to Christian boarding schools... even, funding the Rinehart & Twiggy School of Mining Economics... but it's quite likely that his cabinet peers & minders such as John Howard will slip him more than a few Mogadon...and hand him the JohnPhone... and we'll get the boring old annual tax cuts bit...resisted by The Greens, who will be referred to as "previously aiding & abetting irresponsible spenders", "blockers", "family haters", "off with the fairies when it comes to practical economics"...and "blindly resisting necessary tax cuts to ease cost of living pressures". Unfair dismissal laws will be a big deal...as will family payments...dealing w/ the "nanny state" - an excuse to deregulate & let business go mad again...particularly chosen big business who luv to consume others...and thumbs up to chosen private equity groups which will probably be called "economic rescue groups" by then. With the aid of Coalition state governments privatisation will turn into picking winners for government departments to outsource to, purchase from and promote. Whilst the ABC will gradually be sold off to corporate interests whilst sill keeping the brand name. Andrew Bolt will eventually replace Barrie Cassidy on Insiders. The king shall hand his crown gleefully to his prince of darkness. Andrew will be allowed to continue on Ch. Ten too. More crap the merrier under Tony. SBS will be transformed into a Christian channel...and soccer will only be found on Fox Sports Extra. Climate change funding will be directed into nuclear...w/ the state governments making excited announcements about "the future of energy...jobs that don't rely on stuffing up the view of romantic pastoralists nor contribute to the ill-health of farmers already under duress...as dastardly wind power does. Religious classes will be forced on public schools...and the selling point "choice" will be mentioned, over & over & over again...as will "Judeo-Christian nation". Live exports will include any non-citizen migrant who fails the "character test" by happening to do naughty things that most teens do. Refugees post-traumatic stress disorder will not be recognised as an excuse unless the migrant agrees to Christian counselling on a regular basis...and agrees to visit a war memorial once a month...and annually The Bradman Museum for at least a decade. Should be fun times. Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi...there goes our PM Tony...whizzing along the nuclear bikeways of France w/ Cadel Evans like a caped Christian crusader....good on 'im...winner of the Tour de Nuclear. N'

D Mick Weir

26/07/2011[i]A picture is worth a thousand words ...[/i] and then there are cartoons that can be worth quite a few thousand [b]Tour de Farce[/b] Peter Broelman @ New matilda http://newmatilda.com/2011/07/25/tour-de-farce-0

Ad astra reply

26/07/2011Nasking Thank you for your additional points; I enjoyed your whimsical sense of humour. I didn’t mention IR in my piece. Who knows what the Liberals will be up to in that area when they next gain power? If the likes of Eric Abetz have their way IR will raise its head for a ‘nip and tuck’ that gives more power to employers and less to their employees. Despite Abbott’s ‘dead, buried and cremated’ slogan, he would resurrect it in an instant if the political winds were blowing that way and he could get it through the Senate. Since the latter is unlikely however the political cards fall, and since mention of ‘WorkChoices’ would again be electoral poison, I doubt if it will enter into a Coalition campaign overtly, although some in the Coalition and their mates in business may wish that to be so. Your other points make enjoyable reading. Thank you. D Mick Weir What an incisive cartoon. Peter Broelman is a great cartoonist. I enjoyed all the others exhibited on the same page.

nasking

26/07/2011Cheers Ad astra...I was hoping I'd bring a smile to a few PS faces, includin' yers. I found yer piece rivetting reading...containing many valid points...including: >>perhaps a more likely reason is that media proprietors don’t want that disturbing picture exhibited lest it drive away voters from the one the media has anointed as the next PM, one that will suit its commercial imperatives better than the present PM I doubt there has ever been an Opposition leader granted such a free ride...and be given so many opportunities to voice his negabore opinion. I think I've seen Tony Abbott the past year & a half as much as George on every Seinfeld repeat. He's not half as funny...and a damn site more annoying. Imagine the "offer you can't refuse" that was given to Abbott by Murdoch...I wonder if he woke up one morning and found a horses arse in his bed? >>PM Abbott would be able to choose any position he wanted and to say this has always been his position as he has occupied every possible one from skepticism bordering on denial at one end of the spectrum to support for an ETS and a carbon tax at the other. Too right Aa. Abbott's like a yoga instructor who has now managed to get his head stuck up his own butt. A coupla more scorching & crazy summers weather-wise and he'll be rolling like tumbleweed thru the political landscape. D. Mick Weir's has hit it for six w/ that Peter Broelman cartoon @ New Matilda. >>Moreover, as Turnbull has pointed out, the cost of aborting the NBN will likely be considerable, especially after Telstra has decommissioned its copper network, and the contracts that the NBN Co. and the Government have entered into will be difficult and expensive to break. So Abbott will likely find himself frustrated in carrying out his threat to ‘demolish the NBN’. It will be too far advanced and too popular for him to destroy. Never underestimate Tony's ability to "wreck" and keep us in the "dark ages". Old cheapo will ensure "fibre to the home" becomes "fibre to the old shack on the outskirts of the town" and people will be forced to find materials to connect up themselves. I imagine Foxtel will get Austar under Tony... and people will be urged to use more wireless stuff, including mobile laptops and phones...even if it sends loopy those delicate flowers who are already goin' bonkers supposedly due to wind turbines. Anti-wind turbine studies will be promoted. Mobile phone scare studies will go the way of NASA climate science stuff under GW Bush. Tony will ride the Tour de Nuclear as a corporate billboard...mobile phone companies, Ch.10, Daily Telegraph, Fox Sports, ANZ Bank & various brainwashing groups referred to as charities & foundations will be splashed across his scrawny pumping body. >>A major reform of Australia’s healthcare system is underway. Although the Liberal Premiers have made it more difficult to bring it to a conclusion, progress continues. In as far as it delegates much responsibility for management to local bodies, in a way similar to the Coalition policy, there will be little for the Coalition to gain by advocating its policy once the changes are bedded down. The Coalition government will be forced to add another billion to mental healthcare once Tony has been in power for a term. He may have to be added to the list of "causes". >>The Coalition will hardly be likely to swing over to the Nauru solution if the Malaysian arrangement is working, as it would risk boat arrivals escalating. So Abbott will be frustrated yet again. Aa, so ya reckon we won't get the HMAS Abbott w/ it's boatphone...armed with anti-boat people cruise missiles (ABPCMs) & giant placard that reads: WE'LL DECIDE WHO COMES TO OUR COUNTRY...YOU'RE AS WELCOME AS A GREAT BIG NEW TAX...NOW PISS OFF Anyway, good work Aa. Another top post. Cheers N'

Ad astra reply

26/07/2011Folks In filing my emails this morning I came across this piece on [i]Crikey: The consequences of repealing a carbon price[/i] by Bernard Keane. If you can access it, you might find it interesting reading in the context of this piece. http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/07/15/the-consequences-of-repealing-a-carbon-price/

TalkTurkey

26/07/2011Ad astra, Thank you, and well conjectured, even if I find the subject distasteful. "The Prime Minister, Tony Abbortt . . . " [u][i]NO-O-O-O![/i][/u] The mind sort of baulks at the thought actually. The difference would be as stark within Australia as the difference made in much of the world by the skewed election of George W Bush. I posted the link below once before, in connection with exactly the subject of your latest nightmarish almost unthinkable scenario. I think that Tony like Wily would have his own frightful Moment of Truth if ever he got to The Lodge. And a few days later that would start to dawn on the dozy masses . . ! . . I Play Dog that never happens! :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riY5ubYpFiQ

TalkTurkey

26/07/2011Nasking Just want you to know that I appreciate all your burgeoning output, and agree with [i]nearly[/i] all. You put a lot of thought in here. Lyn, thank you, and thank you too. :)

Ad astra reply

26/07/2011Nasking Thank you for your kind comments and further thoughts. You are in great form. TT Thank you too for your comments and your YouTube clip, which is so apt. What a horrible thought!

Ad astra reply

26/07/2011Folks I'll be out for a while shopping.

nasking

26/07/2011Talk Turkey, thnx for the support & that oh so funny vid on YouTube. It's a spot on choice. The ultra aggressive & reliably negative Tony loves feuding w/ PM Gillard & tryin' to bring her down. If he was able to do so & became PM he probably would end up like Coyote...all depressed...comin' up w/ career suicide policies...and eventually resortin' to borin' the nobs & tweets off everyone w/ his gospel truths according to the Mad Monk. Aa, thnx again. May your shopping be Abbott-free. Lyn, thnx for all the links. Won't be around much the next coupla days due to med tests. N'

nasking

26/07/2011One last thing, I'm certain Abbott will restore Costello's lump sum baby bonus... "Have four kids...one for Mum, one for Dad, one for the nation... and one for the Catholic church". N'

Feral Skeleton

26/07/2011Nasking, I wouldn't be surprised if Tony Abbott was Australia's greatest sperm donor, he's such a wa*ker. Also he would no doubt enjoy the concept of over-populating Australia with Mini Margies and Mini Tonys(because Margy is just the female form of Tony, which always makes me a bit squeamish at the thought he cast around for a woman to marry who was his mirror image). :D

Feral Skeleton

26/07/2011A good news Climate Change initiative that would never see the light of day under an Abbott Conservative Capitalist government: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/pilot-project-under-way-to-farm-carbon-20110726-1hy5m.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

2353

26/07/2011AA - you forgot the immediate brain drain, where most people that have two halves of a brain to rub together (and the money) would immigrate to pretty well anywhere except the USA. Personally I'd be in Canada!

Michael

26/07/2011None of us should make the slightest comment about the mass-murderer of Norway's manifesto reportedly praising John Howard and Peter Costello. We just shouldn't. Leave it to the madmen.

Michael

26/07/2011Maybe a glancing reference???

Michael

26/07/2011The details, with our friend Cardinal Pell (now, who exactly is Pell's favorite boy?) also in the frame. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-26/breivik-manifesto-praises-australian-conservatives/2810730

Jason

26/07/2011Michael, "Maybe a glancing reference???" As it's in the "Public interest" Michael go for it lol!

Lyn

26/07/2011Hi Michael OOOOOOOOH, shoosh everyone be quiet say nothing: Michael this is a good short read you might find enlightening. Except the video is spookey and scarey, but does explain what is happening: Anders Behring Brevik's cultural conservatism , Gary Sauer-Thompson, Public Opinion Scandinavian Tea Partyer, obsessed with the imagined threat of the Islamification of Europe; and an avowed opponent of both multiculturalism and Marxism (ie., leftism) which controls the universities and the media. Breivik styles himself in his writings as a Christian conservative, patriot and nationalist. Brevik's manifesto. The Brevik video manifesto. These call for a Christian war to defend Europe against Islam. http://www.sauer-thompson.com/archives/opinion/2011/07/anders-behring.php#more Cheers :):):):):):):):):)

Lyn

26/07/2011Hi Michael People on twitter are not being quiet, just a couple of tweets: Dr_TadDr_Tad Hilarious watching Ross Cameron squirm at being quoted favourably in Breivik's manifesto. #abcnews24 @abcthedrum 56 minutes agoFavoriteRetweetReply independentausIndependentAustralia VIDEO: Eric Abetz squirms on Q & A when asked if Alan Jones is an extremist. #AusPol 48 minutes agoFavoriteRetweetReply quelleblagueuseAmy Coopes so john howard and pell inspired the norwegian bomber. says it all really http://t.co/9NGTuTJ 7 hours agoFavoriteRetweetReply vexnewsvexnews 3AW reports Norwegian murderer's enthusiasm for John Howard http://j.mp/rp75r3 10 hours agoFavoriteRetweetReply Cheers :):)

nasking

26/07/2011Couldn't resist this, check out Liberal MP Ross Cameron on The Drum at 10:05pm on ABC 24 if ya haven't already... his comments related to The Greens & ALPs possible "inquiry into the media" tells heaps about his view of a democratic media...like some mad scientist in a B-grade film he warned of diabolical things to befall the government during the next election campaign if they get on the wrong side of the media (my words, but you get the gist). As tho the bulk of the corporate media aren't already sticking pins in their PM Gillard dolls. I like The Drum presenter that was on tonite...but I wish he'd pursued Cameron on his "fertility" quote that was picked up by the Norwegian terrorist. Why would Cameron feel the need to fart on about fertility and lack of babies in Australia in the first place? Hmmm... BTW, I was wondering about the type of education the Norwegian terrorist had received...did he get enuff or too many male, sporty teachers? http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/somethings-rotten-in-the-state-of-nsw--comprehensive-public-schools-20100207-nkpm.html Feral, indeed...Tony Abbott is a great sporty male who likes to swagger & show his pecs...not unlike Putin. These men are so virile that women fall at their feet...being fountains of fertility...or so it seems. Manly crusaders. Let's hope Abbott doesn't look the other way when Muslims & other migrants are bein' bashed & killed...as happens in Putin's Russia. God luvs a virile man...the crusader of the cross who wears bananas as well as eating them. The Manly Guide to Politics: Make sure men that when in front of a camera you are aware of yer image thruout...sit up straight, suck in that gut...and attempt to tower over others...give the odd wink & nod to other manly men...and attempt to charm female crew. Man-up...be a manly man...swagger like yer butt is tight from horse riding or cycling...and yer last stoush was in the ring. Refer to the PM as "her"...and get yer Coalition sheilas to do the same...particularly on ABC shows like Capital Hill. Loudmouth it & bellow if you feel the need to...but remember to play "softly spoken Daddy" role if you or we are caught out conning the arse off the public. And remember, real men don't cry...or get depressed...but don't tell a certain frontbencher that. Don't be afraid to mingle w/ farmers & coal miners...try and pick up some of their sweaty smell...we might be able to sell it back to them at a later stage. Remember when yer in Afghanistan to look manly...fondle a weapon...look thru the scope...pose like REAL MEN do. Like Christian warriors do. N'

nasking

26/07/2011Climate Deniers Campaign Against the BBC Backfires http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kelly-rigg/climate-deniers-campaign-bbc_b_908288.html That's what happens when you act like the Flat Earth Society. What next? Shall we reinvent the wheel? N'

Feral Skeleton

26/07/2011Nas, I always liked my men to be the strong,silent,thoughtful types, not thoughtless boofheads like Tony Abbott, or the 'Uber Bogan' as some have styled him. Definitely not an UberMenschen as he would style himself. Too crass and obvious by far. You know why he walks funny? Because that's where his oversized ego is,between his legs, and where he thinks the sun is shining from, 'behind' that area. :)

Ad astra reply

26/07/2011Nasking, FS, 2353, MIchael, Lyn, Jason Thank you for your comments and links. There seems little doubt that the Norwegian murderer found his beliefs more aligned to that of conservatives than progressives. So he killed the latter! It is good to see the BBC report exposing the scientific stupidity of giving equal time to climate change deniers and scientists, without giving their contributions a weighting for credibility and scientific plausibility, which would relegate deniers to the scientific scrapheap. I'm calling it a day.

Feral Skeleton

26/07/2011Here's a thoughtful reflection on the media itself by Laura Tingle, a few months down the track from the release of Lindsay Tanner's 'Sideshow': (Sorry to have to Cut n Paste the whole article, it appears The Walkley Foundation don't allow you to link): [quote]Shot down in sideshow alley 26 July 2011 Written by Laura Tingle The media reacted badly when Lindsay Tanner blamed them for dumbing down political debate. But Laura Tingle thinks he might have a point. Years ago, the US columnist Art Buchwald wrote a spoof of how the modern White House press corps would cover the Gettysburg Address. The article hung above my desk for years, then got lost in an office move. Buchwald was poking fun at the house reporting styles of various news organisations, but what stood out to me was that virtually none of the “reports” quoted Lincoln’s great exhortation that his listeners ensure that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth". Even as a young gallery journalist I enjoyed the joke that most of the mock “news reports” were so full of phrases like “in what White House aides described as a stump speech” that they didn’t actually tell readers what Lincoln had said. At the time I was working for The Australian, which had a strong commitment to be a paper of record: when major political figures spoke, you reported the text of their speeches at length. A couple of decades on, there are so many speeches (often saying so little) that no-one feels it incumbent upon themselves to report direct speech at any length. The priorities of newspapers have also changed. Responding to commercial pressures and the immediacy of the electronic media and the web, newspapers have moved into “value adding” through commentary and other stories – so much so that often the basic story isn’t told. It’s a sad reflection of the Buchwald joke universe. This is what is at the heart of Lindsay Tanner’s book Sideshow. Tanner documents, from a politician’s perspective, what it is like to deal with the modern media. He argues that the media itself has a lot to answer for in its complaints about the shallowness of what politicians are prepared to say these days. Plenty has been written about political spin, but not so much about the media end of the transaction. Tanner documents not just his experiences of this, but international trends in the way the media works. The reaction to Tanner’s book from the Australian media – and particularly the Canberra gallery – has been strikingly defensive and sour. Tanner has been accused of all sorts of crimes, including that he is shifting the blame for politicians not having much to say on to the media. That he is shooting the messenger. And that he shouldn’t be complaining because he always got a good run. I don’t think Tanner is particularly guilty of any of these crimes (even if many of us seriously doubt whether a lot of politicians have anything significant to say). If anything, the reaction to his book has been much more a case of shooting the messenger by the media, in a rather spectacular example of thin skin and glass jaw. It does not reflect well on journalists that they seem unable to consider that such a critique of the way they operate might have a point. Tanner quotes me in his book, along with a number of other journalists. One of these was approached by a gallery member after Sideshow came out. “You and Laura are setting yourself up as being superior to the rest of us,” he was told. Tanner’s book is not particularly belligerent in its message, but it makes observations about the way the media works, which for outsiders can be a revelation. For example, there’s his take on “media templates” – Tanner’s term to describe everything from tabloid articles about MPs’ pay and entitlements (which I’d class as staple stories rather than templates) to stories framed in simple terms of good guys/bad guys or winners and losers. I think this second group of templates is much more insidious, because such ideas reduce stories to their simplest (which isn’t always a bad thing) and create a mindset that allows no opportunity to explore the interesting parts of any story – the bits in between. Take the live cattle export story. At one end, there are those who want the live-cattle trade banned; at the other, cattle producers who have thousands of stock they can’t move and can’t feed. In between, there are the complexities of trying to resolve the immediate crisis and set out a long-term framework for the trade. In the political realm, the current template of this story is whether the Government is stuffing up its handling of the issue and how successful the Opposition is being in attacking it. Cut out of the unyielding template are complex questions. Why does Australia think it can regulate another country’s cattle industry? How does it realistically do this? Is it possible to reopen trade with a few abattoirs in Indonesia (which just happen to be Australian-owned) without facing accusations of being racist? What should be done with thousands of head of cattle that weren’t bred for the domestic market and which are thousands of kilometres away from that market? These are the sort of complex issues that the political process is set up to solve. Yet so often these days, we don’t cover them, because there aren’t pictures, because we think they are too complicated for our consumers, or because they don’t fit with the simple narrative of Julia versus Tony. This is why Sideshow is an important contribution to the political debate. The truth is that politics is – and isn’t – driven by the media. As Tanner says, politicians spend too much time trying to “feed the beast” of the 24-hour news cycle, and the result too often is politics first, policy second. It feeds into the process via focus groups which try to anticipate how “lines” (arguments) will play out, inevitably leading to politicians following opinion rather than leading it. This doesn’t excuse politicians for having shallow policy responses. And you don’t have to agree with all that Tanner has said in his book about the dumbing down of politics. You don’t even have to take it personally. But it should provoke all of us to think twice about how we cover the news, and even how we define it. Laura Tingle is political editor of The Australian Financial Review[/quote]

John

26/07/2011Hi, Ad OMG - What a Nightmare "Stopping the waste" means: 1) slash the Public Service 2) introduce IR reform (Workchoices for Public Servants, like the NSW Gov't) 3) slash welfare to those who need it most, while maintaining, in real terms, middle and rich-class welfare. 4) the paid parental scheme will be wound back, under the excuse of a "black hole" :)

institute management software

26/07/2011i think PM is not tanner’s book is not particularly belligerent in its message, but it makes observations about the way the media works, which for outsiders can be a revelation.

Acerbic Conehead

26/07/2011Brilliant synopsis, AA, of the modus operandi of the Arthur Daly of Australian politics. Pity he hasn't got any of Arthur's endearing characteristics, however.

Lyn

27/07/2011 [b]TODAY’S LINKS[/b] [i]You’ve been had, Andrew Elder, Politically Homeless[/i] only staffers and nongs like Abbott actually believe that carrying on like chimpanzees makes for the very opposite of entertaining and informative television. Finally, Katharine Murphy has realised it http://andrewelder.blogspot.com/ [i]leaves of Astroturf, Andrew Elder, Politically Homeless[/i] If Murdoch has to divest some or all of his media interests in Australia, Gina Reinhart will buy them and run them in the same private-interest, patronising/crusading way that Murdoch did. The more cowardly http://andrewelder.blogspot.com/2011/07/leaves-of-astroturf.html [i]Truth, Scare, And Consequences, Wixxy’s Blog[/i] We used to have oppositions that would debate, negotiate, discuss, but still manage to oppose or disagree. We currently have an opposition who aims to demolish, crush, annihilate, smash, destroy. The language being used by the opposition has completely changed, it is no wonderpeople like Malcolm Fraser are trying to distance themselves http://wixxy.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/truth-scare-and-consequences/ [i]When Is It OK To Listen In?Zoe Krupka, New Matilda [/i] Wendy Bacon recently described this well when she drew the distinction between freedom of the press and freedom of communication. That is: the difference between simply supporting the ideal of being able to speak and write freely http://newmatilda.com/2011/07/26/when-it-ok-listen [i]How Rupert Murdoch Conned British MPs By Playing The Sad, Pathetic Old Man Card, Daryl Mason, The Orstrahyun[/i] Within two days of his 'answers' to British MPs, Rupert Murdoch was private-jetting back to New York City, while thousands of British victims of crime waited for phone calls from police to learn if they, too, had had their grief and privacy, their most intimate moments, violated by Murdoch's goons. . http://theorstrahyun.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-rupert-murdoch-conned-british-mps.html [i]The danger of equating freedom of speech with ‘freedom of the press’, David Nolan, The Conversation[/i] Malcolm Turnbull argues that the reason broadcasters are licensed while newspapers aren’t is because they are using public spectrum. He claims that licensing newspapers would also mean the necessity of licensing websites, which would suppress free speech. http://theconversation.edu.au/the-danger-of-equating-freedom-of-speech-with-freedom-of-the-press-2444 [i]Media scrutiny absent in a Murdoch-dominated market, Jason Wilson, ABC[/i] addressing the concentration of newspaper ownership might at least be a step towards ensuring that there are opportunities for more robust investigative scrutiny of the media itself, by competing media outlets. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2809848.html [i]James and Rupert Murdoch are ‘done’, The Raw Story[/i] James Murdoch, the leader of News International, his quagmire in Parliament looks only to deepen now that Prime Minister David Cameron has insisted that he return to answer more question http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/07/25/nyt-writer-james-and-rupert-murdoch-are-done/?utm [i]Welcome to the Malaysian Solution, Amber Jamieson, Crikey[/i] The government yesterday announced the details of its Malaysian Solution policy, a plan it hopes will diminish the number of asylum seekers arriving on our coastlines by boat. http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/07/26/welcome-to-the-malaysian-solution/ [i]Gillard always wanted a price on Carbon, Brian, Larvatus Prodeo[/i] At the time the Gillard paper was supposedly written, did Abbott have an articulated policy? I can’t recall, but I doubt it. And there is no reason to assume that Abbott’s policies would have been adopted unchanged by Labor. http://larvatusprodeo.net/2011/07/26/gillard-always-wanted-a-price-on-carbon/ [i]Greens attack Abbott's carbon tax forum, ABC[/i] "It seemed to me there were lots of LNP members going in, judging by the invitations in their hands, so it was LNP members first and the rest of the public a distant second." http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-26/greens-attack-abbotts-carbon-tax-forum/2810670 [i]Anders Behring Brevik's cultural conservatism , Gary Sauer-Thompson, Public Opinion[/i] Scandinavian Tea Partyer, obsessed with the imagined threat of the Islamification of Europe; and an avowed opponent of both multiculturalism and Marxism (ie., leftism) which controls the universities and the media. Breivik styles himself in his writings as a Christian conservative, patriot and nationalist. http://www.sauer-thompson.com/archives/opinion/2011/07/anders-behring.php#more [i]Any lessons for Australia from Norway atrocity, Mark Thomson, Seeking Asylum Down Under[/i] It is of passing note that he appears to have been drawn to the ideas of John Howard, Cardinal Pell and Keith Windschuttle. I'm sure all of these men would be horrified by this connection but why are they in the picture at all? http://seekingasylumdownunder2.blogspot.com/2011/07/any-lessons-for-australia-from-norway.html [i]Norway killer's manifesto praises Australian conservatives, Jeremy Thompson, ABC[/i] Mr Costello has also backed calls by Prime Minister John Howard for Islamic migrants to adopt Australian values. Mr Howard caused outrage in Australia‘s Islamic community when he said Muslims needed to speak English and show respect to women. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-26/breivik-manifesto-praises-australian-conservatives/2810730 [i]Hick’s conviction a set-up to help Howard’s election chances, Jason Leopold, Independent Australia[/i] In other words, Hicks could still be in Guantanamo today if the Bush administration declined to help Howard as he campaigned for another term in office. Still, as Hicks told Truthout in a previous interview, http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/war/hicks-conviction-a-set-up-to-help-howards-election-chances/ [i]The dangers of Coal seam gas, Helen Lobato, Upstart[/i] Pollution levels are increasing due to the escaping methane that is released during the extraction of coal seam gas. Toxic chemicals such as benzene,toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene are used in the extraction process. http://www.upstart.net.au/2011/07/26/the-dangers-of-coal-seam-gas/ [i]Taking responsibility for What People Say On Your Website, Tigtog, Hoyden About Town[/i] “what about free speech?” arguments about other people’s alleged right to set the tone for the discussions that you are hosting on your website (who’s stoppingthem from getting their own website and building their own audience with their own resources?). http://hoydenabouttown.com/?p=10318 [i]Exetel prices show up Coalition lies, says Conroy, Renai LeMay, Delimeter[/i] It is now time for Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull to stand up and admit they have been deliberately misleading theAustralian public about the NBN,” Conroy said. http://delimiter.com.au/2011/07/26/exetel-prices-show-up-coalition-lies-says-conroy/ [i] Is On Line Opinion a “Lefty blog”, Graham, Ambit Gambit[/i] First, we’re not a blog, at least no more than The Australian is a blog. The 12,337 articles that we have published are not “blog” posts, andtheir 3,910 authors are a who’s who of Australian politics and commentary, and include every prime minister since we started publishing. http://www.ambitgambit.com/2011/07/25/is-on-line-opinion-a-lefty-blog/

2353

27/07/2011I've read [i]Sideshow[/i]and while it presents considerable evidence of the problem and the effects of the problem there doesn't seem to be much discussion on how politicians in general have contributed to the problem through "inflating the egos" of chosen journalists. Lets face it, Abbott is winning the polls at the moment because he plays the media better than Gillard does. The UK and US action on the influence of NoNews may help challenge the status quo (if reported in Australia), and some in the media are starting to question the LNP "spokespersons" on their statements - but short of an enquiry which is already being implied as not necessary by NoNews media in Australia - how is the message that the Government governs, the Opposition tells of how it would do it better and the media reports both sides ever going to be re-established here?

TalkTurkey

27/07/2011nasking said "Won't be around much the next coupla days due to med tests." May your tests all bring happy results Cobber. Keep writing!

Feral Skeleton

27/07/20112353, As you imply, changing the media's reflexively negative coverage of all things government, especially when 70% of it is Murdoch-owned and the ABC acts as its echo chamber, leaving only Fairfax to sporadically fly the flag of objectivity, is going to be the equivalent of turning a very big boat around. However, as you also stated, some glimmersof hope are emerging. My example today, and I think it is a project we should all adopt, to highlight those positive signs when we see or hear them, was on News Radio this morning. Firstly, the announcer sounded a bit bored(or maybe that's just my wishful thinking :) ), when she was outlining Tony Abbott's itinery for the day, this time revisiting a farmer in the North West of NSW who last year decided to start burying BioChar in his soil to capture Carbon. Then, and this is where the glimmer of light appeared, she said that after that he would be going to Tamworth to conduct a Community Forum on the Carbon Tax, "which would be by Invitation Only". ! Now, the ABC wasn't making that plain until the recent incident at the Bruce Bilson-organised 'Community Forum', which turned out to be just a front for the Liberal Party members to seem like a cross-section of the local community and which saw that vile WASP male, Declan Stephenson, intimidate the lady who was a Greens supporter, publically in the street in front of the television cameras. So, more of those glimmers of light, more over-reaching and hubristic outbursts from the Abbott Conservatives like Jamie Briggs, outlining their real agenda wrt IR, more stories about Ted Baillieu's illegal fund-raising for the Liberal Party before last year's federal election, more stories about our own home-grown potential Breivik-like bombers such as we have seen reported today, plus the Lunar Right supporter who, it seems, had personally taken Tony Abbott's suggestion to 'demolish the NBN' personally, plus a few reasonable people breaking free of the spell Alan Jones and Ray Hadley et al cast on a daily basis, and especially after his loathsome 'chaff bag' comment about our Prime Minister, and, who knows, a majority of the electorate might see the light that we can see glimmers of now. :)

TalkTurkey

27/07/2011Sorry Nasking not nasking!

Feral Skeleton

27/07/2011Oh yeah, I imagine jj will be front and centre at Tony's Invitation-Only Tamworth soiree tonight. :)

Jason

27/07/2011FS, Last night I went on Cory Bernardi's blog where he is now writing how extremism,in the wake of what happened in Norway was wrong etc, to which I replied maybe in public you think that in private could well be a different story! There has been two reply's so far! and I don't think there will be one who supports me. Such is life

Ad astra reply

27/07/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Feral Skeleton

27/07/2011Jason, Going boldly where everyone else fears to go! :D

TalkTurkey

27/07/20112353 said "Lets face it, Abbott is winning the polls at the moment because he plays the media better than Gillard does." No way I'm arguing with your general thesis 2353 but WE are winning the polls now, that is, we're on the Up, Abbortt's on the Down, and these are movements which barring serious glitches will gather momentum exponentially. As FS mentions this morning, the MSM is getting bored with Abbortt and his dopey cloneys, all that smoke and mirrors, and for what! It all comes to sweet FA and meanwhile the Government is getting EVERYTHING done that it wants to. It must be distressing to the MSM to see nothing happen to unseat Labor, and they are at the point of not believing Abbortt about [i]anything[/i], not that they have cared about all his lies in the past, but when it means there's no story, or everybody is bored and unconvinced, that's different. Oh they may try - Remember all of 3 days ago Annabelle the slyly-sidling Crabbe's 'terrible-for-Gillard' revelations of her attempt to cut pollution deal with Abbortt? :) So much for Crabbe's political perspicacity, pehaps she should go and live under a bridge with certain unmentionables, she might learn something from them. The ABC is gradually getting the message about their performance: Trollolli is a Fail (and gone), OOman is a disgrace and must go: Melissa Clark is a self-outed sycophant of Abbortt, I could go on about the ABC but perhaps that is a possible future subject for a searing examination by Ad astra. We must do all in our power to take back the ABC in the name of the People and its own charter. ABC from the head down have already shown that they are determined to persist with slanted presentation, but they are yielding to us, Trollolli's departure and OOman's evident downgrading are victories for us and help us lift out spirits and our game. Remember Wile E. Coyote when he is finally eating RoadRunner and he says wtte that food tastes so much better when you really have to work for it? 2013 will be a sweeter victory yet even than 1993 for us True Believers. [i]Venceremos![/i]

Feral Skeleton

27/07/2011Images of a straight-laced Killer: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-shaw/reading-the-pictures-norw_b_908191.html http://publicintelligence.net/mirror-of-ut%C3%B8ya-gunman-anders-behring-breiviks-facebook-page-and-photo-gallery/

TalkTurkey

27/07/2011From my tessellatin' cobber Jim in Arizona! Yous're gunna LOVE this! 'Speaking of Rupert Murdoch, have you seen the clip of Hugh Laurie playing Rupert Murdoch in a takeoff of "It's a Wonderful Life"? When the angel shows him how the world would be if he'd never been born, it ends up that everyone is nicer to each other and the world has been immeasurably improved! Here's the clip on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1aZcsY-O8Q Jim from the Part of AZ That Hasn't Burned' Dig it Swordies, then PASS IT AROUND [i]AMAP!!![/i] (As Much As Possible OK?) IYSWIM (If you see what I mean OK?) :) :) :) :):) :) :) :):) :) :) :):) :) :) :):) :) :) :):) :) :) Humour is the rapier that reaches to the heart. - and except for one notable previous post by one not able previous poster of the trollular variety - which WAS funny! :) - I think our side's the only one who knows how to use it! Do send this one on Folks to AMFAP. Oh yes, because we own this medium too! ( . . ? ? . .[i]amfap[/i] . . ?)

Feral Skeleton

27/07/2011lyn, This is a great blog you should keep an eye on I think: :) http://foi-privacy.blogspot.com/2011/07/australian-campaign-continued.html

Feral Skeleton

27/07/2011Talk Turkey, I put the Fry & Laurie clip on Twitter. :)

Ad astra reply

27/07/2011TT I endorse your enthusiasm and confidence about the 2013 election. Do you have a reference to Virginia Trioli’s ‘departure’ and Chris Uhlmann’s ‘evident downgrading’? I haven’t heard of this. As I’m on slow dial-up Internet at present (I exceeded my Gigabit limit), I can’t play your You Tube clip, but will do so when normal speed is restored.

Feral Skeleton

27/07/2011Ad Astra, You really need to swap to a better ISP plan with a bigger download limit. I get 45GB,peak time downloads and unlimited off-peak downloads, for $99/month. There are even 1 Terabyte/month plans for a reasonable amount of money around now. There are also Unlimited plans,but they don't tend to have Aussie Tech backup, which is what a lot of people pay the extra dollars for these days. Which is what I do because I can't understand the accent of the Phillipines or Indian Tech helpers if I have a problem with my Internet. Anyway, I see it as paying extra to keep jobs in Australia. :)

Feral Skeleton

27/07/2011David Pope cartoon :) http://www.canberratimes.com.au/multimedia/25230/291018/july-27-2011.aspx?Start=0&page=1

2353

27/07/2011AA Try AAPT - they have been reasonably good to us for the past 10 years or so, 40gb peak, unlimitied off-peak, phone rental and all (our) calls for $99 a month. AAPT Residential has just been bought out by iiNet who are also worth a look. The best bit about moving away from Tel$tra is (in my case) AAPT have the "discussion" with Tel$tra - you don't have to.

Ad astra reply

27/07/2011FS, 2353 I am restricted to 3G as ADSL is not available on the south coast. It stops a kilometre from our home, and despite a petition to Telstra that we organized with 50 signatures it was not interested in installing it in our area. 3G plans have a different pricing structure from ADSL. I use a 7GB plan, which ordinarily lasts a month easily, but due to two large downloads this month, the last one being the new Mac operating system OS X Lion, my allowance was chewed up. The only larger plan for 3G that Telstra offers is 12GB for $90 a month, which I don’t need. Those of you on ADSL are much better off. It is cheaper and faster, but when you live in remoter parts of the country you have to put up with what’s available. According to the NBN map, it will pass by our home, so I look forward to a much superior service when it comes. It can’t come quick enough! BTW, have you noticed how the NBN is talked of now as if it is, or soon will be a reality. Last night on [i]Lateline[/i] Graeme Samuel, whom I thought was brilliant in his interview with Ali Moore, referred to it as though it was a living entity. Others are talking similarly. Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull will find that by the time they get any opportunity to ‘demolish’ it, it will be so well established, so popular, so beneficial to farmers, business, education and health, that any attempt to diminish it will be strongly resisted. It will be another Abbott lost cause. For his part, despite his rhetoric, I suspect that tech-savvy Malcolm Turnbull will be quietly delighted.

Feral Skeleton

27/07/2011Ad Astra, Actually, I have been hearing Malcolm Turnbull say that the NBN will be too well-established by the next election to just stop it in its tracks, so it will be retained. It's not a view which is heard very much from MT but I did hear it at least once,thus my thinking is that the Coalition are preparing the ground for an eventual backflip with triple pike over the NBN. Also, and this is even stranger, I thought I heard the words pass my ears which suggested the Coalition are reassessing their stance on the ETS. Note, not the Carbon Tax, I think they have too much political capital invested in opposing that, but, again, I think they may well end up offering themselves as being willing to adopt the ETS aspect of the Climate Change package. It's just that I have noticed that if you listen closely enough you can map out the changes in Coalition policy going way back before they go all in with a change such that they can say with a straight face, "That's been our position for a while now.", plus it serves the kite-flying purpose. Also, you might be interested in this article about Malcolm Turnbull: :) http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/to-change-this-climate-labor-needs-a-bold-new-leader-its-turnbull-20110726-1hyhe.html#poll

nasking

27/07/2011BTW, I reckon PM Gillard has had a top coupla weeks...I wouldn't mind seeing her out there w/ the public again real soon. Another blitz might help offset Abbott's "gotta get his face in the media everyday" approach. I reckon people are gettin' used to her now...much less hostility, even some supportive comments, when I brought her up w/ a few people when out today, here in Sth East QLD. ---------------------------- [quote]May your tests all bring happy results Cobber.[/quote] Cheers Talk Turkey. Interesting results from today's tests (gracias to QLD health for their speed & efficiency)...no sign of emphysema (yippee!...doc was worried due to 50 years of asthma)...and lung function is normal. X-rays reveal a sub-pleural density in lower right area of lung...that could be fat due to my weight...or plaque. At this point it looks like the breathing problems are not heart or bad lung related...but due to weight and intolerance to two drugs, one for blood pressure, and one for cholesterol (which was changed last week and saw a vast diminishment of rheumotoid-like symptoms). I see the doc for his prognosis based on tests late next week...might have to go for CT scan re: sub-pleural density in lung... but bought a professional treadmill today to help bring down weight...& some dumbbells. Hopefully that will also help bring down the leg swelling. On the whole, I'm feeling more cheerful & optimistic. [quote] Sorry Nasking not nasking![/quote] Call me nas or Nas if ya like TT, and others...whatever suits ya. Cheers N'

Michael

27/07/2011Wednesday Bad Abbott This quote from Our Man From Nowhere, visiting the New England electorate held by Independent member, Tony Windsor: '"I think that this is a conservative electorate and I think it should be represented by a conservative member." Mr Windsor's support for the (carbon) tax was disappointing to him personally and to the MP's constituents, the opposition leader said. Mr Abbott gave Mr Windsor notice that he would be campaigning in New England on Wednesday but had received no response.' from here: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8278029/abbott-takes-aim-at-new-england Apparently Tiny thinks local members should turn up to offer obeisance upon his deigning (oh, royal progress, Imperial visitation, of Shouldabeen!) to visit their electorates. Kiss thine own arse, Shouldabeen, say I. From the way you walk, you've been trying to for years. On top of the obeisance issue, Tiny NeverGunnaBe also seems to believe that electorates of what he defines as a conservative leaning should naturally have representation by CCC types. CCC = Cardboard Cut-out Conservatives, since it doesn't seem to have occurred to the innumerate Tiny that the raw number of electors who have repeatedly returned Tony Windsor to Federal Parliament might just see him as precisely the man they want to have represent them in Canberra. Besides, where does Tiny get off, apparently assuming a regional electorate is automatically a 'conservative' one? Send the townie back to the big smoke with his preconceptions and prejudices stuck precisely where they belong. Oh, that might explain the painful Abbott walk.

Ad astra reply

27/07/2011Nasking It’s good to see that your test results have ruled out some of the concerns you and your doctor had. After you have had your doctor’s assessment next week you will be able to work out with your doctor the road ahead. Certainty is therapeutic. I’m glad you are feeling better and importantly, optimistic.

Feral Skeleton

27/07/2011Nas, Great news! So good to hear that it's nothing bad like heart failure with pulmonary oedema etc., so we shall be expecting you to buy a tablet computer and put it up on your treadmill and tap contributions while you walk off the weight. ;-)

Min

27/07/2011Nas'..I can't disagree with you on that one. From the time that our girl slipped down on her derrier and had the members of the press laughing, I think that this what people want to see. No, not on her derrier :) but the natural feisty lass that she is.

2353

27/07/2011Michael, your "painful Abbott walk" comment got me thinking. Does anyone reckon Abbott "looks healthy"? He always seems to have a strange gait (too many bikes and runs in lycra?) but he looks to be finding it hard to concentrate and breathing seems to be an issue as well. Nasking - good to hear about your results. QHealth is a very good service provider once you are in the system, if at all possible they will identify the problem. Getting into the system however can be a problematic exercise. AA - just because Tel$tra don't do ADSL to your house, some of the others might (although with the NBN coming soon, its probably not worth the hassle).

TalkTurkey

27/07/2011Min In 1979 I found a Rainbow Lorikeet with a freshly broken wing on Kangaroo Island. I kept her for 27 years, she died in 2006. I bought her a handsome mate from a petshop, they had 17 youngsters over many years. He died before she did, and she was inspirational with her irrepressible mood and indomitable spirit. She was never a pet, she always kept her distance when she could though I had to handle her many many times. I called her Rainbow because at first I didn't know her gender. Her bloke was Hawkeye, and I was given a tame one I called Cheeky, because he was the funniest cleverest little critter you ever saw. He was a pet, by his own choice. Your gravatar brings back decades of treasured memories. You are a very welcome visitor here Min, I've seen you "in another place" as they say on Capital Hill, and I know you've a lot of nous. And I too think 'feisty' is a very good word for our *J*U*L*I*A*.

nasking

27/07/2011Thnx all :) And thumbs up to Michael for his splendid comment that gave this reader a few chuckles: [quote]Kiss thine own arse, Shouldabeen, say I. From the way you walk, you've been trying to for years. On top of the obeisance issue, Tiny NeverGunnaBe also seems to believe that electorates of what he defines as a conservative leaning should naturally have representation by CCC types. CCC = Cardboard Cut-out Conservatives[/quote] I hope "he who must be obeyed" will soon become "he who should be ignored". The past decade has seen the rise of plenty of nobs into leadership and high profile positions thnx to the efforts of top nob Rupert Murdoch & mouth runneth over types like Allan Jones & Rush Limbaugh. Abbott displays all the signs of "top nobness"...arrogant, brash, rude, overly cocky, demanding, attention-seeking, addicted to own image, negative, takes position on some major issues like a Mexican jumping bean, luvs God & themselves equally but believes the sun doth shine extra intense outa their own arses, as irritating as a mossie in a small bedroom on a hot summer's night. I reckon the Decade of the Nobs is about to come to an end. Especially when the public wake up to the fact that nobs use their political, corporate & media positions to sabotage their own economies because they can't get what they want. N'

Ad astra reply

27/07/2011Michael You delight us with your regular Bad Abbott. They are not hard to find are they? I suspect the Coalition will come unstuck having the cheek to try to poach electorates like that of Tony Windsor, where he is highly respected. They would be better developing some plausible policies for us to consider.

Ad astra reply

27/07/2011FS That was an interesting article. I can't imagine Malcolm Turnbull jumping ship, but he seems more aligned philosophically to Labor than the Coalition, and would be more in harmony with Julia Gillard than Tony Abbott. Folks I'm calling it a day.

Lyn

27/07/2011 Hi Michael Thankyou for your fantastic Bad Abbott report today. See what they are saying Tony Abbott thinks the internet is a place, Tony Abbott seems to think the NBN is a town. cosmicjestercosmic jester It sounds like Tony Abbott thinks the internet is an actual place. http://t.co/qBF9cZm3 hours agoFavoriteRetweetReply [quote]TONY ABBOTT: One of the dangers with the National Broadband Network is that greater centralisation does expose our system more to this kind of problem. Now, hacking is always a problem but the more concentrated our system is, the more damage any single hacker can do[/quote]. http://delimiter.com.au/forum/national-broadband-network/75-tony-abbott-comments-nbn-hacker.html#post385 [quote]Mr Abbott gave Mr Windsor notice that he would be campaigning in New England on Wednesday but had received no response[/quote] Michael they are pretty lousy, Tony Windsor is in Norway. The Abbott forum tonight is by invitation. Cheers :):):):):):)

Feral Skeleton

27/07/2011Nasking, I'm hoping both Tony Abbott and Barnaby Joyce get their comeuppance in New England at the next election. Fair dinkum, those two think those country folk in the Northern Tablelands came down in the last rainshower. As others have wisely commented, they will be able to see, between the last election and the next, all the things that Tony Windsor has brought to their electorate as a result of his dealings with Julia Gillard, and then compare it to the 3/5 of 5/8 of less than zero they got by being a tame National Party electorate. I think I can predict who they will thank.

Jason

27/07/2011FS, Surely you jest! jj when he comes back will tell you Windsor is finished! then he'll show you proof of big foot, tooth fairy, easter bunny and unbiased reporting at "News Ltd"

D Mick Weir

27/07/2011Peter Martin has an article in todays AGE/SMH on the influence of the Murdochracy on politics, the outcomes of elections and other associated stuff on the influence of the media. He also has the article on his website. Interesting to see the headline the subbie chose as opposed to the one PM has on his blog. Interesting also to see the bits the subbie chopped from his piece The SmhAge version: http://www.theage.com.au/business/federal-budget/public-set-agenda-on-politics-not-the-press-20110726-1hymr.html Martins blog version: http://www.petermartin.com.au/2011/07/murdoch-controls-minds-yea-sure.html Another angle on the ongoing discussion about the meeja and where it belongs.

Feral Skeleton

27/07/2011lyn, When I heard Tony Abbott's comment about the naughty centralised and government-controlled NBN I nearly fell off my seat I was laughing so hard. Especially when you realise that the NBN will be the backbone, which will go all over Australia, and the retail arm will be controlled by Private Enterprise ISPs, also located all over Australia. So where the 'Stalinist'(the insult du jour for the Uptighty Rightys atm), element comes into it I'm yet to figure out. The only thing I could come up with is is that the bills are being paid out of Canberra for the NBN, but that doesn't equate with control of it.

Feral Skeleton

27/07/2011D Mick Weir, Here's a very erudite and sophisticated article about our man Rupert from the New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/08/01/110801fa_fact_lane?currentPage=all

D Mick Weir

27/07/2011thanks FS, an intersesting read. It got a bit deep for me, but them's the breaks. I may have to re-read it For another take on the [i]Tabloid Culture[/i] you may find this interesting. [b]Crime has become a mind game[/b] Ross Gittins http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/crime-has-become-a-mind-game-20110726-1hyha.html [i]The older I get, the more I realise how complicated - even mysterious - the world is. When I was young I tried to keep everything straightforward, concrete and logical. Then I realised the direct effects of some action can sometimes be overshadowed by its indirect effects.[/i] Have to say the opeming par (quoted) had me nodding in agreement. The rest of the article had me thinking deeply for a while as I traversed the highways and byways today.

Lyn

28/07/2011 [b]TODAY’S LINKS[/b] [i]Inflating the interest, Greg Jericho, Grog’s Gamut[/i] If the opposition is going to have some credibility when/if interest rates go up again, they better come to the table with something more than just “savings in the budget” .http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/2011/07/inflating-interest.html [i]Ideology and lunatics, The Piping Shrike[/i] When the news of the Norwegian killings first broke, and the geniuses on the right ignored the description of the gunman, and decided that Islamic fundamentalists were now peroxiding their hair, there was http://www.pipingshrike.com/2011/07/ideology-and-lunatics.html [i]Things to do in opposition when you’re dead, Andrew Elder, Politically Homeless[/i] You can see why media organisations cut their graduate intakes: when Opposition Senators volunteer to go trawling for you like they have nothing better to do, why train journalists in analysis http://andrewelder.blogspot.com/ [i]Terror in the eye of the beholder?, Tad Tietze, ABC[/i] That the language is not so different to repeated accusations by leading Australian right-wingers of Julia Gillard's "socialism" or the Greens' "environmental Marxism" should give pause for thought about the forces they may be legitimating. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2809796.html#comments [i]How John Martinkus Became 'Jihad John, Mike Carey, New Matilda[/i] Leading the charge were Rupert Murdoch’s warriors, Andrew Bolt and Tim Blair. They both consistently and deliberately misquoted what John had said about why he had been released by his captors. They underplayed the terror that http://newmatilda.com/2011/07/27/how-john-martinkus-became-jihad-john [i]Violence is the problem, not extremism, Independent Australia[/i] While polls suggest most of us support one of the most extreme right-wing oppositions in recent memory,we remain misinformed about the implications and dangers of this ideology. Surely the peaceful, http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/politics/violence-is-the-problem-not-extremism/ [i]Dissecting Alan, Ash, Ash’s Machiavellian Bloggery[/i] According to Alan, if your opinions lack validity, or if the opinions are extreme or if they are overly provocative, people wont listen http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/dissecting-alan/ [i]Alan Jones on Media Watch, Olympics and Cronulla, VIDEO [/i] 2GB Broadcaster Alan Jones speaks to mUmBRELLA's Tim Burrowes about 2GB's coverage of the 2012 London Olympics, thedifference between being a journalist and a broadcaster, his opinion of the ABC's Media Watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyjVYY_VgI0&feature=player_embedded [i]Bolt calls it , QED[/i] And how better to defend yourself, why simply deny and attack without ever conceding any point of logic. It’s a tactic that works well for Bolt’s pin-up boy Tony Abbott. http://www.qednet.biz/wordpress/2011/07/bolt-calls-it-the-gloating-sound-from-the-left-polemicists/ [i]terroRage is an effective emotion for allaying the sensation of terror, Shakira Hussein, The Stump[/i] Andrew Bolt, too, singles out Rundle and “far-left gossip site Crikey” in an article accusing “Leftist polemicists” of “cackling”, “gloating”,and “glee” over the corpses of slaughtered teenagers. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/thestump/2011/07/27/4829/ [i]The quality journalism project: first up, Laura Tingle, Crikey[/i] Phil Coorey: I think the Sydney Morning Herald’s chief political correspondent is the best political reporter in the Canberra press gallery at the moment. He writes for his readers, not for his own glory. http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/07/27/the-quality-journalism-project-laura-tingle/ [i]Alan Jones: My critics are small minded losers and I've stood the test of time , Mumbrella[/i] Asked whether he watched Media Watch, he said: “No never. It’s just rubbish. Who’s watching Media Watch?Who are they. They’re just nasty small minded people on the ABC. http://mumbrella.com.au/alan-jones-my-critics-are-small-minded-losers-and-ive-stood-the-test-of-time-53384 [i]Only natural to meet Murdoch, says Abbott,February 19, ABC[/i] Mr Murdoch is a part-owner of the pay television company Foxtel, which is angry at the Government's decision to give a $250 million rebate to the free-to-air TV networks. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-02-19/only-natural-to-meet-murdoch-says-abbott/336358 [i]Evil descends on the NBN? Erm, not quite, Phillip Branch, The Conversation[/i] These attacks] wouldn’t have had a direct impact on the NBN itself. [Platform Networks] is actually a company that is contracted to the NBN to produce services for them.” http://theconversation.edu.au/evil-descends-on-the-nbn-erm-not-quite-2529 [i]Stutchbury flicks the switch to ideology,Matt Cowgill, We are all Dead[/i] If I had read Stutchbury’s piece without having listened to the Q&A session that it quoted, I would have been left with what I believe to be a misleading impression about the Governor’s statement. If ideological warriors like Stutchbury want http://mattcowgill.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/stutchbury-flicks-the-switch-to-ideology/ [i]NBN Co – “ We were not hacked, compromised or affected, TechAU[/i] seems our good old traditional media are running a story with some pretty badly reported facts. With visuals of police forces raiding a house with guns blazing its all very dramatic. If you take two big headline topics NBN and Hacking, and combine them in one story, your bound to get great ratings right.. never let the truth get in the way of a good story. http://www.techau.tv/blog/nbnco-we-were-not-hacked-compromised-or-affected/ [i]Skilled graffitist makes the front page, Robert Merkel, Larvatus Prodeo[/i] It turns out that while Platform Networks was not yet providing services for the NBN (making the link evenmore spurious), http://larvatusprodeo.net/2011/07/27/skilled-graffitist-makes-the-front-page/ [i]Australian Media Leaders: Have a Say, Kevin Rennie, Café Whispers[/i] Senior executives from media organisations will answer the most voted question at the 2011 New News Conference on Saturday 27th of August.Not only that, the person who asks the question voted most popular will be invited tojoin the media leaders on the panel http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/australia-media-leaders-have-a-say/ [i]Big Whingeing Retailers, Gary Sauer-Thompson, Public Opinion[/i] the carbon tax (its not even been introduced) and Julia Gillard herself. It's basically all the governments fault. Bash the Labor government and woe is me is the new corporate game. They're big whingers. http://www.sauer-thompson.com/archives/opinion/2011/07/big-whingeing-r.php#more [i]Murdoch controls minds. Yea, sure, Peter Martin[/i] Gillard is getting slaughtered in the media, but not by the press. It's hard to fight back against a medium that caters for people who don’t read. Murdoch is the least of her problems. http://www.petermartin.com.au/2011/07/murdoch-controls-minds-yea-sure.html [i]You don’t know what a troubled mind will get caught on, Jeremy Sear, Pure Poison[/i] perhaps if our political leaders could take note of what’s going on at their rallies – and consider just what they’re inciting, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/2011/07/27/you-dont-know-what-a-troubled-mind-will-get-caught-on/#more-11141 [b]Newspapers[/b] [i]Media authority to investigate complaint about Jones comment, Lenore Taylor, SMH[/i] THE Australian Communications and Media Authority is investigating a complaint about alleged inaccuracies in statements on climate change by broadcaster Alan Jones. http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/media-authority-to-investigate-complaint-about-jones-comment-20110727-1i0bg.html

Lyn

28/07/2011 Good Morning Ad This is good news a worthwhile article by Phillip Coorey: [quote]Police assess calls for violence as tax debate gets nasty, Phillip Coorey , SMH[/quote] THE Australian Federal Police is looking at statements by members of the public calling for the assassination of the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and members of her government but has yet to determine whether any warrant investigation. The police confirmed developments were being assessing amid a rising concern about the increasingly spiteful nature of the public discourse that surrounds politics. News Limited, the publisher of the Herald Sun, has already apologised to Ms Gillard for the internet posting and has said the moderator who allowed the comment to be published has been severely disciplined. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/police-assess-calls-for-violence-as-tax-debate-gets-nasty-20110727-1i04w.html Cheers:):):):):):):):):):)

Ad astra reply

28/07/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Ad astra reply

28/07/2011Hi Lyn Thank you for the link to the Phillip Coorey article. It's about time the language used by some on the far right was called for what it is. I noted that in [i]Crikey[/i] yesterday, Laura Tingle named Coorey among her top ten journalists in Australia. I'll be out most of the morning.

Lyn

28/07/2011Hi Ad Have a nice happy day. cheers:):):):):):):):):):):)

Feral Skeleton

28/07/2011D Mick Weir, Certainly is another great article from Ross Gittins. I think he has decided to go all out for no BS journalism despite the slings and arrows that get fired at him from the blog comments section. Also he appears to have had enough of the depths to which some of his fellow journalists have stooped to lately.

Feral Skeleton

28/07/2011This article in The Sydney Morning Herald about Alan Jones might just be another one of those cracks of light starting to appear in the media that give those of us at The Political Sword who have been putting the media to the sword for a long time now, hope to see as a result of our efforts: http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/media-authority-to-investigate-complaint-about-jones-comment-20110727-1i0bg.html?comments=199#comments Of course it's by Lenore Taylor, another one of the Top 10 Oz journos IMH(even when I disagree with her). :)

Michael

28/07/2011Thursday's Bad Abbott The man can't help but lie... although, it seems he expects remarkable longevity from the Gillard government. First, the lies. http://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/news/local/news/general/le-tour-de-tax-abbott-wheels-in-for-day-17-of-the-carbon-price-debate/2240449.aspx?storypage=2 'In this article, Tiny is quoted: The Opposition leader was also critical of how a carbon tax could impact on future generations of Australians, with carbon reduction targets achieved in part from buying carbon credits from foreign countries. “Australians aren’t rich enough to afford to spend $57 billion buying carbon credits from overseas countries up to and beyond 2050 to help the Gillard government to meet its carbon tax projections,” he said.' "Australians" won't be buying carbon credits from overseas: Australia-based companies, many of them NOT even owned by Australians, will be buying carbon credits from overseas so that they can continue to operate profitably in Australia (otherwise, why buy them?), and by operating profitably, employ Australians in more jobs and pay more dividends to Australian shareholders. So, Australia-based companies buying carbon credits from overseas would actually be a sign of good times in those sectors of the local economy, and for Australians working and investing in them. But, the core of the lie is that everyday Australian citizens, just the people Shouldabeen was pulling the wool over the eyes of in his Tamworth forum, will NEVER directly have to contribute to the purchase of carbon credits from overseas. Tiny, please, think things through, stop lying, and focus on the positive! He has!! Because in the second half of the quote above, which includes "up to and beyond 2050 to help the Gillard government to meet its carbon tax projections", Tiny 'Nostradamus' Abbott shares with us his prophecy that the Gillard government will still be in place in 2050. Surely the Coalition should censure their own leader for having consigned them to 39 years more of Opposition? PS On the matter raised above of Tiny's good health or otherwise, he doesn't look a well man to me. I saw him on TV three weeks or so back walking into a church bent over like an arthritic 80 year old who had a touch too much of the 'good life' behind him.

NormanK

28/07/2011Ad astra I've come late to the conversation as usual. Thanks for your summation of what an Abbott Government might inflict on us. Unfortunately, so much of what Abbott says is so completely devoid of meaning that it would be almost impossible to predict what he might do should he win power. I would be inclined to agree with you that so much of what he is currently threatening to do would prove either impossible or unpalatable. Taking back a 1% Company Tax decrease that small businesses had been enjoying (and spent money accommodating) for six to twelve months would be a nightmare. Therefore he would have to find yet more 'savings' in the budget to appease them if he repealed the MRRT. It would be a decidedly worst case scenario if Abbott were to keep to his promises with regard to the CEF scheme, the MRRT and the Paid Parental Leave scheme. The cuts he would have to make to other areas of the budget would be so deep as to be potentially lethal. Your article will prove to be interesting reading as a reference prior to the next election if Abbott is still leader - an unlikely prospect I suspect. One reason I have been tardy in responding to your article is that I have attempted to avoid the avalanche of words written on the Norway incident. While there is much to be said in favour of keeping oneself informed on matters of import, I am finding that the consumption of too much opinion from others stifles my own ability to produce fresh, independent thought. This is not such a problem when the issue is fact-based and the opinions offer differing approaches to how to interpret these facts but when the subject is as ethereal and ideological as much of the debate around Norway seems to have been in recent days, there is a very real risk of either brainwashing or retreating yet again into our respective bunkers. This is not a blanket criticism but sometimes it is necessary for me to just think for myself before wondering what others are thinking. As a result, I am not particularly surprised by the actions of Breivik when they are viewed within the context of how the world is shifting. In the East there is a perception that a wave of Western influence is sweeping over their societies and culture, bringing with it decadent and immoral practices that will smash their way of life. Initially, those wishing to push back against this tide targeted the source - the West. There is no larger symbol of the West than the United States but as we've seen over the last decade this has spread, with many other countries targeted including Britain, Greece, India and even Australia. A significant change in the methodology of this push-back came about when the resistors turned their sights on to those they considered as facilitating Western influence. Terror attacks on civilian populations, police and government institutions are desperate acts meant to undermine support for the Western wave of influence. In the West the increasing influence of the East in our societies is more often depicted as seeping in at ground-level and undermining the pillars upon which our society is supposedly built. Resistance to this creeping danger has mainly been focussed on what might be regarded as the front-line - Muslims and Arabs populating our cities and trying to bring about change in incremental steps. With Breivik, we have seen the beginning of a Western fight-back that mirrors the resistance put up by people like the Taliban. The facilitators are now being shifted into the focus of the 'moral crusaders' seeking to protect their way of life. It may well be that Breivik will be diagnosed as unfit to plea by reason of insanity but that will be yet another cop-out and burying of heads in the sand. It is far more likely that he is deluded rather than insane and even then only deluded in thinking that his actions can bring about change of the type he is hankering for. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the opinions and beliefs he holds. No doubt they are based on his understanding of the world as he sees it, just like mine are. One difference between him and me is that he deluded himself that his actions would unleash his fellow-travellers and that the politicians would somehow accede to his demands. The other fundamental difference is that he believed that his opinion was so correct that it rendered all other opinions obsolete and justified the taking of human lives. This is not the last we will hear from Western-style 'Jihardists'. Unfortunately, it is just the beginning of their attacks on the facilitators.

Ad astra reply

28/07/2011FS It would be satisfying to see Alan Jones reprimanded for his outrageous statements, but I suspect all he will get will be a slap with a wet lettuce. Michael Truth and Tiny are immiscible. He will say anything he likes and know that the gullible will swallow it whole, and many in the MSM will faithfully reproduce it. NormanK Thank you for your comments about this piece and for your thoughtful assessment of the Oslo tragedy. Your wise words should cause us to stop and ponder.

D Mick Weir

28/07/2011A sombre note. A legend of the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery has passed away. Rob Chalmers worked in the gallery for sixty years. He was with the highly respected newsletter [b]Inside Canberra[/b] since 1957. [b]Sixty years in the Gallery[/b] Alan Ramsey @ Inside Story http://inside.org.au/sixty-years-in-the-gallery/ [i]Rob Chalmers retired this week after an extraordinary period in the Canberra Press Gallery. Alan Ramsey pays tribute[/i] [b]Rob Chalmers, legend[/b] Peter Martin http://www.petermartin.com.au/2011/07/rob-chalmers-legend.html [i]Rob has produced his final edition of Inside Canberra.[/i]

2353

28/07/201160 years at anything is impressive and shows true dedication. RIP.

Feral Skeleton

28/07/20112353, I've got a 2198 and a 7087 as my Desktop Wallpaper atm. It's a really cool photo in which someone has exaggerated the colours of the engines in a hyperreal way with neon brights. It's sort of scary and cute all at the one time. :)

TalkTurkey

28/07/2011Not on thread, but it's been a relatively slow day on the Sword . . . with a few excellent articles may I say, and some links to many other good ones too. Thanks to all concerned. So now Folks, Take your Trolley for . . . [u]The Mo-Jo Pokey![/u] I put the groceries in, I took the groceries out, I thought I’d had a win But a Guard came running out She wasn’t very jokey, nasty mean old sauerkraut, And she took those groceries out! O No! Don't throw me in the Chokey! O No! Don't throw me in the Chokey! O No! Don't throw me in the Chokey! Oh please let a poor girl out! So then I get hauled in, And then the truth comes out! I say I’ve lost my PIN And I cry and scream and shout They let me use the soakie But I run right out But the guard is a real good scout! I try to drive off in my Mokey! Guard grabs me, I take a pokey! Cops come, big and strong and blokey, And they pull the poor girl out! So then they take me in, I cry and scream and pout; I tell them I am brokey, And at last I’m bailed out, But it takes six months to charge me, As if there’s any doubt! (What the hell was [i]that[/i] all about?) O! No! My nose grows like Pinnochi - O! No! My nose grows like Pinocchi - O! No! My nose grows like Pinocchi - O! I must find a smart way out! I know, I’ll say that I’m depressive! Can my innocence be retrogressive? You can see my brain’s recessive! [b][b]Now let’s see how it all works out![/b[/b]] I am not really pre-judging this case, ([i]What[/i] case btw? I mention no names) and it even may be true that the person in question [i]is[/i] depressive . . . . Hell I know that ol' Black Dog myself . . . But I've never heard of depression being associated with kleptomania . . . which itself even then would seem a dubious excuse for misappropriating close to $100 worth of goods in what appears to have been a quite determinedly dishonest act, evidently complicated by several other factors, including assault on a female security guard. *Do you know the maximum sentence for Assault? **Do you know the maximum sentence for "Illegally remove goods without the permission of the owner"? (not 'Larceny'? [i]D'uhhh???)[/i] (answers below) And should she be treated relatively leniently on the basis that her mental state might be delicate, what about ALL larcenists? Poor little misunderstood poppets, well yes, some of them ARE! and I'm certain-sure that many of those charged with petty larceny of food items are in much greater NEED than she. But Swordsfolks, I wouldn't like to be facing M-J's charges if I were of Middle Eastern or worst of all Aboriginal appearance, &/or unemployed and a bit ragged, old, not good at English, without a QC ([b]ABBOTT[/b] nomine btw! ;-) )vigorously to defend me . . . This is a case we should follow with interest. It relates to how the Law treats the well-to-do and influential compared to how it treats the down-and-out or the just-not-real-flash. If depression is her defence, and that's all, and she gets off lightly, that will mean that all those who have been treated relatively harshly have been treated unjustly. That this can happen is is a mark of an unjust society, and blind Freddie knows it happens all the time. Even hit-run killers may get off scot-free, if they're lawyers with good connections. I don't mind so much that the guilty get off, but it makes me seethe to hear of innocent or marginally-criminal get treated harshly. FIE! *Two years. **TEN years!

Lyn

28/07/2011Hi Talk Turkey that was a nice little poem Mr Talented. I agree with you it's not fair, people in high places above the Law, look at NOTW . [quote]It relates to how the Law treats the well-to-do and influential compared to how it treats the down-and-out or the just-not-real-flash. If depression is her defence, and that's all, and she gets off lightly, that will mean that all those who have been treated relatively harshly have been treated unjustly.[/quote] Depression no excuse: Jeff Kennett , The Australian The anti-depression campaigner said mental illness was being used more widely within the legal system, and often had little to do with circumstances. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/depression-no-excuse-jeff-kennett/story-fn59niix-1226100946990 Cheers :):):):):)

BSA Bob

29/07/2011Watching Leigh Sales tonight pursuing Christine Nixon with an enthusiasm she certainly didn't display toward Mr Hartigan, I was a bit taken aback with what seemed to me to be Sales's laying the foundation for some sort of beatup over Julia Gillard's planned launch of the Nixon book. These people are quite able to create a controversy out of nothing in a nudge- wink sort of way.

Feral Skeleton

29/07/2011BSA Bob, I have zero respect for Leigh Sales and her much-touted journalistic abilities. I made this clear in a blog. She is a guttersnipe type of journalist and a symptom of the true elites of our society, Privately educated, no sympathy for those who stray outside the party, that is, Murdoch Party line, and prepared to defend to the death his media's perspective on issues. Though her survival instincts might just start kicking in with the knowledge we have been given today that Mrs Rebekah Brooks supplied a mobile phone to the mother of a girl who had been murdered by a paedophile, just so she could have her guttersnipe employees listen into the conversations that mother had. Of course Mrs Brooks, in her cold and calculating way, says that this woman is a friend and she would never do such a thing. I think Mrs Brooks doesn't know the difference between a friend and an opportunity for a story for her media organisation. Anyway, as they say, it's at times like these that you discover who your real friends are. And that poor woman discovered such a thing overnight our time. Because, like Leigh Sales with her attitude to Christine Nixon, these bottom feeders in the media have a thinly disguised contempt for those they calculate are of no benefit to them in their constant aim of keeping themselves afloat like the pond scum they are. John Hartigan and Rupert Murdoch, tick. They are powerful players. Christine Nixon and Julia Gillard, cross. They are perceived by the Leigh Sales of this world, professional hyenas that they are, as ripe for the attack. It's a shame, really. Women used to have more ethics than men when it came to debasing themselves in the way Mrs Brooks and Leigh Sales did/do. Now, they can't be held back from trying to outdo the conniving and the lows to which men in journalism sink to. I suppose, when you don't have elections like politicians and your survival is dependant on sniffing the wind and then entering into a pissing contest to impress the alphas, you learn how to tailor your public display so they'll notice.

Feral Skeleton

29/07/2011Now, I must away good Swordians. I start the Census job I have been given today. :)

Lyn

29/07/2011 [b]TODAY’S LINKS[/b] [i]News of the World scandal a litmus test for independent journalism in Australia, Wendy Bacon, The Conversation[/i] In the week of the study, all papers carried at least one editorial on phone hacking, with the Sydney Morning Herald and the Herald Sun carrying two. Not one editorial supported the idea that there should be an inquiry into Australia’s media. http://theconversation.edu.au/news-of-the-world-scandal-a-litmus-test-for-independent-journalism-in-australia-2545 [i]Cost of living increases that we can’t blame on the Carbon Price, Jeremy Sear, Anonymous Lefty[/i] Keep the above image in mind when, in two years’ time, the Herald Sun runs a nearly identical piece but blaming it on the then carbon price. http://anonymouslefty.wordpress.com/ [i]The Oz-it’s “hypocritical” to demand right to privacy whilst having private meetings, Jeremy Sear, Pure Poison[/i] an organisation that detests the Greens says they should “grow up”, it must be a day ending in Y) into an insane dig at the clearly unrelated right to privacy issue? Do they think their readers won’t notice? http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/2011/07/28/the-oz-its-hypocritical-to-demand-a-right-to-privacy-whilst-having-private-meetings/#more-11147 [i]$10 million to drive fear and greed on carbon price, Rooted[/i] Abbott calls his own climate policy “crazy”, relentlessly demands another election, practically declares class warfare and blows everyone away with his literary skill in dubbing Julia JuLIAR (see what he did there). Add to that the completely absurd rhetoric of completely ill-qualified individuals like “Lord” Monckton, Andrew Bolt and Alan Jones http://blogs.crikey.com.au/rooted/2011/07/25/10-million-to-drive-fear-and-greed-on-carbon-price/ [i]Unravelling a few of Australia's climate change myths, Richard Lambert, The Drum[/i] Mrs Thatcher was one of the first world leaders to call for urgent action more than 20 years ago. The three largest countries that already have a fully-fledged carbon price system in operation - Germany, France and the UK - all have centre right governments in power http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2813856.html [i]Why Australia and the Liberal Party need the NBN, David Donovan, Independent Australia[/i] how fiercely will Turnbull campaign on this issue in 2013, knowing that it is of massive future benefit to Australia and is further aware that if the Coalition loses he is likely to return to the leadership? The answer is, he knows he’s on a hiding to nothing by attacking the NBN. http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/politics/why-australia-and-the-liberal-party-need-the-nbn/ [i]Irate NBN chief blasts media over hack arrest, Eleanor Hall, ABC[/i] That statement is factually incorrect. Our network was not mapped. There's no evidence at all our security was compromised in any way by this individual. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-28/nbn-chief-blasts-media-over-hacking-coverage/2814582 [i]NBN BUZZ: Facts hacked to pieces,Alexander Liddington-Cox, Technology Spectator'[/i] The company was today (Thursday) forced to reiterate the point with a press release for the "misleading reporting," specifically naming Sky News, the ABC, The Daily Telegraph, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian for their "provocative headlines" http://technologyspectator.com.au/nbn-buzz/nbn-buzz-facts-hacked-pieces?utmNBN [i]inconsistency of Joyce, warning for Turnbull, David Havyatt, Anything Goes[/i] strange strategy since the analysis of the Internode pricing is that it is the same as their ADSL 2 services! Much focus has been on fact that the entry level plan is dearer than a telephone line for those who don't just want a telephone. http://davidhavyatt.blogspot.com/ [i]In the public interest ....., John Richardson, Your Democracy[/i] the AFP was ''assessing'' a call broadcast by radio station 2GB last Friday afternoon in which a listener advocated the assassination of membersof the government.Police assess calls for violence as tax debate gets nasty http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/13090 [i]Even the worst nightmares can’t keep Bolt upright, Geoff Lemon, The Punch[/i] Bolt also attacked an ABC journo for apparently not investigating the Breivik manifesto to Bolt’s satisfaction. “But who checks when it fits the preferred narrative?” asked Bolt with trademark outrage. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/even-the-worst-nightmares-cant-keep-bolt-upright/ [i]Bolta the Ubelievable, Petering Time, North Coast Voices[/i] So it’s alright for Bolta to quickly publish his erroneous suspicion that the acts of terrorism in Norway were the work of Islamic extremists, then to later mention the declared religious allegiance of the actual perpetrator – but http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com/2011/07/bolta-unbelievable.html [b]newspapers[/b] [i]Alan Jones to GetUp: 'Get stuffed' SMH[/i] Jones today denied ever having made the comment and said the complaint was politically motivated. "I never said that at all," he said.LISTEN- what Jones said http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/alan-jones-to-getup-get-stuffed-20110728-1i1oy.html#ixzz1TNyc0jf8

Ad astra reply

29/07/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Lyn

29/07/2011 Good Morning Ad Here is an editorial about the way Julia Gillard is being treated. I am hoping the more reports there are the offenders will get the message: [i]This heat gets oppressive , Editorial, SMH[/i] Julia Gillard is not only criticised, she is routinely subjected to taunts which, if they were made anywhere else and directed towards anyone else, would be deplored on all sides. Recent events in Norway show how even in the most peaceable of countries hatred can fester and burst malignantly to life. Those who demean their opponents, who tease and tease the public with rhetoric tinged with hate and violence, will bear a heavy responsibility should anything similar happen here. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/editorial/this-heat-gets-oppressive-20110728-1i23i.html#ixzz1TRl03F49 Cheers :):):):)

Patricia WA

29/07/2011Like NormanK I have been overwhelmed by the killings in Norway and feel almost numb with shock, and dread too. As I look at the pictures, surely provided by the families of those young people, killed so hatefully and suddenly in that peace loving country I fear for my own grandsons. An ALP youth seminar on Rottnest Island or a fund raiser dance in a local school hall suddenly isn't somewhere one can absolutely trust with their safety any more. Is it too much to hope that saner elements in certain political parties here will see the importance of moderating the intensity of their debate? Are there any signs of that at all?

Ad astra reply

29/07/2011Good Morning to you, Lyn Thank you for the link to the [i]SMH[/i] editorial. What a relief that at least one paper is acknowledging that Julia Gillard has been subject to continual abuse and taunts from the right wing shock jocks and the media, but let us not forget also from Tony Abbott and his party members, who were not mentioned in the editorial. The abuse and disrespect has gone far too far. If it does not ease, it may invite a tragedy. Like Patricia WA, I hope we might soon see a moderating of the extreme language.

nasking

29/07/2011Very disappointed w/ Leigh Sales' interview of Christine Nixon. I felt the "contempt" that others have observed. Not sure why Leigh had to be so aggressive...sadly, I feel she is under pressure from some in the ABC who are connected to News Ltd & the Opposition. I'm pleased that Nixon brought up the attacks on PM Gillard...I've rarely seen a PM treated w/ such open hostility and contempt by a country's media & Opposition. I've always felt there exists an oddball atmosphere in News Ltd & the Opposition that derives from a combination of mysogynistic ockerism to appeal to the worst instincts in readers/audiences/voters... religious views that put women in a secondary position to the boisterous, assertive patriarch & that promotes distorted & bigoted views of "family values"... and political bias (on News Ltd's part partially due to the expansion ambitions & biases of Rupert Murdoch & those he hires as the gatekeepers & overseers). This immature environment must not sit well w/ some of the more accomplished writers & journos in News Ltd...but it's amazing what people will tolerate if they have bills to pay and require a steady job when their industry is wobbling (think newspapers). As for the Opposition...I'm afraid they will remain adolescent-like repeat offenders when it comes to taking Abbott's ridiculous & economically harmful hyperbole-ridden positions on issues. I sincerely hope, when Abbott loses the next election, we see some damn site more rational & mature Coalition members replace the many sycophants and irrational ones. Far too many have allowed themselves to be led down the path of "little integrity" by Abbott...and the likes of certain News Ltd types, Allan Jones & other shock jocks. Not to mention the far too cosy relationship w/ certain wealthy miners...revealing thruout they have few principles they aren't willing to sacrifice in their desperate pursuit of power. N'

Patricia WA

29/07/2011Hear! Hear! to FS and her comments on Leigh Sales weighing in on Christine Nixon. Black Friday aside I have been trying to read about CN's general achievements. Can anyone point me to an objective overview, wiki aside. I often thought, watching her on TV in earlier years that she'd have to be a remarkable woman to overcome her size and gender to achieve and then hold down the top cop job in a state like Victoria for so many years. It's interesting that Mullett and Noel Ashby are having another go at getting a review of their cases. Is it just a new government which gives them hope for 'justice' or do they have a genuine grievance?

TalkTurkey

29/07/2011Discerning Swordsfolk might by now have realised that Turkeys rarely dig very deep - I'm sure Feral Skeleton has - we scratch around shallow but often and chuck stuff about, but we don't do depth much. Still we get to know the locals within our range, and this here Turkey can tell the Coalition right now, You've LOST the NBN debate, you lost it before you even went pearshaped about it, Australians [i]adore[/i] the Internet (as I assume every society does), but in Australia it's more needful than in smaller countries, we are rich enough to afford it, and we as a society will never settle for less. We [i]will[/i] have fibre, that's all there is to it, as we will have a carbon price, and that's all there is to it, and the country will prosper, and grow friendlier again too when this idiot spoiler puerile Opposition and its sycophants in the Media have had their heads well and truly pulled in at the next election. Even were the Coalons to win, the concrete will have long set before they can do anything about it,that's what I love about our team that's batting atm, they are getting the runs right now, and Yoo-hoo Tony Abbortt, by the time you could even hope to gain power - which, Ma-a-a-ate, forget it! - you'd be on such a sticky wicket you won't be able to run at all, with Brown as Keeper and oh we could go on about slips and long stops and the Indies and such but I gotta smile thinking No more FIELDING! Why don't you chuck it in now? Second thoughts, No don't do that yet Tony, we need you yet a while to run down and take that pathetic rabble down with you. You are the bunny with the wrong kind of battery, been going like a 2-bob watch but now you are running downnnnnnn..n...n....nnn. n.. n . . . . :)

nasking

29/07/2011As for the American "debt ceiling" situation...it once again demonstrates that News Corporation have alot to answer for. And shock jock radio. Can you imagine the Tea Party doing so well w/out the support of Glenn Beck & Sean Hannitty? And the general support they received from Fox News... and the likes of Rush Limbaugh. The Tea Party were born out of conspiracy-driven positions...certainly concerns about rising debt are valid...but one only needs to read the placards held by those Tea Partyers in the early days...and the outrageous conspiracy-related comments by Palin, Beck & Limbaugh to know that the Republicans are allowing themselves to be controlled by people w/ far too many irrational views. A group willing, it seems, to wreck the American economy further...and destabilise the world markets...in order to express paranoid positions...and bring down a president based on ridiculous conspiracy-based stances - "birthers", Obama is a secret Muslim, Obama is a Communist etc. etc. The Republican party, the party of Lincoln, is unfortunately dribbling like some mad peasant salivating over the guillotine executions during the French Revolution. They have President Obama in their sights. But they forget that it is Obama & his wife Michelle & their children that have helped improve America's reputation across the world...and inspired minorities in his own country. Are the Republicans, and big corporations, willing to crush Obama...hope...good will...and create a tempest of disapproval towards them & their country in order to make short-term gains...off the back of dopey conspiracy theories...and a naked grab for power? I remember when Reagan woke up to the absurd stranglehold of some "greed for gain" evangelicals on his party...it's time Boehnner & others did the same. Lest they wreck...more than just their economy...but their future. And America's reputation. N'

TalkTurkey

29/07/2011Leigh Sales ([i]en francais[/i] the surname means [i]'dirties'[/i]! :)) was bloody disgraceful last night with Christine Nixon, who did a great job gracefully snotting her in response to each attempted jab by the self-professed "well read head". Damn I spend half my time being proud of redheads because of *J*U*L*I*A*, and about ninety percent of the time being ashamed and furious because of Pantsdown and Madame Sales and [i]Merde[/i]och's doxy. Not that Sales is redhaired, she just wishes.

Michael

29/07/2011Friday's Bad Abbott. This is becoming tedious - Tiny is lying in public forums again! This time in the mainstream media and on TV whinging about the Government's plan to have climate change regulatory inspectors check that carbon price businesses are not acting illegally. Shouldabeen promptly dubs them "Carbon Cops" and announces that 'they' will be targeting 'you'. Same old lie - you, the everyday Australian will be paying the carbon tax and therefore exposed to a knock on your door from... da da dada, 'The Carbon Cops'. Two things feature in the repeated lie. He said again that carbon dioxide is weightless, which it isn't, trying to mock how cops would track down something colourless, odourless and weightless. Well, most CO2 emissions are bundled in with a whole lot of other industrial exhaust gases as they leave industrial chimneys and 'smoke' stacks, and that mixture is far from colourless or odourless. Incidentally, on the 'weightless' thing, Coalition policy is set to reduce the tonnage of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere. What does he think "tonnage" means? Or has Tiny trumped Isaac Newton and come up with the weightless ton? Second part of the carbon cop lie is that just a week or two back he was whinging how the trading of carbon credits would be scammed by shonky operators - 'just look at what happened in Europe', he offered several times. The government has done just that - looked at what happened in Europe when shady types got involved - and responded with, well... Carbon Cops. First lie above, commission, as somebody must've told him by now that carbon dioxide is not weightless. Greg Hunt, where are you? Second lie above, omission, pretending he never offered the suggestion that unregulated emissions trading needs government regulation. But think what that second lie actually means in terms of Coaltion climate change policy. Shouldabeen intends to give high-emitting industries government..., whoops, sorry, taxpayers' money, to sort out their contribution to Australia's fouled atmosphere and the environmental effects it contributes to. He's relying on 'cut it to the bone, whatever it might take to turn a profit' types, AKA, 'the Market', to accept government money for free and do things that will effect profit making. Because even just the physical processes of switching over to cleaner energy will temporarily effect their product's output, and thus confront the businessman's raison d'etre, which is the unrelenting escalation of profits. So, 'naturally' they will take the money and do as little with it as possible in case doing anything much effects their 'efficiencies' at all. Tiny won't have Carbon Cops. Business will seek to evade profit-trimming actions, and with no-one to observe (don't dare say "police") what they do with the government's free money, well, what do you think will happen? Taxpayers' money made free with by high emitters doing the least they can do to meet the Coalition's nod and a wink Climate Change policies (sic)... actually, sick. How long will it take before Australians widely recognise that Tiny Abbott is either completely stupid, or completely deceitful? He manifests both aspects of his personality every day.

Ad astra reply

29/07/2011TT Thank you for your poem; who knows what will become of that case. It will be interesting to see how much power and influence, and Tony Abbott’s support, affects the outcome. BSA Bob, FS, Nasking, Patricia WA I too saw that Christine Nixon interview by Leigh Sales. I thought she was pretty tough, more so than in her interview of John Hartigan. That of course is my perception, but I see you think similarly. Leigh is trying to consolidate her place as anchor for [i]7.30[/i] and to keep Chris Uhlmann as second fiddle. She probably feels she has to emulate Kerry O’Brien’s toughness, and I suspect she feels the need to not get offside with News Limited. So she was gentle on Hartigan but hard-hitting with Nixon, knowing that Nixon is offside with News Limited. Since parts of her book [i]Fair Cop[/i] have been leaked by News Limited before the launch on Monday, and since Nixon has accused News Limited of running a vendetta against her, the bullyboys in News Limited and the police union have been out condemning her for saying so and accusing her of shooting the messenger when she was the one at fault. It’s the same old story – the media believes it can say what it likes but will not tolerate any criticism of itself. I’m finishing off a piece on that subject for posting on Monday [i]The media – the biter bit[/i].

Ad astra reply

29/07/2011Michael You write very well. Thank you for yet another Bad Abbott. What you say is so true. You expose Abbott’s deceitfulness and ignorance; if only the MSM would do the same. Yet Abbott knows that he can get away with such gross disingenuousness as the media will promulgate his lies without criticism, and a large chunk of the gullible public will swallow it whole. Every day he illustrates the Goebbels dictum: ‘tell a lie often enough…’

nasking

29/07/2011[quote]Every day he illustrates the Goebbels dictum: ‘tell a lie often enough…’ [/quote] Ad astra & Michael, you can tell Tony Abbott used to write for News Ltd. And like many of Murdoch's lot, he obviously supports regulators w/out teeth. It's that very same attitude that got us into the global financial crisis...American regulators during the Bush years looking the other way & having no bite. It's damn irresponsible of Abbott to attack the government on this issue. Allowing big businesses to get away w/ corrupt & incompetent practices hurts our climate, hinders economic stability, and undermines the efforts of people and businesses that are doing the right thing in a competitive environment. N'

nasking

29/07/2011The Republicans are bleedin' hopeless: John Boehner's Debt Ceiling Bill Stalls In House http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/28/budget-cutting-debt-bill_n_912742.html Is it any wonder that they missed the 9/11 bombers...stuffed up the Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts (non-effort)...created mayhem & financial thievery at a grand scale w/ the Iraq War invasion...failed to get Osama Bin Laden (that was left to Obama)...and permitted the GFC to happen under their watch? Imagine another Republican presidency w/ these Tea Party loops playin' a big role...and Fox News? As tho they haven't sabotaged the economic recovery efforts & undermined Obama's efforts enuff?...as they tried to do w/ Bill Clinton (who at least had some revenue to play w/...he needs to get on TV and tell it as it is). The Republicans are a mess. And a danger to the world economy. N'

nasking

29/07/2011[quote]Alan Jones to GetUp: 'Get stuffed' SMH [/quote] Thnx for that link above Lyn. Of course Allan Jones attacks GetUp, a group that is made up of hundreds of thousands of members who give a damn about our climate. They're not paid big money to voice irrational, less than factual views, unlike some. And isn't this the same man who said our PM & Bob Brown should be put in a sack & thrown in the sea? I'd say the comments were made tongue & cheek, except for the fact Jones has shown such contempt for The Greens & PM Gillard. It's hard to believe that someone gets paid so well by a media company for being so angry & disrespectful. I'm surprised the advertising companies tolerate it. But then again, it seems some big companies will tolerate anything to spruik their products & make a buck. Great lessons for the youth. Take advantage of HATE...it will bring you rewards. I remember there being many a company who did same in Europe in the 20s & 30s. Look where it got them. N'

Gravel

29/07/2011Ad Astra Well you were certainly brave trying to look into the future. I was pleased to read that most of what this government has done for Australia will probably remain intact. Gosh you Sworder's have been very busy while I was away, it has taken me a day or so to catch up with the last three posts. So much to say but guess I'll just stick with this one for now. Amazing thing about not being in contact with the 'news' internet, blogs and stuff, it is like being in a different world. Not one mention of politics as such, nothing being whinged about, it was great. Only surprising thing was daughter in law saying they watched the SBS documentary about the reverse trip of asylum seekers, with much good commentary. Many of us here worry about things we can blatantly see, I fear for the many many Australians going about their lives blissfully unaware of what a future government under abbott could be like. The unspeakably horrible events in Norway shook me to the core. It reinforced, for me, what could happen here under the vitriol spat out by the right wingers here in Australia. Ad Astra In your first paragraph, should your 29000 acres be 29million? or am I a numnut? Lyn I got a fright skimming through comments in the last post when people were begging you to stay. Thankfully you have stayed. I would have pleaded with you too as well had I been here. Acerbic Conehead Although I got to read your post late, it was another great laugh for me, thanks. Nas Glad you are getting good reports on your health, I hope the reports next week go well for you.

Paul

29/07/2011I'm looking forward to fact free policies from the Coalition! That is, they won't accept any advice from economists or scientists anymore. So their policies could very well be rather thin!

NormanK

29/07/2011Remember Tony Abbott, the steelworkers' friend? Meet Tony Abbott, the farmers' friend. [b]Abbott cops heat over carbon farming[/b] [quote]Mr Abbott says not all landholders are motivated by the financial incentives. "A lot of people are doing it[/quote] (carbon farming) [quote]without any payment from government," he said.[/quote] http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/201107/s3279895.htm Yep, you heard it right. Although the Gillard government will have already commenced its Carbon Farming initiative, Tony reckons farmers will still come on board even if he doesn't pay them. The 'what about me?' factor plays no role in the altruistic world of agri-business, it seems. It seems farmers won't be looking over the fence with envy when they see their neighbours being paid to put carbon into their soil. Instead they will wear the extra costs out of the goodness of their hearts and allow the government to take credit for the equivalent emission reductions. Lots of small to medium size businesses do that, don't they? When, oh when, will the weight of all of this nonsense coming from Abbott's mouth finally weigh him down? Perhaps it is as weightless as carbon dioxide and equally as immune to measurement.

Ad astra reply

29/07/2011Folks From now on Lyn will be posting her collection of links on weekdays. As most blog sites from which Lyn draws her links take off the weekends, she will do the same. However, you will not miss out on any important links – they will simply be aggregated into weekday postings. Collecting links is a time consuming process that requires much research, reading and analysis. Because it is such a continual process, Lyn is the one contributor to TPS who never has a day off. The new arrangement will give her a well-deserved break at weekends. We are most grateful to her for distilling the essence of a variety of stories from the vast collection of blog sites that she has on her database. By so doing she saves visitors here time and effort, while keeping us all up to date with the latest in the political scene. I’m sure you will applaud this new arrangement for Lyn’s Links.

Jason

29/07/2011Hi All, If this is the guest list for this weeks "insiders" lets hope it gets the axe next week as well! Insiders ABC 1 & NEWS 24 9am Sunday-Panel-The Australian’s Chris Kenny and political commentators Kerry-Anne Walsh and Glenn Milne #insiders

Lyn

29/07/2011Hi Jason Thankyou for the list of guests for Sunday's Insiders. Oh! dear they use balance as their favourite word, well this lot look more than lopsided. Cheers :):):):):)

nasking

29/07/2011[quote]Glad you are getting good reports on your health[/quote] Cheers Gravel. I hope you are well too. [quote]Because it is such a continual process, Lyn is the one contributor to TPS who never has a day off. The new arrangement will give her a well-deserved break at weekends.[/quote] Lyn, I'm pleased you'll have more time for yerself & family. You certainly deserve it. The amount of work you put in is phenomenal, particularly considering it is voluntary & in the public interest...unlike the likes of Allan Jones & Andrew Bolt who make a mint for their toxic offerings. As someone who spent 6-7 days a week on blogs for a number of years I can attest to the potential for health problems. As I'm sure many others can. Including mental fatigue, irritability & confusion...oft based on sleep deprivation. If we're in this for the long run we must be prepared to take time off to recuperate and do other essential and replenishing activities. Yer weekly links will be as valuable as ever. [quote]By so doing she saves visitors here time and effort, while keeping us all up to date with the latest in the political scene.[/quote] I'll second that. Applause for Lyn. ----------------- BTW, I just saw a brilliant discussion on ABC 24 regarding the media's immediate response to the Norway event...too many assuming it was Muslim terrorists... Andrew Bolt, the Jerasulem Post & Glenn Beck were mentioned in regard to their responses that focused negatively on "multiculturalism", or in the case of Beck referred to the Norwegian camp on the island as somethin' akin' to Hitler youth. Why can't we see these kind of discussions on 7:30? Primetime. Why must they oft be buried in the day when most people are out/at work etc? N'

nasking

29/07/2011[quote]Insiders ABC 1 & NEWS 24 9am Sunday-Panel-The Australian’s Chris Kenny and political commentators Kerry-Anne Walsh and Glenn Milne #insiders[/quote] If that's the case, I won't be watching. No balance whatsoever. Where are the top bloggers and other alternative media types? Bernard Keane for instance. Seems to me Cassidy just caters to the "elite" media. N'

NormanK

29/07/2011Hi Lyn I'm glad you managed to work out a compromise that sees you with more time to yourself without having to give up your hobby. We appreciate your efforts which must be enormous. Have a lovely weekend. :) By the way, you haven't told us about your new computer.

Ad astra reply

29/07/2011Folks I have just posted another of Acerbic Conehead's gems: [i]The Horcrux of the Matter[/i]. Enjoy http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/post/2011/07/29/The-Horcrux-of-the-Matter.aspx

Lyn

29/07/2011Hi NormanK Thankyou, you are always such a gentleman and so appreciative. I haven't mentioned my computer yet as been busy but I will tell you over the weekend. I can hardly believe it's me operating on such a computer. Cheers :):):):):)

Lyn

29/07/2011Hi Nasking Thankyou for your support, and your nice words, you have always been an inspiration, from a long time ago. Cheers :):):):):):)

BSA Bob

29/07/2011Jason at 4.15 Thanks for the cast list of Insiders. I hadn't intended watching it, but I'll now put a bit more effort into not watching it.

Ad astra reply

29/07/2011Gravel Thank you for your comment, which somehow I missed. No, you are not the numnut; I am. You are right - it is 29 million hectares that Tony will need for his trees! It's ludicrous, yet I've not seen one MSM article that points that out.
How many umbrellas are there if I have two in my hand but the wind then blows them away?